Thankful Thursday: progress in a reflection

I've been very discouraged lately by the lack of progress on the scale despite 2-3 workouts a day and tracking my eating again.

Then yesterday morning I caught a glimpse of myself reflected in the window while I spun at 6am.

I wasn't going to post this because it's a really crappy picture and I'm not wearing a shirt, but the mug covers most of me up and I thought it made a good point.

Is that the hint of triceps? And maybe shoulders? I get so wrapped up in the number on the scale that sometimes I don't notice those little things. Just proves sometimes you find progress in the most unlikely places.

What are you thankful for today?

Training Tuesday: rolling with the punches

I learned how to use the snipping tool this week! So proud of myself :)

This past week was a bit of a struggle.  I'm still dealing with a sore knee and heel (that actually hurts more in my ankle) and a doctor who has basically told me to suck it up and train through the pain.  He did make some adjustments to my orthotic and offered a couple other suggestions, but the suggestions sort of pissed me off.  Why did I spend hundreds of dollars on orthotics if you are going to tell me a $30 arch strap thing that you ALSO sell might work just as well.  Shouldn't we have maybe started there????

This was my first week of my new, re-vamped training plan and I managed to get in most of my week's workouts but not to an intensity that I'd like.  Heading into spring break week where I know my workouts will be minimal makes me feel like I really slacked this past week.

Monday 3-24-14: Plan 45 min LIFT / Actual 45 min LIFT upper and lower body.

Tuesday 3-25-14: Plan RUN 4 miles / Actual RUN 4 miles in 44 min. A horrible run by many standards.

Wednesday 3-26-14: Plan 30 min BIKE and 30 min LIFT / Actual LIFT 40 min  and gym BIKE 11.6 miles in 30 min.

Thursday 3-27-14: Plan RUN 3 miles / Actual RUN 3 miles in 30 min (9:54 pace) on the TM. Another sucky run.

Friday 3-28-14: Plan 30 min LIFT and 30 min SWIM / Actual LIFT 45 min and SWIM 900 m in 23 min.

Saturday 3-29-14: Plan REST / Actual REST (plus a couple Lent strength moves)

Sunday 3-30-14: Plan RUN 6 miles / Actual RUN 6 miles in 1:05:xx (10:57 pace). I was dehydrated but the day was beautiful and I took on some hills. Even though my pace sucked, I'm fine with this run.

You won't get a training update next week because I'll be on vacation.  Don't miss me too much.

Three Things Thursday: giving thanks

Giving thanks for three randoms today!

1.  A super fun blogger run date with Corey on Sunday.  We ran a virtual 5k (Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas in the hopes to win a t-shirt) and then finished for a total of 5 chilly miles.  There was lots of cheesy picture taking around town and I got puppy snuggles from her sister's puppy Molly (and mistaken for a chew toy).

2.  Both of my kids ROCKED on their ACT tests (their scores came out yesterday).  They each improved by 2 points over their first try and their scores are pretty freaking impressive.  To top that off, my girl got her first collegiate recruitment letter yesterday for diving!  It's not a school that will work for what she's planning as her major but what a cool honor to be recruited.

3.  I started lifting again yesterday and I didn't die.  I used a few of the machines and dumbbells and I can even sorta move today (which probably means I didn't lift heavy enough).  Shameless gym selfie showing I totally forgot a headband and hair ties, so my hair was in my face the whole time. 

What are you thankful for this week?

