Slush Day

Things still looked a little grim this morning -- and as I knew that 3 of my 5 co-workers would be "working from home", I decided to let my inner child have a snow day as well.

I did get a bunch of housekeeping sort of work done -- checked the descriptions of all of the Spring product -- but I also made it downstairs for a run.

Just 3.27 miles, but still, miles.... and I'm over 20 miles for the month. Yeah, I'm still going to be hard pressed to get 50 miles in this month. But I passed February and May 2011, and with my next run will pass  September and October -- leaving only June and the Alaska Marathon Cruise miles in July.

I did manage to leave the house -- IN A CAR -- for a while today; guess that means I'll be able to go to Body Revolution tomorrow. Yay!

Oh, and in one of my brief "creative" daydreams today, I put together a simple graphic for an upcoming event (which didn't have a graphic of its own...)

Snow Day

Well, it may have not been a "snowpocalypse", but it was a proper snowstorm. My office was officially shut, and Wil was working from home. Today I needed to get in a run, but this is what it looked like outside:

So I'm super happy to have this downstairs:

4.14 miles ... putting me over 17 miles so far in January. Again, not a huge success ... but almost as much as February 2011, only a couple of miles behind May 2011, and within a run's reach of September. 

Also, went to Body Revolution yesterday before work... wasn't sure it was a good idea to commute in the "snow" wearing shorts, but I did have warm clothes in the car. :) The workout seemed extra tough, for some reason. Felt really challenged to do the cardio segments. But I still feel sad that tomorrow's session has been cancelled. That said, not sure I could justify trekking to Fremont if I am deeply deeply hoping for another snow day tomorrow!

late inspiration

I blogged... I felt restless... I decided to go downstairs and make myself run for 15 minutes. This time, well, I wasn't quite so much of a hero. After a 5-minute warmup walk, I decided to crank it up a little and try to run for 10 minutes. Sure, that was okay, though I did start feeling a little queasy. So then I walked for a minute, and finished up with another 4 minutes of running.

So, okay, I didn't get 3.5 miles in.... but I did get in 2.01 miles, which is better than nothing. And then, maybe I can make myself run again tomorrow to get on a Monday - Wednesday - Friday kind of thing.

decent week... except for running....

So this week I went to Body Revolution with Dillon on Saturday, Tuesday, and Thursday -- and lived to tell the tale. Somehow, however, I never made the time to run. I think I have it in my mind that I run on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I can't get myself set to run on any other weekday. Weird.

I *would* have gone to Body Revolution this Saturday as well, except I had a really good excuse. The US Olympic Marathon Trials were held in Houston on Saturday, and Brooks had two athletes with a really great chance to make the women's team: Desi Davila and Amy Hastings. Unfortunately, NBC Universal decided not to air the race live... nor did they decide to stream it over the internet. So the only way to "watch" it was to follow updates on Twitter. Which, frankly, was unsatisfying.

That said, it was still exciting to "follow along" and cheer for Desi and Amy. In the end, Desi came in second, and Amy came in fourth, with Shalane and Kara coming in first and third, respectively. As soon as the race was over, I posted our "congratulations Desi" billboard on our site -- super exciting! The only hitch was that the promised blog post never came through -- not an hour after the end of the race, not a day after the end of the race. Oh well - the billboard was the key as far as we were concerned. Even if it meant I spent too much of the morning checking my work email to see if the blog had been posted. (Nope.)

I thought I would have time to go to Body Revolution -- but it didn't work out. And, I guess, neither did it.

So kinda mixed results this week. Good gym work, but no mileage. Weird.

so...tired....

Went to Body Revolution with Dillon this morning -- that woman sure makes me work hard! Small class this morning -- only four women -- which surprised me since it's JANUARY! But I think most people go in the evening or at weekends. I'm thrilled to be able to go in the morning.

Every workout with Dillon is an exercise in humility. Suddenly I have lost my balance and am unable to do lunges with dumbbells. Why is this? I don't know. Squats? Yeah, I'm not super good at those, either. And as for remembering what I'm supposed to do at each station? Well, let's just say I've gotten very good at just asking for a reminder.

Each class is different, but they all follow a similar structure. We warm up on the cardio machines for 5 minutes or so before class begins. (I tend to use the elliptical trainer, out of sheer habit, but have been known to jump on a treadmill or a bike.) Then we go in and warm up together -- squats, lunges, sometimes core work, sometimes shoulder work. Then we take a little water break while Dillon sets up the circuit.

