Hello ab muscles, I'm Earth. Have we met?

Thursday: Got to the pool later than expected so I only had about 20 minutes to swim before it closed. Therefore, I swam hard and worked on my speed in the little time that I had.

Friday: Biked 17.2 miles on the stationary (in 65 minutes), then ran a mile on the treadmill. Also did some ab stuff :)

Saturday: off day

Sunday: 6 mile run around Southie (~53 minutes)...gorgeous day! Then an ab workout.


I've started to notice that my 6-pack is coming along quite nicely! In addition to all the training I've been doing in the past couple of months, I've really been focusing on my nutrition and eating clean whenever possible. I had thought I was one of those girls who wasn't able to get a ripped stomach, but apparently I was wrong! It's really nice to see all my hard work paying off! WOOOO! :)

150 days left!

Wow, it's been almost a week since I've blogged last. Let's see if I can remember what I did...

Thursday: Swim 1100m

Friday: Off

Saturday: Volleyball Tourney at MIT (fun of course, but no victory for Swagger)


Sunday: Migraine = In bed ALL day. Ugh.

Marathon Monday: Yoga with Heather, then ran 6 miles AND a core workout. Then went to check out the finish line of the Boston Marathon. It was AWESOME and such an inspiring experience! The most amazing part for me was watching the U.S. soldiers (Marines I think) in their full uniform with FULL packs on. They were exhausted by the end, but they finished and I was amazed! It made me want to run a marathon, but we will see how this 70.3 goes first...

Tuesday: 1000m swim

Wednesday: Morning yoga. Then after breakfast/dog walk, I ran up to the track, did the following workout:
- 30 V-sits
- 10 burpees
- 400m run
- 20 pushups
- 30 crunches
- 20 situp twists
- 400m run
- 40 prisoner squats
- 15 pushups
- 400m run
- 40 lunges
- 20 dips
- 400m run
- 15 burpees

Then ran home and did some arm stuff before getting ready to head to campus for a meeting. Headed back home now to walk the dogs and get a quick bike ride in before heading up the the North End for dinner at a friend's house. I seriously love my life -- especially on GORGEOUS days like today!

Tuesday: Biked 13 miles in 45 minutes (at the gym)

Today: No yoga this morning, because I was up coughing for a large portion of the night. I did manage to run for 32 minutes, do 30 lunges and 15 Santana pushups, run 400m, 20 V-sits and 10 burpees, then run home (4 minutes) though.

Now: exhausted and ready for bed.

Making progress in the pool! Yessss

Yesterday I swam 26 laps...which is 1300m. They switched the direction of the lanes so that they go through the deep end. I like this way better because it's longer (though it feels shorter to me) and more representative of open water. Therefore, it allows me to know what it's like to not be able to touch the bottom. I also felt like my endurance has improved significantly. Previously, I had been breathing every 3 strokes, but yesterday I was up to 4 and sometimes even every 5 strokes! I've decided to try and get in the pool at least 3 times a week for a while since this is my weakest event...


Woke up and did yoga this morning, and I was feeling kind of sore from Sunday's workout (especially in the pectoral/shoulder region). The swim yesterday temporarily alleviated but eventually added to my muscle soreness, but I'm not complaining. I love the feeling of sore muscles because it means that my workouts are effective. Today is a bike day. I will probably hit the stationary at the gym this afternoon so that I can read while I'm biking.

I've also come to realize how much I LOVE cross-training and training for a mutli-sport event. I like being able to do something different everyday and I never get bored. I am slightly worried about my A.D.D. and the bike leg though because 56 miles will most likely take me about 2 hours to complete. I'm no where near 56 miles yet (my max is 20 right now), but I'm going to have to start upping my distances for each event here soon. I can't bike on the stationary for more than an hour because I'm bored by then, so I think it's time to hit the road with my Cannondale. She's in desparate need of a tune up though, and I seem to have misplaced my helmet, waterbottle and aerobar pads. They are all together somewhere, but I'm afraid they are in a box in the basement of my parents house in Rochester. I won't be able to get them until I breeze through town in May. :(

2 hours is such a loooooong time for me, but I will be okay once I find an outdoor route and a good audio book to listen to. I'm also doing a half-marathon on June 13 in Chicago, and which is less than 9 weeks away. I think I will be okay, as long as I come up with some kind of training schedule and try to stick to it as much as possible and use my swimming, biking, and volleyball for my crosstraining days.

Ok enough of this rambling, I have to get some stuff done for school. Later.

5 Mile Race in Southie

Ran the Good Sports 5 Mile Run in Southie on Sunday morning, and was pretty happy about my time. Being allergy season, I had some issues with my lungs and throat but I had a great partner to keep me going. My friend and colleague, Paul, who I thought was just going to smoke me in the race, actually ran with me the whole time and kept a nice 8 min. mile pace. I was never one to run with people because I like to get in the zone and think about anything but running, but it was a nice change up and really improved my overall performance.

Anyways, I ran the 5 miles in 40:36 and I'm pretty happy about that. After the race, I ran some errands with my roomie and was feeling pretty great. So great in fact, that her and I decided to go up to the stadium and do an interval workout. Here's what we did:

2 minutes bleachers
15 pushups
10 dips
2 minutes bleachers
30 crunches
10 burpees
2 minutes bleachers
20 single leg deadlifts (10 each side)
10 inclined pushups
400m run


So yesterday was a good day and I slept better last night than I have in a few days. This morning I had plans to wake up at 6 to walk the dogs before yoga but since I didn't go to bed until 1130, I was in no mood to get out of bed when the alarm went off. I eventually rolled out of bed at 6:45, woke up Heather, did yoga, and then took the dogs for a long walk. Today is a beautiful day! I've come to appreciate the good days more and more especially after the awful rainy, cold days we had last week.

