The Things I Get Myself Into

I woke up this morning feeling rested.  It was not much of struggle getting up this morning.  Is this the benefit of getting back on my routine?  Must be!  I woke up this morning and started the morning off...JUICING!  It has been a while since I juiced! I like juicing in the morning so I can get all those micro-nutrients in my system while on an empty stomach!  I made my simple juice...nothing complex, just some apples & celery

Apple & Celery Juice

The juice was very refreshing, it did not taste as good as my other apple & celery juices.  I am so used to Gala Apples which are a little bit sweeter, but this time I used good old fashioned, plain jane, red delicious apples!  The taste in teh juice was noticeable different, but still healthy and a nice way to start off my morning!

4am Early Morning Breakfast: Glass of Apple Celery Juice

7:30am Breakfast:  Scrambled Eggs w/ Mustard Greens  (such a delicious combination)

Mid Morning Snack:  Watermelon

Lunch:  Chicken, Lentils & Mustard Greens

Afternoon Snack:  Celery Sticks & a Kiwi

Dinner:  Chicken, Rice & Pinto Beans

Workouts:
Today on my workout schedule was my Running Plan....I got on the treadmill and starting my 3 minute Walk/3 minute jog intervals and again my shin splints flared up!  Just like last time it was just in my left leg!  The pain was killing me...so I stopped after 25 minutes!  The pain was too much.

Treadmill Stats: 
     Time: 25:05
     Distance:  1.50 miles

So since my shins were acting up I said, self, let's get on this Precor Machine.  I was not sure what it was, it was near the elliptical machines, but It did not look like a regular elliptical machine! Umm...I don't know why I do this to myself, but that machine was killer!  I punked out after 8 minutes and in those 8 minutes I burned 55 calories according to the machine!  At one point while I was on the machine, I put my hand on the heart rate reader and it said my heart rate was 226!  I know those things are not accurate, but I know my heart rate was way higher than it's used to being!

Blurry..hear rate reading

So this morning I took it upon myself to google the Machine from the gym.  The console just said, Precor 100i.  I could not find any information on it on the Precor website, but it is listed on Amazon as the Precor AMT 100i Adaptive Motion Trainer.  I found a little video on YouTube about it...The machine is a good workout, but very very difficult!  I will have to try to do it again and maybe shoot for 10 minutes!

Tuesday Blues Day

I was in a funk most of the day.  I almost didn't go to the gym after work.  I walked out of the building and I kept having that conversation in my head...go to the gym, no I'm tired, I'm just gonna go home.   But Kyra If you don't go now, you know you are not gonna go later.  I know, I'll go to the gym now then.  But I really don't want to, I think I'll just go home.  Kyra just go to the gym and do what you are supposed to do.  Okay, I'll go. That was just a re-enactment of the conversation in my head.  LOL!

Here is the boring stuff, my eats for the day:

Breakfast:   the other 1/2 of my spicy Chipotle Burrito from El Pollo Loco

Mid AM Snack:  Large White Chocolate Latte (as you can see I was to quick to say I went a day without it)

Lunch:  Salad (lettuce, chicken, cabbage, tomato, cucumber, italian dressing); 4 Ritz Crackers

Dinner:  2 pieces of Popeys Chicken & 1 biscuit!  LOL!  It was so tasty!  I couldn't resist, it was 99cent Tuesday!

After Dinner Snack:  Granny Smith Apple, cheese crackers

So today's workout, was another installment of the Run Your Butt of Program.  I'm Still in Stage 4, which is the 3 minute walk, 3 minute run intervals. Stats wise, I am doing better.  I was able to run a bit faster this time and I felt okay.  And I was able to get in 2 miles in those 33 minutes, which is now my new personal goal.  I try to walk & jog faster so that I can at least get 2 miles in.

Treadmill Stats - I know I am in violation of the Run Your Butt of Program.  The book says not to focus on the data on the treadmill console, but I keep track anyways!  I am not obsessed with them but I try to do better every time I do the program.

Workout Time: 33 MInutes
Distance: 2.06 Miles
Calories Burned:712

How'd I feel:  I was okay, but I had some killer shin splints in my left leg!  And in all honesty, I don't even know if I could consider it a shin splint.  I could literally feel like a little muscle in the front of my leg was extremely tight.  Like it just did not want to stretch out and let my foot flex properly. I never went away, it stuck with me the whole 33 minutes on the treadmill!  But I made myself continue going!

