Zumba!

I happen to have a 'bucket list' of sorts when it comes to different kind of exercises or exercise class.  For example, I had to try Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred when it came out and was all the rage.  My current list includes the following:

• Jillian Michaels
• Zumba
• Boot Camp
• Spinning
• Body Pump
• Bikram (Hot) Yoga

Of course the list is always evolving and changing.  But I finally had the chance to try Zumba!  Turns out there is a woman in my building who leads a Zumba class on Tuesday and Thursdays FOR FREE!  I finally made it last week after our staff meeting.

If you're not sure what Zumba is, it's essentially a dance class that uses music primarily with a Latin vibe and incorporates all types of dance moves (some of them reminded me of my days when I was taking jazz classes).  Anyway, I was a little nervous that I wouldn't find it challenging enough or I wouldn't find it to be enough of a workout.  I'm happy to report that I had nothing to be nervous about.

It was so fun.  And I found that a lot of the jumping moves or squatting moves could be taken further and it's really all about what you make of the workout.  I was sweating up a storm and loving every second of it.  If you haven't already, I highly recommend checking it out.  Have you tried it?  Unfortunately I haven't been able to make it back due to all my doctors appointments this week, but I'm looking forward to Tuesday!

Happy Saturday everyone!

Being My Own Valentine

Did you enter my Multigrain Cheerios Giveaway yet?

Patrick and I had a lovely weekend away celebrating my birthday.  This is how Patrick spoiled me this year (can you tell I have a slight obsession with the sparkles?):

It was great to relax and do nothing.  I suppose we could have done nothing at home, but at home I can't help but look around and think of all the things that could be done or cleaned.  Being away, it's out of sight and out of mind!  While we enjoyed ourselves, we also did a fair amount of eating, so it's back on the bandwagon today!

I'm extra proud of myself because I motivated myself to do this workout before I left for the day:

I consider it my Valentine's Day gift to myself.  Because I'm worth it!  This is the first time I tried this DVD out and I really liked it.  I don't own a kettlebell yet, but I like that you can do this workout with a hand weight.  The heaviest hand weight I have is only 5 pounds, so I'm thinking I need a heavier one.  I would eventually like to invest in a kettlebell though.  I only did Level 1 today, but the workout just flew by.  It was about 30 minute workout and I thought it was just the right length for this type of routine.

Did you treat yourself right this Valentine's Day?  Patrick and I also enjoyed a yummy meal (ok, so that wasn't so healthy, but you can't win 'em all right!).

Three Things Thursday

1.  My new Jillian videos came in yesterday!  Yay!  I'm planning on running today, so I'll probably get to try them out tomorrow or Saturday.  I also got myself this as an early birthday gift:

 I think I'm going to make some of these for Patrick for Valentine's Day (ssshhhh, don't tell!).  Although, my birthday is only a few days before Valentine's Day, I figure that it will be a nice way to celebrate my birthday too.  I'm not sure that this was the best thing to order while doing Weight Watchers, but it should help me portion control my cake, right?

2.  I had a thesis meeting this morning!  Which really is a miracle.  It went really well and my thesis project is coming along.  This thing is going to be done by May!  And I will graduate on time!  One of my advisers actually said that my project would have made a great Master's project.  I told him I have no problem if he wants to give me a Master's along with my Bachelor's.  That could really save me some time in my academic career.  Hahaha...

3.  I weigh in tonight and obviously, I'm hoping for a loss.  Although I'm not really confident.  I'm feeling like I'm not exercising enough.  I think I'm doing ok with portion control and making healthy choices when it comes to food, but the weather has been making it tough to even just get out and go to the gym.  It's kind of hard to drive in a foot of snow!  I don't know about you, but spring can't come fast enough!  (Or at least warm enough temps to melt some of this snow!

Happy almost weekend!

Three Things Thursday

1.  I'm taking the plunge.  I signed up for Tall Mom's 1000+++ Mile Club.  (If you want to join, you can signup HERE.)  Technically the challenge is to walk, run, or swim 1000 miles in 2011.  Technically cycling doesn't count.  But because much of my training involves cycling, I'm making it my personal goal to move 1000 miles in 2010.  I'm not sure I could get there with running and walking alone.  Maybe that will be my goal for next year!

