Friday, March 29, 2013

It's Been a Struggle

The last fews weeks have been tough ones to say the least! They went  something like this:

March Break  - Hooray a solid week at home with my chicklets!!

Reality - O develops croup, E is super bored because all of her friends were in Mexico. R- gets to ride horses. Mamma house bound and grumpy.

Then that same week my MacBook died :(  Which meant no work, no blogging, not even face book. Although the break was a little nice I was definitely stressed out. A new Macbook wasn't in the budget and I was sure I had lost years of files and photos (I really need to start backing up more often).

Another Blizzard then a cold snap of -20C. Nothing dampens your mood more than -20C after you have made it out for a few runs outside and when you have half marathon training plans So I dragged my butt to the treadmill and ran a solid 10K for the St. Patty's Day virtual race for 13 in 2013. My time was terrible. 72 minutes, but I got in completed on the very last day!

The next week was a total blur as O was still sick, this time with an ear ache, Dr. appointments, hair appointments and finally a 2 day skating seminar with Canadian Champion pairs figure skaters Eric Radford and Meagan Duhammel. The girls had a blast, but it was a long 2 days.





The seminar was followed but a 2 show skating performance that all 3 of my lovelies participated in. They were terrific and had a ton of fun!!


Finally, it was Sunday. I usually have a crossfit workout at the fire hall, but I was dragging my butt and I knew I wouldn't be able to give it my all. So, I chose to rest and went ice fishing with my family for a couple of hours.


When Monday came around I knew I had to get my butt into gear and pledged to earn 1 extra exercise point for SBBC. It was simple just add an extra 10 minutes of exercise! I was off to a terrific start with a solid 4 mile run. All I had to do was stretch. Only it wasn't that easy. It turns out the rumbling in my tummy wasn't runners revenge it was the stomach flu. 36 hours later I managed to pull myself out of bed to the couch and tried solid food again.

By Thursday, I managed to run errands and get in a 40 min walk, at long last warm weather had come to Red Lake!!

So definetly not the March I had hoped and planned for, but I did learn a few things!

1)I am totally lost without my own computer, sharing doesn't work well for me.

2)I am not very nice when things start falling apart.

3) cold weather and delayed spring doesn't bring out the best in me, I really ended up in a miserable, dark place for a couple of days.

4) A few weeks of spotty workouts won't totally derail me, I haven't gained copious amounts of weight and hopefully haven't lost of lot of strength. This is most likely due to the fact that I continued to sneak in short, but hard cross fit workouts when possible.

5) My kids do need to come first, especially when the are sick or have exciting opportunities ( I already knew this, but its good to reaffirm it)

6) probably the most important - I didn't quit. I struggled. I fell down. I certainly faltered but I didn't let it derail me!!

The moral of this story is:


Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Motivation

Hey there,

I need of a little motivation to help you get moving?

Here are some of my favourite pics from tumblr that show why women need to LIFT.

You know that I love to lift heavy weights and CROSS FIT! I totally believe that strength training will make huge changes to your body. Don't be afraid of looking manly, only large doses of testosterone will do that!







I love this one!!





She is so strong!



:)

Don't be afraid to pick up some weight, and don't feel that you need to use 5 lb weights forever either. Got over wanting to TONE and start putting on some muscle! You will love it!

Do you lift?
Do you lift heavy?
Conventional or Cross Fit?? 



Monday, March 11, 2013

Workout Recaps

Last Monday was the official start to the Spring Bootie Buster Challenged hosted by Amanda over at run to the finish. I loved the Holiday bootie Buster so much that I knew the SBBC was the thing for me to do.


Each day we earn points for eating 7-9 freggies (fruits and/ or veggies) drinking water and moving our body. The big goal over the next 7 weeks is that we bootie busters will develop life long habits,  while challenging ourselves and maybe win a prize while we are at it.

I think I had a pretty solid start to my week. I hit all my targets for water and freggies and got in a decent amount to exercise. I was a little light on Wednesday which should have been a 45 min run plus stretching, but due to family obligations I only got in a 20 min cross fit workout. I also never found time to do the workout of the week - WOW. This stinks because the Wow is a double whammy - you earn points for the exercise and a bonus point plus you can do it all week long if you want. Its definitely on this weeks to do list!


