Sprints Take Two

I think my new favorite workout is to do 400m repeats. They make me run faster than I would if i was going for distance, and I end up running farther than I would if I ran continuously. I did them the other day and felt really content when I was finished. So I decided I am going to continue to do the cycle and increase my speed and decrease my recovery time in between sets.

2:40, 2:38, 2:33, 2:31, 2:29, 2:26, 2:24, 2:19

I got up to a 6.5 on the treadmill, which I don't think I have ever run on for any real length of time. Granted, 400m is not that far, but it was encouraging to know my legs could actually move that quickly.

While I am home over break, I am going to hit up a track and do this to see how my times compare.

2 in 5

Home in a week! I am super excited. This semester seems to be blowing by at the speed of light. Once I get back from spring break, my two best friends from college are coming, and then I only have about 6 weeks left before summer. That is nuts. I am starting to worry about summer plans, but I have a lot of other stuff to get done before then.

Speaking of things to get done, my goal was to back at a satisfactory weight before going home. I am not going to divulge exactly what that number is (call me old-fashioned), but I have 2 more pounds to go before I get there. 2 pounds before Wednesday? If I stay on top of my eating and workouts I think I can do it.

Going home this time will be better than Christmas, I think. At Christmas, I was really annoyed with my body and my lack of motivation. I was almost embarrassed to go to Central because of the weight I had put back on. While I am still a few pounds heavier than I was before I stopped working out there, I am much closer to where I left off. Plus there is something to be said for the impact confidence has in the way present yourself and come off to others. So this time I hope to get in 2 workouts with the old crew. I know the will kick my ass, but I am looking forward to it!

So 2 pounds in 5 days is on my mind right now. Then it will be another 5 before I hit my pre-swine flu weight, then 9 more to match my lowest weight ever, and then 6 more to my goal. Breaking it up that way makes it seem far more do-able. Like I always say, forward motion is key and I feel more motivated than I have since coming to NYC.

Love/Hate Realtionship

This picture captures my post run sentiments.

My love/hate relationship with running continued tonight. I have not been on top of things as far as running goes and my cardio is noticeably not where it used to be. Which isn't saying much if you know how much I dislike running. It is not so much that I don't like running. I actually love the idea of it and the feeling I get afterwards. It is just the running part that gets me. But I know the only way to improve is to work on it. So tonight I did the .com workout from the other day, which was 400m repeats with 90 seconds in between. I was not sprinting, but my times were a lot better than I thought they would be. A 10 minute mile is pretty standard for me, so my times were more or less in line with that.

2:41
2:40
2:37
2:36
2:32
2:29
2:28
2:22

The treadmill is a little tricky to do something like this on, because you set it at a speed and you hold to it. So I think it would have taken more effort and my times would have been faster if I had more control over my speed. But all in all it felt good. In total I did 3 miles tonight, which is more than I have done in a long time. Forward motion.

Exposing the Truth

I was brave yesterday. Either brave or stupid....the jury is still out on that one. Regardless, I took some "before" pictures. I know that I am not necessarily at the start of my journey, but I am certainly not at the end. I have a lot of work that still needs to be done. And considering the fact that I have such a skewed self-image, I decided that having pictures was the perfect way to really see my body for what it is. Whenever Crossfit Central does challenges, they always take before and after pictures. Usually, the men are shirtless and the girls are in sports bras and short-shorts. Other, less official pictures I have seen have people in their bathing suits in order to see as much skin as possible.

Needless to say, I do not expose my stomach. Period. I have never taken a picture in a two piece bathing suit or a sports bra or any more skin than was necessary. But, I have always known the reason for doing it. Clothes cover and hide a lot. That is what they are there for. So I decided that the only way to have a real sense of what my body was doing and how it is changing was to take a honest to goodness before picture. So I bucked up and took a picture in the closest thing I have to a two-piece bathing suit. Bare stomach and all. From the front and back. These picture will NEVER see the light of day, I can assure you. However, I think it was an eye-opener and gave me a weird disembodied view of myself that I have never really seen before. Hopefully, one day when I have made more progress and seen more results and feel comfortable, I will take another bare stomach picture to use as my "after." This is a long way off. But there is something empowering about the fact that I know where I am, right now, at this exact moment and that I am doing something to change it.

Abs of steel, I have not. But I can tell you my motivation is higher than it has been in a long time. Sometimes the ugly truth is all you really need to hear, or see in this case.

Words to Live By

I got a few words of wisdom from Zac yesterday. He is always there to check my on my BS, which I sincerely appreciate. To sum up, he told me to buck up, do what I know I can do, and don't be that person who gives up before they are finished.

It was exactly what I needed to hear.

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Ok to be Fat?

The link below goes to an ABC Nightline story about the "great weight debate." It asks, "Is it ok to be fat?"

The video is very thought provoking and I clearly have my own take on it. I think fat is too often the focus, when we should really be concerned with issues of weight. Fat is not ok in our culture, but what does it mean to be fat? I am fat, but I am not unhealthy. There is a striking difference between fat and obese and I think we as a society tend to go too far. Yes, you want to be healthy. Yes, being overweight can lead to a number of health issues. So, being healthy and being thin are often two sides of the same coin. But you can also be thin and seriously unhealthy. It is all about finding balance and what works for you and your body.

I think the woman's argument that yo-yo diets make you unhealthy and therefore you should not regulate what you eat is nuts. No, yo-yo diets don't work and they will probably make you unhealthy in the long run. But life and health are not about diets. You have to make lifestyle changes for lasting results and good health. Crossfit is a lifestyle change. Paleo is a lifestyle change. You focus on how good certain habits make you feel and so you forget about all the things you used to crave or wish you could have because they don't control you anymore.

We need to stop talking about fat and start talking about health. Would I love to be a size 2 and have 17% body fat? Sure. But if the cost is my health, it is not worth it. I think reaching those goals are totally attainable in a healthy way that doesn't revolve around dieting becoming thin, but rather on continually making informed decisions, hard work, and treating your body with the respect it deserves. I think this is the potential crossfit has to teach women especially. It is not all about how you look, but about how you feel and what you can accomplish.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

Sunday is always a good day for me. It is a time to reflect on the week past and gear up for the week ahead. I have been "counting" my weight on Mondays as my official weight in terms of that week's progress. This has kept me more accountable over the weekend and Sundays this month have been a day for really dialing in my food and making sure I get in my workout.

Today was no different and hopefully tomorrow I will be rewarded. This was overall a good week, so I am proud of myself regardless.

Counting down to being home for spring break, and I want to be down another 5 pounds before then. fingers crossed!