Pre-Thanksgiving FRAN

Wednesday was a bit of a zany day as everyone got ready for Thanksgiving. People were going and coming like crazy both at work and home. I knew I would be taking today off to spend the day with my family so I wanted to make sure I got in at least one good work out before indulging on the Thanksgiving Feast. Clearly, I wasn't the only one who felt the need to earn their slice of pumpkin pie since the gym was packed!

I knew I needed a workout that would make me feel sore enough to eat mindfully rather than to stuff myself past what I would normally eat and so enters Fran. Fran is not a real person, at least not as far as I've ever heard, but she is one heck of a solid work out. Crossfitters have a love/hate relationship with their workouts but as someone who doesn't actually practice crossfit on a regular basis I just have to go in knowing I'm gonna get my butt kicked.

I do enjoy the occasional crossfit WOD but for the most part stick to workouts that I know. Having been a gymnast on and off for the last 19 years and a varsity athlete in high school, I have a pretty sufficient knowledge of challenging exercises to run through and mix them up enough to never really get bored. But occasionally I have to go to outside sources to find just what I'm looking for. This week, that was Fran.

Foolishly, I didn't think Fran would be enough and started off with 30 minutes on the arc trainer, my new favorite thing. Turns out, there is a drastic difference between 15 and 30 minutes on that beast. Especially when you keep your heart rate above 185 the entire time. I looked, and smelled, like death by the time I was done and had already committed to doing Fran as well as an abdominal circuit before heading home. Lord, what fools these mortals be. First I was too short to even reach the bar but once I had a friend lower it for me (yes, I really am that short) I was ready to go. I will not say it was my best time, my pull ups were more than rusty and ended in a couple chin up holds while I caught my breath. I was just happy to have finished. That is, until I remembered I still needed to do abs.

I grabbed a mat and a 10 pound weight and got to work.

I held the small 10lb disk against my chest during the crunches. During the Russian twists I held the weight slightly in front of my torso so I could tap it on the ground each time I turned.

By the time I had finished with my entire workout I had to peel myself off the floor. It hurt to laugh, to pick up my purse, to walk out to my car. The works. I knew I had done well when I arrived home and was still warm enough from my workout to put on a tank top and shorts while everyone else was bundled up and huddled around the fire.

I had a deliciously high protein dinner of crab legs with fresh fruit for dessert. I passed up on the cookies the boys were chowing down on knowing eating too many sweets in a week would make me sick. The willpower it took to turn down those freshly baked chocolate chip cookies was harder than I would have liked but I survived. Yep, I totally earned that slice of pie with extra whipped cream.

Cardio Tester: Arc Trainer

After discussing our favorite cardio options at work yesterday (mine being running or using the stair master) my co-workers gave me a hard time about never having used the Arc Trainer. I had never seen the need to use it before since I got all I needed from running and stairs but I told them I'd give it a try. 

Turns out, the arc trainer is my new favorite indoor cardio option! It combines the movements of the stair master with the elliptical (a machine I abhore) and gives you the feeling of running uphill in a way that you can't get from simply increasing the incline on a treadmil. 

I bumped the arc trainer up to level 10 and did my best to sprint for 15 minutes as my warmup. According to the machine, not only did I get my heart rate up but I managed to burn 200 calories before I even went a mile! Score! 

After my magical new warmup I set up the circuit below for my workout.

There's not any gymnastics this week becase of Thanksgiving so I won't be able to begin two-a-days until next week.

Running to Christmas Carols

Some say it's too early for Christmas carols to be playing - Thanksgiving isn't even here yet! But the Ugly Sweater Run left me inspired. Sunday night I went home and pulled together some of my favorite upbeat Christmas song for a new running playlist.

The trouble with creating a playlist can sometimes occur when there are not enough songs of the right speed to compile. My playlist ended up being 34 minutes long. I went out and tested it Monday afternoon and (foolishly) forgot my running watch at home. I was forced to run to the beat of the songs to keep me on pace. Thanks to my Nike+Running app I know I ran at 11:05 for the entire run without fail. This doesn't normally happen to me since I'm typically about a minute or so faster per mile but I was amazed at the consistency I got just from the music alone.

