Who needs sleep!

Last weekend I was in NYC visiting some of my favorite people :-)

It was so much fun! The only problem was that by last "weekend" I actually mean Sat. night. Quite literally. I did not get there until 5:30PM (thanks traffic)! And my bus back to Bean-town was at... 7:10AM!! My friend is currently living in a hotel (so glamorous!) and in typical NYC fashion there is a 24 diner right next door... except what makes it even BETTER is that there is an entrance from inside the hotel meaning fresh 24 hr. diner food without ever going outside!

We went to a Mexican restaurant that was delicious and we got some Margaritas to start off the night. Mine was Passion Fruit and AMAZING! The restaurant was fun with music playing loud enough that you felt like you could get up and dance, but not too loud that you couldn't talk!

Next we went back to the hotel and got tired (food plus a little alcohol = nap) but you can't sleep in NYC so we went to the diner for coffee :-)

Then it was time to get (or at least try to get) beautiful! Hair/makeup/wardrobe change and some wine before we were out the door to head to a bar/lounge type place. I guess the night was Mexican themed because the bar only served Mexican beer! So Corona with a lime it was :-) (for $8!!) small price to pay to enjoy the city. The inside had brick walls with candles in the walls and wax piled up and dripped down the sides. Very cool vibe.. I would attempt this decorating style at home, except my apartment would become a bonfire in seconds.

Got back to the hotel at 3:30? Straight to the diner for pancakes! I got chocolate chip and they were AMAZING three giant pancakes, but they were piled on top of each other and I cut right down.. so really it's only one right?

A nice little nap from 4:30-6:30? and off to the train. Seeing my friends was def. worth the lack of sleep... not like I sleep much anyway! We took pictures... I am not a huge picture post-er, but if you want pictures I will bring them on!

This weekend I am going home to see the fam, since it has been awhile and I need some good home cooking! (and the delicious treats I am too cheap to buy myself/ have no willpower to keep in my apartment).

New Addiction:
PB Twix bar... Literally a long thick Oreo cookie topped with a thick layer of PB and coated in milk chocolate!
I also tried the new Milky Way bar but cannot remember the name. The cookie in that badboy tastes like Astronaut Ice Cream. Never had space food? Its like an airy crunch weirdness.. not bad though!

7.5 Miler Update: I have strained a muscle in my foot and ignored it so my body started using weird muscles when I walk and stuff, which caused my ankle and calf to be ruined too. I was thinking about trying to start training a little early, but I met with a PT guy who said no running for at least a month? and I am supposed to foam roll every day?! It is hard enough to get me to the gym to work out, but I hate stretching (hence my injury) so I really wont be going to foam roll (ever done this? it feels like kneading a knot out KILLS). Might have to go buy one... apparently he said I need new sneakers too... I am NOT a runner I just like this one run because it gets me outside when the weather is nice. Now I have all these new investments! Fail. At least it is going to rain in lovely Boston for the next 2 weeks and I wouldn't even consider leaving my apartment anyway!

I hope you are experiencing some better weather/luck. If not.. chew on a Twix, but make it PB :-)

Results

Last post about the run. Promise.

Chip #348 (me)
Time: 1:05:53
Overall Place: 473/1085
Division Place: 98/314

Pretty exciting. I always think I can do better, but it was my first run and I survived. :-)

Also, I am not working but I am taking classes. I just had my first one and my professor looks like Benjamin Button (not sexy Brad but old man Brad). Very entertaining lil man. Hopefully he finds a way to keep us awake for the 3 and a half hour class!

