Mandy's meanderings!

I'M ALIVE!!!!  Wow is all I can say about the past five months. Our little miss will be three months old on Friday, and is doing AMAZING considering her condition.  To say that life has thrown us a curve ball would be an understatement.  I didn't realize how much I was relying on the exercise of stairs at the hospital until she came home a few weeks ago now.  I've put on almost five pounds in since then.  Oops.

Today marked the return to exercise for me.  Because I can't lose my milk supply this time I will be taking things very slowly.  I don't have any weight loss goals, I'm just trying to prevent any more gaining.  So slow walking is it for now.

Today I walked 1.75 miles on the treadmill, with the incline ranging from 2 to 5.  The 209 calories are from that walk.  After I finished, I went on a walk with Reagan around the block.  It felt great.  Now to just start stretching again...

Nice and slow.  speed of 4.0 and incline of 4 to start.  went down on the incline each half mile.  total time was about 21 minutes.

I'm back! Today marks the start of a new regime for me.  I officially own my body again, so it's time to get busy taking charge of it.  Did a .25 mile warm-up, then varied between jogging at 5.6 and walking at 4.7 mph.  There were a few breaks during to talk to my kids, and I definitely felt completely out of shape.  I'm glad I did it though.  I have been taking my kids on a leisurely walk every morning for the past week or so as well.  We go about a mile.  Total time was about 25 minutes.

A little better than yesterday, but definitely not up to par.  Did a .25 warm up, jogged 1.25 miles at 5.7 mph, walked .25 miles, jogged another .5 miles at 5.6 mph, then did a .25 cool down.  Stretching hurt like no other, but I think there might be hope in loosening up the past eight months of stress and anxiety.  Total time was 32 something or other.  

 Also did the early morning 1 mile walk with the kiddos.

I decided to complete a 5k today to see how I did.  I finished in about 35 minutes.  Varied from walking about 4.7 mph to jogging at 5.8 mph.  I think I jogged more than I walked.  I've been keeping up with my morning walk as well, so that's another 7 miles in the past week. 

Starting to feel a little better.  My feet and legs still get sore really quickly on the speed walking part and I get bored jogging so I'm taking several breaks.  BUT, I'm feeling faster and getting stronger.  Did a .25 mile warm up, then jogged at 5.8 mph and walked at 4.7 mph for 2.85 miles, then did a .25 mile cool down.  Total time was right around 35 minutes.  Still getting the morning walk in as well.

I'm really excited that I actually fit in some exercise today.  I even upped the incline to 1.  Did a .25 mile warm-up, jogged 1.25 miles at 5.8 mph, walked .5 mile at 4.8 mph, jogged .6 mile at 5.8 mph then another .25 mile at 6.0 mph, then did a cool down.  Total time was 34:36.  My right hamstring is SOOOOOOO tight.  I think I might do some foam roller stretches this afternoon.  Still haven't missed my morning walk.

Back from vacation.  We did a ton of walking and hiking around Breckenridge, CO, which was great.  Today is the 'get back into a routine after vacation' day.  I took the kids for our daily walk this morning.  That is becoming a fun routine for me. 

My run today was a lazy one.  I did a total of 3.31 miles in just over 36 minutes.  The last .3 miles of the jog I increased the incline to 1 and increased the speed to 6.0 mph to push myself at the end. Pretty sure I jogged more than half, which I call a good run for now.  The calories are only from the run.

Did three walks down to the pool/park today.  One for our morning walk where we got rained on and I ran home with the stroller.  One for swimming with the cousins at the pool.  And one for the carnival fundraiser for girls camp for the girls in our neighborhood.  I'm tight.

Did our morning walk-no rain thankfully!  then did a 3.5 mile jog/walk.  My calluses are gone on my feet so I only lasted about 2 miles before stopping and putting my shoes back on.  Still jogged more than I walked, and I still did the increased incline and speed for the last .25 mile.  Total time was right around 40 minutes I think.  Stretching felt really good after yesterday.

