Tag: #goalsetting

HMT: Days 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 & 23

Leave a comment
HMT: Days 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, & 23

HMT: Days 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, & 23

Day 18: 4.4 run + Strength

HMT: Day 18s 4.4 Miles

HMT: Day 18s 4.4 Miles

I wasn’t too excited about this run because of my Bikram ass kicking the day before, but it actually went pretty well. These short runs are getting really really easy. And that’s crazy to me because before training for this Half, I would dread running 3 miles. Lately, I’ve been pushing hard on the last mile or mile and a half on my treadmill runs because I want to improve my kick at the end of my races. On this day I finished my last mile with a 7-min pace and it felt gooood. For the strength portion of this day, I did a very quick circuit of chest, biceps and legs.

Day 19: Rest

Hell yes!

Day 20: 50 minute cross training

Today I took a spin class at Crunch called “‘The Ride.” This was my second spin class and I wasn’t sure what to expect because the first spin class kicked my ass real bad; it was a Bikram type of ass kicking that day. John was the spin instructor and he was awesome. He had someone else ride his bike while we walked around yelling and motivating us. The best part of his class was the music. He had a great mix of new and old school hip-hop and if you know me, you know I love hip-hop music when I work out. I also liked his class because he gave us 2, maybe 3, 2 minute rests after a crazy hill. I think I’ll start attending his class every Saturday from now on.

Day 21: 8 mile run

Sundays 8-miler around Lake Merced

Sundays 8-miler around Lake Merced

Let me start off by saying that I looooooove Lake Merced…… except for that damn hill. A full lap around Lake Merced is 4.4 miles, so in order for me and Gordon to do 8 miles we had to run a few parts of the lake again and the damn hill was part of it. Quite honestly, I may be the only person who calls it a hill, cuz it just a very gradual rise over a about 100 yards. The rise isn’t too sharp, but its definitely the toughest part of the run and it definitely slows me down. Other than the hill, the rest of the run is very doable and we actually had a good pace the first time around. Before the run, I thought the toughest part was going to be tackling the hill the second time. Surprisingly, I felt really good going into the hill the second time around and decided to attack it. I went as fast as I could and it felt pretty good. I know it was just an 8 mile run, but an 8 mile run around Lake Merced is a huge mental win for me. To even take on that hill once is a pain for me, so running it twice in one day was a great feat and I know its going to prepare me well for my Half on May 5th.

Day 22: Stretch & Strenghthen

Stretch & Strengthen…. HAH! After that 8-miler yesterday? Hell no! I decided to listen to my body and take the day off. So what did I do? I slept til about 12, woke up, showered, went to American Sushi House and had all you can eat sushi and finished the day by going to the San Francisco Giants vs Philadelphia Phillies game. It was Timmy vs Halladay, so it was a great game to go to. Yes, Timmy stunk it up real bad that day, but I still had a great time with my love and my friends. If you haven’t been to AT&T Park yet, you’re def. missing out. I started the game like I always do, with a Crazy Crab Sammie, Garlic Fries and a Stella. It was my first game of the season and it felt really good to be back at the park. It was a great day off!

(Top Left) My Lady & I - (Top Right) Crazy Crab Sandwich - (Bottom Left) Garlic Fries - (Bottom Right) AT&T Park

(Top Left) My Lady & I - (Top Right) Crazy Crab Sandwich - (Bottom Left) Garlic Fries - (Bottom Right) AT&T Park

Day 23: 5 mile run

HMT Day 23s 5 miler

HMT Day 23s 5 miler

Ok, today’s gym session started off horribly because I left my headphones at home!! I hate when I do that!! I decided not to make it a big deal though and convinced myself that it was a good thing I left them at home. I felt that it was sort of a challenge, and recently I’ve been more accepting of challenges, especially those that pertain to my running. Besides that, today’s run felt really really really good. I usually start my treadmill runs at 6.5 for a good 5 minutes, but today I started off at 7.2. And I would increase it every couple of minutes by .2 or .3. Again, I finished off the last 2 miles pretty fast (to my standards). I ran mile 3 at 8.0 and ran mile 4 at 8.5. Like I said earlier, these shorter runs are getting a lot easier and I’m lovin’ it.

I hope you all are having a great week. I’m going to read some Born to Run now, cheers!

HMT: Days 13, 14, 15, 16 & 17 “What the Bikram!!”

