catching up

So last week was my vacation to florida, took some time off and enjoyed life a little. I would catch you up on all the stuff I did there but its just too much to recap. So I will start fresh with these weeks monday workout.

Today we did:
100m sprint
rest 30s
100m shuttle (cutback at the 50m)
rest 45s
6 sets

I felt good after the workout and felt like I recovered quickly after it was done. I am working a soccer camp right now during the day so I'm basically on my feet from 6am to 11pm. I'm exhausted and as preseason gets closer and closer I find myself really overwhelmed with how much I think I need to accomplish between now and then. I think its time to write a pretty intense to do list. Well I'm off to bed, night night!

K in A

Today was a great day. I stepped on the track kicked in the the you know what and left. I know the track will be feeling that one for a couple of days...i felt like the workout this morning was effortless...ok I might be exaggerating but I was very happy with the outcome.

6x200m 38 sec each
active recovery jog 200m after every other one and 2 min rest after every 2

Today I didn't lift because my knee is still bothering me and I'm think I might take it easy this week on the legs so that I wont need a knee replacement when I'm 22. I'll most likely be focusing on running, arms, and core. The thought of having to do more push ups then we did this spring is nauseating so I have to get better at them. Anyways, I'm running around like crazy today getting ready for my trip to Florida, I leave tomorrow so I'll be doing the second half of my workouts this week in Florida....as if its not hot enough in NC. I'm off to bed, bye for now!

do or die

Today I felt like I couldn't stop moving...this was after I got my "second wind" however. The day started with what was going to be a 6am wake up and 6:15 workout but even when I thought I had accounted for enough time I was still wrong. Today was sarah's graduation and because of the new ceremony location on Carolina's campus, we were literally walking out of the house at 8:45....for a 10am graduation. Needless to say I was not thrilled about the idea of sitting in a chair for an hour waiting for the ceremony to start so I could sit for another 2 hours. Anyways the actually ceremony went great the guest speaker was hilarious and Sarah (my little sister) WON AN AWARD.  You should have seen my mom I thought I was going to have to find a beach towel to dry off those water works. I'm going to hate to see what an emotional wreck she is at Sarah's wedding haha. Well graduation was followed by a nice lunch at the Washington Duke. I had forgotten to eat breakfast that day so when 1pm rolled around and we were just sitting down to lunch I was starting to struggle. I downed three pieces of bread in about a minute when the waitor brought the bread baskets. Lunch was great, we definetly laughed quite a bit especially at the expense of my mother...haha how she has put up with me all these years is beyond me...

After lunch I threw on some athletic clothes and went straight to the gym. With no brian, Mer, or Zim there I really questioned just turning back around and heading for the pool but I knew if I didn't get this done I would kick myself for the rest of the day. Today's workout was 100% completely up to me, whatever I wanted to get out of today was my decision, there would be no pats on the back or encouragement I was definetly on my own. For people like Mer this is an everyday situation, for me its a rare moment and a weakness as well. I struggle when I'm not being held accountable and I like when there's always someone there to push me or tell me to do more so when I walked in I was lacking motivation. To shorten a long story, I left the gym on cloud nine today. I felt so good about what I accomplished and how hard I worked that I dont think the fatigue or exhaustion set in. Today was one of the hardest lifts of the week and the running wasn't easy either and it didn't even seem to phase me. How excited I was to have completed the lift and run by myself was a huge milestone and put me at a high for the rest of the day.

Here's what I did:
Pushups 3x10
Overhead split squat 3x6each (55-75lbs)
Pullups 3x5
Goblet squat 3x10 (50-60lbs)
DB single arm snatch 3x5e (35-45lbs)
DB 2 arm row 3x10 (25lbs)

Treadmill: speed 12 incline 1
sprint 18 sec
rest 30 sec
repeat 17 more times

The treadmill work I only planned on doing 10 to simulate the full field fitness test we do during preseason but after 10 I just kept saying 1 more or just make it to 14...15...16 and so on. I almost kick myself because I should have just done 20. Anways, the lift and run were followed by a 2.5 mile walk with my mom and sister after which the knee really started bothering me. I plan on icing for the rest of the night and taking it easy. No plans for tomorrow so who knows where I'll end up or what I'll end up doing. Bye for now!

