Florida Winters

I can't believe how incredibly hot it's been in Florida the last couple of weeks. This morning was the first time it's felt cold (by Floridian standards). I love running in the cool weather it makes me feel unstoppable. I'm hoping this wether stays for a couple of days..

Yesterday I did my Orange Theory class for an hour and a half and burned 710 calories. We ran for 45 minutes and it consisted of sprints with some rowing action and then sprints with kettle bell swings and squats. 

The first set of sprints had you row 100 meters and then run for the same amount of time you rowed. Then you would increment each rowing distance by 100 meters all the way to 500 meters on the rower. Once you finished that you ran .15 and did kettle bell swings for the same amount of time. The next time you did .18 and had to do medicine ball squat toss, next up .20 with kettle bell swings followed by .25 with squats. If you finished that you got to run a fast mile. That's where's madness stopped. I was impressed with my sprint times: 55 seconds, 59 seconds, 1:29 and 1:39. I said screw the fast mile and ran 5.5 speed until they called time. 

Next was the weight room. I'm not going to lie I was dead at that point. They had us do different exercises which consisted of pistols (sbt straps where you balance on one bent leg while supporting your body weight and then jumping to the other leg); thrusters; muscle ups with sbt straps; snatches; amongst other things. I'm not going to lie, I always lose track about the reps and exercises I do in the weight room. I honestly just try to make it through each exercise lol. Even though I was dead, I didn't feel as sore as last time. Lets hope this trend continues. 

Today I did some planks and then I did a light spin for 45 minutes. Nothing crazy but it got the blood flowing. I'm hoping to get a run in tomorrow morning before our holiday party.

Sore Knees

It's crazy how time flies during the holidays. I mean it's been two weeks since I've blogged! Nothing crazy has really happened. The biggest news during this time is my friend J and I tried the 1.5 hour Orange Theory workout class and got our butt kicked this past weekend. You know that your life is going to suck when you start the class by running a 5K and finish the workout with more than 1 hour left in the class. I did end up burning over 700 calories in the class which was a total bonus...

Last night I also did Orange Theory and got my butt kicked and burned almost 500 calories (not too shabby). The only thing that killed me was the lunges and deep squats we did. I think those moves totally killed my knees and even now I can feel them throbbing. I took today off in the hopes that they recover.

In between workouts I've been running around three miles. It's been hard running after work because of the daylight savings time. I've been trying really hard to beat the nightfall which has ended up helping me improve my 5K time. I've been consistently hitting the low 24 minute mark. One cool thing I've done is download the new Nike App which tracks your mileage a little more and also helps you challenge yourself. I haven't used it but look forward to trying it for the first time hopefully this weekend.

I'm hoping tomorrow I can do something low impact. Oh! I almost forgot - for Christmas I'm getting a punching bag set. I've talked about getting one for years and my awesome mom bought it for me for Christmas.... I can't freaking wait to kick that punching bag in the butt. My home gym is almost complete.

Oh the Holidays!

It seems like this time of the year people stop working out less and eating more. I try hard to keep portions a normal size and workout about the same if possible. The biggest thing you can do for yourself is put some sort of accountability checking place so you don't skip a workout. For me, I schedule a workout class with a friend or tell someone I'm going for a run. It works almost every time. 

I know it's been a while since I've blogged. Almost two weeks ago I was on vacation which was a blast and this past week I was busy getting ready for thanksgiving. During my vacation I managed to get a couple of runs in. The best run I had was in Monterrey. It was absolutely beautiful, and when you have beautiful scenery you easily lose yourself on a run. Each time I ran I aimed for at least 3 miles. When we went to Vegas I ended up logging four miles trying to scope out sort of the strip. After the run my husband and I walked a good part of the strip and all together it looks Ike we walked more then ten miles. Which gets me to my next point.. I lost three pounds when I came back from vacation. 

I was so stoked when I weighed myself. For sure I thought I gained weight. When I saw the weight loss, I was determined to keep it off and try to lose a couple of more pounds. So when N told me she was going to go on a cleanse, I jumped on board. The cleanse wasn't horrible and allowed you to actually eat food. The biggest key to the cleanse was drinking a gallon of water with lemon in it. Im not going to lie, it's probably the most hydrated I've been in my life. Although I didn't follow the diet to the tee, it did help me lose 2 pounds. So, even with the weight loss, I am still down only three pounds after thanksgiving which in my mind isn't too bad. 

Yesterday I tried to recover from the food comma most of us were probably in and ran 5 miles. I ended up averaging under a 9 min/mile which was a plus. Today I scheduled a workout at my gym with my friend j. It was intense and I burned a little under 500 calories. Now, I just need to hold it together until Christmas.... Tomorrow I'm probably going to relax my legs and cycle on the stationary bike. 

Operation Lose 5 Pounds is a Fail!!!

So I'm about to go on my trip to San Francisco, and I was unsuccessful at losing 5 pounds. The only frustrating part is that I actually tried to lose weight. I traded my egg breakfast for protein shakes and tried to eat cleaner, but I was unsuccessful.

I know that when you're trying to lose weight, it's a frustrating battle. You don't see any progress and you throw in the towel. I know I rolled off the wagon when I weighed myself after 3 days and saw absolutely no difference in my weight. What did I do? Had a giant chocolate piece of cake. Did I feel bad about it? Maybe a little, but it was worth it at the time lol.

So that night I worked out harder and pushed myself, but the damage was already done. I'm hoping when I get back I might be able to keep up with the protein shakes in the morning and maybe follow a nutritional plan. I also want to try waking up early a couple of times during the week to get my workouts in. However, I'll keep my Orange Theory night classes :)

I can't wait until my trip. I packed running clothes hoping that I would be able to get some runs in and check out the amazing scenery. I can't wait..


Operation Lose 5 Pounds Before San Francisco

I'm leaving to San Francisco in less than 2 weeks and I am so excited!!! The only downfall to this amazing trip is that I will gain weight while on vacation. I mean it's almost inevitable. You are not following your normal routine, you're eating out almost every meal, and well let's just face it you don't want to count every calorie you consume. For the most part I try to workout while I'm on vacation, but it's nothing like my normal routine. So, when I get back on the scale it is a sad number looking back at me. This time I've got a different plan - what if I lose weight before I go on vacation? Pure genius? Maybe so!

So I started operation lose 5 pounds before San Francisco on Sunday. On Sunday I went to Orange Theory's one and a half hour long workout class. Not only did I go to class, but I ran over a mile to class and back! The class was absolutely ridiculous (so running back home wasn't the brightest idea). I'm used to the hour long class, and so 40 minutes into the class I was already dying.  The class started like every other class - treadmill interval workout, followed by weights; however, the last twenty minutes we were paired up with a partner and performed different workouts that we picked out of a bowl. So, every pair was doing something different at the end. In that class I burned 700 calories, plus whatever I burned running my 2 miles. As far as my diet for the day, I ate pretty well overall for the rest of the day. the TRX bands,

Yesterday I went to Orange Theory again for their hour long class. It wasn't too crazy and wasn't cardio heavy so I only ended up burning 400 calories. I wish I could say what my cardio/weight intervals consisted of, but they're workouts I don't typically do and we do so many sets of different intervals so it's hard to keep track of. My nutrition was healthy yesterday as well since I was out of the office and I didn't have an opportunity to really snack.

Today I didn't workout but I did eat healthy. For the love of pete, I had a freaking salad with chicken breast for lunch. I never have salad for lunch but I figured I would continue my healthy eating trend. I do have to say that I had a cookie and sharkbites today as well. However, those two things definitely didn't offset my diet completely.

Tomorrow I'm running with the run club I typically go to. They have a triathlon group visiting and I'm hoping to maybe hook up with them for next year. I tried contacting this triathlon group when I first moved down, but I never received a reponse. Maybe this time I'll have some success and be able to train with them when they do their workouts. Fingers crossed.

It's Been a While

Ahh! I haven't blogged in two weeks! I'm sorry! A lot has happened in the last two weeks.

First things first, I got three of my subscription boxes and I was impressed with some, and not so impressed with others. I'll give you a run down of those first!

