Catching Up

Wow. Suddenly life got really...busy. It seems to be coming at me from all directions. Worked kicked up a notch, we're starting the backyard renovations, the holidays are coming, Son is rushing to meet college application deadlines, things are changing in other aspects of my personal life, in laws are coming for Thanksgiving, etc. All I have time for is a quick update...

Push ups: I had to repeat the exhaustion test three times because each time the dogs started rough housing and pushed me over. They can be laying there all still, and as soon as they see me on the floor it becomes PLAYTIME!! Anyway, don't know how many I can do, but I got to 16 on my third attempt and that is good enough to move on to week three in column 1. So Week 3, here I come!

New Trainer: She asked me what I had been doing all week. I told her about the push up challenge. I assumed she would work my lower body and give the upper body a rest. But NOOOOO. She thought upper body was a good idea. And she likes to do things in reps of 15. And increase the weights along the way. Holy moly! I dunno if this is going to work out or not, but I'll stick with her until end of the year at least.

Running: Haven't done much of that. Ran two miles last Sunday. Nothing during the week. Then some of my running buddies decided on Friday that a trail run would be fun on Saturday. Sounded good to me. I dragged my lazy self out the door on a chilly morning and 'ran' 5 miles. It was tough. I had to stop three times; fitness loss happens so quickly! But it was also amazing; I realized that I have missed being out there soooooo much. I hope we can do it again this coming Saturday. :-)

Back. Sort of.

I think I'm mostly over my funk. The short story is that I've had issues with my back and then a pulled calf muscle and have been hobbling around for a few weeks unable to do much of anything. This on top of some other life stress and my attitude wasn't pretty. :-(

However, I was able to run yesterday for the first time in several weeks. Sure, it was only a measly 2 miles, but Everything Must Begin at the Beginning. It was sure nice to be outside moving my body again.

Got a bit behind on the Push Up challenge, but no worries, I'm back at it now. Today I completed W2 D3 column 1 (5+7+5+5+8=30). I'm due for an exhaustion test in the next day or so. Hopefullly I can do enough to progress to week 3 (min 16), otherwise, I'll be repeating a few days of W2, but in a different column. How are you all doing with it?!?!

Husband & I are signed up for the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis on December 5th which is about 2.5 weeks out. God willing, I'll be feeling well enough to run the 5K.

I'm not expecting to be able to catch up on your blogs for at least another week. Sorry about that!

Time Out

For a variety of reasons, I've become a grump recently. I think it is best if I take a short bloggy break until I get back to my happy place again. I'm putting myself in a Time Out until my attitude turns around.

(Keep doing those push ups - the challenge is still on!)



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Strength in Numbers

Wow. I've been super busy this week, hence the lack of blog post or time to link properly to participants list. But I will get that done.

Speaking of which, the push up challenge participants list is growing! YAY!! So far, I have Regina, Staci, Tall-Mom, JBMommy, Eliza, Shannon, Lily on the Road, Laura, Renee, Rookie on the Run, JoLynn, Red Bike, Celmore, Karen, & The Happy Runner all in. I hope that a few that are still tentative will decide to join as well.

I completed W1 D3 this morning. Knowing that so many others are joining really motivated me to get through it today. Together we can do this!!

Also had the first session with the new Trainer as well. Not sure what to think. Her approach is really different. I'll try to keep and open mind and give it a few more weeks, but I really miss my old Trainer already. BoooooHoooo.

Best wishes to all the B2B bloggers participants. Go get 'em!!

More on Push up Challenge

I'm excited that several ladies are in with me for the push up challenge: Regina, Staci, Tall-Mom, JBMommy, Eliza, Shannon. Several others are tentative.

Some details/thoughts:

* The plan can be found at hundredpushups.com/challenge.html

* Don't worry about which column you are in or if you need to repeat days or weeks. This is about getting stronger, not about how fast you get to the end.

* Do whatever style push ups you are most comfortable with. I've done it both ways - 'real' pushups and alternate 'knee' push ups. Personally, I want to challenge myself to do 'real' ones this time because it requires more core strength and I am motivated to improve my core.

* For the record, despite having done this in the past, my initial pushup test was pathetic. Guess that's what happens when you neglect pushups for several months. All the more room for improvement, right?

* Don't be intimidated by the challenge name. If you remain in column 1 for the duration, you probably won't get to 100 consecutive pushups by the end. Who cares?! I'll be thrilled if I can do as well as my girl Michelle who did 51 at the end of the challenge recently. (Yay Michelle!)

* I'm particularly excited about the ladies joining, but any male readers are welcome to join us too.

* Let's motivate each other by posting about our progress and leaving encouraging comments to others. We can do this!!!

(Hopefully I'll have time to edit this post later with appropriate links to the fabulous women mentioned.)

p.s. Today I completed week 1, day 2 (column 1): 3, 4, 2, 3, 4 = 16 pushups. Great way to start a Wednesday. :-)

She Runs!

Finally trusted my back enough to go for a run this morning. I decided to do a two mile tempo run just for the heck of it.

The weather was 45 deg, sunny, no wind. Normally, for a run like this, I would likely start with a jacket or long sleeves over a sleeveless or short sleeve shirt. I warm up fairly quickly, shedding the outer layer. This leaves my poor arms to the mercy of the brutal high desert sun.

Not today!

Instead, it was a perfect opportunity to test out the new sleeves courtesy one of Amanda's give-aways. These sleeves are light weight and soft, made from bamboo fibers - perfect for using as sun protection. I declined the top layer and just went with a short sleeve shirt and the sleeves. They provided a little warmth, but still let the cool air through.

A bonus - I got to be all matchy-matchy with the hat I wore today.

The only downside is that the size Small is not quite right for me. It's a tight squeeze on my biceps. I probably would do better with Medium. Having said that, I think Small would work well for many/most runner women; I just don't have a very typical runner's physique. Anyway, I'm hoping after wearing them a few times, the elastic will give a little bit and they will be more comfortable.

Oh, and the run was surprisingly good. I'm sure my splits are not consistent, but I completed 2 miles in 20:34 - right in my tempo window.

Thanks again, Amanda. Moeben sleeves are a great product!! My skin & I thank you. :-)

October Tally & Push Ups

OCTOBER TALLY

Stats
* 59.3 miles by foot
* 10 strength/stretching sessions
* 1 race, Duke City half Marathon, PB for that course

Thoughts
* Lost well over a week due to back spasms/pain. Blah.
* I'm convinced that I need to train on pavement or switch to trail races.

Plans
* Renewed focus on full body strength, including another round of the 100 push ups plan.
* Develop a 'maintenance' plan to get me through the next few months. I'm lost without a plan.

PUSH-UPS

Round Three
* The first time I did this plan, I did 'real' pushups, but only made it to week 3.
* The second time I followed the plan, I did 'alternative' pushups and made it into week 5. This set me up nicely for the Dash-Spash-Push event (which permitted alternative pushups for women).
* This is my third attempt and I'm going with 'real' pushups again even if I don't make it as far in the program. It's just a much better exercise overall. Day 1 complete...
* Who's in with me?!? Any takers?