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Another Day of Speed Work

Jeb and I hit the track this morning for another day of speed work. We repeated my workout from Wednesday (4x200), and my times were better (64, 64, 65, 62). I followed it with 8 hill sprints and am feeling it now! I wasn't moving too well after a tough deadlift workout on Friday, a busy day on my feet yesterday, and not sleeping well over the last several days. After a good warm-up, though, I felt more like myself and was able to push it. As frustrated as I am that my numbers aren't anywhere near where they used to be, I'm glad to see improvement.

Running with New Gadgets!

Today was day 3 of Week 7 of Couch to 5k. I changed a few things with my workout that ended up being pretty positive. I should backtrack a little bit....

...I had a bit of a scare last Thursday when out jogging in my (normally very safe, quiet) neighborhood. A truck drove past me several times, slowing down so the two men inside could stare at me. I tried to avoid them by changing my path and heading down a side street - but had no luck. They found me there too. After passing me that time, however, they stopped their vehicle and watched me out of the rearview and side mirrors. Just when I was starting to REALLY freak out, one of my neighbors pulled out of her driveway and the truck sped off.

Naturally, I was concerned. I wasn't close enough to home that I would have easily been able to run away from them and lock myself inside. Also, I am not overly confident in my sprinting abilities at this point! Probably my biggest worry, though, was that I didn't have my phone with me and couldn't call for help.

I don't usually bring my phone with me to work out - for a variety of reasons. First of all, that is MY time. Since I am on call for work, I often get phone calls that time of day and it takes away from my workout. Also, I already carry my iPod and (sometimes) keys, so I didn't want to have to carry anything else. Obviously, I had to make some changes to feel safe out on the roads again.

Since I have a new, fancy phone, I decided to try and figure out how to sync iTunes with my phone. It took about an hour to do that (especially since I'm not overly tech-savvy and most of the directions were for PCs - and I have a Mac), and then I decided to search for an app that used the GPS from my phone to track my run. I found (and used) CardioTrainer - and it was SO FUN! I'm really bad with gadgets - I love knowing as many useless details as possible about my workouts, food intake, etc., so this was perfect for me. Hopefully I'll be able to post screenshots, but for now, I'm happy to report that I completed 2.3 miles during my 38 minute workout (10 minutes were walking - 5 for a warm-up and 5 for a cool-down). Yay for me!

"Speed" work

I put "Speed" in quotes, because, well, I'm not fast! Since I've got about a month to go until the Warrior Dash and I feel like I have a fair endurance base, I figured it was about time to try and pick up my speed. So, in light of that (and a scary incident during my jog last week), I laced up my trainers and headed out to the local track. I decided to run 4-200s with a 200-yard walk in between. My times were 72s, 69s, 69s, and 67s - literally twice as long as when I trained in this distance in high school.

At first I was discouraged, but stepping back I realized:

1. That was almost 15 years ago.

2. I only started running again a little over two months ago - after a 10-year break!

3. I'm carrying about 70 more pounds than I was then (but am working on that!).

It could be much worse! I could have spent the morning sitting on the couch eating unhealthy food. Instead, I had a good workout and am drinking a protein shake. Amazing how things can change!

Looking forward to this workout again!

The Anti-Jared: Swish

This is a great post - I hope he doesn't mind that I'm sharing. It definitely clicked with me in my feelings about my weight loss.

The Anti-Jared: Swish: "'I love when people tell me that losing weight is easy. Just eat less stupid! With that theory, a lot of things are easy. I mean, basketball..."

I'm back!

Again.... Seems like I'm having trouble keeping up with this whole blogging thing. Life has been busy, but not in a negative way - I've just been enjoying any available downtime while also feeling very rewarded at work. Of course, my good feelings about work are entirely self-driven - the kids are never going to come to me and say, "Thanks for grounding me last night. I really learned...." Ha! :)

I'm heavy into training for the Warrior Dash, which is coming up on September 19th. I spent the summer working my way through "Couch to 5k" which has been great! When I started in May, I never would have guessed I could be running for a full half-hour after only two months of training. I'm definitely trying to be mindful of form, mobility work, etc., to make sure I don't end up injured.

