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!
Friday, July 27, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
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!
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!
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
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.
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.
Monday, July 23, 2012
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.
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.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
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!
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!
Monday, July 16, 2012
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:
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.
- 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.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
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.
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.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
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.
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.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
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.
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...
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...
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