Bulu Box- I bought three months of this subscription box through a Living Social deal and haven't been very impressed so far. It only has 3-4 samples of weight loss products and the samples are extremely small and unappealing. I haven't tried any of the samples this month. I have had the product "Calm" in the past and wasn't super impressed with it. I actually got a whole bin of the product in one of my other subscription boxes a while ago, unlike this small packet. I think it's safe to say that I won't be reordering this product. Here is a picture of the box:

 


 
Klutch Klub: I've ordered this subscription box before and absolutely loved it! Last time I got yurbuds and some other pretty nifty samples that I can't remember. This time I ordered their limited edition healthy treats box for $10 with shipping and handling. So far I've tried a bunch of their samples - the pop chips, jelly beans, Fruit and Seeds snack (which was absolutely amazing), and dark chocolate bar. All of the samples were absolutely amazing!!! They did have a Wheatgrass drink, and that's the only sample I'm not too sure of. I probably won't order this subscription on a regular basis because they have deals on them all of the time! Here is a picture:



Kona Kase: My absolutely FAVORITE subscription box. They actually had a bunch of my favorite athletic nutrition. I love the Power Bar (I actually talked about this in one of my last posts). I love Skratch lab hydration products. They are supposed to be the best hydration product you can intake after a hard workout. I've ordered it online before. The Kind granola is fantastic on top of yogurt!!! I wasn't a big fan of the FlapJacks (It was wayyyy too plain for my taste) and I'm typically not a fan of the Honey Stinger so I gave it to a friend. The uplifting quote is pretty awesome too. I'm not going to lie, I'm probably going to keep this subscription. If at some point I don't think it's worth it, I'll cancel it.

 

I ordered two more subscription boxes: one is the Food for Love which I won't be getting until next month, and the other was Sample Society (a beauty box). I'll let you know how it goes once they come in. I think I like this subscription box is fad. It gives me an opportunity to venture out of my comfort zone in a good way.

Ok - so now for my workouts. I've been trying to keep up with my Orange Theory twice a week and then cross training in between. Last week in Orange Theory we did a burpee challenge where we did 100s of burpees and it absolutely sucked. This week, we had a partner workout where we had to pick our workouts out of a pumpkin basket. Every time we finished the workout, we picked a new one. It was pretty intense. I'm most likely going to go again on Saturday. I've got to take advantage of my membership until it runs out at the end of January. I really love it, but I'm also starting to miss running.

Which brings me to my next story: my freaking awesome 10K I did this past weekend. I signed up for this 10K a while ago and haven't been giving it the full training attention it needed. I did run 6 miles a couple of weeks ago, but it was a lame attempt at trying to cover some distance. Other then that, I've been running at the most 5 miles and it's been at like a 9ish minute mile pace. So when I went into my race on Sunday, I figured I would take it easy. The weather was absolutely wonderful (maybe a tad colder than I would have wanted) and I loved just being outside. Once the race started, I got into a comfortable pace. After a mile I looked down and I saw 8:10 on my watch; I was surprised, I didn't even think I was going to keep anywhere near an 8 min/mile pace. As I approached mile 2, I had the same result. At this point, I thought I could actually keep it up. So on and on I went. At the end, a 70 year old man came up next to me and told me to come on. I kinda chuckled to myself and made myself push a little harder. He ended up kicking my butt, but at that moment he gave me the little push I needed. I finished and ended up placing first in my age group; 8:02 min/mile pace. I ended up winning a cup full of candy, probably the best prize ever. Overall, I was impressed with myself and it's motivated me to maybe train a little more. Next 10K is in January... maybe this time I'll train a little bit harder.



Worst Idea Ever...

I went to Orange Theory today. Yup - dumb move. I mean y'all didn't stop me!! I know 8 of you read my post already. Someone could have commented and said - hey, you sure you want to do that? I might have thought to myself - you know what this is a dumb move.. but instead I went to class.

Today was probably the hardest workout we've had in class. It started off with running for 7:30 minutes at a push pace. The goal was to hit at least a mile. I did, but it sucked. Next, we moved to the weight room. We had to start off doing 10 reps of each of these workouts- thrusters, SBT rows, and pushups. After each set of workouts you decreased your rep by one - so it went 9, 8, 7, etc. While we were doing our reps, our instructor kept pushing us to go faster. After he called time, we went back on the treadmills with weights. Our goal was to sprint .08,get off the treadmill and then do 8 reps of squat thursters. After we completed each set, we had to sprint .08 followed by increasing the reps of squat thrusters by 2. After time was called, we went back to the weight room where we started off doing 3 reps of: snatches, box jumps, and burpees. After each set, you increased your reps by 3. Next, the instructor called time again and it was back to the treadmill. We had to run .25 on a 1% incline and started off with 20 kettlebell swings. After this set, we continued to run .25, increasing the incline by 2% each time and also increased the kettlebell swings by 10 each time. Lastly, we were on the rowers where we rowed 150 meters, 8 thrusters, and 8 medicine ball throw squats. After we completed the set, we continued to do 150 meters and increased the thruster and medicine ball throws by 2.

Yup. That was my workout. I burned the most calories I've burned in a class -550. I normally burn 450-480 calories. I'm sure after reading my post about this workout, some of you might think that this is ridiculous AND I guess it is. However, this is probably one of the most difficult instructors in that gym and I try to go to his classes. The other instructors aren't easy, but they give you more of an opportunity to recover in between all of the workouts.

Now, I'm taking an Ibuprofen before I go to bed and hoping for the best when I wake up tomorrow. On another note, I took a new nutrition product before my workout: Power Bar Performance Energy Blend. It tasted like baby food (which is delicious in my opinion). It wasn't too heavy on my stomach and it definitely helped me to push through my workouts. Thumbs up! I think I am going to try to scout it out to use for some of my workouts. After the workout, I tried another one of the nutrition products in my Bulu Box - AminoX (a recovery drink). It was awesome!!! The flavor was watermelon and didn't taste like crap. I'm not a fan of recovery drinks so I probably won't buy the product but at least it was good!

Tomorrow, I have to drop my car off for some work. While they work on my car I'm going to go for a jog (maybe walk depending on my legs). My rest day can't come soon enough!!!

Made It To The Podium!!

I have been a triathlete for some time; about six years to be exact. I can remember my first triathlon. It was a women's only triathlon and it calmed my nerves knowing that I would only be racing with women. The scariest part of the triathlon was the swim, and I knew that if I could make it through the swim, then I would be okay. I had a road bike at the time. Nothing fancy, just something to get me through the race. I mean, I didn't even know if I would enjoy doing triathlons. Lastly, I was a runner. How hard could the run actually be? Little did I know..

At the time little did I know that running after biking would be one of the hardest things to do (even as a runner). Your legs feel like jello as you start the run, and you pray it gets better. It does get better, but after about 5-10 minutes. So until then, keep running! Little did I know that this sport is a small community, and treats each other like family. At races you hear everyone cheer each other on. You recognize faces and talk to the regular racers. It's quite calming knowing someone else at a race. I used to do these races by myself, but meeting friends at races puts a whole new spin on things. Little did I know that I would love doing triathlons. Years later I've completed 12 triathlons. Two of these triathlons was a half ironman distance (which by the way is my favorite distance to race). The training for the race sucks, but once it all comes together at the race, you realize how truly powerful you are as an athlete. Overall, I'm glad I chose to do this sports years ago.

Now, I am mainly a runner. I am recognized by some of the local runners since I participate in club runs and races in the area. I have placed in a handful of races locally, but this time I actually made the podium for a triathlon!!!  It's kind of exciting to place in triathlons just because you actually get to stand on a podium! Although this wasn't my best race time, it was definitely a faster pace race and I got a good workout in. Let me tell you a little about the race.

 


The venue was CB Smith Park. Overall, I don't think I'm a fan of the venue. The lake for the swim had overgrown weeds in it, and that pretty much freaks me out. At the swim start, it was hard to spread out in the water and caused a bunch of us to run into each other, which sucked. After the swim you ran to the transition area which was hard pavement. I'm a fan of the grass, because of how soft it is. Once you got on the bike, you had to do two loops which consisted of an inside loop followed by an outside loop. There were a lot of turns so it was hard for you to really get speed. The run wasn't too bad and consisted of 2 loops. Overall, I'm not sure if I would race at this venue again. There are plenty of other venues which are much more enjoyable.

Oh, one more quick note. I just ordered a one month box of Kona Kase. What is Kona Kase? It's a monthly subscription box (the new fad) of 8-10 goodies for active people. For a discount code, use this link: http://email.curebit.com/c/cj1ldmllZ3JsNDIlNDBhb2wuY29tJnQ9b2ZmZXJzX2VtYWlsJmVudj1wcm9kdWN0aW9uJmk9NWZiNTQ4YzItZjc5MS00YTNiLTk0OWMtMTAwYTkwMzFiMWU3JTQwY3VyZWJpdC5jb20maD05M2QxMDcxYzVjYWY5MDJjMWI5YmI0MTljYzFmODJkZCZtc2dfaWQ9MTI1NzQ5OSZsPWh0dHAlM0ElMkYlMkZjdXJlYml0LmNvbSUyRnglMkZ6cW9vVjgmZD1mMw
Now, I've tried other subscriptions before - KlutchClub and Bulu Box. I think I'm even talked about them before. I'm currently still subscribed to Bulu Box and should get another box with goodies soon, and I just ordered a one time limited edition healthy box from KlutchClub.
So far, my favorite box was a KlutchClub box in which I received those awesome Yurbud headphones. The reason why I didn't continue was because of the monthly commitment. However, I'm seriously considering it after my Bulu Box subscription runs out or unless I find another subscription box which is better. There is one which I ould like to try which is the Runner Box, but it's $20 plus shipping which is expensive. I'm sure I'll splurge on it soon, but I want to try these first.

