I said RUN you slug

Workout 2-27
3 mile run outside, felt good, once again...no time.

2-28
Treadmill
5 min warm up 3.5-3.7 mph
20 min varying speed 5.8-6.3 mph
2 min warm down 3.7-3.5 mph
4 min uphill walk 8-9% grade 3.5 mph

gravitron assisted machine @74lbs
dips- 3 x 6
pullup- 1 x6
parallel grip PU- 1 x 6

bench press 1 x 8 x 45lbs, 2 x 5 x 55lbs
pushups 3 x 10
plank in PU position 3 x 20 sec

hip sled
2 x 10 x 90lbs

Jillian Micheals Come Kick My A*%

Yesterday I was 'invited' to come outside for a quick walk. I thought I'd be smart and walk a bit then run so I rushed to put on the warmest gear I had in my work locker. Okay, I'll warm up once I get moving, right? Uh, no. 1/2 mile in and I'm freezing. It's cold and now I have to pee. No I don't know why those 2 phenomenon are connected-they just are. I decide I can't take it and I'm going to run but I only make it about another mile before my ears are on fire and I REALLY have to pee. So I quit.
I had to make up for it so once again, while watching The Biggest Loser, I get on my cycling trainer. 30 minutes later I'm also once again wondering aloud how these folks lose my total weight loss goal in one week while I struggle to lose even a pound. SSSSHHH don't tell anyone but the reason is, I can't stop eating. So I get on the floor with a resistance band, light dumbells and a stability ball and go to work on light upper body and core work. I have no idea how long it was because I was so into watching the show, I lost track of time.
I just got a phone call that a group of friends running a 4 person relay for the LR Marathon on Sunday is missing a runner now. They want to know if I'll run. mmmmmaybe

Birthday Cake is the Deviiilll

Two weekends, two birthdays. I tried to be good. It didn't work well.

2-24
30 minutes on the trainer- moderate pace
another 20 minutes or so of upper body work while watching the boob tube.

2-25
I actually went outside for a run today! wow. 3 miles, mostly flat. Didn't wear a watch as usual. It was probably slow but it felt good. Real good.

Does cycling make debates more fun?

Last night while attempting to watch the Democratic debates I got on the trainer and cycled my way into confusion. A good 40 minutes of pedaling. I was actually on the bike for at least 45 but I'm discounting my time for having to pause to ask, "what did he/she say?" and "how the heck is that going to help ME?" mmmmm I hate emotional politics. Though after the debate the political hounddog analysts were all discussing Hillary's final shining moment, I thought her use of "graphic hearwrenching" descriptions of her visit to a rehab wing for wounded Vets was a bit, well, self serving. Oh, these are politicians. Never mind. I had to agree it was one of her better TV moments but why? because she knows how to use other people's misery for effect? cool. When she lived here in Arkansas I felt absolutely no connection to her or her "causes" despite the fact that I SHOULD have been directly affected by her supposed desire to help others attain the kind of "blessed" life she has led. I honestly do not see anyone in Arkansas benefiting from her time here except for her close friends who now have access to powerful people or have become powerful themselves. The education system is still in the toilet, roads suck and we have a welfare list that reads longer than Santa's naughty or nice list AND our colleges have to offer free tuition and a stipend equal to or exceeding tuition costs just to get 2 years of teaching committment in the Delta. It's the economy stupid. I suppose those complaints would leave the Huckster out in the cold too.
My question for the day. I agree that going into Iraq was a blunder and we need to be out of there sooner rather than later. I understand that being able to "promise" that troops will begin coming home immediately sounds fantastic. BUT, in a withdrawal situation, the safety of the troops is paramount. How much will the security of OUR men and women suffer as they continue to do their jobs while their comrades leave? How small can your force be before they are at even more risk? Just a thought. I'm no strateegerizer. hehehe

Uphill Both Ways

workout today is a hill repeat on the treadmill

time speed incline
0-4 min 3.5 mph 1%
4-9 8%
9-10 2%
10-15 10%
15-16 3.7 2%
16-20 6%
20-21 2%
21-25 8%
25-26 2%
26-38 4%
38-40 4.0 2%
40-45 3.5 1%

