Tag Archive | run

Exercising My Will Power

Apr27

BeachBody Day 70

It’s not always easy to stay on track.  Some days it’s really hard, like today. Ben brought came back with Taco Bell after going to the doctor’s office and boy was it tempting to have some of those yummy looking nachos!! Luckily I was able to keep myself busy by folding the mountain of laundry for the boys.  It was out of necessity that I folded them because that was the only way I was going to find Gio’s uniform for his game. lol. For the most part, I’ve been able to stay away from fast foods since last August. If I wind up at a fast food place, I will go for a salad if they have one, or I’ll just wait until I get home. Taco Bell was one of my favorites! Giving up fast foods was my choice and I believe that it has to be Ben’s choice in order for him to stick to it so I don’t force him to give it up. I do try my hardest to always have food at home, but I am not his mother and he is free to eat what he likes. Yes, this does cause friction at times, but we work through it. The junk food fest continued at dinner when he ordered pizza for him and the boys. I was pretty tired and could have easily pigged out. I wanted to. But I didn’t. Instead, I made myself my own food – which I do a lot.  It would have been easier to just join the boys, but I know that I would have felt badly about it. I’m really glad that my will power was strong enough tonight :-) Another mental battle won!

Workouts:

Bootycall – Tone It Up’s Self Magazine Drop10 SculptingX3

Turbo Fire Day 68: Fire55EZ  for my morning workout. The more I do this one, the more I like it. It’s got some really great combos. I modified the tuck jumps to make it lower impact for my knees but I did do all the jacks :-)

Afternoon workout: NTC Kickin’ It – Reached the 1250min SpitFire Badge!! I haven’t done an NTC workout in a while but it never fails to get me sweating. Looking forward to getting to 1500min so I can unlock the Jeanette Jenkins Ultimate Hollywood Workout. Also did Drop10 Leaner Loop. Went for an easy 30min jog before the sun went down. No head phones. It was nice to just run.

Finished with a the same combo plank challenge I did last night: 25 pushups on my knees then 1min plank, 1min tummy tucks, 30 sec side plank each side, 1min tummy tucks and 1min plank. I really have no idea how I managed to do this because I was so tired.

Today’s Tone It Up Calendar challenge for Happy Hour Friday was to write down 1 thing every hour that we are Grateful for or that makes us Happy. I really liked this idea since it makes us focus on the good things for a minute. I kept track on my iPhone from 7a – 10p.

A Day full of Happiness :-)

Meals:

M1: Tried a different Chobani Champions: Very Berry with almond butter and chia seeds. I didn’t think I’d like this as much compared to the Chocolate Chunk, but I do. It’s sooo good :-)

Very Berry is Very Yummy :-)

M2: Grapes.

M3: Left over Salmon and Quinoa/peas mix wrapped in lettuce with fresh avocado and tomatoes.

Made Left overs into Lettuce Wraps for lunch.

M4: Luna bar.

M5: Turkey Meatballs and Brussel Sprouts. Zico to drink.

Turkey meatballs and brussels sprouts instead of pizza and bread sticks.

80 oz. of water 1 Zico.

Sign up for the Bikini Series at ToneItUp.com

You can also still sign up for Self Magazine’s Drop10 Challenge

BeachBody Challenge Day50

Mar25

I’ve decided to take Saturdays off from blogging/social networking. It’s a busy day for me with the boy’s tball games and I like to enjoy the day with my family without worrying about my blog, Twitter, and Facebook. As much as I love being online, I think it’s good to unplug and focus on what is most important :-)

But since, it’s Sunday – I’ve plugged back in. lol. Yesterday wasn’t too bad of a day. I enjoyed sleeping in. I tried out Kale Chips for the first time. Yum!! And Ben liked them too so I will definitely be making more :-) I also prepped a kale salad using the salad dressing from Karena’s recipe.  I would have loved to make the exact one they have on their blog but I didn’t have all the ingredients. I put in what I had and I’m looking forward to having it for dinner tonight.

1st Time making Kale Chips - success!

