My 80/20 Rule

When trying to loose weight, 80% comes from nutrition. The other 20% comes from everything else. This of course is a general rule and there are always exceptions. Like when I was young. Because then I could loose weight eating a bunch of stuff, but then I was doing about an hour of cardio a day (mostly intervals) and weight lifting like crazy. I was playing a ton of DDR, running miles (never more than 3, but daily it adds up), and biking lots and lots. Oh, yeah, and swimming a ton of laps (trying to help my back). Most of that was all on the same day.

So, now that I’m not doing hours of cardio, I’m starting to see the light that nutrition does matter. Who would have thought!

So I've been reading around about nutrition and the general consensus is that 80% of weight loss is nutritionally related. That not eating enough can slow you down just as much as eating too much as well. Not eating enough slows us down, less twitching, less miscellaneous movements… And of course eating too much just gives us excess calories.
Then also about calories and weight loss… If a person is eating double the calories they should be (sort of an exaggeration here), and cut down their calories by 25%, they are still in a caloric surplus. For anyone math inclined, say I’m eating 4000 cals a day, I’d gain weight steadily. Now if I cut that by 25% I’d be eating 3000 per day. I’d still be gaining steadily even though I dropped my caloric intake.

It is important to know what your maintenance level is to be able to eat the right amount of calories. Just cutting calories doesn’t really do much if you don’t know if it’s enough or too much. There are online calculators for this on pretty much any food tracking site. I personally like the daily plate.

So, if nutrition is our 80%, the rest of weight loss is everything else. It’s how much exercise we do. It’s whether we choose to sit or stand, walk or run, sleep or play a game with the kids. All those random choices in a day to take the easy way out or to take those few extra movements do add up. Taking the far spot at the grocery store might only burn an extra five calories, not nearly as much as a mile run, but it does beat burning zero extra calories. Toe tapping during lectures, being fidgety, all those things add up. Of course, some of us who do crazy amounts of intervals, cardio, and other stuff might bump this 20% category to 30%, and those of us with desk jobs and who do a mere 30 min workout here and there- well then nutrition might play a larger role and the “extra’s” might only add up to a measly 10%.

I'm so getting old if I have to worry so much about nutrition! I remember the good days when I ate everything in sight and lost weight :(.

Do more, be active, live life :)

On The Way Home From 2013 Mudder

I've blogged about our awesome team before. 

But this is me, driving home from last years Tough Mudder in the back of the van. 

Completely untouched image here, no editing at all. Can you see the exhaustion? I can :).

And I cant wait to do it all over again!!

Tomorrow AM, we're driving down and kicking some butt :). 

Here we come 2014 Mudder!!! 

University of Wisconsin Trail at Dusk

We've been to the UWGB trail before. It's quite pretty. As before, this trail is stroller friendly for walking or slow jogging, not so sure about if you're running. It's a bit over 4 miles and is quite pretty. It goes along the water and through the forested area as well as along a more prairie area with a nice field of clovers (which are edible!). This was a gorgeous trail in the afternoon and beautiful again nearing dusk.  

I wandered this trail around dusk a weekend or so ago. The trail closes at dusk according to the sign so I barely made it in time, not that I saw any officers around. 

This is the picnic area where there is a nice parking lot. I plan to come back to watch the sunset before it gets too cold out here in this weather! 

1000 Islands

Thousands Islands is a nature reserve in Kaukauna. I've been here before. I visited here with Grandpa Muddy and the path in the lower woods I would say is NOT stroller friendly and parts of it are baby carrier friendly. 

This stairway is the way to the "upper woods" of 1000 Islands. The stairway is probably the most baby friendly part of the path. These pathways would probably be best for kids who listen well and can walk pretty well, like the 8 or 9 range or a very well behaved 6 or 7 year old. The outer loop of the trail is about 2.25 miles with a few trails intersecting back and forth so you could make this quite a good hike. 

Who can resist a selfie in the woods???

This is Baby Muddy and myself. I had just gotten done with an overnight shift and figured a quick walk was the best thing to do before going to bed. We did not see even one bit of wildlife because... ahem... someone... ahem baby boy... was being VERY loud! Baby Muddy was very excited the morning of this walk and squealed all the way to the end of the path and back. He had a great time!

Baby and I walked this path below. It's the Valley Bike Trail and runs 1.25 miles. Because even in the carrier, I couldn't walk the trails of the upper woods with Baby Muddy, we stuck to the bike path. The bike path would have been stroller friendly with the very well packed crushed stone/gravel pathway. Though the bike path ran along some homes, it was still quite a scenic walk in the woods.  

Wimpy Arms Part Two

Beginning of August I had some wimpy arms and my goal was to not have such wimpy arms. 

I'm keeping my arm goal for yet another month doing the 30/30, 20/20, 10/10 push-ups/tricep dips on the counter top here at work. 

Here it is after a month:

August Goals

1- Run 10 miles every weekend

Generally met this one. I ended up doing closer to 8-10 miles and this past weekend only four miles but another few with Grandpa Muddy walking. Hip pain got the best of me but we'll keep it up for this month too. 

2- Pictures and posting three trails

I made this :). Sunset, Thousand Islands Upper Woods, and a random third which was the trestle trail all made it into my blog in August. As well as yet again the East River trail. 

3-Pull ups and Amazing Arms

Check! My pull up bar will likely be returning upstairs soon but it was well used this month in the hallway downstairs. Kind of an eyesore though right off the kitchen like that. 

4-nutritional goal was a complete loss. 

5- Carpet

My hallway carpet is down. I need to get the transition strips in but otherwise, it's all set and I can finally stop getting irritated every time I walk through my hallway. It was more of a pain than I expected but it's so much nicer to have it out of the way. 

6- Family Time

I didn't get to spend as much time as I'd like with my daughter since she spent  a lot of time camping and out and about this month. And Mr Muddy and I didn't even get a night out :(. But we did some running and biking together which is just as good to me :). 

So for September:

1- Tough Mudder the first weekend and continue to run as close to 10 miles per weekend as I can. Adding in a 2 mile run every Wednesday or Thursday after my call night.

2- Three more trails. Heesacker Park and Doty Park in Menasha/Neenah on the same day since apparently they are quite close to each other. Memorial Park in Appleton. And a third to be determined close to home. I'm thinking Pamprin Park might be a good one or possibly Humbolt.

