Follow The Leader(board)

When I think back to a few months ago, when I said I didn’t think I would want a Peloton bike (or treadmill, for that matter!), I wonder who was that person. I was so sure that if I was spinning in the privacy of my home…being ‘on my own’…and not being in a class setting, meant I could hold back on my intensity and not give it my all. How wrong I was!

There is this thing called a leaderboard…perhaps you have heard of it. It’s a roster of everyone who is taking part in the class and their rankings. You start at zero and as you work your way through the class, your number goes up. It can go up quicker if your input is higher so that would mean you need to get that cadence and resistance going big time. All I needed was to see how this leaderboard works and voila…I am in competitive mode!

There are some days where I really don’t pay much attention to where I rank but I am also seeing plenty of days where I care a whole lot and I am pushing things…hard! Yesterday, I did this amazing hike workout on the treadmill and I ranked first. This morning, I did a spin class that I had intended to take it easier on but when it was just me and one other person in the class, I put my all into it and came out first. I know that isn’t going to happen with every single run or walk or spin class I do but having that leaderboard gives me that nudge to find that inner athlete. I may not get a badge or a prize but I most definitely come out of each workout, feeling something close to being a winner.

Run Away The Stress

I had a plan for today that included a run and I knew it would be some time in the afternoon, after I had returned from doing my measurement assessment with Jeff. I had walked a good amount of miles earlier in the morning and I was at a pretty good step count by the time I headed out to his house at 1 but I still saw some kind of a run in the mid to later afternoon.

I toyed with the idea of running outside and I even had a route planned out for a two plus mile run around the neighborhood but something was telling me that I needed to challenge myself and that challenge wasn’t going to come with a run outside in the heat that was bound to be mediocre at best. I had had a lot going on in my head — some little things to worry about and some not so little things that would undoubtedly distract me from putting my all into an outside run. I knew that if I did some kind of workout on my new treadmill, it would keep me focused and centered on what I was doing in the moment and I could put everything else aside. The phone was put on silent mode and I had managed to pair my air pods with the treadmill so I couldn’t and wouldn’t hear anything else around me. I didn’t need much in terms of a run but I wanted it to be something that would push me a little bit.

I searched the Peloton class library and found a 20 minute 80’s pop run that included some pace targets which I kept at the maximum number for everything but the so-called hard pace. I tried not to think about my kids or my dear friend who is facing serious health issues or what’s going on in the world at the moment but in the end, I feel like I ran with all of those things and used them as the fuel that kept me going. I ran to run away the stress and the sadness and the scary feelings but all of that made me run like I haven’t run in a long while. I ran with feeling and with drive and I even ran with some feeling of hope. I can’t fix those little things and those not so little things that I am worried about and that keep me distracted but for 20 minutes, I was able to run it all away.

I Am So Not In Recovery Mode

So I did a lot of activity last week and apparently, Strava liked that. A few days of Peloton rides, a little bit of running and walking and some virtual workouts with Jeff. The calorie burn and my exercise minutes were most definitely higher than the previous weeks so yeah, I was trending higher.

My week starts on Monday so let’s revisit things over the last few days, shall we?! On Monday, I did a 45 minute run on the treadmill with one of my newbie favorites, Marcel and I also did a 1.2 mile walk outside and a 30 minute low impact ride on the bike. Nothing too crazy or intense but plenty of Kcals burned. Yesterday, I had my virtual training with Jeff — lots of shorter planking, wall sits, TRX, upper body strength moves, step ups on the step bench. Oh…and I did a 20 minute pop ride on the spin bike and a two separate walks – a 5k walk outside and a 30 minute walk workout on the treadmill with Becs Gentry. Today, I wasn’t feeling all that great thanks to a GI flare but I still got outside and did a 5k run, followed by a 30 minute guided walk with Kirsten Ferguson on my way home. Once I had a chance to recover and get things done around the house, I did a 20 minute spin class with Cody Rigsby and that…my friends…is my week so far.

So I ask…why is Strava now saying that I am in recovery mode?! Is it because I have chosen some spin classes that are shorter in length or I haven’t done more miles with my runs. I am doing what I can, when I can and I am loving the flexibility of it all. That’s not recovery…that is rocking the activity!!!

