Thank You

I’m taking it easy this weekend to rest up for the 5K tomorrow morning. I will try to have pictures from it, but I’m not sure if I can get my camera to work properly. The battery goes out randomly. Last year, I was able to get several pictures but then it did. Speaking of which, I will share those soon.

My friend who is running the half marathon tomorrow morning is here, so I’m going to keep this very short so as to not neglect him. hahaha However, I wanted to say thank you for all the kind words of support you all have given me for tomorrow, not to mention through this whole process so far. You guys are inspirations, one and all.

Thank you. Sub-30 5K, here I come!

100 update & Insanity Recovery

Hey all. Quick one tonight, I have to get to bed. But I just wanted to let you know what I did today. I completed Day 1 of Week 2 of my 100 pushups program.

I just did what is in the last column, including the suggested max of 15 at the end. 63 total pushups with 60 seconds rest in between sets. It was REAL tough….muscles in the chest were flaring….I was cussing…it was awesome. haha It is definitely working me, but I can tell it is doing good in the results category. It’s hard to imagine that in 5 weeks, I should be doing 100 in a row…but I’ll trust it. haha

I also did my Core and Cardio Balance workout for the Insanity recovery week. It is a tough workout for a recovery one, but that is to be expected, I suppose. I got a lot out of it. Get this, I had to do Level 1 Drills, which include sets of 4 pushups and plank sprints. My shoulders are very weak right now from all of that. haha Burn, burn, burn! I’m nervous about Month 2 of Insanity…it’s going to be killer hard. I hope I’m ready.

One of my good friends is coming in this weekend. He is running the half marathon, and I am running the 5K. I had originally planned to run the half marathon, but I had knee issues during the winter and I decided to sack it and just do the 5K instead. That won’t happen again, I can promise you that. I am pretty darn sure that it happened because I quit running for a while….and my body was reacting to getting back into everything. No more.

Saturday morning at 7am sharp. I give it my all to run a sub-30 5K officially. To beat my 29’14” time would be even better. But 29:59 or less would be success. Will a time over 30 minutes be a failure? No, not at all. A 5K is better than none at all. But who doesn’t like a hard challenge? And who doesn’t like overcoming it?

Thanks for checking in!

Personal Best 5K

I decided to go ahead and get another 5K run in before the official run on Saturday. As many of you know, I am focusing on completing a sub-30 minute 5K chip time on Saturday morning. I would consider that a huge success. I am really feeling good about where I am at because my Nike+ recorded my 5K at 29’18”! IF the Nike+ is accurate, that is my personal best by far. However, I want to make this happen on Saturday. I can imagine running into Memorial Stadium, seeing the clock and that will be where I start sprinting to the finish line. That’s what’s going to happen….I won’t have to imagine long.

I am ready for it. I think I am going to rest as far as running goes until race day. Let the legs rest up and I’ll be ready to work at it. Insanity will continue just the same…..and I think we can see why. I’ve shaved off like 3-4 minutes from my usual time.

Thanks for checking in!!

100 Pushups Update

Since I will be busy tomorrow all day, I decided to go ahead and get my pushups in for the day. As most of you know, I am doing the 100 Pushups program and I just finished the third day of Week 1 today.

I am doing the third column, which means I did 58 total pushups….11 more than Day 1. Of course, the goal is to do 100 straight pushups, but there are breaks in between sets right now, as you can see. So, Week 2 will start Wednesday. I found out that one of my buddies in Louisville is doing this program too, even though we had never mentioned it to each other. Irony!

Alright, that’s it. I’m going to run 5K tomorrow as well as my Insanity recovery workout.

Thanks for checking in!

Weigh-In & Month 1 Complete

This weekend, I had family come in and visit (as many of you know) that I hadn’t seen in a long time. Of course, they were wanting to go out and do things, which brings the temptation of eating out and possibly even drinking along the way. I avoided it all for the most part, but I did indulge a little so as to be able to sit back, relax, and enjoy the time with them. So, when I weighed in Sunday morning, my weight had stayed the same through the week. Exactly the same. I am okay with that. I am glad that this week was a scratch and not a gain. I can handle that. This week will be different though….I promise that much.

Month 1 of Insanity is complete! I was hoping I would have dropped more weight by this point, and there are several factors as to why I am not losing probably. I have discussed that I am fairly cardio fit for my weight already….so it is harder to shock my body into results. However, I think I may need to cut out protein bars from my diet completely. The sugar is those could be an issue that I hadn’t really considered before. Also, I am going to start limiting bread intake to 2 servings a day at the most. So, cutting that all out could have an effect and it’s worth it to try.