1 Comment
HMT: Days 13, 14, 15, 16, & 17

HMT: Days 13, 14, 15, 16, & 17

Day 13 – 50 min cross

This day, I decided to do a few things. I started with 20 minutes on the stationary bike. I wanted to stay on for 30 minutes, but it was just too boring and my glutes weren’t enjoying the ride. After that good 20 minute warm-up I did 15 minutes of jump rope. After this, I finished up with 15 minutes of shadow boxing with 5 lb weights. I would say that this day was a pretty light day. I definitely did not want to push it too hard because I had a 7-mile run the following day.

Day 14 – 7 mile run

AT&T Park: Home of the San Francisco Giants

AT&T Park: Home of the San Francisco Giants

AT&T Park to the San Francisco Maritime Museum and back to AT&T Park

AT&T Park to the SF Maritime Museum and back

Day 14 was a pretty awesome day. First of all it was Easter Sunday and I just felt good when I woke up. I started my run early because I had 12:00 Mass. I got to the city, found parking right in front of AT&T Park, and started my run around 9:30am. This was my first outdoor run where I listened to music and my goodness did it make a difference. I love music, but I never really wanted to listen to any when running outdoors; before this day, I always wanted to hear “nature” when I ran outside. The music actually helped me during my run, especially the last part of my run. And I shouldn’t say I listened to “music” because in actuality I had one song on repeat: Tygas “I’m Faded” Listening to this song on repeat helped me zone out a little easier because I liked the song and didn’t have to fidget with my iPod to change the track. At about mile 5 or 6 I began to get a bit tired, but I kept up with the rhythm of the song and it prevented me from slowing down too much. I finished the 7.12 mile run in 1:03:22 and I felt really good after. It was a beautiful day in the city and the running conditions were just perfect for me. During my run, I saw a few runners who had just completed the US Half Marathon and it motivated me to keep running; I can’t wait for my first Half on May 5th!

Day 15 – Stretch and Strengthen

Stretch & strengthen?!?! HAH! I didn’t bother to do anything but sit on the couch and watch these beautiful little girls all day. Sometimes I need to remind myself WHY I run and these 2 girls are 2 big reasons why. I want to be healthy for them and I want to be a healthy father when it’s time for me to have children of my own. I love these girls!

My precious nieces: Caeli Rosel (2) and Chloe Jordyn (5 months)

My precious nieces: Caeli Rosel (2) and Chloe Jordyn (3 months)

Day 16 – 4.5 mile run

Lake Merced on a rainy day

Lake Merced on a rainy day

This is what I posted on my Facebook  account when I checked-in to Lake Merced:

“It’s going to be a grind: rain, sweat belt, beanie, gloves, sweater, 4.5 miles. Get some!“

I’m glad that I ran despite the rain and wind because I know that race day conditions won’t always be favorable. I focused on attacking the hills, letting my legs “go” during the downhill parts and pushing through the wind as opposed to allowing it to slow me down. It was a great/challenging run and it made me a better runner.

Day 17 – 3 mile run or cross

I don’t know if it was because I skipped my workout on Monday, but I felt pretty damn good today! Not only did I do a 3 mile run, not only did I do some strengthening exercises, but I also went to my first Bikram Hot Yoga class this morning! Ok, for all of you who have been to a bikram hot yoga class before or for those of you who go on a daily basis, let me say this: YOU GUYS ARE FREAKIN’ NUTS!!!! OMG, that had to be the craziest 90 minutes of my life!! No joke, I was in the “Savasana” pose for the last 45 minutes of the the class (for those of you who aren’t familiar with yoga, the “Savasana” pose is better known as the “Corpse” pose where you just lie on your back like a corpse and just breathe). The first 20 minutes of the class I was an All-Star though, attempting each exercise, not wiping my face with my towel, not even touching my bottle of water, etc., then the downward spiral began. My heart was racing, my vision was getting blurry, I was disoriented, every breath burned and I felt like there was absolutely no way I was NOT going to pass out at some point during this class. I looked over to my girlfriend 30 minutes into the class to see how she was doing and it seemed like she had been in Savasana for a good 10 minutes already, so I joined her LOL. Even in this corpse pose I felt like I was going to pass out; it felt like there was no escaping this, everything I did just made me more hot and miserable. It was such a crazy experience, but I’m glad that I did it. After the class I felt rejuvenated and refreshed; I felt gooooood. And I’m so very proud of my girlfriend for staying in there for the whole 90 minutes, she’s such a trooper. Oh, and we’re going tomorrow morning again! But we’re not going to try and be All-Stars like we did today, we’re going to take our time, take more breaks, and put lots of ice in our water bottles.

