Workouts while doing the little things.

Workout:  2 hour walk/hike with Cabella and Macy

20 min walk with Doggies

As I was getting ready to my post this morning I was thinking back to yesterday and originally thought I didn't get a workout in yesterday.  However, there was a "workout" in a lot of what I did yesterday, even if it wasn't full out cardio and strength training. 

From trotting clothes back and forth to the clothes line, walking the dgos around the property, and taking the little beagles to the Club to chase rabbits I did get some exercising in.  I think I got about three loads of laundry done before 8 am and hung out on the line.  I then too Cabella and Macy over to the club and I hiked around club as they chased rabbits in circles.  It warmed up pretty quickly yesterday morning before the storms came through and was beautiful out.  On the hike I would take little breaks and do some simple stretching as I waited for the girls to run a rabbit by me.    It felt good to enjoy a quiet morning.

Before I started my list of afternoon appointments, I left the rest of the doggies out and walked with them around our property for a while.  I had to head into town at noon though, so their "free time" was cut short.  I had my laptop checked out and have come to the conclusion I just need to buy a new one rather than spend $300.00 or more to fix it. UGH

Yesterday was my goddaughters dance recital so I went and helped get her ready and into her beautiful costume before the show.  She did a beautiful job in the Sugar and Spice tap routine.  All the groups were absolutely adorable but B's group was the best of course.  We walked back to their house after the recital before I made my way back to my own home for the evening. 

All in all a very productive Saturday.  It was nice to just make my way through the day on my own schedule and agenda and not have to worry about what Cowboy was up to, or what he wanted to do.  I enjoy days where I can just do my thing.  Speaking up that, I better get busy and enjoy my "free day" before the husband gets home from his hunting trip.



A Hunter's Wife

Workout - Run: 4.98 miles in 45 minutes with Dad, Anda, and SB.
Walk:  20 mins with puppies.  Stretching: 10 mins

Being a hunter's wife takes some getting use to.  But one thing I've learned to enjoy is the occasional weekend hunting trips.  This hunting trip is a turkey hunting and fishing trip combined.  He left today for his trip and will be back on Sunday.  I miss having him here but boy do I get ALOT done when he isn't here. I enjoy the quiet time to do MY thing.  These hunting trips give me the time to regroup and focus on me for a little bit (which I often forget to do).  At the same time it gives me the opportunity to appreciate my husband and all he does.  I am reminded  just how much I love him, how much he means to me, and why I couldn't live without him.  Ok, enough of being sappy...time to talk about running.

After school I got in my 5 mile Family Run with my Dad, Lil Sis and SIL.  We had a great run.  I am finally starting to get use to the warmer weather and not fighting every step with excuses about being hot and not being able to breathe.    I really want to try to get in a run this weekend.  I am so used to running with my family that I struggle going on runs by myself at first.  I hope to get a run in to make sure I stretch out from today's run.  Next week then I will plan some easy runs and a 5.5 mile run before Saturday's May Day.

Julia's blog and also Heather's blog both talked about stretching this week.  I often forget to do the stretching part of working out and running.  I don't think about it until the next day when I can't touch my toes.  It really is important and can help prevent a lot of other injuries.  I know that the IT band and knee aches and pains that I have could lessen with stretching so why don't I do more of it??  

So I am going to try to set a my new goal for the month of May.  My goal is to take 10 mins each day to do some basic stretches.  I know I felt a difference in my running when I was doing the Pilates and Yoga on a regular basis so I am going to also try to plan at least a 20 min Yoga and Pilates workout twice a week.  Now that I am putting it out there, maybe I will feel more accountable to getting it done.

Does Sprinting Count?

Is it considered a workout if I sprint around the yard with the dogs (in my crocs, not sneakers) for 20 mins???    If so than I worked out!!  I much prefer long runs to sprinting.  The dogs were kicking my butt!  Plus along with the sprinting I was also jumping over wayward puppies that like to run in front of you instead of beside you. 

Even if the workout didn't help me much it did tucker out the pups!  So I consider that a success!

If you are a fan of puppies and enjoy puppy pictures go check out That Lynn Girl's post today.  She is a fantastic photographer and her pictures today just had me in a fit of giggles. 

Running really does clear the mind.

Today's Workout:  3.6 miles in 31 mins with Dad and SB.

Yesterday's Workout:  4.3 miles in 37 mins with Dad.

I felt pretty good yesterday.  A little frustrated with  my students but that is to be expected in May.  I got a good run in with my Dad before the rain hit.  It was a lot warmer than I thought it would be but actually had a really good run.  I always struggle in the beginning of spring/summer getting use to the weather change.  Hopefully my body is getting use to things. 

We did a loop around a local park and then ran out and back half of the bike path.  We kept a really good pace even though Dad was coughing up a lung must of the run.  My knees and IT band felt the best they have in a long time.  Can compression capris help with IT band and knee issues??  I just got them and seem to feel a difference when I wear them.  

When I got home from the run though the grumpy pants must have found me.  I was quite crabby and couldn't shake it.  This morning I woke up and was still crabby.  Somehow I managed through the day without screaming at a student.  By 3 pm I was really looking forward to my run to attempt run the crabbiness out of me.

Since I teach in a classroom with no windows I had no idea what it was like today.  It was quite chilly today  but once I got moving I warmed up quickly.  Dad, SB and I met down at the local college and ran around campus.  It was windy today, but the campus buildings broke things up and we didn't really notice it until the end.  The pace wasn't as fast as yesterday but I felt good again.   We had great conversations going the whole run which made it go by fast.  My Dad had me laughing pretty good at his story about a scary jellybean.

