Crazy Anniversary Week

It's already Thursday! It's been a busy week. I've tried my best not to let if affect my workouts. Had an appointment Monday, plus I'm now training K which has kind of thrown a wrench into my schedule. We meet at the gym Tuesday and Thursday at 6:30. I get out of work at 5 so there's not much point in me going home. What I've decided to do is go in for my workout at 5:30 and then just wait for her. I train for muscle growth and better performance during obstacle races, so I do a split routine (back, bicep, leg day then a shoulder/chest/tricep day with core on both days) but with K I opted for 2 days of full body work. I think this will be better for fat loss. We're not going to be doing the same exercises plus I should really focus on training her instead of trying to squeeze in a workout for myself.

Staying in the gym late means running in the mornings is gonna be tough. I think I will start running at night instead, probably around 8. It'll be a weird adjustment but I can do it.

The free trial for my personal trainer cert is done, so now I'm ready to commit and actually sign up for the course. Studying will take a big chunk out of my already limited free time. I waste most of my hours at my job where I am bored and uninspired all day. But that's not gonna change just yet. Plus in addition to all the other stuff I do I still have to do chores, cook, buy groceries, etc. Honestly I have no idea how I'm gonna have time for it all!
But I will do it. Somehow I will find a way. I'm coming to terms with the fact that I will have to work very hard and dedicate my time to this for the next 6 months. No half assing. This is my next test and I am going to pass!

Amidst all the changes, I celebrated my wedding anniversary yesterday! We have been together 11 years but yesterday was our 4 th year married. We've already done a lot and grown so much, and now is a pivotal time for both of us with my career change and him getting out of the Army. I'm looking forward to see where life takes us next.

He doesn't usually go crazy with gifts but this time he did! He got me flowers, perfume, and a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake! We sat on the couch, ate chicken wings and watched a movie. It was just what I needed.

Desert Warrior 10k

I have officially completed my second ever 10k race!

Yes, a Freedom Run! The Desert Warrior 10k - a small race at the Augusta Canal, put on by Airmen who were raising money for the upcoming Air Force ball.

It's been a year and a half since I ran my first and only 10k, so I've kind of been itching to do another one for awhile now. My goal for today? New PR, plus an award if I could pull it off. My other 10k time was 56:52 or something like that. I needed a pace under 9:12. The Canal is flaaaaat, so I didn't think this would be too difficult to pull off.

I was really nervous this morning. The past several days have been a struggle as my body adjusts to Metformin. I'm tired, dizzy, and my stomach is a wreck. I haven't run or been to the gym at all since I started taking the meds. This was gonna make for a pretty interesting race!

I got out there a bit late so I didn't really have time to warm up. I was just anxious to start running. And I did. A couple guys and a girl were way out in front, then a group of 3 (2 girls and 1 guy) were just ahead of me for the first 2 miles. I played it pretty conservatively in the beginning. There was a guy in a white shirt who was behind me THE WHOLE TIME. I was so paranoid about him passing me! Also his hand kept hitting his bib and it was kinda driving me nuts, lol. A girl in a dark purple shirt was with us for awhile and passed me once, but I overtook her again and that was the last I saw of her.

Miles 3-4 were rough. I wanted to die. My stomach was really pissed. I maintained my pace around 8:45-9:00 but really had to dig deep and mentally will myself to keep going at that speed. The white shirt guy was still hot on my heels. The group of 3 in front of me was starting to break up - 1 guy and girl were getting far ahead, but the girl in the light purple shirt was dropping behind. At this point I kind of started to get a second wind. I passed the girl and the guy in the white shirt, and that was the last I saw of them!

Mile 5 I was still going pretty strong but I could feel myself tiring. I kind of shut my brain off at this point. The last mile was broken up into increments. Only .5 left... .3 left... and there was the finish line!

54:28! A pace of 8:45 min/mile. Take that, old PR!

Within 30 seconds of me crossing the finish line, the really fast girl who was way out ahead decided to strike up a conversation with me. Her name is Aubrey - turns out she knows some of my Team RWB buddies! We chatted about past and upcoming races, seems like we're looking to run alot of the same events so I should be seeing her again soon. I felt bad for her though... Aubrey was clearly the first female finisher, but they gave the award to the girl who actually came in second! Aubrey said she finished at least 3 minutes ahead of that girl, which I know to be true because I watched both of them in front of me. I told her she should say something to the staff but she didn't really care. She was really chill about it - I would have said something if it was me!

No awards for me, but I'm happy I did so well today! It was definitely a "I'm going to die" pace, but I'm glad I gave it my best and didn't hold back. I think they said there were only like 18 people who did the 10k, and I figure I finished 6th overall, 3rd female. Not bad.