Salad prepped for Sunday dinner: Kale, carrots, tomatoes, kidney beans, and black beans.

Workouts:

Mad Abs March Day 24 – 37 pushups!! Yikes! I’m actually sore from it today.

Went for a 4 mile run.

Easy pace for my run.

Can you tell that I got rained on?

Ben and the boys at the spa while it rained.

Tone It Up’s Self Magazine Drop10 Toning Workout – used 5lb. weights and a 10lb.Kettlebell. I was going to use my usual 6lb. medicine ball but Gio convinced me to use the heavier kettle bell for a challenge.

Turbo Fire Day 48 – Fire45 is more like a dance party to me than a workout.  This has the Best music and is so much fun!! I’m always singing “Boom I Got Your Boyfriend” for the rest of the day :-) I really wish I could get the soundtrack to these workouts to have on my iPhone.  I’d probably bust out doing the moves when I hear it.

2 min plank – 30 second on hands, 30 second each side, 30 seconds on hands. I really didn’t feel like doing it but I made myself.  Doing these PlankADays has really helped my core and if I skip more than one day, I’ll keep on skipping. Gotta stay on top of it.

Meals:

M1 – Mini Luna bar. Needed to put something in my stomach since I slept in.

M2 – 2 Buckwheat Banana Pancakes with Maple Syrup and 4 Apple Chicken Sausages.

Smile :-)

When I'm craving syrup for my pancakes I turn to TJ's Organic Maple Syrup.

M3 – Left over Trader Joe’s Turkey Chili with Beans on top of Brown Rice with spinach added in.

Warmed up the Brown rice and Chili, added spinach and mixed. The heat softened the spinach up.

M4 – Peanut and Dark Chocolate Kind Bar.

M5 – Quinoa with Turkey and Spinach Red Sauce

60 o.z of water and 1 Zico.

BeachBody Challenge Day44

Mar19

Last night I realized how worn out I was from this last week. I thoroughly enjoyed sleeping in until 9a and not getting out of bed until 10a :-) The boys actually slept in too but they were up at 8a. I got up and had a little something to eat before heading out for my run.  It wasn’t raining today but it was pretty windy.  I went 4 miles and had a great run despite the crazy wind.  It’s amazing how much getting enough rest impacted my run.  Yesterday, I felt a little sluggish on my run.  It felt hard to get my legs moving like I wanted, but today I felt like my legs were flying even though they were still a little sore. I can really tell difference between my runs when I get extra sleep and eat a little something and when I run with an empty stomach with less sleep.

I had lots of cleaning to do but I decided that after a week of being cooped up inside the house because of rain, the boys needed to get out! We walked over to the park and I let them play for a bit.  Then, I had them run around the park as practice for a race that they want to do next month.  I’m really excited that they want to do races.  It’s just a fun kid race, but I’m hoping that one day we can do 5k’s as a family :-) Seppe did really well running for most of the time. Gio did his usual – go as fast as he can then walks for a bit and then runs again. When it was time to go home, they wanted to take the Long way home. I was worried that there would be lots of whining – especially from Seppe, but they did really well.  We walked by the Library, Police Station, Fire Station and City Hall.  The boys were fascinated by the buildings and were very happy that they got to have a “tour.”  All in all it was a 2 mile walk.

Heading out for our walk.

In front of City Hall - a little sunshine before we got rained on.

Fascinated by how the water moved in the fountain.

I did some cleaning when we got home and they relaxed by watching a movie. I didn’t do my Turbo Fire workout until after they went to bed.

Turbo Fire Day42 – I like to do Core20 and Stretch40 at night.  I don’t have to worry about being quiet because there’s no jumping.  I’m still working on keeping my feet up during the Training Camp exercise. The mat exercises are really tough. Stretch40 is just amazing. It’s exactly what my body needed and a perfect way to end my day.  I feel so relaxed after it.

Meals –

M1: Luna bar – just something quick before going for a run.

M2: Chocolate Shakeology with Zico and avocado.