filling the day

Today I woke up 20 minutes after my alarm went off...jumped out of bed and sprinted out the door trying to make it to hot yoga on time. Well I entered the address in the GPS and it said arrival time 9:04. For those of you who have done hot yoga before you are well aware that there is no strolling into the gym 5 minutes late...it starts with or without you and if your ass isn't planted on a yoga mat at 9am sorry better luck next time. I decided not to push my luck and instead ran some errands. I was still mad at myself for not making it on time but when I went home to check the website to see what other class times were open I found out that there wasn't even an avaliable class to go to this morning. Apparently the one day of the week they dont offer hot yoga at 9am is Thurs. Its times like those that you kinda luck out in a way. Anyways, the day wasn't ruined yet. Around 11:30 I met Brian for a pool workout. As I mentioned yesterday my knee has really been killing me so I was excited about being able to workout and not even think about my knee or how it would feel after. The pool workout was great, when its so hot like it has been recently and you get to swim in a cold pool it doesn't even feel like a workout. I practically cannon balled in...very inappropriate for a lap pool haha. Anyways here is the workout we did:

50m warm up
50m kick drills
50m one are pull
50m pull drills

25m easy free
25m sprint
rest 15 seconds
50m recovery
rest 45 seconds
repeat 8 times.

The easy free was replaced every two sets with a different stroke so we ended up doing breast stroke, butterfly, and backstroke as well. The 25m sprint and recovery were all completed in freestyle though.

After the swim, I went to the gym later that day and lifted. I was really happy with the lift it was hard but I felt good afterwards (probably because I didn't have to step foot on a track today) Today I did arms and core

a1)DB 1 arm row 3x8e (35-45lbs)
a2) hanging knee tucks 3x15

b1) DB alt overheard press 3x8e (25lbs)
b2) PB side crunches x10e

c1) single arm DB flat bench press 3x6e (35-45lbs)
c2) around the world hanging knee tucks 3x5e

d1) horizontal pull ups 3x10
d2) PB back extensions x15

circuit: 3 times through each
1) side planks with dips x10e
2) russian twists with slam ball x10e
3) touch touches with weight x20

After lifting I went straight to practice and coaches my first gk training of the year. I had the 2 keepers for 30 min and kinda had to make up a session off the top of my head. But I feel like it was good practice because you dont always know how much time you are going to have or if you are going to have a chance during practice to train the gk's so you just have to know enough to throw something together. It was good practice for sure. Well I'm off to bed I have a VERY early morning and then I have to get ready for my younger sister's high school graduation!!!! Congrats sarah!!! Alright im out. SEE YA!

You win some you lose some...

Well there you have it ladies and gentleman...today was my first "off" day on the track. And no I dont mean day off from running I mean OFF day. If this was my first summer of running I would probably have a sleepless night tonight and been in a horrible mood all day freaking out about how terribly out of shape I am. But lets face it this isn't my first rodeo...I know this is completely normal and understand that my body has to adjust. Last night I went to a summer league soccer practice and played on the field the entire time. For about an hour and a half I was running around, cutting, and at very rare times was actually sprinting. So today when I woke up to go to the track and could not bend my knee I knee this morning's workout was going to be a struggle. After finding out what exactly the workout would be my goals for the workout shifted from finish in the times given to JUST finish. I've been through ACL surgery and know what a normal amount of soreness or discomfort feels like and today was rough...I struggled through the warmup and just tried top get my knee warm enough to jog without a limp. Screw sprinting...I seriously just thought about power walking that shit. OH well. SO needless to say today was not my day...I ran like I haven't run a day this summer or a day this year to be honest...but that's okay. What it took me forever to realize through my summers of running is that you are going to have off days just like having off days in soccer practice you can have a bad day on the track that just doesn't go your way this doesn't mean I'm behind, out of shape, or a failure. As big as my ego is, in years past all these thoughts have crossed my mind after an off day. My knee has been killing me all day I went to the mall and was struggling so bad that my mom said "oh I wish I could just carry you." haha if you know my mom this would make you laugh out loud too. Its moments like those that I realize I need to lighten up and relax. Life is too short. SO as of right now I need to listen to my knee...who is ready to commit suicide without my permission. SO tomorrow is going to be some cross training. Here's the workout we did today.

