Jumping on The Monthly Review Bandwagon

       I ended up feeling better by the afternoon yesterday and decided to do a quick 20 minutes of stairs.  Sometimes sitting around doing nothing makes you feel worse.  Mostly I'm just really phlegmy (lovely) and stuffed up; being outside for a bit and running stairs helped loosen things up.
    
      I planned to run on my treadmill this morning, but when I went to turn it on it said, "lube belt."  I'm gonna leave that up to Matt, I'm afraid I might break it.  I may run outside later when it warms up a few degrees.  I'll be doing my first 2 min. Burpee attempt today as well.


Some Things I did in January


* Started studying for the ACE training exam
* Fell in love with bodyrock.tv  and developed a girl crush on Zuzana
* I didn't run any official races, but I ran a virtual 5k on my treadmill in 21:55
* Finally ordered my bike!  I followed the advice of many of you (thanks!) and went to a LBS.  The bike should be here by this weekend :D
* Surpassed 200 followers.  I am always in SHOCK anytime I get a new follower or am linked on someone's sidebar.  I'm not worthy.  
* Got chosen to be in a bikini calendar and model some burpees for Andrew's contest (join the fun!)  I'm awaiting my call from Hollywood any day now.
* Decided I am going to do a Half-Ironman in either September or October (or both?!)  I'm weighing the pros/cons/options, but I probably won't post them on here (I will post when I decide!).  My sister said she would train and enter a 70.3 with me, so my decision will be based on what works the best for the both of us.
* Rocked my push-ups.  I'm up to 22 :D  Video below (I only made it to 18 on the video, but I have worked really hard on my form and I see a big improvement.  I do notice that my form starts to go a little at the end though.)





Some Plans For February

* 3k indoor race.  I posted that I would LOVE to go sub 11, but I'd be psyched with sub 12.  I need to be realistic with my goals.
* I'm participating in Jogging with Fiction's Bake Sale Auction this Saturday.  I will be making Conversation Heart Cake Pops,  money raised goes towards Kisses From Katie.
* Find some races for March and April
* Increase my mileage in prep for May 1st Half Mary
* Reach 118 lbs.   I could have been there by now, but I haven't been doing the things I need to in order to get there.  The major hurdle being I drink too much.  This obviously isn't good for any of my goals and cutting it out will be a major focus for February. 
     Right  now I'm sitting at 122-124 (123 this morning), so 5lbs  in a month is completely do-able.  I'm working so hard and I feel like I look decent, but I need to go that extra mile to get to outstanding.  I guess being mid- winter it doesn't seem so urgent, but memorial day will be here before you know it and I want to be confident, not regretful for not giving my all.
* Continue to increase my push-ups and chin-ups (assisted for now).  Push-up goal for Feb: 30
* Improve my writing.  I cringe sometimes when I go back and read some of my posts.  The best way to become a better writer is to write, but I'm also going to do some reading and reflecting on writing :)


Most importantly, continue having the time of my life with this little Monkey:

Inception

(totally non- running/ tri/ fitness related) nonetheless . . .

   I finally watched it.

     It might be the wine (or I'm just not smart enough) but . . .

    I Don't Get It

  I might have to watch it again.

Any advice on actually understanding??? the movie?

Craziness

The Microchip Has Been Compromised

       Anyone who watched Parks and Recreation on Thursday night knows what I'm talking about.  This weeks episode was actually the first time I've watched the show; it was on right after The Office.  I thought it was hysterical and will definitely be watching from now on.

    Rob Lowe's character Chris is a runner/ triathlete type athlete.  Some of his quotes from the episode, "Flu Season":

          Ben: "You need a ride back to the office?"
         Chris: "No, no. I'm going to go for a light 15K. I missed yesterday."

      “My body is finely tuned like a microchip, and the flu is like a grain of sand. It could literally shut down the entire system.”

      “Oh my God. The microchip has been compromised.”

       “STOP . . . POOPING.”

   Sooo, I'm sick.

