Pilates on Steroids!!!

I've been going to pilates on the reformer now for a couple of months.  I really love it.  I see it making a difference both mentally and physically. But, my favorite instructor took another job at another studio (and I have no idea where she went) and the new instructor at the Y, well, I don't particularly like her style.

So I took a break.  I didn't do it for a few weeks.  I missed it so I wanted to try to find something else, something similar.  Most studios are STUPID expensive, but there was a first time fee for a local place call Butcher Shop Fitness.  As my mom says, only a masochist would go to a place called Butcher Shop, but I've got to tell you, I loved it.  It was like pilates on steroids.

Meet the Megaformer.  Pictured: not me.

The megaformer is about twice the size of the reformer and has more pulleys and has a front and a back and has about a zillion different weight settings (springs).  The workout itself is called Legree Fitness, which is like some dude that made up his own version of pilates.  The workout was intense.  I shook and sweated and felt like I had zero fitness.  But it was awesome.  I went back a second time. And now I have to find a way to afford to get a monthly pass or something so I can go all.the.time.

Have you tried Legree Fitness before?  Have you seen the scary megaformer?  Would you go to a workout facility called Butcher Shop Fitness?  :) 

The magic circle, aka, the circle of death!

I have a new passion.  Pilates.  I have tried yoga in all different variations, but don't love it.  But I am in love with pilates.  Even better, I have discovered pilates on the reformer. 

Sex toy? Exercise equipment? Torture device?

Our YMCA has a boutique location that has small, specialized classes that include pilates on the reformer.  I have been going now for three or four weeks and the class size has been just me or one other person.  I love it.  I love the personal attention.  I know I am doing it correctly and she has been tailoring the workouts to what I need as a runner.  For example, last night.


I have mentioned to my instructor that I don't have a lot of hip strength and I would love to get my inner thighs tiny enough again to wear booty shorts while running.  She listened.  Last night we worked on inner and outer thighs as well as hip strength the whole.damn.class!  It started with the magic circle, aka, the circle of death.

Circle of Death!

This magic circle is used in all kinds of torturous ways.  Usually we put it between our ankles or our knees and squeeze it while we're doing all kinds of core exercises.  Last night we used this almost the entire class.  We also put our legs through it and used it to strengthen the outer thigh by pushing out with it while doing some other exercise.  Oh, and she wasn't done there.  We also stood on the reformer and the carriage and slid one leg out sideways with the springs on to strengthen the inner and outer thigh and hips.  It was so hard and yet so awesome.  I came out of the class with jello legs but feeling strong and ready to tackle the world.


Booty shorts!!!

Week in Review

I got back to business this week and totally kicked ass!  With the little one in preschool several days a week I have been able to do ALL my runs outside.  I also did some core work and got back in the pool.

Swimming - 4950 yards
I missed one swim this week.  I had intended to do it on Saturday but forgot there was a swim meet that closed down the pool.  Maybe I'll try to fit it in next week.

Running - 29.02 miles
Woah!  You read that right.  I had a great week of running - 4 runs, all outside.  I did a fantastic track workout of several 800s, the fastest one being 3:12.  I haven't hit that pace in a long, long time.  I also did a long run with hill repeats.  I found the steepest and longest hill I could find and made it my bitch!  Half/full marathon training has begun.  It's my happy place.

Strength - 0.5 hours
I did two small core workouts this week that left me crazy sore.  The first one was done with our middle school swim team.  I totally schooled them, but was sore for days.  The second workout was done at home, late at night, waiting on the bug-a-boo to fall asleep.

Next week - more running, more swimming, more core.  I see PRs in my future!!!

May Totals

May was a pretty good month.  I buckled down and got the work done.  I only missed a handful of workouts.

Swim - 24,850 yards ~ 14.1 miles
I wish I could swim more, honestly.  Our daily lives don't always allow us to get to the pool as often as I should/want to.  And I'm no longer able to go to masters in the morning since Dave started a new job in April.  He goes to work WAY earlier now.

Run - 100.51 miles
Yay!  I finally ran 100 miles in a month this year!!!

Strength - 0.5 hours
Well, something's got to give to fit in all the swimming and running and unfortunately, it was strength this month.  MUST.TRY.HARDER.

