February was a month of running!! I ran 18 out of 28 days (a lot for me) for a total of 207 hard miles and 19.9 easy miles – my highest month in a long time.
6.2 miles – 43:06 followed by an easy mile. (I really wanted to push the pace harder but know that I can’t while I’m running so many miles right now.)
Monday 2/23 – 45 lateral raises with a “milk pour” (flip hands palms up then back down).
readylift arms to sideflip hands
From here, you flip your hands back over (palms down) and then lower to complete one rep.
I did something I hate doing and ran a distance that wasn’t “round” – 8.8 miles (70:09) followed by 1.2 easy miles. I did the 0.8 to keep my overall mileage even after the 10K on Sunday.
Tuesday 2/24 – 45 arrowheads (for butt).
readylift right legtap to the lefttap to the right
See, you sort of make an arrowhead shape in the air with your leg movements! And, of course, I had to switch and work my left side!!
left leg backtap to the righttap to the left
Probably not the best exercise for the day since it made my butt a little sore right before my long run but….
31 miles in 4:06.58 – I pushed myself on this run because I wanted to maintain a good pace for the entire distance!! I only did 0.2 miles to cool down.
Wednesday 2/25 – 45 calf stretch on wobble balls.
balancerock frontrock back
I thought about doing an easy run but my hips were a bit achy so I decided it was better to rest.
Thursday 2/26 – 45 laps around the ballroom at the venue.
ballroom
I had to clean for a Friday event and I wasn’t super motivated about cleaning so I stalled and walked 45 laps first!!!
Friday 2/27 – 45 chair squats.
Chair squats are always hard for me – something about keeping my legs so close together while I squat!
I didn’t plan to take a 3rd day off but sometimes that’s just the way things work out.
Saturday 2/28 – 45 tricep dips with hands on wobble balls.
readydown – don’t rest butt on floor
We actually took these pictures one morning before I took Hunter to school but I didn’t do the move until this morning.
And, I finished the week with a run.
5 miles – 39:39 + 1 easy mile.
I’m happy that I had another week over 50 miles.
51 hard miles
3.4 easy miles
This week presented some challenges but thankfully I got in my runs and kept my daily moves going!!!
Boomer’s Burn was all about intervals – this one was awesome and I did a total of 6 miles to complete the workout!!!
Friday 10/3 – 45 wacky jacks.
Thanks to Jordan for letting me record him on this move.
I skipped my normal workout because I had been up all night Thursday night stirring my crockpots of taco meat. (I thought it would be FUN to do all the food for Chris’ party!!!)
Saturday 10/4 – 45 standing crunch with a knee in (arms raised overhead the entire time).
crunch with right knee inleg back
Switch sides and do 45 more –
left knee inback
I loved this move – so much more fun to do standing crunches!!
Stacy and I got in a cold run around the lake (6 miles) before we started working on the last minute stuff for the big party. Always fun to run with Stacy since it rarely happens!!
Sunday 10/5 – 45 ottoman push-ups to Griffin!!!
Hi, Griffinbaby smiles on the down part
I was keeping Griffin entertained (and awake) while Mandi finished getting ready and packing for their drive home!!!
Monday 10/6 – 45 squats on wobble balls – alternate touching inside of right foot and left foot (right-left = 1 rep).
ready – trying not to fall offsquat – touch right hand to left footback to startsquat – right hand to left foot
This move was fun!! I tried to squat low – I don’t always go below 90 when I squat but on this day I did!!
Boomer’s Burn was a cardio/strength workout again – one of my favorites!!!
I also ran 6 miles in 44:37.
Tuesday 10/7 – 45 triangle presses.
readyright hand down – left upback to startleft hand down right hand up
This move is a good one to do slowly and really work on the stretch. I’m not super flexible so it is a challenge for me!!! (I counted a right-left as 1 rep)
I did another Piyo workout that I really liked – Buns – some fun ways to work my butt!!!
Boomer’s Burn was another great interval workout!! I think that even after I finish this program next week I will keep incorporating interval days – love how hard it makes me push myself!!!
Wednesday 10/8 – 45 leg circles (on all 4s) with leg at about a 45 degree angle from body.
position
This is the basic position – it doesn’t really matter if you circle font or back – same effect. I had a video but encountered some technical difficulties. I did 45 with each leg!!
Boomer’s Burn focused on body weight moves (I did end up adding weights though)!
And I managed 9 miles in 66:30 – lately I haven’t been able to get in many long runs – need to work on that!
This week my daily 44s were all about working on balance. I used my wobble balls for each move –
wobble balls
Sunday 6/8 – 44 leg abductions while standing on wobble ball.
readyleft and squeeze
You can see that I stood on the flat side for this move. And, after I did 44 abductions with my left leg I had to switch and do another set!!
2nd sidelift
I promise I really was standing on the wobble ball – sometimes the pictures don’t come out exactly like I want them to!!!
Monday 6/9 – 44 decline push-ups with my toes on a step and my hands on wobble balls.
readydown
Not gonna lie – this move was HARD!!!!
I’ve been lifting fairly consistently again with Chalean Extreme – this day was Burn Circuit 3. I also did a workout that I don’t do very often – ReeBok Cardio Tone. Pretty much this was my version of a recovery day!!!
Tuesday 6/10 – 44 squat pulses on stacked wobble balls (to make an actual ball) –
probably not super safe but…..
