Mission: Undo What the Baby Did: Update 6

Trying to make up for last week's discouragement, I woke up on Monday morning determined to turn it around.  As soon as I knew Megatron's afternoon nap was eminent, I strapped him into the run stroller and got to work.  The weather was perfect.  A couple miles in, something startled Megatron and woke him up but since he was being still, I figured he was still resting so I just kept going.  And going.  I stuck close to home since he was awake and I wasn't sure how long I had until his patience was out but he just hung out.  I kept pushing.  And I finally hit 6 miles!  That is the furthest I've gone pushing the stroller.  I also realized that it only took me 2 minutes longer to run 6 miles than it did the last time I hit a stroller run distance PR (5 miles).  I went an entire mile further in only 2 minutes longer!  While I may be discouraged by my lack of weight loss, seeing such a huge pace improvement was the confidence boost I needed!

 
Now that I have a sidekick with me, sometimes you just gotta stop mid run to check out the construction equipment.   The city is dredging our neighborhood pond, which happens to be a major rain water runoff pond for the city.  Downside to it is there is a ton of equipment rolling around on my path that I take for all of my stroller runs.  So far I've always been able to pass but they are making a mess of the asphalt.  Fingers cross they fix it!

After the 6 miles on Monday, a Jillian Michaels workout on Tuesday and two restless nights, I was dragging.  I still made myself go out the door though on Wednesday morning.  Megatron fell asleep quickly and I realized that I need to pay attention and recline his seat when he falls asleep so he doesn't slump over so badly...

It felt like I was running through molasses.  My pace was significantly slower than it was on Monday.  But I trudged through 4.5 miles before he woke up and I was ready to call it a day.

Thursday brought another Jillian Michaels workout but I cut it short after 45 minutes so I could pack a suitcase...

Because on Friday morning I was leaving on a jet plane!  After calling Southwest Airlines in January and crying while I canceled my flight to Orlando for the half marathon, I had unused funds available towards another ticket.  So I booked a flight to Denver to see my BFF who was going to meet me in Orlando.  We didn't get to do the half together but she was up for anything while I was in town.  In addition to just thoroughly enjoying her and her husband's company, we went for a run.  I was kind of wanting to get in 8 miles but due to heat and the altitude kicking my butt, we did just under 4 miles.  Hahaha.  Oh well.  I had a blast.  She brought her dogs so they were kind to me and we took breaks while they did their business and then took a few swims in the river we were running next to.  While hot, it was a beautiful day.  It was also a great way to see downtown Golden, CO.  I've been to the Denver area several times now and love it!  Everyone is active and outdoorsy, plus the communities support the active lifestyles with lots of multiuse trails, bike lanes and water bowls all over the place for the four legged companions. :) It was also the perfect way to catch up with my bestie.  And reenact a photo we took about 15 years ago.  This time instead of wearing matching sweatshirts in he the Smoky Mountains, we wore matching technical shirts in the foothills of the Rockies.  We don't have matching perms or glasses anymore but that's probably for the best.

Early 90s awesome!

Still crazy....it's like time never passes.

Mission: Undo What the Baby Did: Update 5

I'm behind in my updates again so here's what the past two weeks of Mission: Undo What the Baby Did looked like.

Week 1: I'm still hitting my hourly goal for the week.  This week was 5.75 hours.  That was even with taking 2 days off.  Usually I've only been taking one day off each week.  Megatron was visiting his grandparents so I was buzzing through a mile long to-do list.  The very first thing I did after he left though was a Jillian Michaels workout.  I told you I'm determined to undo what that baby did to my body!  I also had a big victory.  I had my longest run since December!  The morning after Megatron left with his grandparents, I hit the road!  I ran 8 miles!  EIGHT!  The weather was PERFECT and I felt great.  I know I could have easily gone further but I knew it wouldn't be smart so I stopped.  I felt so strong the entire time which was reassuring that all the hard work I've been doing lately is paying off in some way.

