Goals - mid year check in

The year is half over and I'm wondering how I'm doing on my goals.

#1 Stay Healthy. Do what I love while avoiding injury as best I can.
Working on this one. First injury of the year now. Resting so it doesn't get worse. 

Classes to try———I don't really care about trying new classes as much, and I've tried most of the classes I'm interested in at Ramsey
1.  Try an Orange Theory class
2. Try a Fuel yoga class.
3. Try more classes at Ramsey—DONE
4. Maybe try swimming (not necessarily a class) 
5. Take a yoga workshop on something, like hand balancing or inversions.

Been doing speed work since April.

Running goals. (I added some since December)
1. Run a 10k or half the Chick Fil-A half marathon—DONE
2. Still would like to run a 5k under 23 minutes—In progress
3. Look into group work or morning speed work—DONE
4. Botanical garden trail without walking - DONE (super slow pace but it counts!)
5. 10k at 8 minute mile pace - DONE
6. More 5ks? Can I run on the road? In progress
7. More Strava records — Ongoing though I've been varying my pace more, slower easy runs, and faster track work instead of all the same pace.

Have run 3 10ks. 

Tumbling goals: on the back burner for the moment. I'm taking a break from gymnastics.
1. Connect fly springs. Getting there. Better than last year, but not quite.
2. Walk overs. Not there yet. Oh well.
3. Touch my feet to my head. Stopped working on this.
4. 10 second handstand. Maybe? Definitely can do 7 seconds.
5. Practice handstands at home. (Daily?) Haha. Didn't do this.

General goals
1. Conquer the Ninja course at Rush. I got to the third ring or so. And then they got a whole new ninja course.
2. Try another flying trapeze place. Bonus: Get my cutaway! Tried trapeze at two new rigs!
3. Get a body composition test done. DONE. UGH. SO INACCURATE.
4. Stay on budget with fitness clothes. (Spend less money at Lululemon).
     Now I spend all my money on running shoes ;)

I feel like my goals have really changed since I wrote them in December. Tumbling is on the back burner. I'm a slow learner and not especially good at gymnastics. I have made almost no progress in the last year. I like the trampoline park, but there are too many kids, so it's hard to go and have fun. And while I love flying trapeze, I feel like my weekends are TOO busy when I add that in.

My mini goals (STAY HEALTHY)
1) Run a 5k under 23 minutes (same goal as above)
2) Mile to 6:30
3) 10k in 48 flat
4) Find a running coach. I think I really need someone to talk to about running, goals, when to back off or push and what to do.
5. Volunteer at a race
I've been debating running the AthHalf this fall. And I think maybe I'll volunteer and not run it.

#mymile Breaking 7 minute mile part 2

One of my mini goals was to break 7 minutes in running a mile. I did it last week on an indoor track. I'm not sure if that really counts so I headed over to the  outdoor track to have it officially recorded in Strava.

I went before work one day, when the weather was in the 60s.

Woke up and 5:30 a.m. and was out the door around 6:15 (after doing the pet chores).

Perks of getting up early: beautiful sky and track to myself.

I walked a lap, ran a lap and stretched. (I feel better on fresher legs). I did the run solo. I was the only person on the track.

The goal was 6:55. But the track I ran at is a little long, so I didn't even know what my splits should be. 51-53 seconds per 200, I think.

I put some music on and ran. I checked my watch at 100 meters. 7:05 pace. Fine. Then for the most  of the rest I ran about 6:40 pace. I honestly tried to NOT check my watch that much. I sped up for the end (6:00 pace towards my Garmin). It felt like under 7 but I hadn't been checking my watch.

6:41:87. Strava said 6:39. The track is a little long. It was 6:49 to finish the last lap.

Thanks Garmin!

SUPER HAPPY WITH THAT. I'd felt like I could break 7 minutes if I was just running one minute. And today was the day.

I walked a lap and headed home to shower and go to work. I wasn't too tired. Felt great.

(Now I want to see how much I can get my mile time down! Especially if I run with a group. That competition might help) 

Breaking a 7 minute mile

I made a small goal for myself to break seven minutes for a mile.

I've run pretty close to 7 minutes on occasion (heck during a 10k I ran a 7:03). But never under it. I was always holding something back for more laps at track workouts etc.

But today was the day and I am so proud. (I don't care if I am bragging. I worked hard. This is exciting).

Today was a track workout: a ladder—1600, 1200, 800, 400

It was pouring rain—all day. It didn't look like it was letting up so we went to the indoor track to do the workout. The plan was to the workout WITH Matt. We're about the same speed.

Gym hair, (mostly) don't care

My plan was to run 7:10-7:20 for the first mile (5k pace). But Matt took off. I was at least 20 seconds behind him. I left him go and focused on running even splits, and as easy as I could (I still had the whole workout to do). I looked at my watch to see I was running 52-54 second laps on the 1/8th of a mile track. (55 seconds was the goal). I didn't look at the total time until the end 6:55:7.

I thought I was running at 7:10. but then again Matt was so far ahead of me, he must have run a 6:35 or so.

And I still had enough left in the tank to do the ladder progressively faster. (Thought since it was an indoor track my Garmin wasn't tracking the distance correctly )

I broke 6 minutes during my second year of running track. So it was something I was pretty sure I was capable of doing. But 34-year-old Sara and 17-year-old Sara aren't the same. (15 pounds)

Garmin splits for the workouts. First four splits are .25 miles, 2 laps on an 1/8th of a mile track. So fairly even splits (split 3 is a little slow).

