Ho-Hum and a weekly review

Tried a new class this weekend ... spinning.  The instructor is my friend's new trainer and she was really impressed with her.  We took the class at her suggestion.  Plus, I've never spun before.  Have thought about it lots, but been a little intimidated to try.

Everything I've heard about spinning has lead me to believe it's a very intense class that will leave you dripping in sweat.  Towel absolutely required.  It was a gorgeous day and I would have loved to have ridden my bike to the gym, but as I was expecting a killer workout out I left the bike at home.

To be honest ... it was OK.  Maybe I'm just "bike fit" from riding my mountain bike to work almost daily lately.  While I did get a decent workout, and definitely had some sweat going on ... I would far from label it as "very intense". 

I consistently had my bike in a higher gear than recommended, and at a higher RPM as well.  My friend that came with me was within the recommended gear range and had a hard time reaching the recommended RPM, and she said she found the class very challenging.  This is the same friend that is currently training for a marathon and while we start our runs together, she's running a good 6 miles more than me on the long runs ... and kicking my butt on pace too.  

Just as class was about to start, a woman got on the bike to my left ... it was a woman I know.  Her, myself, and the friend I came with all went to high school together.  That was kind of neat.  Anyhow, this woman also seemed to struggle with reaching the recommended gear/RPM levels.

So, while obviously spinning must be a darn good workout, it would seem that I either need to reach even higher than I was, or it's just not challenging enough for me.  I'll have to try it a couple more times to see.  I did enjoy the class though and wouldn't hesitate to take it again.  Unfortunately I can't be doing a ton of classes so will have to just fit it in occasionally.  I'd rather do a bootcamp/weight class as I find that a lot more challenging.

Sunday I did another 10 mile run.  It was pretty hot out, even though we left at 8AM.  But, I managed to run a little further once again without needing to walk, and took less walk breaks than last week.  And the pace was slightly faster.  So again, more improvement.  

Review of last week Aug 1 - 7:

* Ran 16 miles

* Biked 43 miles

* Walked 2 miles

* Classes - (1) Spin, (1) Abs Only, (1) Bootcamp

* Used 17/35 extra weekly points & all activity points (yes, I'm following the old WW's program again)

* Weight loss - ZIP :(  Maybe next week

Heidi

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Week in Review - Catching up

Here I thought I'd have all the time in the world to blog over the holidays .... and I've barely touched the computer.

So where have I been and what have I been up to? (I know you're all sitting on the edge of your seats waiting to hear - hahahhaa).

Let's start with just before Christmas.  I've mentioned a few times that my legs are tight, tired, & sore.  It took barely being able to walk or straighten my legs to finally buck up and make an appointment with the therapist.  He worked my legs a bit and confirmed that they are extremely tight.  Extra mileage exaggerated the problem, but he said that I'm prone to it with my feet and he (like the shoe fitter) suggested I try stability shoes.  He told me to try running a little bit, see how it feels and come back after Christmas.  I was a bit disappointed because I didn't feel he worked my legs much (these thoughts would come back to bite me BIG TIME at the next visit).

Christmas was very peaceful and low key.  Finances are horrible so the gift exchange was beyond low, but it was still nice to have some down time together as a family and it was very peaceful.  On Christmas Day I went out for a walk, tried running a short distance and there was no way.  Even after that walk my legs were painfully tight.

Boxing Day was a total score for me!  My daughter and I hit up the Adidas outlet store.  I knew they had some pretty good prices before Christmas, but when we arrived everything was 40% off the lowest ticketed price.  My Mom had given me money for Christmas and I spent wisely!  I got:

• 5 pairs of running capris (1 for my daughter)
• 1 pair soccer pants for my daughter
• 1 pair yoga pants for my daughter
• 4 t-shirts (2 for me, 2 for the kiddo)
• 2 running tanks
• 1 long sleeve running shirt
• 1 yoga style jacket

 .... all for under $200!  Original value was about $700.  TOTAL SCORE!

 

Jacket - $15

Tank - $10.80

Capris - $6 !!!!!!!

Top - $10.80

Capris - $25

Cheesy Grin - Priceless!

I love the back of the blue tank.  And the capris with the long sleeve purple top are SO comfy!  On the back of the calf is about a 4" zipper and when you open it up, there is mesh in the opening.

Pictures of the other clothes will be scattered over the next few posts.

Plus I finally ordered some running shoes - Brooks Adrenaline GTS.  $170 in the local store (taxes in), $70 shipped, final price, online.  Score again!!!!  They arrived yesterday!!!!  WHOOP WHOOP!  I hope they help my problem.  I wore them around the house all last night but won't run in them until tomorrow.

On Monday, with all that new workout gear staring at me, I was dying to try it out and I HIT UP THE GYM!!!  That's been a while.  I warmed up with 1 mile on the treadmill and felt good, but decided to stop at that.  Did a killer weight workout that left me with expected, but reasonable, stiffness the next day (or two!).