Tomorrow, I am going to Orange Theory. Please pray that I don't turn into mush after my workout.

So Sleeepppyyyy

I constantly feel like I'm tired. No matter what I do, or what I eat. When the doctor told me that I had a high TSH a couple of months ago, I was almost relieved. I felt like my constant exhaustion and difficulty in losing weight would be attributed to it. Dead Wrong. The results from my second blood work came in today, and no high TSH. It went from 6.8 to 2.5. How is that even possible? Maybe I need to stop blaming everyone else and just figure out my nutrition once and for all.

So let's talk about my weekend. Sunday morning I was pretty impressed with myself. I finished 5 miles at an 8:33/mile pace. For not running that often, I would say it was flipping fantastic. I'll tell you one thing, the weather is absolutely gorgeous. However, even with the beautiful weather I definitely overdid it in the running department. The next morning I woke up early for Orange Theory at 5 a.m. and was completely stiff.  So I told  the instructor I felt like my calves were on fire and that I was going to take it easy and walk. Talk about a humbling experience. I forced myself to walk while everyone else was running and intensely running I might add. But, overall I'm glad that I walked it off instead of causing myself some more pain.

Even with walking it off yesterday I was still sore today so I knew I had to get some of that lactic acid out. So, I spun while watching Law & Order SVU. Yes, I love Law & Order...and I love watching it while spinning. I did some light spin for about 45 minutes and still mentioned to sweat a little bit. Tomorrow's workout will be with the running group.. Until then I'm going to try to get more than 5 hours of sleep :)


So I Guess This is What House Arrest Feels Like...

Let me explain the title before anyone thinks I'm under house arrest or have been placed under house arrest....

My dog had surgery for a mast cancer tumor on his leg. This is his second surgery in three months and he is only 6 years old. I was pretty devastated when we found this new tumor and we scheduled surgery within a week. Our bank account took a hit and we knew how tough recovery would be because we've been through it before. However, this time recovery has been going much better. Maybe it's because we're actually following the rules and putting the cone on him....

We put the cone on him when we go to bed (because we know he'll go after the stitches) and whenever we go out (which we haven't really done). So when I get up I take the cone off and watch him. Since I've been doing that I have opted to do my workouts at home. Since I've been home, I've been: cycling, trying in-home workouts from Fitness Magazine, and getting my butt kicked with Jillian Michael videos.

Today's workout was No More Trouble Zones by Jillian Michaels. I don't know how people can do that video every day. I'm already sore... AND I've been doing Orange Theory for a couple of months. It's ridiculous, no matter how much I train I always get my butt kicked - every single time..

As I was doing the video, I thought about what I would do once my Orange Theory agreement ran out. I like the gym, but it's really expensive. I'd save almost 100/month by not doing it. That's a lot of money, and we've been trying to save money. Also, I've invested in a lot of workout accessories and could probably replace it with doing some in-home workouts. I've got a treadmill, stationary bike set-up, tons of work-out videos, weights, kettle bells, and Fitness magazine articles. I can make it work. Over the next couple of months, I will try to incorporate some of these workouts into my routine. Ok - maybe after the beautiful running weather is over.

This coming weekend my dog gets his stitches out and life can hopefully resume back to normal. As much as this process sucks, I'm just glad he is okay and that his recovery has been better than the first time around. Special thanks to my parents and in-laws for helping out with him throughout the week.

It's FALL!!!

Yes - I love fall. I guess it's because it's not too warm and not too cold. Plus let's be real, in Florida it means you can start wearing boots and cute sweaters. It also means that working out outdoors will actually be pleasant instead of feeling like you're in the depths of hell.

So let's catch up on my workouts. In my last post, I talked about being sick - but guess what? I'm better ... yay.... However, my body has been going through a funk. This past Sunday I had a 5K (after only getting 4.5 hours of sleep the night before due to the rockin' Maroon 5 concert) and it was horrible. Not only did I finish it almost 3 minutes (26- ish min 5K) slower then my normal time I aim for, but my whole body was cramping. I'm not sure if I was dehydrated, fatigued, or still sick - but holy crap was it rough. The next day I went to Orange Theory where we did some interval training on the treadmill with a 3-9% incline with tons of weight reps. In the middle of the workout I felt lightheaded and had to take a breather. It was like my body had given up during the workout. I finished out the workout but figured I would take off from working out the next day. I ended up going back to Orange Theory yesterday where I kicked booty. I was next to a girl who rocked the same speed as I did and it was almost like we were silently pushing each other. It was probably one of my best workouts on the treadmill.

Today I plan on trying to get a run in outdoors. It was nice this morning, but I have a feeling a late summer shower will be rolling in around the time I want to run. No worries. I can still cycle indoors or run on my treadmill. Having both those is definitely conducive (yes I like to use big words on occasion lol) for my workouts.

In other news I subscribed to something called BULU Box. It's part of one of those new fads where you get samples from different companies in the mail. It was $10/month for a subscription (I got mine through a Livingsocial deal where it was $15/3 months). My first box came in a couple of days ago and it was pretty cool. I picked the weight loss version box so I got: an energy gel supplement (it was called Body Glove Surge), pills called Shapeology, a recovery mix called Amino, and a meal replacement shake (I forgot the name of it). I tried the meal replacement shake, and it was okay but had a bitter aftertaste. I also was hungry 2 hours later after I had it even though I had it with an egg and Turkey Bacon. I could never just have that shake as a meal replacement. I haven't tried anything else but plan on taking the gel this weekend or maybe even today if I get my run in. The box is pretty neat, but I think another box set called Klutch Club might be a little better. I had ordered it once through another Livingsocial deal and ended up getting more than my money's worth in it. My biggest win in that box was the yurbuds headsets which costs $30 on their own. Some of the other products were weird, but I don't think you'll ever truly love every item in any of those boxes. I'll let you know if I end up reordering that Klutch Club..

That's it from me.... Thank you for everyone who follows me. It looks like I even have some international followers not... Until the next time.. Happy Trails :)

Being Sick ...

So I'm sick again... I think I have a cold... I rarely get sick, but already this year it has hit me twice. I try to nip it in the butt when I first feel it coming on, but I don't feel like I've been too consistent with my treatment. So, what do I do when I have a cold? I take 2 Echinacea pills twice a day, a zinc pill, a B12 pill, and a multivitamin. Afterwards, I gargle salt water and have some tea. When I follow this routine, I usually feel better in about 2-3 days. I'm on day 3 and I still feel like crap. I also typically take Emergencee (I mix it with OJ and it tastes DELICIOUS), but I don't have any at home and I've been too lazy to stock up on some. So there you have it. My quick fix for trying to nip a cold in the butt. I'm hoping that tomorrow I might finally feel better.

Enough with my sickness, what about your workouts? Well, since I've been MIA for almost two weeks, I figured I should catch everyone up. I won't bore you so I'll give you some of my workout highlights:

  • I raced in a 5K this past weekend and pulled a 24:08. This time was not bad considering that I haven't been training for a 5K race. What's also impressive is that I was bogged down by slow runners during the first 5 minutes of the run. Since I tend to stay in the back this typically happens to me, but this time it was pretty bad.
  • I did a hill workout last week. I used the overpass right next to my house as my "hill". I ended up doing 6x400s in less than 2 minutes each with a jog down the hill as my recovery. This KILLED me but afterwards it felt amazing. I definitely want to incorporate more hill workouts. Next time I might aim to do 4x800s.
  • I've been getting my Orange Theory on twice a week. I love this place and my husband says I should be on their payroll I talk about it so much. I honestly can't help it though, I feel like they really give me a hard workout and I love seeing my numbers after class.
  • I bought new shoes!!! They are Sauconys of course! I'm trying a new type of Saucony - Progrid Kinvara 3. I'll let you know how the shoe works. I'm an underpronator so I'm actually trying to find a shoe that works for me.
So there you have it! Some exciting stuff going on! This coming week I've got another 5K and I'm hoping I can continue my trend of getting low 24s or maybe even a 23 minute 5K. I'll also be going on some doctor appointments next week. I'm not sure if I blogged about this before but it looks like I might have an underactive thyroid. I'm going to my primary care physician this week to see what the deal is and hopefully get some more information. This all came about because I was suffering from some weird heart palpitations. It turns out the underactive thyroid MIGHT be causing this. Anyways, I'm a firm believer in trying to get your heart conditions taken care of since you've only got one. I'll keep everyone posted once I hear more.

Happy Trails :)

Sushi as a Pre-race Meal? Who knew!!

Last night I had sushi for dinner. It was my friend K's bday and in an effort to try to find something healthy, I opted for sushi. I've actually had sushi as a pre-race meal before and ended up doing really well, but you know that you need a second success before making it a tradition.

