P90x2- x2Core

Holy Crap.

You would think since its P90x2 and I've been P90x-ing for a while I'll be okay.

Wrong.

I know I don't have a good sense of balance, but I'm struggling here. Haha!!! The fact that I'm working out on sliperry hardwood floors suck too. I need to get a set of mats that I can work out on.  I know that this particular session wasn't as good, or even half as good as I wanted to. I'm in a rush to finish. I started late and had a hard time starting. But its all good. I'm really looking forward to P90x2! Its a nice change of pace from P90x and maybe just what I need to break through this plateau and stay motivated. I do love how they incorporate planks and foam rolling in P90x2. I love planks. I would rather do plank intervals for 25 minutes than do ab ripper, but thats probably the lazy in me speaking.

I should probably devote more time to P90x2. Time when I'm not rushing because I have somewhere to go. I need to pay attention to my form and I can't do that if I have to be done in an hour. When I get more familiarized with the moves, then I can go my own pace. Since I'm beginning, I want to do it right.

Aside from that, I've been really mentally struggling with working out. I've been discouraged lately. I know I've come too far to give up now, but I'm seriously discouraged. Its a bunch of things and its just translating into frustration when I work out. But the funny thing is, when I'm working out I'm like in the zone and I just want to keep going [unless I'm rushed] and when I'm done and the endorphins wear off, I'm like back to blah. It happens tho. A bigger part of working out and being over all healthy is our thinking.  Stay positive. Life is beautiful, its a gift.

Anyway, I'm off to shower. I'll probably do a P90x [normal one] round later the day after everythigns done. I'm not satisfied with this round.

PS. I don't feel well at all now -_______________-

Monday Night Whine & Cheese, Fitness Edition!

I like simple prompts to gather my thoughts when they are all over the place. I have a personal blog that I do a "Whine & Cheese" post in when I need to gather thoughts. The idea came from a great friend, Ivy! Fitness thoughts are all over the place right now, so Monday Night Wine & Cheese is here! Might become weekly or monthly. Who knows!

This Monday, I'm

Whining over

• Being anemic.  It sucks. If I don't take my daily vitamins or eat super clean and be mindful of my iron intake, I have no energy and I'm freezing. Take today, it was a nice sunny 50s, but I was freezing the entire day up to now. I'm wearing a tee, two hoodies, two pants, & my soccer referee socks. I'm wrapped in a blanket, the heater is on, and I'm still cold! I also have significantly lesser energy. Its insane.
• Plateaued again! Its okay because I would rather plateau than gain, especially this season, I was planning on dropping 10 pounds this December, however I'm swinging back and forth in a 5 pound range. I know weight varies, and isn't really a good indicator and 5 lbs is really a low number to gauge a solid weight lost, so I'll take the plateau. I've pretty much know by now how my body responds to certain food & workouts so I  know how to break through plateaus.

Cheesing over:

• P90x2!!! I'm so excited. I know I don't need all the medicine balls, but I've been wanting some anyway and also a weight bar. New gear always motivates me to workout harder! I'm really so stoked about P90x. Its amazing how efficient it is and I can't wait to get into x2. I was watching the videos today, I didn't start yet, and it just got me all excited. I'm going to revamp my strength training schedule to maximize my time while I'm not running as much. These days, I'm running about 3-5 miles... a week. So different from my daily 5ks before, but its okay. I need this rest before I start half marathon training for April!
• Hollywood Half! I'm so looking forward to this half. First of all, its in my favorite part of the country, SoCal. Second, its an inaugural event. I love inaugural events. The energy is insane! The first half I ever ran was an inaugural and I loved it. Third, the medals are gorgeous! This also means I get to see my SoCal family in April! I'm so stoked! I'm also cheesing over training. I get to test out my new shoe, the one hanging on the tree!
• Abs! I know my core is stronger and some days I'm convinced I can feel em even through my belly,  now I just need to see em! If you didn't know, my goal for 2012 is abs! Its going to be way challenging than running for new PRs and moving up weights because its heavily incorporating eating.  I eat clean Monday-Thursday. The weekends, not all bets are off, but I don't eat as clean as I should be.  New challenge abs are, and I accept that challenge.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Random

Saw someone I haven't seen in a long while and they said:

"You look great! What are you on? Are you taking anything?"

I wanted to say:

"Steroids, all the red velvet cupcakes I want, and laxatives."

I can be pretty snarky, but seriously? Why is it "What are you on? Are you taking anything"

-_-

Dear Body

Thank you for being forgiving when I go a week eating like a beast. Nothing too bad, but nothing clean. Thank you for being constant in my metabolism so I'm not gaining.  Thank you that you're still working.

I'm looking forward to working with you again.

Abs 2012, you are mine.

Or as close to abs as possible.

2013, I'll be hard core!

Thumbs Up!

Thumbs up for vacations (;

Run didn't happen, the weather has been unpredictable, but will run tomorrow for sure, hopefully, I probably should. Haha. As far as I know, I didn't gain, but I'm bloated, but that comes and goes!
I love it here.  Will probably updated my personal blog for this, but I haven't seen a lot of people here for a year and hearing their progress reports about me help a lot because I've been discouraged lately.

Love you guys. Stay strong.

Getting Ready

Getting ready to run! Lets see how this goes seeing as I haven't had a serious run in forever and I'm in a place notorious for their hills. Also I'm runing with a friend who doesn't run, were probably gonna be in the same level.

But wouldn't you run too if you saw this everyday?!

I'm seriously 85% sold on moving to the southern part of the state. The remaining 15%, I know what it is, but it really shouldn't be a factor. I should just do it.  I just wish I could take my family with me.

Sports Wash!

To Andrea (; The SportsWash works well! I notice a big difference after washing compared with normal detergent which is possibly harsh for the material of running clothes especially technical tees.

I wanted to do at least 3 cycles of the wash before giving a solid answer, and yeah! I'm nto sure about the other claims in the bottle regarding clothes/jackets for snowboarding that has waterproof coating, but it washes the stink away and I do notice the difference in the fabric.

Been Out

I'm out of town, living life (-:

I should probably time to get a run in, where I'm at is notorious for their hills.

Hidden speed work?

Or to not feel guilty for all the home baked ymmies?

No guilt! Its so good.

Oh Man...

I follow alot of other fitness blogs, and I saw this in one of them:

Damn.  I'll be honest, I was kinda angry when I read this! "Did someone just call me a dog?!" Then I was like I like dogs, they are awesome and keep me warm.

I'm not trying to be the fit police or the food police here. This one really just "hit home" so to speak.

I don't really eat food as a reward, its not like I work out and then use that to justify why I ate cake.  The closest thing I do is my "simple carb" right after a workout. This one still spoke to me in terms of eating healthy & clean.  Healthy as in eat enough to fuel myself & clean as in you maybe meeting your calorie levels, but not your nutrients.

I know if I am more strict about intake, I can seriously seriously improve by leaps and bounds.  If I can eat not as clean and see this much progress imagine if I re-vamped and amped up intake? Which is a big big big part of fitness. I would see progress quicker and feel better over all.   Eating clean or super clean isn't necessary for everyone, but for my goals, 2012 is the year of abs, it is a big part of it. 

