Ensign Peak

Tonight we had our first mountain excursion this trip!  It was totally, absolutely glorious.  I don't know what it is about having a view, but that's one of the best parts about the mountains in Salt Lake is that it's so easy to rise above it all - this particular hike is only a mile round trip and it's still amazing.  Right now my mom's serving in the youth organization of our church, with the 12-13 year old girls to be precise.  Most Wednesday nights they have activities and tonight just happened to be a hike up Ensign Peak, yet another sentimental location for me.  When I was a teenager and our prophet, President Hinckley, rededicated the updated monument I was one of a large group of youth where we all carried huge flags from around the world up to the top...I don't remember why, exactly, but I would guess something along the lines of representing the fact that our church has grown into such a worldwide church since being restored in 1820 and that we are to be 'an ensign to the nations.'  But that's just my guess.  A few years later I ran up to the top by myself anxiously carrying my unopened mission call and then reading at the summit the words 'you have been called to serve in the Thailand Bangkok Mission' and my life has been forever blessed since.  So I generally jump at any opportunity to go there, especially now when I can bring my kids (well, not B, he went to bed) and share such places with them.

Because we were leaving from a church picnic with my in-laws, the kids and I missed starting the hike with the group but I thought that would be fine anyway since I wanted S to hike up as much as possible on his own (E was riding in my carrier backpack).  He did quite well, probably about half or more of the way up, but eventually we looked like this:

Ensign Peak is at the north end of Salt Lake Valley, so the view really is incredible.  Yep, that's my mom in the red.  She totally looks younger than me.

We've really got to train S to be a bit more self-sufficient on hikes though.  I'm not sure where I would have put baby B had he come along...perhaps I could wear him on the front in the ergo...no, that would be moving out of the 'fun' realm and into the 'annoying' one.

Sugar House Park

Once upon a time Bishop and I lived in Utah for just a short time.  Then we moved to LA.  Four years and 2 kids later we moved back to Utah for a glorious 14 month stint while he did his internship year.  Even though it was a killer year training wise (for Bishop) it was a lovely year for many reasons: family, Utah, mountains, seasons, mountains, etc.  One of the best parts of that year is where we lived.  It was this idyllic, charming historic district of Salt Lake, within a few miles of both of our parents, easy freeway access, minutes from the temple (and other downtown attractions), and right next to this huge park near the high school we both attended called Sugar House Park.  I've spent a lot of time in that park over the years and a trip to Utah wouldn't be complete without ample visits there.  Usually my mom goes walking with a friend there once a week, which works out great for me because anytime we visit Utah the kids and I will tag along.  Even better is that my mom and her friend always offer to push my kids and let me have a solo run!  AND, this particular visit we catch my mom in her 3 month post-hysterectomy time which means she takes it easy during her recovery.  Translation: park walks almost EVERY DAY.  Score!  Not to glory in the fact my mom's recovering from surgery, of course, but when life gives you lemons make some lemonade, right?

We've only been in Utah a few days and we are loving these park walks (among so many other things).  Sometimes I'll bring all three munchkins, sometimes only two depending on the availability of pushers.  I've been loving running up some REAL hills - in the park there are 4 hills on the road: 2 down and 2 up so doing two laps can get me 8 hill repeats (magic 8!) and I can finish at least two laps while my mom walks one.  OR I can run the perimeter of the park and get a small taste of trail running, just enough to whet my appetite for the real deal.  There are a couple of huge grass hills in the park where I can do some serious hill sprints/plyo circuits.  Not to mention 30/20/10 is really fabulous when you add hills in...those 10 seconds seem oh so long up a hill.  The smell of summer mornings in Utah is just exquisite and is only amplified at the park where the sprinklers have all recently shut off, and all the while my beloved, familiar mountains stand protectively in the background of it all.  Plus we can run at 8am and not melt, unlike August in Houston where you've got to be done before 7 at the latest (don't get me wrong, it's still hot here, but losing the humidity makes a huge difference).  It's also nice to have my mom's DVD collection.  My week without them was nice, but I'm glad to get back into a schedule.

We might have to make this August exodus an annual thing, though I don't know that Bishop likes having us gone so long.  Looking forward to some time with family, time in the mountains, a couple of races and definitely more mornings in Sugar House Park!

Vacay Day 6

The last day of a vacation is always a little hard to swallow for me.  Last year my family came here for three weeks and still it was hard to leave.  I wonder how long I'd have to be on vacation for it to get old...I know my threshold is much larger than Bishop's.  He and I once vacationed to Thailand for two weeks together in our much simpler newlywed life and after a week I thought he was going to bust.  I felt like I was speaking to an alien when I was trying to convince him that Southern Thailand was, in fact, a glorious place to be and he would definitely survive one more week.  He thrives on, as he puts it, 'being up and doing.'  Maybe someday I'll be that motivated...

Rather than mourn the end of the Newport segment of our trip I'll just relish in the fact that I was able to squeeze in another beach run with Cath.  I haven't run on the beach at Crystal Cove yet this trip and neither had she, so we headed out there before all the kids were awake and had a beautiful oceanside run.  It wasn't really a structured run, we just enjoyed the conversation and the place and the fact that neither of us were pushing a jogging stroller.  I did convince her to try a round of 30/20/10 once we got back up onto the trail, but other than that it was just a nice way to polish off the week.

And now it's off to packing up (hence the shorter post) and heading to Utah for a month...as I said, my vacation threshold has yet to be determined.  On a positive note, the drive to Utah is only 10 hours which is WAY better than the 25 we drove to get here (yes, we have to face that drive eventually, but not for a month!).  Not to mention it's August in Houston.  Given the choice I'd MUCH rather experience Utah's August over Houston's!

