Today's Workout
7:00 a.m.
Sweat 1/2 (Power 90® workouts)
Ab Ripper 100 (Power 90® workouts)
Yoga ~ 60 minutes
9:30 p.m.
Run/walk ~ 3.05 miles, 38 minutes
Decent food choices. Great exercise today.
Happy New Year!
Running towards fitness and never, ever, away from a challenge!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
12/30 Workout
Sculpt 1/2 (Power 90® workouts)
Yoga for Weight Loss ~ 60 minutes
12/29 Workout
Sweat 1/2 & Ab Ripper 100 (Power 90® workouts)
Run/walk ~ 30 minutes
12/28 Workout
Sculpt 1/2 (Power 90® workouts)
Run/walk ~ 30 minutes
Elliptical ~ 30 minutes
12/27 Workout
Sweat 1/2 & Ab Ripper 100 (Power 90® workouts)
Run/walk ~ 30 minutes
Getting back into the swing of things and enjoying this Power 90® stuff a lot. Still lovin' the Nike + but got sidetracked by business commitments (again) and took too much time off from running or doing anything else that would get me back into shape. I am, once again, trying to maintain a proper work-life balance and prioritize my fitness for a change.
Sculpt 1/2 (Power 90® workouts)
Yoga for Weight Loss ~ 60 minutes
12/29 Workout
Sweat 1/2 & Ab Ripper 100 (Power 90® workouts)
Run/walk ~ 30 minutes
12/28 Workout
Sculpt 1/2 (Power 90® workouts)
Run/walk ~ 30 minutes
Elliptical ~ 30 minutes
12/27 Workout
Sweat 1/2 & Ab Ripper 100 (Power 90® workouts)
Run/walk ~ 30 minutes
Getting back into the swing of things and enjoying this Power 90® stuff a lot. Still lovin' the Nike + but got sidetracked by business commitments (again) and took too much time off from running or doing anything else that would get me back into shape. I am, once again, trying to maintain a proper work-life balance and prioritize my fitness for a change.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Today's Workout
30 minutes Core Rhythm Ab/Cardio workout
30 minutes treadmill
squats - 2 x 20
lunges - 2 x 10 (forward & back)
pushups - 3 x 10
ouch. ouch. ouch. Sunday my legs felt great after Saturday's run, with very little soreness. I woke up in the middle of the night, however, with serious DOMS. Wearing new shoes today (and getting the heel stuck in bad spot while crossing the street) combined with turning my ankle while searching for the breaker box outside made for the second half of my run being forfeited for a walk.
I did get the minutes in, but I was disappointed not to be able to run them all. Somewhere around 15 minutes, I started feeling this tweaking pain in the little bone (any thoughts on what it's called?) just to the outside of my ankle. Every step was painful, so I opted for the safer bet of walking. No pain when walking, but when I tried to begin running again, more pain. And that's why I finished with a long walk.
Tomorrow I'll take a break from running, and Wednesday, Sandra and I will hit the park at lunch. Wish me luck!
30 minutes Core Rhythm Ab/Cardio workout
30 minutes treadmill
squats - 2 x 20
lunges - 2 x 10 (forward & back)
pushups - 3 x 10
ouch. ouch. ouch. Sunday my legs felt great after Saturday's run, with very little soreness. I woke up in the middle of the night, however, with serious DOMS. Wearing new shoes today (and getting the heel stuck in bad spot while crossing the street) combined with turning my ankle while searching for the breaker box outside made for the second half of my run being forfeited for a walk.
I did get the minutes in, but I was disappointed not to be able to run them all. Somewhere around 15 minutes, I started feeling this tweaking pain in the little bone (any thoughts on what it's called?) just to the outside of my ankle. Every step was painful, so I opted for the safer bet of walking. No pain when walking, but when I tried to begin running again, more pain. And that's why I finished with a long walk.
Tomorrow I'll take a break from running, and Wednesday, Sandra and I will hit the park at lunch. Wish me luck!
Saturday, September 15, 2007
We had a very nice start to the weekend. I planned to take Hunter with me to Cullen Park and run while she rode her bike, but that would have meant leaving Joel and Nicholas home. It also would have meant trying to figure out a way to get Hunter's bike into the car (top down??), but Joel was the voice of reason and said there was no way in hell I was putting her bike in my car. :-)
Instead, we piled both kids & bike into the SUV and headed off for Mary Jo Peckham Park. My plan was to run for an hour and let Hunter ride as much of it as she could and then she could play on the kids' equipment with Nicholas. Well, what's that old saying about the best laid plans?? Something about them getting all screwed up?
To her credit, she was excited and really tried to ride with me. I don't run quickly (as is evident on the right of the screen), but two-thirds of the trail is dirt. It's great for running, but not so great for a kid's bike with training wheels. Compound walking backwards waiting for her to catch up with stopping and watching her run up a hill then back down and I finished with a 20 minute mile. Seriously. One mile. 20 minutes.
We packed the bike back into the car and just played for the rest of our time there. Then we stopped off at our favorite little hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant. As usual the food was better than average and the kids cleaned their plates.
So that means 1) I didn't run as far as I intended outdoors this a.m. and 2) I ate really yummy, really high fat Mexican food for brunch.
Alas, all was not lost! We made it home after picking up a new tire for Joel's bike and while Nicholas napped and Hunter played, I hopped on the treadmill for my 60 minutes. I did it! God, I was tasting brunch the whole time, but I ran barely over 5 miles in 60 minutes. Long, slow run, right? I think this qualifies as slow, and it's sure as hell longer than what I'd normally do.
Dinner was actually relatively healthy, and I haven't wanted to snack all day. In an attempt towards honesty, I should say that's because I pigged out on chips & salsa at brunch. Whatever.
I did try a new recipe for this smashed cauliflower thing at dinner. I need to add more seasonings, but overall it was decent.
Confetti Cauliflower
1 bag frozen cauliflower
1/2 bag frozen julienned peppers (red & green)
1/2 cup low-fat whipped cream cheese
Nuke the first two ingredients until warm, add the third and blend until smooth. (I had to nuke it more after blending because the cheese was cold, but it was an easy thing to do.) I topped it with some paprika, but it could have used more in the actual mix. It didn't suck, which is more than I can say for most other attempts I've made at making cauliflower edible.
I don't know if I want to run tomorrow or take a break. It's not like I need another break from running, since last week it was almost negligible. I read somewhere this week that if after a long slow run you feel the need for an all-afternoon nap, or that you can't get up your stairs, then you didn't run slowly enough. For that reason, I ran slower today. I felt noticeably better than I normally would after a weekend run, and that's what leads me to think I could run tomorrow with no negative affects.
OH!!!! I almost forgot ~ I got new running shoes !!! I didn't realize I needed them until I ran in them. Oh my gosh, I had forgotten what good cushioning felt like! The ones I got last year are here but last year's version. They were/are great, but apparently I've run more on them than I realized. I still like my Nike Free (first edition), but I've worn holes in the stretchy bit above the heels.
Clearly I'm on a roll talking to myself here... what next? I guess nothing. Happy & healthy running to all of you!
Instead, we piled both kids & bike into the SUV and headed off for Mary Jo Peckham Park. My plan was to run for an hour and let Hunter ride as much of it as she could and then she could play on the kids' equipment with Nicholas. Well, what's that old saying about the best laid plans?? Something about them getting all screwed up?
To her credit, she was excited and really tried to ride with me. I don't run quickly (as is evident on the right of the screen), but two-thirds of the trail is dirt. It's great for running, but not so great for a kid's bike with training wheels. Compound walking backwards waiting for her to catch up with stopping and watching her run up a hill then back down and I finished with a 20 minute mile. Seriously. One mile. 20 minutes.
We packed the bike back into the car and just played for the rest of our time there. Then we stopped off at our favorite little hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant. As usual the food was better than average and the kids cleaned their plates.
So that means 1) I didn't run as far as I intended outdoors this a.m. and 2) I ate really yummy, really high fat Mexican food for brunch.
Alas, all was not lost! We made it home after picking up a new tire for Joel's bike and while Nicholas napped and Hunter played, I hopped on the treadmill for my 60 minutes. I did it! God, I was tasting brunch the whole time, but I ran barely over 5 miles in 60 minutes. Long, slow run, right? I think this qualifies as slow, and it's sure as hell longer than what I'd normally do.
Dinner was actually relatively healthy, and I haven't wanted to snack all day. In an attempt towards honesty, I should say that's because I pigged out on chips & salsa at brunch. Whatever.
I did try a new recipe for this smashed cauliflower thing at dinner. I need to add more seasonings, but overall it was decent.
Confetti Cauliflower
1 bag frozen cauliflower
1/2 bag frozen julienned peppers (red & green)
1/2 cup low-fat whipped cream cheese
Nuke the first two ingredients until warm, add the third and blend until smooth. (I had to nuke it more after blending because the cheese was cold, but it was an easy thing to do.) I topped it with some paprika, but it could have used more in the actual mix. It didn't suck, which is more than I can say for most other attempts I've made at making cauliflower edible.
I don't know if I want to run tomorrow or take a break. It's not like I need another break from running, since last week it was almost negligible. I read somewhere this week that if after a long slow run you feel the need for an all-afternoon nap, or that you can't get up your stairs, then you didn't run slowly enough. For that reason, I ran slower today. I felt noticeably better than I normally would after a weekend run, and that's what leads me to think I could run tomorrow with no negative affects.
OH!!!! I almost forgot ~ I got new running shoes !!! I didn't realize I needed them until I ran in them. Oh my gosh, I had forgotten what good cushioning felt like! The ones I got last year are here but last year's version. They were/are great, but apparently I've run more on them than I realized. I still like my Nike Free (first edition), but I've worn holes in the stretchy bit above the heels.
Clearly I'm on a roll talking to myself here... what next? I guess nothing. Happy & healthy running to all of you!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Today's Workout
60 minutes RT - PM
Talk about having reality smack you in the face.... I was just reading my old [and very limited] blog and had a posting there from exactly 2 years ago. I was thrilled to have reached a particular weight. I was thrilled to pass mirrors and not flip out over the 'fat chick in my clothes'. (yea, there was the whole bit about how some bigger girls are quite able to look pretty and well put together, but I'm not one of them, so I'm not hating on larger people, I swear ~ it just doesn't work for me.) And guess what that magic number was? Are you ready?
I'm not telling. What I will say is that it approximately 28 lbs below where I am these days. Unless my brain is fried and I can't do math today, but I don't think that's it. It better not be, as I just closed a multi-million dollar deal and there were calculations involved.
If I were speaking this outloud [to myself] there would be a string of expletives invoked here. Since I'm posting this for anyone and everyone to read, I'm not going there. Just know that I'm highly disgusted that instead of reaching my goal weight shortly thereafter, I'm now heavier than ever.
There's also a bit about the advice I'd give myself on my marriage, if I happened to be a friend of mine. How I cope [or don't] cope with the myriad of routine problems in my life has more to do with the number on the scale than anything else. I'm afraid that if I don't stop stuffing myself with food to avoid the real issues I'll just get bigger and bigger until I explode. I'm afraid that if I do stop stuffing myself with food to avoid the real issues, the emotions will come out and I'll explode. The bottom line is that I'm afraid.
So how do I get beyond this? How do I just suck it up and make it all work as best it can? For starters, I sign off, change into my workout clothes and meet Lisa downstairs for our workout.
The questions I pose aren't just rhetorical. I'm open to hearing/reading any suggestions that may be offered.
