Trail Factor Half Marathon

Oh my gosh. 

Hey, hey!

The worst blogger award goes to yours truly…

Me.

What’s up, guys?

I owe you a recap of my half marathon. Let me say that I haven’t done hills like that in so long and my ass hurts badly.

Well, on May 28th I did the Trail Factor Half Marathon. If you haven’t figured it out by the name already, it was a trail race, which are my favorite.

The elevation was crazy amazing. I’m a sucker for hills and climbing up dirt trails. 

Those squiggly lines mean steep incline.

Anyway, the race started at 8 AM and I was there at 7 AM because my mom is a spaz like that. We showed up, I sat around, and listened to Miley Cyrus Rob Zombie.

I am almost positive that I was the youngest person there. It’s no surprise. I don’t know many 19 year old’s who love running fifteen miles on their free time instead of going to the movies. It’s okay. I have accepted the fact that I’m a weirdo.

Example A:

I have a fake tattoo of bullet holes on my leg. So cool.

Moving on. I obviously peed a few times before everyone starts moving to the starting point. (There is a 50k going on at the same time too.)

And boom! The race started with a, “Go!”

The incredible thing about trail races is that you get to be by yourself on the trail for the majority of the time. I made sure I made my way to the front and I stayed there the remainder of the time. That gives me time to think about whatever, sing out loud, and cuss every time I hit another switch back. 

So, for the next 13.1 miles (probably more), I ran and ran and ran…

Is that Bigfoot?

I think my running stance for my hands is just a permanent thumbs up. Seriously.

After the half way point, I passed one dude. He was pissed too. I caught up with him and then his shoe kept coming untied so he stopped to tie. I was like… really? I have ran two cross-country races with untied shoes. I told him, “Just let it be, man. Keep going.” Such a hippie thing to say.

I passed him and then with, like, a half of a mile to go, I passed another guy.

I crossed the finish line in 1:37. I was 8th place, 1st female, and 1st in my age group. 

It’s funny because the so-called master female runner didn’t finish until twenty minutes after me.

All and all, it was a good race. I love racing. I’m a very competitive person so racing for me is almost natural. I guess that’s the word I’m looking for.

I did win a jacket for being the first female at the half way point. Hurray.

Also, I found out I was adopted that day…

Just kidding. I’m just the only photogenic person in my family.

My family loves me.

Well, that’s my race recap.

Race on, fellas, race on.

MIA

Well, hello!

I know… who am I to show up after being gone for over a week? In my defense, I have been super busy. Frankly, I had no motivation to blog anyway because I felt like I was constantly complaining.

However, I am now back in Portland. Let me catch you up in bullet form.

• I went to Busch Gardens
   
• Went to IHOP and got fat
   
• I graduated from my MOS school (food services)
• Flew home, cried on the plane because I miss my class already.
   
• I graduated third in my class, but I graduated as class leader so I got the leadership award
• I came home at ten PM and ate eggs, peanut butter, and a bagel because I was so hungry
• I ran immediately in the morning then went to my gym
• I was so happy to be home that I went grocery shopping
• I’m getting a tattoo tomorrow on my rib cage. Miley Cyrus and I will be twins except I’m getting a different tattoo and I wear a bra so my boobs don’t poke out. 
• Can I have some fro yo?
• I have a half marathon on Monday. It’s a trail race. I’m pumped.
• I also got the second book to Fifty Shades of Grey. I’m obsessed.

That’s all I have to say right now so I will bomb you with good eats now.

Talk to you guys, soon.

By exercise. I’ll tell you one thing, you don’t always have to be on the go. I sit around a lot, I read a lot, and I do watch television. But I also work out for two hours every day of my life, even when I’m on the road. – Jack LaLanne

Marathons and Apolo Ohno

What up, fellas!

It is now seven days until I leave for South Carolina. Expect a countdown everyday now. I don’t want you guys to forget.

I don’t have my life planned out at all.  I have never been one of those people to plan out the job I want, the college I want to attend (boo, college), my wedding (ew, marriage), or anything else like that. Even if I did plan my wedding/marriage, it would last longer than some people…

I live in the present for the most part. It helps me from getting stressed out.

