2nd qtr 2016 fitness goals defined

I've been noodling about this since my last post.  Before the days and month get away from me, I know I need to be a little more decisive about my goal. The sooner I do that, the sooner I can also define a reward!  Ha!

I decided to take dreaded pics of myself so that I can SEE the areas that I want to focus on and target to change.  I've mentioned (on IG @fullhouseofroyals) my cellulite that has creeped onto the outside of my thighs (and my butt too) and I just cannot.  CANNOT. DEAL.  Ugh.  What is this gross thing? Actually, I know what it is.  The bigger question is WHYYYY????  What horrible punishment for slacking off!

In any event, I am aware that there is no potion, lotion, scrub or cream that will buff it away.  I know that burning the fat layer and building the muscle underneath is the only way.  How's that for getting to the point?  I saved you oodles of time googling and watching ridiculous long youtube videos explaining the same in only two sentences.  You're welcome.

The pictures don't lie.  And no, you won't be seeing them.  I can barely look at them.  The true test was putting on that cute bikini that I totally rocked just last Summer.  WHAT. IN. THE. HELL???  It's like a completely different bottom half of my body!  So, there is my answer.  Boom.

The goal:  Eradicate said cellulite and get a tight, smooth butt.  I don't think a quarter is enough though.  13 weeks?  Eh.  I have looked at before and after "body transformation" photos.  It can be done (unless those pics have been photoshopped to high heaven).  I will never know unless I stop, drop and squat.  A lot.

The plan:  Not sure yet.  I will research this and find one but in the meantime, I will make sure to find glute/leg workouts on pinterest or youtube.  I have an office gym with a pretty good amount of equipment that I will have to teach myself to work with, a membership at a great gym that has every machine imaginable and I will continue to attend my Kickbox class, cycling and running for cardio (fat burning).

The reward:  The beach!  Courtesy of the hubby.  When we had this conversation and I showed him the pics and blew them up.  Oh, yes I did.  Yikes.  I said "no denying, honey...THAT has GOT TO GO"  So, before you wonder why I am insisting to go to the gym again, go for a late run or start randomly squatting before jumping in the shower, you know it's because of THAT.  He suggested a trip to the beach as a reward.  I am not about to turn that down and I am not about to take THIS out in a bikini anytime soon so....it's set.

Bonus:  For April, I started a 30 day arm challenge I saw on Instagram put on by Fitness Magazine. I'm 4 days in and I already know it's going to be tougher than I thought.  I'll also be incorporating abs heavily into the mix and watching my nutritional intake take too.  So no worries, I won't be neglecting the rest of my body.  :)

Details to follow!  Come back and if you follow along and my booty starts making obvious improvements, I would consider posting my very own before and after.  But only then.

Happy Glutes Day! I mean, Tuesday! ;)

Valerie

Hello? It's me.

I was wondering if after all these months you'd like to read
'bout how I fell off the workout wagon
They say that rest's supposed to be good for ya
But it made me weak

Hello, can you relate
I'm at work dreaming about who I used to be
last Summer when I trained for hours
I've forgotten how strong it felt before the school fell at my feet

There's such a difference between us (me then and now)
And a million swim/bike/run miles 

Anywho.  I'm not going to go on with that...you get the gist.  I unintentionally broke up with my training because life took pole position.  It was crazy there for awhile but then it wasn't.

I had many opportunities to kick it back up in November and December.  However, the Holidays and Travel made a pretty good EXCUSE (that is totally what it is) to push the workouts aside.  Honestly, I just didn't feel like it. There.  I said it.  I was not motivated and I could care 3 Fs about suiting up and working out or making it a priority. I had a million other things on my plate and my mind and body didn't crave it.

I ran exactly ONCE each month since I last posted here.  LITERALLY. One 4 miler in September, one 4 miler in October and one 5 miler in November...I didn't even bother with being consistent in December (although I planned on running in Central Park on our trip, but didn't).

We returned from our NYC Christmas trip on December 30th.  I had mentioned maybe once or twice to the hubby that I felt the time was coming for me to get back up on the saddle.  I really like being healthy, fit and tone.  I like when my clothes fit right...it makes playing dress up on dates nights or GNO that much more enjoyable.  While packing for NYC, I made the realization that some things were fitting a little snugger than I prefer.  Or I just didn't like how I looked in one outfit or another.  Ugh.  Too many indulgent dinners and desserts over the holidays! Damn you NEW YORK CITY for having amazing food!!

I also made it very clear to my husband that although I KNEW these things, I also did not want to DO anything about it. Motivation: zilch.  I may have posted as such on FB at some point and friends came out in droves offering to run with me.  At 5 am.  Uuuuuuuugggghhhh.  Nooooooo.....  No thank you.

But my amazing hubby knew that I could never turn him down.  He knew that if HE offered to go for a run with me, I would never turn him down.  Suddenly, on the COLD, early morning of January 1st, the guy who hates being cold and really thinks running is super boring, dragged me out of my warm bed and took me to Memorial Park for a one loop run (3 miles).

I really wanted to punch him.  Hello?  Who are you?

But I didn't.  We ran.  I was stiff.  I was cold.  I was miserable.  But I was there.

We started off slow and the sad, sad realization that the great pace I had achieved over the Summer was LONG GONE.  Boooohoooo.  I was so slow.  And then, my hubby turned motivational coach and number one cheerleader says...."let's try changing it up....let's run real fast then slow down or walk"  Huh?  Hello?  Who are you again?  So after the boring mundane first mile, we ran a sprint for about a minute and a half.  We jogged for a bit and did it again.  Over and over and before we knew it, we were done!  And, definitely not cold anymore.  It was exhilarating and also exhausting.  I was glad to be done and to go back to my warm home.

The next day, Coach V (as I started calling him), got me to go on another run.  This time in our neighborhood but to the nearby track.  We did the same thing.  Run a  loop and half, jog a loop and half.  It was awesome!

Half a mile from the house, I was looking ahead to some gravel and didn't see the pipe sticking out of the ground when I STEPPED on it.  My ankle completely folded over and down I went hands first into the gravel I was eyeing!  OUCH!