I think I really need to charge my shuffle so I can have my running music back.  I get really bored without it.  Did our morning walk and my right side was super tight so i tried to stretch more during my jog.  I ended up walking a total of 1 mile of the 3.5 mile workout, including warm up and cool down. I ended the jogging with the incline of 1 and speed of 6.0 mph.  Total time for the workout was 39:10.

This week I'm trying to fit my running in early so the girls can make it to swim lessons.  I woke up and hopped on the treadmill.  About halfway through, my seven year old caused me to pull the emergency stop, so I guestimated where I was.  I did up the incline and speed for the last .4 of a mile and I only stopped and walked one lap during the 5k jog.  After the run, I took the kids on our morning walk.  Total time was something like 36 minutes I think.

did our walk twice today. Once in the morning for exercise and once in the afternoon to go to the pool.

I've only missed one day of going on a walk, which feels really nice.  Today's run was my best thus far.  I increased the speed to 6.0 for 2 miles to try and hurry things up a little bit (my baby was waking up).  I increased the incline to 1 for half a mile at the end, and the only time I paused was to try and get my baby back to sleep twice.  which means, I jogged for 3 full miles today!  Go me!!!  It felt really good.  Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come.

did our walk twice today since we went down to the pool for a while.  The bitties loved the water.

Today's run was definitely not my best.  Halfway through it I realized it was because I never ate breakfast this morning.  Oops.  I finished it at least.  I did keep the speed at 6.0 mph when I was jogging though, so there were some improvements.  I even upped the speed to 6.2 for the last lap.  I did take two walking breaks though.  My lower back is really sore and I don't know why so I'm working on stretching it out throughout the day today.  Total time was 37:30 for 3.5 miles.  The extra mile was the morning walk with the kiddos.

didn't get to do our morning walk this morning, hopefully tonight I can take Buster.  Did better on my run since I remembered to eat breakfast this morning.  Did a .25 mile warm-up, ran at 6.0 for 2.5 miles, then upped it to 6.1 and the incline at 1 for the rest of the run.  Did a short cool down since I was short on time.  total time was 33:30.

Got the morning walk in the with kids the past couple of days.  Today was pretty slow since my son hurt his knee this morning and didn't want to walk on it.  My run made  up for it though.  Since I still can't find the charger for the shuffle I'm getting REALLY bored, which means I'm taking more breaks than I need.  today I kept the speed at 6.0 except for one two minute break when I walked at 4.8.  The last mile I shook it up a little more by putting the incline to 1, going at 6.2 for .5 mile then upping it to 6.5 mph for .2 mile, just to see if I could do it.  It didn't really feel hard.  That makes me happy.  I ended up running a 5k in just under 31 minutes.  I'm really wanting to get it under 30 minutes again.  Maybe next time.  Total time on the treadmill was 39 minutes.

After a frustrating morning, my run was really good.  We missed our morning walk yesterday due to the weather.  The kids are getting pretty good at the one mile walk.  Most of the time I'm trying to keep up with them now, which is great.

For my run, I did a .25 mile warm-up, then ran 3.10 miles at 6.3 mph to 6.5 mph.  I did take a few 30 second breaks, but I finished a 5k in 29:40 minutes.  Yeah!  I finished with a .4 mile cool down.  Total time was 38:20.  It felt good to push myself a little bit.

Yesterday we managed to squeeze in our walk right before bedtime.  I was actually proud of the fact we still got it in.  Today's walk was great.  Morning is definitely a better time than evening, and I think our dog would agree.

My run today was pretty good.  The charger for the shuffle is still eluding me, so boredom is my biggest issue in not stopping.  I did finish the 5k in under 30 minutes again.  Hopefully I'll be back to my 26 minutes time in the next few months. I kept the speed at 6.4 for the majority of the run, and bumped it up to 6.5 for the last lap.  It felt really good to stretch out the kinks afterwards.  Total time was 38:40 with the warm up and cool down.

