Where's the Beach?

Gym Day Today was gym day - legs and shoulders. I got my friend to meet me at the gym for the workout. Of course, it was semi-trickery. She's been avoiding Sunday Leg day since the first let workout. LOL I told her I wanted to do a boxing workout. She eagerly agreed and then it dawned on me that she thought that's all we were going to do. Did I text her back...well hell no (evil laugh). We started with the same shoulder giant set I did last week then legs. Everything is 3x8. GS Upright rows Incline rear delt flye Overhead shoulder press with barbell SS#1 Squats with low-end pulse Plie squats SS#2 Stiff-legged deadlifts Calf raises (toes turned out) SS#3 Some funky band walks she decided to toss out at me Alternating front lunges She ended up not sticking around for the boxing workout - Cathe's MMA Boxing . I did the first segment then the abs before stretching and calling it done. Attempted Pool Time My friend and her husband were going to run a fe...

8 Miles This morning started off with a run. I didn't get up as early as I would have liked, but it is Saturday after all right? However, that just meant a hotter run with the sun fully up. I hit the pavement at 7:30 and it was already 80 degrees. I was thinking it felt less humid though with a slight breeze (humidity was "only" 74%). I went into the run thinking I would just shoot for 6 miles. It was hot, I had only had part of a banana, it was hot, I was tired. Anyway, enough whining right. Just get in there and get it done. I actually felt great once I got going. The breeze helped keep the sweat out of my eyes for the most part, my legs were on my side this morning. Everything was just clicking. When I hit the turn around that would have given me 6.2, I thought I'd just go to the next turn around, then the next, and so on. Until I managed to extend the run to a nice 8-miler when all was said and done. If it had been just a a little bit cooler and I had another...

Today is a much-needed rest day for me. My legs feel like lead weights today. My biceps are still yelling at me from Wednesday. And quite frankly, I don't want to do a darn thing. Tomorrow I hope to get out for a run as long as the storms hold off for me. This morning I was emailing with my good friend Jessica (who knocked out an awesome 11 miles this morning - oh and her sister, Jolene , a nice 10 miles) about running and sprinklers and such. In one of her emails she said "You know your a runner when..." That got me thinking about all the ways you might know you're a crazy runner. I mean come on, we are a crazy lot ;-) So it seemed like a fun list for Fun Facts Friday . You know you're a runner when... You know exactly when certain sprinklers will be on vs. off (courtesy of Jessica and sooo true)   You get up crazy early to go run even when you're not a morning person because otherwise it'd be too hot (or you wouldn't have time) You don...

Holy Hell - A Miracle Happened Well I finally did it! I finally got my rear out of bed for an early morning run. It was a bit by mistake I'll admit. At about 4-ish, I rolled over and reset my alarm for my regular wake-up call...or so I thought. At 5:20, the alarm went off. Not sure what I switched, but it wasn't my alarm time apparently. I will admit to resetting, thinking I could just doze for an hour. But I was awake and knew there was no way I'd go back to sleep. I took it as a sign and got up and got ready. It was so hot and humid already. The minute I stepped out of the car, I knew it was going to be a tough run. There was not a bit of breeze to be had. It was already 80 degrees with 80% humidity. Thankfully the sun wasn't out yet at least. I started my run just a little before 6. I promised myself 4 miles because I was sort of struggling at the beginning. Apparently leg day topped off with 3 days of spin equals sort, tired, heavy legs. Who knew? Luckily, my...

Spinning Again I feel like a broken record this week. Once again, set my alarm for an early morning run. Once again, I reset and went back to sleep. Once again, I hit up spin instead. And it kicked my booty - or quads I should really say. Honestly, I'm feeling oddly guilty about not getting out and running. I know there is absolutely no reason at all to feel guilty. I mean, I'm not in training mode. I've been running for fun anyway. And if I can't tear myself out of bed and it's too blasted hot after work (car thermostat read 109 ouch), then so be it right? So why the guilt? Anyone else ever go through this? I do know that I am going to run this weekend come hell or high water. Around here, it's going to feel more like the heat of hell unfortunately. Not even sure what water or rain looks like any longer ;-) But, I'm missing running. I'm missing being outside. I'm missing the feel of my feet on the pavement, the movement of my body, and even th...

