I DO still exercise!

Haven't had much to say about workouts these days. Today was my last day of boxing camp (end of May session) and I'm looking forward to finding a new challenge. Don't know what it will be yet, but I'll be sure to let you know about it when I figure it out.

So this week, workouts have looked like this:
Monday -- boxing camp, swings with clients
Tuesday -- 6 mile run
Wednesday -- boxing camp
Thursday -- boxing camp

I plan to do some longer runs this weekend and maybe the P90X yoga dvd or Art of Strength's Providence kettlebell DVD.

In a few minutes, my boyfriend (actually husband, but boyfriend just sounds and feels like a lot more fun!) will be home from a 5 day golf trip in Oregon. I can't wait!!!

Meeting George!

I pulled Tucker out of school and we headed to U Food to meet George Foreman. We only got a moment with him (there were tons of people there, of course), but I'm told by the owners of the restaurant that he is one of the nicest and most down to earth people you'll ever meet.

When we met, I told him I've been boxing since January and have a tremendous amount of respect for what he's done. He said, "You're boxing? Make a fist!" That's why the picture looks like this:

Here's Tucker with Mr. Foreman:

And here's Tucker with a tricked out SCHOOL BUS that was in the parking lot:

And as if meeting Mr. Foreman wasn't exciting enough, the owner of U Food asked if I could be interviewed for a U Food commercial! Don't know if what I said will make it onto the screen, but the process was exciting, to be sure!

Time to try something new

Next week is my last week of boxing camp, after 5 months of hitting the heavy bag. I'm feeling a little sad, but I think it's the right decision. In the summertime, we stay up late. And I can't find a way to make that make sense when I get up at 4:45 for boxing. So I'm taking a break for the summer, and returning to boxing in the fall.

Usually when we hit the heavy bag, I pretend that I'm hitting depression. But today I noticed that I wasn't hitting depression because I don't feel depressed. Something I'm doing is working, because I'm really feeling balanced and happy. Possible reasons?

1. Cell regeneration -- I'm still getting one treatment a week and I think it's making a huge difference. (Wish there was a website I could point you to for more info!)

2. Green smoothies -- I'll write more over on my other blog, but the short version is that I've found what I've always been looking for: fresh, fast, healthy convenience food that I make myself!

3. Standing up for myself -- I'm feeling stronger than I've ever felt before and it feels like I've found my voice. So if something's not working for me, I say so. Or if I'm angry, I speak up. And if I want something, I can say it. After many years of trying not to be a bother or be in the way, this way of expressing myself is foreign and feels wonderful.

Recent workouts

Thursday: boxing camp (am), run 11 miles (pm)
Friday: boxing camp (am)
Saturday: run 10 miles (am)
Sunday: P90X chest/shoulders/triceps (am), Art of Strength Providence (pm)
Monday: boxing camp (am), swings with client (pm), Providence (pm)

At dinner I was saying that I'd done boxing camp and a kettlebell workout today, and Austin said I was crazy. That's a normal comment from a 14-year-old, but I was thinking about it last night, and decided to talk to him about it.

Me: I have a response to your comment about me being crazy because of my workouts.
Austin: Wow -- it only took you 2 hours to come up with a response?! (he's sarcastic like that, and it was said with a smile, so it was ok)
Me: You skated (skateboards) yesterday for 5 hours with your friends, and that was play. Well, the workouts are my play. Only it's tough to find friends to play with, which is why I do boxing camp, or DVDs. But if you think of it like that, it won't seem so crazy.
Austin: You're right.

Honestly, I see the physical stuff I do as playtime, pure and simple. Sometimes it's tough play, but it's still play. This morning I ran 7 miles with a girlfriend. We both started the run tired and it felt like the wind was in our faces no matter which way we ran. So it wasn't an easy run. But guess what? It's done. And we had a great time doing it, even when we were coming up Backside (for those who are local and know of this hill -- it's a killer!) and talking about how hard it was -- yeah, it was hard, but WE DID IT! And that feels fantastic!

New month of boxing camp

Yesterday began another new month of boxing camp. There were 5 new women in the 5:35 am camp and they all looked so nervous. I wanted to give them hugs and tell them it would be ok, but that just isn't what you do at boxing.

My friend's husband started camp yesterday in the class after mine. When I asked her how it went, she said he threw up during camp from the intensity. Oh no!!! She said the trainers were really nice and acted proud of him, which fits with the intensity of it all. But I feel awful. And at the same time, I feel proud -- proud that I can make it through tough workouts. And then I feel a little awful about feeling proud, if that makes any sense at all!

