Marathon Training

As I near the end of my semester, my marathon draws closer and closer. I don't think I've ever been this excited to do something so physically demanding. As a former swimmer, I've been conditioned to enjoy grueling workouts and I find new physical challenges really fun and exciting. There's no denying how ready I am mentally to run this marathon, but at the same time, I am a little bit nervous.

I have just about four weeks left until the race and I haven't even hit my peak mileage yet. The farthest run that I have to do before the race is 20 miles, which makes me a little nervous. That's adding a whole 6.2 miles onto the actual race distance! But I guess there's power in a plan, and I've been following mine fairly well. True, I do adjust my plan to fit my weekly schedule, which means that if I don't have time to do a 7 mile tempo on Monday, I'll swap it for my Tuesday 4 mile and do the tempo the next day. But no matter matter what, I always make sure that I get in the necessary runs. I'll have to trust that my plan will have me physically prepared to run this race.

Another thing that makes me somewhat apprehensive about running this marathon is that I have absolutely no idea what to expect. What do I eat the night before? The morning of? Afterwards? Am I even going to be hungry afterwards? I really hope that I don't vomit, or worse, get randomly injured. I'll have to know my body, know when I need to walk, when I need to grab some gatorade, know when I should stop and take a gel pack. Should I even take a gel pack or should I do some of those weird running espresso beans or fruit snack things? Again, part of this goes back to the training, experimenting on my training runs so that I know what works for me and what doesn't. But aside from this, I also don't really know what to expect from the course and the race organizers. I can only take comfort in the fact that people organizing it have definitely done this before and know what they're doing. As far as the course goes, I guess I'll find out once I get there.

Pushing aside all of my concerns, I really, truly, am very excited to run this marathon! I can't wait until race day, when all the adrenaline of toeing the starting line and running with the huge crowd will pump me up and allow me to forget all of my worries. I'll be sure to keep you guys posted on the remainder of my training, the actual race, and, of course, what I liked and maybe didn't enjoy so much about the whole endeavor. Until then, just keep swimming! :)

This has nothing to do with running but I felt that this post needed a picture.

Olympic Inspired Workout

Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of post lately, I've been quite the busy bee. Before I start, let me just preface this post by saying that I am fully aware that the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games have been over for 2+ weeks now and I realize that this post comes a little late. Moving on......

I love, love, love watching sports. The Olympics are always my favorite time of year (during the years that they occur) and so when they start, I'm pretty much glued to the TV. This year I even downloaded the NBC Olympics app on my iPhone. I think we can all agree that the Olympics are a good thing. They bring people around the world together to aim for a common goal, and even those that don't reach their goals can still be happy and celebrate for their fellow athletes'/coaches' athletic success. Aside from just being a uniting event, the Olympics also, for me at least, are extremely motivating. Whenever I watch the Olympic athletes competing in their events and rocking their sports, I automatically get the urge to get up and do something. In fact, I think that watching the Olympics this year even made two weeks of my marathon training go better.

Now, on to the superficial part of this post. Can we take a minute to talk about how pretty much every olympian has a freaking beautiful body? I mean, six pack abs, hugely muscular thighs and legs, seriously toned arms. Who wouldn't want a body like that? Seeing these people's bodies alone motivates me to go workout. So in celebration of the not so recently passed Winter Olympics, I give you my original, Olympic-inspired workout. Try it out and let me know what you think! :)

I intended to have tutorial pictures but my little camera broke. :/

The Breakdown:

Set an interval timer for 24 rounds of 30 seconds of work. Rest for one minute between each completed circuit (all eight moves). Keep track of how many reps you get through in each round and try to beat that number the next time you try the workout!

