On Blogging

Again...it's been a long time.

I guess writing my thoughts on this space lost its luster. A lot of cool things have happened, and life is busy. So organizing thoughts and photos into "this" took the backseat over spending time working, loving and living.

We went to Europe. We ate, we drank, we laughed. And we cried when the dog sitter lost our dog. (still a sensitive subject so I'm going to leave it alone)

I have had NO training schedule since my last full marathon in February and it's been great. No races. No pressure. I run when I want and have been yoga-ing, spinning and lifting weights. It's been fun and refreshing.

BUT...I'm ready to get to back to business.

I have a few new goals on the horizon...in the head - not on paper yet.

Maybe I'll blog again and share them soon....

Plyo...its no joke.

"I really hate you today".

Yup, I told Naydine The Trainer this today. You see...I was NOT in the mood.. In an attempt to get my ass in gear and rack up some some miles, I ran 5 Saturday and 10 Sunday for a total of 30 miles/week...and I slept like crap last night. I woke up grumpy, tired and not excited about my 7:30 appointment with the Ball Buster.

I begrudgingly dressed myself and marched my unhappy ass in the gym and was greeted with this:

"Today is PLYO, get ready to get your butt kicked!" (*smile)

Ew.

I got busy and spent 30 minutes sweating, swearing and making my heart rate rise to levels I was slightly concerned about. Even some old dude stopped to watch. I'm sure I looked as stupid as I felt performing some of these moves.

She fondly refers to me as "her little firecracker", yeah, I got a firecracker for ya.

After completing 30 minutes of hell I marched my butt upstairs and hopped on the treadmill to get in my 5 miles. The first 2 miles were awful. I felt wobbly and uncoordinated and was quite worried I might fall off and cause a scene.

But I didn't.

I am glad I doing this though, its so nice to have someone to hold you accountable, to keep things exciting, and to make you laugh even when you want to punch her in the face.

Don't worry, I didn't take photographic evidence of this mess.

End of story.

Ball Buster

I took the plunge and signed myself up with Naydine...a personal trainer at my gym that I had a few freebie sessions with over the past week. This morning was our official "Day 1" of a loooong 6 weeks ahead. Happy Birthday to me, old lady.

I hurt. In weird places.

End of story.

Spinning

As I might have mentioned, I made the decision to re-join my gym.

I know, I'm a sucker.

I gave it a few months off...the weather was beautiful here in Arizona and I justified it by running outdoors, hiking, riding my trainer and doing simple weights in the comfort of my own home.

Today it's hovering around 105 degrees.

So yes...I re-joined. And I promised myself to do only one thing to justify this additional fee each month.

Do what you feel like doing and have fun.

Don't make workout plans. Don't try to commit to XX many days a week at the gym. Don't complicate shit by working out different body parts on different days, blah blah blah. Just go and do whatever the hell I feel like doing.

So ya know what? I tried 2 new classes this week.

I yoga'd and spin'd. (I know these aren't actual words, go with it)

I have been DYING to try spin....I figured I would be halfway decent at it and not look like a total jackass due to the fact that I have some cycling knowledge/experience.

I showed up an hour early, by accident, because I'm special like that....so I ran 3 miles, did some abs and got a little instruction from the teacher before starting.

I was even lucky enough to be joined by two of my girlfriends. One of either side of me. This was Jen's first time too, so we felt like dorks together.

It was awesome.  It was fun. The lights were off and I felt like I was back at Skate King circa 1992 with some sweet disco type lights flashing around the room.

I also had a thorough ass whooping. My tank, shorts, hair and sports bra were drenched  in sweat. I looked like a vision of beauty upon leaving lemme tell you. I spared you the photo. 60 minutes flew by and I was surprised to be done so soon.

I'm ready to try it again next week. And maybe another new-to-me class!

Snake Season

Monday's on my training calendar are marked with Weights or Xtraining.

This past Monday I wasn't in the mood to ride my bike on the trainer or lift weights....I was craving the outdoors and some time with my best buddy...and because I had been stuck staring at my computer all day with work, I needed to take it outside.

I am trying to live by the mantra of "just get out and do something"....to not restrict myself, to do something active that is fun and feels good. Why? Because exercising should be fun, creative and enjoyable so if I want to hike, I will hike.

I didn't get a killer workout or anything because it's a short 3.25 hike and I have to stop frequently to give water to this little turd...

