Catching up!

Ok, so I haven't updated lately.  I have been dealing with a mild case of achilles tendonitis.  (According to the doctor, it's probably this rather than plantar fasciitis, but they are closely related.)  I was taking it easy and not running much to save myself for the Dam to Dam 20k.  So, I didn't get nearly as much training in for the run as I had hoped.  I did finish the Dam to Dam, but not as well as last year.  I had to take a potty break a couple miles before the end.  Also, it was so much warmer than I'm used to, I was exhausted by the end and had to walk a bit.  Nonetheless, completing 12.4 miles is nothing to sneeze at and it's something I wouldn't have been able to do a few years ago. I finished in 2:32:38 compared to 2:25:24 last year.

Less than a week after the 20k, I was off with my family on a ~130 mile fully self-supported bike trip along the Katy Trail State Park in central Missouri.  We did over 35 miles on each of the first three days, then 19 miles on the last day.  Normally, that wouldn't be a whole lot of riding, but considering it was on crushed gravel (sometimes not firmly packed), we had all our camping supplies, clothes, and food with us, as well as our two young kids, this was not a leisurely ride! (It didn't help that I was still recovering from the 20k, I'm sure, and it was in the 90s the first couple days.)  It was a great trip that went off seamlessly.  We did a lot of planning ahead of time, considering it was the longest tour ever, especially with kids.  A great experience.

Now, it's time for me to get back in the rhythm of daily workouts.  This morning, I got up to lift, only to find the tent set up in the basement.  This almost made me give up working out for the morning, but I decided I had woken up so early to work out, by golly I was going to work out!  So, I pulled out a BodyRock.tv workout, Tik Tok Challenge, and got a good workout in.  In fact, I was very surpised to see that my times for the challenge were considerably better than the other three times I did this workout!  And I was 8 pounds lighter at the time. (Oops!!  Time to nip that in the bud.)

My times today were:  2:30, 2:46, 2:54
My previous times were: 
3:25, 3:34, 3:26
3:37, 4:06, 3:43
4:21, 4:05, 3:48
So, the plan is to lift tomorrow morning and I'll make up a plan to stick to for the long term soon.  (The tent is coming down tonight!)

In the zoo?

Ok, so it's hard to come up with new blog titles for the same workout.  Today I did the Tik Tok Challenge again.  This workout has two animals: monkeys (push-ups) and crabs (kicks).

When I started, I didn't think I felt all that energetic, but I ended up beating every single combo time from the last two times I did this workout!  Woot!

This time: 3:25, 3:34, 3:26 (compared to 3:37, 4:06, 3:43 and4:21, 4:05, 3:48)

My heart rate was up over 180 a couple times!  Tough workout.

TMI
Last time I did this workout, jumping rope presented issues.  I mentioned it on my board (because this blog felt too public for that sort of stuff) and a friend mentioned that jumping rope with one foot at a time helped people she knows.  By golly, it helped me to!  No issues today! 
/TMI

So, I used the running jump rope method and all was good.  I think I made fewer mistakes, too, about one per 20 second interval.

Tik Tok #2

This morning I got in another Tik Tok round from BodyRock.tv.  Short but very sweet!

I'm going to get good at skipping rope with this one, I think.

My combo times this time were: 3:37, 4:06, 3:43.  Last time they were 4:21, 4:05, 3:48.

Good stuff!

Tik Tok

I needed a plan for non-lifting days when I don't want to run outside, something that would leave my hip alone.  So, I decided to see if BodyRock.tv had anything that I could use.  It did!

Today I did the Tik Tok Exercise Challenge. 
Short but sweet! 

Of course I started off with foam rolling and some mobility work.

My hip didn't act up after yesterday's workout!  I thought it felt like it would, but it subsided.