400m shuttle (made the time)
300m active recovery
400m shuttle (missed)
standing rest
400m shuttle (missed)
300m active recovery
400m shuttle (missed)

Well im off to bed and getting up for hot yoga! Let's see how this goes. Bye for now!!

Getting the ball rolling...

Well here I am starting to get into the swing of things. I can officially say I have "gotten the ball rolling." With running and lifting becoming one of the everyday unchangeables now I am entering the second stage...keeping the ball rolling. This week I am kicking it up a notch by adding a fourth day of running. The lifting will still alternate between 3-4 days but the running is now at four. I'm ready for the challenge and the extra work. Along with the fourth day of running, this week I am adding hot yoga and ACTUALLY some soccer back in the mix. Its time to start acting like a soccer player again. (I dont think I ever stopped) but my feet have gotten a nice break from the cleats. I didn't post yesterday so first here's the track workout we started off the week with..

Monday:
200m in 40s
active recovery-jog 200m in 1-1:15min
200m in 40s
30 sec standing rest
2x100m "grinders" (build to 90% then cruise)
rest 2 min
Complete the entire set 3 times
*the 200m times become increasingly faster within the workout

Tuesday lift
Split squats 4x4each (115lbs-180lbs)
Alt. leg press 4x6each (270-295lbs)
Band walks 3x20yds
Hamstring let downs 3x5

Tuesday Running (treadmill)
completed at incline 1 and speed 12
20 on 20 off x4
rest 40s
20 on 20 off x4
rest 40s
20 on 20 off x4
rest 40s
40 on 20 off x2

The lift was short but I kept the weight pretty heavy and I ran right after so I felt okay about that. The run felt good, after a few of the sprints I felt like I was just getting them done one at a time and only intended on doing 10 at first but decided to throw 2 extra in because of how I felt. The only difficult part was the VERY little recovery and the very last sprints which were twice as long and the rest was the kept the same. I dont know if I could have done many more of those. I'm glad I got it over with and dont have to think about my workout anymore.

Well Im off in an hour or so to go coach my first practice. I'm assistant coaching a summer league team this summer and tonight is the first practice. Hopefully I dont make an ass of myself...pretty good chance I''ll will...oh well tomorrow is going to be a rough one since I'm adding in the hot yoga and some soccer workouts. Hopefully I will sleep well tonight because I've got a long day ahead of me tomorrow!

Catching up

Well I know I have been bad about posting these last couple of days but I'm catching up now to let you know how the training has been going. Wednesday I got up and made the miserable and always regretful drive to the track. I literally am in the car driving saying it will be over soon, after you're done you dont have to do anymore running for another 24 hours. It doesn't always work but somehow keeps me sane...not really even sure if it does that all too well these days...anyways here's what we did on the track.


5x300m

-the first 4 were completed in 60 seconds, for some of us *cough cough* ME that is booking it, my speed isn't where I want it to be quite yet but it will be there once the endurance increases. The 300's felt long and when brian told us the last one had to be in 57 I thought my legs were going to fall off. I have done these workouts for enough years to know that when running a 300 the first 100m is spent thinking about how bad the last 100m will be, the curve is where I get tired and the last stretch just flat out sucks. 300's also are short enough to still be able to sprint practically the whole thing but long enough where it feels like it will never end. that why I stick to 200's those are my jam.


anyways moving on...after the track I went home hung out until I met Zim back at the gym to lift. Zim has a big boy grown up job and has to squeeze working out in between conference calls, writing memo's, and punching numbers. Right now I'm "in between work" at the moment, hopefully some of these mom's will get tired of their kids soon and pay me to let them watch tv...I'm joking! I'm great at babysitting if the kids don't whine or cry or do anything remotely annoying. I'm rambling. Zim and I got a really good lift in together I am definitely still feeling it in the arms.

