In case you were curious....:)

Although the rules have changed. All players take off at one whistle and every penalty is a Major which means a trip to the box!

More Catch Up

Since the time change, I've settled in to fewer outdoor runs because even with my great reflective gear, it's hard to believe I'll be totally safe in these lonely places after dark. Maybe I'll start running along the highway eventually, getting back to exciting discoveries such as this abandoned vehicle,

 

 

but for now, absent evening runs and a gym membership, I've been making do with rotating the three garage routines I really like (med ball, resistance tubes, boxing, each of which integrates cardio intervals) and daytime jogs whenever I can grab one. Not much yoga lately either, which is too bad because I think it's a great workout. It just doesn't allow listening to science podcasts.

 

Variety tonight though! I tried a workout delivered by the doctor after her Sunday gym group met. It was the Twelve Days of Christmas plus the Six Closeout Sales plus 12 reps of various upper body strength exercises. I enjoyed it but had to modify a little bit. I haven't done many inchworms or bear crawls out in the garage, so I kept those to one lap each during the Six Closeout Sales part of the program. And I started with manageable weights so that 12 reps wasn't exhausting and I had to add reps rather than switch up the weights (cause that's too scary!) Finally I needed a full ab routine because this followed TWO DAYS OFF.  The audio portion was nice but a repeat of research I'd heard about before regarding differences in numbers of specific dopamine receptors in the brains of creative (healthy) persons and individuals with schizophrenia as compared to everybody else. It's always good to hear another podjock's perspective on bits like this. Dope seems to work its way into every conversation these days!

And the doc and I have been "enjoying" this article. It's not news to us, but we wish it wasn't gaining credibility. I wanna wake up to a compelling reversal of the low carb argument. I want those cookies and baguette. But things don't appear to be heading in that direction... Oh, wheat. We hardly knew ye.

 

We have decided that we know too much about all this health junk and that we will one day write a book. Since we still disagree, and many of my favorite ideas are still in the 'crackpot' division, the project might be slow to fruition.

Catch Up

Tonight I did that garage routine centered around punches (with weighted gloves) and kicks. It was fun, and I added a few more ab exercises to it since I'm off the restrictions now.

Yesterday (Sunday) I enjoyed a simple 4.5 mile run and then sat in the woods after dark listening to music. I'm pretty sure I took Saturday off because we had a faraway gig. On Friday, I did the garage routine that mostly uses resistance tubes and the step.

On that beautiful Thanksgiving Day, I went for a run. The weather was so perfect! The only hitch is that as I stepped out the door, they told me the turkey was almost ready and we'd be eating in 30 or 45 minutes. UGH. But I made it in time for dinner (and even a pre-dinner shower!)

I'm sure I didn't work out on Wednesday either, but somewhere early last week I did this routine, which was pretty fun!

Two minutes each of these exercises (medicine ball is involved in about half):
bounding, figure 8 scoop, mountain climbers, split pushup knee tuck, karaoke, balancing burps, high knees/butt kicks, front lunge pass under, triceps press matrix, jumping jacks, superman ball pass, spider jumps, v-sit with side to side, v-sit with ball between feet, scissor jacks, big circles, woodchoppers, standing Russian twists, squat to press, bounding, sit up with ball, Rocky solo, toe touches, squat jumps, suitcase crunch, lunge walk with oblique twist, diagonal crunch, calf raises.

Workouts are for Holidays too!

I am HAPPY to report that I worked out HARD on Thanksgiving. Infinate CU had a FREE turkey day workout which was a P90X workout. Totally kicked my butt but have been so pumped that I can still keep up (still a few modified moves due to the foot). Foot is getting better everyday and made a new friend in the workout world, Mr. Keback Song. Pretty awesome dude. I am in the front row with red hair, all black tank and shorts next to Keback.

Where Have I Been for Two Weeks?

Adjusting to the time change has meant moving the primary activities into my lovely garage, running any day that I can get home before dark, doing yoga when I've exhausted all the other possibilities, and integrating the PT exercises into regular programs. Behold the exotic locales!

I have two current favorite garage programs that I modify a little bit each time I do them. One is with resistance tubes, and the other brings back some boxing moves and athletic drills. I don't have boxing gloves and a bag, so I'm using weighted gloves, which makes mountain climbers and spider jumps a little more comfortable on the concrete floor.

