Month: November 2014

Last Week’s Workouts Recap (11/24-11/30)

November 30, 2014December 3, 2014 · 6 Comments ·

I did one Insanity the Asylum workout this week which put me halfway through the program. I put it on hold until we get back from Thanksgiving break. But I think I had a great week for being on vacation. I started the Runner’s World run streak. From Thanksgiving to New Year’s day, I will run at least a mile a day everyday.

On Monday, I did Day 15 of the Insanity the Asylum, Speed & Agility with the hubby. I had a great workout and was dripping sweat at the end of it!

Tuesday was a rest day. I was traveling most of the day.

On Wednesday, we went hiking at Red Rock Canyon. It’s such a beautiful place!

On Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, I started the Runner’s World Run Streak. I ran with my Sister-in-law and Brother-in-law at Garden of the Gods. It’s so awesome that they live so close and we can just run there! It was a tough run with hills, but a great workout.

Friday we started the day off hiking at Stratton Open Space.Then I ran 2.87 miles with my Sister-in-law to get day 2 of the streak done. We passed by deer while running. It’s amazing how the deer don’t run off when they see people. Look how close I am. If you look closely in the back, there’s more deer.

On Saturday, I ran with my Sister-in-law to Garden of the Gods and did a nice 2.12 mile loop.

On Sunday, I had another great run with my Sister-in-law.

Afterwards we went hiking at Red Rock Canyon again. I think I will be doing another post with more pictures from Red Rock Canyon and Stratton. They are great places to hike.

It was nice to get workouts in while on vacation, especially because of all the food I ate. 🙂 How’d your week go?

I’m linking up with this week’s Workout Wednesday (WOW) Link Up!

Brought to you by hostesses Diatta Harris | Femme Fitale Fit Club and Sheila Simmons | The Frugal Exerciser and co-hostesses: Amanda | Eat Hard Work Hard and Heather | Divas Run For Bling.

Last Week’s Workouts Recap (11/17-11/23)

November 23, 2014November 26, 2014 · 8 Comments ·

I had a pretty good week of workouts. This was my second week of Insanity the Asylum and it’s going well. The workouts are tough but I always push through and do what I can. On Friday, I got the awesome news that I was finally matched with an IRUN4 buddy. He’s the cutest 11 month old boy, and his name is Caysen. He was diagnosed with Down Syndrome a week after he was born. I’m happy and honored to run for him. 🙂 On to the workouts:

Monday was Day 8 of Insanity the Asylum – Back to Core workout. This one gives a great back workout. I love it when my four year old jumps in at times and works out with me! He does pretty good too!

Tuesday was Game Day. We swapped this one instead of Vertical Plyo since it fit our schedule better since it’s so long. This one’s a great workout. It focuses on different sports and you’ll definitely get your sweat on!

Here’s a video preview of Game Day:

Wednesday was Relief – a great stretch routine.

Thursday was Vertical Plyo. This one’s really tough! I managed to do a few plyo pushups this time. 😛

Friday was the Back to Core workout again.

Saturday was the Strength workout. I was courageous to up my weight usage and used 10 lbs instead of 8 lbs and I did pretty well. I also felt motivated to run a mile for my IRUN4 buddy, Caysen. It was my first run for him. 🙂

Sunday – I decided to run 5 miles and then did Day 15 of Insanity the Asylum – Relief. Felt good to do a stretch routine!How’d your week go? Hope you have a good one!!

I’m linking up with this week’s Workout Wednesday (WOW) Link Up!

Brought to you by hostesses Diatta Harris | Femme Fitale Fit Club and Sheila Simmons | The Frugal Exerciser and co-hostesses: Amanda | Eat Hard Work Hard and Heather | Divas Run For Bling.

Five Favorite Fall Foods

November 20, 2014November 20, 2014 · 24 Comments ·

This week’s Friday Five theme is Five Favorite Fall Foods. I’m not the greatest cook so I don’t have any recipes for the foods I’ve chosen. But here are five favorite foods I love to eat in the Fall. Moderation is key since they aren’t very healthy. 🙂

1. Pumpkin Pie. You know it’s Fall when Costco starts selling their Pumpkin Pies. I love their pumpkin pie and how cheap it is to buy. 2. Turkey. I love having turkey especially on Thanksgiving. 3. Apple Pie. Gotta love apple pie too! I love apples!

