Jill's Trek

Last FRIDAY of the Year!

2011-05-27T21:13:00.002-05:00

Well it was rather bitter sweet as I finished my final Friday of the school year. It's been a very busy, stressful, eventful, wonderful year! I love my students dearly but they are SOOOOO ready to be done and it is sad that I do not get them back next year as they only attend my school for 1 year. I hope they come visit:) It was actually a rather good Friday...slow paced is NICE.

Spent some time with family this evening..shared some pizza and cookie dough...yum! Now it's time to get settled in for the night and ready for work in the morning and then off to the lake for me in the afternoon.

Back Into the Bloggin' Swing!

2011-05-26T20:35:00.003-05:00

So I've been away for too too long! I have really gotten into The Daily Mile, but see I can attach that widget to my blog..life is grand! I completed my SECOND 10k on Saturday May 21,2011. It was a great feeling of accomplishment! Go ME! My sister Sheri, Sister in Law Tricia, and Cousin in Law Craig all accomplished the same feet. Granted this was each of their 1st 10k! Way to go fam. On my list of events, Tricia and I plan to compete in the Perham Turtle Fest 5k or 10k. I believe my knees and I are going to stick to the 5k. I'm holding out for the Half Marathon Relay in September!
Well the school year winds down and is coming to a close. Tomorrow marks are LAST Friday of the year with students. Thank goodness. I love them dearly but I'm ready, so are they, to be done...it's BREAK TIME!

Alright, that's enough for blogging..I hope I stick with it this time!!!

Wow ..It's Been A WHILE!

2010-09-08T19:58:00.002-05:00

Ok so Jill must have forgotten how to blog. I hope to get back into it this year. It's been a very busy last year. On top of being a very busy special education teacher I also got engaged in February 2010. I then set out to plan a successful wedding by July 17, 2010. Well I pulled it off...even though the weather patterns tried to interfere. We had sun, wind, calm, sun, rain, pouring rain, hail, lightening strikes, power outage for hour and 45 minutes and then sun again. So everything but snow..which I was thankful we did without. It was a great day!
Since then I've moved into the house that my husband had prior to our marriage. I have done a lot of painting to the white walls in the basement and worked at moving in my items(they are in the garage...boo).
Currently, I have begun my 4th year at the same school. I love my job..even more this year..and look forward to really turning things around and establishing a program for a students.

As for working out...I am still swimming, biking, and running. Last fall I added BodyPump to my plate and I love it. I do that Wednesday mornings...like today at 5:45 am. It's a great way to start my day.

Tomorrow's plan = SWIM DAY:) Hello wake up call at 4:30 am

Trying to Work My Butt Off

2010-01-20T06:46:00.003-06:00

For real, I'm tryin to work it off. I have been going pretty strong this 2010 year, so far. I hope to keep it. So far I have not had any POP for 18 days and I SOOOO can already tell. I'm not as tired, I can tell I've lost some pop/water weight, my pants are looser..it's great. Since I've started bodypump I can do push-ups..so my arms and legs are getting stronger. I joined Gator Adult Swim Team again and that has helped get my butt in the pool 2 times per week. I also rack up at least 2000 meters each time for a total of 4000 to 4800 meters a week. I am going to have to keep going. It may be a year round MUST. Then I don't have to deal with the lady that wacks me in the pool at the gym. I do not like that...it ruins my entire day and/or workout if I see I have to share a lane with her or next to her.

So 2nd semester started yesterday I can't believe we're half way done. It has gone by SOOOOO fast already. The kids are doing a good job this year.
Well off to post some workout stats and then it's time for WORK..ugh.

A New Year

2010-01-07T20:36:00.002-06:00

Last week I went out to Montana with my family to see my sister, brother in law and the nieces. It was a GREAT trip. We ziplined and skiied. I was a bit sore but it was worth it. My niece Tillie said Auntie this and Auntie that the whole time...I loved it!

So Monday I went back to school after a long Christmas Vacation. I started Monday out with joining Adult Gator Swim team again. It is an evening session on Mondays so I was able to do 2300 meters. Tuesday morning I biked 13 miles with a friend at the gym. On Wednesday I decided to get back into BodyPump and decided it was "okay" to lift the same weight I was lifting 4 weeks ago. OUCH...boy do my legs hurt today. So today I decided to ride my bike at home today. I did 60 minutes or 20 miles on the bike...it loosened my legs up.

As for tomorrow I'm looking forward to FRIDAY!!!!

Now I'm REALLY a BAD Blogger

2009-11-28T11:01:00.002-06:00

I so miss having down time to recap and blog about my workouts and my day. I just do not know where the time goes though. A friend and I came up with the NOVEMBER CHALLENGE to keep ourselves motivated during the month of November. We earn points for working out and loose points for eating out, drinking pop, coffee, coffee store hot chocolate, alcohol. I have earned quite a few points and was totally kicking butt on NOT eating out. I kinda fell off the wagon the pop though. I did do very well with not going to get caribou hot chocolate.

I will plan to add up my totals and upload my stats for September, October, and now November! I've been terrible. I am running pretty well lately. I was struggling with my knee but I ran 2.75 miles on Tuesday and then did another 2.55 today with NO KNEE PAIN..Yeah. I am now signed up to do the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis on December 5th at 9am in Fargo. I can't wait. I just hope it's not super cold like last year.

So my Christmas Cards are printed I just need to finish up my Christmas letter. I helped a friend lease/buy a car the other day. That was pretty awesome for her and I..the sales people wanted me to leave I think. They kept saying, "who brought cut throat, or her." Lisa named me Jill Barbie Car Negotiator...car not included. Ha ha. Ok so I'm off to hang out with Travis for the day or go to the lake again. I haven't heard the final plan. I may go price tires for my car and then get my car washed too!

Bad Bad Jill...No Time to Blog

2009-10-24T09:31:00.003-05:00

It's been FOREVER since I blogged. I feel awful. The good news is I HAVE BEEN working out this entire time..I just haven't been documenting it in my blog. I do however happen to have it on a print out calendar, in case no one believes me. I cannot believe how busy my life is this fall. Let's recap:
School started...LOTS going on there..can we say meeting, meeting, meeting..
Eye Office or 2nd job..weekends weekends and more weekends
VEGAS Trip...what a blast and SOOOO needed.
Back to school and everything seemed to fall apart. Kids in crisis are not fun.
H1N1 is rampent in our school..I've managed to avoid..knock on wood it stays that way.
More meetings, more school,
Oh GRAD class..because a Master's degree isn't enough..I need a grad certificate in autism..i'm nuts.
Paper completed for that, thank goodness.
Bet with boyfriend day 27...I'm so going to win!!
Swimming, biking(on my new trainer), running as much as my knee lets me,
& my new workout BodyPump...LOVE IT!
Concerts with friends
New hair do

That pretty much somes it ALL up. I will upload my september stats when I'm home. And put up Octobers...since it's almost over..ha ha.

Sunsets, Lakes, & Labor Day

2009-09-08T07:05:00.002-05:00

What a beautiful weekend. I enjoyed spending my last "summer" weekend at the lake with Travis, his family, and some of their friends. It was a great time had by all. I originally thought I would get some nice early morning runs in, but that didn't quite happen. I kinda forget some necessary items to do the running..oops..better luck on that next time. Instead, Travis and I took the paddle boat out to the point and back. That was fun. I think we freaked his mom out cause on our way back they showed up in the boat. We were gone for about 45 mins so I can understand...we did take on some water with the big waves around the point. I kept telling Travis, "this is my 'workout' for the day." He kept looking at me funny...I mean it's not a bike ride or a run or anything but I figured it was similar, but different to a recumbent bike. Eventually he started smirking..then I looked over..NO WONDER it was a 'workout' he wasn't really peddling...his feet were just sitting on the peddles....I WAS DOING ALL THE WORK.. He got splashed. If i could have thrown him overboard without jeopardizing myself, I would have. We had LOTS of yummy food all weekend...I don't think I'll be hungry for a week. We had campfires both nights on the beach...and ate reese's peanutbutter cup smoresz...mmmmm mmmm good. I dropped my peanut butter cup in the sand the second night..so I had a regular smore..damn creepy crawly thing that went across my foot. Overall it was a great long weekend I really had fun.

As for workouts I swam at the Y last week..takin' time off from swim team(already miss it), but i was able to do 2000 meters at the Y Friday morning and used paddles, bouy, kickboard, and streamline kicks...I'm a rockstar what can i say. Learning all those techniques in swimteam has helped soooo much. Can't wait for next session though. I like it better when they plan my routine/workout. I did some biking and running last week too..and I logged 2.10 miles this morning on the treadmill at the Y before my knee start to hurt. I figure it's been 7 months on my peach Adrenaline 9's might be time to break in the new red Adrenaline 9's. Plus a friend is going to show me some good exercises for my knees and how to use the strength machines too. I look forward to that...anything can help.

My workout plan for the Week:
Monday...rest
Tuesday....Run(2.10 miles)
Wednesday...Sprint Run at Athletic Republic
Thursday...Bike & Weight Machines
Friday....Swim
Saturday...Run after (work)
Sunday...Swim

Just Cuz I Haven't Blogged, Doesn't Mean I Haven't Worked Out

2009-09-01T07:08:00.004-05:00

Ok so I've been slacking on my blogging. I'm a terrible blogger these days....however to my defense SCHOOL STARTED..yes I did say that.! Last Wednesday the kids arrived on their first day. It actually went well. Day 2 on the other hand wasn't my favorite, but day 3 turned out to be wonderful, then again it was Friday. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with the start to this school year and I haven't truly placed why??!! One would think going into their 3rd year in the same building doing the same classes would be pretty easy, but not this year. We have a lot of new staff, who are AWESOME, schedule changes for spec ed teachers(me), and the day before school started I found out my health books were back ordered until the middle of September....UGH! So I had to rearrange my entire first unit or two. At least I've taught it before so I have some ideas of what I'm doing. I'm off to work now to get some things cleared up and taken care of this morning.

I ran after work yesterday OUTSIDE:) I did 2 miles and I ran for 23 minutes non-stop! This morning I forced myself to the gym to ride the bike. I was able to get 7 miles in. I may go for a walk after school today.

August Stats 2009

Run....27.9 miles
Swim....14,700 meters
Bike.....36.2 miles

I need to do even more in SEPTEMBER!!!

Tri #2 In the Books!

2009-08-20T18:08:00.006-05:00

So I completed my 2nd Triathlon on Saturday August 15th. What a rush! We were on the road by 5:15 am on Saturday. We loaded our gear the night before..I know smart. We got down there and were some of the first few people there...and then we saw the transition area...let me just say WOW...HOLY CRAPOLY! (so what if that's not a word..it works for this)...talk about a dramatic difference in size compared to our first one. There were isles and isles of transition racks compared to 1 small line or 1 rack in our first. It got busy very quickly. We set up by a big tree..I figured it was easy to spot a large tree and then our bikes. Next we went to body marking. I was #281 and then they put my age on my leg...like really was that so necessary???!!!

