After taking last night off, thought I better do something productive tonight. Went up to the All Saints gym after work with the thought of doing a mile or two or maybe a mile and some other cardio. Felt good as I neared the first mile, so just kept going and did two miles. Felt like I could do more, but tomorrow's Saturday and I want to do more then so I don't want to overdo.

Didn't really feel like much tonight as it was still pretty cold out. I guess this will just a night off.

Haven't been to Core on the Floor in a while so I thought that would be good to do. Get there and only Denise, the instructor, and Peg are there. Thought maybe others were just running late. Well, it turns out that was it and Denise taught to just the two of us. Kind of weird to have the class so small.

Knew I was going to go to the All Saints gym tonight, but didn't know exactly what I'd do until I got there. As I was changing, I was hoping to run for about 2 miles or so. Then when I got in the gym, I was able to get on the treadmill that was directly in front of the TV so that made it good. The TV was off, therefore I turned it on and put it to the station I wanted. This set me up for a good run.

As I got started, the gym really picked up and by the time I was nearing 2 miles, all the treadmills, elliptical, and bikes were full. I was feeling pretty good, so I thought I'd push for the 3 miles.

Ran the three miles in under 27 minutes, then finished with some walking and the last minute walking backwards, for a total of 30 minutes cardio. That was a good workout!

Wasn't sure this morning if I was going to 20/20/20 or doing something else. As the day progressed, I was actually in the mood to run. As I was getting ready to leave work, I checked with Bill to see what it was doing outside as they were predicting snow. It was still pretty nice with temps in the 20s and calm winds. Therefore I decided to go home and run with Bill.

Ran a brisk 2.1 miles in 17:50 (8:30/mile pace). Bill kept saying during the run that I was going fast, but didn't really feel like it for most of the run. Looking at the time now, I guess I was going at a pretty good clip. :)

So today was the LDD, therefore we were busy alot of today preparing. We had to leave the house around 2:15pm to get there to set up. We should have run in the morning, but didn't. Luckily since the dinner was at 5pm, we thought we'd be home by 8ish and could run then.

Got home about 8:30pm, changed and went out together to do the mile. Ran 1.04 in 9:19 (8:58/mile pace).

Although it's warmed up a bit, the roads still aren't great--they are pretty full of big sections of ice in many places. The wind is a bit brisk today and the Saturday group is running by the lake. Therefore I decided to run inside. My first thought was to run at the Y as the group may run south behind GTC, but if they don't, there's not alot to look at while running on a treadmill there. So I opted for the All Saints gym where I could watch TV. Got there and there were only 2 other people there (one left within minutes) so it was very different than the last few Saturdays. It was just before 7am, so I figured I could do an hour of stuff and still meet the group for coffee. Got the TV set, fan on, and hopped on the treadmill.

Ran 3 miles with just short breaks at each mile marker for a bit of water. At 3 miles, there was a good story on the TV I wanted to hear, and by this time I was alone in the gym, so I hopped off and cranked up the volume so I could hear it. I walked for a brisk half-mile during the story (a Growing Pains reunion piece on the Today Show), then got back to running. Ran the next 2 miles straight, and finished with a .4 mile walk. Therefore I got about 5 miles in total plus another mile or so walking.

Now off to meet the group for coffee.

I've been good all week and I know I'll do a longer run tomorrow -- either inside or outside -- so I decided to take a break tonight.

Met Bill out for dinner right after work, so knew I was going to run later. It's started to warm up a bit--windchills are staying above 0, so it's getting a little more bareable to run outside.

Just ran the quick mile around the neighborhood.

Ran 1.03 in 9:08 (8:55/mile pace).

First time with Anna in about 4 weeks since the last time got snowed out. Did some weighing and pinching--just kind of holding steady. A little frustrating as I want to lose more, but it's just not happening.

We did a good diverse workout of core, quads, pecs, interspersed with jumping rope. She also showed me some "side step" type of exercise to do on the treadmill to work the thighs and do cardio at the same time.

Again off to the All Saints gym and wanted to get a good workout. It was really busy again so I got on the elliptical. After about 5 minutes, one of the good treadmills freed up so I hopped on. Ran 2.5 miles at a 0.5 incline--taking quick little .05 breaks at both the mile marks for a water break. Therefore did an actual 2.5 miles in about 23 minutes or so. Then did about 5-6 minutes of walking with another minute walking backward. Another 30 minute workout.

