Getting back up to speed: The 4 corners of my new life.

What a wild crazy journey the past few months have been.   But such is the roller coaster of life, right?

I went through a whole depression/ mourning period the past bit and now I am finally feeling myself.  Not my old self, but rather a new self.  Mike and I have been defining our "new normal" and in this journey I finally feel like it is life again.  Our life again.  My life again.

So in the midst of trying to figure out how to be happily married given the 1500 miles that lie between us, I became injured at the end of April which threw me another curve ball as it meant that I had to stand down from the one thing keeping me moving forward consistently.  Without physical activity I lost focus and started to spin a bit out of control with depression and all the things that come along with that.  Anger.  Sadness.  Pain.   Lack of motivation. 

I have since found a solid recovery plan for myself. 

Eat Clean, Train Mean, Recover and Do It All Again Tomorrow. 

This mantra, the 4 corners of the base for my new lifestyle, has become the new road map for me to get back on track mentally and physically.   I have been living this way for a month or so now and I can say that it has all become such an inherent part of me a complete health habit. 

It was not easy at first, but after putting in the time day in and day out it now is really second nature.  The longer you do something, the easier it is to just do it.  I find fewer excuses now and way more success.  In my first month of eating clean, training mean, recovering and doing it all over again each day I lost 11 pounds without trying.  My lifestyle and my goals were, are, finally aligned. 

About freaking time.

So here is what I learned along the way, with a shorter (much shorter) summary at the end. 

Eating Clean
In my long transition to veganism I have relied on some crutches of sorts, namely processed vegan foods,  in order to get me through.  I guess this is the path that one takes, right?  You make baby steps towards your goals tweaking and refining yourself along the way. 

I started out vegetarian - eating eggs, dairy, cheese and vegetables.  I then swapped out the eggs, dairy and cheese for vegan alternatives and relied heavily on processed fake foods to replace the processed meat containing products I was trying to avoid.  Processed food is processed junk  no matter if it comes from nuts, animals or plants.   Fake is fake.  Crap is crap.  Junk is junk.  No matter how you slice and dice it, whole foods are the best foods.

I have since done some research and through the help of Brendan Brazier's Thrive series, The Happy Herbivore, and Engine 2 I have learned more about fuelling my body without relying on processed foods.  I am ditching the tofu and eating more raw fresh foods which has had a huge improvement in my day to day quality of life.

I have given up the white refined sugars and get my sweet on using fruits to keep me in check.  I use mainly sprouted, non-GMO whole grains and pseudo grains, and tons of dark leafy greens to bulk out my meals.  For protein, I simply eat a wide variety of foods all day long to keep the fire stoked and the body working and supplement with Vega Performance Protein in smoothies and recovery shakes from workouts to get a healthy dose of BCAA's to aid in recovery. 

I try to use whole legumes firstly, with nuts and seeds (hemp, chia, flax) and tempeh.  I am trying to avoid the overly processed and mainly nutritionally devoid tofu whenever possible. 

I track my food intakes so that I keep on target.  I am focusing on the nutrients I need, versus calories per se.  I am active by nature and have realized that food is a fuel, a life source - but not something to live for.

If we are working out to make up for the poor food choices we make during the day - then we are wasting our energy and will never make progress.  Real change must come from habit.


Train Mean
Before endurance triathlon I was a cross-fitter.  I absolutely adored cross functional fitness and power lifting.  I am a strong person, so I found an activity that I could do that tested and pushed me and that I could grow with long term.

Well, long term until I decided that every minute not swimming, biking, or running was a moment that I should be swimming, biking, and or running.  Enter injury.   I ignored my body and as a result it gave up on me.  My injury is 100% due to my lack of recovery and balance in training. 

This injury was the set-back that I needed to reset and refocus.  I am now back in the gym 2x a week doing Alpha Training (Lifetime Fitness's version of Cross Fit) and have been finding my happy place again.

I realize now that after completing an Ironman that I can balance strength, power, and endurance.  I just have to set the limits in each that allow for balance understanding that none of the three will be at 100% full potential, but rather at a level that will allow for diversity and balance.  And each phase/month/week/day/hour/minute the balance may change. 

Right now I am not following a plan per se, but I am getting close to pulling the trigger on a half Ironman in mid November.  I guess that it will be a dry run to see how I refine the current balance of my life to include much longer efforts. 

My Alpha coach knows that I am an Ironman triathlete and that I will not be giving that part of me up, so he is allowing for modifications to the workouts and weights so that I can get the benefit of weight training without over taxing my body.


