Because I Can....

Now, most of you probably know by now that I LOVE leg days. My leg muscles are my strongest and I enjoy the challenging workouts!

Last year, after hip surgery, I became really concerned about my leg workouts. In fact, sometimes I was downright afraid of them. After surgery, it was 12 weeks before I could lightly train legs. I did very light leg workouts in physical therapy those 12 weeks. Leg days scared me. I was terrified of hurting my hip or causing any other injuries or issues that would take me out of the gym or keep me from running.

I finally have gotten to a point where I am not afraid. I trust Tripp and his knowledge and wisdom. I know when he asks me to do something then I am capable of doing the exercise. Leg press was always one of my favorite machines. I loved feeling powerful from lifting so much weight. Prior to surgery, I was able to do 10 45-lb. plates (565 pounds which includes the weight of the sled) for 10 reps. Yesterday I was able to do 16 45-lb. plates and 2 25-lb plates (770 pounds--not sure what the sled weighs because there was no weight listed on the machine....but pretty good assumption would be about 45 pounds...so 815 pounds.) And I managed 10 good reps. Here's a pic with just the 16 45-lb. weights.

This was a personal best. A couple of weeks ago when I was about to lift something that I believed was insanely heavy, I asked Tripp, "Why am I lifting this weight?" His response was simple..."Because you can!" Honestly, I have said in the past that I would do so much better lifting weights if I was blindfolded because occasionally knowing how much I am about to lift just unnerves me. And yesterday, the shear idea of lifting just the 16 45-lb weights was nerve wrecking! Who knew I was going to get another 50 pounds added to it!!

I trust Tripp implicitly. I know that he is never going to ask me to do anything that I cannot do. Since I have this trust in him, I am willing to attempt whatever the task is that he asks of me. Occasionally, I fail because my muscles aren't strong enough or I allow my mind to freak me out. But Tripp tells me that I only fail him when I don't try.

So, I am working on re-focusing my mind. There is no way I will be weight lifting blindfolded, but I can start giving myself positive messages about my abilities. I am a lot stronger than I think I am. (Tripp reminded me of this a few weeks ago.) I often think that I am not very strong...physically, emotionally, or mentally. But I am capable of a lot more than I give myself credit.

So, it's time to rebuild some mental toughness....because I can!!!

Soreness and Motivation

I love this slogan I found earlier today when surfing the web and looking at a site my friend Laura sent me to!!

It's so true. I often find myself commenting on how sore I am or how tired I am from all the strength training and working out. But honestly, I never regret it. Never. I know that every step of the way I am doing exactly what my body needs me to do. I am pushing forward towards my goals and I am making myself stronger and more fit. These are things that are important to me. So, if I have to choose between being sore or sorry....sore will always win out!

Today, I got up really early because my friend, Cathy, texted me the night before to see if I wanted to hit a LSD (long slow distance) day today. I knew that Tripp and I had a planned strength training session but didn't know what time we were working out. But I also knew that I wanted the time with Cathy as well as the distance. So, in spite of the fact that my legs and glutes are still completely trashed from Thursday's leg day and Friday's cardio, I agreed. I do not regret getting up earlier and getting my 6 miles in with Cathy. There were a couple spots along the path where I hurt and my body questioned me, but I knew that I could and would finish what I started. And yes, the end of the 6 miles was a blessing!

After breakfast and a trip back to my house to shower and grab my workout clothes, I got my stuff ready to hit the gym with Tripp. Today's target was back, biceps and triceps. And though I may have been a bit tired. I gave it everything I had and then some. No excuses to back down or go lighter. Instead, I pushed myself and Tripp pushed me and we had an amazing workout!

Was it perhaps a bit much to do both a LSD and a strength training session in the same day? Maybe. However, my nutrition was spot on and there was enough time in between the two sessions which allowed me some recovery time. So, it was pure perfection!

Am I sore? Yes. I am not certain there is a day that goes by during the week that some muscle isn't sore! Is it worth it? Absolutely. There is no point in my training sessions if my muscles do not continue to get stronger. And stronger often means soreness. I feel more fit and much stronger than I have in a long time. I am gaining more confidence in myself. I am a lot more knowledgeable about why I do what I do and how to do the things I do. I push myself harder because I know that I have someone else who wants me to push harder even when we are not working together. And when my motivation and will try to fail me, I remember that I cannot fail Tripp when he believes I can accomplish this. So, I push through the BS (as my former trainer Jake used to say!) Tripp has been a great inspiration to me in that he has never asked me to do anything he does not believe I can do and he is always pushing me to push myself harder and reach for more than what I think I can. It's awesome! So, if the price I pay for feeling better about myself and being stronger is being sore, I will take it and then some. Bring it on!

Laura posted this on my wall on Facebook earlier today. I loved it! It is so true. I get up everyday and whether I like it or not, I have to think like this poster!! I challenge you to do the same! Don't let soreness or anything else get in your way! Just do it!

Changes...

People who know me well know that I am not a fan of change. I like routines. I can definitely be spontaneous but for the most part I like knowing what is going on. Lately, changes are just abounding in my life and I am never sure what's going to happen next.

