Workout Prison

First I must begin by saying I'm sorry to my two followers for not posting lately. Life has been really busy.  I promise to update more often. 


Have you ever felt like you were in a fitness prison?

On a normal basis, I am a creature of habit.  I could eat the same thing everyday and never get tired of it. When I first started working out I had the same problem.  It is important to change up what you do in regards to fitness.Recently, I found myself feeling in a fitness prison.While I change up my workout regularly,I felt burnt out.  I realized that running was really burning me out.  I was finding no pleasure and would dread going out for my daily runs.  I decided to switch it up, and do some treadmill running, this did nothing for me.  I found myself running and constantly watching the distance.  I just wanted the run to end.  It is really frustrating when you are at the top of your game and then suddenly you can't stand the thought of walking a mile, especially when you have a marathon creeping up slowly. 

So to overcome this I did a couple of things.  I stopped beating myself up about it.  If you really do not want to run,  don't run.  I focused on other parts of my training, the parts that I love.  I put some more focus into my strength training.  And I have to tell you a secret........

I cannot tell you how strong I feelwhen I lift.  I am filled with confidence when I do things that I otherwise could have never done.   Lifting makes me reflect.  It makes me think about how far I have come and about all of my accomplishments. 


Next,I changed up the route.  It is convenient having a running route so close to home but I was finding myself tired of the same old site.  So I went with a friend to the C&O Canal. 

I will tell you that the picture does not even do the route justice.  I have never done a trail run,but it really was fantastic.  I will have to do this again. I now find myself ready to hit the pavement with a positive attitude. 

Never again will I do a 5K!

Many of the things on my bucket list have been about Travel.  As I have begun to become healthier I have begun to add some health milestones to my list.  I wanted to be under 200 pound, wear smaller clothes, and look good naked.   I find that I am shifting.  Now I just want to be strong and fit.  I want to push myself and do things that I did not think was possible. 

3 years ago I participated in Frederick Twilight 5K.  It is your basic 5k.  I was at a different place then I am now.  See the pic below to sense my excitement. 



To me it was the worse race of all time.  To be honest it was the only race that I had ever done.  I had talked about doing a 5k but wondered, "Why would anyone want to ruin their day by doing one?"  I found myself more in tune with my body.  I noticed every ache and crack.  I noticed that pain in my sides.  I noticed a six year old smoke past me and I noticed a man with no shoes make it look easy.  I thought to myself, "Show offs"  I started to recite my new mantra "This will never happen again.  I don't care what my trainer says."  Boy was I wrong.


Warrior Dash

Ragnar Relay- Most challenging leg- Not everyone gets a shiny belt buckle. 

Introducing- The Rock and Roll D.C. Half Marathon

I haven't been able to to put into words how I feel.  I know that proud is mixed in with relief.  I am proud that I am doing things with my life that I never thought were possible.  That 5K that seemed impossible is now part of a daily routine. 

I chose this pic because look how excited I am to do a 1/2 compared to my 5K excitement

So what's next.  Marathon and Goofy that's what. WOOT WOOT!

100 Miles Complete

This week has been a great week.  So let's recap it!

Weekly Recap

Monday- Recovery Day
Tuesday- 1.08 Mile Treadmill run- Workout with Brian- Killer Weight Circuit
Wednesday-5:00PM- 10.01 Mile Run (Smooth)
Thursday- 7 Miles-  5:45- Boot Camp Instructing Kettle Bell Class- Part of the Run was Tabata Treadmill
Friday- 3 Mile Run/Walk-Nasty shin splint made an appearance- Tabata boot camp workout
Saturday- Run with Ashley total 9.23. Awful Run my legs were like Jelly and the cold has caught up with me.  (100 Mile Milestone)
Sunday-Recovery


I have to tell you that I love being back at boot camp.  I took some time off to train but it was great to be back with the campers. 


I made 100 miles!



I have to tell you that I ran on Saturday and I felt so crappy.  It was cold and I was so tired and I am sick, which has really has gotten the best of me.  At the end of my run I was so disappointed because I had only gone 8.23 miles.  I needed 8.32 to make my hundred. 


But I will tell you I honestly had nothing left to give.  The legs felt like Jello and I was in an uncontrollable coughing fit. Not even my man, Eminem could get me to move anymore.  I went home and got into the tub exhausted and upset that I could not muster anymore out of me.  After my fingers thawed out I took a wonderful nap, then it was time to go to a birthday dinner with my husband's family. 


After eating a scrumptious birthday meal I decided that I could not leave the day without 100 miles.  So I did it.  In between dinner and dessert I completed a mile to make 100. 


