Tag Archives: running

Core, Fitness, Hamstrings, Running, Treadmill

Sinking

January 23, 2014 Kim 1 Comment

Today I used my small band –

small - tons of resistance — small – tons of resistance

and worked my hamstrings for the 44. I started with the band around my ankles and moved it to cover one foot –

From the start position, I pushed my foot (keeping it flexed) straight back –

As you can see, it is hard to stay straight up but part of the work was a balance challenge!!! And, I don’t want my hamstrings to be unbalanced so I had to do the left side, too!!

I love small moves like this that are so effective!!!

And, today was another running day!!! Of course, I’m a wimp and don’t bundle up and hit the streets like so many hard-core runners (it is currently 3 degrees!!!) and I needed to catch up on Dance Moms anyway!!!
1.5% incline – 8 miles in 61:37 + 0.75 miles super easy

Currently, I feel like that ship represents me!!! I feel like I have toppled over and am just barely staying above the surface!!!

I’ve talked about the fact that I have sleep issues (meaning I rarely sleep more than 2 hours at a time) and lately I have been averaging around 4 hours of sleep a night.

Last night I woke up at 2 and never fully went back to sleep before my 5:00am alarm!

My mind is constantly spinning these days!

I have a booth this weekend at the local Bridal Fair and I feel like I’ve put a lot of energy into this and still don’t have a clue what I’m doing. Lately, we haven’t had a lot of bookings at our venue but the expenses (thanks to numerous issues with the apartments) are out of control!

I’ve made several commitments involving other things (some guest posts, personal stuff……) and I’m excited about all of them but they churn around in my brain during the night, too.

Factor in the extreme cold and my complete dislike (hate) of winter and I just feel myself sinking more and more.

Maybe I will just imagine myself right here –

for the next few days (months – whatever!!!).

Or, I will just go back to my mantra –

Happy Thursday!! I will be at the beach (if only in my mind!)!!

Kim

Fitness, Quad, Running, Shoulders, Thighs, Treadmill

Do Clothes “Make” Us?

January 21, 2014 Kim 104 Comments

Today’s 44 was a combo move (my favorite kind of exercise!). The lower body was just a plie hold and the upper body was a lateral raise.

Lateral raises are hard for me (shoulders are my weakest area!!!) so I only used 5 pound dumbbells. I felt the burn in my quads and inner thighs by the time I finished all 44 reps.

Today I did something I rarely do – I ran for the 2nd day in a row!!! There really is a lot to be said for running easier!!! Yesterday I ended up running 13.1 miles (1:46.20) with 1.3 easy to finish it off. Today I did 7 miles (59:36) with an easy cool down mile.

I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase – “Clothes make the man/woman/child.” Is this really true?

I think that I’m the same person no matter what I have on – a formal dress, jeans, or sweaty running stuff. But I do wonder if unconsciously we act different in different types of clothes.

Are we more confident when we are all dressed up? I think that I actually feel the most confident when I’m in my workout clothes!!! Of course, that could just be what I tell myself since that is my normal dress code these days!!!

I also started wondering if we are more productive based on how we dress.

In the winter I pretty much live in fleece!!!

OK - maybe a little nicer than this stuff but still - yoga pants and fleece tops!! — OK – maybe a little nicer than this stuff but still – yoga pants and fleece tops!!

Does being so comfortable make me less productive? Or am I more productive because I’m comfortable?

I used to dress up every day and I still have a closet full of nice clothes and shoes and all the accessories required to pull it all together. Maybe I should try a test since a lot of days I can get my work done from home and see if dressing up makes me more productive!!!

Besides running things in our home, I work semi-full time with our business – cleaning, doing set-ups, showing the venue, paperwork, marketing, etc. All of those tasks require different attire – I can’t wear my cleaning clothes (workout gear) when I do showings and vice-versa. Since a lot of the work is done at home it really doesn’t matter what I look like – or does it?!

Do you think that there is anything to the saying – Clothes make the woman?
What about – Dress for success?
Do you dress up even if you are just going to be home most of the day?

Happy Tuesday!!!

Kim

Core, Fitness, Running, Treadmill

Today We Honor a True American Hero

January 20, 2014 Kim 84 Comments

Today’s 44 was a reverse crunch on the bench. Hunter wanted me to do some Rocky style crunches where you go up on your head – ummmm…..I’m too old to try anything that crazy!!!

And it was a good day for a longer run since every one is off and it is a low key day anyway!

Martin Luther King Jr is a man who played a major role in the Civil Rights Act and I think that every American should be grateful for the effort he made to make our country a place where all people are equal!!!

Over the weekend, there were several TV stations paying tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. and movies aired that show the changes that have come about over the past 40-50 years.

Some of my very favorite movies portray the trials and extreme racism that used to mark our country.Yesterday I watched Men of Honor with Cuba Gooding Jr and Robert De Niro. I forgot how incredible this movie is. This movie is the story of Carl Brashear, the first African American, then also the first amputee, US Navy Diver and the man who trained him.

If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. At the end when Cuba Gooding Jr as Carl Brashear has to take 12 steps in the dive gear that weighs 290+ pounds to be reinstated as a Navy Diver with 1 leg – that scene brings me to tears every single time I see it!

Remember the Titans might be one of my favorite movies ever. There are so many phenomenal parts of the movie. The fact that this movie is based on a true life happening from a school in 1971 has always shocked me since that was after I was born (I was 2 then!!).