YMCA Visits - 19
Cost Per Visit - $1.98
(And I'm currently interviewing for a new position/promotion that would make my Y membership FREE!!!!)

Overall, I'm really pleased with how May went.  Things are starting to fall into place.  It's exciting.  I can't wait to move onto June!

April Totals

Every month I hope for a hundred miles of running and so far I've fallen short.  I either get sick or have a total meltdown and lose momentum.  April was no different.  I had one week where I just said fuck it and tried to survive life.  So here's the numbers, in all their glory.

Swimming - 16,800 yards ~ 9.5 miles
During vacation I did not swim at all.  Then I had a week where I just didn't want to do anything.  This number should have been higher.  I still had a great swim test, though.  Swimming is coming along.  I'm getting faster and learning new things.  There might even be a swim meet in my future.

Running - 78.38 miles
The week I was on vacation I totally rocked my runs.  Of course, I had baby sitting and didn't have to figure out when to go to the Y and run on the treadmill or when the track would be available.  The week after I hardly ran at all.  One of these days I'll put it all together.  I did have a great 5K while on vacation.  That's fun.

Strength - 1.75 hours
I'm trying harder to do basic strength training, mostly core work.  I know this is important for being able to race fast and to keep from getting injured.  These workouts only take 15 minutes.  I hope to keep this up.  My abs are starting to look pretty good.  :)

YMCA Visits - 12
Cost per Visit - $3.14

Week in Review

I had a pretty good week last week.  I'm trying to not get caught up in all the details of life that are dragging me down and just be.  Here's how it all went down.

Swimming - 4950 yards
I bailed on one swim that was not going well.  And then I had a meltdown.  Then I was able to put together two good swims including one that included lots of fun stuff.  Hopefully more on that in a few days.

Running - 16.93 miles
I didn't get to do my long run this morning as I had the world's longest in-service at work and spent over 4-1/2 hours in the pool without a break.  I plan on doing this run tomorrow.  The week did include an amazing speed workout that was 4 x 6 minutes at descending paces.  I hit my last one at a 6:35 pace.  That was after 50 minutes of running!  Now why can't I put that together in a race??

Strength - 0.25 hours
I only got in one strength workout but it was a doozy.  The whole thing was done with a kettlebell and was basically all squats and lunges.  I was sore for days.

Next week is a fall back week.  I couldn't be happier about it. 

March Totals

*sigh*

This wasn't the best month.  After my race in Myrtle Beach I got sick.  Really sick.  I got the flu, even after having my shot months ago, and spent five days in bed before I felt GOOD enough to go see the doctor.  Unfortunately, you just have to wait out the flu so I spent several more days in misery coughing and snotting and sleeping.  So, I missed a whole week of training.  Then when I did come back, the cough lingered which made it hard to run and I lost a lot of motivation too.  So, the numbers were low.  As Nature Cat says, Onward and Yonward!!!

Swimming - 21,400 yards ~ 12.2 miles

Running - 36.1 miles

Strength - 1.25 hours

YMCA Visits - 12
Cost Per Visit - $3.14 (pi!!!!)

I am DETERMINED to get it done in April.  April, you're my bitch!

Week in Review

Oh hi, blog.  I'm here, I swear.  Every day I think of you and have an idea I'd like to write about and every day gets away from me.  I'll try harder.  I promise. 

I went to Ohio State when it was on the quarter system.  It was 10 weeks of roller coaster!  I somehow started the first day off classes already behind; spent the remainder of time trying to catch up and doing as many assignments as I could; and finally then end of the quarter would come, only half of my assignments turned in, and somehow I'd still walk away with an A-/B+.

This is how I'm feeling about my training right now.  Between momming, adulting, and general winter malaise I'm barely keeping my head above water.  I do as many workouts as I can during the week, miss a few, make up a few, figure out how to combine some, and then the week ends.  Here's what I ACTUALLY did last week.

Swimming - 5700 yards 
I have been to masters once, maybe twice, in the last three weeks.  I used to be a great morning person and now the morning gets my middle finger and a few choice words.  Luckily, I have a lanemate who posts all her workouts to Facebook.  So, I "borrow" them and do them on my own.  I'll try again this week to make it back to masters.  Seriously.  I will.

