It’s no secret that last week’s training for me was somewhat of a joke. However, I need to remember that even rest days are training days … I just took more than one day. I took 5 days. FIVE very much needed days to rest and regenerate. I’ve still got 12 weeks to go in this marathon training cycle … 12!
It’s just about September (where has the time gone???) and I have 2 Half Marathons scheduled this month! First one comin’ up this Sunday … The Disneyland Half Marathon in sunny Southern California!!! I have to tell you that I have a few reservations about this race, just because it was booked on a whim and not really well thought out on my part. But I’m going to have fun and have a great time with my family!
Sunday: Planned to get up early and run with the Fleet Feet Group, however, decided it was more important to rest my aching foot and figure out my shoe/insert issues. Besides … I really wanted to sleep in, okay? Don’t judge!
Over the last few weeks, I have been researching S.U.P. or Stand-Up Paddleboarding. As an island girl from the beautiful islands of Hawaii, I was an avid beach goer. Wasn’t really a surfer, more like using it as a flotation device, but I got on and never really got that great at it when it came to riding swells. When I heard about S.U.P., I knew that it was for me. My co-worker, Elaine, and I happened to be talking about working out one night at work, and she mentioned that she was going to try it. What? Serendipity, right? We decided that we would go together, and it was by chance that the instructor could include us in her class today!! Really? That’s awesome! So off we went to Lodi Lake, where we met the instructor, Tasha, and another student, Melody. I was hesitant at first, because I’m such a hydrophobe, and this was soooo out of my element, but not to worry … After a mini panic attack when Elaine said that if I fell off that I would not touch the bottom … I caught on quickly and found peace within the water!
Two and a half hours later, I was somewhat proficient at maneuvering the board around Lodi Lake and the Mokolumne River, and found myself inquiring about purchasing my own board, or renting it out for a weekend. It was a beautiful day, and I got such a GREAT workout in (probably a good 3-4 miles of paddling) … I could feel it in my core and my upper body, but especially in my obliques! I seriously loved this workout, and I am so glad that I overcame my fear, stepped out of my little box, and went. It was easier than I thought, and I’m looking forward to more workouts with S.U.P.!
Monday: OMG! I rocked my workout this morning! I love my trainer … he didn’t let me slack at all. Warm up with jump rope x 5 mins and rowing x 5 mins. 6 x 5 reps with increasing weight loaded front squats, then 20 minutes of Row 250 meters, 20 Kettle Bell Swing Squats, and 10 pull ups – I was able to do 5 rounds of this madness. Then run … Only once did I want to throw up. I had such a great workout! So much fun!
Tuesday: Today was a killer workout day. Killer, but a great one none the less. I’m loving what I’m doing, and I have to say that I “feel” all my workouts. Today’s workout was a mile warm up. Turkish Get Ups – 25 on each side with a 9lb kettle bell. Next up was 5 rounds of 25 GHD sit-ups or 35 regular sit-ups, 20 R side push presses with a 12 lb dumbbell, 15 burpees, then 20 L side push presses again with a 12 lb dumbbell. Holy Mother of God!!! By round 4 I was dying, but I pushed through and finished all 5 rounds, then finished up with a one mile run! Wow! Let me just say that finishing up that workout left me feeling quite proud of myself! =) I love how I was doing push presses and my trainer says, “Row., when you jump, I don’t want you jumping off the ground.” So I countered, “Why are you trying to keep me grounded?!” And he tells me, “Don’t you worry, you’re gonna fly soon enough!” He’s awesome! Breakin’ me down to build me up. Yep.
Wednesday: I’m feelin’ every bit of my muscles today. All of ’em. I’ve got D.O.M.S. at its finest and I love it. I love that feeling that I’ve “really” worked out. I almost didn’t go. I could’ve used the excuse that my body ACHED! I made my way back to AMAA, my second home, and I love my trainers and my peeps there! They are a great bunch of people. I’ve made some really good friendships there, and I can’t complain. Today’s workout was running while Ed added resistance and pulled me with a resistance band that was around me and I used a med ball to first push out, then we switched, Ed ran while I pulled the resistance band behind him and he used the med ball, we ran and switched for awhile all the while with a med ball to work arms and core. We then slipped on resistance cuffs and proceeded to workout with them – punch with dumbbells, squat knee lift x 2 for 3 min, punch, squat knee lift x 4 for 3 min, punch, squat knee lift x 6 for 3 min, all the way to 8. Then drop down for pulse ups – HOLY CRAP!!! I thought they would never end 1:30 on each side!!! Then it was round house kicks with the resistance band 100 on each side. Yeah … my glutes were SCREAMING!!! We finished off with more combos of kicks and punches that made me happy, also more core … =) I tell you … I never leave AMAA without a smile on my face. Everything that I have, I leave it on the floor. I never slack and I’m ALWAYS in the front row, hence the nickname “Front Row.” I’m thankful for my friends, Karyn, Z, Camille, and Ed who were my motivators today. They rock! They always say that it’s me that motivates them, but they help me just as much if not more. I was very thankful for the movement today as I was seriously TIGHT, especially my right bicep for some odd reason.
