Cochise - reloaded! (Jane)

Since today was a 'big run day', it seems like a good time to mention my dear friend Heather. She and I trained together for two marathons. We practiced the finer skills of British accents while pounding out long runs through the hills of Buckhead (Ridgewood ring a bell?) - you know, sometimes you just run out of things to talk about on a 4-hour run, so it helps to be able to repeat entire conversations in a proper Cockney accent (Nick, it was awful)! Okay, so we thought it was funny. And we amused ourselves with hand-puppets (that sometimes turned into dog-fights) whenever the sun hit our backs, and sometimes, just sometimes, we'd be running along, and all of the sudden realize we were 'in the zone', and get these silly grins on our faces. Sigh. Heather and her family moved to Dallas! I mean, there's NO COCHISE in DALLAS, not to mention Nuevo Laredo! But I digress, or regress...but I miss my friend. See us below at the start of the Marine Corps Marathon in 2003!

(Here is where I segue back into TrainStrong...Cochise!) Today was BIG RUN day. This is where being a first-timer really is good because you don't know what is coming, so you don't anticipate it. Whew. What a doosey! Nick, our volunteer instructor from the UK (picture is somewhere on the blog), who also happens to have at least two geek gadgets in motion when he is not, wore a handy little GPS on the run so we could share it with our friends! If you cut/paste this link, you can see how we blazed our trail (okay, so really Scott since he was the only one running with Nick the entire time! Everyone else ran somewhere between 2.8 - 5 miles) - check it out at http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/3791559. You get a sense of the elevation change - and where the red line seems to scribble back and forth - well, we did! Since everyone has varying speeds, Stacy does a great job of basically keeping us all together by 'looping' us along the course. And just like last time, it was all I could do to keep putting one foot in front of t'other, gasping for breath as though I had never run before. (I was secretly hoping that by raising my core body temp that it would kill off whatever germ is persistently tickling my throat!) And like last time, the trainers encouraged everyone, every step of the way :). We did it!

The Home Stretch - Week 4! - Jane

Let's hear it for the friends who were brave enough to come on Bring a Friend day!!!! Cheri said she is still my friend (whew!) and Ben said it's woken up a few muscles :). Thanks for coming you guys - Stacy was beginning to wonder if Jen Overly was our only friend!!!!

One of the hazards of eating five times a day (besides the boost in your metabolism and...uhh...well, other things), I've bitten my tongue twice in the last week. It's not pleasant when you are eating something that has a wee bit of salt in it! I have to chalk it up to eater fatigue. But I persevere, eat a sugar-free fruit pop, and be done with it.

I've mentioned a few of my favorite new foods in various places on the blog, but thought I'd do the round up again:

1. Whole Foods Soy Chips (ranch and sea salt are favs) - high in protein, great crunch factor!
2. Fage Total 0% Greek Yogurt (plain) - mix in berries and honey or Stevia, and you're golden. This packs 13g of protein in 80 calories, so for those of you looking to stay out of the pit on protein, take note!
3. Lo-carb Tortillas or Wraps - there are a couple of different brands (La Tortilla Factory is Sheila's favorite!) - you can make breakfast burritos, pizza (use two, put a little part skim mozzarella cheese on one, toast, put the other on top and put chopped tomato, chopped fresh basil, and a little more cheese - YUM!), a host of other yummy treats. 80 - 90 calories each depending on the brand, lots of protein and FIBER.
4. Pure Protein bars - Stacy recommends these, although the quantity that I eat them is not recommended. I have cut back. I happen to love the Blueberry Crumble and Strawberry Shortcake - Sheila was not a big fan of the blueberry, and she can eat blueberries all day long! Maybe get several different kinds and have a 'protein hour' with your friends to find out which ones you like! You can often find these on sale for $1 at Kroger.
5. Grilled Tilapia - wow, am I a believer! This stuff is great! Costco sells it in a jumbo pack, I separate into freezer ziplocs and pull a few out when I need them. I fire up the grill, put a little olive oil (a LITTLE), some seafood seasoning (I bought some from Costco that's good) , throw it on heavy foil and cook on the grill! It cooks QUICK - 4 - 5 minutes - so watch it!
6. My protein shakes - I use Arbonne's chocolate protein (1 serving), 1/2 serving of the Arbonne fiber (it's orange, tastes great!), 1/2 cup frozen berries, 1 T flaxseed, 1 scoop greens powder (I use Purity Products Triple Greens - only sold online, make sure you get a deal!). I have a shake every morning before I work out (yawn).
7. Costco's frozen asian vegetable mix - this is awesome! I found a low calorie ginger/soy marinade at Whole Foods (there are lots to choose from), so I just use 2 - 3 tablespoons of that, throw in a nonstick pan, heat it up, and eat with tilapia or grilled chicken.
8. Chicken with Dale's or Moore's sauce/marinade - Marinate just about anything in this stuff. I'll grill a bunch of chicken at once, slice and put in single serving ziploc bags to bring to work for my salads. This seasoning is awesome! I hear it's great on steak, too!

