RnR: Week 3 Day 5

The training plan called for a rest day or an easy run today but since yesterday was a pretty intense run, I devoted this day as my cross-training day.

I did 20 minutes of Total Body Pilates with Nicole Stewart via Exercise TV On Demand. I like to do Pilates when I want to do a low impact workout or just something short and easy to relieve the day’s stress. Its focus is core strengthening and flexibility. I love the stretching part the most. I feel totally relaxed, I could sleep on the mat!

I then followed up the 20 minutes Pilates with another 20 minutes of Incredible Abs 6 workout with Cindy Whitmarsh. I have been working out on Cindy Whitmarsh’s videos even before I became serious with running more than a year ago. I remember having such a tough time getting through her workouts when I first started. This time looking back, I am amazed at how far I’ve come. I am so much stronger than I was a year ago and probably in the best shape of my life now.

Photo courtesy from Pinterest

RnR: Week 2 Day 4

I was supposed to run 30 min tempo today but I had chores to do. I had an orthodontist appointment in the morning, took the little miss to Build-A-Bear after that and went malling, went grocery shopping and then took her swimming. That pretty much took my whole day. By the end of the day, I was too tired to even think about running but I did manage to squeeze in a late night 20 minute Total Body Pilates with Nicole Stewart which is also via Exercise TV On Demand. It is short but great when you don't have a lot of time to spare for an exercise. It also gives you a calming and relaxing effect which is pretty nice after a long day and before heading to bed.

wordspiration courtesy from searchquotes.com via Pinterest

RnR: Week 2 Day 3

Hello W2D3! I am still trying to bounce back and recover from being pestered by emotional setbacks. It's probably going to take some time but I will not let things get in the way of my half marathon training. Not now.

So today is scheduled for a 30 minute tempo but I was too psyched up to do more than that. Today's workout started with "6 Weeks, 6 Pack" Level 2 with Jillian Michaels via Exercise TV On Demand. It is a 35 minute core-focused cardio intervals. This is only the second time I am doing this workout but it seemed a little easier today or was I just too pumped up? I did worked up a good sweat and felt it more as a total body workout than just abs.

After that, I headed to the gym for my 3 mile date with the treadmill. Here's what I did: 
1/2 mile warmup @ 5:33
Mile 1 @ 11:33
Mile 2 @ 10:44
Mile 3 @ 10:12
1/2 mile cool down @ 9:14
Total mileage = 4 miles @ 46:37

Then added another 25 minute or so strength training session which is as follows:

Chest press 30 lbs 5x 10 reps
Lat pull 50 lbs 5x 10 reps
Leg pull 40 lbs 5x 10 reps
Ab Crunch 40 lbs 5x 20 reps

Wordspiration courtesy from Pinterest.com

RnR: Week 1 Day 4

Week 1 of training is half way over and I have been tweaking the routine according to what my schedule has allowed me to. Today is scheduled for a 3 mile run + strength but this will have to move to Friday since I did 5x800 interval training a.k.a fartleks this afternoon. My pace time for the intervals are: 5:07, 5:31, 5:27, 5:26, 5:26 for a total of 4 miles and then added another extra easy mile @ 11:34. I did a total of 5 miles @ 54:10. I am careful not to overdo it when I am doing intervals or fartleks because for some reason it messes up my left shin. I could feel a little soreness and the leg felt a bit heavy while running but it didn't bother at all. I followed it up with a nice stretching right after the run and iced it when I got back home.

I added another 12 minutes or so of weight training before heading back home for dinner. I could have added a couple ab crunches to my repertoire but the machine got stuck somehow.  Here's what I did:

• Chest press 30 lbs 3x 10 reps 
• Lat pull 50 lbs 3x 10 reps
• Bicep Curl 20 lbs 2x 6 reps

Then before heading to bed, I did a 20-minute yoga from Exercise TV On Demand called Zen In Your Den by the same yogi from last night named Jennifer Galardi. She did an even simpler and gentler movements on this one compared to Yoga Refresh. This one's definitely a nice way to ease into a relax mood before bedtime.

It was another busy day today spending all afternoon bonding with my little miss. I took her to the movies to watch Monte Carlo then hang out for awhile at Santana Row. It was a blast but totally wore me out by the time we got home. One thing that still amazes me is how exercise changes my mood. No matter how tired I get if I just get my butt off to workout, even a short easy one, I always feel like a million bucks afterwards.

RnR: Week 1 Day 3

W1D3 is supposed to be 5 x 400 5-K pace intervals but will have to move it to Friday since I ran a hard 5 miles yesterday. A friend and her little 9 month old also visited late in the afternoon for a dip in the pool so I was preoccupied prepping up for our little rendezvous. We had dinner by the pool and took the kids, her baby and my little miss, for a swim. It was a bit cooler and breezy compared to the last couple days but manageable and we had a lot of fun in the water.

So, all that fun stuff drained some of my energy. I wasn't planning on working out today anyway but felt like doing a quick and simple exercise before calling it a night. It was very tempting to just crawl in bed at 9PM, which by the way is definitely not my normal bed time, but I sucked it up and went ahead for a quickie. I found this 30-minute yoga routine on Exercise TV On Demand called Yoga Refresh by Jennifer Galardi. The routine is very simple and easy to follow which is perfect for a yoga noob like me. I felt refreshed and re-invigorated 30 minutes later. I like it a lot and will try to incorporate more yoga in my fitness schedule.

Off to bed now. Namaste.