getting my ass back in gear.

Hi. Remember me? Nope, me either. I've been living the dream. You know, the dream that you have where work takes up your entire life and leaves you with not much room to breathe? Scratch that - let's label it a nightmare. Or, for all those employed in the recreation industry, we'll refer to it as Spring Break. I said goodbye to my weekends for the month of March and hello to ridiculous amounts of overtime. But I survived & I am coming out if it with a renewed mindset. I'm ready to get my ass back in gear (as the subject line suggests).

I am going to run my second half marathon in November. A few friends and I are going to do Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio together. I am excited and also dreading it. Excited to run another half marathon and pretend like I am a real life runner. Excited for the feeling of accomplishment. Excited to see my friends. Dreading the time and dedication training is going to require. Dreading running 13.1 miles in a row again. Dreading the post-race soreness.

But, it is a calling that I for whatever insane reason feel drawn to. Call it sadistic, self-torture, whatever you will (I mean... really - who willingly decides to run that much at once?! What is wrong with us?!) but I'm setting a goal and I will fucking achieve it. So stay out of my way, suckas.

Also - clean eating. We'll talk about this one a little later. But it needs to happen more often because I cannot live off a diet of chips and salsa any longer.

WWS (a little late)

Last week was most excellent in terms of working out. I rested on Saturday and enjoyed a leisurely day of grilling, followed by a disco party. Here's what this week looks like:

• Sunday - full body strength training (DONE)
• Monday - 2.5 mile run (DONE - did some hard ass intervals every .25 miles)
• Tuesday - full body strength training
• Wednesday - Zumba
• Thursday -2.5 mile run
• Friday - full body strength training
• Saturday - Body Pump or Zumba

I am pooped. I have decided to really give up drinking. I had a discussion with an old friend who has done it and he basically said it was one of the best decisions he ever made in terms of his quality of life. He's sleeping better, has more energy, and is more productive. I want to be all of those things! It is going to be hard as shit to say goodbye to my delicious, delicious beer. But I want to do it for a while and I will do it. I feel confident that I can accomplish this goal. I'd like to quit smoking cigarettes simultaneously but I feel like it will be a little overwhelming doing it all at once so I'm just going to really, really cut back. I tend to only smoke when I drink anyways so it shouldn't be too hard.

So now that it's out there for the internet to read, there is no going back. Daunting. 

I ate some wings for dinner tonight. The roommates and some pals went out for pizza. Well, pizza does not really bode well with how I'm trying to eat (dairy + bread = farts like you would not even want to imagine). So I opted for the chicken wings, thinking it was a better choice. HAH. Silly me. I looked up nutrition information for chicken wings when I got home and HOLY HELL - like 55g of fat. That's an entire day's worth of fat. In six chicken wings. They were delicious but I don't believe I will be having them again for quite some time. 

I'm going to try to get up early and get my lifting done before work tomorrow so that means that I should have been asleep... an hour ago. Tata, friends.

HALF MARATHON - TAKE TWO!

I am officially registered for my second half marathon! Rock 'N Roll San Antonio in November 2012. I'm pretty stoked. Training will most likely begin in September. It will be nice not starting from scratch for training. It will take a lot less time and be less difficult, I imagine. Assuming I keep up my fitness levels until then.. but I feel confident that I will! 

Right now I am setting a goal to complete it in less than two and a half hours. That's only shaving about four minutes off of my first one. I think I can do it. I just need to remember to hold back in the beginning and not tire myself out. Also - GELS. Why have I not been using gels at all for my long runs?!

January 2012 goals.

I'm going to make monthly mini-goals to keep focused. Here's what I've got on my plate for January:


1. complete all of my training runs
2. run the Surf N Turf 10K in less than 69 minutes (maintaing at least an 11 min/mile pace)
3. eat 6+ servings of fruits and vegetables every day
4. get at least 7 hours of sleep every night
5. no booze, no cigarettes

Rock on. I'll check in on February 1st and see how I made out.

2012 goals

• run a total of 750 miles


• complete the Rock n Roll New Orleans half marathon in under 2:45


• run one mile every Wednesday as fast as I can and track my progress


• add strength training to the mix


• run at least four road races of any length throughout the year


• feed my body well, give it it's rest, and love it unconditionally
  

lazy, yet busy, day.

Ohhh weekend, how I adore you. I plan on spending today running errands and cleaning. As in, rearranging and cleaning the fridge and cabinets and vacuuming every inch of this damn house intense cleaning.

Yesterday I bailed on the birthday dinner due to a pretty gnarly headache. I ended up passing out on the couch for FIVE hours. FIVE HOURS. That's not even a nap anymore, that's moving into going to bed territory.

I woke up around ten and figured 'eh, oh well, I clearly needed sleep and not running', but then since I was feeling perked up after the rest, I ran anyways! So I laced up and did a late night 5K. I opted to not run the four miles I had tentatively planned just for my legs' sake. The run took 34:45, setting me at just over an 11 min/mile pace. Not bad, I was definitely taking it easy still. It was nice to get a sweat going, though, and now I'm caught up with my training for the week.

I've got a 5.5 mile run for Saturday and then it's heading to a NYE party. I've got work the following day so it won't be too crazy. I'm also going to try to tentatively set some running goals for 2012 in the next day or so. Stay tuned.