Running Thoughts

I'l be posting some pictures later of the trail that I like to run on, but today, I ran a 3K on my driveway.  I managed to shave off a few seconds and reach another personal best for the mile even with running the uphill side of my driveway which slows me down significantly.  I think that means that when I get to run the river trail again, I'll be faster.  That's good!  I joined a challenge race on nike+.  The fastest 3k by May something.  I'm near the bottom of the pack!  That's ok.  I'm trying it anyway and maybe by May whatever it is, I'll be faster and fitter!  I figure that I'll be running the whole thing with only a walk to warm up by the end of it anyway!  That will put me closer to my 5k goal.  Moving along!

Sauchagirl asked about goals.  Now that I have finished this 8 weeks of bliss, with only the strength test remaining (Wednesday..I had it wrong), I think it is a good time for more goal setting. I have reached a lot of my goals (yay!) and have set new ones along the way and reached a lot of those too.  Here are some lingering and new goals... I haven't really aspired to distance run, being extremely happy with my sprints and jumprope, but this "round," I'd like to run a 5K.  Thought I might run/walk one today, but I'm really sore from yesterday's workout.... I have my bike ready and would like to ride it to Capital City and back, (tough-but not the toughest slightly uphill ride...about 12 miles or so one way). I want to see my abs...so I'm shooting for 15-17% body fat.  Lingering goal...it stays at 19%. Another lingering goal...lose a couple more inches in my waist.  I still have that squish around the middle. Organize a "jumprope for heart" for...

This 8 week Blitz is coming to a close... We have an upper body lifting day today and legs day tomorrow.  Then, Monday is Strength Test day.  We are taking that week "off" and then starting straight body for life the following week.  I plan to do random, fun cardio next week which I'm excited about! UPDATE: Did our workout.  This blitz has been really good and I am stronger, but I don't think BFP or weight or measurements are going to be much different.  Ya never know, though, so I'll save the complaints (kidding) until after the results are in!  I will say that the abwork has been missing from this program and we have had to build it in.  Sometimes we have been more successful than others.  Lately, we have been doing pretty well with it.  We have made progress...doing over 3 minute plank (is that right, Sara?).  Anyway, if anyone decides to try this program, be sure to plan in the abwork!   Did you see Ruth's pics???????  find her blog on my sidebar and check...

Just kidding... This is a pic from the bouncing rodeo that you missed at our house a few days ago.  Cardio today was actually running sprints along the river.  2 miles to add to Hoop-n-Holler!  I'll do that later when I post abwork.

My arms are sooooo tired.  We did chest, shoulders, tris and bis.  Triple drop sets on tris and bis.  My mind is weary tonight too, so short post.

Sara is amazing.  She got up this morning and ran on the elliptical.  I got up this morning and took a hot soak in the tub. Well, it is the best bathtub in the whole world (19 inches deep!) and it sets in there beckoning me all day every day.  When I got up this morning, it was singing my name, so I was weak and climbed in.  It felt so gooooood.  But, when I got out, Sara had just gotten off the elliptical all sweaty and energized.  I was sort of mad at my bathtub then. Anyhow, I ran uphill sprints early this afternoon with my Nike+ friend and my golden retriever, so that was good. Abwork tonight when Sara is available too.

I spent the day grocery shopping, at walmart, at target, and getting new lenses and glasses for Gracyn in a nearby town...so the workout is a MISS.  Oops!   Cardio tomorrow and I may manage to fit in today's lifting, but I'm not going to worry about it.  If it fits in, I'll do it!

Well, we were sort of tired of the same ol' leg stuff, so we did very intense triple drop sets of leg extensions and deadlifts, then trampoline leg/cardio fun!!!! Happy Saturday!

12 uphill sprints.  1.5 mi.  20 min. So, I wonder why the Nike+ graphs it like it does?  (See sidebar)  And it gives my fastest sprint as a 7 minute mile when its little voice told me in my ear that I ran a 5 minute mile.  That's darn fast for an old woman, and I want credit!!  AND...let it be known that it was up a good hill! Abwork will happen tonight, right Sara?  Sara? ok, well, it seems that Nike+ is having some technical difficulties with allowing me to grab the code and post my run on the sidebar, so the link is here, I hope.