Anyway, something to chew on think about.

Strength Training 12/13/11- Shoulders & Arms

Today, I did some SUPERSETS!!! I'm only this happy after a bit of jack3d.

Ignore the boxes, online shopping is fun. 

P90x Supersets! HIGH FIVE!

Rocking my USAP Triathlon shirt. I love it, but I haven't done a tri (;

How amazingly hard it is when you superset & use heavier weights.  But I like supersets.  Normal has now become slow, I am now Thor. Just kidding! I just find it a lot more challenging and the heaviest weight I have in my free weights is 10 pounds. I'm still "struggling" with ten pounds in some moves, looking at you flip grip tricep kick backs [even tho I'm not sure why thats a struggle] but I'm getting some solid 12-15 super set reps in some! Definitely noticing a lot of difference in my arms from when I started.  I'm so stoked. My arms are getting where I want them and its amazing what honest work will get you in terms of your body.  I'm no where where I want to be, but I'm getting there and I'm a whole lot closer than where I was when I started, and even yesterday (;

Also did planks. A total of 2 minutes broken into 30 second intervals. How freakin' hard, but it as fun.

I'm about to shower and live life.

Have a strong day everyone!

Meal Time! More Food Talk

Been working on eating right, but still enjoying food since I can't really work out due to my pinched sciatic nerve issue going on. Today is one of those days when I want to eat everything. Since I lost weight, my basal metabolism went down to 1600. I used to limit myself to 1200 calories but I'm going to bump that to 1500 and add working out. 1200 worked but I was fatigued physically and mentally. I just pushed through it cuz I was determined as f*ck to drop weight. It wasn't smart. I'll save my 1200 clean days for when I need to break through plateus.  So I'm adding 300 calories more and when I get over this nerve thing, I'm upping intensity to burn through stores, HIIT & weight lifting supersets galore. February, mid-february, starts half marathon training! My next one is in April, and quite possibly another one in May.

Calorie couting isn't bad, its not hard either.  Figure out your basal metabolism, and "use up" more than you take in for weight lost. Make sure you consume at least 1200.  The higher your starting weight, the more it will be, but if you starve yourself, your body will keep/store everything.  So don't starve yourself. Strict counting can benefit you if you want to break through plateus or if you're into body building and  you do shows, or just want that look and not necessarily have to do shows.  Its good "discipline," but by no means be a stickler about it. I would also eat 5-6 smaller meals. For my 1500 plan thats 5 meals at 300 calories.Or 3 meals at 400 calories and 2 snacks at 150 calories. Break it down however you want! Its up to you.  Enjoy food :-) Just make sure you're with in your "budget" and make your calories count. But don't give up if you give in, "every breathe is a second chance."- Switchfoot

As I've said before, I'm a pretty lazy eater. One reason I tend to binge is because I'm so repetitive with what I eat. Nothings wrong with that, but I've been almost at it for a year and I pretty much eat the same thing. So now, I'm trying to think of ways that I can still eat healthy and maintain what I need. Especially this season when all I want it something sweet.

Heres one of my favorite meal, part of a meal, or snack!!!

I normally use berries [Black, Blue, Strawberries, Raspberries] but I ran out so I had to use this. Peaches, mangoes, & strawberries. Not bad, but I prefer the berries and I believe its healthier. But anyway.  This is perfect for post workout because it has some natural sugars for quick energy replacement & protein [greek yogurt is awesome] and it has fiber- well, in forms of children's Benefiber]

Recipe is pretty much the same!

1/2 cup non-fat greek yogurt
1 cup of frozen fruits
1-2 tbsp of water
2 tbsp of Childrens Benefiber [Yes, I do put this in my smoothies.  I don't get enough fiber even tho all I seem to be eating these days are salads & protein]
small handful of Bear Naked Protein Granola
drizzle of honey.

Blend the first four ingredients in a blender, add water if its too thick, it will be thick, the fruits are frozen and greek yogurt is just thick. Blend until desired consistency[ I like mine chunky & eaten with a spoon]. Top with granola and drizzle of honey!

I love this meal.  Its about 200 calories, give or take and greek yogurt has a lot of protein.  Its sweet, and its filling! If I'm having this for breakfast I'll eat it with an Ezekiel cinnamon raisin toast. Its so good. I just had one right now, that one in the pciture.  I'll probably have a salad with turkey for dinner.

Variations
I've found other "smoothies" that work too! I have weird tastes, so really try it, experiment and find what you love! Calories vary, so just pay attention.

Chocolate
This one is awesome post workout. I normally have my whey protein shake with water and thats it, but if I'm headed out right after working out and won't be able to eat for a while, I'll have something a little bit more substantial.

-greek yogurt
-chocolate whey protein powder
-ice if you want it to be smoothie-like, no ice if you want a "mouse"

Chocolate & Berries
If you like the flavor combination, its pretty much the above recipe (with the fruits, sub mixed frozen berries) with the addition of chocolate whey protein powder- its what I have so its what I use!

-greek yogurt [or you can use just water/soy milk/milk]
-frozen mixed berries
-chocolate whey protein powder

Thats really it. Haha. I only have so much I can work with but I'm sure you guys can be creative and come up with your own.

Today...

Today, will be the last of my ugly eating days.

I just had some chocolate covered Ritz. Umm... what?!

Add that candy bar from earlier today, and I fucked myself over food wise today.

Start over Sang, start over. You're starting from a new, better, beginning. It will come with its own challenges but as you know, it will be worth it.

This was dinner,

Its a good dinner, minus the tortilla, if I hadn't eaten all the other unnecessary calories.  I should have skipped dinner, but home made "fajitas," someone grabbed the wrong tortilla, and mango salsa was calling my name.

Tomorrow is a new day.

You're too young to give up.

Sad News :-(

Some years ago, I pinched my sciatic nerve.

Its acted up several times since then and its acting up now. Supposedly I'm not "allowed" to run until this is permanently fixed, but I don't know a permanent fix of this. I don't want surgery for it, I'm too young to deal with an ailment like this, but its part of life. I've always been able to wait it out, but its been a while. It might have something to do with my bed/the way I sleep as well, so trying to isolate cause to prevent future triggers. Its just saddening to me right now.

I'm going to try to push through the pain, at least strength training because I haven't been watching what I eat at all. I ate a candy bar today. I shouldn't feel guilty, but I did. That is 300 calories of pretty much sugar.  I wanted to run because temps are rising where I'm at to perfect not too cold not too hot temperatures but I can barely walk at times. I just feel so bad that I'm eating not clean I know I'm going to gain -_-

Dear Cat,

You've come too far to quit now.

Love,
Cat

"Crispy Tenders" & Cinnamon Raisin "Bread"

That is a whole lot of " " up there, but I had such a good lunch today, I had to share:

The grocery store I frequent is FINALLY stocking other flavors of Ezekiel Bread! I'm so happy. Now they just have to carry the Ezekiel tortilla then I can be set for LIFE! FOR LIFE! I'm such a fan girl of the Ezekiel breads because I really love bread but I'm careful of carbohydrates because I just am. Its something that has to change when I start adding miles to my runs again, full marathon next year, I'm scared; but the Ezekiel breads are wonderful! They are sprouted grains, low calories, and low GI.  A slice of bread is 80 calories [nutrition information] and no fat! I love cinnamon raisin bread, its perfect when I want something sweet. Ezekiel Breads can be found in the frozen food aisle, so look out for it. I'll eat eat the cinnamon raisin one frozen, but the normal bread can't be eaten frozen.

