Insanity!

Two weeks ago, I switched over from weights to HIIT cardio to cross train for the marathon. I did this for a few reasons. I got a little bored with the weights and wasn’t really looking forward to my workouts as much anymore since I can’t go heavy (I’m limited to the weights I have at home since weights are still not available for purchase anywhere.) The same moves every other day were also getting boring and monotonous and I was no longer feeling like I had an effective workout - the soreness has dissipated and the results were stagnant. Another reason was to finish my workouts sooner. With weights it would take a few hours to finish a good lifting session. With HIIT, I’m easily dead within the first 10 minutes of the warmup.

I haven’t done HIIT cardio in a while so I figured I’d give it a shot again to switch things up. Welp, it’s still as difficult as it is every time I start up these workouts. I just finished week 2 and it was definitely hard but I’m feeling good! In the past two weeks, I’ve definitely noticed progress from the first time I did the workout circuits compared to the 2nd and 3rd rounds this week of each circuit. My first few days, I was out of breath a lot and finding myself needing to take more breaks and rests than usual to recover before continuing on, but this week I found myself doing the total opposite and being able to continue through the workout more seamlessly without interruption. I was able to finish strong.

In the past I’ve never recorded my Insanity workouts because I was self-conscious of my form and my stomach chub bouncing around. I feel more confident this time around since I’ve been recording my gym workouts for the past 2 years, so I started doing these workouts live on Instagram and saving them to my IGTV. At first I thought to myself that I would probably fall off the wagon after 3 weeks because of how hard these workouts are. No lie, they still definitely are, but I think doing them live on IG is really helping me stay consistent, accountable and on schedule. I still can’t say with 100% confidence that I’ll finish out the full 60 days but I do want to try and stick through it and get as far as I can. Maybe it’s too soon to say this but this time around, I feel like I don’t hate HIIT workouts as much as I used to.

And because I do these workouts live, once I press play, I focus all my energy on the entire workout until it’s complete. So I spend a lot less time resting, and no wasted time mindlessly scrolling on my phone during those rests and thus, finish my workout much faster than a lifting session. Don’t get me wrong, I still love weightlifting, but I’m enjoying this change of pace for right now. I love being done with my workout in under 45 minutes compared to 2-3 hours or lifting (although if I get to the second month of Insanity, those videos are an hour long! RIP me). The numbers on the scale are still stagnant unfortunately, but I am definitely seeing visible results in the mirror. If you watch my first video of the Insanity series on my IGTV, you’ll see I’m looking very bloated and the chub is visible. As the videos progress, the definition on my stomach gets better since a lot of the workouts call for a focus on your core as well. So no complaints here.

I’m still running as well on top of the HIIT workouts. Currently I’m running every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, with Saturday reserved for long runs and Sunday for long walks to help recover from Saturday’s damage. I’m logging my results with a Facebook group of Disney runners all training for the WDW Marathon/Goofy and Dopey Challenges to further help keep me accountable and motivated. Everyone in there working on their performance, distance, stamina and endurance helps me to keep pushing hard to keep this goal on track and not give up. Sometimes when I’m out there running, I still have doubts shooting in and out of my head but at the same time, I really want to see this through so fingers crossed, we crush this dream goal too! I just got to think of it as another mountain yet to climb, crush and conquer. I honestly have no idea if this race will even still be on in January but it really helps to keep me on track and have something to work towards. I need something to hold onto, I hate just working out with no concrete goal/timeline in mind. I’m a creature of habit and structure and right now, both the Insanity workouts and the marathon training schedule is a challenge I’m showing up for every day! It feels really good to push through and complete all my workouts, especially when my results are coming through. Hopefully I can be back here at the end of the month with an update that I finished the whole month of Insanity so that’s going to be my mini goal for the month. Progress is progress!

Quarantine Workouts

This weekend was beautiful despite the sporadic rain showers here and there. I went for a run in Central Park with my sister and it gave me a bit of inspiration to help push me through the fear of starting my marathon training soon. It was a new trail and change of scenery and honestly it was a breath of fresh air compared to my neighborhood runs for the past two years. Sometimes I wonder how I’m going to push through all 26.2 miles but running the new trail this weekend reminded me the WDW marathon route is going to be new to me so that’s going to help push me through to see everything as I run since it runs through all 4 parks. The rain this weekend was light but it felt amazing running through it, as it helped to cool me off during my run.

For marathon training, I’m going to try and follow Jeff Galloway’s training plan, but with modifications here and there as I progress. These plans are free on runDisney’s website. I also joined a runDisney Facebook group where I can log and track my progress with all those also preparing for their first marathon. So far everyone’s been really helpful and inspiring, with the moderator creating a comprehensive spreadsheet to help everyone track their progress and mileage, whether it be their first marathon, first Dopey or Goofy challenge.

