New Start

Today is April 5, 2015

My life has changed so much from the last time I decided to write a post on here. I found and lost love, graduated college, bought my first home, and now want everything to change again. I met a boy whom I fell deeply for and had the best 2.5 years with him for it all to be pulled away by that same boy. He helped me love myself and want a beautiful future. I try to be strong and look to my future for the happiness I seek, but it's so hard for me to let go of someone a loved so much. I have a future I saw for us pulled out from underneath me. Now it is time for me find what makes me happy again and capture that feeling. To take my next step in life to a better place. Thinking through and making the decision to change and start anew is a terrifying and wonderful experience. I know to have the future I want, I must work hard and not falter in that decision. I want to relish in my sadness and just let life go by until I don't feel this heartbreak anymore, but that is not the way to get over something. You must push through that hurt and pain to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The light being the future you want to have, I see a faint outline of what I want my life to become, I am just uncertain of how I want to get there. I know the path I want to take will be hard and my life will always be about paying back loans. I am scared that I will be alone forever. It is hard to let someone into your life and trust them will all your insecurities and I don't know how to make that pain of being left behind and unwanted to fade. I feel so angry at him for doing this. He didn't even explain to me why he wanted to leave, I pushed to hard to know why so that I could process and move on only for him to push back so hard that now I will never know. All the thoughts and feelings I had now feel like lies and I don't know how to take that. I know it will take me a long time to work through these feelings and let the anger I have inside me to fade away to nothing. I will not let this anger make be bitter or hard but I will feel it for as long as it takes for me to let it go, this sadness and pain must be felt because the love I felt for so long was so real and amazing that to not feel the pain would make it seem like it never happened. I want to remember that happy times I had with me but right now all that happens is pain.


For now I will leave my pain on this page and written in my heart. I vow to myself that I will stay strong and learn to be alone with myself again. I know my worth and strength and how much love I have for people and animals that I will become a Vet and take care of these beautiful creatures that show nothing but love for you with such innocence that someone needs to protect them. That will be me. I will make my future my own and I will find out what I can do with my own strength so that one day I will have the strength to love and support someone else in all they want out of life. I want to find that person who knows everything about me and my past, present and what I want out of the future and will stay with me through it all. It is going to take time but I need to stay positive in my life and only do things that have a positive affect of me. My life is my own and now I do not have anything standing between me and when I want to go. Travel the world, live anywhere I want, do anything I can to better myself and to experience the world. My life has changed these past months and I will let all that sink in and work to change what I want to change and make this place my own.

Rachel

The 300 Challenge [Ab & Core Workout]

I got this my another blog, but I am going to start this challenge tomorrow!

I will change my life this year!!!

 

The 300 Challenge [Ab & Core Workout]

• 

• I found this in Runner’s World June issue. These are the 3 rules that should never be broken by runners.
  GO TO SLEEP. Athletes who get ten hours of zzz’s per night perform better than those who sleep less. “An extra hour or two of sleep a night a few weeks before a big event can make a big difference,” says Napa Valley Marathon winner Peter Gilmore.
  EAT GOOD FOOD. Anthony Famglietti, an Olympian steeplechaser and former junk-foodie, took months to improve his diet. “I assumed you were supposed to feel bad after hard workouts,” he says. “Most of that came from a bad diet.”
  BUILD YOUR CORE. To improve his running economy, Gilmore does core work five to six days a week. “When I do it, I feel normal.” he says. “When I don’t, my form gets sloppy, my back gets tight, and I feel a little wobbly and inefficient.”
  So that’s what this challenge is all about – since I have a good handle on one and two, I’m working on three: building my core.
  Why?
  Your core is the most important part of your body. Core exercises should be a part of any well-rounded fitness routine. Your bodies core is the area around your trunk and pelvis. When you have good core stability, you have better balance and a much lower risk of injury, since your lower back, hips, abdomen and pelvis are working in unison and harmony. They are different then your superficial abdominals – those “6-pack abs” don’t always mean strength and stability!
  This is an abdominal and core routine. We want to become sexier, yes, but we need to become more stable, too, to help prevent future injuries. A strong core also helps runners maintain stronger form, therefore allowing them to runfaster, harder and longer.
  These are some of, not all of the exercises from P90X Ab Ripper X and some of my own variations! I had great success with this quick routine.
  I want to warn you - this is pretty tough! If you need to take a break, that’s okay! You’ll soon see how fast your body build and recovers, as these movesdo get easier!
  You can do this routine anytime, before or after your workout. I would recommend before, when you’re fresh before your cardio or the rest of your routine. If you’re working on really getting results, why would you save these muscle groups for last when you’re tired already from working out?
  Do 25 repetitions of each move. Keep the pace comfortable but brisk, you want to feel the burn. It should take 15 minutes. Your abdominals, unlike other muscle groups, need higher reps before they start responding.
  Let’s get started.
  
