Roni's Weigh » Workouts/Running

I’m a Tough Mother, I mean Mudder!

roni — Mon, 14 May 2012 03:07:24 +0000

Happy Mother’s Day fellow Moms!

I have SO much to tell you but it’s late and I spend all my time video editing. That’s right. I’ve got it! I don’t think I’ve every been asked for anything more than this video. It’s cracking me up!

SO…

Without further ado..

Now… let me say this… It was AWESOME!

A fun, confidence building, physical, mental experience of a lifetime.

I attempted all obstacles across the (approximate) 12.5 mile run…

Kiss of Mud: Completed.
Arctic Enema: Competed.
High Stepping: Completed.
Berlin Walls #1: Completed with hoist help.
Death March: Completed.
Trench Warfare: Completed.
Fire Walker: Completed.
Devil’s Beard: Completed with help from fellow mudders holding the rope.
Log Bog Jog: Completed.
Hold Your Wood: Completed.
Spider’s Web: Completed with help from fellow mudders holding the rope.
Walk the Plank: Completed after a slight freak out :)
Crawl Under: Completed (not sure if it’s considered an obstacle)
Everest: Completed with help at the top.
Electric Eel: Completed with a few screams.
Berlin Walls #2: Completed with hoist help.
Funky Monkey: ALMOST completed! Slipped out of my gloves 3/4 of the way across.
Mud Mile: Completed.
Boa Constrictor: Completed.
Mystery Obstacle – The Rings: Attempted.
Twinkle Toes: Completed.
Electroshock Therapy: Completed with a few screams.

Wow. I think I still have to let that all sink in. I can’t believe I did it.

I FREAKIN’ DID IT!

Curious how I trained for the event? Click here!

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Ocean City Half Marathon/Anniversary Weekend Recap

roni — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 03:53:37 +0000

………………………….

I had the BEST. WEEKEND. EVER!!

Friday afternoon The Husband and I embarked on our 11th Anniversary weekend getaway to Ocean City, MD where I was registered to run a half marathon with my friend’s husband Bobby.

Here we are waiting at the start.

It was Bobby’s first Half but don’t let that fool you. He flew by me after mile 4 and demolished my time by almost 20 minutes.

Darn boys and their natural speed. lol

Here’s the video recap… Shaky again.. just be warned.

In case you don’t want to watch the whole thing here’s the last frame that shows my results.

That’s my best time ever! I’ve run 4 halves now…

05/2009 Zooma Half – 2:07:57 (First one!)

05/2010 Pittsburgh Half Marathon – 2:26:38 (Didn’t train for)

09/2011 Rock and Roll Half – 2:18:12 (Little Bean’s 6 month birthday!)

04/2012 Ocean City Half – 2:07:49

I may set a personal goal of running one under 2:00. That would be awesome!

After the run we threw our bathing suits on and hopped in the hotel’s indoor pool. It was so fun and relaxing. Other mom’s will totally understand this. Once you have kids you rarely get to swim in a pool without them. Scratch that, you rarely get to swim. It was pure joy. :)

Saturday night the four of us went out to dinner. Bobby was so sweet to surprise us with this…

Then is was off to Fagers Island!

There were "fingers"… (No, not that one. ;)

photobombs..

and just plain silliness.

Did I mention alcohol was involved. Umm yea.. a lot of alcohol. lol

We had a BLAST! Best night out in a long time.

Today we had breakfast and walked the boards. I can’t go to the beach without walking the boardwalk. It’s just not possible.

Little did I know it was the Maryland International Kite Expo!

They were gorgeous! I took some fun videos of them. Hoping to get one up on Poop Butterflies this week but right now I need sleep! Having fun takes a lot out of you! ;)

Hope you have a great weekend too!

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Tough Mudder Training Week 8

roni — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:36:01 +0000

Just coming out and saying this because I’m proud of myself… I ROCKED last week. Seriously. I didn’t miss a day. I ran 5 miles on Friday, 9 miles on Sunday and these drills on Saturday with some short runs in between…

Notice all the weights stacked. The ones 20 lbs and lighter I did bicep curls and squat represses before the lunges and then stacks.

