Fitness Friday: Running Update

Its Friday ALREADY! This week just flew by, not sure where the days went, but when I woke up this morning and realized it was already Friday again, I was like what the heck!

 

I have recently started concentrating on building up my running skills. I’ve been running at the gym on the treadmill for a few years, but only as a last resort to get some added cardio into my schedule. About two months ago, I decided that I wanted to really amp up my running and see if I could actually finish a 5K race.

I downloaded a running app on my phone to track progress and back on August 31st wrote a post about my progress. A few days after that I was signed up to do a 5K at the Wilmington Waterfront in Delaware. It’s a perfect course for beginners as it is mainly flat and on the water so the sights are great which makes running more pleasurable (for me anyway).

I committed early that week to running the race (not walking) and geared up both mentally and physically. My goal was to finish the race in 40 minutes. Up to this point I hadn’t run a complete 3 miles on the road yet and was a little nervous, but knew I could walk when I needed a break.

I arrived 30 minutes early picked up my registration packet, pinned on my bib, and did a little stretching. Prepped my mappy thing so I could time each mile as I went so that I could look back afterwards to gauge my progress. The BF also came down to watch and support me, which meant the world to me. He encourages me in everything I do, and always says he knows I will do whatever I put my mind to. It was important to me that he be there at the finish line when I crossed. He was. And it made my night.

The gun went off and we headed through the gate and over the timer mat. I took off quickly passing people right out of the gate. I don’t know if it was the adrenaline or what, but I completed my first mile in 10:49. That was the fastest pace I had ever done. Dont’ really know how that happened but it was a cool feeling when the voice in my headphones said “split pace 10:49.” I was like yeah girl you go (in my head of course).

The second mile was not as good as the first, my breathing was crazy out of whack and I started walking/running/walking/running. I finally got my breathing in check and found a good pace after the second mile and found myself next to a younger girl and we were in synch the rest of the way to the finish line. Thinking back that helped me out tremendously getting through the third and last mile.

When I realized the end was coming up and I rounded the corner, I took off for the finish line. There were two older women in front of me the entire time, and I was like “no way I’m coming in behind these two” so I picked up my pace, passed them on the right, rounded the corner to the finish line and crossed with a time of 37:44. Whew!

I beat my 40 minute goal by 2 1/2 minutes. I was exhausted, proud, and really really sweaty.

That was Sept 4th.

Last night my co-worker and I competed in a second 5K on the same course. This time I ran the entire time only walking to grab water at the water station. My goal for this week was to run from beginning to end without walking and hopefully dropping my time a bit.

I was late getting there, quickly grabbed my bib and lined up just in time. They decided to start the race 10 minutes earlier because a severe thunderstorm was in our near future. We lined up, listened to the National Anthem, the gun went off and out we went. I felt good even though I hadn’t had a run in a few days.

First mile pace was 10:17. Slightly better than last weeks race even though the sky opened up and it downpoured on us for the entire first mile and a half. I was concentrating so hard last night to keep my breathing under control because I knew if I was going to run the way, I needed to keep that in check.

Second mile pace ended up being 12:21 not sure why except maybe that I was just over thinking everything at this point and just kept telling myself “don’t stop running”. I crossed the half way point and grabbed a water took a few walking steps and finished the cup of water and got right back to running. By this time i felt good, my feet were moving at an even pace, my breathing was no erratic (like last week) and I found a good pace that carried me all the way to the end.

I finished this weeks race (without walking) in 36:36 with an average pace of 11:48. My best time yet!

I am loving this process. I am thankful that my body can handle what my mind wants it to do. I can’t wait to get better, faster and more efficient in my running. I find it very impressive when they announce at the end of the race the top 70-75 age bracket winners. I want to be one of those women at age 75 still running races. I love that! So encouraging.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fitness Friday P90X Review: Recovery Weeks

Weeks 4, 8 & 12 are your recovery weeks during the 12-week P90X program. This recovery week is just as important in your training schedule as any other week. Don’t take it lightly. And by no means get in your head that because it is labeled “recovery week” that it is easy. Because it is not. The Core Synergistics is just as challenging as any of the other workouts you have already completed.  Core Synergistics is just that ~ a hard core workout.  It’s like Ab-Ripper X but on steroids. 