60 minutes RT - PM
Talk about having reality smack you in the face.... I was just reading my old [and very limited] blog and had a posting there from exactly 2 years ago. I was thrilled to have reached a particular weight. I was thrilled to pass mirrors and not flip out over the 'fat chick in my clothes'. (yea, there was the whole bit about how some bigger girls are quite able to look pretty and well put together, but I'm not one of them, so I'm not hating on larger people, I swear ~ it just doesn't work for me.) And guess what that magic number was? Are you ready?
I'm not telling. What I will say is that it approximately 28 lbs below where I am these days. Unless my brain is fried and I can't do math today, but I don't think that's it. It better not be, as I just closed a multi-million dollar deal and there were calculations involved.
If I were speaking this outloud [to myself] there would be a string of expletives invoked here. Since I'm posting this for anyone and everyone to read, I'm not going there. Just know that I'm highly disgusted that instead of reaching my goal weight shortly thereafter, I'm now heavier than ever.
There's also a bit about the advice I'd give myself on my marriage, if I happened to be a friend of mine. How I cope [or don't] cope with the myriad of routine problems in my life has more to do with the number on the scale than anything else. I'm afraid that if I don't stop stuffing myself with food to avoid the real issues I'll just get bigger and bigger until I explode. I'm afraid that if I do stop stuffing myself with food to avoid the real issues, the emotions will come out and I'll explode. The bottom line is that I'm afraid.
So how do I get beyond this? How do I just suck it up and make it all work as best it can? For starters, I sign off, change into my workout clothes and meet Lisa downstairs for our workout.
The questions I pose aren't just rhetorical. I'm open to hearing/reading any suggestions that may be offered.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Today's Workout
20 minutes walk - PM
60 minutes RT - PM
Janet and I had another good workout with Lisa tonight. Lots of legwork, such as wall squats, one leg squats, deadlifts, leg lifts - from a side lying plank-ish position on the ball. As I said, LOTS of legwork! Back and calves, too, but I think my quads and hamstrings will feel it the most tomorrow.
And speaking of tomorrow, I've scheduled a treat for myself ~ a 90 minute massage. It's been ages since I've had one at all, and I've specifically requested someone who specialises in deep tissue, in order to work out some of the excess toxins (i.e., CAFFEINE) in my system.
Food stuff was good today, not perfect, but snacks were fresh fruit in the afternoon & a protein smoothie tonight after the workout. Lunch was a BIG salad, grilled chicken, and tomato bisque. I have no idea how the soup was made, but it was yummy and I needed that today. Surely it had to be better for me than the normal empty calories in baked lays, chocolate covered almonds, chips/salsa, or other such [yummy] crap.
More important than what I ate was that I felt in control of what I ate. I was more cognizant of whether I was really hungry or just wanting to munch (when that happened I grabbed 2 strawberries and a bunch of grapes from the fruit basket at work). That feels like an improvement.
Amy commented on yesterday's post that I should look at what fears are holding me back from making the right choices and living in the body I want. She's absolutely correct. I've been psychoanalysed to death and although I do know the whacked out reasons behind my rather irrational fears of being fit/thin/attractive again, there is something stopping me from making the consistent changes needed to reach my goals.
something.
it's probably just me.
On to more exciting topics... Hunter is cheering at her first pep rally tomorrow. I can't believe it. She's so worked up about it, and she's been practicing so hard. This is going to be so much fun!
Thanks to anyone and everyone who bothers to take the time to read this. Your comments are always welcome and appreciated.
20 minutes walk - PM
60 minutes RT - PM
Janet and I had another good workout with Lisa tonight. Lots of legwork, such as wall squats, one leg squats, deadlifts, leg lifts - from a side lying plank-ish position on the ball. As I said, LOTS of legwork! Back and calves, too, but I think my quads and hamstrings will feel it the most tomorrow.
And speaking of tomorrow, I've scheduled a treat for myself ~ a 90 minute massage. It's been ages since I've had one at all, and I've specifically requested someone who specialises in deep tissue, in order to work out some of the excess toxins (i.e., CAFFEINE) in my system.
Food stuff was good today, not perfect, but snacks were fresh fruit in the afternoon & a protein smoothie tonight after the workout. Lunch was a BIG salad, grilled chicken, and tomato bisque. I have no idea how the soup was made, but it was yummy and I needed that today. Surely it had to be better for me than the normal empty calories in baked lays, chocolate covered almonds, chips/salsa, or other such [yummy] crap.
More important than what I ate was that I felt in control of what I ate. I was more cognizant of whether I was really hungry or just wanting to munch (when that happened I grabbed 2 strawberries and a bunch of grapes from the fruit basket at work). That feels like an improvement.
Amy commented on yesterday's post that I should look at what fears are holding me back from making the right choices and living in the body I want. She's absolutely correct. I've been psychoanalysed to death and although I do know the whacked out reasons behind my rather irrational fears of being fit/thin/attractive again, there is something stopping me from making the consistent changes needed to reach my goals.
something.
it's probably just me.
On to more exciting topics... Hunter is cheering at her first pep rally tomorrow. I can't believe it. She's so worked up about it, and she's been practicing so hard. This is going to be so much fun!
Thanks to anyone and everyone who bothers to take the time to read this. Your comments are always welcome and appreciated.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Today's Workout
45 minutes tempo run (2 min. w/ 2 min. recovery) PM - 3.24 miles
Well, that didn't suck.
I'm still dreadfully slow, but that's okay. I am making progress and, while still slow, I'm faster than I imagined I could be this time last year. Huge improvements in endurance are evident also.
It's about freakin' time, folks. I guess the consistency thing really does pay off.
Speaking of consistency, Sandra has suggested that the two of us begin running at lunch twice a week. That means that instead of my evening run, I'll be getting in 30 minutes during the day. I might still be able to add a bit at night, but I don't want to overdo it. It will be nice to have someone to run with again, and Sandra is great company. It won't hurt that I'll actually be OUTDOORS running, which I desperately need practice in doing. I love my treadmill, but it's not the real thing, ya know?
In talking with another fitness/nutrition specialist (btw, I do still <3 Trainer Lisa but a girl's gotta tap all the resources she can!), he commented that this business about doing the right things to lose the weight and improve fitness (i.e., consistent yet varied cardio + resistance training + clean eating) is much like buying a new car. I know what the cost of fitness is. Do I want to pay that price in order to obtain the body I know I can have again?
Do I?
This has definitely triggered some new (and a resurgence of old) thoughts for me. I have some decisions to make and they're the same ones I've wrestled with making a million times over the past 4 years.
Either I accept myself at this size and this sub-par level of fitness and continue with the unhealthy eating and sporadic exercise, or I suck it up and make a change. If I don't do it now, I'll just have to revisit this decision later. Hell, even if I do it now, I'll still have to revisit it again and again in order to keep the motivation.
45 minutes tempo run (2 min. w/ 2 min. recovery) PM - 3.24 miles
Well, that didn't suck.
I'm still dreadfully slow, but that's okay. I am making progress and, while still slow, I'm faster than I imagined I could be this time last year. Huge improvements in endurance are evident also.
It's about freakin' time, folks. I guess the consistency thing really does pay off.
Speaking of consistency, Sandra has suggested that the two of us begin running at lunch twice a week. That means that instead of my evening run, I'll be getting in 30 minutes during the day. I might still be able to add a bit at night, but I don't want to overdo it. It will be nice to have someone to run with again, and Sandra is great company. It won't hurt that I'll actually be OUTDOORS running, which I desperately need practice in doing. I love my treadmill, but it's not the real thing, ya know?
In talking with another fitness/nutrition specialist (btw, I do still <3 Trainer Lisa but a girl's gotta tap all the resources she can!), he commented that this business about doing the right things to lose the weight and improve fitness (i.e., consistent yet varied cardio + resistance training + clean eating) is much like buying a new car. I know what the cost of fitness is. Do I want to pay that price in order to obtain the body I know I can have again?
Do I?
This has definitely triggered some new (and a resurgence of old) thoughts for me. I have some decisions to make and they're the same ones I've wrestled with making a million times over the past 4 years.
Either I accept myself at this size and this sub-par level of fitness and continue with the unhealthy eating and sporadic exercise, or I suck it up and make a change. If I don't do it now, I'll just have to revisit this decision later. Hell, even if I do it now, I'll still have to revisit it again and again in order to keep the motivation.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Yesterday's workout
45 minute tempo run
Today's workout
20 minute walk (AM)
60 minutes RT (PM)
I'm beat.
Looking forward to continuing the 3 day per week running ~ 1 tempo, 1 interval, 1 long slow run. Well, the long runs aren't so long right now, but they'll get there. I'm following the Half Marathon Training Schedule for Runners & Walkers by Jeff Galloway. There's no immediate plan to actually run a half-marathon, but I needed some sort of training plan to follow with a start and a finish. And who knows, maybe 13.1 will sound good again some day!?
45 minute tempo run
Today's workout
20 minute walk (AM)
60 minutes RT (PM)
I'm beat.
Looking forward to continuing the 3 day per week running ~ 1 tempo, 1 interval, 1 long slow run. Well, the long runs aren't so long right now, but they'll get there. I'm following the Half Marathon Training Schedule for Runners & Walkers by Jeff Galloway. There's no immediate plan to actually run a half-marathon, but I needed some sort of training plan to follow with a start and a finish. And who knows, maybe 13.1 will sound good again some day!?
Friday, August 31, 2007
Friday, August 10, 2007
Monday, August 06, 2007
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Tonight's run (again on the treadmill) was excellent! I set the Nike+ to prompt me through a 5k and off I went. 36:53 later, I had completed 5.03km! Consider the .03km the time it took me to figure out how to undo the hold thingie and turn the Nano off.
I'd imagine that if you're just reading this blog and have never seen a picture of me, you might consider me blonde. That's okay. I can live with that.
I realize my time is still really slow, especially considering it was run inside, but the big win here is that I ran the entire thing. NO WALKING BREAKS. For me, and considering I'm still about 40lbs overweight, that's huge! It's even got me thinking that maybe, just maybe, I could do the half-marathon this year. Maybe with some well-timed walking breaks, I could do it in a reasonable period of time. Sure, I know I can take an idea in its infancy and run miles with it! That's part of my appeal! Well, that and the fact that I pretty much just talk to myself on this blog.
I'm still in the headspace that's content with being a slow runner. I don't expect that to change, and I'm good with it. What I would like to see change is for my distances to increase. I want to see big increases ~ not all at once, of course, but sooner rather than later. I know I should set goals, sign up for events, etc. That thought still paralyzes me and I think I do better, for now, in not doing that. I must be having serious commitment-phobia or something.
On an entirely different note, the team I am facilitating on LeannessLifestyle for 6 weeks is beginning a challenge with another team tomorrow. The challenge is for each participant to eat 4 cups of vegetables per day. In order to score maximum daily points, each veggie must be of a different color. By the end of the week, each person should have eaten 10 different veggies and they'll get a bonus if they have.
Sounds like fun?? Sounds like a way to trick ourselves into eating more veggies? To me, it sounds like a step in the right direction. Onward and (hopefully) downward on the scales!
And about challenges, I'm in a 20-miles per month challenge for August through Nike+. I'll hook up a link somewhere once I figure out if there's one I can actually share. It seemed like an easy enough one to begin with, and one which I can't find an excuse for not doing.
To all my Minnesota friends out there, I hope you are safe. To those I don't know who were affected by the tragedy this evening, I wish the very best for you and will keep you all in my prayers.
I'd imagine that if you're just reading this blog and have never seen a picture of me, you might consider me blonde. That's okay. I can live with that.
I realize my time is still really slow, especially considering it was run inside, but the big win here is that I ran the entire thing. NO WALKING BREAKS. For me, and considering I'm still about 40lbs overweight, that's huge! It's even got me thinking that maybe, just maybe, I could do the half-marathon this year. Maybe with some well-timed walking breaks, I could do it in a reasonable period of time. Sure, I know I can take an idea in its infancy and run miles with it! That's part of my appeal! Well, that and the fact that I pretty much just talk to myself on this blog.
