On making things work and being responsible

There's something going on in my house, and I am not so sure I like it.

For the past two nights, Miles has been up several times. It's not the kind of wakings we're used to - the ones where he will stand in his crib talking or singing "round and round all through the time." The disruptions we've had the past two nights involve lots of screaming and inconsolable crying.

Wednesday night, Miles was up at 10:45, midnight and 2:30. At 2:30, as I rocked him, he pulled out his pacifier and said "cookie" through tears followed by "snack" (his word for cereal bars). He had eaten poorly that night, and I wondered whether it was just hunger. I took him downstairs, gave him a cup of milk and half a cereal bar as I changed his diaper. The cereal bar did little to dry the tears as he cried for another 5 minutes after I put him down.

Trying for a better night Thursday, we made sure Miles ate a bit better at dinner and gave him a big cup of milk before bed. There was no way he was going to be waking up hungry. Like clockwork, though, he was up at 10:45. Mark and I tried all that we could but ended up bringing him to bed. Until 2:30 when we could no longer take the feet in the groin and fingers in the eye. There was more crying but after what I'm sure was not as long as it felt, he fell asleep.

And though we did get back to sleep, it was not enough and when I rolled over at 5:10 - the time when I was supposed to be getting up for a hill workout - I knew it wasn't going to happen. I thought I'd try again when Mark got up but the comfort of the couch called to me. As I laid there, the scenarios began to run through my head: RAW this morning, run tonight; call in late and do RAW + run at the YMCA; go to RAW and push run to tomorrow afternoon; get up early tomorrow, run and then lead BODYPUMP launch.

The ideas swirled at lightning speed - quite an amazing feat for my brain considering my fatigue - but I knew there was one option that was better than the others: skip RAW and runt his morning between dropping Miles off at daycare and going to work.

I made it with a heavy heart. Not only have the RAW workouts become a beloved part of my routine the past month but it would probably be my last class.

Our trial membership to the YMCA ends on Wednesday and after much discussion and creative thinking, Mark and I know that it's not the right time for us to add another monthly bill. It might be different if we didn't have access to a treadmill and were going to use it daily but it as difficult to justify the cost when we were using it for three group classes a week.

It totally sucks. I love the class, the instructor and the group exercise environment, and I almost feel like I'm doing the instructor a disservice. It was also a good learning experience for me as I look toward maybe, just maybe, getting a personal training certificate. But what's a girl to do?

Well, I guess there are some things. I have Bob Harper's "Total Body Transformation," which will be good for strength training; Turbo Fire has some longer HIIT workouts that will have some of the cardio conditioning benefits of RAW; and I've put out a Facebook plea for Insanity in he event that someone has a set collecting dust.

Oh, and then there's Zuzka Light. Nothing like having a hot Russian with enormously fake ta-tas make you do round after round of burpees. Now if she could only put Miles to sleep.

Note: I don't mention finances to garner sympathy. It's just a fact that money is tight, and it's tight for a lot of people.

Three Things Thursday: Own it

Walking into the aerobic room of the YMCA, I knew what to expect.

Lots of high knees, tuck jumps, mountain climbers, planks and squats. It would be the exact same workout that I did last Wednesday - a workout that had me feeling defeated and weak. But this time around, I was going to get after it.

And get after it I did.

The key to beating the workout wasn't magically getting stronger and fitter in the past week, though that is a nice thought. Nor was it the pep talk I got last week. Rather, the key to owning those 45 minutes was focusing on a few small things. Things that I could control.

1. One for the money. Stealing this from Dimity of Another Mother Runner, I decided to pick one exercise that I was going to nail 115 percent. Emily, the instructor, sets up the workouts to be performed four weeks in a row. Weeks one and two are to learn the routine, and weeks three and four are challenge weeks. I remembered the exercises that made me want to give up most, and I decided that I was going to beat the push up-mountain climber combination. I would do my best, of course, in the other exercises of the shoulder circuit but I wanted to do every push up, every mountain climber and twisting mountain climber in the three rounds. Even if I had to modify on my knees.

2. Take a good look. I am sure there are people who don't like the two walls of mirrors in the aerobics room but I, for one, appreciate them. During the high knees that were a part of our cardio-ab circuit, I started checking myself out. Not only could I see that I was lifting them higher than I thought but it motivated me to go even higher. I didn't want to look at myself half assing it, did I? Bonus: It took my thoughts away from what other people were doing and how well they were doing it and, subsequently, feeling bad that I wasn't doing what they were doing.