One thing for sure, though, is I now I want to run… and race. I want to be a competitor. I don’t necessarily want to be a pro – wait. Who am I kidding? I do want to be pro or even elite. It’s not easy, however. I do believe that the Marines will help me with discipline so I can be able to push myself harder than I think. It will be an experience. I don’t think college will offer that.

After boot camp, I want to run a marathon. I think I will be ready then. Now, I’m not ready to run a marathon.

I even have a list of marathons I want to run in order. Duh, I’m a runner. I dream of this stuff constantly.

1. Big Sur Marathon

How gorgeous is that? I want to run this marathon more than anything. It looks beautiful.

2. New York City Marathon

This race is just a classic that gives me chills. I can imagine myself running it too.

The route, to me, seems incredible. You go through so many areas of New York. I read a few stories of people running the New York Marathon and I get teary-eyed. Who am I? I think New York just holds a special place in my heart because of 9/11.

3. Boston Marathon

Who doesn’t want to run the Boston Marathon? I do believe there is too much hype surrounding Boston, but it still is on my list. I am also for the changes in time to qualify for Boston. It should be difficult to qualify. I don’t think every Tom, Dick, and Harry should be able to qualify. I believe someone needs to work for it and have the passion for running to run it. It shouldn’t just be on your bucket list in between your schedule of Zumba classes.

4. Chicago Marathon

I’m from Chicago so enough said.

5. Honolulu Marathon

I just think this would be a beautiful marathon and I’m all about location. I don’t care about hills, weather, flats, etc. I just like the beauty of my surroundings while running.

Of course I want to do trail marathons, ultra marathons, and century bike rides, but these are my type five marathons. I know they are somewhat ‘commercial‘ marathons, but come on. Who cares?

I would like to do some races in Portland, Colorado, and even Rhode Island. I really want to do some holiday races too and dress up crazy.

 My passion for running and running races is probably way too boring for some people.

Example A:

Me: Guess what’s on this weekend?
Mom: What?
Me: New York Marathon.
Mom: Who cares?

She doesn’t get it. That’s okay.

By the way, super cute and awesome man Apolo Ohno is running the NYC Marathon. I’m super excited. I don’t know why.

During his marathon training Apolo said “I never knew such pains exsited”‘.

This is an interview he did for Parade.com:

“On the biggest challenge in training for a marathon.
“How hard the longer mileage is. I ran the half marathon in Chicago and I thought, ‘This isn’t bad.’ I felt pretty good. And then I ran 16 miles and I was like, ‘Wow, this is ridiculous!’ It’s just pain that I never even knew existed — in my knees, in my joints, in my hamstrings, in my calves, in the bottom of my feet! And I was surprised by how much weight I lost. I’m not running that fast, but at the end of it, I can’t move.”

“On the mental aspect of running.
“It’s totally mental. I don’t have great running technique, but I like to run. I’ve heard from countless people that the last six miles of the marathon is all mental. But what better city to have this in than New York City where there are millions of people there supporting you?”

On what’s scarier: competing in a marathon or competing on DWTS.
“The nice thing about the marathon is that it’s doing something very athletic, something that I’m used to doing. And I don’t have to smile when I’m running. I don’t have to perform. I don’t have to wear any weird, funky outfits. So Dancing With the Stars was pretty scary. I’m not going to lie!”

What’s on his iPod when he trains.
“I listen to R&B and hip-hop. I’ve been listening to a lot of house music lately; it just gets me in that rhythm. Music to me is life. It’s what gets me going.”

(From Parade.com)

Can we date, dude?

So, enough jibber jabber. Let’s get down to business.

My workout today included:

- Riding my bike to the gym (7.65 miles)
- Track workout (4.57 miles )

• Warm up laps
• Drills
• Warm up 800
• Four fast 800′s (I was hitting 3 minutes)
• Two 100′s
• Two 200′s (sprinting insanely fast)
• Cool down lap

- Elliptical 15 minutes before lifting weights for 22 minutes
- Ride my bike home (9.97 miles)

That isn’t too much so I don’t want to hear it. I’m joining the Marines afterall.