And I got some cupcakes - one of which was free!

Cherry Cheesecake, Red Velvet

Time to lie down on the couch and rest up a bit!

The first days

I'm struggling this week. 

Started my new meds on Tuesday. Blood pressure medicine and metformin for my pcos. Adjusting to them has not been easy so far. I think the metformin is what's messing me up. 

I've been dead tired. All I wanna do is sleep or at least lie down. My energy is gone. I have very little motivation to work out or eat healthy right now. I'm nauseous alot too. Basically I feel like crap. 

I can at least say that so far day 3 has been better than day 2. I got my blood work done early this morning and actually fell asleep in the car for the 10 minutes I was waiting. This is not like me at all! Hopefully these side effects will get better soon and I'll start feeling like my old self again. 

This weekend I'm running the Desert Warrior 10k. It's been over a year since I ran my one and only 10k so I figured it was high time for another one. I'm going to try for time! 

Speaking of time - this is what time I got into bed last night. Ugh. 

When your efforts aren't good enough

Sometimes, despite our best efforts to be healthy, there are things we simply can't control.

I have a condition called Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. In women affected by PCOS the body produces too many androgens. This causes missed periods, weight gain, insulin resistance, high blood pressure, heart disease, facial and body hair, acne,  and hair loss on the scalp. It makes you prone to stress,  anxiety and depression. Many women with PCOS find it hard to conceive. 

The first method of treatment is diet and exercise. If that isn't enough there are certain drugs that can help with the symptoms. This depends on which symptoms you have and what your goals are (having kids, etc). 

After 6 years and just as many doctors, no one could tell me why I was no longer having periods. Then in 2012 my doctor here in Georgia thought to do a blood test. My testosterone was slightly high and I exhibited other classic PCOS symptoms. I was 200 lbs. This diagnosis is what sparked my transformation and gave me the willpower to stick with it. Unless I made a change I was faced with a potential lifetime of problems. 

Fortunately I have a pretty mild case of PCOS. I was able to lose a lot of weight whereas many women literally cannot lose weight no matter what they do. I have regular cycles now. However after these 2 years I still struggle with some of the symptoms - high blood pressure, anxiety, stress, facial hair (thank god I'm blonde) and I have hypoglycemia which is likely related to all this. I have heart palpitations - apparently my heart is really healthy but I don't like the fact that it's happening. Plus I can't seem to lose my abdominal fat. 

So I saw the doctor yesterday and he said I need blood pressure meds. He also gave me metformin which is a diabetes drug that can help those with PCOS by lowering androgens and improving how the body produces and uses insulin. I told him I do endurance races that are hours long and he said these meds shouldn't affect that. 

I'm pretty bummed. I despise being on medication. But sometimes it just can't be helped.  My genetics are against me here. I attempted to cure myself the old fashioned way which is something many people wouldn't do when they could just take a pill instead. I have no regrets. Though I may not have beaten PCOS, I have gained so much from my lifestyle change. I look and feel better. I have more energy for whatever my day throws at me. I am confident and capable.I have a newfound sense of strength and purpose. 

PCOS has challenged me in many ways. I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing today without it. It has made me strong. 

My First Personal Training Opportunity

Last week my husband called me to talk about an unexpected opportunity. Sgt. P. was talking about how his wife wants to get back in shape, and my husband mentioned that I am pursuing a career in personal training and am looking for hands on experience. This would be a chance for me to become familiar with training clients - I wouldn't be paid obviously since I'm not an official certified PT, just somebody looking to get some practice. I think it's a smashing idea!
(My husband totally set this up without asking me first, and I don't care! I'm eager for this kind of thing.)

So I reached out to her a couple days ago. Let's call her K. I asked her a few questions to get an idea about her history, fitness level, health issues, injuries, and preferences.

• Her goal is to lose weight. She used to be in good shape but has gained some weight, so she's looking to get back to where she was before.
• She is dealing with a few issues which include injuries. I'll have to figure out how to create a program that won't aggravate her injuries. She is also 4'10" and dislikes using machines because she feels she doesn't "fit" in them.
• She doesn't like running and struggles with it due to her injuries, but she does do cardio in the form of elliptical and walking. I advised her to do that on the days we don't meet (2-3 days a week)
• She is interested in lifting because she feels like she's doing something great, as opposed to mindless cardio. 
• We'll be meeting 1-2 times a week around 7, either at the gym on base or I can get her into Gold's as a guest. I'm waiting to hear back on the specifics of when and where she wants to do this. I'll have to finagle my schedule around hers a little bit but I can make it work.

