iPod Nano

I decided to get the iPod Nano and the Nike+ sensor. I have a bunch of money in Target gift cards burning a hole in my pocket as it is, so I'm going to spend it on the nano. It'll be so much more convenient to run with a player that's so much smaller and lighter than the iphone, and I'm super excited about all the options and training programs with Nike+. The video camera will be fun to have too. As soon as I get my new debit card (lost my purse, found it, cards had already been cancelled, it's a long stupid story) I'm going to go get it. I'm so excited!

Since I still have a cough, it's freezing out and there's snow all over the place, I'm still not running outside and don't think I'm going to until the cough is completely gone. I have the elliptical at home so I hopped on that for 45 minutes last night and worked up quite a sweat. Tonight I'll either head to the gym to use the treadmill or do elliptical again. Santa gave me a jump rope so maybe I'll break that in.

One other little bit of good news.... I've finally lost 20 pounds! YAY!

Here's a pic of the running gloves I got for Christmas, which I greatly look forward to wearing once I'm actually running outside again.

The Germ Factory Factor

The fact that I apparently work in a germ factory is killing my workouts! I'm so mad that I keep getting sick that I could scream. I still have a persistent cough but am feeling about 80% better, so yesterday I started running again. It was inside on a treadmill, which was a bit strange because I've never run on a treadmill before. Yesterday I ran 32 minutes, walked for 10, but I only ended up going 2.8 miles. Today I ran 30 minutes (barely... I thought I was going to die) and walked 10 and again only went 2.8 miles. Before this last round of sickness I was up to 40 minutes of running and I hope I can get back up there again quickly.

Running on the treadmill, where I can see distance, really showed me that I'm running waaaay too slow! I'm looking for a way to encourage myself to go faster by tracking my distance and time, and I'm thinking the Nike+ system might be the way to go. It looks like it would be similar to the pedometer I have from work but that ped is meant to track all your steps and I hate transferring the stupid (big) thing from my work shoes to my running shoes etc. Honestly I don't really care how many steps I take during the day... I'm more concerned with improving my running and want a system designed for that.

I would need a sportband and sensor, which would be $59. I wouldn't need the sportband if my iphone was compatible but it isn't. I'd really like an ipod nano, which would be easier for running because it's a whole lot smaller and lighter than the iphone and it comes with Nike+ so I wouldn't need the sportband. But that isn't really in the budget right now. I could get it with one of the gift cards from my class but I really want to save that for something else.

Here's the sportband. I really hate wearing anything on my wrists so I'm not sure if this is the way to go. Hmmm.OR an iPod Nano??

Exercise and Cheesecake

First the exercise... for the last couple of weeks I've gotten 4 workouts in per week, but this week will be 5 if I work out tomorrow. 2 days of crossfit, 2 days of running, and tomorrow will probably be elliptical.

My winter weather outdoor running limit seems to be around 30-35 degrees. At that temp, I go with long pants, long sleeve shirt, wonderful lulu jacket, and headband that covers the ears (no hat because the jacket has a great hood). The only thing missing is running gloves, which I desperately need. Cookie has a little coat I put on her. She doesn't mind it at all and it seems to keep her warm. I'm just not quite crazy enough to go running when the temperature is in the single digits or teens. Can't do it. There are plenty of great indoor workouts that will kick your ass without freezing it off! Here's one of them:

1 minute jump rope
1 minute sit ups
1 minute good mornings
1 minute jumping squats
1 minute push ups
1 minute break
x3

Each time you need to try to increase your reps. If you can talk or if it seems "easy" then you need to speed up. The first time through I could only do about 40 jump ropes, second time it was 95, 3rd it was 98. Jumping squats was 30, 31, 32. I didn't count sit ups but I'm sure my form was good so I'm cool with that. I still suck at push ups and have decided to no longer count how many I do and just try to do decent ones. My upper body strength sucks. Out of all that, it was the stupid good mornings that made me sore! Those things feel so good at the time, but they always make me sore the next day. So strange.

And now on to the cheesecake! Here's a pic:

It's a pumpkin cheesecake with sour cream topping and is DELISH!!! You can find the recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spiderweb-Pumpkin-Cheesecake/Detail.aspx

It was my first ever cheesecake and it was soooo good! It did crack, but the topping covered it. It's definitely an easy recipe for first-time cheesecake makers.

Turkey Day Running

There were a few different types of people out in my 'hood this morning that I saw when I was running. In case you're curious, I classified the people I saw into the following 4 groups.

1. The Hard Cores. They were in shorts and tank tops running about 6 times as fast as me.
2. The "getting away from the family" peeps. Coat, jeans, hat, coffee cup, and cigarettes. No running, but a lot of sitting and smoking.
3. Owners of crazy dogs that need lots and lots of exercise.
4. The "I feel guilty about what I'm going to eat tonight so I'm better go run now" group.

I was in group 4. I walked for 5 minutes then ran 37 and walked the last few. I'm still trying to get up to 40 or 45 minutes but am not quite there yet. I'm getting closer though!

3/7 Ain't Good

Meh, I only managed to work out 3 days last week. I ran Monday, did Crossfit Tuesday (100 jumping pull ups, 100 sit ups, 100 squats, 100 push ups), then my calves were killing me from the jumping pull ups and I didn't do anything until Saturday, when I went running (35 mins running plus warm up). Thanksgiving is going to throw me off a bit this week so the plan is running tonight, crossfit tuesday, run wednesday (if I can... crossfit is killing me lately), take Thursday off, run Friday or Saturday. 4 days this week, then get back to 5 next week. Clothes are fitting a lot better and overall I'm doing better with food, with a slip up here and there, though I've been fighting the same 3 pounds for the last 3 weeks. Let's do this!!!! Byebye, 3 pounds! Then 30 more. :)

Can still run! Yay!

I ran Saturday and today (Monday). I did the last week of C25K, which is 5 minutes warm up, 30 minutes run, 5 minutes cool down. I did have to take a few walk breaks, but they were really short and I ran most of the way. The last 15 minutes is so much easier than the first 15 minutes and I think I'll be back up to 35 minutes pretty soon.

I wanted to wait to share my weight loss until I reached 20 lbs, and I'm not quite there yet, but I've lost 17 and am pretty proud of that. Still have 33 left though, urg. I've maintained the 17 lb loss for a couple weeks now and am ready to get more of this annoying fat off my body. Awesome designer jeans that I haven't fit in for the last few years, here I come!

Tomorrow is crossfit and I really hope I'll be able to walk afterward. Last week sucked.

Getting Back On Track

Getting back on track is difficult and painful, but it's time. I haven't been sticking to the workout schedule for a few weeks. There were some busy times at work, the flu for a week, and then my dad passing away. Now I'm ready to start again. I did crossfit on Wednesday. It sucked, I felt like my muscles had completely abandoned me, and my legs and butt have been sore ever since. Today I'll go on a walk/run and include as much running as I can (maybe walking uphill and running flat and downhill, which works well because the uphill part is shorter so I don't end up walking all that much but it feels more manageable). Monday should be the next running day and Tuesday is crossfit. Everything is in place for me to get back on track and it's time to DO IT. I also got a pedometer. It's on my shoe now and so far the biggest challenge has been just to remember to wear the thing.

I had been doing really well with food, but the last couple days I've been horrible there as well. Looks like I'll be going to the grocery store today to stock up on healthy meals and snacks. Today is a new day for healthy living. :)