Chocolate Shakeology plus Zico - Yummy Post Run shake :-)

M3: I really didn’t know what to have for lunch. I just wasn’t in the mood for a salad. I wound up having a whole wheat sandwich thin with hummus, avocado, and tomato sprinkled with sea salt.

One of my favorites.

M4: Larabar

M5: Seafood quinoa mix – seafood blend from Trader Joes with shrimp, calamari, and scallops mixed with green beans, bell peppers, squash, and zucchini.  Used FitFoodJunkies Balsamic/Honey sauce. Yes, I love this sauce and will be using it a lot : -)

Seafood and Quinoa mix.

60 oz. of water and a Zico

BeachBody Challenge Day43

Mar19

Saturday was another family day.  Since the boys T-Ball games got cancelled because of the rainy weather, I decided that we would go with my brother to my Aunt’s house to visit with the rest of my family. It’s always nice to see my Aunt, Grandparents, Dad and Sister.  My aunt prepared a great lunch that was really healthy too :-) I would have liked Ben to have been there, but he wasn’t feeling well so he stayed home.  It did give us more time to spend with my family though because we didn’t have to rush back to get Bent to work like we originally planned.  The boys were fairly well behaved and I enjoyed sitting and talking with everyone :-) My aunt, sister and I talked a little bit about our upcoming Big Sur Race. We’re all excited about it and training hard for it. The boys had a great time and I really want to make an effort to have the them spend more time with my grandpa and my dad. I learned a lot from these two and I hope that my boys can learn from them too.

My boys Love their Grandpa Dan

I did get my workouts in.

Bootycall was  Day17 of MadAbs Mach – 35sec side plank, 35 crunches, and 29 pushups – these was the hardest so far. I did these very slowly at the end. Followed it with a 3 mile run. Thought my brother would join me but he was still sleeping when I went out. lol.

Turbo Fire Day41 – I did Fire45 after getting back from visiting with my family.  The boys were a little worn out so they relaxed in my room with a movie while  I worked out.  I really look forward to doing this workout.  I love the music and the moves. It’s 45 minutes of pure fun for me :-)

Meals – I did alright.  Didn’t get all 5 meals in and I didn’t stay as hydrated as I would have liked. I always slack on my water when I wind up traveling somewhere :-/

M1: Chobani champions with almond butter and chia seeds.

M2: Skipped – I was in a bit of a rush trying to get the boys ready and myself ready to head to my aunt’s in time for lunch.

M3: My aunt made Cream of Broccoli soup but with avocado instead of cream.  It was sooo  good. I also had some tortilla chips with a few of her dips she made. She had a clam, bean, and spinach dip.

Cream of Broccoli - made with avocado instead of cream :-)

Tortilla chips w/ small amounts of dips - Clam, White Bean, and Spinach.

M4: My boys took apart their sandwiches and just ate the turkey inside so I took their pieces of bread and topped it with my aunt’s spinach dip (made with greek yogurt) and put 2 bell peppers on top.

Spinach dip on top of whole wheat bread w/ bell peppers

M5: Salmon and quinoa bowl w/ collard greens, peas, corn, bell peppers and carrots.

Salmon and Quinoa Bowl

60 oz. of water and 1 Zico.

BeachBody Challenge Day42

Mar19

This is a few days late because I took a little break from blogging. I needed it.  I’m always on the move – always having to do something.  There is always so much to do and very little time to do it all. Life can easily pass us by without us even knowing it. So as much as I wanted to blog, edit videos, and do more workouts, I put on the breaks.  My brother came for a short visit and seeing as I haven’t seen him since before he was deployed to Afghanistan and that I have no idea when I’ll see him again because he’s moving to Texas, I decided to spend my Friday night hanging out with him :-)

The boys with their Uncle PJ :-)

I don’t see my family much. Not because I don’t want to – it’s just how we are. We’re all very independent from one another. At one time, I did wish we were different and more like families who saw one another regularly. But I’ve come to accept how my family is. It’s not that we don’t love each other.  This is just how we are.  We value the time we do spend together and know that we can count on one another when we need help. Now if only certain people could accept how my family works and stop trying to change that. Lol.