Skype message from my sister in Greece:

[6/28/2009 10:39:58 PM] HI this is your sister
[6/28/2009 10:40:26 PM] at 5:30am incapable of sleeping not only from the time difference but alsoo cuz dad snores like a horse. like he sounds like a horse!
[6/28/2009 10:43:09 PM] and
[6/28/2009 10:43:10 PM] now
[6/28/2009 10:43:11 PM] i
[6/28/2009 10:43:12 PM] have
[6/28/2009 10:43:13 PM] to
[6/28/2009 10:43:14 PM] make
[6/28/2009 10:43:15 PM] it
[6/28/2009 10:43:16 PM] so
[6/28/2009 10:43:17 PM] he
[6/28/2009 10:43:21 PM] doesn't
[6/28/2009 10:43:22 PM] see
[6/28/2009 10:43:23 PM] that
[6/28/2009 10:43:23 PM] and
[6/28/2009 10:43:26 PM] gets
[6/28/2009 10:43:27 PM] insulted
[6/28/2009 10:43:37 PM] HEY IT'S YOUR SISTER I LOVE YOU
[6/28/2009 10:43:41 PM] AND MISS YOU
[6/28/2009 10:43:54 PM] AND CANT WAIT TO MOVE TO GREECE
[6/28/2009 10:43:58 PM] AND WE ARE COMING HERE TOGETHER
[6/28/2009 10:44:01 PM] CUZ I LOVE YOU
[6/28/2009 10:44:11 PM] AND I'TS AMAZING HERE
[6/28/2009 10:44:14 PM] :D
[6/28/2009 10:44:15 PM] night

I guess I am moving. Anyone want to join us? :-)

My First Run!

Thanks everyone who commented on my freaking out post trying to make me feel better :-)

My family finally made it to Greece nice and safe. They flew into London on Sat, had a 9 hour layover, and then flew to Athens on Sunday (today). It has been a very stressful weekend, but I got to let out some anxiety with my very first official run!

At 9 AM today, I ran 7.5 Miles in the New Charles River Run. It was SO MUCH FUN! I had been training so I wasn't out of breath or in pain which made it so enjoyable!

The weather was 60s and overcast which ended up being perfect running weather! I did drink a little vodka and cranberry jucie last night and didn't drink water (Fail) so I got calf cramp while running but it would go in and out and I ignored it. I felt so good during the run I am kind of excited to see my time whenever they post it. I am so it wasn't very fast at all, but my goal was to finish and I did! :-)

The next thing I want to try: Rowing! Well see how this goes.

Breathe

AHHHH OK so WORK thought it would be beneficial to offer a stress releving and breathing class today. I had a deadline that I had to make so I rushed (added stress) then went to the class and "released" it. Except now I am stressing out even more. Apparently I eat "dirty" not "clean" because I eat man made products not only natural stuff. I also have "stale" air in my lungs because I do not practice deep breathing on a regular basis. AND did you know that you only breathe through one nostril at a time? The nostril you breathe out of indicated the hemisphere of your brain that you are using. I only use the "left hemisphere" AKA logic, analysis, STRESS. "Right hemisphere" channels creativity, arts, relaxation. By telling me this... my stupid "left brained" self over analyzed it and is stressing out... go figure.

According to this "Harvard Mental Health Letter" I recieved at the meeting/class thing, taking two 90 minute yoga classes a week for 3 moths can minimize emotional distress by at least half of the level before yoga. "At the end of the three months, women in the yoga group reported improvements in percieved stress, depression, anxiety, energy, fatigue, and well being. Depression scores improved by 50%, anxiety scores by 30%, and overall well-being scores by 65%." The claimed benefits of controlled breathing are very bold, such as pulling hositalized depression patients into remission after 4 weeks of 30 min. of deep breathing 6 times a week.

I can really only get myself to focus on yoga when I am in a studio. Bikram yoga is great because I love being in a sauna and bikram yoga is in a 90 degree (or hotter) room so I LOVE IT and you get deeper into poses. The only problem is it is expensive and hard to get yourself to go into a crazy hot room for 90 minutes, but if you can get there you will feel good after.

I tend to set all these goals and never follow through with anything which is why this blog is beneficial to me because I can pledge these goals here and feel like a failure if I do not follow through. Now I am trying to find my way in the world of exercise. I love dance so I am debating purchasing the following DVDs. Please let me know if you have tried/heard of anything about them to help me narrow down my choices.

