5k/biceps and triceps
Yet again I'm writing another "I know I said I'd blog every day and I haven't" entry. This idea seemed a lot easier before I actually started it. I didn't plan on getting sick. And I didn't plan on life happening and being so crazy busy. Or two weeks of Hip Hop being cancelled. :( I miss that class- we'll be back on Tuesday thank goodness. So here's the update.
5K
Back in June, I signed up for a 5k 3 days before it happened. My plan was to run part of it, and walk the rest because I just didn't think I could run the whole thing. The night before, I was talking to my friend Nick (a marathon runner) who said he thought I was underestimating myself and really could do it. Well apparently he was right because I ran that whole thing! And even sprinted across the finish line. I was so happy and proud of myself. More 5ks!
Back in May, we had an engagement party for my brother and his now wife. (Hooray- sister in law!) Some family friends were there and I saw on my parents deck talking to them about the charity they started in memory of their late daughter. They said there was a 5k coming up and that we should do it. I was all for it- and this was before I'd done the first 5k! I signed up for it a few weeks ago, my parents had volunteered to work the race and I was going to run it. I now knew that I had it in me to run 3.1 miles. As the race approached (this past Saturday), I got more and more nervous. I knew people there. I knew the people putting it on and my parents would be there. I started to worry what they would think if I walked part of it. Or if I was the slowest runner. It started to stress me out and I had to just tell myself to calm down and that I was doing it for me, not for anyone else.
The morning of the race arrived and I found that I was more excited than nervous. Each time I am faced with this 5k thing, I view it as a way to prove to myself how far I have come. 7 years ago I did the Homecoming 5k. Except I only walked. And halfway through I started limping. It was one of the hardest experiences of my life. And here I am running that same distance. To me, it's a big change. One that hasn't come easy, but one that I am so proud of. As we were on our way to the race, we were talking in the car. My mom mentioned to my dad that this easily could have (and should have) been them, putting on events in memory of their late daughter whose life was taken too early from a car accident. Now, it wasn't until that moment that I made the connection and it hit me like a stack of bricks. Mom was right- I shouldn't have survived my accident. It is devastating and incomprehensible that Becky didn't. :(
Dad and me before the race. :)
Right before the race was to start, there was some thanking the sponsors, participants, etc and a prayer to be said. And then I heard the worst words in the world: "Don't worry- it's only half uphill" and I started to panic. We were walked to the starting line and all I saw was hills. The other 5k I did was all flat. This was was VERY hill-y. Not to mention that the week prior, I had been sick so I hadn't gotten in as many workouts as I had hoped. I just did not feel prepared for it. I started at the front and watched as everyone zoomed on by. I tried my hardest not to focus on them and focus on my journey. I kept hearing my mother's words which led me to hear these words: "Jessica, you need to do this. Because you CAN." so though it may have been slow, I kept a running.
Every time I saw a marshal I hoped it was my mom or dad. For some reason, they weren't until the very end.
As I passed my dad he said "way to go champ" and I felt so proud that he was there to see that moment. The marshall after my mom was the final water station and after drinking water and starting to run again, I almost threw up. I decided to take it down to a walk for a minute and found the people who were in front of me had also started walking. I wanted to keep running after a little bit so I passed them, ran up yet another hill and crossed the finish line.
Mom insisted on taking a picture of me. At this point, this was as much of a smile as I could muster up.
As I crossed the finish line, the guy on the microphone said "way to go Jess" which was a great feeling. I got high fives as I crossed the finish line and while I knew the people there, I do not know that they really understood what a huge deal this was to me. But maybe they did. My time was about 2 minutes longer than the other 5k. I had my fitness app running on my ipod which told me that I ran nearly 4 miles, which got me all fired up about how it was longer than a 5k, but Nick told me those things are often wrong. :)
It was a tough run, both physically and emotionally. But I did it. Hooray. :) Next is the ALS walk in a couple weeks. But it's a walk, not a run. And it's only a 3k I think. Should be a piece of cake. :)
Post-Race
Something happened since the race and I'm not sure what it should be attributed to. Immediately after that I was exhausted and took a little nap on the couch.