Now I am not the first one in my group to make 100 but I sure feel like it because I am so proud of myself.  My last two runs have been difficult and I felt like I had to fight for the hundred this week.  I thought maybe I would reward myself with a pair of running socks next week but I got something even better. 



My wonderful husband, Greg got me this beautiful running watch and heart rate monitor.  It has all kinds of wonderful features.  Virtual trainer, heart rate monitor, virtual partner, etc.  I think the only thing it does not do is run for you.  It is awesome.  I have no clue how to use the darn thing yet but I can not wait to figure it out. 


I am dying to try it, but It is official, I am sick.  I am on the Nyquil plan as we speak.  I am kind of bummed because there is only 8 miles between Sammy Jo and I.  While I know she will hit 200 before me I would have liked to keep it interesting!  But I have decided to try to be kind to my body because I want to do well on race day. 


So the next time you hear from me it will be when I have begun to use my new watch!

Vision and Goals

This is a post written by ALLESSIA.  She is a goal coach on the LULULEMON website.  I think you will find this interesting. 
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Think about your life 10 years from now. Where will you be, what will you be doing, what have you achieved? Writing down a detailed vision for your ideal life (being as descriptive as possible) helps to identify the goals you need to achieve to realize your vision. Here is our secret sauce to success; our 6 core concepts for vision and goal setting.

The 6 Core Concepts of Vision & Goals

The lululemon vision & goals training program is based on 6 core concepts.  These are tried, tested, and true methods for clarifying your vision and then setting goals to make it a reality.  Use this program to guide your vision & goals process.
1. Possibility
Set visions & goals in possibility and that are beyond what is likely to happen.  A mindset of possibility allows you to get into creative visualisation and clearly articulate your ideal life without self created limitation.  A couple of ways of getting into possibility:

• Let your past be in the past: We tend to look at the past in order to create our future, yet a goal set from the past will likely create more of what already exists, and inherently has limitations.
• Remove perceived constraints: What limitations do you create for yourself that don’t actually exist?  ‘I don’t have enough money’.  ‘I don’t have the time’.

2. Vision
Your vision for your ideal life will drive your goals.  The purpose of setting your vision is to create a clear picture of your ideal life so your goals become powerful and meaningful to you.  The vision articulates what you are out for in life and your greatest ambitions.  It will give you a reason to get out of bed in the morning – something to get excited about.  Why are you setting goals – where will it get you?
A powerful vision:

• Is set 10 years in the future.
• Is clear and concise with enough detail to feel complete.  A paragraph or two should suffice.
• Incorporates all major domains of your life.  Usually: health, personal, career.
• Moves you emotionally and gets you excited – maybe even a little nervous.
• Uses present tense language.  Write it as if you are already there.
• Is authentic to you and grounded in your passions and unique greatness in the world.

3. Balance
It is important to balance your vision & goals in the major domains of your life.  Having balanced goals leads to a balanced life, while having goals in only one area can leave your desires for other areas unfulfilled.  The three main domains in life are most often: personal, health, career.  These can mean different things for different people.
4. Audacity
Be bold and set goals that are a challenge for you. Dare to challenge assumptions or conventions you have and tackle difficult goals.  Set your goals to be BHAGs:  Big Hairy Audacious Goals.
To decide if your goal is a BHAG, ask yourself:

• Is this goal easy to achieve?
• Is this likely to happen anyways, with little effort on my part?
• Is it a push goal that will move me closer to living my ideal life set in possibility?
• What sense of accomplishment will come with achieving this goal?

You will know if you are truly setting BHAGs in life if you’re failing at 50% of the goals.
5. Format
Formatting your goals in the correct way gives you the greatest likelihood of achieving them.  A goal written with the incorrect format can be wishy-washy and will go un-achieved.

• Trickle back: Start with the end in mind.  Set your 10 year goals first, then move backwards to 5 year, 1 year
• Quantifiable: You must be able to measure your goal.
• Specific: Precisely articulate the desired activity, object, event, or outcome in the goal.
• Present tense: Write your vision & goals in the present tense.
• Affirmative language: State what you want, not what you don’t want.
• Concise: Use as few words as possible; no justification is required.
• By-when date: State when the goal will be achieved.

See the worksheet below for examples.
6. Integrity
Once your goals are set, consider how you incorporate them into your daily life to achieve them.  How do you live with integrity to your vision & goals?  Here are some ideas:

• Create a system to honour and achieve your goals.  Do you use your day-timer?  Do you post your goals on your fridge?
• Enroll others so they know what you stand for.  Sharing your goals with others who are also committed goal setters allows them to support and assist you.
• There is choice every day in life.  Choose the things that move you closer towards achieving your vision & goals, rather than those things that are in conflict

Think about your life 10 years from now. Where will you be, what will you be doing, what have you achieved? Writing down a detailed vision for your ideal life (being as descriptive as possible) helps to identify the goals you need to achieve to realize your vision. Here is our secret sauce to success; our 6 core concepts for vision and goal setting.

