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.

March Review And A Switch To Weekly Goals

   I've decided for April (and probably the next few months) I'm not going to make goals for the month, instead I am going to do weekly goals.  

My reasons for this are:

1) I'm not sure how my knee is going to be feeling and exactly what is up with it so I don't want to make any mileage/  time goals for a month at a time, I'd rather take it week by week.  

     I ran 4 miles w/ my sis yesterday (she just signed up for the LI half with me! :D)  and once again right at mile 1 I started getting knee pain.  The positive is that when I got home I iced, stretched, and popped an anti-inflam and felt rocking the rest of the day.  The fact that I have had a lot less pain on a daily basis has me optimistic :) And I think hamstring stretching will help.

2)  With monthly goals there is a tendency to start with a bang and slowly taper off through out the month.  I still think I should be achieving more (in all areas) and I think setting new goals and evaluating my progress each week will help me stay on the ball.

       I'll be posting my goals for the week at the bottom of Monday posts and evaluating on Saturday/Sunday  (depending on when I write a post)

March Goal Review

 Goals directly from here.  How I did in bold italics.

 ~ 5k on  March 12th.  1st goal: Sub 21:52  2nd goal: Sub 21  21:00, I'll take it!

~ Increase my mileage by at least 10 over February's total of 67 I'm not even sure of my total mileage, but keeping healthy took precedent.  I had a rocking 8 miler though :D

~ Get on my bike!!!  Yes, I did!  I made it a mile and didn't  flop over onto the pavement, SUCCESS!!  I would have got on a bit more but the weather still stunk : /

~ Get in the pool more! No, not driving makes this one kind of hard.  I'm not worried though, my swim last month has me confident that I can still swim a decent distance and once work starts I will be swimming almost daily.

~ Keep studying for the ACE, I kinda slacked on this in Feb.   Mmhhmm I rocked this one.  Working more actually helped me with this one since I brought it with me and read on all my off periods. 

~ Still going for 30 push-ups  27.  Restarting the 100 push-up program soon.

~118 or bust   I'm right there, around 120, I lost a few lbs in the first 2 weeks of March and then maintained.  I think for my size this is a good way to do it, lose a little and then maintain before going for a few more.  

~Just all around Kick-Ass in everything :D This is very subjective, but Imma say yes, March was a good month for me.  

And I plan to keep my Daily Workout page updated, yell at me if I slack off!! :D  Ummm no I did not do this and you also did not yell at me!!  This week I'm on it!

Goals for the week 4/4- 4/10

  ~ Attempt a 9 mile run

  ~ 4 mile race on Sunday Goal: Sub 28 (sub 7 pace)

  ~ Schedule ACE test for May

  ~ Prepare for Disney in 2 weeks :)

  ~  Nighttime Abs & Arms at least 5 nights 

  ~ Track my workouts on DW page

  Thank you for all your nice comments on my BBM 8 video :)  I'm going to try and do a little intro on all my future BBM vids.  

     Matty O- I totally agree with hopping on the bar throughout the day and I usually do (some weeks I'm better than others).  As far as negatives go though, I've read they cause more micro tears than regular pull-ups;  therefore you should have a rest day in between for muscle recovery, thoughts?  

And since this post needs a pic:

Long summer days are approaching :D

Ryders Sunnies Winner :)

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:63
Comment #63 was from Allison at Just Tri and Finish!

Technical difficulties, but I want to get it up so it stays.  Also it was out of 169 when I random.orged it, but apparently when you copy and paste it, it goes back to 100.

  Congrats Allison :D   E-mail me at Nolan1009@gmail.com with the style you want (40$ range)  and your shipping address.

  The one thing I dislike about giveaways is that I want everyone to win, but thank you all for your kind comments :)  You may have just been sucking up ;), but I'm gonna take them as sincere anyway :D

   Knee report: I've taken 3 days off since my 2 mile run on Wednesday and I'm gonna give it a go tomorrow. 

  I wanted to write an actual post here as well, but I'm not feeling it right now and I need to get back to the intense Mets/Marlins game. 

Bikini Body Move #8~ Negative Pull-Ups

 Today I did something that I never thought I would work up the courage to do :D
    
       I talked on camera and I'm showing it to the world!!
   
     I don't think I can accurately describe how monumental this is in my little world.  I cringe at the thought of hearing my own voice, let alone taping myself talk and then listening back.  But I've wanted to add some intros and descriptions to these video so I've been taping myself every once in while to get used to hearing myself and get over my fear.  It worked :D  Let's Celebrate!! Blogging has truly been a huge boost to my confidence.

  Okay onto the actual move, let's see the video first: 

  That lovely pile behind me (I mostly cropped it out) is all the coats/ sweatshirts I pulled off the rack in order to get a clear shot of the pull-up bar.  Can't those go away yet :/

    As described in the video:
    ~Get to the top position of a pull-up (or chin-up as I'm doing) anyway you need to.  If you are just beginning you can use a chair to get to flexed arm hang position, or if you can get up there with a jump you can do it that way.
  
     ~Once in flexed hang position, slowly lower yourself back to dead hang.  Keep it as controlled as possible and try to keep it that like that all the way to dead hang.  The end is tough and I'm working on not dropping out in the bottom position.

Why this move rocks!
  Since the beginning of this blog I've been working towards getting the elusive *first* pull-up and it is not coming easy.  It is putting up a big fight, but I'm knocking it down little by little and victory will be mine :D

    In researching and asking those who CAN do a pull-up, "How do I do it!?!?,"   the negative pull-up has always been at the top of the list.  So if a pull-up/chin-up is one of your goals this exercise is for you!  And even if you don't necessarily have the desire to do a pull-up, this move will help strengthen your arms in the same manner pull-ups do.

  You can work these in by adding 3-4 negatives, 2-3 days a week and working up to a few more reps as you get stronger.  Try for a 5 second count on the lower, if you can't get that yet just work towards it.  Make sure to take a rest day in between to recover.  


    Gahh here goes publish, please don't make fun of my awkwardness ;)  In Serious though, people have made fun of my voice before :(, but also a 3rd grader told me it was cool a few weeks ago :D

ETA: YAYYYY METS TONIGHT!!!