My brother didn’t arrive until dinner time Friday so I got most of workouts done before he arrived.

Bootycall was Day16 of Mad Abs Marc: 34s side plank, 32 crunches, and 27 pushups (all on my feet – and yes it was very hard for me)

ToneItUp’s SandCastle Workout – 20 reps each X3 sets with 5lb. weights.

3 Mile run – only got rained on a little bit on the way back.

After my 3 mile run heading up 4 flights of stairs.

Turbor Fire Day40 – Fire55EZ: I’m liking this one more and more every time I do it :-) Probably because I’m able to do almost every move correctly now. I’m really pushing myself – especially during the fire drills.  Doing all the tuck jumps and star jacks.

Happy Hour Challenge – 1 min plank every hour from 8a – 10p. Missed one at 7p so I did a 2min at 8p to make up for it.

8a Plank

9a Plank

10a plank - had to do it a little early.

11a Plank - running a little late.

12p Plank

1p Plank

2p Plank

3p Plank

4p Plank

5p Plank

6p Plank

2min plank for 7p and 8p

9p Plank

Last Plank for the Happy Hour Challenge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meals – Did pretty good. I made a special dinner for my brother with Lumpia and pot stickers, but I made a lean dinner for myself.

M1: Chobani Honey with granola and almond butter.

My quick go to Breakfast - Chobani, granola and almond butter.

M2: Luna bar.

M3: I was craving some protein pancakes so I made some :-) These wound up being the best ones I’ve ever made. I wound up using a whole banana because it was a little over ripe but I think that helped it turn out so well.  Topped with a small amount of cocoa almond butter. I just put enough on so that the strawberry slices had something to stick to.

Batter turned blue after adding frozen blueberries.

Made 3 smaller pancakes instead of 1 big one.

They turned out perfect!

I only ate 2 - topped with cocoa almond butter and strawberries.

M4: Almond Nut Thins with olive hummus and olive tapenade.

Nut Thins w/ Hummus and Olive Tapenade

M5: Left over Salmon and asparagus w/ quinoa.  I did enjoy 2 pieces of lumpia with my brother. Keeping myself to 2 was hard because I Love lumpia. Luckily my brother ate a lot of it so there wasn’t much left.

Salmon, asparagus and quinoa.

80 oz. of water and 1 Zico.

BeachBody Challenge Day39

Mar13

The downfall of Day Light Savings is that now it’s dark again at 6a. I know that in a little while it will get light earlier again, but I was enjoying my quiet early morning walks. Not that I could have done it today.  It was pouring rain this morning – and All day long. It’s suppose to rain All Week :-( Pair that with my period and you get one very tired girl.  It’s just something about rainy weather that makes me just want to stay in bed all day. Instead, I got up at 6:30a and worked out. Started with Day13 of Mad Abs March Challenge. I like to to do this first before I wear my arms out. I am still doing regular pushups and today was 21. It was really tough, but I did it. I followed it with Tone It Up and Miya’s Beach workout. I used 5 lb weights and did 20 reps each X 3 sets.

Tuesday is officially my favorite day of the week now.  It is the 1 day I get 4 hours of “Me” time :-) And I LOVE it! I am always thinking about what to do next for Ben, Gio, and Seppe. It’s constant and many times thankless job. I don’t always realize how much it takes out of me to Give so much of myself. It was very nice to have some time where I didn’t have anyone else to worry about, but Me.  I took advantage and relaxed for an hour.

Then it was time to get my sweat on! I decided to do TIU’s Lean Abs, Arms, and Legs Pyramids.  I used 5 lb. weights for the curls and also used them for the squats and lunges.  I did 30 lunges each leg. I went straight to the gym to do the Short and Sweet Shredmill. I thought that it would be easier this time around, but no. I was huffing and puffing like last time.  Adding an incline really makes a difference. I think I was able to go faster but it was tough. I was drenched with sweat and breathing heavy when it was all done.  I will be doing this one often to help train for running on hills. It’s pretty flat where I live so this incline HIIT is great for me.

