A Running Start

Happy New Year!

As per tradition, I started my New Year running a 5K race today. I had hoped to break my personal record of 30:02 set on October 1, 2011 but I didn't do it. I finished today's race at 30:31. Bummer. But at the same time... Woohoo! I ran an average pace of 9:49 minute miles for 3.1 miles and was out there running around on New Year's Day! :)

This a pic of me that my husband took after the race. He's my #1 SAG. That's actually a term used in bicycle racing for Support And Gear--the vehicle that follows the riders to provide mechanical and medical assistance, but I'm taking the liberty to use it for any sport I do. ha!

I've been reflecting on my fitness accomplishments in 2011, and I have a lot to be proud of. In addition to going to fitness classes and swimming at the gym, I ran a total of 203.91 miles outdoors and biked a total of 641.1 miles. I did all my biking May through December.

One of my fitness goals last year was to run a 5K in 31 minutes or less--CHECK! Another was to participate in my first triathlon--CHECK! What an amazing experience that was. So much fun and what an incredible feeling to have accomplished something like that. Edited to add [Jan. 3, 2012]: My third fitness challenge for 2011 was to achieve 100 Fitness Challenge "Miles" every month of the year. I reached that goal 9 out of 12 month--No Check. But still kicked some butt this year with my consistency and dedication so I'm not calling this a failure. :) 

My fitness goals for 2012 are similar... with a few tweaks.

A New 5K Personal Best:
Run a 5K in under 30 minutes. I want to see 29:xx:xx on the clock crossing that finish line!

Another Triathlon:
Participate in another sprint triathlon. I'm thinking of the SheRox Triathlon here in New Jersey in July, but I haven't committed.

A Gran Fondo:
Participate in a Gran Fondo, which is a 103 mile bike event. This is a non-timed event, although the particular Gran Fondo I'll be doing does have timed trials on six climbs. My cycling partner and I expect to finish the course in about 7.5 hours. Yikes! It'll take place in September and I'm pretty much committed to it already. After doing so well in the biking portion of the triathlon last year, my cycling partner and I decided to focus our efforts on our strength and give ourselves a little challenge. We've kind of started our training already biking on Saturday mornings. We meet just before sunrise and bike for 20+/- miles, in literally freezing temperatures, attacking some of the toughest hills for cyclists around here. I'm already looking forward to spring when we can put in more miles in some more agreeable temperatures!

I've decided to discontinue the Fitness Miles Challenge here on my blog in 2012. The gals at 100 Fitness Miles Challenge blog, which is now the Get Moving Fitness Challenge are starting things up over there again, so I encourage you to check it out. Of course, I'm not going to stop posting about exercise here and hope to do a Month in Review type post to track my progress in reading, exercise and any other fun things going on, so there will still be opportunities for us to share our fitness adventures here on the happily ever after... 
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Fitness Mile Challenge Report Card for December 2011: 
If you have any fitness challenge miles from December to share, I'd love to hear how you did! I for one was definitely challenged to meet my 100 fitness mile mark last month, but managed to finish with 100.64 miles. December is such a hectic month, so whatever you managed to get done--pat yourself on the back! If you want to see how I reached those miles, see my December Workout Log.  
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I've got a few other New Year's Resolutions and goals for 2012 that I'm going to tackle, but I'm waiting to start those tomorrow... because one of them requires getting on the scale. Yeah.. tomorrow's looking good for that. ;)

What are your fitness goals for 2012?

If you don't have one... make one! It'll be good for your body and spirit. 

Fitness Challenge Report Card: November 2011

Interested in joining the Fitness Challenge? Please visit the Sign Up post for more information, including the challenge rules. You may leave a comment there or on this post if you'd like to join. Be sure to include your fitness miles goal in your comment.

Did you track your fitness challenge miles* in November?

*ONE fitness challenge miles = 1 mile walked or run for fitness OR = 15 minute increments of other exercise for fitness such as aerobic or strength training exercises.

What kinds of exercise have you been doing?

My ongoing goal has been to reach 100 fitness challenge miles* every month and I just squeaked by this month with 100.97 miles. Phew! That was close. You can see what kinds of fitness related things I did this month in my November fitness log.  I ran A LOT this month. In fact, I worked out 27 out of 30 days in November and 11 out of those 27 workouts were spent running. I think it's the weather. There's something unique about chilly fall mornings that makes me want to get outside and run.

Here's a summary of the fitness challenge miles I earned in November:

Running [outdoors] .... 36.97 [36.97 miles]
Cycling [on road]....... 25 [85.9 miles]
Spin class [in gym] ....14
Kickbox class ........... 13
Strength training........ 12

Total ...................... 100.97

I'm shooting for another 100 fitness challenge miles in December. How about you?