3- Continuing the Arm plan from last month while I'm at work as well as the 30 Day Ab Challenge I'm doing with some friends on facebook. 

4- Really got to get a bit better on the whole nutrition aspect and damn it... I'll do it. This month, writing down everything I eat and drinking at least 3 glasses of water a day. 

5- A full top to bottom house cleaning is in order.

6- More family time driving with my teen and a night out watching the sunset with Mr Muddy would be very nice. 

Sunset Park

Sunset is a park in Kimberly with a boat dock and also a swimming beach. I used to do a lot of swimming there as a kid. The beach was closed and water drained when I was there this past weekend, so no pics of that. 

I walked with Baby Muddy and Grandpa Muddy. We ran into an old friend as well! 

Trails, very stroller friendly. It's a nice scenic area, maybe 2 or 3 miles of trail altogether, but not certain on that.  

There are a few smaller trails that go into the wooded area more that are not stroller friendly but still appear to be generally baby carrier friendly. There are a couple hills that can be a little hard to push a stroller up, but Grandpa gave a helping hand there. 

There are two play areas, the one in the photo is the smaller one. The other is at the top of the other hill and near a pavilion and bathrooms. This smaller one is a bit away from bathrooms, but near enough to see the pavilion from this spot. 

The day was a little hotter than anticipated but it was absolutely beautiful out. This is also a good park for professional family photos. Lots of bridges and a nice build up stone area. 

Overall, very stroller friendly for walking, also dog friendly on the pathways, and great for the bigger kids too so they can get a break to play as well. 

Most Scenic Trail in GB

Okay, technically it's Allouez, and if ya'll know me by now, you know I mean the East River Trail.

I have followed this path now till it's almost end (I could see the end, but my feet could not walk another step). The path does get better after going under Hoffman Ave to wider and less bumpy. And even has "traffic lanes" for those of us who wander from one side of the path to the other.

The trail has a loop at it's end in Ledgeview Park. Ledgeview has multiple play areas (think I saw three but not sure if one of those was a separate small adjacent park). It also has a nice pavilion near the larger play area as well as a gazebo down the way a bit. Going backwards from the end, you'll go through Wiese Park which I think is mostly for playing soccer. I see soccer nets and two gazebos and nothing else here. No play area, but just a short way from there is Kiwanis Park with a play area, pavilion, and a baseball diamond and soccer/football areas. The next park after that is Parkway Riverview Park. From the trail you don't really see this park well, but I believe it's mostly baseball diamonds. No play area here, but just a few short tenths of a mile down is Green Isle Park with a play area, pavilion, baseball diamonds, and tennis courts.

I like to start at Green Isle because the area surrounding this park is so pretty and as it turns out, this is about the midway point. From Green Isle to Ledgeview it's about 4 miles. The total length of the path is about 8 miles according to mapmywalk.com.

Crossing this bridge brings you to the main play area and pavilion of Ledgeview Park as well as following to the end of the East River Trail. 

If you look closely, you can see the ripples on the water from the rain droplets. Didn't quite make it back in time! Beautiful scenery along this path. 

 I still have not taken the path to it's end going north from Green Isle, that will be my goal for next month. I think you have all heard enough of this trail for the time being this month.

Here are the two earlier posts about this trail, each post containing a couple pictures!
East River Trail and Another Trail!

Friendship Trestle Trail

There is a nice little park in Menasha WI that had an old train trestle going over the water. The trestle was badly out of shape and frankly dangerous. A few years ago, the trestle was redone to make a beautiful walking path.

Along the trestle there are a few areas for fishing as well as just kicking back and relaxing. It's a beautiful bridge that connects the Town and City of Menasha. The Town side is the side with the park and the Friendship trail continues with a map on either side of the bridge. The bridge is about 3/4 of a mile across if I remember correctly. If not, I'll update when I visit this park again. 

The bridge itself is just fine for strollers and bikes. You often see people walking their dogs here too. Very friendly place to visit and chat with other people using the bridge. 

Once I crossed over to the City side, I tried to follow the "path". You have to go through a few blocks of city before connecting back up to a trail. The city sidewalks are uneven and not well kept. As you get away from the map at the end of the bridge, unless you've written down where to go, you might not find where you're supposed to be. I didn't, but then I didn't have too much time or I might have. I'm not very familiar with Menasha so kept wondering had I gone to far or not far enough. The city on the other side of the bridge appears to be a low middle to low income area with homes that are not kept up very well also. It's not a scenic walk through the city but it is a safe area. Overall though, I'd give a try to going through the town on the path rather than on the uneven bumpy sidewalks of the city. 

A Little Piece of Randomness

 A random survey is in order.

What would you do if:

Stranded in a forest alone:  They say STAY WHERE YOU ARE!!! And I'd wait for riscue (if you're a Stephen King reader, then you know why I spelled it that way).

Sensed someone stalking you: I’d stalk them instead. Stalk the stalker ;).

You suddenly developed superhuman strength: Go on with life

You saw a dead human: I’d call the police. 

Someone anonymously sent a love note: if it’s anon, I’d delete it and move on. No time in my life for games like that.

You became blind: I’d have to change careers. I’d not be able to do my job blind.

Your car breaks down beside a graveyard: Depends, if in a rush, call the tow truck and get my car fixed. Otherwise, wander the graveyard a while. Kid and I used to do this when we lived closer to one. Very quiet place to go and relax and the old graves don’t get many visitors so we’d visit the older graves where their families are probably long gone as well.

Your bestfriend calls you at 4am: Answer the phone! Obviously. I'd be up for chatting at 4 am but most my friends would only call in an emergency at that hour. It's not infrequent for my family to call me between 11 pm and 1 am so a little later would be fine with me too. 

You could bring anyone back from the dead: Tempting as it’d be, I’d leave people where they lie.

Someone kept staring at you: Stare back and start up a conversation

Someone ate your lunch: if they needed my lunch that badly, they can have it. I’d eat later.

You got 100 free spray cans: Since I’m not sure what the spray cans are- hair spray or paint, I’d be hoping they’d be filled with paint or something fun. Overall I don’t much like spray cans as they’re bad for the environment.

