I loved this article in Runner’s World this month! Just a few months ago, I was lamenting about my poor attitude and mental negative crap that goes through my head before a bike race. (Here is the post, “I feel your pain, Kara Goucher.”) And, to be honest, this type of behavior when it comes to sports performance or just life in general does not just evaporate. It transforms. If you have a tendency towards negative spirals, it will reappear in other parts of your life.
The article is quite lengthy and discusses her current method of training that includes a sports psychologist, Darren Treasure. I think his tips are very valuable and could be easily accessible to all of us wanna-be athletes!
Here they are:
1. Worry early, not late. Focus on your strengths and the body of your training work.
2. Employ a key word. Must have a stimulus and response.
3. Embrace your competitors. “It means I’m going to run together with the best, and they’ll help bring out the best in me. That neutralizes my anxiety about my own confidence.” Just think that working out/running with faster people will make YOU FAST.
4. Enjoy the motion. Enjoy the moment. Relax!!
5. Define success by your progress. “I want them to measure their success in terms of their personal progress. If I can do a couple more reps that I could yesterday, that’s success.”
Now for tomorrow’s workout, I will be employing all of these tricks! Holy moly, check out the workout…
“Dirty Dozen”
25-Walking Lunge
20-Pull ups
50-Box Jumps 20”
20-Double Under’s with a rope
25-Ring Dips
20-K-2-E (Knees to Elbows)
30-KBS 70/53
30-Sit-ups
20-Hang cleans 35/20 DB
25-Back Ext
30-WallBall
4-Rope climbs
*For Time!
Strengths for me for tomorrow will be the Box Jumps and Wall Balls. It’s going to be fun and fast! Key word, FOCUS.
Now a playlist for this would be awesome! Anybody have any favorite songs that you can recommend?
This story gave me goosebumps! Joy didn’t start running until her late 50′s and is now running 3 marathons a year including the New York City marathon and is winning her age group!
In yet another way to get fit, you can now find local communities offering Old School PE! Games played include Ultimate Frisbee, Dodgeball, Relay Races, Tug of War and many other games that we played as kids.
As you may know, I am a phys ed teacher. These games I still teach to the kids (with the exception of a few) and kids LOVE them. And, in Cross Fit, we are “playing” tug-of-war, climbing ropes and just yesterday, we were hauling a 30,000 pound truck- all in the name of fitness and fun. And, it is. We laughed our asses off in tug-of-war and although I was scared of getting run over by the truck, it was also fun to pull it (photos coming soon)…
And, in Portland, Oregon, there is a group of women who get together weekly to play recess games. It’s called Urban Recess and it just cracks me up. People are getting together to laugh, run and sweat.
Thinking we should all organize a weekly recess game in our own little hood- have a cook-out afterwards and laugh!
Cross Fit has benchmark workouts that have names- Cindy, Angie, Linda, Chelsea… and our trainers have chosen this week to give us a healthy dose of those workouts. And, I’ve now been given the “you can’t be slackin’” lecture– so no more easy pull-up bands for me. So, my times slow down cause I can only do 4 or 5 pull-ups in a row without taking a rest. I’m okay with being pushed, in fact, I’ve come to expect it (and crave it a bit).
“Mary”
5 Handstand Push-ups, 10 1 legged Squats, 15 Pull-ups (lt. green band) do as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes.
“Elizabeth”
Squat Cleans and Ring Dips: 21, 15, 9. Had trouble with both! Squat cleans were only 55 pounds and the ring dips turned into jumping dips quite rapidly. Sheesh. Still learning the big olympic lifts and am not that confident yet in lifting heavy.
“Helen”
400 meter run, 21 kettlebell swings with 35 pound bell, 12 Pull-ups x 3 rounds. This one was a bit more enjoyable for me, cause, I can do the running and the swinging! And, the run is almost a break for me.
“Jackie”
1000 meter row ALL OUT EFFORT
50 Thrusters with 30 pound bar
30 Pull-ups.
Short, sweet and only minor pain on the pull-up bar.
As for tomorrow…well, it’s a big surprise, till I get there- oh boy! The good news is that everyday I am sore, just in a different spot and Saturday is a rest day, WHOO HOOO… And, you may notice that there is a lot of running in cross fit. Just all short bursts of speed of distances 100, 400, 800 and sometimes a mile. This kind of sprinting helps me enjoy my 4 mile endurance runs just a little bit more.
&
3 yoga poses that feel delicious after all this intensity. {all have been demonstrated here–check the archives if you don’t know the pose}
Edited to add that we did both GRACE and LYNNE. Neither one I had picked out for the day and they weren’t terrible! Grace is 30 Clean and Jerks for time and Lynne is max rep pull-ups and max rep bench press with no time limit.
