Saturday, April 27, 2013

Journey to the Race: Day 41

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
-William James


First day of freedom was lovely. I slept in, had a big breakfast, caught up on tv shows, and just lounged around. Lauren and I went for a 5k run/walk although there was far more running than walking. It was such a beautiful day and it was warm enough to not need a sweater so it was great to get outside. After dinner, dad and I assembled the deck table and chairs. And now I'm just going to relax, play around with makeup and nail polish, and read :)

Friday, April 26, 2013

Journey to the Race: Day 40

Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.
-Walter Elliot


I'm actually not nearly as sore as I thought I would be so that makes me happy. My abs are obviously sore from the P90X workout but only if I laugh too hard or get hiccups or something like that. Today's been a very long day, I have 2 final exams. I had psych this morning and a mammology lab exam in the afternoon both of which I think went well. I studied latin names for the past week, I'm so happy to be done with memorizing latin names for awhile now. And those were my last exams so I am done!! This semester feels like it flew by but there was also a whole lot of work in it so I'm very happy to get a break. Now just to unwind and job hunt.

We had a family movie night tonight which was nice. My sister and I worked out a bit during the movie, she did some ab workouts and I did a very altered P90X ab workout where I basically did any exercise I could remember for 10-15 reps and did a few sets of each. It is very difficult to exercise with a cat around though, she decided to wind around my legs, curl up behind me, and steal the mat. That's life with a cat for you.

I'm still in finals mode so I still feel like I have things I need to study or work I need to do but hopefully that'll pass and the break will really sink in soon. For the rest of the evening I'm just going to relax and unwind. G'night all!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Journey to the Race: Day 39

One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals.
-Michael Korda


Oh my gosh I'm going to hurt so badly tomorrow. Once I had finished studying for one exam I decided to take a break and work out. I chose a workout from pinterest but I've done it before and I didn't find it terribly challenging so I decided to add something else. Why I chose the night before 2 exams to try P90X Ab Ripper I will never know but wow that's an intense workout. I did one set of this workout from pinterest, then attempted the P90X workout, then did the original one again. I did have to alter the P90X workout because 1) some of the exercises were just painful and my body won't allow me to do them 2) I couldn't do as many reps. I did do as many as I could or would stop for a few seconds then continue with the same exercise until I reached the goal number of reps. The V Up/Roll Up Combo was insane but after awhile you get into a groove and it does get a bit easier. I wasn't able to do the Fifer Scissors so I did a mixture of those and flutter kicks as I find those a little bit easier. The Oblique V Ups I wasn't able to do at all, I have bad hip joints and it was just painful to do even one so I did reverse crunches and bicycle crunches instead. The Mason Twists were harder than they look but I did as many as I could until I basically fell over and couldn't do any more. Overall, it's a very good workout although I did have to alter it. I did some stretching so hopefully I won't be too sore tomorrow. Now just to review a little bit and study some more for my second exam. Wish me luck!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Journey to the Race: Day 38

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
-Benjamin Franklin


Today's been yet another day of studying for exams. I have one part of studying done, now I just have to study for one more part of one exam, and for my second exam. I did the 5-4-3-2-1 workout from pinterest which I hadn't done in awhile. It's a great workout to do every day but if you don't do it for awhile it can be hard to get through. I altered it a bit by removing the 1 min of plank at the end, and adding in more crunches and 5 minutes of biking instead. It was a good workout, and it makes me want to do that particular workout more often to improve.

Here are some songs I've found that are good for workouts:
Moral of the Story - George Watsky
The Pheonix - Fall Out Boy
Rumor Mill - We Are The In Crowd

Also just an amazing song in general:
Affected - Meghan Tonjes

And now I'm off to study some more then relax before bed. G'night!

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Journey to the Race: Day 37

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.
-Helen Keller


Once again today was a bit of a lazy day. I stayed up late last night reading so I slept in this morning. I procrastinated most of the day then studied in the evening. Studying included looking up pictures of cute animals so it wasn't too bad. Didn't work out today, which I always think will be a good idea to rest but then I just feel off all day so I probably should be working out every day. I'll most likely do a workout from pinterest tomorrow so we'll see how that goes. G'night all :)

Monday, April 22, 2013

Journey to the Race: Day 36

When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.
-Thomas Jefferson



I'm only a little sore from yesterday, I honestly thought I'd be feeling it more but it's not bad unless I try to carry anything heavy at all. I have my first final exam today so the morning was spent reviewing and going back and forth between "I know this, I'll be fine" and "I don't care anymore". I think the exam went well, there were a few questions I wasn't sure about but overall I think it was okay. I picked up my tests and an essay for other classes and did pretty well on those so I'm happy with my grades so far. Only 2 more finals to go so I'll be focusing on studying for those.
In the evening, I went for a walk/run with my mom and neighbour. They walked the 5k and I would jog or sprint ahead and walk back. I also threw in some burpees, squat jumps, jumping jacks, and lunges at one point. Was nice to get out and see the sunset. :)

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Journey to the Race: Day 35

If you can dream it, you can do it.
-Walt Disney



Woo today was a good workout day. We did jogs around a park for a warm up, sprinting up the hills and doing 20 walking lunges when on flat ground. Then we went to a steep hill and with a partner, took turns sprinting up the hill 8 times. We then went back to the park and did this circuit twice.
  • 3-4 pull ups
  • 10 pushup swingouts (not sure what it's called but you get into a pushup position with your hands on a playground swing, then swing your arms out then back to the pushup position)
  • piggy back someone of approximately the same weight for...I have no idea but I'd guess 20-40m (vague I know, but I have no idea of the actual distance)
  • pull a weighted sled the same distance

We finished the session with 2 runs up yet another hill, which is not as steep but is a long and slow climb. The first run up was a nice jog pace, and the second one was an all out sprint to the top.

The sled drag was by far the worst part, it was heavy and slow going. The sprints and runs weren't nearly as bad as I thought they would be although I did get a cramp in my side again. And I'm pretty sure my sister bruised my hips from gripping on so tight during the piggy back ride, but she kind of had to so she wouldn't slide off.

Overall a great workout, and now I get to spend the rest of the day studying for finals. Wish me luck!