Saturday Walking 1 hour

I was pushing the two kids in the stroller for part of the time. They kept switching off, but towards the end they both got kind of tired. I think I covered about 2 1/2 miles?

Also- I've been cleaning out the basement for the last 2 hours, and updating our 72 hour kits. All these natural disasters are making me nervous!

Perfect Week!

I did a perfect week! I didn't miss a single day, and I met all the goals I set for myself! Yay!!
Today totally sucked though. I'm on the heaviest day of my monthly cycle, and it was a struggle just to finish 20 minutes at a plodders pace, and I felt all weak and shaky afterwards. 20 minutes at around 13 mph for a total of 4.3 miles covered. I feel a bit sore after my strength training yesterday, but not nearly as bad as last week. Huzzah for progress! But thank heavens tomorrow is Sunday, and my day of rest. *shew!*
The Almighty Liz

Friday Exercise Bike/ Marching in Place 45 minutes

Exercise Bike- 30 minutes, marching in place 15 minutes. I didn't think I would be able to make the whole 30 minutes, but I did. Woot!

I took Liz's advice and upped my protein, mostly in the form of milk. The milk also helped with the dying of thirst feeling I had in the days after the stomach flu.

Strength Training

Getting better! My transitions and technique are getting smoother, so it's taking less time. Next week, with these sets, I might add a set. It took about 15 minutes at the most.
Stair push-ups--three sets of 12 reps each.
Triceps push-ups--three sets of ten reps each
Calf lifts--three sets of 12 reps each.
Quads on weight bench--three sets of 12 reps each, but I upped my weight this time from 21.3 to 26.4. It was a little harder, but not as hard as I want it to be, so I will probably up that again next week.
The Almighty Liz

Kajukenbo today

Like to say that you all dwarf my efforts. I salute you!

So anyway, I had a pretty good work out tonight. I had the kids do squat sets. This is pretty close to it w/ more reps. and breaks in between every three sets. The intent being to work through all of our hand techniques. (My thighs were dying.)


After that I just had them work some of the same techniques on standing bags.

Frustration Workout

Lots of stress to work through so I did 25 minutes at around 14 mph for a total of 5.8 miles covered.
The Almighty Liz

Thursday Strength Workout/Marching in Place 35 minutes

Strength- arms and standing abs. Marching in place mixed in with some fast vacuuming.

Just trying to get back in the game after having the stomach flu on Monday & Tuesday. I am still SO TIRED. I think this is the first workout in a long time that has not made me feel better after wards.

Thursday

It was COLD today (14 degrees & a little windy), so there weren't many people out running today. I almost went back to bed, because I didn't want to drive out there only to find that no one else wanted to risk the cold. However I decided I'd go and see. Yay! There were 4 of us crazy enough to brave the cold. The others were all from the fast group, so I had to hustle to keep up. I survived and got a good workout (6 miles). I don't think I slowed them up too much. I hope anyway.

Got My Stride Back!

So to speak. Biking was much easier today. My knee bothered me a bit, but not too much. I adjusted where the bike was in relation to the television (I watch movies while I work out), and it helped me to sit better on the bike, and the knee stopped hurting. So did the back. Go figure, lol! I did 23 minutes at 14-14.5 mph (sometimes 15, but not much) for a total of 5.3 miles covered. BOOYAH!
The Almighty Liz

Tuesday--Biking

I did 21 minutes today, but my right knee hurts a bunch. What the heck? Not sure what's going on. Maybe the hamstring exercise yesterday was not a good idea? Anyway, average speed around 13 mph, for a total of 4.4 miles covered.
The Almighty Liz

Tuesday

I ran THE Bobby Patterson HILL Special again this morning. Folks were in a hurry so we cut off the Bluff run part. Still it was 5.5 - 6 miles of hills.

