Spicing Up Your Workouts

My workouts this week have been amazing! I have been excited to do every single one that I had planned. As a runner, I think it's extremely easy to become bored with your routine, especially when we're training for an event. Everyday, day in and day out, we run. As much as I love running, it becomes sort of like a chore when I'm seriously into my training.

30 degrees outside? Too bad. Suck it up.

Raining? You ain't made of sugar.

Windy? Bring some chap stick.

Oh, so you're tired? You can sleep when you're dead

(haha. I may have gone a tad bit overboard on that last one.)

The point is, sometimes we need to switch it up a bit. Not only does it mentally recharge you, but it's better for you physically. If you don't challenge yourself, if you're afraid to feel uncomfortable, you're body is never going to change. You're never going to get faster, or lose those last 5 lbs, and you might end up with an overuse injury. (Lord knows I've had enough of those)

So I'd thought I'd give you guys a look at what I've been doing this week. How I've been switching it up, and why I'm having so much fun.

1. Run on a new course. I think this has to be one of my favorite ways to change up my workout. I usually run on the Indian Head Rail Trail, which is great. It always has traffic. It's close to home. It has porta potties and water fountains.....but it's a straight line. Seriously? Do you know how mentally challenging it is to run in a straight line for an hour? Sometimes I'm just not up to it, so Sunday I headed somewhere knew. I went to a new park, Smallwood State Park, and ran on the trails there.

My glutes were definitely a bit sore after doing those steps twice through.

Not only does running trails keep you constantly engaged (if I lose focus for a second I WILL eat dirt. Or slam a shoulder, skin a knee, you get the idea. I've done it enough times) but it was much more challenging then 3.5 miles on the pavement would be. There were hills, turns, declines, grass, gravel, dirt, etc.

2. Take a class. After my trail run on Sunday I headed to a 90 minute yoga class. Yoga is SO beneficial for everybody, especially runners though! We are so hard on our bodies, we need to give it a little relief. Even though I know this, I don't stretch as much as I should, or focus on my breathing (I think most runners are guilty of this). I HAVE to force myself to go to class to get it done most of the time. I always walk out of there feeling relaxed, rejuvenated and ready to conquer some shit.

3. Pick up some weights. Seriously. As strong as I feel running, I feel even stronger by doing weight lifting. I've really been focusing on weights for the past couple of months and I'm really starting to feel/see a difference. Plus, it's always a plus to walk over the free weight rack, with all the men surrounding it, and feel like you're just as bad ass as they are.

4. Do a speed workout. Most people hate doing speedwork. It's hard, it's uncomfortable. It may not last as long as their normal run. However, it's a necessary evil if you want to improve. You're legs are not going to learn to turn over quickly unless you force them too. Thursday's workout for me was 400s. I did a mile warm up, 4x400s (with an active recovery 400 in between each) and a .75 mile cool down. I finished with enough time to really focus on some foam rolling and stretching (things I'm usually lacking on).

5. New music. This one is pretty self explanatory, and I feel like the majority of people already know this, but it's worth stressing. I am a HUGE music fan and blasting some new tunes in my ears always get me pumped. I'm a Pandora user, so you never know what's coming and it's a great surprise.

I've been loving the Rise Against Station recently....

 

And just because every blogger loves food, I'll share a picture of today's lunch. I went to Truckeroo and had Korean BBQ for the first time.

 

 

Delicious Bolgogi taco with Spicy Kimchi Slaw.

 

I may have also had an Indian veggie empanada and some cappuccino crunch ice cream that I ate to quickly I forgot to take a picture of:-D

 

How do you spice up your workouts?

 

Ever had Korean BBQ?

 

Do you go to food trucks? (It's a huge thing in DC these days)

 

 

 

The Fruits of Their Labor.

