5K and a bum toe...

Sunday was a 5K.  I ran mine last night at  about 9:30.  The first mile was "ok" the second I started flagging and then I pulled myself together and did the third strong.  It wasn't horrible or awesome.  I'm really glad I did it!

Eh, I wasn't anticipating a horrible stubbed toe...  This morning Jer woke up at 5 and I rushed out of our room to meet him before he came up the stairs (his room on first).  I slammed my foot into a box still sitting outside our bedroom door.  OMG I stubbed my toe on my right foot next to my pinky so badly.  It is large and purple and feels like a burning coal is inside of it.  Probably broken?  I am hobbling around.  We are on our way to our old house to get more things and it feels like a huge burning marshmallow of a toe.  I opted to put my running shoes on because the thought of bumping my exposed toe while packing and moving did not appeal to me in the least... Sigh

Well Hello Saturday Morning Zumba Class!

I really don't know what it is about this Zumba class but the energy in the room during the class is just amazing.  I really needed it.  I feel on track again.  I started to slide this past week.  Moving consumed all of my free time and left me drained.  The devil on my shoulder kept whispering that 26.2 miles is too far... One Zumba class and I feel like I'm back in the running!  I could hug every one of those women!

I track my outdoor runs with the "Map My Run" app on my iphone.  My phone chirps when my friends (people I am linked to that also use the app) finish their workouts and then I can go stalk their pace, time, and distance... (another story -LOL).  This past week when I wasn't logging miles I felt very left out when my phone chirped the end to another friend's run.  Glad that's over.

I'm back!

Dragging myself out of the loop

Yeah, I got thrown for a loop this past week.  

I formally ran last night.  That's it since Sat. Zumba.  Moving has been harsh.  We still have stuff in the old place and the new place is maybe 50% "done".  We have been packing and moving since Monday.  It's been a long week.  I'm tired, I've been eating poorly and not drinking enough water.  Hoping this week will be better.

This too shall pass.

  

Where does the time go?

We've been really busy lately.  Seriously it seems like every day is busy!  I am just catching a few moments to update you on my week and what is coming up.

Wednesday:  Went to my yoga class.  I felt really "off".  Struggled to keep the breathing correct with the postures.  We did some really cool core moves with partners though and that was new and fun.  In one you get into plank pose and the partner lifts up your ankles into "wheel barrow" and then they let go of one of your feet.  You use your core to keep your leg from falling.  We also did the reverse where you are on your back up on your hands.  They were challenging!


BTW I was sore all week from that strength training on Monday!  I guess all those squats were a good idea.  I will probably repeat that next Monday.


Thursday:   Thurs was run and strength train...  I ran 2.5 miles without stopping.  Dr. Brown, I got a head lamp.  What a great idea!  I felt lit and safe on my run.  It was at night after dark.  Then when I came home I did the roller workout that I performed a couple weeks ago for strength.

Friday: REST!!! YAY!!! Finally had some relief from the soreness from Monday.  I think the roller really does do a nice job of rolling out the lactic acid.  I couldn't tell I had a long "quick" run the night before.

Saturday:  ZUMBA!!! Rocked it.  TWO arm songs... One arm song was new.  Love my Zumba.  Sadly I forgot to drink lots of water when I got home and by 2PM had a seriously bad headache.  Thankfully it let up by evening.

That brings us to Sunday.  I have not gone for my long run yet.  It's a 3 miler.  I think I will have to do it later in the basement on the treadmill.  The weather is "OK" now, but I just dragged myself out of the basement, where I have been packing, and I need to go back.  It looks like it will be raining later.

Personal news:  We are moving on Tues.  I will soon be reporting to you from Ogdensburg, NY.  I hear they have some nice "trails" in the area and I think it might be flatter.  I'll just have to go find some hills when I need them.  Back to packing... boo

Breakthrough?

Just got back from my 2 mile jog.

It felt good!!!  

