Upping the ante

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Stephanie

Cartoon by Hugh MacLeod

90 minutes of intense cardio. 600 calories…GONE!

Seems like it should be more, doesn’t it? :-\

Anyway, it’s only 4:45 pm and I have already taken more than 15,400 steps today. So far – since getting the Nike+ FuelBand a couple of weeks ago – my highest has been 18,400. Thinking I might be able to beat that today!

7:35 pm UPDATE: I’m at 17,246 steps and haven’t even started dinner yet…I am definitely going to beat my prior record! Woo-hoo!!

10:15 pm UPDATE: I’m at 19,143 steps and going to bed. Good night!

26 reasons I’m doing what I’m doing

Posted on August 11, 2012 by Stephanie

As previously mentioned, I’ve joined a gym and am working with a trainer, and I’m working out six days a week. Generally, I’m working with the trainer three times a week for an hour plus 30 minutes of cardio beforehand, and the other three days a week I’m doing 45-90 minutes of cardio.

As written by Skinny Ms., here is why I’m doing what I’m doing:

“…weightlifting can reduce your overall body fat by about 3 percentage points in 10 weeks if you lift weights two or more times a week. This can mean a loss of as much as three inches!

Read on for the top 25 reasons [for women] to lift weights:

You’ll burn more body fat, and boost metabolism.
You’ll enjoy a leaner, more defined look.
You’ll have stronger bones, and reduce your risk of osteoporosis.
You’ll burn more calories.
You’ll lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels, and increase HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels.
You’ll become stronger, and have better endurance.
You’ll lose belly fat, because your body will actually store less fat (especially in the mid-section).
You’ll have higher self-esteem, and feel empowered.
You’ll reduce your risk of injury.
You’ll have stronger joints.
You’ll have a better feeling of overall well-being.
You’ll perform better during any workout.
You’ll reduce back pain.
You’ll reduce your risk of heart disease.
You’ll lower your blood pressure.
You’ll reduce your risk of diabetes.
You’ll feel happier, and feel more confident.
You’ll improve balance, and coordination.
You’ll lose body fat.
You’ll have more energy.
You’ll slim down.
You’ll improve your posture.
You’ll lower your risk of breast cancer.
You’ll reduce PMS symptoms.
You’ll boost your immune system, and catch fewer colds.”

Reason #26?

12.12.12

The duel of the Nike FuelBands

Posted on August 5, 2012 by Stephanie

To further our quest for health, fitness, and, let’s face it – wedding photos we’ll be very happy about – Todd and I got Nike FuelBands today.

Nike FuelBand + iPhone app

He won his as a Klout perk*, and so I, of course, just had to have one as well.

They’re really cool…you wear them around your wrist and they track your overall activity (Fuel), calories burned (based on your own height and weight), number of steps taken, and distance walked/run – all during a 24 hour period (it automatically resets each night at midnight).

You can set a daily goal as well as a bigger goal. We each set a Fuel goal of 3K/day and we’re already thinking of upping it to the highest of 5K/day. Since we got them 4-6 hours after our workouts this morning we’ll take a few days to ascertain where we should be.

My 16-week goal is to burn 264,000 calories by the end of November – my last chance to have my wedding dress altered.

You can download a free iPhone app and it will sync to both that and your own Nike+ website. It’s really cool to be able to have all this stuff available at a glance no matter where you are or what you’re doing.

Nike FuelBand software + website

Todd and I already competing to see who can burn the most Fuel/calories, take the most steps, etc. We’re literally “fighting” over who can do the next load of laundry or take the dogs out, LOL. Hey, it all adds up – and that’s the point of these…they really make you acutely aware of just how active – or not – you are.

So, we are thinking this is going to up our game and make it that much more fun!

*Yes, let’s talk about Klout perks for a minute. Todd gets a $149 Nike FuelBand, and you know what I got? I won a years’ supply of my favorite antiperspirant. :-\ Granted, Secret Clinical (yes, that shit WORKS) isn’t cheap and our winnings were probably nearly the same in terms of dollar amounts, but mine wasn’t exactly the kind of “perk” I wanted to write a whole blog post about!

Sunday mornings

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Stephanie

This is…another perfect Sunday morning.

Coffee, breakfast, futzin’ online, watching our favorite political talk shows…getting ready for a run, then going out for a post-run lunch.

When we get home we’ll be decorating for Christmas.

It’s a magical time of year.

Summer running | training update

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Stephanie

I enjoy running in the heat about as much as I enjoy having food poisoning.

As Todd mentioned previously, we’re ramping back up to a 3-mile base using the popular Couch to 5K program.

Today we started Week 3 which entails:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:

Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)

We use time vs. yards as it’s obviously much easier to measure.

By the time we got out the door late this morning it was nearly 85 degrees (as a point of reference, my favorite running temperature is 35 degrees). I wasn’t looking forward to it, but know that I do have to train in the summer in order to meet our next half-marathon goal.

Honestly, it wasn’t that bad. The second 90-second jog was actually the most difficult in my opinion because it was all uphill. At the end of both three minute runs I definitely could have kept going. Todd said the same thing.

It does feel like we’re getting stronger – even on the uphill portions of the course – with each run. At this point I would highly recommend this program to anyone who is considering starting to run.

You can see the entire nine-week program here.

____________________
Next race: Outer Banks Half Marathon | Kitty Hawk NC | 13 November 2011
Upcoming races: Charleston Half Marathon | Charleston SC | 14 January 2012

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Couch-to-5K, Week Three!

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Todd

Good run today! As you know, as we start training for our next race, we are using the Couch-to-5K program to ramp up.

And let me just say, if you are considering starting to run yourself, we would happily recommend using this program to get started.

We just started week three (of nine), and we can already tell significant progress. We continue to get much stronger on the uphill runs, on our very hilly course.

Here is Week Three of the Couch-to-5K program:

Start with brisk 5 minute walk. Then jog for 90 seconds, followed by walking for 90 seconds, followed by jogging for three minutes, followed by walking for three minutes. Repeat the 90/90/180/180 again…

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58.9 training miles…
417.4 all-time miles…

Next race: Outer Banks Half Marathon | Kitty Hawk NC | 13 November 2011
Upcoming race: Charleston Half Marathon | Charleston SC | 14 January 2012

Goal: to run a distance race in all 50 states!

Todd’s Weight:
Start 234 lbs | Current 215.5 lbs | Goal 199 lbs

Subscribe by EMAIL or RSS to get our recipes, listen to our food + wine show The Food Studio, and learn how we are living an amazing, healthy and happy life!

Feeling Stronger!

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Todd

Site of our next run!

Just completed a very warm run on a lovely day.

To ramp back up on our training, we are doing the Couch-to-5K program. And we both agree, even though we have only begun week 2 (of a nine-week program), we already feel stronger.

We’d recommend this program for anyone serious about running, even if your ultimate goal is a simple 5K run. This is the Couch-to-5K program we are following. Good luck.

Let us know what you think!
____________________
52.9 training miles…
411.4 all-time miles…