Boot Camp

The gym I where I work out has a class called "Boot Camp." I'm sure most gym's do. Last week, I finally took the plunge and signed up. I've been running and biking for awhile and thought the class would change-up my routine. Boy has it ever.

I have never sweat so much in my life. And we used to live in southern Mississippi! Where it is H.O.T.

But at the end of the day (really the morning, since it's a morning class) I feel like I've accomplished something. So no matter how much I sweat. No matter how hard my hands hurt from doing pushups on turf (I got smart and started wearing gloves). No matter how sore I am the next day- I will keep going.

I took my stats (weight and waist/hip measurements) before I started, so I can track my progress. No, at this time I will not be sharing that with the world. :)

When the going gets tough- the tough get themselves to Boot Camp! :)


Oh- and this afternoon, I fell through my outdoor chair. For the record, it was very weather worn, but still. I fell right through. That's ok, more motivation to get myself to class!

It's Been A Long Time

So it's been a long time since I've posted here.... not because I haven't been working out- for the most part, I have. Woohoo!

Well, I should say that I go in spurts. I'll be awesome for a few weeks and then do nothing for a week. And then I'm back on again. But I think most people are like that.

With my schedule, for me to workout, I have to go at 6am- before my mind knows what I'm doing. I saw this on Pinterest..... for me, it's so true!

So when I get enough sleep, when I can get up and when I have the stamina to just "get out of bed,"  I exercise. Otherwise, I don't. I just get too busy, or too tired, otherwise. :)

But for the most part, I do.

What I've been doing lately is a mixture of running and biking. At my gym, there are exercise bikes in the track area. So I usually ride for awhile, then run a few laps and continue that for about 40 minutes. Last week I made myself keep moving for an hour.

I usually do it by song on my iPod. I run for a song, bike for a song, run, maybe walk (if I'm tired!), ride, etc. When I ride, I do various things. Sometimes I stand, I go really fast, turn the resistance way up, let it down, etc.

I just signed up for "Boot Camp." It's a training program my gym offers. I start Monday, I can't wait to see what kind of pain I'll be in. haha. But I am looking forward to it. I think it will offer a good change to my routine, as well as do more than just cardio. And me, being expected to be at a class, will help me be more motivated to go to bed early- therefore being able to get up early.

So that one day soon I can run my triathlon!! I saw this today, and thought it was fitting:

Sometimes, when I'm working out, and I'm really tired, I just envision myself crossing that finish line. That keeps me going, and I think it makes me run a little faster. :)

A.W.O.L.

Yes, I've been gone. And so has my training.

Sickness struck the house, nothing but serious colds. But when you are the mommy, and you hold sick people all night, getting no sleep for several nights... well... you end up being a sick one too. No fun.

I'm having a little trouble figuring out a workout time too. I like going in the mornings, but it's hard to force yourself out of bed at 5:30am, when you've just gone to bed at 5am... and prior to that fell asleep in a lazyboy recliner for several hours. Some night workouts aren't good either, just because of different things going on.

Anyhow, I'm just trying to figure everything out. It's all a process, right?

On Friday, I did a totally non-workout thing... I "made" my husband take me to Waffle House!

Our little one was having a test done and the office is kind of far away. So we got up there early and had time for breakfast. I love going to breakfast. We never do that and it sure was fun. Waffle House hashbrowns?? Come on... who can pass those up?? :)

Swim AND Bike

I wanted to swim and run this morning so last night I dug out my old gym bag.... literally from about 10 years ago. I've always liked it and I've been carting it around for years now (obviously). When I opened it, no there weren't any old smelly clothes, but to my surprise..... there was a swimsuit, earplugs and goggles! I was shocked!

See.... I have NEVER swam before. But at some point, apparently I was planning to. In fact, I can't remember ever belonging to a gym that had a pool! Where this stuff came from is still a mystery. It's mine alright, I recognize the swimsuit and ear plugs, but I have no idea when it got into my bag. For most people it would just be a dirty gym bag... for me, it was a sign that I've always wanted to do this.

This morning I headed out and swam my 200 yards. I focused on form this time, and while I didn't do that great, I was feeling a bit more comfortable in the water. I also used a floaty thing that you put between your thighs. It helps your bottom side to float so you can get a feel for how you should be on the water. That did help. I have a long way to go, but that's ok. The lifeguard didn't look as worried about me.

Then I did my treading water for 15 minutes. While there, I was thinking about the gym bag. I never could figure out when that stuff got in there. I guess it'll remain a mystery.

Afterwards I changed into my running clothes. I am a naturally large chested woman... and I'm  also nursing.... getting into a sports bra isn't the easiest thing to do. However, getting into a sports bra, while your skin is damp from swimming for 30 mins... well that should be an olympic event in itself. Geesh!  

When I finally wrestled into that thing (actually 2, yes I have to wear 2 of them), I hit the track for some running. This track was a bit weird, it said that 6.5 laps is a mile. I find that odd- I've never seen a half lap increment on a track before. Maybe they are forcing everyone to run just a bit more. Anyway- I did 8 laps. I ran one, walked one, and so on for 8 laps. It hit lap 6 and started feeling tired... then Owl City's "Good Time" came on my iPod.... perfect timing! I think that should be my theme song since it keeps popping up whenever I need extra motivation. Overall- the run/walk was good. I wasn't tired after swimming like I thought I'd be and my muscles were warmed up too. I think the run was actually easier after swimming.

But now, at 2pm, yeah, I'm tired.

