30 minute workout

I have been using the GymPact app for about 83 workouts. It has motivated me to not skip Trips to the gym. They have recently added the option to workout at home. Your phone senses your movement. I wear my phone in an armband and get moving. You are required to move for at least 30 minutes within a one and a half hour time frame. I have been using this option on my elliptical at home. Last night I decided to try something new. I tried very hard to drag myself to the gym but that didn't happen at all. At about 10:45, I decided to just workout at home, but what to do??? I decided to make it up along the way. I ended up really liking the workout. I need to work on the order of things. Here is what I did: 3 sets of 20 push-ups (I can only do 20 at a time), 3 sets of 20 full sit-ups, 60 squats, 60 walking lunges, 60 jump squats, 60 jumping jacks, 60 high knees, 60 butt kicks and 60 seconds of running in place between each workout. This worked out nicely as a cool down between each set but also kept my heart rate elevated. I will be working on perfecting this workout over the next few weeks because I was pleasantly surprised at how great I felt afterwards and I feel that it would be beneficial to incorporate it into my workout.

Exiting the comfort zone

I have been looking for additional workout opportunities lately. I perused the websites of  two Barre classes in the Cleveland area. They are both too expensive for my budget. I am a new employee at University Hospitals so I decided to check out their discounted fitness opportunities. They offer a discount at 121 Fitness on the CWRU campus. With the discount, the cost for a monthly membership was 4 times what I pay at my current gym. I decided that I would just look in to taking a couple classes at the gym. While looking over their webpage, I happened upon a free running group. There are many reasons that I am not a running group type girl. The two most important ones are 1. I am socially awkward. I do not do well in social settings with people that I do not know. You should assume that if you invite me somewhere where I do not know at least one individual personally, I will bail on you. In the event that I am forced into one of these situations, I will replay my awkward conversations over in my mind to evaluate just how weird I may have come across to the people that I spoke with. NUMERO DOS: I am a slow runner. I am always anxious about being the slowest runner. This fear is often reinforced by my performance in races where 90 year olds, men running in Tevas pushing strollers or hugely pregnant women pass me *insert sad face here* I decided to try this group out anyway...When I arrived at the meeting spot, I was immediately intimidated. Everyone looked like a runner. I mean, they all looked like they were about to dust me. The group leader introduced himself to me and we headed out from the gym to the CWRU track. This run was about one mile. I would have preferred a nice jog but the group was RUNNING! I kept up with a gentleman in the back. When we got to the track, people introduced themselves to me. It made me no less nervous. I had no idea what to expect. I kept track of my run on my NikePlus app. While moreover than not the times are pretty accurate, the first mile was not as accurate. I let the timer run during some of the group leader's instructions. If I remember correctly, the workout was a 1600, a 1200, an 800, a 400, two 200s, a 400 and an 800. The group leader noticed that myself and 2 other runners were slower and altered the workout a bit for us. I ran an 800 instead of the 1200 and at the end I was a little tuckered out and ran a 400 instead of the 800. When the group ran back to the gym, I followed suit. I stopped running about a quarter mile away from the gym. I wish I had realized how close I was!! I would not have stopped!!My total mileage for Saturday was 4.7 miles. My fastest mile Saturday was 8.55. I find it easy to run for prolonged periods of time at an easy, comfortable pace. This run on Saturday was challenging and forced me out of my comfort zone socially and physically. I am nervous to run with the group again when they run on the street. I may just be running by myself as I am a lot slower than everyone else. I did enjoy the track workout though. I am always excited to see what new things my body can do. Rolling up on forty does not mean that my life should slow down. It means that I may have to try new things and push a little harder to get the results I want. I am prepared to do this. And I will roll into 40 veeeeeeeery slowly. I have 2 more years!

Early Morning Workouts

This week has been very interesting. I decided that in order to fit my workouts into my new schedule, I would need to get up at 5am a couple of days during the week and head to the gym. My goal every week is to work out 5 days out of seven. 3 of those days are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I needed to fit 2 early morning workouts in this week to reach my goal. I didn't make it to bed until late on Sunday night, so an early morning Monday workout was out. On Monday night I made it to bed by 9:30 and planned for a 5am start. I woke up at 3am. Ughhhh! I could not go back to sleep and toyed with the idea of rolling over and skipping this workout. I decided to go for it! I made it to the gym at 5:45 and ran 3.5 miles. I was super sluggish all day and realized I may need a later bed time. I thought I would have a difficult time staying up on Tuesday night but I had a burst of energy and was able to get some cleaning done and stay up until 10:30. I made it to the gym at about 5:30 and worked on legs for 40 minutes. This day was great. I was energized all day! My goal next week is to hit the gym for 3 early morning workouts. I think it's doable as long as I get enough sleep and don't push myself too hard in the morning. I am not yet sure if I am a fan of the 5am workout. I will definitely keep you guys informed!

See that time there at the top???????

