Miles for Moffitt

My first ever 5K is Saturday morning. Mere hours away. I got my bib and t-shirt today; I think I need to go down a size for the shirt.

Oh my lord what did I do?!

I got an e-mail today from a manager here at work; her department has formed a team in honor of a co-worker at next month’s Miles for Moffitt cancer fundraiser with 100% of the proceeds benefitting Moffitt Cancer Center. There are several options to choose from, including a timed 5k, a non-timed 5k walk and stroller roll, 1 mile fun run, etc. I’m barely running a mile straight right now. I’ve never really tried running more than a mile. I have Bike MS this weekend! Yet, I went ahead and registered.

Do you think I took the easy route and registered for the fun run or the non-timed walk/stroller roll? Heck no! I apparently have to do things the hard way. I signed up for the timed 5k. Since I registered (a mere couple of hours ago) I keep telling myself that I have three weeks before the event. I can manage to do this. But at the same time, EEEEKKKK! Oh my lord! I signed up for a 5k?! What was I thinking?!

I’m Released!

To head back to the gym that is. I was thrown into training at work while still having to do my day to day job, that meant no lunch time gym visits for me. And the last thing I wanted to do was stay late or come in early just to hit up the gym. Not because I didn’t want to go to the gym, but because it’s onsite at work and well, that meant more time at work than I was wanting to put in. So in December I cancelled my membership since I wasn’t able to actually use it.

I’m no longer training and my schedule is once again flexible enough that I can take my lunch period and go to the gym. So I went to sign back up and was told I had to have a doctors release. Bleh. Called my doctor’s office and asked if they could just sign the form, after all, I just had a physical in January. Nope, gotta go in. Side note, my hip has been bothering me since February, but only when I stand and start walking. Once I’ve walked a bit, it’s fine. I figured as long as you’re making me go in for this release, I’m going ask about my hip. So that’s what I got to do this morning. Headed to the doctor and got an EKG (’cause apparently if they don’t do one and I have heart problems, they could be liable. Yeah, like my parents would hold them accountable for that) and an order for an x-ray of my hip. And then he released me!

I’m excited about being able to go back, I actually do miss it. And I have a plan! I’m going to start riding my bicycle to work. I live maybe 5 miles away. This is a win-win situation, because not only will I be guaranteed of at least 20 minutes of cardio exercise each day, but I’ll be saving money in gas too. And since gas prices are, as J puts it, somewhere between OMG and holy s@#%, fast approaching WTF?!, saving money there is very important.

I’ve had people say “But it’s hot out!” Well, yeah. I live in Florida, that’s to be expected. It’s also to be expected that my body will adjust. I just need to make sure I have water with me (planning for that) and I stay hydrated. I’ve also gotten “You’ll come to work sweaty” Remember that on-site gym I mentioned? It has a shower. And for $25 a month, I get a dedicated locker AND they’ll wash my gym clothes. The only issue that may come up, no, it actually will come up, is storms. We get them during the summer, it used to be daily. But the last couple of years it hasn’t been that frequent. Which is why we’re in a drought situation. But I digress. Storms. I don’t want to be riding in those. Rain yes, I can handle rain. Storms with thunder and lightning, no. But that’s taken care of too. See J works on the same road I do, just another few miles down. So my job is between his and home. Problem solved! Got a storm moving in before I’ll be home? No problem, he can pick me up from work.

So that’s my plan. Bike to work, at lunch I’ll go do weights and then bike home. I figure the more people I tell my plan to, hopefully the more accountable I’ll be. And to help me with that is my hand dandy new toy, discovered thanks to my friend Urban Wanderlust. The Cardio Trainer app. It’s pretty cool to play with and tracks all sorts of stuff. Speaking of, time to get dinner going so I can get some exercise in tonight before Glee!

I’m Popeye the Sailor Man

I’m strong to the finich!  Ok, obviously NOT Popeye, but I am slowly getting stronger. I’ve been doing Yoga at least one day a week for the last 3 years, 2 days a week for the last year or so. And while I’m not perfect at it and my body gets in the way of a lot of poses, other poses have become a lot easier. Not only can I lower myself to the ground in a slow controlled movement, I can also hold myself just off the ground. I can do planks a lot longer than I used to be able to. Side planks? They’re getting easier too. I still need to use my top foot as support, but my arms are getting better at holding me up.

I’m not saying Yoga is always easy. Some days are definitely better than others. And this week was one of those off weeks. J and I had plans to go for a bike ride on Sunday. I headed over on my bike to his place, he only lives about 4.3 miles away. But that 4.3 was hard for me on Sunday, I had to push to complete the ride to his house. Tuesday in Yoga, simple poses I’ve done a billion times were hard to hold. But in light of that negative it was good to realize the positive changes that have happened. I’m even getting better at holding Crow pose!

I’m a loser baby!

Well, actually, I’m more on a roller coaster.  I keep going back and forth with the same gains and losses.  But, there are losses in there and not just gains.  So that’s a plus  

Last month I decided I wanted to try some different workout videos than what I have.  So I headed to one of my favorite places, the library!  I went to the DVD section and starting browsing for exercise vide0s and came home with The Firm (which I didn’t get a chance to try), Iron Yoga and The Biggest Loser.  I LOVE The Biggest Loser DVD!  It has 4 different workouts on it: Low-impact Cardio, High impact Cardio, Sculpt and Firm and Bootcamp.  I tried Bootcamp first, it kicked my butt and I couldn’t complete it.  So I spent three weeks going between the cardios and adding in the sculpt and firm.

Sadly I had to return the video.  I ran out of re-news on it.  But my hold for The Biggest Loser 2 came in and I tried that one today for the first time.  I’m definitely going to buy both DVD’s.  Amazon has them for $6.99 each and I love that I can mix and match the workouts.  My only complaint is they really really like lunges.  My knees don’t like doing those.  In fact, when I do lunges, my knees sound a little bit like rice krispies (thank you Grandpa for those genes!).  Any suggestions for working the same muscles in a different manner? 

To anyone looking to try new workouts, don’t forget your library.  Or if you use Netflix or Blockbuster mail services, see what they have!