It's not just the Earth's Rotational Axis....

My days really are getting longer and longer.
Issues at work and surrounding work have meant multiple 12-13 hour days for me lately. I'd say I'm exhausted and in need of a vacation but I've realized recently that I am such a freak about "vacations" that I usually don't come away from them all that rested.  I'm going to try. Headed to the DC area this week. It was a surprise present for my Squeeze so he can visit his best friend. His best friend since 6th grade people. That's a long time to keep liking someone. I plan on long walks, possible solo museum trips, some running, podcast listening and magazine perusal while they sit in a corner and act like 5 year olds. I expect pranks. And laughter. And that weird language that only the two of them speak.

Back to the workout log:
Thursday Sept 2: 5k-ish run in 27 minutes and change. Good time for me, a sucky time for most runners I know. Stupid runners with legs that are longer than mine and can turn over fast.

Sept 3NOTHING!

Saturday Sept 4: 2.5 hours of jog-hiking at Pinnacle. Up and over 2x and back and forth to the OT trailhead.
And a couple more hours of trail work. I dug a trench with a pick ax. There will be no dwarf or Hi Ho references.

Sunday 5: we went to the zoo. in memphis. yes we did.

Monday 6: in celebration of Labor Day, I Labored. Not in my own very needy yard but in my neighbor's. Because they don't or won't clean it up. Our front yard looks at their back yard which is wooded. When trees start growing in the street and the water can't get to the drain, I clean it for them. It took most of the day. And all of my energy. But I'm not bitter.

Tuesday 7 back to morning workouts
warm up with CORE and Jump Rope
4 Rounds: 1 min per station, 1 min rest after completed circuit
Single leg plyo jumps 90lb
single leg squat on box
wall ball 15lb
wall sit with 10lb plate
push press 25lb Db

Wednesday got an I don't think so at 4:50 a.m. Tuesday night was unpleasant due to work stuffin.

Thursday 9th
warm up 300 jump ropes, 3 x 12 x 33lb bar overhead squat, 5 x 5 hang clean 65lb, 75, 75, attempt 85, 80
4 Rounds:
Group Hang Clean 10 x in 1 min:  1set x 55lb - 3 x 60lb
1:00 treadmill run 1 x 7.5 mph x 5% incline, 2 x 5.6 mph x 10% incline , 1 x wall sit
400 m backward run
single leg jump on 12" box 10 x ea leg

Friday 10th
warm up CORE
superset 4x:
endurance bench press 10 rep:10 sec hold:10 rep : push up position plank 30 sec
db curl and press 10 x 20lb : overhead tricep extension 30lb to Fatigue (avg 6)
walking push ups, no wts : 1 min plank

BIKES!

Easter weekend 2009 found our little 3some + one at this park for biking, hiking, fishing and egg hunting. This past weekend, just the 2 of us went down there in an attempt to help out a friend who was putting on an adventure race. So the workout for Friday the 27th and Saturday the 28th involved a little mountain biking and a little hiking each day. And a LOT of driving. So Sunday the 29th we decided to ride the whole 7 miles of trail at Pinnacle that we've been working for the last several months. I've never ridden the whole thing and honestly- din't think I could. I did. And then some. We had a great time. Those guys that put that trail out there did a great job! Thanks Daron and Joe. : )  I was really fed up with working on it but after finally getting to ride the whole thing I have a renewed energy about it.

Sunday 22nd: 30 miles of road biking with one ride up the little hill at Ft. Roots.

Monday 23rd: Rest

Tuesday 24th:
warm up jump rope...100 push ups...100 sit ups
superset: dumbbell bench press on ab ball  4 x 10 (25-10lb) and push up w/dumbbell row 4 x 25 x 12lb
superset: single arm push press 4 x 10 x 30lb and single arm snatch 4 x 10 x 30lb
last thing: plank walks with call outs by Chris. Plank position, push ups, up-down, walk in plank. ugh

Wednesday 25th: CORE
5 Rounds of:
max pullups (i used a band, max=10)
200m backward run
plate push 20yd? 35lb plate
20 box jumps 24"

Thursday 26th: CORE
superset: bench press 5 x 10reps:10sec hold:10reps and 30 sec of push ups in between each set
superset: standing military press into push press 3sets x8x8 with feet elevated pushups to fatigue
superset: chair pushups:explosive pushup(clapping):plate raise x 25lb  3 rounds to fatigue(failure)

Monday 30th: Rest

Tuesday 31st: warm up w/ jump rope
Partner work- one partner has a set # of reps, the other partner does the *alternate exercise until the other is finished regardless of time/reps done.
20 x  heavy leg press (100% body wt.)      *overhead squat 33lb bar

400m run holding 25lb plate between partners:  20 squat jumps *mountain climbers:  repeat 1x

20 x romanian dead lift 65lb    *wall balls w/ 15lb med ball

200m partner run backwards: 20 squat jump *mountain climbers : repeat 1x

partner curl- both holding a 33lb bar alternating curls 10rep...9rep...8...7..........1 

Wednesday Sept1st: welcome Sept!
warm up 300 jump rope 100 sit ups
superset: 4 x 15 chair pushup:  4 x 15 inverted row
alternating dumbbell bench press on ab ball 2 x 10ea arm x 25lb 3 x 10 x 30lb
6 rounds of :  bench press 2 x 10 x 65lb, 4 x 10 x 70lb and 6 x 10 tire flips

I love tire flips. Don't judge.

Wait, I work out? Really?

Of course I work out- that way I can justify eating steaks, drinking wine, and eating pizza and hot wings. Derr.

There is a serious lack of workout information for the last several weeks. This is a fitness log? Huh?

Sunday 15th- the short, hot, great fun bike ride with Sarah Smiles. It involved a carry a bike over a pedestrian bridge, getting very intimate with my seat when it came loose and tilted in the middle of the ride, and a failed search for breakfast.

Monday got nothin cause I'm lazy like that.
Edit: remembered that I FELT lazy so I walked on the treadmill doing HILLS for about 25 minutes, and did a couple of sprints.

Tuesday- warm up 300 jump ropes
set of push ups: 3 sets, 15 reps of each alternating between chair push ups, feet elevated, chest elevated
5 x 8 single arm bench press, 3 x  25lb, 2 x 30lb dbs
4 x 8/8  military press straight into push press with front plate raises x 10 in between presses
2 x 45lb press : 25lb plate,  2 x 50lb press: 25lb plate
3 x 7:7:7 shoulder complex- 7 front raise-7 lateral raise-7 rotator  10lb for raises but had to go 8lb for rotators

Wednesday got nothin again. See Lazy comment

Thursday- warm up 300 jump rope
1 min each station:1 min rest after all 5 stations complete  4 Rounds (25min)
plate push 35lb
wall ball 15lb
tire flips
squat jump holding 10lb plate
Zots press- front squat then military press while holding the squat-stand holding the press- repeat. Cry.

Friday 20th-
5 Rounds
10 front squats 65lb
20 push ups
30 full sit ups
200m run

finished with 400m warm down jog
added 2 sets of walk the boxes push ups 8,12,18,24 inch boxes lined up-3 push ups on each with feet elevated then back down with chest elevated
2x10x 25lb plate raises in between
2x 30 sec wall sit with 10lb plate overhead.
Then I quit.

