Well, we are yet another week closer to both Vancouver and Emerald Cup!

Boy does time fly! This is why I ALWAYS emphasize making the most of every single day and hour that you have to prep for a show! It becomes easy to think that you have "so much time" left, but before you know it...It's SHOW TIME! To be exact...I have 40 days until Vancouver and 60 days until the ECUP! I CANNOT wait! As frustrating and exhausting as this prep has been, I ALWAYS enjoy the journey! It's amazing to see my body progress..both in measurements and performance! Every week I improve in one way or another and this is what keeps me coming back for more!! I've had countless people ask me why I don't just maintain...I just think 'Maintain? Maintain? Why would I want to maintain? There's so much room for improvement no matter how hard I train' and that's what makes the sport truly exciting! Why would I want to settle to maintain...Why should I be content with where I'm at? There's no reason. I hope that I am ALWAYS striving for improvement...Even when I'm an IFBB Pro with YEARS under my belt...I will continue to strive for improvement! As I continue to train hard and improve, I am filled with fresh air...a fresh outlook..it fills me with life and I become absolutely HUNGRY to make progress!

So as far as improvement goes!! My shoulders are definitely coming along!! This is an area which I have struggled with and it feels good to see that little cap begin to form as I hold a front pose! It has taken a lot of focus and hard work, but my shoulders are definitely coming along! Thank goodness ;)

As far as my prep...It's coming along wonderfully! I'm hitting it so hard during the week that I am sooooo truly thankful for Sunday to come around! By Saturday, after a morning track workout, I'm definitely ready to rest up for my upcoming week! I know that training gets hectic as the show is approaching, but please please take time to rest and recover!! There's no point is busting it out all "off season" to build if you're just going to do endless cardio with no recovery! So rest...your body needs it!

My diet has been great and I began a new phase this last week. Lots of veggies, a bit more lean beef than usual and more whole grain breads! So far it is giving me more energy, keeping me full and I'm staying lean! So no complaints there! The only thing that I'm really struggling with is my water intake! It's been REALLY tough with school! I sit in class for 2.5 hours at a time and then have a quick 10 min break to get to my next 2.5 hour class...That 10 min gives me just enough time to scarf down some food and run to the bathroom quickly! So overall, I would say that my water intake is my biggest struggle at the moment, BUT it will definitely be my goal for the week to focus on this and get my water intake up!

So that's where I'm at! Feeling great about my prep and I've thoroughly enjoyed keeping up with our other bloggers and other competitors as we all push through our last several weeks of prep! Stay strong guys and gals! Remember: Each day is CRUCIAL...each workout is crucial and I hope that each and every one of you are staying focused on YOUR goals for these upcoming shows!

Stay Strong. Stay Focused. Let the Lord's Light SHINE!

PS..contact me on facebook if we're not 'friends' on there already! It would be great to talk with those people who are following my blog!!

Diane Rudholm

Tags: Shoulders | Emerald Cup

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Wow. Let's just say that it is 9:00am and I JUST woke up. To me, this is absolutely insane because I consider sleeping in to be 7:00! I've gotten up at 4:00 every morning this week in order to squeeze in my cardio before I head off to work and I have to say that it feels pretty darn good to sleep in so late for once! I decided to not set my alarm because I have no work this morning and to just let my body wake up when it feels ready! So overall, I'm thankful that I did this because it allowed my body to rest up after all the hard work this week!

SO training! I'm officially COMPLETELY in my zone and my workouts have been AMAZING!!! I trained legs on Monday and to be honest, my hammies are still sore!! Then I met with Misty (she's doing Vancouver) and Pete on Weds to train chest and triceps! It was a great workout and it felt so great to workout with the both of them. Since my school schedule is a little crazy and with Pete's busy wrestling schedule (He's the coach at Bellevue Christian), it has been tough to coordinate our workouts together! So, it was great to work out with Misty and see Pete as well! They always push me to my limits and I think it is so great to have those kind of people in your life...