Fitness Challenge Report Card: October 2011

Hello November! What a wacky few days we just had around here with that freak snow storm and the damage it caused. The kids were back in school today and things are mostly back to normal, but in some areas here and there it feels like you're in a labyrinth trying to figure out how to get from A to B with some roads still closed due to broken tree limbs and power lines in the streets. As far as our school calendar, it's going to be an interesting year. We already have one day taken away from our spring break in April and no snow days to get us through the winter. Let's hope it's a mild winter and all snow storms take place on the weekends!

Thankfully, our town allowed trick-or-treating on Halloween, because I heard that some other New Jersey towns "cancelled" trick-or-treating because of the safety hazards. My girls were out for a while and came home with several pounds of candy--including at least a dozen Reese's peanut butter cups [my favorite] but only one Twix bar [my other favorite]. And yet I am reporting to you with immense pride and astonishment that I have successfully resisted the evil temptation of Halloween candy for 48 hours! I haven't had a single piece! NOT ONE! This is major, people. I don't think there's EVER been a time in my life when I haven't eaten Halloween candy. We're talking four+ decades! Where this resolve came from, I do not know. Maybe it's because I know exactly how freaking hard I have to work just to burn 100 calories! Speaking of which...

Did you track your fitness challenge miles* in October?

What kinds of exercise have you been getting?

My ongoing goal is to reach 100 fitness challenge miles* every month. I came in at 119.65 for October, exceeding my goal by a nice chunk this time. I only took two days off from working out this month. One day because of those monthly cramps [omg how many YEARS am I going to go through this? For a lovely rant, see my post from 2008 titled Don't Do the Math in which I do the math. Add on a few dozen days for the last three years... ]. The other was the day after the snow storm when the gym had no power and it was just too dangerous out there to exercise under the trees!

Here's a summary of what I did in October to rack up all those miles:

Cycling [on road]....... 31
Strength training........ 25
Running [outdoors].... 28.65
Spin class [in gym].... 16
Kickbox class ........... 14
Cardio Interval class... 4
Swim [indoor pool] ... 1

TOTAL fitness miles ....119.65

I did a lot of cycling in October. My friend Maureen and I are planning to bike in a Gran Fondo, next September [100 mile bike course], so we started training by doing some longish rides together. We spent over 8 hours biking over four weekend days, logging over 118 miles. :)

I ran two 5K races in October, which was pretty fun. The first one was on my birthday in which I ran my new personal best of 30:02! I am very excited about that, but hope to break 30 minutes in my next 5K, which will probably be in January. [5K = 3.1 miles]

Empty Sky 9/11 Memorial
Liberty State Park
Jersey City, NJ
Photo taken on October 16, 2011
NJ Make-A-Wish 5K Run

The second 5K I ran took place in Liberty State Park along the pier where I had views of the New York City skyline, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty for the whole run. There is also a new 9/11 Memorial in the park that was opened just this September called Empty Sky Memorial. If you stand in front of the memorial [as I was when I took the photo on the left], the memorial fills in the skyline where the twin towers once stood. The names of all those who died on 9/11 are engraved along the wall of the memorial. When you get to the other side, you see the skyline as it is today... an empty sky. I like the design of this memorial a lot and think it's a very meaningful and appropriate addition to Liberty State Park. If you're in the area, I recommend you see it for yourself.

I still miss my Friday 5:45 am Bootcamp class. Okay, I don't miss the 5:45 am part, but I DO miss the friends with whom I took the class and I miss how freaking hard it was. At least now I get to sleep in until 6:45 am on Fridays and then I go running with my friend Marie after the girls are off to school. I have to admit it's nice to exercise in the daylight instead of just before sunrise, and Marie and I get to chat the whole time. Plus fall weather is the best for running! Not too warm, not too cold and the foliage is pretty, too.

In November, I'm thinking of running a 5 Mile Race on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This is the same race that I did a few weeks after I first started running back in November 2009. I can't believe that was just two years ago--I've come such a long way since then. Anyway, I ran that 5 Mile race in 1:01:47 and would like to see what kind of time I could get now. Other than that, I'll just aim for 100 fitness miles again this month.

What are your fitness or exercise goals for November?


Interested in joining the Fitness Challenge? Please visit the Sign Up post for more information, including the challenge rules. You may leave a comment there or on this post if you'd like to join. Be sure to include your fitness miles goal in your comment.