4. Stuffing. I love having stuffing during Thanksgiving. I don’t have stuffing very often so it’s definitely a favorite of mine on Thanksgiving.5. Pumpkin Spice Muffins. I was at Sweet Tomatoes and they had some really good pumpkin spice muffins. A new favorite for me.

Those are my five favorite Fall foods. What is your favorite Fall food?

I am linking up with Eat Pray Run DC, You Signed Up for What?! and Mar on the Run for the Friday Five Linkup. Every Friday they have a linkup for bloggers to Link up a post about 5 things or write on their theme. Check them out!

Last Week’s Workouts Recap – Started Insanity the Asylum (11/10-11/16)

November 17, 2014November 19, 2014 · 12 Comments ·

I’ve started Shaun T’s Insanity the Asylum Workout Program and OMG it’s tough! I’m happy it’s only 30 days haha. All the workouts so far are hard but a great challenge. If I keep it up, I should be in tip top shape. I still might go for a run here and there, especially since I will be getting my IRun4 buddy really soon. On Saturday’s official waiting list, I was number 57! So close!

On to the workouts…on Monday, Day 1 was Speed and Agility. This was the first time using an agility ladder and I thought it was fun.

Here’s a video preview of Speed & Agility:

I also refreshed with resource Natural Spring Water. It’s very refreshing water during and after the workout. Thanks Influenster for letting me test the product! It tasted great.

Tuesday, day 2 was Strength. My shoulders were sore but got through the workout.

Here’s video preview of Strength:

Wednesday, day 3 was Back to Core. This one really works your back. I was really sore from the previous workouts.

Here’s a video preview of Back to Core:

Thursday, day 4 was Vertical Plyo. OMG this is the hardest one so far! I was still sore so I didn’t even attempt the Plyo push-ups lol. I did what I could.

Here’s a video preview of Vertical Plyo:

Friday, day 5 was a much needed Rest Day!

Saturday, day 6 was Speed & Agility again. Here I’m doing a much needed stretch during cool down.

Sunday, day 7 was Strength. I’m happy to say I’m no longer sore, but I might be tomorrow lol.

How’d your week go?

I’m linking up with this week’s Workout Wednesday (WOW) Link Up!

Brought to you by hostesses Diatta Harris | Femme Fitale Fit Club and Sheila Simmons | The Frugal Exerciser and co-hostesses: Amanda | Eat Hard Work Hard and Heather | Divas Run For Bling.

Five Cold Weather Running Tips

November 13, 2014November 14, 2014 · 34 Comments ·

This week’s Friday Five theme is Five Cold Weather Running Tips. It’s that time of year when the thought of running outside in cold weather may make you shiver even thinking … Continue reading Five Cold Weather Running Tips

Last Week’s Workouts Recap (11/3-11/9)

November 9, 2014November 17, 2014 · 8 Comments ·

I had a decent week of workouts. I somewhat followed Hal Higdon’s Novice 2 Marathon Training Plan.

Monday was a scheduled rest day but I decided to do P90X3’s Dynamix which is a great dynamic stretching workout.

Tuesday was a three mile run.

Wednesday was a scheduled five mile run which I pushed until Thursday since that’s when my little guy has preschool. I decided to do Focus T25’s Speed 2.0 workout instead of the three mile run. My little guy joined me. 🙂

Thursday was the 5 mile run.

Friday was rest day.

Saturday was another rest day since my Parent’s were in town, so I wasn’t able to get any cross training in.

Sunday was long run day, nine miles.

I’ve decided to switch things up a bit. Earlier I was thinking I could follow Hal Higdon’s Marathon training plan just for fun to see if I could really run further since the longest distance I’ve ran is a half marathon. But now I’m thinking I should take a little break from running. I think I’m going to attempt Insanity – the Asylum workouts and maybe incorporate a run here and there. I want to increase my fitness level. This 30-day program includes drills to maximize speed, coordination, agility, and power. I’ve done the regular Insanity program, a while back and liked it! Asylum is supposed to be much harder, so wish me luck. If it’s too much, my backup will be to do Insanity again or some sort of hybrid until Shaun T’s newest program Insanity: Max 30 comes out in December.

