2015 in 2015 Stats

I finished 2015 with 668 miles. That's not so bad for spending the last six months unable to run (or even walk for part of that time). I have big running goals for 2016, but I'm starting simple with walk/run intervals and a slow build.

New Year, New Goals

The last six months of 2015 did not go as planned, so I'm hoping 2016 goes in a more positive direction. I've been working on some goals for the new year. It always helps me to write them down and share them. 2016 is going to be all about getting back on track and learning to love myself.

1. Complete 2,106 in 2016 with my husband.

I love this goal! I'm really excited to being doing this challenge with my husband this year. His support of my running and wanting to run with me means so much to me. Our goal will be:

 - 21 miles/week

 - 84 miles/month

 - 1,008 miles/year

 - 10 sneakers on my wall

* this image is my running shoe. I will color one square for every mile walked or ran towards my 2016 challenge. In 2015 I was upset when I had to walk miles, then I ended up getting plantar fasciitis in my right foot. It took 6 months to heal and is still not quite right, so I will be happy to get my miles in however I can in 2016!

2. Make better food choices

 - 80/20 is my main goal. 80% good, 20% okay

 - focus on more veggies and fruit (minimum of 2 cups each every day)

 - eat less boxed goods

 - drink more water and less coffee. By less coffee I mean 1-2 cups a day not 5-6

 - NO SODA (wow! I never, ever, thought this would be on my goal list, but alas here it is)

 - log my food on myfitnesspal at least 4 times a week

3. Yoga once a week

 - I found the base fitness schedule and found they have a Flow Yoga class on Wednesday's at 9. If that doesn't work they have Monday's at 1000 and 1800. I want to work on stretching and being more flexible this year.

4. Lose the 20 pounds I've put on over the last two years.

 - sticking to the first two goals for 2016 should make this one happen. I would like to drop 3 lbs in January, 5 more by March, 5 more by July, the last 2 by September, and then maintain for the rest of the year and on. I really just want to feel comfortable again! My clothes are tight and I had to go up a size in jeans; I feel frumpy and fat. I just want my confidence back!

This year instead of just saying I want to lose weight, I'm putting a timeline too it. In my mind I can drop the 20 pounds in 3 to 4 months however knowing me I'm giving myself a longer timeline and working on making small choices every day that lead to big changes down the road. No shortcuts and gimmicks, just positive changes and smart choices.

5. Start back to school.

 - I'm in the process of making this happen. I applied to the University of West Florida (UWF) to their BS in Exercise Science. I'm still waiting on one of my transcripts to arrive (I had 6 of them to send!). School starts on the 5th, but I have until the 15th to get enrolled. I'm hoping the last transcript showed up over break! I won't know until the 5th when the admissions office opens again.

6. Take care of myself.

 - I don't want anymore injuries. My big focus this year will be on saying no and realizing that it's not the missed workouts that are affecting my mood/fitness/figure, but my eating habits. It starts in the kitchen and that is going to be my motto for 2016!

So here is to a positive attitude, small changes, big goals, and a healthier, happier, New Year - Bring on 2016!

Getting Back on Track

This is the story of my week! I completely killed my legs. I met Coach Michael at the track on Saturday and we did a 2 mile warm up then got down to business with 4 miles worth of speed drills. It felt really good to be at the track working on speed again.

We meet at 630am and do 30 minutes worth of warm up work that often looks like this:
2 mile warm up
10 striders
striders - 100 meter repeats at fresh pace (run down one side of the track turn around and come back)
Then the real work begins. This week we did:
160m, 6 times = 3 laps
1 slow lap around the track
8 striders
300m, 3 times = almost 3 laps (the recovery is across the field instead of around the curve)
1 slow lap around the track
10 striders
Total distance: 4.5 miles in 49:58. Doesn't sound fast, but that's overall time and includes walking, stretching, recovery. All the actual run segments I maintain a 7:15-7:30 pace (according to my Garmin).

