With new info, the plan morphed!

Okay, so for the most part, I've stuck to the plan. There have been 3 deviations though that I need to admit to:

1. I didn't workout on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. I put family first and took a break.

2. I didn't log any of my food for the past 3 days. I get back on track tomorrow.

3. No slide board today since... THERE WAS SPEED PRACTICE INSTEAD! Woohoo!

There is going to be speed all week, plus the rink opened up some open skates so I will be doing 2 hour speed skating sessions Monday(DONE!), Wednesday and Friday. And then maybe doing open skate on Tuesday/Thursday for some fun. We will see. But I'd like to stick to the weight lifting portion for the rest of my scheduled time.

I'm feeling good about my choices other than the food choices of the past few days. Back on track there tomorrow.
Warm wishes,
Grace

December Plan

Here's a quick synopsis for the rest of December starting today:

Thursday: P90X Arms/Shoulders, Ab Ripper X
Friday: Speed Skating - 2 hrs
Saturday: Run and core work
Sunday: P90X Legs/Back & ARX
Monday: Slide board
Tuesday: P90X Chest, Shoulders & Triceps and ARX
Wednesday: P90X Legs & Back, Slide board
Thursday: Run & P90X YogaX
Friday: Slide board
Saturday: OFF! Stretch X

It may sound ambitious, but I have some goals to hit in just over 5 weeks. Plus seeing a 4lb weight loss this week was SUPER nice. I know I can't expect that every week, but it was a great "re-boot".

That's all for now! Happy holidays!
~Grace

A Day of Rest and Struggles

So I have followed my last blog posts plan to a "T". I did open skate on Saturday and worked on smaller skills while just getting rink time in. I did both derby practices on Sunday and the one on Monday. What surprised me the most is while I was a bit sore and achey, today I'm not feeling it at all. I guess I'm finally getting back in to the swing of skating and the workouts are finally making a difference. This to me means, time to up the ante!!

Tomorrow is another derby practice, the last for the month. I will be doing speed on Friday and then it's on to my newest tool, my Slide Board for my skating workouts for the coming weeks. There will be some open skate sessions I can do as well, but mainly I'll be relying on the slide board to maintain my derby fitness and keep me on track for tryouts.

As today was a rest day, I really watched what I ate and logged everything in to MyFitnessPal. Unfortunately tonight I have a bit of the blues and that's when I know I'm vulnerable to stress/boredom eating. I recognized it though and made the choice to instead sip on water and focus on puttering around the house. Next up will be some stretching, maybe some basic core work, upper body weights and then a hot bath. But I WILL NOT give in to temptation, though they are many this time of year: caramels (homemade), chocolates, fudge, cookies etc.

As I spent my day doing the various household things a mom does on a daily basis, I put together some simple goals and my workout plan for the upcoming Beachbody "Reveal the New You" challenge. I submitted everything to my coach and will be posting the entire shebang here once its finalized to both of our satisfaction. I tried to keep my goals simple and my workouts realistic. I have to work them in around derby, so that's what we're customizing.

The basics of the plan go something like this, with plan 1 and 2 alternating each week:
PLAN 1
Sunday - StretchX and Derby
Monday - Derby
Tuesday - Chest & Back / Ab Ripper X (ARX)
Wednesday - Derby
Thursday - Shoulders & Arms / ARX
Friday - Speed Skating / Back & Biceps / ARX
Saturday - Core Synergistics / Rest Day / Yoga X (depending on how I feel)

PLAN 2
Sunday - StretchX and Derby
Monday - Derby
Tuesday - Chest, Shoulders & Tri's / ARX
Wednesday - Derby
Thursday - YogaX
Friday - Speed Skating / Back & Biceps / ARX
Saturday - REST DAY / Stretch X

This is not the finalized plan and obviously is not for everyone. The goals of this are to balance the intense leg workouts that I get with derby and speed skating with some upper body, core and back strengthening.

Off to finish up my rest day and figure out my plan for the rest of this month. Once I have the rest of December outlined, I'll post it here!

Happy Holidays!
~Grace

Speed Skating

Tonight was speed skating practice. My first in over a month since vacation and life hit. It felt amazing and I'm so glad I went. I feel like I'm finally getting back to being myself and being able to jump back in with both feet. So I pushed a little at speed and felt great!

More news, ran tonight and also felt great running. RYBO! was a great success and I will be publishing a review of the program coming up shortly for a good friend of mine on another site. I will link to it here when it's complete. As for running, I plan to continue to use it as a cross-training aide and just enjoy it for fun, but at the moment I don't have plans in the works to do any organized runs locally.