Decided to go to the All Saints gym today instead of the 20/20/20 class. Got there and it was packed. Got the bad treadmill, so I just put it at a fast walk pace, 4.2, and an incline of 3.0. Had done nearly 4 minutes and the woman next to me left. Therefore I quickly grabbed her treadmill and started running. Only ran the mile, then did a little more walking on the treadmill. Finished up with about 15 minutes on the bike so I had 30 minutes of cardio total.

With the guilt trip of doing nothing yesterday, when Bill said he was going to do a two mile run I knew I had to join him. Had to get out and get some exercise in.

Ran 2.02 in 18:03 (8:55/mile pace). That's pretty good for not doing a whole lot in the past few days.

OK, so today is a really bad day. Had to get going early as I had to be out by the I and Hwy 20 by 8:15am, so I figured I'd just run later. Well, the day just kept going and I couldn't get motivated to go to the gym. I did have time later in the day, just not motivation.

So today is Saturday and I did nothing. Twice in a week------not good!

Really didn't want to do anything today, but I didn't do anything on Tuesday so I knew I had to do something. Got home and decided just to do the quick mile around the neighborhood. It's the first time in nearly two weeks that I've run outside as it's been so cold. It's still cold, but bareable since it's only one mile.

Ran 1.03 in 9:16 (9:00/mile pace)

Had a hair appointment at 6pm tonight and it is Valentine's Day (so I don't want to exercise after my hair appointment--I want to go home and spend some time with Bill). I didn't want to skip exercising again as I did on Tuesday. Therefore I worked to make sure that I left work a bit early and went up to the gym. I didn't want to get too sweaty as I had to go to the salon, so I thought I'd maybe just walk or do the bike. Then as I was getting on the noisy treadmill, a guy on a better treadmill said he was just about done---in essence offering me his treadmill. Since the one I was getting on is fine for walking, he was kind of insinuating that I could run on his in a few minutes. That kind-of guilted me into running, as he got off about 6 minutes into my walk, so I felt like I should switch over and do a run.

Therefore I did an 8 minute brisk walk with most of it at a 3.0 incline, then I did the mile run at just under 10 minutes (again trying not to get too worked up---but I sweated alot anyway). Then I finished with a 2 minute walk and 10 minutes on the bike so I still got the 30 minutes of cardio.

OK, was feeling a bit guilty and weak after not exercising last night, so I wanted to do more tonight.

Worked late, but went up to the All Saints gym and figured I'd try to do 3-4 miles on the treadmill. Got started just before 7pm and was going along well, then Deal or No Deal came on. I had seen the first half of this "episode" with this contestant last week. Therefore it was kind of cool seeing that and getting to see the continuation. This helped the time pass much quicker than normal. I ran 4 miles, with just some quick water breaks at each mile within. Good 37.5 minute run and it felt good to do a longer run mid-week.

Mom has a dentist appointment tonight and I agreed to chauffeur as she didn't know how she'd react to the anesthetic. Unfortunately it's snowing again therefore I had to leave work early to get home and get my computer (supposed to be a GOP meeting after) and then get straight to her. While at waiting for her, talked to Bill and found out the GOP meeting was cancelled due to the weather.

After dropping Mom back home, I suppose I could have gone to the gym but I just really wasn't in the mood. Therefore no exercise at all tonight.

Since I've been going to the gym alot lately, I thought I'd do the 20/20/20 tonight. This is not a good of a workout as other things, but it's good for variety from treadmills.

Bitter cold today again--negative temperatures with -30 degree windchills. Took the morning to do some house stuff and get inventory and tax stuff done. Around midday, Bill said we should go to the Y to get our exercise in.

Did my mile on the treadmill--starting at a 6.6 pace, gradually increasing at 0.2 intervals to 7.5. Then did 15 minutes on the bike, and finished with some weights on 4 different machines. That's about all today.

Woke up this morning to knowing it snowed just a bit last night, and was still pretty cold and windy. When I drove to the Y last night, I noticed College and Wisconsin Avenue were still pretty messy. I really didn't want to slip and slide around while running with the group, so I told Bill I was going to the gym. We also have a dentist appointment later, so there wouldn't be much socializing time at coffee, so I knew I wouldn't miss much going to the gym (except maybe slipping, falling, and unsure footing).

