Today’s 44 was one that I saw Tara do (Family Sport Life). I didn’t totally master it but it was still very effective. To start, you balance yourself on a stability ball (knees on it) and then you do the actual move – bicep curls.
trying to balancecurl
If you look closely you can see that I had to tap my toes (more than keep them up actually) to keep from falling on my face. I’m going to keep working on the balance aspect!!!
Besides working my biceps (10 pound dumbbells), this move was good for my core (balance) and my quads were burning by the end!!!!
And then I ran again – 2 days in a row!!! Yesterday I got in 6 miles and today I ran 6 at just under 8 minute/mile pace and did another 1.75 miles to cool down.
So, you might remember that back in October I attempted my first 50 mile race and it did not go well.
I made a lot of mistakes but I also learned a lot. And, way down deep I know that I can run a 50 (and maybe even a 100 miler!!!).
Yesterday morning I was scrolling through FaceBook and saw a post from the Heartland 100/50 (the race I did last year) saying that they are changing the 50 and making it a day race!!!! (Last year it was at night – pitch black on a rocky road, cold, lonely…….)
Then this happened –
In May, I’m going to try again to complete a 50 mile race!!!!
Actually I’m going to do more than try!!!! I’m going to take the things I learned last fall and apply them and this 50 mile race is going to be a great experience!!!!
In October, I wasn’t mentally tough enough to push through the pain and other factors that were involved.
This time, my head will be in the right place and there will be no giving up!!!
I’m excited to get another chance to fulfill my goal of competing in an ultra!!!!
Today’s 44 was a front raise but I wanted to make it more “fun” so I did all 44 front raises while doing a wall-sit.
readyand raise
Not sure why I was looking down during the front raise other than I had been holding this pose for awhile waiting for Chris to take the picture – oops!!!
I just used 5 pound dumbbells and that ended up being plenty to be able to do all 44 in a slow controlled manner without swinging my arms!
I pulled out a workout that I haven’t done in awhile – Prevention 3-2-1 Workout. This is a fun way to do a bit of everything. After the warm-up, there are 6 circuits (legs, chest, butt, arms, back and shoulders) each made up of 3 minutes of cardio, 2 minutes of strength work and 1 minute of core work. The time goes by quickly and even though it’s not super high intensity, it is a good workout.
I’ve been participating in Taylor’sCore & More January Challenge since January 1 (well, I thought I was participating). Everyday I have done the challenge I’ve wondered how it is a core challenge!! Then yesterday I figured out that I’ve been doing it wrong!!!
I have been doing a 45 second wall-sit followed by 20 push-ups. What I should have been doing is a 45 second plank followed by 20 push-ups.
wall sitplank
See – I really do know the difference!!!
So, because I want to be doing the challenge correctly I decided to get caught up today!!! I did 3 sets of 1:30 plank holds (for the 6 days that I missed) and then today’s segment of 45 seconds plank + 20 push-ups.
And, just because I find it funny that everyday is “national” something day and apparently today is National Old Rock day, what are your favorite rock songs? (I’m pretty sure the old rock day is literally old rocks like fossils but that’s not as much fun!!)
I don’t know if I can pick a favorite – I do like Led Zeppelin’s Rock and Roll a lot because way back when Chris and were dating while he was in pilot training, every weekend a group of us would go out to a super fun piano bar and lots of times Chris would end up singing – this was one of the top picks!
(Chris spent a year in Korea when he was around 20 and in active duty. During that time he was part of a band as the lead singer!!!)
Today’s 44 took one of my favorite moves (burpees) and added in one of my least favorite (jumping lunges) for a great challenge!!!
The move – a burpee (don’t forget he push-up!) jump up and immediately do 2 lunge jumps.
(FYI – the burpees in the demo actually make # 45, 46 & 47!)
Last night Hunter was trying to give me some more ideas for my 44s and he suggested a burpee with a tuck jump. I told him I did those this summer on the beach in Florida!!! He didn’t believe me so I had to find the video to prove it!!!
While we were looking at YouTube, we came across this video –
44 (must be fate!) of the best burpee exercises ever!!! I can’t wait to try more of these!!!
I decided that this bitterly cold and snowy Sunday would be the perfect day to share some sunshine!!!!
I know there are supposed to be rules to these things but I pretty much suck at following them!! I decided to start by answering Mona’s questions and then go from there.
1. If the internet suddenly disappeared and you couldn’t blog anymore, what would you choose as a “release” for your writing and creativity?
Well, I don’t know that I am super creative in my writing anyway – I would probably just spend the extra time on my treadmill!!!
2. What’s a perfect Saturday morning to you? I would say it is a day that I sleep in but that doesn’t really happen. I do like the mornings when I don’t have to set an alarm and jump out of bed first thing. I would take my time getting up, do my workout, have Chris and both boys home and not have to spend the day running all over the place or doing any errands – in other words LAZY!!
3. Where do you see yourself and your blog in 3 years from now? I will be 47 so I guess if I can stick with it that long, I will be doing daily 47s!!! As for blogging, I hope to have met in person some of the incredible people that I have met online!!!
4. Is your family supportive of your blogging? Yes, they are 100% supportive. Chris reads my post every single day (and usually texts me after to make a comment of some sort so I know he read it). The boys don’t seem to mind being part of my blog on many occasions and are more than willing to help me out with pictures/videos!!
5. What’s you fav quick, easy and delicious dinner recipe? (this one made me laugh – if you haven’t read Mona’s blog, you really should check it out!!!)
