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2010-11-29T08:27:00.001-05:00

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2010-11-19T07:25:00.002-05:00

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Spinning and running. 8 miles to go!

2010-11-17T16:41:00.003-05:00

Wednesday~ Is it Friday yet??
I am tired. Not the too much exercise kind of tired either- for real! I can't sleep kind of tired. It stinks.

I ran today! 3 whole miles on the treadmill before spin class. It was a 9:45 pace. 8 more miles to go for the week!

Spin was an oldie but a goodie. It was a repeating interval, only it got longer every time we started it. The first one was 3 minutes long, then 6, 9 and 13 for the last interval. The moves were:
flat road with resistance
climb
jumps
recover (always 1 minute long today)
I think the class went by fairly quickly and I got a few claps and "thank you's" today- I usually take that as a good sign.

I have a personal training client tonight and that's it.

On tap for tomorrow:
Spin class at 5:30 am (subbing)
Extreme HIT spin class at 7:15 PM -- 90 minutes of fun is what I like to call it.

Busy Tuesday.....

2010-11-16T23:33:00.004-05:00

Today I met with my "trainer" from the YMCA. We talked a lot about my metabolic testing on the bike and about on the treadmill ( future test). I got a lot of questions answered and am very excited for what's to come. I hope to retest the bike on Sunday afternoon-I only have to fast 3 hours for this one. YES! After I do the treadmill test ( hopefully next week), Ryan will come up with lots of useful info for me to use for training. I will have new HR parameters for the bike ( most likely--he thinks I was nervous/anxious during the first test/TOM/ allergies) lots of factors might have swayed my results and he expects ( knock on wood), that my new results will be improved. We talked a lot longer than I expected so I was unable to get any running miles in. Booo! I have 0 miles for the week thus far. With that being said ( or written) I cannot believe it's only Tuesday! I have plenty of time to get in 11 miles. I better.

Today was also the last meeting for my new moms group! They were a fun group ( they grew on me!) and they will be missed!

I taught Cardio Sculpt at 4:15 today. It was good.
Dumbbell swings
plank + knee in's
squat thrusts
jumping jacks with body bar
abs on the ball
and a whole bunch of other stuff!

90 minute spin endurance was the last stop of the day.
I lent out my HR monitor to a fear friend so I felt lost during class! haha...I still survived and I would bet that I actually stayed in my Zone........

Now it's 11:45 PM and I am wide awake. The Spin class is over at 8:45 PM. I am wired.

Sunday- active recovery and pain (yoga), Monday Spin...

2010-11-15T13:50:00.004-05:00

Sunday!
was able to get in about 40 minutes of cardio in my recovery zone on the elliptical. I did this while watching Kendra. Don't judge! The show cracks me up-she is CRAZY. After the elliptical I headed on over to Sun Salutations Yoga class....ugh. It was harder than last week ( which was hard, by the way). It was good though. I only took one break this week. I assume it's helping me-right?!?! This makes 3 weeks in a row that I have made this class. I am still hoping to keep it up.
My goal for running this week is 11 miles.

Monday- Spin at 10. I did a strength interval class today. Lots of flat roads with resistance, a few big hills (1) eight minute hill and 5 mins worth of sprinting today. Woah. It was good though. The class only had one empty bike today too! It's that time of year! The weather is turning colder -again.

Saturday- I met my goal. Woohoo!

2010-11-14T11:10:00.005-05:00

Saturday- Woohooo I ran. I actually ran over 2 miles and I did it outside. I made my goal of 10 miles this week- I actually ran 10.2 but who's counting? ( me, that's who). I tried to stay within my Zone 2 HR zone. The only this is this is my cycling heart rate zone, so I am guessing that will be different from my running zones. I was running very slowly, but honestly it felt comfortable and doable. I think if I ran much faster I would have gotten discouraged and might have not met my goal. Sad, but true. I know how my mind works!

It was a brisk day for sure. The weather was in the 40's which I usually enjoy, but I also am usually accustomed to running in it by now. Not so much these days. IT was my first time outdoors for a run (read: without my daughter ) in months. I wore long Nike dri-fit loose pants and a long sleeve technical top with my cotton gloves. I felt very comfortable with this ensemble. My hands, of course were freezing, but I knew that would happen.
I ran a 10:27 pace. I really hope I can keep it up and get my pace up, all the while sticking with this Heart Rate training stuff. It's very fascinating to me for some reason!

I hope to do a nice recovery workout for at least 45 minutes...I am shooting for 60 minutes, but not sure that will happen. I also plan on my yoga at 4 pm. If I make it, this will be the 3rd week in a row. It's a great way for me to (kind of) de-stress and get ready for an active week ahead!

Thursday and Friday spins of course...and hydration!

2010-11-12T23:01:00.004-05:00

Thursday- My plan was to run 2-4 miles in my recovery zone in the morning and teach my 90 minute spin at night.
What actually went down was just teaching, which was fine by me! My daughter had a half day on Thursday and was actually dismissed a full hour sooner that I thought. That did not leave me enough time to get to the gym ( booo hooo).
My 90 minute high intensity spin was a lot of fun. Last week I guess I was just getting my feet wet. I actually stopped sweating last week whilst teaching...not good.
I learned my lesson this time. I was a sweating fool- sweatin' like a dude for the entire class. Whew and gross. It was a good session though so that is all that really matters.
After class ( it ends at 8:45 PM) I am too wired and hungry and awake to sleep. But I have to, since I have to get right back up at 4:15 AM to teach my 5:30 AM spin. Well, being hydrated helped me out again. Last Friday upon waking up I felt DRY and tired(exhausted is more like it). Today I just felt tired. Success!
Friday- Spin at 5:30 AM-strength intervals. Nice and deceptively difficult ( so I was told). I planned on hopping on the elliptical for 15 minutes, but that quickly turned into 35 after my buddy spotted me and we gabbed for a little too long. Ooops!
I went back to the gym with intentions of running 4 miles since my goal is to do 10 miles before Sunday! Well....I ran 2 and then walked about 15 minutes on the treadmill. My previous workouts caught up to me. But, I was still hydrated. Take that!
I have an idea in my head at this moment ( 11:10 PM) that I might run 6 miles tomorrow--outside! Stay tuned.....

Tuesday and Wednesday Recap--runnin' and spinnin'

2010-11-10T08:28:00.002-05:00

Tuesday- I ran 2.2 miles on the treadmill today and it still felt good. I only had 20 minutes to get some cardio on. I need to make a small goal of mileage per week. This week I will be smart and set it at 10 miles total. I hope to make it outdoors at least once as well.

I participated in the 90 minute spin class later. It was great. It's the endurance class so it taps into your fat stores as fuel. Good to know. My stomach was actually rumbling towards the end of class. I was starving by the time I was done. I hope to be able to do this class every Tuesday night!! According to the instructors bike computer we went almost 37 miles! Woah!!

Gotta go--off to teach Spin!

Monday! Back to the grind....

2010-11-08T22:01:00.002-05:00

Monday~ Spin at 10 am! I repeated the same class I taught last Thursday. The one called Calorie Burner. It was a hit so I thought it would be again. It was. Whew. It felt good to get back at it today. My week was very hectic last week, but I won't complain-I love that organized chaos stuff.

Later at home I did 6 rounds of this weightless circuit:
15 lunges per leg
10 jumping lunges per leg
5 push ups to squat

it was hard! It took me 9:08 seconds to do this. I am going to try to do this again this week, but will shoot for 10 rounds. Ugh. It was tough.

I might try to run a few miles tomorrow on the treadmill before my new moms class.
It was a good day.

Sunday- active recovery and pain (yoga)

2010-11-08T08:48:00.004-05:00

Sunday~ Light cardio for 20 minutes and then 45 minutes of torture. Yoga I mean. I totally stink at it. It was even harder than last week! One thing I am happy about: it's 45 minutes now and not 60! Whew! These Sun Salutations are no joke either. I am not the worst in the class, but my goal is to be as flexy as the chicks in the front row (I stay in the back!)
I was still pretty sore and tired on Sunday. I felt busy ( cuz I was), all weekend long and did not have much of a weekend. Oh well- Bring on the week !

Friday and Saturday ( Spin class #8 and #9 for the week) DONE!

2010-11-06T15:40:00.005-04:00

Friday~ Spin in the AM-what else?!??! I had an almost full class. According to the bike computer we rode almost 13.5 miles To be honest, I have no idea what style of class I taught--being that it was class #8 for the week--they all seemed to get lumped together. I do remember feeling extremely dry and exhausted when I woke up. I was so dehydrated from the night before. I drank lots before bed too, but apparently it was not enough. My legs were pretty much shot too.
Totally Toned at noon. I had 2 new people and I usually join in when this happens- not today though. I was too tired and sore for that! They both did perfectly well too. I was able to demonstrate the moves and help them when necessary. I was too pooped for much else.

Saturday~ Power Spin at 7:45am.....or make that 7:30am! Great. I had a FULL class and the instructor I was subbing for ALWAYS ( so I was told) starts class at 7:30--even though the schedule clearly states 7:45. So I waltz in at 7:28am....they are already on the bikes ( my friend opened the door as she was getting nervous that I was not going to show up). I started the music and they were off. I excused myself of my tardiness and they were fine with it ( to my face anyways). Class was pretty darn awesome. I "borrowed" the workout from an online site to get the idea. I changed it slightly but not much. The borrowed profile was a tad more difficult than what I was looking for ( maybe if this was class #2 of the week and not #9 I would have done the tougher version). On a good note- I taught off the bike for a moment...it was breif, but I did it! It will get easier the more I do it I am sure. It was a nice little break. I was able to coach the class and walk around and look at form from a different angle. Did I mention that it was a nice little break?? We road about 25 miles in class today. So glad to be done with my craaaazy week!
I know my butt should take a full day of rest tomorrow, but so far I plan to do very light cardio ( my only excuse is that I have not been able to do my own thing at all this week, so tomorrow is my chance!) I got a new library book and I can read that or a magazine or watch TV while keeping my HR in Zone 1 ( recovery baby!!). There is the yoga that I NEED to do weekly as well. Hopefully I get to do something though.

Spinning and more spinning.....(sounds like a repeat post, but it's NOT)

2010-11-05T04:36:00.002-04:00

Thursday part II-

Is it Saturday ( 8:46 am to be exact) yet??? That will be the last class i have to teach this week, and then I will be able to collapse from exhaustion.
90 minute class last night. I had all intentions of teaching off the bike again, BUT---- the bike has a new computer that shows mileage ( we rode 30.4 by the way), so if I got off my bike, the class would have no idea how far they rode!! That would be very unfair now wouldn't it?!?! Yes.
I had a guy i class that appears to be very fit, and he said he had never been so tired or hungry right after a class before. My work here is done. Ha.
Gotta go---off to teach! ( for reals!)

Spinning and more spinning.....

2010-11-04T08:41:00.002-04:00

Wednesday~ All I did today was teach 1 spin class! Ha....it seems like a low-key day since I only did one thing. I needed it though-busy, active days ahead of me. It was a tough interval class that I planned on taking it easy in. I just can't hold back sometimes.
On my training schedule I had 2 hours of cardio. No tanks! I actually have plans to meet with my "trainer" next week to possibly modify my training schedule. I think I might have to cut it down to 3 or 4 training days---6 days on top of what I do for a living is kinda killing me. Even though this week is not the norm for me. So, until I meet with him I will not be adhering to my training. I don't feel like a quitter of failure either-- it was just not working for me.

Thursday- So far I have taught one Spin class today. Later this evening I will teach my 90 minute ride! It was fun on Tuesday, so I hope it's fun today as well.
This mornings class was packed-every bike (24) was occupied. I am so glad I planned a killer strength ride too. The class was very vocal during the climbs--lots of whopping and hollering this morning!
I am thinking about doing some yoga here at home......but I am so tired. I might just close my eyes for 30 minutes while Miles sits next to me watching " My favorite show", which is basically any kid show on TV!

Is it Friday yet??

2010-11-02T20:45:00.004-04:00

NOPE!! I wish! Although my Friday and Saturday is still busy with teaching!
I am subbing A LOT this week. First up was today- 9- minute Extreme Intensity Spin. Woah! It was kind of fun. The best part was that I was able to train within my specific heart rate parameters. I felt as if I had a real goal in class. The bad part was that only people showed up! One did not have a HR monitor and the other one forgot his!! There was 1 extra and the guy that did not have one? I think he could have cared less! Oh well..... They seemed to have enjoyed the class. It was Loooong!

I also had my new mom's class today....I took it easy on myself and let the ladies loose in the gym. Well, they had some specifics and I supervised. We then moved it into the studio for core and ball work. No weights today, but you would have thought I was killing those gals! They are funny, but most of them worked really hard today and had lots of questions. I love questions-especially when I know the answer!

Cardio Sculpt was later. I was beat by the time this class started. Green tea does nothing for me in terms of a caffeine kick. Nope. I pulled it together and did a nice circuit style mash-up. It went something like this:

Cardio:
squat jumps R (8)
jabbing sequence
squat jumps L (8)
upper cuts
3 times total

Sculpt:
Shoulder Press
Hammer curls
(lots of each!)

