Friday and Saturday ( Spin class #8 and #9 for the week) DONE!

Friday~ Spin in the AM-what else?!??! I had an almost full class. According to the bike computer we rode almost 13.5 miles To be honest, I have no idea what style of class I taught--being that it was class #8 for the week--they all seemed to get lumped together. I do remember feeling extremely dry and exhausted when I woke up. I was so dehydrated from the night before. I drank lots before bed too, but apparently it was not enough. My legs were pretty much shot too.
Totally Toned at noon. I had 2 new people and I usually join in when this happens- not today though. I was too tired and sore for that! They both did perfectly well too. I was able to demonstrate the moves and help them when necessary. I was too pooped for much else.

Saturday~ Power Spin at 7:45am.....or make that 7:30am! Great. I had a FULL class and the instructor I was subbing for ALWAYS ( so I was told) starts class at 7:30--even though the schedule clearly states 7:45. So I waltz in at 7:28am....they are already on the bikes ( my friend opened the door as she was getting nervous that I was not going to show up). I started the music and they were off. I excused myself of my tardiness and they were fine with it ( to my face anyways). Class was pretty darn awesome. I "borrowed" the workout from an online site to get the idea. I changed it slightly but not much. The borrowed profile was a tad more difficult than what I was looking for ( maybe if this was class #2 of the week and not #9 I would have done the tougher version). On a good note- I taught off the bike for a moment...it was breif, but I did it! It will get easier the more I do it I am sure. It was a nice little break. I was able to coach the class and walk around and look at form from a different angle. Did I mention that it was a nice little break?? We road about 25 miles in class today. So glad to be done with my craaaazy week!
I know my butt should take a full day of rest tomorrow, but so far I plan to do very light cardio ( my only excuse is that I have not been able to do my own thing at all this week, so tomorrow is my chance!) I got a new library book and I can read that or a magazine or watch TV while keeping my HR in Zone 1 ( recovery baby!!). There is the yoga that I NEED to do weekly as well. Hopefully I get to do something though.

Tuesday- nice and easy!

Wednesday- I took it fairly easy today. I am sure the 1300 cals I burned on Sunday have something to do with it! I did a nice easy 35 minutes on the elliptical.
I had my new moms class after that. They did a treadmill hill climb for 15 minutes and then we headed to the studio for some weights. I did not let anyone use less than 5 lbs today. Those 1 and 2 lbs were not doing anything! I was not so easy on them today being that it is week 5 and they noticed! They pushed themselves today and they noticed! I was pretty much non-stop with the weights, planks, mountain climbers, squats...you name it we did it. I told them to expect to be challenged even more next Tuesday!
Amara is well on her way to getting in her 25 miles before the 1.2 mile "marathon" race this Saturday. She hit mile 20 today-- the map is hilarious to me. Its her running up and down the streets over and over. I was on the corner so I could watch her and Miles at the same time. Miles was not feeling going all the way around the block today! She is a trooper.

Tuesday- bike, teach, run?

Ooops..I was hoping to post before the goal update blog posted. Oh well.

Today was a busy cardio day.
I was up early and go ton the bike and headed outside to put in some miles. 14.24 to be exact. It was a great morning. It was kind of chilly ( well compared to how the day ended up). If I am able to participate in the next duathlon I really want to do even better on the bike this time. It's less miles than the first du I did this year by about 6 or so miles. I really want to push myself. I of course want to do well on the run portion too. Ugh. Running has been my worst enemy and nightmare combined this season.

I taught cardio sculpt today and then headed off to running club. Today's prescribed workout was 1 mile warm up 4-6 mile tempo and 2 mile cool down. Did I mention the heat index was in the 90's? My friend and I arrived early and got the warm up out of the way ( almost an 8:00 pace-which is more like my tempo pace this year!) after that i just felt off. I am sure it was the weather combined with my activity for the day and perhaps nutrition??!??! I ate well today, maybe not enough for my activity-I really have no idea. It's hard for me to figure out a proper eating schedule and how fuel with my workout and work priorities. Very frustrating. Anyway--- My buddy and I decided to just run 4 more miles and call it a day. Not even at tempo pace ( her's is 6:50 by the way! haha). We got about .68 miles in when I knew i was done. I took a short cut by myself and called it a day with 2.3 miles in. I was to get in 9 miles tonight and only managed 4.22! I am not mad though--really. Just pooped! I did a lot today. I met and exceeded my goal for bike mileage already- it's only Tuesday!! Now I need to figure out when to lift, yoga and run. Yikes!!

