Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Update

I hope everyone had a nice Easter.  I went to my cousin's house.  She made all the good ol' fattening fixings: Ham, bacon and cheesy potatoes, egg and sausage casserole, bowl of fruit (yes a bowl of fruit!).  It was delicious!  And of course my Aunt made the famous bunny bake.  I love the bunny cake! 

I've been sick for about a week and a half now.  After about 6 days, I ended up running a fever of 101 last Thursday and went to the doctor on Friday.  I had a fever for 3 days!  The doctor of course said everything looked ok.  I don't have any congestion or head cold stuff.  I'm just coughing, headache, I had body aches, shaky.  I have good days and bad days. The bad days are really bad!  I can't do anything but crawl into bed and sleep! 

But I feel a little better today.  I have no cardio endurance right now at all.  Hardly working out.  I get winded walking from the train to work (about 6 blocks).  This is really driving me crazy! 

And I'm supposed to run a half marathon in Columbus next weekend.  I almost feel like I may not be able to.  Right now I wouldn't be able to do it.  I'm waiting to see how I feel next week.  If nothing else, I'll still go to Columbus to visit my nephew and brother.  I'll keep you guys posted.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Happy Easter!

Just wanted to wish you all out there a very happy Easter tomorrow. 

I've been fighting the flu unfortunately but went to the doctor yesterday and got some medicine.  Hopefully, I'll be feeling better soon. 

What's your favorite thing to eat on Easter?  My favorite thing is the bunny cake that my relatives make! 

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Personal Training Session #1

I had my first real paid personal training session last night.  I haven't been feeling well though and even took half of Monday off of work.  But I wasn't feeling too bad yesterday and decided not to cancel on my PT session.

My trainer is named Mike.  Good looking guy.  I think he may be around 26 years old.  Like I said before, he is a runner and is doing the Nashville Marathon next weekend.

I will share my workouts with you when I can.  Sometimes it may be hard to explain.  I'll just give a brief rundown on how his workouts are for right now.

They have a TRX system, which is just straps, but you can do almost any toning workout on it.  While doing these workouts (triceps, biceps, pushups, abs) you use your core muscles to keep you stabilized.

He also has me do a lot of workouts on the Bosu Ball.  Do you know what that is?  It's a half ball.  We flip it upside down so the ball is on the bottom and the flat platform is on the top.  Then you stand on it and balance.  I'd never been on one of those before so I had a really hard time keeping my balance at first.  But I am getting better at it.  He then might throw in some weights for arm exercises to do while I'm balancing on it. 

Yesterday was funny because he wanted me to do squats on this ball.  Well, as I went down, my legs went crazy!  They were shaking all over the place.  I tried twice but couldn't do it. That was the only thing so far that I couldn't do.  He said we will graduate up to that.  lol.  I want to go buy one to practice!!  I hate not being able to do something.

But he also took all my measurements and weight and all that good stuff yesterday.  Um, yeah.  That did not put me in a happy mood.  I was in the "poor" category on everything.  lol.  Thanks a lot!!  He was trying to be supportive, "Those are not the most important numbers!"  Or  "That really doesn't mean much!"  Oh well.  I know I'm really fit actually even though my hip measurements are high or something!

And actually, I think he is really surprised that I can do a lot of the stuff he throws at me.  He can tell I push myself.  I did tell him to make sure he is tough on me.  I can handle it.

My training sessions will be on Mondays and Wednesdays.  I will let you know how it all works out.

1 down...23 to go!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Guess what I did??

Happy Sunday.  I guess.  I'm not feeling too happy today.  It's been an off weekend for me.  Woke up yesterday feeling a little under the weather.  I think the up and down weather is to blame.  It's really the only time I don't feel well.

I did manage a 5 mile run/walk this morning.  I really shouldn't have gone.  I ran 3 miles and walked the last 2 miles.  I finished in 1 hour 4 mins which really isn't too bad considering.  My mind and body wasn't in it today.

But guess what I did on Friday?  Want to know?  I signed up with a personal trainer!  Oh yes I did!  I had a free session last Friday at Cardinal Fitness.  I belong to Bally's but my membership will be up in a few months and personal training there is about $50 per session.  I cannot afford that.  But cardinal was having a special for tax day and if you bought the sessions last Friday, they were $25 per session.  For a full hour!