 I got up and hobbled for a bit and finished my run (very achy).  It hurt for a bit but I "walked it off".  The next day Coach V set up a workout at home for us.  Afterwards we went for a short walk and realized it felt better to jog little steps than it did to walk.  The day after that, he had another workout for me and after I went for a short/slow jog with my son (2 miles).

I worked out for a consecutive 7 days.  Hubby got really busy at work again and couldn't coach me daily but he had given me the best gift ever.   My motivation!  He pushed me and got me going again.  I took a day off when I had a crazy carpool, work late at night from home while hubby worked til midnight kind of day. That's pretty much it.  I have been pretty diligent about doing SOMETHING.  Yay me.

Today is January 28th.  I have logged 56.1 miles in the month of January.  WHAT?!  Yes.  That is crazy.

Want to hear crazier?  Yea, on Houston Marathon day, over a week ago, I decided to go out for my longest run, a quarter marathon!  I could do it, I was sure of it.  I had so many friends running the full and half that day and the weather was AWESOME that I felt super inspired to get out there.  And I did just that.  I ran a new route and lost track of my distance from home.  By the time I turned around, I made it home at 8 miles!  OMG.  It wasn't super fast but it was fantastic.  I felt great and could have gone further.

That night, my elite marathon running friend threw a "post-marathon" party.  Unbeknownst to me, in attendance were all her running friends. (Why did she invite me?!)  This group is a hardcore running group.  How hardcore? Houston was my friend's 42nd marathon.  FORTY SECOND.  Because she is 42, she said.  Duh.  Haha.

This year, she will have run Boston, 5 years in a row.  She is running New York in the Fall (which is harder to qualify for than Boston, by the way) and is running the Woodlands Marathon in about 6 weeks.  Why am I telling you all of this?  Well, because I left that party super inspired and motivated and the idea that I actually COULD run a half marathon (Woodlands) in 6 weeks.  I mean, I just ran 8...how hard can another 5 be?  Right?

I signed up.  I ran several times last week plus joined hubby on his P90X quest that he started from Day 1 last week (he's on week 2 and still going strong).  My friend offered to coach me on my endeavor, even offered to run with me on my long run on Sunday.  She is THAT nice.

We met at 7am at Memorial Park.  She had 5 under her belt before we met.  We ran the loop with no issue and left the park.  At mile 5, the ankle decided to hurt.  WHAT?  I felt that turning around would be the best idea.  About a tenth of a mile later, I couldn't run anymore.  Another tenth and I could barely walk.  Putting pressure on my foot was incredibly painful.

It appears that ankle roll from January 2nd had done more damage than I realized.  And all the running I have done probably exasperated the situation. I have iced, taped and rested the thing and I am yet not able to walk normally.  :(

I am waiting another few days before I see a doctor but I know what they'll say.  Stay off of it.  Rest.  I either have a strained ligament or fractured a baby bone in my foot.  Whatever the diagnosis, the treatment will be the same. I am SURE.  But I will confirm it next week.

So where does that put my half marathon? Not sure.  It's 5 weeks away so it's not looking good but I will remain positive and hopeful.  Whatever the case, I am not letting it hamper my motivation.

I rode my bike on a trainer last night for an hour!  My ankle/foot does not hurt at all when I do that!  I'll keep joining hubby with his workouts and modifying as necessary.  I have my fingers crossed that I will be well enough to run it, shoot at this point, I would be happy to WALK it!! I will be sure to come back and post an update on that and to keep coming out here more often.  There are duathlons, triathlons and the dreaded first day back in the pool that I need to still experience and tell you all about.  I bet you can't wait! Haha.

Sorry this post was so long, it's been awhile!  I've missed you! :)

I'm updating my daily workouts and motivations on my new insta account:  @FullHouseofRoyals  (because my friends and family don't want to hear about my workouts! haha)  Come check it out for inspiration, motivation, healthy recipes, smoothie idea and quirky day in the life of pics.  I promise, all positive!! :)

Happy Thursday and I'll leave you with this:

Goodbye.  ;)

V.

#NewYearGetMyAssInGear

Another week bites the dust

My goals this week were fairly general as they were last but I decided on a whim to add a tad of structure.  It may be a little ambitious but I am going to try to stick with it.

I regularly read the TriSwimCoach Facebook updates and usually, they are pretty spot on to what I am feeling or thinking about in the swimming department at any given moment (fears of open water, getting faster, new drills, conquering boredom on long swims, etc.)  I decided to download their app (2.99) because they have training plans on there that I think could WILL be helpful to ramp up my "pseudo" training.

I chose the 70.3 plan because I really wanted to test the waters (pun intended) on whether I can "handle" it.  It ramps up pretty quick so I hope that I can hang on.  The time commitment to longer workouts can be less than feasible most of the time so I'll just have to play it by ear.

The Goals:

Run - 10 miles
Bike - 2:15 (time)
Swim - 5000M (before taking the training plan plunge)
Strength - at least 1 class
Yoga - 1 class
Brick - 1

The accomplishments:

Monday - Cancelled PowerOne class so I had to improvise.  15 min Ab workout & 15 min Dynamic Yoga workout on the Nike Training Club app + 30 min on the trainer.
Tuesday - 5 mile TM run
Wednesday - Day 1 of 70.3 training plan - 1700M
Thursday - Barbell Strength (3 weeks in a row coming to this one...it's tough but a great full body workout!)
Friday - The power went out in the whole building at work and they sent us all home...FREE DAY!!
Side note:  What would you do with your day off knowing that the weather will be sketchy the whole incoming weekend?  Sure I could have gone shopping (which I really need to do), run errands, get my nails done (Oh, yea, I shoulda done that) or just napped (aaahh...sounds good now) So is it nuts that I get excited at the possibility of cramming in all my workouts left in one day instead?! Hmm.

Ok, sorry.

Friday - 30 mile bike OUTSIDE!!, 5k run (OUTSIDE) BRICK!!+ a break for a sandwich and then 1250M swim.  I followed day 2 of the plan but had to cut it short...my daughter was hounding me to get to the school auction so I can bid on something for her! :/  I figured I'd done enough in the day that missing half a workout would be fine.

