Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Wednesday Workout Update - Dork Edition

First things first: See this awesome new graphic right over here?->
Tina, of Fat Girl Dives In, made this for me! She is in advertising (and in fact has recently started her own business), and was so nice to create this for me when I asked her - in fact, she had it ready blazingly fast! Thank you, Tina - it's a great commemoration of Blogger Run Day™ which as you all know I hereby declared in this post. There are a lot of bloggers who will be running in various events on March 7th and I wanted to celebrate us! If you are doing a run, or are committing to run on Sunday, March 7th, let me know in the comments and I'll add you to the list.

Regarding my post yesterday, I have to say that I was nervous about actually hitting "publish" on it. And now, I'm blown away by all of the comments - you guys are truly amazing and have made me feel so good. I'm touched that several of you even listed YOUR starting and current weights...this blogging weight-loss community is such a wonderful thing to be a part of and I am so grateful to have you all in my life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

OK, on to the Wednesday Workout Update...

I am happy to report that this was simply a normal week with Brad and Linda - we worked out hard, and I am feeling it, but am not questioning why am I putting myself through this, as I was last Wednesday evening...so that's good! We did a "Machine of Destiny" workout on Monday, where the person on the machine - in this case, the leg press - controlled how long everyone else had to do their workouts by how quickly they finished the leg press. I was up first - which I like, because my legs were not worn out by the other exercises. I had to do 100 leg presses at 225 pounds, which went well until I hit 40...then my legs started to shake and it got a little tough. But I did it in six minutes which is a decent enough time for me. Of course, we had the same workout on Tuesday afternoon (I am the only person in that group who works out on Monday, so lucky me, I got to repeat it <----just a little sarcasm there) - but at least I only had to do 75 reps, and the weight was lower, although Brad provided resistance on the last ten. Um, thanks, Brad?

I have been running on the weekends and ran all by myself on Saturday (big step for me) for 30 minutes, without stopping! I covered about 2.5 miles, which makes me feel pretty confident that I can do the 5K in under 45 minutes. I ran in a park, and a dad with a little kid called "good job!" to me as I ran by, which made me feel less alone. On Sunday, I met up with Jeri for a run, but I didn't last as long before having to stop and walk. I'm finding that when I run two days in a row, I don't have nearly the endurance on the second day. I guess I have to build up to that? Or should I run every other day? What say you, fellow runners?

*****Warning - Dork Alert*****

So I finally decided to join the 21st century and not only create a playlist on my iPod Touch, but actually go for a run with it! What inspired me was a comment left on this post - a new blogger, Swimming it Off said that my bruised knees reminded her of this song, and I have to say that I loved it - I felt all "rah rah go girls, we rock!" when I heard it. So one download and several fits and starts later, I had my mixtape playlist. Now, I've never run with headphones and music, but since I was going by myself, which was a huge step for me, I thought I might run longer with some distraction. I was set: my mother had just mailed me a cute little expandable runner's belt thingie that holds everything from ID to a cell phone and more, including my iPod. I got all geared up, and had to laugh at myself as karma once again came back to bite me when I strapped the runner's belt on...you see, I remember teasing Hotch Potchery when she bought a belt that held several bottles of water, so she could stay hydrated on her runs. When will I ever learn?!?

Anyway, I started my music and took off running, only to hear a beep and then have the song change. With.every.step. What the hell?! I stopped and couldn't figure out how to make it keep playing - I even tried holding it in my hand, but every time I shook it, the darn song changed! Very frustrating...I ended up leaving it behind and took off for my run sans music or partner (what a sad lonely figure I made). Once I got home I emailed my technical staff sons and was informed that the "shake and shuffle" feature was turned on, and all I needed to do was to turn it off...and I believe the word "dork" was bandied about. Yeah, I felt like a dork, but really, how was I to know? OK, you all can stop laughing now!

