Fitness Goals.

On Monday I posted about my status on my yearly goals and that got me thinking that I need to think about my fitness goals now that my main goal from the first half of this year is over!

There is no denying marathon training gets you in relatively good cardio shape but to be honest, the rest of my fitness is completely gone right now.  I used to feel a lot little bit more toned/fit better in my clothes than I do now and I also used to not have so many aches and pains in my legs so I know the two main points of my current fitness goals are going to be:

1. easy on the legs
2. get toned

I also have a half marathon in September that I am planning to do a little bit of training for so I need to fit this in somehow.  I was initially thinking of targeting sub-2 at the September half but I think my body needs a little more recovery time right now so it’s probably going to turn into another half for “fun”  There is always next year and the year after than to target sub-2!

Adding all those things together and I am thinking I will take another 2-3 weeks completely off running and with minimal impact for the cardio I do attempt and then slowly start adding in a few shorter runs a week for another 1-2 weeks and then add in an abbreviated version of some sort of half marathon training plan in the weeks leading up to the Fox Cities race in September.  Hopefully I can at least cross the finish line in September  Even if I have to power walk the whole thing!

For cross training, I am planning to rediscover my kickboxing DVDs and also do a small amount of Insanity.  Insanity is an awesome workout but I am pretty sure it is far from low-impact so that is the reason I am planning to just do a little.  One a week, max.

Weight training will also be a much larger focus of the weeks to come.  I need to lift some serious weights… I can feel how much weaker I have gotten in the last 2 months or so I cut down on this.  I am not sure if I will keep up with the gym and Body Pump classes but I will be sure to lift 3+ days per week, focus at least 2 days a week on some serious core strengthening and try to really focus on my upper body strength as well.

I am planning my weekly routine to look like this for the next few weeks:

Sunday: Insanity or Tae Bo DVD + core
Monday: Walk + Tae Bo
Tuesday:  Body Pump or Weights
Wednesday: Insanity or Tae Bo
Thursday: Body Pump or Weights + core
Friday: Rest/Short Walk
Saturday: Long Walk + weights

I’m sure each week I will make certain little changes to this but I work best if I have some sort of plan to focus on.  Hopefully if I can follow this plan and actually make some fitness progress, I will be in a better, stronger state to run my September and October half marathons.  Then marathon training starts again…. eek!  Hence the extreme importance on recovering fully right now!!  I have an angryish IT Band and a whole left leg that is not too happy with me…

PS, a monthly goal I have is to get in 10,000 steps a day… Sister and I have a bit of a competition going on this one  We both started off the month by hitting that number and then some on days 1&2 of July!  Whoop!

What do you do to recover but also not completely stop exercising?  I know swimming is a good option but I am such a horrible swimmer it’s kind of embarrassing…

Bananas. (aka Insanity. Week 6.)

Yup.  This second round of four weeks of Insanity is going to be just that, Insane!  I know I was in shock a bit last week but this week reality has set in… Possibly because last week, I spent a good 20 seconds of every 45 second interval with my mouth gaping open thinking “there is no way I can actually do that?!?!”  This week I am trying a lot harder to actually keep up and take less breaks, unless I really need one but therefore also sweating like a pig and feeling more like I am near death – haha!

One thing that Insanity is helping me realize is that I am a lot stronger than I think I am.  I always look at the people on the DVD doing the moves for the first time and think to myself there really is no way I could actually do those moves and then I suck it up and give it a try and sure enough!  I can do at least some version of all of the moves!  Sure I sometimes drop to my knees for most some of the pushups but I at least do them!  And I try the diamond jumps and “Power Pushups”!

My new motto

On the topic of pushups, in the DVD I did tonight, there is one interval that includes pushups.  16x2x3 pushups to be exact… plus 16x2x3 pushup runs!  My goal is to sometimes be able to do these all on my feet!  Maybe another goal to add to my 2012 calendar?? Haha – probably not but I know I could keep up a bit better than I could last week and that is what is really important.  Progress is more important than perfection!

Sister and I have also been participating in a December challenge involving pushups.  Every day we are doing 50 pushups.  One would think that each day this would get easier but for some reason it seems to be getting harder…even with the promise of our advent chocolates waiting upstairs…

Mmmm.... I'll do an awful lot for chocolate... especially Chocolate Clif shots...

Well, now it is time to get back to my Christmas Movie marathon!  Getting kind of worried that we are going to run out of movies soon… although it’s appearing Snowglobe is going to be a real Academy Award Winner  I <3 cheesy spectacular Holiday movies!!