A horse came chasing after you: Since I can’t outrun the horse, I’d run to something I could climb. Far as I know, horses can’t climb trees or a trellis.

I can't remember where I got these random questions from, so if you're the originator of them, feel free to let me know and I'll give you credit :). 

East River Trail

I just did a short walk before work on one of my favorite trails. More pictures in the linked post. 

 

There is a part of this trail that goes more through the city but looks like it goes back to some nice scenery. This is one area, where the trail goes under Allouez Ave between the more industrial and residential area versus the scenic area. 

 

From this point near Allouez Ave going south, the trail passes numerous parks, my favorite so far being Green Isle. South of Green Isle is a little narrower and not as well kept up, better for biking than for jogging with strollers. North of Green Isle is also better for walking since part of the pathway is wooden. I have not explored more than a couple blocks north of Allouez Ave (pic above) but the path from what I did see appears to be wide enough and kept up well for jogging with strollers. I'll be exploring north of Allouez Ave on my next long run this coming Sunday and will post more photo's of this amazing trail!

Starting from Baird St, just south of Main St, the trail goes south about 9 miles. There are many little feeder trails leading to it from parks and nearby roads for lots of parking and easy access to the trail. On the map, there appears to be a short break in the trail from Elkay to Westminster but these look to be well traveled areas to use sidewalks to connect back up to the trail. 

Fox River State Recreational Trail

The Fox River State Recreational Trail stretches about 25 miles from the City Deck in Green Bay to Greenleaf. I have so far only explored the Green Bay and DePere portions of this trail.

This trail is wide enough for two strollers side by side going either direction once you get about a mile from the City Deck. The City Deck area has a brick pathway that is wide enough for one stroller and another person next to the stroller but a little tight for two.

After Voyager Park in DePere the trail does get slightly narrower but still ample room for two strollers side by side. It is kept up very well. No potholes to twist an ankle in (that's a different trail). Following this trail there is also a Fitness Mile that has stations for certain exercises. I plan to head back to do that very soon and make it part of my weekly routine. The past few times I've ran this route, I've skipped the fitness  mile and focused more on my running time. At some point the trail switches to crushed stone rather than asphalt but I have yet to explore that area.

This run I did Monday and ran it alone! It was very nice to not have to push the jogging stroller but there was also no where to put a bottle of water :(. There are, thankfully, two spots along the way with water. One is near the fitness mile about two miles past the start point and another is the boat launch about a mile before Voyager Park.

This, by far, is the most stroller friendly trail I have come across and this is where I typically do my runs that are longer than 4 miles. Extra above and beyond bonus, this trail has markers every tenth of a mile from the 1.2 mile mark to Voyager Park (and possibly beyond the park, but as I said, haven't gotten that far yet :) ).

The landscaping of the houses along this path is also quite amazing. Another house along the way the garage lines up with the path and often the older gentleman who lives there is out in his garage with his band practicing. Gives a nice lift to my run for a little bit anyway. This trail is also dog friendly so MudPuppy gets to join me often on this one :). Some of the others are too narrow to really do well with him and the stroller when passing others.

Showering a Baby

When you have no bathtub there's a few choices for cleaning your baby. Eventually they outgrow the infant tub and do you either go to a toddler size tub (usually big enough till they get to 12 or 18 months old) or do you try to shower your infant?

We decided Baby Muddy gets the shower :). 

First few times I sat on the floor with Baby Muddy in my lap. Not fun. He's slippery when wet. 

So, I remembered when my teen was an infant we had a bath chair (similar to the one pictured). Only bad part, you can't purchase them anymore from stores because they've been recalled. Some parents somewhere decided to leave their children unattended in these or similar wonderful helpful tools and bad things happen when infants are left unattended with water. So, watch your kids please :). 

Since I couldn't get a bath seat, I ordered one from another country. It came in the mail and we set it up right away. When not in use, we suction it to the wall under the thing for the shampoo's and soaps so it's nicely out of the way for adult showering. 

Then the shower head, we have already purchased one that comes down on the hose for washing our dog. But holding it while cleaning our baby isn't as easy as letting it go with a dog. Mudpuppy doesn't care nearly as much about water on his face as Baby Muddy. So, back to Amazon.com I went. And I found a suction cup holder for the spray nozzle. It holds it well. 

Baby Muddy gets clean and likes to play with the spray and I get to shower him without worrying about him falling or slipping while I try to clean him. Plus, in a house without a bathtub, this will ease his transition to showering later in life (or earlier in our case). Teen Muddy HATED to shower when we transitioned her to it. Baby Muddy already loves his shower time :).  

August Goals

There are 5 weekends in August.

For my Fitness it is my goal to do a 10 mile run each of those weekends. The first weekend I also have BabyMuddy's 1st birthday party but Sunday, I'm out there :). Hopefully my back will co-operate with that plan!

As well as the 10 mile runs it's my goal to walk and take pictures at 3 new trails in the area. Sunset Park in Kimberly, The Upper Woods of 1000 Islands in Kaukauna, and a yet to be determined location for the third.

Next goal, these wimpy arms need some work... before pic...

So this month my goal is to move my pull-up bar to the mudroom/laundry room and do a pull up every time I walk past without a baby in my arms. Which is actually ridiculously often. As well as doing the "Amazing Arms" routine. It's 30 pushups (I use a counter at work) followed by 30 tricep dips, then 20 of each, then 10 of each.

Nutrition goal is 811 raw vegan M-F for just this month for the full weeks (this Friday doesn't count and the next four weeks are full weeks).

My house goal, I'd like to get the last part of the carpet done this month. I keep putting it off. It would take a whole day basically and I'm burned out from doing 2 bedrooms and the family room. Just need to get this hallway done!

As for family, the most important part of my life, is to spend time driving with my teen and spending a night out with Mr. Muddy.

Thousand Islands in Kaukauna

This is a nice little environmental reserve with some paths to follow. I was with Grandpa Muddy so we did a short path. Next time I'll head into the "upper woods" path and see what the trails are like. However, starting at the nature reserve, the paths really are not good for strollers. Or really for baby carriers either. The wooden path (shown above) has lots of overgrowth and no railings. It's difficult to cross paths with another stroller going the opposite direction since the wooden paths are off the ground and are not very wide. 

