Wednesday, January 30, 2013

CrossFit

The past two weeks of  WOD have been intense. In all cases I was dripping sweat, gasping for air and on the verge of puking.

After last nights intense workout, I realized that I love CrossFit.

It reminds me of running sprints in high school track & field. Right before you toe the start line, you're nervous and scared. During the sprint, you feel like you're legs might fall off, your lungs might hurts and you might all together pass out. After you are done, you can't get enough air, your limbs shake, your heart is pounding and you feel AMAZING!

That's why I feel in love with running to begin with. It was hard and I really had to push myself to improve. 

I feel a similar love brewing for CrossFit.

With every workout I try my best to focus and learn the technique, I push my body to lift more and move faster. With every workout I feel challenged. And that's what I love about working out- feeling like I pushed myself to the brink.

Plus, the coaches are awesome. They are there to show you how to do it right, encourage you and push you.

The only bad thing is the massive blisters on my hands. Ouch.

---------------------------
CrossFit- love or hate?

Is there a workout that you love to hate?

Ever puked after (or during) a workout?

taper week

This week has been pretty slow. I'm trying not to wear myself out before the Surf's City Marathon on Sunday and also I'm feeling burnt out.

Sun: Rest
Mon: 6 miles + crossfit
Tues: crossfit
Wed: 4.5 miles + crossfit
Thurs: Rest
Fri: ?? maybe 3 easy miles
Sat: Rest

I'm not sure what's going on. I'm nervous about the race on sunday. I don't think I'm going to do very well so I don't want to but a lot of pressure on myself. I don't know if its because of the same anxiety, but I'm feeling so unmotivated and lazy.

It's hard to get up in the morning and the thought of running the same route in the cold is not appealing. I really wish it was sunny and dry out so I can get back on the trails.

I don't have a lot of races coming up. Just one in late March (1/2 marathon trail run) so I think it would be good idea to take it easy. Run a little less and maybe the time off will help me get my runner's high back.

In the mean time, I'm loving crossfit. So much that I am already thinking of getting crossfit appropriate shoes. You know it's a big deal when you start looking into apparel/ shoes for an event/ activity.

------------------------
Any tips for getting over a bunt out?

Do you get excited to go shopping for new gear?

Do you find it easier to get out and workout more during the summer, or is that just me?

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Tinkerbell Half Marathon: RACE RECAP

This year the Tinkerbell Half Marathon was held on January 20, 2013. The race starts at 5AM. I think they start so early so that the park can still open on time. 

Getting in:  The race registration opens early. Last year, I signed up early spring/late summer. The race is expensive. $150 if registered before July, $165 from July- September and $180 after September.

It's an expensive race but it is held at DisneyLand and RunDisney races are well organized, spirited and fun. 

The Expo: The health and fitness expo was held the Friday and Saturday before the race. It was held at the Disney Hotel near Downtown Disney. 

Parking in Downtown Disney is free for the first 3 hours. 


The expo was pretty efficient. I went on Saturday morning, there were tons of people but I think I beat the rush. Went in and grabbed my bib number the headed upstairs to grab my t-shirt. 

The expo had a bunch of vendors selling stuff. I did a quick walk through but I wasn't too interested in buying stuff and there wasn't any free sample, so I was over it pretty quick. Plus, the amount of people definitely made me claustrophobic.

The Race: The start was fun. Mickey and Minnie were there! In all true Disney fashion, the start was pretty magical, lots of lights and cheer. The start is set up in corrals that start 5 minutes apart. I was in corral A (They had a total of 5 corrals) and it was still packed. The race was pretty congested for the first few miles. 

At mile 2, we headed into the park and there were a few narrow paths which added to the traffic jam. Plus the runners definitely slowed down to get a glimpse of the characters or the rides. I sure did!



sad attempt at taking pictures while running.


There were awesome volunteers. That's one of the reasons I like big races, organization and volunteers. This race had tons of support and cheer.  I think there were at least 5 water stations- fully stocked. They were prepared with water and power aid. It was easy to grab water and keep going. At mile 8, volunteers were handing out GU's. 