1600: 6:55.7
1200: 5:06.5
800: 3:22
400: 1:26.5

And then a 9 minute cool down.

Race Report: Half the Half (Chick Fil-A Half)

PRS and swag

Race prep
For years I've wanted to do the Chick Fil-A Half (well part of it anyway. I can't run 13.1!). Two years ago I didn't find out they had a relay option until the day before the race and it was too late to sign up. Last year they maybe they didn't offer the relay (there was a reason I didn't sign up), so I finally signed up this year.

I had intended to do the relay with my husband and we each run half of the the race. However, this year when I went to sign up, it was $10 cheaper for us each to do half the half. The same amount of running for $10 less? That's what I signed us up for.

And I've been training for this race since January. I've been gradually bumping up my mileage and following my own version of the Hal Higdon plan. I say it's my own version because I only run three times and week and do something between beginner and intermediate. I do speed work and I do a normal run, usually hilly trails. I did more than 6.5 a few times, I definitely trained for this race well and knew it could go really well.

The week of the race I cleaned up my diet. I ate a tad healthier than normal. No chips. Limited sweets. I didn't go out to eat. I didn't eat fried foods all week. (Even when we went to the new taco place that apparently has great fries.) There was even a baby shower at work the day before the race. I got a plate of cucumbers and grapes. I passed over cake and cookies. And let me tell you baby showers aren't as fun without cake and chips and dip. I even hydrated so well I almost peed my pants in yoga. Seriously, the last 15 minutes of class all I could think about was how much I had to pee and should I run out of class early. I took more off days with my workout too.

I did NOT eat this cake.

The morning of I got up at 5 a.m. and ate a Kind bar. I did a few minutes on the exercise bike to wake up my legs. I stretched. I got dressed. I decided on a hat that matched my crops. Maybe it was too matchy? I did my morning chores and we were out the door my 6:20 a.m. We walked to the race start. It was still dark. And I got really nervous.

There were 1500 people running this race. I HAVE NEVER run a race this big. I have never run a race this long. My running is high school track and cross country. 5ks are the longest thing I've run. And I've only run ONE since high school. I didn't see anyone I knew. There were so many people and I didn't know where to stand.

I ran into a few people I knew. Trae from Aerofit and the Lululemon runners. I had planned to run with the Lululemon girls. They were trying to get a PR for one of the girls at 8:15 mile pace. I figured that's about what I would run. I can run 8:40s on trails. 8 flat on the road for 3-ish. Maybe a tad slower for 6? I was somewhere between pace groups 1:40 and 1:50 so I decided to run with them. And that made me feel less nervous. Matt lined up more to the front.

7:15 a.m.
And then it was race time.

I didn't know how to start all my devices. #firstworldproblems

I wanted to run with Strava for splits. But the Strava app on my apple watch is the worst. You have to touch it to wake it up. The Apple watch has a run app—that's less accurate. So I turned on Strava on my phone and let it run as soon as the national anthem was done and then started the workout on my watch, paused it, and then resumed it when they said GO. Then a half mile in I told Siri to play run playlist and that was all of my million connections. For this race my Apple watch was dead on. It would buzz me exactly at the mile marker signs, so it tracked the distance identical to whoever set the course.

My goal was not to start the race too fast. Like I always do. Flat eight minute mile. I started to run with the Lululemon girls but then took off. Mile one was downhill and awesome. Mile two had a hill. It was okay.

I took some water on mile three because my throat was dry. (Who needs water in a 10k when it's not even hot!?)

On mile three I started feeling a little barfy. A girl in front of me walked. It planted that idea in my head. I didn't walk. I started thinking about barfing.

I saw my brother at around mile 3.5. The gave me some positive energy. He's a cop and was directing traffic. I yelled "HI LITTLE BROTHER" at him.

And then I hit a wall. I started feeling really bad. I felt barfy and wondered if I could drop out of the race for an injury. Did I need help? I just felt bad. I walked a few steps. People passed me. I started again. I hated myself for walking but I needed to.

And this was the part of the course I'd run before. The baby hill that was nothing on NEW legs, but on halfway tired legs, it was too much. I walked again when the hill was the steepest. I kept going.

I had barely glanced at my watch at all during the race. I glanced a few times and it looked like I was running 8 flats until that awful fifth mile. I didn't even glance long enough to see my elapsed time. (Didn't check my time until the end).

Once I topped that hill near Sanford and East Campus I was fine. I knew I only had a mile and change to go and I could do it. And it was all flat or down hill. Hooray! Bonus: They were parachuting cows off a bridge at mile 5 so I got one. And stuck it in my bra and ran. I kept watching my watch and planned to open it up at my 6 to finish strong my last .5 mile.....only I missed the end of the race.

There was a relay exchange zone at mile 6.1. I passed through a timer. The race clock wasn't operational and I was looking for the end of the relay exchange zone or another timer. So I ran to 6.55 and by that time I saw Matt running back telling me there wasn't the end of the race ahead. So I ran/walked back to the 6.1 marker.

(Matt was ahead of me the whole race. Maybe about 20 seconds? The plan was to catch him in the end and finish at the same time, but walking put him further ahead of me, so he finished in front of me.)

GRIPE
The end of the race wasn't marked. There was no sign that said END OF HALF THE HALF. There was no one yelling that the space was the end. There was no finish chute. Nothing. I was saving some speed I never got to use. Ugh.

There was also no shuttle. No one knew where it was so we walked back to the finish line to cheer on the runners. Which is fine. I needed to stretch out my legs.