This is our final week of round 2! How will we finish? Will we do it again? Who else will join us in this regimen which is quickly becoming a 'team mole' experience (start in the dark, end in the dark) as the days grow shorter, and our workouts begin with flashlight cones????? Mitzi and I are also training for the Emerald Coast Triathlon on October 13th! Stay tuned!

Bring a Friend Day - Mitzi

First of CONGRATULATIONS TO STACY AND WENDELL!!! Wendell asked Stacy to marry him at the end of the session. It was so sweet! So fun to see! We're all so happy for you!!

Secondly - apologies to Judd....apparently his name has TWO d's!!

So, this Thursday was bring a friend day. Before I give props to Jane and I's friends that came on Thursday I must give some attention to my friend that came last month as I didn't do it then.

Jen was the sucker....cough cough...I mean willing participant that came last month. She's heard about it for years as a mutual friend, Barbara, has done this and her husband is on staff at Lovett. I didn't have a camera around to catch the after pose but here we are at a Triathlon we did a few weeks ago. So, she came, she did it and did it well! Jen, you rock girl!!

So, this past Thursday Jane and I had 3 friends that came along for the festivities. Cheri, Ben & Becky came along for the ride!! We were split up into teams so I really didn't get to see how Cheri and Ben did. Becky was in my group and I was thoroughly impressed!! Becky you rocked! Cheri and Ben were still breathing and soaked so know they must have worked HARD!There were 4 stations and at each we did a certain excercise for a minute or so. Then after the station we sprinted over to the next one. We did this about 3 times so we got in a good 12 different excercises and lots of running. I must admit that I would have LOVED to have seen Ben tackle the Mary Katherines with his fingers up in the air! hee hee!! Thanks for coming out dear friends!

Here they are! Becky, Ben & Cheri

And here we ALL are - plus our buddy Sheila (in the pink). These pictures show the reality of our morning....sweat, mud and grass!! Proof we work our tails off!! Ok, why do I have WAAAAY more mud on me then the rest of you?????? Interesting grin on your face Ben....are you holding your breath from the stink of all of us or just excited to be amidst such buff women?

Jen, Becks and Steve! - Mitzi

Jane mentioned earlier that we said goodbye to our Trainstrong buddy Jen Groff. She took the summer off and spent it down here in the durty durty......such a fun person!! Jen's moved up to Boston - where it's not so much death heat! We miss you sweet girl!! This is Jen, Jane and myself last Friday at Starbucks after our morning torchure....cough cough...workout!



Who knew that Football (or Soccer if you're American) icon David Beckham is Trainstrong Strong! Well...he at least stretches like we do. Look at Mr. LA Galaxy doing the toy soldier with a skip!

Jane put it so eloquently as she said everything but her earlobes hurt. I too am in pain. I actually don't think that I hurt this much the first month. What's up with that? Man, Tuesday was a beast! Sprint is officially a four letter word!!!

Steve, it's the moment you've been waiting for. Your 5 minutes of fame! REady...ready...

TA-DA! Here he is folks! STEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVE!!!

Oh yeah....Steve's in the blue. Along with him is Annie (one of our awesome instructors) and Judd (the dude Jane assumed was not a cheerleader in high school from a previous blog - I think you totally could have pulled that off Judd...ok, so maybe not...maybe the mascot!)

My ear lobes - Jane

(This blog entry brought to you by Steve! If he is up at 3am again, he needs something new and riveting to read!)