I think I counted at least 8 HS bands and cheer squads. They were all really good. At mile 11.5, one band was playing Carly Jepsen "Call me maybe". That made me happy. There were spectators on random parts of the course, mostly in groups when we really needed them. These cute ladies were from the Red Hat Society


The After: Mickey, Minnie and Goofy were at the finish line. As soon as we finished we got out medals and a mylar blanket. The race was really organized and we headed down a tunnel and grabbed water, power aid and a box of treats (hummus, pita chips, luna bar, banana). After that we were in the family waiting area. There was nothing special there, but I took a picture of myself looking pretty pale.


Overall: It was a fun race. The Disney excitement really rubs off. The course was good, I wish we would have spent more time in the park and that we may have run through it during the daylight. The downside, it's an expensive race really expensive. Race day parking was not included which sucked especially after that huge registration fee. Plus, I wish they would have had free stuff or samples. 

I don't think I will be running this race again, it's too expensive. But I'm glad that I had the opportunity to run it this weekend. And I'm excited that even though I had to navigating through a bunch of people, I still ran a decent race. 

Plus, this thing is pretty awesome….


Tired Tuesday, Heavy Wednesday

Tuesday morning I dragged myself to the path were I do my speed work. I wasn't looking forward to it but I did it anyway. It turned out to be okay. My left thigh is a little tight so I was a little cautious. I did 6 800's at about 3:38-3:40. I'm glad I went out there even though I wasn't really feeling it.

The rest of the day I felt really tired. It could be because my eating habits include a bunch of sugar and processed junk. I really need to work on eating clean. Anyway, I checked the CrossFit website for the WOD and saw this….

A. 1 mile, 22 Toe 2 Bar, 85 Burpees, 28 pull ups
B. 28 Bear complexes ( clean, front squat, push-press, back squat, push-press)

85 BURPEES!!! I seriously tried to talk myself out of going and even tried to use the "i'm so tired" excuse.

Anyway, I ended up at the box anyway and did the WOD. Yeah, it was hard and I wanted to puke. However, I don't think it was as bad as I was anticipating it to be, so I'm kinda glad I did it.

That's 2 workouts I didn't want to do, done.

I came home at 7:30 and was asleep by 9pm. I woke during the middle of the night and knew that I had missed Parenthood :( but I waited for the commercials to end to see if that was the case. Yup,  Jay Leno was on.

At some point today I'm going to try and watch it online. If you saw it, please don't spoil it for me. It's my favorite show.

In other news, GearBuzz is having an awesome pro compression sale. 44% off regular price on the compression sleeves. Use promo code GB300. I saw this sweet deal on stuftmama.com this morning.

image

I love these socks and the sleeves are so convenient for slipping on and off. I'm debating whether to get the black or pink? probably black.

Wednesday is a running rest day for me. Yippie. I'll probably still go to CrossFit. I already checked the WOD:
A. 5X5 split squat
B. 3 rounds: 25 kettlebell swings, 25 sit-ups, top bump backward run. then 150 air squats.

I'm trying to really take advantage of the "unlimited classes" deal for the rest of the month.

--------------------------------
Do you watch Parenthood?

How do you motivate yourself to workout when you don't really want to?

Wednesday workout?






Monday, January 21, 2013

Eat my Pixie Dust

I ran the 2nd annual Tinkerbell Half Marathon. The race runs through CA Adventures, DisneyLand and then through the city of Anaheim. 

Sunday morning, I woke up at 3AM and headed towards Disneyland. I spent more time in traffic trying to get into the parking structure than I did on the freeway. The race starts at 5AM, it was still dark. 


The first few miles were really congested. There were millions and millions of people. Well, technically not millions but A LOT. I tried to take pictures throughout the race, all my pictures look like this… blurry. 


Blurry picture of Cinderella :)


The first 4 miles were in the park and slow, it was hard getting around slower walkers/ runners and settling into a nice pace. Plus, I slowed down a lot in attempts to get pictures of the park and the Disney characters, which was a massive fail since all my pictures turned out blurry. 

After mile 6 we headed out into the street and I felt confident so I speed up. The rest of the race was pretty fast, between 8:05 and 7:50 min/mile pace. Overall, I'm okay with the time. I had a fun time. 

