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CRYSBROWN1's Recent Blog Entries
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Friday, February 05, 2010
I'm pretty excited, I feel like it's been FOREVER, tomorrow I officially get back into my groove of racing. It really hasn't been so long only really since December but I feel like it's been awhile! I know it's on my profile & all but I LOVE racing! I love the excitement, the nervousness & of course the exhilerating feeling afterwards! This race is good for my "return" it's a small race, the race organizer said only about 100 people. That's okay though because sometimes those are the best ones. Anyhow, it's a 10K & the whole reason that prompted me to do this race is that I need to do one 5K & one 10K before my scheduled half marathon in March. I really missed racing though so this is great that the training included some races. There are not a lot of 10K in my local area so I'm actually traveling to MA for a race that is part of the Snowstorm Classics. Each race has a theme, when I called they said that this theme was a "monopoly" theme, you know like the game. I asked organizer well what does that exactly does that mean or more importantly what should I wear?? He didn't really have any suggestions but anyone that knows me knows I LOVE a theme so I'm thinking this may be an excuse for some sort of costume right?
This race though is giving me mixed feelings though...
Of course I'm really excited...can't wait & the whole thing but I'm hoping I haven't lost my mojo. I don't think I have but for some reason I'm treating this race like no big deal whatsoever. Eerily calm actually which is not typical for me. I'm hoping that that doesn't mean that my head is not in the game or that I don't completely lose it AT the race. Or maybe I'm just used to this whole thing by now & finally came to the conclusion that there is nothing to worry about.
The other feeling that I'm having is the excitement of trying out my new training! I'm training sooooo differently for this half marathon than I have for any other race. I'm doing speedwork (finally getting the hang of it & I think I'm starting to see the importance), tempo runs (something I never paid attention to before but now I'm understanding how to switch my pace!) & I think most importantly I'm learning to conserve my energy & not overtrain. In the past I just kept running, mile & miles at whatever pace felt comfortable at the time, didn't really pay attention to it. Some days were good days & some days not so good but I hacked it through. I'm thinking that this new way is WAY more efficient & I'm hoping that it translates into better results overall. I should think that it would as Hal Higdon IS an expert an all & I'm kinda excited about utilizing these new techniques.
Well until tomorrow when it's onto the race!
Monday, February 01, 2010
What a corny title huh? But that is the only thing that comes to mind when I think about my diet sabotage that occured once AGAIN this weekend...6 lbs gained people!! In one weekend?! Can you even believe it?? Then all week I'll take it off only to do the same thing again! Well I'm tired of saying enough is enough, I need to set EXACT perimeters to fix this problem once & for all! & today is the perfect day to set those rules because it's a Monday plus the start of a new month. You would think all of this would have me excitedly awaiting new things for the new month but not so much, kind of woke of crabby today so I'm hoping by putting it down in writing it'll get me motivated to get moving!
~ January Recap
1. EATING - did way better than December for sure. For the last week of January I did well until Friday evening because I didn't prepare ahead so I ate sodium filled oodles & noodles (I'm sure contributed wonderfully to the 6lbs!). All & all though I was happy that I stuck with eating my good meals during the week for the most part even when stared in the face with temptation, day after day. I did not eat out at all for lunch for the month which is also very good, good for my body & good for my pocket!
2. Catching Up Time - Definitely caught up socially with friends & family this month which had me on the go for the most part, but I like to be busy too so this would fine by me.
3. 100 Crunches per Day - done for every day, except on day when I forgot
4. Strength training 3x per week - done for the month! Hard to get in the habit but now it's good. I am becoming comfortable lifting very small amounts though & I will need to increase the lbs a bit more to see results, this I know!
5. Redecoration Project - DONE
6. Half Marathon Training Start - DONE is staying very consistent, you see I'm really good when things are spelled out in a list!
7. Swimming - DONE, I'm becoming a fish I tell you! I went swimming yesterday for an hour again. I did find out to swim a quarter of a mile for my sprint tri I will need to do 10 laps (forward & back) in the pool for which I practice. Right now I can do one forward & back sooooo needless to say I have work to do, suggestions are welcome!