Minutes 26-38 were supposed to be 3 minute intervals at 4.0 mph and 4%, recover at 2% BUT, I remembered as my shins were absolutely screaming at me that I was on "that" treadmill that everyone complains has the "off" belt that says you're only going 3.7 when you're really moving closer to 3.9. Well, that's my excuse anyway. It was a good workout either way. Except for the late night M&Ms with the little one. Geeeesh

Flu, Birthdays and Lazy Dogs

This weekend was a whirlwind of craziness. The littlest was home sick all weekend and the middle one had a very important 18th birthday in the midst of it all. Fri at home with the munchkin let me get in a lot of housework and a little biking. Saturday was mostly spent in the kitchen trying to make birthday cakes that look like sushi rolls. I managed to mostly succeed at that one but made myself sick licking my fingers. Sugar Shock. The fact that he chose pizza and hot wings for his b-day dinner didn't help any.
Monday I finally got out for a nice heart pumping hill climbing walk but between all of the vomitastic food binges and not feeling quite up to par for workouts, I'd say the last 6 days have been quite the diet disaster. Shrug. I did finally get started on refinishing the small one's desk for her.

Trying to make up for it though I know that no workout fixes a bad diet

bike trainer 55 minutes while watching Biggest Loser. Appropriate.
on stability ball:
3 x 7 x 12lb bicep curl
3 x 10 x 17lb french press
3 x 8 x 7lb "Y" raises
3 x 8 x only lower back on ball crunches
plus: 3 x 8 push ups

Not Chocolate? What about BBQ

Yesterday was a bad food day. Very very bad. Nope, no valentine chocolate box the size of my head or anything close, just an invitation out to dinner. Which almost bombed considering the number of diners out and about and having no reservations. Ahem. After turning away from the much overcrowded shmancy steak house the choices were open. Since the youngest was with us, she practically shouted her desire to try the newest BBQ joint in town. To our delight, not only was the line not out the door, but there was a parking spot opening as we pulled in. Score! OMG did we eat too much meat. The neon sign at the back that said "Eat Like A Pig" was totally appropriate. I paid for it the rest of the evening.

Today I managed a workout of 35 minutes on the cycling trainer at home. Not great, but something. I have a LOT of house chores to do, maybe I'll fit in some other exercising later.

Another Day in the Salt Mines

Today was an unusual workday as I had to actually speak in front of a group. It's rare, but it happens. All is good. Unfortunately, that meant a large portion of my workday was dedicated to meetings. You would suspect that this would lead to a mad dash to complete all sorts of things before the end of the day. Not so much. In my job, if I don't think at least 2 days ahead, it won't get done. I have to set experiments up, gather supplies, reagents, buffers, grow bacteria, etc. You get the point. It's a timing thing. Flip side- I had time to work out in the fitness center today.

20 minutes on the elliptical ski apparatus (not to be confused with the band Red Jumpsuit Apparatus) XCtry program, not too heavy but enough to get the heart and arms pumping

stretching
plie squats 10 slow and deep, 10 fast pulses, repeat
seated cable row 1 x 18 x 55lbs, 2 x 8 x 60lbs
pushups 1 x 6 narrow hands, 1 x 6 up and over (on a 6 in block), 1 x 6 regular stance
lying horizontal fly 1 x 10 x 8lbs, 2 x 10 x 10lbs
bench press 1 x 6 x 45lbs, 2 x 4 x 55lbs
tricep pulldowns-split cable 1 x 8 x 30, 35, 40lbs
more stetching

Is short an excuse?

So I'm barely 5'3". Barely as in not even. Sometimes I like to use that as an excuse for my lack of speed. Oh, and couple shortness with long torsoness and I have double the excuse, yeah? Um, yeah.

workout for 2-12-08
I read somewhere that working out hard is better than working out often, I need to work harder even if it's less often in order to meet some goals

Speed Play Interval Day
3 minutes @ 3.5 mph
4 @ 3.7
2 @ 6.0
1 @ 3.7
2 @ 6.2
1 @ 3.7
repeat 3 minute cycle
2 @ 6.4
1 @ 3.7
repeat 3 minute cycle
2 @ 6.5
1 @ 3.7
2 @ 6.0
1 @ 3.7
repeat 6 minute cycle
2 @ 6.5
2 @ 3.7
1 @ 6.7
1 @ 3.7
1 @ 6.7
3 @ 3.8
1 @ 3.5
Stretching

