Cycle of Life

Here I am after not posting for a while again. I'm post marathon now and I'm really happy about that! Today I went swimming for the first time in a looong time and it was great. My breathing while swimming sucks, but I had a good workout alternating the kick board and the leg floaty thingy so I could work my arms and legs independently. I went and did the elliptical and bike last night and it is a nice change of pace. Ran on Tuesday and last Sunday, so I'm slowly getting into the crosstraining of winter. I need to get back to CrossFit as well, but its more difficult now that our school year start time has changed and I am so busy I don't have the time to do it in the morning. I want to incorporate CF when I go to the gym. This will be entertaining because I am going to the gym of UIC, which primarily is composed of people 10 years younger than me. I'm sure I'll get some weird looks, but mostly I'm in better shape than almost all of them, so I don't care. Who knows, maybe I'll spread my craft!

After 2 saline shots the foot is still sore. I've slacked on my PT, but I plan on getting back into that this week as well. Winter workouts are for rehab! And I've already signed up for a half marathon on May 2, so I have to make sure I stay true to rehabbing!

The wonders of saline

So in the past two weeks I've run 2 runs--3 miles each and my foot hurt. Today I got the saline shot in the heel/arch of my foot. I was told I should be able to run by Tuesday.

I hope hope hope so! Until then rest rest rest!

Crap ass foot

It was supposed to be 16 miles on Saturday.

I got in 14.5

Its now Tuesday and my foot still hurts. Glad its a fallback week.

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

7 miles on the lakefront

a 9:24 pace average overall.

It was a beautiful, gorgeous, day and I could've run forever!

3.2 mi in the neighborhood

A nice 30 min evening jog with fantastic weather!

Row row row...

5K row
27:41

I started the day off with some PT and some massage of my IT and PF which killed, in a good way. Then I decided to row a bit for crosstraining. I haven't rowed for a while, and I think its kinda pathetic that I can run faster than I can row a 5K!

10 miler and lots o softball

Today was a great day. Last night I played 3 games of softball. Didn't fall asleep till about 2 am. No beers though.

Got up at 5 and went to run 10 miles. Exactly 1 hr 40 min for my pace group. Keepin' it real.

Then I played ANOTHER softball game on the UIC flames field, which was fun. Never played on astroturf before. We went out for some beers after and then randomly went to North Ave beach. It was PACKED!! But we found a place and plopped ourselves on the sand for a few hours. Aahhh I love summer!

Some pullups and dips:WOD

Warm up: PT exercises

Rx for puppies:
40 pullups
40 dips

I broke it down into 4 sets of 10 pullups/dips.

Time 6:31

I forgot to mention that yesterday's run was my first totally pain free run since before April 19th. I couldn't even feel my PF. Guess all this PT and exercises and excessive stretching is helping. I've always been a post run stretcher, but with the PT exercises, I take it to the max.

5 miles

I am now pacing for Nike on Thursdays as well at a 9:30 pace. This is great, except for tonight after copious amounts of wine yesterday. I was dehydrated. Oh well, it was still a good run!

Helen

Warm up:

PT exercises per side:
1) 3 sets of 15 reps hip abductions on edge of couch so upper leg can drop lower than the couch
2) 3 sets 10 reps of side pillar bridge
3) sets 30 seconds hip flexor stretch
4)3 sets 30 sec IT band stretch standing
5)30 reps of IT roll on foam roller
6)3 sets 30 seconds of stretching gastroc
7)3 sets of 30 seconds of stretching soleus
8)Rolling on TP roller, both calves

Followed by:
3 rounds of

400 m run
15 dumbbell swings (24 lbs)
9 pullups

15:30

Oh the way I can sweat doing crossfit doesn't compare to anything else I can do. The PT exercises can also be a bit sweat inducing, especially those pillar side bridges. Ouch!

Run run running

So I did my PT this morning, and that was good. I feel like I am making progress within the first week. I've been faithful and doing my exercises every day (sometimes twice if I feel really ambitious), and the 1.5 hrs this am felt good. Work those hips!

PM found me running with Amy. She wanted to run 4 miles. I ran the first mile with her at a fast pace for me right now--8:15-8:30ish pace. Then I let her do 2 laps around the track while I stretched my PF, seeing as it was bothering me somewhat after today's earlier exercises. I then did the rest of the run with her, although we dropped it to a 9-9:30 min/mile pace for me. It felt good!

3.6 miles in 31:51.

14 miler...kinda

It was a better morning this morning. I don't know how, but again, I was the first one to arrive out of the pacers. Guess I'm turning over a new leaf! My group was 18 strong to begin, swelled to 20 at Diversey when we picked up some half marathoners, and then shrunk dramatically as many people can't keep the 10 min pace. Lisa and I need to work on this somehow so we can keep all our people together.

Our distance was shorter than it should've been. We did do Cricket Hill (my group was all for it), but that shouldn't have cut off over half a mile. I think that the 7 mile marker is placed too closely to the 6 mile marker. I'll have to check next time we're down that way in two weeks. Either way, its the longest I've run since the marathon last October.

In good news, my foot made it to 11.63 miles before starting to get sore...maybe this week of PT exercises is helping already???? That's 2.5 more miles than last week before pain settled in.

I was happy with the doctor because when I asked about running, he said "Let pain be your guide!" Whohooo that's my philosophy as well!

Totaldistance: 13.4 mi
Time: 2:13:54
Pace: 10 min/mile

Bike and a run

Visiting the parents...
went on a 12 mile bike ride yesterday, and a five mile run today.

Also doing physical therapy for my foot, which is due to some gluteal problem (not gluteus maximus, but the side gluteal muscle, which is weak for some reason).

Steeplechase!

I awoke this morning in a befuddled state and saw a flash while heading towards the bathroom. I thought it was our Sonicare toothbrush (it flashes like that when charging, though probably not so intense, I suppose)--until I heard the BOOM.

