Unless it's used as a double negative, remove CAN'T from your vocabulary

When it comes to athletics, I've never really used the word "can't"... or so I thought.. it wasn't until I started training for this triathlon that I realized I actually use this word a lot.  "I can't run... I can't run that far.. I can't pedal that fast... I can't swim THAT FAR or LONG!  can't.. can't.. can't...

This was until yesterday.  

Let's back up a couple days.  On Monday, my coach gave us a pretty difficult swim workout.  I wasn't able to finish it, which was frustrating, but come to find out it was just in prep for Wednesday's workout.  On Tuesday, she emailed the team what our workout on Wednesday was going to be.

swim for 60 min straight-no stopping. no water. nothing but swimming.  She wanted to see our fitness level in the water, and just see how far we could go without stopping.  If we stopped, we had to start counting laps all over again. The very first thing I thought was: "I CAN'T DO THAT!!! DO YOU REALLY KNOW HOW LONG 60 MINUTES IS?!  YOU CRAZY COACH!!!"  

There it is again, that word CAN'T... it's such a hinderance.  Over the next day (leading up to this dreaded swim), I was talking with different people about how I could keep swimming for 60 min... I came up with a plan.. swim freestyle as long as I could, and then instead of stopping, I would start doing backstroke, or breast stroke, or doggypaddle.. anything to keep moving.

So, enter Wednesday morning- My alarm went off at it's normal 4:30am time, and after my normal 30 min "wake up period" (once out of bed)- I was still exhausted and starting to get discouraged.  I started thinking: "man, I can't do this 60 min swim, I can barely keep my eyes open!".

Philippians 4:13 says: "I CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  I relied on this  truth a lot that morning.  

I was the first one in the pool (which is always super cold) and off I took.. I swam and swam and swam.  I knew there was no way I could keep track of all my laps in my mind by just counting, so I used a tip that coach gave me.. I used the alphabet.  So it was like: "A-25, A-50, A-75, A-100, B-25, B-50, B-75, B-100, etc."  I found that this was a very helpful way to keep track of my laps.  As I swam, I started to think... I might actually be able to do this!  slow and steady was my pace.

By the time I got to "R" in my counting, I started to feel it some... Started feeling tired, my arms started feeling heavy, but also at this point, I started thinking... I HAVE TO GET TO Z!!  I can't NOT get to Z!  

I got to the end of X (leaving only 200y left until finishing the alphabet) and my coach called time.  I was now determined not to quite so close to the finish of my newly set personal goal, so I asked her if I could finish and she said yes.  

People.. If I had given into can't, I would have missed out on accomplishing something I've never done before.  I would have missed out on swimming 2600y (1.47mi) in about 60 minutes.  I would have missed out on the amazing sense of accomplishment and "I can conquer the world" feeling I feel.  I would have missed out on impressing my coach and making her proud. So many things I would have missed out on, had I given into the can't I was feeling, instead of the "I can't NOT" feeling (remeber, double negative makes a positive).  I couldn't wipe the giant smile I had off my face all day, and even as I think about it now, I still smile.  :) 

So my question to you is this: What are you potentially missing out on by keeping can't in your vocabulary?  Whatever it is you are facing, may I suggest that you change your mindset to "I can't NOT" do ________________________!? Challenge yourself, push yourself, and you won't regret it!

Just because you're gone, doesn't mean you get to stop training

sometimes people think that just because you go on vacation, or on a work trip, that you have a "no-training pass"... this is not true (unless it's your scheduled DAY off... like mine is tomorrow)!  Just like when you are at home, you must MAKE time to exercise or train.  I had to do some rearranging because I was supposed to ride my bike on 2 days while I'm gone, but I couldn't take my bike with me to Florida and Texas (even thought I would have loved to)... So, I basically just switched my "run" and "ride" days.  I can run anywhere... today, I REALLY enjoyed my run... I got to run in Florida at the beach!!!  My pace was a little slower than I did with my coach last week, but I was taking in the scenery of the 4 miles I ran!

Another day at Endeavor

Running Vlog

It's no secret that running isn't my strong suit... I don't like it... but I want that to change!  I want to enjoy running and I want to do it well!  Here is a v-log (it's a little longer than the last one) but I did it while I was running... so sorry for the noise of the treadmill.  I know it's not super "interesting" but I am committed to bringing you guys along on the journey.. and this is part of my journey!

Just a little training update!

