FitnessQuests

Here's a free thank you gift to my readers.

Hey guys and gals!

I just wanted to take a second to thank all of you that have been reading my blog and spreading the word to others. Although the reading base is still low, it seems to grow a little everyday as you guys continue to pass the important information on to your friends and loved ones. For that and for being pretty much the coolest people ever, I thank you.

So, instead of a post today, I wanted to give you something a little better. I just picked up an ebook written by Mike Geary who is a fitness and nutrition author that I greatly respect. Mike, like me, is a big advocate of using better health to have a better body. He's used that formula to write what is now the best selling six-pack abs book on the internet called "Truth About Abs". You can pick up a copy here Fatlossessentials.com if you're interested. It really is everything it says it is.

A few minutes ago though I got my hands on another book of his called Training & Nutrition Insider Secrets for a Lean-Body. It's normally about $18 but Mike has decided to let a few of us give it away to our readers and I was lucky enough to get on board for you guys. It's pretty substantial too. Its about 65 pages and touches on a bunch of helpful topics. To grab a free copy just click the link below and it will open in your browser in PDF form. I recommend you save it to your hard drive cause you'll want to have a copy to look over later.

Download free ebook here!

If you know someone else that might be interested you can send them here or you can simply email them the book. I hope you enjoy it and get something great out of it! I'll be back with some new stuff in a couple days.

 

Until next time,

Kris

 

PS: Don't stop spreading the news now!Hit the like button below and give others a chance for some free stuff. Also, if you haven't subscribed yet the Facebook like button toward the top right-hand side of the page will get that done. You can also retweet, Digg, Stumble, bebo, myspace, email, or send the link by carrier pigeon if you want to. Whatever gets the word out :)

Lessons learned from my first 10K!

Kris here. I know that running is Laura's gig but she actually talked me into running a 10K with her on Saturday and I had to tell you all about it!

First, as some of you may know, I'm not much of a runner. In fact, I quite simply don't do it. I'll jump on a treadmill every now and again and grind out a run/walk mile but really its not my thing and I've never run outside. So this was a lot of firsts for me and while I didn't win, I was happy with how I did.

So first of all, I was a little nervous the night before so I only got a couple hours of sleep. Laura actually spent the night at my place so we could just get up and go since the race was early and meeting in Central Park amongst 10,000 other people is pretty difficult sometimes. Really I think she did it because she thought I'd bail on her if she wasn't here to drag my lazy ass out of bed.

Anyway, we got up, hit a local eatery and off we went to Central Park for my first 10K. If you've never done one of these official races, the first thing you'll notice is that they group you by how fast you are. If you say you run a 5 minute mile or less, you're in front, if you don't know what you run like me, you're in the back. There were still people behind us but the slow group was large. This was comforting.

Once it started it took us about 11 minutes to work our way to the starting line. They give you what's known as a D-tag which your strap to your shoe that is attached to your race number. This activates when you cross the starting line so they don't count the time it took for you to get to the line.

Now because I don't really do the running thing, and honestly not much cardio, I kind of thought that I'd get about half a mile and then fall down and die or just end up walking the rest. Amazingly enough though, I actually made it about 3.5 miles before I had to start walking. Then I walk/ran the rest of it.

Honestly I should have been able to run more but I really messed up by not hydrating myself enough. I have a fear of port-o-potties and I really was afraid to drink too much water. It was stupid and I learned my lesson.

As we were waiting for the race to begin, I started getting thirsty but there was no one giving away (or even selling) water so we were a little screwed. Just in the beginning of the race Laura and I got separated because she found a water table that I ended up missing in all the crowd so I was on my own. From there on, water became my achilles heel.

So here's a play by play.

ABout 1000 feet into it I lost Laura to a water table that I should have taken advantage of. So the next 6 or so miles would be run alone. I decided before I started that since my goal was simply to run as far as possible without stopping in the beginning that I was going to really go at a slow pace. The beginning of the race seems to be where most people are just trying to get their pace in order so there was a lot getting around slower people and being passed by much faster people. It was a little nerve wracking with sooo many people shuffling around.

