One more day

Tomorrow is my last day of "Making the Cut" round 2. I haven't been as faithful this round (I probably missed 5 days). I also stopped doing the circuits twice. I wasn't getting stronger, just feeling fatigued and run down. On Wednesday I start my official triathlon training. I have 96 days left until my race. In a way, it feels like a long time; but on the other hand, the way time flies in my life, it's not long at all.

I ended up running the 5K a few weeks ago, and just as I predicted, I didn't do as well. My legs were heavy and I knew from the first mile I was in trouble. My first mile time was 8:40- not what I wanted it to be. The funny thing is I felt like I was really pushing myself. My official time was 26:19 which translates to a 8:28 mile. It's still under 8:30 so I can't be that disappointed. My plan is to stick with the triathlon training for the next few weeks and throw in a 5K on the 4th of July. It's a really hilly course and usually very humid. Last year my pace was 8:30 so I hope to do at least that this year. I don't know if my legs will be tired. I overheard someone at my last race talking about how biking really messes up your legs for running. I guess that explains why the transition from bike to run in a triathlon is supposed to be the hardest.

Speaking of that- I did my first "brick" this past weekend. I biked about 25 minutes and then ran a little over 2 miles. It was a very weird feeling. I read that it's good to run after every bike ride to get your legs used to the transition. I'm going to try doing just that.

Race Results- Thank you Jillian!

I finally saw my race results for the 5K I did last month. I had just finished Jillian Michaels 30 day Making the Cut program and wanted to see if I was stronger. I ran 2x a week during her program and my goal was to run somewhere around an 8:30 pace. (Last year my pace for the Women's 4 miler was exactly 8:30 and I was running 3-4 times a week). Anyway, my time was 25:58 which translates to an 8:21 pace. WOW! I am so psyched!

I am a believer in Jillian. (Not that I wasn't before.) I haven't lost a significant amount of weight (5 pounds), but am much stronger and toned. I'm running another 5K next weekend and am afraid it won't be quite so good. I'm in the middle of doing her 30 day program again (day 12) and my body is tired. Plus, I'm doing the circuits twice instead of once. I think I'll probably be fatigued when I run. I probably shouldn't run it, but they have great grab bag prizes at the end and last year I won something. A friend suggested I just run it for fun and not worry about time. Anyone who knows me at all, knows that it's impossible for me to do that. I don't have the ability to restrain myself in a race. Never have and never will.

Last April Post- I'll do better next month

I'm off to swim again tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it. Last week I swam for 30 minutes and then hit the jacuzzi. It was awesome! Jillian is still kicking my butt. I'm doing the circuits twice and it's exhausting, but it feels so good when I'm done. After being pretty sore last week, I'm not sore at all so far this week (it's only Tuesday!).

I'm trying to learn more about the swim stroke and also RODE MY BIKE FOR THE FIRST TIME this weekend! It was great. I really enjoyed it. I think it was a huge day for me because I was so scared I would crash or get hit by a car. (That's a whole other post.)

Anyway, three posts for April is pathetic. I will do better.

swim update

I survived the swim clinic. It was okay, not great. I didn't get as much one on one attention as I wanted. There were about 15 people there who all seemed to be great swimmers. I admit, I was a little intimidated. I was thinking that there was definitely a time in my life when I would never have attempted to do what I did. I am so introverted that to walk into a place where I don't know anyone in somewhat paralyzing. A few years ago I never would have attempted it. Not a chance. How sad. I was anxious, but much improved from the past.

I learned a lot about stroke mechanics and also found out my kick stinks. I've got a long way to go. I've reflected on a few things in the past days. First- I wish I was on a swim team as a child. My girls are and they are great swimmers. They have great form which will stay with them forever. The guy at the clinic said it's going to be really hard for me to unlearn my kick because it's so ingrained. My girls don't know how lucky they are. Second- when I first got out of the clinic, I was discouraged. I thought about taking swim lessons and how bad I am. I reminded myself that I'm doing a sprint tri. We're not talking Ironman here. I don't need to stress about my swim stroke. Sure, I want to get better, but I think my initial reaction was a little extreme. Reminder to self: I'm in this for the fun.

I'm back!

