Month: July 2012

I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes…

Spin class rocked my face off tonight. I loved my old instructors, but it’s cool how new instructors give you new things to tweak and focus on. I’ve really learned to be attentive to feeling the muscles wrap and work with increased resistence. 

After 20 miles on my legs this past week spin was a nice shake out. 

I do have to admit I’m freakin’ STOKED that the crazy weather here has finally broken. I’m looking forward to 3 miles outside tomorrow!

Ok I need to go cry into my lean cuisine, I’ll talk to you later

Me to a friend over facebook chat about birthdays and being single. Not completely true, but not completely fictional either!

Falafel of the gods

So I’m pretty sure I forgot to tell you about the most amazing falafel of my life that I had a few weeks ago. I was in Baltimore for Honfest which had  a bunch of local food stands that all looked delicious and opted for falafel. 

It was amazing. Minus sriracha I went full gusto with their toppings which included asparagus, taziki, STRAWBERRIES and HONEY.

Seriously the strawberries and honey made this falafel OFF THE CHART. I hope to recreate it myself in the near future.

Whatever It Takes

I had 9 miles to run yesterday.

I REALLY wanted to do them outside.

Woke up at 6am and it was already 91 degrees. 

After being really dehydrated after 5 miles on July 4th I am not ready for 90+ runs.

It’s supposed to cool down tomorrow and contemplated running the 9 today. 

I don’t want to start off the early weeks of training behind.

Decided to suck it up yesterday and go to the gym for 9 treadmill miles.

Did ‘em slow, but got them in. 

Trainer Dan

  • is my “thanks for the joining the gym” special bonus for 3 sessions.
  • looks like a bald bulldog. 
  • told me I underestimate how much I can lift.
  • thinks I should be able to snap back into marathon shape quickly since in his words “I haven’t lost much” – I’m assuming he means power/endurance/potential.
  • said squeeze your ass about 100 times in 45 minutes, but he warned me that he would.
  • told me my form overall looks good, despite my lack of confidence considering I haven’t really lifted weights in a gym setting in a while – shout out to my Jillian Michaels DVD for being there in the interim. 
  • noticed that I roll my shoulders in and that they are very tight. 
  • worked me hard, but praised my efforts. 

My Workout with Trainer Dan – with notes for myself for future workouts

  • Single hand kettlebell (18lb) lifts/pushes. Don’t put free hand on hip and lock legs.
  • Double kettlebell (18 lb each) lift/pushes. Push hands straight up so your arms are behind your face. Palms facing in at start, then rotate forward at top. 
  • 55 lb kettlebell dead lift. FORM – Chest up, ass down and out. 
  • Double kettlebell (40 lb each) dead lift. Align kettle bell handles with ankles. Can widen lift at the top so bells come over quads, but come back down so bells come back between ankles. 
  • Double rope rows. Keep weight in heels. 
  • Single handed rope rows. Keep free hand out for balance and resistance. Make sure rope is in line with your arm shoulder doing the exercise, not in the middle of body. 
  • Squats with 30 lb bag. Butt down, chest up, toes out. 
  • STRECH SHOULDERS – don’t roll them in. Open chest. Use stretchy bands to rotate hands from quads to chest over head to butt in one fluid motion. Bring hands closer together for more resistance and a deeper stretch. THIS WAS AMAZING. I need to buy bands to do this at home too. 
  • 30 lb bag carried in arms with elbows up and out while speed walking across gym. Use a power clean to get bag in your arms (this took a few attempts, but I got it). 
  • 55 lb bag carried in arms. Keep elbows up – support middle of bag don’t doesn’t sink in the middle. Too heavy for a power clean, Trainer Dan placed it in my arms. 

SQUEEZE MY ASS AND KEEP IT TIGHT.

According to Trainer Dan focusing on your ass helps your not focus as much on the weight itself and helps you keep good form. 

Double–Amputee Track Star Will Compete at London Olympics

As far as Olympic track runners go, Oscar Pistorius is pretty good at what he does: Since his first track meet at 17, he’s won four gold medals and holds three world records. It’s no wonder, then, that Pistorius – a double-amputee – has earned the nickname “the fastest man with no legs." 

And now, he is the first Paralympian to compete in an able-bodied Olympic track event. 

Despite losing both limbs to a bone disorder when he was 11 months old, Pistorius, now 25, demonstrated a love for sports at an early age. Wearing specially designed carbon-fiber limbs, the Johannesburg, South Africa, native found that he was able to compete in sports like water polo and track with surprising success. 

Then came his first Paralympics. At the 2004 Athens games, he won a gold and set a world record in the 200m sprint. Since that landmark moment, he’s garnered three more gold medals and two more world records at Paralympic events. 

Bolstered by that success, Pistorius set his eyes on a new goal: competing at the able-bodied Olympics. "I was starting to run times which allowed me to compete internationally on the able-bodied circuit," he told CNN. 

Although performing well at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu (he helped his 4x400m relay win a silver medal), Pistorius was unsure of whether he would make the 2012 London team – having twice failed to make the standard Olympic qualifying time in the 400m sprint. His latest attempt fell short by only two tenths of a second. 

But after deciding to let those two tenths of a second go, the South African Olympic committee has selected Pistorius to join the South African team at the London Summer Games. 

"Today is truly one of the proudest days of my life,” Pistorius writes on his website. “To have been selected to represent Team South Africa at the London 2012 Olympic Games in the individual 400m and the 4x400m relay is a real honor and I am so pleased that years of hard work, determination and sacrifice have all come together.”

Source: people.com