Saturday - Rest day

Sunday - 2 miles on the Mountain Bike pulling babies to the park and a late swim post more family fun.  Day 3 of plan with 2650M in!!  That's the longest I've ever swam!  Also, the plan calls for yards so I feel like a total overachiever! ;)  I also wanted to finish off my mileage goal and jumped on the treadmill afterwards for my last 2 miles (brick!).  I also wanted to check on my left ankle that I twisted while teaching my 3 year old how to play hopscotch.  Seriously, why did I even attempt it with my LEFT leg?  Ugh.  First jump and it folded like an accordion.  I keep forgetting how old I am and how ratchety my joints are.  :(

I forgot how many hours I spent doing this as a kid.

Good news is the ankle if fine and more so, I hit 95% of my goals!!

Run - 10 miles ---> 10.2! Yay! CHECK!
Bike - 2:15 (time) --->3:15 CHECK! OVER
Swim - 5000M ---> 5600M! CHECK! (OVER - good thing I cut that one one workout short! Ha!)
Strength - at least 1 class ---> barbell strength CHECK!
Yoga - 1 class ---> 15 min UNDER about 45 minutes
Brick - 1 ---> 2! CHECK! OVER
Extra:  Sunburn and awesome cycling tan lines.

But look at all the Overs!  I think I've over compensated for the yoga I missed out on so I am A-OK with that.   Plus, did I mention that I rode tricycles, played with bubbles, waterguns and almost to a fault, hopscotch too?!

It's been a great week, now to plan for the next and up the ante (and remember the sunscreen).

Have a great one and Happy Monday!

Valerie :)

Oh!  And congrats to all the awesome runners in Boston today with some serious "wicked" weather especially my awesome friend, Doan.  Her 39th marathon and 4th consecutive Boston...and she only started running a few years ago!  My inspiration and hero!  Way to go all...you guys rock!

P.S. - Thanks to the fine folks at Triathlete Blogger Network for picking up this little space of mine and mentioning it there. So super cool!  Welcome all!  Go check them out at their site and follow them @ChiTriBloggers.  Lots of great information for fellow newbie triathletes and experienced hardcore veterans too. :)

How'd you do?

Did you finish your week strong? I'm still holding out for my last workout of the week. Family priorities first! So, if you're still on this side of the pond, it's not too late...you can still fit it in! Go for it!

Hope you've had a great weekend!

Valerie

Finish Strong

Almost forgot to update the prior week!

I started the week in a bit of a daze.  I signed up for my Monday morning class on Sunday night and had no other goals for the week until late Monday when I just decided to jot something down:

5100M Swim
2:10 Bike
10M Run
1 Strength Session
1 Yoga Session
1 brick Session

I knew the swim would force me to get into the pool at least 3 times which is what I really needed to do.  The mileage was very conservative since I had injury concern (more on that later) and everything else was more of a wish list (and cheating some knowing that the Cycling class already covered half my goal for the week)

This is how it played out:

Monday - PowerOne Cycling
Tuesday - Early morning swim in the "short" pool.  I didn't want to intrude on the Masters class already in session.  After a little math coversion in the office, I came out to a 1770M swim.
Left work a bit early to take son to practice and realized that I had a small window....OPPORTUNITY!!  I ran 4 miles!
Wednesday - I was planning an early spin class but snoozed one too many times.  Took advantage of the inadvertent switch up and went to Hot Yoga at lunch.  I felt redeemed!
Thursday - Last week was so good, I had to go back...early morning Barbell Strength at the gym!
Friday - Make it or break it day...if I didn't get it in early, it wasn't going to happen on this super busy day.  I managed 1600M swim followed by 15 minutes on the spin bike...baby brick!
Saturday - This was going to be a rest day but I realized I still had too many things on the goal list not checked off.  So while babies napped, I jumped on the trainer for an hour then quickly laced up and went for a quick 2 mile run.  (they were awake by then but hubby was home) Another baby brick!
Sunday - Ugh...rest day?  NO.  Rearrange and organize your entire house day? YES.  How did we accumulate so many toys and J U N K??  Ahhh!!  I sorted through EVERY bin, box, cubby and basket.  Put all like things together, collected outgrown "baby" toys and threw a bunch of odds and end crap away.  I visited with in-laws who came over for awhile and my first outing of the day was to pick up my daughter at Cotillion at 8pm.  PM!  When I set my mind to work on something...I. DON'T. STOP.  Hubby made us all super yummy shrimp pasta dinner and after the company was gone and the kitchen was clean, I decided...I still have time to reach my goal!!

I tried to convince my buddy to join me for a late swim but she couldn't get away.  So I packed anything I could possible need and headed out.  1800M followed by a super fast 5k on the treadmill! Brick!! I was walking out of the gym at 10:45PM but felt accomplished!

This is how turned out:

5100M Swim - 5170M check!
2:10 Bike - 2:15 bike check!
10M Run - 9.3 miles - almost there...whawhaaa
1 Strength Session - 1 - check!
1 Yoga Session - 1 - check!
1 brick session - 3 - check, check, check!!

I came close to the meeting the mileage goal but with the slight overages everywhere else, I'm gonna call it square.  And of note, NO rest days!  I'd say I finished the week strong!

So, since my Power class was cancelled this morning (I was relieved actually) I just may not do anything tonight. (But I probably won't)

Time to set this week's goals!

Talk at ya later!

Valerie

Vacation and Workout schedules, an ugly but drinkable cocktail.

Ha! (random caption)

If you were here for my last update, you may or may have not been betting on whether I'd be getting my workouts in on Spring Break travel south of the border.

Just as suspected, it was not easy to peel myself away from the pool or sand (or my pina colada, for that matter) to get a workout in. I "planned" every night by setting out my workout clothes but those early sunrises and waking babies made it hard to "escape" for a workout.  I hate to leave hubby with the chaos when he'd much rather snooze.  I figured each day I'd just get away while babies napped but lo and behold, they never napped at the same time.  So without further ado, here's how it turned out:

M 1hr bike - do I get credit that the Sunday workout on the bike ended on Monday?  Eh, I didn't think so.  Travel day so working out was furthest on my priority list.
T 1:10 run - Yea...that didn't happen today either.  More rest.  :)
W Xtrain - Was going on a full day excursion so decided to head out for yesterday's run.  I couldn't get very good service so the MapMyFitness routes I was going to use was unavailable.  This meant I was just going to wing it.

Start of the run, leaving the resort.  Breath taking!

