I stopped in my local Old Navy today and was pleasantly surprised with the selection of activewear.  I have not purchased much activewear lately, and I finished Weeks 1-12 of the Kayla Itsines BBG last week, so I figured it was time to reward myself :) 

The first thing I tried on were the Women's Go-Dry Compression Leggings in blue (couldn't find picture in blue.)

This is what the color actually looked like, a heathered navy blue.

 

I tried on the XS, and they fit pretty well. The hip band was kind of tight. I did not end up buying them, but I am still thinking about them! 

Next up was the Women's Mesh-Back Tank.

The pictures aren't awesome but I really loved this tank. I tried it on in an XS. I liked that the back was a subtle mesh, and I can wear a cute sports bra and have that show through on the back. Verdict - purchased!

I tried on the Women's Semi-Fitted Power-Mesh Tank in XS.  "Semi-Fitted" must be a joke because I was swimming in it. I love a cute loose workout tank just as much as the next girl but this one might just fall off when doing burpees. :P Verdict - noooope. 

Next I tried on this Women's Tank in grey, size XS. It was on sale for under $6!!! Ahh. And I loved it. It really shows off my shoulders. In fact, I wish I would have purchased two. 

 

I saw this Women's Go-Dry Racerback Tank online and was excited to try it on, but again, it was huge... 

Not exactly fitting like an XS.

Finally, I tried on the Go-Dry Semi-Fitted Tank in grey in XS, and the Women's Running Tights in Maroon in XS. 

The tank was a bust, just too big for my petite frame, but the leggings were awesome. They were not too tight, and not too sheer. They felt like they would work well in the 30-45 degree temperature range (a "warm" winter day in Illinois). Unfortunately, the leggings were $42, and I was just not ready to spend that much! So, I did not purchase, but I will be keeping my eyes open for a sale. 

(Posing to show my guns the armpit fit)

Have you purchased anything recently from Old Navy Active? Any recommendations? Thanks!

Workout recap - Week of July 6

Sorry for the boring post, but I wanted to do a quick recap of last week's workouts. I am continuing with Kayla Itsines' BBG workouts, and finished Week 4 of 12.

Monday
AM: Legs/Cardio BBG Week 4

Tuesday

Wednesday
AM: Arms & Abs BBG Week 4

Thursday
AM: LISS - 2 mile speed walking, 26 minutes

Friday
Rest... Migraine :(

Saturday
AM: Total body BBG Week 4 + Bikini Buns & Thighs

Sunday
HIIT Running:
5 minute warmup slow jog
15 sets of --> 30 seconds sprint @ 9mph  + 30 seconds off
3 minute cooldown jog

Tone It Up

So, I've been procrastinating on writing this post for a little while now... 5-6 weeks to be exact. On Monday May 11, I started following the Tone It Up workout series, led by Katrina Scott and Karena Dawn. As I've posted before, I have always enjoyed being active but found it hard to fit exercise in to my schedule as a corporate attorney/girlfriend/tv lover/dog lover/home remodeler/you name it.

(Karena, left, Katrina, right) (source)

So here is my story:

Exercise lately

Okay so my last workout post was about an "11 week" workout plan... which I really just made to get myself on track with working out. I've been keeping a decent schedule with exercising, and recently started running with some neighbors a few times per week. One of my neighbors is training for a half marathon, and she asked if I wanted to join in the training. She's doing a half marathon in September, that I can't go to unfortunately due to a wedding, but I thought it would be "fun" to try to keep up with her training.

So far,  things are going pretty good! I don't really have a plan for training (I think she is loosely following a Hal Higdon novice plan), but I try to do 2-3 three-mile runs during the week, and a longer run on the weekend. I planed to start at 4 miles and increase mileage by .5-1 mile per week for the long runs.  Eventually I would like to increase my weekday mileage at least one day per week as well.

May 5-11: 

Monday - Ultimate Conditioning class for an hour (tabata)

Tuesday - Early a.m. run. 2.02 miles @ 9:48 pace before work. Ran with the crazy dog

Wednesday - Early a.m. run. 3.3 miles @ 10:30 pace before work. No dog {thank god! shes crazy}

Thursday -  Nada

Friday - After work 2.14 miles @ 10:57 easy pace. Ran with the dog! She got pretty tired...