Vacay Day 5

Today was another run day.  I haven't decided whether I just default to running because it's easiest and I'm without my regular schedule or if it's because I just really really love scenic runs (as much as I'm trying to love Houston, it's not exactly what you'd call 'scenic.'  Okay, not even remotely what you'd call 'scenic').  Probably a mix of both, I would imagine.  Anyway, Bishop and I went for broke today and totally bagged naps so we could just beach it all day which left me giddy at the prospect of doing a run to the jetty, one of my favorite spots at Newport Beach.  My mind raced with what kind of run to do - naturally I can't just straight up RUN, that would be boring, so I settled on a good old fashioned fartlek.  The Newport Beach boardwalk lends itself well to fartlek runs as the blocks are quite short so it's easy to pick a block and start sprinting for a bit.  It was lovely - upon arriving a the jetty (the end of the peninsula - there are crazy waves there, the locals call it 'the wedge' and it's well known for surfing but I've just always referred to it as 'the jetty') I did the following 4 minute plyo circuit to justify myself hanging out there for a minute:
     20 sec burpee (full sprawls and jumps, baby, not just plank), rest 10 sec
     20 sec mountain climbers, rest 10 sec
     20 sec high knees, rest 10 sec
     20 sec jumping jacks, rest 10 sec
     REPEAT the goodness, with the exception of doing any plyo of choice for 30 sec. on round 2.  Love it.
And then it was a return fartlek into the headwind.  Which is somewhat evil, but also somewhat invigorating for some reason.

When I got back to the family's beach spot, I thought I'd be done but then couldn't resist the opportunity to do some sand sprints between the ocean and the boardwalk - it's not all that often I get this caliber of a a beach to do such training.  So off went the shoes and I did 8 or so (yep, magic number 8).  At each end I did some sort of plyo or stabilizing move, i.e. single leg squat with touchdowns, jump squats, etc, just to keep it interesting.  I think Bishop's family thought I was crazy, but oh well.  I played their odd version of paddle ball with them after so I could attempt to fit in again.  Even now I'm not clear on the rules of this game...

There were I think 3 balls going at once and you were playing with someone across from you and you wanted to be the last one standing, or something along those lines...it was fun, nonetheless.  But I think everything is more fun when you're at the beach.

Last day tomorrow...that's always a sad thought!

Vacay Day 4

Due to naps and other constraints, we don't get to head to the actual Newport Beach with the whole crew as much as we'd like (we usually head over after the kids get an early nap).  It's not all bad, though, since the Marriott is a pretty sweet set up.  We get to spend a lot of time at the pools in the morning, and yesterday I noticed one of their main pools is about the length of a standard lap pool.  A swim was definitely in order this trip, and today was perfect since I've run the past two days.

As an added bonus, I was able to talk Bishop's sweet sister, Cath, into swimming with me!  She was such a sport and even used her son's goggles...I think had I not had proper gear I would have declined a swimming invite, but she literally jumped right in.  We did my standard 400 yd warm up of alternating 50 drill, 50 swim then proceeded with one of my favorite fast and furious sets of breakout 75's.  I read about it in a triathlon training book (called Triathlon Training in 4 Hours a Week...my kind of promise!).  In a tri, the swim starts with a crazy sprint at first to break from the masses followed by the real challenge of controlling yourself and settling into an effective pace after that.  Hence the breakout 75's.  Sprint a 25, keep a fast but controlled pace for the next 50, rest for about 20 seconds, and repeat as desired.  I like to do 6-8...I don't know, it's my magic number or something.  Fast, effective, and easy to remember, these 75's were tons of fun.  And it was great to have Cath there, too!

I like to maintain a good base of triathlon training just in case I get to spontaneously sign up for and participate in one.  And there are a few I have my eye on during our time in Utah after the beach, so I want to be prepared.  This is why I almost always pair a swim or bike with something else.  I recently read that doing swim/run bricks is a really good way to train but can also be logistically tricky, so it was suggested that doing some sort of plyometrics after swimming can have a similar effect as a swim/run.  I just absolutely adore plyometrics; what an excellent way to top off a fun swim!  Thankfully, Cath was down with that idea so after our 75's and a little bit of stroke 50's to shake things up we did a stair circuit.  She is awesome at stairs - I've had the privilege of running the famous Santa Monica stairs with her on one occasion and it was amazing.  Anyway, not only does this Marriott have crazy cool pools, it also has crazy long outdoor staircases.  So we followed up our swim by doing a few plyo moves at the top of a giant staircase followed by a handful of stair sets: running down the stairs then alternating how we ran up them (i.e. sideways, skip a step, every step, etc).  There's something about propelling your body upward that just hurts so good.  Sort of makes me want to burst out singing Wicked's "Defy Gravity."

Swim, stairs, sister.  At the Marriott.  Seriously, I love exercising on vacation!  And I'm not having too much withdrawal from my DVD routine - it was a good decision to go rogue this week.

Vacay Day 3

Obviously we're still on central time as the children were up crazy early again.  After my lovely solo run yesterday I decided I ought to return the favor and give Bishop a break so I gave S free reign on the iPad for a bit and took E&B out for another run.

My second favorite interval run is sort of a modified version of Yasso 800's...I rarely get to a track anymore (I don't think the kids would appreciate running in circles...not to mention how burdensome it would be to turn a jogging stroller that many times...) so I just estimate that running an 800 at a moderate pace would take me about 4 minutes.  If I up the intensity and make it a fast tempo pace for those 4 minutes then a 1 minute break should be about right before hitting the next interval.  A 4x1 interval also has the lovely side bonus of being a 5 minute cycle, which creates a nice even 30, 35 or 40 minute run, depending on how many I feel like doing.  Generally I shoot for 6-8 repeats.  So, that's what we did!  Again, gorgeous run.  E LOVED the ocean and the little wildflowers, and the occasional rabbit we'd see.  We'd wind on the trail and try to time all my rest minutes at a nice overlook.  She loves the stroller (but only for 45 minutes, maybe an hour max).  B is still learning to love it, but he does enjoy getting out and moving, so here's hoping it grows on him.  It is always so mysterious and foggy in the mornings here, but not so much you can't enjoy the panoramic views.

At the end of the run while waiting at the stoplight to cross the PCH and run up the last death hill a whole pack of shirtless teenage boys came running toward us.  While in reality they were a high school cross country team, I had to smile to myself in that they reminded me of a certain book I not-so-secretly like where shirtless teen boys are werewolves.  So as I was running up the hill with them (okay, behind them, but they weren't pushing two small humans in an SUV of a stroller...and they were teenage boys, 'nuff said...) I admit, the thought crossed my mind that I ran with werewolves.  Ha.  For the record, however, as far as the books go I'm team Edward.  Movies are still up for debate, though.