But we got our medals. Yay!

RESULTS
I didn't know what time I ran because the clock over the "finish" wasn't operational. They didn't have place cards. There was some glitch with the chip timing. So I don't know what time I ran. I stopped my watch at 53 minutes and 6.66 mile when Matt told me to turn back.

I looked at my splits and Strava told me 7:58s for moving time. 8:05 when you figure in the time after I started Strava but before I started running.

My goal was just to finish the race. Under an hour would be nice. 8:15s would have been nice. But 8s. I THOUGHT maybe I could run that on a good day.

I was SUPER HAPPY with my time. I set all kinds of PRs.

This was
MY FIRST BIG RACE
MY FRIST ROAD RACE
MY FIRST 10K

My records:
Fastest 10k: 49:24 (I've run 10ks in practice before.) 
Best 2 mile: 14:49 (UNDER 15. This is something I've been shooting for!)
I ran a 7:15 mile today.
I ran a 5k in 23:27.

I did indeed go out too fast, but wow. The training really paid off. If I'd mentally been a little tougher, I could have taken at least 60 seconds off this time (for not walking). I hit that wall because I was pushing my limits. I was really pushing. (It's my first 10k so now I know I can do it.)

(Also it was cold. I have never run in weather this cold before. I kid you not. I'm super sensitive to cold weather. Apparently I can run in the cold. Yay! Not that I want to. I ran in long crops and a long sleeve shirt. At about mile 4 the long sleeve started to annoy me, so arm warmers maybe for another race this temperature?)

Splits: (look at all of these under 8!!)
7:16
7:32
7:49
8:09
8:57 (WALL. I walked. Ugh. I need to do more hills. Though I do a ton every week)
8:09
7:52 (Sigh, I saved up for an 800 meter sprint I never got!)

The race is huge. I didn't think we'd place. I didn't think there was any point for staying for the medal ceremony. And the kiosks with race times (which were cool) didn't have the half the half time on them forever. Matt thought he placed though. Finally right before the ceremony started, I put my bib in and it said 49:47. THIRD OVERAL. SECOND PLACE FEMALE.

You can see Matt grinning in the reflection.
And 7:36 is way off since the timer was at 6.1 or 6.2 not 6.55

"Fuck," I had to stop myself from saying. There was a nice old couple standing by us.

And then Matt put his time in and his was 48:11. Second place overall. First place male.

That, I didn't expect. But I've had good luck in picking races lately.

Pro tip: If you want to finish well in a race, pick a race with two length options. Sign up for the shorter length. The serious runners will take the longer route, and you'll place better in the shorter race. This has worked three times for me. (Last year's trail race, the trail race two weeks ago and today).

There were ~150 people in the 10k. And we did pretty darn good. (It's kind of fun beating the students. Not bad for two 30-somethings.)

I got my cowbell. And some coupons for free Chick Fil-A.

And there was a huge difference between first and second prizes.

Matt got a insulated bag, a lunch bag, $100 to Fleet Feet, 52 chicken sandwich coupons, a cow, gloves, a towel and probably some other goodies.

So overall a good return on our investment.

I'm super happy Matt had such a good race and raced so well. Yes, I'm a tad jealous he won all that stuff (without training as hard as me.) And I'd really wanted to reel him in at the end. But I raced my hardest (except for the walking. That was probably mental) and I'm happy having done the second race of my adult life and the longest distance.

The aftermath
I walked a ton after the race so I didn't stiffen up. My calves were still stiff and sore a few hours later. Matt said he thought it was from racing flats. They're super light weight. So minimal with no real support. I tried rolling my calves, exercise bike, vibrating massage, walking the dog. Still a little stiff. I forget what it's like to be tired after a race.

My splurge was a pizza from Your Pie and some strawberry M&M's.

2017 fitness goals

#1 Stay Healthy. Do what I love while avoiding injury as best I can.

Classes to try
1.  Try an Orange Theory class
2. Try a Fuel yoga class.
3. Try more classes at Ramsey
4. Maybe try swimming (not necessarily a class)
5. Take a yoga workshop on something, like hand balancing or inversions.

Running goals.
1. Run a 10k or half the Chick Fil-A half marathon
2. Still would like to run a 5k under 23 minutes
3. Look into group work or morning speed work
4. Botanical garden trail without walking
5. 10k at 8 minute mile pace
6. More 5ks? Can I run on the road?

Tumbling goals:
1. Connect fly springs.
2. Walk overs.
3. Touch my feet to my head
4. 10 second handstand.
5. Practice handstands at home.

General goals
1. Conquer the Ninja course at Rush.
2. Try another flying trapeze place.
3. Get a body composition test done.
4. Stay on budget with fitness clothes.

2017 fitness goals

Time to set fitness goals for 2017.

#1 Stay Healthy. Do what I love while avoiding injury as best I can.

Classes to try
1.  Try an Orange Theory class
2. Try a Fuel yoga class.
3. Try more classes at Ramsey
4. Maybe try swimming (not necessarily a class
5. Take a yoga workshop on something, like hand balancing or inversions.

Running goals.
1. Run a 10k or half the Chick Fil-A half marathon.
2. Still would like to run a 5k under 23 minutes.
3. Look into group work or morning speed work.
More 5ks? Can I run on the road?

Tumbling goals.
7. Connect fly springs. Getting there. Better than last year, but not quite.
8. Walk overs. Not there yet. Oh well.
9. Touch my feet to my head. Stopped working on this.
10. 10 second handstand. Maybe? Definitely can do 7 seconds.
11. Practice handstands at home. (Daily?) Haha. Didn't do this.