I went one way then did 5 assisted pull ups. Then went back and repeated the sequence before my short run.

Notice how much I’m struggling at the top. There was a 50lbs sandbag in there and it was wet. WAY harder then I anticipated. I guided it down and did it again before running.

I think there was one more drill but I can’t remember. That’s why I’m a little wishy washy on this training recap. Hopefully the videos give you a few ideas if you are looking.

I updated my training chart. Can’t believe how close it’s getting!

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Tough Mudder Training Week 7

roni — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 01:59:02 +0000

Trucking a along! I’ve updated my training chart.

I love that every Saturday is completely different than the week before. Here’s what we did this past week…

~1/3 mile run
Carry a picnic table (there were 2 of us – each with a side) from one end of the parking lot to the other with 60 extra pounds on top. Then carry it back minus the weight. wow that was HARD.
~1/3 mile run
Picnic table carry again this time no extra weight on the way out but with the extra 60lbs on the way back.
~1/3 mile run
This…

then this

Repeat 3 times.
~1/3 mile run
this…

Then a boxing sequence of punches, knees, kicking and driving with trainer.
Repeat 3 times.
~1/3 mile run

Tonight I ran 8 miles on the trails with a friend and tomorrow morning is BodyPump. I’m seriously in training mode now and I’m loving it. Strong doesn’t begin to describe how I feel physically. It’s more of an overall sense of FIT. I just feel fit, in shape and balanced.

In other news…

You have to see how big my baby has gotten this year. Click here to see photos from last Easter and this Easter.
Right after I came home from the workout above I recorded a quick video for GreenLiteBites. Click here to check it out. Have you made eggs in a mug yet? I finally did and they are great! Fab breakfast in a pinch!

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Tough Mudder Training Week 6

roni — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 02:02:44 +0000

I’m calling this week the Karate Kid workout. Derrick, my trainer friend, was all smitten with himself when I got there and asked what I needed to set up. He said, "Nothing." When I asked him what we were going to be doing he said, "You’ll see" smirked, and sent me on my run.

I knew I was in trouble.

Bear with me the drills are harder to explain this week.

~1/3 mile run
Stack the 5lb hand weights on top of one another then do 5 pushups and 5 crunches. Repeat with each hand weight up to 75lbs until the gym looked like this…

and this..

Then put everything back. Of course!
~1/3 mile run
Move approximately 12 plates (45lbs each) (+some 25s and 10s–Honestly, I can’t remember) from the wrack to the machines and back. Then do 5 sets of 5 pushups and 5 crunches each.
~1/3 mile run
Bear crawl up the hill, run backwards up the hill, then bear crawl backwards up the hill (half way was all I can make it) – Repeat 3 times.
~1/3 mile run
The Wheel! AKA this…

You probably can’t hear in the video but he wanted me to pull the sand bag back with me kind of like last week but I just could not do it. It was too heavy. Going up and back was workout enough!
~1/3 mile run

That was it! sounds shorter then the other workouts but the drills were much longer. He said he wanted us to be prepared in case some of the obstacles were more time consuming.

I love these style workouts. So much more fun then just going to the gym and using a few machines in my opinion.

I’ve updated my training table. The event feels right around the corner. Time is just flying by.

In other news…

I shared my favorite Little Bean photos of March
I’ve been going a little green crazy with my smoothies. SERIOUSLY green…
I’ve also been going veggie crazy. I can’t WAIT for the CSA shares to start rolling in.

Heading to bed. Tomorrow is an early workout day!

Click here to see all my Tough Mudder Training Posts.

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Running with My 6 Year Old

roni — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 01:58:07 +0000

This morning I woke up to 30 degree weather and to be honest, I had NO desire to run in the cold. It doesn’t bother me much in mid-winter but since we’ve already had a taste of spring there’s no going back now. So I decided to wait until the afternoon to get my 4 miles in.

Chart from Nike+

It was a nice run but I had to take a few breaks. I’ve been having a hard time mentally for some reason. I’m just not getting lost in my thoughts like I used to and I can’t figure out why. I felt the same way last week too. It’s weird.

But that’s not why I’m blogging today. Nope. See, Little Guy asked if he could run with me. My Motivation Turn Workout Partner is proven true again and I can only assume as he gets older we’ll do more and more activities together. I’m really looking forward to it!

