My Latest Addiction: Crossfit

Well as you may or may not know, I seem to fall in love every time I try a new workout style. 2 years ago when I began this journey it was walking, 30 day shred, and the elliptical. When I look back at it now I still think about those jumping jacks and how much I despised them. Those workouts formed into jogging, then running, and more workout videos and even kettle bells.

Then this year I finally joined a real gym. I know I lost 100 pounds before I finally joined. So all of you out there who think you need a gym, you do not. I am living proof.

But I will admit....

I do love belonging to a big gym. I go to the YMCA, and they have so many classes and opportunities for me to branch out. I started out trying out classes here and there. I liked spinning when I could not run. I liked TRX suspension weight training. I even was going to body pump and liked that a lot. Basically I learned that I do love running, but I love lifting weights and pushing my body to other extremes as well.

Then they launched Y Fit. The basis of Y fit is based around a cross fit style workout. The workouts are always different and the trainers push you harder than a regular class. I was so excited when I saw they would be doing this. For us as a family the YMCA is nice to belong to. As a mom, I can still workout and Peanut is happy to play at the day care center. So it is a win for all!

I know everyone asks me all the time so what is cross fit? what do you do?

Well it just so happens that the YMCA had an intern taking pictures of us doing one of the classes recently and I could not wait to share them with you :)
(By the way I just happened to be wearing my Arctic Ease shirt hehe a happy coincidence!)

There I am working that military press!

Doing some plyo jumps. I hate these. Jumping up and down on a bench or block. It is a good workout though especially when you are doing 20-30 5 times during a workout!

I will be able to pull myself up one of these days! Sandy has us lift up and lower slowly to try and teach ourselves how to do a traditional pull up. My goal is to be able to do some pull ups by the end of September :)

So as you can see Cross fit is an intense session of high intensity cardio and weight intervals. Sometimes we do burpees, play wall ball, planks, push ups, sprints, ground ups, and the list goes on. It pushes you to new limits and challenges your body. The Cross fit website posts a workout of the day everyday so you can challenge yourself.

If you have not tried it out yet what are you waiting for?

What to do With Excuses

Excuses.

We all have them. We all know them.

The problem does not lie in what is blocking us from our healthy goals, the problem is within ourselves and why we are allowing ourselves to accept the excuses.

So many people ask me how I have lost 120 pounds, how I run so fast, how I am able to maintain a training schedule and still go about my regular daily activities. And really I am often at a loss for words. How do you explain that it is simple. It is nothing special.

I just do it. Every single day is a fight and I go in with my arms swinging and aim to stay in that ring and be the last one standing. I refuse to give up. I will not fall.

It may sound simple, but really that is all there is to it.

Could I sit down and list 20 other things I would rather be doing than exercising? Of course.

Have I made sacrifices for this new life style that would have been easier to not do at all? Absolutely.

Have I gotten frustrated and wanted to give up and be a couch potato again? At least once a week yes.

But at the end of the day, I still have to face myself in that mirror. I still have to own up to what I did all day. And I have promised myself that I will live with no regrets. I will make no excuses. And as a few of us like to say on twitter I will accept no more bull shit.

So no matter what you can bet that I will take all those excuses and throw them into the trash. I will keep working hard and I will stay focused on my goals, because when I hit a new goal the joy is endless.

Marathon Training Week 8

I know I say this every single week but really already its been 2 months into my marathon training?!? I guess in my mind it does not seem like it has been that long (although my legs beg to differ) I really feel like the time is flying by!

I had a wonderful week! It was a week with my highest mileage yet but I am still able to walk so I guess that is a good thing ;)

Monday began with Crossfit class for about 45 minutes. It was the day after my half marathon but I actually got through the class and felt good after wards.

Tuesday was a short run of 3.2 miles in 31 minutes. This run hurt a lot. The first run after a race is always the worst for me, my muscles are usually tight and I really think the anticipation of it makes me tense up even more. But I know once I get it out of the way the rest of my runs will go smooth. So I got up early and knocked out that one before work that day.

