I officially declare February DONE... about 4 hours early, but I've had enough of it.

We still have about 2 feet of snow on the yard, most of the shrubs that are uncovered have been trashed by the weight of the snow, but my driveway and the streets are clear.

Yesterday I did a CrossFit style workout at home and incorporated barefoot treadmill sprints. It felt great at the time, but my lower legs are KILLING me now! All the muscles around my ankles are sore from running on my toes and the balls of my feet. I tried to not even let my heels hit at all. I think if you put it all together it was about 10 minutes of running that way, but oh boy...talk about different muscles!

I am SOOOOOO ready for spring, but have spent most of today assembling my ski equipment for my trip to Colorado (leaving Thursday am) and watching the US vs. Canada hockey game. At least one person was happy at our house. I felt so bad for Ryan Miller. The tournament format ( I guess for any team sport) stinks.... You win for the gold, win for the bronze, yet lose for the silver.

Here's to melting snow!

Mel

4 hrs til March? Should I finish putting away the Halloween decorations then?

Nah, might as well just leave 'em out. You'd just have to take them out in another 7-8 months anyway

Mel - enjoy your trip! We totally missed the hockey game yesterday, running after DSS all weekend. Heard it was exciting, and a little tragic from our side. Sadness.

Midwife - my IT just got the lights off his house from Christmas last week. I told him to just leave them up at this point. So, Halloween should definitely just stay out!

I swear I thought I put a post in February over the weekend but don't see it... Hmm...

So I am going to make a doctor's appt this week, actually I'll call after they come back from lunch. I was feeling much better in the arm and shoulder, felt pretty much completely normal. Did 25 mins of 'hip opener #3' from the 20 min yoga download podcast Saturday night and wham. Back to stiff shoulder again. Darnit. So, any strength training today will not include UB, or if so very lightly and only the rehab exercises I got from a PT friend.

Lydia - I read the description of your exercise and like it a lot. I guess you do the plank on your forearms and that is why they get rubbed so badly?

Alena - I like that yoga pose, even though I can't quite get into it. My hamstrings and hips are tight so I never really make it down to hands under the feet. I usually just get to hands on shins, ankles on a good day. Cool that you have someone to help you adjust the poses.

I can't remember what else I had responded to in February - I'll have to look back...

Good day everyone!

Midwife,
Your Halloween comment almost had me choke on my sandwich. Thanks for the laugh!

Lydia,
Thanks for the link re padahastasana. Now that I know what the name consists of, I can pronounce & remember it. Didn't know it's good for constipation. I will recommend it to a friend of mine who has a permanent problem in that department.

Mel,
Enjoy your trip!
We are supposed to have a few mild days, with temps at zero or just above zero. Possible flurries but no accumulation. I am ready to retire the shovel until next winter.

I created an exercise ticker for March. I remember, from my early days on 3FC, how the ticker motivated me to push myself on the treadmill. I hope it will still work the same way.

Alena

Shannon,
I didn't see your post until after I uploaded mine.
Sorry about the stiff shoulder. I must have done something to my left shoulder a while ago because recently it started to bug me. I sleep on my left side and almost each morning I woke up to sore left shoulder. Then it went away but I felt it yesterday at the beginning of the yoga class (we started with the child pose, arms as far ahead in front of you as possible) and the shoulder resisted). Then I felt it for the rest of the day.

I wish we had a crystal ball that would allow us to look back and see what we did wrong or we overdid that lead to some injury/issue. Wouldn't that be great?

My first 40 minutes of exercise in March are done. I went .

Rabbit and Birchie:
I found out only an hour ago about the hurricane-like storm that blew into western Europe yesterday (not to mention the quake in Chile - I haven't watched news all weekend). I am somewhat in the dark as to where Birchie lives, anyhow, I hope both you and your loved ones are ok!!

Alena

I thought the hockey game turned out just fine

I finally cranked out some decent bench presses today!

Hello all!

I'm sorry I've been absent. Like Alena, I've been battling lower back pain and it's really just not fun at all. Then things at work get busy, and long story short -- all those things that keep me off track have been monopolizing my attention. But I am back a lot sooner this time! Arms today, cardio tomorrow.

Alena, I have been working with my chiropractor and a yoga coach and boy does that help a lot! I thought I'd mention it to you; hope you feel better soon.

I've missed you all! And OK I have to admit that I've been obsessed with the Olympics. I normally don't watch TV at all and yikes did I make up for those missed hours in front of the TV!

Mel, have fun in Colorado!! I hope the Breckenridge snow sculptures are still there so you can enjoy them. They are very cool. (no pun intended!) Hope you have a wonderful ski time!