Well, that’s it. Peace out and I’ll have a WIAW tomorrow.

Question for you:
- What marathon/half marathon/race do you want to do? 

 

 

Get Use to It

You guys should really get use to me being gone all the time. In a few weeks I will be gone for three months.

Sorry to disappoint you. I know how much you all (maybe like two people) love me and my bitchiness.

It’s all good though. It’s all good.

Anyway…

Heyo!

Today included me riding my bike to the gym,

 My awesome bike shorts that give me a butt

sweating on the elliptical, lifting weights, running a mile, and then going to the Marine’s office.

There I did 100 sit ups. Killed it.

Did a flex arm hang for 70 seconds. Died.

Then, my recruiter drove me to the track where we had a tea party where I ran two miles in 18:04. Don’t laugh. I know I fail at running now. I did do my first mile in 6:28. That’s something considering I pulled something in my quad and it hurts like a bitch.

I haven’t run in… a few weeks. Seriously at least. I run at least a mile or two daily, but other than that, I have no desire to run so why force it, you know?

This happened before though except for not that long. I just biked instead everyday. Whatever. I better like running soon since I will be doing it all the time at boot camp.

Aye, I got results and photos from Race the Reaper that I did October 1st.

I game in 5th place in my heap, 51 place overall, and 6th female overall. I feel like I could have definitely done better. Whatever.

As you can see, I was pissed. What’s new?

So, I have been meaning to talk about my acupuncture appointments. I have had three acupuncture appointments and all of them were great. The first time I did it, I had a Groupon.

I did have a problem with my right foot again. After the appointment, my foot did feel better. Then, I went to a new acupuncture place that my mom paid for and, afterwards, my foot felt brand new. It helped so much and I was able to run better immediately. Of course, I still iced my foot, wore compression socks, and toe separater(?) socks to increase my recovery.

Even though I didn’t feel like running, I ran to test out my foot and to see if the acupunture indeed helped. It did in my opinion.

Acupuncture isn’t even painful. Basically, you get very fine point needles put wherever you feel some type of pain. The needles sit there for, like, 30 minutes while you sleep.

“Acupuncture, the treatment of pain and injury using thin, disposable needles, has a history dating back thousands of years in China. Although its practice and theory have evolved since being introduced to Japan, both styles share a similar focus: reducing pain and muscle imbalances by treating specific points of the body. Russ Stram, a New York-based licensed acupuncturist at Brill Physical Therapy, practices a mixed style. “Acupuncture follows Chinese medicine theory with the philosophy of restoring balance to the body,” he explains. “A practitioner takes a thorough history and examines the body for tight and painful areas, choosing points based on the meridian point system.” (Source.)

If you are a runner and are experience some muscle soreness or another type of injury, I recommend acupuncture instead of seeing a doctor who will just tell you to stop running.

“But more than recovery from injury, acupuncture’s greatest potential may come in injury prevention. According to Stram, “Running and training hard, whether it is fast acceleration sprints or long distance, takes a toll on the body. This is especially true of problem areas such as the back, hips and legs, which are most affected by running. Acupuncture needles can get directly to deep muscle bands to maximize the treatment effect. ” (Source.)

I loved acupuncture and will be going back once more before I leave in November.

Also, don’t be afraid to try a few different acupuncture specialists until you find one you like. My first experience with acupuncture was just okay so I tried it again and found someone better who knew what they were talking about. It was fantastic. Don’t be afraid of needles either. You literally feel nothing.

So, I’m going to wrap this up with some honorable eats:

 Tamale w/ tofu

Black bean burger

Not that great tasting, but I like that it’s crunchy
 I just started eating this bread. Love it.

Outrunning Yourself

Let’s not even talk about Race the Reaper.

Well, okay. I suppose I could mention it and how disappointed I am in myself. I finished in, like, an hour. I was the second woman, fifth in my heap (I believe). I lost to the other woman by very little distance.

