Category Archives: going the distance

NEW TRAINING SCHEDULE

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Melissa from BenderFitness completed  a half marathon with her husband Jesse. I am so proud of them both and wish them congrats on the amazing accomplishment of running in The Pittsburgh Marathon.Such inspiration.

I am beginning a more specialized running format. I still need to get a fitbit or pedometer and new running shoes but for now I am just going by time and what I know the distance to be. Melissa @BenderFitness composed this schedule for me. I have already been running three times per week but starting on May 11th 2015 I am going to document my training starting with this training schedule below. I hope to eventually run in a half marathon. I am meeting one of my new running friends for coffee and inspiration soon. I am not competing with anyone but me, building my base.

If you have not guessed it already, my first fitness goal will have everything to do with running. I will be writing about the specifics of what I plan to do in a future post when I compose my top ten list of goals to accomplish. Why do I run?  I run because I never thought I could run without stopping or walking. Now I am hooked on my runner’s high.
Here is my running training schedule from Melissa Bender Fitness
 http://www.benderfitness.com/2015/05/5k-training-for-new-runners.html

PART 1:

Run 3X Per Week for 2 Weeks

Goal: Run 3.1 Miles or 30 Minutes continuously at a comfortable pace.

Types of Runs:

1. Slow Easy Run: Run Continuously without Walking. Don’t worry about pace.

PART 2:

Run 3-4X Per Week for 4 Weeks

Goal: Improve consistency and pacing.

Types of Runs:

1. Two to three Easy paced runs at a comfortable pace: 3.1 miles or 30 minutes.

2. One to two runs at a slightly faster pace. Moderate Pace: You should be pushing and breathing heavier, but able to talk if needed. Use a stopwatch, phone running app or GPS watch during runs. Complete the same run you do on your Easy days, but focus on doing it a little bit faster. Don’t go to fast, you still want to complete the run without stopping to walk.

PART 3:

Run 3-5X Per Week

Goal: Improve Speed, Consistency and Endurance.

1. Two to three Easy paced runs at a comfortable pace: 3.1 miles or 30 minutes.

2. One Moderate Pace Run per Week.

3. One to Two Speed Workouts. Select 1-2 of the workouts below and incorporate them into your week).

  • 5 Minutes Easy/5 Minutes Hard:

-5 Minute Warm-up, Run 5 Minutes at Easy Training Pace, Transition into 5 Minutes Hard (Faster than your Moderate Training Pace), 5 Minutes Easy, Complete with 5 Minute Cool Down. Total Workout Time: 25 Minutes.

  • In-Run Sprints:

During your run incorporate 20-Seconds Hard Sprinting followed by 40 seconds at normal running pace. Repeat this 4-6 times during a normal 30-minute run. Start the sprints at the 10 or 15 minute running mark.

  • Run 25-30 Minutes at your normal pace. Complete the run with four to six 20-second sprints. In between sprints walk back to your starting point.
I am going to be doing the Bikini Prep workouts at least 3 times a week with some yoga a few times a week. I am going to be keeping a journal of my progress. I am on day two.
I looked down and saw a ladybug. A sign of good things to come. What are you doing to make your dreams a reality? Does it help to have a good support system?


​Get it!!

Namaste’

Runner’s High on 4/20 day

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runme15

It has been about four weeks since I started running seriously. I admit it took me this long to fall in love with running. I am finally there, and thanks to BenderFitness I am officially a runner. Melissa taught me how to run to maintain my pace and achieve distance without stopping or walking.

Yesterday I achieved a fitness milestone, running over the Golden Gate Bridge and back again. It is a total of 3.4 miles. It was the most euphoric feeling and I am so happy to have shared the moment with one of my dear friends Kristina who visited over the weekend from NYC.

Kristina is running a half marathon in Brooklyn NYC in October and that has inspired me to do a half marathon in November instead of the 10k. I know I will really have to train and Melissa Bender and I are in the works coming up with a training program to get me there.

The sky’s the limit. It was national 420 day and I earned my runner’s high and crossed an item off my fitness bucket list. It was the most amazing moment and next I plan to run over it four times and do a few 5K’s as I train for the bigger races. I am so in love with running and cannot believe it took me this long to get there. Better late than never.

