Spiders, and Panthers, and ... Butterflies (Oh My!)

Today's Goal:
 - Pole Dancing and Laser Tag

In order to be a good pole dancer there are 3 animal spirits that you need to embrace:
 - A Spider
 - A Panther
 - A Butterfly

I mean I get Panther, they are sexiest of the cat family, all sleek and black. Then, Butterflies, ok its a stretch, I guess they are elegant.

But Spiders? That took me a bit of time to wrap my head around, and now I've apparently forgotten the logic. Must be something with moving your limbs about. 

The class was actually super fun. Pole Mamma, the instructor, was full of dirty jokes and handled everyone in our group well. Additionally, it turned out to be a good strength workout. My shoulders and delts were sore for days, plus I could see how your abs are worked quite a bit as you get better at it.

Besides learning to release my inner spider, I also discovered I would not make much money as a dancer. I would be able to keep up with strength work to clamber around the pole, but I possess a different kind of attractiveness than the panther. (I'm trying to elegantly say that I don't walk very sexily. Oh well, my talents lie elsewhere)

Tomorrow's goal is to just drive home and get rested up. I found a running plan I'm considering starting for the next couple months, just waiting to pick the right week to get at it.

Also, Check out the class we took, if you go tell Adena that you heard about it from me (her lesbian, "cop", client. She said that was more attractive than software implementor)

Farewell Peppermint

Woke up this morning still drunk (wow, that's embarrassing, you are almost 30 Steph Maule), but I had a lot of celebrating to do last night. 

I met the last of Kate's siblings, finally, for the first time. All the while, wishing goodbye to one of the first people I worked closely with at Epic. Somehow this combination equated to lots of Fireball?

Today, I was up and at 'em at 8:30, and off running errands. Since I was driving home this afternoon, there was no time to waste recovering from an exciting evening.
    ...sort of, "at 'em" doesn't really describe the energy I brought to the morning.

I was out of the house and slowly walking to my car at 8:30 this morning. I stopped for a much needed coffee, and continued through the farmers market back towards the EchoTap. I kept thinking about stopping for something more to eat, but I was deterred by only having $8 in my pocket. Ultimately, I figured it was more impossible to halt the momentum I worked up, and kept trucking past the food stands.

After retrieving the car, I got to enjoy doing my tasks as the hangover started sinking in. Even with the heartburn that started creeping in, I still planned to run 2 miles this afternoon before piling in the car for an 8 hour drive. This meant cleaning the car, getting an oil change, eating brunch with the brother, and packing up the items needed for my bachelorette party gift bags,

Then my car started making a clunking sound. Now I had to add a trip to the mechanic before I would consider taking the vehicle on a 16 hour round trip drive. This completely eliminated the hope of running this weekend, although I can't say I was too disappointed.

Having a day full of activity followed by a long car ride, I was understandably tired by the time I got back to the Great State. It was certainly worth the enjoyment from the night before, and the chance I got to thank my friend for everything she has taught me throughout the past five years. Considering that she "Just Can't NOT tell me what to do", it be different living in separate cities at this point.

Tomorrow's Workout:
 - Pole Dancing Class and Laser Tag (Jealous? ;-)

Can't Take candy from this Baby

Today's Goal:
 - Quick Core (Daily Burn)

Did my abs early today because the best part about being in the Nati is that the Sky Club has Woodford!

That is awesome right? Considering that the Cincinnati airport is really in Kentucky, it makes perfect sense that the sauce of their land is available. Plus, I've got hours between when I need to leave the office and my 8 pm flight, so I am very much looking forward to spending a little time at the airport.

Before going to the airport, I made a quick detour to pick up more Mac-n-Cheese from Keystone (I promised somebody I'd bring some home for her ;-)

I meticulously rolled up the paper bag in order to sneak it in the Club. Sky Clubs have strict rules about outside food because of the particular restrictions around their alcohol and stuff. Even though I was not planning on eating any Mac until I got home, I didn't want my dinner taken away from me early.