It was quiet, hot and peaceful....and I felt a little nervous because it's now snake season and I ran into a rather large rattlesnake last year, so I was on the lookout the whole time. I'm thinking about getting Sadie snake proofed....has anyone done this with their doggies before?

Happy girl.

I'm Boring

Yup. I just realized that I have eaten salads everyday so far for lunch. Even weirder that I took pictures.

I guess I like what I like. Maybe I'll be super "crazy" and mix it up today and have a sandwich.

On another boring-ish note, I clearly got bored with my attempt at my "7W2R" and have moved on to something else. Still not ripped. But I can barely walk today from my first attempt at Bodyrock.tv.

Solid.

Quick Weekend

Weekend at a glance...

• Friday night movie night (my sick day)
• Overdue morning of sleeping in (9:00, eek!)
• 10.5 mile HOT and sweaty run. Minor knee pain (yesss)
• Double date night with the parents (VIP duck x 2)
• 1 AMAZINGLY beautiful run with the pup, followed by a killer plyo circuit with the hubs (ouch)
• Work, work and more work...but one "event" being over cosmos and lemon cake (rough gig)
• A mini shopping session (finally found the perfect color of colored jeans, raspberry...not too Winter-y, not too Spring-y)

And now, I'm very busy watching The Grammy's....ummm Adele, you are gorgeous and amazing. 

Home Gym

After a 2.5 year relationship with my lovely gym, I have broken up with him. My visits had become sporadic, the dues were very high and quite frankly, dealing with all the people that were there was just downright annoying. I personally have never been a social butterfly while exercising...a smile or a wave is fine...but creepy stares and attempts at conversations get really old. Really fast. Oh and the family that drenched themselves in cologne/perfume before every workout...I could smell them as they entered downstairs as I was upstairs. Nauseating.

So that's that.

Before I starting running, they gym was perfect for me. I could go and get some weight training done, hop on a cardio machine, stretch or do some yoga all while under the same roof. And I'm not saying I'll never belong to a gym again...but right now, it's not working for me.

Running and training for half marathons takes a lot of time so my gym visits had been lacking in lieu of running. I'm OK with that. Being outside vs. in a cramped gym, yes please!

So I accepted my change, cancelled my membership and purchased a couple new small pieces of equipment to satisfying my need to lift weights and strength train. Body weight and plyo is all the rage right now, so why not jump on the wagon?

Cross-training has translated into my road bike + trainer = killer workout, no impact. I've even switched things up by putting it outside on my back patio, listening to music, using the gymboss for intervals, watching a cycling video and even a Lifetime movie.....sweet!

Don't worry, that's not my house.

I have been more consistent with getting in small but effective workouts at home. It's easy...I run and then bust it all at the same time...no getting in my car to go to the gym. I've been searching the net for a few fun, fast and intense workouts using the bare minimum for equipment.

Ab Work....in the comfort of my living room.

I borrowed this workout from Julie over at PB Fingers and it's awesome, sweaty and effective.

My attempt at 7W2R is not done...I'm going to skip over the first few weeks and move to the advanced workouts....the first few weeks were too basic for me, too quick and too boring (sorry Brett).

7 Weeks to Ripped

Remember last week when I mentioned having something I was excited about?

It's a book, it's really simple and because of it, I can barely lift my arms today. Ouch.

Good times.

My friend Brett just launched this book, so of course, I had to give it a try! I'll be recapping each week and maybe posting some pics...maybe.

Lazybones...

I've been a lazy blogger. Yes, I have.

I haven't done anything monumental or super exciting, so I thought I shouldn't bore the 3 people that read this. Plus, I've been pretty busy with that thing you call work, how rude.

So remember on Saturday when I said I was going to bust out a bike ride on Sunday?

I did.

And it was amazing.

It finally clicked with me. My bike and I figured each other out (thise damn 27 gears). And I even learned how to look behind me while riding, and not wobble all over the place. My fastest speed was 22.1 mph. I even yelled out loud/whooped at one point during the ride...I was grinning from ear to ear. I wasn't even scared anymore. Wade was patient and even hopped on my midget bike at one point to teach me how to properly shift. I went 22 miles. All hills. And I wasn't even sore. Guess all that running is paying off.

We had family day on Sunday. BBQ, wine, and homemade carrot cake.

I even hopped on my old horse and cruised around the pasture on her. She still remembers me every time I see her....and she's 25. We grew up together.

