Happy 4th of July!

Here's some wise words about 'Merica from one of my favorite T.V. characters:

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Nicely said Ron.

My fourth has been nice and relaxing so far. I ran 2 miles today since yesterday I was really sick. I was so exhausted anytime I would move I'd get dizzy and have to sit back down. Walking to the bathroom and back was exhausting. I didn't want to take a second rest day since I did so on Tuesday due to doctors stuff, but I just couldn't move.

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^ all day. that's all i did.^

But today I came back strong! I ran 2 miles at a 11:58 min pace!! 2 miles in 23:55! I can't believe I pushed that hard that long and smashed my records. Sure that is a slow pace for most experienced runners, but for a girl who was over 200 pounds 7 months ago that's damn impressive. And I did so up and down hills. I LOVE hills. My last 5K I didn't like so much since it was rather flat. At the end was a little hill and I loved it. The downhill speeds me up and just feels amazing. I'm weird.

After that awesome run, I started back in with Insanity where I left off at Max Interval Plyo. I managed to work through and crush the workout. It is amazing how much stronger I've gotten and how much pain I can endure. I think my pain tolerance increasing is one side effect of Insanity that I didn't expect. Love it!

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So what was the motivation for the workout comeback? Spirit of the Marathon. Joe and I watched it last night and I LOVED IT! I got choked up when the daughter of the one running was talking about running with her dad. The 9 miler in November is my "marathon" this year. I hope I can do it. I'll finish even if I have to crawl across that finish line!

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I hope everyone has a fantastic fourth! Now off to make burgers, nomz!

What did you do to celebrate the 4th? Any races?

Birthday binges, Running records, and Insanity madness!

My birthday weekend with the parents was amazing. The cake they got me was vanilla with strawberry filling and whipped cream frosting. I ate 2 big slices of that cake. I wish I had taken a picture of it, but I was more interested in scarfing it down than taking pictures. 

I LOVE Hyperbole and a Half!

On Sunday morning I awoke to smells of bacon and french toast. My mom made caramel baked french toast with sliced almonds. The top slice was crunchy and caramel soaked and the bottom piece resembled bread pudding in taste and texture. It was the most amazing breakfast I've ever had. And the best part is it was free! Again no pictures, I just proceeded to feed my face. 

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^ This is what went down all weekend.

Today I decided to check the damage on the scale. I look down and I lost .2 pounds. Huh. I'll take it. "Official" weigh in isn't until Friday so I'm hoping for even more movement on the scale.

YAY!

Some running success today! I ran 2.5 miles at a 12 min pace! I hated every minute of it especially since this is my "hills" day but I did it! I couldn't feel my legs when I was done. It was weird. Then I proceeded to take my 4th Insanity Fit Test. I busted all kinds of records there too! I'll post all the results when I finish in 2 weeks. After the fit test was max interval circuit. All in all I exercised for 2 hours and 5 minutes burning a serious 1300 calories. I'm currently super sore and not very interested in moving much. 

So I have a big life change happening right now! No it's not a child (everyone always thinks that/ asks that now that I'm married). I decided to go back to work and start my career in communications (FINALLY!). For the past 2 years I've lived in a rural town with very little choices for my field. Now that I live smack between two major cities I am overwhelmed by all the opportunities out there! I've applied to 4 positions so far and there is one position I really want. Dream job territory. We'll see what happens.

Since I'm working on tons of job applications, resumes and cover letters, I'll be posting much less. Once I get a job I'll be happy to post once a week until I get used to the new schedule. Until then, I'm working on my running and Insanity as much as humanly possible. Also trying to figure out ways to scale back the exercise to fit a job but still lose weight and stay in shape AND train for my long races in November. 

Being active is exhausting sometimes. 

How do you incorporate exercise with work? Do you prefer morning workouts or evening workouts? 

"Every year on your birthday, you get a chance to start new." - Sammy Hagar

Happy Birthday to ME!

I'm officially a quarter of a century old and I am now firmly in my mid-twenties. So how do we celebrate this momentous occasion? FOOD! My awesome husband is taking me out for some fondue tonight. NOMZ! I've been doing well this week so I feel comfortable letting my hair down a little food wise for one meal. 

I was hoping to hit 30 pounds lost today but no luck there. I'm firmly stuck at 29 pounds lost. My body is doing the "HOLD ALL THE WEIGHT!" thing it did when I started insanity and then I dropped 7 pounds out of nowhere. So I'll wait it out. Trying to lose weight has definitely taught me the virtue of patience!

