While I say I am feeling jolly I am not necessarily referencing the holiday spirit as much as I am feeling quite round. So I think jolly fits in this situation. I have been busting my butt working out it and seems like nothing is working. But oh well it is the holidays right? Sure, that will be my excuse for this month! On to the things that are fighting this jolly feeling for me. Workouts!
This past weekend was a mile repeat weekend. I had been feeling like I was coming down with a cold, but I figured, what the hell, I will try it out. On Sunday I got up early and hit the gym (it was too cold to go outside), once on the treadmill I knew I wasn't feeling too hot but I figured I could get through 4 miles. After a 10 minute warm up, I set the pace to 7:19 and started my first mile. While not fun, I felt ok when I was done, ok enough to try again at least. I set it again at 7:19 and off I went. Now this one didn't feel too good. By the time I hit .85 miles I felt like I was going to just shoot off the back of the treadmill. I finished the mile and felt trashed. I took a few minutes to rest and started the 3rd mile. And then it all went to shit, I just couldn't do it. So I let the cold win this one and I gave up.
While I was a bit disappointed, I knew that if I pushed myself too hard I would feel even worse on Monday, so I gave up and went home to sit on the couch for the rest of the day.
Monday came and I had to teach and swim. I got it all done early in the morning so I could sit and relax the rest of the day. Then Monday night I went back to my hometown for dinner with 2 of my best friends. One person was missing from the usually outrageous foursome, but I will see her on Christmas Eve (you know who you are). We ate, had some wine and acted evil and it was just too much fun.
Tuesday, I had a recovery run and bike. As always the run was just annoying but at least it was short and I got through it. Today I plan on running some errands and then heading to the pool for a 45 min swim. Maybe if I am lucky this will help my jolly feeling a bit. But if not, really, who cares! I figure I got about 5 months until I need to start putting on a bathing suit, so I have time! Right? Riiiight.
Well that is it for now! Have a great week everyone!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
What day of Christmas is it Again?
Seriously, between work and working out, I have lost track of everything. Usually I can count on my advent calendar to keep me up to date, but I am way behind on that too. Who gets behind on eating chocolate!? This week has been one of those weeks where I think every day is Thursday. I think it is because I allowed myself to be my gym's bitch and I have been subbing spin classes left and right. I mean, I try not to, but then they wave some extra money in my face and I am sold! Whoring myself out to spin. Oh well, I guess it can't hurt right? But it does! My legs are super tired, and I want to sleep all....the....time.
But enough about my inability to say no. As for my regularly scheduled work outs. I had a pretty solid weekend. I got in a 2:45 Z1 ride and a 25 Z1 run on Saturday then a 1:30 ZR ride and 1:40 Z1 run on Sunday. And I must admit I felt fantastic during the run. I average 9:14 min miles and came 3 beats under my top HR. Which is a definite improvement from my usual average of 9:25 min miles. Then I taught a double on Monday, swam and lifted and taught again last night.
Today I have a 1:00 ZR ride and some lifting to get done. Since I am supposed to race this weekend, I have a light schedule this week. But the problem is, races around here during this time of year are scarce. I did find one 15k but it was closed. So it is either going to be a weekend of mile repeats or just the normal heavy bike on Saturday and heavy run on Sunday. I think I would rather the intervals and take a Saturday off to be honest.
I also need to start planning my race schedule for next year. For some reason my brain keeps thinking Ironman. But I just don't know if I have all that training in me. Or if Nick will want to be around me while I do it. I am going to sit on it a bit and think. Who knows, maybe next year is the year!
Annnnnd I am tired just thinking about it. Have a great Thursday everyone! :-)
But enough about my inability to say no. As for my regularly scheduled work outs. I had a pretty solid weekend. I got in a 2:45 Z1 ride and a 25 Z1 run on Saturday then a 1:30 ZR ride and 1:40 Z1 run on Sunday. And I must admit I felt fantastic during the run. I average 9:14 min miles and came 3 beats under my top HR. Which is a definite improvement from my usual average of 9:25 min miles. Then I taught a double on Monday, swam and lifted and taught again last night.
Today I have a 1:00 ZR ride and some lifting to get done. Since I am supposed to race this weekend, I have a light schedule this week. But the problem is, races around here during this time of year are scarce. I did find one 15k but it was closed. So it is either going to be a weekend of mile repeats or just the normal heavy bike on Saturday and heavy run on Sunday. I think I would rather the intervals and take a Saturday off to be honest.
I also need to start planning my race schedule for next year. For some reason my brain keeps thinking Ironman. But I just don't know if I have all that training in me. Or if Nick will want to be around me while I do it. I am going to sit on it a bit and think. Who knows, maybe next year is the year!