Recover
I am now seeing a Fascia Stretch Therapist (FST) twice a month to help with my recovery, as well as I take rest days as needed and stretch after every workout.  I am no longer taking recovery as a luxury that I cannot afford.  Recovery is MANDATORY and I will not sacrifice that part of myself any longer. 

If we spend days tearing our bodies down in order to rebuild how long can we sustain and grow without allowing some down time for our bodies to evolve and get ready to do it again?  Maybe some can sustain longer than others but in the end it will catch up to each and every one of us.  Recovery is just as important as nutrition and training. 


Do It All Again Tomorrow
I have gotten into a routine now with managing my Michigan household solo.  I am balancing work, travel, home responsibilities, doggy responsibilities, health, and overall wellness.  It sounds like a lot, and honestly it is but that is where prioritization comes in.  If I want to focus on health and wellness - balanced health and wellness, then I have to live the part 24/7, 365. 

I have started getting to bed earlier (9-10pm) and waking up earlier (5:15-6am).  I find that with this I can squeeze in a morning long walk with the doggies, then a quick run or short bike around the hood - even just 20 minutes is enough to start my day off right. I can also ride my bike to work if the weather cooperates.

During the day at lunch I can swing by the gym (which is directly across from my office) to swim or stretch should my work day allow.   After work I am either at the gym for Alpha training or out at the parks for endurance training.   At night before I go to bed I take the doggies on their 2nd walk of the day.

Weekends I get in the long endurance stuff - which is really the only time my training volume will change depending on Ironman, Half Ironman or sprint/maintenance work. I start off my Saturdays (the ones that I am actually in Michigan)  with riding my bike to the local Farmer's Market to stock up on produce and the whole foods for the week.  I then get on the road for my workouts and then when back at home I catch up on DVR'd television shows and hang with the pups taking in some me time to reflect on how things are going as well as to look over what I have going on in the next week. Sundays are food prep, endurance workout, house work, and a once a month a vegan dinner party with friends.  


Having a routine is making life easier as it becomes more manageable for me.  I know pretty regularly what my requirements are for the week, so I can make adjustments as I see fit.  I am blessed with as busy as this life is for me it is pretty consistent.    I always make it work somehow, compromise being the key to that success.  

Sometimes the day is just about survival to get to the next day, other times it is about fulfilling my dreams and working towards my goals in big ways.  No matter how the day starts out or ends up, I am in control of my reactions to what comes my way.




I guess the Cliff Notes version is pretty simple:

* Eat clean, whole foods all day long
* Fuel your body, listening to what it needs
* Do something. Even 20 total minutes of something a day (be it in 1 20 minute walk or 5 4 minute bursts of random activity) is better than 0 minutes of nothing.
* Get good quality sleep and more of it.
* Get into a routine that works for you, not against you.  If it isn't working tweak and compromise until it works. They key to routine is often COMPROMISE.
* You can have it all - you just cannot have it all at 100% all of the time.
* Recovery and rest are important
* Understand and accept that how the day starts is not indicative of how it will end.
* Know that it takes 21 days to form a habit.  Tough it out for the first week and then see how much easier it becomes every time you hit the alarm to start your day.  

There is no crying in bootcamp!

Holy cow.

This week I did this crazy thing called bootcamp. This particular bootcamp is a warm up followed by alternating sets of plyometrics, weight training and cardio, cooling down with ab work from hades itself. Devil designed and approved I swear! 1 hour... 1 hellova great hour.

Tonight I opted to go to the gym and run, bike, swim AND get in some good leg workouts. I need to stop that and break it out into two-a-days again, instead of one big jam session. Nothing wrong with the mega session, but fatigue can rob you of a good outcome. Volume is one thing - but quality and volume are equally as important!

I arrived at the gym, put on the JennPod and my new SMALLER workout clothes, and hit the machines for a good 20 minutes of legs and shoulders. I did a few sets of pullovers and a few sets of core work on the captain's chair, but mainly just lowerbody and shoulders.

After that I went upstairs and hopped on the bike for 20 minutes, 7.2 miles (slow but consistent effort). That felt really good. While spinning away I contemplated my bike options.

I have two bikes I can go with. The sweet tri bike (Quintana Roo) in flouresent green with hawiian flowers on it (and aptly named the Roo by its current owner and my fellow FAST chica Cheryl), or the equally as sweet Trek 1.2 Triple road bike (complete with new bike smell - as it is you know, new.) I am not so sure that I want a tri/TT bike right now - but knowing that I can get it pretty inexpensively is sort of tempting.

