The VIRUS is gone and other STUFF!

My computer had a virus! Now it's gone. Whew! Life is hard without a computer. I am so happy I GET to use a computer!!!
I don't even know where to begin. I will make the recaps short.

Saturday~ 14 miler. I made a wrong turn-I was supposed to run 12! It was a hilly run. I walked up some of them with a fellow runner-she was getting over a cold. I was having trouble breathing too. All is good though. I was able to run!

Sunday~ OFF.
Monday~ Spin and Totally Toned. I also lifted weights -hamstrings and shoulders. 4x10. 3 super sets = pain. Love it.

Tuesday~ I took the day off. I had my allergy appointment. To make a long story short: I do not have severe asthma. I like to be unique....so I have a weird vocal cord(s) that does not want to relax and cause me trouble. Awesome. On to the speech pathologist I go. Awesome.

Wednesday~ Spin at 10am. Totally Toned at 12 noon. Spin at 4:30pm. It was just one of those days. In my head I was not "making up" for not working out on Tuesday. Really. I just needed to workout for my mind. It was a good class too!

I think I am all caught up now.

Monday -One HUGE hill ride

Monday. Lovely Monday.
I made up a spin profile last night intended to wake me up. It worked. It was a huge hill climb with the option of taking a recovery 25 minutes into the ride. Only a few peeps took the break-they are so hardcore-love it!
So the challenge of the class was to keep a consistent heart rate of 80-85 percent of your max heart rate no matter what the resistance was. It was a challenge, but a welcoming one I think. I had many people come to me afterwards to let me know they appreciated today's class and my coaching skillz! ( haha). This is when I explained to them how Spinning and heart rate training go hand in hand when taught correctly. What an eye opener it was for some of the participants that thought they were working to their potential, and then to have the monitor tell them otherwise. I can't wait to get my heart rate monitor again! I miss it so.....
Totally Toned was today as well. It was a good mix of things-planks, shoulders, squats, biceps, lunges and a bunch of other stuff!
It was a good day--even for a Monday!

Monday-Spin and a few miles on the tread.

Spinning Monday. I got my inspiration for today's class from the Power Spin class I took on Saturday. It's a good thing because the class loved it. Whew! It was a muscle tension ride. LOADS of endurance today. 1 minute steep hill followed by 1 minute of endurance-3 times total-recover and repeat!! I added a 4 minute endurance segment to the end with added resistance every minute. Talk about hard. It was good though. I enjoyed it and so did my class. I think it will be one of those love/hate classes ( it was for me anyway).
Totally Toned was at noon. Lots of abs today and core in general.
I made a hasty decision and went back to the gym later today too. I felt I had to "make up" some of the miles I did not do yesterday. I was not feeling guilty about the missed miles. I just feel I NEED to get my mileage up if I think I have a chance at meeting my goal. As I stated before I just don't feel as in shape this time around and that STINKS!! I ended up warming up for a half mile with a 9MM pace and then I did my goal pace of 7:45 for 2.5 miles. It felt good. I tried to pay attention to my breathing and it did get a bit erratic for a minute or 5..BUT I am still not convinced it's not all in my head. I plan on taking a puff on my inhaler ( for allergies) before tomorrows speed session ( 1000 meter repeats-kill me now) and see if that makes any difference at all. I hope so. I also have the OK for the race this Saturday. I still need to sign up! Procastination. Love it.

Tired Tuesday!!

I did not want to lift weights today! I had a 5 AM client and I was tired. Not just my body but my brain too! I realized I have not taken a day off in 2.5 months from lifting consistently twice a week. So it was a great day to just do core. Ugh. So that is what I did.

crunches on ball (30)
hyper extensions on ball (15)
oblique twists w/ball ( 20)
ball pass ( 10)
side leg lifts on ball (15/side)
cat and cow (10)
plank (50 seconds)
repeat backwards --start with plank.
---------------------------------------------
balance quad ( 8 seconds per side x4)
pelvic lifts from floor ( 60 seconds)
balance/ right arm left leg alt. ( 10/side)

So that was it!
I also did 3 ( 1 minute) rounds on the kickboxing game. That thing is tiring.

Running Club- Speed Session- Hills x 10!
1.5 mile warm up
10 hills ( accelerate up the hill)
1.5 mile cool down.
short and sweet and very effective!

I was not sure how I would feel doing these and I felt great! It was hard, but not the kind that I wanted to stop at hill 5!
It turned out to be a great day!

5k--or 3.2 miles, but who cares?!?! (ME-that's who!!)

Race Day! Heart and Sole 5k

It was a beautiful day for a race. Near perfect weather conditions for this time of year! Just about no wind, in the low to mid 20's. No complaints from this girl.

My buddies and I did a 1.5 or so mile warm-up and ran part of the course.

The race got underway on time at 8:30 AM. 250 racers (114 females).

