beautiful weather for a run

I was worried this weekend was going to be awful weather for my long run (10-12 miles), but today was just great. Slightly overcast and not too cold. I took a jacket, gloves and a hat just in case, but had them all shed by about mile 2.5. At which point I somehow bumped the "stop" button on my GPS watch and didn't realize it was stopped until about half a mile further into the run. Darnit! So I started it again and ran until the thing read 9.90 miles. I figure I did about 10.5, but I'll have to measure that bit of distance that didn't get recorded, just because I'm anal like that. In any event, I did it, and I did it in a pretty good time. I'm thinking my time for the half won't be as dreadful as I originally thought. Maybe I will come in under 2:30. We'll see.

arms and abs

Today I did four rounds of this:

30 push-ups
15 bicep curls (12 lb weights)
30 jumping pull-ups
15 triceps (15 lb weight)
30 sit-ups
15 seated shoulder butterflies (10 lb weights)
100 jump rope

Forgot to record my run on Monday...went 4.75 miles. Today was 4.8, and luckily the rain let up long enough for me to get a good run in.

Doctor visit

A couple weeks ago, Buddy had strep throat so I took him to the doctor. Knowing that I needed immunization records for school for these two, I had the nurse print out their records. And, of course, they were missing several. So today was doctor day.

They each needed 5 shots. Not a good day at the doctor's. They had their height and weight checked...both are right on track. Then they checked their blood pressure and eyesight. Again, good to go. We ran into some problems when they wanted urine samples. Mister produced, but Lemur was a no-go. (So, they sent the specimen cup home and we have to try to get one out of him here....ugh.)

Then the doctor came in. Looked in eyes, ears, noses, mouths....checked lungs, hearts and stomachs. Then came the time to "look under your underwear"...Mister ran to the corner of the room and started crying...Lemur ran to the corner and hissed at the doctor like a mad cat. You can imagine his dad and my horror at that! (The hissing is a bad habit he has picked up from the cat, Cinders. Last summer we got a Siamese kitten from Ben's sister and poor old Cinders did not adjust well to him being in the house. She still hisses regularly at him--and often at us, too--and Lemur has picked up this habit and attitude. Lovely behavior, isn't it?)

And then it was time for finger pricks to check for anemia. Mister, again, went first and cried like you were sticking needles into him. Of course, a needle had been stuck in him, but you get the idea. It was all a bit blown out of proportion, and went on for about 10 minutes longer than it needed to. Lemur came back into the room (after trying for the second time to produce a urine specimen), saw Mister crying and was immediately concerned. Still whimpering, Mister watched as Lemur got his torturous finger prick and Bugs Bunny band-aid. And, again, the ceaseless crying commenced.

Now only the worst to go. 5 needle-stabs to the thighs. Mister was up. Kicking, screaming, squirming. I had to lie on top of him (with shrieking screams in my ear) on the table while two nurses pinned his legs down and started jabbing needles at lightening speed. Lemur took one look, started shaking in his dad's arms, and said "I want to go out of this room!" Then it was time for the second one. Less kicking and squirming, and screaming was, surprisingly, not as loud. And no hissing, which I always count as a success. When it was all over, they did admit that their fingers hurt worse than their legs. On the way out they got their suckers, and their choice of stickers. Do you think they went for the cars, or superman, or batman stickers? No. They saw the iCarly stickers and would settle for nothing less. So, iCarly it was.

We then followed the torture with a visit to McDonalds for a happy meal and ice cream. And now, playing the Wii, they're no worse for the wear.

Today at the gym I did two rounds of this, and it nearly killed me.

30 plate cleans + overhead press
20 obliques, each side
30 TBX hamstrings
30 sit-ups with overhead press (15 lb weught...after 15 of the second set, I went to a 12 lb weight)
30 jump squats
30 throw downs (abs)
30 back extention on incline bench

These plate cleans plus overhead press is a new torture she has developed. It starts with a 25 lb. plate (that goes on the end of a barbell bar) which you squat to pick up, cleaning it up to shoulder height as you squat again. Then throw another squat in and press the thing up over your head, squat again bringing it back to shoulders, and then squat as you tap it on the floor...for 1.