The good thing about the road bike - this particular Trek is middle of the line as far as price goes, has GREAT componature, and is really easy to switch to tri configuration. If I really want a tri stance, I can swap out the stock carbon fiber seat post and replace it with a slanted one that mimics tri stance. I also can throw on some profiles (aero bars) and switch the angle on the handles to slant more aggressively, putting me in a good aero position.

Hmmm... I think I just talked myself into the Trek Triple, eh?

After the contemplation on the bike I hopped on the treadmill for a half of a mile. Why only .5? Because I had eaten dinner just an hour before hitting the gym - and this time it did not fare well to be all bouncing around! :o) Chicken 555 and Tandoori Chicken is great in theory - not so great while running.

After my mini (and I do mean mini) brick, I went downstairs, hit the pool for 15 minutes to do so easy laps and stroke drills (triple switches and sharkfin drills mainly). Nothing crazy - I have a 1.5 hour swim tomorrow.

Sunday AM is the Superbowl 5K in Novi. 4 miles away from my house. Starts at 9AM, and is right down the road from our breakfast spot! Sounds good to me!

The 5K is actually the exact 5k route I run in the spring and summer as a warm up to my weight training workouts - very gradual hills that you don't notice really - and a simple out and back with a mini loop near the recycle facility.

Quite a few of my tri club members are running the race as well so this should be fun! My first race with FAST!

And - I am down another lb, which makes this the lowest weight I have been at since... hmmm... 2005?

What a great way to start off 2008 - on the right track.

})i({ Runnergirl

So if my head was not screwed on, you say I would loose it, huh? Yeah probably. Or forget it at home on the sofa.

I had a wonderful workout tonight... but today was the workout that almost wasn't.

This morning when I woke up I made sure to pack everything I would need for the gym - clothes for strength training, suit for swimming, towels and shower stuffs. I felt quite accomplished.

Apparently I should have double checked my bag before I left because right around lunch I realized that I did not pack my goggles or cap for swimming. Well crap on toast. I can still get in a good leg workout.

I work some more, then head out to my car to leave. Now wait a minute... I have a horrible habit of never emptying out my car after a workout - I have like 3 gym bags, my yoga mat/bag, and roller blades in my trunk... I MUST have my swim gear in there!

After a quick check I was right. Score! Plus I found my super cute patent leather 4" heels that I have been looking for. And my white cardigan that went MIA. Double score!

I get to the gym by my house and sashayed joyfully into the locker room. I unpack my perfectly packed bag (my 4th gym bag in case you were counting) and realized that I forgot one crucial thing. Well two if you want to be technical. My shoes.

Not. Again.

Oh yes this has happened to me before. But Mike will make me workout in my socks, laughing at me while I hide from the PTs and mangers. But I digress...

While the thought of me working out in my even cuter 5" matte black shoes did cross my mind... I decided that I was sunk.

I walk up to the cardio floor to find my friends Par and Stacy and let them know that I was an idiot so I cannot do anything but swim. Enter Stacy my angel of shoe goodness.

Stacy and I work together and has become my workout buddy. She also happens to wear the exact same size of shoe I do... and much like me has multiple workout stashes in her car. My lucky day... she had a pair of kicks for me to use. Triple score!

I get dressed and by this time was a little tired so I opted to nix the swim session and do a really good leg workout. I hit everything... hammy's, hip ad- and abductors, seated squats, calf raises, the butt blaster even! And I made each movement count.

After I had successfully beaten my legs up in the good way, I decided to turn focus to my abs and make them pay for my stupidity and forgetfulness. Captain chair crunches... and ooooh it hurt so good.

After stretching out my legs and back I was done. 45:00 and my legs feel wonderful.

I have now vowed to keep my goggles and cap in my car so I always have them. Plus I will be keeping a spare set of shoes in the trunk (instead of the roller blades!) for such a forgetful occasion. Maybe I should just keep a rotating collection of gym bags stashed everywhere so I am ready whenever?

Naw... that is too much to remember.

})i({ RunnerGirl

Mate Vana tea, please

This my friends is reward for a job well done. Mate Vana Tea from Teavana. AMAZING Mate tea, with bits of cocoa in it. The same amount of caffiene as in coffee, but with 1,000 times the taaste. (I dislike coffee)

So what job was well done you ask?

Oh just tonight's post-work workout, that is all. ;) I kicked tooshy a little. I stretched out, ran 2.5 miles on the dreadmill, stretched out some more then I did triceps and chest, with a little hip ab/adduction for good measure.

