4,475 Meters | Weekly Wrap

About three weeks ago I ran. 

Here's what has been going on ---> I did a couple of really big hard hikes with big descents and my knees said time for a break. Even though I have really wanted to run, I knew that I had to listen to my body.

So instead of running miles, I have been throwing on my Athleta tankini and swimming meters. It was was hard for me the first day and it was humbling, but the more I did it, the easier it became. After three weeks, I'm getting the hang of my breathing and even started doing an interval workout: 200 meters freestyle + 25 meters breast (froggy) x 5 = 625 meters.

Three weeks of swimming and my knees have recovered from the post-hiking aches. My usually cranky and kind of puffy bad left knee is actually feeling kind of normal these days. Sadly, that means it prefers no running, but deep down I've always known this. I haven't been on a scale or taken measurements, but it feels like my body is leaning out and toning up a little from the swimming too.

So even though I only ran 3 miles in March...I swam 4,475 meters!

Today I'm linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap! 

Weekly Workouts:

Monday - Swam 625 meters and a couple of walks

Tuesday - Swam another 625 meters and a couple of walks 

Wednesday - Pier Volunteer day for the visiting USS Sterett followed by an afternoon of walking around Central - over 6 miles total (in my Oofos flip flops ---> that's how awesome they are!)

Thursday - Swam 625 meters and SUP for 45 minutes

Friday - Stations of the Cross walk 3.60km

Saturday - Sports massage - ouch, I have A LOT of tight spots and a walk

Sunday - Yoga, a walk and Opening Day at the Pool 

Heading into April, I'm ready for more swimming, maybe some running, and lots and lots of watermelon.

How was your week? March?
What are you looking forward to in April?
Anyone else obsessed with watermelon?

Speed, HIIT, LISS and Swim

I signed up for another carb cycling intermittent fasting program and we started today.

I say "we" because mrC is doing it too. This time he is in the men's group. Previously he followed along with what I was doing and eating. We were thrilled with the results the first time we did the program a little over a year ago and we're hoping for a repeat performance.

Some rules for the program: do the daily workouts, track your macros using My Fitness Pal and post in the Facebook group, try to be gluten free and dairy free, and have a positive attitude.

Low Carb Day 1 - the workout

Warm Up - We walked about 15 minutes from our apartment to the fitness center.

Speed Bursts - We choose the 4 Cone Drill. Since we don't have cones, we found a space outside the fitness center and made an imaginary square. Sprint, shuffle, backpedal, shuffle. Repeat for 10 minutes.

Circuits: HIIT and ABS - We did these in the fitness center. We made modifications because honestly, these workouts are tough! We could only do 20 out of 40 in and out back kicks and we only did the HIIT circuit 2 times instead of three. The fitness center does not have an ab machine, so we had to modify the ab machine set to crunches. And I could only do sets of 5, not 10, on the leg lifts.

Cool Down - (low intensity cardio) walked 15 minutes back to the apartment up the big hill.

Low Carb Day 1 - the meals

The goal on low carb days is to keep our carbs below 50 net grams but consume your normal daily calories. Net grams means carbs minus fiber.  

Broke fast at 11:00 - 3 scrambled eggs and two sausage patties. This was too much food for me.

Snack - lid full of peanuts (about 30) and chocolate protein shake made with almond milk.

Lunch - 4 turkey rollups ---> should have had more to eat here

Snack - nothing ---> should have had another protein shake

Dinner - bbq chicken breast and steamed broccoli. Delicious! 

Overall, I nailed the low carb goal, but left about 500 calories on the table. 

One thing I like about this program is the flexibility. Each day there is a workout to match what day of the carb cycle you are in. You can choose the workouts that fit your lifestyle: beginner, gym, at home. The program also implements an 8 hour eating window, but you can choose your window. Most people go 12-8, but mrC and I are doing 11-7.

Today I also had a bonus little workout - swam 6 laps. It was such a pretty day that I went to the pool while mrC went to the airport. He met me there later.

At the end of the day, it's good to feel sore, right?

How do you feel about carb cycling/intermittent fasting?

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How I Mix Workouts with Fun on Vacation

If you know me at all, you know that I like to workout.

Not everyone is into fitness, so I try to find things to do that others will enjoy but that will give me my often much-needed workout.

There are plenty of fun activities to do in Falmouth. Believe me, I have a list of favorites that gets longer every time I'm here. But I love to try new things, too.