I'm still figuring out the specific exercises but I think the plan will be something like this

Day 1
Legs, Triceps, Shoulders, Chest

Day 2
Biceps, Back, Abs

3 set of 10-12 reps for most exercises, will adjust if necessary
We'll work on the same exercises for 2-3 weeks before changing it up.


I'm excited about this opportunity! But I'm also nervous and there's definitely a fear of failure. This is definitely not a "cut and dry" type of client - she has quite a few issues she is struggling with so it's a bit intimidating for me. But I'm going to go into this with confidence in what I know and I'm going to be as attentive as possible to make sure she gets a good experience out of this. Being able to help her achieve her goals will be such an awesome feeling - I just know it. And who knows, maybe I'll gain a new friend?

9 is Fine

I'm sitting here enjoying a nice rainy Saturday. This summer has been ridiculously dry so a rainy day is much appreciated!

I got out of the house early to try and beat the rain. Saddled up for my 9 mile run at FATS. To make it 9 miles I opted to run Great Wall and get the rest of the distance done on Skinny. Great Wall was a new trail to me - it's 7.5 miles, much shadier than Skinny, and also felt less hilly than Skinny. It does have ALOT of dips for the mountain bikers, they are kind of annoying to run up and down but it's ok. The last mile was basically one long hill and wore me down pretty good but I recovered from it. Great Wall is a beautiful, woodsy trail. Because this run was 9 miles I didn't want to kill myself out there so my pace was pretty easy. The temps were in the 70's and it was cloudy but not pouring yet. I fueled and hydrated very well this time - a pack of Honey Stingers and half a Nuun tablet in my water. Worked very well for me. This run was pretty great. I've been stressed out about alot of things lately, so it was really nice to just run it out for awhile. I didn't stress. I just kind of savored the run, enjoyed being outdoors, and took it all in. Wish I had taken a couple pictures but it wasn't really on my mind at the time.

However I did snap a picture of my delicious food from Genghis Grill. Freaking love this place.

So. The Inov8 Trailroc 226's. These were the evil bastard shoes that gave me blisters the size of Texas during my last obstacle race. I liked the shoes... but obviously there was a problem here. My guess was sizing - they were a 9.5 which is a half size up from my regular street shoes. I always go a half size up at least. Guess this calls for a size 10. To give this shoe another try I sent the 9.5's back and ordered 10's. They fit much better, but there's still the issue of heel slipping. I laced them accordingly but while walking my heels were still slipping. I feel like I am prone to heel issues and always have been. After a long walk I almost always end up with heel blisters. And I walked for MOST of the 9 hilly miles at Battlefrog. As far as actual RUNNING goes, I didn't have any issues at all in the new size 10's. Because I'm a mid/forefoot striker there's really no friction happening between the shoe and my heel.

Lacing Techniques

These shoes were pretty great today. They are zero drop but beefier than your typical floppy minimalist shoes. Protected my feet from hard rocks but still gave me plenty of foot control. The tread on these shoes is awesome, and that's a huge reason why I am trying to make this shoe work for me. They also did not tear up my feet as badly as my old New Balance Minimus (Minimuses? Minimii? What is the plural of this word!) and I wasn't dying to get out of my shoes and into my flip flops the instant my run was over. I actually wore them for like 2 hours afterwards as I milled around town doing errands and such. My heels weren't bothering me... but further testing is definitely needed with these shoes. I think tomorrow I will take them out on a recovery walk around my neighborhood and see how they feel. You might think this is not important, but I know that I will be walking alot at the Spartan Beast, and the Super on the very next day. I can't afford to get blisters with 2 very difficult races back to back. So if these shoes fail the walk test I'll have to send them back and maybe try the 150's or maybe the Reebok Spartan shoes.

Time to chill and do who knows what. Maybe find some food.....

14 Day Free Trial

It's Friday! Got my workout in for the day

Crappy gym selfies for everybody!

I did some back/bicep work with a little bit of legs and abs thrown in. And burpees of course, 18 of them non stop at the END of my workout. Oh! And the first thing I did after my warm up was tackle the rope. Got up to the first knot 3 times, then I looked at it and said "Why the hell not?" - Climbed the first knot AND the second knot! Booyah. After that I was out of steam for climbing and continued on with my workout. And I felt like a beast.

