moving forward, Novo Renew

Exciting opportunity

Movin' it with Michelle

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a company to try out their product that was not only all natural, but good for anti-inflammatory as well as aiding in bone and collagen health. The company is Novo Renew, and I talked a little about it yesterday.

runningmeme
Because we sure don’t want THIS to happen, LOL

As a middle aged runner, my knees and joints aren’t what they used to be, so I jumped at the chance to give it a try.

The product contains 8 natural ingredients which include:

Inflammation modulation
Boswellia Extract
Frutiex-B (calcium fructoborate)

Joint and soft tissue protection and maintenance
MSM (calcium fructoborate)
UCII Type 2 Undernatured Collagen
Vitamin D

Immune Modulation
Bromelain
Trypsin
Rutin

I started taking it about a week ago, to give my time to adjust to it before the Gasparilla half marathon which was yesterday, read about it here in case you missed it! I could almost immediately see a difference. The pain in my knees were dramatically less, and I can honestly say I ran the race yesterday, “knee pain” free. That, my friends, is HUGE. So much so, that when the folks at Novo Renew gave me the opportunity to be an affiliate, I decided to JUMP at the chance. My affiliate link can be found HERE! And if you use my link, use the code “Michelle25” and you’ll receive 25% off of your order.

SO, what do you get? For around $29.00 you get a month’s supply of supplements. The daily dose is 2 capsules per day, (which are very easy to swallow) with food. Novo Renew suggests taking with breakfast or lunch, as many people feel an energy boost after taking Novo. Too easy, right!!!??? Think of all of the money you’ve spent on NSAID’s which have terrible side effects such as high blood pressure, kidney damage and severe GI problems. Here is what it would cost for you to buy all of the supplements in Novo separately, which shows $29.00 is a great price!

Collagen UC-II-60 capsules, $22
Boswellia Serrata-60 capsules, $16
Vitamin D-60 capsules, $4
Bromelain-60 capsules, 16
MSM (methylsulfonylmethane)-60 capsules, $8
Fruitex B (calcium fructoborate)-60 capsules, $12
Rutin-60 capsules, $12
Trypsin-60 capsules, $18
Total=$108 (The prices above represent an average price for each of these natural supplements. There may be slightly cheaper options – and there are also much more expensive options – for each.)

Lastly, they offer a 30 day money back guarantee, so you REALLY can’t go wrong!!! What are you waiting for? Click HERE and don’t forget to use Michelle25 at check out to get your 25% off (which is the $29 price)!!!

Please don’t hesitate to ask me any questions. If I don’t know the answer, I will make sure to find the answer for you ASAP. Also, please share with anyone you may know that is suffering from knee/joint issues. Thanks!!

Do you have knee/joint pain? What do you currently take for the pain? Would you be willing to try something all natural? If so, please click the link above.

Cheers,

Michelle

*Note: I am not a doctor, and can not offer professional medical advice. The above post is based on my personal experience. Please consult your doctor with any medical questions. 

 

 

 

 

half marathon training, knee pain, moving forward

Gasparilla half marathon, 2019

Movin' it with Michelle

My husband I decided shortly after running the Disney wine and dine half marathon that we wanted to run another half. We hadn’t properly trained for that half due to good old general life, so we thought, “Let’s do it right this time.” We signed up for the Gasparilla half marathon and started training shortly there after. I had a good 6 or 7 weeks of training until NYE came, and I came down with a 5 week case of bronchitis. I only made it to a 9 mile long run, and I was nervous going in to this race.

We went out to eat with some of our neighborhood runners last night, and after several hiccups in the evening, we didn’t get home until 10 PM. Not ideal when we still had to finish laying our stuff out for the race, AND we had a 3:30 wake up call this morning.

But, we got our outfits laid out, and the morning went off without a hitch. I took my Novorenew (get yours by using discount code of Michelle25 at check out; click link) which I’ve found to help my knee and joint pain tremendously since I’ve started taking it!!! I highly recommend it. We arrived at the convention center within 45 minutes, and had plenty of time to park, apply sunscreen, and do last minute adjustments before meeting up with our neighbors who were also running the race.

Our sub-2 neighbors took off for their corral, and we went to ours to line up to start. I had already given my blessing to my husband to run his own race, so shortly after the start gun went off an we made it about a quarter of a mile in, and he smiled and waved and I was running my own race.

I’ve gone back and forth with solo running, sometimes loving it, and sometimes hating it because I get stuck inside my own head when I am alone, and every now and then I can’t get unstuck. Today, thankfully, wasn’t that day. While I am not the runner I once was, and running in Florida heat is rough, I know eventually I’ll get my speed back.