Week 4 Schedule:

Day 22 Yoga X
Day 23 Kenpo X
Day 24 Core Synergistics
Day 25 Yoga X
Day 26 Kenpo X
Day 27 Core Synergistics
Day 28 REST or X Stretch

This is also the final week of the Fat Shredder Meal Plan phase.  Phase 2: Energy Booster starts with week 5  and  the macros get a change-up and you add a little more carbs into your diet and a little less protein. You might be feeling sluggish about now due to the lack of carbs, but that will all change next week. 
Phase 2 of P90X Week 5-7 were my absolute favorite weeks of the entire program. I started feeling the pump after each workout, I started noticing good results after 4 weeks of hard work with little changes.

Weeks 5-7 were my game changer weeks. I was more dedicated, seeing great results, amping up my weight, doing more reps, in general, just feeling like a rock star at this point. 

My advice if you are thinking about doing P90X, or are just starting out and not seeing drastic changes right away, is to give it time. I didn’t see the most dramatic results until about week 8. It takes time, your body is adjusting, but it if you stick to the nutrition plan and do your workouts YOU WILL GET RESULTS!  Just stick to the plan and give the workouts and your body a chance. 

What are/were your favorite weeks of the P90X program?

Fitness Friday: Running

Source

I am not one of those people who love running.  I’m learning to “like” running, but I am not at the point where I can say I look to running as my me time.  Katie from Blonde Ambition Blog talked about how she looks at running as a challenge.  I totally connected with that statement.

I look at it as a challenge, too.  It is sort of is how I look at everything in my life.  I have always said that if you say I can’t do it ~ I will make it happen. Kinda bratty of me I know, but that mentality has gotten me some pretty sweet memory’s.

Anyway back to running.  So I started running a few years back on the treadmill at my local gym.  At first, I couldn’t even muster up enough breath to complete 10 minutes at 4.0 treadmill speed.  When I think about it, it kinda makes me laugh.  That’s like turtle speed.  🙂

Source

By the end of my 3 month training session I was up to a 5.5 speed on the treadmill (that’s pretty good for my little legs) and I could hang tight for a full hour at that speed.

Then I figured I wanted to try to do a 5K.  Which brought me to running outside.  Let me tell you, for me, running outside is a beast.  Nothing like running on a treadmill.

I have had people tell me running outside is harder, running outside is easier, running outside is the same but different (??) I’ve heard it all.  But for me, running outside on the pavement, propelling my full body weight forward is HARD!!!!

It might be mental.  It might not be any different from running on the treadmill in the gym with a consistent temperature and a giant fan blowing on you, but I tend to disagree.  It is hard to run against the wind, up a slight hill and keep up a pace that you think is acceptable.

But I am trying.  I am trying because I see how enjoyable it CAN be.  I am trying because I love reading about everyone else’s goals of 5k’s, halfs and full’s.  It is something that motivates me.  Everyday.  It pushes me to be better.

I am trying because by the end of the year I WILL RUN (from beginning to end) a full 5K no matter the course difficulty.  It’s just what I want to do.  It’s my next challenge.

At this point, I am up to running consistently 2.25 miles at a dreadfully slow pace of a 12 minute mile.  My goal is to get to the full 3.1 miles at whatever pace gets me there.  I am learning not to compare myself to others because for me, just running outside on the pavement for 3 full miles without stopping will be an accomplishment in itself. I have started and stopped many of the running training schedules online only to stop half way through because it just gets to be to much to fast.  I am hoping this time will be different.

So this is my 30 day progress:

The first workout was on 7/31.  I think I walked most of the way and only ran a portion of the flats.  This route is from my sons work to my house.  I normally drop the truck off to him and walk/run home.  This has been my normal route and I have done it both to and from is work to home.  It is an easy route but has tons of traffic, so not so safe.

The second workout was done on Monday 8/26.  It’s a nicer route through a local housing development and includes two nice hills.  I pretty much ran (or jogged) the entire time except for a few times to get my breathing in check.  I for sure feel better on the second mile as I think by then I am warmed up and not feeling like a log.  I’m a little lighter on my feet and feel I move a little faster.  I just need to work on my breathing. Nonetheless, its progress.  Right?

I really, really, really want to do a mud run.

My goal is to do the Dirty Girl Mud Run that is slotted for Philly on June 21st!

