Accomplishing Your Goals

   


   

     Hey everyone, it's me again. So I've had an interesting week, to say the least. My friend Noereem told me that she was doing a 5K to celebrate her birthday and suggested that I join her. I mulled it over for a bit, and I said yes. It would be my second one so I wanted to see if my time would improve from 2011. Now mind you, I didn't do any actual preparation or training. All I had been doing was running my two miles a few times a week. I wasn't sure how it was gonna turn out.

     So, it's the morning of the race, and I'm incredibly nervous. I don't know where it came from, but I was anxious to run this 5K. I go up to register and  ask one of the attendants if it were allowed that we could wear headphones, and he said yes. Some of that anxiety lessened because I knew that I'd be able to give my best effort with some music in my ears as I'm running. That's when I really went into race mode and was good to go. Headphones were in, my playlist was ready and I was off.

     So I'm running and I'm running, and just that, I kept on running. I wasn't tired, wasn't short of breath, I just kept a steady pace and I was putting in work! I ran two miles without stopping in about 20 minutes, which was a big deal for me. I stopped for some water and then my body caught up with me. My back was hurting, legs were on fire, common issues while running. I slowed down a bit and stopped a few times.

     Then, "Smooth Criminal" came on during my shuffle, and I knew I had to finish that last half mile strong. I was hoping for a really song to come up and motivate me to go harder, and of course MJ made it happen. Anyone that knows me, knows that "Smooth Criminal" is my push song to get through any type of workout. I ran my way to the finish line (on the verge of throwing up but I made it). My time ended up being 30:55, which was about a minute and change less than my previous time. I was proud of myself, but I knew I could do better and I wanted to do better. Something sparked in me and I knew that my next goal would have to be to run three miles without stopping in under 30 minutes.

     So from that 5K on Sunday, all the way today, I went running. Since I have two more 5Ks coming up next month, I became determined to meet my goal. Each day I pushed myself to do a little more each day. Running uphill, downhill, backwards, I did it all. The Map My Run app on my phone has been tracking all of my runs and my stats and I've been getting better each day.

     Then, yesterday morning, it happened: I achieved my goal!!! I ran three miles without stopping in under 30 minutes. I definitely screamed and I'm pretty sure everyone heard me, but I didn't care. There's no better feeling than setting goals and achieving them.

     I'm proud of myself for the progress that I'm making and I'm happy that I've been an example to people to achieve their own fitness goals. My friends that are gonna run this next 5K with me are like "I need to get on your level". Which kinda took me aback. I'm usually the one that follows these fitness pages on Instagram or seeing my athletic, military friends like damn I wanna look like that. At the end of the day, we have to stop comparing ourselves to others. I can only work on being in the best shape that I can be. I'm a work in progress and I'm only going to get better from here. I want to get a few more 5Ks under my belt and then start training for a half marathon, and eventually, I'm gonna make my way to the Boston Marathon. As long as I have the motivation (and a good ankle wrap and knee brace) I'll make it happen.

The Sweaty Selfie

     Now this is something that I should not be proud of, but I am indeed the King of the sweaty selfie on Instagram. Now the sweaty selfie is when you're in the midst of a grueling workout, but have JUST enough time to break out the phone and capture your perspiration on camera. Now, I'm sure there are people who get annoyed with someone like me who takes countless pictures of me sweating on social media. But it's like, I don't care one bit.  So anywho, embrace the sweaty selfie. Show people that you're putting in the work and be proud of yourself while those critics are probably on their couch being slobs not caring about their health. Here are some highlights of my work:

Embrace the sweaty selfie!!

My Favorite Fitness Apps

     Hello everyone, thanks again for all of the supporters of this blog. It definitely means a lot to me. Anywho, to anyone who's looking to lose weight and learn how to exercise, it may be confusing at how to go about the process. There's quite a few people in the world's population that are iPhone users. I've been fortunate to conform to society as well (Thanks mom for the graduation gift). They feature many awesome (and free) apps for exercise beginners to the more experienced gym junkies such as myself who are always eager to seek a new challenge. Here are some of my favorites so far:

1.) Runtastic Push-Ups PRO: Ok well this one costs a dollar or two, but it's worth the investment. The way this app works is that you start doing low reps spread over five sets. For example, you'll do a set of 2, 3, 2, 2, 4. That's level 1, which is spread over 25 sessions. Basically, at the end of Level 3, the final goal is to do 100 Push-ups in one shot. I was able to bang out 60, and then I finished with a set of 40 (my chest was on fire, sue me). I would usually do this app after my workouts. I had to find an extra burst of energy to get through the last couple of sessions, like lawwwwddddd it was hard! So yeah, if you love push-ups or want to accomplish doing a push-up for the first time in your life, use this app. Your upper body muscles will thank you later.