So this morning I woke up ready to go for my tri! I honestly haven't been training, but I figured since I've been cross training I would be okay. The race was in a park, and the course was pretty much flat and didn't have as many bike loops as last time. My biggest concern for the race was actually the swim. Last tri I had a complete melt down in the water, and so I was trying hard not to psych myself out for this one. This race was nice because I had two of my friends doing it: G and C PLUS I had three friends watching K,B, A (A took the pictures I'm posting). Races are definitely more fun when you have people you know in them.

Since this was a smaller race, there were only 3 waves and me and C were in the last wave. C had a friend there (S) and so all three of us wished each other luck. Seconds later the horn started and we were off. This swim course was kind of tricky. There were no buoys that guided you so you kind of had to find the most direct route on your own. I "sight" a lot when I swim so I was fine. "Sighting" is when you take a moment to look up while you're free styling. When you look up, you're "sighting" an object.

The swim started, and like any other race, I totally got kicked in the face lol. It's really not as bad as people think it is. I mean you're going to get kicked, run into, and swallow some water - that's just the way it is. I tend to be in the back so I waited it all out and then got into my steady stroke. As I gained speed my chest tightened and I could feel myself panicking a little bit. After a couple of minute, I still couldn't shake it so I tried breathing more. Sometimes when you start off to fast you can literally run out of breath and so you need to just slow down a tad. I ended up just breathing more and was able to complete my swim without a meltdown.

My transition was fine. I mean there's nothing to really report about during transitions. I don't clip in and so I end up just wearing my running shoes. I did learn today about some new pedals that might be able to help me: Power Grips. They have a strap that will help bring your foot up with less effort. Talk about a win :)

During the bike I just tried to focus on catching the people in front of me. The course was flat which was awesome and I know that course relatively well. Again, nothing exciting to report. However, after the race I found out that I was averaging 18.5 mph. I can remember during my first tri when I was struggling to go 13 mph. Crazy how much time I've cut since starting out on this journey.

I came back from the bike and was ready to kick booty on the run. I got to wear my awesome headband (the Will Run for ...pictures of junk food...) The run went quickly and was pretty well shaded. I had a couple of people who I was pacing off of and I think that definitely helped.

Official Results: 1:07 something... I was so happy with this time!!! Here re some pictures!!!






Lesson of the race: Eat More Sushi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Headbands Finally Came!!

I'm not sure if I mentioned this in another post, but finding good headbands is pretty difficult for a girl who has frizzy, curly-ish type of hair. I've tried a bunch of things: Scunci, Halo, Nike, and some other regular headbands, but nothing has worked. Then a couple of days ago, a friend on facebook was commenting on these headbands that she swore by, so I bought them. They are by Bondiband and are really cute (plus they have fun sayings on them). For those of you who know me, funny sayings + me = Ridiculousness. I bought 4! My favorite one is definitely the one that says: Will Run for .. and shows a bunch of my favorite foods :)



Tomorrow I'm not too sure what my workout will consist of. I wish I had these headbands today because I did 4 miles this morning. It was blazing hot, and I could have used something to hold my hair back. I tried to scale down my pace because of the heat and still finished at a 9:09 min/mile pace. Thankfully I had some shade and brought water full of ice. Last time, I had to stop and actually sit still to recover because I felt so overheated. Summer running is extremely hard, especially in South Florida. I haven't run outside enough to acclimate so I've been trying to do shorter distances and slow down my pace. As much as I hate to admit it, you need to be smart during these training runs and not kill yourself, or else you might end up in the hospital. I can't wait until it gets cooler...

I usually do Orange Theory (OT) on Sundays, but since school started they changed the schedule and no longer have the class I used to go to on Sundays. I'm pretty annoyed. Luckily they're morning classes are pretty early, but I just really loved Sundays. I actually went to OT on Friday morning and we had a hell of a workout. We had to do something called Greenacres (?), which consisted of a squat, plank, row on each arm, jump your feet up to your hands, and an overhead press. The sets consisted of 20, 15, 10, 5. Each time you started a new set, you needed to grab heavier weights. I ended up with 20 pound dumbbells. Its crazy how much stronger I've gotten in the past couple of weeks, I could barely lift 10 pounds when I first started!! In between each set you had 1 mile, .75 mile, .50 mile, .25 mile. You could either do these distances rowing or on the treadmill. I chose to switch things up and did a run, row, run, row. On the mile I hit a 7:35 mile and a 3:25 half mile. I was pretty proud of my half-mile.  I really do love it there.

I might do sprints in the morning. If I do, I'll try out my headbands. I really should bike though, considering I have a triathlon next week...

I Lost My Keys

I lost my keys during run club tonight. I mean I've done a bunch of dumb things, but this has to take the cake.

So on Wednesday nights I go to run club. It's pretty awesome because I've designated this day as a day to push myself. They've got runners of all paces and some of the faster runners help me to push my pace. Tonight started off particularly well because I made a new friend who I might run with on Mondays.

So I started the run and put my key in my Ipod holder (my first bad idea of the night). I took off and ended up killing the run. I did 3.72 in 30:03. As I finish my run I go to grab my key and nothing is there. Oh shit. This is not good. I actually stay pretty calm but have no idea what to do next. I ended up borrowing that one girl's phone and call my husband. No answer. I know he's screening his calls so I leave him a voicemail hoping he checks I after I'm gone for a long time lol.

I start walking around retracing my steps but have no luck. I wait some more. I pass by one of the guys I recognize and he lets me borrow his phone. Perfect. I call my husband - no answer. I leave him a text and two seconds later he calls back!!! I tell him what happened, and he naturally laughs and says he will be right over with the key.

Twenty minutes later he's there with the key and I get into my car. As I turn on the car I think about two things: 1 - Put your key in that stupid clear bin everyone else puts their keys in. 2 - Don't try to lose your key. You are ultimately screwed if you do.

I can't help but laugh it off now. I was literally stranded and contemplating running about 3-4 miles back home. Instead my wonderful husband saved the day :) On a separate note, I lost one of my freaking yurbuds. Luckily I lost one of my other pairs too.. so I can now combine them... Yay.

.:Back to the Beginning:.

I turned 28 this past Monday and as I reflected on another year of being on this earth. I started reflecting on what made me want to become  runner.

In middle school I was pretty overweight and ugly. Yup, I admit that I was unattractive and awkward. At the beginning of eight grade, my friends were trying out for the varsity soccer team and I figured I would try it out too. So I went out for tryouts, and lo and behold, I made the freaking team. It was brutal. When you're an overweight kid in Florida, you sweat profusely even when standing still. Even though the season was hard, I made it to the end and loved it. For the following season, I figured I needed to get my cardio in shape for soccer so I joined the Cross Country team as a freshman. I think that's when my love for running started. I loved being outdoors, and I loved taking that time just to think.

After that soccer season was over my freshmen year, I joined Track & Field. That year, I had the best coach: Mr. Meyers. He saw something in me that I don't think I saw yet, and he pushed me during every practice. I remember there was one practice when he took me to the side and all he had me do is run .25 mile under 1:30. I think I did 15 sets and even though it sucked, I loved it. That year I lost all of my unwanted weight and started competing in the racing world. I wasn't the best by any means, but I was pretty decent. My events throughout all of my track years was the 4X800 meters, the open 800 meters, and the 2 miler. I tried meddling in pole vault, but let's just say that wasn't my best event (hell - I couldn't make it the first level lol).

As the years went by, I got better. I loved running and wouldn't trade it for the world. It became a part of who I was and even on my worst days, I laid it all on the track and felt much better. My senior year started off bright, and I won the first Cross Country meet of the year. I came in at 24:00 for the 5K and beat everyone who competed by over a minute. I was so motivated and knew I would be shredding that time in the next meet. Our next meet came and I sank. My calves were on fire and I knew it wasn't normal. I went to the doctor and they said I was done for the season - I had tendonitis in my heel/lower calf. I was confined to cycling and my life was over (it was high school and I was dramatic -what can I say). I eventually was back to running during the track season, but was only able to run during major meets. Needless to say, my dreams of running at college were crushed (not that I was going to go to a major school for running, but maybe a small college).

 It's funny how passionate I became about running. It started as a way to lose weight, and ended up being something I couldn't live without. It made me a different person, and made me feel strong - like I could do anything. I never want to lose that feeling.

I guess one of the next steps in my journey is to become a parent (I'm not sure when that will happen so I can't tell you the time frame). I do know however, that once I become a parent, I want to keep it up. I think some women lose their identity and focus only on the baby. They fail to realize that to be the best mother you can be, you need to focus on yourself. It reminds me of the pre-brief they give you before you take off on an airplane. They always say to put your air mask first before you help anyone else, because if you don't you'll fail to help anyone else. How can your children learn to be strong, when they don't see your most conquering moments?

Ok - I'll get off my soapbox, but before I do, I encourage everyone to do something positive and active in their lives. For me, it's been running. It'll be running until the moment I die.

