Stairclimb update!

Yesterday, I challenged the 1200 steps again. This is my 3rd attempt at the full climb, and I am making progress:

1st attempt: 27:00
2nd attempt: 21:30
3rd attempt: 18:11

The goal is under 16:00, so I'm thinking I would like to be able to do it on the Stairmaster in 15:00 just to be on the safe side. I wonder if the ACTUAL stairs (which include a landing and turns every 1/2 floor) will be harder or easier than the stairmill. Also, the ACTUAL stairs have a railing that you can use to pull yourself up with... something NOT doable on the Stairmaster!

Ooooohhhhh... my legs are S-O-R-E!!

Race to the Top - Training Update (01-03)

Monday, January 2


This was a "rest day" for stair climbing training, so I went to Cardio Strength class at the Morrison YMCA. This class is an "upgrade" from the "Strength Light" class that I used to take, so it was a little tougher. To keep things easy on the knees, I made adjustments to a couple of the moves, but this was a REALLY good class that worked my muscles AND got my heart rate up. Since this was the last day of the YMCA Fitness Challenge, I even swung by the Ballantyne Village Y (my home base) to log my minutes in the book. I feel good about finishing the challenge strong by adding points for my team.


Tuesday, January 3


Stair Climbing training day...

Crazy night! Met Mom and Aunt Jill for dinner, raced home, changed, and zipped over to the Y just in time. Got my 1200 steps done in 21:30 today--GREAT improvement! I finished up with 30 minutes on the bike, shutting the place down at EXACTLY 9:00! I don't know which was more strenuous--the workout itself or just getting there!

Food to Live By -- What's Round, Crispy and Delicious?

Roasted Brussels Sprouts on the Food Network

Costco had some nice looking bags of FRESH Brussels sprouts, so I bought them and then searched the web for what in the heck to do with them. Thanks to Ina Garten (love that name), here is a really simple recipe. Even if you think you don't like Brussels sprouts, you should check this out (click on the link under the photo). These aren't your mom's frozen, over-cooked, mushy lumps...these are crispy, flavorful and fresh.


The second time I made these, I added a little garlic salt, and when they were halfway cooked, I threw a salmon filet on the baking sheet. In about 30 minutes, I had a complete meal! Healthy food CAN be delicious! 


Fresh Brussels sprouts aren't always available, and this recipe won't work with frozen, but it works really well with fresh broccoli florets, too. 

Race to the "Race to the Top"

So...last year Ken and I participated in the inaugural "Race to the Top" event. This challenge is a race to the top of the Duke Energy building--50 floors made up of 1194 steps.


My chip time in 2011 was an unimpressive 16:37, so my goal this year is to at least beat that (I want to be under 16 minutes). The problem is, since I've been having trouble with my left knee, I haven't been able to run or do serious cardio lately.


The knee is feeling so-so now, and with the race less than 3 months away (March 24), I figured it was time to start training. I've seen the Stairmasters at the "Y" and the crazy looking people that use them, and figured I'd give it a try, too. The machines look pretty intimidating (like a clutz like me could easily hurt myself), so I had one of the staff members show me how to work the controls. Let me just say that before you step on, you better have your act together (i.e. headphones in, water bottle already in the holder, towel draped on the bar), because even when the machine is "off," once you get on, the steps start rolling down! Yikes!


For my first try (this Friday), I managed a pitiful 10 minutes and only climbed about 450 steps. I was sweating like no other cardio machine has made me do before, and I was totally out of breath. This is a totally different beast than the other stuff I usually do.


I came home and told Shin about my Stairmaster adventure and we discussed how I was going to go from 10 minutes/450 steps to 16 minutes/1200 steps. I wondered out loud whether I should gradually increase my time, but keep my pace or set my pace (about 75 steps/minute) and then work on increasing my time. Shin's input was that I should climb the 1200 steps each time (regardless of pace), since that is what I would need to do on March 24.