 

Day Two: Aloha

This morning started bright and early at 6am :S  I actually thought I was going to wake up much earlier but I think yesterday’s Travelathon must have really worn me out… After waking up and having some coffee and water, I did what else, but my favorite Insanity   I know, this is vacation but to be honest, I would not be a pleasant person if I didn’t get a chance to exercise in the mornings… I am not the most pleasant person even after that but I’m much better once I get my sweat on (and a Margarita drank )  After almost dying doing Insanity (because it is so freakin HOT here), I had some delicious breakfast – Strawberry Chobani, ½ a banana, granola and half of a Mango Mac Nut Muffin from Sweet Marie’s.  Probably not the most nutritious breakfast but oh well…

After breakfast, it was time for some sitting in the sun and cocktail sipping.  It was such a pretty day here in paradise.  We sat on our lanai for a bit, got attacked by at least 4 chickens (not joking) and then finally decided to move closer to the pool and actually sit on some lounge chairs.

s-c-a-r-y

The sun was starting to get hot and we were starting to get hungry for lunch so we ventured into town to find something.  We ended up stopping at Mariachi’s Mexican Grill and that ended up being a very delicious decision!  I had a taco salad with Verde sauced pork, beans and guacamole.  It was very delicious.  A few margaritas may have also been consumed.

Once we were finished with lunch, we headed to have some serious beach time.  But first, we stopped at Spouting Horn to take a look at that.  It was actually kind of anticlimactic.  You couldn’t get that close to it and it was not spouting very high this afternoon but we did catch a couple good pictures.

Then it was time for the beach – Poipu Beach to be exact!  This was a pretty nice beach, not the best because the sand was kind of crunchy but it was a beach none the less!

We did a little sun soaking, a little snorkeling and then were tired out so we headed to do a little shopping.  We stopped at a Wine store and got some Macadamia Nut wine and then headed to find Papaya’s Natural Food Store.  This would be my favorite store ever if I lived here!!!

Dinner tonight was made in our condo and was Steak, Yams, and Kale Chips.  I was planning to serve a side salad but apparently they do not have much for lettuce here in Hawaii??  $6 for a gross looking bag… so kale it is!  Dinner turned out pretty good and was a bit cheaper than going out to eat and hopefully a wee bit healthier – although it was concluded with half of a Sweet Marie’s Double Mocha Chip Cookie.  Tasted like a flat brownie – so good!

A bit of hot tub sitting was done and then since the time change is finally starting to get to me, I am feeling like it really is 1am CST instead of 9pm local time… so time for bed!  Tomorrow if our big 10K at the Sugar Mill!

Insanity. Week 4.

Is is really the start of week four already?!?!  Man, time is really flying!  And only two more days and I will be on my way to vacation – Insane!!

So anyways, this week of Insanity went really well!  I actually am starting to feel like I can do the moves more correctly and keep up with the people in the video for the first two out of three rounds that are in each of the videosDVDs (videos? what is this 1998?)!!  So even though I have been too lazy to actually do the fit tests that would give me a true indicator of how I am doing, I am just going to say things are going better and better each week!  This morning I did the Power Circuit DVD and realized how much I like this one!  For some reason, I had been thinking this one was not my favorite, probably because it was the hardest, but this morning I found a new appreciation for it!  I was a sweaty beast by the end – per usual Insanity Form!  I really think this is something that I am getting quite addicted too!!  I don’t think I will ever find another exercise that gets me quite as sweaty as this!

As for actual changes on my body, I’m still not really noticing anything substantial. I sometimes think my arms and shoulders look more toned but then again, I seem to be very good at making things up in my mind so I wouldn’t trust me if I was you… I also have been slacking in the weekly check ins for weight, measurements and photos.  (Pretty much a failure at life in this post!)

To keep better track of things for myself, I am going to start posting what workouts I have been keeping busy with.  This past week my workouts looked like this:

• Monday: Insanity: Cardio Power and Resistance
• Tuesday: Body Pump
• Wednesday: Insanity Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs
• Thursday: Body Pump and CX30 (maybe??  Still not sure wth this class was…)
• Friday: Insanity: Plyometric Cardio Circuit
• Saturday: 5 Mile Run
• Sunday: 5 mile walk, Insanity: Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs

That last week was kind of sad in the running and resting department… I feel the vacation itch to workout now so I don’t have to on vacation  Knowing me, I will still WANT to but that’s fine with me!  And I am planning to have a few rest days then so that will make up for this past week’s really bad balance of work to recovery…oops!  I also may have skipped the Insanity: Rest and Recover DVD because I really don’t like it :S  LOL!!  And also the Fit Tests… maybe I should consider actually doing one of these once?  Yeah, probably not

Sorry for that kind of boring post but maybe tomorrow night I will have something a bit more interesting to share?  Ya never know!  Sister is currently baking up some Pumpkin Muffins that I am quite excited for so look on her blog for the recipe in the coming weeks I am sure!!