Which reminds me...When preparing for a show, who are the people that you chose to surround yourself with? Heck, not only JUST when prepping for a show, but through out your entire life? I strongly believe that you are who you associate with and I've witnessed this in my own life! I remember hanging out with the "wrong" crowd when I was younger and my parents would constantly say, "You are who you associate with!! Do you really want to be like them?" I HATED it when they would say that, but now I am so thankful because it truly taught me that I need to surround myself with strong, confident, optimistic people who are living their lives with shear determination to reach their own goals and dreams!! You see, it is their drive, focus and determination that will be contagious to those around them...Same goes for you..Keep shining because it is going to affect those around you more than you could possibly imagine. So anyways, I was just thinking how incredibly blessed I am to have made the decision to only surround myself with people who completely lift me up, or have the potential to lift me up! Don't get me wrong, if someone is having a tough time and are temporarily bringing me down, I'm not going to 'kick' them out of my life because I will want to help them! BUT! I will not tolerate anyone in my life who is going to waste timing bringing me and my dreams down with them everytime I'm around them! There's just no time for this - I've got BIG things to do and I'm not letting anyone step in the way!

So off to I got to the gym. I'm going to kick major butt during my cardio session and then head home to relax and prep my food before I head to Redmond to meet Pete for shoulders!! Oh yeahhh!! My shoulders are definitely making big improvements over this last year and I'm so thankful that both myself and Pete have been working hard to build that beautiful shoulder cap! Bring it on!!

"You don't concentrate on risks. You concentrate on results. No risk is too great to prevent the necessary job from getting done."

Tags: Determination | Goals | Mindset | training partner | Shoulders

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-Whiskey River BBQ Burger from Red Robin...With fries
-Guacamole and Chips
-Onion Rings
-Pizza from The Rock
-Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit
-Big Salad with DRESSING
-Burrito from Nick's Grill in Kirkland
-Strawberry Slim & Fit Smoothie from Emerald City
-Snapea Crisps

These are just a few of the things that I want to eat right now...WOW.
I was hoping that this would allow me to vent and get over my cravings...Maybe it worked, but who knows.
My cravings are coming and going...Not nearly as bad as they normally are. I remind myself that I really don't want all this food. Realistically the food will taste good at first, but then I will just feel like crap!! My body does NOT want any of this food...It's actually quite happy with whole and clean food. My mind and my emotions...now that's another story. My Mind THINKS that I need a burger ;) Hopefully I didn't make any of you competitors too hungry.  We're almost there, so no worries! Just think...16 days and all you Ironman competitors can enjoy whatever it is that you have been craving for the last several weeks!

So yesterday was a great workout. I had an awesome AM cardio session. I did the Elliptical for 60 min and was even wanting to do more. My energy levels were kickin'. Then I met Katy and Pete at Snap later on to lift and do a little more cardio. We did back...It was a great workout and Pete kept us moving! We did a variety of exercises in order to hit all areas of the back. Then I finished up with 30min of cardio. After that I went tanning (Boy am I white!!!) and then went home for awhile. I hung out with my dogs and just relaxed. I didn't have to prep any food because yesterday morning I left the house for work WITHOUT any of my food for the day. Major Bummer. So yesterday I had to improvise...which worked OKAY. But anyways, that just mean't that I didn't have to make any food last night. That was nice. After hanging out at home for awhile, I headed to LA for my last cardio session. I did another hour of cardio and loved every minute of it...honestly. For some reason I was REALLY feeling cardio yesterday!!

Today...Well, that's a different story. I could barely put in 30 min on the Elliptical today. I felt like I physically could not finish 30 min. Hopefully I'll gain some energy and strength through-out my day to get me through lifting and more cardio later on. I know I can do it. It'll be tough today, but I've got it handled :)

Once I get off work today, I'll head to LA for some more cardio. Then later this evening I'll meet the girls at Pete at Snap for shoulders!! Gotta work on that round cap! Each workout helps.

So that's all for now. I'm getting super excited for the show and cannot wait for it to get here. Almost Show Time!!!

Stay Strong. Stay Focused. Let the Lord's Light SHINE!

Diane

Tags: Shoulders | energy | cravings

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Well, I'm back from my vacation and it was AMAZING!!! It was so refreshing to spend quality time with my family and fiance.  With all of us on such busy schedules, we hardly ever get to spend more than 1 evening together.  So, it was great to spend 6 nights with everyone.