("I'll just sleep here forever, thanks")

Saturday - Rest

Sunday - 4.31 miles @ 11:46 pace. This run killed me. Not sure exactly why seeing as it was so slow, but I was useless. I'm glad I got the run done at least?

May 12-18: 

Monday - Rest

Tuesday - Skipped U/C class. Had a work meeting and then work family event. Specifically, I got to take my awesome nephew and sister to a mini putt/arcade place. Loved it

Wednesday- Early a.m. run w/ neighbors. 3.44 miles @ 11:50 pace.

Thursday- Rest

Friday - Rest... I actually was probably not resting any of those rest days. I had a crazy week at work and its Sunday night right now and I'm still trying to crank out a bunch of work!

Saturday - 2.77 miles @ 10:49 pace w/ Gracie.

Sunday - Lurie's Children 5k in Chicago with my friend. We stayed out kind of late in Chicago and questioned our ability to run this thing, but we ended up doing well! We started out slowly but definitely picked up the pace at the end. We thought we were sprinting the last .1 but they were tricky and the race was actually 3.17. Sneaky sneaky.

My friend and I took a picture at the end of the race. Nbd, my eyes are closed and I'm looking extra fabulous ;) 

Check out the shoes? I got those so long ago. Time for a new pair?! (Rhetorical question).

I didn't have a chance to do my long run this weekend so I will hopefully make up for it on Monday or Tuesday. On the down side, my knee is bothering me and I am really hoping the pain will go away after some quality foam rolling. Its the inside of my knee so I don't think IT band. Not really sure!

On the up side, I went to Whole Foods today for maybe the second time in my entire life. I'm obviously living under a rock. It was awesome there and now I see why people get kind of obsessed. I bought a bunch of food from their deli section that they put in containers and I can bring into work this week. I couldn't wait though and I dug into this Kale + tomato + dried cranberry salad today while doing some work. 

Looking forward to another week and some more miles!

11 Week Workout Plan: Week 1 Review

Last week was the first week of my "11 week workout plan." No specific rhyme or reason to having 11 weeks... I just wanted to lay out a plan for myself to get active. Here's the schedule for week 1.

Monday - I did 60 minutes of my Ultimate conditioning class which is a mix of cardio/lifting

Tuesday  - off

Wednesday - Had to work all night! Wasn't able to exercise

Thursday - 2 miles on treadmill @ 10:15 pace; and then 20 minute Tabata workout from Hillary at Nutrition Nut on the Run.

(source)

Friday - 5:30 am Ultimate conditioning class and 1 mile on the TM

Sat & Sunday - Nothing!

Three days working out is better than zero! Feeling pretty good. Goal for next week is 4 days + healthier eating :)

Holding myself accountable (1 year later?!?!)

Wow! A lot has happened since my last post. Lets see... I studied for the bar exam, took the bar exam, started work clerking for my firm, found out I PASSED the bar exam, became a lawyer, bought a fixer upper (kind of--parents own it), and have been crazy busy. Working out? It has taken a backseat. I'm afraid that while I'm getting adjusted to my job, I am unable to have the freedom to really focus on exercise and enjoying my time working out. That should not stop me from finding some time to get workouts in though. My friend Jen (who I've talked about on this blog) and I are both at a point where we want to start getting back to running and being fit. We followed the 10k running plan last year almost to a T, so we decided to make a get fit 11-week workout plan. This is based off of the 10k plan, takes into account our busy schedules, and has a new focus on cross training and weights.

Without further ado:

I hope keeping track on this blog will help keep me accountable in my path to working out more :) I've been doing a few things this week, but the real plan starts on Monday of next week. If you are following along, I will post a key for the things that aren't clear, like "Wed Weights." Those are going to be decided week-of.