Went to the All Saints gym as I figured it may not be too busy on a Saturday morning, and I could also watch TV while running (as I wanted to run longer than just a mile--it is Saturday after all). Got to the gym and it was kind of busy. All but one of the functioning treadmills was taken, and the one that was available was the one with a belt that needs rewaxing. As I increased the speed to begin my run, I noticed that the belt was warped a bit in the middle and it was really noisy. At about 1.5 miles, one woman got off one of the other treadmills, therefore I just got to 2 miles and got off that noisy one and went onto hers. Gave me a quick one minute reprieve to clean off my treadmill before starting on the other.

Got 4 miles in at a good 9 minute pace on the treadmills. Kept it at just over the 9 minutes for most of the run to make sure I could do the distance and would feel relaxed and not strained during the run. The more strained I feel while on a treadmill--the worse the distance feels as the boredom factor really goes up if I'm strained. These four miles went pretty smoothly. Just stretched and headed out so I could shower before the dentist.

Not too bad for not running outside with the group.

Wanted to go out for dinner tonight and persuaded Bill to go right after work (as I didn't want to work out, then go to dinner sweaty). Went to Olde Madrid downtown. After dinner, thought I'd just swing over to the Y and get my workout in. It was packed and I couldn't find parking on Lake Avenue. Although I could have parked on a side street, I figured with all these cars the gym was probably pretty busy. Decided to swing back to work and go to the All Saints gym.

Didn't want to overdue it as I figure I had a long run Saturday. The last couple of Fridays I did weights and runs and then was fatigued on Saturday.

Rode 20 minutes on the bike, plus a short cooldown. Then did a good 10 minute brisk walk on the treadmill. Not overly intense, but still 30 minutes of some cardio.

Still pretty cold out and the roads are still pretty messy from the snow the last few days. I'm a little sick of the All Saints gym, so I thought I'd go to the Y today.

Didn't feel like running, so I did 25 minutes on the elliptical while watching the Halloween (rerun) episode of Grey's Anatomy. Then I did about 8 minutes of a very brisk walk on the treadmill.

The snow is still flying and Mary Jo said to close up early. I was covering one of Lisa's interviews, so I didn't get to go until about 3:45pm or so. Oak Creek Fitness had called earlier in the day and cancelled my appointment, so I knew I was just going to go to the gym. Got outside and the roads looked pretty bad, so I just went up the hill to the All Saints gym. While in the gym, the news said we had gotten about 10 inches so far and it was very windy and still going to snow for several hours more.

Ran my mile on the treadmill in about 8:40 and then did some weights (skull crushers, bicep curls, thigh/glute machine, pushups, plank with knee-to-chest, plank, and some situps). Felt like since I was missing a workout with Anna, I should do at least some weights and core.

So at about 2pm today the snow started to fly. It's expected to be a 10-20 inch snowfall. Therefore I stopped at the All Saints gym to get a workout in without having to drive too far. Felt like doing something different tonight, so got on their elliptical machine and did a brisk 20 minutes on that. Then finished with a 10 minute bike ride. Good, sweaty 30 minutes of cardio.

Couldn't decide this morning if I was going to go to the 20/20/20 class, or go to the gym, so took all the appropriate clothes in a bag and figured I'd think about it later.

Talked to Bill in the afternoon and he said he packed a bag at lunch due to the rain that was expected. Therefore we decided to go to the Y after work.

Ran 1 mile on the treadmill with 3 intervals at 8.5 pace (about 45 seconds each). Then did 20 minutes on the elliptical and 20 minutes on the bike. No weights today.

Didn't get going today to the gym like I should have, just got a slow and lazy start today.

Later in the afternoon Bill and I decided just to do the little mile around the neighborhood. Ran 1.03 miles in 9:29 (9:12/mile pace).

Saturday morning running and it's not too cold, but it's slushy. We're running from the towers and we need to stay on the streets as not much of the trails and sidewalks are shoveled.

Ran with Ken and thought I may do 6 miles, but 2 miles into it (with the slipping & sliding) I realized my thighs were very heavy. Decided to turn around at 2.5 and just do about 5 miles today.

Ran 5:06 in 45:46 (9:02/mile pace). Ran an 8:53/mile pace for the first 3.1 (27:33) which was a little fast. The last 1.96 miles were into the wind so it was at a 9:16/mile pace---a little better.

Went to the Y tonight as it's a bit snowy/slushy outside. Knowing it's Saturday tomorrow, I didn't want to overdue.

Did my 2 miles on the treadmill with intervals (about 6 of them for 45 seconds at 8.5 pace), about 10 minutes or so on the elliptical, 10 minutes on the bike, then just a few machines--just upper body (chest press, lat pulldown, and lower back).