Lovin' the cornfields in my hometown. :)

While Megaton was on "vacation," I spent one entire day cleaning and then went on a date with The Pilot but I also got in 13 miles total while he was away.  Thirteen miles while he was away meant 13 miles WITHOUT pushing the run stroller!  Happy mama right here.

I even got in an additional 5 miles once he was back from his grandparents' but The Pilot spent the morning with him while I went running with the local Moms Run This Town group.  That brought my mileage for the week to 18!  I can't even remember the last time I hit that many miles in a week.  Probably before my pregnancy.

But first, let's take a selfie! (Photo borrowed from MRTT page.) :)

I also spent some more time with the evil Jillian Michaels and made progress with the arms and abs challenges.  I still struggle with doing "real" sit ups and I am still doing modified push ups though I try to put my knees further away from my arms whenever I can.

Week 2:  I hit a bit of a wall this week.  I was pretty discouraged when I went to the doctor early in the week.  I've only lost about 2 pounds over the last several months despite kicking up the workouts several notches.  My bad cholesterol and triglycerides are also still high which frustrated me since I've cleaned up my eating significantly since we returned home after Megatron's transplant.  After reviewing my exercise routine and diet with the doctor, among other things, its becoming more apparent that my bad cholesterol and triglycerides may be out of my control and are genetic.  My good cholesterol and everything else looks great (looks better than it did in April) and since I don't have any other risk factors, the doctor decided it wasn't so high that I need medication as long as it doesn't get any higher.  Hopefully I can keep working on losing more weight which may help those numbers as well.  The whole ordeal was frustrating though.

In addition to that, Megatron has several medical appointments, including one sedated procedure, which is always stressful.  Nothing major, its just stressful and tiring.  I dealt with most of it on my own so by the end of each day, I was exhausted.  I was soooo ready for The Pilot to return home after 4 long days away.  I only got in one run and it was only 40 minutes while The Pilot stayed home with Megatron.  Ultimately what happened was in order to meet my goal of 4 hours of exercise in a week, I had to cram most of it in over the weekend once The Pilot was home to help out.

So I ended the week with 4.25 hours.  Just barely squeaking in there.  Blah.  It happened though.  And even though I was ready to call the week a wash and not even attempt to reach 4 hours, I sucked it up.  The Pilot pitched in and cleaned up the dinner messes after Megatron was down for the night so that I could spend quality time with Jillian Michaels.  I am so thankful that he has been so supportive during Mission: Undo What the Baby Did. 

Mission: Undo What The Baby Did: Update 4

Given that it is Monday again, I'll update my progress from the past two weeks.

Week 1: Success!  I got in 5.75 hours of activity.  I did one stroller run/walk (5 miles) and was pooped.  I really wasn't planning on going that far but Megatron fell asleep later than usual (nearly 3 miles in) so I had to keep moving until he woke up from his nap.  I might be a rookie parent but I know enough not to wake a sleeping baby....even if it means putting in more miles.

I also did a 5 miler with some training buddies a few days later and I was so proud/excited that I was able to cover the same distance I did with the stroller but 11 minutes faster.  11 minutes!  It's amazing how much harder it is to push the stroller.  It also helped that I was with people for a couple stretches of my stroller-free run and was able to run longer and take shorter walk breaks.  Thank you Lisa, Jim and Kami!  You pushed me without even realizing.  Well....Lisa probably realized because she had to yell at me to start running after a walk break.

Week 2: Success!  I got in 6 hours of activity.  My most yet since keeping track and probably the most I've done in a week since the beginning of my pregnancy.  I was pleased to see how much this week added up to because I was pretty fatigued all week and not very motivated.  I somehow managed to force myself to get something in 6 out of 7 days.