I attempted 3.1 miles on the dreadamill but came to a crossroads and I, I took the road more frequently travelled (by me) and that has made none the difference (in my performance). The treadmill I chose tonight had fans on it (for breezy feelings I assume), a nice virtual track so you can do speedwork, and it had a built in 5K run. PERFECT treadmill for my needs. I ran 1 mile and really pushed myself that last .25 mile. The I walked to lower my HR down (it was up there in the high 160's to mid 170's according to the machine) then after a quasi recovery buckled down and gave yet another one of my now famous pep talks to myself.

"Yo self. Listen up. Are you gonna let this darn dreadmill win? It boils down to this... you want to do 3 miles. You have to do 3 miles. You chose the treadmill to do them on... and you know it is purely mental. It is either you or the treadmill... no which is gonna win? "

Now how could I chose to let the treadmill win? Not-gonna-happen. So I put the towel over the readout and I attempted to finish the run. No speed just purely finish it. Well at 2.5 miles I called it quits at a draw. I did 1.5 more miles today than I have ever on the contraption of contempt... so I feel good.

It really is taking a lot to get over the mental monotany of the mill. I can easily go 3 outside... so why am I sucking so hard on that thing? I really want to conquor it. It is a challenge.

I have also come to the realization that lately I am not a morning peron. I am going to have to run after work. And if that means the mill... then so be it. As long as I still run my long distances outside, I will be happy.

I am thinking of going to a run/walk for this half. I have a tendency to peter out towards the end and run walk anyhow - but at a HUGELY depreciated pace. I start out in the 11's and finish with an average pace of 13-15 minute miles. So not good. I want consistency and even negative splits if possible. Because that feels so good!

Maybe the Galloway method will be good for me afterall. I know that I was going to try it for this last one, but I am still having a mental fight over that. I am all for run/walking. I do not think that it will make me less of a runner if I follow a proven method of training. It is just hard to go from running half marathons all the way through to going to a run/walk method.

I feel so conflicted. I know in the end it will be good for me, my pace, and my body... but somehow I just feel odd. Like I am not willing to push myself through the whole 13.1. However I am willing, but I am wanting to finish stronger. So this year, I am going to seriously give the walking breaks a try. I have a 7 miler this weekend scheduled, so I will give it my all and do the run/walk and see how it feels. I felt great last year doing it that way in training.

I will go all of September with run/walking and see how I do. If I can become consitant with my pace, then I will give it a whole-hearted go for Detroit.

Happy hump-day! Just think, only 3 days left until our long run!

})i({ Runner Girl

Mexico is Hot and Rainy.

My hotel in Guadalajara, MX

I tricked Blogger so now I can post! W00t!!!


Today I re-discovered that Mexico is actually pretty cool. Yeah, I knew this already, but have been sort of bitter about this trip. It just interferes too much with my life, lol. But hey - I can consider it a little mini-vacay even though I am working.

Let me recap my day:
*Got up at 4:30AM (3:30AM Guad local time) to head out to Aeropuerto.
*Made it in good time, went through security no issues. Boarded the plane (GOLD ELITE Baby!!!!!) and narrowly missed the 1st class upgrade that I am offered due to my GOLD ELITE status. (Can you tell that I am freaking excited about being GOLD elite? Travel has paid off!) Slept on the plane a lot. I was tired!
*Landed in Hot-Lanta, GA only to see that my connecting flight had no gate listed... and I was in an airport that has 7 concourses... none anywhere near the others, and NO departure boards. So I ran to end end of 1 concourse (time check 9:20AM - my flight to Mexico boards at 9:45AM) only to see that I need to be over one more concourse... which is like 20 minutes away. So I run. In very uncomfortable shoes. I get to the correct gate JUST as they were calling my name to switch my ticket and board. *whew*
*Had the most annoying plane trip ever to GDL! Two loud screaming kids in back of me kicking the seat, beating the seat, and all around being annoying, plus the guy sitting next to me kept picking his nose, sneezing, and wiping his hands all over the place. SKEEVES ME OUT. I am a germ freak - and that annoys me. Oh and to top it off, he kept blowing his nose... ewwwww. So I slept some more. Well between kicks and screams that is. And I made a huge dent in my Tri book.
*Make it through customs with no issues, and even got the green light (you have to press a button on a stop sign, green you are free to leave. Red you must surrender your bags and have them searched. Yeah. While you leave. You have got to love customs!
*Co-worker picks me up and drops me off at my hotel. The workers here are almost TOO nice. *Get to my room, settled in for a few minutes then enjoyed some comida at one of the casual retaurante's (Frutas y Flores - es muy delicioso!),
*Headed out to the pool to get in a few drills before the rain hit.
*Rain hit HARD
*Ate dinner in my room then went back to the gym and got in my chest and tri workout.
*Yes people - I worked out twice today!!!!!

