Yoga and Crossfit and Bike and Run

Woke up at 640 today and it was a bit rough this morning. I called Heather to wake her up, then took Jack outside. The coffee was set to brew at 630, so knowing that it was ready got my ass up and out of bed. It also helps to have something to wake up for (yoga), and a workout partner is clutch!!

So after some coffee, we did 20 minutes of Yoga (Denise Austin's Yoga Body Burn is awesome). I was really sore and stiff at the beginning, but towards the end I loosened up and felt a lot better.

Then I ate breakfast (power oatmeal with fresh strawberries and sliced banana, and a protein shake) and did some work while I was digesting.

Then, did the following cross fit workout (which I made up):

10 pullups (with assistance from my jump-training band)
20 burpees
30 prisoner squats
40 walking lunges
50 crunches on physioball
40 high knees
30 pushups (with legs on ball)
20 dips
10 Santana pushups (inclined)

Total workout time: 10 minutes, 15 seconds.

So far, I'm feeling really goooooood! :)

I don't have class today but I'm still plan on biking later, but I have a few errands to run and some work to catch up on.


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Finally got to the gym at 4pm this afternoon. I rode the bike for 70 minutes (20.33 miles), and then hobbled over to the treadmill and ran a mile. This mile took me a whopping 10 minutes and 17 seconds to complete. Then cooled down by walking for 10 minutes because by that point I was a sweaty mess.

Now I'm home, just ate a good meal of multigrain pasta and turkey meatballs. Now I'm enjoying a glass of wine and I'm seriously about to fall asleep. Definitely going to hit the hay pretty early this evening so I can wake up by 630 tomorrow!

Obviously I'm going to do yoga in the morning because it helps to wake me up, but I think that's going to be it for the day. I have a feeling that after today's workouts, my body is going to need some recovery time. It's supposed to be a beautiful day (finally!!), so I will probably take Jack for a long walk.

Hasta mañana...

Dear Rain, Please go away! Love, Karen

Woke up this morningat 6:30 (AGAIN!!!) and did power yoga with Heather. Then headed to campus to meet a colleague and experienced swimmer, Hannah Banana Dean, for a quick swim lesson. She was very helpful and gave me some pointers and drills on how to increase speed and become more efficient. Thanks Hannah! I ran out of steam quickly so I was only in the pool for a total time of 35 minutes. Not only was I exhausted, but I was also STARVING. So I showered and went back to my desk to scarf down my second lunch.

All in all, a pretty productive day so far. And it's STILL raining. My poor dog hasn't had a decent walk in 2 days. Ususally on rainy days, I want to do nothing but sleep. Since I've been in pretty high spirits lately (because I love my life), I've been getting the proper amount of sleep (7.5 hours) and it's good quality sleep because of all the working out I've been doing.

Since I don't have class tomorrow, I'm thinking of doing a "light" crossfit/strength training workout at home after yoga in the morning. and then going for a long bike ride in the afternoon. If for some reason the rain does stop, I will fill up the air in my tires on my hybrid and hit the road!! (I'm not ready for my road bike just yet, and it wouldn't be very fun if the roads are still wet from the massive amounts of flooding in the area). I'm pretty sure the rain will not be done by tomorrow, so I will most likely go to campus to do this. Also, if I'm on campus, I can work on crossing off the 1,001 things on my To Do list for this week.

Thinking of doing a half-marathon sometime in June or July in prep for the race. It will either be in Boston/western MA, Rochester or Chicago. My weekends are pretty full this summer between weddings, bridal showers, bachelorette parties and volleyball tournaments so finding the time to do one is my biggest challenge.

Thats all for now.

Less than 25 weeks to go!!

Thursday and Friday of last week, I did nothing. :(

Saturday I played in a volleyball tournament in Rhode Island with my Swagger ladies, and we WON!