I could have worn the carrier (and should have but my back hurt) but if you go off this path and onto the next path it is wood chips and very uneven. It does go along the water and is pretty, however strollers can't be rolled easily though the wood chips and tree roots that make this path difficult to traverse. Wearing baby in a carrier would definitely have increased the risk of me falling and hurting one or both of us since it would have limited the visibility of the path (I front wear still). Tripping over a root would not have been ideal. There are also some steps along the path (not marked on the map) along the water to the observation deck. These steps are not something I would have wanted to do with the carrier and were difficult with the stroller (but Grandpa helped carry the stroller up/down them :) ). 

The water level is low this year and looking through the nature is really beautiful. We saw a deer though I didn't get a picture. There were some deer tracks along and across the low water areas. 

I'll be heading back to the "upper woods" area in a couple weeks and we'll see if that area is better for strollers or carriers. The "upper outer" loop runs along the Valley Trail (trail that runs through multiple cities) so I'm sure the Valley Trail will be paved even if the upper outer loop is not. 

So, my recommendation if you start from the nature reserve itself is to take kids that can walk steadily on their own and are not so young that they will run off on the paths. 

UWGB Trail

Google made this picture prettier than my phone did, but it is a good representation of how pretty this trail is! This is about a four mile loop on mostly gravel. It's a walking stroller friendly path. Fairly level and doesn't bind up the stroller wheels. It's also wide enough to walk with two people and the stroller, probably not for two strollers side by side though. It's mostly forest and fields but there is a nice area along the lake as well. 

This area along the water has a nice place to park and set up a picnic and maybe do a body weight exercise or yoga routine. I'm hoping to take Teen Muddy this weekend with the baby. She's awesome with picnics :). If anyone wants to join me, let me know now!!! We'll pack extra food. 

This trail also has a nice patch of clovers growing! I'll save that pic for another post about the wonderful joys of edible flowers/weeds. I have never actually eaten a clover. Baby Muddy ate his first clover this past weekend at the park. He's played with them before and put them in his mouth. This weekend though, he just popped off the flower part and ate it. 

So, this trail is in Wisconsin of course and I haven't ventured far out of Green Bay yet. There are just so many trails and path's near me. This area is just opposite the main entrance to the UWGB campus. 

Another Trail!

I walked this path first with my Amazing Sister :). Then with a new friend. When I first went with my sis, we went with the kids in the jogging strollers and her older daughter riding bike along with us. I had never been down this way before and was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. The other end of the trail is much more narrow and that's the part I've explored before. This is the East River trail and it runs along side a small slow flowing river. In this picture you can see the river and the bridge going over it to get back to the park. This is, I think, the prettiest part of any trail in Green Bay. This photo and the one below. 

And here is through the marshy area, also what I would consider just beautiful. Going over the bridge and down the path this way is a nice little trek of maybe a mile before you get to a major road and then the path goes along the road instead. Until then, it's just beautiful and relaxing. It's not as wide as some of the other trails I go on but the beauty makes up for it. I hadn't known this end was so nice until a couple weeks ago and since I've been there three times. Now that Teen Muddy has finished the classroom portion of drivers ed, this will likely be my main trail for when I'm walking. It's a bit tough to run with the stroller over the wooden path but well worth walking :). 

Baby Loving the Flowers on Our Walk

Little guy had lots of clovers during this run/walk. We walked 0.6 miles to our path. The path is 1.2 miles long. We ran the first mile in 12:09!!! Awesome record for me with the jogging stroller! Then we walked the 0.2 and did a mile back. Then repeated the process. The last mile I timed it again and we got it done in 12:23! I was amazed! I thought my fourth mile would have been slower than that especially with a slight upgrade going back and with the first mile heading out having a slight downgrade. With the walking and jogging we had a total of 6 miles. Pretty good morning!

Clovers are entirely edible. Though Baby Muddy hasn't actually eaten any, I don't want him poisoned if he does put one in his mouth. 

And Catsear, though they look like dandelions and are edible as well, they grow quite tall. These are about 4 feet high and have multiple flowers. There weren't any dandelions along this trail that were suitable for picking for little guy since the path had just been mowed. These looked pretty trying to sneak through the fence but we left them where they were. He had to stick with the clover :). 

Nature in the City

With my teen in drivers ed, it leaves me with a couple hours every morning to find something to do. I started walking near there and after a couple days found this trail through the busy city blocks. It's only about 1.2 miles long and about 2/3 of a mile away from my daughters class but long enough to go down and back a time or two during my daughters two hour class. It took nearly 40 min down and 40 back when I had my little guy in the carrier strapped to my chest, about 3.6 miles that day. I go much slower when he's strapped to me rather than on wheels :).

There are dandelions along the path as well as clover. Lil guy has torn apart multiple dandelions yellow and fluffy ones. Probably eaten a bit of them too. Right now absolutely everything seems to go into his mouth. After a bit of research, clovers are entirely edible too. Tomorrow, we're giving him tons of clovers to tear to shreds and I don't have to worry about him being poisoned since they are safe. Apparently only the flowers taste good and not the leaves.

Somehow though, I managed to sprain my instep. Tomorrow I'm going to try to jog again and hope it doesn't kill me. I had another great walk with a girl from my mom's group this past weekend but my foot hurt after pretty badly so I skipped the run the next day. To her if she see's this post, it was great meeting you! And I hope we get out there again soon once we're both healed :).

7 Miles Today!

I've had a few personal struggles this weekend. It has been pretty crappy here but that's a post for a week or two down the line if ever. 

Despite the rough weekend, I got out there with my sister and our jogging strollers. With the stroller I can only run 2-3 minutes at a time with a 2 min walk. The first 45-60 minutes is almost all 3 min runs followed by two minutes walking. I didn't do really great today and it took us a bit over an hour and a half to do the full seven miles. 

We ran the East River Trail. It was very pretty! The trail is much more narrow then the one I usually run on. It runs along a very slow moving river and there were some wooden trails over the marshy area of it. The larger trail runs along a residential area and faster river; this one runs through woods and along parks as well as the slow river on the other side. The woods we did have to battle the mosquitoes and I did not survive unscathed. 

