Weekend Wrap Up!

It's just another Manic Monday...

Ahhh, the Bangles. I loved them when I was a kid! I actually made up a dance routine to "Walk Like An Egyptian". I even incorporated our trampoline into it. You know, one of those small ones people used to exercise on in the 80s...

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. And I hope you were able to make it a long one, due to the 4th of July! Here's what I was up to...

Friday

My Friday would best be described in list format...

1. I slept until noon.

2. I did a random workout.

3. My husband beat my ass in a Monopoly Deal tournament.

4. I went to Boscov's and Ross Dress For Less but I did not buy a THING.

5. That evening, the hus was hanging with his friends, so I hung with my friends... You know, Dr. Drew, Jean Caserez, Jane Valez-Mitchell, Vinnie Politan, and my BFF- Nancy Grace.

Source

6. That night, I tried going to bed several times, but it just wasn't working. I ended up finally going to bed at 5:30am. That's what's I get for sleeping the day away!

Saturday

Because I am lazy, I will continue describing my weekend in list format...

1. I made myself get up at 10:30am because I did not want to continue the terrible sleep cycle that was beginning to develop.

2. I ran in the sweltering heat.

3. We visited at my in-laws. The A/C was broken. Holy moly it was hot in there!

4. Later that evening, we dropped in on my cousins' pool party. We finally got to see their house!

5. That night, husband and I finally got caught up with Big Brother 15 (blog post will be forthcoming!) and then I spoiled myself by reading the message boards. I can't help it, I like being spoiled!

Sunday

Annnnnnnnnd the Sunday highlights...

1. Slept until 11am. Fail. I guess all I do is sleep now.

2. I hit up the gym for a back/chest/legs day.

3. When I got home, I forced myself to eat 8oz of chicken breast and a Fiber One protein bar, even though I wasn't hungry at all. My appetite has been disappearing these days...

4. Then I hit up TJ Maxx and Boscov's (again) to look for cute summer dresses. This is the third time I've been shopping in a week and I FINALLY found some dresses worth buying!

5. All summer, we were looking forward to this evening. The HSO was playing a free concert on the lawn at Dickinson College. Last year we brought a blanket, wine, sushi, and Monopoly Deal and enjoyed the beautiful music. That is what we intended to do this evening... except it got rained out! So we took our sushi, our wine, and our Monopoly Deal to Lower Allen Park and had a little picnic in the rain under one of the pavilions. It was quite romantic!

6. Breyers Blasts Chips Ahoy ice cream was dessert... I put some brownie pieces in it too. You know, because there just wasn't enough carbs and sugar in it already...


And that was our weekend! Sorry for being lazy and writing in lists. These weekend wrap ups get long, and I needed a break! Next week I promise to have a very well written post about our weekend.


What did you do this weekend?

Running Through the Elements: Heat Edition

When I decided to venture out for my run at noon on Saturday, Accuweather stated that it was 90 degrees in Camp Hill, but the real feel was 99. Now, there are numerous other workouts I could have done besides running outside. I could have gone to Planet Fitness and done practically anything. I could have done a workout DVD or rode my spin bike in the lovely A/C. Even better, I could have gotten up early and ran before the temperatures had gotten so high!!

No. I had my mind set. It was Saturday, and on Saturdays I run 9 miles- usually hills. I was going to a pool party that night, and while I have gotten a lot better with my body image issues, I still had my mind set that any day that I had to put on a bikini was going to be a "long run" day. (I'm not perfect, I'm working on this!)

But with some modifications and flexible expectations, I was able to get a dang good run in, despite the heat. So this will be the first in a series of blogs about running through tough weather conditions, and ways to make those runs more safe (most importantly), but also more enjoyable.

A little introduction...

I am not a fair weather runner. I will run even if it is crappy outside. Rain, heat, freezing temperatures, and even certain snowfall is not an excuse for me to miss a run. If that were the case, I'd have an excuse almost everyday! Pennsylvania has one of those climates where we pretty much experience all types of extreme weather conditions. The only real choice is to acclimate your body to running in all kinds of weather.

That being said, there are some types of weather I will not venture out in because I deem it to be too dangerous or not worth the risk of injury. So let's break it down:

I will run in...                                                   I will not run in...

