Spooky Sprint 5k + tunes

Tomorrow I am running in the Somerville Spooky 5k.  I have been looking forward to running in this race since last year I wasn't able to run in the race because I had a back injury.  Although I did volunteer and was the sweeper for the end of the race, it wasn't completely the same.  So to say I am excited is an understatement.

Here is my playlist for the Spooky Sprint:

Post-race update:
What a fantastic day yesterday turned out to be!  It was a chilly fall morning, perfect for the Spooky Sprint!  The race kicked off at 9:30am.  I have run this course twice before as well as walked it last year, so I know it fairly well.

When I rounded the corner for the homestretch, I saw my husband and two daughters waving and cheering on the other runners.  They were the only ones on this part of the street and it was the perfect spot for them to sit and cheer everyone on.  As they gave me a high five and their best cheers, I was off on my final minute of the race.

I crossed the finish at 29:21, my very first sub 30 min 5k.  I have worked SO hard to get my time down and it paid off.  Not to mention I crushed my last PR by a minute and a half.

We all started somewhere.

Over the past couple of weeks, a couple friends have asked me what to expect for their first Spinning class.  And I think one of the best parts of teaching Spinning classes is having beginners walk through the door for their very first Spinning class.  I love giving them a first and hopefully fun dose of what the Spinning program is all about.

During their initial set-up and explaining a little about the class, I do inform them that it should be a fun and enjoyable workout, but it is a challenge.  Some of the other things I tell them are:

• Your butt is going to hurt.  The bike seat isn't the most comfortable the first couple of times you ride.  Give it time; you will get used to it.  
• If, after a month of classes, your toosh is still not used to the bike seat, invest in a gel seat cover (approx. $20 @ Walmart or Sports Authority) or bike shorts that has the padding inside.  Scour Marshalls, TJ Maxx or those kind of stores for a better price!  The shorts can be pricey, but worth it.
• The resistance knob is a useful tool and should not be feared.  Challenge yourself to add a little extra resistance, but don't be afraid to take it off if you need to and by need to, I mean, you feel like you are going to die.
• You can't judge how much you love or hate it after the first, second or even third class.  Give it a good shot.  Also try a variety of instructors.  Not all of us teach the same way.  As much as I would love for you to become a regular in my class, I didn't love every instructor's class I happened to be a part of.
• Bring water. Lots of water. (at least 40oz for a 40 min class)
• Bring a towel.  You are going to sweat.  
• Use a heart rate monitor.  It's what the Spinning program is based around to give you the most  effective workout.
• I started Spinning 80lbs ago.  If I made it through my first class, you will too.
• This is your workout.  You get out of it what you put in. Think of how you want to feel when you are finished (and it better be something positive).  

And then I remember the first time I walked into my first Spinning class.  I was anxious, terrified, nervous, but yet excited.  I had wanted to try Spinning for years, but at the gyms I was a member at previously, I just never felt comfortable.  However, now at my heaviest weight, I somehow got the nerve up and decided to give it a shot.  I showed up early, picked a bike and waited for the instructor and now that instructor is one of my biggest fans, my mentor in all things fitness & most importantly, a friend.  I got set up on my bike and off I was to ride in my first class.  I can clearly remember thinking: "What did I get myself into?", "What was I thinking?", "Was I nuts for thinking I can do this?" and a whole bunch of other sentiments very similar to those.

I made it through my first class and although I felt that I barely made it through, a Spinning addict was born.

Give it a try.  Have fun with it!  And let me know how it goes!

Swimming and swimming and swimming..

My new routine is to do a speed workout for 20-25 minutes and then swim for a half hour two days per week.  My running playlist is chock full of pop songs that I love and that I know will carry me through especially minutes 16 and 17 at a 7.2.

For swimming, I need a continuous flow of music for about thirty minutes.  I came across this website called SteadyMixes when I was scouring the web for some upbeat, fun songs for my indoor cycling classes.  They have a ton of mixes that are usually about 45-60 minutes long that range from pop to r&b to heavy metal.  Part of the website, Steady130, provides mixes from popular djs who remix current and old song as well as mash them up.  I have downloaded so many of the mixes and they are all free!

My favorite mixes are Stronger (An all girl mix), Spring Break '12, & their newest Face Off 80 v. Now.  Definitely sample them and download your faves for your next workout.

For swimming, I have a Speedo AquaBeat, an underwater mp3 player.  It came with it's own earphones, but I have wasted so much time trying to get them to stay in my ears so I rarely used it swimming.  I was in the market for new earplugs so I decided to try new underwater earphones.  And this morning was my first go round with them and they get a rave review!  I ordered Pyle underwater headphones from Amazon.  I decided on these because they were less than $20!  These were so easy to get into my ears and stayed in place during all of my laps this morning.  Definitely worth the price.

