Category: Uncategorized

It’s cold, snowy and early.

 

REALLY early.

 

I’m awake ready to hit the gym, but Mother Nature has yet again dropped a mix of snow and ice on us. The roads are a slippery mess. So bad in fact that school has been cancelled again.

 

My trip to the gym has been thwarted.

 

Luckily I have another workout out option.

 

I head downstairs for my morning sweat session with trainers Jamie Zacharias and Stacy Redwine.

 

Ok, so maybe Jamie and Stacy aren’t personally in my basement ready to whip me into shape, but I DO have their new workout DVD, Mash Up Conditioning.

 

 

It’s been a long time since I popped in a workout DVD {er..video tape}. So long in fact that leg warmers might have still been in style. It’s been hard for me to get into the workout DVD mindset, because all I can envision are old school moves like grapevines and jazz hands.

 

Well, this isn’t your old school video.

 

I’m not the most coordinated person, and workout DVDs can be somewhat intimidating with their complicated combinations. However, the Mash Up workouts are easy to follow. In fact, it’s the perfect mix of workouts I’m already doing at the gym.

 

In each workout there are three trainers who provide examples of beginner, intermediate, and advanced options for each exercise so you can safely progress through the different levels.

 

 

I was also worried that the advanced examples wouldn’t be hard enough, but yet again this DVD surprised me. Can you say plyos? OUCH!

 

Each of the 7 fifteen minute workouts included on the Mash Up DVD combine 5 minutes of Mind Body exercises, 5 minutes of Agility and Strength exercises, and 5 minutes of High Intensity Intervals.

 

Which means if you only 15 minutes you are good to go.

 

Have more time?

 

You can combine the 7 sessions to customize a workout to fit your schedule and fitness level. It will keep your body guessing and keep you motivated.

 

 

The best part …

 

There’s a countdown timer in the left hand corner of the screen, so I know how much longer I have before I can collapse in a heap.

 

 

Are you ready to start MASHing it up?

 

Enter the Rafflecopter below to get your own copy of MASH UP Conditioning. The giveaway will end on Monday, March 3 at 8 am.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Oh, and if you are a fitness professional looking to expand your training, MASH group training certifications are available.

**

The Nitty Gritty: I received my copy of MASH UP Conditioning as part of my Girls Gone Sporty Ambassadorship, but all opinions and love of sweaty workouts is all my own. 

Splash!

 

Suddenly I can hear nothing but my own breath.

 

In.

 

Out.

 

In.

 

Out.

 

It’s -15 below outside, but inside I’m sporting a swimsuit and splashing around in the pool. It takes a while but I finally get a good rhythm going and begin to zone out. I visualize my race and how this year I’ll actually really swim the whole thing. As I reach the end of my lane I’m suddenly snapped back to reality.

 

Crap, what lap am I on again?

 

Ugh…nothing ruins a great swim than losing track of my laps. I don’t swim a straight 500m, instead I opt for intervals so I always have to do swim math to keep track.

 

What’s swim math?

 

That’s when you have one triathlete a 25m pool and her training consists of 8×25, 4×50, 2×100 with a 3×75. If you have a 25m pool how many laps is that?

 

Yeah, it hurts my head just thinking about it. I can’t do normal math at 5:30 am let alone attempt swim math.

 

I’ve tried numerous ways of keeping track. Like rubber bands on my wrist, annoying and hard to manage with wet hands. I’ve tried using the tiles around the pool and move my water bottle down the tiles for each lap, which pretty much keeps me from entering “the zone”.

 

What is boils down to is I’m hoping I’m getting my laps and distance training, but I’m not absolutely sure because I lose count every single time.

 

Then one day {thanks to the internet and Twitter}, I came across Swimovate. They actually make swim watches that count your laps for you.

 

It seems too good to be true. Like a rainbow colored unicorn.

 

But let me tell you it IS true, and it works.

 

Here’s the deal

The PoolMate contains state of the art motion sensors that detect the motion of your arm, as well as the pause between laps.  For this reason, it will not count your laps if just kicking.  It is not a GPS.  The unique software algorithms and digital signal processing techniques analyze the data and extract lap, stroke, distance, speed and calorie information automatically. This unique swimming watch uses state of the art accelerometers to measure wrist movement during a swim stroke in order to calculate the number of movements per session. The watch also calculates the total session time, average strokes per lap, speed, distance, calories and efficiency. The Pool-Mate swimming watch features a large memory that holds up to 400 swim logs for review during or after a swim session, and also includes a full digital watch with 12 or 24 hour format, alarm and backlight. Swimmers can easily time running, cycling, open water swims or triathlons using the PoolMate’s Chrono mode, with additional functionality added to allow for timing of rest periods. Using advanced digital signal processing and software algorithms developed by our expert team of engineers, the Pool Mate is able to pick out the stroke and lap information for all strokes, including the Front Crawl, Back Stroke, Breaststroke and Butterfly, making it a useful addition to every swimmer’s workout. The swimming lap counter watch works in all pools over 15 meters and doesn’t require individual calibration.