Just balancing on the stacked wobble balls was entertaining!!!
ready – maybeOK – nowstill shakingdown – finally
This move was a challenge!!! Once I actually got down into the squat position, I actually got about 16 pulses the first time and then 20 something the next time before falling off. Obviously, it took several attempts to get all 44.
And, it was a run day!!!
10 miles in 68:11 + 1.1 easy miles
Wednesday 6/11 – 44 side plank hip dips with elbow on wobble ball.
readydown
This move was hard – just holding plank while balancing on the wobble ball was a challenge!!! After I finally finished the first set I flipped over and had more fun!
ready to godip
Back to the weights – Chalean Extreme – Burn Circuit 1. Then I did one of my favorite workouts ever – Les Mills Pump – Combat!!!
Thursday 6/12 – 44 band bicep curls with wobble balls on band.
set-up (I look scared!!!)curl
Adding the wobble balls made this move so much harder – it was a fun challenge!!!
I pulled out another DVD that I rarely do – Mari Winsor Pilates from Shape. It is a nice recovery type workout.
Friday 6/13 – 44 lunges on wobble balls.
another one that was hard to get set-updown
This was hard to balance initially but once I got the position it was good. By the time I finished 44 my quads were burning!! The added balance challenge made it a lot different than a standard lunge. And, of course, I don’t want to be unbalanced so I switched sides and did another set of 44.
ready to go againdown
And, it was another running day.
10 miles in 79:18 (nice and relaxed today) + 3.1 really easy miles
Saturday 6/14 – 44 jump squats onto wobble balls.
This actually was a really fun way to do jump squats – the added balance challenge was great!!!
And, I wanted to get 3 days of lifting so it was another day of Chalean Extreme – Burn Circuit 2.
Lately I’ve been happy with my workouts – I’m trying to keep a mix of running, lifting and other workouts. In the next few weeks I will probably start to increase my running again – I have a couple of running events coming up and want to be ready.
This was hard to maintain my balance but I liked the extra challenge!!! (I used 10 pound dumbbells which was almost too heavy for 44 reps – I stopped at 24 for a few seconds to stretch!)
I’m still trying to decide if I should still share my 44 on the days I do post or just wait and include all of them in my weekly wrap – gonna take me a while to figure out exactly how to make this work!
Just know, whether I share them each day or just once a week, I’m still doing a daily 44!!! Not ready to give up that part of daily activity – I figure I can make it to 50 at least!!
Last week, I had to realize that my boys are growing up and I won’t have them around that much longer. :Cry-Out:
While Jordan was off in Los Angeles having a great time –
I was home thinking about the fact that in just over 3 years (which I know will fly by!!) he will be leaving home and starting life on his own!!!
I started thinking that the best thing I can do in times like a big trip away or some of the other things that will come along in the next few years is to show how much I love him by letting go and supporting him as he spreads his wings!!!
Whether he is posing with some of the Princesses at Disney (this is the only one he took a picture with because she is a Samuri!) or being goofy with his friends, I have to trust that the training we have done up to this point is enough and that he will make good choices!!
The more I think about it, when we have kids, we start letting go in small ways from the beginning and continue to let go a little more and a little more until one day…
I’m thankful that I’m not quite to that day but I know it will come SOON and I need to start preparing myself mentally!!
Maybe I could pull a Jordan…When Jordan was just over 2.5 years old, he was the ring bearer in Sam & Stacy’s (my younger brother and awesome sis-in-law) wedding. After the ceremony, when Sam & Stacy were fixing to leave, everyone had a white balloon to release when they drove away. They left, and Jordan was so proud –
already out of the tux (he was 2!!!)
He said, everyone else lost their balloon but I still have mine!!!
I want to do the same – hold on tight!!! But, I will keep telling myself that I have to let go for the boys to move forward!!
Are you good at letting go? (of anything, doesn’t have to just apply to kids)
Today’s challenge for #happyfitmarch was to do 15 minutes of yoga. Well, I don’t do a lot of yoga but I decided to combine a few things to meet the goal.
For my 44 I used a small wobble ball and stepped into Warrior II.
readystep and hold (foot on wobble ball)
By holding in the down position and then pushing off of the ball of my foot to return to the start, I got a great quad workout!!! And, of course, I had to do another set of 44 o my left leg.
readydown
After completing all of my reps here (about 5 minutes of yoga!), I did Jillian Micheals Yoga Meltdown, Level 1. This took about 35 minutes so I got 40 minutes of yoga!!!
I also ran a nice easy 5K + 0.5 miles cool down.
The first time I saw this acronym was probably 5 years ago and I actually had it on my desk at work to remind me to THINK first, then speak.
However, over the past few years I have gotten out of the habit of using this before I speak (or write for that matter).
The T part is the easiest for me because I can’t tolerate lying.
The other letters are far more challenging and something I need to start reminding myself of daily (actually multiple times a day!!!).
Because I’m going to really work on using this before I speak/write I’m not going to say anything about the event we had last night other than the fact that it was a huge lesson learned.
Here is a picture of Chris and I during the event –
at our venue
Notice anything different about Chris?? It is mustache March – the entire Air Force is supporting this – Good Times!!!
Do you THINK before you speak?
I feel like I will talk a lot less if I really apply the THINK rule before I speak!!!
Chair squats are always hard for me – something about keeping my legs so close together while I squat!