Now that I'm fully awake and slightly exercised, I can start my day of getting work done. I think today is going to be a swim day because my joints took a beating yesterday...

Stupid Migraine.

Wednesday was a beautiful day out, so I rode my bike to school to get some work done, then ended up going to the gym to ride the stationary bike for 30 minutes. I like the stationary bike because it lets me read while I'm working out and I feel extra productive! My workout wasn't as long as I wanted because I had other obligations. Before I went to the gym, I had a lot of nervous energy and anxiety so the workout helped to alleviate that. Then of course, I had to ride my bike home that evening and by the time I got home, I was a sweaty, hot mess!

Yesterday I took the day off because I had to wake up at 445 to get to a research conference in Amherst. It was also the first time in a LONG TIME that I didn't eat a good breakfast. I had a protein shake on the way, but didn't have time to stop for something to eat on the way. I also figured that the "free breakfast" meant something other than sugar-filled pastries and muffins, but I was wrong. Since I was starving, I scarfed down a muffin and couldn't wait until lunch time. The lunch that was provided was better than the breakfast, and relatively healthy for conference food. By the time my colleagues and I left to go home, I was hungry again (and exhausted!) and stopped at Dunkin' Donuts for a coffee and a bagel. When I got finally got home and was outside walking the dogs, it hit me. I suddenly got a horribly, awful migraine. I tried eating something for dinner, but felt nauseas. So I took some Excedrin PM and went to bed at 8pm. So with the stress I've been under this week (from training and work deadlines), a sudden shift in weather (from 90* and sunny to 40* and rainy), my poor eating habits and lack of sleep, the migraine was bound to happen.

This morning, I felt a little better but still feeling a little off. I'm debating whether to take today off or attempt to do a light workout. I will see how I feel in a few hours...

the sun's still shining when I close my eyes...

25 minute bike ride around Southie (windy day, so my legs were working over time)
400m run
Prisoner Squats (30)
Pushups (15)
400m run
Sit-Ups with Twist (30)
Mountain Climbers (20)
Dips (20)
400m run
Front lunges with knee lifts (20)
Back lunges with side kick (20)
V-Sits (20)
400m run
Burpees (10)
Ride home.


High five to me!

Productive Weekend

Good morning, world. Just did my morning yoga, and realized that I haven't blogged all weekend. I didn't get much sleep this weekend, but I did get a lot done and managed to get some training in. It was strange not having a volleyball tournament to play in yet surprising how much I accomplished instead of playing/sitting for 8 hours.

On Saturday afternoon, Heather and I walked up to campus and went for a swim. I only swam 800 meters, but I swam hard for each lap. I was working on my speed and cardiovascular endurance. It was frustrating because I was very winded after each lap, and exhausted from only getting 4 hours of sleep the night before. At least I did something though.

After we got home, we drove up to Salem to get Otis. (It's sooooo nice to have him back!!) Then we spent like 4 hours scrubbing and organizing the entire kitchen and went to bed. I didn't get to sleep in like I wanted to because Otis decided to wake me up at 5:45am to go outside. Then when I finally fell back asleep, he woke me up again at 6:30. Hopefully that was only a one time deal, because I was so exhausted yesterday!

I did, however, manage to go for a 5.5 mile run and then a short walk with the roomie and dogs. All in all, a pretty good Easter weekend. :)

GREAT Friday.

After my morning yoga ritual with Heather, I took Jack for an hour long walk. After the walk I was feeling a little sluggish, and the thought of bagging my run for today had crossed my mind. But then I thought about my short and long term goals. My short term goal is getting a good time (under 45 minutes) for the 5 mile race in Southie that I just registered for. The race is next Sunday and only about a block from my apartment. Perfect!

A longer term goal is to complete a half-marathon in less than 2 hours. I'm planning on doing this in Chicago on June 13 with my best friend/college roommate, Marre. The ultimate goal, of course, is to complete the 70.3 in Syracuse on 9/19.


Now back to TODAY. It has FINALLY come to the point where I can workout outside in a tanktop and running shorts. Hallelujah!!! It's around 70 degrees today with a slight breeze down by the harbor (which is where I ran). So with the great weather, and my goals in mind, I was super pumped for my workout today.

When I started my run, my goal was to run 4 miles and then come home to do a crossfit workout in the house. While I was running, I decided that instead of working out inside, I would run up to the stadium and do a bleacher/track workout. So that's exactly what I did.

Here's my workout for today AFTER the 4 mile run (which took approximately 38 minutes)

2 minutes bleachers
20 inclined pushups
2 minutes bleachers
20 V-sits
2 minutes bleachers
20 Santana Pushups (with leg lift)
30 second rest
30 walking lunges
400m jog
10 burpees
400m jog
50 crunches

Run home (1/2 mile).


My knees are starting to throb because this is the first time in a while that I've run on the pavement. Nothing a little ibuprofen can't fix... :)

Rodney Yee

Woke up at 645 this morning without an alarm. I didn't do yoga with Heather this morning because she had to go into work early, so I walked Jack when I woke up then came back to enjoy my coffee and oatmeal. Then after getting some work done and answering some e-mails, I did an intense one-hour session of power yoga with Rodney Yee. My back hurts from all the upward dogs, but the rest of me feels great.

Definitely taking today off from going to the gym. I don't have much time anyways so it works out. Now its time to be productive!