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!

Training Run 08/31/11

I "ran," or really pity walked 4 miles today.

I'm never going to do plyometrics the day before I plan to do a long run. You know what, scratch that, I'm never going to do plyometrics ever.

It hurts. It feels like I rode a horse for 24 hours straight. Its insane. Its painful. My inner hammies and glutes and everything is in so much pain.  Its a good pain tho and if this is how ___ feels like, I'm looking forward to it.

So, lets not talk about my measly run, Nike+ isn't broadcasting it over Twitter so that sucks, but whatever.  They probably know how much it sucked and was like "PASS!"

Instead lets talk about yesterday.

Yesterday, I realized that I:

hit 100 miles!!! Ever since I got my Nike+ GPS!!! So my yearly total is WAY over 100  miles! My goal? Try to get 200 miles more (so lofty, realistically another 100) by the end of the year!

Yesterday, I also went shopping!

Oh wait, not for that... Haha. I just found it weird that this car was parked by the dumpster.

I went shopping at Sport Chalet which is having an additional 50% off their clearance items! I saw these:

Lunarglide+2 in Sharks color! Sharks the hockey team, not the one that swims around in the ocean. Haha. I wanted them but decided against it.  They were $40 after the sale but to be honest, the Lunarglide+3 are way better than the 2s.  Like a-lot. Its sorta not worth having two pairs of the 2.

But I did walk away with this:

A new pair of Nike Running Tempo shorts!!! Tempo shorts are like the "holy grail" of Nike running shorts. I like em a lot. But I also like my Nike Pacer shorts alot. The pacers are a little lower rise and have two pockets. One in the back like the Tempos and a "secure" one in the front. Its pretty cool. Whats even cooler? I scored these for $10!! Retail price? $32!!! I scored all my shorts from Sport Chalet sales all at $10!!! Isn't that neat? Oh wait, whats even neater?! I had to size down! SIZE DOWN!!! What the f'ck is that?! I'm now on mediums. For shorts at least. I doubt my super calves can fit in a medium =| I hate my calves. I like to poke em and say "shrink."

Anyway, that was my day yesterday.

I'm not as down as I was. But maybe cuz I'm on an endorphin kick right now. But I really need to hit that 10 miler this week and hopefully a 13 next week then taper the last week, which isn't really tapering at all because that last week is the actual event.

::shrieks::

PS. This:

while healthy, is not proper dinner the night before a long run.  It just didn't work. Not enough carbs. And even for the whole day, not enough carbs. I had cheese and toast with greek yogurt for breakfast, 1/3 of a protein bar that I didn't finish at all (I have no clue where the other 2/3 of it went), a piece of bread when I got home, then that for dinner and another yogurt.  I was watching a video of when I was PTFO drunk on my 25th birthday and I said "I don't like carbs cuz running and carbs don't mix." or was it "I like carbs cuz running and carbs mix?" but whatever it was, I'll watch the video again, I really need to carb up. I can't be afraid of that.  I'm still dropping weight which is good tho. But right now shouldn't be a time to obsess over that.

When The Bad Ain't So Bad- 11!!!

I'm paying the consequences of party hardy from last night and had a hard time running. I was going to not go at all because today was supposed to be a four miler.

I decided to just go and do at least a mile. I was just going to walk the entire thing. I also had no mp3 player and I didn't eat real food today (2 croissants and cheese, thats it) and is dehydrated... I just wasn't feeling it.

I actually walked and texted in the beginning of my run.

Then with nothing to distract me I just decided to run for a mile so I ran it.

And PR'ed my mile!

From 11 minutes and 57 seconds a few days ago to 11 minutes flat!

Thats 57 seconds off with walking and texting breaks?! i know I can get it to 10 minutes and 30 seconds!

What is even more amazing is that it wasn't PUKE pace either. I was still able to breathe properly, no side stitches, didn't feel like I was gonna die and still had energy to burn after!

So really in the beginning, I had a hard time getting out there. I got home around 1 and was supposed to run around 3, didn't run till 8 stepped outside in my shorts, too cold. Went back in lay down a few seconds put on my sweat pants and got out there anyway.

Was just going to be content in walking and PR'ed anyway!

So really, the bad wasn't that bad.

I know its only a mile, and its 3 miles short of my scheduled 4 miler, but I'm glad I got out there anyway and PRed!

I can do my four miles tomorrow. Then this Sunday, I increase to 5 miles for two Sundays then 6 miles... oh man. Increasing miles always scares me but its little progress like this that makes it all worth it.

PS. I'm so glad its 11. I love the number 11. First of all, I was born on the 11th and today is the 11th of June and I know a lot of people born on the 11th of any month and I just always really loved my birthday. So the fact that it was 11 minutes flat really, really, really made my day!

I Be FAAS Mon!

Today's run was AWESOME!!!

Maybe its the excitement because of the new gear! I ran in my FAAS 300. I've had them a while but haven't used them since I'm getting so comfortable in my Free Runs but I love the FAAS! It will definitely take some time and miles to get used to, but I love them a lot!