I ran through downtown and while looking around for my next turn, I stepped into a hole in the sidewalk and twisted my left ankle. Ouch! Then a few steps later, trying to run the pain out, twisted the right (which I had hurt on the TM last week) ugh!!  I put the pain aside and ran all the way to the highway and back then decided to go uphill to explore the neighborhood (cause I'm a glutton for punishment?).  I ran back down towards the resort and still had some time and distance to cover so continued around the marina and on to the end of a pier.  The pain was just now a dull ache and everything else felt so good, I honestly wanted to keep going but the bus was coming for me soon!

from atop a hill in the neighborhood

Cabo Marina

from the fishing pier

Ran 6.4 miles and little did I realize that the day's workout was JUST beginning!  We went on a zip-line adventure tour with Cabo Adventures that was absolutely jam packed with exhilarating fun.  We hiked to the top of a mountain and proceeded to zip line, some single, some upside down, some tandem and an amazing Superman at the end.  We also rockclimbed, rappelled, walked across the river on a tight rope, climbed a rope ladder up the mountain (41 deep squats!) and finished with a heart pumping ATV race through the mountain base.  I'll have to post those pics later, they were amazing and the GoPro video is pretty hilarious too!  All in all I think this qualified as the Xtrain workout for the week.  My arms and calves were toast the next day (oh and the throbbing ankle...yea, that was a little uncomfortable).
The fresh quesadillas they gave us at the end were devoured within seconds!

TH Rest - Hubby and I took the babies for a stroll through the marina after breakfast and later me and the ladies did a fun Water Aerobics class while the guys played beach volleyball.  We finished first so I decided to take what ended up being a loooooong walk on the inclined soft sand beach to the rocks and back while holding my 18 month old and towels.  If yesterday didn't qualify for Xtrain, today topped it off!! What was I thinking? I mapped it out and it was about a  mile and half (that kid's about 30lbs!)  No wonder I was pooped! I love the ocean and the sound of the waves so really, I was in my happy place.  I even got some great photos to last me a lifetime thanks to my oldest daughter.  :)

F 1hr run - travel day followed by unpacking and laundry. Fun! :/
S 1 - 1 1/2hr bike Oh, Houston.  We were welcomed with gloomy, rainy weather ALL. DAY. LONG.  Booohoooo!!!  We took the babies to a birthday party early in the day and the girls to see Cinderella at the movies later in the day.  That's all I could muster.  I felt a sinus infection (thanks Houston allergies) coming on so thought better of jumping on the bike.
S Rest  Making breakfast, cleaning, laundry and housework should be considered a workout.  Ugh. Happy homemaker I am not but it must be done.   Also, I casually looked at my calendar and like a smack upside the head, came the realization that I have my first sprint tri NEXT WEEKEND!? Wha? How did that slip my mind?  Good grief!  So, in a panic, I'm thinking I MUST get a workout in today!!  I had to get back before the Real Madrid/Barcelona game so hubby could watch uninterrupted but who knew I'd get to the park and have to untangle my chain and put it back on my bike?!  Ugh...just call me a grease monkey.  On wheels.  I got it fixed and jumped on for a 20 mile ride and 20 minutes late.  Oops!

I was so grateful the weather cleared up because riding indoors seemed like punishment.  Houston apologetically gifted me with the first sign of Spring on this beautiful day...bluebonnets!!

Warm Texas homecoming...bluebonnet sighting!

I think I was short a run and a bike but all the other activities got me pretty close.  And I really doubled up on the "Rest".  Haha.

So this week entailed about 11 hours of training but since I have the sprint on Saturday, I am just going to try to keep myself in check so I'm not at burnout by race day.  I'll flip the weeks and train more next week.  I'll plan on doing some light workouts in each of the disciplines and work on getting the gear ready and my nerves in check.  My friend told me to just look at it as another workout and forget the "race" aspect of it.  This helps because the distances themselves are totally doable.  300/14/3  so what's my problem anyway?

Stay tuned as I post on my first "official" sprint tri experience (and why I'm not counting the other I did as official).

Happy back to work Monday! 

Valerie

You Have 7 Days, Make Them Count

So did I?

I've mentioned before how I love to write it down as a to-do and cross it off or make notations (iphone calendar & notes just don't cut it for me). Well, I have a sweet new calendar that I unwrapped and am trying really hard to not make it look messy with all the switcheroos.  I think though that seeing this pack of pages over the course of time with all my doodles, scratch-outs and notes will be quite telling of my training journey.

Thank you Corey!! :)

Let's take a look at week 4 (days 22-28) of what I'm going to call: off season/base training (sounds official, doesn't it?)

3/2 Mon 1:15 bike seated hills - I forgot what the workout was...just remembered required time. I got on late at night after all the kids were in bed and gave it a go.  I did some climbs, seated and standing, sprints and 1 leg drills...I figured it was all-encompassing.  Went 1:17 and only 11 miles?  Turns out the speed sensor was not properly aligned for the first half hour.  Sigh.  Garmin is still dead so no HRM.  I decided on a whim to also casually join in yet another yoga challenge: #JourneytoHandstand because, who doesn't want to master a handstand?  I've gotten to the point where I could and then let it all go.  It's all core so I thought if I tried this, I would be working muscles I need anyway.  I did 3 days worth of the challenge and the last, hand standing for a minute, though supported by the wall, was tough!  My shoulders were screaming!  Extra time in for the photo ops too. :)

#JourneytoHandstand

3/3 Tues 1150M swim /45 min + strength training -  Hubby is out and I had to get son to & from soccer practice and pick up babies at daycare (and work a full day!) today.  Swim workouts are the only ones I can't alternate with something I can do at home.  Going to the gym was going to be a stretch so I was going to switch the days around and play it by ear.  I managed to taxi my son to 5 o'clock practice, race to the gym, swim (change twice!), pick up the babies and pick up my son at exactly 6:30 sharp!  I was so proud!   I knew there was a 1200 swim this week & I assumed it was today.  Swam 1200M in about 36 minutes and in the last 600 came across a breakthrough in form!! More on that later, but I am looking forward to "testing" this on the next swim.

After dinner, baths, cleanup and getting everyone to bed, I pull out some small weights and did a series of arm exercises followed by tabata burpees, the yoga challenge and even foam rolled by achy glutes and hammies.  Yay!

