Herbal Cleanse: Day 5

Not much to report.....things are still going GREAT and I still feel GREAT!!
No drop in pounds, but that's just fine by me.
Half way mark--5 more days!

Saturday workouts and Boston on my mind.

Today was the 60 minute spin class. It was a great one too. Endurance + lactic acid bur class she called it. She was right! What you do it take it to a level that is challenging, but not impossible and keep it there for a certain amount of time. The longest was about 2 minutes which was long enough! Doing this for 60 minutes is tough, but I know how good it is for me. Especially since I take some time off form running long runs ( or at all), things will really help my cardiovascular fitness and leg endurance.

I am still figuring out the whole Boston Marathon thing! I am in need of a sponsor, but not sure how to go about it and quickly!!
I would loooooove to run Boston in 2010, but don't have the means to be able to do it. I knew this going into trying to qualify, but did it anyway and am not regretting it, but still...I want to run Boston dammit! I know that I can do it in 2011 ( save $$ now etc.) but I am not sure where my life will be at the time. I know i will be free this April though!
So if anyone has any thoughts or ideas on how to get FAST sponsorship(s)--please email me:
OnTheSpotHealth@gmail.com

Friday--I ran today..a whole mile!!

I was not sure I would be able to make it to the gym on Friday, but I did!
I was able to take a friends kickboxing class. It was lots of fun too. I left when the strength training section started so I could get in a bit more cardio.
I ran!! I ran a whole mile and did it in a little over 7 minutes!! I'm baaaaack!
It felt really good too even though it was on the indoor track. I did not even plan to run. I just went for it since I did not have much more time to spend at the gym.
I will see how my schedule is for next week and try and get some more running in. Yay!

Totally Toned was at noon and that was my day!

Herbal Cleanse: Day 4

So today I woke up 5 lbs down. I was/am surprised about that. Happy, but not expecting it at all. I'll take it though!
6 more days!

Thursday..day off..kind of.

Today I did full body workout #2 for the week.
I did it circuit style and got done in 25 minutes or so. I did this circuit 3 times:

Un-assited pull ups ( I did 4 every set.) It has been w while since I tried too. I will get 5 full ones soon!!

12/10/8 rep scheme with increasing weight
Squats
1 arm row
Dead lifts
seated shoulder press
Lunge with rear leg lift
Seated biceps curls
It felt really great to lift a bit heavier again. I will go heavier next week.

I decided to take the day off from cardio...that equates to a 20 minutes treadmill hill walk! That is totally a day off for me though. I needed it.

Herbal Cleanse: Day 3

I forgot to post last night!
Not much to post that has not been posted already about it though.
Day 3 went well. I had an awesome dinner! Baked salmon and green beans. I snuck some of the Thai Lime Rice Pilaf the others had and it was AMAZING! I will be eating it for lunch though for my complex carb.
I will say that I still feel great. The morning of day 4 I am 5 lbs. down. Not too shabby.

Wednesday

Y Power X at 6 am
Spin at 10 am
Totally Toned at 12 pm
Jam packed day again...today I taught the same classes as on Monday. I filled in for the Spin instructor today. It was a super class. I actually found some old notes and changed a few things about the ride. It was nice not to have to make up a whole class this morning. All I did was pick out some new tunes. There was not an empty bike in site. My Monday class is rarely at capacity! ha-ha....but there were quite a few faces that I have never seen before and 3 people wanted to know what other days and times I taught...so I guess that helps!
I hope to at least get my second lifting session in tomorrow. I might skip out on the cardio ( probably not-I am a cardio junky).

Herbal Cleanse: Day 2

The herbal cleanse is going well. I like it so far and really do have enough energy to get through the day. I was mostly worried about that.
I checked and I am "down" a little over a pound from yesterday morning. So whatever. ha.
8 more days left..let's see if I can make it!
I am a vegetable eating fool! It makes me realize how little I was eating before this when I thought I was eating enough. I guess not. Hopefully it will be another new habit I pick up from the cleanse.

Yoga and Cardio Tuesday.