We listened to the pre-race meeting and got ready. We didn't actually start right away..they went in waves and we were toward the end. Stacy and I were able to finish the swim, 600 meters in 9 minutes 10 seconds. (1st tri 31 minutes and 1000 meters). We did our transition to the bike and it was awesome as we went out on the bike Jeff and Trisha were right there to cheer us on..that was great! The bike went well..minus the 1 hill from hell again. I almost tossed my cookies at the top..need to train better/more for that. Finished the 11.7 miles in about 46 minutes. The run was not the greatest...and I thought it was going well. At this point Stacy and I did our own thing. She was ahead of me on the run after awhile. It started to sprinkle and then it poured..felt nice for me though. I felt bad for the bikers that were still out on the course. I finished the run in about 40 minutes. Approximately 5 minutes slower than the 1st tri. Oh well...live and learn. My overall time was 1 hour 41 minutes...so I finished in under 1 hour and 45 minutes, which was my goal. So I'm way happy and CANNOT WAIT to do this again next summer.

Bib Number 281
Overall 192
Division 24/31
Sex Place 92/110
Swim 9:10
T1 3:53
Bike 46:08
T2 2:31
Run 41:15
OVERALL 1:41:54

Allergies...FlipTurns..& Tri

2009-08-13T20:54:00.003-05:00

So Monday night I went to bed with a tickle in my throat...go figure. I woke up with a dry, cracky throat and a NOT-SO-HAPPY-JILL...grrr. This appears to be a theme...when i have an event coming up I get sick/allergies. I would really like this "theme" to END. I worked registration day at my school and my throat, nose, and cough seemed to be getting worse and worse. I called an made a doctors appt. I got in on Wednesday morning. He wasn't sure if I would respond to antibiotics but gave them to me anyway(thank god). I already appear to be feeling better. The sore throat isn't so sore anymore. I did swim team this morning and that actually helped clear up my head a bit. I even learned how to do a flip turn. Kinda fun..makes me a bit dizzy, my plugged head didn't help, but it was worth learning and trying. I kept it kinda easy and light in swim team. I did 2100 slow and easy meters. It felt good...I really needed to loosen up my muscles since I hadn't been in the pool since last Thursday.
I then returned home and my friend Jamie and I went for a quick 1.75 mile run outside. I did so well. I'm really getting good at running. We walked the first 4 minutes and ran the rest...NO STOPPING. I ran that same run Monday night and walked only 2 times and did it in 22 minutes.
So Saturday brings the Young Life Sprint Tri...Stacy & I are getting ready. As long as I feel well it should go well...or she will be dragging me thru! (shhh she doesn't know that yet). I plan to be well! Tomorrow i will be resting...sleeping in too..No alarm tomorrow a.m.

I have also decided that to begin training for the Fargo 1/2 Marathon in 2010. Stacy has a training program for me and I can't wait to start after we rest for a week following the tri this weekend. Next post will be my tri recap!!

August...So Far!

2009-08-06T21:12:00.002-05:00

I do not really feel like I've gotten off to the best start to August, but I'm still working hard. I feel I need to step it up a notch since I have 8 days before my 2nd full outdoor triathlon. On August 15th I will be doing the Detroit Lakes Young Life Triathlon. I'm super excited to compete again, and for Travis to wear his Tri Sherpa Shirt!

So, so far this August I've only ran 2 times at the Y. I've done 3.15 miles. However, on Wednesday I decided to join Travis (he's a exercise/accerlation trainer) and 2 others for a sprint run/workout. Can we say it KICKED MY BUTT. Man was I huffing and puffing...good thing there weren't three little pigs with houses to blow down cause I so could have...even the brick one! As the runs got faster and quicker I did get better..so I can totally see how this could help when doing hills.

SwimTeam...
So I decided to bite the bullit and join swimteam again. I figured I don't work at Sheyenne (40th Ave S) and swim team is at Fargo North(19th Ave N)...except for 1 day so I could suck it up and make the drive all the way up north. It's been GREAT! I did 2500 meters on Tuesday and then 2300 meters in the pool today. I'm still trying to figure out if I can make it next Tuesday..I am doing school registration and I wouldn't allow myself much time to get there. We'll see...

Tomorrow..I'm doing the sprint run with Travis and the others...(maybe)...otherwise I will be downtown at the Y running at 8:15am and then doing a spin call at 9am..no matter what.

July is OVER..WHAT!!???

2009-08-01T07:36:00.002-05:00

Well I would have to say July was one of my best workout months!!

Swim: 22,400 meters aka 14 miles!
Bike: 79.75 miles
Run: 19.32 miles

I'm not sure I would have been able to pump out that many meters in swimming had I not joined the Adult Gator Swim Team through the YMCA. I'm so glad I made that choice...only 1 more month and then I'm going to take a break. I can't afford to pay $35 a month plus my $47 Y membership per month...I'm a teacher not made of money! Plus I'm learned so much at swim team that I can plan my own workouts for awhile.

Only 2 weeks before my next Tri and I'm beginning to get excited yet nervous. Time to kick up the training program!

Broke 20,000...Sweet!

2009-07-29T07:32:00.002-05:00

I'm so incredibly happy I was able to break 20,000 meters in the pool in a month...and counting. This made my day yesterday and continues today. I love it when I can do that...and it's been awhile. I did 2200 meters during swim team practice yesterday. The pool hat hot spots, warm spots and cold spots. It was rather interesting....the air was FREEZING!

Swim Team Workout:
4 x 200 x 20R
#1 Swim
#2 50 kick/50 swim
#3 Pull Bouy
#4 Swim and drill across the lines

Second Board:
12 x 100 x 15R
Odds: swim and drill across the lines
Evens: swim and tarzan (head up out of water) across the lines

3rd Board:
12 x 50 x 10R
Build Choice Kick

I didn't finish board 3..it's very rare I do when I have to get out and get to work.

I've also found that since I've changed my diet(eating habits) and eliminated certain things, I've lost 4 lbs in a little over a week! So I'm super pumped and hope I can keep it up til the Tri on the 15th and beyond. The less weight I have to carry on the swim, bike, run the better! It goes to show cutting out eating after 7pm/8pm really does make a difference as well as watching those nasty carbs..boo carbs (I know they are yummy though).

Well off to a day of work and then a nice 2.25 mile run is on the schedule for today.

1st Group Ride of the Summer

2009-07-19T19:27:00.002-05:00

I finally got up and out on a group ride. For once there were more women than men, doesn't happen often. I struggled today on the ride. We decided to do 20 miles and start out into the wind(who's idea was that again...NOT MINE) and I was huffing and puffing. Then to make matters worse we did a hill within the first mile and a half...I stink even more at hills, and then you combine it with wind..=jill is a wimp! I decided I need to practice hills and train WAY more...strength train too. I did better on the way back(ok so the wind was blowing me home). My quads were so tight and my body was still recovering from the tri last weekend. I only did 2 swim workouts totaling 3600 meters, biked 10 miles on the trainer and ran 2.10 miles..so this was really my first truly intense workout using my quads.

Anyway....my goals for the week:

Sunday Bike ride 20 miles
Monday Run 2.25 miles
Tuesday Swim Team 2200 meters (approx) & Strength Training in the afternoon
Wednesay Bike 20 mins...Run 15 mins
Thursday Swim Team 2200 meters (approx)
Friday Run 2.75 miles

Off to visit family for the weekend.

First Triathlon In The Books..2nd to Follow!

2009-07-12T20:16:00.008-05:00

Well yesterday was one to go down in the books....I completed my first full outdoor triathlon. I'm so proud of me and exstatic that I pushed myself to do this. I wasn't going for time...I was just working on completion. In the end that proved to be the right plan. A friend and I decided to complete this tri together and that was a pretty good idea. Now since we experienced one, I know I am feeling a bit better about the next one...(in 5 weeks!!!)

Friday July 10th

We left Fargo and made the drive to Grand Forks, ND to compete in the Prairie Rose Games Triathlon. This was a nice 1st tri for distance and $$. The next one isn't so nice on the pocketbook. Oh well. Once we made it to Grand Forks we headed out to Larimoure Damn to check it out and see the course. I figured this would put my anxiety at ease...WRONG....they had NOTHING set up, and it took the girl at the desk forever to find a really crappy map. So instead of thinking about it we headed back to GF and to Bonzer's to eat. I got a Casear..it did NOT taste well AT ALL. I didn't want to make a stink, until I saw my $8 bill for it..so I said something and the girl was nice and took it off my tab. My budget is still intact now. We went back to Stacy's aunt's house and watched the Tour de France stage 7. It was nice to have a cable company that had Versus. I also found that Lance climbing the Pyrennes to be a motivator the next day when I climbed a ND hill...it may sound lame..but that was a killer hill.

The morning of the tri my alarm sounded at 4:45am...ugh..but I was ready to get this tri hammered out. So I ate a half of a banana and a piece of peanut butter toast. I also had my Reliv shake. I got dressed and packed up. Woke Travis up to help us out and we were off.

When we got there we went to check in. I was 2nd, hence 002 for my body marking, and Stacy was 003. I wished I would have waited for my favorite #7 and I could have been 007 but now I know for next time..he he. We then set up our transition station, waited, had some GU, waited, filled a buck (with bugs and algae) to wash our feet during T1, waited, and then finally got some rules and before we knew it they were saying 10, 9, 8.....GO!!!

We started walking into the water and when it hit above my waste I went for it and started to swim...OMG..not a good thing...the temp wasn't much different than morning outdoor swim, but a pool does not have algae, weeds(HATE weeds), and you can see thru the water. This was so freaky. I began to breathe funny and freak out a bit..but I kept thinking "I can't give up or anything..I've been waiting for this." So I switched from freestyle to breast stroke and told myself, "it's just a casual swim across a pretty lake..it's all good..breathe slowly..deep breathes.." Then I calmed down..it helped I was swimming by my friend. Then she started to feel like I had been feeling..but she flipped onto her back and I told her we could stay together and it would all be good. So we did and we did the swim in 31 minutes. It was a bit longer than we both had wanted to finish it in, but we didn't drown...sweet.

The step was to transition to the bike. I did that rather quickly. I was pretty impressed with myself. Then we had to climb a really big hill with not much room to start up it. Once at the top I was struggling to breathe..I still hadn't caught my breathe from the swim. I went pretty slow for the first few miles of the ride....like 11 mph..at one point we were going down a hill at 35 mph..that was awesome..such a rush. We made it back from the bike..saw one girl fall on the turn around..she was ok..but that was hard for me to see..I don't do well witnessing crashes. We completed the ride, 12 miles in 52 minutes.

