The theme for the day. Getting out of bed this morning was tough. It was my first day back to work after four days off. Yep, darling daughter is on Easter break. No, they don't have Spring Break. No, everyone who kept asking....my child was not to be in school. If she was, she would be there....unless there were very special circumstances such as family from Scotland were going to be on island for just one day. Yep, that happened. Yep, we took the day off.
But back to this morning. When my arm went out from under the covers to silence the alarm it went right back in. It was cold. Okay, not negative cold like some people have to face but my cold. The coldness on a bare arm that makes me want to stay in bed...indefinitely. Plus, I don't think I was ready to return to work. But I do love my job and I knew I would feel better running before work so out of bed I went. I drove to the gym bundled up with the heater blasting...okay, for a few minutes. Slowly I started cranking down the heat and stopped trying to warm my finger tips and chastising myself for being a wimp in comparison to those who face real cold. But I guess if it was real cold those smart runners would be wearing more than a running skirt, bra top, and t-shirt. That is bundled, right? Especially if you count the blanket I throw on my lap once in the car!
I never regret getting up and getting it done. Never.
Get Your Run On!
Like every good runner I follow my training plan exactly...NOT! I am always deviating. And I deviated today. I switched a couple of runs around not because I was lazy but because life changes. I was thinking, since I will be off Friday (last day of darling daughter's break and my turn again!) it would be a great day to do the long run at the gym versus Saturday. This makes Saturday less frantic for the two of us. Long run for me and then swim class later in the day for darling daughter is a long day for us because I refuse to drive back upcountry to go back down later. With gas over $4.50 a gallon perhaps you understand. So we find ourselves "killing time" in town, which is wearing thin after three weeks. Browsing is dangerous! But I need get two new running bra tops for under $7 each!
Back to running....it would make since to have a somewhat shorter mileage day working up to the long run on Friday. So I juggled and I don't regret it. I have been hitting my daily goals remarkably well! I have been good and sticking to the easy pace. Day 3 of 21 of base building is now completed! Woo-hoo!
Amazing April Abs!
Do you have fitness ideas and goals that keep getting pushed to the wayside? I do. Yep, it is true. It seems I have been saying for eons that I will incorporate more into my routine than just running. I do some yoga here and there. Nice....could be better and more consistent. But what I keep wanting to add and not doing is strength...in particular, I would like better abs. Who wouldn't? There you go! I told the world. I am like one zillion other people out there who want better defined abs. Shocking, I know!
The candy dish lies!
My diet is pretty clean. Score 1. Yes, I will be resisting that candy bowl on my co-workers desk. It is always easier when it is empty. It is in reach from where I sit. And I am good at resisting it 99% of the time but that final 1% can add up and kill my goals. Better abs.And then the light bulb went off - April and abs both start with "A"! It is time to commit, take my own challenge, and start the process to my goal with Amazing April Abs!
I know myself and I am taking that into account. If I try to commit to too much time each day, it won't happen. Running will take priority. I have "x" amount of fitness time. I am not goofing around. On April 1st I spent some time looking for an ab workout to stream on Netflix. Darling daughter asked what I was looking for. I told her. She responded, who would want to watch exercise? My reply, I would. Guess I am the only one. Nothing to stream. And don't even tell me I can probably see YouTube on my TV since I can stream Netflix. Probably true but too much wasted time to look into it. Call my lazy. So I created my own routine for week 1!
My 10-Minute Abs!
Short and sweet. And since I do each movement slowly with attention, it does take me 10 minutes including any down time. I start with 20 crunches followed with 20 bicycle legs (40 if you count each leg). I keep my legs low, I focus on keeping my abs engaged and form. I repeat this cycle 5 times. I like the bicycle too since I feel it helps me stretch out my legs and I feel the impact on all muscles involved...focus, focus, focus. Part 2 involves push up's. Yep, I said push up's. Yes, it works your arms but I completely focus on keeping my abs engaged, my core straight, and do the push up's. I do two rounds of 25 and I must confess, I keep my knees down. My goal is my ab's but tossing in some arms doesn't hurt. Perhaps I will be better at keeping my abs engaged how I want when I get stronger and then I will up the intensity by going on my toes. It is a work in progress. Between the two sets of push up's I like to do a bit of Child's Pose and yes, the second set of 25 is much harder for me. Sometimes I feel so wimpy....but hey, I am getting stronger each and every day!
So how about it, why not toss in My 10-minute Abs yourself for Push It Wednesday?!
Daily Gratitude: I am thankful for all the supportive comments on Daily Mile and for those runners who go above and beyond to connect. And yes, I even appreciate the virtual kicks in the butt! Mahalo all!
Daily Affirmation: I am growing stronger each and every day!