Cardio:
high low punches (r)
repeat (l)
kicks
3 times total

Scuplt:
15Wood chop (ball)/side
Crunches on ball-15 slow

Cardio:
ski hops (r) 4
repeat (l)
1 Burpee ( set 3 = 6 burpees)
fast alt ski hops
3 times total

Sculpt:
plank hold + alt punches (8)
Plank toe taps (8)
2 sets

Cardio:
hooks (r) 8
repeat l
jump rope sequence/ and jump jacks
3 times total

Sculpt:
triceps kickbacks
side lunge + knee lift (lots)
Lots!

I added more cardio, hamstring curls on the ball and roll ups... and then repeated all the abs again. Whew. Squat jumps always make me hurt immediately.

After class i had to go grocery shopping-- I am so glad I remembered to pack clean clothes to change into because I was a sweaty beast.

Sun Salutations and I ran again.

2010-11-01T18:58:00.004-04:00

My PC has a virus and I should not even be on it..but I am.

Sunday~ Yoga class for 45 while minutes!! YAY! Finally........ It was a Sun Salutations class....it basically went like this:
down dog
plank
forward fold
monkey
mountain pose
swan dive
plank
crocodile
plank
repeat for 45 minutes!

She threw in a few shoulder stretches for good measure
this was freakin; hard! I am sure I have mentioned once or twice ( or a million times), how much I need to take yoga regularly?? Well, I do. I really, really hope to be able to add this in on Sunday (my "off" day from exercise).

Monday~ 5 am here I am. Ugh. I could not sleep, so why not head to the gym ( sounds like a problem to me). I am glad I got up though. I had 61 minutes to do for my HR training and I did it all on the treadmill. Almost 6 miles worth of intervals. My avg. HR was 157. It went well. I miss running. Officially.

After that I did a short and sweet weight circuit:
3x8
plank to shoulder press
bent over rows
front squats
biceps curls
( I almost puked after set 2, but could not stop..too many witnesses)

Core for 15 minutes straight
3x15
crunches
toe dips
plank hold( 30 seconds)
My abs were on fire. I know I was engaging all the right things and taking my time this morning...I hate working abs directly. That's probably why it burns so much cuz I don't do it enough. Lesson learned? Probably not.

Spin class was at 10 am-- intervals today. I think they went well. I need to start trying to teach off the bike. I do a lot of activity and find myself kind of fatigued all week. The only time I taught off the bike was when I was 8 months preggo and my belly touched the handle bars ( true story). I know I am still an effective instructor off the bike-I just need to get used to doing that again.
That's it.

The rest of the week!

2010-10-30T14:10:00.003-04:00

Thursday~ Active Recovery and weight training. I needed the recovery. I was pooped!!! I tried to lift weights before the cardio session. It did not go so well. I got though this circuit:

3 x10
Lat pull down
Biceps Curls

(3) 30 second planks with 15 second rest between.

3x10

Shoulder press
Squats

planks again.

So as you can see, this was not much of a full body routine, but I am glad I just did something. My legs were so fatigued!

I did my cardio on the elliptical (duh) and walked on an incline for about 15 minutes to finish it off. Whew. That's all for Thursday!

Friday~
Zone 3 Heart Rate for 1 hour. My Zone is 154-167. I averaged 158 for the duration. I started on the treadmill and ran 2 miles! It's been awhile. I then hopped on the elliptical and then finished off on the treadmill again and ran 1.5 miles. It was hard in the beginning and then the feeling past and I was in my groove. It felt pretty awesome--especially when I was done!

Late that night I had to teach Spin- I kept my HR in Zone 3 ( 142-154) with a 149 average knowing I had a nice long recovery on tap for Saturday.

Saturday- Active Recovery for 80 minutes! Mission Accomplished! 80 minutes on the spin bike with an average Heart Rate of 138. Aaaaah! I am sure my body needed this. I am not good at taking a whole day off without doing anything so active recovery is right up my alley!

Sunday is to by my day off from activity..and it might be. Or I will try to go to a yoga class to help this aching body.
All in all this has been a great week. I can't wait to see how next week goes.

Epic FAIL. Lessons Learned ( I think).

2010-10-27T16:44:00.004-04:00

Today's plan for my "new" training. Epic FAIL! I had very good intentions of doing my 120 minutes of straight cardio. Yup, 2 hours. The plan was to have a heart rate of 148-154 for 2 minutes and 1 minute of 167-168 for 2 hours! I am not sure if I am not used to the 5 am workouts anymore (horrible excuse), or that I could not work hard enough on the elliptical to get my HR up in time. I think I figured this out on Monday, but I just had to be sure.
First up: elliptical. I lasted 15 minutes.
Next up: Step Mill. I lasted 6 minutes.
3rd round: Treadmill. I lasted 8 minutes.
4th try: Elliptical (different model than the first) 15 -20 minutes ish.
5th try: Spin Bike! FINALLY. The last 45 ish mintues I kind of did the right workout.

So frustrating. I now know that:
#1 if the Spin room is occupied- I have to push myself on a different machine--no matter what.
#2 2 hours of this workout on the spin bike is going to suck.
#3 I will do it next week. Whatever it takes. That's how I roll.
I figured that this week and this new training will be me figuring stuff out and that next week will be the real deal. I like to make my own rules as you can see. I also plan on getting my eats in gear next week as well. If I want this HR thing to work I also have to fuel appropriately. I am burning a minimum of 500 cals ( that's my low estimation) a day through exercise. Today for example it was about 900 give or take a few. That's a lot and not normal for me. So I need to fuel the right way ( cookies = not the right way--dangit). I have not felt too hungry, but I can already see some changes in my body and it's only been since Monday. It's mostly water I know that, but still. I don't want to be a skinny chick with no energy. Not good.
Sooooo, after that lesson on HR and pushing myself I had to venture back to the gym to teach my Spin class. It went well, and I was not as pooped out as I thought I would be. Probably mental. I am pooped now. I am also very sore from my first personal training session. I hope to do it again on Monday. I am on my own for weights tomorrow though.....hope I am not as sore and tired. Off to FUEL ( homemade pizza night). Yum. * picture of Miles--he must be pooped too......or he just likes to sleep in the hallway at night.

Monday-Spin, Weights, elliptical. Tuesday-Active recovery and yoga-yup, yoga!

2010-10-26T10:06:00.005-04:00

Monday- Race Day Spin today...... I used a repeat class and revamped it a bit. New music and a few new moves and viola. New class. I used my new HR parameters as well. I like having something that makes sense finally!

Totally Toned was next on the list. I usually sit it out after race day and today was no exception! It was a fun class to instruct, I was able to incorporate the exercise stability balls in today's class for some variety. I hope to do this more often this session. Lots of laughs were had!

So that was my classes for the day. With my new training I am not to count my class instruction as a true workout. Awesome.

I headed back to the gym after getting the girl from school to weight train with Ryan. It was a lot of fun. Not overly difficult, but I am not complaining. I have not lifted in months (regularly).

He had me throwing an 8 lb. medicine ball overhead--let it bounce no more than 1 time and then do it again for about 8 passes. Walking lunges with medicine ball rotation, 1 leg squats, 1 leg hamstring curls with the stability ball, push ups, pull-ups, jumping lunges, BOSU push ups + burpee, TRX rows and, and, and. Whew. Oh, we ended with core. I loathe working my core, but I know it will only make running as well as cycling and just about every physical activity easier!

After that torture, it was time to torture myself with my first prescribed workout- It was called Threshold 3. I had 5 minutes of intervals for 60 minutes total. I thought for sure I would stop at 15 minutes in. By minute 25 I found my groove and there was no stopping me now until that darn elliptical said 60:00complete! Ugh. It was pretty hard. Thankfully, I only have to have my heart rate up super high ( 167-168) for 1 minute. It took me about 35 seconds to get it up that high ( I was at 154 at the time). So I need to work on that next time- I was not working hard enough apparently. Gah!

That brings me to today (Tuesday!). My active recovery day! Yay! I got up at dark thirty to hit the elliptical again. My goal was to keep my heart rate between 132-142 for 60 minutes. Mission complete! I averaged 137 beats per minute for the duration. I don't get bored surprisingly. I think it's because I am constantly looking at my Heart Rate monitor --time pretty much flies by that way.

Once at home I actually did some yoga/stretching for a whole 45 minutes! Let's see if I can continue this. Twice a week would be ideal, but I will shoot for once a week for now.

I will be instructing my New Mom's class in a few hours, but I think it will be mostly a cardio day for them on the machines and track and core work and stretching is the plan so far. Well, that depends on if we have a tornado!

Sunday----Metabolic Test.

2010-10-25T07:00:00.001-04:00

Sunday~ Kind of a rest day for me...maybe closer to an active rest day.
I took a test today. 2 metabolic tests to be exact. In a nutshell I found out my true resting heart rate as well as my active metabolic performance training zones as it relates to my cycling.
I got all my correct heart rate zones and stuff. I can't wait to use my Zone 3 ( 154-167 bpm) during my race day spin tomorrow! ( I was on the bike for about 10 minutes with a horrible face mask on-- huffing and puffing away....)
I found out that when I am active that 80% of my calorie expenditure is through FAT! Woohoo!! And 20% is through carbs. Apparently this is really good news according to my tester. The test showed that I am very well conditioned and have a pretty decent aerobic base. I just need to maintain it. I received a boatload of information too. Even a training schedule of when to be in what Zone, for how long etc. Lots to learn!
I asked my tester (Ryan) if it was realistic for me to want to fit i weights on my own. He basically said that when I teach it does not count as my own workout! I actually knew this already, but it was nice ( or not!???! depends...) to hear it from a true expert!
Sooooo, my program calls for2 days of strength training. Tomorrow might be my first crack at this, with Ryan! He's pretty tough and I have never had a trainer before, so this might be fun. Oh, it will be. I hope it all works out and I am able make the appointment.
So, it was kind of an easy day exercise wise for me even though I worked hard for a short period of time.

Saturday-taking it easy!

2010-10-24T09:24:00.004-04:00

Saturday- It was a very easy day. 45 minutes or so on the elliptical-not letting my HR get past 150. I read a lot. It was nice! I had to take it easy because I am taking a metabolic test on Sunday (today) and was not to push myself the day before the test. I am kind of nervous and excited. The test will be hard! I have to go all out on the bike so I can get my true HR biking parameters! Yahoo..finally. I hope I don't suck! I have not eaten anything since 11 pm last night and can't eat until after my test (noon today) T-minus 2.5 hours. Please hurry up. I love to eat. I miss food.....
I will be teaching a 90 minute High Intensity Spin class that starts in a few weeks and it will be all HR based--very interested to see my results.

I also have a Race Day planned for tomorrow's spin class where I can do my first "test" using my heart rate numbers.

Friday!!!!

2010-10-22T14:35:00.002-04:00

Friday!
Early Spin. My class numbers are still good-whew!
I taught the same giant hill/strength class as I taught on Wednesday. I rearranged the music and all went well. After that, my friend and I headed to the Human Performance Lab to fiddle with the TRX contraptions again. I was pretty much tired and sore from Cardio Sculpt last night, but I was able to bang out a few (4) pull ups for 4 sets. I also did 3 sets of TRX rows. I did a few planks and stretched a bit and that was enough for me.

Totally Toned looked fun ( from where I sat). They used the exercise ball for ball lunges, abs, back and wall sits today. TGIF!

Thursday- no spinning today....

2010-10-21T21:30:00.003-04:00

Thursday-
Well I got my hair did today! That consisted of 3 hours in a chair. That always makes me sleepy. I was not able to take the noon spin today ( Booo!). I taught my Cardio Sculpt at 4:15 though. It was a combo of kickboxing/weights/core/more cardio....lots of stuff that did not make sense, but I guess it really did! My 1 participant enjoyed herself....so did I!
That's all for Thursday.

Tuesday and Wednesday Recap-- Elliptical sessions and Spinning....

2010-10-20T13:17:00.004-04:00

Tuesday- The elliptical and me are attached at the hip lately. Nothing else in the gym seems appealing at this time. SO that's what I did...about 30 minutes on the elliptical before I met with my new mom's group. I put their butts on the elliptical this time for 20 minutes and then 2 laps around the track. We moved it to the studio after that for some weights and core work.
I try to do something different each session- we use the Body Bars this time. I made them ( OK, suggested) use heavier bars and dumbbells this time. A few of them mentioned that they want arms like me...I assured them 1-2 lbs weights is not how to accomplish that......
We went through 2 sets of 12 reps:
Squat/lunge sequence
1 arm rows
----------------------
front squat
lat pull downs
---------------------
triceps exts.
and about 5 minutes of straight abs/core
--------------------------------------------
I can see a lot of improvements each week (attitudes and effort)-whew!

Wednesday- 30 minutes on the elliptical with a HR between 150-159.
Spin class after that. Strength workout today--long hill intervals and new music = successful and happy class. One girl mentioned that she thought she was gonna hurl--not my mission, but she was either working at her max HR for a while or is coming down with something!
That's it for today-I have a PT client this evening.

Monday, Monday......