General goals
12. Conquer the Ninja course at Rush. I got to the third ring or so. And then they got a whole new ninja course.
13. Try another flying trapeze place. Bonus: Get my cutaway! Tried trapeze at two new rigs!
14. Get a body composition test done. 
15. Stay on budget with fitness clothes. (Spend less money at Lululemon).

2016 fitness goal REVIEWED

How did I do with my fitness goals. I couldn't remember what they were. So that's not a good start.

Looks like I accomplished 5 of my goals. I made progress. And my goals changed over the year.


Classes to try. (3/4 accomplished)
1. Try a class at Blast.  (Interval training with treadmills) I lost interest in this A LONG TIME AGO.
2. Take a yoga class. DONE. Took tons of yoga classes. Hooray.
3. Try a barre class at Ramsey. DONE. Took a few of these. Didn't like the teacher. Found classes I liked better.
4. Try a SUP yoga class.  DONE

Running goals. (1/2 accomplished)
5. Run a 5k. DONE. Ran a trail 5K in August.
6. 7 minute mile. I stopped doing speed work in the fall. Didn't get any faster this year :(

Tumbling goals. (Progress made.)
7. Connect fly springs. Getting there. Better than last year, but not quite.
8. Walk overs. Not there yet. Oh well.
9. Touch my feet to my head. Stopped working on this.
10. 10 second handstand. Maybe? Definitely can do 7 seconds.
11. Practice handstands at home. (Daily?) Haha. Didn't do this.

General goals
12. Conquer the Ninja course at Rush. I got to the third ring or so. And then they got a whole new ninja course.
13. Try another flying trapeze place. Bonus: Get my cutaway! Tried trapeze at two new rigs!
14. Get a body composition test done. Never had time.
15. Stay on budget with fitness clothes. (Spend less money at Lululemon). Haha. Not spending money on barre really helped me not spend as much money in general. So if I take cheaper classes I can buy more lulu.
16. Active wear brands to try: Goldsheep, Alala, Sweaty Betty, Heroine Sport, Michi, Koral Activewear, Albion Fit. Tried Sweaty Betty to mixed results.

First 5k: Primal Rush Trail 5K at Crow's Lake

Start line. I'm in the tank next to the guy in neon. 

I'd like to call this my first 5k.

I haven't run since 2001 when I did a 5k my senior year of high school after cross country season before track season. That is the last 5k I ran. So I have run 5ks, but not as adult.

So today was my first-ish 5k.

I picked it because it was a trail 5k (I don't run on roads) and it's about time I run a 5k. I run. Everyone asks if I run races. But I don't. So I decided to run one. (I guess I just don't see the point of paying to run when you can run for free.) It was near our town. And it was a fundraiser for the organization my husband did his eagle scout project. Also only $20 with T-shirt, so cheap for a 5k.  My husband and I both signed up.

I googled what to do before a race probably 20 times this week. I ate really clean all week. I had my clothes laid out by Wednesday. On Thursday I ran a mile at race pace but generally took the day off (I was tired). On Friday I didn't eat the donuts in the break room, went to yoga after work and packed my bag for the race.

I've been able to run 3.1 miles since February of 2015, so it was probably time to do the race.

I got up good and early the morning of.
• I was ready to go at 7:15 a.m. and Matt was still in the bed.
• We left at 7:33. Matt grumbled that the garage door took 6x to try and close.
• He didn't like the Starbucks drink I got him so we had to stop at a gas station.
• Matt thinks the race starts at 9:30 a.m. It starts at 9 a.m. and we're supposed to be there at 8 a.m. Matt rants about the traffic backup there will likely be.
• At 7:50 a.m. Matt realizes he forgot his watch at home.
• At 8:15 we get there. No traffic backup, traffic is fine. They have our registrations. We walk around stretch. (My size small shirt is way too big!)
• At 8:45 a.m. we line up at the starting line. My heart is racing I try to calm down. (There's a cross country coach who tells her competing team that it's really 3.3 miles. This is an excellent bit of information.)
• 9 a.m. race starts.

I start at the front of the pack. I know there are a ton of slow runners and I'd rather not work my way up through. I start out at 7:30 mile pace. I'm the only woman out front. There's a hill. It slows me down. It's huge and muddy. And there aren't downhills to match the uphills. It's uphills both ways. It's .5 miles in and THIS IS A TOUGH COURSE. It's not flat in the least.

Also, the course is marked—but nowhere does it say .5 miles, 1 mile, 1.5 mile etc. That would have been helpful.

My first mile is 7:56—and perfect considering I was shooting for 8 minute miles. It felt much slower with all of the hills (including a big steep one).

Mile 2. Already I'm dying. I'm slightly dizzy and wondering about not finishing the race. I want to puke. A few high school girls have passed me. No one my age though.

Mile 3. More uphills. I roll my ankle in the trail. I halfway roll it anyway. My ankle goes one way, my body goes 45 degrees to the right. It's a very Gumby like move. My ankles are super strong though, so I'm fine. (I'm wondering if I really roll it, if I can stop running!) I actually start to walk at this point. I see Matt behind me and I really want him to catch me so we can run together. I need the support. He doesn't. I walk again. It's so hot and humid. 83 degrees, humidity probably 93%. This is the worst run I've had in months. (Part of it is mental. I am tougher than this.) I put my watch on distance mode to see how much I have left. It cycles and cycles and can never figure it out so I'm running clueless. There's no one in front of me. I think I took a wrong turn and am running some different part of the course. I see a water stand and figure I'm in the right place.

