Spring into Action Week 4

This week was an unfortunate one for me... I had such great plans, but got sidelined by a recurring injury in my knee.  I had to take it easy and avoid doing too much strenuous work in order to heal my poor knee.  By the end of the week though, it was feeling much better and I had done lots of stretching and strengthening exercise instead, so hopefully next week will be a bit more impressive :P

Sunday March 25: rest day

Monday: Planned to go for a run outside, until it turned out to be -2 degrees.  Took the run inside to the treadmill instead.  I don't know what was going on with me, but my body was just EXHAUSTED.  I only squeezed out 3.4km, which is really strange since I could easily run 5+km outside just last week.  I was huffing and puffing and sweating like crazy only a few minutes in.  Wtf :(  To make up for it, I did 20 minutes of upper body work as well (squat-press, lunge with bicep curls, tricep extensions and dips, and push ups)

Tuesday: Woke up this morning with a wicked charlie horse :( Also my knee had started acting up again for the first time since like, January.  Not cool knee, not cool.  I did about a half hour of yoga at home to try to stretch out my calf and be nice to my knee.  Also did about 15 minutes of upper body stuff (push ups, tricep dips, ab work)

Wednesday: Attempted run #2, took it outside this time.  Again, I had planned a long run (6km+ minimum), but was again only able to squeeze out about 3.7km.  Wtf :( My calf was still in some pain, but problems were now starting in my foot as well (I've had problems with plantar fasciitis before, ironically in the same leg that also has knee problems and got the calf pull this week.  Sweet.)

Thursday: Another gentle stretching day to relieve my poor calf/knee/foot, did a 40 minute yoga practice in the living room.  My knee was feeling a bit better by the evening :) yay!

Friday: A one-hour strength training class at the gym, including circuits of lower body, upper body, and abdominal work.

Saturday: I had planned to get in a yoga class, but after already teaching two classes and working a WW meeting in the morning, I was just far too exhausted to make that happen.  But, I did get in some activity in my two classes by demonstrating stuff and moving through vinyasa flows with the students.  My hips were feeling it by the end of the second class, so I must have been doing something!

During the week I also picked up a book called ChiRunning.  And it is seriously blowing my mind.  I'll update next week on whether it's actually helped my running or not :)

Spring into Action: Week 3

Let's keep moving!

Sunday: rest day

Monday: went to a 1.5 hour vinyasa yoga class.  The instructor wanted to do some extra focus on backbends and twists, resulting in lots of revolved postures and wheels.  My sides and low back were a bit sore afterward, but otherwise, I was feeling gooey and wiggly and stretchy :)

Tuesday: So I got a call at 5:45am asking if I could teach the 6:30am class at my home studio.  The teacher who was scheduled wasn't able to go.  I wasn't too thrilled since a) it was 5:45am, and b) this would mean that I would miss my first class at school, but still I dragged myself out of bed and went to the studio.  The real kicker is that Tuesday mornings are a silent class, meaning that the teacher instructs the class by actually doing the class.  So, I got in an hour of hot yoga this morning!
On top of this, I also had my second session with my personal trainer.  I pleaded with him to be nice to me -- my back and ribs were SO sore (after the killer class on Monday plus this morning's class) and I was exhausted.  He claimed to be nice, but that was a damn lie :P We focused primarily on upper body work, because my arms are very weak and stringy.

Wednesday: took a rest day, because my body was in epic pain.  Still was on my feet during the entire morning at my volunteer position, I'd guess that there was at least a 45-60 minute walk minimum in there.

Thursday: the hottest day in the HISTORY of Toronto in March!  WOOOO!!!  Went for a 4.5km run in the park.  I had hoped to go a lot farther than that, but I had a few things working against me -- because of the heat, I decided to take water with me on a running belt.  This is the first time that I've used it, so it took a while to get it to sit in a place that was comfortable - which of course messed up my groove a little bit with all that jiggling around to adjust the belt.  Also my first time running in the heat all season, so I was sweating A LOT.  Finally, my hamstrings were still a bit sore from Tuesday, so they weren't so thrilled with my brilliant idea of running hills.