Monday's workout called for 3 miles and strength training. I quickly ran on the treadmill, then got right into the weights. As much as I wanted to do my normal class, I realized that it's been quite some time since I did my ankle weight exercises for my hips. So I made up a little circuit using a 12 lb ankle weight:

Inner Thigh Lift (Lie on your back with your right left bent, your left leg straight out with a flexed foot turned out to the left): 25 reps

Side Lying Leg Lift: 25 reps

Donkey Kicks: 25 reps

**Repeat twice**

After I did 2 sets on each leg I used the resistance band and did:

Tricep Press: 12

Chest Fly: 20

Bicep Curls: 15

Then you switch the weights on your legs and repeat everything 4 times. Hell of a workout.

Today's workout was not as intense. I had 4.5 miles to do and didn't want to push myself too much since I am doing a speed workout and have my race on Sunday. When I saw that I had forgotten my head phones at my desk I decided to push myself more mentally.

I got on the treadmill. The boring treadmill....and I ran. No music. No book. Nothing but me in my own thoughts (When I said that to a coworker she said "WOW that's a scary place to be. LOL. nice). I maintained an average pace of 8:20 and felt damn good about it. Maybe I'm closer to my goal 5K pace than I think:-)

After my run I went to a 45 minute yoga class. I got back to my desk feeling like a big bowl of amazing.

Staying true to my ways, I'm done talking about working out and on to food.

Can you check out this frickin' apple?!?!

Look at how big it is!! It's incredible! Almost half the size of my child's head! (and she is a BIG 6 year old). Let me tell you what, the taste amazed us even more than the size!!  It was SO delicious and crisp.

Do you want to know where you can get this beauty? Southern Maryland.

I'm not a fan of Maryland for a number of reasons. Firstly, there are cops EVERYWHERE. Not that I'm hiding anything but they can, and will, pull you over for every.single.thing. They even have speed cameras on the damn highway! That's sick.

Secondly, you can't buy beer in grocery stores. You have to go to a liqour store. A nasty, run down, shady-looking liquor store. For my beer?? That's ridiculous. I should be able to buy beer with my groceries. And if I want wine?? I have to go to an entirely different store!

Thirdly, the grocery stores suck. BIG time. No Wegmans, No Harris Teeter, No Whole Foods, No Trader Joes. They have Shoppers. Don't you dare try to find a Kashi product or gluten free product in them either, because you can't.

**Forgive my rant, back to the apples**

Despite all this, Southern Maryland has the BEST Farmer's Markets and produce stands ever. All of their products are delicious, juicy and cheaper than any grocery store/farmer's market in VA.

We bought 5 of these apples for $4 (Seriously, what a bargain!!)  at a stand on the side of the road on Saturday. That beauty was our last one.

It was SO big I cut it into thirds. Kaitlyn and I each had a third of it for breakfast, I had the other third for lunch.

With some crunchy, salty almond butter and scrambled eggs with avocado and Cholula.

You know where to find me this weekend. Buying more than one bag this time.

Shaking the Boredom: Fartleks!

This week has been awesome workout wise!

Monday I took Chiseled Physique. The instructor really switched it out by breaking out the stability balls and free weights. I am the LEAST balanced person out there. Wow. I hope we get to do that more often!

Monday is a running day. Heat doesn't usually get to me. In fact, I usually love it because I am so cold all the time. Monday afternoon I found myself grouchy and decided to go across the street to the gym and get on a treadmill. I did 4 miles and while I felt good, I found myself mentally not in the game. I feel as though my "mental stamina" is more gone than my physical stamina since I was forced to take that 3 month break. Has anybody else experienced this??

Tuesday I did 20 minutes of intervals on the elliptical then went to a 45 minute Yoga class. Just when I thought I was doing pretty well, she says "go to eagle pose"....A what??

                                                        


Needless to say this is NOT a picture of me. I could do no such move! It is a lot harder to put your hands together like that then you'd think. My shoulders weren't having it....and my balance, well we already know about that! Oh well, just something to work towards!