Weigh In Wednesday: the Lent edition

This week I managed to lose 1.8 pounds.  As soon as it posts to Twitter from MFP, a bunch of my friends "favorite" the tweet or tell me good job. I need to turn that feature off.  Now, before we get all excited and celebrate that loss, let's not forget that I basically GAINED that much last week, so it's really a wash.  I'm still in the 150s and that's really too much, especially when you consider I maintained around 138 for so long and now here I sit, 14 or 15 pounds heavier than I should be.

sad but true

I don't doubt that my weight has something to do with the aches and pains while I'm running.  Lugging around this much weight, even though I'm running almost as fast as I was before I got injured again, surely can't be good for my knees and feet.  Plus, it's just a lot harder to run a 10 minute mile right now than it should be.  (10 m/m should be my "easy" pace, 9:40 or 9:30 my "hard" pace)
My CrossFit friends will try and tell me that I'm doing too much cardio, which isn't a belief I share.  Sorry guys. I still think burning calories is important and I like cardio.  But, I will agree that I need to add in more strength training.  
So, for the 40 days of Lent, I'm not giving anything up (because my giving up coffee or beer would be more of a hardship for those around me), but adding in something healthy.  I'm going to do at least 1 strength move every day because 1 is still better than zero in the hopes that it creates a better habit for strength training.  That move might be 10 triceps dips and squats like today, planks, pushups, lunges, bicep curls, whatever.  I'll post what I do on DailyMile to keep track.
Do you give something up for Lent or try to add in a healthy habit?

Fitness Friday: Challange Accepted!

Most people start some kind of New Year's workout challenge and this year I was no different.  I actually completed 3 challenges, none of which required running because injuries suck donkey balls but that's a different post entirely.  The first challenge was BethBob's #raceshirtaday Instagram challenge.  I gotta say, NAILED IT! I went 31/31 - a perfect score :) I really loved this - wear a different race shirt every day this month.  I only wore a couple to work (like today's Jax Bank Half shirt) because casual dress isn't really supported.  What was really fun was writing a blurb on Instagram when I posted the shirts.  It gave me a chance to relive some of those races and dig out some really old shirts.  I have race reports on most of these races here if you care to read them.

The second challenge was put on by the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans.  Squats and Push-ups - what's not to love besides everything?  Nailed this one, too.  I ignored most of the rest days and working out for 15-20 minutes in the morning has become a pretty cool routine.  I made it to the 3 rounds of 50 squats and 30 push-ups (modified).  Another success!  (Shrinking Jeans does a monthly workout calendar every month so if you want to get in on the fun, check back later today or tomorrow when Lissa posts the next calendar.)

Lastly, one of my girlfriends found this plank challenge from Athleta and we've been checking in each day on Facebook with how we've been doing on our planks.  This has also become part of my morning routine and I'm proud to say that while I didn't make it to 5 minutes (honestly, I think this was unrealistic), I can do a solid 3 minute plank now and can stretch it to 4 minutes with a 30 second arm position change.  This has also become part of my morning routine.

Did you participate in any fun workout challenges this month?  How did they go?

Training Tuesday: on a break

I'm taking a little break from running to try and heal this heal issue. (Go ahead and laugh, I did.) I worked on a training plan this weekend that is a mix of strength training for runners and cross training (most likely this will be biking because that doesn't hurt and I can go right from my house).



This is the ultimate goal for me. To come back stronger than I was. Heck, I've done it before & I can do it again.



Do you have a favorite (non running) cardio exercise? I need something other than biking & the occasional swim when I have an extra 45 minutes in addition to the workout.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Check-In Wednesday: New Rules of Lifting For Women

In an effort to add more strength training to my plans, I re-started the New Rules of Lifting for Women program on June 2nd, 2013.  On this program, you gradually increase weight and sets (but reduce reps as the weights increase). I'd made it through stage 1 once before (back in 2012) and looking back, didn't really have decent results then either.  I did things a little differently this time.  In 2012, I was completing the workouts 3 times a week instead of the 2 times a week this round (I just couldn't fit 3 in with triathlon/relay/half marathon training without going completely nuts).  I also didn't alternate the exercises the way they prescribed because I found an app to help keep track and I couldn't get it to work that way, so I did them all in straight sets.

Maybe these 2 changes are why this time it was a fail - again.

Or maybe I'm still not eating right.

Or maybe I just suck at strength training.

