5 Mile Run

Last night I got to the gym in time to do 1.5 hours of the Elliptical (they close early on Sundays). Today I did a half hour on the elliptical and then a 5 mile run. It wasn't a fast run. Right now, I am aiming for increasing miles and not so much speed. I am just trying to finish the run - not break any records. I'm getting ready to leave for a spin class in a few minutes. I'm trying to kick up the cardio a notch to get the weight loss moving a little. Tomorrow I plan on another run and weights.

I have been mapping out possible running routes around my neighborhood. I have been using Map My Route . com I found some posted routes near my house too. I have to get outside and run. Only 3 weeks left until the Broad Street 10 miler.

I also signed up for the BA 5K a week after the 10 mile run. I will have to run that one after a 12 hour night shift though. I signed up the whole family - surprise!

I bought a new bike. It's a hybrid, 21 speeds - I'm probably not going to use 15 of them LOL! Time for some serious cross-training.

Tiny Run under 12 minutes

I woke up after my 2nd night shift to get ready for my third night shift. I ran down to the treadmill and popped out a mile in 11:58! Yeah me. I know it's not fast for most people here, but for me it IS!! Now if only the Broad Street 10 miler lost a zero LOL! I am planning on adding mileage this weekend since I am off on Saturday night!!

I don't know why I signed up for an extra 12 hour night shift on a Friday night of all things. The last two nights were painful. I never have off on a Friday, but I guess the drop in temp and rain drove me to it. That, and the Las Vegas trip coming up :)

1 mile under 12, carb free 3 days

So, I've decided to go carb free for the next 3 days. Protein only for me. Have I told you how much I loooooove my carbs? I love bagels, raisin bread....... So, I'm going to try it for 3 days and see if I can jump start some weight loss. I've been a maniac at the gym lately - only missing 3 days out of 20. But the scale won't budge!!!

I did my 3rd spin class in 2 weeks on Monday night (my second trip to the gym - after weights and the Arc trainer in the early afternoon). Man, I was soaked. It's getting easier and my but doesn't hurt quite as badly LOL! I Zumba'd on Tuesday after running the kids to 2 doctors' appts during the day.

I was up at 2:30 am on Wed morning after someone texted me from work about a birthday party on Thursday. Really???? I keep my phone on my night stand for emergencies. That was not an emergency. So I watched the hours flip by for the rest of the night. Valerian and Melatonin did not help me. So my but was lagging but I got to the gym and did a half an hour on the Arc Trainer, a major weight circuit and then back up to run a mile in under 12 minutes (read - fastest mile for me!!) I felt good and could have kept going except work got in the way. I left the gym feeling great!!

These 3 days off went by way too quickly - now back to work! :P

Run, Spin, Butts and Guts, Children of the Corn

I was able to get to my second spin class on Thursday. Drenched again. I handled the "jumps" better too. The instructor also taught a "butts and guts" class next. Wow. It was a weight class that incorporated two body parts with every move. Lunges with shoulders, squats with triceps. Great class!!! I woke up at 4 am and I think that only the tip of my nose was pain-free :)

I was still able to run 4 miles on Friday!!!! Yeah me. I should say run for most of them. :) I still slow down at times but not as much and for a lot shorter time. That makes 14 out of 16 days that I made it to the gym. I only slept 3 hours on Saturday after a night shift and had to go back in for another 12 hours on Saturday night. I could barely keep my eyes open let alone make it to the gym :P But now I am off for a whole 3 days!!! Of course the sun is going into hiding and it is going to rain for 2 of them :(

We are getting the garden ready for planting - can't wait. Hubby grew THE best corn ever last year. It was a mix of yellow and white and was so sweet. Can't wait for it again this year. The pic popped up top. I call it - Children of the Corn!!!. LOL

Running and potty breaks

I don't know what happens when I run, but the need to go to the bathroom hits more often than not. I can attack the elliptical for an hour at level 7 - no problem. Weights for an hour and a half - no problem. Spinning class - no problem. I worked Tuesday night and didn't sleep well on Wednesday day, so I didn't make it to the gym. So I hit the basement and the treadmill. I was going pretty well when that uh-oh feeling hit. I forced a mile before I jumped off and ran to the bathroom. Back to the treadmill. Not long after, it happened again. I mean really. I was feeling great and could have gone for 4 or 5 miles. But, believe this, my shoe came untied twice and the potty breaks....I cut it close to shower time and only did 2.5 miles. Blah.

I had a great two weeks at the gym. However, the scale has not really budged. I've cut the ETOH (that's alcohol for the non-medicals LOL) down to Sunday only. Since I work 3-5 night shifts a week, it doesn't leave me many days anyway :) I plan to do the same as I did for the Bridge Run and cut out the ETOH for the month of April before the Broad Street 10 miler. (Bummer, since the "Beverage Center" is almost finished in the basement.)

Hopefully I can get my neighbor to take the kids to CCD so I can make the spinning class again. For some good news, I think that the Sketchers have actually helped my plantar fasciitis (maybe about 75%.) Either that, or it spontaneously went away (not). I still have problems waking up - if I remember to stretch first and walk slowly - this helps. But usually, I jump up and run to pee :) Sitting for a while also stiffens me up. But it is a lot better - yeah!

Spinning class

I did my first spinning class on Thursday night. I loved it. I hung in there with everything except the "jumps." They were killers on my knees so I did every third one or so. Most of the spinning classes take place when I am still at work in the am or on nights when I am at work. It looks like Mondays or Thursday nights with a little juggling may work. I ran 3 times last week. With a 4.7 mile run on Friday. Probably not my smartest move with the spinning class the night before. I also felt like I was sitting on a pole for two days LOL!

I've been to the gym 7 out of the last 8 nights and was hoping to make it to the spinning class tonight. I ran 2.5 miles today with a half an hour on the elliptical. I had a mega gym day yesterday with the weights. I even fought off the meatheads in the free weight section LOL.

It's been raining for more than 5 days. However, sunshine and 60 degrees for the next 5 days. I hope to take advantage of this and run outside. Work has been crazy!!! I hope it relaxes a little bit soon.

Ran the Bridge

It was absolutely gorgeous out today - temps hitting almost 60 degrees! I decided to battle the Bridge today. It's 3 miles over and back. I haven't run it since the race in November. The weather was great, except for the winds that were kicking up out in the open of the bridge. It's a great workout with one big hill up and one big hill down. Then you get to turn around and do it again :) I was planning on hitting the gym for a Zumba class tonight but the granite contractor was late and I missed the class :(

I used my Garmin (like for the real first time) today and had the fastest pace as 9:42. Hahaha not on my best day. I probably hit that going downhill for like 2 minutes :) It was interesting to see the different paces. I think I'm going to enjoy using it - if the weather would cooperate more often.

My husband and I attempted to run with the dog last night. hahahaha Not happening. Remember the post about run sniff, run pee? Yep. We got her out in the street and were able to run for short bursts. We made it around run, walk, wait, for almost 2 miles.