Just the other day, I found some videos from Prime Time Boxing on You Tube. They're just little clips of heavy bag work and some line drills, but if you're interested, go to You Tube and check it out.

Run? Done!

This is my last week of 5 days of boxing camp and I think that's good. Yesterday I was up at 4:45 for a particularly grueling workout that included lots of lunges and jumping lunges. And I wanted to do my last long run before next weekend's race. So I went out and did 11 hard miles, using every trick in the book to keep myself going. I don't know what anyone else does or thinks to keep going when they want to stop, but some of my devices include:

• thinking of my feet as Pac Mans (you know, the video game from the 1980s) eating up the pavement
• focusing on doing just one mile at a time
• telling myself that I can walk or stop anytime I want to (strangely, this makes it less likely that I'll do either!)
• thinking of Lance Armstrong and a particular story where he does like a 3 hour mountain climb on his bike in the rain, and then, because it didn't feel right, does it AGAIN!
• thinking of ultra-runner Dean Karnazes who ran 50 marathons in 50 days
• thinking of the ease I have with food and the ease I have in my clothes when I run

Today was boxing camp and it was especially brutal, not because of yesterday's run, but because only 2 people showed up, so the ratio of trainers to victims was 3:2. Seriously , I was drenched in sweat and very happy when it was over. And tomorrow I'm running 10 with 2 girlfriends who want to do 10 but have never run more than 8 at a time. They are in shape to do it and I think they're going to feel fabulous once it's done.

So that's it from me for now. I have two more clients today, both of whom are really fun. And the weekend will be filled with kid sleepovers (at our house, different kids, both nights!) and end of season gymnastics banquet (tonight) and maybe a trip to the dog park.

Finally, the next time I write it will be in response to and with appreciation for all comments that have been left here. Be a good one, everyone!

Finding some balance

I will respond to the much-appreciated comments in the next few days, but thank you to my smart friends who think I'm overtraining. You're right and I plan to do something about it.

I don't know exactly how I'm going to handle scheduling workouts, but I think I'm going to drop boxing conditioning for May. That will drop me to 3 days a week of boxing which should make a big difference. But conditioning is fun, in a crazy sort of way, so I'm tempted to keep it. But my 1000 miles of running is important to me, and it supports my 6 half marathons for the year, so it makes sense to go to 3 boxing days.

This morning I ran 11 miles and it felt great. I would have gone further but it was super windy, and I was ready to be inside after 11! Got home, cleaned up, took Tucker to Tae Kwon Do, and then he and I headed out to lunch and to Petroglyph where I painted yet another pig and he painted his second gnome. We have fun painting together -- it's very peaceful and sweet.

We're off to church, then heading home to watch one of my all-time favorite movies, The Terminator, as a family, with much popcorn and snacking -- hooray!

Gassed or whatever you call it

What's the word for when your body goes, "Nope. We're not doing another single thing today!"? Gassed? Smoked? Finito? Well, whatever it is, it's Friday afternoon and I'm there.

I'm needing to reevaluate my goals because while alone they are all fine, when viewed all together as belonging to the same person (me!), they may not work well. Here's the weekly goal list:

boxing camp 5 mornings
run 20 miles
one 1000 kettlebell swing workout
cell regeneration treatment (with 24 hours of rest afterwards)

Today I got up at 5:15 for boxing (today is conditioning, which starts at 6:00 which is why I get to sleep in), and I was TIRED! But once I got going at boxing I was fine. Workout was hard, but they're all hard. Came home, knowing I wanted to run 14 miles today. Got cleaned up. Trained 2 clients. Had a "window" where I could do part of my mileage, so I went out and did a fast-ish 7 (1:02 overall time). Trained another client. Laid down intending to rest for 30 minutes before doing the other 7 miles. Slept through alarm. Woke up really tired. Decided (with sane husband's help) to not run the other 7. Then I thought, "Well, I can do my swing workout!" Got ready. Did 100 swings. And knew that nothing else was happening.

Although it may sound like I'm obsessed with workout out, I'm really not. Nor do I have freaky body image issues (just normal ones like most women!). I just really want to hit all of my goals and it's getting hard to fit it all in.

So the plan for tomorrow is to go out early and run 10. I'll let you know how it goes.

A most unusual day

Today I'm not exercising at all. Nothing. Nada. The last time I had a day like this was ... hmmmm ... well, I'm not really sure. With boxing camp Monday through Friday, and 1000 swings one day and a long run the other day of each weekend, it's been a while since I had a day off.