3. Know your limits. This "thing" came by mistake. We were told to grab medium and heavy weights. Last week, I think I had a set of 10-pounders and 12-pounders, moving down to eights for the mediums. For whatever reason, this week, I grabbed a set of 5s and a set of 10s. The lighter weight allowed me to perform all of the exercises as well as some of the advanced options, such as adding the jack to the squat-overhead press combo.

Now don't get me wrong - the workout was tough, and I was a hot mess when I left. But I felt strong and proud. I felt like I owned it.

How do you take on tough workouts?

Don't forget to ask me questions. I'll be answering them in a post next week.

Spring Training: Week 2

Spring Training posts document my training for the Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon on March 30 and my "A" race, the Wisconsin Marathon half, on May 4.

The week, in training:

Monday: 4.5 miles, hill sprints (6 x 45 seconds at 7.0, 7% incline)
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 4.25 miles, tempo + RAW class
Thursday: 8 miles
Friday: RAW
Saturday: Bodypump + 4-mile run
Sunday: 1.5-mile walk + 25 minutes (of 40) TurboFire stretch

◊ ◊ ◊

I've written about five different versions of this blog, trying to expand on one aspect of last week's training. But my brain is tired and so is my body, especially after 5.5 miles of hills on the treadmill this morning.

Tired Kim = Bad, uninspired writer.

Trust me. I nearly wrote an ode to Dairy Queen ice cream cake and medium long runs, which, as you can see, are decidedly missing from this week's log.

So help a girl out. Get up with Miles tomorrow morning and go to work for me and I'll ... ha. Just kidding. Ask me some questions - about my training for the upcoming races, BODYPUMP, cross training, whatever.

I look forward to answering them (and being more clever next week).

Got it

For the second time in as many days, I dropped off Miles at daycare while I was wearing workout gear. I'd like to think I'm preparing him for the embarrassment that will be his elementary school career but really I'm just trying to fit stuff in and sleep more.

As if that's possible.

Anyway, this morning Miles jumped out of my arms to antagonize his friend in the bathroom, leaving me to chat with one of the helpers. A mentioned that I looked comfy and I told her that I was headed to a class at the YMCA before work. (Yes, that class.)

"What kind of class is it?" A asked.

A little of this, a little of that, I told her. And a whole lot of making me feel like I'm out of shape. Seriously. On Wednesday, my arms felt like Jell-O as we did lateral and side raises with dumbbells - and that's with me modifying it and selecting lighter weights than the start of class. When it came time to do a push up-mountain climber combo, I was toast. Lying on the floor in a puddle of sweat toast. I walked out sweaty, defeated and wondering why I was taking on this class.

"It's just a challenge," said A, who is a smidge older and a lot wiser and always knows how to get in my head. "Just like the other stuff - the running, the BODYPUMP - was a challenge. You got it."

I gave her a smile and a sincere thank you, amazed that A knew exactly the right thing to say. A giant frustration with the class is that I can go out and run 8 miles on dead legs and feel OK but I'm ready to give in after five burpees. I forget that there was a time when running five feet was a challenge and lifting 2.5 kilos on each side for biceps was tough. With time and fortitude, gains were made. Just as gains (hopefully) will be made in RAW.

Before I left, I tried one last time to procure a hug from Miles. Yet another challenge to face. Thankfully, one of the other kiddos, a 2-year-old girl, is always happy to oblige my need for affection.

And then I left. Left for the YMCA, where I faced yet another butt kicking. Four circuits, with each circuit repeated three times. There were 72 tuck jumps, 30 squat jumps and 5 millions lunges in the workout. My legs screamed out in pain and my shoulders nearly gave out.

Despite A's assurance, I didn't feel like my body "got" it but, today, my brain did. Mind over muscle, baby.

Spring Training: Week 1

I had so much documenting my training for the Columbus Marathon in weekly recap posts that I thought I'd do the same for my spring half marathons. The Spring Training posts will discuss my training for the Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon on March 30 and my "A" race, the Wisconsin Marathon half, on May 4.

This week, in training:

Monday - 5 miles, hill repeats (6x: 2 minutes at 4%, 2 minutes at 6%, 2 minutes @ 4% with 4 minutes recovery)
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 4 miles, intervals (6 x 400 repeats) + RAW class
Thursday: 4 miles
Friday: RAW
Saturday: Bodypump
Sunday: 7.68-mile run (outside!!!!!)

◊ ◊ ◊

People say that it's the taper period of any big training cycle that will make you crazy. Doubt yourself. Wonder whether you are even a runner. And while I went through my own manic period before Columbus, nothing has compared to this week.

