Say "Ahhhh": Weekly Check-Up

Told you I'd check in with you each week.

So, how'd I do?

Here's the deal with goals.  You are more apt to reach yours if you share them with others.  Ok, many of you may be like, "Wow, she really puts herself out there with letting us know every little detail of her exercise routine."  Yes, well, exactly.  By sharing my intentions with you, I have been more committed to actually completing them.

Monday: 3 or 4 mile run COMPLETED

Tuesday: Hip Hop Abs (in prep to lead at an inner city after-school program on Thursday) COMPLETED

Wednesday: FIT CLUB: first half - Body Gospel, second half (more advanced participants) - Turbofire HIIT 20. COMPLETED:  although rather than HIIT 20, we did a Core workout

Thursday: CLX Burn 1, and Hip Hop Abs in afternoon COMPLETED

Friday: 8 mile run COMPLETED (and it kicked my a%$)

Saturday: Turbofire (either HIIT, or longer program) BLEW IT OFF

So, what does this week look like?  I have a plan.  Do you?

Monday:  3 mile run
Tuesday:  Burn Circuit 1
Wednesday:  Turbofire Sculpt or Tone, Body Gospel at FIT CLUB in evening
Thursday:  9 mile run 
Friday:  Turbofire Sculpt or Tone plus HIIT
Saturday:  No plan at this point

So, how are you doing?  How's your plan?  Actually, let me back up.  Do you have a goal?  Exercise not only benefits one's weight and physical well being, but also increases brain function, energy, and wards off many a disease.  My goal is not to look like a super model.  My goal is to feel energized during the day, for there is a lot to do around here!  I don't want to feel sluggish and fuzzy.  Been there.  Done that.

Stop thinking of exercise as something we endure merely for physical benefits.  When we focus only on the outer results we forget that exercise benefits us on the inside . . . yeah, you can tone those abs, but how about sharpening your mind?  Yep, exercise does that also!

What is your goal?

How can I help you reach that goal?

Random Thoughts While Running #2

Yeah, this cute little guy looks sweet enough, but don't be fooled.

He packs a mean punch.

Twice.  I was tempted to yell, "The sky is falling!"

Planned my 8 mile course last night and was so excited to have at it today.  I had just come off of a sweet volunteering experience at Hill House in Pittsburgh where I Hip Hop Ab'd with a few kids, and shared 5 simple exercise and diet tips.  Now, the morning after, I was looking forward to my usual Friday morning run in preparation for a half-marathon in October.

Started strong.  Felt good.  At first.  Here are a few random thoughts that went through my head while I hit the pavement today.

• Hi Sue!
• Ouch.  Acorn.  What the . . . ouch!  Acorn.
• The river is so placid this morning.
• Oh, Jason Mraz, I so love you, but I'm sorry, I can't run with you.  Skip.
• Wow, Prada sunglasses while running.  Ok.  It's a look.
• Oh, it's Marleney!  I love seeing friends along the way.
• Full marathon?  Ever? (pause)  No.  Never.
• Wait.  Who placed that wall in front of me so early into this run?
• Cemetery.  Two laps.  With the scent of McDonald's wafting through the air.  Yuck.
• Justin Timberlake, I have a running crush on you.
• "Been running so long, I've nearly lost all track of time"
• I'm never gonna make it.  What's wrong with me today?
• Am I going to be able to handle the actual race?????
• I must have started out too fast.
• SPRINKLER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Wall.  Wall.  Wall.  Wall.
• What I wouldn't give for a P90X Recovery Drink/Aleve chaser right about now.
• I'm going to have to walk the last hill.
• NO, I will NOT walk the last hill.
• OMG, the last hill.
• Done.

Ladies and gentleman, I ran 7 miles last week, and today, my pace was a minute SLOWER than last week.  The pace I ran today would put me at the finish BEHIND my usual half-marathon time, while my pace last week would hand me a personal best.  What gives?

I feel fine, nothing was hurting, no pains in my nooks and crannies, nothing that would point to a reason for struggling through. The legs feel a wee bit fatigued, and did so during the run as well, but not enough to be a "red flag".  I feel drained. 

Post run, I drank TWO portions of recovery drink, a banana, and then went to pick up Zane at school. Perhaps I need to drink more prior to the run?  I don't know. 

All I know is that it started out fun today, and half way in I felt like I wanted to stop.

BUT. I. DIDN'T.

Accountability Check-point

So, how did I do last week?

I shared my workout plan with you, and now, I need to check in and share how well I stuck to the plan.

Monday:  Ran 4 miles

Tuesday:  Body Gospel @ FIT CLUB (did NOT get in my Turbofire or Ab workout)

Wednesday:  NADA . . . boo

Thursday:  In planning for FIT CLUB, I tested a resistance program on Body Gospel.  It may work well for that group, but for me, I was underwhelmed.

