2 months... ahh!

So it's been 2 months since I've posted. I haven't been inactive in my working out, but my running and training was put on the backburner for organic chemistry. I ended up with another A, which brought my GPA above 3.0! In terms of the marathon, I submitted my registration today. :) I'm excited, and I plan to finish it no matter what. Even if that means it's dark out and my mom is driving by me in the car, yelling, "Woo only 10 miles left!!" I'm looking forward to trying to raise as much money for the Human Rights Campaign. It's a great cause and they're the leading LGBT rights group.

Staying on track

I'm feeling really good as of late. I've lost about 4 more pounds in the past week, and I'm only 3 pounds away from a total of 20 pounds! The thing I'm really looking forward to is when I finally break the 200lb mark. But slow and steady is how I've got to do it. I think it's time for a gym tip.

Gym Tip #1

Feeling Comfortable

I think a lot of people feel nervous about going to the gym or working out in front of other people. My response to that is 95% of the time, no one is looking at you. Even if they are "looking" at you, in reality I can say that they are just looking in a direction. People at the gym normally have their headphones in and are concentrating on their on workouts. That being said, even consciously knowing that it's still hard to get over the feeling of being watched for some people. My best suggestion to people who have this fear is to definitely invest in headphones and an mp3 player of some sort, and just try to concentrate on the workout.

Training Tips and Gym Tips

So training is going really well, and I'm starting to get a good rhythm going. I'm really motivated, and I'm starting to see results in both my appearance and stats. Since I'm writing this blog with hopes to eventually help other people of all levels with their fitness endeavors, I have decided to add two series to my blog: Training Tips and Gym Tips. Training Tips will be about workout tips, cardio tips and weight training tips... basically these will be from a combination of personal experience and research. Gym tips will come along as I think of them, and will basically include gym etiquette, feeling comfortable and a rundown of gym equipment. These tips will be kind of random, and helpfulness will be subjective to your experience and/or sense of humor.

Training Tip #1

Cardio or Weight Training first?

This is kind of a personal preference thing in my opinion. Some people say it's better to do cardio last so your body can burn the available fuel in your stomach by weights first. My stance is that unless you are literally bodybuilding, you don't need that much fuel to lift. Also, you shouldn't lift without warming up anyway, so cardio first makes sense to me. Regardless, always make sure to warm up and cool down, and stretch. NEVER stretch while cold, you could pull something.

Down 3 minutes!

Today I ran my 2nd 5K, and I improved my time by 3 minutes! 43:30. I also incorporated my weight training back into my program. I am doing weight training 6 days a week, cardio 7 days a week, and core 7 days a week. Anyway, super tired so this is going to be a short post. I've also decided to use this marathon to donate money to the Human Rights Campaign. I'm in the process of setting up a fundraising page through their Athletes for Equality site. I will link to it later on.

Off the wagon

Well, since I haven't posted in almost a month it's very clear that I fell off the wagon. Regardless, I gave myself enough time to get back on track if something like this happened. My new job working on the ferries between CT and NY serving food is more stressful than I planned. The tourists are frantic for their muffins and coffees, and it gets old very quick. Thankfully, I only have a bit left before going to NYCC in January.

Day 10

Training seems to be going well so far. I can't wait until I have access to a pool so that I can add swimming to my plan. There was an advertisement today at the gym for a job running the desk. I submitted an application. I really hope this job comes through, I need a source of income. Who knows how long I'll be at home because my future plans aren't very solid at the moment. No big deal, I'm just kind of going with the flow at the moment.

"I think we missed a turn..."

Well, my mom and I spent around 4 hours driving around the ghettos of RI (yes, those exist)outside of Providence. We were looking for a Kmart because we wanted to buy a few things for my nieces and nephews. We ended up driving in circles and through every ethnic neighborhood in existence. Irish, Italian, Chinese, Hispanic, etc. PS... the Italian neighborhood has red, green, and white stripes down the middle of the road instead of yellow... keeping it classy, haha. Anyway, we never found it and we are thoroughly convinced it is gone. So we had a yummy dinner at Newport Creamery. Unfortunately, this meant going to the gym rather late. But, all in all it was a good day.

Also, I took my online Organic 1 final yesterday, and got a 96%! So today I found out I got an A in the class! Woo!!