Spinning and running. 8 miles to go!

Wednesday~ Is it Friday yet??
I am tired. Not the too much exercise kind of tired either- for real! I can't sleep kind of tired. It stinks.

I ran today! 3 whole miles on the treadmill before spin class. It was a 9:45 pace. 8 more miles to go for the week!

Spin was an oldie but a goodie. It was a repeating interval, only it got longer every time we started it. The first one was 3 minutes long, then 6, 9 and 13 for the last interval. The moves were:
flat road with resistance
climb
jumps
recover (always 1 minute long today)
I think the class went by fairly quickly and I got a few claps and "thank you's" today- I usually take that as a good sign.

I have a personal training client tonight and that's it.

On tap for tomorrow:
Spin class at 5:30 am (subbing)
Extreme HIT spin class at 7:15 PM -- 90 minutes of fun is what I like to call it.

Thursday- no spinning today....

Thursday-
Well I got my hair did today! That consisted of 3 hours in a chair. That always makes me sleepy. I was not able to take the noon spin today ( Booo!). I taught my Cardio Sculpt at 4:15 though. It was a combo of kickboxing/weights/core/more cardio....lots of stuff that did not make sense, but I guess it really did! My 1 participant enjoyed herself....so did I!
That's all for Thursday.

Thursday

Thursday~
Some elliptical, some weights and a spin class was on the agenda today. 20 minutes on the elliptical and about 6 upper body exercises to be exact ( chest press, shoulder press, bicep curls, triceps ext. and up right wows) I guess that's only 5--close enough!
Spin class was good. I decided to keep my heart rate in the 150 beats per minute range, because my body was kind of tired. I think it's more because I have gotten broken sleep all.week.long. (thanks Miles). I really need a nap or a massage or a nap after my massage! (I like to dream big-what can I say?)
Feeling a little less sorry for myself after my vent/rant post yesterday. It's healthy to do those posts sometimes. I swear. It's proven! I hope I don't do that too much though..I am sure it's proven that that is not helpful!

Thursday stuff!

Well, I actually did not spin today. Can you believe it?!?! I decided to go do my own thing on the gym equipment instead.

20 minutes elliptical
5 minutes step- mill
1 lap around the track
20 minutes on the PreCore cross trainer
20 ish minutes on the treadmill fast walking on an incline.

I ran today. A whole lap (never mind that 7 laps = a mile). I ran today!
I really did not plan on doing as much cardio as I did. Honest. I got into this show on MTV called Buried Life--long story short these guys had this plan to streak at a baseball game. Hilarious. I didn't even care that I was laughing out loud and they were showing blurred out private areas, and that I work at the YMCA. Who cares? It was funny!

I taught my Cardio Sculpt later. I participated minimally again but they needed my eyes to watch their form today. Really. They did a good job! I actually got the workout from Fitness Magazine. I will post it as soon as the site is back up.

Thursday

No early morning workout for me today. I did go to the gym though.
I was able to get in about 20 minutes on the elliptical ( warm up and cool down ) and then I did lower body weights.
4x10:
Step ups
DB squats

Leg Ext
Dead lifts

Short and sweet for the time I had to spend.
After weights I took a spin class. It was a great interval class. It had pretty much everything including 6 sprints. It was a good one. My legs were already toast, so why not?

That's about it for today.

A day of good intentions......

I had great intentions of getting up today to ride 6 miles and run 3. Well......before the alarm went off I awoke to thunder and lightening. I am fine running in the rain; I actually enjoy it. I am not one to ride or bike in a thunderstorm with lightening. I made that mistake once and never again! I rolled over and slept in- I actually slept in until almost 9 am. I could have slept until noon fo sho'! I love sleep. I must have really needed it.
I taught a noon spin today and tried to go easy on myself because of the race this weekend, but 15-20 minutes into class I could not help myself. Maybe I should start playing crappy music so I won't feel like working hard-nah!
That's all for me today. I need to hit up a yoga or at least stretch on my own. These muscles are tight this week. I have spin in the morning and totally toned at noon and then it's off to sign up for Tri Del Sol duathlon! Me scared.....

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.