In between runs, I’m going to continue to do weights at least 3 times a week to cross train. I was reading another marathoner’s blog about how sore she felt after her run, despite being an avid runner and stretching pre and post run. She realized it was because all she did was run, and didn’t strengthen her core or anything else. Once she incorporated other different types of workouts, she saw improvement in her recovery. This made sense to me since I’ve never really had an issue post run with recovery, so I definitely will keep up with my weight lifting, as well as remembering to take proper time to stretch before running. Running is more than just running, it requires you to be strong in all areas of your body to help you through the run, as well as aid you in recovery. I need to get into the habit of properly stretching post runs as well. I’m just always impatient with time. I never want to take my time, but rather do things as quick as possible so I can move on to the next thing. Probably why I have no patience for yoga every time I try it out. But this is the time to learn to slow down as the training plan calls for 30 minute runs twice a week on Tue/Thu, a long run on the weekend and cross training in between. So I should really fit some yoga in there since I’m not supposed to be running everyday. This training plain is supposed to help me not only finish strong but also without injury. 26.2 miles is going to definitely be brutal so slow and steady will be the name of the game of this training. I got new running sneakers, some new active wear and I’m ready to tackle this on headfirst and headstrong! 2020 may be cancelled but I’m using the rest of this year to focus on my training. It’s probably a blessing in disguise to keep me focused on the goal, otherwise I’d be expending my energy trying to go to all the dumb pop-ups, trying to gram everything.

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Anyways, I have my workouts posted in IG story highlights, as well whenever I workout on the daily, but a few have asked for it written out, as a list is easier for some to look at, at a glance, than having to constantly flip through videos and posts. So this post is for you guys who requested this for your workouts. Bookmark, screenshot, use as you please.

Legs

1. Stiff legged deadlifts with dumbbells, barbells

   • 3 sets of 20 reps (single dumbbell, double dumbbells, barbell)

2. Dumbbell squats

   • 3 sets of 20 reps (single dumbbell, double dumbbells, barbell)

3. Barbell deadlifts

   • 3 sets of 20 reps (increase weights every 3 sets)

4. Barbell squats

   • 3 sets of 20 reps (increase weights every 3 sets)

5. Squat thruster with barbell

   • 3 sets of 20 reps

6. Reverse lunge bicep curl

   • 20 reps PER LEG = 1 set. Do 3 sets.

7. Barbell side lunges

   • 3 sets of 20 reps.

8. Barbell squat/leg raise

   • 10 reps PER LEG = 1 set. Do 3 sets.

9. Static lunge with dumbbells

   • 20 reps PER LEG = 1 set. Do 3 sets.

10. Barbell curtsy lunge

    • 3 sets of 20 reps.

Chest/Core

1. Dumbbell chest press

   • 3 sets of 20 reps

2. Arnold chest press

   • 3 sets of 20 reps

3. Dumbbell flies

   • 3 sets of 20 reps

4. Dumbbell pullover

   • 3 sets of 20 reps

5. Close chest press

   • 3 sets of 20 reps

6. Pushups

   • 3 sets of 10 reps

7. Planks

   • 3 sets of 2 min 30 sec planks.

8. Windshield wipers

   • 3 sets of 20 reps

9. Leg raises

   • 3 sets of 50 reps

10. Twists with dumbbells and leg lifted

    • 3 sets of 30 reps

11. Standing diagonal crunch

    • 10 reps PER LEG = 1 set. Do 3 sets.

Arms/Shoulders

1. Single arm bent over rows

   • 20 reps per arm = 1 set. Do 3 sets.

2. Single arm tricep extension

   • 20 reps per arm = 1 set. Do 3 sets.

3. Front to lateral raise

   • 3 sets of 20 reps

4. Dumbbell reverse military press

   • 3 sets of 20 reps

5. Bicep curl variation

   • 3 sets of 20 reps

6. Skullcrushers

   • 3 sets of 20 reps

7. Chest press

   • 3 sets of 20 reps

8. 21s

   • 7 lower - 7 upper - 7 from the bottom all the way up = 1 set. Do 3 sets.

9. Bicep curl/shoulder press

   • 20 reps per arm = 1 set. Do 3 sets.

10. Do the following 5 exercises continuously with no rest between. 1 set of 20 reps each of each exercise.

11. Barbell shrugs

    • Barbell upright rows

    • Dumbbell shrugs

    • Dumbbell bent over flies

    • Dumbbell front raises

12. Barbell bent over rows

    • 3 sets of 20 reps

Resistance Bands

1. Glute bridges

   • 3 sets of 20 reps

2. Clam shells

   • 20 reps PER LEG = 1 set. Do 3 sets.