So it's true - right now, the only thing that doesn't hurt are my ear lobes (did you know you can spell that word 'ear lobes' or 'earlobes' - and they both pass spellcheck??? I digress.). This past Friday afternoon I drove to Augusta, GA, and surprised my mom at a party she attended with some friends! It was great - she really had no clue :). Also, I had one of her friends snap a few photos of us - those will go up here as soon as I get them, so I can once and for all give credit where it is due for any comment about where my arms come from. She's 69, and you won't believe her arms!

I spent the rest of the weekend in sunny (hot) Isle of Palms, South Carolina, with family! I decided to take Saturday off (from working out), so Sunday I found a pool at the Medical College of South Carolina, and spent almost an hour swimming laps. Sunday evening I felt as though I had run on my arms, and tonight - I hurt from my bellybutton to my toes. I mean, like, I could take an ice bath I'm so sore! (For those of you reading this and are training for a marathon, or regularly run over 12 miles in a single stretch, you should really consider ice baths! No, really! They ROCK! A few sites to read the details: http://cotuitrunner.com/2006/07/10/so-long-lactic-acid-i-am-now-an-ice-bath-junkie/ and I read on one site that this will reduce intra-muscular fluids and swelling and close down capillaries. It also reduces post-exercise soreness and eliminates delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). DOMS! We've heard about that before! If you want the low-down on how to do an ice bath RIGHT, let me know!). But it's 9:25pm - too late for an icebath tonight!

I missed 'Bleacher Creatures' yesterday - boo! This was the burn-your-calves-and-hamstrings-til-you-can't-go-anymore workout, and I know it is the one that finally cured my lower back problems - yep, it lined everything up! Instead, I spent my workout at 10am in the blazing sun, in running gear while everyone else was soaking up rays :). For those of you who are diehard Hootie fans, we cruised past the infamous Windjammer, where they played in the early days!

Today's workout was one big long sprint - I really think Stacy enjoyed this one :). As she always says, 'Don't leave anything out on the field!'. But I almost left something in the woods...

Here I am!!! - Mitzi

There's something missing from this page.....something promised but never delivered. My before and after pictures. To be honest with you - there was not a whole lot of difference in the 4 weeks of Train Strong. Well, as far as my body is concerned. Now, my speed - THAT has changed. My strength - Yep, that too. But my body - well, I do have some muscles forming but they wouldn't have shown up in a picture. My roomie Sarah, took some of me tonight....but they are not playing nicely as they aren't fitting on the page. They are just too big. So I decided to put them here....TA-DA!

So....month two - week two with the group fitness. It's a lot easier this go around....well, "easier". As I said, I'm stronger now so burpies and Mary Katherine aren't as scary. I still feel like I might vomit when I run up hills tho. Yeah - I think I might have just overshared there - but we're all friends here! And besides - if I can put a picture of me partially nude (tee-hee!) surely I can share the rumbly in my tumbly!
Oh - about being faster - GET THIS! I raced the Acworth Women's Triathlon on Sunday. This is the 3rd year I've done this particular race. Last year I raced it in 1:47...this year 1:27!! Yes Gadies and Lentlemen - you read it right - 1:27! That's 1..2..3..20 minutes shaved off my time! THANKS TRAINSTRONG!!! This works people! Don't ever think that something like this is a waste of time, cuz it ain't!!!
Pics from the Tri.....these are my friends Jen and Shannon. They are first time Triathloners and they ROCKED!!! Jen is in the white shirt - and she came on Bring a Friend Day last month - and Jen was AWESOME! She kept up with the rest of us! The second one is the finish line...no, it's not raining in that one spot....it's the little fountain of water we dash through at the finish line!

1:26 baby!! Woop!

Row, row, row your boat - Jane

Mitzi, where are you? We all miss you, your fun pictures and your funny stories!

Many of you may have read the earlier blog regarding my attempts at rowboats - these exercises continue to taunt me! Yesterday was Grass Day - I honestly don't know if I have had another workout where I was so caked in it! After about four rounds of five exercises each (which included rowboats), Stacy had us do a gut check. This is where you sprint for all you are worth for fifteen seconds, then you turn around and see if you can get back to the start in the same amount of time! This we did twice. TWICE. Not sure who's gut she was checking, I hope she got the information she needed :)

Today was rubber band day. It's amazing what you can do with a stretchy piece of plastic. Or with none at all. One of the exercises is 'super jacks', where instead of a regular jack where you jump up and land with legs out/arms up, you do it all in one (smooth?) motion, so your feet are back together, and you land in a little bit of a hunched position, arms tucked by your side. Jen did a particularly nice job, as did Miller (girl, where did that come from???). Judd - well, let's just say he probably wasn't a cheerleader in college. But I digress. We did all sorts of band exercises, interspersed with things like running the bleacher steps or seats - lest we let our heart rates down a snoodge.