    I haven't been sick in a really long time and I forgot how much I don't like it.  I guess my snow run did me in, but whatever I still love ya, snow running.  I've felt icky since Thursday- ish, on Friday I did 100+ burpees just so I could get a decent demo video (and felt lightheaded after), yesterday= rest day, today= rest day.   

     Hopefully tomorrow I will be back at it.  

New Blue Baby

This baby. . .

Specialized Dolce Triple

Is ALL MINE :D 

Burpee Contest and Demo

    Andrew at Running Man Wannabe had the brilliant idea of hosting a Burpee Contest and has enlisted my help in demonstrating and judging.  I know Zuzana was his first choice, but she declined his offer so I was the next best thing :D

   I loved the idea of a Burpee contest because so many of us are talking about working on our core and doing pylometric exercises to improve our running.  Burpees are a great way to do this, they work the whole body and get your heart rate going as well.

     We chose to make them Push-up Burpees because first of all that is the only way I do them and second, it is a much better full body/ core workout this way.  In my demo video I've shown how you can do the push-ups on your knees if you can't do many full push-ups yet.

   In no way do I think my form is perfect, however I do think it is pretty good and I will continue to work towards improving it (mainly I think my end jump needs a little work.)  I only started getting serious about adding Burpees about 2 weeks ago.  I had done them before that but not to the extent that I am right now.

    Burpee Movement~ Squat- Place your hands on the floor- Jump your legs back- Perform a push-up- Jump your legs back in- Hop up.


     Some people like to drop right into their push-up as they kick their feet out and then push-up as they jump their feet back in.  These are a little tougher/more advanced, but feel free to do it this way if you'd like :)


     In my demo video I show: 1- Single Slow Burpee, 2- Single Knee Push-Up Burpee, 3- Three Regular Burpees, 4- Three Burpees With a Wider Stance Throughout (this makes the push-up a bit easier, and the whole movement smoother)



 The blankets covering my windows are only there so that I could get a decent video, the sunlight was warping things :D

    So head on over to Running Man Wannabe and check out his post on the rules and how to enter.  The basics: As many Burpees as you can complete in 2 minutes then post your results (and/or video links) on the results page.  If you want to video them and not show the world you can email your video to either of us :)  You can attempt this as many times as you'd like until February 16th.

  I will be posting my 2 minutes of Burpees as soon as I make an attempt :D


  I think I've covered everything, but if you have any questions feel free to ask below :)


  More proof that Burpees rock~ Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs loves them.

Semis: Jojo Nepacina

Winter Wonderland

    Inspired by all you brave souls running around in the snow, I decided to stop being a wimp and give it a try.  I had a blast!! I ran around my block (1mi) 3 times, the footprints in the pic below are mine from the 1st lap, I took this pic on the 2nd lap.  It was so peaceful and carefree. 

.

   I really, truly enjoyed every second of this run.  I took it slow, stopped for some pics and I ran without my music which I NEVER do.  I won't run in below 30 temps, but below 30 and snow. . . Bring It On :D  It was actually 33°, but felt like 25° (according to weather.com).  I was bundled up and having so much fun that I never felt cold, except my face a bit :)   Running in the snow may be my new favorite thing (which is good because more is coming!)

  Before my run I did the 155 Burpees/200 One Armed Kettlebell Swings workout again.  So painful while you're doing it, such an amazing feeling of accomplishment when you've completed it!  It was just as hard this time around and again I wanted to quit after pretty much every burpee, but I endured :) and I beat my time by over a minute!!  

          

         Last time~ 26:35   This time~ 25:26    

       

Crazy Melissa did this workout in 15:37!! Mel you are a machine!

    My legs truly feel stronger from doing these.  On my incline and interval runs my legs feel great, not tired at all, it's mainly the gut busting in my stomach that I have to work through.  My legs used to feel dead on 12 % inclines, I suppose it is a combination of everything I've been doing incline running, stair running, burpees, KB swings  etc.  But I think the burpees are a big part of it.

  Stay tuned because the awesome and inspiring Andrew at Running Man Wannabe has devised a little Blogger Burpee contest and I'm helping out :D  Beyond Excited!