Wednesday class = Spinning!! Love it!! I felt completely drained and tired and in one of those "I don't see this happening" moods. I went and the mood changed the second I got there. I really pushed myself and sweat more than I have in any spin class. To top it off, Wednesday is a running day, so I headed to the track after work. (A certain little girl was supposed to join me but decided she wanted to play with her cousins, so I went solo.) This was my best running workout since getting back in the game. First I did 1.5 miles around the track. SO BORING. So then I took it off road. I ran around all the fields a couple of times (Nothing like a bit of running on grass to make you appreciate a nice, smooth track), around the school and the parking lots and back to the track. Another 1.5 miles. To finish it off I decided to play with a bit of light speed work. I did another 2 miles, this time picking up the pace on the straight aways on the track. It felt awesome and was what I really needed to shake the boredom I felt during the first part of my run.

By the end of it all, I was exhausted.

I went to go pick up Kaitlyn afterwards and my mom had made dinner. SCORE! Brown rice with chicken and lentils! Just the wholesome, delicious meal I needed after an intense double-workout day.

Around 8:30 I passed out while Kaitlyn was reading me her book for the night.......slept like a baby:-)

Does anybody elses children put THEM to bed while they're reading??

Finding the Balance

Monday's Chiseled Physique class was awesome. We had a new instructor.
She switched it up and I really loved it. Lots and lots of squats with
pressing, lunges with curling, core, etc. I am LOVING the
multi-tasking and the extra "umph" I put in that I just can't seem to
get myself to do alone.

After work and picking up Kaitlyn, we hit up the track. It's a nice
3/4 of a mile walk there (perfect for a brisk walk to warm up). Once
we arrived I starting doing circles while Kaitlyn did a little biking
on the hills, a little exploring and a little relaxing. I completed 3
hot, sweaty miles. I'm not going to lie. They were not easy....but
only on a mental note. The track can realllllly suck sometimes. You go
around and around and around, counting up or down, looking at the same
old shit you saw the last quarter mile. It was my only choice though,
and I am so thankful to actually be able to, so I ran it.

I'm also a liar because I told myself to stay at 2 miles for a week
then implement the 10% rule, only running ever other
day......hmmm....at least I didn't go TOO crazy and I am only running
every other day. ( Which means tonight is a go!!)

Tuesday I found myself stiff and sore. My left calf and my hips. So
what's a girl to do....but some yoga! Although I have only taken the
Yoga class at my work twice I am really loving it. (I could feel a
difference in my practice just in a week). I walked out of there
feeling great. Yes, I tipped and I lost my balance and I let the
thoughts in my head take over on occasion...but it's all about
personal progress.

I decided that I wouldn't be doing any workout Tuesday night. In the
past four days I have biked almost 40 miles, done 90 minutes of Yoga,
done 90 minutes of weight lifting, ran 5 miles (it's crazy how awesome
the number "5" even sounds) and walked a decent amount.
So what did I do with myself last night? Well my sister came over.
With Corona. and pretzels. and pizza. and guacamole. So that's what we did....While watching the first Sex and the City Movie..... Since I'm
not working out, I'm over-indulging? Balance needs to be found, but
it's not easy. Especially when you are struggling with things in your
personal life. If I get stressed out  I either want to run or want a
beer. Or both. (Although hopefully I get the run in before I get to
the beer. lol)

It's not like I have a drinking problem, but why must I do this? I
think that this sort of thing is particularly common. Especially in
athletes. Do you experience this?

On a non-rambling note, today's spin class was awesome. The instructor really pushes us and has us to an upper body workout while riding, which I love. When  I got home I headed out for a run. Not timed or measured, just ran. Turns out I did 4.44, a little more than I wanted to but I felt great.

A double workout day calls for a substantial, healthy dinner..

Benefits of Group Fitness Clasess and Beets!

