Training Recap.... 6 Weeks to Go!!

I have only 6 weeks until 70.3!


I felt more committed and focused on my workouts this week. Even though I did miss a few workouts, I was more motivated. I felt more focused. I could tell I'm starting to feel more ready, like I will actually make it through this race successfully!

Monday: slept in and skipped my 30 min swim.
Tuesday: 6.25 miles on the treadmill working on hills.
Wednesday: Bootcamp workout with TRX, superbands, sandbells. Planning on an after work ride, but got derailed.
Thursday: Bad weather led to a bike-run brick indoors at the gym. 12.6 miles in 50 min on the bike, followed by 1 mile in 10 min on the treadmill.
Friday: Wild bootcamp obstacle course! TRX, battle ropes, sandbells and lots of running. Missed my PM swim.
Saturday: Skipped the mud run and went out for a ride with Kevin, planning on 2 hours. It started raining and then pouring and storming. We hit 1 hour 50 min, and I had to skip my 3 mile run I had scheduled after.
Sunday: Long run of 9 miles on the treadmill due to more storms. I hit it at under an 11 min/mile pace, with only walk break. Overall it felt great!

Nutrition: Better overall, not snacking or drinking as much.  My tracking was pretty good too except a few days I stopped tracking after work (no dinner logged), and saturday didn't at all. I also had a little dessert at a party saturday night, but didn't go over board. I'm a little frustrated that the scale is still not moving, but I must not be putting in enough effort yet. Time to cut back some more!!

I took a rest day today (I'm exhausted!), and I'm looking forward to the week!

How was your training last week?

What is motivating me.... part 1

I've been leading up to a few things adding to my motivation lately. There are 3 things helping me stay focused, giving me extra reasons to stay on track, besides finishing 70.3.

Reason #1...

Is after my 70.3

It will include a little of this....

And a little of this...

Did you guess yet?

VACATION!!!

We are heading out on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas!

Off to the western caribbean for a week of relaxation after all my 70.3 hard work. We even splurged a little to book a balcony room overlooking the central park section of the ship. With our credit from the last cruise, we figured treating it like a free upgrade was a good use for it.

Central Park on the ship

I want to be in the best shape ever for this vacation. I want to look better than ever to have fabulous pictures and feel comfortable the whole time. 

Each time I want to eat a little extra, or give up on a workout, I remind myself of the cruise and walk away from temptation.

Do vacations help motivate you to stay on track?

Are you excited to see what else is motivating me?

What else motivates you?

Uniforms...

My bad work news from last week?

Instead of wearing my usual scrubs to work (I work in a hospital), I will soon be wearing khaki pants and a standard color polo. It takes me back 10 years ago to being a supervisor in the Six Flags waterpark while I was in college.

shorts in the waterpark, pants working in rides!

So now, I get to feel like an hourly employee, and jepordize my clothes getting nasty stuff on them. I drowned my sorrows last friday night when I got home.

barefoot bubby... yummmm

I'm thinking of fun ways to jazz it up.

Source: suzyevonne.blogspot.com via Susie on Pinterest

Headbands are at the top of my list, along with....

Feather hair extensions. Thank you groupalicious!

I'm sad at losing my individuality with my look. I'm sad to wear the same outfit I wore when I made $10/hour at an amusement park. I'm sad that the polo shirts don't fit great. Overall, I'm cranky about it, but I'm trying to think positively (as much as I can). 

Do you wear a uniform?

How would you add some flair to khakis and a blue polo?

Training Recap....7 Weeks to Go!!

7 weeks to go until Pumpkinman 70.3!

Overall, this was a hugely unsuccessful week. I missed a ton of workouts. I ate pretty good most of the week until I got bad work news, then drank and ate all weekend and felt like crap. 

Monday: 30 min swim - 100 warmup, 200, 300, 500, 100 cooldown. 1200 total

Tuesday: Outdoor hot & sweaty 85% humidity 6.1 mile run

Wednesday: Bootcamp in the morning. Thunderstorms looming made me miss my ride after work.

Thursday: Missed my brick. An achy hip from bootcamp, and sleeping in won.

Friday: Morning bootcamp. Missed the PM swim after receiving bad work news. Instead I went to the bar with coworkers and finished it off with a bottle of bubbly.

Saturday: Planning on an afternoon brick since Kevin and I had morning stuff to take care of. Unfortunately my stomach started feeling awful, and I weeded instead of biking and running.

Sunday: Woke up lightheaded and dizzy. Didn't make it to my group run. Felt awful all day.