From this coming weekend I have 6 weeks until Derby tryouts. I am going to push a bit and try to get ready for this. It means being able to skate 40 laps in 6:45 or faster and be able to juke and move through the pack, take and give hits and do sprints then be able to jam through the pack. Going to be interesting. To prep, I'm resuming speed skating on Fridays, doing as many open skates as I can just to work on technical skills outside of derby, then do derby practice Sunday, Monday & Wednesday. This week I need to do all 4 days of Derby, so I'll be adding in Tuesday. Pray I don't burn out!!! :)

Starting January 2nd, I am joining a small group of people on a fitness journey. We are making it 60 days and we'll all be doing our own Beachbody program hybridized with our current fitness routines. I'm really looking forward to it and will be posting about this more as it gets closer.

In the meantime my workouts this week are:
Friday: Speed skating - 2 hrs - Intense sprint work and off-skates leg workout
Saturday: Open skate - 2.5 hrs - This is my relaxed practice, technical skills time.
Sunday: 2x Derby practices - 4 hrs
Monday: Derby - 2 hrs
Tuesday: MAYBE OFF. We'll see. Otherwise, derby!
Wednesday: Derby - 2 hrs
Thursday: Crosstrain core, yoga, stretch
Friday: Speed skating!!
Saturday: OFF!!!

That's as far as I have it planned out for now. I will be building up and posting my routine for the 60-day Beachbody challenge this weekend.
Stay tuned!
~Grace

The Way of the World

Vacation was really great. It was a massive road trip interspersed with a quick flight to Florida to do a bike ride and raise funds for ALS. I got to meet and catch up with both new and old friends, I got to go to Disneyland for my first time and I got to watch this entire experience through my children's eyes. Simply outstanding!

All of that said, my food choices were less than stellar and my exercise... but for walking a TON at Disney and two bike rides totaling 85 miles, I didn't do much. It was a lot of riding in the car, a bit of time on planes and way too much time eating and snacking.

So the weight has gone up a bit. I will do an official weigh-in this coming week after I finish with my bout of food poisoning. Thanksgiving dinner came and went with less than stellar results. The food was FANTASTIC as always, and my family puts on a great spread, but something didn't agree with me and I've been dealing with it since. 2 days and counting.

Also, a few weeks ago I pulled a thigh/groin muscle pretty badly. What is WORSE is I did it doing something stupid. My whole life, I've had no problem with flexibility or the splits. The millionth time I do it, I tweak something. I hadn't stretched, which hadn't been a problem in the past, but it did a number on me this time. And it wasn't for the good of anything other than "being able to do it". My age is just starting to show... these little bodily reminders that I'm not as young as I once was. It's finally healed up thanks to me having food poisoning and not being able to push beyond what I should. A forced recuperation if you will.

A month remains until Christmas and I want to bring it. It's completely possible for me to lose 8lbs in the next 4 weeks, if I seriously buckle down and want this. I'm chomping at the bit for want of being a healthier weight and thinner person. Time to get cracking!!

I'm considering doing Weight Watchers again as that's how I took off the majority of my weight the last time I had a baby. It worked. It was slow, but it worked. The exercise part I have down pat, now I just need to pair it with healthier choices and put the whole enchilada together. MMmmmm..... enchiladas.....

With gurgling tummy, I'm off!

~Grace

Time flies...

Time flies when you're busy!

I have a 2 week sojourn coming up and I'll try to maintain tabs here while I am gone.

I have spent a few weeks doing skating, speed and misc Beachbody workouts. I tightened up my eating and found that I dropped another 4 lbs and got in to the 170's! YAY! I was officially 176lbs last week and I am stoked to lose even more. I'm going to use my 2 weeks away from home to show people that it's entirely possible to eat healthfully, lose weight and stick to an exercise regime.

I will be focusing on my last few weeks of RYBO! I know I haven't posted much about it, but there's been not much to post. Due to cross-training, the 30 minute sessions have been all running and I'm pretty much "done", even though the last few weeks of the program I didn't exactly follow the recommendations. I modified it for me due to skating and a ton of other cross-training that got me to my 30 minutes of solid running goal faster. Am I FAST?! NO! I am SLOOOOOWWW... but I can continuously run for 30 minutes.

Goals coming up... maintain the 30 minutes 3 to 4 times a week. Keep skating and losing weight. That's the biggest thing. GOOD calories in, calories expended... deficit achieved, drop more weight. I want to be in the 160's by Christmas and I totally think I can do it. Maybe even the 150's.... 62 days to Christmas... that may be pushing it, but hey, I like to dream!!

Thanks for sticking with me! More posts forthcoming.

Warm wishes and better fitness,

Grace

Week 9 and a week 8 recap

This past monday, I went to run and had chest pains, so I quit running 15 minutes into the run. I took it easy and did skating on Tuesday for 2 hours. I don't know what happened, but I think that due to baby being sick, I was probably fighting something too. It just didn't manifest itself other than feeling a bit wonky Monday. I ended up skipping RYBO! for the rest of the week due to a sick baby girl.

