Goals: March 2011

In 2010, my goal was to qualify for Boston. I trained consistently. I train intensely. I made some mistakes and my body gave out on me. I hurt my foot and as a result I didn't qualify. I'm OK with that though because it was the process that was important. I spent a good 4 months training hard and spending time with good friends - in one way it was a disappointment but in many others it was a huge victory!

For quite a while now, my goal was to drop 10-15 pounds. This has been a tougher road than even the marathon training. There is no arguing the fact that I exercise at a high intensity - I put the work in. The problem enters in on the nutrition side of the equation. You can not out exercise what you can potentially eat! All of those little bites count toward your total daily calories. Just because you break off a piece of cookie (instead of eating the entire cookie) doesn't mean it is calorie free. Just because I spent 1 hour exercising at my max doesn't mean I can give in to those sugar cravings. And, unfortunately, that is exactly what I've been doing. Losing the pounds obviously isn't the right "goal" for me. I'm hoping to make the weight loss a secondary achievement.

I have run the Baltimore 10 Miler for the past few years now. It is a great race - well run - and a fair but challenging course. The field has grown each and every year and because of the layout of the streets, they have gone to a wave start. This means that you need to enter an approximate race time when you sign up so that you can start with people who will be running at about the same pace. The course has had my number the past couple of years so when I had to choose a time, I struggled with what it should be. I decided to make this one of my next goals with the hope that it will help me stay motivated with my exercise routine as well as work on my "secondary weight loss goal". I entered in a time of 1:20:00 for the 10 miles (which equates to 8 min/mile). This will be a HUGE challenge for me so it is going to be imperative for me to keep my exercise intensity high, keep my program balanced (running, strengthening & stretching/yoga). It is also going to be a big help to my speed if I drop those pounds.

So, in the next 108 days I will be striving to increase my running speed, to get my body stronger and to keep my flexibility high. I will be running, using my P90X and my Insanity programs to achieve those goals. I know I need accountability with my nutrition so if you read this, please check in with me - call me out if I seem to be slacking in the food department. The little ticker at the top of my blog should make steady downward progress. I will be exercising at my max and because of that, I need to fuel it with good and healthy foods.

Goals are important! I need to have focus - something to work towards. So, my first goal for 2011 is 1:20:00 at the Baltimore 10 Miler! I will be making others but for right now this is what I'm working towards!!

The End of Recovery Week

This has actually been a tough week. The Insanity recovery week has you do the same workout all week. I have really gotten used to doing something different each day so the repetition got to me a bit. I did mix in a day of yoga and today I will do a stretching session - as soon as I finish this. The week ends with a nice run tomorrow morning - I look forward to these because it gives me a chance to catch up with my runnin' buds.

Next week the real work begins! The Max sessions of my Insanity program begins. I believe there are 4 separate workouts and you just cycle through them one after another. I've seen some video of them and they look really tough. I'm definitely interested in seeing how my body deals with them.

I have 1 more month of Insanity and then I'm getting back into more running. I've already put together a program, which will probably run me a good 6 months, that will incorporate P90X, Insanity and my running. I'm going to alternate the P90X workouts and the Insanity workouts by month with 3 days of running being a constant throughout the program. I really want to see how my body responds to this hybrid. I love the way it will incorporate the lifting, the running and the high intensity plyos as well as the P90X yoga. They have all become so very important to me and the functioning of my body!

P90X Yoga

I just finished my P90X Yoga session and I feel great! I definitely needed this workout - I was finding that I had many more tight areas than I thought. My flexibility has increased greatly since this summer and I really notice when I start to "slack-off". I've been stretching with my Insanity workouts but I have found that it isn't as much as I was getting with my P90X sessions. I don't necessarily consider this as a fault with Insanity it is just a different workout and I need to adjust accordingly. I will add, at least part, of the P90X Yoga DVD into my workout schedule. I say part because 90 minutes is hard to fit into my day. I'm really happy when I can get the first 45 minutes of the DVD finished.

I've also added a weight loss ticker to the top of my page. I need the extra accountability beause I have been sliding a bit on the nutritional aspect of my program. While getting ready this morning, I turned on the TV and the Insanity infomercial was on. There is one section where Shaun T. says something like: "If you give it you ALL you will see results". I really feel like I'm giving my all during the workouts BUT it occurred to me that I'm not giving it my ALL with my nutrition plan. I have come to learn, through my time with Leanness Lifestyle, that the nutrition is more important than the exercise. You cannot out exercise what you can potentially eat! I need to keep this in mind each and every day!!

If you are a football fan - enjoy the game tonight but watch your eating! That is what I am going to do today. We are spending the day at a friends house and they typically order pizza for dinner. It may not be the best decision but I'm going to allow myself 1 slice of pizza tonight. During the day I will drink lots of water and snack on veggies only! Please check back here and keep me accountable! If I don't post the outcome please send me a comment. Enjoy the day because every day is a blessing!!!