Gravitron asst. pullups @ 66lbs
dips 3 x8, pullups 1 x 8, parallel grip PU 1 x 6

Of Rascally Plants and Power Pedalers

The weather was gorgeous here this weekend, into the upper 50's during the day. Saturday was a day spent in the yard cleaning up the crepe myrtles and boxwood, disasters to the core. I wish I had the money to completely re creat our landscaping but it will have to wait. We did take a sidetrip to the bike shop to pick up a few supplies and talk to our buddy Sarah who just got her "ticket" to the Leadville 100 mountain bike race. Ugh, a 100 mile dirt ride that STARTS at an elevation of just over 10,000 ft and the turnaround at 12,600. Criminy. Web site says 14,000 feet of gain-holy mother I think I'll pass out just reading it. Go Sarah.

Sunday was another nice day so after a luxurious morning of reading the paper and having coffee, we headed a few miles down the road to Burns Park for a run. It's the first run longer than a couple of miles I've tried on road or asphalt in weeks. Knees unhappy. Honestly I think it's that trail, it's cursed. I did most of my half marathon training on that trail and dammit it hates me.
Any way... 1 hour and 45 minutes of running, hiking and walking on and off road. River trail, Emerald Park Trail, Ft. Roots and back. We had to stop more today because Joe was hurting. He hasn't run in close to a year. Bike yes, run no. Out the door go the assumptions that fit is fit. The man will tear me up on a bike- I just can't keep up but his running has gone the way of old tired tennis shoes you keep on the porch for yard work.
The diet was not horrible, but certainly not 100% to code this weekend. Heading to a bar for a band on Friday was a big part of the debauchery, and might have been worth it if it weren't for the headache on Saturday. Lite Weight. Cheap Date. Wuss.

workout 2-8-08

Idiot. I know that when I do lunges and squats...I hurt. Wasn't too bad this time, at least I only needed to use the handicap rails to sit down to pee once, I've done workouts that I've felt like collapsing to get up or sit down for 2 days.

Today:
Warm up 10 minutes on the recumbent bike, moderate pace
10 pushups
gravitron:
Tricep dips 1 x 6 x 66lbs, 2 x 4 x 81lbs
pullups 1 x 6 x 66lbs, 1 x 2 x 81lbs
parallel grip pullups 1 x 6 x 66lbs, 1 x 4 x 81lbs

Seated cable row 1 x 10 x 50lbs, 1 x 10 x 55lbs, 1 x 8 x 60lbs
Upright row 1 x 10 x 12lb, 2 x 8 x 15lbs
Fly 1 x 10 x 12lbs, 2 x 10 x 15lbs

cable crossover machine:
Tricep pulldown-split cable 1 x 10 x 30lb, 2 x 10 x 40lb
Lat pulldown, single arm- 1 x 10 x 15lb, 1 x 10 x 20lb, 1 x 8 x 25lb

3 x 10 slow stability ball crunches

Now, what's for dinner??

workout 2-6-08

Didn't fit in a workout during the day today so while the small one was having her piano lesson, I used a 10 lb medicine ball for a little strength/toning work.

General Warm up- BW lunges, squats, stretching with the little one in the hallway.

3 x 20 traveling lunges holding med ball
3 x 10 squats with ball + after #10 of each set I did 4 hover squats, down for 3 counts then up *tried to hold ball up and out just a bit to work arms during leg work
3 x 10 each side lunges with leg lift
3 x 10 dead lifts with ball- done fast to get heart rate up
3 x 12 overhead tricep press with ball
3 x 10 each single hand shoulder press
3 x 10 shoulder press holding ball between hands
3 x 10 ??? pressing ball between hands and pushing straight out from chest,
slowly
2 x 40 second plank
1 x 30 second side plank each side

First Workout Post

Typically I attempt a workout between meals or before breakfast. Yesterday I was so swamped I had to choose to do it at 7:30 p.m. or not at all.