Incredibly soft, workout top by thriv is featured below. Recently, I got to test out this shirt for purposes of review and the results are great! According to the website, organic cotton performs far better than synthetic cotton in situations of sweat, UV protection, and odor! I loved wearing this shirt as both a workout top and as an everyday shirt (you know I live in workout clothes!!). For my everyday wear, I’d usually wear it under a long sleeve shirt.
One drawback of this shirt, though, is that it is very thin. Therefore, a sports bra will be required for most activities.
“Featuring a built-in shelf bra with flat seams, the thriv® Natural Performance women’s Cape Elizabeth racerback top provides comfortable support where you need it the most. The top features a unique bamco® fabric construction that feels like cashmere but offers breathability, UV protection, and moisture-wicking capabilities. Mesh inserts in the front and back allow for maximum ventilation.
Register here for Thriv1st to be eligible to win a free t-shirt. They are giving 50 away each month.
The cool thing about this brand is that it is available at Sports Authority and the prices are pretty reasonable.
Thriv Natural Performance Women’s Cape Elizabeth Racerback top is $29.99.
I am the master of “sqeezing it in”! Always trying to fit my workout in around all my commitments- such as teaching phys ed or yoga at my kids’ school. And, lately, it’s been harder to find enough time for a “real” run – you know like a good six miler! Knowing that I’ll have an hour between classes, I can sometimes sneak away for a quickie run in the dirt- which I love.
A high intensity workout can potentially burn more calories during the workout and beyond. (But, you can read the research at your leisure–there is JUST too much of it, LOL).
So, if I have an hour or less and can get to the trail, I run. Fast and Uphill. Today, was one of those days. The hills I run on are STEEP. So, I usually do a one mile warm-up, then run up this one really steep mother-of-a-hill. My favorite hill takes me about 2 minutes to get to the top. My steps are short and I really have to pump my arms to keep from walking! Today, was a five hill repeat day. So fun! And, the best part was that I was able to squeeze it in after work but before going home to the kiddos. What a difference that makes!
Above is a picture of me that my buddy took (not from today), but, it’s the same hill. I’m attempting to look PE teacherish- but, still get outside and hammer!
This moisture-wicking, long sleeve shirt will be perfect for all your outdoor activities. Designed to be mult-functional, light weight and super soft, you’ll want to wear this one again and again. What’s even better is that it has a UPF 50!! According to the press release, this shirt can block 98% of the sun’s damaging rays.
After doing a little research via Google, I found NOT a lot of clothing designed for women athletes that will protect you from the sun! And what I found (only first 2 pages of google) was ugly, frumpy and for the beach only! So, I was thrilled to receive this shirt for review!
What’s so great about this shirt? It IS so SOFT. Soft like the cheeks of your little ones. There are little thumb holes for extra hand protection or for warmth and a little pocket on the upper left shoulder that fits an Ipod perfectly! You might think it’d pop out, but, I ran lots of hills and it did not budge. The fit is great, as it’s fitted slightly but not boxy. On my run today, the temperature was in the high 80′s and I did not feel hot at all- in fact the fabric may be cooling- or it seemed that way to me.
Anyway, would I recommend this to you, my readers??
YES. Without hesitation. Be the first in your group to be both protected and stylish!
First, I want to thank Deanna of DomesticChicky for the design! Love it.
Second, I’m wondering what races you all have coming up? Care to share on your upcoming running/cycling/triathlon goals. Me? I need a kick in the arse to get me motivated to train seriously. It’s fall and it’d be a good time to COMMIT to something…and yet, middle of the week comes and I lose my steam. Main goal of most days is to just get a workout in- don’t care too much what, as long as it’s something!
Considering the Carlsbad Half and am open to other races…???
Anybody have any races or events they’d recommend? Still doing the Crystal Cove Trail Run in December, but, that’s almost too far away!?! Problem arises when looking at week’s work schedule of 30 hours ++ and demanding daily workouts for myself gets dicey.
Most of us are working out in the early morning hours, right? We have to get the run in before work and that requires A commitment to running or cycling in the dark. This should lead us to take some precautions to protect ourselves and also to alert the drivers that we are there! But, really, how many of us take the extra time to protect ourselves when heading out for a run?! I’ll admit that I forget the important stuff 50% of the time.
A few reminders include- run against the flow of traffic, keep the ipod on low, where a neon vest, headlamp, and have a road ID on, and be alert!
Petzl Tikka Plus 2 LED Headlamp at REI for $39.95. Note: We bought headlamps for camping and they work great, just, not sure how they’d feel for running. Anybody have a brand they like?
