Run (and Lift!) for the Bikini!

Sub 1:25 Half Marathon

2013-05-19T08:43:00.002-04:00

It's been awhile (first post for 2013 actually), after my last post I ended up running a 18:11 5k and that's my current PR. My current goal is to break 18. I'm not sure I'm ready for it just yet but it is a big summer mission :D. I honestly never imagined it would even be a thought in my head to aim for sub-18 but here we are :)

One ambitious (or so I thought at the time) future goal I did consider while I was blogging was to some day break 1:30 in the half marathon. My focus then (and even now) has been the 5k but while reading so many running bloggers who were running halfs and marathons constantly, I built some interest in trying out the longer races. My issue has always been that I don't necessarily want to train the kind of mileage needed for those races, especially if I'm going to run at my highest potential. I do love to run but I prefer short and fast to a lot of longer, slower mileage.

Anytime I read a race report of a girl breaking 1:30 in the half I was in awe. Sub 7 minute miles for 13 miles? How do they do that? I did train for one half while blogging, not exactly optimally but enough to finish with a decent time. My goal was under 1:45 and I ended up running a 1:43:49. I remember hurting pretty badly at the end, I went out too fast and practically walked the last mile. Looking back at my splits I started with 7:17/ 7:12 /7:12 and ended with 8:32/ 8:41/ 8:29. That was my last and only half up until 2 weeks ago.

As part of my current 5k training I added a weekly long run in the fall. I started around 7-8 miles and have worked up to 14. I also did a 10 mile race in January (Goal was sub 1:05 [6:30 pace] and I ended up with a 1:05:08, close enough that I was happy). My long runs were going good- on my recent 13 and 14 milers I was holding 7:20-7:30 pretty easily and then finishing with a few sub 7 miles. I ran a 1:33 half in training, 10 minutes better than my race PR. So I decided it was time to get a new half marathon PR, registering for the same race I ran 2 years ago, The Long Island Half Marathon :D

Leading up to the race I knew I wanted to try for a sub 1:25 but as the race got closer I began to doubt myself. That would be a faster pace than my recent 10 mile PR and I hadn't done any tempo runs since that racethat were longer than 4 miles (which was a race 2 weeks before my half where I ran at 6:03 pace). I knew I could run fast for the shorter races and could run 7:10 averages pretty easily on my long runs but could I sustain a pace just below 6:30? Even with my long runs my weekly mileage was only about 25-30 mpw, pretty low for half training (I consider it more 5k training with a half race for the hell of it).

Since I put a lot of pressure on myself and get pretty mean cases of pre-race anxiety I tried to take some of the pressure off by telling myself I'd be okay with 1:26. It would still be a 18 minute PR and hopefully keep me from going out too fast. I planned to go out around 6:40 and if it felt good drop it down to 6:30. In honesty, knowing my racing MO, I knew that probably wasn't going to happen and I'd end up going out too fast anyway. Yup.

Here is how it played out:

Garmin Splits:
1- 6:21
2- 6:19
3- 6:17
4- 6:20
5- 6:20
6- 6:26
7- 6:37
8- 6:40
9- 6:21
10-6:30
11-6:29
12-6:30
13-6:39

Official chip time: 1:24:49 (6:29 pace) 10k split: 39:39 10 mile Split:1:04:28

Overall- 32 /3798 Sex- 5/ 1723 Age Group- 3/ 328

As those first few miles clicked off I knew I was probably going too fast but it felt really good so I just went with it, I was amazed at my 10k split (I've never run one so that is a PR lol). Then at miles 6 & 7 the gloom and despair set in, I wanted to quit, I sincerely considered walking right off the course. I cursed myself for going out to fast and wondered how I could possibly make it through 6 more miles. Mile 8 was against some pretty serious wind but I had looked at the course map and knew there was a turn at the start of mile 9 so the wind would be at my back. I gutted out mile 8 and as soon as I hit mile 9 it felt easy, I was actually averaging 6:15 pace till we hit a little hill at the end.

Somewhere along mile 9 a race volunteer on bike held up 2 fingers to me which I assumed meant I was in 2nd. I didn't start on the line and was wearing headphones so I really had no idea but knew there was at least one super fast local girl in front of me. I also knew there were a couple of girls I ran with in the first few miles that were probably close behind (real close it turns out lol). Yup, mile 10 they both caught me and although I was a bit upset I had just gone from 2nd to 4th (or so I thought) I was also very happy to see I had just run 1:04:28 for 10 miles (40 sec faster than my 10 mile PR).

They both looked very strong going by me and I was just barely holding on. As much as I wanted to stay with them/ catch back up, my bigger concern was to not blow my sub 1:25 pace. The last mile I really wasn't sure I was going to make it, it took everything I had just to put one foot in front of the other. As much as I told myself, "it's the last mile, dig deep, push harder," it was all I could manage to hold a 6:40 pace. I did find a 2nd gear for the last .1ish, around 6:10 pace, and was ecstatic to see 1:24:xx as I approached the finish line.

A 19 minute PR from my 2011 race.

Same race, 2 yrs apart:

Turns out I was actually 5th girl as there were 2 in front of me the whole race and as nice as it would have been to come in 3rd all I cared about was that I achieved my goal of Sub 1:25. That and finding a place to collapse on the grass. It is pretty crazy for me to think I ran 13 miles right around sub-20 5k pace when I struggled for so many years to run at that pace for a 5k. Following the race we went across the street to Nassau Coliseum for the Islander's playoff game, I was in a good amount of abdominal distress so it wasn't the most enjoyable experience :D.

As for fueling during the race, I haven't needed anything during my long runs but took some sports beans with me. I had some before the race but didn't eat any during, I also didn't drink any water. I tried at one of the later aid stations but haven't mastered the art of drinking while running (I never drink during 5ks). It wasn't much of an issue as it was a cool day (mid/low 50's?) but something I'm going to have to work on for hotter race days.

During the race I told myself numerous times, "No more halfs! I'm sticking to 5ks!!" Of course now I'm already trying to figure out my next one. I think it's going to end up being in the fall; I have some shorter races, biathlons/triathlons, and obstacle races planned for this summer and definitely have my eye on that sub 18! Not sure what my goal for my fall half will be, I'll see how summer training goes. 1:20 would be nice, right now that seems way too ambitious, 1:22 is safer- we shall see :) As for the full marathon, well, that's still a pretty resounding, "No Way." :D

Next 2 races are a 5k on 6/1 and Spartan NY sprint on 6/8. The spartan will be my first obstacle race but I have some very big goals set for it- go big or go home, right? ;)

Training Plan 11/26-12/2

2012-11-26T17:03:00.000-05:00

By focus I mean the exercise(s) that I do first in my workout after warming-up. It is the lift(s) that I am most trying to improve strength on so I put them first as I am not yet fatigued and able to give 100% effort. I usually go heavier weight, lower rep on it, 4-6 sets, 3-8 reps (sometimes 1 or 2 reps in last sets).

On most lifting days I like to warm-up with a few KB Turkish Get-ups on each side.

11/26- AM: Chest/Tris/Core- w/ focus on heavy weight, low rep bench press and bodyweight dips
PM: 9 mile run- 1:05:51 - 7:18 average 7:49/ 7:51/ 7:35/ 7:26/ 7:09/ 6:57/ 6:48/ 6:56/ 7:19

11/27- Lower Body- KB Swings to warm up. Focus on Heavy (135-145lb) Squats, Hip Thrusts and Step-ups with some extra glute stuff at the end.
No Run

11/28- Back/Biceps- focus on Pull-ups and Bent Over Rows
followed by treadmill intervals if legs can handle it (if not switch with Th run)
1 mile warm-up, 15 ~ 30sec -1 min intervals at 5-5:20 pace with equal rest, 1-2 mile cool down.