Nutrition: weekday = 90% good. weekend 20% good. I tracked half- assed, and let my bad health influence roommate get the best of me.

I have some major incentives to get on track with working out & losing weight, that I'll fill you in on later. Oh yeah, and wanting to not die on my quest to 70.3!

Do bad work days ever derail your plans?

Humidity & Heat

The humidity has been crazy.... 

but I haven't seen Al Roker's sweating bacon on the map lately.

source

seriously I just tried for 20 minutes to google a picture. Why isn't there a picture of Al's sweaty bacon map??!!

On Tuesday I was excited to head out for a 6 miler early in the morning. I saw the temp would be in the 70s, which is about 20 degrees cooler than the after work temp, so I didn't think much. Thank goodness I brought my Hydrapak filled with water, because I'm pretty sure I sweated off 5 pounds of fluid with the 85% humidity.

A few things I've learned...

1. Hydrate: drink the night before, before the run & during the run.

2. Pick your time: run at times of low temps or low humidity if possible. Early morning works best for me.

3. Slow down: walk if needed, slow the pace, and don't be discouraged to see your pace suffer. 

4. Take it inside: if its too hot or humid, take it indoors to the treadmill.

5. Stay Safe: Keep a phone or a Road ID on you in case of emergency.

What are your best warm weather tips?

How's the weather near you?

Training Recap... 8 weeks to go!

8 weeks to go until 70.3 at Pumpkinman in Maine. Here's last week's training recap...

Monday - 30 min swim. 100 warmup, 4 x 200, 100 cooldown.

Tuesday - Stayed up too late watching the Bachelorette monday night. I slept in and couldn't make it up in time for my run.

Wednesday - Bootcamp. Holy TRX. Some crazy plankwork with sandbags, kettlebells and box jumps. OMG, I was sore for 2 days. So hot after work that I missed my double session bike ride.

Thursday- 5 mile run that I missed tuesday. This means I did miss my brick workout, but I felt like the run was more important to get in.

Friday - Still so sore from Wednesday's bootcamp, I knew that if I went to Bootcamp today, I wouldn't be able to get my weekend workouts in. Sleeping in, thanks!

Saturday- Bike-run brick... 15.65 miles on the bike, 3.1 on the run. Felt fast on the bike, felt sluggish on the run. Kept working through to get to the end.

Sunday- Met up with the running group aka the fast girls. I stayed with them for 2 miles at their 10:15 pace, then dropped back to a comfortable 11-12 min/mile. Total of 8 miles instead of the planned 7.

Nutrition- Better than last week, but not perfect. Too much snacking, too many sweets. I did work on tracking more on my livestrong app, but slacked off after tracking lunch or dinner.

Overall, not a bad week, but I have a lot of room for improvement. This week, I'm really focusing on getting my water in, eating whole nutritious foods, and less sweets!

How's your training going?

Have you ever skipped a workout to make sure you can get another in?

Group run & Bia GPS watch!

The week is winding down, and I'm glad to have a weekend! While this week certainly went better than last week, I was far from perfect with eating and workouts. I did better than last week, and right now, that is all that is important.

I'm trying to decide if I want to start off with the running group on Sunday for my long run. They have 9 miles on the schedule, I only have 7, but should do 9 since I skipped last week. I go a lot slower, their slowest runners go at about my race pace. I see 2 options...

1. See it as an opportunity to meet new people, get a little faster by trying to keep up, even if I only make it a few miles with them. (I know the area well and would not be concerned if I dropped off).

2. Go out on my own Sunday to work on getting faster before joining up with their group. I do worry a little that going too fast will re-injure my knee.

What would you do?

In other updates, my house is looking much cleaner! I cleaned every night except for the upstairs bathroom thursday, because I forgot! I'm going to work on that in a little bit. So far its really working good by breaking up the cleaning that needs to get done.

Bia is almost at their goal! 

If you want to see an amazing GPS watch that is waterproof, and can send out SOS signals literally SAVING your life, PLEASE, back it on Kickstarter HERE. There are 7 hours left to get $40K in!

I'm looking forward to biking, running & swimming this weekend!

I'm also studying up to take my Kinesiotaping certification exam, yikes!

What are you looking forward to?

Did you back Bia yet?

Am I Getting what I want?

Do you remember this post?

My Plan to Get What I Want.

I said I was standing my ground. I had my goals, my plan & my progress tracking detailed. I felt motivated! I felt strong & tough!