(some of the most inspirational parts of the movie!!)

When Gerry Bertier is in the hospital and Julius comes in I love the line, “He’s my brother. Can’t you see the resemblance?”

This is another great movie based on the actual events leading up to the 1966 NCAA Basketball Championship. Texas Western College became the first team to have a starting line-up that was all-black. The coach later said that he didn’t so much think about the color of the starters – he just wanted his top 5 on the court – as it should be!!!

Because this film is from a much earlier time period (the 1947 baseball season) there is some pretty extreme racism evident throughout the entire movie. It is so amazing to look at pro baseball today compared to that year when Jackie Robinson became the first black man to play professionally.

The Express is another story about the first black man to achieve a mile stone. Ernie Davis is the first black man to win the Heisman Trophy in 1961. Sadly after being drafted by the Cleveland Browns he died of leukemia in 1963 at the age of 23.

Look a movie that doesn’t have a sports theme!!! In the movie Wiley College (a historically black university) takes a team of debaters to competitions in the 1930s. Besides the fact that the competitors were black, there was also a 14 year-old and a female which wasn’t the norm. The movie shows them beating the Harvard debate team but in real life it was a team from the University of Southern California. It shows how much theses kids had to endure and deal with just to participate with other schools.

This movie is another favorite – in fact I need to watch it again. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first black military pilots to deploy overseas. These men flew many dangerous missions in World War II while also dealing with very rough treatment from their own country.

I know that there are other movies that depict the difference from how our country is today to what it used to be but these are some that I have seen and love. They never fail to remind me how lucky we are to live in a world where people are treated equally.

I truly believe that we owe a lot of the freedoms today to Martin Luther King Jr and his efforts to stand up and fight for equality for all people.

Have you seen any of these movies? Do you have others to add to this list?

Happy Monday!!!

Kim

Biceps, Butt, Core, Fitness, Running, Treadmill, Triceps

Hug Your Loved Ones Tight

January 18, 2014 Kim 45 Comments

Today I did a 44 with a little bit of everything – balance work, core, glutes, biceps and triceps.

I used my wobble disc – and did a half squat –

While staying in this position I did bicep/tricep arms – alternating each arm –

left bicep - right tricep — left bicep – right tricep

left tricep - right bicep — left tricep – right bicep

I used 8 pound dumbbells and counted a bicep-tricep for each arm as 1 rep = my arms felt this for sure. (Especially since I did my 75 sec plank followed by 40 push-ups for the January core challenge right after this.)

I also ran again!!! Today I wanted to push the pace a little since I’ve been doing a lot of slower runs. I did 7 miles in 43:27 (6:12 pace) and then another 1.3 miles as my cool down.

Yesterday afternoon we learned that a family we know (one of Jordan’s good friends) lost a loved one suddenly on Thursday night. A police officer came to their house to tell them that their oldest son/brother had been in a car crash and did not make it (he was 24).

As a mom I have a hard time putting myself in that position and my heart breaks for the entire family.

I know that many people today are running in honor of Meg whose death should not have happened and is tragic on every level.

I am honored to dedicate my run this morning for her.

This morning we are going to a memorial service for some friends of ours (2 high school girls) whose dad lost his battle with cancer. I know that they would love to hug their dad just one more time.

Losing someone is always hard whether you had time to prepare because it was due to illness or the sudden unexpected tragedies that happen all around us. Living with regret is even worse.

Today make sure that you don’t have a reason to regret anything – enjoy every second and show your loved ones how very much they mean to you!!!

Happy Saturday!

Kim

Butt, Fitness, Hamstrings, Running, Treadmill

Workout Options – Videos, Pinterest, Machines, Classes, Wing-It

January 16, 2014 Kim 84 Comments

Today’s 44 came from Nellie (Brooklyn Active Mama) and her Weekly Wednesday Workout. The move was a butt bench raise – looks fairly simple but after a few you will definitely feel it.

Lay on your back with your feet on a bench at about 90 degrees –

Squeeze and lift your butt off the ground –

The last 10-15 were hard – my butt and hamstrings were burning!!!

Today was also another running day – 1.5% incline – 8 miles in 62:47 + 1.5 easy cool down miles. After almost 30 years of running I’ve finally learned that slowing down and just logging the miles is a better choice if I want to run more often and higher mileage!!!

Workout Options: How do you choose?

There are so many different workout options available and all of them are a little different. How do you choose what to do?!

my fitness DVDs – I’ve been adding to this collection for years!!!

Workout videos are always an option!! I love using DVDs especially at 5:00 am (or for years 4:30 am) because I can get a great workout without having to think a lot. Funny that I can move around and push my body early in the morning but it takes my mind a bit longer to get going.

Pinterest is a great source of workouts or a perfect place to store all the great ones that you find through blogs or other places. My workout board grows every single day!!

There are always options like treadmills (LOVE) and ellipticals (HATE)!! And if you go to a real gym, not just my basement, you have so many other great options!!!

Another option is the many classes available. I think that DVDs are similar except you don’t get the social benefit and for some people a class can be far more motivating because you have the encouragement of an instructor and the other participants.

Or, you could just wing it. This option doesn’t work for me (it goes back to the early morning thing and having to think!!!) but might be great for others to just show up and make something up as they go.