How’d your week go? Do you like to incorporate other workout progams while running?

I’m linking up with this week’s Workout Wednesday (WOW) Link Up!

Brought to you by hostesses Diatta Harris | Femme Fitale Fit Club and Sheila Simmons | The Frugal Exerciser and co-hostesses: Amanda | Eat Hard Work Hard and Heather | Divas Run For Bling.

Five Ways to Stay on Track During the Holidays

November 6, 2014November 6, 2014 · 27 Comments ·

The holiday season is coming soon. It’s always hard to stay on track and be healthy during the holidays but here are five ways to help you.

1. Have a plan. I find it helps to have a plan and follow a schedule. If you don’t have a plan, you will most definitely get sidetracked and spend wasted time trying to figure out what you should do. If you have a plan or schedule, at least you have something to follow to try and stick with. Pick a running plan or workout schedule that you can stick with that goes throughout the holiday season. I like Beachbody DVD Workout Programs like Focus T25 that come with a calendar schedule so you know exactly what workouts you need to do for each day, or for running, there’s Hal Higdon’s free training plans.
2. Have an accountability partner/partners. An accountability partner or partners will totally help you follow your plan. They’ll help motivate you and it will help knowing that you’re not alone, especially during the Holidays when it’s hard to workout on vacation. It’s nice sharing with others what you’ve accomplished to stay accountable and the encouragement helps motivate you to follow the plan.
3. Sign up for a Holiday Race or Event. I think it would help to sign up for a Holiday Race or Event. It’s a commitment. That way you know that you’ll be burning calories at the event as well as having the training that leads up to it.
4. Drink lots of water. After eating, and I’m sure there will be lots of holiday goodies, water helps flush out toxins. Also, many times you think you might be hungry but are just thirsty. So be sure to drink lots of water.
5. Sneak in a workout anywhere, anytime. Do the little things like park further away to get a good walk. Do squats while brushing your teeth. I also like to use exercise apps that allow me to work out anywhere. There are many exercise apps that allow you to do workouts anywhere even if you’re short on time. I have the Seven app which gives you a seven minute total body workout. I remember using it in the airport the last time we traveled to get a quick workout in.

Here I am at the airport with my kiddo using the app and doing squats. 🙂

How do you stay on track during the Holidays?

Last Week’s Workouts Recap (10/27-11/2)

November 2, 2014November 17, 2014 · 12 Comments ·

What to do? Currently, my next race that I’ve registered for is not until May 2015. I just don’t know what to do unless I follow a plan. I want to try and maintain my running so I’ve decided to follow another training plan just for fun. I want to slowly increase my distance just to see if I can run further so I’ve decided to follow Hal Higdon’s Novice 2 Marathon training guide. I’m not sure how long I’ll actually follow the guide since I’m thinking about getting Insanity Max:30 which comes out in December, but we’ll see. Also, I’m thinking about signing up for a marathon, but I’m still not sure which one yet.

I started Hal Higdon’s plan on Monday and ran 3 miles.

Tuesday was a five miler.

Wednesday was another three miles.

Thursday was Rest day.

Friday I decided to do Focus T25 Ab Intervals. My little guy joined me and we had a great workout. He doesn’t always join me so this was a nice surprise. 🙂 He did pretty good!

On Saturday, I did Les Mills Pump and Burn.

Sunday was an eight mile run.

How’d your week go? What do you think? Do you think it’s a good idea to start a Marathon training plan? What’s your favorite training plan?

I’m linking up with this week’s Workout Wednesday (WOW) Link Up!

Brought to you by hostesses Diatta Harris | Femme Fitale Fit Club and Sheila Simmons | The Frugal Exerciser and co-hostesses: Amanda | Eat Hard Work Hard and Heather | Divas Run For Bling.