2.) Runkeeper: I've been increasing my running this year and I'm no good measure for distance and calories, so why not have an app do it for me? Then came Runkeeper. The only downside to this app is the female voice that would tell me the time and how far I ran. You know, one of those robotic, annoying, monotone voices. Imagine your worst teacher/professor giving a boring lecture, that's her. Especially when I'd be in the middle of an MJ song, and right when that good part of the song she would interrupt my life. Luckily I figured out how to keep her on mute and to just tell my mile times.

3.) MapMyRun: My friend Noereem (who by the way is an amazing runner, like seriously try and keep up with her) would post instagram pics about this running app she was using. I was like "ooooh I like that". So I just downloaded it this week. I would've gotten it sooner but Citizen's Bank wanted to take 40 days and 40 nights to replace my debit card, but I digress. I love it already. For one, the voice on this app is actually tolerable and encouraging. Secondly, it also has an option for nutrition. I type in the foods I ate throughout the day and it tells me how many calories I'm consuming and how much I need to maintain my weight and all that good stuff. I think this will help with my eating so I can actually see for myself how many carbs is this, or how much fat is in that. Very helpful, to say the least.

     So yeah, for all of you iPhone users out there who are looking to jumpstart an exercise regiment, I would suggest these three apps to get you going. They've proven to work well for me and hopefully you try them out and get great results!

The Challenge is Over..... Or is it?

     Ok guys, so the three weeks are up. The 21 Day Challenge has been completed. I would say that I was 85% successful in not eating the foods that were prohibited. In my opinion, it wasn't really that hard to do, or so I thought. The first few days were terrible because I think it's human nature to want what you can't have. I normally eat those foods on a daily basis, but once I was cut off, I wanted a cookie like I was crack addict. Anyone that knows me, knows that sweets are my weakness. At work, there was so much temptation around: Cookies, pies, donuts, chips, but I kept it together.

     Now, I said that I was 85% successful because well there were some slip ups in those 21 days, more so towards the end. Welllllll sometimes, no one wants to cook in the house so naturally I'm gonna order out, and welllllll I had some pizza. A brotha has to eat, and it wasn't even that bad. Spinach alfredo with chicken and tomatoes so I was being good. Then, one night I went out to eat with friends and there was this reese's molten cake and REESE'S ARE MY WEAKNESS so I succumbed to the temptation and I felt no guilt whatsoever. Then the kicker: my mom bought home some chocolate peanut butter poptarts and caramel apple cookies from pepperidge farm. Mind you, it was the last two days of the challenge. I said screw it and I WENT IN. Once again, no guilt whatsoever, I gotta live my life.

     There were some positives from this challenge. For instance, I slimmed down just a tad. I never weighed myself but I could tell from how clothes were fitting on me and how baggy my pants were becoming. People noticed a difference as well so I knew I was doing something right. I felt a little bit more energetic throughout and I made healthier eating choices as I've been working towards doing for quite some time now. I also enjoyed the fact that friends of mine were also inspired to do the challenge with me and following my lead. Made me realize that people are watching and listening to me and look to me as a positive influence. I have to say, there's no better feeling.

     The only real downside is that I don't like restrictive diets or that word alone: diet. It triggers something that makes me feel like I can't eat this or that and quit cold turkey. That's not good at all because you get that first taste of something you've deprived yourself of and you're gonna binge. Believe me, I've demolished cartons of ice cream and packs of oreos to myself so I know what I speak of. It took me a while to understand that I don't have to deprive myself of a cookie once in awhile, but not to go overboard with it as well. It's a balance struggle that I've had to deal with for quite some time.

     The next step for me is to challenge myself to not stop eating the foods I love, but instead to just cut down on certain things. My main loves are: peanut butter, cheese, peanut butter, wheat bread, peanut butter, gatorades, and did I mention peanut butter? Now that would be the real challenge for me. It won't be easy but I've proven time and time again that I can accomplish anything that I put my mind to. The same goes for anyone reading this blog, we can do anything guys.