Review of Cize The End of Exercize Day 19: Go For It

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Day 19: Go For It

Day 19 on the Advanced Calendar for Cize, was Go For It. I wasn't really in the mood to workout. When I did Livin' in the 8s on Monday, it didn't go so well. I wasn't in the mood to do it and I just couldn't get into it. I feared going through another workout like that. I was kinda blah about doing the rest of the program and kind of just wanted to bail on it.

I'm not sure where all of this came from though. Maybe it's from the podcast that I've been listening to. It's called Healthy Mind Fit Body. It's from several years ago. They are all about low carb high fat and paleo. I'm not opposed to either and have actually started doing low carb high fat and will probably lean towards some of the paleo aspects as time goes on, but they are also pretty much anti working out. They like strength training and some HIIT stuff, but they aren't into cardio at all, but the more I look at my heart rate charts for Cize, I think they might approve of some of the workouts because they look pretty HIIT to me! Check out the grid below to see what I'm talking about. 

When I listened to Shaun T's Define Your Life, I got super excited about working out and losing weight. It even inspired me to start counting my Weight Watchers Points again, and I lost 10 pounds n the first week and a half. I'm so weird. I can't be swayed into buying something from a commercial. I just basically don't believe any advertising at all, but these Podcasts get into my head. I think the podcast was the reason for my lack of motivation to do cardio. It could have impacted my ability to enjoy the workout to some degree too.

With all of that said though, I must admit that for Day 19 I had a blast once I actually got going. There's something about Go For It that I just love. It's kinda silly too. So there's one part where you jump up and cross your feet while in mid air. I can't really cross my feet in midair, but I do bring them together and then widen them before I land. Doing that kinda gives me a little bit of a workout high. We do it a lot too and it's pretty early in the routine so we do it throughout the workout. The effect is similar to being on a trampoline. I love doing it! I was so into this workout today and was excited to keep going!

I'm uber excited that I'm excited to finish this program now! It went pretty well today too. I remembered most of the routine and the Cize It Up section went well. I would still only give myself a 2, but for me, it was probably a 3! I still can't do some of the arm movements correctly and I still need to look at the screen for some of the stuff, but that's okay. It was fun and I'm excited to continue!

Polar M400 Screen Shots

Check out that screen shot of my heart rate grid. That's what I was going about when I referred to this as a HIIT workout. The intervals are pretty short, but this is definitely not the type of workout they bash on the Healthy Mind Fit Body podcast. I'm not keeping a steady heart rate in one specific "cardio" zone. It's going down pretty low and then bursting up pretty high. I've had higher, but the point is to keep it fluctuating instead of going at the same rate for a long period of time. At least that's my take on what they've said!  Woot Woot!

Want to Learn More? Watch the Video! 

If you decide to buy Cize, make sure you buy it from a Beachbody Coach so you can get the best price and the FREE workout! If you don't have a coach, you can sign up to get me as your coach! Shipping is about half the price through a coach and you get all of the same workouts that you'd get through the infomercial plus an extra one that you can't get through the infomercial. 

Zen Labs C25K Couch to 5K Week 3 Day 3

Week 3 Day 3

This was the final day of week three and I was determined to make it all the way around the track in one of the 3 minute segments. It didn't happen on the first one though! When I started the second 3 minute segment, I moved a bit faster than I did on the first one because I was going to make it around! About halfway through the segment, I came to the conclusion that it wasn't going to happen. I ended up slowing up just a bit because my shins were killing me and I didn't think I was going to make it. About 3/4 of the way through the segment, I realized that I could actually make it! I picked up the pace a bit and convinced myself that I was going to do this! And then, my time ran out. I kept running though and made myself finish that stinking full lap around that track! My heart was racing so fast! I wanted to die after that segment! 

I'm pretty nervous about doing week four though. After doing Week 2, I was scared about running for three full minutes, but I knew that I could run for more than 90 seconds. After the three minute runs, I don't feel like I can keep going. I'm not sure if I can handle running for an extra two minutes! I'm going to try Week 4 though and see what happens. There are only two 5 minute running segments, but there is a total of 16 minutes of running, but week 3 only had 9 minutes of running. We'll see how this goes. If I can't get through the five minute segment, I'll walk for a few seconds and then get back to the running. If by the end of the week, I can't run for the full five minute segments, I'll repeat the week until I can get through them. 