Picture Source:

P90X Legs & Back Review

Since I totally blew off last Friday and the Friday before because of the long holiday weekend, we are a little behind in P90X DVD reviews.  But hey ~ better late than never right?

P90X Legs & Back

Tony says: “Legs and back routine exists because I wanted to work on the two parts that I use the most. I love to climb ropes and I love doing pull-ups and I love that kind of acrobatic stuff. I’m also a skier, so I know the benefits of the leg routine, so people say to me, my god, how do you get legs like that and how do you do so many pull-ups? Because I do legs and back, I do them together on the same day. So I thought it would be silly to not provide that lovely little package for everybody who’s doing P90X.”

Last of the three strength training workouts in the first phase this one is unlike the other two upper body workouts and it will continue to be in the workout rotation throughout the entire 90 days.

This is a killer leg workout.  Each leg exercise does not repeat where as the pull-up exercises are repeated once.  Leg exercises start of with balance lunges. 

I’m having a harder time with these balance moves the second time around.  I’m not exactly sure why, but it seems I’m falling all over the place a lot more than I was the first round.  Maybe I’m just not concentrating enough. 

Some of the leg moves are calf raise squats, step back lunges, dead lift squats, chair salutations and speed skaters (one of my favorite moves).  Basically the workout is leg-leg-back, leg-leg-back repeated throughout the entire 60 minutes.  I do not find any of these moves entirely difficult to the point I cannot complete, but the single leg wall squats are a killer.  I have yet to complete them to the end. 

Continuing on, there are three-way lunges (not a fan of these), Sneaky Lunges (these make up for the three-way lunges), Toe Iso Lunges, and the Groucho Walk. 

For me this DVD goes rather quickly.  I have very strong legs and none of the moves are rather difficult for me.  I enjoy this workout so its nice that it is a part of every week until the end.

Fitness Friday: P90X {Yoga-X} Review

   Yay!  I love Fitness Friday’s.  So were did we leave off last week, oh that’s right Day 4!  Yoga-X. 

I have talked about taking a yoga class for nearly a year and half now;  even to this day, after completing P90X,  I have yet to drum up the courage to actually step into a yoga studio and take and official yoga class.  However, I was super excited to see that yoga was part of the P90X program when I first prepared myself for doing the P90X program.

I was excited to learn the moves and build the strength it takes to be efficient at yoga.  That’s exactly what happened.  It was so hard at first, my balance was way off, I was very weak in my upper body so holding poses was difficult, and my flexibility ~ well that’s a whole other story.

Yoga-X is the longest of the series with a hour and half session broken down into 5 sections: Moving Asanas, Balance Postures, Floor Work, Toga Belly, and finally the cool down.

The video begins with what is called the “vinyasa flow” which typically are movements sychronized with the breath.  Vinyasa which is the Sanskrit term for “connection” can be translated to yoga by the flowing connection of one move to the next.

The P90X version starts with Sun Salutation with a deep breath and moves quickly into plank, chaturanga, upward dog and downward dog.  The flow is repeated over and over adding move moves to the end of the flow each round.  Moves that are added on include Runners Pose, Warrior 1, Warrior 2 and Warrior 3, Reverse Warrior, Prayer Twist, Twisting Triagle and Half Moon. 

In the beginning Runners Pose and all three warrior poses gave me the most difficult through this flow because of the strength needed in your legs and core to hold the position.  I found that I was frequently coming out of the pose giving my thighs and hips some relief.  As the weeks moved on, I became stronger and stronger and was able to move through the entire vinyasa flow with no problem.  Twisting Triangle still by the end gave me some trouble as I just couldn’t get into the reverse twisting positition.  I came close with the help of a yoga block, but by the end I was still not as flexible as some on the video. 

After the moving asanas portion, you move directly into balance posture moves.  For me, this one I couldn’t get through as it seemed to drag on forever.  Balance posture moves include Tree, Crane, Royal Dancer and Standing Leg Extension. 

Next you have floor work, rarely did I make it to this part of the video as it lost my attention after the first hour was almost up.  But to be complete in my review I must include it as I did complete the video in its entirety a few times.  Floor work includes holding stretching poses for a specific amount of time.  The stretches are not easy moves and Tony warns you if it is an advanced move that you might not be able to do, but to work towards it as an end goal.  Some poses that might offer some nice stretching and relief are Cat and Frog.  Some more difficult poses are Table, Wheel and Bridge.