I only did one stroller run/walk (4 miles) due to the heat but I did spend an hour and 45 minutes with Jillian Michaels this week.  I'm now on day 22 of the abs and arms challenges.  I'm really starting to hate planks but I'm still plugging away.  It was also a very fun week.  My hubby joined me three days in a row.  The most fun was a 45 minute hike with him and Megatron.  Love these boys!

In addition to the fun hike, I had a BLAST racing on Sunday!  I did the New Albany Walking Classic 10k.  My half marathon walking PR is at the New Albany race but I haven't walked the 10k since 2006!  Thinking back to that race, SOOOOO much has happened.  I didn't have a blog, a husband or a baby.  I'll post more on the race soon (so behind on race recaps!!).

I've completed 4 weeks of tracking my progress both by writing it down and blogging about it and I think both have kept me much more accountable.  Looking forward to adding it up each Sunday evening but not having the pressure of having to do a set workout each day is working.  I have to be flexible with Megatron in the picture but having a weekly goal instead of a daily goal seems much more obtainable to me right now.  I've been doing some kind of activity 6 days a week which is a huge improvement over the random 1-2 days here and there, with some weeks lacking completely.  I went ahead and printed out another 4 weeks of fitness calendars so I can keep it up.  My goal is still at least 4 hours each week but I'm seeing that 5 hours is still very reasonable.  As I get closer and closer to finishing the 30 day arms and abs challenges, I need to start looking for something new to do.  I like having the option of a quick 10-20 minute workout I can do on busy days, bad weather days, or days I'm just not into it. 

Mission Undo What the Baby Did: Update 3

Last week went much better than the week before.  I had over 5.5 hours of exercise.  I had a race at the end of the week but I tried hard to not slack off before the race.  I did skip the abs and arm workouts the day before and the day of the race but I got them in the other 5 days.  I was even able to progress each day with the abs and arms challenges.  They are definitely getting harder each day but I'm doing my best to hang in there with the schedule.

I also tried a Jillian Michaels yoga video.  It was HARD!  I had to modify A LOT of the moves and had to take a few breathers.  She moves fast through each move to burn more calories but it was a little too fast for my fitness level but also for the speed my brain can compute what she is doing.  I also somehow managed to pull a muscle in my hand during the workout.  Seriously?!  It took a couple days before I could do a push up with an open hand!

I was feeling a little run down so rather than trying another high intensity Jillian Michaels, I opted to do the post-natal rescue video twice.  It's much slower pace and focuses on strengthening the core but also incorporates some leg work that I've noticed has helped with some tightness I've had in my hips.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday I got in some great mileage!  14 miles to be exact!  Friday was a family 3.5 mile walk.  Other than spending time together, the best part was that The Pilot pushed the stroller!  Saturday might as well have been a 4 mile swim.  For once I wasn't exaggerating and it really was 100% humidity.  It was about 70 when we got started but it felt like 90.  Katy pushed me through it though and we did a lot of running and finished just under an hour, which put me at pre-pregnancy pace....for walking but hey, it's progress.

Sunday was the jackpot though!  It was my first "real" race since having Megatron.  I've done two charity 5ks for great causes but this was a chance to race.  It was a quarter marathon, so about 6.5 miles.  I'll hopefully get a full race recap written soon but it was an amazing morning!

And since this is an undo what the baby did post, how about a picture of the guilty party.  He likes to steal my food.  This time he stole my nectarine and started gnawing on the core.

Mission: Undo What the Baby Did: Update 2

I fell a little short of my weekly goal (at least 4 hours of exercise) last week.  I came in at 3.5 hours.  I only missed one day completely and if I would have planned a little better, I would have been right at the 4 hour mark.  We were road-tripping on Friday and I should have just done a quick workout before we hit the road for home but I didn't.  Oops.  Next goal: plan ahead!

