Fitness Friday 6/29

Currently Training For:

• Dopey Challenge 2018 - Walt Disney World
• Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon 2018 - New Orleans, LA 
• Contraband Days 5 Miler 
• 4 on the 4th
• Rock n Roll San Antonino Half 

Saturday - 5 Mile Run
Sunday - Rest Day
Monday - Early morning Orangetheory workout - "ESP" - Endurance, Strength, and Power 
Tuesday - 2 mile walk
Wednesday - Rest Day
Thursday - Orangetheory - Power workout combined with a partner workout
Friday - Rest Day


This has been an interesting week to say the least! The heat index is already insane and I am kind of scared to see what August has to bring!

On Saturday morning, Brayden and I ventured out for a 5 mile run. By 8 a.m., the temps were always at a "feels like 95 degrees" outside. What is that, even?!

Despite the oppressive heat, we made it!

...and we saw some chickens along the way!

On Monday morning, I woke up bright and early for an Orangetheory workout.

This workout was an ESP workout which combined endurance, strength, and power all in one. It was a great workout!!

I also might have stopped by PJ's for a "skinny" iced caramel latte!

On Thursday afternoon, I met up with a friend at Orangetheory for an afternoon workout. She was trying OT for the first time and didn't want to go alone, so she came with me!

This. Was. By. Far. The. Hardest. OT. Workout. So. Far.

The class was a "power" one, and I knew when we were finishing up things a little early that something was up. Sure enough, our coach said she had a "surprise" for us...and I knew that couldn't be good. So, she announced that the last 15 minutes of class was going to be a partner workout. I thought I had a partner but for some reason I didn't - it was a miscommunication and I didn't find out until we were already into the workout. This workout was a split between the weight floor and the rowers. After doing one set on the rowers and one set on the weight floor, I decided to just stay on the rowers and I rowed 1500 m instead! By the end of the class, I was done. DONE.

This seriously was a super tough workout. I definitely felt great afterward, though!

So, that was my workout week in a nutshell! I hope to run tomorrow morning, just much earlier than last weekend!

What are your weekend plans? Have a great one!

Fitness Friday - 6/15

Currently Training For:

• Dopey Challenge 2018 - Walt Disney World
• Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon 2018 - New Orleans, LA 
• Contraband Days 5 Miler 
• 4 on the 4th
• Rock n Roll San Antonino Half 

Sunday - Rest Day
Monday - Orangetheory - Strength workout
Tuesday - Rest Day
Wednesday - Early morning Orangetheory workout - "ESP" - Endurance, Strength, and Power
Thursday - Rest Day
Friday - Orangetheory - Strength workout 

It's Friday! I am so excited for this weekend because we are traveling to Texas to visit with family in their new home in New Braunfels! I've been to San Antonio but never explored the surrounding area, so this is exciting!

This week of workouts was exciting, too! They mostly took place at Orangetheory and although I'm only on a 2 times per week workout rotation, Monday's workout "didn't count" because the Grand Opening hadn't taken place yet! In total, I was able to attend four "free" OT workout sessions which is awesome! (This is also the reason I've been taking full advantage of my OT workouts these past two weeks and haven't done much else!)

So, Monday afternoon's workout included a lot of strength and crazy inclines on the treadmill. After Monday's workout, I realized that I would NEVER have the drive or determination to do these kind of workouts on my own at home, so that's why a class like this is good for me! It forces you to push yourself!

Tuesday was an exciting day as it was the Grand Opening of our gym!

They had all kinds of delicious catered food, they took people on tours of the facility, and it was fun to mingle and meet a few new people!

We might have taken a selfie with the mannequin! HAH!

 Speaking of friends, my friend Melissa joined Orangetheory, too! I'm so excited to have a buddy to workout with!!

The food was delicious, too!

For the remainder of the week, I worked out early morning (the 6:15 a.m. class), then took a shower and went to work!

Wednesday's morning class focused on all three areas - endurance, strength, and power! It was a TOUGH one but I loved it! As you can see, I was able to get my heart rate in the orange and red zones much more often than Monday!

Friday morning's workout was another strength one and by accident, the timer didn't get turned on until several minutes into class, so our calories and splat points aren't correct. Whoopsie oh well. That's growing pains, I guess! I wasn't too upset, it was still an overall GREAT workout!  

You sick of hearing about Orangetheory yet? Well, now that the Grand Opening has taken place, I'll be on a two workout per week schedule which will allow me to run outside at least once a week (maybe twice if I'm feeling it). This heat though, y'all. It's rough.

...but for real, how cute is this?! Just a boy and his dog! She LOVES him when he has food! These happened to be orange cheetos. See what I did there? Whomp whomp.

I hope you all have a great Father's Day Weekend! Follow along on my instagram stories to see all of our adventures in Texas! :)  Happy Friday!

Fitness Friday - June 8

Currently Training For:

• Dopey Challenge 2018 - Walt Disney World
• Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon 2018 - New Orleans, LA 
• Contraband Days 5 Miler 
• 4 on the 4th
• Rock n Roll San Antonino Half 

So for real, how long can I leave Dopey Challenge on my list? I mean, my body says it's still not over it...

Sunday - Rest Day
Monday - First day of Orangetheory!
Tuesday - Rest Day (cause I couldn't walk!)
Wednesday - Global Running Day - ran about a mile and a half total
Thursday - Orangetheory day 2!
Friday - Doing something, just not sure what yet! :) Way to have a plan, right?!

So if you've seen my instagram and read Tuesday's blog post, I'm sure you know that I drank the Orangetheory kool aid and I'm SUPER excited about it!

