Tag: newyearresolution

Week 3

January 14- 3.5 mile Run

After class this morning, my boyfriend and I went to the gym in between our classes. While he biked, I ran 3.5 miles. After two days of hitting 3.5 miles, it is starting to feel like I need more of a challenge… So, on Wednesday my goal is to run 3.75 miles and see how I’m feeling. I’m hoping I will be able to push through an extra 0.25 of a mile and hit 4 miles on Wednesday. I will for sure try to hit 4 miles on Friday and hope to be around there on Wednesday as well! 

January 15- Full body circuit

I am so glad I decided to go to the gym last minute tonight! It was 8:30 and I had gotten carried away on practicing for the VITA advanced test. Passing this test allows me to volunteer to help others with filing their taxes. Before I knew it, it was way past 7 (the time I had planned to go to the gym). I debated whether or not it was worth still going… I talked myself into it and I’m so glad I did!

There were a few of my friends who also happened to be at the gym late tonight. It was so much fun learning their workouts and talking as we did our own things as well. I got to learn a really fun and intense ab workout. One I will try and incorporate into my full body circuit.

January 16- 4 mile run

I can’t believe how much I missed running outside!! After getting over the mental block of “do I really want to run today? I am pretty busy…” I got all my running stuff on and started running toward Fairhaven’s Boulevard Park.

This run was BEAUTIFUL. The sun was getting lower in the sky, almost ready to set, creating a soft pink and baby blue sky. It was amazing to be running right next to the water and seeing all the vibrant colors and hearing the waves of the water crash around me. I wanted to take a photo to post on here, but also didn’t want to run out of daylight and therefore opted not to stop on my run.

This run was exactly 4 miles with many hills to get over. It took me about 36 minutes to complete this route. I was amazed at how much ground one can cover in 4 miles. I’m so used to running in one spot on the treadmill that I forgot how freeing running outside can really be! I can’t wait for nicer and warmer weather to be running outside more often! I am starting to find some fun spots around Bellingham to run to and can’t wait to find more this spring.

January 17- Full body circuit 

I had one class today from 8am to 10am. I hit the gym right after class and it put me in a better mood for the rest of the day! Today I realized how much I like going to the gym and completing more workouts in the morning. It makes me feel productive and motivated for the rest of my day.

After getting home from the gym, I sat down to work on homework and was shocked at how much more focused I was. It made getting through my work more enjoyable and I felt like I was retaining the information way better than I would have without going to the gym.

This schedule of going to the gym in the mornings is something I am hoping to keep up on Thursdays and Fridays as these are the only two days that this works with my schedule. As for the other days, the afternoon will have to suffice!

January 18- 2 mile run

Today I took it easy on my run. I ran 2 miles and it was a good break from running the 3.5 to 4 miles I had been doing this week. I woke up feeling under the weather and was worried about pushing myself too hard and getting more sick.

I am glad I went to the gym, and it felt good to take a little breather on the treadmill and only go the two miles. I can’t wait to get back up to 3.5 or 4 miles next week though!

January 19- Full Body Circuit 

This workout didn’t feel as satisfying as it normally does. I felt off doing the dumbbells and leg machines. I think it might be time for a rest day. Thankfully, that day is tomorrow!

Today was one of those days where it felt like I was just going through the motions to get my workout done. This feeling sucked! There wasn’t any passion or heart in what I was doing. It felt like it was just one of those things I needed to finish to check it off the to do list. I’m hoping after my Sunday rest day, I will get back into the right mindset of why I go to the gym.

January 20- Rest day

This day was much needed. It was nice to give my muscles and body a rest from the other six days I worked out this week. I have to admit, it did feel weird not putting on my gym clothes, lacing up my shoes, and heading to the gym. Instead, I got to relax, catching up on some Netflix shows, and finishing up the majority of my homework. My boyfriend and I also got out and drove up to Birch Bay. I’m hoping to take some time this upcoming week to post some of these photos to the photography part of my blog. As classes start to pick up, I’ve noticed it has become a lot harder to write on here each day. I’ve slacked off a bit and have been writing these posts a couple days after the fact. Next week, I will try to stay on top of it and write one each night after going to the gym.

My College Running Life

One of my favorite running spots in Bellingham: Lake Padden (a little of over 2.5 miles around the lake)

College is stressful. I’m sure most people can relate to this and some would even offer advice to make it seem less stressful. Well, here’s my advice: RUN! (or find some other type of physical activity to relieve stress). This is easier said than done, but my goal for this blog post is to share some insight into how I found myself as a runner in college.

Freshman year of college is crazy. You’re living on your own, there is no set curfew, you’re meeting tons of people, and its seems like you always either have way too much time on your hands, or no time at all. With all this new stuff going on in my life, I fell away from running. I honestly probably only ran a handful of times my freshman year of college and looking back, I regret it. I gained weight, my acne got pretty bad, and I felt stressed out all the time. There was so much “new” happening that I forgot about the “old” healthy habits I had left behind from high school.  

Going into my Sophomore year, I had a plan: don’t let classes bog you down, and make sure to take time out of your day to hit the gym. This is the motto I stuck to for most of my second year of college. I found this awesome ab workout app that I used every night for ten minutes. The results were incredible! I was starting to feel confident about my body again and working out was something I looked forward too, much like I did back in high school. I was running 2-3 times a week, this becoming my main stress reliever. Whenever I was having a bad day I would try and run, becoming a habit: bad day = time for a run. This was an okay running mindset, but going into my Junior year I wanted to get away from running only when I wasn’t having a good day to running because I know how much better it would make an already great day. 

So, as I sit here and write this post I reflect on the first quarter of my third year in college. I just took my last final (literally an hour ago) of fall quarter and I can’t believe how happy and healthy I feel. I consistently ran 3-6 times a week, EVERY WEEK!! That’s twelve weeks of straight running. Not only do I look and feel good, but I also was way less stressed out this quarter than I have been in the previous two years of college. I also found a lot of cool running spots around Bellingham which is a huge plus for next Spring and Fall when it starts getting warm out again. 

 It is crazy to sit here and think about how my dedication to running has changed in the past three years, and how it will continue to change in the future. As the new year rolls around I have started to think of a running new years resolution: run longer distances. Right now I stick to 3.1 miles for my runs, but I really want to push myself to do a half marathon (or at least start running that distance at least once a week), so 13.1 miles. I will obviously have to train for this and push myself, but in the end I think it is an attainable goal. I plan to make a running calendar over Christmas break, outlining the next couple of months which I’m sure will make its way onto this blog. In the meantime, I will stick to the 3.1 mile runs while I construct my new goals for the 2019 year.