I think the run helped.  I felt much less crabbier when I got home.  I attempted to make homemade pizza tonight for the first time.  I started at 5:30 and didn't get to eat the pizza until 7:45.  I don't think it is suppose to take two hours.  And if it does take that long I should have fluffy delicious pizza crust not the flat, hard, rock like crust we ate.  I think the yeast with an expiration date of 5/5/2011 might have expired a while ago. 

One of these days I will tackle these troubles I have with making breads and pizza crusts that actually rise.  Anyone have good pizza crust recipes to share???

Good Morning Sunshine....

oh wait ----there is no sunshine.  RAIN, RAIN, RAIN once again.  It is very dreary in my neck of the woods which makes it really hard to want to get moving.  I would much rather be cuddled under my blankets than go deal with high school and middle school students who have started to shut down their little brains.

But alas, someone's got to make the donuts around here so off to work I go.  I have to drop off my computer to get fixed after school and then get a run in with my dad.  I have a 10k next weekend so I better get some miles under my belt.  I really need to step up the miles this week and hopefully get in at least a five-miler before the May Day race. 

Have a great day!

Workout Blues

Another Monday wrapped up, thank goodness.  I have been having a bit of the workout blues this past week.  I have still been getting in a few runs with my dad, sister and SIL.  BUT I haven't done any other cross training.  I was doing really good there with the Jillian Michaels: 6 pack, Ripped and Yoga Meltdown and the 10 Min Pilates for a straight 10 weeks.  I usually got in at least three workouts a week.  This past week though I just couldn't convince myself to do them since it's been nice out.  I'd much rather be outside working in the flowerbeds or playing with the doggies. 

I am looking forward to finishing up the school year so I can get into a routine and focus on not only cross training but also training for two half marathons. I  am planning on doing a half in August before school starts up again and a second one the week after my little Sister's wedding in September.    I guess rather than typing up my frustrations about not cross training I should just go get a quick workout in.  Time to put in the crab cakes and scallops into the oven and spend at least 10 mins doing some Pilates. 

I hope everyone else is having better luck at motivating themselves to workout.  Enjoy your day! 

PS All the visitors from Skinny Runner's site, thanks for stopping by and visiting!!  Please check out my blog.  I just entered the blogging world back in January and am slowly getting the hang of things.  I don't have anything too exciting to post about, but enjoy typing up my random thoughts about life, my doggies and of course running and working out.  I know many of you struggle with the same running and workout challenges that I do.  I enjoy reading your blogs and hope that you can enjoy reading mine as well.  Please say hi and if you so choose become a follower!  I'd love to see the numbers in my followers list increase a little. :)

Here I am....

I wasn't lost, I just left the blogging world for a little bit.  I've been busy with a lot of things and have tried to cut down some of my computer time since there is just so much to get done right now.  But I thought I would give an update on my weekend and share some pictures.

Friday night was a quiet night with the husband and doggies.  We messed around outside getting things done and then took some time to relax.  On Saturday we were up and running with a list a mile long.  I wanted to tackle my doggie printed floors and try to spiff them up a bit along with cleaning the rest of the house too.  Cowboy was outside spiffing up my garden.  He was finally able to get it plowed even though it was still soggy in some areas.

All plowed!!!  Now we just need to harrow it and then I'm ready to plant!

There is lot's to plant!!

My summer "job" will be starting before I know it.  I spend a lot of time in the garden during the early summer months and then a lot of time in the kitchen in August getting it all canned or frozen. It so worth all the hard work though.  I love eating our own produce through the year.

After our morning work, we took Cabella over to the club to chase some rabbits around and then came home in time to take the other dogs out to chase around some raccoons.  Needless to say it was a long day.  We were up at 6:30 and didn't make it into bed until after 12:30. 

This morning we had a nice breakfast together before spliting up to get more things done.  I worked on school work while Cowboy did some more plowing.  We took a trip to Lowes and stocked up on some supplies.  I got mulch so that I could work on my flowerbeds.  Cowboy got cement so he can work on the dog kennel floors.   We also got the grass cut again before the rain started to fall.  My flower beds are finally starting to look good.  Now I need to find some annuals to plant here in the next few weeks to add color before some of my other flowers bloom.




This flower bed had rocks around it earlier today, but I was tired of weedwacking around the rocks so I added black edging.  So much easier to mow now!



So today was a busy day as well.  I think I need a weekend to rest up from my weekend.  Oh - I got quite a few pictures of the doggies this weekend too.  My puppies are growing like little weeds.  They love to play outside and are now starting to get used to posing for the camera too.


Charisma Jane - 19 weeks



Charisma and Macy - starting to really use their noses.



Bestest Friends - They are only 10 days apart.  We've had them both since they were 8 weeks old.



Charima - she is an American Leopard Hound.



Love these little stinkers.

Here's a few pictures of the big dogs too, so that they don't feel left out.



Bandit - He is a Black and Tan Coonhound.



Copper and Bandit taking a nap together.

 

This is Jubilee's favorite spot on the weekends.

 

Copper doesn't usually let the puppies snuggle with him.  But he did this day.

 Oh I missed one....



I can't believe I didn't take any new pictures of Cabella this weekend.  This is from a few weeks ago.

 Whew!  Hope you enjoyed all the crazy photos  Have a great week!