I did however attend a speed skating practice this last Friday and I am STILL sore from it! Insane practice! They don't even get on skates for at least the first 45-60 minutes of practice! It's exercises down and back on the rink like lunges, skate walks, more lunges, sprint laps around the outside of the rink and a ton of wall sits. The practice ends with everyone doing pump squats. If you haven't had the pleasure of doing pump squats, here's what they typically are: Stand tall, feet hip width apart or a bit wider. Squat down so knees are at a 90 degree and stand back up. Repeat in succession until you've done 10 reps. On the 10th rep, stay down and hold for 10 seconds. Next set, do 20 reps, holding for 10 seconds on the 20th. 3rd set you're doing 30 reps with a 10 second hold on 30. Then the ladder progresses back down with 20 reps and 10 reps, only on your last set, you hold your squat in the down position for 20 seconds.

Speed skaters START in the 90degree down position and BARELY move up, doing more of a bounce motion for each rep and complete the set with the same 10 second hold. Instead of taking a break between sets however, speed STAYS down and continues in their counting.... on up to 50 reps going by 10's.... holy moley!!! It's a fantastic workout, but at the end of practice, your body is crying "ENOUGH!" and you're looking for the garbage can! There's a reason those in the know often call Speed Skating "Puke practice".

So my plan for today is to run and see how long I can maintain pace. Then compare it to the RYBO! plan and see if I rate at week 9 or go back to week 8. I have a feeling, I'm making so much progress aerobically thanks to skating, I'll be fine. I HATE repeating weeks so, this is my compromise.

I will also be adding in Hip Hop Abs and Insanity for extra cardio and core work.

Sunday - Skating practice - DONE!

Monday - RYBO! and HHA's

Tuesday - RYBO! and Insanity

Wednesday - Skate practice

Thursday - RYBO! and core

Friday - DAY OFF as mandated by my friend DINGO! (much love, chica!)

Saturday - Working a skate scrimmage as a non-skating official

Last night's practice I had a bit of a break-thru. I "got" the speed skating chair position and FINALLY felt what it is like to fly.... I was cruising around the rink. I picked up enough speed from form alone that after 2 hours of endurance and boot camp workouts, I still won a 2 lap skate sprint around the rink! I was beyond ecstatic and just... wow. The hard work is paying off, the pain, the frustration, I'm now seeing the joy and the speed I need to be a contributing member to a derby team. I can't tell you how happy I am about this.... this is huge.

Wishing I could sleep, but still floating from a great practice...

~Grace

Week 8

So today will be the official first day of week 8. Going to run during baby's afternoon nap (cross your fingers I didn't just jinx myself!) and do some medicine ball core work.

Last night, I have to share.... I got my 25 skate laps down to 4m 48s. And that's with a fall. Working more on my perfect circle and going to hit legs relatively hard this week as well. I will do Insanity cross-training with my RYBO! and skating. I think that's plenty.

And yes, you saw that right. The scale counter says 9lbs. I am at 180lbs ON THE NOSE!! GAH! Okay, honestly, I was 180.2lbs this morning. But I didn't want to accept that number, so I stripped down and weighed myself again. 180lbs. Dang. I WILL be in the 170's next week! That is my goal.

Tightening up on the eating this week. Half of each lunch/dinner meal will be veggies. Upping my protein this week as well as water intake. No diet coke for me.

I'm feeling it. I have to say, I can FEEL changes now. I'm starting to see results in my skating and in how I look (just a bit). So I am revved and looking forward to continuing this journey with you all.

~Grace

Wounded Warrior Project Ride

How on earth did I miss writing about Wounded Warrior Project and the Sept 17th ride in Seattle? My sincere apologies. This post is long over-due.

I drove to the ride in the early AM and was ready for anything. Even the driving rain. I met up with friends I hadn't gotten to see in 5+ years and had a seriously fantastic time. Yes, the ride was wet and cold, but we made the 25 miles easily enough. A cold, pelting, driving rain followed us through the majority of the miles, leaving us wet to the point of mild hypothermia, but we made the ride fun. I met a new friend who is in to similar things and also loves cycling. We plan on hanging out again soon. This gal knows quite a few jodies/cadences and we spent a good 5 miles doing call and response to take the focus off the cold and wet. It worked wonders. Thank you, D for a most enjoyable experience!!

After the ride, there was coffee and awesome lunch boxes provided. I had the vegetarian panini with avacado and thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, most people were pretty water logged and took off immediately following the ride.

Still, I will never forget watching the servicemen and women saddling up and leading the start of the ride. The shouts of encouragement from the crowd, the families in the wet and cold to support their loved ones and friends was awe inspiring. These people gave their all, yet even for their injuries, external or internal... they stood proud and strong. I wasn't the only one with damp eyes through the entire opening ceremony.

