It Begins Again

This week marks the start of my new training program for the Disney Princess Half in February.

I took the training program straight from the runDisney site, so it is designed by Jeff Galloway and has my goal set as "finishing in the upright position". That's a pretty good goal, right? I'm aiming to do 13min/miles for the race, but I know I need to work up to that. I'm going to do my first run tomorrow of 30-45minutes. I plan on running the first 5 minutes straight through, then alternating walking and running every 1 minute thereafter. Considering I am meeting my friend at the gym in the morning for this run, it's going to be interesting to do on the treadmill. We will see how it goes, I suppose.

I feel so out of sorts after taking the week off from the race. Maybe it's the excitement of starting a new training plan, but I felt anxious to run all week long last week. Which is kind of funny considering during my last training there were times you couldn't have paid me to go out and do my runs because I was so exhausted. But, this IS a brand new start for a brand new race and I intend to do my very best, if not for myself, then at least so I don't get swept off the track! Seriously, I'm terrified of being swept! I think if I did, it would break my heart!

But, I'm not going to focus on that- I'm going to focus on my training plan and taking it one day at a time.
Here is a snap shot of the first few weeks:

Doesn't seem too bad, does it? I don't think so!

Well, that is it for now- I hope everyone has a great week!

I Survived

I ran my second ever half marathon on Saturday- and I'm proud to say I survived.

As you all know, I've been disgustingly absent from the blog world due to work, family issues, etc. Well, my training was significantly absent for this race as well. I managed to get in a 10 mile run/walk before the race, so I at least knew I wasn't going to die (always a plus). I managed to finish in 3:29:34, 16min/miles exactly. I felt good up until mile 10 and then charlie hrses started to threaten me every time I did more than walk- so i slowed WAY down for the last 3.1 miles.

The weather was freezing in the morning for the start of the race- a chipper 34 degrees at gun shot. I have never run by SO many clothes as I did those first 3 miles. People were stripping like crazy! Anyway, I had gloves on to protect my hands and a light, wicking jacket over my tech shirt. I also had on capri pants so I was comfortable the entire run- temperature wise.

I tried very hard to jsut relax into a rhythym and enjoy the course- I made some new friends with a few people as we chatted while we jogged. The only time I really felt down on myself was when my legs began to hurt- but as I jogged across the finish line, I reminded myself that if you finish a race and you're not worn out- then you didn't push yourself hard enough. So, at least I know I gave it my all.

Yesterday, I downloaded my new training plan for the Disney Princess Half. I'm using Jeff Galloway's plan from the rundisney site- with a goal of "finishing in the upright position". It paces out the run/walk breaks I would need to strive for for different min/mile sets. I'm shooting for a 13min/mile, but will definitely settle for 14min/miles. I just don't want to get swept!! I'm actually now terrified of being swept off of the Disney course. In any case, my new training starts next week and runs for 19weeks. I have already gotten my family and my boyfriend copies of the training schedule so they can stay on top of me and make sure I do what I need to do.

I can't promise I will be blogging much but I'm going to try and get on here every once in awhile to give an update. If you really want to keep in contact with me, like my page on Facebook- it's easier to do a status update there when I'm on the go. I miss all of my fellow bloggers! I hope everyone is doing well in their own training- if anyone is headed to Disney in February, give me a shout out and maybe we can meet up!

Where, Oh Where, Has My Motivation Gone?

I'm depressed.

That about sums up the past few days of my life. I have no real reason to be depressed- my boyfriend is amazing and probably the sweetest guy on the planet, my job is time-consuming but fulfilling and fun, my family and friends are all healthy, finances are starting to straighten out... so, why am I depressed?

Because, despite all these other wonderful things, I've lost my motivation to do anything.
I've kept up with my bikini body boot camps, but I haven't done any other workouts. LAME.
I go to bed every night and think "tomorrow I'm going to get up and run", I even set my alarm and lay out my clothes. But, when that buzzer goes off, I reset my alarm and go back to bed. I can't seem to drag myself up and out. Not even down to the living room to do a quick workout video or anything. Ugh! I'm so frustrated with myself, I could seriously spit!

I keep giving myself little goals:

Run 50 miles and I will treat myself to a full body massage.
Get under 200 and I can have a shoe shopping spree.
Run any distance today and have an ice cream.

But, nothing seems to do the trick. I even keep trying to visualize different things to get myself going:

Being skinnier for my 10 year high school reunion.
Being a size 14 for 2013.
Losing another 10 pounds for summer.

Nothing. It's as if my brain gets what I'm telling it but my body refuses to take the message.
*sigh* I don't know. I'm at a loss. I was excited a bit yesterday because I bought something in a size 14/16 and it felt a little lose, but then some of my old clothes don't seem any bigger on me. And this morning I hopped on my boyfriend's scale. It said I had gained 15 pounds. I burst into tears. He tried to console me and tell me that the leg on one of the sides is broken so the numbers are wrong, but I know it's a lie. How did I gain 15 pounds in 2 weeks?! It's not like I've been stagnant- I'm still always up and about with work and rehearsals. I haven't even been eating as much because I don't always have the time to eat. Maybe that's part of the problem- maybe my wacky eating habits are killing me.