Anyway, I digress.  Bishop enjoyed his extra rest, S enjoyed his iPad time and the opportunity to play with his cousins, E,B and I enjoyed our makeshift yasso's and running with werewolves.  Rarely do I run two days in a row, so tomorrow hopefully I'll get a swim in or something.

Vacay Day 2

Most years we're actually lucky enough to enjoy not one but TWO trips to Newport Beach as it's a favorite vacation destination for both Bishop's family and mine.  Recently, Bishop's family starting going to the Marriott Newport Coast Villas as opposed to beachfront.  It creates a very different, but still amazing, vacation.  One of my favorite parts about staying here is Crystal Cove State Park.  The running trail is absolutely GORGEOUS.  After a quick 1/4 mile downhill run to the park (which also means a really wicked uphill finish...), the trail is slightly hilly and winds through a much more beautifully rugged landscape than I'm normally privileged to run in, complete with breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean.  Love it.

Rarely do I get the opportunity to run on my own.  This morning Bishop suggested I head out while he took the kids on a nature walk (we were all up crazy early due to the time zone change) and I readily accepted his offer.  Not wanting to ditch him too long I settled on one of my favorite runs, the 30/20/10.  Up to now I've only done it on a treadmill so I was eager to test it outside.  Immediately I noticed two problems: how do I know how fast I'm going (my Garmin doesn't pick up current speed to accurately gauge a 10 second sprint pace), and what is the best way to time those 10 seconds?  Despite my aversion to treadmills these two measurements are right in front of my face during a treadmill 30/20/10.  I decided to not worry too much about actual speed and go more on exertion as that's generally a good guide for myself; the timing, however, was lots trickier.  I set a 10 second repeating timer on my normal timex watch and ran 3 cycles at my base pace, 2 at a higher one, then sprinted the last one.  This worked pretty well, but I kept forgetting how many cycles I had counted so sometimes my mid-pace sprints were longer than 20 seconds or my base pace was only 20 or sometimes 40 (though my all out's were NEVER more than 10 :).  I started trying to count them by tens, you know, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse style:  "Count by tens with me kids!  10...20...30 - faster! 10...20 - RUN! and Done!"  This was better.  Though I still found I was off sometimes because I'd forget which beep on the watch meant which word...it's even more confusing as I write it, so obviously this was not a good system...yet.

Before I alleviate the suspense of revealing my golden method, allow me to deviate to the fact that any digital clock I am in charge of setting will be set on military time.  I've done this since junior high.  And no, I've never served in the military.  I really have no idea why I started doing it, actually.  And the way I read military time is so simple to me yet when I've explained my logic to others they usually look at me with a blank face and either a. ask why I don't just us am/pm or b. explain what is, to them, a much easier way of thinking about it. So, here goes: say the clock reads 19:00.  I just take 9, subtract 2, and get 7. 19:00=7 pm.  EASY.  No clue why it would confuse anyone.

So, with that logic in mind I shall return to my discourse on 30/20/10 sans treadmill timer.  I noticed on my repeating interval timer there was a little counter that showed how many times the 10 seconds had been repeated.  Why had I not noticed that before?  The answer was right there.  I should do my base pace for intervals 1,2, and 3 (or until hitting an odd multiple of 3), speed up the next 2 intervals, and sprint on 6 (or any multiple of 6)!  Ha!  So much easier!  With a glance at my watch I could tell exactly which interval I was on simply by noticing where I was in relation to multiples of 3 or 6.  And yes, I know that multiples of 6 are also multiples of 3...but multiples of 6 are always even numbers which is an extremely helpful delineation in this case.  So if the timer reads interval 15 I'm on my last 10 seconds of base pace, and if it reads 18 I'm supposed to be hauling as fast as I can (which is much easier to do NOT on a treadmill).  Happily I discovered this method at the end of my second round of sprints, so I was able to use it for two whole rounds!

It makes perfect sense to me...but then again, so does subtracting 2 from military time.

By the way, 30/20/10 is so SO fun outside.  Though the fact I was running by myself in Crystal Cove might have had something to do with it.

Exercise on Vacay, Day 1

After about a million hours in the car, 3/4 of them making our way from Houston to El Paso (seriously, it seemed to take FOREVER to get out of Texas), we've made it to our lovely Newport Beach, California.  The children did amazingly well which was such a blessing for all involved.  The only minor meltdown we had was as we were finishing out our second day of driving: we had been in the car for over 15 hours and had thought we'd stop earlier but hotels were better just a bit farther.  Even though the kids were sleeping, they'd wake slightly, notice they were still in the car, moan a pathetic little whiny moan, and doze off again.  So sad.  At least today, our third day, we only had to drive six or so hours.  We are so, SO looking forward to our week here with my darling in-laws!  And I even managed to not bring a single exercise DVD!  I confess, I did bring a few pieces of equipment (not including the standard running/swimming/biking gear): my beloved versa loop because I truly can't leave home without it, a travel yoga mat and a band with wall anchor.  For me, this is a giant success, especially considering I was unhampered with baggage restrictions as I am when we fly anywhere.  I hope to jot down on here what I end up doing every day since I have no DVD routine here...this will be good for me.

It's interesting, I think, how we assume sitting is restful.  I submit it's only restful if you're intending to rest.  Driving in a car (or any prolonged travel, for that matter) is a firm testament to the fact that our bodies were meant to move.  Ironically I get more achy after a long road trip like this than I do after a good trail run.  So, even though it's Sunday and typically that is my day of rest, my body had been in one position too long and needed to be wrung out.  I have recently taken to doing some gentle yoga on Sundays, so today as I was scrolling through my yogadownload.com options on my trusty nano I came across one called detox yoga.  Perfect, thought I, and the moment I got baby B down to bed and the other children were enjoying their outdoor barbecue with Bishop and his family I threw down my mat and proceeded.

It. Was. Awesome.  Probably a bit more than 'gentle' yoga so in the future I'll remember it's not ideal for Sundays, but it was totally ideal for a post-25-hour car ride and will most likely be my go-to practice anytime I've been traveling for a while.  Go check it out.  It's a free 20 minute class on yogadownload.com called Detox Yoga #2.  I'm a new woman, I tell you.

Looking forward to exercising at the beach this week!