Transition 2 from bike to run went super quick. Racked the bike..took off the helmet , thru on the visor, and put on my Brooks Adrenalines...and off we went.UP THE HILL...AGAIN!! I hate that hill and the other hill. We were able to do the run in 35 minutes..which was pretty impressive for me and a run..after doing a swim and a bike. Must have been the adrenaline pumping. We only walked a couple times..mostly at the start when I was trying to catch my breathe...the good news is I had NO knee pain AT ALL.

Overall I finished in 2 hours 3 minutes...and placed 2nd in my age division..can we say sweet. So well we were on our run or maybe it was the bike..we decided we were going to sign up for the Detroit Lakes Triathlon on August 15th.

Good Morning Swim!

2009-06-30T09:01:00.003-05:00

I didn't think today was going to start off to well when I had swim team practice at 6am...(I like to leave my place by 5:30am) and I woke up at 5:36am...oops!! Well I got movin pretty fast and made it in the pool by 5 mins to 6. It was a pretty great workout today and it was nice that I didnt' have to rush off to work. I actually stayed in the pool till 7:15. I didn't finish the entire workout, I was kinda bummed.
The workout was:
600 meter freestyle
10x 50 (25 drill/25 free) 50 choice
5 x 200 :30R with "Tarzan" over the middle lines in the pool. We basically had to lift our heads up out of the water for a portion of the swim each direction on the 50 meters.
It wasn't so bad, I actually felt like it did lots for me(how to take in water that is), but definatly good practice for next Saturday's triathlon. I'm super excited, but super nervous too.

Then we finished up with 1000 meters 50 kick/100 free I only did 600 meters of this before it was time to go. Overall 2700 meters logged in the books. This Thursday is the last day of the session, but I plan to sign up for the 2nd session. It's way too much fun to get up at the butt crack of dawn and swim outside and get your butt kicked. That's what we call dedication!

Bike Rides and More

2009-06-26T07:35:00.004-05:00

Ok so this passed Saturday June 20, 2009 I did the 32 mile Tour de Cure bike ride for Diabetes. It was AWESOME and it only took us 2 hrs 15 minutes. I had so much fun riding and 32 miles didn't feel too bad. Maybe next year I will get ambitious and do the 75 mile ride or just prep and do the 150 mile 2 day MS ride. We'll see. On Monday I went to the gym and did some running and then finally tried out the bikes that are like simulators. That was a lot of fun. I did a 2 mile loop.

On Wednesday my friend Stacy suggested we take our bikes our around 2 ish for a 15 to 20 mile ride. So I loaded up my bike and headed over to her place. We were able to get out and ride before any sprinkles of rain hit us. We had a interesting ride though. We hit a few yellow lights that turned red..OOPS..and then almost had another oppsy at our "favorite" intersection. Stacy tried to unclip her foot to stop and it was stuck...luckily she was able to unclip with her non-dominate right foot and step right. For those of you that don't cycle that's tricky...if you unclip with 1 foot and step with the other you tip over like a tree..trust me I speak from experience! So we got up on the sidewalk, note lots of people were looking at use, they just don't get it. Her shoe clip was loose, good thing I had my tool and she was able to tighten it. We were good to go from there. Overall it was nice 15.2 mile ride.

On Thursday morning I had swim team practice. I realized over halfway there that I had forgot my bad with my goggles, swimcap, and earplugs. NOT GOOD. I figured if I turned around I'd be super late for the practice so I decided to go to the YMCA and grab my old swimcap and goggles from my locker. The only downfall was I did NOT have extra earplugs. I got in and started to swim....my ears hurt so incredible bad. That water touching them and then going inside side killed me. I have been trying to think of ananologie so others can relate, but I have none. I just know it was not good. Plus when I get water in my ears I tend to get sick..not cool. Hopefully this 1 time deal will not hurt me. I was able to overcome the pain and work through my workout. I did 2200 meters..which brings me to 13,500 meters this month..yeah!!!!! Plus I have 1 more swim team session on Tuesday this month..and maybe I will hit the pool Sunday at the YMCA. We'll have to see.

Today is Friday, I'm off to work and I'm considering a rest day. Oh I walked 2.25 miles yesterday too. So yeah...I'm really thinking I will rest today...knowing me I"ll find myself at the gym this afternoon.

Biked, Swam, Ran!

2009-06-19T12:44:00.002-05:00

So on Wednesday I road my bike on the trainer for 40 minutes from 6:10am to 6:50am....then I decided to ride it again for an hour later that day while watching tv. I'm kinda crazy I know this already. So I loosened my legs and made my butt very sore. Thank heavens for padded shorts. So the last few days I've stayed off the bike to prep my hind-end for this Saturday's Tour de Cure ride.

On Thursday morning I had Adult Gator Swim Team practice. The getting up in the morning part stinks..but once I'm swimming in the outdoor pool and doing the drills and stuff that the coaches make up I'm so happy and proud of me. We did 2200 meters that morning...and I actually didn't finish the entire workout because I had to get to work.

Today I got up and went to the gym with a friend. I ran 2.6 miles on the treadmill. Then I did the ab machine and then some more abs on the mats. I didn't want to do legs or arms since I have to use my legs and arms on the bike tomorrow. Then I went to Scheels and got a new water bottle and an extra holder so I have PLENTY of water for the ride tomorrow. My new water bottle is insulated..cool. I even attached the holder to my bike all by myself. I also got some new shades for riding..they fit better with my helmet and they are very lite..only $10. Good deal. Already so I'm off to relax now..and find some food for Travis...he's STARVING..his words.

Slackin' On My Blog..Oops!

2009-06-16T12:08:00.002-05:00

So I had a GREAT morning swim at the outdoor Island Park Pool. I joined a swim class for four weeks. It was my first day since there was a time/location mess up last week and then I was in Colorado for the 2nd session. I must say I was a bit apprehensive this morning, but once I was in the water and going I felt better. It was a LONG swim workout. I didn't even finish the entire planned workout because I ran out of time. I needed to get my butt up and out of the pool to get to work. I was able to accomplish 2000 meters though. 1000 of which I had that foam thing between my thighs and the plastic things on my hands...yeah I don't really know swim terminology, yet. After I swam with those things on my arms felt like noodles in the water....similar to running after a long bike ride. I look forward to Thursdays session.

So yesterday I had my first day of summer school..it went VERY well. Afterword I met Travis, his sister, and cousin for lunch at good ole Qdoba (it was monday). Then Trav and I hung out at his place. I then brought his bike trainer home with me to log some miles before this Saturday's 32 mile Diabetes Tour de Cure ride. I got all set and realized his trainer wasn't set up for my bike...grrr...Good thing I realized at that point too that my tires needed air. So I called up my friend Stacy and she said I could drive over and get her trainer and tire pump so I did. Note: I left Trav's house in Moorhead at 4pm. Then I got back from driving to her place...got the bike all set up again and started to ride. I was on the bike for about 5 minutes when my rear derailer decided to shift gears on it's own. That bugged me. So I called Scheels and explained and said I had not even used my bike since I had it in there for a tune-up. They said if you bring it in NOW we will fix it up for you..So I unloaded the bike from the trainer and got dressed to go in public and took my bike to Scheels. They did fix it up right away. I got home at 6:25pm...grr grrr. Then I set the bike on the trainer again, made sure it worked and then showered up to head to Travis's soccer game. So that entire bike ordeal took way way way too long and I never even got to ride. Needless to say I will probably be riding tonight.

Night Swim and Outside Run

2009-05-08T21:17:00.003-05:00

So on Wedneday night my friend and I decided to hit the pool. It was nice to get back in the pool, I hadn't been there in awhile. We both decided to see how fast we could do 1000M since that is how far we will need to swim in the Tri we both plan to do in July 2009. The first 500M I did really well 10 mins. The second not so well. I knew I shouldn't have eaten, granted it was 3 hours before, but my tummy just can't seem to handle it. I still was able to swim 1600 meters. The day before I ran 1.75 miles...on Sunday I ran 2.75 miles..they had no time limit on the machines.

Yesterday my friend and I decided to go for an outdoor run to gear up for the Fargo 5K this Saturday. We did 2.25 miles in 25 mins and I only walked 2 times..WOW for me. I'm so excited for tomorrow. I hope to finish the 5K between 35 and 36 minutes...my last 5K was 2 weeks ago and I did it in 37:26...so I'm off to break a record.

T Minus 11 hours to Race TIME!!!!

3 Good Workout Days

2009-05-01T06:36:00.006-05:00

Yesterday I had a great early morning swim. I was able to pump out 1500 meters at 5:15am before heading off to work. Thanks to a friend who motivated me to get my rear out of bed and get to the gym. The day before that I was able to finally get back on the treadmill and run. I was able to easily do 2.18 miles and didn't feel it in my knee so that was AWESOME. Today I almost slept through my alarm but something woke me up that I realized I needed to get up and out the door for my a.m. run again. I did 2 miles today. Only 8 days until the Fargo 5K!

Get In Gear 5K

2009-04-25T12:14:00.002-05:00

I came, I ran, I almost puked, but I sure did conquer! I just finished the Get In Gear Minneapolis 5K http://getingear10k.com/results.html. My unoffical race time was 37:24 which is a PR..SWEET! I did the first mile in 12:15, the 2nd in 12:00 min and the last mile was a bit more challenging because my left knee decided it didn't like me..grrrr! I pushed through the pain and made my way across the finish line. Then I did everthing in my power NOT to puke. That's a first and it wasn't a good feeling. I drank some water and felt way better. Now it's time for a shower, and lunch.

Good Workout Yesterday...This Week..What to Do

2009-04-20T07:05:00.003-05:00

So yesterday my workout buddy and I got a chance to workout at the gym..it had been quite awhile. So I did 2 miles on the treadmill in 28 minutes! Then I did 1000 meters in the pool..that felt good. Today I plan to run outside after work today. So my workout plan for the week..because Saturday April 25th is the Get In Gear 5K run. I need to do my prep for the week.

Monday: Run 1.75 miles (outside)
Tuesday: Swim 1600 meters
Wednesday: Run 2.00 miles (at the gym or outside depends on weather)
Thursday: Bike 30 minutes
Friday: swim or rest day
Saturday: 5k Get In Gear Run in Minneapolis

Week looks great!

Day Three..Arizona April 11, 2009

2009-04-12T09:26:00.005-05:00

So on day 3 my mother and I went to Cardio Ball Interval class. It was my favorite class of them all, but my body was so sore from Pilates and Jazzercise. I did my best. Man can this elderly people move. It was a really neat class that incorporated the big balance balls and the slo-mo balls. I need to find a video so I can do routines like that at home because it will sure work my abs and that's where i need HELP. After that class I spent some time doing laps in the pool. It felt nice to swim and stretch out my body with the least amount of impact. It was colder and rainy yesterday so I had to swim indoors..sad I know.

In the afternoon my mom, Tim, and I drove down to Glendale and went on a tour of the Cardinals Stadium. Talk about neat. We got to go all over to the floor, the loft/suites, press box, tunnel, visitor locker room..etc. Very cool.