Monday--More Strength Training

So, I figure Mondays and Fridays would be good strength training days. Mondays, I have little energy for some reason to pour into cardio. Fridays, after a long week, I have little energy again.
Oh! On Saturday, I did an hour of grocery shopping.
I wanted to work on all the opposite muscle groups of the ones I did on Friday, so this is what I did;
Hamstrings-on the weight bench thingy. Laying flat on your stomach, hook your ankles under the padded weight things, and bend your legs. 23.1 lbs for a set of three, ten reps each.
Shins-this is something I learned in physical therapy a million years ago. It actually works your shins and your calves, but since my calves need special, extra attention anyway, I figured it couldn't hurt. Get an exercise band, those big long elastic-y things, and hook it around your toe, holding the ends real tight (lots of tension) with your hands. Point your toe real slow, and then flex it as far as you can real slow. It works better with shoes because you don't have to worry about the band bending your toes back. they need to stay unflexed the whole time. Three sets at ten reps each.
Biceps-regular curls, standing up straight. 5 lbs+whatever the hand bar weighs, so probably around 7 lbs total. Three sets at ten reps each on each arm.
Ten minutes of Pilate's abs.
And boy was I sore after last Friday!! I love being sore! I feel like I accomplished something, lol! Not looking forward to tomorrow though.
The Almighty Liz

Saturday Walking/Running 35 minutes

Running Report- Only 5 minutes of running, for about 1/2 mile. I walked the other 1 1/2 miles. I loved the sunshine! I also did 10 minutes of light yard stuff after I got back.

Plus- 1 and a 1/2 hours of electrical work in the upstairs nursery (which involved lots of going up and down the stairs for various reasons). I pulled out, or wrapped & capped, a bunch of exposed ugly wiring that was right next to the baby's crib. I then covered the holes with blank wall plates. I think changing that light fixture last month gave me the added know how to figure out what to do with this wiring. Plus, I had some tips from my older sister when she came to visit a few weeks ago (who has a tech degree in electrical engineering). Another pre-baby project out of the way! Yay!

Dana Eats Real Food: An Experiment

To keep me alive I've been dosed with the most powerful steroids available which have thinned my bones, turned my hair gray, made me into an insomniac, created in me an extreme sense of well-being (I pretty much thought I could fly) that later spiraled into an epic crash, reset my internal core body temperature, destroyed my metabolism, initiated shaking episodes, triggered a 90 lbs weight gain, plus some stuff I don't feel like listing...

As of December I'm off the horrid pills/injections. Dana post-steroids is a mess! I've consulted with specialists and a plan has been developed. I have to eat real food. For a while I have to take a ton of supplements: fish/flax/borage oil, C0 Q 10, Linoleic Acid, Hyaluronic Acid, Calcium (3 types), Magnesium, Iodine, & a totally food-sourced Multivitamin.

Oh and don't forget the exercise... We're starting slow because of a past injury but we're progressively building up a routine.

I feel like an experiment and I want to share it. Here we go...

According to the wisdom I've received from many qualified professionals. I've gotta eat. The steroids robbed my body of vital minerals and vitamins. Despite being overweight I am literally starving.

6:30 am

Here's breakfast: Herbal Tea, Fruit Salad, Oatmeal w/ Honey, one cup of water.

I eat this while reading my morning devotional passage from My Utmost For His Highest followed by 3-5 chapters of Scripture.

I ate it all & less than two hours later I was so hungry my stomach growled & growled.

9:00 am

Snack Time: Carrot/Cucumber/Ginger Juice & more herbal tea.

I drank it slowly as I read friends' blogs, posted on my own, and caught up on emails.

By the way I HATE cucumbers but the juice wasn't bad.

12:30 pm

About three hours after that more intense hunger. I fixed a Pesto Pizza. whole grain crust, prepared pesto, red onions, chicken, topped with thin sliced tomatoes. Peppers on the side.

I ate the WHOLE thing along with a salad.

2:00 pm I am starving!!!!

Lettuce leaves w/ homemade hummus, pumpkin seeds & crackers w/ goat cheese.

I ate this while studying.

6:30 pm

I am hungry again. I don't think my stomach has felt full for more than an hour.

Miso Chicken on spring mix greens, baked sweet potato, overly done asparagus (total accident)

Week One Rundown

The rest of the week went a whole lot like the first day...

I feel like I'm spending the majority of my day fixing food. Gotta streamline!

I ate & ate & ate... I also drank a lot of water. (About 3 quarts a day.) I added extra snack times & ate nuts (almonds & pistachios), bananas, yogurt with fruit, etc... I ate and then I ate some more. I ate as much as I wanted to eat. Hunger woke me up regularly at 2 am & I instituted yet another snack time & filled it with natural peanut butter on Sami Bread & an apple. Then I'd wake up hungry ready for breakfast.

No exercise yet. Not even light stretching. That starts next week.

I lost eight pounds.

