Squirrelly1

I love this time of year, because my favourite snacks are the little oranges (clementines or mandarines). Easy to peel, delicious, and highly portable. I'm a huge blended veggie soup fanatic, for purposes of healthy lunches. I make a massive batch and then bring it to work for weeks with a side salad . Lentils or split peas go in for protein, and the content is almost 100% veggie, but also filling. Thanks for the props on my thread!

Arighty, here are my results for the challenge: 1. Still stuck at 2 chin-ups or 2 pull ups. *sigh* I shall keep working on it. 0 points (due to 0 improvement) 2. Didn't visit my physio, but did identify the posture problem which is making running harder. +0.5 WIS 3. Succeeded at the 60 second plank and began adding isometric ab exercises (knee to elbow while in low plank!). +1 STA, +1 STR 4. Ran 4 out of 6 weeks (sometimes more than once a week, but still only 4/6. +2 STA Need to look at exercises that improve DEX, really. That seems to be something I'm not working on ATM, but I should be!

Upside: tried to run today. Didn't suck at it... did stink though Apparently running got things moving. Oops. I'm on track for attempting to run once a week (excluding the first week) After that I did a bunch of burpees. Did a few pushup-burpees too... yep, I'm almost hard-core Downside: WTF? I've been practising and climbing religiously: why am I still at 2 chin-ups and 2 pull ups done separately, but never together? *AARGH!* Thus far only success for my challenge? 60 of plank. *urk*

Attempted to run with adjusted posture. Worked a bit (though Stitch still showed up... but then I got back on the treadmill after the rest of a mini-workout and was able to run until my hair stick went flying... need to invest in elastics again). 60 SECOND PLANK BOOYEAH! And I probably could've continued. I think I'm going to see just how far I can go with it! (might make up for my pathetic gains in the chin/pull-up department). Still feeling pretty darned good!

Flying around corners in Ottawa!

Sounds like you've got a solid plan. If you already have a gym membership, you should see what kind of classes they offer. Every person is different in what motivates them, but if you find a class you love (be it kickboxing, yoga, zumba, or aquafit), that will be one less thing you have to *force* yourself to do. Me, I bellydance, and rock climb. And play softball. And about 700 other things . But I lost weight by taking a variety of dance classes that inspired me to keep coming back 2 websites that can help track food: sparkpeople.com and myfittnesspal.com. Good luck!

Ran today, longer than I've been able to for a while. May have identified the problem with my side-stitch thanks to DJ TNP. I want to retest the theory before claiming the problem is resolved, but I am very pleased Still at 2 and 2 chinups. 35 second plank today!

THANK YOU DJ TNP! Ok, so after reading this: I thought "eh, my core is pretty strong, can't be that". Then, as I was running today and getting another stitch (again), I realized that I pay a lot of attention to my upper posture, but the location of the gym's mirrors make it hard to watch my lower body. So every few steps I would change things to see if it was better/worse, and TA-DA!, tilting my pelvis into a dance posture eased the pain. Then, as I continued, it slowly dissipated! Of course, by this point I had to stop because my asthma was kicking in and I'd been distracted by my posture, so I was gasping for air... but I will be testing if this helps tomorrow! Downside to my "new" posture for running... it makes me even more flouncy. SO MUCH BOUNCING. *sigh* Oh well. Running funny is better than not running at all, right?

Thanks for the feedback, folks! At this point I'm still just experimenting (it's hard to make time to visit a physio... *urk*). I don't think core strength is my issue (I belly dance and boulder), but I am an asthmatic, so it could very well be a breathing issue -- I do find that it occurs more often when I use "proper" breathing techniques... which as a singer means a mix of pilates-style and yoga breathing: I inhale drawing my lower-rib cage out rather than allowing the belly to expand. Maybe that's it? Part of the reason I am trying to run long-term is for endurance purposes. I can "sprint" (not quickly... and I kind of run like a girl... and by kindof, I mean the kindest words I've heard while sprinting to describe it is "flounce"), but I need to be able to do that more often... so longer/slow running to be learned! Strangely enough, my form in "running" is much better than sprinting... but I'm not going for long enough while sprinting to get a stitch... Thanks for sticking with me to help me figure this out!

So... funny story. If I start with pull-ups, I can do 2 pull-ups and 1 chin up. If I start with chin-ups, I can do 2 and 1. If I do them separately, I can do 2 of each, but no more. *aargh!* Must practice more! Fun fact: I may be closer to the 60 second plank than I thought. I didn't time it in yesterday's class (since I was, you know, in a Barre class and didn't see a clock anywhere), but I did my plank along with the dancers in the class and stayed up waaaaay longer than I thought I would. *pat on the back* Haven't been able to fit in a second run this week (heading to the US for Black Friday shenanigans tonight, so much walking and carrying, but not a lot of exercise for a couple of days). WILL be booking a physio appt soon (I swears!)

Right, so week 1 didn't go particularly smoothly. I didn't run (well, unless you count from my car to the mall (probably 400-500m?) when it was cold -- though I had good form! Current chin-ups: 2 Current pull-ups: 2 Need to make that physio appointment soon! Hope this week goes better!

THOSE ARE AWESOME! *wish they were available in Canada... may have to go searching for them in Germany next summer!*

Hi Stolly! You can find the recipe here for the Tomato & Goat Cheese soup. It's really good with crackers spread with pesto: hell! Toss a Tbsp of Pesto on top and it's AMAZING!

Six Week Challenge Goals! (November 12-December 24) 1. Be able to do 5 chin-ups and 5 pull-ups in a row (not necessarily at the same time, but each) +STR 2. Visit my physio and get an analysis of my running to see what I'm doing wrong and improve it +WIS 3. Be able to do a 60 second plank (inspired by Laureleye) +STA +STR SUCCESS! 4. Practice running at least once a week (including when I am at home over xmas) +STA And, so I don't forget, here is where I can find points attributed to goals!

My two cents: I like running in muk-luks in the winter (not the brand, the boot-sized moccasin with a crepe sole). They're warm and were designed for winter forest running (by people who, you-know, did that long before running shoes were invented). Just make sure they're wide enough to accommodate your feet properly spread and that they don't flop around. A crepe sole is great because you heat it up with a hair dryer and it will form to your foot! Happy cold-weather running!