Guys and Dolls

It's been said before and I'll say it again: I love exercising with DVD's.  So much so that I'm having total anxiety in my decision to not take any with me on vacation next week (because after vacation we're going to Utah for a few weeks and my mom's fitness dvd collection makes mine look pathetic, so she has everything I'd need...and it will be good for me to let go for a week...maybe). Yes, there are lots of benefits to attending a class and having an instructor.  But the convenience of squeezing it in at home is hard to beat:

• You usually don't need tons of equipment.  A couple weights usually do the trick (I do plan on having my own fully outfitted home gym someday, though, with definitely more than a couple of weights).
• I can pause if a child needs to be boosted out of a crib, rewind if I missed something, and fast forward through the mindless chatter (aka stalling) of the trainer on the DVD
• I can do my own cool down if I feel so inclined (or *gasp* skip it and count walking to the park with my kids as an excellent cool down).
• I love that my kids will come and participate in their own sweet little way: E's burpees are so, SO darling.  She is darling, so how could her burpees not be??  S's squats are perfect, and baby B really adds a certain something to my pushups by hanging on me.  
• DVD's help me balance a little better.  Left to my own devices (and access to the right equipment), I could spend an inordinate amount of time in a weight room doing exercise after fabulous exercise.  Not only do they provide a set program to follow, a DVD is a specified amount of time.  I complete the workout and it's over.  If I feel I want to do more exercise I have to commit to another entire DVD which, yes, sometimes I do just that (as part of my training plan), but most of the time I can almost grasp the concept of spending too much time working out.  Almost.  For the record, that doesn't usually happen till I consider popping in that 3rd DVD.  In my defense, I can generally cut a workout by at least a third, if not in half, by fast forwarding through the rest/water breaks and idle chit chat (exception: Jillian Michaels DVD's.  She doesn't give you breaks, and her idle egotistical chit chat occurs while she's torturing her minions.  At least she's not wasting my time - I do try and stick to my 90 minute cap).

Anyway, I've sort of settled into a method for my DVD regime.  Though I'm really obsessed with P90X2, I also love ChaLean Extreme, various Jillian Michaels DVD's and Bob Harper Kettlebells, etc.  So, I separate my weeks into essentially 'guys and dolls,' if you will.  One week I'll do an X2 week and pair it with any of my other DVD's of choice by any male trainer, and the next week I'll focus more on Chalene, Jillian and other female trainers.  I don't know why, but things just seem to flow really well together this way for now.

Now, let's be honest here in that I'm only really talking about my STRENGTH training.  Though I do consider some of these DVD's to be cardio training and count them as such on occasion, I also try and run three times a week and pair my yoga days with a swim.  Sometimes I'll do a shorter run after my cycling express as previously discussed.  But enough of that.

Home fitness.  I'm a fan.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

After 8 grueling weeks, our fitness challenge has come to an end.  Wipe a tear.  Though I'm sure this won't be the end as I think I've created a challenge monster in my mom (she and I are heading up a more lenient albeit lengthy 16 week maintenance challenge), plus I like getting points for doing healthy tasks.  In this next one we're working to earn our own money back and the highest point earner will choose a charity to donate any forfeited money, so it's not nearly as competitive...but I digress...

Since the challenge was what got me started on this blog in the first place, I should really recap the end results.  Five of us maintained perfect points, including Bishop and myself (shocker that I would be compulsive about such things as perfect points...and the prize money wasn't a bad perk, either, even if we did have to split it five ways).  I'm totally impressed he did it - I tell you what, he's relished every morsel of food eaten after 9pm for the past couple of days!  There was also a tie for most weight lost (both of them were also one of the perfect points earners), so that was really fun to see such great success.  Both winners lost 10% of their body weight...I've always read about success stories but never actually been such  an eye witness to it much before.  And, not to harp so much on numbers because they hardly tell the whole story, but, as a group over 172 pounds were lost.  I say that's pretty amazing.

Now, as with most things, the real challenge will be applying such success to the real world and not just reverting back to the way things were before.

Exploding heads

Well, at least I thought my head would explode.  Literally.  The cold that started to rear it's head the other day for my race really blossomed and camped in my sinuses.  And then I thought it would be fun to go to master's swim again.  Seriously, why do I have such a hard time translating what I know into what I do?  Sinus infections probably warrant rest.  Maybe some light elliptical or something else that keeps your head on higher ground, but after today I should put a big warning label on my goggles that says 'DO NOT USE in the event of a sinus infection.'  One flip turn and I thought my head was going to burst.  For some reason I forgot that sensation during the 25 yards and did another at the opposite end of the pool with the same effect (duh).  Then I kept going for a bit because in the past swimming actually does clear my head with a moderate cold, but obviously this was so SO different.  I finally resorted to wall touches, which made me feel like a Big. Huge. Novice.  Master's swim was still fun and worth it and I'm definitely going to attend again, but first I need a fire hose shot through my sinuses.

Anyway, let's discuss exercise when sick.  Personally, if I'm experiencing fever or flu-like symptoms I definitely stick to almost nothing.  Sometimes I find going on a walk or some light yoga is helpful, but if taking a couple ibuprofen doesn't make be feel significantly better and it's all I can do to get out of bed I probably should just stay there and let my body fight its bug.  Colds I generally stick to the neck-up rule: running, aerobic stuff is fine if there's no big issue with the lungs, but as soon as the lungs get involved I go back to the low intensity cardio.  And no matter where the cold is, I still lift weights.  I've also learned that vinyasa yoga is no good for me if I'm all stuffed up; the sun salutations give me that head-exploding sensation as well.  So after today I'll now add flip-turns to my list of contraindicated activities to participate in during sinus congestion and avoid any further risk of head explosions.

And let's get one thing straight.  Pregnancy is NOT an illness, it's an altered state of health.  So the above restrictions do not apply in the slightest to my pregnancies.  If I decide to have another child someday perhaps I'll expound on the wonderful world of prenatal fitness, but right now I've got to go de-stuff my brain.

