Sunday, October 20, 2013

Mid-October Progress


The week of October 14th was a solid week for my fall workout goals. I was able to squeeze in 5 perfect bricks and 6 days of workouts. I had to do 4 days in a row at crossfit due to plans on Friday night. By Thursday I was pretty exhausted and welcomed a lighter Friday and a rest day on Sunday. However, I picked up Saturday night at the restaurant which means I'm working all weekend. Though I voluntarily do this, I can be hard on the body. I will try to squeeze in a nap this afternoon before heading into work. The highlight of the week was the Helen Meets Grace Barbells for Boobs fundraiser at our crossfit gym. It was great to see so many people pushing their physical limits for a great cause!

Workouts 10/14- 10/20

Monday- AM yoga/boot camp & PM Xfit
Tuesday- AM Spin / PM Xfit
Wednesday- AM yoga/boot camp/ PM xfit
Thursday- AM Walk/ PM xfit
Friday- AM yoga/boot camp
Saturday- Helen Meets Grace crossfit workout
Sunday- Rest

*Pushups 5 sets of 20 for 6 days
* 5 perfect bricks for 86 in 2013

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Barbells for Boobs


This Saturday, October 19th, I'll be participating in the Barbells for Boobs event at White Mountain Crossfit! The workout is Helen Meets Grace which will be a challenge, but certainly for a worthy cause.

If you have an interest in donating to our team, please click Here.

Thank you!

~Laura

Monday, October 14, 2013

Recovery Week


Last week was all about recovering from the half marathon. I took 3 full rest days on Monday, Thursday, and Sunday. Thursday was not an intentional rest, but I came down with a cold and just could not bring myself to go to the gym. It is OK though as a bit of extra rest can't hurt after Smuttynose.

Coincidentally, it also was the deload week in my new strength training program. I am following the 5-3-1 Wendler plan in 4 week cycles--so far, I've enjoyed the plan. It focuses on 4 lifts: military press, deadlift, bench press, and back squat. In addition, I do many sets of "accessory" movements such as banded chins, dumbell lifts, abs, etc. Finally, I still do a conditioning element but it is usually a bit shorter because my primary focus is lifting. In the first four weeks, I have seen some positive changes, but the main thing is that I am enjoying the program so I feel motivated to go to the gym.

Also, I continue to get in about 4 fasted cardio workouts a week but that volume needs to go up. I'm shooting for 5-6 days this week if possible. 2 of those workouts will be morning spin classes. Walks are harder to bring myself to do as the temps drop--I REALLY dislike the cold. I am probably the wimpiest midwesterner ever! The one thing I like about fall/winter though is TEA. I am a huge fan of all things tea (loose leaf, bags, decaf, caffeinated, chai, etc). It is such a calming ritual to sip on a cup of tea. I enjoy reading Corinne's blog (especially when she talks about tea!) as she has such a peaceful view of life in general. I love her use of words to describe settings.

Finally, I've been focusing on cooking more appealing and healthy meal options. I am well aware that my food intake continues to be the area most in need of improvement. Today, I spent much of the day preparing a variety of paleo foods for the week. By 1:30PM I made spinach quiche, roasted savory sweet potato, roasted summer squash/zucchini, apple cinnamon pork loin with gravy, fajita chicken bake, and roasted lemon pepper chicken legs. With the protein taken care of, it should be easy to whip up a few veggie sides during the evenings after the gym. I also have some carrots, nuts, and other paleo snacks to get me through the day. This week, my supply of Vega Pre-Workout energy drink will run out...I'm going to try to phase this out for awhile as I tend to rely on it as a caffeine type substitute far too frequently. It also has too much natural sugar, which I'd like to cut down on over the next few months. I did grab some tea to fill in, but that should be a better substitute.

Week of October 7th- October 13th

Monday- Rest
Tuesday- AM Spin/ PM Xfit
Wednesday- AM Walk / PM Xfit
Thursday- Rest
Friday- AM Yoga/Boot Camp / PM Xfit
Saturday- AM Walk
Sunday- Rest

*Pushups 5X 20 for 6 days
*4 Perfect Bricks

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Smuttynose Half Marathon Recap



My race season has officially come to an end for 2013 with the completion of the Smuttynose Half Marathon today. It was a light season with a few 5Ks, the Seacoast Century bike ride and of course the half marathon. As I have discussed a bit in some of my other blog entries, I found it a challenge to find the time to balance training for the century and the half marathon. Ultimately, I did a very abbreviated version of Hal Higdon's intermediate training program paired with cycling and crossfit. I was curious to see how my results this time would compare to my 1:58 at the Half at Hampton (same course just colder!)in February of 2012. I was optimistic given some decent training runs throughout the summer and fall, but knew I did not do a ton of prep miles during the week.