I knew that all the miles were marked but somehow amongst all the craziness I missed the first mile marker. I remember being really scared that a mile was a lot longer than I'd anticipated. I can't tell you how relieved I was when I passed the 2 mile mark. It was extra thrilling because I realized I was still running at 2 miles and I really didn't see that happening. I was tired but not so tired that I couldn't keep going. I was really getting thirsty though!

Midway through the mile there was another water table but I was bent on not stopping so I ran past it. This was a mistake. Just around the next bend there was a HUGE hill that was steep and probably half a mile long. I was already tired and dehydrated. My body was starting to overheat and water was sounding amazing. I didn't know if I'd be able to take the hill but to my surprise I did it and still had a little left in the tank.

At this point I crossed the 3 mile mark. 10K is about 6.2 miles so I was almost halfway through. Off in the distance I could see a guy with a fire-hose pointed up in the air that people were running under. I was fixated on this and made sure to position myself to get under the cool water. Problem is that I was so fixated on the hose that I completely missed the water table on the other side of the course. As I ran under the hose I noticed the water table ahead but i was so refreshed from the hose that I decided I could make it to the next one.

That feeling lasted for about 20 seconds before I started overheating. My mouth was dry, my body was hot, I was light headed, and I was not happy. I kept looking at all the people that were now walking and without much thought I suddenly found myself walking too. It was like my legs betrayed me. I never gave them permission to stop! I guess I just hit a wall though and when my body was ready to stop, there wasn't much I was gonna do about it.

The interesting thing was, walking didn't feel much better! If didn't stop the body heat or the I'm about to pass out feeling. I barely helped at all. I needed water and fast. After a few thousand feet of run/walking we passed a volunteer telling us water is straight ahead and on the right. Just hearing this was enough to give me some strength so Iaunched back into a run while looking for the water table. If any of you have ever been to Central Park, you know there are a lot of different trails and court yard type areas.

I was very busy looking for the table that I'd seen with every other water stop and I missed the giant enclave. After running past it, I looked ahead didn't see a water table and realized that this must have been where the water was and I missed it! I couldn't believe it. I'd felt like I was going to pass out for the last two water stops and missed them both. Now there was probably another mile to go!

Being the stupid, overly competitive person I am, I actually kept running as long as I could which was probably another half mile. Luckily, toward the end of the race they started setting up the water tables more frequently. So at that point, I finally saw a water table coming up and stopped running. I wasn't going to miss this one. I grabbed two cups, one to drink, and one to pour on my hands to cool off with and then I took back off into the race.

Feeling great now, I actually started sprinting a little. I was weaving in and out of the crowd and even though this was almost five miles in, I was feeling good!. After about 20 seconds of sprinting though I was reminded that I'm not a runner! So I slowed it down to a jog and then alternated walking and running from there.

One thing that really surprised me is that pace was more important to energy conservation than anything else. I don't mean, staying slow either. When I was getting to the point that I couldn't run anymore and I got stuck behind someone really slow, it was not the blessing I thought it would be. It actually made it much harder to keep going. Dropping my pace was worse for my energy levels than increasing it. In fact, when I was stuck behind someone, the mere act of speeding up to pass them was invigorating.

Now at the end of the race I'm really starting to get tired and people were slowing down all over the place. I can a little way in the distance was the 6 mile mark so I figured I probably had about .3 miles to go but I was out of gas. I noticed all the people around now we running though. No one wanted to be walking at the end of the race, everyone wants to triumphantly run past the finish line. I tried to keep up. I really didn't want to stop but just after I hit the 6 mile mark I saw someone else walking and it just made it a little bit OK. I fell into the trap and started walking.

After about 10 seconds of walking though the crowds started getting bigger, you could hear the people cheering ahead, and it was enough to get my legs moving again. I knew I couldn't just jog it though, I only had a limited time before my legs gave out again and that tenth of a mile seemed to go on forever. My best chance was to start really running.

I started in a jog and slowly started passing people, getting a little faster with each person I passed. Even though thousands of people had already crossed the finish-line, I was the fastest on the course at that moment and the faster I ran, the faster that finish line came up in front of me. WIth a few large stomping exhausted steps, I finally crossed the finish line and for the first time in the last 1 hour, 7 minutes, and 4 seconds, a huge smile went over my face that I just couldn't shake. I'd just finished my first 10K!