Today was one of those mornings. I really had to force myself to get going. Our walk was a little slower and the kids kept demanding my attention so I was beginning to think my run wasn't going to happen. Once I started it felt good. I wanted to see an actual time for a running 5k, and I did it in 28:30 minutes. So I'm getting there. I kept the speed at 6.4 the whole run, but bumped it up to 6.5 mph for the last .25 mile and increased the incline to 1. Total time for the run was 37:30 minutes.

Got all our walks in over the weekend.  Today I decided to try out P90X, so I just did a quick walk after the workout.  My arms may fall off tonight.  I'm curious to see what it does for my running.

Did our morning walk, then did the plyometrics workout for P90X.  I don't think I'll be doing any other workout today.  Wow.

These are the morning walks.  I did jog one mile on Wednesday to warm up my legs for a marathon stretch session.  I'm still working on the P90X stuff and the plyometrics one did my legs in.  I'm already noticing a huge difference with my legs though.  I'm hoping this is reflected in my running when I hit it hard core again in a few months...

My body is screaming for a break.  Luckily I get one. No more killer workouts for at least 36 hours.  Yippee!!

did our morning walk, then went for a little run after doing my P90X workout.  I think I might have pulled a stomach muscle, so I didn't do any of the ab stuff.  Instead I tried running to see if there was a difference.  I ran at a 6.5 mph pace for just over a mile and it felt kind of slow.  I didn't want to push too hard though, so I went back to a quick walk for another half mile.  Total time was16 minutes I think.  It felt really good.

I've definitely done something to my stomach muscles.  I guess giving birth twice in one year and having a c-section aren't really the best prep for an extreme workout.  go figure.  I'm laying pretty low with P90X this week to give my lower stomach time to recover.  Running, however, doesn't seem to bother it at all.  So I did a 2 miler today after a modified workout.  Ran 1.25 miles in 12 minutes, and had a warm-up and cool down for the rest.  Total time was 21:20.  Hopefully my stomach forgives me soon.

the 9 miles is a total for the rest of this week. morning walks are 5 miles of that.  today i started doing the kenpo workout and realized that a chest muscle was hurting pretty bad. i decided that a run would better suit my interests today, so i got on the treadmill .  it went pretty well.  i ran at 6.5 mph for 3.5 miles, then did a .5 miles coold down. total time was 40:36.

Two miles are morning walks.  Today I was back at the P90X to give it a try and it felt good, so I did the chest and back workout.  When I was done I really felt like doing something more, so I jogged a mile on the treadmill.  Pushed myself at the beginning, then little baby started crying.  So I slowed down to a walk for a cool down for the last part.  Total time for the mile was 11:32.  I'm feeling a lot stronger with my running now.  Hopefully that continues.

These are all morning walks with the dog/kiddos.  My right knee is feeling a little tweaked, so I've been taking it a little easier on some of the workouts and avoiding running for the week.  Next week with p90x is a stretching/yoga/core week, so I'm hoping to add some walking/jogging to the mix.  I'm definitely feeling stronger overall and am excited to see how my running is affected once I'm done with the p90x stuff.

today was a yoga day, so I thought I'd push it a little more and go for a run.  I'm so glad I did because I did my first sub 9 minute mile in two years!  I think it was even closer to 8 minutes.  I did a .25 mile warm up, then ran 2 miles.  I started at a 6.3 pace, but was up to 6.7 mph with the first half mile.  It felt REALLY good.  My body is definitely loosening up and the cross training is making a huge difference in my running.  total time was 24:25.  the other two miles are morning walks.

Morning walks. this week was kind of a break week for p90x and i needed a mental break as well, so I didn't push it after Monday.

All but 1.4 miles are from morning walks.  Today I decided to push it after my back and biceps workout, but I didn't have as much energy as I thought, so I stopped after 1.4 miles.  It felt pretty good.

Morning walks.  I've had ZERO energy to do more exercising this week.

Morning walks.  I've had the energy for more this week, but my hamstrings are really questionable and I haven't had any time.  Hopefully next week I can get some more miles in on Monday and Wednesday.

