Free Training

It used to be that I could go to the gym, do my workout, shower and get home without speaking to a single person. It’s not that I’m antisocial or anything, but usually I prefer to just get my workout done, and get out. I’ve never really had a need to be buddy-buddy with anyone at the gym. Lately, it seems like I’m just a magnet for conversation. Yesterday, I got to the gym and the main floor was relatively quiet, but the weight room was pretty busy for a Friday evening. After a quick warm-up, I dove into my NROLW routine. After a few sets, a guy came up to me and asked if what I kept my legs straight or bent doing what I was (single-leg Romanian deadlift) and whether it worked the hamstrings because he had been having trouble with his hamstrings. I said yes it did and briefly explained how to do it so I could get back to my next set. A few sets later and go figure, the guy is trying the move! And his form was all wrong. I felt obligated to go correct him because the way he was moving he was bound to hurt his back. I never thought for a second that he would actually try it right then! His form in the next few reps were much better, thank goodness. I think he must have thought I was a trainer or something at first. He made a comment about getting some “free training” and I made sure to tell him that I was definitely  not a trainer. Through all this, I lost track a bit of my rest times, which kind of bugs me, but oh well. I hope the guy has better luck with his hamstrings in the future and doesn’t hurt himself doing anything he tried because I did it first!

My workout was NROLW stage 3 workout A.

A. One-armed dumbbell snatch – 3 sets of 6 with 105s Rest @ 17.5 lb DBs

B1. Dumbbell single-leg Romanian deadlift – 3 sets of 6 with 105s Rest @ 30 lb DBs

B2. Barbell bent-over row – 3 sets of 6 with 105s Rest @ 85 lb barbell (1st set) and 75 lb barbell (2nd and 3rd set)

C1. Dumbbell single-arm overhead squat – 3 sets of 6 with 105s Rest @ 12.5 lb and 25 lb DBs

C2. Dumbbell incline bench press – 3 sets of 6 with 105s Rest @ 22.5 lb

D1. Plank – 3 sets of 120s with 105s Rest @ BW

D2. Reverse Wood Chop – 3 sets of 6 with 25 lb (1st set), 20 lb (2nd set), 25 lb (3rd set)

Body Weight Matrix – 2 sets (24 squats, 12 lunges each leg, 12 lunge jumps each leg, 24 squat jumps)

Eating-wise, I’ve stuck to the plan the last few days. Thursday ended with 1772 calories, Friday with about 1685 calories and today (Saturday) with about 1886 calories. Today was a little high, but yesterday was a little low and I worked out, so I thought it would even out a bit. Friday and Saturday are approximate because we went out for dinner on Friday night and I had leftovers (white pizza with red peppers, mushrooms and artichokes) today for lunch. It was delicious and worth every bite.

Tomorrow morning we need to get to the gym between 8 AM and 2 PM because it closes early for Easter Sunday.

Happy Easter!

Already a loss?

Yesterday, I ended up eating 1713 calories, which is a little less than predicted. My dinner plans had included two servings of broccoli, thinking I had some in the freezer but I did not. I subbed a single serving of frozen peas and carrots instead and had more than enough food.

This morning I stepped on the scale. Imagine my surprise when it showed a loss of another 1.6 pounds since yesterday morning and a number I haven’t seen in probably 6 months! I know this is probably just a normal weight fluctuation or my scale is broken, but it’s still nice to get that momentary gratification. A pound or more in a day is really a much faster rate of weight loss than I want to maintain. If this trend continues, which I doubt it will, I will probably have to increase calories a bit. I am very satisfied on the amount I’m eating right now and do not feel hungry at any time during the day (except when I first wake up in the morning), so I shouldn’t need more but we’ll see. Logging will help me notice trends like this.

I forgot to mention one of the other changes I have made to my diet. I used to religiously eat 5-6 times a day, with 2 big meals and 3-4 smaller snacks. Recently, I had been eating two large meals and one small and a continuous snacking off and on through the evening after getting home from work. Needless to say, that had to go. I’m back to planning for five times a day with an additional shake or smoothie on workout days.

Today is a workout day, so I’m planning to eat 2049 calories. I already had 305.5 for breakfast (milk, cottage cheese and raisins), 300.5 for a morning snack/2nd breakfast (hobbits anyone?) of oatmeal and some add-ins, and I just finished a BIG salad for lunch with 637.5 calories. I’ll have a small afternoon snack of carrots and hummus again for 85 calories, do my workout and then have a post-workout protein shake for 170 calories. Dinner will be 550 cals of leftovers from last night plus some cooked spinach and a little dark chocolate. This is 27.41% cals from protein, 32.34% from fat and 40.25% from carbs. By the way, I find it funny that the Daily Plate tells me that I’m over my recommended amount of fat and protein every day. It also hates the amount of cholesterol (from eggs on my salad), but I must say I’m not convinced that dietary cholesterol has much effect on body chemistry. I used to have high cholesterol while avoiding fatty foods and foods with high cholesterol, then when I changed to eating closely to the way I am now, my cholesterol went down. Go figure. Of course there were other factors that I’m sure contributed, but it doesn’t seem like a couple of eggs every day has much effect on my levels.