PlaceNameBibAgeDiv PlaceGender Place5k Split10k Split15k SplitClock TimeNet TimeHometown
181DENESSE SEGURA366271811826:4352:161:17:371:50:021:48:03LOMITA, CA



The race medal is MASSIVE and super cute. Surprisingly, I was completely comfortable running in the tutu. I'm looking forward to more tutu-races. 


-------------------------------------
Ever run a Disney race?

What's your earliest wake up call? 3 AM for me. too early. 

Disneyland or CA Adventures?




How to make a Tinkerbell costume

The Tinkerbell Half Marathon was held Sunday, January 20th, 2013. I have heard great things about this race. It's fun, there are tons of Disney characters and entertainment, plus it is filled with women runners and costumes.

I decided pretty last minute that I wanted to wear a costume. I don't have a lot of money to purchase a costume and I don't really want to run in a store-bought costume so I decided to make a little something that would help me look a little like Tinkerbell.

First I already had this bright green t-shirt. I bought it at Target. I ordered a pair of wings from Ebay for $4.


Next, I decided to make a tutu. I always see people wearing them and I think they are super cute. I bought 9 yards of tulle from Walmart. You are suppose to use lots and lots of tulle for a really full tutu, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money so I used half the recommended amount.  I already had a strip of elastic to use as the waistband. I cut the strips of tulle 7 inches thick.


(picture from Rookie)

I gathered the strips in the middle and knotted them around the elastic band.  



Push the tulle together for a full and fluffy tutu. 


The finished product.


Tinkerbell wears shoes like these: 
I have green running shoes that I usually just wear to CrossFit or on short runs. I'm planning on wearing them. I couldn't find a huge pom pom. I found these at Walmart. 


The final product!


-------------------------------
Ever ran in a costume before?

Favorite home made costume?

Friday, January 18, 2013

sleepless nights

I had such a hard time falling asleep last night. AHHH! I hate when that happens, my mind was just working over time.

This morning I did 4 miles. Instead of taking them easy, I decided I'd redeem myself from my sluggish speed work on Tuesday and try to get all 4 miles under an 8min/mile pace.

The self- induced guilt worked and I did okay. 1. 8:09, 2. 7:18, 3. 7:35 and 4. 7:40

Last night I took a break from CrossFit and I feel so much better- rested and calm. I'll go back tonight. I already looked at the WOD and I'm tempted to take another rest day. No, I won't.

A. 5 rounds for time: 5 deadlifts, 400m run
B. 100 kettleball swings, 100 double unders

This weekend I am running the Tinkerbell Half Marathon at Disneyland. I've heard it's really special and I've decided to really enjoy it, take it easy and take tons of pictures. The race runs through Disneyland, the city of Anaheim and California Adventures. The only down side is that the race was super super expensive and the race entry does not provide race into the park.

I'm working on a DIY Tinkerbell costume and post coming soon.

---------------------------------
How many rest days do you take a week? Usually I take 2 days off from running. Wednesday and Sunday.

Favorite Disney character? 

When's the last time you have been to Disneyland?

Thursday, January 17, 2013

a six pack in no time

Last nights CrossFit class was ab-solutely crazy.

We started off with 5X 4 push presses. They were intimidating. And I really had to focus on my form and breathing. The last few reps were challenging and I definitely felt the weight and tiredness mess up my form.

After that intense weight, we moved on the floor for abdominal work. For one minute we did V-ups, followed by a minute of bicycles and a minute of plank.  We did this rotation 3 times. The first was good and I felt strong, the next 2 rotations were difficult.

After the first set, my abs were tingly. The second and third set were painful. I hope this means that my six-pack is on it's way.

I felt ok during the WOD, out of breath right after and dead one hour after. I was so tired, I actually had a really hard time falling asleep. Does that happen to anyone else??

This morning I had a 10 miles run with some 4 fast miles. I went up the same hill I've been running for the past few months and felt so terrible. I was tired and my legs were tight and slow. I think this means I need to give myself a break. I've been running plus CrossFit and it's probably too much.  On top of that, I'm really stressed out about life and I'm sure that's adding to my slump.

---------------------------------
Do you do/ like ab work?

How long can you hold a plank?

I've been thinking of going Paleo- Anyone out there have any tips/ suggestions?


Tuesday, January 15, 2013

need upper body strength

The WOD tonight was simple but killer.