After the race I met up with Laura and we went out to a local diner and grabbed brunch and discussed the idea of continuing my running career. I have to say that I really liked it a lot but its still not what my goals are about. Its not two days later and my legs still aren't fond of movement. I have to say though, I put my name in the lottery drawing for eligibility to run the NYC Marathon this year, and if I get in, I may have to change up my goals a little. After all, 26.2 miles is going to require a bit more training than 6.2!

Until next time,

Kris

When am I an athlete?

Hey all, it's Laura.

You may recall that like many of you, I'm pretty new at the whole consistent-fitness-routine thing.  To actually follow a plan, follow through on it, and accomplish something is still a very new concept, and something I'm still sort of surprised I actually did.

It's back to the basics now, as it's about 13 weeks till my NEXT half-marathon in June.  So I'll be returning to a 5 day per week plan, and will likely be trying my hand at overdistance training--more details on that once I have it all worked out.  I'll keep everyone posted on ideas and tips as I train for this race, which is in Lake Placid and reportedly has a couple monster hills.  I took a week off after the Disney race, part of which I was laid flat with a bad cold, but now I'm looking forward to lacing up those running shoes again.

But I was thinking about a conversation I had with a friend the other day... "It's so awesome you've become an athlete, Laura," she said.

"Nah, I'm a new runner.  Athletes are pros."

"Come on, you've completed a half-marathon, and have more in the future.  That makes you an athlete!"

So I've been trying to figure out exactly what makes someone an athlete, and when it is safe to call yourself one.  I'm still not sure.  To call myself an athlete sounds like trying to be something I'm not; but then again, I do train consistently and work towards pretty admirable fitness goals.  (I've entered the lottery for this year's NYC Marathon, by the way--I have about a 1 in 20 chance of getting in, so we'll see!)  I guess the big difference between me and what I consider athletes is plain old body type:  I'm still curvy and not very muscular, when I consider athletes to be compact, toned, and trim.  I suppose, then, that I would land somewhere in between, with aims to work my way over to my own definition of athlete.

The first step to get there is to get back on the roads--which starts with four miles today!

The wonder of achieving a goal

Hey all, after being MIA for entirely too long, it’s Laura here—and I have good news!

 

 I completed my first half-marathon!!

 

Some of you may have been wondering why I fell off the earth, and I’ll be honest—I hit a bit of a rough patch with my running.  I pulled a muscle near that same injured knee, and then had some other issues that were completely unrelated to running but nevertheless prevented me from continuing my training.  With the date of my half-marathon looming ever nearer, it became more and more important to simply build a base for the distance required, whether it was walking OR running.  Due to the complications to which I could do nothing but accept and adapt, I had to tweak my goal to just finish the damn thing.  I knew I wouldn’t be able to run as much as I wanted to, but the very thought of crossing a major finish line was still very exciting to me.

These were the thoughts and hopes going through my mind at the ungodly hour of 4AM, where I was waiting in the (surprisingly cold!) parking lot of Epcot to go to the race starting line for the Disney Princess Half-Marathon in Orlando.  The starting gun went off for my group at 6:21AM, and my 13.1 mile journey began.  It was exactly the kind of race atmosphere I had wanted:  supportive and encouraging, with many other women running their debut half-marathon as well.  We were all in the same boat, women who had faced various challenges and wanted the pride and sense of accomplishment in knowing we had each reached a major goal. 

Throughout the race course, there were bits of entertainment to keep everyone going:  a pirate ship manned by Capt. Jack Sparrow, a few of the Disney princes cheering us on, and various characters posing with you to take pictures.  The highlight, hands down, was at the halfway point where you would run through Cinderella’s Castle at the Magic Kingdom, cheered on by a prince and princess, footmen, and live music playing.  The race finally ended back in the Epcot parking lot, where I crossed the finish line with my arms raised overhead, cheering.  My parents had joined me at Disney World to support me, and they cheered as I received my very first medal…it was a perfect culmination of all the hard work I’d put in to be able to cross that finish line.