2010-10-19T08:58:00.003-04:00

Monday~ I think I am done with my pity party- until race day! Just keepin' it real up in here! The Boston Marathon made history when it sold out in 7 hours! That is amazing!!!! I knew I was not going, but it made me feel a little bit better knowing there was no chance now! Ha..whatever it takes. UNTIL my friend texted me saying a woman in our running group can't use her confirmed entry to Boston for some reason and I might want to see if I can get hers. I didn't ask any questions, but I am doubtful she would just donate it to me cuz that's the only way I would get to race in Boston- if someone else paid for me! My lovely friends that are going there let me in on all the ways to save $$-drive and stay with strangers for free! I would be fine with that! No need to dwell on the shoulda/coulda/woulda-it just gives me a headache.

So on to Monday's Spin class. I did a repeating interval class. I have not taught one in a very long time. I always get frustrated trying to come up with the timing that works....well I figured it out and I think the class went very well! It was 6 minutes of fast intervals ( runs, jumps etc) followed by a 5 minute progressive hill. I let the class decide what type of hill they wanted to do, as long as it was different every time. Some people like that they get to choose, and some freak out and just do what I do! I am fine with that. Sometimes you just don't feel like thinking too much and rely on the instructor (me) to tell you what to do- that's what it's all about!
Totally Toned- I had every intention of participating, but I guess I changed my mind. There were 3 ladies that showed up today. We had a great time scaring the non-mother in class with our birth stories! Ahhhh! We let her in on things we wished our so called friends had told us! I hope we did not scare her too much...it was all in good fun though.

Recaps.........

2010-10-18T13:28:00.003-04:00

Saturday- Elliptical for about 15 minutes and then off to Power Spin. I pretty much kept it low key in Spin. I am liking using it for a long non-Power Spin day. I still get the exercise that I NEED and can do it at a lower intensity if I choose. I think I averaged a 150 heart rate.
Saturday was also Amara's Kid's Marathon! She ran the whole thing which was her goal! YAY! She was so proud of herself...I was proud of her too. She appeared to have a lot of fun and even said, " That was a lot easier than I thought!" She had a nervous tummy before the race and even hit the bathroom (#1) at least 3 times in 3o minutes before the race! She is an athlete folks! Ha ha! After the race we stayed at the YMCA for the Harvest Fest they were putting on. While there she ( done by yours truly) got her nails painted, face painted and played a few games. It was a nice afternoon.

Sunday~ Sunday was the Grand Rapids Marathon! Lots of people from my running group were there and did a great job. My husband's fishing buddies sister ( does that make sense???) won the over all female marathon (2:45 and some change) She is set to go to the Olympic Trials now. It was so awesome to see her running to the finish-I can't fathom running that fast--ever!
The weather was perfect and I had fun taking pics and watching friends qualify for The Boston Marathon. A friend of mine squeaked by with 40 seconds to spare! Talk about a nail biter!
With that being said, today is the first day of signs ups for the race....I have gotten multiple emails/texts/ and Face Book messages asking/telling/ exclaiming about this. Ugh! I am happy for my friends ( really, I am.) This is harder than I thought though!! I think it's because it's such a fun group going that has me down. Not so much the race itself ( who am I kidding??), but the company and the fact that they think this will be there last marathon ever too ( we all say that though....).
My brother knows of my wallowing in self pity today and brought over a wine cooler! Ha ha. My cycling buddy gave me homemade baked goods--pumpkin cookies and some pumpkin bread!! The baked goods are easing the sadness a bit I must admit! It's too early for the wine cooler! I still have to pick Amara up from school!

Spin and hanging from the ceiling.....

2010-10-15T10:18:00.005-04:00

Friday~

Early Spin. I am liking how packed my Friday class has been for the past 3 weeks! It's very motivating, especially when I am as tired as I was (Miles strikes again). I did a repeat of Monday's tough strength interval. I just changed the music and it seemed like a brand new ride. I was able to push myself more today-- most likely because I did not ride 60 miles the day before.

After class I was able to try out the TRX System we have at our gym. You can do so much cool stuff with these..the bands hang from the ceiling and you are more or less using your body weight and balance at the same time. It is tricky, but I am sure very effective once you get the hang of it. I did abs, rows, biceps, triceps, chest and deltoids on this contraption! Hopefully I will be able to incorporate this system in my workout--which I plan on revamping next month! Story of my life.....

Thursday

2010-10-15T04:36:00.003-04:00

Thursday~
Some elliptical, some weights and a spin class was on the agenda today. 20 minutes on the elliptical and about 6 upper body exercises to be exact ( chest press, shoulder press, bicep curls, triceps ext. and up right wows) I guess that's only 5--close enough!
Spin class was good. I decided to keep my heart rate in the 150 beats per minute range, because my body was kind of tired. I think it's more because I have gotten broken sleep all.week.long. (thanks Miles). I really need a nap or a massage or a nap after my massage! (I like to dream big-what can I say?)
Feeling a little less sorry for myself after my vent/rant post yesterday. It's healthy to do those posts sometimes. I swear. It's proven! I hope I don't do that too much though..I am sure it's proven that that is not helpful!

Wednesday spin..I forgot something important today.

2010-10-13T19:39:00.005-04:00

Wednesday- Spin day today. But first I was able to get to the gym by 9 AM. I normally leave my house at 9:15 ish......so I hopped on the elliptical for a bit to get some intervals in while leaving my heart rate under 160 for the duration. I must have been in la la land when I left my house today. I cleaned out my bag-- that just means I took out a few CD's and 2 notebook since I did not need them at 10 am spin. Or did I? Yep, My spin profile and music were at home. Not in my bag. Ooooops! It was 9 :40 when I noticed so I panicked. Long ( not really) story short; I was able to borrow a fellow spin instructor's iPod--luckily we pretty much have the same taste in music so it worked! The spare CD's in the spin room are 70's rock and the Glee soundtrack--umm, not so much thanks! I learned my lesson!
Today's ride was an endurance one...it went over well I think/hope!

**On a personal note-kind of a pity party rant thing--or however you want to look at it.
The Grand Rapids Marathon and half are this weekend! I won't be running, but plan to spectate and snap some pics of my teammates. The day after the race is the first day to sign up for The Boston Marathon. I won't be doing this race either ( boo sniff--no really. It SUCKS!). I am tired of people asking me why I am not running it; and that I had a whole year to plan/save/prepare etc. Duh. Tell me something I don't know people!!! I had plans of taking a month or so off from running and then really training hard for this marathon ( u know the Boston one?!?). I have a lot of fast(er) friends and I hoped that their speediness would rub off on me this winter! Boston would have been my 3rd and most likely final marathon ever. It's not my favorite distance to train for or run, but wanted to go out with a bang. I was contemplating running really well there OR running with a camera and snapping pictures along the way--guess that does not matter much now ( boo sniff again.) Ok, I think I got most of it out of my system. Happy , happy, happy!

Tuesday- nice and easy!

2010-10-12T22:41:00.002-04:00

Wednesday- I took it fairly easy today. I am sure the 1300 cals I burned on Sunday have something to do with it! I did a nice easy 35 minutes on the elliptical.
I had my new moms class after that. They did a treadmill hill climb for 15 minutes and then we headed to the studio for some weights. I did not let anyone use less than 5 lbs today. Those 1 and 2 lbs were not doing anything! I was not so easy on them today being that it is week 5 and they noticed! They pushed themselves today and they noticed! I was pretty much non-stop with the weights, planks, mountain climbers, squats...you name it we did it. I told them to expect to be challenged even more next Tuesday!
Amara is well on her way to getting in her 25 miles before the 1.2 mile "marathon" race this Saturday. She hit mile 20 today-- the map is hilarious to me. Its her running up and down the streets over and over. I was on the corner so I could watch her and Miles at the same time. Miles was not feeling going all the way around the block today! She is a trooper.

Monday

2010-10-12T09:28:00.005-04:00

Monday~ I was pretty sore from the ride, but I think I did not feel as sore as normal. If that makes any sense. Half way through the ride I took a break and stretched and had some whey protein. They say that the protein will help with recovery. I'm not saying I felt super today, but I felt better then I felt after riding 40 miles. I did not do the protein then. So who knows. I might have to ride 60 miles next week and experiment again!
Spin was good. The first 10 minutes was not so fun. My legs were pretty stiff, but after the blood got flowing I was able to put in a good effort. Lots of steep hills today (what was I thinking!?!?!) It was actually an old workout. I made a few modifications and added more recoveries as well as a new play list and voila! A brand new class. Nobody knew--until I told them.

Totally Toned. I went in with few expectations from myself. Good thing too. After I performed 4-5 squats I knew it was best I not join in!
I know I keep saying it over and over, but I really need to find a yoga class. One that holds my attention and is also beneficial! I need that.

Sunday-big miles on the bike and big miles for the kid!

2010-10-10T22:07:00.005-04:00

Big ride! ( for me!)

Big miles ( for Amara!)

50+ big ones today on the road bike. Clear skies, a bit of sun and lots of fun. Nice getaway and stress reliever too! The first 23 ish miles were mostly flat and we held a pretty good/steady pace. The last 25 ish had some nice rolling hills, a few giant hills and a scary dog that I thought was going to bite my leg. I don't think he (it had to be a boy dog!) had the invisible fence either. That made me ride faster; that's for sure! We started to fizzle around mile 32, but somewhere around 41 we started to pick it up again. The trails were busy today with people--it got harder to keep a good pace from slowing down to move out of the way, but I am still pleased with our pace overall. I am already sore...spin class and totally toned should be eventful tomorrow.

Amara's miles! She was a trooper. Click on the link above to see The Route! Pretty funny...it's her running up and down the sidewalk in front of our house! We did make it around the block once and then she continued in front of the house until she accomplished 1.5 miles! She was awesome. A few times I saw a certain look on her face-- she wanted to stop. She would not look at me either (I was on the driveway watching her). I asked her about it; if she was hurt. She said she wanted to stop running, because it kind of hurt, but she kept telling herself to GO, GO, GO! She said she would say it over and over and then it did not hurt as bad. I think I created a monster here! She (we) has 8.5 more miles to get in before Saturday! She is determined enough, I think she will do it!

Saturday!

2010-10-09T23:32:00.005-04:00

Saturday~
Kind of a hurried workout today.......

Elliptical for 35 minutes..I tried to keep my HR steady ad not to drop below 150 bpm.......I pretty much did that.
I then hopped on the treadmill and did a 30:30 interval...The mile ended up being in 8:30 which is not too bad for interval style- I guess. I then walked for about 8 minutes or so on an incline still trying to keep my HR at 150. My Garmin says my avg. HR for my whole workout was 147....close enough!
I have a big road bike ride planned for tomorrow...the weather should be AWESOME...high of 77*!!! We hope to get in 50 miles..probably tack on a few more for good measure--maybe!

Tomorrow is the Chicago Marathon. Good luck to everyone and I am looking forward to reading all of your race recaps!

Thursday and Friday spins of course...and other stuff.

2010-10-08T13:36:00.004-04:00

Thursday~ Spin again! I went early to warm up for a good 12 minutes before class started. I wish I could do this before I taught...it really seems to help me have a more productive ride!
Today was a Race Day too. It was a 6 mile loop around Central Park. Really fun!

Friday- Spin! I used the same class I taught on Wednesday, but changed the 12 minute flat road. I added some standing climb power climbs to the mix to change it up. I think it was a hit. I had about 20 peeps in class today again. I am loving the bigger classes now that the weather is cooler ( never mind that the high is 74 today!)
After spin I did a weird workout..don't even know if I can remember it all.

3 pull ups ( doing some everyday all week!)
plank to shoulder press (8)
lunges off step (8)
punches w. exertubes ( 8)
2x

pull- ups (3)
TRX bands squats (8)
box jumps (8)
plank hold ( 20 sec)
2x

I am trying to get back up to doing 5 pull ups...they are hard!
I went on the elliptical and did a 15 minute quick interval workout.
Easy walk on treadmill for 10 mins.

I was killing time. Heaven forbid I get home too early and mess up Amara's plan to pour her own cereal and milk! Such a big girl!!!

Tuesday -intervals and NO Spinning ( I ran) ( what?!?!)

2010-10-06T08:30:00.004-04:00

Tuesday~ Well on Monday night I did do the isometrics workout. It's no joke folks. It was a killer and it only took me 15 minutes (not including my 3 minute mini warm up). I did this while watching my recording of Desperate Housewives ( love this stupid show). SO I do recommend this workout especially if you are always crunched for time or need something different to challenge your body.

Ok so I made it to the gym on Tuesday. I did some pretty intense intervals on the elliptical. 2:1 ratio with a 4 minute warm up. 2 minutes hard and 1 minute to recover for 25 minutes.
I then moved to the treadmill with no plan in mind. I walked for about .25 miles and then I ran for a full mile. Woohoo. I think you know you officially miss running when it felt good to run on the treadmill ( in beautiful weather). I need to figure out how to get my butt in the great outdoors again and RUN. There are a few smaller 5ks and 10K's this fall that I am looking into doing--well 1 or 2 hopefully if they are close to home.

After cardio on Tuesday I had my New Moms class. They ( most) came ready to work. I had them complete 1 mile on the track and was happy to see that most of the group Incorporated bouts of running/jogging. We then hit the weights --walking lunges anyone?? ( 1 participant asked me if I hated them as we started set #2---ha. )
No spin for me today- I missed it a little, but it's good to change it up-right?!?! Yes, it is!