Boo. Huge thunderstorm with sheets of rain. I texted Ken and he said that no, it wasn't cancelled, so off to my run I went, secretly hoping it would be canceled. I'm fine with running in a light rain (its actuallly one of my favorite running conditions), but I don't want to die by lightning strike.

When I arrived, people were walking up with umbrellas, postponing the inevitable. I thought it was funny. I had considered taking mine, but guess what folks, we're going to get wet! Got my new shoes, which was a good thing.

So my little group of 10 or so took off for our 12 mile jaunt. It really was a pleasant run, amongst the sudden downpours between steady rain for the whole run. We were leaping puddles (hence the steeplechase) even after our feet were soaked. I think its psychological. You don't want to step fully down into the puddle. After all, my feet were soaked but not SQUOOSHY...a new marketing term for Nike rain running...SQUOOSH! Jessica and I, in our white pace leader shirts, as well as a bunch of our fellow runner girls, also in white shirts (at least they had a choice, we didn't...) were all soaked to the bone in some perverse wet t-shirt contest. Jessica had said I should name this entry the titty titty run due to all the nippin out, but that may have brought some undesireables to read the blog. They might get off on thrusters as well...

My foot didn't hurt until after 9 miles, which is good, I guess. I just need PT hopefully.

Distance: 12 miles
Time: 1hr 59 min 19 sec

How's that for an almost dead on 10 minute pace?

I finally made the appt...

To see a Dr about my plantar fascitis. On Monday.

I am so stubborn, but I hate it when my foot hurts!! My biggest fear is being told not to run. Now I know all you naysayers are saying "Well if you don't go to the doctor, you could hurt yourself more permanently". DUH! I know this! I didn't say my stubborness is rational!

Now I sound like Katie, having a conversation with myself. :)

Holy Hell

I've been slacking in the Crossfit department. There is NO excuse. This seems to be a theme in my posting lately.

Back in town from my field geology trip (aka my 7 am till 10 pm job for the past 20 days). It was hard enough to fit in enough runs to ensure I'm training for a marathon, so CF got the boot. I was actually home on Monday, but spent the past 3 days doing JS.

I paid for it today.

AMRAP in 15 min
15 pushups
12 bench dips
9 push press 24lbs

I hit a "glorious" 5 rounds. And my arms feel like they're on fire. It is what I deserve, nothing less! Gotta get back someday. I was feeling the call of CF. It really likes to haunt you.

A training run tonight. It is a good thing the Yucatan was mid-90's with extreme humidity so I'm all ready for that.

On track with WOD

5 rounds timed:

12 shoulder press (round 1 35 lbs, round 2-4 24 lbs)
12 back extensions (on a stability ball)

Time: 9:41

XT: 30 min bike and softball tonight

My PF is aggrevated today. I am trying the trigger point foot baller: www.tptherapy.com

I have heard good things about it from fellow runners and one of the running store guys worked it for me last night and it hurt so good.

Yeah crossfit! and a 5 mile jog

So I ended up biking around yesterday and doing errands, followed by an emergency garage cleaning because a table broke and spilled stuff all over our cars, so I didn't get the WOD in yesterday nor my run. I figured that was ok since cleaning the garage involved doing cleans, ironically, as I lifted stuff up and over my head to put on shelves. I also gardened, pulled weeds, and planted, so it was an active day.

To make up for yesterdays slacking, I did the big dog version of Mondays workout. It went something like this:

50 sit ups
50 dbl unders (single for me since I am hopelessly uncoordinated)
50 sit ups
50 walking lunges
50 sit ups
50 burpees
50 sit ups

Time: 21:51 The burpees kill my time because I am bad at them and they make me dizzy if I do too many in a row fast.

This evening, I led a 5 mile training run for the 10 min pace group. I am a faster runner than this, so it was somewhat challenging to run slow and keep pace. We did 4 x 200m pickups at what was my normal pace, challenging for my group. It was a lot of fun! Its hard to judge if people are enjoying themselves, but apparently one girl in my group told Michelle (another pacer for 9 min) that she liked having me as a pace leader. Too bad I'm only subbing on Tuesdays! If she comes to Saturday morning runs she will have me then.

Catch up is the name of the game!

When it rains it pours...and I'm not referring to our weather!! I got caught up in the last few weeks of school and de-crossfitted if you will. Not on purpose, I just was up till midnight every night and couldn't get my buttsky out of bed. Like Katie sez, when you say 5 more minutes you've already lost...

That being said, I have been running more with less pain in the foot. Which is good because marathon training starts tomorrow!! I've decided that I am going to CF 3 days per week in the am with running in the pm or vice versa depending on temperature. I believe I will have access to the little gym at my school over the summer. Its somewhat removed from the main building and shouldn't be affected by the construction of the summer.

So to summarize, the summer program will be running on M, T, Th, F, Sat. Crossfit M, W, F. Maybe some swimming or biking on Wed as well. Sundays are fundays. I am also going to do this darn eating right for real because I will have time to cook and relax. Summer should be funnnn!!

Since the last post I have done few cf things (sorry, dedicated ones), but I have run another race: Walleye Weekend! I did 5 miles in 44:17. It was VERY hot and humid and I wanted to run sub 45, so I guess I met my goal. I could've done better without the injury as I was running closer to 42 this winter. The heat is good training for Mexico weather though. Going to do some serious training there!

Cindy on Steroids

AMRAP in 15 min
3 pullups
12 pushups
21 squats

8 rounds plus 3 pullups, 12 pushups, 4 squats

yeah...that felt good.

2 mi jog

flare of the darn pf again...don't know why.

RICE baby! Wear that night cast.

Lincoln Park Run for the Zoo

Considering the pf...and I haven't run consistently fo 6 weeks...

My goal was 27 min.

