P90X Week 5 – Let’s Do This

So last week’s P90X training didn’t go as planned, but I’m ok with this. In my defense, it was the planned slow week and I did ok in the beginning of the week, but Thursday and Friday got all crazy. You see, I started working part time (2 days a week) and I just didn’t have time to fit in my workouts. And then Saturday and Sunday, well, they’re always just ridiculous around here, so yeah, not a lot of P90X-ing going on for the last 4 days.

I did start running this week!!! Aaah it’s like coming home again!! Strap on the running shoes, plug in the earphones, crank the tunes and just GO! This is my personal “time out”!! Oh how I’ve missed them. I fit in two runs last week and this week I plan on 3, which is what the Doubles P90X Plan calls for. YES, I’m going to try to do the Doubles. I may need resuscitation after, but I’m going for it!

As for the diet situation… I’m doing great with eating healthy. It’s easy for me being that I LOVE VEGGIES!! I load up the fridge with colorful veggies and eating is a piece of cake… well, you know what I mean. I am still doing the Dr. Oz test for dairy intolerance, and I have to say, I am feeling much better. I think I may just continue to eat this way, since I see no down side. I enjoy Almond Milk and Soy Yogurt, and surprisingly I haven’t missed cheese, much. Now to be completely honest… I am still eating feta. But, it’s because no one else in my family eats feta and I can’t stand to throw away a pricey cheese. But, once it’s gone, it’s gone!! I won’t buy anymore. The bonus is that I’ve lost a few lbs in the process. That’s not my #1 priority, but I’ll take it! Who wouldn’t? I mean bathing suit season is rapidly approaching and I plan on rocking my bikini/ tankini/ one piece by my girls’ weekend in April. Yeah, that’s right Mama’s gonna “suit up” and in the words of Barney Stinson, “It’s gonna be legend-… wait for it… and I hope you’re not lactose intolerant because the second half of that word is DAIRY!”

Welcome Baby Girl Haylee!!

BIG NEWS!!! My niece and running partner delivered a beautiful baby girl yesterday!!! This is BIG NEWS because she had a very difficult pregnancy and was on bedrest for the last 3 months of her pregnancy. She is such a trooper!!! Imagine going from running 3-4 times a week to laying in bed… yes laying… she couldn’t even sit up. But alas, Baby Haylee was born and what an amazing little miracle she is!!! She is perfect in every way! Congrats Lisa, Shaun & Braeden!!!

OK, so now on to my training progress. I am still doing my modified version of P90X. I’m currently on week 4, which I thought was a break week… WRONG!! Yoga X twice this week :(). And Core Synergistics, which was a pretty tough core workout. I actually liked it! Yeah, I’m not a wimp! I just have wimpy moments from time to time.

So, I’m feeling like I’ve plateaued. Maybe it’s because I’m on week 4, which doesn’t have as much cardio. I don’t feel like I’m getting as much of a calorie burn as I should. I’m actually toying with starting my running back up. I’ve been focusing just on P90X for the last 3 weeks, but I think I need to get moving! Uh, yeah… I have a 5k next weekend!!! Seriously need to shoo the spiders off my running shoes and get running!

Plans Change… We Must Adapt

We all know that even the best laid plans must be altered due to unforeseen circumstances. But, that doesn’t make it any less annoying!!

As you may remember, I have committed to running a marathon this year as one of my resolutions. I would love to do the New York City Marathon, but chances are slim that I’ll win that lottery. So, I had decided that my back-up plan would be the St. Augustine Marathon in November. Well, imagine my surprise when I went to their webpage to check the date and registration information and there’s NO MARATHON!!!! WHAAT?!? Yeah, this year they are only having a 5K, 10K and 21K (or half marathon). BUMMER!!! So what’s a marathon girl to do? Well, I went searching for another marathon, and the only thing I can find that works with my schedule is the Disney Marathon in January, 2013. Does this mean my resolution is a bust already? That depends on how you think about it. I like to say it’s an issue of semantics. Will I have completed the marathon by December 31, 2012? No, but I will have trained for it, and that’s the hard part! Right?

The other change is in the P90X Training program I’m doing. I’m into week 3 and I truly believe it’s working, but I’m a little bored. Oh, and Tony’s voice is grating on my last nerve!!! Yeah, I’ve hit my wall, not with the program but with him. So I’ve decided to not do the video and just do the exercises on my own. And, I even created my own plyometric, interval and ballet workout routines to replace his plyo, shoulders & arms and that stinking kenpo routines.  So, is it really even P90X? Technically, no, but I’m much happier because I don’t have to listen to his voice anymore!!! And my workouts are way harder than his! Stay tuned… I may post my workouts at some point. I have to make sure they work first!!!