Run Wild 5k

Honestly I can't believe this is my first race recap.  In all fairness, though, this is the first race I've done since starting this blog...and I did abstractly write about a spring 5k earlier...but yes, I love amateur races.  In April  during a trip to Utah I did the Salt Lake Half, which is one of my favorites but this time I was only 2.5 months post partum and I really felt the altitude as I had only been in town a couple of days prior to race day.  Two weeks later my best little bro and I did the Provo City Half Relay (yes, half of a half) which was SUPER fun, and Bishop even did a 5k while I was out of town (it was put on by his work and at least half the ward did it.  I'm totally impressed he did a race completely of his own volition).  If I don't have some race lined up in the near future, I truly get a bit of anxiety about it :)

But one of my favorite types of race is a holiday one. Ideally I coerce as many members of my family as possible to participate with me, though I'm trying to learn not to FORCE the issue as I'd like holiday races to become a fun tradition in our family rather than a drag. Anyway, despite my issues with the summer heat of Houston I found a 4th of July 5k! The Run Wild 5k. It was perfect: close to home and early-ish (7:30...could have been earlier, really, for better weather). Unfortunately Bishop had to take part in an already established ward tradition of pastries and flag raising, but, as consolation for the fact our family tradition was being usurped by a ward one, he kindly offered to take the children to that and let me have my solo 5k outing. Not ideal, but not a terrible solution either, even with the stipulation that I head to the ward outing after the race.

It was relatively well organized (though parking was atrocious). Packet pickup the day before was smooth sailing (as smooth as can be expected with three small children in tow at a triathlete store...), t-shirt sizes were plentiful, swag bags were mediocre. Race morning I woke up sick with a cold but heeded the 'neck up' rule and went for it anyway. I arrived to the race early only to find, after circling for a good while, I had to park a solid half mile away. As I'm getting out of my car I hear the gun go off and think, "Awesome. Oh well, it's chip timed." I cross the starting line with all the walkers at the back and weave my way through, constantly pulling back because I discovered my cold wasn't quite as 'neck up' as I thought and my lungs started protesting (not to mention I didn't have time to make my customary stop at the port-o-johns). 'I'm not trying to PR, I'm not trying to PR, I'm just here to have a fun holiday race' was my mantra as I began to feel stifled by the 7:45am heat. Crossed the finish line, raced to the potties (bad idea - the humidity was WAY worse in there), grabbed some water, got sidetracked by the free scrambled eggs being served, ran back to my car, felt ecstatic to realize that I had actually parked at a McDonald's so I swung through the drive through for their SKIM chocolate milk, and headed to the ward function.

We had a great day of swimming, barbecue, and even roller-bladed/biked our kids in to this big outdoor park where the fireworks were supposedly awesome, but they melted really fast (literally  - it was so hot) so we bailed early and watched a few of the first fireworks on the way home.  Later that night when I finally got around to checking results, I found I actually had set a personal best.  And that gave me the necessary boost to scrub my toilets and showers as stipulated by this cleaning schedule I'm following for our 8 week challenge (that ends next week!! Cleaning has been my week's daily personal goal).  Moral of the story?  Sometimes not stressing about making something happen can actually make it happen.  And there really is no wrong time to scrub a toilet (but maybe there should be...).

So sad the next holiday race isn't for a few months...but as consolation, it's a Halloween one which very well may be one of the BEST holidays to run a race.  Right up there with Thanksgiving.  And Christmas.  And New Year's...

Master's Swim

Reason number 709 that I love the YMCA: Master's Swim.  It's free.  It's 90 minutes but the coach will let you do what you want since it's free.  It's offered three times a week and, while two of them do take place in the wee hours of the morning when swimmers seem to come to life, Saturday morning practice is at the much happier hour of 7:30.  It's free.  They hold at least 4 lanes for master's swim workouts.  Did I mention it's free?  I finally tried it out this morning and it was so SO awesome.  It'll probably not happen too much because I also love the cycling class on Saturday mornings, but hopefully I'll get myself there from time to time.

Anyway, the coach had no problem with me cutting each set in half because while I do try to cap my exercise at 90 minutes I prefer to have a variety of exercise in those precious minutes.  For part of one of the sets I threw in some butterfly to mix it up more (the rest of the workout was all freestyle).  Butterfly is something I do because I know that a lot of people swim it and don't die, so I keep persisting at it hoping that perhaps I can figure out how to be one of those people.  On the first 25 I often feel like this:

Hey, it's optimistic, yes.  But it only lasts that first 25.  I only ever do sets of 50's in butterfly because by the second 25 I wish I had some of these:

That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do, not that the nature of the thing has changed, but that our ability to do has increased.  Right?  I still think I'm missing something with the butterfly, though, because it's still not easy.  Maybe I'm not doing it right because I don't look like this: 

My other thread of thought from my morning at master's is this: I've been a swimmer for almost as long as I can remember.  While I had a short stint as a backstroker in my early years, I quickly moved to freestyle and only freestyle.  And only freestyle sprints, with the exclusive exception of the swim leg of a triathlon because those don't come any short than a 300.  Let's just say in my very amateur swim life I've done a lot of freestyle.  After seeing my stroke for a single 50, the coach suggested I tighten up the angle of my left elbow ever so slightly. I did so on the next 50 and the difference was AMAZING.  Night and day.  Immediately I felt so much more efficient and fast and smooth...and it was easy to maintain for the rest of the workout, giving me great hopes of making it a habit.

Once again I'm reminded that often having some outside perspective and making minor corrections can result in some big improvements.  I should get out of my tunnel vision more often.  And practice butterfly more.

Pull-ups

It's probably safe to say everyone has a nemesis exercise.  Bishop really dislikes ab and core work, Tony Horton seems to whine with any exercise using balance on his DVD's, my mom cannot do yoga because she lacks the proper mindset (according to her, anyway).  For me, even though calf raises make me nauseated, I'd have to say pull-ups are one of my top nemesis exercises.  I've always wanted to be able to do them.  Back in elementary school when they were part of the Presidential Fitness Challenge (what? They still have it?!  Awesome.) and a friend of mine could bust out at least a dozen while I had to resort to the static chin hold I resolved to learn her secret.  Her answer?  She mowed the lawn.  Perfect, I thought, so I started mowing my lawn without thinking that perhaps having a gas powered mower wouldn't help my upper body strength like my friend's push mower helped hers (little did I know then how big a part of my life lawn mowing would become...).