Wow, who didn't finish the year out well with blogging?  US!!!  SOOOO SORRY!!!  
While we have been horrible bloggers, we both (Annie and I ) have been doing and are getting ready to do some really neat things!  Annie just got done with a 10K and half marathon (which she is going to post about soon) and I am training for my next triathlon !!!  This time I'm training with Team In Training:  it's a great organization to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  I'm so honored to be a part of this team!  

This weekend was the official launch weekend for the tri team!  It has been GREAT!!!  On Saturday, we had our first group training (GT) and Endeavor Cycling.  This is one cool place!  I've been talking about "cadence training" for a long time- or at least thinking about it- but this past Saturday was the first time I actually did it.  I noticed such a difference in my training effort!  Knowing my cadence is so helpful because I feel like it strengthens my training session.  We rode indoors for about 45 minutes, but I was SWEATING FOR SURE!!!  On Sunday, I went for a swim at our local pool.  My day had not gone the best, and I wasn't in the best of moods, and to be honest, I didn't want to go swim.... But when I was having those thoughts, I immediately started thinking about why I signed up for TNT.  I signed up to be a part of something that is bigger than me.  The thought that got me through the beginning of my swim was: "Strickland, you don't really want to do this, but do you think that cancer patients really want to go through another round of chemo, or really want to go through another spinal tap?  NO!!!!  GET YOUR BUTT IN THAT POOL!  DO SOMETHING YOU DON'T REALLY WANT TO DO!  It's not about you!!!!"  Yes, I pep-talk to myself in the 3rd person... :)  Once I got in the pool and started swimming, all my problems "floated" away.  Everything that had been on my mind vanished, and I just swam... 35 laps... Today I went for my first run since Sept.  I was nervous about it, and although i didn't get to do the entire 30 minutes that was required of me today, I did get a mile in... I ended up running that mile in 12 minutes, which I was soooo surprised at (and pretty impressed with myself since I hadn't run since Sept.).  

Through all this, I realized even more, how excited I am to train with TEAM.  Even though I can barely make it through the workouts right now, I know that in 5 months when it is time for my Tri, I'll be able to do these distances with no problem!

Listen to Your Body

Hello all my Glisten Girls! (and Guys!)


I learned an important lesson last week that I thought I'd share.  And that's what we're all here for, right? I love watching and listening to other people's life experiences.

Well, these last few weeks I've started a whole new routine that includes moving around my job, fitness, freelance work, eating, coaching cross country... you name it, I pretty much just restarted EVERYTHING.  I'm not gonna lie, it's been rough!
I've struggled all my life in setting a routine and then actually sticking to it.  I am a PRO at making plans and then not following through. (With myself, not with other people.  I promise, I'm totally dependable! LOL)
So you can imagine it's been a little hectic.  One of the things I restarted that I really want to stick with is my T-25 workouts.  It's important to me, not only because it was an expensive motivator, but because I know I can accomplish and kick butt on that workout challenge! Dude, I have come SO far in the last few years.  I know I can do anything I set my mind to.
 
So here's the problem.

I also have the last 1/3 of my Half Marathon training ahead of me.   This is the point in my training where the runs get longer, the runs get harder, and I have to stay focused.  This also means that I take extra care of my body in between these long training runs.  I need to make sure that I'm fueling and hydrating efficiently each day so that when I step outside that door on saturdays, I am good to go the distance.

After completing 4 days of the T-25 workout plus a crazy week of my daytime teaching job and a night  time freelance illustration job... I was pooped!! In my head I started to hear those negative thoughts;

"You can't do this"

NO! I'm not going to let my brain tell me what I can't do! I've worked too hard to just give up on something and I have set my goal!

That thursday night, I just kept thinking about the dreaded double workout scheduled on Friday.  And then jumped to my scheduled 8 mile run the very next morning.  Was I crazy?! I was so tired.  To make matter worse, the fires up in Yosemite have lovingly sent all its contaminated air down into the valley where its been just sitting on top of all of us down here breathing it in. But was I just making excuses? Surely a fire throat, clogged sinuses, and a migraine is a sign I should maybe take heed to?

Finally, I picked up my phone and texted my lovely friend who happens to be my own personal pocket coach.  I told her how I was feeling and the advice that came back was so needed.

"LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!"

She was very stern with me.  She told me that I needed to listen to the signs my body was practically screaming at me.  She explained, (and I don't know why I didn't come to this conclusion on my own), that the Beachbody workouts like T-25 and Insanity and P90X were all put together for clients who don't usually delve deeply into the fitness world.  Of course there are always exceptions to this and we all have to find our own routine.  Each program is set up to be fool proof with a specific meal guide, exercise plan, and Shakeology to assist those who do NOT have a regular fitness plan.