I just couldn’t climb this rope in the very, very end of the race. I could not do it. I was way ahead of the other woman and she caught up with me because I just couldn’t climb the rope. All you had to do was climb the rope and touch the top. No. I got frustrated. I started swearing up a storm. (I’m Italian and Irish. Not a good a mix.) Everyone that was watching was trying to offer me pointers and my mom was yelling at me. I just feel like a huge failure. I am not looking for a pity party.

I did it eventually, but I felt like shit since the woman beat me.

I’m just super pissed at myself. I feel like a let down to myself, which I am. I don’t feel strong, fast, or even capable of making the Marines.

I don’t know. It’s whatever at this point.

The course itself was rather tiring. It was more about strength and pulling yourself over walls after climbing giant hills (perhaps I should call them mountains).  My arms are sore and I don’t want to eat.

It was fun though, until the end where I gave up basically.

I have come to the conclusion of this:

• Work on upper body strength more. Not just with lifting weights, but doing pulls up, push ups, etc.
• Eat better. I eat really well as it is, but I think I am going to cut out a lot of sugars, desserts, ice cream, and cookies.
• Maybe eat more? Maybe I could have done really well in the race and had more energy throughout if I ate more. As it is, I really don’t know how much to eat. I just eat to eat or when I’m hungry.

I am going to switch up my workout routine to something like this…

Day 1: Back/Biceps

• Deadlift: 5 sets of 5 reps
• Pullups: 3 sets of 12 reps
• Cable Row: 2 sets of 12 reps, 1 drop set of 12 reps, 65% previous weight
• Lat Pulldown: 2 sets of 12 reps, 1 drop set of 12 reps, 65% previous weight
• Dumbbell Row: 2 sets of 12 reps, 1 drop set of 12 reps, 65% previous weight
• Preacher Curl: 3 sets of 15 reps
• Hammer Curl: 2 sets of 15 reps, 1 drop set of 15 reps, 65% previous weight

Day 2: Chest/Triceps

• Incline Dumbbell Bench: 3 sets of 12 reps
• Barbell Flat Bench: 2 sets of 12 reps, 1 drop set of 12 reps, 65% previous weight
• Wide-Grip Bench Press: 2 sets of 12 reps, 1 drop set of 12 reps, 65% previous weight
• Cable Flyes: 5 sets of 12 reps, 1 drop set of 12 reps, 65% previous weight
• Pushups On the Ball: 3 sets to failure
• Skull Crushers: 3 sets of 15 reps
• Tricep Pushdown with Rope: 2 sets of 15 reps, 1 drop set of 15 reps

Day 3: Legs/Abs

• Barbell Squat: 3 sets of 12 reps
• Leg Press: 2 sets of 20 reps, 1 drop set of 20 reps, 65% previous weight
• Stiff Legged Deadlift: 3 sets of 12 reps
• Lunges: 3 sets of 15 reps

Superset:

• Leg Curl: 3 sets of 20 reps
• Leg Extension: 3 sets of 20 reps

• Calf Raises: 5 sets of 20 reps
• Hanging Leg Raises: 5 sets to failure
• Rope Crunches: 3 sets of 20 reps

Day 4: Arms

• Barbell Curl: 3 sets of 12 reps
• Close-Grip Bench Press: 3 sets of 12 reps
• Seated Hammer Curls: 3 drop sets of 12 reps
• Skull Crushers: 3 drop sets of 12 reps
• Preacher Curl: 3 drop sets of 12 reps
• Tricep Pushdown: 3 drop sets of 12 reps

Day 5: Shoulders/Abs

• Military Press: 3 sets of 12 reps
• Arnold Press: 3 sets of 15 reps with drop sets
• Front Raises: 3 sets of 20 reps
• Lateral Raises: 3 sets of 20 reps
• Shrugs: 5 sets of 12 reps
• Russian Twists: 3 sets of 20 reps
• Obliques Crunches: 3 sets of 20 reps

I suppose we all have ‘bad‘ races where we feel like we didn’t perform our best.  I know the day of XC Regional ‘s, I thought I raced terribly. I felt awful about it too. I wouldn’t eat and I wouldn’t talk. That’s how I felt today. I’m such a competitive person that I get sick when I feel like I could have done better.