The screen shots above are from BodyMedia and the Zen Labs C25K app. The screen shots below are from Motion X GPS and Polar Flow. I got a new toy! I have the Polar M400 activity tracker and heart rate monitor. I love love love it! I'm still working out the kinks though. We went on a hike today and I kept losing the heart rate. It hasn't happened while doing any of the runs though. 

I've learned something from having the heart rate monitor and I'm pretty stoked about it! My heart is getting healthier! Check out how fast my heart rate came down after I slowed my pace down. The heart rate and speed graphs are pretty spot on. My heart rate was only a little bit behind my speed. It was a little bit longer on the last run, but I pushed myself pretty hard on that one. I was about 94% of  my maximum heart rate. 

I stopped wearing the Jawbone UP3 and have decided to return it. I'll write more about that in a separate post. 

Zen Labs C25K Couch to 5K Week 3 Day 1

Week 3 Day 1

I was pretty much dreading doing this week! The first week had running segments that were only 60 seconds and then we moved on to 90 seconds. Week Three has 3 minute running segments! It starts off the normal 5 minute warm up. Then we moved to 90 seconds of running, 90 seconds of walking, 3 minutes of running, 3 minutes of walking and then we started over at the first running segment. Last week, I was able to get halfway around the track in 90 seconds, so I thought that I would get all the way around the track in 3 minutes, but apparently, I really slowed the running down in order to make it through the full three minutes of running. Those three minute running segments were soooooooo hard. I wanted to give up, but I kept going. My legs were killing me! My shins hurt during the run. My hamstrings were on fire. My legs were tingly for the rest of the day! My shins were a little sore the following day. Hubby and I went for a walk the next morning, and I couldn't walk very fast. It felt like he was running and my shins were screaming at me to slow down! 

The screen shots above are from BodyMedia and the Zen Labs C25K app. The screen shot below is from MotionX GPS. I really love the Motion X GPS app. I just wish it had an online thing where I could see the whole workout in one screen shot. I had to merge two pics off  my phone into one. You can see where the running segments were! 

Beachbody Body Beast Bonus Workout P90X Plyometrics

Body Beast Bonus Workout: P90X Plyometrics

I really like that some of the programs come with bonus workouts so people can try out different programs to see if they like the instructor and the concept. However, I wasn't so sure about doing P90X! It's a program that just seemed a bit too intense for me, but I had to do it because that's just how I am. I gotta do all the workouts that come in the box! Why did they have to include the Plyometrics workout! I don't do well with plyometrics! My knees are just not built to do all of that jumping! f

I'm not going to do a play by play of this workout. It's too long for me to watch it again. It's a 58 minute workout. The first 9 minutes is the warm up. There was some marching in place, some jugging in place and a few other things. The warm up seemed to go on forever. My legs were getting sore just during the warm up. I was seriously considering giving up on the workout, but I kept going. 

After the warm up, we got into the fun part! Jumping! The moves lasted 30 seconds or a minute. Most of them were just 30 seconds though. There was a couple seconds between each move while he said the name of the next move. After four moves, we repeated what we had done. After that, we had a 30-40 second rest period. He said at the beginning that the woman in the workout was going to be doing a modified version to take the impact out of things, but she didn't really modify by much. She just didn't jump as high as they did. I was expecting her to do different moves like most of the other workouts have their modifiers do. 

The moves that I remember..........Jump squats, jumping lunges (they call them something different though), Leap Frog Squats (basically a sumo squat position with two jumps forward and two jumps back), Lateral Leap Frog Squats (basically a sumo squat position and a shuffle to the right and then the left), Jumping Jack Squats (jumping jacks in a squat position), Rock Star Jumps (we played air guitar while jumping), Gap Jumps (We pretended to jump over a river), Single Leg Hops (I just jogged in place because my knees wanted nothing to do with that crazy one legged stuff), Tuck Jumps, Tires, Pitch and Catch (We pretended to throw a ball and then ended up in a catchers squat), Catch and Toss (We pretended to catch a basketball and then stepped and threw the ball), Monster Truck Tires (We ran four tires going forward and then did high knees backwards). That's about all I can remember at this point. 

