Following a Training Plan

So remember how I posted that I broke my 5k time of 23 minutes for a 22:32? Well of course I posted the news on Facebook and got a ton of responses. In the midst of those responses was a comment from an old friend who said that they could help me with my time. As it would end up, he would make me a training plan free of charge.. I'm so unbelievably hyped.. This week was my first week. Here's how it's went so far (I had to switch running schedule around due to personal conflicts but for the most part I've kept the workouts the same):

Monday: 6x400s (1:52 each); 6x400 recovery in between (2:15 each). 

Here were my splits:
6x400s: 1:39; 1:42; 1:44; 1:48; 1:55; 1:51
6x400s recovery: 2:15; 2:11; 2:15; 2:19; around 5 minutes; 2:09

As you can tell I took a break after my fifth sprint. I had extreme cramping like I've never felt before and had to stop. I never stop but I had to listen to my body on this one and was glad I did. I'm not sure if the cramping was a result of me not feeling well the past couple of days or my IBS flaring up. Regardless, I completed my workout.

Tuesday: I woke up early to do my three miles. I had to get it in under 24 minutes which I'm used to doing. After my second mile I started severely cramping again and had to take a break. I ended up stopping the clock for about 5 minutes to recover and completed my workout (with stopping the clock) in 24:03. Again, there was no sense punishing my body. 

Wednesday: i went to a track workout to help out with a friends speedwork. I paced her while she ran and really tried to focus on her and not myself. She ended up doing well and I enjoyed being out on the track. At the very end of the workouts they had a speed contest where you raced everyone who was there on the 100 and I kicked booty. The very last 100 I clocked 18 seconds.. Ridiculous I know.. I'm pretty sure I'll be back there next  week.

Thursday: easy 30 minute spin. Let's just say I definitely enjoyed this. My abs and quads are burning from those stupid 100s yesterday. Ha!

Tomorrow I've gotta run 4 miles.. I'm hoping I don't cramp up like I have been on the past couple of runs.. 

In other news, I submitted a request to write a blog article for a running community. I am so unbelievably excited and can't wait to start.. Ahhhh wish me luck :) 


Little Tiny Voice in my Head

... You suck.. Some of my thoughts while working out are: you can't keep going, it's not worth it, give up... I try to push harder, and most of the times I kick that little tiny voice's butt. Today was definitely no different.

Orange theory workout: 12 minutes of treadmill (3% incline): 2 minutes of push (8.5 mph); 1 minute base (6 mph); 2 minutes of push (8.5 mph); 1 minute base (6 mph); 2 minutes of push (8 mph); 1 minute base (6 mph); 1 minute all out (9 mph); rest

12 minutes in the weight room: 15 chest presses (15 pounds); 10 bench rows on each arm (15 pounds); 200 meters row (repeat). I did almost three rounds of this circuit and ended up chest pressing 20 pounds (kept the 15 pounds for the bench rows)

12 minutes on the treadmill: .200 meters; 200 meters rowing (less than 1 minute); 10 kettle bell swings (30 pounds); 10 sumo squat rows (30 pounds). I ended up doing almost 4 sets of this circuit. 

12 minutes in the weight room: 10 lateral arm raises (5 pounds); 20 jumping jack presses (5 pounds); 10 arm dips; 10 flying squirrels on sbt straps; 10 burpees. I ended up doing almost three full sets of this workout. The last set I did arm dips on the sbt straps which were so ridiculously hard. 

I pushed hard and ended up pushing harder than ever. So take that little voice. In other news, I broke a 23 minute 5k for a grand total of 22:32.. I am so ridiculously stoked that I can't get over it. I have a friend who is creating a training plan for me to help me break 22 minutes. Let's hope it works.. 

Winter Olympics

I love the Winter Olympics. True, I love the summer Olympics more, but I still love watching the Winter Olympics. I think my favorite thing about watching these sports, is hearing the athletes' stories. Some of their stories are so inspiring, like the male skier who has a brother who suffers from a disability but is his biggest fan. Everything he does, he does for his brother and he works so hard to try and get the gold. 

Some of these stories are not about inspiration, but humbleness as well. Like the American speed skater who was expected to medal but came out number 8. He took his loss gratefully and said that he did the best he could today, but it just wasn't enough. Sometimes, we need to accept that our best isn't the best and move on. Those days where we accept the truth make us work harder and stronger.

These people are amazing. They are considered the best in their sport and represent our country. I can't even imagine what that feels like. Aside from being incredibly proud, I'm sure they feel a great amount of pressure. Some of them thrive off this pressure, while others crash and burn. Regardless, they are doing something that only a small percentage can do and I can't help but cheer them on when they win, and pray for them when them get injured. So afar the events have been incredible, and I'm hoping they continue to impress me... 

