Good morning, all!
Today’s breakfast is a new/old favorite – half a sweet potato with a bit of almond butter and yogurt, plus an egg and an egg-white.
Since moving in here, we’ve had a really hard time cooking eggs, as we only had a cast iron pan that just didn’t cut it. The eggs always burned and stuck to the bottom. We finally sucked it up and bought a nice non-stick GreenPan, and since then – voila! Perfect eggs.
Surrounded by the trillion mandarins we got from our organic box. More on that later.
Today, I am taking (and enjoying) my scheduled off-day. I’ll probably do some yoga and walk the pooch in the afternoon, but besides that, I’m relaxing.
I used to be a hard-core six days per week exerciser. This started when I was a triathlete, and did one to two workouts per day, under the guidance of my beloved coach, Robert Hockley. When I was being coached and listened, it was fantastic – I exercised in correct proportion to rest, ate well, etc. However, after a few years, I didn’t listen quite as well as I was supposed so. I would slack off on workouts, and hurry to “make them back.”
However, I learned that you can’t do that without penalty, and ended up with a stress fracture in my foot that kept me out of a half-ironman and kept me from really working out for three months. I also have had IT-band syndrome since I started exercising, and still struggle with a tight IT band, in spite of a consistent yoga practice and regular (if not regular enough) foam rolling.
After my stress-fracture and a number of outside issues, I stopped training for tri’s and moved on to focusing my attention wholeheartedly on yoga. Yoga did wonders for my body, consciousness, and self-esteem. It allowed me to find flexibility in mind and spirit I had never had. Unfortunately, just doing yoga and doing zero cardio lead me to put on about 15 pounds from my triathlon days, and they were 15 pounds I didn’t really need. So, I started watching what I ate more carefully, and adding in cardio workouts. It felt like a perfect balance, and it worked really well.
Then, Anthony and I decided to start running in January, to train for the Brisbane Half Marathon. I knew I wanted to run, but also do weights, so we developed a plan to do a modified version of New Rules of Lifting For Women (Anthony obviously lifts drastically heavier weights than I do, but the plan’s principle is “to lift like a man” so we decided to do it together.)
While it was really tempting to follow both plans perfectly, (which would have involved three to four days per week of running, plus three days per week of weights) I knew in my body and heart that ramping up weights as well as running would lead to injury. I so admire people like SkinnyRunner and Hungry Runner Girl who seem to effortlessly run day in, day out, without penalty of injury, but that’s just not me. I can exercise six days per week, but for quality training? Five is my max. It’s hard to admit when you read of so many bloggers who an off-day consists of a 50-minute spin class and 90 minutes of yoga, but for me, my off-day involves walking, a bit of yoga – and that’s it.
Thing’s I’ve noticed since cutting back a day:
Better endurance during runs and weights - I can run for longer without feeling dead, push myself on our “very hard” Smart Coach Plan (and it lives up to it’s title!) and raise my weights each time I go in to the gym.
More focus and energy during the day - When I worked out six days per week, I felt tired every day, no matter how much I ate. These days, I feel energetic and focused, regardless of if I do a five mile run or do nothing.
My body feels better - Due to a combination of proper rest and protein, my body feels stronger and less painful after each workout, and my muscles feel less sore and more eager.
I am excited to work out - Since cutting back a day, I find myself so excited to get to the gym or slip on my shoes each day. I love the feeling of working out, and when I have an off day, I find myself raring to go the next!
I get faster without trying - Yes, our speed might not look significant to other runners, but my first half-marathon was 2:54, and my PR is 2:28. We’re training for a 2:03 race, and I feel confident that we’ll be able to do it, as we’ve cut off 25 seconds per mile in a month without even trying. The effort feels the same, but the pace is faster – isn’t that what you’d want?
My body looks the same as it did on six days and less food - I’ve been eating more (protein) and working out less, and my clothes fit the same and I can see more muscle definition. If that isn’t telling me that I’m doing the right thing, I don’t know what is!
There is part of me that hopes that when my body gets more accustomed to running and weights, I can add a sixth workout in, more than anything because I enjoy it and love to sweat. However, if that happens and I find myself getting tired and in pain, I have my answer and will go back to the magic number 5.
QOTD: How often do you work out, and why? What results do you get?
My name is Kat and I am a 24-year-old writer, yoga teacher, personal trainer, foodie and world-traveler. I currently live in Brisbane, Australia, with my partner, Anthony. Welcome to my blog, which covers my pursuit of finding balance and spice in everyday life.