Archive | August 2014

August 18-25: 31 miles in 4 days

I fell behind on my posts while on vacation so I’m trying to catch up. I was without my laptop for 10 days and no internet for 8! My phone was used for mapping runs/hikes and of course taking pictures :-) It was actually liberating to be unplugged. It was nice not worrying about checking my phone for messages/emails. I did miss out on signing up for the NWM though :-( Oh well, it wasn’t meant to be anyways….

I will have pics on my Instagram (@msmammamia) from my vacation. We went camping in the redwoods and at my grandpa’s property. But before we left, I rearranged Week6 of my training to get all my runs done Before we left. It was grueling to run 30+ miles in 4 days, but I got it done.

Week 6 - Aug18-24

Week 6 – Aug18-24

Mon 8/18:

Leg Circuit at the park with the boys – 3 rounds
Narrow to Wide Jump Squats x10
Jump Lunges x10 (each side)
Plié Squat x10
Forward/Backward Lunges x10 (each side)
Step Up Hops x10 (each side)
Elevated side Lunge x10 (each side)
Step Squat with Leg Abduction x10 (each side)

Walking Lunges w/ Squats down the basketball court
Walking Lunges w/ Hamstring Curl back
Lunges w/Squat down the court
Traveling Side Lunges w/ Squat back
Lunges w/ Squat down the court
Curtsy Lunges with Squat back

Stair Circuit
Jump Squats – 1 step at a time
Lunges – skip step
Jump Squats – skip step x3 (with kids)

Week6 Day1 – 8 mile tempo run. This was suppose to be tomorrow’s workout but I’m rearranging the entire week and doing all my longer runs before we leave to our camping trip. Gio rode his bike next to me while I ran and he did great :-) So proud of my boy for pushing through at the end when his legs were getting tired.

Tue 8/19:

Week6 Day2: 6 miles – This was all I did because I wanted to save my energy for the long run I planned on doing on Wed. 12 miles at home was easier than trying to figure out where to do it safely while I was camping.

Wed 8/20: 

Week6 Day3: 12 mile slow long run. I didn’t even try to go fast for this one. It was tough the whole way but I did better than I thought I would. We also packed up our car and drove to Sac a couple hours later.

Thur 8/21: Gio’s Birthday! One of the reason’s we came to Sac was to celebrate Gio’s birthday with his grandpa Geno and to also pick him up since he was coming along with us on our trip.

Gio's Birthday

Gio’s Birthday

Week6 Day4: 5 miles before it got too hot.  We picked up a few final things for camping, Gio’s birthday present – a Nintendo 3DS XL) and took him to John’s Incredible Pizza for his birthday celebration. It was just the 5 of us since his behavior this past year did not earn him his usual party. He didn’t seem to mind because he still got to play games, eat as much pizza as he wanted, and pig out at the dessert buffet. We spent the rest of the day organizing and packing up the car. I realized how much work and planning my grandpa put into our annual camping trips as a kid.

Fri 8/22: Spent 6 hours in the car driving to the Elk Prairie campgrounds. We set up camp, made dinner, and then relaxed. Smores for dessert.

Sat 8/23: We actually had to move to a the campsite right next to us. We wanted to have it for whole time but it was reserved for the day we arrived so we took the one next to it, and moved over Sat after the people left. It was actually a smooth transition. We just lifted the tents up and walked them over :-) I did go for a run with Ben and Gio after breakfast.

Week6 Day6: 3 miles – first run through the redwoods. It was so pretty. Gio did pretty well keeping up. We took a trail that took us up a steep hill that I ran up and left the boys behind. I met back up with them when I turned around. I think I must have done something to my hip flexor or hamstrings because after this run, my left hip was tight for the rest of time :-( But my new trail running shoes were awesome! I am so glad I picked up a pair before we left. Having the right kind of shoes really helps.

Hike with the boys.

Hike with the boys.

Ben and I also took the boys for a short hike before dinner. We pretty much went the same way I went for my run but did a loop.  The hills was tough for Seppe but he got through it. It was nice going slower and taking time to look at everything. Boys had a lot of fun. We even saw some deer.

Sun 8/24: Drove to a Klammath Lake and did the Walk Through the Trees. We got to bring Reggie along. We rode the sky trail. It took us longer than we thought it would but we did stop to take lots of pics. We picked up some homemade fudge and smoked salmon.

Walk Through the Trees

Walk Through the Trees

The boys made friends with other kids that were there from NY and Oregon. Gio finally started to enjoy the trip once he made friends.