I would proudly ride again. Rain, sleet, snow, sunshine... you will see me doing this again next year. Such a wonderful and worthwhile cause, its a shame the inaugural year didn't have a bigger turn-out. I foresee next year being even bigger if I have anything to say about it, and I can't wait to be a part of it again.

Thank you to all those who are serving or have served our country. I was just so honored and privileged to be chosen to be a part of your ride and I look forward to the Wounded Warrior Ride Seattle 2012.

Love to you all,

Grace

Sept 22nd - 26th

So I had the opportunity to do a road trip from the 22nd through the 26th. I did my skating for the week but planned to get in a lot of walking and jogging the weekend I would be away.

As it turned out, it worked out perfectly. I didn't jog a whole lot, but I got in a LOT of walking and felt good about marking week 6 completed. Every opportunity, I was running stairs in a stadium, walking the town a bit and just having a fantastic time. I ended up down 2lbs from the previous week, which is a net loss of .5 lbs for the past 2 weeks. I'll take it!

This week, just got in run #1 officially for week 7. I was running outside and forgot to watch the time. I ended up running the first 11:30 minutes, walking one minute and finishing out the 30 minutes running. I FELT GREAT!

I will get in 2 runs officially this week, but with all of the stairs I've done playing catch-up with housework, laundry and vacuuming, I have no qualms about moving forward. Especially after the relative ease today presented. It was amazing!

Tonight I also did my Insanity Fit Test: Day 1

1. Switch Kicks: 45

2. Power Jacks: 45

3. Power Knees: 80

4. Power Jumps: 25

5. Globe Jumps: 10

6. Suicide Jumps (burpees): 15

7. Push-Up Jacks: 10

8. Low Plank Oblique: 40

Off to shower and looking forward to the rest of the week!

As an aside, I'd like to give a shout-out to my awesome friend, Dingo. She has planned and put together a half-marathon plan that not only ties in with my skating at least 3 days a week, it also takes in to account my RYBO! training that I'm in the midst of. THANK YOU DINGO!!! I love you, baby!

Yours in Fitness,

Grace

Where does the time go? WEEK 6 REMIX!

Okay, so last week was crazy. Skate practice Sunday and then I took a few days off as I had a skate test on Thursday. I figured, I didn't want to over-do, lets not do the 30 min runs either.

BIG mistake. At least, it is in my mind... now here's my logic:

1. I didn't pass my skate test. I was close, but no cigar. I need 5 minutes and I got 5:01.

2. The 30 minutes that I walk/run probably wouldn't have done more than just warm me up to stretch better before the test.

3. I didn't pass anyway, and now I've lost those days to run!

Re-doing week 6. Same as it ever was!

Thursday, pushed hard at the skate test. Friday I took the day off. Saturday I had a 25 mile bike ride for Wounded Warrior Project. The ride was crazy cold and rainy. We were soaked and numb, and I'm still dealing with feeling like I can't get warm a day later, but it was a BLAST! I am so doing the ride next year. It was a great route/loop and I'm happy to say it seemed even with the rain, my team had a fantastic time.

Finished skate practice tonight. I will be running tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday. Then I am off for 4 days to have some vacation downtime. I will be taking skates, my bike possibly and a map to this new town and tooling around in-between fun stuff with friends. AND I get to meet new people (here's my shout-out to Team Bunny!). Looking forward to it.

Thanks for sticking around! Still going strong here. I will post more as the week progresses.

My Best,

Grace

This weeks first run and a quick update!

My first run of the week was on Sunday. I found myself watching the clock for the full 5 minutes. Going to have to find a way to fix that. I'd like to be able to run with the proper timing without having to watch a clock. Some sort of automatic dual timer would be great. Just listen for the beep and be on my way.

Before the run I had done a workout DVD, then I had 2 hrs of skating Sunday night. I was a little sore yesterday but went to skating again last night. Today, pretty immobile, so I am taking today as a rest day and will get back to workouts tomorrow.

Now, where's my ibuprofen?? Who has it?! :D

~Grace

Week 5 and a week 4 recap!

Today begins week 5!! Almost to the halfway point and I can't believe it!

While I only got to do 2 runs last week, they felt really good. In fact, I was so underwhelmed one evening I ended up doing an additional 60 minutes of cardio DVDs on top of the run. On the bright side, the scale is telling me the weight is staying off. I'll take no change for this week vs weight gains!

I'm getting used to working out late at night. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I typically prefer to workout in the AM and have it done for the day. Then if I have extra time in the evening, I can do additional fun stuff if I'm feeling up to it.

Once kiddo is in school starting this week, I think a lot is going to be changing. Not only will I have more time to run, I will have time to hit the gym for classes and get back in to Iaido.

