Minneapolis-Star-Tribune-runningkellometers

I like to lift weights. I didn't really do much lifting last marathon cycle but I've been getting more into it this year. I don't read fitness or weight lifting magazines or books so I never really know what to do in the weight room. An important part of weight lifting is your form and I never know if I'm doing it right. I'm overly flexible in my joints so things never go they way they "should." Once I know the right way, I can control the movements to make sure I'm getting the most out of my workout. Thankfully my friend Kate S. knows what's up. She has been lifting weights for a few years now and knows her way around. She has helped push me beyond the realm of baby colored weights, into believing in myself and what I can lift. Whenever I workout with her, she helps push me outside my normal range, and it is never the same routine. I always learn something new which I then try to incorporate on my own. We lifted on Sunday afternoon and I'm still not fully recovered. My arms are mega sore, but in a good "they are getting stronger" kind of way. I know if I lifted weights more often, they wouldn't be this sore. However, with all the time I need to spend studying and everything else, I'm lucky if I get a chance to go to lift weights once a month!

I have some questions for all of you!

How often do you lift weights (if at all)? 

How do you look up a weight lifting routine? What resources do you use (working with a trainer, fitness magazine, YouTube videos)?

Would you be interested in finding out more about a suggested weight lifting routine?

And because every post needs a photo, here are a few quick shots of me trying to flex in the mirror of my office building locker room.

The last one is my favorite, but someone was coming in so I had to pretend like I was being a creep. Therefore, it ended up being blurry. Oh well. And I apologize for the late post. My building doesn't get good cell reception so the photos wouldn't send from my phone to my email. Technology fail.

I know this upcoming week is going to be crazy busy at work, so I tried to put in as much miles as I could this weekend. I've kind of been shifting my strategy this past week and less focused on the times of my runs. Just going out there and running has been my main goal, and for now, I like it like that.

On Sunday, Kate LF and I hit up the gym to do the upper body circuit I've mentioned a few times already. I got a copy of the magazine article so you can see the exact workout.

Each circuit should take 15 seconds, even though you are going up in weight and the reps are decreasing. Your first set should be easy, but not too easy, and the increments should be challenging but not overwhelming (If you're not sweating, by the 2nd or 3rd cycle, you're not working hard enough.) I really pushed the weight this last time around and have been trying to keep track of what I've done on Daily Mile. I like that you are forced to increase the weight and push your limits. I really like this workout a lot and am not yet bored with it. I know which machines to use so I kind-of know what I'm doing. Confidence in the weight area has helped me conquer this fear, and I feel I will be much more prepared for future races if I keep this up! Let me know if you give this workout a try and how it works out for you!

Since the weather was so terrible on Friday, my husband (Toph) and I moved our reservation to Sunday, in between the football games. After running and working out with Kate LF, I was excited to replenish some of those calories in the form of an Indian buffet.
Here is plate 1 of my meal. I felt quite adventurous and tried every single thing that they had. I was proud of myself because I can sometimes be a picky eater based on looks alone.

This weekend I received some sport wash samples and plan on trying them out and including a review!
Stay tuned later this week when I finally get around to doing my laundry. :)

Sorry I haven't been posting much over the weekend. I only had my iPad with me and I don't yet know how to use many of the features. Warning, the "iBlogger" iPad app is not for the "Blogger" website, despite the logo being exactly the same. (I will be contacting Apple to try and get my money back from that scam, by the way.)

I spent the weekend (Thursday through Sunday) with my husband's family in Lake Geneva. We had tons of fun! The scenery is beautiful.

We always play lots of really fun games.

Drink too much alcohol...
and end up like this

The birthday gods must have been shining down on me because I didn't get sick the next day. I felt horrible, don't get me wrong, but didn't get sick. As my birthday is January 6 and most people are tired from Christmas and/or New Years, my birthday isn't usually a big deal. I have fun keeping things relatively low key and my husband and I just go out to dinner and that is it. This year was an exception and we had a ton of fun (as I'm sure you can tell from the pictures)!

I planned on doing a local race in Lake Geneva on Saturday, but we always go to church on Saturday night. I thought I would be able to squeeze in both but decided against going to the run and ran on the treadmill instead. I also planned on getting up early our last day to run around the area, but packing took longer than expected and I wasn't able to get out there. I'm disappointed I wasn't able to run outside like I always love to do on vacation, but I was happy to get the run in regardless! Now I know for next year to plan my time better to get it done!

