My Week in Review... Tub or Shower?

Sunday

• walk 4 miles

Monday

• walk .5 miles
• run 3.1 miles
• stretch 5 minutes
• upper body routine w/8lb dumbbells X3  15 minutes
• lower body routine X 2  20 minutes

Tuesday

• walk 2 miles

Wednesday

• walk 5 miles
• Kathy Smith interval routine  16 minutes
• stretch 4 minutes

Thursday

• walk .5 miles
• run 6 miles
• strech 5 minutes

Friday

• walk 6 miles
• stretch 5 minutes
• upper body routine w/8lb dumbbells X 2  10 minutes
• lower body routine  10 minutes

Saturday

• walk 5 miles

All in all a pretty good week... I ran twice, walked a zillion miles in the glorious winter sunshine, and even added a 3rd strength routine this week... got a little core work in there too.

And I am thrilled that I lost 3.6 pounds this week too.  Normally I don't need to lose any weight but I let a few pounds creep on me while I was fuelling my inactivity after my eye surgery in late October with Reese's peanut butter cups and Almond Joy bars!  The new Weight Watchers Points Plus 2012 program is great.  I concentrated on healthy and whole foods this week, and gave up the junky carbs and other-than-fruit sugar.  I am impressed.

This next week is going to be a real challenge, exercise-wise.

I had originally planned a run for tomorrow.  Our last before we move off the boat on Wednesay... but darn, it is just too much trouble.  Another nice long walk will have to do.  Monday and Tuesday we will be doing some packing.  Then Wednesday we move.

We are moving off the boat to the house where we will spend the remainder of the Winter/Spring looking after a pair of kitties for friends who are heading South to spend that time on their own sailboat, which sits waiting for them in Mexico.  It is almost like going home as this will be our third year there.  We love the neighborhood and the kits.  And we have gotten to know the next door neighbors, too.  Earlier this year we spent a month at their house, looking after things while they vacationed in France.

I quite enjoy our time in the city.  At one time, I thought I really didn't like Victoria.  But it really is very beautiful and there are so many opportunities to be active outdoors year round, both on land and on or near the water.  I have come to realize that I really don't like downtown ANYWHERE!

Once we get settled on Wednesday, there will be lots of time the rest of the week to run, walk, and work out.  Hurray... I am already looking forward to long hot soaks in the bath tub... a winter luxury for me now!



Are you a tub or shower person?

Normally I shower, the tub is just for pleasure!

Logging Some Miles, and a Confession!

First, I have to admit that I did not do my Kathy Smith workout twice last night as I said I would.... I went through it only once and then stretched for a total of 20 minutes.  But that's okay, cause while I was running today, I could feel that I did work my abs!

The point of today's run was just to get out there and log some miles.  We are only running twice a week right now cause it is just so cumbersome to run in the cool weather while we are staying on the boat.  So one more run either Sunday or Monday and that will be it cause we move mid-week to the house we will be staying at for several months.  More about that in another post.

I packed a 1/2 litre bottle of water and some CLIF SHOT BLOKS for us to share along the way.  I really like these BLOKS and hope I can find them here in Canada.   They are tasty, easy to chew, and don't have to be washed down with water.

So off we went, and I reminded The Captain that it was supposed to be a slow run today... about 12 or 13 times!  My slow pace is difficult for him as it is just barely more than his fast walk is and so I pushed myself a wee bit ... enough that he had to do a very slow run most of the time.

We ended up along the waterfront today. It was a nice, but cool, day.  And as we approached the marina, almost done, the breeze picked up a bit and it was darn nippy. I was really glad I had my jacket on as I could tell that underneath it, my clothes were drenched with sweat, and I was starting to feel cool.

We did a good stretch and then peeled off our wet duds in the cockpit before coming below to enjoy the chocolate and banana smoothies I made.  I was really glad I had taken the time to lay out all the ingredients for them before we ran, even plugging in the immersion blender and measuring out 2 servings of chocolate protein powder.  Mmmm. 

9.6 km = 6 miles
W3 R80 W4
stretch 5 minutes

We really enjoyed our hot showers today!





Strength Training... Keeping it Interesting

I have whined blogged in the past about my lack of exercise space on the sailboat.  It is the reason I like to give when I question myself as to why I don't devote more time to strength training when we are staying on board.