I also love chicken fingers. I can wax poetic about my love for chicken fingers. So I wanted to try these gardein crispy tenders.  They were surprisingly good. They were pretty tiny [the plate I'm using is a salad plate for comparison] but at 100 calories for 2 [Serving Size: 2 pcs Calories: 100 Total Fat: 3.5 Carbs: 8 Protein: 8] its not bad at all! The taste isn't bad either! You just have to toast it as microwaving it leaves it super soggy.  I probably will just sub chicken breast for these because these things are pricey. For a bag of 10 pieces, its almost $5.00

I also had turkey breast deli slices because I had some I need to use up. I have no clue why I put mustard. I just saw it there and put it on my turkey. On after thought, I probably shouldn't have. I'm normally not a fan of mustard.

But that was my lunch and it was lovely.

Today's workout will be at night! I'm doing a long, fast paced weight lifting circuit. I have a love hate relationship with cardio right now because I know I'm going to be doing a lot of running really soon.

Have a beautiful day everyone!

Dehydrated?

I'm apparently dehydrated.

I get cold easily, anemic, and drinking water is the last thing I want to do when I'm cold. I'm already super cold to begin with and when I drink water, my insides get cold. I can't drink hot water, unless its tea and lukewarm water also makes me cold.

I'm usually a fish. I love water. I breathe water. But winter times. Maybe I've just solved my "why are my lips always chapped and my skin always dry" during winter problem.

LIGHT BULB!

I also hardly sweat during winter even if I'm running and working out by a heat lamp.

Anyway, a simple fix to a problem thats been bugging for years and has been bugging me for the past few days as well. My digestive system is NOT on point. I've been eating clean and working out, but not loosing weight. I think I'm constipated. I'm going to do a flush and "restart" my system. Hopefully that will help. I'm still aiming for that 10 pound drop every month, but I'll consider not gaining anything this December a success as well.

Eat healthy everyone :-)

Strength Training 12/05 & Cardio 12/06

12/05 I did Shoulders & Arms.  I really want to work on my arms, as you can tell. Its coming along nicely.

12/06, today, I did some cardio. I haven't been running so I wanted to do some cardio. I did Plyometric Cardio for Insanity. It was insane! I did half then I did some dance workout I found on TV. I guess thats how out of shape I am, I haven't had a serious run since my last half. Which really sucks. I want to amp up my cardio. I need cardio to blast up my calorie use. Its the whole concept of calories in versus calories out. I need to use up a lot more.

Eating has been a challenge too. I've been eating persimmon, like a lot, and just learned that it can cause constipation! Haha! I think that affected my system and I've been eating so much fiber but nothing. But everything from not eating enough, eating too much, not getting my vitamins & nutrients.  One thing I hate is being anemic, I'm so energy less at times. I know being diligent in taking my vitamins would help. So I need to do that.  It just sucks not having energy a times.  But work with what you're given with.

I really want to loose 10 pounds a month. I need to get my mind off the scale and into just being fit and healthy in general. Been hooked on that damn thing and its discouraging at times. But its okay, I know that scale doesn't measure how hard I work.

I know I can work harder and I'm determined to get rid of that 10 pounds this month. Or at least not gain.

:-)

I'm "Back," Well, Almost...

"I'm back!" In probably the loosest way of of "back" possible. I may look like the harbinger of death, and I felt like it, but it got done! I'm not feeling well, I haven't been for over a month, but pushing this whole no run thing any further will not help me at all. This sicky thingy has been pushing at me, I'm going to push back harder, & smarter.

I decided to just get out there. Wanted to do my 5k route, but I wasn't feeling well and my knees weren't up to it, I ended up doing a mile.  Knees and outer thigh muscle [?] were in pain. I feel like I'm starting over with the whole running thing after this month long break. I was thinking about it and I really am. I'm down a lot of pounds so thats something new.  I'm running and focusing more on improving time as opposed to just "finish" is new and while this start all over again may seem very discouraging, its actually a good thing. I'm starting over in a new level.

I only did a mile, and I was cold, but it got warmer. But this was hours ago and now I'm feeling a lot worst than I did before I ran. I really need to get rid of this sickness whatever it is. I don't get sick often, but when I do, I get sick for a really long time.

Anyway, 1 point something miles, about 2 miles for reals, I tend to turn off my watch at random points, is a lot better than no miles!

I just woke up from a nap, so I'll be doing Shoulders & Arms in an hour or two.

Happy Sunday everyone!

PS.  Good luck to all those running R&RLV tonight! I know a few people who are doing it! Jealous that I can't be there, but I know y'all will do me proud!

PPS. The latest patch for the Nike+ Sportswatch GPS is AWESOME! Picked up GPS signals really quick and is more accurate and just makes me happy! I want the heart rate monitor for it and its for sale for $60 at my local Nike Outlet, and I have a $5 off coupon. I wish the HR reader was standard with it, it would make it a nicer, more complete package. And I want to start paying more attention to my HR. It seems wise.

PPPS. I have other news, I'll anounce later. Its awesome, its epic, and I'm blessed to be able to dream big and follow my dreams.

December Goals

• PR in a my mile, officially.
• Sub 10 minutes please. I never logged my 10 minute mile. Yes, I'm a slow runner. No, I don't care that I am. Yes, I want to improve. No, I'm not in a rush. Yes, I will sub a 7 minute mile. No, I'm not sure when.
• Run at least 50 miles.
• Been slacking on running, I'm not burning through my chubs as fast as I want. I know running killed a lot of my energy stores and P90x still benefits my weight lost, but a good balance of two is what worked for me. Get back on that running!
• Drop 10 pounds while maintaining my muscles.
• This goal will be on my monthly goal till I'm satisfied of my weight. I know weight is such a bad indicator of things because everyone carries weight differently and BMI/jean size is such a better indicator. I'm trying to change my mindset, going to take a while, but at least I acknowledge it.  I gave myself a year to "get my weight where I want it," that year will be in May. That gives me December, January, February, March, & April to meet my goal.  If I drop 10 pounds a month in those 5 months, I'll be in an unhealthy weight range. For reference, I'm 5'6", female (duh), & 25 years old.  I originally wanted to be at 120, which is at the low end of my spectrum, and also after learning alot more about fitness is really too low for me. So I'll evaluate every time I hit a new weight "bracket." So when I hit 150, 140, 130. I really want to hit at least 130, but the way its looking, thats gonna be too low, because I HAVE GUNS <3  Also, going by size, I wanted to be a size 8. I'm size 11/10 already and no where near 130. Okay, to stop over thinking.
• Not gain weight.
• Going to my home away from home for a while and I'm looking forward to it, but this is when I usually gain weight. We shall see what happens tho. No regrets, its the land of awesome food.

