Laraway DOMS

Today was a perfect day for hiking, so Andy and I took advantage of a free morning and hiked Laraway Mountain. It was a sweaty hike, but it was beautiful at the top. So worth it. I love this hike. It winds through the woods and then climbs up to these amazing walls of rock. One of my favorites.

Hiking hair, don't care. :)

Worth every drop of sweat.

About halfway through the hike my legs started to hurt. A lot. My hips, glutes, and hamstrings were screaming. Then I remembered - TKD two days ago. My DOMS never kick in until 2 days later, and they showed up just in time for the hike.

My legs are super sore tonight. I'm also beginning to feel the back/shoulder workout that I did on Wednesday. It was a good one. I love DOMS.

Taekwondo Tuesday

It's 8:30pm, and I am eating a hasty dinner and trying to ignore the growing soreness that covers my entire body. Right now my hips, glutes, and lower back are making themselves heard. They ache when I try to sit. When I stand my leg muscles join the party. But, I am happy. I had a great class. The heat and humidity made it easier to stretch, and I consistently kicked higher than I usually do. I worked hard, and I am pleasantly exhausted now and ready for sleep.

It was a great class. Non-stop work, and I really had to focus. The class flew by. Everything just kind of clicked tonight. I love it when that happens. It's so great to see progress after hard work and focus.

My kids had a full day of TKD. They spent the whole day at TKD Summer Camp. They love it so much. They had an hour off then it was time for classes. The Artist's class was first, followed by the Bean's class. My class was last, and they had to wait for me. Long day, but they did great. They're really working hard and really enjoy it. I'm glad we found something we all enjoy.

It's been a great, though exhausting, day. Good night.

Stop And Smell The Wildflowers

This morning was absolutely gorgeous. Sunny, bright blue sky, and everything is green. Vermont in the summer is like living in a child's drawing. The colors are so vibrant.

The kids are at TKD camp all week, so I took the Moon Dog for a walk after dropping them off. It was already getting hot, and he overheats quickly in the sun, so we kept it short. I love walking with him because he really loves being outside. You can see how happy he is.

The walk was beautiful. There were so many wildflowers that you could smell them in the air. It was a wonderful walk.

Even Moon Dog stopped to sniff the flowers.

I have TKD tonight. I'm really looking forward to class. I learned the rest of my pattern last week and have been trying to practice. I haven't done as much as I would have liked. Last week was kind of a crazy blur. I barely had time to eat and sleep. This week I have more time, so I want to put in more work.

Yesterday, I got my workout by moving chairs and tables for 2 hours without a break. It was kind of nice. I listened to a book and just kept working. I wasn't sure how I would fit my workout into my schedule, so that was a perfect substitute. Of course daily pool circuits with the kids continue. We have so much fun, but it definitely feels like a workout, too.

Keeping busy and enjoying summer!

Sore Legs and Baby Steps

I've spent the weekend trying to recover from theatre camp. It is amazing how exhausting it can be to spend 16 hours on your feet. My legs are really sore and just heavy and tired.

But, the show must go on. I spent a couple hours teaching choreography to actors today. I love doing choreography, but I have to admit, I was dragging by the end. This came after a run/walk at 5:30am and a walk with the Moon Dog. I'm just exhausted. Add to that an hour of pool time with the kiddos, which trust me, is a workout. I'm done.

I'm trying really hard to stay positive. When I'm tired and sore, I get cranky. I forget how much I have to be grateful for. I'm really trying to acknowledge my feelings and the reasons behind them, and I am trying to stay positive and appreciate all the good in my life. It definitely outweighs the not-so-good.

This week should be a little less hectic. It's followed by several extremely hectic weeks, but I'm not going to think about that, yet. One week at a time. One day at a time. Baby steps.

Rest Day

Yesterday was the last day of theatre camp, which involves a 12+ hour day of rehearsing with over 40 kids. It's a lot of fun, but I am on the move all day. I barely stopped to eat. The performance ended up being really great. The kids were amazing. I was happy and exhausted. My legs and feet ached from standing all day. When I checked my pedometer I had walked over 18,000 steps - about 4.25 miles. Not bad.

Today I gave my legs a bit of a rest day. I took the dog for a short walk and played in the pool with the kids. I practiced my pattern, and I re-did some choreography for a musical I am working on. Nothing strenuous.

It was nice to have a day off after a week of craziness. I'm feeling rejuvenated and ready for the next project. Summer is busy, but it's so much fun!

Travel, Hike, Love

Life has been a whirlwind.

Last week I got to take an awesome trip with my favorite person. We spent a couple days in Knoxville, TN and had a blast. It's a cool city with lots of good food. We stayed within walking distance of downtown, so we got in quite a bit of exercise. Which was good since we spent a lot of time sitting in our car on the way down and back.

It was great to have an adventure. We used to travel quite a bit, and our honeymoon was driving across the country and staying in campgrounds. This time we didn't go as far, and we stayed in places we rented from Air BnB. It was a great early anniversary celebration. My husband is the master of planning unique, inexpensive trips., and we had so much fun!

The best part about any trip is coming home. The kids stayed with their grandparents, and it was the longest we've been away from them. I definitely missed them, and it was nice to pick them up and go home to our very-happy-to-see-us pets.