I do.

I have a complicated training plan for my Half Marathons throughout the year.

Can I do both? Of course! but I need to be willing to adjust. What's most important?

At this point, my race is the most important.  I can't go out on training runs and try to prepared for a distance race if I have physically exhausted my body during the week.  I could try... but that's asking for an injury.  No Thanks!

I had to re-evaluate what my goals were.  Yes, I very much want to continue with T-25, but instead of hitting 2 workouts on fridays, I need to incorporate an active rest day to gear up for my run.  For that, yoga is my best friend.  I can still rest my muscles but I get in some balance and strength at the same time.

After my Half Marathon, I can absolutely start up on the 2 workout fridays because my training runs will be back down to shorter distances.  That's an attainable goal for me!

To drive home the point of this entry... Listen to your body!  Everyone is different.  It's ok to have a rest day even if it's not in your schedule.  Sometimes we just need a break.  Find what works for you.


Hope you guys have an awesome week!! Hit it Hard!

Weekend Motivation

Hey Guys!!

I just wanted to stop by and leave a little note of inspiration for you.

Over the last few weeks I've been talking to a handful of friends about their fitness goals.  Many of these goals have been in place for years but were never fully realized.  Why? Why is it so difficult to get to our goal? Why do we feel like we are constantly fighting a losing health or fitness battle?

Sometimes we lose sight of our motivation and our goal.  Making a change is hard!! If it were easy, we'd all be running around in size 0 pants, munching on celery and no one would have ever heard of the word "Diet".  We all wish it was so simple, but the truth is... it's not.  No big surprise, right?  We have to keep pushing and get through those bad days that will inevitably happen.  Let it go. The important thing is to start the next day fresh.

I want to give you guys a challenge this weekend.  There's no deadline or due date.

I want you to think of your main goal and write it down.  BIG and BOLD.  Get crafty or colorful if you want, add some glitter!! Then I want you to surround yourself with positive inspiration and motivation! Find pictures of HEALTHY body types you want to strive after - sorry, most fashion models are not healthy.  Hang up that bikini or little dress you want to fit back in to.  Find fitness or motivation quotes and put them up on your mirror.  Put them up where you will see them everyday and take a few seconds before walking out the door in the morning to remind yourself that you are worth it and you deserve to feel good about yourself.

When I first lost the weight, it was about feeling better in my skin.  I didn't want to feel my stomach hanging over my pants and the tummy aches I would get in the afternoons from my jean buttons digging in when I sat all day in school.   I refused to look at pictures of myself.  I made a deal with myself that I would never weight that much again. That was my goal.

When I finally hit my weight goal (lost 35lbs!), my fitness goal changed! I wanted to be stronger! I saw what I could accomplish when I put my mind to something.

This weekend is the official Disneyland Half Marathon weekend at the Disneyland Resort.  2 years ago, I saw my first RunDisney race and I was hooked.  That became my ULTIMATE goal! I wanted to RUN in a race that took me through my beloved Disney parks! (Did I mention the running costumes and sparkle skirts??)  I trained HARD for 10 months. Starting from 0 and ending at 13.1 miles.

I leave you with this.  Dream BIG. Find your ultimate goal and believe that you can achieve it!! Surround yourself with positive inspiration, motivation, and like minded people. Stacee and I are always here for you if you need a little extra encouragement.  Call us, text us, Instagram us, tweet us! Now we're even on Facebook! (https://www.facebook.com/wakeupandglisten) We've been where you are and we still struggle. And that's okay! :)

My Original Fitness Motivation: To Earn My Wings! 

I'm an Independent Beach Body Coach!

Hey guys!

I wanted to share a little news with you!

If you have been following along with my fitness "journey" you'll know that I've been involved in the Tone it Up! community for a while now and following their nutrition program.  It's been an incredible resource in knowing how to make clean meals and learning to make better decisions in my food choices.  I've also been following their workout schedules which are posted weekly on their blog toneitup.com and I've seen great results from them.  I'm definitely stronger than I've ever been in my life!