It is actually slightly warmer in Michigan than in Guadalajara right now. But it is still muy caliente!

One observation as to how much this city has changed in the year and a half since my last visit - they have tons of Starbucks now! And a lot of American resturants like Chili's and McDonalds. I will not be frequenting those establishment, but still... it is odd to me. At first glance, I would think that I was in El Paso, or someplace in Arizona. But then I see the crazy taxi cabs and all of the street vendors, and the people backing up on the highway to make a wrong turn... and I remember that I am definitely in Mexico. DEFINITELY IN MEXICO.

Guad is the "Silicon Valley" of Mexico And it shows. Holy cow. There are TONS of shopping centers. Lots of car dealerships (some pretty cool Renaults and SEAT's here). In fact I am right across the street from the largest and oldest of such shopping centers, Plaza Del Sol.

Rest easy my friends - I have plenty of Iced Tea to get me through. And one of Mike's shirts so I am sure to sleep well tonight. *awww*

I am bummed because my cell phone does not work properly here. I have an International plan, but somehow it does not allow me to call FROM Mexico - only TO it. Yeeeaaaahhh.... that is not going to work for long.

Tomorrow and Wednesday I am at our Periferico plant (AKA the Ghetto Guad plant) and then Thursday I am in La Tiejera (AKA the Garden of Eden Guad Compound). Friday I leave for home.

This week my co-worker Daniel (From Germany) is going to take me all around Guad so I can see more than this block. I really wish that I had my camera, but a lot of the pictures would be exactly the same as last year, so no real loss I guess!

All this and I have been up since 4 30 AM. Time for bed soon!

I am just impressed that I managed two workouts... while in a foreign country, for business. *pats self on back* Ouch that hurt... my tris are still sore.

On another note - running oddly enough - I am scheduling just 3, 2-mile runs this week. Guad is a death trap for pedestrians. So I am chained to the dreadmill by my boyfriend, as he does not want me to come home in a pine box. Trust me I am not complaining. The man loves me, I love him, and I sorta want to live out my life not being crippled... or dead. So this week not only am I swimming my heart out, lifting weights like Draper, I will be running on the treadmill. Just not so much like Dean. I can only take so much, you know?

I feel so bad because I missed my 8 miler Sunday due to travel stuff. Ugh. So I am definitely getting in at least 2 miles at a time just to even things out and not loose my running mojo!

~})i({~
RunnerGirl

Go big... or go home! That is the fun part of the journey.

My very first swim workout since I was 5.

Last night I headed to the gym, did legs, tris, chest, and shoulders (made up for my lack of activity lately!) and then preceeded to hit the pool for a quick "free-style" practice.

I can do the breast stroke no prob. The back stroke, genius. However, the freestyle has been the one swimming form that I have been scared crapless of. It boils down plain and simple to one element of this stroke that I struggle with - breathing. *shudder* I have to put my face in the water and then manage to inhale off to the side, all the time NOT intaking more water than air?

I honestly feel as tho I am going to either suffocate or pass out due to hyperventilation. I realized last night that I need to work on my stroke a little bit, kicking is good, and my breathing is by far the worst thing. I really need to work on that. *gulp* I either do not blow out both my nose and mouth, resulting in too much air being left in my lungs for the intake, or I frantically breathe out trying to get rid of said reserved air, so I have time to take an inhale when the opportunity arises. Half the freaking length of the pool and I am exhausted due to my lack of efficiency. BUt I can make it the whole length no problem, I just need to really focus on thoe elements - stroke, form, and breaathing. It is simple, right? I guess I can alway do the breast stroke for 600 meters. ;)

Mike taught me in 5 minute last night (the basic concept of the stroke plus breathing) what my swim coach was unable to do in weeks of lessons. Basically I was 5 or 6 years old when I took swimming lessons, and the only stroke I could not get down was the freestyle. I just made do with the breast stroke, and if I got too tired doing that, I would flip over and do the back stroke. Well on the bright side, I definitely have something to work on while I am in Mexico next week. You know. Aside from actual work.