And finally the last portion of the 1.5 long video is Yoga Belly.  Yoga Belly is comprised of static poses aimed at strengthening your core just like the wicked-hard Ab Ripper X.  Poses that complete this portion are Touch the Sky, Boat, Half Boat, Scissor and Torso Half Twist and Hold.

By this time, your body is completely stretched out, limber and you feel the pump of using every single one of the muscles in your body including your brain!!!!

Time for the cool down.  Bring on Happy Baby and Childs Pose and then most appropriately Corpse pose and the creepy “ohms”. 

I’ve done this dvd several times late at night and worked up a nice sweat but at the same time relaxes me in ways nothing else does.  Overall, its a very long exercise session, but is strategically very necessary in your overall workout program.  I think that although it works every muscle group, it ultimately helps with soreness on the other days providing the much needed flexibility and stretching to aid in healing and building muscle. 

I would definately recommend this as a good beginner yoga dvd ~ whether your doing the full P90X program or you are just looking to get started doing yoga on a daily basis.  It provides multiple levels of fitness techniques and will properly train you to enjoy your first yoga session in a yoga studio without feeling self conscious.

Namaste.

See these other P90X related review posts:

• P90X Review: Chest & Back Day 1
• P90X Review: Plyometrics Day 2
• P90X Review: Shoulders & Back Day 3

Fitness Friday: P90X Shoulders & Arms Review

I love fitness friday all over the blogosphere.  You can find some great workout tips, new routines, and generally very happy people looking forward to a wonderfully fit weekend. 

Following suit, here is my next review in the P90X DvD Review Series:

Shoulders & Arms

On the third day of Phase I is the second strength training workout called Shoulders & Arms is performed.  By this time, you have already completed Chest & Back and Plyo-X so you are starting to feel a little depleted.  But when you pop in the Shoulders & Arms workout you are pleasantly surprised. 

This workout is just what you need to refuel and recover from the Ply0 workout the day before.  According to Tony Horton, this is the glamour routine to tighten, tone and build the glamour muscles that shape your upper body to perfection.  As a woman, this routine is extremely important in battling the flabby upper arms that we are all to familiar with as we age.  This is one of my favorite routines in the P90X series.  I look forward to doing this routine because it leaves me feeling pumped, strong, and capable. 

My first go around with the routine I started out with 3 & 6 lb weights gradually increasing to 8 lbs as I neared the end of my final 90 days.  However, in Round 2 I am starting out with 8 lbs and for most exercises I’m using 10 lbs and some 12.5 lbs. 

One of my biggest pet peeves with women and weight training is the fear of using of heavier weights and the stigma that comes along with it.  It is one of the myths that is so hard to get through to women that lifting heavier weights will make you bulk up like a man.  This is simply NOT true. 

Most women want to tone ~ understandable.  However, as a woman you should also want to build strength.  Muscle strength will not only help prevent injury, but in the case that injury was to occur, it also helps with a faster recovery.   And finally one of the best reasons to strength train with heavier weights is that it will also BURN more calories well after you complete the workout.  It is what is known as a metaboloic spike. 

So to all my ladies out there ~ DONT FEAR HEAVIER WEIGHTS!  Give it all you got while doing the upper body P90X workouts because

“Strong is the new Skinny”

 

The Workout:

As always, Tony starts out with a nice longwarm-up.  He gets your heart pumping and oxygen flowing with running, high knees, jumping jacks and run lunges.  After your heart rate is elevated he moves onto stretching with head and shoulder rolls, arm circles and then wraps up the warm up with some ballistic stretching. 

Now your all warmed-up and ready to get busy.  The workout is designed as supersets that are broken down into 5 sets that target the three major muscle groups: shoulders, biceps and triceps.  These exercises are then performed in this order throughout the entire routine.

