Anyone out there?

Wow, either everybody is REALLY busy, or nobody is working out. Is the weather really that bad out there? Just kidding. Hope you guys are staying motivated and not feeling like you need to start over from the beginning.

I made it to the pool yesterday and got my run in this evening. I am very thankful I only have to do 2.5 miles this weekend. It will feel nice after 6 last week.

Hope everyone is well.

Where are all the updates?

Not that I should be saying anything since it has been a few days since I last updated. I did manage to get my 6 miles in on Sunday, although I had to do it in two separate runs. I am not sure if that defeated the purpose of trying to run 6 miles straight, but it was the only way that I could get it in with what turned out to be a crazy Sunday, just like Saturday was.

Monday morning, I made it to the pool. Tuesday, I completed my 30 minute run. This morning and a friend and I went to a Zumba class. It was a great cardio workout. Think we might try to do that once a week. That should be a nice break between the swimming and running. Not to mention the biking, as soon as I am able to find time to add that back to my training schedule.

Hope everyone is doing well this week. I am looking forward to hearing all the updates.

Heading into the Weekend

I was able to start my day off with a morning swim. It felt great while I was there, but throughout the morning the good workout feeling has faded away. I am not sure my arm even wants to be lifted today. Thank goodness tomorrow is a day off, although Sunday is supposed to be a six-mile day. I will keep you posted.

Way overdue...

Been off the computer the last few days. A quick update... Got up really early for a swim on Monday. That felt pretty good. Didn't get much of a workout on Tuesday because the boys were home from school. Wednesday had physical therapy and had a good workout on my shoulder. Today I did manage to get my 30 minutes in, but I wouldn't exactly consider it a fast pace. Had a phone call, so I just slowed it down a bit so I could talk at the same time. Better than nothing, right? Tomorrow, I am planning on getting another morning swim and this weekend, a BIG 6 miles. Ugh... Might be doing that while the Olympics are on. Hope everyone else is doing well in their training.

Blog blog blog blog

I really have to blog...

Yesterday neither of us did anything that would be considered working towards our goal. At least today we had a smoothie. Actually, now that I think about it we had a smoothie yesterday.

I will be heading to West Virginia to inspect a lab tomorrow night. We're actually staying at Mountaineer casino. I'm hoping to workout while I'm there. I would hope I'd have better luck than Leslie at the hotel! Could it be much worse? :)

Hope to get back in ger over the weekend.
Renee

Y-M-C-A!

Put my membership to use tonight @ a foreign Y in Grove City. I treaded a 5K! Sweated like a pig, but I did it! Half-Marathon...here we come!

motel gym - yeah right!

In my effort to be the good little trainer, I booked myself a motel with a "fitness center" for my week-long conference in C'bus. After spending nearly 5 hours in my car last night (due to crazy weather and detours) I was ready to let out some steam. I asked the receptionist about the "fitness center" hours? She sorta snickered and said, "Well, anytime you want really...you'll probably have it to yourself all you want!" At that point I was a bit concerned. I took a quick look at the motel-room-sized center before tucking in for the night. It was dark in there, but I could make out the objects. Treadmill, check. Eliptical, check. Bicycle, check. Weight bench, check. So, I set my alarm for 5:45am and nestled in for the night.

I actually really got up @ 5:45...1st time all season! Then, scooted my butt down to the next level and opened the door & turned on the light to "my" fitness center. Treadmill...um, haven't seen anything like it since like 1979...works by gravity along with a hand-crank (no joke) to increase the resistance. Same for the eliptical - really a stair-stepper. I chuckled to myself and tried them both out - awful! Nearly busted my good ankle on the tread-thingy. Bicycle was the only sorta normal piece of equipment...but the screen was all broken...so no gauging your speed. HA! So, i reverted to doing some sit-ups, stretches, jumping jacks...all while laughing-out-loud, literally.

Tonight, Fazolli's in my motel room and the Olympics. That'll be enough of a workout for me for one day.

Forgot yesterday's update...

although I was on the site for about an hour trying to get the countdown clock to work. So I hope it continues to. The time takes into account that we will hav an additional 3 hours before our race since it's taking place out west.

I did do some Wii workouts yesterday. Wasn't feeling so hot so didn't do much more. I did a little bit this morning as well.