Esprit de She Triathlon (Relay)

A few weeks ago I participated in the Esprit de She Triathlon sponsored by Athleta. I did the event as a relay with my roommate (run) and my boyfriend's mom (swim). I was on the bike (ha!).

It was a really fun event and I suggest that you check out the Esprit de She website here for information on an event in your area. They have runs, duathlons, cycling races, and triathlons all over the US, so there really is an event for everyone.

And now for the pictures :)

 (Hotel room the night before. They gave us some pretty sweet swag bags!)

(Coming in from the bike portion, smiling but tired as all get out!)

(Transition, my roommate headed out to do the run)

(We finished!!)

March 2013 Running in Review

March was an interesting month. It was half dominated by my indoor triathlon (doing an ironman over the course of a month...which I finished!! woo!).  The other half was spent in Europe doing an international commercial arbitration competition. I only ran twice but I'm surprised I even did that! Anyway, my review of March reflects these two things.  

March Stats: 

Total Distance: 41.94 miles

Total Time: 7.31 hours

Average Pace: 10'12"

Compared to February, I ran only 11 times as opposed to 14 times, but I still only ran 4 less miles. So I am definitely increasing my mileage.  My pace slowed down a bit, but that is probably because I take a slower pace doing my long runs.   My goal for April is to get back in the 9 min mile arena for my average pace :)

Unofficial Budapest Running Tour

I'm almost done with the first leg of my European journey.  I've spent the past few days in Budapest, Hungary for an arbitration competition.  I am so exhausted.  We didn't quite get over the jet lag before having to wake up early to arbitrate and then attend the evening social events (cry me a river, right?) But as we write this I'm seriously on the struggle bus staying awake!!

We went on a 6 mile sight-seeing run throughout the city of Budapest on our first full day in town. It was so awesome.  We stopped ever so often to explore castles, take pictures, buy a few random goodies, and eat lunch.  The weather was sub-par but the company was great.

(Map of the run. We had no idea where we were going but we did a nice little circular tour around the downtown!)

 (Run/posing for the camera)

 (Teammate bonding!)

 (Castle in Budapest)

(Posing at the steps leading up to a monument).

All-in-all, a great run.  Where is the most interesting place you've run?

10k training: Week 10

As much as I want to share my life with you all, I have to keep this short and sweet today because I am a busy traveling lady. Week 10 was a little hectic but I managed to finish my indoor triathlon and do most of my runs. All-in-all, week 10 felt really good and made me feel more confident about the 10k in April. 

Week in review:

Monday

Did Tuesday's workout pretty much. I cycled for 13.68 miles at the gym. 

Tues

Did Monday's workout. Ran 3.12 mi at a 10'00" pace on the gym treadmill. Then did the spin bike for 10.3 miles (which goes much faster than the other gym bikes btw!)

Wednesday

Went to spin class for 1 hour. Let me just give a standing ovation to anyone who is crazy enough to do that more than once a year. I was D Y I N G. DYING DYING GAH! It was so hard! 21.4 miles biking in 1 hour. 

Thursday

Thursday was interesting.  I signed up for something called "Run with the dogs" (I hope to write more about it soon), but basically, once or twice per month a group of runners takes out the dogs at the humane society for a 2-4 miles run.   Thursday was the training day and I had a lot of fun meeting everyone. Unfortunately, we didn't get to actually go out for the run yet, so no puppy run time.  I did end up just running around the area afterward and actually ran into my boyfriend (who was also running lol!).  I did 3 miles at about a 9'20" pace, and then did a few striders. 

Friday

Nothing!

Saturday

Was supposed to do a long run but had no time--I was also not in the mindset.  Saturday I was traveling from Champaign --> Chicago --> Zurich --> Budapest and I was all anxious about making sure I was packed and ready to go .My head was in the clouds!  I did manage to get on the treadmill for a few minutes and do a 2.6 mi run. 

Sunday

Jet lag, sleeping, drinking wine, and more sleeping!