Short and Sweet Shredmill. Warmup was at 6.5mph, Intervals were between 7mph - 8mph and Cool Down was at 6mph

Turbo Fire Day 37

Strength Training with Sculpt30

I was trying to do this before Gio got home, but no luck.  The boys did really well and played in their room while I did my Turbo Fire workout. I started with Sculpt30. After the pushups and Lean Arms Pyramid, my arms were already worn out.  The arm exercises were killer for me today. I did do the pushups on my feet and with the resistance band this time.  I had to go to my knees for the tricep pushup though. I also really felt all the squats and lunges because my legs were so worn out from the Shredmill earlier.

So Much Fun!

Fire30 was a little tougher today too, but I still did pretty well.  I love the second combo in this one. I think the Fire Throw is one of my favorite moves.  I went for the jumps and star jacks in the fire drill. The jump during the high low combo in this one I didn’t do because it just throws me off for some reason. It’s hard to Not have fun doing a TurboFire workout :-) The music is great and Chalene is always so motivating and full of energy.

I wanted to try out Tone It Up’s New Max Burn workout but ran out of time. I’m might give it a try tomorrow after my long run, but we’ll see how I’m feeling. I’m going  for 8 miles tomorrow – rain and all :-) If I don’t get to the new workout tomorrow,  I will definitely do it on Thursday. Ended with a 2 min plank.

Haven't done a straight plank in a while so I decided to do one tonight all on my forearms.

Meals – Ate a little bigger portion sizes and had some more carbs to help fuel up for tomorrow’s long run.

M1: Chobani Champions Vanilla Chocolate Chunk with Almond butter and chia seeds.

M2: TIU sister Kari posted a pic of her fruit salad with strawberries, apples, and oranges and it looked so yummy that I had to make the one too :-) Also added a few almonds on the side.

Fruit and Nuts

M3:  Salad with left over panko chicken, spinach, carrots, cucumbers and an orange. I love adding fruit to salads :-) Also had some Snapea Crisps on the side.

Green and Orange Salad

M4: Almond Coconut Kind Bar.

M5: Broiled Panko Rainbow Trout with Brown Rice and Broccoli.  I usually go for pasta but I haven’t had rice in a while and I missed it.

Fish and Rice :-)

80 oz. water and 1 Zico

BeachBody Challenge Day37

Mar11

How did switching to DayLight Savings Time work for everyone? It didn’t hurt me too badly. No way to stop losing an hour but luckily I didn’t have to be up too early. Tried to get up at 7a but was feeling super tired so I stayed in bed until 8a.  I could have slept for longer but I forced myself to get up so I could go run.  I wanted to beat the crowds on the trail which usually start around 8a. I think the overcast and cool weather kept some people inside because there wasn’t as many people out as there usually is.

My run wasn’t all that great. I felt tired the whole time. I wanted to go faster but my body wasn’t working with me.  It was like I was stuck at just one pace.  I figured it was the lack of sleep and not eating anything, but I think it’s more because it’s that time of the month – again.  It’s a struggle to get my body moving during this time. Oh well, at least I went for a run. I did 3 miles and my knees haven’t bothered me all day.  I’ve run 3 days in a row and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to run up to 5 days in a row without knee problems. Really glad that it’ll be lighter out longer so I can do some later runs.

Spent most of the morning at my boys Hit-a-thon and Picture Day for tball. Then it was laundry and picking up the house a bit. I didn’t have much energy to do my usual cleaning.  Boys played video games with their Grandpa so I had to wait to do my workout.  I was able to rest for a half hour before dinner but for the next few days, I’ll be wanting to sleep All day long.

Turbo Fire Day 35

I finally got to my Turbo Fire workout after putting the boys to bed.  Luckily Core20 and Stretch40 don’t have any jumping or running so I can do this one at night without worrying about our super sensitive neighbors below us.  For Core20, I really tried to keep my feet up during the mat exercises the whole time.  I think that this workout has helped me get a mini six pack :-) Did all the pushups at the end too. After the doing the Mad Abs challenge, doing 8 pushups didn’t seem so bad this time around.