Crap talkers

No matter what you do in life, people will talk crap about you. Although hearing words of negativity can slice you like a knife, the way you respond to those people is critical. Because at the end of the day those negative words people say about you is truly not about you, but about them.

I can remember that moment when I was riding the car for the homecoming parade and I could clearly hear the other team's football player mention out loud.. "Why is she a homecoming princess? She's ugly..." Or I could also remember the time when I lost a good amount of weight my senior year and my family casually questioned over Christmas if I as anorexic or not.. I remember the tears welling up my eyes a a I tried to blink them away.. No matter what I did, I was bound to have someone say something negative about me. The thing about me is that I'm a people pleaser and maybe to me those negative words people said about me affected me more than anyone else. However as time passed and I grew older, I realized more and more that the things people said about me really had nothing to do with me.

Once I started running, I think I truly found myself. I learned to challenge myself and push myself to limits I never thought I could reach. Every time I beat a time I felt like I had accomplished some small victory and I set new goals. Running wasn't just about beating times but gave me opportunities to think things over. I can remember in high school when I would just let my mind drift as I ran miles and miles. I still do that today..

As much as I have accomplished, I truly think my greatest joy comes in those races where I'm cheering others on. One of my top races has to be when I walked/jogged the Disney princess half marathon with my friends N and K. It was K's first half marathon and she worked hard. She ended up finishing the race and challenged herself more than she has ever physically challenged herself. To this day she chokes up when she talks about it.

However, during the Disney princess race we encountered a woman who pushed us out of the way as she jogged by saying under her breath that we were too slow and needed to get out of her way. Honestly, it took self-restraint to not push this woman back and tell her that she wasn't going to win the race or that I could smoke her ass in this race if I retried. Even though my thoughts were childish, I couldn't believe that she would say something like that. How do you think that comment would make someone feel? However, at the end of the day I knew that if I said those comments I was thinks about in my head, I would be no better than she was.

So what? Why this blog entry?? Well I came across this article:http://www.womensrunningcommunity.com/running-with-bullies/ and felt like I had to write something about it. As I read this woman's blog entry I grew more and more upset. I was appalled at the way other people made her feel. And for what?? This woman is out there trying to accomplish something for herself.. Pushing herself to new limits and accomplishing small victories just like me.. Yet some runners out there have take a comment and put her down, for what? To make themselves feel better? Well congratulations for being a jerk... 

So what can we do as a running community? I guess the only answer is really to cheer others on. Say words of encouragement during a race, after a race, or whenever you see someone working hard during a training run. It's incredible how simple words of encouragement can make people pick up the pace or even finish a race. So I encourage everyone out there to cheer for someone the next opportunity you have.. Because I promise you.. The person on the receiving end of the cheer might just need it at that moment in time :) 

Biggest loser uproar

Yesterday I watched the biggest loser finale, and was shocked by one of the contestants. I had only watched a couple of shows and recognized some of the contestants, so tuning into the finale wasn't a very big deal to me. I cheered for the contestants as they revealed their weight and have to admit that I may have shed a couple of tears. The final three contestants walked out and when the female contestant, Rachel, walked out, my jaw dropped. She looked like a walking skeleton. I hate to be so blunt, but that was it was hard not to think that way. The strong and vibrant girl I had seen on some of the episodes had whittled away and looked about ten years older. 

As someone who is constantly on social media sites, I turned to Facebook to see what other people were thinking. The biggest loser wall was flooded with comments about this girls weight. Websites were already headlining the story. Even though I was appalled by the results, I truly felt bad for this young woman. She put herself out there for the world to see and may have taken this challenge a bit too far. But, what do we define too far? Once you lose more than your goal weight? Once you can fit two legs in one of your old pant legs?? The question is.. Does the person realize they took it too far?

Fast forward to today. I continued to look through different posts and websites about Rachel from the biggest loser and somehow ended up finding a link to the first biggest loser female winner: Ali Vincent.i found out that  she had her own site: http://livewellnetwork.com/Live-Big-with-Ali-Vincent/episodes/Ali-Vincent-Steps-on-Scale-and-Reveals-Her-Weight-Gain/9405085. This pairticular link posted has to do with her slow weight gain since she lost the show. She talks about how she is under constant scrutiny about her weight because of the show. How much do you weigh is often the first question people ask her and the fact that she has gained makes her feel angry and embarrassed. I highly recommend her show it is incredible!!

It's crazy to me how weight can make you feel so many emotions. People judge you by a number instead of the way you look. Even worse, the person themselves let others make them feel this way about their own weight. We need to stop. We need to indulge every once in a while. We need to live... 

 
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