Went on a short walk with Ben before dinner.  We meant to go further but we ran into some elk. The first one was injured but I was still hesitant to get close. Ben heard the rest of the group coming through the bushes and a few minutes later, 4 more showed up with another big horned elk. This one definitely did not like us being close and watched us the whole time we walked away. Ben thought it was funny I was so scared, but there was no way I was messing with a wild elk with horns that big.

The injured male elk. We got fairly close to this one.

The injured male elk. We got fairly close to this one.

I was looking forward to doing more runs through the redwoods but a little worried at the same time.  I knew that I would be doing the rest of my runs on my own. I was glad that there were plenty of trails to run on.

August 11-17: A Hike, Datenight, Longruns, and Walks with the boys.

August 11, 2014

August 11, 2014

 

Monday 8/11: Week 5 Day1  5 mile run. Did this one at the end of the day.

2.85 mile walk with the boys

Leg Workout at Home using zbodyfitnessinc BetterBooty program:

Glute Bridges 25lbs

Deadlifts 50lbs

Bulgarian SplitSquat: 40lbs

Glute Kickbacks with resistance band

Superset:

Walking Lunges 40lbs

Sumo Squat 25lbs

Jump Squats 40lbs

Those jump squats were tough.

Ended with Piyo Drench

August 12, 2014

Tuesday 8/12: Week5 Day2 8mile progression run.  Ran on a flat course and it was so much easier.

Ended with Piyo Core .

Boys left today to go camping with their grandma for a few days. Spent the morning with them before they left. Relaxed with Ben for the day and did my run when he took a nap for work. Had some yummy sushi for dinner.

August 13, 2014

August 13, 2014

Wenesday 8/13: Week5 Day3 6mile slow run

Kid free! So what do we do for fun? Go on a 13+ mile hike by Alpine Lake. Did not plan on going so far but we missed the turn off to do the shorter loop and doubled back to it. We were feeling adventurous so we decided to do the loop anyways after already doing 6+ miles. OMG! My calves and feet ached so badly afterwards. There were some really steep climbs and soooo many steps.  The views were great and we had a good time just hanging out together. I was impressed Ben did the whole thing. Turns out he likes hiking and camping so we’ll be doing more in the future.  After a yummy seafood dinner in Fairfax. we came home, showered, and went straight to bed.

Check out pics from our hike here: http://flipagram.com/f/HCQdjMgd47

Aug 14th Date Night

Aug 14th Date Night

Thursday 8/14: Piyo Sculpt

So glad for a rest day from running. My calves were so sore from the hike, but other than that, I felt pretty good. We spent most of the day relaxing by cleaning and organizing. I got the boys’ wardrobes ready for school and we finally dropped off a the big donation pile at goodwill. We went to comedy show in the city with one of Ben’s coworkers and her husband. Josh Blue is hilarious. Ben took an overtime mid shift so I dropped him off at work right after the show. And yes, I was up at 4a to pick him up. I did piyo after I got home.

August 15/16, 2014

August 15/16, 2014

Friday 8/15: Week5 Day5 2 miles with strides at the track.

Boys came back home from the camping trip.

Calves were still sore but they didn’t bother me while I was running.  I think it helped that I ran on the track. Gio came along and played at the skate park while I ran and then did sprints. It’s probably one of the better times I’ve had with him lately.

Saturday night walk with the boys.

Saturday night walk with the boys.

Saturday 8/16: Week5 Day6 12 mile trial run.

2mile walk with the boys.

Did this on the flat bay trail. Not quite where I want to be yet with my pace but I was happy to be sub 9 and I think I did pretty good with my pacing. I had to stop for two bathroom breaks. The restrooms along this course are much nicer than the ones on the trail I usually run – meaning they flushed and didn’t stink as badly.  Legs didn’t feel as worn out as they usually do and I think not having a huge hill to climb up and down made a difference.  They did start to tighten up as the day wore on but the short walk with the boys helped to loosen them up a bit.

I was suppose to do Piyo today but I’m tired so I will see if I can make up the missed ones tomorrow since it’s a rest day for running.

Sunday 8/17: Rest Day. Spent the day relaxing, watching the Little League World Series and some football. I just wasn’t in the mood to do anything.  Kind of cranky today.  I did pretty good with my diet – just one cookie after lunch :-) Drank lots of water.