Great start to the week!

Sunday~ I asked my dad to come over so I could get a workout in. I am so glad he lives down the way ( 10 mins) and said YES!

I went in without a real plan. All I knew was that I wanted to lift upper body and do cardio.
I got on the elliptical for 15 minutes and then did 4 sets of 10 reps:

Lat pull down
Push ups
Up right rows

Cross/Arch Trainer cardio for 15 minutes
and then 4x10:

Shoulder Press
Bent over Rows
Biceps Curls

I ended with an incline walk on the tread for 15 minutes.

This was actually a fun workout and very different from what I have ever done before.
It made the lifting portion go by super fast! That is why I added a 4th set. Even the cardio went by fast. I was able to push myself a bit harder knowing I only had 15 minutes to do it.
With the weights I went from exercise to exercise with no breaks--I then took a 30 to 45 second break before beginning the next set. Whew! I might try this on Thursday when I plan on lifting legs....we will see though!

Crazy for Cardio...... Or just plain crazy.

Tuesday~ 800's on the track (3:28 ish pace) with equal recovery time. I wanted to do 8, but was totally fine with 6. It was hot and humid and I felt I could have thrown up. Awesome. My breathing was not the best, but I tried to ignore it. The weird thing is I had my vocal cords close up for about 10 seconds during my .75 of a mile cool down. It was at a snails pace because I was so tired from the workout! Not sure why that happened.
The 800's were very hard. I am not sure if it was because I an doing a cleanse right now that I felt different or what. Oh-it might have been do to the fact that I taught Cardio Sculpt at 4:15pm--how could I forget that??? It was kickboxing with some power moves thrown in for fun and weights and abs. I am still sore. It's been a while!

Wednesday~ Spin intervals that were hard. They were hard(er) for me due to my Tuesday stuff I think. I thought about running a few miles and the feeling passed almost as soon as it popped into my head.

Thursday~ Yoga..I made it. It was slightly difficult. Lots of hip openers (which I need BAD) and lots of hamstring stretches Ommmmm.
Before yoga I walked on the tread slowly with a bit of an incline for 30 minutes.
Depending on how I feel the rest of the day I might go for a walk or run or go to the gym for some light cardio. We shall see.....

Tempo Run and Circuit Training.

I got to the gym late for my weight training session. i was not feeling it, so I opted to just do a circuit on the machines. It was a full body of 8 different exercises. 3 sets of 10. I have been so tired lately! I am happy that I pushed through it though.

Next on the agenda: 4 mile tempo run at running club. EEEEK!! The last time we did tempo run was when I had an "episode". No major episodes tonight, but I plan on calling the doc tomorrow just to ease my mind.

The first 2 miles was at warm up pace- 9 minute miles. The next 4 was to be at tempo. My group of 3 ladies decided to run between 7:45 and 8 minute miles. This is how it went.

Mile 1- 7:45 ( felt good-it actually felt closer to an 8 minute pace)

Mile 2- 7:45 ( I fell back a bit, but caught up half way into this mile)

Mile 3- 7:50 ( We had one big hill that seemed to slow us just a bit)

Mile 4- 7:30 ( made up for mile 3! 1 minute left to go and my breathing got labored--calling Doc!)

2.2 mile cool down at a 9 minute mile pace. All in all the workout was great. I know my tempo pace is about a 7:35, but I feel at this point in the game I would be setting myself up for failure! Maybe next week when the tempo run is 5 miles I will have more confidence. I hope to see the Doc before then too.

My husband asked me if Amara could run a 5k in May....any opinions on that?? She has participated in a 1 mile fun run last year and ran the whole thing-I think she stopped once for about 10 seconds. She also did a 200 meter race last year-she was upset it was not longer! Just wondering any opinions on the matter of her running 3.1 miles!

