Good Last Day

I have to say, relaxing vacations are the best. Today I should have run, but with this altitude, it wasn't happening. That's my reason and I'm sticking with it!!
However, I did go for multiple walks, which was great. A lot of people didn't understand why I would go on a ski trip when the thought of skiing makes my palms sweat - and not in the good way. But I am a sucker for beautiful scenery. This morning, after the fresh snow, it was perfect. And the sunset - I just missed it but the pink sky was breath taking.

So maybe not the best weekend for working out, but I am on a rest week, so I think it's okay.

Snow in Snowshoe!

Today got off to a slow start for everyone in the house. It must have been that glass (or bottle(s)) of wine last night...

Anyway, it was super windy and raining. Not great for the people who wanted to ski. Not great for the person who wanted the ski house to herself for a few hours. But Carolina, Sandy, Lindsey and I made the best of it and walked into town. Not sure what we were thinking as it was not a fun walk. The ran turned into snow, but we could barley see across the street to read the store names. Tragic!

We went back to the house, had lunch, made some cookies and watched the snow fall. Those that did brave the weather to ski had nothing but good things to say about the conditions and lucky for me - everyone left to check it out. WOO HOO!! So I spent the last bit of the afternoon doing my hour yoga dvd, sat in the hot tub for awhile (and it was snowing - LOVE IT!), and now about to finish this blog and read my book. All with some music in the background and snow falling outside the window.

Yup, feel free to hate.

Stupid Fog!!

So, I had an extra workout today. Not swimming, biking, running, or yoga - but due to driving. And my driving.

I slept in for the first time in a long time. It was needed and it felt great. Once I eventually rolled out of bed, I headed to the pool. And I discovered, the best time to swim at Wilson, 11 AM. I had my own lane for half my workout. MY OWN LANE! It was pretty sweet.

This was followed up by some frantic packing for my non-ski vacation at a snow resort. See, I have this irrational fear of chair lifts. I am 100% convinced if I get on another chair lift, I am going to fall off and die. It actually makes my hands sweat just thinking about it... But, I decided to go on the ski trip anyway and just not ski.

Moving on, of course it was raining for the drive. And you know what rain does when you are in the mountains.... it's foggy. Really, really foggy. Foggy to the point of NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE THE ROAD!!! And that meant some major heart rate spikes. Poor Mr. Shorty Shorts - he was a really good passenger. And I was super happy to have someone in the car with me.

Eventually, we made it to the house, then Julie arrived too, and we all celebrated with a glass (or a few bottles) of wine. YAY VACATION!

Well...

I didn't let yesterday's realization of my weekend diet get me down. However, I still had a crummy run. I know I am on a rest week, but I am also leaving on a little vaca tomorrow and won't have much time to get all my stuff in if I stretched it out as much as I probably should. Plus I felt so good last week!

But today, my run was crap. It was slower than last week and I had a higher average HR. My gait was off, my breathing felt forced, I just never got into a groove. I know that not every run will be a great one, but I was hoping for a few more good ones before I had a not so great one.

And thanks to facebook, I was talked into doing my 45 minute ride. I was dressed and ready to go, but just didn't want to. Thanks to those to talked me into my ride! It wasn't great, but it was.

So that was my day. 2 not so great workouts. But I have some time off and am excited to really take advantage of my rest week.

:-( To Me

So my post earlier today was basically my weekend catch up. I also mentioned my inability to manage my time right now. It stinks and I am totally feeling the negative effects!!

I addition to all the stuff I did this weekend, I also ate. A LOT! Yes, I have been super hungry since my workouts have picked up, including the need to have multiple breakfasts and snacks, however I think this weekend went a bit out of control.

As I said, Friday was beautiful and Mr. Shorty Shorts and I went to lunch. I could have made a better choice, but I went for the grilled cheese with tomato and pancetta, fries (but Mr. Shorty Shorts had half of them) and an adult beverage. I did have a salad to start, but I don't think that counts for much.
This was followed by dinner at Brooke's with Diane and Mary Elizabeth. We did play some Rock Band, however I don't think sitting and playing base on easy burns many calories. Or as many calories as I ate eating pizza, queso, and mini cupcakes from the Crumbs taste pack.