Stretch40 was absolutely wonderful for me today.  My body really needed a good stretch. It felt great :-) I’m really pushing myself in this one because flexibility is something that I want to work on. I can go a little bit lower on the forward bends and triangle poses.  No pain at all in my left knee when I straighten it. I do the tricep pushups on my feet but I do the hover on my knees. Hovering above the ground is hard! When I first tried it on my feet, I just fell to the ground. lol. I shake the whole time on my knees, but I’m working on it.

It’s rest day for Mad Abs March but I did a 2 minute plank to end my night.

On elbows - 30 second left leg raised, 30 second right leg raised, on hands for 30 seconds and tummy tucks for 30 seconds.

M1: Another Starbucks Spinach, Feta, and Egg white wrap.

M2: 4 Strawberries and 1/4 c. of raw almonds. This was so yummy :-)

Very yummy snack :-)

M3: I had a Luna bar at the park while the boys chowed down on hot dogs. Having the Luna bar kept me from eating a hot dog that did smell pretty good. As soon as we got back home I had some left over Panko chicken, snapea crisps and 2 clementines.

The healthy version of Chicken Nuggets and french fries :-)

M4:  5 dark chocolate almonds.

M5: Salmon burger with kidney beans, spinach, mushroom, and tomato mix with a side of broccoli.

This was the second Salmon Burger from a couple nights ago that I didn't finish.

80 0z. of water and 1 Zico.

BeachBody Challenge Day36

Mar10

I just realized that I’ve been doing this challenge for over a month. lol.  It really doesn’t feel like 36 days have passed. Guess I’m having fun? I really am enjoying doing Turbo Fire. I think that I picked the perfect BeachBody program to do for me.  It’s helped me a lot with training for my races. Exercising isn’t just something I do now. It has become a part of my life and I look forward to my workouts – most of time ;-)

It was another long day.  There aren’t too many people I know that get up at 6:30a on a Saturday – by choice! In order to get my morning workout in, I had to get up early.  Usually I ride my bike 10+ miles but Ben’s dad is visiting and the air mattress is right in the middle of my living room. It doesn’t leave room for me to get my back from the patio and out the front door. I decided to go for a run so I could quietly slip out. I had a mini Luna bar and some water before heading out. The boys actually got up while I was getting ready for my run so I didn’t head out until 7:30a.

Saturday Morning Run

My legs felt heavy during my run but my pace wasn’t too bad. I just felt like I was going super slow for some reason.  I planned on going for a 4 mile run but wound up going 5. I don’t think that I should have gone that far because my knees were not happy with me for the rest of day.  I try to keep my miles lower when I run back to back days.

The rest of the morning belonged to my boys tball games.  My legs were not happy about standing around filming the games. I could have used a nap today but there just wasn’t any “free” time for me.  I even considered skipping my TurboFire workout – but I didn’t :-)

TurboFire Day 34

I’m glad I didn’t skip my workout today. Fire45 is my favorite :-) I was dragging my feet getting to it but I immediately got excited once class started and I heard the music.  I couldn’t wait to do the first combo.  I know that one really well and I can really get into it. I decided to go for the star jacks and tuck jumps even though I was tired. I figured I was already tired, why not make the most of the energy I have left?  I was worn out when I was finished but I was in a good mood. I’m always happier after a good workout. Wonder how long it will take Ben to realize this is the best time to ask when he wants something? lol.

I really didn’t want to do much of anything else but I still had my MadAbs March Day10 and plank to do. I decided that if I’m going to stay up to work on videos and blogs, I must have some energy and there was no excuse for me. I took a break from my computer and did my workout.  The MadAbs challenge is getting a little tougher now.  I am still doing regular pushups but boy is it starting to get hard. I’m trying not to think about how many I’m suppose to do at the end of the month and just take it one day at a time. It’s hard to squash the doubt that I’ll be able to do 45 pushups by the end of March :-/  I will just keep doing my best. Ended with a 2 minute plank.

