Now that the marathon is over……

(oh, hey, another marathon photo – how’d that get in there? )

…….my focus is on two things:

1. Getting faster
2. Weight training

So in order to get faster I need to make friends with this:

Ugh, not my favorite friend.

I had a speed date with the track this past Sunday. And when I say “speed date” I mean it was a quick visit, not that I was speedy (though this is not from my lack of trying). The track always likes to remind me how slow I really am. And the track always makes me sore no matter how much time we spend together. I hate the track. And love it at the same time.

Sidenote: I love that I can meet friends at the track while C plays soccer on the field.

Win win!

I’ve also been back to teaching Group Power twice a week for a few months now. But I wasn’t really doing any of the leg work. I was too worried I would hurt my IT Band or ankle before the marathon so even when I did the squats or lunges I never used the bar with weights.

Well, yesterday I changed this. No more excuses. I always push and motivate the participants in my class, so now I’m doing the same thing for myself during class. And holy crap, my inner thighs and butt are mad sore today. I love it!

I’m starting to feel like my old self again. I’m back at it and pushing myself like I used to. I still have big plans for another marathon in the works, but until then this is my focus.

Do you have a focus right now?

Wow, thanks for the feedback on yesterday’s post. You guys give some good advice! Now I just hope that if you’re ever in my shoes that you listen and take your own advice.

I know in my heart that I have to just accept my slowness right now. Otherwise I’ll never be able to finish my longer runs and that’s just flat out unacceptable. I have to make every run a quality run. No junk miles for me.

In addition to starting to run again I’m also starting to teach again! One of the ladies at my gym had to leave indefinitely due to some medical issues and they were in a bind. So I’m teaching Group Power Tuesday and Thursday nights for the time being.

Tonight was my first night back and I am feelin the after burn!! I’m getting back in shape on all ends. The weight training can only help my running so it’s back to 100% training mode. I’m kinda excited.

I was also excited because I received my package from Jess and Amy’s Great Blog Sweet Swap! The container looked promising:

But look what was inside:

Cookies gone granola! Stupid fedex delivery man. I swear he was just jealous he wasn’t getting any of Shanna’s oatmeal butterscotch-choc chip cookies.

A few of the cookies were still intact:

But, honestly, it didn’t matter. These things were so good that I may or may not have gone at the “granola” with a spoon. I think the entire container lasted 2 days in our house?

Good thing I’m back to running and teaching…………..hehe. Seriously, what’s life without exercise and cookies?

How would you phrase that question? What’s life without ________ and _______?

Glad you guys liked yesterday’s post. I found it to be quite amusing myself!

I totally killed my goals from last week. I even made it to bed at 10:00 every night! I may not have been asleep at 10:00, but I was in bed. HUGE improvement from the 11:00 bedtime routine.

I also bought my first pair of spinning shoes:

I LOVE LOVE the white! I just hope I can keep them this clean. I have a thing for white shoes.

AND I booked our apartment for the NYC marathon!!! We’re staying in an apartment south of the park, but north of Times Square – it’s the perfect location. We got really lucky!

This week’s goals are:

• In bed by 10:00 (I’m sticking to this one!)
• No eating after 8:00 – the kitchen is CLOSED
• Ab work 5 days this week

I also rocked last week’s plan. I only missed Friday’s ride and that’s because it stormed! But I spent Sunday morning riding the quiet streets of Lakewood with C (perfect way to start a Sunday, btw).

That kinda makes up for the 20 miler I had planned, right? I’m not worried. Spending some quality mom/son time with this guy all but makes up for it.

The plan for this week is:

• Monday: Swim 1200 meters (done!)
• Tuesday: 15 mile bike ride
• Wednesday: 60 minute deep water running
• Thursday: Spinning class (already signed up!)
• Friday: Rest or bike ride depending on how my ankle feels
• Saturday: Group Power (I’m subbing a class)
• Sunday: Whatever I feel like!

I really like having my weekly goals and plan written down. It worked last week so maybe this is something I need to do regularly? I guess we’ll find out!

What about you? Do you set goals each week? Or are you more of a long-term goal setter?

So, I feel like the blog has been focused on the “and more” part of my life than the “mile 26″ part lately. This is because I haven’t been straight up honest with you guys lately. Yeah, the mile 26 part? Not gonna happen. Not this Spring at least. After my 12 mile run 2 weeks ago my right knee/leg was a mess. I haven’t run since and have decided not to run the Ann Arbor Trail Marathon on May 1st.

This was a hard decision. I’ve never been hurt before – it was really hard to take a step back and realize that it’s OK not to train right now and to wait until I’m back to 100% before I get into it hard core again. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve still be teaching (except the past 2 weeks I’ve had lots of subs!), but I’m taking it easy. I haven’t been using weights for the legs tracks in Group Power and I’m taking it easy during Group Step. I’m making a conscious effort to get better.

However, I’m seriously dying for more cardio!! So, I made a decision on my drive home from Pittsburgh on Sunday to get this:

I was totally crazy to buy this while J wasn’t in town. You should have seen me and C trying to get this monster heavy box in the house Sunday night!

And if that wasn’t bad enough, then I saw this:

I texted J this picture and he wrote back “I dare you”.

I’ve never been known to back down from a dare.