Namaste’

Love and light

Rose

runme8runme7

 

runningpic1

5 Things BenderFitness taught me about running

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friendsvvisitrunroserun

 

1. Pace yourself, and start slow. I used to fear running even though I did a 10K last year. It was such a proud moment for me but I had to stop and walk/run. I never fully embraced running like I am now. I want to keep going and see how far I can go. Run a marathon someday? Why not. It is all in the pace.
2. Listen to your breath and turn off the tunes. Ok this was a hard one for me and I resisted. I am a dancer and I love my music, It motivates me. Now I find I am motivated by running for the sake of running, not drowning out the sensations with music. There will be a time when I become a seasoned runner when I can listen to music as I run, but for now I run and listen to my breath.
3. Keep Moving, sounds so simple and so difficult, but honestly if you just keep moving you can do it.
4.Dress for the weather, and have on layers that can come off if you get hot. Here in the Bay Area it can feel cold with the wind but as you get moving you become warm.
5. Start with a small race. I am signing up for a 5K in a few months. I can already run over 3 miles and I will definitely be ready. Once I have a few under my belt I will graduate to a 10K and then maybe a half marathon.
I am really loving running now, and I am so grateful she taught me how to run the correct way. Now I feel like the sky’s the limit. I also discovered after I run I have this incredible zen like euphoria that relaxed my whole mind and body. It really is helping me handle the day to day stress.
Namaste’
Rose
friendsvisit32

 

Rose Bruno Bailey Richard Simmons

Why did I start My Change For A Ten?

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It is amazing how often we look in the mirror. We wake up, wash our face, and get ready for our day. We look in the mirror when we check our reflection to make sure we look presentable before we walk out the door. We see ourselves constantly but do we really see ourselves as others see us?

Homer Simpson Mirror

I was a dancer. I went to school for theater and dance; I studied ballet, jazz, modern and even did ballroom/latin. Dance is my first passion. I took pride in my dancers’ form and I walked with an air of confidence that dancers earn from years of training. I also had some issues with eating disorders and kept my weight within the range of 100 lbs and 135 lbs. When I hit 35, my weight started to go up and down, but it never got truly out of control until after 40. Even at that point I never considered the possibility that I could be obese.
I actually had a sign I had a weight problem the summer of 2011, but I was in denial. I went to a doctor in Beverly Hills who insisted I needed Bariatric surgery. He humiliated me, and accused me of lying about my diet.  On my walk home I was in tears, and I was suddenly startled when I was approached by the famous director Quentin Tarantino. He asked me for a business card and stated he was interested in me for a movie he was filming. I did not give him any information and totally botched what could have been a pivotal moment in my life, all because of what happened earlier in the day with the fat-shaming Beverly Hills doctor. Even after that moment I did not believe I could be that person, a person who was on the far side of fit. I just felt I was just a little chubby.
 
I am a poet, and I was attending an open mic in Hollywood with some friends in 2013. My photographer friend Xiomara offered to take some photos of me standing at the mic reading my poetry. I felt on top of the world that night; it was my first reading since moving from NYC to Los Angeles and my poetry really resonated with the audience that evening. It was time to shine, or so I thought.
Later that week Xiomara emailed me the photos, and I could not believe my eyes. I was looking at my own image, and the person in the photo was a stranger to me. Who was she? I did not recognize my own face and body, and I was mortified that I let myself get to the point of obesity. That was the last reading I attended.
I took a self-esteem dive right into the oblivion of insecurity and body hatred:
Rose Bruno Bailey Before Pictures

It was months until I was ready to take action: months of feeling terrible about myself, months of overeating and under-exercising. It was months before I faced the dreaded scale.  I let myself sink further before I was ready to make a change. The change came in an idea — an idea that came from my writer and humanitarian side of my personality.

I wanted to start a blog.
I actually had two blogs working but the missing link was something to strive for: a journey, a path.  I also realized how much I loved giving back in the past. Yes, I gave back in little ways daily to random people I encountered. A sandwich for a homeless man, a donation to an animal rescue but I wanted, or I needed to do more. I remembered how I planned Downward Dog For Cats back in 2012, a yoga event in Los Angeles to raise money for a local animal rescue. It was like a light bulb flashed inside my  myopic mind. I gave more to others than I gave to  myself. I was putting myself last and trashing my temple. I thought what if I were to combine my philanthropic ways with a weight loss regimen and blog about my experience.
I decided to sponsor a charity with every ten pounds I lost, contacting the charity before I lost each ten pounds. I was now accountable — and going public with my journey — so I thought there was no way I could fail. I decided to be completely transparent: sharing my weight which was 210 lbs and before photos, basically sharing my whole life.
My idea was met with such enthusiasm, I was offered training from a co-worker turned friend named Mike. I was cast in a Richard Simmons video, the beginning in July 2013 started off on such a hopeful note. I would lose weight, help others, and have a blast doing it. I would have no fear, and be impeccable with my word. When I said I would do something, I did it.
My journey became a thrilling adventure and I lost almost 50 lbs and did things I would have never assumed I could do at this time in my life. I ran a 5k, missed the turn and completed a 10k. I did yoga on a heli-pad on a rooftop in LA. I have loved every minute of the ride, met some beautiful souls along the twists and turns of my road less traveled, and I am humbled that I have had the chance to do my little part to make a difference.
Now I find myself at a crossroads, here in the San Francisco Bay Area, continuing on my never ending quest to for fitness, philanthropy and feeling fearless and high on being alive. I am far from an after, but so much better than I once was before. All with a little help from my friends.