I'm still in the headspace that's content with being a slow runner. I don't expect that to change, and I'm good with it. What I would like to see change is for my distances to increase. I want to see big increases ~ not all at once, of course, but sooner rather than later. I know I should set goals, sign up for events, etc. That thought still paralyzes me and I think I do better, for now, in not doing that. I must be having serious commitment-phobia or something.
On an entirely different note, the team I am facilitating on LeannessLifestyle for 6 weeks is beginning a challenge with another team tomorrow. The challenge is for each participant to eat 4 cups of vegetables per day. In order to score maximum daily points, each veggie must be of a different color. By the end of the week, each person should have eaten 10 different veggies and they'll get a bonus if they have.
Sounds like fun?? Sounds like a way to trick ourselves into eating more veggies? To me, it sounds like a step in the right direction. Onward and (hopefully) downward on the scales!
And about challenges, I'm in a 20-miles per month challenge for August through Nike+. I'll hook up a link somewhere once I figure out if there's one I can actually share. It seemed like an easy enough one to begin with, and one which I can't find an excuse for not doing.
To all my Minnesota friends out there, I hope you are safe. To those I don't know who were affected by the tragedy this evening, I wish the very best for you and will keep you all in my prayers.
It's official ~ this Nike+ thing is addictive. Compared to other similar sites where you can track mileage, it's slow, but they use pretty colors. LOL Yeah, I didn't think that offset the slowness of it all either. BUT, the coaching on the iPod Nano is way cool. As are the challenges, I think. I've signed up for a Beginner 20 miles in August challenge. That's a reasonable place to begin. Also, I signed up for an NFL Challenge ~~ a running challenge where you run for the home team. What a hoot, huh?
Again, Lisa kicked my tail tonight. It wasn't nearly as bad as last night, but we worked upper body pretty hard. I expect my triceps and lats to hurt badly tomorrow.
I must shower & sleep now. But what a nice day it turned out to be! A little bit of sun today, the top down on the way home, lots of hugs & kisses from the munchkins, and a nice workout with friends. Life is good.
Again, Lisa kicked my tail tonight. It wasn't nearly as bad as last night, but we worked upper body pretty hard. I expect my triceps and lats to hurt badly tomorrow.
I must shower & sleep now. But what a nice day it turned out to be! A little bit of sun today, the top down on the way home, lots of hugs & kisses from the munchkins, and a nice workout with friends. Life is good.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Wow.. another really tough workout tonight! But first, I got an iPod Nano this weekend so that I could spend even more $$$ (fortunately no more than $30) on the Nike+ system. OMG ~ I love it! I calibrated the thing this afternoon and then proceeded to do my first workout. It said I ran 2.01 miles in 23:15. That's a damn sight faster than my normal snail's pace, and I think I'm finally convinced that my treadmill just isn't consistent in its mileage reads. I had the same problems with my Polar 625 footpod showing a faster pace and farther distance than the treadmill did, and now I'm having the same thing happening with the Nike+ system. Each system was calibrated with the treadmill (same incline, yadda, yadda), so while I love my treadmill, I'm not convinced I'm as slow as it thinks I am. I'm going to just go with this new philosophy. :-D
So after the run, I was inspired to call Lisa and request an additional training session since I had sorta kinda paid a bit ahead. Lucky for me, she was available. Let's just say my legs are going to be sore tomorrow! No worries about that, though, as I'm aiming for a 3lb loss this week (not every week, just this week!) and I'll need extra exercise in order to do it.
Oh, and on another note, I did eat well today, which was absolutely necessary after not being as strict as I wanted to be this weekend. It's a new day, and it was a good one. Well, it's the end of this day and I'm off to bed now.
Happy running, cycling, or lifting to you all!
So after the run, I was inspired to call Lisa and request an additional training session since I had sorta kinda paid a bit ahead. Lucky for me, she was available. Let's just say my legs are going to be sore tomorrow! No worries about that, though, as I'm aiming for a 3lb loss this week (not every week, just this week!) and I'll need extra exercise in order to do it.
Oh, and on another note, I did eat well today, which was absolutely necessary after not being as strict as I wanted to be this weekend. It's a new day, and it was a good one. Well, it's the end of this day and I'm off to bed now.
Happy running, cycling, or lifting to you all!
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Today's workout consisted of 15 minutes on the stairmill, which was intended to be 20 until my left knee starting tweaking on me. No worries, though, because I moved to the elliptical trainer for another 30 minutes and had no problems. Also planning to get in 20 minutes of Pilates. I really enjoy feeling ab muscles working again.
On a different note, on my right foot towards the inside just under the big toe (not sure what it's called) I feel like I have a blister, only I don't. It burns like that, though. What could have happened under the skin to make it feel this way? Anyone? Bueller?
I'm interested to read anyone's thoughts on it. I'm usually barefoot around the house, and I noticed it begin to hurt the longer I was on my feet today. I took Excedrin Migraine ~ it's a wonder drug. I'm sure I'll be fine soon.
Oh, and Lisa called today to say that our neighbor is going to begin joining us for workouts. This will be good for two reasons: first, so that I can get to know my neighbors better (haha!) and second, it's going to decrease my hourly training fee, which will mean either a savings or possibly the potential to move to 3 sessions per week, if Janet wants to do that at some point. For now, 2 is all I can afford without cutting back on other things like food & water. LOL
On a different note, on my right foot towards the inside just under the big toe (not sure what it's called) I feel like I have a blister, only I don't. It burns like that, though. What could have happened under the skin to make it feel this way? Anyone? Bueller?
I'm interested to read anyone's thoughts on it. I'm usually barefoot around the house, and I noticed it begin to hurt the longer I was on my feet today. I took Excedrin Migraine ~ it's a wonder drug. I'm sure I'll be fine soon.
Oh, and Lisa called today to say that our neighbor is going to begin joining us for workouts. This will be good for two reasons: first, so that I can get to know my neighbors better (haha!) and second, it's going to decrease my hourly training fee, which will mean either a savings or possibly the potential to move to 3 sessions per week, if Janet wants to do that at some point. For now, 2 is all I can afford without cutting back on other things like food & water. LOL
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Another milestone reached today as I ran 2 miles with no planned (or unplanned) walking. I'm still slower than slow, but I did it and feel good. I also did 25 minutes Pilates sculpting w/ the ring and the Beginner program was easy. Next time, I use the Advanced.
I have until Tuesday to lose another 2 lbs to have met my goal-setter in LL. Since I blew it off the first 3 weeks (5 week total), that means I'm eating super clean and really pushing it on the exercise to make goal. I still think I can do it.
While normally I'd be a bit perturbed that I'm losing weight so slowly, let's face it ~ I haven't kept it off the last few years, so any losses were purely superficial. This time I'm incorporating significant and pretty heavy resistance training to build muscle (this MUST help my metabolism!), not cutting my eating back to nothing, and doing cardio without over-doing it. It all feels more relaxed somehow.
I have until Tuesday to lose another 2 lbs to have met my goal-setter in LL. Since I blew it off the first 3 weeks (5 week total), that means I'm eating super clean and really pushing it on the exercise to make goal. I still think I can do it.
While normally I'd be a bit perturbed that I'm losing weight so slowly, let's face it ~ I haven't kept it off the last few years, so any losses were purely superficial. This time I'm incorporating significant and pretty heavy resistance training to build muscle (this MUST help my metabolism!), not cutting my eating back to nothing, and doing cardio without over-doing it. It all feels more relaxed somehow.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
I am so beat! We had 3 great workouts this week (Mon, Tues, Thurs), and I managed to get to Bally's on Wednesday also. I plan to take the kids and do at least an hour of cardio (running & elliptical?) on Saturday morning. I may try to swim as well. I need tons of practice as my stroke is so incredibly undeveloped. I suppose that's the best word for it. I can keep myself afloat, but I swim ugly. That's right, I do.
Sunday I'll try to sleep in a bit if Joel doesn't mind getting up with the kiddos. I have to begin getting more sleep. It might help if I go to bed now.
Sunday I'll try to sleep in a bit if Joel doesn't mind getting up with the kiddos. I have to begin getting more sleep. It might help if I go to bed now.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Sunday's workout was nice. 15 minutes upper body workout and 20 minutes jogging.
This morning I woke up on schedule at 5:00 a.m. and did 20 minutes Pilates and 20 minutes fast walking. I intend to jog for 20 minutes this evening as well. All in all, it should be a good day. Food shouldn't be a problem since I've got a good plan in place.
I'm still slightly freaked out about the fact that I found and purchased my car in one day, but hey... I love it! Will post more later, but must work now...
LATER: My eating plan went all to hell. It's logged, and it sucks but it's honest (the log). I did get to the store for more salad stuff (badly needed!) this evening. But on a much more positive note, Lisa called and said we could do the makeup session tonight. This will give me 3 training sessions this week ~ cool!
Off to warm-up so I'm ready when she arrives. I really enjoy this and it's really working for me. I do NOT want to have to give it up (cutting costs due to new car!), so maybe I'll just cut back on food. *giggle* That's one way to lose weight, right? *sigh*
This morning I woke up on schedule at 5:00 a.m. and did 20 minutes Pilates and 20 minutes fast walking. I intend to jog for 20 minutes this evening as well. All in all, it should be a good day. Food shouldn't be a problem since I've got a good plan in place.
I'm still slightly freaked out about the fact that I found and purchased my car in one day, but hey... I love it! Will post more later, but must work now...
LATER: My eating plan went all to hell. It's logged, and it sucks but it's honest (the log). I did get to the store for more salad stuff (badly needed!) this evening. But on a much more positive note, Lisa called and said we could do the makeup session tonight. This will give me 3 training sessions this week ~ cool!
Off to warm-up so I'm ready when she arrives. I really enjoy this and it's really working for me. I do NOT want to have to give it up (cutting costs due to new car!), so maybe I'll just cut back on food. *giggle* That's one way to lose weight, right? *sigh*
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Yesterday's workout was pretty mild ~ 20 minutes Pilates and 20 minutes fast walking. Lisa will be over later tonight, and I'm looking forward to the workout. Today's eating sucked, as I mostly forgot to eat. Of course, I forgot because I went car shopping, and lo and behold, I found my car! I am now the proud owner of my little dream car!! It's a beautiful midnight blue Mercedes CLK 430.
Holy crap ~ I can't believe I bought this thing! haha I will have pictures posted soon. Oh and ew, speaking of pictures, Lisa is taking mine tonight. That thought makes me cringe.
Holy crap ~ I can't believe I bought this thing! haha I will have pictures posted soon. Oh and ew, speaking of pictures, Lisa is taking mine tonight. That thought makes me cringe.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Today's Workout:
5:00 a.m. ~ Treadmill ~ 15 minutes
9:00 p.m. ~ plyometrics, squats, lunges, back, abs (w/ TrainerLisa)
Wow ~ what a workout! On top of having packed my entire office to be moved later this week, Lisa kicked my tail with plyometrics tonight. After the first really bad experience with them, I had been hesitant to even think about them again. But not tonight! My 2 whole days of healthy eating left me feeling quite empowered. LOL When Lisa mentioned them tonight, I was stoked to try again!
Oh! Not only did the plyo's go well, we took measurements again and I was pleased to see that although my weight is still moving ever so slowly, I've lost a number of inches. Quite a few, actually. :-) go me!
I've got a crazy busy day planned for tomorrow, so I'm going to finish some work and get as much rest as possible. Hunter has her first swimming lesson in the morning, and I'm a bit pissed that I can't make it (due to out of town colleague arriving too early in the a.m. for my liking!), but I'll be able to take her on Thursday and Friday, as well as most of next week.