There were points in this workout where I wanted to die! At about the 20 minute mark, I thought about giving up, but I kept going mainly because I knew that I had a blog post to write about it. I actually thought about sitting down and just watching the rest of the workout, but I kept going! I felt pretty good about myself after I got done with this. I never thought I'd do a P90X workout in my entire life, but I got through what sounds like the hardest of all the P90X workouts. I'm actually contemplating trying the program now! I've got so many programs to do already though! Maybe this winter I'll do P90X. There were several things that I needed to modify, but I got through it. 

BodyMedia Screen Shot

Here's the BodyMedia screen shot for the workout. Check out all of those calories and all of that Vigorous Activity! Woot Woot! As soon as I uploaded the Body Media device, I lost all of those vigorous minutes, but I know they were there, so I'm okay with that! I might have a new device to play with soon! 

Zen Labs C25K Couch to 5K Week 2 Day 3

C25K Week 2 Day 3

It was chilly again so I went with the sweatshirt. I'm not really sure how I feel about wearing a sweatshirt while I run. It feels awful heavy as I get further into the workout. It's too dang cold in the morning though so I can't just wear a t-shirt! I might try the long sleeved t-shirt again. I used a new app this time while running. It's called Motion-X GPS. It cost 99 cents on the App Store. I got the app for hiking and really like it. I decided to use it for running so I could see my speed. Every five minutes, it tells you how far you've gone, how long you've been going and how fast you're currently going. 

Today was another 90 seconds of running followed by 2 minutes of walking. I always thought that I walked at about 2 miles per hour. It's the comfortable pace for me on the treadmill. It's where my shins don't hurt. According to Motion-X GPS, I was walking at 3.4 to 3.9 MPH. I can barely run at 4 MPH on the treadmill. I was pretty surprised by the speed. I discovered last workout that I was doing just under half a lap during my 90 seconds of running. I think that messed with my brain. I was going just over half a lap this time. As I started my run, I spotted halfway across the track. When I got to that point, I was pretty beat and ready to be walking again, but the app hadn't told me to start walking yet. Apparently, I was going faster during this workout. It left me pretty dang tired before it was over. My shins were killing me too! I think I need to go slower next week or I won't make it the full 3 minutes! I'm seriously considering that pre-workout snack! 

I don't have a screen shot from the Jawbone UP3 app. I'm still learning the ins and outs of this app. I'm not sure why though since I've already decided to send it back. However, I can't convince myself to stop wearing it. It's nothing but frustration! So during the run, the Jawbone kept going into sleep mode. The thing was vibrating like crazy during the running intervals. When I got home, there wasn't a graph for the steps. It's also not staying in sleep mode once I put it there while laying in bed. I'm wearing this thing through Sunday and then I'm done!

Motion-X GPS Screen Shots

Here are the screen shots from my new app Motion-X GPS. I couldn't fit the whole workout on the screen shot to the right. I wish there was a way to condense the whole thing into one screen. I'm still learning this app, so I don't know all the ins and outs of it yet. There's a way to share the workout via email, Twitter or Facebook. I'll see what that does. The screen shot on the left shows all the important stats and the one on the right is a speed graph. You can lay the altitude over the speed in a line graph, but since there wasn't much altitude in this, I just left it off. 

 

Zen Labs Couch to 5K C25K Week 2 Day 2

C25K Week 2 Day 2

It was chilly again, so I went out with a sweatshirt. I didn't use my arm band for my phone. I just kept it in my pocket again. I didn't have any mishaps with the app this time. I was pretty happy about that. I didn't have to look at the app this time to see how much further I had to go. I discovered that I was going just under half a lap during my running intervals. That made it easier to get through the running segments. My breathing after the run wasn't so good. I was doing a lot of coughing. I felt good throughout the day though. I never understood the post workout high that people talk about, but I do seem to be in a better mood after my runs. I felt good during the running segments. I felt like I could have gone longer. Towards the end of the workout, I was feeling a little bit blah though. I was definitely ready to be done with the running segments. I'm contemplating eating a pre-run snack, but it's complicated because I run 10 minutes after I wake up. I don't like eating right after I wake up and I don't want to run right after waking up. I can't wake up any earlier because I already don't get enough sleep. I'm still thinking about this whole food pre-run thing. 