P90X Update: Week 2

OK, Week 2 is DONE!! WoooHooo!!! Yep, I’m still on target as prescribed… everyday workout, with Sunday as a stretch day. I feel GREAT, and I’ve even lost a few lbs too! This week was much easier than last. That would be proof that I’m getting stronger.

So I have a confession…Truth: I dread the 90 minute Yoga! I know, it sounds like an easy day, especially because I LOVE yoga. But it’s not my kind of yoga. It’s about a gazillon chaturangas, warriors and up & downward facing dogs. Then, after your completely exhausted and thinking you’re about done, you go right into balance poses. It’s really hard to balance when your legs are shaking with exhaustion. I admit, I did much better this week than I did last week, but it’s still hard! And yes… I did face plant a couple times during the crane pose. It wasn’t pretty!

So this is week three and the last week of this schedule. Yippeee!!! Week four has Yoga X two times??!?!?! Ughgh! I think I can… I think I can… Say it with me!!!!

Kudos to the “Losers”

I consider myself to be in fairly good shape. I run, walk, weight train, eat healthy (usually), and I would consider myself a pretty active middle-aged adult. That being said, I’ve been amazed at how sore I’ve been from my 60+ minutes of P90X every day. Now I know I’m using different muscles in new and different ways, but I never expected to be so sore that I couldn’t move with out groaning like a really, really old person. Again… this is after a measly hour and a half work out.

So, I was watching The Biggest Loser, the other night, and I started wondering why none of these contestants complain about the muscle pain. I mean, we see them working out to the point of exhaustion and quite frequently nausea, but I’ve never heard any of them complain that it hurts to laugh, or move, or even just to take a breath.  Am I just wimpy, wimpy wimpy? Or is this just really good editing?

2012 Training Plan

First of all, yes, I’m still doing P90X… week 2 is well underway!! I’m still eating clean (or clean enough for me) and logging my food and exercise. You’ve got to love progress!!! I get so inspired when my training plan works! With that in mind, I realized that I needed to sort out my plans for the rest of the year. Yep, I said YEAR! See, I’ve committed to run in the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon in November with my nieces AND I have the St. Augustine Marathon, which also falls in November. YIKES! So, it was time for me to organize my training schedule. My biggest fear was that these races would fall on the same weekend. But, alas, Disney posted the date for the half and it’s November 10th!!! YAY!! This is a week before the marathon… Pheeww!! Ideally, I should be tapering the week before the marathon, but I’ll just make it work.

So, when figuring out a training schedule, I work backwards. I start on M-Day (Marathon day) and work in the reverse to figure out when to start my training. BUT, I’m also trying to work in the P90X workouts. Yeah, go ahead and say it… OVERACHIEVER!!! I’m thinking that this combination will give me that added strength to succeed at my marathon challenge. I found a plan I like somewhere on the internet. It was a pdf of a Nike Running plan and had beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. So last night I painstakingly entered this plan into my iCal, working in the reverse. I was so proud when I finally finished and my iCal looked all full and busy-like. Then, I went web surfing this morning and found the Nike Running Training site, which allows you to enter the date of your race and it will calculate your plan for you!!! UGH! AND… it will import it into your calendar!!! REALLYY?!?! I couldn’t have found this BEFORE I wasted an hour or so of my life?

Anyway, I officially start training for my marathon in the beginning of May, which happens to be my birthday week! How perfectly appropriate!!! So from now until May, I will continue with P90X, round 1, which will end April 15th. And I may try my own workout from then until May. Or, if I can stand it, I’ll do P90X, round 2! Stay tuned!!!

I’m now a P90X-er!!

So I’ve been hearing of the P90X fitness program for years. Yeah, I’ve looked at it briefly over the years, but just never felt like investing the $$. Not that it’s crazy expensive, but $140 for a set of DVD’s that are just gonna look pretty on the entertainment center is an investment I don’t care to make! So, why now? Well, I happened upon a set of the videos… FOR FREE!!! Yeah, FREE… So I took this as a sign, that I should get my arse moving!!

Today is Day 5 and I’m feeling GREAT!!!! Who knew that 5 days could make me feel SO much better?! Don’t get me wrong, I’m sore, make that SUPER SORE! But I LIKE IT!!!! And I’m also eating better. MUCH BETTER than this time last month, when I was ingesting mega amounts of Christmas cookies. Blech! Now I’m eating regularly and mostly clean foods. I’m also following my food intake with the Lose It! app that I wrote about previously… here. If you haven’t downloaded this app yet, DO IT NOW!!!! It’s the most amazing app that not only teaches you how to balance calories in and calories burned, but also, holds YOU accountable for your own weight loss or gain. Yes, I’ve been known to take a late walk around the block, or run up and down the stairs for 15 minutes just to burn off those extra calories I HAD to have!! It works, really!!