*ONE fitness challenge miles = 1 mile walked or run for fitness OR = 15 minute increments of other exercise for fitness such as cardiovascular or strength training exercises.

Fitness Challenge Report Card: August & September 2011

Interested in joining the Fitness Challenge? Please visit the Sign Up post for more information, including the challenge rules. You may leave a comment there or on this post if you'd like to join. Be sure to include your fitness miles goal in your comment.

This is a double report card for August and September.

Are you all still tracking your fitness challenge miles*?

*ONE fitness challenge miles = 1 mile walked or run for fitness OR = 15 minute increments of other exercise for fitness such as cardiovascular or strength training exercises.

I know Brandy is. She makes note of them every day at the bottom of her daily blog post--which is a great way to keep track of and reflect on what you're doing. I'm still keeping a log of my exercise on my fitness blog, See how she runs..., which I update every couple of days.

How did you do with your fitness challenge miles* in August? And September?

My ongoing goal is to reach 100 fitness challenge miles* every month. In August I came in at a mere 43.8 miles, which I more or less anticipated since I was on vacation with my family for two weeks in Europe, during which I didn't do any workout specific workouts, although we walked miles every day touring the cities, climbed tons of stairs in subways, museums and landmarks always carrying a backpack and often lugging luggage around. So it was hardly a lazy vacation. Then later in the month I missed a few days of working out because of hurricane Irene. Considering those "interruptions" to my regularly scheduled workouts, I was still pretty active.

In September, my fitness goals were both awesome and a bit disappointing. First the awesome. As most of you already know, I competed in My First Triathlon on September 11 and had a really fantastic experience! It so much fun-- the training, the anticipation and finally doing it! I enjoyed it so much that I'm planning to do it again next year!

As for the disappointing part, I fell short in meeting my 100 miles again in September. It's one thing if something legitimate comes up like sickness or vacation, but I was working out consistently. Argh!! I've since figured out why and will make the necessary adjustments so I can reach my goal this month.

One reason I missed some fitness miles was because I was leaving 15 minutes early from my 6-7 am fitness classes three days a week since school started so that I could be home before my teen left for school. She has zero period this year, which means has to leave by 7:15 am and I like to be home to pack her a healthy lunch, make sure she has everything she needs and basically see her off for the day. If I'm not there in the morning before she leaves, I don't see her from bedtime the night before until 6 or 7 pm the next night because right now she has volleyball practice or games every day immediately after school. That's too long without connecting with my daughter so for now, I'll keep leaving class 15 minutes early to see her off, but I'll make up those missed fitness miles at home those days with some ab exercises, push ups and other resistance training after the girls leave for school.

Another reason I missed some fitness miles is because my Friday boot camp class has been cancelled due to lack of interest--although not mine! Ugh. I'm so upset about this. I loved that class--not only was it a killer workout that we often did outdoors, but also because all my workout friends were in it, including the instructor! I miss it. I've been running on Friday's in lieu of boot camp, but I don't always run 4 miles for the same 4 fitness miles I'd get from an hour of boot camp. I suppose I ought to make sure I DO run 4 miles on Friday's then. :P

So it looks like I've got my work cut out for me for October if I want to reach my goal of 100 fitness challenge miles!

What about you? What are your exercise plans for October?

Fitness Challenge Report Card: July 2011

Interested in joining the Fitness Challenge? Please visit the Sign Up post for more information, including the challenge rules. You may leave a comment there or on this post if you'd like to join. Be sure to include your fitness miles goal in your comment.

I can't believe it's the last day of July already and it will be August in just a few hours! Poof! Well, it was a productive month for me in fitness. My fitness challenge miles totaled in at 123.2 miles for July! :) You can see my daily activities on my fitness blog, See how she runs... HERE. I got in a lot of swimming and biking this month and even participated in my first ever duathlon and practiced for September's triathlon by doing a mock mini tri with a local tri-women support group to which I belong.

I finished the duathlon [2mi run - 10.6 mi bike - 3 mi run] in 1:30 and a few seconds, with which I'm happy. The biking is my best component and I averaged 17.6 mph for that leg. The last 3 mile run after pushing so hard on the bike was brutal, but I did it!

I also participated in a practice min tri with a group of women from a local tri-women support group to which I belong just last Friday. The best part of that was that I did a 20 minute open water ocean swim! You may recall I struggled with that when I went to the beach earlier in the month to practice, but now I did it! Yay!!! The ocean was A LOT calmer this time and it helped that I was with such an encouraging and supportive group of women. I also did really well with the biking part, averaging 18.6 mph for a 7.3 mile ride! Hopefully I can do the same on race day in September! The run was still killer.. :/

So how did everyone do with their fitness challenge miles* this month?