Friday & Saturday

I did some piano on Thursday, but unfortunately I did not yesterday :(

Since my hip problem, I've just not gotten back into the swing of things. I've been LAZY about working out for too long. It's irritating me in many ways, not only am I considerably slower than I used to be, but my scale has started going in the wrong direction. It's nothing horrible, just a gradual 5 lbs. So anyway, I decided it was high time I got back with the program. However I over did it. Yesterday I started in writing down everything I ate just so I could make sure that I keep my calorie count in check. So after a day of dieting, I hopped on the bike and rode 40 minutes (which was tougher than usual). This morning I woke up and went running with the group. I did two loops which equals about 12 ish miles. Our first loop was with a faster girl and for someone planning to do 2 loops, it was too fast for me. (My first loop was her 2nd. She put in 16 miles today. Those crazy marathoners! Everyone in the group is, except me. Several people were doing 19 and 20 miles today - and this is totally typical) I did okay on our first 6 mile loop, but I bonked HARD on the second. I have never felt that bad during a work out ever. I guess I had it coming though. I've been lazy lately and haven't done that distance in a long time, I started a diet yesterday, biked at the end of the day last night, and I didn't eat anything before I ran this morning (I usually don't) I ran the first 6 way too fast considering that I was planning to do 13, and I just started my period. It all added up and I crashed hard! I felt awful! Totally spent and even a little dizzy and shaky. The bad thing about it being cold outside is that while running feels great, if you stop and walk you get COLD (I was only wearing a 3/4 sleeve shirt and no gloves). So I started feeling really bad about 2.5 away from my van. I stopped and walked several times, but you just can't walk for too long or else you will freeze. Anyway I made it back, but it was BAD!! I stopped at Shop -n- Save on the way home and got some orange juice and a bunch of other stuff. I totally don't care how much I eat today. I've been done running for about an hour and a half and I've already had a thing of OJ, a 170 cal, 8 grams of fat granola bar, a banana, two chocolate pop-tarts and a large glass of milk. Shutting up now.

Juicy Juice

Today I made a wonderful concoction!!

Four Oranges, Four Apples, & Two Grapefruits yielded 2 Quarts of deliciousness!

I dropped all the fruit into the juicer & then poured it into the pitcher from the blender because I don't have a real pitcher. Can you believe that?! LOL! Just wanted to clarify that no blender was used in the production of this juice...

The sweetness from the oranges & apples knocked out the bitterness of the grapefruit. However, the grapefruit toned down the sweetness of the other fruit so no sugar shock.

This is possibly my favorite juice blend since I started making juice in December. Yum!

Friday-Strenth Training

My back (the whole thing, not just the lower) and hip, but not my leg, have been bothering me considerably this week. In light of that, I did strength training today instead of the bike. I think the way I sit on the bike (it's recumbent) might be taxing my newborn-weak back. Time to solve that problem.
I did three sets of stairs push-ups with 12 reps in each set.
And three sets of calf lifts on the stairs with 12 reps in each set.
And three sets of triceps push-ups with 10 reps in each set.
And three sets of quads on my weight set at 23.1 lbs with 12 reps in each set.
It took me between 15 and twenty minutes. I'm totally going to incorporate strength training twice a week into my routine, as it's low impact and needed big time. I'll be doing opposite muscle groups once a week, for a total of twice a week training. I know you're supposed to work a muscle group twice a week at least, but I have to keep my main focus on cardio. Plus, John does his muscle groups only once a week, and he gets pretty good results. I will double up with two workouts in one day (cardio and strength) as I get stronger, but for right now, it's just not feasible. I feel pretty good today, though! My back is only twinging, not flat out throbbing and stabbing! I think this is what I've been needing!
The Almighty Liz

Thursday Exercise Bike/Marching in Place/Standing Abs 45 minutes

Exercise Bike- 30 minutes, 10 minutes marching in place, 5 minutes standing abs. I tried to do slow ab work on the floor last night, and it felt like I was suffocating myself with my giant belly and b**bs. So, no more floor abs work :(

Plus- did laundry.

Interesting Info

Hey ladies. I know I never really show my face around here, but I ran across these two websites today, and thought you'd find them interesting. At least they may help us all make better choices when we get to go out to eat. I, who know basically nothing about calories and nutrition, was appalled by what I read at these sites. Here are the links:

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/45380/4-shocking-secrets-about-fast-food/

http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slideshow/worst-drinks-america?cm_mmc=Yahoo-_-ETNT-_-Whats_In_Your_Food-_-Worst_Drinks_Slideshow

I had to type those links out by hand, so hopefully I didn't make any mistakes and you can get there. If I did make mistakes, copy and paste.

