Monday, January 28, 2013

Workouts on the go: Mini vacation & commutes into workouts

As I said on Friday, going away for a few days can put a damper on training and health. I ate more than normally would and ate less healthier options than normal (hey, live a little!), and didn't get as many workouts in as I would have liked but some is better than none!

Unplanned workouts : hiking up the hill from the falls back to the hotel on icy sidewalks in heels...trust me this was a workout!! But it was so worth it, beautiful cold night but the streets all lit up. (Our hotel room was 40 floors up in that tall building on the right!! This hill was icy and steep!




I could have gotten a workout at the hotel gym Saturday morning but decided a little more time with my man before checking out was more important! I did however get a workout in Sunday morning at the hotel we stayed at Saturday night.... the gym was actually decent, it had 2 treadmills, 2 elliptical, a bike, some mats, some weights, and some different sized medicine balls and kettle bells. The downfall was that this room was small, and had little to no circulation, no fans and no thermostat to turn the heat off. Within 30 seconds of being on the treadmill I was sweating bullets and breathing heavily. Decided to keep the run slower and shorter to avoid exhaustion in the heat and not great environment in the hotel gym. Did a nice easy 5K on the treadmill, easy progression, started slow and finished faster but still slower than my normal runs. Slow can be good for you though, build the endurance in the legs and uses less oxygen which allows your body to adapt better. After getting off the mill, I did a 6 minute workout on the mats, short but to the point. Utilizing things the hotel gym had but that could easily be replaced with something you would find outside of the gym.

Hotel Workout from this weekend:
5K on the treadmill (26:20, nice and easy pace)
1 minute side bends with weight
1 minute kettlebell swings
1 minute crunches
1 minute Russian twists
1 minute plank
1 minute pelvic bridges
[Total workout time: 32:20] < good workout in about a half hour, no excuses!

* If you don't have weights, use anything, a book you see (or multiple books), anything with some weight. Even if it isn't as heavy as normal weights might be, it's still a little resistance to help train your body. Also, you don't always need weights, your body is a great tool to use, body weight exercises can do wonders for you....no weights or machines necessary!

Below are a few sites that have great ideas for body weight exercises...fast, free and can be done anywhere!

http://greatist.com/fitness/50-bodyweight-exercises-you-can-do-anywhere-030612/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodyweight_exercise

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/tipsandtricks/a/basictraining.htm


I also got in a second workout yesterday after we got home from the trip. I wanted to get some more miles in, the weather was nice outside and I had some time to kill. So I turned a commute into a workout. J dropped me off at my apartment around 4 and I had to be at his place by 6 to have a video chat with his family, I also knew he had to play hockey last night which is near my apartment. So the wheels started turning in my head.... I got inside put my luggage down, changed into running gear, laced up my Kinvara's and put the garmin on...and hit the road. Figured running the 5 miles to J's house instead of driving and then had him drop be back off at my place before he went to hockey. So I saved gas in the car, got in 5 extra miles (in awesome sunny..but chilly weather), still made it with plenty of time to spare for the video chat with the family, and it worked for everyone. Try and turn a commute into a workout sometime, you might just thank yourself!

Next vacation is in a week and a half...headed to Florida for a few days, going to have great places to run but you can bet your bottom Ill go prepared with a list of body-weight exercises to do as well! Official training starts today, gotta keep it moving!



P.S. had a wonderful surprise waiting for me at my apartment door when I got home from the trip! My order from Swim outlet came in! A new lap counter, new swim cap, new tri-top, and a race belt....needed some new gear to help me get into my tri training! Official Marathon training for Cleveland starts today, official 70.3 training for Musselman starts in a few more weeks (yes training for the 2 overlaps.... Cleveland is May 19th, and Musselman 70.3 is July 14th!)

Friday, January 25, 2013

a weekend away to catch my breath

Life has been so insane lately, busy with work and planning and everything in life. This weekend is a much needed retreat to get away with my Fiance. My sister and her husband were kind enough to get us a hotel stay and dinner voucher at the Hilton Falls view suites in Canada, exactly what we need is a wonderful night away just the 2 of us :) Tomorrow we will be doing some site seeing and things in Canada, and then meeting my friend and her boyfriend for dinner in Buffalo. She and I have not seen each other in almost a year and she also has not met J.. so this dinner and drinks is long overdue!

Now, a weekend away can put a damper on workouts, but I'll do my best to get things in (good thing official training doesn't start until Monday!! WOO HOO!) I packed my running shoes and indoor and outdoor running clothes and my swim stuff, the hotel has a gym and a pool, which will help make it easier to get a workout in. When going away for a few days it doesn't mean you need to put health and fitness on hold. If I get a workout in at the hotel gym, and watch my eating...this weekend doesn't have to be detrimental to my fitness level and goals for weight and training. Don't worry, I fully intend on enjoying myself all weekend I just wont let myself get completely off track, I have been doing so good lately with my workouts and my food intake that I don't want 2.5 days away to mess that up.

Have a great weekend, enjoy your workouts. If you are planning a trip away soon, plan ahead for fitness and health...workouts can be done anywhere and anytime. You don't always need equipment, you have a body, use it!

Thursday, January 24, 2013

So it begins....again

I will be honest with you, I have tried blogging multiple times and always fell off the wagon. I would stick with it for a while then just get too busy. I'm going to give this one last shot and hope I can make this work. I have so much I could talk about with running and fitness, and life in general...I know I can't be the only one in the world constantly trying to catch my breath with life.
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