Earth, Wind and Fiyaaa 5k

Someone once told me to never write words with extra letters attached (see above: fiyaaa) and I made the conscious decision to ignore them.  I want you all to know that I am singing my title to you, like Alicia Keys in Girl on Fire. Can you hear me?  Okay, I am done singing now.  So, I ran the Earth, Wind, Fire 5k this weekend and am here to report back about it!  It was my first officially timed race where there were actually medals for the winners (not that I got a medal..ha!). But that made it more exciting for me than the un-timed fun runs I've done so far. I wish they had a Miss Congeniality award because I totally would have won that. 

The race was on campus and there were around 215 people participating, so it wasn't a huge race.  It was about 38 degrees F and not too windy, so colder than I'd like not too bad.  The race was a 1.55 mile loop that we did twice.

Racers starting out.  My friends and I started in the back of the pack so as to not intimidate everyone around us ;)

This is my friend Jen and me at the almost-halfway point.  I saw the photographer so I tried to make it look like I was running strong.  Turns out I just looked goofy.  At least I was smiling--not looking bad enough to make it to the Seriously Ugly Race Pics site. Thank goodness. I know most people are hyper critical of themselves, but now looking at these pictures, I'm pretty sure I get a triple chin when I run. C'est la vie.

 Although I have run a 5k in 27 minutes on my own training runs, I have been struggling the past few weeks with endurance and energy, so my goal for this race was under 30 minutes.  I was averaging around 9:30-9:40 minute miles.  I sprinted the last 0.1 so that I could make my time.  I finished at 29'29".  Not as fast as I'd like, but I have to keep remembering b a b y  s t e p s.  I have my whole life to get faster. 

Accidentally turned off my Garmin so my 4th lap is all funky. 

After the race was the award ceremony.  I try not to feel this way, but I get a tad jealous of those girls who win their age group awards.  I sound like a bitter old whiner but I used to be fast back in the day (albeit at shorter distances in track).  My body looks the same, but it isn't the same because I am much slower.  I just hope that one day I can get back some of that speed that I feel I have lost over the past..gah...8 years?  There is a chance that I won't get it back though even with more experience, and I need to be happy with whatever pace I find myself at.

As far as what I wore, I was really proud of my selection as far as layering.  I wore my nike running tights, a lululemon cool racerback, my target c9 running mittens, my lululemon "what the fluff" earwarmers, and then a very thin avia long sleeved tech shirt.  I also wore my new running shoes and they felt great! (Same pair as before but I think pink put some extra pep in my step). 

Did you run any races this weekend? 

Do you ever turn into the green-eyed monster when you are around a group of runners much faster than yourself? 

10k Training: Week 8 & February review

This is the second week during my 10k training that I didn't get all of my runs done, but I'm not too upset about it.   My knee had been hurting last week and the beginning of week 8, so I decided to take it easy. I'm glad I did.  My knee is now feeling pretty good, so I think some time off did the trick for me!

Week 8 in review: 

Monday

Scheduled: 3 miles easy

Did: 3 mile run/walk through the neighborhood. It ended up being almost a 3x1 speed workout. 

Mile 1: 8:59 

Mile 2: 8:42 

Mile 3: 8:46 

It was really windy too, so I was torn between running fast to get the 3 miles over, but having a hard time running and breathing and needing to take walk breaks.  I also think I was a bit tired from my 5 miles the day before. 

Tuesday

Scheduled: Easy C/T or off

Did: Cardio H2O swim class and 8 miles on the bike at a 10.7mph pace. 

Wednesday

Scheduled: hills run

Did: Nothing! Resting the knee

Thursday

Scheduled: 3 miles easy

Did: Nothing again... Don't you hate when you start feeling guilty for not running?  I DID, however, go home to my parent's house and buy a new-to-me car so I was actually too busy to get a run in. 

Friday

Scheduled: off

Did: Nothing that involved running. It was a campus drinking holiday so you can probably figure out what I was doing

Saturday

Scheduled: 5.5 miles

Did: Nothing! It was my 1-year anniversary with the bf so we spent the day out of town. Was going to do my long run but decided to wait until Sunday to do it with my boyfriend..... 

Sunday

Scheduled: Easy CT

Did: 5 miles long run, 18.6 mi bike ride from h*ll! (see previous post for more details). 