2.  I took another plunge and bought a running skirt!  Running Skirts is having a sale on their items already on sale.  So it was only $20.11!  I've been wanting on for awhile, but felt that the $58 price tag is a bit steep.  The best part is that it shipped yesterday and should be waiting for me in Maine when I return.  Unfortunately it's a little cold in Maine to be running in a skirt.  I'm thinking I'll just have to debut it at the gym and suffer the funny looks I'm going to get.

3.  I have a 3 mile run scheduled for today because I missed out yesterday.  I thought I was coming down with a cold and wasn't feeling well, so I thought it best to rest.  I also had some sore of irritation on my face that was making me really itchy (I think it's my new face wash).  So I took the day off.  But I'm feeling much better today and I need to get in my fourth workout for the week.  I'm going to do the same loop that I did last Friday to see if I can do the loop faster.  And tomorrow I weigh in, so I'm hoping it pays off!

Happy Thursday!

It's Amazing What You Can Do

Sometimes I amaze myself and find that I'm smarter than I think I am.  Case-in-point: I got a 90 on the physical chemistry exam (yes, it's as bad as it sounds) that I was stressing about.  To study I read over my notes, looked at the problem sets, and read the book.  We had a 5 hour break between class and the exam and everyone was cramming.  Except for me.  I went home, exercised, and then made dinner.  I figured if I didn't know it by then, I wasn't going to learn it in five hours.

I think this idea translates well to running (or triathlons, or whatever is challenging for you).  Sometimes we just don't know what we can do until we try.  And if you do try, you'll be surprised at what you can do.  Another case-in-point: I ran on Sunday so I decided to go for a walk on Monday.  As I headed out the door, I thought, why not run as much of it as you can and then you can walk?  And you know what?  I ran 2.2 miles of the 2.5 mile loop.  Sweet.

I think we hang ourselves up on the fact that we can't do something, when in reality, we are smarter, faster, stronger than we think we are.  All you've got to do is give it an honest shot.  What are you doing to challenge yourself?  Have you ever proved yourself wrong?

A New Workout Buddy

Ok, well he's not exactly new, but he's new to exercising.  He looks like this:

Ok, it's Patrick.  Last week he was on school vacation and was hitting the gym with a friend all week.  All of a sudden, he has all this motivation to exercise.  And I'm loving it because it motivates me. 

Last week we went on an afternoon run together.  I should mention that Patrick is 6' 3" tall and pretty thin.  This means he could totally kill me when it comes to running (but he's nice too so he stays with me).  On our run though he stayed just ahead of me so I had to work a little harder than normal to keep up.  In the end, I took off two minutes off my best time on that loop!  Usually I prefer to workout by myself so I can just do my thing, but I could get used to this.

Yesterday morning Patrick motivated himself to get out of bed at 4:45 am to hit the gym before student teaching.  He went by himself and did cardio and weights.  Today when he got home from student teaching today we went to the gym together and did 20 minutes on the elliptical and lifted some weights.  Before he used to tell me that he didn't have time to workout.  I think he's quickly figuring out that no one really has the time, we make the time.

Patrick has never really been into exercising regularly.  He kind of lets me do my thing with the running and the triathlons.  However, I know that if he tried, he could be an amazing runner.  I'm hoping that his motivation sticks around because since he's started hitting the weights I can already see the difference.  And who doesn't like a little muscle?  Seriously though, Patrick is blessed with some nice genes where he can practically eat whatever he wants and stay thin.  The thing that worries me is that if he's not careful about what he eats, even though he's thin, he will still be doing damage to his body.  At least exercising regularly is a step in the right direction to keeping his heart and the rest of his body in working order.

I really just want my future husband to live into old age with me.  And I also enjoy having someone who is motivating me with his actions, not just encouraging words.  Do you work out with a partner?  If you do, what are some of the things you do together?  If not, do you wish you had a workout buddy?