In the summer I can take my dumbbells out into the cockpit or onto the dock and do some work with them.  Or I may row the dinghy to get in some arm work.  Handling the sails takes strenth, too and I often get a good workout when it's my turn.  I am pretty uncommitted to strength train during the warm months, which is quite silly really... as this is when my arms and legs are likely to be on display.  Yes, I am that vain.

During the winter, we are usually land-lubbers from November through the end of April, and I do lots of resistance work during that time.  I have a variety of workout DVDs that I use regularly, and I often find new routines on the internet that I will try out from time to time.  I have even borrowed DVDs and VHS tapes from the library to try out.

But this year, we are staying on the boat 6 weeks longer than we normally would and although I have been doing a strength workout a couple of times a week, I know it is not enough... and quite honestly, I am getting tired of the one I made up.  I thought I could put up with it one more week, but I just cannot.  But I don't want to just give it up entirely for a week.  I feel like I have made some good progress the past several weeks and don't want to abandon it.

So, today I started going through some records and found this workout that I copied from a library book  last year, and used a few times during the summer.  If you are not familiar with Kathy Smith, she is a long time producer of workout videos and author of several fitness-related books as well.  I have owned and used a variety of her workouts in the past... floor aerobics, STEP aerobics, interval training with weights, yoga, and one of my very favorites, a boxing workout.  I sorta feel like I have grown older with Kathy sometimes!

These are the notes I made from the book, and this is the routine I am doing tonight:

From Kathy Smith’s book… Getting Better All the Time…



Strength Training Workout - modified for the boat Pushups
Bent-over Row
Upright Row
Pec Deck
Basic Crunch
Cross Crunch
Bicycle Crunch
Squat
Plie Squat
Reverse Lunge
Bicep Curl
Triceps Kickback
Lateral Raise
Inner Thigh Pull
Standing Side Lift
Frontal RaiseAlternate 30 seconds of movement with 30 seconds of walking on the spot

I will be going through it twice, so that works out to 32 minutes of actual exercise, and then I will add 3 minutes of stretching to it afterward for a total of 35 minutes.

Do you strength train?

Do you have a set routine or do you change it up?

Do you tend to do more in one season over another?

What do you do to keep your workouts interesting and fresh?

Hope Endures Virtual 5 k Today

I knew that we planned to run the Hope Endures Virtual 5k today so last night I used Map My Run to design an out-and-back 5 km route from the marina to the centre of our town and back.

It was gloomy and nippy.  Just the kind of morning that makes you feel like you need to get going to really warm up!

We were running in honor of Courtney's infant daughter, Ashlyn, who passed away on December 2, 2008. 







The Captain was also thinking of his Dad, who was born on December 5th, and who passed away in February of 2009.   And today is also the second birthday of my darling grandniece, Nahla.  A real mix of emotions going on, and very little chit chat on our run today.

We did the first half in 17.5 minutes then turned around, had a 1 minute walk break and started running back.  Total time - exactly 37 minutes.  Not my fastest 5 km but the best I had in me today.  I was glad to have The Captain with me as he always pushes me a little bit.

W3 R37 @17.5/1 W4
stretch 5 minutes

After we stretched, I made us both smoothies with chocolate protein powder and bananas... very nice and thick but not quite as tasty as they are with just plain chocolate milk.

My Weekly Recap

Other than Sunday, when I did no formal exercise at all, I had a good week. I ran a couple of times, walked several times and did a couple of strength routines as well. I also did a fair amount of stretching.... I am learning to love stretching after running and also after my upper body workouts.

Sunday:

• zippo!

Monday

• walk .33 miles
• run 5.97 miles
• stretch 10 minutes

Tuesday

• walk 2 miles
• upper body routine w/8 lb weights X 2 - 10 minutes
• lower body routine - 10 minutes

Wednesday

• walk 5 miles

Thursday

• walk .5 miles
• run 4.15 miles
• stretch 5 minutes

Friday

• walk 5 miles

Saturday

• walk 4 miles
• walk 2 miles
• upper body routine w/8lb weights X 3  - 15 minutes
• lower body routine X 2 - 20 minutes

I am enjoying the motivation I am getting from participating in the HBBC and Winter 100 Challenges, and also looking for decorations to put on my Christmas tree each day during the 25 Days of Christmas Challenge.

I am hoping that Monday brings us a nice day to get out and run 5 km for the Hope Endures virtual 5 km, too.

How was your week, fitness-wise?

Are you motivated by the challenges going around?  Participating in any?