We had a good workout...back, shoulders, tris, bis.  While we were there, this family came into the gym that came in a few weeks ago while we were there.  The time they were there before, we had an extensive conversation about fitness.  This time, the mom looked at me with complete lack of recognition in her eyes.  She didn't remember me at all....it was so funny!  No recognition....hm.  Interesting.  Ok, but this is the same lady who wears a helmet when she works in her yard because it is 100% UV protected.  Also interesting...

Sara called me a biker chick in my comments.  I'm so NOT.  Braeden and I went bike riding today.  Now, this may sound silly, but I've never lived in a place where gears were necessary.  We bought a mountain bike with the hopes of moving to the mountains one day, but now that I live in the mountains, I don't know how to use the gears!!!  I just don't get it.  There are 3 gears on the left handle bar and 7 on the right...so, now what?? Anyway, I rode up and down my driveway (no easy feat, but fun) and then we rode along the river as far as my nine year-old's legs could carry him (not too far) and then all around town and back up the hill home and up the hill of our driveway.  It was fun!  I would push ahead and then circle back to him as a rest.  We also took a break at the library (Magic Treehouse, you know). So, the left handle bar is on 3 and the right handle bar is on 2.  What does that mean?  My best guess is that I'm on gear 32.  hahahaha Also, Sara and I h...

Today is upper body in a little while with Sara.  That will be a good, quiet time (I hope...we like to have the gym to ourselves).  It's such a pretty day, though, that I ran my uphill sprints and did intervals of jumprope outside this morning.  That felt great.  Look at our challenge bar on the right!  I only registered 1.5 miles this morning (jumprope doesn't register on Nike+), but Ruth bumped us on up with her 3 mile run this morning.  Yay, Ruth! ***UPDATE*** We had a nice workout, skipping shoulders, which are sore.  I think that my weighted jumprope handles have my shoulders tired and sore!  I love my jumprope.  Tomorrow should be pretty again, so I will either run or jump or both.   Hope everyone had a great day!!

...are jello.

Upper body...back, shoulders, tris and bis.  Up on weight, and Sara could do a whole set of 6 reps on close grip bench press with weight that she could only do 3 of last time!!!  That's impressive!   We are challenging each other beginning next week to drink at least a gallon of water a day, to lengthen our pilates "plank"...will get back to you on the goal there, to eat no carbs after 4 except on Friday for dinner.  We are still brainstorming and final details are coming.

This post is silly and fun, but has nothing at all to do with fitness or fitness goals.  So if you are not interested in my silly life outside of fitness, stop reading here. OK, for those of you who have continued reading, we had an Office Party last night.  What this means is that we dressed up as office personnel to watch the new episode of the TV show, The Office.  I don't consider most of the show to be very kid friendly, so we rented Ratatouille for the boys and Nancy Drew for Gracyn.  They all dressed up for their shows as well.  In one of the past episodes of the office, some of the office workers create a club called, "the finer things club," where the y set up a refined atmosphere in the break room and discuss poetry, classic books, or music.  So, we went with this theme.  The sign on the door mimics the sign they posted on th eir door, only with my hubby in the red circle/slash instead of whoever they had in theirs.  teehee.  He's out of town and .... not v...

I'll update my nike+ later, but I only fit in a mile.  I had 15 minutes and I ran sprints uphill and jumped rope.  I'm not sure what nike+ does with the jumping part...oh well.  Anyway, I actually went more than a mile, but a mile is all that I will be able to add to our fifteener challenge!   Sauchagirl asked about the no carbs idea.  The idea is to cut out all forms of carbs after 4pm.  So, you eat your carbs the first half of the day as usual, but just eat vegetables with your protein after 4.  Although veggies are carbs, they are so full of fiber that it cancels out the carbs.  It's fine with me to eat this way temporarily, but lots of people get hungry without the evening carbs.  You'd just have to give it a try and add some of the good fats into the last half of the day to tide you over.  Also, we eat a piece of fruit before a workout and some protein after even if the timing is off.  So, boil some eggs and buy some oranges!!  :) pilates abs are this evening!  (I ...

