My Late Summer/Early Fall Fitness Challenges

With the dawn setting soon on summer, it's time to prepare for keeping the winter weight off.

I've found a few fitness challenges online to keep me motivated:

1) GirlTrek 30-Day Jump-Start:  GirlTrek is a great organization for women of color wanting to start a walking program.  The program seems to be well developed with many different walking routines ("Treks").  Also, there are incentives earned for completing certain routines.  There are various groups across the country and there are tools to help start groups as well.

In the 30-Day Jumpstart, you complete 20 "Treks" in 30 days.  GirlTrek provides a list of "Treks" to choose from to complete.  Completing the Jumpstart  program garners you the "Golden Shoestrings".  Find out more information on the 30-Day Jumpstart program by clicking here:  GirlTrek's 30-Day Jumpstart.

2)  Dailymile Walking in September Challenge: Go for the gold and walk 25 miles during September.

3) Dailymile Running in September Challenge: Heat up the asphalt and run 50 miles during September.

4) Tribesports Gym Workout Challenge: Need motivation to stick it out at the gym? Then commit to doing 15 gym workouts in 30 days. 

5) Academy LIVE FIT Challenge: This challenge gives the option of running, walking, or cycling as your choice of fitness routines: run 50 mi, walk 25 mi, or cycle 75 mi in 30 days.  Completing any of the 3 will garner you entry into a prize drawing.  Completing all 3 will garner you enter for a grand prize drawing (all workouts must be logged in by Sept. 27 to eligible for the prize drawing.

How can I possibly complete all these Challenges this month?  Simple, some exercises and routines could satisfy more than one Challenge. For example, my "Treks" would also satisfy the Dailymile Walking Challenge and My LIVE FIT Challenge.

Twleve Months of Fitness - My Bucket List for 2014

Well, the new year is here.  This year I'm not making any resolutions.  Rather I have created my bucket list of some sports and activities that I have always wanted to try but haven't done yet.  Each month I will try a new sport or activity - hence my 12 Months of Fitness: 

January – Dance fitness
February – Hula hooping

March– Swimming

April – Tennis

May - Biking

June - Skating

July – Horseback riding

August – Golf

September – Climbing (wall, rock, etc.)

October – Martial arts

November  - Fencing

December – Ballroom dancing

REFLECTIONS

About this time last year (2012), I had a few goals for myself:

1) Lose 50 lbs
2) Look absolutely sexy in my Rock N Roll Goddess outfit
3) Sustain a sub-14:00/mi pace
4) Finish a marathon
5) Learn to swim

With a new year upon us, I'm taking a few moments to reflect on these goals:

1) Lose 50 lbs - I didn't, but I have managed to keep off 15 lbs since the beginning of 2013 when I joined Weight Watchers.  

2) Look absolutely sexy in my Rock N Roll Goddess outfit - Well, since I didn't achieve #1, I haven't attempted to try on this 'little' outfit.


3) Sustain a sub-14:00/mi pace - Serious knee problems during the year (coupled with the lack of weight loss) has not allowed to me attain this goal. 

4) Finish a marathon - I started training to run a half marathon in September (and even considered completing a 'trifecta' - 3 halfs in 3 months), but I had to cut my training short and do therapy due to my knee problems.  So finishing a marathon was not likely this year.

5) Learn to swim - Lessons at the Y aren't cheap (about $100 for members), but still I could have. Given the problems with my knees, this would have been a great workout alternative.

Conventional wisdom tells us to succeed at achieving goals a person may make those goals specific and achievable.  With the exceptions of #3 and #4, these goals would be achievable for me.  So how did I fail?  Another tip of conventional wisdom is to develop a plan to take on your goal. I had plans to achieve the remaining 3 (I joined Weight Watchers to lose weight and I joined the Y so I could get swim lessons at a reduced rate).  But I was not consistent in executing my plan(s).  Admitting to your defeats doesn't make you a failure - it makes you stronger and prepared for greater rewards!

Road to Victory 2013

Not wanting to be like the rest of the crowd, I'm setting my New Year's resolution now.  Why put off tomorrow what you can do today? 

Part of the motivation is before I'm approaching a milestone birthday next year (2013).  Earlier this year I started my 50 by 50 campaign. I must say that I haven't been very successful. I believe I can still make the goal, but I must be more deliberate and put a plan of action in place.  Also, I have an incentive to keep me motivation - a cute little outfit I purchased awhile back I want to wear on that great day:



"New Me" Gear



Rock N Roll Goddess

Part of the motivation is the realization that running is likely out of my future fitness.  Due to the progress of arthritis in my knees I know I need to find out other avenues to shape up. 