Saturday was a brick and puppy shower, but there were cupcakes with little dogs and Ninja stars, so I had to have one. We went for snacks later, and I only had a beer knowing I was going to dinner with Shannon. We had a great dinner, but I was still hungry and hour later, so we went for dessert - a yummy Bailey's Irish cream cake.

Sunday was spin with Rob, but because a lot of us had Monday off, it was the perfect reason to go to brunch. So to brunch we went. With a few pastry baskets to start, and of course a mimosa (what's brunch without a mimosa???) brunch was had.
On my way home, I stopped to get stuff to make chili and a little snack as the chili cooked. What was that little snack?? Queso and wine. WHAT IS MY PROBLEM!?!? And once the chili was done, I had to taste it (and it was good!!) but that was a lot of food - even after a Rob spin day.

Monday was a non-brick brick day. And President's day so I had off. My personal cook and I went to lunch, where I had grilled chicken and mashed potatoes instead of something fried. Good right? But after a trip to a museum, we met with another friend and a few drinks and some tapas. Of course, I WAS STILL HUNGRY and so we ordered some lo mein, crab rangoon, and crispy shredded beef. Crispy shredded beef - SSSSOOOOOOO GGGGGOOOOOOODDDDDD!!!!!!!!! But given everything else this weekend, not necessary.

So today, after breakfast number 1, we had a bday celebration and I had breakfast number 2. It's no wonder that I felt awful, fat, and gross during Yoga Steve. At the end of the practice while I was in Savasana, the final resting pose, I realized what I had eaten all weekend and why I felt the way I did. I needed to type it all out, out for the world to see (aka you 9 readers), so I know better for next time, or next weekend. I just need to do better.

Period.

Time Management

Basically, I just suck at it lately, and it seems to be in most aspects of my life right now.
I had to throw away food again because I ran out of time to cook it, I owe about a dozen thank you notes (mostly from my bday a few weeks back... eek!), I haven't tracked my calories and workouts properly in 5 days, I wanted to blog about stuff since Friday, I haven't finished some board stuff for the club and have a meeting tonight, I haven't balanced my check book in awhile, AND I really should do my job.

So what do I do first, my blog of course! This seems to be the best option :-)

Friday
It was a beautiful day. I mean, just the perfect 70 degree February day. It was also my first rest day of the week, so I was excited.

But, instead of a full rest day, Mr. Shorty Shorts and I decided to go to lunch. How is that not resting you ask? Well, we took bikes! It was my first trip with the Capital Bikeshare! I have been a member for awhile, but this was my first trip (as I have not yet bought a helmet for the office and I REFUSE to ride without one).
The 1.6 miles each way was a lot of fun. It also looked like I had never been on a bike before, but I will get the hang of these bike soon enough.

By 4 o'clock, I just couldn't take it anymore and left. I mean really, how many 70 degree days do you get in February?!?!

Saturday
I managed to get in my 30 minute bike and 30 minute run all inside without many problems.
I was trying to multi task and I threw in all my laundry when I went from the bike to the run. Once the run was over, I put everything into the dryer and went to take a shower. Guess what, all my towels were in the dryer. Multitasking Fail!

I spent the rest of the day in a windy park celebrating the cutest dog ever. Carolina knows I plan on stealing this fur ball mop sometime soon. I think she could totally keep up with me on my runs :-)

Sunday
Spin. Rob. No other words needed to explain the day.

AND Coach was super happy with my work again this week!! Woot! I have been rewarded with a rest week. Still 8 workouts, but less time and a lot of "keep it easy".

Monday - HAPPY PRESIDENTS DAY!
I got right to work on my workouts by hopping on my trainer for 45 minutes while I caught up on some much needed DVR time. Then down to the treadmill for a good 30 minutes. I wasn't technically supposed to do a brick, but I don't have a lot of time this week so I figured it would be okay. My legs were feeling it at the end, but I was happy.