The fact that I like this type of environment surprises me because I was never one to attend classes at a gym (especially not "by myself" aka without a friend). I don't know if it was the excitement of something new or what, but on Monday, I walked in our Orangetheory, introduced myself, and the rest is history. Like a boss. Ok, not really....let's not get ahead of ourselves here. I'm still kind of shy and uncertain in unknown situations but ok whatever.

I also chose the chest strap heart rate monitor. After getting advice from several Orangetheory-ers, this is the one I decided to go with and I'm so glad - I barely even feel or notice it!

Day 1's workout was amazing and I fell in love immediately!

On Wednesday, I had a SUPER busy day (including my day at work) and although I ran about a half a mile in the hallways, I knew I needed to get an official run in, even if it was "only a mile".

It was hot and humid (and after 9 p.m.), but I did it anyway!

After it was all said and done, I realized my run wasn't a purposeful one but that's ok, you need those every once in a while. I actually spent the entire mile on the phone talking to my brother! Hah!

Back to that Orangetheory thing...so I could finally walk normal again but Thursday and decided to return! Only this time, a friend came along, too!

This workout was completely different from Monday's and was all about strength with weights and inclines on the treadmill.  It was SO hard to keep my heart rate in orange while on the weight floor. I kept dropping into the blue zone. My resting heart rate is around 68, so when I stop moving, it drops immediately. Oh well.

Despite that, it was still an amazing workout! I can definitely feel the weight work in my shoulders and back today!

...but we didn't die! That's good, right?!

For tomorrow's workout, I'm returning to Orangetheory bright and early! While walking to my car after work on Thursday, the humidity and heat hit me like a ton of bricks. "Feels like 99 degrees"...what is that, even?! I can honestly say I was so happy to be able to workout with a little AC!

The grand opening for our site is going to be on Tuesday, so that's when all the real fun will begin! I cannot wait!

How is your week going? Anything exciting happening for you this weekend?

Global Running Day

Hi there friends and happy Tuesday!

Off topic for a second (well, sort of)...if you missed it on instagram, I did something brand new (to me) yesterday. This was totally out of my comfort zone as I'm not one to just go forward into something alone, not knowing what's going on. Well, our Orangetheory is doing a soft opening this week, and since I joined back in March I knew I had to go check it all out!
 

Y'all. I was slightly nervous but those nerves went away super fast. I walked in, there were lots of people milling around (most of them were alone and didn't know anyone, either), I was greeted with smiles and everyone was super helpful...and the workout was...AMAZING! That was seriously hands down one of the best workouts I've ever done. As they say, I drank the kool aid and I'm not looking back! :)

SO, tomorrow is Global Running Day, where people all over the world take part in a run of some sort - any distance, any time of the day. It encourages everyone to get out and get moving! This is a great day for novice runners or beginners alike - you don't have to create a lofty goal, just get out and run!

Also, I've seen a lot of race organizations host extra special Global Running Day discounts for their race events, so keep an eye out for those! Rock n Roll is one who has hosted great specials in the past for sure!

A local running group is hosting a run tomorrow, but it always seems to fall on days when I have to bring Brayden. Six pm heat down here in Southwest Louisiana plus a toddler in a dark stroller do not get along well at all...oh well, maybe next time!

I don't have a solid plan for my run, but it will take place sometime tomorrow! :)

How are you celebrating Global Running Day? Have you ever tried Orangetheory and if so, what did you think? 

It's the Tuesdays on the run link up with Erika, Marcia and Patty!

February and Running Progress Report

Well, here we are at the end of February and our Tuesday on the Run topic is all about rating your month.

Am I happy with the way February went for me? No.

My break from running in January carried over into February (the flu followed by a wisdom tooth removal) and just when I thought things were looking up again, I encountered another setback.

Although I've never had to deal with foot issues while running any of my five previous marathons, Dopey (my 6th marathon) decided to throw a curve ball at me. So, without spilling too many details because...ewww feet, gross...my improper running form towards the end of the marathon decided to cause a continued pounding on a nail bed which in turn didn't bother me at all until I started physical therapy a few weeks ago.  Even though the physical therapy is for a non-running related issue, my physical therapist says my entire body is out of whack and she wants to try and get me back where I need to be. Some of the fascia stretching exercises she had me doing on my feet caused pretty bad pain in that toe later on - the pain was so great it woke me up in the middle of the night a few nights in a row.

So, I saw a podiatrist yesterday (because I was honestly worried that something was infected)...but thankfully it's not. He told me he could remove the injured nail or just let it try and grow out on its own. Lovely. In the mean time, he said I might just have to deal with the pain. I told him that I'm running a half this coming Sunday regardless (Rock n Roll New Orleans) and he advised me to call him back if I'm in intense pain the following day! Sounds promising, right? (Insert eye roll here)

It's all just a hot mess over here!

On a positive note though, several good things did happen in February...we are getting an Orange Theory over here and I joined!! I'm SO excited to get back into a group atmosphere again because I miss it so much! Cross training is also something my poor body is desperately in need of...so yeah! It's opening sometime in May and I can't wait!

And on a non physical fitness note, we saw Black Panther on Friday night and we LOVED it! So good!!

Soooo, even though February wasn't so great on the running front, it still shaped out to be a decent month, anyway!

Any Orange Theory fans out there? What's something I should know before taking my first class? Anyone else seen Black Panther? Thoughts?

It's the Tuesdays on the Run link up with Erika, Marcia and Patty!