Running Thoughts

I only had 15 minutes by the time I got to the gym for the treadmill. Shawn Philips says 15-20 minutes of HIIT, so I guess 15 is...OK. The good thing is that I got in 5 HIITs in that 15 minutes and pushed the last 2 to 9mph. So, I was happy with that. I still have abwork to do, and I sure don't want to do it! It seems like I work and work and my abs never get sore.... Oh, don't worry...I'll do it anyway!

Go, Angell, Go! Here is my idea...why don't you look at how many days you would have had left in the challenge, and challenge yourself to that many days? Or set a deadline for yourself like Ruth has? That way, you are not starting over, you are starting a new challenge, like Ruth. Challenge 2!!! Then, after Christmas, we might all challenge each other to another 12 weeks! What'ya think?? You don't have to do it all or nothing, just do it with all you've got!

Well, if it was easy, it wouldn't be a challenge! I just finished my bis and tris about 6pm! I did the rest of upper body late morning, but saved tris and bis so that they would have a rest before isolating them, and because it worked better for me today to do it that way. Tomorrow, I will HIIT it on the treadmill!

Did my Hiit workout yesterday on the treadmill. M&M were there working out, so that was a nice surprise. They usually are done long before I get in there. Good, strong hiits, getting longer in duration! ran at 8mph. That's fast for me. I think I will go for 9 next time. I take a little longer recovering between hiits than Mr. philips, but that is getting better too. My legs were limp noodles the rest of the day. Got into the hot tub with kids and hubby. That felt great! Today is upper body, but I've planned it for a little later today. I will post about it later. We have an occupational therapist coming today to meet Kaegan (will post that on www.kaegansjourney.blogspot.com later) and Odell leaves today to be gone for 2 weeks straight. Bummer. Ok, Ruth, I'm hoping for big changes the rest of this challenge! I'm beginning week 9. When I see Odell again, I want him to be surprised! I'm hoping to post a pic or two later today. Does everyone realize that Ruth stuck...

Today has been a very welcome free day. I am really feeling yesterday's frog jumps. Must've done something right! Tomorrow, I will run HIITs on the treadmill. That should work some of the soreness out, at least make me numb!!!

Did frogjumps, walking lunges, and calf raises. I think I've been overtraining my legs. They're tired and achy all the time. Not just muscle soreness; a deep ache. Anyway, I took it a little lighter today although I guess frogjumps are never light. But I did few lunges without weight. I may not be eating enough either...I'm going to concentrate on trying to make sure I eat every 2.5 hours today. I'm so excited to see that my vacationing friends are still blogging!!! I thought I was going to have support-draught for several days! Not so! yay!

Treadmill for me today. I'm afraid of the pack of dogs, but it also snowed. I got up and made myself a protein shake, waited almost 3 hours and then ran HIITs on the treadmill in the community gym. Did 7 or 8--lost count-- at level 8. Still have abs to contend with, but I will do reverse crunches and cross-crunches in 3 back to back sets of 15. I noticed that I have a calf muscle popping out these days. That's nice! Those calf raises are paying off! In honor of my new calf muscles, I think I will do this seated calf exercise tomorrow for a change.

Well, I'm accomplishing today's workout in baby steps. I'm not feeling at my best this week, so I decided to do today's workout a little differently. After some advil, I managed to do the first "shift" of my workout, chest and shoulders. I'm about to do the second, which will be tris and bis. Then, after I go get Gracyn from school, I will go over to the gym for lat pull-downs. I would like to be all finished long ago, but that isn't the way it is today. Tomorrow, I will go to the gym for the treadmill.

Well, Ruth says that she likes the treadmill because of "x, y, and z." I met x, y, and z this morning. They looked something like the picture... And they had a buddy with them. I kept trucking up my hill like they weren't there and wishing I had some mace, and the biggest one followed me for just a few seconds before they all went on their merry way. Whew! I'm planning to find out if the store here carries mace before my next outdoor walk. Good news...finished in record time! Ha, ha!

Today was lower body which I procrastinated for some reason. Finished finally! High points were: 50 lbs on squats--(can do more, I'm figuring that out with my new weights) 50 lbs, lunges (might die if I do more) burning calf muscles HIIT and abs tomorrow. DidNOT eat Mindy's yummy dessert last night. OK, one bite. But that is because I didn't plan my meals and accidentally skipped, and Gracyn was about to throw away an entire BITE of delicious chocolate delight. I couldn't let that happen! I don't think 1 bite counts when I wanted the whole dish. Cast your vote: Does 1 bite of chocolate delight count against me? I mean LOOK at it!