I did yoga today!
I suck at it. I have said it before, but I am actually certified to instruct it. I just have not in almost 6 years and I can tell.
It hurts to do it. This lady had hold those darn downward dogs forever! It's good for me and I am going to try very hard to practice it in a class setting once a week if not more.
Before yoga I did a very easy 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer.
I hit the gym up again a few hours later for cardio kickboxing class. I walked on an incline for about 20 minutes before class too.
Class was fun- it never disappoints.
Good day today!

Herbal Cleanse: Day 1

I started my 10 day herbal cleanse today.
So far so good. I was a bit scared to do it, but I am sure I will be just fine!
I had to drink the fiber drink this morning which was interesting. It was kind of like drinking not so strong creamy orange juice with the pulp. I am not sure if you can imagine that, but it was not terribly gross. It was not something I would crave, but whatever. I can do it.
I still eat food which is a good thing. I have herd of cleanses that you barely eat. I do not feel hungry either. I have had lots of raw veggies and I will have some more fruit for a snack later tonight.
So far so good......

Monday!

Today was core day in Y Power X. Good I needed it!
It was a great session. The ONE person that showed up told me so! Too bad for the others-- they really missed out!
After that I taught Spinning at 10am. I did a sort of repeating loop...sort of. 19 minutes of hills and a few fast runs rounded out the class. I threw in some resisted endurance flats for fun.
My last class of the day was Totally Toned at noon. It starts a new 8 week session today and I had a few new faces. I did not plan a class because I was unsure of how many people would show up. I did a lot of reps which is not a usual thing for me. It was a good change of pace I thought. Sometimes I can get stuck teaching a certain way and it's nice to change it up every now and then. I am sure a few people noticed, but most don't even pay attention!
I forgot to mention how sore I am today! Mostly my chest and quads just a little bit. I am glad I did not lift heavy yesterday, but I did not think I would hurt this bad today! Hurts so good...
I am on track to do cardio and yoga tomorrow..I hope I get out of bed for yoga!

Sunday..let the new schdule begin!

I made it to the gym today for my first structured full body session in a while.
It was pretty low key for me. I did about 10 exercises i think ( I left the workout in my car ad don't want to go get it!) but I was smart and did not use my super heavy weights..as much as it sucked! I want to be smart about starting up again. I did add a bit of core at the end. I only did planks, but those always kick me in the rear when I slack on them for so long. I did a 20 second, 30 second, 45 and 1 minute and did 2 sets. This was harder then the weight workout I did!
It was all good though.
After that I took a 50 minute cardio kick boxing class. It's always awesome. The instructor is intense but loads of fun. She makes you want to work hard. I hope that is the vibe I give off in my classes!
So tomorrow starts Day 1 of my back on the wagon eating habits.
I just got back from the grocery store and loaded up of lots of good eats.
Tomorrow is actually the start of a 10 day cleanse I am doing. Kind of excited about it. Kind of not. I have never done one before, but I can't eat dairy on this particular cleanse. Boooo! Cottage cheese is just kind of a staple in MY LIFE!! But I will get through it. Oh, and no Halloween candy for me either. I am not mad about that. Even though I am a bit of a candy whore, but I don't need it so whatever!

"Off Season" Plan

I will just say I am off season for the time being. I am not sure what is in store for Boston. I am not sure I will be running it. I have to figure it out very very soon though. So with that being said here is my new weekly workout. It allows for TONS of flexibility as to each day might hold some surprises. With 2 small kids and hunting season here I have to be flexible!

Sunday:
Full Body training
Cardio

Monday:
Spin

Tuesday:
Yoga OR
Full Body training
Run OR
other cardio

Wednesday:
Cardio OR
Off OR
Yoga or Pilates

Thursday:
Yoga OR
Full Body training
Cardio Or
Running

Friday:
Spin or Kbox

Saturday:
Power Spin OR
Long run

So as you can see that looks like a lot, but with all the OR's included it's a normal load for me!
My plan is to get in 2 full body trainings a week as well as at least 1 yoga session and a possible pilates class. I am incorporating core in my full body trainings already, but I know how much good an actual class did for me. Lots of good! My babies did a number on my core. Have I mentioned that Miles was 10 lbs. 10 oz.? I forget if I ever said that ( ha ha!)
I am trying to take more group exercise classes and run less until I know for sure about Boston. I love running, but I am so paranoid about getting injured that I never run all the time. Even this season I only ran 3 times a week which is not a lot considering. The break from running always does me good. It makes me miss it. I was so over running about 3 weeks before the marathon! I think that is normal though. I was at my peek so that means the coach did his job!