Finally, my watch chimes that I've travelled 3 miles (which means I've traveled more than 3. It underestimates me by about  10% consistently). The end is no where is sight. I see a building, but it's a false hope. It's still not the end. I run. My legs are lead. When can I walk? I finally see the end. The clock is almost at 30:00.

This is officially the slowest 5k I've run in my life. I try desperately to beat 30, but don't have enough left in my legs. (I shouldn't have walked or waited for Matt). I finish in 30.06.

I shut off my watch without looking at it. I don't want to know.

Then, immediately go to the bathroom. I have to pee.

Matt finishes a minute after me. I grab water and a banana. And generally walk around like I'm lost. I fill in my race card.

They start handing out award for earlier races a 20k and a 10k. I go to congratulate a friend of Matt's family who I work with. She did the 10k.  (The 10k started at 8 a.m. and that would have been a better time to run.)

I start to think that I won my age group (despite running the worst race ever). Only the high school girls passed me and that's something! Matt tells me they placed my race card with the men (because I'm a beast. I definitely put it in the women's bin). And for a while I think that I won my age group only because there was no one else. There was—40 places behind me.

We wait around in our sweaty clothes. We watch the leader board carefully.

So I win my age group. And that was my goal for the day.

I get my medal. Matt also wins his age group and gets a medal.

I finished 20th overall. I'm 5th for the women. 4 cross country team members in front of me. In fact, if that cross country team hadn't have run I would have finished 8th overall with only men in front of me. (The cross country runners should have their own division! I did finish in front of more than half of their girls).

We take pictures with our medals. And go to Matt's parents for brunch. I AM STARVING.

And it's Matt's first running medal :) Which is cute. So he's happy we picked a relatively uncompetitive 5k. (The Chilly Dawg that he ran last January had like 500 runners with plenty of women running 18-20 minute 5ks. He said that course was FLAT compared to this beast.)

And when I finally get brave enough to check my splits—And notice that my watch says 3.53 miles for my run.

Splits:
Mile 1: 7:56
Mile: 2: 8:23 (Which is actually decent pace)
Mile 3: Too slow. But under 10.
Mile 4: Not accurate since I stood around at the finish line deliriously

I know the coach had said the race was 3.3 but they apparently added some switch backs to the course this time (Matt noticed a sign changed) and added some length. Everyone Matt talked to said their GPS read 3.5. Even our friend that ran the 10k said the course was not 6.2.

I actually ran my 3 miles in 25:56 according to my apple watch (Which underestimates my speed. It says I run slower than I actually do. I can't get it to calibrate correctly.)  So maybe 30 minutes isn't bad for a hilly 3.5? I guess it's not bad for a first race.

And I'm okay with my time.

Until....

Then that evening I get the race email. And it tells me my SLOW AS HECK RACE PACE and links to the timing and race results. Which I'm honestly embarrassed by. But it wasn't a 5k. It was 3.5 miles or 5.5k. So I din't actually run that slow. I wish I could correct it. I delete the email so no one thinks I'm slow.

Review of Crow's Lake 5K course
If anyone is thinking of running the 5k course at Crow's lake—it is difficult. There's a big hill in the first mile. And lot of little hills in it. Expect to run a good minute slower per mile than your road pace. This course is about 3x harder than the Intramural fields at UGA and almost on par with the White Trail at the State Botanical Garden. The course is hard for a cross country course and has lots of places to roll your ankle. NOT a fast course. You will not PR on this course. Part of it is in shade, but not enough to be a cooling factor like some trails.

I'm not sure I'd run this one again. We'll see. I'd say it was well organized. And I would have liked more cheering!

5k Bound

Next Saturday I run my first 5k. SINCE 2001.

That's 15.5 years since I've run a race.

But it's time. I can run 3.1 miles no problem.

I can't run it as fast as I want. I ran this morning. And it was an awful run. I kept having to walk. I know I'm stronger than that but I was dying.

I've been really tired this week. I skipped Thursday at the gym completely and went home and slept for two hours. It was what I needed. (I should have run.)

Today's run was bad because the humidity was 96%. It was awful. I wore black crops and looked like I peed myself at the end of the run, but I was just so sweaty.

I did not wet myself. Dreaded crotch sweat.
Thanks Lululemon crops :( 

Also my Lululemon top was worthless. I bought this Cool Racerback Lace. The back was lace (it was a perforated pattern, not actually lace)  and I thought it would be extra well ventilated, but it held sweat like a cotton T. It was so wet and heavy at the end of the run. Worst tank I've gotten from Lulu. Considering taking it back as defective it was that bad. Or throwing it out. Never wear that tank again!

I think that humidity was just my upper limit. I can do 93%, but today I couldn't.

Which would be 27-ish for a 5k. I'd really like to go 25 minutes or under. I can run 8 minute mile pace. On a flat surface in lower humidity.  (And my Apple Watch is really off. Especially when I run on the track. It's lags behind me A LOT so I like to hope my splits are actually a lot better.)
We'll see what happens next Saturday.

In the meantime—I made a running playlist.

I like to listen to music with a good beat when I workout. It's different than what I usually prefer. So this is my playlist. (In case there's no wifi next Saturday, I'll just download the music to my phone.)

