Running Free!

Happy Tuesday you guys! Let me start by saying I had one of THE MOST amazing weekends I've had in a long time.  First of all, the weather in Charleston was gorgeous and there was no rain for once.  It was just hot and sunny, perfect end of the summer weather.

 

Second, I spent some awesome bonding time with my dear friend Steph and her husband Mike.  Since J has to work a lot of weekends, I usually wind up doing some shopping or making my own fun, but I was super pumped when these 2 asked me to join them for drinks on Saturday afternoon.  This was our view...

 

 

Unbelievable.  Drinks turned into a long dinner, filled with good talks, lots of laughs, and I think some Robin Thicke dancing ensued at some point.  Sunday was also awesome.  I participated in a beach baptism at our church.  Steph got to join as well.  I think it's pretty cool that she and I have traveled the world together, we'll have been a part of each other's weddings, and now we've shared in an even more cool experience together.  All in all, a top weekend in the books.  Couldn't be happier right now.

 

I've been waiting to write this post for awhile because I know people are going to read it and probably assume that I need to go on Dr. Phil and talk it out with the big guy.  But let me just start out by saying that I consider running one form of therapy for me, as well as this blog..so here goes. 

 

Physically, running is one of the most amazing cardiovascular workouts out there.  You're bound to burn over around 100 calories for every 10 minutes you spend pounding the pavement.  The other great thing about running is you're working literally every muscle in your body.  Legs, arms, back, abs, your butt is bouncing around everywhere.  It doesn't matter how often I run, I know that I will always be sore the day after a really great sweat session.  I also love the fact that running doesn't involve a lot of thinking behind it...you just lace up your shoes and go. Yeah you may have to watch to the occasional friendly dog or in my neighborhood, spastic golf cart full of teenagers. But it's a chance to just get up and go.  No crazy choreography or complicated moves.  Just head out the door, go somewhere, and then come back.

 

Here's the truth behind running for me.  I've found that I usually lace up my shoes when I'm feeling like I need to just get out, clear my head, and gather all my thoughts.  It's a mental thing for me now.  Some of you are probably going "Ok Becca.....that sounds like you may be running AWAY from whatever is going on in life".  But not really.  I feel like I'm running toward a solution when I step out the door.  Maybe a solution to my fitness, a solution to an issue, or just a chance to get out and enjoy nature. The reason I run is really no longer physical for me.  It's a mental thing.  I recall the last half marathon I did a few years ago.  I remember getting to mile 12 and my body was almot done.  And then I remember that I had put songs at the end of my playlist that would motivate me to keep going.  I included things like parts of the soundtracks from "300" and "The Dark Knight".  They were intense, grinding, and it just pushed me forward even when I wanted to stop.  I remember looking up and seeing a finish line and watching my mom run alongside me and take my picture.  That was such a cool moment.  It made me realize that I had my physical limits, but my brain pushed me through when I really needed it.

 

I used to run all sorts of races and rack up major mileage during the week. Now, I run because I need a chance to just be free in the moment.  I write this today because I look around and I see people that are literally chained to situations that they can't free themselves from.  Maybe it's something that happened in your past that resurfaces over and over again.  Maybe it's a situation at work that no matter what you do to make it better, it stays in a stagnant place.  Maybe you criticize yourself so much to the point that you feel like a slave the mirror and the scale.  If there is anything I've learned from writing this blog over the past 3 months, it's that life is so amazing and rich that if you spend all your time running away from everything, you'll miss out all the wonderful things.   

 

I wrote about standing firm in who you are and what you believe in.  That is still true here, but you also have to be free of things that hold you back from being a better person.  Even if you can only run a few steps, or just want to get out and walk...just get out there and start to let the thoughts come and go.  Take a few deep breaths once the blood starts pumping and feel how great it is to just be alive.  

 

Hope you all have a BLESSED Tuesday! J and I have a special visitor coming by to see us today, so I'm sure I'll be blogging about this week.  Stay tuned!



 

 

It's the freakin' weekend baby!

Hello blog-lovelies! FINALLY...Friday has arrived! I thought it would never get here.  My lack of posting this week is due to the fact that I was sick with a gross stomach...thing.  I won't go into the awful details, but it was pretty disgusting.  That, or I've diagnosed myself as being lactose intolerant. Is WebMD the best thing ever created??? Either way, I'm glad to be back to reality and sharing some of the gut busters from this week's gym sessions.

