Weekend Inspiration

I told my parents that I want to train to run the Disney Marathon in January and they told me I wouldn't be ready. Nothing bothers me more than having the people that are supposed to be my support system telling me that I am not capable of achieving my dreams. I am sick of being held back. I want to go after my dreams & realize my full potential. I know that I will be capable of completing a marathon come January and I am not going to let anyone stop me. I am strong & I am a fighter; and anyone who doesn't support me doesn't have to be a part of this. I will be running a marathon in January because I can.

Marathon!

It is not official since I have to figure out travel plans with my family but I am going to run the Disney World MARATHON January 8! I am freaking out! I seriously don't know if it is normal to be this excited about running my first marathon but I am beyond excited right now!

I woke up at 9:00 yesterday morning to head out for a quick run. Even though I only ran 2.14 miles I was dead by the end. It was much hotter than anticipated and so I should of run in a tank. I did more hill work, which didn't help either. I was so sweaty by the time I got home my dad asked me if my face was going to explode. I don't think I hydrated enough because I was sweating all day long and my body temperature was bouncing up & down. I took a cold shower after my run but I don't think that helped too much.

My mom & I went to the mall to find a dress for the wedding in May. I got a pretty yellow dress (yellow is my favorite color), but couldn't find any shoes to go with it. I also got some pajama shorts, a sweater, a tank, a running shirt, 2 pairs of running shorts, and 2 sports bras. I was very happy with my purchases yesterday and can't wait to take my new running clothes out on the road.

Today I am headed to the pool for a quick swim, followed by my daily filling of Insanity. Callen came home late last night so I am very excited to see him tonight and hear all about how his trip to Arizona was.

Upcoming Week

With my 5K less than three weeks away I am trying to really buckle down and stay committed to my training plan. Last night my dad & I went out on a practice ride on our mountain bikes to make sure they were working well. We rode around 5 easy miles before deciding to go to Rita's for some dessert. I got a mango gelati with vanilla custard and my dad got a strawberry-kiwi ice. It really hit the spot after our quick ride. I was going to go out for a run last night but it was storming pretty badly after our ride so I didn't make it out.

This morning we hit the trail again for a nice 10 mile ride. I don't know how fast we were going but my legs were pretty tired by the time we were done. I really need to start biking more to get ready for this triathlon. Even though we rode on a flat surface the whole time I did feel relatively confident that I could complete the 15 miles for the triathlon. I just need to work on doing more hill work. Once I get my racing bike I should be able to tackle more hills. Hopefully.

When we got home I decided to continue my workout by doing Cardio Power & Resistance of Insanity. It was the perfect workout for how tired my legs were. This workout has more upper body moves than the others, which gave my legs the break they needed. After I (barely) finished, I hopped in the shower before sitting down with my family for a late Easter lunch. I had some wonderful veggies that tasted like perfection after my workout.

My training for this week looks like this:
Monday       run 2.5 miles, Pure Cardio & Cardio Abs, swim 45 min
Tuesday       bike 10 miles, Plyo Cardio Circuit
Wednesday  run 2.5 miles, Pure Cardio & Cardio Abs, swim 45 min
Thursday      bike 6 miles, Cardio Recovery
Friday          run 2.5 miles, Cardio Power & Resistance, swim 45 min
Saturday      rest

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everybody! Have fun today and enjoy this wonderful weather!

Some Weekend Motivation

I found this awesome photo and decided to post it as motivation for this coming weekend:

I love the photo and the quote. I am really trying to realize my full potential with everything in life and really go after what I want. I want to have no regrets and never wonder if I could have gone faster, longer, or harder in a race.

Holiday Weekend

I hope everybody has a wonderful Easter weekend and eats lots of candy! I am planning on spending the weekend with my family. Since it is supposed to pour all day Saturday I am planning on putting on a National Geographic special that I have been dying to see and hitting the recumbent bike to knock out the 8 miles I was supposed to do on Thursday. If the rain clears out at all I am going to go on a 2.8 mile run through the neighborhood that I didn't get in today because my stomach wasn't feeling it. I know, I know. I have not been sticking with my workouts as much as I should but I plan on catching up some tomorrow. I also have Cardio Recovery to do for Insanity tomorrow, which I am looking forward to trying out.