30 seconds on hands, 30 second tummy tucks, (on elbows) 30 seconds left leg lifted, (on elbows) 30 seconds right leg lifted

Meals:

M1: mini Luna bar (prerun) and a Starbucks Spinach, egg white, and feta cheese wrap – Ben’s dad is here and he always gets breakfast before I can decline.  Had a Zico to drink.

M2: Strawberries with cocoa almond butter.

M3: I know that Gene (Ben’s dad) means well when he takes us out to eat. I just get tired of it. I am just as happy to cook for everyone. It really isn’t an inconvenience. We went to Red Robin because that’s what the boys wanted. I got the Brushetta Chicken sandwich with no cheese and lettuce wrapped.  It turned out just being put on top of lettuce. Not to mention that it took over a half hour to get our food. It was barely warm. I just ate the chicken, tomatoes and a small amount of the lettuce. Ordered sweet potato fries which were also cold. This was the worse experience we’ve had at our local Red Robin :-(

Brushetta Chicken Sandwich on top of lettuce - no cheese.

M4: Larabar

Snacked on a few Snapea Crisps while making dinner – maybe 10 at the most.

M5: Panko Chicken and Green Beans. I made a double batch because it’s so popular with my boys. It will only last a few days.

Double batch of Panko Chicken - my healthier version of chicken nuggets/chicken tenders.

Lots of green beans with my chicken.

80 oz. of water and 1 Zico.

BeachBody Challenge Day35

Mar9

It was a Long day for me.  Started at 6:30a with a 3 mile run. I’m debating about having something small to eat before going on my bootycall runs. I don’t Need to eat before a bootycall run. I don’t get sick or anything, but I can tell that I don’t have the energy to go as fast as I’d like to. I still went at a decent pace though and as always, it helped wake me up. The boys were already awake and up by the time I got home so my work started right away.  And trust me getting my boys dressed, fed and ready for school takes a lot of work!

Morning Run

I did Day9 of the Mad Abs March challenge before walking Gio to school. I worked on the boys’ tball games for a little bit before taking Seppe to speech therapy. I started Tone It Up’s Friday Happy Hour Challenge of 30 squat jumps every hour at 8a.  It’s amazing how 30 reps really adds a challenge. It got my heart racing and my legs burning. I did these all day long and did my last one at 8p.

When I got back home, it was lunch time. I kept thinking I’d be able to take a nap before doing my Turbo Fire workout, but no luck.

Turbo Fire Day 33

It was Fire55EZ for me today.  The last couple times I did this, it seemed super long to me.  Yes, it is an hour long workout, but I think because I wasn’t very good at it, it seemed longer. Today, I felt like the hour went by quickly. I’ve gotten pretty good with most of the combos so I was able to really focus on my intensity and less on whether I was doing the moves right or not. Love the combo with all the kicks. I’m able to kick a little higher now too :-) I went for all the tuck jumps and star jacks today. I also did the turns – which I usually avoid because turning around throws me off. I even jumped when transitioning to the high low punches. It always impresses me to watch the people who jump and click their heels together during the jumps – gives me something to work towards :-)

I tried to get Seppe to lay down for a nap before his tball practice but it was just too noisy for him. We went to his practice, had some trouble with Gio and then dinner time.  I kept up with doing the squat jacks and ended with a 2 min plank.

30 second tummy tucks, 30 second plank jacks, 1min on elbows

Meals:

M1: Maple Nut Oatmeal with Cocoa Almond Butter, chia seeds, and fresh strawberries.

M2: Frozen Grapes and Almonds. I packed extra because I knew Seppe would eat some and he did.

M3: Left over quinoa black bean mix and left over salmon

M4: Larabar

M5: Salmon burgers on top of spinach and topped with sautéed mushrooms and tomatoes with kidney beans. I only ate 1 of the salmon burgers though. Boys had Round Table pizza since Grandpa was visiting and that’s what he got for them :-/ Ben kept trying to get to me to have some saying that I’d just work it off tomorrow. But I know that if I did, I would have felt badly about stuffing my face with pizza and bread sticks. I wouldn’t have minded if it were lunch time, but I’ve been really making an effort to keep my dinners Lean, Clean and Green :-) Every time I stick with it, I feel like I have a mini victory and I know that it will help make it easier for me to continue making healthier choices in group situations.