11/29- AM: Shoulders/Core- focus on Clean and Press, Overhead Press. TRX Core Exercises
PM: 4-5 miles easy-ish

11/30- Possible light lifting session, 3-4 miles

12/1- 2 miles easy with 4-6 strides after

12/2- 5k! :D

Approx Total mileage: 30 (with 1 mile race warm-up and 1-2 mile cool down)

Today's run felt pretty good, it's the longest run I've done since last January's 10 mile race (which I mentioned last post I'm doing again this year). I didn't train for it last year, but my pace today was already faster than my pace in last year's race (although mostly bc I fell apart in the last 2 miles from the lack of training lol). My goal time is 1:05 and I think today's run is a good indication that it's possible. I didn't plan those 3 sub-7 miles near the end, my legs just felt loose and they happened without too much extra effort so I went with it.

For the bench my immediate goal is 90lbs, I've been stuck at 85 for awhile now. I didn't have a spotter today so I just did 4 sets of 3-4 reps at 85 with a beginning and ending set of 65lbs x 8(b) & 12(e).

Garmin Question: I've been unable to upload my data for awhile now. The site recognizes my Garmin but when I try to upload my runs it tells me, "no new activities to upload." Anyone ever have this problem and/or a solution to it?

Sub-19 5k! Twice.

2012-11-25T11:10:00.002-05:00

So I had started a post a week ago on how I've been running mid-19 5ks all fall and my goal Turkey Trot time was 18:45. I didn't have time to finish it so I saved it as a draft, but then decided not to write about what time I wanted to run and instead just get out there and run it. And then I could talk about it :D Which is part of the reason why I've lost interest in blogging over the past year, a mix of time constraints and a "shut up and train" attitude (I am only talking about myself and my goals personally, I have no problems with other people blogging about there goals and their training. In fact I plan to write more about them in the coming months as well. I just had to take a step back and focus on other things for a while.)

I finally feel in a position where what I have to say could benefit others in the pursuit of health, fitness and faster times. I've become very aware of my strengths and weaknesses as a runner and how to design my training to bring up my weaknesses and utilize my strengths to my advantage.

And I am nothing short of amazed at the results I have achieved.

Going into Thursday's Turkey Trot I knew I was capable of a sub-19 5k but I'm not sure I truly believed I would do it. I had run a 19:05 5k 2 weeks earlier (4 loops on part track, part grass course nonetheless) and a solid 6x800 workout of 2:48/2:48/2:50/2:50/2:53/2:53 3 days before, which both gave me confidence to do it. And yet I could not wrap my head around running an 18:XX 5k. I had butterflies and anxiety (although a weird sort of good, excited anxiety- adrenaline maybe?) for days leading up to the race.

And it played out almost exactly the way my Sub-19 had:

2011:
Nov. 13th- 20:07
Nov. 24th- 19:45

2012:
Nov. 11th- 19:05
Nov. 22nd . . .

18:42!

I'm still in shock.

I won a turkey :)

I felt strong and in control the whole race, I went through the first mile in 5:46 and I knew then and there I was going to do it. Garmin splits- 5:46/ 6:08/ 6:03. My average pace according to my finishing time was 6:01.

Most of my time improvement has come from lowering my 2nd and especially 3rd mile. I've been running my 1st mile in sub-6 (but sometimes finishing with a high 6:30-6:40 3rd mile) for a while now and even though some would say it is better to slow down that 1st mile and run even splits, I didn't want to slow down I wanted to bring my other miles closer to my 1st mile pace. So I've worked hard at improving my endurance at that pace and it has paid off :)

To add to my already exciting Thanksgiving weekend, I hopped in another 5k yesterday morning. There was money awards to top 3 and I reasoned that I stood a chance depending on who showed up (there are a few local girls who can run 17s and even at least one who can run 16:xx). There was a pretty strong wind (20 mph) so my goal was just to go sub 19 again but I put no pressure on myself to PR (especially on unrested legs).

Within the first mile I was in first for the women and knew, as long as I didn't blow up in the 2nd half of the race, I could win it and run in the 18's again. 1st half was against the wind, 2nd half with it- so I knew I just had to push through that 1st half and then I could really use the wind to my advantage for a fast finish.

Final time-18:51 Splits- 5:59/6:20/5:58- You can see the wind really took its toll in the 2nd mile, plus my 1st mile was about 10 sec slower than usual, but I think that's the 1st time I've ever been sub-6 in my last mile.

To top off an amazing race weekend I won $200 for 1st female AND my fiance (who has been running 5ks with me since September and has dropped his time from Mid 25s to 22:38(!) on Thanksgiving) won his age group and a GC to our local running shop (Sayville Running Company). We stopped by there since it was Small Business Saturday and picked him up some sweet light weight sneaks :D

Where do I go from here?

Last year after my fall racing season and breaking 20 for the first time ever I actually stopped running completely for the month of January to focus on building muscle. I'm not doing that again. I will of course continue to lift (I actually spend more time every week lifting than I do running), but I want to see how low I can take this. I don't feel like I've reached my limit yet, and sub 18 had crossed my mind, but I know that is going to take some very serious training if I'm going to get anywhere near that and even then can I do it?

Right now I have at least 2 more 5ks in my season and I'd love to PR in one or both of them, 18:30 possibly? And then I have a 10 miler at the end of January, my ambitious goal is 1:05 or 6:30 mile pace. At the least the training mileage will be good for my spring season base building.

I'm throwing around the idea of a spring half but my main focus will continue to be improving my 5k time. There is something exhilarating to me about going all out for 3 miles, whereas the longer races are more about pacing which I just don't enjoy as much. But the urge to see if I can go sub 1:30 is there so I'll see how the 10 miler goes and then make a more definitive decision on my spring races.

Next 5k is this coming Sunday and I'm already pumped!

Bikini Comp Recap

2012-10-15T12:03:00.000-04:00

I actually came back to the blog today to write about the direction of my current training and goals, I've been thinking about posting regularly again to journal my training and progress toward my current goals. More for myself but others may be interested in it as well. Then I realized I never posted about my Fitness America Competition, which had a big influence on what I'm choosing to pursue goal wise now (but not in the way you might think). So I'm going to recap and reflect on that first.

My competition took place on July 7th, I placed 5th in bikini short class which I suppose is good for my first time but it was a beginner comp so everyone was new at it lol. And although I'm glad I went through with it and experienced something new I learned that bikini competitions really aren't my thing. I HATE being on stage in front of an audience ha. I felt like a deer in headlights up there the whole time, forgetting to smile, full of anxiety and wanting nothing more than to be off the stage.

So although part of me wonders if I could keep working at it and do better, I don't think I will be partaking in any more bikini comps anytime soon. Plus it's so subjective. In running, if you run the fastest time you win; but how do you judge who has the best physique? I know it's really about doing it for yourself and being happy with the work you put in and the results you got. I told myself this repeatedly before the competition, in my head I would think, "no matter what you place, getting on stage is a victory." And I was happy with how I looked so that should be good enough. Buuttt I'm competitive so I still got a little bit down on myself for my placing.

Also despite not taking drastic measures (no carb cycling, no low carb/calorie, no excessive cardio), I still ended up a little thinner then I would like. Yes, most women compete at weights lighter than they normally maintain day to day, but I still would have liked to got on stage 4-5 lbs heavier than I was (@ 5'4" I competed at 108lbs, I think 112-114 would have been perfect) . Even though I didn't take drastic or excessive measures, in the last few weeks I was afraid to eat too much and be bloated or have extra fat (I was still eating plenty though, averaging 1400-1500 a day [which is a lot for someone at 110 lbs in the last few weeks of contest prep.] I guess I could have gotten away with more though, you live and you learn :).

Some contest pics:

If you know anything about these types of competitions, you'd know I was waving with the wrong hand, ooopps.

Probably the most genuine smile out of all the pics, the rest all look very forced. . . cause they were haha.

Overall, I loved the training, I loved the changes to my body composition, loved the clean eating BUT I did not love the stage, the tan, the hair and make-up, being judged, the cost lol. So I've continued to lift daily and lift heavy, to eat clean and make sure I eat enough to maintain my weight (and even add a bit) but I've gone back to focusing my goals on the sport I love: RUNNING :D More on my current running goals and progress in the next post :)

Why You Should Lift. . .

