Weekly Workout Recap 5/12/2013

Monday, 5/6/13
4 Mile Run

Monday morning have PRing in a half marathon. Zero motivation. Late start to a lunch time run. Empty stomach. Dreary raining weather. All this should have made for nothing less than a miserable run, right? I would have thought so to - in fact I was mentally preparing for a painful slow run. Much to my surprise it was the exact opposite. When I first stepped outside I thought I was going to freeze. It was supposed to be in the high 60's and sunny, but when I got downstairs I felt really cold air coming in through the doors. I started kicking myself for not bringing a lite pullover. However, once I got outside and moving I felt amazing. The chill in the air felt so good and my feet felt light. My pace obviously wasn't fast, but today's run felt effortless. These runs don't come along too often so I had originally set out for a 3 mile run but ended up adding on an extra mile!

Tuesday, 5/7/13
1 Hour Strength Conditioning Class

I had a coworker join me today, so that was something fun! Ana focused on triceps again today. And we did more work than usual with the ball. I am not a fan of the ball, but I still feel like we got a good workout despite that. We did tricep push-ups (a lot of them) and different variations of the plank. Ana even came over to me said she has noticed a huge improvement in my push-ups! I used to not be able to do any in the "big girl" position. While I still cant go all the way down to where my chest touches the floor I can almost get there and come back up. Last night I did 12 on my own just to see how many I could do comfortably.

I wasn't sure how my coworker was feeling after wards, but I told her to come back for a couple more classes. I like that all the classes are different. Sometimes we use a lot of equipment and sometimes we don't use any. Sometimes the classes feel more like a Denise Austin video while other classes feel like a variation of Crossfit. I like the fact that every time I walk through that door I don't know what we will be doing.

Wednesday, 5/8/2013
5 Mile Run

5 miles is usually the max number of miles I can fit in on my lunch break. I work on the 9th floor so it takes awhile to get to and from my desk. Anyways -- this run started off feeling rough. My calves were sore and I had to stop and stretch a few times over the first mile which actually helped a lot. I started to feel better as the run went on. Over the winter months the trails I took were pretty desolate. Now that the weather is getting nicer more and more people are coming out to walk during their lunch breaks. My biggest pet peeve is when people walk 2 or 3 abreast on the path and even when I am coming towards them and I KNOW they see they do not move! Um, hello there are signs everywhere that say this is a shared path!

Didn't everyone's mother teach them that you must walk single file in narrow spaces when people are coming towards you? I usually have more patience, but not when it comes to this. I now refuse to move over. I am not going to run in the grass so that you can continue walking 3 abreast. It's almost like playing chicken. I have had to shoulder a few people who just don't get it! Other than that I had a decent run and I am looking forward to tomorrow's workout!

Thursday, 5/9/2013
50 Minute Body Sculpt Class
2 Mile Run

I started the day off right this morning with a CLICK protein drink. I love the vanilla latte flavor. It is extra yummy and gives me that extra kick I need to get going in the mornings.

By the time I get to workout on my lunch break I have already been up for more than 7 hours so I need something that will keep me going throughout the morning and into the afternoon so that I can be productive at work AND perform my best during my workout. Anyhoo -- today was a tough one. I wanted to get a couple more miles in this week. My original plan was to take the class at lunch and then run 2 miles when I got home. However, my finance randomly asked me on a date tonight and of course I said YES! I still wanted to get those 2 miles in today though - so instead of waiting to run after work I ran a mile before class and a mile after. Then when we got to class we ended up jogging as a warm up too! We ended up staying outside for most of the workout again. These tough workouts in this warmish weather really make me sweat! We broke into groups and had three different stations set up. 1. Hill sprints with a push-up at the top 2. Squat jumps 3. Arm flies with an arm band. We did each station for 1 minute and then we switched. We did each station 3 times. For some reason the squat jumps seemed to be the hardest. Timed seemed to move really slow for that minutes. Holy cow we were all feeling it at the end! Then we headed back inside and did more arm, glutes, and ab work. Class ran over again so I had to cut out at the cool down. I wanted to get that last mile in and I was already late getting back to my desk.

Here I am post workout getting ready to change and get back to my desk. Today's workout felt really good. I feel like I pushed myself and I can't ask for any more than that. I am also noticing a huge difference from when I first started taking these classes. When I first started running I neglected my my upper body. I enjoy these classes because we work on the total body. This benefits my running and I give a lot of credit to these classes to all the PR's I have been setting recently :) Really hoping to get my arms in tip-top shape for summer!

Friday, 5/10/13

45 Minute Zumba Class

1 Mile Run

One negative about working out on your lunch hour is that sometimes things pop up that are out of your control. A meeting, an important phone call that lasts too long, a managers birthday cake celebration...Today is my supervisor's birthday and I was just notified that we will be having cake for her at 11:45am today. My class started at 12:15pm! This was going to be a close one. I knew I had to go to the celebration and I was going to do everything I could to get to the class too. That meant wearing my workout clothes to the party as discreetly as possible :) 

Do you think I fooled anyone by putting a sweater over my workout clothes? I feel slightly guilty for needed to leave the party after just 20 minutes or so, but sometimes you have to put yourself first. It's my lunch hour and I need to workout for my sanity! I know there will be times when I cannot do both things, but this time I felt it was doable. I didn't even have any cake! Well, I did take a piece so I didn't appear rude or ungrateful. Okay, I did eat the icing. But only because it had little chocolate shavings sprinkled on it ....

Zumba was fun as always. I am not a huge Zumba fan. But is something on the lighter side for a Friday and since I usually do my long runs on Saturday mornings I don't totally mind that. Ana isn't your typical Zumba instructor either. We do a various forms of squats and lunges, mountain climbers, burpees etc. We are drenched in sweat at the end so it must be a somewhat decent workout. I also decided to run to and from the fitness center. I got a 1/2 mile in before class and 1/2 mile in after. Last half mile was slow. My body was already tired and its 82 degrees and sunny today! I don't do well in the heat. Well, at least not working out in the heat. Sitting on the beach, drink  and celeb gossip magazine in hand? That I do well in the heat!

Saturday, 5/11/13

26 Mile (Training) Run

I would like to create an entire separate post for this run. I have lots of thoughts to share!

Sunday. 5/12/13

2 Mile Run & 25 Inch-Worm Push-ups and 25 Bicycle Crunches

I was 2 miles short of 40 miles this week and that was my motivation to get out there at 5pm on a Sunday night and run! I had a lot of Mother's Day activities to do today with my mother and by the end of the week I was just really tired. I have also had some yard work looming over my head for the past week that I really wanted to knock out. I don't know where my motivation came from, but I was able to get the yard work done and run 2 miles while my fiance made dinner. It feels good to be sitting here on a Monday morning happy with all that I accomplished this weekend and not regretting having not done something! Whoo-hoo!