Thursday's( repost) and Friday Spin!

So yea...not sure what happened to my post yesterday. Strange.....

Anyhow......

I did the circuit from Tuesday only 3x8 this time and we threw in some bi's and tri's too.

I decided to take the day off from cardio--so for me that meant I only did 15 minutes of the elliptical while pushing pretty hard! Ha! I can't help myself. I had time to spare might as well get the heart beating--right?!?!?!

This morning ( FRIDAY) was the first time I taught the 5:30 AM Spin class. It's new to the schedule. There were a few empty bikes, but lots of new faces. I decided to teach my Wednesday class again because there was a spinner from my Monday class. Did not want to make her repeat the same class again.

It went over well. Lots of jumps. The last set was 6 minutes. Whew! I have to teach Totally Toned at noon as well.

I made an impulse purchase yesterday. My GPS is on the fritz and I REALLY want need one!! I went to the sporting goods store and found the Garmin FR 60. To make a long story short..it's not actually a real GPS. It does track time/pace/distance etc. but it does not need a signal to do so. I have to calibrate it. If you are a runner then you KNOW that we are anal beings. I want the exact pace/dist. etc. Soooooo....I will try it out on my long run on Saturday. I love everything else about it though. The heart Rate monitor capabilities as well as the millions of other bells and whistles--are awesome. The owners manual is 48 pages long for Pete's Sake!

I think I shared my Spin class activity too. Love that!

I hope to have a good report back on this handy gadget tomorrow or else I will have to take it back and be heart rate monitorless and GPSless again! Booo!

Tuesday-weights-cardio and core

I met a friend and we did a quick full body circuit training today. It was fun.

3x10

Squats
Pull ups

Step ups
DB Chest press

DB Shoulder Press
DB Bent over flyes

Core:
Roll ups 4 sets of 10
Planks with bosu 30s x4
Hip stuff 3 sets of 15

Cardio:
Elliptical
30 minutes steady state

That's all!!

Sunday.....motivation????

I was not in the mood to go to the gym today. I was really tired and really full of sugar! Since more sleep was out of the question ( kids!) I sucked it up and went to the gym. I had to keep in mind that tomorrow's spin class will be a race day so I kept the cardio light and did not get my HR up to crazy high.
I began with a quick circuit:
3x10

Lat pull down (underhand grip)
Leg Extension
Chest Press
Lying ham curl

Short and sweet!

I ventured upstairs and actually used the rowing machine! I have not gotten on this thing in YEARS. It was fun and different. I might make a habit of it. I am not exactly sure how long I was on it. I did a program to travel 1000 meters I think. It might have taken me a bit over 10 minutes total. I did my own intervals on it. 10 strokes fast to 10 slow....a few times I upped the fast strokes ( 30x), but kept the slower ones at 10 no matter what. It was a nice change of pace.
I then found one of my running buddies and we got on the Arch Trainer next to each other for about 30 minutes. I lost track since we were yapping the whole time! I did not mind the chatting at all today since I had no intention of pushing myself too hard. It was nice to take it easy too. We talked about the upcoming race season and our goals and stuff. After that I did a bit of core work.

Pilates roll ups (10)
Planks on the stability ball ( 20 seconds x 4)
Pilates roll up holding the stability ball (10)]
Leg pushes ( 10/side)
Slow crunches ( 10)

That's all!

For a day that started out with not much motivation, I think I still got a dedcent workout in.

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Friday and Saturday recap

Friday~
I don't think Christmas is an excuse not to workout! If you can fit it in your day without making anybody mad..then do it! I was able to fit in a sweat session while Miles FINALLY napped and Amara was busy with everything!
I was at my in-laws house and they have a nice little gym area set up in their basement. I chose to spend my time on the elliptical doing a nice steady state cardio session with a few hard hills thrown in there every few minutes. I stayed on that thing for an hour. Ugh. I could not go out and run due to the freezing rain! This was the next best thing I guess. It was not so bad.... I had my new iPod and am still trying to figure things out....... I don't like to read instructions!
I figure I burned off calories to equal 7 of the 30 cookies I inhaled--better than nothing!!
Saturday~ So far I am making this my day off. The day is not over, but I am not seeing a workout in my future for today. That's cool though....

