Last Day for LÄRABAR Giveaway & Fitness Friday

Don't forget to enter my LÄRABAR Giveaway, it ends tonight at 9:00pm and I will announce the winner tomorrow!

Also I wanted to let you guys know I made my decision on the Maine Marathon. I have decided to switch it to the half marathon give then fact that I will be running another half on October 23 in Newburyport with my sister and just found on this morning that I will be running the Chilly Half Marathon in Newton, MA on November 13.  I will be running the Chilly Half Marathon with one of my BOMF residents who eagerly said yes to me this morning when I asked if he thinks he would be ready to run a half marathon in November. I am so excited for him and can't wait to enjoy the journey with him!

Don't forget that it is also Friday so hop on over to Jill's blog and join in on the Fitness Friday Blog Hop!

Marathon Predicament

So I am in quite the predicament lately on what to do about my upcoming marathon (Maine Marathon) I was supposed to run on October 2. I was really looking forward to this but lately have been so busy and had some personal stuff going on that I haven't been able to fully train for it. I could switch my registration to the half and at least not lose out on the money, which is the way I am headed, but then I feel sort of let down that I didn't accomplish my initial goal of running the full.

I have been training with my sister because I talked her into running a half marathon on October 23 so I have been doing some long runs but not to the extent of what my marathon training runs normally are. I could probably get in an 18-20 mile run next weekend but not sure if it is even worth it at this point as I am only three weeks out from the race. I need your help on this one because I am torn if I should just run it anyways even though I haven't trained as much as I should have or if I just switch and run only the half.

I know I normally don't get too personal on my blog but I have been toying with this for the past week or so and want your opinions.

Don't forget it is Fitness Friday so join in on the blog hop over on Jill's Blog, Life As I See It [Fitness, Health and Happiness]

Fitness Friday-Crazy Eights

Welcome to another week of the Fitness Friday Blog Hop inspired by Jill at Life as I See it [Fitness, Health & Happiness].

This week I am going to focus on a workout that can be sued while you are on vacation and don't have access to a gym. The workout is called crank or crazy eights because you do eight exercises for eight reps and eight times through and trust me this is a killer workout!

The eight exercises are:

180's
Burpees with a jump squat
Mountain Climbers - 16 total
High Knee Run - 16 total
Arm Jumps - Heels to butt - side to side - on your arms...x8 total
Spiderman Jumps x 8
Prone Jacks x 8
Pushups

I usually time myself so and write it down so that I can keep track of my improvements. I will be away in a few weeks and I plan to do this workout several times and pair it with some running to keep myself in shape while I am away.

Don't forget to join in on the Fitness Friday Blog Hop.

Fitness Friday- StairMaster

Welcome to another week of Fitness Friday inspired by Jill at Life as I See It [Fitness, Health and Happiness]. Hop on over to Jill's blog to join in on the blog hop.

Lately I have been hating cardio at the gym. I am running a lot more since my training has started for my fall marathon, so when I'm at the gym the thought of more cardio isn't too appealing. Just recently though my gym purchased two StairMaster machines. Although this is cardio I feel like I get such a great leg workout as well that I just love it! Plus I get super sweaty so I feel like I'm getting a great workout.

I typically do 20 minutes which consists of intervals of 90 and 75 steps/min alternating between skipping steps, side steps and regular steps. 20 minutes is more than enough for me on this machine, I'm usually pretty sweaty and tired after.

Question: have you ever tried the StairMaster, if so what is your favorite workout on it?

100 Push ups Challenge & Fitness Friday

Join in on the fun of the first week of Fitness Friday inspired by Jill at Life...As I See It.

I have heard so much about the 100 push ups challenge so I finally decided to take the challenge on. The best part is that you can download an app to your phone so you know exactly what you need to do each day. They offer an android app and an iphone app so most all phones are covered, which I love!

I love doing push ups (yes I do real push up on my hands and knees) every night before I go to bed so this will challenge me to keep doing more and more. I need to get these arms ready I have about a year until my wedding :).

Before beginning the challenge you must take an initial test which will highlight your current fitness level and determine where to start and how to plan your push ups training program. Once you complete the initial test you are ready to begin the challenge on your next day. I just started the other day so I will be sure to update you as I progress. My initial challenge I completed 12 push ups with good form. I know I could have done more but I would rather start off slower.

I am heading to the Jersey Shore today (T-shirt time!!!) for a wedding so wish me luck on the drive down. It took Joe 8 hours yesterday so I am praying traffic isn't too bad today.

Question: What are your feelings on push ups?