The only trouble I had was with fueling. This week I have encountered some fueling issues in the gym, and I am learning that what works for running might not always work for strength training. On the days when I go in the morning I have been eating a banana, sipping BCAA during, then a protein bar after. The last 2 days I went I had some nausea and just felt like crap afterwards. Today it may have been the fact that I did box jumps.. but just in case, I think I will adjust until I get to the root of the problem here. Because today the nausea came on about an hour after my workout and I've kind of been struggling with it all day, along with some tiredness and general "icky" feeling. My husband's suggestion was to sip a very light protein and water mix before and during my workout. I'll give it a shot and see if it helps.

In other news, I have begun a 14 day free trial! It's for the Personal Trainer Certification program with NASM. After doing alot of research I am pretty sure I am going to get my cert with NASM. It basically boiled down to 2 reasons

• They are highly respected within the personal trainer community. 
• I am impressed with the quality of their program and the amount of resources available to students.
• NASM has a focus on dealing with clients that have injuries. I have learned that most of us are injured - due to our sedentary society many of us are dealing with problems relating to the lower back, knee, shoulder, neck, etc, and even those who are more familiar with fitness may be dealing with injuries as a result of their activities. Injuries are bound to happen to all of us, and if they don't, then you are just inhuman! Anyway, I really like the emphasis NASM places on dealing with injuries and I would like to have that knowledge. 

So I have the 14 day free trial. I signed up for this to get a feel for NASM's program and to make sure I'm not going in way over my head. NASM is a hard program from what I have heard. But if I apply myself enough I know I will pass the exam. The trial is just online learning at this point, so I'm just kind of going through the lessons and "pre" learning - trying to absorb information before actually putting the money down and enrolling in the program. Once I enroll I will study an hour a day, take notes, then review my notes during my lunch break at work since I have nothing to do for 45 minutes. I'll use flash cards and take the practice exams in order to prepare for the real thing. And of course, I'll continue what I have been doing for the past several weeks - learning everything I can about fitness. Internet, my workouts in the gym, observing other people working out, observing trainers in the gym, etc. We can learn alot by observing others and experimenting with our own bodies - and I totally mean that in a non dirty way! A workout in the gym is like a science class - experiment with things until you find what works. It's one of the best ways to learn.

Self Image - A Perspective

Blah.

I dunno why, I've been in a funk all week.

I suppose it started on Monday when I didn't make any progress on the rope climb at the gym. I actually did worse. Nevermind the fact that I had just done a bunch of jumping pull ups, push ups on a stability ball, and dips before attempting the climb. I didn't meet my expectations and it killed my day. Then on Tuesday I did my interval run. When my watch is in interval mode it doesn't show me my pace. Come to find out my pace "in my brain" didn't match up to what the watch said at the end. Killer #2. Today's run - worked my ass off for a sub 9 min/mile 5k in my hilly neighborhood. 9:08. Plus my trail runs have been slow.

This week has made me increasingly aware of how others judge us. I witnessed a woman at the commissary who was wearing a shirt reading "I'm totally obsessed with Jesus!" ROLL HER EYES at me as a "rocker chick" mom of 2 young kids walked past, clearly judging this mom negatively based on her appearance. A man at work, known for being a flirt, drove his golf car straight past me to pick up the "pretty girls" and take them up to the building. We are all constantly judging and being judged based on appearance. I am realizing that I will be judged as such when I become a personal trainer. And I have a belly pouch and fat arms. My belly is stubbornly hard to lose because I suffer from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. My PCOS symptoms are so bad this week. Why does it have to be so hard for me?

I have allowed all of these feelings to get me down this week. Completely ignoring the fact that I have only been back in the gym for 2 weeks. I have only been doing long distance trail runs consistently for 3 weeks. It's completely unrealistic for me to expect results at this point. Improvements? Maybe. I was so caught up in my negativity that I blocked out the small victories. On Monday I managed to exactly replicate the soreness in my shoulders, chest, and back after completing the Battlefrog obstacle race. That means I did something awesome in the gym all on my own. And on Tuesday - I know I worked hard. Could I have worked harder? Maybe. But I do know the watch probably didn't average my pace correctly because of the walk breaks. This morning - I was only 8 seconds off of my goal. I'm going to continue to push myself harder on my weekday runs.

Even though I was once 200 lbs, I still struggle with my body image at times. My solution is to go back and look at old pictures to remind myself of how far I have come. This morning I took some bathroom selfies this morning to illustrate a point to myself. I have made so much progress. I am not fat and there are many people who have much more difficult struggles with weight. I can't let myself obsess over the last remaining pockets of pudge. I just have to trust that with time and hard work it will happen. And it already has a little bit - my work pants fit better than they did a month ago.

 

It's so easy for us to lose our perspective and forget where we came from. Whenever our self image is poor we have to remember the past and consider the journey it took to get to where we are now. And one hell of an epic journey it has been, filled with experiences, stories, and memories that can't be seen simply by looking at me. There is so much more to me than what I look like.