The  thing is, I feel this way often. I feel like I can always push myself just one more mile, minute, second. 

“The important thing is the attitude of the athlete, the desire to get to the top.”-Herb Elliott

I know I have a shitty attitude. I can be a bitch. It’s just that I want to win. I simply want to impress and feel good about myself. 

Today wasn’t about myself running the fastest, although that was a factor. It was about having strength. Clearly, I lack upper body strength. Today was also about confidence. I have zero. It’s difficult to perform well when you don’t like yourself.

Today was not a bad race. I was just not strong enough mentally and that was the most difficult part. The only thing that entered my mind today was failure, which led me to it.

Worst Blogger Ever

Hey, hey!

I apologize for being the worst blogger ever, but I have been super busy at work and when it came to sleep over blogging, I picked sleep.

Did you miss me and my classy mirror shots of myself?

I’ve been working full days since Sunday and today was finally a day off from work. It’s actually my rest day too. My legs and upper body are so sore. I don’t know what’s going on. I just knew that I needed a day to sleep (ten hours!) and relax before Race the Reaper tomorrow!

In Race the Reaper, there is a 1000 ft climb and 18+ obstacles. The obstacles look tougher than Warrior Dash. Sorry to anyone who did the Warrior Dash, but rednecks could do it (and they did by walking).

It’s not like you guys have missed much. I bought two weighted vests to run in to train for the Marines and I have been running somewhat. Running sucks. I can’t get into it. To be honest, I have been a little insane and have been running on a treadmill. That’s the only way I sway my mind away from running into the zone… of watching TV and singing to Pink.

Only one run did I do outside and I got into the zone. So much that I looked at my watch, saw I was four minutes faster than the last time I ran the same path, and I fell. Yeah, I tripped on a flat sidewalk on a busy road.

It’s okay. I didn’t cry. Come on. I’m tougher than that.

My pace is getting there. Let’s just say that.

I like running on the treadmill because I force myself to go faster. Unfortunately, I’m still running like seven minute miles and my legs hate it. However, last week, I got 34.67 miles in. I don’t think I got that many miles in this week.

Whatever. When I do run, I just make it worth it.

I think I ran Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I can’t remember. I have a memory of a fish. Maybe that’s why I like running. I can never remember when I ran last.

By the way, thanks for all the incredible comments on my last post.

I do have a confession to make.  I stumbled across some of those pro-thin websites on Tumblr. This is why I don’t have a Tumblr any longer. I would just look at those stupid photos of stupid girls with arms that size of a worm. Then I think that, “I could still be that. I could still not eat.” In reality, I could. I know I can. I have done it before, but this time I love food and I don’t want to see myself that way.

It’s pathetic.  Perhaps jealousy too, but it is pathetic.

Never would I want to stop eating.  I would never get to enjoy this:

Hummus + pretzels

King Harvest makes the best hummus. They make jalapeno hummus, chipotle hummus, black olive hummus… so good.

I’ve also been eating these every day:

It’s fake beef jerky. All of them have, like, 13 grams of protein for less than 200 calories.

Other recent eats include:

 Carrot cake
Barley salad
quiche Veggie chicken wrap

That should do it for now! I’ll have a better post tomorrow. Until then, I want to know what your favorite songs are currently that you like to work out to. I need some new tunes. 

“You train best where you are the happiest.”
                                  –FRANK SHORTER

Warrior Dash

Hiya!

I bet you want to hear all about the Warrior Dash. Well, that’s gonna have to wait. I’m going to rewind a bit.

Friday: No work! I woke up at six anyway to workout with some Marines. You know how that turned out. After that, I rested for a bit before I headed to my acupuncture appointment. It was incredible! The back of my legs (hamstring, calves, part of foot) was done. It didn’t hurt at all. I’ll have a single post on acupuncture for runners later on. I also got a massage. The woman giving the massage told me my right leg was extremely tight and so was the arch of my right foot. Go figure because that’s where my current problem is now. My right foot/toe area is bugging me. Now it’s not so terrible and I feel like I could run, but I’m holding it off.

