Hard work pays off!

I had my Lady Speed Stick Half Marathon last Sunday! I am going to say in the most modest way possible that I FREAKIN KILLED IT! I came in 1st out of 123 women in my age group and 4th overall out of 3,165 women! Also, let me just say that I have been trying to beat my P.R. of 1 hour 40 mins for 3 years now and I FINALLY DID IT!! I peeled off nearly 9 whole minutes and got 1:31:55! Now I know how important it is to get stronger rather than adding up millions of miles each day. Those leg workouts really work.. even if they are only once a week! EEEEEK sooo happy!! :D 

I also want to add in that my sister got 6th for our age group with the time of 1:45! She did awesome and peeled off 15 minutes from her last half!

Finishing Strong!

                Hang Ten? These are on the pier n St. Pete Beach

So about those bodily issues I had mentioned in earlier posts, I still had them! I was told to experiment having a cliff bar and coffee and no 5 hour energy before the race so I did just that, although nothing changed. After crossing the finish line, I was perfectly fine until about a 1/2 hour later when my stomach started acting up. It is honestly the worst feeling I have ever felt. This time was even worse than last time!  My stomach was so full of gatorade but I knew I was dehydrated so I kept drinking until my stomach couldn't hold anymore fluid. That's when the throwing up of gatorade, Pedialyte, and water happened. I tried to eat toast to soak up the stomach acids but it was so hard to eat because my mouth was so dry, but I couldn't drink anymore cause I was so full!!!! Talk about a predicament! What do you do in this case? :/ I stopped drinking so much liquid and put some butter on my whole wheat cinnamon toast bread to make it more moist- gross word- but yum! It better have tasted good since it was all I could really eat all day. Just toast. COOL BEANS.

If anyone has any other suggestions about what to eat, if at all, before a race, please let me know. I was recently told to try sweet potatoes 3 days prior to the race for all 3 days. I'm not sure why that would work but at this point, I will try anything!

Headband I should have been wearing after the race.

Work it out

My one and only workout used to be JUST running. Like 10 miles a day. Crazy? Yep. 

Now, I'm not going to say that I lift weights like a mad woman these days but I definitely don't slack on them like I used to. I was so scared that if I was to lift just ONE weight, I would be similar to a shot putter on the track and field team or just a macho, huge, manly looking being. Ohh but was I wrong!  Once my chicken legs finally let their guard down, I was ready to keep getting stronger! With all of this said, girls out there... DON'T think you are going to get huge just because you lift even twice a week. I've learned that you actually burn more fat by having that extra muscle in your body, and plus.. it looks better than skin and bones. I'm telling you.. just give weights a try. After my first "personal training" session with a "personal trainer" (my dollface, Jay), I honestly didn't think it was possible to be so sore. I'm talking I couldn't even sit down, stand up, walk right- kinda sore. I felt like I was walking like a daddy-long-legs for a week. Soon enough, the sore-ness died down. Now I am about 4 months into the new workouts and I find myself getting excited for leg day (Tuesdays). Not only did I love how I could actually see muscles in my legs, arms, back, abs etc.. but I also felt like I could run faster and longer. YAY.

HAAAY!

So what does leg day look like?

1) Squats with the squat rack and bar. 3 sets of 10. I usually put 5's on each side and increase 5 lbs each set.
2) Split squats with the bar. So put the bar on your shoulders and put one foot in front of the other like you are doing a lunge and bring your feet back together. Repeat both legs 10 each leg, 3 times.

3) Leg curls 3 sets of 15 w/ 30 lbs.

4) Leg extension 3 sets of 15 w/ 25 lbs.

5) Leg press 3 sets of 15 w/ 120 lbs.

6) Calf raises 3 sets of 20 w/ 120 lbs.

7) Back Extension. 3 sets of 15. This is my FAVORITE. It gets your hamstrings as well as your lower back but let me just tell you.. I have had the worst back pain for like 4 years due to excess studying and typing at a desk. My upper back hurt so bad all the time so I had to get massages once a week. It was soo expensive. Now, since my lower back is stronger, my upper back doesn't compensate anymore and It never hurts! I love it. Plus it gives you a cool dip in your back. Ow owww :-*

8) ABS! Roman Chair for as long as you possibly can stand OR 25 side plank crunches each side (below), 30 reverse crunches, 40 bicycle kicks, 30 bent knee sit ups and 2 sets of 1 minute planks.