Not so yay...I was done with all this by midnight which is precisely the time the baby decided to wake up.  Cranky.  He fell quickly back asleep but I should have known it was a preface to what was to come...he was up at 4am ready to rumble.  I brought him to bed in hopes he'd cuddle and fall back asleep but instead, he treated me and my bed like a trampoline and was WIDE AWAKE and wanting to play until about 5:30.  When the alarm went off. :/ That's two nights of interrupted rest in a row.  Sleep deprived? Uh yea.  Let's see how this affects the rest of the week shall we?

3/4 Wed 1st Brick 1:10 bike Z3 Aero/30m run - Hubby's back! Thankfully that means no cooking or working out at near midnight.  Got a good 15 miles in on the allotted time and 3 miles on the run.  Not fast but I spent the first mile fidgeting with apps and music, good negative split though. He brought home dinner. :)

3/5 Thurs 1200M swim (sets of 100) - Well, made it to pool about 5:45am, Masters class had started (I forgot TH was class day).  Rather than interrupt to join a lane when I knew I'd be leaving quickly, I jumped in the other pool.  I had been told that it was 25Y and I *thought* (ugh) the wko was 900M.  I was thinking I'd swim 1300Y and it should cover me.  I wanted to make the 6:30a Hot Yoga class (since hubby is back and I'm so tight and sore everywhere) so rushed through it and asked the instructor on the way out what the length of pool I was swimming in was just to be sure.  It is 17 meters, long...or short.  Ahhh!!! No wonder it seemed easy. Ugh.  So, after doing my math homework
I learned that my 52 lengths were worth only 884M.  BOO, so I'm 266M short for the week but got a great yoga class in that included some fun inversions and arm balances!  Got to check off the yoga challenge to boot. Whoohoo!

UPDATE!! - The instructor was wrong!  Signs are now posted...the "short pool" is 20M!  So, I swam 1040M so I went OVER 140M...haha!! (Yes, I am updating this almost 2 months later...feeling redeemed!) :)

3/6 Fri Rest - I really could use it but I rather "rest" on family days (weekends).  I have another brick Sunday so running while everyone is in school/work is optimal.  But, having the kids in school on a sorta half day of work means me and the hubs can get some one on one time if he doesn't have any meetings or anything pressing at work.  I packed my workout bag and brought it to work because THE SUN IS OUT ALL DAY TODAY (albeit bringing 30 degree colder weather with it)!  If I can meet all my deadlines at work, get a quick loop at the park on the way home, I'll still get to hang with my babe with time to spare.  The sun is "forecasted" to hide tomorrow for the rest of the weekend so...the day must be seized!

Finding my sporty Revo shades in hubby's car made up for losing my earbuds on the walk to the car from my office. It was a gorgeous day, no music necessary and got date time in too. Win win win! :)

3/7 Sat Fast 5k - "Rest" day

3/8 Sun 2nd Brick Swim 45m (250wu 5x100 30' 150cd) Bike 45m (Z2-3 85-100rpm). - big fat workout fail today. Wet, dreary day filled with awful food and adjusting to daylight savings on a sleep deprived week was not the best formula to getting it done today. Never got a chance to leave for the pool, though I didn't try too hard. Had a fun day running around with the family so it's still a win. No regrets. :)

So, I almost made it. I was short 260ish  OVER 140 meters but short an hour and a half brick workout, though I added a good hour of hot yoga and handstand work throughout the week. 

Next week, make up the missed workouts plus the "plan" and a hot yoga class all while hubby travels. AGAIN. 

Happy Monday all! Make your days count!

Valerie

P.S. - I was all packed up for the gym this (Monday) morning hoping get A) 8ish miles on TM B) 1200M Swim C) 8ish miles + 1200M Swim.  Alas, rainy morning & daylight savings got me again (and hubby binge watching House of Cards into the wee hours didn't help).  Monday morning workout scrapped but all packed up to hit the gym at some point! 

1st Recovery week round up

I guess recovery week means lesser effort rather than fewer workouts.  I straddled the line between the two this week tweaking away as is the norm.  No travel for hubby this week but yucky cold and wet weather coupled with evening commitments made for another week of switcharoos.  I won't bore you with the details but here's the round up depicting the prescribed plan in bold and what actually went down following.

Monday - Day 15 -   Rest - 1 hour, PowerOne Cycling class (indoor bike on trainer)

Tuesday - Day 16 - 1:30 Bike easy - Rest since I did hard class yesterday (and have birthday brownie/ice cream dessert) :)

Wednesday - Day 17 - Rest or swim 900M - 1000M swim (10min time trial w/o warmup: 300M, 100k, 100p, 10min time trial warmed up: 400M, 100k)

Thursday - Day 18 - 1:15 Bike easy - thought I'd wake up early and knock this out but sleep felt too good.  A little regretful since fitting in for the rest of the week will be tough. Birthday happy hour will make early Friday workout a little more difficult too.

Friday - Day 19 - Rest - Um, yea...I swear they put everclear in those margaritas. Rest it is.

Saturday - Day 20  30 min Swim, 850M  - Feeling guilty for all the rest days, pulled the trainer in and did Thursday's workout. About 14 miles...I started with easy effort and then pulled out all the stops in the last half hour because...me.

Sunday - Day 21 1:30 Run Z1-3 -  I was hoping to leave the house early and get the "or swim" from Wednesday in before the long run.  I forgot how toddlers wake up at the crack of dawn full of energy.  Hubby got my distress signal late morning (he's so awesome) and took the whole crew out so that mom can have a "free" day.  No nails, shopping or massage but rather a solid 2 hours of putting my house back in order from 2 littles (I'm looking at you, Mateo aka Monster-teo) transporting random household items to all the places they don't belong.  A good solid 20 minutes were spent looking for remotes, not even joking.  Is it in the trash? (dig through trash)  Did he put it in the snack drawer? (dig through drawer and reorganize the mess) What about the shoe basket?  Oh, no...is it in the washing machine?  High cardio, super fast hide and seek and put stuff back before I lose time to run counts for a workout right?

