Biking + Run/Walk

Background: For quite awhile my friend Jamie and I have been thinking and planning on training for a sprint triathlon; however we don’t plan on doing the triathlon until 2010. So any hardcore training won’t begin until next year. At the same time I’ve been very curious how my legs/endurance would feel biking and then running right afterwards. Something I can experiment with now.

Today: I spent the early part of my afternoon with my niece, nephew, and sister at the park. The humidity is down and it was a gorgeous day, although a bit hot in the direct sunlight. So after about an hour of hard playing we went to Cold Stone Creamery and got some ice cream. I got a kids cup of chocolate ice cream with Heath Bar (in honor of my dad) mixed in. I’ve been craving ice cream all weekend and it hit the spot!

I was a bit worn out when I got home, so I relaxed with my book for about an hour. But while I was reading, I kept seeing the beautiful sky above the top of my book and biking was running through my mind. That was it, I decided to go for a ride!

I filled my Camelbak up, changed clothes, fought with my helmet briefly, remembered to put my stopwatch on and got my bike off my balcony. My warm-up entailed carrying my bike down a couple flights of stairs, lol! I was off! Overall, I rode ~9.4 miles in 44.10. I realized when I’m on my own, there really isn’t a leisure pace. I rode at a steady and what felt like a good pace for the whole ride. I had to slow down to cross at a traffic light and one cross-walk. I rode on a bike path. I’m not one for riding on the road, just don’t trust drivers out there! I could feel my quads burning for the duration of my ride. I felt it was a good mix of inclines, declines, and 1 pretty big hill coming and going.

When I got home, I carried my bike back up and I was feeling so good that I decided I would go for a walk to stretch out my legs. But since I was feeling so good, I decided to do a bit of run/walking. I ended up doing a total of 2 miles. For the first mile I did 1:1 min ratio of run/walk. The second mile I did 2:2 min ratio. I’m not sure how long it took me to complete the miles. But my overall workout took me about 1 hour and 10 minutes. That included the 44.10 bike ride, carrying my bike back up and then the 2 miles of running/walking and then about .25 miles of walking for my cool down.

At the beginning of the run/walk session my legs felt tight from biking, but I felt them loosen up as I got into it. My lungs/breathing was feeling a bit “tired” but I powered through and eventually I got that under wraps! For my stretching I decided to try one of Yoga is Yummy’s videos. I did the Yoga for triathletes video which lasted about 10 minutes. I really enjoyed it and my muscles felt great afterwards, thanks Polly!

I now have confidence that I will be able to survive a sprint triathlon with the proper training and of course incorporating the swimming in. In due time! I will note that the next time I decide to do the biking and running scenario I’ll eat a snack before (my stomach wasn’t hungry nor did I feel out of energy, just good practice) and remember to wear my knee strap during the running portion. My knee felt a little sore, but overall I felt really good!

Yesterday I made a quick stop at Trader Joe’s and came out with a few snacks to try:

Smart Coach = 5k Training Plan

After some research and helpful suggestions from Fit Chick in the City, I decided to give the SmartCoach a try to help me come up with a 3 week program to help to attempt to train to run a faster 5k come September 20. SmartCoach is a training tool provided by Runner’s World. I realize I’m not giving myself a lot of time to train. But hey, I’m willing to put all my effort into this program for the next couple of weeks. I’m curious to see if the combination of my motivation and this program will help me run a faster pace come September 20 resulting in a faster time!

Here's your individualized training program:

Your current race time is: 0:27:27 for a 5 K Your distance training goal is: 5 K You currently train: 11 - 15 miles/week How hard you want to train: Hard Your long-run day: Sunday Your training program Starts: Monday, 8/31/2009and Ends: Sunday, 9/20/2009 Length of your training schedule: 3 weeks