Friday:  Ran 7 miles

Saturday:  BLEW IT . . . boo

Ok, so this week, I worked out only 3.5 times.  I'm only counting Thursday's workout as half a workout, for I really didn't move beyond being comfortable - no challenge.

This week's schedule?

Monday:  3 or 4 mile run
Tuesday:  Hip Hop Abs (in prep to lead it at an inner city after school program on Thursday)
Wednesday:  FIT CLUB:  first half - Body Gospel, second half (more advanced participants) - Turbofire HIIT 20.
Thursday:  CLX Burn 1, and Hip Hop Abs in afternoon
Friday:  8 mile run
Saturday:  Turbofire (either HIIT, or longer program)

Here's a convenient way to check off completed workouts.  Don't Break The Chain, is a cool site that I've added to my iGoogle.  All I need to do is mark each day I workout.  My goal?  Not to break the chain Monday-Saturday, for I will be taking Sundays off. 


So, have you decided to join me?
How many days a week do you plan to workout?

Random Thoughts While Running

I am currently training for a half-marathon.

The half-marathon distance, 13.1, is my long run of choice.  I try to do at least one every year.  No, I won't do any longer runs.  Simply not interested.

I am by no means a fast runner, or even a natural runner, so I have no grand illusions of placing in a race.  I just want to improve my personal endurance.  I hope and push for a PB (personal best) time in every race I complete.

Although, as for beating my PB's, I don't think I'll ever run another 5K in 26.14, as I did a few days after finding out I was pregnant with Harper back in 2000.  I've never again seen that time with my name next to it.  And, well, that's just fine.  10 years later, I'm still pulling a 10 minute mile, and I'm cool with that.

My half-marathon pace is slower, so that means a lot of time on the road, with my iPod, and my thoughts.

Here's what was running through my head this morning, in no particular order:

• I do not take walking breaks because I have to.  It's all strategy.  I have extra bones in my feet, (yeah, I'm a freak) which predisposes me to experiencing plantar fasciitis quite easily, for there's a tendon that can't get around the bone, and yada, yada.  Since adopting a run/walk interval, I've decreased both my times and my pain.  Please stop yelling, "Don't walk!  You can do it!", instead, how about, "You look great!  Keep it up!"  Wanna read more? www.jeffgalloway.com.  I'm not slowing to a minute of walking because I'm wimping out.  I'm walking so I won't be forced to wimp out later in the race.
• Wait.  There's a pebble in my shoe.  I'm like the "princess and the pebble" of running.  Even if the pebble is the tiniest granule and stuck deep into the groove of my treads, I feel it, and must stop.
• Did that woman just sneer at me?
• Eye contact with drivers.  Keep eye contact with drivers.
• The cemetery is next to McDonald's.  How fitting.
• I so need to spit (I'm a spitter), but there are too many walkers today and I don't want them to think I'm spitting on someone's grave.
• Crap.  Am I getting a blister on my toe?
• Out of the cemetery.  Can safely spit now without my actions being misinterpreted.
• Coldplay.  Thank God.
• This area of town is creepy.  Note to self, change my course next time.
• Oh, there's my neighbor!  Ok, not so creepy any longer.
• Barking dogs behind a fence.  Scared the beejesus out of me.
• Waving to other runners.  Waving.  Waving.
• Is that kid seriously mimicking the way I run?
• Left hip flexor is tight. Will work it on the next walk interval.
• "I'm outta time and all I got is 4 minutes 4 Minutes, hey"
• Lady Gaga is regurgitated Madonna.
• Brick streets are charming unless you have to run on them.
• Jesus is my help.
• Stuck at the corner.  Traffic.  One guy waving me to cross. Other side not stopping.  Stuck.  Damn.
• Almost home.  Gonna take the hill.
• There are reasons I put a hill at the end of all my runs - it's for that extra push - builds strength, endurance, and mental toughness.  Just a bit longer.  The hill is .1.
• P90X Recovery Drink - delicious (yes, that is both the truth and a product placement)

Had a tough go between 5-6, but still finished UNDER my usual half-marathon pace.  Wonder if I'll be able to keep that pace for 13.  13 Point One.  Can't forget the .1, cause when I do, it's bites me the patootie at the end of the race when I think I should be done.  Never underestimate the .1.

7.1 miles today.

8 next week.

What will I be thinking about next week?

Tracking Your Progress: Just Write It Down Already

Now that I've graduated from ChaLEAN Extreme and am training for a half-marathon next month, I am working on developing a hybrid of ChaLEAN/Turbofire/Running.

For months, I followed the daily workout as designated by Chalene in both of her programs, glancing at the calendar each day to see what exactly was on the docket.

Now, that I have a half marathon in 5 weeks, I've needed to actually put in some work designing a new schedule which will include resistance training, cardio, and mileage, and is based loosely on the official TF/CLX hybrid. I have written these workouts into my calendar.  Why?

