Today was a spring out of bed, love days like this, today I experimented with making dinner while working out instead of after work or in the crock pot,  so before heading to the basement put a couple of pork chops with cream of chicken and onion soup mix in the oven, it was actually done but the time I finished working out.

Today's workout was Cathe's Xtrain Supercut, this is one of those energizer bunny workout, barely a rest period and mostly compound moves, I do love it thou since you workout every pesky little muscle, I think one of my favorite move is the using the gliding disc to do burpee to jack pushups. I did a time saver workout which clocks in at 26mins.



For Cardio I did a newer Studio Sweat Spinning off of Youtube, love the music and energy of this workout.



Today I wasn't feeling any yin yoga workout started out with 2 but ended up just doing my own thing for 30mins, mainly because I knew what was tight and what I wanted to work on.

Still working on cleaning up the diet, I know this is going to be a challenge for some reason this year, not eating junk just can't stop eating.

Oh the joy of living in Ohio, yesterday was 50+ degrees with occasional rain  but none the less very beautiful day for January in Ohio, while running yesterday there were lots of people out biking and fishing, today by noon we had dropped to 30 degrees, winds @ 30mph with blowing snow, barely going to make it out of the 20s all week, oh well it was fun while it lasted.

Woke up today, with minimal stiffness, some sore around my left ankle/foot as expected but overall not too bad. Got out of bed and did 40mins of spinning using iCycle been awhile since I did one of this, fun as usual with Keith, could feel the lactic acid in the legs but the ride felt great, afterwards tried a new to me yin  yoga with Sufey, I like the practice but the chatter at the beginning was too long and normally I don't care for music during for some reason I didn't mind her singing, it seems to go with the practice. I love the pigeon against the wall, could really feel the butt muscle, but felt so much better when done.



Wasn't sure if doing 21miles yesterday was a good idea but I feel great today except for some minor aches and pain, now to add back working on nutrition to get the weight down.

With yesterday being the first of the month and the last month of 2015, I was bent and determined to get a workout in despite waking up late due to my darling husband tossing and turning due to have a cold, still never understand why he always think I can't sleep when he can not. With only 20 mins, I squeeze in a nice progress 1.5 miles run in 15:28,  it felt good to test out the legs with speed, hopped of the treadmill a quick stretch, shower, got dress, grab coffee and was out the door running only 5 mins late.

Today, was a bit more relaxed so able to get a decent workout in but rest day from running, for strength was Chalean Extreme Burn #2, looking at my notes from the last time I did this workout I had a forearm issue with the heavy weights just because we hold them almost for the whole 38mins workout, this time was no different, by the 6th combo my left forearm was complaining so I dropped from the 25# weights to the 20 pounder, which is a shame since I was strong enough to do the workout.

After ChaLean, was 40 mins on the spin bike, intention was to do 30 but then I started watching a YouTube video on camera aperture, am learning more about photography since this is going to help with my side hustle business. Knowledge for today what  was the aperture does and what those f numbers means and how to use them when I take pictures. What I never understand and this is not just in the aperture concept but also in bead size, why does a low # means a small opening why does everything have to be the opposite, life is confusing enough as it is.

After the stress from aperture :), got in a nice 20 mins yoga from Heart Alchemy Yoga on YouTube, this was nice and gentle not really as much focus for the legs but lots of shoulder opening which was great.

So with the challenge of not missing by a running sister, got out of bed ignore the legs did some great upper body workout, although I have to say I did feel pretty good, there is an hot spot on the left middle toe which is quite tender and the calves are tight apart from that can't really tell I ran a marathon. Ok back to today, this is week 4 of the Cathe's Xtrain rotation am doing but I switch the upper body for lower body, I will have to decide tomorrow if I want to do legs on not based on how I think the legs feel.