I've got my food journal back up on LL, so if anyone was previously viewing it and has comments, I'd love to hear them. It's a big step to make it public since it puts my actual weight out there for the whole world to see, but if public humiliation doesn't inspire me to eat clean & exercise, I don't know what the hell will.
5:00 a.m. ~ Treadmill ~ 15 minutes
9:00 p.m. ~ plyometrics, squats, lunges, back, abs (w/ TrainerLisa)
Wow ~ what a workout! On top of having packed my entire office to be moved later this week, Lisa kicked my tail with plyometrics tonight. After the first really bad experience with them, I had been hesitant to even think about them again. But not tonight! My 2 whole days of healthy eating left me feeling quite empowered. LOL When Lisa mentioned them tonight, I was stoked to try again!
Oh! Not only did the plyo's go well, we took measurements again and I was pleased to see that although my weight is still moving ever so slowly, I've lost a number of inches. Quite a few, actually. :-) go me!
I've got a crazy busy day planned for tomorrow, so I'm going to finish some work and get as much rest as possible. Hunter has her first swimming lesson in the morning, and I'm a bit pissed that I can't make it (due to out of town colleague arriving too early in the a.m. for my liking!), but I'll be able to take her on Thursday and Friday, as well as most of next week.
I've got my food journal back up on LL, so if anyone was previously viewing it and has comments, I'd love to hear them. It's a big step to make it public since it puts my actual weight out there for the whole world to see, but if public humiliation doesn't inspire me to eat clean & exercise, I don't know what the hell will.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Today's workout:
5:00 a.m. Pilates ~ Ab Sculpting ~ 22 minutes
5:30 a.m. Treadmill ~ walking ~ 20 minutes
2:00 p.m. Bally's ~ UBWO ~ 30 minutes
8:30 p.m. Treadmill ~ jogging ~ 30 minutes
On my lunch hour, I plan to stop at the gym and do a decent upper body workout. I've already knocked out the pilates & morning cardio. The walk was actually a nice way to begin the day ~ got the blood flowing and all that.
J and I went grocery shopping yesterday and bought all sorts of fresh veggies & healthy meats. Let's hope I can maintain the energy level to cook the stuff, rather than getting lazy and just ordering something. On the menu tonight is grilled chicken (gotta love George Foreman!) and creamy cilantro/pico de gallo lf yogurt sauce. I'll add either a salad or corn on the cob with that.
PM Update: So what actually happened is that I got to Bally's a little after 3:00, did a 20 minute UBWO that was decent but not really tough, and then did 15 minutes on the stairmill. That left me with time to get home, finish work for the day, shower, cook a nice, healthy meal for Nicholas and me (gr. ckn & squash & asparagus), and then get the pedicure I've been dying for. It's barely 9:00 p.m. and I'm off to bed now. What an excellent day!
5:00 a.m. Pilates ~ Ab Sculpting ~ 22 minutes
5:30 a.m. Treadmill ~ walking ~ 20 minutes
2:00 p.m. Bally's ~ UBWO ~ 30 minutes
8:30 p.m. Treadmill ~ jogging ~ 30 minutes
On my lunch hour, I plan to stop at the gym and do a decent upper body workout. I've already knocked out the pilates & morning cardio. The walk was actually a nice way to begin the day ~ got the blood flowing and all that.
J and I went grocery shopping yesterday and bought all sorts of fresh veggies & healthy meats. Let's hope I can maintain the energy level to cook the stuff, rather than getting lazy and just ordering something. On the menu tonight is grilled chicken (gotta love George Foreman!) and creamy cilantro/pico de gallo lf yogurt sauce. I'll add either a salad or corn on the cob with that.
PM Update: So what actually happened is that I got to Bally's a little after 3:00, did a 20 minute UBWO that was decent but not really tough, and then did 15 minutes on the stairmill. That left me with time to get home, finish work for the day, shower, cook a nice, healthy meal for Nicholas and me (gr. ckn & squash & asparagus), and then get the pedicure I've been dying for. It's barely 9:00 p.m. and I'm off to bed now. What an excellent day!
Saturday, July 07, 2007
I've been working out with Lisa for just over a month now ~ maybe 6 weeks ~ and I'm feeling much stronger. My weight is still off the charts horrible, but my eating habits have sucked, so it's not a surprise. For ages (read: years) I've taken one appetite suppressant or another. When combined with eating healthy foods and exercising, the results were good. I've tried over the past year or so not to use it any longer, mainly due to the caffeine content, and the result is I'm larger than I want to be. Not only that, I eat when I'm not hungry, and I eat junk food.
It's purely emotional eating; I know this. What I don't understand is how taking app supp's will affect my need to indulge in emotional eating. Why don't I want to do the same when I take them? Regardless, until I get this FOOD BEAST under control, I'm taking them again. This means I'll have to cut out all other caffeine from my diet, but that's okay. I won't need it.
In other news, I really like the new Bally's. I haven't taken the kids yet, but I've become quite familiar with the stairmill, and it's every bit as daunting as the elliptical was when I first tried it years ago. So far, I'm averaging 52 flights in just under 20 minutes, so yes, I'm walking slowwwwwwly. But I'm walking it!
More later...
It's purely emotional eating; I know this. What I don't understand is how taking app supp's will affect my need to indulge in emotional eating. Why don't I want to do the same when I take them? Regardless, until I get this FOOD BEAST under control, I'm taking them again. This means I'll have to cut out all other caffeine from my diet, but that's okay. I won't need it.
In other news, I really like the new Bally's. I haven't taken the kids yet, but I've become quite familiar with the stairmill, and it's every bit as daunting as the elliptical was when I first tried it years ago. So far, I'm averaging 52 flights in just under 20 minutes, so yes, I'm walking slowwwwwwly. But I'm walking it!
More later...
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Lisa came over last night for our first official training session. Any doubts I may have entertained about whether a friend would train me as hard as a person I didn't know and just hired out of a gym were entirely alleviated. Not even 20 minutes into it after a set of squats and plyometrics, my head was spinning and I thought I would puke. Fortunately, that didn't actually happen.
What did happen is that I realized how out of shape I've become, which just supports my decision to hire her to train me instead of trying to go it alone. This has the potential to be an excellent investment.
The kids and I are going running/riding tonight. I don't intend for us to go very far at first, but that just means they'll have more time on the swings & slide before we have to go home. Saturday morning I've planned to attend a 90 minute Qigong class, and I'm really excited about that. It's been ages since I've practiced, and I can use the centering it provides.
Must work now..
What did happen is that I realized how out of shape I've become, which just supports my decision to hire her to train me instead of trying to go it alone. This has the potential to be an excellent investment.
The kids and I are going running/riding tonight. I don't intend for us to go very far at first, but that just means they'll have more time on the swings & slide before we have to go home. Saturday morning I've planned to attend a 90 minute Qigong class, and I'm really excited about that. It's been ages since I've practiced, and I can use the centering it provides.
Must work now..
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Last night I worked my legs & glutes. ouch! Well, ouch today. It felt relatively easy while I was working out. Tonight's bodyparts were back & calves. Then I spent 30 minutes on the treadmill. I ran some but walked most of it on a steep incline. My legs were just so sore. I can't complain, as this is the good kind of soreness. FINALLY! Tomorrow I'll work biceps & triceps. Talk about anticipating the pain!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
I'm back..
Bigger than ever, and yes, that's literally bigger than I've ever been, but I'm back and working on it.
Yes, that's all for now.
Yes, that's all for now.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Time Flies!
Not much time to post lately, but I've been keeping up with my jogging and my cycling. We rode 55 miles this Saturday. The first 17 went fairly quickly and were a really pretty ride. We spent about 10 minutes at the first rest stop, and I downed a hammer gel and half a banana. That seems to be all my stomach tolerates at the stops - unless I'm fortunate enough to find vanilla wafers. (no wonder Nicholas is such a fiend for them! He gets it from his mom!!)
Anyway, feeling good after the first break, despite knowing we'd likely be facing a headwind the entire way back, and we decided to take the longer route - 55 miles v. 41 miles. To date, my longest ride had been that walk through hell called 44.5 miles in Cat Springs. I was not looking forward to a repeat, but considering that the actual 2-day, 160 mile ride is quickly approaching, my mileage needed to go up. So, off we go!
I suppose this is where I admit a bit of an ego stroke in even being able to tackle the longer ride. We're still seeing people being brought in on SAG vehicles during each of these rides, and even as out of shape as I am, I've managed to complete each ride, stand up afterwards (ok, it was TOUGH after Cat Springs), and maneuver myself up and down our stairs the next day with no lingering soreness. The scenery was nice, even the section where we had to cross some rather funky streets with loads of traffic and a stoplight where drivers varied between wanting to let us turn left across the street on a green light rather than waiting on our green arrow. Little did they know, they only pissed off other drivers who were stuck waiting behing them when we wouldn't venture out into the intersection and the very same drivers remained stuck at the light when we did get our green arrow. ouch! BIG trucks, small shoulders, pissed off folks - it could have made for difficulties, but instead, the people of the town were really cordial and quite accommodating. I think we were in Bellville, but I usually end up so out of it that I don't know where I am unless I'm looking at a map or a street sign. At any rate, yay for the locals who didn't run us over! :)
The second half of the second leg was the absolute worst stretch of road I've ever cycled on. Imagine being in your car and riding directly down the drunk-bumps. bump bump bump bump bump bump bump bump bump bump bump
Holy cow - my quads were screaming by mile 33! Consequently, the second rest-stop wasn't until mile 39, so I had more screaming quads to live through. My legs cramped, and we spent what was probably too long at the stop, but within .5 mile of getting back on the road, it was finally smooth again. I so badly wanted to scream - yahoo! - upon reaching the 50 mile mark (after all, this was my first time!), but when I hit it, all I could think was, "5 more miles.. c'mon, you can do it!" There was one final climb at the end of the last leg. Approaching a stop sign, climbing up a slight incline, seeing the odometer read 55.4 and thinking, "will this EVER end??" and finally, turning right at the stop sign - THERE IT WAS! The high school where we'd parked our cars that morning.
Thank God! I lived through it!
Hope you're all doing well - keep running, spinning, or whatever it is that you do!
Seek the joy! !
Anyway, feeling good after the first break, despite knowing we'd likely be facing a headwind the entire way back, and we decided to take the longer route - 55 miles v. 41 miles. To date, my longest ride had been that walk through hell called 44.5 miles in Cat Springs. I was not looking forward to a repeat, but considering that the actual 2-day, 160 mile ride is quickly approaching, my mileage needed to go up. So, off we go!
I suppose this is where I admit a bit of an ego stroke in even being able to tackle the longer ride. We're still seeing people being brought in on SAG vehicles during each of these rides, and even as out of shape as I am, I've managed to complete each ride, stand up afterwards (ok, it was TOUGH after Cat Springs), and maneuver myself up and down our stairs the next day with no lingering soreness. The scenery was nice, even the section where we had to cross some rather funky streets with loads of traffic and a stoplight where drivers varied between wanting to let us turn left across the street on a green light rather than waiting on our green arrow. Little did they know, they only pissed off other drivers who were stuck waiting behing them when we wouldn't venture out into the intersection and the very same drivers remained stuck at the light when we did get our green arrow. ouch! BIG trucks, small shoulders, pissed off folks - it could have made for difficulties, but instead, the people of the town were really cordial and quite accommodating. I think we were in Bellville, but I usually end up so out of it that I don't know where I am unless I'm looking at a map or a street sign. At any rate, yay for the locals who didn't run us over! :)
The second half of the second leg was the absolute worst stretch of road I've ever cycled on. Imagine being in your car and riding directly down the drunk-bumps. bump bump bump bump bump bump bump bump bump bump bump
Holy cow - my quads were screaming by mile 33! Consequently, the second rest-stop wasn't until mile 39, so I had more screaming quads to live through. My legs cramped, and we spent what was probably too long at the stop, but within .5 mile of getting back on the road, it was finally smooth again. I so badly wanted to scream - yahoo! - upon reaching the 50 mile mark (after all, this was my first time!), but when I hit it, all I could think was, "5 more miles.. c'mon, you can do it!" There was one final climb at the end of the last leg. Approaching a stop sign, climbing up a slight incline, seeing the odometer read 55.4 and thinking, "will this EVER end??" and finally, turning right at the stop sign - THERE IT WAS! The high school where we'd parked our cars that morning.
