Focus T25, Take 4

This week I restarted Focus T25 for the forth time. The previous 3 times I made it about a week and a half and ended up quitting for various reasons, most of which were trips to Disney that interrupted my momentum. This time things are going to be different.

First of all I am done with my race season until the fall, and I have no trips planned, other then my move to Houston next month!! So really there is little to get in my way this time.

I’ve also decided to take a different approach. I’ve been reading about intuitive eating (more on that to come) and I really like the perspective they advocate. They tell you not to exercise to count your calorie burn or to try and make your body mimic that of a fitness model, but instead to move your body and exercise for how it makes you feel. Yes, exercise can make me sore and tired, but it also makes me feel alive! I love the hint of sore muscles to know that I pushed myself and I can feel “change” happening. It also helps me to sleep better at night (remember that is one of my March goals).

Since I have been struggling to exercise regularly for over a year now I figure T25 is a great place to start.

Sure, I use to do P90X yoga (an hour and a half) AFTER a 10 mile run when I was in my prime, but guess what. I’m not in my prime anymore so 25 minutes a day, 5 days a week seems like a pretty good place to start over at.

I fear one of my biggest struggles will be to drop the numbers. Today was day 1, and even though I took before pictures (so I can get my shirt for completing the program) I did not step on a scale or grab my tape measure. I’m hoping that by not having those starting numbers I will not be tempted down the road to get on a scale since I won’t have anything to compare it to anyway.

I know this goes against the norm, but if I am going to truly learn to enjoy and appreciate my body for all that it is I need to let go of the numbers. They don’t define my worth and they certainly shouldn’t define how I see myself. 

Core Power Protein Shake Giveaway!!

Disclaimer: I received my fit kit free of charge from Core Power in order to try their product before hosting the giveaway, but all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

I was so excited when my Core Power Fit-Kit was delivered last week!! I couldn’t wait to tear into it and see what was inside and I will say it did not disappoint!!


My Fit Kit included a Core Power sweat towel, CamelBak sports bottle, yoga mat (with carrying case), balance ball (with pump and instructional DVD), a Core Power gym bag and samples of their protein shakes!



The shakes I received were chocolate, banana and vanilla. I tried the chocolate one first and I seriously loved it! I even gave my mom a sip and she pretended like she wasn’t going to give it back! It tasted just like chocolate milk! It was very smooth and creamy, with no chalky aftertaste, which often turns me off to protein drinks.

The next day I couldn’t wait to finish my workout so that I could try the banana one! I never heard of a banana protein drink before, but it seemed like a good idea to me. It was just as good!! I think next time I want to buy one of each and mix them together to make a chocolate covered banana one. :) I’m thinking it will be great for my prerace shake before the Tinker Bell 10k and half in just under a week!!!

I did not personally try the vanilla since I let my mom have that one, she earned it, but she said it was really good and that she chugged it straight down after her workout at the gym!

They each contain 26g of protein, which is great for those of us who struggle to get enough in through meals alone. They also carry light versions in both chocolate and strawberry banana if your looking for something with less calories, and those have 20g of protein in them.

If you want to know all the in depth “sciencey” stuff you can get it on their website, since I really can’t say it any better.
  
If you are wondering where you can buy Core Power you can check there website here. When I looked up my area it is at most major gas stations and grocery stores in the area, or you can also order it on Amazon.com as well. I highly recommend you give it try! 

Now for the moment you have been waiting for . . . the giveaway!! Core Power will be sending one of my readers a fit kit, just like mine!! (Note shake flavors of the winners kit may vary). 

Rules:

• Open to US residents only
• Must be 18 or older to win
• Winner has 72 hours after the contest closing to claim the prize or it will be forfeited and a new winner will be selected
• Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

No Excuses??

Last week while I was running my mind started to drift back to the good old days of running with my sister back in Houston. As we would run side by side we would chat about anything and everything under the sun. It became very common for those conversations to turn into us over analyzing every little thing we could have possibly done up to that point that caused a run to be either a good one or a bad one. Did I eat enough? Did I drink enough water? Maybe doing Insanity and a run on the same day wasn’t such a good idea afterall??

Now I like to say that I don’t make excuses and I try not to. I even have a nice little saying, that sounds great on paper, that I like to tell myself and it is: ”I don’t make excuses. Whether I face a mental block, a physical block, or a little bit of both, on any given run I do the best that I can with what I have.” Is that to say that every time I head out I leave it all out there on the pavement? Absolutely not. In fact I am a very cautious runner so I would venture to say that I have probably never really, truly given it my all.  

I’ll be very honest here. I am comfortable with being comfortable. I push myself a little, but I don’t like to not push myself too much to where I am unsure if I will be able to finish. I struggle with this even in training runs, where honestly it doesn’t matter if I finish XX amount of miles or not. This is something I am really trying to work on and I plan to push myself a little further out of my comfort zone each time I go out for a run. I know it wont be easy, and honestly I know the hardest part is going to be being mentally okay with letting myself regress a bit so that I can come back even stronger in the long run.
 
Do you find yourself making excuses for a less than stellar run? How do you get past your mental blocks to push yourself out of your comfort zone?

Putting the Fun Back in My Run

I have been struggling lately. My runs have not been going well and I just can’t seem to get my heart back into it. I feel like I am stuck in a vicious cycle. I have a bad run, I feel down about it, I try to over analyze it and that makes me feel even worse about it. I don’t want to run because it went so bad so I don’t for about a week then I decide to just get out there and guess what?? Yep another bad run.
I felt the best way to cure this is to allow running to be fun again. I am not training for anything at the moment so I feel it is the perfect time to go naked. Yep drop my watch, forget the mileage, the pace and all the other things I keep track of and just head out the door, just me and the iPod. Run when I feel like running and walk when I feel like walking. Go as far or as little and as fast or slow as I feel like going, and be okay with it. Believe it or not this is how I started out running and here I am almost 4 years later still doing it so it couldn’t have been all that bad.
To add a little extra fun I have added a couple “novelty” 5ks to my summer lineup. On June 14th I’ll be in Irvine for the Neon Splash Dash with Officer P, his brother and his brother’s wife. Then the end of July I will be here in Fresno doing the Neon Night Run with a couple members of my Mom’s Run This Town Chapter!! I am hoping that by doing a few fun (non-timed) races I can remind myself why I liked to run in the first place. I am hoping this will be the refresh I need before starting half marathon training again the first part of September.