Friday: much cooler out today :S  Went for a run through the park, possibly a bit overdressed (lululemon pants, t-shirt and light Old Navy running jacket to block the wind).  I was definitely glad to have the jacket for the wind, but I was SO HOT when the wind did ease up!  I got in 5km, which included two massive hills.

Saturday: taught a yoga class this afternoon, but otherwise didn't get much activity.  I had planned to go to the gym for an upper body workout, but an unexpected visit by my parents prevented that.  I also had plans in the evening with friends, so sadly, an unplanned rest day today


I've often found myself feeling too busy or too lazy to go work out, but when I actually get my act together and get it done, I always feel a hundred percent better.  You will never regret getting activity, but you will ALWAYS regret not doing it!!!

Spring into Action: Week 2

Have you been moving and grooving with me for the last two weeks?  Here's what's been going on since the last update:

Wednesday March 7: went for a 5.4km run in the park.  I love that I live in a neighbourhood where, within the span of less than 5k, I ran through a) cherry blossom trees, b) a zoo (saw the bison/yaks, peacocks, emus, some kind of sheep, goats, and others!), c) varied terrain (road to trail to mud to rocks to road to up and down hills...), and d) an off-leash dog park full of about a billion happy slobbery dogs :)

Thursday March 8: my first personal training session at Extreme!  I actually showed up about 10 minutes early, so we got started before my appointment.  This guy KICKED MY BUTT!!!!!!!!!  I actually thought that I was going to cry after a while, because it was SO FREAKING HARD.  But, I pushed as hard as I could and survived the session.  It became very obvious very quickly that my upper body strength is total crap compared to my leg/core strength and cardio endurance, so we focused a lot on building upper body work.  When I was done, I realized that we had actually been working for almost an hour and a half by the time he released me from his evil training clutches O__O

Friday March 9: I decided that today would be a rest day.  I had planned a 6k run, but after the killer training session the day before, I knew it just wasn't going to work out well, and that I would probably end up horribly injured or something.  I didn't have any planned activity, but did lots of walking (probably about 40 minutes worth).

Saturday and Sunday (March 10 and 11): Saturday was my planned rest day, but I ended up extending it to Sunday simply because I couldn't fit in the activity that I had planned.  I have two massive assignments due this week, and I was working all weekend on top of it, so any spare time I had was spent on researching and writing and nerding out.  So, the weekend was pretty much an epic fail in the activity department.

Monday March 12: FINALLY got myself out for some activity :) Unfortunately I had a bit of intestinal issues this afternoon (damn you, IBS...), and didn't really think that my planned 6k run would be a very good idea.  I opted instead to ride the stationary bike for 15 minutes at the gym and see how I felt after.  Luckily, I was feeling a bit better, so stuck around the gym for another 30 minutes doing upper body and ab activity.

Tuesday March 13: Yet another day of fun with angry intestines.  Decided against my will to take today as a rest day, though I did get in some walking.

Wednesday March 14: Today I decided to stick it to digestive distress and got some dang exercise!  I woke up early and hit the treadmill before my belly could complain.  Got my 6k run in :)

Thursday March 15: I missed my workout today (unexpected scheduling issues), but fit in some activity by doing spurts of activity on commercial breaks of Grey's Anatomy! I worked on little cardio spurts of squat jumps, burpees, mountain climbers, push ups and tricep dips, and jump rope (imaginary :P).  I'd guess that there were 5 commercial breaks, each about 4-5 minutes long, but I worked my butt off for that whole 4-5 minutes.  While it might not sound like much, I felt pretty toasted at the end of the show!

Friday March 16: Went to the gym after school for an hour - about 25 minutes of cardio and 45 of strength work and stretching.  Also walked from the gym to meet boyfriend for lunch, about a 30 minute walk.