 

Yup - that's me in high school :)

Morning Workouts are Draining..

I woke up at 4:50 a.m. this morning for another morning workout. Orange Theory has a 5:15 a.m. class every weekday that I try to go to once a week. Waking up for that one class is hard enough so I try to do it at the end of the week. However,  yesterday morning I woke up at 5:25 a.m. to get in 3 mile run. I know what you're thinking - why the heck are you running by yourself that early in the morning? Simple, I bring pepper spray, run like hell, stay alert, and plan to kick some major ass. Sure working out in the morning makes you feel energized and great, but let's be real, it makes you tired as hell.

This morning I felt like a zombie as I walked into the gym. I actually started the "weights" circuit first instead of the cardio (I've never done that). At first I thought it was a bad idea since my heart rate wasn't going up, but my final calorie count shows a different story. The weights circuit was about 25 minutes long and had three different rounds. The first round was about 11 minutes, the second round was about 8 minutes long, and the third round was 3 minutes long. For the first round they had us do three workouts: 10 Burpees, 20 mountain climbers, 10 Jumping Jacks, and 20 twists. The next set consisted of  12 up/down planks, 10 plank jumping jacks, and 12 jumping lunges. The last set consisted of 10 TRX bands like squat, 10 tricep curls, 10 upright rows, and 200 meters of row. Good news is I wasn't last, but I definitely wasn't first.

Next was cardio. It was also split up in 3 blocks. The fist block was to run a mile as fast as you can in 11 minutes. Once you finished you had to do 40 seconds of all out sprint and 30 seconds of walking. I got my mile in at 7:30 and finished up the set. The second set was a split of 2 minutes push pace with recovery time in between push pace The last set had to do with push pace and all out sprints (I don't remember the break down of them).  At this point I was beyond tired. During the weight circuit I was conscious of how focused I was on my workout. It's like literally nothing else in the world mattered except the move. I was tired.

Tomorrow.. I'm sleeping in and not working out.. and I'm having fondue hahaha... What can I say .. I workout to live not live to workout. However, once I get my workout on.. I turn into a beast.. until it's over..

                       

Having No Cable or Internet for a Day Sucks

Yesterday we had no cable or Internet. It kind of sucked and I actually cleaned some of the house during the week. I was driving my poor husband crazy so I went on a short bike ride. It was nothing crazy, but I did pull short bursts of 20 mph.

Now, my legs were sore because of orange theory the day before. Let me tell you about our workout.
I first started out with cardio. For cardio we had to do a mile at a push pace followed by 20 squat throws with a weighted ball. Once you finished your 20 squat throws you had to row 1000 meters and then 30 squat throws. The next set consisted of .25 mile, followed by 30 squat throws, a 500 meter row and then 40 squat throws. The third set was .13 miles, followed by 30 squat throws and then 250 meters and 40 squat throws. The last set was 100 meter sprint. I was totally in my element and killed this workout. Once it was over I was tired as hell but I had to move on to the weights. Since my shoulder was hurting I decreased the weight. I honestly can't remember the name of the moves we did but I know we had to do rounds of 15-12-9-6 of different shoulder, chest, and tricep workouts. It sucked and even with smaller weights my arms were burning. After that we had to do a pike move, something with the trx bands, and an upright row. Again.. This sucked.. Finally we had to do a crazy combo of  squats, burpees, bicycle kicks, and v-ups. There was no specific sets, it was all randomly done with an app on the trainer's phone. All in all, my arms were shaking and I burned 563 calories. I'm already signed up for Friday..

Today I was still sore from my orange theory workout. However, I was excited to go to run club because I haven't gone in like three weeks. I wasn't going to go hard, but as you all know I let my competitive side get the best of me. Especially since some guy came up next to me and told me he was going to try to run side by side and beat me because his friend said I was fast. Lame. However, it did give me the extra motivation to make me push during the run. I ended up running 3.63 in 31:02. I would have liked to go a little faster but the heat is ridiculous. I'm hoping I might be able to go a bit faster next time. Oh.. And I did beat that guy.. Ha!

Watching my calories..

I hate to apologize for the lack of blogging, but I'm sorry! This past week I went on a trip to Columbus, Ohio and had planned to go for a run, but because of the sketchiness around the hotel I decided against it. However, I did run on the treadmill and get some weights in :)

I got home Wednesday night and decided to take Thursday off from any type of working out. I did schedule an orange theory class Friday early morning and totally got my butt kicked. The girl who teaches the class is a complete machine and got me to burn 100 more calories than I typically do. The only thing that sucked about the workout is that a nerve in my shoulder was pinched and I think I aggravated it during the workout. It would end up bothering me the entire weekend..

Saturday I woke up in pain and so I figured I better do something low impact. I was also shooting for convenience, and so I hopped on my bike and spun while watching some tv. Talk about relaxation... Sunday I woke up in pain again but I really wanted to run. I hadn't really nailed down a distance, and I wanted to hop on the scale to check out my weight. My eyes kinda popped out of my head when I saw that I gained 5 pounds in the last two months. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, but I've seen how weight slowly creeps on. Before you know it 5, becomes 10, 10 becomes 15 and so on. I mean eventually the weight gain stops, but before you know it, you're running more and eating less. If you know my take on eating, well dieting is like starvation mode to me. So after I saw the scale I decided to go in a nice 4 mile run. I also decided to start calorie counting again. I tried it years ago and it made me realize how much crap I was really eating. I figured I would try it again and logged in to the my plate section on the live strong site. This site is awesome and is filled with tons of information. I'm two days in and have been doing pretty well. Although I haven't completely eliminated sweets, I'm definitely getting a better handle on my food intake.

Now as you know, every plan has a goal, and while my long term goal is to look fantastic in Vegas (if we end up going), my short term goal is to be healthy for my birthday in Sanibel in a couple of weeks...

Now, since I had a lot to catch up on.. I'll talk about my crazy orange theory workout today on tomorrow's post.. Until then.. Goodnight :)


Starting to Enjoy Running again..

This past week I've been trying to organize the house. Yeah we've been trying to settle down, but there is random crap in everywhere room and its annoying :) So, every day I've been trying to accomplish one task so I don't leave it all for the weekend!! So far my plan is working. I've even managed to cook dinner AND workout!

This past week I ended up biking at home (after being super sore from orange theory on Sunday). It actually went pretty well. I blasted my iPod as I cycled indoors while watching tv. I went hard on every other song, totaling out to about 5 songs. One of my songs is "She's a maniac," and well let's just be real.... That is a great song to cycle to.

I don't really remember what I scheduled to do on Tuesday, but Wednesday I ran on the treadmill!!! It was my first inaugural run in the new house and it sucked lol. Since it was in the garage it was super hot!! After 2.5 miles I was exhausted and had to come in to cool down and not die. I finished 3 miles but had to be much more smart about my pace instead of starting out like a bat out of hell.

Thursday I ended up trying the 5:45 class at orange theory and it wasn't half bad. I liked the instructor but wished she had better music during the class. Having good music is essential to a group class, especially when you want me to push my limits in the weight room and treadmill. I did however, like how she got down on the floor with you to push you while you were in between sets or encourage you when you needed it. I will definitely go to her again, but not this coming week.

Friday I took off, but Saturday I ran 5 miles. It was the first time I actually enjoyed running again. I had my headphones on and just started going. I wasn't trying to hit a certain time, but after mile 2 I looked down at my watch and realized I was going at an 8:30 min/mile. Since I was running at 9:30 am the sun was blaring and I had to pace myself a little better, but when I finished I was smiling. I don't know if it was the fact that I put zero pressure on myself to hit a time, or if the conditions were perfect, but I started falling in love with running again. I went running again today and I didn't think about how much longer until I reached the end. Instead I was thinking I could keep going. I'm glad this love came back, because I was getting worried. I mean, I know I'm not the biggest person on the planet, but I love to eat and running allows me to eat a lot. Overall, this is a complete win.

Re-Energized

After taking a break from "training" for a specific race or event (even from blogging), I was re-energized. Mentally, I felt happier. Physically, my body was free from pain. I was at one with the universe (ok - not really but running-wise I was).