My actual chip time was 26:59. It doesn't get better than that as far as estimating time.

247 overall of 1271 (top 19%)...so I beat 81 % of the people overall.

15th in my division out of 170 (9%) ...so I beat 91% of the ladies in my age group.

So I can't be too sad.

Update and Trevor Win'E Memorial Challenge

Ok so I have been working out, just not blogging!

I did a crossfit thing last week: 25 pushups, 25 sdlhp with 45 lbs, 30 dips, 20 pullups, 10 hspu

2 runs: 3 mi and 4 mi (both relatively pain free--went to PT, must keep stretching).

I ran 2 miles early and then did Trevor yesterday...

300 pullups

400 pushups

500 situps

600 squats

time: 43:11

I will let the pictures paint the story as I tell it.

Note the sweaty pit. HOT!

You will notice my hat...

The brim kept hitting the mat, so it had to go. Time for HOT hair to go with sweaty pits.

Note the sweaty back!

The Teacher Team, (L to R Scott, Chatty, Tanya, Paul) is Finished! Look how buff we are!!

Cindy!

AM
12 min AMRAP

3 pullups
5 pushups
7 squats

15 rounds.

Seriously I am dying after this.

PM
Softball
Stopped a few grounders at 2nd base. Added to sore arms!

2 mi run

Stupid foot. I'm calling the Doctor on Monday. Gotta get this rehabbed for marathon season, its just around the corner!

Fran

15-12-9
40lb thrusters (20 ea arm)
jumping pullups

8:08

Oh Franny franny fran...how you spank me!

Elizabeth and the humanity of chickens

21-15-9 reps cleans 45 lbs
21-15-9 reps dips (x1.5 for bench dips)

11:02

My clean form is still not fantastic...I need to do some more work with Paul. It feels good to be back to crossfitting again. Have softball again tonight, hopefully it won't get rained out!

I'm in a better mood today, due to my run, I'm sure of it. I also had some good things happen. Ms. Kelly at my school is such an upbeat person. She is great at affirmation. As teachers, we are like banks from which withdrawals are constant. Maybe more like a Federal Reserve than a bank, since we can sustain A LOT of withdrawals before we start to feel the drain. Well, ironically, my trip to New Mexico, which seemed like a huge deposit, may have actually been a drain. After an awesome week with 10 terrific top students, it was hard coming back to the whining apathy that the rest of my students seemed to be showing. I had minimal patience, and the people I always feel sorry for are the students that do everything and don't complain. I will do some ranting to all the class and I always specifically apologize to those who do their work, not by name, though I hope they all know who they are. So this week was very hard, which is funny in a way, "Oh poor me I was on a trip all last week and my job sucks" doesn't really fly...and its not true (the sucking part) for the most part.

So this morning after Elizabeth I was determined to have a better day. We hatched chickens this week, and without fail, year after year, the students demonstrate their humanity in a way that is fulfilling. After a year of what seems like too much belittling each other and mockery, they let their true selves show through with the baby chicks. You can see who is the nurturer, the adventurer, and the student who is indifferent because they want to get their work done so they have no homework. They assign different roles to the chickens which are so human in nature. They all scream when the chick takes a poop (which is often). So that helped my spirit.

Our student newspaper came out today and there is a "Student of the Month" section. One student is selected from each grade 9-12. I have both the freshman and the senior students in my bio and hort classes, and they both said that that is their favorite class (along with another) because, to quote Nicole "my teachers are awesome" and Jackie "the classes are challenging and very artsy". The little deposits in the Federal Reserve that reap large benefits for me. Not to mention Ms. Kelly's story of her mother's funeral where a bride and groom showed up because the mom was the girl's kindergarden teacher. They stopped at the funeral home between the wedding and the reception. What an honor to know that that woman made such an impact in a child's life.

I have wanted to make a folder of "feel goodys" but never have over the years. I am going to start today with those student of the month clippings because I think its a good idea to have that to remind myself during the rough times.

3 mi run and thoughts on teaching

I've been resting that foot. That bad bad foot. I decided to go for 3 miles today and it was ok. I could feel the foot at times during the run, although it didn't hurt nearly as much as 2 weeks ago. I iced it when I go home to be safe. I also finally ordered some items to help stretch it to aid the healing process. I hope the night split works. I really need to get back to running. It really shapes my attitude and my view on life. I couldn't possibly be a teacher without running. These past three weeks have confirmed that. Especially this week. Its the time of year where the students don't want to work and I don't want to work. The difference is that I recognize I don't want to work, acknowledge it, and work through it. The students say "nah I don't feel like working" and don't work. Its frustrating and you don't really feel like you are making a difference. Sometimes I feel like I work so hard and its for nothing since you don't see immediate rewards. Running helps to alleviate that pain.

25 burpees

3:52

That's all I have to say about that.

Modified Murph

So last week I didn't do any posting...sorry! New Mexico left me no time except to dash off a few emails. now that I'm back in the land of a million computers and the time to waste on them, I will provide some updates. I hiked like crazy last week, so that was the majority of my workouts. We walked everywhere all day. It was a total workout week! My ode to crossfit was 20 pushups in box canyon.

This week is a new week however. I started today with a modified Murph:

For time: 1/2 mile run
35 push press 24 lbs
70 pushups
120 crunches on stability ball
120 squats
1/2 mile run
24:34

Now not all my pushups were full pushups, they became modified, but I still worked. The running hurt my left foot still, though the pain was after and not during running, so I will stick with resting my foot. I ordered a pull up bar for my house so I can do a proper Murph next time round.

Can softball be crossfit?

I went to this cute indoor batting cage today where you hand feed the balls to the machine. A much better deal than the automatic machines, though more labor intensive to pick up all the balls. Right now my arms are feeling kinda like they do after a crossfit workout...or maybe that's because I haven't crossfitted for a week! I am going to try to get some done in the desert. I'm taking a group of students to New Mexico tomorrow morning. My PF is feeling better, though not perfect. I'm hoping to get a few runs in this week along with some pushups, squats, etc. I'll make up my own New Mexico routine.

