Back from my Blogging Break

Hey Guys!

So it’s been a while…a long while actually. I think one of the challenges of blogging and being a student is being able to juggle both. But I’m back, and since the semester’s wrapping up, I’ll be able to get more posts to you guys! So what’s been happening in the last few weeks?

Daniel and I did the Downsview Airport 8k! I had a time of 54:39 and Daniel finished one second faster than me, (we crossed the finish line together). The course was challenging; while it was completely flat since 90% of it took place on a tarmac, the wind was SUPER intense. We layered appropriately since it was -5⁰C, but your face still takes a beating. The race was well organized and included a tech shirt or toque, (upon registration, you picked which one you wanted), finisher’s medal, coupons and yummy treats. They also had a Tim Horton’s kiosk set up complete with coffee and hot chocolate! I think my only complaint was getting to the venue. Since part of the course was on a neighbourhood road, the normal route to the parking lot was blocked off. Combine this with a series of one-way roads and you have yourself a sticky situation.

I’m signing up for my first half-marathon! It’s crazy to think that just a couple years ago, I’d run a couple blocks away from our condo and back and be tapped out. After running consistently and doing some races, I feel pretty ready to take the next step! I’m still debating between the Goodlife Marathon and the Mississauga Marathon courses, but I have to decide in less than a week to snag a decent rate. So stayed tuned!

After much reflection with regards to my body, I’ve decided that I need to take charge. I always try different diets and never really stick to anything. Once I have a “bad day”, it’s a catalyst for another bad day and then a bad month. I’ve tried Weight Watchers a couple years ago, (just before I turned 19), and did have some success, but I feel that that specific diet isn’t right for me right now. After doing some research, I stumbled across Kinobody. It was a completely different approach than I’ve ever tried before. I bought the program, (which was a lot cheaper than most diet programs), and so far I’m on day two and loving it! Within the week, I’ll be sure to post a review for you guys and let you know what it’s about.

Also, be sure to check me out on social media! I post mostly lifestyle stuff so you can see what goes on when I’m not training, but I’m going to start posting fitness-related things so keep your eyes peeled!

Instagram: taylormarshall94

Snapchat: tgmarshall

 

-Running Fast, Lifting Heavy

Mid-Week Recap (Day 40)

So far, this week’s been a little bit of a whirlwind for me but I was still able to get a leg workout in on Monday and a long run on Tuesday. I’m not sure why/how this happened, but ever since yesterday evening, I’ve had this nasty cough that hasn’t let up so I decided to take it easy today and rest.

This weekend’s going to be a little crazy for us, but providing that my cough has gone away tomorrow, I’ll definitely be in the gym. Daniel and I are also going to a place called Pursuit OCR on Sunday, so as per usual, I’ll be sure to blog it and let you guys know how it went.

Here is the run that I did

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And as for my leg workout, I was feeling super lazy Monday afternoon and decided to just do it in my living room! I have the Nike Training Club app on my iPod, which is a Godsend if you’re looking for a quick supplement to your workout. The workouts generally range from 10 minutes-45 minutes and vary in intensity. Since I was doing legs, I went to the “Get Focused” area of the app and scrolled through until I found some leg workouts. I picked Leaner Legs and Beach Legs, (a cumulative workout time of 30 minutes)…boy did it kick my butt!

As I talked about in my last running blog post, I decided to focus on more compound exercises in efforts to save time. Since I’m looking to cut some mass, I’m ok with not doing as many isolating exercises. If you guys have any questions about my exercise plan/my diet plan, feel free to comment below!

 

-Running Fast, Lifting Heavy

 

End of Week Check-In (Day 29)

This week was definitely challenging. Getting back into training when you’ve been off for two weeks isn’t easy. I also had a bit of a rookie moment: after going on two runs with my new Forerunner 25 and seeing how slow my pace was, I realized auto-pause off. Now that I’ve turned it on, I’m looking forward to seeing my normal pace again.

The race is officially four weeks away and I honestly couldn’t be more nervous. I feel like I’m not prepared enough and haven’t been training hard enough. Anyone else feel this way before a race as well? I’m hoping with a good week of training under my belt, my mentality will change.

Due to the fact that my auto-pause was off, I’m not going to include the stats of my long run or progression run, however I did a chest and tricep workout on Wednesday that’s outlined below:

Tricep Extension – 15lbs @ 45 reps

Chest Press – 50lbs @ 41 reps

Overhead Tricep Extension – 50lbs @ 45 reps

Peck Fly – 50lbs @ 45 reps

Tricep Kickbacks – 15lbs @ 38 reps

Dumbbell Bench Press – 25lbs @ 31 reps

If anything, I’m looking at dropping some mass right now, which is why the reps are high. I could definitely lift a lot more if it I was aiming for fewer reps, (right now, I aim for three sets @ a minimum of 10 reps and a max of 15).

On another note, I’m booking an appointment with an RMT, (registered massage therapist), so once I go to that appointment, I’ll write a post for you guys to let you know how it went.

 

-Running Fast, Lifting Heavy

Mid-Week Recap (Day 24)

I decided to revamp the blog a bit and shift my focus to races that I’m training for and any progressions/downfalls that result from that. Because of this, I deleted my first blog post since it doesn’t really fit the bill.

Anyways, today was the first day that my ear infection has subsided enough that I was able to continue training for the Downsview 8k (I’m current 24 days in). I’m pretty excited for this run for two reasons: one, the course is in the Downsview Hangar so it’s entirely flat (maybe a pr is my future?) and two, it’s the first race I’m doing with my boyfriend Daniel. To train for it, I’m using the Nike 10k Training Plan and just scaling back the miles to the lesser amount required. I had amazing success with this training plan when I trained for the Toronto Women’s 10k in August, so I figured I shouldn’t mess with a good thing.

Since today’s the first day I’ve actually felt decent enough to run in about two weeks, my pace was about a minute slower than I’m capable of running (I ran 4mi at 47:53). I should also point out that I’m not a fast runner to begin with, if anything, I’m on the slow side. I’m hoping with more time that will change.

Daniel got me a Garmin Forerunner 25 for my birthday, so I got to take it out for its first run today! Running without a phone is pretty liberating. I’m actually kind of embarrassed to say I heavily relied on my phone during runs. Since I have a Galaxy 6 and I’m not crazy about Google Music, I run with my iPod as well. Now that I don’t run with a phone anymore, I need to find a belt of sorts to carry my iPod and keys…I’m so close to a hands-free run!

Tuesday’s Stats

4 mi @ 11:57/MI, 47:53 minutes of Moving Time

 

-Running Fast, Lifting Heavy