Based on my 1st experience I agree.
The person I ran with was very talkative. Of course, somehow we got to the subject of his lack of strength training. 
1 Like
I ran between 10-11 mostly hilly miles today. Longest run in forever. And in the wind too - Blech. Followed by abs and then mobility & stability work. We had more rain last night, but not too terrible and the river was below flood levels. They are calling for snow on Monday-Tuesday! We haven’t had snow in forever it seems.
And misc for your amusement. I put on an old sweatshirt and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the zipper. I’m so used to wearing the Ss’ hand me downs, I’m not used to the women’s zippers on the opposite side!
5 Likes
Progress Report:
Cutting down on alcohol - doing really well. 1 glass of wine last weekend, nothing last night.
Drinking more water - also going well
More strength training- upper body strength/abs 3X/week - I got this
Walking and running on my treadmill (I have even compiled a TV watch list to help with this)
Trying a barre class
Eating fewer processed foods (I did this in 2020 and was successful in losing weight, feeling better and improving my fitness) - working on this.
Unfortunately I now have a cold which derailed plans to try a barre class this week. It also hampered my treadmill running, though I have done some walking. In addition to cutting the processed foods I am being more aware of eating more plant based foods including seeds and nuts.
Hopefully I will get over this cold soon.
8 Likes
You have a great plan - even if one slips or can’t be done, you’ve got other things rocking on!
2 Likes
Yes, I am thinking “one day at a time”. I do what is possible each day.
4 Likes
This morning’s hour long run was in 13*, 4* WC. After the first 5 minutes, I was nice and warm and happy. The air just feels so clean and fresh! Of course, H is off AGAIN because of the cold. It’s supposed to warm up to 36* today. SMH Today is his awful day at work though, so I am happy he gets to miss that I guess…
Then I rode the bike for 25 minutes and off to the shed and did the total body video. I admit I turned on the space heater before I left for my run. It’s not strong enough to really heat the place, but it does help some.
5 Likes
GIrl, yes turn on that heater!!! You’ll still build the muscle and burn the calories!!
2 Likes
I just don’t like leaving a space heater on unattended for that long while everyone else is asleep. The garage/shed is detached and sits a good ways from the house, but still. I’d hate for it to burn down! It’s over 100 years old!
1 Like
so many great things in your list. Just wanted to give an endorsement for cutting back on alcohol. I did the same a year ago, thinking I would just see how it goes and not make any grand pronouncements about drinking or not. But as I started to appreciate never waking up feeling meh after an evening of drinks, the choice to abstain at gatherings or out to dinner started feeling less like a sacrifice and more like what I actually wanted to do. I think I probably had a total of 6 drinks in all of 2023, the last being a half of a glass of champagne on xmas eve (after the first few sips my desire to continue drinking it disappeared). I’m probably never going to consider myself a teetotaler, but I can easily see never having more than a token drink here or there again. Good luck to you, whatever you end up doing.
5 Likes
My D24 has been lifting weights for a year, and seeing the transformation in her body (she’s always been thin, but now she is CUT) has been inspiring. She designed a 10 minute routine for me to do daily. So far, it’s going well, in that I am still doing it. Really want to focus on resistance training this year.
7 Likes
Cold is mostly gone and I’m back to yoga and on the treadmill.
I continue to do my strength training (I put it on my calendar to remind myself).
Water drinking and cleaner eating going well.
I had a total of one drink (wine )last weekend. That’s down from about 4 per weekend.
7 Likes
We are in the midst of a long stretch of winter here. (One day the temp topped out at 3 degrees. Snowy too.) In place of running, I’ve started using the trainer bike. Got up to 25 minutes today…. not tremendous, but so much better than sitting on the couch.
3 Likes
There’s a young guy at the gym, maybe 30 years old, who gave up drinking and says he’s feeling great. And has lost 10 lbs. He’s one of the original members of the gym like me.
2 Likes
Another 10-11 hilly miles done in windy, feels like 7-8* weather. This was probably my strongest long run this year. Still have a ways to go, but I didn’t feel beat up at all by the end. I also wore my new awesome “Love Shack” gloves, and my fingers were never cold. That never happens.
We stayed at an interesting hotel on the way to Boston that had a big sign “welcome to the land of love!” As you drove in. The gift shop was interesting. Lots of giggles. But they also had some awesome heavy men’s gloves, hence the name Love Shack gloves. (I have to wear men’s gloves since my fingers are so long.)
Then I skipped the shed and did my abs and mobility in the warmth of my house. H was good and left me alone. Can’t say the same about the cats. Funny I wasn’t cold until I did the mobility work.
5 Likes
Was your hotel in the Poconos by any chance?
1 Like
Ding ding ding!!! It was cheap and nearby the museum H wanted to go to. Our room was huge. It was its own separate building and 900 SF. But OMG. Mirrors everywhere!! Hysterical.
It’s been a great topic of conversation at work now.
Started the month with a cold.
Steps down this week but shovelled a bit of snowfor a couple of days . Look forward to getting moving more on the treadmill today.
2 Likes
@ClassicMom98 - no heart shaped tub? 
1 Like
Well, during my squat session, I tweaked my back. I was so angry at myself. 
It was nothing that heavy, but the tweak happened anyway. So, I popped a couple generic Advil available in the gym’s medical box and kept going with my workout.
I bench pressed to a heavy-ish weight and then got my HIIT in too, which was:
100 calories on the air bike
50 DB thrusters
50 pull-ups
50 ring dips
1 mile run
I dialed the intensity back a bit, just to be “safe.” But I’ve got a comp in a few weeks, so hopefully, I can nurse it back to 100% before then. More Advil tonight.
The plan is to get back in the gym tomorrow. 