Happy December everyone!

Strenth Training 11/30/11 Legs & Back

In pictures:

I was wearing long sleeves cuz I was cold. Took 2 scoops of jack3d and worked my ass off with some cardio circuits in between or when I was too lazy weak to do pull ups/chin ups.  Got so sweaty!!! Haha. I still feel like I cheated myself but I just can't do a pull up or chin up or a lot of it. I don't know. I hate those.

I did Legs & Back today. I was going to do Chest & Back but I took too much jack3d and I couldn't concentrate on my push ups. I was so jittery and was trying not to rub my face. Can you imagine doing push ups and your face was tingly like no tomorrow? So I did legs. I'm going to feel this later, but its all good. I need to get a physical soon because I think I have balance problems. Haha! I'm pretty uncordinated but all these lunges made me realize that I have a hard time keeping my balance! I need to work on my core more I guess. That should help. A stronger core also means better posture while running. So it would beneficial for running and life in general I guess. But I kept on thinking I was gonna fall. Maybe I was just tired? But who knows. A physical is a good thing to get anyway :-)

I was also tempted to stop mid point and just run but I didn't. I finished it.  I want to run but not yet. I'm officially registered for my 3rd half so and I want to sub 2:30 for it. I want to loose a lot of weight before then, so officially training for that isn't till February- using the Hal plan again, but I'm going to work in back in so I can blast through my "energy stores," a.k.a. chubs.

Anyway, more on that tomorrow or later tonight on my "goals blog." Have a lot going on in my mind and working out has been a good escape.

Thankful that I can.  I do because I can.

Strength Training 11/29/11

Shoulders & Arms today and in my favorite shirt ever! I love this oversized shirt. Funny thing is, I got it on clearance up here in NorCal, for $1.97!!! But its my favorite shirt to sleep in and workout in.

I've been in a rut lately that doesn't have anything to do with working out.  Been lazy and not motivated because my mind was just pre-occupied with so much junk; but this week, this day, this second is new and it may have taken me a while, but now is what matters.

Back to the grind it is! I'm on track so far in terms of weight loss, I'm actually ahead of schedule, but it all good. I broke that plateau even through thanksgiving my weight dropped (not as much as I would like but that pumpkin pie was worth it) and I'll check the end of this week how much I lost.  I'll talk more about that December 1 when I do my monthly goals :-) That way I'll have a few more days to loose some pounds!

Today's workout was good. Maybe cuz I needed the endorphins, as I always say, or maybe it "gave me a purpose," not that I'm purposeless, but it was good. I liked it. I sped it up a bit and did 3 sets of 30 second planks and some squats when I should have been ballistic stretching, so it was good.

I want to get back into running too. I've pretty much taken November off from running which is LAME but I've been sick on and off and not wanting to venture far from the house just in case I puke. Its still no excuse because we do have a treadmill, but I hate that thing.  I'm loosing muscle definition on my thighs. If you run, you know them runner legs & they pretty!

See the muscle definition? I already have defined calves [which I don't really like, but its better than cankles?] and when I started running [more specifically running hills] I gained a lot of muscle & definition in my thighs.  See that "bump" above the outer knee? I love that thing. Haha. Its like a badge of honor. It might not be "sexy" by other people's standards but to me its a sign of all the miles and hills.  Mines still there, maybe I'm just paranoid because I haven't ran in a while ::sigh::

Anyway, more about running on my December 1 entry. I need to start up a plan and stick with it when it comes to running :-)

Have a strong & beautiful day everyone!

Supplements: jack3d pre-work out & ON Whey Protein post work out

It All Starts Here...

Most people, when they want to get fit, head to the gym, but really, it starts HERE:

the bright yellow kitchen!

for the past 5 days, i didn't run or p90x. goes without saying, i was restless & mildly depressed but i did it to prove a point, mostly to myself. a lot of times when people want to "get fit," they head to the gym, what most people don't realize is that getting fit starts in here, the kitchen. i have the worst eating habits ever [not eating enough or eating enough but not nutrient dense foods], & i decided for 5 days that i would just concentrate on eating right. to me that meant bumping my 1200cal/day to 1500-1800cal/day [even when i wasn't working out, but still doing active things like living life. this was hard]. making sure i was getting my carbs [i don't normally eat carbs. i <3 bread, & if its something i <3, i normally do or die it] & making sure i get my fiber, iron, and all my nutrients in. but i also gave myself some room to eat what i wanted- specifically speaking, pumpkin pie.

five days later? I'm down a solid 5 pounds & broke the plateau that was pissing me off & I've been on for 3 weeks. i think 5 days of no running & p90x messed with my emotions [lack of endorphins] much more than anything. it sucked but i learned something about a big part of working out/getting fit that i couldn't have learned other wise. I'll do another long, separate blog post on what to eat, everyone always asks what i eat, these are just a few things that i learned on the past 5 days.

DO... eat clean! eat your veggies! for me, this is no problem, i love vegetables. i just needed to add more dark greens for iron. eat lean meats! turkey breast, chicken breast! protein helps you stay full!

BUT...

DON'T... deprive yourself. i know thanksgiving is this Thursday & it marks the start of yummy eating. just be smart about what you eat, in other words, don't use working out & eating clean as an excuse to binge. go ahead, have a piece of that dark meat or some yummy ham. i seriously ate pumpkin pie and a biscotti during those five days and i was like i'm effing myself over, but in reality, those "breaks" in food just helped me not to binge, which i know we all do over this season.

DO... keep active! its cold, nothing better than being indoors wrapped in a blanket. but stay active! i know i didn't work out & run during those 5 days, but i wouldn't be surprised if some of those 5lbs i lost were muscle weight. i know its all not because i also measure myself & weigh myself so i'm pretty familiar with my body. but keeping active- not just running or weight lifting- go snowboarding, ice skating, walk downtown, etc. will also help your metabolism to always be "on." thats another thing i'll talk about later on, how to manipulate your metabolism. i know my metabolism is always "on," i can tell, and its crazy how if you have the know how and the drive you can make your body do crazy awesome things.

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY...

DON'T... forget to have fun. its an awesome season. everything seems to be so magical and awesome. its a time to be with friends & family. a time to reflect & be grateful for the past year & the years to come. life is a gift, meant to be enjoyed & lived to the fullest, being healthy helps you live a long one [trusting in the One helps you live forever]. enjoy it, LIVE IT!



PS. I broke my non-workout streak today with Shoulders & Arms for P90x. It feels good to be back <3 Now to shower & walk laps in the mall- I really need new pants. still wearing the same pants since before i started, i'm now down 6 sizes. i think i should buy new ones.

with the workout nectar of life, jack3d

Strength Training 11/14/11 Shoulders & Arms

According to my calendar, I'll do a different post on that later, today was Shoulders & Arms day!!! The last time I worked out or ran was Wednesday.  I had a sinus infection cold thing going on and I was so looking forward to today because I wanted to work out. I miss those endorphins! I was seriously mentally feeling the lack of physical activity.

