Two Jobs and Marathon Training

The second half of the year has been hectic to say the least. Right before the marathon, I lost one of the best jobs I've ever had. It wasn't a job that I planned on staying at forever but it was one that I loved everyone I worked with. I went through a little bit of depression where I just didn't do anything. I had a hard time getting off of my couch and that's just not me. I finished training for my marathon and less then a month later I started a new career. 

With being off for almost 4 months this past year, and having a wedding, and having to purchase another vehicle, we are playing a little catch up (but who isn't?)  Not much, but I wanted to be saving more then I am. So what happens when you want to save more? You spend less (obviously) but I took on a second job. It was just supposed to be a job that I would get 1-3 days a week, mainly on weekends. It's retail as well and back to school these next couple of weeks. So with that, I am working 3 nights and a full Saturday on top of my "real job." Will I be tiered? Yes. I'm also a little bummed that I'll be working on our one year anniversary of marriage as well, but hopefully I'll be off on Sunday to celebrate with my husband. 

So what will this week bring? 

- A day of working both jobs

-A day of working one job then anniversary pictures in the city with my newlywed husband 

-A day of working and helping some friends and family train for a 5k

-Two more days of both jobs. 

-And a weekend day of a second job

The next six days are going to be rough but I think I have it figured out. On top of working, I will be getting to 3 Crossift classes and a Spin Class (if possible). I also have my gym bag packed and ready incase my second job decided to call me off for a night. I also prepped. EVERYTHING. meals. Outfit prepping. Done. 

I like easy food to pack on the go. 

I'm making my outfits versatile so I don't have to change before my second job. Business enough for work, casual enough for retail. 

I know it may be seem like I do much because I don't have children per say, but I have two fur children and a house to take care of. I need to be prepped and ready to take on the week. I'm very thankful for my husband that takes care of laundry, cleaning, and the animals while I'm working and training. He does so many things in the house with out me asking him. 

Happy one year husband. Thanks for making me your wife. 

What's on your schedule for this week? 

July is over. Thank you.

This has been one of the hardest posts I've had to write. I didn't do much in July. July is usually a rest month for me because of the humidity and heat. This July was different. I did my first triathlon. 

I'm not going to get into much but I finished. That was my only goal. I've made many plans and goals for August, by July I'm usually burned out and drained. The same thing happened this year. I did one 5k and one tri. I call that a success. 

I'm currently training for the LucyTown Half marathon. I'm very excited about this because one of my best friends will be running with me for her first half. Also, my husband and one of my other best friends will be doing their first 5ks. This will also be one of the first weekend trips that I've had in years. 

Our only goal is to finish. We will not be concerned with times or killing ourselves. Finishing is enough for this half. It's her first half so I'll push her further on the next one. 

Rusty Wings

I announced earlier today that I would not be participating in the Olympic distance tri for Pittsburgh this August. Originally, it was the last weekend in July but because of a concert it was moved to the first week of August. This race would have been .90 miles swimming, 25miles biking and 6.1 miles running. I have been training since January and one of my last needed items came in the mail last week.

 

Sunday, I got to go out for my first open water swim. I was nervous but I did okay. I went with a friend from CrossFit and she led me through pointers and the most wonderful tips. (Now, I started swimming when I was 3 or 4 and swam on a team until I was 12. When I was in 7th grade I had to chose between swimming and soccer. I chose soccer.) I knew this swim would do one of two things--show me I'm ready for August or show me I'm not ready for August. As we got ready to start swimming, Lynn let me know that the length was .10 of a mile and on my first day out it would be great if I could swim at least a length without stopping. I couldn't. I would get about half way and need to catch my breath. She showed me ways to glide through the water so that I wouldn't tire myself out but I still had to stop. I was fortunate that I was in an area that me feet could touch the bottom and there weren't creatures. 

We talked about me asking to change it to a sprint tri but after thinking about it, I decided that I would at least tri to get my money back or defer it.  If that didn't work than I would try to switch to Saturday and so the sprint. If none of those worked...well, I would have practice, practice, practiced and swam my little heart out. I know I could have finished but not in the time that I wanted. So, Friends of the Riverfront were nice enough to let me defer to next year. I know that doesn't happen often.  I'm not going to lie, I almost cried with sadness when I got the email saying that it was okay to be defered. I had my heart set on this but I have to listen to my body first. 

After thinking about it though, 5 years ago I couldn't run a half mile and less than two months ago I ran over 26 miles. It will take a little more time but next year I'll cross that finish line. 

Swim on friends... 

I Love Lucy. And some other things.