In terms of the actual run, I know I could have been better had I been smarter by hydrating and eating before hand. For this entire day, I've had 2 Balance Bars and an Ezekiel toast with cheese. For the entire day. I burned all of that out during my run so I know I'm on a calorie deficit but there was a couple of points in my run where I was dizzy and had to hold on to a tree or a wall for a bit. Oh, I had my handy dandy Chocolate Outrage GU before my run so that helped, but hardly.

I also brought my Nathan water bottle with me and kept on drinking Gatorade because I was sweating like crazy and just needed something anything to fuel me.

The run was good tho! I'm really happy about it. Close to my 5k marathon pace of 40:22, not too shabby considering I'm a penguin. I can't wait to get under 30 minutes for my 5k runs. I was able to do it before, years ago when I completed Couch to 5k, but I never ran a real race then, just did it to do it. Maybe I should do it again after my half marathon training. Its a bit backwards I know, but I just want to make sure I finish my half marathon alive =]

06/23/2011 Run

Look at that road begging to be ran!

Its about .31 miles (so almost a third of a mile) almost flat stretch of road that runs behind the hilly park where I like to run.  That little incline you see towards the end of the road puts you to work when you're going pretty hard then hit that slight incline. Theres a steeper part where I like to run, I'll take a picture of that next week.

For today's run, I went to said hilly park. The route/loop around the park I take is a little over a mile and I do it twice then do intervals on that stretch of road. I did about 3 miles today when I decided to go home (I drove to the park) because there was a group of guys in the park who was being really crass. A side tip for guys, when you begin to objectify girls and act all crass and crude, remember that we are a father's daughter. That when you have your own daughter you would NOT want them to be objectified like that. Its just wrong.  Have some respect. < / rant >

The sun was really brutal today as well. This park has very little shade and when I looped the park, I can feel my skin burning. Its cray. I guess a downside in running is that I'm getting darker. Yes, I know, I'm still light and I still probably glow in the dark, but I can tell the difference. But I'm getting over that.  But yeah. I have to double up my sports bra and it really sucks to have to run in two bras. Its a fact of life for girls, so if you're guy and you just read that and went TMI, well, you know, you'll deal with it when your daughters start running and have tatas =]

I also didn't eat prior. I had  GU and took my multi vitamin with Gatorade and dipped out.  The GU helped a lot since I my energy level was pretty out there. I was able to jog/run twice of that flat stretch of road (2/3 of a mile) under the blazing sun without stopping! So happy to see progress in endurance. I've been "running" in that park for over a year and that park owned me all the time, I would really walk instead of run. It would take me 20+ minutes to finish a mile lap around the park.  Now it takes me 10-15 depends how sunny it is and how fueled I am. And that park is hilly! HILLY I tell you! HILLY! I'm really happy with my progress tho.  When I get my new gizmo, I can track millage more accurately and I'm sorta looking forward to that, sorta not because I've been so focused on just being able to jog/run for a longer amount of time that I've been sticking to 3 milers.

As far as aches & pains, my left knee (the notorious complainer of the two) is kinda hurting, but nothing too bad where I can't tolerate or I have to brace it 24/7, which I've had to do before.  While running, I had a dull pain in my rib cage, sorta like a side stitch but in my rib cage? A rib cage stitch?  But nothing that lasted too long or didn't go away when I stopped "pushing" it.  Which was kinda a hard since I fartlek'ed today.

But yeah, longest run re-cap ever! Haha. I loved todays run except for those guys. I know I could have ran more! Maybe later on when then sun isn't blazing I'll do another 3 miler. Or really, I should P90!

As far as weight loss, I haven't weighed myself in a while since I'm carb cycling and carb cycling will ultimately result in weight loss but in the beginning weight will fluctuate and I tend to obsess over numbers on the scale. So yeah. I forced weight loss to the back burner so I don't obsess over it. But I know I'm ganing muscle (especially my legs, 'ole mole!) and loosing fat because my clothes are fitting way better. I need to find my measuring tape. Surprsing I can't find one of mine becasue I sew and have a bunch of em!

Grass!

For todays run I decided to go to my old elementary school and run laps around the grass. I figured I'm going to be starting the training for the half very soon and that includes increasing miles and stuff so I should take it easy on the knees. I read that 1 pound = 4 pounds of pressure on the knees. That is just greater motivation for me to get rid of excess weight and to be better. I have a new found appreciation for my knees that take all this beating without complaining. Okay, well they complain sometimes, but not too much!

I ran around in the grassy field but I guess I had high expectations.  Most of the "trail" was actually hard and dry dirt and the grass hid a lot of the holes!  With the Frees, my feet were able to adapt to the "terrain" since this really was more like terrain running. I had muscles that I never work/use during my road runs that were aching after a couple of laps.

It was a good run all around. I walked to the school and ran around some then ran back home. I'm so glad that my endurance is improving SO much from when I first started. It makes me happy to see progress in that area and I really enjoy pushing it.  I've also been experiencing shoulder pain and elbow pain from running. Its weird, but someone told me to think of myself as a limp doll that someone is lifting by the head and my shoulders should have that natural stance.  I'm a visual learner and when I can't see something with my eyes, analogies are the way to go. So through  out my run I was thinking about that analogy and it helped! Not much shoulder pain today and elbow pain? I have no clue how to make away with that, but its decreased as well.