I'm not discouraged in the least. I will continue to work hard.

My diet will be tweaked a bit - trying to squeeze in more veggies with my meals and I'm switching out my current morning snack (oats with coconut sugar and cinnamon) for 2 hard boiled eggs - swapping carbs for more protein. I'm going to aim to eat protein with every lunch and dinner.

During EVERY run, gym workout, yoga session, whatever - I'm going to push myself and not quit until I've given it everything and I'm drenched in sweat.


...On a completely random note - look what showed up today! Looking forward to running another race with my Augusta/Columbia teammates!

Name Change

I've been wanting to change my blog's name for awhile now. My blog is evolving and I feel that the old name didn't really fit anymore. I felt that it needed to be something more simple and relatable. This isn't a "perfect" name, but it's simple and it accomplishes my purpose.

How do we live a long, healthy life? Run. (Or bike, swim, play a sport, etc. but running is my personal choice and is a foundation for many other activities). Lift - building strength is vital to increasing your athletic performance and keeping your bones/joints healthy. Conquer - life your life to the fullest, enjoy every victory, and live with an adventurous heart. That's really all there is to it!

I have come a long way. Looking back, it's been quite an adventure filled with many stories, new friends, and lessons learned. I have been training hard and it's only going to get crazier from here. Everything I have done has empowered me. Liberated me. Given me a new outlook on life. Shown me that I am capable of things I never dreamed of attempting.

So get out there, and get after your goals/ You'll be glad you did.

7.5 Miles and Emergency Shopping

It's Long Run Saturday once again!

I really put myself to work in the gym this week, so my muscles were still feeling sore this morning. I had done legs on Wednesday then unexpectedly did more legs with the personal trainer on Thursday.
Nevertheless, I dutifully set out for my 7 mile trail run, and I even upped it to 7.5 miles

Mile 5

Alot of things were working against me during this run. I wasn't feeling well yesterday - had some fast food for lunch and it made me sick for the rest of the day. Guess that's what I get for eating it! I felt good this morning but during the last half of my run it kind of "came back?" I also got a nasty side cramp within the first half mile. In addition to my sore legs, my right calf was being a jerk too. So for this run I took the pace pretty easy, and for the most part it was a great run even despite all my ailments. I struggled during the last 2 miles though. My body had enough by that point. But not only did I run the whole 7, I pushed it to 7.5 so I could get back to the trailhead faster. It may not have been pretty but I did it! I even stopped around mile 5 to take the picture above. It's a really pretty spot which overlooks a small valley.

This helped me look a little less insane

After my run I drove around Augusta to run some errands like I always do. But today I had 2 shopping emergencies. I wasn't planning on this so I was forced to go into stores as a sweaty post run monster. And I freaking STANK today. I don't usually stink after running. But it was hot as hell this morning - 85 degrees and very very humid. Like the kind of heat where you're already sweating before you even start running! I was sweating buckets man. Plus I had to reuse a sports bra due to my third one being out of commission (more on that later). I did the best I could to clean off with body wipes and I at least had an extra shirt with me. But I forgot my towel! Fortunately there was one in my truck. Thanks, Mr. Red Towel - you were a godsend. I also should have brought 2 bottles of water and will probably start doing that for these long runs. It's just too damn hot out there.

I felt pretty funky after my run. It would seem the bad stuff is not out of my system yet. So I got a pretty simple lunch - and I had Smoothie King for the first time in my life!

It was good! I got the Island something or other. Nice and tropical tasting.

The first shopping emergency - I had to go to Fleet Feet and pick up a Stick. My right calf issue is getting worse lately so I was going to get a Stick on Amazon. But after today it became clear - I need it BAD. Paid 40 bucks but it was much needed.

I like it so far. Used it for a couple minutes and my calf is feeling better. I plan on using this alot over the weekend!

The second emergency shopping trip was to try and procure a new sports bra. One of mine's zipper busted so now I'm kind of questioning my go-to sports bra's ability to hold up. I am not an easy fit for these things. The problem is I'm a 36D but I also have a very large upper body - broad shoulders, chest, and kind of a freakishly huge head. This makes the traditional sports bra impossible for me to wear, hence the front zip kind I currently have. I had a $10 off at Victoria's Secret and some people have said their sports bras are decent. Nope. Tried the Incredible and the Knockout. Just trying to get these things on was a workout in itself! Incredible? No adjustable straps. The cups fit well so I know it was the right size, but it was way too tight around my chest making it impossible to lift anything in the bra. With the Knockout I couldn't even close the back because it was so tight, but the molded cups in the bra were oddly loose which gave me old lady looking boobs. Massive failure at VS. I went to Dick's just to look around at whatever - and bam, right there - a 36D Moving Comfort Juno .. on SALE! But this didn't work for me either. Too small and too tight. With the straps all the way extended it was too short. Sigh. This is why I need a front zip. I guess I'll just stick to my Under Armor Protegee for now. It's a great bra for me, just worried about zippers breaking. At least they are on sale so I can replace my broken one for now. 

