April 30 - Personal Training Day 17 (& 2 mile run)

Warm-up was outside: 50 body squats then .25 mile run - repeated four times for 200 squats and 1 mile. Then 3 sets of:
1. Alt. arm dumbbell row - 15 lbs. x 20 reps
2. Stability ball tricep pullover - 17 lbs. x 20 reps
3. Kettle ball swing - 20 lbs. x 20 reps
4. Inner thigh (90 lbs) with shoulder press (8 lbs) x 15 rep
5. Mountain climbers - 40
6. Bosu ball squat to bicep curl - 10 lbs. x 20 reps
7. Side V-Ups - 30 reps
8. Bench dips - 30 reps
Then 5 min. elliptical level 10. Second set ran a mile. After third set 5 min. elliptical level 10. I am very eager to take tomorrow off and not return to training until Monday afternoon. I feel like I've spent my week there.

April 29 - Personal Training Day 16 (w/ 2 miles)

1 mile run outside with Sonya and Kelly as our warm-up. Then:
1. Laying down leg press - 70 lbs. x 25 reps
2. Squat to shoulder thruster (30 lb bar) x 15 reps
3. Side lunge to bicep curl to shoulder press w/ 10 lbs x 15 reps
(pure evil — it made my heart rate soar to 164)
4. Narrow grip lat pull down - 70 lbs. x 20 reps
5. One arm row on bench - 15 lb. x 20 reps both arms
6. Donkey kick - 60 lbs. x 15 reps each leg
7. Burpees (decline bench push up to jump squat) - 15
8. Decline bench sit-up with overhead 10 lb. ball raise - 20 reps

Cardio intervals day. Between the first and second set I did 5 minutes on the elliptical, aiming to stay above 160 strides per minute (yeah, right), then between sets 2 & 3 I rode the bike for 5 minutes, trying to keep above 150 RPM. I finished before Kelly so I overachieved — some triceps pull downs, assisted pull ups and side crunches. Kelly and I ran another mile outside at the end.

April 28 - Yoga

Yoga was crowded, but good. Thank goodness for pigeon pose, and boat, and wheel!

April 27 - Personal training Day 15

Byoung clearly has Kelly, me and Justice looking weak!

Warmed up 5 minutes on elliptical (pre-workout snack today was string cheese + organic grape tomatoes). I completed 3 sets of the following:
1. 2 min. squats (20 sec continuous/10 sec hold/repeat for 2 min.)
2. One leg bench stepovers with chest press (6 lb ball)
3. Seated chest press machine (15 reps)
4. Lunge to shoulder press (8 lbs each arm)
5. Squat to row (15 lbs each arm)
6. 1 arm chest fly (15 lb) each arm
7. Triceps skiers (40 lbs) - 15 reps
8. Assisted pull-ups (100 lbs)
9. Laying hamstring curl (30 lbs - 20 reps)
10. 30 sit ups + 30 leg lift raises

After 3 sets, Justice and I ran 1 mile outside. Kelly finished her work out as we came in, and then the three of us headed back out for another mile. My legs felt heavy but I was breathing fine. Downed a vanilla Myoplex Light post-workout. And this:

Mmm. Sushi dinner at Wasabi made me forget the pain!

April 26 - 13.25 miles!

After four hours of sleep (and Guinesses, and sushi for a friend's b-day), I still woke up to meet the Fab 4 for a 7 mile run. Scarfed down a piece of peanut butter toast at 6 and still made it at 6:30. Weather was nice - 69 degrees, 78% humidity. Blythe was late so Kelly, Rachael and I took off and Blythe met us around mile 3. We stayed on pace, between a 9 and 10 minute mile. Around mile 7 I made an emergency pit stop into McDonald's. We continued on for 10 miles, finishing in 1:53, then ate breakfast and had coffee at Mimi's. When I got home the sky was overcast but I wanted to be outside, so I laced up my sneakers, changed clothes and went for another jog. I ran 3.25 more miles. Crazy? Definitely.

April 24 - Personal Training Day 14

Byoung took my measurements and re-calipered me since it had been five weeks. I lost 3.3% body fat.

April 23 - Corporate 5K (26:53)!