The screen shots above are the C25K app after I finished the workout. The middle screen shot is from the BodyMedia Link app after the workout. The third screen shot is from the Jawbone UP3 app after the workout. I like how the Jawbone UP3 app looks. I love the graph at the top from the workout. I'm not a huge fan of the app's functionality, but I'll get into that at another time. 

Zen Labs C25K Couch to 5K Week 2 Day 1

Week 2 Day 1

Yesterday was Week 2 Day 1 of Zen Labs C25K Couch to 5K. I was super excited to go out for my run for a few reasons. The first of which was because I had brand new running shoes and running socks! I love my shoes. They are bright blue and oh so comfy. They are Nike's and I'll write more about them later. I think they are my first pair of Nike's in my entire life. I was a Reebok fan as a kid and as an adult, I would never spend $100 on a  pair of sneakers! I would spend that money on clogs since I love clogs oh so much and have never really liked wearing sneakers as an adult. I also had a brand new arm band for my iPhone 6 Plus and I was using hubby's Jawbone UP3 since he didn't like it. So many new things all on one day! I almost wish I had paced myself and spread out the new things. What will keep me running if I don't have new things to play with?

Okay so first....the shoes! The shoes were awesome. My shins didn't hurt nearly as much. I'm going to say that it was because of the shoes and not because I'm somehow magically a better runner after only a week of C25K.

Second....the socks! I think everyone should wear running socks even when not running! The extra arch support was fabulous and the socks were so soft and comfy! I'll write more about the socks in another posts.

Third....The arm band. I'm still undecided about the arm band. I liked not having to hold the phone and worry that I would just let go and have it go crashing to the ground where I could step on it and smash it to bits and pieces. It was a bit too tight to be comfy on my upper arm and I didn't think that I would be able to see the screen up there, so I put it on my forearm. It was a bit awkward and I felt like I was a cyborg with this gigantic thing attached to me. The iPhone 6 Plus wasn't really built for running, but I got through it. Because of the plastic cover, I couldn't use my thumbprint to unlock the screen, so I just left the screen unlocked and didn't worry about my battery. It was awkward when I wanted to fast forward through a song, but it was easy enough to see how much time I had left for the interval and the for the workout. 

Fourth.....The Jawbone UP3. I'm not in love with this device. I'll write more about this one for sure. The screen shot above all the way to the right is from the app. I really like how the app looks and I like that you get the cute little graph that shows the steps by the minute. The device isn't exactly comfy though and I question the accuracy. After the workout, it asked me if I had been exercising during that time. That was interesting that it knew that and asked me about it. It made putting in the workout info easier. However, it shows that my only activity the entire day was during that 49 minute walk/run, but I clearly moved more than 49 minutes during the day. I have some issues with the calorie burn listed for my activity. I listed it as a moderate walk when it asked for what I did and what level I did it at. I did run for part of it, but there was more walking than running. I went with moderate because the running was intense for me, but the walking parts were easier so I went with an average. That 49 minute run shows as 1988 calories, but the same 49 minutes on Body Media show 599. I'm not saying that BodyMedia is perfect, but I'm fairly confident there's no way I burned almost 2000 calories in 49 minutes. I've seen workouts on YouTube that are called the 1000 calorie workout. They are crazy intense and you do them in an hour. I didn't work twice as hard as one of those workouts. That alone makes me seriously question the accuracy of this device. I've decided that it's not the device to replace my Body Media Link. I love my Body Media Link, but I'm tired of the monthly fee. However, I haven't found a replacement for it yet. 

