Bored-Shmored

      298-299-298-299. . .  Sooo I've [mostly] gotten over caring how many followers I have, I write what I want and if you like it: Awesome! :D (seriously each new follower shocks me.)  And if not, I can't make everyone happy (no one can :), besides there are 37456254287 other amazing blogs out there.

Butttttt this little 300 thing, I've been on the edge for like a week.  Not a plea for followers, just a thought :)

   I have a very serious/ thoughtful? post in the works, but those always take some time for me.  Hopefully in announcing it I will actually get it done. There's been a few times that I started thought provoking posts and the left them in draft.  That's my thing, if I can't type it up and post it right away it goes undone.

    I'm a little emotional right now, I won't say why, but I will say I'm blasting the Dashboard Confessional right now.


    May 28th cannot come soon enough (and at the same time, it gives me a month to give my all diet/workout wise.  Ohhh and that whole ACE thing I've been neglecting lately.)

   Summer Abs, DO IT!  It WILL be hard, but the feeling in your Abs the next day will be worth it!! It is the feeling of an effective workout :D  (As far as equip, I used kettlebells in place of sandbag and pull-up bar in place of dip station. . . in other words, improvise :)

I've had the strong desire to listen to The Postal Service lately


Also awesome:


   I really could post all there video/songs cause they all rock, but I'll leave that up to you to search them out :)

    Ahahaha, this is a post edit because "I am available for modeling" was just a search term to my blog.  Mhmmm yes I am :D   Have the airbrush ready ;)

    2 posts in one day? Maybe I'm just trying to make up for the fact that I am going to have less then 20 posts for the month of April.  It's all about the numbers with us runners.

Ketchup

   I came home to 1000+ unread posts, I thought about clicking "mark all as read," but instead I've been skimming through all of it.  I am now down to 290, I'll be down to 1-something once I skim all of Rose and Steph's posts, jeeezzz you girls post a lot (but I love reading it :D).  I haven't gotten to commenting on much yet, but I will once I Ketch-Up :)

   This morning I am legit (as opposed to vacation) hungover, I had my dad's precinct retirement dinner last night and maybe possibly went slightly overboard on the wine.  I did not believe I drank too much last night, but my head is telling me otherwise right now.

   Here is a horrible quality photo of my outfit, it took me 4+ hours to figure out what I was wearing so I did not have time to do a full on- well lit photo shoot:

Aerie Cardigan

Free People Lace Top

J Crew Navy Blue Pin Stripe Shorts 

Target Navy Blue Pumps (These are similar)

       In other outfit news, I have no idea what I'm wearing for my Half on Sunday.  The forecast is high of 65, so I'm thinking mid 50's in the morning hours, pretty ideal :)  Maybeee I'll have a pre-race attire post tomorrow, maybe.

Randomosity:

~Someone just found my blog through the search term "bikini avocado," semi amusing. . . to me at least :D

~I actually lost weight in Disney. . . it just took a few days for the 3 loaded plates of salad I had at the Crystal Palace Buffet on Monday to digest. (If I was a good blogger I'd have some pics of those, the edamame salad I could eat everyday for the rest of my life)

I just googled it, here is a pic and a recipe:

Edamame Salad (From Here) Yield: 4 to 6 servings 4 cups edamame (young soybeans), fresh or frozen 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar 1/4 cup sesame oil 1 teaspoon coarse salt 1 cup chopped Napa cabbage 1/2 cup chopped bok choy 1/2 cup shredded carrots 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds 1/4 cup shredded white daikon radish 1. Cook fresh or frozen beans in boiling, salted water for 3 minutes. Chill thoroughly. 2. In a small miximg bowl, combine vinegar, sesame oil, salt, cabbage and bok choy. Let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Cabbage will wilt slightly. 3. Mix in carrots, then refrigerate for 1 hour. 4. To serve, to with sesame seeds and daikon radish.

~

Vacation Hangover

   I'm back. . . but I think I left my brain in Disney.  I'm feeling totally incoherent right about now.  I think it maybe because I have too much to say.  I usually just write about what is on my mind at the moment and then immediately post it.  Since I have 27464 things to say, I'm not sure where to start.  Disney was amazing, and crazy, and like being in a completely different reality.  My head is in quite the post-Dis fog this morning.

