Tuesday

I ran the hill route today. I was in a hurry, so I skipped the COB hills. Still, a hilly six mile run.

Monday Running in Place/Strength Workout 45 minutes (arms & abs)

Running in place- 25 minutes. Arms & Abs (including 180 crunches) 20 minutes.

I can't believe I only worked out TWICE last week! I'm really going to try to workout 5 times this week, but the weather and the holiday busyness is making things DIFFICULT.

Where the Heck has Renae Been?!

I did something to my back / neck, and it REALLY hurt for about a week. I didn't work out at ALL last week. I've been to the chiropractor twice now and I'm feeling 75 percent better. I'm feeling super flabby today! I did some lower body weight training today. Tomorrow is running.

Tuesday Mix It Up Workout 45 minutes

Running in place 10 minutes, running stairs 10 minutes, running in place 10 minutes, exercise bike 10 minutes, running in place 5 minutes. I cooled down by walking around the house with wobbly noodle legs ;) I think I definitely got a good leg workout to balance out the mostly upper body workout I had yesterday.

Monday Mowing/Big Shovel/Raking 2 hours

I don't usually count gardening as my workout, but this was definitely a good strength workout. In fact, I may not be able to do any strength workouts the rest of the week because of soreness ;)

I mowed over leaves for 30 minutes to make leaf mulch. Then I dug down into the garden 12-18 inches to bury the leaves along with some kitchen scraps I had been saving for this project. The burying the leaf mulch/scraps in the dirt was another hour. Then, I leveled everything out with a rake and moved large paving stones around for another 30 minutes.

Saturday Running/Walking 35 minutes (2 miles, FLATS)

I walked 1 mile and ran 1 mile. I was so tired from a rough night with a teething baby that I did not really feel like running. 1 mile seemed good enough for today ;)

I worked out 5 times this week, including TWO strength workouts. Woot!

Also-cleaned out my car for 30 minutes on Friday (including the giant vacuum thing next to most car washes).

Main goal for winter- Work out 5 times a week to keep away post baby/winter depression.

This Week

Okay so I suck at a diet!! Darn chocolate! I'll never lose any weight.

Tuesday I ran hills with the group. I skipped the COB hills, but still I did a hard 6 HILLY miles.

Thursday I ran my stairs for 40 minutes.

Friday I ran 6 miles.

I'll have to do something today. Blah!

Friday Exercise Bike + Strength (arms + abs) 45 minutes total

Exercise Bike- 20 minutes. Strength 25 minutes- I lengthened the arm workout (and my arms are like noodles now) to make it longer and mostly skipped the leg strength exercises this time. I still did the 200 crunches mixed into my regular ab workout.

Friday-Dancing

So, I tried one of the girls' workouts again today, and with the base instruction I got from the guy, she made a LOT more sense, and I was able to do the whole workout, without sitting out and trying to understand what was going on. It was also a GREAT workout, once you get the hang of it. So, if you check out this video, I highly recommend skipping to the quickstep routine with Demetri (rowr) before trying one of the girls out. I did a little over twenty minutes, and was dripping in sweat afterwards. I'm also coming down with a cold, I think, so I'm not sure what I'll do tomorrow. Something light, though. I'm determined to work through the cold, unless it develops into the flu or something more serious.
The Almighty Liz

This week

Monday- vegetative
Tuesday- forms and some ground and pound (30 minutes)
Wednesday- workout w/Vance. Less martial arts than picking him up bodily when he was being mischievous.
Thursday- 1 1/2 hour class- forms, hitting BOB and taking turns beating up on an 11 year old. (He really deserved it 'cause we are trying to forge a green belt!)

Wednesday Running 35 minutes (2 3/4 mile with BIG hills)

I started out slow, but those hills made my legs feel energized. It was great. I was surprised I got the same time as last week though, with the slow start.