Anyway, mowing didn't help one bit.  With the addition of strength training in late high school I worked up to 1, maybe 2 unassisted, but that was a huge stretch.  When I started P90X I resorted to either using a chair as demoed for support or doing the band modifications, neither of which I thought were really great substitutes for me.  P90X2 comes and Tony is still obsessed with pull-ups.  I took to skipping his back and base workout altogether because it simply alternates between a plyometric exercise and some death form of pull-up.  ENTER: pull-up max (thanks mom).  I'd known about it for a while but just hadn't thought it would be worth it or very helpful.  However, today I used it for the first time (on base and back - I couldn't resist) and not only was the workout totally exhausting and effective, but it was FUN and I'm confident I can up my reps.  And if I can't, I still get a really great workout doing pull-ups.  The world of pull-ups has opened up to brand new vistas of possibility.

Moral of the story?  Sometimes help is good.  Sometimes that help has been right in front of you while you were floundering about trying to build upper body strength mowing the lawn with a gas powered mower.  And, unlike a crutch which only helps bring you back to baseline, help can push you forward to actually make progress.

Now if I could only leave it out for use without having E try to dangle her little self on it...

Cycling Express

During undergrad I taught a lot of indoor cycling. Honestly, it's another one of those exercise things that I maintain a love/hate relationship with. I would so much rather be outside on my bike, traversing some awesome mountain (oh wait, I sold my mountain bike...darn...) or riding along the Shoreline trail (oh wait, I moved to Houston and there are no mountains...darn...). However, indoor cycling is not only more convenient but I must admit it's a better workout because you can keep that resistance cranked the whole time. It's safer, too, with the whole cars vs. bikes thing that happens sometimes while road biking (not to mention DOGS - both Bishop and I have been wiped out by a rogue dog while biking). Bishop won't let me ride my bike while pregnant, also, because I had a minor crash while pregnant with S (it was on my way to my OB appointment - everything was fine) so, seeing as baby B is only 4 months old, I haven't been biking here yet.

I digress. My biggest issue with indoor cycling is that they are an HOUR LONG. That is way too much time for me to devote to any one form of exercise unless of course it's a run, yoga, hiking a mountain, or an outside bike ride. Way too long for sitting on an indoor spin bike (though I do love the Kaiser bikes the YMCA got - the gym I worked at in L.A. had those and they are SO lovely). Typically I hash out 45 minutes then bail the last 15 to do a short, fast run and call it my 'transition run' for maintaining my triathlon training. Today, however, I did only 30 minutes because that was all the time I had before S&E's swimming lessons. And 30 minutes was AWESOME! Even better than 45! Maybe the Y wants to hire me to teach cycling express classes...but then again, maybe I'll just keep going to half of Julie's classes because I love her music (another benefit of indoor cycling: BLAST that music).

Running with friends

Today I'd like to begin with a story. Once upon a time I decided to do a small, local 5k. It would be a great re-entrance into racing after having baby B, I could tack on a few extra miles after to get in a long run for the half marathon I'd do the next week, I love 5k's, etc.

As often happens, I go to the race by myself. How well I realize how lovely a sleeping child is...waking them up early for a race could set me up for some serious tantrums later in the day. I mosey to the starting line after the gun went off (chip timed...no rush, right? It's a self-imposed exercise in CHILLING OUT as I tend to be too uptight) and start running, realizing this could be the last hospitable morning run Houston has to offer me until November when the inferno begins to wane (and not caring too much since I'd be leaving for Utah in a matter of days). Soon I find I settle into a pace a mere 10 or so yards behind a girl probably my same age, which slightly bothers me as I realize there's only one girl ahead of her. And I can't seem to close that gap. At all. We stick with that distance the better portion of the 5k and finish, contenting myself that she beat me. Only to find out on the results that because of my lolly-gagging at the start line I had actually beat her by a matter of TENTHS of a second based on our chip time. I feel equal parts guilty and pleased (this same thing happened to me last year at one of my triathlons - only I was the one who came in second after accounting for chip time).

I leave the race to do my additional 6 or 7 miles where I run into the girl again. She's also tacking on more miles to get a decent long run in. We stopped to chat for a bit and decided to meet up for a run sometime as we obviously have similar running dispositions. Weeks pass as I go to Utah, survive a call week, and struggle to find motivation to get out and run in the Houston heat, when fate strikes again and I run into her at the YMCA pool with our kids. So we finally went on a run this morning.

Running with friends is so awesome. Even if I tend to talk their ear off (it's the trainer in me...most of my clients liked the distraction). Thanks, Laura, for the fantastic run! Looking forward to many more - maybe we can get each other to that sub-20 5k!

Time Crunch

Yesterday we started one of my favorite summer traditions: swimming lessons! Teaching swimming was probably the job I've loved the most in my past but, as expected, my kids don't perform well when mom is their instructor. So we enrolled them at my own haven, the YMCA. S went in the beginner class, E in the parent/child (she surprised me and was okay with this...guess she does well with some peer pressure). So far they've loved it, and it's extra convenient I can stick baby B in the child care AND we can stay and play in the family pool after. We just might survive summer #2 here in Houston (2 of 4...but who's counting...)..

What does this have to do with exercise? Well, in my attempts of late to NOT exercise during naptime I decided to strive and get to swimming lessons early, workout at the YMCA, then pick up S&E for their lessons. I must have forgotten that arriving early anywhere is almost beyond my capabilities. Yesterday was okay; I made it there to do a 30-20-10 run again, though not enough time to complete my full 4 rounds of interval happiness. I knocked it down to 3 rounds but bumped up the incline to compensate. It still kicks my trash, but I plan on persevering until either it gets easier or I get bored and try out another interval method. This one is just SO EASY to remember...so, yeah, day 1 I was able to squeeze in 26 minutes of death intervals before lessons. Don't be too impressed with my restraint - I had done P90X2's P.A.P. Lower DVD that morning also (which is also death, but oddly fun...P.A.P. will require it's own post at some future date).