Pyle Underwater headphones

My aqua beat + Pyle headphones

We all have struggles

Whether it's fitting in workouts, fighting off cravings, or dealing with other life stresses, we all have struggles.  It's how we deal with those struggles that can make or break a lifestyle.  It's important to recognize a struggle and find a way to deal with it in a positive way.  And it's okay to ask for help or advice; infact that's probably the best approach.

My biggest struggle is eating at night.  I wind down at night and find myself hungry.  Rather than pushing the hunger feeling off, I rummage through the cabinets for a snack.  

When I first began this journey, I worked out with The Biggest Loser on XBox Kinect which goes beyond just fitness.  It includes tips from trainers and past contestants as well as challenges.  One of the challenges was to not take second helpings at mealtimes.  Another was not to snack at night which I was doing well.  

In order to deal with my struggle, I do a few things to avoid late night snacking.  

• Stock the house with fruits, veggies, trail mix (be careful!), and other healthy snacks
• Don't buy chips, ice cream, and other unhealthy snacks.
• Drink water first.  Usually it's a thirst cue and not hunger.
• Go to bed!
• Read a book or do something else to take your mind off of it.
• Revise your food intake during the day.

We can all do this!  Challenges are their to test us.  Prove that you can take those challenges and kick it! 

Tri-riffic

For the last 12 weeks of the summer, my Tuesday & Thursday nights were dedicated to my triathlon training.  And I can't believe it went so fast.  In 12 weeks, I see a difference in all three disciplines, but namely my swimming.  This past week was my first week not having training and although school started as did our new routine as a family, but I still felt that 1) I wasn't working out enough & 2) I was totally bored at night.  I gained back 3+ hours each Tuesday and Thursday.  But I wouldn't have traded this time for anything.  New friendships were made and I gained more confidence and strength not to mention overcoming obstacles, mainly my own inner voice.

Swim
I can't even tell you how proud of myself I am for seeing the growth in my freestyle in the few months I had to train.  Honestly, swimming used to scare me.  I am not afraid of the pool or any body of water, but having to swim freestyle in front of people made me anxious like no other.  But I had to overcome that. And I was determined to learn. And that I did.
In the last week, my coach told me I looked like a "professional".  Hah! Far from a pro swimmer, but definitely a compliment and kept me going.  I enjoy being in the pool and swimming.  Now if I could only figure out my pool headphones I would be set.

Bike 
Honestly I don't have much to say about biking.  I don't do it enough outdoors, but my group cycling classes have kept me in a great place for enduring the bike seat and prepping me for those hills.  I just need to get riding outdoors more, but if I am outdoors and get a workout in, I'd much rather be running!

Run
Running outdoors in the summer can be dangerous with the heat and humidity which sucks because I hate running on the treadmill.  To me it is the most boring workout I can do.  Watching the same thing over and over and over and OVER again is mind-numbily boring.  However, I learned an important lesson this summer and sometimes it just isn't worth the possibility of getting sick when it's so hot and humid out.  So the nights where it was still 90 degrees at 6:30pm, my coach had me working on interval workouts on the treadmill.  And I actually, wait for it, enjoyed it.  And I felt pretty accomplished afterwards too.

So now with all this extra free time I have on T/Th nights, I decided that I want to run a 10k and then a half marathon.  :) And continue to swim two to three times a week. Seems like all my free time just got filled up.

30 Day Ab Challenge

I am addicted to Pinterest.  There is no doubt about it and I will happily admit to it.  I have found so many crafts for my daughters, home decor ideas, healthy & delicious recipes, and a bazillion fitness routines to try.

This week I found a 30 day ab challenge that is similar to P90X's Ab Ripper.  Over the summer I was working on my abs 5-6x per week.  After having two daughters, my core was jiggly and on the complete opposite side of the spectrum as one would define "strong".

I have used ab exercises from the Brooke Burke's Transform Your Body, Blogilates, any fitness magazine that had "Flat Abs" in big, bold print on the cover, you name it, I've tried it.  So while the summer bikini season is just about over, getting my core to the perfect place is always a work in progress.

I will be documenting my results via photos.  Stay tuned!

Feel free to follow me on Pinterest.

Family Vacation

A week of the sun, boardwalk, ocean, family time, and fun.  That is just a simple summary of our family vacation a few weeks ago.

This year we rented a beach house and it was absolutely awesome.  We were about 2 1/2 blocks from the beach which would have seemed a lot longer, but with beach buggies and rolling coolers it was a beautiful walk to and from the beach and boardwalk every day.  

Just about every morning, I ran.  Yes, on vacation.  And nothing made me happier than simply waking up, throwing on my clothes and  heading down to the boardwalk.  The view during this time was absolutely beautiful... the sun rising over the Atlantic Ocean, creating a beautiful orange glow was incredibly rejuvenating.  Such a peaceful way to start off the morning and set the tone for the rest of the day.

See? Absolutely beautiful.