My favorite exercises in this routine are:

• Alternating Shoulder Press
• In/Out Bicep Curls
• Full Supination Concentration Curls (sounds hard, but its not)
• Upright Rows
• Static Arm Curls
• Lying Down Tricep Extentions (I have shown 100% improvement here)
• Straight Arm Shoulder Flys
• Congdon Curls (named after the boss because they are THE BOSS)

The Shoulders & Arms workout really gets you feeling like you accomplished something here.  I walk away from the routine and run directly to the mirror to flex and pump my biceps (no shame here ~ I love my new muscles!)  Whether you want to build muscle or just tighten and tone, this routine rocks!  Tony tells you if you want to build muscle use a weight that you feel the maximum effort at 8-10 reps, if you are looking to tone then pick a weight you feel the burn at 12-15.  But the most important aspect to remember is to PICK THE RIGHT WEIGHT for your goal! 

Personally, I love all the upper body routines in this entire series.  I’ve said it in the past, and I’ll say it again now ~ I have never had upper body strength.  So to be able to see bicep definition and defined back and shoulder muscles is a complete turn on to me!  I love it!  I love the feeling of strength.  I love the feeling that I have a sense of power and accomplishment after these routines. It hard work ~ but so worth it to me when I see the results.

So my advice to all my women out there that are thinking P90X is a mans extreme fitness routine ~ think again ~ it will be the most powerful experience of your life if you give this series a try!

Do you like or dislike lifting heavier weight?

Plantain & Avocado Breakfast & P90X Update

Years ago when I lived in California, I had a fascination with Mexican cooking and ALL THINGS chili peppers. It is really what started my food adventure. Learning to cook authentic mexican food from my neighbors in Ventura County was one of the best times of my life. I will always have a passion for a good tamale, west coast refried beans and homemade corn tortillas.

However, when I moved back to the east coast my cooking adventures took me in other directions. Since I loved the flavors of mexican food, Cuban cuisine was rightly next on my list.

It’s been quite sometime since I’ve had a cuban dish in front of me, but oh how I miss the flavors of mangos and plantains.

The plantain is not unfamiliar to me, but it’s been many years since my cuban/mexican cooking days that I’ve actually cooked and eaten them. This weekend I prepared a gorgeous breakfast of Plantains & Avocados along with a shredded veggie quesadilla.

To cook the Plantains:

• 1 plantain
• 2 TBSP Coconut Oil

Choose plantains that are yellow/greenish with some brown spots on them. They will yield a sweeter cooked plantain chip.

Make a slit down the front side of the plantain, and gently peel away the skin in sections.

Slice the plantain into rounds approximately 1/2 inch thick.

Heat a sauté pan over medium high heat and add 2 TBSP coconut oil. Lay the sliced plantains in a single layer around the pan.

Fry until crisp and brown edges appear ~ 3-4 minutes depending on the heat of your pan.

Carefully flip each round and finish cooking on the other side.

Serve warm with slices of avocado drizzled with lime juice. Top with fresh cilantro.

I used half of the plantain as breakfast side dish and the other half I re-heated later that evening and used as a snack.

I topped the plantains with a bit of Cinnamon Almond Butter I had purchased from the farmers market over the weekend.

p90X Update:

I have been mixing up my P90X workouts because I’ve been pretty sore, and it’s lasting a little longer than I remember the first round.  So until my muscles get used to working out everyday again, I’ve been mixing the schedule up a bit from the normal Classic Version. 

Saturday I opted for Plyo ~ It is one of my favorite parts of the P90X workout.  This workout really gets your heart pumping, but not in a normal cardio fashion.  There is not a lot of consistent jumping around, even though its Plyo and a jump training session.  Some of my favorite moves are the Mary Katherine and the Heisman.  But it gives you a great workout, gets the blood pumping and works your glutes & thighs like no other P90X workout.  It’s Tuesday and I’m still feeling it from Saturday. 

Sunday I opted for a little stretching and did 45 minutes of Yoga-X.  It was definitely what I needed to stretch my sore glutes. 🙂

Monday I did Shoulders & Arms ~ while not my favorite arm DVD (Back & BiCeps is my all-time favorite arm dvd) it still gets you a good pump going.

I opted to continue with the 8-10lb weights for most of the moves, but used the 6-lb weights for tricep kickbacks and shoulder flys since I’m still battling my rotator cuff soreness.  I have to say though that after the workout last night, my shoulder feels a heck of a lot better today.  I was actually surprised with that, because I thought I would wake up stiff, but my shoulder actually feels great today.