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So, I had a small revelation yesterday. I think I'll be ready to do my goal race (Run for the Diamonds) on Thanksgiving. Eleven days before that race, I run my first 10K so I should have plenty of time to recover and run the race I've been dreaming of for 20 years. It's going to be REALLY hard. The course is up and down the mountains = MEGA HILLS. And the course is NINE miles + MEGA HILLS. Yikes! I'm stubborn and I'm going to do it. I am going to need a lot of Gatorade and those energy gels to get through it but I want it to happen. Registration doesn't open until September so I have some more time to mull it over and see how I continue to progress with training. Fingers crossed!

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Insanity is going well. I'm 2 days into week 2 of the second month, and I am already seeing a different in my endurance and strength. My arms are getting much more taut and shapely. I'm losing more in my waist and hips, and I can fit in my 11/12 jeans I got a month ago that were a tad bit too tight to button. Win!

Last post I promised to post my recipe for Chocolate Strawberry Protein Smoothie! I looked at a lot of different websites and combined what I liked from all of them to come up with this. The Smoothie is definitely for chocolate lovers. You can sub the strawberries with almost any fruit. I want to try it with bananas next!

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Chocolate Strawberry Protein Smoothie:

- 1 cup of chocolate soy milk (or almond, coconut, rice, whatever-you-prefer milk! I like soy & coconut.)

- 3/4 cup of frozen or fresh strawberries or fruit of choice (I made it both ways but frozen makes a thicker consistency.)

- ~1 cup baby spinach (I just grabbed a big handful)

- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder (Optimum Nutrition is my fav!)

- Ice for desired thickness

OPTIONAL: add 1/2 tsp-1 tsp of instant coffee to bring out the chocolate flavor and put some pep in your step! 

Blend and Enjoy!

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There is truly nothing better than chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate! You can also omit the protein powder and use a teaspoon of cocoa powder instead. 

I'm tempted to go and make myself one now!

What is your favorite smoothie recipe?

"Trust your gut. You are your own best coach."- Ryan Hall, U.S. Marathoner

That quote in my header is true. You are your own best coach. I'm learning that every day I continue pushing myself to become a runner.

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I'm learning to love the roller!!

Since getting the foam roller, I'm learning how to work through my calf problems. My calves are the next obstacle to overcome in this journey to become a runner. Some people have knee issues, some people have tight hamstrings, but this is my Achilles heel (and my achilles tendons are decently tight too). Instead of crying over it, I'm doing every self massage, every foam roller technique, and lots of icing and hot baths to continue training, healing, and strengthening my weaknesses.

I decided to do a 2 mile run today (it was actually 2.27 to my surprise). I had a side stitch during 25 of the 30 minutes because I'm still getting back into the groove after a week and a half break. The past two runs have been really painful, but I push through because I'm not going to break now. I've come too far, pushed too hard, and achieved too much to let pain rule my life. My pace is slower than I'd like at 13:19, but I know in a few weeks I'll get back to where I was.

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I'm facing my second 5K at less than 100%. I may walk during part of it, especially if my calves start acting up. I'm taking my foam roller and will stretch beforehand to make sure I'll stay as loose as possible. After reading a ton of articles on working through different running issues, I've found that you're not always going to be 100% for every race. Learning how to run through this and having a bad race is going to be good for me. I'm learning more about myself running through 2 miles of pain than if every run was easy and effortless. All runners have days when running is a chore, and it makes you appreciate those days where you feel like you are floating. I've had too many good days. Now comes the time to separate the women from the girls.

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And I'm not a little girl anymore.

Besides getting back to running, I finally finished my first month of Insanity today. The feeling of accomplishment at the end of the workout was amazing. I actually did it! I actually made it to the halfway point of the program! Next week is recovery week and I am looking forward to that! I only have 3 more runs until the race and some extra stretching is more than welcome to make sure the muscles are primed and ready to rock!

Even though things have not been ideal so far, I'm excited to have accomplished so much. Running my second 5K in a week, getting halfway through Insanity, and getting my weight in the high 170s are three goals I'm very proud of. There's still plenty of work to do, but at least progress is being made!

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Yep, that's the pill I take too.

What accomplishments are you proud of so far? What hurdles have you overcome in order to reach your goals?

“Treat yourself like a fat person with aches and pains and a suitcase full of excuses, and good luck--you'll stay exactly where you are. Train like an athlete and, though you may not look like one now, you will become one.” ― Chalene Johnson

God I love tumblr!
Yes, I've used this picture before, but I love it

That photo about sums today up. On Fridays I usually workout hard, but today reached a whole new level of pain. 

