Top rung

Move that body: 20 minutes upper body and 20 minutes on the treadmill

This morning, my workout was inspired by the ladder … and the fact that it is pouring rain outside. Thank goodness, too – my tomato plants were in dire need of a good soak.

First up: ARMS!

The exercises: Bicep curl, overhead shoulder press, tricep extension, lateral raise, bent-over row, wide-grip bicep curl, upright row, tricep kickback with a twist at the top.

The weight: 5-pound dumbbells

The plan: Perform reps/sets in a ladder of 8-10-12-10-8. So, for the first set, I completed eight reps of each exercise (no break in between) and then rested for 30 seconds. The second set was 10 reps of each exercise (no break in between) followed by 30 seconds rest. And so on and so on. What I love about ladders is that you can start with as few reps as you want depending on time. You could do the workout with a 6-8-10-12-10-8-6 plan. Heck, you could even do a 2-4-6-8-10-12-10-8-6-4-2. I also like to do the last set with a heavier set of weights.

I was hoping that after my arm workout that I could take out Denali for a walk but the weather was not cooperating. I’ll walk with an umbrella but not when it’s thundering and lightning. So I decided to hop on the treadmill and do a short incline workout.

Time (in minutes)	Speed	Incline
1-2	3.0	2.0*
2-4	3.0	3.0
4-6	3.5	2.0
6-8	3.0	5.0
8-10	3.5	2.0
10-12	3.0	6.0
12-14	3.5	2.0
14-16	3.0	7.0
16-18	3.5	2.0
18-20	3.0	2.0

*2.0 is the lowest incline setting on my treadmill

Switching up the speed and incline – and “Something Borrowed” on audiobook – made the 20 minutes in the basement not so bad. I definitely could have gone longer if I had it in my head that that’s what I wanted to do. Plus, I kept it short in the event the rain stopped. It didn’t.

What did your workout look like today? Would you like to come make me a cup of coffee?

Three Things Thursday: Huzzah!

Move that body: 3.15-mile run (1 walk break 0f 0.25 mile)

I may be a whiny son of a gun but let me tell you something, I know when to count my blessings.

1. Last night, I went over to my friend's house for dinner and a Medela tutorial. Her husband cooked up burgers on the grill (90/10 beef - huzzah!) and H baked potatoes. It was total yum, and I was so glad to have somewhere to eat as Mark had a school obligation last night. Anyway, as we were prepping our burgers, H's husband said, "You must not know what to do now that you're not running." H looked at me and looked at him. "Oh, she's still running." Yep. I am. And I surprised the crap out of him. Huzzah!

2. This morning, I went to the 2-mile mark before opting to take my walk break. Huzzah! I feeling pretty good and thought I could be clever, timing my walk break to avoid a hill in my neighborhood. I wasn't successful on the hill part but it was nice to see that I haven't lost it completely. It's amazing the things we do when we remove self-imposed limits.

3. Who said you can't have "ice cream" for breakfast? Not me! Huzzah! This morning, I made Caitlyn's Coffee Banana Soft Serve for a pre-run snack. It was so yummy and decadent - I can't even tell you. You must make it. Now.

The ingredients:

• 1 banana, frozen
• 1/2 packet Truvia
• 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee

Throw it all in the food processor and let it go until it comes together.

Do you ever eat "dessert" for breakfast? What's your favorite way to enjoy banana soft serve?

Live and learn

Move that body: 2.67-mile walk with Denali

Lesson No. 1: It is not wise to try to wrangle your beast of a dog, water bottle, iPod and camera on a walk. It will not turn out well.

Lesson No. 2: Dropping a camera while it’s on may result in a zoom error that costs more than a new camera to fix.

Lesson No. 3: A touch screen camera like you’re used costs $50 more than the cuter blue camera with the same features (same brand).

Lesson No. 4: Electricity is awesome. Very awesome. As are the things electricity powers – air conditioning, stove, fridge, lights.

Lesson No. 5: When power goes on the fritz, you don’t always have to say “it’s an old house” and cringe as you call an electrician. Sometimes you should call the power company, which is struggling with overloaded circuits because it’s 97 million degrees.

Lesson No. 6: Drinking Diet Coke at 9 p.m. is not smart. It does not make you pee less or make your strange dreams nicer. Nope. It seems to only exploit those joys of pregnancy. Just ask my bladder … and Mark, whom I was physically removing from the house in last night’s scenarios.

Lesson No. 7: There are only two reasons to watch “The Voice.” First, to listen to him:

Nakia, you can serenade me anytime. I don’t care if I’m knocked up and so not your type. Have you heard that I bake the bestest cupcakes ever?

And to look at him:

Blake, you’re included. I don’t care if I’m knocked up and you just got married. Have you heard that I bake the bestest cupcakes ever? And I just got a new blue camera?

On track-ish

I don’t think I’ve been so nervous to get on a scale as I was today.

After getting reprimanded by my doctor for gaining too much weight and giving due diligence to my diet, I knew that the weigh-in at today’s bi-weekly appointment was a big one. And, if it didn’t go well, it could very well set me up to tail spin or fall into a mild tendency to over-restrict.

“It looks like you’ve been maintaining your weight quite well,” the doctor said this afternoon at my bi-weekly appointment.

Well, if you want to get specific, I gained one pound in the past two weeks and that weight was before they let me give my urine sample and after eating Chinese food for dinner last night.

Huzzah!