Day 2 of lessons (today): I aimed to swim a few laps this morning because we have visitors (YAY!!) coming this week and wanted to get my weekly swim out of the way. We were even later than yesterday. By the time we stopped and got stickers from Mr. Marvin, checked in to the daycare, pried E off my leg, and I got in the pool I had exactly 20 minutes before swim lessons. After an inordinate amount of self-talk during my warm-up, I decided to make myself be okay with that. I busted out 20 minutes of hard swimming: 8x75 of my personal favorite, going all out the first 25 and slowing slightly the last 50 (mimicking the panic that is a triathlon open water start...if you've done one you know what I'm talking about), 8x50's mixing in different strokes, a couple 200's working on pulling then kicking, and even a cool down. I guess I waste a lot of time usually, because that wasn't much less than I normally do in my 45 minute swims (do you blame me?? I have 90 minutes free child care at the Y...makes it hard to rush).

Sometimes all we need to be effective is a little PRESSURE.

Crow pose

Down with call week. I am SO GLAD Bishop is in his specialty because I don't think I could manage something with more call. It's been a rough one, despite my attempts at outings for my sweet little crazies. I even had to make a pact with myself that I would go an entire day without yelling at either of them (baby B doesn't provoke my inner yelling monster...yet...) and I actually made it. Then I made it a second. Then today hit and I felt desperately close to critical mass. Due to a series of unfortunate events I missed my yoga class this morning - usually I'm good with yoga at the gym or at home, doesn't matter, but today I really could have used the 90 minute child care - so I meticulously tried to arrange for all three kids to nap at once. I even coaxed S into a snooze by snuggling him on the couch and we set a timer. When that 15 minutes was up, I had a lovely power nap and S was sound asleep...it was my golden opportunity.

Let's talk yoga. I really love yoga. Strength, endurance and flexibility all wrapped into one glorious exercise discipline. I like it for up to 60 minutes usually, though on rare occasion I can deal with breaking the hour threshold (one of my favorite prenatal yoga dvd's is 75 minutes, and P90X's yoga is 90 minutes; both well worth the time). Most of the time I can squeeze in a 20-30 minute session from yogadownload.com, but today I needed the hour. Since I've been doing P90X2 all week I went with it and popped that one in. Seriously, if you don't buy into all the homeopathic claims of yoga I highly recommend Tony Horton's yoga DVD's. He doesn't go into anything like that and keeps it very athletic. Personally, I like to believe that doing a headstand is going to improve my complexion and plow will improve digestion, but hey, to each their own.

ANYWAY, Tony loves crow pose; it made the cut for both P90X and P90X2. I started to like it a lot more recently because I can actually hold it for the entire minute. Last week, though, I learned again why it is good to not rely completely on DVD's because at yoga class the instructor did a very detailed crow pose and made a minor, but dramatic, alteration on mine. I needed to look forward. Usually I'm so concentrated on holding my core in, keeping my hips flexed, etc. that I'm staring at the floor right beneath me. As soon as she helped direct my gaze ahead, everything felt so balanced, and I didn't have to struggle as much to hold a pose my body could easily handle.

Today during my DVD I applied this new tip with the same result. It was awesome. Now I just need to figure out how to extend one leg back for the handstand part...but that's for another day.

So, as I sit here having broken my non-yelling pact because of a rather vigorous bedtime routine with S&E on my own and, quite frankly, feeling sorry for myself that I have to endure call week, my thoughts turn back to the crow pose. I think I tend to wallow in the moment too much - like the U2 song, I find myself 'stuck in a moment that I can't get out of.' Perhaps if I just set my sights further ahead I'll find greater balance, and S's whines that his mosquito bites are itchy won't exasperate me so because I'd be able to see that he's learning about how much he is loved from me. It probably wouldn't have killed me to apply calamine lotion...again...for the fifth time. And maybe I'd remember that I'm not the one actually doing the call WORK - it's Bishop who's had to answer the middle of the night pages and stay late until every patient has finished their treatments for the day (and then come home and exercise on an empty stomach because of our 8-week challenge and his determination to have perfect points...no eating after 9, and you must exercise 45 minutes).

Maybe I'm trying too hard to struggle in a pose. Relax, look forward and perhaps get a better perspective.

I love yoga.

Off to go clean up today's shrapnel.

(Amazingly enough, yoga was the ONLY exercise I did today. Usually I feel compelled to flank yoga with something else, but today I just let it be enough.)

Crow Pose:

(this is not me :)

30-20-10

Bishop is on call this week. Don't get me wrong, 'call' in his specialty is relatively gentle. But it still makes for a crazy week full of crazy children and a very tired husband. Mercifully they only have call weeks their first year (only ONE MORE after this week!), but that doesn't seem to remedy the fact that we still have six more days of madness this time around. Oh well.

With Bishop being on call, my runs get relegated to the treadmill (as far as I know there is no such thing as a triple jogger; I guess very few would be willing to run while pushing three small humans). More often than not I end up just taking the week off running, but this week I was anxious to try out a run I read about recently called the 30-20-10. The article promises 'impressive results,' citing cases where runners shaved full minutes off their 5k times in a matter of 7 weeks. A MINUTE? That puts me tantalizingly close to my goal of a sub-20 5k. So off to the YMCA we went, with a gleeful S and E getting their stickers from the door greeter Marvin and baby B already starting to furrow his brow at me as I take him to the infant section of the child care. I really, really love the YMCA child care. 90 minutes of solo-time bliss, where I feel no guilt whatsoever exercising for the full time if I so desire as my children are well entertained. But 90 minutes wasn't the plan today; we had a lolly-gagging morning and didn't actually get to the YMCA until almost noon. Today I was doing the 30-20-10.

It kicked my trash. Granted, I added an incline just because a treadmill is one of the few places in Houston I can actually run an incline, and I did the 4 full rounds because somehow I always dub myself above beginner level, but still. It was invigorating. Basically, it's a really structured fartlek run where, after a short warm up of a mile or so, you jog for 30 seconds, run normal training pace for 20, then all out sprint for 10, repeat five times, recovery jog for 2 minutes, then repeat all the goodness to your heart's content. Or 4 rounds, whichever comes first. Interval training is awesome, at least when it comes to exercise. Mothering today sort of felt like interval training, but it didn't feel so awesome. I just finished my last 10 second sprint of the day and I feel less than invigorated. Maybe it'd be easier if someone could tell me how many times I'd have to run a 10 second sprint (not to mention provide ample recovery periods)...but hopefully, just like interval training, motherhood will condition me to be a much more effective person. And perhaps that will rub off on the three small people I'm in charge of raising.