My Christmas Playlist is:

Jingle Bells by Michael Buble (Featuring the Puppini Sisters)

Let It Snow by The Glee Cast

Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town by Bruce Springsteen

The 12 Days of Christmas by Straight No Chaser

Heaven Everywhere by Francesca Battistelli

All I Want For Christmas Is You by The Glee Cast

Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee

Who Spiked The Eggnog bu Straight No Chaser

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer by Burt Ives

We Need A Little Christmas by The Glee Cast

The Christmas Can-Can by Straight No Chaser

Deck The Rooftop by The Glee Cast

While I'm not a fan of the actual show, Glee does have a penchant for speeding up some more traditional carols and for that I was extremely grateful. Essentially everything Michael Bublè sings is magic so I was thrilled to have him in this playlist as well. And Straight No Chaser does my favorite non-traditional Christmas songs. There are a couple slower songs on the playlist as well but I love them so much they didn't have the power to slow me down.

Ugly Sweater Run

Earlier this morning I pulled on my warmest running clothes and a Christmas t-shirt. Why? For my latest race: The Ugly Sweater Run!  This morning Seattle's Ugly Sweater Run was powered by the Human Movement and held at Magunson Park.

I had picked up my packet yesterday at Sports Authority and had received a cute new beanie, temporary mustache tattoo and my bib number. With some encouraging words from the volunteers I was all ready to go and excited for race day.

The hat says Ugly Sweater Run

I arrived early as I always do and walked about a mile from the parking lot to the start of the race. Along the way I passed a few friendly faces that helped to get everyone into the spirit. The first mile aid station that was along the trail next to the parking lot offered both water and hot chocolate. Giant, inflatable reindeer stood guard at the half mile mark next to where snow blowers were set up during the race.

Large candy cane arches marked the 1st mile aid station next to the parking lot

Once I arrived at the main race area I was able to see where the start and finish lines were set up as well as the beer garden sponsored by Samuel Adams and the Toys for Tots donation center was next to a massive, blow up tree and a couple marines in their dress blues who kept an eye on the donations.

People lined up at will and that became a problem when I discovered that while there were corrals they were not set up by time but simply who showed up first. This became a problem when there were nearly 4000 runners lining up to get going. I was lucky enough to get into the first corral but was stuck in the very back, far behind hundreds of walkers, strollers, and dogs. There was not enough attention payed to the actual race as much as there were to the "extras". A beer garden and after party are nice but not if the race itself is problematic, then you just have a bunch of cranky runners.

And let me tell you, there were some incredibly cranky runners today. The course was advertised as a 5K but when we crossed the finish line we discovered we had only run 2.28 miles. This is like those people who ask you how long your marathon is because they think it's a type of race that's "just a long distance" rather than an exact distance of 26.2. The conditions had been perfect except for the mud where the snow blowers had melted the dirt paths into mud. The race should have been perfect but the administrators failed the runners and cut the race short. I've run several other races at this same park and they've never had any trouble plotting a course that is long enough. The park even holds half marathons a couple times a year so there is no excuse for not being able to fit in a 5K. By the time I had finished there were still hundreds of people waiting in the starting corrals to get going. I even had to walk back through the course to get to my car because the parking lot directly next to the start/finish had been blocked up.

Over all this race did not stand up to my expectations which was sorely disappointing. While I will still continue to run races that are held at the park I doubt I will continue to participate in races put on by The Human Movement. On another note, my view of the lake from the starting corral was stunning!

Long sleeve shirt: Adidas
T-shirt: Target
Tights: C9 By Champion for Target
Shoes: Nike
Watch: Garmin
Headwarmer: C9 By Champion for Target
Gloves: Nike

This Week's Workouts

I had to be at work much earlier than normal this week. The new schedule subsequently messed with all my original plans. I had already been at work for a while by the time I normally get up to run came around so I had to switch up my workouts a bit.

Wednesday, when I got off work I made my way over to the free weights and grabbed two 15lb dumbbells, a 10lb dumbbell, a 30lb bar, a 20lb plate, and two benches.

I set up a circuit that looked like this:

(Shoulder Press with the 15lb dumbbells)

(Tricep Kickback with the 10lb dumbbell - alternating arms)

(Clean and Jerk with the 30lb bar)

(Tricep Dips with the two benches and 20lb plate)

I then hopped on the bike and went for 3.1 miles in 10 minutes at level 10

I'm not usually the biggest fan of the bikes but I do love being able to compete with myself and seeing how far I can go in a matter of minutes is a nice distraction from the knowledge I'm trapped in the gym on a stationary bike.