Saturday March 17: St. Patrick's Day!  No planned activity, but I walked home (from the bar) for about a half hour, and also taught a yoga class earlier in the day.

So this week wasn't as motivational of a week, part of which was due to a) scheduling problems with assignments/other school stuff going on, and b) intestinal issues that prevented intense exercise.  While I can't do much about IBS (though I'm working with my doc about it), I can definitely do something about scheduling!  I'm usually pretty good about planning out a day that will allow me to get in some kind of activity, if even just a 30 minute walk, but somehow this week it kind of fell apart.  Heck, I didn't even get to go grocery shopping this week - we've been living off of leftovers, frozen food (wallet friendly!) and ordering out (not so wallet friendly...).  Next week I expect will be just as nuts with assignments, so I'm going to try to do my best to plan ahead a little better!

How did you get activity this week?

Spring into Action Challenge

Hey blog!
I'm a few days late posting this one, since it was supposed to start at the beginning of March, but hey - better late than never :)
Upon realization that my first half marathon is a mere 13 weeks away, it dawned on me that I really need to get my butt in gear and TRAIN UP!!!!!  I have been running regularly and gradually increasing distance, but not as much as I should have been doing by now.  I admit, I kind of lost motivation.  With the cold outside (though unseasonably mild still), I've been stuck on the treadmill which can get really, REALLY boring after a while.

It's time to get moving.

I present: the Spring into Action Challenge!
This challenge asks you (yes, YOU!) to move a lot more!  I challenge you to get moving every single day for at least 30 minutes per day.  Ideally, get vigorous physical activity (something that gets the heart rate up and/or makes you sweat) at least 3 days per week.  The challenge will last April 30 - a very important time for me because a) my exams are in the middle of April, and b) I'm going on vacation just before the end of the challenge -- but I'm already planning to pack my runners and try out some beachside and water sports! 
Research varies on the amount of time needed, but most agree that after doing something every day for at least one month, it will become a habit.

I won't be posting every day during the Spring into Action Challenge, but I will update y'all once a week (when/if I remember :)). I'll also post any interesting tidbits that I come across about fitness and health that might be helpful for you!


So, since I'm late posting, here's my first weekly update: How's it going so far?

• Thursday (March 1): I joined an Extreme Fitness near school with a WagJag deal.  After dealing with the amazing high-pressure sales pitch, I finally got my membership set for 2 months (the time I was entitled to on the deal purchased).  This deal also got me two sessions with a personal trainer!  I went for my fitness assessment on Thursday with a trainer, finding out that my body fat % was 22.4 (a lot more believable than the 16% that I got last time O_o) and that I need to work on upper body and core strength to help support my body during my running training.  The total session was an hour, but actual exercise was about 30 minutes of low-to-moderate intensity work.
• Friday: I wasn't able to fit in a workout, but taught 2 yoga classes and participated with the class for about 15 minutes of each class.  I also did all of the abdominal exercises with the class.
• Saturday: rest day - I walked home from teaching at my home studio (about a 30 minute walk)
• Sunday: 90 minutes of hot yoga
• Monday: 5km run (about 38 minutes)
• Tuesday: 1 hour spinning class at Extreme Fitness

Woweeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Assuming that my legs aren't toast from spinning today, I have another run planned tomorrow, and my first personal training session on Thursday.  Updates to come!

How will YOU Spring into Action???

