Week in Review - April 21

In my last post, I mentioned that Jeff and I were working on an exciting project. We finished it yesterday, and once it's fully approved, I'll share it with you. Hopefully today, but for sure early next week.

In the meantime, it's been pretty all-consuming, and so my April goals really got pushed aside. Sadly.

So, I'm just going to write a quick update of the past two weeks, since I didn't get to it last Sunday.

April Week 2

Date	Cardio	Arms&Abs	50 @ 50	Commute
4/8	25 jumping jacks	15 bicep curls 15 tricep extensions 15 hammer curls 15 tricep kickbacks	50 Shoulder Presses
4/9		30 Standing Obliques 30 Standing Crossovers	50 jumping jacks
4/10			50 Russian twists
4/11		37 basic crunches 37 scissors 76 crossover crunches	50 tricep pushups
4/12
4/13		20 crunches every hour from 9am to 11am
4/14		REST

April Week 3

Date	Cardio	Arms&Abs	50 @ 50	Commute
4/15
4/16
4/17		banana rolls for 2 min. 3 times
4/18				YES!!!
4/19				YES!!!
4/20
4/21		15 Dips every bathroom break from 11AM-7PM	50 scissors

Ooph! Is it as hard on your eyes to see all those sad faces as it is on mine??

I've got 10 days left of April. I WILL FINISH STRONG!

How do you pick yourself up and get back on track after falling behind on your goals?
Tweet

3 Things Thursday

I haven't done a 3 Things post in a LONG time, but I wanted to write a quick post this morning before work.

1. I joined a Ragnar Trails team a week or so ago. Our trail race is 2 weeks from tomorrow. And I'm a little scared. What did I get myself into?? I've not really done any trail running and the course looks crazy and muddy.

Here's a glimpse at the race from last year:


It sounds fun and I am excited, but a bit nervous, too.

2. It's not been a good week for working out and eating properly. I think I only had chips for dinner two nights in a row, and I haven't run at all or biked to work even once. Ugh. I still haven't missed a day of a my two April Challenges, though. Yay for that, I guess. :)

3. Jeff and I are working on an exciting project. I don't want to say too much about it until we finish it and can show off our hard work, but trust me, it's really exciting! At least to us. Once we've finished, it will be public, and you'll all be able to check it out. In the meantime, it's really consuming most of our free time.

How's your week going?
Tweet

1st Week in Review - April

Since Feb and March were pretty much flops for me, I actually made some goals for April. Goals without accountability are often lost of deaf ears, so I decided to, at least for April, do a quick review post on Sundays.

So far so good on my two challenges. I haven't missed a single day. Though there was that one day that I almost forgot about the 50 at 50 Challenge.

Yesterday's 50 at 50 exercise was calf raises. They didn't seem so bad until I tried to walk this morning. At least the scenery was pretty.

I successfully ran 3x this week, though not on the days I'd hoped. I did some speed work on Wednesday morning and I wanted to die. I ran my slowest 5K in forever Friday night after work and I wanted to die. I ran 8.8 miles today and my phone wanted to die. Actually my phone did die, Well, it didn't actually die, it just decided to spontaneously restart. and it made me want to cry. Mostly because it meant that the 8 CharityMiles I ran didn't register. *sad face*

And finally, I wanted to ride my bike to work at least 3 times a week. I really tried to make this goal, but I only ended up biking twice. That said, I did bike to the thrift store yesterday, so that kind of counts, right?