  Super salad after my run:

I made it myself, and prepared it in the spring mix container since I was finishing off the rest of it.  Onions, tomatoes, pepper, avocado, a little turkey, some mozzarella, it was pure heaven.

I am in love with this day :)

Semis: Don Velasco

Fashionably Late

   I think every other blog I read has already gotten tagged with the Stylish Blogger Award and posted their 7 random facts.  I was beginning to feel a little left out about not being tagged (unless you count JohnP, who tagged all 5 of his readers), and then Alex from Tales of an Iron Housewife tagged me and called me inspirational :)  

    

     Thanks Alex, you're super inspirational yourself!!  She tagged me about a week ago, but I'm not that interesting and it took me a loonnggg time to think of 7 things to share about myself.  and apparently I have men on the brain.

    1) I dated an Olympic Rower from Serbia.  The men's crew team at my college consisted almost entirely of Serbians and Croatians and and a few Polish dudes and they were all sick athletes.  Pretty much the only Americans were on the novice team.  My ex rowed in the 2004 Summer games in Athens.

He's the stud in the back ;)

    2) Sticking with the rowing theme, I competed in the Empire State Games (competition between the 6 regions of NY in a variety of sports)  for Long Island in Rowing.  Even though I was a much better runner than rower, rowing had less competition and some local rowers I knew asked me to be in their 4 man boat.  I competed in 2004 and this year the state is canceling the games due to lack of funding, sad : /.

    3) Back to the men w/ accents thing, I'm a sucker for them (Matt knows this).  Before I met Matt I my dates were from, Israel, Australia, England, Serbia, Croatia,Venezuela and Norway (I'm pretty sure I got them all.)  That is what happens when you attend two DII schools that recruit abroad.  My top celebrity crushes are:  

Mexican Actor Gael Garcia Bernal

and

French Actor Olivier Martinez (who's dating Halle Berry)

I figured I'd give the girls something to look at this time ;)

   4)  Lifeguarding is kind of a Family Business.

My Dad, Sister, Brother and I all work at the same beach :D

   5) I've been known to run around town dressed like a golfer. . .

Knee sock <3  ing

This was not Halloween.  It was sometime in July. 

    6) I ran in the NCAA DII  XC Championship Race (and came in like 170th out of 180).  This was my first year of college and we qualified as a team,  the race was run in the snow (they did clear a small path, but the men raced first so it was more like mud, I passed a few lost shoes along the way).    

     I'm somewhere in the back of the pack, you can't see me, I'm too slow :)

 (Thanks Chad for helping me out with the pic)

  

    7)  Gahhh the above took a lot out of me.  I'm 99% sure I'm registering for a Half-Ironman in September.

    I'm taking the easy way out and tagging all my followers, you're all awesome (and I think most of you have done this already anyway)

Just Like High School

    I've been feeling a little aimless without an upcoming race, I have some planned for the spring and the summer, but I wanted to find a winter  race to tide me over and make my treadmill runs more meaningful.  I detest running in the cold and ended up scrapping my plans to do the local Winter Run Series (Read RockStarTri's post about the past Sunday race, Brrr!)  because I didn't want to force myself to run races I wasn't excited about.

     Yesterday I started reminiscing about all the weekends I spent running at the Armory while in High School.  The Armory is an indoor track located in NYC (Washington Heights), it has banked turns and is often referred to as "The Fastest Indoor Track in the Country." My days at the Armory are some of my fondest High School memories (I didn't go out at all in HS, XC/ Track was my life), they held HUGE HS races almost every weekend throughout the winter.

  

 I consider myself very lucky that my HS was close enough (about an hour away) to use this facility so often.  I decide yesterday to check and see if they had any open race being held there and. . . THEY DO!!!   