*ONE fitness challenge miles = 1 mile walked or run for fitness OR = 15 minute increments of other exercise for fitness such as cardiovascular or strength training exercises.


How did you do with your fitness challenge goal for July?


What kinds of activities did you do to keep moving this month?

Fitness Challenge Report Card: June 2011

Interested in joining the Fitness Challenge? Please visit the Sign Up post for more information, including the challenge rules. You may leave a comment there or on this post if you'd like to join. Be sure to include your fitness miles goal in your comment.

This month's fitness challenge post is going to be a brief one. I'm posting this late at night, I'm too tired to think creatively and my Friday outdoor bootcamp fitness class starts in five hours! Yikes!

So how did everyone do with their fitness challenge miles* this month?

*ONE fitness challenge miles = 1 mile walked or run for fitness OR = 15 minute increments of other exercise for fitness such as cardiovascular or strength training exercises.

I don't remember if I set my goal for 100 or 115 fitness miles for June, but in any case, I ended the month at 109.3 fitness miles as of today. I'm happy with that. :)

I did my usual fitness classes of spin, strength training, kickbox, bootcamp, as well as swimming laps and a short run or two. I was also able to go to Zumba twice this month for the first time in ages, thanks to my teenage daughter who is out of school now until September and therefore able to "babysit" her grandfather for me in the morning so I could get to the gym for 9 am Zumba class on Tuesdays. Yay! I love Zumba.  : )

If you want to see what I did to keep moving all month long, you can see my June Workout Log.

How did you do with your fitness challenge goal for June?


What kinds of activities did you do to keep moving this month?


Thanks for playing along in the monthly fitness challenge!

: )

Fitness Challenge Report Card: May 2011

Interested in joining the Fitness Challenge? Please visit the Sign Up post for more information, including the challenge rules. You may leave a comment there or on this post if you'd like to join. Be sure to include your fitness miles goal in your comment.

So how did everyone do with their fitness challenge miles* this month?

*ONE fitness challenge miles = 1 mile walked or run for fitness OR = 15 minute increments of other exercise for fitness such as cardiovascular or strength training exercises.

I set my goal once again for 115 fitness miles and I ended the month short at 108.2 fitness miles as of today. I guess I should have kept my goal at 100. ;)

Here's a breakdown of what I've been doing to workout this month:

spin class ........... 27
strength training... 24
swim .............. 16
kickbox class ...... 15
bootcamp class ... 15
bike ................ 7
run ................. 4.2

If you want to see what I did to keep moving all month long, check out my May Workout Log.

I finally got out on my bike this season. Finally! At first I put off getting out there because of all the post-winter pot holes out there. Pot holes are terrifying on road bike. A hybrid or mountain bike can handle them, but a road bike has those skinny tires. Catch a bump the wrong way and splat! Yikes. I also procrastinated getting out there because my faithful biking partner, a.k.a. my husband, hasn't been able to ride with me due to shoulder surgery on a sports related injury. It's not even that I mind riding alone. I did that a lot last summer, but I guess that first ride of the season after a six month hiatus can be daunting. Finally, I went out this past Sunday thanks to my friend Maureen who invited me out on a ride with her. We rode about 24 miles in under an hour and forty-five minutes with an average pace of 14.1 miles per hour. Not too bad considering the route consisted of rolling hills with a few tough climbs and we also took the liberty of riding side by side at times to chat when the road allowed it so of course, we our pace was a bit more casual. It felt good to finally get out there and I'm already looking forward to my next ride. Plus Maureen came up with a few goals for me to work on by the end of the summer including this killer hill that gives even cars a workout. Just another added bonus from having a friend who's a personal trainer! ;)

How did you do with your fitness challenge goal for May?

What kinds of activities did you do to keep moving this month?


Are you finding this fitness challenge helpful? I'm thinking of giving it a rest after next month, but will continue it if there's enough interest. I know some of you have been very dedicated at keeping track with me (Thanks, Brandy!), but I know we're all super busy with a myriad of other things in our lives and we just don't have the time to keep track of the hours spent exercising. I personally think keeping a log of your workouts is helpful and will continue to do it. I'm just a little geeky when it comes to lists and stats , what can I say? Plus, it reinforces what I've accomplished, which helps motivate me to keep it up. But I realize this method isn't for everyone. The most important thing is that you exercise every day. Let me know if you want me to continue the challenge. I'm glad to do continue it if you find it helpful, and I promise my feelings won't be hurt if you don't.