4 Days of recaps.

Thursday~ I actually forgot to update my Thursday when I was updating the previous days ( on Thursday) D'OH!
Thursday I went to the gym ( without puffing on my inhaler- it was a brain-fart) and did the elliptical for 30 minutes and that was it. My breathing was OK. It was a bit labored, but nothing to be afraid of. I then taught 3*2*1 a few hours later. I could totally feel my lungs during class. My lungs were not happy with me, but at least the cardio segments were only 3 minutes long at a time. Ugh.
Friday.~ I taught spinning in the early morning and could feel my lungs sucking in air HARD. Ugh. After class I did some core and plyometrics. I felt fine during this.
Saturday~ OFF! We were out of town and I had every intention of taking a walk before breakfast--nope. Oh well. A day off was needed.
Sunday~ 16 miles!! I did the first 6 with 2 friends from my running group. Thank goodness....16 miles would be pretty tough to do by myself. We hoofed those miles in about an 8:40 minute mile average. They both were coming off of running 10 miles the previous day at about an 8 minute mile pace so they were kind of tired! The next 10 I did by myself at about the same pace or a bit slower. I had a few bouts of tightness in my lungs but nothing major. I also had my rescue inhaler on me just in case. I was super excited that my old Polar GPS did not cut off and my iPod stayed on! Woohoo!
The weather was beautiful which is why my asthma was probably acting up! Lots of new growth and wonderful allergy/asthma inducing stuff! Love it though.
I pretty much feel like garbage now. It might be all the goodies I inhaled ate on Saturday at a family Easter gathering. So much yumminess! Time to get it back together.....(tomorrow)

Thursday, Friday, Saturday- 2 squirts a day!

Thursday- 3*2*1 class. I was so sore and still am after teaching this one! My inner thighs?!?! No clue what the heck I did!
Friday- Spin at 5:30 AM. Interval with some heavy hills. Totally Toned. I only demonstrated today. I was pooped! Stretched for 15-20 minutes after class. I so needed it.
Saturday-10 mile progressive run. That means the 2nd half should be at race pace or something like that!
Sooo...The first 5 was around 9 minute pace I think. I can't remember! The second half was right around 8 minute pace. Not too far off from my 7:45 goal pace of the race. I had no idea what my pace was until I completed the run. It's one of the biggest annoyances I face. Ha. But today was different. I was so glad to not have a frickin' asthma attack while running this HILLY course that I did not give a rats behind about my pace. Well, not that much! Who am I trying to kid?? (I really like to know my pace-get off my back) I felt as if I had some left too, so that is an awesome feeling. I had basically figured I would be running the 5k with Matt and my daughter this year( which would not be a bad thing-don't get me wrong!). I think I just might be ok with this asthma stuff as long as I keep doing as I am told! One puff in the morning, one at night and one Singular a day = Marcia can run!

Thursdays--Jam Packed!

Thursday~

I went to the gym to do my speed workout. It was to be (8) 400m at 1:37.
This is how it went:

1. 1:49

2. 1:39

3. 1:37

4. 1:37

5. 1:36

6. 138

7. 136

8. 1:34

I was able to recover fully between sprints. It's not the same doing this on the treadmill vs. going outside, but at 5 AM, by myself I had no other choice.

I did an abbreviated warm up and cool down. I then hopped on the elliptical for 30 minutes so I could read an atricle or 2 in the latest's Runner's World.

I went back to the gym to get my weight workout in with my friend.

3x8:

Negative Pull-Ups

Walking Lunges

Push ups

Plank Rows

Leg Press

I just stated teaching a new group exercise class on Thursdays as well. 3*2*1 is the name. After the 6 minute warm up: 3 minutes of cardio, 2 minutes of "toning"with weights/bars/body-weight, and 1 minute of core and then you repeat it all! I am a stickler for time, so when said minutes are up- we move it on to the next thing. I explain the exercises as we jump right into them. It was a good group. There were some familiar faces and some new ones too. I was a bit nervous myself. It has been over a year I think since I have had a regular (non-Spin!) cardio class. I guess it's just like riding a bike. I did fine. I did not trip or anything and my rhythm has not left me. Whew!

Thursday-Long Run(treadmill style)

I hate the treadmill. Yet, I am thankful I can use it to get what I need done-done. I made it to the gym a little later than planned. I think I started watching The Olympics or something and lost track of time. Ooops!
I actually felt really strong and good during most of the run. I added some inclines and varying speed along the way. At about mile 4 or so the treadmill I was on started misbehaving. It was unbalanced all of a sudden! Total bummer. There are a lot of treadmills at my gym, ,but I did not want to waste time looking for "the perfect" one -Again! I liked the one I was on..it did not make too much noise and the TV was already on Closed Captioned! I like that so I can "read" the news and listen to my iPod at the same time. Multi-tasker is my middle name (actually It's Dawn!)
So that leads me to my new treadmill. The closed caption was not on (boo!) besides that all went well....well besides my iPod ear phones acting up. They stopped working in the unit, but worked in the TV. Ugh. So annoying! I got through it. What was I talking about? Oh right..running! I tried to stop and drink every 30 minutes or so, just as I would have done if I was running outdoors. It's always harder to start up when you are by yourself I think. I kept about a 9 minute pace since I threw in a few 7:45 pace (not for a whole mile though). I was a sweaty mess. My hips have been kind of tight lately as well, not liking that feeling. I almost stopped my run with less then 3 miles left. I was kind of late starting and I did not want to be late getting home so Matt could leave for work. I texted him to let him know I had 1 mile left and did not hear back from him...so I just took that as he was OK with it. I guess it could have meant he never got the message since he was busy with the kids too. Oooops. He seemed fine when i got home so I will still assume he got my message.
I did go back to the gym fr core work. I am not sure if that is dedication or stupidity. I got the kids dressed. Changed my clothes and ate quickly and was back at the gym. I was there less than 1 hour before! I am glad I went back. I did not stretch enough after the run so I used the next hour to stretch and do core. I would write what I did, but I don't know the proper names of a few of the exercises! So here is some of what I did!
Hip circles
planks (variations)
Roll ups
weighted obliques
cat and cow
2 more!
Repeat everything!
Lots of stretching before, between and after all sets were done.
It was a great day!