 Since I've been MIA from the blogging world, I'll highlight some of the events that have happened this past month:

  • I raced in the Mini Motivation Man triathlon - this race was one of my scariest. I still wasn't feeling well but decided to do this race anyways. I ended up swallowing a bunch of water and started choking. As I was choking, I started to full fledge panic for about 30 seconds. My chest got tights and I thought I was going to have to be pulled out by the kayaks. After I stopped choking, I calmed myself down and took some deep breaths. I started swimming again, but very slowly. After the swim I was fine, and I ended up finishing the race under 1:30.
  • I added on to my Orange Theory membership. Instead of only going once a week, I'm going twice a week. I still love it even after going for a month. The workouts are hard and are not part of my typical routine. My weakest area is in TRX training. My upper body is not very strong so I usually get burned in the weight room. I'm trying to get better, and hoping I can get stronger after my 7 months are over.
  • I tried out a new church today. It's really close and I was hoping that I would like it, but I definitely didn't. The church was crowded, people didn't participate during worship, and the priest was monotonous. Oh well at least I tried it.
  • I put together my treadmill!! It's been in pieces in the garage and this past week I finally put it together. I haven't run on it yet, but I'm sure I'll get the chance to in the next couple of weeks. You can count on the summer rains to try to ruin my running plan.
  • I'm probably signing up for 2 more triathlons. I haven't registered yet, but plan to in the next week. You know the rules, it's not 100% truth until you're registered.
That about wraps it up! We're still getting settled into the new house. It's a slow process and we still have a lot to do, but it's ours! We absolutely love the house and can't be any happier. I can't believe we've already been here over a month and have accomplished so much. Our next project is the kitchen - say goodbye to the chili pepper cabinet handles and hello to Ikea cabinets!

Another Day at Orange Theory

I went to Orange Theory this past Sunday and managed not to die like I did last week. Luckily I was only sore for two days as opposed to four. Today I decided to go again (J, the girl I go with wanted to go tonight) and was pleasantly surprised.

So, you have a slew of trainers you can pick from when you go to OT (ha - I sound like a veteran). Each trainer has their own personal touches, so you can either stick with your favorite or switch it up! I typically like to stick with one person, but after tonight, I might switch it up between the two trainers I've gone to.

The trainer I go to on Sunday really like Kettlebells. He likes to interject them in our circuits. The guy tonight was keen on cardio (my favorite). He didn't do as much Kettlebells as the other trainer, but I think I'm okay with that. I think I've figured out their main workouts: Treadmill, Rower, Kettle Bells, Free Weights, and TRX bands. They mix up their circuits but all together I think they need to use those specific workouts during the class.

Ok, so back to today's class. Since it was cardio-specific, he really had us on the treadmill working out. For one of our circuits we did do some rowing in between one of the sets and it definitely reminded me of brick workouts. We had to do .3 miles on the treadmill, followed by 300 meters rowing, then .2 miles followed by 200 meters all the way done to .1 miles. As I finished my first rowing workout to get back on the treadmill, I could feel the weight of my legs. This is perfect for triathlons - dead legs. I pushed through it and finished the circuit completely.

I definitely did well tonight. We get a report after each class that tells us how we did and which zone our heart rate was in and for how long. I'm getting into the red zone more which makes me happy :) Tomorrow is Run Club. Hopefully my legs don't feel like logs. If anything, I can get the lactic acid out of my system.

The Fast Runners

This past week I made an interesting observation: Runners are attracted to fast runners. I think about my own interactions and notice myself in awe of those runners who are the faster ones in the pack. I never really thought about this observation until this past week's run club.

The last couple of times at run club, I have not pushed myself to my limits. I've either gone with guests, or have had"easy runs" scheduled for that particular day. However, this week I was game for a faster run.

I started with the middle group (9 minute milers) and after 5 minutes was ahead of them. The fast runners (7 minute milers) are too fast for me and so I tend to stick a little ahead of the middle group. I'm a in-betweener lol. This week was no different and so I started with the middle group. Two of the guys in the group started taking off, and so I paced behind them as best as I could. The slower group had started a couple of minutes ahead of us, and in no time we had caught up to some of them. I kept going, listening to the mackelmore cd n my iPod :)

Then the "situation" happened. As I was passing one of the guys, he started to speed up. He paced right with me for about half a mile, and then pushed ahead. You could tell that he was not having me pass him, and so I made it a point to gun him down (yes I'm immature - but he started it)...so I kept my pace and just did my best to close the gap. I actually had my Garmin with me and so as I was getting closer I pushed the pace up. Then.. I caught up to him.. And I passed him:) I could hear his footsteps picking up, and so I turned my music up and just tried to focus on the fast beats. At this point the fast runners were catching up and so I tried to match their footsteps to catch up the rest of the way. I finally brought it in, and went back to cheer in my friend g in.

Once he got back from his run, we went to get some water. The guy who was trying to pass me was there, and I tried to avoid any type of contact. However, he came up to me and started talking about how I motivated him. At this point I felt like a jacka$$ because he was just trying to push himself and I thought he was being a jerk. He told me I had a good run and that I did fantastic. A couple of other people approached me later and talked to me about my run.

Then it hit me. The last couple of weeks I had not had one person approach me. Then this week I was ahead of most of the pack and was talked to more. Coincidence, maybe. But this is definitely note worthy and worth paying attention to. If this is true, it's kind of sad. Instead of trying to encourage everyone and talking to everyone in the group, people will only talk to faster runners. Like I said before, I myself am victim of this.

I am going to Run club again this coming week. This time though I'm going to start with the fast group and try to keep up. I'll let you know how that goes..

I better go to bed since I've got orange theory in the morning :) 

Day 2 of Being Sore

I'm still sore. Yesterday I couldn't walk correctly without feeling pain. Did Orange Theory work? I would say so. Maybe a little too well.

Soreness is the result or muscles that are torn due to strain on them. It is also a byproduct of lactic acid and other toxins that are released in your body after a serious workout. The best way to reduce the soreness is by actually getting the blood pumping and trying to excrete that out of your body.. by well.. working out.

So I decided to spin. Nothing serious. Just a light spin that had a consistent cadence for about 35-40 minutes. I stretched afterwards and it helped for about 2 minutes. Then today I woke up and my arm felt like a tree fell on top of it. Seriously, I don't think I've ever been this sore. I've been trying to stretch and relieve the pain, but holy crap. I mean I'm a decently athletic person.

So, what does this sick headed person do? Drive my happy butt to Orange Theory to officially sign up for my membership. I've only decided to only do it once a week since it's taking me over two days to recover. Plus, I figured I need to start my running routine again. I scheduled my coworker and I for Sunday. This time I will be in the red zone for over 60 seconds dammnit.

Side note: You can buy your own heart rate monitor strap, so I did. I also bought a cute tank that says: Base, Push, All Out, Repeat... Awesome motto...

I tried Orange Theory :)

I've been in a rut. A pretty bad rut. I've tried to shake it off and pretend that I'm not in a rut, but it's utterly useless. I don't get excited to go run, I don't enjoy racing, and I don't want to workout. I don't think I've ever felt this way before. So, to get out of my rut I decided to try something new. 

So, one of the girls at work has been talking to me about trying out Orange Theory, especially since I was moving to her neck of the woods. I've heard it before and had seen their booth at some races, but never really approached them or researched them. I figured now was a good time to try something new, and so today was the day. I'm not going to lie, I was excited when I woke up this morning. I wasn't too sure what to expect, but I figured I needed to bring my A-game (I'm pretty lame I know). 

Right when I pull up I see my co-worker already heading in, and follow behind her. I got signed up and put my heart rate monitor on. Signing in was super quick and since we had a lot of time to kill we watched the class before us finish up their workout. I'm sure it was awkward for them, but whatever. Right after they finish up we bolt to the treadmills (I was told their a hot commodity) and put our stuff down. We warm up before class officially starts, and after a couple of minutes, it's time to begin. 

Now, this workout is based off HIT principles. If you started on the treadmill, your first workout involved: the treadmill, kettle bells, and the rower. There were a variety of workouts incorporated in the workout, but it was all based on a specific distance. You had about 12 minutes to do the first circuit, and your goal was to finish every workout listed on the board. I got pretty far down the list, but didn't hit them all. 

Next you moved to the bench. This circuit was a little different because it only had two real workouts: burpees and a workout involving the bench). You did 21 reps of both, then 15, and then 9. If you finished before time was up, there were four other workouts you could do until time was called. I luckily got to finish this interval, but holy crap did burpees suck. At about this time, I already felt sore. 

Then it was back to the treadmill. This interval was treadmill specific and was driven off of time. They had you run up a "hill" for a specific amount of time, sprint for a specific amount of time, and push your pace at certain times. After doing those burpees my legs felt like giant logs that weighed at least 200 pounds. I pushed through it, but it hurt bad.

The last circuit killed me. Utterly destroyed me. It was TRX training bands, pushups, some weight work, and rowing. The TRX training was embarrassing, and I don't think I could even do one normal push up my arms felt so weak. I struggled horrendously in this interval and tried my best, but holy crap are my arms sore as I type. (For the record, I decided to do a quick Jillian Michael's video yesterday (30 Day Shred - Level 2 to be exact), and felt a little sore as a result from it. Not that I'm making excuses for myself, but c'mon that has to be worth something! )

Then it was over. We had finally finished. I was drenched but felt accomplished. I was monitoring my heart rate on the screen (they have it up high so you can see how you're heart rate is progressing), and happy with what I saw, but realized that I need to really push it some more Needless to say, I loved it.  Now, it's expensive, but honestly if you know you're going to do it, it's worth it. 