My Favorites and My Not So Favorite Exercises Part 2

It was quite a while back that I made a list of my top five fitness moves so I thought I would come up with a new and improved list for both my favorite moves and my not so favorite moves. I know that by listing the not so favorites, I am at risk of having Jeff read this and have them on next Tuesday’s workout plan but I’ll take a chance…

Five favorites exercises –

Chest presses – I do prefer doing them on the bench with weights but I am getting to like the TRX chest presses just as much. I love the feeling of power and strength as I work those upper body muscles!

Squats – With the TRX or doing an air squat, I know that those squats are helping me tone things up, hopefully turning that flab into muscle.

Thrusters – Give me 15 or 20 or 25 of them to do…I have figured out how to do them right and they are a great way to work out the core and the lower body.

Bicep curls – It doesn’t matter if it’s with the resistance band, TRX or weights…I love what curling does for strengthening my biceps.

Lat pull machine – I love the feeling of getting stronger arms as I pull down the lat pull and see the formation in my triceps and bice…

Not so favorite exercises –

Wall sits – Sitting up against the wall with my knees bent is just not something I love to do. Sure, it’s doing great things for the lower body and core but I am not loving that leg burn Jeff likes to rave about.

Side planks – It’s just something I haven’t quite aced. I have a hard time getting the right position and if Jeff tells me to do this thing where I have to go from one side plank to a regular plank and then go to the other side for a side plank…that is definitely one of those you want me to do what?!

Planks for longer than 90 seconds – Sure, I have done them for longer than a minute and a half but it requires a lot of mental toughness and when Jeff tells me it’s time to do one at the end of an intense training session, I’m not quite feeling it.

Resistance band tricep pulldowns – Jeff often has me do them when we train at his home gym and it’s a struggle at times to get it right. I know how beneficial it is to work the triceps but I prefer using weights or a TRX over the holding those bands down at that perfect angle and moving the triceps up and down.

Inchworm walks – I have improved on my inchworms in general but when Jeff has me do inchworm after inchworm across his home gym floor, I am not a happy camper. It requires a lot of focus and proper technique and it takes me three or four times to get it just right.

Back In Brecksville

I’ve been wanting to get back there and I’ve been mentioning it to Jeff that I would get over there to do a run and this morning, I finally went back to Brecksville.

The forecast was cloudy but clear and in the 70’s. I admit that I was a little nervous as I drove out there…kind of as if it was the first time I was ever going there. I couldn’t understand why there were no signs to direct me to the freeway that veers off towards Brecksville, that is…until the road I was on, took me to the opposite direction going north instead of south. I quickly put on Waze and after turning around at the first exit, I was on the road to the place I haven’t been to in what seems like eons. As I drove along the parkway, it all came back to me. I’m not quite sure when I was last there — probably last year at some point — but it felt like yesterday as I parked my car by the nature center. I found my way to the signs for the Hemlock trail and off I went.

I kept a pretty steady pace on the trails, taking my time and being aware of my surroudings. Mind you, I never go on the trails on my own but I have run on this particular trail before and it is really easy to follow. I reached the start of the park and then switched to the pavement, where I ran along until the main road and then back a bit. It really was a case of deja vu, where I felt like I had just been there yet I hadn’t been. Brecksville is and forever will be, one of my favorite places to run. Jeff introduced me to it a few years back, as he introduced me to trail running and I love everything it offers — trails, pavement, bridle path, towpath. Today was about coming back to a place where I can run and focus more on what the run means to me, than what I am giving to the run in terms of the numbers and data. It wasn’t about how long it took or what pace I was running…it was about the joy and the good feels and the pleasure of it all.

What’s My Handle?

Handle. Profile. Nickname…I had to come up with a hashtag name for myself on Peloton…it’s all part of this new wonderful world I am living in. I saw all kinds of hashtags on the other riders in my spin classes and I figured I should come up with something for myself.

I have used triangelmom for my work in the pregnancy loss awareness world and I have chosen momoffive68 as my social media title but I needed something different that would pretty much sum up who I am in the world of Peloton.