Also, is it just me or is this time change kind of annoying?!?  It feels so much later than it actually is, all the time!  Which includes work…like these days need to go slower?!

 

Mileage Decrease.

So you may recall, last week I ran a half marathon in Middleton, WI and in about 61 days, I am planning to run another half marathon… this one will be in Disney World! I cannot even tell you how excited I am for this half marathon!  However, somehow I managed to talk Sister into running this one with me!  I still don’t think she knows what came over her… We were kind of back and forth about want to run together and wanting to do our own personal best but after last weekend, we both decided that it sounds like a better idea to be able to run Disney together and be able to stop and take quick pictures of each other, chat about the race, etc.  Although I think it would be quite the experience regardless of how we decided to run it, I think this scenario will allow us to enjoy it more.  And the thought of crossing that finish line with my Sister next to me makes me REALLY happy.  I just know I am going to be so proud of her

I am kind of jealous of how awesome Sister’s training plan is, she has such a cute little chart and had mileage set for her each week!  Part of me want to have something similar but part of me thinks I don’t necessarily want to do that much running during the week since I am currently more focused on Insanity.  So l don’t plan to really put a formal training plan in place because most of those plans call for 12+ weeks of training and take into account a running base that just finished a half marathon about 2 months prior.  While I know if I was going into this thing with speed and a PR in mind, I would want to do some serious speedwork training and log lots of additional miles but since I have decided to run with Sister, that pressure is off so I am thinking I will probably be safe with logging a few miles during the week and than adding a progressively longer run each Saturday or Sunday.  This theory/plan left be with a five mile run this weekend which ended up working out well because I had schedules a haircut about 40 minutes away and wanted to get my run done before this.

To fit everything in this morning, I had to leave around 6:30 which sadly meant leaving before it was light outside!  Fall back, it really is time you show up… But leaving at this time allowed me to return while seeing the sunrise so that is always a good way to start your day!!  I also decided not to try to eat anything before leaving but ended up regretting that at about mile 4… growley tummy

It was rather cool this morning…36 degrees outside (and I still have not turned the darn heat on… sorry Sister!! might be turning it on today though) so I feel like I kept my pace rather brisk to stay warm  But I did manage to forget any Kleenex so my eyes and nose were a pretty sight upon my return – lol!!  I ended up finishing my 5 miles in about 46 minutes so a 9:19 pace so pretty darn good for me!

Hopefully all my training runs for the Disney run go this well but let’s be honest here… they are not going to  And even though I have my fair share of race medals, I think once January gets here, this particular one is always going to have a fond spot in my memory as the first time my sister and I ran a half marathon together and our first times running in Walt Disney World.  Hopefully I can still keep up to Sister at that point  So here goes nothing!  Disney, we shall be seeing you in about 8 weeks!

Insanity. Week 3.

So another week has passed with the insanity that is Insanity.  You might recall last week I was just starting to get a hang of this thing and starting to feel like I maybe could kinda keep up with the people in the video…Well, another week has passed and I still feel like a hopeless loser – lol!!  I still just can’t keep up with those crazy people!  I do feel like I am not getting lost as much and can at least do all the moves now though so I am seeing some progress!  And still absolutely loving the DVDs!  I honestly cannot believe how fast 40 minutes of exercise goes with these DVDs. And I really do look forward these workouts every day!

Since my half marathon was on Saturday, I could not do a DVD Thursday-Saturday and then we only did the “Rest and Recovery” DVD yesterday so I was seriously missing the sweat fest!!  And I think my body was kind of missing it too… But today I am back in the groove and hoping to get in 5 or so days of Insanity this week!  I actually also really think part of my success on Saturday was due in part to these Insanity DVDs.  I think the cardio training and even leg strengthening parts of the DVDs helped me to power along and keep an awesome pace and fresh legged feeling while running as a witch  I guess time will tell if this is true.  I have not been running much the last few weeks because of these DVDs so it’s hard to really say for certain.  I am excited to see where this can lead me in my running “career”!

Hopefully someday I will be crossing this start line?

In other news, you might have noticed I changed things around a bit on the blog… do you like it?  I wanted something that was not as congested looking and I think this might be a bit better.  I wish I could do a bit more customization but that will be saved for another day!!

Also, in our post race exhilaration Saturday, we signed up for ANOTHER run… a Turkey Trot!  I am very excited for this distance.  It is a 5 miler so I think it will be a good test of what kinds of speed I can push for!  I also will hopefully be able to keep up a bit of speed work running during the weeks leading up to this race.

And finally, because it is Halloween after all and this post has already been a big chunk of random  Here is a picture of my little Tricker

I know, I am mean. And he hates me for this... But it's so darn cute!

Happy Halloween!  Did you dress up?