So, for those of you wondering if I’m still running… YES, sort of 🙂 I’ve actually been too sore to run this week, but I am fully intending to pick up my mileage (which won’t take much) next week. And now that I’ve written it, I must DO IT!!! After all, I do have a marathon to run this year!!!

Happy 2012!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! It’s 2012!!! WOOHOOO!!! So, like every new year, I’ve come up with a resolution. Actually, I have MANY resolutions. Resolutions that will undoubtedly be unresolved by year end 🙂 But if I only complete one of them then I’ll have been successful!!! You see, that’s why I make MANY resolutions, so the odds of succeeding are much better. Some years I even repeat failed resolutions from previous years. Now, some may call that cheating, but I like to think of it as persistence. And persistence is a good trait, right?

Well, one of this year’s resolutions is… wait for it… dum da duuumm…26.2 miles… yup, to complete a MARATHON!! Now, I’ve tried this one once before, but didn’t get to complete it due to injuries. YAY, it’s going back on the list!! I think if I train properly this time, I WILL succeed!! You see, last time my training consisted of just running, with an occasional yoga or pilates class. (Like one of each the entire 20 weeks of training) I didn’t do any weight or flexibility training. I am convinced that these two additions are essential to a successful marathon. We will see!!!

So I’ve decided to commit to this crazy goal, but which marathon shall I do? Hmmmm…

1. Disney Marathon – well I live in Orlando and could easily do the Disney Marathon, but it’s in early January, which is about a week away. Yeah, not gonna happen! And, if I sign up for next January, I’ve already failed. And that’s just not acceptable!
2. There’s the Space Coast Marathon which is nearby, but it’s held the Sunday after Thanksgiving. That would mean that we would have to skip our annual Thanksgiving trip to Charlotte… NOPE, not gonna do it!!
3. ING New York Marathon in November would be fun and the application process (lottery) starts TODAY. This is not only a tough race to get into, but also a rather expensive one! But I signed up for the lottery and I’ll just have to wait and see!
4. The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is in October and is reasonably priced at a mere $150. Registration opens in February, so that’s another option. And I know my hubs would come be my cheerleader, since he LOVES Chi-town!
5. The St Augustine Marathon is very close to home, which saves $$ on airline tickets, and close enough that I could actually have some peeps at the race!! Hmm, yeah this may be the one!!! Unless, of course I get lucky and get into the ING NYC.

Stay tuned and I will keep you up-to-date on how the training is going!

Happy Belated Halloween!!!

BELATED BOO!!! Did I scare you? No? Well, POO! Yeah I got you there, huh? As any parent knows, POO trumps BOO on the scare meter, anywhere, anytime!! But, is it scarey enough to get you moving? Are you running from your computer, screaming in fear? Good then I have succeeded in my task to get everyone out and exercising off all the sugar we ate yesterday!!

OK, so I have to confess something…I’ve been a little lax in the running lately. There…I’ve said it. Isn’t the first step in solving any problem, admitting that there is a problem? And now I’m gonna want to lace up my runners and hit the pavement. ..right? NO? CRAP!!! Well, I tried!!! In my defense, I have been walking 3 miles 3 times a week with my hubs. So I’m not sedentary, just a tad lazy. Well, maybe lazy isn’t the right word… running in slow-motion might describe it better.

So since I started writing this a couple days ago… yeah maybe lazy is the right word… I added a 2 mile run to my hubby walks. That’s a total of 5 miles!!! Eventually I will have hubs running the 3 mile walk and then I’ll be running 5 miles three days a week. Not bad… I think what I really need is to find a race to sign up for and get myself inspired!!! Stay tuned!!!

Free… Yes, F-R-E-E… Marathon

What does the word MARATHON mean to you? Yes, the obvious answer is 26.2 miles of running, walking or crawling, depending on who you are! To me, it’s one of those love-to-hate things like child birth, deep tissue massage or dieting. You know, the intense pain before the immense pay-off! I mean, think about it… when you decide to sign up for that race, you agree to:

1. commit MONTHS of your life to training
2. forfeit a couple toe nails for the cause
3. run through at least a couple pair of rather expensive shoes
4. live with the aches and pains in the hams, hips, quads and knees
5. forfeit your normal social life for one centered around the long weekend runs

AND, for all this wonderful (code word for torturous) fun, you would normally, pay (happily, I might add) a couple hundred dollars just to register!!!! Well, I found a F-R-E-E marathon!!! It’s called The Really Big Free Marathon, and it’s in VEGAS on November 3rd!!! WOOHOO!! Here’s the rub… registration opens on March 24th at 12:01AM PST. Yes, that’s Pacific Standard Time, which is 3:00AM for those of us on the East Coast! UUGGGHH!! Eeeh, what’s a little lost sleep in the grand scheme? RIGHT?!?