Thursday Things

Good morning folks!

Yep! That's how I felt when I packed my gym bag this morning. I packed my outdoor winter running gear, making sure to grab my warm North Face gloves and my wool Buff. I'm listening to the weather forecasters talking about "blowing snow" and "wind chill advisories" They were also talking about "our next winter storm" Enough already! I'm over it! I also packed capri pants and a tank in the event that Pathways is cancelled tonight (I'm secretly hoping it is) I struggle with cold weather, winter running. I am always cold. I have trouble warming up. I often wear a jacket at work because I'm so cold. Therefore, I prefer running in warmer temperatures. I've tried to just deal with it, but a little bit goes a long way. Ol Man Winter has certainly worn out his welcome as far as I'm concerned!

Last night, after work, I went to spin class. I'm really enjoying spin. I'm glad they've added classes that fit in my schedule. Then I did a few hanging leg raises and a 5 minute plank (broken up into 1 minute segments) If Pathways is cancelled again tonight (they cancelled it last night d/t wind chill) I'm planning to hit the treadmill for a few miles followed by some core work.

And, that's all I've got for now.

Until next time......

Workout Wednesday #5

Good morning!!

We're halfway there!!  Happy Wednesday!! I hope that you're having a great week so far!

I love Wednesday because it means that we're halfway through the work week! Another reason I love Wednesday is because it's Workout Wednesday when I share some of my favorite workouts with you.

Today is day #3 of the Move, Nourish, Believe challenge and today we're planking!!  The challenge today is to do a 5 minute plank. You can split that up into increments if you want/need to. I love planks because I think that they are wildly effective. And, because I like to shake things up, I will be doing this plank workout after my spin class tonight:

Or another option would be:

Ok, so let's get up and get planking today!!

Make it a Wonderful Wednesday!!

What is on your workout agenda today??
What's the longest plank you can hold?

Tuesday-itis

Does anyone else think that Tuesday is the worst day of the week? Or is it just me??

Good morning and Happy Tuesday!!

I just popped in for a quickie....I don't know what the weather is like outside, but I'm listening to the news and it might be frightful. So I guess I need to get an early start for work. Or, I might wait till its daylight so that I can see what I'm dealing with. So far, it just looks like maybe a little bit of freezing rain and a light dusting of snow. Either way, I'm usually nervous about driving in it. It's not so much me that I don't trust (well, yes it is) but the all the other people out there trying to drive the normal speed limit or like there is no tomorrow. And, if they keep it up, there may not be one for them!!

It was a busy day at work yesterday with some challenging patient situations to deal with. I'm hoping that today will be a little bit better.

I got in a great run with Pathways AP2b after work last night. It was cold and there were some black ice patches, but everyone was careful and cautious. No one fell or got injured in any way, so that is a good thing. We increased our pace last night too and they handled it like champs. I'm really proud of them! I was going to keep the pace down to 11:00 because of the icy conditions, but they wanted to run.....so we did!! I haven't had any Achilles pain for about a week now then BAM! It was bothering me last night. I'm not sure if it was the increased pace or the high heels that I wore to work yesterday or a combination of the two but I sure didn't appreciate it! I did planks for the #corecommit challenge when I got home.

This was the sure the case last night!
 

Well, that's all I've got for you today. Have a terrific Tuesday!!

Workout Wednesday #4

Good morning folks! We're halfway there!!

Thank you for the support on my Re-evaluating Goals post. I really appreciate it!!

I just have time for a quick post today because I've got to be at work early.

Last night, I did day 2 of the #corecommit challenge and then did some planks. I'm determined to strengthen my core!! After work tonight, I'm going to spin class then I'll do day 3 and probably throw in a little extra for good measure. :-)

 I have a quick workout for you today. You can do this in addition to your regular workout or it could stand alone if you're pressed for time. You could substitute burpees for the push-ups if you wanted to.

 

I did this little set on Sunday in addition to my regular workout. My legs and arms/shoulders were SO sore Monday!!

 

 As you can see, I like to change up my workouts every so often so that I don't get bored with them. I've discovered a couple of workout websites recently that I want to check out and I want to share them with you. I learned about Fitness Blender yesterday when Ericka posted the 10 minute abs video on her page. I did it last night and it's a good little workout. There are lots of other fitness programs, workouts, and meal plans on the website and it's completely FREE!! 

 

I'm also eager to check out the Stronglifts 5x5 program. I'm interested in strength training but as a new weight lifter, I'm not really sure how or where to start. This looks like it might be a good starting point for a newbie.