My workout is New Rules of Lifting for Women stage 3 workout B and 15 minutes of running intervals. Exact workout may be posted later, but I don’t have it in front of me at the moment.

Finding Balance

Has there ever been a time when you felt your life got really out of balance? I know I have. After Timberman last summer, I was so relieved to have completed it that I essentially stopped trying to live a healthy lifestyle. I think I had gotten out of balance by putting so much time and effort into training and thinking about training and eating for training for nearly a year that once it was all over I went a little overboard in allowing myself to eat junk and not exercise. I remained active by normal standards (walking daily), but in comparison to my previous commitment to 1-3 hours of exercise at least 5 days a week, I was a sedentary blob.

As a result, I was feeling pretty disgusted and annoyed with myself, and as any readers still out there know, increasingly neglected my blog because I just couldn’t own up to the lack of focus in my fitness journey any longer. I gained about 10 pounds pretty quickly after the HIM and could tell my body composition had changed for the worse. I knew I needed to get myself back on track without the illusion of accountability from recording on the blog. I decided not to do any races this year and start with just 2 days a week of working out. I have continued with the New Rules of Lifting for Women (NROLW) program. I recently added a third workout day in every week, so I lift with my mom usually on Tuesdays and I lift with Curtis on Thursdays and Sundays. I also run with a friend on Fridays when it works with both of our busy schedules. I’m really happy with this schedule. I still walk daily with Tara as well and feel it is just the right amount if exercise for me right now. I wouldn’t mind adding another 2 days eventually, but I am still building back to that. Since the NROLW program has interval training worked in, I’m still usually running 1-2 times per week but in short and sweet doses (about 15 minutes) that I can handle.

I am just now (started last week) trying to get my nutrition in line. Even though I had gotten back on a regular exercise schedule I hadn’t lost any of that extra weight I was carrying. I was still eating poorly and too much. Last week, my focus was to get more protein in my diet, less refined carbs (and more whole grains and fruits/veggies) and be more mindful of my portion sizes. With just those things, I lost 2.4 pounds. This week, I’m tracking my diet to see where I’m at calorie-wise and what my macronutrient ratios look like. Ideally I’d like to aim for 1700 calories on non-lifting days and 2000 calories on lifting days with 30% from protein, 30% from fat and 40% from carbs. If I have another loss this week I’ll stick with the same calories in for next week. If I have a gain or maintenance, I’m going to decrease by 200-300 each day. I’m using The Daily Plate at livestrong.com for tracking.

For today, my breakfast (oatmeal with add-ins for protein) was 330 cals. Morning snack of cottage cheese and raisins came in at 210 cals. My lunch salad was about 458 calories. I have an 85 calorie afternoon snack of hummus and carrots planned. My dinner of quinoa, broccoli and turkey burgers with a desset of dark chocolate is planned for 674 calories. That gives a total of about 1757 for the day. My meals are a little weird on Mondays because my afternoon is scrunched since I have dog training in the evening and eat my last meal around 5pm before I leave for training. Most other nights my dinners fall between 7 and 8 pm.

I’m not promising a daily update on progress, but I’ll be checking-in.

Strength Loss

Woohoo!  Another day of goals being met.  I really think that writing them down and keeping them in my planner, which I obsessively examine every day, has helped tremendously in keeping them on the brain.  I took the time to make myself some perfect scrambled eggs this morning and ate them with a piece of my mom’s zucchini bread.  She makes the best zucchini bread ever, and we had just a little end leftover from the holidays for me to enjoy.  I’m always tempted to make her recipe, but I’m afraid I won’t do it justice, so I’ve never gone through with it.  She does not skimp on the spices, which I love, and it’s very moist and just melts in your mouth.  Yummy!

This morning, I also managed to pack my bag to go to the gym today directly after work. There were no stops on the way today! I went straight to the gym and did my NROLW Stage 1 workout B routine.

A. Deadlift – 2 sets of 15 @ 75 pounds barbell with 60s RI

B1. Dumbbell Shoulder Press – 2 sets of 15 @ 15 pounds dumbbells with 60s RI

B2. Wide grip lat pulldown – 2 sets of 15 @ 55 pounds (?) with 60s RI

C1. Lunge – 2 sets of 15 @ 20 pounds dumbbells with 60s RI

C2. Swiss Ball Crunch – 2 sets of 8 @ BW with 60s RI

The question mark on the wide grip lat pulldown is because the plates were marked 27.5, but it’s a new cable machine with double cables and I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t only 27.5 pounds total.  Since last time I did this workout last week, I lifted 55 pounds, I’m pretty sure that’s what it was this time.  The double cables must double the plate value?  I’ll have to ask one of the trainers next time I see one wandering around.  Today they were all busy with clients, and I didn’t want to interrupt.

For the Swiss Ball Crunch, I really should add a plate of weight.  I did them with a very slow lowering phase today in order to make them a bit more difficult, and I actually ended up doing extras by accident.  Next time I need to remember to add a weight plate to make them a bit tougher.