My calves and upper back were s-o-r-e today from yesterday afternoon's workout. I didn't feel like running, let alone running a 5K. But I went. Kelly, Rachael and I headed downtown to run the Corporate 5K, bandit (w/o paying..shhh!). I had no idea how we'd do, but I wanted to beat last year's time of 27:16. And we did just that. Kelly and I ran the entire way, finishing in 26:53. Average page was 8:40, and at one point I saw 7:35 flash across my Garmin. It was about 86 degrees, too. Summer has arrived!

April 22 - Personal Training Day 13

Another tough, but good, workout. After 5 min. on the elliptical I was greeted with 10 exercises. I'd perform three total sets then do 10 minutes on the elliptical at level 8, incline 20 (just when I thought there were no mountains in Florida...). I'll try to recall the work out:
1. Quick step-ups with one leg on the middle of the bench - 40/leg
2. Chest press - 15 lb. dumbbells with simultaneous leg lifts - 20 reps
3. Lat pull down - 60 lbs. -15 reps
4. Static squat while doing alternating arm row (20 lbs.) - 40 reps
5. Laying chest fly with 12-lb. dumbbells - 20 reps
6. Seated quad raise - 30 lbs - 20 reps (torture)
7. Walking lunges with 8-lb. bicep curls on the way up (down hall/back)
8. Squat to overhead press - 10 lbs - 15 reps
9. Triceps dual-arm kickbacks w/ pink resistance tubing (hard! hard!)
10. Crunch with 6-lb. ball overhead to meet one leg - 20 each leg

Sweat would be an understatement. And I drank 40 oz. of water during the workout. Byoung graciously pressed the foam ball into my upper left back's knot post-workout and made me very aware that some serious massage is needed. It has been since February!

April 21 - Yoga!

After icing my left inner knee several times today, I took trainer Byoung's advice to heart and went to yoga. It had been months. It took a lot of willpower not to run because it is a sunny, blue skies kind of day which is perfect for running. But, yoga went surprisingly well and I secretly cheered when we did pigeon pose (my favorite) which is a great hip opener. Hopefully I'll be very limber tomorrow for the next grueling session.

April 20 - Personal training day 12

I fueled pre-workout with chocolate fudge Myoplex light (17 grams of protein — hooray!) and headed downtown to face whatever Byoung had in store for me. My left inner knee was hurting. I started with step overs where one leg is on a bench and then I step up and over the bench and back then pull my knee in twice and repeat. It felt like my quad was on fire. I lasted one set and then next round we changed it to squats with rows. Also did decline push ups, stationary lunge with ab twist (using the resistance band), an akward side walk with a small resistance band around my ankles, single-arm chest press, single arm bent over row with 15-lb. dumbbell, bicycle crunches, crunches with the big ball, single leg squat to row and another arm/shoulder exercise. And a mile run in the middle of that, with Kelly. It was tough and I felt like a wimp. Hopefully day 13 will be better.

April 19 - 6 miles + 2 hours of tennis

After missing the 7 mile run with the girls yesterday due to a prior engagement, I skipped physical activity Saturday and almost skipped it today. After not too much sleep, and a breakfast of oatmeal and peanut butter, I set out to run 4 miles. It was overcast and breezy, and I was in a tank top, shorts, and visor. Around mile 3 I felt good and kept going, aiming now for 5 miles. I ended up doing 6 miles. Around mile 4 I was thirsty, and darted into an ice cream shop to ask for water. The irony! I finished in less than 58 minutes and felt good, but the sun was out and it was warm - 75 degrees and 50% humidity when I was finishing. Then a friend asked to play tennis and we played a whole set and part of a second one. The weather was great and we were atop a parking garage looking at the St. Johns River downtown. Pretty cool.

April 17 - Day 11

2 1/2 minutes squatting like this? That proved to be a no-go.