Mitzi and I are so sad that Jen Groff is moving! We're hoping she'll let us put a picture of her on our blog, so you can all meet her. She has been so fun to hang out with and get (train)strong with! She is heading to Boston (brrrr!) and leaves this weekend!

Shoes continue to be a bit problematic. I haven't tried the vinegar thing yet (in my car or my shoes), just because vinegar smells so foul on it's own that I have a hard time believing it's going to help. I just had a thought - maybe douse them in cocoa? But then I would have sweaty cocoa shoes, and that doesn't sound pleasant either, but at least I got a good laugh! I might have to double up on the sneaker balls. If anyone has suggestions, please comment and let us know!

The Return of the Mary Katherine's! - Jane

If you check out the SNL character Mary Katherine Gallagher on Wiki-pedia (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Katherine_Gallagher), you will get the gist of the exercise named after this (in)famous woman - I quote: "Ultimately, she would lose control of herself and end up destroying something. She would then jump up, extend her hands in the air, and proclaim herself a "Superstar!"." It is that last sentence I would like to draw your attention to - the only difference is that when we land, it is in the lunge position, and we just keep jumping up and down landing in a lunge position, hands in the air fingers in a peace sign, sometimes gasping 'Superstar!'. They're BAAAAA-AAAAACK! The name of our trainer who is the expert in Mary Katherine's is Laura, but I no longer call her that. Her name IS Mary Katherine :)

This morning I was about a quart low. I had a blood test/physical scheduled for 11am, which meant no food from midnight until the blood was drawn. I walked into the doctor's office with three protein bars in my purse, one of which didn't make it out alive. (By the way, both the Strawberry Shortcake AND the Blueberry Crumble Pure Protein bars ROCK!) As soon as the blood was drawn, I began to eat. I would take a few bites in between 'stations' - blood, ekg, etc. My doctor asked what I was doing for fun (he likes to have a 'conversation', and get the big picture - asks about family, exercise, outside work activities, etc!). So I told him about TrainStrong. He laughed, and said GOOD! I told him I'm usually eating my third meal at noon, so pardon the chewing. Looking forward to the blood test results - I'll keep you posted!

Muscles are definitely sore, but not quite as debilitating as last time - I can make it upstairs to brush my teeth in the morning :). It does get better! But they want to keep you out of your comfort zone, and do everything they can to make sure you do, no matter what. So I still have a little bit of a waddle.

Tomorrow we are on our own! It will be a run, then a 'personal mission', one of 15 options in the training book that we can do - the only trick is that you can't repeat any of them, so depending on how I feel, I opt for a harder one so I can save the easy ones for when I'm not feeling so (train) strong:)

More later!

TrainStrong - Reloaded! - Jane

My feedbag was swallowed up by the matrix. Actually, I left it in the kitchen, but it may as well have been for all the good it did me at home! Bunny Love carrots, grapes, salad, yogurt (ewww...that's ripe!), protein bars...bummer! Well, at least I don't have to pack one for tomorrow! :)

So we did another fitness test today - a great way to see if Friday was a fluke or not! So here it is - Friday compared to today:

Timed run (.85 mile) -------------- 6:13 ----------- 6:15

Push-ups (real ones) --------------- 47 ----------- 47 (wow!)

Sit ups ----------------------------- 49 ----------- 49

Tricep dips (whoa! new!) ---------- n/a ----------- 55

And no sprint today! Woohooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today we have a whole new class of participants - it's great! They are all fired up, motivated, and, if they read this blog, relieved that they aren't the only ones in pain! But now Mitzi and I have to be the good example, hustling from exercise to exercise, keeping the boxer shuffle whenever we get to 'the next thing'. (Fyi, Sheila was already a great example!)