Saturday

I think I am back to normal!
I took the Power Spin class this morning and did it at 90% capacity! I am sure I could have gone 100%, but just want to be sure.....
It was a fun yet challenging class. Lots of endurance type runs with a few tough hill climbs. Loved it! I got a round of applause from the class for qualifying for Boston too. Pretty cool. Some good looking guy/stranger ( he actually reminded me of my good looking husband!) came and shook my hand after class and said he was proud of me! Totally random, flattering and weird all at the same time!
That's my Saturday! I am looking forward to starting fresh on Monday!
That includes eating like an athlete again and not like some crazed animal!

Friday......

Today I did a spin class and was able to push myself a lot more than I did on Wednesday's effort. Like a lot more. It felt great and I can't wait to get back on with my workouts next week.
We did 3 hill climbs today-- a 5 minute, 7 and 9 minute hills today. Steady long runs in between and a few jumps and sprints. It made for a well rounded class. I even didn't mind the 2 Phil Collins ( Genesis?) songs she played. Her music choices are not always something I would choose, but today was one of her better ones as few as music goes!
Depending on what Matt does tomorrow morning ( to hunt or not to hunt) I plan on Spinning for an hour. I plan on stretching afterwards too.
I taught Totally Toned again today and this will be the last time for a while that i just sit on the sidelines watching. I really want to recover fully before diving back in. My class is awesome and don't seem to mind too much ( I hope). I still give them a great workout--sometimes I think it's better when I can observe and walk around more checking form and giving more direction. That's my opinion anyway!

Kicboxing to recover???

I thought i might make it to the gym early thins morning with the kids, but Miles decided to sleep in past 9am! I thought he was sick since he gets up at 7:15 am everyday. I think he is teething and or growing. So we missed the gym this morning.
I was not sure if I would go later in the evening, but I ended up going to my favorite 5:30 pm cardio kickboxing class.
I noticed that I was not going all out during class. I probably still need more recovery. Oh well. I still consider this class my recovery even though it can be really intense ( between every song * there are 6* we were instructed to do 20 jump squats-OY!) That's the kind of recovery I am talking about! Ha....
I stretched for about 5-8 minutes after class and called it a day. The instructor noticed I have been MIA for a few weeks ( or was it months?!?!). I told her I had been training for the GR Marathon (again..pay attention people). I told her I would be back for a few weeks so I would please like to have my front row spot back!
I might try to spin tomorrow morning if Miles decides to get up at a decent our!

Recovering Wednesday.......

I might be almost back to my normal self. I took it easy in my 6am class. It was push up, shoulder and triceps day. I did a lot of observing! The class is a lot stronger and my girl's are attempting push ups on their toes too!! Woohoo!!
At 10 am I took a spinning class. It was a good one. I took it easy here too and pushed myself on a few of the 5 minute hills just to see what my legs could do! They were talking back a bit, ,but not too badly.
I then taught Totally Toned at noon and took it easy again, although I did many lunges and squats. I don't think my IT bands are supposed to hurt while doing those are they?? Oops.....
I plan to be back at it on Monday...full speed ahead!!
I had a personal training client at 6pm. Busy day today fo sho!

Wish List Wednesday!

Today's item is a running vest!
I have admired many from afar, but have never even tried one on!
I have had my eye on this sweet thang from Nike all last week. It would be perfect on top of a long sleeve shirt. I tend to over dress in the fall weather and end up way too hot, but feel this would get the job done.
I was also shown this nice vest from a friend. They are both very nice pieces of goodness!

More recovery!