Wk	Dat	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun	Tot
1	8/31 9/6	Rest / XT	Easy Run Dist: 2 mi @11:14	Rest / XT	Speedwork Dist: 5 mi, inc Warm; 3x800 in 4:19 w/400 jogs; Cool	Rest / XT	Rest / XT	Long Run Dist: 6 mi @11:14	13 miles
2	9/7 9/13	Rest / XT	Easy Run Dist: 2 mi @11:14	Rest / XT	Tempo Run Dist: 5 mi, inc Warm; 3 mi @ 9:37; Cool	Rest / XT	Rest / XT	Long Run Dist: 6 mi @11:14	13 miles
3	9/14 9/20	Rest / XT	Easy Run Dist: 2 mi @11:14	Rest / XT	Speedwork Dist: 5 mi, inc Warm; 3x800 in 4:19 w/400 jogs; Cool	Rest / XT	Rest / XT	Race Day Dist: 5 K @8:50 Time: 27:27	10 miles

I’m already going to have to make adjustments to this training plan. Tuesday is the first day of my program. I head to the beach that Friday for Labor Day weekend. My first “long” run is suppose to be on Sunday, which is the day I come back from the beach. I’m not sure what time we are coming back, but I’ll do my best to fit it in at some point on Sunday. I’m also interested in my Thursday runs, I’ve never tried repeats before. I’m going to have to run on or near a track in order to accomplish these because I don’t have something like this to track how far I’m running at what pace. I’ll also have to figure what track to run on because school is back in session and I’m not sure of the rules of the school tracks due to after school sports and when the public (me) is allowed to use the track. Also if you haven’t already noticed, the last day of my training program is actually my race day…so hopefully I’ll be running faster than my 27.27 time!

Minor adjustments, nothing that I can’t handle! I’m looking forward to throwing myself into this program, I feel I do better mentally and physically when I’m working towards a goal! Send me happy positive thoughts and vibes (telepathically that is, ha!)!!

Sleepy mornings

For the last two weeks, I’ve been struggling to get out of bed. I feel so tired when I wake up, I can’t really figure it out. I’m going to bed at a decent hour and should be getting plenty of sleep; anywhere from 6 to 8 hours depending on the night/morning. I do dream pretty wildly, so maybe my dreams are too active and I’m not getting enough quality sleep. I never really use to be a “snooze” button hitter, but I swear this morning I hit snooze every five minutes for a half hour. Yes, I realize I’m not getting any sleep if I’m hitting the snooze every five minutes, but I just don’t want to get out of bed! The worst part is that I know once I’m up and moving around I’m fine but it’s almost like I don’t want to do that. Bizarre! I’ve also become somewhat of a nap taker (when I can); just 20 minutes and I feel rejuvenated.

I finally got up this morning and ate a quick piece of toast with peanut butter and strawberry jam. I forced myself out the door to head to the gym. I’m glad I went because I felt ten times better once I got there. I worked my quads and abs. I know I was getting tired my last set of bench jumps because I actually missed the bench with my left foot/leg and ended up slamming my shin into the side of the bench. Ouch! Haven’t done that before, but it was bound to happen eventually, ha! I regrouped and finished it out. My goal was to step out 20 minutes on the Stairmaster, but only 1 of the 3 were working and that the "one" was being used. So I ended up doing 20 minutes on the Arc Trainer.

Dinner was very light and tasty this evening! I made a salad that included black beans, corn, couple of sliced olives, diced white onion, pieces of rotisserie chicken (got from Costco), sliced apple, feta cheese, topped with a dollop of hummus. D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S! I’ll be eating this salad or a variation of this salad for the next couple of days, plenty of leftovers! Next time I’m going to add a little more onions and some red pepper flakes. Several years ago, my friend Kimberly made a variation of this salad and I really enjoyed it. Not sure what made me think of it, but I’m glad I recreated it!

Argh, picture blurry! (new camera maybe?!)

I just realized today that I have a 5k in about 3-4 weeks. I haven’t been running all that regularly this summer. My goal is to run a faster time than my last 5k in May. I’m going to do some research on some 5k running plans that will help me to increase my pace.

Anybody have any suggestions on what I can do to run faster and survive; recommended training programs or plans that have worked for you?

Blueberry Banana Muffins

My mouth has been watering ever since I read ELR’s post about her blueberry banana muffins. She said everyone had to try them and I agreed! LOL! Yesterday, the idea of these muffins kept popping into my mind. I decided I had thought about them enough, it was time to take action. As I mentioned, after the gym last night I stopped by the grocery store to pick up some blueberries, bananas, whole wheat flour (couldn’t find whole wheat pastry flour), and some other random items I needed. After a shower and dinner, I created my first batch of homemade muffins. I’m really starting to enjoy making things, who would have thunk it!