Time Management:

During July we had a wedding. And I had a working trip to Montana. And we spent a weekend driving to and from Oklahoma to help the newly-marrieds move. And on 4 weekends we were either picking up or dropping off the small one at a camp an hour or so up the road each way. And I continued to work my usual 10 hour days throughout. I got a little tired. So I tacked on a camping trip to the first weekend in August. Bright idea, eh? I have a sore throat I can't shake, I'm constantly exhausted and my resting heart rate is hovering around 40 beats/minute. I may need a rest. But there is no rest for the wicked?!

The wedding: Perfection. The bride was lovely, the groom was dapper and the reception was absolutely capital F-Fun.This probably deserves a full post of pictures which my SIL julia did a great job of taking. But I don't know where J stored them.

Montana: was spectacular. I can't wait to find an opportunity or reason to return. On each end of work sessions, which were 3 very intense and long days, my boss and I wrangled a day to enjoy the beauty. Before the meeting started we headed to Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park. I think the drive might have been as lovely as the caverns.

We were staying in Bozeman, home of the University of Montana at Bozeman. Apparently a few years back the students decided that a hike close by the U needed a monument of sorts. So this white rock "M" was laid out at the pinnacle of this steep trail that can be seen from several vantage points in town down in the valley. I climbed it, as fast as I could, while the boss stayed in the car to take a phone call about her new house. 35 minutes up and back. Must say I was rather impressed with myself : ) We also managed to find that Bozeman is completely and utterly littered with trails. Bikes and pedestrians everywhere with some sidewalks but not many bike lanes. Goes to disprove my theory that people in Little Rock can't walk or bike due to lack of safe sidewalks and lanes. Apparently the trick is to teach DRIVERS to share the road. Sigh.The campus is lovely. I even found that I could share an afternoon respite from mind numbing science to sit with Walt Whitman. Nice.



On the day before departure we rented a car for a trip 90 miles South to Yellowstone National Park. Oh. That's it. Just Oh. Whenever I am in unfamiliar territory I have to wonder, when you grow up looking at this lovliness...do you ever really see it? Do people who grow up here find the same kind of peace and tranquility when they visit the plains, a sandy beach or a flat delta farmland? There is nothing like snow capped mountains or standing at the top of a deep canyon over a waterfall to make one feel small and insignifcant in this world and yet after the initial shock of my own smallness here, I want to climb-scale-run-hop-roll in the snow at the top. That desire is somehow empowering.

Toward the end of an exhausting but sight filled day- we looked out the window of the car as we were driving alongside the Yellowstone River and caught a glimpse of these guys playing in the white caps of the rapids. They are much larger than they appear! We had to stop and take a walk down to see them.

And then out of nowhere, just hanging out on the side of the road as if he was just waiting for some buddies to come by was this fella. Not the biggest bloke we'd seen all day, but one of the mellowest. He just watched as the traffic went by. Don't you wonder what the animals think? Car after car filled with people, just staring at him and taking pictures. I would like to think he is thinking, "what a bunch of morons...don't you know there could be millions of us in your own backyard if there weren't highways and parking lots everywhere?"

July was BUSY. August shows no sign of slowing down. Just this weekend We've done hours of trail work, seen a minor league ball game, gone for a bike ride, had a sweet brunch and shopped at the Argenta Market for T-Bones from Creekstone Farms Humane Processing and had the best chocolate milk ever. No, I mean Ever. J says that in Heaven, this milk is available any time, in unlimited quantities. Thanks Seven Doves Creamery. I gotta go get more milk. I'm thirsty. I think the buck would like some too.

What blog?

A weeklong work trip to Montana.  A weekend trip to Oklahoma. A weekend camping trip to DeGray Lake Resort State Park. And somewhere in between was some trail work, a few workouts, and possibly one or two mental meltdowns. Zombies have no need for blogs. But perhaps when this stupor is over, or regains a slow shuffle, I'll have pictures. Boy do I have pictures.

And the summer is...nearly over

We've been a little busy doing things like this:

And witnessing beautiful things:

And having fun like this:

And there just hasn't been enough time for everything. Blogging is one of those every things.

Before these lovely photos (THANKS! Julia) were taken, there were some actual workout days believe it or not.

Monday June28:

5K partner run. That's right a 5K run holding a 10lb plate between you and your partner. Soon discovered that it was a little easier to let one person run with the plate and switch off. Defeats the purpose but left shoulders intact

Tuesday 29

500 jump ropes

5 rounds as fast as possible for time:

10 thrusters  (front squat/push press 45lb)

5 pullups ( I used the rubber band on the pullups, weakling)

time 4:58

500 jump ropes

CORE at the end

Wednesday 30

short CORE

2 rounds with 3:00 at each station :30work :10rest

plyo board call outs

plyo machine call outs

box jumps

jump rope

jump machine

treadmill fast run

Friday July 2nd

Pinnacle trip with Libi- my neice. That adventure deserves its own post. It'll happen eventually.

Tuesday 6th

100 sit ups

500 jump rope

3 Rounds:

21 sec 21% incline run @ 7mph

400m backward run

21 single leg jump 1 x 75lb, 2 x 60

400m forward run

21 box jumps

21 wall balls 12lb

Wednesday 7th

2.5 mile run in the mid day heat

1.5 hr mountain bike ride- road and Pfiefer loop track in the p.m.

forgot to write down Thursday and Friday oops

Sunday 11th

Trail work and mountain bike in the a.m.

4 mile run/hike at Seven Hollows yeehaw

Tuesday 13th

500 jump rope

100 sit up

5x5 bench press 85lb

5x5 push press 55lb

5  Rounds  of push ups on various height boxes with plate raises in between. It still hurts

Wednesday 14th

CORE+

8 rounds of :30work :30 to transition to next station (not rest according to the Man)

plate push 35lb

tire press (4 per group)

tire flip

box jump

wall sit w/plate hold

Whew. I'm tired now.

Work Out- Catch Up

Tues June 15:
 warm up with tough CORE work
12 x 200m laps, alternating running forward and backward with call outs every 45 seconds. Jump squats, push ups, jacks, or lunges.

Wed:
CORE again
5 rounds:
200m run
50 wall balls (12lb)
50 yd plate push (35lb)

Friday:
CORE
2 rounds:
Partner run holding a 45lb plate between 2 people 400 m
partner curl 30lb bar 10,9,8,7,...1  (1 works while the other person rests passing the weight back and forth)
partner run backward holding plate 200m
partner tricep extension 25lb bell

Mon June 22:
Warm up: jump rope 3 min, 2 x 10 overhead squat PVC pipe *7lb?, 2 x 10 front squat 45lb bar

100 backboard slaps
100 jump rope both feet, 50 on each leg
single leg squat x 50 each leg
plyo jump 10x10 105lb
lateral box jump 3 x 30sec

Wed:
circuit 20sec work: 10sec rest for 4min
jump rope
400m forward run, 400m backward- have 4 min to complete, any time left to rest
bench press x 25lb DBs to 20lb after 4th set
push press x 45lb bar
alternate heavy bag punch and squat jumps
plate push 35lb for 3 min (had to dash, late for the bus)

2 mile jog/walk at 11 a.m. in the heat. Not a great idea.