New Things

So I finally laced up yesterday and got out for a run.  The rain has finally stopped and although the sun wasn't really out, it was still good running weather.  And I was able to try a new loop that I've been wanting to test out for awhile.  Here are the stats:

Miles: 4.25 mi

Time: 47:31 min

Pace: 11:11 min/mi or 5.4 mph

It felt extra good because I didn't walk at all!  I haven't done that or run that far since February.  Even on my shorter runs I've been taking walk breaks lately.  I was really proud of myself that I pushed mentally and didn't stop.  Besides, it's always so hard to start running again after walking.

Yesterday I also did some shopping and stopped by The Natural Living Center.  I've never been before.  Imagine Whole Foods, but a mom and pop version of it and you get The Natural Living Center.  It smelled so good in there and I could have literally gone crazy and bought tons of stuff.  I restrained myself and only bought a small jar of almond butter, a small amount of chia seeds, and a handful of chocolate covered peanuts (a snack for the ride home!).  I've heard good things about almond butter and about chia seeds so I figured I'd give it a try.  I liked that you can buy the chia seeds in bulk, which means that you can pick how much you want to buy.  I know you can probably get a better deal by buying a big bag somewhere, but I wanted to try them before committing to them.

Today I did a recovery walk.  The sun is shining, but it's really windy out.  I was thankful I was walking and not running because running into that wind would have really been crappy.  I walked at a pretty good clip and feel pretty good.  It's not often that I just go out and walk, but it was a nice change.  I was able to notice more things - like all the buds on the trees and flowers starting to pop up!  Summer will be here soon enough!

What Next?

I don't think I've said this before on this blog, but I had a goal of the number of races I wanted to complete this racing season. I wanted to run four 5Ks, one 10K, and one triathlon. These races kept me training and busy all summer. Now I've completed all those races and I'm starting to think about what I want to do next. The weather is starting to get chillier here in Maine and soon the snow will be here and the majority of my workouts will be happening indoors. What are your favorite indoor workouts? Are there DVDs you like or certain things you do at the gym? I'd love some suggestions!

On another note, I wasn't feeling well last week and look what my wonderful fiance brought me:
Sometimes he spoils me rotten. I've certainly been enjoying them and they did make me feel better!

Recommiting

I've been such a slacker lately it's not even funny. And the worst part is that I'm going to have to stop doing Weight Watchers because I my mom's isn't going to reimburse us for it like they're supposed to (so aggravating!). That means that I'm going to have to be super careful and keep myself on track. I'll probably need to buy my own scale, but I digress.

The moral of the story is that I'm recommitting. Right now. No more cheating. I'm also going to restart the 30 Day Shred routine. That way, even if I do have nothing else, I've done at least 20 minutes of working out. And this time, I took initial measurements so I can see the results. And I'm going to post them right here so I can be accountable. So the starting stats are:

Waist: 34 in
Hips: 41 in
Bust: 38.5 in
Arms: 11.5 in
Thighs: 22 in

I did Day 1 Level 1 today and it was definitely much easier than when I started the first time around. I think tomorrow I'm going to use my 5 pound weights instead of my 3s. This is also a good choice because I generally get lots of cardio in, but not a lot of weights or strength training, something I desperately need. Stay tuned for progress!

Conquering the Treadmill

The current crappy weather we've been having means that I often venture indoors to workout. I really like running outside much better, but I also enjoy being in a drier environment. This makes absolutely no sense, however, because after my run I'm soaked in sweat anyway. That being said, the treadmill and I have become much better friends over the last few weeks. For me, the treadmill is like a torture device. I just don't have the patience to stay on it that long. Yesterday was a 30 min run and it was the longest I've stayed on in a long time. I will say that I'm starting to get used to it.

