Some Early Thoughts on PiYo

There was a decent amount of snow falling this morning. Buddy and I felt that it was much too early to have snow blowing in our faces.

I made a super delicious breakfast with an English muffin, guacamole, greens and eggs.

It was a good way to start the morning. Much better than the snow in my face.

I did two PiYo workouts today. The first one was Define: Upper Body. It was a short one, about 20 minutes, and honestly, it didn't feel like it even counted as working out for the day. Next up was Sweat. This one meant business. It was about 35 minutes and I was definitely sweating! I liked the variety of moves, and the fact that it has a countdown on the screen so if you're in a tough segment you can check it and decide that yes, you can actually do that for another 30 seconds. The two combined made for a good workout!

Some things I like about PiYo so far (as I have done 3 workouts I am now clearly an expert):

• The pace: it uses a lot of yoga moves that I was already familiar with, but is more up tempo. Plus, the variety of moves makes time go pretty quickly. 
• It's low impact strength and stretching. The style of workout is so different from what I'm used to, but that's why I think it's a good complement to my running. I already feel like my muscles are less tight than they have been.
• The feeling I have when I'm finished. It's a relaxed soreness that kind of reminds me of how I feel after a massage.
• I like the instructor. She doesn't yell at me or want me to throw up (I'm looking at you Jillian Michaels). She wants you to work hard, but is more worried about keeping correct form than killing yourself.

Some things I don't like:

• Every workout ends with an ad for Shakeology (a Beachbody meal replacement shake) or some skincare product. I paid for workout program, not the home shopping network on dvd.
• The cost of the program. I actually found my PiYo on Ebay for about $30 (please don't hate me if you're a Beachbody coach), but if you buy it through Beachbody it's around $73. That just seems insane to me (and this is one of their cheaper programs), especially since they're still trying to sell you more things even after you buy the program. 
• There is such a thing as PiYo burpees. Need I say more?

If you do decide to poke around on Ebay (or another site) just be aware that there are a LOT of fake copies of Beachbody programs floating around. 

I managed to convince myself to do some laundry and the dishes this afternoon, but otherwise have had a pretty mellow day. 

And if anyone has control over these things: Buddy would like the snow to please go away now. Thanks!

 What's your least-favorite workout move? Mine is burpees, hands down.

My Mind Goes Weird Places

Buddy was very tired this morning from all the sleeping he does. 

I had an easy three miles on the plan for today. I felt great for the first mile or so and then things tightened up a bit. My leg is definitely improving (for real this time!), I just have to wait a little bit longer to get back to normal. Right, patience, I'll work on that...

Apparently, I magically won a giveaway that I didn't enter:

Because this appeared on my front step this afternoon.

Not quite sure how that works, but hey, I like olives. And free things.

The first thing I thought of was that the lunch box is exactly the right size to carry ice cream in. You know, for all the times I need to carry my ice cream with me.

My mind goes weird places.

I also got this in the mail today:

PiYo is a combination of pilates and yoga that is geared at improving strength and flexibility - both of which I want to work on. I've heard good things, so I'm looking forward to checking it out.

Hope your weekend is off to a good start!

It was Beautiful

I didn't run with the group on Saturday, partially because I didn't think I would be able to do it, and partially because of this:

I'm not a fan of negative wind chills.

Saturday became a rest day, and we spent a decent amount of time shopping in the afternoon.  Tom was looking for a new coat, and I am on the hunt for some new yoga (pajama) pants. Turns out we're both pretty particular about both of those things. He was successful, I'm still looking.

This morning I geared up for my long run. I stretched. I foam rolled. I used the stick.

I found a knot in my calf (somehow related to the ankle pain?), and it hurt to roll it. I brought the stick down to the treadmill with me and stopped to roll my calf every couple of miles. Other than a bit of tightness (and the pain while I was rolling it out), my 11 miles was pain free.

It was beautiful.

Fingers crossed that I'm past this random injury - I missed running without pain!