3. Donkey kicks

   • 20 reps PER LEG = 1 set. Do 3 sets.

4. Fire hydrants

   • 20 reps PER LEG = 1 set. Do 3 sets.

5. Monster Walks

   • 10 steps forward, 10 steps backward. Do 3 sets.

6. Crab Walks

   • 10 steps one way, 10 steps back the other way. Do 3 sets.

7. Side Taps

   • 20 steps per leg, alternating legs. Do 3 sets.

8. Plank with Hip Abductions

   • 10 reps per leg = 1 set. Do 3 sets.

9. Hip Thrust

   • 3 sets of 20 reps.

10. Single Leg Glute Bridge

    • 10 reps PER LEG = 1 set. Do 3 sets.

It took me forever to finally get a routine together that I like, that flowed well for me. I don’t have an exact science or rhyme or reason behind it, I just liked how these moves flowed for me when I tried them out together. I try to do legs 2-3 times a week, with chest/core, arms/shoulders, bandwork once a week. I alternate legs with the other sets every other day. So basically for example:

Monday - Legs

Tuessday - Chest/Core

Wednesday - Legs

Thursday - Arms/Shoulders

Friday - Legs

Saturday - Bandwork

Sunday - Rest or do any of the workouts I want.

Cardio I do basically every day, through at least a 5k or a 1 hour run, whatever time permits and every so often on my days off if I’m feeling up to it, I go for a long run. So far I’ve done either a 10 mile run and a half marathon once a month since quarantine started. I didn’t mean for it to happen, I was just on a running high halfway through it and was like why not. I probably will slow down on that during the summer because of the heat, and because I have to start marathon training soon, which requires me to rest more often between runs, to help build endurance for the increased mileage. I know this method definitely worked this year when I was training for the half, so I just need to remind myself to be patient. I always want to progress faster than I should because I want to be done with it, but I also know that the sooner I finish training if I finish it earlier than I should, I’ll be overconfident and take it too easy before race day.

I used to like biking for cardio, but as time went on, I slowly started to become addicted to getting my steps up and thus I ended up running more than biking. I guess you could say I finally do like running, hahaha. I’ll still tell you how much I hate it every step of the way DURING the run, but after, is a totally different me talking to you.

If you have any questions, let me know. Good luck and I hope you have a great workout!

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You're Sure To Do Impossible Things

Last month I signed up for my first marathon, the Walt Disney World Marathon in Jan 2021. And then last week, I successfully signed up for the Princess Half Marathon weekend, again for all 3 races, the 5k, the 10k and the half back to back over 3 days. Since 2020 is basically cancelled, I figured I'd get a headstart on 2021 plans. The races were incredibly hard to register for this year, with all of them selling out within minutes, both the pre-sale and the general on-sale. I've never had this much difficulty in previous years but I also learned that they capped capacity for now due to the current situation of covid19. The introduction of club RunDisney didn't help either, further making it difficult to register when there are already limited spots. If you’re wondering what I mean by this club RunDisney thing, basically this year RunDisney, the organization behind the races opened up “club RunDisney,” a system where you can buy into the races through a premium membership. Depending on your level of membership, you get early access to race registration sales, a small race discount (since you’re already paying hundreds into the membership) and guaranteed entry into either certain races or every race you want. You also can pay into a better corral placement without having to submit time of proof. Trust me, I'm not happy about it either as a runner because not only is it unfair, it also makes it unsafe. It makes it harder for those who are actually taking this seriously, to run around those who are not correctly in their paced timed corrals. It’s sad that RunDisney did this but hey, I get it, anything to make more money, right? Especially with Disney races becoming so popular. It’s like an Annual Pass for RunDisney addicts, basically. I’m kind of annoyed because the year I decide to take on the Dopey Challenge, the Castaway Challenge and the Castle to Chateau Challenge, I’ll probably have to buy into club RunDisney to guarantee spots in all those challenges or risk not being able to sign up for the races to complete the challenges.

But enough about the downer side of RunDisney. I’m so relieved I was able to sign up for another round of the Princess race. This will be my second year doing all 3 races and and my third year doing Princess weekend. I love this event so much. I always have an amazing time. One of my sisters who ran the 5k this year is also running again, and this time, she’s decided to take on the 10k too! I’m so excited and proud of her. I’m so glad she enjoyed this year’s races enough to take on a bigger challenge. This is a great addiction I love sharing with my friends and family. I absolutely love seeing my personal cheerleaders during the half marathon at the Cinderella’s Castle mark. It’s what helps me get through the first half the race, and then seeing them again at the finish line really helps me complete it. I’m going to have to strategize how to motivate myself for the FULL marathon since that’s going to be a lot harder to plan out, especially being my first time.