 I will leave you with a bulleted list of random thoughts to clear my head :) (and some pics at the end)

• I ran a few times in Disney, but not more than 3-ish miles at a time.  One day I did a double.  I actually made a point on 2 runs to run at the hottest part of the day (around 90°) because I've been craving sweat-fest runs lately; I loved every second of it :D
• Nolan was a trooper and walked everywhere :)  Friends had suggested bringing a stroller bc of the mass amount of walking and we did bring an old umbrella stroller, but we didn't need it.  We were very thankful to Nolster for that since getting through the crowds with a stroller would have been miserable (it was tough enough to begin with)
• I observed a wholelotta mass food consumption but was able to avoid that myself.  I came back at the same weight I left and it is a darn good thing because I start work at the beach in a month!! (My summers are kind of like an alternative reality themselves, it takes some time readjusting to the real world when it is over)
• This summer is going to rock even more since I my best friend is moving to LI in 2 weeks!  She just got hired at the restaurant located at my beach on Monday and I got to see her yesterday when I got home.  She went back upstate (about 4-5 hours away from me) last night to get everything ready for moving down here. And she will be living with us till she finds a place :D
• OMG my half-mary is Sunday and I really have no idea how it is going to go down.  I'm not worrying about time, just gonna go out there a do my thang and have fun.  Ohh also no knee pain on any runs recently :) 

   Okay that was some random ish and just writing this post made my head hurt.  I leave you with a few trip pictures (we did take lots of pictures, but mostly just of Nol.  I can actually be a master camera evader at times.  Nolan looks a lot better than me in front of a camera anyway.)

Classic waking up still exhausted pic

(we stayed out till 12:30 on some nights because the lines were so much shorter)

One of the few pics I'm in

My little drummer boys

The future prince charming

(He actually didn't know Snow White left a big red kiss on his cheek, we tricked him into looking out the window so we could snap this pic.  Otherwise he would have tried to wipe it off right away :)

Causing Mischief

Clown

Hopefully I will be back to a better state of mind tomorrow and a better post.  I just re-read and edited this one and it was not pretty.

Dating Tips For Men To Make Women Laugh And Fall In Love

There are hundred of dating tips that you can find on the internet, but you only need to follow a few to get the woman you want. Foremost among those tips is learning how to make girls laugh. Humor has been found to be very effective when it comes to dating, so tell a few jokes and you'll get the girl you've always dreamed about.

One thing that is always being encouraged by the experts is to always be yourself. You don't want to make a fool of yourself by pretending to be someone that you're not. That is a good way to be found out by ladies. Instead of trying to hard to pretend, be yourself. That way, you won't have to trouble yourself with fake names and experiences. Be yourself and your natural charisma will come out.

Telling jokes is one way you can be yourself. It's natural and easy to do when you find the right time. It's a great way to introduce yourself and also one way to break the ice if ever your conversation turns sour. Just be sure not to overstep your boundaries and tell a potentially offensive joke.

If you don't have a joke that you can start with, you can always find a movie or TV show that you like. Mention a particular scene or other memorable line that can spark a conversation with the girl that you're with. It doesn't have to be a recent movie, just make sure that it is popular enough that most people have seen it.

As you go on more dates, make sure you tell her more about yourself. It doesn't have to be in a serious manner. In fact, it's better if you tell funny stories about your past experiences. It might be a silly story, but it could make her smile or laugh, and that's always a step in the right direction.

These few tips can work wonders on the first night, but the hard part is actually keeping the relationship going. It should feel like work; it should be exciting and fun for both of you. The key to the success of many long term relationships is making the time you spend together an enjoyable experience.

It may be a bit difficult when you're just starting out, but these dating tips are sure to work. Make sure to be consistent and to be true to yourself. You'll be surprised at the kind of success a good sense of humor can bring.

By: Ian Moffat

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

This article was written as a light-hearted alternative by attracting and keeping the company of beautiful women usin the power of humor. There is more information on his website :- www.attractwomenrightnow.com



Dating Traffic

I Couldn't Leave Without. . .

    Documenting my killer 11 mile treadmill run.  I have a love/hate with the mill; I love the peace and solitude of running alone in my house and that I can just turn it on a go as far as I would like, but I struggle with keeping a pace I could easily maintain outside.

   With the treadmill I usually have to put pace goals aside because somehow even though I am running slower, it always makes faster paces seem easier when I get outside (If that makes sense?)   I set out yesterday to get 10 miles done before I left, so I could leave confident that I would survive my half  in 12 days.  I plan to run some in Disney, but I'm pretty sure I won't be getting any long runs in.