Today, Tuesday
YOGA STEVE! I have a meeting tonight (and should be working on that stuff and not blogging) so not sure if I will get in my ride. But give this is technically a rest week, I figured yoga was the better choice.

Hopefully I can focus more, become a bit better at multitasking (and have towels ready when I get out of the shower), and cook more so I stop throwing out rotten mushrooms. Those really stink up a refrigerator!

Only 1, But A Good One

Yes, after yesterday's tri-fecta of a workout day, today was a simple long run - 60 minutes. And because it was February 16th, that obviously means I was able to run outside. Hehehehe. Being a Wisconsin girl, I LOVE that I could run outside on February 16th in pants and a long sleeve.

Anyway, I was a bit worried about today's run. I woke up sore. I was having these pains that only went away after I ate my second breakfast (seriously. Right under my ribs, above my stomach... it was odd...), so I was worried. Mr. Shorty Shorts and I talked about my expectations. How running a 9:1 for 60 minutes was more important than my speed. Get in the time and off I went.

You know what happened?!?! I had a FANTASTIC run. I couldn't believe it!!! Mr. Shorty Shorts met me on my way back and I spent the entire time telling him how great I felt. How happy I was that I hit my 5K under 39 minutes for the first time in 3 years, AND FELT GREAT!!! I really couldn't believe it. He helped me up the hill, and went to finish his hill workout as I headed back to the office.

My overall average minute per mile was super good for me. AND I was just really happy.

Would you like to know how I celebrated?!?! I left work at 5:10, met Rachna and had multiple dark cherry martinis. When I say multiple, I mean 3, but that's a lot! And they were on happy hour so I was economical too! It was a WIN WIN!

Okay, so I am just super excited. I know I am only on week 2 and will have some down times. A lot of down times. A lot of questioning why I am doing this again. But right now, I want this blog to be about how I am excited. How all the work I did this off season working on my running with Rob, going to 3 hour spin, skipping brunches with friends to get in an early swim. It seems SO worth it right now. And I am lucky to have people around me who understand when I skip other activities. To you all, thank you.

And I just hope when I am having a really rough day/week/workout - one of you 9 readers will remind me of this post. That I felt great, feel the potential, and know it is all worth it.

Three Workouts!!

Yes, that's right. 3.

1. It's Tuesday, so YOGA STEVE! And, with help from Yoga Steve, I was much better with my side angle pose.

2. I was planning on swimming tomorrow, but AJ couldn't make it so doing a workout with someone is always better than trying to do 5x200 comfortably hard on your own. So thanks AJ for making my 3000 much more enjoyable! And it was good to see you there too Arin!

3. Because workout number two was supposed to be tomorrow's workout, I still needed to do today's, which was a trainer ride. So, I got home from the swim and hopped onto Carlos for a good 45 minute ride.

GO ME!
Now I am tired. I should make my lunch for tomorrow. I should do some laundry. But, I think I am going to take a shower and go to bed. Tomorrow is long run day and I still have a tad bit of a sore throat.

I'm Lucky

Today had many MANY versions of what this post would be.

It started with how I much I hate today. The build up. The stupid jewelry commercials. BAH!
Throughout the years, regardless of my relationship status - single, dating, married, separated - it's just a reminder of where you are and there is so much pressure for Evil Heart Day. It just sucks. Okay, never been married or separated, but you know what I mean. It's a reminder that you are single or pressure to do something because some card shop says you should. Dumb, Dumb, Dumb.

That is what I was going to write about. But then it was about 60 degrees out so I met up with Mr. Shorty Shorts and went for a run. It was beautiful out, but super SUPER windy. I do realized that I ran outside in pants and a t-shirt, on Evil Heart Day, when it was 60 degrees, so I will take the wind.
AND, it was a great run! We started and ended together, but I held my 9:1 AND made it up the hill ALL ON MY OWN!