Pullers:

SA KB pulls- 3 sets of 8 each arm

Horizontal pull ups- 3 sets of 6

NG pull ups- 2 sets to failure

L- ups 3 sets

Med ball split jumps- 3 sets of 10-12 each leg

Standing alt. curl to press- 20 lbs. DBs 3 sets of 6 each arm

Ended with ab routine- 3 sets of planks with weight added and 3 sets of decline sand ball side to side abs.

After that I took another nightly walk with my best friend which is always a nice way to end the day. Most of the time I get to just vent and relax about the day but sometimes I'm so tired I just want to  highjack some kids scooter and take off. 

On to thursday.

Well thursday I got in the gym around 9 and asked meredith to put together a treadmill workout for me. Thursday was my speed day since I was planning on taking friday off. I told her to "take it down a notch" from the normal Meredith workouts because again it was speed day lots of short sprints with lots of rest. Well lesson learned, next time I will just get on the treadmill and make up something myself before I let her plan out anything again. She practically had me training to hike Mt.everest with the incline she put me on...my ass has been screaming at me for days now trying to figure out why it wont stop hurting. Once again, thanks meredith for the AWESOME (awful) speed day.

20sec on 40sec off (5 min)

    -incline 7 

    -speed 10.5/11

10sec on 20 sec off (10 min)

   -incline 10 

    -speed 11

10sec on 50sec off (5 min)

    -incline 15 

    -speed 11/11.5

20 sec on 40 sec off (2 min)

    -incline 5

    -speed 12

Needless to say that was enough workout for me for the day. I'm still feeling it, the plan is to start back on monday...sorry Memorial day but I will not be taking a day off to celebrate you...back to the grind. 

Catching up

Well I know I have been bad about posting these last couple of days but I'm catching up now to let you know how the training has been going. Wednesday I got up and made the miserable and always regretful drive to the track. I literally am in the car driving saying it will be over soon, after you're done you dont have to do anymore running for another 24 hours. It doesn't always work but somehow keeps me sane...not really even sure if it does that all too well these days...anyways here's what we did on the track.

5x300m
  
-the first 4 were completed in 60 seconds, for some of us *cough cough* ME that is booking it, my speed isn't where I want it to be quite yet but it will be there once the endurance increases. The 300's felt long and when brian told us the last one had to be in 57 I thought my legs were going to fall off. I have done these workouts for enough years to know that when running a 300 the first 100m is spent thinking about how bad the last 100m will be, the curve is where I get tired and the last stretch just flat out sucks. 300's also are short enough to still be able to sprint practically the whole thing but long enough where it feels like it will never end. that why I stick to 200's those are my jam.

anyways moving on...after the track I went home hung out until I met Zim back at the gym to lift. Zim has a big boy grown up job and has to squeeze working out in between conference calls, writing memo's, and punching numbers. Right now I'm "in between work" at the moment, hopefully some of these mom's will get tired of their kids soon and pay me to let them watch tv...I'm joking! I'm great at babysitting if the kids don't whine or cry or do anything remotely annoying. I'm rambling. Zim and I got a really good lift in together I am definitely still feeling it in the arms.

Pullers:

SA KB pulls- 3 sets of 8 each arm

Horizontal pull ups- 3 sets of 6

NG pull ups- 2 sets to failure

L- ups 3 sets

Med ball split jumps- 3 sets of 10-12 each leg

Standing alt. curl to press- 20 lbs. DBs 3 sets of 6 each arm

Ended with ab routine- 3 sets of planks with weight added and 3 sets of decline sand ball side to side abs.

After that I took another nightly walk with my best friend which is always a nice way to end the day. Most of the time I get to just vent and relax about the day but sometimes I'm so tired I just want to  highjack some kids scooter and take off. 

On to thursday.

Well thursday I got in the gym around 9 and asked meredith to put together a treadmill workout for me. Thursday was my speed day since I was planning on taking friday off. I told her to "take it down a notch" from the normal Meredith workouts because again it was speed day lots of short sprints with lots of rest. Well lesson learned, next time I will just get on the treadmill and make up something myself before I let her plan out anything again. She practically had me training to hike Mt.everest with the incline she put me on...my ass has been screaming at me for days now trying to figure out why it wont stop hurting. Once again, thanks meredith for the AWESOME (awful) speed day.

