Where's the Beach?

Working Out I haven't really talked a whole lot about my workouts lately. They're getting done though. My mileage has dropped back considerably from 35 miles a week to only about 25 right now. This is really due to my plantar fasciitis not a lack of desire to run. Prior to my half marathon March 3, the plantar fasciitis issue was acting up. But it wasn't a show stopper. I was still able to get out there and run my miles. After the half? Total show stopper. So, while I baby my foot, my miles are down. I am getting in more cross training right now. And that's not a bad thing. I do enjoy lifting weights and doing a variety of DVDs (typically Cathe Friedrich workouts like MMA Boxing , MMA Kickboxing or her new XTrain Tabatacise ), or taking a spin on my bike (on it's trainer still). Variety can be a really good thing. But, I still love my running. I miss being outdoors when I'm doing some other workout. And, even with the pain in my foot, most of my runs ha...

Productive Procrastination Yesterday morning I woke up for all of two seconds when Jason got up to go swim at 5 am and then totally crashed back out until the alarm clock made me nearly jump out of bed. It's not normal for me to fall back asleep quite so soundly after waking up in the morning. Apparently I was really tired. I had thought I might get in my workout (weights & kickboxing) at lunch, but by 11 I was thinking of calling it a rest day. My plan changed to going to the grocery store after work. But then by about 3:30 I had decided working out sounded way better than battling the grocery store and after work crowd. Let's just say that was the most productive procrastination I had ever done. I did legs, shoulders, back, biceps and abs from Cathe's High Reps DVD and then did the MMA Kickboxing DVD for an hour workout. Luckily I had enough items to throw together a soup for dinner. I had a kabocha squash and some kale on its last leg. No white onion, but I di...

Cross-training and Minestrone  Monday night I ended up running 4.5 miles. It was one of those much much needed runs. Not a matter of should I but I must. I really should have only done 3 miles, but I just kept going and finally just had to stop myself. That meant today I really needed to not run. My plan was 8 miles. But in reality, I knew I needed to give my feet a break. In 3 days I had hit 19.5 miles. Time for some cross-training. I ended up doing legs and shoulders from Cathe's High Reps DVD . I've never tried that one. I really don't normally like high-rep workouts. But, I needed something different, something to keep me on my toes so to speak. And man oh man did it ever. I always forget how high reps can sting big time when it's not the workout you're used to. I followed the workout up with Cathe's MMA Kickboxing DVD . After all that, it was time to get down to the business of dinner. I was starved. The plan was soup for dinner since the temps have ...

Running & Tailgating  We had some incredible weather this weekend. The lows were in the low 60's and highs mid-80's. It actually felt like fall. And I guess that came just in time for the first of two AR Razorback games held in Little Rock. The university is in Fayetteville, but two games of the season are in Little Rock.  And, it's a huge deal. Everyone turns out for some serious tailgating. It's just one enormous party on the public golf course outside of the stadium. We, of course, went. We met up with our friends. Walked around and visited with other friends. Lots of standing, walking, walking and standing. Let's just say that didn't bode well for my feet after our morning run. Because it was cooler, we actually got to sleep in until after 7 and didn't have to start the run until around 8:30. It was a nice change of pace, being able to actually wake up fully before taking off out the door. Jason and I decided to try out a slightly differen...

Long Weekend  I hope everyone enjoyed a nice long holiday weekend. I decided to take a break from blogging over the 3-day weekend too. Kind of a nice break. Definitely means spending more time just enjoying right? We didn't have any major plans, no parties or cookouts. That was a-ok with me actually. I just wanted to relax, enjoy, and relax some more. I did get lots of laundry done and a few chores, but other than that...pretty darn lazy. I got in some pretty good runs despite the insane heat. We're getting August heat in September. So indexes are reaching the 100's again and the humidity? Let's just say gills would be nice. Saturday I stuck to a short run, 3.5 miles then got in a really good weight session for shoulders, back, chest. My chest is still sore. Jason and I ran a lot of errands Saturday then had a late lunch out. The skies weren't exactly clear, so no pool time. Sunday I got in 7 miles, part of it with my running buddy. We had such a fun run to...