Running - 24.9 miles
I started the week on the treadmill for a long run.  I was NOT going to run outside in stupid degrees!  My run was just to run steady, so I took a long warmup and then ran steady around a 9:00 pace.  I did two more workouts on the treadmill this week including another easy 5 miler and a short run with some pickups in it.  On Saturday I ran outside in the glorious weather, shorts and a t-shirt, for a great run.  I was strolling in the low 8:00s in zone 2.  I am getting in some serious shape!!!

This week I also turned over 350 miles on my shoes.  Generally they still feel pretty good, but my back and legs are disagreeing with this general-ness.  I'll be moving onto my next pair of Hoka Cliftons next week.

Strength - 0.25 hours
Yep, 15 freakin' minutes.  This was a core workout sweat-a-thon.  I really should do more of this.

This week was a rest week and I really took advantage of it.  Next week, back to the grind.

January Totals

Sometimes (okay, a lot of times) I get overwhelmed at life.  There's so much to do, so much I want to do, but I'm not a superhero.  I can't get it all done.  Most times I just blame myself for being a horrible mother (seriously, moms don't we all think this?)

Anyway, I am accomplishing a lot.  I work part time, I stay at home with the boy, I make sure the house isn't a complete mess (please do not show up unannounced!), and I am getting in lots of training.

Seriously, I'm exhausted.  I'm doing as much swimming, if not more, than when I was training for Ironman.  I'm doing nearly as much running as I would if I were training for a marathon.  It's hard for me to wrap my head around when I'm training for a race that's going to take me less than an hour, but then I remind myself - it's the WORLD FREAKIN' CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!!

January, see ya later!

Swimming - 29,800 yards ~ 16.9 miles
I am soooo chlorinated!!!  My skin is cracked and flaky.  My head itches like crazy.  All I smell is chlorine.  And yet, I'm still loving swimming.

Running - 86.83 miles
I missed a few runs which probably would have gotten me over 100 miles this month.  I got the running bug back and I'm enjoying running again.  I had a good race this month along with a kick-ass run test.

Strength Training - 2.25 hours
Coach has a challenge for the month of February - do three strength workouts a week, every week.  I love challenges.  I'm hoping this number is a lot bigger in February.

YMCA Visits - 11
Cost Per Visit - $3.42

Week in Review

Last week was a pretty good week.  I got in all my swims and all my runs, but missed a few strength workouts.  Each week I'm getting closer and closer to putting it all together.  Will next week be the one?

Swimming - 9600 yards ~ 5.5 miles
I would have loved to have gotten in one more swim to get in over 10,000 yards.  It wasn't on the calendar and there wasn't time.  I did do one epic swim.  You can read about it here. 

Running - 22.7 miles
I've gotten soft in my old age.  I used to love running outside in the cold.  Now I'd rather just suck it up on the treadmill.  I did four runs last week and only one was outside.  And it was not my long run.  I also have limited child care options and don't love to run in the dark so the treadmill is my best option to do my runs anyway.

Strength Training - 0.25 hours
I think I had four workouts on the schedule and only did one.  This one was important though as there was some hip strength to it.  I'm still working on recovering from my injury.

Picture of the Day:

#thesnuggleisreal

2015 Totals

2015 wasn't exactly the year I thought I'd have.  I thought there were be a new marathon PR and Boston qualifier.  I thought I would get to race triathlon age group nationals in Milwaukee.  But an major injury took out months and months of training and racing and everything changed.  That's okay.  Things happen for a reason.  I'm moving on and experiencing new things, like LOTS and LOTS of swimming.

Let's review 2015!

Swimming - 215,550 yards ~ 122.50 miles
I swam all year long, but I didn't begin a lot of swimming until I broke my hip.  Now I'm swimming nearly 10,000 yards a week and loving it. 

Biking - 473.85 miles
In preparation for nationals, I was really spending quality time on my bike and learning about power, etc.  When I broke my hip I stopped riding completely.  I don't envision myself riding for training any time in 2016.  There will be no triathlons this year.  I SWEAR!

Running - 710.72 miles
You know, for having to miss over three months of running, this is a pretty good number.  It's been a long time since I've had a year of 1000 miles.  Hopefully 2016 will be that year.  No injuries, please!!!!

