Cursing the Fitness Ball

Back in August the husband and I had a garage sale to make an attempt to clear out some of the clutter.  In the sale pile was my fitness ball that I hadn’t used in ages and couldn’t figure out how to pump up.  I sold my fitness ball that day for a whopping $0.50 along with a set of wine charms to a couple who assumed the wine charms were jewellery and not for alcoholic beverages (since they asked me what the heck they were after they paid me for them).  I’ll be honest, I’m kind of sad that ball is gone now even though it was flatter than heck.

I really want to incorporate strength training on a regular basis as I get back to things.  In fact, strength training is taking the place of where I probably would have fit swimming in.  I have a membership to the gym in the basement of my office and they have a 45 minute 6:30 am strength class on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I have been to three classes so far and it has been a different instructor every time.  This Tuesday the regular instructor was back to teaching.

She has this signature workout that involves using a stability ball.

image via duraBall

You start off nice and easy, sitting on the ball.  Then you start bouncing on the ball.  Bounce, stand up.  Bounce, stand up.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  Fast.  15 seconds in and my legs are on fire.  Where has all of my leg strength gone?  This bouncing – reverse squat routine goes on for the entire duration of a Lady Gaga song.  The instructor is grinning and bouncing on her ball and I just want to sit on my ball and whimper.  I left class feeling a little dejected, like I hadn’t given my workout my all because of this whole bouncy ball routine.

I have made it my goal to get this.  I know this is good for me!  And given that if I reach any kind of uphill on a run outside and my legs just die I know I need to get my leg strength back.  Between regular strength training classes and getting back on the bike I’ll get there.

Oh, and speaking of this running/spinning/strength training plan thing I’m working on, I decided to check out Training Peaks for the first time.  I lost my entire online log when the Buckeye Outdoors server went down sometime in the past year so it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to try a new log out now.  Did you know that you can a 3 month premium membership via Trinero for $24 ($49 value) right now?  There is a freebie option for Training Peaks, but I thought this would be a good opportunity to see what going premium gets you.  As for what this training plan is or is for…you’ll just have to wait for that one!

Working the kinks out

Monday I was sore... My legs were screaming at me, not as I went down stairs, but as I went up stairs. I'm guessing this was from my hilly run on Saturday and my hilly ride on Sunday. I normally don't run on Monday, but because I was meeting a friend for lunch today, then hanging out with my niece tonight I needed to squeeze my run over Monday's lunch. I figured this would be a perfect "shake the lactic acid out of the muscles" type of run. I knew it wasn't going to be pretty but I got out there. And yeah, my legs were a bit tired but the run went well. Last night was also my last Fit Ball session (I'm switching over to BBC next week) and Instructor S worked us hard. They were all simple exercises - push ups, tricep extensions, bicep curls, squats, plank work...but every exercise was to do as many reps as you could in 1.5 minutes. That's a long time to be doing multiple reps, especially when your legs are screaming at you. It was a good workout. I took today as a bit of a rest day thanks to my busy schedule. Tomorrow I have running (up to 5 miles) and maybe biking to work (but I haven't decided). Thursday is a rest/travel day, and Friday I want to get 3 or 4 miles done in Vancouver. We'll see how it goes!

Innovation

I'm trying to keep on top of working out and being active, especially given that I'm getting my wisdom teeth out on Thursday and I anticipate that it will put me out of commission for a few days. Sunday I took Finlay out to Nose Hill Park for a nice hour and a half walk. I hadn't been out to Nose Hill before and is a pretty popular spot to take your dog to. He had a pretty good time enjoying the sunshine and meeting some other pups and the walk was a good workout for me too. Yesterday was a holiday for some folks in Canada - not for me at work - but it was for the community centre where we have our Fit Ball classes. There was no Fit Ball and at first I was going to run with Instructor S but she started to not feel well as the day went on so she bailed on running. I went home and was almost about to couch potato it for the night but I realized I would feel guilty if I didn't do something. I brought my weights up from the basement and popped in one of my old "The Firm" workout DVDs for a little total muscle shaping. It was actually a good workout and I have a few sore spots that shows I worked out hard.
This morning I had an appointment so I wasn't heading in to work right away so I took the opportunity to get my run in nice and early. I went for 3.18 mi around the neighborhood and it felt AMAZING. It was a really hilly run but I settled in and kept the pace uphill pretty well and my shins felt great the entire way.