More Spinning I had every intention of waking up early and going for a run. I had my clothes set out. I had the alarm set. Then I slept very poorly (up at least every 2 hours). At 3:45 I made the executive decision to reset the alarm for my normal time. If I just happened to wake up early enough, then I'd go. If not, it'd be spin or a rest day. I packed my gym bag in case I decided to hit spin. I wasn't really sure what I'd do or not do to be honest. I noticed a nagging pain on the inside of my right ankle area that started this morning. Apparently a good thing I didn't run after all. I did hit up spin. I desperately needed the break mid-day. My co-workers that went to the training classes with me and I were taking our certification test today. So, after 2 hours testing, spin was a welcome break. I decided to get in biceps before class. I went with a giant set of 3x8: Alternating curls Hammer curls Incline curls Then it was off to spin - aka Sweatfest. It...

Back to Reality & Spin Today was definitely a more difficult Monday than most. Being out of routine for a week and a half will do that to you though. It was so hard to believe that I actually had to get out of bed this morning. I felt like I needed one more day of recovery. Thankfully, my inbox wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated. But I did start off the morning having to get my password reset. Good times. Since there was no chance of running this morning, I hit up spin instead. There was a little voice in my head saying, "take the day off," but I knew getting to spin would be good for me, especially since it's been two weeks since I've been able to go. While my legs were tired from Saturday's workout, I knew that the sweatfest would do me some good. And it did of course. My legs were cursing me the whole time, but I ignored them and pressed (peddled) on. Back in the Kitchen Jason picked up some peaches the other day along with extra jalape...

Sunday Gym Day This morning I really had to force myself out the door to the gym. I would have much preferred a run outside. But, I chose sleep instead. This meant it was too hot by the time I got up to get out for a run. Thus, another gym day. Thankfully, I do have the gym option, and once I got going, I was all good. It usually happens that way. I started with 15 minutes on the elliptical before working back and triceps. I went with giant sets of 3x8 then two burn out exercises at the end done to failure just for fun ;-) GS#1 Underhand barbell row Pullover Single-arm row GS#2 Lying triceps extension Double-arm overhead triceps extension Double-arm kickback Assisted chinups Triceps dips I did another 15 minutes on the elliptical before calling it quits. More Lazy & Time with Friend A dear friend was in town - the same one I had a late lunch with a few weeks back. She was back in town one more time before she leaves to head home (East coast) tomorrow. She st...

First Day Home = Weight Day After about a 45 minute flight delay (with all of us on the plane mind you), we finally landed at just after 9 pm and home a little before 10 pm. To say that we were worn out is an understatement. But, I poured myself a glass of wine (in a real glass thank you very much), did 2 loads of laundry, and sat on a comfortable couch and watched one episode of Big Brother before going to bed and crashing. I would love to say I bounced out of bed at 6 am to get in a fantastic long run. Instead, I slept until 8:30, by which time it was already 85 degrees. So, I hit the gym instead of the pavement. I've been missing my weight workouts anyway, so this really worked out for me I suppose. I started with 15 minutes on the elliptical browsing last month's Oxygen magazine. This worked in my favor as well because I found a great shoulder workout that I tried out. I was going to do shoulders and legs anyway. I did a giant set for shoulders then supersets for leg. ...

Another Blogger Meet Up Thursday I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to meet Kathi from Kath Eats Vegan for lunch. We met at Argo Tea Cafe as it was a super convenient location for both of us, plus I knew they had good vegan dishes to choose from. I went with the Garden Lentil Salad (again) and also a spinach and sundried tomato salad (not on their online menu). Kathi got the Chickpea Salad (which looked really good by the way). I've not been following Kathi's blog for very long, so meeting her was a little different than meeting Sarah, but not in a bad way I should add. It was just a little bit different is all. Once again, the conversation just flowed so easily. It felt like catching up with an old friend, finding out what's going on in her life, getting more details and such (that probably sound like a horrible description of what I'm really wanting to say, just can't put it into words). Kathi is a very energetic person, very open and fun to...

Blogger Meet Up One thing on my must-do (and to-enjoy) list for my Chicago trip was to meet Sarah from The Ordinary Vegetarian. I've been following her for quite sometime (before she went vegan even), and couldn't wait to meet her.  We decided to meet at Karyn's Cooked . I was all on board for going back and trying out another dish. If I could, I'd go back every day just to get a sample of everything! Funny story - we were on the same L and standing beside each other for the ride over but didn't realize it because we were smashed in and both fanning with papers, not facing each other.  We started with the hummus. It was really good. Thick, more how I make it. And served with fresh veggies and pita. Sarah went with the Southern Comfort (Beans, greens, rice and cornbread) and I opted for the Steak Wrap (Thinly sliced tofu/seitan steak grilled with onions and peppers, topped with romaine lettuce and chipotle).   She was kind enough to let me try some of...