  In-N-Outs. Just like it sounds. Sit on the floor with your hands at your sides. Raise feet off the ground and bring knees to your chest. (See above.)
  
  Straighten legs out (see above), hold for a beat, and bring your knees back into your chest. This is one repetition. Repeat 25 times. For a bit more challenge, raise your hands above your head.
  
  Bicycles. Sitting in the same position as the In-N-Out, move legs in a wide, circular motion as if pedaling a bike. 1 revolution counts as one rep. Repeat 25 times.
  Reverse Bicycles. Same as above, but instead of pedaling forward, petal backward. 1 revolution counts as one rep. Repeat 25 times. To increase difficulty on the Bicycle, raise arms straight overhead.
  
  Crunchy Frog. Same position and movement as In-N-Out, only your hands are OFF the floor and wrap around your knees (without grabbing or touching your knees) when your knees are at your chest. (See above.) When you extend your legs back out, arms should be stretch out as sides, parallel to ground. (See below.)
  
  This counts as one rep. Repeat 25 times. (Sorry for the blurry photo.)
  
  Cross-Leg/Wide Leg Sit-Ups. Lie flat on your back with legs wide, in a V.(See Above)
  
  Place one hand behind your head and bring your torso up to perform a standard sit-up movement (see above.) Try to keep your legs on the floor.With one arm straight, (see above) try to go straight UP, instead of just over your legs. Sit-Up straight, and then cross your straight arm over to touch your opposite leg. (See below.)
  
  And slowly lay back down. That’s one repetition. On the next repetition, switch arms and cross over to the other side. Repeat these 25 times, alternating sides. If you’re unable to keep your legs anchored, use dumbbells to help anchor your lower body.
  
  Scissors. Life flat on your back, extending one leg towards the ceiling, and lifting the opposite leg off the floor just a few inches. Flex your feet.
  
  Alternate legs in a scissor motion, hold each switch for three seconds. Keep your skyward leg as straight as you can! Repeat these 25 times.
  Hip Butt Ups. Lie on your back, open your hips and bend your legs so that the bottom of your feet are touching. (see below.)
  
  I have no idea why my eyes are closed. In pure abdominal bliss, apparently.
  
  With your arms at your sides, rock your hips, lift your pelvis and drive your feet directly up towards the ceiling. When lowering back down, do not let your legs touch the ground. Repeat 25 times.
  
  Heels to the Heavens. Lying on your back, extend legs straight up, with arms at your sides. Lift your butt off the floor (see below.) When raising feet, imagine touching the ceiling with the balls of your feet. Keep your feet very flexed. Be sure to lift the legs straight up at 90 degrees, and not towards your head. Focus on maintaining straight legs.
  
  Repeat this motion 25 times.
  Roll-Up V-Ups. Lie flat on your back with legs straight out, and arms extended overhead. (see below.)
  
  Bring your body up as if doing a standard sit-up, touching hands to toes. (see below.)
  
  Slowly, lower your torso towards the floor, simutaneously bringing your legs up off the ground at about 45 degrees. (below)
  
  Now, bring your torso back up and reach for your toes while your legs are in the air! (below) Imagine creating a jackknife position with your body. Your legs and hands should actually get closer then the below photo.
  