All this, followed by the prescribed hour and a half run.  A little over 9 miles that I couldn't keep below Z4 because that would be walking?  How is that possible?  Anyway, it was a non issue because Garmin went dead before I made 3 miles.  Pace was fairly slow so I know I didn't over do it and given it was the longest run since my injury, I'm feeling pretty good.  Success!!

So how'd I measure up?  Well, I didn't do the extra swim and never made it around to Yoga and the foam roll effort really was pathetic.  But all the other stuff was done!

Coming up this week are brick workouts (8 total workouts +- 6-7 hours), crappy weather (cold, wet and dreary) and a travelling hubby.  Great recipe for getting it done dontcha think?

Here we go!

Happy Monday all!

Valerie

Is there a badge for that?

I've earned a recovery week apparently. Based on how I felt last night , the sound of that should entail at least confetti, balloons and a whole week off. Nike and Swarm give me badges or stickers yet, this recovery week includes 2 bike rides, 2 swims, strength training session and a run. What?! Sigh.

Since the marching band didn't come by to celebrate for me, I decided to give myself a little Monday inspiration/motivation for recovery week and good 'ol pat on the back for last week. :)

Goals this week: all SIX workouts, yoga and plenty of foam rollin'.  With hubby home, I should be less of a taxi so rest days will be somewhat more restful. :)

Happy Monday!

Valerie

Switch it In, Switch it Out

...to the tune of "Shake it Off" by Taylor Swift.  Can you hear it?

Anyway, I don't know how to juggle balls.  I've tried over the years to throw them up and attempt this maneuver that seems simple enough but end up smacking myself in the face or throwing a ball across the room.  Perhaps it's my lack of coordination.  I tend to trip and hit sharp edges and corners on tight turns too.  Luckily for me, lack of coordination does not equate to lack of flexibility...both literally and metaphorically.

You see, my life is in a state where "balls" are always in the air.  I work best under a structured, and somewhat routine based environment, however, curve balls cometh on the daily.  As a result, I have learned to be flexible.  I have become quite comfortable with winging things and in the last couple of years have REALLY just turned into a fly-by-the-seat kinda gal.  

There is always uncertainty when doing things this way. But with that uncertainty comes the excitement and satisfaction that you still got everything accomplished as anyone one else would have had to anyway, without losing your marbles because you're off some sort of track or schedule.  It's not for the faint of heart, admittedly but it's working for us.

Most "normal" people that exercise regularly have a routine.  A set time, day that they go to the gym or head out for a run.  I have friends that are 6 am bootcampers, 5 am crossfitters, 4am long distance runners, midmorning yogis, afterwork gymrats, afternoon cycling machines or weekend warriors.  I can't seem to fit in, or be able to commit to any of those with any kind of consistency.  

A good friend and exercise buddy and I have the hardest times getting our workouts to "gel".  There is always something prohibiting us from getting into any kind of routine together, even if for a once a week workout.   We don't quit trying though.  Our text messages go something like this: Her: "Cycle Monday?" Me:"I think so, let me check" Her, the night before class:"did you sign up?" Me:"oh, shoot I'll do it now, yes I can do it"  Her:"they just cancelled the class" Me:"UGH!"  or...Me: "run tomorrow?" Her"Yes, I'm in" Me at 4:45am:"Baby is sick, can't" Her:"That's ok, kiddo is sick here too." If this were two people trying to go on a date, it'd be doomed.  

So when unexpected "openings" in our schedules occur, we literally jump for joy.  President's Day was that kind of gift to us.  Gift to workout...at 5am? Ya, for real.  It's a gift.  Our cycle class cancelled and we scrambled to find an alternative because OH EM GEE, we don't have to worry about getting the kids off to school in the morning!  We can't be wasteful of that opportunity!  So, off to Rev class we went.  Perky front row, that's us! (well, not the perky part)  And what do you do at the end of a date that you just don't want to end?  You have a nightcap!  Right?  For us, that meant a 4 mile run immediately after a full body workout/high intensity spin class.  I'll call it a proactive training baby brick! (two back to back workouts swim/run swim/bike bike/run)   

Well whatever, you gotta get it in when you can.  So we pulled a double! And, we got to catch up too!  Win, win, win.  

On our run, we discussed the very nature of our schedules and how difficult 'fitting' a workout in can be.  I equate it as feeling like an old school switchboard operator.  I start the week with a list of workouts that HAVE to be done (you know, for that self imposed plan) and I slot them in to my calendar where I find a hole.  I may have to send hubby a text here and there to confirm kiddo coverage or get a feel that my absence would not be a nuisance or burden and also make weather adjustments but I start the week with a penciled plan.  Then, the inevitable switching occurs.

I had full on operator duties this week with hubby travelling.  This is what it (and I) looked like:

Me, every. single day.

Monday DAY 8 - as planned: 1000M swim

Monday switch - Oh hey, holiday!  Scrap swim & pull double duty w Rox (Rev & 4mi run), swim tomorrow.

Tuesday DAY 9 - as planned: 1 hour Bike Trainer

Tuesday switch 1 - Aha! Bike trainer day was checked off with spin yesterday so swim in the morning to cover Monday's workout.

Tuesday switch 2 - my alarm went off and hubby turned it off and did NOT wake me. Ah! Swim between soccer practice dropoff and baby pickup.

Tuesday switch 3 - I must be an adrenaline junkie. Soccer practice to gym, 20 min TRAFFIC heavy trip. Had exactly 30 minutes to get 1000M in (and change into dry clothes) before racing to daycare & soccer pickup. Ahh!  Only got 900M & was light headed & winded running to the car!

Wednesday DAY 10 - as planned: 4 mile run 

Wednesday switch 1 - Run was covered on Monday (yay!) -  Run anyway after baby dropoff or Hot Yoga at lunch

Wednesday switch 2 - no run, stay home and wait for appliance repair man - maybe Hot Yoga at lunch or strength training at house while waiting. 

Wednesday switch 3 - no lunchtime workout...late to work from 2 hour repair aaaand gotta leave work early to p/u son who's staying late at school for project.  Will be home early and weather is gorgeous, so maybe run Sunday's track workout?