Sunday- huge bike miles and Monday-tired girl.

2010-10-04T18:49:00.007-04:00

Sunday~ Big miles on the road bike today-- 40 to be exact! My furthest ride eva! It was fun. It was not fast by any means--well, it had moments of fastness, but not consistent. My friend Andi and I called it A Day to Explore! Oh, she also named the ride Trust Me--because we had no idea when to turn left or right or go straight! It was fun though. The weather was beautiful ( thank goodness). There were moments of too much wind, but nothing I could not handle I suppose. There were not many big hills. just one ginormous one that we happened to HAVE to go up, because we were on the shoulder of a kind of busy road. Not my kind of ride, but it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. The more practice I have in traffic, the better. I will always like the paved paths better though.

The map of the ride actually looks planned! But, I guess you can't see how many double-backs we actually did! http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51629512

Monday~ My back and shoulders and legs were kind of mad at me (started last night actually), I felt really fatigued. Kind of like a truck hit me....or something.

Spin class today was just ok in my opinion. I am not sure if it was because of my fatigue. It took me forever to warm up and get the kinks out! I was still able to get with it and push myself and my class (I hope) to have a successful ride. I had new music and everything! The new Maroon 5 CD is the best. I "heart"Adam Levine. He is the only male I enjoy seeing in skinny jeans- he can pull them off (figuratively, not literally--well, unless he wants to) for some reason! Anyway, what was I talking about again!??!?!

Spin...intervals, heavy hills, fast runs, and a few sprints.

Totally Toned-- I sat this one out, but I am about to do the workout in a few minutes in my living room!

Today's theme was 60 second isometric holds!

plank + glute squeeze

lateral raise hold

side plank (r)

side plank (l)

ball wall sit

all for 1 minute.....

I then had the class then do 20 reps of the following(bonus):

squats

bicep curls

step touches with exertubes

*the isometric holds were done for a total of 3 times and the bonus was done for 2 sets. My 3 participants loved to hate this one....mostly hate I think, but they did rather well!

I will give it a try minus the "bonus". It was a beneficial time filler for class! The isometrics workout should take me about 15 minutes, maybe more with kid duties!

Saturday- Recovery Spin

2010-10-02T09:57:00.003-04:00

Shhhh! Don't tell the instructor! The name of the class was Power Spin. That means POWER for 90 minutes! My average heart rate was 140 bpm. Power? Not so much. I am totally fine with that too. I needed to move today, but I also needed to be smart about it. It has been a long week for me and this morning was really just what I needed. I still knocked out 600 calories- not too bad for a recovery day. The class itself was a very good endurance profile. Those are tough classes and to make it 90 minutes is torture! The kind I usually embrace. Not today though. That is what makes Spinning such a great class. You can make each and every class your own and get out of if what you want. No pressure!
After Spin class I actually stretched in the warm pool area for at least 10 straight minutes! It felt really good. I think a massage and a nap would fit in nicely today too. It's not going to happen, but it would be nice nonetheless!
Happy Saturday!

Friday - crazy for cardio

2010-10-01T18:34:00.005-04:00

Friday~ I am glad that last Friday's spin class was not a fluke (still knocking on wood though). I had about 15 peeps show up this morning for a great workout. I did a version of my Monday class race day profile, but gave a few variations and choices....I think it went over really well.

After spin I went to the gym and did a variation of a workout from Men's Health Magazine.
It was tough!! I was supposed to do 4 sets, but I did 2 instead. I know I could have given more if I did not teach a hard spin class before!
I changed it a bit, but this is what I did:

Squat Jumps (10)
Mtn climber to push up (10)
Jump rope 90 seconds ( I did this instead of the 10 sets of shuttle sprints)
Dumbbell swings + squat ( I added this)
rest 90 seconds
Repeat for a total of 2 sets

Next Round:
Alternating lunges ( 10/per)
Squat Thrust (10)
Jump rope 90 secs
Dumbbell swings
rest 90 secs

About 5 mins. of abs

5 walking laps around the track
Whew. Done. It was good. My butt and legs hurt already. Me likey.

Thursday stuff!

2010-09-30T21:00:00.003-04:00

Well, I actually did not spin today. Can you believe it?!?! I decided to go do my own thing on the gym equipment instead.

20 minutes elliptical
5 minutes step- mill
1 lap around the track
20 minutes on the PreCore cross trainer
20 ish minutes on the treadmill fast walking on an incline.

I ran today. A whole lap (never mind that 7 laps = a mile). I ran today!
I really did not plan on doing as much cardio as I did. Honest. I got into this show on MTV called Buried Life--long story short these guys had this plan to streak at a baseball game. Hilarious. I didn't even care that I was laughing out loud and they were showing blurred out private areas, and that I work at the YMCA. Who cares? It was funny!

I taught my Cardio Sculpt later. I participated minimally again but they needed my eyes to watch their form today. Really. They did a good job! I actually got the workout from Fitness Magazine. I will post it as soon as the site is back up.

Spinning and more spinning.....

2010-09-29T12:51:00.002-04:00

Tuesday~
I did some high intensity cardio on the elliptical for 20 minutes before I met with my New Mom's class-- Healthy Minds, Healthy Bodies. I took them on the treadmills and had then do some tough intervals. After that we went to the group exercise studio and lifted some weights. They are a fun group--one lady got so hot that she took her wig off to cool down! I had to do a double take of the pile of hair laying on the counter.... ha ha!
Since I don't run anymore (arrgh!) I took the 6PM spin class; I am pretty much a regular here now since I have gone for the past 3 weeks in a row. It was a great class though. Marnie is a seasoned instructor that really knows how to motivate and puts on a great class every time. I am picking up some great tips from her too.

Wednesday~ I taught spin today. The class was OK. I was not too excited about how it went, but it's OK to have those days every so often--just not too much!
I might lift something heavy later on... not counting on it, but maybe!

The 2 hour ride that wasn't and Spin Race Day....

2010-09-28T08:41:00.005-04:00

Sunday~ Ready to ride!! Oops, the little valve on my tire/tube thing( picture) has broken off so I need to change the whole tube. Awesome. It only takes us about an hour becuase we have no idea what we are doing! We planned on riding a long distance today. 13.5 miles does not equal long mileage today. Oh well, I am just glad that my buddy Andi had a spare- Lord knows I didn't! It ended up being a nice ride despite the hour beforehand! We did the miles in about 55 minutes.

Monday~ Race Day Spin Day! I tried something new today in class. About half way into the race I had the class "do their own thing" for 5 minutes. By that I mean I told them what to do(ha) only at their own intensity. It was basically explained as 5 minutes of attacks or breakaways...I had them envision their age group rival hot on their butts....every time they got too close they were to sprint away from them. It was a tough 5 minutes if I do say so myself. My heart rate topped off at 178! Crap, that is HIGH!!!!!

The rest of the class consisted of (2) 8 minute progressive climbs and some killer flat roads. I received a few kudos at the end of class today. I am glad I tried something new!

Totally Toned was at noon. I participated in 95% of class...I think I did not do lower back and a few planks. My back hurt! I think I need to stretch...story of my life!

Recaps.........

2010-09-25T13:10:00.002-04:00

Thursday~ No running! I am ok with it. I think. Maybe not now that I thought of it a bit harder!
I took a Spin class. I decided to go a little bit earlier to warm up. This did the trick-- I was ready when class started and it did not take me the usual 10+ minutes to feel warmed up. I was able to keep my heart rate up higher too. It was a great class.

Friday - Spin instruction. It was a weird morning. I teach spin at 5:30 am on Friday and I average 8 or so people. Today there were 21! I am not sure if it was due to the crappy weather ( super windy although it was 81* at 5 am). For some reason it made me nervous too! I had only 3-4 of my "regulars" and the rest were strangers!! I think the class went well though. I had a good mix of music and the workout was a toughie. It was a 3:1 work rest ratio--that 60 second rest went by fast too!
After class I met my friend to workout a bit more. This is what we did:
20 reps for 2 rounds and 15 reps for the last round...

*jumping jacks with a body bar
*chest press with body bar
*bicep curls
* front raise
* up and downs on the step bench for speed ( 40 reps total)
* squats off the side of bench ( 40 total)
*push ups
*hip circles
*crunches
*bicycle
*plank variations

It was a good one!
I hope to do something like this every Friday for a while until I get back into running and lifting again!
I am sore today of course!

Saturday- Power Spin. 1 hour class. Good stuff!

Recaps.........

2010-09-22T09:35:00.004-04:00

My carpal tunnel seems to be dormant for the time being.......good. It sucks!

Friday- Spin instruction
Sat- OFF
Sunday-Off ( 1 mile walk run with Amara)

Monday- Spin class...it was a good one. 12 minute hill, 10 minutes of fast intervals and another 12 minute hill climb.
Totally Toned

Tuesday- Spin class. This was nuts! I was a participant today and the class was really hard. 5 sets of sprints followed by a 5 minutes hill climb--repeated 3 times.

Wednesday- I am home writing this blog and NOT teaching ( Boo sniff). Miles woke up sounding like a seal barking...so it's best not to take him around more kids. He of course barked once this morning and now seems just fine! Better safe than sorry!

I sure hope to do SOMETHING active today. Maybe yoga when he naps?? I need to move!

As you can see, I have not been doing any running. It's been over a week. The half marathon is in less than a month. As it seems, I won't be running with my group this coming Saturday either. Awesome.

Recaps galore!

2010-09-16T08:50:00.003-04:00

I will try and recap my days of last week and this week:

Last week:

Thursday- I taught a class and then rode the road bike for 22 ish miles. It was fun!

Friday- taught Spin and did a little extra cardio after that.....

Saturday- I ran 14. 7 miles with the group. I love just jumping right into my long runs...ha. After that I met my crazy friend and we rode about 12 miles in the pouring rain. It was cold and not so smart.

Sunday- 2 mile walk/run with Amara. She rocks!

THIS WEEK:

Monday- Spin and Totally Toned.

Tuesday-40 minutes of cardio at the gym in the early AM and later that afternoon a 25+ mile bike ride in the awesome weather! This was my furthest ride to date! I would like to do one 40- 50 mile ride before I have to give up the wheels.

Wednesday- Spin class and 15 minutes of extra cardio. That's it. My legs were not as bad as I thought they would be from the evening bike ride on Tuesday. Good!

So there ya have it.....the condensed version.
Carpal tunnel stinks. I usually only get it when pregnant. I am not pregnant. I have been on the computer more so that is my best guess for the annoying flare up.

Still here....

2010-09-15T16:09:00.003-04:00

I am taking a little break--my carpal tunnel is flaring up something major and I am sure it has to due with typing more on the computer.
Workouts are going well this week...even though I have not run 1 mile yet. Oooops!
I will be back soon!

:-)

Wednesday

2010-09-09T13:14:00.002-04:00

Spin day Wednesday.
Interval class that included: 2 minute climb/ 8 minute progressive flat road. repeat 3 times with a 3 minute switchback hill at the end and then you are done! It was hard, but went by quickly. No running this week...I guess I am saving myself for Saturday's 16 mile jaunt. I guess.....

Tuesday's Shenanigans

2010-09-07T22:30:00.005-04:00

Today was my daughter's first day of 1st grade. It was weird for me, but I survived ( so did she).

Miles asked about her just about every 10 minutes.

He and I headed ff to the gym for some playtime.

I made up a sort of cardio-weight circuit for myself. It went like this:

step mill intervals 20 mins

upper body circuit ( shoulder press/biceps curls/push ups) 3x10

Elliptical steady state 20 mins

upper body circuit ( upright rows/bent over rows/triceps ext.) 3x10

stair master 10 mins.

lame stretches for 2 minutes.

I decided to skip running club tonight. This seems to be a continuous theme for me lately!

It was really windy out and that would not be good for my allergies/breathing right!?!? I felt I was setting myself up for failure if I attempted to run in the Gail winds. They are bad. Really.

I headed off to spin class instead. It was awesome. The music and fore mat were great. It was a strength class that did not have any given recoveries for the most part. Nice.

My legs are pretty much toast already and it's only Tuesday. Oops.

Weekend Update + Monday.

2010-09-06T20:28:00.003-04:00

Saturday~ perfect weather for running. I was able to wear carpi's and a long sleeve shirt. Already! I love that actually.
12 miles. Or 12 miles of torture. The first half mile was straight up- hill (true story). What a way to warm up! I was running with my middle of the pack friends that were going a bit faster than normal ( or was I slower??). It was kind of hard. One of my slower runner friends showed up and we ended up running together. Now that the run is over I wonder how I could have done/felt if I would have stayed with the fast chicks. Makes me upset at the moment, but those hills kind of took my confidence away- real fast. Too late to find out now. It won't help to dwell on that. Did I mention all the hills????
Sunday~ Road biking with my friend. She just got a sweeeeeet road bike for her birthday. I helped her husband conspire to make it a surprise. We went for a nice 12 + mile ride. She is a natural. I was pretty much eating her dust for most of the ride as I was "teaching" her how to shift and attack the hills. She was like a little kid. I think my legs were toast from the day before--although she was super fast regardless of my excuses!
Monday~ Met my friend again and 2 more for 16 miles on the bikes. Where did we ride you ask...well the same dumb hills that I ran on Saturday, of course! The hills were just as bad too. (probably worse! haha) Ugh. Those downhills scare me.....we were all squealing and breaking as we coasted down them too. It was fun to ride with a group. Sadly, the days of having a bike are getting less and less. The owner will probably want his bike back soon. Boooo! It was good while it lasted! I just need to come up with a plan so I can borrow someone elses bike next spring!

