TWO!

Tuesday morning, I hit the two mile mark, non-stop, for the first time, at a pace of 11:27.  I couldn't get over how my lungs felt - I have asthma, so my lung strength has been a challenge for me from the start.  But my lungs felt STRONG!  In fact, at about 1.5 mi, my thighs started feeling like lead, but I couldn't stop because I knew it would throw off my breathing, and my lungs would struggle again, so I pushed through the tired legs and made it!!!  That run made me feel so confident that I CAN go the distance!  I know my legs will get stronger and carry me in time, just like my lungs are doing.  And today, we managed to shave 20 sec off our pace!  YEAH, I KNOW!!!  I felt incredible once the nausea subsided, lol!

Since Sean decided training with me, my motivation has skyrocketed.  Not necessarily by choice, haha, but he pushes me through the times when I want to give up.  In the last few days, I've realized how much I need him for this (but shhhhh, don't tell him I said that!).  I told him that my  job is to get him up at 5am to run, and his job is to push me past my whining.  I have to wonder, though, if he wants to clobber me when I'm telling him to get up, as much as I want to clobber him when he's saying "Come on, come on, you can do it.  Let's go"......I kinda doubt it ;)  haha  But, we make a great team, and we've come to appreciate the fact that it would be much harder to do it without each other <3

If you look to the right, you will see a list of races we are going to do, the first one being in March 2012.  This should be interesting, as it's about 7 miles through the rolling hills of Danville, PA...in MARCH!  Did I say that already???  If anyone is wondering what March in PA is like, well it's about as fantastic as March in Cleveland, lol!  Cold, snow, and ice - perfect race conditions HA!  Unless of course, they have a warm up, then things will get nice and sloppy....Should be fun :)

In order to train for this race, we started using a training plan on Runner's World.  It's great because we plug in our starting distance and pace, and our goal.  So according to this, we should reach our 12k goal by March with no problem.  And this pic I found pretty much sums it up:

Happy Thanksgiving :)

Autumn Fun!

A few more days of being blessed with incredible weather here in Cleveland, so we took advantage of it again and headed to our beloved Metroparks.  Sean and I packed up the kids, some water bottles and a few sandwiches, and spent several hours hiking, running, jumping, and playing in the wooded areas and the on bridal path.  We had a BLAST!  Isabel discovered her love of running, I discovered I really need to practice jumping on, off, and over things, lol, and Sean and I both discovered that it's not easy to seriously run with 3 kids in tow!

Isabel is notoriously POKEY!  It can be frustrating as a parent, but we all have our faults, right???  Well Sunday, she decided she was going to run the final mile with me....and she DID!  She kept right along side of me, no complaining, and found a desire!!!  I was so proud of her!  She said, "For everybody that calls me slow, LOOK AT ME NOW!!!!"  She decided she's going to run the Jr Spartan race, too :)  Way to go, Izzy <3

Here's a few pics from our weekend:

Dueling push ups :D

Plank on a log!

Downward dog on a log ;)

Mini-sparkles <3

Future Spartan!

Partners in Crime <3 <3 <3

Welp, there ya have it - a couple of pics from our fun family weekend!  Hope you like :)


Happy Trails :)

I Got A Fevah And The Only Prescription Is......

SIGNING UP FOR RACES!!!!  HA!  You thought I was going to say "COWBELL", didn't you???  LOL, well, I DO have a fever for more cowbell, but my fever for signing up for races is even worse!  I know - I haven't even participated in a race yet, but Holy Moly I can't WAIT!!!  I'm looking into The Mudder's Day run in PA, the Spartan Sprint in PA (obviously), but I'm also looking into some other Spartans within my driving distance (er, I mean SEAN'S driving distance, HAHA), and also a Warrior Run here in Ohio.  Seriously - it's turning into a bad addiction, especially if I don't build up my endurance!!!!  UGH!  But I HAVE to.....I really want to be able to sign up for the Super Spartan in the Midwest next October.  Do you think I have a chance???   Hmmmm..... I'd love to hear your thoughts <3   Oh, and I even signed up on the Spartan Race website to try and win some free races!!!  WOOO wish me LUCK :D

Of course, I spoke to soon yesterday about our weather.  FA-REEZING here today!  Brrrr.... So glad today's WOD was an indoor one that I could muddle through...

Simplicity. Two minute plank every hour on the hour while you are awake in the day. Stop what you are doing and plank. Two minutes too easy? Do it for five. If you're up for 16 hours, that's 32 minutes of planking.