There were drawbacks, as I’d known there would be:  I didn’t finish in the time I wanted due to having to walk as well as run the race, and due to the huge crowd there were times I WANTED to run but could not because we were all bottlenecked into a small area.  There was a point at mile three where I thought of the 10 miles still looming ahead and for a few minutes was already exhausted, just thinking of the long way I had to go.  I simply had to turn off that part of my brain and take everything one step at a time, which made the entire race much easier.

And now I can always be counted among the groups who have completed a half-marathon.  The most exciting part to me is that I hope this has opened a door into many more half-marathons; I can continue to improve and build up my running, and enjoy completing half-marathons for a very long time.  I even have another half already lined up, the Lake Placid Half Marathon in June.  I think a lot of people, once they achieve their big goal, might feel a sense of being let down, a feeling of “Well, now what?”  Thankfully I don’t feel that at all because I have the next race already planned, but instead have that continued sense of excitement and even a bit of drive to try and improve my time. 

The big goal, the next big dream, is the New York City Marathon next year, 26.2 miles that currently scare the hell out of me.  Truth be told, I’m sure they’ll scare the hell out of me until the day after I complete it.  That race—and who knows, maybe other marathons to follow—would be the ultimate achievement.  The smaller races I run here in NYC will count towards a guaranteed entry for next year, so I have lots of time to prepare. 

Allow me to tell you, while I’m still enjoying my elation from completing the race, that anyone can achieve a similar goal if they put their minds to it.  In a matter of months I’ve gone from little physical activity (comparatively, anyway, as in NYC you have to walk a lot) to completing a half-marathon, with plans to keep on going.  I may be young, but I saw many older women on that race course this weekend, some easily in their sixties and seventies.  I’m sure they would join me in saying it’s never too late to set a goal, and to set your mind to achieving it.

Why YOU should run a race

Hey Fellow Runners, it's Laura.

I know it's been a few days since there's been a running post, but there's been a very good reason:  I was preparing for a race!  It was a low-key, four mile race, but also a qualifier for the 2011 New York City Marathon!  This was my first timed race, running the same loop as a Fun Run I'd completed a month ago.  I knew my unofficial time from that race, and my only goal now was to improve that time--and to finish, of course.

A lot of runners, especially when starting out or if they are not particularly fast, might avoid official races.  It's easier to run by yourself, with no official scary clock staring you down, just trying to let the miles pass beneath you and to get the job done.  But a race has its own exciting atmosphere and its own benefits, making it an exciting event to try.

Races in general (we're not talking about the Olympics here, where obviously everyone is elite) are full of runners of all skill levels, runners who are there for a multitude of reasons.  They may be trying to win the top prize, or the prize for their age group, or to set a personal record (PR) for themselves, or just to finish the damn race and say they ran a certain number of miles.  My favorite part though is that while everyone may be running for their own personal reasons, there is another reason everyone shares:  to have fun!  The longer the race, the more you could argue that it's not necessarily "fun," but everyone is there to express their love of a sport that is both independently- and team-driven.  Every runner wants all the others to succeed.  If a runner sees another runner faltering, she won't laugh and make sure he doesn't finish.  Instead, you'll hear support and encouragement, because everyone knows how important it is to cross that finish line.

And crossing that finish line really is amazing!  It's an accomplishment that you have done for yourself, powered by your own two legs.  So if official races have intimidated you due to the crowds, or never attracted you due to the rules or distances, I definitely encourage you to get out there and sign up for one.  You just might find yourself pushing harder to improve your time, or having an unspoken friendly competition with the runner just ahead of you--you know you can take him!  Oh, and when you run under that huge FINISH sign, I recommend you raise your arms over your head and revel in the fact that you got yourself out there and completed a race, which is always something to remember and be proud of!

And by the way:  when I crossed the finish line, I did so in five minutes less than my previous time.  All this training is paying off!  Now I have a new PR, one I can keep trying to improve.  You can improve your PR too--maybe even at your next race!