Now I'm home and not stinky anymore. Time to chill out for a little while and find some food!

Fitness Evaluation

Today I had my "Fitness Evaluation" at the gym. It's something they do for new members - set you up with a personal trainer, they identify any weaknesses you might have and recommend a training program.

The guy actually screwed up my scheduling. When I talked to him last week I told him evenings work for me, and he said he would check his schedule and call me back a day or two before my scheduled session. Well, the call I did receive was on Monday at 6pm, which was him leaving me a voicemail asking me if I was showing up to my 6pm session. Um, you never told me I had a session at 6. And I'm not going crazy, my husband heard the whole conversation and confirmed that this was the case. The trainer was cool about it though, and rescheduled me for today.

So I got in there and filled out a questionnaire. It was like 5 pages long and mostly talked about goals, but there was also some stuff about my current "stats", medical history, and eating habits. Once I was done with that he put me on the treadmill for about 10 minutes (Walking, not running) and get this - he apologized and said he had to "diffuse" a situation where 2 members got into a fight. Lolwtf?? I thought it was rather humorous. Guess once the testosterone gets flowing there's no telling what those guys might do. We went over my worksheet - where I had mentioned that I am training for upcoming races and he asked which ones in particular. I said Spartan and he said "Oh, those are no joke" so I say "I know, I've done 3 Sprints. I'm training for a back to back Super and Beast" and I think he was kind of taken aback by this. Lol. So he says "I'm going to show you how to get a good workout in 20 minutes using your own body weight" Ok.

The first thing we did was wall squats on a ball, 3 variations. First one was regular, second was toes turned outward, third was toes turned inward which is a variety I have not seen before. He said "That's the lowest I've ever seen someone squat during one of these" Ha. And that's WITH my legs still sore from yesterday! Next was some kettlebell swings, he gave me 10 lbs but I felt like it was too light. Then I did some jumping exercises. We moved on to the Bosu ball - this trainer was kind of nuts about the Bosu ball. Did squats on it and then more KB swings. I had to take these a little slower to be able to control my movements but they weren't too bad. Again with the Bosu ball I did a plank with my hands on the flat end of the ball, then did leg lifts from a plank position. Now we were done with the Bosu and moved over to an area of the room where he had a rope ladder laid out on the floor. The goal was to do push ups down the entire length of the ladder - put your arms on either side of a rung, do a push up, then move down the line and repeat, then come back the other way. He said I could take a break at the other end before coming back. Did I? Hell naw. He said "I've never seen a female do that many in a row - Well ok I did see one, she was in the Army and training for Airborne - she was a beast." Shoot, I'll take that! I did a second set, and I actually started to get pretty worn out towards the end of it. The last exercise was what really kicked my ass. Sprint as fast as I can to a cone, shuffle around the cone, then run backwards to the point where I had started. Sprint all the way to the other side of the room, then turn around and do "jumping burpees". That's really the only way I can describe them. Jump out as far as you can, then drop down for a push up and come back up. I got really worn out halfway through. But once I got to the end I was surprised to learn that 20 minutes had gone by and the workout was over.

It was a good workout - it probably could have been a little intensified for me since it's meant to be a HIIT style total body workout done in a short period of time. I wasn't really worn out until the end of the pushup segment and the jumping burpees. The trainer was not "my type", he was friendly but the whole thing felt very rushed and I feel like he generalized me. He definitely gave me a "fat loss" style workout, and while that is a goal of mine, I feel like this is probably the workout he gives to most women because the majority of them want to lose weight and do 20 minute workouts. I do like to train with these methods - one of the best workouts I've ever done was a HIIT body weight session here at my house - but I can't reach my goals using only this method. I have alot of goals and I don't exactly fit the mold. I do crazy endurance races that most people don't. He also kind of implied that females should do different workouts and he told me a story about his wife asking him to train her and he advised her to see a female trainer. I'm so glad I have a husband who believes women should train no differently than men :)

Anywhoo - I'm glad I had this experience. He said my form was great, that's a good thing coming from a trainer. I guess I don't have any weaknesses because he didn't say anything. I learned some new things and it kind of reminded me that I should maybe add some plyometric training here and there. I can take away some things from today and apply them in the future. Plus it left me sweaty and feeling good, and that's how it should always be!