  Lower your entire body to the floor and repeat 25 times.
  Leg Climbers. Lie on your back with one leg bent, foot flat on the floor. The other leg should be out about 45 degrees.
  
  You want to climb this extended leg, by first grabbing your thigh, then your knee, (see above) then your calf, then your toe. That’s the easy version. I do a two-touch. I just grab onto the inside of my knee, and then continue using my abs to pull me up. (below) You don’t want that extended leg to move around too much, keep it on the same plane the whole time. It will want to move as you crunch up. Fight it!
  
  Repeat 12 times on one side, then switch and repeat 12 on the opposite side.
  Kayakers. You’re almost done! Seated, clasp your hands together and raise your feet out, 4-6 inches off the floor. You may need to bend them to make this easier. Twist your upper torso from side to side, touching your knuckles on each side. Do these fast, like your kayaking a fast river. Do 50. If you can’t do 50, do 40. If you can’t do 40, do 30. You will be able to do 50 one day!
  
  
  Ahhh! You just completed (if you did 50 kayakers) 300 abdominal exercises! You’re on your way to a strong and svelte core!
  Now, stretch it out!
  Cobra Stretch. Lie flat on your stomach and raise your upper body off the floor, supported by your arms. Your thighs should be resting on the floor.
  Childs Pose. Sitting in your knees, fold you body over your legs and relax head and arms on the floor.
  I did these today, so I’ll update you in 30 days to let you know how my abs & core strength are coming! Before & After pictures! If you’re interested in Challenging yourself, shoot me a comment and let me know! Take a before picture for yourself if you like, if you’d like to send the results to me in 30 days, I’d love to share your progress on the blog!
  A few pointers – Superficial Abdominals are 90% diet. If you’re eating cleanly and healthily, you’re going to see results in a week. But remember, we can still build plenty of muscle, and it can still be covered by a layer of adipose tissueaka fat. Thats why there is no such thing as spot toning.
  Let me know if you have any questions! Whoo, I’m excited to get some abs on!

1/14/12

Today is the day that I am going to start changing my life. When I finish this last episodes of Angel I am going to head over to the gym and start my workouts. My life sucks right now and this is going to be the start of me changing my life. I'm going to just stop trying to be friends with people that don't want to be mine!


Rachel

im going to make a change my last post that i want to run a HALF marathon!

12 things I will do in 2012

today i came up with 12 things i was to accomplish in 2012

1. get a tattoo
2. get another piercing
3. make a trip to charleston
4. take a trip to nashville
5. Read 20 new books
6. run a marathon
7. photograph something beautiful
8. take a trip to the beach with friends
9. get my advanced SCUBA certifications
10. run in 4 5k races
11. have a one night stand
12. loose 75 pounds

I will start working on twelve now but will not complete another numbers until after December 31, 2011

Homecoming Weekend

This weekend was the Carolina - Florida Homecoming football game. It was a close game, we were very close to losing to Florida but thankfully we did not. 

My roommate's friend, Nick, came down for the weekend and it was an awesome weekend. Bridget come to our tailgate for a while. My parents come to this game as well. I was hoping that they would get to the tail gate earlier so that they would have time to hangout but unfortunately that did not work out. We went out to dinner that night and had a fun time. Next year there is going to be better planning for the game/tailgate/weekend then went into this game.

I can't wait for the Clemson game on the 27th. Unfortunately I have to cut my thanksgiving break short but I would not have another opportunity to go to the out rivalry game between these two schools. So it is a drive I am going to make. Thank goodness the kickoff time is set for 7:45 pm and I will have time to drive back to columbia from orlando. I will probably leave around 6am Saturday morning and get to columbia around 1 or at least that is the plan. 

Here is a photo from this past weekend :)

I love heels! I wish I had more opportunities to wear them but I don't. If I had a bunch of money I would have so many shoes. But I don't at the moment. One day I will have money and be able to indulge myself in shoes :) 

More later,

Rachel