Six tips you should know for running uphill

As my runs get longer and longer, I keep finding more challenges the road throws at me.  For the first time I came across some hills, and I was determined to show them I was their boss.  I didn't want to sacrifice my pace, but we usually slow down a bit when going uphill, especially if certain muscles aren't strong enough yet.  If you find yourself facing a hill, try this: 

• Slow down by just a bit, and keep your stride short with small steps.  You don't want to over-stride, as that will just exhaust your legs, and you still have the rest of your run (and maybe even more hills) to go! 
• Keep your chin level, though it may be tempting to keep your head down; simply cast your eyes down and scan the ground as you're running to make sure there's nothing in your way. 
• It's a very common tendency to lean forward when running uphill; try instead to keep your back straight to conserve energy.

When you crest the hill, first congratulate yourself on your amazing hill ownage (at least, that's what I did), then try this:

• Lengthen your stride and let gravity do its work to speed up by just a bit.  This way, your speed will average out to your normal pace, which you can return to once the hill is behind you. 
• Be careful again not to over-stride; you are simply looking to make up for the smaller strides you had to take up the hill.    Be sure not to run madly downhill, as if you go too fast there can be some real injury done to the knees or quadriceps.
• Just as we want to lean forward into a hill, there can be a tendency to lean back while running down; try instead to lean forward a bit or to keep your back straight to avoid injury.

By using the general rule of thumb to slightly decrease your pace when running uphill, then slightly increasing it when running downhill, you shouldn't lose too much time overall--and think how awesome it'll feel to know you conquered those hills! 

How mental blocks can give way to city blocks

Hey Fellow Runners,

For those of you keeping track, I had to push my long run back a day or two due to downpour.  The day finally came, however, that my long run was staring me in the face and I had to take up the challenge.  I tied on my running shoes and headed out the door, ignoring the cold wind that slapped me in the face.  My goal for the evening was to continue where I'd left off with my regular run the night before:  to continuously run 5 or 6 blocks (a quarter mile) for most of my running intervals, and maybe even reach the vague dream to run 10 straight blocks (a half mile) for one of the intervals.  I'd been sticking with running and walking intervals all this time, but now it was really time to kick it up a notch, as my overall goal is to run the entire half-marathon in March.

After my warm-up, I started my normal running pace, watching the blocks go by.  I reached 5 blocks in the first interval, and felt good.  I decided to shoot for 10 in the first go, and with a true feeling of triumph, reached the half-mile mark.  The true amazement came, however, when I realized I still felt good...and so I kept going...until I reached a full mile!  I took a walk break for about two blocks, then started again...and ran another mile!!  This may not seem like much, but it was revelatory to realize I was capable of this, and that I would make it through the entire seven miles.  And that's what I did, taking only a couple walk breaks the entire time, and running nearly the whole length.  I clearly had been the only thing holding myself back; I'd been hiding from the fear of trying to run consistently and not being able to make it.  Once that fog was lifted, however, I knew I could keep pushing and keep improving.  Towards the end of the run, I thought Just run another 10 blocks then you can walk for one, and laughed out loud at myself:  all this time I'd been afraid of running 5 blocks, and now I was thinking to "just" run 10!  As I look at the progress I've already made, and think of the hurdles I'll continue to face, I think it truly is our own mental blocks that create the biggest challenges, and we are the ones that put them there. 

As you lengthen your course, and face bigger and bigger challenges, don't forget that you have gotten yourself this far, and can take yourself even farther.  Don't let the mental block of one more mile or one more loop stop you; don't let those blocks intimidate you.  It all comes down to finding the ability to push through them, and showing yourself exactly what you're made of.

Adapting is NOT the same as failing

Hey all, Laura here.  Let me tell you about a realization I'm starting to learn, and maybe I can save you the stress.  It may seem like a small detail, but to a beginner runner I think it's a very important one...It all started with the minute I stepped out the door this morning, when I knew it was not going to be a good day for running. 