Our weather here in California is overcast and rainy again, so trying the program outside has not yet happened. Hopefully our Summer weather rolls in soon, so I can train more outside and really be prepared for a 5k race!

Weekend in Review...

Weekends come and go so fast.  I hate that the weekends must end.

Me..After Spin class!

Well this weekend was good.  I got to Spin class on Friday and did another RYBO stage 4 workout on Friday. Saturdays Spin Class was really good, very challenging but I enjoyed it.  She had us on the bikes for the whole hour!  Most of the other spin teachers just do 45 or 50 mins.  Overall I am loving the spin classes better at Bodies in Motion over 24 Hour Fitness.  I really enjoy spinning...I gotta try to see if I can still ride a bike.  I would love to be on the beach riding a bike during the summer!  

I had an sweet indulgence this weekend!  Strawberry Cheesecake!  It was delicious and it hit the spot!  This was courtesy of Marie Callendar's!  The cheesecake made up for the bad food.  I was not impressed with the food that night! 

Cheesecake w/ strawberries

I made it out this weekend to see this Gospel Play called Midnight Cry!  It was really good!  Probably the best Gospel Play I have seen to date.   http://wilshireebelltheatre.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/midnight-cry-4-28-121.jpg  They are touring the country so if it comes to your town, you should check it out. It is definitely worth it!

Well this week I did more physical activity than I have in a long long time!  I feel it in my body.  I am not sore, but I am just tired!  But I know it is just the beginning stages of getting myself back into better shape.  Well that is all for tonight.

Just another Tuesday.

Well let's see...Tuesday April 24th. What a day. Eating wise, not a good day. I started bad and ended bad. I did okay in between..but the bad outweighs the good.
Breakfast:  White Chocolate Latte & a Cheese Danish

Mid AM Snack:  Grapefruit

Lunch:  Kale Salad with chicken


Mid Afternoon Snack (after workout):  Smoothie (it was good and I'll list the ingredients later)


Dinner:  Small Cobb Salad

Late Night Craving:  King Size Kit Kat Bar!  LOL!  Why o Why?

I did okay on my water...I drank about 72 ounces.  Not too bad, but I need more. I rarely say this, but today I really wanted to go to the gym.  I know I WANTED to go to the gym!  Can you believe it?

I didn't do anything to deep. I wanted to lift weights but the weight area aka "THE MAN ZONE" was crowded, so I didn't bother going in.  I got on the treadmill and did another State 4 - Run Your Butt of Workout.  In an attempt to make the treadmill workout harder I attempted to do it on a 2% incline.  I wanted to make it feel the way I felt when I did the program outdoors last week!  And guess what...mission accomplished.  It was hard..I felt like I was gonna die.  With the treadmill to 2% incline..I had to jog slow.  Now I can officially say, I hate jogging slowly!  It just made that 3 minutes of running seem like an eternity!  As you already know the Stage 4 workout is 33 minutes long.  I stayed on the treadmill an extra 4 minutes (total workout time 37 minutes) because I wanted to finish 2 miles in a workout.  And I did!  I was so happy!  I completed 2.12 miles!   Yeah!  Baby!

Okay so my smoothie...it was my after workout food and it so hit the spot!
I have a bag of frozen berries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries, purchased at Costco's  I filled up the Magic Bullet with the berries, added 2 teaspoons of chia seeds, about 30 drops of my Liver Detox, some apple juice and Voila!  Smoothie!  It was yummy in my tummy!  Doesn't it look delicious?

Berry Smoothie

So folks..that was it...Tuesday in recap.  Talk to you later!

Run Your Butt Off: Taking it to the Streets

Well not to sound all prideful...but I am proud of myself today!

Today is PMS day one...and I feel horrible! Before I left work I cancelled at the Arthritis Foundation, I just was not in the mood, I feel like my insides are being ripped out. I feel nauseated, sleepy, and all those wonderful symptoms that I get on a monthly basis. On my may home all I could think of was lying down and sleeping. But much to my surprise...something motivated me to get home, change my clothes and go for a walk! Miracles...they really do happen.

So I grabbed all my gear...shoes, Ipod, watch, water bottle, etc and decided to take my Run Your Butt Off Program outside. Since the weather has been iffy I had been doing the whole program on the treadmill in the gym So this is my first attempt at running outside!

So here is my workout courtesy of my lovely Endomondo App.