As I was getting my lunch ready today I realized that I found a use for all my Fuel Belt bottles that aren't getting used. They make great containers to take salad dressing in to work. Who knew? I have been reluctant to use my Fuel Belt since on one run my running skirt got caught up in the belt and I proceeded to flash people as I ran down the pathway.

As an aside, you've heard me talk about my dog Finlay (the dog on the left) and I've also written quite a few posts about another pup, Maggie. Maggie is the total trouble maker of a Scottie who eats Halloween candy and then has to be rushed to the emergency vet and she's also the one who used to wake me up EARLY on the weekends all the time. Maggie was never my dog, she actually belongs to my parents. I was an extended babysitter when my folks were living overseas. They have since returned to Canada and they took Maggie back in January so Finlay is back to being an only child. Sadly he seems to have developed her skill at the early morning wake up call.

Off to a better start

This week seems to be off to a better start. I made it to Fit Ball last night for an intense round of push ups, tricep dips, bicep curls, abs and hamstrings. The workout kicked my rear end last night and I was pretty sure I would be hurting today....but I'm not. I feel a bit disappointed! Today I got out for a 3 mi run around the river today over lunch. The weather is supposed to start cooling off so I wanted to make sure I got outside to enjoy it as much as possible. I really tried to concentrate on my stride length but once I hit the one mile point my right shin started to bug me and it gravitated up towards my knee. The bulk of my shin problems have occurred in my pink GT-2210s that have a whopping 165 miles on them. Any other shin pain in different shoes has happened the day after an achy shin run in the pink shoes. From the get go these shoes have not felt as comfortable as my green GT-2110s that have 280 miles on them so I'm starting to wonder if it is a shoe thing. Maybe these babies need to get removed from the rotation. I'll try swapping over to my Kayano's for some mid-week runs downtown to see if it helps the situation at all.

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I'm not one for talking about diet too much on this thing unless I'm telling you about a cupcake contest or some ridiculously good food I made or all of the wine I've been drinking. That's probably because I detest the word diet. It is a four letter word after all. The bad news is I've probably still been eating like I'm training for a marathon...and well...I'm not. I've become a lot better about cooking at home, but I still tend to eat out at lunch and otherwise I'm sure portion sizes are my big downfall. I'm going to try to cut back on some of those lunches out and I will strive to include more fruits and veggies in my day. After my run was done today I was walking behind a fellow carrying a bunch of stuff from Peter's Drive In. This place is an iconic hamburger, fry and milkshake stop here in Calgary. Apparently Hugh Jackman believes this is the source of the best burger in the world. Anyhow....I could smell the fries this guy was carrying and wow....I really wanted fries...badly. Instead I grabbed some salad once I got back to work to have with some leftover pasta from dinner the other night. Probably a better choice. What do you guys do to keep the whole eating thing on track? Suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

1 Step Forward, 2 Steps Back

Last week I was on a roll....this week I ground to a dead halt. Monday was supposed to be Fit Ball. I've been in a course these past three days and the course doesn't finish until 4:30. Of course when you are on a course that is when crises at work happen. Needless to say I didn't get out of the office early enough to rush home and then rush to Fit Ball. It was provincial election day on Monday so I was going to go vote, then go for a run. Except as I was leaving the office I got a frantic call from my bro to help look after my gorgeous niece. How could I say no to that? So I headed over after doing my civic duty and spent some quality time with Avery. We hung out and watched Project Runway and Girlicious (all totally appropriate shows for child development), noshed on pizza and played.

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Tuesday...well, there was no run over lunch because said crises still weren't solved, plus we don't get a long enough lunch break to fit in a run even if I weren't fighting fires. When I left the office I wasn't really up for running, all I wanted to do was unwind. My solution was a little retail therapy....does that count for cross training? I attempted to find some totally running inappropriate shoes with no luck but I did walk out with two blazers from Benetton well marked down from a massive sale.

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As for tonight? Well, no running tonight either. Neil and I are off to a local wine store for a port tasting and who is going to want to run after that? Hopefully tomorrow I'll get back at it since my course will be over and I can try to run over lunch...

