It’s Been a Good Workout Week

Nice View of SF Bay

I’m still super excited to be past my knee injury. My exercise routine is back in place for now. I ran twice this week  (Monday and Friday). Yes, I did my 6am cycling class on Wednesday, although I am not sure why I torture myself. And, on Saturday, I finally got to go back to the body sculpting class that triggered my month-long journey into recovery and it ROCKED. Last time, the regular instructor wasn’t there, but she was there this week. And, she was amazing. We focused on alllllll the problem areas – triceps, core, butt. And, all those things are still sore. 🙂

Probably a good thing I’ve been able to work out. This has been a weekend of celebrations. On Saturday, we went to a lovely wedding and received super tasty chocolate bars (full-sized, glorious chocolate bars) as wedding favors. That’s cool. What’s cooler? My son doesn’t like chocolate… I have 2 of these bad boys all to myself!!

It’s All Mine!

On Sunday, we went to a birthday party. I may or may not have consumed 1.5 cupcakes. There is obviously no evidence to support your outrageous claims… So, let’s just move on.

For some reason, I took notice of dressing area. I’m not sure why my husband keeps calling this thing a towel rack… clearly it is where running tops go. I think it’s time for some laundry!

Laundry Time!

Coming soon… My take on peanut butter. Yes, I’ve been thinking a lot about peanut butter lately.

Stay healthy!

 

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Getting My Motivation Back

 

From Sunday’s Hike

 
I had a really good weekend and I feel like I’m motivated to work out again. On Saturday, I took my knee out for a 2-mile test run. My knee did just fine – what I noticed, to my chagrin, is that 3 weeks on the treadmill made me soft. I need to get used to the feel of the pavement again. Ah, well… A challenge I am more than happy to accept.

I also took a bar method class. I took it because we were offered a special class through the parents’ club I belong to. This is one of those classes that have you do some ballet moves and use the bars, as well as other exercises. It was tough, especially getting my form right for some of the exercises. I finally got the hang of it, and signed up for a few classes with some of my mom friends. 🙂 I felt the burn! There were several times my legs were shaking. It was a very successful workout and I think having people I know in class will be a good motivator for me.

So, after all my good-girl exercise on Saturday, we had friends over for dinner and I stayed up late and drank 3-4 glasses of wine. It was fun. Totally worth blowing all that hard work every now and then…

After staying up past midnight (and my poor 3-yr-old refused to sleep until about 11:45), this was a rest day. What do you do on a rest day when you are feeling tired? You make a doughnut run, of course. 🙂 

Mmmm… Doughnuts

 
Yes, we had doughnuts from one of my favorite places for breakfast… And, I got a latte with Dillano’s coffee. Mmmmmm… Yummy in my tummy!

I got to work off my doughnut even on my off day. We went on a short 3-mile roundtrip hike. Uphill was a little tough with the stroller, but hey, it’s an off-road stroller and it all went well. This gorgeous place is only 15 minutes from where we live. And, the best part of this particular part of my day is that I think I found a good place for my first, soon-to-be-scheduled trail run. 

Sunday’s View From the Top

  

Wildflowers Along the Trail

 
I really started getting excited once I realized how perfect it would be and then I saw people running – Yes, the excitement is building. I am really looking forward to it. How, if everyone could just clear my weekend schedules a bit… 😉
Stay healthy!

It’s Been a Blah 2 Weeks

For the last two weeks, I’ve been nursing my right knee. It is still a little tender, but much better. I am still working out, but trying to keep it low impact. I’ve been doing indoor cycling and treadmill runs. Then there was this week… Work got busy so I missed one of my cycling classes. Skipping that one day made me feel completely lethargic. Or, I was already there and skipping that one day made me realize it.

My knee all wrapped up

Last night, I fell asleep a little after 10pm. My husband let me veg out on the sofa until I woke up around midnight. And, honestly, I usually jump out of bed at 6am. It was tough this morning. I have to figure out how to get out of this rut. The good news is that I did my treadmill run, though. I’m planning a road run (short one) tomorrow so make sure the knee feels good enough to handle it. I’m really looking forward to getting outside. I do so much better outdoors.

I’ve found that I get super hot in the gym. I wear shorts and tank tops, but I still feel like I am about to pass out. I get hot much sooner than when I run in the crisp, cool morning air. I have really missed my regular running schedule. And, now that the sun is out earlier, it’s even easier. I just have to dodge the cyclists who think they own the trail. 😉 Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all of them. But, it is a lot of them. And, they ride really fast. I’m surprised there aren’t more accidents.

Less exercise also means I can’t keep eating the same amount of stuff I’ve been eating. I’ve been good about salads and eating less this week… mostly. I’ve had to dip into the chocolate stash a couple of times because chocolate at the end of a bad day makes everything feel better. Then again, I also don’t believe you should completely deprive yourself of something. I find that the cravings are worse and the splurge is bigger when I try to completely avoid something I really want. The trick is to only consume small amounts. Easier said than done, I know. Believe me, I know!!

From the Beat the Blerch run in Sacramento

It’s a good thing that my next half marathon isn’t until October. That one is a trail run and I have new trail shoes. Yay! That I haven’t been able to try out yet. Boo! I am hoping to do my first official trail training run next weekend. I am definitely chomping at the bit, but I’m trying to be good. Can’t wait to post about my experience… And, with a new brand of shoe, too. I went with Saucony Peregrines instead of sticking with my go-to Brooks. I was really close to getting my third pair of Brooks, but wanted to mix it up a little bit.

Exercise and Recovery

Last Saturday, I hurt my right knee during my first body sculpting class at the gym. At first I thought it was just muscle soreness, but quickly realized I had done something not-so-good. It’s not horrible, but I don’t want to risk hurting it more, so I took it easy this week. I did 2 cycling classes and 2 short (3-mile) runs on the treadmill. I also now remember just how boring treadmill running can be. 😉

My knee is still sore, but doing better… I think I made the right choice. Especially, if you want to add the soreness in my left foot. Since mid-March, the ball of my foot has been really bothering me. I decided to power through that and completed a half marathon on March 20. But, now! Now, my foot seems angry at me, so I’m also nursing that injury.

I know both injuries would get better faster if I weren’t still exercising, but that would kill me. Maybe not literally, but I do think it would demoralize me too much. So, a slightly slower recovery so I can continue doing mild exercise feels like the best solution.

I’ve also started wrapping my knee with my KT Tape, which has been really helpful. I have a knee brace, but it felt super bulky and uncomfortable. I checked out the tutorial on how to wrap my knee with the KT Tape and managed to do a pretty decent job. My knee felt good – It’s a good alternative if a knee brace isn’t 100% needed and if you just can’t stand all that bulk.

So, I’ve learned:

• Treadmill running is boring. Wait, I already knew that… But, I reconfirmed. Oh, I already mentioned that? That’s because it’s boring
• Sunday’s cycling class is a LOT more intense than Wednesday’s cycling class. Maybe because it is at 8am instead of 6am? I don’t know, but today’s class was TOUGH. I felt good about it after, but it was challenging

I would have done body sculpting again (but careful on the knee), but my son’s birthday party was yesterday and that meant no time for a morning workout. We had 20 kids running around like crazy. And, the cake turned out super awesome.

No pictures of my boring workout week, but checkout this cake! 🙂

My son’s birthday cake!