I'm Alive!!!

Hello, I am still here.


I apologize for being a bad blogger. My laptop at home crapped out and I find it hard to make myself go upstairs and use our desktop at home. I was sometimes blogging during my lunch breaks, but I’ve been using those to work out! I am trying to get back to regular posting again, I promise.

So what’s going on with me?

A funk. Not a workout funk, but just a funk in general. Career is kind of blah right now…that’s all I’ll say about that. The Hubs and I are contemplating moving to a different neighborhood due to a new expressway about to be built a few hundred feet from our front door (boo!). The nutrition and weight loss are still going well – I am about 1.5 lbs from my goal weight and feeling much leaner and less “puffy”. The Hubs and kids are doing great! The best part? We are all on vacation next week – yippee!

How about the workouts?

I have really ramped up the workouts. I am running 2x during the week, and then again on Saturday with my running group. I ran 6 miles with minimal walking (only 1 minute at each mile) last weekend and felt pretty good. I can tell my endurance is nowhere close to where it was last year, because I felt as if I had just run 15 miles. But, my hip felt pretty good and I feel like I am building my base back up.

I have also been attending a boot camp style workout during lunch at the gym twice a week. I am very fortunate to have free access to a gym at work! These lunchtime gym sessions are one thing that make the workday a little more bearable. Anyway, the instructor is awesome – she incorporates weights, lunges, squats, push-up and running into a full body workout. I love it!

I decided to change things up a bit with my workouts. Back when I received the results of my 1st MRI, the doc made a comment about needing to strengthen my glutes. Well, I bought a workout DVD set that promises to do just that – the Brazil Butt Lift from Beachbody.

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you know I love Beachbody. I’ve done Slim-in-Six, P90X and Insanity. I love them all! I figured I’d give this workout a try, especially since they have a 30-day money back guarantee. Let me just say, after the 1st workout, I was sore for 2 days. In a good way. As in my booty, inner and outer thighs, quads and hammies all HURT! It’s awesome! There is a bit of cheesiness to the whole thing – the instructor, Leandro Carvhalho, explains everything well, but often says things like “stick out your butt, don’t be shy… be proud of what you’ve got!” and is quite happy about this workout (you can tell by the silly grin on his face). The girls in the background have those plastic smiles the entire time, while I grimace and grunt as I do the same workout. And the “butt” is often referred to as your “bum bum” (pronounced boom boom). Other than that, this is a killer workout that works not only the glutes, but the inner and outer thighs, the hamstrings, the quads, abs and lower back. I am only on week #3 of the plan, so I haven’t seen any dramatic results just yet. I’ll keep you posted.

The other workouts I’ve been doing are biking and swimming. This is the 3rd week I’ve been able to get to the pool at least 2 times. And, I have been biking on Sundays. I know I need more bike time, but I have trouble fitting it in. I am scheduled to ride the “Tour de Cure” in late September…it’s only 44 miles, but I haven’t been on a ride longer than about 35 miles since my comeback from the hip injury!

Triathlons?

I decided to go ahead and sign up for the TriGirl Sprint triathlon on Sunday, August 12. I am trying to tell myself that I am okay with being slower than last year..that I have just gotten back into training after 5 months of dealing with an injury. But I’ll admit, deep down I am not that happy about it. I just keep telling myself that if I get back into this carefully and be smart about it, I could be stronger next year. Honestly, I can’t seem to find my mojo to get excited about triathlon this year. I think part of it is because I am slower and I feel like I’ve been out of it for so long! I am hoping this race will help me find that passion again. I chose this one because it is a smaller, shorter, all women’s race. It has a somewhat laid back, communal feel to it, which is exactly what I need at the moment. Oh, and the medal is pretty awesome, too.

Future races?

Well, it took me a long time, but I finally decided that I would do some shorter races this year. Again, I am trying to get my mind right with the whole “you are recovering, don’t push it and accept that you’re slower and have fun” thing. I decided to branch out and do what’s called the “Texas Bridge Series”. It consists of two 10Ks, both labeled the “toughest 10K”, because they go over some pretty big bridges. Yeah, I will be walking. But, it’s worth it, because each race awards a medal to the finishers! (BLING!!!) The finale of the series is a ½ marathon. If you complete all three of the races, you receive a 4th medal. (MORE BLING!!!)

I am also signing up for the Ten for Texas. The main reason I am doing this one is because it is just minutes away from my house and several folks from my running group will be doing it. And, they have a great post-race party. There are no medals in this one, though.

I would love to do the RunGirl ½ Marathon. Unfortunately, it is either the weekend before or the weekend after the bridge series ½ marathon. Again, if I am trying to be smart with my recovery, and ½ marathons 2 weekends in a row might not be a great idea.

Anything Else?

We are hoping to get the kids involved in The Woodland Running Club’s junior program. The program meets 2x per week and the kids run a mile, by March the kids will be ready to run the kid’s 2k that occurs in conjunction with The Woodlands Marathon and ½ Marathon. After completing that race, the kids will have run exactly 26.2 miles. They receive a 2K medal, as well as a 26.2 medal from The Woodlands Marathon. Cool, huh? It will take some coordinating of our own training schedules to get the kids to the meetings, but I think they will have a lot of fun and make some new friends.

What races are you gearing up for?  Have you tried the Brazil Butt Lift?