PLAN

1. Follow my training plan for workouts. NO EXCUSES

2. Clean eating, no sugar ~85% of the time. Limit alcohol to special occasions only.

3. Do my Hypnosis daily

4. Go to bed on time
5. Work less weekends

Big Question...
Am I getting what I want?
The answer is No.

Workouts have not been going as planned, due to breaking #4. Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond my control, my sleep was stolen away from me, which left me cranky, hungry, and lazy. I started feeling puffy and gross again.

Oh.. and theres only 9 weeks left until Pumpkinman 70.3! Whoops!

Sunday I had a day to recharge at the Beach with Kevin. We needed it badly. We packed the cooler, sprayed on the sunscreen, and soaked in the sun. I got to read some fitness, SELF, and Shape magazines that have been backlogging in my living room. Carrie Underwood talked about tracking food on an App called Livestrong, which rewards you with giftcards for tracking food, weight, and exercise. I downloaded it and I'm hooked!

I also found a pin on pintrest about cleaning your house for 15 minutes a day to make it more manageable. I'm really excited about it, and had my first successful day yesterday which included vacuuming and picking up some clutter.

Source: organizingmadefun.blogspot.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

This week I'm focusing on tracking food and getting my workouts in (as well as a clean house)! I've also decided I need to get back to posting my weekly training recap and some motivational posts.

What do you miss about my postings?

How often do you clean your house?

Do you use an App to track your food?

When you feel like quitting...

I want to bring back Motivational Mondays....

Source: google.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

I've been slacking lately and thinking....

Can I really meet the goals I made for myself (HERE)?

Can I really finish a 70.3?

Can I really get to my goal weight?

I feel like giving up and quitting every time I struggle. Certain events in my life have made the struggle more difficult. I am happy to say that the stress has cleared, and I'm feeling more focused than I have in a while. The fact is, I wanted to quit at every goal I set for myself. Remembering why I train, why I race, why I try to eat right and loose weight, help keep me going. I want to be strong and healthy for a long lifetime! I want to have fun, and conquer things I never thought I would! I want to look back as a 90 year old lady and tell the story of when I completed a half ironman. I want to inspire others, and myself to be the best that I can be.

So, here's to not quitting!

Have you ever wanted to quit?

What kept you going?

Why do you do what you do?

Bia Sport

I know, I know... I am still slacking at blogging lately.

Before I get to a post about me, I want to spread some news & ask for help.

There is some amazingness going on in the world of GPS sports watches. Remember how I was drooling over The new Garmin 910? Now I'm lusting after Bia, which is amazing in comparison. No plugging in, faster satellite locating, lighter & smaller than Garmin, a safety alert to locate you in an emergency, ipod like easy use,  & water resistance to 100M depth.

Check out the size difference...

Garmin 310 vs Bia

Perfect for triathletes, Runners, Walkers (it even has special run/walk interval settings).

Where can you get one...

Well you can't yet.

And you might not EVER get to if Bia doesn't reach their $400,000 backer goal by July 13th!

This means we only have 5 days to spread the news!

PLEASE

Check out the product HERE

Then back it... (and tell your friends)

This means you pledge an amount of money in exchange for a shirt, a wristband, a watch, the gps, etc. The more you pledge, the more you get & the more likely Bia will meet their goal.

If they don't reach their goal by July 13th....

your credit card will not be charged, and there will be no Bia... ever.

So check it out HERE & Pledge!!

They're a Team Tough Chik favorite (we'll even have a team band)!

I've made my pledge, have you?

Sweat...

Source: strongisnewskinny.blogspot.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Today, you can be sure I was sweating....

I worked all weekend, and did not get a single workout in. By the time I got home from work, It was 90+ degrees, humid, and gross out. Sunday I managed an hour relaxing by the pool, but no lap swimming in my mom's tiny above ground.

So today, I set out to get my Sunday long run in of 7 miles. I knew it would be hot, so I opted for Longmeadow, which is a little more shady than my neck of the woods. I packed up my new toy (review to come soon)....

I headed out. Sweat poured off of me. I seriously at times thought I should turn back, but knew I had to get the miles in. So I plugged along. I walked when my heart rate was out of control, and wiped sweat from my face that my tough chik visor couldn't handle. Back at the car, I checked my weather app (with the air conditioner on full blast), and it was 86, feels like 88, yuck!

I am disappointed that I joined Amanda @ Run to the Finish's month of July Ab challenge, but haven't gotten to it yet. Tomorrow for sure!

How are you handling the heat?

Ever try a Hydrapak?

Want to join me in the ab challenge?