And part of the  motivation is that my mom is always teasing me about all the 'toys' (exercise equipment )I've purchased and eventually become dust collectors (how many of us can relate to that - LOL).  My personal equipment arsenal (the 'toys' I can use at home/outside the gym):

GAZELLE



POWER WALK



X-SLIDER

 

 

So, I've put together a workout plan to resurrect these toys and create a comprehensive program for overall fitness.  I've include cardio, core, strength, and flexibility training.  And I'm not relying just on the numbers on the scales to let me know I'm meeting my goals.  I'm also tracking my measurements, as well as data such as pace, speed, weights, sets, and reps.  I think this will give me a more complete picture of my overall fitness.

I haven't been able to buy my dream GPS heart rate monitor (still trying to decide on brand, model, features, etc. - and of course - price), so I've purchased a modestly priced pedometer and heart rate watch (together less than $100) to fill the void and at least capture the basic data I can't capture with my smartphone GPS app in the interim.

Of course, exercise is just one component.  I struggle with keeping my eating under control.  One sure way for me is - and has always been - Weight Watchers.  It has been several months since I attended a meeting.  Attending meetings certainly help - not just the motivation but also accountability.  I will attend my 1st meeting this week after a long hiatus - if nothing else it will help me maintain during the holidays.

My goals for 2013:
1) Lose 50 lbs by my birthday (May 8th)
2) Look absolutely sexy in my Rock N Roll Goddress outfit (above)
3) Sustain a sub-14:00/mi pace
4) Finish a marathon
5) Learn to swim

Come join me on my Road to Victory in 2013!

 





Getting My Holiday Burn On! My Virtual Turkey Day Walk/Run 2012

Well, today I hit the road for a little workout before Thanksgiving dinner and I must say I did OK: total 4.4 mi: 1.26 mi walking and 3.25 mi 'running':

Walk - 22:43, pace 18:04, 254 cal
Splits
Mile 1 - 17:52 (pace 17:52)
Mile 1.26 - 22:43 (pace 18:54)

Run (slow jog/walk: 0.15 mi jog/0.10 mi walk) - 51:15, pace 16:15, 624 cal
Splits
Mile 1 - 16:21 (pace 16:21)
Mile 2 - 32:24 (pace 16:03)
Mile 3 - 48:48 (pace 16:24)
Mile 3.16 - 51:18 (pace 15:51)


This was part of my first run/walk for several of my holiday challenges.  I did several knee rehab exercises (stretching/strengthening) before going out to walk/run and I think that helped a lot.  Knees felt good surprisingly since this was my 1st real workout since finishing rehab last week.  I got a little winded at mile 2 of my 'run', but I kept going and got my 2nd wind.  Although my knees felt good, my back did bother me some, but I think that's was caused by all the hard work from the last 2 days I spent raking up and bagging up leaves on my front yard (LOL).

Don't have a heart monitor (last one broke and I haven't replaced it yet), so I had to rely on my smartphone GPS app - I'm certain the cal count is not accurate, but it does provide good feedback.

And all my hard work wasn't in vain - I kept the portions small and passed on dessert!!

I found a great cartoon on the Net that really sums it up for all us 'athletes' this Thanksgiving - :)

Hope everyone had a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

The Phoenix is (slowly) Rising ...

The past few weeks, I've been rehabbing my knee.  This will be my last week in rehab, so I felt I should try to get back into the workout groove.  Today I was off from work, so I took to the gym earlier than usual (for me - about 3:00 pm).  I wanted to get into the pool first, but a fellow gym-goer (male) was in there.  Well, I decided to wait unit he finished and exited the pool - not that I was afraid as I was embarrassed to be seen in a swimsuit (LOL)..  Anyway, I did my cardio trio - exercise bike, treadmill, elliptical - for a total of 45 minutes:
Exercise/stationary bike - 15:00 - alpine pass (level 3) - 5.18 mi, 49 cal
Treadmill - 15:00 - sports 5K (4.00 mph) - 1.00 mi., 121 cal
Elliptical - 15:00 - autopilot - 0.88 mi, 95 cal
After getting up a modest sweat, I finally jumped into the pool for 30 minutes.  This was really a great way to end my workout - the water was warm, so it really helped to relax my muscles.When I finished, my knees were sore - but I expected that.
It's going to be a long road back to the track - but slow and steady wins the race.