8. Partying Penguins January Challenge - DONE, & did pretty well overall. I tracked every single day even when I didn't do so well. 64 oz of water is nothing now. I met & exceeded my fitness minute goal PLUS I ran over 100 miles last month!! Crazy when you write that down huh??
With that being said January was pretty good so I'm looking forward to making February count!!
~ February Goals
1. NO FAST FOOD - that's right, this had to be done...I have no choice in the matter, even writing this makes me sad but apparently I don't know what moderation is so having a *little* Burger King or Taco Bell just isn't working for me right now & more importantly I don't need it.
2. Read a TRI book - I want to immerse myself in this tri experience & I was reading a thread on the PP page regarding triathletes courtesy of DANCINGPENGUIN & I found it so interesting that there are so many books about people doing exactly what I'm trying to do at the exact same stage as I am! Can't wait...
3. Take a Fitness Class at the Gym - I've been going to the same gym for 3 years & my membership includes free classes. I have never taken a class ever at this gym! For no good reason either because they have like Zumba & Kettelball & all that but I never take them. Well this month I want to do at least one, the one that I really really need do that I know will kick by butt & I'm a little scared actually is good ol' Spin!
4. Redecoration Project Oldest Son's Room - one room down now we're down to the next. My oldest son's room needs an upgrade. He's already selected his theme, WWE so it should be easy. This time I think I'll actually participate more on the painting & whatnot after I pawned it off on DH last month & I don't know if I'll get away with that again.
5. Check Up Time - We all need to get our dentist check ups this month including the little one who hasn't gone yet. This is just something that I love to procrastinate on because I need to take the time out of work to do it, but it is important to do so this month we're checking this off the list!
6. Make V-Day Special - DH is typically better in this department about making Valentine's Day romantic but this year I want to plan something special. Typically we go away for the weekend but his year we decided not to do that on V-day instead maybe on our anniversary in May because I hate cold weather & it's really not worth it to travel during the month of February. So I want to plan something while staying local that he will really enjoy. We're not big into the pricey gifts but more about the entertainment.
7. Do a 5K & 10K - This is part of my HM training program & I haven't done it yet. It was weird not racing for the whole month of January so honestly I'm happy to get back to my beloved racing! Well the 5K was easy (thanks Lynda!) I have one scheduled for 2/21. I've said it before & I'll say it again 10K's are hard to find! I ended up locating one but it's an hour & 40 minutes away in Massachusetts for this weekend!! You see what procrastination does?? I in no way shape or form anticipated a 10K for this Saturday but I guess it will have to be done.
8. Game Night - Last month I didn't have time to stay at home much & this month I want to at least plan one game night for a weekend evening with the kids. My oldest has such a busy social life now that he's always away. We have had nothing but birthday parties & other events all month so I want to make sure to take the time out to do something just as a family even indoors. We're always taking the kids somewhere but not a ton of time spent at home.
Well that's about it, I better get to work because this list exhausted me just reading it!
Oh & I will still be continuing on with my goals from January now that they've become a habit such as the crunches, eating (hopefully) & strength training but I think it's good for me to add NEW goals every month not just the same that way they become a routine.
Here's to a productive month!
Monday, January 25, 2010
It wasn't him, it was definitely me but Coach Andrew & I have broken up! Ever since I began swim lessons in September, Andrew & I have been inseparable. Every Monday we had our standard lesson & I do credit him for showing me the basics & how not to drown. But then things changed...I changed...once I got the basic technique down I felt like Andrew wasn't really pushing me to go any further. Then I feel like he became complacent, over the month of December for one reason or another Andrew stopped seeing me on Mondays or was always running late. So I always ended up with different coaches which was okay but I started to feel neglected. Then when I would see him sporadically & we would spend more time shooting the breeze then swimming. I knew our relationship wasn't working anymore it was becoming toxic & I knew that we were heading towards a break up. I also knew that it really wasn't his fault, it was mine, you see...I had outgrown Andrew & what we had just couldn't withstand the test of time especially with me needing to up the ante for my triathlon this year...Andrew wasn't going help me get where I needed to be!