For 10 minutes we worked on 2000 meter on the rowing machine. Rowing is hard, my arms felt like lead and my legs were a little bit tired at the end. 2000 meters is a long time, by the way. I finished at 8:50 so I had about a minute before the next portion of the WOD started. For the final 10 minutes we were doing as many reps of possible of 5 pull ups, 10 pushups, 15 squats. I got through 8 full reps plus 10 squats, almost 9 full reps.

The pull ups were brutal. I used the rubber bands for help and I still think they were hard. My goal is to be able to do 5 pull ups without the bands. I need to keep working on my upper body strength.

After that much work, even the pushups were hard. I was looking forward to the squats and wished they lasted a little longer since they gave my arms a break.

Overall, I think I did good. I enjoyed the burning sensation and achy feeling in my arms.

Plus, at the end the trainer came up to me very discretely and gave me a fist pump. I think that means I did good! Yes, I am a total teachers pet and work extra hard for teacher approval.

------------------------
Anybody else a people pleaser?

How is your upper body strength?

Can you do an unassisted pull up? 

use it or lose it

Last nights Crossfit WOD was:
A. 400m run. (front squat, box jumps) 3, 6, 9, 12. 400m farmer carry w/ 15lbs.
B. 400m run. 25 burpees, 15 wall balls.

The second set had me dripping sweat, it was hard.  I actually was glad to see the 400m run and be able to catch my breath. I'm starting to like the box jumps, the farmer carry on the other hand was hard simply because my hands could really grip the weight.

 Somewhere along the way I did something to a muscle around my hip/ butt. I came home and it felt uncomfortable. I stretched and iced hoping it would be gone in the morning. 

This is a good graphic. The area labeled 'Iliotibial band' points out the are pretty good. I have heard of problems with the IT band but only ever related to knee problems and the pain is close to the knee. Is that the case? 



This is a better picture but it's still hard to pin-point the uncomfortable area. I think it's in the white space between the butt and the front of the hip. Maybe the tensor fascia latae?? 


Picture of Iliotibial (IT) Band Syndrome
Picture of Iliotibial (IT) Band Syndrome


This morning it felt the same. I took off for speed work. 

I did the regular speed work workout 6X800. I realized it was almost 3 weeks since I last did it and it showed. My fastest time 3 weeks ago was about 3:30. Today it was 3:38 and it was  hard. 

I guess the whole use it or lose it thing applies. 

I made a mental note that from now on Tuesday= speed session, whether I like it or not. 

--------------------------------------

Is there anything  you do, whether you like it or not?

Ever had a problem with your IT band?

I'm in a little bit of a slump- any ideas on how to get out of it?

Sunday, January 13, 2013

a new 22 mile route + Galaxy locker room

My long slow run this weekend was exactly that, long and slow.

I usually do 10+ miles or hills on Palos Verdes Dr. which is right down the road from my place. I heard if you keep going down that street it goes down to the coast and you can make a hilly and scenic 20 mile loop.

Before I left I mapped it on mapmyrun.com just to be sure. I was super excited that this application provided the altitude map.

The run was slow because there were so many hills and my thighs felt tight the moment I left my apartment. However, the run didn't feel long. Maybe it was the scenic/route change but it went by pretty fast, even though it took me almost 4 hours to complete.



Map Options
Map data ©2013 Google - Terms of Use
2 km
2 mi
    
453ELEVATION (ft)13.1817.5704.398.7821.960307614921
208 ftStart Elev
1138.0 ftMax Elev
1719.0 ftGain
 1
 1
 1























I came home and sat in icy-ICE water. Knees and ankles were achy and I think the ice bath helped. The rest of the day was spent lounging around, but not before getting out LA Galaxy fix. 

The Home Depot Center was sponsoring a little get together for ticket holders. There were a bunch of kids playing on the field and we got a little tour of the place. Please excuse my messed-up bangs. I spent way too much time with my ice bath and only had 10 minutes to get ready. 



LA Galaxy Locker room! eeek!


----------------------------------------
Do you use map your run/ google maps/ any other app to map your walks/ runs?

Do you ever try out new routes on a whim or do you have to check them out first?

Have you ever been inside a professional team's VIP area? locker room/ suites/ lounge?