Sucked in by infomercials

My T25 DVDs arrived…

Yikes.

I got sucked in by the infomercial.  I have this weird form of self-motivation where I have to watch workout infomercials while I’m on the treadmill.  I have even put in a Jillian Michaels DVD just to watch while I’m running.  I think maybe that’s weird?  I don’t know, it works, whatever gets my butt moving.  So T25 is always on during the lovely 5AM hour, and I decided after two weeks of seeing the lovely before and after testimonials that maybe this would work for me.

I’m using this blog as a way to hold myself accountable to actually do the dang workouts.  I’ll do a full review, and updates on my progress.  I even took some scary BEFORE pics this morning… (I'll spare you those)

 

My GOAL and purpose for doing this is to get stronger and hopefully increase my muscle definition.  I’m excited about the 25 minute idea.  

Update:

DAY 1 – first workout in the Alpha phase is Cardio.  I’ve never done Insanity or P90X, but I’m assuming most of these moves are incorporated in those workouts as well.  It was tough no doubt about it.  I was able to hang in the full time, the only modifier I did was on the jump lunges. (I stuck with touching my knee as opposed to the floor.)  The 25 minutes went really fast, and you couldn’t lose your focus otherwise you’d miss out on the next move.

I’m definitely feeling it today!  

Tonight after work I have day 2 which is Speed 1.0. 

Extreme Laziness

I’ve scaled my mileage way back these past few weeks.  For one thing, it’s freakin’ freezing outside (think below 0) and I was kicked down pretty hard by the flu for a solid four days.  I’m still working on physically getting back to full strength workout wise.

Excuses aside, I really don’t care that I’ve ran very little.  I’ve finally hit the dreaded BURN OUT.  I think I’m ok with it too.  There is nothing to train for right now, it’s winter, and I’ve been training for SOMETHING almost all of 2013.  I’ve been snoozing right through my early alarms lately, and I don’t feel one bit guilty.  I think that burn out is still part of the training cycle, I think it’s the healthy part actually.

So, what I am going to do now?  Well, as much as I would like to just curl in my bed and eat yummy treats all day…

I’m embracing these lower mileage weeks and enjoying the lack of pressure associated with running and mixing up my workouts.  I am focusing on strength and core training as much as possible.  I’ve posted on CXWORX before and why I love it.  I’ve been getting back to class more often and really enjoying it again.  Strength training is fun, and I’ve learned my lesson to not think I can go hard core on it while in the heaviest part of marathon training… So I’m going to Body Pump and lifting weights on my own for a total of 3 times a week right now.  I’m a lot stronger now than I was over a year ago when I was going to Body Pump regularly!  I try to challenge myself as much as possible in class, and I think it’s working, I always walk out shaking like a leaf!

Big news on the workout front… I ordered Focus T25 and it should be here later this week.  My winter goal is to complete this program and see what it can do for me.  Stay tuned!

 

Workout Recap 12/2 - 12/8

Not much excitement to see here.  Pretty basic week.  Still recovering from the horrible four day flu.  

Monday - REST.  Still sick :(

Tuesday - HUMAN again!! Wahooo!  Took advantage of probably the last outdoor run for quite awhile.  I don't do the snow runs, or the below 25 degree temps.  No thank you.  This was a nice morning, about 29-30 degrees.  I had lead legs from being confined to the couch, but it was a decent run.
CXWORX 30 minutes

Wednesday - 5 miles on the tread.  This was HARD.  Oh man, just brutal.  My legs just wouldn't go.  I wanted to quit several times, but gutted it out to the 5 and hit STOP.
CXWORX for 30 minutes at noon.

Thursday - Body Pump Express 40 minutes and Arc Trainer 50 minutes.  I went the extra second, don't let the picture fool you!

 
Friday - Ridiculously sore from Body Pump... I went for 30 easy minutes on the elliptical and 10 minutes of torture on the Stairmaster.  Holy sweat fest.

Saturday - 7 miles.  Finally feeling strong again!  I took a pic, but I can't find it :(  My time was 55 minutes I believe.

Sunday - Spin class 60 minutes and 10 minutes on the Stairmaster.  Again, ouchie.

Here's to a HEALTHY week ahead :)

Friday Favorites

I loudly sang “My Favorite Things” along with the Von Trapp kids on the live “Sound of Music” last night on NBC.  “Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes” are NOT a few of my favorite things.  But I have some others I’m digging right now.

Nothing better than holiday flavored coffee creamer.  The best part of waking up is having this in your cup.  Enough said.

Biggest Loser!!  I was sick and stuck to the couch for four straight days, so I got completely caught up on this season!  I am a little bummed they condense it down so much now.  (Like not getting to see the current progress of the person who went home until the beginning of the next week kind of stinks.)  I love Jillian, Bob, and Dolvett!  I would pay serious dolla for one training session with either one of them!!  I have so many favorites on this season, I think Rachel might be my new favorite after this last week.