Then SHE came into my life...Cheryl! She is the manager for the swim group & she is mean! & that is a good thing! She doesn't really mean to be mean but she's just an extremely direct person & I've seen her punk off little 5 year olds! Cheryl is not down to "hang out" for swim lessons. No way, Cheryl is all business! I've been scolded already about not putting in enough time & Cheryl basically made it seem like I was wasting HER time by not putting in the effort! She even put together some intense drills to get me to swim more & better. She doesn't allow me to breathe only on one side for the freestyle, oh no, you have to breathe on BOTH sides, there is no comfort zone in this woman's mind! & I did not nominate her BTW to be my new coach, she assumed the role & broke up with Andrew for me, she just told me "I've arranged my schedule so that you will have me every week & I will be your new coach going forward, not Andrew" & who was I to argue with that?? Although this woman can be a bit abrasive at times, she knows her stuff & she makes me want to be a better me which translates into me being a better swimmer!
Well I've already seen much improvement since Cheryl came into the picture. I actually went swimming for a HOUR yesterday on a Sunday...typically my day of rest! I did all the drills she taught me & I experienced a break through...I've gotten better! I actually swam from one side of the pool to the other & back without stopping in between! Never have I done this & now I know with her by my side I can make it to the tri...I can't wait to see her & tell her today about my progress, she will be impressed but I know my mean Cheryl...she'll say "that's great" give me a high five or thumbs up & then in the next breath say "now let's get to work!!"
Onto the goals!
1. Redecoration project - DONE, so motivated by this that I'm trying to start February's goal of my oldest son's room!
2. Swimming - DONE, thank you Cheryl! In total put in 1.5 hours this week!
3. Catching up with friends - DONE, I keep forgetting about accounting for this goal, probably because it's not like real work but more like fun however, I did need the reminder to make the effort as sometimes I can isolate myself. I have done my catch ups 4 times this month which is great & I had a really good time this weekend!
4. EATING - DONE! 100% improvement this week! I broke my self destructive cycle! I ate only preportioned meals Monday through Friday. & let me tell you how cruel my co-workers are to me...on Friday they actually had Taco Bell for lunch! Do you believe the nerve?! & for the record I still didn't have any. This weekend I carried on with my cheating but refrained from any kind of fast food. That translated into only a slight weight gain of 2 lbs over the weekend.
5. PP Challenge - DONE & still making progress...I'm almost at my fitness minutes goal for the month so I pretty pleased & I plan on finishing this challenge strong for the month!
6. HM Training - DONE, still going right along. I'm kinda switching about the HM training program though because I need to do a 5K & 10K before the HM race day. I have a 5K planned for mid February so I want to do the 10K right after if possible. So on my schedule I'm just adding more mileage because I need to add in these races. Speedwork is turning out to be way harder than expected. This week I did 9 repeats of .30 miles sprinting really hard & it kicked my butt! It just better help me run faster!
7. 100 crunches per day - DONE & it may be all in my head because I'm doing the crunches but my stomach seems flatter, no six pack or anything but just flatter
8. Strength training 3x per week - DONE & I talked over the weekend to my friend who is on the verge of being a PT & she put together a program for me to really sculpt my arms & works on the appropriate areas. She also recommended doing strength BEFORE cardio which I did not know so I'm going to try that this week.
That's about it so I'm hoping for a nice strong week!