Strength Training - 14.17 hours
Gosh, I wish this was a bigger number.  As I get older and can't put in the mileage I once did, I should really be getting stronger to hold everything together.  Maybe this should be a goal in 2016.

YMCA Visits - 184
Cost Per Visit - $4.53
I really used my Y membership this year.  Now that I work there, I'm starting to feel like I live there.  They should probably just stick a cot for me in a back room.

Races - 6
My races ranged from 5ks to the marathon to an aquathlon.  I love to race and would love to race all the time.  Coach doesn't love that idea so 2016 will probably be a little more strategic.  2016 will be a fast year.  I have nothing planned over the 10k-ish distance.  And maybe I'll do a swim meet.  Maybe.

Picture of the Day!!
Once of my goals for 2016 is to take more pictures.  I would love to say I'm going to do it every day in 2016, but let's be realistic.  Life is busy and is quite boring in the winter.  How may pictures of my kid sleeping do you need?

We got a babysitter this evening and went to see Star Wars 3D.  Dave had already seen it but I wanted to see it too.  It was really good.  But, I love the Star Wars franchise.  I'm not hard to please.

December Totals

Wow!  December went fast.  I have never been so stressed in my life.  And consequently, I caught my second cold within four weeks.  So, I had to miss yet another week of training.  I did get some done, though, including a LOT of swimming.  Here's how it all broke down.

Swimming - 37,000 yards ~ 21 miles
Holy cow!  That's a lot of swimming.  That's nearly a mile a day of swimming!  I even had one week over 10,000 yards.  I am LOVING swimming right now.  I can't wait to see how much it improves in the coming months.

Running - 52.23 miles
Sigh.  In my head, I love running.  When it comes to getting out the door, I'm severely lacking in motivation.  Running just feels so labored and difficult.  I feel fat and like I'm running in sand.  I keep telling myself, though, that I cannot get better unless I ACTUALLY do the workouts. 

Strength Training - 0.75 hours
When it comes to the first thing I skip in my training (besides running) it's going to be strength.  If I have 15-45 minutes in my day, I want to spend it doing NOTHING!  I will try harder.  I will try harder.  I will try harder.

YMCA Visits - 8
Cost Per Visit - $4.70

Now if I could only have a month where I stay healthy and actually TRY to do the workouts.

Week in Review

Oh, hi!

Let's just jump in like it hasn't been weeks since I last blogged and talk about how awesome my week of training was.  K?

Swimming - 10,300 yards
Oh yes, I did a lot of swimming last week.  Four days to be exact.  I, finally, made it to masters twice in one week and did two more swims on my own.  I've been working a lot of my butterfly and although it still sucks, it's getting better.  I need to keep working on it; there seems to be IM in each workout I have.

Running - 22.4 miles
I did four runs this week too.  Crazy town!  Most runs were not long or complicated.  I did do one on the track with drills and a longer run on the weekend with faster intervals.  I got a new Garmin too (more to come on that another day) which has made running a little more fun right now.

Strength - 30 minutes
I would love to be doing more strength training but I'm doing what I can with what the schedule allows.  I used my homemade conditioning cards and did 10 different exercises.  Holy wow was I sore the next day!

Lots of fun stuff coming up.  I'm going to try my best to be on top of blogging.  I swear.  I SWEAR!!!

September Totals

Hey look at this!  The husband found a way to get some of my GoPro pictures.

Nice T-Rex arms!  Raaawwwrrr!

Anyway, let's talk about September.  I did some running, lots of swimming, and lots of working.  Here's the lowdown.

Swimming - 30,100 yards ~ 17.1 miles
So much swimming.  So much more to come.

Running - 45.27 miles
Getting there, slowly, but surely.

Strength - 1.5 hours
This was probably more as I would do my rehab exercises throughout the day and then not record them. 

YMCA Visits - 11
Cost per Visit - $3.42  (They finally got us on the employee discount!!!)

I have no idea what October will bring as it is the end of the season and it's a long way to go before my goal race next September.  Tune in, though.  I've got big thoughts...

Week in Review

Hello, hello!!!

It's been quite a while since I've had any training worthwhile to put together a "Week in Review" post.  This week I did pretty well, though.