  Guidelines for getting through: ( I have to tell myself these beforehand so I don't get frustrated with running slower/ getting my butt kicked by the treadmill)
* It is okay to run slower (which also applies to the fact it was a long run)
* It is okay to take a few short breaks (With treadmill long runs I have to stop at times for 30-60 seconds and then continue on.  All I cared about yesterday was getting the mileage in)

  With those in place I knocked those 11 miles out of the park :D  Time: 1:41  I kept it mostly at a 6.2-6.5 (9:40- 9:14), but in the later miles I threw in some 8.0 (7:30).  I was going to stop at 10, but then thought why not just go for 1 more :)


And with that I am out of here

Lemme know if I miss anything monumental while I'm gone :D

Twenty- Twenty- Twenty Four Hours To Go

Just get me to the airport put me on a plane

Hurry hurry hurry before I go insane

     Tomorrow morning we will be in Disney! :D And it is coming at a good time as it gives me an  excuse to take a much needed bloggy break.  I will not be going online at all during my vacay and I'm quite happy about it :) 

     

       There will most likely be no posts as I realized kind of late that I could write posts in advance and schedule them to post during the week. Regardless I am not a plan in advance kinda blogger, I am more of a "type up what hits me at that moment and then immediately press publish" blogger.   Possibly I will write a post or two today and they'll publish during the week, but no promises (I know you're all heart broken :P)

      Got to go for a 10 miler today, I tried on the treadmill yesterday but was having serious stomach issues.  I ran 2 miles. . . got off and got sick in the bathroom. . . tried to continue, made it another 1 mile-ish and called it a day.  It was a little disappointing as I was enjoying the peace of my dark room; just me, my tread and my music.  And I'm going to do my best to get some runs in at The Dis, being as my first Half-Mary is 6 days after I get back.

     Congrats to all that rocked Boston!! I tracked a few of you throughout the morning and you guys killed it :D

Ahhh I still need to finishing packing and cleaning!!  

   I will leave you with a few links to my favorite bodyrock workouts (Summer is little more than a month away! Got to hit it hard now ;) 
If you haven't tried Bodyrock yet but are thinking about it these are good ones to try:
-Hot in Here
-What's My Name (need exercise ball, other equip you can do w/o if needed)
-Harder Than Ever (Love this one! Usually do it 2x in a row.  I use a chair for the dip part)
-Hot Mess
-4 Minute Workout (Awesome!)
-On The Floor- Abs Challenge
-Suicidal Sweat
And I haven't tried this one yet, but I'm gonna try it out today in an effort to kill my Abs :D- 100 Rep Super Girl Plank Challenge

That should be enough to keep you busy for the next week ;)

Is it bad that I am hoping the Hotel Play Ground has a bar that I can bust out some pull-ups on?

                                             

I'll be chilling with Woody till Next Tuesday :D 

 Have a Super Amazing Wonderful Week Everyone!!

Shorty Saturday

What I'm Loving Today
    1)  I am sore all over :)  I got in such an amazing workout yesterday, made me feel like a rockstar. 
     * 21 minutes of stairs  (no knee pain during or after so I think the stairs are okay, maybe even good for my knee)
    * Hot in Here Body Rock workout~ I think this one is my new favorite :D Took about 14 minutes and I was destroyed.  Hit every muscle group.

This move is being added to night time abs.

  

     * 2 mile run since I was feeling really good, went garmin-less, but felt fast (which I haven't felt in the past few days)

      * Random planks, blaster push-ups (thanks ROSE ;), pull-ups, more crab toe touches↑

EVERYTHING is sore.  It is love :) Especially my sides under my arms, my lats I guess?

   2)  My best friend is on her way here right now!  She will probably get here before I finish this :D

What I'm Not Loving

   1) It is mid 30's today :/

      * I was supposed to go to a track meet at my old HS where they were having an Alumni 4x1 race.  No one knew exactly what time that was going to happen and I had no desire to stand around in the cold for hours in order to run for 20 seconds. Although it would have been nice to see some old teammates.

   * I was also going to take Nolan to an Easter Egg hunt at the local college campus, but I don't want him to get sick before we go away on Wednesday.

Oh well, we will be in warm weather soon enough :)

    Also I wanted to add: Thursdays virtual hugs should also have been extended to Steph at Run On! and Nora at MamaRunsBarefoot who are recovering from there own injuries. Sending positive vibes to all you girls.

Clowns

I was trying to get Nol to give virtual hugs to Janae

Nolan hugs make everything better. . .I know from experience.

He wanted to do his own picture shoot thing today so I had to wrestle him for hugs

and he got me back by. . .

Then he begged to play with "the funny stuff"  and this happened

TROUBLE

and 

LOTS 

of 

Laughs :D

What I What-ed Wednesday

   I'm taking cues from various bloggers and sharing what I ate, worked, wore and blasted on this rainy Wednesday.