Anyway, I’m hoping to go to another acupuncture appointment soon. It seemed to really help.

Friday night I went out to dinner, too, with my folks as well as my brother and his girlfriend. My family usually doesn’t eat at commercial restaurants, but we went to Outback Steakhouse. That use to be my favorite place when I was meat-eater. Besides, they have delicious bread. I got the Mahi with a salad and grilled onions.

Let me tell ya, I love onions. I seriously thought my meal was so good. I was really surprised and impressed.

After that, we raided fro-yo.

Saturday: I worked all day. No joke. After work, however, I did get Voodoo Doughnuts. In case you never heard of Voodoo Doughnuts even though they appeared on Food Network and the Cooking Channel, they are the best donuts ever.

They are rather popular in Portland. Voodoo Doughnuts makes some of the awesomest (yeah, I said it) donuts.

I just got the classic Voodoo donut as well as cereal one.

Sunday: Warrior Dash!

 

It was rather hectic getting there. My mom decided to bring two of our dogs and it was 90+ degrees out. We were trying to park and there were 200+ cars in a single file line trying to drive down a dirt road to a giant field where there would be parking. My mom was freaking out since we were running out of gas and she’s just a spaz. I got angry and left the car, got my bib number, lined up, and raced.

It was tougher than I imagined! It started with giant hills. Not like any hill, but hills that were so steep I could not run up them. I was running in a shuffle, luckily passing others. There was so much dirt too. I was eating and breathing dirt.

The first obstacle was going into deep water and climbing over logs. I was too short to even reach the bottom of the creek/pond/whatever it was water.

The next obstacle was jumping over cars. That was simple. There were plenty of wall climbing and running through hanging tires or ropes. I know it sounds like a piece of cake, but I was so out of breath from the running. Amazingly enough, my foot did not hurt until I dropped a few feet from climbing over a wall.

I was passing people like crazy though. It was the most I have ever cussed in a race. Also, it was the first time I walked in a race because I swear it turned into a hike. I felt like I was crawling up a mountain.

The last obstacle included jumping over fire then swimming in mud.

Exhibit A:

The price I paid for getting into that mud… hives. I have little red bumps all over my chest and back right now. I am itching like crazy that I went home from work early today. I couldn’t take it. I am not on enough medicine that I am passing out while I type this.

Warrior Dash was hella fun and tough. I don’t know why I thought it was going to be easy. I finished in less than 30 minutes though.  Some people took over an hour. It all depended on your fitness level. I know mine could definitely be better.  I can’t blame myself though. All last week I did not run. I was on the elliptical because of my damn foot.

It’s just odd that I felt nothing running in the race. Then, today, it felt okay. It didn’t run still and now I really want to run. I do not understand how I can run 50 miles for a month then reduce mileage insanely and that’s when I get hurt. It angers me.

Anyway, Warrior Dash was a blast! If it is different next year, I will definitely do it again.

After I finished the race around 3:00 (I’ll have more accurate info when I get my results), I went to look for my mother. Yeah, she was not there. I sat by a tree for two hours. Turns out she left and didn’t even watch me race. I suppose she was a terrible mood that day, which caused me to be a terrible mood today too.

Well, here’s the review of August 5th through August 11th:

Monday: Ran 8.58 miles @ a very slow pace
Tuesday: Ran 5.71 trails
Wednesday: Elliptical + Weights
Thursday: elliptical and strength class
Friday: Elliptical + stair master + weights
Saturday: Elliptical + weights
Sunday: Spin class + Warrior Dash (3.1 miles)

Total mileage: 17.39 miles

I wish it was higher, but whatdaya gonna do? When you can’t run, you can’t run. Good thing I don’t mind the elliptical and good thing I am giving up desserts.

Honorable eats:

Apple tart
Spicy fritata
 Apple quinoa
Sweet potato cakes + eggs
 

That’s it for now! I hope you  all are having a fabulous week.