Took two scoops of jack3d because I wasn't feeling the first one after 30 minutes and I had to take a break. Two scoops is always too much for me, my face, ears, & palms of my hands were so tingly I could barely life the weights. Also, I finally moved on to 10 pound weights where I could. Some of them I couldn't do the 10 pounds with out injuring, like dropping the weights on my face, myself so I played it safe. Suffice to say, my ass is beat.  Or my arms, but I'm glad, that means that my muscles are growing and I'm getting stronger. I'm really happy about this workout.  I'm sitting here post protein shake and I'm just glad that I did it! And form wasn't an issue and I did something!!! Four days off from sickness is four days too long! I'm looking forward to the soreness tomorrow!!! It feels good to get my ass kicked.

I also did planks. It seems so easy, but really your core gets a workout, pretty much your whole body. If you guys & gals want to work out your core withou weights, just planks. You think its easy, but wait till you do it.

googled this pic :-)

So pretty much you lie on your tummy then prop yourself up on your elbows.  Keep your elbows below your shoulders and keep that 90 degree angle steady.  Suck your gut in, make sure your back & legs are straight and hold for 30 seconds, down for 5 seconds.  Repeat as many times as desire! You can challenge yourself to do a minute straight, or 5 minutes straight if you're really ambitious and hard core. Warning tho, its really not as easy as it seems. There are variations too, but I think I'll do an entire entry devoted to planks. They are so much fun, challenging, & its a good simple workout.  I did 1 minute today, and it doesn't seem much but add that to the work out and I'm done. I'll probably do some again before I go to bed. 

Speaking of weights, I saw this the other day and I want it!

Its a hannya kettle ball! Its 35 pounds and its $140~ish! Its an entire set of "demon" balls, but the story behind the hannya is something I love.  Kettle balls are "requirements" for P90x2, so its an excuse to get one, but for $140~ish I can get a set of non awesome but still functional kettle balls.

Anyway, tomorrow is hills or tempo run. I'll see how I am with running because I'm still not 100% there in terms of this sickness but I really want to get out there and do it!!!

I also need to sign up for Turkey Trot if I do decided on doing it.  And if so, 5k or 10k? Its a big even for the city, and anticipate 17,500 runners all in Downtown! Its going to be crazy!!!

Have a strong day!

Strength Training 11/09/11

Chest & Back

I'm so determined to have proper form for chest & back. I know my form isn't the best and I'm really doing low reps with proper form but so determined. I feel like I can only tackle one a time and now that my form is passable for shoulders & arms I want to work on chest & back. I know I should be doing proper form for everything [including running] but I don't want to get overwhelmed! I'm so weak. Since I can't do a lot of reps for any time I just planked, the exercises kind, not the trendy kind. I want to plank for a minute without shaking like crazy. 

I wanted to run this morning but this cold gave me a cold. I need to boost my immunity, which means I need to be smart and consistent about my vitamins. I know I don't get everything from what I eat because I haven't been eating right.  Its "clean" but maybe too clean if you get my drift. I'm below calories and I'm practically on a vegan diet because I don't want to eat meat. I only want chicken. Or turkey and we have neither. I'm being so picky at the moment. I really want to drop that excess weight.  But I know I'm gaining a lot of muscle as well.  Which doesn't show on the scale but it shows everywhere else.

Speaking of running, I also need to sign up for Hollywood Half before December. I'm debating about doing Turkey Trot this year. I haven't done a 10k race but I've done a 5k & a half-marathon. Haha. Oh yeah, this enabler has been enabled!!! I just want to say thanks to my enabler for this:

That Running Warehouse [my favorite shoe store!] box holds something. I'll divulge soon, but lets just say it feeds my addiction! I know its a gift, but enabler knows I might return it. I need to read up on it and see, but dang, if it isn't awesomeness in a box!!! I mean awesomeness!

And really awesome words here:

I always tell people this, even before I saw this graphic, I've told those who are on the fence about pursuing their dreams to do so.  Those who know me know I'm an enabler.  I share life because I want others to know they have the freedom to share theirs with me, and others. Sometimes, were afraid to "go first." Were afraid to share our dreams, our struggles, our worries, our cares, or even take the first step to wherever, because we don't want to go first.  I think one of the great things we can do is "go first," that way, those who are afraid, will have the courage to go at all. Running, & working out, for me has become so much more than a physical thing, it really is something that benefits your body & mind, and majority of runners I've met in real life and online are all surprisingly kind and down to earth and keeps it real. Regardless,  we are all in life together. Don't be afraid to share your dreams, to show your dreams, because you never, I mean never, know who is willing to help you and how great that help can be.

Strength Training 11/08/11

First, it would be a diservice to myself if I don't greet you all a happy Modern Warfare 3 Day!

With that said, I just finished Shoulders & Arms for P90x! I also noticed this:

I always end up matching all my workout & running gear! It never hit me when I was buying my gloves that it would match my Nike Free Run+2 that I have now delegated as workout and short run shoes, I still love them, but I can't hang with them for long runs, too much arch support. But they do match!

Anyway, I need to buy either 9 pound weights or just suck it up and use my 10 pounds but either way, I'm graduating from 8 pound weights!!! Whooo!!!

What I really want is this:

but that will have to weight.. I mean wait. Get it? Its that post work-out endorphins talking crazies, or corny!

Anyway, workout was good. I really love Shoulders & Arms but I know I need to mix it up. My back needs help and also my once a week ab-ripper needs to be done. Anyway, I drank my protein shake and now I'm off to shower the stink away!

Have a strong day everyone!

Strength Training 11/01/11

First of all, press play:

You may now read:

I can actually count the number of times I've done P90x Legs & Back in one half of my hand. This is only the 2nd time I've ever done Legs & Back for P90x.  Since I run, I never really did legs. I know hill work is really effective in building leg muscles, but I haven't done solid hill work in a while so I did legs & back.  I'm going to feel this later, both with legs and my back since I actually use my brand spankin new-to-me pull up bar for serious. Of course I had a little help from a chair, but the point is, it got done.

Here is a gratuitous picture of my legs. Its no where near what I want it to be, but considering where I came from to where I'm at, I'm damn proud.

Hence the song: RUMP SHAKER! Running hills & my random lunges are paying off like crazy. Strong glutes & hips also help you're running form.  As they say, we are runners, not models, we don't sway down the runway, we run roads strong and controlled.

Like I said, no where near where I want to be, but its closer than I was 2 months ago, hell even two weeks ago. I'm not after skinny, I'm after strong! Those legs will run the hills of San Francisco one day! Maybe this year, maybe not. I'm scared of the hills and to sub 3 hours, but we shall see! I'm still debating about doing SF Marathon.

Anyway, protein shake time, shower time, then work time!

Its NO-slacking-VEMBER just because its the season of "indulgence," doesn't mean the fun stops!

November Goals

Its NO-slacking-VEMBER!

Far from perfect, I am; but the more I do, the more I get better ;-)

Yesterday was the start of season of "indulgence," of candy. November has Thanksgiving and December has Christmas. Its the season of hibernation, for most. For me, I want to drop at least 10, hopefully 20 more pounds by the years end. Its going to be an awesome challenge since my family is a family of awesome cooks! But its all in moderation & self control!