Tuesday my friend wanted to get in her last long run before her upcoming marathon.  It was a nice day and she begged encouraged me to join her on my bike.  I met her partway through her run and did 18 miles along side her.  It wasn't much of a workout, but it was good to spin my legs.

Wed morning I had another session with Dr. Evil!  At my last appt I told him that I had expected it would hurt (because it always does) and he said, "It doesn't always have to hurt, Heidi."  Today as I was gritting my teeth trying not to scream and scare away his other patients, I reminded him of this conversation.  he said, "Ah yes, but last week I was just trying to figure out what was wrong with you ... today I'm fixing it!".  Holy mother of bright rainbows ... OWWWWWW!!!!!!!  He told me I could try running again a little bit to see how it feels, and to come back on Friday.  He said my legs are both very, very tight and definiely need some work.  I have a race on Saturday but will have to be open about whether I can "race" it or not.  It might have to be a casual run with the option of backing out part way if needed.  He didn't go so far as to give me permission to do it, but he didn't outright forbid me either.  I will play it by ear.  I'm already registered and paid so I may as well go.  I'm sure there's no harm in running it at a slow pace.  I will see how I feel.

After my session, I did a little 3 mile easy run.  It felt FANTASTIC and I wanted to fly.  Could still feel a little pain in my left foot, but the legs wanted to GO!  Good thing it was a courtesy run for my friend to shake out her legs from her long run, because left to my own devices I would have gone too fast & too long. By the evening I could feel some stiffness creeping back in, though I wonder if some of that might still be from my weight workout the other day.

So there you have it, the lowdown of my excitement for the last week.  At some point in the next week I will review my goals from 2010 and post my goals for 2011. 

Wishing everyone the very best for 2011 - health, happiness, prosperity.  I know there are some of us who can't put 2010 behind us quick enough (for me there are parts of it that I want to file in the "Forget this %$@#" drawer pronto!), let's do all we can to make the next year the best it can be. 

Reach for the stars, even if you only hit the moon you'll have one heck of a view.

Keep Active!

Heidi

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Fun, Oh Fun!

Oh what a WONDERFUL weekend!

I had so much fun this weekend, and am utterly exhausted.  Friday was a pretty relaxing evening as I met up with a friend for tea and chit-chat.  Always love our time together, and a relaxing evening was just what I needed.  Will have to do more of this ... soon.

Saturday was a bit of a thriller!  My new running friend has done a couple of Ironman competitions before and she just happens to have an extra road bike ... and is about my height.  My husband and I went out riding with her and her husband on Saturday.  I have NEVER ridden a road bike before.  A mountain bike, yes, plenty of times ... but never a road bike.  And this one had the clip in pedals (which I swore I would never use).

We get there and first thing I get told is that my red tank on her completely color-coordinated yellow bike just will not do.  I'm given a yellow bike jersey to wear.  And my baby blue Walmart special helmet is also a no-no.  I even had to be given a yellow ponytail holder for my hair.  Too funny!  Luckily I was just able to squeeze into her biking shoes.

Next comes the lesson about how to clip into and out of the pedals.  I felt like such a tool.  For the first 5-10 minutes I could NOT get into those things and had to be helped in.  But eventually I got in a couple times and she said it was time for a trial run.  We wheeled around her neighborhood a few times learning how to clip and unclip, changing gears, how to drink from the fancy water bottle (yes, it's a skill) and a few other things.

No this isn't me.  No, the bike wasn't quite this fancy. 

But see that straw thingy there in the handlebars?  That's the water bottle.  Nifty, eh?

Then we were off!  There was the three of us on these tri bikes and my poor husband on a regular mountain bike.  We're all in color coordinated gear and at least look professional and he's wearing just basic shorts, t-shirt and his Walmart special helmet.  But he was a trooper.  Had I just gone with the other two on their road bikes I probably would not have realized how different it was in speed from my mountain bike.  I can ride pretty decent, but do struggle to keep up with my husband.  But with him on his mountain bike, riding as hard as he can, nearly busting a gut ... I was just cruising along like a casual Sunday stroll with minimal effort.  He estimates we rode 30-40 Km.  I would have guessed about 15 by the effort, though we did cover a lot of area.

I am DEFINITELY interested in one day getting a nice road bike.  Sadly it will have to wait a while, but before I kind of thought I might one day want one ... now I KNOW I want one.  So much fun.

And I was deeply honoured to find out afterwards that she has NEVER let anyone ride that bike before and she is extremely protective of it.  I am so thankful that she did though.  I was just told that if I was going to tip over for any reason to put myself between the bike and the road - hahahhaa. :)

Tomorrow I'll share about how today's run went.  Here's a clue ...

Keep Active!

Heidi

Here we go....

**BUILDING UP MILEAGE**

After 10 days off of running ... I'm back!  Today marks the kick off of my mileage re-building plan.

The plan is to start off slowly, not worry about pace, and continuously build up over a period of about 4 months until I'm running a half marathon distance again.    Every 4 weeks is a recovery week which I think will be very important.  Too often I'm push, push, push and don't schedule recovery weeks. 