The rest of the weeks schedule looks like this:

• Today = Kenpo X
• Wednesday = Chest & Back
• Thursday = Legs & Back
• Friday = Plyo
• Saturday = Yoga

I will be starting up on the following Monday with the regular classic schedule as my body should be ready for the workout by then.  If you want to workout with me follow me on teambeachbody.com, you can find me in the supergym with my scheduled workouts.

Do you like to follow your workout schedule or do you follow cues from your body and mix it up like me?

Memorial Day Recap|Recipe|P90X

Memorial Day was freezing in my neck of the woods, not your typical holiday weekend that is suppose to be the unoffical start of summer.  It was more like a cold day at the beginning of March and not the second to the last weekend of May.  However, the sun was shining most of the weekend and I made the most of it as best I could. 

Took a ride on the BF’s Harley to a nearby park

BF & I
Newlin Grist Mill, Pa

Had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Firebirds Wood Fired Grill.

Kebobs w/Grilled Veggies & Smashed Potatoes

Made a trip to the local Whole Foods market for my first Kombucha drink.

Cranberry Kombucha

The rest of the weekend I did a ton of self-reflection about my trip to Blend Retreat in Utah.  The women that I met are fearless, uplifting, driven and frankly they just motivated the heck out of me.  Most were at least half my age if not 10-15 years younger; but they still had a profound impact on me and in what direction I want to set my future goals.

I have this unequivocal feeling that I just can’t seem to shake.  I can be better; I can have more satisfaction in life; I can be happier. 

I have been working on doing things more for myself.  I have always been a pleaser.  The one that takes care of others first, putting my self second or even last, if you will.  But the past few years have been different.  I’m doing things that make me happy now too.   I’m starting to stand up for what I want, finding things that I enjoy doing and make me happy.  It feels good.  It makes ME  feel good. 

Anyway, after returning from Blend, I am back on track with my fitness routine and goals.  I have been sidetracked for sometime since completing my first round of P90X, and I miss the feeling of strength, the look of defined muscles and the tightness of a hard working body.  So this weekend I started Round 2 of Round 2 of P90X. 

P90X Results Day 90
Round 1

I need to get my X body back ~ no, I WILL get my X body back!  I will also try to get more fitness related posts about my P90X journey on this blog.  Not only to remain accountable but to show you (my readers) that at any age or fitness level P90X is an achievable goal. 

So I officially started yesterday with day 1 ~ Chest/Back.  Working my upper body is one of my new favorite things.  My legs have always been strong but I’ve never had any upper body strength.  So I love getting a good burn from the upper body P90X workouts. 

I took it easy with yesterdays Chest/Back DVD made it through but didn’t do a ton of push-ups.  Paced myself with 10-15 of each move except for Dive Bombers and Decline Push-ups.  I skip those completely.  Even at my best at the end of Round 1 I was only able to do like 3 dive bombers and only 1 decline.  But I will be patient and it will come back in time. 

Dive Bomber Push-ups & Yoga to stretch out

I also paced my pullups.  Only doing about 8-10 reps of each style.  Still nurturing my shoulder injury and the wide front pullups were the most uncomfortable.  But still managed to get in 6-8 reps each round.  I am also starting out this round with my 8lb weights.  So my set will include 8-10-12 lb to start, but I’m hoping to increase fairly soon to 10-12-15lbs. 

The rest of the weeks schedule looks like this ~ I will be following the Classic Schedule and adding Ab Ripper X during the second week.

• Tuesday (today) Plyometrics
• Wednesday Shoulders/Arms
• Thursday Yoga X
• Friday Legs/Back
• Saturday Kenpo
• Sunday (rest day)

So finally moving on to the recipe that sparked a ton of envy on my Instagram page  this weekend. 

Maple Cinnamon Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa

Maple Cinnamon Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa

• 1/2 cup of cooked Quinoa
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 -3/4 cup of almond milk ( I used unsweetened vanilla)
• 1/4 cup of blueberries
• splash of maple syrup
• top with almonds and chia seeds

Place the quinoa, cinnamon, almond milk and blueberries in a microwave safe dish and heat through until hot.  1-2 minutes.  Add the maple syrup and stir until combined.  Top with almonds and chia seeds.

What did you do fun this holiday weekend?

5K Color Run Training

March has been very unkind to me in regards to fitting in workouts.  I’ve been super busy with school and other kid related activities and on top of all this random stuff I’ve been trying to get done, I’ve been battling with a rotator cuff injury from my so-called mid-life crisis (as everyone seems to keep putting it) snowboarding adventure back in mid-March.