Sunday I swam. Monday morning I went to bootcamp and this is where the real fun began. Apparently Troy decided to do heavy leg work at the start of the week. Ah, Goblet Tabata.

Do 4 minutes of one exercise (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off) then do 4 flying 90's. One to two minutes rest, move on to next exercise. Basically we did 2 miles worth of speed drills. Flying 90's - jog 30 yards, sprint 30 yards, jog 30 yards and repeat that 4 times.
Troy took a photo during the lunges - that's my knee way down at the very end. The other picture is of the split squats (not me in that one, but I was doing the same thing, just different tire).

It was an excellent workout! I love speed drills. My legs were definitely done when it was over; however I wasn't done for the day.
Monday night's I meet a group of cyclist's at Truly Spokin' for their weekly beginner group ride. I'm actually the only beginner; the rest of the group are guys recovering from their long rides over the weekend. Still, they are very helpful and give me lots of great pointers. We do a 7-mile loop around the airport. Normally we do 3 loops and average around 14 mph. This week we had an average pace of 13.8 with a max pace of 19.4. There were a few new ladies this week so it was a really nice group.
My first triathlon is coming up in July, so I need to start throwing brick workouts into my schedule. No better time then after my Monday night rides. I was tired from all the heavy leg work I've been doing, but decided to do a short run anyway. I went with just 2 miles and it was tough going.

Top photo: bike
Bottom photo: run splits

I was surprised with the first mile. It was tough going, but not terrible. I imagine if I hadn't done a heavy leg workout in bootcamp I could've gotten more in. We'll see what I can crank out next week!

Tuesday morning it was REALLY hard to get up and go to bootcamp, but I did it. I wanted to cry though when I saw the board. 

I was put in group #2, so I started with 2 then did 3 and began 4 before I had to leave. #2 ab work wasn't so bad and even #3 upper body was a good workout. It was #4 that I was hurting on. 15 Tuck jumps. Good times. Then prisoner squats. Ouch, oh yea, my quads hurt. I started in on the 25 pendulum lunges and barely finished those before it was time to go. I'm not sure my quads could've handled the step ups. I felt every step on the way home.
Wednesday I headed to my weekly World of Beer run. I wanted to do more then the 5k, but I wasn't quite sure I was up to the 10k since my quads were still quite achy. I ended up with 4.51 (plus about .25 that I did before my watch located signal) in 46:31.

It wasn't too hot, but it was certainly humid. There wasn't a dry spot on my when I was done!

My first two miles were consistent, but then in mile three I started to hurt and had to take some walk breaks. Mile four went a little better as I told myself I was almost done and just to slow down and run it out. I could literally feel every step pounding in my quads. I did not want to cause an injury so I just played it safe and walk/jogged. I also knew this would be waiting for me when I got home...

Today is Thursday and I'm enjoying a rest day. I was supposed to do bootcamp this morning, but Chris had duty which was really a blessing in disguise. I'm feeling better after my epsom soak last night, but a day off is certainly helping my quads heal.

WOD with Warriors

Anthem Crossfit hosted the WOD with Warriors for Team RWB this year. It was a good morning surrounded by some really great people. We followed the WOD with a social, so it gave our local team here an excellent chance to hang out and talk with others about who we are and what we do here in Pensacola.
The WOD they hosted for us was called 21 Gun Salute and was conducted at boxes all over the country over Memorial Day weekend. It was a really good WOD and was fairly beginner friendly.

I just love this photo!

I had the opportunity to talk to everyone that was there about Team RWB before the WOD started. I'm not a great public speaker, but it was an excellent opportunity to talk about the team. I did my best!

They led us through a warm-up before the WOD.

This photo cracks me up every time...looks like Arin and I are holding hands.

Thanks to Kristy we got some really good photos. Here I am during the 400 m run.

21 Box jumps

Trying to get into the band to do the 9 pullups. 

Chris doing his WOD

The kids got to join in with their very own WOD. They had an great time and talked about it a lot afterwards.

 

 

I was so thankful that they included a kid WOD. The kids really enjoyed themselves and we were able to do the event as a family.