Update Coming Soon!

I know I'm way overdue for an update and I promise a long one (with pictures!) soon.  Traveling and illness has wrecked havoc on my blogging but as soon as I'm back on my feet there will be a post.

Wild, Wacky, & Windy 10 MILES

Today was the day to run the first ever double digit run- 10 miles.  It was quite an adventure indeed.  Although the sun is out and the temperature is close to 60, the weather conditions certainly weren't ideal.  There is both a high wind warning and fire weather warning here today.  I figured the wind would be a pain but we ran 9 last week with some gusty winds.  Well Marissa and I left from the apartment and got about 100 meters tops to the first stop light and I turned to her and asked if we were really going to do this.  The wind was blowing so hard it was ridiculous.  She assured me we could get through it and on we went.  When we ran through east campus which is set higher up, the wind was blowing so hard we literally were not moving forward even though our arms and legs were moving.  The gusts seemed to be mostly in our face or hitting us from the side for the first 6 miles out to EMU.  I could barely hear my music but that didn't matter because it got so windy that my headphones wouldn't stay in my ears.  As we got closer to Port Republic the air turned really hazy with smoke.  We had been smelling smoke the whole way and I even noticed it when I had gone to the grocery store in the morning.  I guess the fire warning was in effect for good reason.

During mile 5 both of us were dying as we had been fighting the wind so hard but we were nearing our break spot at EMU and both decided that we needed to look strong as we passed some shady characters.  It never felt so good to see that building where we take a bathroom/water/gummy break and man did it feel nice to escape the wind for a few minutes and give the legs a short rest while refueling.  The way back was a whole different story.  We had 4 miles to get back and for the most part the wind was at our back pushing us along.  To give you some idea of just how windy it was, we got impaled by flying leaves, had stuff constantly blowing in our eyes, and even saw a street sign topple over into the middle of the road.  Despite all of that WE DID IT!  I have no doubt that we will be prepared for the half now.  To top it all off we ran about a 9 minute mile pace despite the wind.  Ten miles in 1:32 (including the stops to cross at the lights) not bad at all.  Couldn't have done it without my running buddy- thanks Marissa for keeping me going.  

55 of 60

So to recap this first week of arms/abs, I almost met my goal of 60 minutes.  I was just 5 minutes short!  I had planned to get in an additional 15 minutes yesterday but with interviews the past couple days and an emergency car repair to get figured out I ran out of time and spent my evening doing some school work.  Unfortunately both running and arms/abs got cut out of my schedule.  Today was also kind of strange schedule wise.  I did get in a short run with Marissa.  It was so nice to have warm temperatures and sunlight for the entire run!  Spring has sprung (at least temporarily) and it really makes running so much more enjoyable.  Even though we didn't put in a lot of miles today, we did do a big hill by UREC which made for a pretty good workout.  No arms/abs tonight again due to rescheduled office hours but hopefully tomorrow I can get back into gear after my last interview of the week.  Oh and fun fact of the day: one of my undergrad students brought her pet hedgehog to office hours tonight which was really cool!  Unfortunately pics are on my phone and I don't know how to get them onto my computer (no I don't have internet on my phone) but trust me it was really funny looking.

Sweating by the Space Heater

I just finished 10 minutes of arm/abs, complete with lots of laughing.  I'm in DC for the night and I showed my friend Francesca the blog.  This led to us doing some arm and ab exercises but man was I sweating.  It didn't help that I was right in front of the space heater and was wearing a sweatshirt and long sleeve shirt.  It was pretty hilarious to watch.  We are both former sprinters who are pretty out of shape so it was a few reps before we were complaining of being sore.  Her apartment also has really low ceilings so we had to watch out during the overhead press again.  Another funny workout session.

I Almost Lost a Limb

Got my 15 minutes of arms/abs in today.  It was the first time I decided to work out in my room, and maybe the last.  I had the TV on and started up the arm workout app.  The first exercise is the overhead press and I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to what I was doing because I was distracted by the TV.

 

Well I picked up the 5 lb weights and on the first overhead press...CRASH!!  This was the culprit:

I'm just glad I didn't lose my hand or smash the light.  The only evidence is a small dent on one of the fan blades so I lucked out this time around.  I guess I'll plan on staying in the living room from now on.  Always an adventure!