Successfully checking in with my covert dinner at my side, I found a seat by the windows, TV, and away from prying eyes. Then I hide my contraband and walked up to the bar.

WORST THING EVER happens next

The bar doesn't keep bourbon on the rail anymore. Here, I was motivated all day waiting for this treat, to find out that it never existed. After that I sat and drank regular beverages flavored with my tears.

Tomorrow is a day off from exercising, which is good because I have to wish farewell to one of my favorite red heads.

So Good for You

Today's goal:
 - Intense Abs (Daily Burn)
 - Running - postponed till the weekend to start official training plan

Today, I finished my ab workout quickly, and painfully, so I could eat dinner with one of my favorite people. I've been blessed with meeting hundreds of fantastic individuals while working at Epic, on the many different projects. Jen definitely ranks among the top, with many other great people.

I was stoopid sore from yesterday's workout with the ex football player. Today was in no way going to be an enjoyable 20 mins. The thing that kept me going throughout was that I knew it was only 20 mins of effort. Abs reeling, I jumped into exercises that only exemplified the pain in my mid section, and I did this while guided by the most annoying Daily Burn Trainer they hire (Eitan). Fueled by hatred for more exercises where we clasp our hands in the shape of weapons, I finished twisting and crunching for the 3rd day in a row.

Dinner on the other hand was sort of enjoyable. The server was super dense and hardly looked at our table. However, her lack of acknowledgement meant we got to spend more time hanging out together (in the loud, packed eatery). 

Multiple jokes were told, that i intended to write in "The Joke Notebook!!" (I've unfortunately already forgotten most). Things like not getting arrested, being peed on by rugby players, and our bosses hairless dog/interest in farm animals, all turned into super interested tales. If only I could tell them again.

The last time we ate together in Madison, the server complimented Jen on, what we can only interpret as this, being on a "date" with me. The Asian woman in overalls, at Graze, kept repeating that Jen was doing "So good for you". I'll be the first to accept that this woman also had good taste, assuming I was the catch of the party. 

Less memorable wait staff, but still a good, albeit sore, evening. 

Tomorrow's Workout:
 - Quick Core (Daily Burn)

Thanks Chuck

Today's Goal:

 - Power Pilates (Daily Burn) - whew...

I left for dinner after doing my ab workout, while on a conference call. The ab workout kicked my ass, the conference call went well enough. I was never sweating terribly, but Holy Cats every beer in the pack is throbbing right now!

I remember thinking about Charlie Brown walking out the door of my place. The sun was shinning, mostly. I felt a spittle or two from the clouds, but when I looked up I saw blue sky. There must have been a Charlie Brown cloud I couldn't see because my abs were too tight to look directly above me.

To be fair, the weather was nice, mostly, when I left the hotel. about 4 blocks in lightening started crashing to the ground  At 6 bocks the rain unleashed its furry on me (and here I was worried about being mugged, ha)

After getting to the restaurant (Keystone in Covington KY), someone showed me the radar, and there was one circle of weather and nothing else for miles. Charlie Brown certainly understands what I went though today, and he never owned an umbrella either.

Only difference is that I would kick the football one day. It makes me so angry that Schultz never game him that satisfaction. Sends a depressing message to the rest of the world, "Hey, try as hard as you want, and still, you'll never get what you've been trying for your whole life. But Hey, you'll put on a good Christmas show!"

Tomorrow's Workout:

 - Intense Abs (Daily Burn)

Oh and I need to decide on a running regime. At least 30 mins tomorrow, but we'll see.

Place holder

It is late and I just finished exercising. time for bed, will update tomorrow.

Coconut Water

Today's Goal:
 - None

Today's Workout:
 - 30 mins of swimming

Saturday I was feed up with the Nike app. It lost all my progress in the workout path I had been following for 2 weeks. This happened to the tablet version earlier, and it didn't sync all my runs anyway. I decided to throw away that program, and start new with a different.

I'm now moving onto a Daily Burn option as the strength training program. Then I'm going to create a running schedule to move into the actual marathon training program that will begin around January.