Annnnnd I am tired just thinking about it. Have a great Thursday everyone! :-)
Thursday, December 8, 2011
It's Opposite Week
Last week I couldn't get a full night's sleep if I tried and was working out like an animal and feeling no pain. This week is the exact opposite. Per the usual I didn't sleep on Sunday night, but that is nothing new. I was wide awake for my alarm and went on to teach and swim and lift. Then by Monday night I was done. I fell asleep before Nick even got home from work with my half eaten sushi (a serious addiction I need to deal with, but that's another post for another time) in front of me. He managed to get me off the couch and into bed and before I knew it, it was Tuesday.
This week I have been spending some time in the office, not my favorite thing, because my new office is about a mile on foot away from the train as opposed to the 3 blocks it used to be, but I am doing it anyway. So Tuesday and Wednesday I got up and got in my workouts in the morning and then went into the office only to come home completely exhausted to wake up on my couch at midnight realizing I fell asleep again after dinner.
Today I decided to not head into the office and work my event from home. Right after lunch I jumped on my trainer for my 50 min Z1 ride and I was dragging. My heart rate was through the roof and I was just plain tired. I have another one to try in a few minutes and to be honest, I am dreading it!
So what is the deal? Last week I was all pumped and this week I am deflated! Where is the happy medium? Maybe this time of year there is none? Who knows! I am hoping maybe next week I will go back to normal and even out a bit. Here's to hoping!
This week I have been spending some time in the office, not my favorite thing, because my new office is about a mile on foot away from the train as opposed to the 3 blocks it used to be, but I am doing it anyway. So Tuesday and Wednesday I got up and got in my workouts in the morning and then went into the office only to come home completely exhausted to wake up on my couch at midnight realizing I fell asleep again after dinner.
Today I decided to not head into the office and work my event from home. Right after lunch I jumped on my trainer for my 50 min Z1 ride and I was dragging. My heart rate was through the roof and I was just plain tired. I have another one to try in a few minutes and to be honest, I am dreading it!
So what is the deal? Last week I was all pumped and this week I am deflated! Where is the happy medium? Maybe this time of year there is none? Who knows! I am hoping maybe next week I will go back to normal and even out a bit. Here's to hoping!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Tis the Season...
Not much to report other than very sore legs after a long week of workouts. Today I have a 2 hour Z1 ride and a 25 min run. I also wanted to try to get to the gym for a quick swim and steam to try to loosen up my muscles a bit. Let's see if that actually happens.
Today we are heading out to cut down a Christmas tree for the first time. I personally feel like I might like going to the normal lot we go to and then heading to the diner for a tuna melt instead, but they would most likely not be as fun. Satisfying, but not fun. Since I have nothing else to report other than limbs that don't want to bend and it is the holiday season I leave you with a holiday greeting from Hailey:
Have a great weekend!
Today we are heading out to cut down a Christmas tree for the first time. I personally feel like I might like going to the normal lot we go to and then heading to the diner for a tuna melt instead, but they would most likely not be as fun. Satisfying, but not fun. Since I have nothing else to report other than limbs that don't want to bend and it is the holiday season I leave you with a holiday greeting from Hailey:
Have a great weekend!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Excuses...Stop the Madness!
Man, I have heard a enough of these to last me a lifetime. From work, to friendships, family, workouts, fitness, I mean the list could go on and on. I have made them, we all have made them, but lately they are just grating on my nerves. Does anyone else ever feel this way?
I saw this quote yesterday in the midst of fielding everyone's half-assed excuses and I couldn't help but fall in love with it:
"Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure."
Amen to that! I mean it is so true. Why make an excuse, just tell the truth. We all have the urge to make an excuse but it is so much better for your mind to just say that you didn't do something because you didn't feel like it. I skip workouts for that exact reason all the time. If I start a long run and I am draggin ass for the first mile or two, I stop and go home. I know it won't be a good run and I will regret trying to complete it. I don't say, oh my head hurts and I have so much work to do, so I should go home. Because truth be told, even if that was the case, I would run. I won't run when I don't want to.
And making these excuses then makes it even easier to excuse you way out of the next thing. It is like you convince yourself that as long as you make an excuse for something the decision is justifiable.
Now I am sure you are wondering why I am up on my high horse about this. Well I am dealing with a particular situation in my life where one person is constantly giving me excuses for not doing things, mostly dealing with fitness, but other things as well. To be honest, just don't make the plans with me, so you don't have to bother thinking up lame excuses when you don't come through. It seems like a lot of wasted energy to me. And I know the excuses aren't real and that is the worst part.