I tried one of the smaller muffins last night. They turned out great!!

I had another one for breakfast this morning along with an egg and a mug of tea. It left me feeling energized and ready for the gym. I did my normal workout of warm-up, chest, shoulders, triceps, abs, and a 20 minute walk on the treadmill.

I made myself a blueberry banana Green Monster. It wasn’t my favorite. I couldn’t really taste the blueberries. I thought it would be sweeter than it was. I’m thinking I’m a blueberry fan when they are cooked. They seem more flavorful to me. Or maybe I’m just not picking out the right ones. I’m stumped!
After a quick shower, I came up with this concoction for lunch
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Baked beans, tuna fish from a can, olives, feta cheese, and red pepper flakes sprinkled on top. I know it doesn’t look appetizing and I realize it looks like it could have come out of one end or the other, ha! Believe it or not, it did taste pretty good. I think it would be better with black beans, but I had thawed out a whole container of baked beans and I need to eat them up. I had a few Kashi cheddar crackers on the side as well as a handful of carrots.

Note: I had written this post early afternoon, but didn’t get around to posting it because things came up. So just getting home, figured I would finish it up and share what I had for my afternoon snack and for dinner. Exciting, don’t you think?! I ate an apple and a Kashi granola bar around 3ish. For dinner I raided my mom’s refrigerator for leftovers. I mixed leftover mac & cheese with leftover ham steak. My sister made me a salad with sunflower seeds, Craisens, mozzarella cheese and light ranch dressing. Oh and I had what was left in a Cheetos snack bag. I spent most of the evening with my niece and nephew. But after they went to bed, my stomach was growling. So I ate a spoonful of peanut butter with chocolate chips strategically placed throughout my peanut butter mound. I also had a mug of mango peach white tea. It tasted as good as it smelled!

Treadmill Mania

This week has been an interesting week to say the least. I feel like I’m surrounded by a ton of negativity, which some of it is my doing in the way I’m thinking. Throw in some sad news that I received this afternoon and I’m a big pot of UGH! To get myself on track to a better attitude, I left work a little early. Things were slow so it was a good time. Came home and hate half a ham sandwich, didn’t eat lunch. BAD GIRL! I then headed to the gym for a hard workout.

A few years back when I was still meeting with my personal trainer, he introduced Treadmill Mania to me. It’s a tough workout that incorporates running and various lifting movements. I think he found it in a magazine, but I can’t remember which one. I pull the workout out every now and again when I want to get a full body workout and push myself. Normally I wear my stopwatch, but once again I forgot it..oops! On great days I can finish the workout in less than 1 hour, other days it takes me about 1 hour to complete. Below is the basic workout and you can adjust as you see fit. I modified the leg movements today and picked movements that focused on my Quadriceps (front squats and leg extensions). I’ve done enough hamstring movements this week. My legs are still sore from Tuesday; probably over did it.

Treadmill Mania

1% incline - 5 minutes easy (warm-up) -- I normally just walk
Stretch
1% incline - 5 mins at LT (Lactic Threshold) pace
Push-ups - 1 min (an alternate exercise would be to do 1 min of dumbbell bench press)
20 squats
1% incline - 5 mins at LT pace
Crunches - 1 min
3% incline - 5 mins at LT pace
20 dips
1% incline - 5 mins at LT pace
30 back extensions
5% incline - 3 mins at LT pace
20 one leg squats (per leg)
1% incline - 5mins at LT pace
Decline push-ups - 1 min (an alternate exercise could be decline dumbell bench press)
1% incline - 5 mins easy (cool-down)
Stretch

I am always a sweaty mess when I am finished with this workout. Imagine red face, dripping sweat, sweat soaked shirt...ahhh...I'm glistening, have a happy glow! LOL! I normally feel a mixture of fatigue but at the same time engergized. It succeeded in changing my mood for the better, all those happy endorphins were released!