10K training is what one would call "easy" right now. Easy in terms of distance. Today was only 2 miles. I laugh at myself sometimes because I'm ashamed of only going 2 miles. Six months ago I couldn't even go 2 minutes without dying. Today I ran a 12:45 minute mile. It's plenty challenging but I didn't pull my knee like I did pushing it too fast too soon on Wednesday. I will be running a 12 min mile by November. 

From healthandfitness1st on Tumblr.com
Oh I ached today!

Any who, after the run I did Insanity. I screwed up and was supposed to do Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs on Wednesday, but I did Cardio Power and Resistence instead. So today was a Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs day. On top of the running (and I use the random setting on the treadmill to get in hills) with Insanity I burned 950 calories today. I had to do a double take at my HRM (heart rate monitor). Tomorrow is Plyometric Cardio Circuit day. I HATE that workout, but at least I get to rest on Sunday. Also, I'm hoping to get to the lake tomorrow to run my "EZ run" on my schedule. It is supposed to rain, but should be done by 11 am. 

Rain, rain, stay away!

So what else is there? Nothing much right now. Now that Doctor Who is done until November (::cries::), Saturday nights are no longer exciting. There's still Game of Thrones on Sunday night, so that's something to bugger on for! 

Oh, I did manage to get to the dentist this week, and I probably set the record for most cavities found in a single visit. Thankfully there are no root canals that need to be done (yay for healthy roots!), but it's my fault for avoiding the dentist for (almost) 3 years. So next Wednesday I get the first half of my mouth filled. I'm super nervous since it has been awhile since I had work done on my mouth, and I read horror stories about racing heart beats due to the epinephrine they put in the numbing shots now. Yeah, I can deal with the pain, but it's the possible side effects that terrify me. The second round will be in June after my race. So I'm happy that I'll have some time to heal, but angry that I'll probably have to skip a workout putting me off my game. I can see myself, mouth still numb with drool rolling down to chin, trying to push myself through a workout. It all depends how I feel. I'll probably be exhausted from the anxiety of the whole situation. That day will be a day for milkshakes, smoothies, and soup. Mmmm.

Until that day, I gotta keep training hard! This body isn't going to build itself. 

The foundation is getting there...
From healthandfitness1st on Tumblr.com

1800 Minute May Challenge: 970

(Almost at 1000! Goal now is to break that by the end of the month!)

"The difference between a jogger and a runner is an entry blank." -George Sheehan

I found the best article for novice runners: If You Run Slow, Who Cares?

Something I struggle with is feeling like I'm too slow and not a "real" runner. I'm not fast. I'm constantly doubting myself and feeling ashamed of my pace. Honestly, it doesn't matter how fast you are in the beginning. I'm not looking to qualify for the Boston marathon any time soon. I'm trying to build my strength and endurance. I want to train consistently and avoid injuries. I think these are some good goals to have in the beginning.

One of my favorites. 

On my run today I surprised the heck out of myself. I decided for S&G's to set the treadmill at a 12 mile pace (5.0). I figured I'd do that and then hit it down to 4.5-4.6 where I usually jog. The awesome cleaning lady (she's so friendly!) came in to clean the gym and I spent all 20 minutes during my run talking to her. I was TALKING and RUNNING at 5.0!! Now it was a lot harder than I'm used to but I did it! I love having someone to talk with during my workout. I'm so glad that I'm running my next race with a whole group of people. I'm a rather social runner. Go figure. I'm hoping that some of my girly friends that are learning how to run stick with it so we can do the Disney Princess Half Marathon! I won't be ready for the 2014 one but I'm hoping to run my first half in 2015. Or the end of 2014 if my body is ready.

WANT!
Found this on tumbr on rock-the-trails.
She has some gorgeous trail pics!

I think I may have over done the speed with today's run though. During Insanity (Cardio Power and Resistance today!) I had a shooting pain down the outside of my knee. It took it easy, focused on my form (jumping squat things are hard to keep good form), and half way through the workout the pain went away. I'm terrified of injuring myself AGAIN and I am taking every precaution to avoid it. Of course I would screw up and go against my own advice of "going slow" when increasing speed. I'm going to run at 4.7-4.8 from now on with spurts of 5.0 until my legs get accustomed to the new speed. Slow and steady.

