Catching up and strength

I've been sans my home computer for a few days - my laptop had to be encrypted so that I could continue to use it for work, don't get me started about how much of a pain this process was - hence, the lack of commenting and posting. Work is also supper busy, which is actually good for me since I am not training that much (for me). Anyway, I am back:).

Let the randomness begin:

* So I am in a love-relationship with running and biking, and a bit of a "grr, I don't want to do this" relationship with swimming. My runs are still done easy - except this morning when I ran with my friend B and we ended up running 11 miles @ MP -and mostly on trails. My mileage is going up and I am hoping that by December I'll be settled into 50 miles/week, which is where I'll most likely stay (+/- 10 miles) until I start training for a marathon again. I get on my bike often, for one or two episodes of Grey's Anatomy, which is nice. It's funny bc some of this show's messages, like how there is always a cause for a symptoms/disease, and if you search long and hard with multiple tests and procedures you eventually find the cause and save the person, goes head to head with my main area of research. A few years ago I would have been pissed about this. Now I can just watch the show for what it is and hope that others who watch it will take it as it is, just a show, no real life. Will skip over swimming....I get it done, but I am not into it. I assume it's normal, and pretty soon I'll be excited about swimming and not so much about the other 2 sports.

* Aimee and others have been asking about my plyometrics/strength training regimen. I know many people are into TRX or crossfit or P90X. I don't know much about these, except that they would not fit well within my schedule right now because I don't have time to go to a gym to take a 1h or so class. I also don't like to watch a video and follow along. So, I did some research and came up with some simple exercises. Here is what I do:

1. Plyos: done after a hard run; build up to 2X/week.
1.1. Lunges: build up to 50.
1.2. Side run: 10 on R, switch to 10 on L, build up to 100.
1.3. Backwards/forward run: run backwards for a count of 10, then forward for a count of 10, continue switching and build up to 10 switches.
1.4. Hill sprints: build up to 10X10sec all out sprints.
1.5. Skipping: on flat or hills.
1.6. Butt kicks/high knees: 10 butt kicks/10 high knees, switch 5 times.
1.7 Jumps: on a set of stairs, or a bench, etc. Jump up the stairs, or up and down the bench. Build up to 50.

2. Strength: done at night; 2-3 times/week; I use 5lbs ankle weights and a band.
2.1. 200 abs - vary the type.
2.2. planks -3X30sec (build up to 90 sec or more) front, L side, R side, no rest.
2.3. Side kick routine from Windsor's pilates (google it to find free videos) with ankle weights.
2.4. Wall sits - as long as I can...
2.5. Arm swings (just like in running) with 10-15lbs weights. Build up to 30 reps.

Both my plyos and strength routines take 10-20 min, but they add up to 50-100 min/week. For me, that's all I can do right now with my time constraints.

* We got Petru's school pictures the other day, and I am a proud mama. I can't believe how 2 average looking people like my husband and me were able to make such a good looking boy. End of proud mama moment after the pictures.