Wed-Friday! Spinning mostly- ( no running so far)

2010-09-03T17:26:00.005-04:00

Wed-Spin today........26 mins worth of hill climbing.........that is all!
Thurs- Spin today! Ha....I took a class. I also went on the elliptical for about 15 minutes. Tonight was also the first class of an 8 week session of Cardio Sculpt I am teaching. Lots of lunges and other stuff to blast the butt.
Fri-Early morning spin class (repeat of the 6 mins. of hills--what was I thinking?!??!) It was good. I contemplated lifting weights, but was kind of feeling Thursday night's Cardio Sculpt, so I did the elliptical (very easy level intervals) for 30 minutes while I read the new issue of Runner's World. Sometimes my time at the gym is the only way I can read and actually comprehend what I just read.

Too bad I have not put any miles in on the road this week. I was not feeling it and my allergies were sky high and, and, and I suck! :-)
This weekends long run is 12 miles. The high is 63...I cannot wait! Love this weather!!!!!! I sure hope it proves that I was not a total slacker this runing season--and that it was in fact my allergies and the humidity (pleeeease!!!). Wish me luck tomorrow.

Race Day Spin......

2010-08-31T06:32:00.003-04:00

Monday- Today was Race Day in Spin class. I always tell the participants to take it easy on Sunday and to give it their all on Monday race day. I never follow that advice myself. Until this time! What a difference! I usually workout on Sunday and possibly run a few miles before Spin on Monday. Well, this time I took Sunday off and slept in ( well 7:30 AM) on Monday morning. I did not plan either of those event, but it happens.
This may have been one of my best performances at a race day yet. Close to it. I was able to push myself to the brink and back! My heart rate was high and steady at times and I was able to take it even higher from there. That usually does not happen too often for me. My Garmin says that my avg. heart rate was 153-- that's included in the warm up and cool down AND the 7 minutes after class that I forgot to shut my watch off. So I wonder what it really was....most likely higher than 153 bpm.
Also different this time was the actual ride. I had more flats then hill climbs and I made a point to tell my class that. I think that mentally for non bikers ( not me anymore!!) it's hard to really push yourself on the flat road when you are used to recovering here. Not the case today. My class was rockin' it today!
Today started a new 8 week session for Totally Toned. I have a a bunch of new faces in class. I did the whole workout today too! haha..so there is 1 full body weight workout for me.
Let's see class consisted of the following exercises-- we did a lot of reps with light weights, pulses and so on.

Plie squats (and regular squats)
lat raises (and front raises)
lunges (and more lunges!)
Leg lift series ( lots)
Abs ( about 200 ish)
stretching

I hope I did not scare the new peeps away!

Grand Rapids Mud Run Race Recap

2010-08-29T17:00:00.008-04:00

1.Running the course (I have pink on!)

2. After the race.

3- Losing my shoe!

Let me say that this was possible my toughest 5k ever. I would also like to say that is was by far the most FUN I have ever had in a race--any distance!

The turnout was HUGE!!! My bib number are 1416 and I saw a bib number in the 1900's...( I would check the web site but it has been down due to over capacity!)

Ok-- so the race was very organized. I was surprised. The Team racers started at 8:00 am, the competitive 5k was at 9:00 am and the "for fun" runners and walkers were at 10: am. The cool and smart thing ( besides the start times), was they let about 100 runners go at a time 1 minute apart. Very smart!

I was in the 9 am group and in wave 3. The first obstacle was a slide ( garbage bags with dish soap squirted all over it!) it was fast and kind of hard on the butt! Or was the huge dirt pile first?? I might have those flip flopped.

After that there were a few small mud patches that were not bad at all. This is where I forget what order the obstacles came in-- so these might be out of order, but that's ok.

Running though tires Army style baby! There were a lot of tires too!!

Big Mud Pit (aka Swamp Fever)-- deep, soft suction cup mud. I lost a shoe and sock. I found the shoe (whew) after a minute or 2 and was off and running with mud up to my knees. Next up were a few barriers to hop over-- not too taxing, but still- I had to hop over something during a 5k- NOT NORMAL!

Tall climbing structures to climb up x4! Ugh. (Jericho's Walls).

Tunnel to crawl through (cuts and bruises on my knees and elbows to prove it!) 3 slippery mud hills with a nice dirt bath at the bottom of each hill(lovely) My least favorite obstacle of the event was this dirty water trench that you had to crawl though while a net was over you. Claustrophobia at it's best! I ate lots of water here--kind of like swimming (which is why I just say NO to the triathlon!) I am sure I left out something ( Kristy?? ). But the most fun thing was that I just explained 1 lap! Yep, imagine repeating all of this again. That's exactly what I had to do!!!

It was so much fun though and I cannot wait to do it next year. My buddies and I are going to be on a team next year with costumes! haha! We saw lots of people decked out.

Wonder Woman in a full costume and make up and wig! A dude in a Snuggie. A team of men in short short short (yuck) jean cut offs and half shirts. We also saw 2 ladies with bike helmets with water proof cameras attached!

All in all, this was awesome and I am glad I was able to participate!

*Check out the Grand Rapids Mud Run FB page and take a look at all the pictures!

Spin class and a Mud Run ( It's Friday!!)

2010-08-27T20:50:00.003-04:00

What a week this has been! It's not over yet!
Today I taught spin. I took it easy and pretty much warmed up for 15 minutes before I could give it some power. It ended up being a pretty decent workout for myself and the class too! I had a few new faces at 5:30 AM and they like it ( so they said).

Tomorrow is the Mud Run. I am kind of excited and kind of afraid. It's going to be hard that is for certain. A 5k is hard without the added mud and stuff. It's going to be hard! I am too competitive to take it easy on purpose. It's going to be interesting for sure. I picked up my race packet tonight and the line was wrapped around the building! There is a map and a legend included in the packet/ Some of the obstacle names are funny/scary/interesting to say the least. Just to name a few: Drum Line, Tube Top, Pre Lube, Swamp Fever ( my 6 yr. olds favorite) and Trursch's toilet.
Ummm. Yep.
I am hoping somebody will get pics, but no promises. I do promise my best to have fun though! It will be a riot!

10 mile and a spin class. I have had better ideas before.

2010-08-26T21:51:00.003-04:00

Still sore. Even more so now.
I was up all ready to run today!! I set out at 5:45 AM with big goals. I met the biggest one. I got in 10 miles! Not at the paces that I wanted, but hey. Whatev.
My warm up was about 9:30 ish pace. Which I am OK with even though when I run the warm up with my friends at running group it's about an 8:30 pace. I have issues with pushing myself apparently. That's dumb.
So anyways. I was going to maybe do a 6 mile tempo. Although I am not certain what my actual tempo for a 1/2 marathon really is. I thought maybe I would do an 8:00 -8:15 pace. Not so much. I think I made it to 8:45 ish for the first 3 miles and then I stopped to drink. I ran close to home so I could stop by and drink up. My next 3 miles started out pretty good. 8:30 ish for a bit and then it went downhill. I was pooped. I finished my "tempo", and then started the cool down- yeah I made more of a walk/run! It was mostly a run, but whateva. I got my 10 in!

So then since I am super smart I decided to go to my friends spin class. Not because I thought I needed to go. My main reason was because I told her I would go and I want to support her-she's a newer instructor. Ugh. I basically used it as a recovery ride...I had to work way too hard to keep my heart rate up and I was not up for that..so I kept it low. What a waste! I could have been in yoga or home not sleeping on the couch! Oh well. Lesson learned??
That was my Thursday!

Wednesday--ouchie

2010-08-25T21:13:00.003-04:00

Just as suspected I was pretty sore this morning. Must be from the over 200 squats I did yesterday. Yup.

Spin today. It was an interval class....first interval set was 9 minutes....set #2 was 6 minutes...set # was 3 minutes....set # 4 was 2:15 and the last set was about 6:30 seconds..I forget. There was a minute of recovery between sets though. It was a tough one today folks!

After that I had big plans of extra cardio ( not sure why) and some weights. I did the extra cardio for about 10 minutes. It was on the elliptical and I was talking the whole time to my friend-- very little resistance. I also talked to her as she lifted weights. I lifted nothing.
Nighty night.
**I have plans for 10 miles in the morning all by myself. Wish me luck.

Turbo Fire Giveaway-- worth $600!!

2010-08-25T20:22:00.002-04:00

Head on over to Little Ya Ya's for the details. What an amazing prize!! Lots of stuff....check it out...CLICK HERE!!!

Tuesday- Excessive much???

2010-08-24T20:56:00.002-04:00

I started my early morning with a nice speed workout on the track. I did a 2 mile warm up. It was literally dark thirty in the morning. I have a cool little red flashing light that I am diggin' these days.
After the warm up I headed to the track for my 200 meter sprints with a 200 meter jog between all 12 of em' Yikes. It was kind of hard to do by myself but I survived!
The time I was shooting for was 50 seconds, but after the first one I did in 40 seconds, I changed my time to 40-45 seconds! I am happy to say that 50 seconds was just too easy! Yay and finally! After that I did a 2 mile cool down. I am loving this weather--I have a suspicion that that is the reason that I felt so good. My breathing was not a problem at all today.

After that I taught Cardio Scuplt ( not until 4:15 PM). I recently won a DVD on Huff and Buff blog. I borrowed some of this DVD's exercises. It was crazy! Squats galore today. If I had to guess we did no less than 250 squats in class today. That's a lot.
Sooo, after that I had the bright idea of going to the gym and taking a Spin class, but spin does not start until 6:00 pm so I had to do something in the meantime. I got on the elliptical for 20 minutes and then to spin. It was a fun interval class that I gave all I had. Not much. I did leave a nice pool of sweat under my bike though ( don' worry, I cleaned it up). Gross.

It was about 1.5 hours after spin that my day started to catch up with me. I am not looking forward to how my butt and legs are going to feel tomorrow! ( well, kind of--it's a good hurt).
Today was rather excessive in terms of exercising and I do not do this that often--just when the feeling hits or time allows!

Long run, spin and weights in this here 3 day recap.

2010-08-23T16:10:00.004-04:00

Saturday- I ran! Bout time. I was up bright and early for my usually pre-long run meal. Oatmeal with fruit and PB and a protein shake.
The weather out was horrible. It was pouring rain, but no lightening (whew). I was ready to run 12 miles, but ran a bit more. 12.56 to b exact. My splits per mile were nothing to be proud of. Really. My "fastest" mile was 9:16 ( the first mile mind you!) and my slowest was 10:14. I averaged 9:45 per mile.
I am not feeling like a runner these days. I thought I might try to push myself a bit more during this run, but it just was not happening. I could blame on the rain ( Milli Vanilli anyone??), or that my allergies were through the roof, or, or, or, or! I keep saying that 2010 is just not my year. I can live with that as long as I come back stronger in 2011! I am still ecstatic over the fact that I Get to run though. Really, I am!
So that was it for Saturday. My running goal--almost made it! Less than half mile. Close enough?!?!

Sunday- Cardio and weird weights. I warmed up on the Cross Trainer machine for about 15 minutes and then I did some weights. I was not really in the mood for weights, but I was there and I needed to do them so....

I did some kind of upper body pyramid.
shoulder press:
10 reps/8 reps/8reps
15#/12#/10#
This was a killer! I did this 3 times through! It hurt so good.
I did the same with Biceps and Rows.

I threw in some lower body ( not pyramid style) between upper body exercises:
3 sets of 10 reps...varying weights per set.
Step ups
1 leg lunges off bench.
I can't quite call it full body, because, well; it wasn't! It is what it is though.
After that I got on the elliptical for about 25 minutes. It was a pretty good workout for not really wanting to be there in the first place! Sometimes ( rare) those are some of my best sessions!

Monday- Spin strength intervals! I was about 10 minutes into my class when I looked up and I saw my boss in the back row! Eeek! She is a really cool person, but my heart rate went up a bit after seeing here there. Can't help that! It was a good class ( she tole me!) and it was fun to see her there.
I missed my morning run. Booo! I might attempt it later, maybe not.
I am signed up for a 5k Mud Run this Saturday!

Friday- spin class #5 in the books.

2010-08-20T16:07:00.004-04:00

Early spin day- 5:30 am. It came real fast today. So tired now......
It was a good session.

After that I got on the elliptical for about 25 minutes before lifting weights. I did a short upper body session today.
3x10
Pull ups ( 3 sets of 4 real ones!)
Up right rows
biceps curl
push up variations

That's all she wrote. What a busy week. No yoga thus far. I still have until tomorrow by midnight to fit it in I guess! Yeah right!

