FINALLY!!!! I officially have 3 months left until my VERY first MARATHON! I am registered to run in the Portland Marathon here in Oregon on 10-10-10:) I will be posting video and blog updates along the way to let you know what I’m doing for workouts and nutrition.

We’ll go ahead and cut right to it! This is the first 4 weeks of my new training schedule I put together. I wanted to put together a schedule with LOTS of variety. This basically breaks down to 5 days of running, 2-3 of those being sprints at the track, 4 days abs, and 3 days of weights. At the end of each month I’ll make the next 4 weeks training schedule and update:)

Week 1
Mon- 2 Miles, Chest/Back, Ab Ripper X
Tues- 4 Miles, Pushups/Pullups
Wed- Shoulders/Arms, Ab Ripper X
Thu- 4 Miles, Pushups/Pullups
Fri- 2 Miles, Insanity Upper Body Weights, Cardio Abs
Sat- 5 Miles, Pushups/Pullups, Ab Ripper X
Sun- Rest

Week 2
Mon- 2 Miles, Chest/Back, Ab Ripper X
Tues- 6 Miles, Pushups/Pullups
Wed- One on One-Just Arms, Ab Ripper X
Thu- 6 Miles, Pushups/Pullups
Fri- 2 Miles, Insanity Upper Body Weights, Insane Abs
Sat- 5 Miles, Pushups/Pullups, Ab Ripper X
Sun- Rest

Week 3
Mon- 2 Miles, Chest/Back, Ab Ripper X
Tues- 8 Miles, Pushups/Pullups
Wed- Shoulders/Arms, Ab Ripper X
Thu- 5 Miles, Pushups/Pullups
Fri- 2 Miles, Insanity Upper Body Weights, Cardio Abs
Sat- 5 Miles, Pushups/Pullups, Ab Ripper X
Sun- Rest

Week 4
Mon- 2 Miles, Chest/Back, Ab Ripper X
Tues- 10 Miles, Pushups/Pullups
Wed- One on One-Just Arms, Ab Ripper X
Thu- 4 Miles, Pushups/Pullups
Fri- 2 Miles, Insanity Upper Body Weights, Insane Abs
Sat- 5 Miles, Pushups/Pullups, Ab Ripper X
Sun- Rest

I am currently on Week 1 Day 3. I’ll be hitting Shoulders/Arms with Ab Ripper X as soon as I’m done with this post:)

Stay tuned for what I’m doing for Nutrition!!

Hey everyone!! Here is a workout that I put together using 10 of my favorite INSANITY moves! I put this workout together for anyone to try out as a challenge or if you are short on time and still need to get your sweat on! This can take anywhere from 25-40 minutes depending on your fitness level. Do this once a week to see how your strength and endurance increases! Enjoy!

Insanity Hell:-)

—10 Moves. 3 Cycles. 600 Reps Total!!!

All 10 moves will be performed one after the other followed by a 2 minute break at the end of each cycle. Enjoy!!

–1st Cycle= 30 Reps Each-Focus on Form!

-2 minute break

–2nd Cycle= 20 Reps Each-Speed it Up!

-2 minute break

–3rd Cycle= 10 Reps Each-DIG DEEP!!!

-Since Plank Punches, High Knees, and Mountain Climbers require alternating sides, 2 kicks/punches=1 rep, so you will be doing 60 reps total for the 1st cycle, 40 for the 2nd, and 20 for the 3rd.

**Be sure to do a 5-10 minute warm up**

1. Mountain Climbers

2. Pushup Drills(5 Pushups, 8 Floor Sprints, Jump up, Repeat) With the pushup drills, you are counting the pushups. 6 sets will make 30 reps for cycle 1, 4 sets for cycle 2, then 2 sets for cycle 3.

3. Stance Jacks

4. Suicide Jump

5. High Knees w/Twist

6. Pushup Jacks

7. Switch Kicks

8. Wide In and Out Abs

9. Power Jumps

10. Plank Punches

This is my 2nd time doing this awesome cleanse! Day 1 was yesterday and went really well. My starting weight this time is 195lbs. Got my shakes, fruits, and salad in. Lots of water. Felt pretty good. Energy was low thru the day but I felt great after I had the salad. I was hungry at times but everything was pretty manageable. Woke up this morning and was 193lbs. 2lb weightloss so far, not bad:) My main purpose for doing this is to get rid of the belly bloat and clean my insides of all the JUNK I’ve eaten the past week!