However, right now, taking a 6 year old on a 4 mile run isn’t realistic. He has the desire though so I made a deal with him. I run the 4 miles I needed to for training and then I’d come home and pick him up for a run around our community. When I got back he was raring to go.

We headed out and had a blast! Maybe another half a mile or so. We ran slow. We ran fast. We walked. We talked.

Thinking about it now is making me smile.

When we got home we took a few post run pictures.

I love being the goofy, hands on parent. As we passed older kids in the community, I realized I don’t have many years left where hanging out with mom is going to be his preferred activity. I better take advantage of it now. :)

For a bit of our running history check out this post. I can’t read that quote without getting tear eyed.

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Tough Mudder Training Week 5

roni — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 01:09:05 +0000

Wow, I’m I already 5 weeks in? That’s crazy!

Remember what I said last week about not feeling like I’m making any progress? Well, I take it back. I’m really starting to feel and see (hello triceps!) results.This week I realized in the middle of my workout that I wasn’t tired, fatigued, or sore. I was just doing it and I felt strong, in shape, even energetic.

This is what we did…

~1/3 mile run
Run up a short hill dragging a cinderblock behind with a rope. Repeat 4 times and then return all cinderblocks back to the bottom of the hill.
~1/3 mile run
25 JackKnife on exercise ball on the hill. Jackknifes look like this.
~1/3 mile run
Sand bag pull like this..

Note: I would have more videos but it was raining. :(
~1/3 mile run
Pushup on tire, flip tire, repeat until I hit a certain distance (around 12-15 total I think)
~1/3 mile run
Pull weighted sled (attached with harness to my back) out and back. (all distances were the length of the rope you see in the sandbag video)
~1/3 mile run
15 kettle bell swings (like this) with 3 different kettle bells (10lb, 15lb, 20lb)
~1/3 mile run
Hit tire with a sledgehammer 15 times each hand
~1/3 mile run

Insane right? I mean really.. I wasn’t tired after this workout either.. I could have kept going! I’m nodding in disbelief myself. It’s amazing how much progress your body can make if you actually challenge it. I don’t think I would have believed it without experiencing it for myself.

I did this routine with my friend Carrie (the Official FitBloggin’ Photographer by the way.) It was nice to have a partner. I asked Derrick to take our picture after we were finished all soaking wet from the rain and the sweat.

You know the first thing I noticed about myself in that shot? My arm and how fat it looks. Isn’t that stupid? Isn’t it utterly ridiculous? I’m crazy and so mad at myself for even letting the thought pop in my brain.

So many people ask me how to get over the body image issue of weight loss and my response is…

IGNORE YOUR INNER NEGATIVE VOICE.

Tell it to shut the hell up and DO what it is you want to do because at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter.

It doesn’t matter how you look before you do it, while you are doing it, or after you did it. It only matters that you did.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to get all preachy there at the end. I just know so many people are listening to inner criticism and letting it cripple them. I did for far too long. I refuse to listen to it anymore.

Anyway, I have some fun running news! I’ve registered for the Ocean City Half Marathon on April 28 which happens to be my 11th Year Wedding Anniversary! The husband and I (with our good friends) are going to make a weekend out of it. I’m super excited! It’s just 2 weeks before the tough mudder so I should be ready. I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing!

Click here to see all my tough mudder training posts/

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Tough Mudder Training Week 4

roni — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 02:06:56 +0000

Fourth week of Tough Mudder Training complete! I’m feeling good but not great. Honestly, it doesn’t feel like I’m making any progress. I guess I am. The runs are getting a little easier and I’m able to transition from run to drill pretty seamlessly but time seems to moving faster then I am. If that makes sense.

Anyway, just letting you know what I’m feeling. On to this week’s mudder workout…

~1/3 mile Run
3 sets of squat presses and bicep curls with calf raises.
~1/3 mile Run
Sand bag flipping in seated position and a jump back (like the second half of a burpee) (not sure I’m explaining this one correctly)
~1/3 mile Run
Straight Leg Dead Lifts with 35lb kettle bell and then sprint in place (repeat 3 times)
~1/3 mile Run
The tires! Repeat this..