Accomplishing goals...

In December of 2012, I cleaned out my cubicle. I packed up 4 and a half years of pictures, notes and junk and took it home. I had not found a job but I was determined to do so. I set a goal at the beginning of the year to not be employed at my job on Sept 2, 2013 (The 5th anniversary of me starting my job).  I was working for an insurance company as a social worker but was not doing any thing remotely social work related. I had also been assigned a new supervisor whom I had no respect for. I needed a new job so I started looking for a social work position.  Last month I was hired by a hospital system here in Cleveland, Ohio working in an outpatient HIV/AIDS clinic. People consistently ask me about how difficult my job is. This line of questioning is confusing for me. I don't find that I am working with a difficult population or that it is depressing. Daily I see the advances in care for persons with a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS. I see hope and perseverance. I see people who would have had no chance had they been diagnosed in the 80s living for decades with the diagnosis now. I see people dedicated to research to find treatment and answers. I see that fewer babies are being born with HIV due to aggressive treatment. I am so excited to work in a position where my mission is to help people who genuinely need it and appreciate it. Friday was the end of my 3rd week of work at my new job and I am optimistic about this opportunity. The one draw back to my new position is that I am getting used to new hours. I work until 5, and despite the fact that I live 15 minutes away from work, it takes about an hour to get home. It has been difficult to fit my workouts in the way I used to do. I would really like to get up in the morning and run, but I have not been able to actually do that. I plan to try this week. I will run during The Joes 30 minute music lessons on Monday and Wednesday. I will have to remember to pack my gym bag so that I am prepared and cannot use not having a chance to get dressed before lessons as an excuse. I am going to run outside at least one morning this week.I will do my usual weight training in the gym. I have been consistently squatting 100 pounds. I squat 5 sets of 8. I have also been pressing 400 pounds on the leg press consistently. I have discontinued starting the leg press on lower weights and have been doing 10 sets of 10 on 400 pounds. It is now time to switch machines as 400 pounds is the heaviest weight I can press on this particular machine. This is pretty exciting for me. I have made a lot of changes so far this year. I look forward to many more! This will be a year of change for me!!!

Happy Freakin' Valentines Day!!!!

Today was a super busy, super successful day for me. No...I did not have a date but I sure had a lot to do. I woke up today with a plan to run this morning and spend a leisurely day in the house hanging out with Honey, our dog. When I saw on Facebook that one of my favorite chicas (Coco) was having a bad day, I decided that my plans could and should change.She and I have been friends since freshman year in college. So about 20 years!!! *It just hit me...those people who were freshmen in 1993 are getting old* Anywho, I went down to her job and hung out for a couple of hours. She is a Food and Beverage Supervisor at a local hotel so she treated me to lunch and cookies. I so wish I could resist the cookies. *salivates thinking about them* We ate lunch and talked and laughed and had a great time. After I left her I ran a couple of errands and then headed to the gym. I knew that I had to be at work in the ER at 7pm so I decided that I would do a 30 minute leg workout with no warmup run. I hit the leg press and started out with 400lbs. I did 10 sets of 10. I did my usual circuit, all the while watching the assisted bar rack for availability. I have been squatting 70 pounds on the assisted bar rack for a couple of months now and feel quite comfortable with it. The rack never became available. I walked back and sat down to wait. There was a gentleman squatting what I thought was 75 pounds on the non-assisted squat rack.He asked was I waiting and I replied yes. He informed me he would do one more set and it was all mine. I asked the guy on the assisted rack was he going to be done soon and he said no. I was a little intimidated to use the non-assisted rack. I was tempted to call my son, J1 and ask what weight he suggested I try but decided I would just figure it out. When the guy finished, he asked me did I need him to take the weights off for me. I was so offended!!! Why would I need him to take off a 25 pound plate for me? Do I look like I can't handle that? Right then, I decided I would squat what he was squatting. I did 4 sets of 10 and walked out feeling quite accomplished. I usually do 70 on the assisted rack and I managed what I thought was 75 on the non-assisted rack. When I got home, I was eager to brag to my son about what I had done. I told him the story and how offended I was that the dude wanted to remove the 25 pound plates for me. J1 then informed me that this bar weighs 45 pounds, not 25!!! So I was really squatting 95 pounds! I am so pumped!!!! 95 pounds!!!! Happy Freakin' Valentine's Day to me!

Numbers don't lie!!