We had a snack-a-thon (with beer) for dinner while we watched the Super Bowl. The first course was chips, salsa and guacamole. Round two was a veggie tray, and we finished up with some devil's food doughnut holes.

We planned on having burgers for dinner, but started snacking and quickly realized that we weren't going to be hungry enough for a full meal. Guess we know what's for dinner tomorrow!

Buddy did not care about the outcome of the Super Bowl.

We mostly were torn between which team we disliked more. It was a good game though!

Did you watch the Super Bowl?

Red Curry, New Workouts and Fun Mail

I made super tasty red curry for dinner last night. I pretty much followed this recipe and added cooked chicken, broccoli and a bag o spinach.

It's SO good! We eat it over rice and topped with chopped peanuts, green onions and some toasted coconut (because I randomly decided to toast coconut yesterday).

I'm back to my training plan, which means no run today. I have speedwork on Thursday, so I wanted to save my legs. The other day I was reading a blog (I can't remember which one) and they were talking about Fitnessblender. 

Fitnessblender is another video workout site and as an added bonus: it's completely free! For real.

Since I want to be able to rock my run tomorrow, I didn't want to do anything too crazy today. I ended up finding a core/back workout that was a nice, easy workout. It made me focus more on form and muscle control.

I'm actually thinking about doing this after a run, I think the stretching and core work would make a really nice cool down.

I also did a quick arm workout.

Buddy was more than ready to go upstairs by the time I finished.

I got fun mail today! 

I pretty much live in this purple sweatshirt, so (with the help of a Christmas gift card) I decided to get another one in a different color.

I got this one in black. 

I also grabbed this tank while I was at it.

Merry Christmas to me! 

What's the last fun mail you got?

Back to Normal

I was having weird dreams and woke up at 7 for no good reason. Boo.

I'm getting into a routine now that Tom's back at work - my morning consists of coffee, breakfast, dishes, and a trip to the grocery store for dinner things. That's because I'm incapable of planning meals any further in advance than that.

Yesterday I told Tom I didn't want to start my run because I was afraid I was just going to have to stop again right away. I felt that way again today. There's almost nothing more frustrating than having to cut a run short because you're in pain.

Fortunately, the icing, stretching and compression socks seem to be working, because I got back to my training plan today with no pain - I win!

3 easy miles with a little stretching at the halfway mark.

Followed by some push-ups as today's #NoExcuses challenge with Sweat Pink. It takes a whole new set of skills to set up my phone and use the self timer to get these pictures.

I even elevated my feet for a bit after my run, and Buddy pouted until we left the basement.

He always turns his head away when I turn my phone camera on - brat.

Just in case it affects anything, I put the mat back under my treadmill today. We didn't bother with it when we moved it to its new home, and I'm wondering if it's creating more impact than there would be with the mat down. It certainly can't hurt.

I'm so happy to be feeling back to normal - there's nothing like having to rest an injury to make you want to run!

Race Sign Up and Running Again!

I was amazingly lazy on Sunday. We had freezing rain pretty much all day long, and I spent most of my day researching races, reading blogs and watching tv.

Freezing rain is dumb.

Buddy was terrified while Tom cooked dinner, so I threw his blanket on him. He stayed like this for about an hour.

He has such a rough life.

The result of all my race research is that I'm now officially signed up for 3 half marathons!

West Point Half Marathon - March 29th
Rhinebeck Hudson Valley Half Marathon - May 16th
Walkway Half Marathon - June 13th

The Rhinebeck and Walkway races are new, it's the first year for both of them. I think I have run more races in their first year than I have run established races. I have never been signed up for more than one half marathon at a time, it's weird for me to be planning my entire year of racing at once.

I'm almost 100% decided on a marathon, but registration doesn't open up for most fall marathons until April, so we'll see if I'm still stuck on the same one come April.

I ran today!

I haven't run since my painful, aborted tempo run last Thursday. My ankle has been feeling a lot better, and I took it slow. I did a legitimate warmup (which I don't always do) and stopped to stretch (and do some mountain climbers for the #NoExcuses challenge) every mile. I ended up running 3.13 miles in 30 minutes. I'm just happy that I got to run!