Right now, I'm not really structured as far as my runs, I honestly don't know how far I totaled today, but come June 27, its going to be a lot more structured for that half training.  I'm kinda scared since I love to mess around and have a hard time following anything too structure, but at the same time, I'm also looking forward to something with structure, maybe I'll see more progress that way.

I'm also bummed that I've been slacking off on my P90x! I really really really enjoy P90! Its crazy but its true.  I like the "soreness" and just being all focus and driven [major thanks to jack3d for that one] while lifting. I'll probably wake up early and do some of that tomorrow. Looking forward to it! I don't want to slack of in strength training just cuz I'm training for the half.

Step by Step

Double It Up!

Today, I doubled my miles, from 3 miles to 6 miles (5k to 10k)!

I was really nervous to even begin my run. First of all, I slept really late, past 3:30 am, and so I woke up tired and not motivated to get up and run at all. So I actually ran at 12:10 pm. Second, I was scared that I wouldn't finish and would have to call someone to save my butt! But I did finish!

Granted, I did a good amount of walking, but I'm just glad I finished!

I finished 6 miles in an hour and thirty minutes.

Not bad considering I stopped by walgreens to buy a bottle of water and rent a movie from Red Box! Hahaha!!!

Anyway, it was crazy because the last mile and a half, I felt like puking. Probably from the water, but when I hit about a mile from home, I felt a kick and just ran a good amount of the rest of the way home.

DISCLAIMER, my "running" pace maybe considered a jog compared to those 5 minute per mile people. Crazy mofos, I'll get y'all some day!

Anyway, yeah.

I also doubled up my sports bra, and it helped to lessen back pain after the race! Wheee!

In retrospect, 1:30 is about right for my Pasadena pace of 13 min per mile. But I so wish I can improve that time! Grrr!!!

Even tho I've only done one "race," I think its always a little a bit "better" on race day. The hype that surrounds it feeds your drive to do better. Haha. Hopefully that will ring true.

Anyway, I'm also officially invested in a half or a full marathon for this September! I can pick either or, but I'm leaning towards the half >.<

I'm kinda sad since I'm the only one up here who likes to run and I'm going to finish, cross the line, and be like yey me, go hug yourself Cat -_-

I. AM. SCREWED.

Call me optimistic.

Cal me a dreamer.

Call me idealistic.

Right now, I'm calling me stupid.

I don't know what I was thinking signing up for a 5K with only 20 days after 6 weeks of mandated rest.

I am so disappointed at my run today.

I was set to do an out and back, it was perfect, 3.15 miles, a 5k.

One thing wasn't perfect, after mile number 1, my lower back started to hurt. Not a lot, not like a spine jolting pain that warranted that 6 weeks of no running. It wasn't the same, this wasn't my spine or nerve, it was just my back. I think its my posture when I run. Pushing forward too much and looking down a lot, with good reason, I trip a lot. I feel the need to look down so I wont't trip. None the less, I wussed out. I cut the run in half. From 3 miles to 1.5.

To say the very least, I am so disappointed.

I know I should cut my losses, and even cut myself some slack, but cutting that run short pissed me off.

If I haven't booked my flight, I would so back out of the 5K.  Someone else who is way better could be running in my spot, in the 5k that sold out.

But I do acknowledge that I

• Didn't eat properly. I had a balance bar & an energy drink around 9:10 am this morning, and nothing else.
• I didn't stretch properly. I warmed up, but I didn't stretch.
• Didn't pace myself.
• Didn't put on sunblock.  I'm a Cullen. I can't be in the sun. The whole time I was running, I was thinking about how red I'm going to be for the wedding because I didn't put on sunblock.

With those in mind, I still managed to pathetically finish that 1.5  mile run in 20 minutes. If I double that, that is a super pathetic 5k in 40 minutes. Which is only 5 minutes short of the 15 minute per mile cut off that Pasadena has.

Ladies & gentlemen, I will repeat myself:

I. AM. SCREWED.

But since I'm still kickin' & breathin' I know that there are somethings I can do to differently for the next time that I run, tomorrow, that will help improve either a)my time or b)alleviate my pain, which in turn should improve my time.

So tomorrow, I shall

• Eat right! Gosh darn it! I was doing so well eating right till I decided that I've had enough turkey sammiches!
• Stretch! Especially my back. Oh man.
• Wear sunblock.

I'm also going to run again tonight on the treadmill, probably another 1.5 and see if I can cut that time significantly because treadmill is easier. If I can, I'll feel better about my efforts. If I can't, I'm cutting my losses and just see what happens the day of.

I'm really disappointed tho, there is no hiding that. I'm not going to be all emo here and cry, but I'm super duper disappointed.

But a super duper updside,

I love my Free Runs.

LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM.

I have no pain what so ever except my lower back and I'm not heel striking.

So excited about these shoes, I know equipment is only as good as the person who is using them (TWSS!!!) and I wasn't expecting the frees to be a cure all, but yeah, I like em a lot!