2012-06-26T06:23:00.004-04:00

So I stopped posting because I've been focusing my time/energies else where and I'm really happy with the personal/physical/ mental development I've made over the past 6 months. Right now I'm 11 days out (aka freak out time!) from my first bikini competition and wanted to share the progress I've made the past year with heavy lifting/ proper nutrition to support body composition change. "Running for the bikini" did not get me very far in terms of achieving the results I was looking for (as you will note from the first picture which was taken about 9 months after starting my blog), but once I started lifting and eating clean I got rapid results.

Picture evidence:

Little over a year ago

(Mid-May, and a little blurry cause I used photo booth)

End of October

After about 2 months of lifting and cleaning up my diet.

Tanner but also less stomach fat.

2 weeks ago

After 10 months of heavy lifting and high protein, clean diet :)

Note: There is about a 10 lb change between these pictures (from 122-ish to 112) and 10+% bf loss (from approx over 25% to 15%). And this was for the most part while actively trying to keep my calories up, often aiming for 2000-2200 (while in the past I was always trying to keep them low [1200-1300ish] which often led to bingeing, as well as not making the best food choices as long as it fit my calorie budget).

And as mentioned in a previous post I dropped my 5k time from 20:XX to 19:00 (even while reducing the amount of running I was doing) during this time so lifting has had a positive impact on my running as well :)

Now I'm running late for morning cardio (stairs!), hopefully I will find time to start posting again but if you are interested I do post fitness related and competition progress stuff on my Facebook page ~ http://www.facebook.com/KatieMcGrathCPT because it is easier time wise to make quick updates.

"Whether You Think You Can or You Think You Can't, You're Right."

2012-01-24T14:16:00.002-05:00

This is actually an email I wrote to my clients about developing the right mindset to achieve your goals, but it's something I really feel strongly about so I thought I'd share it here as well:

I'm going to start my first email to you with a quote that I use as inspiration in my daily life and one that believe is very important to think about in regards to reaching your goal.

    Believing that you can accomplish something is the first (and possibly most important) step to actually achieving your goal. If you believe that you can achieve it you will find a way to do it, if you don't think it is possible you will find excuses. Why are you going to take the time and effort to work towards something if you don't think you will ever get there?

    So the first step to reaching your goals is really believing that it you CAN do it. Of course it will take hard work and it won't happen overnight, in fact it's going to take dedication and consistency over a few months (more or less depending on the goal). But If you KNOW that eventually you WILL achieve it, then you can view each workout you put in and every well balanced high nutrient meal you eat as getting you closer to that goal (same goes for any other behavior necessary for reaching your goal i.e. every time I study I get closer to passing my nutrition certification.)

    On the other hand if you don't think it is possible, you may think to yourself (even if its subconsciously), "why am I going to take these steps if it's not going to get me to my goal anyway?" Your much less likely to make the time to workout, to push yourself to the limit, to fuel your body correctly because you don't see it as getting you any closer to your end goal.

    It really becomes a self full filling prophecy: You think you can achieve it, so you put the work in day after day even though some days are tough and you might not feel like it (and I believe the days that are tough and you really have to motivate yourself to get it done are the days where you make yourself stronger both mentally and physically). You get it done because YOU KNOW that it's going to get you to where you want to be. Eventually you reach your goal and the work was more than worth it, and then you set new goals. Goals you might not have even thought were possible before but now you know with dedication anything is possible.

                                                                Or

      You have a goal(s), but you don't truly believe it's attainable. You put some work in, especially in the beginning, but if you don't feel like getting out of bed one morning or you aren't in the mood to push yourself that day, you skip it. You think, " what does it matter, I'm never going to reach my goal anyway. " And so you make very little progress and get even more discouraged. You're even less motivated to workout/ eat right/ any other behavior that moves you toward your goal (because you don't see them as things that will get you there) and eventually you give up. You just proved yourself right.

I'm going to relate this to my own life as an example.

Big confession: I can't drive. Over the past 7 years I've taken my road test 2 or 3 times (don't remember haha) and haven't even reached the three point turn or parallel park before failing. I have this mental block where I truly don't believe that I can drive. The few times I took my test I really didn't put in enough practice. I didn't think I could do it so I didn't make the time to practice and improve. And as a result I further confirmed my thought that; "yes, I was right, I can't drive."

    I am working on believing that it IS possible. That every time I go out and practice driving I will get a little closer to actually being able to do it. It is not easy. It takes concentrated effort just to change your thought process. To, every time a negative thought comes into your head, take it and turn it into a positive thought.

   Every time I think about driving, I feel self doubt creeping into my head and I'm making it a point to squash that doubt by thinking, "Yes, driving is something that is difficult for you, but it's NOT IMPOSSIBLE. Have you ever put in 100% (or even 80%) effort to achieve it? No. So until you are making the effort to practice driving at least 3-4 times a week for 30+ minutes consistently ( 2-3 months), don't you dare tell yourself that you can't do it. You CAN do it, you just haven't put in the time and effort needed yet."


    I'm challenging you all :), to think about your goals and whether or not you truly believe they're possible. And I want you to know that I 100% believe they are achievable with CONSISTENT hard work and effort over time. The more consistent and persistant you are, the sooner you will see the results you want.

    "Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than ANY obstacle. " ~ Christian D. Larson

Lift For The Bikini!

2012-01-08T15:53:00.009-05:00

Happy 2012!!

For the New Year I figured I update my site to better reflect my training philosophy, so "Run for the Bikini" is now officially "Run (and Lift!) for the Bikini!" :D I know it doesn't quite have the same ring to it, but I can't emphasis enough the effect lifting has on both changing your physique, improving athletic performance, and instilling confidence. Those are the Big 3 things that keep me motivated to workout (not in that order) so I'm sticking to it, like it or not :P

I've written in my recent posts about how I've been following the Jamie Eason LiveFit Trainer since September. I finished the first round the day before Christmas, took that week off diet wise (I did still lift daily) and started back at the beginning this past Monday. I am adjusting things slightly this time to meet my specific needs/goals, but for the most part I follow it as written.

I've had AMAZING results with it and it helped me reach some goals that I was "so close, but yet so far" from achieving.

For 1, my pull-up/ chin-ups. Early in the program I achieved my first 2 dead hang chin-ups, I can now proudly say I'm up to 3 dead hang chins, 1 glorious dead hang pull-up and I even did a chin-up with a 5lb KB on my foot.

Inspired by Girl Gone Strong, Neghar Fonooni:

So Freaking Gorgeous!!!

~ Goal for 2012 : 20lb KB Pull-up/Chin-up. For right now I'm going to work on increasing my number of non-weighted ones :)

#2 THE HUGE, NEVER ENDING QUEST TO BREAK 20 MINUTES THAT I NEVER THOUGHT WOULD HAPPEN.

Even though I broke it twice, it still feels a little unreal to me, ESPECIALLY running 19 Flat.

The more shocking part of it is the training that led me to run that fast. This is how cardio is laid out in the JE Trainer: Phase 1 (4 weeks) - NO Cardio, Whatsoever! (although I personally ran a few races) Phase 2 (4 weeks) - 3-4 times a week medium intensity cardio Phase 3 (4 weeks)- Sprints, 30 seconds on/ 30 seconds off for 30 minutes (I usually went at a 10.5- 11.2 pace for my on, jumped my feet to the sides and rested for the off).

I think what affected my race times the most was a combination of these 4 things:

1) Increased leg strength and also gaining upper body strength made me a stronger, faster runner.

2) Losing exclusively body fat, you know how they say each lb of bf you lose takes a few seconds off your time, I know whole heartedly believe that. And with this program I preserved all (and even added some) muscle while losing 10lbs (mostly fat, some water), as evident with my body fat % dropping from 23% to 16-17%

3) SPRINTS! Since speed has always been my weaker point, improving upon it had a huge impact on my performance. In those weeks leading up to my 19 minute 5k, my running training was exclusively those 30 on/ 30 off sprints (with a short warm-up/ cool down), I did not do a single steady state run. I don't recommend this to everyone looking to improve their 5k times, but as I said speed being my weakness this worked for me. If you are the type of runner who has a lot of speed but lacks endurance this mort likely wont have the same results for you.