The next day I had some stuff to do in the morning and was still tired the following afternoon but didn't have time to nap. Monday I still felt tired. I really had intended on going to the gym, but I stupidly left my gym bag at home and by the time I got home, I was exhausted. Tuesday I had plans to go down to Westminster to meet up with Nick and do dinner and exchange some stuff so I couldn't gym it up then. Wednesday.... STILL TIRED despite the fact that I'd slept 9 hours the night before. I was starting to get worried about it. Was it mono? lack of caffeine? Lack of exercise? Something else? Thursday was aqua boot camp day- I debated going and just wasn't sure. A coworker talked me into it and i was glad I went. I did feel better, though I didn't feel like I got a great workout- other people bringing me down! I did make it to the gym today though. Hooray! It wasn't just that I was tired, I also just didn't feel like me. There have been a lot of stressors in my life lately which have kind of shaken me up so maybe that's part of it. I think there's a possibility it's minor depression. Stay tuned on that- I'm hoping it goes away because I don't like it!
FOOD
With that being said, when I am sad...... I don't eat well. I had my entire week's worth of food in the fridge at work and someone freaking unplugged the fridge and didn't plug it in..... AGAIN (this is the 3rd time) so I had to improvise and I feel like I have done nothing but eat all week, and according to the scale this morning I've gained 2 pounds which makes me super sad.
In addition to all that, my body bugg cord quit working so I had to order a new one, which is another reason I've been gone. It finally arrived yesterday so I think we may be on the path to righteousness. Today I worked on biceps and triceps. I love biceps and triceps! So here's what I did.
CARDIO
Treadmill at 30 minutes with a 35 minute cool-down. Same as last time with the intervals. This time they were a little different though as I generally ran a few minutes and one of my intervals got thrown off because I was paying more attention to my conversation than the clock. :)
Rotation 1
1. Curl Up Hammer Down
I LOVE THIS ONE! Get two 10 pound hand weights. Start with them at your sides. Curl them up, then rotate them and slowly bring them down. 15 reps.
Stand with back to the tall silver part
5K
Back in June, I signed up for a 5k 3 days before it happened. My plan was to run part of it, and walk the rest because I just didn't think I could run the whole thing. The night before, I was talking to my friend Nick (a marathon runner) who said he thought I was underestimating myself and really could do it. Well apparently he was right because I ran that whole thing! And even sprinted across the finish line. I was so happy and proud of myself. More 5ks!
Back in May, we had an engagement party for my brother and his now wife. (Hooray- sister in law!) Some family friends were there and I saw on my parents deck talking to them about the charity they started in memory of their late daughter. They said there was a 5k coming up and that we should do it. I was all for it- and this was before I'd done the first 5k! I signed up for it a few weeks ago, my parents had volunteered to work the race and I was going to run it. I now knew that I had it in me to run 3.1 miles. As the race approached (this past Saturday), I got more and more nervous. I knew people there. I knew the people putting it on and my parents would be there. I started to worry what they would think if I walked part of it. Or if I was the slowest runner. It started to stress me out and I had to just tell myself to calm down and that I was doing it for me, not for anyone else.
The morning of the race arrived and I found that I was more excited than nervous. Each time I am faced with this 5k thing, I view it as a way to prove to myself how far I have come. 7 years ago I did the Homecoming 5k. Except I only walked. And halfway through I started limping. It was one of the hardest experiences of my life. And here I am running that same distance. To me, it's a big change. One that hasn't come easy, but one that I am so proud of. As we were on our way to the race, we were talking in the car. My mom mentioned to my dad that this easily could have (and should have) been them, putting on events in memory of their late daughter whose life was taken too early from a car accident. Now, it wasn't until that moment that I made the connection and it hit me like a stack of bricks. Mom was right- I shouldn't have survived my accident. It is devastating and incomprehensible that Becky didn't. :(
Dad and me before the race. :) Right before the race was to start, there was some thanking the sponsors, participants, etc and a prayer to be said. And then I heard the worst words in the world: "Don't worry- it's only half uphill" and I started to panic. We were walked to the starting line and all I saw was hills. The other 5k I did was all flat. This was was VERY hill-y. Not to mention that the week prior, I had been sick so I hadn't gotten in as many workouts as I had hoped. I just did not feel prepared for it. I started at the front and watched as everyone zoomed on by. I tried my hardest not to focus on them and focus on my journey. I kept hearing my mother's words which led me to hear these words: "Jessica, you need to do this. Because you CAN." so though it may have been slow, I kept a running.