On the running front I have been one lazy arse this week. Not one foot was even walked since my 7 miler on Sunday. Monday I was hanging out with my friend, and it is my rest night. Tuesday I slept, literally, all night. Wednesday I was busy with 4th of July things, and honestly was trying to recover from an entire night of sleep (and by entire night I do mean 16 hours... yeah I was THAT tired), and Thurday was an "exchange dollars to pesos for my trip" and "relax at home with Mike" day. I needed to feel as though I had a "for real" day off. I worked a bit in the morning and the afternoon due to a supplier issue, but other than that, I lounged around and still managed to get a wonderful night's sleep. I woke up at 6AM on the dot.

Tonight is a night out at the Werks, Saturday is weights and swimming at the gym, then biking in the afternoon (8-10 miles), and Sunday is my 8 miler (running). I feel OK as long as I get in my long run on the weekends, and if I need to reat like I did this week it is better than pushing through because my body tends to head to injury if I do not rest properly. (read: justification for being a lazy arse this week!)

Well off to update my workoutlog from last night.

Mmmmmmm grilled cheese.

So I just got back from a nice 3.6 run. I call this type of workout "grilled cheese". Not just because I follow up the run with one - but because I find comfort and fun in both grilled cheese, and this type of training run.

I was just going out to run 2 miles as that is what is on tap for today. Well... as I was running, I decied to play around with intensity, speed, cadence, hills, and hydration. SCORE! This was the most fun 3+miler I have had in a long time. I got in my 2 miles, plus some cadence drills UP HILL.

I fueled up this morning with a shake made with Carnation Instant Breakfast, 1/2 C of blueberries, and 1/2C of FF Milk, blended with ice. YUMMY! I then mixed up my waterbottle of Accelerade (fruit punch flavored), fired up the iPod to Phedippidations, and took off.

At the mile mark I was like - oh crap I have to turn around already? - but then I thought, why not see how far I can push myself. So I ran out another .71 miles then turned around. On the way back is nothing but hills - both up and down - so I worked on my down-hill cadences, as well as my up-hill sprints. Every up hill I ran at a 9:30pace. We are talking a 9:30 pace UP hill. For a half of a mile. Straight. ;)

Once I rounded the corner that leads me back to home, I decided to play with cadence once more. Amazing - I ran a solid sub-10 minute mile and felt wonderful. And of course once I hit the hills I upped it to 9:30. Then I slowed down on the last down hill, and gradually came to a walk, walking back home.

SWEET.

I felt good with the Accelerade. It is easy on my stomach, and I feel like I am getting hydrated as well as fueled. I don't care much about my overall pace - I just had fun out there. ;) It is good to have fun and get in good mileage. Awesome.


The remainder of the day is work, and then when Mike gets home from work - dinner and then the gym. We have started to eat dinner first then workout later at the gym. Personally, I like this much better because most people are gone by 9 or 10PM, and also we are fueled and not starving. Plus I am no longer getting home at 9PM and then eating, only to rush off to bed. It is nice and relaxing.

Last night I did chest and tris. It was nice because now we are spending far more time in the "Temple of Testosterone" (AKA the free-weight room) and less time on machines. I am finally feeling the workouts, and suprisingly, when I went to the pec deck to work on thegeneral overall chest- my strength had increased from doing 3 reps of 12 at 62.5lbs.... to 3 sets of 12 at 112.5lbs.... all in 1 week. What the.... oh. Right. I am actually getting stronger. I am just not so keen on gaining mass, so I am going to plateau off my weight for a while and maybe increase reps instead.

Tonight is back and bi's. Again, plenty of time will be spent in the free weight room. I am no longer scared of it. I am embracing it as yet another part of strength training. Also - by mixing up the workouts we do for the different muscle group pairings each time we work out, we are assuring that we will not get burnt out.

Doing the typical machines every third day started to be a drag. Yeah you see progress, but still with the free-weights you can really work and isolate muscles in a more varied manner than by machines alone. PLus you can feel the difference between isolation and mass0building exercises. Somehow on the machines I never really feel that. Maybe I aid too much with other parts of my body on the machines - whereas with free weights it is all... well you.

I am feeling stronger and getting sooo geared up for the Freep this year. That bridge will be nothng to me! ;)

Enough bablling off to work!

~})i({ RG

Updates complete!

I updated this blog twice today - and finally decided on this 3-column design. I am pretty ahppy. Still a little dark, but oh well. I will see what I can do about lightening it up a little bit - but for now it will do! I now need to work on my ROE blog. It is good for starters, but man I really need to make it better!

Today I ended up at the gym to work on back and bi's. Tomorrow AM it will be chest and tris again, and for me I will be completing a 5 miler somewhere. KMP if nice, home if not so nice.