TBX hamstrings are done on your back with your heels in a TBX strap, which hangs from a bar overhead. Then you raise your butt off the ground, push your heels out straight, and bring them in, keeping knees and feet together. She let me choose between this and dead lifts...I picked this because it is a more stabilizing move--engages the core more.

The sit-ups are straight forward--a sit up, while holding the weight on your chest and as you come up, pressing the weight up overhead.

Jump squats are a squat with a jump as you come up.

Throw downs are done on your back. Trainer stands over your head, and you grasp her ankles. You then lift your legs straight up, she grabs them and throws them down to the floor.

Overall it was one of the tougher work-outs. I've felt fatigued all day!

3.33 mile run today. Pretty good time, too. At least for me. My upper body hurts like crazy from my workout yesterday--shoulders, back, arms, and abs. Ugh. At least my "long" run tomorrow is only 4 miles.

2.5

Today's workout was timed, every move was for 2 and a half minutes. Here's what I did:

• Floor runner (in plank position, running in place, basically): 210 reps
• Chest press (first half with 12 lb. weights, then moved to 10 lb.): 58 reps
  
• Ski squat (I don't know how much weight was on the machine): 71 reps
• Jump rope: 313 jumps
• Hanging abs: 76 reps
• Aussie pull-ups: 42 reps
• Power lunge (jumping lunge): 67 reps

Burpees (blech)

Today at the gym my trainer announced 100 burpees! Jealous, I know. But not only was the workout burpees, but followed by a pull-up. So it was burpee pull-ups for me! 100 of them. And at the top of every minute, I had to pause and do 3 bicep curls/over head presses with 15 lb weights...then back to burping. It was brutal, since my arms had just barely recovered from the thrusters and push-ups I did clear back on Thursday. More dead-arm expected tomorrow.

2.5 miles today. Luckily I get a break this week after that long run on Saturday.

Long run day

8 miles. I dunno about doing 13 in just a month. 8 nearly did me in today. Of course, this week I have been extra sore from my trainer, so maybe that is part of the reason why I didn't feel my best today. My time was about what I expected though, so that is good at least. The Gu I had nearly made me puke...I'm not sure I am fond of that stuff. For those who don't know what it is, it's a high-energy-electrolyte-something-or-other that is packed into a gooey substance that you're supposed to be able to swallow down as you are running. It makes me gag and nearly puke, though, so I'm not quite sure how effective it is for me. In any event, I managed to swallow down the banana-strawberry flavored Gu (which cannot be their best flavor, by the way) and keep my water down, too...and made it another three miles. Next week is only 4, but the week after that is between 10 and 12.

Breaking Bad

This TV show is my guilty pleasure. Ben's too. We are addicted to it. It is like crack. Or meth. It's a show on AMC that we became hooked on when we had a channel preview for the satellite. Here's the low-down: it is about a high school chemistry teacher (played by the dad from Malcolm in the Middle) who is diagnosed with lung cancer. He has a 15 year old son with cerebral palsy, and a wife who just found out she is pregnant. And a brother-in-law who works for the DEA. So he is thinking he is going to be leaving a pregnant wife with no life insurance and a mortgage when he dies of this advanced cancer. While on a drug bust with bro-in-law he discovers how much money there is to be made in the drug business. He hooks up with a former student (who is a low-key meth cooker) and starts cooking the purest meth ever seen on the streets of Albuquerque. The show is intense. And because we don't have AMC, we have had to resort to Netflix. Only, we had to wait a whole year to see season 2, which just came out on DVD, and only took us about 4 days to watch...and that was even counting the wait time in the mail. Now season 3 is four episodes in, so we have had to now purchase the episodes through iTunes. Can you tell we're obsessed? If you haven't seen it, definitely start with season 1. But, beware. It is addictive.

Wednesday's run was only about 3 miles. Today I put in 4.

