The past five weeks have become been full of much self reflection. Finishing the marathon was such a great feeling. All the training and work that had been done over the past few years finally paid off when I crossed that finish line. Barely a full week later I end up injuring myself and lose all ability to run. It has been very hard to keep myself physically on track. My eating has become really sparratic as I have been finding without running, I can't take in the same amount of calories.
Going to the gym has also been a bear. I have been going very often between three and four times each week. Up to last week I would take my walking boot off and wrap up my ankle tight in a brace allowing my to bike and do some basic abs. I have gotten rid of the boot this week but am still only doing the same basic workouts with some upper body lifting here or there. Without running, working out has become very difficult to get through. It takes a bunch of mental effort to stay and do a certain workout.
Not to mention this weekend was Thanksgiving. Just to show the dangers of the evening, this is my making of pumpkin pie...
Over the weeks, I have tried to say get back to working out properly and eating well. It has been difficult. Well no more! Tomorrow is my new start and I am trying to bring everything back that kept me going before. So here I am blogging again!
It is currently after midnight on a school night when I just cant seem to fall asleep. Class is only a few hours away but I have been mulling over this new workout schedule. After talking to my friend Brok, I have a new workout schedule to follow each day. The exercises are mostly for muscle toning with no running. To the end of the workouts, I have added 20 minute cool downs and one hour cardio sessions on the weekends. Currently, these are going to be biking, but my hope is that within the month to change a few of the days to running.
Here is the link to my new routine
Also on the page are my new calorie intake numbers. I used to use My Fitness Pal all the time leading up to the marathon. I am going to get back to it. The one goal that I would like to accomplish currently is to get my body fat percentage to single digits (9.9% is acceptable). The week I ran the Baltimore Marathon, my BFP was 14.8%. If I had to guess, my current number is maybe 1-1.5% higher. Through the loss of some fat and an addition of lean muscle, I hope to achieve this. Tomorrow I am going to get my BFP from the gym when I go so I have a starting point.
The Cleveland Marathon is on my mind still... my arch nemesis.
As I sit here, I started to count up weeks. In order to run the Cleveland Marathon, I am going to give myself 15 weeks of training. Counting backwards from May 19th, I have assumed my start date will be February 3rd, the first full week in the month.
This means that starting tomorrow, I am going to give myself nine weeks on this new schedule. I hope that the tenth week will be a time where I can rest in preparation for the new heavy running training. I have my new schedule, my new eating habits are about to be wonderful and in check, and tomorrow is a new day. The next month will be a great closing to a wonderfully progressive year with a strong December. Beginning the new year in January with the second half of this new schedule will help me show myself where I want to be headed physically throughout the year.
Stay tuned for my new updates on route to a fitter self (9.9% in 9 weeks? maybe so!) and my tackling of the Cleveland Marathon once and for all.
Stay classy Cleveland, Ohio!