Thursday

A little easier to handle today. 20.5 minutes on the bike at 13.5-14 mph for a total of 4.5 miles covered. Why on earth do I not have a hot tub yet?
The Almighty Liz

Wednesday & Thursday

I ran 6 miles with the group today.

Yesterday I practiced for around 1.5 hours on the piano. I did Aa scales & arpeggios, I also practiced Schubert and I did some sight reading Sally DeFord, who I LOVE. I love piano. My goal is to get a good practice rhythm going to get ready to audition in a couple of years to get back into the music program. They say that it takes 28 days before something becomes a habit, so I'm going to try to stick with this for 28 days before I call and beg for lessons. Yesterday was day 1 consecutively. I'm going to sit down for day two in just a minute.

Wednesday Strength Workout/Running in Place/Marching in Place 1 hour

Strength workout- 35 minutes, running in place- 15 minutes, marching in place 10 minutes. My arms are getting so buff from all these strength workouts!

Plus- I baked two loaves of banana bread, and a dozen muffins.

Wednesday

So, I did work out this morning, and oi. For some reason, things are really hard right now! Stress? Antibiotics? Just getting over being sick? All of the above, and maybe things I can't think of? Probably.
10 minutes on the bike at 13-14mph for a total 4.4 miles covered.
The Almighty Liz

Tuesday Swimming 1 hour

breast stroke- 15 minutes, freestyle- 20 minutes, back stroke- 15 minutes, kick board- 10 minutes. Good swim! I was doing so well on the freestyle I decided to keep it up for 20 minutes instead of 15.

Also- Monday I cleaned house for 3-4 hours along with baking. I just did not have time for working out with all the cleaning and such!

Monday

I felt like hooey yesterday, but I went ahead and worked out anyway. I went to bed at seven, lol! I did 10 minutes of Pilate's abs, and twenty minutes on the bike at 13-13.5 mph for a total of 4.3 miles covered, and it was hard. I dunno what, if anything, I'll do today. I might just clean house, which I have been doing for about a week now. We just didn't have a computer so I couldn't post it. I've also had a lot of anger/stress to work out on my house. Last week was NOT a good week.
The Almighty Liz

Monday

Once again, I'm going to try to have a productive week. I did upper body and abs today then a speed workout on the bike.

I also did 1/2 hour of scales and arpeggios key of Aa. Then I worked on Chopin and Schubert for about 1/2 hour, but that just isn't enough time to really accomplish anything. What to do? My kitchen is a total wreck, I have laundry up to my ears and I need to tackle my taxes. I'd also like to take the kids sledding. Will the roads be ready to run hills on tomorrow?

Saturday Exercise Bike/ Marching in Place 45 minutes

Exercise Bike- 30 minutes, marching in place/upper body ab work- 15 minutes.

Plus, 1 hour of small car repair/maintenance stuff, and small home repair work.

Friday Strength/ Running in Place 45 minutes

Strength- 35 minutes, running in place 10 minutes.

Plus, one hour of grocery shopping with two VERY noisy kids. I call that the nerve breaking/pulling my hair out workout ;)

Wednesday & Thursday Cleaning and Car Repair Workouts

Wednesday- Cleaning out under the sink, and re-organizing the hutch 1 1/2 hours.

Thursday- Replacing a battery connector on my car in the cold- 40 minutes.

Thurdsay

I always mess up when I type that word! I got up for the second day in a row at 4:25 only to be disappointed. I checked the temperature today before I got ready to go and meet the group. It was 14 degrees. That doesn't actually bother me, but there is a large faction of the group that refuse to run outdoors in anything less than 20 degrees. I didn't feel like having another experience like yesterday, so I went back to bed. Unfortunately, the brain had already started going. I couldn't fall back asleep. I did 40 minutes on the stairs later.

I hate it when that happens!

I got up at 4:25 this morning, went to Nautilus and there was no one to run with. DANG! I guess because 1) it's Wednesday and that is normally a less busy day. 2) It was cold and windy, always a deterrent. 3) maybe people are still worried about the roads being slippery?

Anyway I came home (I don't feel at all comfortable running by myself in the dark especially in that neighborhood) and tried to go back to sleep, but it was no use. I'll be tired for no good reason today.

Tuesday Strength Workout/ Running in Place/ Marching in Place 1 hour

20 minutes total running in place (10 minutes at the beginning of the workout, 10 minutes at the end). 40 minutes strength + marching in place.

