Just a Little Six Mile Jog

I've been thinking about doing a 10k in the next month and figured I would go out this morning to try a 6 mile jog. I haven't hit this distance in a couple of months and wanted to keep it nice and simple. The jog itself was amazing, even though I nailed my elbow on a fence post and have a painful bruise to show for it.  During my run I got to sort out a lot of things that have been weighing on my mind, and I also got to plan out my next couple of weeks. Although it was hot I still managed to maintain a 8:32 min/mile pace which is pretty darn good in my opinion.

Even though this week has been pretty stressful and busy with work,  I always find time for my workouts. Working out is important to me, and keeps me sane (well, as sane as I could be). So let's start off by reviewing my week!

On Monday I got my Orange Theory on. It was kind of depressing because my friend, J, couldn't make it. She's my little workout partner and definitely pushes me during my workouts. Regardless, I still managed to get a decent workout in. We had six 7 minute round workouts that were broken up between the treadmill, weight room and rower. On the treadmill we mostly stayed around base pace, which is about a 6.2 speed for me. In the weight room we had to use free weights, the dolly, and the SBT straps. Although I don't remember the workouts for the weight room or rower, I can tell you that I "upped" my free weights to 15/20 pounds. My arms were sore for two days lol.

Tuesday was my off day. It's always nice to sit and do nothing on my "off" days. And for the record, I literally did nothing that night lol.

On Wednesday I got to run with my amazing run club! Of course I started off way too fast, but slowed down when I came up behind two guys who were maintaining a decent pace (I may have been literally right behind them - invading their space lol). I figured that instead of pulling my usual crazy antics and burning myself out, I would hang back until I felt like I could push it all the way until the end. It turns out one of the guys in that pack had the same idea, and halfway into our run, he took off and I tried staying close behind him. That didn't last long and I lost him towards the end. I did manage to finish with a kick and averaged a 7:30 pace for 3.36 miles. I've been struggling with my runs, and I actually felt really good after this run. This makes me excited for next week :)

On Thursday I had Orange Theory again! Although I was bummed because my friend, J, couldn't make this class again, I was excited to find out my favorite instructor was pregnant! She is absolutely adorable and I'm so excited for her!! She still managed to kick my arse with 2 minute rounds between the treadmill, weight room, and rower. On the treamill, our rounds consisted of maintaining base pace (I upped it to 6.5), a push pace (8.0), and walking on a 15% incline. In the weight room, our rounds consisted of stepups with a bicep curl, chest flys, kettlebell swings, dumbell deadlifts, and ground to overhead presses. On the rower, our workouts consisted of free rowing, tricep dips, ab tucks, regular crunches, and squat rows. My heart rate monitor wasn't working during class so I didn't get to monitor my activity level which kinda sucked. However, on the bright side I dominated the crunches workout and got the most crunches out of everyone in a 2 minute period: 81 (yes, I know - I'm competitive - it's part of who I am; I can't help it lol).

On Friday I had another rest day, which worked out since I was heading out for a friend's birthday. I had an absolute blast even though I ate horribly the entire day. Yes, absolutely horrible - I flinched when I got on the scale this morning and all day today I've eaten pretty clean because of it. Some of you might think, "Well what's horrible?" Let me tell you, two frosted donuts, a Caesar Salad crepe from a mall food court and mall candy, a brownie, a chocolate chip cookie, pizza for dinner, and a chocolate dessert. Yup, I know absolutely ridiculous. I occasionally have days like this though (like maybe once or twice a month) and am pretty good at getting back on track. This month has just been horrible because of the birthdays and events we have had.

Now, October is going to be crazy too. I've got a bachelorette party and my best friend's wedding, but I'm going to try my hardest to be good with my workouts and food (Halloween totally doesn't help lol). The first event up will be this weekend with the bachelorette party. I'm super excited for it, but have to figure out how I can get in some workouts in during the weekend.... I'll let you know how that goes.

Another Busy Week!

These last couple of weeks have been absolutely insane. They seem to run together as I try to get by from one day to the next. Even though my life is hectic between church, work, and regular everyday life stuff, I have still managed to get my workouts in.

Last Sunday I got my orange theory on with the only 1.5 hour class they have. It was absolutely insane and it kicked my butt, and I absolutely loved every single second of it. I was sore for two days after that class, but what really sucked, was that I had orange theory again the next day. I wanted to take it easy, but then there was a guy in class who was a total jerk. He had to be shown a lesson. See, you can be an arrogant a-hole during orange theory. You can't cut everyone in line, show off on the treadmill, throw your weights around, and huff loudly during each of your workouts. Because if you do.. You might just need to be schooled by a girl... Sure, I'm competitive. But, he totally had it coming.. And it was funny to watch in the process. I ended up lapping him by a round.. With time to spare lol...