Feeling good about doing whatever I have since I'm congested and itching everywhere from what the dermatologist just thinks is a bad case of eczema. All I know is it sucks to itch this much.

Ang made some wonderful homemade, all from scratch chicken soup and some really good wild mushroom and asparagus risotto. So a case of the yummies kept me distracted for a little while.

Hopefully the rest of the week will have less workouts based around itching. ;)
Renee

Back on track?

I sure hope so. I was able to get up this morning and before heading out for the day (which wasn't until 2:00 pm) I was able to get my run in. It felt good to only do 2.5 miles. Felt like an underachiever knowing most of you did 3.1 miles yesterday. I am planning to get in the pool at 6:00 in the morning. That in itself is a feat. I am so over the early morning swims (too many of them in high school). But unfortunately, that might be the only time I can get them in over the next few weeks.

Good morning

So...Cindy, Deb, Rob, Ang - How are you feeling this Valentines Day morning after running yesterday? You are probably still sleeping, Ang is still out. For whatever reason I am awake. I am supposed to go to Fitworks at 1:00 for my free half marathon training but seeing it's Valentine's Day I don't know that I'll go; plus I have laryngitis and a cold so don't know that they'd want me there. I'd like to do something on the Wii to get some workout in. If I get up now I could probably still come back to bed for a nap. :)

I'll add another post later. Have a GREAT day!
Renee

Congrats 5K runners!

Good job getting out there in that kind of weather. That says something for your dedication. Way to go. Was not able to do the local 5K here, due to the boys' activities. Hopefully the next one will be a better start time. I am hoping to get back to my routine tomorrow morning.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!!!

We did it! Our first 5K is under our belts!

The morning started out with Mary feeling under the weather; although it wouldn't have taken much since it was only 22 degrees out! We thought about calling off sick as well, but as Deb put it...you "MFs" got me to sign up and we're doing it. She easily won the fight. Headed downtown and saw runners in shorts; they were obviously going to be running much faster than us so we were in layers. Didn't need any snow/ice cleats so that was good. Cindy and Jamison finished in about 30 minutes, Renee crossed in 37, Rob crossed in 40 and Ang and Deb in 44:30, beating their 45 minute goal! Had some Chili Classic 5K chili which was spicy hot to help warm up from the inside out and a beer to numb the aches. Then to lunch at Southside which was fabulous!

I think we all did rather well despite the variety of challenges not specifically mentioned here to protect reputations. JK

We will be in Vegas for the next scheduled run but hopefully we will get one in there at a more reasonable temperature.

I'm off to go celebrate my twin nieces' 8th birthday. I hope you enjoyed however you spent your afternoon!
Renee

A little late but will have lots to say tomorrow. It's our first race of the year. Dragging Mom, Cindy, Deb and Rob. Crazy cold here and believe me I tried to plant the seed of cancellation. No such luck. Cool shirt and also picked up our gift for joining road race. . . Warm hooded sweatshirt. Off to bed. Need to rest up for big day because the "sun will come up tomorrow". Thanks Cindy for including us tonight. Olivia and Brandon were great.

Is this week going to end?

It seems as though another day has been missed. I did make it to physical therapy, but did not make up for missing my run yesterday. The chances of me doing it tomorrow are slim to none. Fortunately, I only have to do 2.5 miles this weekend. Good luck to all with ending their week successfully.

is this thing on?

I think i finally figured this thing out. Oh my goodness am I ever blog-inept! This is what I've done so far to train for the Cleveland 1/2-marathon on May 16th: a few pilates classes and some jaunts on the treadmill @ the Y. So, i have a long ways to go. The winter blues really got a hold of me this year, but I do have a plan (and i did manage to climb those 636 steps last Saturday), so even if i end up dragging my butt on the ground across the finish line...i will do it! Thanks for all of your inspirational words girls. I see that we're all struggling, yet i am confident that we'll all be survivors...NO...thrivers! WOOHOO! Did i happen to mention that my Aunt is running the 13.1 w/me in May...and she's already up to 10 miles! So, that should inspire me too, right? ha:)

Okay plan B or Z depending on your level of optimism. No more training outdoors. Mostly due to ice and snow on the ground and since the training program is a 14 week program decided on indoor activities unless we get a break in the weather or have a race as we do this Saturday. More to come. . .

Messed up week?