Today wasn't supposed to be a day of rest. I got up at 4:45 to find Tim already up, having gotten up at 3:00! He's been stressed out about work and just couldn't sleep. I started getting ready for boxing camp, when I had the thought, "I should stay and be with my husband." So I sat on the weight bench in the training room and kept him company while he did P90X Core Synergistics. (I would have joined him, but I pulled something deep in my core the other day and have taken a few days off from ab-intensive exercises.)

So then it was time to get the kids up and going for school. Then I trained a client who had some great news. She tried on some bikini bottoms from 2 years ago that she couldn't wear last year, and they fit and looked great! Needless to say, that's exciting news for me. As she put it, her "butt corners" are gone.

Next on today's agenda was a cell regeneration treatment. I have a friend who does this energy work (it's similar to Reiki, I'm told) and while I can't really tell you how light touch and breathing can heal things at a cellular level, I can tell you that my bicep tendon no longer hurts after 2 years of aching daily. Plus I'm told this treatment is highly effective for dealing with depression, which makes it hugely appealing to this girl. So I've been going for treatments for about 2 months now, and here's the thing -- after a treatment, you're supposed to take it easy for the rest of the day, or the energy change doesn't really take hold. Well, there goes my planned 10 mile run for the afternoon.

So here I am with "extra" time on my hands. These are a few things going on in my world:

• The Spirituality of Being Enough. I'm going on a women's AA retreat this weekend. As you may know, I've been clean and sober for 21 years. But since I've had kids, I've rarely gone to meetings. Well, somehow I've hooked up with a really great group of women, and we're heading to a retreat. The title of the retreat is "The Spirituality of Being Enough" and it's being led by a Catholic nun who's in recovery. I am not usually a fan of big groups of women -- too silly, too emotional. But with how tough my kids have been, I can't WAIT to be away for the weekend!

• Veg Tucker? Tucker's told me several times over the past few weeks that he respects me for being vegetarian. It's always been at really random times, and hearing that completely fills me up. Last night he told me he's "going veg." I told him that was great if it is what he wants. I also said that if he changes his mind, that's fine too.
  

• Hawaii is a GO! I will respond to comments individually soon, and I so appreciate the vacation suggestions, but it looks like Hawaii is a "go". We're getting our money back for the flights we already paid for (through the credit card company), and the price for 4 tickets has dropped some, enough that Tim really wants to stay with Hawaii for vacation this year.
  

• No sparring for me. Since starting boxing camp, I've toyed with the idea of actually getting in the ring and sparring. Last week I really gave it some though, and realized that the only reason I'd be sparring would be to brag about it (aka notches on the bedpost) and that is inconsistent with who I am and why I train in the first place. In fact, my plan at this point is to continue boxing camp through May and then go to Bikram yoga for the summer. (I live in a place where it gets over 100 degrees a lot, and I like to feel acclimated to the heat.) That way I won't have to get up so early while the kids are out of school. But I think I'll be back to boxing in the fall.

• 1000 miles. Ten years ago, when I was 37 and my kids were 2 and 4, I set a goal of running 1000 miles. To do this, you need to run 20 miles a week on a consistent basis, and it's that consistency that can be challenging. Well, I've decided that a decade later, I'm shooting for the same goal. That's why on my blog sidebar I'm tracking average miles per week. Since I didn't decide on this goal until April, I've got some miles to make up. But that's ok -- goals are supposed to push you, right?

Probably no more writing till Monday. Have a wonderful weekend, friends!

Oh my aching muscles

Did I overtrain yesterday? Ummmm yeah, if my body has anything to say about it. This week starts 5 day a week boxing training (3 days boxing skills, 2 days conditioning). So yesterday I did conditioning at 6:00 am. Then at 8:30 I trained with a client (my one client I workout with, at her request). And at 5:00 pm I decided to get some running miles in and did 4 hilly miles. And now? Ouch! Where? Ummm, everywhere.

Time for a quick breakfast, then I'm off to boxing. This WILL be my only workout for today!

Boxing, fake and real

My arms are pumped, I'm out of breath and sweating, and I'm really happy because I've been playing Wii Boxing. Santa got us a Wii for Christmas, and so far I've gained 475 experience points, and knocked out 5 opponents. Why am I doing this? Well, first of all because it's fun. But beyond that, my niece (age 19) and I are taking a boxing lesson tomorrow, and I want to practice up! (My style -- if you can call it that -- involves punching as hard and fast as I can. Tim and the kids agree that I punch like a girl, but I point to my flawless record and say it's good to punch like a girl!)

Really, we'll be at Prime Time Boxing tomorrow for a private boxing class. Since my niece lives in Iowa and I rarely get to see her, I'm excited that we can do something so unusual and make some memories together.

Ok, gotta get back to Wii. Tim's been practicing, and we're taking each other on in a few minutes -- wish me luck!