On Tuesday I did absolutely nothing and it was divine. Wednesday I followed my normal ritual of going to run club. Of course I had a blast. We joked and talked before heading out to our run. The run was hard, but I still managed a 7:30ish pace. I'm hoping I can get closer to the 7:00 minute miles soon.

On Thursday I had another orange theory day. It definitely felt easier than usual. Maybe I didn't push myself that hard, but I felt like I could have done more. On Friday I took another day off and on Saturday I got in an easy 5 miles in under 44 minutes. It felt great. Then today: another 5k. It was my last one that I'm signed up for. This course kicked my butt last year and so I was dreading running on it today. I definitely kicked its butt and finished in 23:28. Not too shabby, but not one of my recent  bests. Regardless, I'll take it. Tomorrow I go back to my normal routine of orange theory. I just hope tomorrow is harder than last Thursday's workout.

A Relaxing Weekend

I didn't really have any crazy plans this weekend which was awesome! The only things I really had scheduled to do this weekend was run that 5K I had previously mentioned, go to church, and go to my Orange Theory class.

So let's start with my Saturday. I woke up early to go to the race and pick up one of my friends to take to the race. As I was getting ready for the race, my friend texted me that she wasn't going to be able to make it. All I could think of was, "Crap. I always get lost, I better leave now." So I took my time getting to the race, and I did end up getting lost twice. Yup, twice. Once I parked, I headed over the the start line to check out any cool memorial stuff they might have and wait for my other friend to get there. Here are my pictures :)


My time was 24:51. Nothing too crazy, but it's okay! I died in the heat with a heavy t-shirt and hat. I've got another race next weekend which I'm hoping to do better in. Later on in the day I ended up going to church where I ran into one of the older members of my women's club. Since I ended up going to church on my own since my husband had to study for his next final, we got to keep each other company. It was pretty fun :)

Today I was scheduled for an hour and a half Orange Theory class. I woke up dreading the class. I was pretty tired, but I ended up going anyways. I'm glad I did. Class was brutal and this is what our trainer had in store for us:

Partner workout - 12 rounds total (One person started on the treadmill, the other on the rower)

If you were on the treadmill first, you had to complete 
  • .125 miles at an 11% incline
  • After the treadmill, you had to do 6 Kettle Bell squat presses/each side
  • Next, you had 12 Goblet Squats
Once you finished that workout, you switched with your partner. You had no set goal for the rower, you just had to switch once your partner was finished with their workout.We ended up repeatedly doing this block for a little over 30 minutes. 

After this workout was over you had your choice of starting on the rower or doing jump rope. I chose jump rope. For this block, this is what you had to complete:
  • 300 jump ropes
  • 1 mile run (I got it done in 7:27 - it sucked after doing that whole workout)
  • 50 Kettle bell swings
  • .375 miles at 3% incline
  • 20 pushups
  • .15 miles at 6% incline
Once I get this workout complete I had to move on to the next workout:
  • Burning 60 calories on the rower - we got new rowers which are amazing!!
  • 50 V-ups (it was ridiculously brutal)
  • 40 Wall Balls
  • 30 Clean squat presses
  • 20 bench jumps with a burpee
There was more but I couldn't finish it. I burned over 600 calories in class. I never really burn that many calories because my cardio level is more efficient that most making calorie burning more difficult. However burning that many calories meant that I got to enjoy my deliciously amazing breakfast which was my meal shake (Phood powder (google it because it's amazing) + banana + almond milk), eggs with spinach, and turkey bacon.

My workout sounds crazy, huh? That's why I'm lying in bed right now doing nothing lol.... Tomorrow I have another Orange Theory class, i just hope I can feel my body... 

Another Week of Paradise!!

This week was crazy busy. I was pretty much out and about everyday after work this week. I am an everyday routine kind of girl, so this week really threw me for a loop.

On Monday I had my typical Orange Theory day. When I first got to class, they had a puzzled look on their face because they couldn't figure out why I wasn't in the class. It seemed like they made a mistake. I'm always in that class with my friend J, and she had gotten in, so why wasn't I scheduled too? Her and I are a two pack deal (It's crazy, even though she's older than I am, she is a powerhouse and pushes me during my workouts). So they let me in the class anyway and I am so glad I got in because I needed the workout. We had intervals on the treadmill where we ran .5 miles at 3% incline, .4 miles at 5% incline, .3 miles at 7% incline, .2 miles at 9% incline, and .1 mile at 11% incline with 250 meters of rowing in between each of those sets. I finished that set with four minutes to spare. In the weight room we had a variety of sets which included dolly pullouts, side lunges, bosu ball toe taps, and bicep curls with SBT straps. We had a couple of other exercises but I can't remember all of them. Hey, in my defense it's a lot of stuff to try to remember!