Finally......The run! This workout was a 5 minute warm up followed by intervals of 90 seconds of running and 2 minutes of walking, followed by a 5 minute cool own. My warm up was longer than 5 minutes since I walk to the track before I start the running intervals. My cool down was also longer than 5 minutes since I walk home. It was a little chilly, but I just wore a t-shirt and was okay. It was a bit windy and I was running into the wind for most of the running intervals. The 90 seconds of running was about my max. I could probably have gone a little longer for the first few, but by the last few running intervals, I was definitely a clock watcher. I didn't do as much coughing during the running intervals as last which though. I'm very happy about that improvement. My shins didn't hurt as much during this run, which was another thing that I was very happy about. Overall, I felt pretty good about this run. I've got this same routine twice more and then next week turns crazy! There are parts where I have to run for three minutes. I was a clock watcher for the 90 seconds. I can't imagine 3 minutes straight! Hubby says I can do it. I probably can. The first time I attempting running, I actually ran from the track to my house which is an 8 or 9 minute walk, so I was probably running for at least five minutes. However, it was just that one little burst. I then sat on the couch and nearly died. That was several months ago though. It might have even been before spring. I remember it being pretty chilly and feeling stupid for only wearing a t-shirt. Now I'm rambling. Couch to 5K is going well! I'm kind of enjoying running on the track. I feel dorky to admit this, but sometimes I think of people in the stands cheering for me at the end of a race. I did not have any mishaps today with the app! This was my fourth day of the program and my first day without screwing up the app. I guess that's a positive note for the arm band. 

Beachbody Body Beast Day 83: Beast Cardio & Beast Abs

Day 83: Beast Cardio & Beast Abs

Day 83 of the Lean Program was Beast Cardio and Beast Abs. I actually did the ab workout today. I didn't want my last workout for this round to be Beast Cardio. I haven't been a fan of this workout from the start. It's gotten less annoying, but I still didn't want it to be my last memory of Body Beast. I had this vague memory of not being all that impressed with the ab workout so I thought it would be a nice easy 10 minutes to finish my round of Body Beast. I was wrong. The ab workout is pretty much torturous. My abs were killing me during the entire 10 minutes! The cardio workout, however, wasn't as annoying. The toe tap thing was a bit annoying because it was a bit humid and warm this morning and the in and outs kind of sucked, but I survived all of that. I did the Plank to Push Ups on my knees though. I started out on my toes, but I just couldn't do it. 

Since Day 84 is a Rest Day, I'm officially done with this round of Body Beast! It wasn't always pretty and it didn't go completely as the calendar laid it out, but I got through it! I skipped almost all of the ab workouts and I took a lot of extra rest days, but I got through it! I'll write something about each of the workouts at some point. 

Tomorrow is Week 2 Day 1 of C25K and then on Tuesday, I'm taking a rest day! A real rest day. No workouts of any kind! I still have to go to work, but my body is ready for a day off! Wednesday will be more C25K and then Thursday will be an attempt to do the P90X workout that comes free with Body Beast. I say attempt because the free workout is Plyometrics. I hate plyometrics! The cardio workout for Body Beast has some plyo in it. I don't do the plyo lunges, but I do the jump squats and the plyo push ups (on my knees, but I do make them plyo). We'll see how things go.

BodyMedia Screen Shots

Here are the screen shots. I'm surprised that it shows any activity for the ab workout. Weird. 

Beachbody Body Beast Day 82: Bulk Arms

Day 82: Bulk Arms

Day 82 for the Lean Program of Body Beast was Bulk Arms. I did this workout in the afternoon because I did C25K in the morning. It took me far too long to get all of my calls done. By the time I was done, I didn't have much time for this workout before hubby got home and we had plans to go out to dinner. I went down in the weights on the concentration hammer curls because I didn't have the time to doink around with pausing the DVD. I did have to pause it earlier in the workout though. I was too slow doing one of the sets and I needed to pause the DVD so I could get the weights set up for the next move. I didn't think I was going to feel it in my biceps the next day, but I did. It's not crazy painful or anything, but I can definitely feel it. It's actually getting a bit more sore as I sit here and type. I was pretty impressed with myself during the tricep kickback section! Normally, I am super slow and I have to take breaks during the last few sets, but I made it through without breaks! I'm pretty sure that's a first for me! I still think the 10 pound weights are too heavy for this section since I don't seem to get a full range of motion, but I don't have 8 pound weights! I think I should invest in some before my next round of Body Beast! I should probably get some 12s too.