So that is what I was going to write about, but then I went for my swim. Toby, AJ, Jenny, even JOE made it out. All was going well - but then we got kicked out of our lane so ONE girl could use the diving board - and it cleared out 2 lanes. We then got kicked out of another lane because we were too fast and this a-hole lonely guy got pi$$ed, complained and got us kicked out. But by this point all the other lanes were so full, and the lifeguards weren't moving people around, so the entire swim was just a fail. Toby and Jenny finished the workout because they are fast and could deal. I turned into a whinny b*tch and couldn't find a lane I liked so just went to the hot tub.

This was going to be my post about how WILSON SUCKS. Great pool. HORRIBLE LIFEGUARDS AND SCHEDULING! But then we all went to dinner and had a really good time. And I came home to the most perfect card from my parents this year. Open it up and it says "We Love You". Melts my cold-dead-for-this-Evil-Heart-Day-heart, just a tad.

So that is what I decided to write about. Thanks for the cupcake. The heart shaped peppermint patty. Text messages. Phone call. E-mails. Run. Swim. Dinner laughs. Card. I am pretty luck to be loved, and reminded of this on Evil Heart Day.

He's Happy!

I just finished my first full week, sent it off, and Coach seems happy with me. YAY! Read this
"It made my night to get your e-mail and just reminded me at how good a worker you are. Keep it up Amanda! I am all smiles on this end! Coach"

Woot!!

Saturday started off with me not wanting to workout at all. I mean, Not.At.All. I even cleaned out my fridge. The oldest thing I found was some tartar sauce that expired in March 2010 - not too bad.
Anyway, I had a wedding shower to go to at noon, so I knew my time was limited to get in my first full brick of a 30 minute bike and 30 minute run. So, at the last possible minute, I hopped on my bike. This was followed up by a quick trip to the gym in my building to hop on the treadmill. I wanted to keep it easy so I just did a 4:1 and about 10 minutes into the jog, I felt great. I was really happy I forced my self onto the bike and got my workout in.

And today was 3 hour spin. Rob, of course, made the theme music Love. Blah. Tomorrow is the worst holiday EVER!
Anyway, back to the workout. It felt great. I had the first drip of sweat from my nose about 15 minutes into class. That feel, of pure hard work, just feels awesome.
I did get pretty tired and about half way though, Kimberly and I want to put our heads down and see if we could spin in our sleep - not really possible.
Oh, and after, Rob gave us some positive affirmation.
(It says COMPLETED if you can't tell. And it's still on my hand as it didn't come off in the shower. Or the 18 times I have washed my hands since.)

The rest of the day has been spent at the grocery store re-stocking my freezer and fridge. I even made stuffed peppers!

Now if I only had time to do my laundry too...

First Full Week

My reason for not posting this week is simple. I was actually working out. Go Me!! This is the workout I was supposed to do last week, but because of jury duty and getting sick (and I still have a bit of a cough. boo.) Coach and I decided it was best to not rush into things. I have time.

So, instead of doing a post on each day, here is a rundown of the week's activities.

Monday, Feb 7.
It was a beautiful day and I was basking in the glow of a Super Bowl victory by my Packers. Without even talking about it, Mr. Shorty Shorts and I both brought in our outdoor clothing for a run. He needed a stretching run, I needed and easy 30 minutes. We headed out and Mr. Shorty Shorts, a significantly faster runner than I, stuck with me the entire time. My goal was to see if I could maintain the 9:1 outside as I have been on the treadmill. And you know what; I DID (with the exception of 1 stop light and part of a hill)!! I was super happy with myself, especially because I know I would have walked more on my own. It was good to push a bit and have someone there to help encourage me.
This was followed up by a swim in the evening. And honestly, probably not the best idea. You know that feeling when you go under water and it feels like your ears are going to explode? Yup, that's what it felt like. I managed to get in about 2000 meters before calling it quits. I made it home and cooked a healthy dinner with enough for lunch leftovers.
I was pretty happy with the day's activities.