Tuesday-weights-cardio and core

Today I totally had no clue what to do, but sometimes those days I crank out my best workouts!
I started with my weight workout to make sure I got that in without feeling rushed.

3x8 including a warm up set of 10-12 reps

Lat pull down 75#
Leg Ext. machine 65 and 75#
Chest Press machine --??
Glute machine-- 75 and 85#
DB seated shoulder press-- 20#
DB step ups-- 20#

Arch Trainer- 8 minutes
( had to go a meet a client quick to give her something!)
Elliptical- 10 minutes increasing resistance

CORE-
2 sets
Hip Circles Right leg( both directions)
Fire Hydrant lifts
Plank Hold
Repeat on left side

2 sets
5 roll ups
lower body ext.
upper body ext.
full superman's
15 each
5 roll ups

Stretching for about 5 full minutes! ( that's good for me!)
I still plan on running later and will report back after the run.

Saturday

I took Friday off.
I was not able to run today ( Boo!), but I got to the gym for a major sweat session. I started on the elliptical for about 25 mintues and then headed to Power Spin. I could only stay for 35 of the 60 minute class because I had to been home. I made the most of my time though. It was a great class even though I had to leave before it was over. I came home and did about 10 minutes of core work on the floor and stretched.
My plan for Sunday is weights and cardio.

I'm Baaack....for now!

Yea, so the Internet was out again last night! Ugh! So far we are back. For now!

Quick wrap up of last week of the things I actually remember.
Last week:
Tuesday: Uuuuh....
Wednesday: Spin and maybe something else...I can't recall. Oh..Totally Toned
Thursday: Spin (sub) Core and Yoga in my living room.
Friday: Canceled Totally Toned due to weather and went to the gym for cardio.
Saturday: 12 mile run! Woohoo..out in the cold. Loved mostly every minute of it too.
Sunday: OFF ( I know this for a fact--Booo!)
This week~
Monday: Spin/Totally Toned
Tuesday: Upper Body super sets ( ouch!!) Spin for 30 minutes.
Wednesday: Spin (AGAIN)
Thursday: Spin... sub. hmmmm

Ok, so it look like I did LOTS of Spin and little of anything else. I have not had time...... I love Spin and everything, but come on! I have slacked on my weight training for sure. Not sure my problem. I need to change up my routine I think. I kind of did with the core only days that included lots of hip stuff, pull-ups, planks and pilate-ab type movements. I was sore for 2 straight days. NICE.

Tired Tuesday...what the heck is going on with me?!?

Tuesday..... I am still feeling super exhausted for some reason. Maybe it's the weather?!?
I made it to the gym for cardio- cardiokickboxing was crazy. I wore my HR monitor or course and it was up to 177 at one point..woah! I hit the step mill for a quick 10 minutes after class and then called it a day. I planned on going back to hit legs, but just was not feeling it. I think it might be the whole packing the kids up etc. All these layers makes for a longer stay.... or maybe I just needed an excuse to stay home!!
I want to try to do legs tomorrow at some point. I am shooting for after I get Amara from school-- if she has school that is. We are getting dumped on as I type so there is no telling how much snow will be on the ground be morning.

Wednesday Spin Day

Today was my first day taking over the Wednesday Spin class. There was only 1 open bike, and I think it was broken anyway !
It was a pretty good class...I have been borrowing the HR monitor still....I promise I will give it back ( if they notice it's "missing") I am loving it too. My only complaint is that I can't see the stop watch clearly enough during class as well as my HR and calorie burn numbers. There might be a way to at least see the stop watch and HR numbers, but I have not figured it out just yet. Maybe if I read the directions...... so I for sure would recommend this monitor and would buy it for myself ( am hoping somebody reads this and gets it for me for X-Mas)..just sayin'.
Anyways.....lots of hills, sprints and jumps ( which I don't really like!), but it was a nice sweat fest. That was my day! I might run and lift tomorrow...or do kickboxing. I have not decided so I will be back here to report!

