I love morning workouts.
I had two good workouts this morning. First, I worked out with Christina. We did a bunch with weights, but the part that really got me excited was that she challenged me to a 400 at the end of our hour together. She said that I needed to do the 400 in less than 2 minutes or I would need to do 40 pushups. Yesterday, I did 400s, mostly under two minutes on fresh legs. After a workout, I wasn’t sure how it would go. But I ran hard and did my 400 in 1:50, which is four seconds faster than my fastest 400 of yesterday! It’s amazing what the threat of pushups can accomplish! Then, after about a 15 minute break, Jenny and I ran four miles together. I felt pretty strong, never really struggling. I’m so thankful that Jenny is willing to run with me early in the mornings. The few times I’ve tried running without her, I’ve struggled. But with her, it feels so much easier. Good company is worth bunches, especially early in the morning!
Intervals round 2; the pride continues.
I did a workout with Christina this morning. We did mostly upper body, and it was tough. Then I did a track workout, repeating the same 200 intervals we did on Tuesday. Check out these times:
Remember that cheer from middle school? “We’re bad. We know it. We came out here to show it. And what you see is what you get and you ain’t seen nothing yet.” Ring a bell? I used to sing it with my basketball team in the school bus as we pulled into whatever school we were playing that day.
Well, that’s what I thought of today as I was running. I’m bad. I know it…
I read this blog posting tonight and realized that I haven’t done everything I can do to make sure my twelve week Revelation Fitness experience is a success. Read this: http://keithoutlaw.blogspot.com/2010/09/i-wish-i-could-but-i-cant.html. And check out the website for Revelation Fitness: http://www.revelationfit.com///.
I haven’t publicized my plans. So here goes.
I signed up for Revelation Fitness this summer primarily because I was working out tons training for Ironman Canada but I was gaining, rather than losing weight. At 5’2″, my weight peaked at 140 a few months ago. That’s way way way too much for me. I was heavy and unhappy about it and decided to take action. I started out by looking at my nutrition and getting some really great help with that, but then I realized that trying to lose the weight on my own wasn’t the best thing for me. I need encouragement. I needed a community. I know that about myself. So when I saw my friend Matt’s “after” photos with Revelation Fitness on Facebook, I got excited. He looked awesome after his twelve week program, so I called Mariah and jumped in.
The program calls for major goal setting, three training sessions a week, a daily food log, nutrition oversight, weekly photos and measurements and lots and lots of accountability. I need lots and lots of accountability. When I started this program, I built my vision board, listed out my goals and told a handful of family members and friends what I was doing. The program is working for me, but today, the stakes were raised, and I’m reaching out past my original network of support for more help. That’s where you come in.
I’m six weeks in, eight pounds down, with a lot of work still ahead of me. My original plan was to lose 16 pounds and get down from 20 to 10% bodyfat in twelve weeks. Now I have been challenged by two coaches, Christina and Mariah, to blow past my original goal before my 12 weeks are up. In my head, that means I need to lose eight pounds in the next four weeks. How do I do that? I follow a strict diet that Christina will help me with. And I workout. A lot. Want to run, ride, swim, do yoga, hike or walk the lake? Then I’m your girl.
I invite you to ask me how I’m doing. Ask me about my nutrition and my workouts. Don’t tell me it’s okay to cheat. Don’t tell me that it’s okay to skip a workout. Don’t tell me that I can blow it today and make it up tomorrow. I have six weeks left. Tell me that I can be strong for six weeks and that I can accomplish my goals. Tell me that I will not regret working out and eating well. Remind me how great it will feel to cross this particular finish line successfully.
I have never been someone who is comfortable in my own skin. I want to be comfortable. I want to be lean, strong and proud.
Six weeks. That’s all I’ve got left. I want it.
Ironman Canada? Done.
Oh Canada. What an experience. I had a fabulous swim, a bit faster than my swim at Coeur d’Alene. Then I got on the bike, hoping to improve my time by about an hour from Coeur d’Alene. That didn’t happen. I faced rain and painful winds and hills that felt much larger and longer than they originally looked. But I did make the 5:30 cutoff by about 20 minutes. Thank goodness! Then it came time for the run. This particular run was heavy on the walking side. I struggled with nutrition on the run and ended up not eating anything the last three hours. So I was depleted, but I continued to put one foot in front of the other, walking a lot and jogging when I could, and eventually, I crossed the finish line. It was 11:52 pm when I did, so I finished in official time with only 8 minutes to spare. That was close! Too close, if you ask me. But it was still a thrill to cross that line and remind myself that there isn’t anything I can’t do. Everything is within reach if I put my mind to it!
So now, I’m putting my mind to St. George. I have to ride all winter, multiple times a week, if I want to finish St. George. It’s a challenging bike ride, and my body needs to be up to the task so that I finish the ride with plenty of time to tackle the challenging run course. Twenty minutes before cutoff will not do. I need at least an hour. So friends, join me on the bike this winter. That’s where you’ll find me. Oh St. George.
Oh, and please feel free to call me a two-time Ironman. I like the sound of that!