Pre Race :)
Every time I saw a marshal I hoped it was my mom or dad. For some reason, they weren't until the very end.
Mom insisted on taking a picture of me. At this point, this was as much of a smile as I could muster up.
As I crossed the finish line, the guy on the microphone said "way to go Jess" which was a great feeling. I got high fives as I crossed the finish line and while I knew the people there, I do not know that they really understood what a huge deal this was to me. But maybe they did. My time was about 2 minutes longer than the other 5k. I had my fitness app running on my ipod which told me that I ran nearly 4 miles, which got me all fired up about how it was longer than a 5k, but Nick told me those things are often wrong. :)
It was a tough run, both physically and emotionally. But I did it. Hooray. :) Next is the ALS walk in a couple weeks. But it's a walk, not a run. And it's only a 3k I think. Should be a piece of cake. :)
Post-Race
Something happened since the race and I'm not sure what it should be attributed to. Immediately after that I was exhausted and took a little nap on the couch.
FOOD
With that being said, when I am sad...... I don't eat well. I had my entire week's worth of food in the fridge at work and someone freaking unplugged the fridge and didn't plug it in..... AGAIN (this is the 3rd time) so I had to improvise and I feel like I have done nothing but eat all week, and according to the scale this morning I've gained 2 pounds which makes me super sad.
In addition to all that, my body bugg cord quit working so I had to order a new one, which is another reason I've been gone. It finally arrived yesterday so I think we may be on the path to righteousness. Today I worked on biceps and triceps. I love biceps and triceps! So here's what I did.
CARDIO
Treadmill at 30 minutes with a 35 minute cool-down. Same as last time with the intervals. This time they were a little different though as I generally ran a few minutes and one of my intervals got thrown off because I was paying more attention to my conversation than the clock. :)
Rotation 1
1. Curl Up Hammer Down
I LOVE THIS ONE! Get two 10 pound hand weights. Start with them at your sides. Curl them up, then rotate them and slowly bring them down. 15 reps.
2. Tricep Extension
I love this one too. The first time I ever did it was rough. I was going to Denver the next day and couldn't even reach the radio in my car because my triceps hurt so bad. This is good to prevent "old lady wavy arm". Get one 12.5 pound hand weight. I'm not even going to attempt to describe this one. Check out the picture and then hit me up if you have questions. :) 15 reps
3. Tricep Pushups.
I hate these. Just like a regular pushup except you're on your knees and your hands are directly under your shoulders. Go down until your elbow creates a 90 degree angle. Do 12 reps
Do 3 sets of those 3 exercises :)
Next rotation
1. Reverse Curl
Use the big long straight bar- 20 pounds. Hold in hands palm down. Curl up, not moving upper arms. 15 reps.
2. Tricep Dips
When Heather worked out with me, we named these dippy dips. I love this one too. I use the bench for this, though these days it seems harder to get a bench- even on a Friday afternoon! Do 15 of these.
3. Free Motion Concentration Curls.
This is the only machine you need to use in this workout! Hooray! Stand with your back to the machine, set them on 15 pounds and using one arm at a time, do a basic bicep curl. 12 on each arm.
Stand with back to the tall silver part
Repeat 3 times.
ALL DONE! HOORAY!
I'm exhausted as I spent hours this evening going through clothes in my room and getting rid of more than one trash bag full of clothes that can be considered my "Fat clothes". Hooray. That means I need to go shopping soon for new clothes. Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with more for y'all. :)
~Jessica~
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