And did I tell you the personal trainer I ended up with is actually a runner?  He ran the Chicago Marathon in 2008.  He was really excited when he found out I am a runner and signed up for the marathon this year.  He asked if he could write my training program for it because he is trying to get certified as a running coach!  What!?!  How did I end up with this guy!  This is perfect!  I'm there mostly for toning right now but toning, especially your core section, is really important for runners.  I'm excited!  And it doesn't help that he is pretty cute!  I have a workout crush!  Doesn't hurt.

I'm excited to see if this helps me.  I've wanted to do personal training for about a year and a half!

And guess who I met yesterday?  My newest future goddaughter!  My friend from 7th grade had a baby and her name is Genevieve.  Want to see a picture?  Of course you do!





I hope you all enjoy the rest of your Sunday!  Can you believe next weekend is Easter!  Wow!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Workout Update & Recipes Needed

Happy Wednesday!

How is everyone doing this week so far?  I’ve been just ok, nothing to brag about, nothing to complain about.  I really need to find something different to do once a week or so.  I go to work and I go to the gym.  On occasion, I may hang out with family or friends.  But I need to do something different.  I’m thinking maybe join a team of some sort, maybe a summer sports team?  The problem is…I’m horrible at all sports! … (yes, all sports!)  I’ll ponder this issue and get back to you.

I kind of miss taking my sign language classes.  I may look into that again for the fall semester.

I did start to paint my living room.  The key work here is “start”.  I painted about 85% of one wall a few weeks ago and stopped!  Note to self:  Finish home improvement projects! 

As I posted on Sunday, I did the Shamrock Shuffle 8k.  My official time was 48:04.  That’s a definite improvement from the previous two years of 50:27.  I actually think I could have done better.  It was solid people almost the whole way through.  I kept having to try to dodge around people and several times (even after 4 miles) would have to stop running because I couldn’t get around all the people! 

It was such a gorgeous day that it seemed every runner that registered showed up!  I finished in 12,500th place out of 32,000 finishers!  That’s better than half, I’ll take it.  My cousin Nick improved his time too!  By over a minute!  Way to go Nick!

In other workout news, I went to a new gym class last Monday night.  It was a kickboxing boot camp.  I do another kickboxing class at the gym, but it’s always good to try something new.  And she KILLED me!  Boot camp it was!  We were up doing kickboxing stuff, then the next minute we were down on the ground doing pushups, mountain climbers (do you know what those horrible things are?), and jacks in pushup position!  Then back up to kickboxing and so it repeats!  Pure torture!  And I’m feeling it!  This will be a definite Monday class for sure!        

NEEDED:  Recipes!  Easy ones with little ingredients.  I need to start cooking more.  Any recommendations on your favorite ones?  I don’t eat any seafood though.  Other than that, would love to hear your suggestions!  

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Shamrock Shuffle 2011 Race Recap

Today was the Shamrock Shuffle.  I was really excited.  I was dying to beat my previous time of the last two years of 50:27!  It was actually a really nice day, but just a little too hot to run 5 miles!  The last two years it was 30 and snowy.  I was welcoming the warmer weather.

I wore my garmin and my unofficial time was 48:02 with an average pace per mile of 9:36!  I'm very happy with that considering I was dying from the weather!  The last mile I just repeated to myself "Just keep running, just keep running!"  You have to do what you have to do!!  lol

My cousin Nick did great too.  His time last year was 58:29 and his unofficial time this year was around 57:00.  Great job Nick!

Official results to come later!  They are not posted right now, or there are too many people trying to get on the site because it's just crashing.

But it's a gorgeous day in Chicago.  I wish it was going to last but it's not.  It's about 80 degrees and sunny.  Later in the week it will be 50's and rainy.  Oh well.  I'll enjoy it while I can.  Here are a few pictures from the Shamrock Shuffle and of my wonderful convertible (how I will miss it when I get a new one soon!).

The Crowd!  The start line is all the way up there!
Me and Nick Pre-Run
Going Topless in Chicago!       
Hope you are all enjoying your weekend!!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Shamrock Shuffle Weekend!

Hi everyone,

It's been one of those weeks!  Not feeling the greatest.  Weather could (and should be better!).  Foot hurts.  Knee hurts.  Complain, complain, complain!