I cannot wait for Saturday. I'm going to drag my husband to the lake path to have a nice easy run. I started a 10K training plan and Saturdays are my 25-30 minute EZ runs. Saturday are now known as LAKE DAYS! You wouldn't want to swim in the lake, but the view is beautiful and will make the 2 mile loop go fast. Also, I'm not just training for a 10K, I actually signed up for one! I'll be doing the local turkey chase 10K on November 17th. I love running in the cold so this will be a fun race. The course is mostly flat and I'm hoping to finish in under 1 hr and 30 minutes. My dad wants to run it with me so I'll have someone to chat with again! I love that my dad is so supportive with my training and races. He's the best and I hope he can come to Disney with me to cheer me on (since the Princess Half Marathon is for girls only). That goal is far away, but  it is great motivation through all the training that will go on the next 2 years!

I love this facebook cover. Very true!

Here's to training and hopefully the scale will move! Argh plateaus!

1800 Minute May Challenge: 844/1800
(I won't make it, but I'm going to get as close as I can!)

"There is nothing as sweet as a comeback, when you are down and out, about to lose, and out of time."- Anne Lamott

I'm back baby.

I'm loving the workout motivation board on tumblr!

I ran 20 minutes straight after a 2 week break. Oh my. (Yes, I read Fifty Shades. The shame.)

I jogged a nice slow 13:19 min mile (4.5 on the treadmill) and enjoyed the heck out of the run. I initially promised myself five minute runs dotted with walk breaks, but I was in the groove and didn't stop until the treadmill kicked into cool down mode. Ever been so into a run and then a treadmill drops .5 in a few seconds? Scared the heck out of me as I jerked quickly to slow down while trying not to fall over my own feet.

Damn treadmills...

The treadmill may not happen as often since my husband found me an awesome running path around a nearby lake! We went and walked around it today and played Ingress (Look it up. I'm too lazy to explain it.). Talk about beautiful views with some nice rolling hills! I'm tempted to take the husband out tomorrow. We shall see.

Coming off the high of being able to run 1.5 miles after a 2 week break, I really dug into my Insanity workout today. I can feel myself getting stronger and my flexibility increasing ever so slightly. My weight is at a stand still, but from reading other people's experiences with the program the weight will come off soon enough. I'm enjoying my new baby muscles that are popping up around my body. I feel like my fat is more compact and getting ready to get out. The eviction notice has been up for almost 6 months so it's about time it moved on out.

thanks bbcamerica.com!

Tomorrow is the very anticipated Doctor Who episode, The Name of the Doctor. I'm very excited since I've always wondered about the name, but at the same time I don't want to know. Some people think it'll ruin the show, but others are more accepting of it. I'm with the accepting crowd. I'm interested to see where the series will go now. We're coming up on maybe the 12th Doctor. I love Matt Smith, but I think his time as the Doctor is running out. I'm ready for something to change in the series. I haven't been a big fan of season 7 so I'm hoping that season 8 will improve. I hope the 50th Anniversary special will live up to the hype. It will be nice to see David Tennant and Billie Piper again. I cannot wait. Is it November yet?

I'm slowly finishing the second book in the Game of Thrones series. I love how some events happen differently in the books so it is like reading a different story at times. I'm thoroughly enjoying season 3 of the television series and I am officially addicted. Doctor Who level addicted. It's time to start searching for shirts to add to my geek clothing collection.

Now off to a weekend of rest and relaxation! :)

1800 Minute May Challenge: 624/1800
I did 120 minutes of exercise with the extra walk today! Yay!

“Damaged people are dangerous. They know they can survive.” ― Josephine Hart, Damage

Hello injury, we meet again! 

I managed to pull my calf muscle again. The bright side? It is the right leg this time! I woke up a couple times during the night since I kept hitting my right calf with my left foot. I hoped that I just needed to stretch it out but walking and putting pressure on it is quite painful, so there went that hope. I just finished the first week of Insanity yesterday and felt my calves tightening up really bad, but decided to just work through it. Well, that was a big mistake. Le sigh. 

Me post-Insanity workout.
Love you tumblr! 

I had a fantastic weekend so this muscle pull was just athletic karma reasserting itself. The hubby dragged me 40 feet up in the air on small ropes on Saturday. Now, I'm not afraid of heights per say, but when you have me balancing on small areas of space 40 feet in the air it is very terrifying. The course was 3 levels high. Each level you had to climb a pole with spikes in it to get to the next level. I used so much upper body strength that day. I completed the course, but found the last 2 obstacles the most terrifying. The second to last obstacle was just 3 ropes stretched out. I fell off of that one (thank goodness for the harness!). The last obstacle you jumped to a rope hanging in mid air and then to a rope net where you pulled yourself up it and over onto the platform. I was shaking and I couldn't tell if my eyes were watering because I was crying or because of the tree pollen. Tears aside, I completed that terrifying thing!! I did something I thought I would never do. The hubby decided to take the "leap of faith" off of the level two platform. You jump and hit a rope suspended in mid air and then fall and the guy belays you down the rest of the way. I'm sorry but there are just some things I will not do and that is one of them. I climbed down the rest of the tower, and I was very happy to have ground under my feet again. Hubby went to do the leap one more time while I tried to stop shaking. Afterwards we went to lunch and had some amazing food. Food helps one recover from terrifying experiences such as that.