Happy 31st

On February 16, 2012 I turned 31.  To be honest I am not bothered by getting older.  I am finding that each year I am getting healthier and stronger.  So how does one celebrate her birthday?  She begins the day by being a kick-ass boot camp instructor, and trying out her first workout called. ZEN.  Check out the workout page for that workout.

After the workout I went to Nordstrom Rack and bought some clothes and then I went for a wonderful trip to LULU Lemon.  I have to tell you if you have never been there it is worth a visit.  I bought a fantastic pair of running pants, a new sports bra, and a wonderful top.  While they were expensive I must say they are the fantastic. 

Don't you just love my new shirt!





Then I hit the gym for Brian's Birthday workout.  So here it goes.......

Warm Up- 1 Mile Jog
310 meter row x3

31 minutes total
31 Plie squats
31 Pull Ups
31 Push Ups
31 American Kettle Bell Swings (25 Pounds)
.31 Run

As many rounds as possible. 

THE END RESULT

It's Amazing what I can do at 31 that I could not at 28!

FOMO Syndrome

I was reading SELF magazine the other day and I realized that I suffer from FOMO syndrome.  For those of you that do not know what that means it is FEAR OF MISSING OUT.  I have a great group of people that I workout with and I love to see them everyday.  It is wonderful to have someone to always do something with.  If I want to go for a run I never have to do it alone.  This led me to do the Ragnar Relay and it also led me to sign up for the D.C. Rock and Roll Half Marathon. 

To be honest running a half marathon has never been on my bucket list but, the girls have convinced me that I have 13.1 in me.  Before signing up for this I had never run more than 9 miles.  The last time I ran 9 miles I had pain in places I never thought possible.  Ashley, decided that she wanted to start the 1000 mile club. At first I was like, "Heck No?"  But, FOMO syndrome led me to get started.  It also inspired me to train harder for 1/2 Marathon. 

Workout Recap

Sunday: Weight Training

Monday- Run 4 Miles in the Am.  Fight Club with Ashley and a 2 mile night run

Tuesday- 5.3 miles workout with Brian. 

Wednesday- 5 miles

Thursday 2.23- Birthday workout with trainer-killer

Friday-Recovery

Saturday- 14.23 mile run (WHOOOP WHOOP- that's right)

Sunday Recovery



What's On Your Playlist?

I have always admired people who can run without music.  Unfortunately I am not one of those individuals, the music has to move me.  It made me wonder what is on every ones playlist.  I am constantly bored with my playlist and looking for new music.  Just in case you are looking for some new ideas, here is what is on my running playlist.  What's on yours?Feel Free to post. 

Workout Playlist #1

Song                                                                   Artists

Yeah                                                                                                          Usher
With You                                                                                                   Chris Brown
Whoa                                                                                                         Lil' Kim
Who's That                                                                                                 R. Kelly
Whine Up                                                                                                   Kat DeLuna ft Elephant Man
Umbrella                                                                                                     Rihanna Feat. Jay-Z
Good Girl Gone Bad                                                                                   Cobra Starship
Turn me on                                                                                                  Kevin Little & Mad.
Touch It (Remix)                                                                          Busta ft. Missy, Mary J, Papoose, DMX
Total Eclipse of the Heart                                                                             Nikki French
Starstrukk                                                                                                    Katy Perry
Stand Up                                                                                                     Ludacris
Snake                                                                                                          R. Kelly
See You Again                                                                                            Miley Cyrus
Say I                                                                                                           Christina Milian Ft.Young Rockstar 101                                                                                               Rihanna Feat. Slash
Push It                                                                                                         Salt n Peppa 
My Chick Is Bad                                                                                         Nicki Minaj
Lose Yourself                                                                                              Eminem 
Get Me Bodied                                                                                            Beyoncé
Fighter                                                                                                         Christina Aguilera
Eye of the Tiger                                                                                            Survivor
Eminem - Till I Collapse-                                                                              Eminem
Moves Like Jagger                                                                                       Maroon 5
Move It Like This                                                                                         K7
Cyclone                                                                                                        Baby Bash Mastered
Lighters                                                                                                        Bad Meets Evil Hell
Give It a Go                                                                                                 Timbaland Real Steel
What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)                                                                 Kelly Clarkson
 Dance A$$ (Remix)                                                                                     Big Sean Ft. Nicki Minaj