Anyway, its time to set some goals for November!

• Drop 10 pounds of chub, not muscle. I hate loosing muscle.
• Run at least 50 miles, 100 preferred. I want to do at least 100 miles but I should really work on speed work, hill work- the hidden speed work- so I'll see. Unless I find a half marathon in December/January/February/March, my next half is on April. So I'm not going to seriously train till January. No runs over 10 miles. If not I'm just going to bring my baseline higher and while thats a good thing, I really don't want 10 milers to by my normal runs. Not yet anyway!
• Ab ripper at least once a week. I avoid Ab Ripper like a plague. Its just blah, but I need to work on my abs.
• Eat clean. This is something I'll be strict on because there will be days of gorge fest.

I think thats my general goals, I'll probably have a lot more smaller goals, but to be broad, those four are the top ones.

Also an over all goal in terms of running is this:

Complete a full marathon by 2012. I'm looking at Either Pasadena which means beginning of 2012- May, or the end of 2012, so about a year from now. I'm not confident about Pasadena yet, so I'm targeting about a year from now, and I'm not sure what event I would run, but I would love to travel for it, so either Atlanta or Chicago- but Chicago has been iffy temperature wise.

After completing my first marathon, its at least one full marathon a year until I no longer can. I'm so excited for this goal and the fact that I want to do at least one full marathon a year make me look forward to getting older!

Anyway, time to go!

Happy November everyone! Happy Binary Day! Happy Birthday Hello Kitty!

Happy NO-slacking-VEMBER!

Have a strong day!

Strength Training 10/31/11

My ass got kicked by arms & shoulders today. Not sure if its cuz I'm in a rush, or if its because I didn't take jack3d or whatever, but I didn't finish, I'm beat. I am running late, but thats not the primary reason I didnt' finish. I'm just beat.

I'll do a full session, including ab ripper, when I get back.

But this is how I felt:

I was tired, I didn't want to do anything but goof around and or lay down and just be silly. Its okay tho. I just really want to break through the plateau. I want to loose 10 more pounds by the end of this year, totally do able if I get serious about it. Going to be tougher since it is the season of food and indulging. But totally do able!

Anyway, have to jet. I don't even want to take a protein shake since my workout was so half assed and since I want to drop more weight, I really am in that bad mentality of "don't eat anything if you don't have to."

Sigh!

Short Jog & Laundry

I jogged a mile today. Just a bit over, didn't really bother for time but I wanted to make sure I kept pace at the hills and didn't walk. Its not the insane hills, but its up hill none the less. I'm not sure if its related but my left instep is in pain, not as bad as the 13.1 miles, but it was in pain. Kinda sucks, its something I have to watch out for. All those tendons at the top of the feet feel so crackly for a lack of a better word.

Anyway, just threw my work out/running clothes in the wash

I bought that the other week and I'm hoping it makes the life of my workout clothes longer.  Supposed to be gentler than regular detergent. I had a coupon so it came out cheap so if it doesn't work, its all good.

Anyway, time to get back to real life and training. I'm looking for a half or two before the Hollywood Half! If I can improve and run a sub 2:30 half with confidence, maybe, just maybe I'll do the Pasadena full! But I won't be so sad if I choose to do the half instead. I've come far from where I began and I'm proud of that.

Manipulating Metabolism

I know this is a predominantly "running" blog, but for those who are new here, I started to run because I wanted to drop some weight.  That didn't work, running became addicting [and was hunger inducing] and while I still want to drop weight, I love running and run for much more than creating a calorie deficit.

Anyway, one thing I was taught was to learn how to speed up [manipulate] my metabolism. Instead of just loosing weight, learning to manipulate my metabolism would allow me to get to know my body a lot better. It would also involve strength training, which I love love love!!! So lately, I've been insanely hungry. I haven't ran a serious run for a week- I just had my hilly half last Sunday, and I'm debating about doing a trail half tomorrow [I'll see tho, trails take a different toll on my body, I'm kinda scared, but I want to do a Halloween Run & get a finishers!] but I haven't done any serious runs since then. But I've been so hungry.

I've been nursing a bag of Pumpkin Spice Hershey's Kisses- so good. Eating Pumpkin Spice Ego waffles with Nutella or Almond butter and just eating not as clean as I'm known for! So I'm really surprised that I'm still loosing weight. For the longest time, I've stuck with 1200 calories as my daily intake- I know, so very very very bad, even when I was training for my first half marathon. And now I'm anywhere from 1800-2000 calories and to me it feels like I'm binging, but I'm still dropping weight.

For breakfast, I had this:

Thats four egg whites, a handful of shredded chicken breast, jalapenos, & cheese "omelet" with cholula [I love spicy foods!] with a Pumpkin Spice Waffle and 1/3 of Justin's Maple Almond Butter. In contrast, I'll normally have an Ezekiel toast with a wedge of cheese, which is 115 calories. This one is a kicker for me, that breakfast is heavy!

So this whole metabolism thing is working. Weight lifting, increasing protein, drinking green tea. All those things are adding up and helping. But I think I did myself a disservice by only eating 1200 calories a day for such a long time. I've been teeter-totting from weight to weight and I'm trying not to obsess so much about numbers, I just want to get out of the teeter-totter stage. I know I can do it, I have a goal to drop at least 10 more pounds by the end of the year, then its time to evaluate.  I have an idea in my head of what I would like my weigh to be [120-130 pounds] but according to people [both doctors & normal people] that would be really low for my height, 5'6.5". So I'm just taking this by feel. One "weight bracket" at a time.

But yay. Even though weight loss has taken a "back seat" to running, it really hasn't.  Haha. Running is really just fun and its not something I do to drop weight, its beyond that. Loosing chub is a proverbial cherry on top while improving my running!

Happy Saturday everyone!

Goals for Half Marathon #3

• Not be sick.
• Not be on that girl thing.
• Sub 2:30- 2:45 if I find one with in this year.
• Look half way decent in a race photo. Just decent enough to maybe, just maybe, I'll want to fork over $20 for a wallet size instead of screen capping it.

As a photographer myself, I have an open letter to all race photographers:


Dear Race Photographer,

We are running. Hard.  The last thing we think about are pictures.  So a couple of days after our race when we get notifications that our pictures are up, we usually make a face. We cringe. We shiver. We want to look good, but we know that is almost an impossible task while running 13.1 or 26.2 miles. I really only know of professional athletes that run in well lit stadiums and one other "normal" human being who likes and looks good in their race photos.

Can you help the rest of us out?  As a photographer myself, may I suggest a few things?

• Shoot from eye level.  Most of the time I see you guys sitting on the ground in a lawn chair covered by an umbrella. Everyone with a Facebook knows that eye level or above is more flattering. I know you have to see our bibs and be out of the way, but I know you can make all that happen too!
• Have a sign 100 yards away, or even just 10, that there is a photographer coming up.  Some people prefer to have their hair down in photos. It keeps people from looking too much like their younger brother.
• Don't take pictures of people eating should be very common knowledge.  It doesn't matter if its at a wedding when a guest is scarfing down some prime rib or at a race when I'm runners are downing their GUs like its their only lifeline.
• Shoot faster! We all hate em, but we love looking at em. We don't like it when we are being blocked by another runner that is pretty far ahead from us.  Fast shutter speed! Use those auto function sof your $1,000 digital camera if you must.

