Adventures in Potty Training

And so a new chapter has begun...potty training. My son is 20 months today. Judging by developmental signs, I thought it would be okay to get a head start on potty training before we both head back to school in a few more weeks. So after asking for advice from family and friends, I thought I'd give it a try.

The method I used was to keep him bottomless, set the timer for 15 minutes and have him sit until he pees. He peed in the potty 5 times and had 3 accidents on the floor. I think that's pretty good, right? Here's the text I sent to the hubs after the first time my son went pee pee, lol. (Oh and sorry if using "peed" or "pee" is un-lady like or offends you :-))

Meanwhile, for some reason I didn't have much of an appetite as the day went on and that probably contributed to my evening headache. Despite that and considering my race is NEXT WEEK, I made myself get up and go to the gym.

My training schedule called for cross-training. I spent 30 minutes on the elliptical at level 5 and 20 minutes on the stair climber, running intervals up to level 17. I was a sweaty nasty mess. Sorry no pic ;-)

I know, bad form. Shame on me.

I still didn't feel like the gym workout was enough so when I got home I chose a 15 minute Nike+ Training Club workout to do. It was a full body strength workout designed for runners. I was about to say I love Nike+, but right now I'm kind of upset because yet AGAIN, another GPS watch is broken. The screen stopped displaying. Just in time for my race next week right? I won't have time to call customer service for a replacement, so I'll have to deal. I have my eyes set on a Garmin for my birthday in September. So no calorie count tonight.

I have a 3 mile run scheduled for tomorrow. I'll have to run it pushing the jogger stroller again since the hubs works too late. I've made significant "gains" running solo in the past few weeks. Was feeling like my old self actually. I hope that running with the stroller this week and a little of last won't negatively impact my performance. Reality is, running with a 30 lb boy plus however much the stroller weighs, add on the hills on ALL GA routes, I repeat ALL GA routes (well except Silver Comet Trail, maybe) causes me to walk/run. My average pace while running with the boy has been between 13-14 minutes per mile. Good news is I'll have a chance to test my theory on Saturday morning because I'll have a sitter and won't have to run with him. Crossing my fingers I haven't regressed.

Well anyhow, I'm glad I worked out today. It makes me feel content about ending my day.

What's the "secret" to running faster with a jogger stroller? Any potty training tips? Do share.

Upcoming Goals: Fall Half Marathon Season

Now that the Peachtree is over, I have a lot more confidence that I can go to my next challenge, running my fifth half marathon. I call it a challenge because, of course, I don't know how even less "perfect" training will be with a baby. Can't just get up and go, ya know.

My original big plan in the beginning of my pregnancy was to start training for my next half marathon 3 months post partum. This was supposed to be my motivation to get back to running. Good thing I didn't need that; I had clothes to get back into, and there was no way it was that serious to go running with my son in his stroller in the cold temps we had. I had him in October and wanted to run a half at the end of March, which means I would of had to start training in December/January. Umm, yeah, that was a little far-fetched. Not saying one couldn't do it, but I couldn't for so many reasons. I did run a 5k, though.

I haven't registered yet, but the race I'm thinking of is in November so I will start a 12-week program on August 18th. I really don't want to register until I'm at least half way though training. The price increases are only $5. Expensive is expensive period and I've already missed the much lower registration fees. Maybe I'll find a discount if it turns out I'm able to run it. Off topic, but in the past, I've never paid over $55 for a half marathon, but I've been wanting to do this race for forever. Sigh.

I've decided to try the Nike+ Coach feature. In the past I've used Hal's plan, but I want to give Nike a try for the extra motivation. I like that it prompts you that you have a run the next day. I already track my miles with it, so it will tell me if I am on track with my time goal, and I love the interface. A big plus, I don't have to constantly refer to a document or sheet of paper to check which day of training I am on. It'll all be on the app.

An even bigger plus is that my husband has accepted the challenge of training himself. This would be his first. So at least I'd have someone alongside me during those long runs. I can't make the group runs much, or rather the places they meet aren't really stroller friendly, so he'll have to do. LOL. J/k... 'cause he reads my posts.

My focus from now until August 18th is to build strength. I'm going to focus even more on incorporating weight and running less often. I just want to maintain a 4-mile outdoor run until next month. Yesterday's workout felt pretty good. I did a body works plus abs class at the gym and ran 2 miles on the treadmill hill setting. My next workout will be Wednesday... and it may have to be a Jillian Michaels DVD day.

Now it's time for Nike and I to have a conversation...

If you run long distances, do you follow a set plan or make up your own? What's your favorite way to cross-train? :-)

Starting the Week Off Right

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Happy Monday! I'm happy to report that I did not skip my long run yesterday and I did a Body Works Plus Abs class at the gym this morning.