First as I've done recently on Wednesdays: What I Ate

Grilled Vegetable Salad from California Pizza Kitchen!

      My mom, sisters and I are all obsessed with this salad and we were devestated  a few months ago when they took it off the menu.  At the tim, as a joke post,  I was going to write an open letter to CPK pleading them to reinstate it (it never came to be).  

  

    My mom went there on Sunday and they had brought it back!!  She picked one up for me and I had it for lunch on Monday :D  If you ever go to CPK I highly suggest it. . . and the Sangrias ;)

 Taking a cue from Lindsey of Cotter Crunch: What I Worked

      I'm taking a day off from running after my 9-er yesterday and doing a bunch of circuit/resistance training.  I did Zuzana's 4 minute workout earlier and it is KILLER on the legs!  I might try yesterday's workout in a little, it involve cartwheels which I can't do (gotta work on that), but I can modify it to my abilities. Also Pull-ups, Push-ups, Planks! :D

   I've been going through summer/spring stuff to pack for Disney and trying on some stuff so. . .What I Wore (or will wear :)

      Inspired by RoseRunner and her post on Target Dresses, I tried on a Target Dress designed by Tracy Feith. I've had it for over a year and have yet to wear it, but I love the look of it :)

With my new Seychelles :D 

and yes this belt makes many appearances in my fashion posts, it is pretty awesome.

It is a bit short, but this is where spandex booty shorts come in handy :)

It feels very Alice in Wonderland-y to me, I think I may wear it out dinner while we are there :D

   And for while I Cleaned, BodyR'ed, Played Dress up: What I Blasted

   I'm giving a shout-out to my friend Mike and his band 10th Grade Kemistry (he's not in 10th grade ;).  I've been playing their tracks all day.  You can hear a 4 song playlist here at Pure Volume or they post most of their songs to their Facebook page.  They have a pop/alternative sound with some electronica elements.

9 Mile Techno Dance Party In the Rain

   Got my 9 miles in today and pretty much it was one big party :D  I took it slow and just enjoyed being out there.  Finished in 1:21 which is spot on 9 minute miles, my last miles were actually my fastest and I felt stronger at the end.  It did take me a little bit to get in the groove, I felt very tired in the beginning and wasn't sure how well the rest of run was gonna go.  I also noticed my arms were feeling heavy from lots of pull-ups yesterday.

   As for my knee, felt it in the beginning again, went away before I finished mile 1 and never came back.  It is weird that it has switched from starting after mile 1 and not going away, to starting before mile 1 and then going away.  On the whole though it feels much better then it did a few weeks ago; when I was taking days off to rest it I felt it more throughout the day and while sleeping/lying in bed.  When I run everyday it actually feels better during the day and while sleeping , strange?

   Okay on to what made my run such fun :) My Friend posted this video to their FB wall yesterday and I am officially obsessed:

Neon Blonde Runner is that you? ;)

If you despise techno/dance music watch it on mute :D

 I pumped myself up for the run by doing this:

&

It's okay to be jealous of my rockstar dance moves, if you want I will teach you :D

So I pretty much listened to that song on repeat for 9 miles.  I did mix it up a little bit in the beginning because I thought one song for 9 miles might be overkill, but eventually I just gave in to my dance party desires and it made my run that much better.

    The best part though was the rain ☂    It started slowly around miles 4/5 and then down poured through miles 6-8 which ended up being the best part of the run.  Mile 7 was my fastest, it was also when I ran past the college in bucket-esque rain, everyone stared at me like I was crazy and I couldn't stop smiling while rocking out in my head.  The whole last 3 miles I couldn't stop smiling from ear to ear, it can be hard to get yourself out the door when it's raining, but once you get out there and run in it you realize how much fun it is :D (Beth you were right!)

   Also what made it awe-some was that I did not have a set course I just ran around my town turning wherever I pleased. (BIG perk of the Garmin :)

Drowned Rat:

Goals for the week: I'm not feeling hardcore goals this week, pretty much keep up with what I have been doing lately (exercise, diet, career [future], family wise) and go for 10-11 next Tuesday (the day before we leave for The Dis :D)

Sub-20: Game On!

