It would appear I can only get my blog act together once a week...thankfully for my jeans I have much better luck with working out AND although I haven't lost any more weight (can you say cupcake?) I have lost almost an inch off of my hips. THANK GOD! Seriously, I was born with birthing hips and then the great expansion of pregnancy, labor and delivery happened. Have mercy. (Apparently there are religious undertones tonight.)
After a few weeks of dance there are two areas that have seen great change - attitude and arm tone. I laugh a lot more and have seen a spark that's been missing for a while. And these arms! Nicest arms I've seen on myself in a LONG time. A few more weeks of dancing and I may have to do an arm photo op.
The running...oh the running. Three days a week of running is about perfect right now. It keeps me fresh and the runs seem to entertain the Muppet - so long as I don't go longer than 30 minutes. After that he gets a little worked up. But anyway, the running. Week 2 of Hal Higdon's Novice 10k program is complete. All day I've been beaming that I ran 3.5mi just shy of 10 weeks after Muppet's birthday. My pace is slow and steady which is exactly what I expect and accept right now. Once I get my first race under my belt I'll start thinking about pace more. I do, however ramp up the speed a bit for a few minutes during my runs just to tease my legs. Or maybe it's to torture my legs. At this point it's a little of both.
And so, my week looked like this:
Monday: 2.5mi
Tuesday: Ballet (60 min)
Wednesday: 2mi
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 3.5mi
Saturday: Tap (60 min)
Sunday: Well, see here's the thing - I have to shift my schedule so I'll be running tomorrow!
Fun times in the metro area. Taking it one step at a time!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Week 1 is in the Books!
So, I've been tinkering around with a training program (Hal Higdon's Novice 10k) and finished week 1 today. Of course, I never do anything 'as written' but I hit all of my runs even when I didn't want to run 2 simple miles. My week in exercise looked like this:
Monday: 2.5mi run
Tuesday: Hip hop (60min)
Wednesday: nada
Thursday: 2mi run / contemporary ballet (60min)
Friday: rest
Saturday: 3mi run
Sunday: I'll be heading to Urban Rock in the morning
Phew.
The Starbucks challenge is going...okay. I'm not perfect, but I'm trying to be better. And 3 days instead of 7 is progress. All in the name of progress and savings accounts.
One thing worth mentioning - the new Nike running capris that I bought (and love...) are kind of see through. How did I discover this? White underwear under black pants were plain as day when I bent over stretching...in a packed dance class. Oops! Good thing my modesty has gone out the window.
Oh, and another thing. Shopping for clothes for this body of mine - depressing and frustrating. But I did find an outfit for the upcoming baptism. And now the credit card needs to go into hiding.
Hope all of you had a fantastic week!
Monday: 2.5mi run
Tuesday: Hip hop (60min)
Wednesday: nada
Thursday: 2mi run / contemporary ballet (60min)
Friday: rest
Saturday: 3mi run
Sunday: I'll be heading to Urban Rock in the morning
Phew.
The Starbucks challenge is going...okay. I'm not perfect, but I'm trying to be better. And 3 days instead of 7 is progress. All in the name of progress and savings accounts.
One thing worth mentioning - the new Nike running capris that I bought (and love...) are kind of see through. How did I discover this? White underwear under black pants were plain as day when I bent over stretching...in a packed dance class. Oops! Good thing my modesty has gone out the window.
Oh, and another thing. Shopping for clothes for this body of mine - depressing and frustrating. But I did find an outfit for the upcoming baptism. And now the credit card needs to go into hiding.
Hope all of you had a fantastic week!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Random Blathering
Here is a smattering of thoughts and happenings in my world this week:
-The Muppet is 7+ weeks, smiling, cooing, lifting his head and holding it up very well and he's oh so close to rolling over.
-Grandma has been in town this week and I have been enjoying the ability to run errands in quick fashion. I'll miss having the live-in nanny who just happens to make dinner every day!
-My fabulous husband has decided to challenge the household to 21 days without Starbucks. We start the challenge on Sunday and I'm already breaking out in a cold sweat...it makes good money sense, so I'm sucking it up.
-2 miles outside is much faster than 2 miles inside even if the clock doesn't agree. And how awesome am I?? Running 2 miles already...toot my own horn and pat my own back. :)
-Urban Rock burns a million calories. True story.
-Okay, really it probably burns a few hundred, but OMG it is wonderful. So glad dance is back in my life where it belongs.
-Did I mention I'm supposed to go 21 days w/o a mocha? Crap.
-Normal, non maternity underwear are a beautiful thing.
-Stretch marks are not.
-I am a mere 16lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight!
-My lower body has morphed into something quite foreign to me and I am trying hard to cope.
-If I survive 21 days I will be saving almost 300 calories and $4 per day. Geesh.
-Finally, after more than a year my alumni scholarship project is getting off of the ground. Once it is airborne I'll give more details.
-Next Monday I'll be starting my 10k training program. I will be using the novice program and NO TIME GOALS for this first race.
Well, that about sums up my week. Train hard, laugh harder.
-The Muppet is 7+ weeks, smiling, cooing, lifting his head and holding it up very well and he's oh so close to rolling over.