Overall, I'm glad I even just made the seven miles tonight. I'm probably a little dehydrated and definitely over stressed. With two runs to prepare for, I really couldn't afford to miss the run today. The Tough Mudder is coming up in 76 days! Just over 2 months to prepare. And the half marathon is about three months away. 

Not only did I need the run, I needed the company. It was nice to have some distraction for a part of today. And the nice nap afterwards with Baby Muddy was quite nice. He curled up on my lap and fell right asleep after my sis and her kids headed home. He was quite tired out too!

Running with the Dog, and The Stroller...

MudMom and MudPuppy (aka: The Terror)

My wonderful MudPuppy (aka Carter), was doing so well walking with the stroller on the trails. So today I decided to skip going to the trails and just leave from my driveway.

IT WAS HELL.

The whole run, Carter pulled and PULLED on his leash. I had to stop multiple times to attempt to calm him down. By the end of the run I was so angry and frustrated because he would just not stay at my side. I don't understand how he can do so well on the trails and be a complete terror when we just walk out the door.

I wanted to turn back at a quarter mile already (with a quarter mile walking warm up) but knew if I turned back I wouldn't actually go for my run. I want to enjoy my run and not have to trip over a stroller as I get bullied by my dog! I tie him around my waist so at least I have my hands free and that limits how much force he can get since it's only a 5 ft lead and my waist isn't tiny.

So, enough with the venting about MudPuppy. He's evil at times, but I love him. And hopefully, since all weekday runs will be out the door and not at trails, he will maybe learn to behave himself.

I don't like ab exercises.

Long ago a friend and I were comparing workout routines. It’s basically the elliptical or the treadmill followed by ab work for her. She’s not looking any more buff than she did 6 months before asking me about my routine and she does this regularly. She does LOTS of cardio. Still does for that matter and still looks the same as she did about two years ago when we were discussing this. I was pretty damn buff back then. I'm still in good shape, but back then... damn... I had muscles. So anyway, she asked me about my routine and asked for me to show it to her.

There were two huge differences in our routines. Make that three. First, I don’t do steady state cardio unless I'm running and I’m unlucky if I end up having to do more than four or five minutes of cardio during a workout session. Even running, I try to do intervals. My “cardio” consists of tabata or intervals running up and down steps. Second, I lift real weights. I don’t use machines (except the cable/pulley). I lift actual dumb bells (which is anything over fifteen pounds in my book). Third is those ab exercises. I have only one exercise per workout for abdominal. Why? Because if you’re lifting heavy stuff off the floor, you’re going to work your abs anyway stabilizing your back and core to lift the damn thing without ending up in the hospital. So, no need for ten minutes or a half hour a day dedicated to working on crunches.

I tell people not to waste their time on those and they get mad at me. Maybe it’s my tone… I’ll try to say it nicely next time ;).

Pretty much everything we do works our abs. Even running works them, particularly from my experience my weak obliques (no, they’re not really weak, but they hurt like hell after my first few runs of the season which was finally today by the way). Lifting yourself up onto something works them to stabilize your core so you don’t have to fight your floppy self while lifting yourself up. Lifting dead weight (like a potato sack) is much more difficult than lifting a child that will grab onto you to lift. Same thing with your body. If it’s as limp as a potato sack, it’s going to be harder to lift. If your abs are doing their job, it’ll be easier to lift yourself. And your abs will be doing their job, they just can’t help it most of the time.

If you REALLY want to work your abs for a long time, do one ab exercise and then mix one in with another exercise. If you must, do walking lunges with a twist or a lean. Or, skip the ab exercise and just do the lunges with the lean or twist. Course, you should know your limits so don’t do anything that would cause yourself harm.

So two things I don't like in the fitness world- cardio machines and ab exercises.

I’m not a trainer or anything so my advice is pretty useless :D, but hey, it’s my blog and I’ll write whatever useless stuff I want. So there :P.

Go get your six pack! (or a six pack of beer, whatever works).

Cardio Machines, Good or Bad?

Been a busy week! Sorry I've been so late in posting this week. But here's something for you all :).

Cardio machines. I’m not a big fan. I think they have their place, in a garbage heap.

Okay, that’s harsh and I don’t really mean that fully.

The one I hate least- Treamills. I think treadmills are good for only when going outside is a bad idea (like snow covered ice). Pro’s- I think it immitates our natural rhythm as closely as any machine can because our own bodymechanics are allowed to take precedence. There is no spot to place hands and feet leading to irregular patterns. Although those patterns in ellipticals, bikes, and stair climbers are probably good, our own stride is better in my opinion. Cons: people place their arms on the siderails which decrease calorie burn and also decrease our natural gait pattern. People then tend to lean forward when holding onto the machine. Also, for interval drills, this is a bad piece of equipment. The speed changes are not instant like if a person was running outside. Max speed on a machine for 20-30 seconds also takes some practice to learn what that top speed is. Otherwise it’s a guessing game getting to that top mark. And hitting top speed on a treadmill is more dangerous than hitting top speed outside. I’m definitely not going to fall off the back of the sidewalk but for someone maxing out their speed on a treadmill, hitting the button to slow it back down could be a bit tougher.

Ellipticals- pro’s: Not to hard on the joints so they’re better for people with joint pain and osteoarthritis and osteopenia. Negs: well, the calories burned readout seems pretty wack to me. I’d alternate that and the treadmill. I’m sure people lose weight with this, but there are better options waiting on the sidewalk. 

Steppers- I’ll admit, I’ve only used a stepper twice, maybe three times tops. I can’t really say what is good or bad about them, just that they’re a machine and that I don’t like machines.

Bikes- I love bikes people ride outside for fitness purposes although I do still have a bit of fear of them. Yes that was 10 years ago, yes I’m still anxious. Indoor bikes such as in spinning classes’n'stuff I’m not a huge fan of. It doesn’t challenge balance because it’s stablized on a frame. The benefits of riding outside totally beat riding an indoor bike.

Recumbent bikes- I’m totally prejudiced against these things. I think they’re the lazy person’s way out. It’s like being able to say I did something without actually doing anything. No core work at all, not even having to hold yourself up, just lean back and rest why dont ya? No pro’s at all other than at least it’s better than sitting doing nothing but I dont think these can hardly be called exercise. Cardio, okay fine, call it that, but it’s not real exercise unless you’re an extremely deconditioned person.