It seems as though it has been a messed up week for most. I missed my strength training this morning and I missed being able to run this evening. Logan was sick last night and after returning from the doctor with an ear infection and a fever, we decided he would be staying home from school today. It was nice not to have to leave the house except to transport Brandon to and from school, but I missed my normal routine. I am sure my shoulder is going to hate me tomorrow, when I do my weights and swim in the same day.

I will be attempting Yoga again in the morning, I went on Tuesday and think I may have gotten a good stretch. I am not sure I actually breathed throughout it, but that is just a minor part, right? I also made it to the pool and did most of the swim without the kick board. I am slowly getting through the workout. Once I get through the entire thing without feeling I need the board, I will work on the distance. Until then, I will try not to overdo it.

Hope you all are feeling good mid week.

Hello,
I didn't do much yesterday either so feeling very guilty this morning. Despite what Marathoning for Mortals says about not making up for a day you miss, I decided to make up for yesterday. I spent 35 minutes with Wii Fit this morning; I did the Obstacle Course a couple times, the Rhythm Parade - which is actually a great workout - some rhythm boxing and then finished with some Yoga to stretch.

I made the green smoothie this morning, but Ang will tell you what happened with hers...I thought it was pretty good. I find they're a great way to get rid of fruit that doesn't look all that great but still tastes good.

I believe tomorrow is a 35 minute walk day with striding - which we haven't done yet - so I'm looking forward to that. Luckily we haven't gotten a lot of the snow everyone else around here has gotten - I hope I didn't say that too loud!

Oh - I added the link to our Half Marathon in Seattle to the page if you want to check it out.

Have a great day!
Renee

Night of the slugs. Again. I did snow blow and shovel drive for about 45 minutes but I guess I wasn't as re focused as I thought. Tomorrow is a rest day so I am pretty sure I'll nail that work out.

Sorry missed a day. No work out. No Blog. Not a great way to start week 2. Re focused today. 30 minutes of cross training so maybe boxing again. Look for an update later today!

Week 2?

I am not sure where the other updates are for the beginning of week 2, seeing as it is midnight on the East Coast, but hopefully everyone survived their Superbowl parties.

Today was just my arms day. I need to limit what I do when I am putting my shoulder through torture oh I mean therapy. Actually it is not as bad as it used to be. I am slowly getting stronger, but the muscles are still really tight, so it does cause a bit of pain while my therapist is trying to stretch it out.

After running yesterday, my back was still sore when I went to therapy today. Again she has told me everything is really tight and I need to do a major stretching, plus my hips need to stay balanced (was told that is out of whack because of having children, hmmm... why didn't people warn me about that 8 years ago? Just kidding, would still have had the boys). So tomorrow morning, I am attempting yoga. I am not sure how I am going to like it so wish me luck. I hated it when I tried it last time, which was 8 years ago when I was pregnant with Logan. Wonder if it would have prevented this pain now.

5 miler

I am sorry that the Colts did not win. But I am happy for the Saints. Always nice when the somewhat underdog wins.

I enjoyed the first half of the game while on my treadmill. I missed being at Superbowl parties, but at least I was burning calories instead of eating lots of chips and snacks that I should not being stuffing myself with. I finished my 5 miles in just under an hour. I have decided that as the miles add up, I need to slow down my pace. I usually average a 10 minute mile, but that is not easy for me to do after I finish those first 3 miles. I am also trying to slow down and get a little bit of a fast walk in there to help ease the strain of my muscles. We will see how they feel in the morning, but I a sure a soak in the hot tub will help a bit.

Hope everyone enjoyed the game. Good luck on Week 2!

My Superbowl Sunday

Unfortunately, I have no plans for this afternoon's (yes it is actually in the afternoon for us) game. I am very bummed. However, that means I get to hop on the treadmill and run my five miles. Am trying to decide if I should try to get it out of the way during the pregame show or wait.

I am glad all of you survived Week 1. Enjoy your parties this evening, but remember your back to training tomorrow. I hear a Green Smoothie will help relieve some of the pressure you may be feeling after eating all those tailgating foods.

Have a good day, and sorry guys but it is going to be the COLTS today. Go Colts!

SUPERBOWL SUNDAY

This will be very quick. Not even remotley thining about completing a half marathon in four months. Looking forward to week 2.
Go Saints.

Joining the fun

I'm so proud of you ladies!!! I know you will do great this year with reaching your goals. I'm excited to get started myself and join in the fun!!!