But I have three months to go until the Philadelphia 5K Color Run and realized that I haven’t been on a treadmill for over a year now.  I’ve been concentrating on strength training and P90X which does not include running.  Since I am unable at the moment to continue with P90X training, I’ve headed back to the gym. 

iPhone apps have been a huge part of my life lately.  I’ve been adding organizing apps, list apps, banking apps, photo editing apps, all kinds of apps.  So heading back to the gym seemed like why not add a running app?  I have had a few apps that I’ve downloaded in the past like the Nike+ Running app and Map My Run, but both of those apps, as great as they are, are a little bit too much for my level of running at the current  moment. 

Map my Run is great if you are trying to track mileage/distance as well as trying to find a good route to run.  Nike+ app is great for training as well, but requires the little chip that goes into your shoe that connects that allows you to connect your iPhone or iPod, in which my Nike shoes are long gone and have since been replaced several times with a more all around fitness shoe since I’ve been doing P90X for the past year.

So looking through the running apps I came across Run a 5K! app and decided to give it a shot.

It’s a cool little app that allows minor change settings like miles to kilometers or GPS on/off, and a Facebook feature if you choose to share with your friends;  it also links to your music play list so that’s covered too!

It’s definitely a beginner running app, but since I HATE running, it works for what I’m up to.  The apps 5K Program Details, states that it is 3 short 30 minute workouts per week with a combination of running, walking and resting to build up to your first 5k (3.1 miles).

Yesterday I hit the gym and used the app for the first time.  If I follow the apps training plan, it says I should be able to run a 5K in 7 weeks.  Since I have approximately 12 weeks, this works out great. 

Here is my first sessions results:

I didn’t turn on the GPS function so it didn’t calculate my minute/mile but I wasn’t exactly sure what I was in for so I opted out of GPS tracking.  I’m not sure it would work on the treadmill anyway, as in the apps review section it actually shows the map of your course.

The first workout was a 5 minute warmup and then it started with jogging/walking intervals of 1 minute jogging and 1.5 minutes walking for a total of 14 intervals plus the 2 warmup/warmdown sessions for a total of 16 intervals and 30 minutes. 

It was a nice way to start back on the treadmill, but I actually could have handled much more.  But with my injuries I am not going to push it until I feel 100%.  I’m going to stick with this training program for the time being and then decided if I want to switch to the 8-week Color Run training.  Either way, I’ll be ready for the run by mid July. 

What apps do you use for fitness training?

 

Related articles

• Tips for Taking Your Run from the Treadmill to Outdoors (news.health.com)
• #Nike+ Running App Review (femmefitaleblog.com)

Blend Retreat

I am so excited to announce that I will be attending the Blend Retreat this year!  It’s a weekend fitness retreat of Bloggers + Friends who become Blends!  How much fun does this sound?

After reading through a ton of fitness and nutrition blogs I kept seeing the Blend Retreat logo pop up and all my favorite bloggers were attending and it peaked my curiosity.  So I went to the website and checked out what they had to offer.  What a cool thing these gals have going on here and I’m so excited to be able to be a part of this years experience.

The 2013 retreat is being held in Park City, Utah from May 17 – 19th and anyone is welcome to attend.  Blogger or non-blogger, blog reader, fitness junkie or foodie.  Everyone is welcome.

They have a TON of stuff planned like a welcome cocktail party, three meals including two breakfasts, a five-course dinner, coffee and snacks, two fitness classes, hiking, raffles and a ton of swag from their sponsors.

This will be my first time flying on my own, so I’m a little nervous but excited at the same time.  A trip like this is a huge step for me but the journey so far has been totally worth it.  Can’t wait to meet some new exciting peeps and talk shop with people that share my passion for healthy eating and fitness!

So if I’ve peaked your curiosity about the Blend Retreat as well, head on over to the website and check it out for yourself.  If you are already attending drop me a line!

Head on over to the Blend Retreat Blog by clicking here and RIGHT NOW they are having a great Q&A Giveaway from the bootcamp sponsors Fitmixer!

Check out Fitmixer and enter the giveaway!  Great way to learn about a new up and coming company that is geared toward everyone else in the fitness world (and not just the Arnold types!)