As a person I am pretty determined. When I put my mind to something I do it, no excuses. I work hard and but I also love to play hard, but if I play hard, I know that the next day I have to deal with the consequences and complete all my tasks, no excuses. So having listened to these particular excuses for so long puts me, well at wits end.
Breathe......ok I am done! Ha, I hope this person doesn't read my blog, I don't think they do.....or maybe I want them to, and get the hint. (ooofa I am bad!) Now I am going to have a vodka soda and think about my workout schedule for tomorrow and remind myself a vodka drink, while delish, is not an excuse tomorrow. Bottoms up!
I saw this quote yesterday in the midst of fielding everyone's half-assed excuses and I couldn't help but fall in love with it:
"Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure."
Amen to that! I mean it is so true. Why make an excuse, just tell the truth. We all have the urge to make an excuse but it is so much better for your mind to just say that you didn't do something because you didn't feel like it. I skip workouts for that exact reason all the time. If I start a long run and I am draggin ass for the first mile or two, I stop and go home. I know it won't be a good run and I will regret trying to complete it. I don't say, oh my head hurts and I have so much work to do, so I should go home. Because truth be told, even if that was the case, I would run. I won't run when I don't want to.
And making these excuses then makes it even easier to excuse you way out of the next thing. It is like you convince yourself that as long as you make an excuse for something the decision is justifiable.
Now I am sure you are wondering why I am up on my high horse about this. Well I am dealing with a particular situation in my life where one person is constantly giving me excuses for not doing things, mostly dealing with fitness, but other things as well. To be honest, just don't make the plans with me, so you don't have to bother thinking up lame excuses when you don't come through. It seems like a lot of wasted energy to me. And I know the excuses aren't real and that is the worst part.
As a person I am pretty determined. When I put my mind to something I do it, no excuses. I work hard and but I also love to play hard, but if I play hard, I know that the next day I have to deal with the consequences and complete all my tasks, no excuses. So having listened to these particular excuses for so long puts me, well at wits end.
Breathe......ok I am done! Ha, I hope this person doesn't read my blog, I don't think they do.....or maybe I want them to, and get the hint. (ooofa I am bad!) Now I am going to have a vodka soda and think about my workout schedule for tomorrow and remind myself a vodka drink, while delish, is not an excuse tomorrow. Bottoms up!
No...Sleep....Til......
UGH, who knows! I haven't been sleeping well since Sunday night and it is starting to get to me! This morning Nick got out of bed, walked the dog, showered and I was sleeping so heavily I didn't hear a thing until he said goodbye. Which sadly was my cue to get up and get on my bike. That was after 1 hour of sleep. I have no idea why I am not sleeping but it has to end soon. I am hoping tonight after I teach I just crash.
Well after I managed to peel myself out of bed, I made some coffee and whipped up some blueberry muffins for breakfast. I am in search of a good low fat, high fiber muffin recipes if anyone has any and would like to point me in the right direction to grab the recipe. I used to use Fiber One muffin mix but I can't seem to find it anywhere. So today I settled on blueberry muffins, made some coffee while the baked then ate one fresh out of the oven. Then it was on the bike for 1:40 Zone 1 ride. I actually felt pretty good and it seemed to go fast so I was happy with the whole thing.
The ride was my only planned workout for today so I did some laundry and sat on the couch and banged out some work for the next 8 hours. Now I am sitting waiting for the clock to reach 6:45 so I can head out teach my class and hopefully get some rest tonight.
Tomorrow I have an early swim so I need to get some sleep. Although I guess if I am feeling it I can just float on my back and nap for my allotted swim time tomorrow. I mean at least I will be in the pool. That counts right? I think I may try and get off the comp now and try to take a nap. I have an hour to kill and sleeping may the best use for it.
Well after I managed to peel myself out of bed, I made some coffee and whipped up some blueberry muffins for breakfast. I am in search of a good low fat, high fiber muffin recipes if anyone has any and would like to point me in the right direction to grab the recipe. I used to use Fiber One muffin mix but I can't seem to find it anywhere. So today I settled on blueberry muffins, made some coffee while the baked then ate one fresh out of the oven. Then it was on the bike for 1:40 Zone 1 ride. I actually felt pretty good and it seemed to go fast so I was happy with the whole thing.
The ride was my only planned workout for today so I did some laundry and sat on the couch and banged out some work for the next 8 hours. Now I am sitting waiting for the clock to reach 6:45 so I can head out teach my class and hopefully get some rest tonight.