Well that was my last 5 days of HMT, only 23 more days til my first Half! I’m so excited! I hope all have a great rest of the week, Cheers!

HMT: Days 9, 10, 11 AND 12

1 Comment
HMT: Days 9, 10, 11 & 12

HMT: Days 9, 10, 11 & 12

Day 9 was a 4.5 mile run and I did this at Lake Merced with my bro Gordon. It was a rough run, but I managed. It was the first run that I felt weak because of my “diet.” That morning, all I had was a peanut butter sandwich. For me, this wasn’t enough and I knew it, but I was running a little late and did’t have time to prepare something better. The good thing is, now I know I can’t just have a peanut butter sandwich for a 4.5 mile run

Lake Merced

Lake Merced

Day 10 was either a 3 mile run or a “cross training” day; I went with the latter. For this days workout, I requested the help of my good friend CrossFitJasp at #FitCom. CrossFitJasp threw together a pretty tough workout for me that day and it was exactly what I needed. Going back to my 5K a week ago, one thing that I wasn’t too proud about was my lack of “kick” during the last 1/2 mile. I truly believe that this deficiency is 100% mental and that I need to train with a little more intensity every once in a while to get through that mental barrier. Crossfit workouts do exactly that; they help push through times that I am tired and just want to give up. I am positive that this type of training, once a week, will help me with my “kick” at the end of races. Day 10 was a good day.

HMT Day 10

HMT Day 10 (5 Rounds: 3 Burpee Deadlifts @ 185 lbs, 6 ring dips, 9 Push Presses @ 65 lbs, and 20 Double Unders)

Day 11 was a 4.5 mile run + strength day. For the 4.5 mile run, I ran Lake Merced with a few friends and for the strength portion I did a quick circuit that consisted of bench press, bicep curls and lunges. The Lake Merced run was a good run because it was very windy that day. I understand that race days will not always be perfect conditions and that sometimes the “elements” can affect your time. I’m glad that it was as windy as it was because I wanted to see how I would react to such conditions. Surprisingly, I did pretty well. Although the wind was strong as bull, I didn’t allow it to phase me and I felt that I kept pretty good running form throughout. As for the strengthening portion of the workouts, I’m happy that I am easily pushing 45 lb dumbbells with my lunges now; I def. need to strengthen my legs if I want to improve my running.

HMT Day 11

HMT Day 11

Day 12 was….. REST DAY!!! WOOT WOOT!!… Too bad I couldn’t rest all day though. I worked from 8-5 today and ended the day with some All-You-Can-Eat Sushi! In yo face!!! I’ve been going to the same sushi spot (American Sushi House) for quite some time now, but I only found out about their All-You-Can-Eat a few days ago. That place was lucky I had a pretty balanced “diet” today, because if I was starving, I would have put them out of business tonight!

1st roll: American Roll = devoured it! NOM NOM NOM

2nd roll: Bruce Roll = killed it! NOM NOM NOM

3rd roll: Beautiful roll: I couldn’t eat anymore WHOMP WHOMP WHOMP

 

I hope you all had a great week of running and Happy Easter!! Cheers!!

HMT: Days 7 & 8

2 Comments
HMT: Days 7 & 8

HMT: Days 7 & 8

Day 7 was 5K day! The 5K that I ran was Kaiser Permanentes First Annual Running of the Elk held in Elk Grove, CA. This race had a half marathon, a half marathon relay and the 5K.

Kaiser Permanentes First Annual Running of the Elk

Kaiser Permanentes First Annual Running of the Elk

I think I summed up my first 5K experience best when I Instagram’d a photo of me and my brother immediately after the race:

JR: #2913 (22:47:36; 8th place). Gordon: #1936 (22:43:00; 7th place).... One of the best experiences of my life. I know it's just a 5K (~3 miles), but there was more to it. There was a mental component to it that I didn't really expect. Within the first 5 minutes I was like "wtf did I get myself into?! This a pretty fast pace!! I don't think I could do this"... But then I just kept running... S/o to my brother Gordon for running this with me. This is my first of many races!! Thank you Lord for today and thank you Lord for the opportunity and the ability to participate in this. All of this is yours and I hope you enjoyed this race as much as I did. Happy Palm Sunday everyone!