 

Ok, that's all I've got for now. Make it a wonderful day! Get up, get out and get moving!!

 

What's on your workout schedule for the day?

Workout Wednesday #2

Good morning folks!! 

Happy Hump Day!!  Thanks for all the love I've felt from my fellow bloggers the past few days!!  It's really nice to be able to connect with others. I appreciate all the comments and feedback!!

I had a sports massage after work last night and it was AMAZING! I had heard really good things about this girl, so I just had to check it out. I thought that I did a pretty good job of stretching and rolling the kinks out but it was abundantly clear that I don't. I was pretty beat up! She kept finding spots that needed worked on and at one point she said "there's no way I'm going to finish you in an hour" I think that I need to schedule a massage every 4-6 weeks routinely. I feel SO much better today! Even the Achilles isn't as tender as it was before!

I'm really excited because I'm going to spin class tonight! I love spin, I just haven't found a class that coordinates with my schedule. When I saw an email from Fleet Feet Sports Tulsa 52 Fitness last week regarding evening spin classes, I almost squealed like a little girl!!  I'm just hoping that I can keep up!!

Today is Workout Wednesday!!  When I was at the chiropractor the other day, he mentioned that he didn't think my transverse abdominus was firing, meaning my core is weak. Imagine that! I sit a lot at work so it's no wonder that my glutes, back and abs are weak! So, in addition to the spin class, I'm going to try to throw in a little ab routine as well. Here's what I'm planning to do tonight:

 

I'm planning to do that circuit at least 3 times, or I might vary it a little plus I'm going to add a plank until failure between each set and at the end.


And, that's a wrap for today! Have a wonderful Wednesday!!

What workout/workouts are you doing today?

Workout Wednesday #25

Good morning friends!! 

Happy "My 2nd Favorite Day of the Week" aka Wednesday. I know I've explained it a zillion times, but I love Wednesday because it means we're halfway through the week. And, as we all know, I'm only working for the weekend!!

Speaking of work, yesterday a couple of my co-workers and I decided to pool our money and buy lottery tickets. The MegaMillions jackpot was $344 million. We each kicked in $5 so we had 15 chances. I haven't checked our numbers yet to see if we won, but I'm sure that we did. So, I'll be retiring from work soon and will have more money than sense!!  LOL

Last night, after work, I met a few running friends on the Riverside Trail in Tulsa. The trails are pretty clear but there were some slick spots were the snow had melted then refroze. We got in 5 miles in a little under an hour. It was a good run! I was scheduled to do a Fartlek run, basically sprinkle in bursts of speed during my regular run. And that's what we tried to do! We ran from ice patch to ice patch and had to walk over some of the slick spots, so it was pretty much a fartlek run. Of course we had to stop for a photo op at the 41st street plaza.

 

I'm supposed to do a "negative split" run today. I don't have time after work, so I'm going to try to get to the gym at noon and do it on the dreadmill.....yuck!! I'm really tired of Mother Nature's BS!  It's really jacking up my marathon training!!

 

I don't know about you, but I find it hard to stay motivated to workout when it's cold and icy/snowy outside. I have to find workouts that I can do at home with little or no equipment to help keep me on track. I've got a new circuit that I'll be trying tonight after getting all my errands done. I call it my "it's cold and I don't wanna workout, but I've got to move my lazy butt" workout!! Check it and let me know what you think.

 

 

 

Ok, until next time........

 

 

 

 

How do you stay motivated to run/work out in the winter?

Randomness

TGIF folks!!

Cheers to the freakin' weekend! And a 3 day weekend too!

That's always a plus. I'm looking forward to 3 "No Alarm Clock" days.

Where has this month/year gone?! I can't believe that it's almost September!! I love September because it means cooler weather, football, and my birthday! But I'm sad to see my sun filled, boat floating, bikini wearing days go. :( I think that we're going to continue to camp when our schedules allow just to have a place to get away to on the weekends. It's so nice to have that happy place!

It's time to crack down and seriously focus on fall half marathon training.
I'm still not sure which one I'm going to do yet. I'll probably go ahead and run the Route 66 in Tulsa. I've asked Holly and Mel to come run a leg of the full marathon relay with me. I'm not sure if they will be able to yet. I think you should all visit their pages and encourage them to do it!!
I would also like to run one in Colorado, Arkansas or New Mexico but I'm undecided about that at this point.