So, Cathe Xtrain Burn Set Bi's and Tri, even thou I don't care that much for parts workout, I am really enjoying the parts workout in this series, I love that I am able to go very heavy and now for a change actually seeing definition in my arms.



then to continue working out the kinks did 10  mins of vinyasa yoga followed by 15 mins of yin yoga, body wasn't really up for all those sun salutations so reason why I cut the vinyasa short and switch to wonderful yin.

It really may not have been cold enough but I wore my Akron Marathon jacket to work, yep that is how I roll, it was earned not given.

Life is Good, when the smallest thing brings smiles to your face and No a 5k is not a marathon

 This morning was some nice stress reliever with Cathe doing Hard Strike and then to Travis Yin Yoga for pure bliss. This was actually a very good combo, stress reliever and bliss before 7am what a way to start the day.





How am I feeling today, in my James Brown Voice "Whoa-oa-oa! I feel good, I knew that I would.." now that you all have this stuck in your head, make it a wonderful rest of the week.



 In celebration of Dragon Con that just ended in ATL below are pictures from when I crashed Comic Con in Denver, I think my kids thought I was pretty awesome, oh did I have a blast hanging with this people.

 Life is good, hanging with people that love what they do and could careless what anyone thinks-Priceless

Today was a great day, got out of bed 10 mins after my alarm went of, normally I don't get up for another 60mins or so, started the day productive and happy. Today was Kelly Coffey Meyer Slim Sculpting Swing + Upper Body, I think this workout is so much harder when you are not switching between upper and lower body. My left palm seem so much more delicate than my right.

After KCM was a doyogawithme yin yoga for hip and hamstring with David Procyshyn love the sequencing and the gentleness of this one, perfect for a recovery day.

Spent most of the time after work sorting through the bulk jewelry  I bought from liquidation.com, got to start taking reselling seriously

Life is good and there is bliss

Blue Line Run

Friday:
Left heel is much better but with a twenty miler on Saturday decided to spend the morning with Travis instead doing Yin Yoga, I always love the way I feel after a session of Yin and Travis is just one of the best love the sequencing.  



Saturday:
Not really the best of preparation for a 20 miles run with a 12:30am call from work which meant I couldn't get back to sleep and the alarm went off at 5:30am which I snooze till 5:55am with a bolt leap from bed since I was going to be running late, well made it just in time getting there are 6:56 for the 7am start. Nothing says fun like hanging with almost 500 of your running BFFs and it is not a race, Shelby found me with no issue and we were off together after a quick stop at the restroom.

My plan was to take this easy, no point beating my self up, suppose to be base pace not marathon pace so had to reign Shelby in a bit to keep the pace easy. Love the new course, I find it interesting people are complaining about the hills in the first 12 miles which to me where easy, gentle and rolling compare to slamming in a big old uphill grind at mile 17+ of the marathon, after running 5+ miles on the flat boring towpath of the old course. I love that the new course have a great support for the last 10+ miles of the marathon when it is most needed, I can't wait for race day, I think this is going to be interesting not to just keep things moving this is when the are we there yet mentality start and I want to stop training.

Thanks to JK for picture

 We are so happy to be done

Feeling better after a haircut/color and shower, now for some food with my visiting niece. Heel feels tight but not too painful.

Sunday:
Feeling better and refresh, very minimal heel pain decided on some spinning and heavy weights to workout the kinks, just what the body needed.

Started things off with Global Cycling 20 mins Burn Fat Fast Workout



I really enjoyed Kelly Coffey Meyer Muscle up the shortened total body workout that I did Friday so pulled it out again for today's workout.

Grateful for another day of being able to do what I love doing, Life is Good, count your blessings.

The schedule called for mixed intervals today and I decided to do this on the treadmill using Runerval DVDs, it makes it easy for me to have a better feel for the pace. I started out with Runerval Irongirl Workout A which is for beginner (am not really sure Coach T knows what that word means) I kept my pacing true to Brain Training for Runners assigned pacing instead of going crazy with Coach, after warming up doing the usual striders,
1st set was 3x1min with 1 min recovery - HM pace/2% incline , 2 mins base pace,
2nd set 3x1min with 1 min recovery - HM pace/ 2%, 2%, 3%, 2 mins base pace,
3rd set 3x1min with 1 min recovery - 5k pace/2% incline, cooldown - 30 mins total time.