You can see how much strength I’ve lost on the deadlifts – I was deadlifting 100+ pounds when I stopped lifting early last year.  I’m pretty confident I will gain the strength back fairly quickly, but it’s kind of disheartening to see.  It definitely made me realize that I need to always keep some sort of maintenance lifting program as part of my training even if I feel like I don’t have time.

I’m going to try and do an easy run tomorrow.  I don’t think I’ll be able to fit in another lifting day this week since I’ll be traveling Saturday – Monday.  I expect to be able to blog throughout the weekend, so I should be able to check in and update on the outcome of my interview (Sunday).  But on the off-chance that I’m too busy over the next few days (unlikely), I’ll definitely update on Monday with a goals check-in from this week and updated goals for next week.  This week’s focus was clearly getting my butt back to the gym and begin getting back in the habit of workout out regularly.  Next week’s focus is going to be getting my diet back on track.  I’ve done a little of that this week, but afternoon snacking has been a little out of control.  I need to make a plan to handle that.

Have a great Friday!

Ironman 70.3 Timberman Race Report

I did it!! I finished my first 70.3 Ironman.    I’m just a little behind in posting my race report…

Curtis and I left for New Hampshire on Friday morning before the race around 8:20AM.  I had for some reason convinced myself it was only an 8 hour drive, but really it would have been about 10 hours without traffic and ended up being about 11 hours total.  Traffic around NYC was pretty terrible, but other than that things weren’t too bad.  We arrived and checked into the hotel, but not without checking out the competition on the way in.   We were surrounded by triathletes and fancy bikes.  After my ogling, we unpacked the car and headed up to our room, which turned out to be quite nice – we had a nice big room with a king-sized bed.  We took some time to settle in a bit and then went to find dinner at Uno’s, where I had a delicious chicken and pasta dish (carb loading!).  After dinner we went back to the hotel and thought about going down to the hot tub, but we were both exhausted after the long day in the car and decided to go to bed and we would try to relax a bit in the hot tub on Saturday.

Saturday ended up being a surprisingly long and busy day.  We slept in until almost 9AM, and when we finally got up, we ran downstairs to take part in the continental breakfast that ended at 10AM.  I grabbed a bagel and some peanut butter and a banana plus an extra bagel and peanut butter for eating before the race.  I felt like a huge slacker when all the triathletes around were dressed in their workout clothes looking like they had just gotten back from a ride or a run.  I had planned to do a very short swim and/or run but nothing major, and I was going to try and fit it in after driving the bike course, which was my number one priority for the day, besides the mandatory meetings, check-in and bike check-in.  So after breakfast and a few errands to the grocery store and Wal-Mart, we headed up toward Ellacoya state park and found the bike course.  We didn’t start from the very beginning because the Sprint tri was that morning and we didn’t want to get stuck in the traffic.  I’d say we started about 2-3 miles in.  We did go off course a little in two places, but for the most part we got it right.  It started with hills and ended with hills.  The middle was slightly less hilly, but it wasn’t flat either- it was more of a gentle sloping.  I was not feeling prepared, especially after we started seeing all the triathletes out riding the course.  Were they crazy??  I wasn’t even considering trying to ride the course the day before!  After becoming sufficiently nervous about my preparation for the climbs, we finally finished driving the 56 miles.

It was closing in on 1:00PM quickly and I wanted to get to the Gunstock Mountain Resort and Timberman festival to register and attend meetings.  There was a 2:00PM first-timers meeting and 3:00PM mandatory race meeting, so we figured I could register and get to both meetings before heading back to the hotel to get my bike and head over to transition.  I picked up my numbers, timing chip and goody bag, signed my life away and grabbed some food just in time for the first-timers meeting to start.  I was surprised by the number of people who were doing their first 70.3 and even more surprised by the several people who raised their hands to say that this was their first triathlon at all!  Wow!  That’s ambitious!  There were some helpful tips, including the mechanics of a bottle hand-off at an aid station on a bike and how to use the wetsuit strippers.    Afterward was the mandatory pre-race meeting for everyone where they went over the rules and other logistical details.  Not too different from any other triathlon.

I picked up a Fuel Belt bento box for my bike at the festival, and then we hurried back to the hotel to grab my bike and drop it at transition.  Unfortunately, we got stuck in horrendous traffic due to a nearby concert, and it ended up taking a lot longer than planned.  We finally got to Ellacoya state park, I racked my bike and covered my saddle with a plastic bag to cover for the impending rain and we took a quick run (~15 minutes) as my only workout of the day.  We ran a tiny portion of the run loop (although we didn’t know it at the time) before quickly changing in the car and going to get dinner.  Luckily, we managed to find an alternate route away from the park and avoided the traffic on the way out.

