Where's the Beach?

Race Night Ouchies  My calves were hating me yesterday after the race. My low back was getting tight, and I knew that was linked to my piriformis and sciatic nerve. Gradually, it just kept getting worse and my sciatica was hurting terribly. Standing actually felt better than sitting, but just standing in your living room gets a little ridiculous after a bit. Standing to make dinner was actually good for me, kept me moving. I made my Spicy White Chili - but this time I roasted the bell peppers, onions, poblano peppers, and garlic. It imparted such fantastic flavor and richness. I went to bed and crashed hard. I slept over 11 solid hours and it felt fantastic. I had taken the day off because I knew I'd want to relax and rest up. I will admit feeling just a hair guilty for not getting lots done on my day off. Rest Day Monday At one point I even flirted with the idea of doing at least biceps. Don't worry, I stood up from the couch and remembered why I had taken the day off....

Monday Gym Day Today I decided to go with my typical (or what has become my typical) Monday routine of hitting up the gym for elliptical and weights. I started with about 15 minutes of the elliptical today, then hit the weights for back and biceps. I went with trisets of 3x8. TS#1 Underhand barbell rows Pullovers Single-arm rows TS#2 Dumbbell curls Hammer curls Cross-body curls Assisted pullups - 8 Concentration curls - 5 (went pretty heavy with idea of just going to failure) I finished out with another 15 minutes on the elliptical. Overall, a really strong workout. It was definitely what I needed today as a stress reliever. Mustard Sauce for Monday I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do for dinner tonight. Last night I actually had cereal (gaps). We had some asparagus that needed to be used up quickly, so I went with that and built the meal around roasted asparagus. I did roasted sweet potatoes (rosemary, salt, pepper, parsley), roasted asparagus (salt and...

Spinning on Wednesday This morning Jason was getting up at 5 am to go to his swim class. I thought I was going to get up and do Step Blast and abs. Thought is the key word friends. I rolled over and went right back to sleep. I was not going to force the workout this morning. I was even prepared to proclaim today my rest day if need be. The weather is cooling down nicely finally. So I thought I'd be up and out for morning runs, but I just haven't felt up for a run the past few days. I think the temps are supposed to remain just at 90 through the weekend (into the upper 60's at night) so maybe we can get in a longer run this weekend finally. Before I went up to bed last night, Jason had mentioned wanting to go to spin again today. So instead of step or running or weights after work (or a rest day), I decided to go with Jason and try out the the new spin class at our gym: Group Ride. He's been twice and enjoyed it. Since I've been doing legs twice a week, they...

Eked Out Morning Workouts This morning I had my alarm set for a little after 5. I slept fairly well, only waking up twice, but the second time (around 4) I started to rethink getting up for a morning workout. I knew that I could easily fall back asleep for another two hours if I let myself. I think that it's also getting harder to get up early since it's starting to stay dark so much longer. I probably should have slept in, but ended up dragging myself out of the bed for weights and cardio. I did 3 supersets for shoulders and triceps (odd combination) for 3 sets of 8 reps then finished off with 2 exercises done to failure (just for funzies). SS#1 Shoulder press Overhead triceps extension SS#2 Lateral raise Double-arm kickbacks SS#3 Upright rows Lying triceps extensions (on stability ball) Front/Side raise - 10 reps Weighted triceps dips - 16 reps (probably could have hit 18) I was feeling a bit weak again today. Of course, lifting in the morning always seems...

Wednesday Night Follow UP Sigh, I had hoped to have pictures to share of my awesome new purse and/or jeans. I'm sad to report that I came home empty handed (not that that upset the hubs mind you). They didn't have jeans in my size and the tops (burn out tees) aren't my style. There were 2 purses I had my eyes on. But, in the end, I just couldn't decided and figured that was a sign. Neither of them called out to me enough that I just HAD to have them. I still had fun getting out of the house and visiting with my friend for a bit.  I took the easy way out and replied to everyone's comments as a whole. I apologize, but since I didn't start replying last night, I just couldn't keep up. That makes me happy in a lot of ways because it means I have more friends commenting. The bad part is that it's getting harder for me to reply to everyone separately. I do appreciate everyone's comments. You guys always make me smile!   Run & Total Body Circuit...

Running & Boxing I was determined to get in a run this week. I have not run since vacation because it's just too hot to run past sun up right now. So, we got up and hit the pavement by 5:45. It was already a steamy 77 degrees humid. I say that  because 77 isn't bad, it's the humidity that's bad. Anyway, we just did 30 minutes at an easy pace. No records being broke, but that's what I wanted that early. I really just wanted to get moving again and to loosen up my legs (still sore from Sunday's workout). It felt great to be outside watching the sun come up too. During lunch I did Cathe's MMA Boxing . It's amazing how high your heart rate can get up there just punching. Free Time = Craft & Cooking Time Getting my workouts done early left me with free time after work. It's so nice to have that extra time after work. It makes me feel like I've had some sort of day that wasn't nothing but work. I started a new project last night, so I ...

I wanted to thank you all for sharing past jobs. Some of you guys have had some really interesting gigs! Weights & Kickboxing This morning I got up and made my typical Saturday breakfast: PB&J&B Oatmeal before hitting the weights. Today was push muscles for upper body: Chest: Flat bench dumbbell press Flat bench flyes Decline dumbbell press Shoulders: Shoulder press Lateral raise Lying shoulder press (thanks for the idea Alyson @ Nourished Fitness ) Triceps: Overhead extension Weighted dips Double-arm kickbacks I followed up the workout with Cathe's Shock Cardio MMA Kickboxing and abs. I'm really digging kickboxing after upper body work. To me it is sort of like burning out the legs with plyo. I know...a little crazy huh? Day Outside I had a ton that I should have done today. However, I did nothing more than lounge on the patio and in the pool. I pretty much took the day off. It was almost like vacation. The only things I wore were workout clothes, my bikini, ...

Fireworks Recap I'll try to keep the recap of last night short. I feel like this is a long enough post as it is. We had some VIP passes to watch the Riverfest Fireworks from an observation deck at the Peabody Hotel. The passes also meant free wine and beer and a dessert buffet. Plus, if it rained again, we could still watch the fireworks and stay dry. We got there at about 7:45. While I'm typically not a big dessert fan, I definitely oggled this buffet. Thankfully most of it was chocolate. Why thankfully? I don't care much for chocolate so that meant far less indulging! The fireworks show lasted for a full 30 minutes. Jason was so excited. He seriously loves firework shows, and this is definitely a good one. Sorry the pics aren't very good. We just had the point and shoot with us.   Lifting & Punching This morning I got up and did my leg workout. It was Pyramid Lower Body . The pyramid legs was pretty much like yesterday's upper body, but without supersets ex...