Face The Music Friday #33

Fitness this week:

Saturday – BoldrDash

Sunday – Volunteered at water stop at Cox Marathon (lots of fun and can’t wait to volunteer again!)

Monday – 30 min run + 10 min challenge*

Tuesday – Mowed lawn/weedwhacked

Wednesday – 30 min run

Thursday – 1 hr Unleashed OCF class

Friday – Rest

To elaborate a bit on this 10 minute challenge I created for myself, I decided I wanted some record of some sort of my  progress. I picked 5 exercises, trying to incorporate most of my body, and aimed to do them for 2 minutes each (with about a minute of rest between). However many I do, I write them down and try to improve on those numbers. The exercises are: Lunges (alternating), push-ups (on knees for now), kettlebell swings, burpees and planks (forearm). For the planks, I just held as long as I could throughout the two minutes. My numbers were as follows for the first time:

Lunges – 42

Push-ups – 30

KB swings – 50 (w/ 4K kettlebell)

Burpees – 5

Planks – 2 x 28 seconds

Things I’ve learned from doing this – don’t do it after you just ran for half an hour. I was gassed from my run so my legs weren’t fresh and I had no lungs left in me. For future challenges, I plan on doing them either before any other exercise, or on their own day. I wanted to do them more than once this week, but it just wasn’t in the cards. Now that I know what I know about it, I can plan more accordingly. Then maybe I won’t have such a pitiful showing on the burpees! As a frame of reference, we did burpees in class last night – one minute, as many as we could do. I lost count, but I’m 99.9% sure I almost made 15, so I know I can do more.

The craziness is still going on at work of course, but I feel like I had a better handle on it this week. I got back into a groove with my eating and my workouts and am slowly trying to get back to where I was in terms of my willpower. We had a breakfast meeting at work one day this week and LITERALLY every person in the department asked me why I wasn’t having any bacon. Not anything else, just the bacon. They know how much I love bacon. Then there were a few days with sweet treats left over from other meetings and all week long I said no. I’m through indulging myself so much. I just can’t do it anymore. I love bacon. Just putting that out there again on how hard that was.

 

 

The weather over the next couple of days isn’t looking great, which is a bummer. The rest of our May weekends are booked solid so we were looking forward to getting some hiking in this weekend with temps supposed to reach the 70s. Today and tomorrow look packed solid with rain though, so we’ll see. Maybe some house stuff Saturday and then hiking Sunday if there’s no washout.

I also need to try to fit in a longish run with my new Camelbak to get used to wearing it for Tough Mudder. I ended up returning the one I got at REI after I showed it to my trainer at Unleashed and he recommended a smaller one. I found pretty close to the one he was talking about, plus it has drainage in the pockets so the water can run out. I also got a couple of small dry bags at REI to put my snacks, etc in so when I get submerged they’ll still be fine and I got a cover for the valve so that even if it gets coated with mud, the valve will remain clean for drinking. This pack has a lumbar reservoir which evenly distributes the water across your lower back instead of up and down your spine. It’s so light, I can’t wait to test it out!

I’m going old school with my song choice this week. I’ve been hearing it a lot lately and every time I hear it, it makes me think of Supernatural now. I liked the song before, but oh, the feels I get from it now!

 

 

I thought it would be a nice touch to throw in something from another of my fandoms, which apparently I don’t talk about very much. So much for a blog “theme”. Anyway, if you watch the show, and even if you don’t, enjoy the song!

Kansas – Carry On Wayward Son

 

 

 

 

 

Face The Music Friday #27

No fitness this week. Last weekend, I felt a scratchiness in my throat starting Friday night. We spent the weekend in MA for Julie’s birthday and it got progressively worse to where congestion starting creeping in. I kept it at bay while we were there, but then Sunday started the fever and chills and I knew I was done for. I went to work Monday morning, stayed until 1:00 and then needed to go home because I would have just been useless. I stayed home Tuesday for more rest and, ideally, could have used one more day at home, but went back to work on Wednesday. Today is the first day I’ve felt somewhat human since last Saturday, so that’s nice.

 

Classic SNL!

 

 

I thought I got lucky, but with SO many people sick in my department, workplace in general and families we know, I knew I couldn’t get through the whole winter! I also said something to someone in a comment on their blog about it last week and totally jinxed myself.

 

 

I’m concerned about my fitness level because of the last two weeks, but there is nothing I can do about it now. I have a 5K race tomorrow and am hoping that I’ll feel well enough in the morning to run it. The weather shows 70% rain (which will suck in March) but maybe it will skip just one hour in the morning so I don’t have to get soaked.

In other race news, I found out a couple of days ago via a random email that the Cox Rhode Races changed the date of the 5K race I was running. It was scheduled for 5/3, which is a Saturday. The email said “exciting changes” and when I read it, it said they moved it from Roger Williams Park to the “main” race area near India Point Park in Providence so we could be a part of the “festivities” and more a part of the main race. While I appreciate that, I signed up to run on Saturday, not Sunday. I was fine running on Saturday and then volunteering for the half and full marathons with my running club on Sunday, but I can’t do both at the same time. The racing company was kind enough to offer me a refund (among other options), which I think I will probably take so I can still volunteer with my group. I can use it for another race entry later this year when I need to sign up for more. I haven’t 100% decided, but that’s basically where I stand for now.