“Just do the best with what you have, and you’ll soon be doing it better.”  -Gil Hodges

I Know You Care

Howdy!

This week I am busy and I’m not even running.

Oh my god. I know you care about my running and how it is not happening. Yeah, I don’t know why all of a sudden my foot hurts, but it does and I don’t want to run because of it. First it was just my second toe that was hurting and now it’s below my second toe on the top of my foot.

Like I said, I have too many problems. 

I don’t plan on running until Saturday if everything feels okay because I do want to run before my 11 AM shift. Either way I will be running Sunday for the Warrior Dash.

On Friday, I go to the gym at 7:30 to train with my Marines recruiter then afterwards I have tutoring. I’m not done yet. I have an acupuncture appointment. I’m rather excited about getting needles stabbed into me. Hopefully it will help my foot.

Are you guys interested in a post on acupuncture for runners? I got some good details on it. I almost said ‘I got some good deets on that’. It was odd. I also wanted to do a post on eating before bedtime and some other jazzy shit stuff. Just let me know what you want to read/see. So whatcha whatcha want. 

Anyway, it’s Wednesday! I now love Wednesday because of…

I don’t have a proper WIAW, but regardless, I have had some good eats in the past few days. 

Spinach pie + fish
Spicy fish + spinach + veggies + rice
Giant oatmeal cookie + Muscle Milk
Detour protein bar (so good!)
Trix cereal + cottage cheese
Chocolate coconut water 

Not pictured: fro-yo from Yogurtland

What I worked Wednesday:

1 hour on the elliptical + full body lifting

My great cell phone photography skills. Enjoy. 

Well, if I was in the blogging mood I would totally bore you guys with my life and what’s going on, but I think I might hold off.

Until then, happy Wednesday! 

“You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back.” - PREFONTAINE

Recovery Running

You know what I love?

Cold donuts.

I kept two donuts from work the other day in the fridge until I left and they were delicious.

Warm temperature donuts are blahhh compared to cold ones.

Go ahead. Call me a snob.

You know what else I love?

The fact that Miley Cyrus shops at Trader Joe’s.

Miley does not tell a lie.

Anyway, what’s going on, buddies?

I have a day off from work so I’m totally splurging on the computer and studying my little ass off for the re-take of my ASVAB test. I need to learn my commands and ranks too. Gosh.

This old guy at my gym told me I am going to make a special Marine. I’m not sure what special he was talking about, but I’ll take it! Any compliment is a good compliment, right?

Also, this week I have definitely scaled back on running. Dur, Christy. Running four weeks straight of 50 miles is a little tough even though you don’t feel it until now.

It’s not that I’m sore, but if I am literally dragging myself through runs and can barely make it thirty minutes without dying first, then I need to taper down. I spent some time on the elliptical this week instead. I still sweat like a teenage boy so it’s all good. My face shows it.

I think for any runner, it is very difficult to slow down on runs or even run fewer miles. You look at your Garmin and see a seven-minute mile or whatever the number is, and it really messes with your head. You think you’re out of shape or losing your game, but that is not the case. It’s just a slow recovery run that we do need.

 It’s always difficult for me to see seven minute miles on a run or to only run thirty minutes. I think I need to go, go, go in order to be the best or the fastest. Well, that obviously isn’t helping currently because all my runs in the past two weeks are deteriorating. I am running slower because I just can’t go any faster and then I just don’t want to run. It’s a never-ending cycle, but I need to accept the fact that I need to reduce my mileage and allow some recovery time in order to improve. No one gets faster by running five-minute miles every day. I wish I could run that just once.

I need to scale back on running anyway.

I have the Warrior Dash next week!

Oh my god. I’m so excited. 

The race starts with mud right off the bat then from there it’s climbing and crazy obstacles. The last bit includes water. Man oh man. After reading about it in this issue’s Runners World, I am pumped up.

Who doesn’t want to jump through fire and get extremely dirty? You gotta be crazy.

I think I know what I’m going to wear though.

Some old shoes, shorts I don’t care about, and a sports bra. 

It’s says “MAN UP”.

And my stomach says, “I eat too many donuts.”

