Ouch....but oh so good!

I've been doing 3 sets of 10, very good exercise!

Watch your form with this one, have a partner check to make sure your back and neck are in neutral alignment. Be sure to breath out on the lift portion. DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH! Even harder, ask your partner to add a 10-20 pound plate to your upper back. I actually push to complete fatique with this one.

5 is hard to find....

This week was hard to find five things I loved, but that's the point.

#1

The most important ingredient
in the formula of success
is knowing how to get along with people. 

Theodore Roosevelt

-I have lots of changes coming in my life that aren't blogger friendly quite yet and this quote helped me put things in perspective.

#2 Guilty Pleasures

-Starbucks gives me so many options for the frou-frou drinks but, quite simply I just love half/half or heavy whipping cream in my coffee.  I feel a little guilty when I use the heavy whipping cream but it just brings joy to my cup of joe in the morning.

#3 Zicam

-The commercial says, "It actually shortens the Cold!" Yep, sure does....The key is to start swabbing the minute you start sneezing. I started the, "uh-oh I feel something coming on here" last Thursday and by Monday it was about done.  Some people claim it's psychosomatic I don't give a rip, it makes me feel better when I take it and I swear by it.

(Any rep reading my blog that would like me to give a review of their product just contact me.) LOL....

#4. Good Deals

-Frugal by nature, I love getting a good deal.  I found many good deals here recently.  Nike tops and shorts for my boys and for me a very cool long sleeve Lucky Brand t-shirt.  They have very cool tops, but this girl isn't paying full price for one.

#5

Have a great weekend!

Another Cold Morning

Short Term Forecast

Updated: Wednesday, 25 Feb 2009, 8:00 AM EST

 Temps rising through the 20's and 30's and 40's this morning...

Mostly sunny skies today with highs around 50. Light wind.

_________________

Here was the check list of things I had to remember for today's 12 mile run.

• Gloves
• Fuel
• Water/Gatorade Mix
• iPod with fresh tunes
• Tissues
• My baby ("G"armin)
• Lip Stuff 
  

I was on my way to get the twelve done and about 1/2 mile into the run, I remembered I forgot the most important thing......

Strap on, I ran a different route today and it was cold but the sun was shining which always makes a cold run 100x better.  Random things I passed on my new route.  I passed a bag that was placed precariously in the middle of the sidewalk that either looked like a little boy forgot his lunch before getting on the bus or a bomb was inside.  My kids school, but didn't see them.  I passed a park where a ton of Geese had Mardi Gras on the sidewalk.  I ran over a bunch of broken glass bottles, and passed an IHOP, where I wanted to run in and yell, "I WANT HOTCAKES NOW!" Passed a shady looking dude who looked like he wanted to put his cigarette out on my forehead.  Finally, the last uninteresting thing I passed, a dentist office I used to work at.

The run went ok, I thought I was running a pretty good pace when I would catch myself looking down at "G" and it would read "YOUR SLOW, PICK IT UP!" I'm glad I went back and got my strap, because the knees started tweaking around mile 10 and the last two miles were a bit of a struggle.  Overall I'm pleased with my performance and I'm 4 weeks away from Shamrock!

My Babies Feedback:

Distance-12.09

Time-2:02:45

Av. Pace-10:09

Calories-1146

"10 Random Things....Like you care!"

• In review mode of ACE (Personal Training Exam), still only at Ch. 5..frustrating....
• I feel overwhelmed at school
• Had a awesome "CrossFit-esque" workout this morning
• Taught two spin classes this morning
• I'm in a Metallica listening kind of mood
• I want Easy Cheese on crackers
• If I don't get the Kona Lottery (stop laughing), I probably won't do Eagleman
• Just cleaned two toilets
• I have a cold
• Running 12 next week in preparation for Shamrock on March 22nd!!

5 things nice....

My Top 5....this week

1. Google Analytics

-After reading Marcy's post about Google Analytics, I had to check it out.  

WOW, technology is amazing.  I get a read out of what and where the love comes from. 

I have a lot of peeps that are checking me out in Pennsylvania,

thanks Guys!

2. Valentine Gifts

-Diamonds?......Flowers?........Candy?.........I'm the kind of girl that loves getting a new transition bag from her hubby! This bag holds everything you need to pack for an easy transition to your triathlons.  Thanks Hun, your the best.

3. 