28 comments:

  1. Haha don't feel like a dork! The first time I got my ipod, it was on "lock" and I couldn't understand why it wouldn't turn on or play! :)
    A 5K in under 45 sounds pretty awesome to me!
    And DANG 100 leg presses at 225lbs.. either I'm EXTREMELY weak or that's REALLY impressive! I'm going to go with IMPRESSIVE! Even when I was playing waterpolo back in high school, I don't think I could manage that!
    Keep up the good work girl! <3

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  2. Shelly,
    You might build some walking breaks in there especially on your second day of running. I'm impressed I've been jogging off and on forever and I still can't run 30 minutes without walking some.
    That thing with the ipod sounds like something I would do too so don't feel bad...
    Susan

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  3. Hee! That's exactly the kind of thing I'd do with an iPod!

    One of the health-bloggers on the NYTimes wrote about walking breaks during running a few months back. She's training to do the NYC marathon. She spoke to a lot of dedicated runners who swear by scheduled walk breaks (say, two minutes of walking after every ten or fifteen minutes of running). They say that it increases their distance stamina and their times.

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  4. iDork - new from Apple. My kid teases me, too. I was asking for lessons on how to download podcasts from iTunes. She told me it was too bad that Jitterbug didn't make iPods. I think I kind of hate her ;-)

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  5. OMG, that had me laugh out loud!! I am so not technical - and EVERYONE, including my husband is!!

    Luckily they are there when I say "I want to make the computer do this, can you help?"

    Loved your previous post too - you are doing awesome!! WTF do we have to be so short - 152 is some people's goal weights! :D

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  6. Will the March 7th blogger event be able to include any running activity? I will be in a remote desert area at that time and may not have access to an organized run. Can I still be included?

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  7. Your workouts sound very painful but a lot of fun at the same time. So you go twice a week then? I need to start doing my weights again. I've been doing stuff at home but I love going to the gym and pushing some iron around the place. :) Congrats on your awesome job.

    OK. I've stopped laughing about the iPod shufffle thing. *giggle* Almost stopped laughing. :)

    My Mp3 player is on its last leg and will randomly turn the volume way low or all the way up. I'm either going "what?" or "OUCH! Turn it down." My poor eardrums.

    Good job on the run. Guess I better get out there and hit the pavement. You're going to do great at the 5k. I'm in it for the tee shirt. :P

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  8. You are so brave to tell that story. I probably would have been all red-faced and tried to forget. My kids tell me I'm a great big dork every time I don't know how to use the latest techie gadget. Thanks for putting a smile on my face and letting me know I'm not the only one!

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  9. Funny about the dork thing. That cracked me up. I had a similar issue with my shuffle and playing audio books. I have several loaded (love audible.com) and listen all the time and occasionally if I look cross-eyed, I'm in a new book, or starting over a very long, long book at the beginning with no way to get back to the place where I was. But I did not confess until here, at your dork confessional. So thank you. I feel better.

    I did not give my starting weight which I think at birth was 9lbs something. All my mom's babies were big'uns. My youngest brother was 11lbs something and at age 1, looked like he needed to be put out to pasture.

    But then I "blossomed" up to plus 350lbs (because everyone knows that bigger is better) and I was hiding from the world by making myself ENORMOUS. Isn't that how that works!?! And now, I'm 245 lbs. I am going to lose 40 pounds this year. But the only place I'm running on March 7th is to the bathroom. I am not a runner.

    I'm 5'9", with congenital lymphedema in both legs so I've been told that I may have a challenge and "not to get discouraged." And when the doctor said that to me, I said, "Why are you even planting that seed?"
    This is my year for the last 40. I don't want to be skinny. I just want to be healthy. I am already beautiful. Listen, you don't need competition from me, so I'm keeping my beautiful self on the dl.
    ;-)

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  10. I haven't tried running yet at all. I have started looking for 5Ks in my area though just to know I can walk that far and quick. My kid loads my ipod so I was laughing with you there. I have an otter (waterproof casing)and use mine in the water and my kid loaded the theme from jaws on there once.
    Thanks for the shout out and glad you like the song.