Ouch

I've not hurt this badly in my legs since I first started going to my trainer. I'm having a hard time bending down, sitting down, and going down stairs...even 2 days out. Tuesday she worked me over and kicked me to the curb. Here's what that workout included:

10 close-stance squats with 15 lb. weight in one hand (then switch sides, for a total of 20 squats) at the top of each minute for 10 minutes. (So at the end of the 10 minutes, 200 squats had been done.)

10 wider-stance squats with 12 lb. weights pressing overhead (one arm at a time, for a total of 20) at the top of each minute for 10 minutes. (So at the end of the 10 minute, 200 more squats had been done.)

So today I go in, telling her my legs are killing me...and I get to do more squats! YAY! Here's what today's workout included:

25 box jumps
50 double over-head thrusters (so, really 100...and with a 35 lb. bar that I had to push up behind my head, then back up and over)
50 push-ups
50 side lunges with 10 lb medicine ball
50 jumping pull-ups
50 jack-knife abs
400 meter run (.25 mile)

My arms are going to be killing me for the rest of the week now.

7 miles today....

Nearly forgot to mention I was nearly eaten by some dogs on this run. And right at the end, so I had no energy to run faster! Out of nowhere I felt something hit my heels... I think I may have kicked one of them, but I turned around and two dogs were at my heels--scared me to death! They seemed friendly, though--no menacing growls or barks, but still quite a shock.

Yesterday and the day before I felt like I was getting a head cold, or some sinus thing, so I didn't exercise. In hindsight, I think it was lack of sleep combined with concert hangover (ringing ears, sore throat, headache). But today was a beautiful day, melting most of the snow that fell the other night, so I was able to make it outside for a run. 3.75 miles for me today. On Saturday I have to do 7 miles....not looking forward to that.

Muse and Silversun Pickups

Last night Ben and I went to the long-awaited Muse concert. It was awesome. We met my little sister and her husband in Salt Lake for dinner, then it was off to the concert. It was raining cats and dogs, and was sooo cold. Anyway, in we went...general admission on the floor. Smashed together with a bunch of idiot kids and drunk/high people. :\ In spite of this, we had a blast.

Silversun Pickups opened the show. They were awesome...Ben has become a real fan of this band lately. If you haven't heard their music, you should check out Substitution, Lazy Eye, and Panic Switch.

Then Muse. They were, of course, also awesome. Matthew Bellamy is so talented. And, if you don't know Muse, you'll have to check out Uprising, Resistance, and Starlight. I also love Invincible, but they didn't play that last night.

sore abs, anyone?

Yesterday at the gym I did this:

.25 mile run on treadmill
50 squats
50 sit-ups
.25 mile run
50 squats
50 sit-ups
.25 mile run
50 squats
50 sit-ups
.25 mile run
50 squats
50 sit-ups

My abs hurt today. I was supposed to go today as well, since my trainer is going to be out of town the rest of the week...but I didn't plan on 2 ft. of snow falling last night. *sigh*

6 miles

Today was my long run of the week. I eked out 6 miles, but didn't feel very good doing it. We are in Provo for the Easter holiday, so I was able to run with Ben. We wound our way down to the Provo River Trail and headed upstream from there for another mile and a half or so. Then we turned around and headed home. I've never had heartburn while running, but I did today. Ugh...not fun.

Today we dyed Easter eggs with the kids. My dad said he didn't think he'd ever be doing that activity again. It was fun, the kids did some really pretty eggs...and now we have about 3 dozen hard boiled eggs we get to do fun things with like egg salad sandwiches, deviled eggs, and eggs golden rod. Lots and lots of eggs...mmmmm....eggs. (Just kidding...blech.)

Still snowy...

But at least today was a gym day. Here is what I did:

250 jumprope
20 triceps (lying on back on bench, 20lbs over head, pushing up, elbows in)
20 reverse squats (starting down, coming up, going down for 1...etc)
250 jumprope
20 plank arm climbers (I can't remember what she calls these, but it's where you are in plank position and you go to your elbows, one arm at a time, and then back up to hands)
20 walking lunges with 12lb weights in hands
250 jumprope
20 Aussie pull-ups
20 back extentions
250 jumprope
20 triceps
20 reverse squats