Even though yesterday was a GORGEOUS day for a long run around Southie, I didn't end up going at all. I woke up later than I had anticipated (10am), took Jack up to the park, made myself an awesome breakfast (egg white omelette with potatoes, green peppers, onions and tomatoes) then drove out to Sudbury (30 minute drive) to help my volleyball team sell food to raise money for Nationals in Phoenix in June. Then when I got home, I still had to write a 10 page paper on assessing ecosystem service value of salt marshes (with emphasis on political and economic influences). It wasn't a completely lazy day, however, since my roommate and I did a quick yoga session before heading to bed.

This morning was a milestone for me. I woke up at 6:30am and woke up Heather for yet another yoga session before she had to go to work. Afterwards, I felt great and ended up walking Jack, making breakfast, AND finishing my paper all before 9:30am!!! On the days that I don't have to wake up for anything, I usually sleep until at least 10. Even when my alarm is set for 9! Since waking up with the sun this morning, I've been rather productive with my time and just arrived back to my cubicle from the gym to write a quick post.

Today is a rainy day, so I spent some time on the treadmill. 65 minutes to be exact. I warmed up for 5, ran 6 miles in 55 minutes, then cooled down for 5 minutes. Then, I did a modified Kim Strother's ab workout (google her, she's amazing...and my idol.). Other than my ankles throbbing and my foot tingling, I feel pretty good right now. And it's only 3:30pm!!! A couple more hours of work time, then it's homeward bound to walk my baby boy in the rain.

QT with the Treadmill

Ran 5.75 miles on the treadmill in 55 minutes. Not too bad considering that the first 35 minutes consisted of intervals. Can't wait to go for a run outside again. I think Sunday will be the day for that! (Saturday is a VB tourney of course)

Boring post, sorry. Must get back to studying for my chemistry midterm tomorrow...

Train Delay

I got to the gym a little later than expected last evening due to public transit delays, so I only had about 40 minutes to workout before class. I ended up riding the stationary bike for 10 miles, and then walked into class a sweaty mess. I would have liked to ride at least 15 miles, but I went hard for 10 and was satisfied when I got off the bike and my legs were sore.

The rain finally stopped here, but it's freezing outside, so I will most likely head to the gym on campus for my run and an upper body/core workout. Yay for runnng days!!!! :)

Swim Day

1000m swim today. My sore shoulder from yesterday's volleyball tournament kept me from going any longer. I'm going to have to focus on strengthening my rotator cuff/shoulder muscles if I'm going to continue playing volleyball while training for the 70.3. It's rough being a quad-athlete, but someone's gotta do it!

Workout at GCHS

Today is a GORGEOUS day in Rochester, NY so I had to make the most of it. I decided it would be a running day since my lungs couldn't handle a long run in Colorado. So I ran up to my high school track to do a workout which is about 1.5 miles from my parents house.

My workout:

Walking lunges- 20 on each side
400m run
Run bleachers for 2 minutes
400m run
Run bleachers for 2 minutes
400m run
Side lunges- 20 on each side
Backward walking lunges - 20
400m run
Run bleachers for 2 minutes
800m run

Then I ran home, and did some core stuff. Not too shabby! :)

Total running distance: about 5.5 miles

St. Patrick's Day workout

Wow. That workout was awesome! I probably could have stayed there all day if my lungs were adjusted to the altitude. When we got to Red Rocks, we warmed up with a light jog on a really steep hill. Thats when I started feeling the oxygen deprivation of the thin air in my lungs and it continued throughout the day. For reference, I will tell you that the stairs we ran up and down were about 5 stories, and the brick walls that we jumped up were about 5' tall.

Here's the interval workout (which I finished, but thought I was going to throw up on numerous occasions):

Prisoner squats X20
Run up to the top of the stairs and back down
Pushups with star hold X10 on each side
Run up to the top of the stairs and back down
Burpees with block jump X15
Run up to the top of the stairs and back down
Dips X20
Run up to the top of the stairs and back down
Box jumps X20
Wall climbs X8
Rest
Wall climbs X5

And we weren't done after that. After a 2-3 minute rest, we did an ab circuit of:

Bicycle kicks (forward) x20
Bicycle kicks (backward) x20
V-ups x20
Side V-ups X10 each side
V-sit twists x40
Plank with alternating knees to chest x20


AND of course, because I was feeling amazing after the ab workout....I ran ANOTHER set of stairs (half-way down and all the way back up). Just because. :)

Then after we left Red Rocks, we stopped at a trail on the way back to Boulder and hiked for about 30 minutes. The hike helped to ease the lactic acid buildup that I had going on in my legs. Now I feel GREAT and wish that I wasn't leaving tomorrow. :(

Now its time to go celebrate St. Patty's Day in Denver. Luck of the Irish to you all!!! :)

Spring Training in Colorado!

