What's Your Dream?

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, no doubt! I'm not sure why but Everything took forever this morning, from getting ready to driving into Seattle. So I decided to have a bit of fun with this wonderful song!  Yesterday, along with my run, I started PiYo. I decided to try it for several different reasons, 1) I love Chalene Johnson. 2) I don't like yoga 3) I need to cross train 4) I need to stretch 5) I have no core lol. I have only done one workout and it was pretty short, about 20 minutes. But I feel it in my butt already! Eeps! I am hoping that I like it enough to keep doing it, it could be great no impact cross training for my ultra. I also have another workout on the way that I am excited for, I am not really into weight training and I need that as well in my cross training plans. It's called ChaLean Extreme and it incorporates strength training into a cardio format. Which is why I love Bob Harper but I just really enjoy Chalene Johnso...

That's right, I said it. And you know it's true. Today I thought I'd share with you a few memes that make me laugh.  This one is huge for me! Every time I see someone actively working out at the gym that is over weight I want to go up and give them a high five and say they are awesome.  Enough said! How I feel after long runs. Yeeps! The best one yet!  To have the enthusiasm of this girl! I hope you all enjoyed and at least giggled once or twice, yes, giggled!  Keep on running! 

Rowing is where it’s at! I totally forgot about rowing machines. I can never go on them for too long because they make my back muscles go crazy because they are actually being used for a change! But last night I did a solid 15 minutes on a rower and it was pretty good. My back feels like someone round house kicked me yesterday but that is exactly what I was wanting, to feel like I am making real progress on strengthening my back. I love the fact that it is a cardio workout as well. That was my main draw to it yesterday. I wanted to get 30 minutes of cardio in and after 17 minutes on the StairMaster I ventured over to the rower to work a bit more on my back. I think I figured out that I just need to go nice and slow with a consistent rhythm on the rower and I can go for quite a while. Usually I try to go pretty hard and want to give up after a few minutes. But Last night I felt like I could keep on going last night for quite a while. A little known fact about me, I LOVE the StairMa...

I'm sure that you have heard of planning your weekly meals ahead of time, that way you have absolutely no excuse not to eat healthy during the week. But today I was thinking of new ways to create a no excuse atmosphere in my life. After discussing and our weekly workout routines with Anthony we decided that I will now go on to the gym after I get off work instead of driving straight home, then on my days off we will do our weekly runs together.  Traffic is kind of miserable during the drive home after work and it turns a 15 minute drive into a 35 minute drive. With the gym only being about seven blocks away from work, about 5 minutes, I thought those extra 20 minutes of drive time could be spent at the gym instead of stuck in traffic. By the time the traffic will be much less severe and it won't have lost anytime but instead gained a workout. I wanted to take it a step further and make it even easier for me so that way I would not have an excuse not to go to the gym afte...

So this week if the first week in a long time that I have actually planned out my workouts. I wish I had better news to share about my progress this week... First three days went great! Sunday -  Get your rear in gear 5k  (3.1 miles) Monday - 3 mile run 30 min strength Tuesday - 6 mile run Then Wednesday came... I was able to get the 8 miles in, it was rough because I decided to use the gym instead of running outside. BIG mistake, I had forgotten just how hard it is to use treadmills! So I kept going back and forth between a treadmill and elliptical, but I got those 8 miles in! I was working so hard that I completely forgot about the 30 minute strength exercise. So I fell behind on that.  Wednesday - 8 mile run 30 min strength My gym! See the wet parking lot? That's why I decided to take on the gym for my 8 miles. I love how ellipticals use a different set up muscles than just running but my toes always go numb.  Today's schedule w...

Well I'm up! I don't know how I'm up at 4:30 for two days in a row for my second day shift this week before going back to nights on Thursday but I'm up! So far I have adhered to my workout plan for this week. My run don so far: Sunday - Get your rear in gear 5k Monday -3 mile jog and Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown I don't do traditional yoga, even though it is still a  huge workout I just don't feel like it has pushed me hard enough. So last night I did Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown for the first time. I've never done a yoga quite like this before. It was almost more of a pilates workout if it weren't for all of the vinyasas. She had us do each move 15 times and then held that position for 15 seconds before moving on to the next move.  Tonight my goal is to run 6 miles after I get off work. I really hope that I have enough energy to pull that off. Last night my run was very wet. My feet were completely soaked by the time I finished... so I might have to...

It's time to take a look into ClassPass and what it really is. ClassPass is an alternative to a typical gym membership, it allows you unlimited classes at participating studios however you are limited to three classes per studio per month but when the next month starts you can visit that same studio again for three more times. What I love about this is that there is such freedom in class choices and in your schedule. More info can be found on their FAQ page .  This is a link to the map of the studios in the Seattle area! https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zyRHmCkIFraA.koB_PXZI_ZTE You can find class pass on many different social media feeds, a list is provided below. Social Media Here are some hashtags and information to make it easier for you to find! Instagram/Twitter:   @classpass #livingthesweatylife #PassTheHappy (Used to post pics of moments when you are happy!) #classpassSEA #classpass This is the list of Seattle studios! It's finally here! 5focus 8 Limbs Yoga Aha...