Sunday morning my dad and I are going for a bike ride on the trail by our house. Nothing fast, just a leisurely ride to start getting accustomed to riding on a regular bike again. I have been only riding the recumbent bike for a couple months so I am anxious to get outside on a real bike soon. My sister is coming home on Sunday so we are having a nice Easter lunch together and then heading to 5:00 mass at York College. My mom made these really cute Easter bunnies made out of chocolate for my sister's boyfriend, but don't worry, she is also making some for us too. I can't wait to indulge in some chocolately goodness!

Have a great weekend!

9:45

Workout: 2.65 miles

I went out for a run today in my new shoes and it was awesome. I felt great and powerful and strong. I was not over pronating nearly as much as I ever have before and I was not having any knee pain at all. I did some hill work too, which went surprisingly well. I was really impressed by how much better my breathing was today too. Instead of running the whole time I decided to walk for one song and then run for one. I ended up running more than running because I was feeling so good, and according to my Garmin my fastest pace was 9:34. I was really happy with this pace because I was by no means trying to run fast. I am just focusing on getting into the groove of running and getting my body accustomed before worrying about speed.

I also did Pure Cardio for Insanity today. I have not done this workout yet but I really liked it. I am noticing that my running is getting significantly better since I started Insanity. I am quicker, my breathing is better, and I am stronger. My legs are pretty sore from Pure Cardio plus my run but they still feel pretty good. Tomorrow I am supposed to do Plyometric Cardio Circuit in addition to another run of 2.25 miles. I am hoping to do more than 2.25 miles as long as I am still feeling good.

I Can Do It

Recently I have set a lot of goals for myself. These goals include running, tri-ing, school, and just life in general. I have been having a really hard time lately not swimming. I can still swim leisurely, but nothing compared to the twenty hours a week I was used to putting in. I used to be a national caliber swimmer and now I am not. It is hard to think of myself of an athlete anymore now that I am not competing anymore. Besides dealing with no longer being able to swim, I am also dealing with falling a semester behind in school due to coming home this semester for surgery. Back in the fall I was diagnosed with thoracic outlet with an extra rib. This extra rib had to be removed in early January & prevented me from returning to Pitt in the spring. When I found out that on top of all this it would end my swimming career I was heartbroken.

Back in November I became really inspired by the New York City Marathon. I was reading about it everywhere and thought it looked like the perfect marathon to do. I have never been much of a runner I knew that running a marathon was not something that I would be doing any time soon. But the inspiration stuck. Now I think it was a disguised message telling me that I would soon be much closer to running a marathon than I ever thought possible. When I found out I needed surgery I decided the only logical thing for me to do in order to stay in shape was to start running. I have been slowly but surely running more and faster, and the more I run the more I love it. I love the feeling of accomplishment, of being an athlete, and of being strong.

I decided that I wanted to sign up for running races in order to hold myself accountable to sticking with running and not just giving up when it got tough. My first race is a 5K in May. I wanted to start off with something short so I don't have to be rushed into anything and can minimize the risk of developing an injury. The 5K is my short term goal. I also wanted to have a long term goal, something that was not too far away but not as near as a couple weeks. So I decided that I was going to run the Baltimore Half Marathon in October. I will have enough time to train to the half without feeling overwhelmed (I hope). I then decided that I wanted to run a marathon in 2012. As of now I am hoping to run the Pittsburgh Marathon in May of 2012 and the Philadelphia Marathon in November of 2012.

As part of my cross training for both swimming and running I have started biking a lot. Although all of it has been on a stationary recumbent bike I have still been pushing out a good amount of miles. It then occurred to me that even though I can't be a competitive swimmer anymore doesn't mean that I can't do any type of swimming. Which means that between my love of swimming, my love of biking, and my love of running it only makes sense that I should do a triathlon. I plan on doing a sprint triathlon in June and an Olympic distance one in August, with my ultimate goal being completing a half ironman and a full ironman at some point.

I love realizing that I am still an athlete and I am not going to let anybody tell me otherwise. If people are not supportive of my goals than they do not need to be a part of them. I am going to surround myself with only those will support me 100% and want to see me succeed. I am tired of not going after my dreams because I am afraid of failing and afraid of injury. I don't want to be limited anymore. I feel like I am starting over and it is a really good feeling.

New Running Shoes

I finally got some new running shoes! They are so comfortable & I can't wait to hit the roads with them tomorrow. I got a pair of Brooks Adrenalines in blue. I also picked up some shorter running tights and a short sleeved running shirt, and a new pair a headphones. I am really excited to try out my new goodies tomorrow on my run. Hopefully it won't be raining too badly tomorrow but I doubt it. It is supposed to rain every day for the next week. 