I think that is about it. Its a pretty hard task to take upon yourself, but I know that you are up to it. As comrades in the photography world, I know we can see [and hopefully take pictures] eye to eye that we just want our clients to look and feel their best.

I'm looking forward to seeing y'all in my next half.

Love,
Catherun

eye of the tiger!!!

PS. This was at mile 6/7, in the hills because the reservoir is behind me. I'm on my 2nd GU, Peppermint Stick is so yum, and I swear my shirt wasn't tucked in. I had to get to my SPI Belt which was under my pink shirt. I was walking cuz theres an aid station right in front of me to my right and I needed water for my GU & if you recall, my knees were giving me trouble around this time.

I've shown you guys my worst right after a solid P90x session but this picture oh man. Its the best one out of all the pictures taken >.< Sad huh? Notice I didn't even put any up from my first half. It was that bad.

Morgan Hill Marathon + Half

How do I even begin?

Morgan Hill Half was something else, I mean compared to the only other half I've ever done, its sister the NorCal Half. First of all NorCal was flat as a pancake:

Green is the elevation, and blue is my time. Isn't it sad how I can't manage to negative split? Anyway, FLAT as a pancake.

Morgan Hill, as the name implies, however, is not as flat as a pancake.  

So before I get into the nitty gritty, lets do a quick re-cap of my day.

I got home at 1 am and couldn't sleep till 2 am.  Life, as we all know, happens.  Anyway, I got about 3 hours of sleep and I was still running late.  I didn't have time to eat.  I took a plastic spoon, stuck it in a jar of peanut butter, grabbed a teaspoon and stuck the whole thing in a zip lock bag.  That, ladies and gentlemen, was my breakfast. I drove out to Morgan Hill, a place I've never been too while drinking my water and hoping for the best.
The sunrise view was awesome

Ignore the blur, just admire the sun coming from behind the hills!

I got to the venue and found parking and quickly got my stuff together. I'm so glad I got my duffel bag full of essentials ready because I was running so late.  I did bring with me my Lunarglide +3, but I ran with my Lunarglide +2.  I also ended up wearing my white long sleeved compression tee under my pink tech tee.  It was so cold! It did get pretty sunny during the tail end of the run, but I was so cold during the run I wish I had two layers of compression tees on.

For my actual run, I had my SPI Belt with my phone, camera (that I didn't use), mp3 player, keys, & 4 GUS (2 Chocolate Outrage & 2 Peppermint Stick). Its amazing what can fit in my SPIBelt. I went to the actual start line and was, as expected, anxious an nervous. I've never been to Morgan Hill, I don't know how "hills" will play a part in this. There were elite runners galore and it was a crowd of 2,200 runners. I'm so glad Pasadena was my first ever race event because I would have been intimidated with 2,200 had I not ran Pasadena.

Anyway, I didn't really stretch. I go there ran a few things to get my GPS watch synced up and that was that. Next thing you know it was time to self seed and I seeded myself in the back. Not for lack of self confidence, but for the convenience. It helped that I had to walk to the start because it calmed me down.

Off we go.

Miles 1-3
I'm freezing! its so cold! But this is cool! I'm running again! I can't believe it. I must be some sort of crazy because the longest ran I've ran since NorCal was 3 miles. This seems to be hurting more, maybe its the hills.  What? Why does my mp3 player die on me on mile 3? I charged you all night?! Oh look! The 3 hour half-marathon pacer! What was my goal? To finish? I know I'll do that, so lets try to beat my 3:08:47 PR! Just keep her in your sight and you'll be okay.

Miles 4-6I have no music. This is kinda fun. Hey, I haven't seriously walked! This is pretty good. Your endurance is growing Sang! Keep at it. Where my 3:00 pacer?! Am I that far behind? OH WHAT?! Who is in front of me ::squints:: OMG! The 2:45 pacer! I can so do this, lets sub 3 hours! And omg, the hills have arrived. This is crazy. Mile 5 volunteer isn't very encouraging! But oh my gosh. Lets sub 3 hours. Its fine to walk just run more. Hey, friendly people to pace and talk with. Hi new friends! Is that a dead snake? I've seen roadkill, a dead snake, and a dead bird!

Miles 7-9
I asked my new friends if there were more hills. They said were on them.  This is the craziest part of the run, highs and lows and lots of climbs. My knee! My freakin knee! Mile 7 what did you do to my knee ::tears:: I can't give up now but I really want to. Commence silent prayers and quiet tears.  Mile 8 was spent in agonizing pain. I want to give up. Can I get a medic? But no. Kept going. What is that I hear? Is that angels? OH NO! Its PARTY ROCK! Mile 9 volunteers are blasting Party Rock Anthem and shuffling! Lets do this!!!

Miles 10-12
Pain, pain, pain. Slowest of all my miles. I'm in insane pain. Inner part of my knees are screaming in agonizing defeat.  My glutes are tight and so are my hammies.  Thank God for compression socks, my calves are okay. Oh crap, I lost 2:45, wheres 3:00? Oh man. Shes right behind me. NO!!! I'm almost there I can't give up! I have the salty face swag going on right now but I'm freezing! Oh man! Lets do this!

Miles 13
Lets push through this Cat! Lets push through this!!!

Mile .1
OMG.

FINISH
I got my medal, my water, and this ice cold towel. Give me some FRS and green TEA! Oh look, burrito! I want a piece. Bananas! FOOD! Give me food! I'll eat anything! I can't believe I ran all that on a teaspoon of peanut butter and 3 GUs. I'm crying tears of joy and jubilation!

Before I reveal my time, lets go back to the beginning. So heres the elevation chart for Morgan Hill just to give you all an idea. Its not anywhere near the toughness of San Francisco Marathon but compared to my only ever half marathon, its a dozzie:

You see the difference?

Anyway. I ran that half with my heart and my feet and apparently my glutes.

My official time:

2:57:11

I officially shaved off more than 10 minutes from my previous PR. That includes the hills, the not eating breakfast, being sick amongst other female issues.  Ten freakin' minutes! With only two runs in between the two halves: a one miler and a 3 miler.  10 minutes.

I mean for sure, now I can't walk, and my gutes hurt and I'm about to foam roll right now, but 10 minutes? 

My next scheduled half is the Hollywood Half in April of 2012.  Too far for me, so I'm looking for more.

I. Am. Addicted.

I know that 13.1 will be my magic number. I want to do a full, but right now, 13.1 it is. From 5k to 13.1. Mentally during the run I was at peace. The distance was no issue and I wasn't thinking about how agonizing it was, until mile 8 when my knees totally seized on me. But I ran through it. I was crying, I did say there were tears right, but I ran through it and pushed through. 10 freakin' minutes.

There is my finishers medal and my series medal! I'm so happy. In major pain but super happy. I surprised myself at how I've improved my endurance and now I know the importance of speed & hill work.  Now, hills  are probably my favorites! Keeping at it, not walking, hills = improved leg muscles & better cardio workout. Its a win win!