OK, OK, I didn't exactly manage 2 minutes every hour I was awake, but I did do some - to the point of my hands shaking so much I couldn't text *GASP*  lol !  I think it's rather funny how SIMPLE planking looks - yet a few seconds into it and I'm like "Holy cow I must be doing this wrong - it's like torture!!!"  hahaha  Not really like torture, that's what burpees are for :D

Tomorrow, I will be running, doing my pushups, and various strength training.  I have yet to see what Sparta has in store for the WOD, so we will see....it's ALWAYS interesting!!!!

Happy Trails :)



Takin It To The Streets

This past weekend, I finally took the leap to running outside.  Thankfully, Sean (husband extraordinaire) decided to start working along side me and made it easier to make that transition.  I can't get over how much nicer it is to be outside versus being in my  basement on the mangy old beast :/  Hard to believe, I know. HAHA   It's more tolerable running outside, and having a partner, and it's something we can work on together - not to mention the fact at how much crap he will get when I CHICK him!!!! HA!

It's been a few mornings now, and 5am is less awful because of  a) the time change, b) having a running partner, and c) a sweet and pleasant alarm on my new phone!  Seriously - 'c' makes ALL the difference (shhh, don't tell Sean, otherwise he will opt for the relentlessness of the 6:30am alarm which is quite brutal).  But in all seriousness, we've been doing quite well - averaging a 13min mile, which is WAY good for me :)  We are working up our distance, right now covering just under 1.5miles, and would love to see that doubled in the next few weeks.  It's great having someone with me to encourage my runs, and also offer that sense of security - not to mention the awesomeness of me CHICKING him!!!!  Um, did I mention that already????  Sorry...

Today's run was great!  The weather is so mild right now ( I mean, c'mon, it's November in CLEVELAND!!!!  We never see temperatures like this!!!) and it's the perfect opportunity to train to run outside.  So today, we didn't get out until almost 6am, which is fine but it just makes my workout run later, and we did our best yet - 12:26 mile!!!!  WOOOO!  I am so stoked :)  And what's even better is while we were doing our warm up walk, I thought for sure I wasn't going to make it and would be walking the entire way.  Not bad...not bad.   Then while the hubs got ready for work, I did my push ups, some squats, chest flies, tricep kickbacks, various ab exercises, and finished it off with 45 minute of YOGA!  Boy, do I love yoga <3  Really - I haven't done it in a few days for reasons I don't know (seriously, it's something I do almost everyday, yet I went almost a week without it.  HMMM) and it was quite noticeable.  I felt so stiff, and the poses felt so strange to me - like it was the first time doing them.  But anyway, I did it and I feel great.  The perfect end to a darn good workout!

Until tomorrow.....

Embracing The Suck

One thing I've noticed since I've started working out is, I am NOT the only one who hates it!  So many women I've come to know openly talk about how much it all sucks.  However, what separates them from the average Joe is that they do it in SPITE of the suckiness!  They'd rather stay in bed than get up with the chickens and go for a run.  They'd rather sit on the couch with their favorite snack and a bottle of cabernet, than do burpees til they almost puke.  Some have stitches, some lost toe nails, some are pregnant....doesn't matter.  They do it by embracing the suck.

My lifestyle change is a few weeks in now, and I must say it's still incredibly difficult.  I'm not sure if it's because I truly am a wuss, lol, or if because my level of difficulty has risen. Possibly both.  BUT, I'm noticing that eventhough it's difficult, and I ache, or I feel like taking a nap, I'm doing what I need to do.  Yes, I am embracing the suck often.  There's a whole lot of suck throughout the week so I have plenty of opportunities to take advantage of it, lol.  In  fact, my wonderful  family decided to help me out a bit by making me a gift of suck to embrace ;)

Haha, yes,  it's my very own sandbag, filled with 40 lbs of hell!  And I can't wait to use it!  I'm sure my husband will be more than happy to snap some photos of me looking absolutely ridiculous with this, so I will be sure to share them!  I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful family, who encourage me to push myself to my limits and want me to Embrace the Suck!