I loved the feeling of being able to comfortably run those longer distances and can't wait to get back to it.  But I'm going to do it smartly this time.

This morning I did my first run of the plan ... 3 miles.  It was W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L!  And I ran before work too - crazy huh?!  I changed my Garmin so that it would NOT tell me pace or time.  All I want to think about right now is distance and just let my body run as it feels.

For the first time in a long while I also ran the whole distance without taking a break ... and I never felt like I needed one.  That tells me this is just what I need.

**ORGANIZATION**

Last week I rode my bike to work every day and it was great.  The only down side was packing lunch.  I only have a smallish pack on my bike and hate to carry a backpack.  I'd like to ride most of this week as well and think I may have found a way to have the best of both worlds (cycling & food from home).

This morning I packed my lunch for the entire week and brought it with me to work.  I'm fortunate to have a fridge, microwave & kettle at my disposal - pretty much for just myself.  So I can stock that little fridge full!

I brought with me:

• 4 c. carrot sticks
• 4 c. blanched broccoli
• 1/2 c. homemade pueblo bean dip
• 4 c. green & red grapes, mixed
• 4 c. homemade navy bean soup
• 3 turkey sausages (130 cal 5 g fat ... I can't wait!)
• 750g container peach yoghurt

If I feel the need to supplement this at all it's easy enough to pack a small extra snack, or take a 1/2 mile walk to the grocery store on my lunch break.

Once a week I can bring my food in and then when I bring next week's food to work, I'll take last week's containers home.  I think even if I'm not riding my bike to work this would save me all kinds of time, money and temptation!  I already pack my lunch most days of the week, typically in a rush in the morning, but this is something I can do on Sunday and have it done.

I'm very excited with all these new plans on the go.  Kinda feel like a kid going back to school (well, maybe not my kids, but like little kids that still find it exciting).

Keep Active!

Heidi

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Why Did I Stop This??

Going on Day 5 of riding to/from work.  There was a few sprinkles of rain this morning, but it's looking like it will blow over so that the ride home should be pleasant.  I'm hoping to finish off the week riding.  Makes me wonder why I wasn't doing more of this throughout the summer.  Once the kids are back in school I won't be able to ride often, if at all.

I don't mention it much, but I have horses.  We had 4, one died last winter (very old age), and a couple months ago I sold my very favourite horse.  He went to a sweet little girl who loves him to pieces and spoils him rotten.  It killed me to let him go, but the opportunity came up, and it's a perfect match so I'm happy.

Now we are left with two horses and have been talking about selling at least one, if not both.  In talking with an old aquaintance on facebook, I asked if she knew anyone looking for a horse and she did.  It's been a LONG time since I've ridden them and I thought if someone is interested in them I probably should at least give them a little ride.

This is the two of them running around.  I was warming up the black one (Dawson), and the other one (Levi) just followed him.  As I asked the black one to speed up or slow down, the other horse listened to my voice commands and did the same thing.  It was too cute.

Here's Dawson warming up. 

It's very hard to get decent pictures while controlling the horse - heehee.

This next horse, Levi, is my special boy.  My FIL bought him from a ranch in eastern Alberta when he was just 3 (he's now 10).  He rode him the first day he brought him home and he bucked pretty hard & high (young horse, new location, 16 hour trailer ride, ridden immediately = really bad idea).  From that point on my FIL didn't trust him.  So I worked with him slowly, getting him adjusted and settled, and he has always been a doll for me. 

It's been years since I've ridden consistantly.  For a while there I was riding 5-6 days/week and show jumping.  I haven't had the slightest desire to do ride at all in at least a year.  But last night, after just that short ride, I'm seriously unsure if I can sell both these horses .. Levi particularly.  I think I may just have to dedicate a couple days a week to some riding.

And I can tell you that, no matter how fit you are, riding a horse will work muscles you didn't know (or had forgotten) that you had.  I only rode maybe 25-30 minutes last night and my arse and thighs are screaming today.  I think this could be a great cross training for running.  Surely it's got to compliment it.

In this last week I have participated in two activities that used to be HIGH priority for me, but I had stopped doing for various reasons.  Riding the horses and riding my bike.  I still bike occassionally, but I used to bike commute pretty much daily, most of the year when the weather was decent, for a few years.

Oh, and on a super high note ... my hips feel fantastic today.  No achiness at all in the last 24 hours!!  YIPPEEE

♥♥♥ BLOG TO NOTE ♥♥♥

I came across this blog yesterday (Dorothy at Yellow Brick Beauty) and just wanted to share.  It's a wonderful little blog, relatively new, with lots of great food ideas and just looks like a nice little blog that I thought some of my readers would enjoy.  Check it out!

Have you ever had a hobby/activity that you thought you were completely over .. just to find one day that you were so not over it?  Did you go back to it?  Did you not, and then regret it?

Keep Active!

Heidi

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