The Shakeology Cleanse is a 3 day cleanse using Beachbodys’ health shake, Shakeology. This is a performance-oriented system designed to support hard training. It’s not the Master Cleanse. The goal is to promote flushing junk from your system and regulating hydration levels. It’s calorically restricted to be sure. But in its 1500 or so calories will be more nutrients than most people get by eating well over twice that amount. The key is caloric efficiency; getting the most nutrients possible out of the fewest number of calories.

This is an excellent way to jump start your weightloss/fitness and get rid of the extra belly bloat! The first time I did this cleanse I lost 6lbs and 1.5 inches off the stomach.

Shakeology Cleanse Overview

-3 Shakes per day (Water and Shakeology Only)

-2 Fruits as Snacks

-1 Salad with lots of veggies, 4oz of protein, and 2 tbs of an olive oil dressing

*Lots and lots of water! I recommend a gallon per day which is 128oz

My Experience with The Cleanse

Day 1 was definitely the hardest for me. My body was so adapted to a 2000 calorie diet, so when I got on the cleanse, those calories were cut in half! I was hungry ALL day and had little energy. I woke up the morning of day 2 and had already lost 4 pounds though:)

Day 2 was a bit easier. The hunger was manageable and had more energy. I was at the beach and casino all day with family so my biggest struggle was TEMPTATIONS!! I did fight them all off and stuck 110% with the cleanse!

Day 3 was the easiest day for me. My body was now adapted to the calorie intake and I had much more energy. The hunger pains were very manageable and I felt great! By now, the biggest change that I saw was in my midsection/core. Everything felt tighter and HEALTHIER:) On the morning of day 4 I took my final weight. I went from 197lbs to 191lbs. Amazing experience, definitely a challenge, and something I recommend EVERYONE needs to do atleast once!

I know I know!!! I’ve been slacking on the blog! Definitely going to do my best to post DAILY updates on here:)

Well last you heard was the pains I was having on day 12. Those first 3 weeks was definitely trial and error for me. The aches and pains are virtually gone now thank god! I have found my stride, my pace, and everything that works for me.

I did have my very first 15k race(9.3 Miles) on February 7th. It was probably the hardest thing I have ever done! I havent done much hill training and of course when I showed up to this race, the ENTIRE thing was hills! Suddenly my hour and a half goal turned into a 2 hour goal. I kept a slower pace and just kept telling myself to put one foot infront of the other.

Luckily after 3 miles of brutal hills, there was a 2-3 mile stretch of flat road. This is when I kicked it up a notch and held a 9 minute pace. I felt amazing at this point…Then the hills kicked back in….

The last 3 miles was definitely the hardest run of my life. I was physically drained and exhausted. And of course my GU pack fell out of my pocket around mile 2 but I didnt want to stop to get it haha. The last mile I could see my girlfriend and family at the finish and thats when I kicked up the pace again and went at a full sprint. I would guess around a 7 min pace. I managed to finished the race in 1 hour 43 minutes which I was more than happy with:)

I took the next day off of course. I wasn’t too sore which surprised me. Then after that rest day I went on an 8 miler with a friend of mine. I made a video on this you can view here

So here I am day 40. Today I am doing my normal warm up with pushups and pullups. I’m having some issues with my right achilles tendon. Not so much pain, just extremely tight so I’ll get that loosened up today. Thank you for all the support and motivation you give me! I’ll catch ya tomorrow!

Well today sucked…This is my first solid week of doing both insanity AND running so I’ve been extremely sore, especially yesterday. I made the BIG mistake of not stretching nearly enough and paid for it today. I went out to do my 4 miler, usually an easy run for me. I made it 2 miles. My quads had such an intense ache!!! Played it smart and cut the run in half. Tomorrow is a rest day and sunday is a scheduled 7 mile run. I am contemplating taking sunday off as well and doing the run on monday. We will see how I feel tomorrow. In the mean time, I am using a foam roller and stretching A LOT to get this junk loosened up. Crossing my fingers!

Sure enough. My hamstrings are sore as can be today! I decided to play it smart and take a rest day. Going to be doing lots of stretching throughout the day to get ready for the 4 miler tomorrow. Hopefully the weather won’t be too bad that way I can go for a quicker time!