  

     The New York Road Runner's Club has a series called "Thursday Night at the Races,"  it is 4 Thursday nights where they hold 3-4 events that anyone can enter.  The first 2 past already, but I am eyeing the one on February 24th!  There is also one on February 10th, we'll see maybe I'll try for that one too.  The 24th is great because we have winter break that week, plus the music theme is 80's :D 

    The event on the 24th features a 3000m race, 1500m race, and a 10,000m relay (10 person relay, 200m legs only, each athlete runs 5 200m legs).  The relay sounds like a blast, but I don't have 9 other people to do it with :(.  Right now I know I want to do the 3k and I might decide to do the 1.5k too.  It is $15 whether I do one or both and if I run the 3k the way I want I shouldn't have much left for the 1.5, but I can attempt it anyway :)

    I am really, super excited to run a track 3,000 m, that was my race in High School!  My best HS time was 11:13 (6:01 mile pace).  I'd love to break 6 min pace in this race!!!  I'm hoping running this shorter faster race will help me towards my sub 20 5k goal.  I think my training was more consistent (daily practice with a coach) in High School, but I feel stronger now and hopefully this will help me match or beat my old PR.  Sub 11 would be a-freak-ing-mazing (another dream of mine since HS).

   Anyone who is located close to NYC should definitely consider doing these races with me, I am psyched up :D

The Armory is also home to the National Track and Field Hall of Fame Museum

Proceeds from the Thursday Night Races go towards the Armory Foundation.  From the website:

   "The Armory Foundation, a NYC not-for-profit and home to the premier indoor track and field center in America, is committed to serving youth by promoting excellence and fitness through a broad range of athletic, educational and community programs. 

    The Armory Foundation's primary emphasis is reaching and motivating the youth of all five boroughs by offering them competitive track and field activities and broadening their horizons with computer classes, college preparation programs and a variety of cultural and school-coordinated educational activities.

     The Armory Foundation promotes excellence, fitness and community by hosting over 100 track events each year, maintaining the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, operating the largest after school activity center in New York and offering a variety of community support programs in its world class facility."

LOVE that! 

    This morning I did some incline/ speed intervals (20 mins) and and two fast, but controlled miles (7 min pace), I really want to see what kind of speed I can bring to this race :D

Semis: Renzo Dy Brazil

Move Over Candice Swanepoel

  My dreams of being a bikini model are becoming a reality!!

   Those of you that follow Chris K and Kovas know of the shizat show going on between their blogs, and if you don't you should!  Endless minutes of amusement :D

    I'm not in the mood for details (go check it out at their bloggys), but I've been named Miss June for the 2011 Mom Blogger Swimsuit Calendar (Runner's Edition)* to benefit the SUAR recovery fund**.


   Celebration dance:

  I'm certain the offers will be rolling in once this calendar hits the public eye.  I'm pretty sure I'll be the newest VS Angel by this time next year. ***

These Chicks. . .

Old News.

* Not a real calendar (or is it ;)

** Not a real fund

*** Completely Serious

Other News:

This is what I think of the Jets Game

Semis: Kyle Jiz De Ortega

"Don't Let Your Dreams Be Dreams"

   This would have been a fitting title for my last post (thank you for all your support :)!

   The above quote comes from a Jack Johnson song and it is what I chose to put on my bumper stickers (or inspiration stickers as I'm calling mine :D) from BuildASign.com!!!  

      Like many of you in the running/ triathlon blog community I was contacted by Meagan from BuildASign about designing a product/products and reviewing the site.  I clicked on over to the site and got caught up for over an hour playing around with sticker designs.  
       The site is super easy to use and there are so many options, I definitely could have spent a lot more time designing stuff, but as soon as I put this baby together:

     I knew I had to have it!  

    This quote had been swimming around in my head all week, as I was thinking about my goals for 2011 and how they were all things I had dreamed about doing for a long time now.  Things I'd dreamed of but had not fully committed to doing yet either due to fear or how far away they seemed, this is my year to do!  I hadn't actually listened to the song in a while, but it popped into my head, "Don't Let Your Dreams Be Dreams."  So short and sweet, yet so sooo meaningful.

     I added that little picture of Nolan because he looks very deep in thought, he has the world in front of him and so much potential.  I will fully encouraged and support him in following his dreams as he grows up and I deserve to fully support and encourage myself in following mine!