Thank you Tumblr for this awesome gif!

Sunday I was supposed to finish week one of Insanity but I could not move my arms much. My entire upper body ached so I decided to take it easy and wait until Monday to finish week one. I was supposed to start 10K training today, but that has been put off for a tad. I'm hoping to get back to everything by Thursday at the earliest and Monday of next week at the latest. I'm RICE-ing and am very thankful that I own compression sleeves for my calves to help speed up the healing process. I'm frustrated and I know that I'll lose some of my conditioning, but letting the pull heal is what needs to be done. I've been through this before and know what to expect and what to do. 

My cat knows what I need to do today:

Rest and Elevate!!

Time to do some light housework and get back to gaming! 

1800 minutes in May: 320/1800

The Aftermath: Post Race Body and Starting Insanity

Well, I'm still a happy camper.

It was such a nice day!

I got onto the treadmill today and couldn't stop smiling. Now I know all the work, sweat, and sometimes tears is worth it. I did it and I shall continue to do it. Run, baby, run!

One thing I'd like to talk about and what many people don't talk about is your body post first 5K. I ended up getting a little head cold and felt like absolute crap on Monday. My glutes and inner thighs got the worst of the soreness, but it wasn't anything I haven't felt before. On a scale of 1-10, I'd say the pain was 3-4. I was sore, but I could deal. The worst part was the headache that was ripping through the left side of my face. I had a horrible toothache and have been rinsing with whiskey (I know, I know, but it works!) and used a drop or two of almond extract on the tooth to relieve the pain. Crazy remedies but they work! I have a dentists appointment as well to rule out a cavity or if it was really just my sinuses acting up.

Yesterday I finally felt back to normal for the most part. I started Insanity with my first fit test. That fit test is no joke. I tried Insanity back when I was in college and only completed 3 days of it. I still had some of the fit test results from then and I beat most of them this time around! When I tried Insanity in college, I was about 155 lbs, running 3 times a week and doing a dance class that semester. I'm 182 lbs and I am much stronger than I ever was in college. I'm hopeful that when I do reach 155 lbs again it will be a very muscular 155 lbs.

Today I did the Plyometric Cardio Circuit. Holy pain! Now, I've worked myself to what I thought was exhaustion previously, but today my muscles gave out on me before my mind did. I did rest a good amount through the 40 minutes of crazy, but I kept pushing and pushing hard. The amount of sweat that came out of my body was incredible. I soaked through my entire tank top three-quarters of the way through it and had to discard it at the same time a lot of the men on the tape were discarding their shirt (he he). I do NOT have any kind of a tight stomach region (yet!) so it was a horror show, but I was alone so it was all good. Overall, the workout was really hard, but I enjoyed it! I like feeling super sore because it lets me know I'm doing something that is challenging my body. And challenge = change.

My biggest concern about starting Insanity was that I'd be too tired to train for my race(s). So I ran for 2 miles BEFORE and then walked up the 6 flights (I love living on the top floor but the stairs are killer!) and set up my heart rate monitor and started Insanity. I think running 3 times a week and Insanity 6 times a week will be possible. Exhausting, but possible.

To help me with keeping up with all this exercise, I'm joining my friend Desiree at Finding the Skinny Geek Within (check out her blog! She's awesome and keeps me going!) for a challenge of 1800 minutes of exercise in May! I'm going to design an excel sheet to keep track of my minutes and will list the total at the end of my posts. I don't post every day I exercise, so I'm just going to keep a running total. If I find a fun widget to help count up to 1800 minutes, I'll add it to the side bar.

This weekend is my husband's alternate birthday weekend, since his real birthday weekend was the weekend of my race. On Saturday we're going to do a high ropes challenge course at a local "adventure" course. I might only get 5 days on Insanity in this week due to the high ropes challenge, but I'm still going to try and fit it in afterwards. I'm rather afraid of heights so that will be a great challenge! I'm more confident in my ability to balance well, but when I'm 40 ft in the air, we'll see how that holds up!

Until next time, get out there and do one thing this week that scares you!

1800 minutes in May: 77 minutes total