Swimming - 7800 yards ~ 4.4 miles
It should have been more.  I missed a nearly 3000 yard swim due to time constraints, but still got in some great swimming.  I've been working hard to become more swimmer-like after reading this article in Triathlete.  I've incorporated bilateral breathing and flip turning into all my workouts.  And it's making a difference.  I had 3 x 100 at the end of a long workout last week and busted out a 1:30, 1:29, and 1:27, respectively.

Running - 17.01 miles
Yes, 17 miles is not a lot.  However, this is the most miles I have strung together in a week since my last marathon attempt in May.  I did four runs and they were on consecutive days.  By the end of the week, my hip was not happy.  Not painful, but definitely not happy.  I had hoped to do one more run, but I ran out of time.  Life happens!

Strength Training - 0.5 hours
Right now I am only able to do my PT exercises as my strength training.  I should be doing it a lot more than a half hour per week.  By the end of the day, though, I'm just tired and want to sit on the couch.  I recently built my own slide board (more on this soon), so I hope to incorporate this into my strength training soon.

Now let's talk about the fun stuff.  I freakin' love my FitBit.  The stats are awesome!  I check them throughout the day.  I am crazy obsessed.  Here's some of the fun stuff from the last week.

Steps -  92,648 total, 13,235 average per day
Saturdays really screw me up with my steps.  I teach swim lessons for four and a half hours and cannot wear my FitBit during that time.  (It's not water proof.)  I walk a lot between the two pools I teach in and back and forth to get towels and whatnot.  I walk a lot more steps on Saturday than what is accounted for.

Resting Heart Rate - 75 average
I hope this continues to drop as I get more and more into shape again.

Distance - 40.2 miles total, 5.74 miles per day
This is grossly wrong.  I've noticed the mileage to be WAY off from my Garmin when I go on a run.  That's alright.  It's still a fun stat.

Sleep - 8 hrs, 7 minute average per day
That's right kiddos.  I regularly get over 8 hours of sleep per day.  Boom!!!

Thanks for checking in.  I'm hoping to get back to a regular blogging schedule.  I don't know how many of y'all actually read it (or care), but I enjoy writing this and want to be better about it.  Oh, and there is a big race this week for me.  Stay tuned!

Week In Review

This was officially my first week back to training.  And I didn't do so hot.  First of all I've been battling a cold for the better part of 10 days.  Every time I would exert myself in an exercise I would cough.  And then Anderson got sick which made it impossible to go to the Y to do my swims because I couldn't put him in the child care there.  Finally, I'm struggling to figure out how to get everything done now that I have a job again.  Each week will get easier as I put in the time, dedication, and consistency.

Swimming - 6500 yards
I did swims of 2500, 3000, and 1000 yards.  The 1000 I did because I had the time at work, although it wasn't on the schedule.  Nothing wrong with adding extra work, amIright?  But, I did miss a 2600 yard swim that I'm still hoping to do sometime.

Running - 11.32 miles
Running was a struggling this week.  The cold didn't help.  The hot temperatures didn't help.  Camping and being out of town didn't help.  And my own laziness didn't help.  The running is coming back, slowly but surely.

Strength Training - 0.5 hours
I'm still doing my hip physical therapy exercises on occasion.  I should probably do them more.  I mean, I can do them while watching TV.  I'm just lazy.  There appears to be a theme here.

I'm finally starting to get over this cold so hopefully next week is an improvement.  Happy training.

August Totals

August was the month I got back to running.  Well, jogging anyway.  Nevertheless, it felt good to do it.  I didn't have a training plan or clearance to schedule a race so I found it hard to stay motivated but I did do a little.

Swimming - 4500 yards.  This is pathetic.  I will have more yardage than that in the first week of September.  You would think since I am at the swimming pool every day working that I would at least jump in during my breaks and swim a little.

Biking - 8 miles.  One bike ride.  I'm over the bike.

Running - 39.79 miles.  It's not much but it's a lot more than it was.  And it was actually running/jogging and not walking.

Strength Training - 2.42 hours.  My sister is a certified personal trainer and offers her friend a circuit training class twice a week at the local church.  Last week I attended.  I've got to hand it to her, it was not easy.  I was sore for days.  Good job kiddo.  I might have to check it out again.