On top of other things that didn't pan out like I expected, today was supposed to be draft day for my fantasy league with work. Having never fully grasped fantasy football, I spent the morning researching enough that I could speak to the boys on my team also.

I bought a sampler of Leinenkugle Shandies, containing Pumpkin, Cran-Ginger, and (the most promising in my eyes) Old Fashioned. Boy, if this wasn't some of the most terrible drink I've ever had! I would rather drink coconut water. I opened our first can as we sat down to log into our team, so it was to late to grab anything better.

Or was it? As we tried logging into our team, countless mishaps occurred that eventually resulted in our team being deleted and not participating in the draft. All that research this morning and I didn't even need it. I also didn't need to worry about sucking down my terrible, canned beverages.

Well, I learned I'm never buying a sampler pack of shandies, and still don't understand much about fantasy football. That, and I'm looking forward to doing something beyond the Nike Training Club program.

Tomorrow's Workout:
 - Animal Core (Daily Burn)

ANuStart

Today's goal:
 - 2 min run
 - 30 min Shakedown

I'm sure you've heard the familiar phrase about excuses. "They are like assholes. Everybody's got one, and no one whats to hear about yours." Well, today I did not complete the workout goal. Instead, I went to work, traveled home, and walked in at 11 pm too exhausted to complete this task.

It was bound to happen, and will happen again I'm sure. I'm disappointed for sure, but I am trying to accept that I'll miss some planned days for things out of my control. "Hi, my name is Steph Maule, and I'm a couch potato." **Hi Steph**

Hopefully I'll avoid John Beard, but like Tobias, I am off to A Nu Start with this blog and will not let one missed day stop me from running on Lambeau.

Tomorrow's Workout:
 - 60 min run

Fall ON the Wagon?

Today's goal:
 - 45 min True Condition (NTC)

Something I've noticed since I started working out this session, is that I feel like drinking less. This is something that certainly confuses me. Historically, I am an advocate for using beer as a motivator. Work out hard so you really deserve that beverage. (Might be part of the reason I haven't exerscised regullarly in some time...)

I think since I am working so hard to push myself back up on the workout wagon, that the draft must be pulling me up onto the sober wagon. I'll take it, and won't turn this away for now. 

Today's workout was boring. You needed to have some kind of free wieght for most of the exersices to be challenging. The best I could do was fill two 20 oz bottles of water, which ends up being about 3 pounds total. This workout was definitely not designed for travelers in mind, and I just got sleepy by the end of it. There are many things frustrating about the Nike app, this oversight is just adding to the list. I'm looking forward to the workout ending in the 4th week, so I can try a different program on a different app.

Tomorrow's Workout:
 - 30 min Shakedown (NTC)
 - 2 mile run

I'd Hit That

Today's Goal:
 - 45 min Advanced Morning Yoga (NTC)

Today's Accomplishment
 - 35 min Advanced Afternoon Yoga (NTC)

Well, the snooze button certainly won this morning. It kept going off, and I kept feeling so good hitting it "one" more time. I suppose it is a self fulfilling prophecy, since yesterday I mentioned the hold those 8 min segments have on me. Probably a similar feeling to a drug addict. I'm just waiting for the next buzz really.

Yoga sucks. Totally the worst workout of the week. I remember thinking that I'd rather do something that is super hard and super sweaty instead of sitting and stretching for 45 mins.

It is almost as if the Nike app could hear me think that, because not long after we did a pose that I couldn't even do when I was in 3rd grade. Remember when you would put your head on the ground, lock your elbows over your knee caps, and lean up in a tripod? We did the more difficult variation of that, you know the one where you don't put your head on the ground? Ugh, I hate yoga.

This was the point at which I just said I was done. I let the app keep telling me drills on silent, while I waited out the last 15 mins learning Spanish instead. In the end, one of these things has to come in handy, so I am only protecting myself by doing both so vigorously.

Compared to last week, my muscles are hardly tight. I know I'll think differently after tomorrow's conditioning plans. In the meantime, I am not upset about ditching the last 1/3 of today's plan.