In my previous post, I skipped my run Saturday because I was busy and unmotivated later in the day and I was actually doubting myself that I'd get it done Sunday, considering Sundays after church are normally lazy days for us.

With only a little less than 2 weeks left before my 10k, I figured I may as well. I knew postponing until today or the following weekend would mess my taper week up. So...I sent a text to a friend who is running the same race (benefit of running buddies) and we met up. Come to find out she's been busy due to work and hadn't run in 3 weeks, hence the slower pace. I didn't mind being there to motivate her, because I almost skipped myself like I said.

We just wanted to get the miles in, so we did run/walk intervals.

Sorry for awkward angle. I'm not into taking gym selfies in the mirror, lol

My training plan calls for a rest day, but I hadn't cross-trained in over a week. My son had off and on low-grade fevers last week, so I didn't want to send him to the Kid's Club all cranky, etc. I didn't do anything at home either. 

There was a substitute teacher for this morning's hour long class. She was pretty good. For the first half of class we did high intensity interval training (HIIT), the next half we did supersets with the free weights (my arms were on fire), squats, lunges, and the last part we worked our abs.

I thought I would've lost a little strength since I hadn't been to a Body Works class in over a week, but I did pretty good...comparing myself to others in the class anyways. I try really hard to push myself to my limits and visualizing my goals honestly does work...that and looking in the mirror and not wanting to look goofy or want to give up (benefits of group workouts, for me). :-)

This picture is the epitome of #momlife and #fitmom. When baby is hungry, everybody better stop! He had two ounces of breast milk leftover, but he still had to nurse afterwards in order for us to have a pleasant trip home. My classes always cut into his first nap of the day. Thankfully, he didn't miss much of it and slept until we got home. And I sat in the garage and answered texts and emails. :)

Anyone else take the long route home when baby's napping? :-)

-Tiffany

Upper Body Home Workout

Things I am currently working on: my form while lifting weights.

I realize after the fact and counsel that I should of been in a 45 degree angle instead of tooting my booty up in a 90 degree. I hope I worked some part of my back while doing it incorrectly, otherwise... Big waste of time.

I gave my legs a break today and worked my upper body. I started with a simple jump rope warm-up and then worked my arms, shoulders, back, chest, and whatever muscle you work while dead lifing. :) I did 2 sets of 20 per exercise and two rounds. Finished by jump roping and stretching.

Tomorrow I'm due for a 3.5 mile run. Hopefully I can get out the house before the weather gets too hot, mainly for my son's sake. Or I'll have to go in the evening. I'd rather get it over with in the morning. It's 1 am now... I think I already know what time of day I'll be running. 

Did you workout today?

Peachtree Road Race Training Update

I haven't blogged my workouts in a while, but I've definitely been 'going hard in the paint' (lol). Seriously, I think I'm going on 4 weeks strong of running and cross training workouts. I haven't missed a long run and I've actually added 2 more cross training days than I have to. 

My DVDs got boring so I signed my baby up for the Kid's Club and have fallen back in love with the Body Works Plus Abs classes. I have been going so consistently that I have my favorite instructors now. I love that I am getting my strength training in and I can tell a huge difference.

This particular day, my husband and I warmed up by running around the track, did hill repeats for about 20 minutes, and then ran a mile around the trail. Afterwards we played around with the basketball. Well, I did more playing, he did more actual shooting the ball in the actual hoop. That's his domain, running is mine. "Coach" said I need to work on my range... uh, yea, that means what? :)

My Body Works instructors are no joke. I have one that is kind of old school. She starts the class up with a lot of cardio for the uncoordinated, smh. I don't really enjoy that part...because if you haven't guessed, I'm amongst the uncoordinated. The other 2-3 instructors I've taken are new school and the entire class is basically HIIT (high intensity interval training). With HIIT, you burn a lot more calories. In all of them you are lifting weights at the same time and doing core work. It's very important to have a strong core when you run long distances.

Besides the weekend of my family reunion, in which I went ALL IN. I've been doing pretty good with eating and eating 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. I recently started back up shopping at the farmer's market. PAUSE: I apologize if this blog post has a lot of info in it, but I haven't blogged in a while :)) I'm slowly transitioning my family into eating grassfed meats and purchasing local/organic produce. I'm trying to figure out how to do this while sticking to the same budget. 