4) Phase 3 of the program includes plyometrics as active rest and a whole lot of jump roping. This made my lifting in this phase as much of a cardio workout as a strength one. It also improved my power and overall conditioning.

~ Goal for 2012: Sub-19 Baby (I'm ridiculously close to this but I have a feeling I'm going to go a little backwards before I PR again)

#3 It's January and I would feel perfectly confident if I had to wear a bikini tomorrow :)

Honestly I've never had this kind of definition in my life, and I'm LOVING it!

This is a progress pic from beginning of December- 2 & 1/2 months into my first round of the trainer.

Taken 4 days ago, I gained a little bloat weight over the holiday week, but after this week of eating clean and lifting heavy I'm back to where I was when I finished the trainer on 12/23.

This go around I am really looking to put on some lean muscle mass. I ended my first round a few lbs under my goal weight which I don't mind, but I don't want to lose anymore weight. I'm taking the "no cardio in Phase 1 rule" very seriously which is a little scary (for me), but at least its January so there isn't much racing going on. And I'm amazed at how much clean food I have to eat to keep weight on, much less gain weight while lifting.

~Goal for 2012: Continue to gain muscle and possibly. . . enter a bikini comp? Eeeek!

Ohh and another thing I'm pretty darn proud of: Back Squatting #135 for multiple sets of 5 reps. It's not all that heavy but it's 20+ lbs more than my bodyweight, so it makes me extremely giddy :)

~Goal for ~~2012~~ February/March 2012: Back Squating 155 for sets of 5, 165 for sets of 3, 175 1 RM

If you incorporate resistance training/lifting into your workouts, how has it helped you achieve your goals?

I think my rendezvous with the 19's is going to be short lived. . . 18 I'm looking at you!

2011-12-11T22:28:00.002-05:00

I Ran 19:00 today!

I will add that I think the course was a little short and it was closer to a 19:30, but either way it's a PR and I couldn't more psyched up :D

I felt smooth, strong and in control the whole race, it felt almost easy. I'm ready to start posting some sweet 18 min times come the spring :)

My Garmin mile splits (which work out to a 19:30 pace, my garmin had the course as 3.03): 6:07/6:20/6:25.

My first mile has stayed pretty consistent throughout my races, I'm usually around 6:10, it's really my 2nd and 3rd miles that have seen such a great improvement.

I'd love to write more right now but it's pretty tedious on an iPhone (I don't currently have a computer). Come the new year I will be back in full swing!

A Very Thankful Day

2011-11-24T11:16:00.000-05:00

19:45!

Have a Very Happy Thanksgiving All!!!!!!!

What I've Been Eating Wednesday~ Jamie Eason Edition (with bonus progress pics)

2011-11-16T12:14:00.005-05:00

I've mentioned in my recent posts that I've been following the Jamie Eason LiveFit 12 week trainer, I'm actually kind of obsessed with it and am in shock over the positive impact it has had on my fitness and my life in general. I've always run and recently I've gotten more and more into resistance training (BodyRock!), but I've never followed a structured lifting program. I am loving the change of pace that lifting heavy has done for my mind, body and soul, I truly look forward to my workouts (almost) everyday.

Yesterday was leg day and I squatted, singled leg RDLed, walking doubled lunged, single leg split squatted and barbell glute bridged my heart out :D

But the best part about the program may just be the laid out nutrition plan. Besides never having followed a lifting program, I've never eaten (or knew how really) in a way that promotes muscle growth and fat loss (as opposed to weight loss).

Some basics of the plan:

~ Eat every 3 hours (so usually 6 meals a day)

~ Complete lean protein with each meal

~ Load up on veggies (as with all well rounded diets :)

~ Non processed, limited ingredient foods (Here is Jamie's list of approved foods for the plan)

~Complex carbs with the exception of post workout simple carbs to aid quick protein digestion and muscle repair (I go with 1/2 a banana as recommended by Jamie)

~ Macros (% of protein/carb/fat) vary depending on the phase your in

~ Taper carbs out towards the evening (no carbs after 7 in all phases)

~ Protein meal before bed (prob around 9-10 pm for most people, best options: Egg whites, Cottage cheese or Casein protein)

Here is what I ate yesterday , which is pretty much what I eat everyday with some small variations. I'm really bad at remembering to take pics of my food, so I don't have pictures of everything, I also added a few extra pics with variations on my meals (or just my egg whites bc thats the only thing I remember to snap).

First off there have been LOTS of egg whites!

Thankfully I really like egg whites and I've had fun finding different ways to prepare them.

I usually have an omelette for my 1st or 2nd meal and sometimes for both :D

Yesterdays Meal #1: Egg Whites with: Spinach, White Mushrooms, Red Bell Pepper on Ezekial Toast and Lottsss of Black Pepper (love!)

Sweet Potato and Spinach Egg Whites

Egg White Omelette with Cinnamon and Banana Slices, bit of Truvia sprinkled in and Strawberry Slices on Top (Sometimes I'll sprinkle Vanilla Whey Protien in too, makes it french toast like)

Meal # 2 yesterday:

Chicken Stir Fry ~ Throw chicken and stir fry veggies in a pan and done :D

So simple and so so good!

Meal #3

Didn't get a pic, but yesterday I had Chobani Plain Non-fat Greek Yogurt with Cocoa powder, around 1/4 cup oats, and a few blueberries. This was my pre-workout meal so I was okay with a bit of extra sugar in this meal (also Chobani has 7 g sugar as compared to Fage's 9 gs)

Post Workout:

I have great love for my post workout whey protein and 1/2 a banana.

Meal # 4

Sometimes I consider my Whey and Banana as a meal, but as it was leg day and I need the extra cals I ate a more substantial meal an hour later.

Didn't take a pic, but I had one of Jamie's Italian Turkey Burgers (made mostly with zucchini and ground turkey). I usually make a batch of about 10 of these on Sunday and then Matt and I have them throughout the week. He brings his to work for lunch on a wrap with cheeses and tomato.

I had mine crumbled over a spinach salad with mushroom, roasted red pepper and balsamic vinaigrette :D

Meal #5

I failed at taking pictures the second half of the day, besides I was so hungry by the time I came home from work that I pretty much devoured dinner while I was still making it.

Dinner was a can of albacore tuna mixed with avocado, salsa and extra tomato slices plus a slice of Ezekial bread. This was around 6:30 and I usually wouldn't have that many carbs at this time in the evening, but it was leg day, I still needed the calories and I'm trying to gain all the muscle I can before the final phase which is strictly fat loss.

Meal #6

My final meal was at 9:30 last night: 5 egg whites sprinkled with cinnamon, chocolate casein powder, truvia and a drizzle of natural peanut, cashew, almond butter (Target brand).

Sometimes I just do 5 hardboiled egg whites or a casein shake but last night I wanted more of a treat. I know some people have a hard time with egg whites but I've grown to love them during this program.

Progress Pics:

Took these shots yesterday, I'm extremely pleased with my results so far :D

More on the program tomorrow!

The Never-Ending Quest

2011-11-14T14:42:00.005-05:00

I attempted sub-20 once again this weekend and got oh-so-close, but no cigar.

Official time: 20:07

11 second PR

1st place female/ 6th Overall

I won a year long $600 gym membership

All things to be happy about and yet I'm still kinda bummed :/

I wanted to break 20 for my birthday (11/11/11) and so I can set a new goal AND so I can finally stop talking about breaking 20 already!

These Garmin Stats make me pretty happy though:

I know that is obviously not official, but that's a sub 20 pace right there :D

Not much to say about the race, it was nice 50-ish weather, a bit windy, especially since parts of the race ran along side the Great South Bay. I ran all out, felt good, ditched the music (I've realized I'm much more focused and don't zone out without it).

My old soccer coach (from my 13 yr-old, 170 lb days) has been at all my recent races and we are right around the same time so we paced each other through most of the race. He dropped back a little near the end but only finished 9 seconds after me, it was pretty awesome having someone to help push me along.