For diet this past week.... I shook things up a bit. I strayed from my regimen and had some steak, hot dogs (amazing goodness on a bun!) and some peanut butter. I felt the need to do something different and see if having a few things on my "verboten" list would help more in the long run. While I love the idea of following michi's ladder rather strictly, I can't reasonably sustain it long term. I think of these diversions from my dietary plan less as "treats" and more "planned allowances". If I know I have an event coming up where I'll likely indulge, it makes it easier to stave off my desire for that handful of chocolate chips.

Week 5 plans:

1. Find a race/run to enter. (DONE! Will be running in 2012 with some amazing people!)

2. Accountability. (DONE! I have my wonderful Facebook and blog followers!)

3. Walk 2.5 minutes, Run for 5 minutes

4. Keep the running controlled

That's it, folks! This one I need to do 4 times this week. It's a pivotal week with the running upping to 20 minutes of the total 33 minutes. It's a big jump.

Thanks for sticking with me,

~Grace

Going to the Fair and Week 4

So this is a dual post. First off, went and worked at the fair for a few hours. Had a booth and skating stuff to support so I talked to the general populace and had a good time.

I went prepared to the fair with water plus apples, chicken breast strips and a salad. I ended up bringing the salad home and sharing the rest of my snack menagerie with my boothmate who is a total sweetheart... So of course I wanted to share snacks!!

Still hungry, I went in search of reasonably healthful food. I know what you're thinking, healthful food at the FAIR?! Isn't it all fried butter sticks, fried oreos and fried twinkies? Not so, my friends! I ended up with a smoked turkey leg (which was awesome if a bit salty) and corn on the cob (SANS butter!). For my "treat" I splurged and had dark chocolate covered strawberries. Overall, I felt really good. I DID have both a diet coke and a decaf soy sugar-free latte, but both have been tracked in my food journal and accounted for the day!

Tonight is my first night back at skating for quite a few weeks. I'm looking forward to being in the groove and logging all of the calories burned! Extra cardio is always welcome! Plus, tonight begins week FOUR of RYBO!.

I ended up not running last night to make 4x for the week. The family tackled cleaning in the basement and took a carload to Goodwill. We got our workout doing housework until well past 9pm. Between laundry, sorting and carrying boxes of stuff, getting rid of junk and numerous bags of garbage, trust me... it was workout enough!

WEEK FOUR! Has it really been a month already?! I can't believe how quickly time is flying. Four weeks in to this journey already and only 8 more to go!

Week 4 plans:

1. Walk 3 minutes, run 3 minutes (for a total of 15 minutes running! Yowza!)

2. Maintain a steady pace between walking and running. There shouldn't be a speed difference!

3. Measure portion sizes (CHECK!) & track daily calories (CHECK!)

That's it this week. Pretty simple! Weigh in on Tuesday AM and see if we've really kept off the weight the scale has shown me losing, stay hydrated with water and add back in my skating.

I'll write an update later in the week and let you guys know how its going!

As always,

Grace

Of Onions and Workouts.

So, tonight was workout 3 for the week. Run #4 is optional and I'm still going to try to hit it. The run was great, but rather, uhm.. .burpish.

We went out to mexican for dinner tonight. I ended up having just a big salad with green peppers, onions, chicken breast, mushrooms, lettuce and a tad of tomato. No dressing. No chips. No beans, rice or dip. I DID however indulge in a diet pepsi. It was harder than I thought. I caught myself just auto-piloting the hand towards the chips until I realized what I was doing and dropped it like a hot potato. My husband was kind enough to move them out of my reach.

I did a 20 minute Jillian Michaels workout from her 30 Day Shred DVD. I had just started Level I when I had to pleasure of my hubby joining me! It was fun to do a quick workout and suffer together. After that, I went and did my 30 minutes of walk/run. I kept it above 3.5 mph tonight and cranked it to 4.0 for the run portions. I admit, I was a bit more lax on run timing and started almost every run early. It felt REALLY good to push a bit. I could have run faster than the 4.0, but even with it seeming slow, I need to follow RYBO! as best as I can.

Note to self: Onions give you burps. Running exacerbates said burps. Yuck.

Another quick note: I did treat myself yesterday and today with a bit of sugar-free Dove chocolate. Not a full serving and it was only the last two days. Logged it and moved forward. It's my reward for NOT having a bowl of chips, huge thing of bean dip, no DQ Blizzards and no soda the entire week, but for tonight. My pop consumption has gone WAY down and I'm happy to report that I am having 1, MAYBE 2 per WEEK now as opposed to 1 or 4 a day. It's been tea or water all day for me and I'm doing well on it. Need to up the water intake a bit more, but I'm getting at least 7 or 8 glasses a day. Okay, some days a little less... more like 3 or 4, if you don't count the green tea as hydrating.

