Day 5 - Fitness and Recovery

Wednesday, February 12, 2014
59 days til 5k
Workouts: 30 Day Shred - Level 1, Day 3
                   Restorative Yoga at McP Hot Yoga Studio

Exactly two months from today, I will participate in my first 5k. Whoa.

I'm only on day 5 of working out again but I can tell such a huge difference in my endurance already! Today, I started 30DS with no prompting from my husband which is huge for me. I'm not generally motivated to get up and hurt more than I have to but I can feel myself getting a little stronger each day. It's fantastic!

Additionally, I (finally!!) got to try the Restorative Yoga Class at McP Hot Yoga Studio. Holy cow. It was great. I probably pushed a little too hard because I tweaked my back but the stretching, the peace, and the hot stone neck massage were totally worth it. If you've been working out hard and are having problems stretching out that one particularly tight muscle, go sign up for a few classes and enjoy learning how to take care of yourself - mind, body, and spirit. They've even got a special for new members to try things out. Take a gander at their pricing page or contact the studio if you're looking to sign up!

Day 3 - Fitness (Remembering Leslie)

Monday, Feb 10, 2014

61 Days to 5k

Workout: 30 Day Shred - Level 1, Day 2

30DS was significantly easier today especially after my C25k workout yesterday. I noticed the burn but today, I don't feel like I have a right to complain.

Almost 2 decades ago, my parents moved my little 7 year old self to a house in Fort Smith, Arkansas where I didn't know anyone and the kids in my school didn't have a value for "new kids". The house we moved into was on a little street with only 15 houses and absolutely no other children. On my block for several years, the closest people to my age were in high school. 

The house next door to mine would decorate with hogs instead of reindeer at Christmas time in support of the Arkansas Razorbacks. Two of the high schoolers in my neighborhood lived in this house, Jamie and Chris. I'm sure they had no idea that I even existed then as I was just the annoying kid next door. In the eyes of a child, these two along with a few others were awesome. They threw parties. They had jobs which meant they had their own money. They could drive! They were the excitement that I wished to experience one day. 

Many years later, when I was just out of high school, I found my path crossing with Chris again as we had several overlapping acquaintances. Facebook has made it so much easier to keep in touch with friends. I remember hearing when Chris and Leslie got engaged...and then married. I love seeing anyone in love and took special notice of those that got married not long before/after Ben and myself. There were lots of couples but you could see these two bringing out the good in each other. 

Towards the end of 2013, Chris and Leslie announced that they were expecting their first child. But in January 2014, everything changed. 

At 20 weeks pregnant, Leslie Creekmore was admitted to Mercy Hospital in Fort Smith on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014 with complaints of being short of breath. She was transferred to ICU that night and put on full, pressurized oxygen the next day. On Monday, Jan. 13, she was put on a ventilator due to complications from severe double pneumonia which is most likely a secondary infection from H1N1.  Leslie was moved via an emergency flight to St. Louis, MO. on Jan 14th. (From the Love for Leslie Facebook page.)

I started following Chris and Leslie's story as soon as I heard that something was wrong. Many people rallied behind them. Knowing the financial problems that were bound to come this couples way and knowing that they had more important things to worry about than money, many kind souls wanted to contribute so the GoFundMe account was started. Shortly after that, plans started coming together for online auctions, a silent auction, and a rummage sale to help with the bills of this unfortunate situation. 

The same week that Leslie was initially admitted, my husband lost his primary job. While we weren't able to contribute financially, I was extremely grateful for Leslie reminding me of what was important so I found a way to help out by donating photography sessions from Illuminate Photography to the auctions. I was so pleased when the first one sold for 150% of the stated value.

If anyone out there is reading this (extremely long) post, chances are that you know I've just started really trying to work out. Today, I woke up so incredibly sore. My neck was tight. My back was in knots. Many muscles were achy. I slowly moved and picked up my phone to see an alert from 5news stating that Leslie had lost her battle.

Leslie had again shown me that my problems are manageable because suddenly, the aches and pains didn't matter anymore and I was ready to workout again.

Personally, I will be doing my best to remember Leslie and what she has taught me every day. So, my probably non-existant readers, I challenge you. Remember that your problems could be so much worse. Go do something. Do it well. Do it for Leslie.

<3

Day 1 - Fitness

Saturday, Feb 8, 2014

63 Days to 5k

Workout: 30 Day Shred - Level 1, Day 1

Photo credit: lifehack.org

I don't know about about you guys but we woke up to a ridiculous amount of new snow this morning. One look at that and decided that it might not be the best day to start running in my neighborhood. Will I let that stop me? Nope! I popped in the 30DS DVD and completed Level 1, Day 1. I knew it was going to be hard but I was amazed after I realized that I actually finished it! When I started last year, I had to stop several times to catch my breath.

Huge shout out to my husband for putting up with my crazy antics of just up and deciding to run a 5k in a couple of months. And he even decided to start doing p90x to get fit together. Props to him for going above and beyond. <3

Oh, and I tried drinking Pedialyte (technically, it was this mango flavored off brand pediatric electrolyte drink) as suggested for electrolytes and rehydration. I was told that it does the same job as Gatorade but with fewer calories. Whoooooweeeee. The after taste was quite mango-y and yummy but when I first tasted it, it was pretty salty. Not something I enjoyed while feeling quite thirsty after working out. I'm not sure if it was the brand or the flavor but if that is what I should expect with all of them, I'll be looking for something else. Until then, I'm sure water will be just fine.

☮ & ❤

A New Purpose

Treece's Pieces was meant to be a blog about our little family. Well, life got in the way and other adventures appeared (check out the photography blog) so I haven't written anything in almost a year. SO - previous posts have been removed and this is turning into a documentation of my 5k training for at least the next 9 weeks. Why 9 weeks?  Because 9 weeks from today, I will be participating in my very first 5k - The Color Run in Oklahoma City!

*The workout plan*
Couch to 5k - This is a 9 week (convenient, eh?) workout plan that literally gets you from couch potato to 5k runner! You start out with alternating between walking and jogging and *BOOM!* 9 weeks (and a ton of hard work) later, you are running the 3.1 miles start to finish. You can find more details of this 3 day a week workout here. Read more about how C25k works here.
Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred - I have tried lots of DVD workouts in the past and this one whips my rear end in only 25 minutes. Since C25k is only 3 days a week, I will be using 30DS on supplemental workout days.
Yoga - I was lucky enough to win a handful of classes from McP Hot Yoga Studio about a month ago and haven't even had the chance to use them yet. BUT that changes this week! I have decided to go to the Restorative Yoga class on Wednesdays for a change of pace.

*Current android apps helping in my fitness journey*
(Most of these links will take you to the Google Play Store)
My Fitness Pal - Calorie counter for food and exercise
Fitocracy - Fitocracy.com - I think this website is similar to what would happen if Facebook and My Fitness Pal had a baby that was fitness based social media.
MapMyRun - Shows running paths/distances
C25k free - Couch to 5k program for your phone

☮ & ❤