In any case, here are the changes I made over the course of just over 8 weeks:



If you scroll through my training logs, you can definitely see I increased the amount of weight I could lift.  But who's to say I couldn't lift that much from the start.  I also topped out pretty quickly on some of the weights.  I could never go higher than 15 pound hand weights for the shoulder presses, for example.

Now for the measurements.  They ended up a little better than I thought they would, but I'm still not very happy with them.



I haven't posted a weigh-in for about 3 weeks now because of some really stupid choices and events.  I had managed to get back up to almost 149 and I know a lot of that was salt/water but it still pissed me off.  This week I'm basically back to where I was 3 weeks ago (I lost 2 pounds last week and another 2.6 this week).  Pretty awful because that means the 5 pounds I gained weren't just salt and water or they would've been gone the next day.  I tried cutting out beer completely but I just couldn't do it.  At least I cut back quite a bit, but what can I say? It's summer and beer tastes good.

I started investigating the Whole30 plan and decided I'd probably rather be fat since according to their plan, EVERYTHING I eat and drink is WRONG.  No sugar, no grains, no legumes (like hummus!), no alcohol, no dairy.  No running fuel like honey stingers or gummy bears.  No carb loading.  How the f*ck would I still train and run?  Carry broccoli on my long runs? Pack a steak in my spibelt?  They say start today, no matter what events you have coming up - you can plan around them.  Um...How would I run my relay next week?  I'm pretty sure we aren't packing a grill and oven in my van.  I know there are a lot of vegan and paleo runners out there who have figured this out and major props to you.  I just don't see how I'd make it work.  I finally figured out what I can have without feeling like I'm going to puke or bonk and all that is wrong too.  It's pretty frustrating if you ask me. They say you can do anything for 30 days, but I can't cut all that out without wanting to cut someone for a cookie, so I think for the safety of my family, I need to stick with what I've been doing.  Even if I'm forever stuck in the mid-140s.  Maybe this shows I really don't care enough or want to be skinny bad enough.  I think I'm starting to be ok with that.  I like to have a life and be able to go out with friends and order off the menu.  Even have a beer if I so choose.

Fitness Friday: Fighting

I'm fighting a lot of negative thoughts right now. I absolutely did not want to go to the gym this morning and even sat in the car for 10 min before I decided to go in. I knew I'd forgotten hair ties & my headphones. I was in a shitty mood & didn't want to workout. But I shut off the van and I walked in to this sign:



I guess I needed that slap in the face. I'd be lying if I said I felt better after my workout because today I didn't. But I got it done and worked out hard. Life isn't easy. Losing weight isn't easy. Training isn't easy. But sometimes you need to fight through all the shit and believe that someday it will all be worth it.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Fitness Friday: SORE!!! #NROLFW

source

I'm not sure I agree with the "happy pain" part, but the sore muscles I definitely have.  This week I started the New Rules of Lifting for Women workouts again.  I've only done the first two, and combined with a hard run on Tuesday night and then essentially running a double by running again Wednesday morning, I've pretty much destroyed my legs.  I'll be the first to admit I haven't stretched or foam rolled nearly enough, because frankly, IT HURTS LIKE A MOFO!

I'm not sure if I just overdid it or if I'm really that out of shape.  I didn't even start my weights back where I left off a year ago but backed them down a bit.  Who knows.  In any case, I'll try to update on my progress from time to time.  I have a google doc that I've created to keep track, plus I'm using the jefit app at the gym as I work out. My only complaint about the app is it doesn't really work for the alternating sets, but I'm figuring it out.

Here's my first week's log:

Anyone else out there ever done the New Rules workouts?

Fitness Friday: What's Next?

So, this week I've let myself be lazy.  I haven't worked out at all unless you count the 2 walks I did on Sunday (for a total of 2.5 miles but they were very slow miles after the Bayshore 1/2 the day before) and about 15 minutes of abs work on Wednesday (that I'm still feeling today - out of shape much??).  My poor DailyMile is still sporting a giant goose egg.  I never even zapped the zero this week.  I know I needed the rest but I feel like a fail.  I could've biked or swam or done something but every day after school I've either had kid stuff or the weather hasn't cooperated (the pool isn't open if there's thunder/lightening and I won't bike in that crap either).  I need to make a plan or I'm afraid this lazy-ass trend is going to continue.