Last Friday, Barry and I drove out to Cape Mears...It was a beautiful look-out right on the Oregon Coast. Beautiful!! It is so amazing to see all of God's amazing work along the coast.  It really amazes me.  Well...We pulled up to the main look-out where you can take a short hike to a light house and another short hike to a beautiful "Octopus Tree".  As soon as I stepped out of the truck, I noticed tons of squirrels wandering the parking lot.  They were coming right up to all the people, taking whatever food the tourists would give them.  One squirrel came right up to me...Literally a few inches away from my feet.  I stood still and couldn't believe how cute he was...adorable little thing. Then out of nowhere, he attacked my foot.  I was wearing flip-flops and he went straight for my toes.  He wrapped his little jaws around my baby toe and clamped down.  Then after I gave out a little scream he quickly ran away into the bushes.  Lucky for me, a lady nearby had antiseptic wipes and bandages.  I had teeth marks on my foot and it kept bleeding.  Long story short, I was attacked by a squirrel and had to spend the afternoon getting ahold of a doctor in the tiny town of Tillamook, OR.  I made it in to the doc office right before they closed for a tetanus shot...Just in case the squirrel had some sort of disease. That was a pretty interesting afternoon. Now my foot is all healed up and back to normal...and now I'm forever scared of squirrels ;)

Other than that, vacation was amazing.  Although I did not spend as much time lifting as I hoped, I spent a lot of time being VERY active.  We went on several hikes...Beautiful hikes!! I took sooo many pictures.  We also spent a lot of time biking and walking down the beach everyday! The weather was beautiful.  It was in the 70s...Perfect weather for being active outdoors.  We also spent time at the pool and sauna.  Barry joked that I was no fun to go on a bike ride with because I turned everything into a workout...haha boy was he right.  Even at the pool, when everyone was just relaxing and swimming, I was turning it into a cardio workout! When going on a bike ride, I tried to keep my speed and resistance challenging enough to provide an excellent workout.  I even spent time lunging down the beach with my mom. Overall, it was a very active vacation.  Even though my diet and workouts were not 100% on vacation, I came back to find myself leaner than when I left.  Must have been the combination of diverse cardio workouts, less stress, more rest and constant laughter and smiles.

Now I'm back to my routine!! I woke up and headed to the gym for cardio.  I did an extra 15 min of cardio and followed up with a great abs session.  Then I stopped by the grocery store on the way home to stock up on spinach, chicken, broccoli, eggs, celery etc... I had my delicious egg whites a little while ago and now I'm going to take my dogs on a walk.  I missed them while I was gone and can't wait to take them on a nice long walk!

Later I'll be hitting the gym for a kick-butt shoulders workout and then some more cardio.  Although I hated leaving Cannon Beach, OR, it feels good to be home and back into my regular routine.

Stay Strong. Stay Focused. Let the Lord's Light SHINE!

Diane

Tags: Shoulders

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Good Morning Everyone!!

So I got to sleep in this morning because we leave for Cannon Beach today!! Although I slept in, I still got up at 6:45am to head out for sprints.  I would have loved to sleep in till like 9, but there was no way I was going to be running sprints in this hot weather.  I went to a high school track near my house and did 5 laps around the track.  I sprinted 100, then walked 100, sprinted 100, walked 100 etc...By the time I left I had used up all my juice.  I grabbed a Lady Latte on my way home, which is my FAVORITE!!! Since I discovered Lady Latte about 2 years ago, I have not had any coffee other than theirs!! They have an excellent SF White Chocolate POWDER that tastes amazing.  I try and stay away from as much artificial sugar as I can, since I know it's not the healthiest, but I allow myself my americano each day with the SF White Chocolate Powder.  It is delicious!! If you live anywhere near Mill Creek, you should definitely try that sf powder.  It is SOOO much better than the sugar-free syrups at most coffee stands.  I think they have a SF dark chocolate powder as well...quite tasty!

So anyways, I'm at home eating my egg whites and getting the last bit of packing done.  Once Barry, my fiance, gets off work, we'll be heading out of town.