Happy Trails :)

Elusive Sleep

Have you ever suffered from insomnia?  If you have, you'll know exactly where I'm coming from.  If you have not, then you probably won't understand the havoc this can wreak on a person's being from the inside out.  I started with it about 5 years ago, off and on.  I finally mentioned it to my doctor and she prescribed a low dose of medication to help me get some sleep.  I took it for a short time, then I no longer needed it - I was CURED!  Ha, well, temporarily.  This summer, it started again.  Honestly, I averaged between 3 and 4 hours sleep each night from June through September.  Terrible, terrible.  I once again talked to my doctor about it - reluctantly, because I HATE taking pills of any kind and I always prefer to "tough it out" if at all possible.  Well in this case, I think I was all toughed out and needed some help.  I've only taken medicine two or three times since seeing her recently, but with the sickness going through our house lately combined with my sleep deprivation, I was feeling downright SICK - like "not getting out of bed today" sick.  Sooooo, I opened my little bottle last night and popped  one before bed.  ::SIGH::  Let me tell you how good I feel today - really, REALLY good! I was up at 530, downed a banana and some water, and hit the beast for YESTERDAY's WOD, which I couldn't WAIT to do (seriously).

Hill repeats. 6-8 of 'em. At least 90 seconds in duration: full intensity! Bonus for weighted vest or those who do 10 burpees after each repeat.   

I opted for burpees over a weighted vest because, 1) I don't have a weighted vest and 2) I just didn't want to :P  I did my push ups, ab work, and some yoga as well.  When my workout was complete, I hopped on Facebook and was in awe over Spartan Race's post......

Today you will change your life. Today you will commit to eating clean and training daily. Even if it is just 20 pushups or a walk, you must get out and do SOMETHING every day. Signing up for a race is what jump starts most people to do this. It can be any race. Just commit, tell everyone you are doing it so you are forced to train, and STFU...Spartan the F up!

Amen, people.  Amen.

Happy Trails :)

Ramble, Ramble

I was telling Sean last night how much I did NOT feel like working out yesterday.   Really, I didn't.  I wanted to crawl back into bed, under my warm covers, maybe sip some hot tea, and sleep for a few more hours.  Man, I really can't tell you how much I wanted to do that.  ::sigh:: ................  Wha?  Oh where was I???  Oh right, peeling myself out of bed :/   Anyway,  I reluctantly peeled myself out of bed and forced a work out.  Surprisingly enough, it had been one of my better work outs to date.  Hmmm...go figure!  I followed the WOD and just modified the speed, so instead of a "hard run", I jogged above my pace, and instead of a "jog", I briskly walked.  Then I included my push ups, some squats, lunges, and abs.  Not bad, if I do say so myself :)  So here was yesterday's WOD:

Fartlek’s Run
(2-4-6-4-2)
‘hard’ = above lactate threshold/race pace/NOT conversation pace
10 min w/u
2 min hard
1 min jog
4 min hard
2 min jog
6 min hard
3 min jog
4 min hard
2 min jog
2 min hard
1 min jog
(repeat as needed)
10 min c/d

I ended up completing my first mile in 14 minutes!  WOOOOO - new record for me, post broken foot.  I'm happy with my accomplishment, in spite of my miserable attitude to start.  My lungs felt strong, my legs were excruciatingly exhausted, and my attire was soaked through.  To me, that's a pretty good day!  So good, in fact, I'm contemplating taking it outdoors.  I guess I NEED to, IF I want to do a 5k in December.  Did I mention that yet???  Well, yes, I WANT to do the Reindeer Run 5k in December.  I haven't signed up yet - I'm frightened because it is SO close.  I mean, yeah the Spartan Sprint is crazy intense and all but, psshhh I have til July yo!  <---- that's me talkin gangsta.  I do it sometimes.  And yeah, I know it doesn't really work for me.  It's a defense mechanism so just deal!  So, the 5k is only a month away and I'd really like to do it, but UGH....it's close...and I'm outta shape.  I guess I will see how difficult running outside is over the next few days, and take it from there.

And, let me apologize right now - in looking back over today's post, all I can say is "Today's ramblings are brought to you by Adult ADD"  So sorry :(

Happy Trails :)

Excuses, Excuses!

I hate to say it, but my past has been littered with excuses for all sorts of things.  Whether it's regarding what I eat, health issues, a cluttered closet...but more importantly working out.  I have had EVERY excuse for not exercising regularly, and sometimes even combined excuses - "I was supposed to declutter my closet, so I didn't have time to workout, eventhough I didn't touch my closet because I had a bad allergy day."  See what I did there?  Excuse overload!

I'll admit, my days are pretty full of everything - school work, house work, cleaning up after dogs and kids, making meals, errands, and these ARE very important things!  But I noticed something recently that's pretty important too, yet it's never on my daily To Do list......ME.  Yep, believe it or not, "I" am important too.  So, how am I going to make time for ME?  Well, just like everything else, it gets scheduled in.  I set my alarm for 5am every morning.  This gives me time to chug some coffee and eat a banana, hit the beast and workout until about 7am when I need to get everybody up and around.  Do I do this every morning?  Um, nope.  Well, what do I do on those days???  I set a cut off time of 2pm for EVERYTHING - school, house work, kids, etc. and I get my workout in then.  Period.  No excuses.