Last night we ate broiled chicken, baked potatoes, and steamed veggies...yummy.

Day Two..Arizona!

2009-04-10T22:47:00.005-05:00

So this morning my mom and I did a Jazzercise class...not too sure how I felt about it. Those elder people sure can move though. For the most part all I could think of during the entire class was..."geeee I could be running on the treadmill..boy would that be nice." So I guess that means I probably didn't like it. I did get a workout...because i sure can feel my abs, quads, hams etc.

After class we came home and I took a shower and a quick cat nap. Then we ventured to Thunderbird Park in Glendale, AZ to go hiking in the moutains. It was fun. We were out hiking for 2 hours or so.

Once we finished hiking we drove to a shopping area near Lake Pleasant. I got to visit Ulta, my fav!!! Picked up a foundation brush, some blush, and a new purple sparkly eye shadow. After that we popped into Pier One Imports so my mom could show me this adorable red leather chair...on clearance for $500. I just hope the Fargo store has one...it's super cute and perfect for my living room.

We ate dinner at Lakeside Bar & Grill. I had Coconut Shrimp and a baked potato, mom had pecan crushed trout, and Tim had a mushroom cheeseburger. Oh and I had a Mojito..ymm!

Tonight when we got home we played dominos..we each won a round and have plans to continue tomorrow evening...they are going DOWN!!!!

Day One...Arizona!

2009-04-09T21:05:00.004-05:00

Well on Wednesday April 8th I bored a plane from Fargo, ND to Minneapolis, MN...it wasn't too crowed and was very nice. Prior to boarding the plane I popped 2 motion sickness pills to a relaxor pill...and um yeah...DIDN'T HELP! I still got really sick and got visited the airport restroom for a bit longer than I would have wanted. Then I walked from gate "C" something to the complete opposite end of the airport to G19. On the way I walked with a gal from my plane and we got to talking and found out she was going to Seattle and her husband was in the guard and my friend Stacy's sister Steph was going to Seattle to visit her husband in the guard...and yep they knew eachother. She also teaches in the same school district that I do. Small world!
Then I found a seat near the window. The nice people across from me were teachers too on their way to Arizona too. Then their cousin sat down. He goes to UND and happens to know my 2 cousins Erik and Mitch..Even smaller World.
The next craxy thing that happened was I ran into people from Hibbing...from my Church. It was so random and fun...they were going to Arizona too. Even sat across from me on the plane.
So we took off from Minneapolis at 9:30pm central time. I struggled on the plane ride. It was so crowded. I did fall asleep off and on. The way down was very very bumpy and I got sick again. I once again spent way more time in the bathroom. I called my shuttle guy Fred and he picked me up in his Scion B. Very nice man. We talked about movies on the 40 min drive to my parents.
I arrived at 12:00am..2am my time...ugh. I fell fast alseep.

This morning I work up and visited with my mom and Tim. My mom took me to pilates class...man is that tough. I can't wait to go to a class back home. Then we went for coffee with the nice ladies from pilates.

We ate some lunch at home and took off to the dental office. Jill had her teeth cleaned...rather painful..but so worth it.

Tim grilled pork chops and we had steamed potatoes and beans...yummy. Now we are off for a walk that my computer is UP adn RUNNING on the wireless internet..man was that a task.
So far Arizona is fun and sunny!

2 Workouts 1 Day

2009-04-03T08:31:00.001-05:00

So a friend and I decided to arise, on our day off, to workout at the butt crack of dawn. In theory it was a great idea, but in all reality..man am I TIRED. However, the good news is I was able to run 2.30 miles and then swim 1000 meters....Yippy! Now I'm exhausted, tired, and hungry. Hmmm what to eat...what to eat?? So the month of April and workouts has started off quite well. Tomorrow I plan to bike and then run a short distance..it's always a good idea to practice that transition from bike to run. I hope to do an outdoor tri this summer and I need all the bike to run transition practice I can get. I have decided I will probably swim again on Sunday and then take Monday off since I have to go back to work that day. Tuesday my friend and I are going to hit the pool and Wednesday I will probably run again. Then Wednesday night I hop a plane to ARIZONA Baby!! My mom has a week of exercise classes, facial, massage, pedi and mani etc etc...I can't wait for fun in the sun.

What April has in Store!

2009-04-02T16:44:00.003-05:00

Well March did not go so well for my workouts...at least not nearly as well as I would have liked. I went swimming today for the first time in 2 1/2 weeks. Last week was filled with sandbagging and the YMCA Downtown was closed since it's really close to the river. The week before they said the pool was CLOSED for CLEANING...my friend Stacy found out the pool reopened on Wednesday. I could have swam many many days....grrrr..ugh..phoooey! I did get some decent running in, but with the FLOOD both YMCA's closed as did everything else and I wasn't able to run indoors. Plus I left town for a weekend in there too. My goal, for April, is to get back in the game and get into my workout groove. I have 6 days before I leave for Arizona where I plan, or my mom has planned, a week full of workouts. We're doing Jazzercise, Pilates, Yoga, Spin class, Running (on my own on that one), and LAP SWIM OUTSIDE....YEAH!!!
My April Goals:
Running..........20.00 miles
Cycling............30.00 miles
Swimming......14,000 meters

I will accomplish this..even if it kills me.

Flooding...Sandbagging...Ahhhh!

2009-03-24T20:32:00.003-05:00

The state of North Dakota is not fairing so well right now. Many towns and cities are under flood warnings or are to the point of evacuations. The sandbagging efforts continue. I spent 5 hours Saturday sandbagging. I hope the volunteer efforts continue. Thanks to all the college students, high school kids, and community people for there time.

Today I decided to left off some steam and run on the treadmill. I was able to do 2.25 miles in 30 minutes. It felt great! I have kind of been slacking since last week when I ran outside only. I didn't go to the pool last week because it was closed for cleaning..or SO THEY SAID!! A friend found out they reopened the pool Wednesday..that's Thursday, Friday, Saturday, & Sunday that I COULD HAVE SWAM...ugh and grrrrr! Oh well, it's over and done with. I will be swimming this weekend, that's for sure..unless the YMCA floods then I guess I won't be swimming for a very long time.

Running OUTSIDE!!!

2009-03-17T21:20:00.003-05:00

Well yesterday I got home from work and decided it felt GREAT outside so I was going to take advantage of the weather and go for a run. I was so happy I did. I was able to run 2.04 miles in 28:41...that's a PR!! It was a rather interesting run. It was pretty warm (on the way out), wet, icy..(good thing I walked in one spot..that could have been painful), chilly (on the way back), and friendly. That's the one thing I like about runners is that they wave. It's nice encouragement without speaking. I felt good and so I did over 2 miles. There was one part when I running and a car drove by and the man said, "you look nice." I was kinda like..."freak!...ahhhh." Then I realized, since I had headphones on, he may have "it's beautiful out or it's nice out." Anyhow, I'm not sure exactly what I said...I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say he said the less freaky deaky one!
So today I went for ANOTHER run outside. I'm totally taking advantage of this weather..I guess there's talk of another blizzard..eck! Shhh I didn't say that..if we don't talk about it it won't happen..right?! I was able to do 1.75 miles today in 25:11 minutes. My knee kind of hurt and today I stepped in a puddle and so my foot was wet and soggy. Plus some lady almost ran me off the road..in fact she did..I had to jump on a snow bank so I didn't get run over! Some people really need to get a CLUE! I'll either be cycling on the upright bike at the gym tomorrow or taking a rest day. I'm struggling with sleeping so I'm catching up in the morning which has worked because then I can run outside. We'll see what happens. Oh and my bike is back from it's tune-up~!!! Give me some good weather and Stacy and I will be OUT on the ROAD!!!

Swim n Bike...Man Am I Feelin It!

2009-03-14T14:14:00.003-05:00

So last evening a friend and I hung out and went to Walmart..because we had nothing better to do on Friday...the 13th. Anyway...we were out late, but had all intentions of going to the gym in the morning. So this morning I did 1650 meters in the pool...which felt great. Then I hit the spin bike for 18.75 miles. My legs are soooooo feeling today. I pretty much just sat and spun. The instructor wasn't my favorite and I didn't want to over do it. I'm pretty sure it's been 2 months since I entered a spin class. My knees were feeling it. I'm definately going to have to get back into it though. I love the adrenaline rush!!!

This Is What I Call Shoveling!!!

2009-03-12T07:20:00.005-05:00

Well on March 10th we had a very Large blizzard hit ND, SD, and MN. I must say spending 42 hours in my apartment alone was NOT FUN. At first it was nice because I was able to catch upon paperwork, do some cleaning, and laundry. However, could I excerise..not so much. I did do 2 pilates videos, which lasted about 40 mins or son. Then it was back to paperwork, cleaning etc. I also had tv and the internet, unlike a friend that lost her tv and internet just in time for Idol to start....I woudn't have known what to do with myself!!! No IDOl..ahhhhh. Ok so we didn't have school Tues or Wed. On Wednesday people were able to get out of their homes by 10 am ish. My friend Stacy and headed straight for he gym. I did a 1.90 mile run and 3.75 mile bike..it felt great!! Then I went out to Travis's parents house, they live out in the country. Ok you HAVEN'T seen SNOW and SNOW DRIFTS until you've been there...OMG. The video is of Travis's family trying to knock down the biggest snow drift. It was so much fun. Tricia and I got up there and jumped on it to make it come loose. Overall I am super duper sore..but it was so much fun and worth it. Lots of laughs & cold noses! Now if only the rest of us got to fly to Arizona last night to live it up in the heat!!!

Turkey Honey Wrap Step by Step

2009-03-10T13:59:00.012-05:00

Step 1: Spread cream cheese on the tortilla shell.

Step 2: Drizzle honey on top of the cream cheese.

Step 3: Place deli slice turkey on top.

Step 4: Put the lettuce on top.

Step 5: Roll it up and wrap it!

Pilates Kicked My Butt (& thighs, hips, legs, abs etc)!!!!

2009-03-10T10:56:00.006-05:00

So we have a SNOW DAY...ugh. There are pros and cons to today. One of the cons is that I'm stuck in my apartment and so I cannot go to the gym. So I had to pull out the old pilates videos and get to work at home. It was pretty intense since my muscles haven't worked that way in a long time. Overall it was a good thing and I think I need to incorporate that more often. One of the pros is I get a day off from school, but the flip side is now we HAVE school on Friday when we were suppose to have it OFF. So I think I'm going to grab some Special K cereal and slice a banana into it. For lunch I cannot wait, it's meal that I used to eat. Someone I once knew read about it in Bicycling Magazine or Inside Triathlon. It was one of Lance Armstrongs meals. I made some modifications to reduce the calories and fat.

Turkey Honey Wrap
Tortilla Shell (low carb &/or wheat are the best)
Fat Free Cream Cheese
Honey
Deli Sliced Turkey
Alfalfa Sprouts or Leafy Lettuce

Wrap it all up and enjoy!!!