Last year I tried SUP Yoga for the first time with my friend Danielle and loved it. She's working on her Masters Degree this summer, so she put me in touch with her friend Amy of Peace Love SUP. I was thrilled that the whole family wanted to join me. Our group of six met Amy at Great Pond for a fun afternoon session on the water.

The girls and I had a challenging SUP Yoga workout. I'd love to say that I conquered crow pose on the board, but this is really just Amy catching my one second hold. She did not catch when I fell off the board trying to do side angle pose.

The boys kept to SUP even though we tried to talk then into joining us for some yoga.



W had a great experience with Amy on the SUP boards and several of us were even a little sore the next day.

A new activity for us this year was Bottom Fishing with Patriot Party Boats. Bottom Fishing pretty much guarantees that everyone will catch a fish because they park the boat on top of schools of fish.

Even though I just went along to watch and cheer on the group, I ended up giving fishing a try. It's a lot of work bringing a fish to the surface! I'm pretty sure you can call it a workout, especially if you catch a lot of fish. I think littleC caught eight!

My new found enjoyment of hiking led me to The Knob on Quissett Bay Harbor near Woods Hole. The Knob is really a sanctuary that was donated to the people by Cornelia Carey. She wanted people to enjoy the woods, the birds, and the sea.

There are two walking trails to get to the area known as The Knob lookout. The main trail is well maintained, wide, and takes you straight to the end. We took the Harbor Cliff trail which overlooks the inner harbor in spots but is narrow and not as maintained.

Off the main trail is also access to Crescent Beach on Buzzards Bay. Many people were making a day of it, but we just enjoyed a quick dip to cool off.

One of our favorite activities in Falmouth is the Shining Sea Bike Trail. The trail extends just over 10.5 miles from North Falmouth to Woods Hole. There are several trail heads so you can jump on and off at different places.

Of course there is always swimming at Old Silver Beach. We like to walk the .50 mile there and then spend a couple of hours in and out of the water. There's also a water sports rental shop right on the beach.

Do you like to workout when you're on vacation?
How do you get others to workout with you?

Workout Wednesday: Mixing Things Up & Low Carb Day

It is good to mix things up every once in awhile.

It gives you a new perspective 

Prevents boredom

Keeps you on your toes

These were all of things I was trying to convince myself as we headed to the fitness center for low carb day #2 workout: sprints again...but in a different form from yesterday. Coach wanted us to mix it up. Why? It's good to change up your fitness routine for several reasons:

1) to continue to challenge your body

2) improve strength and conditioning

3) to keep exercises effective

Since I always do my sprints on the elliptical and I'm not running, that left me with the bike. Then I had to decide which bike: recumbent or upright? I chose the upright because it imitates an outdoor bike and I thought would provide a harder workout.

I definitely got a good cardio workout doing 20 sets of 20:20 sprints, but my legs did not "feel the burn" the same way they do on the elliptical. It was my first time, so I probably need to play around with the incline choices more (I ended up on level 8) and figure out the whole standing up thing.

Side note: after doing some reading for this blog post, it seems as if both types of bikes can produce a good caloric burn (although some argue that you work harder on the upright so you burn more calories than the same workout on the recumbent), but the recumbent provides more protection for the lower back during the workout. Both bikes require quads, hamstrings, and glutes to do the work.

I posted a video to my Instagram, but here are some of the faces I make when doing bike sprints. Pretty funny!

After a 30 minute cool down walk on the treadmill, it was plank time. For my plank challenge I really tried to keep my body stationary while doing the full plank with arm reach. It's a lot harder than when you let yourself rock back and forth.

Since we were already there, we hit the pool again for a little post workout chill time.

We thought we'd mix things up at dinner a little too and ate out on our balcony. It was still near 90 degrees, but in the shade and with the breeze, it was very nice.

What I ate on low card day (repeat)

Brunch: scrambled eggs with ham, pb&j rice cakes and gf sausage patty 

Snack: celery and humus 

Dinner: crockpot chicken, greens beans, salad

I still crave something cold after dinner on low carb days (usually I would have fruit or yogurt), so I've been using pb&j rice cakes as a substitute. It's not the same. At all.

Macros: another good low carb day, but I'm ready to eat all the fruit!

How do you mix things up lately?

Which bike do you prefer?

What is your favorite dessert?