1. Speed Skaters:  Start in squat position with knees at 90 degrees. Jump to the left landing as softly as possible on left leg, using arms to get momentum. Jump to the right, landing softly on right leg. That's one rep. Continue to jump from one leg to the other, trying to maintain as much balance as you can without putting your other foot on the ground between jumps.
2. Skeleton Plank Pikes: Get in pushup position, arms straight, back and butt flat, body in a straight line. Move your weight to your arms, using your abs to pull your legs feet off the ground, creating an upside down V with your body. Using your core muscles, kick your legs up into the air, keeping your knees as straight as possible. Return to start. That's one rep.
3. Luge Supine Plank: Sit straight up, legs together and extended. Place your hands by your butt, just outside your hips. Using your core, lift your legs, butt and hips off the floor, extending your body in a straight line and keeping your weight in your hands and heels. This should look like a plank only instead of facing the floor, you will be facing the ceiling. Hold for 30 seconds to a minute. 
4. Ice Dance Jumping Lunges w/ Twist: From standing, go into a lunge, right leg forward, both knees at 90 without back leg touching the floor. Push off into a jump and while in the air, use your core muscles to twist 180 degrees to the left. Land in a lunge with left leg forward and right leg back, both knees at 90. Repeat, only this time twisting to the right and landing in a lunge w/ right leg forward. That's one rep.
5. Half-pipe Box Jumps: Stand next to a gym box with your left side facing the box. (Don't face the box head on). Jump laterally to left, landing softly and quietly on top of the box. Jump off the box laterally to the left so that your right side is now facing the box and repeat. That's one rep.
6. BOSU Ball Snowboarders: Put a BOSU ball ball-side down, flat-side up. Stand on the flat part and center yourself so that you are balanced in a squat position with legs hip width apart. Using you legs and engaging your core, begin to transfer your weight onto your right leg. Quickly switch your weight to left leg. Keep moving your weight from leg to leg as quickly as possible, tipping the BOSU ball to the side that your weight is on. Hold your hands together in front of your face. Do this for 30 second to a minute.
7. Ski Jump Burpees: From standing, jump back into a pushup position. Do a push up then quickly jump your knees to your chest, feet between you hands. Keeping arms at your side, use your legs to jump yourself up and forward. As you land, jump back immediately into pushup position and repeat. Each time you land back into pushup position is one rep.
8. Figure Skating Fliers: Using two 5-20lb. dumbbells, go into your best arabesque, balancing on your left leg, keeping a soft bend in your knee and letting your arms hang with one dumbbell in each. Using your back and arms, lift your arms out to the side, as if you are flying, maintaining your balance on your left leg. Return your arms to start. This is one rep. Do 10 then switch legs and start over.

Give it a go and let me know what you think! I hope you guys enjoy it!

What's your favorite Winter Olympic sport?

Quick Update

Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of blog post recently. It turns out that being a full time college and training for a marathon takes up a lot of my life that would normally be free. Today's post is just a quick little update and reminder that I'm still alive. I have an Olympic inspired workout heading your way sometime this week.

Speaking of the Olympics, what did everyone think? Personally, the Olympics are my favorite time of year, that is, during the years that they actually happen. I'll go more into that in my next post. For now I just wanted to let everyone know that I haven't actually fallen off the face of the earth. Marathon training is going well and is SUPER fun. Today was actually the first run that felt like a chore, but that's probably just because I'm running on stress and a lack of sleep...oops! But hey, that's college for ya.

To everyone who is going the mid-term season right now, keep on hanging on. You can do it! Just think, it's midterms and then you're pretty darn close to spring break. Yippee!! Is anyone doing anything special for spring break? I know it's weird to think about that coming so soon when there's still snow on the ground. Bleh.

Well, until next time, just keep swimming (or ice skating, at this point).

Rock Climbing and Injury Prevention

Hello again! I had a pretty awesome weekend, what with the Olympics starting and going rock climbing and all. How was your weekend?

So, I'm pretty sure I've talked about rock climbing on the blog before. I love it. So much! At first, making it all the way up a wall can seem a little daunting, but if you don't look down and if you tell yourself to not think about how high you are off the ground, it is so fun! I have a membership at a local climbing gym, Upper Limits, and the majority of the walls at the gym are in silos! It is so cool! I've been working on improving my upper body strength while simultaneously enhancing my strategy skills as I climb. The bottom line is, rock climbing is a super duper fun activity and while it is really difficult, it is so rewarding when you finish a wall. I climbed this weekend and introduced a couple of friends to the sport. We had a pretty great time and even tried some bouldering (low-wall climbing without ropes).

Getting my climb on!