Our game last night was entertaining. The word to describe it would be deluge. We played in rain so heavy that it looked like sheets of rain coming down when you saw it in the light. Our team was for it, as was the other team, so we played until the lightning was overhead. Probably not the smartest...but fun!! It was cancelled after a few innings. I wonder when we will finish this spring season...in July?!? We've gotten to play one game in 6 weeks. I've purchased cleats and batting gloves now...guess I'm getting into it!

I'm a winner!!!

So I haven't written since last Saturday, and for good cause...

I injured my plantar fascia (aka plantar fasciitis in my left foot) and I've been resting it. AKA not doing jack. I did eat really well this week (aka 1500 cal/day). So tonight was a really big night for Nike. Got passed by Abdi Abdirahman (see photo, he's preetty and weighs less than me) with about .5 miles to go...but that is alright since his 5K PR is like 13 min or something craaazy....

So I ran 3 mi, we'll see how that feels tomorrow.

I won WON an entry to the Chicago Marathon, which I did not sign up for, and it sold out today. Can you say HOORAY!!?!?!? That's 110 smackers for free!

Club RunChi has really been bringin it...tonight we got free marathon dri-fit shirts, drinks at a private party after the run, etc. Lovin' being part of the nike family....

Didn't do crossfit AT ALL this week...a combination of my foot and that darn lack of motivation.

10K PR!

Did the Wrigley Early Start 10K yesterday with my friend Daniela. It was a cool rainy morning, but the rain stopped before the race, so that was great. I finished in 53:16, which is a PR for me. Could've done better but I had difficulty starting at 4.5 mi...didn't eat enough before the race, or I would've been closer to 52 min. And...Daniela got 2nd place for women in the 10K!!



After the race, Daniela and I did a 2 mi cooldown jog. We then waited around for 30+ min for her award, but there was confusion about the results, so it was very anticlimatic. We then jogged our last 2 miles (I had to actually do 10 mi today, not 10K for my half marathon training), and the sun peeked out, so that was cool.



The race course was difficult--they had us crossing when people were still running north we were crossing over their direction of travel and trying to run south. Bleh. And the finish had the walkers finishing at the same time as the runners, and the walkers take up the whole path, so that was a PITA as well. Don't think I'll do that race again, though I'll take my PR and be happy with it!

Softball season starts

Our first game was FINALLY tonight after being cancelled for 3 weeks!

I got on base at every at bat except the last one, but my last hit I cranked it (apparently, I don't look at where the ball goes, I just run it). It just so happens that the dude threw the ball faster than I could run. I need to get some cleats.

I also played 2nd base for the first time ever. I screwed up once, but then fielded the ball ok and I was even responsible for 2 outs. This is big for me since I am not a team player, I just do athletic events on my own usually.

We went to the bar after and I was good and only had 2 beers because of a 10K I am running tomorrow.

5 with Nike

Well, a bit more than 5....had to go plug that meter.

Feels good to be back with the Thursday running crew. I took the previous two off due to rain.

3 mile run

Today was report card pickup day, so I didn't have to be to work until noon. I arrived at 10:30, but before that...

I woke up early and went to go for a 3 mile run. As I was putting on my shoes, Lucy hopped off the bed and licked my face. How could I resist that? So I spent the first half mile of my run with Lucy (she's shaped like the Exxon Valdez), and then the last 2.5 with myself. On my way back home, I passed a guy walking his dog who recognized me from when I passed him before, probably due to my bright orange shirt and the fact that I am basically the only runner in my neighborhood! He said "Heading back so soon?" to which I replied "I'm only doing 3 today" to which he replied, laughing "Thats more than I'm going to do!"

I then went and picked up my fertilized chicken eggs and went to work. This is a workout blog, but I have to discuss a bit of work. My Garden/Conservation kids set up a table to sell organic all purpose cleaners that we had made. We were hoping to sell 50 kits, but we ended up selling over 100! I'm impressed with how my students have shown growth in so many ways. They were very shy as freshmen last year, but this year they have really stepped up to the plate. They had their sales pitch down. They also were pushing the environmental aspect of our cleaners, and the benefits of the CFL's that we were giving away as well. I'm known as the environmentalist type at our school, and I'm hoping to get a group of kids with that mindset as well. It seems to be happening, and since they're only sophomores, there is still two more years to go.

Quarter Gone Bad

AM workout

5 rounds of

45 lb thrusters for 15 sec
45 sec rest
jumping pullups for 15 sec
45 sec rest
burpees for 15 sec
45 sec rest

(I'll post my numbers later, left them at work!)

PM workout---with the kiddos

1.5 mile run
bench step ups and lunges
tree
walking squats
slow squat therapy


It was a gorgeous day to be outside. I like working with the kids, even though some of them complain---a lot. I also enjoy working with Paul. Its fun to work out and get kids involved, and to work out with my morning workout buddy after school as well. Thanks Mr. Mirek!!

Finally something worthwhile

I almost didn't go. I was watching Animal House this am, feeling lazy, and I knew I had to go do an 8 mile run. I had to run by myself because all my run buds were busy. I looked at my dog and considered taking her hiking instead, but then I told myself to get my a** off the couch and go run. It was quite pleasant. Went to one of my running spots in the woods and pounded out 8 mi in 1:17:04. Not the fastest run in the world, but it was very consistent, and that made me happy because I didn't know how 8 miles was going to feel after only running twice in the last 2 weeks. I was a little disappointed when I got home and realized I should've run 9 miles ( I misread the training program), but that's okay because I'll be back on track with doing 10 miles next weekend.