Thank God! I lived through it!
Hope you're all doing well - keep running, spinning, or whatever it is that you do!
Seek the joy! !
Monday, March 12, 2007
Seeking joy..
... in every step and/or pedal stroke, and FINDING IT!
This was such a great weekend. The weather was perfect, Joel was so supportive and helpful on the ride Saturday, and I ran on the dreadmill Sunday and got the benefit of those glorious endorphins. Add to that the joy of watching Hunter and Nicholas running around the yard like little crazy people Sunday morning, and I don't know how it could have been any better. Seriously, it was just about perfect. [hmmmm.. of course, now I'm wondering if I left clothes in the laundry for the nanny to find! ack!! yea, doing laundry puts a damper on things, but hey, maybe I didn't start any and will get to do it tonight?? that's better than the thought of our wonderful caregiver having to find my undies in the washing machine!]
Saturday's ride was 41.4 miles in Columbus. See the map here. I've decided that my earlier boasting to a couple I met on the Cat Springs ride about how I didn't mind the uphill bits but the downhill ones were the frightful parts for me was nothing but novice-talk! N-O-V-I-C-E-T-A-L-K!!! I've learned to love the speed of going downhill, and I maxed out at 38.8 mph this weekend! woohooooo!!!!!
As for the uphill climbs, especially the long, slow tedious ones, there's not much to say about them except "ouch!" Good grief, I actually had to come out of the saddle on one of them. Talk about burning the glutes!! I did, however, see other folks who had to walk their bikes up the same hill, so it could have been worse, I suppose.
Sunday's run was inside since I wasn't really sure how far I wanted to go, and I was certain I needed to get downstairs and do some ab work on the ball. I ran 1 mile (no walking - go me!), walked 1/8 mile, and ran another mile (no walking!). This, too, seems very novice, I'm sure. I'm okay with that.
In talking to Joel on Friday evening, I realized that I don't have any desire to be an elite athlete (yea, like that's a huge surprise to anyone that reads of my sporadic attemps at athleticism! haha). I simply want to do fun stuff. I want to be healthier. I want to pattern good habits for my kids. My running and riding won't save the world, but if it puts a smile on my face, it'll go a long way toward making life more pleasant for the people around me. Having him better understand my goals and why he shouldn't push me toward goals that are NOT mine is a huge step forward for us. I have to give him credit - he really listened to me when we talked. He HEARD what I was saying. The whole conversation began because he wanted to let me know he'd try to be more "tolerant" of my weaknesses this weekend. That might seem a bit odd, but he's been pushing me to achieve what he thinks I can - and who knows, maybe it's possible? But the result has been that it's made me feel attacked and subsequently, angry, and I've been ready to throw up my hands and walk away from it. Things have been tense and I haven't enjoyed the experiences like I'd like to.
I do think I shocked him when I said I wanted to do the long rides, but I'll go at my pace (and he can go at his much quicker one - I don't want to hold him back) and probably stop and take pictures along the way. He got this dumbfounded look on his face and explained that the people he knows who ride do it to go train and then get home. Okay, good for them. They compete. This is part of a regimen for them. I'm not competing, and I don't want to. My work life is so stressful and I compete so hard to be *elite* there that I want some place to just have fun. Running and riding is that place for me now. Thanks to Joel's finally understanding and accepting my approach to it all, it was even more fun than I'd imagined. To his credit, I don't think I'd ever tried to tell him what I hoped to get out of this. We really screw up the communication bit of our marriage sometimes, but boy, when we get it right, we do it so well!
I love my husband. He's a good guy (and he's pretty hot in his cycling gear!)
This was such a great weekend. The weather was perfect, Joel was so supportive and helpful on the ride Saturday, and I ran on the dreadmill Sunday and got the benefit of those glorious endorphins. Add to that the joy of watching Hunter and Nicholas running around the yard like little crazy people Sunday morning, and I don't know how it could have been any better. Seriously, it was just about perfect. [hmmmm.. of course, now I'm wondering if I left clothes in the laundry for the nanny to find! ack!! yea, doing laundry puts a damper on things, but hey, maybe I didn't start any and will get to do it tonight?? that's better than the thought of our wonderful caregiver having to find my undies in the washing machine!]
Saturday's ride was 41.4 miles in Columbus. See the map here. I've decided that my earlier boasting to a couple I met on the Cat Springs ride about how I didn't mind the uphill bits but the downhill ones were the frightful parts for me was nothing but novice-talk! N-O-V-I-C-E-T-A-L-K!!! I've learned to love the speed of going downhill, and I maxed out at 38.8 mph this weekend! woohooooo!!!!!
As for the uphill climbs, especially the long, slow tedious ones, there's not much to say about them except "ouch!" Good grief, I actually had to come out of the saddle on one of them. Talk about burning the glutes!! I did, however, see other folks who had to walk their bikes up the same hill, so it could have been worse, I suppose.
Sunday's run was inside since I wasn't really sure how far I wanted to go, and I was certain I needed to get downstairs and do some ab work on the ball. I ran 1 mile (no walking - go me!), walked 1/8 mile, and ran another mile (no walking!). This, too, seems very novice, I'm sure. I'm okay with that.
In talking to Joel on Friday evening, I realized that I don't have any desire to be an elite athlete (yea, like that's a huge surprise to anyone that reads of my sporadic attemps at athleticism! haha). I simply want to do fun stuff. I want to be healthier. I want to pattern good habits for my kids. My running and riding won't save the world, but if it puts a smile on my face, it'll go a long way toward making life more pleasant for the people around me. Having him better understand my goals and why he shouldn't push me toward goals that are NOT mine is a huge step forward for us. I have to give him credit - he really listened to me when we talked. He HEARD what I was saying. The whole conversation began because he wanted to let me know he'd try to be more "tolerant" of my weaknesses this weekend. That might seem a bit odd, but he's been pushing me to achieve what he thinks I can - and who knows, maybe it's possible? But the result has been that it's made me feel attacked and subsequently, angry, and I've been ready to throw up my hands and walk away from it. Things have been tense and I haven't enjoyed the experiences like I'd like to.
I do think I shocked him when I said I wanted to do the long rides, but I'll go at my pace (and he can go at his much quicker one - I don't want to hold him back) and probably stop and take pictures along the way. He got this dumbfounded look on his face and explained that the people he knows who ride do it to go train and then get home. Okay, good for them. They compete. This is part of a regimen for them. I'm not competing, and I don't want to. My work life is so stressful and I compete so hard to be *elite* there that I want some place to just have fun. Running and riding is that place for me now. Thanks to Joel's finally understanding and accepting my approach to it all, it was even more fun than I'd imagined. To his credit, I don't think I'd ever tried to tell him what I hoped to get out of this. We really screw up the communication bit of our marriage sometimes, but boy, when we get it right, we do it so well!
I love my husband. He's a good guy (and he's pretty hot in his cycling gear!)
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Cool Stuff!
Sunday I spent an hour on the trainer doing the Spinervals Recharge workout. It's designed to get the legs spinning after a tough day on the bike. Saturday more than qualified as TOUGH! This particular workout felt good, even if it did have me sweating bullets! Oh wait.. I must have been glowing, of course!
Monday, I planned to take a spin / trainer class at Acme Bicycle Co. Unfortunately, due to their rough training in LaGrange this weekend and an unexpected personal obligation for the trainer, the class was canceled. No worries; my legs were thanking them for the rest. Moving right along and tonight I was able to attend the class. WOW! Carl is the Wednesday night instructor, and he was great. The class is relatively small. Most of us bring our bikes, with a few also lugging their trainers along. The convenient thing about Acme is that they have quite a few trainers available (for only $5 per session) for use, if needed. Today's workout was focused on pushing the lactate threshold. I think the Spinerval workouts have benefitted me because I did much better than I expected. It's about time, right?
So, I first heard of these classes from a co-worker who's a member of Team Acme. I joined the team, and once the ConocoPhillips training rides have ended, I'll now have a team to ride with. Yay! I met some really nice people and can't wait until Monday night when we train again.
Hope everyone out there is doing well!
Monday, I planned to take a spin / trainer class at Acme Bicycle Co. Unfortunately, due to their rough training in LaGrange this weekend and an unexpected personal obligation for the trainer, the class was canceled. No worries; my legs were thanking them for the rest. Moving right along and tonight I was able to attend the class. WOW! Carl is the Wednesday night instructor, and he was great. The class is relatively small. Most of us bring our bikes, with a few also lugging their trainers along. The convenient thing about Acme is that they have quite a few trainers available (for only $5 per session) for use, if needed. Today's workout was focused on pushing the lactate threshold. I think the Spinerval workouts have benefitted me because I did much better than I expected. It's about time, right?
So, I first heard of these classes from a co-worker who's a member of Team Acme. I joined the team, and once the ConocoPhillips training rides have ended, I'll now have a team to ride with. Yay! I met some really nice people and can't wait until Monday night when we train again.
Hope everyone out there is doing well!
Monday, March 05, 2007
Everyone feels like Lance [with a tailwind]...
This Saturday's ride was 44.5 miles, starting at Cat Springs. It led us along some beautiful country roads with some nice rolling hills. We started at a bit chillier temp than one would have liked, but in August we'll all miss the few days of cooler weather we're experiencing now.
We also began the ride with a tailwind. That's the way to enjoy a ride! You should have seen the folks out there just bearing down and pushing to max speeds they usually see only on downhills. Okay, I admit I was one of them. What can I say - it was fun!
I anticipated a couple of pretty significant downhill bits on the ride; however, if we encountered them, they were completely beyond my notice. I spent so much time focused on the awareness of the hill profile that I consciously chose to cycle slower than normal because I didn't want to end up going much too fast downhill. This led to a realization.
I'm timid. I've always been timid. People who know me say I'm a risk taker. They're wrong. People who know me well know that I'm timid. Or maybe I just am riskier in some areas than others. At any rate, I have a new mantra.
Be Bold.
Timid sucks. It's not fun. It feels old. And I'm not old yet!
We also began the ride with a tailwind. That's the way to enjoy a ride! You should have seen the folks out there just bearing down and pushing to max speeds they usually see only on downhills. Okay, I admit I was one of them. What can I say - it was fun!
I anticipated a couple of pretty significant downhill bits on the ride; however, if we encountered them, they were completely beyond my notice. I spent so much time focused on the awareness of the hill profile that I consciously chose to cycle slower than normal because I didn't want to end up going much too fast downhill. This led to a realization.
I'm timid. I've always been timid. People who know me say I'm a risk taker. They're wrong. People who know me well know that I'm timid. Or maybe I just am riskier in some areas than others. At any rate, I have a new mantra.
Be Bold.
Timid sucks. It's not fun. It feels old. And I'm not old yet!
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
More of the same..
Despite my best intentions to work out at lunch and during the evening, meetings cropped up, resulting in my having to do resistance training and cardio in the evening. Goofing around online and just basically veg'ing out resulted in my starting the workouts later than planned. However, by midnight I was finished, showered, and sleeping. :) All is well with the world!
