After completing 44 reps on the right side I had to switch sides!
left side
Long run day – 11 miles in 86:46 followed by 0.9 easy miles.
Wednesday 8/6 – 44 deadlift with row (15 pound DBs).
readyhinge downrow
After the row, stand back up to complete a rep! Deadlifts are one of my favorite moves!!!
I only had a short amount of time to workout so I just lifted weights – Chalean Extreme Lean Circuit 2.
Thursday 8/7 – 44 squat with front raise (hands together on 1 DB – 12 pounds).
readysquat and lift arms in front
And, this was another long run day – 12 miles in 90:02 + 2.4 easy miles.
Friday 8/8 – 44 alternate side lunge with overhead triceps extension. (8 pound DB)
startlunge right arms downback to startleft lunge
Because I wanted to do 44 lunges to each side, I ended up doing 88 tricep moves!! My triceps are still sore today!!! Plus, keeping my arms overhead the entire time was a big challenge.
I only did Chalean Extreme Lean Circuit 3 – it was a struggle for some reason!!!
readycurl right with left kneeLeft curl with right knee
I counted a right curl and left curl as 1 rep. This was a great move for really working my core – love balance challenges.
Overall this was a good week of workouts. I didn’t travel to Illinois (obviously!!!) to run the ultra but still got in some good runs and strength workouts.
Today’s 44 was one of those that worked multiple muscle groups – my favorite kind of moves!!!
I used 1 dumbbell (10 pounds) and started with it in my right hand –
ready
Step back to right lunge with your leg extended and touch the dumbbell to the ground –
back to lunge
Stand with a knee lift and bicep curl –
up and curl
And, after you finish 44 on the right side you have to switch sides and do 44 more!!
readybackup and curl
I enjoyed this move because it was pretty much a full body move and since I was working upper and lower at the same time, I really got my heart rate up.
Today was a fun workout day – Turbo Fire!!! I did Fire 55EZ which is not easy but a 55 minute workout that flies by!!!
I feel like sometimes I talk about stuff on here and then never really get back to it so today I thought I would share a few
1. I don’t set New Year’s resolutions but in January I did share a post with some things I wanted to do and try this year. So far I haven’t made a lot of progress but we did try something new to us the other night!! I made a Greek Barley Salad –
this was so tasty!!
We had never tried barley – not sure why??? The entire family enjoyed this side dish!!!
2. I’ve been wearing a FitBit Force since the start of the year and I reviewed it after just a few days. I still pretty much just use it as a pedometer but that is working out well!! The first few weeks I didn’t really do anything different – just wore it to track and I realized that the only days I reached 10,000 steps were running days. Now, I try to get 10,000 steps in addition to whatever number I reach during my workout.
One way that I increase my steps is through the use of my Christmas gift – my standing desk!!
old picture but…
I love using this desk and when I read blogs I either pace around in between each one or I jog in place while I read!! Yesterday I hit 20,000 steps by the end of the day!!!
3. I mentioned that Hunter wants to run a half marathon this spring to celebrate turning 13 and we all know that I think running your age for your birthday is the best way to celebrate so we are going to do one together. We were going to run a large one in Kansas City in April but when it came time to start training and the weather looked like this –
lots of snow
Hunter wasn’t a fan of the training (and I’ve made it clear how much I hate running in the snow and cold!). For some reason Hunter didn’t want to log his miles here –
Weird but true!
So we picked a different race that I think will work better. We are going to do a race that is smaller the first weekend in June. He will start his official training in March and hopefully by then all of his runs can be outside.
4. Last week I shared a dilemma concerning our event venue and a couple who had sort of strung me along about turning in a contract and paying. Well, they did turn in the contract and full payment by the weekend so they are officially booked.
However, they are still causing me stress!!! They called early this week to set up another meeting at the venue. I let them set the day and time. Yesterday at 11:00 we were supposed to meet. I drove over in the sleet – waited for 20 minutes (past the time) – drove home in blowing snow – in other words I wasted an hour of my day and never saw them!
You know how sometimes you just don’t have a good feeling about a situation? That’s pretty much me with this whole deal!!!
