All posts by Kim

I am a 44 year old wife, mom and athlete. I started running in high school and have loved it ever since. As I got older, I had to stop running every day so I added in weight training and all sorts of fun work-outs like Insanity, P90X and Turbo Fire. I'm a certified personal trainer and I love all aspects of fitness.

Core, Fitness

No Excuses Allowed!

September 19, 2013 Kim 62 Comments

I love Nellie’s (Brooklyn Active Mama) Weekly Wednesday workouts!!! She features some really great moves and a lot of them are new to me so I can turn them into my 44. Yesterday Nellie had a stability ball V-up so I decided to go with that for today!!

I love moves that start like this - I can close my eyes for a few more minutes!! — I love moves that start like this – I can close my eyes for a few more minutes!!

Keeping my feet on the stability ball took this move to a whole new level!!! I had to work very hard to contract my core and not let the ball go rolling off!! Great move!!

Today was also another day of Garage Boot Camp – we did a version of the workout that I did for my first boot camp this summer. This workout had 10 moves and in the summer we did 3 rounds with 1 minute of each move. Today, we did 10 reps of each move and repeated the circuit 5x – 50 burpees by the end!!!

I have a ~~little~~ huge confession today – I have been playing around with all kinds of excuses to not run my 50 mile race which is 3 weeks from Saturday!!!

I think that my confidence was really shaken the other night when I did my 44 miles! I thought that I could run further before I had to walk and then I thought I would be able to do a run/walk combo. NO & NO!!! I was completely miserable after 28 miles and the thought of even attempting to do more than walk was making me feel sick!!!

So, for the past couple of days I’ve tried to use being too busy as a reason to not run the 50. We do have a wedding change-over that night which means that someone will have to switch the set-up from ceremony seating to reception and since my race is 100 miles from here, it probably can’t be Chris.

I was going to let that be my excuse – it seemed like the perfect solution – but this morning I finally asked my neighbor if her son would like to help my boys do it.

I decided that I need to remember that this was a commitment I made and suck it up and make it happen.

So – my motto for today is – NO EXCUSES!!!

Do you ever use excuses to get out of something that you are scared of?

Happy Thursday!

Kim

Core, Fitness, Shoulders

Spreading Sunshine

September 18, 2013 Kim 50 Comments

Pilates was the theme of the 44 for the day!! I did a standing mermaid (pilates move) with 4 knees across the body to complete each rep.

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbVm8td_28o’]

Besides being great for the core, this was really tough for my shoulders – holding my arms out to the side for the time required to complete all 44 reps was HARD!!! And, after I finished the first side I still had another set of 44 the other direction. My shoulders are still burning!

I also did a pilates DVD today – Burn & Firm Pilates. I really like the fact that even though it is pilates, the first 40 minutes or so is standing work and is a pretty decent cardio workout!

This Sunshine Award has been making rounds and 2 super sweet bloggers nominated me (even though I am so bad at this kind of thing!). I’m going to answer the questions because they are fun but I am not nominating anyone – I choose all of y’all!!!

Brooke @ Wrecking Routine (check out her blog if you don’t already read – she shares some great workout challenges plus she is just super cute!!) nominated me last week so I will start with her questions.

1. What are you too afraid to pursue right now, whether in your dreams, work or relationships? I’m really doubting my ability to run the 50 mile race in less than 4 weeks.

2. Why did you start your blog? to document my daily 43s!!

3. What is your Zodiac sign? Virgo but don’t ask me what that says about me because I don’t have a clue!!

4. What’s your favorite thing about blogging? Hands down, the wonderful bloggers that I have gotten to know!!

5. If money wasn’t an option, what country/island would you explore for a week? Australia

6. What do you love about your body? I love how strong my body is!!!

7. Tell me your favorite season and give me 2 reasons why. Summer – sun and fun!!

8. Do you believe in love at first sight? YES!! Chris and I drove to Austin, TX (from Lubbock, TX – 7 hours) for our first date (to a concert). He told me later that he knew on the way to Austin that I was the person he was going to marry – 17.5 years of marriage later still very much in love!!

9. If you could use only 1 beauty product for the rest of your life what would your choose? Hmmm…..I’m fairly low maintenance with stuff like that – probably my favorite lotion from Bath & Body (white tea & ginger).

10. Describe your perfect day from start to finish. Wake up naturally (no alarm!!), go for a run on the beach, hang out with my family on the the beach, watch the sunset over the water – so, it needs to include my family, the beach and running – simple!!!

Kristen @ 31 Million Seconds (love her blog – sometimes funny, sometimes serious, always great) nominated me on Monday and had another fun set of questions so here are some more random facts about me.

1. Night owl or early bird? Well, since I get up at 5:00 am I guess I have to say early bird.

2. Would you rather be hot or cold? HOT!! Being cold makes me cranky!!

3. If you could only eat one thing, every meal, for the rest of your life, what would it be? Pizza – still meeting all the food groups and there are lots of different kinds!!!

4. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? the ability to go without sleep – I could get so much more done every day!!

5. What did you want to be when you grew up? I thought I would go to med school and be an orthopedic surgeon. After Chris & I got married I took the MCAT but never really pursued it beyond that and then we had kids and that was the end of that!

6. What do you miss most about being a kid right now? school – I’m a nerd!!

7. If you had one hour of free time right now what would you do with it? probably read more blogs

8. What’s the most played song on your iPod? Zac Brown Band – Toes

9. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? HAWAII!!!

