Where's the Beach?

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...

Kicking & Lifting This morning I decided to go ahead and get up when Jason did (just after 5) to do some cross-training rather than running. He went off to swim and I did some kickboxing in my little gym room. I went with Cathe Friedrich's MMA Kickboxing . I use 1 lb weighted gloves for my boxing or kickboxing workouts. It really adds on additional intensity and makes for an awesome upper body and core workout. I gotta say, starting the day punching and kicking leaves you stress-free ;-) It was a good workout. At first I was sort of thinking I should have stayed in bed, not that I was sleeping mind you. But, I'm glad I got it done. It was definitely energizing. At lunch, I decided to run home and do my back and triceps workout rather than go up to my gym. Right now it is not staffed (it's closing July 1), there are no towels, nothing to spray to wipe down equipment, who knows when anything was cleaned last. It's just depressing and not motivating. So, home...

Back/Tris I came really close to running this morning - just a short 2-miler. But I realized I have actually run every day since Friday. Um, that'd be 5 days in a row (6 if I ran today). Normally I try to run every other day. I'm clearly injury prone. But, I think a lot of the previous problems came with not varying distances much. I either ran a long run or I ran 6-milers. There were never 2- or 3-milers. Rarely even a 4-mile run. Sometimes if a training plan called for say an easy 2 one day then 6 the next, I'd combine them for an 8-miler. So, I found it interesting that running the following over 5 days hasn't left me with tired legs, no additional pain or soreness even: Fri: 9 Sat: 4.5 Sun: 2 Mon: 3 (speed work) Tues: 4.5 It's definitely not something I set out to do, nor is it something I'm going to do often. I certainly don't need to test the running gods that's for sure. But maybe I've been wrong with my hard and fast (made up o...

I'm sure most of you have heard the news by now...today is National Running Day . I don't normally run on Wednesdays for a few reasons: Jason gets up for swim, it's so dark at 5 am that I don't feel comfortable to run on my own, then it's too hot by lunch to run at that time. But, today was a special day. In the back of my head, I had semi-planned to run 2 miles. But only if everything fell into place a certain way: IF when Jason got up for swim and I woke up and my legs felt ok after yesterday's leg workout. AND IF when Jason got up for swim and I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep OR I happened to wake back up as the sun started coming up around 5:45. So that's not exactly what happened. What ended up happening was that I heard Jason get up at what I assumed was 5 am. Then Jason got back into bed. I got up to potty and took note of how my legs felt. They felt ok, but I got back into bed to see just how sleepy I really was. Then Jason...

Gym Day Today was a gym day for me. I would have loved to have gotten out for a run instead, but it was raining at the time of my break. Of course, the rain would have felt pretty good during a run I must say. I went with supersets of 3 x 8 for back and triceps today. I should have added in chest but was being a bit lazy I'll admit. And, I'm kind of glad I stuck with back and tris because the weight area got crazy busy with a bunch of guests from a nearby hotel. A little annoying. I think I say that a lot huh? Anyway, I started with 15 minutes on the elliptical than ran over to claim a spot before all the benches were taken. I did have to shoo two guys off the assisted pull/chin up machine. They were just standing there leaning on it looking out the windows. SS#1 Assisted wide-grip chin ups Double-arm overhead triceps extension SS#2 Double-arm row Triceps pushdowns SS#3 Pullovers Double-arm kickbacks I also added in 3 sets of 10 reps of low back extensions. I...

Rambling & Lifting  Since I ran the past 2 days, I figured it'd be smart to hit the gym today and not test the running gods. Though, my heel and piriformis feel surprisingly good today. Of course, had I run, that might have changed. In fact, my legs don't feel at all like I ran 10 miles yesterday. That got me to thinking about when I first started adding up the miles. My recovery was so much harder. Even after 7 or 8 miles I remember feeling pukey, my legs shaky and exhausted, muscles already getting sore. I figured out my fueling so that took care of the pukey feeling. I also figured out how to better stretch and roll out my muscles post-run, so that now, I can still move the rest of the day and the day after. It's a great feeling honestly - to know that my body is so capable now. That I'm comfortable in the miles (well, for the most part). I think I coming back from injuries makes the miles somehow more special too. If that makes sense. I know some people q...

