4/30/13 PM Workout

This is one of those days that I have a set of squats on top of my morning workout. I also have my daily chair bridges. So I choose to do them in the evening.
This evening did 100 squats and 150 chair bridges. Legs really feel like they have become stronger. This is only day 9 of squats and 10 for chair bridges. The squats are done 3 days straight then 1 day rest. Great evening routine to finish off day.

4/30/13 Workout

What a lovely morning! Workout was great!! Calf felt better, was able to run my sprints without pain, started out little tight but that vanished.
Before I get into my workout, I have been thinking. How many people have workout partners to motivate and hold you accountable? What a gym you go to a people you see in there on a regular basis that help with motivation or accountability? Well have neither of those. I had a workout partner in last place lived, but he was not the best at always showing up. I did workout at the YMCA and staff and members there provided that motivation and accountability to some extent. Now a days I workout wherever I can. I do a lot at an outside fitness area that has pull up bars, dip bars, etc. My runs are on streets or trails. I perform all these activities alone with just the sounds of nature and near by traffic. So my motivation is from children. I am accountable to them as well, so their dad is around for long time. I am also motivated by the post and responses on both blogspot and Google+. I feel accountable to everyone on these sites to workout hard and then share the info.
Now to my workout...started with 4 min of jump ropes. Much better today. I moved out of grass and seemed to allow me to jump better. Then ran 8-30 sec sprints with 90 sec recovery. Ran 2.02 miles during this.
Then I did 2x4 min with 1 min rest between sets of my Tabata upper body routine. Then did 2x4 min with 1 min rest between sets of my Tabata leg routine. Afterwards did 2x20yds bear crawl, 2x20yds crab walk, and 4x50yds farmers walk with 5 gallon buckets of water. Stretch. Great morning!

4/29/13 Workout

Good morning all! Well April is coming to an end. This morning was great run. I ran 5 miles in 44:32, just under 9 min/mile pace. I still only wanted to run at 10 min/mile pace. Guess I need to scratch that idea and just do it at 9 min/mile pace from here out.
After my run did 150 chair bridges and stretched. Hope everyone has great day!

4/28/13 Workout

Today was an easy day! I hung out at movies with kids. This morning did do 150 chair bridges and 80 squats. Then prepared food for upcoming week. Hope all had great weekend and look forward to the week ahead.

4/27/13 Workout/update

This morning had a good run. Today was my long run. I ran 8 miles in 1:14:47. I had some hills to run today, nothing major, just gentle inclines with a couple being long. Calf was tighter this morning with my run, but believe that had to do with the hills.
After my run did 75 squats and 150 chair bridges. Then stretched out. I will tell you this, if have not ever done bridges, be surprised at the muscles that are being worked. This is end of week one with them and already noticing a difference in strength.
Today completed week one of my training for my marathon. Only 23 weeks to go. I have lost 4 lbs this week and felt stronger as week went on. Looking forward to weeks to come. Just got to keep pushing.

4/26/13 Workout

Good morning! Nice cool morning for a run. This morning was my last short run of the week. My calf was tender, but not a factor to prevent from running. Ran 4 miles in 36:27. I still can't seem to run at 10 min/mile pace. I looked down one time and was at 8:30 so slowed down. But it seems to take more energy to run at slower pace.
After run I did 70 squats and 150 chair bridges. Then stretched out real good. Looking forward to longer run tomorrow.

4/25/13 Workout

Thursday workout is done. Felt stronger this morning. Added a tenth of mile to my sprint interval. Should have gone further, but after 6th sprint felt my calf pull and then tighten. Last 2 sprints and jogs were just my will to compete and finish to complete. Glad I am a therapist and have the equipment to work on it.
This morning started with 4 min of jump rope. Still suck at this. At least little better than Tues. Afterwards did 8 sprints at 30 secs with 90 sec jog to recover. Did 2.01 miles.
Then came my workout routine. Started with Upper body Tabata routine(push ups, pull ups, incline push ups, reverse grip pull ups, decline push ups, over hand supine pull ups, burpees, v-push ups) 2x4 min with 1 min rest b/w sets. Then did Tabata Leg routine(air squats, static lunge left, squat thrusts, static lunge right, jump squats, mt climbers, alt lunge jumps, sumo squat jump) 2x4 min with 1 min rest. Then did 2x20 yds bear crawl, 2x20 yds crab walk and 4x50 yds farmers walk with 5 gallon buckets of water. Stretches to cool down.

4/24/13 Workout

Good workout this morning. I was definitely feeling the past 2 days. My legs felt extremely heavy today during my run. But I pushed through it anyway. Glad I did!
This morning ran 4 miles, still trying to stay at a slow pace to build my endurance. I finished in 37:25. After my run I finished my routine with 60 squats and 150 chair bridges, then stretched out.

4/23/13 PM Workout

This afternoon I did another short routine. I am really looking at strengthening my legs. I am doing a 30 day squat challenge and 150 chair bridges a day for 30 days.
This afternoon I did 55 squats and 150 chair bridges. This is day 3 for chair bridges and 2nd day on squats. Really look forward to seeing my results.