June 5th it's going down :D

    As I was emptying Nolan's school folder this morning I found a 5k race flyer, the race is in memory of one of our school district's assistant superintendents who passed away suddenly last year.  I remember a few years ago when I started subbing in the district he conducted my interview.  I was crazy nervous bc it was my first job interview ever, but he put me at ease telling me I pretty much had the job so let's just do some interview practice for the future.  I will always remember him as the man who helped me get through my first interview alive :)

      I knew as soon as I started reading the flyer that this 5k would be my first serious attempt at sub-20. The race begins and ends on my old HS track and the rest of the race is run on the surrounding roads that I ran so often 10 years ago.  I can feel the excitement building and in my head I've been putting together a little game plan.  I thought about it the whole way through my easy 3 miler this morning.  There are no specifics yet but it goes a little something like this:

    ~ Focus on getting some milage the next 2-3 weeks so I can get through my first half and hopefully run around 1:45 (my little knee issue kinda caused a hiccup in my training, but I do think 1:45 is still a possibility).  I'm going to have to make sure I get training in while at Disney, there is a 1 mile jogging trail on our  hotel grounds, does anyone have tips on running around Disney?  I'm not planning on a taper since I haven't put in crazy mileage.

    ~ After my half I have about a month till the race and I am going to focus on getting quality speed work in.  Sub-20 is equal to 6:25 pace. There will definitely be some LOTS of 400, 800, Mile repeats involved.  I have almost exactly 1 minute to shave off; it won't be easy but it will be worth it :)


  Prior to finding out about this 5k my sub 20 sights were set on my June 26th Firecracker 5k race.  I've ran the firecracker a few times over the past years, but I hadn't been training and racing like I am now.  Usually a bunch my coworkers from Tobay run it, it's an annual tradition.  This year I've been planning to break 20 in it , so if I don't get it on June 5th I have this race to try for it again annddd if I DO break it on June 5th. . . well I'll just have to do it again and better it!!


   Okay enough talking about it, the plan is going into action and it will be done :D  


Weekly goal review 4/3-4/10:

 ~ Attempt a 9 mile run Nope still taking things cautiously, but I've scheduled a 9-er for tomorrow

  ~ 4 mile race on Sunday Goal: Sub 28 (sub 7 pace) Very close! I consider yesterday more of a tempo run than a race.  I didn't get the gut busting feeling I get when I race all out.

  ~ Schedule ACE test for May Checked out test dates, only need to schedule 15 days in advance, once I find out when my brother is coming home from college I'll schedule (I need him to put Nol on the bus the morning of)

  ~ Prepare for Disney in 2 weeks :) Started, minor prep. . .but started :)

  ~  Nighttime Abs & Arms at least 5 nights  Mmmhhmm I'm a rock star with this one, feels good.

  ~ Track my workouts on DW page Well I wasn't and then I added my workouts for past 2 days, so I'm going to try my best to stick with it.   

Running out of time today, new week goals tomorrow.

  Also question: The only thing that is sore today is the back of my knee, I don't usually feel sore back there so possibly it is related to my knee issue? Suggestions?


One more pic from yesterday:

Sad to say this is one of my better race pics.  

Gosh my arm positioning is awful when I sprint.

Run For Autism 4 Miler

     This morning I ran the EJ Autism Foundation's Jigsaw 4 Mile Run/Walk for Autism.  Since my training has been thrown off the past three weeks due to knee pain I didn't set any lofty goals for this race.  I did want to try for sub-28 or just below 7 minute miles, but mostly I was out there because it is a Cause that I strongly support and my knee has felt better this week.

    I skipped the little pre-race attire ritual for this one and I probably would have ended up switching my outfit anyway since I thought it was going to be 60° and it was much, much colder.  I was boring today and went with black running tights, a t-shirt, and a black running jacket:

Snapped this right before I left, it's a pretty forced smile I wasn't feeling it this morning.   

            Actually yesterday I had kind of a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day 

Plus TOM, cramps, clouds. . . just overall NotSo happy.

(Also I said this once but. . . I'm a eyeliner whore)

    Told myself,  "just go out there and enjoy the music, run strong, don't push it too hard (especially in the beginning!)"  I definitely didn't have all the anxiety this time because I took a lot of the pressure off, I guess coming off a semi-injury you need to give yourself a little slack.

     The race atmosphere was nice, just cold.  The boys dropped me off and then went home (only 5 mins away) for an hour.  There's not much to say about the race, I went out there and did my thang :) One little annoying thing was that the mile timers were off, the race started a little late and that probably messed things up.  Mile 1 (which was actually at 1.27 bc of some Irish mile within the race) had me at 16:xx, Mile 2- 21:xx. . . obviously not right.  And I am still afraid to wear my Garmin in a race.  I didn't know where I was at till I was coming in the home stretch and saw the clock at 27:55.  Kicked it in and. . .          

