Boot Camp!

Yesterday, I went to a local event sponsored by the young professional society in town. For $5, I took a 45 minute boot camp class, had a 45 minute nutrition chat, and I took a 45 minute Zumba class. Not a bad deal! It was at a place called Excel Fitness in CT. Nice people, great training, very supportive, and high energy! I would definitely consider going back.

Boot camp was great! We had three different stations set up, each with 4 exercises. We did each exercise for one minute, then switched until we finished all 4. Then we rotated from station to station until we had done each station twice. A lot of the exercises were classic P90X moves actually. One of my favorites was included... the pushup to side plank. LOVE IT! That to me is the ultimate in strength (or at least that's how it makes me feel). We also did sumo squats, pushups, jump lunges, jumping jacks... I can't remember the rest! All I know is that I was dripping with sweat when I was done, and I'm a bit sore in the obliques, shoulders, and upper back today. Nice!

I also took Zumba, which can be super fun! I was a dancer growing up, so Zumba is a great stress reliever (and workout) for me. I burn around 600 - 700 calories in an hour of Zumba and it flies by. You have to get over the silliness of dancing in front of strangers and possibly looking foolish or messing up. That doesn't matter though... just gotta move!

This week I'll be moving on to Phase 2 of my women's weight lifting workouts. I'll update after I've done the workouts. I'm excited to move forward! In phase 1, I made some great strides like upping my weights and improving my pushups. In the final workout of phase 1, I had improved to using 25 pound dumb bells for my lunges, 95 pounds for lat pulldowns, and 20 pound dumb bells for shoulder press. That is HUGE for me!

Hope all is well! Be healthy, be happy!

Running in the Snow!

We had a beautiful little snowstorm in CT last night. It's maybe 6 inches of fluffy, fun snow. I actually love running in the snow, so I plan to head out with a friend and her dog later on to the trails. I won't be running too fast since I'll be concentrating on keeping myself upright, but there's not much more beautiful than a snow covered running trail. Plus, watching a dog frolic in the snow is so entertaining!

I have a couple more weeks of phase 1 in my lifting plan, and then I'll be taking it up to the next level. These workouts have been very straightforward with very simple moves. Next phase, I add in some interval training as well as some more complex lifting moves. I'll update once I get there!

Have a fantastic weekend!

A Year in Review and a Look Ahead

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a safe, happy, and fulfilling holiday season! I spent time with my family of course, and I also got to see some of my closest friends. I couldn't ask for anything more. Now it is 2011, and I couldn't be more excited for it! I thought I'd take some time to reflect on the positives of 2010 as I look to the future. A lot has happened in a year, and I think it's motivating to look back and recognize where I've been. It helps me to move forward! So...

In 2010, I ran my second marathon. It wasn't my best marathon, but I finished and it is definitely the kicking off point of my renewed love of running. I ran my fifth half marathon, and I made my goal of under 2 hours. I ran a 5K in December and hit my PR of 24:51 and I placed second in my division. I improved my average mile pace during a typical 3 mile run from ~10 minutes per mile to 8 minutes per mile (or less). I returned to the gym and focused on weight lifting... forgot how much I love that!

In 2011, I'm going to keep the running and weight lifting going. I haven't decided what kind of races I'll do or when. I'm just going to go with the flow. I'm sure before long I'll be itching to sign up for something. I wouldn't getting even faster too...

Here's to a healthy and happy new year!