Sep 27, 2011

Thursday Workout

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Dana was kind enough to get my butt moving on Thursday morning since we knew we wouldn’t be doing much over the weekend! So we headed to the gym and I was so happy to get on an arc trainer which I had not been on since college!

So we did quite a bit

  • 20 min. arc trainer
  • Abs
  • Burpees
  • Jump Squats
  • Jump Lunges
  • Bicep Curls
  • Dips

Then I got to tan for 10 minutes! Gave me a little bit of color before the wedding!

After the workout we headed home and I enjoyed some of Dana’s homemade soup. It was delicious! She put in all types of veggies, one small potato, and just a low sodium chicken broth for a base. VERY GOOD!

It was nice to get in a good workout before the fun started!!

For dinner, Tim and I went with Casey and her parent’s to Casey’s favorite mexican restaurant!

I got the perch fish tacos and they were delicious!! Such a great time.

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Jul 18, 2011

Monday Bashing Ends Here

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Yes, it is that time again… Monday! The day that everyone dreads because the work week starts and the weekend ends. But I always try to think of it like this… let’s say I got every Monday off and I didn’t start work till Tuesday. Well, then I would just hate Tuesdays. So I think that means it is the whole idea of having to go to work that we all dread and not so much the actual Monday part so with that being said let’s all take a vow now to not trash Monday’s. Hence the title… Monday Bashing Ends Here.

So I feel like I had an interesting thing happen to me- a revelation if you well to check it out read about it click here. Today was a new week which means a slightly different interval to keep things interesting.

Warm Up 5 min
Run 6 min
Walk 1:50 min

I mean I know it doesn’t sound like much of an improvement but let me assure you it made things tougher. Plus, I am not here to impress and my goal at the end of all of this is to enjoy running and to use it as something I do because I want to do it not because I have to do it. If I would have set that interval timer for 25 min of straight running today I would have been dreading it the entire time and that’s not what I am about. So, yea that was my interval and there was my reasoning for it. This morning was another great morning because (drum roll please) TIM WENT WITH ME AGAIN! I mean it is just fantastic that he is willing to get up at 5:30AM to spend some time with me and get some exercise. I should do something nice for him to tell him how much I appreciate it. Any ideas?

During today’s run we took a small detour to give us the extra 3 min or so that we needed with the added interval time. Tim mapped it out later and said we are going a smidge over 2 miles which I thought was pretty good considering a 5 min warm up with a total less than 30 min. I had some trouble getting going during the first 6min probably because I ate so much over the weekend and just didn’t take care of my body like I should have. The 2nd and 3rd set was much easier and I found that I was actually ENJOYING myself. Yep- you read that right, I am starting to enjoy running. Either that or I just like the fresh air and the time I get to spend with Tim in the morning. It really does amaze me at how much your body can change over a very small amount of time. So it has only been one week since I really made this commitment and it is either in my head that I am starting to look and feel healthier or it is actually happening and well regardless of which one it is- it’s a good thing.

Things Tim and I pondered on our run today…

- What to do to celebrate Rose and Adam’s 1 year wedding anniversary while they are here with us this weekend?

- What to get Mark for his birthday this weekend?

- When should we schedule a dinner with his grandparents?

- Plus a lot of laughing about random things going on in our lives

So the run ended, we stretched for a bit and then headed our separate ways to work. Which just stinks when you realize how much time you spend at work vs. how much time you spend at home enjoying yourself! Work went well today and I was able to have lunch with a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. We chatted about life and work and just caught up about everything. The older and busier I get the more emphasis I try to put on my friends and family and really make an effort to show them and tell them how much I care and appreciate them. What is really nice is when you work with friends and people you are about- that way you can combine what would usually be a typical lunch hour into something great and meaningful. I ended up eating a “make your own pizza” for lunch which I put olive oil and salt and pepper for my base and added grilled chicken, tomatoes, mushrooms, a bit of mozzarella cheese, and some buffalo hot sauce to. Here is where I just gotta be honest with all of you… I also splurged and got a buckeye (peanut butter and chocolate ball for those of you that are not familiar with our Ohio desserts) and it was sooo good! I figure I know I have been working hard and I don’t need to deprive myself of the goodies I want to eat so I had one and I didn’t regret it for even one second. Although- I was ready to go to Rowing class after that!

The work day ended and I headed off to my parent’s house for Monday night rowing/CrossFit class (I was nice enough to stop and put gas in Tim’s car first J) and made it there in enough time to chat with my dad before the other ladies showed up. To my very pleasant surprise Abby was there for class! Abby was my very first best friend in the world. I met her in 1st grade when we moved into our new house. Most of the kids had gone to Kindergarten together and already knew each other so I was a little intimated but lucky for me I met Abby! Abby was so kind and so sweet and I still love and appreciate her to this day for that. What is really great is that when Abby and I became close our mom’s did too. Her mom started and still come to my mom for workout class so it’s great to still be so close to a family we have known for such a long time. In any case, Abby was my partner tonight so besides working hard and sweating uncontrollable we just laughed and had a great time! Rowing class was lot of heavy lifting tonight (gotta get those nice guns for my wedding right?)