   28:12

  (7:03)

       Not horrible, not amazing, overall I was happy and it's a PR since it was my first 4 mile race :D  If I had known I was that close to sub-28 I may have pushed it more in the last mile, Cest  La Vie.   And I was the first female special education teacher (I sub, but I'm Sp. Ed certified and sub Sp. Ed classes over General Ed  whenever I get the chance.)   For winning I received 3 books on teaching children with special needs, but due to my current career change pursuit those will probably help Matt more (he is a general/special Ed teacher too).

     Also I did feel the knee pain come back a little before mile 1 and I got really worried since it usually stays for the whole run once it starts.  It lasted maybe a mile and then I felt pretty good for the rest of it. Right now, 7 hours later, I haven't iced or taken anything and it feels fine.  Guess I'm gonna have to continue feeling it out for now.

     One of the highlights of the whole morning though was after the race.  I was waiting around for the award ceremony and for the boys to come back.  While sitting there on my own, a very nice young man came over and started talking to me.  He is part of the Rolling Thunder Running Club which is a running club for special needs individuals.  As described by the website,

"Rolling Thunder Special Needs Program is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing challenged individuals with the opportunity to successfully participate in all levels of mainstream athletics."

      I have seen the green uniforms of the Rolling Thunder at many races I have run over the past 10 yrs and I think it is such an awesome organization.  And these guys aren't just out there participating in races, they are winning and placing in their age groups most of the time.  So, Thank You Michael for keeping me company and for directing me to the Rolling Thunder website :)  After checking out the site today I'm looking forward to volunteering with the organization in the near future.  This line in particular stole my heart,

"Through competition, our athletes earn the respect they deserve as they develop the confidence and self esteem that they need to be successful in life." 

ETA pic: 

Age Group: 2/ 86  Females: 10/ 828 Overall: 56/ 1315

An Almost Chin-Up and Beach Booty Camp

     As promised I taped my sorta kinda almost chin-up.  I may have underestimated when I said "slight" bend to me arms.  That is a pretty sizable head start I have there.  While I am very happy I've progressed to this stage, it still seems like  I have just as much (or more) work ahead to get those last few inches from dead hang to where I am now.  When I try to pull-up from dead hand I go nowhere.


     This 1/2? 3/4? chin-up takes everything from my arms.  In the video I try for another one after a few minutes rest and I get stuck in the middle.  I was gonna throw in some of my sick dance moves I broke out during recording, but for everyone else's sake I edited them out.  I didn't want anyone getting envious of my skillz (real reason: you'd probably get really embarrassed for me, "poor girl doesn't know she looks like a fool.")

Beach Booty Camp

     Since  thoughts of summer now occupy 50% of my head, I b-stormed the stellar idea of writing up a kick ass bodyweight workout to torture share with my fellow Tobabes (aka Female Tobay guards).  If any of you are reading this: You've been warned :D  You three are going to be my personal training guinea pigs this summer ;)   Everyone else: You can look forward to pictures and a recap of this ass-whooping sometime in June.  Although the pictures might just be me, as it may end up that I do this by myself while everyone else points and laughs at me.

      Anyway I wanted to share the workout with you because you can do it anywhere, it requires no equipment (maybe a int. timer, but a watch can work or you could set reps for each exercise), and it kicks butt!  I chose some of my favorite Bodyrock moves for this, the ones I think are the most fun :D and don't need equip. I also added in some of my other fav moves.  Each move is done for 50 secs with a 10 sec break before the next one, do 2-3 times for a 20-30 minute interval workout.

1) Burpees (of course :D) 

2) Mountain Climbers/ Kick-ups  10/10 (I linked to video at 1:50 were Zuz demonstrates)

3) Break Dance Push-ups

4) Jumping Lunges

5) Plank

6) Alt. Toe Touches (I might tape this soon, but basically lie on your back and raise left arm and right leg to touch your toe in the middle then switch)

7) Jumping Lunge/ Mountain Climber  (Do 2 jumping lunges, put your hands down and do 2 mountain climbers, back up and do 2 jumping lunges. . .)

8) Shelf Butt Exercise ;)

9) Blaster Push- Up-  This one and #10 are the 2 moves used in this 4 minute workout, love them both :D

10) Jumper 

  It may take a little homework to figure out some of the moves, but I think it's worth it.  I really tried to pick the ones that are fun even though they are tough :)  Let me now if you try it!

  And I'll be updating when I try this out with girls (and maybe some of the guys will join the fun :)  There maybe a guest post about wanting to kill me :D  I will also bribe hire an unsuspecting bystander official photographer to catch all the action. 