Since am quite warm, skipped the warmup from Runerval 7.0 Workout C,
 4x30secs with 90sec recovery-All out pace/2%,
4x1min with 1 min recovery-3k pace/2%,
2x30sec with 90sec recovery - All out pace/3%- cooldown - 25 mins total time



Finish up with 26mins of yin yoga from Mark Laham yoga found on youtube short and to the point.







Had a great time at work, love working on new production projects, after work met up with Shelby at Silver Lake for some plans, I really wasn't planning on running 8 miles with her but felt good some fatigue wards the end but I felt good, did the last 4 faster than the first 4 so also happy about that but all at base pace.



This was a nice progressive run

Woke up yesterday again with heavy legs but decided on tackling the 1k repeats on schedule, got dress and got ready and actually got out of the house almost at a decent time.

1 mile warmup + 3x1k@8:41 pace (10K pace) + 1 mile Cool down, good thing it is recovery week and only 3 repeats. Warmup was questionable, I think I spent the whole warmup miles wondering how the 1k was going to go, Garmin was set so I just plow straight ahead without thinking about it, so how did it go 8:43, 8:33 & 8:57 better than expected in my opinion and happy with it. 68 degrees with 83% humidity



Got back in and did Cathe Ripped with HiiT Lift it Hiit it Legs, I skipped the warmup, felt like I was warm enough. Great to be back to heavy lifting and Cathe.

After work, despite my better judgement based on how I was feeling I felt the need to go running, check in with Shelby to see what she was doing and we got together at Munroe Falls Park to get in 5 miles, this is my first time on  this trail and I absolutely love it. My body basically woke up as the mileage increased, I felt good and strong despite the 90 degrees heat, this was a 2 mile loop on multiple terrain (grass, boardwalk, asphalt) did the loop twice then out and back 1 mile to make it 5. So glad I decided to do felt so much better when done.



My neck itch like hell from the bite, worst part is that I cannot see it.

Today back on the mat with Travis and Ultimate Yogi :Yin Yoga, absolutely love how I feel when I do this workout. Feeling so much better today, almost like my wonderful self, life is good.

After a very restful Wednesday with the workout being only a 30mins yoga and lots of sleep, I woke up at 3am today to get in a quick workout since I had to be at work by 4:30am to work with my 1st shift operator on a special project.

I was able to get in 1 mile @ base pace and 1 mile @10k pace then 1 round of tabata alternating between jump rope and battle rope.

I did contemplate running after my 12hour shift but between the heat and long day, I know it will not be  quality workout so skip it and got some paper work done instead.

Woke up thinking I should just do yin yoga only since I had an intense workout yesterday but getting out of bed and getting to the basement wasn't sure why just yoga, plan called for spin and yoga so decided on sticking to plan.

I an really enjoying the Global Cycling Network videos on you tube, music is great and workout is thorough, sweaty mess as usual, love it. I need a new spin bike, the knob on my bike is broken but since this is the original Johnny Bike not of the replacement parts works with it because manufacturer changed.




Then finish it up with a Quickie yoga from Paulie Zink, first time doing a routine from him, great quickieand very doable and different.



Really need to start doing a better job with nutrition, am finding with the intense workouts am not recovering as fast, 1 quick change is to eliminate the nuts till at least the end of the month, lets see if I make it.

Woke up sore this morning, looks like some dormant muscles got woken up with yesterday's run, despite the soreness I felt the need for a good workout, I changed my mind a couple of time wondering if just to do yoga but I needed more so ..

Pulled out Pretty Fierce Core Plyometrics, even thou this is suppose to be a core workout I think it worked just about every inch of my body was a sweaty mess when done, what's not to love 1 -legged burpees, walking plank to side plank to tuck jump, jumping jack plank to spiderman.........