I do like the fact that I can control my speed and see my stats. On shorter runs I like to use the treadmill to pace myself and build up my pace. I'm able to do controlled intervals and end faster than I started, which is something I try to do outside, but I can't really tell. I remember when I used to run on the treadmill I was always around 5 mph and now I'm always over 6 mph. The visible progress is nice. I just get so bored. We do have TVs at my gym, but they're so high up that if I look at them I'll fall off my machine. The treadmills are also in front of the windows, which would be nice if it were busier outside. Generally I stare at the same 5 cars for 30 minutes. I did see one woman reading a magazine while on the treadmill. And she was running, not walking. I wanted to ask her how she does it because I find that my head is bopping around way too much to actually read anything. I do listen to my iPod, which is really helpful. I've noticed that I run faster with it on.

So, for any treadmill runners out there, what do you do to break up the monotony? Do you have any favorite workouts that you do on the treadmill? I'm always open to suggestions!

Rules of the Road

It always amazes me how inconsiderate some drivers are. When I go cycling to train for my triathlon, I normally bike on roads with the cars. I have to do this to be able to get my mileage in. If I stayed in my neighborhood, I would only be able to get a mile in! When I do bike, I try to wear bright colors (think hot pink or neon green) and I even use my fancy hand signals along with making eye contact with drivers. Still, many try to just ignore me.

What irritates me most is when a driver passes me and it's as if they get closer to the shoulder and the speed up. There have been some times when I was pretty scared as some large SUV sped past me. It especially eats me up when there is no one coming in the other lane and the driver passing my doesn't move over.

I also love it when people yell at me to get off the road and onto the sidewalk because "I'm not a car." Actually, it's illegal for a cyclist to be on the sidewalks and a bike is considered a moving vehicle. I know, I'm just inconveniencing the masses by my traveling in the shoulder.

Don't get me wrong. There are plenty of nice, considerate drivers out there who let me get into the lane that I need to get into or let me go before pulling out onto the main road (Thank you!). Some people don't look when they pull into an intersection (or don't stop at the stop sign) and thereby almost run me over when I have the right of way. It would be on thing if I was travelling slowly, but I tend to ride between 15-20 MPH and for me, stopping takes longer.

I guess my point is that we should all be a little more considerate to riders and even joggers and walkers. I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here, but being surrounded by 3000 pound boxes of steel while on a 10 pound bicycle is pretty intimidating. And really, I'm just trying to get a good workout, not piss you off.

Trying for a 10k

I haven't even competed in my first triathlon yet and I've already picked out my next fitness challenge. I'm entering the Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women in Boston on Monday, October 12. I feel like I'm really starting to get into the whole running thing. I've gotten a lot faster since I've started losing weight and I noticed on my last run how much easier I breathe now. I never thought about it before, but I was kind of huffing and puffing my way through my runs.

Patrick and I really love heading into Boston and we're going to be home from school for the weekend of the run. I told him that if he came with me, we'd go out to dinner in Boston. I'll probably negate all the running I did with the meal that will follow, but I kind of don't care! Really, I don't have to bribe him to come with me. He's so great about coming to all my races and cheering my on. He even comes to the finish line with a bottle of water in hand, which is always a welcome sight.

Who knows, maybe if this race goes well, I'll get really ambitious and train for a half-marathon. Although those scare me a little because I hear that people lose toenails running those things and I happen to like my toenails just the way they are!

Swimming

Unlike many triathletes, the swimming portion of the race will not be the most difficult part. I have been swimming competitively since I was 12 and I competed on my high school team all four years. Needless to say, this will probably be the easiest part of the race for me physically. However, I'm going to be swimming in river with a bunch of other people all trying to get to the finish line. I'm a little nervous because it's going to be harder to see and I'm going to have to "steer" myself. Unlike the nice straight lanes of a pool, the river is a moving body of water that has a whole new set of challenges. Unfortunately, I don't think there really is anyway to prepare for that. So what should be the easiest part for me could potentially be the hardest. At least this triathalon is not an ocean swim! That just sounds miserable.
Tomorrow is my 5K race. I'm hoping to keep my time under 33 minutes, but I secretly want it to be around 31 minutes. However, with the triathlon training I'm running a bit less than I normally would, so I'll be interested to see the impact that makes. Maybe now that I'm a bit lighter I'll go faster! I'll be sure to post results with pictures after the race.