Over the next couple of weeks I am going to have a crazy busy schedule so I thought I would lay out a workout schedule to go with my work schedule and post it to help keep myself accountable.  I have set myself a couple of fitness goals through Jan. 1st. First, I am trying to up my mileage to around 30 miles a weak through the end of the year. Second, I'd like to lose 6 lbs by the end of Nov. Through my log everything and my 3 x 30 challenges I feel that 6 lbs could be possible! Two pounds a week is a lot to strive for but I believe I can do it. I have been pretty successful with my weight loss so far, my goal has been to lose 1 lb a week and I have been averaging about that, the last few weeks I fell roughly 3 lbs behind where I want to be.  As long as I don't stray from my plan I feel that I can accomplish this goal.   This is what I have planned for this week. Sunday - Get your rear in gear 5k (3.1 miles) Monday - 3 mile run 30 min strength Tuesday - 6...

Happy Halloween! So in order to be able to complete my first week of my 3 x 30 challenge I had to get up pretty early to get a workout in before work. But I did it! This is the work out that I did; Dumbbell Super Blast Workout for Intermediate Level by GymRa on YouTube. I watched several videos before deciding on this one and OMG I thoght I was going to die! It was such a good workout but had a lot more cardio in it than I thought it would. It was all weighted cardio too! So you are really getting an awesome workout. I highly recommend this for the more advanced people, not a beginners workout! But it is a full body workout and doesn't just concentrate on any one area. I did something pretty cool tonight, I was able to dress up for work and hand out candy. It went really well but I wasn't able to get a photo. There are some out there, maybe I can get a hold of one and post it later.  Tomorrow is my Saturday/Sunday -- because of my shift they are the same day! So my tomorrow I w...

My friend Tricia and I have been talking about ways to motivate our workouts. And we decided to come up with a workout challenge to keep us out there. After much discussion we decided on this: 3x strength training sessions of at least 30 minutes each week, in addition to our normal cardio workout routine. For me this comes at the perfect time because 1) I always put a strength training 2) I just completed a half marathon and I don't have another one for a few weeks 3) I have already decided that my next half marathon, which is the Amica Seattle half marathon , I want to give it my absolute all in order to do that I cannot just rely on just cardio and I need to add a lot of strength training sessions.  So in this challenge I can run as much as I want as long as I get at least 30 minutes three times a week of strength training in. Which doesn't sound like a lot but it's way way more than I have been doing. I average usually one strength training workout every two weeks and t...

Yesterday I ran the Snohomish River Run half marathon and I earned a PR! 2:18:26, took 3 minutes off of my fastest time! As I predicted this year's race was much better organized than it was in the 2012 race. There was plenty of parking close to the race start and the day of packet pick up seem to go very smooth. I was even able to go back to my car to stay warm and get ready for the race after picking up my packet.  All lined up and ready for the race to start! The prerace introduction seemed like it was fun but I was maybe 50 feet away and couldn't hear the speakers so that is something that could have been a little bit different. They went over the racecourse and I couldn't hear them which was sad.  Waiting for the pre race announcements. Race lineup! The race start was a bit confusing I'm just glad that I was towards the back otherwise I think I would've gotten lost! We had a flip our start location from where we were standing for the race introduction to ge...

Tomorrow morning I will be departing work and headed straight up to Snohomish to run in the the Snohomish River Run half marathon. I have run this race before back in 2012, their first year. Because it was their first year there were many ... difficulties. For instance the shuttles was so late that my sister and I had to walk down to the start. Which added almost another mile onto the distance for that day and then the course ending up being rather difficult at one point at the "turn around" you repeated the same spot several times and mentally it was just really hard. But I have high hopes for the race this year. There is a new "route" it's almost backward from the original and there is plenty of parking close to the start, only a couple of blocks away. I also feel that they have a better understanding for the requirements of their aid stations , they added a couple more, even more porta potties!  I just know that this year the race will be an amazing event co...

There are several ways that I cross train but my most regular "go to" are Bob Harper's workout videos. Don't be fooled by the fact he is a Biggest Loser trainer, that only makes his videos harder! I started off with his Biggest Loser videos several years ago but now I use his advanced videos. These are the DVDs that I currently own. They are very affordable, none over $10 and these are all $5.99 each. However, Bob is so awesome that he also has his DVDs on YouTube ! I have just listed the previews on here but if you go to YouTube and type in the name of the video or even just Bob Harper all of his videos pop right up. Your legs are sure going to feel it after this one, do those squats! You are going to be out of breathe the Whole time! I did this one last week and could hardly walk for three days! My favorite yoga DVD! Last night I did the Pure Burn Super Strength video off of YouTube (I just didn't have the DVD with me but that's no longer an excuse!), it i...