5 times and then flip tire back to starting position.
~1/3 mile Run
Repeat this…

3 times
~1/3 mile Run

Now that I wrote all that out I’m reconsidering. Maybe I am making progress afterall. :)

Click here to see all my tough mudder training posts.

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Tough Mudder Training Week 3

roni — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 01:19:54 +0000

I’m getting lots of questions about the mysterious "Tough Mudder" I have listed on my training schedule so I decided to do a little series about it.

Every weekend I workout with my friend, Derrick, "The Trainer." We do an hour of drills in between short 1/4-1/2 mile runs to simulate the event itself. Honestly, it’s my favorite workout of the week. We are outside using tires, cinder blocks, bags of sand, ropes, kettle bells, etc. and nothing makes me feel stronger or more fit. It’s just so FUN.

I can’t believe I just said that either.

Anyway, this past weekend he had me do about 5 drills in between the runs. These are from memory so bear with me.

Run
Slide a cinder block with a rope through it backwards up a hill then pick it up run down. I think I did that 3 times with a few bear crawls mixed in.
Run
Run up said hill holding 2 15lb kettle bells straight up over my head (one in each hand.) Once I got to the top I did 10 pushups. Run back down. Did that 3 times I think.
Run
Walk on the curb like a tight rope holding 2 weighted bars (I think 6lbs each) up and outwards from my body. When I got to the end I ran back and repeated 3 times.
Run
Run up hill with one end of the rope, once I got to the top I pulled the rest of the rope up while the trainer gave resistance. Once he got to the top I ran the rope back down and did it again. I think we did that twice and then he made me carry the rope down and wrap it in a circle before running. It made me laugh.
Run
Finally this drill we decided to record….

I’m not sure if you heard me in the video but at one point I said my legs feel like rubber bands. This drill KILLED my outer thighs.

So that’s it. Now you all think I’m some kind of crazy insane workout person and I guess I am because this hour was one of my favorite parts of the weekend. When I workout doing these style drills time just flies. It’s nothing like staring at the clock on a treadmill.

I’ll get him to record me doing something next week and I’ll try to recap the best I can again.

If you are in the Baltimore area and want to workout with Derrick his training company is called No Limit Training. I highly recommend him and no, he didn’t pay me to say that. ;)

Oh! and I’m sure he’ll correct me in the comments if I messed something up.

Don’t know what the tough mudder is? Click here.

Click here to see all my tough mudder training posts/

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Trail Running, I Am!

roni — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 03:53:25 +0000

Yes, I’m channeling my inner Yoda. Little Guy’s been getting into Star Wars lately. Every week we watch a new episode for our Sensational Sunday picnic.

Anyway, I’m writing real quick to share my latest running adventures. Today I ran Kelly’s Dream run, a 3.5 mile trail race, and 2 weeks ago I ran the Patuxent River Trail 10K.

Trail running is new for me. I’v been running for 4 years now, finishing my first ever 5k event in June 2008. I’ve run dozens of 5ks since, a 10 miler, a few halves and even a marathon.

I can’t deny it anymore, I AM a runner.

Although, I’m not the kind of runner who cares much about speed or winning or going insane distances. I’m more into it for the experience. I like the energy at events and being part of a something bigger than me. I like setting a goal and achieving it, the challenge of it. In a weird way, I like knowing I can do it and proud that I am.

I think trail running is even more rewarding than road running. Sure, I’m a little slower and it’s way more challenging but there’s something very exciting about it. I don’t want or need music, I like navigating the terrain, it’s so refreshing and rejuvenating.

Today I ran 5k of VERY hilly trails in 44:09 that’s 12:37 a mile. Some of the hills where so steep in both directions, I couldn’t help but stop and walk.

Two weeks ago I ran the Patuxent River Trail 10K (just over 6 miles) in 1:12:36 which I think is about 12 minutes a mile. It wasn’t as hilly but there were a few inclines that slowed me down. Here are some shots thanks to Quantico Orienteering

It may be 4 years since I started this running journey but I still find it unbelievable. I am doing things I never thought I could do. Especially after what people have told me in the past.

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