5. I have mentioned that this year I’m trying to increase my mileage and still be smart about it and this morning I looked to see how many miles I have for the year compared to this time last year. I have more than 2x the miles already compared to last year at this point!!! Actually, it is about 2.36 times more!!! (yes – I did the real math!!!)
Today’s 43 was one of my favorite kind of moves – a combo!!! Upper & lower body at the same time!!!
I did a lunge with a row.
start in lungestraighten leg and row
Today I decided to try and push myself a bit so I used a 15 pound dumbbell – not too bad until I reached about 30 – those last 13 or so were rough!!!
And I have to stay balanced so a did a 2nd set of 43 on my other side –
readygo
Can you tell that these are just posed pictures? The downside to getting up so early is that I’ve already done my move (and most of my workout) before anyone is around to take my pictures or video!! Oh, well – it still works out!!
Today I decided to go with some Turbo Jam fun for the rest of my workout. I started with Lower Body Jam which is 30 minutes geared to legs & butt with just a little upper body thrown in for good measure. Then I did 3T (Totally Tubular Turbo) – 35 minutes of strength work using resistance bands. Both of these workouts were fun because Chalean makes all of her DVDs high energy!!!
The Calendar!!!
At different times of the year, a new calendar is always exciting for me. I love to get my calendar ready for the start of each year – I always put in all of the things that are a given (birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, school dates, Chris’ work stuff…..) and then I’m ready to go!
August is another big time to add/change calendars – the start of school brings lots of new activities and events that can be added to the existing calendar.
Lately, I feel like we have so many sources that have to be checked in order to keep the calendar current that we are going to start leaving things out. For band, we have to check the website every weekend to make sure there haven’t been any changes.
Hunter brings home a weekly note from cross country with details about the upcoming meet(s). We get emails about cello lessons/events. Teacher’s tell the boys things about upcoming happenings for different classes. Phone calls often mean an addition to the calendar. So many sources to keep up with!There are usually appointments of different types to make sure we remember. Social events come up and need to be added immediately so that they aren’t left off by mistake!!
Lately I feel lost without my calendar!!! Last night we were at a friends house for small group and several dates came up – I felt a slight bit of panic because I didn’t have my calendar with me to make sure that nothing was being double booked and that I didn’t forget anything!!!A glimpse at last week (notice the empty day? Labor Day!!!) in my book – I’ve found that my date book works far better than the true “master calendar” on the kitchen wall!!!
Now that the boys are older and have more activities I told them we probably need to all coordinate our calendars every weekend so we can make sure everyone knows what is going on and we don’t forget anything or anyone!!!
Anyone else ever feel like your life is “controlled” by the calendar?
Do you feel a slight panic if you are out somewhere without your calendar and have new dates/events to add?
I’m pretty sure that I need to put beach time on the calendar this week!!! If it’s on the master plan it should happen, right?!
For my 43 today, I tried a new move that I saw over at Brooklyn Active Mama yesterday. For her Weekly Wednesday Workout post she featured a lateral shoulder raise with an ab twist.
Start holding light dumbbells (I started with 5 pound DB for the first 20 reps then dropped down to 3 pound DB for the last 23 – by the end I almost dropped all DB) down at your sides. Lift your arms straight out to the sides (laterally) and hold arms out while twisting (keeping your head facing the front) to the right and back to the center – lower arms – repeat sequence to left side = 1 rep. So, in order to complete 43, I actually had 86 lateral raises and 86 twists (while holding arms out).
I liked this move since it was a combo move but it was hard – probably because my shoulders are still my weakest body part!!
Today I pulled out another DVD that I haven’t used much: Tone with Ten with Rodney Yee, Ana Caban, Tanja Djelevic & Suzanne Deason. I did a 30 minute total body cardio toning segment and about 20 minutes of total body pilates. It was a nice treat for my body!!!
I thought about doing the total body yoga segment but once I pulled it up I remembered why I never do this DVD – Rodney Yee does a lot of the moves in a speedo – PASS!!!