The weekend plans are rather hectic, but I am going to stay true to the plan. Sunday is officially 7 days in to my 17 day eating program and the start of week 4 RYBO!

Gimmie Some! PT!

Good for you! Good for me!

~Grace

Week 3 - Redone

Since I have been so ill and unable to do anything, as you're aware I'm re-doing week 3. Yesterday I did my 30 minute run. It was very very slow, more of a shuffle during the 2 minute run portions, but I got it done and felt.... meh. The cough isn't gone still and that last remnant of illness is severely frustrating when trying to accomplish anything.

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE.... I weighed myself first thing Tuesday AM and I am down 5lbs from where I began on this journey. It means that while I wasn't exercising, I was watching what I ate well enough to drop the lbs via diet alone. I'm very happy with this and am even more motivated to add in the exercise to drop additional weight.

Tonight will be run #2. No skating. I am taking this week off to fully get back in to the swing of things and I will hopefully resume it on Sunday.

My weight tracker should now be updated to reflect the new, 5lb lighter me! (7lbs total since I started that tracker)

Yours in fitness,

Grace

Wise words indeed...

"I learned there are troubles of more than one kind.
Some come from ahead, others come from behind.

But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready, you see.
Now my troubles are going to have trouble with me." ~ Dr. Seuss

A good friend reminded me of this passage today,

and I just had to post it, keeping troubles at bay.

So watch out, you troubles, I'm here to stay!!

Fair warning to those that would stand in my way.

Forewarned is forearmed,

~Grace

The best laid plans...

... aka. I wanted to do week 3, but the sickness fairy had other ideas. The entire family has had this and I'm hopeful that the kids, who appear to be on the mend, escape needing meds like I do.

Just got back from the Dr. and I have a sinus infection with an "angry" ear, but not quite an ear infection. Started a "Z" pack tonight and so I will be re-doing week 3. Being out sick, I can't honestly go on without accomplishing each phase. It's not in the cards to short-change myself.

I will post again when I'm feeling better and back on track with an actual RYBO! workout!

~Grace

Week 3 - A bit derailed but never completely off-track

It's funny how things pop up just as you're getting in to the groove of things. It always seems to be what happens to me and my family. We'll start something that is super fun and then we all get sick.

The summer cold bug hit us on Friday AM and so plans become a bit disjointed. With my husband off on an altruistic mission for family and me with 2 sick kids at home, we're all a bit burnt out and in need of some rest.

I am not doing skating tonight. This is the 3rd Sunday I believe I've missed practice. I will go tomorrow evening if I'm feeling up to it and of course, Tuesday and Wednesday. Again, this all depends upon how I'm feeling.

Officially amended plans for the week:

Sunday - rest

Monday - RYBO! week 3 start and skating if my body feels okay

Tuesday - RYBO! and skating

Wednesday - RYBO! and skating

Thursday - Core and either a rest day or walk

Friday - RYBO!

Saturday - Bootcamp and AM skating

Healthful eating the last 2 days has been more challenging as I'm tired and want things that are quick to make. Thankfully I have some leftovers that have a lot of veggies and good protein so dinners are taken care of. I've kept close to my daily allotment of calories and when I've indulged, I haven't gone overboard. Plus I have been upping the fluid intake and having a LOT of tea, both green and decaf varieties.

Off for now to get some rest. Crazy weekend and I need to get to bed early tonight I think.

Yours in fitness,

Grace

Week 2 Updates

Not to worry! I haven't forgotten about you lovelies! I've gotten a bit busy but I'm here now so ... lets get on with the update for the week!

Monday night - Skating: It was a killer. 30 minute bootcamp, 1.5 hours speed drills, sprints and more speed work. Crazy crazy workout and my legs were crying by the end. Felt great though and I had a fantastic time.

Tuesday - more skating: Not as intense as Monday. I took the time to work on form, squats, cross-overs, grapevines and stops (on skates). Then I took my skates off for the last 30 minutes and did wall sits, crunches, hello dollys, scissor kicks on my back (no higher than 45 degress, no lower than 6" from the floor) and planks. It was amazing!

Wednesday: I did a 30 minute workout DVD (The Firm Express) and then my 30 minute walk/run. I was feeling it from all the skating earlier in the week and the Firm had a LOT of squats and lunges. The walk/run, I was tired, but I stuck with it and got it done.

Thursday: My 3rd walk/run was tonight and it felt better than Wednesdays. I took Thursday off from ANY lifting or body-weight exercises and I am glad that I did. It was a much needed rest day.

That leaves me with today, Friday: While kiddo was skating, I was walking around the rink pushing the stroller. I got in a good 30-35 minutes at a good pace and only walked. I'm going to do some core work tonight (Ab Ripper X or the Firm Abs DVD's), stretch and then get in a long soak in the tub!! I would like to get in another walk/run either tonight or tomorrow to make a total of 4 for the week.

