Briones

On most Tuesdays and Sundays I go out to Briones nature preserve for a half an hour to hour run. This preserve is vibrant with green trees, yellow grass, slow moving cows and singing birds. Last Tuesday, after talking to Hope on the phone, I snagged my camera to take some pictures of my usual Tuesday route.

Here is the entrance into the preserve:

Like my new car on the right? :P

My trail is up and to the right of the entrance on a dirt trail, through a meadow and along a brook. This is where it begins:

My trail is in the left corner through the trees

The challenging part, other than the uneven ground and occasional tree root, is the ascent. I don't know if the pictures give a good sense of the incline but here are two pictures. The first picture is looking back and where I ran so far and the second is looking forward to what is next.

Going up . . .

Still going up . . .

When I make it to the top (after take a walking break in between the top pictures above), the rest of the run is pretty clear sailing as it is mostly downhill. I go through a gate and up a few hills to conclude with a final descent on a gravel path. Sometimes the steep descent is almost as hard because I have to counter-ballance for the gravity pulling me forward. I also focus a lot and how my feet land in order to protect my ankles and not put too much weight on my right big toe (my stride got funky after I twisted my ankle).

At the bottom looking back up (glorious finish!)

I took a picture of my hard working feet at the end of the run. Pretty reliable fellows:

They look so small and far away

Then I might add a few minutes to my run, depending how I am feeling. Or I walk around for a bit. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever be able to run the whole route without a walking break. Other times I get frustrated with my stride or how I land on my feet. And even other times I feel proud of my accomplishment. Then it is back in the car to return on Sunday for my alternate route.

The Smith Machine

I managed to do squats again at my gym on the smith machine. This second time around I piled on some more weight (total of 75lbs). I am thinking it was a bit too much because I had a hard time with form, surprisingly, today I am sore, but not as sore as I imagined I'd been when the two days later hit.

I feel lucky to have some personal training via Eugene about squats. He has read up a lot about heavy lifting (and does it two to three times a week) so he has been showing me at home the proper form. His excitement for the exercise has me a little pumped up too. I've never been one for strength training- it always seemed tedious. No matter how much I would try to convince myself that it would tone my legs or that as a woman its very important, I just haven't gotten into it. But since the rise of Sr. Sore Knee and Lady Cantankerous hip, I have become very aware of the importance of strength training. I am hoping to do this in order to get back into running!

And speaking of running...I ran before doing squats! I did the treadmill. About 20 mins in I had to stop and stretch and I did that a few times and I am still only running about 5.5 (around 11 min miles). I was able to speed up to 6.0 and even faster for a tiny bit - but I had to keep consciously telling myself "Hope, be careful - even though you're not running as fast as you would like to, at least YOU'RE RUNNING!" That is likely to be my mantra as I cautiously try to step back into the world of running.

Morning run

Sunday morning I woke up frustrated at mom and thought about googling how to deal with a passive aggressive mother. Thankfully instead I went for a run, about three miles I think. Up to alberta and then down mississippi. Its longer than my usually jaunt- the one Hope and I ran. Afterwards I did a 60 second porch wall squat and then 3 sets of 10 arm push off. Its when your butt is off the chair and up push up with your arms. I felt so energized and alive. Yes I was sore the next day! ;)

My Fridays

My Fridays start off with a half an hour meditation on my purple 'lil bean cushion I bought on amazon. I curl out of bed and plop down on the cushion. I try to remember to count my exhales until I get to ten and then start over again. Often I find I counted up to 11 or 15 without realizing it. I have a timer on my Ipad that is set to go off at half an hour; it rings with a singing bowl sound. *Dong* (I usually check it a couple times before it goes off to see how much time I have left.)

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 Then I start my Nike workout. On Fridays I like to do the 45 minute one, but it can be a killer. This Friday I did one that kept telling me to do 2 minutes of modified push-ups. Yes, modified, but still exhuasting after a minute, much less two. Russians twists are usually one of my favorites, especially with my medicine ball. This last workout even Russian twists were unwelcome. I did walkouts, endless lunges, and ski jumps. I was excited to get to the five minute stretch portion at the end. Also, I am excited that I am almost up to 1000 minutes total on the app!

Then after my eight hours at the Pacific Center, I treat myself to a run around the Lafayette Reservoir. The paved loop around the reservoir is 2.7 miles which is plenty for me right now. There are a lot of dips, curves, and shaded moments along the way. There are a good number of people out as well running, walking, pushing strollers, walking dogs, or sitting on benches. Ah and did I mention the beauty of the place?

"Stand"-the inspiration of music while running

I went running today! This is the first time in about two weeks (since I was in Oregon). I tried once on the treadmill and my knee just was not having it.It was actually tolerable to run outside at 1:30pm today (only 80 degrees as opposed to our regular). Before my run I went through a Zumba workout with my toning sticks. That was fun and challenging - they even add a chair to the work out! I love doing ab exercises without having to do regular sit ups! After Zumba I felt warmed up and really wanted to try running, and was drawn to go outside- I love that feel of fresh air on your skin and when you come back from the run all covered in sweat and red- YES!

