Appleton Farms

Today was a beatific day.  Little Mister and I were itching to get outside and enjoy the sunshine.  I decided that a trip to the bucolic Appleton Farms was just the ticket.

I planned on a moderate 3 mile or so hike through the carriage road trails.  However, thanks to my awesome sense of direction and map reading skills, it turned into a 4.75 mile jaunt.  I stopped every half mile to bang out 20 squats.  There's nothing better than getting exercise in great outdoors with one of my favorite guys!

30 Day Challenge (Day 11): Abs, Butts and Arms

Plank:  regular-20 seconds; side-15 seconds each side (1)

Squats: 120 reps (2)

Push-ups: 9 reps (2)

30 Day Challenge: (Day 2) Abs, Butts, and Arms

Plank: 25 seconds (1)

Squats: 75 reps (1)

Push-Ups: 5 reps (2)

30 Day Challenge (Day 1): Abs, Butts, and Arms

Plank: 20 seconds (0)

Squats: 30 (0)

Push-Ups: 3 (2-it was really hard to keep proper form...man I'm weak!)

May 30 Day Challenges

I've decided to jump on the 30 Day Challenge bandwagon for lots of reasons:

1. I'm trying to get my body as strong as possible so as to avoid injuries like the one I enjoyed endured in November.
2. I want to be fitter as least as fit as I was BB (before baby...maybe it should be BT for before toddler???).
3. My mom is kicking ass in the workout department and my competitive side is not to be shown up.
4. The 30 day challenges are organized in a way that makes sense to me.
5. I like how it takes just a little effort to see results in strength.
6. The challenges will take mere minutes each day, can be done anywhere, and I can bang them out while Kellen is sleeping or playing (theoretically).
7. It's probably a better use of time than Facebook creeping...

So, here's what I'm working on this month:

Week 1, Day 2~ Doggy Style

Get your head out of the gutter!  I brought my canine son along for the run today.  It turns out he's about 6 pounds overweight and in need of a bit more cardio.  So, I figured he might benefit from a little Couch to 5K action, as well.  He did pretty well, despite getting tangled in the stroller wheel once and a nervous encounter with a hound during a potty break.  Anywho, I think it was a success all in all!  Here are the stats:

My back was a bit tight, so I'm giving today's run a 3.  The running was ok, but I didn't feel 100%.

I'm Back! (Week 1, Day 1...Again...)

So, it's been a while since I've posted about running because, well, there hasn't been any running.  After my totally sucky back injury in November, I have been sidelined.  It's been a slow recovery, to say the least.  I'm finally starting to feel stronger, so I decided today was as good a day as any to get back in the game.

Since we've been enjoying temps in the high 60s, I was itching to lace up my kicks and hit the streets.  My ever concerned PT husband has warned me to ease very slowly back into running. It's been a good 6 months and I am coming back from a pretty significant injury, so I decided to start the Couch to 5K program from the beginning again.  I figured it worked before, and it would definitely force me not to push myself too hard.

In addition to being antsy to get back to running, I was also excited to try out my new Garmin watch that Scotty-Boy got me for Christmas.  This nifty little gadget keeps track of all sorts of running data that I hope someday will make sense to me.  Here's a run-down of my "run:"

As you can tell, I was blazing fast (rolling eyes).  It's all good though, because the most important thing to me is that I was out there, doing my thing.  Plus, I had a really cute little buddy along for the ride!

Pay no attention to my gooch-eye...I may or may not have Bell's Palsy!

Today's run gets a 2.  I was slow as hell, but I felt pretty good all things considered.  Fingers crossed I'm not wracked with pain tomorrow!