With that "advice" in my back pocket, I wandered into the "Y" again on Saturday. The Stairmaster only counts "stories," and each story is 16 steps, so doing the math, I will need to climb 75 stories in the Stairmaster world to equal the 50 stories in the Duke Energy building. I hopped on and accepted the machine's default pace of 43 steps/minute. After about 12 minutes, I was ready to give up! But... I told myself, you can make it to at least 15 minutes...get there and we'll re-evaluate.


Well, I made it to 15 minutes, which put me at 40 stories...more than halfway. So, I convinced myself to try to make it to 50 stories... and so on, and so on...until I had tricked myself into finishing all 75 stories. So much for beating my time... this effort took me 27 minutes! Boy, do I have a lot of work to do!!


Today, I went back to the "Y" for my usual 60 minutes of cardio. My thighs were burning, but I decided to hop on the Stairmaster again. Let's just say that my legs were not happy about seeing that machine 3 days in a row. I increased my pace, but only managed to stay on for 10 minutes. 530 steps--not even halfway up the Duke Energy Building! Again... I have a LOT of work to do!


Tomorrow is the day for my "Total Strength" class, so I will give the Stairmaster a rest day. Let's see if I can come back strong on Tuesday!


Today is the first day of 2012...a time when a lot of us are making "resolutions." I'm not a fan of resolutions, but I think we can all appreciate and rise to meet a challenge. This is my challenge to myself...what is your challenge for 2012? Whatever it is, tell others about it...make it public... your more likely to achieve your goal!

Continue to Challenge

So, I'm not real fond of saying "I can't"...and I REALLY hate it when someone else tells me I can't do something.

These days, I continue to seek out new and different challenges--both physical AND intellectual. These past few months I have taught myself to read and write Braille so that I can communicate with and help my best friend, who is legally blind. I figured if I could learn Japanese, surely Braille would be doable, right?

On to the physical...

Thank goodness for Groupon! It always seems to bring me new ideas just when I'm ready for the next new thing--at an affordable price! This weekend Shin and I went to the Kersey Valley Zipline. With my fear of heights, I was a little worried, but after jumping off the Stratosphere last month, I knew it would be a cinch.

Thanks to my new-found adventurous spirit and my lighter body (old me would not have met the weight requirement), I had a GREAT time zipping around above the corn fields. I highly recommend it to anyone who is considering giving it a try..

I'm back!

I have taken a long break from my blog, but now that I have an iPad, I should be able to make more frequent updates. Please follow my blog if you are interested in fitness, weight loss, being active, or just being silly like me!

Since losing weight, SO many things in my life have changed. Here is one that occurred to me yesterday.

Fat Mindy probably wouldn't have gone to an outdoor concert in the first place. She preferred to be home on the couch...eating fattening snacks and drowning in her depression. However, yesterday I went to the neighborhood concert with all my friends. I didn't sit on the sidelines, just watching...I got up and danced and had a great time.

This might not seem like such a big deal, but it is truly revolutionary for this former couch potato. What is holding YOU back? What would YOU like to do/try? MY advice? Go ahead and do it--don't wait for the timing to be just right or to feel "ready". Once you let go of what's holding you back, it will all seem worthy and you'll wonder why you didn't act sooner.

Good luck, everyone. Let me know what YOUR latest accomplishment was. We can all learn from each other!

-m2

A New Goal!

Thanks to an invite from my friend and co-worker, Dustin, I have signed up for the Charlotte RaceFest 10K to be held on April 16, 2011.  I will be 50 + 11 days at that point, and can't believe that I'm planning to run a 10K! At least this will put me in a higher age bracket!!

A bunch of people from Okuma will be participating, so it should be a fun time.  Now I just have to convince my son, Ken, to join us as well.

Training started in earnest today... I did some interval training near home.  It was 10K total, but I did sprints and speed walking to get a good fat burn going.

It feels good to have a new goal! Why not join us?  Check out the map below, or go to the event's site and register:  Charlotte RaceFest Site