Tag: runer

February

Here’s to completing my first month of my new years resolution of staying in shape! Below is a personal reflection on how I thought my first month went, and the things I want to change  in the following months.

Going into this workout challenge, I thought it was going to be really hard to stay on track and push myself everyday to complete the workout I had planned for myself. It is one thing to create a plan on paper and have it seem fail proof, but it’s another to accept that I got ahead of myself in my goals. I think this was one of the hardest parts of this first month. It felt like a dry run of what I want the rest of the year to look like in terms of workouts, millage, and weights. I feel like I am constantly finding new machines to try at the gym, or modifying my workouts depending on how I am feeling a certain day.

I don’t necessarily think this is a bad thing, but something I need to remain conscious of. It is easy to walk into the gym and say “I went hard yesterday, I’ll do a light workout today.” This, in my opinion, is a common mind block I need to get over, pushing myself to complete the workout listed on my calendar and make sure I complete the entire thing. Overall, I know there are days where I need to push myself harder, but for the most part I feel ecstatic about all the work I put into January and can’t wait for February as well.

Here’s a quick recap of how January went, and the accomplishments I made:

  • I can consistently run 3.5 miles without feeling strained or super out of shape.
  • I increased the weight of the dumbbells from 5 pounds, to 7.5 pounds, and then increased them again to 10 pounds (which is the weight I am currently using).
  • I found out how useful biking can be, especially when sore from the long runs on Monday’s and Wednesday’s.
  • I also learned how important it is to stretch, more specifically after my runs, so I am not as sore for my full body circuit the next day.

Here are some things I could improve on for February:

  • CORE- I definitely didn’t do well on completing my core workouts. I would tell myself that I was going to do them at home before getting in the shower, but most times this didn’t happen. I need to make an effort to integrate this permanently into my circuit.
  • Hydrating- this is very important and something I want to continue to get better at, as to avoid fatigue, cramping, and headaches.

I can’t wait to see what results February brings! Below is a PDF version of the calendar I made. Laying out the month ahead in a more realistic fashion than January did. Feel free to click on the link and see what my plan for the month is!

february-calendar-1Download

Monthly Stats

February was a good workout month. I had a consistent schedule throughout the month, with weeks 6 and 7 possibly having a few more rest days than I should have.

Why Run? ~ Why I Started Running

There are so many ways to answer a such a simple question. As with everything else, everyone has their own way to answer this question, but for me its been a long journey. One filled with many mental mind blocks, personal records (PR’s), and sore muscles.

For me, it started as a task in a high school gym class and having to run the mile once a month. Most of my peers dreaded that day, but I looked forward to it. Not the competing part, but noticing how my mind would wonder and the mile would be over before I was ready to head back to reality. At this time in my high school sports career I was strictly a volleyball guru. I had played since 5th grade on school teams, rec leagues, and select club volleyball teams. I lived for volleyball.

The life I knew before my running career 

As junior year of high school rolled around, I went to volleyball tryouts as I had done my previous two years. This time was different. I no longer found joy and excitement playing, I was good and an asset to the team but I was tired of always being yelled at by a coach or other teammates. It was becoming too competitive for its own good. So, once tryouts were over I decided to deny my spot on the team and totally switch sports. Thus ending up on the Women’s Cross Country team. Little did I know what I signed myself up for. Cross Country was HARD! I went from running zero miles a day to the end of the season running five to seven miles a day. I loved running in the 5k races and pushing myself to PR. At first, it was hard to push past the mental game of keeping a good pace throughout the race or to stick with the girl in front of me. But eventually it became motivation to PR and look forward to the sore muscles the next day. 

As my love for running increased, I continued to run XC in the Fall, train in the off season, and run track in the Spring for the remainder of my high school career. I looked forward (almost)everyday after school to go for a run. It helped me relieve stress, it kept me in shape, and it was my escape from doing homework.

Running is my escape. It’s my way to cope with the things that life throws at me and it was something I forgot about when I went off to college.