I'd set my sights on 7 miles for today's long run, and had spent yesterday's off-day trying to psych myself up for it.  This would be my longest run yet, and a mental milestone because once I reach this point in my race, I'll be over halfway finished.  But I walked outside and was slapped in the face by cold winds and cold rain, pretty much my least favorite combination possible.  I had to walk around for a bit to complete a few errands before the time for which I'd scheduled my run, and by the time I'd finished them all I could think was, Nope.  Not happening.  I often find my mood affected by the weather, and I knew having to deal with those conditions would bring me down; I wouldn't enjoy the run and would have no real desire to push for the whole 7 miles.

I sat at home for a while, disappointed with myself and the day.  Clearly if I wasn't pushing myself, dealing with the weather and running anyway, then I was a failure:  throwing off my schedule, not sticking to the plan, not committed to my goal.  My inner critic was going for blood.

Finally though, I had to snap myself out of it and apply logic over emotion:  you can't control the weather.  You know you would be miserable out there and not get the most from your run.  You also know tomorrow is another perfectly good day, and pushing a long run back by one day is a perfectly acceptable adaptation--not a failure.  So since I would not be running that day, I focused on what I could be doing, choices over which I still had full control, no matter the weather.  I ate well, choosing foods that provided the fiber and protein I'd be needing for tomorrow's run.  I got in plenty of rest, and took care of chores that had stacked up during the week.  I laid out tomorrow's running clothes, and tried my best to continue the mental preparation, building it back up after tearing it down so much earlier today.

Realizing that a commitment requires flexibility is a hard lesson to learn.  Working so hard to stay motivated in the first place, it's doubly hard when circumstances out of your control throw a wrench in your plans.  But maintaining flexibility, allowing some details to change and rolling with the punches, means less stress overall because you're able to look at the grand scheme of things, and to realize that one or even two days' difference to your schedule won't keep you from crossing that finish line.  The important thing is tying on those running shoes the next day, and actually getting out the door.

Some background and thoughts on tonight's run

Hey, it’s Laura here.

I realize these entries are starting when I’m about halfway through my first running program, so I want to backtrack for just a minute so you know where I’m coming from.  If you’re a newbie runner too, or look back fondly at your beginner days, odds are you know what it’s like. 

As I mentioned in my Introduction I was never an active person, so starting out as a runner has been a major learning process for me.  It’s been a revelatory experience to try something, realize I could do it, push myself further, and realize I could do that too.  I’ve noticed changes in stamina and breathing—no more struggling for breath just a few strides in.  I was literally starting from zero here, where at the very beginning just running for one minute was an accomplishment.

I started out on the treadmill, taking running and walking intervals.  I’d been doing that for about two weeks when I was paired with Coach D, a two-time Ironman finisher, marathoner, and basically amazing inspiration.  She constructed the training plan I’m currently using, and we meet once a week or so to discuss progress and stay psyched about the whole thing.  She was the one who pushed me to run outside, reminding me that races never happen on a treadmill.  Thinking it would be a piece of cake (I had managed to run six minutes straight on the treadmill after all, so clearly I was a champ), I went for a run outside and was stunned by how quickly my calves wore out.  I slumped home and realized I had a bigger challenge ahead of me than I thought.

That was almost two months ago.  I’m now at the point where my long runs, which take place twice a week, are six miles long—and starting this Sunday, they’ll be seven.  Now that my long runs really are getting to be somewhat substantial for an everyday run, I’m learning something else:  how vital stretching is!  I didn’t see too much of a point to an after-run stretch when I’d only finished two miles, but after six I could see why it’s a good idea.  I recently learned about calf muscles I didn’t even know existed:  the gastrocnemius (really) and soleus.  Coach D referred to these muscles and showed me a stretch for each, and as soon as I tried them yesterday all I could think was, Yeow!!  They were exactly the muscles that have been tiring out on me in the middle of runs, and therefore exactly when I need to strengthen.  It was fascinating to me to learn about these muscles and how clearly important they each are—and how everything works together to help keep your stride in perfect form.