Plans for the weekend are skating tomorrow AM after a bootcamp style workout, and maybe skating Sunday night. Had a wrench thrown in my plans though as I don't have anyone to watch the youngest while I'm doing skating on Sunday. So it may be a workout DVD instead.

Eating has gone well. I have been reasonable on the choices I make and treat myself sparingly. I have been staying well within my calorie allotment for the day. I am cutting back on the diet cokes still and hope to be done with those soon. Hard when they are in the house a lot and convenient. Still drinking tea for breakfast and most of the day as well as water.

I can't say it enough: I am feeling GOOD. Actually, I have been feeling GREAT. I am looking forward to the coming weeks of RYBO! workout plans.

That's all the news that's fit to print! Long blog post, but I had a lot to cover. Thanks for sticking with me!

Warm regards,

Grace

Week 2 - Day 1

Today was the first day of running for me. It was AWESOME!!!

I was so surprised how fast the minute of running went and after a few cycles of walk/run, I ended up doing 2 minutes for the last run. Because I was just feeling THAT good.

I'm focusing on my stride a lot since I have the time. Really aiming for a mid-foot to ball of the foot strike. When I've run previously, I have been a heel striker and that let to some major issues. Especially when I was running upwards of 5 miles a day and doing sprints. So this time, lets get it right!

Practice does NOT make "perfect". Practice makes PERMANENT. You practice something wrong a thousand times, you wont become "perfect". PERFECT practice, makes perfect.

Looking forward to day 2! Definitely shooting for 4 running days this week, if not a bit more. If today was any indication of what's to come... I'm in for a good ride! Erm... run.

Tonight is a 2 hour skating practice. Also looking forward to this since I was so exhausted yesterday. Up almost hourly Saturday night with baby, so I was really dragging Sunday. Took it off and I'm glad I did. Today was much more enjoyable running wise than if I had pushed it and suffered.

Little steps!

An addendum to the RYBO! madness I'm in... I am also part of a "Biggest Loser" challenge that started today. It will end officially on September 5th and I am aiming to win. I mean, why be part of a challenge if you aren't in it to win? :D I'm such a competitive monkey...

That's all for now! Will update the next workout I finish.

Yours in Fitness,

~Grace

Day 3

Day 3 of RYBO! was great.

Week 2 starts tomorrow. As I completed the 3 days of RYBO! week 1 plan, I may safely move on to week 2, so I shifted the start days to Sunday. I still plan on weighing myself once a week on Tuesdays, although I may shift that as well over the next few weeks to get it on Sunday mornings. Part of my whole new outlook, being flexible with plans.

Goals for this week per RYBO!:

1. Start the walk/run phase. It's a short 1 min run interspersed with walking for 30 minutes.

2. Start a food journal. (Check! Thank you myfitnesspal.com!)

My personal goals:

1. Cut back on the diet pop.

2. Be flexible.

3. Do my walk/run outside.

I have to say, even with a movie playing, I still don't like the treadmill. So I need to get out of the house more for walking.

I've noticed that I've gotten a bit more accomplished this week. I seem to have had some extra energy and it's being put to good use. I've been culling, sorting and going through the many boxes and storage tubs of stuff that accumulate over the years. Yes, it's all just stuff. I hate clutter, tchotchkes and "filled space". Give me bare clean counters, tables and desks! Shelves with minimal stuff on them and life is good!

Tomorrow after my RYBO! 30 minutes, I'll tackle our downstairs storage area. There's a lot that can go to GoodWill and be useful to someone other than us I'm sure!

Ignore the lateness of this entry. Not sure why, but I can't seem to sleep tonight. 0105 hours and I think I'm about ready to try to crash out for a bit before baby wakes up.

Thank you for sticking around for Week 1! It's over and we're on to Week 2! WOOHOO!

Warmest Regards,

Grace

Day 2 - Lesson learned

RYBO! talks about taking your 30 minutes for yourself. Try not to do it with kids etc. The idea being you just focus on yourself and not have distractions while changing your habits.

I get the point. Today, was out for 15 minutes total and was back home. Kiddo didn't want to be out walking or on her scooter. This is the child that can roller skate for hours on end and want to do more. I think it will take some getting used to, so I'll spend the time with her walking outside, but I'm planning from now on making these walks superfluous to my daily RYBO! "tally".

Tonight, I walked 30 minutes on the treadmill while watching some more of my movie. I have found that I REALLY don't like the treadmill, but I feel self-conscious walking outdoors alone. Not due to safety, but because the thought of walking away from the house, even for 30 minutes to walk just seems... weird? Moms don't walk away from the family. Odd feeling, but I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow. I don't get why I feel like this. I mean, good grief, self!! Why is it okay to run errands but not be out of the house just for you?