Heath Man First I suppose I need to update you on Heath. He's doing so much better. He actually got to come home Friday evening and was one happy boy to be back home. He does have a follow-up this week to recheck his toxicity levels (my technical version for lack of better explanation). For now, they are treating it as if he got into something poisonous and it was affecting his liver function. They gave him lots of fluids and he's on meds and a new special food for his liver. Hopefully everything will check out when we take him back and we can move forward. If his levels are still off, however, then it could be something more. We just don't know yet. But, he's home and acting super peppy again. Heath Maddie avoiding the camera Running Saturday morning I woke up to a light rain. It wasn't storming and it wasn't just a downpour so I decided to go on out for a run. I knew I'd be soaking wet one way or the other, and rain is certainly more refr...

July 4 I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July. My day started off with a hot 4-miler. The first mile was slow and heavy. I know it was the heat mostly, but my legs just weren't working with me. So when I saw that it was a 9:33 pace, I thought, "well this is going to suck." My legs started to loosen up a bit though. I started relaxing into the run and finding a good rhythm. So just when I started thinking about cutting the run short, I started to feel better about it. I ended up having negative splits for the remainder of the run: mile 2 - 8:55, mile 3 - 8:43, mile 4 - 8:40. After I got cleaned up, Jason and I had some errands to run. We had friends coming over and needed to pick up a few things. Of course we ended up taking far longer than expected and coming home with a lot more than expected as well. They ended up showing up around 1 and we immediately got in the pool. It was another hot hot triple digit day. The pool water wasn't even all that coolin...

Another Double Workout This morning I got up when Jason got up to go to swim. The plan was to do Cathe's MMA Kickboxing DVD then do back and triceps at lunch or after work. I really needed a day off from running - I had run 5 days straight. And wouldn't you know it that my cross-training day also happens to be the first morning in months that it was in the low 60's. Really? Talk about bad timing. I almost feel like I let the universe down by not taking advantage of the crazy cool temps. And of course they go right back up the rest of the week. Humph.... But, I listened to my body, my feet, my piriformis...all telling me to not run. So, I didn't. I did my kickboxing workout (sulking just a bit I won't lie). But it was a good way to "kick" off the morning. During lunch, I ran home to get in my back and triceps weights done. I went with my same back and triceps workout as last week. No gym means no assisted pullups or barbell rows. So, I do worry a bit...

Jam Packed Saturday As usual, the weekend has gone by way too quickly for my liking. Saturday I almost didn't know what to do with myself since I had gotten my long run out of the way on Friday. We were supposed to go to the lake with the family, however, my dad had not had a chance to put the boat in the water yet to make sure it was running properly. Trust me, you don't want to get in the middle of the lake and the boat poop out especially with kids on board. So, I decided to get in a short 3-miler and was planning on Cathe Friedrich's MMA Boxing (or part of it) and some abs after. Jason finally got himself out of bed and was up for a run with me. We set out towards the arts center, then to head towards downtown. Apparently he didn't really believe me when I said 3 miles. And of course he's got every right not to believe that statement. Over the years I'd say one number but really plot out another. Anyway, we ended up heading out on a longer route. But...

Six-Mile Saturday I must say, I have really been enjoying disconnecting on Saturdays and focusing on enjoying the day at hand and not blogging. I hope you don't mind longer Sunday recap posts. I think most people tend to be busy and aren't really reading blogs on the weekend as much anyway - which I think is a great thing actually. It seems like we've been pretty busy most weekends, or at least on Saturdays. No complaints though. Yesterday started off with a 6-mile run with Jason. We did get started later than we should have so it was already pretty hot and steamy. The sun was definitely out in full force. I actually prayed for a cloud to just momentarily block the sun, or perhaps a breeze would have been nice. The route we took put us in full sun with very little shade. But man when we saw a shady spot, we definitely slowed down to enjoy. The run was really good for me mentally. I didn't overthink, I just ran and enjoyed every minute. Definitely the best run I h...

Housewarming Recap Well, to say the Artichoke Hummus was a hit is an understatement. But, I had to remake it unfortunately. The original batch got left at the house. We got to my sister's house and started unloading everything only to realize that container had not made it into the cooler. Oops. Thankfully Sarah had the ingredients on hand to whip up a new batch. Along with that, I made a Black Bean and Corn Salsa . She had some pico de gallo, Jason made a balsamic chicken salad. We had lots of dippers from corn chips to veggies. I didn't get pictures of all of the food, but did want to highlight some things.       My sister is getting the house all set up the way she wants and it's looking so cute. We did help her rearrange a few pieces just before the party (nothing like last-minute furniture arranging). I really opened up the space more. Everyone seemed to have a great time. We got to hang out with a few long-time friends (as in known whole lives basically). Our ...