I wish all a great evening!

Keep on running!
~RunnerGirl

2007 trainng schedule. I have a plan, and I for once am going to follow it.

Well I did it!

Above is my training schedule for my 2007 season. I have planned 4 additional half marathons, and one 10 miler. I

All I can say is that I feel so ready for this. My mind is set and my body is getting ready. I do not dread this schedule, rather I am embracing it.

It is amazing how this summer is so short... just a few weeks from start to finish. Oh and week 1 is actually the week of June 11th.

I am getting back into shape loosing weight and getting my running legs back before I am starting in on the full training. Again, this may change as I get into it, but it is a nice mixture of cross training, running, and strength training. These races are really mine as long as I follow my plan.

An update from earlier - I completed week 3 of the C25K program with a vengance. It was freaking HOT out there, yo! I managed to do it right though, so I am pretty excited about that. Thursday I start week 5. I am both happy and a little scared, but you know what? I can do it!

I think taht this week is the 5 minute and 20 minute intervals. If I am correct a lot of people have told me that this week is easier than week 3 - the 3 minute and 90 second intervals. I will let you know if that is correct!

One thing I did today on the run - I ran off road a bit, up a LOT of hills, and through some rough construction. Remind me to never do that again. It was rougher on my joints than I was prepared for.

Anyhow - after the run, I met Mike inside the gym and we walked around the track for a few laps, then I was off to do Back and Biceps. I was a little drained from running in the heat, but I still maanged to get it all in.

I have to remember that I am a work in progress. But I happy to finally have THE plan that I designed all by myself, working towards my goals.

It is nice having a plan. I am proud that I have not deviated from the C25K plan like I feared that I would. But somehow - this time around I really really want to earn these miles.

I feel a sense taht as long as I follow my plan pretty true, I will be able to kick some major butt (mine of course) at these races. I am looking forward to the training this time.

OK well enough babble - congrats to everyone who ran in one of the races this past weekend - you all did wonderfully.

Keep on running!

RunnerGirl

i did it!

Went to the gym (actaully met Mike there), did 10 minutes of cardio then almost 35 minutes of strength training. I really feel the workout, and Mike is there to spot and comment on my form while I work out, and visa versa.

:) I just weanted to sasy that I am proud!

Tomorrow - Legs and shoulder, with some cardio at the start. ;) I am going to sneak in some bonus cardio during the day by walking around the office or even going for a walk outide if it is nice enough.

Good times!

Keep on running,
~RunnerGirl

Heading to the gym....

So far, Mistah Mike and I are doing well on our quest to become gym rats. ;) We have a 5-6 day a week gym goal.

Last week we went 2 times, but I was out of town for Mon and Tues, and was not feeling well at all Fri. The week prior we made it 4 times. This week we will be doing 5 for sure!

On the list for tonight:

15 minutes walk/jogging (I have a raging headache and running makes it much worse), then off to work out chest and tri's for about 20 minutes. This is good for about 2-3 activity points for all of you Weight Watchers people. ;) DO this 5 times a week and you are talking one majorly fit couple!

We are avoiding burn-out (which is a major concern) by switching up our workouts. The goal is to get in strength training 5 day, but allowing our muscles to rest between 24 and 48 hours in between sessions.

I found out that the old stand-by of 24 hours is OK, but now they (and by they I mean the magical order of 'them' the collective strength training community... oh, and Bally's.) are thinking that 48 to 72 hours are better. You do not want to over work the muscles, because yes they will get bigger/better/stronger, but you will sacrifice flexibility for muscle mass. Scar tissue forms in your muscles if you repeatedly work the same group every day. And that scar tissue shortens the flex/stretch of teh muscle resulting in a loss of flexibility. Consider this my PSA for the strength training set. ;)

So the mix up is to follow a 5-day routine as follows:

Day 1 - Chest/Tris (tris are the assist muscle for your chest)
Day 2 - Legs/shoulders (you use a lot of energy and blood working out the legs, so you should couple it with the smallest mucles, shoulders, so you can get in a good workout without overtiring your system.)
Day 3 - Back/Bi's (bicepts are the assist muscles for the back)
Day 4 - C/T
Day 5 - L/S
Day 6 - rest
Day 7 - rest

Now for the next week - it would look a little something like this:
Day 1 - B/B
Day 2 - L/S
Day 3 - C/T
Day 4 - B/B
Day 5 - L/S

and the next week maybe:
Day 1 - C/T
Day 2 - B/B
Day 3 - L/S
Day 4 - C/T
Day 5 - B/B

And we keep on going. Pretty much as long as we start the week off with the muscle grouping that we did not do twice the week previous, and allow a few days of rest between each muscle grouping, we will stay fresh and on it.

