Another move...

I'm moving to greener (actually oranger) pastures myself. This site was a great start, and I'm not deleting it. But it's time for Mallie's own blog, just like it was time for Renee to move out on her own in the blogosphere.

Hope you'll visit me at Saddle Sore to Sebring

Mallie

I've moved my musings

I've moved my musings to a new locale. What fun!
Check them out at www.reneemartinez.blogspot.com

-renee

I gave thanks ...

In fact, I gave thanks more than once with a few extra helpings of my grandma's turkey dinner ... and dessert.

I did run 4 miles in the woods yesterday morning. It was an attempt at working off what I planned to eat last night for dinner. Today I'll probably hit the gym and I'll ride both days this weekend. Hopefully that will be enough exercise to undo the damage my full plate did to my belly (and my thighs).

Now that I'm facing at least two solid days of eating turkey leftovers, what are your suggestions for fun ways to burn off the holiday pounds? I could use the motivation.

Anyone? Bueller?

:)

If it looks like a duck ...

Since lately we're all about the weights here at EnduroEejit, I figure I'd join in on the posting pleasure.

Today ... I went to the gym. Yes, I even picked up a weight or two. And! I actually hoisted it over my head ... repeatedly ... for pleasure. OK, so maybe not the pleasure part. But it's been a LONG TIME since I've so much as opened the gym door, so I didn't exactly expect the experience to be pleasurable.

A friend and certified personal trainer told me recently that I needed to be lifting some weights. And then he hounded me some more, and really got me thinking about it. Apparently when you bike you actually use those muscley fibrous things attached to your arms and shoulders. Now, I know you use them when swimming, and it was actually my quest to be a better swimmer that led me to the gym door today. I had my buddy meet me, and we went over some basic moves sure to whip me into shape and deliver flesh-rippling biceps in no time -- if only I stick with it.

So here's what I did (in exact detail):
•These squatty things with a ball for 15 times a few times more.
•This thing where I pulled this bar down and poked my chest out, half my body weight (a lady never reveals!), a few times.
•These EXCRUCIATING lifts where, as previously mentioned, I hoisted them over my head, a pitiful amout, more times than I liked.
•Quad and hamstring work (I couldn't get the commercial where the guy says "Don't want to pull a hammy!!" out of my head the entire time)
•More PAINFUL lifting of weights into the air, except this time over my chest, again, more times than I wanted to.
•Tricep extensions that would make my grandma (from whom I inherited my flabby triceps) squirm with discomfort.
•And finally, some bicept curls that seriously, made me feel like ARNOLD. They rocked.
•Oh and I walked on the treadmill some too. It was at a 2% grade cause my buddy said that's supposed to simulate walking outside.

Now, I've never really been a lifting weights kinda girl. I like 'em long and lean, not bulky (hence the yoga). But, what's good for the goose is good for the gander, so I've committed to waddling my feathery a** into the gym at least TWICE a week. That's a big step for me. Twice a week I could be running free outside in the fresh fall air, or cruising down some sweet singletrack. But twice a week I'll be watching my little stick arms quiver while lifting weights.

Now, if only I could do something about these damned webbed feet!

Evil, icky, smelly rain!

Sob! Sniffle. Rain and tornado warnings messed with my plans. Today was supposed to be a nice walk with my friend and her new baby, followed by a night ride through the woods with my girls. I was really looking forward to hanging out with my gals, catching up on gab and wondering which of us would have to dab first in the dark.

So...I found myself at the gym with no real plan. I decided to have fun and do a modification of something another lifting girlie wrote about in one of her workout posts. She did 100's. I decided to modify, as I have another heavy lifting day (heavy for me you jokers!) planned tomorrow and didn't want to compromise that.

So I did what I called 80-100's. 4 sets of 20-25 reps with lighter weights as a sort of cardio with the DBs and machines.

Warm-up: 10 minutes on the treadmill, 3.0 mph, 15 grade

DB Overhead Press: 1x25x8; 3x20x8

Leg Extensions (as I did hamstrings hard yesterday, I threw in a quad exercise just for sh*ts and giggles) 4x20x35

Triceps Press: 4x25x60

Vertical Chest Press: 4x25x40

Low Cable Row: 1x20x40; 3x20x35

Straight Arm Cable Shoulder Extensions: 4x20x25

Lat Pulldowns: 4x25x40 (it seemed really light at first, but I really worked to keep good form and a good core position)

Cool Down: 10 minutes treadmill, 2.7 mph, 15 grade

This older man, who can barely walk, and impresses the hell out of me by not only coming to the gym, but also cuz he lifts rather than sitting for hours on the recumbent, walked up to me and said, "you sure do one hell of a workout". That made me feel really good!

Some changes at the home of the eejit...

Renee won't be posting under the eejit banner for much longer, as she's raring to tackle her own blog. She won't be removed as a contributor until she's all set and raring to go, as I'm guessing she might want to bid her farewell.

So it will be just me. Hope that won't lose me many readers! YIKES.