I made it to the gym today!
Nothing too crazy..trust me.
I did a nice easy walk on the treadmill for 15 minutes, stopped to yak with some friends for 15 minutes and then hopped on the elliptical for another easy 15 minutes.
I even stretched for at lest 10 whole minutes after that.
It felt really good to get the blood flowing again. I am sure it will aide in my recovery as well instead of just doing nothing. I am not sure who I was kidding when I said I would take an entire week off. Ha! I will at some point, but I'm just not ready yet!

I do plan on taking a spin class in the morning so we will see how that goes!

The day after......

After the marathon I tried to take a nap. Not so successful with that. It was nice to "rest", but there was no sleeping for this gal.
My friend Mary and I (and later TJ) went out for a pitcher of margarita's and a huge ass burrito. I ate the whole thing along with the chips and salsa. Yum Yum! We had a great time reminiscing (ha) about the days events and about who hurt more. I am sure it was me......
I slept from 10:30 pm until almost 9 am. NICE. I find it very difficult to sleep past 7 am usually.
It's kind of hard to walk. My calves, shins, hamstrings, quads and everything else hurts like hell.
I was lucky enough to get a massage today (thanks Matt!) I had no idea how sore my hips were until the therapist worked on them. Oh, it hurt so good!
I am pretty sure I won't be exercising on Tuesday either, but I might try to Spin on Wednesday. We will see though. I plan on stretching and letting my body recover this entire week before easing back into things tomorrow. I am not sure of my game plan for training for Boston yet, but I will come up with something for sure before next month!

Grand Rapids Marathon Recap

I will do my best to give a recap of the marathon!

I actually slept quite well on Saturday night. I was in bed before 10:30pm and I think I was sleeping before 11 That's really good for me.

I slept pretty soundly until around 3:30am or so and then I was up every 15 minutes or so. I finally got out of bed at 4:45, this was about 30 minutes sooner than my alarm was set for.

I went through my usual routine of eating, caffeinating and getting dressed and was out the door by 6:50am.

My running club met at a Burger King about 45 minutes before the race stated.

It was freezing cold!! To me anyway-- it was in the low 30's with some frost action going on too. I had my cheap gloves on with my hand warmers inside.

Anyway....the race started promptly at 8am and my running partner Elsa and I started behind the pace group time of 3:44. This was George Dubya's marathon time so we had to look at his ugly mug for a while. And for the record, this pace group started out way too fast. Elsa and I were to run 8:23 minute miles and we were running 8 minute pace or better the first 3 miles and Georgie's face was still at least 100 meters in front of us!

SO the first few miles were pure excited adrenaline. It was cold. It was crowded and we were on a mission.

We finally hit our pace and got into a good groove. We were both feeling excellent.

Right around mile 6 we met a new friend; Em. Super nice and cute girl that shared our same goal = 3:40. She was keeping a faster pace then us so she took off ahead of us.

It was around mile 11 or 12 that things started falling apart. Not for me but for my buddy. She was expecting some IT trouble around mile 16 or so, but her calf decided to cramp instead. It was bad enough that she had to stop for a bit to stretch. She made me leave her. I hated to do it. Really I did. She caught back up to me though. We ran together for about 2 more miles before she had to stop again. That was the last I saw of Elsa for a while. She was kind enough to tell me to pick up my pace enough before she fell back ( you have to remember that I am not so great at figuring out what my mile splits are etc. Elsa is awesome at that). So I was totally freaked out and worried. Worried for her and for myself! I felt really good. My legs were behaving and so were my lungs..it was my mind and mental state that started playing tricks on me!

Things got better for me after I saw my family on the sideline! This always gives me more pep in my step! I saw Matt and the kids, my running coach and other members of the club that were not running. They were all very encouraging on the sidelines.

I also saw my new friend Em. I spotted her around mile 16 or so. I had to pick up my pace to catch her. She seemed very happy to see me again, I know I was happy to see her! She said she was starting to get tired, but would keep us on pace. We found our groove and by her calculations we were headed for a 3:30 marathon! What?!??! I was so happy and shocked to hear this. I just wanted to remain calm and keep running strong.