I prepped with a Muscle Milk light protein drink and a banana about an hour before our workout. Kelly and I were warned. After warming up, we began with a 6-lb. ball toss back and forth to each other 25 times, then sit-ups where we passed the same ball back and forth. Then I did squats with 25-lb. overhead bar lifts while she did burpees then we switched. When I did assisted pull-ups, she did tricep "skiers." Oh, then there was the 2 1/2 minute wall sit except at first we were partner sitting — leaning on each other (see above). Despite being exceptionally difficult, it proved to be far more comical than anything, and when one of our legs (usually mine) would give out we'd both topple to the floor like dominos. Since we failed our first attempt, not making it the entire time, Byoung separated us and we both squatted for an additional 2 1/2 minutes. Then one of did figure-8 crunches with a ball and the other did seated rows with 50 lbs. Next up was the chest press (w/ 15-lb. dumbells) with leg raise while the other did squats, while touching a 35-lb. dumbell to the floor. Then for the first time I pushed the weighted plastic bin down the hall and back and then back again. That was tough. At the same time she was doing lying down hamstring curls (30 lbs) which weren't much fun either. We did everything twice, and then ended with 5 minutes on the elliptical. Done.

Us, in action, and super sweaty.

April 15 - Personal Training Day 10

Time flies - 10 sessions already. I prepped for the workout by trying something new: a Myoplex light chocolate fudge protein shake (17 grams) at 4:15 p.m. After warming up I was presented my workout. It would be like climbing a mountain — the first exercise I'd perform 10 reps, then the next exercise I'd do 20 reps, then the next 30, then back to 20, then 10, and so forth. I'd do this whole thing three complete times. At the end of the first entire set (of about 10 exercises) I headed outside to run two laps around the block, or a total of .29 of a mile. It was a nice day so I was happy to get outside. The workout included squats while holding the 30-lb. bar and then lifting to an overhead press, lunges with overhead triceps press (10-lb. ball), tossing the huge 6 pound ball in the air (a guaranteed heart rate booster), single-arm lat pulldowns while sitting on the bosu ball, bicycle crunches, sit ups, kettle ball thrusts (still not a fan), decline push ups, burpees (thankfully only 10 repetitions) and squats with shoulder press while standing on a balancing pad. Kelly and I even threw in an extra lap at the end to total more than a mile of running overall. Overall a good workout, I had lots of energy and saw my heart rate climb to 171.

April 14 - an "off" day

I couldn't decide if I wanted to head home or to the gym after work. It was grey and dreary and I was not in the mood for the gym. I told myself I'd get outside and walk - just a mile or so, that I needed a rest day. Four miles later (and 60 minutes...) I was done. So much for resting!

April 13 - Personal Training Session 9

Definition was slammed at 5:40 when I arrived after work. I warmed up and was greeted with a circuit of 10 exercises that I'd perform three times total. First was double lunges with two squats after 2 left-leg lunges and 2 right-leg lunges. This was the toughest exercise of the day. Next was squats with a 30-pound dumbbell between my legs that I'd drop to the floor and lift back up. This was followed by single arm incline chest press (12 pounds) then 15 lat pulldowns. Next was chest press with a resistance tube - 25 with my left leg out then 25 with my right leg out. I then stood on top of a bench with one leg in the center and the other leg dangling off the back. I squatted down on the one leg while keeping my balance, which is fairly difficult. (15 on each leg) It was today that I realized I'd never be an Olympic gymnast. The next was the windshield wiper, where I laid on a mat with two 12-lb. dumbells above me (elbows on the floor) for stability. I then moved my legs in a reverse V shape. Next were lunges with reverse overhead chops with 4-lb. ball. These were very tricky, as I have trouble keeping my hip/knee/foot alifned. Then I did the kettle bell hip thrust (still akward) with a 17-lb. dumbell. Last were 50 bicycle crunches. I repeated and then did 10 minutes on the elliptical before being stretched. I had cake and fruit and a croissant sandwich around 3:30 at a surprise wedding shower at work. Surprisingly I felt okay after that and hope I burnt it all off!

April 12 - Easter w/ the Fab Five

(Rachael, Kelly, me, Blythe - four of the "Fab Five")

We may have all run 10 miles together Saturday but made sure to save room for Easter goodness on Sunday at Kelly and Brad's. On the menu were plenty of tasty delights: sausage, onion and pepper lasagna, turkey meatballs, organic broccoli casserole, italian bread, baked ham with pineapple glaze and garlic smashed potatoes. Cupcakes, Girl Scout cookies, banana bread. And some pinot noir & malbec. I needed to be wheeled away...

April 12 - 7 Miles

Rachael and I decided to meet and run 5 miles Sunday, but it quickly turned into 7. The weather was a nice improvement over Saturday, with a nice breeze and 73 degrees/63% humidity. It was leisurely and we chatted the whole way, running 3:30 to 1 min rest. My calves and hamstrings were tight and sore from the previous 10 miles on Saturday and from Friday's personal training session. But in the end Panera hazelnut coffee prevailed.