Gym in the morning and rope climbing

Today's been pretty swell. I've been in a great mood. Now that I'm going to a gym I am going to go Monday nights with my husband and Wednesday mornings. Trying to keep the exercise happening in the mornings since I have no choice but to run before the sun comes up (fun fact - it was 100 degrees here today!)

I got up at 5 - had no problems, timed everything perfectly, and knocked out a nice triceps/chest workout with a little bit of shoulders, legs, and abs. I gotta say, it feels pretty empowering to be the only chick in the weight area with a bunch of guys.

Every day that I go to the gym it is my mission to work on the rope climb. Why? It's found at many obstacle races, particularly Spartan Race who makes you do 30 burpees if you can't climb the rope. In a few months I have a Super and a Beast - that's 2 to 3 rope climbs in one weekend! Needless to say, I must prepare!

This is the rope climb at the 2013 Georgia Spartan Sprint. I'm second from the right, about to enter the mud pool and attempt to climb that sucker.

It was a colossal failure. I grabbed the rope and pulled up with all my might and did not move an inch. Plus I had no knowledge of rope climbing technique back then.

1 year and 2 more Spartan Sprints later, I was no closer to climbing a rope. Then at Battlefrog I attempted the climb and at least made it part of the way up.

So a few weeks ago when I was talking to a coworker about joining a gym, I mentioned my experience at Battlefrog and that I needed to practice on a rope. He told me that Gold's Gym had one, so that sealed the deal for me. I have now tried to climb their ropes 3 times. The first day I didn't make it up the knotted rope. I made it up the straight rope a little bit. But the knotted one is important because that is the type that will be waiting for me at Spartan Race.

Yesterday my husband showed me some pointers and coached me as I attempted the climb. To get up the first segment of the rope, I had to pull myself up with my arms and pull my legs up far enough for my feet to stand on the knot below me. Every time I tried I ended up with my butt on the knot, sitting there in mid air on the rope. I did not have the strength. 

This morning (less than 2 days later) I faced the knotted rope once again. This time I got up that same knot TWICE. And got myself back down in slow and controlled movements. I tried a third time but I was out of gas by that point. I was ecstatic! I was so happy about my small victory that I shared it with the Spartan Chicked Facebook page and my post got over 100 likes. Plus someone shared this video with me - it has some great progressions into rope climbing which focus on getting familiar with the rope while you're not actually climbing it yet.

Today I learned that there is hope for us "aspiring" rope climbers. It seems impossible at first but with practice you can progress pretty quickly. I can't reach the top right now, but I will one day!

Celebrating Independence

Howdy yall! Happy 4th!

I just got back from a nice 10k trail run

Well, let me rephrase - nice and not nice at the same time. You know, the whole love/hate relationship with running. Today I went out there to do the best I could, and it was not easy!


I went up to FATS (Forks Area Trail System) in Edgefield, SC. A series of mountain bike trails that are also popular with runners. I have been out here one time before (details here), and today I opted to run the Skinny trail once again. I haven't been consistent with my long runs so I figure a 6 mile trail is about right at this time. I have some big distance races in a few months so I am getting back into half marathon training. And I plan to do the bulk of it on trails.

Near the trailhead

I wanted to push myself today but I didn't wanna go race pace fast, so I guess you could call this a tempo run. The first 3 miles are pretty much all downhill or straight so I was going pretty fast. Probably too fast. I'm not always the greatest when it comes to pacing myself. So by the time I got to around mile 3 I was actually kind of tired. And this is where it starts to be more uphill. There aren't any steep climbs here, the hills are more gradual but they are long. The last 2 miles were a struggle. I definitely went too fast early on and I was paying for it now. I tried to at least speed up where the trail was flat to make up for some of the slowness. But I cranked out an even 6.2 miles before approaching the trailhead. I was literally watching the clock so I could be done. I was so worn out. But it felt so good. All the pain I felt turned to bliss. I was hot and sweaty and it was so very right. I walked the remaining .3 miles back up to the parking lot and stopped to take some pics and just take in the beautiful views.

Trailhead

My watch always lags when I'm out in the woods, probably because the reception isn't great out there. So my pace is always off by a few minutes. It's annoying. After it's all caught up and figured the time it took to travel the distance, it at least shows me the accurate pace at the end. I was hoping I'd be somewhere in the 9-10 minute/mile range.

11:01 min/mile.

Ugh.

Why the hell was I so slow? I felt like I was going pretty fast in the beginning, and yeah I did end up slowing down towards the end but I still gave it everything I had. I was feeling down on myself for a little while... until I thought about it a little more.