After the gym, I made a “quick” stop at the grocery store to pick up a few special ingredients to try a new recipe I’ve been thinking about for several weeks now. Stay tuned!

Kardea Nutrition Bar

Thank you to Kardea Nutrition for sending me samples of their nutrition bars; very generous!

From the Kardea nutrition brochure, about the founder: “Rob Leighton founded Kardea as part of a personal mission to lower his own cholesterol. Coupling a love for culinary creations with the science of natural cholesterol management, Rob founded Kardea to create great tasting, natural foods that enable daily compliance to heart healthy therapeutic nutrition.”

Kardea Nutrition gave me samples of each of their nutrition bars: Banana Nut, Cranberry Almond, Chai Spice, and Lemon Ginger. First off, I really enjoy nutritional bars when they taste good and are enjoyable to eat; these bars fit into this category. I like all of the flavors. My favorites are Banana Nut and Cranberry Almond. I also liked Chai Spice and Lemon Ginger but found them to be similar in taste. One just had a lemon flavoring. The bars look similar and share the same texture but are different based on flavor. They have a soft and crispy texture. The crispy part reminds me of rice crisps found in a candy bar. The flavors are light and enjoyable, not overwhelming at all. Yum!

I typically ate a bar as an afternoon snack. They satisfied my appetite for about 2-3 hours.

Thanks again Kardea Nutrition, I’d definitely recommend these to a friend!

Today’s workout

10 minute warm-up on Arc Trainer

Superset: 3 sets of 12 reps each
Good Morning Stretches – 25lb barbell
Leg Press on Hip sled Machine – 90lbs each side = 180lbs
Calf Raises on Hip sled Machine

Superset: 3 sets
Leg Curls Sitting – 75lbs (12 reps)
Walking Lunges – no weight

Abductor/Adductor machine: Light weight, high reps (2 sets)

20 minute cardio on Arc Trainer

2nd Bike Ride of the Summer

My friend, Ray, and I went on a bike ride Saturday morning. He has a bike rack, so he came down and picked me up. I have not invested in a bike rack yet, so if I want to ride anywhere other than around my neighborhood I have to wait for my lovely friends to offer to come get me. I got up and had a quick breakfast of toast with peanut butter and strawberry jelly and a side of cottage cheese. I also drank a mug of English Breakfast tea. When Ray arrived, I was all ready with my helmet and camelbak; I was excited to be using my camelbak for the first time!

We headed over to a new trail that has been paved over old railroad tracks. When the whole trail is finished it will be 13 miles one way. They still have to finish paving one small section and that is supposed to be done by this fall. We had a great ride! What I really like about this trail is that most of it is covered by trees. So even though it was hot, we had consistent shade and a constant breeze to keep us cool and refreshed. On our way down we ended up sprinting (riding our bikes as fast as we could) for 1 mile. WOW, that was a workout indeed; my legs were burning, my heart rate was up, and the sweat was pouring! We started at the beginning of the trail and rode until the trail was closed (the section that’s unfinished). We took a quick break and headed back. The ride back doesn’t look hard…but man oh man! It’s a slight incline all the way back. Our legs kept hoping and expecting for the incline to peak, the part where you feel the burn in your legs ease some once you realized you’ve hit the peak and are either on level ground or heading down hill. I kept wondering when it was going to end, lol! However, all whining aside, it was an excellent workout! I really enjoyed myself and it was a nice change for my body.

I believe I filled my camelbak all the way up, but I’m thinking that I might not have because I ended up drinking the whole thing up. It’s 70ml and should last you for about 3 hours. I finished it after the ride, which was good, but I was a bit surprised I drank all the water up. I definitely kept myself hydrated! I think we rode 14-15 miles total. I don’t know how long it took us because I once again forgot my stopwatch. I had a great ride and am looking forward to my next bike ride.

When we got back to my place, I made Ray the Cantaloupe-Banana Green Monster. He liked! It was a great refresher after our ride. When Ray left, I dug into my leftovers from the night before. I enjoyed half a chicken breast marinated in olive oil and a vinaigrette topped with fresh cherry tomatoes, arugula, and shaved parmesan cheese. I also had some leftover grilled mixed vegetables. Very tasty! I ate well during the day because Saturday night I went to a Crab Feast and enjoyed my first Blue Crabs of the season, along with a variety of yummy foods and of course some beer!