Graceful:
Patricia Moreno's Yoga Dance Fusion
New York City Ballet (Two Workouts)
Balocity: Cardio with a Classic Twist
10 Minute Solution Pilates Perfect Body
AM Yoga for Your Week with Rodney Yee

Ass Kicking:
Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred
Results: 10 Days to a Better Body
The Firm: The 500 Calorie Workout
10 Minute Solution: Knockout Body! Kit
Kelly Coffey's 30 Min. to Fitness: Bootcamp

So I will find my inner exercise lover by changing up my routines. I need to make sure I do not stick to one type of excercise because this is when I fall into a slump, quit working for a year, hate myself, start back up. Time to take a step back, BREATHE, and figure out a brand new routine for after my race (about 3 weeks away)!

Scatterbrain...

Workouts of the Week
Sunday- 15 min of Wii Boxing (intense I swear)
Monday- 30 min of CORE Rythem DVD that worked my rib cage more than anything else
Tuesday- Ran 4 miles
Wednesday- 60 min on elliptical (Cardio Preset/ Level 4)
Thursday- Running 3 today and doing some "strength" maybe arms and butt and a lil abs? My legs are sore for some reason...
Friday- R.E.S.T.
Sat- Run 6 miles so far the longest run of my 7.5 miler training but I accidentally did 5.6 miles instead of 5 last Sat so im not scurrred

More Money Spending
Victorias Secret has stolen $105 from me, but in return I got 3 bathing suit tops, 1 bathing suit bottom, a button up polo dress, and some pants that can be worn to work or out! Not too shabby...

Price Worthy Product
This product makes my hair feel/look so healthy. Even after blow drying it almost every day and getting highlights!

Movie and Book Review
Movie: Last night I watched House Bunny. It is quite funny and ends with a good message. You must be sexy but also smart to get boys. I also learned that the sentence "I want to be your girlfriend more than a proton wants an electron" is not cute/funny and probably should not be used again. Grade: B+

Book: I know I am cheating because I have not finished/gotten half way through this book, but Paint It Black by Janet Fitch is VERY good so far. Grabs your attention immediatly. Stay tuned for the final grade. It is tough to read before bed because the theme is rather depressing and I would rather have happy dreams if possible, so this one might take a while to finish.

Finally, I would like to address the gigantic crowd of over caffinated teens outside my office window. Yes, I understand that you are auditioning for So You Think You Can Dance? Yes, I know the weather is terrible in May and you are stuck outside hoping for your ticket to Vegas. No, I do not see the need to scream ever 7 minutes SO LOUD that I can hear you very clearly 2 blocks away 20+ floors up!

Sorry for being all over the place today! I hope there was a little something for everyone in there :-P Happy Thirsty Thursday (even though I can't remember the last time I actually celebrated this "holiday")... ugh so lame

Thank You

Thanks to my followers for joining my newbie blog...

Thanks to those that leave comments... I love coming back to check them out.

And thanks to my LEGS (note the improvement since my earlier Reflection) for taking me 4.4 miles in in 38 min 06 sec (a 9.05 mile/min pace) !

Finally, thank you to my credit card for buying me this and these (but in gold) and this (but from T.J. Maxx for $150 softest leather ever and it has a lepord interior lining )!!

Water, Water Everywhere

Happy Hump Day! Halfway through the week is quite a milestone. But on a more serious note:


I have been dehydrated since forever. I hate water. About a month ago my body lashed out on me because I never hydrate it. This has been the third incident in my life that has resulted from dehydration. My body was dry, zero water and only drinking coffee will do that to a person. My digestive system stopped working and I gained significant weight. I began feeling nauseous whenever I ate.