Also, the end of Week 8 also marked the start of a new month. So I'd like to do a quick review of my running in February 2013 compared to past months. 

February Stats:

Total Distance: 45.4 miles 

Total time: 7.43 hours 

Average Pace: 9'48"

Compared to January, I ran only 14 times versus 19 times and I ran 2 less miles. January was a longer month, though, and I also got sick this month and had some knee pain.  My pace definitely increased this month, which was pretty exciting, although my past few runs lately have been slow again (wah wah wah).  So all in all, it has been a decent month. Hopefully March will bring more miles and less illness and pain.  I am heading to Europe for 2 weeks, so that should be interesting as to whether I make it out running enough and what not!  My goals for March are to keep speed where it is generally and to increase mileage.

I'm doing an ironman...nbd

It actually IS no big deal. I'm doing an "ironman" over the course of a month as a part of my gym's triathlon challenge.  So, in 30 days, I have to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run 26 miles. 

(I even got this nifty piece of paper to fill out my miles, old school style). 

It was not until starting this triathlon challenge that I realized how much I hateeeeee riding the indoor bike.  I've never done a spin class, is that different?

I took the above picture yesterday.  Obviously, I'm highly lacking in the bike miles department.  So today, my friend had the bright idea that I bike alongside him during his long run, and then afterward, I run the rest of the way for my long run (this will hereafter be referred to as "worst idea ever.")  So what ended up happening was me riding on my mountain bike for 18.6 miles with a million layers on and it being 24 degrees outside.  I wanted to kill everyone.  And afterward, I had to do the run home because there was no way I would do another inch on the bike, and we were exactly 5 miles from home. I h-a-d t-o d-o i-t.  When we got home, I was so pooped I could have collapsed. How do people seriously do that on a regular basis? Gahhh

Honestly, the worst part might have been the pain I endured from that dang bike seat.  The bike seat was so hard and skinny and jammed in places that should never be jammed. I have bruises in places that shouldn't be bruised! I think I need to get a cushioned seat cover AND those special biking shorts with the padding.  Today was just not okay!

I learned recently that today's workout is referred to as a "brick." Bricks are pretty much where you do two different types of workouts back-to-back (e.g. biking/running; swimming/biking, etc.).  While I intend to do more brick workouts, I don't think I will be doing ones this intense in the future! Hope you all had a good weekend, time for me to pass out!

10k Training: Week 7

Another busyyyy week! No time for blogging although I've had a million things to say (not really, but at least a few thoughts).  At least this time I did do all of my runs from my training plan.

Week 7 in review:

Monday

Scheduled: 3 mile easy run

Ran: 4.84 mi @ 10'15" pace. 

I did more than scheduled because I never did the long run last week so I wanted to get it done ASAP!

Tuesday

Scheduled: Easy C/T or off

Did: Cardio H2O class + Will Power & Grace Class (Squats/Planks) For a total of 2 hours worth of classes at the gym.  I know squats and planks are good for you but that class kills me and my knees. :P

Wednesday

Scheduled: Hills + 10 minutes easy

Did: Ran 3 miles on the track with Jen.  3.15 miles @ 9'36" pace

Thursday

Scheduled: 3 miles easy

Did: Nothing!

Friday

Scheduled: nothing

Did: Hills workout. 

5 minute warmup, 15 minute on the incline mode on the treadmill with 400m on and 400m off, 10 minute cooldown.  

Ended up being 3.15 miles @ 10'10" pace

Saturday

Scheduled: 5 mile long run

Did: nothing!

Sunday

Scheduled: C/T or off

Did: 5 miles on the treadmill! It was tough. ended up being 5.01 mi @ 10'05" pace.  So glad I reached that goal though, 5 miles was looming over me like an unattainable goal.   Maybe I succeeded because I bought myself my 5-mile present a week early? :)  I will do a post with my new purchases as soon as I get a chance. 