It is a particularly bad idea to measure our successes by comparing ourselves to others. A great way to measure success is to compare who we are today to who we were yesterday. The goal is to be ever-changing and growing. Without growth, we experience stagnation. Sometimes, it is difficult to see the changes we are making because they are subtle. I have recently been frustrated looking at the running times of other runners and comparing them to my own. That has not been working to my advantage. The other day, after my run, I was inspired to look at my times from last year. I was beyond excited! Last April, I was running 12 minute miles! I ran 3 miles on Sunday at a pace of 10'05"! Check out my before and after from NikePlus. Since I have incorporated weights and have been more committed, I have seen my times decrease. My goal is to be able to sustain these new paces for longer distances. I will be running the RiteAid Cleveland Marathon 10K in May. I am hopeful that I will be able to maintain this pace for the entire race. I have about 3 more months to accomplish this. I am positive that this can be done!!!  Last week I logged 16 miles and tried a couple of new healthy recipes. A portion of the 16 miles was done outside. The weather has been almost balmy. Well...balmy for Cleveland. The snow has melted and I have taken to the streets. Yay!! I went to Foodie Fridays at Whole Foods last Friday night and tasted some very yummy vegetarian greens (among other things). I tried the recipe. It was super easy and delicious. They were a great side with baked Tilapia. The Joes were not huge fans. They both thought they were too spicy. Next time I will have to cut the red pepper flakes in half!!! I would definately call this week a success!!!

How I lost weight on a cruise...

On the running deck

The Joes and I took a 7 day cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines in December to Mexico, Honduras and Belize. I was afraid that this trip would be a fitness setback for me. I love food and I have no restraint. I will eat and eat. I eat when I am not hungry. I eat because food looks appealing. I love to eat. A cruise is all you can eat goodness all day and night long. The first step in fighting the bulge on my cruise was to plan ahead. I packed a running skort or shorts for each day, my Brooks, running socks, workout shirts and my trusty CamelBak. I forgot the armband for my phone in the car. That was a downer. I hate running with something in my hand! I talked with the Joes beforehand about what excursions we wanted to go on. Every excursion we chose required movement! I also made a decision prior to getting on the ship to only drink water and green tea. Once on the ship, the strict water regimen was easy because I am a big water drinker in my everyday life. I had water at every single meal with hot green tea at breakfast and occasionally with snack. There was so much fresh fruit available on the cruise that we probably could have morphed into fruit salads. I ate fresh pineapple, watermelon, apples, bananas, grapes and citrus fruits ALL DAY LONG. While the Joes frequented the ice cream machine, I chose to eat fruit. There were so many healthy choices at dinner in the restaurants and the buffets. I ate lots of broiled fish and vegetarian options. I may have eaten dessert at 5 meals and this includes lunches and snacks. When we were off the ship, soda was super cheap. We found that we could get a glass bottle of soda for 1 dollar. The Joes, of course wanted soda. I brought my CamelBak filled with ice cold water and drank water all day.

Getting moving on the cruise was easy! The first night out, there was a storm so I could not run on the deck. I hit the treadmill for my first vacation run. I ran outdoors on the outdoor track a couple of other times. J2 and I had planned to do yoga together on the cruise but found once we went to sign up, that she was too young. Since she could not do it, I chose not to either. We were active together during our excursions. Our first excursion was in Costa Maya. We went snorkeling at the Meso-American Barrier Reef. The second largest corral reef system in the world. I am a swimmer, but jumping down into the middle of the ocean was a bit frightening. The idea that I was in the middle of the ocean made me very anxious. The Joes had no such anxiety. They jumped off the boat and immediately began swimming around. Eventually I got used to being in the water and enjoyed myself. We spent about an hour and a half swimming in the ocean. What great exercise! My buns felt very sore afterwards. The Joes took a few underwater pictures.

J2 and I/J1 was the photographer

Our next excursion was the Mayan Ruins in Belize City, Belize.  We rode a van to the ruins with a few other tourists. We had the opportunity to see the city and the countryside and learn a lot about the history of the country. A friend of  mine had visited the ruins in another country previously and had warned me that we could not climb them. I was prepared for this, but was pleasantly surprised to find that we could climb these ruins. Climbing the ruins was like doing the Stairmaster for a prolonged period of time! We were worn out after our day at the ruins!

Me, J1 and J2 after climbing the ruin below. Human sacrifices occurred in this very spot!!

J1, J2 and I after climbing the ruin below (see the ruin above in the background?)

In Roatan, Honduras, the Joes went ziplining. I am afraid of heights and decided to just cheer them on. I thought I would try it...I had been trying to get my mind ready for it since we booked our cruise. I just could not bring myself to do it. J1 is mad that I do not have great pictures of him. He went first and I did not catch him doing tricks and then he lost his shoe and became a bit nervous. The Joes had a blast and I just petted some monkeys...The monkeys made me happy...

J1 and J2 about to zipline. They look like they are on a mission.

 J2

J2

J1/Notice he is shoeless

J1

Me and a cutie monkey

We did not do an excursion in Cancun. We walked around the city, shopped and ate. When we got back to the ship, I hit the running deck and the kids parted ways to hang with kids their own age. We had an excellent time on our cruise. When we got back, so many people were asking had I lost weight that I decided to weigh myself. I have not seen the 120s in many years, but I was down to about 129 when I got back from the cruise. I didn't starve myself. I tried new foods. I had an awesome time. And I lost weight!!!