Tonight I did the boxing stuff like this, two minutes for each thing, one time through, after a bunch of PT stuff:
bounding
mountain climbers
hooks, 1 minute each side
grande plie side bends
hooks, alternating
karaoke
knee to elbow, one minute each side
lunge walk with oblique twist
alternating jabs
inner thigh (left), outer thigh (right)
high knees/butt kicks
spider jumps
alternating crosses
inner thigh (right), outer thigh (left)
jumping jacks
roundhouse kicks, alternating
(at this point I took a break and put the garbage cans on the curb)
upper cuts, alternating
that thing where you point one foot out and slap the floor, then the other side (you know)
front, side, and back kicks
calves (only for 1.5 minutes)
bounding
shoulder raises with light weights in three positions
side ab bends
plies with light weights opening and closing at midline and overhead
hip hop pushups

Dr. nln and Her Friend Hott Wendy Go for a Run

Yes, they are still in Australia, but they completed the marathon a few days ago. She can't blog about it yet because she's on vacation or maybe still sitting in a tub of ice, but I know they both finished it and made a few remarks about a hill. Stay tuned.

Still got it!

Today I worked out at Skateland! I can still do all my derby skills and I even raced a few of my leaguemates and a very in shape speed skater. I beat my leagumates and was neck and neck with the speed skater. Had I been at 100% we would not have been neck and neck at all. That feels good, in fact that feels great!!!!I'm still fast! Now it's the regimen of getting back into shape and getting that endurance back. I must do burns...burns burns burns to get those quads in shape!Providing I'm not in too much pain tomorrow I will hit low impact turbo jam (jumping is still kinda painful). I may hit an open skate Tuesday night, more turbo jam, an then Sunday morning I will be going to speed practice. When I have a little less pain in my foot I'm going to start on the Insanity workouts. I WILL be ready for the next derby season!:)

My New Yoga Mat

Because it was Halloween and I'd done lots of PT exercises already, I just did part of the Power Yoga routine and then ate a bunch of popcorn at Argo.

But tonight I was able to get in an hour before sunset, running with podcasts on the science of some supernatural things and then stopping here for planks and more PT exercises.

One Minute at a Time

Sunday = run, cut from 5.8 to 5 miles cause I was late for a very important breakfast date + late evening attempt at "The Maximum Mass Workout" from Men's Health, which I couldn't complete because I don't have all the right equipment, but I did more reps to make up for less weight.

Monday = run 5 miles and jump in the hot tub. The voices in my head from a Neuroscene podcast told me that working out alone is not so great. Now I'm stumped.

Because I wasted the Tuesday sun by harvesting what's left in the garden and hanging around the grocery store, there could be no outdoor run! Back to the garage, working out alone against medical advice (podcast), I did everything here for one minute, except the jump rope warmup (five), and with as little transition time as possible between things.

Twice through, with heavy resistance tube or step where relevant: rows, chest flyes, incline chest presses, wall sit, standing abs (left then right), soccer drills.

Twice through, heavy tube, step: box jumps, lat pull downs, standing back row (left then right), burpees, chest pulls, side plank (left then right).

Twice through, heavy tube, step: box runs, back leg raise (left then right), bicep curls, upright rows, shoulder shrugs, plank.

Twice through, light tube, step: football drill, lateral leg raise (left then right), shoulder press, overhead tricep extension, frogs, supermans (had to be modified due to lower back PT, so I did upward dog type pushups instead).

Back on the wagon!

I am happy...yet...ELATED to report I worked out today. My workout began with tapping the crap out of my foot. Still not 100% so I needed so help. I am a huge fan of KT tape..I have found it to be a lifesaver with every sports injury I've ever had. I taped my arch and my ankle for support and also made sure to wear my arch supports. I then did a 50 minute workout of Beach body turbo jam, the low impact version because I'm still advised not to run or jump. It felt amazing. Doing 20 pushups, 36 crunches, and a pyramid of burns for my quads. 30 to 60 to 90 to 120 to 90 to 60 to 30. My endurance is not 100% but it's definitely still in the 75-85% range which makes me feel a lot better. Building up the strength in my legs is the challenge now. Either of you ladies have some resistance bands I can borrow? Oh...and also..I get to go skating next week... I AM HAPPY :)!

Doll Shoes and Cats

Wednesday was a darn great afternoon for a run, but I wanted to make sure I got here before sunset, so I reversed the usual direction and started here with actual music and a nice chat with my neighbor. On the road, I saw this for the millionth time and finally decided to share the view:

Then I switched to podcasts, mostly about pre-workout supplements but then later about oxytocin and hormones. Always good stuff.