1.Usher, Yeah!
2. Kanye West, Stronger
3. Foster and the People, Pumped Up Kicks
4. More Usher, OMG
5. P!NK, So What
6. J. Dash, Wop. (This is my newest addition. Not sure why I like it, but I do.)
7. MIA, Bad Girls
8. Nelly Furtado, Maneater

And that's the playlist. It's 31 minutes and I better be good and finished by then. Hopefully, I'll finish in a time I don't hate too much.

Wish me luck!

Apple Watch review

I've had my Apple Watch for almost a month now. I'm still figuring out how to use it, but hope I have the hang of things.

Bottom line: Love it. Don't know how I lived without it.

I've had fancy running watches since high school and I do like wearing a watch. This one's great.

What I love

1) The watch is super light. It's lighter than any running watch I've had and I can forget I have it on.

2) Driving directions on your wrist. If you look up directions on your phone, it will pair with your watch and show directions on your wrist. So there's no need to look down at your phone. It also buzzes your wrist when it's time to turn. I like this better than the bossy Turn Now voice on my iPhone.

3) Find my iPhone ping.
I am constantly misplacing my iPhone. I leave it on the couch and the dog sits on it. I leave it upstairs when I go to do the dishes. The watch will ping the phone (the phone will make a horrible noise so you can locate it.) This is a God send for me! (And might prevent the pets from sitting on it in the future.)

4) The fitness tracker. I'm obsessed. This is a good and bad thing.
I check it way too much. I get sad when I don't meet my calorie goal for the day. (I need my off days.)

Activity rings on my watch. Blue is for hours stood (12 is the goal. You just have to stand up and walk around some.) Green is for activity. It likes you to workout for 30 minutes a day. The most difficult one is the red active calories. My goal is 500, which can be challenging when it gives me low calorie counts. I burn about 2000 calories a day, but not all of them are active. This is why I'm walking laps around the house at 10 p.m. trying to make my goal AFTER barre class and walking the dog. 

5) Viewing picture messages on my wrist something out of the Jetsons. It's pretty cool.

I currently don't have email set up on my watch. I don't need any more notifications. That would make me too anxious.

It has calendar notifications, which can be helpful, for example when I have a barre class and need to get out the door.

It has a stop watch and a timer (that pair with your phone. So if you set the timer on your phone, it will beep in both places when done.)

The watch also has silent mode (so no texts while you're in pilates) and a Do Not Disturb. (Which is great since silent mode is broken on my iPhone. My otter box won't let me flip that switch.)

Fun: You can send touches or doodles to friends with Apple Watches. Two of my friends got Apple Watches for Christmas and sent me doodles. That was really fun.

You can use the watch to take a picture like a selfie stick. 

Downside to the watch.
1) It can be hard to select the right button or press start on a workout. The screen is tiny and I constantly hit the wrong app. I struggled to press start on a treadmill workout the other day. I had to stop the treadmill. Ugh.

2) I didn't set it exactly right on the charger one night and it didn't charge. Oops. Make sure it chirps that it's charging. It does charge in about an hour so that's not bad. (This has only happened once.)

3) It can be overwhelming when your friends blow up your phone. That said, there's a silent mode on the watch. I think it still buzzes. I wanted to take a nap but kept getting texts one day (friends only text when I nap) so I ended up taking the watch off. (Before I figured out the Do Not Disturb.)

What I don't love.

The calorie count on the watch is not very accurate. It cheats me out of a minimum of 100 calories per workout. Even with the heart rate monitor telling the watch I'm working hard. It counts active and total calories—but I still don't think it's anywhere close to right. It seems to only count arm swinging as calories, so if I'm doing pilates or barre and keeping my arm still and moving anything else, the calorie count is low.

For running, the distance is off. I did calibrate the watch, but it's still not accurate—even if I put the phone on my leg (and usually my iPhone step counter is pretty accurate.) I ran 2 miles at the track the watch said 2.17 (which is almost another lap.)

• If I'm on the fancy treadmill at the gym (that knows my age, height and weight), it's calorie count doesn't match the watch's calorie count—even when I have my iPhone on me. (Watch said I ran 2.97 miles, treadmill said 3.5 miles.)

71 calories versus 151 calories and the bike
isn't even counting the arm weights I did.

• Same for exercise bike. The indoor cycle workout function—even with both watch and machine measuring my heart rate—don't get close to the same calorie count. (For a 27 minute bike-ride, the watch said 100 calories, the bike said 218.)

• There's a definite lag in the information. It will say zero calories burned and then 5 all at once. It's not real time.

• I read the the heart rate monitoring is the best out there. Except when I run my heart rate gets higher than those online charts say is feasible. The heart rate sensor does not match the gym equipment sensors on the fanciest treadmills. And I feel fine when I run, so I'm guessing the heart rate monitor has issues, like maybe the watch is too loose or I'm moving my arms too much.  I'd really like to compare the watch to another heart rate monitor. But how reliable can a wrist monitor be?

Also, Lululemon makes a long sleeve shirt with a hole for a smartwatch. This doesn't work for the Apple Watch and it messes with the watch's wrist sensors so I constantly have to unlock the watch.

Bottom line
I'm hoping that with the next update or version of the watch, they incorporate more workouts—like barre, pilates, yoga etc. So those will be more accurate. I'm also hoping to be able to edit a workout—for example when a distance is off, or I forget to stop the workout, I can go in and edit it. But for a first generation product, I'm stoked.

My friends only text me when I'm napping or working out. I absolutely hate it when I get a text while running. Because I feel like I need to look at it, but I need to run and not stop. I've started setting my watch to Do Not Disturb while I exercise (of of course the first time I do this I take a barre class and my boss is blowing up my phone and I'm an hour late responding to something. It was Saturday morning. An hour response will have to do.)