"JR: #2913 (22:47:36; 8th place). Gordon: #1936 (22:43:00; 7th place).... One of the best experiences of my life. I know it's just a 5K (~3 miles), but there was more to it. There was a mental component to it that I didn't really expect. Within the first 5 minutes I was like "wtf did I get myself into?! This a pretty fast pace!! I don't think I could do this"... But then I just kept running... S/o to my brother Gordon for running this with me. This is my first of many races!! Thank you Lord for today and thank you Lord for the opportunity and the ability to participate in this. All of this is yours and I hope you enjoyed this race as much as I did. Happy Palm Sunday everyone!" - Instagram: iamjohnross

And if you have an Instagram, please follow me at: iamjohnross

Here are a few souvenirs from yesterday. Another thing I didn’t expect after my first official race: loving all the free stuff you get when you complete the race. I could see this becoming a big reason why I run; I’ve always loved collecting stuff. I can’t wait for my first medal!

Souvenirs from the 5K

Souvenirs from the 5K

Day 8 was a “Stretch and Strengthen” Day. So today I spent a good 30 minutes on the foam roller, SMRing my IT, my quads, my ADductors, my calves, and my piriformis. I also did a good amount of static stretches after my strength training. My strength training consisted of 2 back, 2 shoulder, and 2 tricep exercises…… oh yea, and 1,000 bicep curls.

"Oh, I can barely lift my right arm 'cause I did so many." - Ron Burgundy

"Oh, I can barely lift my right arm 'cause I did so many." - Ron Burgundy

And one last thing: I found out yesterday from my friend at Racing the States that Caballo Blanco was found dead yesterday. I don’t want to say too much other than this: thank you, Caballo, for inspiring me to run, but more importantly thank you for inspiring me to be a better human being. If you’ve never heard of him before, please take some time to read up on his life.

Caballo Blanco

Caballo Blanco

I hope all your weekends were awesome and I hope this week goes well for you all! Work hard! Cheers!

HMT: Days 5 & 6 “Rest is for the awesome!”

1 Comment
HMT: Days 5 & 6

HMT: Days 5 & 6

 

I’m going to keep this post short because as you can see, its only 10:00pm (PST) which means I have 2 more hours of rest (aka watching the first season of The Walking Dead on Netflix, duhhhh).

 

Yesterday, Day 5, I had work from 6:35am-5:45pm so I didn’t have time to workout anyway. I got off work, bought some Mega Millions Lotto Tickets (what a waste of $30 btw), had some sushi with my lady and then KTFO!

 

Today, Day 6, my crazy muay thai friend woke me up from my 11 hour slumber and told me to wake up so we can go to a boxing class at his gym. So that’s what I did. His school is FTCC in Daly City. The boxing class was awesome! I am currently a member of Polk Street Boxing in San Francisco, so I’ve had some type of experience boxing, but this class was a little different. We had some light contact drills, something that I haven’t really experienced much of at Polk Street (which really isn’t a bad thing). At one point during the class, I was matched up with this one tall white guy who my friend referred to as “Coach.” This guy def. looked like he’s been doing MMA/boxing for a while now, so I was a little worried that he would hit me hard…. and he did. But the thing is, I’m pretty sure he was throwing pretty lightly. I’m not complaining, I’m actually glad he knocked me as hard (or light) as he did. His punches were def. a wake up call for me; and a wake up call is what I needed. I think I may have found a new gym in FTCC, I’m very close to signing up for a membership.

 

FTCC: me (Left), my crazy muay thai friend Jeff (Right)

FTCC: me (Left), my crazy muay thai friend Jeff (Right)

 

So that was my Half Marathon Training Days 5 & 6! I hope you all are having a good weekend! Cheers!

Getting Dunked!

Leave a comment

This was my first time getting my body fat percentage taken via Hydrostatic Weighing. I found Fitness WaveNorCal online and decided to use their services; it was a great choice. Aeron did a great job and he absolutely knew his stuff (I was constantly asking questions and he answered them without hesitation; I learned a lot from him).

 

The results: 12.63%. I have ~22 lbs. of fat and the goal is to have only ~15 lbs. of fat if you want to see good definition with your abs. So my goal is to lose about ~7 lbs. of fat and to get down to ~7% body fat by the end of June 2012