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  11. I think I told you this already, but while I am not running in a race that day, I will plan on running a treadmill 5k! On my calendar & everything :)

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  12. Haha! Glad I am not the only one that does dorky stuff. :D

    I would run periodically 2 days in a row, but it will take you a long time to build up to doing that a lot. I just started running multiple days in a row after 1.5 years.

    How long do your weight workouts last anyway? 100 leg presses?

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  13. Ooooh, count me in for Blogger Run Day!!

    I believe I have an 8K scheduled that day - so I'm in!! :)

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  14. OK, girly. Got some Zumba classes that aren't far from you. LOL

    http://www.aerofitclubs.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=105

    :D
    No need to thank me. ROFLOL!

    Looking forward to March 7th. Love the banner!!
    Today I did C25K Week2 day3 and I actually did a little better! Woohoo!!! Week 3 is a little scary. I'll be hitting it Friday.

    You're doing great!

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  15. Thanks for your comments on the kettlebells. I bought at 10 pound one today and did a DVD that came with it and I love it. Thank you!

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  16. Ha on the dork thing. I am even afraid of getting one of those because it will take me too much time to figure out how to use it, much less DOWNLOAD something to it...

    I read a comment somewhere and someone said they were going to join you in the 5K run even if they ran by themselves. I think I will do that. I did check to see if there was a race nearby, but I didn't find one. But it will be fun to work up to that, and to 'join' you in spirit!

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  17. Dancing or running, it's always best to tunes you love. :)

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  18. It took me almost a year to figure out how to turn my iPod off ... I used to hand it to my kids and ask them to do it!

    By the way, my name is Lacey and I just 'met' you about three days ago ... I was 'introduced' to you by Lynn from Lynn's Weigh via her facebook page ... you're journey is SO inspiring to me ... as I am in my 'almost' mid 40's and just starting out, I am happy to say that as of this morning I am ten pounds lighter than when I started (Jan 4th) and will follow your posts to help keep me motivated. I look forward to reading some of the other blogs that you follow/recommend.

    Because I read your entire journey in only three days, I kept saying to myself, WOW she's really loseing the weight quickly!!! ; )

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  19. What I don't understand is why some days I can do a 30-minute jog no problem, and other days I /have/ to walk for a minute. Oh well. We're getting fit all the same!

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  20. If you start a dork club, I'll be the first to join. Good thing I'm married to an engineer - if he can't figure it out, then I know we're in REAL trouble.

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  21. I finally updated my blog roll with your new URL - do you want it to just read "My Journey to Fit" or just put that in front of your old name?

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  22. Hey Dorky, Thanks for the shoutout! :)

    You are one amazing woman you know that? I just read your post from yesterday and I just can't believe you started out as heavy as me. I'm totally inspired. I think you've reached "hero" status.

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  23. I'm still laughing. As you know I have a new Ipod and haven't used it yet but I've read in the manual that I have that shake thing too so I'm warned :)

    Thanks for the shout out, great idea!

    100 leg press? Impressive!

    If you're having trouble with your endurance the second day I would try a day of rest between your runs. I don't often run two days in a row, only if I don't have much time or sometimes on Sunday morning and then on Monday evening, to me that's a day of rest too.

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  24. Dayum, those workouts would have me peeing my pants and sucking my thumb. You are one badass. 100 leg press with 200+ pounds. Gah!

    Oh, and I'm still not sure about MP3 players. Too many intimidating functions. But the worst thing? Those tiny earbuds. They kept falling out of my ears when I ran. More annoying than jogging braless.

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  25. Wow you are awesome with the running and weights.
    WTG!!

    Julia
    http://juliasjourney-finally.blogspot.com/

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  26. HAHAHA...great post!

    I'm not laughing at you because I would have done the exact same thing.

    Don't you hate that the kids know so much more about technology than we do?

    I don't think I could work out without music or tv to distract me.

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  27. Dude...I don't even own an IPOD, so I would have been lost, too. I'm still listening to an MP3 player! Workout sounds impressive!! And very sweet of Tina to create that graphic for you...she rocks, just like you! :)

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  28. I'm a dork also...I didn't know that the ipod has a shake and shuffle setting! I better watch out for that!

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