The Worksheet

Here's the worksheet! 

BodyMedia Screen Shot

Here's the screen shot. Unimpressive I know. 

Zen Labs C25K Couch to 5K Week 1 Day 3

C25K Week 1 Day 3

This was another double workout day. Fortunately, it was a Saturday so I didn't have to go to work! However, I still had to go grocery shopping and do 12 phone calls for my editing project. It was a pretty rough day. I started the run just after hubby went to work at 7:30 in the morning. It was nice walking while it was light out. I did the same thing as the last time though even though I didn't have a lighting issue. Since walking to the track and doing all of the running on the track felt better on my shins, I did it again. The workout should have been 30 minutes, but turned into just under 48 minutes. The extra exercise was good for me though so I'm not complaining. I'll get faster at my walk to the track so I might be able to shave a couple minutes off the total workout. If I can't, it doesn't really matter. I've got plenty of calories to burn.

Once again, I managed to screw something up with the app. I'm not sure how I continue to manage that one, but I was getting texts and emails while doing one of the walking rotations. I never got the message to run, so I kept walking. Once I realized I had been walking for too long, I looked at the phone and saw that I was halfway done with a running interval, but I was still walking. I ended up running into the next walking interval. Then I shortened that walking interval and got back on track with the running. 

I learned something about the app today! When I started the app, it told me that I needed to make sure that my phone wasn't on Silent or Vibrate if I wanted to hear the walking/running notifications while the screen was locked. No more battery sucking! Woot Woot. 

It was way too humid for this run. I didn't need a sweatshirt, but a t-shirt wasn't enough. I ended up putting on a long sleeve t-shirt that I got when I signed up to do the Shamrock Run (I was going to do the 5k walk) several years ago. I didn't end up going because it was raining that day. The fabric was kind of weird. It kept me very warm though. 

I got through the walk without too much trouble, but I was pretty much exhausted for the rest of the day. Not mentally tired. My brain was fine. My eyeballs were too. This was just physical exhaustion. Holding my head up was a challenge. I found myself falling asleep while editing which could have bad consequences when the higher ups get the reports! The humidity was getting to me during the run too. I was kind of dragging at the end of each jogging interval and I was so ready for this workout to be over and done with! 

Later that day, I bought new running shoes though. Now I'm all excited to run again! Woot Woot! 

Beachbody Body Beast Day 81: Bulk Back

Day 81: Bulk Back

Day 81 was Bulk Back! I really like Bulk Back, but I really didn't want to workout! I was sore, I was tired and I was a bit cranky. I got up and did it though. It was the last week of Body Beast and I fought hard to get here so I had to finish it up. It was bad enough that I was going to finish on Sunday instead of Saturday which meant workout on Sunday which is hike day. I couldn't roll it over into the following week and do more double workouts with Body Beast and C25K. I learned my lesson the day before. 

I did the modified pull ups on my belly for this one again. I really like doing them that way. I don't feel it in my lower back, but I really feel it in my lats which is where I should feel it. In the past, I've felt some crunchies in my left shoulder while doing the lat pullovers, but I didn't feel it this time, which made me uber happy. I think I'm going to miss this workout! I might have to buy the program while it's on sale just so I can do the ones that I like even if I don't do another full round.

The Worksheet

Here's the worksheet. 

BodyMedia Screen Shot

Here's the BodyMedia screen shot for the workout. The activity minutes completely went away when I set up the sync with the phone. I really wish I knew why I did this stuff! 

Beachbody Body Beast Day 80: Bulk Shoulders

Day 80: Bulk Shoulders

Day 80 of the Lean Program of Body Beast was Bulk Shoulders. At the beginning of this program, I dreaded doing both of the shoulder workouts. I have wimpy shoulders. I always have. My shoulders have made other days more difficult. My shoulders and triceps have notoriously given out before my chest so I've had a hard time frying out my chest in the past, but Body Beast has helped my shoulders! I'm still lifting wimpy weights on shoulder day, but my shoulders aren't stopping me on other days. I'm getting through these shoulder workouts and I'm not really sore the next day. I'm not really sure why I'm not getting DOMS in my shoulders even though I feel completely toasted after the workouts. Oh well. This was my last shoulder day. I gotta say that I'm not going to miss those Arnold Presses! Those things are torture! These shoulder workouts made me wish I had 8 pound weights! 