Some Quick stats:
Avg Speed: 3.3mph
Max Speed: 4.0 mph
Distance: 2.15 Miles
Workout Time: 39 minutes

Now there are good and bad to the results: I completed more miles than I ever have on the treadmill...but DAMN IT WAS HARD AS HELL! Oh Goodness it was such a struggle running outdoors! My legs felt like lead and even though on Stage 4 - I could run for 3 minutes on the treadmill..outdoors I only did 2. I felt like I was gonna die!

One thing I will do differently on my next outdoor adventure is finding a flat route. Unfortunately in my neighborhood, I'm on a hill so I had many uphill battles and only 1 downhill break!

I am glad I tried it outdoors though..so now I think I should maybe alternate my days 2 days on the treadmill, 2 days outdoors? I gotta figure something out, the treadmill is really not simulating the outdoor running experience. But none the less, I have a starting point which I can work from!

Run Your Butt Off - Stage 4

Surprise..I finally decided to move forward to Stage 4 in the plan!

The Stage 4 Workout:
Walk for 3 minutes; Run for 3 minutes do for 5 times
Finish with 3 minutes of walking

Total Workout Time 33 minutes; 15 minutes of which is running!

Personal Thoughts: When I first saw the plan for this stage, I was scared to try to run for 3 minutes. Seemed liked a long time. But when it was all said and done...It was honestly easier than expected! WooHoo..I must be getting in better physical shape!

Treadmill Settings:
Speed: 3.0 - 3.7 mph range
Walked at 3.0 or 3.2 (this helped with the recovery)
Jogged at 3.6 or 3.7
Treadmill Incline Set to 1.0

Treadmill Stats:
33 minutes Total Workout Time
1.85 Miles completed
353 Calories burned
Average Heart Rate 141

This is my first Stage 4 workout so I am gonna try to hang in this stage for a couple weeks! I is a cool idea to think I can jog for 15 minutes now. So I think by hanging out for a while I can work on increasing my speed on the jogging portions.

I did some reading ahead in the plan and Stage 5 recommends signing up for a 5k race. So Im on the prowl for one here in L.A. I can't wait. I have walked many of 5ks but this will be my first attempt at running one! I can't wait!

Finally Friday!!!!

Friday has finally made it.  The day started off a bit rocky, but it was a lot better than the previous days in the week.  Still struggling over these security certificates at work, no progress has been made all week!  Crazy.

Breakfast:  White chocolate Latte
Mid Am Snack:   Cucumber
Lunch:  Salad (lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, chicken, lemon juice)

Afternoon Snack:  Fiji Apple

Dinner:  Mahi Mahi w/ Sauted Spinach

Workout:
I attempted to do Stage 3 of the RYBO program.  I got on the treadmill got through one walk/jog cycle and I had to quit!  My shin splints on my left leg kicked up a pain so wicked.  So I just walked on the treadmill. 

• 20 minutes Cybex ArcTrainer (325 calories burned)
• 26 minutes Treadmill (280 calories burned)

Run Your Butt Off (RYBO) Stage 2 - Workout 3

So here were are @ my 3rd workout of Stage 2.

Just as a recap..stage 2 Calls for 4 minutes of walking with 1 minute of jogging.

I completed this 3rd workout on Saturday here are the stats:

Treadmill set to 1.5 incline, Walked at 3.4mph; Jogged at 4.2mph

Completed 1.81 miles
average heart rate 155
Calories burned:  355

I struggle a little with this routine.  I did it first thing in the morning.  I had no food in me, and I made the mistake of lifting weights before doing the walk/jog intervals.  So another lesson learned no weight lifting before running!

Run Your Butt Off (RYBO) Stage 2 - Workout 2

Stage 2 workout:

• Walk for 4 minutes; run for 1 minute (repeat 5 times)
• End with 4 minutes of walking
• Total Workout Time: 29 minutes; 5 of which are running

Stage 2 - Workout 2 January 25, 2012
Treadmill Set to Manual w/ 1.5 incline - did 30 minutes; added an extra minute to the last 4 minutes


Treadmill Statistics:
     Average Heart Rate: 149
     Distance: 1.78 miles
     Calories:  349
    
For my 2nd workout this seemed alot easier than my first one last week.  I was able to maintain my run portions at 4.2 and walked faster.  I walked between 3.2 - 3.5; and I really felt okay.  I almost wanted to do more!  The only issue I had with this workout is that I had on the wrong shoes!  I had one some Nike CrossTraining shoes instead of my normal Brooks running shoes.  The first 10 minutes of the workout was torture, I was having serious shin splints!  But the went away after a while.  Note to Self:  Make sure I have the right shoes!  Geesh! 