Here is what my week looked like:

Monday - 4 mile run plus stretching, simple out and back towards Madsen. It was hilly and cold. I through in telephone pole intervals to challenge myself.

Tuesday - Cross fit workout - 7 rounds of: 7 push press, 7 crunches, 7 burpees. Followed that with planks ( i am so trying to improve my core strength) push ups and stretching.

Wednesday - Cross Fit Mama's Hope for Kenya - 12 mins AMRAP - 50 squats, 30 push ups, 15 pull ups. I got 3 rounds of the squats and push ups and 2 rounds of pull ups. Stretched and hit the road.

Thursday - more Crossfit. I gave the Cross Fit Mom's 13.1 WOD a go. It is a far cry easier than the the official Cross Fit 13.1 WOD and is mainly designed for pregger or postpartum mothers. But what can I say I am not an elite athlete and cross fit is about scaling workouts. I did the intermediate workout because I had never done a snatch before and didn't want to hurt myself or my living room.

13.1 WOD

12 burpees
15 snatch 45 lb
12 burpees
15 snatch
12 burpees
15 snatch
12 burpees
Again I did some core work (I found a great workout from Women's Health that used a kettle bell. Followed by more stretching (stretching is an easy point, plus it feels so good!)

Friday  - REST!!

Saturday - My first 6 miler. I ran to the gun club and back. The roads were nice and clear and I maintained my HMP of 10:30 quite well ( I know it probably looks super slow, but thats life!)

Sunday - Fire Hall Workout - Richard planned a doozy! We started with a great warm up then paired up. Tim and Rich and Renee and I. We worked at partners with one person starting and the second waiting for the first to finish before starting. We finished all 3 rounds before going to the next exercise. I am feeling the effects of DOMS today!!

3 rounds:

 8 dead lifts - 135#
pushups to failure

1 min rest

10 push press 45#
20 kettle bell swings 26#

1 min rest

20 wall balls 14#
ring rows to failure

1 min rest

20 weighted walking lunges 10 # each hand
dips to failure.

I spent a good portion of the day stretching out my hamstrings and hip flexers!

I hope you had a terrific workout week.
I have this week planned and hope to get 3 solids runs in along with 3 cross fit workouts.



What do you have planned?







Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Motivation

Hi Again,
I know its not Monday but I thought we could all use a little MOTIVATION!

Today's theme is ditching the SCALE! We are not a number, we are the sum of all of our parts and should never define ourselves by the number that pops up on the scale.

I would be lying if I didn't hop on my scale once every couple of weeks. And I would be lying if I said I didn't wish the number was just a little lower.  But its time to put those scales away and focus on the real results we get from eating well and working hard.

Here are a few of my Favourite Pics from the internet regarding ditching our scales:






I hope these motivate you as much as they motivate me. 

Do you weigh yourself often?
If not how do you measure your progress? I like to go by how my clothes feel.



Monday, March 4, 2013

Gratitude




Today's challenge for Healthy sELF is to list 20 things for which we are grateful for. While this can seem really tedious or silly, it is actually a terrific activity. Recognizing the "good" things in our lives helps to foster a healthy positive mindset that allows us to move through life feeling happier.

Here is my list:


20 Things for which I am Grateful

  1. My husband - he honestly loves me for who I am and supports me in almost every thing I do.
  2. My kids  - they keep me on my toes and the true reason I live my life.
  3. Hot coffee - see #1 and # 2 
  4. Flexible job - it allows me the time to take care of my kids and myself.
  5. Portable technology - specifically my iphone and garmin.
  6. A warm house.
  7. Readily available knowledge at my finger tips.
  8. Fantastic coaches and teachers - they make my life easier while supporting my children's growth and development
  9. Friends - in person and online.
  10. Heated seats - winter mornings and trips to and from the arena are pretty chilly in Northern Canada!
  11. woollen mittens 
  12. Moms who send me authentic maple syrup at an incredible price!
  13. Dads who support me in so many ways
  14. Workout Buddies who encourage and push me to limits I never thought possible!
  15. My Day Planner - it keeps me sane!
  16. Great books - that take me to far away places and times and help me escape.
  17. Really hot showers after a hard workout.
  18. My safe little town - where I can run free without free for myself or my family.
  19. PVR - this may seem funny, but it has made me a better person!
  20. LOVE - as corny as it sounds I am truly grateful for the love in which I am surrounded by each and every day!



What are you grateful for??