We have between 6 and 9 stations going at once, and they range from "wall ball" (throwing a padded medicine ball at the wall and catching it) to squats to bench presses to triceps presses to jumping jacks to pushups... etc. etc. We complete one circuit, take a short break, and then dive back in for a second, and then a third round. Then sometimes we do some additional exercises as a group or in pairs, or sometimes we just stretch and cool down a bit.

There's always a point in round one when I regret being there. Then there's the point in round two when I think I won't make it. Then there's the point at the end of round two when I'm really, really relieved. And then I just sorta float through round 3, giving it my all. And sometimes there's a point where I feel woozy or queasy. But not every time.

Today was good -- I was neither woozy nor queasy. And I have that familiar "heaviness" that comes after a butt kicking. And a slightly achy back.

another little run

I've still got a banging headache... and Wil is still suffering from a cold, so we didn't make it out for our "long" run this morning. But after we ran our errands and settled in, I decided to try and run on the treadmill for just 15 minutes. If I made myself run for 15, I reasoned, I might run longer, or I might not... but at least I would get a tiny run in.

Of course, I walked for 5 to warm up, and then just started running 3:1s. And running. And running. Okay, it's not like I ran a long long way... but I did run 3.42 miles pretty easily, which brings me up to 10.95 miles, which is more than last August.

Tomorrow is a rest day. Which I'm really really looking forward to!

Body Revolution!!!

Went to my first Saturday BR class, which was pretty full (as expected). Kim taught the class, which means I'll be extra sore tomorrow ;)

Somehow managed to miss a run this week (boo), but I did make it to BR twice and I think I survived.

Wil, however, ran home from work twice because he's a superstar!!!

Tomorrow I plan on running at least to the lookout again. If I can walk after today, that is...

In other news, I finally signed Wil up for the Half Fanatics! Not sure if he'll have his shirt before the Tinker Bell Half, but maybe.

more running!

Wil is awesome. He ran home from work today, through the drizzle, dark, and construction detours. I think he's brave, but he just thinks it's normal. 

Meanwhile, when he arrived home, I was struggling to figure out just which model T5 treadmill is in our basement so I could do a bit of troubleshooting. Why wouldn't it turn on? I searched online for the manual, but couldn't find one for my particular LifeFitness treadmill. When Wil came home, triumphant, I was just starting to go through out giant file of manuals (man, we own a lot of stuff...) in the hopes of finding the treadmill manual. 

Wil, meanwhile, went downstairs and told me he "fixed" it. Sure enough, he had.... but sticking the magnetic "dead man's brake" back on to the console. Oops. Possibly the funniest thing was that as I kept staring at the console, wondering why it wouldn't start, I kept thinking that I had never noticed the yellow ring around the unmarked button. Which was, of course, the spot where the magnet attaches...

Anyway, Wil got in a good 5.5 miles, and I had a slow but steady 3.39 miles. January's total so far: 7.53 miles. More than January, March, and November, and .01 miles more than April. Now, I'm not saying that 7.53 is a good result, or anything like that, but I feel happy that at least I've gotten two runs in so far!

In other news, I went in for my "10 week fitness challenge" assessment this morning with Dillon at the Fitness Lab. Is there anything more awkward than having a small, fierce, fit woman take your measurements first thing in the morning? I stood there thinking that I bet I'm the chubbiest lady she works with. But at least she said, "Wow, you've got strong legs." So I've got that going for me. Dillon took lots and lots of measurements with a tape measure, scale w/body fat percentage thingy, and (everyone's favorite) -- calipers. And at the end she took a set of "before" pictures. I'm almost afraid to see them. But maybe one day I'll treasure them. Or something.

2012 -- off and running

Started off the new year right -- got up and (after some winging and waffling on my part...) went out for a run to the lookout. It was cold but sunny, and my chest hurt from the air. But we trotted along, slowly but for the most part surely. Wil essentially had to drag me up the last "big" hill. But a run is a run, right?

4.14 miles -- why, that's more than I ran in December! :)

Of course, then I came home and had a coughing and sneezing fit, which seems to have turned into a full-blown cold. Icky. But I've been drinking lots of water today and I'm hoping that this will pass relatively quickly.

yes, 26.2 miles is a long way, but....

Saw this article the other day -- can't believe the lengths people will go to to "win" a race. I'd rather come in last than be one of these folks... that said, no one is every going to believe that I won. :)

11 Ways to Cheat While Running a Marathon