​

Rose Bruno Bailey Yoga Helipad Los Angeles

Revisiting my fitness bucket list

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The photo you see here was my view doing yoga (in forward fold) on a helipad on top of a building in LA. I love to see things from different perspectives.
Good Morning to all. Let’s start with a basic question:
What are you doing today, this week, this year to make your goals a reality?
Dreams are never lofty thoughts that cannot come to fruition as long as you believe.

What would life be like if we were all perfect? We would have nothing to strive for, nothing to motivate us to be the best versions of ourselves.

I love that feeling of being challenged, of starting anew. I have so many goals: personal, artistic, creative, fitness, and philanthropic. I am always trying to shoot for the stars. I have a fitness bucket list, for example. I thought it might be helpful to share it here — it makes me more accountable, and maybe it will inspire others as well.

1. Trapeze Classes
I am actually doing this one! It will happen in the next few months based on my work with Melissa Bender Fitness. I’m excited — and get ready for a post with a ton of pictures (and maybe even a video).

2. Sign up and compete another race.

3. Do a month long yoga challenge, working on my home and studio practice

4. A workout video with Melissa Bender Fitness

5. Take a surfing lesson this summer

6. Aerial Classes

7. Yoga photos around San Francisco

8. Obtain exercise certifications

9.Send my story to a weight loss magazine to be featured in I did it section

10. Lose 30 more pounds

(In terms of the race/run, I’m thinking about a Color Run. There is a Color Run in San Francisco, although the exact date for 2015 hasn’t been determined. My husband James loves Las Vegas, and there’s a Color Run there in late February. Hmmmm.)

This is a very streamlined version of my list, and I will be updating it soon and adding more items. I want to be able to be challenged and make my goals a reality.  Since I began in 2013  I did a few really interesting things. I was in a Richard Simmons video, as well as doing a 5k and missed the turn and completed the 10k. I also planked for over five minutes and beat my Los Angeles trainer Mike, and  he was a very good sport about it.

My wish today for you is that you have the hope of a child, the enthusiasm of a cheerleader, the determination of an athlete. Inspiration is everywhere for the taking.

Love and Light
Namaste’

Best Foot Forward

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I am on day nine of my workouts that I am doing since I became a fitness ambassador for Melissa Bender Fitness.I am doing the 12 weeks of bikini competition workouts and feeling great. http://www.benderfitness.com/2013/02/my-first-bikini-competition-prep-month.html

I ran to the running store yesterday, since I do have my share of challenges as I progress. I have a foot/toe injury and I feel so much better when I have inserts from a running store. It takes the pressure of the front of my foot and it really makes a difference how my feet feel all day. I am now putting my best foot forward and chasing after my goals pain free.
My diet is on track and you can find my food journal on my facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/MyChangeForATen
When I work I usually eat the same things in the am and afternoon, to make it easier to plan.
Week two is underway, and I am so happy to be back in the swing of things. I had two months off from the move and it really depressed me, I need those endorphins.
I am looking into doing a raffle for my next charity, and raffling off something exciting. The photo on this post holds a hint of what I will be raffling off. I have not been on the scale in a while, since I have been focusing on my fitness and clean eating and trying not to obsess. I will do another weigh in soon and I am purchasing a new scale tonight since mine broke in my move.
Off for my day, I admit I am a little sleepy this morning, it is that darn San Francisco fog. Much different then the LA sun I am used to.
Happy Transformation Tuesday to allplaystation
Namaste’
Rose Bruno Bailey Poetry