I hope everyone is having a great month! Things have been a little hectic with my new job and training that I haven't made it here lately. I have some great news though...I was asked to blog for another race! I am so excited because it's 20 minutes away from my best friend's home town. I'll be running the Lucy Town Half Marathon in Jamestown,  NY.  It's roughly about 3 hours from Pittsburgh. My best friend, Katrina,  has even offered to run her first half with me! My husband and our other best friend will be running their first 5k.

For how much they have supported me in the past year, I can't wait to stand at the finish line waiting for them.  Not many friends will wake up at 3am to take you to a race that they'll have to stand for over 5 hours at. 

This passed weekend was a big one for me. First, we had a big CrossFit day Saturday with 3 WODS. 

WOD 1: Clean Ladder -This is where you keep going up in weigh until you can't. I made it to 105lbs.

WOD 2: 21-18-15-12-9-6-3 wall balls 14lbs• deadlift 135lbs •Kettle bell swings 35lbs

WOD 3: 7 Minutes of solid burpees

Yesterday, I had my first open water swim.  This was a huge deal for me. I know how to swim, let me clear that up. I'm terrified of fish. Why? I don't know. I just am. I've only been to the beach twice and I never found it necessary to get in the water. I went with a friend from CrossFit and she gave me some awesome pointers. I was so lucky to have someone so paitent and knowledgeable to help me. 

So that was my weekend. I took a much needed break today and I'll be back at doing something tomorrow. 

Have a great week!

New Month, New Goals

I love when a new day, month, or year starts. I love making goals and seeing where everything goes in the month. It's so good to have a new start on things. 

This month's goals are a little more laid back. 

Main Goals:Swim 1 mile and bike 26 miles. 

Smaller goals: Have everything that I need for my first triathlon in August. 

I started a new job last week so this is my first official month of it. I will be focusing on work but since it's only 5 minutes from home, I'll also have time to focus on training. I really need to get back to my 2 workouts a day for the tri. I still do CrossFit 3 days a week and lift when I get the chance. I'm really going to focus on this triathlon. 

I bought some new reads to get me into gear. I can't decide which magazine I like more but I'm leaning towards Runner's World. 

I have a jam packed month ahead with our good friend coming home from SF this week, an Air Show in the next town over from mine, next Saturday we're road tripping to the Fiesta Outlet for their tent sale, my first CrossFit Compition is in 2 weeks a long with my older brother's wedding, and our little cousin's 6th birthday. Out of all that, I have 1 Saturday and Sunday to myself. It's going to be a crazy month. 

My other goals this month are to have more nights like these: 

I love spending time with these two. I can't wait for a summer full of camp fires and cooking on the grill with my little family.  We recently bought a new vehicle so I'm sure we're going to have lots of traveling and adventures in there. 

What are your summer goals? 

What are you looking forward too this month? 

Purelyft-The Clean Caffine

Lately, I've been looking for new products to try. I usually drink 2-4 cups of coffee a day and I'm trying to cut back. I recently came across Purelyft.

Purelyft is a clean caffeine with zero calories and isn't made with any artificial preservatives and sweeteners. It does have a funny taste so you don't have to worry about it. Actually, I couldn't taste it at all. 

My favorite part was that I didn't feel jittery. It only has as much caffeine as a tall cup of coffee so it isn't too much to make your heart race. 

I paired it with coconut water. This was actually the first time I had coconut water too. 

How does it work?

It's like a wand so I put some coconut water in a glass and just stired it in. 

And drink! 

You can find this product at www.purelyft.com. 

You can also find it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/purelyft 

Twitter @purelyft 

Have you tried this product? 

What do you think of it? 

The Importance of Rest

Training season gets exhausting. Usually, on my off season I try to take a 1 week break from exercising a month. By a one week break, I mean 3 or less workouts with only one being an exhausting workout. During training on or off season I'll take a rest day or two but with that I'm exercising 2, sometimes 3 times a day. So realistically speaking there are no rest days if you're getting 8 workouts in a 7 day week. 

Here was my week last week:

Monday: Swim

Tuesday:Rest

Wednesday: Walk with Jessica and Owen

CrossFit afterwards: 

5 rounds 8 power cleans (75#) 12 knees to elbows 24 double unders 

Thursday: rest

Friday: rest

Saturday: Rest My twin sister graduated from college! 

So that was last week. I didn't do that the week after the marathon because I didn't want to be sore. Today, I will start back up to CrossFit because I have classes to make up and I feel ready and strong. 

Sometimes you need a break. We all have lives, jobs, pets, kids. You need to give your body a break. When you start to dread that workout, take a couple of days off. You'll feel better and more well rested in the end. 

What is your training schedule like? 

Do you take rest weeks?