I really do like my Apple Watch. But I've been really annoyed with texts on my watch lately. (I'd rather get them on my phone.) So maybe I should have gotten a fitness tracker instead.

16 Fitness goals for 2016

Classes to try.
1. Try a class at Blast.  (Interval training with treadmills)
2. Take a yoga class.
3. Try a barre class at Ramsey.
4. Try a SUP yoga class. (or just rent a paddle board one day when it's warm.)

Running goals
5. Run a 5k.
6. 7 minute mile

Tumbling goals
7. Connect fly springs
8. Walk overs
9. Touch my feet to my head
10. 10 second handstand
11. Practice handstands at home. (Daily?)

General goals
12. Conquer the Ninja course at Rush
13. Try another flying trapeze place. Bonus: Get my cutaway!
14. Get a body composition test done
15. Stay on budget with fitness clothes. (Spend less money at Lululemon)
16. Active wear brands to try: Goldsheep, Alala, Sweaty Betty, Heroine Sport, Michi, Koral Activewear, Albion Fit

What are your goals? Any goals I should add?

2015 year in review

As 2015 is coming to an end, I'd say it was a great year fitness wise.

I was pretty diligent about working out 5-6 times a week. (Gotta have that off day. I get hurt when I try to skip my rest day.) I think I was eating healthier and when I started running I actually slimmed down some (for the first time in two years! Nothing else worked.)

2015: The year of the Gym Rat.

1. I tried lots of new classes.
1) Above Barre
2) Rush fitness classes
3) Flying trapeze at Leap and Cirque Fit
4) Sparc fitness classes
5) Body Shred at Chase Street Yoga
6) Beginner Pole
7) Gymnastics at Oconee Gymnastics
8) Handstands at Canopy
9) Pilates—tower and mat
10) Walk Georgia Boot camp
11) Walk Georgia Fitness at noon
12) ice skating. (no class, but counting this as something new).

I did nine months of Pure Barre—for a total of 120+ classes. I made it to the 100 club in about six months. Pure Barre was my obsession for the first half of the year. I even took a class at their Destin studio. I let my membership expire in August—mostly because of cost. At $150 a month, it was just too much and I really like to do more classes and try different things.

2015 was definitely the year of flying trapeze. I did my first class on my birthday and did classes until the rig closed. I learned

Tricks
1) Knee hang
2) Whip
3) Split catch
4) Seat roll from whip
5) Pullover shoot
6) Single Reverse
7) Never caught my cutaway—WANT TO GET THIS
8) Backend split
9) Backend straddle
10) started learning straight jump —COME back to.

Running
I ran 245+ miles in 2015. I started off running once a week—just to vary up my workout and get some cardio in. I tried to increase my mileage too fast and had IT band issues for about 6 weeks, but then kept it up strong, bumping it to twice a week and then three times a week in the fall when I killed my barre membership (and needed to workout without the fees.)

By the numbers
Miles ran: 245+
Best mile: 7:19
Best 2 mile: 15:35
Best 3 mile: 23:02 for 3 miles on an indoor track
Furthest ran: 4.5 miles

In high school I was a runner. I honestly haven't run this much since 2001 when I graduated high school. I was a speedy little thing and I trained so hard. Two-a-days when I could. I'd run a mile or two in the morning, or do weights, and then running and or weights after school. I ran six days a week—most days between 2 and 6 miles. My best times ever were a 62 second 400, a 2:17 800, a 5:58 mile. I don't remember my 2 mile time. 12 and change? And I think I got under 20 minutes for a 5k.

In college, I didn't have time to workout. I went to college full-time and worked 20+ hours a week. I didn't really have the time to workout until I switched jobs three years ago. Once or twice a year, I'd try to get back into running but this is the first year it stuck. I have a $15/moth gym membership and feel like I need to use the indoor track once every week or two so I'm not wasting my money.

I dropped my barre membership to pay for playing trapeze—and started running more as workouts. I'd run trails when the weather is nice and on the indoor track when the weather was cold. In October I really amped up the miles and my times started dropping. I don't feel the need to run every day. I think running every other day suits me just fine.

In 2016, I should run a 5K and I want to join a running group or get a coach to help me drop the times. I think it's something I want to make time for.

Tumbling

I'm working on my front fly spring—hopefully I can double this in 2016. Maybe even work on a front handspring on the floor.
I'd like to work on my front and back walkovers too. I need to go back to my kickovers and work some.

Still working on my handstand but it's getting better.

I got my pull-up!

I started missing trampolines so I need to go once a week if I can. I just love bouncing.

2015 goals: How did I do?

Here are the goals I set for 2015 last year—how did I do?

1) Get my left split—Done

2) Front tuck on the floor (with a spring board is acceptable)—DNF
       I never really worked on this. I started flipping over my shoulder so I had to go back to basics.

3) Climb once a month—FAIL
      I haven't climbed since February :( I want to climb more, but need to find the time.

4) Keep trying new classes (once a month if I can find something new)- DONE
    Did good on this one. Tried flying trapeze, pilates, Body Shred, Walk Georgia Boot camp classes, pole, SPARC training center. 

5) Take a class at Leap Flying Trapeze school- DONE. Obsessed.

6) Try the 6 a.m. Pure Barre class. FAIL
      Never got around to this one. Oh well.