The race was well organized, had some great spots for spectators, and I even got the high five Meb at around the 8 mile mark, as well as getting a photo with him at the end. Official finish time was 2:31 which is far from my best, but definitely not my worst.

Here’s some photos from the day!!

How was your weekend? Do you have any joint or knee problems? Please click the link above if you do! This stuff is life changing. What’s your favorite distance to run?

Cheers and keep movin’ forward!!

Michelle.

Keto adventures, Recipes

Meatballs with marinara sauce and ricotta cheese!

Movin' it with Michelle

Tonight we had meatballs and marinara sauce topped with ricotta cheese. I know I’ll be eating carbs tomorrow for Sunday’s race so wanted to eat healthy today. Yum!! And so easy!! 1 lb of ground beef, 1 egg, 3-4 tsps of almond flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, red pepper flakes (seasons to taste, about a tsp each) and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Form the meatballs and sear on all sides. Top with marinara sauce and transfer into a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. For the last five minutes remove and top with ricotta cheese and return to the oven that’s been turned up to broil for five minutes. Voila!!

What’s your favorite weeknight meal? Do you have any races this weekend? Good luck if you do!!

Cheers!

Michelle

moving forward

Weekend with family in Arizona!

Movin' it with Michelle

My parents bought a home in Arizona a few years ago and were kind enough to fly us out this weekend. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the weekend!!!

Have you ever been to Arizona? The mountains were so beautiful and I’m so glad we were able to make the trip thanks to my folks flying us out. It was a busy yet relaxing weekend away! At the end of the day life is all about family and making memories.

Cheers!

Michelle

moving forward

Three things they don’t tell you when you retire from the military.

Movin' it with Michelle

Three things they don’t tell you when you are retiring from the military…the list is vast but here are a few of the things I learned.

 

Transitioning is hard. Plain and simple. For 20+ years you were part of something bigger than yourself and the meaning behind serving your country cannot be put in to words. You will feel lost and empty as you search for your new place in life. I liken the feeling to post-partum depression (something I suffered with quite severely after my second daughter was born) where you just feel like something is MISSING, well, because IT IS. And I can say while the feeling does fade with time, it never quite leaves completely.

 

No one in the civilian world (at least not many I have encountered over the last almost 8 years I’ve been out) will care what rank you were, what medals and awards you received or what positions you may have held. It has no meaning to most in the civilian world, and it leaves you feeling a bit slighted for all the hard work you did while you served.

 

You will never have a core group of friends like the ones that you served with in the military. My Air Force brothers and sisters and I will always hold a very special bond, and I can go months without talking to them and then pick up the phone as if we haven’t skipped a beat. I have not been able to find another group of friends like I had when I was in the Air Force, and I miss that bond dearly. Sure, I have friends, but fleeting friends that entire my life for a season rather than a lifetime.

 

But at the end of the day, nothing can take away the fact that you served whether in theater or stateside and the military will always be a part of who you are as a person. Hang on to that pride, and never let it go.

Basic training photo

Retirement photo, 20 years later

 Were you or any of your family members in the military? I come from a long line of prior military members. Did they struggle when they got out? I urge you to be there for anyone that may be struggling not only with retiring from the military but life in general.

As always I appreciate the comments, likes, and shares.

Cheers and keep movin’ forward!

Michelle

half marathon training, Keto adventures, moving forward, Recipes

What a difference a day can make

Movin' it with Michelle

Wednesday I went out for my short run after work, and felt incredibly strong. I always wonder how I can pull these runs after working all day, but I got it done and it felt great. Fast forward to today’s long run, and whoa…but we’ll get to that in just a bit. I haven’t gotten a chance to write since my last post about mid-life due to crazy schedules, but just thought I’d share a little about my week last week.

Like I said, my mid week 5k went great. I settled in after the first mile and was able to let go and just run. While I often miss my once speedy average pace of 9:15 for short runs, I will celebrate my time no matter what. I didn’t get to run much for the year of 2016 while my husband was deployed, and 2017 was busy playing catch up for the year I lost with my husband, and moving my family across the country to start our Florida adventures.

 

This weekend started out really lovely. Friday night I cooked dinner and we relaxed at home. Saturday my husband came up with the idea to drive to Clearwater to watch the sunset and have dinner with one of our neighborhood friends. It felt SOOOO great to have my toes in the sand!!!!

