I'm now at the point where my alarm goes off at 5:30 am every morning. I don't head into work until 8:15 so that gives me ample time to wake up, greet the world, and get into the mood I need to be to handle the rest of the day. About 4 days a week I throw my workout clothes on and drive the short distance to the wellness center. I don't have a specific plan when I get there so I'll either run a mile, walk a 30 minute program on the treadmill, hit the resistance bands or run around the track. I almost always do a core-strengthening sequence. I'm usually there about 45 minutes. I like going in the morning because it gives me so much more energy throughout the day. For the past 2 weeks on Wednesday I've been going to a Power Pump class at 6:00, which is weightlifting.
I really do not like weightlifting. But I know that I need some sort of strengthening class or circuit because I'm wanting to run long distances and my muscles need that type of resistance. The teacher is very nice and I feel so strong and invincible the whole day after. So even though I'm literally staring at the clock the whole time when it's over I'm glad I went.
On Mondays for the past few months I take a Zumba class at night with a friend I know from college that teaches it. It's kind of one of those "fun" workouts. I really love to dance and her Zumba routines aren't cheesy at all. She's danced her whole life and it's fun to know people in the class. It's a good hour of cardio that I barely even have to think about.
On Thursdays I go to a class called Happy Hour Yoga. It's at a cute little yoga studio down the street and it's AMAZING. Yoga just makes me feel so so good. The room, the smells, everything just relaxes you and it's great after all of the exercise I've been doing in the days before. This class is kind of my "treat". It's more expensive then any of the other classes ($10 for 2 or more classes, yikes!) but I actually think it's worth it. The studio is so close to my house and I feel myself getting stronger each time I go.
On Saturdays (and any other day if the temp is over 55) if the weather is good I will go for my long run of the week. At the Wellness center I hate running long distances on the treadmill and the track makes me feel dizzy and like a hamster. I don't mind running in the cold or the dark but the combination of the two does not look attractive to me. When it gets warmer I might consider running outside in the mornings, but right now when I switch to half marathon training I'm going to be doing my runs at night.
These 3 weeks have kind of been a "test" period to see what I want to indulge myself in the next few months.
The program I'm going to use is Hal Higdon's Half Marathon Trainer. It was an iPhone app that cost an arm and a leg but I figure it will be worth it. It's a little more in depth than Couch to 5k, but the same idea. I put in my race date and he literally plans every single day up to your final race date. Here's what the plan is and what my plan is:
Monday: Rest day. (I'm still trying to decide if I want to drop Zumba :/)
Tuesday: Run day.
Wednesday: Run/Cross. (This is when I'm going to be cross training with the weights class)
Thursday: Run day.
Friday: Rest (I've decided to switch Happy Hour Yoga with sunrise Yoga which is at 5:30 am on Fridays)
Saturday: Cross (Not sure what I want to do here)
Sunday: Long runs.
So that's how my schedule is going to change! I'm so excited to start this new endeavor. I feel like this is something I can really accomplish and I had no idea it took so much work and dedication. But I can't even imagine the feeling that I'm going to have after.
One thing I'm also trying to figure out is the timing. I like getting up early and being awake for a few hours before work, but I don't like running long distances at the gym. I'll have to see how the weather goes if I want to run outside in the mornings. We've been having a mild winter in OK so it might be do-able.
When it comes to my eating habits, working out definitely makes you want to eat more clean. Of course I do have my slip-ups and indulgences (sushi and there was a Pei Wei incident yesterday) but overall I've been eating cottage cheese, salads, english muffins, fruit, veggies, sweet potatoes (my newfound love), chicken and wraps. No Diet Coke anymore either. And you know what? I don't even really miss it.
Another thing I'm learning to live without is alcohol. Of course I still love it (I went to the real Martini Lounge Happy Hour last night) but I'm not going out and getting drunk. I know it won't be good for my training and it's hard to say no. I've definitely told me close friends I won't be drinking that much and I am training for a half so they know when to invite me over to watch YouTube videos and drink coffee and not to invite me when they are going out to a club. I've struggled with the fact that I'm missing a "good time" but in the end I would sacrifice those nights for looking the way I want to look and accomplishing something I'd never thought I would do. My friends will love me just the same.
This post turned into a really long entry about my current life at the moment but it's something that has been on my mind for a while and really what's been going on.
I'm excited to embark on this journey! I'll be documenting my highs, lows and everything in between here.
My ultimate goal is hanging in my living room: a tiny yellow polka-dot bikini!
See you guys this summer,
Mal xoxo
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