I had a great lower body workout that I can somewhat feel today, though not as badly as the upper body felt the day prior.
Then I ran. On the treadmill. Again. Just over 2 miles in just under 34 minutes. Go me!
I had a great lower body workout that I can somewhat feel today, though not as badly as the upper body felt the day prior.
Then I ran. On the treadmill. Again. Just over 2 miles in just under 34 minutes. Go me!
Monday, February 19, 2007
Two a Day??
Today turned out to be really nice, despite a small diversion in the form of my doggies busting through our fence and hanging out in the neighbors' backyard with their dog. It's a good thing all the dogs know each other (and the people) or we could have had a problem. My darling rottie looks a bit scarier than she actually is. As it turned out, the female half of the neighbor couple thought the dogs were so cute, she suggested that we get them out together for playdates soon. Too funny!
So, workout stuff... resistance training in the form of the first workout from the Muscle Audio Professor series today at lunch. Nothing too harsh, just upper body (chest/shoulders, lats, biceps, triceps). Tonight after the kids went to bed, I ran for 40 minutes on the treadmill. I still don't get the difference in running outdoors versus on my treadmill. I always heard outdoors was supposed to be tougher. It usually has been for me since I suck at keeping an even pace. BUT, there just has to be something screwy about my treadmill since it thinks I only ran 2.4 miles in 40 minutes. I did a 5k on the track in 39 minutes just a couple weeks ago, so what the heck is wrong with that picture?
This is frustrating; however, I did still enjoy the run. Even if I was slower than I ever thought possible!
So, workout stuff... resistance training in the form of the first workout from the Muscle Audio Professor series today at lunch. Nothing too harsh, just upper body (chest/shoulders, lats, biceps, triceps). Tonight after the kids went to bed, I ran for 40 minutes on the treadmill. I still don't get the difference in running outdoors versus on my treadmill. I always heard outdoors was supposed to be tougher. It usually has been for me since I suck at keeping an even pace. BUT, there just has to be something screwy about my treadmill since it thinks I only ran 2.4 miles in 40 minutes. I did a 5k on the track in 39 minutes just a couple weeks ago, so what the heck is wrong with that picture?
This is frustrating; however, I did still enjoy the run. Even if I was slower than I ever thought possible!
Sunday, February 18, 2007
The weekend
This was a crappy weekend. Joel's return flights got all screwed up, so instead of arriving back in Houston at 8:00 ish, he wasn't home until past 2:00 a.m. That meant we didn't ride on Saturday morning. We switched the sitter to Sunday morning, and upon waking and finding out it was in the low 30s, we canceled that ride also.
I feel like a fat bum. I swear I've got a freaking food hangover, and I got NO exercise this weekend.
Oh, and to top things off, Girl Scout cookies arrived this week. Hunter sold over 200 boxes, so my dining room looks like a distribution center right now. I'm so close to taking the boxes we ordered in to the office and setting them up at the coffee bar so I don't have them in the house for temptation. That's hardly fair to the kids who don't have my binge issues, but it would sure make life easier for me.
On a better note, I really enjoyed working out at lunch with V this week. I intend to continue, as much as practical. Maybe getting in two workouts a day - one short one at lunch - will help fight off the extra calories I can't seem to help but consume.
Now, about running.. I'm supposed to do a 10k on Saturday. I'm thinking of dropping back to the 5k so I can still run and not be concerned about keeling over at the end. Any thoughts?
Off to feed the family then do the Brownie meeting. Go Girl Scouts! :)
I feel like a fat bum. I swear I've got a freaking food hangover, and I got NO exercise this weekend.
Oh, and to top things off, Girl Scout cookies arrived this week. Hunter sold over 200 boxes, so my dining room looks like a distribution center right now. I'm so close to taking the boxes we ordered in to the office and setting them up at the coffee bar so I don't have them in the house for temptation. That's hardly fair to the kids who don't have my binge issues, but it would sure make life easier for me.
On a better note, I really enjoyed working out at lunch with V this week. I intend to continue, as much as practical. Maybe getting in two workouts a day - one short one at lunch - will help fight off the extra calories I can't seem to help but consume.
Now, about running.. I'm supposed to do a 10k on Saturday. I'm thinking of dropping back to the 5k so I can still run and not be concerned about keeling over at the end. Any thoughts?
Off to feed the family then do the Brownie meeting. Go Girl Scouts! :)
Thursday, February 15, 2007
whew!
Today's workouts (yes, there were 2!) kicked my bum today. I'm also convinced now that my treadmill is calibrated incorrectly and that I'm actually running faster than it says. At least that's how it seems after running on the 'mill at work!
I walk/ran 2 miles at lunch today. Mostly I walked it, but it was at a decent pace. This evening, I put the bike up on the trainer and began pedaling again.
I'm beat... more to follow tomorrow! Happy Valentines' Day, everyone!
I walk/ran 2 miles at lunch today. Mostly I walked it, but it was at a decent pace. This evening, I put the bike up on the trainer and began pedaling again.
I'm beat... more to follow tomorrow! Happy Valentines' Day, everyone!
Monday, February 12, 2007
Running again
Today was a good day. My legs were super sore, and sitting down was quite uncomfortable (boy, could I feel those sit bones!), but it just felt great to feel my muscles again!! I woke up early enough to do some ab work, then immediately (this evenign) after getting the kids bathed, I ran on the treadmill for a bit. My legs felt good, although not as strong as I'd like. That will come in time. At least that's what I tell myself It's been two weeks since I've run, so I can't complain much. Tomorrow I'll run another 2 miles at lunch, then during the evening I'll spend some time on the spin bike.
I finally found the courage to submit my name to the guy putting together our company team for the Texas Independence Relay. At this point, it seems I'd be the fifth runner showing an interest, but we've got plenty of time to add a few more. He's hoping for eight in total. In order to do this, I'll have to be prepared to run five legs of 5-miles each over a 2-day period in early March of 2008. I think that's plenty of time to train for it, and hopefully the conditioning benefits of the cycling will work to my advantage.
Back to work for me. I've got stuff to finish before I drag myself into bed.
I finally found the courage to submit my name to the guy putting together our company team for the Texas Independence Relay. At this point, it seems I'd be the fifth runner showing an interest, but we've got plenty of time to add a few more. He's hoping for eight in total. In order to do this, I'll have to be prepared to run five legs of 5-miles each over a 2-day period in early March of 2008. I think that's plenty of time to train for it, and hopefully the conditioning benefits of the cycling will work to my advantage.
Back to work for me. I've got stuff to finish before I drag myself into bed.
Today's Workout
8 Minute Abs
10 Minutes Stretching
Running - 2 miles, treadmill
Sunday, February 11, 2007
First Training Ride for BP MS150
My cold of the past few weeks turned into something more closely resembling a bronchial and/or upper respiratory infection, resulting in my having to work from home 3 out of 5 days of the week leading up to the Rockets Run. In the spirit of not making myself worse since the weather was still cold & wet, I stayed home and slept all day instead of running. I was able to return to work last week, and yesterday, I rode in my first training ride for the BP MS150.
It was so cold outside. Standing around waiting for the start, I had about 30 minutes of questioning whether or not I should even be there. Joel had picked up some leggings and shoe covers/warmers for me in San Francisco, and I'm so thankful he did! Now I just need to find one of those funky bright windbreakers. Maybe a scarf/neckwarmer of sorts too... or maybe I need to just suck it up and ride.
The ride itself was great. Standing around waiting to begin was not so great, but that's to be expected when you have 100+ folks going out of the same location. It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't so cold, I think. The cold, combined with the fact that I was terrified I wouldn't be able to finish because I'm so out of shape, made it all seem worse than it really was.
We started shortly after 8:00 a.m. with the "slow" group, and that was fine except for getting behind a couple of very unsure/unsteady riders. There seemed to be little reason to the slowing/stopping and even less communication of the fact that they were going to do it. On a few occasions, it was almost as though they didn't realize there were people behind them. We were able to pass them and got on a stretch of road where we could ride at our own pace, which was still, admittedly, very slow.
At one point, Joel took off ahead of me and I was left to ride by myself. This wasn't a bad thing, though. I was pedaling along and had time to think about my fear before starting the ride, my hesitance to even do it (remember how I procrastinate and avoid things since I know I can't be perfect? perfect example here!), and my crummy attitude working up to the ride because of all of the above. What I realized as I kept spinning was that I was enjoying the ride, my body felt good doing it, and I have still been allowing my fears to keep me from doing things that are good for me, as well as fun. It was time to make a decision that was long overdue.
I decided to quit being a quitter.
It felt good.
Yesterday's ride was just at 26 miles.
Next weekend we have the option to ride 29.5 or 41 miles. I'm planning to continue doing the shorter rides. I'm told what I should do is to spin at relatively high rpm's to build my cardio-endurance, with a balance of resistance training to build muscle.
Looking forward to next week!
It was so cold outside. Standing around waiting for the start, I had about 30 minutes of questioning whether or not I should even be there. Joel had picked up some leggings and shoe covers/warmers for me in San Francisco, and I'm so thankful he did! Now I just need to find one of those funky bright windbreakers. Maybe a scarf/neckwarmer of sorts too... or maybe I need to just suck it up and ride.
The ride itself was great. Standing around waiting to begin was not so great, but that's to be expected when you have 100+ folks going out of the same location. It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't so cold, I think. The cold, combined with the fact that I was terrified I wouldn't be able to finish because I'm so out of shape, made it all seem worse than it really was.
We started shortly after 8:00 a.m. with the "slow" group, and that was fine except for getting behind a couple of very unsure/unsteady riders. There seemed to be little reason to the slowing/stopping and even less communication of the fact that they were going to do it. On a few occasions, it was almost as though they didn't realize there were people behind them. We were able to pass them and got on a stretch of road where we could ride at our own pace, which was still, admittedly, very slow.
At one point, Joel took off ahead of me and I was left to ride by myself. This wasn't a bad thing, though. I was pedaling along and had time to think about my fear before starting the ride, my hesitance to even do it (remember how I procrastinate and avoid things since I know I can't be perfect? perfect example here!), and my crummy attitude working up to the ride because of all of the above. What I realized as I kept spinning was that I was enjoying the ride, my body felt good doing it, and I have still been allowing my fears to keep me from doing things that are good for me, as well as fun. It was time to make a decision that was long overdue.
I decided to quit being a quitter.
It felt good.
Yesterday's ride was just at 26 miles.
Next weekend we have the option to ride 29.5 or 41 miles. I'm planning to continue doing the shorter rides. I'm told what I should do is to spin at relatively high rpm's to build my cardio-endurance, with a balance of resistance training to build muscle.
Looking forward to next week!
Today's workout
30 minutes Pilates
30 minutes Core Training/Stretching
45 minutes Spinerval 4.0 Muscle Breakdown
Monday, January 29, 2007
A cold... now??
Sniffles, coughing, aching, sneezing.. it could have resulted from any number of things, but it's most likely a combination of many of them. Fortunately there's a bit of the super-strength cough suppressant/decongestant left from 9 mths ago, which should knock this out quickly. In the meantime, it's not going to interfere with running or spinning.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Home again...
While I loved the opportunity to see new places, and of course, the work is always challenging, I'm so happy to be home. I really missed the kiddos!! Unfortunately, they've both gotten a bit of a respiratory infection and aren't feeling as well as we'd all like.
So, back to running, which is the whole point of this blog, right? As I posted earlier, I signed up to run the Rockets' Run this coming Saturday, and I've been more than slightly freaked out about running it. Not that I expect phenomenal results from my runs, especially after taking so much time off after my first year of running. But for crying out loud, I do NOT want to be the last person across the finish line! This is probably the whole reason I've never been able to be consistent about running (or anything??)... It's the fear ~ the fear of failure.