Soaring in the heavens

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Good Morning to all. Yesterday was a long day for me, and a rest day from my Melissa Bender Fitness workouts. Tonight is day five, and I work another long day so my workout will be later in the evening. Words cannot convey how motivated and excited I am for the trapeze classes in a few months. I met a couple last night who took the class here in Oakland, California and they said it was amazing and the staff made it so easy.
I feel like I found the fountain of youth. Last year I did yoga on a rooftop heli-pad in Los Angeles and this year I am taking trapeze classes and who knows what else what. I am so happy, I am manifesting my own destiny, and that through trapeze classes I will soar the heavens.
Manifesting my own destiny

I want to swim until I am sunburned and waterlogged. Fall asleep and dream under a bevy of stars on a clear night. I want to drive cross country and write poetry on top of the world at the Empire State Building, and travel back west by train, stop and sketch at the the foot of the majestic Grand Canyon. I want to be ageless, fearless, travel into space and be weightless. To journey to the ends of the earth to face my demons, and journey back and have the last laugh. I want to spend my days creating art and my nights making a difference. To dance forever, soar the heavens, snorkel the seas and live every moment like there is nothing like being totally and utterly alive. 

Rose Bruno Bailey San Francisco

On The Right Track

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Good Morning to all on this beautiful morning. I am on day three of my ambassadorship for Melissa Bender Fitness and I am so enthusiastic about what is to come. I am a little sore today from the workouts.
Honestly, moving from LA to San Francisco left me off track so to speak. This train is moving again and in the direction of being in the best shape of my life. Today is a day off from the workouts, but I am still going to do my cardio — and I have decided to get back to basics on the day off and do one of her beginning videos. If you are a beginner or want to get back to the basics, this video is perfect for you.
This workout encompasses a lot of the basic moves that really work — and at my current stage, they’re great for me. I am having some challenges with my injured toe, which makes going back on my toe difficult in a lunge so I plan on asking Melissa Bender Fitness for some modifications. I am in need of new workout shoes as well as some equipment for home workouts. My fitness to-do shopping list is growing.
I have decided not to focus on the scale, but I will be weighing in again soon and posting my weight. I have also decided I would like to weigh around 135 lbs. I am currently 165.  I have come a long way but I feel I also have a long way to go and I feel a renewed sense of inspiration and motivation. I know I got this. Moving was traumatic but I am now completely back on track.
I was in the play Pippin once, and one of the songs was titled On The Right Track. Perfect for my mood today.
Love and Light to all
Namaste’
Rose
Rose Bruno Bailey Sky Above Me Earth Below Me

Flying High

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Yesterday was day one of Melissa Bender Fitness Bikini prep workouts — it was challenging but in the best way, and I completed all three rounds.

I had to modify the jump plank because of my injured toe so I chose to just regular plank instead.  I also went running outdoors for 30 minutes in the cold, but that fabulous full moon and my music made it all worth while. Nothing like stargazing to remind you we are just traces of tinsel in a vast glittering universe.

I have so much work to do to be ready to fly in three months on the flying trapeze. I admit my dream of taking a trapeze class is a little intimidating, but I am up for the challenge. I have seen the videos and imagined myself suspended in mid air dangling high above the ground with just a net to catch my fall. Exciting and liberating, this is truly going to be a high moment for 2015.

Here’s where we’ll be taking the trapeze class.

This is how I imagine it will feel to fly, terrifying and
​exhilarating at the same time. It is like a metaphor for love.

WINGED  GURU

My tortured soul surrenders

My resistant body to a fated flight.

Melancholic melodies of my history,

Caught between memory and reality.

My fickle heartbeat dangles,

Caught in tangled cobwebs

Of here, then and now;  and then.

Escape to the rhythm of lyrical suspense,

Suspended aimlessly without a whim;

Midair swan dive maneuvering

Into the embrace of silken arms;

Whirling together, abandoning myself.

Hanging in the imbalance between

Rhapsody and heartbreak.

(c) Rose Bruno Bailey

Love and Light to all and keep dreaming

STARTING OVER

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The last few months have been challenging, navigating a new city and a new job.  Now that 2015 has arrived I feel ready to begin anew in my project. I will be announcing exciting news soon. I also plan on doing an event/raffle and raising money for a non profit who really needs funds. I am going to raffle off a prize that I feel people would love to win.  

For the beginning of 2015 I am going to focus on fitness and not be a slave to the scale, yet still helping charities and others along my journey. I have so many fitness goals and of course a fitness bucket list I wish to tackle. The idea of this project and blog is to help myself and help others in the process. I have been successful so far but that was just practice, it is on now. I am so ready to be the best version of myself.

Love and light to all

Namaste’

Rose