I finally had a little time and the energy to get an extra run in today.  I ran for 2 miles at 6.5 mph and it felt great.  It actually felt like I wasn't pushing myself very hard, but I didn't want to push too much and I didn't have a ton of time.  I'm really liking this cross training thing, because I don't feel the typical pains when I run now in my hamstrings and lower back.  I did the 2 miles in 18:41 minutes, then did a .25 mile cool down for three or four minutes.

Mostly morning walks.  Yesterday we also went on a walk to the park, so that gave me an extra mile.  Today I decided to push it a little bit and went for run after the kenpo workout.  It felt really good and I should've pushed myself a little more, but without my music I'm just too bored.  I did the first 1.5 miles in 14 minutes and felt like I could've gone much faster.  The last .75 miles I just did a fast paced walk.  Total time for 2.25 miles was 23:54.  My lower back isn't bugging me anymore when I run, which is great.  

after my morning walk i decided to do some extra miles.  i varied between a medium paced jog and a brisk walk.  i did 3.53 miles in 40 minutes.  it felt ok, but im pretty sure im getting sick.  im looking forward to somebserious stretching today as my hamstrings and shoulders are super tight.

Morning walks.  This has been a tough week to get workouts in.  There just isn't enough time in the day.  My neck got tweaked in vball this week.  I'm guessing I won't be able to do as much until I get into the chiropractor and get things straightened out again.  Buster has gotten really used to our walks.  I'm not sure how to break it to him that we won't keep going when it gets too cold.

I did buy a new pair of running shoes this week.  I'm super excited to try them out....hopefully next week.

Morning walks.

Missed the morning walk on Sunday.  Today I did a little bit of running outside with Paige.  She is determined to do a 5k at the end of the month.  Since running club is over, I want her to keep up with some training so she can handle it.  We ran 1.5 miles around a park by our house and she did great.  I'm super excited to run with her in a few weeks.  Our strategy is to run 1.5 miles, walk .5 mile, then run the last 1.1 miles and do it under 42 minutes.  With her one mile time being 8:51, I'm hoping that's pretty realistic.

Paige and I ran the Howl-oween 5k fundraiser for the local high school today.  It was below freezing when we started.  She was batgirl and I was a fairy princess.  I was so proud of how she did!  The goals we discussed were to 1. run halfway before stopping to walk, 2. not walk more than half a mile, 3. finish running, and 4. try to do it between 40 and 45 minutes.

We accomplished all of the above and did it just under 35 minutes!  She worked so hard and never gave up.  She even sprinted the last 20 yards or so.  A very good day.

 When I got home Buster was up in arms about our morning walk, so I took him out.  It turned into a morning run once I saw how much energy he had.  I went a little further than usual to placate him.  Overall I feel pretty good. 

Did a local turkey trot with my sister-in-law, niece, and nephew.  It was actually a fun course, and really low stress.  We did a mixture of walking and jogging.  I think we finished a little under 50 minutes.  It was a great start to the morning, and I think I feel a new tradition in the making!

I'm trying to get back in the grove of regular work outs.  Ever since I finished P90X, I've been really sporadic.  Today I started by going for a little treadmill jog/run.  It felt pretty good-it's amazing what a difference 5 or 10 pounds make when you're running.  I finished a little under 35 minutes.  My calves are pretty sore, but other than that, it felt great!

I'm starting to experiment with the incline more, so today was more of a brisk walk.  I kept the speed between 4.6 and 4.8 most of the time and kept the incline at 6 until the last minute or two.  I did do a little run at 6.0 for about half a mile.  It killed but was a little easier than I anticipated.  I did 3.21 miles total in about 43 minutes.

I went for a little smaller incline.  I kept it at 4 for most of the time, although I did go up to 5 for little while.  I also tried .5 mile walking(4.5 to 4.7), then .5 mile jogging at 6.0.  It was pretty hard and I get winded to the point of cramping, but it felt good overall.  Total time today was 47 minutes.  I made sure to do some extra stretching on the hamstrings today too.