For my song choice this week, this is a newer favorite. I heard it for the first time a couple of weeks ago on the local alternative radio station I listen to and love it. I didn’t even realize, until I saw the video, that I was rocking out to an accordion! This will definitely be added to my running playlist.

Kongos – Come With Me Now

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Face The Music Friday #17

Fitness this week:

Saturday – Shoulder/Leg – all 3 sets of 12-15 plus 30 min Yoga

Machine Shoulder Press – 15 lb, Barbell Incline Shoulder Raise – 20 lb, Dumbbell Shoulder Shrug – 25 lb, Barbell Squat – 65 lb, Barbell Standing Calf Raise – 65 lb, Farmer’s Walk (50 steps) – 40 lb, Abductor – 150 lb, Adductor – 150 lb, Plank – 3 x 45 seconds

Sunday – Resolution 5K race & PT stretches

Monday – Chest/Tricep – all 3 sets of 12-15

Dumbbell bench press – 15lb, Machine Fly – 65 lb, Dumbbell decline bench press – 15lb, Push-ups – 8, 7, 5 (no knees), Cable rope pushdown – 25 lb, “The Monster” – 20 lb, Machine assisted dip – 100 lb

Tuesday – Unscheduled rest day – not feeling well

Wednesday – Back/Bicep – all 3 sets of 12-15 plus 15 min Yoga

Machine assisted pull-up – 140 lb, “Good Mornings” – 30 lb, Cable seated row – 45 lb, Flexed Bicep Curl – 20 lb, Dumbbell Incline Bench Curl – 17.5 lb, Cable Standing One Arm Bicep Curl – 10 lb

Thursday – 35 min run/walk, 1 hr Obstacle Class @ Unleashed

Friday – rest

 

Or a blog in this case…

 

I call that a decent week! Kept up with my walk/run plan and it has moved up to 2 min run/2 min walk and I believe it will change again on Saturday. My plan for that day is to combine Saturday and Sunday’s workouts so that I can get in some #megsmiles on Saturday since that’s not a current normal running day on my schedule right now. I’ll then take Sunday as an extra rest day and just enjoy watching my Patriots play and maybe get some stuff done around the house.

Last night I had my third obstacle class at Unleashed and it was a doozy! I worked up a huge sweat and loved every minute of it. I love that each time I’ve done the class it’s a little different. The first time I think we had 11 obstacles, then last Thursday was 12 and last night was 13! And our warm-up was just running laps around the gym this time – no burpees! Yay!!

 

 

I think I did pretty well last night, at least with the wall. This time, I got high enough to see over it, but still can’t quite get my leg up over the top. I don’t have enough confidence or strength for that yet. At least it felt good to notice that progress as before I was just staring at the wood. I also climbed a bit higher on the rope ladder and cargo net, but until my grip strengthens some more I’m not comfortable going higher without a pad beneath me (and neither of those things has one under it).

As good as that felt, my left shoulder is definitely NOT feeling well today. It stiffened up a bit last night before bed, but I took some ibuprofen and figured rest might help but it feels worse this morning. I tried reaching higher to climb instead of closer to my body and I think I tweaked something by doing that, especially since it’s my left   shoulder that hurts which is my weaker side.

Last night, this is how the obstacles went (from where I started in the rotation): Rope wall climb (this is a 12 ft wall), the monkey rope (as I call it), Muscle up on Rings (go to around 6:30 in video), Kettlebell hoist, Cargo net climb, Rope ladder climb, Pull-ups (or in my case, hang from the bar for like 5 seconds at a time), Sandbag carry over plyoboxes, Sled push, Weight bag drag and pull, Sled pull and then my nemesis, the 6 ft wall. There is also an 8 ft wall that is part of that rotation with the 6 ft wall that if you get over one, you do the next, but please…I’m still working on the 6 ft wall.

Before we get to my musical selection for this week, here’s a quick registered race update for my #14in2014:

Race 1 done – Resolution 5K

Race 2 – Old Fashioned 5K – 2/16

Race 3 – St. Pat’s 5K – 3/8

Race 4 – Cox Rhode Races – 5/3

Race 5 – Goal race #1 – Tough Mudder – 5/31

Race 6 – Goal race #2 – Surftown Half Marathon – 9/14

This week I’m sharing a song that gets me pumped up whenever I hear it…even if I’m not working out.

Radioactive – Imagine Dragons

 

2014: A Look Ahead

I only have 2 goals (as of right now) for 2014: finish a half marathon and a Tough Mudder.

I’m trying to finalize my list of races I’d love to do in 2014. I went a little crazy in 2013 because it was my first year of running and I wanted to RUN ALL THE RACES!  I ended up doing 15 5K races, 2 of them being obstacle courses. I’m trying to be a little more controlled about what I do this year and paying more attention to dates and scheduling. Last year, I ended up having 5 races in 5 weeks and it was definitely overload, for myself and for Tara.