DONE. You obviously don't have to do all of that but it's definitely worth it once you're ready :-D


P.S. The only arm workout I ever do is 10 push ups a day. I don't care what anyone says, it works!

Is it really going to stay cold?

Well. Halloween has passed! Initially my friend Kelly and I decided to go trick or treating. We were really excited actually. Then I was asked if I was really going trick or treating so I sat and questioned myself.. hmm, am I? Should I not? :/ I texted Kel to tell her that I didn't think we should actually go to houses and she was shocked and thought "wow Brooke is growing up!". But no, in all reality, if I was handing out candy and a 22 year old came to my door, I would tell them to get a job before I shut my door. SOO we just handed out candy to the cute kiddies and visited friends! Dressed up, of course.

 

                                              Not TOO immature, right?

This pumpkin did NOT look like this earlier, btw.

    It actually worked out better though because now he looks just livid! Has anyone ever smelled a rotten pumpkin? It's probably the worst smell you will ever smell. Is worse than bellybutton.

   

I guess Halloween passing only means one thing. Well.. I lied, a few.

1. It's time to start decorating our block for Christmas. We live on a cul de sac (hahah what a weird word.. just looked it up to spell it. Never knew.) and all of our neighbors are pretty much forced to put candles surrounding their lawn, blow up Santas and snowmen at every other house, and doll displays in their garages. We also have a giant christmas tree in the middle of our... CUL DE SAC (ha)... and cars just circle around it. It's bootyful :) I wish i had a picture, but i don't. So you'll have to come by!

This is Gram. Britt and I decided to match last Christmas ;)

2. It's the month of Thanksgiving (...which is also the month of my sister's birthday.. which in turn means I need to start searching for a clever present..),

3. Last but not least, IT'S GOING TO BE FREEZING. I don't think I can express myself enough of how much I despise being cold. I mean, yeah I understand, "If you have the correct attire, then you should be fine".. I've heard it plenty of times. But, this is another level. I literally want to cry when I'm cold. I absolutely hate feeling like my insides are frozen. Lets take last night for instance. We were at my Dad's playoff football game (which, he won.. 68-14. Baller.) and It was 60 degrees out. I was wearing jeans, a sweater, and a sweatshirt. Seems pretty legit right? NO. I honestly felt my only options were A. die, or B. go to the car during halftime, put the heat on for 10 minutes, and go back to the game. Obviously I did the latter. Anyway, there you have it. I dislike the cold. It can be reaaaal pretty, but nope. Can't do it. Florida will continue to be seeing me in the Future. 

This was Shrek on Ice last year! Jacket weight about 20 lbs.

And this is me being freezing in Mexico 3 years ago.

So it's November 3rd. I'm not even going to say this year has FLOWN by just like everyone else does. It really hasn't. I did have a tough year. Very eventful though. I definitely grew into my own skin and learned a lot about myself and what I want and don't want in significant others, friends, and career life. Last year at this time, I didn't have a CLUE what I was in for. A pure 180, really. I don't think I would ever want to re-live this past year and I'm glad its over.

Enough mushy mushy talk. 

I feel like I should mention the fact that I was supposed to go to my cousins wedding in Virginia last weekend but Sandy changed our flight plans. So thanks Sandy.

Also I feel like I should say that the project at work that we have been working on for 4 months is DONE. We were getting audited by the government to make sure we were in compliance with the guidelines and eligible to get our grant this week and we passed!! PHEW. 

These are my work besties. It was tacky Wednesday :)

This is us being normal unfortunately.

Alright! Enough for the day! I have a race next week in St Pete for Lady Speed Stick. It's a 1/2 marathon. I won last years so hopefully the same goes for next week! EEEEEKK. Oh! Wait let me tell you why I think I should get a better time than last year. I have been doing these GREAT leg workouts on Tuesdays with Jay for about 4 months now. In my next post, i'll lay out the whole workout so y'all can get a tight wittle booty or some sweet leg muscles too :)

G'DAY!