Sure, I was upset that my flight to Denver was delayed 24 hours. But what really made me upset was that I wasted an entire day in the airport on Sunday, when I could have been training in Boulder. Boo for bad weather, but I made it to my destination in one peice so I have to be thankful for that.

I arrived on Sunday night to Denver, and Dan (my bro) picked me up from the airport. We didn't end up getting back to his place in Boulder until 3am (which is 5am EST), and I ended up sleeping in until 1030. After eating a nice healthy breakfast (egg white omellete with mushrooms and green peppers), and waiting 30 minutes, we went to the pool for a swim workout.

I'm not exactly how far I swam. But I did a few drills and jumped around a little for about 40 minutes. Then after we swam (and consumed a protein shake and peanut butter sandwich), we hopped on our bikes and headed into town. We ended up biking about 10 miles total. While in town, we stopped at a really cute sandwich shop for lunch (veggie burger).

Dinner was mexican food, which I ate wayyyyyy too much of, but it was sooooo good. Tacos with salsa and fresh homemade guacamole, and of course 2 Coronas to establish complete authenticity. Then we just relaxed for the rest of the night.

This morning after breakfast (power oatmeal), we headed to the gym for an upper body workout. I worked on chest and back while doing a circuit I found in Oxygen magazine. Then I did one super set of an ab workout (also from Oxygen magazine).

Lunch was a protein shake, peanut butter & jelly sandwich, chips w/guacamole, and some cashews. After lunch we headed to NOAA's Earth System's Research Lab, which was AMAZING and allowed me to learn about my field from a different perspective (Check out: http://sos.noaa.gov/). Then we headed over to Eldiablo Springs for a 4 mile hike -- also AMAZING. The air out here is so clean and fresh, and the sun is so bright. The scenery is also just unreal, and cannot be captured by cameras. There was snow melting on the trail, yet I was wearing a tanktop. I did feel the effects of the altitude for the first hour or so of the hike, but then didn't really notice it after that.

We just finished eating our dinner (pasta & marina sauce with left over turkey from last night's tacos, and sweet potato fries). Now we are just sitting here relazing and digesting. Heading into town in a few minutes so I can get my shopping fix, and check out some of the local microbreweries. Tomorrow we are heading to Denver for a workout at Red Rocks (look for us on the webcam: http://www.redrocksfitness.com/). I'm SUPER pumped, and hope that the altitude doesn't hinder my ability to train hard.

Hope it goes well, and can't wait to write all about it!!!

I woke up before 9:00am today! And I didn't have to be into school until 12:30. I'm pretty excited about that, because I had time to take Jack up to the park for a game of fetch, AND for an upper body workout this morning. I was going to bike before my second class today.....BUUTTTTT I had to finish my cheat sheet (it was allowed) for my exam tonight. I didn't do that great on the test anyways, so I should have just forgotten the damn cheat sheet and rode 15 miles or so.

Anyways, when I got home, Heather and I did Yoga Body Burn with Denise Austin (~20 minutes). It was awesome. Now it's time for bed, and hopefully I won't be such a slacker on the cardio tomorrow! Now that my car no longer has a donut on it, I have plans to head up to Salem tomorrow afternoon to see my Otis. Then tomorrow night, I'm heading up to Cambridge to hang with my good friend Nicole. So I will have to workout in the morning if I'm going to at all.

SOOOOO that means I will have to go to sleep in the next 10 minutes if I want to wake up before 9 again! Time for some Terry Goodkind and snuggle time with Jack-O-Lantern! Good night!