I've been good with my fitness goals this week. Wednesday night, my Pathways group ran a fartlek run. It was HOT and humid. We did fartlek intervals for the first half of the run and our usual pace and intervals for the second half of the run. We cut it a little short and ended up with 3.5 miles. It was a challenging run but they all did well! Afterward, I did Focus T25 ab intervals.

Yesterday I did Focus T25 total body circuit and a 40 second plank. So far today, I've already done Focus T25 Speed 1.0 and a 40 second plank. I will do T25 lower focus after work tonight, before we head to the lake. I'm planning to run tomorrow and Monday morning and continue my plank challenge.

As far as my eating, I've been pretty consistent with clean eating this week, probably 80/20 this week and I'm pleased with that. Its going to be difficult not to blow it this weekend, but I'm going to try really hard to stay on track!! 

I've gotta go get ready for work so, have a wonderful weekend!

Be safe and be awesome!!

Workout Wednesday #13

Good morning folks!! I'm back up and online at home.....finally!! Woohoo!! Today is Wednesday, which means we're halfway through this work week.....thankfully!! Monday, my Pathways group was scheduled for speedwork at the track. I used to be intimidated by speedwork, so I gave my group a little peptalk before the run. I told them that we didn't expect them to be Olympic athletes but we did expect them to do the best that they could do. I challenged them to step out of their comfort zone and push themselves just a little bit to see what they were capable of. They were AMAZING!! It was hot and humid but there was very little complaining! I was so impressed with them and I think some of them even surprised themselves! After the run, I went was scheduled to do Focus T25 cardio. Since we had done speedwork, I opted to do Insanity upper body strength training instead. Recently, I posted my thoughts about my Insanity workout. I was asked by a reader to post pics. I have been a little hesitant to do so because I'm not where I want to be, but I've come to the realization that "progress is progress, no matter how small" So, here ya go! Before and after Insanity:

So, today is Workout Wednesday!! I've been trying to incorporate more strength training to my workout regimen lately. One thing that I've been doing and really find effective is a kettlebell workout. I don't have a kettlebell at home, so I use a 20 lb dumb bell. So, that's what I have for you today. Try it out and let me know what you think! I'm also doing a 30 day plank challenge. It's not too late to get in on that! That's all I've got for now! Have a wonderful day!!

Manic Monday/Plank Challenge

Whew! Where did the weekend go? It seems like I blinked and it was gone :( Other than being too short, it was a great weekend. It started with a fun 4.5 mile run with my Pathways group. It was a large group, about 30 runners. We started at our Fleet Feet Tulsa Blue Dome location and ran to Swan Lake via the trail. For some in the group, it was a distance PR. It was a little bit hilly and the humidity was insane, but everyone was able to finish the run without any difficulties. After the run, my husband and I were en route to our happy place at the lake. I know that summer is winding down and that makes me very sad. I'm looking forward to fall, but I'm determined to eke out every last little drop of summer that I can!! We enjoyed soaking up some sun and visiting with friends. I'm still blogging from my phone app which is beyond annoying and inconvenient. They are scheduled to come out and upgrade my service, so hopefully I'll be back to normal as far as that is concerned. Tonight, we're taking the Pathways group to the track for the first time this session. I remember when I was in Pathways. I despised the track!! It was probably because I got a groin strain one night and I think that was the beginning of my IT band issues. But, the more I run, the more I find that I really don't mind track night. Then, I'm scheduled to do Focus T25 alpha cardio, but I'm thinking that I might do Insanity strength training instead. And, my plank challenge starts today!! Whatever workout I decide to do, I'm going to add my 20 second plank to the end of it. Gotta get it in when/where I can!! There's still time to join the plank challenge!! Have an awesome Monday!! Be-YOU-tiful today!! Are you joining the plank challenge??

Workout Wednesday

Good morning folks!!

It's Wednesday and that means that we're halfway there!! It also means that it is workout Wednesday.

I survived the root canal yesterday. It was bad enough but wasn't a bad as I was imagining. It isn't something I'm eager to repeat anytime soon, however.

After I got home, I did week 2, day 2 of Focus T25, total body circuit and was dripping with sweat at the end of it.

I was discussing plank workouts with a friend yesterday. She has had some recent health problems. She wants to workout but wants low impact exercises that would help strengthen her core.

There are quite a few plank exercises in the T25 total body circuit and this got me thinking about how wildly effective planks are. They would be perfect for my friend.

So, I found a couple of plank workouts for you today:

How to get washboards abs and no more crunches

And:

 

 

So, there ya go!! That's all I've got for you today!! Have a great Wednesday!!