This week I decided to go a different route, group fitness classes, and I am hooked!! It is so great for a number of reasons:

1. Switching it up! Everybody knows by know that the best results come from doing a wide array of exercises, yet I continually find myself in a rut. Especially the "more cardio the better" rut and I know that's not always the case. This gives me a different routine practically everyday!
2. Cardio WHILE weight training. It is fabulous! Take a class that does low weights, high reps, whole body conditioning for the entire time. You will breathe heavy and you will be sore.
3. Teachers/Peers always make me want to push myself harder. Sometimes I finish a workout knowing that I could have done more. Not the case in classes. I want to look strong and confident and experienced, show everybody what I can do.
4. Set times/schedules. Committing to a class makes it harder (at least for me) to get lazy. If I don't do yoga today, I'll have to wait an entire week to do it again.

The classes I have taken this week have been:
Monday: Chiseled Physique: Low weights, high reps, all over body toning with cardio. It was awesome and I cannot wait to do this one again.
Tuesday: Yoga: I was nervous about taking a group yoga class. Although I've practiced for a while, I'm not the best. It didn't matter. The teacher loved what she did and was knowledgeable and I will definitely be taking this class again.
Wednesday: Peaks and Valleys Spin Class: As  it sounds, interval spin class. I was drenched in sweat at the end.

What will tomorrow bring!! (I don't know but I do know it's chiseled physique again on Friday)

On top of these workouts, I've decided that Kaitlyn and I need a more active lifestyle overall. So Monday, we walked it out. When I got home from work we walked up to the library to exchange her books then we walked to her swim class then we walked home. Only 1.25 miles in total but it felt totally good to do it.

Tuesday night after I got home from work I had a bike ride on the brain. She was begging to come. I'm not going to lie, as guilty as I felt, I was hesitant to bring her. I wanted to get a sweat on. I live in a hilly area and was concerned she wouldn't last very long. In the end, I told myself that I was ridiculous. Spending time with my daughter, encouraging her to be active, it was more important. So we rode......neighborhoods for a while then around a track. It was a great afternoon.

Today we only  walked to her swim class and back,......but I'm excited to keep this up!

PS - She showed me how the hills are done! No exaggeration. Up them in flip flops in 2 seconds. Biking yesterday, on a hill I was very close to wiping out on, she said "I'll show you mommy!" and came down it confident and speedy.....:-)

I have a food confession to make. I'm currently having an affair with beets. Normally, this wouldn't be too bad. They are awesome for you http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=49...

Roasted with a touch of sea salt...

Roasted and shredded, mixed with nonfat, plain Greek yogurt, lemon juice, pepper, cilantro and garlic.

(The meat in those dinners are Turkey Polish Kielbasa. One of Kaitlyn's FAVORITES. BTW, She is also a beet lover, plus brown rice in one and quinoa in the other)

4 out of 6 meals in the last 48 hours have had beets in them. It must stop. I am quite the messy person. I have gotten beet juice on everything! Today, my lunch leaked in my gym bag and my shirt looked pink Tye dye. It wouldn't be so bad, but they don't have the best smell. and my pee is the color of them. no joke. (TMI? maybe.)

My last note....Does anybody own "The Stick". Holy crap it's my best friend. My left calf and right glute has been extremely tight these last couple days. I roll this bad boy down it. oooooohhh man. It hurts, but that kind of hurt where you just can't stop. It's like an extremely intense massage. I've never done foam rolling but I think it's the same concept. Best $20 I ever spent.

Summer BBQs and Light Workouts

Thursday brought one of my best workouts in a while! I started off with 20 minutes on the row machine. Then I did 2 sets of 30 speed squats and 15 upward rows with a 15 lb free weight. Then I jumped on the elliptical and cranked it for 20 mins, repeated the 2 sets of squats and rows, jumped back on for 20 more minutes on the elliptical and did one more set of squats, just to torture myself.....I crawled out of work that day! So amazing.

Starving from my workout, I was glad that Thursday night my family took my little brother out for his 16th birthday. (Can I mention how old this makes me feel!!). We went to his favorite restaurant, Mandarin Court. Usually, the food is amazing. Unfortunately, things didn't turn out all to well this night. So the only thing picture worthy was my vegetarian sushi. Cucumber, carrot and avocado. Drizzled in soy sauce. Delish.