Vegetarian potluck

Last week, my yoga studio celebrated the last day of its most recent 30 day challenge (where participants practice yoga every day for 30 days).  I didn't participate in the challenge this time around, because a) I was out of town for a bit (update soon), b) I was in bootcamp plus running training, and couldn't really see myself being able to fit in a yoga practice every day, and c) midterms and assignments were bogging me down, and having the extra pressure of having to show up to a yoga class every day would have pushed me over the edge.  Ironic, yes, that going to yoga would be stressful :(
However, being a teacher and still practicing at the studio, I still wanted to be there to congratulate everyone who made it through (and even those who didn't :P).  I've done the 30 day challenge several times before (here's a reminder from 2 years ago, just before teacher training started - but there have been at least 2 challenges since then that I did!), so I completely recognize how hard it is to make that kind of commitment, and I commend anyone who puts their name on the list, let alone actually makes it through the whole 30 days!  This time around was the studio's biggest challenge ever.  Over one hundred students signed up (WHOA!)

To celebrate the end of a 30 day challenge, the studio always holds a vegetarian potluck party (last time I posted, I made a roasted pepper, lentil and feta salad for the party).  This time around....

Black Bean, Chickpea and Mango Salad with Chili-Lime Dressing

Measurements are approximate.  I made chili earlier this week and pretty much threw in whatever was left over from that :)

Salad:

• appx 1/2 can black beans, rinsed well
• appx 1/2 can chickpeas, rinsed well
• appx 1/2 can corn kernals (or use fresh if available, about a 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 1/2 yellow or green pepper, diced
• 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
• 1/2 mango (or more if you really love mango), julienned (cut into matchsticks)
• 1-2T cilantro

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup veggie oil (I only had olive oil in the house, but it still tasted fine)
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder, or more if you like it spicy
• 2tsp lime zest (about the amount from 1 lime)
• juice of 1 lime (about 3T)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt

Mix all salad ingredients together in a large bowl.  Mix dressing ingredients together in a separate bowl.  Taste the dressing to ensure that it is spicy enough for your liking, adding more spice if desired.  I left mine less spicy than I like because it was going to be served to people who may or may not like spicy food.  Normally though, this would have a whole lot more chili powder and/or crushed red pepper flakes and/or hot sauce!
Combine dressing and salad, mix well.  Taste the salad, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Yum!

What do you like to make for a potluck?

Green Monster

Not that kind of green monster :)


I'm a little late to the Green Monster trend, but srsly, how did I wait this long???

You may or may not have ever heard of this crazy food before, but here's the gist of it:  green monsters are smoothies made with milk (or soy/almond/rice milk, whatev), fruit, and spinach.  Spinach???  Yep, that's what makes it a green monster!

Sounds disgusting, looks no better.  But really, they taste freaking awesome.

I gave it a try a couple of weeks ago because spinach went on crazy big sale at No Frills (98 cents per giant bunch!).  I'm trying to increase my veggie intake, especially the dark leafies, so I thought that this would be a good opportunity.  Turns out that there are TONS of recipes available online, and lots of variations to the basic green monster recipe in which people add chia seeds, flax seeds, wheat grass, nut butters, different fruits, using kale instead of spinach, frozen vs. unfrozen spinach or fruit, etc.  The possibilities are endless!

Here's what I did:

Basic Green Monster
Add ingredients to your blender in this order:

handful of spinach (about 1 - 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup other fruits (I used raspberries and blueberries)
ice cubes (use lots if you want a chunky super cold smoothie, less if you want it smoother)
1 banana
1 cup milk, or soy, almond, rice, whatever you like.  You can also use sweetened milks (e.g. vanilla soy milk).

Place ingredients in blender.  Blend until fully incorporated - spinach is pulverized, ice cubes are all broken up, deliciousness appears.  Taste -- add sweetner if needed (e.g. honey, agave nectar).  If you are using sweetened/flavoured milk, you will probably be able to skip this step.

WHOA!

This is my new go-to post-workout snack.  I'm getting a serving of milk, at least one serving of veggies, at least one serving of fruit, AND it's delicious!

For more recipes, check out http://greenmonstermovement.com/

Boot Camp - Recap

Today was the last day of bootcamp!Really, the only reason that I didn't continue with the camp after my 4 weeks was fully to do with money.  Bootcamp is pricey.  However, I feel that I got every cent worth out of it, and I definitely intend to go back in the near future (maybe in the spring/summer)!