Thurs:
jump rope 3 min
bench press 5,4,3..1 from 65 up to 95lb
100 chair push ups, set of 20 then sets of 10-15 at a time
curls- 45lb to failure, 35lb to failure, 5lb bar with partner resisiting-x8
2 x 1:00 plank in push up position, 1min rest between

20 oz. curls with Sarah Smiles on the deck at Senor Tequila's. Can you say "negate all workouts for the week"?
Hoping for a little Pinnacle this weekend!

Blog Hiatus

Toward the end of May I contracted a nasty respiratory virus that kicked my butt for 2 full weeks. By June 4, we were headed on vacation and I was still keeping NyQuil close by. I felt much better while on vacay but since returning, there has been so much to do I feel like a dog whose owner just threw every single ball in the house out at once and screamed "FETCH"  OMG- which way do I go, which way do I go??

I'll catch up on workout stuff but 3 things we did for exercise while on vacation:  Riding mountain bikes on the beach at low tide. Those knobby tires, despite being somewhat fat, did not like the sand, even packed sand. We did about 8 miles of tough riding one morning with hardly a soul out but us. And that one crab that had both his beady eyes on us, a lot of birds. I thought I saw a sea serpent but it turned out to be a dead sea snake.

Kayaking the intercoastal waterway. Unfortunately we thought a tour group would be a better way to do this. We were oh so wrong. None of the other participants had ever even been in a kayak before so that was interesting. Then, we knew more about the history of the city than our guide. That disappointed. I wanted to learn. 

Paddle Boards. Oh my gravy! I wish I had discovered this the first day. I would have done it every single day we were there. Every day. Did I say every day? Maybe twice a day.  : )

For our vacation this summer we tent camped at Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine, Florida.  It is a lovely park and our campsite stayed surprisingly shady most of the day. Big Palms and Live Oaks helped with that. We were within walking distance of the beach but we usually rode bikes. The night we arrived we went down to the beach to walk in the waning sunshine. Lovely.

St. Augustine is touted as the oldest continuously inhabited city in the U.S. There are buildings from the Spanish colonial period and the British "occupation" period that have been wonderfully restore as well as modern wonders like the Ponce de Leon Hotel, that served as a Coast Guard training center in WWII and is now Flagler College.
One of the first historically significant places we visited was Ft. Matanzas, built in 1740-42 to protect the Southern entry route to St. Augustine. We learned that Matanzas is translated as slaughter. Matanzas River and the fort were named for a skirmish between the Spanish soldiers at the fort and some French soldiers sailing down from Ft. Caroline, the French being the slaughtered ones of course. We saw pictures of what the remains of the fort looked like when the NPS took it over, we are so lucky that there are people interested enough to maintain these historical beauties for us. I can only imagine how beautiful this was with white stucco and red trim.

Later in the evening we went into the old city of St. Augustine and walked around. A lot. It was hot. In the evening we took a walking tour of the city that started at the old city gate where parts of the city wall remain and you can see the impressive Castillo de San Marcos standing guard at the water. 
Another morning at the beach then led to another visit downtown to an area of boutiques, junktique stores and a shop with the yummiest cupcakes on the planet. Shout out to Luli's and their Key Lime cupcakes. While in the area we toured around the Mission of Nombre de Dios and the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche. So pretty! One of the items of interest here is a 208 foot steel cross. We caught the sun right overhead, giving the cross a corona.

As it should be. Somehow after the beauty of this church, we still managed to Tourism Cheeseball our way to the Ripley's Museum. Always a treat but I think we've seen them all now. Luckily the small one is not as enamored with Ripley as she once was.
The next morning had us on an early morning bike ride to the local farmer's market. Oddly enough, our purchases were in order: coffee for the big ones, rice milk for the small one. Turned out the kids running the coffee shop had lived in Fayetteville. Small world. 3 giant juicy breakfast burritos. Oh good gravy!  A skirt of recycled Tshirts for me and a collage for the small one. What we don't know about art, we make up for in enthusiasm.  We biked back to camp, even though it was only 9 a.m, it was already terribly hot. We headed straight to the city for a guided kayak tour. See above. Disappointing. After lunch we walked up to the Castillo. We had passed by  it, sometimes several times a day but had yet to enter. It was a magnificent structure but I wish we had a live guide or at least a recorded guide. There was too much there and not enough printed info for my taste. Lovely views. Interesting history. A good day. I hope people weren't too offended by our smell having been active outside the entire day.

We had to make a quick trip to the grocery for supplies then went "home" to have beanie weenies and a game of National Park Monopoly that we bought at the Castillo. Our camp neighbors invited us for S'mores...no one can resist the S'mores!
Next day it was back to the beach with a plan to hit the oldest part of the city for the afternoon. We hit the Alligator Farm first. Driving into St. Augustine the first night, the small one said "Is it like Joe Dirt? Will they wrestle alligators? I don't want to go there." But it wasn't. It was beautiful. One of the highlights of the trip! Besides the lovely reptilians, the birds were incredible. Incredible.

By late lunchtime we were in town searching for sustenance. We happened upon Gaufre's Goods where they advertised a mash of Mediterranean foods mixed with Polish delicacies. Odd. And intriguing. Of course we had to eat there. Man was it yummy. I've forgotten to upload the food pictures the small one snapped throughout our trip,  I must get them from her. I had the best Greek salad, a slice of spanikopita and some coconut soup that was deee- licious. The small one ate a cabbage roll the size of her head and the big one had pierogies. Meat ones. Fried with bacon. Lordy.  We took dessert of baklava, a wedding cookie, and a canoli? with us as we walked to The Oldest House Museum. Then we walked over to the Cathedral. So beautiful.

Afterward, we had very nice meal at The Conch House Restaurant and tiki bar and we were oh so ready for those camp cots. That was a LONG day.
Last full day in the park so instead of the beach, we went to the Salt Run Marsh between the beach and the camp ground to rent paddle boards. I've already had my say on this activity. This was the highlight of MY trip.

It was a day for fun in the sun so we hit the beach after this for a last chance swim.  We'd come to the last day of our trip and hadn't visited one of the iconic St. Augustine locales less than 2 miles from our camp, the St. Augustine Lighthouse. We'd seen it from just about every angle: driving past going to and from town, from our bikes, from kayaks, from paddle boards...but hadn't been inside. What a surprise it was! They had an audio tour that was very well done with stories and interviews of former caretakers and their families. The old caretakers house had a wonderful WWII exhibit and memorabilia. But the stairs in the lighthouse were my personal favorite. So glad the man has an eye for shots like this one.

  

I can't imagine climbing those stairs, every couple of hours, carrying a 60lb bucket of oil for the lamp. Oh my what a workout that would be!

Lovely relaxing day. I was not ready for this vacation to end. Time to start saving money for the next one!!

Row, Row, Row the boat....

