New Training Plan

Hey guys!

I have felt a little lost this past week in terms of what is next for me fitness-wise. I’ve been lukewarm about all of my workouts since the race because I haven’t been working towards anything specific and I wasn’t sure about any races in the future. After this week, I realized that I work better with a plan and a goal to work towards. So I created a new race/workout plan that will take me until The Blessing of the Fleet, a 10 mile road race in Narragansett, RI. I walk/ran it last year but this year I know I can definitely run the whole thing. Right now, three of my ladies from home are planning on running it too and I couldn’t be more excited! I think my running buddy Jess is going to run it as well. Hooray for a fun race!

Knowing that I already have the endurance to run 10 miles just makes me want to get better. And by better, I mean faster. And stronger. My new race plan will hopefully get me there.

Take a look at the plan below. It’s based loosely on Hal Higdon’s Intermediate 10 mile training plan. The plan includes the running I need to do to be ready for the race, the free classes that Hoboken sponsors in the summer, the yoga class we have on Wednesdays at work, and the bootcamp Living Social membership I bought. I still have a rest day scheduled each week, so I don’t think I will be overtraining. This may get wiggled around a little as time goes on, but I like how it looks and I think it will work.

While we’re talking about types of workouts, I tried anti-gravity yoga with my mom last weekend. It was such a cool experience! I didn’t get any photos of the actual studio but here’s an idea of what it looked like.

(source)

Our swings were lower because it was a restorative class. It was a fun class and it really stretched me out. I had a pain in between my shoulders from the race that I couldn’t get to go away but this class got it out! I really want to go back and do the higher one, because I hear it’s more of a workout. I would definitely recommend this class to anyone who has the opportunity to give it a try. Flying in a yoga class is a pretty awesome way to workout!

What unique kind of workout class have you taken?

Week 2 Wrap of Best Body Bootcamp

Hello friends! I hope you had a great week and a happy Saint Paddy’s Day! I spent the weekend up in Boston with some of my favorite people.

This weekend was week 2 of phase 1 of Tina’s Best Body Bootcamp and week 5 of my half marathon program. I’m so happy it worked out that both of these plans matched up and I had to do cardio in Tina’s plan on the same days as I had to run in Hal’s plan. Hooray for good timing!

I really love doing Tina’s plan because I am doing strength training moves that really challenge me like never before. Another part of the plan is to pick two personal goals to complete each day.  I kept the same two goals (taking a multivitamin and eating one serving of protein a day) and succeeded each day in completing them! They have become a normal routine for me so I am going to try two new goals for phase 2 (which starts today). Those two goals are going to be to only eat meat at one meal a day and to unplug from the computer and TV for a half hour each day. I really struggle with this because I spend all day on the computer at work then I come home and use my iPad or watch TV for most of the night. I think these are two achievable goals but ones that I will have to put my mind to.

In half marathon training news, I hit a huge milestone for me.  I ran 8 miles without stopping or walking once yesterday! I never in a million years thought I could run that far, and with this new distance comes a new confidence. For the first time since I started training for the race back in January, I know I can do this. Each week I doubted I’d be able to add another week to my mileage or ever finish 13.1 miles. But now I can say that I know I have it in me and I know I will finish. In fact, I’m looking forward to adding more mileage each week. I can’t wait to get to 9 miles this weekend because I know I can do it!

This photo makes me so proud!

Is anyone else signed up for the Cox Providence Half Marathon or doing Tina’s Best Body Bootcamp? What are your keys to success during your training?

This is the start of something good.

Hey all! I hope you had a healthy start to the week. Did you set your healthy intention for the day?

Since my post yesterday I have decided to take on another fitness challenge. After seeing Julie’s and Courtney’s posts this morning about Best Body Fitness’s Bootcamp  I knew this was just the challenge I needed.  I was super bummed because the registration closed on the 4th, but I was so lucky that Tina reopened registration for yesterday only! For $25 I will be getting 8 weeks of a bootcamp plan with the chance to win prizes every week and a cash prize at the end. I can’t share any specific workouts but I will say that I think it is going to fit in really well with my current half marathon training.

Like I was saying yesterday, my strength training left something to be desired. I used strength days to do a few planks and do a few bicep curls but not anymore! Yesterday’s stretch and strength workout left me tired and wiped in the best way possible. The workout focused on full-body strength.  I did the weights circuit three times through then followed up with 20 minutes on the elliptical.

The one move that was the most difficult for me was the new-to-me Shoulder Press with Leg Extension.

I used 15 pound weights for the first set but I was super struggling through that set. I dropped down to 10 pounds but I wish I could have done it with 12 pound weights (we don’t have those at my gym). This move is a killer and a total body toner.

One final aspect of this plan is that we have to set two personal goals. Mine for this week are:

• take my vitamins everyday
• eat at least one serving of veggies a day

I say eat because I usually get my veggies through juicing so I feel like I should actually eat them once in a while.

So there you have it, my new fitness challenge! I think I am going to do a before and after post with pictures…eek! I think this plan is what I have been missing and I’m hoping that this plan, coupled with my 1/2 marathon training and tracking my nutrition, will really be what makes the difference in my pursuit of healthiness. Stay tuned!