Thursday

2010-08-19T21:01:00.002-04:00

No early morning workout for me today. I did go to the gym though.
I was able to get in about 20 minutes on the elliptical ( warm up and cool down ) and then I did lower body weights.
4x10:
Step ups
DB squats

Leg Ext
Dead lifts

Short and sweet for the time I had to spend.
After weights I took a spin class. It was a great interval class. It had pretty much everything including 6 sprints. It was a good one. My legs were already toast, so why not?

That's about it for today.

On the way to meeting my goals.....(progress so far)

2010-08-19T07:59:00.003-04:00

Revised
**Sunday-Wednesday**

**Actual:
Running Miles: 5
Yoga: 0 minutes total

Weight Training: 1 session

Goals:
Miles : 20

Yoga: 60 minutes total

Weight Training: 3 sessions

*I am not worried about bike mileage since I am not doing anymore bike races.

Tuesday and Wednesday Recap--runnin' and spinnin'

2010-08-19T07:50:00.004-04:00

Tuesday- I got up and ran my running club workout early! It was a beautiful morning too. No humidity and low temps. What more could I ask for?!?!?! I got in 5 miles. It was a speed workout on the track that went something like this:
12oo meter run with a .25 recovery.
I did this 5 times.
It was supposed to be a 1:1 ratio. It mostly was I think. I did not do the 1200 meters as fast as I hoped, but I am just happy I did all 5! As always, I did a warm up and cool down jog.

Wednesday~Spin instruction. Interval style. I need to get my true heart rate zones. Something just is not right! That will be a goal of mine this week.
I also subbed a kickboxing class and it had 15 minutes of core at the end. I am not a fan of doing core work--so mine are on fire today!

On the way to meeting my goals.....(progress so far)

2010-08-16T22:05:00.000-04:00

** Sunday-Monday**

**Actual:

Running Miles: 0

Yoga: 0 minutes total
Weight Training: 1 session
Road bike mileage: 0

Goals:

Miles : 20
Yoga: 60 minutes total
Weight Training: 3 sessions
Road bike mileage: 20

Monday--Spin (x2). Not doin' the du (insert sad face here)

2010-08-16T21:07:00.004-04:00

Monday~ The weather is perfect and gorgeous. I had big plans of jumping into meeting my goals with a nice run this morning! Nope! I slept in until after 8 am. I needed it after a long weekend of wine tasting and low on sleep etc. It's probably for the best that I did not run though.
My first spin class was at 10 am. It went well. I taught a strength interval class--meaning that the heart rate did not go below 75% after the warm up. Whew!

After that I taught Totally Toned and participated for the whole session! I counted today as a full body workout towards my goals.

3x12
Chest Press
French Press
Pelvic Lift March
Plank Hold
Cat/cow

3x12
Plie Squat
Biceps curl
Lat pull down
Wall sit (45 secs-60 secs)
1 arm row

I think this hit every muscle group!

I taught a Spin class again at 6 PM. I taught part of the Tour de France Stage 15 to this group. It was new to them although I have taught it twice now in my morning classes. New groups can be fun and/or intimidating. This seemed like a fun bunch-and they clapped after class which is usually a good sign!

*This coming Sunday is the duathlon. I won't be doing it. I am pretty bummed about it but will be over it in a few days, and then be bummed about it again on Sunday ;-).
2 of my fellow instructors/friends are going to do it. I hear it's a small duathlon, and when I looked up results from last years race-- there was not anyone in my age group! haha.... I would rather have competition, but still!! I would have gone home with a medal for sure! It's not about the medal for me ( I swear). It's more about the journey even more than the end result --always. I love to do well; don't get me wrong, but the memories of the process and training are usually what gets me though the tough portions ( and seeing my kids on the race course).
And well, maybe the medal-but mostly for my kids-they get a kick out of the hard wear!

On the way to meeting my goals.....(progress so far)

2010-08-15T17:20:00.002-04:00

*Sunday-Saturday

**Actual:
Miles: 12.26
Yoga: 0 minutes total

Weight Training: 2 sessions

Road bike mileage: 21.44 (goal attained!)

Goals:
Miles : 20

Yoga: 60 minutes total

Weight Training: 3 sessions

Road bike mileage: 20

Ok, so I did meet all my goals. I actually did worse than I thought I would do. Maybe I was too ambitious? Too tired? Or maybe the goals were just too steep since this was not a typical week for me? I think it was a mixture of all of those choices!

I am not even sure I can make goals for this week ( lame) since I have no clue if I am doing the duathlon this coming Sunday. So that in itself makes it hard for me to plan ( lame). So I will post some maybe goals I guess? ( lame). I will call them tentative goals I suppose- I may or may not revise them as plans come about. Good enough. I can adapt. It's like my middle name.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday - OFF. I kind of feel weird about that. We did walk a little bit during the the trip, but not as much activity as I am used to.

Goals:
Running Miles : 15?

Yoga: 60 minutes total

Weight Training: 3 sessions?

Road bike mileage: 15?

On the way to meeting my goals.....(progress so far)

2010-08-12T22:40:00.003-04:00

**Sunday-Thursday**

**Actual:

Miles: 12.26

Yoga: 0 minutes total
Weight Training: 2 sessions
Road bike mileage: 21.44 (goal attained!)

Goals:

Miles : 20
Yoga: 60 minutes total
Weight Training: 3 sessions
Road bike mileage: 20

Power Train!!

2010-08-12T22:30:00.004-04:00

Oh boy. Today is usually my active rest day-- I have been trying to do yoga on Thursday's for an hour. I might also walk on the the treadmill as a slow pace for 15-30 minutes before yoga to get the blood flowing. I subbed a class today called Power Train. It's basically a plyometric class. A whole hour. I have only been a participant to this class once, so I will admit I kind of winged it! I am also going to count today as a weight training session- even though we technically did not use weights. I am going to count it because I did a total of 50 lunge jumps and 50 prisoner walking squats and pulses. My butt is saying to count it as a weight training session so I am!
It was a lot of fun, but also very taxing. I don't teach or take this kind of class on a regular basis and I could tell. I was tired during class! My heart rate was up there and it averaged about 150 during class which is pretty high for an hour long class that has ups and downs.
I did not have time ( and probably the energy) to go back to the gym for the yoga class. I know I needed it this week. I had a pretty active week and my muscles are yelling at me.
We leave for out of town in the morning so it's doubtful that I will reach all of my fitness goals for this week.
Have a great weekend!

On the way to meeting my goals.....(progress so far)

2010-08-11T21:33:00.000-04:00

** Sunday-Wednesday**

**Actual:
Miles: 12.26
Yoga: 0 minutes total

Weight Training: 1 session

Road bike mileage: 21.44 (goal attained!)

Goals:
Miles : 20

Yoga: 60 minutes total

Weight Training: 3

Road bike mileage: 20

Wednesday- spinning and a quick run and I'm tired.

2010-08-11T20:22:00.004-04:00

Pretty tired this morning. I woke up nauseous. I am not sure if it was because I was dehydrated or the sugar buzz ( Hot Tamales-I earned them dang it!!) Maybe a combo of both?!? Anyways, the morning started off like that. Nauseous! blah.

Spinning was at 10 Am...I planned on taking it easy, but I always get caught up in the music and ride. My legs were pretty tired and so was the rest of my body. I had big plans of running long after Spin, but the heat, humidity and lunch with my husband changed my mind. Ahhhh. A nap would have been nice as well, but hey. I know that was not happening.

I did make it back to the gym and got in a fast 2.1 miles. So I have that going for me. I am not sure I will make my goal of 20 miles before the week is over.

Tuesday- bike, teach, run?

2010-08-10T21:06:00.002-04:00

Ooops..I was hoping to post before the goal update blog posted. Oh well.

Today was a busy cardio day.
I was up early and go ton the bike and headed outside to put in some miles. 14.24 to be exact. It was a great morning. It was kind of chilly ( well compared to how the day ended up). If I am able to participate in the next duathlon I really want to do even better on the bike this time. It's less miles than the first du I did this year by about 6 or so miles. I really want to push myself. I of course want to do well on the run portion too. Ugh. Running has been my worst enemy and nightmare combined this season.

I taught cardio sculpt today and then headed off to running club. Today's prescribed workout was 1 mile warm up 4-6 mile tempo and 2 mile cool down. Did I mention the heat index was in the 90's? My friend and I arrived early and got the warm up out of the way ( almost an 8:00 pace-which is more like my tempo pace this year!) after that i just felt off. I am sure it was the weather combined with my activity for the day and perhaps nutrition??!??! I ate well today, maybe not enough for my activity-I really have no idea. It's hard for me to figure out a proper eating schedule and how fuel with my workout and work priorities. Very frustrating. Anyway--- My buddy and I decided to just run 4 more miles and call it a day. Not even at tempo pace ( her's is 6:50 by the way! haha). We got about .68 miles in when I knew i was done. I took a short cut by myself and called it a day with 2.3 miles in. I was to get in 9 miles tonight and only managed 4.22! I am not mad though--really. Just pooped! I did a lot today. I met and exceeded my goal for bike mileage already- it's only Tuesday!! Now I need to figure out when to lift, yoga and run. Yikes!!

On the way to meeting my goals.....(progress so far)

2010-08-10T20:58:00.000-04:00

***Sunday-Tuesday***

**Actual:

Miles: 10.16

Yoga: 0 minutes total
Weight Training: 1 session
Road bike mileage: 21.44 (goal attained!)

Goals:

Miles : 20
Yoga: 60 minutes total
Weight Training: 3
Road bike mileage: 20

On the way to meeting my goals.....(progress so far)

2010-08-09T19:33:00.001-04:00

**Sunday-Monday goal progress**

**Actual:
Miles: 5.94

Yoga: 0 minutes total

Weight Training: 1 session

Road bike mileage: 7.20

Goals:
Miles : 20

Yoga: 60 minutes total

Weight Training: 3

Road bike mileage: 20

Run Bike Run- and Spin!

2010-08-09T16:16:00.003-04:00

I woke up early today to get things done! The sun did not come up until at least 15 minutes later than I thought...so I sat around a bit longer than I wanted to.
My plan was to run for 20 minutes, bike for 30 and then run for another 20 minutes.

20 minute run ( 2.1 miles)
30 minute bike ( 7.20 miles)
15:33 minute run ( 1.83 miles)
I was really going to do 20...honest! The lightening shower had other plans for me I guess!! I was about 8 or nine minutes in when the craziness began. It sure made me run faster so I guess that is a plus! I was pretty tired, but glad I got some miles in on the bike as well as on my shoes!

After that I had to get ready for Spin class. I taught an interval style class. It was super hot up in the spin room today too. I thought I might be too tired to really give it my all. And I was. Haha! I did work hard, but there were moments when I faked it. Luckily I played some of my favorite songs to make sure I was not slacking the whole time. Starry Eyed Remix - If I could play this song on repeat-- I really would. I am not sure why I love it so much- I am not even sure how I found it, but I over play it in Spin. The good thing is I can tell my class likes it too ( even if they didn't I would sneak it in there every once in a while. haha!) I also like this one..it's a mash up of Hey Mickey and That's Not My Name. Kinda fun! Anyways...that was my morning! I taught Totally Toned at noon.....well I told my class what to do as I observed! They did great too! I need a nap.

On the way to meeting my goals.....(progress so far)

2010-08-08T20:49:00.001-04:00

**Sunday goal progress**

**Actual:

Miles: 2
Yoga: 0 minutes total
Weight Training: 1 sessioin
Road bike mileage: 0

Goals:

Miles : 20
Yoga: 60 minutes total
Weight Training: 3
Road bike mileage: 20

Sunday

2010-08-08T18:28:00.004-04:00

Sunday~ 1 mile run on treadmill followed by 40 minute Spin class followed by 1 mile run on treadmill. I also lifted weights for upper body.
My first mile was 8:45 and my 2nd mile was 8:16.
3x10

A.
Shoulder Press
Biceps Curl

B.
Chest Press
Reverse Flye

C.
Triceps Ext.
Rotator Cuff stuff

Today's workout was impromptu all the way. I really wanted to do my long run. I really did. I first contemplated doing 10 miles and then 8 and then it was past 12 noon and hot and humid. I then thought to run 5 to six and then ride my bike. Well, I did none of those! Ugh. I was able to get to the gym though and did something-even my measly 2 miles today-- only 18 more to go to reach my goal for this week!

Sweaty Bands GIveaway at Running Diva Mom

2010-08-07T23:30:00.002-04:00

Sweaty Bands Review and Giveaway at Running Diva Mom!
Go on over and read all about it..and then try to win!

Saturday spin and that is ALL.

2010-08-07T23:06:00.002-04:00

Well the weight training from yesterday settled in nicely today. OUCH! I am a sucker for pain.
I got up early to teach Power Spin- this time I taught Stage 16 of the Tour de France. It was basically one ginormous hill climb. It was a beast. It was tough, hard and fun. It was a 75 minute long class. I had big plans for myself today too--I had planned to run in the 8k this evening. After waiting around all day ( not literally--I mean I have a husband and 2 kids here), I decided at around 3 pm or so that I was not going to do the race. Letting the weeks workouts settle in after teaching spin so early- racing about 10 hours later did not seem like a great idea. I was slightly bummed, but I felt I best rest since my body is tired and so am I. I don't think I will regret my decision in the morning. I know that this week's training (class, workouts, running and hopefully getting the bike on the road) will be jam packed. I also need to make sure my nutrition and sleep are on the up and up this week as well.