Introducing ‘formercouchpotatomom.’ I mean…that’s who I was when I first started out 11 years ago this very month. I wasn’t running. I wasn’t walking very much. I certainly wasn’t lifting weights. I lacked the self confidence to try new things. I didn’t believe I could do a whole lot so I stuck to some wonderful DVD workouts that didn’t really challenge me or burn too many calories and I watched wistfully as runners and joggers passed me by. I didn’t allow myself to dream until suddenly in July of 2014, I took that important step to do something…something for myself and for my mind and body and spirit. I was introduced to Jeff and he saw something in me that I certainly didn’t. He pushed me hard over the years to help me get over that hump of being the couch potato mom and becoming something that I never could have imagined for myself. Eleven years ago, I wouldn’t have dared to get on a spin bike and be a part of a virtual or real life class. Eleven years ago, I wouldn’t have dared to sign up for a race. Eleven years ago, I wouldn’t have dared to put on running shoes or don a tank top and capris. I call myself the former couch potato mom and I wear that handle with pride and honor. I see her for all that she was and I celebrate how far she has come.

Coming Back (But Was I Really Gone?)

I write this on a Friday morning, able to look back at a pretty great week that was. My last post was about my new Peloton bike, which I am absolutely loving! I am loving the app and the variety of classes and workouts that I can take pretty much any time of day or evening.

So about this pretty great week. Sunday had me doing a run to Acacia that reminded me of the first time I ran there and broke my foot in a trip/fall. Sunday’s run was really meaningful as I realized how far I have come and how different a runner I am today. After giving myself a little break from that, I did an intervals/arms ride with one of my favorite Peloton instructors Tunde….definitely something different from the classes I’ve taken so far. Monday saw me do a nice outside walk in the morning, a low impact spin ride and then another outside walk in the evening.

Tuesday was a pretty big day — I began it with it being the first of a three day bone broth cut. Jeff and I had been talking about it for a while about it being a way to jumpstart my metabolism and reducing inflammation and since Gary has been away for the past week and I was on my own for meals, I figured it was a good time to try this out. FYI – I lost 2.4 pounds! I went to Jeff’s for a long overdue measurement assessment and did a workout in his gym that was a mix of TRX and aerobic moves without it being too jumpy and intense. That evening, we met up again for the Full Moon 3 Miler race at South Chagrin Reservation. I say ‘met up’ because we hung out together before we had to line up of the trail race but we each did our own race. I was more in the back of the pack and I was intent on not pushing myself too hard since I was technically fasting and I hadn’t been on the trails since last November. It was pretty brutal…a few hills that I had to walk and well, I realized once again that when I haven’t been on the trails in more than a few months, I am not all that conditioned to handle the hard parts. I did very much enjoy the race and seeing my MRTT friend and River Run buddy, Tracy, and I did take in the surroundings that make me want to come back to run there again.

Wednesday had me recovering with a lot of walking and a 30 minute spin ride with a new favorite instructor, Hannah and yesterday saw me do a walk before my virtual training session with Jeff and later on, a 20 minute spin ride. This morning, I had set out to do an outdoor run and I had every intention of keeping it easy since I was coming off this three day cut. My pace was pretty steady as I ran out of my neighborhood and through Shaker Heights but I was really starting to feel taxed so I stopped the run and switched to a walk. After a few minutes of walking though, I decided to switch to a run and for three miles, I walked and ran through Shaker and Beachwood, back to home. I’ll be doing a 30 minute spin class at noon and then calling it a day.

So while my running pace and distance aren’t all that crazy, I am getting back to running at a regular schedule (three days a week) and doing spin rides most days of the week but some are shorter in time and some are a little longer. Walking has been my friend this week, allowing me to move and recover from the race and also, appreciate all that I get to see when I am out and about.

Change Is Good

I did something big a few weeks ago. I had been on the fence for months about buying a Peloton bike for my basement. Was it worth the extra money since I had a gym membership here in Cleveland? Would I really use it and make it worth my while? I had been so sure that doing a spin class on my own would give me permission to hold back with my effort since no one was really watching and I assumed that I wouldn’t ever need the app everyone else swears by, because I run on my own and train regularly with Jeff. I was so wrong!!!

I had tried out a few Peloton spin classes with my daughter’s profile a few months back and I found myself pushing really hard to get higher and higher on the leaderboard. The competition was real! I was coming to realize that the timing of the spin classes at our gym didn’t work as well for me as they used to and I wanted a certain flexibility that the gym wasn’t offering. I wanted to be able to work out when I wanted, whether that was first thing in the morning or later on in the day and unfortunately, the gym was just not doing it for me.