Wednesday I got out of work and it had finally stopped raining! So I decided to pack Peanut up into her buggy (jogging stroller) and do some neighborhood laps. She loves to be out running with me so it always makes me feel good. It is a great time for the 2 of us to bond especially when I am coming home from being away from her while at work all day. We got in 2 miles in 20 minutes and then I headed off to Crossfit. That class was intense! It was a ciruit of torture for 32 minutes! I will be blogging more about it this week and I even have some pics!

Thursday my legs were still sore from the race. I do not know why that race took so much out of me, it is making me reconsider doing anymore until the marathon. But I headed to the gym and got in 3 miles on the treadmill in 28 minutes to give the knees a break. After that run I felt good, so I headed to the elliptical and did 3 more miles in 27 minutes. After that I was still feeling good and there happened to be a TRX class happening in 10 minutes so I headed into the TRX room and did a 30 minute class. By the time I was done I was spent but in a good way.

Friday I went running with a few coworkers who are working their way into running. It was so much fun and so refreshing to be out with new runners and help get their training kick started! I found a 5K we are all going to do together in the middle of October and I cannot wait. We jogged and walked and did intervals for about 3.5 miles over 40 minutes. It was good for me to take it easy too.

Saturday I headed to the gym for some cardio. I did a quick burst of intervals on the elliptical for 2 miles in 20 minutes. I alternated the resistance between easy and heavy and pushed my quads a bit. Then I hopped on the upright bike and got in 10.5 miles in 30 minutes before the gym closed for the day.

Sunday was long run day!!! I did 17 miles in 2 hours and 53 minutes! My longest run yet ever in my whole life! It felt great I gushed all about it here.

How was your training last week?

97 days until the Philly Marathon I cannot wait!

2 weeks until my Spartan Sprint race!

I Did It!!! My first 17 mile run

My day began at 5AM when I woke up and began prepping to head out for my weekly long run. There was no pre race jitters, there was no excitement of a medal at the finish line.

There was just me and my head phones, fuel belt, and of course the rain! Yep this was my second Sunday and long run day in a row that the rain would be my best friend and take me through the miles. I do not mind it, it is better than the heat and humidity, but the soggy sneakers and goosebumps are getting a bit annoying!

I set out right at 6AM and began chipping away at the 17 miles that were looming in front of me. It was very quiet no one is out on the roads that early on a Sunday morning. This is why I love going out at that time! The first few miles were rough. My legs were pounding in pain and I began to wonder why the hell I was out there.

But then the rain started falling. This only made me more frustrated. I got cold and wet and I just kept getting flashbacks of how hard it was last week at Providence and how I over came it.

Then I turned and looked at the sky. It was this beautiful shade of rose and I saw the sun was rising. I thought about it and wondered when the last time was that I actually noticed the sun rising. It has been too long I thought, you need to savor this moment.

I stopped an hour into the run and had a gel. I needed the boost. I started running again and just kept going. I entered into the farm areas and saw some wild turkeys running across the road. It was so peaceful I began to sink into a groove of the run. I finally felt like I was going to finish the 17 miles for the first time!

As I ran down the quiet roads I settled right into the 10 minute per mile pace and it felt so good. It felt like I was at my magic pace and that I was going to be able to keep going. I started enjoying the farm land I was running through and notice things that I never knew existed.

This is how I came to love running. It was beautiful. My only regret was it was raining so I could not take a camera and capture the beauty I found. I watched the rain fall onto the leaves and drip and hang in suspense. I came up to the next farm and saw the horses being led out to pasture for the morning. I thought about those big beautiful animals and watched them trotting out to shake off the night's sleep. I began to realize how very lovely my little town is and how much of it I have been missing since I lived here for the past 3 years.

As I rounded out through the rest of my route the rain started coming down much harder. But by that point I was so engrossed with the beauty of the roads that I barely noticed. I had a smile on my face even to the end!

I conquered the first of many long marathon training runs but I also learned some valuable lessons that I will take with me forever:
-No matter what the distance is have fun
-You do not have to run all of your long runs at race pace and hurt your body
-The neighborhood around you has more to offer when you can up close and personal with it and out of the car ;)