Here's where I admit that I'm a bit of a perfectionist. More than a bit, actually. In lieu of coming up short, I have often just opted not to participate in something that probably would have been fun. I'm working to change that this year.
This morning, I got up early and took Molly to the local 1k track and ran/walked 5 laps. The sole motivation was to see if I could do it, and if I could do it in < 40 minutes. To most people, that's nothing much, but considering how slow my treadmill says I run (and I have to assume I do!), this would at least be respectable for me. My time was 39 minutes flat... yes, I can live with that.
Now on to locating a babysitter and finding out where I need to be Saturday morning! Julie isn't going to be able to run again until the end of Feb for the Rodeo Run, but she's said she'll be there to cheer me on. Joel has also said he'll join me, so that will be nice, too.
Off to update logging stuff... have a great weekend!
So, back to running, which is the whole point of this blog, right? As I posted earlier, I signed up to run the Rockets' Run this coming Saturday, and I've been more than slightly freaked out about running it. Not that I expect phenomenal results from my runs, especially after taking so much time off after my first year of running. But for crying out loud, I do NOT want to be the last person across the finish line! This is probably the whole reason I've never been able to be consistent about running (or anything??)... It's the fear ~ the fear of failure.
Here's where I admit that I'm a bit of a perfectionist. More than a bit, actually. In lieu of coming up short, I have often just opted not to participate in something that probably would have been fun. I'm working to change that this year.
This morning, I got up early and took Molly to the local 1k track and ran/walked 5 laps. The sole motivation was to see if I could do it, and if I could do it in < 40 minutes. To most people, that's nothing much, but considering how slow my treadmill says I run (and I have to assume I do!), this would at least be respectable for me. My time was 39 minutes flat... yes, I can live with that.
Now on to locating a babysitter and finding out where I need to be Saturday morning! Julie isn't going to be able to run again until the end of Feb for the Rodeo Run, but she's said she'll be there to cheer me on. Joel has also said he'll join me, so that will be nice, too.
Off to update logging stuff... have a great weekend!
Friday, January 19, 2007
Yes, I'm in Paris!
I think I might love this city. It's rained and been fairly cold, and I've worked from 7 a.m until past 10 p.m. each night, so no time for running outdoors, but I've kept up with my cardio & crunches & band work and I feel good.
The Eiffel Tower was absolutely amazing! The picture here was taken by me (and is not up for grabs!) shortly before we made our way to the top of the Tower. The view - my goodness - it was breathtaking! I plan to head to Versailles tomorrow and then it's off to Edinburgh early Sunday morning. I'll likely spend most of that day traipsing around the town and visiting the castle, then it's work, work, and more work.
Although I'm enjoying the city, I miss the kids... a lot.
The Eiffel Tower was absolutely amazing! The picture here was taken by me (and is not up for grabs!) shortly before we made our way to the top of the Tower. The view - my goodness - it was breathtaking! I plan to head to Versailles tomorrow and then it's off to Edinburgh early Sunday morning. I'll likely spend most of that day traipsing around the town and visiting the castle, then it's work, work, and more work.Dinner was at Avenue (41 Av. Montaigne), which happens to be directly across from Dior and Jimmy Choos. It's probably a good thing we were there late. Despite the distraction of the view, it is definitely worth mentioning that the dinner was fabulous. The service and staff were excellent, the atmosphere fantastic, and yes, I'm running out of adjectives. However, it was a bit odd to see a fairly large dog of some sort (larger than a bulldog but had that look??) wander in the restaurant, but he was well-behaved and didn't bother the patrons. The staff all seemed to know him, and he simply made his way around and for the most part, kept out of the way. As we were leaving, we encountered another dog that had found his way inside. It was interesting!
There are no words to describe the heavenly desserts in this city. Fortunately, the portions are reasonable (compared to the gargantuan servings in Texas which have led to my ginormous bottom half!) and the guilt is not nearly as bad as when eating something that doesn't quite taste as good at home.
Julie advised that she can't make the Rockets Run, which is a bit disappointing since I've signed up and now appear to be running it solo. It's only a 5k, so I know I can make the distance without question. I'll just be a slow finisher. She says she'll meet me at the end and that will be way cool (having someone there this time!), but if anyone else is thinking of running it, let me know! I'll do my best to keep up!Although I'm enjoying the city, I miss the kids... a lot.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Juggling
I've been back at work for a week and a half now, and I'm still struggling with prioritizing my fitness efforts. In my defense (or we can call it a half-hearted attempt at justification), I'm leaving on Tuesday for 13 days in Europe for business, and since I just found out about the first half of the trip, I've been busting my butt to prepare for it. Still.. just an excuse.
Julie and I confirmed we are running the Rockets Run and the Rodeo Run this year, so I have no choice but to be ready. All 4 hotels I'll be at have fitness facilities, and I've purchased a good set of bands to take with me. As horrifying as this is to admit, I even plan to take the Cardio dvd I got from McD's when they were doing their promotional thing. On a whim, I tried it recently, and it's not a bad workout if you're limited on time/space/equipment.
Oh! And last weekend was the bike safety training course for Team BP (related to the BPMS150). I feel much more confident on the bike now. I'm looking forward to that training also.
Best of luck to all of you who are running tomorrow in Houston!! Go Patricia & Tina & Julie & Trish!!! I know you'll do fantasically well, and I'll be cheering you on from home.
Julie and I confirmed we are running the Rockets Run and the Rodeo Run this year, so I have no choice but to be ready. All 4 hotels I'll be at have fitness facilities, and I've purchased a good set of bands to take with me. As horrifying as this is to admit, I even plan to take the Cardio dvd I got from McD's when they were doing their promotional thing. On a whim, I tried it recently, and it's not a bad workout if you're limited on time/space/equipment.
Oh! And last weekend was the bike safety training course for Team BP (related to the BPMS150). I feel much more confident on the bike now. I'm looking forward to that training also.
Best of luck to all of you who are running tomorrow in Houston!! Go Patricia & Tina & Julie & Trish!!! I know you'll do fantasically well, and I'll be cheering you on from home.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
I think I am a turtle
Today's workout: 5 min. warm-up + 4/1 x 4 + 2 min. cooldown (total run 27:00 min. 1.6 miles)
God, could I move any more slowly? Sometimes, I think not. I can just picture some nameless, faceless stranger out there (or Joel) reading this shaking his/her head and saying, "nope, Jude... you're about as slow as it gets!"
Well, slow or not, I did the run for today. I didn't even get started until after 10:00 p.m. I considered just crawling into bed and doing it in the morning, but since I didn't drag myself out of bed to run when the alarm went off at 5:00 a.m. today, I was fairly certain tomorrow wouldn't be much different. Just told myself it was only 30 minutes max, and I'm still only 2 weeks into this and can't quit just yet. I'm glad I ran. It felt good.
Now off to bed - I'm beat!
God, could I move any more slowly? Sometimes, I think not. I can just picture some nameless, faceless stranger out there (or Joel) reading this shaking his/her head and saying, "nope, Jude... you're about as slow as it gets!"
Well, slow or not, I did the run for today. I didn't even get started until after 10:00 p.m. I considered just crawling into bed and doing it in the morning, but since I didn't drag myself out of bed to run when the alarm went off at 5:00 a.m. today, I was fairly certain tomorrow wouldn't be much different. Just told myself it was only 30 minutes max, and I'm still only 2 weeks into this and can't quit just yet. I'm glad I ran. It felt good.
Now off to bed - I'm beat!
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Run a Marathon at the North Pole??
Just saw this on www.houstonrunning.blogspot.com and felt it was worth passing along. Julie? Olga? Anyone up to this??
Got What It Takes to Run 26.2 at the North Pole?
BOULDER, Colorado (January 1, 2007) -- Who would like to run amarathon at the North Pole (for free)? Does spending several hours running in sub-zero temperatures further north than even polar bears are willing to go sound like a fun adventure? Brad Feld and YourRunning.com, a new participative online community and website for running enthusiasts, is giving away an entry to the 2007 North Pole Marathon and travel to the event -- valued at well over $12,000.
The winner will be selected from applicants who submit their running resumes to YourRunning.com by midnight US Eastern time on January 31, 2007. A winner will be selected by February 15, and run in the marathon on April 15. (Contest is restricted to athletes from the USA and Canada, excluding Quebec.)
Background
Brad Feld, an avid marathoner and an investor in YourRunning.com's parent company, the Enthusiast Group, was signed up to run in the 2007 North Pole Marathon. While initially excited about the polar run, he reconsidered the prospect of running for 8 hours (his projected time in that environment) in the sub-zero conditions at the top of the Arctic Ocean -- so he decided to pass his already-paid entry on to andsponsor another hardy entrant.
He explains: "When I came up with the idea of running the North Pole Marathon last summer, I thought to myself, 'This will be a fun challenge.' As the time (and the miles) passed, I started to think itwas a crazy idea -- which was reinforced by my friends who simply shook their heads (side to side) whenever I said anything about it. Last month, as I suited up to go for a run in minus 20 degree weather, I realized that it was a 'stupid f*****g idea.' So, I came up with a better one. Since I'd already paid for the entry fee, I'd sponsor someone instead to run for Team Feld.
"YourRunning.com is holding a competition among runners and will award Brad's entry to the person deemed most worthy and capable of succeeding at running long distance at the top of the world -- and documenting the training and actual Arctic marathon experience.
The race
The North Pole Marathon is run at ... yes ... the North Pole, making it the only marathon to be run on water! The winner will be flown to the Pole, where he or she will run on top of a thick sheet of ice on the Arctic Ocean. There should be no worries about polar bears -- they're usually not crazy enough to go this far north -- but race organizers keep weapons handy just in case.
This year, some 50competitors are expected to run.
Racers will be flown to the North Pole where a 2-mile loop will be setup, with warming tents and runner support. Depending on snow and ice conditions, marathon entrants will run in either trail shoes or lightweight snowshoes.
More information can be found at http://www.npmarathon.com.
The competition
YourRunning.com is inviting hardy marathoners to submit their runningand athletic resumes to a North Pole Marathon application. Entrants inthe contest must demonstrate not only their athletic prowess andendurance, but also their media savvy, for part of winning will be theduty to write about the experience of training to run 26.2 miles at the North Pole and to document the race itself, shooting photos andvideo, and recording audio reports.
Entrants in the YourRunning.com North Pole Marathon contest should demonstrate:
* Extensive marathon experience. The winner should be a marathon or ultra-marathon veteran, and perhaps harbor confidence of actually winning the race. This is not a marathon for beginners.
* Experience in cold-weather running. (Do we really need to say more?)
* Strong writing and blogging skills, with experience writing about adventure and sports topics, especially documenting their own athletic exploits.
* Experience with video and audio reporting. We don't expect network-correspondent quality, but the winner should be comfortable doing audio reports, or shooting a video with a small video cam.
The winner will be expected to maintain a daily blog about training for the race, the race itself and the aftermath, as well as a weekly podcast audio report. Shooting photos and/or videos of the race also is expected.
Selecting the winner
YourRunning.com will select the winner from entrant submissionsreceived by midnight EST, January 31, 2007. The winner will be announced on or thereabouts February 15, 2007.
The winner will not necessarily be the best and strongest athlete; it could be a middle-of-the-pack runner with an unusual story to tell who demonstrates the fortitude to complete the North Pole Marathon. A marathoner with excellent and creative media skills could beat out a better athlete. In other words, the selection will be subjective on the part of the judges -- and their decision is final.
In addition to selecting a winner to go to the North Pole Marathon, YourRunning.com also will choose a runner-up, who will participate inthe event that the winner falls ill (or chickens out). If the winner can't participate, the entry fee and travel will be transferred to the runner-up.