The Break-down

Monday, 4/1

• Cardio - high knees, butt kickers, jumping jacks, burpees, jogging in place, squat jumps
• Arms & Abs Challenge - 25 crunches, 25 scissors, 50 crossover crunches
• 50 at 50 Challenge - 50 squats
• Commute to/from work

Tuesday, 4/2

• 50 jumping jacks
• Arms & Abs Challenge - 15 bicep curls, 15 tricep extensions, 15 hammer curls, 15 tricep kickbacks
• 50 at 50 Challenge - 50 push-ups

Wednesday, 4/3

• Speedwork (treadmill) - 2.92 miles. Intervals at 6.5 and 8.4 speeds
• Arms & Abs Challenge - 60 second plank grouping (center, side, center, other side) 2x
• 50 at 50 Challenge - 50 sec plank
• Commute to/from work

Thursday, 4/4

• 25 jumping jacks
• Arms & Abs Challenge - 10 pushups, 20 front arm raises, 20 lateral arm raises, 20 side bent arms raises
• 50 at 50 Challenge - 50 high knees (each leg)

Friday, 4/5

• 5 by the 5th Virtual Race (5K)
• Arms & Abs Challenge - Banana rolls. Hold each direction 5-10 seconds. Roll for 2 min. Complete 2x.
• 50 at 50 Challenge - 50 dorsal raises

Saturday, 4/6

• Biked to/from the thrift store. 9.22 miles.
• Arms & Abs Challenge - 10 push-ups every hour from 4pm to 9pm
• 50 at 50 Challenge - 50 calf raises

Sunday, 4/7

• Ran 8.8 miles
• Arms & Abs Challenge - REST
• 50 at 50 Challenge - 50 second tree pose (each leg)

How's your April turning out? What did you do this weekend?
Tweet

Happy April!

Happy April! It's a Monday, the start of a new month, and the first day of Q2. It can't be anything but a great day, right?!

As I mentioned in yesterday's March in Review post, my fitness 2013 goals have really been slipping the past two months.

TODAY I BEGIN TO RE-FOCUS!

I'm starting two fitness challenges.

and

The first one is a challenge I attempted last April. I don't think I made it more than a week or two, so I'm hoping to have better stick-with-it-ness this year. :)

The second challenge is one I convinced +Jeff to do with me. I'm excited to have a challenge to work together on. Hopefully we'll be able to encourage and motivate each other to complete this successfully. Together.

In addition to these to challenges, I'd like to run 3x each week. I'd like to do some kind of speed work on Tuesdays, run 3-6 miles on Thursdays, and run 8-12 miles on Saturdays. The long distances on Saturdays are a little ambitious, but hopefully by the end of the month, I'll be where I want to be.

Lastly, I'd like to bike a minimum of 3 days each week to work. Ideally, I'd like to bike every work day, but I'm trying to be realistic. So, here's to biking at least 13x!!

What do you have planned for April?
Tweet

March in Review

As I mentioned yesterday, I can't believe March is already over. 2013 is flying by. I've been having a great year - despite falling a bit behind with my goals.

My February review post was filled with a bunch of failures and a commitment to do better in March. I wish I could say I stuck with that commitment, but sadly, I did not.

Here's a brief check-in on my 2013 goals.

Run Faster.
Goal: Run a sub 25 min 5K.
Progress: I didn't really do any speedwork in March (or even much running). My March 5 by the 5th wasn't a PR but at least I'm not slipping. :)

Eat Healthier.
Goal: Prepare at least 2 new healthy recipes each month.
Progress: This was not a good month for eating healthy. I don't think I even tried one new recipe. :(

Train Harder.
Goal: Strong, beautiful arms.
Progress: I slept in way too often and skipped way too many workouts. I did manage to complete a 7-Day Arms Challenge, so there's that, at least. :)

Read More.
Goal: Finish at least 12 books.
Progress: I'm still on track for this goal, but only because I read 3 books in January. I'm working my way through a book right now, but I've just not been very motivated to read the past couple of months.

Serve More.
Goal: Do a community service project each month.
Progress: Another month of only serving with CharityMiles. I really hope we're able to get in some community service in April.

Total miles ran, biked, and walked: 181.6
138.7 meals for hungry people through Feeding America
0.93 bed nets through Nothing But Nets
0.57 polio vaccines through Shot @ Life
1.96 weeks of school through Girl Up

Maybe I'm a bit too hard on myself, but these review posts are kind of depressing. Tomorrow is the beginning of a new month and a new quarter - even more reason to get back on track with these goals. :)

There was still lots to be happy about in March. Stop by A Happy Moment A Day to a day-by-day look at what makes me happy.

