Tuesday, March 29, 2011

...and running and running

yay!  i went again today.  treadmill style, because the pollen is OUT of control.  i was inside and i'm still sneezey mcGee.  oh well.


3.3 miles in 30 minutes.  the first 10 minutes i did this wacky program on the treadmill called "9 holes" that i thought sounded interesting.  maybe nine different levels or hills or speeds or something.  


turns out it went from flat to incline then a little bit more inclined.  and a bit more inclined...  and then, yes, some more.  from 1 to 5 over about a minute and a half-wow!  and i tried, tried, tried to keep going at the same speed the whole time.  wowzuhs!  it was the fastest ten minutes ever, because i was trying to figure out what was coming next and kept-for once-challenging myself and suceeding.  woot!  


anyway, then the machine stopped and i was disappointed.  didn't want to stop!  yee ha!  so i went for 20 more minutes and a bit over 2 more miles.  


are my extra ell bee's disappearing yet?!  i don't think so, but i need to keep remembering you can't make it to the top in one day (it takes four and a half).  *sigh*

Sunday, March 27, 2011

"do you have a license for those guns?"

... is what i'm expecting them to say when i show up with my strong (but feminine) arms in a few weeks.  all muscle, sans bat wings.  i'd like to thank martha stewart weddings magazine for that phrase.  "bat wings."  that's a hoot.  it'd be funnier if i didn't have them.  goodness, since i stopped waiting tables--and consequently stopped lugging around trays with upwards of 10 full water glasses or 12 loaded dinner plates--the flab has set in.  with a vengeance.  in the teaching world we call it "chalkboard arm" and it makes me hate writing on the board.  oh well.  all i can do is what that article tells me and bid them adieu.  fly, fly away miserable bat wings.  momma's got a summer dress to get into and doesn't need y'all flapping about.  see ya!


and then there's the business of the belly.  bid that thing adieu, too.  does anyone read real simple?  it's such a fantastic, realistic publication.  each month they put in two "15 minutes and you're done" things that you can do in 15 minutes.  one is a cleaning routine (your car, your front porch, your refrigerator, etc.) and the other is a 15-minute workout.  i mentioned the inner thigh workout (hello bikini on an island honeymoon!) a bit ago--yeah, i haven't quite gotten there yet--and have found another:  the ab/core workout.  it's AWESOME.  i did it last saturday, the same day i bought the magazine and it was good.  i will do it again tomorrow morning.  and three more times this week.  will someone please ask me on friday how many times i got to the RS ab workout this week?  do not settle for any less than three. please. 


also this week:  TWO runs!  woo hoooo!  i went 3.7 miles in 31  minutes.  the last two miles took 16 minutes!  i was so excited.  see, my friend amanda ran her first marathon ever last sunday.  she ran it in 4 hours and 37 minutes.  26 minutes faster than mine.  she inspired me to get back on the speed train, not just the distance train.  i'm losing my touch, people!  if i can run faster, i'll run farther.  (further?  farther?  not one i'm ever sure about...)  and today i went to the gym and visited my friendly treadmill, thanks to severe thunderstorm warnings and tornado watches.  i punched in 45 minutes and went 4.7 miles.  i did four in 36:03.  then walked most of the rest.  i'm at 9 minutes/mile.  once upon a time i ran an 8 minute mile.  i just want to get there again.  this getting older, and therefore slower,business is for the birds.


anyway, all this to say, "will someone ask me how many miles i ran this week?"  then ask me if my H+M skirt fits yet.  please.  



Monday, March 21, 2011

st. patty's week (and the first week of Lent...)

hey gals!


among other things for Lent, one of my doings is "exercising four times a week."


it's selfish in a way, but also, i'm trying to take care of what i was given.  i've not been so good at that lately.  i've quite forgotten about it, actually...


on wednesday i went on a 40 minute run.  it turned out to be an extension of my intended run.  i was house sitting in a very run-friendly neighborhood and was going to do a quick map-my-run two to three miler around the block. i started feeling ambitious, though, and thought i'd go outside the 'hood and down the "trail."  i'd go "allllll the way to bowman road."  i thought it'd be about 40 minutes, so it'd be at least 4 miles.  turns out i don't run a 10 minute mile.


turns out allllll the way to bowman was only all the way.  only 3.6 of what i thought to be 4 miles.  *hmph*
anyway, it was longer than i intended and that counts for something, right?


and on thursday i ran the Catch the Leprechaun 5K.  SO fun! great course, great company and free corned beef sandwiches and beer afterward (also hotdogs, which i had instead of corned beef because i realized there were sandwiches too late).  so fun!  i ran a 30 minute 5K (there's my 10 minute mile) and realized i need to PICK IT UP A BIT but still had fun.  i'm finally registering for the cooper river bridge 10K tomorrow.  i love this race, and it will be my fourth annual--such a good time.  it's the quietest race i've ever run.


it's a big rally and ruckus, all the way to about the 2-mile mark.  that's when the 1-mile uphill begins.  then it's silence, save for the in-and-out lung-filling breaths you hear all the way to the top of the bridge, half way between the diamonds, towards the downhill to flatness. the flat, level playing field of Meeting to King to Wentworth to bagels & powerade & oranges at Marion Square.  i also love that this race ends at the bicycle shop.  kind of a fun twist...

Thursday, March 10, 2011

oh, tony.  p90x master and arse kicker.  
i haven't been able to sit since tuesday night.  my thighs have lost the strength to hold my weight as i lower myself into a chair.  you should see me getting in the car!  it's best when i'm wearing a skirt.  ha!  
rob and i did the plyometrics workout the other night and i pretty much discovered muscles i had no idea were there.  i know they're there now though.  a lot.  and i hate them. 
but i will conquer them.  the pain is muscle building, right?!  (say yes, you're right.)  ;)
next up:  15-minute thigh workout from real simple magazine.  we'll see how that goes.  


all i know is reaching the top of a 19,000 foot mountain didn't hurt this bad for a single day.  yikes, how out of shape am i?!  

hi lovely ladies!


i said waaaaay on back in november (i was only engaged a month!) that i was going to start a blog to get myself motivated to make sure i still fit in that fabulously white and once-in-a-lifetime dress gown.  i'll never again get to wear a gown.  so i'll call it a gown...  ;)


anyway, i don't want anyone to take this the wrong way or think i'm sayin' anything i shouldn't, but i wanted to share these musings and updates with y'all because one or more of the women closest to me have said at one time or another since i proposed bridesmaid-hood that she "needs to just work out so i can fit in my dress!"


that said, i'm keeping track of what i'm doing to fit in my dress.  every single one of you are perfect and do not need to do a thing.  y'all are fitting quite nicely in your lovely cornflower blue frocks.  i write in case any one of you wants to race, challenge or motivate each other.  i need all of those things...  let's do it.  


we have three months and nine days.  i'm a bit annoyed at myself for letting three months go by before finally getting around to doing this, and i won't lie-i've probably gone running four times since thanksgiving, but i can start now, right?  


i really just need to be held accountable for doing something active and if i think anyone is reading this and will possibly ask me what i've done to lose my thighs, i might be more apt to get my arse over the bridge or around the neighborhood, just me and my asics & ipod.  


and so it begins.  c'mon ladies.