Cardio I like: intervals with swimming, running/walking, boxing, tennis, and many others. Not golf. And not ping-pong either ;).

And now, even though I don't like recumbent bikes, I own one. Yes I do. It makes a good place to hang clothes to dry. I do use it occasionally. Fine, more like rarely.

Looking Ahead

This year so far has been rough on our family. Nothing actually huge, just an overabundance of small things that add up. I need a vacation from it all. And a winning lotto ticket :).

Though right now things aren't always pretty financially, physically, or emotionally around here it's temporary. Eventually I'll have a couple more things paid off and that will release some stress there. Eventually I'll not be in daily physical pain which will also lead to a better emotional state... Pain kind of sucks and it's also caused be to be overly fatigued since it interferes with me sleeping at night at least a few times a week now. And emotionally will improve as things become more stable for the family in general.

It's hard to not feel stressed and overwhelmed some days. But I know I have a great family to go home to every day. I have a baby who needs me, though at this point I'm not really sure he cares who takes care of him as long as it gets done. He certainly recognizes me :). But they're so adaptable at this age. I have an awesome teenager who is surprisingly well behaved. And I have an amazing man in my life, though he has his own struggles, is always there for me.

So, looking forward to how this year will end I'm not sure how much of our situation will change but I know that things always get better when you have good people around you. And family, you're good people :).

SNOW!

So, the week the weather was supposed to stay nice, it didn't :(.

I might as well just give up and buy a treadmill.

Nightly routine is still going well. My car hates me and I helped a friend today so still no workout this week. I know, I'm making excuses. And I hate that I'm making excuses. Really I could have watched one less episode of House (now on Netflix!!!!) and done a workout instead. OR I could have done my kettlebell workout while watching an episode of House.

Overall, the morning routine is still my nemesis. I have no trouble with the Baby Muddy part of the routine. It's more when it comes to me. I know what my problem is, if there's an excuse to use, I'll find it.

And tomorrow I need to take my car to the shop because my tire is doing something crazy. It feels wobbly but my tie rods and lug nuts and something else were replaced last June. So hopefully if it's one of those it'll still be under warranty.

Also, there is snow on the ground. SNOW! In April... This really really sucks. I want to get outside and run. I got in a nice walk the past weekend with the stroller and our dog. Don't worry the baby, not the dog, was in the stroller.

Teen Muddy trained both Saturday and Sunday for her upcoming run. So proud of her!

Hope everyone gets out there.

Routines

I have some routines that I do pretty well with.

One of them is my routine I do when I get home from work. I put a load of laundry into the wash and the one in the dryer goes upstairs to be folded. I get dishes into the dishwasher and put the clean ones away if there are any clean ones in the dishwasher. Once the sink is empty I fill it and put the bottles in it. Then I clean the cat boxes while the bottles soak a couple minutes. I wash my hands. Then I wash the bottles. Then if the washer is done I put it in the dryer.

AND where I fall apart on that routine is actually folding the ones I brought upstairs. But alas, at least our clothes are clean and I don't have a huge Mount Washmore in the bedroom.

But my cat boxes get cleaned pretty much every day. I don't do so well on this when I'm not working (weekends) or when I'm on call because I don't go home that night.

I also have a once a week routine where toilets get washed, floors get scrubbed, and everything gets clean basically. That takes two hours. I put the sheets in the wash and do the downstairs. I put them in the dryer and clean the upstairs then mop everything. That's usually done on the morning after I'm on call since I get up earlier that day or on Mondays after I take Teen Muddy to school. That's pretty well ingrained into my week as well. Rarely gets skipped. And you can hug my toilets most of the time.

My mornings are pretty much the same too. Baby Muddy is my alarm (joys of second shift). He gets changed, then I feed him his food and his bottle. Then I get myself generally presentable. This routine doesn't really fall apart ever. If I don't do something on it then I'd end up going to work without pants on or something so it's pretty much a bare bones have to do kind of routine.

What I'd like to really incorporate in my day is a workout routine. Auto pilot my workout. It should be take care of baby, get myself ready for workout, workout, then get myself presentable. Most of the time I work out and have to strip out of my work clothes, grab a tank top and shorts, do my workout, and redo getting myself presentable. Then I'm like well, I'm already ready for work so why bother... then the workout is missing :(. And the Mudder is not getting any farther away.

This morning routine is going to be my goal next week (since this week I'm still putting furniture away).

Bellin Run

The Bellin Run is a huge event around where I live.

It's also the first of only two runs I have planned for this year so far. It's a relatively inexpensive run. Some runs can cost a huge amount of money. This one is a whole $20. Seriously. For a 10K!!!

I'm going to run it with my sister's running partner. She's way way awesome :). She was part of our Tough Team last year. And she's the leader of our Tough Team this year. I'm not sure if she knows that... but she was the first to sign up for the Mudder so by default I say she's leader.

My daughter, aka Teen Muddy, is also running the Bellin this year. She's going to run with a friend of hers. They don't want to run with this here old lady :'(. Sad sad. Running is an awesome habit to get into. It keeps you young, literally! Seriously, there have been studies that runners age slower than non runners. All the more reason to run.

The run is on June 13th. Teen Muddy is starting her training this week. The weather outside is finally above freezing consistently so I can get Baby Muddy out in his stroller so I know I need to stop with just the weights and add on the running too. I'll still lift the weights and swing the kettlebell, too.

During the weekdays I know I need to get out for at least a mile on the days I start work later. That would be on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I wish I had a second shift friend who lived near me to keep me on track to run. Maybe someday...

Everyone out there, find what you love and go do it!

Insanely Sore! Head to Toe!

So, as you can see from yesterdays post, I finished the carpet in my family room. I was sore yesterday, but today... OMG, so much worse! My shoulders are just crying and my hips are pure agony. This must be delayed onset muscle soreness. I was considering a workout today but when I woke up like this, forget it!

I haven't done a workout since midweek last week. We had a really bad stressful situation last week with day care and having to switch. I became overly stressed and then ate terribly and didn't work out at all. Then with this carpet replacing, I'm pretty sure that's a good enough workout for now. Tomorrow I'm skipping the workout because I'm returning all the furniture to the room. That will be another workout all in itself. Maybe I'll do a short walk if there's any time left before I go to work depending on how  long it takes to put everything together again.