4. Laughter

-I need laughter like a fat kid loves cake! I had one of those weeks where laughter was essential to my soul.  I had a bit of depression this week and whenever I fall into a pit of self-pity I always know that a good belly laugh will get my spirits lifted (and a good bottle of bourbon! j/k).  This week I received a belly laugh from my kids, my husband, that Amazing Race episode with the cheese, & my girlfriends.  THANKS!

5. American Idol

-Our whole family enjoys American Idol.  We get our homework, showers, and dinner over with so we can sit down and watch our favorite show.  I'm not really diggin' the new chic judge, Paula is on some special kind of drug, I love Randy when he giggles, and Simon is the best!  Don't have any favorite singers yet......

Wednesday Musing

"True enjoyment comes from activity of the mind 

and exercise of the body; the two are ever united."

Wilhelm von Humboldt

Travis Owney Photography

I Peed myself.....

The Amazing Race 14 - Carrying Cheese

My husband and I died laughing last night. The first night of AR was last night and the challenge was to hoof 200 pnds down the hill to complete the challenge. We had to put it on rewind it was so funny, watch the dude start trotting down the hill and then eat it!

I'm up for a challenge....

 My smart-a** running coach, spin buddy, and Men's Fitness model said I couldn't put a ride together without putting one single mashup song in the ride.  What is a mashup you say? The track to the right would be a juicy example of a classic mashup.  Well Mr. smarty-pants said he didn't think I could do it.  Take this, put this in your crack pipe and smoke it BP! ((muah))

New Versions of Old Favorites (IEZ)            45 min. class

-Each Loop is 10 min long, at the end I threw in a short flat road before cooling down

Warm-Up

-After 7:00 min start the loop 

1^st Loop

~4 min Flat (challenging flat, but comfortable)

~3 min Run (add) (challenging, slightly uncomfortable-put a little more push on that peddle)

~2 min SC (add) HARD climb(uncomfortable)

~1 min STC (add) VERY HARD-go to breathless state

 

2^nd Loop

~1 min Flat (challenging flat, but comfortable)

~2 min Run (add) (challenging, slightly uncomfortable-put a little more push on that peddle)

~3 min SC (add) HARD climb(uncomfortable)

~4 min STC (add) VERY HARD- watch going to breathless state until last minute 

3^rd Loop

~4 min Flat (challenging flat, but comfortable)

~3 min Run (add) (challenging, slightly uncomfortable-put a little more push on that peddle)

~2 min SC (add) HARD climb(uncomfortable)

~1 min STC (add) VERY HARD-go to breathless state

 

Playlist:

Baba O'Riley - Ils Remix-The Who

Sympathy for the Devil-Bossa N' Stones

Another Brick in the Wall (radio edit)-Hot Coffee

Rocket Man (Remix) - Elton John-Joey Adams

You Can't Always Get What You Want (Soulwax Remix)-Rolling Stones

I Think We're Alone Now-The Birthday Massacre

Saturday Night's Alright-Nickelback Feat. Kid Rock

Sun Is Shining (Island Mix)-Jimmy Buffet & Bob Marley and the Wailers

Leaving On a Jet Plane-Slightly Stoopid

Summer Breeze-Jason Mraz

*I've got some great mashups for my next ride. :)

5 Makes The World Go Round.....

Top 5 of the Week!

#1 Muscle Milk

-No Haters please! I love my Muscle Milk Light in my shakes every morning.  Two scoops and a cup of 1 % is all I need to get me through.

#2 Fuel

-These are currently my favorite "fuels" to get me through the longer runs.  I bought my kids the "Clif Kid Twisted Fruit" for their lunches, but go figure, "we don't like them."  They are packaged like a Twizzler which is easy to hold when you want to stay running.  I also LOVE the sport beans, the packaging sucks because when you peel the wrapper on the side, beans want to fall out, it's also difficult to hold if "your on the run."  They taste great and are easy to chew.

#3 Mixmeister Studio

-Thank you Mixmeister for helping me be a excellent DJ in the spin room!

#4
#5 iPod Shuffle

Lady Sovereign, Lil' Mama, Daft Punk, Klaxons, Groove Armada, Pheugoo, DJ Earworm, Pitbull, B-52's, Girl Talk, Snoop Dogg, Rush, Dillinja, LL and all the mashup artists.....

 You provide me hours of enjoyment while I pound the pavement and get the miles done......