This week being my first spent almost entirely on the treadmill, in the basement, at 5 a.m.

The weather here has been less than desirable, and a winter storm last weekend covered our street in a sheet of ice that refused to melt or become safely passable by car much less feet. While a previous version of myself might have toughed it out, the idea of traversing the precarious conditions at 5 a.m. in temperatures in the teens didn't sit well with me ... more Mark. So I resigned myself that it would be far safer to stick to the treadmill.

I will whine far and wide about my disdain for the treadmill, with my No. 1 complaint being that my pace suffers incredibly when inside. A 9:30 pace feels easy on the roads but I have to keep the treadmill at 5.5 to feel comfortable and 6.0 (10-minute pace) feels like a tempo effort.

Regardless, I toughed it out in the name of miles. I ran hills as the Lexington course is of the rolling variety, not minding much as it's hard to find good inclines suitable for repeats near my house. I did 400 repeats, feeling good that I was able to "crank it up" to 7.0 at the end.

But come Thursday, when I hit the treadmill after dinner for an easy-ish run, I freaked. It just felt hard, and I hated that my 2013 training log didn't seem to be reflecting my fitness level. I messaged a running mentor, crazed that my now slower pace would somehow become the norm and once I got back outdoors, I'd slip to 10:XX instead of speeding up to 8:XX. Oh so wisely, she explained the mechanics of running on the treadmill versus running outside and advised that as long as you don't rely only on the treadmill, you are fine.

Her assurance did little to assuage my fears, and I was a bit nervous going into my first long run of the cycle. The weather had warmed enough on Saturday that much of the ice had melted and what was left was more slushy, making it safe to head outdoors. Still, what if I couldn't do it?

I took it slow as I headed toward the park as I was sure it was plowed. I focused on form, breathing (tried nose breathing as Scott Jurek suggests in "Eat to Live") and footing. I told myself to not look at the MOTOACTV as pace didn't matter. It's all about time on the feet, covering the distance and feeling good.

And feel good, I did. I was surprised that once I got acclimated to the cool air, just how fantastic it felt. It was nice to look at ice-covered branches instead of peeling paint and see the sun rather than a dim light bulb illuminating my path. There was a god number of runners out, all courteous and smiling as they passed.

I had seven miles on the plan but had that rare, "wish you could bottle it" feeling that I could just keep going and going and going. I ran a bit farther but kept my bonus mileage to three-quarters. Denali was getting lethargic, and I didn't want to worry Mark with a delayed return. Nor did I want to risk injury by increasing my mileage too quickly, too soon.

I came inside, stretched and synced the MOTOACTV. Lo and behold, the average pace was 9:27 with the fourth mile at 8:59. So much for being "slow."

Excuse me, I burpeed.

I have an exciting recipe for you today. It's so exciting that I'm not even going to bother coming up with a story to serve as a clever introduction. Nope. Just the recipe for us.

Humble Pie

1 semi-in shape gal
1 12-pound dumbbell
2 10-pound dumbbells
25 rounds
32 ounces water
120 burpees

Directions: Do that shit.

A local YMCA branch offers a class called RAW for advanced exercisers, promising them a challenge and a chance to take their fitness to the next level with circuits, strength work and plyometrics. I sampled the class last week for a column, and I knew immediately that it could do amazing things for my running.

I headed back on Wednesday for the class, which one participant described as like "Insanity," but what I took was just insane.

The instructor had a 365-rep class to kick off the New Year, with everyone doing one rep for each day of 2013. There were 25 exercises, to be performed back-to-back with little rest. The kicker? Every other round was a set of 10 burpees.

I'm fairly certain that she modeled the class after one on ZuzkaLight.com but she took it to a whole new level of pain by incorporating challenging burpee variations. We did two round of burpees with tuck jumps. There were pure competition bupees. There was a variation with a frog jump and another with a jump forward. One round incorporated a tricep push-up and jumping with the weights. Two more included the obliques - one set jumping side to side, the other a side plank with rotation.

The Mac Daddy of them all? A single-arm burpee with shoulder press at the end. And, yes, there were two rounds - one for each side. I'm going to go ahead and be honest. I didn't even try that most challenging variation. The idea of face planting after 300+ reps, 100 of which were burpees (at that point) didn't seem like fun.

What did seem enjoyable, apparently, was attending the class for a second time - this time being more sociable and dragging Mark with me. The jerk could, of course, do the single-arm burpee but did find it a butt-busting, ego-crushing workout just as I did.

And he will tomorrow, too. Of course, he doesn't have to teach BODYPUMP. Now that will be fun.