SO anyway, this began to get in the way of my daily activities. I also felt gross because my body was looking more balloon like each day. When I went to the doctor's a month ago they put that scope thing they listen to your heart with on my stomach. They could hear nothing. My body had quit on me. I had to take they next day off of work after x-rays showed that my situation was much worse than expected. Treatments made me feel sick, but now a month later I am beginning to do better. Or so I thought.


I go to run my silly 2 miles yesterday (which I did in 17 min 30 sec) but I went slower than last week and it felt harder. At first I thought it was that my legs were tired from wearing my extra tall extra fab. heels over the weekend, but then I realized that weird feeling was thirst. All the alcohol on the weekends dehydrates me and I dont sleep because I go out. Then I am tired and chug large amounts of coffee (dehydrating more). ENDLESS CYCLE. FAIL.


So between 6 and 11 PM I drank 5 water bottles. Still do not feel hydrated, but I just need to make sure I am conciously drinking at least 5-6 bottles a day. Good luck to me...


On a more positive note, I am going to try swimming today (bathing suit is packed and everything). I hear 20 laps is good so I am thinking I will do the pool intervals 4-5 times and then hopefully tread some water. But first I will be going to the thrifty T.J. Maxx to continue my never ending quest for style without bankruptcy.



Coming up:
Thursday- Weekly Workout Overview
Friday- Payday Picks

Pool Intervals

Today I am scheduled to run 2 miles. I am 4 weeks into training for the 7.5 Mile run and it is a rest week. Yesterday I was exhausted so I did a half a$$ attempt of Lean Legz in my apartment (using water bottles, pillows and chairs instead of weights, physio balls and steps). Since tomorrow should be cross training, I decided to save swimming for then. So all I have today is a measly 2 miles, but I am excited to try swimming out tomorrow.

SWIM

Swim the first lap VERY comfortably

Swim the second one 3 seconds faster

Swim the third another 3 seconds faster

Swim the fourth still another 3 faster

Swim the fifth 12 seconds faster than the first

Rest almost a minute before repeating.

Do 3 times.

I wish there was a waterproof Ipod and headphone I could wear...

Mix it up

Good Afternoon Bloggers.

This was a pretty good weekend. Margaritas, friends, thunderstorms by my new gigantic window! Mother's Day ended up being fun too. I went home and suprised my mom. She was not expecting me and I showed up with flowers. Some advice for the next generous daughter who would like to show up and suprise their mom:

1) Find out her plans for the day (because she may be taking a loong walk all afternoon with her friends and not be home when you get there)

2) Make sure you have planned how to get home (because if you live in the city and use trains they may have cut back and that 7:30 PM train home may no longer exist resulting in your poor mother having to take you back to the city)

3) Know the right people (because you may just be able to get a HUGE flower arrangement for $6 with the VIP discounts!)

Now that the weekend is over... It is time to figure out my workouts for the week.
Today I plan on swimming laps. It works your whole body and if you get bored you can switch strokes or see how long you can tread water.

Great plan since today I shoudl be "stretching and stengthening" for my 7.5 Miler training and I would not want to injure any joints running on an "off" day. Hopefully I will get to do my Lean Legz workout too!

P.S. DWTS tonight. Go Melissa!

This Week's Workout Overview

Fitness magazine had me take this quiz to find what workout is right for me. The results? and Indo Board. Unsure of what that is? Take a look below:
http://www.indoboard.com/pages/index.php?page_id=training_indoflo_exercises

Clearly Fitness Mag does not care that I have minimal coordination skills and cannot balance when walking on the sidewalk, nevermind this flat board on a tube thing they call a workout.

Since it does not look like I am in the mood to get a replacement hip just yet, I will stay away from the Indo Board and fill you in on what I have actually been doing for workouts this week.

Monday- Walk on an incline for 30 min./Bike for 10 min./Run a mile (to yoga)/Take Yogaburn (60 min)/Run a mile home

Tuesday- Run 3 miles (26 min 15 sec)/ Walk for 20 min./ Left side plank, Right side plank, Front plank (3 sets of 30 sec. each)/ 30 push ups (in a row)

Wednesday- Elliptical 30 min. (interval setting)/ 30 push ups (in a row)/ 60 sec. plank

Thursday- Today I am running 2 miles and then doing my lean legz workout!