The purpose for doing this
When Brad Feld originally signed up to run the race, it was his intention to blog about preparing for the race and give publicity to the International Polar Year (2007-08), a major scientific initiative designed to draw attention to the changes occurring in the Arctic region due to global warming. With Brad not running, this competition and the winner will serve that purpose, helping educate the world's population about the situation and supporting polar research programs.
About YourRunning.com
YourRunning.com is an online community and resource for runners --from world-class athletes to passionate enthusiasts -- and a place for them to share their tales of adventure, photos and videos with other runners. The site is led by "enthusiast-in-chief" Simon Martin, who serves as community chearleader and writes a regular blog about the running life.
The website is meant as a friendly place where runners can tell their own stories and share their experiences without needing a professional journalist to discover them. It is based on the concept of "citizen media" -- which simply means that runners themselves are the authors of much of the content on the site.
About the Enthusiast Group
The Boulder, Colorado-based company was founded in early 2006 byonline media pioneer Steve Outing and Internet entrepreneur Derek Scruggs, with the goal of creating a network of citizen-media-basedwebsites serving adventure and participant sports.
YourRunning.com, YourClimbing.com and YourMTB.com are the first sites published by the company to open to the public. Sites covering additional adventure and participant sports -- including road biking, horse sports, kayaking and skateboarding -- are planned for roll-out early in 2007.
The Enthusiast Group is funded by a group of 11 investors, including Omidyar Network (a mission-based investment group founded by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar), DB Medialab (the new-media arm of Norwegian national newspaper Dagbladet), and Brad Feld.
Websites:
NP Marathon application form
Contest announcement
YourRunning website
Brad Feld's 50 by 50 Blog
Simon Martin's Run Time Blog
YourClimbing website
YourMTB website
Corporate website
International Polar Year website
North Pole Marathon website
Got What It Takes to Run 26.2 at the North Pole?
BOULDER, Colorado (January 1, 2007) -- Who would like to run amarathon at the North Pole (for free)? Does spending several hours running in sub-zero temperatures further north than even polar bears are willing to go sound like a fun adventure? Brad Feld and YourRunning.com, a new participative online community and website for running enthusiasts, is giving away an entry to the 2007 North Pole Marathon and travel to the event -- valued at well over $12,000.
The winner will be selected from applicants who submit their running resumes to YourRunning.com by midnight US Eastern time on January 31, 2007. A winner will be selected by February 15, and run in the marathon on April 15. (Contest is restricted to athletes from the USA and Canada, excluding Quebec.)
Background
Brad Feld, an avid marathoner and an investor in YourRunning.com's parent company, the Enthusiast Group, was signed up to run in the 2007 North Pole Marathon. While initially excited about the polar run, he reconsidered the prospect of running for 8 hours (his projected time in that environment) in the sub-zero conditions at the top of the Arctic Ocean -- so he decided to pass his already-paid entry on to andsponsor another hardy entrant.
He explains: "When I came up with the idea of running the North Pole Marathon last summer, I thought to myself, 'This will be a fun challenge.' As the time (and the miles) passed, I started to think itwas a crazy idea -- which was reinforced by my friends who simply shook their heads (side to side) whenever I said anything about it. Last month, as I suited up to go for a run in minus 20 degree weather, I realized that it was a 'stupid f*****g idea.' So, I came up with a better one. Since I'd already paid for the entry fee, I'd sponsor someone instead to run for Team Feld.
"YourRunning.com is holding a competition among runners and will award Brad's entry to the person deemed most worthy and capable of succeeding at running long distance at the top of the world -- and documenting the training and actual Arctic marathon experience.
The race
The North Pole Marathon is run at ... yes ... the North Pole, making it the only marathon to be run on water! The winner will be flown to the Pole, where he or she will run on top of a thick sheet of ice on the Arctic Ocean. There should be no worries about polar bears -- they're usually not crazy enough to go this far north -- but race organizers keep weapons handy just in case.
This year, some 50competitors are expected to run.
Racers will be flown to the North Pole where a 2-mile loop will be setup, with warming tents and runner support. Depending on snow and ice conditions, marathon entrants will run in either trail shoes or lightweight snowshoes.
More information can be found at http://www.npmarathon.com.
The competition
YourRunning.com is inviting hardy marathoners to submit their runningand athletic resumes to a North Pole Marathon application. Entrants inthe contest must demonstrate not only their athletic prowess andendurance, but also their media savvy, for part of winning will be theduty to write about the experience of training to run 26.2 miles at the North Pole and to document the race itself, shooting photos andvideo, and recording audio reports.
Entrants in the YourRunning.com North Pole Marathon contest should demonstrate:
* Extensive marathon experience. The winner should be a marathon or ultra-marathon veteran, and perhaps harbor confidence of actually winning the race. This is not a marathon for beginners.
* Experience in cold-weather running. (Do we really need to say more?)
* Strong writing and blogging skills, with experience writing about adventure and sports topics, especially documenting their own athletic exploits.
* Experience with video and audio reporting. We don't expect network-correspondent quality, but the winner should be comfortable doing audio reports, or shooting a video with a small video cam.
The winner will be expected to maintain a daily blog about training for the race, the race itself and the aftermath, as well as a weekly podcast audio report. Shooting photos and/or videos of the race also is expected.
Selecting the winner
YourRunning.com will select the winner from entrant submissionsreceived by midnight EST, January 31, 2007. The winner will be announced on or thereabouts February 15, 2007.
The winner will not necessarily be the best and strongest athlete; it could be a middle-of-the-pack runner with an unusual story to tell who demonstrates the fortitude to complete the North Pole Marathon. A marathoner with excellent and creative media skills could beat out a better athlete. In other words, the selection will be subjective on the part of the judges -- and their decision is final.
In addition to selecting a winner to go to the North Pole Marathon, YourRunning.com also will choose a runner-up, who will participate inthe event that the winner falls ill (or chickens out). If the winner can't participate, the entry fee and travel will be transferred to the runner-up.
The purpose for doing this
When Brad Feld originally signed up to run the race, it was his intention to blog about preparing for the race and give publicity to the International Polar Year (2007-08), a major scientific initiative designed to draw attention to the changes occurring in the Arctic region due to global warming. With Brad not running, this competition and the winner will serve that purpose, helping educate the world's population about the situation and supporting polar research programs.
About YourRunning.com
YourRunning.com is an online community and resource for runners --from world-class athletes to passionate enthusiasts -- and a place for them to share their tales of adventure, photos and videos with other runners. The site is led by "enthusiast-in-chief" Simon Martin, who serves as community chearleader and writes a regular blog about the running life.
The website is meant as a friendly place where runners can tell their own stories and share their experiences without needing a professional journalist to discover them. It is based on the concept of "citizen media" -- which simply means that runners themselves are the authors of much of the content on the site.
About the Enthusiast Group
The Boulder, Colorado-based company was founded in early 2006 byonline media pioneer Steve Outing and Internet entrepreneur Derek Scruggs, with the goal of creating a network of citizen-media-basedwebsites serving adventure and participant sports.
YourRunning.com, YourClimbing.com and YourMTB.com are the first sites published by the company to open to the public. Sites covering additional adventure and participant sports -- including road biking, horse sports, kayaking and skateboarding -- are planned for roll-out early in 2007.
The Enthusiast Group is funded by a group of 11 investors, including Omidyar Network (a mission-based investment group founded by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar), DB Medialab (the new-media arm of Norwegian national newspaper Dagbladet), and Brad Feld.
Websites:
NP Marathon application form
Contest announcement
YourRunning website
Brad Feld's 50 by 50 Blog
Simon Martin's Run Time Blog
YourClimbing website
YourMTB website
Corporate website
International Polar Year website
North Pole Marathon website
Day 14 (of 3 weeks to a 30 minute running habit)
Today's workout: 5 min. warmup + 3/1 x 6 + (2/1 x 1 unplanned but added) + 5 min. cooldown
Today was a good run. The schedule had me down for 3/1 x 5 + warmup and cooldown but I felt good and since I'd done the 3/1 x 6 - 3 days ago, I was certain I could do it again. I'm still working out on the treadmill and while it's not very exciting and the scenery is only as good as my HDTV (which isn't exactly bad!), I'm still looking forward to getting outside to run.
There is, however, a slight concern about the time/mileage on the treadmill being misaligned with that on my hr monitor. Strange, right? By 15 minutes into it, the treadmill is 10 seconds behind the watch. By 30 minutes, it's over 35 seconds behind. It's highly more likely that the problem is with the treadmill than the hr monitor, as it's a Polar 625 and has always seemed pretty reliable. "Always" as in the last year since I purchased it. I haven't been using the footpod with it since I've been on the treadmill, but this would explain why it was off after being calibrated on the treadmill last year. We've got a 1k track down the street, so I'll use that and re-calibrate it soon.
Joel leaves for San Francisco again today - :( It's been nice having him home for the past 2 weeks, but this is the norm. Unfortunately, he's got to work through the coming weekend, so we won't see him for another 12 days or so. I think he'll return home on the day I leave for Edinburgh. This waving at each other and blowing kisses as we pass on the way to/from the airport really sucks.
Hunter has taekwando again tonight after 2 weeks off, so we're looking forward to a busy evening doing that and getting her ready for school tomorrow.
PM: Nothing like getting home after having waited too long to eat dinner and then binging on chips & salsa. Can you say water-weight? I dread seeing the scale tomorrow. I might skip the regular morning weigh-in. LOL (Joel, if you're reading this, we'll blame this one binge on missing you, sweetie! The next one's on me!)
The alarm is set for early in the a.m., and I'm going to get my run in before work. Tomorrow's plan is a warmup, 4/1 x 4 and cooldown. I also will need to do an UBWO, which can happen in the evening.
Wow - going back to work after 14+ days off.. this should be interesting!
Today was a good run. The schedule had me down for 3/1 x 5 + warmup and cooldown but I felt good and since I'd done the 3/1 x 6 - 3 days ago, I was certain I could do it again. I'm still working out on the treadmill and while it's not very exciting and the scenery is only as good as my HDTV (which isn't exactly bad!), I'm still looking forward to getting outside to run.
There is, however, a slight concern about the time/mileage on the treadmill being misaligned with that on my hr monitor. Strange, right? By 15 minutes into it, the treadmill is 10 seconds behind the watch. By 30 minutes, it's over 35 seconds behind. It's highly more likely that the problem is with the treadmill than the hr monitor, as it's a Polar 625 and has always seemed pretty reliable. "Always" as in the last year since I purchased it. I haven't been using the footpod with it since I've been on the treadmill, but this would explain why it was off after being calibrated on the treadmill last year. We've got a 1k track down the street, so I'll use that and re-calibrate it soon.
Joel leaves for San Francisco again today - :( It's been nice having him home for the past 2 weeks, but this is the norm. Unfortunately, he's got to work through the coming weekend, so we won't see him for another 12 days or so. I think he'll return home on the day I leave for Edinburgh. This waving at each other and blowing kisses as we pass on the way to/from the airport really sucks.
Hunter has taekwando again tonight after 2 weeks off, so we're looking forward to a busy evening doing that and getting her ready for school tomorrow.
PM: Nothing like getting home after having waited too long to eat dinner and then binging on chips & salsa. Can you say water-weight? I dread seeing the scale tomorrow. I might skip the regular morning weigh-in. LOL (Joel, if you're reading this, we'll blame this one binge on missing you, sweetie! The next one's on me!)
The alarm is set for early in the a.m., and I'm going to get my run in before work. Tomorrow's plan is a warmup, 4/1 x 4 and cooldown. I also will need to do an UBWO, which can happen in the evening.
Wow - going back to work after 14+ days off.. this should be interesting!
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