A return to Fit Ball

Last night Fit Ball started back up for me. I can tell I haven't cross trained in ages as my push ups were terrible and I felt like my abs decided to wander off on their own accord at some point during the workout. It was good to get at it though and it has me excited for more Fit Ball sessions and a return to BBC in April. I also got in a run over lunch today - 3.48 miles around the river. It was absolutely amazing out. For some reason I had opted for a jacket before I went out and within 10 minutes I was boiling. Most of the snow has melted off the pathways and the ice is breaking up over the river. It kinda looks like spring is here, so I'm hoping the two straight weeks of nice weather isn't just a teaser. Also on the plus side - my pace has improved over last week so hopefully I'm getting back to where I was before my hiatus.

Forking over the race fees

On Friday my co-worker Scott stopped by my office to ask if I was signing up for a marathon at noon. I had forgotten that registration for the Calgary Police Half Marathon & 5K went live that day and Scott needed to sign his girlfriend up for the half so he wanted to see if I was in. I guess the half marathon sells out in a day and the 5K in about a week so you need to jump on it pretty quickly. This race had fallen off my radar because I was hoping to be flying out to Orlando that weekend but since I'm not leaving until Wednesday now I am free to race. I've been hoping to find a 5K to hopefully set a PR this year and meet my goal of running a sub 30:00 so this one looks like a good start. I am now officially signed up. I am also officially registered for the St. Patrick's Day 10K and the Go Red for Women 5K, so I am all paid up for races between now and May. And if you really want to look at it I'll be running 4 races in 15 days and hoping for good times (or maybe even PRs) in 3 of those. Does that sound like wishful thinking?

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The Superbowl party was a blast and luckily my bro had the feed with the US commercials so we were able to catch the good ads. Well, some of them were good, some were terrible. Sorry Angry, I didn't like the Under Armour ad. I did really like the Justin Timberlake and the Diet Pepsi Max ad. We chowed down on 7 layer dip, a pork, bacon and black eyed pea chili, cornbread, and a vanilla and chocolate swirl cheesecake with raspberry sauce. One of the gals at the party works for Starbucks so she brought her expresso machine and syrups and was whipping up caramel macchiatos for all of us. I realized in hindsight that New England really wasn't represented at the party well (because the chili was for Arizona...kinda...and the cheesecake was for New York). Oops. It was a fun evening regardless.

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This week I'm heading back to Fit Ball, plus the temperatures look like they'll be half decent on Tuesday and Thursday so I may even be able to get a run or two in. I think I've kicked this bronchitis thing and my feet need to get moving now...

Feeling like a Snuffleupagus

Last night was arms and core at Fit Ball. I know my lower back is weak and needs some improving so this was a great class. Needless to say, I definitely feel the effects of it today. After the class was done a few of us went out for a quick 20 min run - 1.45 miles for me. This morning was a bonus cross training session as we had a fire drill. There is nothing like walking down 30 flights of stairs to kick in the leg muscles a bit! Tonight I have confirmed it with Karen, I'll be meeting up with the Calgary Roadrunners. I'm looking forward to meeting a few more people I can run with here in town since I'm definitely getting into the group running thing more and more. I'm also making plans to run with at least another one to two people over lunch on Thursdays as well. In bad news I seem to have caught this sinus cold thing that is making its way around. Tons of people around here seem to have it. Hopefully it won't take too long to clear up as San Francisco is right around the corner. Advil Cold & Sinus is about to become my new best friend...

How to fit it all in?

This week is going to be an exercise in time management....something I've been lacking over the last couple of weeks. Or maybe just spectacular planning. Last night was circuit day at Fit Ball and Instructor S really worked us hard! At one point during a rest break you could hear the entire room panting and breathing heavy, trying to get the heart rate down before starting up again. A few of us went for a quick 20 min jog after class for a final cardio kick.

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Tonight I'm off to see the Calgary Flames take on the San Jose Sharks with N in preseason action. Our social club at work has 7 pairs of season tickets, and you could put your name into a draw for the chance to purchase a pair of preseason seats. My name was pulled yesterday, so tonight it is chicken fingers, fries, a beer and big, burly men on ice for this gal. I can't wait... With the puck dropping at 7 pm I'm going to have to squeeze a run in over lunch. The goal is 4.5 mi or so. I won't be making it out to meet the Roadrunners...again... One day Karen, I promise...but hockey takes precedence!