Weekly wrap up:
Miles ran: 6
Road bike: 0
Yoga: 0
Spin classes: 4
Cardio machines: 90 minutes
weight training sessions: 3
-----------------------------------------
I am still not making much progress on the biking mileage or yoga. Dangit!
And my mileage this week for running is pretty piss poor to say the least. It's a good thing I got up and ran the little 3 miles on Monday morning or it would have been even worse!
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Goals for upcoming Sunday to Saturday.
I have to be realistic here. My husband and I are planning to be out of town Friday to Saturday evening. That means I will be skipping another long run with the group and somehow need to do it on my own.

Miles to run: 20

Yoga: 60 minutes total

Weight Training: 3

Road bike mileage: 20

I hope I am not getting too cocky with these goals! I think it will help me to get it done though.

Friday

2010-08-06T09:24:00.003-04:00

Friday~ Early morning spin. I repeated the same class format as Wednesday..... 4 minutes of running intervals followed by a 4 minute progressive hill climb, followed by a recovery, followed by a sprint followed by a recovery and repeat two more times! Did ya get all that?!?! It was kind of fun.
I lifted after that. Full body today.
I upped my weights since it is the 3rd week of consistent lifting ( yay!)

3x8
Pull ups ( 3 sets of 4)
Dead lifts
Chest Press
1 arm row
alternating lunges

I was not feeling it today, but I am glad I got it done.

Crazy for Cardio...... Or just plain crazy.

2010-08-05T16:29:00.003-04:00

Wednesday~ Crazy 1000 meter sprints on the track in humidity that was just stupid. I did a very short warm up and then (4) 1000 meter "sprints" in about 4:12 each time. It was hard. The nice part is that I got to rest for 4:12 between sprints. I did about a mile cool down. Spin class was at 10 am; intervals. Turbo Kick class and I think that was all. Ha. Cardio overload, but it was fun.

Thursday~ Elliptical Hill intervals. 20 seconds hard and 20 seconds easy for 30 minutes. I then ran a half mile on the treadmill just for fun. I might go and walk on the treadmill while Amara has her Track and Field class in about an hour.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-04T18:20:00.003-04:00

Some fun pics I took yesterday of the kids. I took 132! These 2 made the cut!

Monday early morning run and endurance ride.

2010-08-02T22:45:00.004-04:00

Monday- today's spin class was a boring endurance one. Ok, well it's only as boring as you make it, right?!??! It was hard. Endurance classes are harder than mot think ( I think). I actually heard it felt like a Race Day! The whole class ( after the warm up) should be at a pace that is between easy and hard. This is hard to understand without a heart rate monitor. So I try to explain to my class that they should not be comfortable during class, but it should be something they could maintain for hours if they HAD to. I think most got the point! It was a good class. I think I lost 6 lbs of sweat and left 3 lbs of it on the floor beneath my bike ( ewww).
My upper body is pretty sore from yesterday's workout. I am liking that feeling again. It's been too long!
My Totally Toned class worked very hard today ( I sat this one out-- don't tell anyone).

I almost forgot.....I ran this morning! Duh. I put in 3 whole miles while my house slept. It was humid already at 6:30 am, but the morning was beautiful. It was painfully hard to run naked (broke iPod), but I managed. It was a slow pace-- 9:19 or something, but my last mile was better than 8:30. Take that! ;-)
I am trying to run more so this was my attempt at that. We will see how the rest of the week goes!

Great start to the week!

2010-08-01T18:39:00.003-04:00

Sunday~ I asked my dad to come over so I could get a workout in. I am so glad he lives down the way ( 10 mins) and said YES!

I went in without a real plan. All I knew was that I wanted to lift upper body and do cardio.
I got on the elliptical for 15 minutes and then did 4 sets of 10 reps:

Lat pull down
Push ups
Up right rows

Cross/Arch Trainer cardio for 15 minutes
and then 4x10:

Shoulder Press
Bent over Rows
Biceps Curls

I ended with an incline walk on the tread for 15 minutes.

This was actually a fun workout and very different from what I have ever done before.
It made the lifting portion go by super fast! That is why I added a 4th set. Even the cardio went by fast. I was able to push myself a bit harder knowing I only had 15 minutes to do it.
With the weights I went from exercise to exercise with no breaks--I then took a 30 to 45 second break before beginning the next set. Whew! I might try this on Thursday when I plan on lifting legs....we will see though!

Friday and getting back into running....for now.

2010-07-31T19:11:00.004-04:00

Friday~ Early Spin class! It was a fun interval style today. A few big hills that got progressively steeper as the climb progressed. After that I lifted weights! Yay! Full body lifting.

3x10
Chest Press (apparently my shoulder still hurts)
Squats ( in the rack!)
Dead lifts ( Free motion-first time using this)
Bicep 21's (body bar 15#)

Short and sweet. I met my goal of lifting for this week! I hope to keep it up!

Saturday~ 11.5 mile run. Was supposed to do 12, but the route was off for some reason. It was a tough run and I did not feel the need to run the last half mile. It's been a while since I actually did a long run ( 10 mile race, spin class, duathlon, spin class....), so yeah, it was tough today.
It was humid and I got a mean tan (even though I used sunscreen!) but the good news is I looked fashionable in my running skirt and green Adidas top. I got many compliments on my *outfit*. It had me laughing! Another tie in to my Examiner Article on being Fit and Fashionable! I guess I thought I had to try and look cute since I knew I was going to struggle during today's run! Although, by 3 miles in most of us in the group looked as if we had run a 10 mile race--the humidity was awful and we were drenched. I actually wrung my skirt out during the 9th mile it was so heavy with sweat-gross.

Weekly wrap up:
Miles: 18
Spin classes: 3
Weights: 3
Yoga: 0
Road bike miles:0
Other: 1 (TurboKick class)
Gym cardio: 20 minutes on elliptical

After looking at my wrap up, I hope to run more miles, bike more miles, do yoga and maintain the rest. We shall see! With that being said, I am pretty sure I am teaching Power Spin next weekend and then going out of town the next! I need to figure out when to fit in my long runs.

A kind of maybe sort of Tuesday and Wednesday....

2010-07-29T08:17:00.003-04:00

Tuesday~ What the heck did I do on Tuesday anyway? It was such a long time ago.........
Oh yes, I taught a Cardio Sculpt class. I had one person show up!! ( Thanks Kristy!-- she is my die-hard athlete mom of 3!) She had her very own personal training session of sorts. She's tough and proved it!
After class I headed over to the E. side ( of Grand Rapids) for running club. On tonight's torture: after the standard 2 mile warm up the advanced group's workout included (12) 200 meter sprints with a walk/jog recover of 200 meters. Yup, 12!! It actually went by a lot faster than I expected and it was actually fun ( kind of). I really enjoy running with my buddy that is faster than I am. She pushes me just enough to where I did not think I could go. I am not sure why I enjoy that, but I do! After the workout is the 2 mile cool down and then that's all! It was a good Tuesday!

Wednesday~ Spin class instruction. I actually had a request to repeat Monday's Race Day format--nope! I stuck to the plan and did an interval ride. I stayed at the gym to welcome a new instructor as she taught Turbo Kick! I am trying to motivate myself so I can get back into Turbo Kick. I plan on taking this class as often as I can until I am comfortable teaching it again...maybe.
I failed to get up early today and do a lower body workout. I did do my own version at home while watching The Young and the Restless though. I did everything with 10 lb. weights.
Just a very simple workout before I get back into lifting heavy.
3x10:
1 leg dead lifts
Plie squats
Lunges

My day was jam packed today with stuff, but that's that way I like it...kind of.

And even more spinning...and weights!

2010-07-26T14:52:00.003-04:00

Sunday~ I decided on this day to start lifting weights again. I know, I know..who cares??? I do!
It;s been a while since I was lifting regularly, so I figured Sunday was a good day to start. I usually start everything on Monday....so this is new for me!
I made it to the gym and did a light cardio warm up for 15 minutes on the elliptical.
I chose to only do my upper body because. I went in without much of a plan but hit every upper body muscle at least once.
I did 3x10:
Chest Press
Biceps Curl
Triceps Ext.
Shoulder Press
Rows

I used 15 lbs dumbbells for everything. I could have gone heavier, but I am being smart about it and easing my way back into that!
I thought for sure I would be sore today. It might come tomorrow though!

Easy tie in for soreness: My Examiner article about DOMS If you want, you can subscribe and also comment on the site. If ya want! Thanks!

Monday~ Spin (duh). haha. I think I need to enter more bike races (indoor spin races???) I do more Spinning than running these days.....It was another tough class. I used a portion of the spin race I did on Saturday- I just modified it a bit.
I probably lost 3 lbs in sweat alone. Awesome.

Spin, spin and more spin!

2010-07-24T22:41:00.003-04:00

Friday~ Early Spin class. That was all I did! (well Totally Toned was at noon and all I did was bark orders and I did the side planks-slacker!)

Saturday~ No running for me today. I was able to sub the Power Spin today. I was sad to miss the run until I woke up...to rain! I was GLAD to be indoors working hard instead of outside in the rain. It was a race day too. 1:15 minutes to be exact. I did a Spin class rendition of The Tour De France Stage 15. It was bananas. So very hard. I get caught up in the excitement of some of the yelpers in class and really pushed myself to utter wooziness on the bike. Good thing I did not fall off. One Stage 5 hill was about 12 minutes long. Ugh. The class did awesome though!! It can be intimidating subbing a class that everybody loves. I will say it was nice to know that they requested me as the sub--I guess they like my music! I'll take it!
I was so hungry after class. I am still doing the cleanse and wanted so badly to veer from the specifics of the diet, but I held strong and followed the rules. I feel good!
*If I am lucky, I hope to get in some running miles on Sunday....I sometimes forget that is why I am here! ;-)

Crazy for Cardio...... Or just plain crazy.

2010-07-22T13:38:00.004-04:00

Tuesday~ 800's on the track (3:28 ish pace) with equal recovery time. I wanted to do 8, but was totally fine with 6. It was hot and humid and I felt I could have thrown up. Awesome. My breathing was not the best, but I tried to ignore it. The weird thing is I had my vocal cords close up for about 10 seconds during my .75 of a mile cool down. It was at a snails pace because I was so tired from the workout! Not sure why that happened.
The 800's were very hard. I am not sure if it was because I an doing a cleanse right now that I felt different or what. Oh-it might have been do to the fact that I taught Cardio Sculpt at 4:15pm--how could I forget that??? It was kickboxing with some power moves thrown in for fun and weights and abs. I am still sore. It's been a while!

Wednesday~ Spin intervals that were hard. They were hard(er) for me due to my Tuesday stuff I think. I thought about running a few miles and the feeling passed almost as soon as it popped into my head.

Thursday~ Yoga..I made it. It was slightly difficult. Lots of hip openers (which I need BAD) and lots of hamstring stretches Ommmmm.
Before yoga I walked on the tread slowly with a bit of an incline for 30 minutes.
Depending on how I feel the rest of the day I might go for a walk or run or go to the gym for some light cardio. We shall see.....

Headsweats Review

2010-07-20T14:04:00.007-04:00

I had the opportunity to try out this awesome visor from Headsweats this past weekend during my duathlon. I normally would not try out something new during an event, but I had a good feeling about it as soon as I took it out of the box! I received the SUPERVISOR in black and was in love immediately. I can sometimes have a hard time fitting hats on my head. I am wearing braids currently, but still find that my hats are kind of tight. The visor was perfect.

From the site:

**SUPERVISOR
The most popular visor in the triathlon industry and trusted companion of thousands of Ironman® finishers, the SuperVisor is durable, lightweight, and keeps you dry.

Product Details
Classic, straight fit.
COOLMAX® fabric wicks away moisture for optimum comfort and performance.
Super-soft COOLMAX® terry sweatband creates maximum air flow and moisture transfer.
Black undervisor reduces glare.
Elastic back provides custom fit without any adjustments.
Machine washable. **

I know I must have stumbled onto a great product because I saw at least 6 other athletes at my race sporting Headsweats headgear! I did not get any sweat in my eyes and it was a hot and humid morning. I ran a total of 6.5 miles during the race and the visor exceeded my expectations. It cut the glare and soaked up my sweat--exactly what I needed it to do. I also loved the fact that it was not tight or binding on my head; specifically on my temples. I hate that with my hats! It's machine washable which is awesome because after my race it really needed to be freshened up. Head on over to Headsweats and check out their sweet visors as well as their other great performance gear.

I highly recommend the SUPERVISOR from Headsweats.

Monday, Monday......

2010-07-20T13:55:00.003-04:00

Sunday~ OFF
Monday~Spin class --it was a hot one! Intervals galore.
Totally Toned at noon. Biceps galore!

I started a 10 day cleanse on Monday and feel great thus far. I am in the beginning stages of cleaning up my less than perfect diet. I am basically flooding myself with even more water than normal and eating tons of veggies and fruits. That's funny; isn't this how I should be eating?!??! Duh.
On tap for later today is speed work at running club. 800 repeats on the track. It could be worse and the weather could be worse too. SO I better count my lucky stars!