In the beginning of the race, everything was a bit hectic. I thought I gave myself enough time, but got stuck in some serious traffic trying to get into Hampton Beach for the race start. I grabbed my bib at about 7:40 and went straight to the porta potties to get a spot in line...this of course is always the slowest process in any race. I then had to jet back to my car to get rid of my warmer clothes (the wind was gusting very heavily at this point), luckily, with the large crowds, I did not miss the start (I just got stuck in a slower wave in the beginning). My Runkeeper app was a bit delayed but I finally got that working and set Pandora up for some tunes.

Overall, the first 6 miles felt very good. I was keeping the pace below 9 min miles and fueling at the appropriate times. Somewhere around mile 8 or 9 my Pandora stopped working which definitely caused me to lose some serious speed and momentum. I find the music really pushes me along. In retrospect, this was the point in the run where I lost the opportunity to PR. I was shooting for under 1:58, but without my music to pace, I lost valuable minutes. This combined with possibly being over aggressive in my early miles put me behind my goal. When I heard Runkeeper chip in that I was over 9 min miles, my morale started to slip. Then, I saw this super ripped girl chugging past me just doing tiny shuffle steps and really swinging her arms fast. I thought, hmmm, she seems to be pushing forward, I'll try her strategy. Sure enough, I began to pass people in front of me. Unfortunately, I had lost too many minutes during the Pandora debacle, but at least I finished with my second fastest time to date. Around mile 12, my friend from crossfit, Chandler, helped me push through the final stretch as he had just parted with his sister, Alaka, who was continuing on for the full marathon. It was great to have someone I knew at the end, but even with his help, I did have a feeling it was not going to be a PR day.

I was glad to finally finish though because that was when the rain/wind really started to pick up. I don't think it has rained for almost 3 weeks, but today it rained. It is not so bad when running but makes the after party not so enjoyable. I was thrilled to get a chance to meet up with my friend from college, Colleen. I often turn to her blog Live Free and Run for running inspiration. I knew I'd see her at the finish but not during the run! She and her husband were toughing out the bad weather to enjoy a cool beer after the race. It was so great to catch up and talk shop about running and teaching. Hopefully I can get down to DC for a race at some point--I'm sure it will be much warmer than this run was!

In the end, I'm glad I dragged myself out of bed this morning for the half marathon, but am disappointed that I did not PR after having a strong start. Nonetheless, I was not nearly as disciplined in my training regimen and I probably was 5-10lbs heavier compared to February 2012 when I was getting in wedding shape. 2:02.25 is not too shabby for a 32 year old who only had time for runs on the weekend--I guess I'll have to settle for the satisfaction of getting in a tough workout when I otherwise might have been sleeping or vegging in the apartment on this rainy October Sunday.

Week of September 30th- October 6th

Monday- AM Yoga/Boot Camp & PM Crossfit
Tuesday- AM Walk & PM Crossfit
Wednesday- AM Yoga/Boot Camp & Lunch Jog
Thursday- PM Crossfit
Friday- AM Yoga/Boot Camp
Saturday- Rest
Sunday- Smuttynose Half Marathon

*5 sets of 20 pushups for 6 days
*4 perfect bricks for a total of 77


Colleen & I post race. I think I have about 3 layers on. Poor Colleen, she needed more warm clothes! Though I paired my warm clothes with flip flops which was not the best choice.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Fuel Review: Gourmet Grassfed


One of the main challenges in maintaining a healthy diet is to have snacks that are just as accesible as junk food snacks (chips, soda, cookies, granola bars, etc). I struggled to find easy protein options as I could only tolerate so much chicken and eggs. I hit the jackpot when I decided to try the Grassfed Gourmet jerky that was recommended on the Whole 9 website. Gourmet Grassfed uses quality grassfed meat and has a vision that focuses on sustainability and freedom of food choice. You can read all about their vision on their website. However, the best part, in my opinion, is the ease of grabbing a pre-packaged snack and having it there for a quick refuel after crossfit or a snack to get my through my morning if I need a little extra energy. The company recently paired with Whole 9 to promote some exciting new flavors such as Smokey Apple BBQ and Ginger Terikayi. I brought one in for a co-worker who eats mainly Paleo and he was blown away by the flavor of this jerky. The downside...you have to order it online and it is relatively expensive (though most beef jerky is). It is a price I am willing to pay for high quality and convenient food options for those hectic days where I just need something in a pinch!

What are your favorite healthy and easy snacks? I'd love to hear your thoughts :)

Week of September 23rd- September 29th

Monday- PM Crossfit
Tuesday- AM Spin / Lunch Jog & Walk / PM Crossfit
Wednesday- AM Walk / Lunch Jog & Walk
Thursday- AM Yoga & Boot Camp / PM Crossfit
Friday- AM Spin / PM Crossfit
Saturday- Rest
Sunday- 10 mile run (10:48 pace)

*Pushups 5 sets of 20 for 6 days
*4 Perfect Bricks = 73 bricks for 2013 so far