I've got a bunch of races lined up for the rest of the month so we'll see if I can finally conquer this thing :)

Here's the upcoming sched:

11/20 ~ 5k on my old HS XC course, this will not be a sub 20 attempt since it is a hilly (with one super crazy hill) trail course. My goal here is to break my HS time of 20:53

11/24 ~ Turkey Trot 5k

11/26 ~ Trail 5k, but it is flat

12/11 ~ Habitat For Humanity Santa 5k- this is at my HS but if it's too cold I probably won't do it

I also meant to write about meeting SkinnyRunner and Hungry Runner Girl, but time escaped me as is the case most of the time these days when I mean to post. I'm sure everyone reading has seen the posts on both their blogs and they are both just as crazy awesome in person.

In case you missed their posts on the post NYC marathon Crumbs meet-up here are some group pics (stolen from SR, Katie of Keeping up with Katie and Cat of Breakfast to Bed)

There were 2 camera men, Janae and I obviously got the wrong memo on which one to look at :D

Skinny Runner snapped this lovely family shot for us:

I'm surprised she got a smile out of him since at this point he was a crankmaster after we dragged him around the city for a few hours.

And I'm out of time and off to work once again so that's all she wrote, for now.

What I've been doing recently, besides not posting. . .

2011-11-02T22:29:00.001-04:00

Dead Hang Chin-ups!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This may just be my proudest accomplishment to date :D :D

If you've been following this blog since the beginning you might remember this has been a goal of mine for a year! And I was really, reeaalllyyy losing hope that it would ever happen.

Here is a post from April of me struggling to get one chin-up from a bent arm position and that was after 5 months of working with resistance bands and negative pull-ups, it definitely wasn't looking good for me.

The two things that really moved my progress along were:
1) I started a structured lifting program, Jamie Eason's LiveFit to be precise (which I will most definitely be writing more about, it is love!)
2) I added a few sets of static holds at the top (for as long as I could hold it) at the end of most of my workouts.

Finally becoming a triathlete on September 25th (after my first tri in August was cancelled)

I think this pic makes it clear the bike is not my strong leg :)

and placing in the top 5 women:

Leaderboard WOMEN:

Kelly Pickard	41:15
Christie O'Hara	43:37
Louise Grausso	43:54
Katie McGrath	44:18 ~Me
Erin Garland	45:31

Race breakdown:

Distance	Short
Clock Time	44:18
Overall Place	28 / 268
Swim	7:54
Swimp	69
T1	1:36
T1P	19
Bike	17:47
Bikep	100
T2	1:01
T2P	42
Run	16:03
Runp	4

The run was a 4k and definitely my saving grace, I ran at just about a 20 flat 5k pace and loved every second of it. I was thrilled about this since my running training during August was minimal due to a knee pain/ injury (backing off a bit made it go away :) and then starting Jamie's program I was supposed to lay off cardio (I just greatly cut back) for the first 4 weeks (to promote muscle growth).

Chipping away at Sub-20

Coming off my triathlon race I decided I needed to enter some 5ks STAT bc that Sub-20 was mine for the taking, right? I mean I ran 4 min per k pace after swimming and biking, I should be able to hold on for one more kilometer at that pace sans swim/bike, yes? Easier said then done :/

BUTTTT I did inch just a little bit closer.

In my October 8th race, I shaved 7 seconds of my PR with a 20:18 and 1st place female :D

I thought for sure I would break 20 this past Sunday, but the feels like 20° and windy weather through me for a loop. Final time: 20:52

I've got a few more races planned for the upcoming weekends and most likely 2 races during the Thanksgiving holiday. I'm not giving up on this one!!

Being a Rockstar trainer :D

Anyone who is/has been in the personal training field most likely knows that starting out is tough, starting out in any new career is a challenge as you gain your experience and learn new things everyday. Despite being challenging sometimes and majorly time consuming, I still love it and know with 100% confidence that it is what I want to be doing.

Plus I get to work in this kick ass studio:

I've started working on a nutrition cert too, but haven't been finding a lot of time to dedicate towards studying so it's a little slow going right now.

Kicking my own booty in the weight room

As mentioned briefly above I've started lifting and I'm loving every second of it :D My workouts are the highlight of my day. Squats, Bench, Deadlifts (Single Leg deadlifts: OMG OWW, in a really good way!), Curls, Rows; I love 'em all.

Along with the lifting (and in conjunction with Jamie Eason's Trainer) I'm following a super clean, high protein, 6 meals a day diet plan and seeing amazing results. I've dropped a few %'s off my bodyfat and I've become so immersed in it that I've even been contemplating competing (bikini class).

Okay I feel like I was a bit braggy in this post, but truly I am just amazed at how far I have come in the past year. I definitely think starting this blog a little over a year ago (I missed my 1 year blogiversary booo :( ) got the ball rolling for me to finally go after and achieve some of my long standing goals.

Tell me about a goal you've recently achieved and whether/how blogging helped you to reach it :)

It's Been a Summer

2011-09-16T22:40:00.003-04:00

Hi Guys!

I had a feeling I wasn't gonna be able to keep up with blogging during the summer and I was 100% right. And it's really hard to get back to it once you've got a stockpile of things you want to write about and no idea where to start :/

My summer was amazing, crazy, exciting, scary, exhausting, FUN, and a major period of growth all mixed into one :D

Gosh there is so much to say, where to start!?!?

I'm gonna start with the fact that I WAS supposed to be a triathlete by now, but unfortunately my debut triathlon that I built up for months was cancelled due to Hurricane Irene. I was definitely disappointed by this but immediately signed up for another Tri which is now a week away! I'm really easing into the sport as this triathlon next weekend is a Super Sprint; 400 meter swim, 10k bike, 4k run. Cake.

Speaking of Irene, here are some pics of what our beach looked like after:

Flooded tunnel

Mi Hermana

Y Hermano

This tunnel is usually about 12 feet high

We spent the next few days of work reconstructing the beach, I donned my work (rain) boots and gloves and did some heavy lifting. We actually had the place looking pretty close to normal in 2 days.

I also took the opportunity to Hurricane Party:

While wearing my son's rain jacket. Definitely a night I will not forget :D

I planned to write a lot more, but it's getting late and I've got to be up early on a Saturday morning for my new job.

I got a personal training job!

So Sooooo excited!!! I don't actually have any clients yet, I just started on Tuesday, but I have loved every second of every one of the 26 hours I've worked so far. The gym is brand new (it's a big chain gym, but it's thier new updated version, only the 2nd one ever opened!) and has EVERYTHING (TRX, Kettlebells, Plyo Boxs, . . .) I could ask for.

I have so much more to say and I plan to post again tomorrow and hopefully get back to posting regularly from here on out. I am working mayyjor hours at the gym especially this week as it just opened (this evening at 5 pm!), but I'm gonna find some time.

I miss you all!! I need to catch up on everyone!

Positivity in All Things

2011-07-13T07:25:00.000-04:00

Things have been crazy over here. . . lots of really positive and exciting stuff going on especially in regards to my training career. The one not so positive issue that I've been dealing with over the past few months is splitting with my fiance whom I've been with for 7 years (since I was 19). That is one of the main reasons I haven't been updating recently (this is my first post for July!). These past few months have been difficult emotionally, but working out has remained a positive outlet for me and helped me keep my sanity. I've come to realize that this is for the better and ultimately I will be stronger and happier for it.

Some of the wonderfully positive things that have been going on lately:

1) I kinda left you guys hanging on my race results for my June 26th 5k. . .

20:25 :D

10 second PR that I could not be happier about. At my previous 2 5ks I got stuck back around 21 ish, it felt really good to PR again. I am 100% confident that I will break 20 soon!! It's going to come down to working on that last mile, my splits were (approx, haven't gotten them off my Garmin yet) 6:15, 6:35 (12:50 at the 2 mile mark so still at sub 20 pace average) and I'm not sure what that last mile was.

I place 2nd in my age group and 8th female (although they announce me as top 5 female as I crossed the line so I was a little bummed when I found out)

Website starting line pic, I'm 575:

2) I'm back on the oceanside!

I've been killing it in our workouts and have also shown that I am much more confident and assertive this year (which turned out to be a bigger question than whether I had the athletic ability).