Today's eating was super healthful. I did have tofu pad thai for dinner and some fresh vegetable spring rolls, but I checked out the caloric content ahead of time and limited my intake. I have almost a full carton of pad thai left that I will portion out for lunch on Friday & Saturday.

I did have one diet coke but I ended up not finishing it. I consider that a win! The tea at breakfast seems to more than do the trick.

Thank you to all who have contacted me, emailed, messaged and sent encouragement! Your support is very appreciated.

With Love,

Grace

Day 1 - The First Step

Okay, so we all realize this is about more than just 30 minutes of walking this week, yes? This is the first step in a long line of steps, building towards the goal of 30 minutes, continuous running. It's something I'd been able to do previously, but this time I intend to make it stick. We are done having kids and I am out of excuses. Enough babbling, here is how day 1 went...

Really, this adventure starts Sunday night when I had skate practice. It was a crazy 2 hours of an intense bootcamp style workout, first 30 minutes off skates, the next hour and half on skates. By Monday, I was feeling it and with the baby teething, not getting as much rest as I probably needed.

Tuesday evening I had another skate practice. I didn't go hard like I did on Sunday and took the opportunity to work on more detailed training with intense intervals thrown in. I finished with wall sits and ended up getting home rather late. I did not get much sleep.

Now on to today.... Wednesday and Day 1:

I spent the morning tired, but focused. I had a healthful breakfast of fresh fruit (banana and apricots) and cottage cheese. Throughout the morning, I sipped on green tea (Numi Jasmine Green tea, one of my favorites!) and tried to plan WHEN to do a simple 30 minute walk. I had to wait until my husband could watch the kids and I went down and hit the treadmill for 30 minutes while watching part of a movie. I had been thinking to myself all day that 30 minutes of walking is too easy and why NOT run for a minute here and there. But I chose to follow the plan to the letter and I'm very very glad I did. Something that seems so simple, was extremely beneficial after the intensity of the 2 skate workouts. I felt the kinks work out, some of the stress melt away and per the book, I kept the pace brisk, but not panicked.

I have eaten super cleanly today, under my caloric goal.

This whole plan seems to be working out brilliantly. And I'm really looking forward to the coming weeks. I think this slower "ramping up" will be more effective when paired with cross-training, so as to avoid injury and give myself time to adjust to adding in a new sport.

My plan for the rest of the week:

Walk Thursday, Friday and Saturday to give me 4 days of 30 minutes of walking. I may do an open skate this Saturday for a few hours, but we shall see.

Next week the plans are as follows:

Sunday - 2 hr skating practice

Monday - Week 2 RYBO program (Walk 4, Run 1 - 30 minutes)

Tuesday - 2 hr skating practice

Wednesday - RYBO!

Thursday - RYBO! PLUS Hip Hop Abs

Friday - RYBO!

Saturday - 2 - 5 hours AM skating

Yours in fitness,

Grace

The Journey and What It's About

Dear Followers,

So, as with everything I seem to do, I'm jumping in to this journey and blog with both feet! I tend to do this with every aspect of my life... the quick whim, the impulsive purchase, the vigor and excitement of purpose and something new.

I intend for this one to stick.

How did this begin? As I said, with a whim... I got a book from the library today called, "Run Your Butt Off!" (RYBO) and as a busy mother of 2, of course I had time to read today. Ha Ha! That's a joke, people. Really, I glanced at the book, got engrossed in it and then made time for me to read and absorb. Only 4 chapters in, but it really struck a chord as, "This is me. I have to do this. I CAN do this!" So here I am... forcing upon the masses yet another blog.

The purpose of this journey is just sharing my experiences. Putting myself out there for friends, family and strangers alike to see and to realize, if an over-weight mother of 2 can go from couch potato to running 30 solid minutes, anyone can.

I want to note: This is NOT about the running. This is about me learning a new sport and endeavoring to change my lifestyle. I don't want people to feel that I'm advocating running. This is only what I've chosen for myself. Everyone needs to find that "thing" that clicks for them. I also am a cyclist who in years past has done the Seattle to Portland bike ride and ridden numerous hours/miles for fun and commuting. I am also doing roller skating/derby, but that is a story for another time. You will see me logging skate time here, but stories will be absent. It's not about the "type" of sport or "event" you choose. It's how you make it work for you and attain your goals.

I know what it means to be fit. I know that I am not there now. Muscle memory does not stick around for 5 years, so I am starting from scratch. I will be logging/blogging numbers, but keeping it simple. I love the details, the numbers and the overkill of information, so this will be an exercise in me NOT going overboard, while being kind about obstacles and successes alike.

Thank you to everyone that is or will be following. Thank you to my amazing husband who is picking up a bit of slack, 30 minutes a day for me to do this. That's all this is... 30 minutes a day. I can make that work and turn it in to a life long habit.

Warm Regards,

Grace