First, there's this.

Uh, GPS, not sure what you were doing there in the beginning... but I assure you, I was not moving at a 17 min/mile pace. I could probably walk faster than that. So that's a big part of it.

Second fact - trails are harder than roads. Most people are naturally gonna go slower on trails, especially if there are hills involved. Then I tried to remember the last time I actually ran on the trails, aside from a OCR where I'm not running fast because I need energy for the obstacles too. I couldn't remember the last time I actually went out for a RUN on a trail. I guess I'm pretty out of practice.

Speaking of out of practice, I haven't even run in a week and a half due to the blisters. I've also completely fallen off the wagon with my diet, so all the crap food I ate was doing a number on my stomach this morning. This definitely affected my run today. The weather? Actually not bad, was in the 70's and not humid.

Then I went and looked up the first run I did here on Nike +. I ran that in 1:14, a 12:11 min/mile. I shaved more than a minute off of my pace today.

So having considered all these factors I don't feel so bad now. I will get faster with practice.

I came home and enjoyed this

Today I'm thankful I woke up in a free country. I have all my life's needs met and then some, and I had the ability to get outside and run. Not just through my own good luck and fortune, but because of the simple fact that I was born in America and I can go out and run around in the forest if I want to. There's a lot we do here that is taken for granted. I am grateful every day, but especially so on my nation's birthday. For everything that went into building the nation - the contributions of our troops and civilians, and even of my dad's ancestors (my mom is from Germany) - everything that brought us to where we are today.

I'm not overly patriotic. We have an American flag on the wall in our garage and that's about it. But I do have these crazy ass PJ pants...

Tonight we're just gonna chill. My husband has commanded me to make jello shots! So we're just gonna hang out on the back porch with some music and drinks.

Joined a gym

For the first time in my newfound healthy life, I have joined a gym!

I haven't been in a gym since losing 35 lbs and embracing a fit lifestyle. I've just kind of been doing things on my own. But it's something I've been wanting to do for awhile now. I feel there are certain things I can't accomplish at home, and that a gym has the things I need to take my training to the next level. And in my own pursuit of knowledge I want to be familiar with a gym again, having not been in one for so long.

So the plan is to go with my husband on Monday nights, then go by myself 1-2 more times each week. He was a gym rat before his surgeries. He spent 2-3 hours in the gym every day during the year he was in South Korea as a way to pass the time. So he can show me all the crazy lifting techniques currently not known to me!

We went last night and got me all signed up. Gold's Gym in Augusta on Bobby Jones - the main reason I chose it is because a coworker told me they have a CLIMBING ROPE!!! I got the $20 a month membership so I can bring my husband as a guest, since he's not going to be going often enough to make a membership worth it for him. I can also go to the Gold's on Walton Way and take classes if I want. Not currently interested but who knows, maybe I'll want to do a yoga class or a bootcamp. Good to have that option open to me.

We warmed up on the rowing machine - it's a good one. Then we went over to this series of bars - there were all different kinds of angled bars, pull up bars, step ups, etc. It kind of looked like playground equipment. You could stretch on them or use them to do things like push ups, dips, pullups, etc.

Of course we did the climbing rope. They have both knotted and un knotted. I actually found the unknotted one easier. I was able to get about 1/4 of the way up. It's gonna take alot of practice but I will make those ropes my bitch. I'm tired of failing rope climbs at races, and with the SuperBeast a few months away I would really love to not do all those burpees.

Then we did some various lifting. He helped me with a few things I wanted to try like deadlifts and back squats. He had some trouble figuring out what I was capable of lifting. First he sets me up with a 90 lb deadlift (um, NO!!!) then he goes and grabs 10lb weights for some flys? I did impress him with my abilities a few times though. My favorite was when he set me up with a medicine ball for push ups - got in push up position with my toes on the ball. After doing 5 he started to say "Good job" but I pushed out 10!

Oh - how could I forget this??? I kept on having wardrobe malfunctions. I have the Under Armor Protegee sports bra - it's the zip up kind, a necessity for a big chested and broad shouldered person like me. I can't get a normal sports bra over my head and arms. Well the zipper kept popping open! It happened like 3 times! I kept having to run to the locker room to fix it. This has never happened to me before. I hope it doesn't continue to happen or I might have to find another kind of sports bra.

We were there for a long time just kind of going through stuff. He checked my form through everything and he said it was pretty good in most cases. I'm really trying to make sure my form is right. Nothing we did was overly intense, it was slow paced and educational. I like it! I think we're gonna go back this weekend.