I'm working a ton right now, as I always do during the summer. I worked 18 days in a row before I had a day off this past Saturday. I can't complain, it's pretty much the best job in the world, just very very tiring. Even if I don't workout or do much during the day I still come home exhausted from the sun/heat.

Some work nonsense:

The Broski. . . ladies he is single ;)

Today we had a North wind today (South wind would be off the ocean), which means that the black flies were swarming. One of my coworkers asked another to bury him in the sand so that the flies couldn't bite him. He stayed like this for 45 minutes.

3) I attended the Peak Performance Program Design and Nutrition Seminar this past weekend and I don't even have the words right now to describe how awesome it was.

The highlight of the weekend for me was the amazing people both running and attending the seminar. Every single person there was so passionate about the fitness industry and so willing to help out others in the field. I was by far the newest to training and the support and encouragement I received. . . I cannot thank all of you enough.

I will definitely be dedicating a post to this seminar when time allows, for now a few pics:

Group Shot ~ I'm in the lower left corner

I'm still digesting everything that was presented.
So despite the one very difficult issue I've been dealing with, I am feeling more positive about things than ever. I am beyond excited to started training and changing peoples lives and my self confidence levels are at an all time high :D I hope you are all doing amazing as well, I haven't had the chance to read a single blog lately and feel very out of the loop. If you have a race report I'd love to read it so let me know below.I have a beach biathlon planned for July 24th ~ 3 mile beach run and I believe 300 meter ocean swim, Can't wait!!

New Things

2011-06-22T18:43:00.000-04:00

I kinda knew that once lifeguarding started I'd have trouble keeping up with blogging. And now I have the time to post, but so many things I want to write about that it is hard to keep them straight. I want to just put it all in one big crazy post except I know that would be an unfortunate mess. I'm off the next 2 days so I plan to catch up with everything I want to write (and hopefully catch up on what you guys have been doing). For today I'm gonna go with a fun, mostly picture post of some new training related things I've purchased/received.

First:
I finally got a GymBoss Interval timer!! In pink!

Now I can BodyRock on the beach :D

I look just like Zuz now, right?

Nahh. . . her hair is a lot darker ;)

Second:

I got THESE babies. . .

ASICS Gel-Noosa Tri 6

LOVE THEM!

Third + Fourth:

A few weeks ago I won a CamelBack Handheld Water Bottle and $25 iTunes gift card from Carrie at Confessions of a Registered Dietician .

The water bottle is awesome and looks like this:

And I think iTunes cards are pretty much the greatest thing you can win (I don't dl from free sites)

So far I bought the new Lady GaGa album:

Favorites from it right now: Marry the Night, Bad Kids, Fashion of His Love, Highway Unicorn, and You and I

I need suggestions for 10 more great running/workout songs please :)

BodyRockers in the House Tonight

2011-06-17T18:17:00.003-04:00

I've been listening to Party Rock Anthem while I workout and I like to pretend they're saying "Bodyrockers" instead of "Party Rock is. . ." :D

Today I went back and re-did the first BodyRock workout I ever performed (in January): Suicidal Sweat. I remember when I first did it I skipped a whole section because it involved some 1-legged jump squats that I could not for the life of me do. Did 'em today :D It also involved a bunch of Break Dance push-ups which some of you may remember from my little demo and if you haven't seen it they look like this:

Love those guys!

I did them a lot better today too, in the video on some reps I'm hooking my foot around my other leg, none of that this time :)

Speaking of Break Dance. . . So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) is back on! YAYYYYY!! And I remembered how much the Break Dancers on that show always rock.

I think those guys are some of the best athletes in the world.

Legacy was one of my all time faves:

Even though he was a B-Boy, he could rock any dance style.

I'm thinking about getting Nolan some break dance lessons :) Nollie showed me how he can learn to walk on his hands by putting his feet on an exercise ball and moving into pike position. Such a smart 5 year old :D

Dales and I are thinking of taking some dance lessons as well after watching the past few episodes, I am so envious of their flexibilty.

Season 6: Ellenore and Legacy

I might do a post on my top 5 SYTYCD routines because I think everyone should experience them.

Full Time Beach starts tomorrow!!!!

How's that for a random post :)

Aced the ACE!

2011-06-13T13:17:00.002-04:00

I'm an American Council on Exercise certified personal trainer!!!! Woohhooo :D

All of this:

finally paid off.

And I don't have to feel like this:

anymore.

Plus I can get back to blogging, reading and commenting regularly again :)

I thought the test was pretty darn hard and I thought my heart was going to come out of my chest as I pressed submit; I really had no idea whether I had passed or not based on the questions. But I did it!! :D :D :D

I still have anxiety feelings in my stomach (I finished 1 hour ago) because I was so so nervous before & during the whole test.

Random fun fact that I noticed while studying the ACE manual: The names of the people in the case studies were: Phyllis, Stanley, Oscar, Kelly, Jan, Andy, Meredith, David and . . .DWIGHT! That is no coincidence and I was highly amused by it :D I guess I'm easy to please :)

No Jim though. . .

My Jim Halpert face from January

I plan to continue studying my Kinesiology and Anatomy at the beach this summer, even though I passed I didn't feel confident enough answering many of those questions. I'm also thinking of pursuing another cert over the summer, probably NASM. As well as ACE Lifestyle and Weight Management coach certification. Ohhh and RRCA running coach cert (just looked it up, cert course in NY on Sept. 10-11th, I'm on it!) :D

CRAZY excited about all this ish!!

Need to go workout and get rid of some nervous energy I still have, I should be posting more now that I'm not studying during every available hour.

Taking a Chill Pill

2011-06-09T10:54:00.002-04:00

  Mucho studying + lots going on mentally & emotionally for me = inability to bloggy blog

Numbered list of what's been going down the past week:
   1)  I kinda left you guys hanging on the results of my much anticipated 5k on Sunday. It was a small race, pretty uneventful so it doesn't really warrant a full race recap. To sum it up: No PR. . . 20:59. . . 1st female. I had kinda built up trying to go sub 20 in this race, but I could tell from my workouts the week before that it was highly unlikely. My attempt at mile repeats resulted in 1- 6:27 mile and I was donzo. I did run it at noon in 85+ degrees and a few days into no sugar feeling majorly depleted (not the race, the ~~repeats~~ mile), still I know that holding that pace for 3 miles was a loooonnnnnnggggg shot.

   I had planned to run the 5k with my garmin because I don't actually know when I'm slowing down since my first mile is usually right about 6:30 and then my average pace is 6:40's. Then I got really scared about wearing it and getting frustrated and down on myself when my pace dropped so I skipped it. I didn't wear any watch and there were no mile splits in this race so I just ran by feel. Even though I ran exactly 1 minute off Sub-20 I was very happy with my time. I've been able to run right at 21 or just under consistently and I feel very strong doing it.

   2) With all that said: I've decided to chill on pushing the sub-20 for now. I gave myself so much anxiety about hitting times in workouts and I think it had a negative effect on my results. Right now I just want to run, when I want and what I want. And I want to BodyRock without worrying about being too sore to get my workouts in and run stairs (which I had trouble fitting in with interval workouts). And I'm beginning to add in more swimming/biking for my triathlon at the end of August (I found another awesome local tri for end of September too :D It's a Super Sprint [shorter than a sprint])

   I'm still going to run almost everyday, but I'm not basing my runs on specific race time goals. I need it more for emotional/stress release right now. I will be doing a bunch of races this summer but I'm more concerned with effort and enjoyment for the meanwhile. My next 5k is June 26th and I'm really looking forward to it. All the beach peeps do it every year and there is a lift portion you can enter where for every bench press you do (men: bodyweight; women: 70%) they shave 10 seconds off your time. I won my age group for the lift & run 2 years ago (I was the only one in my age group who did the lifts :D and I could only bench it once lol. This years goal: 2 reps haha.) Then we all party afterwards :D :D

   3) I'm starting to get comfortable on my road bike. My bro went on a ride with me 2 days ago and helped me out with shifting and stuff. It was only about 5 miles, but prior to that I had only been doing 1 mile around my block to get the feel for it. Gonna go for 8-10 later I think.