Extreme downpours                                        Icey or slippy conditions

Snow that is not slippy                                    Dangerous winds

Heat                                                               Tornado warnings/watches

Freezing temperatures                                     Lightening

Let's take just a minute to talk about the weather I will not run in. (By the way, I do know runners who would run through any sort of dangerous weather and I think that is just STUPID! Yay, you can tell all your friends you ran through 75mph wind gusts and feel all bad ass about it,, but one of these days a tree branch or trash can is going to smack you in the head and you will see what a dumb choice you made!)

Icey/Slippy - It is not worth it to me to fall and injure myself.
Dangerous winds - See trash can/tree branch comment above.
Tornados - Duh. Must I explain?
Lightening - Some people are not afraid of lightening but I am! And I would prefer to be INSIDE when it strikes!

So now for what I will run in. 

Today's post is going to focus on running in the HEAT!!

First of all, there are some people who just CANNOT run in the heat. They probably know who they are because they have had bad experiences. Or maybe they used to be able to tolerate it, but as they have gotten older, it's harder for their bodies to cool themselves down. For these people, no amount of modifications make it worth the discomfort or health risks. So if running in the heat is just something you cannot do, or if you simply don't enjoy it.... DON'T DO IT. Only do what you are comfortable with. Just because someone can/likes to run in extreme temperatures doesn't make them more bad ass than you.

But if you are someone that can tolerate high temperatures to a certain extent, here is a list of things I do to make my runs more safe when the temperatures have skyrocketed:

1. Plan a short route that is close to your house. When I ran on Saturday, I was never more than a 1/2 mile from my home.

2. Have flexible expectations. Don't go out saying, "I'm running 8 miles!" Say, "I'm going to see how I feel and adjust my mileage accordingly."

3. I always carry a bottle of ice water. It's not only for drinking, but for slowly pouring over my head and chest to cool myself off midway through the run. (This is best done under the shade of a tree!)

4. Bring a cell phone OR run in a neighborhood where there are plenty of people and houses in case you have an emergency.

5. Do not try to be a hero. This is not the time for a speed workout or tempo run. Do not concern yourself with pace or running hill repeats. Just put one foot in front of the other.

6. STOP IF YOU FEEL WEIRD. What is weird? Well, that depends on what is weird for you. For me, if I suddenly got a headache or felt nauseous, I would stop. If I suddenly started to feel really cold or couldn't focus, I would stop. These things would be "weird" for me.

7. Take shade breaks under a tree or run back to your house and cool off in the A/C for a few minutes.



These modifications worked for me on Saturday. I carried ice water and did a 4 mile loop around my neighborhood, pouring water over my head twice. I was never more than a half mile from home. After 4 miles, I went back to my house and cooled off in the A/C for 6 or 7 minutes. Then I went back out with a new bottle of ice water and did 2 more miles. I ended up running an average pace of 7:30, which is pretty good considering the circumstances! But I didn't even look at my Garmin until I was done. I just ran whatever felt good!

Could I have run all 6 miles at once? Probably. But I would have felt like complete and utter CRAP afterwards. And a workout is not supposed to make you feel like crap for the rest of the day... you should feel AMAZING.

Now, if only I could get my sleep schedule back on track so I could get up early and not have to worry about the horrible temperatures!

Are you able to run in the heat?
Do you have any tricks to help you?

My no-direction-mess-of-a-workout!

I am very thankful to have the summers off and to generally be able to do whatever I want with my days. I do teach piano lessons, but that is only about 5 hours a week. One of my favorite parts about summer is having more time to workout and to have the flexibility to do it when I feel like it- not when I can squeeze it into my schedule.

During the school year, I usually get up at 5:30am so I can get my workout in first thing. I feel like I have more energy first thing in the morning. If I waited until 6pm (after a full day of teaching and then piano lessons) I probably would not have much mojo left to put the proper amount of effort into my workout.

Summer is a whole different story. Sometimes I workout before piano lessons. Sometimes I wait until after lessons and do it in the afternoon. But whenever I decide to do it, I give myself at least a good hour and a half beforehand to relax, drink coffee, and eat a good breakfast. That way I can REALLY TEAR IT UP!

Yesterday, I didn't have piano lessons. I slept until noon. Noon! WTH!? I went to bed around 11pm the night before... I guess I really needed to catch up on some sleep! So once I dragged my arse out of bed, I fiddled around on my computer, ate breakfast, and drank coffee. I didn't get to the gym until 1:30pm. Talk about a lazy summer day!