Or machine. Whichever.
Monday:
400 rows on machine
50 wall balls 15lb
300 rows
50 box jumps 18inch
200 rows
1 min heavy bag punches
100 count jump rope
200 m backward on elliptical resistance @level4
50 box jump
300 m bw
50 wall balls 12lb
200 m bw

Tuesday: at work-
20 min on treadmill-4 min w/u, 12 min hill intervals 3.7 mph, 4 min jog 6 mph
CORE , 50 ea seated twist, toe touches w/ 10 lb plate and  50 seated knee tucks
20 pushups : surrenders x 10lb DBs x 2
15 tricep pulldown : 25 mtn climbers ea leg x 2
20 fast squats : 10 dumbbell chest press 25lb x 2

Wednesday-warm up on agility ladder
sprints and back pedals
4 warm up sprints 7.5 mph
5 sets of 15 sec work: 10 sec rest backpedal 4.5-5 mph  (2:05 ea set)
4 sets backpedal 15 sec forward 15 sec 4.5 mph: 9 mph (2:00 ea set)
3 cool down runs x 20 sec ea

Thursday- warm up on ladder
2 rounds:
tire flips x 15
plate push 40 yds x 25lb
heavy bag punch 1 min
plyo jumps x 20 x 105lb
jump rope 2 min
wall sit w/ 25 lb plate overhead 2 min  ( I had to do it in 30-40 sec intervals. it hurt)
chair push ups x 20

Thursday night workout at Faded Rose included a bottle of wine and Red Beans and Rice with Andouille. And then unexpected visitors.

Friday- no workout. I'm sure that's a shocker

Saturday- 2.5 hours of walk, jog and climb at Pinnacle Mountain. I've missed my outdoor gym and could tell I haven't done it enough lately.

See I have this kid...

 and she's smart. And pretty. And creative. And I probably tell her more often that she's irresponsible and isn't working hard enough instead of praising what she is. She attends a school that goes from 3 yr olds to 8th grade. Many of her classmates have been going to school together, with the whole grade no larger than 2 classes, since they were 3. Even though she only started school there in 5th grade, she feels like this school is her home. They are "graduating" next week. Earlier this year we were given the option of placing an ad in the back of this year's Yearbook to commemorate her transition into High School. I love this quote. And I love the pictures her Dad took of her and the ones he put together to try to show all her personalities. Even as a baby, she couldn't resist a good book. Especially one that played music. I think this ruined her for life and is the reason she can't do anything, including read, without music on.

If this moment in time is any indication,   she and her friends will grow up to be crazy, smart, wild, creative, freaky, fun, loving, compassionate adults. And some of them might even be able to do chores without being asked.  Amen.

The Fun Stuff

There were much more interesting events this week than workouts. Like a sports banquet that involved a slight disagreement over the length of a skirt. Which turned out to be pointless since apparently the parents of every single 14 year old girl on the planet had this same argument this week. And a piano recital. And more trail work. But that can wait until I have cleaned up pictures and video.

Mon: warm up was knee lifts, hip swings, walking lunges etc. to get ready for this-
50 reverse lunges 25 ea leg
50 split jumps
50 tractor tire flips with jumps (flip it, jump in the tire, jump out)
      managed 30 in the first set but at some point, several people were stuck on flips because it took the most time so we had to all take turns on one tire, yes that's right, me and the boys flippin the same tire
uphill run 20% incline 5mph 2 x 50 sec
50 tire flips (no jump)  did 20 in the first set
50 single leg press-25 ea leg, 75lb

run, flat, 8.5 mph x 50 sec    9 mph x 50 sec
     got 20 more tire flips + jumps in
50 plyo jumps x 90lb
finished tire flips x 30

Tues: warm up knee lifts, hip swings and jump rope
should have been a 5k run but used the rowing machine again instead of running on asphalt, fasciitis still an issue
500 rows, 20 push ups, 500 rows, 20 push ups, 250 rows, 20 pushups

Wed: warm up with CORE
3 rounds of 20 sec work: 10 sec rest for 4 min at each station (that equals an hour, I did the math :)  )
agility ladder with 4 long jumps at the end
plyo board jumps
plyo machine hops x 150lb
box jumps, 2 x 12 @24in, 1 x12 @18in, 1 x 12 @12in, 1 x 12 @ 8in...not timed, if you could do them fast, you could rest until the next round started
jump rope

 Plyo board- diamond shape on a wooden (think basketball court) platform with 1,2,3,4 in a cross. Each time we'd get a combo call like 1-2 or 1-2-4, and jump only on those numbers so it's front and back or side to side or side front back.  Plyo machine has you on your back with a weighted platform at your feet. for this one, the numbers like the plyo board are on this platform to. Lift the weight by straightening legs then hop between the numbers called. Not as easy as it sounds! I really liked this workout- I have terrible verticle so I need stuff like this.
 
skipped Thurs
Fri: warm up with CORE
4 rounds of
500 rows
30 kettlebell swings x 20lb
10 pullups (assisted with band)
30 full situps

Saturday was trail work, got about 2.5 hours in before I had to come home to get ready for the small one's piano recital.
Who knows what will happen today. Could be a bike ride, could be much needed yard work. Pretty sad that we've been working on trail so much that the "wilderness" looks better than our yard.

Workout Lite

Was not a heavy workout week.
Monday:
warm up :4 x 8 3 in 1's (hang clean, front squat, push press)  1 x 45lb, 1 x 55lb, 2 x 65lb
4 rounds of:
300 rows on rowing machine
hang snatch x 10 x 45lb
300 rows
turkish get ups x 6 ea arm x 10lb kettlebell (from standing down to lying on floor and back up all while holding a weight pointed up to the ceiling regardless of body position. Try it. Not as easy as it sounds)

Tuesday:
1 min weighted toe touches x 10lb
30 sec plank
1 min jump rope
30 sec plank
1 min wtd roman twists x 25lb ouch
30 sec plank
30 sec jump rope single leg, each leg
30 sec plank
1 min flutter kicks      and that was the warm up

6 rounds
200 meter run ( I ran 3 and did 3 x 200 rows on the rowing machine. Rowing is harder)
30 wall balls x 12lb
30 kettlebell swings x 20lb

Thursday:
warm up with a little core, not much
15 minutes of 10:10:15  lat pulldowns, push ups, sumo squats
45 sec run @ 8mph
10 push ups
run
10 lunges each leg
repeat all 4 again
3 x 30 sec @ 9mph

Saturday:
17 mile bike ride, flat but fast
Sunday:
6 mile bike ride with the small one, flat and slow but alternated Big Ring Ride with Spinning

Mother's Day Workout

This week there were a few workouts of the usual type but also a different sort of cardio. This week my heart has been given heavy pitter pattering while watching the kids and wondering "how did I end up here?".  Thump Thump, Thump Thump. I'm watching my baby grow up and become a young woman. Scary enough. I'm watching the boy I got as a bonus when I married my husband be more excited about his college experience than I've ever seen him before even though he's beginning his Junior year. He needed to make some changes and has been smart enough to make them happen.  And then there's the oldest. Oh my. She was a 15 year old who was already 6 feet tall and made me feel like a dwarf when I met her...I don't think she's gotten much taller but she continues to dwarf me in so many other ways. She sees what she wants and makes it happen. Not many people can do that.  She's officially a college graduate. With honors. And is getting married to another recently graduated honors student who shares my love of things dorky and science-like. She's adding to our often strange little family, in-laws who are incredibly fun and smart and make me laugh like few other people I know. Life is full of goodness.  And my insulating bubble that keeps the goodness in and the badness out, is still intact today. Amen.