Which all plays into tonight’s run:  a basic three-mile.  As I was considering my schedule for today and the errands I have to do in addition to my run, the thought occurred to me that I could walk home from work (which is exactly three miles away) and get my errands done on the way—therefore not doing a dedicated run.  That was the lazy, here’s-a-way-to-avoid-exercise way of thinking that I used to ascribe to, and it still pops in my head every now and again, especially when I might be a bit tired.  The great part though is that the thought that occurred right after that one was, No, I want to get my run in today and see how my legs are doing, how many blocks I can go.  I’m slowly defeating the couch potato I was and actually wanting to get outside and run.  My long run tomorrow is six miles again, which even though I’ve done it once before is still pretty intimidating.  It’s looming ahead of me and needs to be tackled, and I need to be ready for it by running today.  The most exciting part is I want to be ready, and want to run today.

 

Keep on Running,

Laura

Workout 5 and some other stuff

Hey its Kris,

A quick update... After five extremely tough workouts and what feels like 100 meals, I’ve gained five pounds. New total=155lbs. I’m just two pounds short now of the heaviest I’ve ever been!  I had a doctor’s appointment today in which I had to get a shot in the arm (never got my hep vaccines as a kid) so I decided to skip my arm workout today and opt to do it tomorrow instead as it felt a little bruised. This throws off my schedule by a day but no big deal. My schedule is solid so I have no worries about missing a day. I kept my nutrition on par although I probably didn’t get quite as much water in as I would have liked to.

As I said before, I’m following Vince Delmonte’s new monthly personal coaching program, Maximize Your Muscle. The first month is broken into three workouts. The first is chest, back, and abs. The second is quads, hams, and calves. The third is shoulders, bi’s and tri’s. It’s a three day on, one day off, and then start over routine. So I’ve gone through the first three workouts and then done the first two workouts for a second time with tomorrow being the final. The first time around, each workout was a complete killer. Although I’ve been working out for years now, I was definitely sore in a few new places and its amazing to see that there’s already some difference in those areas. The second time around was actually much easier for the first two workouts even with increased weight. However, I’m going to hold the weight where it is throughout the next go around to work on technique with these heavier weights. I don’t want to stick with these weights too long though as the point in the workouts is to gain strength. When hitting each major muscle with 100 reps at different points of flexion its easy to gain that strength and I don’t want to squander the opportunity.

Now when I say the workouts were easier, I don’t mean they were easy by any means. They had me dying. They were just easier in terms of I wasn’t a pile of mush lying on the ground after each set. Also, after the first leg workout in which I could only finish the first group I hit which was quads, I was going to start the second one with hams but I decided to stay the course even if it meant overlooking my hamstrings for a week. The reason being that I wanted to see if I would improve enough to be able to do quads and then hit hams this week. I was half successful. I did quads, almost died, but still had enough left over to atleast get in some leg curls and a little body weight calves. Not the way the workout is designed but I’m happy with it. Besides, my quads need it and the workout really helps to boost testosterone.

The best news of the week. My last two sets of the bench press, I hit my goal of 275lbs!! Now I have to admit, they were more like half reps but doing 275 half reps has finally gotten me to the point of 225lb full reps. I rarely work with a spotter so I’m cautious when working with new weights about trying to bring it all the way down close to my chest. I have long arms so outside of warm up sets I never bring it down ALL the way.  

In other news, although my camera seems to be on the fritz right now, I am going to start taking and posting weekly pictures for progress purposes. I’ll try to get my first one up sometime tomorrow if I can get Laura to bring over her camera.

Last thing I wanted to say, Laura wrote up an intro post (about me type of thing) today. If you’re into running or your goal is weight loss, check her out. Not only has she lost over 50 pounds in a year but her new found love of running is going really well. She’s set up a system that’s taken her from the “couch” to already running a six mile race in just a few months and she’ll be doing a half marathon in about a month and a half from now. I’m sure she’ll talk more about how she’s done it, but if you have any questions about her (or my) training program, just ask. That’s what we’re here for.

Train Hard,

Kris

The runner’s quest.

Calling myself a runner is a very new concept, and still a bit of a foreign one.  Getting to even this point has been a long journey, and the path to my goal is still stretching for miles ahead of me—13.1 miles, to be exact.

I’ve never been in great shape.  My family has never really been one for great nutrition, and food was always around when I was growing up—in the form of “after-school snacks,” “goodnight snacks,” and well-stocked cabinets.  I don’t mean to slight my family at all, but responsible eating habits were never really ingrained; I managed to be an average-weight kid by taking tap classes and being relatively active.  I hated organized sports in general though, and would much rather skip gym class and read a book. 