There will be no working out today for me. We will be celebrating my mom’s birthday this evening. I might try and do some stretching tonight. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Greek Pizza and Banana Soft Serve

My drive home yesterday was wonderful! I got home in just under an hour and that doesn’t happen very often. I left at my normal time, 4:30, smack dab in the middle of rush hour. My goal was to run last night but I wanted to wait until it cooled down a bit more. So while I was waiting I prepped for my dinner. I cut up olives, tomatoes, and white onion. I wanted to recreate a Greek Pizza I had the other week.

I headed out the door a little after 7. I forgot to bring my stop watch, so I’m not sure how long I actually ran. I’m guessing between 20-25 minutes. I ran up the road on the new path they just paved and then turned around and came back. I think it was about 2.5 miles. It wasn’t a good run. I once again started off to fast. I wore my running shorts for the first time and the dri-fit top that I got to match it. The shorts were all right, not sure that I’m the running shorts kinda girl. Just might be something to get use to. The top was annoying because it kept riding up my stomach…uhh…too small maybe? LOL! To top it off I started to get shin splints in my right leg. I’m glad all my ailments are sticking to the right side of my body…haha! It might be time to buy a new pair of running shoes!

Got home, stretched, showered, and prepared and cooked my Greek pizza. First I pre-heated the oven to 400 degrees. I used whole wheat pocketless pita for my pizza. I sprinkled mozzarella cheese, feta cheese, tomatoes, onions, and black olives over the top. I also sprinkled a little more mozzarella and feta cheese over the top. Place pita pizza right on the rack and cook for 7-8 minutes. I sprinkled some red pepper flakes over the top. Tasty!

Topped with spinach.

For dessert, I attempted to make Gena’s raw banana soft serve. I think it turned out pretty good. Although I think the next time I make it I might blend some chocolate syrup or flavored natural peanut butter with it, maybe even raspberries.

I started to melt some chocolate chips in the microwave, but I got impatient. So I just dumped the semi-melted ones with some frozen ones over the top.

This morning after my breakfast of whole wheat toast with peanut butter and strawberry jam, cottage cheese, and a cup of English Breakfast tea, I headed to the gym. I had a good workout which included a 7 minute warm-up on the Arc Trainer and weightlifting (chest, shoulders, and triceps). I did a small ab workout. I then completed 20 minutes on the Life Stride machine. I had the machine set on manual, level 8 and I did 1 minute at a 5 -5.5 pace and then 2 minutes at a 7.5-9 pace. I worked up a good sweat. I made sure I stretched really well afterwards.

After I showered I made myself a Green Monster. This time I used 2 cups of organic spinach, 1 cup of skim milk, ¾ of a banana, a heaping tablespoon of natural peanut butter, and a handful of ice. If you like bananas and peanut butter this is a drink for you! I liked it, but thought it could have been a bit cooler. I’ll add more ice next time. For lunch I made myself another Greek pizza.

The rest of my day will involve errands and then dinner with some of my best girlfriends! Happy Friday!

Vita-Mix = Green Monster

Guess what?! I finally got a Vita-Mix! For the last month or two, I’ve wanted to get one. I’ve been reading so many different recipe ideas and a lot of them require a good blender. I have a cheap one but it doesn’t blend frozen foods or ice at all and the last time I used my blender, it emitted a burning smell. Uh, not good! I’ve done a ton of research on Vita-Mix and other blenders and I have read nothing but positive things about this blender. Yes, it costs a pretty penny. But for me I feel like it will be a worthwhile investment. I had been looking online for good offers when my mom spotted a sign at our local Costco stating that the Vita-Mix would be coming for a two week period. It was a sign, it was meant to be!! I bought one yesterday. Brought it home and read all the instructions and recipe book, still have watch the dvd. My first blend was of soap and water to give it a nice cleaning, lol!

