Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Tuesday April 26, 2011

Workout: BL bootcamp level 1 & 2
Time: 45:00

Ended up taking all of last week off from working out due to having strep.  I think my thighs enjoyed the break...  I did cardio max yesterday and bootcamp today and my thighs feel like they're made of concrete.  Bob Harper is trying to destroy me.



This will be my second week of doing level 1 & level 2 and I should add level 3 on both videos next week, but I'm not going to.  I had to take a break during the workouts yesterday & today.  My legs were burning so badly from all of the squats & lunges, I had to stop for a few seconds to shake them out before continuing.  I want to get through level 1 & 2 solidly before I add level 3.

Yesterday I noticed that my heart rate seemed to be very high during cardio max.  I asked my neighbor if I could borrow her heart rate monitor so I could try it out before I buy one for myself.  I want to start trying to train within my target heart rate zones, which will take a lot of restraint on my part, but I think I may have better results in terms of stamina & endurance.



I spent most of last week eating cookies and really not a whole lot more than that.  I had a decent dinner each night, but I mainly stuck to cookies because I'm a winner.  At least I didn't eat my normal diet AND all of the cookies.  I've sworn off of the cookies now :)

I'm trying to come to a better attitude about weight, calories, diet.  I stopped weighing everyday and am only going to weigh on Fridays.  Last Friday I was 122.8 - even after my cookie diet.  Truthfully, my weight and diet are controlling me and I don't want that to be the case.  I need to enjoy life and not worry about all of this so much.  Not that I'm entirely consumed by it, but I do spend too much time tracking things.  That includes running mileage, routes, calories consumed & calories burned.  I have a tendency to go a little overboard with it all because I am so self-disciplined.  I need to ease up, but still be healthy.  I will not be buying a device that tells me how many calories I burn every day - that would be bad, bad news for someone like me, lol.



I like the fact that I feel like I'm getting stronger from my workouts.  Dave was talking to one of his clients, who is a doctor, and he said that you can't just focus on running and still be healthy.  If you focus only on cardio, your heart gets stronger, but the rest of your muscles don't.  You need balance.  Dave and I have lost that balance over the last year of race training.  And we both are trying to get it back - he is out of the RBR, too, and is focusing on adding some weight training back in and losing 10-15 lbs.  He has been snoring lately and wants to lose that weight so he'll stop.  I'm all for that :)

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Wednesday April 20, 2011

I have not worked out at all this week.  I woke up with a sore throat last Friday and went to the doctor for it on Monday - strep.  Totally weird though... last time I had strep it felt like I had been hit by a truck.  My body hurt, my stomach hurt, I had razors in my throat.  This time - only the razors, otherwise I felt totally fine.  Started antibiotics on Monday afternoon and as of yesterday afternoon there was only slight throat pain left.  


Haven't worked out at all and I haven't eaten much in the last couple of days.  Today should be better.


Really trying to evaluate things over here.  I'm perplexed by how tired Dave and I are all the time.  He has cut down his running mileage and has decided not to run the RBR - his body was not dealing well with the running and he wants to focus more on losing weight because he's been snoring lately.  The amount of fatigue that we've both experienced is totally different than the kind of fatigue we had when we were training for Indy last year.  At that time, we were both so physically tired at the end of the night and would go to bed at 9:15... but it was the good, worked hard, my body is TIRED kind of tired.  Definitely attributed to the running/training.


It is different now.  We shouldn't be feeling like this - we're both in fantastic shape.  Last night at 8:30 I wanted to go to bed.  I had slept 8 hours the night before.  I hadn't worked out.  Not sure what is going on - could be due to being sick, but my body has just felt "off" for a while now... hence dropping out of the race and no longer running.  I'm going to keep paying attention.  


I'm also thinking about getting back into running.  Easter is approaching, so my 6 weeks is up.  I wasn't really planning to get back into it, however, my back is killing me (herniated L4 and L5) and I'm sleeping like crap all the time.  I know that when I'm running, my back doesn't hurt.  I also sleep much better.  I feel conflicted, though, because I don't know how to get back into it without getting obsessed with pace & routes & time etc.  I don't know how to just go out and enjoy myself and not care about those things.  I think I probably need to just go out and not pay attention to the time it takes to run.  I still need new shoes, which really should wait until May so it will be a couple of weeks yet.  But I think I need to get back to it so I can sleep and not have back pain.  If I think about it, those used to be my biggest motivating factors and I let all the rest get in the way.  Stupid race training got the best of me!  Perhaps my personality is not suited for racing - too competitive with myself.  Too self-motivated.  Too self-disciplined.  