With a new blog structure comes a new look. It reminds me that the holidays are coming and that no matter what's going in that might make me a bit sad or worried, I love the holidays. I also love my bike and my training...so I figured this was the best place to combine the two for the time being.

Now is the time for me to thank my friends for helping me through a rough time. I get e-mails and phone calls at random...my pals just checking in to see that I'm OK. I've got dates for Saturday morning, Saturday evening, Sunday late morning, etc. All with the friends who have let me know I can lean on them no matter what. My digital friends have also been an incredibly supportive group. I thank you all.

Back to regularly scheduled workout posts soon!

A weekend of working out...

Well...it's been a hard week. And it's going to be a hard November and more than likely a hard December. But I'm not going to let personal issues get in the way of the dedication I've maintained as to my diet and training.

I had a great ride on Friday. It was short, and I didn't ride anything technical...as my mind is still wandering at random to my personal issues. But I could feel the difference the strength training has made. I was climbing, both spinning climbs and short, hard pedaling climbs in bigger gears, faster, with less effort. The legs were really working for me and that makes me very happy.

Saturday morning workout:

Warm-Up: 7:30 on the treadmill, 15 grade, 2.9 mph

DB Overhead Press: 5x7x15

Good Mornings: 5x6x55

High Cable Rows: 5x8x55

Bench 3x7xBar
(Chest and shoulders are my weak point...so I just used the bar this last time. I'm going up to some dinky weights + the bar next week)

Step-Ups: 3x10xbodyweight; 3x6xbodyweight + 10 (used six steps stacked)

Triceps Press: 5x8x80

Straight Arm Cable Shoulder Extension: 3x8x25

Cable Bicep Extensions/Curls: 3x8x25

Leg Extensions: 4x6x55

Finished up with about 10 minutes on the cardio rowing machine.

And that brings us to today. It was supposed to be just an active recovery spin on the road bike (I decided not to venture out too far alone today Renee, but did so appreciate the directions which I'll use soon), but the headwinds required a bit more effort than I'd planned. But it's all good. Had a nice 45 minute ride in the brisk wind, but the sunshine on my face sure felt great.

I'm looking forward to a great HIIT session tomorrow and a good weights session on Tuesday. Hope the rest of you had a fantastic weekend!

I've been neglecting the blog lately...

for numerous reasons:

* Personal Life Crises

* Goal Setting

* Change in Workout Perspective & Goals

But, I'm not going to neglect it anymore. So you're going to get to join me again on my random journey through fitness, training, and diet. Some of you care, some don't. Those that don't can still leave their comments.

I've dedicated the month of November to a lean-out diet and a focus on strength training. I'm still riding, just not going to start heavy LSD/base until December. I have my reasons...and I'll highlight them as this old blog continues. So anyway...here's today's workout:

Warmup - 5 minutes on treadmill, 15 grade, 2.8 mph

Military Press: 3x8x12; 3x6x15 (did these first as shoulders are my weak spot and wanted to do them fresh)

Good Mornings: 5x6x55

Vertical Chest Press: 5x6x60

Low Cable Row: 5x7x55

Standing Cable Straight Arm Shoulder Stuff: 3x8x25 (each arm)

Triceps Press: 5x7x80

Lat Pulldowns: 5x6x60

DB Concentration Curls: 5x5x12 (both arms)

Cool Down: 5 minutes treadmill, 15 grade, 2.8 mph

My legs were feeling pretty tight from Tuesday...so I just did the good mornings, and opted out of my planned step ups. Will do those Saturday.

Glad to be back...hope at least some of you are glad to see me!

Accent? What accent?

Right now this little quiz is making its way around the blogosphere. Nailed me right on the button!

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.
The Midland
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The South
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Happy Halloween and other thoughts

Happy Halloween! I was a witch today at work! lol. Of course, some people would argue that I'm a "witch" every day at work. My friend Grant, one of the photogs here at the paper, snapped a photo of me to e-mail Jake. Jake's response? "A witch. How appropriate." LOL

In other news, the race at Tumbling Creek went well. It felt like more "fun" than "race." Ashley was the only other chica in my group, so I pretty much knew I had second place sewn up. I didn't kill myself trying to keep up with her, but just decided to ride hard and good and encourage Beth along the way.

Gotta give props to Beth, who I've now taken to calling "the next Krista Park," or "the next Kathleen Tokuda" (both of whom are STELLAR riders and very encouraging, friendly ladies). After being on the bike for 9 months -- as in, she wasn't riding at all 9 months ago -- Beth cats up to Sport class. Tumbling Creek was her first Sport race ... and she got third!! The best part was we got to ride together most of the time -- until she passed me on one of the last climbs and took off like a freakin mountain goat.

After getting in some base training this winter, I can't wait to see what she does next year. Those other Sport ladies should beware!

Really though, it's great to see someone take to the sport so quickly. It's always encouraging to see new riders develop and come into their own. Seeing her excitement about riding and willingness to challenge herself reminds me of how I felt when I first started riding, and makes me enjoy it all over again.

Have a spooky day!