YMCA Visits - 16.  So, August was supposed to be the month that my employee discount kicked in.  But, we still haven't seen it yet reflected in our credit card.  I only counted the visits by the husband and the kiddo and not mine since my new discount gives me a free membership.  However, I still counted the full price in the calculation so...

YMCA Cost per Visit - $5.33.  This would have been a lot less had I counted my visits.

September is going to look a lot different.  I started training with my coach again on August 31st.  I can't wait to get back to a regular training schedule with races on the calendar.

July Totals

Is my exercise in July actually worth an entry?  Not really.  I was lazy.  I gained a lot of weight.  I got a job.  I got busy.  The calendar has now turned and I SWEAR I will get back to regularity soon.  Really soon.

Swimming - 3800 yards
After only being allowed to swim with my hip injury, I am just tired of swimming.  3800 yards should be a daily workout, not a monthly total.

Biking - 10.55 miles
Two bike rides.  Two effing bike rides.

Running/Walking - 28.22 miles
This is nothing to brag about, but after weeks and months of no running, it feels so good to get back to it.  I've been doing peppy walks with the stroller and even throwing in some jogging intervals.  I've also put the elliptical machine to work at the Y.

Strength - 1.25 hours

Y Visits - 11
Cost per Visit - $7.76 - I have no idea how I'm going to calculate all this next month when my membership becomes free.  I guess I have to stop counting my visits and only count Anderson and Dave's.  Right?

I'm so glad this month is over.  I'm ready to move on.

Week in Review

Remember the July Challenge when Dave and I vowed to work out every day?  Yeah, we suck.  At least I'm doing better than Dave on that front.  This week I was given the go-ahead to get on the "Return to Running" program.  Immediately I started on the elliptical and I've been doing some solid walking outside.  Here's the week in a snippet.

Swimming - 1500 yards
5 x 300 pull

Biking - Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  I'm soooo over biking.

Walking/Elliptical - 6.42 miles
I was only allowed to start at 20 minutes on the elliptical and build up to 40 in the next two weeks.  I did one elliptical for 20 minutes, did one walk on the treadmill, and one longer walk outside with the stroller. 

Strength Training - 0.25 hours
I am using my conditioning cards and now I can do most of them because the hip is healed-ish.  This week's exercises included Russian twists, forward lunges, upright rows, reverse lunges, pushups with legs on stability ball, one-legged squats (I could only do one set on the injured leg.  They hurt a little too much.), bench press, pull ups, burpees, and skull crushers.  Boy, was I sore after this workout.

Next week I start physical therapy.  I also hope to really get these legs moving.

Week in Review

Because of my busy week saving lives and the exhaustion that comes with it, working out fell to the wayside this week.  Plus my hip was incredibly sore after so much kicking in the pool.  I didn't do much - one swim, one bike, one weight lifting session, and two walks on the treadmill.  And all of that was finished by Wednesday.  Thursday through the rest of the weekend, well, I was just too tired.  I'll try again next week. 

Swim - 300 yards
Yep 300 yards.  That was the swimming portion of the lifeguarding test.  I wonder how much I actually swam the rest of the weekend with the abundance of rescues we had to do?

Bike - 5.29 miles
I did one bike on Tuesday evening.  It was only a half hour on the trainer.  I'm sick of biking.  I don't like biking.  When I get the all clear to go back to running, I think running is going to be my primary focus.

Strength training - 0.25 hours
Toe raises, dips with feet on the stability ball, dirty 30s (bicep curls, shoulder/flys, tricep kickbacks), side planks, reverse crunches, chin-ups, back extensions, horizontal rows, pushup rows, and skull crushers.

Walking - 3.5 miles
Most days we were given an hour for lunch.  I would eat my lunch quickly, by myself, and then hit the treadmill for a slow walk.  Yes, I have not technically been cleared to walk for exercise, but I'm also going 20 minute/miles.  That's what I would do if I were taking the dog for a walk.  I'm assuming it's alright.

It's now been eight weeks since I last ran.  I'm starting to get itchy.  I need to run.  I want to run.  Thursday I have my doctor's appointment.  I don't have my hopes set very high for running, but at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel now.