Curtis had found some reviews on yelp for a great little Italian place called Ciao Pasta, so we headed there.  They make their own fresh pasta and you can “create your own meal” by choosing a pasta (one of theirs or another), a sauce and any extra protein or veggies.  I had a fresh cracked pepper fettuccine with a pomodoro sauce and grilled chicken, plus tons of fresh warm bread.  It was a delicious meal, especially considering I tried to choose one of the more “bland” options.  I was a little worried that too much cheese or tomato might upset my stomach, but luckily I had no issues.  It turned out to be the perfect pre-race meal- not too heavy, but enough carbs and protein to prepare me for the next day.

Once back at the hotel, I gathered all my gear together and laid it out for the early morning.  We went to bed right at 9:00PM, but I didn’t fall asleep for quite awhile afterward.  I really didn’t sleep very well at all  and I think I woke up several times throughout the night.

3:15AM, the alarm blaring in my ear signaled the start of the single longest day of my life.  I dragged myself out of bed, brushed my teeth, got dressed and filled my water bottles.  I grabbed the last few items that I hadn’t packed yet and we left for the race site.  It was surprising to see that most of the cars were still in the hotel parking lot and we seemed to be the first ones to be out and about.  On the way to Ellacoya, I ate my bagel and peanut butter that I had grabbed from the hotel on the previous morning.  Soon, we arrived at the park, and as it turned out, we were one of the first cars into the parking lot and got a prime spot very close to transition and right next to the finish chute.  It was right around 4AM, and we hung out in the car till transition opened at 5AM.  We found some hot water at the local firefighters’ stand, so I had my green tea that I had brought from home while we were waiting.

Finally, transition opened.  I stopped to get body-marked on the way – 2212 on my left arm, left hand, left quad and my age on my left calf.  I think the mark on my quad was still a bit visible three days later, despite scrubbing but all the others were gone by the end of the race.  Weird.  I’m really glad I brought a bright pink beach towel to use as my transition mat, it turned out being really easy to find amidst the sea of bicycles.  After I had everything arranged exactly as I wanted it, I pumped my front tire.  Then I went around and pumped my rear tire.  Both looked pretty good, but I managed to convince myself that the rear tire needed just a few more pumps of air.  As I removed the bike, I heard the valve break. Doh!  I didn’t really want to frustrate myself by changing the tire on race morning and it seemed to be holding air so I decided to leave it for the time being.  A half hour later, I would check the tire and if it didn’t have air in it or seemed to be leaking, I would change it.

I took all my nervous energy back to the car and tried to sit and relax with Curtis for a bit.  The time went by pretty fast, and soon enough it was time to check my tire again and use the bathroom for about the 4th time of the morning.  I ran into transition and found both tires still full of air and ready to go.  I decided I’d leave well enough alone and ran back to join Curtis in the Porta-potty line.  We wandered around to check out the swim exit and before we knew it they were clearing transition and calling for people to head to the swim start.  We joined the throngs to watch the pros (including Chrissie Wellington!!) start at 7:00AM.

Pro men went off first, followed by Pro women, then another hour before my swim wave would start at 8:05.  I got my wetsuit on around 7:15 and joined the line to the corral around 7:45.  It was an in-water start, but only about 2 feet deep and we waded in as soon as the previous wave left at 8:00AM.  I got my watch ready and my goggles on as the announcer gave us warnings every 30 seconds.  Finally, we were off!

I started the swim running into the water and got a few dolphin dives in.  I had lined up in the middle, but at the back so it was difficult to find clear water for dolphin dives.  I did stop a few times right at the beginning because my goggles were being uncooperative, but luckily I fixed them quickly and they gave me no trouble for the next 1.2 miles.  I was surprised at how mentally strong I felt in the water.  If anything suffered during training, it was my swimming and I was expecting my mindset to reflect that.  I guess I have had enough open water experience to relax and do what I know.  I was pretty sure I was dead-smack in the middle of my wave for the most part.  When I reached the first turn buoy, I started seeing white caps from the previous wave.  Shortly after, a few yellow caps started swimming over me (literally!).  Also around this time, the water got pretty choppy.  I wasn’t expecting it to be quite as churning as it was, there were moments when I actually thought I might be sick from the motion!  The next turn came quickly and then it was just the homestretch left.  I did peak at my watch at both turn buoys, so I had an idea of how long I’d been in the water (15 minutes and 24ish minutes) and knew I was on track.  My private goal for the swim was to finish in under 45 minutes, and I crossed the timing mats at 40:06!!