This week I've done much better on not eating junk other than some Cheetos today. And I'm much less stressed now that we have a new day care provider for Baby Muddy. She seems very organized and nice :). Little guy did well yesterday with nearly no crying. He saved that all for me yesterday morning... Today he wasn't fussy at all and let me get some things done!

^^^ BabyMuddy staying busy while I do dishes :). 

The rest of my house looks like a disaster area because the furniture from one room somehow expanded and is now in three rooms... Trying to keep the half of the kitchen that isn't covered in extra furniture looking somewhat livable :).

Until this whole carpet laying business is done, I'm just going to hope someone drops a hot tub off at my place! 

Laying the Carpet!!

So this weekend I did it. I DID IT ALL MYSELF!!!

Well, almost myself. Mr. Muddy had to help me take the couches out of the room. They were a bit to heavy for me to handle. But I did manage to roll the old carpet halfway, then drag the couches over the top of it and roll it up the rest of the way.

I am in pain from the base of my skull to the tips of my toes. YES, even my toes hurt!

Here's the progress...

Carpet rolled up and out of the way. Cleaned up the floor.

Most of the carpet down, just a small seam along the wall by the door on the right to go. 

And finished product! 

Sort of. The vents are going to get spray painted and then I'll put those back on and we need a strip go to between the door and the tile floor. The other doorway was an even transfer and doesn't need anything :). Also have to stain the bottom edge of the baseboard and shelves since the old carpet went up a little higher. Went from plush to berber in this room. I prefer berber for high traffic areas. 

Steps for Disentagling From a Sleeping Baby

What could be more stressful than diffusing a live bomb?

Disentangling yourself from a sleeping baby.

Yes, more stressful. First, it's partly because the person disentangling is not just stressed by the situation, but also likely beyond sleep deprived and possibly very badly in need of using a bathroom and about to wet thyself if disentangling doesn't happen.

But, this child is sleeping... ON YOU. Even the smallest twitch of the toe might lead to IMMEDIATE waking and then meltdown of the infant. Screaming and crying will ensue. And it's not JUST a toe you need to twitch, you need to disentangle your WHOLE self. Most likely infant is clinging onto you or your clothing. At least with bomb diffusing you can twitch your toe...

So, step one, if infant is holding onto you or your clothing find a suitable replacement and ever soooooo slowly, slide it between the grasping hand. I find receiving blankets work well when BabyMuddy is grabbing my shirt. Step one can take anywhere from 0 seconds if he's not grabbing for dear life and up to five minutes to pry loose his death grip.

Step two, slowly rotate your whole self and baby until baby is in a position supported by something other than you. Most often baby is clinging my shirt (now hopefully the blanket instead) and resting his shoulder on my head. I rotate from a sitting position to lying on my side being ever so careful to not make any jarring motions or move baby from his position AT ALL. Baby is then also resting on the couch or bed or floor as well as still being against me. Length of step two all depends on baby. If he's sleeping well the rotation is less likely to wake him. Most often taking anywhere from 2-10 minutes.

Step three, remove thyself.
Step three can be the most difficult. Especially if you have entrapped yourself between the object baby is now sort of resting on and the baby. I support baby's butt with my left and his head and back with my right arm. So most often, my right arm now needs to slide out from under baby without waking him. He's a sidesleeper so I slowly move myself away and rotate him from his back to his side and hoping the stars align just right for my luck to not run out before my arm is fully and completely away.

Step four. Back away slowly.
Have you ever heard stories about backing away from an angry bear? Not make any sudden movements and all that? Well, backing away from a sleeping baby is 10 times harder. First, babies are equipped with mom sensors. They know when we've moved more than 6 inches away. If you can leave something with your sent, it might trick baby long enough for you to use the bathroom without him waking and screaming... if you're lucky.

So, step four can be hell. Back away too fast and you could end up back to before step one and bouncing baby back to sleep. Go slowly, if baby moves, HOLD STILL IMMEDIATELY. Sometimes you might have to return to touching baby very lightly and repeating the back away procedure.

Backing away can take the longest of all these steps. It could take another good 10 minutes if it's successful the first time.

Good Luck From,
Another Mom Who Just Wants To Pee Without the Baby Screaming.

Tabata

Tabata is only FOUR minutes. 4. 

Go all out for 20 seconds, rest for 10. 

Repeat 8 times. Total is only four minutes. 

And OMG is it four minutes of torture! And fun :). 

I downloaded a tabata timer for my phone. I do all sorts of stuff. I have a stepper and sometimes I'll do that during the "work" part. Or I'll do burpee's like I did today. Jumping jacks, mountain climbers, or jumping rope are all good things. Really though, you can do anything that gets your heart going for tabata drills. 

I also use tabata drills for speed training when I run. Keeps it a bit more interesting than just plain old running. 

It's still frozen tundra around here as my aunt called it when I volunteered to have her visit me :). Soon though, it will warm up. And then I can finally run outside again. 

And the kettlebell, yes, my favorite toy. I'm back to the weights again. Two days of kettlebell and back to the weights. 

So, what does my routine look like? 

I do about an hour four days a week.

40 minutes alternating weights/strength training and cardio. I alternate supersets of weights with a tabata drill. or I do intervals. First half 1 min of weights, 2 min cardio and second half 1 min cardio and 2 min weights with pulses and a lighter weight. The last 20 min is cardio of some sort. Most often I ride my bike. But I also have a heavy bag for boxing and I do that too. Or a pole for pole dancing. Or a workout video. 

Today I did weights and tabata and then a TaeBo video to top it off :). 

Spider in my... EAR???

No, there really isn't a spider in my ear. But it sure feels like it!

It's absolutely awful!!!

No matter how many times I tell myself that there is no spider in my ear, I just feel like there is.

This morning I was having this dream. I was an assassin. Another assassin was trying to hunt me down, think Bourne Identity here. I'm Bourne. I ditch my motorcycle and head through these rock formations and through the woods along a creek. I end up in this long wooden structure, like a covered bridge but there's stuff in it.

Assassin hunting me catches up to me. I get his scalpel away from him (his weapon of choice apparently) and we struggle. He knocks me out and injects something into a vein near my temple. I wake to a third assassin there. She has some weird looking wire thingey and is sucking some weird liquid up into it. I thought it was to kill the other assassin but he seems calm just standing there, apparently decided he wasn't going to kill me after all. Instead of killing him with this weird liquid, she blows it out at me and it lands on my neck.