I was off to the gym early this morning. I completed a total of 30 minutes of cardio, my normal 10 minute warm-up on the elliptical and then 20 additional minutes on the Arc Trainer at the end of my workout. I worked my back and biceps, along with two ab movements.

One of the drinks I’ve really wanted to try is the Green Monster. I’ve read so much about them on all the blogs out there. I was so excited to get home after the gym, so I could attempt creating my first Green Monster. I desperately need to go grocery shopping and that was in my plans last night, but because of dinner plans I didn’t make it. But after dinner I quickly stopped by a grocery store to pick up spinach and milk, so I would have all the ingredients for this morning! I made the “Amazing” Cantaloupe-Banana Green Monster. I used 2.5 cups of organic spinach, 1 cup of skim milk, half a banana, about 1 cup of frozen cantaloupe, and a handful of ice. It was as good as everyone says it is. Very light and refreshing!! I can’t wait to try out different recipes to find my favorites! I paired the Green Monster with a slice of toasted Ezekiel bread with peanut butter.

Behold!

I know I look serious, but it really does taste great!

Bonefish Grill

Monday’s workout was another hour session of Power Yoga. I’m thinking this is going to be a staple in my workout for the time being. It was way too hot to run outside and I don’t enjoy going to the gym in the evenings due to the crowds. Yoga was the winner. This time I eliminated any distractions and threw myself into the workout. What a difference that makes! I felt stronger and more relaxed then last Monday. I built up a good sweat.

Can anyone suggest any other good Yoga dvd’s? I’d like to change it up some so I don’t get bored.

Early this morning I forced myself out of bed and headed to the gym. I started out with a 10 minute warm-up on the Arc Trainer. I focused on my Quadriceps and abs. I supersetted Leg Extensions with Front Squats and I did 3 sets of 12-15 reps for each. I then used another machine which I have no idea what it is called. But you squat in it and depending on your foot placement you can work your glutes or your quads. I of course worked my quads. I supersetted that machine with 1 minute wall-sits. Feel the burn! For my abs I supersetted hanging leg raises (12 reps) with bicycles (25) and did 3 sets of those. My last ab workout focused on my sides. I laid on my back with my legs bent. My feet were spread shoulder width apart and I moved back and forth along the ground touching my heels with my fingers. I did 2 sets of 30 reps. I finished up my workout with a 2 mile run on the treadmill. It’s the first time I’ve really run in a few weeks. I felt a bit tired, but powered through! I was drenched in sweat when I was finished, which I like because I know I worked hard!

This evening I went to dinner with the family to celebrate my sister passing her test and remembering my parent’s anniversary. We tried Bonefish Grill for the first time. We finally got another seafood place in town besides “Ed Lobster” aka Red Lobster. Dinner was FANTASTIC. My sister and I got the meal for two promotion they currently have running. We started off with the Singapore Calamari (pretty good) and then I had a house salad which had a wonderful citrus herb vinaigrette dressing, so light. In between all that they brought out some bread and oil. My main dish was the Wood-Grilled Authentic Norwegian Salmon topped with mango salsa, YUM! My two sides were a medley of vegetables. I brought half home to have for lunch tomorrow. It took a lot of restraint not to eat it all. I paired my meal with a glass of Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio. I had a few bites of Misty’s dessert which was a macadamia nut brownie with raspberry sauce on the side; also very yummy! It seems like we ate a lot of food, but I left there feeling very light and quite content!! That’s how I would describe the food I had, light and tasty! In case you were wondering…Misty got the Sea Scallops and Shrimp and my mom got the Coconut Crusted Shrimp appetizer as her main course. Both of them liked their meals as well.

5 Years

This weekend marked the 5 year “anniversary” of my dad’s death. In order to celebrate my dad’s life my mom, sister, the kiddos, and I decided we would spend the weekend together doing some of the things that my dad loved to do. He was a wonderful outdoorsman from an early age. Because of my dad, I have a deep love and appreciation for nature…anything and everything Mother Earth has to offer. We spent the weekend at Shenandoah National Park. We entered at the northern most point (Front Royal) and took our time driving south on Skyline Drive. There was no camping involved; we feel the kiddos are still too young and maybe we are all a bit nervous to attempt camping for the first time in a long time. I’m not sure if it is quite like riding a bicycle…you never forget?! True “dad” fashion would have been camping, loved our camping trips growing up, but I think my dad would have been quite proud and happy with our little trip!