My summer workouts have slowly become a bit of a mess. I do have some sort of a schedule, but then there are days that I don't have much of a direction. For example, yesterday was supposed to be weight training- bi/tri/shoulders. But when I focus on just those muscle groups, it doesn't take me very long in the gym, and I sometimes feel like doing a little extra. So I ended up adding a short run and a short circuit.

(This is more than I normally do in a day. I normally do 45-70 minutes. but I think getting 13 hours sleep gave me some extra energy! Plus, my husband wanted to play disc golf, and it's so easy to go on a beautiful run in a new area while he is doing that.)

Here is my no-direction-mess-of-a-workout I did yesterday!

Resistance Training Circuits Bi/Tri/Shoulders (each group 3xs)

Dumbbell Bicep Curls

Dumbbell Overhead Tricep Extension

Shoulder Press

Wall Sit (threw this in at the end to give my arms a rest, 

even though it wasn't a lower body day!)

Assisted Pull Ups

Assisted Tricep Dips

Sit Ups

Bicycles

Cable Bicep Curl

Tricep Push down w/ Rope

Arnold Dumbbell Press

Cardio - 4 mile run - 8 min pace

Ab/Jump Rope Circuit - 1 time only!

Jump Rope - 200 rotations

Plank - 2 min

Jump Rope - 200 rotations

Side Planks - 2 min each side

Jump Rope - 200 rotations

I was in the gym about 45 min, my run took 32 min, and my little circuit took 10 minutes. I know it was a bunch of random exercises, but that's what keeps it fun, right?

Plus, I got to listen to a Jillian Michaels' podcast during my run. I am learning so much from her! (And she has almost convinced me to stop adding salt to my food.)

**Addendum: I wrote this blog yesterday (7/5) evening. It is now nearly 5:00am on 7/6 and I still have not gone to bed yet. I tried. I laid there for three and a half hours and then finally got up. This is what I get for sleeping all day...** 

Do you ever have random workouts?

8 things I am loving RIGHT NOW!

1. Skirts that are short in the front and long in the back. I tried a few on but couldn't find one I was in love with. I'm really picky about how clothes look/feel on me.

Source

2. The Barbie who was created to look like the average 19 year old woman! I see myself more in this Barbie than the old one... even though I am not 19! On a side note, I played with Barbies as a kid, but I never thought, "Oh, she is so beautiful, I have to look like this!!!!"

Source

3. The new season of Dexter! Do you watch this show? If you don't, you should. But start at season one. You have to watch this from the beginning.

Dexter: The Complete Final Season

4. Breyer's Golden Oreo Ice Cream. My dream is to drink and extra large milk shake made of this.

Breyer's Blasts Golden Oreo ice cream

5. A new drink I started making: 1 oz water, 1 oz cranberry juice, 2 oz vodka, a few drops of lime juice. I don't know what to call it. Cranvodkalime? Limekacran? Vodlimecran? Or how about "Makes You Eat Cheese Curls In Cottage Cheese"?

6. Jillian Michaels' podcasts. Just go on itunes and search for Jillian Michaels. They will come up.

7. Deck of Cards workouts. I have been using them as finishers after lifting. It's 20 minutes of something I could only describe as "hurts so good"!

8. McCrae from Big Brother 15. I have such a nerd crush on him! And he's a smart player. I only saw two episodes though, so no spoilers, please!

Source

What are you loving RIGHT NOW?

Burpees: A Favorite Exercise!

I thought it would be fun to do a few blog posts about my favorite exercises. When I say an exercise is my "favorite" it probably means:

1. It's hard.

2. It's effective.

3. I love it just as much as I hate it.

I didn't even know what a burpee was until last June. When I first started doing them, they were VERY hard. They're still hard! But they have gotten a little easier.

Apparently, there are a ton of different ways to do a burpee. You can check out 30 different ways here. Each variation looks extremely challenging! Especially #4, #5, #8, #9, #12, #16, #19, #20, #23, #24, & #30... ummm, so most of them.

This is how I do a burpee:

Why Burpees Are Awesome!

1. Burpees are a FULL BODY workout... legs, core, shoulders, arms, chest...

2. It's cardio and strength training wrapped up into one movement!

3. You don't need any equipment, just your body weight.

4. As mentioned above, you can modify a burpee to make it easier or more difficult.

5. You burn tons of calories and fat because they are super high intensity.

Check out this guy! Will doing burpees all day give me abs like that????