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Tomorrow night is yoga again, plus I'm thinking about trying to get midweek run #2 in over lunch as well. That way I can take Thursday as a rest day or go to Stretch and Strengthen yoga... Friday will be 6 miles over lunch (which is a bit long for a lunch time run), then a massage in the evening. Saturday will be 12 miles with the group. I'm juggling my schedule partially so that I can get that 12 mile run in with the group as I know I'd appreciate some company on the long run. I have to put all this down in print so that it helps me commit to getting it done this week. I slacked off a bit last week by only getting two runs in for a grand total of 11 miles. That includes Saturday's race by the way. I think craziness at work caught up with me though, and I definitely needed the break, but this week I am back on the bandwagon.

My first time at Fit Ball

Yay, I made it to Fit Ball this week! Barely... Seriously, my time management skills have gone out the window lately. I made it home in plenty of time, but as soon as I got home my stomach started rumbling and I needed to eat...stat. One of the only things in the house I had around was a package of pop tarts, left over from a serious breakfast craving a few weeks ago. I changed, chowed down on the pop tarts and took off in time to arrive one minute before class started... Fit Ball was a seriously good workout. We did a ton of lunges and some lower back work and lots of abs. I am sure that I will be feeling this tomorrow... I didn't join in for the 20 min post run since I put in some reasonable mileage over the weekend. Tomorrow I'm aiming for 5 or 6 miles, and depending on how my ability to manage time goes, I may try to join the Calgary Roadrunners for their Tuesday night group run.

BBC #15....What next..?

When I left work yesterday I was incredibly tired....in case you couldn't tell. BBC was scheduled for 7:00 at Confederation Park, and tired or not, I was going to be there. Last night was a class focused mostly around work with a stability ball. We warmed up with a quick jog around the park and then got started. Since not everyone had a stability ball we partnered up. While one person was working the ball, the other was doing work on the grass. Each exercise last a minute and was repeated twice. I'm sure I will forget stuff, but here's the rundown:

• Lower back - lie down on the ball, legs slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Keep your upper body straight and even and lift your legs up and down, but don't let the legs lower all the way to the ground.
• Tricep dips on the ball.
• Push ups on the ball.
• Charlie's Angels - lie on the ball, with the ball directly under your shoulders and head. Keep your legs bent at 90 deg angles and keep your hips raised throughout. Raise your arms above your head like you are pointing a gun, a la Charlie's Angels. Rotate shoulders slowly to one side till your arms are parallel with the ground, the quickly shoot back up to centre. Repeat side to side.
• One legged squats with a ball, and also classic squats on the ground.
• Lunges
• Bicep curls
• Tricep extensions with resistance tubing
• Partnered abs on the ball with resistance tubing - your partner holds the middle of the resistance tubing to the ground, you lie with your shoulder on the ball, ends of the tubing at your ears and crunch up.
• Shoulder presses
• Lots of ab work - on the ball and on the ground.

Honestly, I'm drawing a blank as to anything else we might have done, but suffice it to say, it was one amazing workout which I no doubt will be feeling later today (things haven't quite kicked in yet...). For as tired as I was arriving at BBC, the workout totally energized me and I was chipper as all get out arriving at the office at 6 am this morning.

I've been wondering how I'm going to keep myself motivated for some of the kicker cross training workouts I'd like to have happen once BBC is over. Well, Instructor S is running a Fit Ball class on her own on Mondays, starting September 10. I was kicking myself because I had already signed up for yoga Monday nights so Fit Ball would be a no go. This morning I e-mailed the yoga studio and moved to a Wednesday class, and now I'm registered for Monday Fit Ball classes as well. Should be good.... And because Instructor S is amazing, she's holding a final, "make up" session, if you will, next Tuesday night. So I still have two more BBC classes to go.

Tonight I'm meeting up with one of the gals from the running group and we're getting a hill workout in. Apparently the rest of the group is MIA for one reason or another. I'm looking forward to running with someone to push me a bit more on those hills. Should be good times tonight.