20sec on 40sec off (5 min)

    -incline 7 

    -speed 10.5/11

10sec on 20 sec off (10 min)

   -incline 10 

    -speed 11

10sec on 50sec off (5 min)

    -incline 15 

    -speed 11/11.5

20 sec on 40 sec off (2 min)

    -incline 5

    -speed 12

Needless to say that was enough workout for me for the day. I'm still feeling it, the plan is to start back on monday...sorry Memorial day but I will not be taking a day off to celebrate you...back to the grind. 

Your heart can't tell the difference

Today was what I would consider a day filled with what I would call "unpredicted exercise" I slept in today (sorry Zim!!!) since running wasn't on the schedule I figure I could go get a lift in at any time of the day. I came in the gym around noon and turned right back around and headed with Brian to the pool. We got a great workout in and I was happy that it didn't put any stress on my body. Here's the workout we did:

200m swim
rest 20 seconds
50m sprint
rest 20 sec
50m sprint
rest 20 sec
50m sprint

Complete set 3 times

After the swim I hung out and caught up on my tv shows (my favorite couch potatoe thing to do) and then headed to the DA soccer field for some ball work. My dad was nice enough to come along and time me. He's the greatest, good ol' PK. So here's what I did there:

1 min thigh juggling
60 step ups on the ball
10 pushups
25 crunches
Inside/Outside corver move
rest 1 minute
1 min foot juggling
40 jumps front to back over the ball
Dribble the ball with sole of the foot
10 pushups
rest 1 minute
40 jumps side to side over the ball
1 min head juggling
Inside/Inside/Out corver move
10 pushups
25 crunches
1 min juggling (any surface)

After that I went to Nicole's house and went on a LONGGG walk with her. We walked from her house to my house and then back to her house, on the end of the walk it started raining so our casual walk turned into a run. The street we had to run on was of course uphill which for those who know me running uphill on any type of incline whatsoever is my least favorite thing to do ever.  It was definitely not the way I wanted to finish the walk but oh well sh*t happens.

Well the night ended with Nicole and I attempting to make protein muffins/cupcakes and they were TERRIBLE. I took one bite and wanted to throw up in my mouth (graffic enough for you?) We watched the glee season finale which was also TERRIBLE by the way. Apparently I'm some sort of tv and food critic now but anyways i'm off to bed, I have to be on the track by 7am. (vom-bomb)
 Bye for now!!

The show goes on...

Today was the start of a new week which means the dreaded feeling in the pit of my stomach Sunday night as I think about the 4 days of running to come. I woke up at 5:40 this morning and considered so many times to just roll over and sleep 'til noon but I kept thinking about how crappy I would feel the rest of the day and how much shit Brian would give me. So up I went jumped in the car and made the commute back to Durham (once again I'm still moving my stuff back home). I drove straight to the track regretting the decision to get up the entire time. Nevertheless I sucked it up and did it. Here's the workout we did today:

1200m in 5:39min
8x 100yds sprints (2 in 18 sec, 4 in 16s, 2 in 14s)

After finishing the run I was very happy to have that out of the way and didn't have to think about it for the rest of the day. I decided to wait until later to lift so that Zim and I could lift at the same time. Its always easier when he's there, and its nice when someone gets my intensity. So with some time to kill I went home took an awesome nap and then hit the pool to swim some laps and do some stretching in the pool. After that I headed to the gym, the lift was a bit make shift because I have currently misplaced my lift packet haha fortunatley I had a packet from this winter break still in my car haha here's the workout:

A) Split squat 5x3e (95lbs, 115lbs, 135lbs, 155lbs, & 175lbs)

B1) DB 1 arm row 3x6e (40lbs)
B2) Physioball knee tucks x15

C1) 2 DB squat to press 3x10 (35lbs each)
C2) PB bucks x 20

The lift felt pretty good, my legs feel strong but my arms still need improvement, during the season we use pushups as a punishment in practice frequently so I want to be stronger in my upper body.