I ran my second mile an entire minute faster than the first.  It was even my "hill" run.  I jogged the first mile cautiously and then realized I was feeling pretty good and tested out a longer stride and bam! it felt like everything fell into place.  My 3-2 breathing (in 3 footfalls, out 2 footfalls in order to alternate legs that receive the exhale stride) felt natural -been struggling to get it to feel right, my stride felt confident and not tentative.  Very nice!  I was under a 10 minute mile on the second. :)

Woot Woot!

Know Squat?

We appear to be out of the woods. Sickness went through the entire house. Friday was not only my rest day, but my day to be completely out of commission. I think I would have been not so bad, but unlike the boys I had a very high fever. By Saturday I felt much better and then Tom was sick. I skipped my Zumba workout and hydrated and took care of all my boys instead.

Sunday I was double brave. Once because I figured I was well enough to do my two mile long jog without walking and once because I decided to do it outside even though it was incredibly windy, gusty and cool. I was an entire minute slower on my mile out into the wind than I was on my mile back. The hardest stretches were actually when I jogged perpendicular to the wind because it knocked my foot into my other leg with each stride. Very annoying. On the way out into the wind I was very cold and glad I had bundled up, but on the way back I was very warm. At the end I just was very glad I had completed the workout! The weather was so crazy I didn't think to much about how my run was feeling. Ha!

I will say that running all these short distances makes me really wonder how I will ever be able to string them together into something spectacular. Only time will show me.

So to the day at hand.

Strength day again! I chose a workout from Runner's World (April 2013). "Know Squat?" It's supposed to help keep your knees safe. It was a good workout! I won't belabor it. Off to fold laundry.

Happy week everyone! Thanks for reading!

Too busy!

Ok, quick update. I've been keeping it real and sneaking in my workouts. I have so much I want to write, but haven't found the time...

Tues. jogged 1 mile pushing the boys b/c went to Ottawa Sens hockey game at night. Good planning! What I didn't plan on was Jer getting a stomach bug... Two hours of sleep that night (poor baby sitters!!!)...

Weds. By morning Darren also wanted in on the stomach bug fun... I dared to strap them into the stroller to get them outside and blow the stink off them. They slept while I jogged 1 mile. I skipped yoga. It just wasn't going to happen and I hate spreading germs around.

Thurs. Kids much better. Lots of sleep for everyone last night. Pushed the babes in stroller while I jogged 1.5 miles. It's hard to push... Was worried I couldn't do it. Made it.

Now Jer is sick again and asleep on the sofa. Darren napping. Grabbed this second to write!

Hopefully Friday will be better!

Snapped this pic yesterday!

What to do, what to do

It's Monday again.  Time to strength train.  I hadn't picked out a workout to do for tonight and had to quick flip through some mags to find one I wanted to do.  I settled on this one.  I recently picked up a foam roller and have been playing with it intermittently.

Here goes!

Shape magazine, April issue.  Do each workout once.  Can do twice for extra challenge.  I did each once.

#1 is an inner and outer quad roll.  In and out 10 times for inner and outer quads.  It was difficult to keep my toes pointed in while rolling to get the inner quads.  It also was quite painful.  I think my quads are tight so maybe this will help.  Also it was a surprising shoulder workout.

#2 Pretty much just a wall sit against a roller while alternating raising your arms over head.  1 minute.  Not too bad.  Improvement?  Maybe!

#3 Glutes rollout.  OUCH.  Apparently I have a little tightness there...

#4 Bridges with your feet on a roller.  Not unlike a bridge.  It was a teensy bit more difficult to not have the roller against the wall.  I did 10 against the wall and 10 not against the wall and it felt like it worked different muscles.

#5 Rollout of the upper back.  Not difficult and it felt sooooo good.  I also detected a bit of core strength required to keep your head up as the roller moved toward your waist.

#6 Laying on roller bring arms up and down like a W... I'm really not sure why this is challenging?  I tried to get my feet as close together as possible so that I had the added challenge of keeping myself from falling over.

#7 Hamstring rollout.  This was not painful at all, unlike the hamstring rollout.