So, are you going to dig into your bag o' excuses today???  I'm not.  And boy, lately I could SURE use some excuses.  I've been under the weather off and on for a week, I have a sick kid, a sick husband, and LOTS of work to catch up on.  But ya know what???  I HAVE to do this.  I HAVE TO!  No excuses...

Happy Trails :)

Sometimes It Sucks

I know my last post was all positive, "A mile is still a mile", but BLEH!  That's how I feel about that today.  I struggled on that dang treadmill the second I stepped on it.  Even my warm up walk felt difficult.  I told myself I should just stop because I can tell what it's going to be like, but NOOOOO, I embraced the suck and kept going.  OY!  Not good...not good.  I managed a solid 1/2 mile run only stopping to tie my shoe (cuz Lord knows I don't want that to get caught in the beast!), then pretty much walked the rest of the way.  I was DYING!  My legs were barely holding me up, I felt dizzy, I was sweating yet chilled to the touch....I wanted to quit and cry in my bed.  BUT, again I didn't. I finished my mile in an embarrassingly pitiful 15:18.  ::hangs head in shame::   After that failed attempt at athleticism, I decided I deserved some punishment and picked up my running partner - a 2 gallon pail of primer, which is only about half full :/   I added two 4lb dumbbells on top of it, inclined my beast to a 9.0 grade, and went for it.  Yeah, well that didn't last long either.  At 1/10 of a mile I nearly tossed my cookies, so I put down my jug and continued walking without it and finished 1/2 mile.  I can't even begin to tell you how mad I was/am at myself.   >: [    <----very close

Anyway, eventhough my time spent on the beast was a bust, I still rocked my push ups (total 132, max 35), did a killer ab workout, and squeezed in some arm and leg exercises.  Then I finished it off with yoga :) 

So, I guess overall it sucked, but I didn't quit.  I kept going, and I can continue to TRY every single day.

Happy Trails :)

A Mile is a Mile

I'm ALWAYS getting down on myself for speed (or lack of, in my case) and constantly trying to improve my "mile time".  If I go faster, I can't go as long, if I go slow and steady it takes MUCH longer.  It's a vicious cycle.  What to do, what to do??? 

Last week, one of my Spartan sisters posted a picture and I found the quote speaking to me directly...

I KNOW, right???  Even if it's taking me 15 minutes to run a mile, I'm STILL running a mile!!!!  Why am I beating myself up over time?  Instead I need to learn to be proud of TRYING, and accomplishing THAT MILE, regardless of time.

BUT, yeah, I still want to manage a mile in less time :)  Today, after being ill for a few days, I managed that mile in 14:35, in addition to my push up challenge (total 115, max 30), 100 squats, yoga, and some ab work.  Not exactly a Spartan WOD, but it sure beats soap operas and potato chips :D 

Until tomorrow.....

Happy Trails :)

A case of the BLAHS

There's an illness of some sort making its way through our house - a chest congestion, queasy stomach combo.  It hasn't completely taken me out yet, but it's lingering in my body long enough to make me feel unwell, and I hate it.  I'd rather it knock me out for a day or two instead of making me feel weak and BLAH.  I let it win yesterday, and didn't even do my push up challenge, but today it's going DOWN!

I completed my push ups, which were tough - I'm blaming it on the weakness due to not feeling well ;)  My max was 20 for a total of 92 and I did not attempt the beast, but some yoga felt good.  Hopefully Wednesday will be more productive in the training department.  I'm praying for a good night's sleep and a healthy mid-week!

Happy Trails :)

Today has got to be better...

Yesterday was one of those days.  You know the ones, the dog pees in the house, mud* is found on my bed sheets after the dog was on it, a kid drops an egg on the floor which the dog then grabs and runs through the house leaving a trail of egg slime.....  ::sigh::  I managed to get in a small jaunt on the beast, and 30 minutes of yoga between the chaos of my day, so I guess it wasn't ALL bad, haha.  But then my sweet babies gave me "mail", although according to the "mail" it was NOT from my kids, but from a 25 year old friend of my kids, lol.  Anyway, the note apologized for the crazy day, and promised breakfast in bed and a clean house today!  YESSSSSSS!!!!!!!