Tonight's workout was a 6 mile bike ride on the recumbent bike. I was going to do Insanity tonight but my stomach was really bothering me for awhile and my bike ride took priority. I biked faster tonight than I have ever before and I felt great doing so. The side of my back is still bothering me some so I am trying to rest it as much as possible. Therefore, I didn't do my normal strength exercises. I am going back to see my physical therapist on Thursday to learn some stretches and make sure everything is okay. 

I will report back with how my shoes work out tomorrow!

Weekly To-Do List

I was supposed to do the recovery video of Insanity today but I ran out of time. I had a business assignment and a nutrition assignment that took way longer than expected, plus I took the boyfriend shopping for some shorts and new sneakers today. I looked for some new running shoes that will be good for my over pronating feet but I didn't like any of the ones I saw. I tried on the pair on Nike Lunarglides +2 but they didn't offer much support so I was pretty disappointed. But I helped Callen pick out some shorts to take on his trip to Arizona and the Grand Canyon and some new sneakers that will help with his flat feet. I did get a new pair of shorts from American Eagle, though.

Since my parents were in Hawaii this past week Callen stayed up here with me for most of the week. I loved the extra time I got to spend with him and not having to deal with having parents around. I am pretty bummed that he is going away for the week with his family though. I got very comfortable with him staying over every night and waking up in his arms. But he will be back next Monday, which isn't too horrible. With him being away I am looking forward to getting a lot done this week and focusing more on my training.

Here is what I have lined up for the week:
1. International Business exam tomorrow
2. Sign up for 5K
3. Go grocery shopping
4. Buy new running shoes
5. Get facial
6. Read Kara Goucher's new book
7. Buy some short sleeve running shirts
8. Find 100 contacts for Cliche
9. Find a dress for my cousin's wedding
10. Get allergy shot


Good luck to Page, Keri, Emily, Beth, Corey, Aron, Susan, and everyone else running Boston tomorrow!

Insanity Day 2

I did Insanity again today, but instead of doing Plyometric Cardio Circuit I did Cardio Power & Resistance. Todays workout was much better than yesterdays. I felt great today I did not feel dead afterwards. I decided to do it without shoes today since I do it on carpet and I am really trying my very best to not have any knee injuries in the near future. I really liked not having shoes and think that is why I feel so great now. I also liked todays workout better because it was more upper body work, which I LOVE. It is incredibly difficult for me, both mentally and physically, to do lower body exercises so a good back & arms sweat session is perfect for me. I had wanted to do some yoga after Insanity to help me stretch out since I was so sore when I woke up this morning but my On Demand refused to work so it was no yoga for me. I was also supposed to run 2 miles today but I decided to do them tomorrow morning. I will report back with more updates!

Insanity Day 1

I did my first day of Insanity yesterday and it was much harder than I remember. My plan is to do the workouts five days a week instead of the recommended six. I want to give myself some more rest days since I am running, swimming, biking, and boxing throughout the week also. I am going to go another Insanity tape tonight, in addition to a swim and a 2 mile run. I am pretty sore today but I love that feeling. My hamstrings, calfs, and back are sore, which may make working out tonight pretty difficult but I am going to try anyway.

Also, I am looking into buying some running shoes that will help keep my knees from hurting. I over pronate when I run so I am looking at getting some Nike Lunarglides :)

Stomach Ache

I was supposed to run 2 miles again today but my stomach is really hurting and has been all day. I managed to get out of the house to hit up the grocery store and take Gracie to the dog park but right now I am ready to crash.At the grocery store I picked up some Greek yogurt, vegan sweet potato chips, frozen yogurt, bananas, and lots of new types of tea. I didn't get too much but I really don't need that much food.

Insanity came today and as long as my stomach isn't bothering me tomorrow I am going to do one of the videos. I got a free additional video to with it since I ordered from somewhere other than Beach Body (the company that makes Insanity). In addition to Insanity, I plan on going for a swim, doing some yoga, and either going for a run or a bike ride depending on the weather.