All is good.

Weekly Work-It-Out

Here is a recap from last weeks workouts:

Monday-Sunday

Last week went well for my running...I slacked a little bit on the weight lifting side, only incorporating it into my week once. And apparently, I don't know how to do math...my spreadsheet from last weeks post said I had 31 miles on my week, hmmm, anyway. As I mentioned yesterday, I ran a 10K on Sunday...which was fun and I actually enjoyed the distance much more than 5K's!


And my week ahead:

Monday-Sunday

ALMOST ready to break the 30 mile mark for a week...this will be the most mileage for me ever. I decided to scale down a bit and only increase a half mile because I have had some knee pain the last week. We are heading back up to the cabin on Friday so I'm hoping I don't have a crappy run like I did last time. It should be cooler and I plan on starting earlier in the morning.


Wish me luck!

Bodyrock.tv = Scary

My husband pulled this website up for me one night a few months ago. He had met some dude (Geez, I can hardly remember what I ate for breakfast) who used this in his regular routine and apparently had quite the "bod".

I marked it into my Fitness/Running Category under my Bookmarks and never looked at it again. While stalking reading broke runner's blog a couple days ago....I came across it again. And I realized that I have to try it.

This chick is a total beast. I love the fact that most of the exercises can be done at home, with body weight and in a reasonably short amount of time. I like short and intense workouts. And of course, I'm majorly jealous of her body, holy crap. And she obviously works her ass of  for it.

Bodyrock.tv consists of Zuzana and her husband posting workout challenges throughout the week, Zuzana works out and Freddy does the behind the scenes. AND they are totally free and they look pretty intense..I'm up for the challenge if it means my abs will look like hers, ha! But seriously, I'm going to try it next week...

Roadie

I caved. And now this is mine.

I wasn't 100% convinced that this was a new adventure that I was ready to take on. After all, I am still in the learning process of running and racing and quite frankly, I really love it. But my determined husband was not going to take NO for an answer. You see, my first ride on a road bike was not a good one. "The Bike Shop" (that I did not purchase from) put me on a test bike that were probably trying to unload on some stupid oblivious newbie. A bike that is made for racing. For people who know what the hell they are doing. And apparently women with iron vaginas. And that ain't me...except the oblivious part of course, wink. Soooo, I assumed all bikes were like this. And I wrote it off.

 I of course, encouraged Wade to pursue this new adventure and to get a bike of his own. He has a wild hair up hiss ass to train for a Triathlon, and I think that is super. We went to "The Bike Shop #2" on Sunday to check things out...and purchase something for Wade. Wellllllllll, I tried out some bikes more suited for riders like me. People who are riding for fun, leisure and exercise. And for scardy cats. (aka extra brakes and tires that are wider than a grain of rice) And how very sweet, Wade wanted US to try this new adventure together, as a couple. Something else to do together and something else to be excited about. He's right. We don't have kiddos, we don't have very many expensive habits (eating out, running, and traveling when we can) so I finally said "what the heck, let's DO this"

2 days later, I picked her up. Now she just needs a name. And I must admit, I'm pretty excited.

12 Days Out!

Happy Tuesday Lovas!

Here is a quick overview of my training for the week.....I have 1 long runs left, 1 full week and one taper week left to bust my butt!

Monday - Flow Yoga
Tuesday - 5.5 mile run (+ strength or plyo)
Wednesday - 3 mile hill run
Thursday - 5.5 mile run (+strength or plyo)Friday - Rest or Yoga
Saturday - 12 mile run (race pace, targeted at 9:40)
Sunday - Rest or easy run

Total Mileage: 26 miles

I have the vacation itch in a bad way. I dream of sinking my little toes into the sand and getting out of town for a while. I feel like a genius for planning a race around vacation, I get the best of both worlds as far as I'm concerned. Who's the smart one now?

Insert Cold Beer Here

Also, for anyone interested, my girl Reese's just posted a good read on training for her upcoming Chicago Marathon using the Run Less, Run Faster method. She's pretty cray cray if ya ask me for doin this, but her blog is hyster and she's ricing ass. (But don't enter too many times cause I want to win)

Namaste, yo

According to my super nerdy "training spreadsheet", I hadn't been to my all time favorite yoga class in 6 weeks.

Whoa.