 

Tuesday consisted of this workout:

 

2 circuits, both deceptively hard.  This looks like the shortest workout ever right? WRONG

Circuit 1: (x4)
10 Hang Cleans
5 Pull Ups
15 Snatch Grip Deadlifts.  Think really wide grip, super heavy weight. 

Circuit 2: (again, x4)
10 Reverse Lunges with dumbells on shoulders
Run 1 lap (in the heat or rain)
10 BARFEES
Run 1 more lap (steaming hot humidity)

So circuit one was amazing and fast and I was like, SWEET, bring on the hard stuff.  Boy did I bite off more than I could chew.  That second circuit with the barfees was so hard.  It was the running the lap part AFTER slamming yourself on the floor ten times that was crazy.  But my new workout buddy Tom pushed me through and even raced me on one lap.  I almost barfeed. but once again, I made it. 

Wednesday I was miserable...this is my sick face...(no Mom, that's not sexy lingerie, it's my nightgown...).  I did make it to dinner with two friends and they were so sweet to hang out with me while I wasn't feeling awesome. 

 

 

Thursday I  recuperated...and then Friday dawned with all it's glory!!!

 

Ok so here is tonight's workout, fresh from the chalkboard:

 

 

50 of all of those things.  Including barfees.  But it's called a "chipper" because you can chip away at it on your own.  So you can do 10-10-10...etc.  Or all 50 at once.  Or 25 and 25.  Either way, it was still brutal.  Here is my shirt after tonight's workout...oh and something was up with the A/C, also known as...my shirt looks like I went swimming in it:

 

 

So I did finish this, but it was super tough after being out of commission for 2 days and probably somewhat dehydrated.  Once again, victory is mine.  Another tough workout in the books.  BOOM. Done.

 

I think my new favorite phrase (and I used it earlier) is "deceptively hard".  That's how these workouts were this week.  They looked ok, but when you really got into them, they wound up being insanely crazy.  That's a lot like life in general.  You tell yourself "I got this bro" when it comes to a certain situation...10 hours later, you're still trying to figure out what you need to do.  But that's the beauty of life you guys.  I don't think it's ever meant to be easy.  We're not really living unless we go through the experiences, whether they are light and easy or down and dirty. 

 

A lot of people lately are noticing my physical progress.  They ask me how much weight I've lost or what size I'm in now.  Or I hear this a lot "hey girl HEY your face is SKINNY!" Thanks you guys!  The cool part is, I know I'm doing some really hard, crazy stuff and loving every minute of it.  I don't look at 50 barfees and regret them later.  I may hate them in the moment, but it's worth it to know that my deceptively hard workout didn't own me.  I owned it.

 

Own it you guys. My new philosophy is that I don't let the weekend start until I've completed a weekend workout. 

 

Happy Friday!

 

 

Why having friends is a good thing

OK guys, I know I was supposed to follow up "Standing Firm" with "Running Free", but 1. I haven't been running in about a week, 2. I need some more time to prepare for that post.  It gets pretty deep. 

 

In the meantime, I've been getting together with some friends and talking about friendship and actually thinking about what life would be like without my friends.  And the answer is, life would be super sucky.   So here are some fun tips on how to build lasting friendships. 

 

1. Keep on laughing.  YEP that's right, life can be serious sometimes, but with your friends, you should be able to let loose and have fun.  Case in point, this is a text I got the other day from my dear friend Steph.  It caused a lot of chuckles, but it totally made my day. 

 

 

2. Do nice things for your friends and they will do nice things for you. I kitty-sat for my friend Ashley last week and this is what she got me as a nice gift. A bottle of wine, and a 90's movie.  She knows me too well.  In return, I will be cooking her (and hopefully her sweet mom) turkey meatballs for dinner one night.  Friends do things just to do them, so always remember to treat them well and give a random gift sometimes.  You never know what an impact you may have.

 

3. Learn to forgive. Sometimes, you're going to disagree on things.  It's ok to have little fights from time to time, but at the end of the day, life is too short to hold a grudge forever.  Not get all churchy for a bit, but that's one of the life lessons I learned growing up in Sunday School.  Forgiveness softens your heart and makes you a more kind individual.  I don't think Jesus said things like "Ok I'll forgive you, but only after you've begged me on your knees, paved my driveway, and watered my flowers." Nope, He just said things like "Cool man, thanks for the apology, let's move on and get some chips and queso".  Maybe not exactly, but forgiveness is key.  Staying mad at someone for a long time is toxic to the relationship.  Forgive and forget.  It's a really easy concept.