-Grandma has been in town this week and I have been enjoying the ability to run errands in quick fashion. I'll miss having the live-in nanny who just happens to make dinner every day!
-My fabulous husband has decided to challenge the household to 21 days without Starbucks. We start the challenge on Sunday and I'm already breaking out in a cold sweat...it makes good money sense, so I'm sucking it up.
-2 miles outside is much faster than 2 miles inside even if the clock doesn't agree. And how awesome am I?? Running 2 miles already...toot my own horn and pat my own back. :)
-Urban Rock burns a million calories. True story.
-Okay, really it probably burns a few hundred, but OMG it is wonderful. So glad dance is back in my life where it belongs.
-Did I mention I'm supposed to go 21 days w/o a mocha? Crap.
-Normal, non maternity underwear are a beautiful thing.
-Stretch marks are not.
-I am a mere 16lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight!
-My lower body has morphed into something quite foreign to me and I am trying hard to cope.
-If I survive 21 days I will be saving almost 300 calories and $4 per day. Geesh.
-Finally, after more than a year my alumni scholarship project is getting off of the ground. Once it is airborne I'll give more details.
-Next Monday I'll be starting my 10k training program. I will be using the novice program and NO TIME GOALS for this first race.
Well, that about sums up my week. Train hard, laugh harder.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
DANCE
Once upon a time, in a faraway land I was a dancer. I could hold my foot up over my head, pirouette without puking and leap high into the air. Then I discovered college life and frankly there were not opportunities to keep dancing the way I wanted. I did take a couple of old lady ballet/yoga combo classes that were mind-numbing. Other than that I hung up my pointe shoes and wallowed in my own self pity about how I missed dancing...for 10 years.
And now I live in a city that has the largest adult dance studio in the country. Gimme, gimme, gimme.
Thursday night I walked in to a 'trip hop' (think hip hop/funk) class and got my butt kicked. And I loved every minute of it. It didn't matter that I was 40lbs heavier than the last time I had danced. It didn't matter that my brain was mushy and steps that came naturally 10 years ago were rusty. But there's a dancer in my heart and soul even if the body isn't there...at least not yet.
The passion is rekindled and dancing has the potential to be my secret weapon for running on the trails this year.
Dance on, my friends. I look forward to seeing you at the barre.
And now I live in a city that has the largest adult dance studio in the country. Gimme, gimme, gimme.
Thursday night I walked in to a 'trip hop' (think hip hop/funk) class and got my butt kicked. And I loved every minute of it. It didn't matter that I was 40lbs heavier than the last time I had danced. It didn't matter that my brain was mushy and steps that came naturally 10 years ago were rusty. But there's a dancer in my heart and soul even if the body isn't there...at least not yet.
The passion is rekindled and dancing has the potential to be my secret weapon for running on the trails this year.
Dance on, my friends. I look forward to seeing you at the barre.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Mom of the Year...
After my second bout of almost mastitis I'm going for mom of the year with my loathing of all things boob. Sure the Muppet is benefiting from the boob, but I'm not going to sugar coat this - I CAN NOT WAIT for this kid to find nutrition from another source. There I said it.
In other mom of the year news we have been struggling between the hours of 10pm and 2am in a kind of colicky way. So after a relatively quiet evening and early night the husband tried for the third time to put the Muppet to down...it was midnight. An hour of crying later my shift started. Okay, diaper change - check. Feed - check. Burp - check. Inconsolable sobbing - crap. He was fighting tooth and nail and can I tell you how strong this kid is? Punches to the neck -OW! So as I sat there rocking him and reading about sleep strategies I decided to put the good book to work. Put him in his crib and patted his belly...for nearly an hour. Still crying, in a non-frantic way. So I looked him in the eyes, told him I loved him and walked away. Then I sat on my bed and listened to him crying through the wall...he passed out in 5 minutes.
As I sat there listening (waiting) for him to get his second wind the cat curled up in my lap. She hasn't had much lap time in a few months and was feeling neglected. She comforted me while I waited for the Muppet's next outburst. The husband went in the nursery to make sure the kiddo was okay - fast asleep. Phew!
So, although I felt like a complete jerk letting him cry it out I fell asleep with a fat cat purring in my ear. At least I'm mom of the year for one of my kids...it just happens to be one that chases her tail.
This post is simply out there because this is my blog and my experience - the Muppet is amazing and thankfully gave me a solid 2+hr nap while I had a temp of 101'.
In other mom of the year news we have been struggling between the hours of 10pm and 2am in a kind of colicky way. So after a relatively quiet evening and early night the husband tried for the third time to put the Muppet to down...it was midnight. An hour of crying later my shift started. Okay, diaper change - check. Feed - check. Burp - check. Inconsolable sobbing - crap. He was fighting tooth and nail and can I tell you how strong this kid is? Punches to the neck -OW! So as I sat there rocking him and reading about sleep strategies I decided to put the good book to work. Put him in his crib and patted his belly...for nearly an hour. Still crying, in a non-frantic way. So I looked him in the eyes, told him I loved him and walked away. Then I sat on my bed and listened to him crying through the wall...he passed out in 5 minutes.