Thursday night's workout started in the backyard with cats and parrot and heavy resistance tube and ended up in the garage with an audiobook and a very suspicious smelling rug (cats!) I did each of the following circuits twice, 25 reps per exercise:

Box jumps, bicep curls, wall sit, tricep dips.
Chest pulls, frogs, burpees.
Upright rows, box runs, plank.
Shoulder press (light tube), side abs/right, overhead triceps (light), side abs/left.
Lat pull-downs, inner thighs, outer thighs.
Incline chest presses, soccer drills (to the box).
Chest flyes, chest rows, football drills (on the box).
Shoulder shrugs, back rows, leg lifts (on hands and knees), fire hydrants, side plank.
That's it!

Bikes and Garage

We went for a nice long bike ride until sunset, and then I still didn't want to go in, so some of this was done in the driveway, some in the garage, some in the yard, and some in the woods. I took two medicine ball workouts (Tar Heels and Shape Magazine) and did 20 of each exercise, skipping the forbidden crunches in each routine.

Jump rope (three minutes)
Big Circles
Jumping jacks
Woodchoppers
Scissor jacks
Standing Russian Twists
Jump rope
Squat to Press
Jump rope
Rocky Solos
Burpees (with the ball)
Power Cross Chops
Mountain Climbers
Figure 8 Scoops
Box Jumps
Split Pushup Knee Tucks
Box Runs
Front Lunge Pass Under
Planks (center and sides)
Triceps Press Matrix
Lunge Walk with Oblique Twist
Some thing facing down on the floor with feet lifted up and arms pushing the ball back and forth

Monday at the Gym

On Saturday, Brendan Goes to Hollywood and I did a mini-workout in the gym at Webb's Roadhouse. They really have one! There are some good pieces of equipment there: med balls, resistance tube, punching bags, floor. We did okay for a pre-gig warmup. No other workout Saturday.

Sunday is of course always Fun Day, so I ran from home to the traditional Brat Pack Sunday breakfast (a 5.7 mile route). Here's a view from the planks later in the day.

With all the rain earlier today, a Monday run seemed less fun than working out with my buddies at the gym. We started with some snuggling in the wet grass and later worked on that 75 minute yoga program, although youtube was acting weird, so it took much longer (all the way past sunset) to accomplish a little less of the routine. Even later, I did a bunch of dumbbell exercises - 8 lbs for shoulder lifts and tricep extensions and overhead triceps, 15 pounds for bench press, chest flyes, lunges, bicep curls, side bends, upright rows, and squats. My workout partners were less interested in this set because they were having dinner by then. Behold the partners:

Happy Friday!

Tuesday and Thursday were mostly 5mile-ish runs and planks in beautiful settings.

BUT TODAY!
Thanks to the overcast and wet sky, I was forced to do some resistance tube exercises in the garage, mostly with the heavy tube. It was magnificent in the garage and so each time I was scheduled to jump rope (no particular timeframe on that activity, just to exhaustion, which varied), I threw in a little bit of organizing and moving boxes and costumes around:

Jump rope
Two sets: 25 rows, 25 chest flies, wall sit (to exhaustion, which was probably 15 seconds)
Jump rope
Two sets: 25 incline chest press, 25 rear leg raise (on the step, each leg), 25 lat pull down, 25 lateral leg raise (on the step, each leg)
Jump rope
Two sets: 25 shoulder press, 25 tricep overhead extension (these are the two exercises that require the light tube), 25 frogs
Jump rope
Two sets: 25 bicep curls, 25 upright rows, 25 supermans
Two sets: 25 shoulder shrugs, 25 chest pulls, planks (two minutes and then six minutes)

Why Shouldn't Monday be a Little Fun Too?

That running around in the country just can't be beat, so I did it again tonight, even though it really was supposed to be upper body night. I learned that there is a strong positive correlation between trust and prosperity among countries (controlled for government type, development, etc.) Hugs!

This is the view from the planks:

I know I'm grounded from crunches, but tonight I pretended that standing crunches don't count and added them to the plank and cobra series. Then I went inside and used real actual weights to do a whole bunch of (probably too much) upper body exercises.

Welcome Back, Slamma!

While I can barely remember the workouts I did this week, I have a feeling there were a few 4.5 - 5.5 mile runs, at least one garage resistance tube workout (with various short cardio intervals on the step), and a medicine ball workout only day.

Sunday is, of course, Fun Day, so it's especially fitting that Izzy's back on her feet, back in action, and back in the house. It probably seemed like forever, but it's over now!

On Friday, I got the sad news that I'll have to refrain from crunches for a couple of weeks. Not too many tears though, because I love the planks too.

Here's the view from the first plank, which followed a 5 mile run/walk/stumble in 45mph wind. After being tossed about for a half an hour, I ducked into this beautiful wooded scene.