Wednesday was run club night! Of course I look forward to it every week. This week we had our usual group, and I ran 3.63 miles in about 28 minutes. The run was hot and humid, but I love that feeling of pushing through that type of weather and getting all sweaty. I know it's gross, but I really do absolutely love it.

On Thursday I had meetings that night so I decided to wake up early and get a spin in. I spun with a quick cadence for about 30 minutes while I was in the  living room. Overall this was nothing crazy, and honestly, I never really feel like I'm working out when I'm spinning for that short period of time. Regardless, I got a workout in. The rest of the day passed by quickly with work and meetings. My first meeting was for an executive board 5k meeting with a police athletic league. Since I'm trying to put together my own 5k (we have now accepted it'll be in the next 3 years), we figured this would be a good idea for me to do and learn from. My next meeting was with my church group, and I have to admit it was fun.. I'm on a committee chair this year so I have to play nice and be more social..

I took today off just like I took Tuesday off. I've got a 5k in the morning tomorrow and figured I would run hard tomorrow. Now, I'm not going to be crazy, but I'll run at a decent pace. Tomorrow's race is too big for me to try and PR in, and I don't think I'm in shape to PR even if I tried. I was pleasantly surprised at last weeks race where I got a 22:39.

So how do I wind down the week? By making myself a grilled cheese and watching Hunger games while taking selfies with my dog.. Yup.. That's what I totally did tonight while my husband took his final. Lol, I'm so ridiculous. I do want to leave you with my favorite song of the moment: "Animals" by Maroon 5. I think you should check it out :)  but before you do, here are our pictures of tonight.



#NeverForget

Today is one of those days where you just stand still and reflect on one of the greatest tragedies that happened to the United States. Each of us can remember where we were, what we were doing, and how we felt the day terrorists attacked the World Trade Center. It almost seemed as the whole thing was a movie, no one truly believed something like that could ever happen. In a snap of a finger, America's heart had been destroyed. However in the midst of that destruction, ordinary people faced death to save lives. Later on, you would hear stories about how instead of running away, people ran to help, and instead of letting evil triumph, others decided to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. To those of you who are in heave smiling down at us, thank you, and we will never forget what happened that day.

Even though I have a ton to write about regarding my workouts, I'm going to save it until tomorrow... I think today all we should do is focus on what is important.

I love Soccer :)

Granted I am not a crazy hardcore soccer fan, but I do love soccer. In high school I played from 8th grade to 11th grade on the Varsity team and I loved it. I miss running around the field kicking the crap out of soccer balls; I miss my teammates and dressing up in uniform. So, when the Colombia vs Brazil game was scheduled in the area, I figured I would get my parents tickets as a super early Christmas present. Here are some pictures of us before the game.

 
 
 
Getting to the game was insane. The stadium is pretty close to our house and it took us almost 2 hours to get there and park. We raced into the stadium and caught the beginning of the game. I have to admit, I got us some pretty kickbutt seats. Here are some pictures of us at the game.
 



 
 
Although we lost, the game was a blast. I'm glad I got to experience this with my parents. They were so thankful for the tickets and having the opportunity to spend time with me. Even though I had to wake up early for the gym, it was totally worth it.
 
I dragged butt at the gym today, but sometimes we have days like that and it's okay. I worked hard and did the best I could, and that's all I could ask for. Tomorrow I've got a 5K. I'm not too hopeful of my time since I've been in and out of running and my workouts, but we'll see.... Wish me luck!!


The Gratitude Challenge

Yesterday I was challenged on Facebook to participate in something called the Gratitude Challenge. This type of challenge is awesome because it allows you to focus on all of the positive things in your life instead of the negatives. I know we always try to focus on the positive things, but with all of the things we've got going on in our everyday lives, it's kind of hard.

Most people know me as a pretty happy person, who is always smiling and seems to be enjoying life. They're right, for the most part I am. However, my life hasn't always been sunshine and rainbows. I've seen my fair share of demons and have battled with self-esteem issues my whole life. The psychologist in me blames all of these issues on the absence of a father figure in my early childhood. Because I didn't have a dad growing up, I strived to be perfect. When I wasn't perfect, things were bad and I felt like an empty space. I've hit some pretty rock bottom places, but have always seemed to get myself out. I pretended like everything was okay when it wasn't, and I got good at playing that game. I actually ended up going to see a therapist and it was probably the best decision of my life. It was honestly an investment in my mental well being, which I deserved. I took the therapist's words to heart and have never looked back.