Friday afternoon baby girl and I packed up and headed up to SoMD to spend some time with the boys:-) Saturday was a relaxing day. My body was SO sore from my crazy workout on Thursday that I decided to take it easy. I did 60 minutes of Jillian Michael's Power Yoga. I felt better as soon as I was done. All stretched out.

Then the BBQ started! I prepped and the boy cooked. We make a damn good team if I do say so myself. We marinated that pork tenderloin for 6 hours, seasoned the sweet potatoes with a sprinkle of brown sugar, cumin and cayenne pepper and tossed the squash in seasoning salt, onion powder and garlic powder. Everything was SO good. (Especially topped with Cholula!)

For dessert, I tried my hand at a Boston Cream Pie. Pretty tasty! (PS - Has anybody ever made one of these?? 5 egg yolks and 5 whole eggs. Holy cholesterol. I had no idea. Luckily, for my wheat-free yet-I-splurge-for sweets-self, there was only a 1/2 cup of flour.)

Making breakfast for my family is one of the things I love to do most. This baby was an oatmeal pancake (No flour, just egg whites, oatmeal, baking powder and cinnamon. Especially great if you had 1/2 a mashed banana) topped with Greek yogurt and some amazing nectarines and strawberries I picked up from the farmer's market on Sunday.

Unfortunately, my family won't eat that. lol. So I made them scrambled eggs, sausage and croissants. Baby steps. lol.

After heading back to VA and doing my normal errands, cleaning (Being an adult is the breaks sometimes...) I headed out for a bike ride. I got sprinkled on for a few miles and that really gave me a kick. (Cannot wait to start running again! Running in the rain is incredibly exhilarating. I feel like the "Rocky" theme song is playing while I am...) I knocked out 11 miles and came back to this...

I liked the sweet potatoes from Saturday night so much I did them again. I also made a cucumber and tomato salad...Chop and mix with chopped red onion, basil and black beans...tossed in red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil....so good. Especially with those slices of avocado on the side. My mom made the yummy chicken and pepper kabob in the middle.

I love summer BBQs with loved ones. I wish winter never came.

I should be stretching right now....why is it I ran spend hours running/biking but can't stretch for more than 5 minutes afterwards. Must work on this.

Biking, Batting, Golfing, Swimming....

This weekend Kaitlyn and I did not make our usual trip to SoMD. The boy was working, so we decided to hang out in good old VA.  But what to do with ourselves...???
Friday night, I decided that I was too lazy to go on the bike ride I had been thinking about, so I some yoga instead. I started out with this DVD set I have of "Yoga for beginners". Although it is very relaxing, it's not what I was looking for. I switched to the P90X Yoga for a challenge. I was excited to conquer the intense, 90 minute DVD. Unfortunately, I am as cheap as they come and all of my P90X DVDs are burnt....30 minutes into the workout my DVD refused to play any longer....*sigh*. I turned to YouTube and found the video "Power Yoga with Bryan Jones". It was quite vigorous for somebody like me who is not spectacular with yoga. He moved very quickly! I tried my best to keep up! I think I may have to try that one again soon.
At the end of the night my foot was aching due to all the runner's poses (is that grammatically correct?) and balancing on one foot. I propped it up and turned on House. (Hugh Laurie is just fabulous!) However, Kaitlyn has just joined the summer reading program at the library and wanted to read to me. Put me right to bed:-)

Saturday morning we decided to try out a new Farmer's Market. None of them compare to the one in SoMD, but we got the basics....I think I need a bigger fruit bowl.....

Then we did a little of this.....

Followed by a little of this....

We went to my moms in the afternoon so I could get a bike ride in. I went for 11 miles. (My hamstrings are more sore than I have been in a LONG time.) My mom made me a delicious salad to have post-ride. Followed by this peach coffee cake with a scoop of fro-yo.

Kaitlyn and I ended the night with a visit to the red box. "This Means War" kind of sucks...

