Achieving Six Pack Abs: Month 1 Update

The last exercise for this month was done today right before I had lunch. I have a HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workout to do every Saturday. But I wanted to do something a little different, and more challenging, than simply doing sprints.

So I did this HIIT program I saw on a new channel I subscribe to on youtube called fitnessblender. It was one of those descending workouts. I started with 10 reps of burpees, 10 side lunges, 10 push-ups and 10 jump lunges. Then with each subsequent set I would go down a rep until I finished with 1 rep of each exercise. Definitely click here to see the workout.

I was sweating like a you-know-what by the end! It was deceptive because I didn't feel ridiculously tired immediately after. However, about an hour later everything was sore and I even had to take a nap! It was great.

Overall, I do notice that my body feels different. My husband says that my muscles are way more defined and after a workout he can see my six-pack peeking through. I don't see any difference in my abs but I can feel a difference all over my body.

Actually, after I did my HIIT workout today I could see my abs as well. I just need them to stay like that all the time! But I'm hopeful that I will have accomplished a lot by the end of December.

On Monday I start weeks 5-8 and for this month I will increase my weight so I'm only doing 6-8 reps for each exercise. 

(I will be doing the same exercises so look at my weight routine to see what I'm doing). 

I will also add another HIIT workout. Currently I only do HIIT twice a week but I will start doing it three times a week. Probably by incorporating exercises I can do in the house to just break up the running routine.

Running has been great. That 7.5K race I did last week, I found out later that day that I came in second place! So I have to get my trophy at some point next week.

On November 3rd I'm running a 16K race that I signed up for today and at the end of November I'm running a half-marathon that the city of Córdoba has every year.

All in all I'm pleased with the program and I can't wait to see what my body looks like at the end of November! I will take pics at that point and post them to the blog.

Half-marathon Recap: Córdoba

Here I am about 30 minutes before the start of the race.

Getting my warm up and stretching in.

There's my bib number. I almost didn't sign up for the race on time!

As you can see, the race is starting to fill out. This is about 30 minutes before the start.

I have a lot of space now but soon I won't even be able to move!

These are the people who run it in 1 hour and a little (or 1 hour 15 for females).

It was amazing how many people were there. It was such a nice day as well.

Here's a shot probably 5-10 minutes before the start.

Here's the track where the race ended.

There I am. My best time was 1 hour 39 minutes in North Carolina.

As you can see from the pictures above, I decided to run the half-marathon. Even though I had been sick all week and even though I'd only run twice (30 minutes both times) after marathon #2 in Ciudad Real.

It was an interesting race because I didn't experience any of my usual nervous-ness before or leading up to the race. I didn't bother taking pictures of my race pack or my running gear. Honestly, my husband had to remind me to even pick up my race pack! I know, crazy right?!

I woke up on race day relaxed and rested and ready to run. I had no preconceived notions or goals. It was just to run the race and have fun doing it. I felt under-prepared and way below my usual level of fitness...but what the heck, I ran anyway.

To me, I ran an abysmal race. But I actually came 3rd in my category (yes I have a trophy!), 10th in local results and 30th out of the 303 women who ran. I didn't think I would win anything so I left before they gave out trophies. 

We'd waited for the results for like 90 minutes. I was smelly and sweaty so we left. I looked online later that evening and saw I won a trophy! I called this morning and I should be able to pick it up this week sometime.

The race was exciting for the simple fact that there were TONS of people there. This year the race had record participation in that it was sold out! There were 4,000 people there ready to run Sunday. 

It was a really amazing sight to see. I also was able to position myself in the front. There aren't many women who run so all these males were trying to push me around.

Of course I stood my ground! It was cool to actually be in the front! I'll definitely have to do that for next year. Actually, Chema (the hubby) said he might try to run it next year. Now that would be an amazing sight to see!

My next race will probably be December 31st, a 9K...unless there's another race before that. I've never run a 10K before so this should be a lot of fun.

Today I plan on running a bit just to stretch out my legs. Although it's raining... This week I plan to run M/W/F and then do weights Tuesday and Thursday. I'm trying to get back into shape!

Overall, I'm happy with the results. Especially since I didn't feel at all confident running this half-marathon. I guess I'm more fit than I think! 

The last time I ran the half-marathon in Córdoba (2010) was my first ever "important distance" race. I had trained but I came in 20-something in my category. So go figure.