Most days in Rehoboth were filled with the beach, ice cream, and wine.  Dave and I were able to escape one night for a date.  We had been planning this date night since our last date night in Rehoboth in 2011.  We went to the Cultured Pearl and stuffed ourselves silly with incredible sushi and sake sangria.  If you find yourself in Rehoboth/Dewey Beach, you must get to The Cultured Pearl, at least for a sushi roll or twelve.

Before our vacation I was in search of a place in NJ to learn how to Paddleboard.  It's been on my bucket list for a long time and ever since I lost weight, I have the courage (not to mention strength) to try it. 

We found East of Maui in Dewey Beach, DE.  They are a full surf shop that rents paddle boards, surf boards, and other water sport equipment.  We left paddle boarding for our last full day.  Not the brightest idea because paddle boarding is best when the winds are less than say, 20mph gusts.  And we picked probably just about the windiest day.   The nice gentlemen gave us a lecture on the winds and that another group came back pissed because it was too windy.  However, we took our chances and had one of the best times of the whole week.  

The sent us to Rehoboth Bay which is waist deep water and the warmest natural body of water I think I have ever been on the Atlantic coast.  Paddle boarding was freaking awesome!  I had an absolute blast on the board - it was thrilling.  In fact, I know what I hope Santa Claus brings me this year!  

East of Maui Surf Shop

My nephew and I on the paddle boards

It is hard to believe that a whole month has gone by since we were on vacation.  While we had an incredible time spending the whole week together, we were happy to get home to our own beds and routine and start planning next year's vacation!

Rugged Maniac Tri State

This past weekend, I participated in Rugged Maniac with my husband and his company.
This hasn't been our first rodeo, but it was by far our most favorite.  Last year we competed in Warrior Dash in Albrightsville, PA and Rugged Maniac in Brooklyn, NY, but this was by far our favorite mud run by far.

Rugged Maniac Tri State was held at Raceway Park, a venue near and dear to my heart.  I worked there once upon a time as a teenage parking attendant back when the parking lot was a dirt field.

So this 5k included mud, a water slide, cargo nets, wooden barricades, mud, hills, barbed wire, more mud, fire and mud.  It began on the racetrack and then quickly dropped us onto one of the motocross courses, which was chock full of rolling hills.  The best obstacle by far was this huge waterslide that ended with a huge puddle of mucky water.  Dave, two friends and myself all went down together, screaming and laughing on the way down.  Seriously I felt like I was 6 years old again.

Our finishing time was 59:36.  My goal was to have fun and enjoy the day with a great group of people.  You can see below that we accomplished that goal!

Taking on a TRI

Well, not yet.  But training has begun. Every Tuesday and Thursday through the end of August.  I gave myself exactly 1 hour to prep myself for this decision and pack a bag with a towel, bike shoes, bathing suit, as well as my children so they could hang out in the babysitting room.   Now's my chance to train and what better way than with a group of fabulous women at the Y with the Tri Fit class.

Running and biking aren't a problem.  My goal for running is to improve my 5k time overall and not feel like I am going to puke at the end of every run.  But I think I fixed that issue (more on that later).  And as for biking, well, I am not sure since, wait-for-it, I am not an outdoor cyclist.  Say what? Yes, you read that correctly.  I have not ridden a bike outdoors since I was probably 12 years old.  I guess I just figured out what my goal should be during training, huh?

My weakest area is by far swimming.  Although in 4 training sessions, my progress has been incredible.    I finally (!!!) can swim with my face in the water.  Yes, picture me, swimming laps and I don't know how to breathe correctly.  But the one point is that I wanted to learn and am committed to practicing even if that means showing up at the pool on non-swimming days.

I amaze myself.  At how strong I am and my mental discipline that has gotten me to this point so far.  When I first began my fitness journey, my goal was to complete a 5k in under 40 minutes.  I think that goal was blown way out of the water.

And I found this motivational saying that I think depicts my final sentiments.

it's been a long time...

I've come to the realization that I should have blogged more about my journey and taken more pictures. But blogging takes a lot of time.  However, I decided now more than ever to get posting and help inspire those around me to jump on the health and fitness bandwagon if not for anyone but themselves and to feel good.

It's not that I will forget this journey, but being able to look back to see my progress in stages would have been awesome.  I tell everyone when they start their journey to take pictures & measurements.  I should learn to practice what I preach.

Speaking of PRs.  I ran two 5ks in the late Spring.  My goal was to run a sub 33 minute 5k which I had no problem doing.  Currently, my PR is 31:34 which was set at the Hillsborough Hop on June 2nd, 2012.  And that, of course, has led me to wanting to run a sub 30 minute 5k, which I know I can do.

A few weeks ago, I was featured on the Philly Blurb's Biggest Loser's blog as part of the "Losing It On Their Own" series which features real life people who lost weight, but gained a healthy lifestyle in return.  Being interviewed by Jen was a complete honor as I look forward to her articles on the current episodes of The Biggest Loser.  It felt more like a conversation than an interview.  My story can be read here.