   4) I haven't been completely sugar free this week. I did 10 days with absolutely NO added sugar and then the 2 days before my race I had a bit because I really needed the energy for my race. It worked out well I didn't have the depleted feeling I'd been having in workouts during my race. Since then I've been mostly added sugar (and refined carb free), but I'm (trying) not obsessing over it. I did start to get a little crazy about it and since I didn't give myself a set date for ending it I've felt kinda like I was cheating and guilty. But I'm eating 95-98% healthy real foods, I'm still losing weight (but slower which is good bc I don't have much more to lose) and I feel good.

   5) This I am SUPER excited about: I signed up for a 2 day personal training seminar in NYC!! It is July 9th-10th at Peak Performance, where they train celebs (Anne Hathaway, Claire Danes, Jimmy Fallon) and models. It's limited to 30 attendees so it will be very personal, I can't wait :D I am on a mission to learn/ take in as much as I can in order to be on top of my training game :)

   My ACE exam is Monday, so back to studying for me. I have so so many blogs to catch up on, but that will have to wait until after Monday morning.

   I don't like to post picture-less, so here is me completely dead and sweaty mess after 2.5 miles and 20 min/ 400 rep bodyrock workout in 90 degree heat yesterday (I dripped puddles):

and to make up for that mess; cleaned up to go out:

Since this post was all I, I, I . . . tell me about you! I've been missing out on your lives; How are all you Sugar Free challengers doing? Any new PRs this past weekend? Other exciting news? I'd really love to know so tell me below and hopefully I can catch up on your blogs soon.

Race Fashion Friday ft. Heroes in a Half Shell

2011-06-03T20:08:00.002-04:00

I've skipped the race attire photo shoots for my past few races and I kinda missed them, be honest you missed them too ;)

Sunday is a special race and so I decided it needed a special shirt.

This $5 Foreva 21 tank does the trick:

More from the fashion shoot:

Ready to Rock

Turtle Power

oh the fun ways I spend my friday nights :D

Shot

2011-06-01T17:56:00.002-04:00

Two 8 hr days in the sun (and some sunburn) + No Sugar + Intense workouts (hello 550 rep workout and 400 meter repeats) = Exhausted Me

But don't worry I am taking it real easy the next 4 days and then Sunday is my race. I ran an easy shake out 1.5 miles today and I've imposed a no bodyrock rule till after Sunday. Dales is doing today's Amazing Ab workout in front of me right now and it's killiingg me not to join her (sidenote: she lost 4lbs this week, you rock Dales, I'm so proud of your bodyrocking :D).

Day 9 10 of no sugar and refined carbs, and not a slip up yet. Amanda's Sugar Free Challenge starts today and there are over 80 participants! Awesome.

I realized this weekend that if I'm going to stick to this sugar free thing for a prolonged period of time I need to bring A LOT of food to the beach. I get so hungry the last 2 hours and this wknd I was so hungry at the end of the day that I was tempted to eat anything. On the whole I feel like I've been eating a lot, but I'm always hungry and I'm losing weight. I was stuck going between 122-124 and I am now at 119.5. Pretty much right where I want to be, I'll see if I can get 116-118, but I don't want to go lower than that.

I did feel really confident at the beach this weekend, I think it's the least self conscious I've ever felt in a bikini. That was pretty much the mission when I started this blog; to work hard all fall/winter/spring so that I could feel great come summer. Success :D

I have to laugh a little when I see this search term in my traffic sources: "How to get bikini ready in 2 weeks" Sorry I can't help you there, unless you are super close to where you want to be already I don't think anyone can tell you how to do that. My blanket advice: Start eating right and working out now, don't do anything drastic (aka: starve), stick with it. Maybe in 2 weeks you will see some progress, in a few months you will see more.

I forgot to take pics this wknd but my sis took this pic of Nollie and his cousins. . . and my co-worker adjusting himself in the background.

Posting (and commenting) will most likely be light the next 2 weeks because my ACE cert test is June 13th and studying/passing that kinda takes precedent over bloggy things.

And then I start full time beach June 17th so who knows it may stay light, or maybe just picture heavy. There will be lots of fun races to report on though :)

I started reading this lovely book yesterday:

It's not required reading for the test but I figured I should learn as much of this stuff as I can.

So far I'm finding it very interesting.

I really wish I had gotten my degree in Exercise Science :(

I also discovered the anatomy arcade yesterday and rocked some poke-a-muscle. If you are trying to learn the muscles of the body I highly suggest it, fun and educational all in one :D

I'm Off

2011-05-29T07:06:00.002-04:00

To my first day of this:

A little update on things before I go:

1) Today is day 7 with no added sugars/refined flours, I have not caved once :) The hardest part (for me) is not giving into cravings, but figuring out what to eat, there is added sugar in EVERYTHING! I even survived AppleBees yesterday.

2) I have pretty easily lost the 2lbs I have been fighting with for a while and my cal intake is approx the same., but I actually have to make sure that I am getting enough calories everyday now.

3) Some foods that I've been relying on: Mixed nuts, boiled eggs, olives, string cheese, chick peas, lots of fruit and veg (esp, apples, blueberries, bananas, baby carrots, broc, romaine, red pep, cuc and I finally made kale chips) :D, tuna, chicken, natural PB.

4) I'm actually enjoying my coffee black, this is a welcome surprise :)

5) I have felt a little less energy on my runs, but otherwise I feel great :D I

6) I've been drinking less, but my new sugar free drink of choice is Vodka with Ice water and squeezed lime. Also when I'm home I throw a few frozen cherries in. I discovered this even before I decided to go sugar free because I wanted a lower cal drink option for the summer. Last summer I gained 5 + lbs drinking sugar laden, 700 calorie per can 4Loko. O. M. G! I just looked that up: 60 g! of sugar in one can.

7) The training plan has not exactly gone accordingly (not getting into details right now), nonetheless I am still happy with my training.

Time to get moving.

Hope everyone is having the best MDW :D

Going Sugar Free

2011-05-25T13:39:00.001-04:00

Some fitness related things I've done over the past few days:

1) Scheduled my ACE exam for June 13th!
2) Got my BF % tested at Bally's for free this morning~ 19.8%, lower than I thought so I am happy with that. I think I'd like to get it to 18-18.5%
3) Went to a nutrition seminar with my dad at his gym last night, which solidified a decision I made on Monday morning:

4) That decision: To Go Added Sugar Free :D

   I've seen a few blogger's over the past few months take-on sugar free challenges and my thought was always, "I think I'm okay with having it in moderation, I don't like to make anything completely off limits and I don't know if I want to/ can give up my morning coffee with hazelnut creamer."

   When I saw Amanda at Run To The Finish's Sugar Free Challenge, I considered it more, "It's only 10 days, I can definitely do that for 10 days."  Then I saw the dates were June 1-10th and decided maybe I didn't want to start something like that 4 days before my race when I didn't know how it would effect my running energy. Plus I still didn't want to give up creamer in my coffee (which I only ever sipped 3-4oz of at a time).

   But recently I have been reading (like here) and understanding more and more about added sugars and its effect on the body. While shopping this weekend although I still hadn't planned to go completely sug-free, I was more conscious of avoiding added sugars. For example: I picked up natural PB, since most PB has some added sugar. Still I wasn't completely sold on banning it.

   Then Monday morning I was reading The Great Fitness Experiment and in her post she had this quote,

     “It is not hard. Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Giving up heroin is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard. [... This is] the only physical body you will ever have in this lifetime.” ~ which came from the Whole 9 site (I used to read Byers Gets Diesel [and then Urban Gets Diesel], before Melissa started The Whole 9 Life site).

   I checked out the Whole30 concept and it's a little intense for me, no dairy, legumes, alcohol, grains and of course added sugar and processed foods. I'm not looking to do that, but the sugar and processed foods I think are worth cutting out.