The run itself went pretty well. About ten minutes in my knee started to bug me so I stopped at stretched just a bit and then went again. I had to do that about two more times throughout for a total of a 20 minute run. By the last 5 minutes my knee actually felt quite comfortable...and the last part of my run I sprinted! I haven't sprinted in what feels like forever and I felt SO strong. (That has been one major frustrating aspect of not being able to run - I know my cardio ability has gone down some but I've kept my legs strong so when I run I wanna GO, but this is not always possible). One of my favorite running songs started playing right at the end of my run; "Stand" by Rascal Flatts. It is one of the best, most motivating running songs:

CHORUS:
Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend, till you break
Cause its all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you've had enough
You get mad you get strong
Wipe your hands shake it off
Then you Stand, Then you stand

At the end of this run I was sprinting during the chorus and couldn't help but think "yes! I WILL stand! and I WILL run!"

My new vibrams, especially for the outdoors. I got them at the local Fleet Feet here in Pleasant Hill.

Some thoughts on Pilates

I finally made it back to my Wednesday pilates class last night! I have been hit or miss this past month with all my travelling and being sick. I LOVE it. Michelle is very engaging and friendly- one big reason I keep going back to class. What I really love about pilates is that its creator, Joseph Pilates, designed it for people that weren't able to do regular exercise because he himself was very debilitated (not exactly sure in what way). As someone with knee and hip problems, I highly appreciate the 'softness' of this exercise. Not that it is, by any means, easy, but rather I enjoy the focus on the internal- how to breathe, how to hold your chest, the simple rotations in your legs that creates an awareness of my body. And, although Michelle will talk about wanting our butts to look nice etc, there is a much stronger focus on overall health for oneself; back strength, pelvic strength, and rotation in the extremities. I find this holistic approach healing and effective. Pilates- if you've done it and have stopped- must go back, if you've done it and hate it - give it another shot, you might not have had a great teacher, and if you've done it and are still doing it -keep it up! :-D (Ann, when you come to visit it would be cool to take you back to Breakout!)

This author feature that Hope found rocks!

I continue doing Nike workouts two times a week. The one I did yesterday was for thirty minutes. I jogged, did high knee runs, Russian twists, toe touches, side plank, mountain climber and more. I was red, sweaty and panting by the end. There was a five minute cool down stretches but I think my face stayed red for the next hour.

I ran yesterday for a couple of miles. My left ankle is starting to feel stronger so that I can land on it midfoot and be ok. I enjoyed the run more than others and didn't feel so winded in the end. (May 18)

I bought new toe shoes on Tuesday. I told Hope about them. They have extra grip on the sole so I can run outside in my forest preserve better. I run through a wooded area and up a gravelly hill and back down a gravelly hill and along the asphalt road a bit.


And I am doing Nike workout that Hope told me about. Yesterday I did one that killed me -- I was panting almost the whole time because they had me jumping around while in plank pose.



These are my old vibrams that now have a tear in the right big toe. I couldn't find a picture of my new ones online so I am going to try to take one so I can upload it.  

Yesterday I played ultimate frisbee for the first time in ages. I felt so slow and not athletic. It was frustrating to not be able to keep up with other like I wanted too. But at the same time so invigorating to splint on the beach with friends. We're here this weekend at the coast.

I'd really like to start a pilates or aerobic fitness or dance class. Its hard tho cuz my days monday thru thursday are long 7-6 with daycare and driving. And then the evenings I'm breastfeeding. Maybe after tian is 6 months he may be eating less breastmilk bc of starting solids. Hopefully!!

Btw love the idea of virtual rides in gyms. Az gyms seem so much cooler than the ones here in or

Since quitting my job over two months ago now (eep has it really been that long?), I have had a lot more free time...many more days off. This is something I have craved for quite awhile. I had day dreamed about slow leisure days where I can take my time to do everything - including working out. I love being able to take my time getting to the gym and being at the gym. The funny thing is, despite all my free time, I find myself frantically running from one task to the next and this includes my gym/workout time. I have had to consciously say to myself "Hope, why are you in a hurry? You don't have to rush- the tv show will be there when you get back to it." 


It is a challenge for me to really sloooow dowwn, even (and sometimes especialy) on days off.  Finding the stillness of being alone and being ok with it is hard for me. I have been burying myself quite a bit in TV shows. But I am trying- today I took myself to the gym and spent 45 mins on the elliptical (with my toe shoes! thats extra work)...and took the time to listen to my body. I seem to be having a harder time 'getting into' my workouts that are on the elliptical/treadmill/bike. I feel like my body is slow and weak. Today I told msyelf I was going to ease my way into my work out and not jump right in to the highest incline and speed.  By doing that I found myself warming up and being able to have a satisfying workout. 


After elliptical-ing, inspired by Eugene's dedication to weight lifting- and conversations with Joy, I decided to try out their guided squat rack. I did three sets of squats. Again following my slow and warm up mantra- I started with 10 lbs and then switched to 20. By my third set I worked up to 12 reps. I wasn't exhausted, but felt good! 


After working out I went to the locker room and cleaned up - its one of my favorite things about working out - showering. Heh- feeling all the hard work being cleaned off, and my legs feeling alive and activated!