:)

Fitness Challenge Report Card: April 2011

Interested in joining the Fitness Challenge? Please visit the Sign Up post for more information, including the challenge rules. You may leave a comment there or on this post if you'd like to join. Be sure to include your fitness miles goal in your comment.

So how did everyone do with their fitness challenge miles* this month?

*ONE fitness challenge miles = 1 mile walked or run for fitness OR = 15 minute increments of other exercise for fitness such as cardiovascular or strength training exercises.

I apologize for not having posted a mid month progress report this month. Blame the IRS.

I set my goal once again for 100 fitness miles and I ended the month at 113.6 fitness miles, which I'm pretty happy about. If you want to see what I did to keep moving all month long, you can see my April Workout Log.

I still haven't yet gone out for my first bike ride of the season. We've had a chilly spring so far and there are potholes everywhere from the brutal winter we had, so those have been my excuses. I'm determined, however, to get out on the road in May, for sure. I also need to swim more regularly because that triathlon is inching closer every day! eeek!

I'm going to bump up my goal to 115 fitness challenge miles for May.

How did you do with your fitness challenge goal for April?

What activities are you doing to keep moving?

I hope you all join me again next month! :)

Thank you all for participating. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know.

Fitness Challenge Report Card: March 2011

Interested in joining the Fitness Challenge? Please visit the Sign Up post for more information, including the challenge rules. You may leave a comment there or on this post if you'd like to join. Be sure to include your fitness miles goal in your comment.

So how did everyone do with their fitness challenge miles* this month?

*ONE fitness challenge miles = 1 mile walked or run for fitness OR = 15 minute increments of other exercise for fitness such as cardiovascular or strength training exercises.

I met my goal and then some. My goal was set for 100 fitness miles and I came in at a whopping 143.25 fitness miles. Crazy.

I spent the most time in spin class and strength training, but also spent a lot of time doing the MelB workout at home on the Playstation Move, kickboxing, swimming, bootcamp and Zumba at the gym and running at the park. I'm looking forward to getting out there on my bicycle again, but waiting for temperatures to break the 60 F mark. Unfortunately, it's been pretty cold lately and in fact, we're expecting 2-4 inches of snow tonight and tomorrow. Gah!

The swimming is going okay. I joined a local Tri-women group and am attending a swim clinic on Sunday hoping to get some more instruction and coaching to improve my stroke and breathing techniques. I'm a little frustrated with my lack of endurance swimming consecutive laps. I'm still pausing every 2-3 lengths for maybe 30-60 seconds before continuing. Oddly, my heart rate isn't even that elevated when I feel I have to stop (I've worn my heart rate monitor in the pool a couple of times). Maybe it's just a matter of practice, practice, practice before I can just swim, swim, swim.

I'm going to set my fitness challenge goal at 100 fitness miles again for April. If I break 100 miles again, I'll bump up my goal.

How did you do with your fitness challenge goal for March?

What activities are you doing to keep moving?

I hope you all join me again next month! :)

Thank you all for participating. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know. :)

Fitness Challenge Mid Month Progress Report: March 2011

Sorry I'm posting this a few days past our mid-month check point. I had plans of posting more this week and now, poof! It's Friday afternoon already! Anyway, I've been working out really hard in the last few weeks having already accumulated 69.5 fitness challenge miles as of today, just a few days past mid month. Let's hope the rest of the month goes just as well.

As I mentioned last month, I started swimming lessons one night a week, which has already helped me tremendously with my freestyle technique. However, I still find swimming nonstop really hard. It's the breathing. I find a do a lap and a half of freestyle and have to switch to backstroke to catch my breath. I understand that it's more difficult to breath while swimming because the water applies additional pressure to your lungs while you're in the water and well, you can't breath when your face is in the water (!), so hopefully I'll see improvement if I just practice, practice, practice. Which I'm doing one other day of the week now in addition to the lesson. We learned breaststroke in this week's lesson, which is just what I need because from what I understand from other triathletes, many swimmers alternate between freestyle and breast stroke during the race. I'm guessing freestyle is best for speed and efficiency and breast stroke is best for sighting the course and other swimmers.

How are you doing so far this month?

Do you use any home exercise DVDs?
"Move-type" video games such as Wii or Playstation Move?
On demand exercise shows?

I've been using the Get Fit with Mel B workout game for the Playstation Move lately on days when I'm unable to exercise outdoors or get to the gym for cardio. I'm still exploring all of the options in the game, but it's okay so far. Not as good a workout as what I can do at the gym or running or biking, but it's a good back-up workout.

Wishing you all a great weekend! Got any fun plans?