This does not mean I'm feeling motivated, because I'm not. It does mean that I was able to quasi-motivate for a small period of time which allowed me to get out and get it done. Hopefully that will happen later this week as well.

Situps, back extensions, and a run

Lack of motivation continues:

3 rounds of

50 crunches

15 back extensions

on stability ball.

3 mile run (with sore quads): 28:31

Motivation crash n burn

So the clean and jerks did me in for the weekend. My back hurt all weekend, so I opted out of running. It is the laziness that infects me every once in a while.

NOOOOO running since last Wed. I am going to go tomorrow if the weather holds. My back hurt Sat/Sun and Mon I was just lazy. I really need to do some running if I want any success at the Green Bay half marathon in 6 weeks.

I was not a complete slob. I gardened for 3 hours on Saturday (hauling compost and mulch and spreading it) and I played a game of softball on Sunday. I also drank lots of beers which negated it.

Aaahhhh then today. Mr. Mirek needed me to be a partner with Denise for our workout.

It went like this:

3 rounds of
15 knees to chest jump
1 min max pushups
1 min max situps
1 min max squats

Total reps for push,sit,squat was 385 for me. After the first round of pushups, I switched to modified pushups which helped improve my times. It was fun working out with the kids especially when it started raining as soon as I left work and I couldn't run...again! Boooooo...

Gwen

15-12-9 Clean and jerks

45 lbs.

I didn't have the greatest form. Boo.

Fran

15-12-9 reps of

45 lb thrusters
pullups

I forgot to time. Man its crazy how what looks like so little can be so much work!

I also need to get out and go for a run. That may not happen 'till tomorrow!

**update** went out and did speed repeats 7 x 400 m with a mile warmup and mile cool down. The recovery was .15 mi distance. 4.72 in 43:49...some of the recovery was walking. My legs felt like cement after Fran this morning.

Shamrock Shuffle

A good job at the Shamrock. Marisa and I finished in 42:23, which beats my goal that I set of 43 minutes. My previous best at the Shamrock was 46:01, so this is a vast improvement.

While the weather was crummy, the rain held out as we ran. It came later as we were indulging in beverages in the Lucky Runner tent, but we managed to still have fun.

Thanks to John for hosting the post-party! Fun was had by all!!!

Stay tuned for pictures...

Helen...why????

Oh dumbbell swings...I did you right, based on the feeling at the very top of my hamstrings. Too right with a race tomorrow...

2 mi run in 17:03 today to go to packet pick up. Thought it would loosen me up...HAH! We shall see how the 8k goes tomorrow. Hopefully the rain will hold off.

Apple Bottom Jeans and the Boots with the Fur

LAZy

The song has been in my head for ever....students today thought it was funny.

Just had a lot of "killer margaritas" and saw some apple bottomed girls getting "low low low low" reminded me of slow squat therapy paul...

I've been working out but not recording but in a nutshell:

3/20 6 mi run with vacation dog (Mira)

3/23 2 mi run with hubby

3.24 5.5 mi run with Nike friends

3.26 crossfit...what did I do? I forget the name but 5 rounds of 5 pullups 10 pushups, 15 situps and 20 squat

3.27 run 3 mi in frickin' sleet. Like acupuncture gone bad...but I am a "lucky runner" for this weekends Shamrock Shuffle 8k. VIP baby!

3.28 Name? so amnesiac...3 rounds 400 m run, 20 kb swings (with 20 lb db) and 9 jumping pullups. Damn these killer margaritas!

AZ workouts are nice!

Ahhh...green beer at the Brewers/Sox game for St. Patty's Day

...and a sausage race.

Hiking South Mountain with my vacation dog.

Running 3 mi at 8 in the morning and its already 72 out. The desert is blooming now.

Hiking Piestewa Peak (Squaw Peak) with my husband.

Fat funny lizard at the top.




Here we are at the top!

Mira

Workout: 5 rounds of

400 m run
30 squats
15 pushups

Time: 18:51

I took my friends dog Mira running with me. She has excess energy and I thought this would be a great way to work some off. I was right. She really enjoyed herself...as did I. Weather is gorgeous. And...all my pushups were authentic.

Shamrock Run and Crossfit--Pole style

Well, its kinda cool in Arizona today...only 72 degrees! Life is grand...

So yesterday was the 4 mi Shamrock run. As previously stated, I wanted to run between 32-36 min. We arrived at the run and it was tiny! 200 people. Can't remember the last time a race was that small. In Chicago it seems like every race is in the thousands. The smallest race that I've run in Chi has a cap of 750 people for a half marathon. Anyhow I digress...

The race was along the banks of a canal. There was a 20 mph wind and we started into the wind. It was going good, I hit mile one about 8:15, but the dirt was blowing and it was so dry that I felt like my mouth was on fire. I skipped the first water stop, but had to stop at the other two just to rinse the grit out of my mouth. When we turned around and headed back, the wind was at our backs and it was HOT and dry. I was tired from battling the wind (it was like running uphill for 2 miles) and slowed somewhat. I knew I wasn't going to do 32 min, but that was alright. We turned around the last quarter mile and ran to the finish in the wind. In the last 100 m there were two people ahead of me and I was determined to beat them. I passed the guy and then the woman was ahead of me with about 50 feet to go. I reached down inside me and pulled out everything I had and passed her with less than 10 feet to go. I was at a dead sprint across that finish line, and I felt like I was going to puke. That's when you know you're giving it all! Final time: 34:45.

After about a 2 min recovery, I went back to look for Stephanie. I ran her in the last 1/4 mile, which was fun.

I ended up 10th in my age group, with the fastest woman coming in at 28 min. Had I done 32 I would've been in 2nd place. Maybe next time. Overall: 60/193 total.