Then I just walked for a while and watched everything dancing, then stopped for more planks and cobras here.

I'm Baaaaaack!

So today, for the first time in 2 months I put on my skates!:) I skated around the kitchen a little, not ready for full skating, but huge progress considering just a week ago I was walking with crutches! It actually is less painful skating on my foot than walking. I am definitely on the road to recovery. Being on crutches for a month has given me some nice guns, I can now do 10 pushups more than I could previously and 5 crunches more than. I am up walking as much as I can now although I still have to take breaks because my ankle gets sore. I am doing 3 reps a day of 20 pushups, 35 crunches, and thigh burns (to build up those quads for derby) for 90 seconds a piece. It's not insanity work outs, but it's progress. And yes, when my foot allows it that is next on my list!:)

An Entire Week in Review?

I can't believe I haven't posted since our Monday run.  On Tuesday, maybe I did resistance tube workouts or a run?  I don't think that was a bike ride night though. Wednesday's workout, I don't remember, probably nothing.  On Thursday, I'm pretty sure I did a 4.5 mile run and some ab stuff. I took Friday night off to celebrate Jesse's birthday, and on Saturday I did all the medicine ball exercises I could think of.

On Sunday, I took a leisurely 5.5 mile run and ran into this fellow, who could not be persuaded not to head south across four lanes of heavy traffic away from the big field it was escaping. It refused my glove and plastic bottle, but eventually I got it and carried it back to the safety of leaves.

On Monday, during a different 5.5 mile route, I found a relative of that caterpillar crushed on the side of the road, the south side of the road. I didn't take a picture, but I was kinda sad for it. Later, I went home and did a bunch of ab stuff.

Today I did the following:
- jump rope for a few minutes (until it got boring and I decided to turn off the podcast I wasn't liking)
- 25 bicep curls with heavy resistance tube, wall sit for 1.5 minutes, 25 tricep dips, repeat.
- 25 chest pulls (heavy tube), 25 frogs, 25 burpees, repeat.
- 25 rows with heavy tube, 25 ab crunches (upper and lower) on the box, repeat.
- 25 incline chest presses, 25 each side abs crunches to the side (with light dumbbells), repeat.
- 25 chest flys with heavy tube, 25 box jumps, repeat.
- 25 lat pull downs with heavy tube, 25 inner thigh, 25 outer thigh, repeat.
- 25 shoulder shrugs with heavy tube, 25 leg lifts, 25 fire hydrants, repeat.
- 25 shoulder presses with light tube, 25 knee to shoulder (each side) in plank position, 25 overhead triceps, repeat but change knee to opposite shoulder in plank position.

This didn't take a whole hour, but I stopped because it felt like enough. And dinner was ready.
Happy Tuesday!

Only 10 Miles Today

This is a drop down week.  The past 2 weeks, our marathon training had us increase our mileage.  Today we were rewarded with a decrease in mileage!  We only had to run 10 miles...it almost felt like we were getting away with something.

I say ALMOST, because the weather today was not exactly pleasant for a 90 minute run!  When we started out, it was 45 degrees and raining.  This is quite a change from the blazing heat and humidity we started with in week 1 of training.  I think WS was kind of mad a me for saying I would rather run in a cold rain than on the treadmill for 10 miles.  Don't tell her that for my first marathon I actually did an 18 mile training run on the treadmill!!!

We pulled out our cold weather running gear, which included tights, long sleeve shirts and even gloves!  The first two miles frankly SUCKED.  It was cold, the rain was pelting us and I was tired.  Somewhere around mile 3, the rain stopped and from then on it was actually nice.  We didn't have to worry about getting out of anyone's way on the sidewalk because no one else was insane enough to be out there in that weather!  We did have a couple people honk at us--not sure if it was because they knew us or because they wanted to point out how crazy we are.  Either way, we waved back and kept on running!

The final distance was 10.35 miles in 90 minutes.  So that averages out to 8:36/mile, not too bad!

The Doc and I Saw All of This and More

During our six mile run along the route where I see, but never can quite photograph, herons and butterflies and foxes and farmcats, we spotted many interesting roadside casualties: a doll shoe, all manner of plastic containers, bits of windshield, a banana peel... but we found this to be the standout of the day:

 

We oohed and ahhed at the sunset and before we could decide whether to take a photo or not, the doctor turned around and saw this rainbow all the way across the sky, so we had to take two pictures to get the whole thing. Because who can remember anything anymore unless you upload it to a device or two and then to a blog, which you then post somewhere for posterity?