   

Thanks Matty for the Baby Blue Beluga sticker!!

Better Pic:

MattyRunRun.com

He is so cute I feel like I should name him :D

     If you have tried bodyrock workouts, what is your favorite move(s)??

         Can you do a pull-up/chin-up? If not is it something you are working on or plan to work on?

This Guy Makes Me Smile

  He is 89! Amazing.

When I watched this for the first time a few days ago I had the biggest grin on my face. 

 I still can't help but smile watching him.  

He looks like he is loving every second of it :D

It must be a good day. . .

. . . I rarely ever post twice in one day (I don't have the brain cells to write that many coherent posts);  I just couldn't resist listing all the awesomeness that occurred today. Actually it wasn't all that much, but I'm easy to please :D

     Ran 5 miles today, again No NSAIDs and minimal to no pain.  I could feel a slight twinge there every once and a while, and again was nervous it would come back suddenly. Nope :D  I was thinking of trying for the 9 miler, but decided that would be pushing it and not so smart on my part.  I took it very slow (for me) 8:20-8:40 pace; if you asked me what pace I thought I was running sans Garmin I would have guessed 9:50-10:00.

      Did a pull-up today with no jump!! BUT it wasn't a FULL pull-up yet. . .my arms were slightly bent.  When I stand and grip the bar my arms have a little bend to them, in order to get a dead hang position I have to bend my knees.  Today I stood, gripped the bar, bent my knees and maintained slight bend to my arms and then pulled myself all the way up.  It was slow going and I wasn't sure I was gonna get to the top, but I did! Twice.  Monumental over here.  I'll try to record it tomorrow cause I know that description is sketchy.


 I say, that what you say. . . is what I say  (Guess the movie ;)
      Amanda at Runninghood  posted today about how she was feeling on the verge of something big and exciting.  She is always so well written and the whole post was amazing and full of optimism.  This post struck me because this is exactly how I've been feeling the past few days.  It actually feels like a mix of anxiety and excitement at the same time, not a bad anxiety just the kind where I feel I can really achieve some of the things I've been dreaming about, but it is still going to take some work and commitment. Nothing is going to be handed to me, yet I have the drive, desire, goals, plan, support, knowledge etc. to finally fulfill my visions. 
         Less than a year ago I really had no clue what any of my goals were, seriously I had NO goals. As I wrote in the comments of that post, "I was aimless."  Which is a great way to have awful self-esteem.  Now I am straight up bursting with excitement to help other set goals, achieve them, and feel that surge of confidence that comes from working towards and reaching your goals.

    I also found this chica's blog today, love it!  Jenn just went through the process of becoming an ACE certified personal trainer and had her first client today!  Reading her post today about how excited (lots of excited-ness going down in this post, sorry for the overuse but it's a good thing :D) she is about having her first client had me smiling and looking forward to the time when I'm in her position :)

  Yesterday I heard this song for the first time and I've been running, planking, dancing, bodyrocking to it on repeat for the past 24 hours:

Times I listened to it on my 5 miler today = 8+

    I haven't done much Body Rocking lately because a lot of the moves involve jumps that I'm not sure are so good for my knee right now.  I have missed it a bit, so today I just did 2 of the 4 moves that I could handle.

      I actually attempted high knees with a jumprope, but realized the first time landing on my left leg that it was in my (and my knee's) best interest to skip that part.  I did the two core exercises from yesterday's What's My Name Workout.  The "Roll it Hard Core" move with the exercise ball is killer and I will be adding that one into my nightly core routine.

Ohh Zuz, you're to charming to hate ;)

  Thanks for all the protein advice, I'm gonna check out some supplements this weekend.  In the meantime I had a can of chicken that had 48 g of protein for lunch :) Mixed with walnuts, chopped green& red apple and balsamic vinaigrette.

And that's enough enthusiasm for one post.

WIAW Ft. a Twist on Tuna Avocado Boats

   First, I ran yesterday with no pain and no NSAIDs!!  Only 2 miles, but considering that in every run I've had in the past 2 weeks the pain has started immediately after mile 1, this is really freaking good news :D  Every step of that second mile I was ecstatic there was no pain but also extremely nervous that it was going to come on suddenly.  Still preceding with caution though, I'm not out of the woods yet.