RECAP - Peachtree Road Race 10K training - week #3 (4/8 - 14/2012)

Well, the week started off very good - a longer than expected 6.5 mi run on Sunday.  But the rest of the week was downhill.  I made several visits to the hospital this week, visiting relatives who had surgeries.  They're doing fine now.  These things always bring you back to the realization that life will throw you a curve ball - you just need to stay in the game; you might swing and miss, but at least you stepped up to the plate.

Long(er) Run - Pushing the Envelope

6.51 mi, 1:22:56 (pace 12.14/mi), 1227 cal
Ran through a local running trail (Jemison Park).  Got a slow start (GPS app on phone had trouble locating signal - the tree cover in the trail is somewhat thick but skies were clear; had to restart several times). Anyway, once I got started I ran/walk 2:00/3:00 for most of the time. The app even lost the GPS signal about 1.25 mi into the run, but it did pick up the signal again after another 2 mi. I really surprised myself. I planned to do only 5 mi, but I was really feeling good and my knees were holding out so I decided to go a little farther. My left started to hurt some so I decided to stop - I had made 6.51 at that point!

RECAP - Peach Tree Road Race week 1 do-over: 3/25 - 31/2012

Week #1 (3/25 - 31/12)
(Change in logging my weeks: Sun - Sat)
Sun (3/25/12): 3.36 mi (53:00, pace - 15:46/mil, 660 cal)
Mon (3/26/12):OFF
Tues (3/27/12): 4.25 mi (1:05:55, pace 15:30/mi, 832 cal)
Wed (3/28/12): OFF
Thurs (3/29/12): OFF
Fri (3/30/12): OFF
Sat (3/31/12): Rumpshaker 5K  (44:02, pace, 14:12/mi, 614 cal)
TOTAL:  10.71 mi, 2:40:57, 2106 cal

The Long, Long, Long (5+K) Run

I did 3.36 miles this morning (660 cal, 53:00, pace - 15:46/mil). Walk/run - 3:00/2:00
Mile 1 - 15:54
Mile 2 - 31:44 (15:50)
Mile 3 - 47:23 (15:39)
Mile 3.36 - 53:00 (15:26)


I know I hadn't trained much this week, but it was something else going on.  I really struggled with what should have been an easy run. My legs and lungs were H-E-A-V-Y!!! There were probably lots of contributing factors - lingering sinus infection, pollen, bad diet (I haven't been to Weight Watchers in months - since before the holidays), lack of consistent exercising, hormones (enough said).  I'm getting back on the Weight Watchers wagon this week (I have a 5K this coming Saturday, so I like a decent performance) and I've planned my workouts for this week.  So hopefully as the week progresses, I will see some improvement.

(Stats from miCoach app -http://www.adidas.com/com/micoach/ )

2012 Peachtree Road Race 10K training - week 1 (do-over): 3/26 - 4/1/2012

Week #1 (3/26 - 4/1/12)
Mon (3/26/12): 4 mi easy
Tues (3/27/12): Cross-training
Wed (3/28/12): 3 mi easy
Thurs (3/29/12): Cross training
Fri (3/30/12): REST
Sat (3/31/12): Rumpshaker 5K
Sun (4/1/12): 5 mi easy

(Easy pace - can talk comfortably while running)

RECAP: 2012 Peachtree Road Race Training - week 1 (3/19 - 3/25/12)

Well, week 1 wasn't stellar.  Only one workout this week - no real reason other than my lack of motivation and dedication. 

Mon, 3/19/2012 - run/walk - 3.0 mi, 45:06 - 4:00/1:00 - 4.0/3.5 mph (341 cal).

Maybe keeping this blog will keep me honest - and hopefuly motivated.

Anyone familiar with Motorola's new Smart Fitness Tracker?

I've seen recent ads on a new GPS device by Motorola that is a fitness tracker/ MP3 player combo.  I was considering purchasing this, but I've seen mixed reviews.  Anyone has any thoughts about this device?
MOTOACTV - World's First GPS Fitness Tracker with Smart MP3 Player, All In One

Country Music Half Training - Week #1, Day #3/Tempo Run

Missed working out Monday (so rest day by default).
My tempo training run consist at 10:00 warmup (easy pace, 3.7-3.8 mph), 15:00 running/jogging (moderate pace - 4.4 mph), and finally 10:00 cooldown (easy pace 3.5 - 3.7 mph)

* Warmup (10:00) - 0.65 mi, pace 15:23
* Tempo run (15:00) - 1.12 mi (total 1.75 mi), pace 13:23
* Cooldown (10:00) - 0.63 mi, pace 15:52

Total cal - 347 cal, avg speed - 4.1 mph, avg pace  14:35

I jogged/ran the full 15:00 for the tempo portion of the workout!  I surprised myself!