So, I'll move on.  Ran 6 miles last night.  I actually was supposed to run with my cousin Nick in preparation for the Shamrock Shuffle this weekend, but he wasn't feeling the greatest, so I went solo.  I decided to do 6 miles.  And I complained to myself EVERY.STEP.OF.THE.WAY! 

My thoughts..."...maybe I'll just do half of it running and half of it walking....maybe I'll stop at mile 4 and walk...maybe I'll stop and mile 5...maybe 4.5? ... Fine, I'll do all 6 miles!"  This is the argument I had with myself the entire run!  Right from the first step, my feet and knees were screaming at me to stop.  But I didn't.  Because that will get me nowhere.  And my time was 59:04 for an average pace of 9:51 mins/mile.  Not bad considering I was a baby the whole time.

I love running the Shamrock Shuffle every year.  It's the first major run in Chicago to kick off the running season and everyone is in a great mood!  The last two years, it was in March and it snowed and was cold and miserable!  This year it's in April (April 10th) and it's supposed to storm and be 80!  What!?!  I can't win.  But hopefully the rain will hold off.  I'm going either way.

Do you give in to yourself when you are whining and crying because you don't want to workout?  

Sunday, April 3, 2011

"My Run" and My Run

"My Run" (movie review)

Last Thursday night I went to see a one-night movie special with my hairstylist and her running/exercise group.  The movie was called "My Run."  It was a documentary about a guy who loses his wife to cancer and is a single parent to three children.  He realizes there is not a lot of support for single parents and wants to do something that will bring media attention to this issue.

He decides he wants to run from Minnesota (where he lives) to Atlanta, Georgia for the 1996 opening ceremony for the Olympics.  That's where the "75 marathons in 75 days" came from.  He figured he would run X amount of miles, sometimes 28, sometimes 30, etc., every day for 75 days and that would get him to the opening ceremony in Atlanta.  This man was not in shape.  He was getting older.  He never really worked out.  People said this was an impossible task.  They said he could not do it.  He hired a trainer, saw the doctor, tried training for it.

Eventually the day came for him to start, and he did.  He didn't realize the amount of pain he would be in.  He was in so much physical pain every day that he wanted to quit.  But along the way, there was always someone that he would meet that would inspire him to keep going.  His son would drive and park every mile.  The father would then be able to stop and re-fuel and keep going. 

He later said he didn't look at how many miles he had left.  He just looked at 1 mile at a time.  Let me finish this one mile and I'll figure out the next one when I get there.  He also said he didn't realize how mental running really was.  He thought it was ALL physical.  But he was wrong and said he realized that much of running is mental. 

It was a great documentary.  It was sad, uplifting, motivational, inspirational.  It really made you feel like you could do anything you put your mind to.  But go to the theater with a bunch of women and there is a LOT of crying!

If you ever have a chance to see this documentary, I highly recommend it.

My Run (Sunday, April 3, 2011)

On to my actual run.  I thought yesterday that I would do a long run today.  I was thinking about 9 miles.  The last long run I did was 7 miles about 2 weeks ago.  This morning I woke up to windy conditions.  But it wasn't raining so I decided to head out.  Now, I tried to talk myself out of doing 9 miles even before I began.  "Maybe I should do 6 miles, or 7 miles.  I'm too tired to do 9 miles!

But I set my garmin for 9 miles.  That's it.  If I set it for 9 miles, then I have to do 9 miles!  My garmin says so!  I also set a pace of 10 mins/mile.  This was just my goal.  If I came in over that time, that was ok.  It was just a time to shoot for.

And I did it. I ran the entire 9 miles!  Here is my garmin to prove it!

My garmin says so, therefore it must be true!  I did the 9 miles in 1:28:07 for an average pace of 9:47 mins/mile!  I did not expect to be under 10 mins/mile!  I think I'm ready for my half marathon in May! 

And lastly, my nephew was in town for the past week.  It's always so good to see him!  He's 16 now and driving.  He does well in school and is the best 16 year old kid.  Here is a picture of us yesterday before he left to go back to Ohio.  Sorry for the quality of the picture.  It was taken with my phone and it was bright outside.  Makes for a bad combination!


Hope you are all enjoying your weekend!  I have a birthday party to go to now for my 1 year old cousin Elise!