After the lift I went and had a great dinner at my friend Nicole's house and then we went on a walk. I was happy that I was able to fill the day with a lot of exercise. Since I am not yet working I have a lot of free time and not a lot of cash so I need to use the time wisely haha. I'm about ready to sell my blood for a pair of new nike's. Well thats a problem for another day. I'm off to bed. Bye for now!

I think I'll stick to soccer...

Today was a day filled with lots of learning moments some good and some bad. I woke up and moved a dresser, TV and a desk into my car BY MYSELF...no need to get a lift in the gym today got my workout as a furniture mover. After driving the car back to Durham once again...for the millionth time I went to the track to run. 

The workout was good but I'm still kicking myself for not pushing myself harder. I did the bare minimum and that has never been how I operate. After three years of getting on the track and pushing myself to run circles around that stupid thing I've learned a lot about how to reflect on what I did and what to take from each workout. Today I wasn't myself and know that I didn't get that good feeling after finishing the workout. I know that cutting it short wont get me anywhere this summer and isn't worth all the time and effort I put into getting fit. While I'm not happy with the workout I'm glad it happened now, this early into the summer... as much as I want to do one less rep or set next time it will help me suck it up and do it. No matter how much I bitch and complain I will hold myself accountable better. Anyways here's the workout we did today:

3x800's each in 3:25

1:40 rest in between each

All of the other girls did 4 and I let myself get by and convinced myself doing three was okay. I wasn't satisfied afterwards and have been thinking about it all day. I can make excuses all day but I really do hate 800's they are the absolute worst run to do...getting around that track once and knowing you have to do ANOTHER lap is so mentally straining. But I'm better than that...and have higher standards that I lowered today. Anyways today is today and will be over and done with...tomorrow is a new day. 

I'm was really excited to visit my friend Nicole today I was going to bring her brownies because she just had surgery but I FAILED...failed MISERABLY at baking them. I called my mom and told her that being a housewife or baker will never "my calling" and I hope I make a lot of money one day so I can hire someone to cook for me. The brownies were terrible and horrible tasting so I gave up and told Nicole I would bring her something STORE BOUGHT tomorrow haha. seriously who messes up brownies...gahhh i'm sticking with soccer for now

Anyways....I'm happy its the weekend...not that it really matters anymore because its summer and school is out. But I am going to sleeeeeep in tomorrow and wake up whenever my body tells me to because this first week of workouts has really exhausted me. Its nice that I have had the liberty to just workout this week and let my body adjust to all the extra exercise. I have lots to do tomorrow but really really want to get in a recovery jog or a swim if possible...one of the best parts of the summer is the ability to cross train and experiment with various training styles....sooooo dorky I know. Fellow athletes I KNOW you feel the same. haha that comment didn't make me any cooler well im off to bed night night!

Snooze

Well I knew I was going to be sore today but I was not expecting to feel like I got hit by a bus today. Holy Moley!! The soreness from this week's lifts and runs set in today and boy was it a kick in the pants. My response to the soreness was the snooze button. I felt like I could have slept all day today and I know Meredith would consider this utter laziness but every extra minute of sleep was worth it. It took my mom five times of walking into my room and about 1000 snooze button hits to finally get out from underneath the covers. Finally after waking from the dead around 12pm I got up and got some breakfast (Bruegger's bagels) my ABSOLUTE favorite food in the whole entire world!!! After that I finally hit the gym and did something with my life. Today was upper body and core and I am definitely going to feel it tomorrow. I probably wont be able to lift my hands above my head actually.