After thinking it over, I am most likely doing 4 classes a month. It ends up being $59/month without a contract, which is pretty good. Their other packages are more expensive, but again - if you're going to use it, then it's worth it. I didn't get a chance to sign up yet, but I'm hoping I can get it done by the end of the week so I can try to go to another class next weekend :)

Thought of the Moment: Am I really contemplating doing the Rock n Roll half Marathon in Vegas? I think so :) This might be the push I need get out of this rut :) 


National Running Day!!

I never really celebrate national running day, until today. I know I've been in a funk and a probably burnt out over running, but all in all today was fun!!

So to celebrate national running day I went to run with the baptist health Weston run club. The club hasn't been around for very long (maybe a could of weeks) and had over 130 people today. Now, I've been to alot of running groups, but this number is huge!!! They run every wednesday (rain or shine) and try to change up the course loops so its not repetitive.. At the end they have cold water and sometimes bring out products from a sponsor to raffle.

Today in particular I brought my friend gw to come its me and try it out. I ran with him more than halfway to go and sprinted the other half (only after he told me it was okay to race up front). I ended up getting pretty close to the front but couldn't make it!!! After we were done, we didn't want to stay and chit chat so we headed home.

Tomorrow im not sure what ill do for my workouts, but I will tell you I'm already excited for orange theory (first class this Sunday).

Getting Settled

So after all of this time... we finally moved :) It's definitely been a process, but now that we reached the light at the end of the tunnel, I can now admit that it was worth it.

We had been packing boxes for weeks, and trying to get ready for the big move, but no matter how much you plan ahead, you're never ready. The day of the big move, pretty much everything had been done. We called for four of our friends to come over to make it as easy as possible. I must admit, having those extra hands really made the difference. Instead of Greg and I attempting to lift the heaviest things on our own, and fighting over everything in the process, we had other people to help. The move from the old place to the new place took about four hours. For the amount of crap we had, that's pretty frickin impressive.

So enough of the boring stuff. Let's talk about the cool new things that come with living in this new place.

1. We have over 800 sq feet more AND a back yard.
2. There is a Dairy Queen about 5 minutes away (the old place took about 10 minutes).
3. It's really close to the new running club that I joined.
4. The new area is conducive to running and comes with a place to run hills.
5. This area is not as busy or full of traffic.
6. We can paint the walls and not worry about painting them back.

The list goes on and on..

Although moving was awesome, my diet took a turn for the worst (and so did my workouts). I ended up not working out for the week again AND I pretty much ate out at least once a day for a week.  I felt gross, but I knew it would be short term. However, the day after we moved I went out for a nice 4 mile run. It was hot and ridiculously humid, but it felt nice. Slowly but surely I'll get back to my routine, but until then.... I've got some more decorating around the house :)

CD of the week: The Heist by Mackelmore - Uh-mazing...

Stressful Times

These past couple of weeks have been extremely stressful. Between work, buying the house, and everyday life, my world has been absolutely ridiculous. It's affected my mental well being and prevented me from actually completing my workouts.

I did start my workout plan, but couldn't get my two a day workouts in. I did manage to get four of the workouts in, but I missed three of them.

My hill workout was ridiculously hard!! My first minute in, I was already profusely sweating and out of breath. After completing it, I could already feel my muscles screaming at me. I was sore for about two days. The next day I decided to join a local run group for my "easy run." For those of you who know me, none of my runs are ever easy runs. We ended up doing 3.5 miles and by the time I was done my whole shirt was drenched with sweat. The group was big and had different pace groups which will definitely push me. The group stretched before the run and gave out free samples after the run. Overall, it was a solid running group and I'm already looking forward to next week. I took the next two days off  but got my tempo run in on Saturday. I ended up getting in 2.5 miles at 20 minutes.

I must admit, that I always used the word tempo runs, but never quite understood it. I figured I should probably read up about it if I was going to attempt to try it. Tempo runs are actually the type of training a runs that Kenyan athletes train by. These runs are aimed to train an individual at an "uncomfortable pace." This uncomfortable pace is anywhere between 30 seconds to 2 minutes more than your 5k pace (if you're training for a 5k). Now the more uncomfortable the pace, the more efficient you become cardio-wise. I definitely got my butt kicked.

Tomorrow, I start again, hopefully with no interruptions. Also, I'm hoping to get the house closed on Wednesday. Fingers-crossed.

Back from a Week Off!!

I actually took a break last week. Work was ridiculously crazy and I was dead tired after work every day. So I decided that I would take a break from all sorts of working out. Not only did I not do any sorts of any physical activity, but I ate ridiculously horrible. I figured I might as well shock my system :)

And so today I'm back :) I found a new 10 week workout plan that is geared for those runners who participate in a lot of 5Ks. Here is the link to the page: http://running.competitor.com/2011/06/training/the-10-week-advanced-5k-training-plan_31348

After not working out for a week, I must admit it felt nice to get my blood pumping. I wanted to get an early workout in an so I started the first day of my training plan. Today's workout called for an "easy run" that is 30 seconds to 2 minutes slower than your targeted 5K time. I'm not sure of my exact splits, but I know that my first mile was done at about 8:30. All together I did 3.54 in 30 minutes, which is about what I wanted to run today. Not only did I get a run in, but I managed to do a Jillian's Michael Revolution DVD in the afternoon. Since I've decided to restart my crazy workouts, I figured I might as well get some strength training in as well. This week I want to try to manage to do two a day workouts, since this training plan will be getting harder in the next couple of week. Then starting next week I will start incorporating my triathlon training since my next tri is coming up at the end of June.

I must admit that taking a break from running and strength workouts was probably a smart idea. I train year round and constantly feel the aches and pains from all of my workouts. In all those running magazines they always talk about taking some time off, but I figured why take time off when I felt great... Wrong... It's good to let your body recover and sleep in a weekend or two a year lol. Now, I'm not going to get crazy and take off from working out once every couple of months, but I might try to aim to take off a week once a year lol.

I want to wake up early tomorrow and get my strength training done in the morning. Tomorrow afternoon I will try to undertake the hills at a park nearby. Let's just see how it goes :)

Rain Rain Go Away!!!

Lately it's been raining a lot. Typically it's not that big deal, but I've been getting more annoyed about the situation. I love being outdoors and hate when I have to turn to the treadmill. The good thing about my new place is that I can have everything setup so I can have a gym at home.

On Monday one of the local running stores was having a run for Boston. Nothing crazy, just a fun run where they were selling shirts to raise money for the Boston victims. As I was getting ready for the run, it started down pouring and so I figured it would get cancelled. Instead I went for a three mile run on the treadmill. Yay (sarcastic tone). The next day I found it the run never got cancelled. Epic fail lol.

Tuesday I did some spinning on the bike. Nothing really planned. Just kept a steady cadence the whole time for thirty minutes.

Today I was planning on doing some sprints, but after an afternoon full of root bear floats and ice cream.. I wasn't too motivated, plus my day flat out sucked. However, I'm planning to kick butt tomorrow in the morning.

In other news, I did but the Boston shirt and it's super cute :) I might just wear it on my sprints tomorrow.

Getting Focused

My best workouts happen when I'm focused; most days I'm not focused. It's hard to be focused when you've been working out at least 5 days a week for the last 10 years. However, today I was focused. I got on my bike and wanted to pour out every ounce of energy into my workout. Why? Because I was frustrated, anxious, and annoyed. The last couple of weeks small frustrations in my personal life have been building up. So today I let it go, and it felt amazing. 

Letting go of things is not very easy for me. I'm notorious for holding grudges and writing people off who have wronged me, but it's funny how your perspective changes as you get older. You become a little bit more tolerant and I'm assuming it's because you can put yourself in other people's shoes. Let me tell you something, if you can learn to let things go by taking it out on your workout, then not only do you have a badda** workout, but you also experience a little bit more peace in your life. 


So what was my workout today? An hour long cycling session at home with my headphones on. I started with a 6 minute warm-up followed by 5 minute "hill intervals." Every time I hit one minute in my 5 minute hill interval, I increased the gear. My last gear increase made my quads sting, but it only made me want to go faster.  After each hill interval, I slowed down for 3 minutes of a recovery spin in between sets. The headphones definitely helped me with my workout, and I definitely learned that I need newer upbeat music. A new playlist can always put a boost in your workout.

Yesterday's workout was also fantastic. I participated in a 5K for the Broward Victim's Rights Coalition  and they had put together blue and yellow ribbons to pin onto your shirt for the Boston victims. It's crazy how runners can unite for other runner's (or fantastic spectators) they've never even met. I wore my pin proudly :)   


The race itself was humid and muggy. It was the same kind of weather we had last year, but I tolerated it much better this time around. Again, I started off way too fast, but I leveled it off before a mile and a half. I remember looking down at my Garmin for 1.5 miles and seeing it say 11:15. If only I could maintain that pace the whole way through, eh? One day :) I ended up with a 24:08 which was pretty amazing considering the type of weather conditions. The sucky part was that I placed fourth overall for the women's division, getting 1st in my age group. Top four women were only a minute apart, which isn't too bad. 