A Hairy White Run

Waking up to 55 degree weather was glorious!  I was so excited to retrieve the shorts from the back of my closet.  Ok, this might be "to much information" but I'm a below the knee shaver in the winter months.  Today if you saw a very white woman with golden brown hair blowing in the wind, that was me.  It's currently 70.6 degrees and I just love that spring is giving us a kiss in February.  I had to run 11 today, Shamrock is about 5 weeks away.  I had a lot of fun today, I ran in the warm weather, I didn't feel any pain, and I ran on some trail-like paths to lessen the impact on my joints.  I was slow today, but I enjoyed it.  Going to bounce to the shower and shave above the knees!

My Babies Feedback:

Distance-11.11

Time-1:55:08

Av. Pace-10:22

Calories-1038

Workout Today:

Run

45 Spin

Upper Body Weights

Abs

I'm going to start posting my 1/2 marathon & 1/2 iron training plans for the week.  One, it keeps me accountable and two, I like to share with the rest of you nutts that enjoy training as much as I do.  

Thursday:

Swim-1000 yds.

Friday:

Rest

Saturday:

Swim-1000 yds.

Run-50 min.

Weights

Sunday:

45 min Spin

Monday:

Run-45 min.

45 min Spin

Back/Abs

Tuesday:

Swim-1000 yds.

My IEZ Valentines Day Ride

I don't normally do "theme" rides but was in the mood for giving gifts and having fun.  The ride will consist of 5 loops, I changed up the loops here and there but basically kept each loop the same.  At the end of the ride I'm giving out three prizes, a towel, bottle, and socks.  If they ride really hard I might reward them with one piece of chocolate. :) They better work those loops good! 

Loops

:30 Fast Flat-moderate gear

1:00 STC-Hard-Push

1:00 Dowhill-“descend”-take a little load off-increase cadence

:30 Fast Flat moderate gear

1:30 STC-Hard-Push

:30 SC-hold gear-kick up cadence

:45 Flat Road-moderate gear

______________________________________________

The Playlist

-I feel love is a stranger-Donna Summer vs. Eurythmics (Copycat)

-Whole Lotta Love (Dirty Funker Remix)-Led Zepplin (Bootleg mixes)

-Love in the year 3000-B-52's

-Love Shack (Remix)-B-52's

-Have A Good Time-DJ Tripp

-Perfect (Exceeder) (Vocal Club Mix)-Mason Vs. Princess Superstar

-Love Lockdown (Chew Fu Small Room Fix)-Kanye West

-Marvin Wants to Sex You Up-DJ Magnet

-Love- Musiq soulchild

Update:

This class was awesome, when I got their they had a red towel, red water bottle, a HUGE balloon, and a card that everyone signed!!! I was so touched.  They loved the playlist, ride, & spinning gifts.

~Old Skool~

Jungle Boogie

Big Ups to #5!

Top 5

#1 Powerful Women

Catra

-As I was watching Serena win the Australian Open last weekend, I thought of how much I admire powerful women, women who over come adversity, and do what they love regardless of what people think of them.  My hats are off to the ladies this week!

#2 New Workout Outfits

-Don't you love getting new workout clothes? I got this little number for my trip to Miami in May! The top is inspiration to keep that "hand to mouth" disease under control.  The skort is by Terry and has those comfy bike shorts underneath but without the look of a diapered booty.

#3 The Push-Up   

-Mercy!-

#4 Back Seat Love

-No not what you do with your hubby (dirty minded people).  The kind when your driving with the kids in the back seat and just randomly say, "I love you."  They both say, "I love you 2" at the same time.  AWESOME! Get what I'm saying? Favoritism in family's suck!  They thought I was talking to them as individuals, feeling the same, that's why they both said it back.  Then one said, "were you talking to me?" I think I'm doing at least one thing right today.  They both know I love them equally!

#5 WSSC 

-Finally registered this week for WSSC (World Spinning Sports Conference). In May I get to spin with my buddies from all over the world.  Last year was my first year and I had a blast! I hope to be able to go every year. Want to go?

Here are my sessions:

Visualization for Results

Kettlebell Power

How Big is Your Why?

Coach Your Ride

AT Training with the Conconi Test

Let's Jump!

Bike Fit

Breathwork on the Bike

Standing Flats vs. Run w/Resistance

Jumpin' to the Drum

Motivational Methods

Sprinting Like a Cyclist

Ride with Team Spinning