Shannon, hope you feel better soon!

Hi Lydia, Rabbit, Silver, Pat, Susan B, Midwife, Depalma, and everyone!

And CONGRATS Sacha on your engagement!!!

Yeah, somehow I thought that the Canadians among us would be happy!

I had a FBWO scheduled for today, but when I got up this morning my knees were very tight and achy. I opted for a half hour on the treadmill. I'll do the workout tomorrow. Wed is a rest day for me as I have a funeral in the morning and then am picking up a friend at the airport (she's in town for the library conference) and we'll meet another friend and go out to lunch.

Otherwise it's taxes and decluttering....

Morning, everyone!

On the hockey game -- my parents went to the Olympics this year, thanks to a relative who got them comped tickets, hotel rooms, meals, limo service, etc. Now, my dad has a mild interest in sports, though mostly baseball and tennis. My mom, however, detests games of all kinds and doesn't understand sports; despite being a Canadian citizen and now Canadian resident, I'm not sure if she knows that hockey is played with a puck and not a ball. Anyway, they didn't see The Game, but that didn't stop her from calling me in the middle of my night to crow about Canada's win. I've never heard her say "eh" and "aboot" so many times in my life!

Been way too busy with work stuff around here. I've still managed to steal off to the gym (and skiing with The Boy yesterday), but my diet has been pretty terrible. Time to kick it up a notch. Bam.

be strong //
Kim

Half our family was very pleased with the outcome of THE GAME (DH was raised in Canada and has British, Canadian and US citizenship, DD was born in Canadian and has played lacrosse for Canadian National teams so feels Canadian although she was raised here, DS has all 3 citizenships also but really identifies himself as a US citizen and then there is poor me with just one passport.....). DS was texting us the score throughout the game as if we weren't glued to it. Oh well, at least it proved he's still alive. At 19, in his first year of university, he's not a great communicator.

I'm going lighter on the lifts this week and refusing to run and jump- I'm terrified of hurting my knees before my ski trip. I tried barefoot treadmill running on the weekend for a measly 8 minutes. It felt GREAT while I was doing it, but wow- there are a lot of little lower leg muscles that don't get used when you are wearing running shoes!

Hi DenverChick! I hear you are finally getting some snow out there! Probably will start dumping down when I'm supposed to either arrive or leave DIA!

Mel

Mel, if you don't like the Colorado weather, just wait 10 minutes and you'll be happy! :-)

If you want to check mountain weather, try the Vail Daily. Also, cotrip dot org has live cameras on highways around the state. It's a spectacularly sunny morning today with a signature Colorado sapphire blue sky. I am jealous, Mel, I haven't been skiing in years! Anyway, March is my fav month for snow fun. Best conditions with a good base and not too cold! Whee!

So happy it's not Monday! Woot woot woot, have a happy day all!

Denver, aloha!!!

Nice to hear from you though I am sorry to hear your back is bothering you, too. Which area? I am having a good day today, I think the yoga helped and I just got back from physio so I am feeling pretty groovy.
I am thinking .... that I will cough up the extra money and do Zumba tonight. :-)

Kim,
What exactly does it mean that your eating was terrible? That you had a slice of bread each day? I have to admit that I caved in on Sunday and bought some chicken fingers at the deli counter and also sauteed veggies. The chicken fingers were probably less bad (even though breaded and deep fried) than the sauteed veggies. I think they were loaded with fat. I had to microwave an entire broccoli and mix small amounts of the sauteed veggies with large amounts of the broccoli to be able to eat them at all. The rest garnished the dogs' kibble (they did not mind).
Last night, I marinated some marlin steaks in light soy sauce with grated ginger, garlic and a small bit of brown sugar (the recipe called for honey but I don't have any). I haven't tasted them yet (I will have one for dinner) but the smell was delicious.

Lydia,
Has your pretty dress arrived yet?


Alena

I have done no strength training, other than yoga, in almost ten days. Gotta get back on program. Feeling stiff. Ack. Gotta get to the doctor. Double ack. Yes Alena, I wish I had a crystal ball to show me exactly what I did to myself that would let me go back and not do it...

Mel - I tried some barefoot running on the treadmill last week, too. Weird feeling, isn't it? And yes, the lower leg muscles let me know later how neglected they are in shoes.

Alena - that marlin sounds great...

Hey Denver! Sorry you are having back trouble.

Kim - funny that your mom called you about the hockey game.

Pat - how are your knees feeling today? Better I hope.

Susan - on the bench presses!

Going to exercise tonight. One way or another. DH has it on his schedule, too, so I can use him being out there as a motivator.

Snow finally slowing down outside my window, which is a good thing.

Good day all!