High Rep Day I really hate the time change. Ok, so hate might be overkill. I love that it stays light later. That part is fantastic. But to lose an hour on the already short weekend? I felt like I was already behind when I got up the morning. Not the best way to start the day. It was sunny at least, for a bit I should say. I got out of bed at 8:30 (feeling late of course). I had my breakfast then piddled a bit before getting to my workout. Today is Day 3 of Week 1 of the total body rotation. It called for 2 sets of 15 reps done as straight sets. Double-arm triceps kickbacks Lateral shoulder raise Pullovers Incline chest press Incline biceps curls Squats Plie Squats Firewalkers - 2x6 Weighted donkey kicks - 2x18 Roll ins and hip lifts on ball for hamstrings Inner thigh squeezes with ball I did the high intensity HiiT segment from Cathe's Intensity workout to hit the legs more then did just 2 combos from MMA Kickboxing (love boxing/kickboxing after upper body weigh...

Just For Fun Cardio  Last night was a super restless night of sleep for me. I ended up waking up for the last time at 5:11 am. I was really going to make today a second rest day for the week (gasp), something totally unheard of for me. But since I was up, I decided to do something short and fun just to get the blood flowing. I didn't want anything leg intensive (trying to save my legs for tomorrow's long run), so I went with Cathe's MMA Kickboxing - just doing the first two combos only. It took just about 20 minutes, then I stretched for a bit before getting ready for work. It was a nice way to start the day. No pressure to get in a certain amount of cardio or any particular weights. Just for fun. Freaking Out and Fun Friday  So, today was the day to sign up for the Cathe Road Trip . I was so excited about the prospect of meeting up with Jessica and Jolene again AND meeting Madeline for the first time. At the same time, there was a great deal weighing on me with t...

All Dolled Up Last night we ended up joining our friends at the Jingle Belles Bash. It was a fundraiser event to raise money for the Centers of Youth and Families. We were both really glad we decided to get off our lazy rear ends and go to the event. It was kind of fun getting dressed up and going out rather than sitting on the couch in our PJs, per the normal Saturday night. Productive Sunday This morning I was super productive. It was really cold out today, so running wasn't even tempting. I decided to get some house chores done before hitting the weights and cardio. I swept, swiffered, ran some laundry, changed out dishes, cleaned mirrors, and vacuumed area rugs. Then it was time for my workout. I did chest from STS Meso 2 . This week the goal is to increase my weights to 75% of my 1 RM. The only exception is that for the first exercise that was done as a "double wave load" I was supposed to stay at 70%. Flat bench chest press - 12, 10, 8, 12, 10, 8 Flat bench...

Leg Day I wanted to thank everyone for congratulating me on my run yesterday. I will say that I am sore today, but not as bad as I thought I might be. My problem areas (hip flexor and hamstrings) are sore of course, but not unbearable. My calves are oddly sore too. But, I've been stretching and Jason gave me a massage. I'm so not worthy! Since I wasn't too terribly sore, I did go ahead with my regular Leg Day Sunday routine. But, I did a much easier workout with lighter weights and played around with rep patterns. Squats: 8 single, 4 2:2 count, 8 1:3 count, 4 3 count low-end pulse, 2 7 count low-end pulse, 4 2:2 count, 8 single Plie squats: 8 single, 4 2:2 count, 8 1:3 count, 4 3 count low-end pulse, 2 7 count low-end pulse, 4 2:2 count, 8 single Static lunges: 8 single, 4 2:2 count, 8 1:3 count, 4 3 count low-end pulse, 4 2:2 count Deadlifts - 3x8 Rear leg slide back lunges - 3x8 Firewalkers - 8 Donkey kicks with weight - 2x18 Single-leg deadlifts - 2...

Friday Kickboxing This morning I managed to get up and get in a workout. It was too dark to head out for a run (and I'm too lazy to drive to the gym at 5:30 am), so I opted for Cathe's MMA Kickboxing DVD. I followed it up with a few glute exercises like weighted donkey kicks, roll-ins and froggy lifts (technical term) on the ball. I had wanted to do chest today, but just didn't have it in me that early. I can just put that off until tomorrow. Friday Ramblings Speaking of tomorrow, it's Jason's birthday. There's also an Arkansas game on tv, so you know that's what tomorrow will revolve around: The Game. It's an earlier game, so we're going to DVR it and watch it a little bit later, hopefully with friends over. Of course, that does mean I need to finish cleaning the house - which I have been trying to do since I got home. I feel like I'm the Laundry Queen. Where does it all come from? Oh...workout clothes for one. We go through a massive am...