The evening had us bar hopping. At the last bar we went to, there were dancing poles. Oh boy...needless to say, crossfit should consider adding pole routines for squats. Paul...talk about a perfect tool for slow squat therapy... :)

Blondus Imperfectus

Nike Shamrock training run

5.88 mi in 51:56 (8:49/mi)

So I ran with the 9 min pace group, planning on doing 5 mi. Briefly thought of 7, but then changed my mind when I found Jackie on the trail. Gotta save up for Saturday's race. Close to Niketown I decided to go plug my meter on my car so I don't get a ticket. Its a pretty good deal, $1/hr in downtown Chicago. So I turn of on what I thought was St. Clair Av. I went down to where my car was parked and couldn't find it. I ran up and down the street (made up my 2 repeats from yesterday), and then finally figured out that I had turned on the wrong street. It took me .6 mi to figure this out, and a total of .88 extra miles to get back to Niketown. You can't win them all.

Tommy V and incomplete speed repeats

So I got home from my Green Teacher Network meeting about 8 and was very tempted to stay planted on the couch. But I said, "Self, get up and work out that lazy butt" and I did. I got on the treadmill. Plan was 6*400 at a 5K pace (8min/mile) with a 1/2 mile warmup and cool down. Super. I was feeling great, just finished my 4th repeat, when the treadmill started to make a funny noise. Then the belt did something funky which made me lose my footing. Good thing it was during the recovery at a 9:30 pace rather than the 8 min pace. So BOO I was unable to finish my last 2 repeats though I would have if not for mechanical failure. 2.47 mi in 24:44 which is slow due to the included warmup time. Those last 2 repeats would've helped the time. The good news is that I have a warranty on the tready, so I will be calling those peeps in to take a look see. And loss of footing does not mean I fell. I do not fall while running, at least not for 5 years. And that was only one time.

The one time I fell, I was running in grass to avoid pavement and I did not see the water main thing sticking up. Next thing I knew I was spreadeagled through the air. I landed on pavement (of course) in front of 3 people (of course). I just got up and kept on jogging like nothing had happened. I waited until I was out of sight of the people to pick the gravel out of my road burns.

I digress. I did a modified Tommy V. then after my truncated run. Do you know how sad it is that the V stands for Valentine and he died the day before Valentine's Day? So these thrusters were for him.

3 sets with 40 lbs for thrusters

Thruster 12
Pushup 12 (kinda...it was more like 8 and 4 after the thrusters)
Thruster 9
Pushup 9(5-4)
Thruster 6
Pushup 6. I grunted through the last one. And boy are my arms tired.

Not to be outdone, I topped my thruster torte with some stability sit ups (50) and back extensions (20).

And in exciting news, I am signed up for a 4 mile race in Scottsdale AZ on Saturday afternoon at 4:30. Goal time: Sub 35 min. Wishful thinking: Closer to 32 min.

I've got friends in different places

In following Katie's lead, I have started my thread with a song to the tune of "I've got friends in lowly places". (Do you like that first name shout out K?? Did it make you smile??)

So its funny how life can bring you new friends. I have developed two new groups of "friends" in the past 6 months. While I am gregarious, it is still hard to make new friends at this time in life, for some reason. Too much work and too few social events perhaps??

Group 1: My Nike friends. And yes, I actually call them my Nike friends. Ken, Matt, Daniela, and John are the regulars. There's also Jackie, Lynn, Jessica, Maria, Danny, Michael, and so many others. Amy doesn't really count as a Nike friend since we've been friends for almost 8 years, well before Nike. Neither does Marisa, who I've known for what...5 years now?? This group of friends was due to my participation on the Nike Southside marathon team which has turned into a regular Thursday social event. It has also kept me running through this insanely cold and snowy winter (except Feb, which wasn't my fault). They are ALL faster than me, and this has helped me pick up my speed. Perhaps some day I shall BQ...

Group 2: My Crossfit friends. The only one I actually see on a daily basis is Paul. He has the pleasure of having a room across from me and pirating fruit snacks from me every chance he gets. Its like crack for crossfitters. We work out at "Crossfit Hancock", our little gym in our school. Then there is Brad and Katie, my blog readers and commenters. Hooray! (I like that word).

So it is dorky the small pleasure I get from reading my comments on the blog and making comments as well, but its fun! And it gives me a purpose for procrastination. When at this point I should be sleeping...

So instead of doing yoga, I packed for my vacation this upcoming week.... *sigh* life is tough...though I shall crossfit tomorrow AM and run tomorrow PM, if I'm not too tired from my meeting.

Lynne and Shamrocking

Lynne

5 rounds of max pullups max pushups

Ok, I am not sure how to get to max pullup when I do a jumping pullup and work the reverse. I count it as when I can't control the reverse anymore. Is this right? I don't know. Is this working out some muscles that need working out?? Absolutely!

Max Reps (pull/push)

11/17
11/9
7/9
7/8
6/9



The pushups are actually max because I get to the point where I can't push up anymore, I collapse and giggle at myself because its so ridiculous!! Better than 1/17/08 though which looked like this:

8/8
10/8
8/7
6/7
7/6

That was my morning. In the evening, I went for a run with the Nike Shamrock training program. We ran 4.25 mi in 36:42. Ran with Marisa, Michael, and his wife Grace. I was tired and heavy at the end of the run due to yesterday. Tomorrow is going to most likely be yoga...hooray!

3 miles of adventure + 5 miles of running = 8 miles

I convinced Marisa and Daniela to go run Palos Hills today. I figured that since it hasn't snowed in a while, and everything melted, that the paths would be clear. HAH! If only I had remembered to bring my Yaktrax...this was the perfect run for that. We decided to go for it anyhow. We made it about 1.5 miles, with Daniela falling 3 times and Marisa falling twice (and yours truly falling NOT EVER!! I know this is unbelievable to some of you!). It was truly an ice skating rink! Then we said screw this and turned around. We got back to the car and drove to another place I knew about that was close.

Here we were able to put in a blissful 5 miles with an average pace of 8:55 per mile. Hooray!