It's a gorgeous 79 F (26 C) right now here in NJ--a real treat for this time of year. I'm off to pick up sticks in the yard and rake out my flower bed while it's so nice outside. We'll be back into normal March temperatures in the low 50s F (11 C) for the next few days.

Fitness Challenge Report Card: February 2011

Interested in joining the Fitness Challenge? Please visit the Sign Up post for more information, including the challenge rules. You may leave a comment there or on this post if you'd like to join. Be sure to include your fitness miles* goal in your comment.

*NOTE: One fitness challenge mile = 1 mile walked or run for fitness OR a 15 minute increment of other exercise for fitness such as cardiovascular or strength training exercises.


So how did everyone do with their fitness challenge miles* this month?

I set my goal for 100 fitness miles and came in at 96.1 miles. I spent most of my workout hours in spin class and strength training, followed by boot camp and kickboxing. I knew meeting my goal this month was going to be a challenge because February is a short month and I knew ahead of time that I was going to miss a few days in the beginning of the month. Yet I ended up coming much, much closer to my goal than I expected, so I'm still pretty pleased.

I'm even more pleased to be ending the month on really high note because I ran a 5K Race [3.1 miles] yesterday and ran my all time personal best! :D

Almost at the finish line.
I hadn't spotted my husband yet, otherwise I would have smiled. :)

Not only did I meet my fitness goal to run a 5K in 31 minutes, but I had seconds to spare!!!!

Jan. 1, 2010 5K    Race results: 34:51 11:19 min/mile pace

Feb. 27, 2011 5K Race results: 30:44.60 9:54 min/mile pace

Wooooooo!!!!!

That's over four minutes off my time from last year! I'm SO thrilled with this time. As if it isn't obvious, right? ;) I totally surprised myself yesterday. I set that 5K in 31 minutes goal and hoped I would come close, but didn't think I'd quite make it because I haven't run better than an average 10:17 min/mile pace before.
But I DID it!  

I'm looking for the official race results.
I'm anxious to know if I broke a 10:00 min mile pace!

Yesterday I ran an average pace of 9:54 minutes per mile!

Thank you to those of you who cheered me on yesterday when I posted about the race on twitter and facebook. I appreciate your support and enthusiasm. :)

This race was originally scheduled for January 1, 2011 but had been cancelled and rescheduled twice since due to snow and ice conditions. I'm so glad it finally took place yesterday and the weather was perfect. Overcast, but temperatures were upwards of 50 F [10 C].

I'm going to set my fitness challenge goal at 100 fitness miles again for March. :)

How did you do with your fitness challenge goal for February?

Did you have trouble meeting your goal?

If so, what were some of your obstacles?
Time? Motivation? Illness?

I hope you all join me again for March! :)
Please include your new fitness miles goal in the comments.

Thank you all for participating. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know.

Exercising minds want to know....


Do you own a jump rope?



[*Playstation Move workout]

Fitness Challenge Mid Month Progress Report: February 2011

I'm feeling the crunch of trying to meet my 100 fitness mile challenge in this shortest month of the year! I knew this was going to be a tough month for a couple of reasons, but at this point, I'm going to need a few things to line up just right for it to happen. Like cooperative weather and no "sick days", not to mention the determination and stamina on my part to have a few days of double workouts. As of today I have 42 miles to my name for February, so I'm going to need to earn 58 fitness miles in only 13 days!! Yikes! That's going to be a challenge for sure, but I'm going to see what I can do to make it happen. Or at least come really close! :)

Are you struggling with finding time to exercise every day? 

Remember that when there is a will, there is a way.

Recognize how important it is to exercise regularly. Your body needs it. It will make your body stronger, improve your mood, keep you healthier and help you live a longer, fuller life. Plus it just feels good! Must be those endorphins...

Make exercise as important to your daily routine as maintaining good hygiene, eating well and getting enough sleep.

When you make exercise a priority in your life, you will find the time to do it every day.

Like at 6 am like me...


How are you doing this month so far?

Fitness Challenge Report Card: January 2011

Interested in joining the Fitness Challenge? Please visit the Sign Up post for more information, including the challenge rules. You may leave a comment there or on this post if you'd like to join. Be sure to include your fitness miles goal in your comment.

So how did everyone do with their fitness challenge miles this month?


