If you think you've done enough, do just a little bit more

Apparently that's what I like to do, after running a nice 5 miler yesterday with a dear friend, and then letting her talk me into running up a particularly steep hill, twice, just for kicks.  Kicks in the tookus.  And then, deciding I needed to lift, doing a powerful lower body set followed by 80 squats, and some abs for good measure.  Enough already, right?  Guess not.  When the husband got home later in the evening, he suggested the three of us go for a walk after dinner.  So we did.  Our walk turned into a trail run with the little guy who kept begging me to "run, Mama, run!"  How can I say no to that?  So, I probably tacked on another 2 miles running around with him, plus the walk back to our house.  Was I pooped last night?  A bit.  Was I sore this morning?  You betcha.  And it hurts sooooo good.

I've found that the times I see (er, feel) the most results shortly following a workout are when I've pushed myself beyond what I planned to do, or beyond what felt like enough.  How do we ever really know what IS enough?  In my opinion, you've gotta listen to your body.  If something hurts or feels off, it's probably a good idea to stop when you planned to stop.  But, if you're just feeling tired, 95% of the time your body can take more, so give it a little more and see what it does for you.  See you how feel the next morning.  See how you LOOK the next morning - you just might like what you see in the mirror.

Enough ISN'T always enough.  Push yourself and you'll be surprised at just how far you can go.

Scheduling time for exercise

My life is about to get a whole lot busier, at least for the next 9 weeks.  I've taken on a part time freelance gig that I honestly couldn't be more excited about...I'm over the moon with anticipation and glee and the thought of getting some precious office time and meaningful conversation with other adults, not to mention a chance to utilize my skills and talents outside of the child rearing realm.  Call me crazy, but I am SUPER excited at the prospect of going to work.

That being said, I just spent the last hour trying to put together a workout schedule for the next 9 weeks.  I'm on the verge of hitting "print", knowing that the schedule will likely change a gazillion times, but I'm the kind of person where if I don't have something scheduled on the calendar, it's not going to happen.  And not running or working out is just not an option.

So, over the course of the next 8 weeks (I decided the last week in May would be a good, solid time to end my schedule, rather then venturing into June), I will be running 3 times a week: on Mondays, I will alternate between a tempo run and a "fun run", where I intersperse things like pushups, mountain climbers, planks, lunges, etc. along the way.  On Wednesdays I will be running trails (woo-hoo!) and Saturdays will be my long run days.  I am also going to attempt a Pilates workout at home on Wednesday evenings.  Tuesdays and Thursdays will be Zumba and strength training, alternating between upper/arms and lower/abs.  On Fridays I will work on my yoga home practice and do the 20/20 workout or another HIIT type workout, and on Sundays I will do Pilates.  Sounds ambitious while working 20 hours a week and taking care of a 3 year old full time, no?  Well, ambitious I am.  And somehow, I will make it work.  It's just that important to me.

I would love to get advice and thoughts from those of you who juggle employment/parenthood/exercise on what has and hasn't worked for you.  I know I will have to be flexible, but I also know that exercise is a top priority.  So, how have YOU made it work?

Running trails in a skirt

There's something I like about running trails in a skirt.  Maybe it's the juxtaposition between rough and rugged and flirty and feminine.  Maybe it's feeling light on my toes as I leap over roots and branches, my skirt flapping in the breeze.  Maybe it's the surge of power that I get, knowing that beneath my girly purple skirt is a pair of strong legs capable of climbing the hills at a fast clip.  I didn't intend to run trails when I put on my running skirt the other day, but I traded the pavement for the path about 3/4 into my run and never looked back.

I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a girly girl, though I did go through the Laura Ashley phase many years back (c'mon, who didn't?)  Growing up I was more of a tomboy.  I played in the woods, had lizards for pets and chose softball over cheerleading.  I was never really into Barbies or princesses.  Instead, my heroes were Dale Murphy and Mary Lou Retton.  I could shoot a gun, hit a target and catch a fish.  I played a mean game of badminton and caught frogs in the back yard.

Don't get me wrong, I adore the color pink.  I could dance all night long.  I devour love stories like chocolate, and designer makeup is my guilty pleasure.  But sit me in a kayak or take me to a trail and I will feel right at home.  The sky will always be my roof and the dirt will always be my carpet.  I would happily give up TV forever in exchange for a cottage on the water.  I may wear a skirt when I run, but peek under my manicured toenails and you'll likely find some dirt.  That's just the way I like it.