Last week my husband bought a CycleOps indoor trainer for our bikes. Good idea. I wasn't sure at first but dang that thing has not only come in handy but it's a darn good workout. I am not at the level that I'm going to post my cadence or even heart rate, I just want to know that I feel like I've worked my body when I'm done. Forgive my ignorance of proper terms for some exercises-

5 minute moderate pace warmup spin
30 minutes of intervals, 1-3 minutes push to 1 minute rest using middle and big ring gears
short cool down spin

break to help with research paper notecards and science fair issues

While watching the primary returns I got out a pilates resistance band and a set of dumbells

3 x 12 bicep curls using band
2 x 10 "y" curls using band
3 x 10 overhead tricep pulls using band
2 x 10 each front and lateral raise 7lb DBs
2x10,1x12 fly with 12lb DB
3 x 10 situps on swiss ball very slow and controlled

After the workout I decided to weigh and take measurements since I haven't done that in a long time. We have a body fat scale at home but it sucks and I don't think it's even close to accurate.
weight 148. I fluctuate 1-2 lbs during the day but 146-148 is where I've been for weeks now. UGH
the BF on the scale showed 23% but it's totally wrong. The last measurement I had was 28%. I WISh it was 23, that would be a great goal for me.
measurements:
chest at armpit 35.5
waist at bellybutton 33 but 32 at smallest point just above bellybutton
hips at top of pelvic bone 41
top of thigh 24
calf 15
bicep 11.5

I always thought my hips and thighs were the big "issues" as they are with most women but I have found that especially this last year, my midsection is expanding even if the scale isn't moving. Hmmmmm It sucks getting older.

Not a New Year's Resolution

It isn't New Years Day and fitness should never be a beginning of the year resolution, it should be a lifestyle. That being said, I make a new "resolution" about 4 times a year. The space where I was posting my workouts has gone silent out in cyberspace. I am no writer but I do like to keep track of workouts and adventures. Whether or not the stories are of interest to anyone besides myself is another matter.

History of a Lumpy Kid:
I have always felt like I was a "stocky" girl. Okay, sometimes fat would have been a more appropriate description. I'm short and thick, always have been. The trade off is that I think I'm pretty strong, I have good endurance but I wish I had more speed. Guess I'm a slow twitch kind of gal.
I wasn't an athletic kid, I did roller skate (remember this was the 80's people) I even competed for a time as a young teen but as a young adult I was a complete slug except for a few bouts of jazzercise, step aerobics and going to the gym at 5 a.m. kicks.
In my early 30's I started jogging. All my life I had wondered why people run. I thought they were just missing part of their brain or something. Actually even though I've joined the ranks, that hypothesis stands. Runners are crazy. I ran my first "official" 5K just before turning 36 and it was not pretty, it didn't even have a "great personality" but I was hooked. I was lucky enough to be working at a place that had a fitness center and I had/have a boss who was/is a runner. Man is it fantastic to have a boss that understands that a healthy worker is a productive worker. How many people are lucky enough to be TOLD to go for a run when work is hectic and you aren't able to think clearly. I was lucky enough to find a series of running buddies at work and a group doing aerobics in the fitness area. AND THEN....
I met my husband. For the first few months it was occasional jogs, some hiking, nothing major. He introduced me to backpacking which was another enlightening experience. Then came biking. First moutain biking, then road biking. Oh dear. Next thing I know, I've been talked into trying multisport racing. Not triathlons, because I don't swim well, but hours of running, trail running,crawling thru thickets that tear your skin off, orienteering, biking, paddling till you have blisters, etc. So now I've completed several short distance races (less than 4 hours) , a couple of mid distance races ( more than 12 hours), a good number of 5ks, one half marathon and a 100 mile bike ride/race. But I still feel like the chubby kid and I'm rarely happy with my performance, even when I should probably be totally stoked. I think it's a personality flaw. One of many.
In a matter of weeks, I'll be 40. 40. aaaacckkk. When I was turning 35 my goal was to be in better athletic condition than I was at 25. Accomplished, it wasn't difficult considering my condition at 25. This year I think it's time to step it up. I've proven to myself that I have the will power to push thru grueling athletic events. Now I want more. I want faster, I want better, I want to leave the 30 year olds in my dust. In order to do that I must train. I must train differently. This year is about speed play, intervals, strength AND endurance. And no knee injuries!