Friday- Meeting up with Julie after work to get some gym education from a Certified Personal Trainer pal

Sat- 4 Miles

Sun- REST!! YAY!

Please go check out Mrs. Newlywed's Giveaway! http://misadventuresofanewlywed.blogspot.com/2009/05/basically-im-jealous-of-my-own-giveaway.html

Rundown Routine

Good Morning Everyone!

I did it. I ran my 2 miles yesterday and woke up at 5:30 AM to do my "Rundown Routine" written for me by my favorite C.P.T Julie. I realized yesterday after my post that I never put up my Friday morning portion of my plan. Below you will find this quick, but effective workout (I do it in the morning because you may draw alot of attention to yourself if you do it when the gym is crowded...)

Run for 6 Minutes
Do 20 Squats

Run for 5 Minutes (Increase Speed)
Do 20 Squants
Do 15 Mountain Climbers

Run for 4 Minutes (Increase Speed)
Do 20 Squats
Do 15 Mountain Climbers
Do 10 Push-Ups

Run for 3 Minutes (Increase Speed)
Do 20 Squats
Do 15 Mountain Climbers
Do 10 Push-Ups
Do 5 Up-Downs

Run for 2 Minutes (Increase Speed)
Do 20 Squats
Do 15 Mountain Climbers
Do 10 Push-Ups
Do 5 Up-Downs
Do a 30 sec. Plank

SPRINT for 1 Minute
Stretch

Enjoy :-)

Workout News!

So I am sure you know by now that the Swine Flu Pandemic is official. People say that exercise will lower our chances of getting it (new motivation for me to stick with my program).

Program Update:

Monday- I only did half my workout... Overslept

Tuesday- I planned my run to be to the pharmacy, pick up my prescription, and back home (2 miles) I get to the pharmacy and guess what! The credit card I brought was expired. I had to run back home, back to the pharmacy, and back home... DOUBLED my workout (4 miles)

Wednesday- I did my entire Lean Legz program and added a couple abs and arms moves :-)

Thursday- Today I am scheduled for another 2 miler so I am running to the Boston Commons and walking back up Newbury to shop (and ignore all those looks because I didn't dress up to go in their stores)

Friday- Tomorrow I will ( I will I will I will) wake up early to do my "Rundown Routine". I probably would have put my alarm on snooze 70 times and had a repeat of Monday, but I outsmarted myself and have officially promised in writing that I WILL wake up early!

Weekend... Not making any promises, but I will try to get in another 2 miles...

Olga

Charles River Run Training

As I begin to train for the Boston Charles River Run (7.5 Miles), I thought I would share my training schedule:

Courtesy of: http://www.halhigdon.com/15Ktraining/15Knovsch.htm

On "Stretch and Strengthen" and "Strength" days, I will follow a program written for me by my C.P.T. friend Julie.

Group 1 (do 3 times)
Side lunge – curtsy squat (x12 each side)
Step up with Knee raise (x12 each leg)
Overhead squat (x12)

Group 2 (do 3 times on each leg)
Lying on side, bent knee raises ( x25), bent knee raise and kick (x15)

Group 3 (do 3 times)
Physio Ball Adductor Squeeze (x25 sec), then raise (x 15)
Physio Ball Bridge (x15)
Physio Ball Roll Out (x 15)

Group 4 (do 3 times)
Jump Squat (x12)
Side plank with top leg raise* x 10 (each side)

*I cannot do these so I skip them. Feel free to do the same.

Good luck to me following through with this program. I fully intend to skip the Sunday Cross Training too (I need at least 2 days off a week), but if you don't need the time off enjoy the workout! Let me know if you like it.

P.S. I will be getting my Nike+Ipod device in the mail soon so my training will be logged and linked off of my blog.