As soon as it arrived I stuck it on my 2011 Training Log (I forgot that I'd gotten this [Thanks You Target $1 section!] and re-discovered it 2 days ago :D)

It was MADE to be there

I could stare at this prettiness all day, but I won't because I'm going to be out there achieving every goal I set and making new ones!!

Thank you Meagan and BuildASign.com (go check it out :D) for giving me this opportunity.

   If anyone would like one I'd be happy to mail some out, I have a bunch so leave a comment with your email or drop me an email at Nolan1009 @ gmail.com

Go out there and chase down your dreams.

Happy With Where I'm Headed

   Last night some of you may have noticed a short post that quickly disappeared, I had written it while I drowning my stress in Mojitos and it wasn't very quality.

   Pretty much the last two days were hell for me. 

   A little Background:
        I've been subbing for the past three years, since getting my bachelors in Elementary Ed.  The district I sub for uses an online system, I log in, click "search for jobs" and any available jobs will be listed.  Jobs are often listed days ahead of time for teachers who have meetings or other events they know about in advance, so I don't have to do the "wake up to a call at 5:30 in the morning asking me to sub."
    My first year subbing I worked almost everyday, last year (my 2nd yr) my son was in half-day preschool so I  ended up working an average of 3 days a week based on my dad's availability to help.  This year my desire to teach has gone with the wind and I only sub maybe 2-3 days a week for some extra income.
     With the online system I can try and pick classes that I've had before and enjoyed.   But since the Christmas vacation I had not worked a single day and figured I should try and get some days in.  When two days in a row popped up for the same 5th grade class I jumped on it even though I'd never subbed for them before.

     Cue Wednesday morning, I'm walking down to the classroom 30 minutes before the kids arrive.  On the way there I run into my friend who is also the Art teacher and she asks whose class I have.   "I'm in for  blah blah blah."   Immediately she gets a "good luck with THAT" look on her face and says, "Lemme just give you a heads up, they're obnoxious for everyone so don't take offense to it.  I dread every Tuesday morning that I have them.  Mrs. XYZ doesn't even know what to do with them"

   Oh yeah, it's gonna be a good two days.


  Synopsis:
      They were just as disrespectful as my friend said they would be.  Many of them would just look at me when I asked them to stop doing something and keep doing it or talk back to me.  These kids were in 5th grade and talking about watching the Jersey Shore.  What parent lets there 10 year old watch the Jersey Shore??!!?    I just felt very powerless to do anything, I had already taken away recess (as the teacher instructed) for some of them and they still didn't care.  I guess I could have contacted the principal but I did not want to cause a commotion.  The only good parts of both days was silent reading (they actually were silent for this), where I got to read my ACE manual (modeling :D).
 
     Both days I went home with a raging headache, on Wednesday I attempted to run on the treadmill after work, I made it 2 miles.  The bouncing up and down and the up tempo music (which usually gets me through my treadmill runs) only exacerbated my headache.  Any kind of blogging was out of the question, I couldn't even think straight.

     Last night as I was telling Matt about my day he told me to stop subbing.  We have already discussed the idea that I don't want to pursue a career in teaching anymore and the past two days sealed the deal.  It was never my life long dream to be a teacher, it just seemed a viable option in college when I was unsure about what I wanted to do.  

     We talked about sticking to my plan of concentrating on getting my certification this spring, working at the beach for the summer and finding a training job for September.  This makes me extremely happy!


    Helping people become active and lose weight has long been a dream of mine, ever since  losing 50 lbs as a 13 year old and progressing from barely able to walk a mile to running sub 6 miles.  I would LOVE to work with kids in this capacity and I think a lot of the things I learned while earning my teaching degree will benefit me as a trainer.


Sorry some of this was a bit rant-y, I needed to vent some built up stress and anxiety from the past few days.  


   Overall I see my recent experience as a positive thing because it helped confirm that I am doing the right thing for myself, my family and my happiness.

Semis: Mark Rosales