Here's a reminder of everyone's January goals:

1. Christine 100
2. Lori 75
3. Gina 16+
4. azteclady 25
5. Brandy 80
6. Deanna TBD
7. Leslie 50
8. Crystal 90
9. Zee TBD
10. Sarai 32
11. Beverly TBD

I did way better than I expected to this month. I set my goal for 100 fitness miles and ended the month with a total of 130 fitness miles!!! There were two atypical events that helped me earn atypical fitness miles this month. One was the 3 hour spin-a-thon I did early in the month that earned 12 fitness miles in just one workout, which is usually how many miles I do in three days!

The other atypical event that pushed me far over my goal was the fact that this month was one of the snowiest months on record for my area EVER. Which from an exercise perspective, means I shoveled a lot of snow all month long... a total of 20 fitness miles worth. I even wore my heart rate monitor while I shoveled to monitor my fitness level and determine how many calories I burned shoveling snow. It's a decent workout. Not as much as my usual cardio workouts, but definitely more than strength training or face paced walking.

Here's a rundown of my types of workouts and the number of "fitness" miles I earned for each activity.

Spinning & Abs 44
Strength Training 24
Snow Shoveling 20
Bootcamp 16
Kickboxing & Abs 12
Running 8
Zumba 4
Yoga/Stretching 2

TOTAL MILES: 130

Without the spin-a-thon and snow shoveling, I would have come in at a total of 102 miles, which would have still allowed me to meet my goal, so I think 100 fitness miles per month is a realistic goal for me.

I'm going to set my goal for 100 again for February, although it's probably less likely I'll meet it. For one, it's a shorter month with two less days than January, two of which I already know are going to be exercise-free for medical reasons. Also, there are no spin-a-thons on the horizon and hopefully not nearly as many snowstorms! I'm seriously considering asking Santa for cross country skis or snowshoes for next Christmas... ;)

How did you do with your fitness challenge goal for January?

Did you have trouble meeting your goal?

If so, what were some of your obstacles?
Time? Motivation? Illness?

I hope you all join me again for February! :)
Please include your February fitness mile goal in the comments.

Thank you all for participating. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know.

Fitness Mid Month Progress Report: January 2011

I still haven't played around with making a graphic button for this challenge, but I hope to set aside some time before the end of the month to do that.

How is everyone doing with their workouts so far this month?


I hope you've all had a great start to your Fitness Challenge! 

I've been having a seriously kick-ass workout month! :D

If you're also having great workouts so far this month--high five and keep it up!

If you're off to a slow start, DON'T STRESS OVER IT! What's done--or not done in this case-- is done. You can't go back and redo the last two weeks for any part of your life, so there's no sense beating yourself up over it. What you can do is learn from it. Take that disappointment you may have and transform that into motivation. Prove to yourself that you can do this. That you want to do this because it's important to you. Then get out there and move!

So, what has everyone been doing for fitness miles?

I learned in the last year or so that I am definitely a cross trainer. Basically, I thrive physically and mentally when I switch up my workouts on a daily basis. I do this by attending a variety of fitness classes at my gym each week and throwing in a day or two of running or biking outdoors. I've also accepted the fact that I'm fitness class junkie. I love the loud, pumping music, the camaraderie of group instruction and having someone constantly telling me what to do, how to do it, and to do it faster, harder, stronger over the loud speakers. My favorite instructor at the gym, is just about the only person I allow this privilege. I wonder if she realizes how much I let her get away with? LOL ;)

Today is my first non-workout day since December 30, 2010 and a much deserved day of rest. It's also a great day to reflect on all that I accomplished in the last two weeks. I have worked out every day since New Year's Eve, racking up a whopping 64 fitness miles doing my cross training thing-- Zumba, spinning, kickboxing, running, bootcamp, strength training, a yoga-like stretch class and an hour of shoveling snow, plus this three hour spin-a-thon that I participated at my gym last Sunday. For the spin-a-thon, each of the three hours was an hour of spin taught by a different instructor. The instructors had completely different styles of teaching, and also played very different types of music, so that helped mix things up a bit and kept me from getting bored. My hip flexors and knees started to ache a little in the last twenty minutes or so, but I finished strong. I took advantage of a 30 minute stretch class at the end, and boy did that feel good. I was exhausted when I got home, but after a hot shower, some food and a nap, I felt great! Nearly a week later, and I still feel a great sense of accomplishment for it. I imagine I'll feel similarly in September when I do the triathlon! I can't wait! ^_^

Please share your progress so far this month in the comments. We want to hear about your accomplishments and any disappointments or frustrations, too.