Still on a high decided to do 3 sets of tabata workout, 20/10 using music/timer from tabata workout music on you tube, round 1 was jump rope, 2 was battle rope working the upper body and 3 was One handed KB swing using 16kg KB, this felt great, I think I am going to start using this as finishers doing different things.



Then it was time for the much needed yin yoga, did one to work on posture from Cassandra Fightmaster this was great as always.

Later in the day took a much needed nap, heavenly

Even thou yesterday was National Running Day, I stuck to my plan of not running, as a runner am not sure why I need a day declared for me, I think yesterday was for  none runners and the rest of the 364 days for me, I guess they get to follow it up tomorrow with Doughnut Day.

Was suppose to do 30mins on the spin bike this morning so I went ahead and pick another program from Bitgym, this time we are headed to Yosemite Park, it was nice but I am not quite sure how the phone is picking up my RPM because I was losing speed and wasn't sure what to do, don't know if this was from my wifi connection or not, so ended up with 40 mins ride, the clock only count down when you are cycling. Also at the end of the workout they give you, time, calories burn and RPM, not sure what to do with the RPM data, I wanted miles and speed. I did get an invite to be a beta tester, so will be trying the coached programs out the next couple of days added on Yin Yoga with Travis, the live class on You Tube instead of DVD.

My left calf was tighter than I like this morning, not painful, just knotted up, I have been working on it, it tends to loosen up after about 2 miles so I decided against the tempo run and played around with Strong Stride instead.

I like Strong Stride with Lisa Watson, it will be a great one to add into the rotation to work all those pesky little muscles, the hip, hamstring, Quad and butt were hit very hard, great DVD for runners.

Cardio Strength Upper Body (1 round) + Strong Stride Dynamic warmup + Strong Stride Program 1 + 21 mins on the stepper just to test the calf out.

Time to get ready for the basketball game

Butt so much better, still not 100% sure what is going on.

Yesterday, in  an effort to focus on the butt, did works that targeted it, I think it helped. Physique 57 Express workout, there is a great butt/seat workout that targeted everything, then yoga for butt with Adrienne on You tube and to stay true to what I planned did a quick 30mins yin yoga also found on You tube.

Surprise on how cold it got, enough for the cold warming from the nursery regarding bringing plants indoors.

Today:
Divine intervention this morning, as I stood in my closet trying to decide whether to wear long pant (outdoors) or short (treadmill) we lost power, mind you there is no rain or storm or anything just no power, so decision made outdoor run it was, since it is only 45 degrees and I can hear the wind howling, put on long pant & top and headed to the garage to get my shoes, well, power came back ON, oh well outdoor it still is. It takes so much longer for me to get running when I have to go outdoors.

It was cold, initially only had long pant and sleeve but went back and put on a windbreaker, hat and gloves, didn't overheat during my run, got in 6 miles with 6x90sec of sprint sprinkled in on the second loop. I have a nice 3 mile loop that I did twice going clockwise and counter clockwise. I am trying to stay at the top end of my base pace instead of what I have been doing which was hanging at the low end, I am not going to get faster doing that. The run felt pretty good and I should be more comfortable at me if I still to pushing towards the high end.

Gotta love Ohio, after the unbelievable 80+ heat wave last week, we are wearing sweater and turning the furnace back on this week. I can barely stay warm.

Wednesday is fast becoming a favorite, today was back to Ultimate Yogi 108: Yin Yoga with Travis Eliot, I guess I can say I am getting more flexible or maybe more I can get into the pose better and focus on breathe a bit more.

Am thinking of signing up for the Akron Rubber Series 8k/HM/M, although not crazy about the $205 price after all discount but then I am thinking I get better value for my money over the Flying Pig which was $196 - 10k/5k/M. Also realized I have done Akron 3x already so this will make #4 which I will be doing regardless of whether I do the series or not since Shelby picked this for her first and I can wait to share the experience with her, back to my point, so I have have to do at least 1 more Akron Marathon to be in the 5 year club.