This is just... insane. I wanted to try it, until I saw that it takes about 2 hours.

Maybe I could try to do just 1/4 of a mile. Who's with me?

Some dead grass in my yard... because I did burpees!

I don't love burpees because I feel soooooo good when I do them. I love them because they make me want to barf! Training isn't always going to feel good. In fact, if you feel good, you're probably not pushing yourself. If I am uncomfortable, in pain, and out of breath (not to the point of injury, mind you), I know I am pushing myself and therefore, getting stronger! This mindset was hard to get accustomed to. It's pretty much the opposite of the way I approached distance running. In distance running, it's not good to be out of breath or uncomfortable. The point is to be able to run comfortably for hours. That's why I will always maintain running a marathon is easier than running a 5k! But with lifting, speed work, and plyos, the whole point is to push yourself out of your comfort zone- whether it's 3 more reps, 10 more burpees, or 1 more round of sprints.

How I incorporate burpees into my training:

1. I use them as part of a circuit when I do circuit training.
2. They are usually "hearts" for a Deck of Cards Workout.
3. In the gym, I do them between sets when I'm lifting to get the benefit of a compound exercise.


I used to do 3 sets of 20 burpees once a week. They were challenging because I had very weak shoulder and chest muscles. Now, I do 3 sets of 25 burpees three times a week. They are definitely one of my favorite exercises!

Do you love to hate burpees?

Check back for a post about another favorite exercise of mine... the PLANK!

A Late Night Wal-Mart Date...

My husband and I like to call every day errands "dates". Usually it's because it will be our big outing for the day/night. Don't worry, we go on actual dates, too. We love picnic dates, going for walks, and getting sushi.

On Monday, we decided we had to go to Wal-Mart. It's usually a pretty annoying trip, but it is nice to be able to stock up on things that are a lot cheaper to get there... TP, cat litter, cat food, protein powder, my cereal.... We just load up our cart to the brim and hope we got enough so we won't have to go back for a month.

We didn't dress up. I wore a tank top, orange sweat shorts, and flip flops.  I fit in quite nicely.
My hus was actually dressed better than I was. He could have been on a legitimate date.

We thought we were going to head out for our "date" around 3pm, but then my husband had a great idea. Why not wait until 9 or 10pm to head out. That way there will be no traffic and less people. And the people who would be at Wal-Mart at 10pm would be pretty entertaining, so it would be fun, too!

Don't worry, we weren't disappointed.

We weren't even in the store for two minutes. I was looking at nail polish and my husband was waiting patiently. A group of teenagers barreled down the aisle. Bringing up the rear was a scrawny guy, running to keep up, yelling, "Hey guys! Let's get some K-Y!!!!!"

I didn't even try to hold in my laugh. I let it echo throughout the store. I could tell it was going to be a fun trip!

Something that surprised me was the amount of kids in the store. Like, young kids who should have been in bed at that hour. There must have been a birthday party going on in one of the aisles because there were a bunch of kids screaming and running around and having a grand old time...

The rest of our time in the store was pretty uneventful. That is, until it was time to check out. My poor husband got sucked into a conversation with the cashier. She was the type of cashier that liked to comment on the things you're buying, and my husband is the type of man that is nice and polite to everyone. Well, his cart was filled to the brim with cat litter, so of course the cashier started to tell him about all the litter boxes she had, and how she got two of her cats from Molly's Pet Rescue so they didn't mind sharing a litter box, but then she got her mom's cat when her mom went to the home, and that cat started peeing all over the house.

Then things got weird. It wasn't that she started to talk about her cat pooping, but it was how she pronounced it. She didn't say "poop", she said, "puhp". Like, sort of rhyming with the word "up" but with a little more "uuuuhhhh" in it. I haven't heard it said like that since I was probably in elementary school!

She says: "Yeah, first he was just puhping on the floor, and it was okay when it was just puhp, because it is easy to clean up puhp. But then he started peeing."

This time, I was nice and held in my laughter until we got to the parking lot. My husband somehow graciously wrapped up the conversation without letting the lady know that he thought she was a wacko. That's just the kind of guy he is, and that's why I let him to take me out on a fancy date to Wal-Mart!

Anyway, that was our big date on Monday night!

I try to keep my life in balance.
And the ice cream was on sale. I basically had no choice.

What is your craziest Wal-Mart experience?
Do you go on "errand" dates with your significant other?

