Wednesday, April 3, 2013

37 days to go until #DWD. I'm really proud of the progress I've made so far. The diet has worked very well, but amazingly I haven't dipped below 109lbs. Instead I've been getting great muscle gain and obvious fat loss, which...I'm happy with as a girl, but I wish I was "lighter" for the run. But if you think about it, it's more muscle mass that I've developed to move that 109lbs efficiently. So I guess I should be fine with it. Makes sense to me.
In my workouts, I've been doing the same as before, but reducing it to 3 days a week. So for example:
Monday:
Cardio, Treadmill (always now); 15-25 minutes at 4.5 mph. I also increase the incline over the run to adjust being able to run uphill better.
Workout: Back (same stuff as before, nothing special. Amazed that I've retained/gained strength)
Other: 2 ab movements, whole body stretches
More Cardio!: Stair Climber for 10 minutes**
** The reason I've added this is because I need to be able to climb hills better without getting as out-of-breath. My last run I did in Morgan-Monroe forest was pretty brutal on the hills... everything else was pretty doable. So for my particular training, I've added this movement to add endurance from my glutes and lower back. I was surprised how much my back was wore out from that big run at Morgan-Monroe forest a couple weeks ago, so that was an obvious choice to add to my exercises. 
Wednesday:
All the same except for my workout is legs.
Saturday or Sunday: 
All the same except workout is chest & shoulders.

I'm not really focusing on my arms at all as a workout because they get worked out secondarily in the mass movements. 

The past few workouts have been great, because I've been able to keep my heart rate around 170 at the most intense parts, and haven't decreased the intensity. I want on the big day to be able to keep my heart rate no higher than that, and just let my body do what it needs to do without "overdoing" it. I don't feel like I need to run 5 miles everyday until then. What I need to do is condition my body to have the ABILITY to do that IF it is needed. I feel like if I did the 5+ miles constantly throughout the week, I'd end up hurting myself and not being able to run the relay. Pointless. I've learned through this to work smarter and listen to my body. If I have an ache, I listen to it. But don't baby the aches/pains. Those are signals that something is rebuilding, too. After 6 years of working out, I'm glad I've finally feel like I've reached that ability to tell the difference.