I suppose I have been too busy getting in 2-3 strength training sessions each week that I ditched my Monday afternoon class in favor of pumping iron and adding in cardio cross-training. Now don't get me wrong, I HAVE practiced yoga in the past 6 weeks...just not with my favorite teacher, Adam. The class typically pulls in 8-10 people, many of those faces I recognize each week, some not. But today was different. Today there was 3. Yup...just me and 2 other girls I flow with on a somewhat regular basis. They both happen to frequent the same wine shop down the street as I do.

As we all sat on our mats and Adam stood in front of us, one of my fellow yogis pipes up and says "can we talk in class today".

So today we talked. We giggled, we acted silly and Adam also pushed us into some strange and challenging moves that we have yet to be pushed into. He also busted out his guitar and sang an original song that we so fondly refer to as "The Marshmallow Song". It's a Christmas jingle that sounds well, marshmallow-y. It was the perfect theme song to my final pose. (Savasana/Corpse pose is the bomb, I'm especially good at it cause I just have to lay there and play dead)

I left class today feeling my typical sense of "Zen" that yoga so famously does to most people....that quiet that always washes over me after I bow my head and clasp my hands together at the end of class. But I also felt really happy. A different happy than my usual. Silly. Connected. I made a promise to myself to attend my favorite yoga class every Monday. Stick to my nerdy spreadsheet.

Super Dork. Yup, I do this.

No excuses.

I'm a New Woman!

So since my little scare the other day and spending a day feeling like the Girl In A Bubble, I have completed 2 runs and a nice and schweaty strength sesh and guess what, I'm all good. Here is what my strength session consisted of:

3 x 15 Calf Press on Leg Machine (no extra weights added)
3 x 15 Walking Lunges (each leg 15 lunges/set)
3 x 15 Plie Squats with 10 pulses at end of each set, 10 lb plate
3 x 10 One Legged Squats, 1 10 lb plate
3 x 12 Barbell Curls, 30 lb barbell
3 x 12 Incline Butterfly, 10 lb hand weights
3 x 15 Cable Rope Overhead Tri Extensions, 25 lbs
3 x 12 Ab Crunch Machine, 20 lbs
3 x 12 Hanging Leg Raise Machine (no extra weights added)

Goals after seeing this on "paper". Up my reps to 15-20, keeping weight the same and eventually increasing weight.

On another note....3 times now, this crazy woman on a bike has tried to play chicken with my and my husband while running in our neighborhood...and we don't even run together! We have HUGE shoulders and plenty of other bikers are courteous enough to share with us as we cross paths. I got a little pissed off and went all WT on her today and YELLED really loud as she almost hit me. Whoops. But I kinda felt better.

Some people are so effin rude, I swear.

Source

I won't say what my slightly more brazen husband did to scare her when she did the same thing to him....

Beauty is Pain...Right?

There is nothing that is more annoying than when people say "at least it's a dry heat". Ya, we have this lil thing called Monsoon Season here in beautiful Phoenix. It was HUMID and HOT out today and has been pretty much everyday for the last few weeks. Let's add in some thick hot air to that 193* heat and you have pure evil. My only saving grace is that I live in the North part of the Valley...higher elevation = slightly cooler temps. I guess I should be happy we have had an unseasonably "cooler" summer than we usually do...I mean, the high is only 106* today. ;) I had a 5 mile run this morning and as I suspected they would be, my legs were sore from the gym on Tuesday and my track workout and hike on Wednesday. I'm having a hard time finding a way to get my strength training in at the gym without getting so sore that it affects my runs for the week, I felt like I had sandbags tied to my feet this morning. It sucked but I got through it and as usual, felt happy and satisfied when I was done.

Kill Me.

Today is going to be a gym day as well. I've always struggled with "a plan" at the gym. Most people tell you to work out certain groups on certain days, blah blah blah....and for me, that just doesn't work. I prefer an all over regime to hit everything each time, and to complete it 2-3 days a week. I did a little research online on exercises specific to people who run, and I came up with something that I think is going to work out for me and my goals, and hopefully I won't get bored with to fast!  At the advice of my SIL (who won her first Figure Competition last year and is basically a badass in all areas of her life) I'm going to refrain from using weights on my legs in an attempt to lean them out a bit and use body weight instead. Ugh, jump squats here I come!

Yup, I think I'll listen to her...

So yeah, my legs hurt today and they'll hurt tomorrow too....but it's a good pain, right?