Of course I’m already brainstorming ideas for costumes, but I’m holding off on picking characters for now because they haven’t released the themes of the medals yet. The past 2 years I’ve tried to coordinate my costumes with the medals. I was Sleeping Beauty for my first half marathon and this year I did all 3 version of Cinderella since I was running 3 races. I also might not be blonde by the races next year so that could possibly play into influencing my decision as well. I’m not hardcore enough to run in a wig; I’m not ashamed to admit that right there. Running is hard enough as is to get a good time, I can’t compromise my already slow time with a wardrobe malfunction in the middle of the race. I risked sheer minutes this year on the 10k and the half marathon just trying to take my hoodie off mid-race and that enough gave me anxiety.

Speaking of anxiety, last week was full of highs and lows. After successfully signing up for all the races I want for 2021, that same week, Disney World announced the cancellation of all Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Parties for this year. I understand completely why, but I’m still going to be sad about it. The limited capacity due to crowd restrictions, limited park hours to cleanse and reset every day, no park hopping, the lowered availability of cast member staff (due to international staff and college program students being sent home, etc), cutting down of park events in order to cut down on crowds and large gatherings (i.e. parades, fireworks, character meets) is all making the Disney park admission not worth it, sadly. I was planning on going in October for my birthday like usual but with the Halloween party cancelled, I might forgo this year. Especially since advance reservations are required to even get into the park, even if you have park admission. It might not be in the cards for me this fall due to the pandemic. I’m thinking it might be worth it to skip and save the money for the runcation trips in January and February since I’m anticipating those to cost a pretty penny. My travel agent already has rooms on hold for me as of today and yes, they're selling out for race weekend already quite quickly since reservations for 2021 just opened up for travel agents to book. If you're intending on going, I'd say at least put the room on hold so you're guaranteed a spot before it sells out.

This year we stayed at the Contemporary for Princess weekend. I purposely did that so we would be able to crash at the hotel nearby if we were too tired mid-day from being up so early from the races. I learned that I could handle it so it wasn’t exactly necessary but a nice convenience for our first time doing the Fairy Tale challenge. I was able to handle the whole day being up, but at a certain point my feet were definitely in no condition to keep walking so it was nice to be able to get back to our room right away to be off our feet. Unfortunately though, I’ve spoiled my friends and family, hahaha. Now they want to go back again and stay at the Contemporary because of this sheer convenience. It’s so expensive though and with my having two trips back to back early next year, it’s definitely going to hurt the bank account. But if I cancel the October trip, that might help just a little. Now I gotta figure out what I want my alternative October plans to be since the hubby has off that week regardless. I also am trying to figure out what my alternate Halloween costume this year will be since I had a different one in mind for castle pictures. If we’re going to be home, I have a different idea in mind to cross off my Halloween costume bucket list. Cue The Nightmare Before Christmas watching marathon 4 months early, hahaha!

Man. Can you believe it’s June already? Where has the year gone? We’ve had so much happen and accomplished so little. It’s a depressing year. Which is probably why I’m pretty much giving up on it and starting to plan 2021 instead, lol. I’m still running every day because I’m such a gym rat now but currently I’m running just to run. When I was training, I was more focused on a specific training schedule to make sure I could make progress in my endurance, stamina, and overall distance. I do have to start marathon training soon though. It’s just going to be hard because the weather is definitely heating up so my speed is going to be rather compromised until the fall since heat affects running performance due to the increased physical stress on the body. But it’ll be good training nonetheless. I’m excited for gyms to hopefully open up in 2 weeks as well! We head into phase 3 today so hopefully the next two weeks fly by so I can get back to work and reclaim my summer body. I don’t hate the way I look currently, but I can definitely tell there’s some pudge on my stomach and legs from quarantine since the workouts are not as hard as a good old fashioned gym workout. I miss how defined my stomach was pre-quarantine. The funny thing is back then I thought it wasn’t enough. That I was still ‘fat.’ Why are we like this? We’re never happy with what we had until it’s gone. I really miss hitting those weights hard too. I can’t wait to get back and hit the ground running. 2018 me is really wondering who the hell am I?! I used to think I would never do a full marathon. A half was scary enough for me. I thought I would stop at half. Then I did all 3 races at Princess weekend. Now I’m moving on to set out to conquer the full. And then next stop, Dopey! What happened?!?! I used to think these things were impossible, but here I am. I used to hate running too, but here I am, throwing myself into it every day.

Ah, to finally embracing this lifestyle change I finally truly adopted!

You’re sure to do impossible things
If you follow your heart!