Running Love.

“I never thought that one sport could change my outlook on life… Until I became a runner.”

While surfing the internet the other day, I came across this quote and it struck a cord within me. This quote is so incredibly true, for me and for so many others. Running can truly change your life, as it changed mine in an incredible way.

When I started this journey, I was an evening smoker, an occasional gym go-er, an unhealthy eater, about 60 lbs overweight and was an extremely depressed/unhappy person. I was lazy, bored and unfocused.

I started out slow… walking mainly, followed by slow jogs. I gained momentum and confidence. I started losing weight and then everything changed. I started exercising regularly, attempted to start eating better and eventually quit smoking.

Running grabbed a hold of me, in a way that nothing had prior. I felt like I found myself and I loved it. I was a runner.

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Runnin’ in the off-season

You put in the time.

You put in the miles.

You ran a bazillion races throughout the year…

and now your racing season is over.

Now what?

If you are anything like me, you get into a rhythm with running and racing…

and once that rhythm is interrupted, you feel.. well, lost.

DOMS… it’s not a street drug, dude.

Get your head out of the gutter dudes…

DOMS stands for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.

Have you ever noticed that you are WAY more sore 2 days after a killer workout than you were the day after?

That’s DOMS!

Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) describes a phenomenon of muscle pain, muscle soreness or muscle stiffness that occurs in the day or two after exercise. This muscle soreness is most frequently felt when you begin a new exercise program, change your exercise routine, or dramatically increase the duration or intensity of your exercise routine.

I sucked it up and went to Crossfit.

Yep, you read that right dudes!

I obviously look like this now.

Just kidding, I don’t.

But, I am sore which ROCKS!

and not nearly as sore as I was last week,

Which rocks even harder!

Well I’m up, I might as well go work out!

I hope you all had a great weekend!

I was up at 4 am this morning, thanks to my awesome cat Max.

Yep! This adorable sink dweller, is the culprit.

Jerk.

So, I rocked my Monday morning the only way I knew how to…

At the gym!

I did 4 miles of sprint work, followed by 20 minutes on the elliptical, a little core work and some stretching.

Yeah I did!

I’m a gigantic chicken.

I am a HUGE chicken.

I mean huge.

Monstrous.

Gargantuan even.

Ever since I threw my back out a few weeks ago…

I am scared that it is going to happen again.

Public enemy #1: Crossfit.

Back Pain.

Today, I look like this.

I hurt my back this weekend.

Oh man.

It sucks.

Being the smooth operator that I am, I did it getting into my mom’s car on Saturday morning.

Who does that?

Hiatus from blogging.

HELLO!

So, I accidentally took a 4 day hiatus from blogging.

Whoops.

I seriously don’t know what happened, I woke up and it was Wednesday!

Crazy.

So here is a short update of sorts,

The last time we talked, I shared with you that I was going to try crossfit for the first time.

aaaannnndddddd……

Crossfit rocks.

I have officially shotguned drank the koolaid.

Three day weekends are for cool people.

It’s a 3 day weekend!

CELEBRATE!

While most Americans are on vacation, partying it up or tanning in their back yards…

I will do doing the following:

Gym-ing it up and a Crossfit Update!

I, along with many Americans, have a gym membership that I rarely use.

Last year, I used to go to the gym every morning before work…

this year… not so much.

I would rather run outside, take a shower, and get ready for work in the comfort of my own home with these two dorks…

Meet Max and Diesel, my cats.

Contemplating Crossfit.

As you can tell by the title, I am contemplating giving crossfit a shot.

What is crossfit? According to wikipedia,

Crossfit advocates a mix of aerobic exercise, body weight exercise, gymnastics and Olympic weight lifting.CrossFit describes its strength and conditioning program as “constantly varied, high intensity, functional movement. Workouts are typically short—30 minutes or less—and intense, demanding all-out physical exertion. They combine movements such as sprinting, rowing, jumping rope, climbing rope, flipping tires, weightlifting, carrying heavy objects, and many bodyweight exercises; equipment used includes barbells, dumbbells, gymnastics rings, pull-up bars, kettlebells, medicine balls, and boxes for box jumps. 

Good intentions, gone bad.

I went to the gym this morning with the anticipation of doing legs and cycling training for my triathlon. The leg training went great! I am much stronger and better than I was three months ago, which is so motivating!

One workout away from a good mood

My motto for the new year is “you are one workout away from a good mood”. This is my motivation for getting up at 6 am and heading to the gym or hitting the streets. This for me, is the only way that I know how to consistently workout. Otherwise, I make excuses and somehow end up not going after work. I was not always a morning person, in fact I still don’t consider myself one… But I do it anyway.

It feels like New Years Day!

So admittedly, I spent the majority of yesterday feeling quite hungover… so today is my “New Years Day” and I am pumped about it!

I weighed myself this morning… and almost fell over. My non-exercising body decided to gain some weight over the last week. Stupid body. My pants are definitely not fitting the way they once were, which is disheartening, but that’s what happens when you take a week off from the gym and drink much more than you should.

I am back at work, have eaten well all day and will be back at the gym at 6 am tomorrow morning. My world has started spinning again and it makes me very happy!

Onward and upward is my motto for 2013. This is going to be my year!

Day 1: Dinner

Chicken with ground peppercorn
Avocado
Brown rice
Green beans

I do like other foods, ha! But I just grabbed what’s in the fridge…

See below:

Organization is my thing. 🙂

I am going to the gym first thing in the morning because I’m heading out to go visit my family for Christmas. As always, I’m looking forward to kicking my own butt!

Day 2 here I come!