Also- 2 hours deep cleaning the fridge, and under the fridge, and behind the fridge.

Day One of The Schedule

Totally didn't work at all. My family kept me up too late to be able to get up and do my workout. I let it slide and tried to go on with the rest of the day as scheduled. I ended up doing housework all morning, the afternoon at the grocery store, and then cooking and getting ready for FHE and didn't get to touch my piano. However, I was a good girl and didn't spend hardly anytime on this computer, so that being one of my major problems, I'm happy with that part. I'm not giving up on my "schedule" though I'm not a fool enough to think that I'll actually get to stick to it much. It's more of a guideline. Today's workout is getting screwed up because I can't go and run hills in this snow. I'll just do Wednesday's workout today, and hope the roads will be cleared enough to run with the group then. As it's two in the morning, I'm going back to bed. Nighty night. I wonder if school will be canceled. We shall see.

School was canceled and I did lower body strength training followed by 40 minutes on the bike avg speed 16.5 mph. My legs are very tired! Now for piano, will I get a minute to do it?

One hour of piano, but I didn't feel like I accomplished anything.

Monday Swimming 1 Hour

Breast stroke- 15 minutes, freestyle-15 minutes, back stroke- 15 minutes, kick board exercises- 15 minutes.

I got very little else done today due to this gosh awful tiredness I have had for over a week. I ran errands with the kids and made dinner, that was about it!

Goal for tomorrow- clean out the fridge before sentient life forms start emerging!

Planning

Yeah, so after my big talk on Tuesday, I didn't do a lot this week. I'm a loser! I did a speed work workout on the bike yesterday. 10 burst as fast as I could go for 30 seconds with 1:30 light biking in between. It felt too short to be a good work out. Bruce assures me that I'm mistaken about that. I was sweating and breathing totally hard. My top speed was 25 mph.

I've decided I need a huge dose of discipline lately, so I've mapped out a schedule for myself starting tomorrow (Monday). I hope I stick to it. I've planned myself plenty of workout time and PIANO. My sadly neglected piano! ARGH! Back to work. Less of this computer crap!

Saturday Strength Workout/ Exercise Bike/ Misc. 1 Hour

Strength workout- 30 minutes, exercise bike- 10 minutes, 10 minutes marching in place. Vigorous housekeeping mixed in (vacuuming and sweeping as fast as possible).

Also- laundry, kitchen cleaning, errand running.

Back in the saddle

This week...

Stretch nearly every work day. (This has been the norm for awhile.)

Rode the stationary bike 20 minutes while watching Green Lantern: First Flight.

Walked 45+ minutes round trip to son's school w/Timpani

Hour and a half martial arts class- less work out than it could be since I teach, so I must stand and yell a lot ;) .

Wednesday Walking/Yoga 90 minutes total

Walking- 2 miles in 45 minutes, Pregnancy Yoga-45 minutes.

Nothing else, too tired today.

Tuesday Strength Workout/Running in Place 45 minutes

Strength workout- 30 minutes, running in place 15 minutes

I did nothing else today (except taxes!!!)

Tuesday

It is time for Renae to make her come back! I've had it with the winter lazies! I've had it with getting pummeled by those I used to pummel in the running group! Race season will be here before you know it, and Renae will be READY!! I'm going to kick some booty in the next biathlon! ROAR!!! Today I ran with the group. I did the crazy goat HILL course. This is the for real hill run. Any time I've said that I did hills before, it was nothing to this hill course (except maybe a time or two in Branson). I've got to brag on my peeps! They are some crazy good runners. Pretty much everybody but me is constantly in training for some marathon or another. These people are serious die hards, and they train some crazy, insane, big hills! Have you ever been to downtown Alton? So, for the second time ever (the other time being a couple of years ago), I went on the hill route. I'll definitely go back and do it again next Tuesday. I need the booty kickage.

Monday Running/Walking 35 minutes (2 miles)

Running Report- I ran 3/4 mile (11 minutes) and then walked 1 1/4 miles. I skipped swimming so I could run away the ickies.

I did nothing else today. I was too tired to get motivated to do anything else today. I'm having major allergy problems still from all the dust I kicked up scooting furniture and excavating baby stuff from the basement.

The Survival Workout

I feel that since I survived a 72 hour stomach flu, and some chest/coughing thing, that is my workout for today. Tomorrow, strength training.
The Almighty Liz