Weights and a short run....tired momma today.

I was not sure I would make it to the gym today and I was not even the least bit sad!
My little girl was up until 11 PM last night. She's not sick; she just was not tired. I had BIG plans of getting up at 5 AM and going to the gym to run my prescribed 6 miles today. Nope. I slept until I was summoned by Miles at 7 Am or so. Surprisingly, Amara was wide awake by 7:15 and we were all dressed and out the door by 8:45 AM..this NEVER happens. I was not even rushing anyone ( I swear!) as I usually tend to do. I was the slow one today. I am glad I went and all that, but I am dragging butt right now.
I did a circuit training workout today. 3 sets of 12:

Circuit A:
walk-out push ups
step-ups
pistol rows

Circuit B:
squat jumps
lateral raises
plank jacks

WHEW!
I am not sure what I was thinking when I made this up last night! It was kind of fun.
I knew that I would not have enough time to run 6 miles so I decided to run 3 on the treadmill.
It actually felt really good. I thought I might go back to the gym after my girl is out of school to do 3 more-NOPE. I am about to hit the showers instead! I see a trip to the library with the kids after school instead!
My race is on Saturday. I can't get it to show that on my little Daily Mile widget on the right of the blog! I am kind of nervous. It's only a 5k. Those hurt. A lot. Being nervous is good though right!?! If I was not then that would be kind of snotty and arrogant! I would like to think I am neither of those things! :)
So nice to be all done for the day!

Thursday!

I did my long run today! I wont be able to do it Saturday. I ran 10 miles with my marathon buddy. It was not too cold out until the last 2-3 miles. The sidewalks were so icy and snow covered I felt like a little old lady shuffling along! My whole body hurts from being so tense.
BUT, I am so glad I did it with a friend and not on the treadmill Friday night!
After that I was in no mood to do my full body circuit...but I did it anyway. Mainly because I was meeting my friend. I did a totally different slacker workout though. I also stretch a lot in between, during and after! I need a massage or a vacation or a massage while on vacation.

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!

Wednesday and Thursday stuff.......

Well Wednesday was an off day. I know. I had a complete day or rest on Sunday!! Oh well. My kids were up all night Tuesday and early Wednesday morning. No sleep for anyone so I was a nice mommy and let my girl sleep in until almost 10am ( the start of my spin class) Thank goodness I found a sub at the LAST minute!! My kids always come first. They both had/have some weird hacking cough that naturally is worse at night! All the honey in the world was not going to "cure" them. They are both doing so much better now.

I was able to get to my 12 noon class though. I was not much of a good instructor I might admit...they seemed to get a good workout, but I felt off my usual game. I was sooo tired. I can work through it usually, but I was going on 3-4 not so good hours of sleep. Whew.

On to Thursday.

I am still behind in my sleep, but was able to make it to the gym this morning for weight training. Still doing the same circuit, but that will change next Tuesday. I think my training partner is ready to step up his game as well. It was a good one today. 4x10. No time for core today, but we did stretch for a good 8 minutes!

I also went back to the gym to do my speed workout on the good old treadmill. Today was a fartlek workout (Training in which the pace is varied from a fast sprint to slow jogging).

It's hard to pace on the treadmill, but I did most of them at 7.6 mph up to 8.2 mph. It was 2 minutes fast 2 minutes slow jogging. 8 times. Oh what fun! I attempted to go to my beloved kickboxing class right after. I snuck in the back and lasted about 8 minutes ( the warm up! So sad), but I listened to my body and it was in need of some nourishment. No need to be all crazy stupid in the name of extra cardio! And besides I am kicking the idea of getting my long run in tomorrow morning. Ugh. Long treadmill run by myself. I should get to be d now. 4:14 AM will be here soon.

Thursday!

