Thursday

I sat in a chair from 10am - 3:30pm.
My hair is now braided. It's been a while since I have worn this style. I missed it, but not the chair so much. After that I went straight to work. My fuel before class:
9am-- oatmeal and a few strawberries
12pm-- almonds, raisins and a few Kashi crackers
3:30pm-- apple and water.

class was at 4:15. Thought I might keel over myself. I was UNfueled. Duh. And dehydrated. Stupid hair.

So that's it for today. Although I am quiet sore from my Tuesday workout. I am guessing it's the Lat Pull Downs I did. I used a different grip for all 3 sets and am not hurting in 3 places instead of 1. Awesome.

Recaps galore!

I don't even know where to start!
Saturday~ 12 mile run in a place that has CRAZY rolling hills. The good news is..the biggest hill was inaccessible due to construction on the bridge you need to cross to get to the 1/2 mile hill. What a shame! My run was a nice and slow 9 minute average. Here are my stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/31103114
I love my Garmin!
Sunday~ OFF
Monday~ Spin Race Day. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/31560539 I was a bit surprised by my calorie burn for this class. I expected it to be higher due to it being a Race Day and all. I am not questioning the accuracy of my awesome watch, just curious is all. ;-)
Totally Toned was at noon.

Tuesday~ Kickboxing! So glad to be back at this!http://connect.garmin.com/activity/31459311
Very intense at some points-- 173 was my Heart Rate max-- she has us do 50 jumping jacks in between one of the songs and yours truly was The Counter! Such pressure!
After class I did a mini full body lift. 3x10
Squats
Plank Row
Lat pull down
**I skipped my 4 mile tempo run-more on this later! (news at 11)

Wednesday~ Spin. Endurance AKA: Fat Burner! http://connect.garmin.com/activity/31560534 I am not sure of my correct HR Zones yet..I keep forgetting to take my resting heart rate in the morning. But this class was kind of hard in a good way.
Totally Toned at noon.
I went for a little run later in the evening.http://connect.garmin.com/activity/31609544
How tired of these links are you? Too bad!! haha! I am pretty much link crazy.
I have not had any significant breathing issues this week. A few minor ones that I worked through. I also have had 2 instances when my neck sort of tighten up for about 10 seconds. It's hard to explain, but it was weird. It did not hurt, but because of what is going on with me it was kind of scary. Oh, and very annoying.

**Soooo..I have yet to sign up for the 25k!!! I had a minor major pity party for myself all week long ( thank you Ben and Jerry for being such good friends to me--I can always count on you.). I am actually surprised at my feelings on this vocal cord fiasco. I did not know I would react this way. I have no idea what to do!!!
~Sign up for the race and just run it relaxed and not for time.
~Sign up for the race with my original goal and if I have a spastic vocal cord attack --umm give up and walk.
~Sign up for the 5k and run/walk it with Matt and Amara.
~ Don't sign up for anything and just cheer on my friends and teammates.
See?? I am in a pickle. yumm pickles..... Anyway- the race is 1 week from Saturday so I best figure out what the heck I am going to do. Any suggestions besides telling me to shut it?!?
I have some very exciting news. Well, I think it is. I found a road bike to borrow this duathlon season! Yahoo! I am to pick the bike up next week- looking forward to riding outside again!
I would like to end by saying that in light of my so called issues-it's really not that horrible.
I can run. I can walk. I have a roof over my head. I eat everyday. My family is healthy. My kids are happy. I don't have asthma.
The list goes on and on and on and on.
Life is good!

GPSless no more--and other things....

Sorry I did not post up yesterday. I must have been too busy...using my new Garmin!! Woohoo!!

I got it yesterday! Charged her ( she's grey/pink accents) up and went for a 2 mile run before teaching my class! Oh and it was a 8:09 minute pace too. I know this, because I have a GPS!! Yahoo!

So anyway....I taught my class after the short run!

In other news...I finally tracked down the doctor about my vocal Cord hoopla. My appointment is on May 20th...... great. That's only 12 days after the Big Show. What the heck?!! Now I am torn. Do I run this race for the fun of it or try to make a goal? I have never run a race strictly for fun-EVER! haha...but really- I don't think I can. I might try it this time though. I forgot to mention that during my run I had NO issues at all. They say this disorder can be brought on by stress--maybe I was stressed that I was GPSless for so long?!??!?!

Friday~ I lifted weights today. It was kind of a blah session for me. I am not sure why.

Shoulders and hamstrings:

3x12

Shoulder press

Dead lifts

Ball Ham curls
Front raises

This is all!

But I think I worked these muscle groups plenty in my class last night--lots o' lunges and upright rows etc.

Spin class...what a different experience with my heart rate monitor! I know I work hard, but I work harder with instant feedback. Whew! I have missed you Heart rate monitor- so glad you are back!

On the plan for Saturday...12 mile run in the hilliest place we run. I am to run the first 6 miles easy and the last 6 at race pace..what is my race pace anyway?!?! Oh boy.

Tuesday and Wednesday Recap--runnin' and spinnin'

Tuesday~
I met my girlfriend at the other YMCA to take a class together. My fave kickboxing class. I love this class!! It was great-the instructor did one of my most favorite routines to Lady Marmalade- the updated version with Lil' Kim and Christina Aguilera. Love it. Anyway.... I might be taking this class again every Tuesday again! Amara starts soccer next week so it just might work! YAY!
After class ( and before class, and at home) I lifted weights. Back and biceps. 3x8

Before class:
1 arm rows
preacher curl on the ball
After class:
Bent over flyes
hammer curls
At home:
Chin ups
3 sets of 5
I had to fit in my weight training when and where I could. I got it done!
Later on was running club. Although I still don't know how to breath...I attempted to run 4 miles at tempo speed. The warm up was about 18 minutes for 2 miles. I felt great at this pace. On to the tempo-- I think I did really well for the first 1.75 ish miles maybe more. I honestly do not know my pace-sometimes this is way better for ones ego! My vocal cords were kind of happy and then mad at me for the rest of the run. I did not walk though. I felt like it a few times, but I kept running. I was really glad to be done though. I am calling the doc today to see what the hold up is. my big race is approaching fast and I want to know the verdict!