I’ve got my main list, but I also have months where I’m unsure of the dates of certain races because they haven’t been announced yet. I’ve got to decide in certain months what races I really “must” do and what can wait until next year. Some races I wanted to re-run, I may just need to skip doing them again, but we’ll see.

Here’s a breakdown by month:

January 1 – Frosty 5K – Seekonk, MA – I haven’t decided on this one yet because of how cold it will probably be. I’d like to do it, but I’m also not sure what our plans will be on New Year’s Eve and not sure I’ll want to get up early for a race on a holiday off. Tara’s not keen on the idea of that either, so that may be a deal breaker.

Nothing planned in February or March, although I may want to do the Tour de Patrick, which is 3 local St. Patrick’s Day races on two back to back weekends. Last year, I did the St. Patrick’s race in Providence only. It was sponsored by my work and was my first 5K ever. I wasn’t running yet at that point, so Tara and I walked it together. I thought it was a nice race and think it would be cool if I’m able to complete the “tour”.

 

St. Patrick’s 5K – March 2013

 

April 19 – BAA 5K (part of their Distance Medley) – Boston, MA – This distance medley for the BAA races is one of my must do things this year. I think it would be awesome if my first half marathon would be part of this distance medley. I grew up on the South Shore in MA, about 20 minutes south of Boston and would love to do something of this magnitude near my hometown. They haven’t announced the dates for the 10K or half yet, but those are in the summer and fall I believe.

April 27 – Newport 10 Miler – Newport, RI – This might be good practice for me to reach my half marathon goals, plus it’s in Newport and you can’t really go wrong there in terms of scenery.

May 3 – Cox Rhode Races – Providence, RI – I did the 5K last year and enjoyed it. This series also has a half marathon, so I don’t know if this should be my first half marathon goal or not. I don’t know if that’s enough time to train (with my miserable, injury-prone body) or not. If it’s not, the 5K could be a time I just try to beat from last year. I also don’t know if it would be pushing it if I did the half and then did the Tough Mudder at the end of the same month.

 

Cox Rhode Races/National Grid 5K – May 2013

 

May 31st – Tough Mudder – Mt. Snow, Vermont – I WILL do this. If it takes me 6 hours, I will FINISH a Tough Mudder. I’m working on getting people together to do it with me. So far, a couple of girls in my department were interested in doing it, but not sure if they’d actually follow through with it or not. I feel like one of them might and the other…well, I don’t have high hopes for her. I feel like it would be great to have some guys on the team to hoist me up over walls I can’t get over, but overall I’d like to be able to do everything myself. Whether or not that can happen, I’m not sure, but I’m going to do everything possible to see that it does.

 

Down & Dirty Mud Run – June 2013

Foam Fest 5K – July 2013

June – not much going on here. I’d like to do the Gaspee Days 5K in Warwick, RI again and see if I can beat my best ever 5K time. I don’t know when that race will be yet. The only other thing I noted was the Warrior Dash on 6/28 in Barre, MA. I fell in love with obstacle racing this year and would love to do more than just the Tough Mudder, but this one may be a wait and see.

July – I would LOVE to do the Finish At The 50 at Gillette Stadium on July 3rd, but unfortunately it starts prior to me being able to get there since it’s a night race and I work until 6pm, about 45 minutes away from the stadium. It will be difficult to get the time off, but I might see if I can anyway and if I do, then I’ll register.

August 9 – Spartan Race – Amesbury, MA – I’d love to do this and I feel like it’s got plenty of time in between Tough Mudder so I wouldn’t be all banged up too close together (LOL)!

August 17 – Falmouth Road Race – Falmouth, MA – I think this would be an awesome run with the history behind it and all the people that run it every year.

Two other possibilities in August could be the Bobby Doyle Races or the Pawsox race. I really want to do the race at Fenway, but it requires fundraising goals that I don’t believe I’d ever meet (based on past experience). The Pawsox race would still be running onto the diamond, just on a smaller scale.

September was my crazy month in 2013, but could also happen again in 2014. I would LOVE to do a repeat of 3 races I’ve already done (NK5K, Surftown 5K (or maybe half this year) and CVS 5K), but also want to add in the Zooma Cape Cod 10K or half. No dates on any of those yet so it’ll be played by ear.

October 5 – Ocean Road 10K – Narragansett, RI

Some other October things I’m considering are re-running the Halloween Monster Dash in Providence, the Wicked Half Marathon in Salem, MA (which may be in September) and/or the Run Wild Zoo Run at either the Stone Zoo or Franklin Park Zoo in MA.

 

Halloween Monster Dash – October 2013

 

The only November races I’m considering right now are doing the Turkey Trot again and/or the Pell Bridge Run. And December, I’m only considering the Jingle 5K again. I enjoyed doing the trifecta of Run Rhody holiday races and would probably do all 3 again…but we’ll see.

 

Downtown Jingle 5K – December 2013

 

I feel like I have the mentality that I can conquer my goals. Now, I just need my body to follow through.