My goal when we got back was to continue being active and really work on consistency. I knew this was going to be a challenge. I have theatre camp all week, and that means long days. So far I've done pretty well. We got home on Friday and had all of Saturday free for a family adventure.

The Artist and I started the day with a run. He really enjoys running, and I love the company. He asked if we could go for a run, and I can never say no to that. He chose the route - a mile of almost constant uphill. Usually, we do walk/run intervals. This time he wanted to run the hills and walk the small amount of flat area. That last hill was killer. I love running with him because he pushes me. He would be a great trainer. He's absolutely relentless.

During our walking breaks we had some great conversation. He has so many great ideas, and I really love the person he is becoming. After a brief rest at the top of the biggest hill, we sprinted down the hill to our house. Everyone else was awake, and it was time to hike Wheeler Mountain.

This was a new hike for all of us, and we had a blast. My dad got me a book of day hikes in VT, and it suggested going up the red trail (if you chose to) and back down the white trail. The white trail was longer but in the trees and less steep. The red trail was steep, open, and shorter. We were planning to follow the white trail up and back. I have a fear of heights, and while I do try to challenge it, I was not looking for anything scary. Just a nice, fun family hike.

In true Andy and Em fashion, we chose the wrong trail. It ended up being a great choice. We went up the red trail and down the white. It was incredible. It was terrifying, but I kept my eyes down and kept going. When we got to a flat part I would look out at the view, and it was magical.

It was like being in a Tolkein novel. Incredible.

I'm so glad that we took that trail. It was not easy, but it was so worth it.

Saturday was a very active day. 

On Sunday, I decided to do leg day. I'm easing myself back into lifting, and I love it. In addition to leg day I did "pool circuits" with the kids. We've been creating workouts in the pool. It's so much fun and good exercise.

Monday I got up ready to run. It had been a while, and I didn't have a lot of time. Still, I felt ready to go and got in 2.5 miles. It felt good. I haven't had a good run in a long time, and I needed one. I ran almost the entire thing. I've been taking a lot of walking breaks lately, and I was happy I didn't need them this time. It's amazing what a few days of exercise and better eating can do.

Yesterday was a tough one. It was a good day. I got up early and did a chest/back workout. I had a great day at camp except someone kicked over my coffee, and I had no caffeine all day. By the time camp was over, I was tired. 

But, my day wasn't over. I watched the kids' TKD classes, and then I had class. I was excited to be back since I missed the week before, but I was also feeling incredibly exhausted. It ended up being a great class. It was a lot of conditioning, and we were moving almost the whole time. I like classes like that. They're difficult but keep me focused. It was also one of those days when things clicked, and I felt good about how I did. That doesn't happen all the time, but it's nice when it does. 

I was completely wiped out when I got home and went to bed early. This morning I'm feeling pretty sore. My back is really tight from lifting, and my legs are SO SORE from class. Today is going to be a yoga/patterns day. Something to loosen up my muscles while giving me time to recover.

I've got workouts planned for the rest of the week, and I am determined to stick with it. Consistency is the goal! 

Catching Up

It's been quite a while since I posted. Life has been busy. Mostly fun stuff. Dairy Days and the end of the school year. I haven't had a lot of time to write, but I have been getting regular exercise. I'm trying to make it a priority and started planning my workouts a week in advance. This is how I work best. I like having a plan and knowing what is coming, but I also keep it flexible in case something comes up.

My legs took a long time to recover from the half. I didn't rest after it was over. I took one day off and then hiked 5 miles. I followed that with weights and a ton of walking. I ran 5 miles on Sunday.

The run felt good. It was much cooler than it had been during the half, and I actually ran most of it. My goal was to take less walking breaks, and I was surprised at how much further I could go. I definitely want to continue running and try to work on consistency, so this run was important. I did not want to take a lot of time off from running after the race. That's my usual m.o., and it leads to a very long break from running. I didn't want that to happen this time, and I told myself that I could only take a week off from running - not a day longer. I'm really working on setting small, attainable goals.

On Monday I went on a school trip with my kids to the Shelburne Museum. We did a crazy amount of walking. Tuesday was the first day of summer TKD. I have to admit that I struggled during class. My day had been really hectic, and my legs were really tired and sore. We were working on rolls, which is something that makes me really uncomfortable. It was a difficult class.

Wednesday was scheduled from the moment I got up until the time I went to bed. It was an exhausting day, and I had no time to exercise. I felt fine about taking a day off. I ate healthfully, and my legs definitely appreciated it.

Yesterday was the best. The Artist wanted me to train him. I gave him a few exercises and let him choose the rest. We worked on good form, and he lifted some 3 pound weights. He also threw in some TKD practice. It was a lot of fun, and it motivated me to lift. I went a little heavier and did pairs of exercises. I hit all of the major muscle groups. It was a great full-body workout, and I am feeling it today.

This morning started with a walk with the Moon Dog and the Artist. It was a nice, cool morning, and the Artist picked some wildflowers. It was a perfect start to the day. He wants to work out with me again, so I am hoping to get in a TKD HIIT workout today.

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