The first run

Lots of snow today as alluded to earlier. Ang mentioned most everything. My spikes did give me more confidence and when there wasn't snow or ice I felt like I was tap dancing because of the sound of the spikes on the cement. It was nice to run outside instead of in. Tomorrow should be a good day.

Stinkin' snow

Well would five inches snow stop us? Nope but the amount of beer I, Ang, drank last night might. Yes, I was slightly hung over thanks to the wonderful events I attended last night: fund raiser for Cleveland's women's shelter, Sheila and Michele's 40th birthday parties but we slept in until 11:30 AM. Got up made a green smoothie. 6 days in a row. I honestly don't think I have ever felt better. Who knew what taking care of yourself felt like? So we decided to attempt the 2 player wii running. DUMB, DUMB, DUMB!! So we bundled up and headed outside to face the elements. Two miles completed. Renee was able to try out her new spikes but I'll let her tell her own story. Than I got to play with the snow blower and watch the dogs run around in the snow. Not a bad way to spend a day. Off to play some poker tonight with some of my best buddies. have a great night everyone.
Lastly. . .
Shout out to Leslie who "tackled the tower" this morning. Way to go!!!

Opened the garage to let the dogs out and there's 5 inches of new snow. Not sure that goes with a 2 mile run day. Training may have to be clearing the driveway. Maybe we'll find a treadmill.

A new Gait?

I did not need to run today, but while I was at physical therapy I was being monitored while running. It seems that I will need to adjust my running pattern. Not exactly sure where I need to begin, but it seems like my entire right side is all messed up, not just my shoulder.

I did my shoulder weights, but was limited due to the strain to my right wrist. I am convinced I am just falling apart. We shall see. Good luck all with the last workout of the week. I have a five mile run most likely on Sunday.

Did we make it? One more work out and i actually finished what I set out to do. 2 miles or bust.

Day 5

Wasn't so good today. Started with a really good green smoothie, not sure what was in it but hope Ang remembers! Spent most of the day in the ORs at work observing so a little sore. Not used to standing that much. Should consider that my cross training. Did a little Wii. Beat Ang at the obstacle course. Went to two 40th bday parties amid a winterstorm. Have a lot to make up for tomorrow on the endurance day. Today was not a good training day. Guess that will happen now and then. Here's to making up for it tomorrow.

Day 4 for Me

Well, I was not destined to make it to the pool today. I was all packed and ready to go after taking the boys to school, only to pull into the lot and get stuck between two buses for about 5 minutes. When I finally got past them, I drove through the entire parking lot looking for a parking spot. I found myself pulling out of the middle school driveway, without finding ANY spot. I could have parked at home and probably been closer. At this point, I was too frustrated to circle the lot again, because the buses were still there. I decided to go to the store before having to report to Logan's classroom. I thought about trying again to swim while the boys were doing their swim lessons, but once again the parking lot was a total ZOO!! I was not even sure the boys were going to make it to their lessons. We finally got there, but wouldn't you know the pool lanes were packed. So I sat by like a loving mother (yes, I am loving to my children) and enjoyed watching my children learn to swim almost half a length of the pool. Some day they might be in the lanes swimming with me.

I managed to get on the treadmill and do my 30 minute run, while the boys were eating dinner. I was planning on eating a somewhat healthy dinner afterwards, but the boys were ready for their dessert and I couldn't just let that third donut go to waste. So I think I negated my run today. Hopefully I will make up for it tomorrow.

Day 4

I can't wait for that to say day 40! We are runners! We are runners! Runners with a few aches and pains but we are runners!

Started the day off with music and cooking and of course the ... Yep, the green smoothie. Word to the masses - if you don't own a Vitamix or juicer, apple skins don't completely grind up. But overall yummy again.

Got home and the dinner we put in the crock pot this morning was permeating the house with goodness! We let that sit a little longer while we changed into our running stuff and decided to hit the road rather then the treadmill since it was a balmy 37 degrees out. Some of the snow and ice had melted so that helped. We ran about 2 miles in 31 minutes. Renee ended up taking a total of about 13000 steps today.

Went over Ang's moms for dinner and Cindy joined us too.

Overall it was a great day!!! Tomorrow our crosstraining awaits.