Lest you think I could call in quits with exercise after just a 40 minute run (I haven't made the jump to a 60 minute exercise cap - I'm still working on my 90 minute one), I also did one of my favorite P90X2 dvd's today, the V Sculpt. Technically those workouts are an hour but when you fast forward through Tony's funny, but time wasting, jibber jabber it really takes less than 45 minutes. Time spent in that plank position (some even on a med ball! Very awesome.) doing renegade rows, curls, roman curls, etc. is just absolutely delicious. With time I hope to love the pull-up parts as much but I'm definitely not there yet. As Emerson said, 'That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do, not that the nature of the thing has changed but that our power to do has increased' whether it be pull-ups, motherhood, wife-hood...anything else I'm temporarily struggling with.

Currently that struggle includes realizing I have one more sprint before bed, so I'm off to clean up the shrapnel from this evening's mommy battle. Shouldn't be too hard since my favorite show, Bones, had its season finale last week, it's now after 9 so I can't eat anything (thanks, 8 week challenge) and Bishop is still at work. I best get to it, even if I'd rather go read Jane Eyre.

What counts?

Ah, Sunday. We have a love-hate relationship, really. Sunday is the day I bid farewell to my husband for the better portion of the day. True, he's doing very noble and great things. True, I am, too...or so I must make myself believe when my noble and great thing consists of lugging an infant carrier with a chunky 3 month old and trying to herd two very head strong toddlers to the car. Sunday school was also rough since we were asked to think about a place we thought was the most beautiful (Houston is fun...though 'beautiful' is not a word I associate with it) and my mind kept floating up to mountains. Any mountains. I desperately miss the mountains. Anyway...

Today our Relief Society lesson was all about scripture study. I love studying the scriptures. I haven't been nearly as diligent as I ought since...well, since I got married, I suppose. In all fairness, though, I got married within 4 months of returning from a full-time mission in Thailand, so my scripture study isn't really comparing apples to apples. Still, I have a lot of room for improvement.

However, here is my overarching issue that keeps growing as life goes on: what counts? In the mission I had at least 2 hours, sometimes more, of time to devote to scripture study. Real life? Not so much. And that non-existent 2 hours has become even more sparse as I've gone through college...then worked...then had one, then two and now three small children. BUT, why can I spend 2 hours working out? Where did that come from? I MADE it, that's where. I made it from the same place I made time to read the Hunger Games trilogy in two days (in my defense, there are only 3 Hunger Games books and then I was done. No need to re-read). Because somehow working out is more important than the words of life, right? NO. It's because I have issues with what COUNTS. I know exactly what counts as exercise...yes, I do overdo it, and sometimes I'll do a good interval run, then some weights, and then some yoga because all are important elements of fitness, but I know what counts with exercise. But what counts for scripture study? From my understanding here is what we're counseled to do (scripture-wise): everyday read the Book of Mormon, read scriptures individually, read as a couple, read as a family. Then don't forget the General Conference addresses, our gospel doctrine lessons, the Old and New Testament, Doctrine & Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, oh yes and we're supposed to read the Book of Mormon in our mission language daily as well so as not to waste the gift of tongues we were blessed with. Not to mention all the other great church literature out there. ISSUES.

How do I fit that all in? I can wrap my mind around squeezing in 15 minutes of yoga every night, or a run 3-5 times a week, and weight lifting (my favorite!!) at least twice a week. Even throwing in a tennis match weekly, or a swim day. I just haven't figured out how to fit in all that I'm counseled to do with the doctrine, which is harder I think because not too long ago there was time allotted for it all during my time in Thailand.

Maybe I don't need a set program. My mom always comments on how uptight I get about my exercise programs, and maybe I'm subconsciously trying to make a similar schedule for scripture study. Bishop just pointed out a quote from President Uchtdorf: "It might be wise to look at the...scriptures not as checklists or detailed scripts but rather as opportunities to prepare our minds and hearts to receive divine inspiration for our responsibilities." In other words, Bishop says, there probably aren't angels in heaven marking down what gospel literature I did and did not read. But did I have a spiritual moment today? Sort of like, did I do my 10 minute minimum physical activity?

I have no wisdom yet on this. Until then I'll just keep reading with my kids in the Book of Mormon, loving the fact that they both know how to say 'And it came to pass...' And on a good day I'll go read that same passage in my Thai Book of Mormon. For tonight I suppose that's enough. But, just like with an exercise plateau, I've got to figure out how to start seeing results again. I only wish it were as simple as adding in resistance training :)

Game, Set, Match.

Despite my good intentions I'm only now starting this blog. Over the past year or so I have composed at least a dozen perfect posts, titles and all, yet I haven't managed to actually type them out until today, and only because I recently headed up an 8-week health challenge for my family and some friends. Oh well...as the saying goes, "Begin! The rest is easy."

Recently my Bishop (who also happens to be my husband...he was called as Bishop a couple of months ago as I was in labor with our third child...and he's a first year medical resident) advised me to keep a journal because some days I cope better than others and writing seems to be a constructive outlet. Exercise is usually my preferred constructive outlet, but I have a tendency to overdo that. I decided to merge the two and write ABOUT exercise, especially because I usually relate everything to exercise anyway (and, as previously mentioned, I have a bunch of completed posts in my brain just itching to be written). So here we go.

Today I engaged in one of my first exercise loves: tennis. I love tennis. I'm not all that good at it but I'm not terrible, either. So when some girls in my ward invited me, saying they usually put the small children in a corner with some bubbles and other toys (plus Thursday mornings are perfect because I only have my youngest two children as S is in preschool), I jumped on it. Even though Houston is quickly starting to heat up, and even though I had originally planned to run, I had a blast. And I even let it be enough for my exercise...okay, I did lift some weights, too, but I didn't go for a run.

We started out with a fabulous, 5 gal around the world game then broke into some singles tennis where I played a friend who was almost my perfect tennis match as evidenced by our absurd number of deuce points played out. We didn't play a full match (or even a full set...our boys are in preschool together and we had to pick them up) but the five games we played were awesome. I left the court feeling rejuvenated (albeit sweaty...it was Houston at noon...) to reenter mommy-hood for the afternoon.

I think a run would have been rejuvenating as well. But playing tennis offered much welcomed (and needed) variety. I ought to break out of my norm a bit more, I think.