I did spend 30 minutes on the treadmill at the hotel while we were away.  And it was about 100 degrees in the fitness center.  Maybe that counts for extra time??  I was dripping as I walked back to my room which was luckily not too far away and I didn't run into anyone. Not that it would have mattered, the hotel was full of gaming convention attendees and airline employees.  There's only one airline employee that I ever try to impress and he was sitting in a hangar somewhere proving he knows how to operate the windows in the cockpit so I knew I would be cleaned up before I saw him again.  Anyways...

Why, oh why do they put mirrored walls in hotel fitness centers?  I do not need to stare at myself while I sweat buckets.  Also unnecessary?  The windows behind me that faced the lobby.  I do not need all the hotel guests looking at my sweaty back!

I made it to day 9 of the arms and abs challenges but it's getting hard!  My theory is if I don't successfully complete a day, then I have to try it again.  Once I finish it, then I move on.  That means I did have to repeat a couple days (and then missed Friday completely).  Ultimately it will now take me more than 30 days to complete the challenges but it seemed like cheating if I don't actually complete each exercise outline on a given day.

On Saturday, I got my butt kicked by Jillian Michaels.  I attempted one of her hour long workouts again.  The first attempt I only made it 45 minutes before I waved the white flag.  This time I stuck it out the entire hour.  There was only one move that I could not do at all.  As in, my brain couldn't even figure out how to attempt it.  And then I did have to use her modifications quite a bit.  But I survived an hour.  I was dripping though!  And then when I tried to walk down the stairs afterwards, my quads were shaking.  Fun times.

Not so fun?  Doing that Jillian Michaels workout at 8:00 pm and then making plans for a 4 miler at 9:00 am the next morning.  The plan was to do a pretty solid run/walk but after I woke up and realized every fiber of my being ached, I knew I would have to just get through the miles.  Katy met me at my house, I strapped Megatron into his stroller and we were off....very slowly.  We only did two run breaks and walked the rest.  But it was over an hour of exercise and even though I was sore, I still got it done.  Plus, I got to have adult conversation which is hard to come by when I'm home alone with Megatron. 

Mission: Undo What the Baby Did: Update 1

My first week of keeping track of my workouts was a success!  My goal was to complete at least 4 hours of fitness activities in a week.  I hit 4.5 hours!  I also completed the first week of the 30 day abs and arms challenges that I started.  I'm halfway through week two and I'm just now starting to feel sore.  My abs hurt when I sneeze.  My armpits hurt.  Good times.

I did a 3 mile walk with the stroller last week with a new friend, Cathy, but then got in not one but TWO stroller-free workouts over the weekend!

First up was a virtual race with a group called Moms Run This Town.  It's a national, free running group for mamas and there is a local chapter here in town that is really active.  You could just show up and pick your distance.  I had plans to do 6 miles the next day so I opted for the 5k. The women were so welcoming!  They were all paces and probably the least intimidating group of women ever.  For three miles I got to know a couple of the ladies and we had a blast chatting, getting temporarily lost, taking selfies and getting our sweat on.  I hope to continue to get more active with the group so hopefully I can get to know some other mamas with small children.  This whole stay at home mom gig can be pretty isolating.

The next morning I met up with my other training buds.  I haven't made it to a group workout in several weeks because they meet at 7:30 am over the summer months.  And if The Pilot isn't home to do the baby wrangling, I can't go.  Megatron gets his morning medications at 6:45 and we don't have much wiggle room.  But The Pilot was home last weekend so I was out the door early both days!  My friend Katy (she's the rock star from my It Takes a Village post!) had already agreed to go 6 miles with me and push me.  And push she did!  She let me take walk breaks but then would tell me when to run again.  Which is just what I needed because I would have forgotten and just kept walking the rest of the way.  In the end, we tackled 6 miles (well, she did 9 because after 6 miles with me, she wanted to go have some more fun) in 1 hour 29 minutes.  That is the fastest average pace I've had since before things got so bad with Megatron at the beginning of the the year.  It felt great to push myself and be able to see what I'm capable of right now without pushing 40 pounds of baby and stroller!