I had my wetsuit stripped and ran into transition to retrieve my bike and I was on my way.  About 3 miles in, I started to get paranoid about my tire.  I actually convinced myself that it was flat, so I pulled over and checked it.  It was completely full.  Silly me!  I was pretty quick and only 2 or 3 people passed me while I was stopped and I quickly passed one of them again.  I was still a bit paranoid about the tire for the rest of the ride, but I planned to ditch one water bottle at the first stop for Gatorade and alternate water and Gatorade for the whole ride.  The roads out of the park were not bad, but pretty soon the hills started.  I think I saw Chrissie Wellington leading the women before the first aid stop.  Around mile 10 was the biggest hill of the race, Marsh Hill and it was steep and it was long.  I just took it in my granny gears. We did see two pro women wipe out coming down the other side, so I knew it would be a fast and probably technical bit of riding. Soon, but not soon enough, I reached Route 106, which was the bulk of the course.  It was a long, straight and gradually sloping road that made for somewhat boring riding.  I got a kick out of the aid stations with some very over-the-top volunteers all dressed up in crazy outfits.  We even got to see Santa and his Elves at the North Pole!  Pretty soon we were climbing again.  This time, my bike got stuck in the big ring so I had to take it really slow and easy in order to not destroy my legs.  It was hard work!  Coming back down Marsh Hill was a blast, I’m not sure what my top speed was, but it was definitely fast.  Finally, the park was in sight and I realized that I was going to finish much faster than my expected time of 4 hours.  I saw Curtis cheering on the bike in chute, dismounted and ran into transition.  I finished the bike in 3:32:55.

After ditching my bike and changing shoes, I decided I would step into the porta-potty at the end of transition.  The volunteers standing there tried to convince me to continue on to the run and stop on the run course, but I knew it would be in my best interest to stop then.  My transition time turned out to be only 4:08, so I’m glad I made the decision to go then.  Curtis was there to cheer me on as I started my run.  It was two loops, so I would get to see him again at least once before I finished.  I ate one package of Clif shot blocks as soon as I started the run, and I had another package that I decided I would take at the beginning of the second loop.

I knew the run was going to be the hardest part of the day.  The biggest issue I had been having during my bricks in training was that my back hurt when I ran after biking for the 50+ mile distances.  The one difference in the race from my typical bricks was that I put on my fuel belt.  I’m really glad I did because it ended up having a stabilizing effect on my back and completely eliminated any pain in my back.  It did not, however, do anything for the pain in my feet and legs.  I had not accounted for the amount of swelling in my feet after more than 4 hours of constant exercise and my shoes felt tight on my feet from the moment I started the run.  They went numb quickly despite my best efforts at wiggling my toes to keep the blood flowing.  My right knee gave me trouble throughout the bike and didn’t get any better on the run.  I just kept repeating to myself, “It can’t hurt any more than it already does.”  So I kept running, it was just four 5Ks.  I could do four 5Ks.

The run course was pretty challenging with one pretty significant hill.  It was no worse than training runs at home, though.  The first loop was pretty crowded, but by the time I started my second loop, many of the rest of the athletes had finished and I spent a lot of time alone.  It was a treat to get to each aid station, with all the very enthusiastic volunteers.  The turnaround point for the first loop was decked out in patriot decorations and bubbles and there was a stereo blaring “Yankee Doodle” when I passed through on the first loop.  I was still running when I reached the teaser end of the first loop, which shared part of the route with the finish chute.  I kept running the whole second loop.  In fact, I am very proud to say that with the exception of walking through the aid stations when I got something to drink, I ran the entire 13.1 miles!  When I reached mile 12, I realized that if I picked up the pace and got in a strong 10 minute mile I would be able to finish in under 7 hours.  I summoned all the energy and strength I had left and picked up the pace.  When I could finally see the finish chute, I knew I had to push just a little harder, so I ran as hard as I could at that moment (which wasn’t very hard!).  I passed two men who were walking in the chute and ran across the finish line!

I cannot even express the overwhelming feeling of that moment- never before have I felt such a desire to cry and jump for joy at the same time, but be so mentally and physically exhausted that I was incapable of either.  I got my finisher’s medal and a hat and a blanket and hobbled out of the chute.  I did it!

My total time was 6:58:39.

1.2 mile Swim: 40:06

Transition 1: 3:39

56 mile Bike: 3:32:55

Transition 2: 4:08

13.1 mile Run: 2:37:51

Finally out of the Gym!

I had a pretty slow workout week, but very busy week otherwise.  I didn’t manage to convince myself to do my planned runs Tuesday or Thursday.  I had reasonably good reasons, though.  Wednesday I had a Biochemistry exam, so Tuesday was spent taking care of things at home and studying till very late.  Thursdays, I have obedience training with Tara, so I have limited time for workouts after work.  What I need to do is start doing my workouts between my Thursday morning class and work.  I can use the gym on campus, but I will have to go get a student ID for that.  I did lift weights on Wednesday with my mom, so at least that was something!

This weekend the weather finally cooperated for some outdoor workouts!  I got to run outside both yesterday and today.  Yesterday was not a planned run day, but not having done any other running this week made me really motivated to take advantage of the good weather and relatively mild temperature.  I wore under armour leggings, a tank top, light long-sleeved jersey and a dry-fit pullover.  My hands were pretty cold, but otherwise I was comfortable.  Curtis and I ran and walked for about 60 minutes.  I have no idea what the mileage was, but I’d estimate we did about 3 miles of actual running.  We also had to walk a bit and had to make a stop because my stomach was acting up.  It did the same thing on our run today and we had to walk and stop to use the bathroom again.  It was really frustrating to have to stop, so that’s something I’m going to have to work on (sorry if TMI).  Today, we ran again outside.  I wore similar clothes- under armour leggings, under armour cold gear long-sleeved shirt and the same pullover.  I also added a pair of gloves and headband to keep my hands and head warm.  It was quite a bit windier today and slightly chillier, but I was comfortable with the amount of clothes until the very end of the run when I started to get cold.