Full Body Workouts, a Hike, the Pool and Regular Calorie Day

I used to love getting my full body workout at TI Fitness in Manchester, NH. Whether it was SurfSet or Bootcamp, I was working every single muscle group on my body. It was awesome.

Now that I'm far, far away from my favorite fitness studio, I've come to appreciate a good video workout. I've tried a million many, but here are a few of my go-tos:

Metabolic Mashup 

20 Minute Fat-Blasting Workout 

Fat Burning HIIT Workout 

Hard Core Workout 

Total Body No-Equipment Workout 

I'm also really loving the Full Body Workout dvd that I received as part of the carb cycling program. The format of switching between cardio and strength reminds me of Bootcamp. That format kicks my butt. See?

Before heading out to hike, I got in one final stretch from my plank challenge.

The weather was pretty much perfect for mountain Monday: cool and dry. I love when I can practically see our apartment building and all the way to Hong Kong.

The best reward for making it to the top of Nanshan is some time poolside. My Hilton Fitness membership expiration is coming up and unless we can find another couple to join as a group (better price per person), I will be pool-less in Shekou. 

What I ate on regular calorie day

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with ham, pb&j rice cake, coffee

Lunch: banana protein pancakes (same recipe as here plus 1 scoop vanilla protein), grapes, water

Dinner: leftover Italian chicken, green beans, salad, Coke Zero

Macros: not happy with my carbs. I need to work on getting to that 50%.

Do you like workout videos?

Slow and Steady on a Rainy Day

It's been raining pretty much non-stop since Tuesday. It's not fun going out in the rain here. It makes me miss having a car, but I managed to get to the fitness center as planned anyway.

I did another interval workout on the treadmill. I extended the intervals by 5 minutes from Tuesday. 5 minute WU, 3:2 run/walk for 25 minutes, and 5 minute CD (not using my watch). I did remember to pack my Nike+ watch this time and I preset it for intervals --> another reason to get the Apple Watch: settings on demand.

The earbuds might make you think I am listening to music while I run, but I'm actually listening to Season 2 of Serial. I just finished the first season and was surprised by how much I liked listening to a story.

Keeping up with my #runlovechallenge goal to do strength workouts twice per week, I hit the free weights again. I'm beginning to feel stronger and have been grabbing the 10 pound weights more.

I got to try out my brand new goggles during today's swim. They fit perfectly and were so much better. No more water leaking in and fogging things up on me. My arms were heavy today, but I swam 12 laps in 20 minutes.

I read on Athleta's blog recently that to prolong the life of your swim suit, you should always rinse away the chlorine. This makes sense. At outdoor pools, I usually rinse the chlorine off me, so why not the suit? So, now I will be taking my suit into the shower with me for a quick rinse. (and in case you're wondering, I did not shower with my phone)

Ah, the rain. I learned today why rain boots are so popular. This whole living in the city without a car lifestyle is putting a spin on my wardrobe choices.

Rainy afternoons are so much better with a bowl of soup and a sandwich. Followed by some Netflix.

More rain all day. The locals like their motorbikes and on rainy days I'm jealous. They don't need rain boots.

Rain boots are probably cheaper than a motorbike.

Follow Amy's board Rain Boots for China on Pinterest.

Treadmill Tuesday and More

On my walk to the fitness center this morning, I decided that I was going to do a treadmill interval workout. My knee has been feeling better and my little test run a few days ago was successful.

I though it was a good sign that I be greeted by a Chinese Monkey on my way into the Hilton fitness center. 2016 on the Chinese calendar is the Year of the Monkey, and this year it's a Fire Monkey which represents ambition and adventurous character.

It's been so long since I was running regularly that I didn't even have my watch in my bag. Instead I had to use the app on my phone. (This is making me really want the new Apple Watch).

 I kept my workout nice and easy: 5 minute walking WU, 3:2 run/walk intervals for 20 minutes, and then 5 minute walking CD. It was not a cardio, speed workout. This was another test to see how my knee felt running for a longer period of time, but without overdoing it. I'm pretty happy with how it went.

After my treadmill workout I spent a little time with the weights. The Dirty Dozen workout is still my favorite. I'm excited that I have moved up in weight on a couple of the exercises. 

The last part of my fitness center workout is always in the pool. I love the cardio I get from swimming laps, but even more I love the feel of my body stretching out in the water. Today I had the pool to myself.

Back at home after lunch and a nap (this cold weather makes me sleepy!), I did Yoga Camp day 4. Today was about awakening. I want to awaken my muscles and get stronger.