Making the mile my bitch

I went to the gym today after being out of commission for about 4 days, so I knew I needed a good workout. My goal in mind was to run at least a mile, so after 1.16 I finally stopped (hell yeah). I then increased my incline and kept making it higher until I got to 8.5... yes, it goes higher... all the way to 15 or something! I don't know how people do it that high but... whatever. Oh I forgot to mention that as I walked into the gym I saw my good friend Tory working away and made sure to stop by and give her a high five. We got weird looks for sure, but it made the start of my workout more enjoyable. I plan on implementing the high five more often. Moving on though- I ended my 40 minutes on the treadmill having burned 271 calories, with a distance of 2.5 miles. I was actually very surprised at the amount of calories. With how bad my ass was burning, I thought for sure I would burn more calories than what I did. Don't you fret though, because I then moved on to the elliptical.

The elliptical shocked the hell out of me. I could not believe how much I was sweating on that thing and I burned just as many calories on that as I did on the treadmill and I was only on the elliptical for half the amount of time! I then got off the elliptical and dragged my droopy, exhausted body over to the mats to stretch. As soon as I started, I got a cramp in my leg. I thought cramps were a sign that you weren't stretching enough or didn't have enough potassium. My leg didn't even give me a chance! I was in the middle of trying to stretch it and I had a banana at home waiting for me. Oh well, it went away and I continued to stretch and will continue to tonight.

Other than that, not sure if I mentioned this before but I finally ran a straight mile on the street last Thursday. I have now accomplished that mile 3 different times- once on the street (in 11 minutes might I add) and twice on the treadmill. I am also starting a "biggest loser" contest at work that I am pretty stoked about it. More to come about that later though. Tomorrow I plan on busting my ass again and it will be a good feeling all over again.

Yucaipa Kills

I did the 3.5 mile run with with my friend on Sunday and we did it again today. My legs are killing me and that hill on Yucaipa is so evil. I decided yesterday that the best way to tackle that hill is to start with small bursts of running. We did 20 seconds of running, 30 seconds of walking and repeated that over about 4-5 times. For those of you unfamiliar to the Yucaipa area, that hill can be rough and it's at a constant steepness. We felt great yesterday and by the time we got back to her house, we were completely dripping sweat.

So today we decided to do it again but this time, her brother-in-law joined us. This guy is incredible. He is not just some body builder ( although his arms are bigger than my head) but he runs like a maniac. He has a series of half marathons coming up, back to back, so he definitely knows what he is doing. What I liked about running with someone who is so experienced, is that it automatically pushed me to try harder so he didn't think I was a wuss, haha. My friend and I tried the 20/30 second run/walk up the hill again but I was feeling it a lot more in my legs today. Overall, it was a great run and I hope that her brother in law will join us "beginners" again :P

Tomorrow is Tuesday which means body pump time. Body pump Tuesdays! My only hope is that my legs aren't too sore tomorrow, so I can do most of the lunges and squats. Hrm, those are my hopes nowadays. Things have changed in my life, for sure, but for the better of course :D

Saturday Hike

Nicholas and I ended up hiking yesterday morning in the Anaheim Hills. Although it was beautiful, we both agreed that it would be even more so in the spring. Since the hills were all filled with dead brush, we were sure that in the spring it would be nice, green and lush. The trail wrapped around each hill that just brought us to the next hill that wrapped around and when we would get to the top of each one, it overlooked the huge Anaheim houses. It was just gorgeous and the hike itself wasn't impossible but it definitely gave us small challenges. There were multiple inclines that I tried to run up as much as possible, so as to get the most of my workout. Then there was one part where it was pretty steep and I feel like something that steep, going down is worse than going up. At least when you climb a hill, you can kind of keep a steady and constant pace. When you are going down though, you have to watch your footing every step of the way so that you don't slide down and fall and it takes a lot longer. When we approached a particular hill, we almost thought it was a drop off, but it was just a very intense and steep hill. My quads were killing me by the time we got back to the car. It was a fantastic workout though, and I look forward to doing it again.

Tonight I am going running with my friend in Yucaipa again and we plan on tackling hills as much as possible. With the mud run coming up Sept 24, we only have a month to train for it. I plan on tackling my workouts 5-6 days a week from now until then. I hope I can gain enough muscle in my arms and legs to carry me through the race so that I don't die! :)

Tues and Wed

So I am on a roll. Yesterday I had my body pump class which just consists of weight training, lunges, squats, and  sit-ups the whole time. It's exhausting to say the very least and my pectoral muscles and hamstrings were killing me today! Even so, I made sure to go on my 3.5 mile run with my friend. We walked for most of it but had a nice long run in the middle. Since we waited until later in the day, it was much easier. I can't believe how difficult it is to run in the heat. My head pounds and it makes it really hard to breathe. I think I can run maybe 2 or 3 minutes and I have to stop when the temperature is above 90 degrees. It makes me more confident when I have times that I can run longer and I think that may only happen when it is cooler.

Tomorrow I plan on going to the gym to run so I don't have to wait for the sun to go down outside. I will try my darndest to run a straight mile again but with my muscles hurting, it may not happen. I am going to give free weights a shot too tomorrow, which should be interesting. It's a lot harder to do weights on your own than it is when someone yells commands at you :p

Right now I am going to find a place to go hiking in the Orange County area, so my boyfriend and I can do that Saturday. Friday is my day off from working out, so I am looking forward to having a little break :) I feel good and I think I will be able to keep this up until at least when school starts.