We ran together for 4 more miles when both of her IT bands started bothering her. She told me to go on. So I did. Again, I felt like I abandoned yet another friend on this course. She helped me so much. I went ahead and was even able to calculate my own pace. Who would have thought! Must be because I was delirious. I must get smarter while dehydrated and in pain......

I was on my way. I was running 8:00, 8:10 and 8:15 mile pace. I was feeling AWESOME.

Mile 22 came and I still felt AWESOME.

Then came mile 22.5. Crap. There's that dang wall. MOVE outta my way please. I did the best I could, but I also somehow figured out in my delirium that I could run 10:00 miles from here until the end and still qualify for Boston. I ran a 9:00 mile and then with a 5k left I turned it back up to at least an 8:30 if not better pace.

I started getting emotional when I knew I would make it. I saw my coach with less than a mile to go. He came and ran with me and congratulated me on making it to Boston! I had the biggest smile on my face. I still had about .5 or so to go. I was racing to the finish with all that I had left which was not much. I heard the crowd, Matt and a few friends cheering for me and sped to the finish. I crossed the finish line and just kind of hugged whoever was near me. It was the guy handing out the medals! I am not much of a crier and I did not shed a tear..until I saw my new friend Em cross the time--she did it! She ran right into my arms as if we were old friends and we both bawled like babies; thanking each other for helping one another meet our goal! Oh I love this sport!

Elsa came in a few minutes later. She crossed the finish in 3:44. She did not make it. I feel for her. We hugged and cried and all that too. Total mush fest. Mary came in next. 3:56! She did it..she beat her goal too! I knew she could do it! She collapsed in my arms. Another cry fest over here. So much emotions on this day. It's hard to explain. You're crying because you are happy, excited, in pain, sad, mad you name it!

So this experience was such a good one. The race was hard, but I had the proper training. It could have been worse!

Boston here I come!

Mission Accomplished!

The Mission is accomplished!

With much success too!

I did it. I qualified for The Boston Marathon!! I ran a 3:34:44!! Woohooo!!

I am in so much pain, but it's OK. It's totally worth it.

I will try my best to recap this all..TOMORROW! :)

I took the day off from teaching my 3 classes...I would be not be any good to anyone!

Thanks for your support!

SUNDAY!!! No More Sleeps!!

It's finally here.

Feeling kind of nervous.

Race is less than 3 hours away.

I have to go now!

I will report back later.......

:)

Saturday.......1 MORE SLEEP!!

Well today started out as a typical day. I got up and ate and met my buddy to do a very easy 2 mile run. We then headed to the Marathon Expo to pick up our racec packets. You know, the race I mailed a check into on Oct. 9th?? Well my name was nowhere to be found..as in I was not even registered for the race!! The kind lady at the desk took my word for it and gave me my race bib and goodies anyway! I told her my story and she bought it...whew!

So anyway I rushed to the bank to see what the heck happened. Nothing happened apparently. The race fee was still in my account. So I just got cash and ran ( re: DROVE) back up to the expo and paid for the race.

My friend was quite impressed by how calm I remained throughout this whole ordeal. It was out of my hands really, and I am thankful that it got squared away. I told my running coach the story too and he says that if this is the worst of my marathon tales then I should have a great race! Whew.....

I will be having my usual pre long run dinner of homemade pizza and salad. Yum Yum!

Lots of water today and I am happy that I slept pretty well last night.

Now on to figuring out what to wear tomorrow...this is probably worse then finding out I was not registered for the dang race!

Friday......2 more sleeps!

Another nice and easy day down in the books.

I went to the gym for a nice and easy 30 minutes on the elliptical. After that I actually stretched for about 20 whole minutes in a row! Woohoo! It felt great too (duh).

Still drinking the water. Carbs are moderate. Maybe a bit of haloween candy thrown in the mix....

I can't believe I have 2 more sleeps until it's here.

Freak out. Kind of. Not really. yea..freak out!

Thursday......3 more sleeps!!!

Ahhhhh!! Good old Thursday!!