My last long run, 5.5 miles was supposed to be 6 miles. I could of walked or ran slower on the treadmill to get to the 6, but I got a headache (need to practice my breathing), and towards the end I kept looking at my Nike+ app, so that broke the "zone" I was in. I already have a hard time running on the treadmill sometimes, and to get all the way to 5.5 (my longest run on a treadmill since 2012, I think) and to just stop half a mile short of my original goal...sucks. I ran on the hill setting on level 2 or 3. I hope this really simulated an outdoor run. PLEASE! I'll be back outdoors later today for a 30-40 minute recovery run to test my legs and endurance. I always get nervous about my next outdoor run after I've run on the treadmill. Another reason I don't prefer the dreadmill. But hey! Check out those negative splits!

Speaking of legs (see, blog post about EVERYTHING TODAY), I can actually barely walk. I took a Body Work Class Friday evening, walked 1.5 mile Saturday morning, ran those 5.5 miles, and then walked another hour around the zoo in hard flip flops. Despite, I do still need to run today, but Monday I will be giving my lower half a break. This probably means I need to skip out on Body Works and go lift Monday. We'll see how I feel because I really still am uncomfortable lifting alone with all of those dudes. lol. It's true and I know I'm not the only female who thinks this way. :-P

Well, I think that takes care of my "catch up". Less than a month until race day.

-Tiffany

My 1-Year "Racer-versary" & Today's Workout

Packet pick-up area at ACS's Starlite Stride 5k

This past weekend I celebrated my one year anniversary of racing. :-) I ran the Starlite Stride 5k Run/Walk to benefit the Atlanta Children's Shelter. This was my first race last year, except it wasn't at night. It was cool. Pretty low key. Much less people and theatrics than last year (Phaedra from Real Housewives of Atlanta who is/was on the board and her cameras were there following her, as well as a former Falcons player). I wasn't expecting much. I'm glad actually. It's a genuine charity and I could tell they went the cheap route on everything. To me that shows they could actually be putting the money back into the facility and the kids it supports. One of my near future goals is to volunteer here.

I didn't get an overall PR, but I did beat last year's time by a little. Clock time said 29:51. My watch said 29:38. The best part of the race was high-fiving some of the children cheering us on while running through the second mile.

Today's Workout
I wanted to run the trail this evening, but the weather kind of ruined that wish.

Before I did anything, I had breakfast...

Mixed Berry Smoothie

1 cup of mixed berries 

(strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)

1 cup of spinach

1/2 cup of orange juice

1/2 cup of plain nonfat yogurt

1 serving of vanilla soy protein powder

348 calories

...and then got to it.

45 minutes of intervals on Level 9.

The 2 extra minutes were from working in reverse.

Who knows if that's how many calories I really burned. This HRM didn't come with a chest strap, which I hear is more accurate. The elliptical calories can't be accurate either, because I didn't hold on to the handles the entire time for it to accurately measure my heart rate and account for my level of intensity (& those inclines were intense).

No gym access, not always a problem!

And after that, I came home and did a 20-minute circuit training, including the short warm-up and cool down.

Trail Times

Yesterday I went on an impromptu cross-training escapade (I'd been cooped up all day). I'd been wanting to do a trail run; not to seriously get into it when special shoes are required and all of that, but just to try something different. I put on some older running shoes that were already dirty and met up with some ladies to explore the trail. I thought we were running it, but it turned out majority wanted to walk it. I was cool with that. 

Entrance to the trail

I haven't researched trail running versus road running, but I can imagine it being less of an impact on your joints.

Besides looking down at the ground the ENTIRE way to make sure 1) I didn't trip, 2) no forest creatures took me into captivity (there was a snake out there, people!), and 3) my shoes didn't get extra muddy, it was enjoyable. It actually seemed much easier to run this terrain instead of walk it. With running (I did run a little bit), your feet barely touch the ground from moving much more quickly. It was much easier to look ahead. You just need to watch out for tree stumps and horse ish, and you're cool. We were walking kind of slow so I got a light headache from looking down so much.

 

Despite having gone fishing many times and even camping, I'm still not that much of a nature girl. I just like to look at it. :-) 

I took this pic for the hubs, who wanted me to bring it home. Um, no.

It took us an hour.

I haven't walked for exercise on purpose in a very, very long time. I AM looking forward to running this route REALLY soon though!

A Cool Cross-Training Idea for Runners

I've always wanted to try indoor rock climbing just because it looked fun. I didn't realize it would actually give me a work out or that this is a good cross-training activity for runners.

There are several similarities of climbing and running that we learned in the brief clinic prior to starting. For starters, climbing engages your upper body and core.

You need to push "off" with your legs to aide your upper body, so they're engaged just as much.

Balance and breathing were definitely necessary to reach the top.

I like this WAY better than zip lining!

The scary part was coming down.

Once I was down, I couldn't believe I had broken a light sweat and was lightly panting. My upper body needs work anyway, so I could feel it in my arms before I even left the building. Two days later and I think I used EVERY muscle in my arm!

It was fun and hopefully I'll get to try it again.