A Change in Focus??

Can it be?  That right after I declare I need to pick a new marathon that I want to change my focus for my training?  Well maybe change isn't the correct word for what I want.  This morning the love of my life asked me to marry him to which of course I said YES!  So now I want to run a marathon in the fall but I also want to be ready to look stunning in a wedding dress sooner versus later.  And I truly believe every bride is beautiful but there are certain things I want to do.
1. I want to be healthy, this has been and always will be my main goal.
2.  I want to finish my goal of losing a few more pounds, I am already half way there and it is for health more than anything (I was feeling blah)
3. I want to have the well defined but not too masculine arms and back.  You know the parts of me I will be showing off that day.  (oh and abs since I will be in a sari).
4.  And still want to find a marathon

Ok now that I have goals I just need to work a bit more how on to get there.  I know the running part will take care of the weight and health.  It will also help me with that whole marathon thing.  Now just to get the rest of my body ready to say "I do".  I will be blogging my progress and how the workouts are going.  And in the 5 minutes of google I realized there are about a zillion workout plans for the "bride to be" - I won't do them all but may pick and choose what I feel will be most effective for my body.  Check back to see how my progress goes and where my focus is :)

Spring is here...I must run

Ok so maybe it isn't officially spring yet and New England weather does change by the minute but it is warmer and the snow is melting.  In fact it was over 50 degrees today!  This means I am out of excuses and it is time to run again - YAY!  Except starting to run again is miserable.  You suddenly remember how the starting process hurts, how you feel fatigued easily and wish you were back to the point where you took running 5-10 miles for granted.
This morning my run was only 3.2 miles and was definitely on the slower side but I ran up and down the hills of Worcester and completed my run.  As much as I dislike the "start" of training I love the way running makes me feel.  I love the convince of going for a run - stepping out my door vs having to drive somewhere.  Now to finish up my yoga and keep running.  Next will be picking my next Marathon - it's time I start working on Marathon #9!

And then there is being sick...

I managed to fight it off throughout my last semester of school and during my studying for the NCLEX but finally the outside world won and I got sick.  I am very aware of doing everything you are supposed to do and try my best (wash hands, drink plenty of fluids, eat a healthy diet...the whole enough sleep thing well I'm working on that now).
I woke up Thursday with sinus's that wanted to explode but decided to head to yoga anyways.  I ended up feeling better after the yoga class which is always a good sign.  Unfortunately by the end of work Thursday night I was feeling very run down and exhausted.  The next question always is - do I train when I'm sick?  My girlfriend Laura has the general rule of thumb - above the neck it's go ahead and train, below the neck take time off but if there is a fever involved that's another whole ball game.  Can I sweat out a fever?  After some research and listening to my body it was the distinct conclusion of rest is best.  So yoga was out yesterday, tried to find the motivation for calisthenics but that didn't happen either.  There is just more sleep today and hoping to get back to training hard next week.  This is not helping me with my cause to working out and getting in shape with my 2 virtual partners (we never have time to train together but are definitely keeping each other on track).  The only good news is no food looks good to me so I'm not too worried about staying in my calorie range.

Birkram Yoga

A while ago I purchased 10 classes of Bikram Yoga on groupon and now that NCLEX and nursing school are finally over I realized it was time for me to get there.  When I went I changed over to a 30 days special they are running for new students and set up for my first class.  

First things first - if you have never done this type of yoga it is crazy hot in there!  I was sweating just sitting there.  And I was going to do yoga for the next 90 minutes in there?!  As it turns out the heat is manageable but you are absolutely exhausted after this.  For anyone who knows me I have a very hard time finding anything that will keep my attention for 90 minutes and not get bored or try to do 3 other things at the same time.  I only found myself looking at the clock once and going "seriously we've only been at this for 40 minutes" and then next thing I knew we only had 5 minutes to go!