Tuesday--Biking

I forgot to post my workout yesterday. Again. I need to be flogged.
I did FORTY minutes at 13-14.5 mph for a total of 8.2 miles covered. Yes, you read that right, 40 minutes!! That's the most I've ever been able to do! It was really really hard, so I was right to do it, even if I did have to slow down a mph to do it. I'm going to let the bike rest today, though. Not sure what I'm going to do, I might take the day off, but I would like to a weight workout. We'll see.
The Almighty Liz

Tuesday Exercise Bike+Strength Workout 45 minutes (total)

20 minutes on the bike, 25 minutes of arms, abs, and legs (with 200 crunches mixed in).

Martial art 30 min.

Ran through the TKD and Kajukenbo forms.
Practiced ground and pound on a kicking shield.
The kids (and Mom) continue to keep the back room ready for night time exercising and are supportive.

Monday-Biking

I did 30 minutes today at 14-14.5 mph, so I kicked up the speed a little, for a total of 6.8 miles covered. And the weird but seriously cool thing? 30 minutes is getting just a little too easy! What?!! So I might have to kick the time up too! I think once I hit an hour, I will kick the tension up, but that scares me, lol!!
The Almighty Liz

Monday Speedwork (2 1/2 miles total) 35 minutes

I started off running 1 mile (in 10 minutes) just to feel what the pace of a 10 minute mile felt like. I walked that off for 1/2 mile. Then I did four 1/8 mile (or less) sprints (with 1/8 (or more) mile walking breaks). The last "sprint" I was barely running, so I pooped out pretty hard toward the end there.

Also- vigorously cleaned a very dirty high chair for an hour (that had been in my basement for two years).

With V's birthday, I was slacking last week. I want to start running three times a week (with Monday being speedwork) and then swimming on Fridays. I will see how crowded the pool is on Fridays before I make that my swimming day for sure though. With the baby still nursing, Mondays just seem too hard to get out of the house and swim.

Climbing Back on the Wagon -- Again

So the Walls being in town kinda screwed me up a bit. I stayed up too late to be getting up at 4:30, so I didn't run with my group at all. I also didn't watch what I ate at all. I did run the stairs for 40 minutes on Thursday. By Saturday I was feeling like quite the slacker, so I did a 13 mile run to make up for my bad week. It was really tough! I haven't done one of those since about March. I'll have to start showing up for Saturday runs again!

So here it is Monday. I weighed in at 153.25 this morning. So, I didn't lose or gain last week. Now it's back to business.

Saturday

I totally forgot to post my workout on Saturday. I was crazy uber busy, and not even home much, so I forgive myself.
I did the dancing workout again, a little over 20 minutes, and it was just as hard this time. I love it!
The Almighty Liz

Thursday Yoga 30 minutes

Plus- nature walking with the kids for 2 1/2 hours. I was holding the baby in a baby sling the whole time and my back was killing me. That was the main reason for the yoga. Still doing the Total Yoga tape I bought about a month ago.

Dancing

Okay, I did the third and final segment of my new dancing video thingy, and it was AWESOME. There are three instructors, and the guy is totally the best. Easy to follow and understand, so I was able to dance through the whole thing, and not sit and watch and try to catch on to what was going on. And it was a DANG good workout, the best dance workout I've ever had I think! I'm drenched in sweat as I type this (note to self: clean keyboard after shower), and I don't sweat! I wish he did the whole thing, darn it! Anyway, I did a little over 20 minutes of dancing today, yay!
The Almighty Liz
P.S. I forgot to add that I didn't do any formal working out yesterday. I did a LOT of errand running, and most of the stores I needed to go to were in a large strip mall type situation, so I parked in the middle and walked. Also, I organized my kids' toys yesterday, of which I am enormously proud. Picture toys all over my house, and now they are catergorized, packed in clear bins, and on shelves! By the time I got finished I was wiped out, so I'm counting that as my workout for yesterday.

Wednesday Running 2 3/4 miles (with big hills) 35 minutes

Eeeek! My time is getting really good (for me) and I'm still maintaining my distance. I thought this sinus infection would slow me down, but apparently not!