Is Sunday. We have 3 day weekends here. Monday, no school. I love that! So, Sunday can actually be a day of rest and praise without worrying over Monday. I slept in and then went to the gym to climb onto the treadmill for HIIT. I don't like the treadmill as much for these reasons: I like the hills outside, believe it or not, I like the fresh air and the scenery outside, I'm more motivated to MOVE outside. I would say that on the treadmill, I move, but I don't MOVE. So, I managed 5? HIITS, I think. They are short, but getting longer. I was only running at a level 7 because I'm not used to the treadmill (another reason my workouts are not as good with the treadie), so I constantly feel like I need to be "careful." So, 7 felt a bit precarious, but not my fastest. Anyway, I like to do my workout in the morning before I eat (burn more fat) but it is significantly warmer by 10am, and I could easily run outside by that time...oh the dilemma!

The body of man is a machine which winds its own springs.- J. O. De La Mettrie Today is a day of rest for me, but tomorrow I'm back to winding the springs of my body. In the meantime, I found some yummy-looking recipes on the BFL site: http://www.bodyforlife.com/nutrition/ExpoRecipes/index.asp Have a good weekend! Angell, get off the treadmill, put that heating pad back on your neck, and lie down! You've wound your springs too tightly this week, and they need a break! ;)

Did upper body with my new exercise equipment today! My new dumbells are heavy!! I think maybe we ordered the wrong ones...I would have preferred lighter ones. Ha! Seriously, they are harder to lift because they are bigger and longer, so there is more of a balancing issue. I really like them and am looking forward to the added muscle-building of the balancing act. The weights are so easy to change. You just turn a dial and the weight is adjusted for you, and they only take up the space of one set of dumbells. They go from 5 pounds up to 50 pounds by increments of 2.5 pounds. ...And, I'm so happy to have a bench! I was planning to do my back workout this afternoon, but had forgotten that I was due at the school to talk to Mindy's class about autism. So, I still have that to do. Here is what I did this morning: chest presses and flyes shoulder presses and flyes tri extensions and lying extensions bicep curls Made a yummy key lime shake. MMMM. Had to share it with my ...

Well, here are the exciting pictures! I got this great coat at Walmart, and I thought you gals might be interested until I read Ruth's post! Now, I think I might be the only one crazy enough to run in the cold. But, see the nifty pocket for my MP3 player??? And, it's cute too! Below, you see me in a shirt that I absolutely would NOT wear before now because it was tight around my mid-section, aka, jellyrolls. Now, it is loose and comfy! Notice the baggy, saggy jeans.... Last, is a picture of me about 2 weeks into the program doing backward sit-ups with our dog, Ricky as my weight. Very silly! But it worked!

Well, between the hiills and the hiits, I managed to stay warm. I like sprints better than the BFL style because I lose track of where I am in the BFL intervals, and the hills mess up those intervals anyway. Besides, the sprints are like drinking a can of JOLT or something. I especially like the sprints on a downhill stretch--feels like freedom. I can go twice as far as on flat ground. Now, the uphill stretches....'nuther story, but it's a good feeling of accomplishment and discipline. One problem...My pants fall down now. :) I would guess that I've lost just over 5 pounds, maybe 7 or so, but my mid-section is definitely taking shape!! I didn't measure at the beginning....I'm terribly organized and couldn't find a tape measure anywhere!! I'm going to try to find one or borrow one (I doubt the country store has one) and take measurements for this second half of my journey. I would call the med center to see if they test body fat (they probably do) bu...

I'm talkin' HILLS! This is one of my favorite downhill stretches! That's a mama deer. Her babies had already crossed ahead of her. They just watched me as I ran along, up and up and up. I guess my runs have been sort of HIIT since I am constantly trying to recover from one level 9 to the next because of the hills.... ha!

Well, I feel like I am constantly working out as Kaegan spills paint all over the carpet and writes on the white board with paint pens and dumps out all the art supplies and leaves the lids off all the markers and and and and.... But here is my official workout today: legs....(did abs yesterday on aerobic day and will again tomorrow) plie' squats with graduating weights and frog jumps as burnouts one leg calf raises luvly lunges with graduating weights and straight leg lifts as burnouts The key to straight leg lifts is keeping your back straight, I would say. Anyway, it seemed like it took forever to finish those few things, so I'm glad I moved abs to aerobics day! Have a goooood Wednesday!