It's nano's!!!

And they're slithering toward my ear and I wake up to the sensation of SOMETHING SLITHERING INTO MY EAR!!!

So all day I haven't been able to shake the feeling that there is something IN THERE!!!

My dreams overall are very visceral and vivid. Colors and sensations, including touch, is not unusual for me. So I'm sure there was really nothing crawling up my neck and into my ear, besides it would have to be like centipede size based on how large it felt and I'm sure I'd have felt it wiggling in there by now.

But still, totally ick, something is IN THERE! Even though I know there's not...

I've Realized I'm Bored Already

With lifting my dumbells.

I got sick, then had a work meeting so I haven't lifted my weights in a week. Yes a whole week, not really that long, but I don't feel like doing it tomorrow. Which means it's time to suddenly and urgently change what I was planning for the rest of this month or I just won't do it.

So, instead of a program of dumbbells that included squats, lunges, push ups, rows, tricep, shoulder presses, ect I'm quitting.

ENTER THE KETTLEBELL

Shameless plug for me starting the kettlebell tomorrow instead :).

I've read/bought a couple of his books. This is the better of them. Don't bother with Naked Warrior. Basically it's just... do pushups and pullups and yay, you're done. Power to the people isn't bad, but it's basically do clean and presses from the floor to all the way up.

And really the kettlebell book is swings and get-ups. But what I LOVE about the kettlebell book is that it shows pictures of how to do the swings, clean'n'press, and snatches. I used to get lots of "kettlebell kisses" until reading this book.

So...

YAY!!!!

Kettlebell tomorrow :).

Indoor Rock Wall Climbing

This is not last weekend, where I was too busy running from bed to bathroom to do much else. 

No, this was about a year ago. I used to do a lot of indoor rock wall climbing with TeenMuddy. We got pretty good at it. Now, we're all out of shape :(. And with BabyMuddy, we're probably not going to get to rock wall climbing again for a bit. It's really not a safe place for him to hang out. Falling people, falling ropes, falling and falling some more.

TeenMuddy and I would do some mild competition (okay, I'd compete and she'd look at me with the side-eye). TeenMuddy is NOT competitive at all. Not even a little. And me, I love to win. Always. 

I really miss rock wall climbing though. BabyMuddy needs to be 3 or 4 I think to be able to go. And we always used the auto belay system. We'd be there for hours. This particular wall is from Adventure Rock. We used to go once a month and as soon as little man is old enough, we're going back. I just hope TeenMuddy (who will then be a college student) will join us :). 

Along with being FUN, I also had amazing arms and shoulders while doing this. It's an awesome workout that you don't even realize you're getting because it's just plain fun. 

This year, I hope to be more tan than the pasty-ness of this photo. And I want more colorful Vibram Toeshoes to climb with when I get back to it :). 

Fun Weekend

Of puking everywhere.

Mudbaby was sick Wednesday night. Threw up on me three times!!! THREE!!! And then I slept on the couch with him in his rocker all night. He joined me on the couch around 8 am and the little turd actually stole the couch from me! Yes, that's right. A nearly 8 month old kept taking up so much space (starfishing as one blogmom calls it), that I had to remove myself from the couch and sleep on the floor next to it so that way at least if he fell off, he'd fall on me rather than the floor.

Then he woke up for good at 10 and puked on me again! AGAIN!!!

He was fine at grandma's Thursday while I worked. Just a bit lethargic.

Then Friday I'm in the middle of doing my job with a patient present and have to leave the room to go throw up :(. Very ick. I manage to go back in and complete what I have to and get the patient the hell out of here. It was very sudden. at 5pm I felt generally ok. At 545 I felt like death.

The rest of my night was spent in bed or in the bathroom or running between the two. I should have grabbed a bucket. I ignored my phone all day Saturday.

Sunday morning I turn my phone back on. My niece (that grandma watches on Thursday along with Mudbaby) was throwing up Friday. And Saturday so was her sister... and my mom. And Muddad, too, at our house was visiting the porcelain god. By Sunday my stepdad who was just discharged from the hospital a week and a half ago was also kneeling at the throne.

Mudbaby, if you were trying to share, you did good.

I managed to disinfect everything today since the hot flashes are also gone. House is clean and all sickbed bedding is clean and happy.

I missed some workouts because I could barely stand, but that's okay. I've got a good one for tomorrow. Time to get this lady back in mud running shape :).

Being a Drug Mule

I was just in the process of discussing with one of the doctors here at work jobs with perks.

It stemmed from a conversation of countries where they work fewer years annually than the US. So Germany and France are at the top. There was another one, but I forget.

Anyway, job perks. We work a lot here. Lots of hours annually with not much vacation time. So which kind of job has the most vacation time?

Personally, I think Drug Mules would have quite a bit of vacation time. You get to see exotic locations with pickup of the drugs. Stay for a few days and be on your way. And then of course you get to go somewhere else to drop them off and repeat. Think of all the places you could go! Wouldn't it be exciting? I'm sure lots of the places would be dangerous, but that would just add to the excitement for people who are looking for that.

And for people looking for an exciting job that has tons of travel, why not be a drug mule? The excitement factor of handling shady people and not getting yourself offed has to be high up there for an adrenaline rush. Then of course there is the evading of law enforcement personnel. That would be exciting too. I could just see me doing this now. Going through an airport on a return trip from a pickup. I would really need to bring a small dog with me. And wherever I pick up from better have good sun because I want a tan. I'm pasty white and it sucks.

So there's me with my mini schnauzer in a purple puppy carrier with purple pumps on (me not the dog) and maybe a cute off white dress to highlight the recent tan. Who would pull me aside and be like, "Hey lady, you're a drug mule. Come with us." No one, the cute puppy would throw them off. That and the matching pumps. I'd be great at it.

But I have issues with swallowing pills. So then I think that means I'm out because no way could I swallow a baggie.

Guess I'll stick with what I do now :).

In all seriousness, I know it's a dangerous job and many people don't do it willingly. Too bad, because it would be an interesting career if you didn't have to fear for your life or your family.