These are my thoughts - feel free to weigh-in.

• Begin the New Rules of Lifting for Women strength training workouts again.  I made it all the way through Stage 1 last year and I liked the structure.  I downloaded the jefit app for my phone and I've found a couple of people there that have already built in the Stage 2 workouts, but no Stage 1s - boo.  I need to play with the app and put them in there because I hated dragging a notebook with me to the gym.  If I can't figure out the app, I might just re-create the logs as a google doc.  
• Put together a training plan for Tri Del Sol.  This sprint tri is on July 20th and I haven't even taken my bike off the trainer yet.  Truth be told, I'm terrified of riding it clipped in.  I will probably use the same basic plan I used for the Millenium Tri last year, but longer runs on the weekends so I keep my 1/2 marathon base up.
• Incorporate a few two-a-day runs to train for the 200 mile Fred Relay (August 9/10).  I've never done a relay so if anyone has a training "plan" for this, please let me know.
• After Tri Del Sol, get serious about the 1/2 again and make sure my legs are ready for the Wine Trail Half on August 25th.  I'm not worried about pace for this one because it's basically going to be a girls weekend with a 13.1 mile run thrown in the middle.
• I'm going to run tomorrow. Even if it's only a silly little mile, I'm going to run.  I miss it already.

Have you found a good strength-training app that allows you to track your progress/sets/weight/etc?  If you have, please let me know about it.

Fitness Friday: Squeezing It In

Sometimes I don't have 60 minutes to spend at the gym. I know, shocking, right? Being the "all-or-nothing" type person I am, I really struggle with this. However, I'm going to try something a little different to get in some extra strength work. Today, I have a goal to get 30 min throughout the day before dinner time (plus 30 min of cardio when I get home).

This is what I'm using:



The Gorilla App is available for iPhone - I don't know about droid - and each workout is probably 10-15 min long. There's a mix of cardio & strength, with the idea that you will do the workouts in order. Being the rebel rule-breaker I am, I'm picking and choosing. Hopefully by the end of the day, I'll have done 3 strength workouts. Keep an eye on dailymile to see if I succeeded!

Have you used the Gorilla App?


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Training Tuesday: Burnout & Boredom

As I was reading through all the great comments on my post yesterday addressing how we can turn demotivators or negative motivators into positive ones, I noticed a resounding theme.

Many of you are facing burnout and boredom with your workouts - whether running, walking, or whatever.  Luckily, I think this is one of the easiest demotivators to fix.

You need to shake things up!  If you are in the middle of training for a race, I know this can be difficult because you have prescribed training runs to hit.  Nobody says you have to do them on the same days every week though.  Maybe run your usual routes backwards or find some new running partners to train with.  Switch up your days a little.  Usually do your tempo runs on Monday and your speedwork on Wednesday? Flip them.

Since I'm not really training for a race right now, I'm mixing things up a bit. (There is a 10k I'm looking at in January, but other than that I don't have anything "big" planned until May.)  I work best with a schedule, which is why I'm still planning my workouts.

This is my training "plan" for the next 6-7 weeks.  What days I do each workout may vary week to week, but this is what I'm trying to hit.

Monday: 45-60 min of cardio - this will probably be a run, but could easily be a spin class, aerobics class, or a swim (granted, I'd die if I tried to swim for an hour, but that's a different story).  Last week I ran 4.25 miles on a glorious spring day in December and threw in a 15 min abs workout.

Tuesday: 30 min leg workout/30 min cardio - I have a leg workout I'm trying that's hopefully going to get my running muscles stronger and then I'll follow it with some form of cardio - again, could be a run, elliptical, swim, bike, whatever.  I also have PT on Tuesdays, so it sorta fits.  Last week, I only went to PT.