Love Without Resistance

I've been too busy to blog. My life is full and I should be thankful. I've been busy doing stuff like rushing around to get 3 girls to their last soccer game of the season where they just had fun. This team ... oh my. They have a few girls who have played before but the majority of the team are first timers. For a Middle School age group, this is not a recipe for a championship team. Mine tends to watch and process the game more so when she makes a move it's deliberate. Our Tinkerbell sweetie who only entered the fray for the last 3 games of the season, charges like a mama elephant even though she's half the size of the competition and hadn't kicked a soccer ball until a month ago. Then there's "the bull". I love watching her play. She gets in the way, she accidently ahem knocks people over. She is all legs and elbows and laughter. This game she even managed to let a ball bounce off her shoulder and right into the goal. Our goal unfortunately but still...it was the only goal of the game for our team. And when she got up from the ground where she let herself collapse after realizing what she'd done, I could hear her laugh. She has a very loud raucous laugh. There is no mistaking it. I was worried she would cry but most of her teammates were laughing with her. Not the goalie, but I wouldn't have laughed if I were her either.
Immediately following the game we hit a fast food joint for a bite then hurried back to town 30 minutes away to drop the others off at home so we could turn around for a 3 hour drive to Winslow, Arkansas and one of my favorite places in the state. Devil's Den State Park.
The Man was going up for a video/photo shoot in the park for new commercials and ads.  The small one and I went along because 1) who passes up a night in a cabin in a beautiful park? and 2) maybe we'll get lucky and get to be in the shot.  We didn't get to the cabin until almost 11 p.m. I would love to rent this cabin again- screened in porch with rocking chairs and a picnic table facing the woods and we could hear the creek. #12, go, make reservations NOW. Having had a long day, we all fell into bed until the alarm went off before dawn the next day.

And then the work began. The 3 of us set out for the campground to meet several others including the always gracious and lovely Park Wife and her clan. Luckily the boy was able to free his schedule for the morning and he met us in the campground too. I think he was happy he did since he spent the entire morning at the forefront of a video shoot hiking across Lee Creek with the park interpreter, Rebecca, who is very easy to look at. And smart. And funny. The poor boy. It was such a chore for him.  It amazes me each time what goes into just getting some pictures on film- waiting for the light to be just right, doing the same thing over and over again to get the right shot. It's exhausting, I can't imagine how the film crew does it all the time. We had a fun day, a full day, a long day.




Someone kept yelling "Smile!"

In the middle of the day while there was a break, mostly due to the cloud cover moving in, I caught the small one and the boy playing in the creek and on the dam. J usually has sole custody of the camera but he was busy so I grabbed it to catch the fun. I marvel at times such as these that our little blended family that has been through such trials and tribulations, has grown into this. Moments of peace, camaraderie, gentleness. Moments when the tensions and anger of the past don't show. Love without resistance. Caught on film.

2 Lazy 2 Blog Workout

Busy or Lazy. I could go either way. I'm having issues with foot pain (fasciitis), so I had to replace all the running exercises with something else, like rowing or elliptical. And I missed blogging the workouts the last 2 weeks so here we go:

Monday 19th
warm up: CORE and 4 x 8 hang clean 1 x 65lb, 3x 75lb
3 Rounds of:
group hang clean x 10 x 75lb
200 rows on rowing machine
15 single arm push press 20lb DBs
200m backwards on elliptical
tuck jumps x 20
It was supposed to be 5 rounds but I had to get to carpool so I did 2 more rounds at work in the afternoon

Tuesday 20th
warm up CORE
5 Rounds of : 1 min at each station, 1 min rest after completion of all 5  
Box Jump 18 inches
wall ball 12lb
plate push 35lb
jump rope (try for at least 100 jumps)
push press 65lb

Wednesday 21st
warm up CORE
30 minutes to do as many rounds as possible- I got 3 1/4
15 single arm snatch each arm 25lb
200 rows
15 kettlebell swing 20lb
10 pushups, 10 chair pushups, 10 clapping pushups ( i had to do the clapping ones on my knees, grr)

Mountain bike for about 45 minutes in the evening- easy pace

Friday 23rd
1 1/2 mile on the elliptical with call outs (stop to do whatever C says do: pushups, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, etc)  50 tire flips to be done any time. I did 20 in the middle of the "run" and 30 after.

Monday 26th
warm up CORE
20 minutes- as many rounds as possible
10 lat pulldowns 70lb
10 push ups
15 squats with 12lb DBs

Friday 30th
warm up CORE
Jump rope- 1 min dbl foot jump, 30 sec right leg, 30 sec left.  2 min rest, REPEAT
1 min dbl foot jump, 30 sec shuffle jump, 30 sec dbl under- which I could NOT do. Kept whacking my ankles with the rope.  2min rest REPEAT
20 sec work 10 sec rest x 8 intervals (4 min of ea exercise)
push up
squat
full sit up
walking lunge

I Heart Tractor Tires

What a great way to spend a Sunday morning and afternoon.



















Monday: warm up with Core work
10 min limit- do 50 tire flips- GO!  Did it.
Overhead tire presses- 4 people pressing. Supposed to do 50, I'm not sure if we did. I think I blacked out.
50 tire flip and jump  (flip, jump in, jump out)

Tuesday: warm up with bench press...5x65lb, 5x75lb
 Bench press 2x3x95lb, 2x2x105lb, 1x1x105lb
50 chair pushups, 15,10,10,10,5
superset: incline DB press 3x10x20lb, 1x10x25lb AND Ab Ball Flys 4 x 15 x 15lb
50 pushups wearing 25lb weight vest 15,15,13,8

Wednesday: warm up with Core 
30 minutes to do as many rounds as possible: did 7 Rounds in just over 30min of:
20 mt climbers each leg
20 sec sprint 20% incline 6.6mph
10 single leg plyo jumps 90lb
200m run
Wednesday night was just nuts and I didn't feel like cooking so instead- we had this lovely plate of cheese, fruit and smoked salmon rolled with cream cheese and grilled squash. 

Thursday: warm up with Coreand bench press 1x5x85, 2x2x100, 2x3x95
20 min limit to do as many rounds as possible:did 4
400m run
21 kettlebell swings x 20lb
12 pullups (used a band for assist)

Friday: NADA, did nothing. Felt guilty. Dunno why.

Saturday: Heavy Yard Work. Still hoping I saw the Poison Ivy before it saw me. So far so good.

Sunday-GOT MY MOUNTAIN BIKE ON!

This morning we set out at Murray Park, close to the Big Dam Bridge and headed over the bridge into NLR. At the Soccer fields we cut over to the trails at Burns Park to ride in the woods for a while. We rode for several miles and there is a sweet  but much too short ridge ride that we love. There's J on the ridge, and here's me coming down the end. J says I always look stressed in every picture so he said SMILE! Now he says I have a cheesy fake grin- Bud, you can't haven't both ways.