Sunday..let the new schedule begin!

I started my new schedule today. I plan on hitting upper body 2 days a week and lower 1 day a week and then next week will be the opposite...lower 2x and upper 1x. We will see how that goes. I think I will like it and it should go by faster than my usual full body.
I also plan on doing a quick core workout and plyos at the end. I am pretty sore from the hills and mileage of yesterday. I knew I would be though. Yipee! I might be getting exited for the official running season to start up again (Jan. 2010). I hope to set some big PR's this season.......I don't like to say that out loud. Shhhhhh!

So today looked like this:
3x10 with 45 second rest in between sets.

lat pull down ( 75#)
Shoulder press ( 15#)
push ups
Up right rows ( 30 and 40# BB)
Triceps Bench Dips
1-arm rows (25#)

Plyometrics:
Jump squats - 15
Lunge jumps 10/leg
Jump squats- 15

Core:
Plank holds 3x30 seconds

Elliptical for 25 minutes. I kept my HR low....it was under 155 the whole time. I have a race day spin class planned for tomorrow so I tried to be smart and not to push my limits today.

Friday Happy Hour Spin

I slept in until 9am today!! Not sure the last time that happened. It may have been the food induced food coma I had...maybe?!?!
I knew I was to teach Spin later in the day, but thought i might get to the gym for some weights. Did not happen.
I was still not feeling the want to workout later either. I had to though, because it's my job.
The class was a bit more than half full with a lot of new faces. I felt I was kind of tuned out for the first 10 minutes or so, but then I found my groove and it turned out to be a great session. WHEW. It was just what I needed.
Short and sweet cardio day.
Guess what? I am running tomorrow morning!!

Thursday Power Spin + Wish List Wendesday (a day late)

I was up and at the gym by 5 AM for the power spin. People were there before 5 AM to ensure they were able to get a bike. Man, it must have sucked for most of them as they did not get a bike. I got mine!! Sorry people. I am here for the same reason you are too.

Anyway.....

The class was speed drills. Kind of a love to hate kind of class. Super duper calorie burn for the impending pies and sides of the day, but it's also great for the sport of cycling. It was a great lactic acid inducer as well as leg endurance. Whew. It was rough at times. I borrowed a heart rate monitor again. I miss mine. It's busted! My HR got as high as 178 at times and when I was not working that hard..it was only at 154. Yea, so it was a great class for my heart as well!

We started off with 1 minute long semi " sprints" with a 30 second recovery..oh- we did 15 of those. UGH! Loved it though. I really pushed myself this morning and am glad I did. Not because I am afraid of Thanksgiving dinner and treats..that's lame. Eat and be thankful for goodness sake! After the sprints we had a nice gradual hill for 5 minutes and then it was off for more fun. Hill sprints, endurance runs, add the resistance etc. You name it we did it. The music was great which is so important.

I never added a wish list Wednesday so there it is! The Polar F 11. I loved having my HR monitor. I was sad when it busted! I love having immediate feedback. I think I get a little obsessive with it at times, but that's just how I operate. This watch is simple enough that I figured out how it works without the silly 10 page directions that make it more confusing if you ask me. You just plug in all your info and it's ready to go! It shows HR numbers or percentage, calories burned and tons more stuff that I might not ever use, but would try! I even like it in the Pink Fizz color. My last monitor was blue and gray and my GPS crappy watch now is black. I think it's time to add more pizazz to my accessories......

Thursday!

I thought about getting up early to hit the weights, but then picked sleep instead!I love my sleep.
I did make it to the early step-class though. It was great as usual. I usually duck out early to skip the abs segment to eitherd o my own or get some extra cardio in.
I choose cardio today. I ran on the treadmill for exactly 15 minutes. I can't remember my ending pace, but I did top out at 9 miles an hour. Ugh. I figure I need to get my legs used to running fast again before the Turkey Trot in exactly one week! It will be a 5k and I hope I am not trotting!
So now I must get myself out of bed early tomorrow to hit the weights and then probably head back for the 10am Spin class.

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!