Where's the Beach?

Running & Lifting  Yesterday started off with a dark, but really great 4.5 mile run with my running buddy. I was afraid my legs were going to be heavy from the runs Tuesday and Wednesday, but they felt great. We just chatted away and boogied on down the road. I didn't pay any attention to pace until I stopped my Garmin while stretching and was really surprised to see an average of 8:43. And the best part was that I never felt like I was struggling. It was just a great run with fun conversation (which I actually missed this morning since it's a rest day). Don't you just love it when running is almost easy like that? I mean, you're working, but everything is just sort of clicking into place nicely. Now if we could figure out how to make all runs like that... During lunch I did managed to get in shoulders, back, chest and some more legs. I feel like I've been neglecting legs since I don't have access to a squat rack to lift heavy. So perhaps working them...

Spin Day Today I decided to rest my foot again, oh and not fight stormy weather and high winds trying to run. So, I hit up spin class. I must say, my quads are killing me from the HIIT workout I did yesterday. Seriously feels like I did a weighted leg workout not "just" plyo exercises. Apparently I really need to add HIIT back into my life. So, needless to say, spin was a bit on the difficult side today. I really wasn't certain my legs were going to hold me upright after I got off the bike at the end of class. But, it was a great class regardless. Of course, my quads might disagree with me. Salad & A Movie Today was one of those really weird weather days when if a tornado blew through you wouldn't be shocked. It was in the upper 60's with high humidity and even higher winds. You either felt like you were going to be pushed down or you couldn't move forward one. While I should have gone to the grocery store after work, I didn't want to risk g...

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. ...

Home Style Dinner Revamped Last night dinner ended up being simple, but rather homey. It felt like the meat and two sides type of meal most of us grew up with. Only, for us it was homemade seitan cutlet with a stone-ground mustard gravy*, roasted asparagus and kabocha squash. *For the gravy, I simply took some of the leftover cooking liquid from the seitan and added in lemon zest, juice, super grainy mustard, small dash of salt, pepper, garlic powder and simmered on low until it thickened.   This is definitely not a meal I would have had growing up. It would likely have been chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes. It was either something along those lines or a casserole. Mom was casserole queen. What did your typical dinners look like growing up? Necessary Rest Day Today was supposed to be a 3-mile run for me. After the dense fog finally lifted around noon, it would have been a gorgeous day for a run. The problem, however, is that I am in too much pain to run. There, a...

I feel like I am so far behind with my blog. My Valentine's present to Jason was to make dinner and stay off the computer. And today I've been super busy trying to run errands that I'm just now even getting to sit down and start my blog about last night's dinner and catch up on reading everyone's posts. This morning I did the warm up from Shock Cardio Athletic Step then hit the weights, and finished with Athletic Step. Today was the first workout for week 7 of the Total-Body Training rotation. I can't believe it's been 7 weeks! This one was a toughie, 3 sets of 18 reps. Yikes. Chest - Dumbbell bench press Back - Double arm rows Quads - Squats Shoulders - Lateral raises Biceps - Dumbbell Curls Triceps - Double arm kickbacks This was very tiring with the high number of reps. Ouch. Once I started going with Athletic Step, I quickly realized that I should have opted for a slightly easier cardio. My quads were screaming at me. I also did one of my favorite ab...

Accidental Morning Workout Sometime around 3:15 this morning I realized that I was not going to be getting out of bed at 5 am to get in my workout. I just wasn't sleeping well at all. At 6 am I finally decided there was no point in trying to fall back asleep, though that was right about the time when I could have crashed hard. I got up, got ready for work, and was stewing about how I hadn't managed to get up and get the workout done. I mean, I was basically awake. About that time, Jason knocked on the bathroom door and asked if I'd looked outside. Well heck no. It's dark and I'm grumpy. I guess I should have looked though. We had about two inches of snow on the ground. Holy smokes, where did that come from???!!  (Approximately 6:45 am) The weather folks missed the mark again somehow. I called into work and we got a two hour delay. Most people would have gone back to bed. I figured it'd take me longer to fall asleep than it'd be worth. So I jumped on the oppo...

Ah, here we are again. Another Monday. At least it's sunny again today, and it's warming up into the 40's. Winter really makes you appreciate the sunshine that much more! Working Hard on Monday Today was the first workout of Week 5 of the Total-Body Training Rotation. Only 3 weeks to go! I'm seeing some awesome results with this workout. Today was a whopping 2 sets of 18 (holy cow) reps! I started off with the warmup from Shock Cardio HiiT Pyramid , then did the weights, then finished with the remainder of the HiiT Pyramid workout. Awesome blast for the legs! Quads - Static Lunges Hamstrings - Wide Leg Deadlifts> Biceps - Hammer Curls Shoulders - Lateral Raise Chest - Flat Dumbbell Flyes Back - Double Arm Dumbbell Row I must brag on myself and admit that I was very pleased with my weights today.  I was able to maintain heavy weights even at these super high reps. I would give myself a high-five, but I can't lift my arms right now! ;-) Did Someone Sa...

I went to bed last night with high hopes that the sleet would come early enough that we'd either be told to stay home from work or get a two hour delay. Alas, no such luck. However, I did opt to go in later and ride with Jason. This meant I got my workout done early, but not so early that I was still asleep. I decided to do Step Blast and Abs from Step Jump and Pump . It was a funny, sweaty workout. Jason and I work across the street from one another and our offices are only about 7 blocks from our house. So riding in together made sense, plus I trust him driving on the ice more than me! When I got to the office there were only two others there. The whole building was pretty much empty as most employees just stay home and use personal time rather than brave the ice. The sleet was coming down, but it wasn't terribly slick at that point. Only five brave souls in my immediate area ended up showing up. By noon it was coming down and coating the streets completely. The big boss ga...