Wednesday~ Spin day! Intervals again. It was a basic style with increasing resistance and length. After the warm up I had us do a standing jog, seated climb, flat road and finally a standing climb. The first set was 1 minute( ie: every move was 1 minute), second time around was 2 minutes and the 3rd time was 3 minutes. It went over well. I also busted out some very old spin cd's ( I have been teaching for about 8 years now) and was rockin' to John Cougar Mellencamp. Or whatever he is called nowadays! I love music so much-- I know my tastes are all over the place so my classes pretty much don't know what to expect from me. I saw a lot of lips singing though!
Totally Toned was at noon. Apparently, Monday's session was tough as a lot of the participants upper body was still sore.
That's all!

Monday! Boston! Garmin! YAY!

Monday~ It totally felt like a Monday too. Whatever that means!
Spin day today--intervals. We were all over the place today. Organized chaos I like to call it. It worked well though-I think. I had only 1 bike left open-yay! That's a hard feat for the time of day I teach in such awesome weather. I had about 4 new peeps too. Love the newbies! They actually said they liked it and would be back again on Wednesday--we shall see though!
I know I am always talking about how helpful a heart rate monitor is for Spin--because it is!! I really could have used it today as I have no idea how hard I am really working. I cannot wait until I get my new Garmin 110- oh did I not spill the beans yet?? I am getting it FOR SURE! My runner friend let me know on Saturday that she got it at the Boston Marathon Expo! YAY! She ran Boston today ( lucky duck) and had a GREAT experience. It was her slowest marathon ever and the most painful. "How could it be a great experience then", you ask?? Her whole family made the trip. 5 kids and her hubby were there to cheer her on. Her older kids ran the 5k the day before too and did AWESOME!! What a great thing to share with your family!

Totally Toned was at noon and we did some circuit training- I think they liked it.
I hope to lift tomorrow at some point. not sure if it will work though. I am hoping to get to a kickboxing class in the AM. Yep, The cardio kickboxing class that I was addicted to before Amara was in school. Oh, how I have missed it. If I make it, I am going to be so so so so sore. It happens every time. Love it. I am bringing a friend so she can experience the pain pleasure as well.
I am also going to attempt to run a 5 mile tempo later on-- I hope my vocal cords approve!! Wish me luck!!

Friday and Saturday recap

Friday~ Early morning spin was a good class. I did not have any breathing issues-BONUS!
After spin I was able to lift legs-Quads to be specific. They were actually still a bit sore from the week too. I did 4x10:
Leg Press
Split Squats
Leg Ext
That is all. I planned on squatting in the rack, but gossiping time took me away from that. Maybe next time. I also want to add that my triceps are still on fire from whenever the heck I did chest and triceps...Thursday maybe?? It's Sunday. I get it. Stop being sore. You know I love it. Whateva.

Saturday~ 16 miler in the books. It was a GORGEOUS morning for a run. I was really happy with how my run went. It was around a 9 minute mile pace. I felt that I most certainly could have stepped it up a bit and gone faster, but my running buddy was a having some issues. I am sure it was a blessing in disguise though. I did not want to get all cocky and then have problems breathing. We talked practically the whole 16 miles. It was a friend of a friend that I did not really know that well.... so now we know each other better. I love making new friends!
This will be the last 16 miler before the Big Show (25k). I am still not sure if I am going to do the Big Show yet. I want to see my speech pathologist first and get an idea of how realistic that would be for me and my goals. I hope they call me soon!!!

Is It Friday Yet!?!?!

I am exhausted today. Totally pooped. Miles was up a few times last night. He has some weird cough, nasal drippage going on. Poor guy. I am dragging today. But, alas-- we were able to get to the gym on this 80* day! It was in the low 60's by 9am and my poor kids had coats on! Ooops! I let them leave the coats in the car though. It was warm.
At the gym I did a quick 3 x 10- chest and triceps circuit:
Chest Press
Tri Dips
Push ups
Tri Press
Chest Flye
Lying Triceps Ext.
1 minute break and repeat.
Um yea. This hurt me. It hurt me soo good!
I almost did 4 sets, but chickened out since my poor arms were shakin' by set 2!
I know time off from lifting is good for me, but it sure stinks trying to get back in the swing of things! The good thing is though, that I took enough time off so I actually MISS lifting weights. YAY!
I also attempted to run on the treadmill today.
I did some sort of speed work. 400 repeats with an equal time rest. I may have done 8. I stopped counting after 4. My goal was 5 but I know I did more!
My breathing was so-so. I attempted to use my own breathing techniques to get through it. I won't say it worked (cuz I have NO idea what I was doing), but I pushed through and ran almost 5 miles when I was done with the intervals and warm up and cool down. That lifted my spirits a bit!
Later on I taught 3*2*1. I counted this as my core work for today. It was all standing ab work for total of 6 minutes. I did not add any plyometrics to my workout today-maybe tomorrow after spin class.....maybe.
Friday I am going shopping my girl Mary! Wooot! I better go to bed now so it's Friday sooner.