Monday, January 18, 2010
I need to lose a couple of pounds & I've been in denial about this. Since starting with Spark I haven't really tried to focus on the scale as my real goal was to become an athlete. Happily though as soon as I started running the weight just melted off. Even though the scale didn't always reflect the loss my body changed. Now I'm running more miles each & every week & am pretty proud of some of the races for which I have participated. However, all of this has led to a newfound arrogance, I'm out of control & I need to be stopped! All of a sudden because I run & swim I think that I no longer have to watch my diet so closely & I expect also to just be able to keep up my perfect goal weight without putting in an effort into my diet. How delusional am I?? Well, it stops now! I discovered over this past weekend that I like to seriously sabotage my diet. All week long I eat proportioned meals, 3 meals a day, I exercise, etc, etc. The the weekend comes & I lose my freaking mind! I ate chinese food, BURGER KING of all things (mind you in the same day), Nachos, URGH! So, every Monday morning when I step on the scale which I try to avoid like the plague but typically is the only thing that stops my binging train, I find out that I gained sometimes 5-6 pounds, over a weekend!!! That is CRAZY! THEN all week I behave, come weekend my destructive cycle begins again! It wasn't always this way, over the summer & right before I went to Jamaica (well that WAS good incentive) I was slim as can be & very disciplined about what I ate for the most part. The biggest help was my 100 day no fast food challenge which really helped me during the weekends. Then the holidays hit & I started having more & more cheat days. My point is & I guess the reason why I am admitting this is something has gotta give! I mean what an absolute waste of time to control what you eat during the week to then end up exactly where you started because you decided to act a fool over the weekend! I for one am DONE with this vicious cycle! I am reigning in these "cheat days" immediately! No more free for alls!
Okay I feel better now!
Onto the January Goals...
1. 100 crunches per day - DONE for last week, only forgot to do them on 1/9/10 & it was simply because I forgot not because it was difficult
2. Strength train 3x per week - DONE & I am impressed with myself for this one! I may even like lifting weights, it makes you feel sooooo strong & even after you done & you're just walking around, your body feels so different, I think I even flex involuntary right now!
3. Penguin Challenge - DONE, still plugging away, adding miles, support, drinking lots of water which has gotten a bit easier as time goes on, the trick is to drink earlier in the day so that you don't have to go to the bathroom all night!
4. Redecoration Project - DONE, okay, I'm going to shamelessly take credit for this one because I was the one that decided that this project needed to be done & mandated a specific timeline (January) for completion. Well...I'm going to be honest here, that's the extent to which I contributed to this project. DH completely took over & I am absolutely okay with that! You see, DH is a bigger procrastinator than I (can you imagine such a thing!) & only because I dictated that this project had to be done asap did he get his butt in gear to do it. But somehow in the process after I initially shopped for furniture & didn't find anything he ended up doing everything. I'm talking the painting, the buying of the furniture, the purchasing of the curtains & bedding. & me, well...I bought the decals & the book shelf! Then I cheered him on as he did everything & it turned out really great! BRAVO to him (& me to for being an A+ cheerleader!)
5. Swimming 1 HR per week - DONE for last week! This is the goal that I am MOST proud of completing over the last week! Not only did I go to swim class on Monday as scheduled & put in 50 minutes, I got the schedule for the pool & attended open swim on Saturday! I only ended up doing about 20 minutes because my oldest had basketball but I DID it! & it wasn't all that bad either! I think I can keep up with this one as long as I keep making baby steps like this...go me!
6. HM Training - DONE, still plugging away...I'm actually a week ahead as far as the training schedule because I found out that my HM was actually 11 weeks away from the day I started training which means that I would miss a week on my 12 week plan. So instead I opted to go up 1 mile per week which shouldn't be that big of a deal since I've done up to 10 miles before. What I'm liking though about this training is I feel like I'm not overtraining even though I'm doing more than what the original schedule called for & because this training is more than 2 weeks - which is all I typically train for before a race - I feel like by the time the HM comes up I'm going to be really really prepared.
7. Eating - Did well Monday through Thursday but on Friday we had an appreciation lunch at my job so chicken parm it was! From there I threw in the towel on the rest of the day & just ate crap...that led into the weekend (please see above)...I will do better this week!
Well that's all for now, hoping this week is as productive as last...OH & I'm just saying no to...   
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