April 11 - 10 miles

7:45 a.m. comes around too quickly. That's the time that Kelly, Blythe, Rachael, Ike and I met to run 10 miles. Blythe's first marathon is just three weeks away. (hence the photo of her and the "26.2 - Been there, done that." sticker) The sky was cloudy and the humidity was high. Imagine running through a cloud. We ran sub-10 minute pace for most of the trek. It was tough, and seemed long and never ending. As we ran past the shops of the town center we noticed small children and parents with Easter baskets in hand. We were part of an Easter egg hunt! Fun times. Kelly was kind enough to stretch me out at the end and I returned the favor. What great friends I have. Rachael, Blythe and I refueled on a delicious breakfast at Mimi's.

April 10 - Personal Training Day 8

What could be better than starting a three-day weekend with a bright and early 8 a.m. personal training session? Starting off with 2 minutes of wall sits, followed by 15 dead lifts (50 lbs) then walking lunges with overhead ball (6 lbs) twists? Or incline bench press with two 12s followed by modified pull-ups (under the bar...20 reps...owww!)? Or the standing chest press using the resistance band? Or the side lunges with 8-lb. bicep curls on the way up? Or the inner thigh machine (70 lbs) with simultaneous overhead 8-lb. shoulder press, followed by this crazy ab exercise where I lay on my back with hands above me gripping a handle and then I bring my knees in and up 25 times? I even got to repeat the circuit three times before doing a mile on the elliptical at level 20 and incline 10. When being stretched I began seeing flashing, blinking lights. I asked Byoung what this was, since it had happened on two other recent occasions when leaving my session. The culprit? Low blood sugar. I refueled on a Myoplex light bar and my sight was back to normal. I enjoyed today's exercises far more than those on Wednesday. My scowls were at a minimum.

April 8 - Personal Training Day 7

Here we are, post-workout. Oh, and flexing with our trainer, Byoung. We make him proud. He makes us want to cry!

Today was tough. Not sure if that's due to yesterday's 6-mile run or if I'm just a big wimp. It's debatable. Kelly did different exercises but she said hers were hard too. I started (after 5 min. bike warm up) with squats - 20 seconds continuous then 10 seconds hold, then repeat until 2 minutes is up. Then I did squats with overhead press (25 pound bar) then immediately went into chest press (30 lbs total) then plie squats with 30 lbs (40 reps!), then a 20-pound kettle ball swim (read: torture) then 15 lat pulldowns with 60 lbs. Then single arm triceps overhead while laying down — taking caution not to whack myself in the head with either 8-lb. weight. Then modified burpees (read: almost cried) — push up position, jump legs up to arms then jump up then back down. It was terrible. Then I was atop one of the big balls and did a pelvic tilt/lift while holding a 15-lb. dumbbell. Last in the cycle were these horrible "V" crunches that made me scowl! Then I repeated that fun set of stuff two more times before biking a mile at level 10 at 65 rpm (I was more at 60, but shh!). It was one of the hardest days thus far. Just when I thought it was getting easier...nope. But dinner was excellent. Leftover whole wheat bowties with low-fat ricotta, basil, sundried tomato and lemon and a big salad with shrimp, avocado, black olives, craisins, raw okra and flax seeds. Mmmm. Protein!

April 7 - 6 miles

Ugh.