I have been carb loading and flooding myself with water.

My workout today was a 4 mile run. 9:30 pace...ahhhh! Felt great.

At running club we got to ask a lot of questions about whatever.

I came away with a running partner for the race!! Super excited about that. I might not be able to run with her the whole time for 2 reasons.

#1 she is injured and might start to feel the pain of her IT band around mile 16 or so.....

#2 Her pace is faster than mine!

It will still be OK though....I hope!!

Wednesday......4 more sleeps!

Today I taught Y Power X at 6am.
It was plyometrics day again. I will admit that it was very hard for me today for some strange reason. I had an apple and a piece of bread for breakfast. That usually is fine for me. So I am not sure if it had anything to do with my food choices this early morning. I actually got light headed a few times. I will just say it was because I was working extra hard. Yea-that's it!

I really did push the class harder today. The first time we did plyos I took my time explaining the moves, but today it was just a very quick recap and then boom we went into the exercise. They noticed a difference as well. Less chit chat, more work!! That's how I do it...haha.

All in all it kicked my ass. Loved it.

At noon I instructed Totally Toned. I took it easy on myself and did a lot of "observing" today!The class is ok with it as they are excited for my race too!

Good day today. Tomorrow starts the carb load. I did not do so well with my water consumption today as I did yesterday for some reason. I will work on that starting tomorrow fo sho.

Drymax Socks- Giveaway WINNER!!

Comment 66 Molly is the winner of the Drymax Socks!!!

I cannot locate your email address.
Please email me within 48 hours to claim your prize! marciag@triton.net
CONGRATS!

Wordless Wednesday..images of my first marathon..4 years ago!

Tuesday.....5 more sleeps!

Ok getting even closer. Yahoo!!
I skipped running club tonight and did it on my own.
It was a great day for a run! I felt strong and so ready for Sunday!
The plan was to run a 2 mile warm up with a 3 mile marathon pace run followed by the usual 2 mile cool down
After the warm up I did my 3 miles in about an 8:09 pace--i felt too good to go 8:23! I am hoping this is a good sign! I will take it as such.
I then did my cool down at about 8:30 ish pace! Ugh...ooops! That might not sound to fast to some of the speed demons out there, but I am very conservative with my cool downs! A 10 minute mile is usual for me.
I even stretched after my run and again at home! Go me!

Drymax Socks- Review and Giveaway! EXTENDED!

I am extending the giveaway.
My blog was not accepting comments! ooops!
It is now so please comment away!!


Drymax Socks Giveaway

Drymax Socks- Review and Giveaway ends tonight!!!

Don't forget to enter before midnight!

6 pair of awesome sport socks are up for grabs!

click to enter

What to eat/drink/do the week BEFORE a marathon.

• Listen to your body. Remember, there are no workouts the week prior to the marathon that will enhance your preparedness for the race. An important rule of thumb is "Less is Best", particularly if you are feeling either physically or mentally tired and/or your leg muscles are fatigued/achy, etc.


• Clip long toenails and treat blisters and calluses the week or two prior to the marathon.


• Use care in selecting foods to eat during this time period, aiming for nutritious and healthy items rather than snack/high fat products


• Hydrate well the week before the marathon and in particular, during the carbohydrate loading period (three days prior to the marathon). *Research indicates that carbohydrates convert to glycogen more effectively when accompanied with the consumption of water
  This is the time when you may gain a couple of pounds, but don't worry about it. This will be your energy fuel during the marathon!


• Don't try anything new the week prior to, or during the marathon.


• Aim to get lots of sleep the week prior to the marathon.
  Try to go to bed early Friday night and wake up very early Saturday morning. This will enable you to get into the rhythm of preparing to wake up early Sunday morning.


• The most important night for sleep is Friday evening as many people find it difficult resting/sleeping soundly the night before the marathon. If you don't get a restful night's sleep Saturday, that's fine as long as you sleep well Friday.

For the whole article please click here

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Stop by for a visit and vote for my kiddos ( #1 and #2) You can vote for them both! :)
Thanks!!

Monday.......6 more sleeps!!!