Biggest Loser Tuesday

My favorite day of the week :) I had a wonderful workout full of biking, push ups, boxing, and some physical therapy moves. I biked 5 miles on the recumbent bike at a different level than normal and boy was that hard. I really pushed myself on the bike tonight and I was so proud of myself for not giving up when I saw how hard it was. I did 50 push ups on the bosu ball; 5 sets of 10. I was going to walk on the treadmill for a little but I figured I would just save my walking/running for tomorrow.

For breakfast today I had maple brown sugar oatmeal with almond milk. It was delicious and basically what I have been eating for breakfast every day lately. Later, I decided to make some spinach with mozzarella cheese and a lean cuisine pizza for lunch. It was perfect! I was craving some spinach and the pizza went along perfectly. Then for dinner I made another lean cuisine meal: 3 cheese baked ziti. In addition to my ziti I made a smoothie with some frozen tropical fruit and almond milk. I had half of my smoothie with dinner and the other half other my workout. During the whole workout I was really craving that smoothie.

Tomorrow I am going to finally go grocery shopping to pick up some yummy treats for the week.

2 miles

As part of my training plan for my 5k in May and my triathlon in June I ran 2 miles today. Well actually I ran 1.35 miles and walked the last .65 because my shins were really hurting and I didn't want to get shin splints this close to the race. However, I do need to find some stretches or something to help prevent getting shin splints. Back when I was running in Pittsburgh I got this pain in the side of my shins, not the front, that lasted for at least a solid month. It hurt while swimming, going up the stairs, and even just sitting down. As much as I don't want to get shin splints, I want to stick to my training plans.

So tonight I ran 1.35 miles at 12:17 pace, which is around my normal pace. I am really having a lot more trouble than I anticipated with running. My legs are just not fans of moving a whole lot. When I swim I basically just use my arms and let my legs float. But I am hoping that eventually I will figure all this out and my legs will move when I want them to.

In addition to the run, I also did some push ups on the stability ball and some tricep dips. I didn't want to do much strengthening today since I normally do a bunch on Tuesdays, but I wanted to do something other than just the run.

Tomorrow I am going to complete my usual Biggest Loser workout in addition to a nice swim. I have really been craving an outdoor swim and even though I can't use an outdoor pool a swim would still be very refreshing.

PS. Insanity should be here Wednesday! I am so excited to get totally ripped!

Insanity

Over the summer my swim team did the Insanity workouts as our dryland training. I completely fell in love with insanity. It is so hard yet so fun. I feel like I am working as hard as I can yet I do not hate the workouts. They are different and very challenging, which is why I find them so awesome. I decided today to order my own copy of insanity so that I can get in the best shape of my life and help my training. I am so excited to be starting insanity in a few weeks :)

New Training Plan

I am training to run my first race of 2011 and my first running race in three years: the Dillsburg Pickle Chase. It is only a 5K but I want to get myself into running and not just hoping for the best. I want to feel prepared for this race. I was previously following the Hal Hidgon training plan for novices but I didn't like it very much and was having a hard time staying with it so I decided to switch to the couch to 5K program. I missed the first four weeks of the training plan so I am just going to start with the last five weeks and hope it works.

This is what it looks like:

April 10-16

Monday                 5 min walk, 1/2 mile run, ¼ mile walk, ½ mile run, ¼ mile walk, ½ mile run

Wednesday           5 min walk, ¾ mile run, ½ mile walk, ¾ mile run

Friday                     5 min walk, 2 mile run

April 17-23

Monday                 5 min walk, ½ mile run, ¼ mile walk, ¾ mile run, ¼ mile walk, ½ mile run

Wednesday           5 min walk, 1 mile run, ¼ mile walk, 1 mile run

Friday                     5 min walk, 2.25 mile run

April 24-30

Monday                 5 min walk, 2.5 mile run

Wednesday           5 min walk, 2.5 mile run

Friday                     5 min walk, 2.5 mile run

May 1-7

Monday                 5 min walk, 2.75 mile run

Wednesday           5 min walk, 2.75 mile run

Friday                     5 min walk, 2.75 mile run

May 8-14

Sunday                   5 min walk, 3 mile run

Tuesday                 5 min walk, 3 mile run

Thursday                5 min walk, 3 mile run

I am excited to be training for something, although I wish I was still able to swim competitively. I still hope to be able to run a half marathon in the fall and then a marathon sometime in 2012

Ugh

I had to take measurements tonight for the dress I am going to wear for the wedding in May and boy was I not happy to see those numbers. I was never very happy with my body but right now is definitely the heaviest I have ever been. I feel tired all the time, my face is oily and breaking out, and I am just not as happy as I once was. But I am trying to change all that by getting back into shape.