Wednesday - sigh.  Rest day today. Traffic, tween discipline & study, grocery, dinner & toddler melt down...#hardlyrestful ;)

Thursday DAY 11 - as planned: Rest

Thursday - all caught up, no need to switch Rest day, hooray! but still need Hot Yoga that I missed yesterday, whole body feels tight.  Shooting for a lunchtime class. *Update - son forgot lunch and I have to leave early for soccer drop off. #yogamaynothappen **Update - his so called lunch was pathetic! Made him buy lunch, went to Yoga and it was A W E S O M E.  Sore all over and it feels so good...and tonight, he will pack a REAL lunch and get up on time to not forget it. ;)

Friday DAY 12 - as planned: 900M drill swim

Friday - half-ish day of work, ride outdoors (for Sat workout) after swim, rain in forecast, may have to get on trainer or join noon spin class

Friday switch - stalked weather all morning and decided to skip swim and go for the ride despite high gusting winds and dropping temps because the weekend rainy forecast looked less promising for a ride.  On my way out got an unexpected invite by hubby for a little date time. Cut my ride short but rode hard with a killer headwind. Not quite an hour but 12 hard miles rather than the prescribed easy hour. I'll take it. :)

Saturday DAY 13 - as planned: 1HR easy Bike

Saturday switch - rode yesterday - get a swim in after soccer. 

Saturday switch 2 - family day - no swim, gotta pull a double tomorrow. 

Sunday DAY 14 - as planned: Track Run 4x800 @5k pace, 400 recovery in between, 2mi at 10k pace (~5mi total)

Sunday switch - track run & 1000m swim I missed & foam roll all the sore muscles.

Yay! Rain threatened all weekend but even got a bike ride trip to the park with babies! Track workout was great but HOT! Sun blaring, balmy and humid...felt like summer! I changed and raced to the gym, my quads were toast and was plain tired but still wanted a good workout so I made my own:

Sure enough, I left the gym in flip flops, shorts and wet hair only to get hit with the windy cold front. Yay, Houston weather! Brrrr.  Did some foam rolling during Oscars. I wore my daughter's Sleeping Beauty tiara so I'd fit in. Ha! (Kidding, but I did wear it earlier in the day & forgot about it only to be reminded by a passing jogger while I was loading the kids into the bike trailer "nice tiara"...um. Heehee)

So...did you get all that?  I'm not sure if I did but I do know that somehow, it all got checked off.  It wasn't pretty but every workout is accounted for and this makes week 2 a success! Check, check and checkity check!  I'm wondering if the challenge of getting it all done is my driver. Something to ponder...also, just as a behind the curtain tidbit:  I wrote this post on Sunday night (2/15) and have edited the "switches" daily so it's ready to post on Monday (2/23).  There would be no other way for me to remember the details of this craziness! 

So tell me, do you follow a routine or are you more on the wing-it regimen like me?  What drives you to get 'er done?  Tell me in the comments below, I'd love to hear from ya!

Valerie

P.S - I think I hit most of my goals for the week I posted here.  I've got my HR zones ready for the next training run/ride that requires it, signed up for a small tri (and am contemplating a couple others), got all my workouts in plus yoga and a foam roll.  I am short a foam roll session but after this week, I plan on 10-15 minutes per night! 

Dabbling

You've got to start somewhere but if you're doing it unofficially, somewhere is everywhere. A training plan and coach would be the optimal thing but since I'm not committed, the expense for those is unwarranted.

I feel like I need to have a solid fitness base prior to pursuing these goals (officially) so I've gathered a few free plans that I've found on the interwebs and created my own. I know the gist of how many weekly hours I need to be logging and I also know that with a long term commitment, er...thought in mind, I have plenty of wiggle room. 

I started such a plan this week. I haven't really mentioned it at home other than to say "I need to get an hour and half on the bike today". No one has questioned the "need" part of the statement yet so I'm just rolling with it and assuming they think I'm just being neurotic about my workout plan. You know, me just being me. :)

As expected, there are a lot of events that occur in my day-to-day that make such a plan vulnerable to failure. Work commitments, hubby's business and schedule as well as the overall health in a family of 6. Odds are, someone is sick at some point that will trickle a domino effect. It can be a total nightmare but luckily we are healthy more often than and these things tend to be a rare occurrence (once a year, maybe two). Ofcourse, that would happen to have been the entire month of December, a week in January and another in February (yours truly). The rest of 2015 will hopefully be golden. 

In normal stubborn fashion, I had set out to start this plan last week because it was following back to to back weekends of travel week and birthday parties. The very week that also coincides with me coming off of a sinus infection & severe head and chest congestion.  Good a time as ever, right? After all, I nursed a stress fracture all through the holidays (8 weeks NO running!) and I missed participating in the Houston Half Marathon that I had been training for because of it. So, no sinus infection is going to stand in my way now (stubborn was the key word earlier...). 

So here's the round up of week 1 of ? of the made up, self imposed plan for the goal I've yet to commit to. Pretty solid dontcha think? Humor me.

Day 1 5 mile run (still coming back from injury so taking it way easy ie slowish, felt great despite being sick, until I stopped...hack attack)

Day 2 1000Mswim (50s 50k 50p x3) (100p 100k x2) 150s (easy drills, hard to breath w chest cong)

Day 3 1:15 16-17 miles trainer (struggled with getting sensors to work only to discover baby had pulled it off the bike! Half an hour into workout, paused for mommy duties and came back to the same struggle.  Little bugger snuck in there and pulled if off again!  Lost my distance data from the first session so started over.  Good climbs and sprints. Solid workout! (bonus:watched some TV too!)

Day 4 rest

Day 5 950M Swim - squeezed in a super quick workout between early Vday day date with hubby and getting babies from daycare...more drills, used fins this time too.  Breathing is tough still, so not trying to measure anything...though I did peek at my 50M times at about :45...I'll have something to compare when lungs are at 100%

Day 6 1:30 Bike 22 miles outdoors - testing my revived Garmin 305. (My frustration with said equipment peaked in late 2012 & I kicked it to the curb then. I've found a way to charge it & have it function for an entire workout successfully, mainly to save the expense of buying a new Bluetooth HRM or even a more expensive, up to date, gadgety GPS watch. Not quite prepared to commit to that, but want to train in HR Zones) It worked great but transferring data is still fidgety.  