Training for the Next Big Event - Country Music? - Week#1

One of running pals just registered for Country Music (half), and asked if I would too. The race is only 8 weeks away, so that means I'll have to really work hard to get in the miles.  I found a 16-week training plan in the March/April '12 edition of Women's Running magazine - "The Busy's Half-Marathon Plan". The focus of the training is I'm only doing latter 'half' (sorry for the pun) of the plan - it has the higher mileage long runs (longest being 12). So here I go!

Week 1 (3/4/ - 3/10/12)
Sun (3/4/12) - Cross training
Mon (3/5/12) - Tempo
Tues (3/6/12) - Cross training (lower body strength training)
Wed (3/7/12) - Rest
Thurs (3/8/12) - Long Run (10 miles)
Fri (3/9/12) - Cross training (upper body strength training)
Sat (3/10/12) - 5K race (interval training)

Cardio trifecta!

Workout #1 of 3Started my cardio workout with 15:00 on the elliptical - 0.78 mi, 46 cal.

Workout #2 of 3
After warming up my legs on the elliptical, I moved to the treadmill for another 15:00 - 1.09 mi, 167 cal
I worked on stamina by increasing the speed:
#1) 0:00 - 5:00
'Jog'/walk - 4.5/4.0 mph - 3:00/2:00
#2) 5:00 - 15:00
'Run'/'jog'/walk - 5.0/4.5/4.0 mph - 1:00/2:00/2:00

Workout #3 of 3
The last 15:00 on the stationary bike! (6.15 mi, 100 cal)
To get my heart rate up, during every 5:00-segment, I rode as hard as I could for 1:00 (125-135 rpm).

RNR New Orleans Marathon Training recap - Jan. 1 - 15, 2012

Well, it's mid-January, and I'm about 6 weeks from the RNR New Orleans Marathon.  Here's my progress to date with my training:

1/3/12 – Three workouts:

#1 – Stationary bike, 15:00, 5.5 mi, 92 cal
#2 -  Running on Treadmill, 30:00, 1.85 mi, 229 cal
#3 – Elliptical workout, 15:00, 1.14 mi, 122 cal
 

1/9/12 - Three workouts

#1 – Elliptical workout, 15:00, 0.97 mi, 46 cal
#2 -  Running on Treadmill, 30:00, 2.07 mi, 229 cal
#3 – Stationary bike, 15:00, 5.45 mi, 95 cal

1/15/12 – Two workouts

#1 – Pool walking/treading water, 15:00
#2 – Elliptical workout, 15:00 1.09 mi, 177 cal

RNR New Orleans Marathon Training - week #13

* Monday (1/16/12) - No run scheduled (cross training?)
* Tuesday (1/17/12) - 44:00 - Run 24 minutes at threshold intensity; warm up and cool down long enough to reach total run time.* Wednesday (1/18/12) - No run scheduled (cross training?)
* Thursday (1/19/12) - 1:01:00 - Steady run at moderate intensity (55:00), followed by 6 sets of 20 second "relaxed sprints" (strides) with 40 second active recoveries (6:00).
* Friday (1/20/12) - No run scheduled (rest)
* Saturday (1/21/12) - Long, steady run, moderate intensity 2:40:00
* Sunday (1/8/12) - Short run (recovery intensity) - 40:00
Total planned - 5:05:00

Transform Yourself and Win

Dr. Oz has done it again!  This time, he has teamed up with Weight Watchers to  create Dr. Oz's Transformation Nation: Million Dollar You, a life-changing plan that will literally transform your health!  And you might become a MILLION DOLLARS richer!!!!

Marathon Training - catching up!

Organizing my first large-scale fundraiser and open event (Magic City Pre-Christmas Jam - 12/15/2011) has been very time-consuming.  I've missed a couple of weeks of training for my marathon (Rock N Roll New Orleans - DetermiNation, benefiting the American Cancer Society).  I'm trying to get back on track, but not having a physical group to train with and training virtually hasn't help much to keep me focused on the training.  Fortunately, I do get reminders about the training schedule, which has helped.