I did manage to do a 43 today – simple and only arms involved! I did an overhead triceps extension using a 20 pound weight. (And I did it while seated!!)
Hunter offered to bring everything upstairs so I didn’t have to do the stairs but I told him it was OK – I need to walk some!!
Here I am yesterday morning ready to go to the hospital – super excited (can you tell?)!
5:30 – headed to hospital
No other pictures from yesterday but here is a view of how bulky my legs are right now –
all wrapped upside view
I have multiple layers of wraps on – the nurse told me there would be some seepage and by seepage she meant gushing blood!! Nice, huh?! She said not to remove any of the wraps – just add more. Truly a lovely experience!!!
Tomorrow afternoon I see the DR – she will remove the 20ish layers of wraps I have on and make sure everything looks OK – then I will just have a smaller wrap I think!
Check out my new trail shoes that came in the mail yesterday:
Salomon Speedcross 3
Aren’t they cool?! Can’t wait to start breaking them in. I’ve never run in trail shoes since I usually run on my treadmill or the street but my 50 miler in October has a lot of trail running so I better get on that!!! And it required new shoes so that’s a definite bonus!!!
Happy Thursday – I’ll be hanging out doing minimal walking and pretty much nothing else!! Good thing I have reality TV to entertain me!!
I counted 10 as 1 rep so to do 43 reps, I did 430! Just for fun, I did some (430 so that I had a double 43!!) with my elbows on the ball – these were harder for me. I think because I had to keep my elbows in close to keep them both on the ball – much less stable than the wide hand stance!!
About half-way through my workout I decided I’m not too bright. I can’t have any water this morning and here I am working up a sweat! If you look closely in almost all of my pictures you see this
water cup
I carry this cup everywhere – always full of ice water. I usually refill it between 6-9 times every day. This whole no water thing in the morning is not cool!!!
That is all I did for working out today because I have to be at the hospital by 6:00am – EARLY!!! (and because I can’t have any water!!)
Today I’m having my veins stripped. Several weeks ago, I talked about my varicose veins and whether or not I should have them treated. Since then, I’ve had several more appointments including an ultrasound to do more testing on my veins. The DR said that I have numerous breaks in several veins and a number of valves that aren’t working correctly. Her recommendation was to do surgery and strip (remove) some and ligation (tie off) on some.
The way I understand things – I will have an incision in my left groin to remove the greater saphenous vein. On my right leg, the incision will be behind my knee.
The only part of the surgery that bothers me out is being intubated!! I realize that I will never even feel it since I will be put to sleep – just the idea of a tube shoved down my throat freaks me out!!!
Oh well – hopefully I will be back to at least light workouts in a few days and then my normal stuff soon.
I do plan to continue my daily 43s – they will just be upper body only for a few days!!
This was a quick 43 but it got my heart rate up and my quads were burning!!!
I decided to run today since I won’t be able to run for awhile after tomorrow! Treadmill (snow/ice mixture coming down outside!) – 1.5% incline – 6 miles in 37:05 + 2.1 miles slower with higher incline for a total of 8.1 miles in 63:30.
So, lately I have spent several fun-filled afternoons in the gym while the real PE teacher is coaching at the HS track meets!
This is a great gig for several reasons – a big one is I get to go to “work” dressed like this:
ready for work
I also get to run around and play – usually with lots of balls!!
In my previous life (before children) I was a middle school science teacher ( and I coached 7th & 8th grade volleyball, basketball and track). Middle school kids are VERY different from these young kids (the afternoon PE classes are 2nd, 1st and Kindergarten students)!!! So, as the “fake” PE teacher, I’ve learned 3 lessons:
Always wear a whistle!!I need a blingy whistle!!!
I’m not super loud but I can blow a whistle with the best of them!!!
Helpful phrases – “You’re OK”, “I think you’re fine”, “You’re going to be OK”, “keep going, you’re fine”……..little ones have all kinds of reasons why they might not be OK (especially when I have them run a couple of laps!!!) – a little reassurance and they are always ready to go again (till the next time!).
My #1 rule: NO TATTLING!!! Kids like to tattle (or tell you every little thing that someone else did) – on their friends, kids who maybe aren’t their best friends, even on themselves – crazy, but true!!!