It ended up being quite a bit more technical in some areas as many of the sidewalks were still covered, at least partially.  We almost turned back in the first snowy section to find another route, but decided to push through.  It turned out to be the right decision as most of the rest of the paths were uncovered.  Curtis and I ran together for about the first 6.5 miles and then we ran home and I grabbed Tara to finish the run with another 3.5 miles.  This was my first outdoor 10 miler!  It was so refreshing to run outside this weekend and not be stuck on a treadmill.  I never got bored and the time just flew by when I wasn’t constantly watching the clock.  The total time was slow, but I’m attributing that to the walking and breaks.  I felt great throughout and our pace seemed about right.  My legs are a bit sore now, but I don’t think it’ll be a lasting pain.  I am happy I am going to be well-prepared for the half-marathon in April!

Hopefully this week will go a bit better workout-wise than last week.  I have another test on Friday, but it shouldn’t require as much studying as the test last week.  I should be doing weights Monday and Wednesday and running Tuesday and Thursday.  I’m also planning to keep up with the calorie-counting through March (I have been keeping track, but not posting my calories for each day since I’ve not blogged much this week).  I just learned from Lori’s blog that it is National Nutrition Month.  So, I think it is only fitting to continue to focus on my nutrition for the next month.  I’ll be doing my goal check-in sometime this week also.  Hopefully I’ll be able to get it in tomorrow, but we’ll see how the day goes!

Nutrition

Today ended up being an unplanned day off from working out, but a busy day otherwise!  I had both school and work today, and I had a haircut tonight, so I felt like I was constantly going from one thing to another.  Usually, I lift weights with my mom on Mondays, but we decided we’d do our workout on Wednesday instead.  It actually works out much better for me since I did a weight workout yesterday and should really have today off from lifting anyhow.  I also have an exam on Wednesday, so I’ve been busy studying for that as well.  Tomorrow night will be a nice short 5 mile run with some uphill work.  Unfortunately, I’m still going to be stuck indoors on the treadmill!  It’s probably going to be raining all day tomorrow, yuck!  I hopeful that the rain melts some more of the snow though.  We’re down to grass in some areas and the backyard only has about 4-6 inches left to go!  Of course, the huge mountains of snow on the sidewalks are going to take a bit longer, but ever littly bit helps.  I can’t wait for spring!

I realized today as I was tracking my calories, that I haven’t talked about nutrition in awhile (if ever), and I think it’s about time that I do!  I’ve always considered myself a fairly healthy eater, but I’ve come to learn that I had very unhealthy eating habits, especially in college.  I hardly ever ate breakfast, unless it was the morning hangover breakfast at a local restaurant after a night of heavy drinking.  And more often than not, I would get through almost an entire day without having eaten anything.  I remember there being days when I would get home from class at 4:00PM without having had a single morsel of food all day.  By this time, I usually had a couple of diet Cokes and maybe a cup of coffee to tide me over.  Needless to say, I was usually starving by the time I got home and remembered to eat!  I would then proceed to binge on anything I had.  Luckily, I was a fairly health conscious shopper, so I usually had pretty healthy foods on hand.  Looking back, I’m not sure how I ever thought that that was ok!  By the time I had graduated, I was sick of eating like that all the time and vowed that with a more stable schedule, I’d be able to develop healthier eating habits.

Fast forward a couple years to now.  I can’t even imagine going through a day without breakfast!  And a morning snack. And lunch. And an afternoon snack. And dinner.  Plus the pre- and/or post-workout snacks when needed.  The first thing I added was eating breakfast regularly, usually oatmeal.  Soon after, I had my cholesterol levels tested and found out my levels were fantastic – all within normal limits after having been elevated the past few years.  By spacing out the calories I was consuming throughout the day and exercising regularly I lost about 5 lbs.  I do track calories on and off when I feel I need to re-evaluate or if I have noticed a weight change.  For the most part, though, I eat intuitively.  But, my biggest struggle in healthy eating habits is remembering that I don’t have to “clean my plate” when I am full.

I eat mostly whole foods, with my staples being oatmeal, nut butters, salads, and eggs.  I do use protein powders in shakes and to boost a meal’s protein levels if I feel like I’m lacking (most often in my oatmeal).  Dinners typically consist of some protein source (chicken, fish or beef and occasionally pork or buffalo), a veggie, and a starch (potato/rice/noodle/bread).  I LOVE bread, rice, and noodles and could eat any of them plain in mass quantities.  I’ve learned to manage that and restrain myself from overdoing (most of the time!).  I do drink wine regularly, but very little other alcohol on a regular basis.  I do not subscribe to “low-fat” or “low-carb” options typically, it’s a fine balance if I choose those options over full fat and full carb options of how many calories there are and what they did to it to make it low fat or low carb.  I don’t mind eating out, and I usually don’t restrict myself from ordering what I want and eating it too!  This even includes fast food (mmm Wendy’s spicy chicken sandwich combo!), and I don’t feel guilty about it afterward.  Although one of my biggest pet peeves is that fast food restaurants usually ask you if you want “medium” size and don’t give a choice of “small”, so you have to specifically say you want the “small”.  I nearly always am completely full from a small meal, so I have no temptation to get a larger size.  Especially since the “small” size of today is actually the “medium” that I remember from growing up.  But I digress…