Total run time: 1:17:04

Today is a day of rest--kinda

So after yesterday's "Terrible Twenty" I have majorly sore shoulders and thighs. The "I just ran a marathon and its difficult to sit on the toilet" thigh feeling. If you have had it you know EXACTLY what I mean. If you haven't had that feeling, you think I am strange and disgusting.

So today is a day of rest. Meaning: Garden class from 9:30-12:30, Ghost Ranch meeting from 1:30-2:45 and hair appt. from 4-5:30. Now I am just skulking around my blog, wasting time I should be using to grade papers or something. I am doing an 8 mile run tomorrow, so I must save my resources.

My corned beef and cabbage is almost done...yummers!

Commitment is the Key word...right???

It is true that life got a little difficult on me.

It is true that I had to take a month off of running. That messed with my head.

It is true that I stayed with Crossfit, but didn't put as much into it and didn't record.

It is true that none of this is an excuse!

So its March 7th. 7's are lucky for me (along with 3 and 13). And now I shall get back to recording. And I will give you the whole week in one post. Starting this weekend I willl start posting regularly.

A summary: I've been running again for 3 weeks as of tomorrow. I've logged about 33 miles in that time. My friend Marisa (see my marathon blog) is training for a half on April 4th in NYC, so I have designated myself as her long run trainer. We did 5 two weekends ago and 7.5 mi this past Sun. We're doing 8 this upcoming weekend.

I'm doing 2-3 weekday runs. Niketown on Thursday, of course, for 5 miles, and then a run or two on my own on Mon-Wed.

I have two races coming up: A St. Patrick's day 4 miler on Mar 15th in Scottsdale AZ and the Shamrock shuffle 8k in Chicago on March 30th. I am eyeing the Green Bay half marathon on May 18th, and I will decide by April 15th. Have to make sure that the ol' bones can handle it. Don't want to have to take time off of running.

Crossfit (this week, the other previous weeks are recorded in my "little book" which isn't here right now.

Wednesday 3-5

Cindy

3 jumping pullups
4 pushups
7 squats
12 min = 12 rounds. I was slower than in the past due to two reasons. #1--I was feeling kinda lazy and #2--I did all full pushups for the first time for Cindy instead of having to drop my knees around round 8. So yay for that.

Friday 3-7

Terrible Twenty

20 box jump (2o in)
20 jumping pullups
20 walking lunges
20 dumbbell swing 25 lb
20 situps
20 pushpress 25 lb
20 back extensions
20 thrusters (with 15 lb bar)
20 burpees
20 jumprope jumps

time: 18:12

That was quite the workout to start the school day. I started with the wall ball shots but injured myself with my own fingernail (crossfit causes bleeding!), so I switched to the thrusters.

Yeah and I really need to go grocery shopping so I can start eating better again!

Cindy (again)

12 min for as many rounds as possible:
3 jumping pullups
4 push ups
7 squats

14 rounds plus 3 jp, 4pu

Compare to January 9th

A bit better than the last time that I did this. There were construction guys in the gym, so I was a bit timid about working out (I have issues with doing the jumping pullups in front of anyone NOT working out). It was funny though when the guys started asking me questions about halfway through. They seemed kinda impressed, which made me glad that I did it, in spite of them being there. They were really impressed that I run a lot. Except now. Because I can't. BOOOOO!

Walking the dog

I'm having issues and so I am sidelined from running for now, so today I took the doggy dog for a walk. We went 3 miles in the slushy snow. When we got to the park, Lucy thought it was great to run as fast as she could when I would pretend to chase her. Since I can't run, I was at least able to get out and enjoy some time with my dog, and work her out as well.

Not Al Dente

Todays WOD: Tanya (oh thanks Paul for the death defying namesake workout)
3 rounds 15-12-9
45# Sumo high deadlift
Dips (feet up)
Jumping pullups
45# Push press

in 29:32

I truly feel like a plate of overcooked spaghetti right now. Those push presses were really tough as was the whole dang thing.

That's right, your teacher is tougher than you!

Yesterday in the hall outside my classroom, Paul was holding track practice. I jokingly told one of the students, Kim, to get down and give me 10 (pushups). She gave 1/2. Then Luis, the child who insists that the Bears are better than the Packers was performing his usual heckling antics, so I told him to give me 10. He did and insisted that I do the same. So after school, there I am, in the hallway doing 10 pushups in front of 20 or so kids (with, I might add, my sore arms from yesterday). They were impressed, it was hilarious! One kid was even like, "Whoa, Ms. Ayala!".

Of course, it felt great. Thanks Crossfit!

It never gets easier!

Todays WOD:
12 min as many rounds as possible:
3 handstand pushups
6 jumping pullups
9 walking lunges

I did 7 rounds plus 3 hspu, 6 jpu, and 7 wlunges

Happy MLK Jr. Day!

I have off, and guess what!!! I am taking the day off of working out! I took a nap instead. I feel fully justified and not guilty of taking some rest, even though I should've probably taken the extra time to do a jog on my treadmill.

That's alright, back to the grind tomorrow!

P.S. Down 6.8 lbs since the beginning of January. Whoopee!

2 EZ

Two easy miles on my treadmill...uneventful except that my I-pod chip quit keeping time. The second one! It only had 177 miles on it, so I'm ticked about that.

And then GRRRRRR Packers. Given every opportunity IN THE WORLD. Guess the Super Bowl wasn't on their wish list. BOOOOOO!

5+ and the Terrible Twenty

Its below zero, so I decided to turn Saturday into a weekend warrior workout.

Run: 5+ miles (I forgot to re-turn on the I-pod, so it is closer to 6 mi or a bit over according to my treadmill). I hate running on the treadmill. I entertained myself by watching the "Girls Next Door" workout videos On Demand. It was hilarious. They are hilarious.