Trimming the fat, and my journey (gulp) in photos

Last night I got some fabulous news: I've lost 1.4% body fat since January.  I have a big green Post-It on my bulletin board that shows my weight and body fat percentage for every 3 months, beginning with January 3, 2011, which is when I got really, really serious about making a lifestyle change.  In one year and almost 3 months, I've lost a total of 5.1% body fat, which may not sound like a lot but is actually quite significant.

And, if you look at this chart from the American Council on Exercise (ACE), it shows that I've jumped from the "Average" category to the "Athletes" category. ARE YOU EVEN KIDDING ME?!"  It is SO unbelievably surreal to type that.  Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I'd ever be associated with the word "athlete" in ANY capacity whatsoever.  It's just SO bizarre and nutso, but in a very, very good way.

I was so astonished after seeing this chart that I Googled "body fat percentage women" and "body fat percentage women athletes" and came across this little ditty on www.livestrong.com: "If you are interested in fine-tuning your body composition for fitness or athletic purposes, your perfect range is different from the normal range. For a female that is looking toward fitness, 21 to 24 percent body fat is ideal. If a female is looking to be as athletic as possible, 14 to 20 percent body fat is perfect."  Did I just read the word "perfect"?  I MUST be dreaming.

This amazing, awe-inspiring discovery aside, I still have a long way to go on my journey.  My journey isn't all about looking good in a bikini, it's about becoming strong, having lots of energy and setting myself up to avoid health issues in my later years.  Let's face it...those later years will be here before we know it.  I want to become a better, faster, more efficient runner.  I want to have the energy to keep up with my son who never stops moving unless he's asleep.  I want to walk into a store and buy clothes based on what I like, not based on what might cover my problem areas.  I want to feel confident in my own skin.  Is that too much to ask??  I think not - it just takes a lot of work.  For me, it takes 6 days a week of intense exercise, and I usually take a walk or do some type of active recovery on my rest day.  Are the results worth the effort?  Abso-freakin-lutely.

I was looking through some old pictures the other day, and came upon a few that made me cringe.  Much as I hesitate to post unflattering pics of myself, these are a testament to how far I've come in my journey to be fit, and a good personal motivator to continue on that journey towards my goals.  The first picture I'm sharing with you was taken just days before I became pregnant with my son, because in my mind, everything prior to that is a different chapter in my life.  Hell, it's a whole different book.  I hope that you'll continue on my journey with me, and be my cheerleader along the way, because sometimes it takes a village to build a strong mama.  Say the word and I'll do the same for you.  So come with me!  We got this.

7/26/08 - Just before I became pregnant with my son

5/15/09 - He was just 1 month and 12 days old

8/31/09 - Almost 5 months after giving birth to this lil' cutie.  I made good use of that jogging stroller the summer & fall after he was born!

4/13/10 - Was pretty psyched to fit into those shorts again

7/25/10 - This pic looks like a Cosmo magazine "don't"!  My weight used to fluctuate so much.

11/9/10 - Lost a bit of weight & bought these new jeans

4/24/11 - Had trained for a half marathon Jan-Mar, and drastically changed my eating habits in March.  Donated the new jeans I bought in the fall to Goodwill & was able to buy a size smaller in these shorts!

8/9/11- Hadn't fit into this dress since 2006.  It used to be form fitting but it's baggy on me now.

9/3/11 - Zooma half marathon training kickoff!

11/2/11 - 9 or 10 weeks into training

2/15/12 - 1 month out from the Publix Georgia Half Marathon

3/28/12 - 10 days after the half marathon & feeling confident enough to actually take a pic like this! 

My goal.  Slowly but surely, I'm getting there!

Shaking it up!

With my latest half marathon behind me, and my next one (ahem) 5 months away, I am ready to shake up my workout routine a bit - okay, a lot - and see what kinds of results I can get.  I've learned that the best way to move past a plateau or see a change in myself is to change what I do.  So, I plan to do a little experimenting and hopefully have lots of fun, sweat and laughs (not necessarily at my expense) along the way.