   Today I'm participating in What I Ate Wednesday again, perhaps my recovery this week has come from the insane amount of veggies I ate the past two days :D  I'm posting some meals from both Monday and Tuesday, I've been working on getting enough protein and lots of veg.  Especially since I'm going hard core this month with the pull-up work till I get it!  My muscles need that extra protein to recover and grow :D




    I'm not posting my breakfast this time since it is the same as last time and pretty much always the same: High Fiber English Muffin, PB, Apple and Banana Slices and a sprinkle of cinnamon. With coffee.

    This week with the emphasis on protein and veggies I had to add in a meal to get enough calories, well actually I split lunch in two: early lunch and late lunch.

     Monday

         I looked forward to this meal all weekend as I had picked up Mango Chipotle Salmon (Starkist) and  Fresh Chopped Mango Salsa from Stop and Shop.  I knew once I found the salsa I was going to make a variation of the Avocado Tuna Lettuce Boats I made (and loved!)  a few weeks ago.

Lunch#1

Mango Salmon Lettuce Boats:

So simple, I just mixed the Mango Chipotle Salmon with the Mango Salsa and some chopped red pepper.  Then spread generously on romaine leaves.

1 Package of Salmon = 120 cals/ 20g protein. 

Lunch #2

Orange Pepper stuffed w/ Chicken and sprinkled w/ shredded cheese:

Lousy pic, great meal.

I used 4oz of canned chicken= 120 cals/ 24 g protein

Dinner

Roasted Red Pepper and Chicken Wrap:

High Fiber Wrap (Mission Carb Balance, 120 cals/ 11g fiber/ 5g protein),

Roasted Red Peppers, Sliced Roma Tomato, Romaine, Basil, Grilled Chicken, Mozzarella and Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Tuesday

Lunch #1

Mixed Veggies with Garlic & Herb Chicken:

Steamer Bag of Broccoli/ Cauliflower/ Carrots

Garlic & Herb Chicken (Bumble Bee) 110 cals/ 24 g protien

Grated Parmesan Cheese

Lunch #2

Tossed Salad with Veggie Burger:

Romaine, Carrot Chips, Red Pepper topped with Dr. Praeger 's California Veggie Burger.

Also a sprinkle of shredded cheese and Green Godess Dressing.

I am obsessed with these veggie burgers!! Each one has 110 cals/ 4g fiber/ 5g protein and I could eat a box (4) of them as a meal with nothing else.  My mom introduced me to them :)

I didn't take pictures of last nights dinner; we had steak fajitas using the high fib wraps and mucho peppers and onions.  I did my run in the evening then iced and after taking pics for 2 days I was done, I could never be a food blogger.

I suppose there is various answers for this, but for those who are knowledgeable: How much protein would you recommend for someone trying to gain some arm strength/ muscle?  I've been aiming for 75-100 g.  My average Cal intake is approx. 1,300- 1,500.

Three Things Tuesday?

. . . because making lists of three unrelated things that happen to be on your mind is a lot easier than coming up with a real post when you got nothin.  Although oddly yesterday I thought I had too many post ideas and then this morning?  They disappeared.  The rain must have washed them away.

Sunny/Warm Days = Highly Motivated, Cleaning, Goal Making, Ass Kicking Katie
Rainy/Cold Days = Can Someone Please Peel Me Off the Couch Katie 


1) I ran 2.5 mi yesterday with no knee pain!!  Except I took NSAIDS before hand (2 excedrin) so that is most likely why.  I'm going to either run today with no NSAID before or wait till tomorrow to run again (also no NSAIDS before), still deciding.  The rain is making me think tomorrow unless I tread it.

2)  I don't know if the rest of the country has heard about the serial killer on Long Island yet but it is completely creeping me out.  I won't go into much detail (since I don't want the search hits), but 8 bodies have been found (so far) in the roadside brush only a few miles down from the beach I work at.
    
    We drive past this area on our way to work every day and a few years ago (which apparently some of the remains are up to 3 yrs old) I used to run  past this area.  The past 2 yrs though I've chosen to run on the beach or parking lot loops instead, I've never liked running on that parkway on my own.  Really there is not much to worry about as the identified women were all hired off of Craigslist, but still super creepy.  I am hoping it is solved before the beach opens because it will be even creepier to see cop cars all over the area on the way to work.


3) The Fabulous Caitlin of Fit, Fierce, and Fabulous posted some to-die-for summer sandals on her blog last week.  Being the impulsive person I am, I ordered them about 5 seconds after seeing them.  She didn't even post a link or brand for them, but I spied the hidden Seychelles logo and was on it!

 I present the Seychelles Eye of Mars Sandal:

Love

and according to tracking info they should arrive today :D

Seafoam Green also adorable:

but the pink/brown combo won out.