My next race is Saturday: a 6K for Heroes in Recovery. However, what I'm most excited about is the fun run tomorrow to memorialize the Boston Marathon victims. They're even selling shirts in which all proceeds go towards the Boston Marathon victims. You know I'm getting one :) I'll post a picture up in the next few days!!

The Aftermath

It has been two days since the Boston Marathon tragedy. In these past two days, police have been working hard to try to find clues, while runners of every level try to process what happened.  There have been lots of articles that have come out which have been helpful to read. These articles help people to cope and creates a sense of unity among the community, not just the runner community but the spectator community as well.

Here is an article that has been circulating around: http://jezebel.com/the-people-who-watch-marathons-473405924

And even now I still don't know what to think. Will copy cats try to mimic this explosion at other type of running events? Did they really catch the person behind these attacks? What was the reason behind the attack? All of these questions are still left unanswered. It's a scary time to be a runner. However, anyone who knows any type of runner will know that we are not quitters. We will not be defeated.

Speaking of defeated, that is how I felt after this afternoon's run. It completely sucked. I tried running sprints, key word here is "tried". My sprints consisted of a 4 minute warm with 30 second sprints followed by 30 second recovery jogs. I ended up doing 20 minutes all together which panned out to over 2 miles. I mean it was an okay run based on my time, but I was just so tired and drained that it wasn't fun. Once I came home I jumped on my bike and spun for 20 more minutes.  

Tomorrow is another day.. and a week until my closing... sigh.. there's still so much left to do lol..

Praying for Boston

Today tragedy struck Boston during the Boston Marathon. Two explosions went off at the finish line causing harm to over a hundred spectators and killing three innocent people. It is absolutely appalling and heartbreaking. My prayers have been sent to that broken city.

The Boston Marathon is one of the most prestigious races. You have to freaking apply to even be considered to run the race (even if you're qualified)!!! It's pure insanity and every amateur runner's dream. I've had friends run it in the past and have been in awe of their pure awesomeness :) Although, I've never wanted to run it, I can't help but wonder what it would be like to qualify for that specific race.

So today was just another year in the Boston Marathon. The city shuts down and the city stands and watches as it is taken over by runners. But this year turned out to be different as chaos and fear struck in  every persons heart when they heard the first initial explosion. The scene is absolutely devastating on tv, and I couldn't even imagine what it was like at the actual scene. They keep replaying the initial scene, where runners are just pulling together all of their energy for the finish line when an explosion throws them off their tracks. People fall, smoke is everywhere, and you see first responders running into the smoke. It's just sad. People physically train for months for this race, raise money, spend a good amount of money, and mentally prepare for the pain and cramps they will endure for 26.2 miles.

I've only done one marathon and I'll never do one again. I know the pain you experience those last final miles, the mental wall you hit at some point during the run, and the time you sacrifice training for months. However, it's all worth it once you cross that finish line and accomplish something you've never accomplished before. For those people in Boston who didn't get to cross that finish line, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that because of a stupid act from a coward you didn't accomplish what you set out to do that day. Instead, you were stopped and told to go somewhere else without any idea of where to go and probably in extreme pain. You couldn't reach your family and you had no idea what was going on. I would probably break down at this point, start crying and go to a random corner until I was able to remotely move again. I'd be scared and confused, just like everyone else. For those of you who were watching those runners, cheering them on, and part of the Boston Marathon team, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that someone or some people ripped that enthusiasm and encouragement right out of you. All you wanted to do is support your loved one and put together one of the best events in the United States. For those of you who crossed that finish line, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that someone or some people ruined your excitement and adrenaline. You ran your heart out, and then it was crushed. It was crushed because everyone around you was saddened and dazed.

I ended up running my measly four miles on my treadmill today, since the weather was bad. I turned on the TV and watched the replays of what happened in Boston today. I'm not going to lie it made me angry to the point where I was sprinting on the treadmill. It made me angry that whoever this was went after runners and their families. It made me angrier that they had no idea who it was or why they did it. I hope this find this moron soon, and throw the book at him.


Unwind

I plan my long runs during the weekend when I'm not in a time crunch. These long runs help me to unwind and clear my head from all the crap that happened the previous week. Depending on my mood, I might even go Garmin-free.

When I was training for my marathon, my long runs were about 15-20 miles long. Now, my long runs are 4-6 miles long. This distance is perfect for me since I'm training for 5ks. I never really have a training plan on my long runs, except to hit each mile under a certain amount of time. Today I wanted to hit each mile under 10 minutes and I hit my goal for each mile (I was not Garmin-free today). My distance was 5.13 in about 46 minutes. Yes I choose to do random distances.

Overall, my run was uneventful. I didn't really encounter people along the way, but then again, I never do around here. I was super excited to do a brick tomorrow, until I realized it was this morning.. Major fail.. Tomorrows I want to plan on doing a brick on the indoor trainer. .Sigh.. Why can't I pay attention to details???

Just Another Day in Paradise!!

Today I kicked my own arse doing sprints. I had high hopes for doing mile repeats, but died out after .35. Instead I did .35 repeats. I only did 4 of them but they killed my legs. I guess I've got to slowly build up to mile repeats if I want to do them right. Either that or I just have to start out slow (which is pretty much impossible for me to do).

I started off my workout by jogging almost .75. I then attempted to do my first mile repeat and died out about .35. Even though I was disappointed, I didn't want to overexert myself and die. So I rested in between laps and continued again. I knew I had to push it if I was only going to do .35 repeats, so I actually used the Lap button on my Garmin to measure my speed on each repeat. Let me tell you something, that Lap button on the Garmin is really handy! I kept my repeats in between 2.14 and 2.24 minutes. Not too shabby, but definitely need to improve my speed. I'm guessing that short and speedy runs will be in my near future. All together, I did about 4.25 miles today, but it honestly kicked my butt.

This week my legs have been shot since I started to get back on my bike. Yesterday I kept a continuous decent cadence cycling on my indoor trainer for 45 minutes and on Monday I did an easy Garmin-free four mile run. My focus right now is to start triathlon training again. I've got two this season lined up so far, and we will see if I sign up for anymore. As of now my 5K schedule is pretty full with races lined up the next couple of weeks. I'm hoping this will help me maintain my speed. I'll keep you all tuned on how my races go and the training I do to get there!

On a side note, here is an awesome shirt company that I discovered while browsing the internet: https://www.onemoremilerunning.com/?ccUser=

I definitely see a couple of shirt purchases coming soon :) Especially the "If you see me collapse, pause my Garmin" I love it!!!

Race to End Homelessness...

Today was the Race to End Homelessness 5K. It was an incredible race and I'm so happy that I could be a part of it and support a great cause. This is definitely a race that I will plan to do every year .

The weather this morning was cold: about 61 degrees with a wind chill. Since the run was on the beach, it felt extra miserable with the ocean breeze. When it's cold, I typically wear long sleeve shirts and pants because I'm always freezing, but today I had on only my long sleeve shirt. I stuck with this outfit because I knew it would get hot during the run because we were starting later in the day: 8a.m.!!


On my way to the race!

We line up to start and I decided to get up near the front. I usually hang in the back and like to weave up through the crowds, but it takes a lot of energy weaving through everyone. The race starts, and we're off. Everyone starts off their pace and the front group takes off. As we start running, a young woman gets a little ahead of me, and so I decided to maintain pace with her. I hang back a little, but try to keep strong.

I pass the first mile at 7:12 and I already know that I'll be burning out by mile 3. I had started too fast again and need to work harder on not starting too fast. When I start out too fast, I reach a point of exhaustion and fatigue early on in the race making it hard to pick up my speed and "kick" at the end. I keep going though and try to stay close to the woman in front of me. However, once we get to mile 3 it's over, this young woman picks up her pace and strides towards the finish. I try to maintain the same pace and run it in at a 23:59.

Now, during my races I definitely have a "kill me now" moment when I push my limits. My breathing hurts, and I have pain somewhere in my body. I always think about how easy it would be to give up, but at the same time I always yell at myself for even having that thought. This internal battle always happens during my intense runs. However, my determined attitude keeps me from giving up. I love pushing myself and challenging myself to do better. I don't think that part of me will ever go away. Even whenever we decide to have kids. I'm definitely happy about my time and have now entered the under 24 min 5K group. I eventually would like to get under 23 mins, but let's take it one step at a time.

On a side note: my friend N tore her ACL and MCL this past week. That type of injury is so incredibly hard, and I feel horrible that she is facing this injury. Not just because of how painful it is, but also because it forces you to be immobile. Now if you know N, you know she's always on the move, which makes having this injury that much worse. I've been praying that she has a quick recovery, and can slowly regain mobility in her knee. I'm hoping that the MRI results she receives is good news, until then I plan on checking in on her every day.




 
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