Some days I just can't sit still - I love designing and computers but sometimes I wish I could work outside, or be standing. (or at least get a comfy, supportive desk chair...a girl can dream I suppose) Oh well. After work I headed to the gym (favorite treadmill was taken) and grabbed a treadmill looking out the window. It was super windy and chilly, but sunny today. Not great outdoor running weather. Denae was next to me for the first 2 miles, and we chatted about her recent trip to Guatemala. I felt good, running at least 6.2 mph and my HR hovering below 150 the entire first few miles. I upped the speed to 7.0, gradually, completing 6 miles in 57:40, and that included 4 one-minute walk breaks. With a bit more than a mile left to run, two ladies, obviously from the same workplace, were on the treadmills to my right. They were annoyingly loud and what bothered me most was that I had already run 5 miles and was running 6.7 mph while they walked at 3.5 miles per hour (slower than my cool down) while holding onto the rails. They were burning more calories with their foul mouths! The conversation (if I had to hear it, you do too) started off with one lady chronicling her day and how she did "so good" by having a shake for breakfast and some "blocker" pills (oh now that's healthy) and then gorged on food in the afternoon. The other lady replied with a very detailed list of all the Easter candy that's in her office. By the time she got to Whoppers and Twizzlers (really?) I considered flinging myself off the treadmill, but decided against it. Because it got better. I bit my tongue. Hard. Now granted I usually don't run with headphones, and today was no exceptiion, but seriously — do people not realize the person right next to you overhears everything you say? And when you're not talking PG, or even PG-13, it is not the best conversation for the treadmill at 6 p.m. (or anytime!) These ladies needed to be huffing it and attempting calorie burn and cardiovascular fitness, not galevanting along discussing raunchy topics. There's a time and a place...and this was neither. Despite that, overall a good run. 10 minutes on elliptical after then stretched. I'm surprisingly not sore from yesterday's personal training session. With that being said, we'll see what lies in store for me tomorrow...

April 6 - Personal training day 6

After a teambuilding at work (read: many cookies consumed), I headed to day 6 of personal training. After a 5 min. warm-up, I was given the run down on the workout ahead of me - seven exercises, which would be performed in a row six times. First set I'd do 20 reps of the 7 exercises, next set 19, then 18, 17..16..15. The first was leg press w/ 130 pounds. Next up was lunges w/ overhead shoulder press. Then ball squats, then lat pull down (60 lbs) then sit ups then push ups (which later turned into chest press) and finally, seated rows (4o lbs). My goodness. I managed to bang my knee pretty hard on the third set of leg press, which caused a little blood and a bit of uneasiness to my stomach. I felt dizzy. The worst was the lunges with overhead press. Oh, and when Trainer Byoung told me how many reps I'd done - five hundred and something - I felt slightly better.

April 5 - Double digits - 10 MILES

Yesterday I took off from physicial activity and rested my legs. Last night I had pizza and beer (one porter, one PBR) and it was excellent. Oh, and a salad. I stayed up late and had to be up early to run with Blythe, who was going to run 20 miles. Rachael and Kelly would meet her for the first leg and I'd join in at 8 to do 5 miles. I did not want to go, but I got up at 7:30 a.m., ate a few cashews, and off I went. Timing was impeccable and the girls were rounding the corner as I rode up. Kelly stuck around and did five more with us then I decided to do 10 and finish the run with Blythe. It went well and we did 3:30 to 1 run/walk ratio. I hadn't run 10 miles since the Gate River Run, which was about a month ago. I felt pretty good. It was overcast, about 70 degrees.

April 3 - 1/2 mile run - Personal training Day 5

Yesterday was a challenging workout with personal trainer, and when he offered Kelly and I a "boot camp" workout the next day, we thought, that can't be too bad - right? I was late and started 30 minutes behind, but Kelly and I had the same regimen. A yellow, lined piece of paper sealed our fate. Eight exercises, in order, performed four complete times. The first time all 8 are performed with 25 reps, the second 20, then 15, then 10 (much better than round 1). The first was legpress (130 lbs!) then squats with overhead press (30 lbs), incline chest press (10 lbs), squat with overhead ball throw, squat to row (20 lbs), lat pulldown (60 lbs) then walking lunges with 10 lb. ball, alternating sides. Oh, then 4 minutes of hardcore cardio. The first time was 4 min on the elliptical, the second time was 4 min. on the stairstepper (heart rate to 170-something!) and the final one was the kicker - a half mile jog outside, two big laps around the neighborhood. My legs felt like bags of sand. Sweating would be an understatement!

April 2

After taking yesterday off to rest and recover, today was day four with the personal trainer. Kelly joined and we got our butts kicked (in the nicest way possible). After a 5 minute warm up I was sent to do a two minute wall sit. Two minutes = eternity. Then I did a series of burpees (push up, jump up, raise the bosu overhead), squat jumps, oblique crunches, lat pulldowns (better posture, here I come!), and then rinse and repeat. It was tough. I scowl, I grimace, I sweat buckets. Did I mention two more two minute wall sits? Yeah, that's six minutes of my life I'm never getting back.