New Favorite Thing

Today was the 9 miler, the last long run in the single digits for a few weeks!  I was really nervous about this one because last weeks 8 was really painful.  All I can say is I survived it and it went surprisingly well.  Marissa and I ended up running into Emily (no pun intended) right around mile 2 and she showed us a back way to run to EMU.  I felt like death around mile 4 when we hit some hills with an awful headwind.  We made it to EMU for a water break and I tried out my new favorite thing- Power Bar Energy Blasts.  They are like big gummy gushers and are pretty tasty.  You are supposed to take them with water so I chowed down on a few while we were at a water fountain and man did I feel a boost after that.

I thought maybe I was giving these things a little too much credit and it was the water break/few minute rest that helped, but I took a water break last week without these and actually felt worse after.  Anyway whether there is some kind of actual benefit or it's all in my head, I'll definitely be stocking up on these for my longer runs.  Oh and the other plus, they didn't make my stomach hurt at all when I started running again.   

As far as arms/abs today, that is a no go.  The 9 miles was plenty and I need to rest.  My plan is to get in at least 15 minutes tomorrow while giving my legs the day off. 

"Burgers for the Boys"

So what did I do for my day off from working out?  I ate the most delicious burger and fries from Jack Browns.  I've been craving it for a while and it was so delish. 

Yummy!

I Love Apps

Another 4 mile run and another 15 minutes of arms/legs.  This time around was way better because I had the help of a free app.  It's called "Daily Arm Workout" if you are interested.  There are 10 exercises, most that use free weights, and each exercise is timed for 30 seconds for a total of 5 minutes.  There is a video demonstrating each exercise which is really nice and you have to option to pause the timer too.  I repeated the sequence twice and then did 5 minutes of leg exercises: lunges with weights, squat jumps, and wall sits.  This time around I worked up a sweat.  I did give my abs a break today because they are super sore...it was all that laughing yesterday!  Tomorrow will probably be a day off of everything to get a little recovery before my 9 miler this weekend.  Yikes...hope I'm ready for it.

Shout out to my awesome roommates who keep me motivated.  Marissa got me off the couch and into the gym for the run and Erin joined me for some of the arm/leg exercises.  Thanks guys :)

I Have Exercise ADHD

The first 15 minutes of abs/arms can only be described as totally ridiculous.  I started with arms and after about 5 minutes they were on fire!  So I announced to my roommates that I was going to switch to abs because that's easier.  Well about 5 minutes later my abs were burning...both from the planks and sit ups but mostly from laughing.  Then I announced I was switching back to arms because they are easier.  At that point my school psych roommates diagnosed me with exercise ADHD!  Want to see some of the shenanigans?  Here are some pics compliments of Erin. 

Arms on FIRE!

Tools of the trade

Abs

So what did I learn from this session? Come in with some set exercises I plan to do so I won't be wondering...what should I do next?  Fewer pictures...they are awkward.  Contemplate doing the workout behind closed doors, at least for now, because I kept laughing.  And last but not least, expect to feel the burn and be sore!

Good news on the cardio front...got a 40 minute run in at the gym.  No lines/no waiting today :)

From 0 to 60

So what is the whole point of this blog?  To keep me motivated and accountable for a self-change project I'm doing for a cognitive-behavior intervention class.  Since I'm already training to run a half marathon my cardio workouts are under control.  Unfortunately I've been neglecting my arms and abs so my goal is to go from 0 minutes a week of lifting/core workouts to 60 minutes a week. 

I'm not going to be strict about scheduling or minutes per day because that would just set me up for failure.  It's all about being flexible so if it happens to be 15 minutes 4 days a week one week, 30 minutes twice a week the next, or a full hour sometime down the road, that's fine. 

The other good news is that I don't have to get to a gym to accomplish this.  Luckily my roommate has weights and an exercise ball she has generously offered to let me use (thanks Erin!) so I don't even have to leave my apartment to accomplish this.  The best news: I can watch TV while doing it- I'm a TV junkie so that is pretty awesome.

Oh and last but not least feel free to leave me some inspiration!  Thanks