Then the "Terrible Twenty"

20 Box jump (10 in)
20 Push ups (substitute for pullups)
20 kettlebell swings (2 12lb dumbbells)
20 step walk lunge
20 stability ball situps
20 push press (40 lbs)
20 back extensions
20 wall ball shots (8lb)
20 burpees
20 jumprope jumps

Total time: 24:40

There was a lot of rest with the push press and the burpees, as well as a bit with the pushups. I think I'm still sore from all the pullups this week. Glad I did both though.

Lynne

5 sets max out
jumping pullups 8-10-8-6-4
Pushups 8-8-7-7-6

Its pretty funny on the pushups when I try with all my might, move about 4 inches, and then can't move anymore. I laugh each time. Paul probably thinks I'm a weirdo.

Modified Cindy

I didn't do the 5K run but I still wanted to lift. Saving the "filthy fifty" or in my case, the "terrible twenty" for the weekend, so I made up my own workout

12 min
3 jumping pullups
4 pushups
7 sit ups (on stability ball)
9 squats

10 rounds plus 3 pullups

Diane

15-12-9
deadlift 55 lb (need to do 65 next time and work on form)
handstand pushups modified

Pull up death: 1 pull up minute 1, 2 pullups min 2, 3 pullups min 3, etc. until failure

4 rounds plus 3 pullups

These are jumping pullups where I control the downward motion since I cannot do regular pullups...yet

2 miles

Today was an off day so I just ran 2 miles. I did the first mile with Lucy. Had to get her out in the neighborhood. It was a sniffer mile so we stopped a few times briefly.

Total time was a little more than 18 min. I did the 2nd mile by myself considerably faster, but not as fun as it was with the Goose.

7 mi on the lake with Amy

7 mi today with Amy. Avg pace 8:54 mile. Amy did her own version of repeats so did a bit further. I am definitely a lot slower than her, but it was fun to run together. I'm glad I'm keeping up with my running over the winter.

Michael

Todays workout was fun.

Puppies:
800 m run
15 back extensions
25 sit ups

I did the back extensions and the sit ups on the stability ball. Paul and I ran around the school for our 800 m run. I love seeing the expression on the kids faces when they realize their teachers are doing laps at 7:15 in the morning. We were doing an average of a 7:57 pace which is fast for me...and good that I can do it!

Jog Walk

I didn't go to Niketown tonight because of the rain. It would do me no good to lower my immune system and possibly get sick due to running in rain. I have way too much going on right now.

So I ran on my tready and watched "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants". I fast walked during commercials, since I haven't felt good all week. It took me 58 min to do 5.2 mi, and that's ok. I enjoyed myself.

I forgot to mention Tuesday that I lost 3.2 lbs since Jan 1st. Its all about eating right and keeping up with the exercise.

Cindy knows best

Puppies: 3 pull ups (Jumping), 4 push ups, 7 squats. Repeat as many times as possible in 12 min. I did 14 rounds plus 3 additional pullups.

This sounded so easy. It was insanely hard. And I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Squat Squat Squat

Crossfit: Front squats. 1 rep for max 10 times
Weight: 65-65-75-75-85-85-90-90-95-100

My first time doing front squats. These babies are waay tougher than back squats. Its this whole balancing act on your front shoulder area. Once I figured it out, I was able to go up in weight, but I didn't want to go too high at this point.

One week into commitment 2008 and I am doing pretty good. Have been eating healthy every day. Did have a swiss cake roll pkg today because I thought we had Spanish class (we didn't), but I did take the dog for a 45 min walk to the park so that should negate some of those calories. At any rate, its the best eating week I've had in a long long time. We shall see what the scale says about that tomorrow.

50 and 6!

It was great weather in Chicago today: 50's! Cloudy and windy...but 50's!! I ran 6 mi with my run buddy Marisa in 54:32. Almost dead on 9 min miles. Marisa is doing great considering she hasn't run but twice in the past 3 weeks. YOU GO GIRL!!!!

Tabata Something Else

4 rounds of 20 seconds on/10 seconds off pullups, pushups, situps, and squats. I went with the puppy rx and I like it. Buttercup is too easy, and I'm not quite running with the pack.

Pullups (assisted): 8 9 7 5
Pushups (real!!): 9 6 6 4(ok the last 4 were girl pushups)
Situps: 20 21 22 21
Squats: 21 18 19 20

You need to check out crossfit! www.crossfit.com

Rest day

2 mile jog on the treadmill. Why is 2 miles on the tready so much harder than 5 mi on pavement in a wind that makes it 0 deg????

BRRRRRR!!!!

Crossfit: 40 assisted pullups and 40 bench dips. Did 5 of each for 8 sets. I wish I could do pullups better. I'm working on it.

Running: After much debate with my fellow runners, went and did 5 mi in 42:44. Ran with my faster friends and thought I was going to collapse going into the wind (asthma issue). Not a problem when I turned around until the last quarter mile that was into the wind again. Thanks Matt and Amy for slowing up just a bit with me!

Karma works in good ways as well: I found a parking spot downtown with a broken meter! I gave my meter change to a homeless man instead. When I returned to my car, there was no ticket to contest! How fabulous.

I did have one beer after the run but ate really healthy (well, except maybe the dessert...but that was little!).

1/2/08

Well, yesterday turned into an off-day for workout due to the need for more sleep. I did eat healthy both yesterday and today. I am keeping my food journal in a little brown leather journal I purchased, for now. What's on the internet stays on the internet, so I'm not hot to post weight, or measurements, although I did take them and write them down in lil' brown.

4.11 mi in 43:31--due to the fact that I HATE running on the treadmill and I go slower because I detest it. I am glad its there though so I can still run even on miserable days such as these. I usually run 5 miles outside in less than this amount of time. Little ankle twinge afterwards, I'm not sure why. Hopefully it will be gone so I can run tomorrow.