I'm going to get back to Bob Harper and his plan to kill me, get some new shoes and get back to it.  My back needs it. 

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Tuesday April 12, 2011

Workout: Biggest Loser Boot Camp
Time: 45:00
Weight: 126.6


Added the second level of boot camp today - an additional 15 minutes of Bob Harper trying his best to break me down and kill me.  He nearly succeeded.  I feel like such a wuss - I'm having a hard time getting through the exercises and had to take a couple of breaks and the BL people, most of whom still have 20-50lbs on me are getting through.  Must be I suck.  


It is a really good workout.  My muscles are getting worked and fatigued.  My heart rate is up, but not spiked too high.  It is tough and definitely a challenge.  I enjoy it but hate it all at the same time.  And I really, really like Bob Harper - I like the way he leads, his sense of humor and his ability to be encouraging.  Good choices on these dvds.


Dave & I also went for a 2 mile walk yesterday around the block, with the dog.  It ends up being 40:00 of decent walking with hills.  Definitely not good enough to be the only workout we do, but a really good add-on.  I'm happy that we're able to do it.  The girls are iffy on whether or not they approve... too bad they don't get a choice :)


Went under my calories yesterday.  I opted to not eat the rest of my calories last night.  I had quite a few left and could have had an ice cream treat or small bowl of cereal and STILL had calories left over, but I had a glass of wine after our walk and that was all I wanted.  The walk at 8:00 also has the bonus of keeping me from snacking all night.  By the time I get finished with my glass of wine it seems ridiculous to eat more treats after that.


Working on hammering the water today.  

Monday, April 11, 2011

Monday April 11, 2011

Workout: Biggest Loser Cardio Max
Time: 40:00
Weight: 127.0


Ugh - ticks me off to even type that weight.  I got down as low as 122.6 last week.  And now, because I'm dumb I'm back up to 127.0.  I know it is mainly water retention, but I didn't make good choices over the weekend either.  Last week was also pretty full of processed prepackaged meals (lean cuisines), which are horrible for water retention.  Regardless, I didn't gain 5 lbs in less than a week - not possible.  So I'm not worried about it, just aggravated...  


Last Monday I started eating 5-6 small meals each day with a little lean protein and good carbs in each one.  My days are basically like this:

7:30/8:00 - 6oz container of greek yogurt

10:30 - oatmeal with 1/2 apple (need to add some protein to this meal)
2:00 - tuna/spinach/bean salad & 1c. frozen mixed veggies
4:30 - 1 apple or banana & 15 almonds
6:30 - dinner


Last week's dinner was a lean cuisine.  This week I'm cooking 2-3 nights.  Tonight I'm making Santa Fe Chicken Casserole - recipe from the container of Philadelphia cooking creme.  That + a salad should be pretty carb/protein balanced.  


This is my 3rd week of BL Cardio Max so I added the 10 minute level 2 section.  Ugh.  Bob Harper is trying to make me fall down by doing squats & lunges to exhaustion & then Jillian Michaels wants me to have a heart attack from doing constant high intensity aerobics.  Thanks, guys.  Seriously, the squats and lunges with Bob...  I have uber strong legs.  I can leg press 200lbs pretty easily.  I have never maxed out my weighted squats.  When I used to do weighted walking lunges or single squats or step ups I was only limited by how much I could carry in my hands or on my shoulders - my legs were never the muscle to give out.  Now, thanks to Bob, I have almost fallen down twice while doing his workouts because my quads are so fatigued they almost just give out.  I'm pretty amazed by that.  It is tough.  And my heart rate is UP.  I'm huffing & puffing through most of the workout.  Its good.


I'm getting the twitch to run.  Weather is nicer.  Sun is out.  But I need new shoes and I want to wait until after Easter.  I think I'm going to stick with 3 miles and maybe 5 miles on a weekend afternoon just because its nice.  I don't know yet - I want to love it again and not feel tied to it.  I'm enjoying these workout videos, so I'm not ready to give that up - I NEED to build my muscles again.