Wednesday: 30 min arm workout/30 min cardio - I'm trying to work on getting my shoulders and sexy arms back. Again, will follow with something cardio-ish.  Last week I did the arm workout and it was SO HARD, then I went out and busted out the fastest 3.3 miles I've done in forever. Shows you never know what you can do when you're tired.

Thursday: 45-60 min cardio - Similar to the plan for Monday. Last week I went to a 45 min spin class (holy sweat-fest, Batman!) and then did 30 min of Pilates (yep - proved I'm a runner - you can guess how).

Friday: 30 min legs/30 min cardio again.  Last week I swam for 30 min and then because my girl got done with her sport early, did my 30 min leg workout at home.  Better than nothing, I suppose.

Saturday: 75-90 min run.  I still want to shoot for getting in a 6-8 mile long run each weekend to keep my endurance up.  This week was different for a couple reasons.  I ended up doing a bike/run brick.  42 min on the trainer inside and then 28 min run outside in the snow.

Sunday: OFF (I figure I deserve at least 1 rest day each week).

This plan is a mix of plans - some workouts I've gotten from friends and part of the workouts from the Train Like a Mother 10k Own It Plan.  I'd love to PR that 10k in January, but knowing it's going to be January and could be in a blizzard, I'm not placing any bets.  By Feb/March, I'll be ready to hit a more formal 1/2 marathon plan for the Bayshore Half.

What do you do to mix up your workouts and stave off the burnout and boredom?

After you comment here, make sure you go back and read yesterday's post and enter my GIVEAWAY!

Numbers Don't Lie, or do they?

I'm finding it a little hard to believe that I've been following the New Rules of Lifting For Women strength training plan for a month now.  I finished workout 7A last night, which means I only have 3 more workouts left in Stage 1.  I'm not sure how that will work with my half marathon coming up on Sunday and then traveling for a week, but I might get the workouts in.  I'm not going to beat myself up though if I don't.

I had decided a few days ago that I wasn't going to measure or take "progress" pictures because, frankly, I didn't feel like I'd made any visible progress (I know I've gotten stronger because I'm lifting a lot more weight and the workouts really aren't very challenging at all - which means I'm not lifting heavy enough).  I certainly can't see any difference and my clothes are no less tight and today my weight was EXACTLY the same as it was a month ago (GRRRR).  There are definitely factors going into the fact that my scale hasn't moved in a month well, it's moved but up a little down a little but overall it's a wash.  My eating has been pretty crappy.  I haven't been tracking shit my stupid Livestrong app reminds me every freaking day at 6 pm that I haven't tracked, fraking technology.  

In any case, I decided WTF and measured myself this morning (no pictures though).  Now, maybe I didn't have the tape measure in exactly the same spots or something, but the numbers have changed.  If you have some weird curiosity as to what they are exactly, you can see them here (and please be kind - I don't post my weight because I like it).

• Weight - unchanged
• Bust - down 1/2"
• Chest - down 1/2"
• Waist - unchanged :(
• Hips - down 1/2"
• Right Bicep - down 1/4"
• Right Thigh - down 1"
• Right Calf - down 1/4"

I'll certainly take those numbers and hopefully at the end of next month I'll actually be able to SEE some changes.  Have you been following the NROLFW?  What do you think?  Seeing any progress?

fABuary

We all know that I've been trying to incorporate more strength training into my workout schedule.  I've been working on the Hundred Pushups ap and Tough Mudder workouts (except for taking last week off).  I've seen another fun challenge on a few blogs in the past couple days (most recently Kim from girl evolving) and today I decided to join in.  This one looks simple enough and I think I can just tack it on to what I'm already doing (or on days I do TM, skip it entirely because the exercises are built into that workout already).

Do you want to join in?  Grab a copy of the schedule and pin it to your fridge or something.  Hopefully we'll all be a bit more bikini ready by the end of the month!

What's your favorite ab move?  Mine would probably be side planks.