On Thursday my grandmother joined me at the gym. Earlier in the fall we had gone out to lunch and she was complaining about her weight and I told her she wasn't allowed to complain unless she was doing something about it. So now she joins me for a workout once a week (and doesn't complain a bit).

The two of us on her most recent birthday

This week we started on the stair master for a five minute warm up then moved over to the cable tower.

We alternated working on the Lat Pull Downs and Rowing Machine for 3 minutes each.

Next we each grabbed a bench and a pair of weights to work on three sets of ten Shoulder Presses and Kneeling One Arm Rows.

We switched up our weights for three sets of ten squats, me with 125lbs and her with 10lbs (I'm moving her up to 20lbs next time because she keeps talking about how easy squatting is).

We finished with five minutes walking on the treadmill. When I'm as old as she is I hope I can do what I've got her doing; it's a pretty impressive workout for 82 years old.

Friday wrapped up the week with me being able to get off work early. This was my first chance all week to run outside! The sun was out and shining off every surface. The lack of cloud covering meant near freezing temperatures but I was too happy about being outside to notice.

With a view of the water from the trail there's not much prettier than a run outdoors

I got in an easy 5 miles all before the sun went down and felt better than I have in weeks of not running. The trail I typically run is only lit on a quarter mile stretch and with the sun setting at 4:30 I haven't had a chance to get out there all week and have been forced to slog through miles on the treadmill, instead.

Two-A-Days Make Me Hungry

The key to successfully completing two workouts each day is to make sure you are getting enough food and sleep.Skipping meals is a horrible habit to get into and not only messes up your daily schedule but also impedes any progress you might be making in the gym. Same goes for sleep, if you're not getting enough your body won't have enough time to recover and you'll begin to feel sluggish. This is not the time to reach for a coffee (or energy drink or caffeine pills or whatever your personal preference is) this is the time to take a nap! All the caffeine will begin to negatively effect your body and take a serious toll on your health. I've had a friend who had to be hospitalized for kidney failure because he had too many energy drinks each day. As a freshman in college I pulled too many all-nighters and ended up completely dependent upon my three daily lattes. Trust me when I say it's so much easier to just get some sleep!

Food is the other major ingredient in pushing your body to harder workouts. Lucky for me I'm already eating enough to not have to worry about it as I begin to double my workouts. Lately I've been eating like a hobbit with breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, two afternoon snacks, dinner, and occasionally a small (healthy) dessert, too. These are not huge meals, mind you, but smaller portions which are high in nutrients and typically made up of fruits, veggies, and lean meats. Yogurts and cheeses also make up a large selection of what I eat during the day.

A Hobbit's Eating Schedule - not far off from my own

 I start each morning off with a smoothie made from frozen berries and Greek yogurt. My coworkers are convinced I dump some sort of magical energy powder into them as well but there's honestly no need! The frozen berries are sweet and full of natural vitamins and energy boosters. The Greek yogurt provides my first serving of protein for the day and helps to create the right consistency I like in my smoothies. I pour the mix into a tumbler to tote around with me and it keeps me full for several hours.

I make sure to pack a handful of nuts or high fiber cereal to munch on through out the work day, too. I like to have extra food with me just in case I end up somewhere unexpected.

I eat a smaller meal for lunch since I'm pretty busy during the day and stopping for a full meal is typically reserved for the weekends. So, lunch is usually made up of left-overs from whatever I had for dinner the night before. This usually includes some sort of lean meat, a serving of veggies and some sort of carb (either pasta or bread).

Today's lunch was leftover spinach ravioli and flank steak

I get hungry again around three and that's when I have my go-to apple and cheese combo. This is essentially the easiest thing to prepare ever and a fantastic source of protein as well as a high-energy snack. When I'm travelling this is also something I always try to pick up at grocery stores since it can be found regardless of what city or country I might be in and can be a great substitute for any meal on the go.

Dinner is around 6pm at my house and those meals are the ones that get switched up most often. We might have enchiladas one night and beef stew the next. Being able to experiment in the kitchen makes it easier to find healthy options that everyone will like.

