Going Paleo?

Well I begin marathon training in a few days. I know it still sounds kind of scary, exciting, intimidating, humbling, terrifying, all of the above!!!

I'm at goal weight well .4 away for weigh watchers but I would like to drop 10 more pounds before the marathon and lose some more body fat. I got a caliber to measure and used the army guidelines as well. The caliber puts me at 22% and army puts me at 26%. Either way im in the 20s which is phenomenal compared to where I came from, but I want to be in the upper teens for the marathon. I want to be lean and trim so I can put less stress on my joints and be a lil faster ;)

My plan is to stay on weight watchers and become lifetime but I also want to do the paleo diet as much as possible. I have been researching it for some time and have come to the conclusion that it can only help me become more grounded with my eating and trim some body fat. Basically it focuses on cutting out grains and dairy among other things and eating natural clean foods. I do the no dairy already, I don't do much grains having celiac, so really it will not be too bad (I hope) to get into.

I am opening up to you all in hopes of a discussion going here. Have you tried paleo? Do you like it yes or no and why etc. Just share your thoughts I would greatly appreciate it :)

Getting it Done

Sometimes we make excuses. Sometimes we get busy. Sometimes we get achy. Sometimes we get tired. Sometimes we get frustrated.

All of those feelings have been swirling around in my head the past week. I feel like I do not have time to stop and relax. This is my life. I work full time, I take classes part time, I have a 21 month old, and I train everyday. Then I tweet, blog, and try to do volunteer work as much as possible. It sounds over whelming but it is not bad.                                          
You have to make time to workout for you. No one holds my hand and says ok Colleen tomorrow I'm bringing you to the gym and we will do this. I schedule my workouts now, I plan ahead.  I find when I do this I am sure to get it done. I find when I workout I feel better both physically and mentally.

Today scheduling was crucial. I had to work early and I usually spin from 5:30 to 6:30. I only could workout till 6. So last night I set my alarm for 430! Early for me yes but necessary. I got up and went to the ymca early. I spun on my own for 20 minutes umtil class began. I was tired. I did not want to be awake ay at 430 but after that spin class I felt great!

It is not easy, it is not even always fun, but the bigger picture is: I love being healthy, I want to be a role model for my daughter, I want to live without my medications, I want to keep running races. So I will keep training :) seeing that calories burned on my polar hrm was a great way to start my day working toward those long term goals :)

What do you do to make sure you get your workout done?

I became a Weekend Warrior!

This whole no running bit has forced me to try new workouts in order to get my sweating addiction done for the day. I have worked out every day for at least 30 minutes a day for the last 44 days. Today when I complete my gym workout will be day 45 done. It has been tough, there have been many days that I do not want to do it but I push through and feel so much better once I am done.

This weekend I was on a quest to find a workout that would satisfy the urge to complete a long run. For me a long run is done once a week and it usually lasts at least an hour and 15 min to 2 hours. So that is a tough spot to fill!

I saw the weekend warrior listing on the YMCA website on Saturday and thought about it all night. When I read this description I began to get skeptical of my own abilities to complete it:
A whole new level of challenge! A workout consisting of 30
minutes of indoor cycling, 30 minutes of BodyPump and 30
minutes of core work! Do any part or all 90 minutes for a
workout you won’t soon forget!!!!

I am not sure if you are familiar or not, I was not but Body Pump is:
This is the original barbell class that strengthens and tones your
entire body. Great music, awesome instructors and your choice
of weight inspire you to get the results you want-fast!

Image from Les mills

So basically you spin for 30 minutes, do body pump for 30 and then if that is not enough you do core work for another 30. A 90 minute workout that begins at 7:30AM on Sunday morning. I thought about it, I decided I would go and become a weekend warrior. I have this little bit of confidence in me since running 3 half marathons in the past 4 months that makes me think I can tackle anything ;)

I walked into the YMCA and headed into the fitness studio, I met the awesome, energetic trainer who would be leading us through the class. She is great! It was my first time meeting her but I am so glad I went. I learned how to set up a bar with weights, something I have never done before! And then headed into the spinning room to get my bike set up.

Spinning was hard, she was on a bike spinning right along with us, shouting out commands and keeping us motivated the entire time! If we were not working hard enough, she let us know. I like that, I like to be pushed, I need to be pushed beyond the point that my weak mind sends me sometimes. The body can do more than we often allow. Well I did more than normal during that spin class. I was glad it was only 30 minutes!

Then she took us outside to do some more drills. It was nice out so I did not mind. I let her know I would not be full out sprinting due to my knee injury but i did jog and was able to keep up. We did 15 minutes of cardio drills and then she made us do 20 push ups on the pavement! She said we were warriors and we could handle it haha. I did not mind but others in class were not too pleased lol not everyone shares my love of plank!

We then headed inside to do body pump. First impressions, Love!!!!! You are lifting with a barbell to music, doing multiple sets... There was a gun show as she called it, an entire set dedicated to biceps!!! Another dedicated to triceps, chest, back, I was in lifting girl heaven!!! I love to lift, I am regretful I have not tried body pump sooner!

We only had 15 minutes left after a solid 30 of body pump so we did core work. More pushups off of the bench, and some dips etc. More core work involving crunches with weights etc. More work for my core makes me happy any day.

It was time to stretch and I was amazed that it was already over! That 90 minutes flew by. Once again, I was so glad that I mustered up the courage to attend a group exercise class and get some work done! I do not know why it is so hard for me to get out there and workout in front of people still!!!! I guess that is something I need to keep working on, but I feel so much better after I do.

The best part was looking at my Polar HRM and seeing that I burned a whopping 645 calories!!!! Love that ;)

I definitely LOVE body pump and the instructor! She conveniently teaches one at 5:30am on Monday mornings!! SO once I am back to running (hopefully) next week, I will have another class locked into my schedule. This is the plan for the summer:

Saturday: Light run and stretching
Sunday AM: long run
Monday AM: Body pump
Tuesday PM: speed work
Wednesday AM: spinning
Thursday AM: Run
Friday AM: Trx boot camp

Moving my body everyday and prepping for my marathon in November!!! :)