I have mentioned that I like to shoot for 30/30/40 split of calories between protein/fat/carbs.  I actually find that my intuitive eating actually has me closer to 25/35/40, and maintaining my weight well.  However, I feel like I’ve stagnated in muscle growth a bit and want to address that, which is part of the reason I set calorie counting as a goal for this month.  I’d like to see those protein levels a little higher and the fat levels a little lower to see if it makes a difference in my body composition.  I am aiming for about 2000 calories on non-workout days and 2300 on workout days, give or take.  This is based off my calculated BMR (calories I need to just stay alive) according to height/weight/age and using the Harris Benedict Equation for the multiplier.  While these may not work for everyone, I find that they do a pretty good job of estimating my caloric needs.

I realize this post is somewhat disjointed and choppy, but it sums up my nutritional habits, background, and ideals for me pretty well, so thanks for sticking around if you’re still here!  Do you have a set nutrition plan that you follow? Or is it more ad hoc with some loose ideals?

Today’s Calorie Count

Breakfast: 310

Morning Snack: 125

Lunch (out to eat): 996

Afternoon Snack: 362

Dinner: 420

Total: 2213

Fat: 38%

Protein: 22%

Carbohydrate: 40%

My biggest struggle in healthy eating habits is remembering that I don’t have to “clean my plate” when I am full.

NROLW and a shortened Run

I did my run as planned yesterday – a personal 5k on the treadmill.  I finished in a personal best of 28:42!  it made me wonder what my speed would have been in a real race outside.  I wonder whether my mental toughness is developed enough to push faster?  I definitely wasn’t completely worn out from the run, so I think I could have gone faster.  Only one way to find out!  Hopefully I’ll get to race in a 5k and 10k before the half-marathon this spring.

Today, I decided to do NROLW Stage 5, workout B.

A. Barbell Romanian deadlift/bent-over row – 3 sets of 4 reps @ 85 lbs, 120s RI

B1. Partial single-leg squat – 3 sets of 4 reps @ BW, 120s RI

B2. Wide grip lat pulldown – 3 sets of 4 reps @ 75/80/80 lbs, 120s RI

C1. Back extension – 3 sets of 4 @ 25 lbs, 120s RI

C2. YTWL – 3 sets of 4 @ 10 lbs, 120s RI

D1. Swiss ball crunch – 3 sets of 4 @ 20 lbs, 120s RI

D2. Hip flexion – 3 sets of 4 @ BW, 120s RI

D3. Lateral flexion – 3 sets of 4 @ BW, 120s RI

E. Prone Cobra – 3 sets of 120s @ BW, 120s RI

Then I did my 15 minutes HIIT on the treadmill and kept running till 4.25 miles.  I was supposed to run a full 6-8 miles, but I just wasn’t feeling it today.  I know that’s a terrible excuse, but so it goes.

I’m still planning to count calories this week.  And to hold me accountable, I’ll post them here for every day this week.  I aim for about 2300 calories per day with a 30/30/40 split of protein/fat/carbs.  Let’s see what I’m at, shall we?

Recovery Week and Goals Check-In

Hi!  It was strange being back at work this week after working from home all last week!  I’ve got several projects that are keeping me pretty busy right now, so work has been slightly stressful.  Not so much that I’m losing sleep over anything though!  I had an easy week for run training this week, just 4 miles each on Tuesday and Thursday.  Tuesday also included four 2:00 aerobic intervals.  I felt pretty good for both runs, both were done at a slightly faster than 10 minute mile pace overall.  This weekend I have a personal 5k planned for tomorrow and 6-8 miles on Sunday.  The heart rate stats include warm-up and cool-down.

Tuesday Run Heart Rate:

Duration – 47:15

Average Heart Rate – 171

Maximum Heart Rate – 194

Calories – 520

Thursday Run Heart Rate:

Duration -55:45

Average Heart Rate – 161

Maximum Heart Rate – 182

Calories – 565

I was supposed to start NROLW Stage 5 on Monday, but it started to snow again Monday afternoon and I didn’t want to drive in case it accumulated.  So, I didn’t end up starting workout A until Tuesday.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get to finish it until today!  I did the A and B exercises on Tuesday and the rest today.  We had a very busy social life this week, and had friends over for dinner on Monday and Wednesday, and Curtis’s dad stayed with us on Tuesday night.  Then Thursday nights I have limited time because I have dog training with Tara.  Thank goodness I have off work on Fridays now!  I really need them to get things done!