It's Workout Season

It has been brought to my attention (thanks, mom) that I have picked up a few nasty habits this fall. The first being hot chocolate. Turns out, referring to fall as Hot Chocolate Season rather than Perfect Running Weather Season or, more importantly (depending who you ask) Football Season has had a rather negative impact on my eating habits. Whoops. It started with me ordering hot chocolate to warm up from the inside at football games, then turned into me discovering they make a most heavenly mug of the stuff at the bakery next to work, and next thing you know my attempt to cut out coffee has turned into a terribly unhealthy swap. Tasty, but unhealthy nonetheless. And in my experience, eating unhealthy leaves a sluggish feeling I'm none too fond of.

Secondly, all this sleeping in on weekends and spending the rest of the day watching football all day isn't helping either. I'm still in my pajamas past noon on away game days even through I wake up half a day earlier during the rest of the week. My long runs have fizzled to 5k distance because I don''t want to miss the game. My whole body is feeling the effects of my limited running and getting restless, again.

After being inspired by what I read in The Sports Gene I decided it might be a good idea to give training like a competitive athlete a try. Reading that book was just the kick in the pants the highly competitive part of my brain needed to get back into it. Two-a-days worked back in high school, why not now?

My next step was then to break up the week. As a runner I would happily do legs day every day and completely abandon any sort of upper body workouts but that might make gymnastics a bit harder than necessary. Instead I split it up. On the days I run (historically being Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday) I plan to also make it into the gym for a weights intensive arm workout day.

After my injuries I had traded running for weight lifting completely and I started to really love squatting. Being able to track my progress from week to week in terms of the weights I used increasing was equally as satisfying as watching my mileage increase. All my work in the gym payed off and the squats helped strengthen my knees and hips so my running is no longer suffering from runners knee the way it used to! Now it's time to combine the two and get the best of both worlds.

On Non-leg days I typically go to gymnastics but now need to make sure I'm getting in an extra legs session before I go. And so begins Two-A-Days.

 I'm considering this next week (through Thanksgiving) my trial run before beginning "for real". This way I'll be able to fix any kinks that may appear. And still have some flexibility with the upcoming holiday. I'll be posting the workouts I do so you can follow along if you like.


Tights: Zella
Shoes: Nike Flex TR

The Sports Gene: A Review

After reading through the latest issue of Runners' World I was intrigued by a review that had been written about David Epstein's new book, The Sports Gene. After reading a couple more reviews for the book online I ran next door to the local bookstore and picked up a copy for myself.

An excellent decision, really; I have hardly put the book down.  In a style similar to Christopher McDougall's Born to Run or Jamial Yogis' The Fear Project this book is written by a journalist who became interested in a particular area and has infused a compilation of scientific studies with stories old and knew of great athletes and their achievements. While McDougall focused in on runners specific studies, and Yogis was all about the brain's part in athletics, Epstein covers everything from tendons and ligaments to depth perception and trainability. He pulls out tales of athletes from a wide range of sports, ages, talent levels, countries and backgrounds in an attempt to cover every possible angle and area which might effect the overall outcome of athletic prowess.

In this nature versus nurture debate Epstein is a pro at covering both sides of the argument and providing examples for each argument; demonstrating how there is never just one factor at play.

My suggesting: Go pick up a copy of this book and read it for yourself, you'll be glad you did.

Electricity, Sunsets, and Storms

It's been a bit of a crazy week here in Seattle. We had a massive wind storm which knocked out the power and took down several trees all around the city. Some of the main bridges had to close and generators all over the area hummed to life as we all realized how electricity dependent we truly are.

Though we were only out of power for about 12 hours we were thrilled to have it back on and an extra hour of sleep that night!

Lately I've been running in the afternoon rather than the morning in order to take advantage of the warmer parts of the day. Unfortunately I did not factor in daylights savings when I went for a run on Monday and the sun set while I was still miles away from home! While parts of the trail are lit others are shrouded in trees and there was a complete lack of visibility in sections. There were also large sections of the trail where massive trees had crashed down during the storm and had to be cleared away.

I didn't think to run with a head lamp and did not even use any reflective gear since I wasn't planning on being anywhere near roads. I have a wide selection of neon and other brightly colored work out clothes, trust me, you cannot miss me when I run down the road. However, when the weather turns like this they're completely covered up by my all-black rain-proof gear (whoopsies!).

Another storm has rolled in and I opted to get my fitness on indoors for the rest of the week to avoid an falling trees or sunsets. Turns out, I wasn't the only one to think of this brilliant idea and finding some personal space wasn't the easiest task in one of the country's fittest cities. Even out in the suburbs people are flocking to the gyms for their of rainy day entertainment.