4/23/13 Workout

Morning everyone. Another workout in the books. I could really tell I didn't do anything last two weeks, except some running and nothing last week. Little sore this morning from yesterday. Still knew had to push through today's routine.
This morning started with 4 min of jump rope. Man I suck at this. I got to get better! Looked and felt like never done before. Afterwards did 8 sprints at 30 secs with 90 sec jog to recover. Did 1.9 miles.
Then came my workout routine. Started with Upper body Tabata routine(push ups, pull ups, incline push ups, reverse grip pull ups, decline push ups, over hand supine pull ups, burpees, v-push ups) 2x4 min with 1 min rest b/w sets. Then did Tabata Leg routine(air squats, static lunge left, squat thrusts, static lunge right, jump squats, mt climbers, alt lunge jumps, sumo squat jump) 2x4 min with 1 min rest. Then did 2x20 yds bear crawl, 2x20 yds crab walk and 4x50 yds farmers walk with 5 gallon buckets if water. Stretches to cool down.
The crab walk and farmers walk kicked my butt. Overall great morning!

4/22/13 Workout

Good morning! My training kicked off today. Felt great being back out running. Especially since the temp was not in 20's and 30's. Could just wear shorts and sleeveless shirt to run/workout in. It was wonderful!
Today ran 4 miles in 37:13. I was not looking for speed, actually tried to run around 10 min/mile pace. With my runs right now, I am looking to build more endurance and cardiovascular. After my run finished with 50 squats, 150 chair bridges and stretches. Great way to start a day!

4/21/13 Workout

Today's workout was really not much. I just needed to be outside enjoying day. Hiked little over a mile at Monte Sano Mountain in Huntsville, AL, did 150 chair bridges and stretched. It was great to be outdoors, while mentally preparing for next 24 weeks. Also gave me a chance to see some area would like to do some training.

Marathon Training

    The next 24 weeks I will be training to complete my first marathon. I will not give up the training for obstacle course races because I run a Spartan Sprint 2 weeks after the marathon, but I will shift gears in my training. I will focus more on distance running 4x week. I will be running short to medium distances 3x week with a long run on Saturdays. I will be doing sprint intervals and my workouts 2x week. My sprint intervals and workouts will change every 4 weeks to prevent my body from adjusting.
     During these 24 weeks I promise myself that I will eat healthy, work my tail off, and accomplish all set goals. I will train like every day is my last. All goals will be reached and surpassed. I am determined to be leaner, faster, in better health, and the best I can at every activity.

4/13/13 Iron Warrior Dash

Yesterday AM ran the Iron Warrior Dash in GA, 15 miles of running combined with 26 obstacles. The race started flat with a couple small hills and majority of the beginning obstacles were through water. Around 3 miles the course changed and we started running more hills with some steep climbs and downhill descents. We ran about 3/4 mile through a creek, climbing small falls. When came out of the creek had a steep hill to basically crawl up, grabbing whatever could to assist pull yourself up. Felt like this was the cleanest I had ever been in a mud run cause of all the water. The end had changed that last thought. The mud pit we went through was by far the thickest I have crawled through. It took every bit of strength I had to get through. Every push with my legs, just found them sinking further into the mud and the cramps in my calves and adductors did not make it any easier. This race provided some great obstacles and a challenging running course. Except for the poor design of the Peggy Sue obstacle the race was great. Only complaints about the entire event was parking, shuttle service and bag check. The parking was 8 miles from event and we took buses to and from event. The buses were not spread out enough for continuous flow from parking to/from event. And to check bag before Iron Warrior Dash was quick, but because they put the Warrior Dash runners bags were also checked into the same tent caused long waits to pick up bags and volunteers had trouble locating the bags. Hopefully they will have more organization for future events. Over all still great day. Completed in 2:57:13...63rd overall. Time to take the week off and allow my body to heal completely. Then to start training for marathon in Oct.

Oak Barrel Half Marathon

Just finished running the Oak Barrel Half Marathon. What an awesome run! Had lots of rolling hills, few steep climbs, and beautiful scenery through Lynchburg, TN. First major climb was Whiskey Hill. It started around the 3.5 mile mark with a gentle climb. Then around 4 miles got steeper and at 4.25 did a switch back and became very steep. That only lasted a .25 mile but reminded me of running the Mt Washington Rd Race. The next steep climb came around 6.5 mile mark, it was short, thank God! After that the race followed some rolling hills until mile 9. From there it was a gentle decent to around mile 12 where it became flat to finish line. We finished at the square in Lynchburg. I enjoyed the entire event. I set my PR today with a run of 1:44:49.

4/5/13 Workout

Today was great! Did not run as far, only 3 today. That is because running half marathon tomorrow. The 3 miles I did was not just an easy jog. I increased my pace on each mile. Started at 8:10 mile pace, mile 2 was 7:09 mile pace, and finished at 6:45 mile pace. Finished workout with Tabata upper body and lower body routine. Now rest and recovery for tomorrow.
Today's workout
Run 3 miles- increase pace each mile
Tabata upper body routine 2x
Tabata leg routine 2x
Stretch

*Tabata routine same as previous post

4/4/13 Workout

Good morning for run. Raining pretty steady with little breeze, making 43 degrees feel little colder. But training had to be done. Did 6 miles in just over 50 min. One more day of training, then race day. Looking forward to attacking the Oak Barrel Half Marathon and setting my PR.

4/3/13 Workout

Today was great to get back training. I took Mon off to recoup from Saturday's run. Tues was worn out from work. Today I changed up my interval. The runs were longer with 2 sets of the Tabata routine between runs.
Today's routine
Run 3 miles
Tabata upper body 2x
Run 3 miles
Tabata leg routine 2x
Stretch

*Tabata upper body: push ups, pull ups, incline push ups, reverse grip pull ups, decline push ups, over hand supine pull ups, burpees, v-push ups. 1 min rest between sets
*Tabata leg routine: squats, static lunge right, squat thrusts, static lunge left, jump squat, mountain climbers, alt lunge jumps, sumo squat jumps