 

Today was my long run. The last one before the Gasparilla half marathon on the 24th of this month in downtown Tampa. We had ten miles on deck, and I knew as soon as we walked out of the front door, that this run was going to suck. Mile 2 my stomach started to talk to me and we had to make a pit stop at the house after mile 3. (I don’t think Mexican food is a good idea before a long run, especially when its going to be blazing hot with full on sun with absolutely no clouds for miles. Thank God for the breeze!!). Mile six, the same thing happened and we had to swing back to the house yet again. We had gone 7.5 miles and I just didn’t think I could keep going. I drank some Nuun and had some Huma Gel, but I was still grey and pale. My hubby said I needed to stay home, and he was right. He finished out his ten miler, and I spent the next 30 minutes getting my body temperature regulated. Looking at my Garmin stats it showed my heart rate had gone to 195 bpm. Yikes. This will definitely be my last long distance race this season. I’ll stick to 5K and 10K distance until the fall/winter months, or until I cave and get a new treadmill. (My Mom had given me one back in IL, but it was old and just wasn’t working anymore so we had to get rid of it).

2.10.19longrun

For dinner tonight I made Beef bourguignon over cauliflower mash and it was amazing. To keep it keto friendly I omitted the carrots, but I feel like it was missing something with leaving them out.

Please click the links for the recipes!

How was your week/weekend? Are you training for any specific races? How do you handle running in extreme temperatures?

Cheers, and have a great week!!

Michelle

 

 

 

moving forward, real life adventures, Thankful

Battling mid-life

Movin' it with Michelle

I am battling with being 46 years old, sort of…I am caught between looking back on my past, and looking towards the future. I’ve read so many articles where women boast that the 40’s are an amazing decade to celebrate because by then you’ve “got it all figured out.”

But I don’t. While I am getting there, I still know I am not where I want to be in life. I still have unwanted debt, student loans hanging over my head, and am in a career I didn’t choose for myself. Thankfully my husband I sat down and redid our budget and with some major fun cuts we should be able to have a handle on our debt within six months minus my student loans. Who’d think a 46 year old would still have student loans?

Do I regret going back to school at a later age to obtain my MBA? Sometimes, yes. It hasn’t helped me progress in my career, hasn’t launched me into a new career, and heck at my age it’s a little late to make a career change in all honesty. But am I proud of those three little letters in my signature block? You’re darn right I am.

Looking back, though, I can honestly say despite many challenges I sure did live my best life in my younger years. I lived it up with friends, I embraced my Air Force career, and I sacrificed a lot for my kids which is something I’d never change. This says a lot, because I used to look back and regret so many things, yet now I can celebrate all I overcame, and all I endured. It has made me who I am today.

My goals moving forward are to give all I can to my kids so that they don’t have to struggle like I did as a young adult. To keep dreaming big, all while keeping it real. My Mom recently asked me, “If you could make a career change, what would you do?” I struggled with an answer, but after much thought I can say this…I’d have my own restaurant, write a book or two or three, be a health/wellness coach, and most importantly do something where I could use my experiences to help others. Yup…that’s what I would do.

Life_quotes_to_live_by-3

Today I am thankful for:

  1. My past, for it made me who I am.
  2. Morning snuggles with my husband, for this simple act makes my day so much better.
  3. My daughters. They are amazing young ladies.
  4. My life. For it is short, and sweet, and I do my best to embrace each day.
  5. Sunshine. It truly soothes my soul.

What are you thankful for today? Do you have any regrets? If you could have one career in life, what would it be?

Cheers,

Michelle

moving forward

Weekend wrap

Movin' it with Michelle

I had a great post written in my head, but my laptop won’t connect to the internet and my husband is too busy watching the game to help me. So here’s the short and sweet of the week/weekend.

My youngest tried out for the school play and got a part!!! She’s so excited. We celebrated with seafood at Pinchers since we get a military discount there!

My hubby also got a small promotion at work. He took a pay cut coming down here to Florida so he’s back to where he was in Chicago. Yay! So one last dinner out before we lock down on our budget. My dear friend Kandace helped us celebrate.

Today I ran my 9 mile long run. It started out quite humid but it was cloudy so that helped. My husband was constantly running in front of me and I couldn’t keep up and was getting frustrated so I sent him off to finish on his own at around half way point. I continued to struggle but I at least could settle down and just run my own pace. The sun came out at around mile 7 and I officially boarded the struggle bus. I finished 9 miles at an 11:40 pace and can honestly say that I didn’t have a single “easy” mile.

Since it’s Super bowl Sunday we got a bunch of quick and yummy snacks. Onion dip, spinach dip, meats, cheeses and shrimp with cocktail sauce.

I created a yummy taco dip as well. Brown a lb of hamburger meat, add garlic and low sodium taco seasoning. Add one large jar of Queso cheese and 2 chopped green onions. Yum!!

How was your weekend? Are you watching the Super bowl? What’s your favorite game day food?

Cheers!

Michelle