Song that’s been on repeat for almost a month now:  Helluva Life by Frankie Ballard.  Music has always been an easy therapy for me, but this song really did wonders.  I’m pretty sure I listened to it at least 20 times a day during a couple tough weeks recently.

Happy Friday!!!

What to get a runner for Christmas

EVERYTHING!

I kid. I guess. I’ve seen a couple good lists of running themed Christmas ideas, or just lists of practical stuff we would want. Run Eat Repeat’s LIST is a good one to check out! 

I’m convinced Santa reads blogs too… 

1) SHOES. You can never ever ever have enough. Really. As noted by Monica, you do want to make sure if you are gifting shoes you know exactly what kind the runner wears. **Edited to add... my mom is awesome and ordered me Mizuno Wave Rider 17s for Christmas!!! YAAAY

My fav pic from Skinny Runner

2) Socks. I swear I have roughly 50 socks in every load of laundry. I’m a double socker, so I bust through them quickly. Some families have the tradition of socks in the stocking. My family never did, but I wouldn’t mind if they started now. 

3) Fun stuff like jewelry! I just ordered myself one of THESE bracelets. Pretty excited about it. You can customize each bracelet with whatever you want it to say. There are tons of sites with necklaces, rings, bracelets, etc. sporting race distances or running dudes. 

4) Medal or bib hangers. These are an easy gift idea because they are pretty universal. And everyone loves to show off their bling! 

5) FOOOOOOD! If your running buddy loves grape Powerade or chocolate chip Clif bars, get them a stash. Maybe they always get fro-yo after a race or long run, get them a gift card! (I personally accept any homemade goods as well)

Gear and clothing are pretty basic and easy ones too. We all need lots of shorts, tanks, cold gear, you name it. Bags to transport this gear are also nice. My personal favorite is this Under Armour duffel, I actually got last year for Christmas. 

Runner's World put out a nice list too.  30 gifts for under $30.  Check it out here.

Winter Motivation

It’s a beautiful 16 degrees and 24 MPH winds day here in Nebraska. You wish you were here! Said no one ever… 

The reality is winter is here to stay for a while. I know I’m seeking a source of motivation to get me through these next couple months stuck inside. Motivation comes from the pursuit of a goal. So I decided to consider my winter goals (maybe even print them off and stick them on my tread) and use them to get my booty moving when it’s cold and I’d rather just eat Christmas cookies! 

GOAL #1 – Improve speed through mile repeat workouts on the tready.
I’ve been doing these workouts the past few weeks. I do one mile warm up, then 3 mile repeats with a quarter mile recovery in between. I want to do more miles at pace, and improve the pace. 

GOAL #2 – Get some muscles
Strength training sort of took a back burner all year. I squeezed it in here and there, but never consistently. This is something I struggle with. Last week for example, I was on an awesome strength training streak and it came crashing down when I was sick and didn’t workout for four days. The week before I did little to no strength training. I seem to go on week by week streaks. One good, one bad, repeat. My goal is consistency. I have been hitting Body Pump once a week and doing weights on my own at least one other day. I plan to bump that up. 

Load up dat bar!

GOAL #3 – Try something new!
I’ve desperately needed a mix up here for a while now. Our YMCA offers Insanity in the form of group fitness, but I’m really skeptical. I know a few people that have ended up with injury. Right now, my consideration is the Focus T25. I just need to break down and order it! I think I could motivate myself for 25 minutes at home without plopping on the couch. 
 

GOAL #4 – REST a little!
I found this out from being ridiculously sick. I can scale it back a bit and still keep my goals in check. Mentally, I’m having a hard time grasping at lowering the weekly mileage, but I know it’s necessary. 

 
Come spring, I’ll report back on these goals!

Workout Recap 11/25 - 12/1

EVERYTHING seemed to be a struggle this week.  The first part of the week I struggled with motivation, the second part, I was totally down for the count...

Monday - CXWORX (30 minutes)  Arc Trainer (40 minutes) and some weights.  Not bad...

Tuesday - 6 miles treadmill (47 minutes) and lunch hour Body Pump Express (40 minutes)
After work we had a city rec volleyball game and we WON in three sets!  Lots of fun!

Wednesday - CXWORX (30 minutes) and some random weights after work.  We got off at 3 for the holiday (WOOT!) So I headed back to the Y for 30 minutes on the elliptical and did both legs and arms.  I was pretty pumped about my strength training for the week!

Thursday - THANKSGIVING!  Started the day with 8 treadmill miles.  I felt really good, the rest of the day kind of went downhill....

Friday - Congratulations, you have THE FLU.  Even at 24 years of age, I still literally cried out loud for my mommy every time I puked... ugh.  Worst 12 hour bug I've ever had.

Saturday - Still sick.  Cleaning the house and making a 15 minute trip to Target was the extent of my activity.

Sunday - 6 miles (8:26 pace)  YAY RUNNING!  Ok, that wasn't really how I felt.  It took me a little bit to get going again, and not feel like falling over.

Seriously, the first of December!! It was a PERFECT morning, about 28 degrees and literally no wind.