I took off trying to keep my eye on a few key people in front of me. As I have mentioned before, I am not a good pacer. Nope. Not me. The first mile was around 6:54--oooops!! I felt pretty good actually. I am sure I could not have kept up this pace for the rest of the race. There were 3 hills today. They were all varying heights too. One had a sneaky gradual incline that I did not care for either.

So I started to really feel the pain about half way into it. That kind of pain that makes you think crazy thoughts (walk please) and you just have to push them out of your head. Or you will regret it later. I kept telling myself-- "It's only 3.1 miles" it worked I guess. I never stopped. My finishing time ended up being 22:55. What the WHAT? I felt so much stronger then that time! My lungs were on fire, as were my quads. I know the hills slowed me down, but COME ON?!?! Do not get me wrong. 22:55 is a great, great time for me. I just felt faster that that today.

Sooooo.....that brings us to the title of this blog. Yea. Soooo the race was really 3.2 miles in length and not the standard 3.1 as a 5k is supposed to be!! IF I had the correct Garmin I would have known that sooner than later. I talked to at least 5 peeps that do have one though. Their Garmin's all registered 3.2 miles for the race. If we want to get all technical and stuff (and I do). My time would have been closer to 22:15 or so. It is very annoying to pay for a race and then get craptastic results. I mean, when/how did they measure the distance for this race?? I don't understand. No skin off my back. I am not sure I could have gone much faster today.

My celebratory IHOP Harvest Grain N' Nut pancakes made it all better!

The Lowdown:

Chip Time: 22:55

Overall place: 57/250

Gender Place: 13/114

Division place: 2/27* woohoo!

Total Pace: 7:24

My next 5k will hopefully be in March. After searching the web to locate my PR for my 5k's through the years, I found that it was 21:26. 2002 baby! WOW that was a long time ago. I remember the race well too. I was the overall female winner! I was 24 years old and the the girl I beat was 19. Her grandpa came up after the race and hugged me and told me I really made her work! Funny, the stuff we remember. I probably remember it becuase it hurt. I would love to say that I would like to get a PR this March in the 5k...but, well, that time was kind of fast. LOL!
Here is a run down off all of my chip times from past races. Thanks to Caitlin (check her out-she is training for Boston) for sharing this site!

Monday Madness!!

Monday. I really don't like Monday's. I try to, but I just can't enjoy them. I rush around ( everyday really) trying to get the kids ready to bring them to work with me and not be late. I don't know why I have to be there 30 minutes before my class starts. It's not a requirement by management- it's just what I like to do. I like to set my music and bike up and chat with the spinners and my friends. I don't like to feel rushed when I am at work getting ready to teach. It makes me anxious or something. I just like to be early!! This was just one of those days:

Miles wet the bed so I had to start the laundry. He asked for oatmeal for breakfast and then did not want it. I made him eat it. Quickly. He threw it up on himself from stuffing it down like I asked (ooops). I had to change his clothes and clean him up. I was not even dressed yet. I like to leave my home by 9:15 AM. Today I left by 9:28 AM. Class still started on time. The world did not end. All is good.

Class was a straight up strength workout with some hard hills and sprints. It was a loop we traveled 3 times total. Each time it got steeper. Good stuff. I borrowed it from a monthly newsletter I get from http://www.spinning.com/ -- I am not sure I will repeat it this Friday. It was hard and I have my race on Saturday! I am one selfish chick! We shall see though.

Totally Toned had a small showing today due to President's Day and mid-winter breaks for some schools in my area. I think it was a good session.

Amara goes back to school tomorrow (yay!). She has missed it so much and has literally been bouncing off the walls since last Tuesday. We have been home bound since Friday for the most part, trying to get her brother to use the potty!

Anyways... Speed workout tomorrow and of course there is snow in the forecast. At least the high is 30* and the low is around 20*. Heatwave!

Tuesday and Wednesday Recap..

I can't believe it's Thursday already!!! I have been a busy lady. My daughter has been out of school since Tuesday even though today officially starts her Mid-Winter break. Tuesday her school had electrical issues and yesterday was a snow-day. She was not a happy camper. The girl loves her some school!

