Two days of great workouts

Friday was a busy busy day.  I started out bright and early 6 am at the gym with Manda and SB for a quick warm up on the bike and then about 30 minutes for the weight machines.  I focused on the arms and abs.  Definitely felt it a bit today especially by Triceps.  After school I met up with my Dad, Manda and SB for a run in my new shoes.  I didn’t plan on it being as long as it was but I forgot the mileage of the loop we did when I picked the loop.  So I survived 3.8 miles in my new shoes.  The longest run I’ve done since my half marathon in September.  It felt good although my big toes were a little sore and so were my inner thighs.  I need to work on strengthening them up a bit.  I think I may go ahead and get another pair of the Brooks Adrenaline and switch back and forth between those and the WaveRiders.  Maybe then I can even things out but not wear out one part of my legs versus another part.  I was so exhausted when I got home that I feel asleep on the couch at 7:30 got up at 11:30 got ready for bed and was back asleep by 12:15!

Today I had a wonderful “date morning” with my husband.  We ran quite a few errands together – a total of 10 stops.  But it was nice to get out together.  Usually I end up running the errands myself.  We even stopped for Little Caesar’s pizza.  We haven’t had that in years and since a new shop opened up we thought we would try it.  We still vote Pizza Hut pizza our favorite though.

I just got done doing a great hour long Pilates and Yoga workout.  I got three new DVD’s which I will share with reviews later this week.  I did 40 mins of Yoga for Stress relief and then two Pilates sessions for abs and stretching.  I love Yoga and Pilates.  I feel so good when I am done and about two inches taller!!  Now it is time for a quick little nap before I begin tackling some of this dirt and dog hair that is covering my house!!!

QOTD:  Do you have a favorite workout DVD?

New Kicks!

I am excited to try out my new kicks on Friday!!!  I have been running in the Brooks Adrenaline11 for a while now, but I just don’t like how I feel in them.  The best running shoes I’ve ever had were the Brooks Defyance1.  I loved those shoes!!!  I bought and wore three pairs for about a year and a half before I couldn’t find them in my size anymore. I ran the best in them – had great times, no injuries or pain and didn’t even lose any toenails. I wore them for my marathon and few half marathons. I tried out the Defyance2 and 3 – but just didn’t like them as much as their first edition.  I’ve been looking at trying the Defyance 4’s but they haven’t gone down in price.  I noticed that these were comparable and on sale so I decided to try them out. 

I am hoping the Mizuno Wave Rider 14’s are the “magic shoe”.  I am not a fan of shoe shopping and end up being pretty picky about how they feel.  When I’ve been fitted for shoes they say that I pronate and need stability shoes but they always seem to over correct my issue and cause IT and groin issues.  I’m hoping these will be ok even though they aren’t stability shoes.  Time with tell.  I will test them out on the treadmill and if they feel good take them for a run on the road.

I’ve been slacking a bit on the workouts Tuesday and Wednesday so I definitely need to try to get something in today after school.  Hopefully my new yoga dvd’s arrive soon.  More on those later.  Have a great day!

Wordless Wednesday

Snuggling with my beagles in my super warm fuzzy fleece wrap! We are trying to keep warm in the chilly winter weather that finally made it’s way here.

Tuesday’s Tip

Here’s my first attempt at what I hope is my weekly Tuesday’s Tip post.  Each Tuesday I hope to give you a tip for fitness, running, stretching, or eating healthy that I’ve learned along my journey.  I’ve been getting back into doing my Pilates and there is one stretch that I absolutely love.  So today’s Tuesday Tip is the Hip Flexor Stretch

Your hip flexors are attached to the front of the pelvis and work to bring your femur up towards your torso.  Of course, this muscle is used a lot in running.  I notice that my hip flexor is extremely tight and have had issues in the past where my pelvis has been out of alignment due to the tightness.  To avoid the tightness and prevent injury try the following stretch.

Start in a standing position and step into a deep lunge.  Keep your front knee at a 90 degree angle – making sure your knee does not go beyond your ankle.  Rest your back leg onto the floor and flatten the back foot.  Take time to get your balance.  Reach your arm straight above your head and breathe into the stretch as you reach up to the ceiling opening the front of the hip joint.  Tighten your abs and gently shift body forward until you feel the stretch in front of your hip.  Hold for 30 seconds and relax.  Switch and repeat with your other leg.