Tuesday, Feb 8
I think you 9 readers know what day Tuesday is - YOGA STEVE! I had to cut the class a bit short because of a meeting, but I was happy with the 50 minutes I got in. Later in the evening I met up with a Steelers fan and I let her drown her sorrows in beer and tots. Of course I hid my happiness and shared in the tears. And beer. And tots. BUT, I did get home and spent 45 minutes on my trainer! WOOT!
I know; beer, tots, AND a trainer ride - I'm awesome.

Wednesday, Feb 9
Long run day. My plan was to take off of work around 1:15, hop on a treadmill, and get back to my desk by 3 to finish the day. Mr. Shorty Shorts was going to join me half way into my run to do his hill workout. But, 1:25, there were no treadmills to be had. I had to sit on a bike for a good 10 minutes until one opened up! Stupid other people messing up my workouts!
Again, my goal was to slow my pace, but hold a 9:1 for an hour. The first 20 minutes were great. The third 10 minutes were okay. I was super lucky because Mr. Shorty Shorts made it onto a treadmill next to me to start his workout just as mine was going south. My HR was too high, I was getting dehydrated, and even felt a bit nauseous. However, Mr. Shorty Shorts was awesome and kept me motivated to keep going. AND, I made the 9:1 for 60 minutes! Okay, so the last one was a 2 minute walk break to get the HR down a bit more, and I started my cool down after the 60 minutes, but still. It was awesome! I really couldn't tell you the last time I ran that much in a 60 minute time frame. Fast, no, but FANTASTIC for me.
How did I celebrate, with a swim with AJ. I still had water in my ears from Monday, but I decided to try again. And again, probably not the best choice. But, AJ and I motivated each other enough to get in a decent workout, another 2000 meters. Woot!

Thursday, Feb 10
Bike day!
Because I follow the quiet hours in my building (unlike my ridiculously loud upstairs neighbors who do not and also do not have 80% of their floor covered) I can't do my trainer ride in the morning, and I had plans with Jess at night. So, since it was only 35 minutes, I went to the gym and did the stationary bike. It wasn't ideal, but better than nothing, AND I got to read my book. Had this been last week, I would have just ditched the workout all together. So, again, YAY ME!

Finally, today, Friday, Feb 11
REST DAY!

And now catch up on my blog during my lunch day.

My plan is tomorrow do a brick with a 30 minute bike and 30 minute run. Sunday is 3 hour spin. At some point food needs to be purchased, laundry done, and dishes cleaned. This week has taught me that I need to work a bit better on time management, and it will come. I managed to do this all once before, and am excited to get started again.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading this week’s update!!

100 Push-Ups!!

(Yes, this is Feb 5th post. I am working on it!!)

Sort of. First of all, a huge thanks to Karen for setting up our little adventure. She sent out motivational messages, found a place to host the event where the proceeds went to charity, and most importantly - had a brunch spot reserved with unlimited mimosas.

I gave up on the idea of doing 100 push ups a long time ago. However, a rely option was added to the day, so I was back in! On Saturday, Lindsey and I teamed up as "Team Panda Moo" and were excited to get going. (Note - we call Lindsey panda, and we are both doing IM Moo this year, so the name totally fit!). We had 5 minutes to do our 100 push ups. I started with 10, tagged Lindsey - who did 10, and we kept going. It was a lot of fun to cheer Lindsey and the other ladies where were doing the relay as well as the ones doing 100!!

After this was over, we were not done for the day. Oh no, it wasn't mimosa time yet... See, Rob was there. And Rob decided to have one of his special 'workouts' for the remainder of the time. It started with 40 squats and 40 crunches. Then some wind sprints. Then 35 squats and 35 crunches. Then some bridges. 30 squats/30 crunches and some stupid hopping drills. See where this is going. A simple 100 push up challenge turned into a totally a$$ kicking workout. Which again, was 1. needed and 2. awesome.

And it was all worth it for one reason.

Jan 31-Feb 4

Okay, now it's time to update you 9 readers why I wasn't blogging last week.

2 words.
Are you ready? Can you guess? I bet you can't.

JURY DUTY!