People, People, People..Seriously!!!!

2009-03-06T19:46:00.002-06:00

So my plan was to go swim at the pool and do:
500 meter freestyle & 100 meter kickboard all 4 times times for a total of 2400 meters. So I got there and saw that the 2nd lane, without the staircase in it that blocks half the lane on one side was available. So I walked down and got a kickboard, when I returned to the other end I set my towel, id, and extra earplugs down. As I turned around there stands this guy at the other end of LANE 2....I was like for real, is he truly taking the lane I was going to take, not to mention, I WAS THERE FIRST! Honestly, have some manners. So, yep you guessed it, I had to take the lane with the stairs. So it wasn't too bad until I finished my second set of 600 when I was at the far end of my lane with the kickboard and I turned around on the wall and there was this lady in my lane. Coming in my direction, on my side of the lane. I was like, for real, is this really truly happening. I looked over to the other lanes...in lane 2 was the guy that stole my lane, then in lanes 3 and 4 were 2 guys. I get the fact that I'm a girl and she's a girl and probably didn't want to share with a guy but seriously, we had the stairs to deal with. So then I got back to the other end, by the stairs, away from the wall which shortened my distance..grrrr. As I turned around she was coming back on the side that didn't have the stairs...as if she was going to take that side of the lane and make, ME, take the side WITH the stairs. I was like oh no you don't lady. You have already attempted to ruin my swim you are NOT taking over my lane too. So she got to me and said, "Hello, how are you." I was like thinking in my brain, "i'm not your friend lady..move out of my way." Did I mention she never even asked to join my lane. I would have been a little less frustrated, but she didn't ask and then appeared to be taking it over. So I politely stated, "we are going to have to swim in a circle....because of the stairs." She was like, "oh...ok" with a look of confusion. I didn't quite get how she didn't seem to comprehend that. Anyway, so she let me go first..once again I lost part of my length/lap. I didn't like that. So we swam that way for about 5 laps or so and then the 2 guys in the other 2 lanes got out. I moved over. I was happy then. I was also suprsied when she swam like 5 or 6 more laps and was done. Huh....anyway...I must say I was polite, but people really do need to have manners in the pool. I finished with 2300 total meters..300 of them were kickboard..man to my legs feel it!

Good Start to the Month

2009-03-05T07:05:00.003-06:00

So I've started off the month of March pretty well. I've already logged 4,000 meters in the pool and plan to hit the pool again tomorrow morning! Yesterday I hopped back on the treadmill and ran 2.25 miles. It felt pretty good. My knee did start to hurt so I was done at that point. I would have liked to have gone on the bike this morning but it didn't workout that way. This weekend I hope to try out the new bike machine at the Y.

Month in Review

2009-02-28T22:59:00.002-06:00

Okay so February's workouts...for lack of a better word SUCKED! Totally totally stunk. I started off the year with such a bang with workouts. Then in February I had to go and get sick, again. This year has really taken a toll on my body. I was sick for 5 weeks in October/November but was able to get back to working out after 2 weeks of it. Then I was fine..now February hit and I was out for a week with the cough/cold/sore throat. Then this week my body was sooooooo incredibily tired I had to just sleep in the morning. I couldn't even pull myself from bed. Then when I did get lots of sleep I'd wake up at 4:45 am to workout and I'd be lightheaded and dizzy because I was so congested. I'm finally feeling better. I have a runny nose but I'm getting more sleep this month. It's going to be ALL about the workouts. Everything and everyone is takin a backseat to my workouts! So I'm setting goals for March 2009
Run 25 miles
Bike 40 miles
Swim 15,000 meters

I know that seems like a lot now...but I must be successful! I just have to get back into heavy workouts. I know I will feel better. I also need to get back into spin class! I will be in the pool at 11am tomorrow to start my month off right!

Yesterday I Biked & Ran, Today I Swam

2009-02-27T21:35:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I got my butt up and out of bed at 4:45am and made my way to the gym. It had been sooooo long since I had been there. I probably looked like a new member. Anyway...I was able to do 5 miles on the bike. Then I hopped on the treadmill and ran .90 miles...I know that seems ridiculous that I didn't just finish and do an even 1 mile, but I was already late getting off the machine and I hate being that person. So today I wanted to get up and run but I didn't. I was tooooo tired, again. So instead I slept in and went to the pool with Stacy after work today. It was great. I pumped out 2000 meters rather quickly. I was so proud of me.

Back At It...Finally!

2009-02-17T07:33:00.001-06:00

Well last Friday I was able to hop in the pool and swim 1500 meters, after taking the entire week off due to cold, cough, sore throat, and achy body. It felt nice to do some laps. I think the lifeguards thought I was going to die. So I coughed a lot and 1 of my lungs up...it's all in the name of fitness. Anyway, the rest of the weekend I lied low because I just wasn't feeling well enough to do any biking or running. I also didn't want to spend too much time in the pool with a cold/cough/sore throat either. So yesterday set my 3 alarms to get up for the gym...ummm yeah I slept thru all 3 of them. I must have been tired...so needless to say, No workout yesterday. Today when my alarm went off at 4:45am I popped right up and out of bed. I was on the bike by 5:15am. I did 5.25 miles...man were my legs TIGHT...wow....not good. I decided to run for 10 minutes after the bike...always a nice transition practice. I was able to run right away and did .50 miles. I was proud of me:) Tomorrow I will be meeting my friend to swim.

Instead of A.M...it was P.M.

2009-02-03T18:17:00.002-06:00

So my plan last night was to go swimming this morning....and that didn't happen. I ended up going to be too late so I decided I would get up and go run in the morning. Then the alarm woke me up at the weeeeee morning hours at 4:45 am. I hit the snooze a few time...ok A LOT of times. I decided I was way too tired. So I slept for another hour and packed a bag and hit the gym after work. So I got there and had to wait for a bike for 15 minutes. Then I did 6.25 miles on the bike. Followed with 1.75 miles on the treadmill. I was able to do 1 mile in 13:28....I was pretty pumped. It was good workout today since I did a bike to run workout. I think I will run again tomorrow! I can't wait...now I'm just waiting for an old camp friend to come for a visit for a few nights.

Longest Run....EVER

2009-02-01T10:57:00.002-06:00

So I set out to swim last night, but then I woke up this morning and decided I needed to run. The treatmill was calling me. So I was able to run 3.50 miles...the most I have ever ran in my ENTIRE LIFE. It was a great feeling. Now I'm exhausted, but feeling good. I really wish i could have done 4 miles, but that may have to wait until next weekend. I'm off to do some work and wait for the super bowl...GO CARDINALS. I may have to squeezin a nap.

Saturday Swim

2009-01-31T10:35:00.002-06:00

I almost didn't get my butt up and out of bed to hit the pool this morning. Fortunately I was able to get there and jump in for 1600 meters. I did it pretty fast too. The pool was rather crowded though. It's times like this that I wish there were more pools is the F-M area. I think tomorrow will be a run day!

Nice After Work Run

2009-01-30T18:40:00.003-06:00

So on Wednesday I ran 2.80 miles in the morning...it felt great. I wish I had more time to run a good 3.0...oh well. Thursday I got up and did 2000 meters in the pool. I would have liked to have done more, but I had to get to work. Today I was so tired so I didn't make it to the gym in the morning so I stopped by after work and was able to run 2.01 miles. I had to WAIT for a treadmill though..yuck! I hate waiting...then the person on the treadmill went long. I was able to run 1 mile in 14:44 and the second mile by 27:21....I was so super pumped. I felt GREAT!

Last Week & Now This Week

2009-01-27T07:08:00.003-06:00

Ok so I cannot remember what I did last week for my workouts. I really need a new calendar...oops. I know Sunday I swam 3200 meters...I believe I ran Monday..I think I 2.25 miles on the treadmill...maybe it was Tues that I took the day off. Wednesday I believe I biked a bit...Thursday I ran 2.10 miles........Friday I took the day off. Saturday I did 4.5 miles on the bike and ran 1.60 miles. Then on Sunday I swam 1600 meters. Ok I think I've got it all recovered. So what this week looks like....
Sunday Swim 1600 meters
Monday Rest Day
Tuesday so far Rest...if motivated or can take a break from work Run
Wednesday Run 2.25
Thursday SWIM 1600
Friday Run
Saturday...if I do not work Swim/Bike

A.M. Run

2009-01-19T07:09:00.003-06:00

I was rather suprised at myself for getting my butt up and out of bed to do an early morning run at the gym. As I turned the corner, to the gym, I could see through the window that ALL the treadmills looked like they were taken. I was tempted to turn around and go back to bed. Good thing I didn't because my friend was really awesome and signed me up for a treadmill at 5:30am. I was able to run 2.25 miles today. I was suprised my legs were able to run that far and as fast as I did. Tomorrow I hit the bike!

Can One Swim to Death??!!!

2009-01-18T14:25:00.003-06:00

Wow..when I thought I would do some serious swimming today I had NO IDEA how serious it was going to be. So my friend Stacy and I hopped in the pool at 11am this morning and my pruney, shrivled up body pulled my self out of the pool and hour and half later. So we decided to switch it up today and do 500 meters of freestyle followed by 100 meters of kickboard..and the plan was to do that 5 times...& WE DID IT. Right at the end thought my friend Stacy suggested we do 200 more meters and we'd have an even 2 mile swim. Well she knows me well enough that I like ending things evenly so whether it would have killed me or not..I was still gonna do it. I did it and when I reached the end of the lane I said, "wow..so this is what heaven looks like?!!" I totally thought my body was going to fall apart. I literally had to SIT in the shower afterward...(I kept my suit on and the curtain closed unlike other people there!)....I couldn't bring my self to stand. I was afraid my legs were going to give out. I really did enjoy the swim and I thank Stacy for pushing me to my max. It made my frenchtoast soooooo much more enjoyable. Tomorrow is suppose to be a running day, we'll see about that.
What my week looks like:
Sunday: Swim 3200 meters (up to 12,500 meters this month!!!)
Monday: Run at least 2 or 2.5 miles
Tuesday: Bike
Wednesday: Swim
Thursday: Run at least 2.5 or more:)
Friday: Swim
Saturday: Bike or Rest day...depends how my night at Hairball goes!