Here are my favorite little sportblock adjustable dumbbells that I use for my weight workouts. They only go up to 21 pounds each, though, and guess what??? I'm graduating to these... Odell ordered them for me and they have already shipped! I'm so excited! He also ordered a bench for me...isn't it way cool? I am looking at treadmills and thinking...."these things are expensive!" He is trying to talk me into something else, but I really prefer the free-er feeling of running...feet actually lift off the floor and aren't strapped into anything.... We'll see what I end up with. I'm hoping to find something used. I went to the community gym to use the treadmill this morning. Took it really easy since I can still barely breathe from my cold. I realized as I got on it, that it has been a week since I had a good, strong aerobic workout. I can't really call today's workout "strong" but it felt good to work up a sweat and to move. I...

So many interruptions in my upper body workout today!!! I'm about to go and complete it just now (almost 1:00)....At least I managed to challenge myself in the part of the workout I did get to complete! It was cool....I was doing chest presses, 15 pounds each hand, 12 reps at the very beginning for a level 5, and I thought of looking back in my journal to my first upper body workout. There is a note in that section where I had tried to lift 15 pound barbells for a level 10. It reads, "15 pounds too heavy." Now, 15 pound barbells made for an easy level 5! Progress!

Well, things didn't go as planned on the filed trip... I was sick. It's funny that on the day I felt the worst, and knew that I was goint to miss working out, this is the excerpt in my BFL Journal: "If you miss a workout, you miss it. Put it behind you and move on!" By this point in the program, nine out of ten people will have missed a workout...or two. In fact, the vast majority of people whose before and after pictures and success stories are featured in this book missed a few workouts during the course of the 12-week program. And still, as you can clearly see, they succeeded anyway. the key is sticking with it day after day, and finishing all 12 weeks. My advise is that if you miss a workout, don't try to make up for it by doubling up the next day. For example, if you missed yesterday's aerobic workout, don't try to "make up for it" by doing your leg training and aerobics today. That approach can put you in a "reactive" mode...

Ode to Ruth's Abs (to be read in earnest and with admiration) Oh to be able to wear the tight shirts with low-riding jeans (not that I would) but to be able to... would be beautiful indeed. Like Ruth, I would be with my 6-pack, so sweeet. Not afraid to post my pics because within those portrayals all could see... A beautiful six-pack so hard-earned, not free, but mine, none the less at forty, my best. One day, will this, too, be me? Oh to have abs like Ruth's a dream that would be... for Ruth's abs are so strong a 6-pack of glee.

...But I managed to keep warm. Ran a large portion of my workout. I like to run, but my joints do sort of ache. I plan to get into the hottub later for a soak. :) 1.5 mi in 21 minutes. Getting there. Tomorrow, I will do my upper body workout before we leave for our 3 day field trip. On Thursday, we will be hiking all morning, so it may not be the intensity, but it will be a long, good workout. Friday, I will do lower body and just keep up my schedule the way it is with Saturday supper to Sunday supper being my free day. Even a 3 day field trip will not hold me back!!!!

I don't know what adelga.com is (I hope it's not something bad), but isn't this a cute pic? Lower body: walking lunges (whew!) plie' squats frog jumps (youch!) squats with 30 pounds calf raises til my calves were screaming abs this afternoon will be crunches and leg raises. Tried to switch it up, but it always feels wierd to change things and I'm not sure the burnouts were as good... I leave for a class field trip on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with Kaegan's class (Mindy is his teacher) I will do upper body before I leave and I'm trying to decide if Thursday will be a free day (then it will be a loooong time until the next one) and Friday, I will do lunges, frog jumps, calf raises, etc. in my hotel room. I'm sure they have a gym, but I won't want to leave my boys in the room while I go work out. I might be able to take them with me, but I doubt it...Hmmm. Still contemplating. I really don't want to mess up the schedule I have going, but that ...

Good run this morning, and I do dare to call it an actual run now. I still walk too, but it's now more of a run than a walk! Beat my time again! I still won't challenge Ruth to a race, though! Maybe Odell.... ha! OK...I just figured out who Christy is! The "Kate" threw me off! Here's my survey! childhood ambition: artist, scientist, archeologist... Quite a combo, huh? fondest memory: growing up in southeastern Oklahoma...little creek, little grove of trees, big forest, my dog, Yo-Yo, catwheels in the front yard soundtrack: Phantom of the Opera retreat: home wildest dream: Odell not having to travel; and the beach thing sounds good, I may borrow that one! proudest moment: when Kaegan finally called me "mama"--age 5 biggest challenge: autism alarm clock: only if you want me to wake up perfect day: snow with nowhere to go first job: babysitting indulgence: coffee with real half and half and real sugar..mmmmmm last purchase: green jacket ...