My official 5K is this weekend. I wasn’t able to run this weekend because people were in and it was raining every time I had a chance. I would be all about running in the rain, but I don’t want my iPod to get ruined. I think I needed the rest though. My knees were feeling it.

So, this is a new week! The goal is to lose 2 pounds. More if possible. Let’s do this!

Busy Weekend

It seems like many of you are having busy weekends coming up, as am I. I will not be around to update too much this weekend….some, but not a lot. Mostly at night…and maybe not even then. So, I will check back in Monday (possibly Sunday morning quickly with my weigh-in results). The workouts will continue no matter what, and I will let you know how everything is going! Take care this weekend, and I’ll see you guys soon!

Work hard!

Insanity D-23 | 5K, P&R, 100 P-Us

A big day today! I spread out the workouts to let my body recover, but it went really well overall.

First, this morning, I went for my run. I completed 3.11 miles in 30’40”. Not bad (though I am not convinced of the time, you’ll read about that in a second)! I felt like I was keeping a good pace for about the first mile or so and then I somewhat struggled the rest of the way….but I kept trying to keep it up as fast as I could. I was basically doing intervals without walking…going faster and then slowing down to a jog over and over. It wears you out doing that, but it felt great afterward. Also, my Nike+ was keeping weird pace times. I was checking in on it once in a while and it would say that I was running slower than I was and then later it would tell me I was running faster than I was. I know for a fact that my normal, comfortable pace right now is about a 10’30” mile. But it was all over the place. So, I am not sure the time is completely accurate. But either way, I feel good about it. It is the chip time I am worried about more than anything. Does anybody know why the Nike+ would do that?

I came home and rested for a bit and then went into my 100 pushups workout. It’s really quick! It only take like 5-7 minutes or so to do. Day 1 consisted of: 10 pushups, 12 pushups, 7 pushups, 7 pushups, and your max amount with a 9 minimum as a goal…with 60 second rests in between sets. I did them all with 11 as my max at the end before I started losing my form. 47 is not bad. I’ll take it.

Then, the Insanity workout for the day was Cardio Power and Resistance. It is ridiculous like the rest of them. I got it in and felt a lot better through it than I have in the past few times, so that is good. Lots of calories burned today, and I love it. I still struggle a lot and have to take a lot of breaks, but that is to be expected. I just max out as much as I can during the workout and I’m happy with that. It’s much better than spending that time sitting on the couch. But I also listen to my body and if it is telling me it is done (and I mean truly done, not just wanting to be lazy and stop), then I stop.

Alright, that’s it. Thanks guys for checking in! Time to relax and clean apartment. I have family coming in this weekend so I may not be on the computer as much as I might normally be, so if that’s the case….I will update as much as possible…just know I am sticking to everything! Take care!

Fifteen Reasons

From Seth’s latest blog post: “I decided to make a list as to why I am enjoying my runs, workouts, and eating decisions; so that I know for my own purposes.” Later, he challenges us to do our own lists. So here is mine, because I really admire what Seth has done for himself and what he continues to do for others, including his wife (Carol). Go give her some words of encouragement too! So here you are….15 reasons that encompass my purpose. They aren’t just current feelings, but things I am shooting for in the future…..things in the back of my mind all of this time.

1. Nothing feels better to me than the rest right after I’ve pushed myself to my physical limit….not b/c it’s a rest, but because I realize what I just did.
2. It’s my “me” time.
3. Complacency is an awful addiction that I do not want in my life.
4. I’m doing what many other won’t now so I can do what they can’t tomorrow.
5. I want to have the highest possibility of survival if I find myself in the need for such skills.
6. I want to inspire my father to do the same for himself.
7. I want to overcome the health issues that have plagued my family.
8. It’s not about looks for me….it’s about fitness and ability. And that feels good all in its own.
9. I experience life more to the fullest with the more fit I get.
10. I don’t want to have to count on others to do things for me.
11. I love to play sports (soccer and basketball especially)
12. I’m stronger. Physically and mentally.
13. I’m more conscious of how I treat myself….and others.
14. I have many, many goals posted that exhibit how far I’ve come in my mind with fitness…and how far I want to go am going to go physically.
15. I get to meet more and more inspiring people who push me to do more.