Swim..Bike...Book...Movie...Food...Hockey

2009-01-11T11:07:00.004-06:00

Saturday was a very busy day! I woke up at 7am to get ready to meet my friend for a Swim/Bike workout we planned to do ALL week long. On my way to the gym I called my friend and pretended like I wasn't feeling well and not going to make it...she was like, "are you kidding me?!" I didn't last long before I laughed and said, "just kidding..I'm on my way." It was go-to time in the pool...we needed to be out and dressed to get upstairs to get bike cards by 8:45am and we were entering the pool at 5 or 10 after 8 am. All I remember is that we needed to swim fast to get in a decent number or laps. I was able to do 1200 meters in I believe 25 mins... on my second 500m I was planning to do sprints, which would have decreased my time but as I started to sprint I realized my stomach (earlier morning breakfast) wasn't going to agree with my decision. So I stuck with a pretty steady but faster pace. After the swim I got ready for the bike. Now I was a regular spinner up until May 2008 when I bought my road bike and hit the pavement. I did one spin class in June with one of my fav spin instructors (talk about a workout) and was like...hmmm welcome back to spin class.... Then I continued outdoors on my road bike. It wasn't until November or December that my friend and I went back to spin class. There was a different instructor..and that workout was not as intense, but I could tell my endurance on the spin bike was not up to par. Well yesterday my 2nd fav spin instructor was there and can we say WORKOUT...wow.. my body was like, "I so need to get back into this!" Today my body is saying, "perhaps I should have eased my way back into this." I ache pretty much EVERYWHERE. Oh well..it just means I need to get back on the spin bike and pump it out more often.(at least 1x a week). I was able to do 20.5o miles in 60 minutes on the bike. I did most of the standing, but not all of it. My knees have been bothering me..so I didn't want to do too much. I decided I HAD to buy new running to shoes. So last night I stopped into Scheels and I walked right toward the wall with the Brooks Adrenalines. The Scheels employee said, "you look like you're on a mission." I said, "yep..can I get the adrenaline in a 9 please." She said, "sure, do you want the new 9's?!" I saw them and fell instanting into running shoe love..ok not really. I was like, "yes!" So she brought them out and was getting them ready for me to try on. I said, "Oh I don't need to try them on..I get the same shoe everytime." She chuckled and said I was her most difficult customer of the day. I laughed.

Anyway..So I went to coffee after my workout and then my friend and I headed to her house to read. I needed to finish Twilight by 4pm to attend the movie with 2 friends. At 3:15pm I was done with the book and ready to see the movie! After the movie we hit up Space Aliens for dinner and some UND Fighting Sioux Hockey.. they kicked the gophers butts!!!! It was great. So yeah..Saturday was rather busy.. I was like the energizer bunny..I just kept going and going and going...

"Resies"

2009-01-07T07:28:00.003-06:00

"Resies" is my term for people that make a new years resolution to workout....that last 2 weeks! So I guess I will have to get up earlier for 2 weeks and put up with them until they are done. Anyhow, I did make it to the pool this morning (rather busy) but I pushed through and did 1600 meters...which brings my 2009 total so far to 6100 meters..not too shabby. Tomorrow I'm off to the gym to run at least 2 miles....I would prefer 2.5 miles, but I have a feeling it's going to be busy once again so I may only get 2 in. On Friday I am planning on biking... and Saturday is a swim/bike...can't wait for that! Well work is waiting....at least it's Wednesday!

Swimming, Swimming!

2009-01-04T12:05:00.003-06:00

Today was a great day in the pool. I met my friend Stacy and we pumped out the laps. It was great. I was able to do 2,500 meters and I feel great! The rest of my day consists of scoring some writing and reading to progress monitor. I'm also excited to go for coffee with some friends. It will be nice to visit and talk with them. Well I better get back to my work..I have weeks to catch up on...ugh.
Weekly Workout Plan...
Monday Run
Tuesday Swim
Wednesday Run
Thurday Bike
Friday Run

1st Workout of 2009

2009-01-02T10:57:00.003-06:00

Wow!...so hard to believe I'm beginning my 2009 workouts. I so wish I could have hopped on a treadmill yesterday and truly started the year with a bang, but the gym closed before I returned to Fargo. Now had I used my brain I would have thought about that sooner and left my parents earlier. Oh well, at least I logged 2,000 meters in the pool today and I did it in 45 minutes..not too bad, for not swimming since December 21st. I throughly enjoyed my time in the pool..if lap swim hadn't been over I would have done another 500 or more meters. Anyway, I was then off to the grocery store. I haven't bought food in over 2 weeks since I was going to be gone for so long. I spent a lot...but I got hey I got the gas coupon for 12 cents off each gallon! Maybe that makes up for it??!! Now I'm off to shop for clothes, new running shoes, and a sports bra...I can hardly wait.

Reached My Goals....Plus New Goals!

2008-12-31T23:11:00.006-06:00

Well it's been awhile since I posted.. but that's what happens when you leave town for over a week! The good news is I MET my 2008 workout goals! I swam over 150,000 meters, biked over 700 miles, and ran over 160 miles. I'm so proud of myself...I deservea pat on the back. I have decided that my goals for 2009 are to:

Swim 175,000 meters

Bike 1,000 miles

Run 200 miles....& eat healthier!

I'm looking forward to getting back into my workout routine tomorrow when I return to good ole Fargo. I've spent over a week and a half in northern Minnesota with family. I love my family dearly, especially my new niece, but I'm ready to return to my apartment, my bed (I'm moved bedrooms A LOT..what an adjustment), and the gym! I cannot wait to go for a run. It will be so great!!! I look forward to starting off the year with a workout bang!

Need to Meet My 2008 Workout Goals!

2008-12-20T07:35:00.002-06:00

So I'm really excited to finish out the 2008 year strong and meet my running, biking, and swimming goals. At this point I have met my biking goal of 700 miles, in fact I even exceeded it by 7 miles!!! I still need to get down to business on the swim and bike. My lungs were affected again with a nice cough as well as a sore throat. I was able to do some running during this time, but I was afraid to get in the pool. I was also EXTREMELY tired this week and struggled to get out of bed at 4:45 am to make it either to the gym or to the pool. I am saddened by the fact that I did not make it to the pool this week. However, I have plans to make it in there tomorrow for my last 1,000 meters, but I plan to do 2,000! I will then be getting up Monday morning to run by last 1.15 miles to reach my running goal. However, since I'm on Christmas Break (YIPPY!) I will be able to take extra time and I will probably do a 3 mile run. My friend Stacy encouraged me to exceed my goals and so why not! The more workout the happier I am. I'm off to work now.

2 Workouts...1 Day!

2008-12-10T07:12:00.003-06:00

Ok so yesterday I went and did 2000 meters in the pool at 5:30am. Then went to work for the day. Following a crazy, annoying day at work, I went back to the gym and did 171.6 miles in a spin class. It was rough I must say. Mental note to self....don't take 6 months off from a spin class, boy does it stink to get back into it. Needless to say I felt great after working out twice in one day, plus I got my fried pickles with Stacy's Birthday dinner. However, my left knee is in pain today. Oops.... I must have pushed it a bit too hard. Good thing someone was nice and bright and invented Ibruphoren. Well I'm getting closer and closer to my year end goals... I can't wait! Now I'm off to work once again. No workout today my body needs a day off.

Someone Made Me Do It!

2008-12-03T07:11:00.003-06:00

Grrrr & Yawn is what I was thinking this morning when my alarm woke me up earlier than normal. My "friend" wanted me to get up and meet her at the gym about 15 mins sooner than I usually get there. Now on a typical 8-9 hour night sleep..sure no problem.. but on a 6 hour ish sleep...NOT SO GOOD. I was so sleepy I almost walked into 2 people on the way into the locker room..(seriously didn't even see them). Then I got out into the lifting area and there was my friend....no "yay you're here," no "hello," no "good morning..." just..."You're Late!" oops... I really did try to get there by 5:15 am.. but I was dreaming and that beeping noise as part of my dream...my brain just wasn't getting that it was also my alarm to get my butt out of bed. So I was on a machine and feelin the burn in my butt cheeks asap. After that 15-20 mins we hoped on the bikes and road for 35 mins or so. I did 13 miles...BOOYA! That's my new word....at least this week. I don't know what I did different but I usually don't pump out that many miles on the upright... must have been those endorphins from lifting. So now I'm awake, alive, alert, not so enthusiastic..but then again I'm going to work. Thanks for the work out and swift kick in the keester...my friend!

Goals...I Want to Meet!

2008-12-02T07:02:00.003-06:00

Ok so I'm all set to accomplish some workout goals as the year is winding down. If I swim 4500 meters in the pool by December 31st I will have swam 150,000 meters this year...um can we say CRAZY...but awesome. Ok so then I started thinking what about my bike and run. So I have biked 676.65 miles so far this year so I have decided I need to break 700 miles by 12-31-08 which means I need to get in 23.35 miles on the bike, and I'd prefer to have it be in a spin class, by the end of the month. The running started off rocky but I'm really getting into it. So far I have ran 136.1 miles and I figure a realistic goal would be to break 150 miles. So I must run at least 13.9 miles this month, which shouldn't be a problem! This goal setting is a great idea... no wonder there are so many self help books and goal setting guru's in this world.. they must make a fortune!

Back into the Swing of Workouts!

2008-11-21T07:01:00.003-06:00

I must say this week I'm back into the swing of my workouts and routines. Last week was a start, but this week I've gotten to swim twice, run 3 times, and bike once! Tomorrow my friend and I are planning to swim and then do a spin class! Wahooo! I can't wait for that. It's going to kick my butt, but it will be so worth it. I haven't been on a spin bike since.... oh June! I'm off to work!

I Get to Workout Again!

2008-11-03T18:26:00.003-06:00

So as my stats for October show...my run and bike were pretty PATHETIC!!! The Bike Ride on the 11th really hurt me...literally. That was a huge set back. I have not been on a bike since that day. I have not run since the 16th when my back went out. I did log a lot of swimming meters...so that is the bright side. Then I got sick last Monday and have been out of the workout world since then. The last day I worked out was Sunday October 26th. Tomorrow I've deciced that I am going to get up and hit the bike at 5:30am tomorrow and try to get back into the swing of things. I'm not ready to run yet since my cold and cough are still present, but I think I can handle a 30-40 minute ride on the bike. Plus I'm really excited to read my new Teaching Magazine that came in the mail the other day. If I'm feeling better Wednesday I'm going to run in the morning because I have a jewelry party at 6:30pm that night. I hope I get a good turn out. Anyway, I'm off to do work...because a special ed teachers job is NEVER done!

Where have my Workouts Gone??!!

2008-10-30T07:19:00.003-05:00

Ok ok so I haven't gotten to do much this month, it's rather depressing. The Breast Cancer Awareness Ride in the cold and drizzle put me out of commission. I spent multiple days in the chiropractors office trying to get my back out of pain. So my back is pretty much on the right track again and I got approval to run 1 mile...wow a whole mile. Then again it's way better then no running at all. So I was looking forward to running this week, but then I had to go an get sick! I am so not a fan of being sick, especially when I have to miss work. The kids at school looked at me and said, "no offense ms. k, but you look like crap, go home and don't breathe on me!" I laughed and took their advice. I slept for a day and a half. I'm beginning to feel better, but I'm not 100% yet. My last workout was the pool on Sunday and I was able to do 2500 meters in the pool, which was awesome!!! However, I do not believe I will get to run, swim or bike again this month. So like I said, October kind of became a dud of a workout month. Grrrrrr!!! I need to get well and get back on the bandwagon of workouts, workouts, and more workouts! I'm off to work.. I need to make a Health Puzzle Packet to help my students that work at a faster pace.

