wednesday, august 12, 2009

GETTING BACK INTO IT paulaq

Well, after all that food, it's time to get back into the swing of fantastically fit!! Ah, pump n runs...

After a few months of deliberation, I have dubbed myself the "Queen of Pump n Runs".....the First Queen of Pump n Runs that is. What is a pump n run? It is a competition of bench press (and perhaps other lifts) and running (typcially a 5K).

How it all started? Well, when my husband was in the U.S. Army, 414th Signal Company stationed in Germany, late 1990's, his company did a pump n run. I was fascinated! A complete weight trainer at the time (and sometimes a runner), I thought it would be cool to do that event.

Fast forward to October 2007. One of my clients brought in a flyer for a 5K......low and behold, there was a pump n run portion to that event. I was in! Thing is, it was 1 week away. Fortunately, I was exercising consistently.

I won 4th place that year, doing 101 reps....with a net score of 3 minutes and change! Not bad for a 5 foot, 138 pound girl...who didn't actually train for this particular event. I was hooked! I was determined to get a negative net score the next year. I trained for the pump n run in 2008....and WON FIRST PLACE! I did 156 reps, weighed in again at 138 pounds.....my net score was NEGATIVE 9 minutes....some seconds. IT WAS GREAT!!

I enjoy pump n running especially because it evens out the playing field.......of runners and weight trainers! Lets face it, at this point, there are not many pump n runs....but I hope to change that.

I have been doing the Second Empire 5K Classic and Pump n Run. I loved the ladies who organized this event. It was all enjoyable. Unfortunately, this Fall event has been moved to the Spring of 2010. So, it prolongs my rush....but adds more training time!

And so the journey begins!! The goal is to exceed 200 reps...and run a 5K in under 28:00 minutes. For most runners, 28:00 is a piece of cake....but for me, it's a challenge. Like I said, I am more of a weight trainer, though I completely enjoy the thrill of running a good run, a great race besting my own personal record.....against others, or against myself.

The biggest challenge would be to get down to 120 pounds! For me, this has been the challenge of my life! My "set point" has always been 132 pounds before having kids.....137 pounds since having my two monkeys! Also, I LOVE TO EAT GUAM FOOD......AND ALL KINDS OF DESSERTS!

I have about 5.5 months before the pump n run in february 2010 (run for the roses i think) and 9 months till the Second Empire...that's a whole lot of blogging!

This should be a fun and exciting 9 months ahead!

Today, I did actually do my chest / back workout! I benched 115 pounds for a couple of sets of 6. I miss the days I could bench 135 lbs. for 4 sets of 6......working on getting back up there. I enjoyed the workout at Peak Fitness, Fuquay Varina! It is very clean in there....and nice to see familiar faces.

I'll be training with an ongoing shoulder blade muscle problem.....physical therapist, chiropractor, massage therapist.....all had different views on what was the problem.......an old college injury that still haunts me.

I ate pretty good thus far.....never mind the homemade pound cake I had today. Well, gotta finish that off before I get too clean on my eating habits.

till tomorrow,
paula quinene