I put both feet in the same loop and held the other loop with both hands.
start
From the start position, I just did an upright row –
pull up
This was a fairly simple 43 but by the last 15 or so I was feeling it in my entire upper body.
Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the things going on in my little world that I don’t look beyond it to all of the other important events happening around me.
This past week has been a prime example of my extreme self-absorption. I have been so focused on school starting, band stuff, making crafts, planning a brunch (yesterday I had a jewelry party and hosted a brunch) that I have completely neglected a lot of things and more importantly, people!!
Yesterday was my sweet nephew Hays’ 2nd birthday and not only was I late in sending a gift – I didn’t even call. Epic Fail on my part!!!!
I have got to do a better job showing the people I love how much I care about them and not always be so wrapped up in my own stuff.
Do you ever struggle with self-absorption?
Happy Sunday!!! I’m off to apologize for being so selfish!!!
Today for my 43 I did a move that was inspired by the only Barre workout I’ve done – Cathe Friedrich’s Barre DVD. I used my “bar” –
Handy piece of work-out equipment!!
I did a 2-part leg lift.
start
First, I lifted my leg to the back –
back
I brought my leg down (without swinging it!!!) and without touching the floor I lifted it out to the side. I continued lifting back and side in a slow controlled manner until I finished all 43 reps.
lift to the side
And, because I don’t want my left leg to feel left out, I had to do 43 more with the left leg.
getting ready to go againbackside
I have been working on adding extra moves to strengthen my hips lately since I’m running more often and more miles right now – hoping to stay injury free at least for the next couple of months!!!!
I also did my 3rd round of Taylor’s challenge for the week – The Race Is On. I’m not gonna lie – this week’s workout was tough!!! Even though it took less than 15 minutes, it was very intense and hard-core! My time on Monday for the entire workout was 15:46 and today I did it in 12:55!!! No breaks, no rest – just high intensity for almost 13 minutes!!
Heather @ Run Like a G! nominated me for the Sunshine Award.
Because I’m super lame, I asked her if it would be OK if I answered the questions without doing the rest of the award requirements (picking 10 other people to answer questions from me). She said it would be fine – thanks, Heather for nominating me and letting me be a 1/2 participant!!!
Questions from Heather:
1. What is your favorite thing about running? I love how strong and free I feel when I run. Some runs are good and others not so much but I always feel alive after completing a run. And, my calves almost always look like I’m wearing heels!!!
2. What FRIENDS character are you more like? I’m probably the most like Monica – I am very type A and sometimes fairly obsessive!!!
3. If money wasn’t an option, what country/island/place would you explore for a week? Australia – my number one place that I want to visit and haven’t yet!!!
4. Bodybuilding – yay or nay? Not for me just because I don’t have the discipline required (especially as far as the nutrition goes!). But I love seeing how others can transform their bodies through hard-work and discipline.
5. What do you LOVE about your body? I’m happy with my body 95% of the time – mostly because I love how strong it is. I know that I can push myself harder now than I did 5 years ago and that makes me HAPPY!!!
6. Tell me your favorite season and give two reasons why it is your favorite season. Summer – always!!! I love the heat and days spent at the pool or beach with my family. I also love the slower pace that we enjoy during the summer when we aren’t tied down with a school schedule.
7. Do you believe in love at first sight? Yes! My husband and I met on a Tuesday night (at a bar). I didn’t see him again until the following Saturday when he picked me up and we drove 7 hours (each way) to go to a concert. He told me several months later that he knew on the way to Austin (for the concert) that I was the person he was going to marry.
8. If you could have an exotic animal as a pet, which would you choose? I’m not a huge pet person but I would probably go with some type of snake – maybe a dwarf boa.
9. Have you read Harry Potter? No. My oldest son (14 now) read all the books the summer after he finished 2nd grade!!! I have only seen the first 4 movies – I enjoyed them but sort of lost interest.
10. What is your favorite cereal? Ohs – no milk!!!
I would nominate all the blogs I read for a Sunshine Award so I’m not doing that part. Feel free to pick any (or all) of the questions and share your answer(s).
Today for my 43 I combined a couple of moves and ended up with a pretty good overall move!! I started with a pair of dumbbells (10 pounds) and stepped my right foot out wide. From there I lifted my left leg and hinged forward trying to make a straight line with my body parallel to the floor (balance work!!). After I stood, I did a squat with my feet together before stepping wide to the left and repeating the series with the other leg to complete 1 rep.
Clearly, I have some wobbles but I enjoyed this move – 86 balance challenges + 86 squats to complete all 43.