Merp!

I had an amazing workout today and I thought, "Man, I really need to start posting again." To get up to date, I still haven't lost more than my original 30 pounds. I also haven't gained (I fluctuate a couple pounds, but that's it), which is good I guess. It has started to frustrate me because I work out at least 4 times a week! I know I could start watching more with what I am eating, but it's just so difficult. It's time for me to buckle down though because I only have about a month until school starts. Once school starts I always get off track due to the lack of free time I have. Besides, I need to bring myself back to my original goal and that was to be more in shape and healthier. In order to get healthy though, I HAVE to start watching what I eat again. I think because it's summer and I have had multiple mini vacations, I have fallen off the wagon a little. Nothing to beat myself up over though, because even during these vacations, I manage to get in exercise.

Back to that great workout I had today though. I finally, FINALLY ran a full straight mile without stopping. My mile time was 11 minutes and 20 seconds- my fastest mile to date. I felt incredible. It was almost like the lack of weight lost doesn't seem as bad now because at least I know I am improving and I'm only getting in better shape. After that first mile, I bumped up my incline and I did that for another mile and a half... then I moved to the bicycle for 5 miles. My hour and a half workout felt great and got me sweating so bad, it was dripping onto the treadmill. I know, gross.

I will need to start posting more, even though I say that all the time. I just feel like my schedule is so damn hectic and I barely get a second to breathe, especially when I am running... har har har. Anywho... I have my body pump class tomorrow (a class I started taking every Tuesday) and that is sure to get my arms and legs nice and sore. Sweet.

Eek.

I will be honest, school hasn’t been my number one priority my whole life. It hasn’t been until the last couple years that I have taken it more seriously and have wanted to not just finish but do well and good get grades while finishing. That being said, this quarter I have been going to school 3 days a week. I didn’t realize how much this consumed my schedule until my running has practically diminished. I have only been running twice a week, if I am lucky. The last time I ran was Saturday and it was a fantastic run but it was 5 days ago. Not being able to run is starting to stress me out. I have noticed that I am slowly getting a little more depressed not exercising because that was my only stress outlet. I literally am gone all day- I go to work from 7-3:30 every day and then Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays I have school until at least 8 at night. The time in between (Mondays, typically), I have to spend doing homework or getting anything I need to do, done. Forget having time to myself during the week- that is strictly for the weekends, it’s the week that I have to squeeze more into my schedule.

The question is: How do I fix this problem? How do I make more time so that I don’t end up going crazy? The only solution I can think of is to start waking up at the butt crack of dawn and running before work. Although I did buy an alarm clock, I still am horrible at the whole waking up early thing. On to something a little more positive…

What I should mention is that so far my best time for 3 miles is 37 minutes and 50 seconds. I am very proud of this and have also been able to run a mile straight multiple times on the treadmill. I still need to be able to do a mile straight on the street because that is what really matters when it comes to doing the 5k. For now, I will forge on and try my damndest to get my butt up in the morning so I can run.

I like to move it, move it

I got my butt up early this morning to go running. I was too busy/exhausted on Monday and Tuesday so I wasn’t able to go then. This morning, however, was awesome. Other than the fact that I did not get up quite as early as I should have, it felt really good to get my running done in the morning. I feel energized and happy today and I will need that for a long day of work and school. Since I have school 3 days a week this quarter, I think running in the morning will be better for me in regards to managing my time. Anyone who knows me knows that I love sleep and if it were up to me, all adults would be allowed naps at work. Sleep is fantastic and I am really good at it. This is going to be my challenge in getting up early to run. In order to remedy that, I plan on buying an alarm clock since my phone just does not do the trick. What I also like about running in the morning, is that I still have the option to work-out at night or on my days off so I can remain active throughout the day!

Last Thursday, my roommate and I did a pilates/yoga work-out video that was streaming on Netflix. It kicked our tushes (literally)! I wasn’t too sore the day after but by the night after and the next day, I was definitely feeling the pain in that tush I previously mentioned, along with my legs, arms and stomach. I want to try and do this video every Thursday, as it not only mixes up my work-out routine but gives my roommate and I something fun to do together. I have not activated my gym membership yet but I plan on doing so on Friday. Once that is done, I will be able to go to the gym at nights so I can start doing some weight training.

Hmm, what else… I subscribed to a runners magazine! I had a nice, long chat with my friend’s mom who does marathons and she recommended this magazine. She says it has great tips for new runners, along with some exercises and stretches and good snacks for runners to have. I mailed my subscription card in, so I hope to get that within the next couple weeks. I have also been thinking about looking into new running shoes. I like the Nikes I have now but they seem a little heavy for running. SO! … lots of things to get done and, knowing me, they may take some time but I love lists, so let’s compile one:

o   Activate Gym Membership

o   Get magazine and start taking advantage of the great tips they have to offer

o   Continue to do my work-out video on Thursdays and find new ones

o   Lose 30 pounds (I am stuck at 24 right now)

o   Look at getting new running shoes

o   Buy an alarm clock

I think that is all for now. I will work on these bullet points and I think once I get some of them achieved, it will only motivate me to keep going.