I also had another long run this weekend in preparation for my marathon! Yesterday's run was a treacherous 8 miles in over a half a foot of snow. Yes, I am used to having more snow around than that, but I usually don't have to run in it. Usually people do that thing where they clear the snow off their part of the sidewalk. What's that called again? Oh yeah, shoveling! Well, apparently the good people of central Illinois didn't get the memo, so I got to run 8 miles in this:

The snow went up to my mid-calf!

But, as I've said before, winter running is my favorite! Part of what I like about it, is the challenge of running in difficult conditions, so as inconvenient as it was to run in nine or more inches of snow, it was so fun! And I felt great (and exhausted) afterwards!

In other news, Valentine's day is coming up! Is everyone excited? I don't really care about Valentine's day or anything, but I know that lots of people like it, and if you have a significant other, or even if you don't, Valentine's day is one of those days that we like to use as an excuse to buy (and eat) a lot of chocolate. Now, normally I wouldn't use this blog as a way to promote any sort of political agenda, BUT today is an exception. 

Many chocolate products contain palm oil, which is contributing to the decreasing population of orangutans. In order to grow the plant that produces palm oil, companies are cutting down lots of trees and destroying orangutan habitats. Rainforest Action Network has gone around and talked to many of the big name chocolate brands and tried to persuade them to stop including palm oil in their products. Most of these chocolate companies have agreed to start processing palm oil out of their products and to at least put labels on those products that do contain conflict palm oil. 

Yep, unfortunately even Lindt chocolates contain conflict palm oil.

Now, I don't claim to be any expert on the subject, but if this interests you and you want to get involved in the fight against palm oil and deforestation, visit ran.org to find out more about their Last Stand of the Orangutan campaign and how you can get involved.

....Aaaaaaaaaannddd rant done. For this week's marathon something-or-other installment, I wanted to talk a little bit about injury prevention. I have been prone to knee injuries ever since I sprained my meniscus playing soccer in high school, and my knee pains especially act up when I run A) high mileage, and B) consistently. Since I will be running both high mileage and running consistently in order to train for my first ever marathon, I am pretty nervous about my recurring knee problems flaring up again. I also am hoping to avoid shin splints for as long as humanly possible. I could go on for days about the different ways to prevent injuries and all that jazz, but today I'm just going to give you guys my simple routine that I do at least three times a week. 

When I ran cross country in high school, my coach was really big on avoiding and treating injuries. As part of our injury prevention routine, he had us do a lot of exercises that engaged the glutes, which running doesn't really do, and increased the flexibility, strength and range of motion in the hips. I've started to incorporate these moves into my post-run exercises three to four times a week. I usually do the following routine on workout run days (tempos, hills, fartleks, etc.) and long run days.

 In order to prevent muscle tearing, you should doa dynamic warm-up before every workout, so that you're not going into a super intense workout or run with cold muscles. Lunge matrix and Myrtle should be done on alternating days and I usually pair the push-ups and abs with myrtle. Always make sure to stretch well after your workouts, too, but I probably don't need to tell you guys that.

Another way to prevent injuries like shin splints and various knee problems, is to ice, ice, ice! And heat! Immediately after my long runs, I fill up a mid-thigh-high trash bucket with ice and freezing cold water, and I stand in it for 10-15 minutes. I do this once or twice a week, depending on how much time I have during the week and how sore I am after a particular run/workout. Once I'm done icing, I wrap a heating pad around my knees and sit with that on for about 20 minutes. So far, *knock on wood*, my routine has helped me avoid any recurring knee pain and shin splints. Gosh, I hope it keeps working!

The heating pad is always rewarding!

P.S. NEVER stay in an ice bath for longer than 20 minutes or else your cells will start to die! (I'm sure there is a much less scary, way more scientific way to explain this, but honestly, that's all I know).

Cheers!

Just Keep Swimming...Literally

Hi all! Want to know what I haven't done in a while/ever? Posted a real workout. I may have posted one or two workouts before, but I have a whole inventory of different workouts that are fun and hard and most of which are easy to do at home. Remember when I said I wanted to get more serious about the blog and post workouts with pictures? I am holding true to that resolution, well minus the pictures. I'm still working up to the whole, "let's post picture tutorials instead of writing out how to do the workouts" thing, so I do apologize for my lack of picture/tutorials. I will just try to be extra detailed in my instructions on how to do these exercises.  Maybe the next workout I post will have pictures? Don't hold your breath.