Tomorrow's Workout:
 - 45 min True Conditioning (NTC)

General Maintenance

Today's Goal:

 - 35 min run

 - 30 min Razor Sharp NTC workout

I am certainly not bragging about my lightening speed, but more so acknowledging the beastly state of my leggz. Today, while out on my jog, I felt the fuzzy locks billowing in the breeze. 

This should be a definite wake up call to me saying, "Hey Steph Maule. Maybe you want to go to bed earlier and hit the snooze less. That way you aren't in such a rush, that you can't shave your leggz in the shower."

If only it were that easy. Even when I do go to sleep early, there is some kind of deranged pleasure that comes from hitting the snooze button 4 or 5 times. I know that kind of sleep is not even very healthy for you, but boy does it feel good in the morning. Only afterwards are you rushing around, ironing clothes, making coffee, and quickly showering with no time for anything beyond the basics.

Tonight, I shaved my leggz after the day's workout. Already I can tell how much better this will be for my workout goals. Probably will shave a minute or two off of my average mile pace without all the wind resistance. If it works for swimmers...

(Also, see what I did there? Shaving time and leggz! Ha!)

Tomorrow's Workout:

 - 45 Advanced Morning Yoga 

On the Seventh Day...

...She road in an airplane, and all was good.

Ok, so it does not have the same ring that Genesis does, but today I rested. As much as you can call today resting. I started by waking up at 4 ish with a bloody nose and am just now (11:45) settling into my hotel after almost a full day of work/travel.

On top of having a pretty packed day, I lost my headphones. Now I have to get on the phone with Delta to call and ask for my lost item. If only the phone was not so intimidating. I'd almost want to buy a new set of headphones instead of going through that process (except for the fact that they were pretty expensive). 

Even more, I forgot to pack a phone charger. Thankfully the Quickie Mart down the road was open 24 hours and could hook me up. Now I have a car charger with "5 changeable color bands for a custom look", since the most common complaint about car chargers is their standardized appearance.

Oh well, at least I have juice for the phone and a crummy backup pair of headphones. I'll make it through the week. 

Tomorrow's Workout:
 - 35 min run
 - 30 min Razor Sharp

Robots in Disguise

Today's Goal:
 - 45 min Transformer (NTC)

The Finals of the Women's Rugby World Cup were on TV today, and I had plans to see it at 11 with some old teammates at Cooper's (a bar nearby, that plays Universal Sports Network). Drinking kind of does me in when it comes to exersice. Even if I would have waited until the evening to process the rugby beers, I would have been feeling pretty rough.

Keeping that thought in mind, and looking back at today's workout, I am more than glad I worked out first thing this morning. This "Transformer" workout certainly lived up to its title. I am feeling about as stiff as a walking robot that could crumple into a car at any minute. Of course, I would never befriend Even Stevens and expect him to save the planet, so I guess I'm only a temporary Transformer.

That, or I must be a Decepticon. Either way I'm having a hard time moving around after 10 minutes of burpees. 

Looking forward to having tomorrow off. Now time to "Roll Out"

So Fresh and so Clean, Clean

Today's Goal:
 - 60 min run

The weather in Madison today was hot and extremely humid, which made the 60 min goal pretty ambitious. Knowing the temperature, I made an effort to drink enough water throughout the day. Even with that preparation, I started feeling a bit heat sick about a third of the way into the run. I then decided to break things in two, and come back in the evening to finish up.

Doing my first 2-a-day was definitely the right decision to make. The evening run was the fastest pace I've had to date. Only problem I had was what to do with the recovery time. Should I shower? Should I eat something? Should I change? I ended up not showering, sitting on the floor, and kept my grubby clothes on for both workouts.

Running at night was also a first for me. Growing up on a farm in The Great State of Iowa, I spent most of the days running on gravel and without the benefit of street lights. The biggest difference between a run at home and one in the city was the people on the streets. I had to dodge groups of people all done up and heading to the bars (I'm not sure they appreciated me plodding past in my stanky outfit). Back on the farm, the closest I got to other, living creatures was that time a deer snorted at me and ran away.

