What.A.Week (Weekly Recap)

This week has taken a few days to recover from. I seem to be bouncing back and forth between good weeks and bad weeks. This one definitely wasn't the former on the workout front.

Best Workout of the Week
Not too many to choose from, unfortunately. Monday Rania and I slogged through 3.72 miles. It felt awful. We walked a lot of it and I chalked it up to my 'race pace' 10k on Sunday. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were black holes created by the stupidest trial in human history. Though not reflected on the chart, I did take Ellie for a walk on Tuesday since it was 70 degrees and sunny outside. Wednesday I was stuck at the courthouse all night. I ate Taco Bell for dinner at 9:00 pm (ugh, the shame) but I did walk around the third floor of the courthouse for about an hour to get all of my steps. #Winning

Yesterday's long run was another slogger. My friend Funk joined me for what was supposed to be an 8 miler. However, by 2 miles in I felt pretty goofy. My body felt heavy and I just felt off. I figured if we could make it to 3.5 before we turned around I'd be happy. It was slow, but we did it. Given that I almost opted out, I'm proud of myself for getting it done.

Today I completed my first Strength Training workout per my nutrition coach (more on that in a minute). It was hard. Like, really hard. Obviously this is a deficit in my training but good lord. I rode on the trainer for 20 minutes and then hunkered down. The workout was as follows

Squat with Band Row x 12

North/South Lunges x10 a side

Bird Dog Hold x30 seconds per side

Twice through

Walkout to Plank w/ Spiderman x 10

50 jumping jacks

Band Shoulder Press x 10

Twice through

I can see how adding these strength workouts in three times a week will have a big impact on my legs and my core. This week that's what she was focusing on anyway. I imagine the next two weeks will be a little different.

Best Meal of the Week
So a week or two ago I met with Dannielle Hadaway, a fellow landshark member and owner of FitnessRx Louisville. They specialize in Metabolic testing/training, physio training and nutrition coaching. Dannielle came highly recommended from fellow Landsharks. It's no secret to friends of the blog that I've been struggling with my weight for awhile. I got in great shape in 2012 for the wedding, then stayed at a lower weight through the first 6-8 months of work. I think the stress and often working through lunch really took a physical toll on my body. I don't think i noticed that much since it had the 'positive' effect of keeping me at a lower weight. Over the last 2 years my weight has mushroomed. Last Christmas (2014) I didn't even recognize myself.

Somehow I'd gained 30lbs. So slowly over the last year I've attempted to chip away at that. I've had some success and have kept about 15 lbs of it off. The last 15, however, doesn't want to go away. I've gone about as far as I can on my own so it was time to enlist some help. Enter Dannielle. So we met after work one day and we talked for about 45 minutes. She's charming and knowledgeable and a great listener. She also happens to be an Ironman and a mom and a business owner, so i think she understands a little bit about the demands of training.

So this week was the 'watching' phase. I wasn't really supposed to do anything differently, but Dannielle was also logged into MyFitnessPal with access to my account. Whether it's supposed to or not, that simple fact makes a difference. For instance, one night I had my typical bagel sandwich but ate it with a lentil mix instead of chips. Small changes.

Tomorrow I go for my resting metabolic testing. She'll hook me up to all sorts of crazy machines and they'll get an idea of how many calories I burn just to keep my body running. They'll use that number to figure out how many calories I need a day and in what ratio (protein/fat/carbs). Then we start making little changes about what I'm actually eating.

I'm excited for a change. I'm a little apprehensive too because...well, damn! I like cheetohs and ice cream and I don't particularly want to give all that away. But if it can get me back to a place where I'm feeling good in my clothes, then I'm all for it.

For Next week
- Three Runs this week (Seriously - need to do it)
- Three strength training sessions from Dannielle
- Lots and lots of water

Happy Running!