I was in so much pain that on the way home, I kept on wanting to take my foot off the gas and curl up. It was so painful driving back. I had my cold towel on my knees as "ice" because I forgot to bring my ice, running late in the morning remember?

Anyway! That was half marathon #2! I want to do 2 more by Hollywood Half, thats the plan anyway. But we shall see! Right now, I everything from my waist down hurts. My glutes, hip flexors, and hammies especially. But it is so worth it! So worth it!

Here is to more miles. More half marathons. More full marathons. More training runs. More hills. Keep on running everyone!

... because running marathons or half marathons or even 5ks doesn't mean you run 26.2 or 13.1. or 3.1 miles.  for runners, they would have ran 300 or more miles even before reaching the starting line.

My Essentials

My essentials for Sunday. I have decided to bring out my Lunarglide+2 instead of my 3. I've been wearing them lately and they are pretty comfy and now I can say I used both for half-marathons and will have a good comparison.

Rockin' the pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Thought pink shorts might be over kill but I do have them should I change my mind.

Pre-Race Anxiety

I can't sleep. I'm pretty anxious about this run.  I'm pretty scared about the hills so if I beat my PR, even by a minute, I will be super happy and my confidence will probably jump to an all time high! I'm thinking about so many things for the run.  To wear my CEP compression sleeves or not? Lunarglide+ 2 or 3? I'm actually thinking about taking my Saucony Kinvara 2.  (I also want to buy the Saucony Cortana to try em out. Supposedly like Kinvara with a little more cushioning.) What shirt am I going to wear? What shorts? Do I wear my running tights? How cold is going to be? And just so many things. I've never been to Morgan Hill except in passing and I'm debating if I want to go to the expo to check out the actual place since I've never been there, but it is pretty far from me. 

If that picture looks familiar, it should.

I did pick up my packet from a local running store today. I got my bib, shirt, & the oh so ever present cinch bag. Haha! I have more cinch bags from the last six months than my entire life thus far! All from racing events.  I'm so excited. The shirt is awesome. Its from K-Swiss and its not that typical slick & shiny material for a running shirt. Its 100% poly but its textured! Its also one of my favorite colors, blue! It has the principal sponsor's company name on the back, but I don't mind. They are a local company and I love supporting local companies.  So excited!

I'm also confirmed for this:

Like that "!Double" by my name?! I do too! That means I completed the series and I get my series medal! I'm so damn excited!!! They have some awesome bling. They are adding another race to the series next year and I'm thinking about completing all three for another medal, but it means I have to do all three next year.  Its only two this year. So while "series medal" seems a little over kill, I'll take it!

While at the store to pick up my packet, I wanted to buy another pair of CEP Compression but in sock form. I wanted the pink ones but they only had the sleeves in my size.  I can't believe how expensive they are. I really want to wear my sleeve but I wanted the socks. I did find their Injini's were a lot cheaper than retail! I didn't buy any. I ended up buying two Clif Bars, pumpkin & peppermint stick, a mini pink Blender Bottle for my protein shakes, & laundry detergent made specially for workout clothes. I spend so much on my clothes, I want to make sure that they retain their wickness ability and their coating and stuff.  I had 10% off because of the event so it was all good! I just wish they had the CEPs! If not, I'll have to wait for a sale. Hopefully this upcoming season of sales is kind. I've been needing new clothes because as my friend put it, I'm "disappearing" and a lot of my clothes, workout & normal life,  don't fit anymore. Its a blessing, but up to now I'm still wearing the same clothes!

Anyway! I should try and sleep. Going to go for a 3 miler to stretch out the legs for Sunday!

DO OR DIE!

Signing My Life Away

This just happened a little over a month ago, remember this?

Now that your memory is refreshed, does this look familiar?

I always feel like I'm signing my life away when I fill out the waiver forms for races. Even more so for Morgan Hill because as the name implies, there are hills.  Not San Francisco Status, but there are still hills. Packet pick up today! Debating if I should drive out for the expo on Friday & Saturday but its a long way from me. The pick up is in a local running store.

So anxious, scared, nervous, but really excited.  I haven't had a run longer than 3 miles since my last half a little over a month ago. My lungs and leg muscles had a really long rest period, time to get things rolling again.

PS. SO EXCITED for the double medal. Seriously, I love running for the bling! Also, thats not my address, I obviously wouldn't put that up.

Rest

Usually by this time I'll be done with my workout, laying on the floor and cooling down after cooling down.

Right now, this is my view

Spirit of the Marathon loading on Netflix and a bowl of oatmeal with frozen blueberries drizzled in honey, my favorite.

I have this weird thing where I will wake up after four hours of sleep. I usually don't knock back out unless I'm super tired of I'm in vacation, and I guess last night I was neither super duper tired- just tired, or in vacation.  I slept pretty early, for me that means anytime before 3 am, but I still woke up 4 hours later and I couldn't sleep.  But I woke up sore.  I forget that for me when I do P90x arms & shoulders the soreness doesn't kick in till a couple of days later.  The push ups? Thats like after the first one, haha! But I woke up and my entire upper body was, and still is, sore.  I was thinking of doing yoga, but I remembered this quote:

Activity isn't always progress; sometimes it's just activity. Rest is always rest

-Bob Goff

Bog Goff is neither a runner or a P90x-er. But he is one of the most inspiring person I know.  He does a lot of philantrophic work and really has a heart after the people. If you want to learn more about him, "Friend" him on Facebook or add him on Twitter.

Anyway, was thinking about that quote and how its true.  As a runner, I love being out there and running.  There are days when I don't want to be out there, there are days when I have to push myself to be out there, but I love it.  Same applies to working out, I always feel the need to be busy.  To be doing something, anything just to be out there.

But there is truth in that: activity isn't always progress. Sometimes when we do something (run too much, work out too much, or other things that isn't related to fitness) we can be doing more harm than good.  This quote is a great reminder that a little down time is a good thing.  That recovery time is necessary so we don't waste all our hard work. Its also good for the mind. 

I'm a type of person who will run to get her mind off things, and my mind has been on a lot of things lately.  I'm learning that running to resolve those things isn't a bad thing, but endorphins doesn't replace rest.  The peace of mind that comes after running doesn't replace an honest talk.  Resolution doesn't come after mile 10, but it comes when we learn to face it head on.  So while I still run to get my mind off things, I also rest to get my mind of things, with the knowledge that neither those two things alone will resolve anything, but they sure help me a lot. Resting to get my mind of things for me is like watching Spirit of the Marathon; it always gets me bawling, and its inspirational movies like this that make me happy, gives my legs a rest, & still motivates me like I'm training.  Have you seen the movie? Its on Netflix. I dare you to watch it and not get inspired! But its true, rest is a big part of training.

Sure its just yoga, but I know my body will appreciate this rest from working out and that means I'll be fresher for my hilly half this weekend.  I could have been like "screw it" and worked out my arms & shoulders again and be miserable this weekend and actually didn't help myself since my  muscles didn't have enough time to recover. So I think this morning's alternative is a very good thing. Oatmeal, blueberries, honey, & Spirit of the Marathon.