We rode out of the park and down the river trail to the Emerald Park turn to head up the switchbacks to Ft. Roots. We rode the rough and tumble rocky trail down to pick up the river trail once again and into downtown Little Rock. We stopped at Rumba Mexi-Cuban Kitchen for a bite to eat. Turns out they do a brunch on Sundays with a make your own Bloody Mary bar. hmmm. Didn't try the Bloody Mary bar since we were still riding. I had grilled fish tacos and J had the chorizo with cheese grits. If we hadn't eaten 2 count them 2 baskets of chips, it would have been better. : ) Those last 6 miles or so to finish the river trail were a bit  tougher than they had to be.

We'll have EASY workouts, April Fools!

Monday: warm up with Core
6 rounds of:
Max chair pushups
30 kettlebell swings (20lb)
350 m run holding 15lb medicine ball
50 m of backward lunges holding med ball at chest height

Tuesday:
Bench Press warm up then 2x3 @ 95lb 1x2 @ 100lb but failed on #2 so 1x1 back @ 95lb
Superset: 4 x 20 close grip push ups with 4 x 12 tricep pulldowns @ 30lb
Superset: 5 x 10 lat pulldowns @70lb with 5 x 10 curl and press @ 15lb for some, 20lb for some
partner curl with 30lb bar: 10 reps,8,6,4,2,1,3,5,7,9

Wednesday: 1.5 hours mountain biking with the girls : )

Thursday: warm up with Core
20 rep-15rep-10rep each
Thrusters (front squat with push press)  45lb for 20 and 15 set, 65lb for 10 rep set
squat thrusts
 Followed immediately by 1.5 mile run  total time 21:02

Also did 45 minutes of step aerobics in the afternoon

Friday:
Upper Body-50 push ups, bench press 2x5 @ 85lb 2x3 @ 90lb, 50 chair pushups
followed by 400m run, 400m backward jog, 200m sprint

And then the trouble started!  Hot dogs, chips, ice cream- fish tacos, margaritas and apple crepes with grand marnier!!!! It was a good (bad) food weekend. And now there is a pork loin a cookin in my kitchen. I love to eat. 

These Boots are Made for Walkin'...

A little more than seven years ago, I purchased a pair of hiking boots to wear on a dream trip to hike the Inca Trail in Peru. I love those boots. Rather, I loved them. I loved them till they looked like a ratty old doll in the bottom of the toy chest. That pair of boots carried me, my pack and my dreams on countless adventures. They have hiked trails on 2 continents. They have been on my feet as I helped build new trails. They've played in the rare Arkansas snowfalls and kept my feet dry while throwing the snowballs I'm lucky to make every couple of years. They've crossed streams and rivers and mountain passes yet have never once given me a blister. The boots must love me too. They carried me along when I was in front of, in back of, and most importantly beside my treasured partner in outdoor adventure.

Alas, as all good things must come to an end, so it was with my boots this past week. About halfway through a 27 mile hike we were walking along a rocky riverbed when something didn't feel quite right. I looked down to find that the sole of my boot was flapping freely in the breeze. And the other boot was about to blow too.  Did I immediately worry about how I was going to finish the hike with no sole? No. My first thought was "How will I ever replace these!?"  Everyone knows that duct tape is essential. Not only when hiking in backcountry...duct tape should be mandatory equipment for life.  My boys quickly bound both my boots at the toe and we continued on our way. Those duct tape covered boots made it through the rest of the day, over rocks and roots, up steep hills and back down again and then I asked for more. We still had another 6.5 miles to go on day three. The terrain would not be as demanding but it would be wet. And they held together. I'm tempted to keep them regardless of appearance. Perhaps like the worn out and hard loved Velveteen Rabbit, my boots will have another life after this one.

Thanks to LOWA for 7 years of fantastic adventure. Guess I'd better start shopping.

What Grade is that Climb?

Because I'm kind of sick and wanted to learn more about the Marathon and the 17 mile "fun run" that happens on the trail we hiked last week, I went back and looked a bit closer at the website for the run. This is what I found about the climbs of late day 1 and all of day 2 of our trip.

8 Ridge Passes:
Missouri
Hurrican Knob
Brier Creek
Leader
Brushheap
Brushy
Big Tom

Max elev. 2028 ft     Min elev. 1023 ft     Climbing Gain 4600 ft 
Climbing distance 7.10 mi       Avg Grade 12%

Nice. So the marathon involves all these climbs- twice? It's an out and back. My original assumption that these people are crazy still holds.

Spring Break Hike

Several weeks ago, my stepson David asked us if we would take him backpacking for Spring Break. I couldn't let that opportunity pass! A trip that we have planned several times but never made happen was waiting for us. We could start the Eagle Rock Loop , the longest loop trail in Arkansas, in less than 2 hours drive time from home. Monday morning bright and early we packed up the car and headed straight into adventure.

We started at the Albert Pike Rec Area in Langley, AR. We each got our gear out, changed into boots and looked down the trail. Immediately all the information about water crossings that we had read and heard  came roaring to the surface. There was a low water bridge and a small stream crossing within 0.1mi of the parking area. It's going to be a wet day. A fantastic, beautiful, scenic, lovely, wet day. Which meant a slow start because the camera was out. A lot. Within a couple of miles we ran into a large youth group from Illinois who had sheltered overnight in the rain and snow flurries of Sunday. They stayed with us until the first river crossing. It was thigh high (for me anyway, knee high for the guys) and I learned a lesson to last the rest of the trip: Choose your path carefully before you step into the water. It's cold in there! The group went in search of a better crossing spot and we didn't see them again. I hope they had a good time enjoying the sunshine after the rain.

One of the most popular sections of the 

Little Missouri Trail  is Winding Stairs. I found a you-tube video from Exploring Arkansas with Chuck Dovish about this part of the trail. We found the perfect spot for lunch and took our time enjoying peanut butter and honey sandwiches while listening to the rushing water and dreaming about using that rope swing over the deep blue swimming hole on a hot summer day. This part of the hike gave us a lot of small stream crossings, I think we stopped counting at 10 by mid morning.  Most of them were rock hoppers but a few were sit down and put on the Tevas or Keens. At one rather deep and wide crossing we ran into some girls from OBU on a day hike. I think they learned some lessons that day too. Like believe it when someone tells you you're going to get wet. And don't wear so much cotton. David got to play the chivalrous knight and offered advice from the far side, a hand as they made it across and shared his Shamwow to dry their feet. No ladies, chivalry is not dead. At least not on the trail.

We knew the section of the Athens-Big Fork trail was going to involve multiple steep climbs over mountain ridges so we tried to get one over with before we made camp for the night. We made it up to Eagle Rock Vista about 3:30 p.m. and spent a few minutes enjoying the view. The climb up was moderately strenuous for the old  'rents, but the boy just went up like he had wings. In the valley we found the perfect camp spot with plenty of room for both tents, off the trail, and next to water. We were pleasantly surprised at the number of campsites along the way. It was still relatively early so we hunkered down for a lengthy UNO game before making our standard first night camp dinner of Mac n Cheese with Summer Sausage. Don't judge, just understand that some traditions hold dear, even if it means carrying a pound of sausage in your pack. J could barely keep his eyes open and though we all debated about the dangers of going to bed too early lest we all be up at the crack of dawn...we crashed and didn't get up until after 7 a.m. the next morning.