Today was full body circuits. It was the same workout as I posted Tuesday, but I did 3x12. I also changed up a few things.
Instead of a basic split squat I did alternating reverse lunges. Instead of a BB row, I did a DB row. And instead of standard dead lifts, I did a wide stance dead. Those small changes can make a big difference in how the muscles are "worked" and it just makes it more interesting I think! I have a workout buddy as well. He ( yes, I said he!) makes lifting a lot more fun and he pushes me to lift heavier when I normally might have chosen a lighter weight. It's the whole competitive side that I can't tame! He needs guidance and accountability and I need the consistency, so things are working out for both of us. We have been pretty consistent ( one time I skipped due to who knows what, but he said he still lifted) for about 5 weeks now. I hope we can keep at it!
After lifting we do about 15 minutes of core. Today that included hip circles, leg lifts,and cat and cows. I threw in some stretching and yoga at the end that he was not too sure about, but did it because I told him to! HA!
I did not really feel like or have enough time to do my cardio at this time.
The kids and i went back later and I was able to do my HILL workout on the treadmill. It was not at all like taking on Manhattan Hill last Tuesday, but I still did it. 10 times up .10 of a mile and then back "down". Ugh. It was good though. Ugh. That took me roughly 35 minutes including the warm up and cool down.
I was able to make it to my beloved kickboxing class. I had not been to this gym or this class since before Christmas. The instructor as well as many participants made a big deal about seeing me again! How nice to be missed. I am officially a gym rat! So funny. I think they missed my kids more though! It was a great workout and I am sure my back will be letting me know just how great in the morning! I think I will try and make it back to this class next week too. I miss it and the peeps!

Spin sub and new circuit Thursday

I subbed a spin class this morning at 5:30 AM. It was hard to get up!!!
Class was really tough. I was told to teach a muscle endurance class. These type of classes are way hard!! you basically do not get a recovery at all. The point is to really tax your system and to keep your heart rate at a moderate pace. Sounds not too hard, but once you actually do it and do it correctly, you will see (feel) what I mean. The early morning bunch is a bit different than my mid morning gang. The morning people are actually morning people. They come in with coffee 20 minutes early and are very social at a time when I would rather not be. They motivate me! Lots of yelps from my front row girl. Lots of grunts from the dudes. At the end I even got a fist pump. It was funny.
A few hours later I headed back to the gym for my full body circuit. I changed things up a bit as my workout partner was getting bored! Here's what it looked like:
These were in supersetted groups.

3x10

Split Squat
Bent over rows

Incline chest press
Chin- ups

Dead lifts
Up right rows

I kind of skipped core today. I was not feeling it and I felt tired from my early morning as well as the weight workout. Even though I skipped that I felt today was a great day!

Back at it...running that is! Weights and core too.

I woke up early to run on the treadmill today. I am not a big fan of treadmill running, but I don't like running in the dark and cold morning alone even more! I had to break in my new shoes. Mizuno- Wave Inspire 6. I called them pink, but Matt assured me they were indeed a salmon ( he is a fly fisherman!)
I was able to get in 5 good miles on the mill. Good enough for me. I then pretended to stretch for almost 10 whole minutes! I am just so impatient to take the time to stretch. I keep saying I need to do yoga--and it's true. I need to do it already!
I went home and got the kids ready an then went back to the gym to lift.
Today was:
4 sets of 8 reps

Squats (115#)
Pull ups

Bent over flyes (12# DBs)
Shoulder press ( 2x15#--2x20#)

Step ups ( 20#DBs)
Chest Press ( 2x20#--2x25#)

It went really well and fast too. I was about sick of the step ups today. I think it was holding the weights irritated my wrist/hands more than my legs hurting!

Core was next.
Hip series in reps of 15- 3 exercises
Plank circles on stability ball- 3 sets
Lower back series reps of 15- 3 sets with isometric holds at the end( ouchie)
Cat and Cow-- 5

Today was a great day!

Thursday Power Spin

One more spin session down in the books for this week.

It was a great class. I was a participant today and the goal was muscle endurance. Some parts were hard to get through! Te instructor went about 10 minutes over class time too--gotta love that!

I planned on lifting weights again today, but I had to be home by 7:30 AM to babysit my 2 month old niece! I could not pass up that opportunity. She is so sweet! She has been sleeping the whole time so far (2.5 hours!) WAKE UP!!

I am very sore from yesterdays boxing session. My upper back and abs are wondering what the heck I did to them!

Happy New Year!

Thursday-Long cardio and weights

I was one of the crazies up and at the gym by 5 AM to take the 5:30 AM Power Spin class. It was all about muscle endurance this morning. It was fun! After class I ran on the treadmill for about 2 miles. Running is feeling good again (YAY!).
I did a quick upper body circuit with 30 second rest in between sets:
4x10
Push ups ( various types)
1 Arm Row (20#)
Triceps Ext. ( 20#)

I did straight sets for legs:
3x10
Romanian DL's ( 12lb weights + step)
Walking Lunges ( 12lb weights)
Squats ( 95#)

It went pretty well for going in with no real plan of action. I was not sure how I would feel or what. I felt great though!