After marinating all afternoon, the shower was the most rewarding part of the day. My legs were a bit JELL-O, and I didn't feel like conditioning my hair. I'll deal with the rat's nest in the morning, but at least my girlfriend will cuddle up with me tonight (hopefully).

Tomorrow's Workout:
 - 45 Transformer (NTC) Workout

Curiosity

Today's Goal:
 - 2 mile run
 - 15 min Cardio Killer (NTC)
 - 15 min Ab Burner (NTC)

Today my workout experienced multiple levels of motivation. I started this lazy day cuddling with my mighty guard cat (you know the one I warned was watching my house when I'm gone). He is a snuggly mitten, and we spent a wonderful morning together until I had to take a few work calls. 

After finishing work, I found the first layer of motivate. I was pretty convinced napping would be a better idea that working out, and took a lot of coaxing to get my stuff together.

Running itself is not quite satisfying yet. I ran to the halfway pin I set, before stopping for the first time. As I turned around and walked a little back, some guy in a car pulled up beside me. He congratulated me on getting my fitness on. I thought that was pretty cool, and I welcomed his encouragement as I began my second mile.

Then I got home, and began my Nike Training Club session. Today was a lot of push up shaped exercises, involving me prostrate above the floor. This is where my 2nd surprise motivate came in. The Mitten, Lil' G, came by to give me some additional cheers.

Whoever first said that "Curiosity killed the cat" must have been exercising around a cat when they said that. G was all sorts of interested in what I was doing. He even came closer for an inspection while I was doing planks. Certainly this was motivation to stay up the entire minute, since he was underneath me preventing me from flopping down in defeat. 

After struggling to find the desire to get started, I am happy with how things wrapped up. Also, probably couldn't have done it without the help along the way

Tomorrow's Workout:
 - 60 min light jog

The Morning Edition

Today's goal: 45 min Fast and Furious NTC workout

Just like Early Edition, my workout this morning arrived earlier than necessary. Unfortunately, my exercise didn't come with an orange cat encouraging me to do the right thing. Sad day.

This workout started with close 5 minutes of backward shuffles. I didn't expect this, and was performing this task in just the hotel room. I didn't pick up my clothes yet, however. With the limited room and clothes everywhere, I just kind of spun in athletic circles. Probably not the goal of adding this to the workout, but they didn't warn me that I needed the space.

I felt last night's dinner in my stomach the entire time, and struggled with some jumping exercises due to my weakened muscles. 

Oh well, practically not sore anymore. (that could just be the Delta Sky Club talking, but who'd listening)

Tomorrow's Workout:

 - 15 min Cardio Killer (NTC)

 - 15 min Ab Burner (NTC)

 - 2 mile "fast" run

Hmm... Smells Like Bubblegum?

Today's goal: 45 min Advanced Yoga on NTC

I woke up early today to fit my workout in before getting ready for work.Considering that yesterday was kind of a hard day to start off with, I thought it made sense to do yoga and stretch first thing in the morning. Unfortunately, that would mean that I needed to be out of bed at 4am (Eastern) to do my workout. 

I had big plans to get to bed early to achieve this, but instead stayed up till midnight playing Bloons and watching Master Chef. When 4 am rolled about, I at least woke up prepared to get out of bed. Then I realized my body wasn't sore, and I didn't need the yoga just yet. I should sleep in and get back to exercise after a 13 hour day.

As the day progressed, this became a worse and worse decision. I could slowly start feeling my muscles get tired, stiff, and eventually just painful. I was wrong to think the lactic acid had run its course by the morning. 

With some verbal coaxing, I stuck to my commitments and did the yoga session. As a person who can't touch her toes, I was skeptical coming into this workout. However, I hoped above all that whatever poses were chosen would help my screaming muscles. Turns out I had every reason to be worried. We spent about 15 minutes in some variation of downward dog, which the original "V" form was enough to put my Achilles on fire. Follow this with one footed, pretzel armed, twisty things, and I was far from happy the entire almost-hour.