The discipline of actually writing specific workouts into my planner furthers my success in three ways:

1.  By writing my workouts into my planner, I increase the chances that I will actually execute them.
2.  By writing my workouts into my planner, as well as sharing them on this blog, I choose to place myself in a position of accountability to my Beachbody customers, fellow coaches, and friends.
3.  By writing my workouts into my planner, I have the ability to track my progress every week, just as I did when using the calendars provided with other Beachbody programs.

I am also in the habit of tracking my calories everyday.  For eating too little will be counterproductive as I increase my mileage, and won't allow my body the fuel it needs to remain strong.  Eating too many calories will also come back to bite me - on the thighs, and the hips, etc.

So, I've begun using, My Fitness Pal as my personal food diary.

Tracking.

We already track so many things.  Grocery lists, our children's homework, family calendar events, chores around the house, bills, to do lists.

Why not exercise?

So here is my workout schedule for September 13-18 (I don't workout on Sundays):

Monday:  3 mile run
Tuesday:  Abs and either TF Sculpt or Tone 30, Body Gospel @ Fit Club
Wednesday:  CLX Burn 1
Thursday:  7 mile run
Friday:  TF Sculpt or Tone 30
Saturday:  TF HIIT 25

Will you join me in writing your workouts into your calendar each day?

Are You Wearing a Wristband to the Complaint-fest?

A friend emailed me a link to a post this morning, and I just HAD to re-post it here, for it sums up my sentiments exactly as I would pen them, if I took the time to dig them out of my brain.

If you find yourself to be a habitual complainer, read this.

If you are in denial about being a habitual complainer, or are a closet complainer, you should read this.

If you have broken free from being a habitual complainer, celebrate, and read this.  Know that by changing teams, your relationships with those that are stuck in a complaining mode will most likely undergo a change.

This is my WHOLE point with the exercise and nutrition dealio:  how many times do your hear either yourself or someone else utter, "I need to workout more" and yet IT NEVER HAPPENS?

I was there.  Really, I was.  The past 5 years have been an on again, off again, affair with eating healthy and exercising.  Truth be told, I wanted the RESULTS, but didn't want to actually do anything to get those results.  Which, truly, is where a majority of people fall on the whole exercise front.

I have now built consistency into my life. How?

• By choosing a workout program designed for me by the good folks over at Team Beachbody 
• By surrounding myself with like-minded people
• By following the program - even when I didn't feel like it 

Choosing.  Surrounding.  Following.

Beachbody puts it this way:  Decide (to start a program), Commit (along with others like yourself), Succeed (keep going - the benefits will be worth the sacrifice).

Currently, I am having to do some major shifting with regards to my workout, for while I enjoy Turbofire, I am training for a half-marathon and need to get runs in a few times a week.

I also miss weight-lifting.

So, what have I done?  I've hooked up with my friend and personal Beachbody Coach to plan out what the next few months will look like if we hybrid Turbofire/ChaLEAN Extreme.  Together.

We will do it together.

She's an iron-sharpener, that one . . . Proverbs 27:17.  I have a number of  iron-sharpeners in my life.

So, here are the tough questions:

Do your friends sharpen you or add to your dull/flat ex and interior?
Are you sharpening your friends, or joining them in the complaint-fest?

Just had to ask.

Half-Marathon

I'm ready for my next challenge.

Yes, I am currently tackling Turbofire, but after running my strongest 5K a few weeks ago, I decided that my body can handle another half-marathon.

Today, I threw out 5 miles.  Just to test my endurance and strength.

Clearly, ChaLEAN Extreme has built up both my muscular strength and endurance.  Turbofire has increased my cardiovascular stamina.

Cross-training.

It's where it's at.

My legs were loose the entire time.  I didn't try to freak my speed or push too hard.  Just took a nice run through Beaver while listening to music and wondering if I should tackle the Buffalo Creek Half Marathon in October.  The answer was a resounding "YES!"

My last half (back in November) went well.  October is beautiful and not as chilly.  This course has been said to be terrific.  I am in better shape than I was last November.  So, why not?

For me, it's all about pushing myself to the next challenge.  Moving forward.

How are you moving forward with your health and fitness goals?

From now until race day on October 16th, you'll see me running through Beaver (well, if you live here).  Every Friday, I will add 1 mile to my course, reaching 10 miles one week before the race.  So, if you see me, wave, give me a cheer, and if you happen to be watering the plants or grass, turn that hose on me.

Oh, and stop asking if I'll ever do a marathon.

Not interested.  My motto is, "13.1.  I don't go all the way."

And I have the t-shirt to prove it.

Thank you, Team Beachbody, for turning me into a maniac.  Best go order some more P90X Recovery Formula . . .