So I got to work.

I couldn’t have done it without C’s help to be honest. He was the greatest helper ever (and photographer!).

This is what I look like after a long weekend in Pittsburgh, a 3 hour drive home, working at the office for 3 hours in the afternoon, and then assembling a bike for 2 hours:

Not so glamorous. Though, I feel like most of the pictures I post on here are pretty much this way. I should probably work on that……. (total tangent, I know)

But despite being tired, I made it happen.

Success!

I rode it for 15 minutes Sunday night just to test it out and my butt and inner thighs were SORE the next morning. —–> Loves it

Tonight I rode for 45 minutes and my leg/knee doesn’t hurt one bit. It feels so good to work hard and not feel any pain!!!

I need to get my butt in gear because this Sunday starts training with Team Challenge. Luckily it’s a beginner training program and I can ease back into it with the Team!

I’m disappointed about the marathon, but I still have the half marathon in Virginia to look forward to. Better to be smart than sorry…….. (and it totally sux getting older and having to make adult decisions, btw……)

So, my goal is to keep the blog a good balance between some running, biking, weight training, core work, friends, fun, and definitely family!

How do you bounce back from a disappointment? Do you focus on the future, or reflect on the past?

….I’ll get to relax. At least that’s what I keep telling myself!

I had to teach my normal 5:30 Group Power class tonight, but yesterday was the launch of all the new programming so it was a little more stressful than normal (just a lot to remember!). And Cleveland decided to have another snow storm today so I wasn’t even sure anyone was going to show! Luckily everything worked out – I remembered my programming AND had people in class. Win win.

After class we rushed home to eat dinner, change, and head right back out. C’s basketball team was playing a scrimmage during our city’s varsity half time.

He looked a little nervous while sitting with his teammates and watching the Varsity team play.

But loosened up in no time once his good friend got there.

And before we knew it, there were 2 minutes left until halftime!

The boys played hard – it’s always cute watching the 8 and 9 year old play on a full court with the hoop a whole foot higher than what they’re used to.

Not sure he’ll ever go pro, but he’s having fun and making friends…….that’s what counts, right?

That’s all I really got for tonight, guys. My right knee has actually been bothering me a bit so I think I may take tomorrow as a rest day and run on Thursday instead (just to give it a little break). Hopefully the snow will have calmed down by Thursday, too. There’s no way I could have run outside today!

Have a great night!!

Did you play sports in high school? Did you play to compete, or just for fun?

Hey guys! Only 3 more days until Christmas!! It’s finally starting to feel like the holiday around here: lots of baking (and eating!), present wrapping, and last minute shopping!

During the holidays my workout routine seems to fall to the wayside. I try to make it a priority, but more times than less I end up skipping it for something more important. Whether it be shopping, cookie baking, blogging or even preparing for our houseguest (my sis in coming home on Friday!). I automatically let it fall to the side, tell myself not to worry about it, and then end up feeling guilty (and lazy) at the end of the night. So, in order to prevent that from happening this year, I’ve come up with a plan. I work well with plans. Once something’s in writing I follow it to a “T” (this worked perfectly for me for marathon training).

So here’s the plan:

This has me doing 4 days of cardio (nothing too crazy) and 3 days of strength training each week. Luckily I teach 4 days a week these next 2 weeks so that definitely helps. It’s the days I don’t teach that I totally bail on!

So until I can plan out my 2011 race calendar, this is going to have to do. I’m already looking into a super fun marathon in May, so when and if it all pans out I’ll be sure to let you know! I’m really hoping it works out, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

I taught Group Power tonight and since C was sick last week, it had been a full week since I had taught the class. My shoulders are ON FIRE right now and J keeps telling me he’s mad at me because his whole body is sore. Isn’t he so good to me? Hehe.

How do you handle your workout during the holidays? Business as usual or are you like me and need a plan to stay on track?

Wassup, wassup??? It’s Tuesday night, people!! Almost halfway through the week!

Today was a much better day than yesterday. After work I actually had time to catch up on Real Housewives of New Jersey (I can’t help it, I LOVE these ladies!) before I had to prepare to teach Group Power at 5:30. Class was PACKED tonight – I think the heat got to a lot of people today and they needed to move their workout indoors. Hey, whatever gets them to class…………….but I like to believe it’s me.

After class we had a special trip planned. J and I always talk about opening our own froyo place in Cleveland since we don’t have anything cool like that up here. Well, I found out this afternoon that SpoonMe opened in Westlake this month!!! My first thought was “Awesome!”, but then I though “Dangit, someone beat us to it!”

I love their slogan:

The inside was small, but cute:

Check this out. If your name is listed on the day of the month below, you get a deal of buy one get one free!

I think the napkins were my most favorite:

Wanna Spoon Me?? OH YEAH!!!!! hehe.

I ordered the chocolate with almonds and chocolate chips.

Honestly?? It was OK. I was expecting a lot more. Maybe I just ordered the wrong kind? C’s strawberry was a lot more flavorful I think. Hmmmm……I’ll have to try it again before I give a final opinion.

It was the perfect night to get froyo, though. We sat outside and just enjoyed the weather, and each other’s company. What a great day. HUGE improvement from yesterday.

What’s your favorite froyo flavor/combination?