I also got to see Cee Lo Green and go to NASCAR.
My brother was in town for a few days. He came to NASCAR with us + I got to go out for lunch with him one day, too.
Last night I got to meet up with some old friends and I went to a birthday party and met some new friends. :)

Finally, my two favorite posts this month:
Share the Road: Tips for Drivers (please, please share this post!)
Am I a Real Runner?

How was your March?
Are you still on track with your 2013 goals?
Tweet

Here it is.

I can't believe it's already the end of March. 2013 is really flying by!!

March started out pretty strong. Thanks largely to the 5 by the 5th virtual race series. That always seems to kick my butt into gear.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem very long before I could feel a big slump coming on. And boy did it hit me hard. I found it super difficult to find the time/motivation/desire to workout, go for a run, or even ride my bike to work. I was eating like crap and feeling just the same.

I knew why and knew I needed to change, but simply couldn't find it within myself.

Around mid-month, I signed up for 3 virtual races for the second half of March. I did one right away for St Patrick's Day, but then just couldn't seem to get off the couch to get in the other events.

The Running with Spatulas virtual series was from Mar 18-29.

There were five options to choose from: 10K run, 10K walk, 10K bike, 30K any way, and 5K run/walk. I was feeling ambitious when I signed up for the 10K run, bike, and 30K any way.

And then I sat and sat and sat.

Finally on Mar 28, I went for a 10k run after work. I really didn't want to, but I'm glad I did! It was probably my slowest 10k in forever. I had to fight a lot of crowds on Las Vegas Blvd, but I did catch a glimpse of the volcano show at the Mirage. :)

I also stopped to take a couple pics for the #runchathunt.

Friday morning came really early after staying up too late watching a movie, but I still managed to hurry enough and get out earlier than usual. I added a bit of distance to my morning commute, which allowed me to get in the 10k bike option. Phew!

Of these 3 races, the one I was the most excited about was the Jelly Bean virtual race - and the only one I'd signed up for ahead of time.

This race has four options - run a 5k, 10k, or 1/2 marathon OR bike a 21K (half marathon). Last year, I managed to completed all 4 events, but this year, I haven't even done one. Boooo!!!!

I suppose I could use my 10k time from the RWS race on Thursday, but somehow that feels like cheating to me. :D.

I still have today and tomorrow, so I'm hoping to get out there for a 10k run this afternoon and (hopefully) convince Jeff to join me for a 21k bike ride tomorrow.

I've got a few challenges in mind for April, but I think that's for another post. :)

What are you up to this weekend?
How do you stay motivated when you find yourself falling into a slump?
Tweet

Happy Spring!

Don't be jealous, but the weather has been pretty perfect here lately! Highs in the 70s/low 80s; lows in the 50s/60s. Even the wind hasn't been too crazy.

Ah, perfection. :)

Today marks the first day of Spring. Oh happy day! Those of you living in the colder climates, I'm sure it will start  warming up where you are soon.

Spring is like the promise of new and great and better things to come. I LOVE SPRING!

But with the change in weather, my closet becomes more depressing. All my clothes seem to be too warm or too dark. I need some light and bright clothes to spring-up my wardrobe.

It seems that the older I get the cheaper I get. When I was in my 20s, almost all of my clothes were purchased at the mall. At stores like Express and NY & Co. True, I generally shopped the sales racks, but I didn't have nearly as much trouble spending money on clothes as I do now.

Now, I do most of my shopping at thrift stores. Like GoodWill or Savers. Sometimes I'll peek into some higher end thrift stores, but even those seem to be too spendy for me. :D

I prefer shopping alone because I am a super slow shopper. Thrift stores can be so overwhelming, and I really need to be in the right mood to go, but when I do go, I'm there for several hours. Including many trips to the fitting room.

There are so many sweet deals you can find at a thrift store, but it often takes a lot of hard work. A lot of sifting. Scouring. I'm compelled to search through each and every rack in fear of missing out on something great search of the perfect piece at the perfect price.