Anyways, today's workout is way different from anything that I have posted/will probably ever post. Why? Because the only pieces of equipment you need are a swimming pool, kick board, and a pull buoy. Yep, that's right folks, today's workout is a pool workout. I thought it was reasonable to post this seeing as yesterday was a cross-training day for my marathon training.

I used to be a swimmer in high school and my blog is called "Just Keep Swimming" so I found it fitting to post this workout for you guys. Now, because this workout is in a pool and because it requires you to swim long distances, please only do this if you are really comfortable, and I mean REALLY comfortable in a pool/swimming at all. This is a distance set and you will repeat the main set twice. The warm-up is broken into two parts. The first part of the warm-up (1x50 and 2x100) will be repeated twice and the second half of the warm-up will be repeated four times. Also, please note that if you don't feel comfortable or know how to do breast or back strokes, just stick with freestyle (your basic front crawl).

Also, just as a reference for those of you who don't know your pool distances:

• 50 yards = 2 lengths
• 100 yards = 4 lengths
• 200 yards = 8 lengths
• 300 yards = 12 lengths
• 400 yards = 16 lengths
• 500 yards = 20 lengths

Here it is:

Only do what you're comfortable with.

So there it is! If you like to swim, give it a go and see what you think! Keep your eyes open for more pool workouts and more dry-land workouts in the near future. Oh! And I'm probably over due for a healthy eating post, too. Until next time, just keep swimming, literally! ;)

Marathon Training and Tortilla Pizzas

Well folks, it's official. I am training for a marathon. My first ever! I am simultaneously really excited and super terrified, but I trust my plan and I know I'll be ready when the time comes. For those of you training for your first marathon or thinking about it, the concept of actually getting through the entire 26.2 miles on foot may be a little daunting. I'm right there with ya. The distance itself isn't what worries me, it's how my body is going to feel during and after the race. Since this marathon, taking place in May, will be my first, I'm not really going for a time goal of any sort. I just want to finish. Ideally I'd be able to that without walking, but I don't want to be unrealistic.

The training plan I'm following came from a special issue of Runner's World magazine. My mom used this plan when she ran her marathons. It's nice because it allows you to start small and gradually increase distance as you build up your endurance, so even total beginners can work up to a marathon. I am still in the first week of real training, but I've already completed two weeks of what is called the "pre-train", the part of the plan that gets you back into the habit of running every day. I plan on doing a post about what I did and did not like about this plan, the marathon I will be running and the things that I did and what I could've done differently after all is said and done. This marathon training is a learning period for me and I will use it as such. Can't wait for the actual event!!

Well, enough about my marathon blabbing, for now, at least. Today I want to share with you guys a healthy-ish take on pizza. Over break, I experimented a bit with the food my family had in the house and I wound up making a lot of tortilla pizzas. They were great! I have two "flatbread" (a.k.a. tortilla) pizza recipes to share with you guys.

The first pizza is pretty festive....in a Christmas-y sort of way, but spinach and tomatoes are good on pizza all year long!

Spinach, Goat-cheese, and Tomato Tortilla Pizza:

Ingredients:

1. Handful of fresh baby spinach leaves
2. Two or three fresh basil leaves
3. 1/2 fresh green bell pepper
4. 1/4 fresh tomato (or 4 cherry tomatoes)
5. 2 tbsp. Montchevre goat cheese (or soft cheese of preference)
6. Sprinkle of Oregano and Rosemary
7. 1 whole wheat tortilla

Directions:

1. Wash all vegetables
2. Dice tomato and green pepper 
3. Spread goat cheese onto entire tortilla
4. Lay down spinach then add rest of vegetables
5. Tear basil leaves and spread around pizza
6. Sprinkle Oregano and Rosemary over top of pizza
7. Broil on top rack in oven for 3-5 minutes

Yummy!

Sunshine Tortilla Pizza:

Ingredients:

1. 1/3 yellow bell pepper
2. 1/3 orange bell pepper
3. 1/3 red bell pepper
4. 4 cherry tomatoes (or 1/4 regular tomato)
5. 2 tbsp. Montchevre goat cheese (or soft cheese of choice)
6. 1 whole wheat tortilla

Directions:

**Same as above**

....aaaaand....VOILA!