Thanks for the post, Seth. You always bring up some very interesting ideas, and I enjoy it a lot. Keeps me thinking. Have a good one guys!

Insanity Day 22 | Plyo Circuit; 100 Pushups Start

Hello you crazies! I’ve been reading many of your blogs lately and just amazed at what everyone is achieving. Seth has been able to complete a sub-31 minute 5K while losing weight like a madman. Talk about responding to adversity with his ankle history! Steve is another one….constantly losing weight while running spontaneous 5Ks and pushing himself week after week. Incredible inspiration. What can you say about Jess?? She pushes us (and herself) to be the best we can be! She’s adjusting to life in the VFFs, staying committed to her health goals, and recently finished her first 5K (which has definitely given her an addiction to race events, as I predicted). Ashley has 22 lbs and is not looking back. In doing so, she’s taking on a form of tabata training, C25K, AND considering Insanity for the near future. She’s rockin’ it. It doesn’t stop there….oh no, not even close……there are many, many more. You guys are true inspirations. Excellent models of how people should be self-driven…of how they should (and can) commit to themselves and strive to help others along the way. Thanks for all you do for me. If I didn’t mention you, and you’re reading this, I’m sorry…it’s simply for brevity. I read many, many blogs so you’re included if we’ve been in contact, trust me.

Plyo Circuit was today and that went pretty good, though I was REALLY tired by the end. I was trailing. Most likely, I had not had enough calories, though I felt like I had eaten enough going into it. But I will keep a close eye on that. I don’t want to not be giving my body what it needs to do these things. But I workout a lot tomorrow, so that will make up for it. 😀 I still got a great workout in, regardless of how it ended. The body was sure feeling it. I wish I had more of you doing Insanity so I could go deeper into the specifics of the workouts without losing you. But just know that there is nothing easy about this program. Just watch an infomercial, and then insert into your head that it is not a gimmick. It is for real.

I also did my fit test today for the 100 pushups program. It’s a 6-week program that gets you to the point where you should be able to do 100 pushups in a row. Once I get there, I will do a video of my “final test.” How’s that? 😀 I’m doing it for extra strength training more than anything else. It’s three days a week and doesn’t take long to do, so I figure why not. Anyway, my fit test consisted of doing as many perfect form push-ups as possible. If you lose your form, you’re done. I did 17. Not bad to start….but to think that this program is going to have me doing 83 more than that at one time is unbelievable.

Lastly, I have only 10 days until the Illinois Marathon 5K. It is at this race that I will be shooting for my first officially recorded sub-30 minute 5K. 29:59 or less is the goal! My fastest time so far is 31:48. It’s a lot to shave off, but I am hoping that my adrenaline will get me there. If not, I will go down trying! haha I’m going to change up my playlist, have on my favorite running clothes, drink a Sugar Free Red Bull….everything. haha 😉

That’s it for now. Hope you’re all doing well!

Insanity Day 21 | Pure Cardio; 4.5 Miles

Today could have easily been another one of those days where I just gave in….where I found the temptation of waiting to be too hard to avoid. I think I need to find a new alarm, because I (once again) did not hear it go off and woke up only to my internal clock telling me I was ultra later than I intended. I usually like to give myself plenty of time to not have to rush in the mornings. That way, I can focus on the workout(s), rather than on being done in time.

Well, I finally got up out of bed, put on my running clothes, and headed to the Statue Garden. My original goal was 5K. Once I got there, I was feeling pretty good and I thought “let’s do 2 laps around the Statue Garden.” Each lap is exactly 1.86 miles….so 3.72 miles total. So, as I ran, I noticed I was feeling pretty good and pacing myself nicely…so I said to myself “let’s just run 4 miles.” When I got to 4 miles, I decided I hadn’t had enough still….so I decided to run another half mile and call it a day. Yeah…4.5 miles in a little over 46 minutes.

Then, I got home and popped in the Insanity DVD….and thought to myself…I must be crazy. This is going to HURT. And it did. Like crazy. I pushed as hard as I could, but it was incredibly difficult. 15 minutes straight of suicides, push-up jacks, mountain climbers, etc….no breaks…just pummeling your body into submission…plus the warm-up is really hard as well.

So, I feel really good about today. A lot of calories burned and a lot of progress made…especially mentally. I had been feeling a lack of motivation coming onto me lately and this helped subside that. I’m glad. I keep overcoming my mental obstacles so far….man, I hope that continues!

Thanks for checking in!