To me, thrift shopping is serious business and not for the casual shopper.

I also love thrift shopping because it's greener than buying new. I like knowing that, in a small way, I'm helping to make the world a little better by reducing waste and buying used.

Thrift shopping is an adventure. With all the scouring and sifting I already mentioned, it's like a treasure hunt. You never know what you'll find.

And one of the best things about thrift shopping? It's rare that you'll ever buy the exact same thing as your co-worker! Unless, of course, you shop at the same thrift store that your co-worker donates, then you might just end up buying their old clothes. lol. True story. It didn't happen to me, but I overheard the story in the lunchroom.

Does the season change make you want to go shopping and spruce up your closet?
What do you love or hate about thrift shopping?
Tweet

Running and Biking and Baseball

I had a really fun weekend. And by weekend, I mean Sunday.

Saturday, I was pretty much down for the count due to female issues. Boooo...

Thankfully by Sunday I was feeling much better, so I decided to tackle the St Patty's Day virtual race.

As far as I can tell, there is no specified distance for this virtual race, so I attempted to push myself with a 10K. I'd been pretty crampy (TMI??) the day before, so I wasn't sure how it would go. Plus, I decided to do a 5K route twice instead of mapping something new. This is usually too mentally difficult for me, but it would allow me to end after a 5K if I needed to.

I DIDN'T! In fact, continuing and starting the route over seemed like just about the most natural thing ever. Woot woot! There was a brief moment about 43 minutes in that I started to hit a small wall, but I jumped right over that mother and crushed it.

I'd never run a 10K in under an hour, so in the back of my mind that was my goal.

**drumroll please**

I FINISHED IN 58:18!!

My previous PR was 1:04:54. Virtual races totally count for PRs, right? :) The best part? I didn't even feel like I was pushing it all that hard - even though I did get super sweaty.

I even had enough energy left over to finish my 7-Day Arm Challenge, and bike to a spring training game - about 5 miles from my apartment.

I started this run a bit lot later than I really should have, so we ended up leaving for the ball game later than we'd hoped. In fact, by the time we hopped on our bikes, the game had already started. Oops!

We're not die hard baseball fans by any means, so it wasn't really a big deal to us that we didn't get to the game until the 3rd inning.

You can't really tell from the picture, but we were watching Cubs vs Rangers. It was a fun game. Sorry to all you Cubs fans out there, but they really didn't seem to bring their A-game. Both teams, actually, didn't seem to be very alive out there, but the Rangers at least seemed to be a little more awake.

All I could think about, though, was an ice cream cone. I really wanted one! A nice soft serve ice cream cone. Mmmm...

They didn't have any, but they did have Ben & Jerry's. It would have to do. LOL.

The final inning was probably the most exciting! The score was 8-5 Rangers and the Cubs were up to bat. Bases were loaded. Two outs already on the board.

Would he hit a home run? With that single hit, the Cubs could win. So exciting. Unfortunately, the batter struck out. How embarrassing. :D

Our bike ride home was nice and easy - other than a few dick-ish motorists. Please, please read and share this post on sharing the road! So many times we have to just shake our heads at how ridiculous motorists can be. *sigh*

How was your weekend? 
Any running or biking or baseball for you?
Tweet

I often see so many tips for bicyclists on how to be safe out there and share the road, but what about tips for the motorists?

Since I've been biking to work for several months now, I've noticed a few things that might be helpful to share.

Share the Road: Tips for Drivers

Be aware. This is just a good driving tip in general. Pay attention to other vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians. Try to anticipate hazards a cyclist may encounter and give them room to maneuver around them.

Know the hand signals that bicyclists use.

If there's an available 2nd lane, use it. If there's a cyclist sharing the lane with you, and there is another available lane, move over to the next lane. Soon, you will be far enough ahead of her to be able to safely move back into your original lane.

Also, if you're approaching a red light, and you see a bike in one of the lanes, and there is an empty lane -- or even if there are only 2-3 cars in the next lane -- pull up to the red light in the lane without the cyclist. Most likely, you'll be well through the intersection before the cyclist is.