In just a few short minutes, you get a delicious tasting, crispy little pizza. Don't let the ultra-thin crust fool you, these little tortilla pizzas are actually quite filling! Next time the cafeteria is closed at school, or if you're home, give one of these a try. It's a quick, easy, tasty, and healthy lunch option. It might even be great for a dinner for nights when you're short on time.

Do any of you guys know how to knit? I'd been trying to teach myself on and off for years but I could never get the hang of it, until recently when one of my friends taught me. Now all I can think about is knitting. Isn't that sad? I think I'm slowly becoming your stereotypical grandma. Don't believe me? Here's some picture evidence:

   

See, knitting cat lady. Oops. Oh well. No shame. Anyways, wish me luck in these next few months of torture  training for my marathon. I'll be sure to keep you guys posted! 

Looking Back on 2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Yes, I realize it's a little late.

2013 was no big "year of the blog" for me. I mean, it was the year I started Just Keep Swimming. Does that count? I know I wasn't a super consistent poster, but honestly, I didn't start the blog for other people; I mostly started it as a way to motivate myself to get back into and stay in shape. It's a way for me to record my workout and recipe ideas, and my thoughts on life, health and fitness. For these reasons, I didn't exactly post everyday.....or even every month...awkward. However, just because I wasn't a huge blogger last year, doesn't mean I didn't do anything in other aspects of my life.

Picking a major:
When I first entered college, I had really no idea what I wanted to do with my life - I still don't. I started out thinking I might want to do something with physical therapy, but quickly found out that science is NOT my forte. I've always been good at English and for a while I even thought I would major in it, but I guess college is about experiencing different things, and in my case, I needed to struggle through some science classes to reassure myself that English is definitely the right choice for me. The end of 2013 marked the end of my first semester as an official English major.

Getting (back) in shape:
I spent most of 2013 gaining back the fitness I lost in 2012. Over the summer and throughout the new school year I've been more active then ever and I've been making an effort to eat pretty healthy. I definitely think the blog has helped with that, but so have other blogs like Pumps and Iron and Strong Like My Coffee, both of which post great workouts and recipes to help you live a healthy lifestyle. I also started using Map My Run to record the foods I eat and the workouts out I do daily. I'm still not in high school shape, and I may never be again, but I'm ok with that because I'm getting back to a level of health that I'm comfortable with, and that makes all the difference.

Being social
Usually I'm pretty quiet around people that I don't know, but over the past year I've stepped outside of my comfort zone. I've joined clubs and gone to shows and made a lot of new friends. Of course, I still keep in contact with all of my old high school friends and we had a blast being reunited over winter break, but it's still nice to have new friends to go back to at school.

Basically 2013 was a great year. It may have been one long, bumpy ride on the struggle bus that is my life, but it was fun and fantastic nonetheless. And now that we've said goodbye to 2013 let's look forward to 2014:

The blog:
I plan to actually get more serious about this blog...I know, woah! I'm not going to call this a resolution or anything, but I'd like to start posting more workouts and recipes, and maybe even some picture tutorials to go along with my workout posts. Hopefully I'll also manage to get at least one post in every week, but hey, I'm not dreaming big or anything, we need to start small, here.

Dat young fitness life:
I am officially registered to run the 2014 Wisconsin marathon in May. Eep! Boy am I excited! BUT! That does mean that I will have to start training....now. In fact, I have a four mile "pre-train" run on the agenda for tonight and since it's a solid 11 degrees and dark, I guess I'll be hopping on the treadmill for that one. I hope to add some sort of marathon installment on the blog. Can't exactly say what that will be or that it will be very consistent, but the key word in that sentence is hope.

Other important things:
For my French major, it is required that I study abroad for at least a semester in a French-speaking country. I'm not even going to pretend that this doesn't excite me. I am currently applying for a program in Paris! I won't know if I've been accepted for quite some time, but hopefully I'll get to spend my entire junior year gallivanting around France studying in cafés and art museums. ;)

I can't pretend that this post actually qualifies as something to do with health and/or fitness, but I promise that I will get in a good number of posts that do throughout this year of the big 2014.