I enjoyed it enough that I signed up for day 2's class right away and was back the next morning for it.  Unfortunately day 3 was off since I am fighting some sort of illness but cannot wait to go back for another class.

3 feet of snow and no marathon to train for

It's been a while since I have posted anything but to be honest it has been a while since 1. I have been in regular marathon training and 2. since I have gone for a run.  This is my second winter in the past 10 years that I am NOT training for the Boston Marathon.  I miss is more and more everyday which tells me that my marathon training is not gone forever.  In the meantime school and passing my NCLEX have been my focus.  With all of that out of my way I am now in charge of trying to get back in shape.  Here's my next dilemia - there is a large amount of snow on the ground in Worcester and apparently they do not believe in clearing their side walks there.  Unlike when I was living in Newton there is no carriage road to run on here either.  (and according to the significant other there is some concern about my safety).
My main motivation is agreeing to be a fitness buddy with my good friend Mirjana in her quest to be consistent in her high gear workout plan for the next 30+ days in her attempt to be ready for wedding dress fittings.  Since I'm not running it's hard core cross training time.  And I haven't even bothered to join a gym since I know how very uninterested I am in going to a gym.  So I am back to blogging and recording my workouts and didn't see the point in starting a new blog to talk about my workouts since someday all of this will bring me back to running marathons.
I am on day 2 of tracking my food intake on the app "myfitnesspal" (free and an amazing app) and my workouts which yesterday was 20 min of cardio kickboxing, today 22 min circuit training and 15 min of calisthenics.
Here's to being in shape - after all I have all the free time in the world until I find a nursing job!

I went running in a skirt!

I've been slacking lately.  It's not that I'm not running I'm averaging  four 3 mile runs a week...that's the problem nothing about 3 miles.  I think it's time for me to get my butt in gear and remember what I do this for.  (I needed a pep talk the other night...not even from a runner but definitely a supportive person in my life).  I haven't picked which marathon to do in the spring and it will have to go around the May Reach The Beach weekend (first appearance in Mass for team Chasing tail!!!) but I have to find one.
Today I came home with a new sense of determination and motivation - 4 miles no matter what.  It was a perfect running day....skirt and sports bra, light mist for the first half mile.  Funny thing though...it's the end of November and I live in New England.   I felt like I was dragging my entire run but my pace was good.  Stats below:

Total:  4 miles in 37:40
Mile 1: 9:30.62 
Mile 2: 9:02.96 
Mile 3: 9:27.55 
Mile 4: 9:37.20

It's been a while

Ok so I haven't written a post since January and I think it is time for a catch up summary.  I did successfully run Boston 2011, with a severe sinus infection just weeks before taking me off of the road.  It definitely wasn't my prettiest or fastest year, but it also wasn't my worse.  I tried to come back from Boston quickly which I was not successful at and am still struggling to get on a regular training schedule.  I have been struggling with an injury all summer and fall.  The only issue is no one seems to know what is wrong with me.  My leg is either asleep or incredibly painful all of the time.  Attempting to be a good patient I took 2 months off of running this summer, instead of improvement my leg got worse.  Well so much for that theory...time to get back on the road.
In September I participated in my 5th Reach The Beach Relay in NH with my team "Chasing Tail".  As always we had a wonderful time, were faster than last year and learned more about each other than you always need to know.  While participating in the race we also participated in a picture taking scavenger hunt that New Balance sponsored.  Team Chasing Tail came in 3rd of all of the teams participating, winning us a free entry into Reach The Beach Massachusetts in May!!!  I can't wait to have this wonderful 200 mile 24 hour adventure twice in one year!
I am back to my training and have been logging all of my working outs on dailymile.com.  Yesterday I went running with a friend for the first time - he's a short distance runner but survived the 4.5 miles with me and kept up a decent pace.  I am trying to convince him to do a half marathon - he just laughs at me and say's to keep dreaming.
I am slowly looking for a spring marathon, probably in May or June. And I will hopefully have a solution to my leg by then :)