Great workout today!  It's so great to have a workout buddy.  Last week and this week, we have been slacking off on the eating end of things....a few chocolate chips here and extra free meal there.  Today, while we were working out, Sara said that she wants to get back to the more strict eating plan that we had been following (BFL) and no carbs after 4.  YIPPEEEEEE!  I feel so lucky that I have her here and that we can keep each other on track and encourage and challenge each other.  We also did a super job going up on weights and will surely feel it tomorrow. It's also nice having you guys to be accountable to.  I like to post that I accomplished my fitness goals for the day!  I know that it might encourage someone else and it just feels great!  So, thanks for reading! I will be doing cardio (and abwork) tomorrow, but it may end up being on the elliptical machine...snow, you see, which would be fine except that it's wet/spring snow which makes you colder and creates wonder...

On the side bar, you can see that I added a Nike+ challenge that Ruth and I are trying out.  We are combining our runs to reach a short goal of 15 miles.  So, you can keep up with our progress as we get closer to our goal! My Nike+ run below the fifteener challenge looks weird.  It doesn't look flat across like that actually....not sure why it showed up that way.  It was a jumprope/uphill sprints workout, so it doesn't look that impressive on the stats, but it was tough and good.   I noticed that Nike is coming out with an armband so that you don't have to have an ipod nano to use the nike+.  I don't know how much it will cost, but I've really liked having my nike+.  So if it isn't big bucks, it might be worth it to those who don't have a nano.  I'll even sew you a little pouch to safety pin to the tongue of your shoe, so you don't have to buy nike+ shoes!  :)

...well, we realized today that our workout plan doesn't work with Sara's work schedule that we aren't accustomed to yet.  So, here is the altered plan, pending Sara's approval: TOMORROW will be legs day + chest.   Today, I did cardio...Yay!...JUMP ROPE alternating with uphill sprints.  So, my nike+ looks like barely over a mile and only about 18'/mile, but it was jumping and uphill sprints.  Too bad it can't show those sorts of details!  :)   Here is a site about jumping rope if you are interested in getting started.  

As promised.... Bicep picture time! camera fun...

UPDATE:  We did our upper body workout.  It was a mood-lifter!  Yay for us!  We did wide-grip pull-downs, close-grip rows, reverse flyes, and then supersets of pushdowns/inclined bicep curls.   A free day turned into a free weekend.  Hubby came home Sat. evening, so I should have chosen Sunday as free, but had already had a free saturday, then sunday with him.  It was fun not thinking about it while he's here because right now, he isn't here much.  Didn't want to spend the time working out while he is only here a short weekend either, so Sara and I agreed to do yesterday's workout tomorrow.  Today is upper body and belly dancing. Good news!  The snow is almost melted enough to jump rope!  I love my jump rope, and have been counting the days.  I may get out there today since tomorrow will be legs and I won't be doing cardio on a legs day. We are on week 6 (I think?) of our 8 week blitz.  It goes by so quickly these days, and I think we are going to do straight BFL ne...

Today is a free day around here!  I hope you are all having a good one!!  

"You've reached a new personal best for the mile!" said the nike+ voice in my ear.  Nice kudos emanated from my ipod today.  It was an upper body day which was great.  I'm glad to say that Sara and I did that workout and pushed ourselves to new personal bests in the weight room as well, but I had the unique occurrence today of having a half hour to myself, so I ran.  The last couple of times that I've run, my nike+ sensor didn't pick up my run, so I re-calibrated it and it worked!  So, now I have a new personal best for the mile.  :)  That feels really good, so I hope you reached a new personal best today too!!

Today was a "no go" as far as my plans for cardio.  I spent today in a nearby town for Gracyn's eye exam.  She had a fish hook accident when she was 6...so we have to keep up the check-ups.  She's 13 now and so far, so good.  :)  Her artificial lens is not in exactly the right position and hasn't been for a long while.  It hasn't caused huge problems, but her vision in that eye gets worse with every exam, so in the next few years, she will have to have the lens replaced.  sigh.  But for now, we won't worry about it, will we??  That's today's mental workout...worry-free-ness.