Recently I heard about a new Beachbody program that has come out called T25.  Beachbody has produced a lot of the popular High Intensity workout programs such as TurboFire, Insanity, and P90X. This one peaked my interest because it's a shorter workout time: only 25 mins.  I'm currently restarting my Half Marathon training and need to make time for my long runs - workouts sometimes overlap and I can't complete all of it.  I'm hoping this will allow me more time to get in that high impact workout and still be able to complete my distance training on the weekends.   I will still be continuing with the Tone it Up nutrition program.  It's been working for me and it's a great tool for eating clean.

While looking into the products I also discovered there was opportunity to become a representative of the company.   As I grow in this quest to become more and more fit, it made sense for me to be able to promote some of what I'm using.  I decided to join up and become a Coach!

I've got a lot of research ahead of me as I have no intention of putting my name on something I'm uneducated about.  Products like these dont come cheap and I want to make sure I'm completely knowledgable about them should anyone need more info.

If you would like to follow along with me as I start a new chapter with the T25 challenge (50 days! eep!), I'll be posting on the blog as well as on my Instagram and Twitter.  Username: Anniemcbeth  If you have any questions about anything I'm doing or maybe interested in a different program, just leave me a comment below with your email.  I'll shoot you a message and we can chat :)

Have a great week ahead!!

Training Thursdays

Ok all, we've decided hijack Thursdays and make them all about TRAINING!!!  For the next few weeks (at least) I will be focusing on my triathlon training.  In case you  missed my post, I'm doing a Sprint Triathlon on July 28th.  I'm a much stronger cyclist than I was when I competed in my first triathlon, so I'm not worried about that part of it.  Swimming, doesn't concern me too bad, but running might be my demise.  All that being said, most sprint training schedules are 8 weeks.  Since I only have 4 weeks to train, I've taken an 8 week schedule and modified it to what I need... I'm still going to train in all 3 events and we will see what happens.

You might notice that on my training plan, Tuesdays are strength training days, and Fridays are my "rest" days.  Let me just stop right here and point out how important it is to have both of those days in your training.

Strength Training
Strength training days help you focus on muscles and areas of your body that aren't being worked out in bike rides, runs or swims... It can help increase your speed and endurance while decreasing the risk of injury!  I know you all probably think that running, swimming and biking works all of your muscles, but the reality is, those specific sports only target the large muscles and maybe some smaller muscle groups, but strength training, you can focus on those smaller muscle groups, thus helping to have much better overall health.  Now, there is much more to strength training than just weights, but I'll cover that in another post. :)

Rest
Um... you've been working your body out really hard, it's time to REST!!!!  Your muscles (and mind) need a little time to recover!  If you work and work and work, with no rest, you will burn out mentally and physically, and you also increase your risk for injury!  I'm a huge fan of rest days... not because I don't have to work out, but because I know that if I rest, then my workouts will actually be much stronger!!

Brick workouts
Another thing you will notice about my training plan is that many days it says "Swim 45 Run 30" or something like that.  Since triathlons are multisport, we must train with that mentality.  Some days you only train in one area of endurance, but ultimately you will want to train in multiple areas so you build your endurance!  Again, I'll probably write an entire post on this as well, at a later point in time.

All that said, here is my training schedule.  I don't recommed doing this one if you aren't already somewhat fit.  If you are training for your first tri, I highly reccommend doing an 8 week training program.  My favorite is Hal Higdeon, and you can find his training schedule here.  He has a whole bunch of training schedules for different events (click here to see an entire list of training programs)

Enjoy this and happy training!  I'll "see ya on the road"

Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
1	Run 30	Strength	Bike 45, Strength	Swim 30 Run 25	Rest	Run 30 Min	Swim 30 Run 30
2	Bike 40 Run 15	Strength	Swim 15 Run 30	Run 30 Strength	Rest	Run 35	Swim 30 Bike 60
3	Run 35	Strength	Bike 40 Strength	Swim 30 Run 30	Rest	Run 40	Swim 30 Run 40
4	Bike 30 Run 30	Strength	Swim 30 Run 30	Run 30	Rest	Rest	Triathlon

Happy 1st official day of summer

Well, on this first day of summer, I did something that now I'm going to be held accountable for... I signed up for my 2nd Triathlon!!!  I did my first triathlon in 2010, i had never really ridden a road bike, I couldn't run to save my life, and I hadn't swam really since high school.  Now, 3 years later, I am a cyclist, still can't run to save my life, and I can swim so much better!  Training for my first triathlon is what got me started in cycling.  I LOVE IT!!!

So, I signed up for the Music City Triathlon on July 28th.  It's a 400 yard swim, 12 mile bike and 5K.  I'm currently dealing with a quad injury, but I know I'll be able train for this (even though it's 5 weeks away)... really, the only part that worries me is the 5K... I know that my partner in crime Annie, will give me tips and tricks for running, now that she's a half-marathon runner!