They told me I HAD to stay in bed this morning (eventhough I resisted, haha), they took my order,  and said they would serve me breakfast.  Well, at 7am, I was served hot coffee, orange juice, 1 egg with cheese, and an apple with some peanut butter!  I must say, it was pretty great :)  And just the fuel I need for a good workout!

I modified today's WOD (as usual) and this is how it went:  20 minutes of yoga (I needed some good stretching since I was sore from Wednesday's w/o), a total of 2miles on the beast, broken up with walks, 100 lunges, 94 push ups (today's p/u challenge), 2 sets of 50 squats and 10 burpees, and finished it off with abs.  Not bad.  And to top it off, a dog did NOT pee in the house, I did NOT find mud* on my bed, and NO eggs were dropped.  It's a pretty good start to the weekend!

Today's WOD quote made an impression on me, so I thought I'd share.... "There is no secret to success.What exists is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure."  ~Colin Powell  How true is that???

Oh, and if you're wondering why I put  '*'  after 'mud', well, it's because one cannot be 100% sure it is mud since one did not smell it.  I'm guessing it was not actually mud, but I told myself it was.

Happy Trails :)

The Beast

You might be thinking, "Wow, she hasn't even attempted the Sprint and she's talking about the Beast" but oh, I can assure you, this beast is much more intimidating.

Let me introduce you to MY BEAST.  I know for certain that my beast has been around longer than a Spartan Beast.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if my beast was used during ACTUAL Spartan training.  I kid you not.  It's a fine specimen and I'm sure you all will be equally horrified and impressed  to know that someone not only owns such equipment, but uses it DAILY!  I give you....the BEAST...

I think my photos speak for themselves.  I hope after seeing these, you appreciate my efforts and realize I really DO want this!!!!  lol

But in all seriousness, this IS what I run on everyday.  It's not pretty, but it works, keeps me dry, allows me to monitor my laundry, and make sure my kids are doing their assignments.  AND, surprisingly enough, it didn't cost me a dime!  haha, shocker, I know, but I didn't garbage pick it - really, I didn't!  It was given to us by someone "in the business"....um, what business?, I'm really not sure, lol, but a business nonetheless :)  And I will work it till it DIES.

So, if I refer to the Beast, the Dinosaur, or Old Uncle Earl.....you will now know (and lucky you, visualize, haha) what I'm referring to.

Happy Trails :)

The Beginning

There have been many things in life I have failed to follow through with and I found myself blaming others for lack of encouragement. This then led me to fear failure – I refused to try anything new for the simple reason that I didn't want to fail and have others say “it figures”. Finally, I realized that I only have myself to blame, and if I want something bad enough it is MY responsibility to achieve it. This is my journey to discovering that strength and desire within me and building the courage to show it.


First step – training for a Spartan Sprint!!!


Have you heard of it? Well, you can take a look at it here and see for yourself. The sprint is the “beginner” of the Spartan races, however I am a beginner at any sort of athletic activity. Sooooo, I will document my training, as humorous and embarrassing it may be, and share it all. My first race is scheduled for July 14, 2012 at Blue Ridge Ski resort in PA. Yep, that's right....I will be RUNNING UP a SKI SLOPE!!!!! Ugh....what have I gotten myself into???

I've been on and off with workout routines for many, many years. Odd, because at one point in my life I used to LOVE to workout. Honestly, I did. Then life came along – moved away, married my BFF, had babies...you know the drill. That's how long this took place, up until about 3 weeks ago. Someone I know shared her story with me. She was recovering from some pretty traumatic events in her life, yet STILL managed to find time to do what she loved – RUN, TRAIN, and RACE. 'No excuses' for this mama! She's completely inspirational and reading what she had to say sparked something in me; a fire I haven't felt in a long time – she talked about a Spartan race she recently completed and shared pictures of her covered in mud, jumping over fire, and I decided I WANT THAT! So, we talked about this race next year, and the two of us will be doing it together. ARROOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Now, I'm about 2 weeks into training, which consists of me dying on the treadmill every morning, doing a whopping 3 miles in 50 minutes, almost killing myself one of those mornings when I lost my footing and did a split on the belt (thank GOD I was home and not at a public gym!), working through a push up challenge (which has me pretty proud of myself because my weak old body still has some upper body strength in it), and various workouts for strength and endurance. Spartan WOD's (workouts of the day) are posted daily, however they are pretty hard core and I find myself modifying most of them at this stage (which again, is BEGINNER!!!).

So, with the help of my kick-ass husband, my incredible kids, and some awesome new friends, I'm embarking on this journey and stepping WAY out of my comfort zone. Should be an interesting ride ;)