Has anyone else done the Warrior Dash or a race similar to it?

Well, well, well. It’s the time again. Time for honorable eats:

Baked falafel + spicy egg whites
Tofu
 Fish + sweet potato fries
Carrot cake 

Happy September!

Switchin’ It Up

 Hello fellas!

What’s happening?

Trust me, I don’t talk like that in real life. I sound a lot dumber.

Whew. I am so glad this week is finished! I had so much to do in so little time. My days were jam-packed.

You know you’re too busy that your car starts to look like a dump. Notice the apple core?

This week, I would wake up at the crack of dawn after getting home from work at 9:30 to eat, work out, shower, eat, go to work, die, etc. 

Here’s my review of this week’s workouts:

Monday: 9.38 miles @ 6:57 pace
Tuesday: 9.52 miles @ 6:49 pace
Wednesday: 8.66 miles @ 6:56 pace + weights
Thursday: 6 hour nap
Friday: 8.78 miles @ 7:01 pace + weights
Saturday: 14.14 miles @ 7:01 pace
Sunday: Weights + spin class + stretching

Total Mileage: 50.48

In actuality, I am very delighted with my mileage. I made it to the 50′s, which was fantastic. The thing is, I didn’t even stress about my mileage. I just ran how long I felt like it and I tried to up my pace. Go ahead and laugh at me. My pace never seems to progress. I felt super speedy on Friday and I was only running seven-minute miles. Ugh. I know I can run faster if I tried in a race so I need to do so in training runs. I think I may do a tempo run tomorrow then.

I am going to improve my running pace wise this week as well as switch up my workouts.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday are only going to be cardio days. Then, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday will consist of cardio plus weights. On Wednesday I will do full body lifting routine while Friday will be focused on legs and Sunday will emphasize arms. I did arm work today and it was killer. I borrowed a little routine from Julie. By the way, I received some awesome items from Julie in a giveaway.

I always see this stuff on other blogger’s sites, but never have I used it.

How do you guys use NuStevia? Remember, I’m like half ape and cannot bake much so I need easy peasy recipes.

Anyway, as I was saying…

I am changing my workouts this week and that means I will not be performing ab work every night like I have been. I know, I am crazy. I realized, however, that I do not need to do ab work every night when I am dead tired. It takes me twice as long do to so because a) I’m exhausted and b) Seinfeld is more entertaining and I get distracted.

I switched my ab routine and now my abs are feeling it. So, now, I will be doing ab work every other day. There and there.

I don’t sound so cray cray anymore.

If you any killer ab routines, hit me up please!

Remember when I finished Racing Weight and I promised a review?

Yeah, that’s not gonna happen because what I have to say will bother some people and I don’t feel like dealing with it.

All I have to say is, if you are seriously considering any sport like swimming, running, biking as a career, you have to accept the fact that you may be underweight. You may not be a normal weight (by other’s opinions) because you are in peak condition to race. Lightness = quickness. That’s how it works. You may not have to be, like, 100 pounds, but you may have to be under your ‘healthy’ weight.

I personally really enjoyed the book and loved all the facts that were made. The author highlights that if you want to be lean, run 50+ miles a week. I didn’t like that the author, Matt Fitzgerald, said to not gain too much muscle because muscle doesn’t make you light. Then, after racing season, you can gain a few more pounds back, but never too much.

If one was to follow Matt Fitzgerald’s plan of being very lean, you would have a strict life and I don’t really like that. I want a cookie and damn right I will eat it. In the back of the book, there were eating plans of elite athletes and it was a lot. Some runners were eating like 10,000 calories, but Matt Fitzgerald never seemed to say that you could. He made it sound like you had to eat 1,500 calories for ultimate performance. I don’t know. I’m dumb so I could have misunderstood his words.

Overall rate: 6/10.

Hey, Matt Fitzgerald, look what I ate this week:

Of course I had some healthy foods too. 

 Pepper/onion/goat cheese tart + spinach cakes

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

“I was pushed by myself because I have my own rule, and that is that every day I run faster, and try harder.” - Wilson Kipketer