Lovin' Spring

Ok, it's been a long winter and I am definately ready for this spring/summer. It has been so nice to be outside! I have been trying to get in some good cardio outside now as oppose to the gym. Hiking is wonderful!! In the last week I've hiked four days! It felt awesome! The warm weather, sun, nice breeze and a toddler on my back, what more can you ask for? Yes, spring has arrived!!

I've been trying to keep up on swimming at least once a week. It's easier now that my 3 year old has to go for a swim class. I can do 1/2 hour of laps while she is participating in her class. And because I don't want her to miss a class I will make much more effort to be there. Motivation comes in many forms. :)

On top of that I finally took my bike in to have a longer stem put on the handlebars. What a difference that makes. I took it for a short spin and I can already tell that my neck won't bother me as much. They tuned it up for me also. Now there are no excuses! I'm loooking forward to putting some miles on it now. Between the hiking, swimming, karate and bike rides I really hope to boost my fitness level. Now I just have to stick with it!

Shout Out...

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! To all those who made a donation for team 1st Century Riders in our quest to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. We are so close to our goal of $1500 already! Couldn't have done it without your help! Thank you to all of you for the emotional support and encouragement not only to help with fund-raising but also for motivation in training. It really means a lot!

Another Rank

Yep. I am now officially a 2nd grade brown belt. So what does that really entail? Well, about 2 1/2 years of training, a bunch katas, a number of different kicks & punches, along with self defense, a handful of teaching hours and a couple of book reports, and some weapons training. When it's put like that it doesn't seem like a lot. Trust me though it takes some work. Which is why I'm excited to make it to the next level. It's kind of scary too that within a year I could actually be testing for my first black belt. This, of course means that I would have mastered being a student. :) Exciting. And in the process of doing something I really love I get a good workout.

Speaking of workout, I made it to the gym today. Yeah!!! 1/2 hour on the bike. It felt pretty good. I know that I really need to do more but with one particular child having some separation anxiety I really felt that 1/2 hour was a good length of time. So over all, I'm feeling pretty good about this week with the workouts I've been able to get in (karate 2x, gym 1x, 2 walks each 30 min, and some steps). Now as long as I don't sabotage it with the wrong diet....I'm hungry! :)

My Bum!

Was able to get a three workouts in this week and I feel pretty good about that. I made myself get on the bike...I'm not fond of the stationary bike. Bet you couldn't tell. :) However I think it went good. I'm working on my cardio/endurance issue and have found that another one has cropped up. It's my tush. Funny how it's sore from sitting on that bike seat for a while. I definately need to get my butt on that bike more often! Got to get those calluses built up. :)

Ceili Fundraising Event

Ok, here's your chance to help out raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Come to the Ceili (party)! Here's the info:

When: April 6th
Where: 1 Trick Pony, Grand Rapids
Time: 4-9pm

It's for a great cause! What easier way to donate then to come and listen to some music? There will be a seisun at the end if anyone would like to jump in and play!

Catching Up News....

I haven't made it to the gym as much as I would like to. However, I'm glad I live in the mid-west. With all the snow, sledding is a must and what better way to burn some cals! Especially when hauling a 30 pounder uphill everytime he says "again". :) That's not to mention the preschooler that tends to hitch a ride. I know that workouts can get boring and if you aren't having fun then you won't stick with them, but I have no problem sticking with this rountine. It's a blast! I'm happy to report that I am now only 10 pounds for where I was pre-children! I can hardly believe it. That means during the month of Janurary I actually lost 9 lbs. Yeah! Turst me...go sledding! I don't think I can attribute it to anything else.

That's not to say that I haven't completely used the membership that I just purchased. I have been getting in some laps in the pool. It's quite refreshing. I also, finally, pedaled a bike. I know, I haven't done it in about 4 months...Ugh. (This is a bike tour I sighed up for right?) I can tell that it has been a while. Although I was proud of myself for keeping a steady pace for 20 minutes. Now I just have to keep adding on to that. Riding indoors isn't my favorite so when the snow melts it'll be good to hit the road. Until then I'll just keep trying to boost my cardio and endurance.

Fundraising has gone better than I expected! I'm happy to report that our team, 1st Century Riders, is almost at it's goal of $1500. Isn't that great?! My partner in crime has a really cool fundraising idea that will put it over the top. Kudos F2F. You're awesome! Just because we are close to our goal doesn't mean we want to stop fundraising. The more the better. These kids are worth it! Just click on the donation link on this page to give your pledge. Thanks to all who have helped us...we really appreciate your help!

First Workout Of The Year

Ok, I'm excited. Finally after a busy holiday season things are slowing down and everyone is healthy. Which got me to thinking that maybe we (my family and I) should do something together to stay fit/healthy. So after some research our family now had a YMCA membership. I'm really excited about that because I feel like that has given me back the opportunity to workout with out kids crawling under me when I am in downward-dog pose. Not only that I will be able to take the kids to the pool during any weather and that is always a lot of fun for them.

So yesterday was my first workout in quite a while. I was able to do 20 minutes on the stair stepper, 1o minutes on the eliptical machine, and 40 minutes on the weight machines. I know that on the weight machines I probably should be doing more reps but seeing as how I was figuring out the adjustments on them and what they do, I figured that doing 2 reps of 10 on each was good enough. It felt really good to be able to do that. I am a little sore today but not to bad. The cool thing is that my kids had lots of fun while I was working out. I am hoping to be able to start a regular MWF workout routine and take the kids swimming on the weekends. I'm geeked! So Hooray for the Y!