How I'm Fitting in Running Now That School's Back in Session

So hard to wake them up when they are sleeping so soundly!

 Yeah, so I'm a little late on the "back to school" post, but I would wager that most of us are still getting back in the swing of things. I have to admit, its nice having a routine again. But sometimes this routine is a little grueling. I can't wait for Thanksgiving, just to get the long weekend (even though we just had one for Labor Day) because I am going to be burned out by then!

So, in my school district, the kids start at 7:45 am, which seems insanely early to me. I don't know who is in charge of making up these hours, but to wake up my 6 year old Monkey at 6:15 am every day is hard sometimes even for ME! He's my grumpier child in the morning, and very difficult to get out of bed and get going. Maybe because I live in a small-ish town, everybody goes to bed early because there is not a lot going on at night, the school board must figure we all pop right out of bed before the rooster says cock-a-doodle-doo. Fortunately the Buddha's preschool doesn't start til 8:30. In my younger days, I never would have believed I would be grateful for an 8:30 start.

Me and Scrappy Mama on the move! Blair Witch looking!

I still have to get my runs in.  And now, its not just in the morning before I have to leave for work, its got to be done before I even wake Monkey up. I have got to really hand it to my running buddy, Scrappy Mama. She does the 10-minute drive to my house to arrive by 5:30 am so we can crank out 4+ miles before I have to get back and get the kids morning routine started. If I had to physically get up and leave my house and be at her house by 5:30 am I think I'd fail miserably. There are so many non-running days that my alarm goes off at 5 am and I decide I am too tired and turn it off. I wish it were different, but I'd truly be lost without my running buddy. She is pretty reliable, and there are times when we have to flake for various reasons but we always have running on the brain. If we have to cancel today, can we make it work tomorrow? We both want to be healthy and fit, for ourselves and our families. We meet up at least 3 mornings a week. On Saturday we typically do a longer run (as our childrens' sports schedules permit) and don't have to get up at so ungodly of an hour. 2 other days out of the week I do yoga or another cross-training type DVD, plus have my YMCA membership for Sunday morning TRX.

 It's all good!

--Yawn.

Cardio Crack: Cage The Elephant

I have a pretty extensive workout playlist. There are some weeks that a particular song moves me more than others. Maybe it's the the activity I'm doing, or where I happen to be working out. This week, I've been working out in my garage before work. My kids are on Spring Break and I haven't had to wake them up at the crack of dawn to get them ready. My body is so trained to get up at a certain time, I find it impossible to sleep in...so instead I'm up at the usual time and have more "me" time. Score.

To be honest I usually am running with a friend these days, or doing a fitness DVD at home and it seems that I don't listen to music much. Since I have switched jobs and my commute is 5 minutes, I no longer have that 45 minutes in the morning for my "commuter crack". I used to have a healthy dose of caffeine, crank my car stereo and sing at the top of my lungs to make the drive tolerable. I miss my music - not the drive - and am going to try to listen to my own music when I work out at the gym rather than listen to what they have piped in.

So back to working out this week in my garage...my "garage band" this week has been Cage The Elephant. They SO rock. Here is my favorite tune of theirs that made it onto my playlist this week. Enjoy!

What song is getting you pumped to work out these days? I'm always on the lookout for good music to get me through my cardio sessions!

So Far, So Good

You Can Teach a Dog New Tricks
I am midway through my 5th week of my new crazy fitness plan. Crazy for me, that is. I saw my parents the other night at a birthday gathering for my sister, and they had a good laugh over me running outside before dawn on a regular basis. They shared stories - especially with my amused husband - about how I couldn't be woken up if my life depended on it, when I was younger and still living at home. Sometimes I can't believe it, but I have grown to really cherish the "extra" time during the day this new schedule gives me. I used to be a total night owl, but I would my evenings reading magazines or other doing unconstructive things like watching TV and surfing the web. And while my Tivo was cleared on a regular basis, I was tired in the morning and my ass had couch prints.

Staying Focused
Nowadays, I am like a granny, trying to be in bed between 9 and 9:30 on the 3-4x per week I have to get up and run the next day. When I get back, my family is still sleeping. I can drink coffee in peace, eat a little breakfast, wash/fold some laundry, check my email...I have quiet time just for me!  At night when I get home from work I am still in kind of a mad rush to get the kids fed, bathed and put to bed. And after that, rather than stay up too late trying to cram in some laundry or catch up on my shows, I just go to bed. I have a really great book I have been dying to read, but I know it will keep me up too late so I have put off starting it. I really want to stay focused on this plan for as long as I can. And I have realized, I don't even miss half of the shows used to "need" to watch. I have stopped recording most of them and also not replaced series that are off season or cancelled with new shows. I still watch TV, but I keep it to just a few nights a week, and only programs that I really LOVE.