As I sat there listening (waiting) for him to get his second wind the cat curled up in my lap. She hasn't had much lap time in a few months and was feeling neglected. She comforted me while I waited for the Muppet's next outburst. The husband went in the nursery to make sure the kiddo was okay - fast asleep. Phew!
So, although I felt like a complete jerk letting him cry it out I fell asleep with a fat cat purring in my ear. At least I'm mom of the year for one of my kids...it just happens to be one that chases her tail.
This post is simply out there because this is my blog and my experience - the Muppet is amazing and thankfully gave me a solid 2+hr nap while I had a temp of 101'.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Oh Running, How I've Missed You!
Okay, so I was trying out the c25k program last week and it kind of bored me. It's a great program, but I'm an impatient person and I needed to know if I could run a mile without stopping. And with that program it would take weeks to find out. So on Monday (yes, fully recovered from my nutritional disaster on NYE) I gave it try.
1 mile in 12:00. Slow, but perfect and I felt like I could have kept going. I didn't want to push anything and held the 5mph beautifully.
Wednesday, I tried it again. You know, to make sure it wasn't a fluke.
11:46 with the last tenth of a mile at 10:00 pace. SWEET. I can not begin to explain how alive I felt running a single mile.
Next time, I'll try 15min of running...time to start signing up for races. :)
1 mile in 12:00. Slow, but perfect and I felt like I could have kept going. I didn't want to push anything and held the 5mph beautifully.
Wednesday, I tried it again. You know, to make sure it wasn't a fluke.
11:46 with the last tenth of a mile at 10:00 pace. SWEET. I can not begin to explain how alive I felt running a single mile.
Next time, I'll try 15min of running...time to start signing up for races. :)
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
A grapefruit and a granola bar
Things in new parent world are coming along nicely. The husband and I are still struggling with getting the Muppet to sleep between 10pm and 2am...but other than that I think we're all doing remarkably well. Muppet is growing leaps and bounds - he was 11lb 11.5oz one day shy of 5 weeks...and he's a quarter of an inch short of 2 ft long. Yup, a behemoth. You would think with all of that growing he would want to sleep a little more during the night. I'm trying to keep him awake more during the day, but the peace and quiet is kind of nice at times. :)
On New Year's Eve while the Muppet and his papa were hanging out with the grandparents I was lying in bed with a fever. Not awesome. I can't even remember the last time I had a fever, but make no mistake the thermometer read over 100 degrees and I was shaking like a leaf. How did I get to that point? Well, it wasn't pretty...
Earlier in the day - first thing in fact, I did a quick 30 workout on the treadmill; nothing exciting just a little run/walk maxing out at 5mph and a total of 10min of running. Then I got in a quick shower thanks to the Muppet's cooperation. Followed by the inhalation of a grapefruit and a trip to Starbucks for a tall non-fat mocha. Later in the day I snacked on a granola bar. Around 1:30 I realized I was ridiculously tired and attributed it to the 15 min of sleep that I had between 12:45 and 4am. Grabbed up the Muppet, the dog and the cat and curled up in bed for a nap. Sometime after 3 I fed the Muppet and my in-laws arrived at the house. Entertain, entertain, entertain. Husband comes home and by 6pm we start dinner. And I'm shaking. Sweatpants, long sleeves, hooded sweatshirt, wrapped in a blanket. This is not good. Ate a bowl of goulash and collapsed into bed by 8pm.
I couldn't sleep because it hurt to have my clothes and the blankets touching my body. Exhaustion and INCREDIBLY STUPID NUTRITIONAL HABITS tried to kill me on the last day of 2009. Note to all: a grapefruit and a granola bar are not enough food...
Goals for 2010? Not die of starvation.
On New Year's Eve while the Muppet and his papa were hanging out with the grandparents I was lying in bed with a fever. Not awesome. I can't even remember the last time I had a fever, but make no mistake the thermometer read over 100 degrees and I was shaking like a leaf. How did I get to that point? Well, it wasn't pretty...
Earlier in the day - first thing in fact, I did a quick 30 workout on the treadmill; nothing exciting just a little run/walk maxing out at 5mph and a total of 10min of running. Then I got in a quick shower thanks to the Muppet's cooperation. Followed by the inhalation of a grapefruit and a trip to Starbucks for a tall non-fat mocha. Later in the day I snacked on a granola bar. Around 1:30 I realized I was ridiculously tired and attributed it to the 15 min of sleep that I had between 12:45 and 4am. Grabbed up the Muppet, the dog and the cat and curled up in bed for a nap. Sometime after 3 I fed the Muppet and my in-laws arrived at the house. Entertain, entertain, entertain. Husband comes home and by 6pm we start dinner. And I'm shaking. Sweatpants, long sleeves, hooded sweatshirt, wrapped in a blanket. This is not good. Ate a bowl of goulash and collapsed into bed by 8pm.
I couldn't sleep because it hurt to have my clothes and the blankets touching my body. Exhaustion and INCREDIBLY STUPID NUTRITIONAL HABITS tried to kill me on the last day of 2009. Note to all: a grapefruit and a granola bar are not enough food...
Goals for 2010? Not die of starvation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
