Spring Break Wrap Up & Shout Outs!

How is Spring Break wrapping up? Other than quickly?.....I've actually been doing quite well with my cardio. Last post I made discussed how sore I was.... Well. I wasn't sore yet. I just thought I was. On Thursday morning I woke up and it was like my hamstrings had quit on me. But I shuffled (literally) to the gym and trained with Chad anyhow. He worked mainly my upper body. When it came time for push ups I wasn't let off the hook to rest my legs I just did "girl pushups" like  4 sets of 10! I actually did a circuit 4 times. It was intense and you know he isn't gonna let me out of there without a plank variation! I did planks while alternating legs pulling one knee to my chest and back. I held the plank and alternated knees for 40 seconds (I refused to quit). It was killer. I did 30 minutes on the elliptical then headed to Paducah for my great aunt's 85th birthday!!! I ordered healthy at the restaurant and mom made the birthday cake light with no egg yolks and substituted oil for apple sauce (that was for another family member watching their cholesterol , but it helped me a great deal as well)

After dinner Thursday night Mom, Dad, Brandon and I all took the 3 dogs for a walk about a mile (it was kind of a stroll, but it was still
Important to move the sore muscles)

Friday we visited MeeMaw for a long time it was so great to spend time with her. She told us some great stories as usual... I love hearing stories about her and Grandaddy and Dad a when they were young. Nothing like picturing Gran (my great-grandmother who I was lucky to know well that passed when I was seventeen) running out the back door when she saw Dad with his tricycle at the top of the playground slide!!!! Lol. I can hear her now!  

Anyhow. We finished up Friday with a visit to Brandon's parents. We ate out at Outback Steakhouse where we both successfully stayed in our calorie budgets. I ate for 515 calories! It wasn't too hard. Just took some thinking! (no bread, 1/8 of the blooming onion appetizer, half of a 9oz steak cooked with no butter and light on the seasoning (salt), 1/4 house salad with no cheese and light vinaigrette dressing, and steamed broccoli cooked w/o butter or salt) 

So Friday was an off day (no intentional exercise) 

So today it was back to it. We went for a run with Gracie. We completed Week 1 Day 1 of Couch to 5K. 30 minutes of interval training. I ran a 10 min .75 mile last week and Chad wants me running a 10 min full Mile. So this is how I can get there. Interval training. Run, walk, run, walk for 20 minutes. There is a 5 min warm up and 5 min cool down. Interval training really gets your heart working! You sweat a lot too which is something Chad is always aiming for with me. Sweat! ( I don't sweat very easily) the Couch to 5K plan increases the running lengths each week. So in 10 weeks I should be able to run a 5 K. I suspect that it may take longer than 10 weeks. I will try my best but the program encourages you to repeat a weeks as needed but to never jump ahead. So I'm not afraid to repeat if needed. 

Gracie is also on a bit of a diet. She needs to lose 3 lbs. I'm going to add a column on my blog so you can track her progress. 3 lbs isn't much to us but she weighs 22 lbs so that is right at 15% of her body weight which is the equivalent to me losing approximately 27 lbs (about 15%). That's a big deal!

Also, huge shout out to my Dad who is challenging me! He has lost 7 lbs! Go dad! Not sure how long it took for him to lose 7 lbs but it hasn't been too long. Good job Dad! And he's doing it the correct way! He's correcting his portion sizes, snacking on fruits and veggies, and getting in some good Omega 3s... And he's walking a lot! He plays golf basically daily and walks instead of using a cart!

Let's just keep shouting out! My brother and Sister in law are training for the Nashville half at the end of April and my nephew is only 10 weeks old. He's pumped to see them run!

So tomorrow will be most likely a walking day. Maybe some yoga. Then it's back to normal life and keeping up with my running schedule. I train on Tuesday. I will not only be weighing on Tuesday but we will be taking measurements as well. I can't wait. 

Thanks for reading!

Oh and.... I sliced a banana into my oatmeal this morning and it was GREAT!!!