Saturday, June 28, 2008

Day of Rest

My daughter and I got up this morning at 4:30 AM to see this!



Pretty awesome. This is the HotAir Balloon Classic in Windsor, CA. Too bad it was overcast and the 30 balloons assembled couldn't take off, but seeing these balloons fired up at dawn was worth the lack of sleep!

Just finished the 3rd week of UBC, and I'm tired but feel really good and strong. After the 5th week, we have our 1/2 way mark evaluation. I'll let you all know how it goes; but I can tell you now...I'm seeing results! Hardest freaking working I've ever done though, and I'm doing it 6 days a week! I've been playing volleyball, but haven't been getting my runs in...that's gonna change this week. SF Half Marathon is looming and I need to get cracking! I will say that my sis and I did a 8:30 mile the other day (a record for me), and it felt relatively easy.

Tomorrow is my rest day. We have to watch what we eat for 6 days, but Sunday (provided you were good for the week) is a food free day. I bought fixings to make Calzones tomorrow (I really miss regular cheese). I will probably also hit the farmer's market for some fresh (and naughty white flour) french bread.

Hope you all get to indulge a little too!

: )

Sunday, June 15, 2008

And Now with Feeling

So it has begun....

A few weeks ago I started doing fitness kickboxing a few of days a week at martial arts center near work. The workouts are the hardest, but most exhilarating exercise I've ever experienced. I leave literally drenched with sweat but feeling completely happy and accomplished. It was the best way to end a day of work.

This martial arts center (check out the instructors, my sister has a big crush on Colin!) also does this 10 week fitness course called the Ultimate Body-shaping Course or UBC. Check out the cheesy national site, but more importantly check out the results!

The course consists of taking classes there 6 days a week; the classes include fitness kickboxing, bag work (punching and kicking is fun), and resistance training. You also are given dietary guidelines (6 meals a day consisting of healthy proteins, carbs and fat, no "white food" ie...sugar, white flour, white rice, no fried foods, or cheese) all that you have to log. The instructors will routinely go over your log book and see how you're doing there and keep you on track.

In the UBC before this one, I saw people literally transform in front of my eyes. They started out sluggish, heavy, and looking quite miserable during the workouts and now they come to class leaner and energetic. These guys became my heroes.

So I just completed my first week (sore, tired, but pretty happy). We had an evaluation where we had our measurements taken, bodyfat and weight recorded, our before picture taken; as well as a fitness eval (how many sit-ups, push-ups in one minute, our flexibility, timing a 1 mile run); then the real fun began daily workouts.

So, the plan is to do UBC 6 nights a week, Volleyball practice 3 lunches a week (I didn't tell you I'm on a vball team, and we have a business part league), and get 2 runs in....a short one early before work, and a long one Saturday after my UBC class; to gear up for the marathon.

I've been "ramping up" for a few weeks now, so I'm hoping that it's not too much of a shock on my body. I'm very careful about stretching and eating the right things (I found out quickly that hard-alcohol and working out do NOT mix at all) and staying hydrated.

We'll see how it goes.....and I promise at the end I'll post my before and after pics...another way to keep me in line!

Oh...and somehow I have to find time to knit! Here's my latest project that I finished yesterday...These are for my sis-in-law for her bday (only 5 days late!)




Have a great week!