This stage of NROLW is a repeat of an earlier stage, but with less repetitions and more sets.  Here’s the workout…

A. One-armed dumbbell snatch – 3 sets of 4 reps @ 20 lbs, 120s RI

B1. Dumbbell single-leg Romanian deadlift – 3 sets of 4 reps @ 30 lbs DBs, 120s RI

B2. Barbell bent over row – 3 sets of 4 reps @ 85 lbs, 120s RI

C1. Dumbbell single arm overhead squat – 3 sets of 4 reps (each arm) @ 12.5 lbs/15lbs and 25 lbs or 30 lbs DBs, 120s RI

C2. Dumbbell incline bench press – 3 sets of 4 reps @ 25 lbs DBs, 120s RI

D1. Plank – 3 sets of 120s, 120s RI

D2. Reverse Wood Chop – 3 sets of 4 reps @ plate 4, 120s RI

Body Weight Matrix (2 sets)

24 squats

12 lunges (each leg)

12 lunge jumps (each leg)

24 squat jumps

As always, that Body Weight Matrix business is tough.  I did the first set in 2:25, rested for 4:50 and then did the second set in 3:15.  I had to sit down for a bit after completing the second set.  Whew!  I need to increase weight almost across the board.  I think I can go up on A, C1, C2, and possibly D2.  Of course, since I split the workout in half, I’ll probably find that the weights I used to day are more than enough for next time.

Heart Rate Stats for Tuesday weights (A-B2):

Duration – 34:16

Average Heart Rate – 151

Maximum Heart Rate – 180

Calories – 195

Heart Rate Stats for Thursday weights (C1-Body Weight Matrix and stretching):

Duration – 1:00:38

Average Heart Rate – 119

Maximum Heart Rate – 180

Calories – 336

I think it will be helpful for me to check-in throughout the month on my monthly goals.  I intended to do this at the end of last week, but clearly that didn’t happen!  Better late than never…here goes.

1. Run a total of 60 miles by the end of the month. (Exercise tracker should reach 110 miles). I am definitely on track to reach this goal.  Already at 94.9 miles and I’m confident I can finish another 15 miles by the end of the month.

2. Workout (weights/running/cross training) at least 4 times per week. Despite the snow, I actually think I met this one every week this month so far.  I did four workouts the first week, five the second week, and have done three so far this week, with 2 more planned this weekend.

3. Use bike trainer at least once! Done! I did this last week on Wednesday during the second snow storm.

4. Focus on nutrition this month by counting calories for one continuous week, starting 2/15/2010. I  haven’t done too well with counting calories this week, so I’m going to keep it up for next week.  Mostly, I can keep track during the day, but I found dinners to be difficult this week because we had company twice and ate out once.

5. Go on one of the running club runs or join the triathlon club. Nope, not done either or made an effort to do either…I need to work on this.

6. Blog more than once a week! I actually set this goal after the first week of the month was over.  Since then, I have met this goal on the second week.  I need to blog at least one more time this weekend to meet it for this week.  I should mention that my weeks run Monday-Sunday for training purposes.

There’s more snow in the forecast for Monday.  It’s not supposed to be too bad though.  I hope that’s true because I’m ready to be done with snow now!

Making it up as I go along…

I have gotten a little off-track with my training plan, but I’m hoping by tomorrow I can get back to normal.  Curtis was away at the end of last week and over the weekend, so my schedule was a little helter skelter from that, not to mention my classes started on Wednesday, so I had to adjust to that as well.  I intended to run fairly early on Friday, either in the morning or right after class, but it didn’t work out.  I slept in and had forgotten a friend was coming over after class.  After she left, I ended up reading for awhile and then falling asleep for a couple of hours.  By the time I woke up, it was 5:00 PM!  I decided to go to the gym and run on the treadmill.  I did 5 miles then 4 pickups for a total of 5.95 miles with the walking and cooldown included.  The pickups were done for 30 seconds each at 9 mph.  I did not run on Saturday because again I fell asleep in the afternoon when I planned to run and by the time I woke up it was dark and since my gym closes early, I decided to forego it.

Today, I had a 10K course plotted out and brought along a cue sheet with me so I could do my practice 10K.  Unfortunately, one of the turns did not seem to exist.  I think what I had seen on the map appeared to be an intersection, but was not.  I ended up just backtracking and picking some trail routes that I hadn’t run before and tried to make up the lost distance.  Around the point I hit the dead-end, I also lost my cue sheet.  I figured I’d just try to guess-timate 6.2 miles.  I felt pretty good throughout the whole run, never got tired or winded so I think my pace was pretty good.  I forgot to put on my watch though, so I have no idea what that pace was!  Clearly, I was a very disorganized runner today.  It turns out, the course I ran was 6.14 miles, so pretty close to the 10K I was aiming for!

Tomorrow I’m going to attempt to get my act together and run in the morning since it’s just a short recovery run.

I made myself one of Susan’s breakfast cookies for tomorrow to get back on track with my nutrition.  I need to go grocery shopping, though, so I don’t have snacks or lunch packed yet.  I’m still trying to figure out what to do about those for tomorrow.