I've also managed Day 2 with no sugar (and I don't drink caffeine). So I'm lagging a bit. I have to get our daughter from school in about 45 minutes... I think I'm going to go play with my baby for a bit....

It's been a good day.

No Sugar- Day 1 and a Recipe

No workout today. Yesterday my head was pounding all day.... I never get headaches. I figured I was dehydrated and sleep deprived from being out of town this weekend. So I slept in- well, it was more like "my body just didn't wake up." That's ok, I'm fine with it.

Because my big success today was that I made it through with NO SUGAR!! ahhhhh!!! I'm so impressed with myself! I'm SUCH a sugar addict! I mean, it's my high. I love it. When I get stressed, happy, bored or tired- I head straight for treats. I haven't always been like this, to this extent. I'm not sure when I developed this habit. I'm sure it's been in the last 6 months..... 3 kids have killed me. Love them to death, but at times its hard.

Anyhow- as I mentioned yesterday, I'm not a "little bit" kind of gal. It's all or nothing. So I have to get rid of it. Although I do feel like I cheated because I did have a treat....

My uber-healthy friend gave me this recipe for Chocolate Crunchies or something like that. They are so good, and totally healthy. Meghan doesn't eat sugar, gluten, dairy, or processed foods and she's totally holistic in her health. So if she gives it the stamp of approval- then it's good in my book.

She was so kind and brought me a box of gluten-free, brown rice cereal last week so I could make these. Since I was headed out of town, I waited until today. And I'm glad I did!

The recipe:

1 cup almond butter (or organic peanut butter)
1/2 cup raw honey or agave
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup raw cacao powder (or unsweetened cocoa powder, but its less nutritious)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 T vanilla
1/4 t sea salt
6 cups brown rice cereal

You mix everything but the cereal... then when it's all combined, you mix in the cereal. 6 cups may be too much for your liking, and if so, just add less. I'm not sure how much I used because I didn't measure it. I just poured from the box until it looked good. You can divide out into small balls, using a cookie scoop, if you want. I just poured it all in a pan. Keep in fridge to keep it's shape.

This really was yummy. It tastes like a chocolate, peanut butter rice krispy treat. Which it is- but sooo much healthier. I had most of the ingredients on hand because I used to eat really healthy. But I was out of flaxseed, so I just used chia seeds- which are also awesome for you. I even had raw cacao on hand- impressive! haha.

So thank you Meghan for my treat- I don't think I would have survived today without it.

And It Begins...

I did manage to get a workout in on Wednesday night- I finally rode on a bike! haha. So far, that was the only thing I hadn't done yet. I went up to the gym that night, hoping to spend my time watching the abc shows that I like, only to find out that none of the tv stations were turned to abc. What???!! I was highly disappointed. Then, to make matters worse, my iPod was dead (I hadn't thought to check it beforehand) so I was stuck watching some political stations and their rants about each presidential candidate. That made the workout hard. I'm just that gal that needs music to motivate her. But I did manage to ride 7 miles in about 30 minutes, which I thought was pretty good. I had the bike on level 12 and did the "Hills Plus" mode too- so that counts for something, right??

I didn't workout all weekend because I was out of town, at a wonderful conference called "Time Out for Women." It was awesome. And it made me think about a lot of things- one of them was completing my triathlon  It motivated me even more, which is always a good thing.  

This week starts the "official" triathlon training.... from the workout schedule I got from Beginner Triathlete. Because of different scheduling things, I have to change up the days little, but nonetheless, it will all happen. I'm also cutting out sugar. I'll go into my sugar addiction in another post, but I'm not a "I'll just have a little" kind of gal.... I have to have the entire thing. And I mean ENTIRE. So I'll really being trying to combat that this week.... as that is harder than the training.

So here it begins..... Wish me luck!  

No Workout but a Recommended Blog to Read

I didn't work out yesterday. {gasp} I know. I should feel bad about it, but I don't. Actually, we decided to spend the day as a family and we were gone all day.

I was going to workout this morning, but well... this was my sleeping schedule last night....

-Fell asleep at 9:30 watching "The Office" on Netflix.

-Baby woke up around 11:30pm.... I nursed him and fell asleep in the rocking chair. Slept there from 11:30-2:30am.

-Around 2:30, I realized where I was, put the baby back in his crib and crawled back into my own bed.

-Apparently he woke up again at some point, and so did our two year old. Because around 3:30, I heard the 2 yr old talking in our room and found myself sitting in the rocking chair, again holding the baby. I have no recollection of going back there. I put the baby (again) back in his crib and (again) crawled into our bed. This time with our 2 yr old between my husband and I. He was WIDE awake. We finally turned Curious George on for him (courtesy of Netflix) and dozed on and off until the baby woke up again around 6am. Not long afterwards our daughter woke up and then the day started. I have no idea what was up with the baby last night. He's usually a good sleeper. I asked my husband when the 2 yr old got in the bed, he said he had no idea. (He had to pass me in the rocking chair to go into our room and I never heard him).

So, did I work out this morning? In one word, no.

But I am hoping to tonight!

BUT I did see this great post from Kate at The Small Things blog. This is one of my favorite blogs.. I love her hair and makeup tutorials along with her fabulous outfits. She and her husband just did a triathlon last weekend. You can check out her awesome comments about it HERE. She did a great job telling all about it. I learned a few things I didn't know (like what to wear). And the fact that she loved it totally motivates me even more! Thanks Kate!