Tag Archive | yoga

Why

That is a question I get asked by some when it comes to my spending so much time at the gym. Why do you go? What is so interesting about it? Can’t you do that stuff at home? How do you have time to be there so much?

Truth of the matter is, I really like it. It is my “happy” place. Working out feels good. Whenever I am feeling like crap or crappy about my life (which is way too often), I just go to the gym and usually within a few minutes of being there, I feel better. Also there are classes that I really enjoy doing and by workout out, I get to challenge my body to do more than it has done before. Sometimes I even surprise myself with how much I have pushed myself physically. Continue reading →

My Month of Burpees

Nov5

yeah, fun is not burpees and burpees are not fun

I. Hate. Burpees. For those who know me well, that statement is not a shock. In fact, it is probably common place knowledge. Despite my hatred of them, I will do them when my trainer makes me do them or they show up in a group fitness class I will take.

Despite doing them (usually with a reluctant smile), I have not come to enjoy them. In fact, burpees are my least favorite exercise. Sure there are times when I end up doing an exercise I don’t like, but eventually I will start to enjoy it. One such exercise was pigeon pose in yoga. I hated pigeon because I couldn’t really do it thanks to having really tight hips. However, the more I did it, the more I started to like it and actually start to crave it, especially after a long run. Continue reading →

Athletes, Burnout and Routine Shake ups

Jul13

Before I started marathon training, I had been taking a number of rest days. Part of me knows that was completely reasonable to do. Especially since I had run a half marathon and a 10 mile race within six days of each other. During the weeks of the taper leading up to my half, I started to get sick. That would explain my half not being the absolute best and why I ended up missing my time goal.

Anyway, Shortly after the 10 mile race, I ended up taking consecutive days off from working out. And I realized I was starting to get burned out from working out. Yes, I took days off, but then to get back at it seemed like such a chore. I tried to run a couple of times and each time, all I could muster was a mile. It felt so pathetic. Pathetic because I was the person who had gone over 450+ days straight of doing something, whether it was easy yoga or an intense weight class to leisurely runs. I talked about this revelation with my trainer and she said, well part of it is because I am now an athlete. Athletes have to and do take breaks. To prevent injuries and so as not to start hating what they do. Continue reading →

Adjusting

Feb9

I start training in earnest on Monday. I am planning on running about nine races this year and the first really big ones are in May – the Cellcom Green Bay Half Marathon and the Soldier Field 10-miler. I have a race before those and I’ve already done a couple this year so far. However, I’m really excited about those races. Both races will allow me to run at some amazing football fields. Additionally, I get to express my inner sports meatball and wear Packers attire for both races. At Lambeau it will be feel right. At Soldier Field, it will just annoy Bears fans and I’m all about poking them.

Anyway, last week I got my training schedule and it caused a mini panic for me. HOW was I going to fit in all the working out I do along with the added running that would need to happen so I can smash my previous best half marathon time. I knew I was going to need help, so I emailed my trainer with the schedule. She was thrilled to see there were planned rest days because right now, I’ve been working out for over 430 days without taking a true rest day. I just have easier days where I will just do yoga, but I always have to be doing something.

The group I am training with has two different programs for the half marathon training. One that involves taking one rest day a week and another that has a total of maybe five rest days through the entire process. Since the Green Bay Half will be my ninth half marathon, I figured I should probably do the advanced program. But then I had this fear of will that make sense if I choose to run / walk it? Why can’t I just run the entire time? Then I started to wonder if maybe, just maybe I could run this race in under 2:05 because that would mean I could do something else later in the year. Seriously, why not? Continue reading →

100 Days and Counting

Mar3

The last day I didn’t work out? November 24, 2011. That happened to be Thanksgiving. The only reason I didn’t workout that day was because I had traveled to my hometown for the holiday. Thought, it is entirely possible I did something that day once I returned home from traveling. In an earlier post, I talked about how my gym had a 30-day challenge to combat the weight gain the Average American experiences between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I breezed through those 30 days no problem. And I haven’t stopped. Yet.

February 29, 2012 was day 100 for me of working out. Nike even had a running challenge that day, which I did as part of my workout that day. At this point, I just can’t seem to stop. Every time another milestone, such as 90 days approached, then I would add more days. I even thought, I should stop after 100, but I didn’t. I worked out the next couple of days. Continue reading →

In My Head

Thoughts and Observations on lots of stuff