   After reading that quote and knowing that the #1 thing holding me back it was my morning coffee (although of course I indulged in other sugary things), I went ahead and had my coffee black. And I decided that it wasn't awful and I could deal with it. So since that black coffee on Monday morning I have been sugar free (except for natural occurring sugars aka fruits and veg). I've also cut out most processed/packaged foods, for ex: pretzels don't have any sugar, but they are made with refined flour.

   I have never been one to ban any foods, I've always gone by the everything in moderation/ calories in-calories out school of thought. I've never followed any particular diet program as I think they are mostly money making schemes. But when I ask myself if I am getting any nutritional benefit from added sugars the answer is a resolute, "NO." I can get whatever glucose my body needs from fruits and vegetables.

   One of the harder parts for me is not taking bites from my son's plate :D. I didn't eat a load of sugar before hand, but I would take a bite of this here, a bite there, a hershey kiss or two or. . . so all those nibbles through out the day are out. It actually gives me a good excuse not to rationalize mindless snacking ("I'm only having a little" X going back for a little more 5 times ).

  Now on the 3rd day I am actually enjoying my morning black coffee, I've even been almost finishing a whole 6 oz of it now.

   Last night at the nutrition seminar, the speaker talked a lot about sugars effects on our body and I was definitely happy that I made the decision to cut it out. I don't have a set time on how long I plan to do this, I am considering it more of a lifestyle change. And of course I don't plan to never have a piece of cake, cookie, candy again, just much much less.

   For me especially, with Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome which puts me at increased risk for insulin resistance and type II diabetes, it is important that I fueling my body with the appropriate nutrients.

Have you ever gone sugar free?

If not would you consider it?

Tough Love

2011-05-23T18:17:00.002-04:00

Post 7 mile run in the rain today (it down-poured on miles 4-6):

For some reason when I am running in a down pour I can't help but have an ear to ear smile on :)

While I was running in the rain I was thinking about my plan of action for the week. Many commenters suggested increasing my number of intervals which I 100% agree with, it will not be easy, but it is not supposed to be easy. The only way I am going to get past this mid 20's hump that I have always stalled on and never moved beyond, is to push myself further than I think I can possibly go. I also need to slow down just a bit in the beginning so I have enough to make it through with out quitting; if I have more to give in the ending reps I'll pick it up.

So with that said and the help of a few commenters, namley Tri-James and Coach Dion whose advice I've used in formulating my 2 interval workouts for the week, here is the Tough Love plan:

Also note this is the first time I have actually planned out a week of training as opposed to just taking it day by day.

5/23~ Easy distance- 7 miles/ 1 hour- I went garmin-less on this today to make sure I concentrated on getting the miles in and feeling good, not on going faster and faster.

5/24~ Mile Repeats- 4x1 mile repeats at 6:20-6:30/ 90 second rest

5/25~ 3-4 mile easy run

5/26~ 400 Repeats- 14x 400 at 1:32-1:34 (slowing it down from last weeks 400's so I can do all 14 of 'em :D)/ 60 second rest

5/27~ 3-ish mile easy/ or off?

5/28~ Tempo- 1 mile easy/ 3.5 6:55 pace?/ 1 mile easy = 5.5

5/29~ This will be my first day of work at the beach so I will probably take a nice easy run on the beach just for the enjoyment.

I will also be doing some bodyrock workouts (not sure which days), along with other resistance training (push-ups, pull-ups, core, resistance bands) and I'd like to get a stair session in on one of the easy days, maybe Sunday?

Any input on this schedule is welcome. It's pretty much focused on getting 2 very quality interval workouts in.

* I've already converted Dales to a BodyRock lovaa :) She was hating me after the first workout on Friday, then we did TWO BR workouts on Sunday (the 6 minute one again/ 1 mile walk around the block/ Cut The Cheese workout [14 min])

Will Run For Beer

2011-05-22T08:57:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I ran the Blue Point Brewery 5k run for BULA (Better Understanding of Life in Africa). Let's face it. . .I pretty much ran for the beer :D

I'm actually not a big beer person; I prefer wine, margaritas, all that jazz.

But after a race, I love it :)

So when I was looking up a 5k for last weekend and I saw this one I figured I might as well do it, even if it was mostly just for the "refreshments" afterwards.

Blue Point Brewery and their microbrews are kind of a big deal on Long Island (they distribute to most of the east coast, any of my east coast readers tried a Blue Point Beer?)

Some of the brews have fun names and designs like:

Hoptical Illusion

and

RastafaRye

Getting back to the actual race, yesterday morning I wasn't sure if I was up for another 5k (I hadn't pre registered), but I decided to just do it for fun and not pressure myself for a PR.

My final time was 21:07 (6:48 pace)

11/ 142 overall, 4/ 58 F, 3/ 16 Age group

This was still a hard effort for me, and it is the first time I haven't PR'ed since I began racing again in September. It is also the first time that I've raced on back to back weekends, all my other races were at least a month apart.

My first mile was 6:30 and it felt really good, that is right around the pace I need to hold for a Sub-20 (6:27). Then at the 2 mile I was just below 13:30 which was a little disappointing to me. I haven't been wearing my Garmin in the 5ks yet, but I think I will in my next race so I can work on keeping the pace up in that 2nd mile.

Let's get back to the good stuff :D

Afterwards they had 2 tap beers; Toasted Lager and Blueberry Ale

I went for the Blueberry and it was amazing :)

Repp'in a Met's tee in honor of the Subway Series

and that little orange bracelet meant you could refill as much as you'd like :D

This week I'm going all out in training, most likely two speed sessions and I am going to up the amount of intervals. I realize I am dying out a bit at the end of these races. I think I held on pretty good last weekend and I also came into yesterday's race a little fatigued, but I still need to be finishing stronger.

Since I plan on going all out and hopefully PR'ing on June 5th, I am going to take it easier on that lead up week as a taper.

Any suggestions on what my interval workouts should be this week in order to improve my speed stamina and finish strong? I've really been making up my training as I go along, but at this point (my body has always liked to hang around the 20:30-21:00 range when in good shape), I need to be extra smart about it to get past this time plateau that I always seem to get stuck at.

And since this post is half about beer: Have you ever tried a Blue Point Brewery Beer? Have you ever entered a race mostly for the free beer at the end ;)? or if not, would you? :D

Quality Over Quantity

2011-05-20T10:10:00.007-04:00

  I started to write a post yesterday on my 400 workout, it got long and ramble-y and didn't get a chance to finish it.

  I went back to it this morning and decided against putting up a long ramble-y post that discussed how scary and hard 400's are. (95% of the time, if I don't finish and publish a post in one sitting it never gets posted. It's my impulsiveness; I think, I type, I publish. There is no saving drafts and going back later.)

So instead the synopsis:

400's are scary

400's are hard

I gave an all out effort on each one.

65° (nice) 92% humidity (not so nice)

1 mile warm-up
1- 1:27 (5:50)
2- 1:26 (5:46)
3- 1:26 (5:46)
4- 1:27 (5:50)
5- 1:29 (5:58)
1 mile cool down

  Despite once again not doing a large number of repeats, I was 100% satisfied with this workout because I know I gave everything I had on all 5. I didn't have a set number starting the workout, pretty much my thought was, "as many as you can do at max effort."

   Speaking of going all out for a short period of time: I made my best, I'll call her Dales from here on out, do Zuzana's 6 minute workout today and she is no longer speaking to me :D

6 minutes of jump squat, pike jump, mountain climber intervals. No rest.

Pike Jump

She thought a 6 minute workout sounded delightful. . . sorry Dales!! She'll be thanking me soon enough though ;)

Question to the Op-Man: What was so unbelievable about my last post, that it led you to believe I was, "making this stuff up?" ;)

Question to all: Do you prefer to go for quality or quantity in your workouts? I don't think one is better than the other, it just depends on what works for you and what you are working for. Some work better on high volume/lower intensity, and others lower volume/higher intensity. And of course if you are training for longer events you're going to be doing longer workouts. I'm a short intense kinda girl, which is probably why I love the 5k so much :D But I also make sure to get in some long runs and I enjoy the calmness of them.

Also I'm not in any way saying that longer workouts are less quality, by quality (in this question) I am more referring to high intensity.