So it seems the attention on my diet is paying off! Good thing, too, as I would have thrown a full-on tantrum in the office and thrown the scale at the doctor. And just to let you know, it’s an old-school scale and it would hurt. A lot.

What I’m doing

*Logging at MyFitnessPal.com.

*Eating between 1,800 and 2,000 calories a day.

*Skipping sugary desserts. Ice cream is no longer a daily post-dinner expectation but a bi-weekly treat. Also, my afternoon treat has been replaced by fruit.

*Eating more protein-based snacks. Think peanuts, cottage cheese, string cheese and yogurt. BTW, if you put a yogurt in the freezer, it gets kind of icy and feels mildly indulgent.

*Limiting carbs. No more sandwich thins at breakfast and much less pasta. I did pick up some low-carb multigrain tortillas to use for my lunches this week.

*Keeping positive. I’m not in tears anymore, and I’m basking in family compliments that I’m all belly. Also, I’m trying to view this work the way a runner views base-building. I’m getting in some good habits now so that when it comes time to take off the baby weight, I don’t have major things to fix.

What I’m really eating (today)

Breakfast No. 1: 3/4 cup Honey Bunches of Oats with 3/4 cup 1% milk and 1/2 cup blueberries

Breakfast No. 2: Scramble with 1 egg + 3 whites, MorningStar Farms “bacon” and 2% cheddar; and 1 cup strawberries.

Lunch: Veggie wrap from downtown restaurant, 1/3 cup pasta salad and mixed green salad

Snack: Apple

Other snacks packed: Light string cheese, light yogurt and 1 cup frozen cauliflower.  These may or may not get eaten.

Dinner (or so planned): Butterflied chicken breast with pesto, tomato and mozzarella served with low-sugar tomato sauce and Ronzoni SmartTaste penne and broccoli.

Dessert: Banana soft-serve

So there you have it. My points of getting back in good with the doc.

And, while I’m on the topic of pregnancy, runner26 asked about the merits of breast-feeding class. For me, I thought it was good because it saved my breast-feeding friends from nitty-gritty latching on talk and saved a nurse, who would only try to help, from getting punched.

Hawt momma

Move that body: 20 minute weights workout and 30-minute run/walk on the treadmill

I’d like to think I haven’t played the pregnancy card that much when it comes to my workouts – at least in terms of fitting them in. I’m still going out 5, 6 days a week.

But today, when it was 75 degrees at 6 a.m. and the forecast looks like this:

I pulled the pregnancy card. No outdoor run for me. In fact, I think I might institute a 70-degree rule much like the 10-degree rule I had this winter. At least while I’m pregnant.

But, as I was up at 6 and I don’t work till 10, I figured I could … you know … do something.

The other day I was playing around on Hulu and saw that there are workouts available for viewing. I selected the “Self: Bikini Ready, Fast!” because I want to get in bikini shape. Very important at 35 weeks pregnant. Actually, I picked it because it used weights. There was LOTS of shoulder work and there was also some focus on biceps, triceps and back. Oh, and a million plies. I did 20 minutes of the 38-minute routine because my laptop got tired and needed a charge. Really, it did.

Not satisfied with 20 minutes, I opted to head down to the basement for a treadmill run. I started off slow but immediately felt some round ligament pain. I made a quick decision to make the workout more of a run-walk with set intervals than my normal runs outside when the walk intervals are shorter and far between. For the first 10 minutes, I did 2:2; the second 10 minutes, I did 3:2; and for the last 10 minutes, I did 4:2. I wasn’t sure whether to count it as a run but when I added it up, I ran 20 minutes and walked 10. Not too shabby and I felt more than sufficiently sweaty.

And if I needed any validation that I made the right decision, when I took out Denali post-treadmill in just shorts and a sports bra, hot with sweat, there was no relief. The air was hot and thick, and I felt like I walked into a sauna. What happened to the beautiful days of early summer?

How are you switching up workouts with the heat?

Welcome to the Jungle

Well, folks. I did it. I saved my dignity and went out for a run on Saturday while I was visiting family in Cincinnati.

And like any run these days, I was glad that I got out there and did. Of course, it helped that it was one of the best runs I’ve had in a long time.

Mark and I had really good weather considering it was in the 90s later in the day, and we set out for 2.5 miles. Immediately, we were confronted with a steep hill – something I’m not used but also something to expect in Cincinnati. It was difficult, even for Mark, and I was afraid it wouldn’t bode well for the rest of the run. However, it was like we got the tough part out of the way and we were able to just cruise along, going up and down the hills. We ran past a house that my brother has put a bid on, through some neighborhoods, past a Wendy’s and my first elementary. We took one – just ONE – walk break of 0.15 half-way through and finished up at Grandma’s with 3.0 miles on the dot.

Booyah!

Once we returned, my brother suggested visiting one of my fave local spots and then it was off to Krohn Conservatory, dubbed “The Jungle” by my brother and I about, uh, 25 years ago.

 

It was so much fun to do something different. The last time I had been near the conservatory was when I ran past it during last year’s Flying Pig half-marathon. This year, we opted to just walk the hills :)

And while I didn’t manage to get one picture of my shower, I did get a photo of one of the most elusive celebrities in Cincinnati.

In the picture on the left, Grandma was telling Mark that she did not need her picture taken. I’m sure it had everything to do with the fact that she didn’t want people to know how beautiful she is and nothing to do with her shyness.

What did you do this weekend?