Planning Ahead- Boston 2014!

A few things about me...

1. I am a huge planner.
2. I love to plan.
3. Making lists is fun.
4. Scratching things off my to do list is fun.
5. My life feels more organized and manageable if I have lists and calendars keeping me on track.

At the Harrisburg Marathon this past November, I qualified for the Boston Marathon. Because of the date I qualified, I ended up being eligible to run Boston in 2013 and 2014. There were a few reasons running it in 2013 was not going to be feasible...

1. Registration for the 2013 Boston Marathon was already filled.
2. I didn't have enough personal days to take the time off I needed.
3. We needed more time to save up enough money to make the trip (running the marathon alone is $150, then add in travel expenses... yikes!)

**Obviously, saying I am “glad” I couldn't run it in 2013 is an understatement. And this is not going to be a post about the horrible attacks that occurred on that day. The reason? The finish line of a marathon is supposed to be one of the most joyous places there is. When I think of the Boston Marathon, or any marathon, I want to remember them for what they are supposed to be- a celebration of the human endurance and spirit. As it is now, if you do a Google image search for “Boston Marathon”, the first thousand images or so are of the bombing. That is sad. I'm not trying to deny it happened. I immersed myself in the coverage and grieved along with the rest of the country. I guess I just want to look forward. And no, I'm not scared to run it in 2014. I am scared of snakes.**

The sign that hung just outside Athletes' Village at the 2009 Boston Marathon.
This is the last thing we saw as we left the village and headed for the starting line.
I can't read it without choking up.

So 2014 is going to be my year to run Boston! I never thought I'd be able to run it again so soon. The first time I ran Boston was in 2009. I had to do some serious training to reach the qualifying standard for a woman in my age group. I needed to run a 3:40:00, and I managed to squeak out a 3:38:56 at the Philadelphia Marathon. Talk about cutting it close! Some runners are just naturally fast, and qualifying for Boston is something they can do without any training. I had some work to do. But I did it, and it paid off!

Philly 2008- Chris and I just BQ'ed!
If I look like I was in pain it's because I was hurtin' for certain!
Let's just say there were some tears during the last few miles...
Hey, it's not a beauty contest!
Chris looks like a million bucks, though!

Within the past few years, the Boston Athletic Association lowered the qualifying standards. A woman my age now needs a 3:35:00. A year or two ago, I didn't think a time like that was attainable for me. I was more into running trail, and running LONG, not fast. I figured I would qualify again, but not until I was a little older and the qualifying times were slower. (Example: A forty-five year old woman only needs to run a 3:55:00 to qualify.)

But a few changes in my eating and exercise habits led me to running a 3:28:08. Here is what I attribute this PR & BQ (Boston Qualifier) to:

1. Running less miles but at a faster pace.
2. Running routes with a lot of hills.
3. Eating better.
4. Weight training.
5. Tempo runs.

Why am I thinking about Boston so much? Because yesterday, I booked our hotel room for marathon weekend! I know it's not until April, but I told you I liked to plan, remember? Also, I found a really good deal, and I didn't want it to get snatched up and end up having to pay $350 a night for a hotel room... in which case I would NOT be making the trip!

We're staying for four nights to ensure we get to have a nice relaxing time. Here's a few things I want to make sure we do...

1. Go to a ballgame at Fenway Park
2. Walk the Freedom Trail
3. Get a drink at Beer Works - we ate there the first time we visited Boston 7 years ago, so it's nostalgic.
4. Meet up with my cousin who lives up there. (Hey Alex!)
5. Enjoy the waterfront... maybe dine with a view?
6. Do a short run along the Charles River on Saturday Morning.

And now some pictures from Boston, 2009! 

**I am very thankful I got to run in this race. I was never athletic as a kid. This just shows if you want something and you work for it, it can happen! Your past does not define you! 

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something because THEY ARE WRONG!** 

School busses took us from downtown Boston to a field in Hopkinton- 26.2 miles away.
We would hang out here, in Athletes' Village until the race started.

Unfortunately we boarded the busses around 7am and our wave didn't start until 10:30am.
Time for a short nap!

We took our time and took pictures during the race!

At the top of Heart Break Hill.
It was nothing. Running in Central PA is great training for Heartbreak "Hill".

Is there anything else you think we should do while we are in Boston?

Do you like to make lists and plan?

What have you done that you had to work VERY hard for?