Either way, I just feel as if I worked so hard to get down to 207 and now this. I'm taking gigantic steps backwards and I don't know what to do. Even now, I just want to cry. I want to go to the gym while I'm still angry at myself but I'm literally working/rehearsing until goodness knows when tonight. And I want to wake up early tomorrow for a run before work, but I know I'm going to be exhausted.

Please help.  

First Run of the New Year

I got in a run today!

Source

SO EXCITED!!

My friend Tina and I got together and went to the gym today (probably not the best idea because it was jam packed with people working on their own New Year's resolutions- but I managed to snag a free treadmill). I was only going to do a short 1.5 mile run, but I hit 1 mile by 12:40 and I felt good, so I decided to keep going. Considering how out of shape my lungs are from this stupid cold-thing that won't leave, I'm actually pretty proud that I made it to 3 miles in 44:32. Not as fast as I would like, but not bad considering I am sick and I haven't really run in a loooooooooooooooooong time.

After my run, I cleaned my machine and headed to the weights. I focused on my back and shoulders today doing back extensions, lat raises and a few others. I decided to up my weights from what I had been doing so I know I'm going to be sore tomorrow. It's all good though- it was nice getting back into my old routine. Tina and I are going to the gym again tomorrow morning. I'm planning on another 3 mile run and then some bicep/tricep work. I'm trying to take advantage of as much running time as I possibly can right now, while at the same time trying to make sure I don't overdo my runs and wear myself down before I can really get started again. I'm still kind of disappointed in myself that I slacked off after I finished the half marathon. Especially because having had so much time off, my endurance (the little I had built up) has suffered. Grrr!

Here is my ideal workout schedule or this month (we will see if I can stick with it):

I am planning it for just one month to see if I need to update/change anything as I progress in it. My goal is also to do my workouts in the morning... which means I'm going to have to start getting up earlier. Boo!! Oh well, if I want to accomplish my fitness goals for this year, it needs to be done, right? Right.

Baby, I'm Back

I am back!

Hooray!

You do remember me, right? Right?!

I certainly hope so. Even though I've been super lame the past month or so and haven't updated at all.

Let me sum the past month or so my life up for you in a nutshell.

Freak winter storm and no electricity/power for over a week.
Rehearsing two shows simultaneously.
Working two jobs simultaneously.
My sister's wedding in Black Island.
HOLIDAYS!!!
Starting a new full time job while rehearsaing two shows and working a seperate part time position.

Kind of hectic, yes? Well, maybe it doesn't seem hectic when it's all nicely listed like that, but if you had seen a snapshot of my calendar, you might have cried or run screaming from the computer and found yourself rocking in a corner. I know that's how I felt.
Needless to say, I haven't had any free time to do anything even remotely athletic. (Especially with the freezing weather that just decided to grace our area of the world.) However, I am officially done with 1 show and am out of rehearsals for the second show- and work is slowing down a bit (for now) so I'm hoping to get back to running this week. Maybe not necessarily outside, but at least I want to hit the gym a few times.
I am so severely behind on my Princess training that it stresses me out even thinking about it. I need to sit down and just review everything and reformat my plan of action for February. I'm sure I will find that time soon enough. But, for now, just to get myself up and moving again, I'm going to get myself to the gym and do some 3-5mile runs throughout the week.

My goal is to have a new plan of attack by next Monday. Sounds do-able, right? Here's hoping.
Now, I just need to fight this tickle that has started in my throat and cross all my fingers that I don't get a cold. Emergen-Cee, Airborn and apple juice will become my new best friends. Sickness is not allowed!!!

Anyway, sorry again for the sudden hiatus with my blogging. There's no real excuse other than that all my free time was used for sleeping, haha. But, I am back (again) and will be up and running in no time soon!

Let It Begin... Again

Thank you all SO much for all of your kind words and support. You don't know how much it means to me hearing so many praises and thoughtful things (especially considering most of us have yet to meet in person!). As I said in my last post, I'm not going to let that cruel-hearted, uninformed person get me down!!
So, today I decided to formulate my next training program for the Disney Princess Half!! YAY!

I intend on starting next week (yea, I'm taking the full week to recover haha), which will give me 18 weeks to train. Not too shabby! What I did was kind of mesh 3 different types of training programs into one. I formulated my days based on my work/life schedule and what has worked for me in the past (mileage/minute wise). My main focus for this run is going to be endurance. I want to be able to run 5 miles without stopping for the Princess Half. That's my goal!

So, here is what I came up with to help me get to my goal:

What're your thoughts on this?

As always, I am open to questions/comments/concerns. :)