I opened the window in the middle of the session out of shear boredom. Pleasantly enough, rain started sheeting from the previously cloudless sky in moments, refreshing my ankles with fresh water for some of the stretches. 

I went to the shower afterwards, feeling stiff in more muscles than before the yoga session.

Returning to the room after dinner, I found the window was still open from before. The whole place has a wonderful, sweet smell of bubblegum, which is the most rewarding part of the whole day. Bizarre, though, where it is coming from?

Tomorrow's Workout (first thing in the morning since I'm flyin' home):
Nike Training Club - Fast and Fierce, 45 mins

Starting Somewhere

Today's Goal:
 - 30 min "light" jog
 - Nike Training Club - Razor Sharp

I used to joke with a high school teacher of mine that when God plans the weather, He first looks to see if there is a track meet happening. Mrs. Smith would tell me, "I woke up today to see it pouring, so I checked the calendar to see where your track was scheduled."

It's good to know that some things don't change. Starting my outdoor running regime, and the weather is hot, humid, and on the brink of rain the entire time.

My light jog ended up being a 25 min jog, with intermittent walks, covering about 1.2 miles. At about 7 minutes, my body started having a serious conversation with me. My lungs piped up first, "Hey Steph, remember when you were curious about smoking? We don't think you will be anymore"

Then my throat mentioned "Oh, and I bet you wish you drank more water today too."

Finally, my bladder chimed in and contradicted that silly dry mouth with, "I don't think so Throat. Either I'm full to the brim, or I don't have enough Trunk Muscles keeping me in check."

You'll notice the trunk muscles were absent from this conversation.

Thank you body parts, your concerns are all well noted. I wrapped up the run with about 60 total seconds of sprints (10 sec sprint, 20 sec recovery for 6 cycles). This surprisingly enough made me feel a little better than the distance run. That is, until the bug flew in my mouth. Definitely a fitting way to cap off the first run.

The calisthenics in my room went much better. After getting upstairs and eventually spitting out the bug, I powered through the 30 min Nike workout. This part was definitely better than the outdoor run, but there is lots of room from improvement (especially from my silent abs who can't do a 60 plank.)

Well, started somewhere, looking forward to only doing yoga tomorrow...

Tomorrow's workout: 45 min Advanced Yoga session on Nike Training Club

Setting Goals

All my life, I kept physically fit because I was playing some sort of organized sport. Scheduled games, regular practices, and the occasional self initiated workout kept me pretty healthy. While I never enjoyed working out or lifting weights, I found motivation in my teammates and in the act of playing sports to stay in shape.

Since stepping away from rugby last fall, I also stepped away from that motivation. At first, it was great sitting on a couch for a while after almost 3 decades of activity. Now that I got my break, I am struggling to get back off the couch. I would try now and then to start exercising just to be fit, but without the goal from competition I never stuck to the workout schedule. 

Like a true Wisconsin resident, I signed up for the Green Bay marathon last year in order to pilgrimage to the mother land. Any football fan can realize the sanctity of Lambeau Field, but the opportunity to stand on the field as a Packers fan seemed like a motivating enough reason. 

Turns out it wasn't. 

With an early May race date, much of the preparation was done in the cold of winter. As enjoyable as winter in Wisconsin can be, I, surprisingly enough, found it easy to come up with excuses for not running. Before I knew it, I was deciding not to go to the race.

This year is different. I'm going to document, publicly, the preparation that I put into getting ready to run the great Lambeau marathon (also, the preparation to hopefully leap into the stands.) Remember when I mentioned I don't like exercising though? This will not become a blog begging for encouragement.  I expect to complain and be snarky throughout, but also hopefully entertaining. 

In an effort to encourage entertainment, I vow to always run outside. (The exception being when the weather is so cold that boiling water turns to snow when thrown in the air.) Since I travel pretty regularly for work, this opens the door to a variety of different sceneries, also. And burglars, my guard cat is closely protecting my house, so I'm not worried about you taking my stuff.

Come on leggz, lets get started! 

Tomorrow's workout: 30 min run and Nike Training Club workout - "Razor Sharp"