Monday, busy Monday. How I am sick and tired of you.

6am was Y Power Zzzzzzzzzzz...I mean X.
Today was chest and back. A class full of pull ups and push ups. Super hardcore. I am very proud of my students though..they all attempted the dreaded pull up and all were successful. Some were ugly, but I am proud nonetheless!!!

Spinning was at 10am---- fun, hard and one of those classes that looked good on paper, but when it was played out I wonder why I would do that to myself!
After the warm up we went into a 12 minute endurance section....we did a high cadence moderate resistance type of thing. It was kind of brutal. That was followed by a 3 minute recovery time. We then repeated the 12 minute endurance stint. This was followed by a a5 minute higher cadence seated climb. The challenge of this class was to stay seated the whole time. That was hard, but many succeeded! Yay class!

Totally Toned was at noon. We did a few (2) minute circuits of push ups, bicycle crunches and pelvic lifts....3 sets of upper and lower body and some other nonsense. The class really liked the format of today's class even though it was tough.

I might complain about my Monday's here and there( ha!), but it makes it so worth it when the class is there to work. I had that with all 3 of my classes today. It's great to see them working hard and pushing themselves to the max!!

Sunday.....7 more sleeps!

I took a nice unplanned day off from a workout today. I figure I won't really have any days off before the marathon so what's it going to hurt? Nothing.
I have been online today reading blogs and Face book entries on all the marathons that were today! A lot of my friends qualified for Boston today!! So excited and happy for them. I think I want to qualify. The thought is almost to the front of my brain now and not just the middle. Oh my. I really want to do it because me friends did. I mean that it would be a great trip and experience to share with that group. I have never been to Boston either. It would be lots of fun.
We will see if I change my mind this week. I do that a lot.

Saturday Long Run

It's over! It was a great morning for a run! Even though my hands were frozen ( here we go again...). It was a great run. We were done before 9am! How cool is that?!?! Very.
Our pace was 8:48 too. We felt awesome. I love that all this hard training peaks at the right moment. Weeks, maybe even months ago we would have never kept this pace for an easy long run. There is a method to our crazy coaches training madness!! I am so glad this run felt easy ( so to speak), because it gives me even more confidence for next Sunday.
8 more sleeps.....

The countdown begins!! 8 more sleeps......

Today is the last long run of the season. Of the year. Of training. The last long run before my second marathon. Eeeeek!!! I will be pounding the pavement for 10 miles in about 1.5 hours. i know i have said it before, but I never thought I would think 10 miles was not a long run. That's just crazy. It's about 35 degrees out right now. I would like it to be in the mid to upper 50's come marathon morning. Please and thanks to Mother Nature. I assume she takes requests. Oh and no rain too! Thanks much.

I will be done sooooo early today. It's going to feel strange getting home before my son takes his afternoon nap!

Hold up....Boston Bound??

So...this whole time I thought I had to run 8 minute miles in order to run a 3:40 marathon...and nobody told me any different anytime I would mention this..... I am POSITIVE my coach told me it was 8 minute miles. Anyone care to enlighten me? Math is not my forte.
But nope...8:23 miles....BIG difference if you ask me. This seems more doable. If everything goes as it should go on the 18th I am confident I can qualify for The Boston Marathon. I think. ha.....
It's still in the back of my mind slowly inching it's way to the middle.

Friday

It's not even 7am and my exercise is most likely done for the day...love that!
Well..I am not entirely 100%. I ended up cutting my run short this morning. I ran a 1 mile warm up and then did about a little less than 3 miles at 8:00 pace. It felt OK, but I know that my breathing was a bit labored at times. I walked on an incline for less than 10 minutes and then hopped on the elliptical for an easy 15 minutes.
I ended with a very short circuit: 3 sets of 10 reps
5 pull ups, 7 chin ups, 4.5 wide grip pull ups.
DB elevated single leg lunges
BB bicep curls
DB Triceps ext.

Short and sweet!