Finished chest, shoulders, and back as planned. Will do tris and bis this pm. Highs were good and high! Tomorrow is free for me!!! My daughter is looking for a lime pie recipe as I type!

Here is today's "Lesson for Life" in my BFL success journal: From Bill Phillips... "Today I want to share something that I would like you to keep in mind: No one is perfect. We all make mistakes. Therefore, no one can follow the BFL program "perfectly." Even I miss workouts and meals from time to time, and even my planes sometimes get interrupted by traffic jams, delayed airline flights, meetings that take longer than expected, and even oversleeping. But those things are the exception, not the rule. Most of the time, I eat six nutritious protein- and carbohydrate-balanced meals a day. Most of thet time, I exercise intensely, first thing in the morning. Most of the time, I keep a positive mindset and am optimistic. And most of the time, I feel healthy and energetic. Remember, it's what we do MOST of the time that shapes us, not what we do some of the time. So, don't worry if you're not 'perfect.' " It's what you do most of the ti...

So, in my quest to learn to LUV lunges, I killed myself this morning. I figured if it's gonna hurt anyway, it may as well reach the limit. My goal has been to reach a higher high point, so I am working at it! I forgot to mention that yesterday was day 30! I spent 30 minutes in the hot tub! And had a nonfat, plain latte. That's actually not off limits...just add a little more protein and don't do it everyday. That way, it's a treat. I should have had 30 of them, huh? BUZZZZ! It wasn't as yummy as the sweeeet one Ruth posted for me looked. But, it was yummy in an unsweetened sort of way. So...legs: lunges and straight leg lifts (which I'm getting bored with--any ideas?) squats and sissy squats (taking a break from frog jumps) calf raises and angled calf raises This afternoon: abs--Odell's ab-killer-gadget or else the gym for incline crunches and as many sit-ups I can muster which is about 5! ha

Four Week Pictures Unforgiving > > By: Roving Reporter > > > > Beginning the Body for Life challenge is challenging in itself, but to > continue on through the fourth week…amazing. Josha, of Podunk, USA, defies age and skirts past obesity in her quest for the > finish line. What is at the finish line? Fitness, the ability to > keep up with her kids. "It's been ages since I've bothered to take > care of myself," states the mother of 3 who gave up her figure 12 > years ago at the birth of child number 1 and then completely lost > sight of her former self when her middle child was diagnosed with a > severe disability. This story is so similar to those of many mothers, > but this woman has made it a top priority to stick with this program > for no less than 12 weeks. > > > > At the close of week number 4, Josha's progress pictures show very > little change. At this, Josha scoffs, saying, "I can tell it i...

Coming up on Day 30, and I thought it would be fun to celebrate somehow. Any ideas out there?? Today's highlights... Upped my weights in tricep, lying extensions. severely challenged my biceps muscles, 15 lbs, each hand, curls Reached intensity level of 9+ and 10! in each exercise today even with children chattering at me. Another idiom my family lives by in Kaegan's Son-Rise program... Remember to believe that everyone is doing the best they can for what they know and for their own circumstance, it is the best they can do at this moment. In our fitness program, I think this applies this way: When your workout is not what you know it could be, remember to believe in yourself...this was your best at this moment, that doesn't mean you won't have a better best next time. Moment by moment, we will get there.

My hubby doesn't know, yet, how to download the pictures off the camera-phone either. We are going to try to figure that out so I can share some photos with you. Soccer games all morning yesterday in nearby (2 hour drive) town, so we spent the whole day there. This being the case, I had planned for yesterday to be my free day since there is a STARBUCKS there! (I had 2 of them!--My husband said something about me being spoiled rotten!) Back into the routine today, although late and had to force myself...it's only 20 minutes, after all...what was the big deal??? I did it, bettered my (slow, but steady) time, and am now putting off my shower...must procrastinate something, I guess. Actually, I am enjoying my hubby being home. He has been out of town. He hugged me and said that I feel smaller! He bought a grill yesterday, and we are going to make 2 yummy rotisserie chickens and some celebration steaks since we are celebrating the selling of our house! Nice, yummy program food. I ca...