I have to adjust my training for next week since we’re going a long camping trip. I’ll be doing all the longer runs the next 3 days before we leave and keeping the shorter ones for the camping trip. We’ll be doing lots of hiking too so I’ll be staying active. I won’t have internet after Thursday so next week’s post will be a little late.

 

August 4-10: Changing It Up

My blogging came to a standstill once the Bikini Series ended. I haven’t even gotten around to posting results :-( I just couldn’t figure out how to balance everything and make time to sit and blog. It’s late as I’m typing this now. And it seemed like the only time I could give to my blog was late at night. Usually, I was tired and just trying to get the post typed up – like I’ll be doing with this one. Lol.  On top of blogging I was checking in on instagram, twitter and the TIU community. It was a bit overwhelming. When the Bikini Series ended, I lost my motivation to blog. I had and have so many ideas but just couldn’t find the time… or the desire to make the time.

Lately, I’ve gotten a little tired of social media. I spend way too much time just looking at all the posts on Facebook, twitter, and instagram. I was tired of posting my workouts. I posted them to help keep me accountable but I haven’t been doing that great of a job with it. I actually stopped even logging my workouts in my journal.  I never really got into a routine this summer. Having the boys home ALL summer hasn’t been easy. Diet hasn’t been the best and I’ve been feeling tired even when I sleep in – which  is every day. I just have not been on top of things.

So I want to try something new. I will be using my blog as my workout journal. Not daily but weekly. I think I will be able to stick to that much easier. Right now I am on my 5th week of half marathon training. I’ve transitioned my focus from weights to running. I am hoping to PR in my next half in October – the Rock N Roll San Jose.  I am using the Nike+ app for my training program. It’s pretty aggressive with 5-6 runs a week.  I still try to lift at least once a week with a nice and heavy leg day.  I’m also doing Piyo. I’m currently on the 6th week.  I try to follow the TIU calendar too but I will adjust when I do the workouts and use my runs for my cardio.

Here was what I did last week:

Monday Aug 4, 2014:

Aug 4, 2014

Aug 4, 2014

 

Gym Session:

5min max incline warmup walk

Legs Press 6×3 270lbs

Leg Press 10×3 180 lbs w/ Fwd-Bkwd Lunges in between each set 10×3 (each leg)

SuperSet:

Sumo Squats 12×4 50 lbs

Jump Squats 15×4

Deadlift 3×3 135lbs

SuperSet:

Weighted Glute Bridges 10×3 40lbs

Single Leg Gluet Bridges 10×3(each leg(

15 min Intervals on StairMaster

Week4Day1  5mile run

TIU BikiniBooty

Piyo Sculpt

Tuesday Aug 5, 2014:

Aug 5, 2014

Aug 5, 2014

Week4Day2 3.75 mile run – Speed training

UpperBody:

Assited Pull-ups 8×3 16lbs

Assisted Dips 10×3 16lbs

Super Set:

Bench Press 10×3 55lbs

Incline Pushups 10×3

Biceps 21’s  x3 10lbs

Front/Lateral Raises 10×3 8lbs

TIU Hotel Workout x3

TotalBliss x2

Piyo Sweat

Wednesday Aug 6, 2014

Aug 6-8, 2014

Aug 6-8, 2014

Week4Day3 6 mile run

2 hrs of Volleyball – I actually played setter for 4 games.

Piyo Core

Thursday Aug 7, 2014:

Week4Day4 3 mile run

Piyo Drench

Friday Aug 8, 2014:

Week4Day5 5mile run

Saturday/Sunday Aug 9-10, 2014:

Aug 9-10, 2014

Aug 9-10, 2014

Saturday – Week4Day6 12 mile run

Sunday – 4 mile walk with the boys

Piyo Strength Intervals and Buns

 

As you can see, my workouts kind of tapered off as the week went on. By Wednesday, I was pretty tired and tried to save my energy for my runs. I was sore from my Tuesday workout all week! I usually do any missed TIU workouts on Sunday but I decided to combine Sat and Sunday’s Piyo workouts since my legs were dead from my long on Saturday. Piyo is a pretty good workout and doing two of them back to back was tough.

For the most part, I was happy with my runs.  These 6 run weeks are tough. Starting at the opposite end of the trail for my long run helped.  Not that putting the big hill in the middle of my run made it any easier but it did make it easier for me to really pick up my pace for my last mile.

I will still have a post on my BikiniSeries results – hopefully sometime later this week. I will try to have my weekly workout posts up by Sunday night (fingers crossed).