Right now, my weekly routine looks something like this:
Monday - yoga / run
Tuesday - Zumba
Wednesday - strength / run
Thursday - Zumba
Friday - strength
Saturday - long run
Sunday - rest (usually involves a walk; sometimes I do my long run on Sunday & rest/walk on Saturday.)

My strength workouts consist of Cybex machines, free weights, squats, lunges (sometimes), and a core routine that varies but usually includes some combination of planks, crunches, situps and the medicine ball.

I don't want to give up yoga and I don't want to give up Zumba.  I can give up some of the miles in my running, but I don't want to lose too much momentum and have to start at square one for half marathon training.  I'm thinking about perhaps incorporating an interval type workout into one of my weekly runs, where at various "stations" I'd stop to do pushups, mountain climbers, burpees, planks, etc.  That fun routine always incites lots of comments and looks of sheer horror from joggers and walkers along the route.  I could also turn one of my weekly runs into a trail run; in fact, one of my fitness goals for the year is to spend more time in the woods, and honestly, trail running uses some different muscles (not to mention mental agility!) that road running doesn't, so I'd likely see some results from it.

What I REALLY want to explore is HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), like the Tabata method, CrossFit, Blast 900, etc.  I keep hearing and reading that interval training involving fast, powerful bursts of energy with very brief recovery periods is the golden ticket to burning fat.  I am also dying to try TRX at the Y and Barre Sculpt at Dance Stop to see if I can gain more definition in my muscles. Oh, and Piloxing...I almost forgot how much I loved the trial class I did late last year!  A pilates/kickboxing combo?  Does it get any better than that??

If time and money were no object, I'd join all the local studios and take classes every day.  Fortunately, there are free trial classes available for most everything, and even more fortunately, I have the Hot Mama's Definitive Guide to High Powered, Fat Burning, Muscle Sculpting Workouts from my friend Stacey.  (The title is my brainchild - you can thank me later, Stace.) Time to print those pages out, maybe invest in a Gymboss & hit the gym! 

Seriously, though, it's high time for me to get creative and put together a new weekly routine that will have me ready for pool season in approximately 2 months.  Any suggestions or advice you may have, bring it - I love to learn from the best.  Happy HIIT-ing!

Making time for exercise

I am getting ready to run for the first time since my half marathon 6 days ago.  I promised myself a week of rest, and though I was on the verge of breaking that promise several times this week, I decided against it due to the insane amounts of pollen we've had.  Thankfully the rains came and finally washed most of it away!

This past week, with no running and very little other exercising on my agenda, I found myself spending lots of time doing the one thing that I tend to give up to make time for running and exercising - cleaning.  This week I have vacuumed, mopped, dusted, scrubbed, polished, washed, dried and organized 'til my hands are callused.  Unfortunately, with a husband, a small child and two cats in the house, the lovely luster won't last long, but I feel like I've given my best at a thorough Spring cleaning.

We don't live in squalor or anything like that, and I do tend to pick up and clean up in small amounts as I go.  If you came to my house on any given day, you may not even notice that the kitchen table could use a wiping or the hardwoods have leaky sippy cup stains.  But, do you really expect my house to be spotless all the time?  Truthfully, when I go to someone else's house who has a family, I am secretly relieved to see that it's not in tip-top shape.  Seeing a rogue stuffed animal tucked into the couch or a sprinkling of dust on a lampshade makes me feel better about my own less-than-perfect home, because it's REAL.  And, it helps me remember that there is no such thing as a Supermom; we're all just doing the best that we can.

In all honesty, giving up cleaning to make time for exercise makes me a BETTER mom and wife.  I'm more energetic, more patient and more happy.  Hail to the dust bunnies, I say! 

 I'm curious - what do you give up to make time for exercise in your busy life? 

Why running a half marathon is like having a baby (minus the morphine)

I had an "oh God, no" moment of panic when I was training for my first half marathon last year.  I had gotten up to about 7 or 8 miles in my training, and I was starving all the time.  I was also tired a lot, and going to bed at 9 and 10:00, and I thought I was a little bit more emotional than normal (that may have just been in my head.)  So, the novice half marathoner that I was, I figured I must be pregnant.  That thought sent waves of panic and anxiety through my nervous system (which was very, very nervous, mind you,) because I certainly wasn't TRYING to get pregnant; I'm not even sure I want another child.  I took a pregnancy test, wished with all my might that no double line would appear, and I got my wish.  PHEW!  Decidedly NOT PREGNANT.  I still wondered what the heck was wrong with me!  Turns out, as all you distance runners know, I had merely reached the point where I was expending so many calories during my long runs that I simply needed to up my intake of calories throughout the day.  In layman's terms, I needed to EAT MORE.  Lots more.  It was after this discovery that I started noticing the parallels between training for a half marathon and being pregnant; and after the race, I marveled at how much the whole process was not entirely unlike giving birth.  Not yet convinced?  Read on.