Hump day from the Rear View Mirror!

I am just over here cracking up over my post title.  Hump day from the rear view mirror.  So in other words, this is a look back at yesterday, Wednesday January 25th!.

Breakfast
     Coffee

Mid AM Snack
     Grapefruit

Lunch
     Salad (iceberg lettuce, carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, chicken) lemon juice for dressing

Mid Afternoon munchies (and I had hte munchies badly)
     Almonds
     snack size crunch bar

Dinner
     2 pieces of chicken
     2 tomatoes

Workout
     I weaseled myself out of spinning again!  But I did my next Run Your Butt Off Workout.
     30 minutes Cardio (walk/jog)

That's all folks!

Run Your Butt Off (RYBO): Stage 2 Workout 1

I am back on task with my Run Your Butt Off Program. I think I did stage one back in December. Stage 1 consisted of walking for 30 minutes 3 days a week. On to Stage 2 I go:

Stage 2 Workout

• Walk for 4 minutes; Run for 1 minute (repeat 5 times)
• End with 4 minutes of walking
• Total Workout time: 29 minutes, 5 of which are running
• Do this workout at least 3 or four times in week before moving to the next stage
• ***Tip: Run slowly, Make your run no faster than your walk**

Stage 2 Workout: Session 1 January 20, 2012
Treadmill Set to Manual w/ 1.5 incline - did 30 minutes; added an extra minute to the last 4 minutes

Treadmill Statistics:
     Average Heart Rate: 152
     Distance: 1.62 miles
    
I did all he walking parts @ 3mph;  the running parts is did between 3.6 - 4.2mph
The book says on this stage to run slowly.  Then it says how slow is slow? Here is how you tell, If you are running and thinking, when is this minute going to end?  YOU ARE RUNNING TO FAST!  Hilarious. I mentioned that because when I attempted to run at 4.2mph, I was thinking when is this minute gonna end, it was truly one of hte longest minutes of my life.  Now that I have varied my speeds on this first workout, I feel most comfortable running at 4mph.  I'll stick to that for now.

The Deceptive Spinach...

How Friday...Came and gone and I have nothing exciting to report. Work was unusually slow, which was good, I was sent home early! WoooHooo!

Breakfast
Coffee

Mid Am Snack:
Chicken

Lunch:
Salad (Spring Mix, Cucumebers, Tomatoes, cilantro)
Lemon Juice for dressing

Mid Afternoon Snack
Blueberries...Yummie!

Dinner
Sauted Spinach
Chicken Breast
So I am washing my spinach and I measure out 2 cups that I was gonna eat for dinner. I am all excited cause 2 cups of uncooked spinach looks like alot! So after I sauteed it down, its looks like nothing! I am always deceived by spinach, but yet I love it soo!

Workout:
30 minutes Treadmill (RYBO Stage 2 - workout 1)
Walk/Jog intervals 4 min walk 1 min jog

That is it. I have much to do tonight so, I am posting early and I'm off for my evening adventures! Dueces!

Run Your Butt Off (RYBO) - Intro & Stage One

Howdy!

Are you tickled by the Tickle of this blog entry?  Well It is a title of a book, that I ordered from the Editors of Runner's World. 

Why did I buy the book?  For that little person within me, that has secretly wanted to get back into running or at least jogging.  I ordered the book, and I think it showed up at the house sometime in October.  I spent some time flipping through it and then I finally started to read it.  So now that I am all amped up and ready to start...I'm recording this on teh blog. 

The book so far seems to be broken up in weekly segments, but the encourage you to go at your own pace.  So we will see how I Do.  Are you ready? 

Stage 1 Workout

• Walk for 30 Minutes
• Total workout time: 30 minutes
• Do this workout at least 3 or 4 times in a week before moving on to the next stage. 

Seems easy enough for the first stage huh?  Well I was almost tempted to skip this stage, since I know I can walk 30 minutes.  But I talked myself out of it.  I will make myself go for a walk for at least 30 minutes 3 times this week!  I promise! 

Interested in finding out more about the book, Run Your Butt Off?  Check it out:  Book: Run your Butt Off

I'm excited for the new challenge.