getting back to running

for the past 10 weeks my health/fitness priorities have been completely dominated by the plan that Steve [at FitnessPoynters.com] made for me. the breakdown looks something like this:

weight training x 5 days
abs x 4 days
HIIT cardio x 3 days
regular cardio x 3 days

my original plan was to run on the 'regular' cardio days, but when i dove into the plan, that quickly changed. during the first week my mind/body was  mess. the meal plan was such a radical change for me [not that the meal plan is radical, just more that it was the polar opposite of what i'd been doing] that i was worn out for the first little bit. and heaven knows i'm not running the day after leg day... or the next two days!

i've slowly added more running back in, but my longest run in months have been several 5 milers. i wasn't too concerned because my next race was in november and i figured i had plenty of time to get ready. but then i ended up getting off on a saturday that i thought i'd be working... and you know i just had to sign up for a local race... a half.

did i mention it's in two weeks?

my plan is to slowly continue to build on my base, and i WILL walk/run the half. pretty soon i'll begin marathon training and the last thing i want is to be injured because i rushed into a distance i wasn't ready for.

i am very happy to be running more again, and i'm really excited for some fall races!

tell me about your fall races!!

get over yourself!

sometimes we [or people we love] are dealt really crappy hands. i don't pretend to know or understand everything about faith but i think that sometimes you can find blessings hidden in what seems like the biggest crap storm you've ever seen. 

do these blessings make up for what's going on? probably not in your mind. not in my mind right now, not at all.  but i do trust that God has a plan. 

i can only speak for myself and this is what is resounding loud and clear in my heart... i need to live more for others than myself. and i haven't been doing that. not.at.all. i spend so much of my time thinking about myself and how things affect me, and so on and so forth. more time thinking about myself than the people i love and care about. and that's not the person i want to be. 

so i'm challenging myself and you all too...

first:::: what's important to you? who is important to you?

second:::: what are you doing about it? it can be big or small, but make sure you're doing something. don't put if off because YOU are busy. make the time. if you love somebody, tell them, show them. earnestly make it a priority everyday. 

rear view mirror:::: august 2012

running:::: 
16 miles.... oh yeah, it was that bad! but honestly, running has not been my priority the past couple of months. my priority has been in the gym and i didn't have any races coming up, so i'm okay with that. september is the month that it changes though, i'm running a half on the 29th [it'll be #7 of 12 in 2012] so it's time to get the running bug again!

i also met another amazing person at lululemon last week, mara. i'm excited to meet up with her [not only because she's so awesome] but because she has a lot of great ideas about the asheville run community. her vision for the local run community is so in line with mine and hopefully we can get something together!

weight training::::
i just finished week 8 of my training plan! it's crazy, but i actually really enjoy it [well except for ab work.. some things never change!]. i like the way clean eating makes me feel, and the workouts make me feel really powerful! who knows, maybe i'll even be able to keep up with matthew at the spartan sprint next year [yeah right!].

reading::::

the virgin suicides - on my long list of older books that i wanted to read. glad i read it but it was just okay. a little weird but i mean, what did i expect?
the beach house - pretty typical jane green, everything ties up with a neat bow at the end.
cold mountain - really good and also very cool how a lot of the book takes place near where i live.
where we belong - i was really excited for this book, but it was just okay. i really felt like she ended the story just when it got really good. maybe she'll continue it later?
matched - young adult trilogy but i kept seeing it everywhere so when i saw it at the library i scooped it up. very easy to read but it's actually an interesting story. i'm reading book 2 now.

life::::
gearing up for my favorite time of year!! love the cooler weather, the football, the pumpkin patch and apple orchard! fall is really beautiful in the mountains, if you're thinking about visiting asheville, now's the best time in my opinion!

setbacks

when i complain or have a bad day, i try really hard to keep things in perspective. i have a lot to be thankful for. but if i'm being honest, sometimes i let the little things get to me. 

this morning i had my 7 week weigh in. i know i haven't talked about it a lot, but the new plan that Steve [from Fitness Poynters] has got me on has been going really well. [ps... i do plan on doing a full evaluation/review of the plan once i've finished the 12 weeks. maybe even some before/after pics if i'm brave enough.] 

but this morning i had a 'set back'. i gained 2.5 pounds. 

and i was pissed. 

this i what i like to call the great scale debacle. to weigh or not to weigh? if i lose, it's never enough. if i gain i feel like i failed. and the failure would be easier to deal with if i'd cheated this week. but i didn't. i busted my ass in all my workouts and ate clean. beyond frustrating. 

but i ate my clean breakfast, listened to a great message about how we make the small things big, then went to workout. 

by the end of my workout, i was over it. isn't it crazy what endorphins can do? while brad was finishing up i went to sit outside to wait and think. while i was sitting there i started reading the lululemon manifesto that's printed on the bag. one part of it stuck out to me like a sore thumb. 

 

life is full of setbacks... success is determined by how you handle setbacks. BOOM.