Ok. So the Salem trip got delayed due to some car issues (flat tire). And I never ended up going for a run yesterday. I did, however, go for a 3 hour walk with my roommates - the Heathers - and Jack and Heather's dog Kaida. It was SUCH a gorgeous day, so we wanted to spend some time outside. We walked up to Sullivans on Castle Island, and I got a much needed frozen yogurt.

It was another gorgeous day today, and I was all ready with my swim stuff to head to campus for a 45min-1hour swim. That didn't happen. I felt like I needed to make the most of the weather. I ended up running for 40 minutes, and had a little bit of knee pain. It's probably because I didn't have time to warm up and stretch. I'm thinking I need to start taking my glucosamine/chondroitin supplements again to aid with the joint pain. But after the run, I felt AMAZING. I felt so good, and energized, that I walked to JFK/UMASS station instead of taking the train. It turns out that it's only like a 12 minute walk from my house, so I will be doing that more often now that spring in pretty much here! Although I'm sure there will be at least one more snow storm before the first official day of spring.

Tonight is roommate yoga night! WOOHOO!!! :)

Well I attempted to run on Wednesday, when I finally arrived at the gym at 430pm. I wasn't really feeling it though. I was tired, and I felt like I was going to fall asleep on the treadmill (is that even possible??). Anyways, I ran a mile and then headed back home to take the day off from training.

Thursday, I decided to try again and ended up doing an interval workout on the treadmill for 4.5 miles. I felt great right after, but then a few hours later I was ready to crash!

Friday, I took another day off because I had a volleyball tournament on Saturday. My team ended up winning, which is awesome! Today, I'm going to try and get a quick run in because it is amazingly gorgeous outside. Then I'm heading up to Salem for the afternoon with my roomie!

Sorry that blog sucked. I feel like I've been a little lazy because I burned myself out with starting too fast. I will do better next time. :)

195 more days!

And I'm back!

Ok, so my brother Dan and I just signed up for the 70.3 IronMan in Syracuse on September 19. It turns out to be a perfect time and location for me to race, and gives me plenty of time to train.

I started my training on Monday with a 1000m swim. It wasn't too bad. I stopped to catch my breath after every 100m, but the length of time it took to recover kept getting shorter as my body got warmer and more comfortable with being in the water again. I had to order a new suit though, because the one I used to train with last year had some serious sagging issues going on. For the record, when they say "resistant to chlorine degradation", they are full of crap. Instead of falling for that again and buying an expensive training suit, I decided to buy a $20 one-peice Speedo with some random, ugly design.

Yesterday morning (Tuesday), I did a short upperbody circuit at home (pullups, shoulder presses, upright rows, bicep curls, tricep extensions, bentover rows, AND repeat). Then in the afternoon, I hit the bike at the gym for 45 minutes and then immediately went to the treadmill for a mile run. Definitely had brick legs for the first 5 minutes or so, but once that went away, I felt like I could run for days. I couldn't of course because I had to go to class. :(

Today, however, I had some serious issues getting out of bed. I'm sore, and have no energy. I'm afraid that I might have overdone it in the past 3 days (Sunday was a volleyball tourney). I'm planning on going for a light run today once the rain/snow stops, so we will see how that goes.

I'm also missing a part of my Nike+, which pisses me off because I love knowing how far I've gone and my pace and everything. If I can't find it within the next few days, I may have to splurge and buy a new one. They are only $30, so that's not too bad. Unfortunately, my iPod is not working correctly. I can't sync it with my itunes. Perhaps it's because it's like 7 years old, and is the first version Nano. So I've been running with the same songs, and I'm ready to change my playlist. Maybe I will just get a cheap Shuffle, which is enough to put a few songs on to get me through an hour-long run. We will see...

It is now 2:30pm and I have hardly done anything. So I'm off to campus to get some school work done. Maybe I will just use the treadmill today so I can track my distance, and won't get sick from running in the rain.

It feels good to be back on the training wagon! Now I just have to put a higher focus on my nutrition if I want to have enough energy to train and be productive in school.

Only 199 days (28 weeks) left to train for the biggest race of my life! :)