Now cardio we are going to fit in 3-5 times a week as well. Running is a given for me, biking for Mike. however, I want to start to add different things as well. Elliptical machine, biking, stairs, walking, swimming, rowing my boat (not all activities must be at the gym, right?!), roller-blading, etc. A definite 10-20 minutes before a ST session is our goal. We want to be at the gym for around an hour of working out, so half and half seem to be working. We also do about 10 minutes of ab work as well.... oh you know - the plank (my fave!), crunches on the ball, and crunches on teh machine to work the abs and obliques.

Teh great thing is that Mike heads to the gym right after work, so I meet him there. Often we literally meet in the parking lot. It is like our time to get away from the world and to do something just for us. I call them our gym dates. *cue mike's "Awwwwww... how sappy" comment here*

Regardless... so far this is going quite well. I feel stronger, and better every day!

The Simple Joys of running part 6: Details.

My friend Christina posted the best bulletin up on MySpace today - it stresses the importance of learning how to pay attention to the little details.

Here is the bulletin for your enjoyment. A little gross - but a lot funny!

First-year students at Texas A&M's Vet School were receiving their first
anatomy class, with a real dead cow. They all gathered around the surgery
table with the body covered with a white sheet.

The professor started the class by telling them, "In Vet Medicine it is necessary to have two important qualities as a doctor: The first is that you not be disgusted by anything involving the animal body.

For an example, the Professor pulled back the sheet, stuck his finger in the butt of the dead cow, withdrew it and stuck it in his mouth."Go ahead and do the same thing," he told his students.

The students freaked out, hesitated for several minutes. But eventually took turns sticking a finger in the anal opening of the dead cow and sucking on it. When everyone finished, the Professor looked at them and told them "The second most important quality is observation. I stuck in my middle finger and sucked on my index finger. Now learn to pay attention."

Although humorous, this is a good life lesson in why we need to pay attention to the little things. Aside from the obvious nasty stuff - we need to also pay attention to our own bodies on that same miniscual level.

Through my workouts the past week I have gained a better awareness of my muscles. I do have some! I am listening to my body when it tells me that I need to either switch up or down weights for a set, or when it has had enough of a certain exercise.

The first trip to the gym this week I decided to really focus on strengthtraining in addition to my cardio of running 3 times a week. Out of the gate I was doing well on my arm exercises, averaging 45 lbs per exercise depending on the muscle group and type of exercise performed. I was doing 2 sets of 15 reps per exercise, with a 30 second break in between. I then moved on to legs... only to seize up my calf muscle so badly that it was rock hard and my foot atrophied.

Hey folks! I joined the over-exerted club!

I started out the workout on the track mind you - running week 3 of my C25K program so my calves were already a tender spot.

So what did I learn? That I was not listening to my body telling me that my calves had enough. I pushed through the set only to be stopped cold in the workout. I wrapped up with some ab work and a nice stretch.

Tuesday I did legs and to my amazement it went well. Added abs and lower back as well to round out the evening. I listenend to my hips, thighs, calves, hammies, and quads through every exercise making sure that I was doing approriate weights and reps.

Wednesday I took as a rest day, so when I hit the gym last night I was ready for arm work again. I was a little emotionally drained, so I did not run, but I got in a really great arm workout. My tris and bis are no longer sore, so I know that I listened well.

I also switched up how I worked out. I did 3 sets of 12 reps, and instead of breaking I worked opposing muscle groups in between - so I did 1 rep of 12 bicep curls, immediately followed by 1 set of 12 reps of tri extensions, then alternated between the two until I completed 3 sets of each.

Tonight is running and leg/ab/lower back work - so I will focus more on my thigh/hips than quad/ham/calves due to running.

I feel stronger each time, and I find that I am enjoying the feeling of earned soreness when I listen, as opposed to the earned pain when I don't!

I think we can take the lesson of paying attention to details to heart in every aspect of our lives. My job is highly dependant on me paying attention to not only the big picture, but every little detail along the way to assure that tasks are completed on point.

I am also taking this pay attention to details thing into my eating as well. Not just by counting those points, but also in varying my food items to see which work best for me. Can I feel as full off of 1 point of dairy as I would off of 1 point of vegetables (for those veggies that have points that is!)? I am still finding that out - what will work for my body.

So today kids take a kind lesson - pay attention to the details in your life otherwise you may end up eating cow poo. ;)