The Worksheet

Here's the worksheet. 

BodyMedia Screen Shot

Here's the BodyMedia screen shot for the workout. The activity minutes completely went away when I set up the sync with the phone. I really wish I knew why it did this stuff! 

Beachbody Body Beast Day 79: Build Legs

Day 79: Build Legs

Day 79 of the Lean Program of Body Beast was Build Legs. My last Leg Day for Body Beast! I'm glad it was Build Legs and not Bulk Legs! Build Legs is pretty torturous and I hurt for about four days after doing this workout, but it's an easier workout to get through than Bulk Legs. I'm not sure why I hurt for so long after this one. It's not like I hadn't done this one before. I've done it several. This level of soreness after the workout usually decreases the more you do the same workout, but maybe doing C25K that morning made it more challenging. I'm not really sure. All I know is that I was seriously concerned about being able to do C25K again on Saturday! I still had to pause the DVD during the section with the front lunges and the step up with reverse lunges. My balance still sucks doing all of those. I can't wait to do Tai Cheng to see if I can work on those balance issues! As you can see in my notes, I found this workout to be quite torturous. I'm not sure if it was because I did C25K that morning or because I did the workout after work. It wasn't too terribly hot that day, but it was really hard to convince myself to keep going. If it hadn't bee the last leg day of the round, I might not have been able to convince myself to keep going!

The Worksheet

Here's the worksheet. 

BodyMedia Screen Shot

Here's the screen shot. As unimpressive as it is, as soon as I uploaded, that total activity shrank down quite a bit! It's highly annoying that it does that. 

Zen Labs C25K Couch to 5K Week 1 Day 2

C25K Week 1 Day 2

My idea of doing one week of C25K while still doing Body Beast might not have been the best idea. It meant trying to cram two workouts into one day. There wasn't really a good day for this. I probably picked the worst possible day for it. I was smart enough to do my run in the morning and my leg day in the afternoon, but doing these two on the same day was probably a stupid idea. I woke up bright and early at 4:00 AM and geared up for the run. I wore a sweatshirt because it was pretty chilly out. I put my light on the visor of my hat, grabbed my phone and water bottle and headed out the door. I started the C25K app once I got to the street. I started the BodyMedia app right out the door. It was too dark to run on the sidewalk since I couldn't tell where the cracks and debris were. I decided to just walk to the school and then do the running on the track. It meant the workout was longer than the 30 minutes that it's supposed to be. It also meant that I had to pause the C25K app because it takes longer than 5 minutes to walk to the track. My shins hurt less doing it this way too, which made things better for me. Once I got to the track, I started my running intervals. I managed to screw something up on this trip just like the first trip, but this time it was different. I'm not sure what happened, but somehow I paused the app so I ended up running longer than I was supposed to for one of the intervals. Oops.

I got to use my new water bottle for this trip. I was pretty happy with it. It's got a strap for my hand so I don't really have to hold the water bottle! It's kinda just strapped to my hand. I'll write something up about the bottle at some point. It's a little tight for my big hand, but I got over it since the bottle is so uber awesome.

The first time I ran a few months ago, I had music playing on my phone, but I honestly never even heard it. I was just trying to breathe. When I ran on Saturday, I noticed the music was there, but I didn't really pay much attention to it. This time, I noticed the music and fast forwarded through the slow songs. I'll have to get a playlist going with just up beat songs so I don't have to deal with that. I think I'm getting better at this running thing if I'm able to focus on the music instead of my inability to breathe. I might be able to do a 5K after I'm done with this thing! I was really skeptical, but I'm optimistic now!

Easy Hike to Henline Falls near Mehama, Oregon

Henline Falls near Mehama, Oregon

Today we went to a hike that I wanted to do last year, but it was too far of a drive for a short hike. We did it today since we had to go to Albany so it was on the way home if we went the long way. We were pretty dang happy that we did it! I loved this waterfall! 