10k Training: Week 6

Ahhh... only ran twice this week.  Week six was a bad week and the first time I've missed any of my runs from the 10k training plan.   I got sick at the beginning of the week, and honestly, I'm still feeling it a week later! I feel a lot better but I still have sinus and throat issues.  I also had an arbitration competition in Chicago this weekend so I was swamped with that. Thus, less running and no blogging.  

Week 6 in review: 

Monday

Scheduled: 30 minutes running

Ran: Nothing. I did my long run the day before and wanted to take a day off. 

Tuesday

Scheduled: Easy C/T or Off

Did: Ran 3.14 mi @ 8:38 pace. 

As shown by my splits, below, I ran two miles, then walked a lap, and then ran/walked my last mile. It shows a fast pace but that's because I was really hustling when I ran and tried to speed walk when I had to walk!

Wednesday

Scheduled: Speed workout, 2 x 1 mile

Ran: Nothing. Went to zumba instead :) It was throwback 90's zumba and I loveddd it. 

Thursday

Scheduled: 30 minutes easy

Ran: Did the speed workout scheduled for Wed.  I did a 400m warmup at 11'50"/mi; 1600m @ 8'53"/mi; 400m walk @ 14'/mi; 1600m @ 8'55"/mi and 800m walk/run @ 9'/mi.  Total, 3.02 miles at 9:38 pace. 

Friday

Nothingggg

Saturday

Nothing. Went to Chicago and did the competition.  Maybe I'll say that I did some hardcore walking around the city in high heels haha ;) 

Sunday

Nothing. Still sick and figured it was in my best interest to rest.  I am back in the game now though!

10k Training Report: Week 4

Another week down and I have stuck to the 10k training plan.  I was kind of dreading writing this post today because all I have done lately is write posts reviewing my training...zzzz ;)

Without further ado, this is how the week went:

Monday
Prescribed: Easy run for 25 mins
Ran: 2.63 miles outside in 26 minutes (9'54" pace).  This run was horrible very interesting because I had just eaten two large enchiladas and then realized that I had to get a run in. So I ran with a belly full of Mexican food.  It didn't sit well.  It was also a bit hard to breath because it was so foggy and warm! Crazy weather here in Illinois.  Funny thing, I wore regular mascara and when I was done with my run, I looked like I was having a nervous breakdown with mascara all over my eyes.
(Took this lovely picture here after cleaning up the mascara. Still have some dew hair from the fog)

Tuesday

Prescribed: Easy cross train
Did: Jillian Michael's 6-week sixpack.  You are supposed to do it 5x a week (aka 30 times total).  At this rate, I will have a 6 pack in 30 weeks.  Also, have I ever mentioned that I hate burpees? Well if I haven't, let's take notice here. I hate burpees.

Wednesday
Prescribed: 3 miles + 4-5 striders, speed workout
Ran: 3.09 miles at an 8:16 pace (took a break in between miles 2 and 3). I didn't exactly follow the workout but I did complete the 3 miles and did go for speed. Got my new Garmin 210 watch! (WOO, will review it later).  I also did a one-hour fitness class, "deep water exercise." It was pretty much water running and water weights in the deep end. Fun, but the water got kind of cold toward the end.

Thursday
Prescribed: 25 minutes easy
Ran: 2.63 at a 9'32" pace on the apartment treadmill.  It may be the case that I was running a bit slower. I was using my Garmin footpod.  The pace felt comfortable to me, and being the out of shape person I am, I am not convinced I can comfortably run that fast in an "easy" run. Who knows!

Friday
Off!!!

Saturday
Prescribed: 4 mile long run at easy pace
Ran: 4.25 miles in 41:34 (9'46" pace). Wanted to do a little extra since next week is 4.5.  The treadmill said I was going about 40 seconds slower per mile, but I used the footpod time because I always find treadmills to be off a bit. Also, the footpod was pretty spot on during my indoor track run. Anyone else have input on this?

Sunday
Homework allll dayyyy + Superbowl.  Also, I made Neon Blonde Runner's cake batter dip for the Superbowl and it was a big hit!  It was delish and I will be making a second batch this week.  I keep telling myself that the greek yogurt makes it a great source of protein.....