The Countdown: What's one of the first things you do when you find out that you're pregnant?  You determine the due date and start counting weeks.  After registering for a big race (gulp), you put it on your calendar and create or find a training plan.  Just like you are "12 weeks pregnant", you are "8 weeks into your plan".  There's a lot of glancing at the calendar, counting backwards and counting forwards involved in both, and a big fat star or smiley face or whatever you prefer on your calendar marking the DUE DATE or the RACE.

The Insatiable Appetite: Shortly after becoming pregnant, and most especially during those first 3 months, you find yourself raiding the fridge and stashing snacks in your bag before you leave the house. Same thing with distance training.  I filled a gallon sized Ziplock bag with LUNA minis and kept it in my car so when the hunger would strike, I wouldn't be tempted to pull into the nearest drive thru and snarf down french fries and a Coke Zero.  (Oh, come to Mama, you salty, bubbly, perfect-but-not-perfect-for-you snack!)  I took snacks with me EVERYWHERE.  Same thing when I was pregnant.  My Coach purse may as well have been a picnic basket.

The Narcolepsy: Also in those first 3 months, and often in the last month of pregnancy, you tend to walk around like a zombie because you just can't get enough sleep.  The baby is sucking all your energy and all you want to do is lay your head down on your desk and take a snoozer right in the middle of the workday.  (Um, I may have, ahem, done this on occasion when I was pregnant and working.  Thank goodness for an office door I could close.)  This happens sometimes in training, as well.  Those runs and workouts take a lot out of you, and though they may leave you feeling extra energized and perky immediately afterwards, at some point they are going to catch up with you and send a message to your body that says "I MUST REST."  It's usually during the most inconvenient times, like on a Saturday afternoon following a long morning run, when your body wants to hit the hay and you have grocery shopping/cleaning/laundry/cooking/taking care of child type things to do.

The Wardrobe: A sometimes fun, sometimes not perk of pregnancy is the necessity of buying a whole new wardrobe.  Maternity clothes - you gotta have 'em.  Thankfully these days, maternity clothes don't look like the tents that our mothers wore back when they were pregnant with us.  You can show off your baby bump and the rest of your curves in style, thanks to my personal favorite, Gap Maternity, among others.  Just for kicks, check out the pic to the left - this is me, just over a month before I gave birth to the lil' guy, dressed in Gap Maternity, of course.  Holy bajeesus, I was huge!  I discovered when I began training for my first half marathon that I, too, required an entirely new wardrobe of running clothes.  Okay, that may be just the TEENSIEST bit inaccurate; I MIGHT have squeezed by with the two or three pieces I already had, but if you're gonna spend that much time running and you don't want to do laundry every single day, nor have your running partners see you in the same pair of tempo track shorts and tank at every single group run (the horror!), then you have to fork out some dough on new technical gear.  I swear to you, shopping for running clothes is 10 times more thrilling to me than shopping for any other type of clothes.  Seriously.  The brighter, the better.

Last summer I even purchased a running skirt, the likes of which I had previously scoffed at, until I found this one on sale, tried it on, and did a little dance around the fitting room.  I was oh so pleasantly surprised with how it made my lower half look.  I was even more pleasantly surprised at how it felt when I was actually running - no riding up, no worries!  (Does this skirt make me look fast?)