We're all here to support each other and provide motivation. :)

Fitness Challenge 2011 {Sign Up}

[snazzy challenge button to come]

Last year was the most athletically active year of my life and I'm so excited to see this year be even better. Last year, I biked a total of 640.7 miles between April and November, ran at total of 150.7 miles from January through December, and spent literally hundreds of hours at the gym in fitness classes. I had visions of running upwards of 250 miles last year, but I've been nursing planter fasciitis [inflammation of the tendon that runs along the bottom of your foot from your heel to your toes, resulting in sharp pain in the heel area] on my right foot since early last spring. If you've ever had this injury before, you know it takes a really long time to heal. My case is almost completely healed, but I am still being very cautious about the frequency and duration of high impact workouts, i.e., running and jumping type activities.

So what am I going to do in 2011 to make this year even more athletically active than last year?

I'm going to strive to be even more consistent than ever with my workout schedule. I had been exercising 3-5 days a week for many years and thought I was doing a the best that I could. Turns out I could have been doing more. I started working out 6-7 days a week last year and my fitness levels took gigantic leaps. To be fair, I started carefully tracking calories during this time, as well, which lead to weight loss, which in turn lead me to a better overall health and fitness level right there. I'm not saying I follow a perfect diet or that I'm an exercise expert, and I still have 20+ lbs. to lose before I'm at my goal weight, but I have learned first hand the benefits of keeping your diet in check and exercising every day. I feel better than I have since ... well... since maybe forever. I don't want to lose this edge on life and not only that... if I feel this good now, I can only imagine how incredible I'll feel physically [and emotionally] when I'm at my absolute best shape. And frankly, I don't want to just imagine all that. I WANT it to be real, so I'm going for it!

Which brings me to my Fitness Challenge for 2011. The idea for this type of challenge is not my own. Many companies and gyms sponsor fitness challenges that have participants track their progress in fitness miles which are measured by actual mile per mile walked or run or mile per specified time intervals spent in other cardiovascular or strength training activities. My inspiration for this challenge comes from the ladies at the 100 Mile Fitness Challenge blog.

Fitness Challenge 2011 Rules:

1. The challenge will run month to month throughout the year. 
Anyone can join at any time for however many months you chose, although I'm hoping for company throughout the entire year!

2. ONE mile walked or run  = ONE fitness mile
Note: If you use the metric system, divide the number of km walked or run by 1.6 to convert km to miles. 

3. 15 minutes of 'other exercise' = ONE fitness mile
You must exercise continuously for 15 minutes without stopping for it to count. If you work out for 20 minutes, it only counts as 1 mile, and you don't get to save the 5 minutes to pad onto the next workout. You may as well keep working out for 30 minutes to get full credit and then you've got 2 fitness miles to your name. A 60 minute fitness class at your gym would equal 4 fitness miles. 40 minutes on the elliptical counts as 3 "miles." You may as well stay on another 5 minutes to get credit for 4 "miles"! Get it?

4. 'Other exercise' is specific only to designated workouts such as fitness classes at the gym, fitness videos at home, exercise machines, biking, swimming, weight lifting, etc.

5. Do not count daily activities such as shopping, cleaning, etc.
This is because those types of daily activities are already accounted for in our daily caloric needs. You do them all the time as part of your daily or weekly routine, so you don't get exercise credit for them. You'll only be shortchanging yourself if you count them. However, some activities that are strenuous and not routine, like shoveling snow or manually tilling a garden bed, can be counted. Use your own judgement regarding distinguishing routine daily activities and exercise specific activities.

6. Decide how many miles you want to challenge yourself to finish in a month.
It might take you a month or two to figure out how many miles will offer you the best challenge. You don't want to set the bar so high that you get frustrated, but at the same time, you also don't want to make it too easy that you're not pushing yourself.

7. Keep track of your "fitness miles" on a piece of paper, a file on your computer, or even on your blog on your sidebar or in a post like I do at See how she runs... . Then share your success and struggles with the group at the end of the month.

8. Share your progress in the Fitness Report Card post here on the first day of the month.
The first Report Card post for January's challenge will be on February 1. I'll also try do a Progress Report type post in the middle of the month so we can check in on each other.

9. To join, leave a comment below telling me you're up for the challenge and how many miles you're going to challenge yourself in January.

10. IMPORTANT: Please consult with your physician before starting any new exercise program. This challenge is for camaraderie and motivational purposes.


 I'll edit this post to include the names of participants and their challenge miles as people join. 

Fitness Challenge 2011 Participants:

1. Christine  100 

2. Lori  75

3. Gina   16+

4. azteclady  25

5. Brandy  80
6. Deanna  TBD
7. Leslie  50
8. Crystal  90 
9. Zee  TBD
10. Sarai  32 
11. Beverly TBD

Who's next? :) 

Looking forward to many happy, healthy miles with you in 2011!