10. If you could time travel, either into the past or into the future, where would you go? Hmmm….not sure that I would do either!

Even though I’m super lame and not nominating other bloggers, feel free to pick a question or 10 and share your answers – I love learning random facts about all of y’all!!

Happy Wednesday!

Kim

Core, Fitness

A Gift to Myself

September 17, 2013 Kim 68 Comments

Today’s 44 (kind-of weird to type that after so many days at 43!) was all about the core plus a little bonus hip flexor work! I used my core ball –

and did a scissors move. The ball was under my hips to make the move a little more challenging (mostly because I kept rolling around!!).

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qzyRltvlhw’]

I also taught Garage Boot Camp today. I told the ladies last week that today would be a circuit and that way if I wasn’t ready to work out I could kind-of take it easy. Well, we did the Circuit Boot Camp as planned but it is really hard for me to stand around when there is a workout opportunity so I did the workout, too!

This workout has 18 stations and the first round we did 1 minute of work with 10 seconds to switch. The 2nd round we dropped down to 40 seconds (mostly because of time constraints!). I’m happy that I did it but I can tell that my body is tired and worn down – it wasn’t nearly as fun as most workouts are.

Yesterday I gave myself one of the best gifts ever – the gift of

Yep – time to be a complete and total BUM!!!

But, the best part of the gift – it was completely guilt free!!!

It is rare for me to let myself have a whole day to just sit/lay around with my laptop and reality TV and not feel guilty but yesterday I did it with no problem and loved every single second of it!!!

Today there is a small part of me that is feeling bad because of all the things that I need to do but I’m telling myself that it was a gift to be enjoyed and not regretted so that is what I’m going to do!!!

Do you ever give yourself the gift of TIME to do whatever you want GUILT-FREE?

Thank you all for the kind words on the 44 miles and the birthday wishes – it really was a great day!!

Happy Tuesday!

Kim

Fitness, Running, Treadmill

44…..

September 16, 2013 Kim 89 Comments

The start of a new year – my year of 44 and year #2 of blogging!!!

Today’s 44 (and it counts as today because even though most of it was yesterday, I finished after midnight!!!) was a 44 mile run (truthfully, it ended up being a run and then a walk).

All happy before I started – CRAZY!!!

I’m not gonna lie – THIS 44 SUCKED!!!!!

I started off running and was right on pace for my goal for the first 24 miles – not fast, just an even 6 mph. Then, things started to go really south. My left Achilles, which has been giving me trouble for quite awhile was killing me and my stomach was not happy. I decided to switch to a run/walk combo which I did for the next 4 miles.

At mile 28, I stopped for a minute and went in the room where Jordan was (Chris & Hunter were at small group but Jordan stayed home) and told him I wanted to quit. I told him that running 44 miles was stupid and I didn’t want to do it!!!

Jordan basically told me to SUCK IT UP!!! He said, just walk if you have to but you can’t quit!!!

So, I hopped back on and walked (and walked and walked) and pretty much hated every step but…..I did it!!!

Clearly it didn’t take me 37:55 – my treadmill rolls over every 100 minutes and it had already rolled over 5x. It took me 8 hours 57:55 minutes. Not my original plan/goal but thanks to Jordan pushing me, I met the distance goal.

Today, I’m perfectly happy with a rainy, coolish day for my birthday! I’m all decked out in compression gear – shorts and socks – and planning on being a complete BUM for the day!!!

I’m excited to see what the next year of 44s and blogging will bring! I just went back to my very first post and other than going with a similar title, I can see how my blog changed during the past year and I’m sure that there will be more changes over the course of year #2!!

Happy Monday!!!

Kim

Family

Hijacking Kim’s Blog – Happy Birthday

September 15, 2013 Kim 77 Comments

Before everyone freaks out – it’s just her husband, Chris, with a well-wishing for my wife on her Birthday. Of course, I had to wait until she was busy (while she is running her 44 miles) to not only hijack her computer, but get on her blog (without her knowing it).

To say that I am proud of her 365 days of 43’s would be an understatement. What she did – and continues to do – impresses me daily. When she first came up with the idea – I think I was supportive, but possibly wondering – “how could you come up with 365 days of anything?” Needless to say, once she started, she completely amazed me. She inspires me to do things I might otherwise be too lazy to accomplish. Her focus and drive to a complete a goal provides a remarkable example for her sons. Though she remains modest in what she achieves – I truly think her ability to persevere through a year of ups and downs gives insight toward her iron stamina and will. Way to go Kim!

So – this wonderful woman – had a start as a twin – but leave no doubt, she was an individual.

Of course, Kim began running in high school (she has told the story before), and those of us “joggers” could never keep up!

The two of us met down in Lubbock – got married – and sailed off into the sunset (went off on a cruise) (and not quite “right” after getting married…)

While we have enjoyed being together….

We also love being a family!

Yes – Kim is a superwoman! I am a lucky guy to be married to her. She has taught me more about life, living, reality, humility, and sincerity. The boys and I wish her a very Happy Birthday and love from the bottom of our hearts!

Those of you that keep up with Kim on her blog – leave her a note in the comments about something that you have learned from her this past year (or just wish her a Happy Birthday)!

Hijack complete –

Happy Birthday and I love you!!!!

Chris

Day With KT