7) The the vertical pole class at Canopy. DONE

8) Hold a handstand for at least 5 or 10 second

I can definitely hold for five seconds. Not 10 yet. Going to take a handstand class in January. I really need to start practicing at home!

9) Buy something from Lululemon. (Maybe a cute top for my birthday). Done.
     For 2016, I probably need to buy less Lululemon :( Bought too much.  Pinterest says I have almost 80 pieces including socks and a lot of mark downs.) 

10) Keep working on 6-pack abs. (One day!)
   I'm pretty happy with my abs.

I added some mid year goals in this summer. How'd I do on those?

1) Bump up running to twice a week. ---DONE. I now run 3x a week.  
2) Run a 5k. Before next summer. Still to do. 
3) Run a 5k in under 25 minutes. Can do this on flat surfaces. Not hills yet. 
4) Get a fitness tracker. Apple watch :) 
5) Touch my feet to my head. (Handstand scorpion).
Still working on this. 

6) Do body composition testing. Still to do. 
7) Make a fitness plan for the fall. This changed every week. I'm not sure what I'm doing in January yet. 
8) In 2016, find some relay races to run in like the Chick Fil-A Half or the All Comers Track meet.
9) Take a class at Blast. Still to do. 
10) Try a pilates class.  Done. 

All in all I'd say I made good progress in 2015.

I completely 6 of my original 10 goals. And 5 of my mid year goals with progress towards the rest. I have a 
good baseline for 2016 goals. I'll go work on those now. How did you do? 

Nerdy Girl's Guide to Finally Getting Your Pullup

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to do a pull-up.

Selfie pullup

I've never been able to do a pull-up.

I've been going to gymnastics and occasionally we do pull-ups for conditioning. And I could do assisted pull-ups. I felt like I almost had the strength to do one (rock climbing muscles) so I decided to work on it. (Also, motivator: My husband has to be able to do four pullups as part of the test to get on the SWAT team. I secretly wonder if I could pass the physical, the timed run, etc.  Minus the shooting. I hate guns.)

I did the usual:

1) YouTube how to a Pullup. That helped.

2) Assisted pull-ups.
I made a point to work on assisted pull-ups every week at  my tumbling class. This usually meant Coach Megan would help me up and down—holding some of my body weight—and making me hold it at the top and counting slowly on the down part of the pull-up.

3. Resistance bands.
Coach Megan or her personal trainer boyfriend (I can't remember whom) told me to try pull-ups with resistance bands. I got a three-pack on a deal with Groupon, and started to work on my pull-ups at home (without someone holding my feet or back). Wrap the band around the bar. And then put your feet (or one foot) or knees (or one knee) in the band. It will hold some of your weight so you can gradually build up strength and work towards a pull-up.

I got three bands, big, medium and slim. The biggest band holds the most of your weight. I started with that one, got up to few reps, then worked with the medium band until I was strong enough to do a few reps on the slim band. And finally a pull-up!

I've had a few almost-pull-ups. I kipped up one night at tumbling this summer. I've done a few with Megan, where she swears she wasn't holding me but I was sure she was.

My problem is the up: I could get 1/4 of the way up, and then I'd stall.

And tonight—I did one. I got all the way up.  I did another one to film it and ended up making four videos for four pull-ups in all. And it just kept getting easier. I finally got the motion. I heard it would be like that. I didn't have one last week—but tonight voila! five.

I did a happy dance. I was way more excited than I should be. Hooray for getting a pull-up.

Now, I think I need a "strong is the new thin" shirt.

Year midpoint goal check

Half of 2015 has flown by. How is this possible?

But what a great time to look at my fitness goals from January and see where I am.

1) Get my left split.  Done.

Doing a split at Pure Barre. 

2) Front tuck on the floor (with a spring board is acceptable).  Haven't tried. I can't figure out run, run punch. 

3) Climb once a month. I got certified to climb in February and have climbed twice and mean to go this weekend (before even looking at this post.) I miss climbing.

4) Keep trying new classes (once a month if I can find something new).

Have tried trapeze, a new barre class, a different Pure Barre, a SPARC class, fitness class at Rush, ninja course at Rush and took up running. I'd say good progress is made on this.

Taking a class at SPARC.

5) Take a class at Leap Flying Trapeze school.  Done. Obsessed.

6) Try the 6 a.m. Pure Barre class. Have yet to do.

7) The the vertical pole class at Canopy. My goal to do this summer maybe this month. 

8) Hold a handstand for at least 5 or 10 second. I'm still working on my handstands but think I've gotten a five second hold a few times.

Handstand on the beach.

9) Buy something from Lululemon. (Maybe a cute top for my birthday). I have 20 or so pieces and am a total Lululemon addict. I've spent my lulu budget for the month and aren't allowed to buy anything else.

10) Keep working on 6-pack abs. (One day!). My abs are looking good from Pure Barre. Not six-lack, but it's a something pack when I suck in ;) 

So, four of these goals I can check off as done, with two in progress and four to work on. I'd count this as progress.

Maybe I should even add a few goals. (Not necessarily by the end of the year.) 

1) Bump up running to twice a week.

2) Run a 5k. Before next summer.

3) Run a 5k in under 25 minutes.

4) Get a fitness tracker.

5) Touch my feet to my head. (Handstand scorpion).

Working on my scorpion. I can hold my
 own weight for about two seconds! Will get this trick. 

6) Do body composition testing.

7) Make a fitness plan for the fall.
8) In 2016, find some relay races to run in like the Chick Fil-A Half or the All Comers Track meet.
9) Take a class at Blast.
10) Try a pilates class.