I admit that sometimes change is good. When Tye accepted his new job, I had the opportunity to train with Tripp. That was the most amazing change for me. After working with Tripp for 2 and a half months, I was able to shave 5:30 off my half-marathon time from last October. That's awesome progress. As nervous as I was about working with Tripp, the change was awesome and I am so thankful for the time that we had to work together.

Last week was rough for me. There's a whole lot of stuff going on and a lot of things were just not turning out as I expected them to. One of those things that set my world completely off kilter was that Tripp quit last Tuesday. This was so not the news I wanted to hear. I was making plans....I wanted to knock even more time off my next half-marathon. I was planning on re-signing a training contract with him to see how much more work we could do to improve my running as well as get me towards my weight loss goals. I was excited about the work we were going to do together. So, when I got the call that he was no longer going to be at my gym...I was brokenhearted and really, really angry. I was not angry with Tripp though. I know he had the best reasons for what he did and I respect him greatly. But I am really devastated that we won't be working together.

I met with Tripp last Friday for lunch. He is a truly amazing guy. My contract for personal training is about to be up in 2 weeks. Since I am completely paid up, I will finish my last two weeks with another trainer. I am hoping the new trainer will be willing to stick with the plan that Tripp set up for me. He knows my plans and goals and set up our workouts based on that. So, my true hope is that the new trainer will be willing to continue with the plan we had. After I finish that training, I will be training myself.

Sounds strange, doesn't it? Me training myself. Yep, that's right. When Tripp and I had lunch, he did something very amazing for me. He wrote me 9 new workout plans that I can use for about the next 6 months. I have 4 other workout plans that he had already written for me. These plans are all set up to help me achieve my running goals and weight loss goals. I am more than thrilled about the workouts he wrote for me!

So, change can be good. I am really excited about the new workouts that Tripp wrote for me. I will miss him dearly as my trainer. I already do. But we are still friends and we will stay in touch. I know that if I have any questions or concerns about strength training or nutrition, I can always count on him. Also, he promised me that he would come to my race in March and run the last mile with me. That is just plain awesomeness!! I am going to be working my butt off the next several weeks to get to that race and I cannot wait. But we will continue with the plan...running injury free. If I am going to run a total of 6 half-marathons this year, then I absolutely need to stick to the plan!!!

So, I will be finishing up the next two weeks with a new trainer. And then, I am on my own (or truthfully, I am following Tripp's plan for me.) This is a whole new world for me...I have had trainers for the past two years. And although, I started my journey on my own and have learned a lot but I know there is still a lot for me to learn. And if Tripp does go to a new gym to train, I will most definitely consider following him. But for now, I am going to focus on the plan.

I doubt that I will ever truly be a fan of change. But I am going to do my best to think positively about the changes that are coming.

Where Does the Time Go...

Wow...it's hard to believe it has been a month since I last posted anything. Life has just been so very busy and there is so much to do and so little time to sit and write. Some days that is a good thing but other days, it becomes a frustration.

So, what's been going on?? I am still working at Staples part-time. And I am still keeping Jacob and Jillian at least one day a week. I do so enjoy our time together. I love their sweet spirits and have a blast playing with them!!

I have a new trainer now. Tye accepted a job elsewhere and I had to try out a new trainer at the gym. Luckily, I adore my new trainer, Tripp. I admit I was very skeptical at first. I was nervous that he would not be what I needed. It turns out that I was very wrong because he is exactly the trainer that I need right now. I love his enthusiasm and I love his wisdom. He has given me some amazing advice in regards to nutrition and supplements. And his workouts are just plain awesome. I am reaching muscle failure quite often and I am finding myself sore for a few days after our workouts. All in all, I absolutely think this change was a good thing. (And for a girl who is not fond of change, that's really saying something!!) I find myself even more excited about training than before. My time with Tye was precious and we did great work together. My time with Tripp is about learning new things and pushing myself further. I cannot wait to see how things progress!

I am relearning things in regards to running. It has been so frustrating having to rethink the way I used to run and having to relearn the proper form and improve my running. But I am thankful that I have the opportunity to do so. I am also thankful for my friends who run that help me to continue to push forward and continue to work on improving my running. They challenge me and keep me going in so many ways. I just did a 5k this past week and now I can see some things I need to work on in order to improve. Every race, I learn more about myself and my running. Some days and some races, I get frustrated and want to quit, but I persevere. I am not a quitter. I have to keep pushing.

I have also been spending lots of time with my friend, Ann. I have enjoyed helping her with several projects at her house. I love being able to use my talents in the art of organizing as well as painting to help others out. And I have really enjoyed the quality time that I have been spending with Ann and her hubby, Charlie. I do love the both of them...they're so much fun and so awesome!!!

And I got a brand new tattoo this past month. It's a 13.1 with flowers to represent each of the half-marathons I have completed. I LOVE it!!! So awesome!! It's totally different from what I was looking at getting, but I am so thrilled with the concept that Matt Terry (my tattoo artist) came up with!! I cannot wait to run more half-marathons and add more flowers!!! And I love the fact that this tattoo is a one of a kind piece of artwork!!

Other than that, life is just keeping my quite busy. It's been a strange year, but I really feel like I am growing into myself and learning even more about who I am and who I want to be.

What's in store in the next month or so...to be quite honest, I have no idea. I am just trying to stay in the here and now. I do know that I will be looking for another half-marathon to run at the beginning of next year. As for anything else, I am up in the air.