Gym Day Today was a cold, rainy one here. Not very motivating. Thus, I didn't make it to the gym until 10. I really should have gotten out the door soon as I had errands to run. And the longer I waited, I knew the worse traffic would be. I started with 15 minutes on the elliptical then went with supersets of 3x8 for back and triceps. SS#1 Underhand barbell row Double-arm overhead triceps extension SS#2 Assisted wide-grip chinups Lying triceps extensions SS#3 Pullovers Weighted dips I did some ab work after the weights. I also added in some low back extensions on the stability ball - 2 x 12. Overall, it was a pretty good workout. I feel pretty weak with my back weights, but I know that adding in the chinups will help if I just keep decreasing the assisted weight. Errands & Chores The next several hours were spent fighting traffic so that I could make it to stores like Target, Kroger, and a few secret places I can't mention since a certain someone reads my...

Gym Day on Gray Day I guess I am more worn out than I realized - plus less sciatica pain to wake me up means I slept straight through until just after 5 this morning. That never ever happens. No complaints mind you. Even though yesterday's run was less than stellar, I am certainly glad I didn't have to do it today. The cold front that was supposed to push through last night was apparently running late. So instead of rain last night, we had wind, gray skies, and drizzle all day today. It started off at close to 60 at about 7 am, but steadily dropped. So definitely would have been a treadmill run and I think that would have been worse. I did hit the gym, but for weights only. I did warm up for about 15 minutes on the elliptical though. I did supersets for back and triceps (3x8) with some ab work done at the end. SS#1 Underhand barbell rows Overhead triceps extension SS#2 Double-arm rows Double-arm kickbacks SS#3 Pullovers Dips It was a pretty decent workout. ...

Last night I wasn't in the mood for cooking to be completely honest. I was ready to go with veggie burgers and sweet potato fries. Jason kept searching the cabinets, fridge, freezer, cabinets again. I could tell burgers and fries wasn't going to cut it. I told him if he wanted to get creative, then go for it. About 20 minutes later, he was still searching. Last week he had mentioned making Italian "Beef" Sandwiches as we hadn't had them in a while. I was out of homemade seitan though, so we went on to something else. Thankfully last night I had a backup for the seitan. I had a $1 off coupon for Gardein products that I picked up at the Lincoln Park Art & Music Festival in Chicago from the Gardein Party Tour Truck . So, when I was a the store over the weekend, I picked up some Gardein Chik'n Strips . They ended up working perfecting for another version of Italian "Beef" Sandwiches . Yes, they are supposed to be a "chicken" sub, bu...

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...

Weights & Boxing This morning I got up and did Cathe Friedrich's STS Meso 1 Disc 2 - Back and Triceps. I also did her MMA Boxing DVD after the weights. I was very disappointed to not be able to run as it turned out to be a gorgeous day. For the chinups and pullups, I had to use resistance tubing as I do not have a pullup option at home. Lat pulldowns with band Dumbbell Rows Both Arms Dips on chair Straddle Pushups Chinups Seated Overhead Extensions One Arm (dumbbell) One Arm Row (dumbbell) T-Pull with band Flat Bench Dumbbell Triceps Extensions Dumbbell Rows Y's with band Kickbacks One Arm (dumbbell) One Arm Horizontal Row (dumbbell) Deadlifts (dumbbell) Close Grip Bench Press (dumbbell) One Arm press Down with Band Chinups Seated Overhead Extensions Both Arms (dumbbell) Dumbbell Rows Double Arm Rows with Band Side Leaning One Arm Overhead Extensions on Ball (dumbbell) One Arm Row (dumbbell) Deadlifts (dumbbell) Kickbacks Double Arm (dumbbell) ...