In high school I had finagled my schedule to substitute my gym requirement with a dance class, but everything changed my freshman year when my right knee went out.  My knee would dislocate itself (seemingly on a whim; it could happen any time) and swell to the size of a balloon, and after this happened several times my doctor ordered surgery to prevent it from happening again.  The surgery was followed by several months of physical therapy, along with the knowledge that despite the operation, pressure on my knee or hard activity could still injure it.  For years I was afraid of playing sports or games that could possibly injure my knee, and I got used to babying it. 

Living on my own while in college truly tipped the scales on my weight gain:  my eating habits worsened and I was hardly exercising at all.  I could see myself gaining weight, but somehow thought myself powerless to do anything about it.  I would go to the school gym and exercise for a few days, then get tired and turn to the same patterns of inactivity and poor eating.  One of my friends at the time had been a runner all through high school, and I mentioned how much I admired her for it and how interesting running as a sport seemed.  She was excited for me and lent me a book on running, but I could never seem to get around to reading it. 

I was officially overweight my senior year, when I kept having pains and was sometimes ill to the point of vomiting, but these occasions were several months apart and I always chalked them up to stress, not my lifestyle.  One day though I was in excruciating pain and had to go to the hospital, only to learn that the pain I had been ignoring for months had turned into gallstones and severe pancreatitis.  According to the doctor, if I had ignored the pain for another day or two I would have died from it.  I had my gallbladder removed and was in the hospital for a week, getting out on what would have been my graduation day from college.  I was recovering for a few months, unable to eat fibrous foods and gaining a few more pounds, as losing a gallbladder can make you retain more fat.

You’d think something like this would be a wake-up call, that I would turn my life around and vow to be healthier.  For some reason though, that just didn’t do it.  I continued to eat unhealthily and didn’t truly see my weight as something that was in my power to change.  It wasn’t until a year later, at the age of 24, that a conversation with my best friend (who was losing weight herself and was an inspiration) showed me that my weight and eating habits were things only I was accountable for, and therefore I could change them.  I took things slowly, changing one meal at a time and getting up early to do exercise DVDs, and over the course of a year and a half lost 50 pounds.  I was thrilled that I had tangible results from my efforts, was receiving compliments, and went down 6 pants sizes.  In the middle of all this I decided to take advantage of an opportunity:  I moved in with the same friend who had inspired me to lose the weight when she had a roommate opening in her NYC apartment.  I went from south FL to NYC, and loved the city from the moment I got there.  One thing I learned though is that NYC always has food to offer, and for a while my eating habits went back downhill.  My weight loss hit a plateau (especially after I started dating someone who encouraged me to eat more), and things ground to a halt for a while.  I would always talk about losing more weight, but instead rested on the laurels of losing 50 pounds and not gaining it back.  It seemed I’d reached a point where to continue losing weight, I’d truly have to work hard at it every day, and I just wasn’t doing that yet.

Which brings us to October 2009.  I’d decided to give running a try again; it always stood out to me as a fascinating sport because it is purely self-driven, relying only on yourself to get you across that finish line.  I was flipping through a running magazine and saw an ad for the Disney World Princess Half-Marathon, and was transfixed by it.  Growing up in Florida I’d been to Disney countless times, and it’s full of happy memories for me and my family.  Wouldn’t it be amazing to work my way up to a half marathon, 13.1 whole miles, and celebrate that goal at Disney?  Before I’d even really thought it through, I registered for the race and was officially going to be there on March 7, 2010.

And now, I’m fully engaged in my fitness quest.  I’m halfway through my training program (more on that later), and have started running more than I ever thought I could.  I haven’t lost very much weight yet, but I have found confidence in myself I didn’t know existed—I also plan on incorporating strength training to reach the weight loss goals (more on that later too).  I’ll be sharing with you the ups and downs of running with you; maybe there are other aspiring runners out there who will want to go through it with me.  It’s an exciting, scary journey—my quest to become a lifelong runner!