The Temple: And by that I mean, the body.  I'd get a little weirded out whenever people joked that my body was a "sacred vessel" when I was pregnant, but in a way, it's true.  I mean, you are carrying around a living human being in your tummy, so you have to take pretty darn good care of your body if you have any hope of that living human being turning out okay.  You (usually) pay close attention to what you eat, your doctor monitors your weight gain, you keep track of the baby's developmental progress and you feel the changes that occur in your own body along the way.  At times, your body HURTS.  Same, for the most part, goes for half marathon training.  You may not be carrying around another life form in your gut, but you have to nurture, protect and prepare your body just the same.  Your body changes over the course of the training; at least mine did.  Both times.  I also discovered that it's not unusual to actually GAIN weight when nearing race day because you are consuming so much food!  (Don't worry, you will sweat it all out during the actual race.  And then some.)  Also, your body hurts.  You discover aches and pains in places you never knew COULD produce aches and pains, but you just keep focusing on that D-Day (or, R-Day), your light at the end of the tunnel.

The Rituals: Pregnant women have some strange rituals that we do while pregnant, that we'd not be caught dead doing when we're not.  Like sleeping with a pillow the length of another person between our legs.  Eating strange food combinations (though I never personally experienced that one).  Treating ourselves to a Chick-Fil-A chicken biscuit after every single OB/GYN appointment because A. it was across the street, and B. it was a reward for making it through yet ANOTHER hassle of an appointment or for seeing the little guy's cute button nosed profile on the ultrasound.  Okay, maybe that last one was just me.  Runners have rituals, too.  We eat weird stuff like little squares that have the consistency of a gummy bear (LOVE my blueberry pomegranate Gu Chomps) and pour gooey flavored liquids, aptly named Gu Energy Gel, down our throats, all in the name of energy and electrolytes. 

Some of us have adopted a rather odd ritual that I believe has saved me and my tight muscles many, many times - the ice bath.  A funny story: so many times I've been faced with the conundrum of what to do first when I get home from a long run - eat, or take an ice bath?  While I'm sitting in the bath I often dream of having a big, steaming hot platter of food in front of me...no, seriously.  It's more like a mirage, like seeing a pond in the middle of the dessert.  A few weeks ago after a particularly strenuous 11 miler, when I remembered 3/4 of the way into it that I had forgotten to eat lunch, I was so discombobulated when I got home that I literally could not decide what to do first.  So, I made a sandwich and cracked a hard boiled egg, and ate my entirely too late lunch WHILE I WAS SITTING IN THE ICE BATH.  It was like a distance runner's dream come true.  Also, I never noticed until now just how eerily corpse-like my feet with blue nail polish look in this photo.

The Big Day: I find myself most amused at the similarities between the days/hours leading up to the birth of a child, and those leading up to a race.  There are nerves.  There are doubts.  There are thoughts of "Fortheloveofgod, why did I sign up for this?!"  For me, there are little calming and relaxing rituals I perform the day before like deep breathing, meditating and even a little praying.  I had a scheduled C-section so I knew exactly when it was going to happen and I could mentally prepare, much like I do for a race.  During the race itself, you go through physical and mental trials and pain, highs and lows, suffering and bliss, much like (I assume) you do during labor.  At the end, you've given birth to a huge personal accomplishment, and sometimes, even, a PR.  You wear that medal proudly around your neck and you are equally exhausted and exhilarated, just like after delivering a baby.  Okay, maybe not JUST like it, but work with me here.  Both things are a pretty big freakin' deal and you're pretty freakin' worn slap out after it's over.

The Recovery:  Once you arrive home from the hospital, you have to treat your body very gingerly over the next few weeks (or months.)  For me, after a C-section, I had to avoid stairs as much as possible in the first few days.  I avoid stairs as much as possible in the days following a half marathon too.  After my child was born I had to nurse my body back to its normal functioning state.  I had to go slow.  Parts hurt and parts just didn't feel right.  Same after a big race.  Right now not only are my calves sore, but my back and shoulders feel like I just competed in a heavyweight lifting competition.  Not sure what's up with that, but it comes with the territory, I suppose.  In any case, I'm giving myself a full week to recover before I hit the pavement again.  (I think.  This amazing 80 degree sunshiny, humidity free weather has me itching to lace up my Ghost 4s again.)

So there you have it, folks.  Still not convinced?  Well, my childless running friends, I'm not gonna tell you to go off and have a kid, but I will gladly encourage my mommy running friends to sign up for a distance race that's outside of your comfort zone and see how it feels.  The similarities are striking, really.  Now, I'm gonna go hang my finisher's medal around my little guy's neck and give them both a big squeeze, because I'm pretty darn proud to have given birth to both of them.  Pain and all.