 

Some of that is science talk and since I can’t do swim math I’m not much on swim science either, but I can tell you this IT’S ACCURATE.

 

I put the PoolMate to the test during one of my toughest interval training sessions. 8×25, 4×100, a couple of 75m the usual, and it didn’t miss a lap.

 

 

Now I can finally get in “the zone” during my swim. Block out the excess noise, stress, swim math and just be a fish.

 

Want to be a fish too?

 

You can win your own PoolMate watch. Just complete the Rafflecopter to enter.

 

Winners will be chosen at random on Monday, February 10 at 8 am.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

And for those or you that are hardcore swimmers and triathletes Swimovate has come out with a brand new swim watch The PoolMate Live.

 

 

It features all of the premium features of the PoolMate Heart Rate, but without the heart rate monitor.  That includes settable vibrating alarms at certain times, distances, or laps; lap-by-lap data to your computer; a removable download clip for the watch; a user-changeable battery, and a new and improved display with bigger characters.

 

There are so many options! Soon no one will have to be tortured by swim math ever again.

 

*The Nitty Gritty: I was compensated with my own PoolMate watch to try in exchange for this review and giveaway. However, all opinions, dislike for swim math and love of swimming are my own.

Silence is golden or so the say. In blog life it means your numbers suck and people think that you have given up.

Rest assured I have not given up.

I’ve just been living life…ok that might be stretch let’s say SURVIVING life. I finished my triathlon {race recap coming as soon as I get pictures}, which I’m sure you all are sick of hearing about. I know my family is. They are ready for mom to be mom again instead of crazy swim, bike, run mom. I miss her too, and slowly I’m letting go of my OCD workout schedule and letting life back in again.

You know it’s bad when you get the stink eye from the hubby and your kids are all over you like flies on a cowpie {yes I did just compare myself to a cowpie} Well, it is how I feel for running off and joining the triathlon circus for thirteen weeks. Oh, the guilt! Why, oh why must guilt enter the picture? Unfortunately, it’s that guilt that diminishes my accomplishments. I’m tired of sacrificing and something needs to give…hopefully decisions will be made soon that will make ALL of us happy.

While the triathlon circus might be over the moving circus has just begun. We close on the house on Tuesday, and I’ve only packed ONE box…ONE. Seriously??? I guess I know what I’ll be doing on July 4^th while everyone else is enjoying BBQs and parades. Perhaps if I view it as another triathlon {pack, move, unpack} I can handle it. Right now I’d rather be doing an Ironman than packing … and that’s saying something, because I’ll NEVER do an Ironman.

I just survive each day. I workout, work, run kids to activities, make dinner, put them to bed, watch an episode of The Office and try to form two sentences to talk to my husband, and sleep. Oh, and try to pack one more box. Yep, that’s life. It’s what I signed up for right? In this moment we are treading water, surviving each day until we can relocate our home base and settle in.

There are little life preservers in the rough seas of life, the Sound Bytes of the Week. They keep me afloat when I get to tired to tread water.  Ready? Catch!

3. ME: “Ugh…I need to go to the store and buy some meat so you guys can have some protein.”
E: “No you don’t mom. I’m a vegetarian. I’ll just eat macaroni everyday.”

Well, that’s our life lately so I guess we are all vegetarians or macatarians however you want to interpret our macaroni intake.

2. “It’s a soul detox.”

That’s the description for our Creative Soul event that took place last weekend. More on that next week.

1. “I shy.”

G has been meeting lots of new people. Between the nanny, hanging out with me at work and swim lessons he’s been a social butterfly, but there are those time when he’s just a little shy. I know how you feel big guy, even the extrovert gets shy sometimes.

I only have two more hours left of work, and you better believe I’m counting the hours, minutes and seconds. I’m so VERY ready get this weekend underway. I’m hopefully running a 5K tomorrow morning to kick off the holiday week, and I will be wearing my new Swirlgear running tee.

What’s Swirlgear?

It’s running apparel created by women for women, check out my interview with founder Lacie Whyte. Also, you can use code 917 to receive FREE shipping on all your purchases.

Well, I’m off and running, and treading. Have a GREAT weekend, and keep an eye out for those little life preservers, you never know where you may find one.