Here are some pictures and a link to a video demonstrating the stretch that I found on Google and YouTube.  (Since I’m not quite comfortable taking my own pictures or video demonstrating the stretch just yet.) 

I’m not a doctor or professional, so please be cautious when attempting this stretch.  I’m just sharing a a quick stretch that I often forget about in hopes that I can remind others who might have forgotten and find it helpful too.

Winter Break Project

So a few days ago I told you about a simple winter project I was working on.  I’ve been wanting one of these little carts that fit in between the washer and dryer since we moved into our home back in 2008. I looked at them several time in the stores, bookmarked the page in catalogs but never spent the $40 + to get it.  I am so glad I didn’t because I made my own for under $15.00.

                  Store Bought                                                             Homemade

I am betting mine will last a lot longer than the plastic kind too.  It was a great little project for winter break.  It didn’t take me that long and I did most of it myself.  Cowboy did help me screw it all together since I needed two sets of hands for that.  I messed up on it a few times and made myself too many shelves by gluing two boards together instead of three.  Therefore, three of my shelves were two inches two short – but it still worked out.  We are both pretty happy with it.  I still need to sand it down and put a few coats of clear stain on it. That will wait till it warms up a bit.

All in All a great project, great use of supplies we already had and something to be proud of that will last for a long time – plus I can always repurpose it for a bookcase if it is no longer needed in the laundry room.

Monday Motivation

It’s a new year, it’s a new day.  Don’t let Monday get the best of you.

 
(Source)

(Source)

Get out there…

and

(Source:  FitFabCities.com)

Happy New Year – 2012!

Can’t believe another year has come and gone!  My husband and I spent quite a bit of time reminiscing of past New Year Eve’s last night and it just seems so crazy how fast the years are zipping by.  If you had asked me 20 or even 10 years ago what the 35 year old me would be doing I wouldn’t even have been close with my guess.  Life has really take me by surprise.  God has lead me and shaped my life into something I couldn’t even have planned.  I am ready to see what is in store for me in 2012!

Last year, January 1st, I did my first blog post to enter in 2011.  I had decided to throw my hat in the blogging world, since I had been reading so many of your blogs. My first post was rather short, gave a little background on me and 2010.  It was really kind of neat to go back and read what I had written.  I didn’t even remember that I had written down some quick "off-the-cuff, not-a-lot-of-thought" resolutions.  I didn’t do too bad with those resolutions either…I surprised myself.

I did train for not only one, but two half marathons this summer.   I did a lot of cross training and strength training in the beginning of the year, but slacked off once the summer weather was here.  I did accomplish some of my work related goals which included developing, presenting, getting approval and implementing middle school computer/business curriculum for 6th, 7th and 8th grade!  I spent a lot of time with loved ones over the year and did lots of fun activities and adventures with them.  I also even managed to do pretty good at maintaining the blog until the new school year started – but I am back to it now.

This year, I am with the rest of you and not necessarily setting resolutions just setting some goals to accomplish.  I don’t know where I am headed in terms of running.  I still enjoy running but not near as much as I use to so I am going to be tossing in some more biking with the running as well.  I don’t have any big running races or plans for this year – I am going to just wait and see what I feel like doing as the year goes on.  I definitely want to continue to work on cross training and strength training.  I love Pilates and Yoga and really want to keep that in my fitness routine all year long.  My other big focus this year will be eating healthy and getting away from processed foods.  I’ve learned a lot about healthy eating from reading lots of amazing blogs and posts. I have seen how important eating right is to not only for my body appearance but to my overall health.  I’m not 16, 20 or 25 anymore and can’t eat whatever I want without seeing the affects.  

So 2012 will be about treating myself right.  That includes fitness, eating right and treasuring each moment I’m given with my husband, family and friends. I want to enjoy the big and little moments and focus on improving not only my life but the lives around me.  I want to give more and do more for my community.  I want to build connections with  my students and help them realize their potential. 

That’s a lot of I want’s in one paragraph BUT I believe they are all possible with a little FOCUS and DETERMINATION, my two words of the year. It will take time and I will have to stop and focus to look at not only the big but the little picture to see what’s going on around me.  With that focus, I can determine the next steps and the best way to proceed.

It is going to be a great year!