Pushing the Limits
Additionally, I only give myself 1 day off exercise during the week, right in the middle. The days I am not running, I try to mix things up a bit by adding in yoga, pilates or doing an interval training (walking) on my treadmill. It's good practice to keep your muscles guessing by cross-training. This will prevent your body from getting too used to one form of exercise and your muscles will stay challenged by the variety. Already, my morning runs are getting easier, and my time is decreasing for the same route. Soon I'll be adding more distance!

Seeing Is Believing
I love looking in the mirror and seeing a thinner face staring back at me. I look so much better when my thighs are tight and muscular, and my butt is perky. Yoga is really toning my arms. I am working on my middle, which could definitely use some firming up and  that is always the last to go! I have to remember to keep drinking water and flushing out the toxins and things that make me puffy. As my running partner and I always say to each other - "Kick ass!"

Hope you are having a kick ass week!

Crazy Get After It Running Plan

I have a good friend that I have known for over 25 years. Yes I am that old, but thank goodness I don't look it! She and I love to get together for our "girl time" which is when we run, and talk. It's great for us to catch up and discuss the economy, finances, political and social issues, wine, food and chick stuff. I have always been motivated by my running buddy. The last year or so our running time has taken a hit as both of us have had some changes in our schedule which makes it difficult to run together as much as we'd like. She works a shift job so her schedule changes every 6 months, and I have a husband with a shift job that impacts my schedule, and I have 2 little ones under 5 that I have to work around also. It's no wonder I am looking and feeling a bit heavier than normal.

In recent blogs I have mentioned that I have never been a morning person, but somehow have been managing recently out of desperation to get up and exercise before work. Well I am even kicking it up a notch. My running buddy and I are pledging to run together in the morning, so early that it doesn't interfere with anyone's schedule. Which means sometimes on my day off I will be getting up to run at 6am, and she will do the same. Then a couple times during the week, we will run before she has to be at work...and since she starts at 6am, we will be running at 4:15. OMG. I can't believe I was even crazy enough to suggest this to her, but I think we are both serious about being fit and making changes in our lives.

I told my husband our plan and he gave me a funny look. I know he doesn't want to say it, but is thinking, "Yeah, right." Well it makes me want to prove to him as well as myself that we can do this! Yes, I will be tired. Yes, I will be freezing. Yes, it will be dark. But what choice do I have? It's so easy to make excuses. And as my buddy said, there will be less flaking at that time of the morning. We won't have anything interfering with our ability to run but ourselves. I can't blame my husband, my kids, a dr. appointment, birthday party, or anything else. Hell, the Giant's just won the World Series. I can, and WILL run before dawn. I will keep you posted on my progress!

Happy Fitness! A great weekend to all!

I Won't Be Stopped!

I love my kids wholeheartedly, from the depths of my soul to my fingertips at the end of the arms that I wrap around them so tightly. But twice this week they each innocently tried to interfere with my morning work out! I have to say, it would have been so easy to cave in and blow it off, but I stuck to my guns (no pun intended) and made it happen, even if my fitness time was a little bit limited after negotiating for a bit with the little buggers.

I have mentioned before that I am not really a morning person. Seriously. Before I am able to speak to anyone in the morning I have coffee. I'm one of those people. My biggest challenge with trying to work out in the morning has been to get up early enough so I can be finished before my kids wake up, and ideally even shower before they wake up. I have mostly been successful, but there have been a couple times that I got sidetracked by putting a load of laundry in or something insignificant that interfered with  rolling out of bed, changing and getting to it.

One morning, silly me, I went into my little Buddha's room (he's had this nickname since he was a baby due to a big belly and no hair...which has changed but the name has stuck) to make sure it wasn't too cold since I had left the window open the night before. Big mistake. He should have been sleeping soundly at this hour, but for whatever reason he perked right up. I tried to sneak out but he wasn't having it. So I had to take him out of his crib, and back to my room and snuggle with him for a bit to see if he'd relax. Then I resorted to the "no fail" in my arsenal - the TV. I was only going to work out in my garage so it was ok for him to be in the family room watching his favorite shows. He did come out to look for me, and thank goodness I as just finishing up. Success!

This morning, my little Monkey heard me rustling around with my coffee pot (damn!) and came out of his room in a daze saying "Mama, take me back to bed." Ok, who can say no to that? The child was half asleep and I just couldn't instruct him to go back to his room. So I tried to get him cozy back in his bed, but when I started to leave he wanted to come with me. Again, I turned to the TV. Ok, I don't condone using TV as a babysitter but sometimes it really helps out when you just need to get something done. This time, my husband was home and I was really eating into my work out time here so I needed maximum bang for the buck. So I went out the door and did a short run in my neighborhood. Then I came home and did a few of Gabby's glute and core exercises (yeah, because we are on a first-name basis now) with the stability ball and medicine ball. I'm not going to sweat it, I will just kick it up a few notches this weekend. Whew. I mean business. And, how.

Hoping you find time to get your body moving this weekend! 30 minutes is better than none.

Have you had any exercise or diet challenges this week? How did you overcome them?