My 6 year old is funny. Yesterday she changed into her running gear and Nike running shoes. She told me she was going for a run. She proceeded to run up and down our street (sidewalk) for a good 10 minutes. She came back inside and told me she had to go teach a spin class! Love her!

Tri Del Sol Duathlon recap....( I medaled!!!!)

2010-07-17T19:24:00.005-04:00

I was up all night ( I forgot to mention that hubby is out of town with the kids--I can't sleep when he is away!) So I was up before my 4:45 AM wake-up call. I was super tired ( still am).

Anyway on to the race. I placed first in my age group! Funny thing is ( to me, anyway) is that I was almost 2 minutes slower than last year and I placed 6th then! Oh well...I'll take it!

My Garmin biffed when I tried to download the info. Total bummer.

So the race started at 8am..... the run was hot and humid already. 2 miles in 16:04. Not to shabby for me this year.

My transition was over 2 minutes. That is too shabby for me any year! UGH. I can't believe I took that long to transition!! On to the bike. I did so much better than last year! That happens when your bike is in tact! The 18 mile bike took me 1:02:15. I am happy with that. I learned a lot from my buddy. He coached me basically the whole 18 miles!! The seconds transition was over 2 minute AGAIN. Boooo!!!!

The last 4.5 miles was basically hell on earth ( or as I imagine it to be). My legs were jello, and my lungs were heavy and closed. Not good. But I finished; albeit slow. 2:03:58 was my official time.

I always sprint to the finish no matter how sucky a race I feel I am having. In the duathlon you are marked with a "D"on your arm and leg to indicate that you are in the duathlon and your age as well. Some lady in my age group passed me with less than half a mile to go. Oh no she didn't!! She was the first person in my age group that I had seen all day. So I basically stayed on her butt until the final stretch--I beat her by 1 second. I actually felt bad, but I did what I had to do!

After over analysing the race, I feel I could have beat my time from last year just if I had gone quicker with my transitions! I hope to do another Du this summer. I plan on practicing my Bricks ( bike to running) a lot more too.

It was a fun, hot and GREAT day!

Me no sleepy....

2010-07-16T22:52:00.002-04:00

I should be sleeping not blogging! I can't sleep!! I have to (I mean get to) get up at 4:45 to get ready for my duathlon! I am excited and nervous ( hence why I am here typing!).
It will be fun. I am going to run, bike and run again with a fellow spin instructor at my gym. He is the biker and I ( not lately) am the runner! So, we hope to motivate and push each other to the finish! I hope to get under 2 hours.....last year my time was 2:02:02! I should have played the lottery that day--I bet it was worth at least 2.2 million.

Anyway...today I taught spin and tried to control myself. I had to make up and switch the music. Don't worry--I was prepared, BUT 2 of the spinners that came this morning ( they never come on Friday) were at my Thursday class. I decided to recycle that class for Friday morning. Sooooo I had to change the music and think up a good spin ride in about 9 minutes. I did and it was pretty good. I hope I did not fry my own legs! I included a lot of speed drills and a few heavy climbs and bouts of endurance. It got hot up in that spin room!

I did a 20 minute yoga video later at home--Ahhhh! Ommmmm! Yeahhhh!
OK I better get to bed..starting to feel my eyes droop.

A day of good intentions......

2010-07-15T17:12:00.003-04:00

I had great intentions of getting up today to ride 6 miles and run 3. Well......before the alarm went off I awoke to thunder and lightening. I am fine running in the rain; I actually enjoy it. I am not one to ride or bike in a thunderstorm with lightening. I made that mistake once and never again! I rolled over and slept in- I actually slept in until almost 9 am. I could have slept until noon fo sho'! I love sleep. I must have really needed it.
I taught a noon spin today and tried to go easy on myself because of the race this weekend, but 15-20 minutes into class I could not help myself. Maybe I should start playing crappy music so I won't feel like working hard-nah!
That's all for me today. I need to hit up a yoga or at least stretch on my own. These muscles are tight this week. I have spin in the morning and totally toned at noon and then it's off to sign up for Tri Del Sol duathlon! Me scared.....

Wednesday Spin Day....

2010-07-14T19:01:00.003-04:00

Whew! My legs were tired, tired, tired today. Last nights track workout was no JOKE. I need to take it easy since my du is Saturday. Too bad I have to teach Spinning tomorrow and again on Friday....blah! (meant in the best way possible) I plan on doing a short ride in the morning and a harder run directly after ( brick). I also plan on taking it easy in both Spin classes--easier said then done for me, but I will give it my best effort.
That's all for today!

Wordless Wednesday (sort of)

2010-07-14T18:52:00.004-04:00

Here is a sneak peek ( kinda sorta) of the picture that might be in Fitness Magazine this fall. I participated in a running shoe review and had to send in a pic of me in the show I loved the most. Aren't they neat looking!??! I am cleverly sporting my Fluid Flair tee shirt too-I love it that much!

Tuesday- Part II

2010-07-13T23:07:00.003-04:00

Well......I kind of bagged out on my Cardio Sculpt class today! Don't get me wrong- I had a great workout planned, but decided my legs were about to get a beating at running club. I set up a cardio circuit and in between rounds we all did weights. I got a bit of movement in myself. It was still a great workout even though I usually save circuit for the half way point ( week 4) and not week 2! Needless to say I am very glad I set up a circuit.
The warm up today for running was 4 miles (for the advanced runner's--that's me I guess!) I was about 1 hour early to practice, so my buddy and I knocked out 2 miles to get them over with! We did those at about an 8:40 ish pace. We then headed to the track which was about 2 miles away. Our pace slowed to about 9 minute pace. We did the same workout as last week, but added a new exciting part ( sarcasm).
~(6) 150 meter sprints
~(3) 60 meter sprints
~(4) 120 meter sprints* new
2 mile cool down.

My legs ( who am I kidding---my WHOLE body is feeling this!) It was kind of exhausting, but I feel so good once it's all done. Next week we move up to some fun 800's.......

Tuesday--Part I

2010-07-13T09:51:00.002-04:00

Tuesday AM- I plan on an afternoon and evening workout as well...nuts.
I rode my bike for a bit over 10 miles this morning and then ran 1 mile after that. The run was HARD!! But, I better get over it. My duathlon is in 4 days. Eeeek!
I have to teach cardio sculpt and then run later ( if it's not thunder storming!) at the track for some speedy sprints! That's it for now!

Monday, Monday......

2010-07-12T21:16:00.002-04:00

Monday~ Spin instruction this morning. I taught an interval style today that was mostly hills with some endurance thrown in. I started and ended class with an 8 minute standing climb. I think it went over well. It was kind of challenging.
Totally Toned was at noon. I did the whole class too. Haha! I only used 8 lbs weights, but sadly it felt heavy to me! I have been out of my lifting game since starting XFit--- I will be glad when it's over. I really like it because it's different, but with all I already do it's beginning to be a nuisance! A few more weeks I believe ( even though I was unable to go today--it was nice to not get up at 4 am!) Anyway-- class went something like this:

Dead lift to shoulder press
forward lunges
hammer curls
step touches ( exertube)
standing side bends with exertube (60 secs)
2 sets of 10

Wide Pull Rows
push ups
Pelvic lift march
plank row
bicycle crunch (60 secs)

2 sets of 10

After both sets were done we then went through everything 1 more time.
There was still a bit of time left so I threw in some cat/cows, lower back exercises and butt exercises until the class was complete! A well-rounded class I think. I was a sweaty pig--what else is new?!?

I hope to get up at a decent time so I can ride on the road. It's confirmed. I WILL be doing the duathlon this weekend!!! Yay and Eeeek!

Runnin'!

2010-07-11T12:42:00.003-04:00

Saturday-OFF!!!
Sunday-It was a hot 8 mile run. I dropped off my water so I could drink it at mile 5. Guess what? I lost it!! I never even saw it. I was dying from thirst!! I must have trekked right past it-I was probably delirious. But I did it and I am happy about that. I had to do it by myself too.... with a busted iPod ( it failed me after mile 2).
All in all it was a good week.
If things go as planned...I will be doing a duathlon (run/bike/run) on Saturday! I did this same race last year with a broken bike--I must redeem myself!!

Yoga, Spinning and running fast.....

2010-07-09T09:07:00.002-04:00

Thursday~ I did yoga! There was a sub. I think I like the normal instructors style a bit better. That is all I did today- Ahhh!

Friday~ Spin instruction. I taught the same class as Wednesday. Lots of speed work with a brief hill interval in the middle. Whew. I then went to the track with a fellow RunGr member to do Thursday's workout on the track. My legs were pretty much already dead, but we did it!
(6) 150 meter sprints....and (3) 60 meters sprints. I love sprinting for a short distance! It's over quickly. Very effective too! Burns fat and it helps with fast twitch muscles!
I might even end the evening with a long bike ride. That's still in the works though.

Saturday will most likely be an off day. I am going out of town for most of the day. I plan on doing my progressive long run on Sunday. The run is to be progressive in speed--up to half marathon race--not looking forward to doing that by myself!

The week so far.......

2010-07-07T13:05:00.004-04:00

Sunday~ I actually went to the gym. I was not as sore as I expected to be from good ole' T-Rex! I did the elliptical at an easy pace for 30 minutes and then the Ergo meter for 2000m. I can't remember how long it took me. I ended with some stretches and a lame attempt at core!
Monday~ X-Fit. Because we just came off a holiday the X-Fit instructor decided to take it easy on us ( HA!). We all jumped on the treadmills for our tabats ( 20 seconds work 10 seconds x8!). We all started at 8.0 mph with an incline of 12%. That's NO typo. The first 2 sprints were doable-until the instructor saw that I was not struggling! He made me bump up my speed to 8.5! I did sprints 3-7 at 8.5 and the last one at 9.0. It was awful. I could have easily tossed my cookies! One girl did excuse herself to go to the bathroom after the 3 sprint. OY. It was hard. 4 minutes of torture.....after that we played a game of full court basketball. That was fun. I don't do basketball! I made 2 shots though! My team lost, but it was kind of fun.
Tuesday~ I am back to teaching classes at a corporation. They took a 2 week break. The break was nice, but it's also nice to see my class participants again. The class is called Cardio Sculpt. We did long intervals of cardio and sculpting. After that I went directly to running club-- to run hills--in 95* weather. Not so smart. I did 10 hill sprints. It was painful, but I need to build my strength! It was also not a good day to forget to take my allergy meds and a puff on the inhaler. Ugh. High temp. and humidity = poor breathing! I made it out alive though....
Wednesday~ X-Fit at 5 AM. Today's workout was called FRAN. I liked her a lot better than HELEN (look at Wed. recap).
Fran went like this: 3 rounds consisting of
Front Squat thruster ( front squat to a press 45#)
Jumping pull-ups
1st round 21 reps (!!!!!!!)
2nd round 15 reps
3rd round 9 reps
He said a good time is under 5 minutes. I was done in 4:19!!! The first round was the hardest for me. 45 reps in all...nuts! The pain is starting to set it!
Spin was at 10 am and it was a killer. I am not sure how I muster out the energy sometimes..... today's class was all about the fast intervals....and the strong climbs and then with the intervals again. We finished off with 2 good hard sprints. I had a full class today which made it even HOTTER in class then usual. I am parched!
It's been a great week of workouts so far this week.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Planning ahead:
Thursday: Yoga and maybe some light cardio
Friday: Spin class and maybe a long bike ride with a friend.
Saturday: OFF
Sunday: Long run

Race Day! T-Rex!

2010-07-03T13:32:00.004-04:00

I came. I ran. I conquered! Well, not really, BUT I did win my age group (somehow!!)
This trail race was NO joke. It started off all uphill-to set the tone I guess!
My splits are crazy. I averaged about a 10 minute mile. That is slower than my long runs, but we don't do long runs on steep trails with sand etc. If I do this race next year, I vow to hit the trails beforehand to get a feel for trail running.
The weather was pretty good considering. I was grateful for the moments of shade from the trees; even it was momentary. It was nice.
I will honest and admit that I am not happy with my time. I walked A LOT today during the race. The hills were nutso and so were the flats for that matter!
I should be happy with my time though-even a cool 1st place age group finisher medal did not change that. ( I was totally surprised when I was handed the medal). I still had a good time ( I think), it was just a challenging and humbling experience. I had moments of energy and then BAM-I was walking. It was weird. Oh well...there is always next year!!
Here are the goods: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/39053022

T-Rexin' it today!

2010-07-03T06:06:00.005-04:00

It's Race day and one again I am up way too early. But somehow I will still end up scrambling around to leave my house on time! How does that happen?!?!

I am looking forward to this race. It's more of a fun one, so I am told. It's too hard to try for a goal time; especially since it's my first time doing this race. It's mainly trails and hills. Cool and yuck! The weather is supposed to be quite warm, but at least the humidity will stay away until tomorrow.

I have quite a few friends running this one too. We all have different paces and goals so it will be interesting to see what happens. Will I let my competitive side take over and try to keep up with the faster guys OR hang low and really enjoy myself and run alone or with my conservative buddies? Come back later to find out!!!