Plus- 45 minutes of raking and mowing leaves (to make something called "leaf mulch")

Biking

I forgot to post yesterday! Shame on me!
So, I cleaned my kitchen and my living/dining room. Swept and everything. That took about two hours. Then, in the evening, I did my bike for 30 minutes. I did a little better on the speed, so 13 mph for a total of 6.4 miles covered. My soreness from dancing is starting to subside too, which is good. I think I may lift weights today, but we'll see.
The Almighty Liz

Ode to the kids (and wife)

I've been making an effort to practice martial arts on more than just the day of class. It started w/the idea of teaching Vance and QQ. To facilitate this, the kids are now supposed to have our back room (the play room) cleared before I get home so I can practice at night. With Mama's help, the kids do a really good job and it helps motivate me as I know my little ones are helping me succeed.

Thanks, Vance, QQ and Pooh.

Monday Walking with the kids 45 minutes

Plus- 1 hour raking leaves for an upper body workout.

Dancing

So, I got a new dancing work out video. It's a lot of swing and ragtime, which I LOVE. I'm not sure I like it because they added a lot of stuff to make it more "cardio", which, really, it didn't need. So, I did two 15 minute work outs, but I spent a lot of time watching, since it was new, so probably a total of 20 minutes, or a bit less. I didn't do all the workouts they had on the video either, so maybe the next couple are better.
The Almighty Liz

Saturday Running 35 minutes (2 1/2 miles FLATS)

Also- cleaning my brains out! I decided to do the fall cleaning in prep of people coming over to our house.

Back on the Bike Again....

Sing that title to the tune of "On the Road Again". That's how I meant it. :D
So, 30 min @ around 12ish mph for a total of 6 miles covered. I was really surprised that I made it thirty minutes, and at 12 or so mph. I thought I was taking it very easy, and was in no way going to make it past 15 minutes, so all in all, pleasant surprise for sure! I'm really tired now, and off to bed. (or at least a good movie or book.)
The Almighty Liz

Friday

Thanks to Timpani, I ran today. Somewhere around 7ish miles, I think. Diet still doing pretty good.

Thursday

I got up super early today with the intention to run with the group. However due to things beyond my control, I got running late. With my keys in my hand and standing in the doorway, I decided that it wasn't worth the trip out there. This weekend is a marathon weekend for many of the people in our group, so most everyone would be severely into their taper. If they ran at all today, it would likely be only about 2 -4 miles. If I got there ten minutes late and had to drive till I found them... Anyway I ran my stairs for 40 minutes instead. I guess next week will be slim pickings with the running group too. Everyone will be recovering. Oh well.

It's officially been a week into my "diet," so I weighed myself this morning. The official one week weigh in is: 153.5. That's three pounds down in one week. Don't freak out. At least one pound of that is water. I was on my period, and carrying around some extra. But hey, it makes for a nice first week!

Wednesday 2 3/4 miles (with big hills) 40 minutes

I thought I was going to do lots worse. With the big hills mixed in, I still think my time is continuing to improve.

Yay! I'm back!

My computer browser have been being gay. It took me a little while, but I figured out how to fix it. I couldn't sign into any of my blogs. So I couldn't post or comment or anything. Annoying.

Well last time I posted was Thursday last week? Yes. That's right. Well since then I've been pretty good on my "diet." I've not been perfect, but I don't think I've done anything really bad. I was thinking about going to the movies last Friday, so I checked on the internet about the fat / calorie content of movie popcorn. Well, I can never eat that stuff again. Darn! I really like movie popcorn. Let's just say that you'd be better off eating three Big Macs than one large tub of movie popcorn, and that's without the buttery topping! YIKES!!!

I ran six miles on Friday. Saturday I was really busy (but now I don't even remember what I did), so I just skipped a workout on Saturday. Sunday I stayed up too late, making getting up early to workout on Monday impossible. Yesterday I rode my bike in basement for 35 minutes.

I weighed myself yesterday: 154. That's 2.5 down from last Thursday, but don't be too impressed. I think I was probably retaining water on the first weigh in, since I was on my period.

Tuesday Walking with the Kids 1 hour (while pushing a double stroller)

Plus 2 hours of housecleaning.

Monday Monday Running 42 minutes (3 miles with one really big hill)

Woot! I definitely am improving my time, especially with that one really big hill added in.

Plus laundry and housecleaning 2 hours.