Random Things Wednesday

Last night, my son (who is almost 4) turned to me and said: "Do you feed your baby food from a jar? You should feed him from the Baby Bullet." 

He then spent about 5 minutes telling me all the reasons we need a Baby Bullet.
This kid may have a future in sales.

"Would you like to order a Baby Bullet?"

However, I've wanted a Magic Bullet for forever, and it's still on my wishlist.

Yesterday I went to the gym to work legs. I have to admit, as awesome as I usually feel, I was intimidated in the weight room. There are 2 squat racks, and both were being used when I got there. First on my workout sheet was "Bodyweight Squats". Well, my bodyweight (last time I checked) was 143 pounds. I don't really feel confident that I could get back up if I did a full squat with that much weight on my back.

This could have been me. (Source)

Anyway, since both squat racks were being used, I kind of floundered around looking like a person who didn't know what she was doing in the gym. I eventually sucked it up and (gasp) went over to the Smith machine.

It's pretty safe to say I hate the Smith machine. One set of squats there and I vowed to never touch a Smith machine again.

This was not me. (Source)

 After floundering a little more, one of the squat racks was finally free, so I went over and did the next 2 sets of squats with a 65 pound barbell (which was quite enough, thank you very much).

I was the only female in the weight room, and I enjoyed listening to the *seemingly quite young* males and their silly banter. Overheard:

- "My one rep max is 206."

- "My one rep max is 270".

That was a fun little contest going on between them. Read into the subtext. I dare you.

Discussing some other guy they know: 

"Can he do [workout move whose name I can't remember]?"

"I don't know, man. He's like 30."

I resisted the urge to throw a heavy (for me) barbell at them and show them that I didn't roll over and die when I turned 30. SEVEN YEARS AGO.

Ernestine Shepherd could totally whoop their butts. (source)

In the meantime, I have that happy soreness that says "I got a good workout". I love it, but running may be challenging.

What's the craziest thing you've ever seen/overheard at the gym? 

How Disappointing...

Remember when Hugh Laurie was British? (source)

I've had a series of disappointments lately. One after the other. Now, to be fair, none of these disappointments are life threatening, and I am fully aware things can always be worse.

Source

But, these disappointments had a very negative effect on me. A normal person, someone a little less positive than me, might have just given up.

Source

I have to admit, the idea of getting in bed and hiding under the covers did cross my mind.

Source

Yesterday, I went to the gym for my lunchtime run. I decided to try to run at least a little on the treadmill. I ran 1 mile in 10:30 (I'm so slow on the treadmill). I was proud of myself for doing a whole mile. Without music.

Then I moved over to the track. Despite some really, really RUDE people (who apparently don't know what "Runners Only Outside Lane" means), I ran 2 miles in 19:24.

However, from about .25 mile, I considered quitting.

I was in the "Oh well, this isn't working, I quit" kind of mood.

But I had a moment. After all, it was nice and quiet without any music, so I had lots of time to think.

I realized I *can't* quit. I have to keep going. If it was easy to run, it wouldn't be worth anything. But it's the challenge- the disappointment- that makes the victories worth it.

Yo, Adrian! (source)

And so, I persevere. Besides, I think there's a law somewhere, that when you have so many disappointments in a row, you're automatically guaranteed something super awesome is coming soon... (I made that up. Shut up).

The Plan For This Week

This week, I'm changing it up just a little.

I'll be doing this program, from Bodybuilding.com.

It breaks down to this:

Monday: Back, Rear Delts, Abs
This workout I can pretty much do at home, so I'll do it in the morning, and run at the gym in the afternoon.
The only thing I'll have to modify is anything using a stability ball. My stability ball currently has a sad:

Can you tell in this picture how deflated it is? There's a leak somewhere..

Tuesday: Legs/Calves
This one will need to be done at the gym to be effective. It's got some pretty heavy weight/low reps, and some machine work (leg curls, etc). If I have time, I'll add cardio.

Day 3: Rest
Well, rest from weights. I'll be running 3 miles.

Day 4: Shoulders/Rear Delts, Abs
I'll be doing this workout at home as well. If there's time, I'll add a 20 or 25 minute Hiit.

Day 5: Chest/Arms/Calves
This will be at the gym.

Day 6: Rest
Well, again, it says rest but I'll be doing my "long" run. Aiming for 6 miles.

Day 7: This will be the true rest.

I've also planned out most of my meals for this week. I am determined to be as on track as possible.

This is going to be a great week.

Do you have a plan?

(P.S. Just for a little extra happiness/motivation/something, here's this:)

You can do it.

Motivational Monday! Fear is awesome!

Well, maybe not... but today we're talking about facing fears.

Or, more accurately- using fear to motivate you, rather than cripple you.