My measurements:

• Upper arm: start 11",  today 10.5" each arm
• Total loss: 0.5" each = 1"
• Chest: start 31.8",  today 32"
• Total: gained 0.2" (I'm told that the reason for a larger reading for chest and butt is often because as you build muscle in these areas, you are lifting the chest/butt, causing a larger measurement despite having gained muscle.  I'll take it!)
• Waist: start 28.5",  today 28.5
• no change
• Hips: start 37",  today 35"
• Total loss: 2"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Butt: start: 41,  today: 41.1
• Total: gained 0.1", same reason as chest measurement :)
• Upper thigh: start 22.8,  today 22.2 each leg
• Total loss: 0.6" each, = 1.2" total!

TOTAL INCHES LOST: 4.2 (net: 3.9 lost)
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Weight actually increased somehow, from 145.2 to 146.4.  I blame this on the delicious Chinese food that I had for lunch (and maybe the slice of pie I ate last night.....), because other than that, I've been really good about tracking my food for the last month.

However.

Much more important than weight, I also had my body fat % measured (we used calipers).  I'm not totally sure that it's accurate, because it seems REALLY FREAKING LOW considering the mush that I still have on my gut :P 

Start body fat: 22.6%
Today: 16.3%???????????????????????????????

I'm not sure that I believe 16.3%, but I definitely did reduce my body fat %.  The caliper measurements were quite a bit smaller than last time.  I also have noticed less jiggle in my arms, and the fact that I actually have a space between my upper thighs for the first time in like, years.  Wooo!

FIT TEST RECAP

• Squat jumps:   Last time: 34 squat jumps
• This time: FORTY TWO.  Holy crap!
• Push ups:  Last time: 3 on my toes (man-style), 16 on my knees
• This time: TEN on my toes, and another 14 on my knees
• Burpees:  Last time: 5 with push up (all on toes) and 10 walking legs out.  A note: burpees come in an in-between variation, in which you just jump your legs out and back in without the push up.  I was not able to do this last time.  Those 5 burpees with pushups had attempted jumping legs, but largely unsuccessful, and I walked my legs out almost every time.
• This time: ELEVEN burpees.  All with pushups, all of those on my toes.  Oh, and I jumped my legs out for all of them.  Whaaaaaat???
• Plank: Last time: held for 40 seconds on toes and till 2:30 (end of time) on knees.  At the time, doing the plank on forearms (more difficult) was definitely not an option, and I did the plank on my hands.  My shoulders killed after 40 seconds, which is why I dropped to knees.
• This time: 40 seconds on forearms and toes.  Held till the end of time on knees.  I totally could have held for another 5 seconds or so, but again, the shoulders were feeling angry.
• Suicides: Last time: 22 rounds.  After that, I thought I would die.  I couldn't breathe for at least 5 minutes after and my heart rate didn't start to feel like it was going at a normal speed for a long time after that.
• This time: 22 rounds again.  However, recovery was WAY faster.  I was breathless for like, 30 seconds.  By one minute after stopping, I was good to go for the rest of the fit test (we did this first).

AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've noticed a huge improvement in my muscle recovery over the last 4 weeks as well.  After the 1st camp, I was SO SORE and honestly couldn't move the next day.  The last few camps though, I've had just some muscle tiredness post-camp, but usually I'm good by bedtime, and definitely good by the next morning.
Most important to me, my running endurance has improved.  I was stuck at a 3-3.2km distance forever, unable to push past that wall.  When you're planning a half marathon, that's a REALLY BAD THING.  I've increased my average distance by about 1.5km over 4 weeks, about a 40% increase in distance.  I'm able to maintain my speed a lot easier, and controlling my breathing better.  I also recover easier and faster when I do take walk breaks.  I'm planning to run 5k this weekend for the first time since October, and I suspect it won't be as hard now as it was then.