Speaking of Barry, he reminds me of something that I wanted to bring up.  I think it's very important for us competitors to be thankful towards the supportive people in our lives who were with us BEFORE we started competing.  If I look back on my life a little over a year ago, before I started training, my daily routine was SOOO different.  I have been dating Barry for almost 6 years...It will be 6 years in August yay!! Anyways, the first 5 years of our relationship I ate whatever I wanted and I rarely spent time in the gym.  We would go out to dinner wherever we wanted on the weekends and not once did we ever have to plan a meal or make time for my training sessions each day. Then a year ago, when I started training for the 2008 Ironman, my whole life changed, along with all my family's and Barry's.  Now we have to plan our whole weekends around my training sessions and my diet.  There have been many fun things we've wanted to do, but haven't because it would be too difficult to eat clean, train etc... Boy is my fiance amazing!! Not once has he complained about anything.  Even though we stick to our select few restaurants where I can get a promised clean meal and even though I always want to be in bed EARLY due to my early morning cardio, he has not once complained.  Same with my family...Now for everyone's birthdays and holidays, my mom makes special food that I can eat (I know, she's the best) Overall, I'm SOOO thankful that God has blessed me with amazing family and friends.  They have all been so understanding of my new life and never complain about the fact that it effects all hours of my day and the time that I spend with them.  I think it's easy to always thank our trainers/nutritionists/coaches etc for all of the work that they put into our prep (they deserve every bit of thanks), but I think sometimes I tend to forget that I should always be thanking my friends and family for their willing adjustment to my new lifestyle. I've been blessed with an amazing family, amazing fiance and some of the most amazing friends out there and I could never thank them enough for helping me reach my goals.

So I better get going.  I need to get ready to head to Bellevue to meet Pete at Snap.  Today is shoulders! Whoo!!

As always, I'm excited for that pump...that burn...As much as I hate it, I can't get enough of it!

Tomorrow I'll do arms at the gym where we're staying....plus I'll be doing LOTS of cardio!! It's easy to stay active on the beach with all of the bike riding, running, swimming and hiking available! I just can't wait! I'll be taking lots of pictures and can't wait to spend time with my family and Barry!!

Stay focused this next week.  Each day offers a great amount of opportunity to improve.  Every little bit counts. Keep Pushing.

Stay Strong. Stay Focused. Let the Lord's Light SHINE!

Diane

Tags: Shoulders | Arms | Sprints | Lady Latte

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Let's just say that I am sooooo wishing I was in Vegas for the USAs right now!! I previously wrote about how pumped up I got after going to the WA State Show...Now imagine how pumped up for competition I'd get after watching the show in Vegas!! I've been praying for everyone I know that is competing.  What an amazing feeling to be getting ready to step on stage in Vegas. I cannot wait for my time to step on that stage! It's easy for me to get caught up in wishing I was competing at a national show NOW, but I have to remind myself that I will get there eventually and it will be in perfect time...even if that time is not now. I always have to remind myself to be patient.  I'm so eager to have my "best" body that I tend to forget the time it takes to get there.  I need to focus on what I'm doing now to achieve my goals, instead of focusing on the "end" of the journey.  So for now...My only focus is today.  It's really all I've got. 

Yesterday's workout was great! I met Pete for shoulders. We started with dumbbell shoulder presses...I finally broke through to my highest weight without hardly any spotting from Pete...Yay!! I was able to pump out a few sets with 25lb dumbbells.  It may not seem like that much to some of you seasoned athletes, but for me, I'm making progress :)  That's another thing...It's so important to only focus on yourself while training.  Use the weight YOU need/can use.  Sometimes I get discouraged by gals that can lift more than me and I lose sight of the fact that it's all about me...no one else.  I should be happy with the progress that I've made, without taking into account where anyone else is in their training. I'm happy to say that with only 1 year of lifting under my belt, I feel confident in the progress and improvements I've made.   Look to others who are better than you for inspiration, but not to compare yourself and be negative towards where you’re at.

Anyways...After lifting shoulders, I headed to a hill by the gym for sprints!! I'm getting so much stronger in this area...I'm now able to do more sets of sprints than I used to.  This weekend I'll do sprints on a flat track....Gotta mix it up. I’m also hoping to get a hike in tomorrow morning.  I LOVE hiking.  It’s so peaceful and a great workout for my buns.

That’s it for now.  Today will be arms…I can’t wait to train with all the girls.

Get ready for a HOT weekend.

Stay Strong. Stay Focused. Let the Lord’s Light SHINE!

Diane

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Tags: USAs | Journey | Arms | Shoulders | Bikini | Sprints

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