Finishing the Athens-Big Fork trail will be the toughest part of the hike. We all know it and we're ready for the assault. Up. Up. Lots of Up. and killer down. Did I mention there was a lot of water too? We had 5 ridges to pass over and lots more stream/river crossings. I can't believe this was once a mail route between Athens and Big Fork. There is a marathon and a "fun run" in this area. See these people? These people are nuts. This is a tough trail. Look what it did to my boots!  These trails are rocky and require sturdy soles and souls. Thank God for duct tape and prayer. Amen. 

A recent controlled burn made parts of this trail seem a bit desolate, especially since life hasn't had time to "green up" even in areas not burned. Still there is beauty to be found in the desolation, you just have to dig a little deeper to find it. Like this guy. He was finding the beauty in a sunny day on the trail until I almost stepped on him. No I did not leave the starburst...snakes don't like sugar. That's how they keep their slim figures.

The plan for the day was to hike as long as we could, at least until 5 before we started looking for a camp site. We made it within 0.25 mile of the Little Missouri Falls Rec Area which we thought was pretty good since the last 6-7 miles would be much easier terrain than the day we just completed. After setting up camp and making jambalaya for dinner, I brought out the treat of the day- Chocolates. It's rare we have the right temps to carry anything chocolate and they were a welcomed treat out there in the woods.

The morning started out a bit cloudy and threatening. We stopped at the Falls to take in the view.

Pretty soon we came to a section of the trail with multiple crossings of the Little Mo River. I don't know what it looks like in the Summer but it was flowing fast and was knee to thigh deep on me at every crossing. At the 3rd big crossing of the morning we caught up to a couple from Texarkana who were on their first backpacking trip. They had camped on the opposite side of the river from us the night before. We had a nice chat and were back on our way. About 2 miles from the end of our trip, the clouds parted, the trail became green and life was good. The boy was making it hard to keep up with his long legged strides and I unfortunately could not help but break into song every few minutes. This is an annoying trait, I recognize and embrace it. A few more small stream crossings and we were back to the low water bridge, tired and grinning from ear to ear. And most likely smelly. And most certainly carrying good memories in those heavy packs.

Another week, another $2.00

Tuesday: warm up with CORE and agility ladder
25 pushups
25 chair pushups
25 weighted pushups (PU with a 25lb plate on my back, wish I had a picture)

outside run 800m forward, 400m backward, 800m FW, 400m BW.

Running backwards becomes the theme of the week.

Wednesday: lighter CORE workout to warm up
"The 300"  50 of each exercise done in sequence
wall ball x 15lb ball
box jump 24" box
pull ups (assisted by a band of course)
kettle bell swings 20lb
push up
thrusters 65lb (front squat with push press)

Thursday: CORE again.
5 x 10 hang clean 45lb bar
21 single leg jumps (used plyo machine on this set at 60lb)
400m run backward
200m sprint forward
15 single leg jumps
400m bw
200m fw
9 single leg jumps (used an 18" box this time)
400m bw
200m fw

Friday: CORE, again. Ouch.
3 rounds of:
tire flips x 15
tire hits x 20  - baseball bat coated in tape till it looks like a bowling pin, wood chop over head and hit tire.
plate push 2 x 20yds - 1 x 45lb 2 x 35lb
weighted step ups 12 ea leg -  1 x 25lb DBs on 24" box 2 x 20lb on 18"
bench dip x 10-elevated feet, 1 x 12 x 10lb plate in lap, 2 x 10 x 25lb plate
seated chest press x 15 ea arm x 30lb

I'm tired. And my shoulders are a little sore

I'm late, I'm late...

We've been busy. Really busy. Last weekend J, the small one and I saw Eric Clapton Live and Elvis's grave at Graceland.She spent most of the concert with her mouth hanging open. It's great to watch her appreciate talented musicians. Not only were Mr. Clapton and Roger Daltrey (who opened) just phenomenal, but  their bands were equally impressive. There was some fantastic musicianship all across that stage.
Just a quick shout out to Memphis Tourism. You guys have it down. We've made several trips to Memphis lately. Every one of them a success. From the time we arrived to the time we left people were helpful and nice and get this...they were POLITE! I felt like I was actually being served instead of my patronage being an inconvenience. I hate when in a restaurant, hotel or entertainment venue I am treated as though they are doing me a favor to take my money.  So thanks Memphis. It didn't even ruffle my feathers that the nice lady at the concession stand at the Fed Ex Forum called me honey, baby and sugar all in one conversation while she apologized that I had to "gasp" wait in line to buy a soda.

The small one had asked to go to Graceland before but honestly we thought she wouldn't enjoy it. Imagine my surprise when she looked at me after we spent several hours there amidst a large group of young girl scouts (and a few screaming siblings) and said "thank you." Wow. Was it the gold records or the sequined jumpsuits? Perhaps the fancy cars and motorcycles? Maybe it was the fur covered furniture in the jungle room? I think she was amazed to find out that what would be an average sized home for some of her more affluent school companions, Graceland really was once considered a mansion.
We were going to eat at the famous Marlowe's BBQ after Graceland, alas it didn't open until 4 p.m. and we had to be back on the road to LR before then. So we searched 'area restaurants' in our TomTom and an address for Sam's Down South BBQ and Hot Wings came up. As we drove down the street the small one expressed some concern about the condition of the neighborhood. Upon arrival we discovered a smoker on the cracked front sidewalk of a strip mall. With window bars. And peeling paint on old concrete walls. But it smelled so good. So we entered. And were immediately greeted with "you folks aren't from around here are you?"  I am not kidding. That's a quote. What? They don't see "our kind" there? How sad. The cook watched us warily for several minutes, commented how nice it was to have a loving family in his place and asked us all kinds of questions to make sure he fixed our meats just the way we wanted. Nice. After he finally figured out that we just like to eat, he sat down with us-there were no tables, just a couple of beat up old vinyl chairs-and we had a nice conversation while balancing styrofoam boxes full of MEAT. He even brought out some of the meats we didn't buy for us to try.  We had ribs, wings and a pulled pork sammie between us but we tried the brisket which was heavenly, pork shoulder mmmm and rib tips. Sam thinks his rib tips are the bomb and he might be correct. Sam, those were some of the hottest, meatiest, messiest wings we've had in a long time. And yes you were right, the ribs are better dry.

Then J and I went off to Eureka Springs for 3 days while he attended a work conference. We were just in that gorgeous little town right after Christmas for some R&R. I knew I couldn't shop-or rather I shouldn't. Instead I  ran the winding and hilly historic loop (from our hotel it was about 2.7 mi) where all the quaint little shops and restaurants are located, did hill repeats in our hotel driveway and then walked the loop again to get lunch. The following day I was completely lazy and read books, mostly cookbooks that I had "won" at the silent auction the night before. I watched more TV that day than I had in the last month I think. I became addicted to some show about people who "do" hair. How did I live not knowing about Shear Genius? Yeah. Whatev. I haven't watched it since that day and I can't say I've missed it. But THAT day, that day it was essential to my mental well being.