- 10 min warm-up on the rower

- Kettle bell Swings

- This plank thing on the Pilates machine

- Air squats and squats with the Olympic bar

- Thrusters w/ the Olympic Bar

- Lunges w/out ever standing up

- Then we finished it up with a 500 meter race which Abby won. Darn you Abby I like to be the winner.. UGH

I came home to wonderful Tim who made us some tacos for dinner while I showered off my stinky from workout class. We enjoyed dinner together and rather than taking in all those extras carbs with the taco shells I did a taco salad with romaine lettuce, tomatoes, taco meat, peppers, onions, cilantro (omg I wish I could eat this on everything), salsa, and a dollop of sour cream! Delicious… want me to prove it… look below!

You're Jealous Aren't You??

Then we really ended the night with a bang with these amazing sorbet things. I mean I was pretty pumped when Tim said he picked them up at BJ’s but then I was even more excited when he handed it to me! I chose the orange flavor and was totally SURPRISED when it came out and was actually in an orange! I mean check those things out below… they are amazing. Tim’s mango tasted so good and was even cooler looking than my orange. Ugh- maybe I’ll try to the mango tomorrow then! Although… the coconut looks really great so maybe I’ll go that route instead. So many choices!

Our cute little pair of sorbets

This is a big box of wonderfulness

Check back soon to find out what I chose!

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Jul 11, 2011

Day 1

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Boring title I know but it is probably the best way to sum up the run today! So I started off my first day of commitment, well committed. My alarm went off at 5:30am and up I went into the bathroom… quick brush of the teeth, water on my face, shorts on, t-shirt up over the head and there I was standing in the bathroom ready to run.

Before I could let my shoes hit the pavement I popped a quick piece of bread in the toaster and got a spoonful of Peanut Butter. My I-POD had been in the car and was most likely dead so I stole Tim’s out of his car so I had some musical inspiration while I ran! I also downloaded this app on my phone that is just a simple interval timer so that it was easier for me to keep track of my time. I decided to start interval training first because I don’t want to kill myself before I really even start!

My interval for the week looks like this:

Warm-Up 2 min
Run 5 min
Walk 2 min
Cool-Down 2 min

So I am doing 3 rounds of the running, walking which gives me a solid 25 min run (plus the extra time it takes me to get back if I don’t time it well enough)! Which in this case was only about 2 extra minutes.

Anyway, I set off on my journey today and thought I did pretty well! I kept a pretty steady pace and at no point did I feel like I was going to throw up. Plus I saw some pretty interesting things. For example, there was this very fit man running toward me with his nice reflective vest on who waved politely and said good morning. Next thing I knew here comes a dog running in the same matching vest! How cool- this guy races his dog every morning! And oh my goodness that dog was running fast not to mention he was so focused he didn’t even attempt to stop and have me pet him… that was one determined dog!

Lots of things were going through my head this morning, mostly about starting this blog and wondering if anyone would ever read it. Secondly, the WEDDING. I kept thinking about the destination vs. traditional wedding discussion Tim and I have been having. Neither one of us feels totally passionate for one or the other and are constantly coming up with new pros and cons to each. I guess it’s a great thing we are in agreement about not knowing which one to do but it sure does feel like the pressure is on. Anytime I tell someone that we got engaged they ask us what our date is! Goodness, it hasn’t even been a week how the heck do I know what the date it? In any case a destination wedding seems cheaper and I think the pictures would be amazing. The traditional wedding is great because most of our friends and family will attend and the planning process is more involved- which for me is great because I love that stuff. I don’t really get to pick colors or make table cards for a destination wedding but then again that may not be a bad thing. So my question today to all of you is quite simple… what the hell should we do?!

 

Run went well and I got home and felt energized. Tim rolled over just enough to ask how my run was as I jumped in the shower to start my day. Day went well at work and I was so excited for my buffalo chicken wrap that my mom dropped off the night before for lunch. Not only did I get this delicious wrap but I was also delivered the full delicious dinner below! Salmon, asparagus, champagne, and balloons! It was heavenly. Tim and I topped it off w/ about a half serving of tortellini as well because we were starving!

The day rolled by as usual and I headed out of work at 5 and went straight to my parent’s house for rowing class. This was the first time I had seen my parents since I got back from vacation which means it was the first time they were going to see my ring so it was very exciting and between you and I, I think I drove a little too fast on the way there (still managed to put gas in Tim’s car though!). The other ladies arrived for class and were just fantastic. They were all so excited for Tim and I so it was a lot of fun telling our proposal story. The workout went by really fast- maybe because I was so excited and the ladies were so great about letting me go on and on.

I should just take a minute to mention here how AMAZING the ladies that workout with me are. Patti, for example, has been in my life since 1st grade! Her daughter Abby and I are friends so I just love catching up with her and hearing about life. Then there is Angie who is more like a friend than anything else. So fun to be around and just a true pleasure to work out with. She is constantly challenging me to do better and to be better and I love her for it! Diane is one of the sweetest people I know and Joy makes me wanna be buff because she is just amazing. I have so much fun in class with all of the ladies and really appreciate their excitement for my engagement in today’s class!

In today’s rowing class schedule we did…

- Walking Lunges

- Kipping pull-ups

- Chest Presses

- Olympic Bar Thrusters

- This ab workout on this killer Pilates machine my mom has

- Side to Side Ball taps

- Kettle Bell Swings

- Push, Push, Pull

Needless to say I will be feeling this tomorrow! I told my mom I wanted buff arms and a nice back for the wedding… guess I’ll be getting that!

K signing off for tonight! Thanks for reading.

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