Pushed in the Pool!

2008-10-23T12:22:00.004-05:00

Thanks to a friend this morning I was pushed really hard in the pool. It was great! I was able to do 2600 meters. I did a lot of sprinting, which was awesome. My friend and I also raced, but I lost. It wasn't a Micheal Phelps photo finish. Then I did some packing for a friend and moving of some boxes and clothes. We did a lot and it went so quick. Now I'm off to my massage, which I sooooo need. I will probably be sawing zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz on the table.

A Swimming Kind of Weekend

2008-10-19T20:54:00.004-05:00

Well this week has been surrounded with some swimming. Every since last Saturday's Breast Cancer Awareness Bike Ride, my body has not rebounded as well as I would have liked or expected. The cold and damp weathe really triggered a lot of pain and stiffness in my neck and back. I spend 3 days in at the Chiropractor's office this passed week. The car accident I was in 2 year ago has really effected me and my body. I'm not going to let it get me down though. I push through the pain, but I do end up paining for it. On Thursday, I thought I felt good, so I went for a run. However, I was on sit-up #2 when my back/neck spasmed and I wanted to cry. I decided crying in the middle of the Y was not the way to go, so I got up and out of there as fast as I could (ok a turtle could have moved faster), but the point is I was in pain and wanted out. I came home and got ready for work, and called my Chiropractor to see if he could get me in ASAP. I knew what needed to be done and I wanted my back to just crack, crack, crack! Well he was able to fit me into his schedule and boy did it snap, snap, snap!!!! Then I was able to lie on the hydrotherapy table, which i didn't want to have to leave. So I decided running or biking needed to be halted for a while. I was able to swim 2000 meters Saturday morning and another 2000 meters today. My body feels pretty good, but that's the best part about swimming, there's no impact. I'm not sure what or if I will be doing tomorrow. Maybe a bike ride or a walk on the treadmill. I just don't want to be the die hard workout person at the gym at 5:30 am, Walking on the treadmill. Well I'm going to watch a few more minutes of football and call it a night.

In the Pool

2008-10-14T20:21:00.003-05:00

Today was a nice day for a swim. Ok maybe if it was 80 degrees outside, instead it was like 48 something when I hauled my butt off to the pool this morning. It was still a good swim and a great way to start my day. I had taken Sunday and Monday off to recover from the 28 mile bike ride on Saturday. My body just ached from the cold and workout. I'm beginning to feel better now though. The swim did help, but now my head is a bit plugged and I feel like I've been underwater today. Maybe that's what Spongebob feels like....hmmmm??? Anyway, I would like to get moving on running this week but I'm not sure it's going to happen as soon as I would like. I need to drive someone to the airport in the morning so I'm going to be moving my workout to the afternoon. I think I may try to run or even bike. Thursday I'm going to swim again, I think. This week of workouts has been derailed. Next week will be back to normal, if not more intense!

Ride for Breast Cancer Awareness

2008-10-11T14:05:00.003-05:00

I did it! I'm so very proud of myself and my friend Stacy. We braved the cold and rain to ride 26.1 miles for Breast Cancer Awareness. It was great. I probably looked like an idiot in all my get up but it was so worth it. I had 2 layers, plus softball socks, on my legs, 4 shirts and a fleece vest to keep the upper body warm. Then I thought to myself.. hmmm how will I keep my ears warm when I'm wearing a helmet. So I put on my thinking cap. I came up with cutting off the top of a pair of tights and double layering it over my ears. It worked slick! Now if only I would have put the long tight part on my arms for a second layer there...better luck next time. Now I'm back at home, curled up on the couch, and tucked tight under a blanket.

Back in the Swing of Things

2008-10-08T07:19:00.003-05:00

So I swam 2000 meters on Sunday and it felt GREAT! The day kind of ended up being mostly a lazy day after that. I ended up watching Nascar...not so sure I think that's a sport yet..even though they say 800 pounds of pressure is on the driver as he makes turns..or something like that. Anyhow, Monday morning I awoke to a tummy ache, an oh my gosh.. trip to the bathroom. Whatever I ate or a touch of the flu bug did not like me...AT ALL. With all that I cancelled my run for the day and since I spent 45 mins visiting the toilet bowl.. I caved in and called in sick to work. I hated doing that but knew if I had to visit the toilet I wanted to visit one that was familar to me. I slept away the day. I felt better by midafternoon and ate some soup. The rest of the day and into Tuesday I just felt hot..& cold, cold & hot. It passed and as of this morning I'm back in the swing of my workouts. I thougth I'd start off easy and do a ride on the upright bike. I did 9 miles. Tomorrow I plan to run and then swim on Friday. I can't wait for the 25 mile ride on Saturday!

Ran Outside

2008-10-01T19:28:00.003-05:00

So I woke up this morning for my Wednesday morning swim, but I felt tired, chilled, and my ears were plugged. Therefore, I decided it be best to postpone the swim to Thursday or Friday. I slept in until 6am...wow...I just realized that sleeping in is 6am... I'm sad. So my day went quite well and after school I decided to go for a run outside. I know what a way to start my October workouts.. and outdoor run. It was GREAT. I did 2.88 miles in 40 minutes. I haven't ran outside in a very very long time so it was very refreshing. I came home to make pork chops, beans, and mashed potatoes...yummy! Now I'm watching Burn Notice and gearing up for Criminal Minds!

My Day

2008-09-23T07:15:00.003-05:00

ok so you will see a lot of uncapitalized words in this post due to the fact that my shift key is broken! it's really really annoying especially when you are trying to complete paperwork. anyhow, i've done my venting...i'm good to go. so i played in a softball tourament on saturday and boy have i been sore. it had been 2 months since i picked up a bat or ran to first base. good thing i never had to run beyond 1st because i bet i'd hurt even more. we lost all of our games but it was fun and something to do. so i took sunday off to recover. i did ride 8 miles yesterday at the gym. this man tapped me on the shoulder and said, it's quarter after. ooops i totally lost track of time as i was reading my magazine. i felt like a dork. so today i decided to run to see if it would help loosen my legs... gosh galle gee it did. my legs feel great now. so now i know how to solve that problem: stretch and run. tomorrow i will be hitting the pool and i'm very excited since i haven't been in since last week! that's a long time. i'm also really excited because my friend stacy and i are going to do the trek breast cancer awareness 25 mile bike ride on october 11th. i signed up on sunday and paid my entrance fee. i'm so looking forward to doing an official bike event outdoors. i just hope its a nice day. as for now i'm off to work, meetings, more paperwork, and kids. at least i have dinner with friends to look forward to this evening!

Run Jill Run!

2008-09-18T21:50:00.003-05:00

I'm so proud of me! I'm up to 18.73 miles and there are still days to run in September. This is the most I've ever run in a month....wait I mean EVER. It's a great feeling. I guess it's hard to believe that a year ago at this time I could barely run 1.5 miles in 30 some minutes and now I'm running 3 miles in 40 minutes. I couldn't even run for 40 minutes a year ago. I've come a long way. Anyhow, a day full of training today on a computer program. Good news is I get to go back again tomorrow. Well it's late and I may be up early and in the pool, on the bike, or taking a day of rest. I haven't decided. I guess we will see.

Wake Up With a Run!

2008-09-15T07:09:00.003-05:00

Boy did I need to do some running today to wake my body up. I have had 2 busy weekends in a row and next weekend will just keep the streak alive. The busy weekends usually do not cut into my workouts, just my sleep, but that's not good either. It will be an early to bed week. I did however decide to take Saturday off and just get a few extra hours of sleep and then go to my side job. Yesterday I made it up and downtown to swim 2000 meters in the pool. It was rather busy and then I realized that the 3 men that were there probably come later in the day, but NOT during football season. Maybe they will open up the pool early again this fall so we don't have to rush a workout just to make it in time for kick off. This morning I was so tired and almost thought I should cancel my workout but I decided what better than a run to wake me up. So I did 2.15 miles on the treadmill. Not my best but something. It also noticed, after updating my September Stats, that I stand a strong chance of running more this month then any month all year!! Yeah for me! Well I better fuel my body and eat my breakfast and then head into work.

Best Run Since May & Nice Early A.M. Swim!

2008-09-10T18:52:00.003-05:00

So yesterday I ran 3.0 miles on the treadmill. That's the most I've ran since the Fargo 5k in May! I was so proud of myself. Then I woke to the lovely sound of an alarm clock at 4:45 am to hit the pool. I was in by 5:30 am. I was able to do the first 1000 meters in a lane ALL TO MYSELF, ok so I'm a little selfish when I swim. Then I had to share. I ended logging 2000 meters in the pool and it was a great wake up call. However, I did drag through the day. I'm kind of suprised, then again it could have been that early morning meeting to learn a new program. It was rather sleep enducing. Ooops! Tomorrow I'm going to hit the bike for at least 40 minutes and hopefully log 8 or 9 miles.

Only 31 Meetings Left to Go

2008-09-08T23:06:00.002-05:00

On Friday I went to the gym and did 8.2 miles on the bike before heading in to work for my 1st meeting of the school year. I figure I have 32 meetings to run this year, 1 down, so 31 left to go! The meeting went great, and I was very happy. My ride was good too.. I think it really woke me up and got me pumped for my 8am meeting. Saturday morning I found myself in the pool logging 2000 meters in 45 minutes. I was pretty satisfied, but I would have liked to had done more had I had the time. On Sunday I decided with company in town and the times for lap swim it would be best if I ran, so I did. I put 2.3 miles in on the treadmill. Today I was back on the bike at 5:25 am and was able to do some fabulous work related reading and cycle 8 miles while doing so. It was a long day though. A busy day too. I'm ready for bed. Good night to me and my little eyelids, that will be waking in the wee hours of the morning. It's going to come WAY TOO FAST.

Yeah the Pool is OPEN!!

2008-09-03T21:46:00.003-05:00

I was so excited that the pool is open again it didn't even phase me when my alarm sounded at 4:51 am. I know that's crazy early but I was so excited to jump in and go for a lengthy early morning swim for the first time since August 24th. It was rather busy at 5:30am, but it settled down about 6am. I was able to do 2000 meters and my friend Stacy was there too! We motivate eachother so that's a good thing. Anyway, with the early morning swim it became an early morning arrival at work too. The good news is.. I LIKED IT. I got soooooo much stuff done with no one around to distract me. So tomorrow I will be hitting the gym to run, perhaps a bit earlier so I can head to work early again. I realized I now have 10 meetings in the next 8 weeks... YIKES. Good thing I'm going to watch Hairball on Friday it will be good, quality "ME" time.