I'm happy to be back to reality, sleep in my own bed, and catch up on all the blogs I've missed! Today I plan on hitting up our office fitness center to get in 3 miles and also see if I can do the circuit workout that my friend Kate and I did last Monday. We'll see if they have the right equipment to do all of the exercises! Half marathon training will start soon and I'm excited to get my butt in gear to work towards my first sub-2 hour half marathon in May! I think I'm going to enjoy not training for a marathon this year, but I already know I'm going to miss it. Do you get race envy? Wish you signed up or trained for something when cheering on a friend? Do you sign up for next year's race right away? What do you do to help counter your envy?

Yesterday I was so sore I could barely move so I decided to take a rest day. Working out at the gym is hard!

My husband and I will be leaving tomorrow afternoon to go to Lake Geneva. Every year his family goes up there around or after New Years and takes over a whole hallway at the hotel. It is a weekend where we sit around, drink, play games, and eat really delicious junk food. It's basically Christmas without all the stress of preparing, cleaning, and gift giving. We leave on Thursday and come back on Sunday. Since we won't be around to celebrate my birthday on Friday, I got to open up my present early. Drum roll please...

NBD

Yes, that's an iPad! I've been wanting one ever since they came out but would never justify such a large purchase (especially on myself). My husband knew what I was thinking so he decide to get one for me. (After I opened it, he did say that it was on sale because someone returned it after opening it. He really knows how I love a good deal.) on the plus side, I'll be able to keep up with all my blogs while in Lake Geneva, as long as the hotel has some kind of wi-fi. (Although, The Abbey tries hard to be upscale so there might only be free wi-fi in the lobby.)

Naturally the first thing I did was take a bunch of photos of my dog and mess with the Photo Booth feature. I know this is going to be a fun weekend!

Today on Living Social's website, they have a 1 year subscription to Women's Health magazine for $8. As I'm just starting to get more into lifting weights, I thought it would be a good starting point. If you want in on this deal too, here's the link!

Have any of you subscribed to Women's Health before? What did you think of the mag?

Do any of you also have an iPad? What are some good apps? Pinterest really needs a better iPad app.

Happy New Year to all of you! Its day 3 of the new year... Have you been working on your resolutions yet? :)

On January 1, I was quite possibly the laziest person on the planet. I did absolutely nothing productive all day. It was amazing.

Yesterday, however, it was back to work. I met up with my friend Kate LF at Charter Fitness as she can workout at my gym with me for free anytime. She had brought an issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine with her so we decided to do the circuit workout listed that focused on the upper body. We started out with 12 reps of each of the 7 exercises. After each circuit, we did 5 minutes on the elliptical, and at the start of each circuit, we took the weight up a notch (and decreased the number of reps). I felt fantastic afterwards (and am really sore today). It was great for me to mentally get over the "I can't do more than 20 lbs on the machine" hurdle. Before the end of the day, I had lifted 45 lbs all by myself (yes, I lifted just the bar). I felt far less wimpy than in earlier workouts. I plan on doing this workout again next Monday!

After this workout, I did some grocery shopping at Super Target before heading home to do some laundry. Does anyone else have problems getting the sweat smell out of their clothes? We don't buy Procter and Gamble so we can't use Tide, Wisk, or Gain. I've been using All but I feel it isn't doing the trick and my clothes still smell like sweat even after they've been washed, twice. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Also, since it was Monday and I was around, I headed to RFK for their weekly Monday fun runs. There was a pretty big group of us, and I was able to run with Kate S and Pepper! The dog had a much harder time adjusting to our pace, and we had a rough 1st mile. We finally got our rhythm; it just took a little longer than usual. In the end, we finished 5 miles in 44:01 (average pace 8:47). Now, my tracking of 2012 miles on Daily Mile has officially begun. I'm excited for the year to come! :)

RFK Running Group Where's Waldo. Can you see me?

As what is becoming my new Monday routine, I worked out the guns today. As I've mentioned before, my office building has a nice little workout facility. I snuck a few pictures between sets. Please don't mind my pasty white legs that practically blend in with the weight bench. (Summer or winter, my legs are always this pale. When I was in the medical tent at the Chicago Marathon, they asked if I was always this pale.) One of my co-workers was doing some heavy lifting and I couldn't help but laugh as I was breathing heavy with my mini 5-pounders. I looked up a couple different "runner" arm workouts and gave them a whirl. I did 3x 10 of each of the following: military pulls, front curls, back curls, and fly lifts (these names sound made up). I also used the "boob shrinker" machine. (This is a technical term from the high school days.) I think it is actually called a butterfly machine. I'm not sore yet, but it felt like a good workout. I know I will be soon! I'm just getting back into this weights thing, but I'm hoping it will help me push hard through that last mile of a 5k or the last straight away at a half marathon.

Hopefully I'll be able to take the pup with me for a jog tomorrow night. I know she has been dying to go. We are finishing up day 5 without any hot water. The husband is doing research and hopefully we'll have a solution tomorrow. Fingers crossed!!!