and so it begins again...

wow! so it's been a whole two weeks of being 25 and can i just say it has been off to a crazy start! :) well today is july 25th. i cannot believe today is already here! i've been talking about this day for a month or so now. what does july 25th mean to me, you ask? it's the start of my 12 week trianing for the Nike Women's 1/2 Marathon!! so this time i am going to do things a tad differently then last time:

1. i'm not going to GAIN weight. seriously. noooo seriously, WHO GAINS WEIGHT WHEN THEY'RE RUNNING 20+ miles a week??? this girl does!.. fail.

2. i'm significantly changing my strength training routine. this is going to be SUPER hard for me. i love the gym. and yes, there are ways to incorporate both, but i'm NOT going to be over-doing it anymore.

so what does my training schedule look like? well, you're in luck because i'm planning it RIGHT NOW. last time i followed the beginner's plan for NWM on the nike running site and i really liked it. this time i'd like to do the intermediate plan. my goal for this half is to shave three minutes off my past time. this means i'd like to finish in 2:03... i think it can be done! so there are two different half marathon training plans to follow on the nike running site. one has you peak in the middle of your training and taper off as you get closer to the race. the other has you peak at the end a few weeks before the race. i'm lazy right now and don't feel like looking up the difference between the two. the second one is what i did last time and it seemed to work great. i think i'm going to follow that this time. does anyone know the difference and the pros/cons of doing it either way? i'm definitely no expert!

so currently, i've been following (not to the T) Jen Rankin's Cutting Program. the diet is way too hardcore but i've been just eating most of those foods only. the workouts are killer. i've only been doing the upper body ones and then attending p4l two days a week. my arms are getting so strong and so much leaner. it's so awesome!! :) i also have been doing a lot of intervals whether on the treadmill sprinting (usually 2% incline, 9.5 speed for a minute, repeat 8 times) or on the stair climber. since i'm off work i've been doing two workouts a day. usually one just cardio and one strength training but it really just depends on the day. i've lost about 4lbs in the past week and a half, which is awesome. my goal is to continue incorporating the upper body strength training in with my running until i get to higher miles then slowly cutting back so i'm not on overload. i'm getting SO excited for the fall and this half! :)

so obviously i'll be updating you with my progress as i go, but there's also another big change coming to my life. i'm FINALLY ready to start studying for my NASM certification. :) i'm so passionate about this lifestyle change, i know that i need to switch gears in life and start helping others ASAP. so i'm starting to study this week as well! the idea of the test overwhelms me a bit, but i know i can accomplish anything i put my mind to! once i have that certification under my belt, there's a world of opportunity! does this look like the face of a good trainer? i'll let you be the judge... hahaha

hope everyone is enjoying their summer :) mine has been flying by!