80 oz. of water and 1 Zico. I am going to try and have 1 Zico a day :-)

BeachBody Challenge Day30

Mar4

Last night I didn’t set my alarm so I could sleep in today :-) It was absolutely wonderful not to hear the sound of my phone. I was awake at around 8a but stayed in bed until 9a.  I tried to go back to sleep but it was no use – that was as late as my body would allow me to be asleep today. It was still nice though. You wouldn’t think an extra couple hours would make such a difference – but it does :-)

I got up and had a mini Luna bar just so that there would be something in my stomach before heading out for a run. I decided to go a different way than my usual. I took the streets and realized why I don’t go this way that often.  The traffic lights annoyed me. I don’t like stopping and waiting. I jog in place but I feel like it messes with my flow. That and it slows my time down.

Sunday Runday :-)

The rest of the day was for laundry, house cleaning, and importing photos and videos.

———————- Turbo Fire Day 28 ———————

Of course I made time for my Turbo Fire workout. I wouldn’t miss doing Fire45 :-) Have I mentioned it’s my favorite? Lol. The first and last combos are the most fun.  I know those two the best so I really have fun with them. The second combo I’m still working on. I did the Star Jacks for the fire drills and the tuck jumps.  The only time I don’t jump is during the high low moves. I get mixed up when I throw the jump in there so for now, I stick to the low intensity version. Stretch10 felt Amazing today.  I think I was also tight from last night’s workouts and from the run this morning. It felt really great to stretch out my arms.

I’d love to do more tonight, but I have a mountain of clothes to fold so I can have a place to sleep. I will be doing a 5 minute plank and calling it a night.

PlankADay - 1min elbows, 1 min hands, 1 min side plank (each side), 1 min hands

I’ve made it through the first 4 weeks! I will do measurements and weigh myself tomorrow morning. I’m not expecting drastic results – especially with my weight. I was never doing this challenge to lose weight. I was looking for something fun and challenging for me to focus on.  I like to do challenges – big and small.  They help me from getting bored and give me something to work towards. I think that it’s what has really helped me stay on track with exercising regularly.

So has there been any changes? Well, I’m not sure what the numbers will say tomorrow morning. I know I could have done a lot better with eating. I don’t think I ate too badly but I can always do better :-) I can say that I feel a lot stronger. I’ve gotten faster in my runs. I’ve gone further on my runs too.  I can do more regular pushups and I can do more reps with heavier weights. I’ve improved in my Turbo Fire workouts. My biggest win is getting my left knee back.  I was really worried that starting this challenge would make my knee worse or that because of my knee, I wouldn’t be able to give it everything.  But it turns out that as I did the Turbo Fire workouts and my other exercises, my knee got better and I was still able to run :-) I am ready to head into the next 30 days with even more intensity!

Meals –

M1: Mini Luna bar and water.

M2: I was going for an omelette but I can never get it right when I have the veggies and eggs in the pan at the same time.  I was really hopeful since it looked like it would be the perfect omelette but when I went to flip it, it just fell apart and became a scramble. It tasted great though.

Looked Like it was going to turn out to be the perfect omelette.

Turned into a scramble - 2 egg whites, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, and 1 piece of Havarti Natural Cheese

M3: Brown Rice tortilla with the last of my chunky olive hummus, spinach, chicken, left over roasted zucchini and squash, and carrots. I only ate half of it.

Brown Rice Tortilla Wrap: chunky olive hummus, chicken, roated squash and zucchini, and carrot.

M4: Trailmix and a Larabar.

M5: Made a Quinoa stir fry – with a red and white quinoa mix, spinach, zucchini, squash, peas, corn, chicken and tomatoes. All I did was season with sea salt and it was actually very tasty. All the flavors worked well with each other.

Quinoa stir fry - red and white quinoa, zucchini, squash, peas, carrots and chicken.

80 oz. of water.