Training Schedule: Week 2

Not much different from Week 1!!!

Monday:         Stretch & Strengthen (I am not a huge gym buff, so p90X it is!)

Tuesday:        3 mile run + strength (P90X)

Wednesday:   2 mile run + strength (what else…P90X)

Thursday:      3 mile run + strength (More Tony Horton…owww!)

Friday:           Rest Day….P90x ONLY

Saturday:       30 min cross training + strength (More Tony Horton…owww!)

Sunday:          4 mile run

Step 6: This is harder than I thought!

“Willpower can produce short-term change, but it creates constant internal stress because you haven’t dealt with the root cause.” ~Rick Warren

This is HARD…well, let me clarify…the running is not that bad, it’s all the other stuff that I am having a problem with:/

Truth:   I actually love running.  I love how it feels when I am able to lose myself on a long run.  However, watching what I eat as I train is VERY hard.  I did a lot of damage this weekend as I snacked here and there.  As a full time mother, wife, student, teacher, and you name it…I am ALWAYS stressed and on edge.  Food, well, that’s my vice…my stimulant…my drug of choice.

Saying NO to what is in front of me has always been a real challenge.  This morning I stepped on the scale and I am down 1.4lbs…sounds good…well, hold your applause.  I have lost 1.4lbs of the 15lbs that I regained…and I still have about 30lbs to lose.

I have no doubts that I will lose the weight by race day.  I’ve been in the military, I was a student athlete…I know how to push my body in order to get the desired performance.  But, the older I get, the harder that becomes. 

Binge diets or training sessions are NEVER good.  Although I always say “This time things will be different”, it almost never is…I always end back up at square one. 

Well this time around has not been as bad…I was able to catch myself before I fell down that slippery slope.

Although there were some mitigating circumstances (a broken toe and a car accident), I know that there were some things I could have done to ensure did not end up here!

So, today is a new day!  As I enter into Week 2 of training, I am feeling somewhat renewed.  This week is going to be a good one!

96 Days to go!

Step 5: How Can I Recover???

Okay…so I am well into Week 1 of training for my 1^st half, and my body feels like someone has beat me with a bag of quarters :/

At this point, even my eyelids hurt.  I did not realize how out of shape I was until I woke up on Day 2 of training.  Today I feel a LOT better; however, I am still sore.  I was able to slip away during lunch and get my 4 miles in today…but man am I tired!

With that being said, I think I am going to ensure that I stop at GNC today to buy something to help my aching muscles recover.

Step 4: The Spirit is Willing…

…but the flesh; well, it’s coming onboard! 

I have finally been “cleared” to resume training!!!!  Yeah! 

While I should be in week 3 of training for my half, I have been forced by circumstances back to square 1.  So, I just finished a 4 mile run, and I feel great.  I fell like it took FOREVER for me to run (45min)…but I finished.  Running on base is always hard…lots of hills!

Well, workout #1 for the day is done…later tonight, P90X!!!  OWWW…bring on the muscle relaxers now!

103 Days to go!

Step 3…The Journey To Finding My Motivation!

“Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly.” ~Stephen R. Covey

Motivation can sometimes be VERY hard to come by…especially after you have experienced a setback.  Before I decided to embark upon this “journey” I broke my toe.  After 7 weeks of healing, no running, and 12 lbs later, I decided to get going again.  Well, on last week I totaled my car and I hurt my back.  I know, I know…Can a sister just catch a break?? 

While I am so grateful beyond measure to be alive and able to walk, love and hug my family…I must say, I am in a bit of a funk.  Some would argue that I should be happy but all I want to do is curl up, and lie in my bed!

So, now I on a hunt to try and find my motivation.  The funny thing is that I already know what to do!  I already know what to say to “myself”!  So, what’s the problem.  I don’t know.

Today I just feel like BLAH.

So, with 109 Days to go, I’m taking Step 3…The Journey To Finding My Motivation!

Half-Marathon Training Schedule

Today marks the first day of my Half-Marathon Training!  With only 16-weeks to go, I feel like I have a lot of work ahead of me!  I have spent two of the last three years pregnant, and my body is in need of a SERIOUS overhaul!

So, what’s a girl to do???

Now, many may argue that 16-weeks is plenty enough time to train, but with a jammed packed schedule, a husband, and 4 children (two which are in diapers)…child, I need all the time I can get!

So, I intend to start off slowly!  Here’s what’s on the agenda for Week 1:

Monday:  Stretch & Strengthen (I am not a huge gym buff, so p90X it is!)

Tuesday:  3 mile run + strength (P90X)

Wednesday:   2 mile run + strength (what else…P90X)

Thursday:  3 mile run + strength (More Tony Horton…owww!)

Friday:  Rest Day….P90x ONLY

Saturday:  30 min cross training + strength (More Tony Horton…owww!)

Sunday:  4 mile run

STEP 2

“There are only two options regarding commitment; you’re either in or you’re out. There’s no such thing as life in-between.” ~Pat Riley

Commitment…one of the hardest things in life you will ever have to do!  It is so easy to make a decision to lose weight, to go back to school, or to run a half marathon; however, staying committed is an entirely different story! With 117 days to go until race day I have started my 16 – week training program.  Since Thanksgiving is literally “right around the corner” the only thing I can say is that, “I must be out of my got damn mind!”  Who in their right minds decides to start a fitness program around the holidays????

I know this is going to be an uphill battle!  Trying to stay committed in the wake of holiday baking, stuffing turkeys and glazing hams is going to be a challenge.  So, in an effort to mitigate the effects of all the cookies, cakes, and pies I am bound to taste, I have asked my family to serve as the food police.  I have designated certain days where I can partake in my favorite sweet treats…and if I am caught indulging outside of those days, my husband and children reserve the right to say, “Drop and give me 50!” 

Now, since I am NOUTOURIS for making them do push-ups for leaving the lights on, they cannot wait to return the favor!  Lol, this may be the first time I will actually look forward to the holidays being O.V.E.R!

117 Days to go!

Step 1

"If you don't make a total commitment to whatever you're doing, then you start looking to bail out the first time the boat starts leaking." - Lou Holtz

March 17, 2012….that’s the day!  RACE DAY!  Now, I know it is 128 days away, but, it seems so close, yet so far away.   Today I am preparing to embark upon a journey that I “think” will change my life.  See, I have said time and time again that I wanted to run a half….but EVERYTIME I thought about running 13.1 miles…I chickened out.  If you can think of a reason, so did I.  So, I asked, “Self…what’s so different this time around?”

Well, I’ll tell you…I don’t know!  But I do know that there is something in me that is pushing me towards this goal…pushing me to do more.  So, with that being said…I am ready to embark upon my journey.  Here I go…I am taking the first steps to finding my sole!