We wound up cancelling our membership at the gym after 30 years (that was another change!) since I really had no other reason to work out there and our travel schedule didn’t allow much flexibility for my husband to continue a consistent schedule with his personal training. I went online in early June and ordered a bike and a pair of spin shoes and had it delivered the day a few days after we got back from our travels. Since then, I have been a busy Momoffive68! Spin classes are my number one but I have done a few classes on my treadmill and the app came in handy last week when I was traveling for back to back weddings and I needed a little something in terms of movement. The app is amazing — there are all kinds of pilates and yoga and cardio classes and there are all kinds of workouts I can do on a treadmill or outside for walking or running. Here I thought I wouldn’t need or benefit from anything other than a bike and even that didn’t seem worthwhile until I actually decided to make the change and that change was oh so good!!!

Taking Care Of Me

From day one — nearly 11 years ago — my fitness journey has been all about going from sedentary couch potato mom to active mom/grandmother and along the way, learning to make myself and my well being a priority. It hasn’t always been easy to get started on a run or a workout when things are busy at home or I know someone could very well be needing me more than the run or workout needs me. It has been a process but I am getting there, in terms of allowing myself that ‘me’ time. Putting my oxygen mask on before I put it on my loved ones…

This past week, I have been busy helping my parents prepare to pack up their home, a home that they have lived in for nearly 40 years. My husband and I drove to Michigan to spend a few days here, going through the house room by room and it’s been physically and emotionally exhausting at times. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to train with Jeff on my usual training days while I am here and we decided to stay a day or two longer than we originally intended. I also knew that the point of my being at my parents was to help them organize things and pack up and not allow me much time for anything else. And I knew that the extreme heat we had in Cleveland late last week would be pretty much the same while we are here in Detroit so walking or running after 9 AM wouldn’t be happening.

All of that said, I knew that I needed to have my ‘me’ time each day and even if that meant that I was getting outside before 7, I would take that. I ran on Monday morning and then again, this morning. I took a nice walk yesterday and plan to do a walk tomorrow morning before we leave. I truly appreciated that time I was outside, hitting many streets I haven’t been on in at least 10 years and hitting some streets I have never stepped foot on. I took in the landscaping and the architecture of the homes in my parents’ neighborhood and said a silent thanks for being given this gift of time and movement. With each run and with each walk, I came back to my parents’ house with a little more fervor and energy to do whatever was needed to get done. (I also did a 10 minute meditation/breathing workout yesterday afternoon which really gave me the opportunity to breathe in and out and put everything else aside to focus on myself.) My routine might have changed a bit while I was away but the commitment I made to myself nearly 11 years ago, didn’t waver one bit. I needed to take care of myself before I could take care of anyone or anything else. There was a time when I wouldn’t have considered such a thing…that I couldn’t afford to be ‘selfish,’ but the truth of the matter is that I need to be selfish and I need to think of myself and what I need. It’s that oxygen thing I keep on going back to — I have to put the mask on myself first and be at my very best before I can be there to help others.

Weighing In On Things

I had my yearly physical this morning and for the first time in a really long time, I wasn’t dreading the idea of getting on the scale or talking through the year that was, which included some highs and lows with my fitness and nutrition efforts.

I knew my weight had gone down over the last few weeks and it was quite a moment when I got on the doctor’s scale without so much as a feeling of shame or worry. Granted, the scale was in kilograms but the number seemed pretty okay to me and it definitely seemed more than pretty okay when the nurse told me what it was in pounds. Coming back home after a nice vacation in Italy, I was a little worried that working out less intensely and eating more carbs than usual would equal a hefty gain but my weight was right where it was when I started the vacation and I have even dropped a pound and a half since I’m back! I feel better, I’m moving better and my clothes are fitting me better and that means more to me than the number on the scale. Really…

The doctor was impressed with the number too, noting that I have lost 15 pounds since last year’s physical. We talked about what I have been doing activity wise (running, spinning, walking and strength/conditioning workouts) and he said he wished all of his patients would follow my lead. I shared with him that I have a book about my fitness journey coming out next June and he took note of that as well…

It took me months to get to this point and I am going to keep on keeping on….not so much about seeing the numbers on the scale continue to drop (although I wouldn’t mind seeing a few more pounds gone) but more about how much better I feel and how much more energy I have because my metabolism is improved. I am eating more intuitively and more mindfully and I am exercising with a greater sense of purpose and awareness. I think about where I was at 26 and 36 — sedentary and too caught up with everyone else and not prioritizing myself — and then I think about how I made the change at 46 to make myself a priority. And here I am, at 56, with so much more living to do.