One of our fellow participants (okay, I need a new name for all these great people I work out with at 6am! Inmates? Recruits? OFP's? (Outdoor Fitness Participants?) but I digress) claimed he broke his toilet seat the first week (sorry, that was just too good not to include!). If you caught one of our previous blogs when I was describing my leg pain, he too empathized and was looking forward to the day when his hands did not automatically reach for the sides of the bathroom every time he restroomed - and one time, they didn't. Oops! Smack - just a little too hard. So, you have now heard it all! Don't hold back! Work those legs! And get shock absorbers for the toilet seat! :)

Since Mitzi and I don't want to repeat everything from the first month in this blog - we'd love to hear from you about any questions you have - really, anything! Okay, well, at least keep it G rated! I thought we might share some of our favorite snacks we have found in trying to 'eat clean' and still have fun, clothing tips, etc. And, well, if you don't suggest something, you know what will happen...

Second drum roll....only four weeks? - Jane

It's hard to believe it has already been four weeks! It seems like just yesterday I was standing in Sheila's driveway after 'Bring a friend day' just wondering how I was going to fit all this in to my already-overloaded schedule! As Sheila says - busy is a priority, and you make the time for the things that are important to you. Many people have asked me - why did you do it? The answer is simple - if my body is going to last until I'm one hundred, and it's only 43, it's time to start making wiser investments! Aches and pains and injuries were beginning to creep in that I just couldn't tolerate any longer, sidelining me from doing the things I love (like running!). While I've certainly had my share of aches and pains through this, they have not been long-lived and have been muscular - no joint issues or 'injuries'.

This past Friday was the fitness test - the same one we did on Day 1. In just four weeks, here are the improvements I made:

_____________________Day 1 _________Day 28
Timed run (.85 mile) -------- 6:48 -------------- 6:13

Push-ups (real ones) ----------15 ---------------- 47

Push-ups (using knees) ------- 12 ---------------- 0
(note: if you couldn't do 60 seconds worth of real pushups, you are supposed to go to knee pushups)

Sit-ups ----------------------- 41 --------------- 49

Sprint (100 yds) ----------- 18:09 ------------- 17:26

We will measure again on Monday before beginning the next four weeks! This fitness test was not a breeze for me - during the timed run I had a stomach full of adrenaline, I was so nervous, and all I could think about was getting rid of it! During the pushups, my body began all-out turbulence, arms and legs shaking, so several of the trainers started cheering me on - you don't want to let them down! :)

After the fitness test, we continued exercising until we had been at it for about forty minutes - then a cool down. Friday that evening, Stacy took us all out to dinner, complete with French fries and CARROT CAKE - YUM! Several of us then met at The Grape in Vinings for a glass of fermented grapes, which is not TrainStrong approved :). Woo hoo!

Stay tuned for more TrainStrong fun!

DRUMROLL PLEASE! - Mitzi

Ah, we come to the end of our month long adventure of boot camp. What a work out!! Actually, it's not the end....as Jane and I signed up to this AGAIN in August! It's addicting!!!!!! After 4 weeks of running, sprinting, push ups, burbies, bleachers, sit-ups I can honestly say that it was ALL worth it. It works! If you train...you become strong! It's about breaking that comfort zone. Now, I guess this means that next month I have to figure out how to break this new comfort zone I've acquired.

So today we took our Personal Fitness test.....to see how we've improved. Here are my before and after results:

DAY ONE......................................FOUR WEEKS LATER

Timed Run (almost one mile) - 7:09.................... 6:27

Push-ups 43 ..............................................................60

Sit-ups 33 ..................................................................48

100 yrs Sprint 19:01.............................................. 18:36 (I'm not a great sprinter! blech!)

Tonight our group is getting together to celebrate - WITH FRIES!! I'll post some pics of it....that is if I can raise my arms to hold the camera. Yeah, I'm sore! It's the only way to end!

I want to thank Stacy and all of our instructors! Their encouragement and training meant so much. It was great to have you by my side saying , "come on Mitzi....you can do it...stay on my hip....you've got it girl....go go go!"

Here are a few of those special people. This is Suzie, Brian and Nick. Nick, even though you are an Arsenal Football Club supporter I'm still going to put you on my blog. But just this once so don't get used to it! Go Chelsea!

DODGEBALL.....NOT JUST FOR KIDS - Mitzi

Fun Day today! And Stacy meant it! What did we do today?? DODGEBALL DODGEBALL!