Last week I did giant sets, as described by Ms. Olympia , Nicole Wilkins on Fitness RX.com,  at the gym. They were so much fun. I did focused on one muscle group per day for six days. For example on shoulder day I did: 

1. Read Deltoid Flies

2. Military Presses

3. Shoulder Lateral Raises

4. Forward Raises

I completed   those again and again 15-20 reps until I had done all exercises four times. What a burn!The first two rounds are easy. The next two sets are tough. But boy it's fun. My legs days and triceps days were the best. I really felt the burn. I was very sick for two weeks though and hadn't done a good legs workout so perhaps that's why my hamstrings burned a lot. Good times!

A Run on Behalf of a Headache


This is that special time of the month for me and at 6:30 PM I felt as if my head might explode. Initially, I thought I had a sinus headache. I took some Sudafed which didn't help at all. Next, I took a pain reliever for women. That didn't help either. I thought, "Hmmm, let's see if a short run might help," as I always feel better after cardiovascular activities.
I headed out for a short one mile run in a light drizzling rain. Bekah rode her bicycle while I ran. She warned me of all oncoming cars as well as the cars behind us. What a sweetie, my girl.
When I returned, my husband asked how my head was and my reply was, "What head?" I felt so much better!
I was so pleased too that although my chest hurt a bit from the humidity I was still able to comfortably finish the run. In the past, I've always needed to use albuterol, especially in rainy weather. Thanks again for allowing my lungs to improve, Lord.
After the run, I raced Bruce in a 100  yard sprint. He was hanging right with me for about 80 yards. If he ran regularly, he would have taken me. His legs are only about four inches shorter than mine. Fun times!

Stiff Leg Deadlifts Ildi tried to teach me the proper form of Stiff Leg Deadlifts for weeks. I was having some low back pain at the time. That interfered with my technique. Now that my back is limber I've got the hang of it. I love doing them now. Yesterday I used a 50 pound bar bell. It was very hard for me to carry the barbell to the corner. My hamstrings are very sore today which is a good sign. I'm looking forward to more Stiff Leg Deadlifts next week.

I am remiss in updating this blog. Early 2012 I ran for 40 minutes outdoors three days a week. These days I'm running mostly on a treadmill for 20 minutes. I'm running one or two days a week. Usually I run without walking. If it's an overcast day I might venture outside. Running is still my first love as far as cardio goes. Interestingly, I can't recall the last time I had to use any albuterol. Simply amazing. Thank you, God. I am also fond of the stairmaster and stepper machines. If I'm tired I walk on a very high incline on the treadmill. I'm in the gym six days a week. I lift weights four days a week these days and I do cardio six days a week for 30 minutes. If I work a 12 hour night shift, I visit the gym for one half hour and ride the stationary bicycle. I am not fond of stationary bicycles because the calories burned seem low. The bicycle is easy for me to handle after a night shift though. My wish is that the motion of the bicycle riding might scare away unwanted cellulite. This week I did a one hour legs workout twice. I don't know if I will continue that routine or not. It's an experiment of sorts. Since this is tank top weather, I've been spending one full hour per week on my shoulders. ;) I'm eating very clean these days and it's very hard to eat enough calories with clean food but I try my best. I'm eating every three hours. Some days I supplement with a Mean Green juice drink or a plant protein drink. I'm happy to be a bump off a log.

Transition

Today I went for a short two mile run. Bekah came along with me on her bicycle.

Fun! I love my favorite daughter! Our route was on McNab Road. I felt guilty not to obey the civil law when we are on a very busy road so first we stopped at WalMart to get her a new helmet. Bekah was all smiles when we went to WalMart exclaiming, "Mommy, I can't stop smiling. This is the first time I got to go to WalMart on my bike." You see her big brothers go there on their bikes and she isn't allowed to go with them. :)

According to my Couch to 10K plan, I was supposed to run for 20 minutes. I can do it but I had to stop halfway thru to fix Bekah's helmet. My pace has increased from 12 minutes to 15 minutes. My asthma doctor doesn't think I need to use albuterol before running. My last two runs I have ran without using it so my pace is up to 15 minutes. Running without albuterol has increased my pace a lot.

I'm only supposed to use the albuterol if I start to have asthma symptoms.
Being the proud sinful person I am, I don't like this slow pace. I suppose that if I am patient it might decrease as time goes on.

Updates

The November 2011 5K Turkey Trot was my worst race time. I hadn't prepared for it early enough.
Jimmy has done two races since that time. He ran a race in December and had a much better pace. Yay, Jimmy! He had another race today and didn't do as well. He started out wearing a jacket. I wish I'd noticed. He had a terrible time carrying the jacket once he realized he had forgotten to take it off. I wish he had just thrown it aside for I would have fetched it later.
Bruce ran his first 5K today.

I was so excited for him. He had that look of amazement in his eyes once he'd finished. I loved watching him speed up as he saw the finish line. Bruce stated that his chest hurt the entire race. I think that's just from lack of training as he is not a known asthmatic.
I worked until 6 AM today, having asked my supervisor if I could leave early to see the kids' races. I ended up running the one mile youth run with Rebekah, wanting to encourage her. It was her first one mile run. She smiled the entire time though she said her shins were hurting.
It was so exciting for me to see the racers approach the finish line. I've never seen a race, I've only participated in them.
We enjoyed the pancakes, sausages, bananas, bagels, and O.J. that were provided afterward the race.
I'm looking forward to my next race in March 2012, Lord willing.
Since my previous race in November 2010 I decided to switch from the Couch 25 K program to Couch 2 10K. My goal was to increase my endurance and decrease my pace. That strategy is working. This week I ran for seven minutes with 1 or 2 minute walk breaks. I reached a milestone of a five mile run this past Monday. My pace is down to a little over 12 minutes. Not bad for an older runner who commenced running just two years ago. :)
Besides running, I do other cardio activities two to three other days a week along with strength training three days a week. Fun, fun, fun!

Turkey Trot 2011

I started training for a new race and it's not going well. Unfortunately, I'm having a lot of asthma symptoms. My asthma doctor doesn't like that I'm exercising much of the week at the neighborhood gym and premedicating with albuterol. I was following the instructions of one of his colleagues. Sigh. He says premedicating with albuterol before exercise is for people who only exercise once or twice a week. He wants me to use two other medications to prevent my lungs from being "remodeled". I guess I will go ahead and do that because the running is not going well. I don't like the sound of walking around with "remodeled" lungs.

My symptoms may simply mean I'm running too quickly. I am a slow runner so it's hard to think I could slow down any more. I think I will use the Couch 2 5K. It starts out very slow. I will start it today. I'm so impatient. I wonder if I will have the patience to start so slowly though. We'll see.

I won't complete the app's program before race day but perhaps I will have a more respectable time.

I am so excited to be running another race with Jimmy. I love running outside and I love 5Ks. It's been a long time since our last 5K.