It is my intent to keep this blog up to date- mostly so I can look back and see where I've been. But.. I just can't do it. It feels like I just started the fitness program, "Making the Cut", but it's been over a month! I need to get a grip!

Now that that's out of the way.... Here's my progress. I made it through the first round of "Making the Cut" and am on my second day of doing the whole thing again. I made some mistakes the first time which I hope to correct. First of all, I only did the full circuit 1x and I'm supposed to do it 2x. My rationale was that I wanted to get in cardio. One time through takes me a little over 30 minutes so two times is tight. I want to try it though. I'll have to find a time later in the day to get my cardio in. (Not that the circuit doesn't count as cardio because I sweat my head off and my heart rate is off the charts!) I need to figure out how to get some triathlon training in. That is why I'm doing this after all! I recruited my friend Barbara to do it with me and I'm excited to have a partner.

Good news! I ran my first 5K of the season last weekend and it felt really good. Even with the limited amount of running I've been doing, I felt strong. I was running 2x a week with a 2 mile run mid week and a 4 miler on the weekend which is not a great amount. I don't know my official time (I forgot to stop my watch at the end), but I'm encouraged! My first mile was 8:30 and my second was 8:24. I had plenty of energy to sprint at the end too. Once they post the results online I'll post tmy time.

I'm off to a swim clinic tonight and am excited to get some feedback on my form. I swam 40 laps last week but it was way too slow!

New Workout Clothes, Baby!

I did it! I made it through the first week! Wow, what a week it was. I've taken a nap every day and had a headache. Yesterday was the first day I was headache free. I'm sure it was my body going through detox. I've had no coffee, no sugar, and no processed food. I think I've turned the corner as far as my energy goes. The workouts are still killing me, and I don't feel stronger. BUT.....

I've lost over 5 pounds! I'm really shocked. I really am. I'm so psyched and it's so motivating. Looking at the scale got me to the gym this morning. (Actually, I was going to go anyway, but it sure made me work out harder!) Something's working, and I just need to stick with it.

My highlights for the week: I've eaten food I've never had before- Fennel (I made it with Salmon and proscuito and I have to say- It was awesome!), Eggplant (with Mahi-Mahi- not so great), and lots of garlic. I've done more pushups than ever before, but I still need to do them the girl way. (Jillian would not be happy with me.) Hopefully, that will improve.

I've got the next two days off and Easter looming. I'm going to try my best to keep it together and not fall off the wagon.

End of one challenge, start of another

It's been a long time since I posted here. I can never seem to find the time. I have a million ideas in my head- I just need someone to reach in there and pull them out and post them here!

So... the challenge between me and my hubby... I unofficially won. He lasted about 3 days and then fell off the wagon. I did really well for the first week but when he jumped ship and then bought himself two pairs of shorts (supposed to be our prize!), I kind of lost my motivation. I still lost two pounds.

That's the good news. The bad news is we went on our vacation and I gained both pounds back. I ate so, so, so, so poorly. I did manage to exercise, so I guess it could have been worse. I celebrated my birthday in FL and got Jillian Michael's book, "Making the Cut". Which leads me to the real topic of this post.

New challenge. I decided to try Jillian's 30 day workout plan. It's basically circut training 4 days a week and an eating plan. I'm going to try my best to follow it all for 30 days. My hubby decided to give me some extra incentive: Every week I complete it exactly, I can buy something for my workouts. That's huge for me! I'm highly motivated! I'm on my third day and the workouts are brutal. I've followed the whole program it to a T and I'm very tired and sore. I actually had a moment when I was trying to do this exercise called Mountain Climbers, (kind of like climbing a really steep mountain on your hands and feet) and I could hear Jillian yelling at me. I was half laughing (I was in too much pain to really laugh). Picture me trying to lift my leg and not being able to. I just couldn't! In my head Jillian is yelling at me to do another one and I couldn't. In the end, I collapsed on the floor in exhaustion. I think I got a tiny glimpse of what the contestents on The Biggest Loser go through.

So, I've got 27 and a half more days. I haven't been this sore in a long, long time. I'm really interested to see what results I can get. Today is my off day from the circuts, but tomorrow it's back to the torture!