Tomorrow I have an early swim so I need to get some sleep. Although I guess if I am feeling it I can just float on my back and nap for my allotted swim time tomorrow. I mean at least I will be in the pool. That counts right? I think I may try and get off the comp now and try to take a nap. I have an hour to kill and sleeping may the best use for it.
Monday, November 28, 2011
What's is my social responsibility here?
After a fun and exciting Sunday of steaming our carpets and buying groceries for the week, we hit the hay nice and early and much like every other Sunday, insomnia crept in and slept about 2 hours. Ah, it was worth a try! When the alarm went off at 5:20 I had been wide awake since 4am, so it made it quite easy to get out of bed and get ready to teach. I got to class and was pleasantly surprised to be greeted with a full, all girls class. It is seldom that it happens but when it does, it seems I can push them all a bit harder than I would the guys and really give them a good Monday morning workout.
After class, I headed out to do my sit ups, which I am not sure if I mentioned I have challenged myself to do 3 sets of 60 sit ups a day, with a plank in between each set for the next 2 months, to see A., if i can do it and B., what I will look like when I am done. So I hit the mat for sit ups and then into the pool for the following set:
Warmup:
6 X (50 fist, 50 free)
Main Set:
6 X 100 aerobic paddles (no buoy8 X 25 all out -- no kick, no buoy -- rest is half of repeat time
Cooldown:
200 free at Z1 pace
After the pool, I had had enough so I stretched and headed home.
So now I am sure you are wondering how any of this has to do with my blog title for today. Well, a lot. Now I know anyone who sees me on any given day in the gym, or during my multiple trips to the gym is probably wondering what the hell is wrong with me and thinking I work out too much. Those who know me, know I am constantly training, those who don't would have no clue what my agenda is and could even think maybe something was up with me.
Well at my gym there is a girl who is there 1 hour prior to class on the elliptical, then takes my 45 min class and then hits the treadmill for another hour or so. Now, I have talked to her and she is not training, she is just "working out". This would not be a cause for worry for me except that she weighs about 98 pounds. And having dealt with an eating disorder personally, this is concerning to me. I would say that her arms have the diameter of a clementine orange in some spots and her legs are the same. With all this being said, it makes me wonder, as a business, that works to help people maintain a "healthy" frame of mind, is there a sense of responsibility there? Can anyone even say anything in this situation?
To be completely honest I have no idea what the answer is, but since I met this girl about a year ago, I have watched the situation and thought something is wrong here. I worry that one morning she will pass out during my class or hurt herself because she looks so tired. But what can I do? I do not believe much in this situation, which is kind of sad.
A little deep for a Monday post? Maybe. But this morning in particular I couldn't stop thinking about it. One can only hope someone will step up and help her out.
After class, I headed out to do my sit ups, which I am not sure if I mentioned I have challenged myself to do 3 sets of 60 sit ups a day, with a plank in between each set for the next 2 months, to see A., if i can do it and B., what I will look like when I am done. So I hit the mat for sit ups and then into the pool for the following set:
Warmup:
6 X (50 fist, 50 free)
Main Set:
6 X 100 aerobic paddles (no buoy8 X 25 all out -- no kick, no buoy -- rest is half of repeat time
Cooldown:
200 free at Z1 pace
After the pool, I had had enough so I stretched and headed home.
So now I am sure you are wondering how any of this has to do with my blog title for today. Well, a lot. Now I know anyone who sees me on any given day in the gym, or during my multiple trips to the gym is probably wondering what the hell is wrong with me and thinking I work out too much. Those who know me, know I am constantly training, those who don't would have no clue what my agenda is and could even think maybe something was up with me.
Well at my gym there is a girl who is there 1 hour prior to class on the elliptical, then takes my 45 min class and then hits the treadmill for another hour or so. Now, I have talked to her and she is not training, she is just "working out". This would not be a cause for worry for me except that she weighs about 98 pounds. And having dealt with an eating disorder personally, this is concerning to me. I would say that her arms have the diameter of a clementine orange in some spots and her legs are the same. With all this being said, it makes me wonder, as a business, that works to help people maintain a "healthy" frame of mind, is there a sense of responsibility there? Can anyone even say anything in this situation?
To be completely honest I have no idea what the answer is, but since I met this girl about a year ago, I have watched the situation and thought something is wrong here. I worry that one morning she will pass out during my class or hurt herself because she looks so tired. But what can I do? I do not believe much in this situation, which is kind of sad.
A little deep for a Monday post? Maybe. But this morning in particular I couldn't stop thinking about it. One can only hope someone will step up and help her out.
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