 

4. On the same note...learn to apologize when you're wrong. If you offend someone, say you're sorry.  If you notice you're friend is backing away from you after you maybe had too many drinks one night and you talked about their weird sister, apologize.  I am usually really quick to say things and have to apologize when I've made an assumption, but it's a characteristic I've identified in myself.  I know that I do it, so I try to steer clear of making assumptions, but I do apologize when I've made a wrong one.

 

5. DO THINGS WITH YOUR FRIENDS! Life is way busy for everyone these days between jobs, kids, playdates, working out, etc.  You have to make time for your friends.  You have to text them and say "Hey let's go get drinks", and don't just assume that they will text you.  Make the effort and everyone will be happy.  Plus, happy hours are way more fun with people you know. 

 

6. Make new friends.  BRANCH OUT people.  I have recently made several new buddies at the gym.  We are usually all taking class together and it's a lot of fun.  The thing is, make new friends with people that you know will have a positive impact on you.  Don't just go making friends just because.  Enrich your life with people that will influence you in a positive way.

 

7. Furry friends are friends too!

 

Hope you guys enjoy your Tuesday. 

We should rename burpees to barfees

 

Ok guys, it's been awhile since an good workout post, so here it is.  This was a BRUTAL workout, but I am so glad I did it.  Welcome to the 8/1/2013 WOD!

 

Here's a picture of what it entailed.  Ugh, I feel the sweat forming just thinking about it.  It was deceptively hard.  One quick glace and I was like, "I can totally handle this".  Three rounds in, I was chest-heaving so hard, it felt like I had just run straight uphill for a mile in 95 degree heat with 100% humidity.  Holy. Moly!

 

 

 That's 7 different moves:

Goblet squats, the blasted burpee, sumo squats with a high pull, plank with a dumbbell row (each arm), overhead lunges with a plate, V-ups with a plate.

 

Now here's the fun (or not fun) part.  You start at 10 reps a piece, then do 9, 8, 7.....you get the idea.  THEN, just when you get down to 1, you go back to, and finish at 5.  I looked at that board and was like....Shut the front door, I got this.  I'm a BA. This is right up my alley.

 

What I didn't realize is that in the first round, you've already done 70 reps.  Seventy.  Begins with a 7, ends with a 0.  That's a lot!!! Then you have to keep going! If you add this up, this winds up being 490 total reps. 

 

So my awesome friend Sarah agreed to work out with me tonight.  And the workout was not really a partner thing, but we wound up being next to each other the whole time, so it was fun to push each other.  Get a gym buddy y'all.  It's way better to have an accountability partner than working out alone.  Because if you work out alone, you're going to be that person in the weight room that is texting your friend, not lifting weights, and then you decide to just go home. 

 

When we got down to reps 2, then 1....we were like "YEAHHHHHHH WE ARE AWESOME AND SO SWEATY!!!"  And then, we realized we have to go back up to 5.  It was brutal, but we made it. 

 

I would just like to say that I think that burpees were seriously misnamed.  They should totally be called barfees.  Because that's what I felt like doing tonight.  Barfee-ing all over the floor.  That's doing a burpee, standing up, and then tossing your cookies on your workout partner.  And amazingly, when you get down to just one burpee, you think you would be super stoked. But you've already done around 60, and it's crazy how hard it is to fling yourself on the floor just one time.  I hated the one burpee/barfee just as much as the first 10. 

 

I can't complain too much.  I had a blast.  I know I torched a ton of calories tonight.  It was super hard, but it just proved that I'm able to do way more than I think I can.  The BEST part of the night was being done, and then a sweet guy in our class, Tom, finished up his last round said this: "Well I may be older, but I finished!"  Yes you did Tom, be proud. 

And then he got a picture with all the ladies :)

 

 

Happy Thursday y'all!  Challenge yourself and don't quit.  You never know what you are truly capable of until you try.  Tonight, I rocked 70 barfees and wanted to give up, but I did it. 

 

OH by the way, don't ya'll love the new blog design?! I am super happy with it.  Thank you Beth B for your vision and bringing my little space on the interwebs to life!  I woke up at 1 AM this morning just to look at it.  You ROCK!