Thursday: Thursday was almost a rest day. It could kind of be considered a rest day. I wanted to go workout in the morning, I had every intention. I didn’t go though. I slept instead. In the evening, I hit the spin bike – 11 miles is 35 minutes. Seated climb, and speed drills … quick, but effective. Then I hit my core exercises. Easy schmeasy. It was a great day. Went to lunch with my friend, Linda V., who brought out some thought provoking conversation. I love her. =) Since my right forearm was pretty shot, I put the H-wave on it as I fell asleep … It worked like magic. I woke up with NO pain! SCORE!!!
Friday: Holy mother! My workout today rocked. It taxed me somewhat, but didn’t take me to my beloved puke point. Let’s start with my 5 min jump rope, then 1 mile run warm-up. Then … dead lifts. Easy, it’s all good, until he changes it up just a little … He tells me to add weight to my 45lb bar. Okay. 20# on each side. The routine: 5 push ups with increasing dead lifts from 1 – 10. No sweat. Ahhhhh … then 50 wall ball squats, then run 1 mile. Okay. I get thru the push ups and deadlifts no problem. The wall ball squats were a little challenging because my trainer kept wanting me to throw that ball up higher … no, Higher … com’mon, Row., HIGHER!!! Okay, okay. I finish the routine in 10 minutes, then head out for my mile run. My legs were pretty worked over by the time I hit that run, but I gutted it out and finished strong. Not done yet … nope … get on the row machine, Row. 2000 meters … my goal? 10 mins. Go! Missed the goal by a few secs, but I’ll get it next time. At my height I was at a huge disadvantage on the row machine, and my trainer joked to, “Use your superior height and go!” It was a fun workout, like I said, it taxed me, but it didn’t take me to puke point. I can already feel a HUGE difference in the week that I have change up my workouts.
For lunch, I met my friend, Becky, and we went over some goals and came up with a plan for our fitness goals, etc. It’s gonna be awesome as we have the same goals and aspirations and we have the same mentality when it comes to working out. Becky and I met at AMAA, and we both teach kickboxing and do Krav Maga. We have the same hardcore mentality and we just have so much fun together. She is an awesome human being. Becky is good for my psyche, my soul, my fitness. We plan to rock this mutha out! We have so many ideas and it’s going to be a great ride.
Saturday: I’m posting this early. I’m planning to make Saturday my rest day as we’re driving to Southern California for the Disney Half Marathon early in the morning. I plan only to walk the expo, nothing strenuous. =) It’s going to be a fun weekend as I’m going to run with my Twittter BFF, Victoria. I hope to see and meet many of my friends there. I’m slightly disappointed that I’m not running with Mac because she opted not to go and sold her bib to Ali. One of the reasons that I signed up for Disney was to run with her. Oh well … It’s all good. I looked for Eeyore colors to wear, however found none … I’m taking it as a sign to not be so blah, and instead I’m going with purple and I’m gonna have FUN! My family plans to hit Knotts Berry Farm while I’m out running and hanging out with my friends. I’m excited to meet people that I have been interacting with via the net. =)
As a closing to this post, I just wanted to share a few pics from the Giants Half Marathon from last Saturday. I had such a good time at this run and my photos show it. This is what running should look like …
That’s my week 9 recap! It’s been a fun week for me getting out of my comfort zone and changing up my workouts. As I head into Week 10, I’m guessing that I *really* should find my training plan and get serious about my running. Yep. Okay. Okay. Week 10 brings much promise. I plan to keep changing it up and working hard. Life is good. Train hard, train smart, and have FUN!!! =)
Running Code 3 