Wow! It's September

2008-09-02T18:35:00.004-05:00

I'm totally amazed at how fast August went, let alone the summer. I believe it just FLEW by. (tear tear). Anyway, last night was a late night, but I did make it to the gym for my early morning workout. I was able to log 8 miles today. It was a good ride and I was able to get in a good read too. School/work was a busy day but I was able to accomplish A LOT! The kids seem to be easying into the year. Today they all seemed pretty tired. The long weekend and gloomy day probably didn't help. I think tomorrow will be a day in the pool!

Sunday Run!

2008-08-31T23:37:00.004-05:00

I decided to get up early again and run today. I did really well for myself. I ran more than I have in a very long time..like May..in one run. I did 2.8 miles in 40 minutes today. I actually did 2 miles in under 30 minutes again. I was very proud of myself. I also finished the month of August with the most logged miles in running with a final total of 16.5 miles. August was also my month for most logged miles in the pool of 22, 500 meters. It was a great workout month I just hope with school/work now that I can still continue to log all these miles/meters aka my workout. I guess it will happen since my life is pretty much eat, sleep, work, and workout! It's a great life!!!!

Up Early on a Saturday to Bike!

2008-08-30T11:38:00.003-05:00

Well I had a long week at school but I was up early every morning, except Friday(rest day) to workout. I felt refreshed, awake and ready for each school day. Monday I ran, Tuesday I bike, Wednesday and Thursday I ran again. Today I got up and hit the gym at 6:30am to ride the bike. I put in 11 miles this morning while reading an informative article about IEPs and interventions. It was very beneficial for me as an educator. I forwarded the articles on to my friend Stacy to get her profession opinon. Today I'm working at my second job, my part-time job, as an optical technician. I have worked here since 2000 while I attending school for my undergrauate degree and just never left. It's a great working environment and I get free contacts. Can you imagine, those of you that wear contacts, how nice it would be receive free contacts for 8 years!!!! My pocket book loves me. While as much as I love typing I should be getting back to filing paperwork.

Back to School..Back to School....

2008-08-25T18:25:00.003-05:00

So I went to bed really early last night...like 7:30pm. I know I'm crazy. Well today was the first day back to school and I like to arrive early so I figured I hit the gym early. So I was up and at the gym by 5:30am. I ran 2.30 miles in 33 minutes. The mats were full so I headed home to shower up and head off to school. Overall, the day went well. I'm really beginning to like this early morning workout routine because now I can just head home and relax. Plus I can eat dinner right away and I don't have to worry about waiting to workout. Anyway, it's hard to believe another is underway. Tomorrow I'll be hitting the upright bike with Stacy at the butt crack of dawn. I can hardly wait. I'm thinking I will be going to bed early again, but not as early as last night.

Last Day in the Pool for a Week!

2008-08-24T15:06:00.003-05:00

I'm really proud of myself today for swimming 3000 meters. I wanted to beat what I swam in June and so I did. I logged 22,500 meters in August. I wish I could have met my goal but with my allergies and the pool being closed I did my best. I am sure not ready for school to start tomorrow. So NOT looking forward to that at all. I did just finish my draft for Fantasy Football. I wasn't paying close enough attention because I drafted ALOT of players that have a bye week 4. Oops... so I loose that week or I do some dropping or trading. We'll see. Anyway, I'm thinking about plopping myself down on a couch and relaxing.

Couldn't Sleep

2008-08-21T07:42:00.003-05:00

So last night I just could not fall asleep. The night before.. no problem, yet I was awoken an 1 1/2 into my slumber...not cool. Then last night so much stuff was running through my mind... I couldn't take it. I would have rather been running for real. Needless to say the alarm went off..which felt like 3 minutes later...and it was time for the gym. My mind was still going so it worked out all right. I did 2.30 miles on the treadmill...I even had a personal best today and completed both miles in 15 minutes a piece. I was so proud of me. My knees didn't hurt today either so that was good. Well I'm off to work... not really looking forward to a conversation I must have today with a fellow teacher. Hopefully it will go well (not a chance in Hell!!) I can only hope.

Beginning to like...

2008-08-20T07:45:00.002-05:00

So I've now done an early morning workout 3 days in a row. I've swam, ran, and now biked prior to going in to work, yes I said it...work! I'm back to work. Grrrrr! I ran 2.1 miles yesterday which is good since I haven't ran in 2 weeks. I also did some ab work. Today I did 7.7 miles on the upright bike and walked to stretch out on the treadmill for 10 minutes. Now I'm off to school to sit and learn something.

Day Four of Swimming!

2008-08-18T18:08:00.003-05:00

Well I did somewhat of a dress rehearsal this morning. I practiced getting up early to swim at the gym downtown and then head to work. The swim went great but I had to run an unexpected errand so the drive to school was slightly interrupted. I guess I will have to do it "for real" one day and hope I make it to work on time. I really do like working out in the morning though compared to the afternoon/after work. I think I'm going to try running tomorrow morning and then head to work. At least Y West is closer to my house and school. At least I did get 2000 more meters in today. I kicked my friend Stacy's butt in the pool today. She wanted to be done but I made her do 500 more meters. I think she silently wanted to kick my ass, but refrained. She said thanks after so it's all good. I figure I owe her.. she kicks my ass on the bike. It's kind of a give and take friendship. He he. Alright off to watch Travis play soccer. I hope it's not too hot and not too cold.

When People Don't Show Up to Work

2008-08-17T18:14:00.003-05:00

So I called the YMCA this morning to make sure the pool was open today as well as the time. I arrived at the pool and the lights were off. The doors were locked, and I was was wet. Well I had already put my swimsuit on and showered so I could hope right in the pool. When I went to get it there was another woman waiting too. So we waited, and waited, and waited....finally I ran to look down the hall to see if the lights were on yet. Anther girl was in the hall and asked me about the pool too. She said she would check upstairs. She came back with another swimmer and the information that the lifeguard got her dates mixed up, she was on her way. So we waited again. It wasn't until 11:45am that I finally got to get in the pool. I swam 2000 meters in 44 minutes. Once again I did an endurance swim. It felt great. I came home and proceeded to sit on my couch and drink a smoothie. I think I'm actually ready for the school year to start... I can't believe I said that, but I think I'm beginning to get a little bored. I think I like the idea of having work to do, but in all reality it's going to be A LOT more than I am asking for. This year is going to be a tough one, but I'm going to make it. Well tomorrow is my last day of vacation so I guess my wish for work to do will come true.

Endurance Swim

2008-08-16T14:06:00.004-05:00

So I swam again. I think Phelps is motivating me. It could also be that I know that school is starting soon and the pool will be closed for an ENTIRE WEEK! So I decided to just pump out the laps in the pool today and take no breaks. I did 100o meters at a slow and consistent pace and then I sped up on the next 500 meters. Then I decided to sprint every other length. The final 500 meters I sprinted every other lap. I finished in 57 minutes!!! I am so proud of myself. I kind of like swimming without stopping. I actually think I'm finally starting to loose weight/inches. I've only worked my butt off (well not really cause it's still there) all spring and summer. It probably helps that I am currently 46 days caffeine, pop, and coffee free!

Yet Another Swim Day!

2008-08-15T16:11:00.003-05:00

After a late night of watching Phelps win his 6th Gold medal and the women take gold and silver in gymnastics I headed to bed rather late. Yet I did manage to wake up at 6:30 am and hit the pool. I stayed pretty consistent for the first 100o meters. The next 500 meters I did some sprinting, which felt great. The final 500 I did in UNDER 10 minutes which for me is a personal best!!! I was able to sprint it out in 7 minutes so now I need to duplicate it tomorrow when I hit the pool yet again. I do not know what I'm going to do when I have to go back to school/work next week. Not to mention the week after that when the pool is CLOSED for an entire WEEK!! (tear...tear...) I guess I'll have to pick up the slack by doing some running and biking. Which will be a nice change. I'm actually curious to see how the new gloves I bought today will do when I ride. My hands seem to go numb when I ride, so I thought I'd try gloves with more padding. I'm off to relax and enjoy this 91+ degree day!!

Swim...Bike...but no Run!

2008-08-13T19:38:00.003-05:00

Today was an early start to the day. My friend Stacy and I thought we would do a Tri of our own today. A swim, bike, and run. Well we started off in the pool by 7:15am and swam 1000 meters. I felt pretty good after that. The next step in the plan of attack was to drive to my place and take off on our bikes from here. We mapped a route on mapmyrun.com the other day to Sabin, MN and back. It turns out that it was 23.8 miles round trip, and we did accomplish that in about 1 hour and 50 minutes. We were cruising along and all was fine. We felt bad for the dead racoon on the side of the road, until we smelled it.. YUCK... PEE YOU...!!! Ok so we continued on. At one point we decided to up the speed and just pound it out.. it was great, it was fun, I was flyin...ok ok you caught me Stacy was flyin.. I was drafting:) But on the way back I was totally flyin, actually we both were...then again the wind may have been on our back. But I'm no meterologist so I cannot confirm that. It was a great ride and a slight bumpy ride. As we were riding I thought to myself.."gee we're gonna run after this, na I don't think so that would just be crazy." Just then my friend said, "hey I'm willing to scratch the run??!!" I was like ok sounds like a great idea. So it became a swim, bike, drink water, water, and more water. Overall, it was a great workout. The weather was beautiful (according to Hutch Johnson). Now I'm off to watch the fabulous Olympics and watch Phelps swim again.

The Swim that went On & On

2008-08-11T09:24:00.003-05:00

Ok, so I took 2 days off from working out do to a sore back and some congestion. I'm thinking that 4 days in the pool last week wasn't the brightest decision. Anyhow, I slept most of yesterday. Some said I was "Lazy," but I prefer to think of it an involuntary muscle workout. So last night I forced myself to stay awake and am I glad I did, to watch the US Men's Relay Team win the GOLD! That was awesome. So that was motivation to get my butt up this morning and haul myself off too the pool. The first 1000 meters felt like they took 2 hours to accomplish. I couldn't get my body moving. The final 1000 meters went much better. I decided that sprinting was about the only thing that was going to make my body move and end what seemed like the swim that never ended.

8000 Meters by 8-8-08

2008-08-08T21:41:00.003-05:00

I'm feeling very accomplished this week as I completed 8000 meters in the pool by 8-8-08! I must admit it took a lot to get my butt out of bed, but I was fully motivated to complete my goal. I'm thinking the task was a bit more difficult seeing as I biked 17.1 miles last evening. It was a great ride with only 1 near death experience. Basically a miscommunication with my riding buddy. I said "Yellow" and in my head I thought "GUN IT!" and she thought I meant "Stop!" So she stopped and I did my very best to brake, unclip, drag my foot, slide, wobble, and stear myself up onto the curb. I believe my heart was in my stomach or my stomach was in my heart... not too sure just know I was so glad I made it through in one piece. We will be discussioning our lingo for cycling prior to our next ride, for safety reasons:)

This a test

2008-06-26T20:34:00.000-05:00

This is a test. This is Jill's first blog and blog post! Yeah!

Come check out Stacy's blog.