Our first day in the park, included a picnic at the first visitor center, Dickey Ridge. We brought enough food for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. We had dinner at both the Skyland and Big Meadows restaurants; such a great way to save money and to eat healthy meals. After lunch we took a hike on the Fox Hollow Trail which is a 1.2 mile circuit. Alena (5) walked the whole trail and Sean (3) walked most of it. I’d say he walked all but .2 miles. They did great on their first hike!

Our next highlight was getting to see a young black bear run across the road. We were back on Skyline Drive heading towards Skyland when we saw this head poke up over the barrier wall. We of course stopped to observe. He proceeded to climb over the wall and run across the road and into the woods. I got a picture of his butt, because I was not fast enough pulling out my camera. I think we were in all in shock and awe that we saw a wild black bear. SO COOL! We ended up seeing one or two more, actually my mom did. But I couldn’t see anything, seems my reflexes were a bit on the slow side that day.

Red square marks the spot!

We checked into our room later in the afternoon and ate a snack or two or three. For whatever reason I was famished, I had to get out of the room because I was afraid I was going to eat anything and everything in sight. Ha! After our break, we piled back into the car and headed further south towards Big Meadows. We stopped and took another walk on a fire road that bordered the Meadow (trails wind throughout the meadow). Dinner was at the Skyland Dining Room. The food wasn’t good at all; I’m a bit sad about that. I should have ordered the fries and chicken off the kids menu! Bedtime was at 10pm for me, I was so tired! All the fresh air!!

I'm in the middle.

Our second day we spent the early afternoon at Luray Caverns. It’s been a long time since I last visited; I don’t remember the audio self tour, but what a fabulous idea! You can go at your own pace and they have an adult and kids audio tour. The caverns were beautiful as always. We headed back into the park and had another wonderful picnic. After another hour or two of driving we hit another hiking trail. We walked the Limberlost Trail where we saw a multitude of wildlife: deer, turkeys, bunnies, and tons of butterflies and moths.

Dinner was at the Big Meadows Dining Room and it was ten times better than dinner the night before. After dinner we took a night stroll to the Amphitheater where a park ranger was giving a presentation on animals and mating. Did you know that most owls mate for life? The male owl goes through a lot to try and impress the female owl. If the female accepts him they are mated for life. They are forever in love!! So sweet! Another little tidbit I learned was that black widow spiders are completely misunderstood. She only invites a male spider into her web if she is hungry. She doesn’t eat every day and sometimes not even up to a month. She only eats when she is hungry, and it just so happens she prefers male spiders as her meal! She eats purely for survival purposes!

Fire roasted marshmallows were a treat at the end. Unfortunately, the kiddos didn’t appreciate the wonders of almost burnt marshmallows…oh well, their loss. Just means more for me. YUM!

Our third day at the park consisted of us checking out of the hotel and then heading to a nearby trail to get in one more hike before making our trek home. This turned into a very interesting hike! We parked at the Stony Man Nature Trail which was only supposed to be about a 1.6 mile trail circuit. We failed to look at the map and like a lot of trails in Shenandoah other trails share similar names. We ended up walking the Nature Trail and then the Stony Man Trail itself which took us to a different parking lot about 3 miles north (by road) from where we parked. LOL!

We started by hiking up to the Stony Man Summit, which had an amazing view! On our way down from the summit we came to an intersection. There were two ways we could go, back the same way we came or follow the arrow on the trail marker stating the Stony Man Parking was 1.2 miles to the left. I was thinking that this took us a different way back to the parking lot we parked at. We were having such a good time that we decided to take the “longer” way back. It ended up being longer alright! On the 1.2 mile hike we got to see the Stony Man Cliffs, another gorgeous view. The last .6 miles were down hill and very rocky. I ended up carrying Sean down most of the way because I was worried he might get hurt; definitely a bit tough for a 3 year old to walk down. Alena conquered the trails fabulously! As I already mentioned, our hike ended at a completely different parking lot! We failed to study a map of the trail, and like a lot of trails in the Shenandoah, other trails share similar names. A huge mistake that can get hikers in serious trouble!