A1) DB 1 arm row 4 sets of 6e (35-40lbs)
      A2) plank with a 10-25lb plate on my back (30sec)

B1) pushups 3 sets of 12
     B2) Toe touches with DB (8lbs) x 10

C1) Pullups 3 sets of 5
     C2) hanging knee tucks x 20

D) Horizontal pullups 3 sets of 10

Circuit (2 sets of each)
1) bicycle crunches x 20
2) side plank dips x 20
3) russian twists with extension (12lbs) x 10e

It was a good lift and it was good to get a lot of core work into my workout. After sustaining a major knee injury last year I know how important a strong core is and how it decreases your risk for injury, I hate doing core work but know its good for me.
Well I just had the best smoothie ever and now I've got to get to work on unpacking and hopefully get to go visit my best friend who just had surgery. Hopefully I will be able to get this stuff done while my family is at a banquet for my sister tonight so my mom will stop nagging me!. Lots to do!! Well I'm off bye for now!

Wrong turn

Well this is my second post of the day...typically I will probably keep things to one post a day but I felt like tonight was worth blogging about. I had a really nice dinner with my family at Hope Valley, the meal was filled with a lot of laughs, a few sarcastic comments from my side and even a spilled glass of wine....things are never calm or normal with my family haha anyways after a really great dinner I decided to go on a 2-3 mile run, the weather was great and I figured after all short distance speed work today a slow run wouldn't hurt, especially since I'm only lifting tomorrow and not running again until Friday. Well a 2-3 mile run is typically my limit when it comes to endurance runs because I HATE long distance but because my pace wasn't fast I wasn't too worried about it. Well because of my poor sense of direction...and when I say poor sense of direction I mean absolutely NO sense of direction, my run turned into 5miles. I swear every time I took what I thought was a short cut it turned into a "long cut" and added more and more onto my run. I was gone for a little less than an hour, and returned when it was pitch black outside. I figured because I was gone so long and because I was still out there when it got dark, my dad would be waiting at the door or my mom would be filling a missing persons report. I walked in the house expecting to get scolded a bit for running alone in the dark, being gone so long etc...but no none of this happened none of my family even knew I was gone nor cared. I went in my parents room and said, "dad I was just gone for an hour running and you guys didn't even notice." my dad responded by saying "What's your name again?" SO with that said now I know who NOT to call when I'm stranded on the side of the road or in a ditch somewhere! Well I'm going to go watch real world and put some ice on my knee! I'm definitely going to feel five miles of running on asphalt tomorrow morning! Enjoy the night sleep well!

***I would like to file a disclaimer/apology on how poor my grammar and run on sentences are. I try to write as I think and reflect on what I'm writing about so my sentences come out like my train of thought. Remember I am not an English major and this blog was not meant to work on grammatical improvement! I hope you can still understand what I'm trying to say most of the time and frankly just deal with it! haha okay enough said you get the picture. Bye-bye!

Home again

So finally after shuttling back and forth between Durham and Greensboro I am FINALLY back in Durham for the summer! I have a TON of unpacking to do, I filled a toyota sequoyah to the brim with clothes, shoes, and trashbags full of all my crap. I still have a few things left in Greensboro but I will move that out with the final clean out of the house in a week or so. After driving back to Durham I once again drove straight to the gym and got in a workout before I even thought about trying to unpack. Because it is so early in the process I have the ability to alternate days of lifting and running and dont have to double up quite yet. So needless to say I am taking full advatage of that. Today was speed work so lots of short sprints (from 5-40yds long) with a variety of starts and cuts. It was meant to work on speed and technique not really fitness. There was a lot of rest between sprints but all of them were max speed. Anyways, I have basically everything to unpack so I will be doing that for the next few hours! I'm sure I'll be doing core later and probably going on a walk with my mom later. Well im off bye for now!

the first 3

As a rising senior I have gone through the grueling summer workouts for 3 years now and to some degree you never really get used to it but on the other hand with the experience come the ability to know what to expect, when to expect it and how to get through it. What I consider the worst part of the preseason preparations is the "the first 3" also known as the first three weeks of running. With this only being week 1 you might understand why I feel like there's a long road ahead of me...don't get me wrong these running workouts and fitness sessions dont magically become easy after week 3 but after about 3-4 weeks I typically have established a firm fitness base and am able to build progressively. The first three weeks are the constant realization of how truly out of shape I am and how much work I need to do. EVERYTHING becomes a constant reminder of how many more times I have to set my alarm for 6am to get up and run around a track until I puke or die. However with the age and experience comes the ability to mentally push harder and further than before, how to mentally wrap your head around the workout you are about to complete. While fitness is a great deal of physical preparation its just as big of a mental game. Well with that said, I got up and got a lift in around 9am because I had to make a trip back to greensboro to get the rest of my stuff packed. So I took today as my off day (in the beginning I usually only run 3-4 times a week). It actually worked out very well because the lift I did had a bit of cardio involved and unfortunately I am already feeling the soreness quicking in....this is NEVER a good sign when you are only 2 hours out from completing the lift. Anyways here's what I did:

15 min of as many sets as possible of:

                   A1) 1 Dumbbell overhead reverse lunge (8 reps each leg with 25 lbs) 

                   A2) Dumbbell 2 arm row (8 reps with 25lbs)

B1) pushups 3 sets of 10

B2) PB single leg curl (3 sets of 10 each leg)

The lift was short because I was a little pressed for time. I am going to do some core later and probably go out and kick around a bit. Bye for now!

And the summer begins...

Week 3 of the summer workout began today...but I think saying its week 3 is a bit misleading. I would consider this the first REAL week of summer training because I'm back at home for the summer and the running workouts are starting. I threw most of my clothes into about 8 trash bags, loaded them in the car and drove to Durham. I threw on some running shoes and headed straight for the gym..

Today's lift was a new one...there seems to be a two week long pattern in the packet so lifts are the same for 2 weeks and then progress from there. Today's lift wasn't too bad except for the workout started with front squats....I HATE front squats! I felt good about the lift but I think my depth needs to be better on the front squats. I'm so eager to do as much weight as possible I need to remember its worthless if the form isn't good...dont get me wrong I've been lifting since I was 16 so I know how the exercises are supposed to be done but its hard because I'm so damn competitive the want to lift more sometimes trumps everything else. Well enough blabbering here's what I did today...

A1) Front squat 4 sets of 3 (95lbs-135lbs)

    A2) plank hold 30 seconds 

B1) RDL 3 sets of 3 (115lbs-135lbs)

    B2) PB knee tucks

C1) Barbell Row 3 sets of 3 (65lbs-75lbs)

    C2) Barbelll OH press (55lbs)

Finished with shoulder and hip prehab exercises...works on muscle activation in the back, shoulder, and hip flexors

After lifting I did a treadmill workout...the sky opened up and absolutely poured so running outside was out of the question. The workout consisted of:

8 200m intervals at speed 11. I basically ran for 40 seconds and rested for 40 seconds and repeated that 8 times. I took 20 seconds of extra rest after finishing 6 reps and then 10 seconds extra rest before number 8. My intended goal was 8 200's but after running the first 2 6 seemed like a more attainable goal so I was happy to finish all 8 even with a little extra rest. 

Well I'm back at home and waiting for my mom to finish making dinner and I'm starving!!! She wants to take a walk before dinner so I will probably be suckered into a 2 mile walk as well. At this point I need all the exercise I can get! (My fitness base is reallllly low right now) I'm interested to see how I will feel when I wake up tomorrow, thats always a good (or bad) indicator of where I'm at physically. Well I'm off to try and hurry dinner along. Bye for now!

First Post and First Blog

Like I stated in my "about me" section my name is Kelsey and I'm a rising senior headed into the summer before my final season as a collegiate athlete. This summer comes with a lot of grueling hours on the track, in the gym, and on the field in preparation for preseason. This blog will be my training and activity log as a way to keep track of what I'm doing, how I'm doing, and the progress I make. I hope to make my posts as interesting and fun as possible! But no judging my grammatical and spelling errors! I'm not English major haha. Enjoy!!

Moving on...I have a ton on errands to run before I head to my best friend Nicole's 21st birthday!!!! I am very excited to celebrate with her but I have a lot to take care of before then.

This week was my first week of the summer workout packet that the team got from our coaches. Week 1 consisted of 2 day of lifting and 2 days of running workouts. The lifts were on the lighter side and the running was interval work. Typically I will be more specific with the details of each workout but I'm just recapping the last week. Well I'm off to knock out the things on my to-do list. Bye for now!