Thursday

I took the day off today.
Not intentionally either. I am either allergic to my in-laws or to their dog. They came for a visit last night and after being around them and Kiwi ( pooch) for about 2 hours my throat started to close up. (*side note~~ this happens whenever I visit them, which is why I don't go there often).
It usually lasts 24 hours so I should be good to go by the morning. If I am I plan on getting up way too early to get to the gym to run and lift and possibly go back later to spin. Not sure about the spin class yet.
The countdown for the marathon is 9 days!! Freaking out over here....

Déjà vu-- Is it Monday or Wednesday??

Déjà vu for me today.....Today's day was just like my Monday.

Y power X-arms/shoulders/abs

Spin- interval city

Totally Toned- full body

OY!

It was a good day.

Oh I just remembered..I ran about 4 miles before all the stuff I just posted since I was not able to make it to running club on Tuesday night.

The best part of today was that my husband came to my spin class. The first and last time he stepped foot into my class was for a 15 minute spinning tutorial. That was in college. He and I have been together for about 12 years now and I have been an instructor for about that long! Group exercise just is not his thing. He was on a mission today. He actually said he was motivated in my class. Ha! whew! I am not sure he will be able to make this a habit as my class is at 10am and well..he has a job he must go to! It was fun while it lasted!

Wish List Wednesday!

This is a pacectat! Kind of cool I think. You basically order a tattoo based on your marathon goal. The tattoo has the splits in which to meet your goal. Pretty genius if you ask me. Or it might be because I suck at pace keeping and math in general. It's only $2.99 too! I'm not sure if my arms will be bare during my marathon though..that could cause a problem eh?

Sunday and Mission Monday

Sunday: Day off!! Took a nice jaunt around the zoo today! It was a perfect autumn morning for the zoo.
Monday: 6am-- Y Power X class- Today was Legs and Back. Lots of reps of these poor legs. It was great!
10am-- Spinning. I had the class do 6 minute endurance and 6 minute climb sessions ending with 3 sprints. I had a few peeps come and thank me after class. It was just what the doctor ordered for a dreary Monday morning. My new cycling shoes are awesome!!!
12 noon was Totally Toned-- Full body workout with more abs then usual today.

Saturday..let the taper begin!

Today was the last long run before the big show. We ran 16 hilly miles in about 2 hours and 2o minutes I think. I did not even time it. I felt really good considering it was COLD and rainy and wet and did I mention the hills?? It's such a weird feeling to be cold and wet, but sweating all at the same time. That was me today. After the rain stopped there was still a chill in the air, but I was dripping sweat. Oh well. That's just how it is.
I am getting anxious and excited for the marathon to get here. 20 more days and then it's over!
I am also getting excited to NOT run. I will probably run a few times ( or one, or none) times a week in the "off" season, but I am looking forward to kicking my workouts up a notch with heavy weights and a different form of cardio. I figure I will be starting up the heavy mileage again in January so the months in between I should give my running muscles and joints a nice rest. I am so paranoid of injury. I am also looking forward to "cleaning" up my eating. I have become guilty of using the marathon as an excuse to eat more. Now I know I should be eating more to fuel my workouts and all that good stuff...but not with skittles and ice cream and coffee drinks! Oooops! So a week after the marathon ( yes , a whole week to prepare! haha) I will start that up. Starting with a cleanse. Kind of looking forward to this. I have never done one so it should be an interesting experiment!

Friday!

Easy day at the gym today.....
Elliptical for about 35 minutes or so. I lost track while having a deep conversation with my gym buddy.
I had enough time/motivation/energy to squeak out a little upper body circuit:
4 sets 10 reps: I just kept the same 15# weights in hand today for all exercises.

DB shoulder press
DB biceps curl
DB triceps ext.
DB Chest press

I taught Totally Toned later on.
That's about it for today!

Thursday!

Today I taught Extreme Spinning. It's the 90 minutes class I taught a few months back. I skipped running club; where we were to run 8 easy miles. I figured this spinning class was pretty close to that. It was a good class. I had to teach it interval style which is my favorite type to teach anyway. I got new spinning shoes! A friend of mine received a pair that were too small...$11!! DEAL!!
That's all I have for today..it's late!