Have you ever done something scary? When you did it, and didn't die (I'm assuming), didn't you feel stronger?

So, that is my challenge today. Do something scary (that won't kill you). Discover how strong you really are, and get stronger.

You can do it!

I am still a runner..

We're just "on a break".

We were on a break too. (Source)

I decided not to do my 6 miles today, and just declare this whole week a running break. Instead I did Turbofire. I'm totally happy with that.



You know what this means, right? I don't get to eat that Snickers.

 

 

 

I'll be waiting for you in your gym bag..

We'll see what next week brings. I know I'll be spending time with these guys:

So, fellow runners: Do you have any races this weekend? Long runs? Or are you and running "on a break" as well?

Have a great one!

High Five 5 Things Blog Hopping Friday of Awesomeness!

Happy High Five Friday! Here's your High Five!

Seriously- I can't believe it's Friday again. This week went by fast. Time didn't pass this quickly when I was younger. You know, before the Internet. When we didn't have cell phones. Or DVR. (Wow, I think I just aged 10 years while writing that).

"And we liked it!"

I'm participating in some awesome Friday hops today, so check them out. If you're new WELCOME! Please comment so I can follow you back! If you're NOT new, WELCOME to you too! I love everyone ;-)








In the celebration of some horrifying foods I've recently learned about, I decided this weeks 5 things should be "5 Things You Should Probably Never Eat. Ever." You'll see:
1. Fried Butter

O.M.G.

So, this is the next new thing at the Iowa State Fair. I'm just horrified. 
2. The KFC Double Down/Krispy Kreme Sandwich

Source

So, the KFC Double Down is apparently two pieces of fried chicken (where bread would normally be), two different kinds of cheese, bacon, and the "special sauce"... In this monstrosity, a Krispy Kreme Donut is added to the outer layers (where bread should be... again). Holy moly. Please don't ever eat this.
3. Nutella Ice Cream Sandwiches

Really, I just included this one to make a point. Recently, a woman sued Nutella for not actually being as nutritious as the commercials would have you believe. I believe she lost. One of the points made was that you can spread a little Nutella on some whole grain bread and have a snack that's perfectly fine. It's just if you eat the entire jar or make Nutella Ice Cream Sandwiches- well, that's NOT healthy. So don't do it.
4. The Pork Parfait

The Pork Parfait consists of pulled pork, mashed potatoes and barbeque sauce. Ew.
5. Devil's Food Cake Mix

Now, I've got to admit: The rest of these were pretty disgusting to me. But this one, although it's outrageous, is a little tempting. Here are the details:
"A buttermilk cake using 2 Bags of Reeses topped with a frosting made from 1/2 cup of peanut butter, dark chocolate and heavy cream garnished with Reeses Peanut Butter Cups". (from here)
So, there you have it. 
Here's my question of the day: What is the most OUTRAGEOUS food item you've ever heard of? Should it be on this list?
Have a great weekend!

I have a strange aversion to long-distance running...

And by long-distance running, I mean "anything over 3 miles".

I have been bitten by the weight lifting bug.

After doing some research, I realized that running was not going to get me the body type I wanted.

Then, on Saturday, I had a sucky "I need David Boreanaz to hold me" kind of run.

Those two things combined made me never want to run again.

I'm totally loving lifting. I'm reading forums about it, learning the right nutrition, planning my meals and snacks... and have no desire to run.

Today I went to the gym to do my "heavyish" lifting routine. (Day 3 of the Total Body Routine I've been doing the past 2 week). Today I killed it. I totally did. I even brought my Iron Woody Band so I could rig up a way to do assisted pull ups.

And I looked super cool doing them..

After lifting, I went upstairs and ran 2 miles on the track. Oh, track. I love you. You're flat and indoors. I ran for 9:30, which was how long it took me to run 1 mile, then walked for a minute, then ran the rest. I ended up finishing 2 miles in 19:02. Here's proof:

I really have no desire to run longer than 30 (maybe 40) minutes. I realize I can't run a half marathon in 40 minutes, so this may be a problem...

I'm still going to run on Saturday (at least 6 miles), mainly because I want to be able to eat that Snickers before hand.

I've already bought the Snickers, so I *have* to run.

After my 2 miles, I went to shower so I could go back to work and not frighten people. I thought the locker room was a good place to take some pictures...

Did you know it's practically impossible to take a picture of your face AND your bicep at the same time? 

.... unless you do it this way...

My bicep. 

 This is kind of my starting place. Yes, I'm proud of that muscle, but I'm working on getting more muscular.

After I showered and went back to my office, I got to eat this:

YUM.

All in all, a good workout. I enjoyed running 2 miles. And I felt like I had run enough.

Thoughts?