How to get there

If you're driving on HWY 22 from Salem towards Detroit, turn left at the second blinking yellow like in Mehama. There's a restaurant on the right. I can't remember the name of it, but it used to be the Swiss Chalet. It looks like it changed names though. The road will turn to dirt and then back to pavement. After 15 miles total, the road turns to dirt once more. Just over a mile later, stay straightish/left (basically, don't turn right). Shortly after that, park on the right at the trail head. The trail head only has room for about three cars if people park correctly or two if they park badly. You can park on the side of the road, but it's a bit sketchy. 

The Hike

The hike is just under two miles total. It's an out and back hike. It starts off going uphill. I hate going uphill to start a hike, but this one isn't crazy steep so it wasn't that bad. It was super humid on the day we went, but it wasn't too terribly warm. I wore a light jacket, but would have been fine without it. There was a bit of a breeze at times which was nice. The trail was wide enough for the two of us to walk next to each other for bits of it, but other bits were only enough for one person at a time comfortably with our poles. The terrain was packed dirt at times and looks rocks at times. It was a little slippery in some places due to some mud and also some moss on some rocks. 

After about a half mile I think, there was a fork off to the right. That one goes up to Ogle Mountain Trail. There wasn't a sign indicating which way to go for Henline Falls. We had to refer to our hiking guide book. I'm glad we had it with us! Be sure to stay to the left if you want to visit the falls! 

Shortly after you take that left fork, you'll come to a sign indicting that you are half a mile from the falls. At this point, you start going downhill. It starts off a bit gentle, but then there were some parts that were a bit steeper. The closer to the falls, the steeper it got. 

Just before the falls, there were some concrete blocks. They were part of the foundation for some mining stuff. The stuff is gone, but the concrete blocks are still there. You have to climb up onto them which can be challenging. They were slippery since they were wet. It was also a pretty big step up. Stepping down from them was actually worse than stepping up though. It's a pretty narrow space between them. After the concrete blocks, it gets a little steep and you're walking on wet rocks. I'm glad that I had my hiking poles because they help with balance. The waterfall was gorgeous! It's one of my favorite waterfalls! 

If you're okay with climbing on more wet rocks, you can climb up to the mining cave. It's not very far up to get to it, but it was too steep for me to feel comfortable climbing up on the wet rocks. It wasn't the up I was worried about though. I was more concerned about coming down! Another couple went up there and came out screaming because of the spiders. You can only go in about 25 feet before you reach a gate blocking the path. We managed to get out fairly easily. The steepish parts of the trail out were pretty short so we didn't need any breaks. 

There were no restrooms at this trail head. 

Runtastic

I ran the Runtastic App while doing the hike. I couldn't get MapMyHike or Walkmeter to load so I just had the one app. It showed that we walked 3.55 miles and had 439 feet of elevation gain. This doesn't jive with the book or our feelings on the hike. It was far too easy for it to have been 439 feet. We were only out there for an hour and 12 minutes and we normally walk about 2 miles per hour. We stopped for a break or two and we stayed at the waterfall for about 10 minutes, so I'm pretty sure we didn't walk 3.55 miles. I'm so frustrated with these tracking apps. I'm seriously considering buying a GPS unit, but I don't want to spend the money on one. I have an iPhone 6 Plus. It should have a good GPS device in it. I've done research that says it does, so I have to blame the apps. I'm willing to pay for an app as long as it works! I refuse to go pro on Runtastic or any of the other apps I'm trying as long as they keep showing crazy info like 3.55 miles on a 2 mile hike! I didn't bother with a screen shot since the app was so wacky. 

BodyMedia Screen Shot

Here's the BodyMedia screen shot for the hike. It looks lower than I thought it would. My run yesterday seemed pretty low too though so I'm not really sure what's going on. When I checked the mobile app after the hike, but before I uploaded the info, I had over an hour of moderate activity for the day, but after I uploaded, my moderate activity went down to 45 minutes. I'm getting really frustrated with this stuff!