I really enjoy subbing in PE (even with the younger kids!!!)! Where else do you get to do stuff like this?Well, maybe not exactly, but we always use some of these:And, there is always at least a little bit of running involved!!!
Happy Tuesday! I think I’m going to put on my bikini, cover-up and flip flops and head south until I find a warm sunny spot – anyone want to join in?
Today’s 43 was all about balance and working the hips (and outer thigh). This is a move that I got from TaeBo!
Start with all of you weight on your left leg (don’t worry – we will get to the other side!!) with your left toe turned to the side and your knee slightly bent.
start
Lift your right leg (hip height if possible) and get balanced.
get ready
From this position – extend your leg out straight.
extend
Continue bending and extending your leg for your desired # of reps (43 here!). Then the real fun begins because you get to switch sides (and the second leg always starts feeling the pain quicker!!).
switch sides
Try to do the same # of reps on the second side!!! Of course that means 43 for me!!
keep going!!
I like this move – it works an area that I try to spend time on (hips/thighs) pretty often to prevent injuries when I’m running. Plus, the balance challenge helps strengthen my core – always a good thing!!!
The rest of my workout was great!!! I tried out another Cathe DVD – HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). The DVD has 3 HIIT segments – each about 30 minutes long. I decided (cause I’m a glutton) to do 2 of the segments. I started with the 30/30 which starts with a warm-up and then has 16 intervals each 30 seconds long followed by 30 seconds rest. It’s amazing how the same amount of time can feel so different!!!
After that I did the 40/20 which also starts with a nice warm-up followed by 16 intervals. That extra 10 seconds is brutal!! The nice thing on this section, even though the rest is only 20 seconds, after each 4th interval, you get a 1 minute break!!!
I thought about doing the 3rd section but that just seemed like a bit much on the HIIT action!! Soon!!
I’ve decided I might be a bit of a reality TV show addict!! I’m not sure what the draw is but I get totally caught up in a lot of the reality shows on TV. Some of my favorites:
Celebrity Apprentice – what’s not to love about watching the celebrities go after each other. Plus, it’s always good to see the Donald! This season (All Stars) is really entertaining – how long can Gary Busey last?!
I’m not sure why I enjoy Dance Moms so much – I have never danced, my boys don’t dance…I guess it is just watching Abby!!!
America’s Next Top Model is another one that entertains me. My favorite is when the whole season airs in a single day (usually a Saturday!!) – especially if I have a long treadmill run planned!!I loved the season with the British included!!
The Real Housewives of New York – I know these shows offer nothing in the way of education or even real life experiences (at least not my life) but I enjoy them!!! I liked the RH of NY best when Bethany was part of the group!!
I taught myself to sew just enough to make curtains – so basically I can make fairly straight lines. And, I don’t have a creative bone in my body. But – I love Project Runway!! Do people really wear the type clothes they make?!
My favorite of all the reality shows I watch (and the one I want to be on) – The Amazing Race!!!For years I’ve talked about being on this show. One night we had friends over and Chris mentioned something about the Amazing Race and the fact that it would be fun but he didn’t know who he would go on it with – WHAT?! ME! ME! I’M RIGHT HERE!!!
I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to go on it with me because he thinks knows that I might would definitely yell and probably curse at him on national TV. I might be am a little insanely competitive!!! It might not be great for our marriage if we went on the show together!! Plus, Chris is one of those super sweet and caring people and would want to help everyone along the way! (see why we haven’t signed up yet?) I guess it is better for us to just continue watching it together and not be contestants. Maybe I can convince my younger brother, Sam to go on with me!!!
Do you watch reality shows on TV? Would you ever go on one?
Tonight’s dinner made it seem like summer time even though it still isn’t really that warm yet. This was one of those dishes that was quick and tasty – my favorite kind!!!
angel hair pasta (I used about 3 quarter-size handfulls)
olive oil (just enough for to saute onions & garlic)
1/2 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 c diced, cooked chicken breasts
2 c roma tomatoes, diced
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 can low-sodium chicken broth
2 T chopped fresh basil
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
Cook pasta 8 minutes – drain.
Heat olive oil in large, deep skillet over high heat. Saute onions and garlic until lightly browned. Reduce heat to medium-high and add chicken.
Add tomatoes, vinegar and chicken broth; simmer about 8 minutes.
simmer
Stir pasta into sauce. Add basil and cheese; simmer about 5 more minutes.