I've also started Jim Wendler's 5-3-1 strength training program to help me build some strength. I took a break from barbell training and focused primarily on kettlebells and then the TRX, but am really enjoying hitting the weights. It's been nice.

I don't want to start listing goals for blogging - this is supposed to be an outlet. I do, however, intend to make it more of a priority. If I fall apart again, I just may remove it.

Procrastinating

I'm sitting at work taking a break from some really tedious work and decided to take a look at "Cakewrecks."

Click it - really. Don't question it, you won't be disappointed.

Needing Some Sleep

My workouts have been going well, and my deficit has been good - but I'm running out of energy! I really need to get more sleep. Work has been so busy, and I've had to cover shifts lately, which definitely impacts the amount of shut-eye I can get. I do know, though, how important it is to get good rest and recovery if I want to succeed at my goals!

Tonight, Jeb is making Chicken Pot Stickers for dinner. The recipe is out of Leigh Peele's "Around the World" cookbook from Body By Eats. Have you checked out that product yet? You should - there are great (and varied) recipes, and lots of good, real information about healthy nutrition. I'm looking forward to having a good meal and crashing early!

Yes, I did drop a Kettlebell on my head today...

...but I'm ok - I swear! It didn't fall in dramatic fashion, but triceps failed toward the end of my workout (a Kettlebell class) and the bell slipped a bit. I was able to catch it, and the instructor didn't notice!

My workouts have been great. I continue to use kettlebells as much as possible, and am working on my pistol squats - yikes! It's coming along though. I want to have the best base possible before I start training for the Warrior Dash after the snow melts.

I am so FREAKING close to having lost 50 pounds. It's been a long journey so far, and I have a long way to go. I'm still making progress, though my scale weight hasnt' changed over the last few weeks.

TGIF - seriously. What a long week! My parents are coming over tomorrow to work on the house, and they MAY be bringing my niece along to hang out - yay!

I'm Back!!

I'm totally overthinking this whole blog thing. First, I thought it needed more focus - but then it was so focused that I couldn't ever think of anything to write about! I'm still alive - still cooking healthy food, training regularly, and working like crazy!

Some updates:
*I pulled my Achilles tendon on 12/30. I was running late to my favorite mindless cardio class - BodyCombat. I didn't warm up and jumped right into class. During jump-kicks, I pushed too hard and felt it pop - it was awful - and I was seriously depressed about it for days! My workouts had been going great, I was achieving some decent fat loss, and I felt completely stuck! Fortunately, the Men's/Women's Health Big Book of Exercises had just come out, and I found Dave Tate's Bench Press workout! It gave me something to focus on, when I couldn't do much for lower body workouts. Instead of completely vegging out, I improved my upper body strength and mobility - and I REALLY learned the value of a good warm-up. Since I've recovered, my workouts have picked up and I'm actually stronger than ever!! Still frustrated, though, that I can't seem to break a 135# bench press though - it would probably be easier if I actually spent significant time on it...

*Leigh Peele released a new cookbook for Body By Eats - the "5 Ingredient Cookbook." It has some great recipes in it that have been so helpful for Jeb and I as we've tried to fine tune our diet. I've even taught the kids at work some of them - all a big hit! I really really love tricking the kids into eating something healthy for a change!

*I've really increased my kettlebell work. Since I'm focused so much on fat loss right now, I dropped lifting to twice/week, and am completing some sort of circuit (Spartacus workout, KB circuits I shamelessly borrowed from someone else's blog, Cardio Strength Training, etc.). The workouts are fun, difficult, and have helped me improve my conditioning rapidly.

*Kettlebells rock for core strength! I HATE core work, and only do it because it's important. Last summer, I made a sorry attempt to perform a Prone Jackknife on a Swiss ball. I couldn't really even hack it, so I had to use an egg-shaped swiss ball. This exercise hasn't been part of my program for awhile, so when I found out it was a part of my new workout phase, I was intimidated! At the gym, I grabbed the Swiss ball and gave it a try - and I COULD DO IT! Better than ever, actually! It felt great! I can't really think of anything else that could have made me improve this much without specifically working on it, but kettlebells do work the core (especially Turkish Get-Ups), so I think that might have been the difference. YAY!

*I am definitely going to stop overthinking, and start posting more often. :)

Until next time...