Why do I want to be in the 5 year club, it is just a runner's think, oh well

In an effort to give the legs a break did a new workout to me focusing on the upper body, Pretty Fierce Lean out Upper Body Strength, it was short and to the point, love that it will be easy to go heavy on this and she doesn't babble too much, which I love. Use mainly 15 & 20# dropping to 12# for the shoulders.

After work met up with Shelby to test out the legs on the bike and hike path, it felt pretty good a bit sluggish to start but got better as the miles went on



This morning was another beautiful restorative yoga off of youtube by RohtopiaTV, I think my body is now beginning to crave this Wednesday sessions.

Beautiful yoga practice this morning, first time doing one from Jennifer Raye, it is called Mindful Yin Yoga, I love how she was able to keep my mind focus on my breathing, she seem to know exactly when the mind is about to start wondering. Highly recommend this one also, embedding is disable so go here to see practice.


Also finish Nicole Lapins book, Rich Bitch since for some unbelievable reason I woke up at1:30am and was wide awake did try going back to sleep but couldn't so grab the book. Lots of great simple language information and to do to get finances on the right track. Great read.

No worse for wear this morning despite how tough the race conditions were yesterday, slight pain on the top of the 2nd toe on both foot, I think the brown puma will be out for any more cold and water runs. Decided to take it easy, concentrating on the upper body and yoga.

So pulled out Kelly Coffey-Meyer Muscle up workout #1, love this since I can go quite heavy.


Warmup

Super set - 3 rounds, 8 reps
A:
Bent over Row - 25#
Chest Press - 25#

B:
Dumbbell One arm row - 35#
Dumbbell Fly - 25#

C:
 Pullover - 25#
Pushup on my toes

D:
Shoulder Press - 20#
Abdominal Crunch - 16reps

E:
Toe Press - 16 reps
Lateral Raise -15#

F:
 Bendover lateral raise - 15#
Superman

Found another Fightmaster yoga on you tube and gave it a go, I do like the way she instruct, so will look into rest of her program

I continue to take Wednesday has my recovery day and using it as a time to try out different yin yoga on you tube, today was another nice one but this was a yin yang yoga, probably more yang than I wanted but I still enjoyed it. Beautiful day today, it was tempting to go out and run since even Shelby had an event on TORN FB page for a run but I know I have to follow the program and respect recovery days, I have been above to stay injury free for 2+ years and I will like to keep it that way.



 

So Little Rock Marathon has come and gone, race report and how we got there coming soon, I took last week off due to some stomach bug and recovery before starting back for Paris Marathon.

Monday 3/2 - 1 hour Yin yoga with Travis, this was the life class posted on you tube, this was amazing, I think for the first time I was able to clear my mind and focus on my breathing, my reward complete pain free when I was done. This is the best I have felt after a race, almost like I didn't do one.



Tuesday - 20 mins spin after we finally got back home safely

Wednesday - Rest day, was sick as a dog all night long throwing up

Thursday - 32 mins Spin

Friday - 31 mins on the stepper

Saturday - Beauty run with Shelby on the valley loop, my first time doing this loop, I wasn't sure what to expect, but the legs felt fine despite the right of the gate hill climb.

We left for Columbus to attend the Arnold Fitness Festival, it's amazing how much this has grown. We spend the night so we could visit with my in-laws who were visiting to attend a wedding.


 Sunday - After riding in the car, not sure why being a passenger in a car aggravate my left butt muscle, causing pain down my leg, so nothing better than to do a nice yin yoga when I got home, found another nice one on you tube by the skinny cook



Monday - Back to running but suffering from Daylight Saving Time (DST), so got up late since I went to bed very late but was able to Kelly Coffey Meyer (KCM) Muscle up #1, always love workouts that make me lift heavy.


Since my treadmill was gracious enough to work, I got in a quick 20mins run.

Excited to be back training and looking forward to the racing season now that it looks like the weather may be improving.