Stony Man Summit

Needless to say we were in a pickle. Instead of having the kiddos walk back which would‘ve taken a long time, Misty (my sister) and I hoofed it back by taking the trail. My mom stayed with the kids. The hike back was mostly uphill and by my calculation was about a two mile hike back. I LOVED this part the most. Hiking with kids is a lot different (although very enjoyable) than my normal hiking pace (which is steady and quick). Misty did great and stuck with me. We made it through the trail and back to my mom and the kiddos in 45 minutes. I felt absolutely fabulous after the hike, so energized and rejuvenated! Call me crazy, but I really think my dad was listening to my inner thoughts and giving me this opportunity for an invigorating hike.

Although we were quite stupid for not looking at a map and understanding the trails, we handled the situation very well and stayed positive. It was actually quite funny. However, Alena was pretty sure I lead everyone the wrong way she told me as much when we came back with the car….bwahahaha!

We picnicked again and spent the rest of the afternoon leaving the park and driving home. It was a good trip. Much needed for my mind, body, and soul.

Weekend and Monday Recap

After a good 12 hours of sleep I was up at 8:30 Friday morning, ate a bowl of cereal, and was off to the gym. Since I’ve been very inconsistent on my workouts these past two weeks I worked my shoulders and arms (biceps and triceps). I started by running 1 mile on the treadmill. I started out with my shoulders, biceps, and then triceps.

Shoulders - 3 sets of circuit
DB shoulder press – 20lbs
DB lateral arm raises – 8lbs
Upright Rows w/curl bar – 10lbs on each side

Rested 1-2 minutes before moving onto next muscle group

Biceps – 3 sets of each movement
21’s (7 bottom half, 7 top half, 7 full) 20-25lb barbell
Concentration Curls – 8lbs/12 reps

Rested 1-2 minutes before moving onto next muscle group

Tricep – 3 sets of 12 reps circuit
Dips on dip width bars – body weight
Cable push-downs – 50lbs
Kickbacks – 2.5-5lbs

My remaining 20 minutes of cardio was on the Arc Trainer.

The rest of my Friday consisted of running errands, but before I headed out for those. The lovely UPS man brought me this:



The best part of all is that I only paid a few dollars in shipping, because I used a giftcard (from Christmas) that I hadn’t used yet. Fantastic! I haven’t used my camelback yet, still need to wash it. Time to start biking more, I have no excuses anymore…well my hard seat can still be used as an excuse, right?!

Saturday I spent most of my day by the pool or in the pool. I got a teeny tiny workout by catching my niece and nephew jumping off the side of the pool as well as bouncing them up and down in the water. I managed to get a bit of a leg workout in by squatting up and down…child and water resistance…it’s gotta count for something, right?! That night I went to dinner with my friend. I tried white salmon for the first time. It was cooked medium and centered on top of red lettuce and several slivers of sweet potato. There was a beet sauce that complimented the salmon so nicely. I ate every last bite and was tempted to lick the plate…it was that good! We also split a great bottle of Pinot Gris from Willamette Valley.

Sunday was a rainy day for the most part. No workouts for me, I spent most of the day with my sister running around. She was really good to me yesterday. I can’t thank her enough. Love You Sis!

The weekend went by so fast….and now its Monday and actually almost Tuesday. Work was pretty busy, can’t complain because it did make the day go by fast and I felt pretty productive. When I got home I thought about running, but decided I needed to do more of a stretching workout. So I pulled out my Power Yoga dvd and spent an hour doing that. I felt it was one of my better Yoga days; which isn’t saying much because I don’t do Yoga all that often. I would really like to get into it more, maybe one day find a class to take. I was also cooking dinner during my workout. Not the greatest ideas because my stomach was totally growling which can be very distracting when you are trying to concentrate on the poses. Dinner was fabulous. I had leftover breaded tilapia, with homemade potato fries, steamed asparagus, watermelon, and a tall glass of skim milk. It was quite satisfying. In a few, I plan on having two squares of Lindt (mild 70%) dark chocolate. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!