And yes, I iced after I was finished.

Hopefully this means I can get back to my training plan this week.

Buddy did as much adventuring as his leash would allow this afternoon. I think he was just happy the temperature was above freezing.

Do you plan your race schedule for the year all at once or do you like to play it by ear?

An awesome run, mud and beer

I had an awesome run today. I felt great and my ankle didn't hurt at all...while I was running. It tightened up after I was done, but I didn't feel even the slightest pain while I was running.

6 miles at 8:09 pace thankyouverymuch. I'm still a little baffled by how much faster I am than earlier this year.

I realized that I didn't show you the mud yesterday, so here you go. This is what it looks like all wrapped up.

I iced a bit after my run and then got mudded up. My ankle is feeling better, but who knows what combination of stretching, foam rolling, ice and mud is doing the trick. All I care about is that it's starting to feel a little better.

This afternoon we headed to the Captain Lawrence Brewery to check out some of their new beers, because we like beer.

They have teeny tiny tasting glasses, but they're really cute. Plus we took a growler home.

Now I've got a heating pad on my ankle while we catch up on shows that we've dvr-ed. It's a wild night over here, though I guess that's ok, since it's only Wednesday.

A shoe swap saves the day

Do you ever feel really productive doing little everyday things? We have been letting the dishes pile up for a few days and I finally got around to washing them this morning. It never takes as long as I think it's going to, and now the kitchen is clean!

Sunday was mostly uneventful. We watched the Giants/49ers game, I wasn't sure who to root for since the Giants are Tom's team and the 49ers are my mom's favorite. It was a much closer game than we thought it was going to be.

I wasn't planning on running yesterday, but after the football game I started getting antsy, so I hit the basement and ended up having a really good run!

I even stretched after I was done. Weird, right?

Today's terribly exciting plans included running, and a trip to Target and the grocery store. We're living the glamorous life around here.

The first two miles of my run were kind of miserable. I just felt off, and my PureFlows were bothering me. After a quick shoe swap, I was feeling great and ended up running 6 miles. I don't know why my PureFlows were bothering me, they're usually one of my favorites!

I also tried out this Caramel Macchiato GU that I got when we were at REI the other day. I wish I had more, it was really tasty!

The guys are kind of hilarious.

Buddy is only happy in 65-70 degree weather. Anything warmer or colder and he's not happy. He was curled up tight last night so I covered him with his towel. He didn't move again until bedtime.

He's kind of a wuss. :)

BOSU creeper

I had a really good run on Saturday. It was only 3 miles, but it was one of those really nice ones where I felt strong and fast. My hip tightened up a bit after I finished, but otherwise I think I'm pretty much recovered from last weekend.

This is why I can't stretch after I run.

Today I decided to check out the dvd that came with my BOSU ball. It was kind of hilarious.

More step-aerobics style than I was looking for, and super dated. Not to mention, that guy off to the right doesn't do the workout. He watches the girls and discusses the moves.

Creeper.

I think I'll be checking out what youtube has to offer next time.

We have been busy touching up paint and tidying the house today. Our realtor is coming by tomorrow to take pictures so we can get the house listed.

Buddy has been super helpful.

I may have to rethink my hatred of cleaning, the house looks really nice. :)

Post Race Recovery

Happy Wednesday!

My mom and I spent most of yesterday playing with a 12 month old. There are worse ways to spend your day.

Buddy was pouting because Tom was hanging out with a friend in the city.

I haven't even attempted a run yet. On Monday, Mom and I took Buddy for a long walk, but otherwise I have been taking it easy.

How long do you take off after a race? It really varies for me, mostly depending on how sore I am, and how long the race is. I have seen recommendations to rest anywhere from 5-13 days after a half. Generally, I take a few days completely off, and then hold off on any tough workouts for close to two weeks. I've even been trying to stretch and foam roll this time around.

I definitely pushed myself on Sunday, so I still have some pretty sore muscles. Plus, having my mom here is a good excuse to take it easy for a few extra days. :)