Day 7 45 min track run (5 miles) - this was supposed to be a low HR Zone workout, 5 minutes at one zone, 1 min at at lower one for several repetitions.  It was a frustrating mess. Staying within "Zone 3" felt impossible...I kept thinking, why bother, this is like walking! I tried it for 4 reps and ditched the idea and just went full out Zone 5 all the way home.  Found out at home later, that the zones on the watch/app where preset rather than based on personal calculation.  Ahh! No wonder! Epic Fail, but I got the miles in.

Goals this up coming week:

- Figure out what MY heart rate zones are and set them.
- Follow & try to stick to the self imposed plan (6 workouts) with the added juggle of hubby going out of town for the week.
- Try to add a session of Hot Yoga & at least 2 foam roll sessions for achy muscles.  Everything is feeling a bit tight.
- Look at race schedule and choose a sprint to SIGN UP for.

I found this and thought how fitting it is that I am working my way up this sequence backwards. Plenty of action this past week!

4 weeks in and I lost my...

butt.

Yea, I said it.  Consistent & frequent cardio exercise has that effect on me.  Apparently.

I was going to post this at week 2 and 3 but never got around to it...there are just not enough hours in my days!  So...here we are at the middle of week 4 of T25 and I can confirm that yep, I lost my butt.

Remember all those pencil skirts and pants I had "goaled" to fit in? (I just made up a word, I think)  They all fit.  In fact, I tried one on earlier this week and it was big on me.  I totally missed the wearing period on that one because now it's been relegated to the back of the closet due to "saggy pants syndrome".  Usually a phrase I save for pants, this particular skirt falls in that category.  It is highly unattractive.

My birthday is next week and celebrations begin tonight (which I am sure will extend until next month).  My goal of being in the "best" shape of my life is meh, pretty close.  Although I am thrilled to fit in my clothes again (because it was getting to be slim pickins' in the closet), my intent was never to lose a bunch of weight and be "petite".  I only use that term because my husband called me that recently...it is not a word you would associate with someone 5'9". Rather, what I want to be is fit and strong, which to me defines "best shape".

When I first started writing this a couple of weeks ago, my thought was to cut back on T25 and not follow the program to the tee.  I had been running and upping my mileage along with my weekly aerial class and nightly yoga challenges in addition to T25 and I knew I needed to cut back.  Of course, I didn't.  But then I got busy and naturally, something had to give.  I initially cut back on the running because it was the hardest to squeeze in and quite frankly the weather sucked. Sub 40 temps are not a favorite for this South Florida girl so that was an easy call.  It's warmed up now and I still haven't been able to pick back up on the running. This is frustrating to me because I had really cut my pace down pretty quick to a place that made me giddy of where it could go.  Breaking the consistency really puts me at square one.  Boo.

I kept at T25 because really, it's TWENTY FIVE minutes people!  Before you can start complaining about it, you're half way done.  The amount of sweat produced in that short amount of time is really amazing.  I figured some workout is better than no workout but really my "lass" situation is still not being tended to (albeit it's a diminished area).

This week has been a total bust.  I admit that right now.  I've skipped 2 days of T25 (for shame!) and tonight, I doubt I will want to give it a go after a couple of  birthday cocktails.  Ditto for the yoga challenge...I went to bed so late and completely forgot! Boo to me!  I have lots of work to make up for this slacking over the weekend.  A bike ride, run, aerial class and definitely some standing on my head is in order!

Gotta go now, I have to take my diminishing bedunkadunk out of here...there's a cocktail with my name on it!

~V

New year, new you happy you.

It's that time again where we tear out the last page of the calendar and start anew. The gym gets crowded, the 20% off Elfa sale at the Container Store goes over like Black Friday, social media is all abuzz with motivational fresh start mantras regarding your mental, physical and emotional state and the ads to a "new, better you" pop up everywhere whether for weight loss, botox, tanning or laser hair removal.

It seems that everywhere you turn, someone it trying to help improve you and your life or lifestyle. How to organize your life, quit smoking, get a new job, get your finances in order...all the answers seem to be thrown at you at the beginning of the year. Do we really go into such disarray throughout the year that we need that much fixing?

And why do we feel the need to get it ALL fixed at once? It seems awfully overwhelming.

I am not one to ever set Resolutions because I know all too well what their success rates are. Rather, I set goals for myself for things (or just one thing) that I'd like to work on for ME. There is no magical thing that happens at 12:01 on 1/1 so I loosely start thinking about it in the first couple of weeks of the year. This year, I have suggested to my family that we should create a goal board with all of our goals, mainly family goals.

It initially sounded like a chore. And admittedly, when I have to come up with work goals, I moan and groan too. There never seems to be any fun in setting goals other than the fact that meeting them gets you paid a bigger bonus. Am I right?

So what's the incentive to doing this at home? Well, having your opinion on family decisions count for starters. Getting to look forward to doing things together and working together to do it is a pretty good reason too. The sense of accomplishment you get from achieving a goal is pretty sweet and doing so as a team should make it that much sweeter.

We haven't quite "set" our goals yet but things we've tossed around is deciding when and where we would travel to as well as the planning of said voyage. DIY house projects are also on the table for discussion. Laying tile, painting, landscaping or simply moving furniture around and refreshing a room with new plants, art and window coverings could be an option too. As "head" of the healthy committee in our house, I vote for picking a goal to keep us all active and eating better (and at home). Minimizing our restaurant visits by pre-planning meals is HUGE on my personal list but by incorporating everyone else in the "active" part, I think the whole family will become more aware of how important nutrition comes into play with staying fit. 

We have already dabbled in fitness challenges together so keeping with this and getting outdoors weekly *should* be totally doable. Right?! I have many more ideas (entertaining more, volunteering in service projects, races, etc) but I don't want to over commit the family and set them (us) up for failure. Ahem. So, family, let's keep our goals ATTAINABLE. Let's just plan on having something to show for 2014 as an accomplishment that made us ALL happy.

Looking back at 2013, those accomplishments were not in the form of house projects, weight and honestly, I couldn't remember what our nutritional intake was (other than it was not in our kitchen)-- although a little of all of that did occur too. I can, however, say that the memories of spending time together whether in a rented Suburban driving across the Southwest or more simply when attempting a yoga challenge and having the family join in like circus clowns, are priceless. Those make me smile and warm my heart. I look forward to a lot more of those in 2014. :)

 Happy New Year!

 ~V