My favorite easy meal is going to involve the crock-pot for sure!!! Hard to pick just one! I’m going to go with French Dip because it is so easy!!!
Put a frozen roast in the crock pot. Mix 2 c water, 1/2 c soy sauce (we use low-sodium), a bay leaf, some garlic powder, a few peppercorns, rosemary & thyme (just sprinkle some in). Cook on low all day. Shred. Serve on Kaiser rolls with swiss cheese and use the juice to dip.
6. Where is your favorite place to write? This could read where is your favorite place to ___________? No matter what is in the blank, my answer is the same!!! THE BEACH!!!
7. If you had to start your blog all over, what changes would you make?
I think that I would have started commenting on other blogs sooner. I was a complete newbie in the blog world and didn’t have a clue what I was doing for months!!!
What would you keep? This one is easy – I would keep all of the bloggy friends I have made because they (y’all) are the best part of blogging!!
8. Vacation…with or without kids? With!! When the boys were younger I liked it when Chris and I could get away by ourselves. Now, the boys are fun to have on vacation and that is part of the experience. I’m hoping that even when they leave the nest they will still take vacations with us and one day that their spouses and kids will come, too!!
9. What’s your best advice for overcoming writer’s block? Since I’m not really a writer, I don’t truly deal with this!!! I just make up some random stuff and move on!
And, like I said at the beginning – I’m not good at these the traditional way. So I’m not making up 9 or 10 or 12 new questions and tag people – I can’t tag people because I think it supposed to be just a few and I would want to tag at least 100 people!!!
Instead – I will make up one question.
How do you spread sunshine? What is the temperature where you are?
So I lied and asked 2 questions!!! We are actually at 10 degrees with about 4-5 inches of snow so I guess I can’t complain (but I will!) compared to all y’all even further north!
Today’s 44 was all about hold and control! I held a chair pose and did alternating side tap-outs.
chair pose (in the mirror!)
Because I had to take my own pictures using the mirror reflection, I couldn’t hold both arms up. However, when I did the actual move, I really did keep my arms up the entire time!!!
tap righttap left
So, even though the pictures are awful, you can get the basic idea!!! I counted a right tap out and a left tap out as 1 rep.
I think this year I’m going to work my way through all of my workout DVDs – that should be a fun way to mix things up!!!
This morning I did Jillian Michaels Hard Body – Level 1. This is a 45 minute workout that incorporates strength training and cardio – my favorite!!!
FitBit Force
Yesterday I mentioned that I scored a major deal on a FitBit Force. I have been wearing it every day this week and so far it has been good as a pedometer but that is about it.
Above is a screen shot from yesterday. I think the steps are probably right (sadly all but about 2200 of them were during my run and then I was a slug!!) but nothing else is accurate.
I ran 8 miles hard yesterday and then did another 2.5 miles (10.5 miles total) – and the mileage for the entire day doesn’t even show 6 miles?!
Also, the active minutes isn’t accurate – yesterday I was on the treadmill for a total of 95 minutes. Right now (after my workout, 44 and other moves) the active minutes is showing 1. Really?!
I know the calorie count is way off which is fine because I don’t really pay attention to that anyway.
The part that is the most disappointing is the sleep tracker. I thought it would really show how much I’m awake and sleep patterns but it doesn’t. Because it is on your wrist, you have to be moving that arm a LOT for it to realize that you are awake. I usually try to lay still even when I can’t sleep so basically the entire time I’m in bed it records as sleep time.
I’m going to keep wearing my FitBit and trying to really increase my daily steps but I’m very happy that I only ended up spending a couple dollars on this since it is really just a pedometer at this point.
Any thoughts on the FitBit and ways to make it more accurate overall?
Happy Thursday!!! 3 degrees with snow covering the ground here – pretty sure I need a beach!!!
Today I decided to do a fast moving 44! This was a good one for feeling a burn in my quads!!! I did a lunge with a floor touch.
This 44 went quickly!! Of course, after I did 44 on one side, I had to switch and do another set of 44 to stay balanced!!!
And – check out my shirt in the video – recognize the color?
bright yellow!
Hunter gave me this shirt so that when we run a half marathon together in the spring (he wants to do one to celebrate turning 13!!!) we can match!!! So excited about it!
Today was another running day. I wanted to go further so I slowed my pace from the past couple of runs! I used 1.5% incline and did 10 miles in 80:15 + 1 easy cool down mile. I started out much slower and increased the speed every half mile for a nice run!!!
Over the past year, I’ve found myself sitting a lot more than I want to. And the reason is my computer and the time I spend blogging and doing other things on it.
I knew that I wanted to make a change but I still wanted to be able to spend time on the computer so…..
this is what I wanted for Christmas
I told Chris awhile back that I wanted a standing work station but not a big one because I wanted it to be portable. This one is perfect!!! It is on wheels and very easy to move so I can have it in the kitchen, living room, dining room or wherever I want to be!!!
writing my blog (this was yesterday morning)
I love it since I always write my post for the day after I finish working out and I hate to just plunk myself in a chair – perfect solution!!! Now when I’m being productive reading blogs I won’t feel like such a slug!!!
Have you ever tried a standing work station? Do you prefer to stand or sit?
In the past I tried our kitchen table and the island – both were too low!!! I feel much more productive when I stand, too!!! (might be mental but….)
So, you might remember that back in October I attempted my first 50 mile race and it did not go well. 
This time, my head will be in the right place and there will be no giving up!!!