I didn't get to workout again today because my stomach was really bothering me. Tomorrow I plan on killing myself. And since my parents will not be home at all next week I am going to spend every minute possible working out and trying to lose weight.

My measurements:
Waist (narrowest point): 28.75
Waist (Navel): 33
Hips: 40
Thighs: 24.25

Also my body fat is much higher than it should be, at 28.9%. The ideal body fat percent is 22%. I knew I had gained weight but I really didn't realize how much I had let my body go. When I was competitively swimming I could eat whatever I wanted and I didn't feel like I was working out. Swimming was something that was more important to me than anything else so it always felt like nothing more than a part of my everyday routine. Now that I have stopped swimming I still view myself as an athlete but in reality I do not workout that much. I workout maybe 2-3 times a week. But I still feel like an athlete because I never felt like I was working out when I really was an athlete. Not only do I want to get my body back but I want to become an athlete again. I want to feel strong and beautiful and capable of doing anything that I want.

Happy Thursday

So I didn't get to workout yesterday but I figured I could use it as my rest day for the week. I weighed myself yesterday morning at 141.5 which is not good. I have been eating healthier and exercising more but I seem to be gaining weight instead of losing it. Today I plan on going to a quick run before I get my hair cut and then biking once I get home. My back was pretty sore from my workout Tuesday so I am going to try to do some of those same exercises again. I love feeling like I am getting stronger :)

My Running World magazine came in the mail yesterday and I am so excited to read it. I flipped through it last night and it seems to be full of interesting tips and motivational pieces.

For breakfast I had some eggs and toast. Nothing too exciting but enough for breakfast. For lunch I am going to have spinach, and lots of it. I love spinach and honestly can't get enough of it.

I am also going to try cutting out all dairy from my diet to see if that helps with my allergies and acne. I am also hoping this will help me lose some weight. On the plus side this will help me on my journey to becoming a vegan :)

Cliche Magazine

I am interning currently at Cliche Magazine and the relaunch of the magazine is June 1. I am so grateful to be a part of something this amazing, and I cannot to see how successful it turns out to be. This is the promotional video for the relaunch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJAjAoW4W-o&feature=channel_video_title

Check it out :)

Biggest Loser

Last night was my favorite workout night of the week. I rode the bike for 56 minutes while watching Biggest Loser, plus I did some strengthening stuff. Tricep dips and angled push ups on the bosu ball are probably the two things that I am struggling with the most right now. After having three upper body surgeries in the past three years I simply do not have the strength that I used to when I was swimming 15+ hours a week. But I am working on getting my strength back and focusing on building my endurance.

 I was so proud of myself last night. I was super hungry after my workout so I had a yogurt, but I was still hungry and wanted a hummus wrap. I knew that eating that much so late at night was not a good idea so I pushed my way through and skipped the hummus wrap. I figured I could save those calories and have a huge breakfast today. Which I did. I had breakfast around noon so it was really brunch. I had 2 eggs, a strawberry-banana-orange smoothie, and a bowl of oatmeal. This will hopefully keep me full until dinner.

Wedding

My cousin is getting married Labor Day Weekend and I have a beautiful dress that I need to fit into. My goal is to lose at least five pounds by then and twenty pounds by the end of the year. I know this is an ambitious goal but I am not proud of my body the way I used to be and it really bothers me. I want to feel confident because I am strong and beautiful and capable. In order to lose this weight I have come up with some goals:

1. Cut back on sodium intake
2. Drink 8 glasses of water a day
3. 5 servings of fruits & veggies a day
4. Stick to my training plans
5. Incorporate healthy activities into my life

I generally eat pretty healthy but lately I could do a better job. I have been working on exercising more and getting back in shape, which is super important to me. I am training to run a 5K May 14 and hoping to run a half marathon in the fall.

I will be weighing in every Wednesday morning to keep track of how I am doing

Happy Monday

I was supposed to run 2 miles today but only got in 1.5 because my hips and knees were really bothering me. Plus I ended up walking a bunch of it. When I came home I rode the bike for 30 min. I really like biking but I wish I could get more into running.

For breakfast I had a bowl of frosted mini wheats with almond milk.

Lunch was a three cheese baked ziti, an orange, some crackers with guacamole, and a weight watchers dessert