In December, I insisted that no exercise would be part of the trip. It was relaxing remember? But this time we took our mountain bikes and finally got to try out some of the trails at Lake Leatherwood. Here we are on Miner's Rock Trail. The sweeping downhill was so worth the climb up! Sweet Ride. That's a really nice little city park. Well done Eureka Springs.

There is no workout program...

that makes up for a bad diet. Damn straight.

Sunday 7th: 5 hours of early morning trail work then 3.5 hours sitting in a car. Ate a lot.
Monday:  2.7mi hilly run, hill repeats to pain mode on short steep hill (about 8 sec runs each), chair pushups on the "porch" of our hotel room : ) , chair dips too, then a walk of the run route in the afternoon. Ate AND drank a lot.
Tuesday: Abs and a little in room cardio/calesthenics food wasn't quite as bad today, I even ate quite a bit of fruit but come on!!?? what's with the fried food frenzy?
Wednesday: an hour or so of pretty tough mountain biking and another long car trip
Thursday: NADA
Friday: back to morning class  
10..9..8..7.......1 rep workout
Weighted stationary lunges 10,9,8 rep @ 20lb dumb bells 7,6,5 @25lb  4,3 @30lb  2@ 35lb, 1 @ 40lb
Incline dumb bell press 10,9,8 @ 20lb  7,6,5 @ 25lb  4,3,2,1 @ 30lb  tried and failed with 35.
Dumb bell push press same as incline press

Finished off with 2 x 20 each sumo squats and walking lunges carrying a 15lb medicine ball. Yes my glutes were sore, thanks for asking.
then had a great pasta and wine dinner with Sweet Sarah Smiles.

Saturday: 7 yes I said 7 hours of trail work. Followed by another 3 or so in our own yard on Sunday. Criminy.  No more raking for a while please. Pretty please. With a showgirl on top. Maybe even 2.

Full week

Hit the 5:30 a.m. workout 5 days in a row this week!

Monday: warm up with core (seated twists w/10lb plate, V-ups, plank, etc)
5 pull ups
10 pushups
15 squats
20 rounds in 20 minutes!
then 1000m run/jog in 5'50"

Tuesday: warm up with core
50 pushups
bench press 2x3x80lb, 2x2x95lb, 1xFx100lb
10..9..8..7..6......1  start with 10 reps, then 9 then 8...so on down to 1
superset: dumb bell bench press and elevated pushup (feet on 8 in box) to failure
          db press 25-30lb, avg push up 7
superset: push press and plate raise to failure
          push press ended rep 1 at 65lb but tried at 85lb and could do 4 reps...25lb plate raise avg to F was 10

I ruined it all by eating fried catfish and onion rings for dinner, but man was it tasty!

Wednesday: warm up with core and speed ladder work
Sprints day
8 sec sprint:8 sec high knee holding the support bar (same speed)
11 sprints @ 9-11mph, flat incline
4 x 12 sec sprint @12-12.5mph    tried 13mph but tripped and burned my back on the treadmill. Doofus.

Thursday: warm up with core and ladder again
3:00 circuit of ea exercise 20 sec work: 10 sec rest
box jumps switching between 18-24 in box x 3 rounds
plate push switching 25-35lb plate x 3 rounds
lat pulldowns 70lb/DB row 30lb x 2 rounds
tire flips avg 14 flips in 3 min x 2 rounds
DB military press  20lb x 2 rounds

Friday: warm up with core
5k outside in the cold
finished off 3 x  20 x 8lb wall balls

Then, the weekend. But that's another post.
         

Birthday Cake, Soccer and Karaoke

This week the 'baby' had a birthday. We fooled her into thinking that we were ignoring the actual date due to all the other good stuff she was getting to do around the time of her birthday. But I couldn't let it go completely. So while she was having a music lesson, I went and rounded up her 3 best friends. The small ones' Grandparents met us at a local pizza joint and brought birthday cake. I went to pick her up and suggested we eat out since J was out of town and we were both hungry. I think she was surprised. She said she was surprised. How do you tell with teenage girls? They look surprised when you remind them they didn't finish a chore, or forgot the due date of a library book, or when you find that unfortunate stain that was hidden by a backpack on the floor for 3 days.

She gets very excited over mixed CDs made especially with her taste in mind.








Later in the week she had her first soccer game. She's trying the game this year after sitting out of any sport all last year. She says she likes it. I'm happy to see her running.

After the game, we needed to eat and stopped in at a "bar and grille" close to the school we had played at. It was karaoke night. We were highly entertained. Within minutes, the small one had switched her Facebook status to:

Yeah, I'm a professional karaoke hopper. I travel around the country, going from bar to bar competing against whoever dares to challenge me. It's a pretty intense lifestyle. I don't recommend it for the weak.

My kid has a sense of humor. She makes me laugh.

A Busy Week

-

2 1/2 weeks ago, our yard looked like this. The good news is, this week it doesn't!

Monday:
warm up- 50 x V ups, 3 x 12 overhead squats
4 rounds-
3 in 1's (clean, squat, press) x 10 45lb
plyo jumps x 20 started at 120lb, dropped to 105 lbs set 3,4
400m run outside, every 50 steps (counted on one foot) stop for 12 jump squats
pushups x 20
1 min rest between rounds

Tuesday:
warm up with core workout
bench press 2 x 3 88% of max, 2 x 2 93% max, 1 x F 100%   85,90,95lb
superset 1-  4 x 12 each front plate raise 25lb AND military shoulder press 20lb
superset 2- 4 x 20yd plate push 35lb, shoulder implosion 2 x 10seconds
shoulder complex (8front, 8side and 8rotator lifts per set) 3 x  5lb
50 pushups

Tuesday Night involved a birthday cake and way too much pizza so Wednesday morning I slept in that extra hour. More on that later.

Thursday:
warm up with core workout
50 chair pushups (sets of 15, 15, 17, 3)
bench press 1 x 6 80lb, 2 x 5 85lb, 1 x F 95lb = 3 reps
3 x 25 pushups between sets of bench press
endurance bench  (as many reps as possible for 15 seconds, hold the wt up for 15, press for 15 seconds)
1 x 55lb, 1 x 60lb
standing curls 3 x 10 15lb dumb bells
partner curls- 10 reps, 9 reps, 8 reps.......1 rep.  used 15lb until last rep- used 45lb bar
resisted curl- partner holds bar and resists you as you try to lift and lower

Friday:
warm up with core
10 rounds-
30 plyo jumps 90-105lb
200 m run (sprint)
box jump (over 8 and 12 in)
10 burpees
NO REST!

Saturday:
Worked on the trails for 5 hours. Lots of raking, bending, rock moving, etc. Sure didn't feel like all that much during the day but we were so exhausted, we both fell asleep on the couch before 10 p.m.. Sad.