Fast forward to now, and I feel like I've become a well-adjusted (hahaha or so I like to pretend) adult. I've surrounded myself with an incredible support system and try to welcome the positive in instead of the negative. I pray a lot and try to give back to not only the community but to other countries as well. I've got so much to be thankful for, and I think when you look at your life in its entirety, you realize that you don't have it so bad.

So why did I lay this out on the table? Because I think sometimes we pretend to have a perfect life when we don't. We don't want people to see our weaknesses or our struggles. I remember I used to feel like I was so alone when I was struggling with certain issues. I felt like I couldn't share my problems with anyone else for fear of being judged. I realized that thinking this way is probably the stupidest thing ever. It didn't make sense. How else are we supposed to be lifted up when there's no one there to lift us up? I've learned better...

So what now? Honestly, I'm not too sure. I'm still taking it one day at a time. I make a lot of mistakes, but I learn from them and move on. I'm not perfect, and I'm slowly starting to accept that, but overall, I'm pretty happy with who I am right now. I'm sure you're over my deep thinking post, so I'll leave by saying.. Try the gratitude challenge.. I promise you'll enjoy it :)

Oh Silly Doctors..

This weekend I got to take off my heart rate monitor!!!! It felt like I had been wearing that thing for an eternity. I received my results today, but was disappointed in what it reported: pretty much nothing. My heart was normal. The biggest thing that they were concerned about (still) was how low my heart rate was dropping while I was sleeping. His recommendation was to adjust my lifestyle; however, I think the cardiologist realized that wasn't going to happen. He tried talking to me about medication and pacemakers, but I kinda tuned out at that point. Regardless I was going to go to another doctor. Oh silly doctors...

Enough about doctors, let's talk about how awesome this weekend was :) On Friday I ran three miles after work and then grabbed dinner with one of my friends from Orlando and her mom. We sat around and talked for about two hours, and it was a blast! I came home and pretty much passed out.

My Saturday started out with running to my Orange Theory class. After getting killed in class, I slowly ran back home. I honestly don't remember what we did in class, but it obviously kicked my arse because I was sore for like two days afterwards. After coming back from class, I threw on my bathing suit and headed to the beach to meet up with friends. I absolutely LOVE the beach. It's one of my favorite places. I hung out for a couple of hours and then headed back home to have dinner with my parents. They came over for a while and we ordered takeout while watching TV. I had a Black Bean Veggie burger with a baked potato. Little fun fact about me: I love veggie burgers; however, I am not a fan of turkey burgers...

On Sunday I wanted to head out for a 5 mile run. I decided to try to run on the trail where I lost my headband, hoping I would find it along the way. As I ran, I kept looking down, trying to see if I could find this thing. After 10 minutes, I FOUND IT!!!! I was so flipping excited; this pretty much made my day. Once I got home, I got ready to head down to Miami for a pool party for my friend A's 30th birthday. On my way down on the Turnpike, I saw fire in the sky and knew something was wrong. After 10 minutes, I hit dead stop traffic. Apparently a vehicle had caught on fire and the victim had to be airlifted. I have to admit it was one of the coolest things to witness, although it was a super sad circumstance. I give credit to those guys who do that job. They must witness a lot of bad crap, and that has to be hard to watch sometimes.

After about an hour after the accident, I finally got to the party and hung out with a ton of friends. I had such a blast. On my drive home I realized that I still hadn't taken out the bulk trash and cursed at myself. It was starting to get dark, and I did not want to take out all that junk out in the pitch black. Once I got home, I ran back and forth to try to get all of the trash out. We had ripped out the rest of the kitchen the previous week, so taking that crap out was a b$%@. I finally got it all done, and washed up before watching Magic Mike. Honestly, it was such a terrible movie!! But, I totally had to watch it lol...

On Monday I had another Orange Theory workout in the morning. I ran to the gym and got killed.... We had one minute round workouts where we had 45 seconds to transition from station to station. The instructor pretty much wanted you to work hard the entire minute that you were at your station. It was tough, and I was dreading running back home. Luckily, my friend J, drove me back home. Once I got home I worked on the front yard, and was surprised by my husband and the rest of the bachelor party he was celebrating with. I was so excited to have the guys there and have the opportunity to hang out with them for a little bit before they parted ways.

Overall this weekend kicked butt... however, I am so tired from all the shenanigans... I will tell you what I'm excited about this week: my new Maroon 5 CD I should be receiving this week. Yes, I am probably the only person who buys CDs. I am so obsessed with the song MAPS and can't wait to hear it a billion times...
 
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