And you know what, it stinks!!! I thought it might be "fun" to fill my civic duty and learn more about the process. What did I walk away with? A total sense of jaded-ness and some scary truth behind living in our Nation's Capital. Now, because one of you 9 readers is my mother (Hi Mom!!), I will not go into any more details. But I will say thank you Mom and Dad for raising me the way you did, and where you did. I am very VERY luck.

So, that being said, this process didn't leave me much time for working out. I went to work after spending the day in court, followed by a board meeting Monday night, a musical Tuesday night, and drinks on Wednesday night. Oh, AND, I started getting sick on Tuesday. The lawyers, judge and 2 other jurors were sick, so pretty much all of us were sick by Thursday. Talk about 12 angry jurors!

By Thursday, I just wanted to not be sick (but I still am) and not eat out (as I did all week because the jury room didn't have a fridge OR microwave. FAIL!). So instead of going to the DC Tri HH, I went to the store, picked up some veggies and made dinner while I sat on my trainer and spun for a good 45 minutes. And I felt so much better.

I am pretty sure that is why Friday's treadmill run went pretty good too (even though I was on my own - Mr. Shorty Shorts was off to Florida). I did another 9:1 and felt great!

So, that is where I was all last week. The one really great thing outcome of last week was that I ran into Dena in the jury line, as she was also summoned. Dena is also training for IM Moo, so before we were selected for our respective juries, we started our IM Moo 2011 e-mail group. It's a totally awesome group!

Sunday, January 30

Nothing says "Happy 32!" like a 3 hour spin class. I don't know if I was still recovering from my Friday activities or what, but it was a tough class! And the AC wasn't working in the spin room, so... yeah, gross.

As normal, I was STARVING after this class. However, it wasn't because I had just finished the 3 hour spin, it was because I made a stupid mistake. I was not hungry during class, at all. I was drinking water and my 'energy' drink, but was not taking in Gu/Combos/bars/Snickers - nothing. I just wasn't hungry so I thought my body was okay. Was I WRONG! Around 2 hours and 30 minutes, I BONKED! I took a Gu and managed to make it through the last 30 minutes.
Lesson learned. Must eat a little, even if not hungry.

So what did I treat myself to after class you are wondering?
Well, my personal cook taught me how to make my own ravioli things (technically they are not raviolis, but I don't know the actual word, so ravioli thing works for me). Aren't they super cute?? And when I say "taught me how" I mean I sat on the couch and watched, waiting for them to be done :-)
Plus, they made great leftovers to throw in the freezer to heat up for a quick and yummy dinner.

Friday, Jan 28 Post

I know I know... but soon (hopefully in the next day or two) you will all know why I haven't blogged in over a week.

Blog about the rest of Thursday Jan 27 and Friday Jan 28.

When I got home from work on Thursday, I had such a sweet present waiting for me from my parents. They know I am trying to focus on my diet so having fruit in the house was perfect and the chocolate strawberries were a wonderful treat. YUM!!

After some fruit, I had the most amazing dinner EVER. I have had some great dinners before, but this one was the best. My personal cook (apparently I can't use chef anymore because he is not a chef, but a cook. He reminded me that "a "chef" is a cook who leads. (something something something). A chef is a leader of cooks. Period.". Anyway, my personal cook took me Palena for dinner for their tasting menu. To.Die.For.
5 courses plus dessert turned into a total of 10 courses - 2 starters, an extra dessert for my birthday (there was no singing, thank goodness), and a finish of a hot chocolate thing to fill in all the cracks. Y.U.M.

Friday was a happy hour turned into dance party night.
It started off as a dual bday celebration thrown by Toby, as AJ and I have the same birthday. Considering we have about 70% of the same friends, it just made sense.
After the HH started to come to an end, leave it to Sandy, Dirk and Mr. Shorty Shorts to keep the party going.
Let's just leave it at: a few more drinks, lots and lots of dancing (which TOTALLY counts as a workout) and a 3 am bed time.

Happy 32 to me! A HUGE thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate. I think it's going to be a pretty good year.