My diet is 110% on target. The only bad thing I’ve eaten in 4 weeks is the chinese food I had last night. Although I did keep it as healthy as I could with a shrimp/chicken/veggie mix in a white wine sauce. Was delicious! My energy is amazing. I don’t have to be to work till 11:30 today so I set my alarm for 9 thinking I could sleep in. Nope. I woke up at 7am wide away! Haha, which I’m not complaining about. It feels fantastic to not need energy drinks or coffee to have the energy that I have naturally now!

Wow. So today was a 4 mile run. First time that I have run without having a rest day first. I did Insanity-Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs yesterday. Hamstrings are SOOORRRRE today. I thought my quads weren’t too bad till I hit the end of mile 1. The whole run was very difficult today because my quads were very achy from yesterdays workout ONTOP of the weather which was very cold, raining, and wind. First time running in the wind and it was definitely against me today!

I still managed to keep an 11 min pace which is a bit slower than my average but I did the best I could for what I had to work with! Tomorrow is another day of insanity but I have the feeling that I will be VERRRRY sore haha. Probably going to do upper body weight lifting so we will see! Thanks for reading and I’ll catch ya tomorrow!

Shoes are the key to an amazing run!!! I have never owned a pair of shoes that were over $50. The best pair I’ve had are my Nike Shox. I thought these shoes were amazing, and I still love them. BUT…I have always had aches and pains when I run especially in the quads and shins. I decided I needed to invest in some new shoes. After doing some research I found out they have RUNNING shoes! Shoes specially made just for running.

I had no idea that there were SO many different styles of shoes! Stability, control, support, cushioning, the list goes on and on. So I went into a local running store, The Portland Running Company, and got fitted. They had me run up and down a matt so they could watch my stride and how each foot lands. Turns out I have very low arches and am a severe over pronator(When the foot twists outwards and causes the arch to be over stretched).

After trying on a few different pairs of shoes and running in each one up and down that mat, I found the perfect pair. The Asics Evolution 5. It was like running on a cloud! This shoe is amazing. I have been running in these shoes for a week now and these have been the best runs of my life!

The 2 key parts of this shoe that make the biggest difference for me is the heel and the arch support. I have had heel pain for the past year because of my low arches. The heel on this shoe is more of a V shape rather than the typical U, meaning it cups the heel fairly tight and has lots of cushion underneath. I feel NO pain at all in my heals with these shoes. The 2nd part is the arch support. For those of us with low arches, when our foot strikes the ground, the arch collapses in order to absorb the impact. The support however, minimizes that impact by having a denser material underneath the arch to stop it from fully collapsing.

These shoes also have other key factors such as ACTUAL gel cushioning rather than air! Also the shoe has an outter lining that is VERY breathable and lightweight. Simply an amazing shoe and fantastic brand, Asics!

I highly recommend getting into a specialty running store, getting fitted, and making the investment in a GOOD pair of running shoes. The Asics Evolution 5 is perfect for anyone that over pronates or has low arches and needs that extra support.

You can see these shoes and my video review on www.Youtube.com/Betterlife90

Hey all! So the new year is finally here! As some of you may know, I am now a runner! A little history on my running….In highschool I would do a slow jog for 1-2 miles a few times a week. That was it. I stopped running once I graduated highschool because that is when life got in the way and I was lazy! So now that I have done p90x and insanity, my body can do WAY more than its ever been able to do!

A co-worker of mine, Ava, knew I was into fitness and always looking for a good challenge so she invited me to run a half marathon with her. Then I found out that is 13.1 miles!!! This was the perfect chance for me to have a solid goal so of course I accepted the challenge:)

I started running 3-4 weeks ago. Day 1 I decided to do a running “Fit test”, so I just went out and ran as far as I could. I walked a lot, way more than expected, but I managed to do 8 miles total. Now I knew what I had to train for. So from there I would run 2-3 times a week just to get in the groove of things.

Now that I know my limits, I know my pace, and I know what I want to achieve, I have put together a training schedule for myself. I got the nike plus sensor which tracks distance, time, and pace. The nike plus website has a coaching program so I am following that.

So here is my schedule. I run 3-4 times per week. Typically 2 shorter runs at 3-4 miles, and 1 longer run at 6-8 miles. Each week that long run will increase by 1 mile. To get my endurance and speedwork in, I am doing an insanity workout 2x per week. With all of that, every other day I am doing a pushups/pullups program!

Now the purpose of me posting all of this is because since I am bran new to running, I want to document it so I can look back a year from now and see how far I’ve come:) I also want to post updates every single day for those who are new to running so they can follow my progress!

This concludes it for today! Everyone take care and thank you all for your support and motivation!