Treadmills – you either love them or hate them!! I think the view on the ones above probably helps some people tolerate them a bit more.
I used to detest running on treadmills – college, grad school – no way would I ever run on a treadmill. I would run outside in (-) temperatures, 50 mph winds, 95% humidity (I went to grad school in southern Alabama!!) – it didn’t matter what it was like I was outside.
And then…..I had Jordan. We lived in Texas at the time and Chris was gone at least 50% of the time. I had already decided that thiswasn’t for me. Running was my thing and the only time I had completely to myself. So we bought our 1st treadmill. I can’t remember the brand but it was a fairly good one – it could go up to 10mph and incline to 10% and it had a nice long running belt (mandatory!). The biggest downside – it was a fold-up treadmill which, at the time, we thought would be great.I’m pretty sure that we NEVER folded it. The biggest problem with a fold-up – it isn’t super sturdy. So when I maxed the speed it would shake – a LOT!!!
In August of 2001, I started training for a marathon – the Walt Disney World Marathon. I was doing the Team in Training (Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) thing. 2 things happened:
On one of my long runs (I think 16 or 18 miles) my treadmill quit – burned out!! Bummer since it was only 2.5 years old.
I got a stress fracture in my right hip and couldn’t run anyway.
Once I started back running, we bought our 2nd treadmill. I went to a Fitness store that specialized in treadmills and other home equipment to find one. The sales guy tried to steer me away from the ones I wanted – commercial grade – but after I told him how I used my treadmill he agreed it was the best option.
I ended up with a PreCor (some # that I can’t remember) that looked sort-of like this.This one could go up to 12mph and 12% incline!! Loved it!! And the sales guy said it would last me forever!
Wrong!!! In January (coldest part of the year, of course) of 2010 my treadmill died. Not cool at all! Back to the same place for treadmill #3. I stuck with a commercial grade treadmill and this time got a Free Motion.
This one also goes up to 12mph and 30% incline!
30% incline
It is my favorite (and hopefully last)!!!
I think I learned to love treadmill running because it was my only option. Chris is a military pilot and was often gone while I was home with 1 then 2 boys. Running on the treadmill was a life-saver to me on 100s of occasions! I have all kinds of ways to entertain myself – music, TV or just the treadmill itself – I play games with the speed and/or incline during lots of runs.
I have done lots of long (multiple hour) runs on the treadmill over the past 14 years – longest was 60 miles in 2 days (25 one day and then 35 the next). Longest consecutive was 42 (should have been 43 this year but I didn’t make it).
I think the biggest downside to my treadmill addiction – I have lost the ability to self-pace accurately. Oh well, if I ran outside all the time I would probably use a Garmin to take care of that anyway.
How about you – love or hate the treadmill?
Happy Thursday!!
Kim
Make sure you check in tomorrow – I have a first (for me)- a GiveAway!!!
Today’s 43 was another combo move!! This move is a big part of Les Mills Combat – HIIT Power. I decided to just make the move my 43 instead of doing that workout today because I wanted to run!!
So, the 43 was a squat with a bicep curl – stand with a shoulder press – squat when you bring your arms back down = 1 rep. (not as confusing as it sounds, I promise!)
Today I used 15 pound dumbbells and by the last 15-20 I was working really hard!!! (And, again – I don’t know why my videos are coming out so dark when I upload them – gotta work on that!!!)
I ran for the 3rd time this week!! I rarely run more than that in a week anymore – body can’t handle it. Good week – 3x – almost 30 total miles (counting the cool down ones!).
Today was a fast, hard 8 miles at 1.5 % incline in 48:38 with an easy 2 to finish for a total of 82:00 minutes. Next Saturday I have a big run planned – can’t wait!!!
This night has marked one of my favorite times of year for as long as I can remember!!
Growing up I loved when Daylight Savings time started because it meant that we had an extra hour to play outside before dark! We used to spend hours outside when I was a kid. Sort-of different with kids now! I’m pretty sure that kids today could care less about the time change or an extra hour before it gets dark – different world!
Now, I love the change to Daylight Savings because it means it is almost spring!!!