Sunday, I thought we'd get out a do something new. It was really hot (yet again) so we went relatively early. We went to a batting cage. First time for both of us!

and we went golfing. Guess who got a hole-in-one?

All of this made us hungry. Good thing we packed a snack.

Then baby girl wanted some soft serve....Seeing as though we were drenched in sweat at this point, I agreed. Heath bar is my absolute FAVORITE topping.

Speaking of food. These are my two favorite finds of the week. The dried mangoes were amazing, and how can you go wrong with sweet potato chips.

I think we'll take a break from the extreme heat and just stay inside tonight.

Runs Shorter Than 3 Miles Suck - Tapering

 I wasn't looking forward to my taper week before the Marine Corp Half Marathon. Runs that are shorter than 3 miles kind of get to me. The 3 mile mark is where I usually really get into my runs. My strides and breathing match up and I feel like I just want to go and go and go.......so obviously a week of tapering before a half marathon is not my idea of a good time.


Monday I took as a total rest day. No running. No cross-training.


Yesterday I woke up early to test out my new yoga DVDS. I had done a quick 25 minute segment of PM yoga before bed the night and wasn't sure how I felt about it. These yoga DVDs are NOT the Jillian Michael's Yoga Meltdown I am used to. They focus more on controlling breathing, stretching and elongating than they do burning calories or raising your heartbeat.......I'm not sure how I'm going to like these ones. Perhaps I should not have gone with the "beginners" yoga dvd box set, but with my lack of balance I thought I was doing the right thing. The dvds I got are Yoga for Beginners Boxed Set (Yoga for Stress Relief / AM-PM Yoga for Beginners / Essential Yoga for Inflexible People)".
I usually get my runs in during work but with the amount of times I have to leave early for doctor's appointments this week.......I feel like I'm pushing it a bit..... so I left work today, without running, feeling EXHAUSTED. Everything on my body felt sore and tight and I knew I needed a run.


Luckily, I had time after my doctor's appointment and before getting my daughter to fit in a quick 3.5 miles. It wasn't my best run (I'm not sure if it's a great idea to go running right after having blood drawn......but I'm stubborn) but I was glad to have gotten it done. After I finished my run, I changed into my swimsuit, scooped up Kaitlyn and we headed to the pool. I decided that I was going to start swimming during her class. There is an extra lane open right next to it, so it kind of worked out perfectly. Let me tell you what, 45 minutes was MORE than enough. Swimming is not joke. It is an entirely different technique and uses completely different muscles. I am excited to start adding it to my routine twice a week.

By the time baby girl and I got home we were hungry girls! Dinner was spinach salad and whole wheat noodles tossed with basil pesto and chicken. hmmmm.....

Only 2 short "pace" miles today.......which means only 16 minutes of running?? This tapering better be worth it......

Insanity - Cardio Recovery! Thoughts?

So I woke up at my regular 4:15 AM this morning (a tad bit sore from yesterday's pace run) and popped in my Insanity - Cardio Recovery DVD.

My running has been excelling so much recently that I'm worried that I'm going to, as I've done in the past, not put enough time and effort into strengthing and stretching. So I alternate between the Jillian Michael's Yoga Meltdown and Insanity Cardio Recovery DVDs in the morning.  Not to mention the AWESOME burn that comes with this video and the awesome feeling of accomplishment I got from making it through the entire squat and lunge sequence.

I have yet to perfect standing on one leg with my arms and other leg straight out.....but these things take time:-)

Personally, I LOVE this DVD. I do have to agree with a few other bloggers though (http://blog.charleslloydfitness.com/2010/02/15/insanity-cardio-recovery-review/)
 . There is no actual "recovery" going on! That is not why I do it. I do it to incorporate other things besides cardio into my workout. To stretch and strengthen and just to give myself a little "something" first thing in the morning.

Any other runners have DVDs that they like to incorporate into their weekly workout?

What do you think of Insanity Cardio Recovery?