Let's see if I can remember my workouts from earlier this week.
Tuesday: Oh yes. I had a 5 AM client so of course I slept like crap Monday night. After training her I went to the gym to do my full body circuit with about a little more than 60% effort. UGH. Hate that feeling. I plowed through it anyway. I also played on this punching/kicking game between sets. 1 whole minute seemed to take forever! It was a lot of fun and made me in a bit of a better mood. We played 3 rounds...I won every time ( just sayin').
I got on the elliptical for about 15 minutes of varying hard paced intervals. The plan later that night was to run hills with the running club. It was snowing like crazy on Tuesday. Less than half way through the warm up I was sure I was not going to be doing hills. It was waaay to slippery/dangerous. I did 1 hill and almost twisted my ankle. Yup. Scratch hills. A few of us(5) took off to run around the lake and also added some miles on. We did 6.5 hard miles ( in the snow, it felt like I was flying) in 59 minutes. That's not slow, but it sure felt as if I was running at least an 8:15 ish pace. For real! I actually felt really good out there. It was freezing and blowing snow and I STILL don't have my face protector. Duh.
Moving on to Wednesday. Spin day. Fast paced intervals with a 4 minute hill added to the end. That was the basic concept of class. I added 3 sprints on at the tale end since we had a few minutes to spare. It was a simple format that really tested the classes fitness level. It was a sweat fest. Fun stuff. Totally Toned at Noon went well too. I joined in on more of the fun than I usually do (mostly a space issue), and my hips were on fire after a wonderful round of hip circles. Ouch. In a good way. Really.
I had an experienced cyclist at Spin, but a spin newcomer. At the end of class he thanked me for "popping his cherry". Ummm..yea dude. Oh, and he called me dude and gave me a high five as well. He warned me that he will be back. Eeeeek.

Tuesday-- hill sprints and weight training

Today was the normal Tuesday combo- weights in the morning and cardio in the evening.
I am so scheduled.
Weight circuits plus core work and stretching at 9:30PM.
I was unable to make it to the hill sprints with my running clubs so I did it on the treadmill (sigh). It was not so bad. The only thing I slack on is the warm up and cool down. I am to run a 1.5 miles for both. I did .5 for both! I figure it's better to slack on that and then the actual workout. That's my story and I am sticking to it! Hill pick - up sprints x 10. On the tread. Oh boy. It stinks that I won't be at Thursdays or Saturdays runs either! I plan to do both on my own though. Ugh. The 11 miles will be hard alone, but I am more worried about figuring out when I can actually get it in on Friday. Either then or Saturday after Matt gets home from work. Decisions, decisions. Both days will be cold as ever so.......
I also used the rowing machine for a full 10 minutes. That thing is hard! I normally only go for 5 minutes...now I know why! I hope to be able to row more than once a week now. I like it!

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!

Tuesday-- Run for the Hills!

Tonight (6 PM) was the first speed session for my running club--RunGR.com. Even though I knew what the workouts would be you are really never ready for it! It was HARD.

We were told to run the hill 4-8 times. That is pretty wide open. I was set to do 6, but of course my competitive nature took right over and I had to do 8. I was totally spent at 4.5 though! I feel so good when it's over and done with. During I kind of feel like keeling over. For real. Hills are the worst/best thing in training. The good thing is that it makes the workout literally fly by. 8 hills came out to be about 2 miles total. Warm up and cool down were 1.5 miles each way. Not too many today, but that was not the point of today's workout. Hill sprints build leg strength and speed. Bring it!! I need that!!! I even stretched today after running. It was the peer pressure I tell yea! I don't mind stretching while gossiping. It's distracting. I might have stretched for a solid 10-12 minutes. YAY!

This morning I made it to the gym for my usual full body circuit. I might change this up this week or next for sure. It was fun while it lasted.

Core today was planks (3 sets) and some one legged roll ups (3 sets). They hurt.

Today was a good day!

Saturday Long Run and birth stories...

I am not sure if I missed running or not, or taught one too many Spin classes this week! Either way, I choose running over Spin today.

We ran 10 miles. 10 hilly miles I might add. Our pace was just over 9 minutes. Totally fine with that. It's usually slower than that! ha.... but as I always say this is a not a race. I don't see the need to do super fast miles for my long runs. I save my 7 minute miles for race day. Sometimes I like to go hard or faster for my long runs..but not often! Maybe if somebody was paying me to run....

Anyways...it was pretty chilly out this morning. A brisk 29 degrees when we started. So naturally my hands were frozen solid by mile 4. Love that. Ouch. I could barely move my hands to hold my cup of Gatorade. Can't wait until it's actually COLD out. I ordered new gloves that are supposedly the best of the best, but we will see. People are always recommend gloves for me, but they have NO IDEA.

The 10 miles was good though. I met a new friend and ran with people that I know, but don't normally run with so it was good to talk to "new" people. Somehow we got on the subject of childbirth and exercising while pregnant etc. So of course I had to retell my trauma/drama of Miles ( remember? He was a few oz. shy of 11 lbs. for a non c section birth). Most of the girls listening were young with no kids. I think I scared them. They cannot understand how someone so fit and little ( their words, NOT mine), could get so huge and have a huge baby. I told them to believe it! What they really can't believe is that I would do it all over again in a heartbeat and want to! I ain't scared!!

Anyway..it's always a fun story to share with unsuspecting people. I only tell that story when asked--usually! This made the last 3 miles of hills go by fast since I was doing most of the talking for once. I think my hands even thawed out naturally too. It was a great day for a run!