I had plans for the rest of my workout but I had to add an extra trip to the middle school (before 7am) to drop off some stuff and be home in time to drive the boys to school and by the time I finished the morning drive I decided that today would be a good day-off!!! It’s rare for me to randomly decide to skip a workout but today is one of those days!!
Too bad it is just a day off from working out and not a true day off – spent on the beach in the sun – I guess I will just pretend to be on the beach!!!
I know people who are super crafty and creative – they come up with some of the neatest ideas. I am not one of those people!!! Crafting is not a strong point for me and my creativity is almost nonexistent!
However, every once in awhile I make an attempt to be a bit crafty. This week I have been working on a welcome back to school gift for all of the middle school teachers (all 80!!).
After finally deciding to get them gift cards from Starbucks, I decided that it would be fun to jazz up the presentation of the gift card. After a trip to Hobby Lobby, Starbucks (for the gift cards and cup sleeves) – I printed out a little thank you and then did lots (and lots) of gluing!!!
For a noncrafty person like me – I think it came out OK (I hope so anyway!!!).
My stacks of 80 cards ready to be delivered (the reason for the 6:30 trip to the middle school!!!).
Are you crafty? Do you enjoy the whole act of being creative?
Happy Friday!!! I’m going to enjoy my pretend day off!!!
Kim
PS – this was a gift from the PTO for the teachers not just from me!!! I somehow ended up as co-president of the PTO for the middle school this year and we didn’t have anyone who signed up to help with teacher appreciation so it sort of fell to me to get something done.
Today for my 43 I used a fun piece of equipment that I really want to use more but this little thing called TIME is holding me back –
always a fun piece!
Instead of punching, I did front kicks!!!
right
I did 43 with my right leg and then switched and did 43 with my left.
left
And, in case you can’t tell – the pictures are me trying to pose (they were after I was done with my workout) and my balance was off!!!
I got up before the roosters so I could run (3rd day in a row – longest streak in a long time!!!) on my treadmill again and still have the entire day to tackle my long list of projects.
I ran with 1.5% incline – 6 miles in 41:52 (about 6:59 average pace) and then did 1.5 miles much slower for my cool down. I’m happy that after 3 consecutive days of good runs my legs feel OK!!
Poppa
Some of you might remember that the day we got to Florida (July 20) my Poppa had to be airlifted to the hospital. He had a heart attack and tests later revealed that his heart was only operating at about 15%.
He was in the hospital for about a week and a half and then he was moved into a rehab hospital to try and regain some strength. He has been in the rehab hospital for 2 weeks now and gotten a little stronger every day.
My twin brother (Tim) called me yesterday and said that this afternoon he gets to return to his beloved ranch on the mountain!!!
I know that it will be a hard road for my aunt since she lives at the ranch with him and is the primary (sole) care-giver but I’m so excited that he gets to go home!!! Hopefully I can get down to help out soon!!
At 98 he will never fully regain his strength but I know that he will be much happier at the ranch than in a hospital and I am very excited for him to go home!!!
I felt this in my standing hip as much as in the leg that was moving. And, of course this was a 43 that I did 2x – so that I could get each leg.
I did round 2 of The Race Is On (challenge workout of the week from Taylor). This is a fast moving workout and the person who you are racing is yourself. I love trying to beat my time each time I do a workout – makes me really push hard.
I also ran again today!! This time I went outside and it was a perfect morning for a run – 64 degrees with just a slight breeze!!! I tend to run slower when I run in my neighborhood because of all the hills. I need the hill training!! I did 5.5 miles in 45:50 (about 8:20 pace) + 0.50 mile walking for my cool down.
Last night was the band camp exhibition on the football field.
It was very cool because we saw a mini version of everything they have been doing the past couple of weeks. They start with a great warm-up: jumping jacks, push-ups, up-downs, high knees and stretching. It was fun to watch them follow all the different commands. And they actually sound really good!!
This year the marching program is all Styx songs – pretty cool!!
They have just started working on marching in formation and playing at the same time (they have about 3 weeks until the first football game!).
Last night they only marched for one song and did the rest in place.
The band director said they were still in the beginning stages and mistakes were fine. He said – If you make a mistake make a good one – a confident one! And not the same one you made yesterday!!
I love that idea – we all make mistakes but we should own it and be confident even in our mistakes!! The only time that a mistake becomes a problem is when you repeat the same mistake over and over!!!
A lot of times I think we have a tendency to want to hide our mistakes but the only way we can really learn from them and move on is to admit that we made a mistake and correct it.
I’m going to really work on making sure that my mistakes are good (or at least made with confidence!) and hopefully not repeat mistakes!!!
I have got to do a better job showing the people I love how much I care about them and not always be so wrapped up in my own stuff. 
Do you ever struggle with self-absorption?