#8 Once I got the coordination down these side lunges were pretty good as an all over move.

This was a nice mix of stretching and strength, but maybe not as challenging as I need?





Trying to be quick here...  Very ready for bed.

Month Two Goals

I hadn't thought to make goals for my next month.  Thank you Bill for the idea!

I thought about what my goals will be for my second month and decided to keep it simple.  

Goals:

1) Stick with the program I have laid out for myself.  

-Monday; strength train (Do whatever looks "fun" to stave off boredome)

-Tuesday; run

-Wednesday; yoga (run if possible)

-Thursday; run (I think strength training gets added here as well at some point this month)

-Friday; REST

-Saturday; cross train (ZUMBA!!!)

-Sunday; long run

2) Stay injury free.

3) Breath and relax as much as possible.

Training update:

Friday was rest day.  I rested!  Done!  That was easy.

Saturday was cross train day so of course I shook my bod at Zumba!  Soooo much fun and felt great.  During the "arm" song I went to get weights and there were only 2 lbs.  I used to think just no weight was pretty hard, but have been using 1 lb weights.  I didn't want to go to the weight closet and come back empty-handed so I used the 2 lb weights.  I really did struggle, but I did it!  Thank you Natalie for giving me the following quote (that has been motivating/haunting me since you sent it),

"if it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you".

Thanks buddy!

Today was long run day.  I only had to complete one mile, but it was the first time without walking.  From here on out it is only jogging.  If I have to walk, I am supposed to keep it under a minute at a time and jog as much as possible.  I think that is more for the longer days.  The jog today was pretty challenging because I took the hilly country road and not the flat highway that I used last week.  I also continued to walk comfortably after the jog for grand total of 3 miles.  Tom pushed the boys while I jogged and then I took them when I was done my mile and then we walked together and enjoyed the sunny morning.

Hope you all had great weekends.  Thanks for reading and have a great week! 

One Month in Review

Yesterday marked the completion of one month of "training".  I thought I would do a quick recap of how the month has gone.  

Pros

Strength:  My legs feel much stronger.  I think I also detect tone that was not there at the beginning of the month.  Also my abdominal muscles seem much stronger.  I thank the Zumba and Yoga for this change.  I can also push-up better and my shoulders feel stronger and maybe a little better balanced (they are a little "off" from always carrying my bag/baby on the left).

Endurance:  When I started Zumba, which was before this month, I could barely get through the 60 minutes. I think I remember starting to really flag after about 40-45.  Now I make it through the entire hour and wish it could go longer.  That is a noticeable change in my endurance.  I'm also much less sore the next day.  My jog/walks leave me feeling charged afterwards.  It's a nice feeling.  

Flexibility:  I think my quads are tighter than they were, but my hamstrings feel looser.  Also, my right hip flexor feels tight, but overall I think I'm more limber so this falls in the "pro" section.  

Mood:  I am definitely feeling more even in the mood department.  Being around a roller-coaster two year old is stressful for me and the exercise and time for myself helps me be more patient and even minded.  It definitely takes a lot more to phase me.  

Sleeping:  I sleep really well at night in general.  It helps a lot that Darren does too!

Cons

Tender lower back.  I think I read somewhere this has to do with tight muscles.  Tight quads?  Tight hip flexors?  Anyone else have issues with this?  

There you have it.  The Pros definitely outweigh the Cons!  

Training update for Weds and Thurs:

Yesterday I performed a 1 mile, 5 min jog, 1 min cardio walk in the morning and then went to Yoga at night. I was not phased by this double train at all -especially because of the beautiful weather we have been having!

Tonight I did a 1 mile, 6 min jog, 1 min cardio walk after the babies went to bed in the dark.  Felt really good.  I could have gone longer but thought I should just play it cool for now.  I'm sure I will have plenty of opportunity to go further in the future.  HA!!! 

Tomorrow is rest day.  I will probably catch up with you Saturday after Zumba!  Happy weekend everyone!