Renee

Wednesday Workout

Today was my first day doing physical therapy on my own. I am still doing slow on the weights, but I guess any progress is better than nothing. I also met with the trainer to arrange a strength training program for the lower half of my body. I will now be doing lower half on Tues/Thurs and upper on Mon/Wed/Fri. First time I will ever really have a strength training program as part of my workout regime, so I will hopefully see some results.

This evening I met a friend at the school track and we ran/walked about 2 miles. It was a productive day overall. Tomorrow I will hopefully make it back to the pool.

I'm no better...day 3

As the day winds down I'm thinking about what I did on my day "off".

I walked about 7000 steps or 3.5 miles which included 4 flights of steps; made homemade guacamole and homemade tortilla chips and ground turkey tacos. Had a green smoothie that tasted a lot more "green" than all the previous. Wonder what she put in it today I don't know about.

Looking forward to tomorrow.

Day three: writing this from bed. Rest day and you know me don't like to do anything halfway so came home ate dinner and straight to bed. Okay, not exactly the whole truth. . .forgot until I put my head on pillow. Than I remembered I could post from my phone. Thank God! Would hate to break my blogging commitment three days in. Second run work out tomorrow and decided to stay indoors and utilize the treadmill. Thanks Mom!

Day Two

Okay much better day as far as work outs go especially since tomorrow is a rest day and boy did I earn after go three rounds boxing with Renee. No knockout but two of the three rounds went to me. So for those of you who can't do the math. The winner is . . .GUAL!!!!
Started another day with a green smoothie. I added some collard greens and some wheat germs. They made quite the appearance around 3:00p.m. in the afternoon if you know what I mean. May need to rethink adding "new" ingredients on a school day.
Happy Groundhog day. Pretty excited about 6 more weeks of winter. BTW 11 days until our first race of the season. If you are reading this and haven't signed up go to www.hermescleveland.com.

My Tuesday Workout

As promised today made up for yesterday's strength workout. I made my way to the pool after getting the boys on the bus. I am still not able to use my arms for the full workout, but I did use it more than last week. I am hoping that by the end of the month, I will be back to my normal use of arm motion. After my swim, I headed over to the gym and completed my 30 minutes run. I also attempted a new variety of an elliptical, this one had a resistance adjuster to it. Not a huge fan of it, but then again I tried this after swimming and running. Maybe I will try it beforehand the next time.

Slip sliding away...

That's what Ang and I were doing last night as we were doing our run last night. It's difficult to feel confident when the sidewalk has ice in some places and snow in others. We resorted to the street, which had less weather related hazards, but more vehicular to say the least. The first day was a learning by running experience. I ordered some cleats to help with running in Cleveland winter weather, a recommendation from an old boss, and I hope to try them out on our next run day. If they work, I'll be ordering Ang a pair.

Today started out with another great green smoothie and looking forward to cross training tonight!

Day One???

Well, this is not my Day one, but it is a Monday, so I will still chime in. Regardless of how long your workout lasted, the key is you got out there and did something. Congrats, you are off to go a good start, especially with that Green Smoothie. Keep it up. My day today was weights, I wanted to do more, but I was limited to only doing my weights at Physical Therapy. I am not sure if only lifting 20 lbs is really considered a great workout, but hey when your muscle was cut into, it is the best I can do right now. Tomorrow will make up for any skimping I did today, I will find my way to the pool and then follow it up with my 30 minute run. If I am really energetic I might attempt the bike, but I am not holding my breath.

Ohioans, I certainly hope you have some warmer weather for your outside training sessions. I won't complain about my temps, just about the constant, annoying rain.

Day One

Well day one started with high hopes. Alarm went off at 6:15 let the dogs out and realized it was 9 degrees out so did some quick negotiating and was able to sleep for another hour and fifteen minutes. Kept one commitment and had a delicious green smoothie.
Day one was a typical Monday which left me getting home late and trying to squeeze a 37 minute workout into 30 minutes. Paid way too much attention to the book and not enough attention to common sense and under dressed and had to stop after 28 minutes. I'll let Renee weigh in on how pleasant I was during our first work out.

On a positive note actually did something, tomorrow is a cross training day which can be done indoors and I am actually writing this blog drinking tea instead of whiskey which is really want I'd like to be sipping on. Onward and upward. . .

Green smoothie this morning and will be doing our first training walk/run tonight! Looking forward to getting started!