My first triathlon, I didn't have a goal for time.... I just wanted to finish!  and I finished in 2:16... This time, I do have a timeframe I'd like to finish in, and I think I can do it... of course I'll blog about it after the fact.

So, some of my posts over the next few weeks will be focused on training for this triathlon..

Never done one before?  you should TRI!!!! (see what I did there?)

Stacee

Annie's Journey, Part 2: How I became a Runner

Hi Guys!

Hope you all have had a fabulous week so far, it's Friday!!!

Today I'm going to go into how I became a runner. As I'm sure you've picked up from previous posts, I have no Athletic background. In fact, I'd classify myself as a band geek and theater nerd LOL but that's another story.

If there's one thing you figure out about me, it's that I LOVE Disney! Yup, I'm that girl. I will do anything if it has some tie in to Disney... including running.

I'm going to back up a bit and tell u a little of my running background before all this.
But wait! You just said you weren't athletic!
You're right, I'm not. Haha but I did for one year in high school decide that I was going to join Track and Field.
I actually "trained" for Track and Field by joining a club cross country team that my friend's dad coached. I definitely got in shape but I gave out minimal effort and was always the last to finish. Everything. When T&F season hit, I was pretty much over it after a coach (specifically my high jump coach at the school) showed little effort in helping me or anyone else actually succeed in the event. He had more interest in being on the phone with his business during practice than dealing with us. After the school year ended I said good bye to sports and advanced in my music, theater, and art classes.

Fast forward to January 2012. My cousin who's an avid runner had asked me numerous times before if I wanted to ever go running with her. Usually my answer was a laugh and a polite no. By this time I had lost the weight and was feeling pretty good, but I had also noticed that I didn't have any muscle definition. The diet had melted away a lot of my muscle mass with the fat. This is a normal reaction when your body drops weight, which is why it's important to combine BOTH diet and exercise.
One day i got a text from her saying that she needed a driving buddy down to Orange County. She had signed up for the inaugural Tinkerbell Half Marathon! Promising me that it wasn't a trick to get me to run she asked if I would go down with her and check out the expo at the hotel before her other running buddy arrived. All the while full well knowing I'd have a hard time passing up a chance to experience something new at Disneyland. She hooked me.

If you want to see photos from the Tinkerbell Half, I have a similar post on my Disney blog here

Long story short, I was completely sucked in to the whole RunDisney movement that weekend.  Even though I wasn't running, everything, including the expo, was extremely exciting and all the merchandise... all the merchandise!  Did I mention the medals?!

The morning of the race my cousin had to be at the start line suuuuuuuper early in the morning.  With Disney races, the entire race route in the parks has to be cleared and cleaned before the parks open to the public.  Disneyland opens at 8am.   Disneyland park is not the start line.  This means crazy early call times!
We had set up a system where she would text me when she got within a couple miles of the finish.  Standing there watching all the runners come through the finish line before her was so inspiring! I saw a lot of people that looked like my level of fitness finishing the race! Not only were they finishing at a great time, they were finishing with huge smiles on their faces!

It was at that point I said to myself.... "If they can do it.... why couldn't I?"


That was all it took.


The next month the 2012 Disneyland Half Marathon registration opened up and I was among the 17,000 runners who signed up.  A few weeks later, I joined a local running club, got my feet fitted for the right shoes, and worked my booty off training for my upcoming Half Marathon which was months away in September.

It was one of the most fulfilling days of my life when I crossed that finish line.  It changed me.  It changed the way I feel about myself, the way I fuel my body with food for training, and the way my body works and feels now.  I honestly can say that Disney - RunDisney specifically - changed my life.

I wrote up a post on that day.  You can check it out here: Disneyland Half Marathon 2012

I hope that this post inspired some of you on getting into shape or finding something that you're passionate about.  Fitness doesn't have to be going to the gym and facing miles on a treadmill in the same 4 x 4 square all year long.  Find something that you enjoy doing and work your fitness into that!

I think I'm stuck on RunDisney races for the rest of my life LOL My same cousin and I are planning a year's worth of Disney races for 2013! It includes the Coast to Coast challenge (Disneyland and WDW) and hopefully the Dumbo Double Dare challenge at Disneyland. Can't wait!!


Hope you all have a great week and let's work to stay inspired!

What got you started getting in shape?