Don't use the shoulder as a right turn lane. Most cyclists will use the shoulder if there is a good one available. Remember, a bicycle is consider a vehicle and has the right of way when traveling straight through an intersection, unimpeded by a car turning right.

Don't pace with a cyclist. We know we're going slower than you, and waiting behind us in order to turn right might be a slight inconvenience, but it's really minimal; you'll make it up in no time. If you're turning right and need to wait for a cyclist, just slow down and get behind her - just as if it were another car you were waiting for. When you pace with us, it is often difficult for us to determine what you are trying to do -- cautiously wait behind us, turn right, or get our attention to alert us to something, etc.

Above all, Be courteous. This is kind of a no-brainer, and a good driving tip all in all. I already kind of touched on leaving plenty of room when passing a cyclist, but also avoid honking or yelling out the window. This will likely cause more harm, as it might startle the cyclist causing them to swerve.

More and more people are jumping on their bikes for recreation and/or commuting, so sharing the road is becoming more and more important. Let's work together to makes our roads even safer!

Here is a link with more excellent tips.

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/groups/EveryMove/Documents/ShareTheRoad_Tipcard.pdf

What other tips do you have for drivers, in sharing the road with cyclists?
Tweet

And now for NASCAR

I know, I know. I promised you this post on Tuesday. Well, I didn't feel well Tuesday morning, so I opted to sleep in a bit and then I decided to go for a run after work. The sun was shining; it was in the 70s, and I still had about an hour or so before sunset. I simply couldn't resist getting out there for a run.

NASCAR was super fun, but getting there was not.

As we were leaving the CeeLo show, I remember checking the time on my phone. 1:51am. By the time we finished unlocking our biking and getting all set to go, it was after 3:00am.  No, we're not that slow, Daylight Savings Time started, and our phones automatically sprang ahead. :)

By the time we biked home and got everything situated, I ended up going to sleep around 4:00am. Unfortunately, Jeff didn't get to sleep until after 7:00am. It was definitely going to be a LONG day.

Earlier in the week, my brother randomly messaged me on Facebook saying he was in town for some training and wanted to know if I wanted to get together. So, I naturally invited him to come to NASCAR with us. Had I looked up the time of the race, I probably wouldn't have. Nor would I have gone through the trouble of snagging an extra ticket for him. I'd gotten free tickets from work. I love my job!

If we didn't have plans to meet my brother, we probably would have skipped going.

We ended up leaving about 20 minutes later than we'd wanted. It probably would've been fine except traffic was BAD!

At the first sign of delay, I texted my brother to say we were about to get stuck in traffic. I kept sending him little updates, but the data gods weren't with us and our messages to each other weren't being sent/received. So frustrating!!

We finally met up shortly after noon (when the race was supposed to start), so we missed the driver introductions. Since none of us are true NASCAR fans, the driver intros really would've been nice to hear.

After finding our seats, we started picking out our favorite cars by the colors. :) They were still doing warm-up laps, so we didn't really miss anything.

It was super loud and super exciting! Even though we didn't really know who any of the drivers were (except Danica Patrick, of course). It was fun to watch the cars make their laps, but it was also fun to watch the board with the rankings. :D

After about 50 laps, we left the stands in search of something to drink. I was super thirsty! As we were walking around everything smelled so good! The more we walked, the hungrier I got.

My brother and I settled on roasted corn on the cob.

I was really surprised at how much it filled me up. Well, I may or may not have eaten more than half of Jeff's fries as well. He'd ordered a basket of chicken fingers and fries.

Our quest for food took about 75 or so laps before we got back to our seats. We finished our food, analyzed the rankings of the cars, and then made the decision to leave early to try and beat the traffic on the way home. A caution flag came out around lap 190, and we decided that would be a good time to head out.

We were so lucky we left when we did! There was an accident just before the race ended, which affected the race traffic by hours. So happy we weren't stuck in that!

Have you ever been to a NASCAR race?
How do you feel about leaving an event early in order to avoid traffic?
Tweet