TEN THOUSAND HITS!.... And a Contest! :)

If you also follow me on Facebook and Twitter you are probably sick of me saying this already-  but I am just so dang excited!  My little blog,  the little blog that could... has finally reached

TEN THOUSAND HITS!!!!  

I honestly can not believe it!  When I started this blog back in August of 2009, I never started it with the intention of really being "public" or getting any kind of notoriety from it.  So I never really promoted it, or really told anyone except for a close circle of friends that I even *had* the blog.  

But after finishing my first Tri last year, the blog sort of organically grew and I am so grateful for every single person who has ever read it, offered me support, sent me emails, tweets, Facebook posts and blog comments.  I honestly could not have ever crossed the Triathlon finish line without all your support.  

I know without all of it, I would not be inspired daily to work hard to better myself each and every day.

So a Great Big Gigundo THANK YOU!!!! 

For taking See Millie Tri into the TEN THOUSANDS and Beyond!

So-  what would a party be without some party favors?  

Or well, really a party favor for one lucky person.  

Here are the contest deets:

THANK YOU CONTEST

This will be the easiest contest you have ever entered!    

What do you win?

$25.00 AMAZON.COM Gift Card 

How Do You Win?  

 Post a comment below about what you have become inspired to do. It could be taking the dogs for a nightly walk, giving up pop, or maybe trying a new fitness class.

The contest ends when SeeMillieTri crests 10,500 hits.    For the sake of making things easier-  I will close it Friday May 20th at 11:59pm if  SeeMillieTri has not received an extra 500 hits by then.  

If SeeMillieTri makes it OVER 500 hits by Friday night, 

I will up the ante to a $30.00 Amazon.com gift card.  

To make this contest completely fair and unbiased, I will be using www.random.org to randomly select the person from the comments section below.

EXTRA CREDIT 

1.  You received 1 extra entry for "Liking" SeeMillieTri  on Facebook.-  Leave a second comment below that you have "Liked" me on Facebook.  

Facebook.com/seemillietri  

(if you already like me that's great!  leave an additional comment below!)

2. Follow me on Twitter and then  Tweet the following:

@SeeMillieTri has inspired me to [insert your comment] #SMT10K

Leave an additional comment below to let me know you sent me some Twitter love.

I will announce the winner of the $25.00 Amazon.com Gift Card on Saturday Morning!

Good Luck Everyone.  And Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for helping my little blog that could, crest the ten thousand mark!  

Jelly Belly

Oh. Em. Gee.  Brutus worked me to the CORE today.  And seriously, whilst working ON my core, he worked me TO my core.  Yowzers.  Mama's gonna be a world of hurt in the morning, I can feel it.

I hurt my knee.  It's been giving me problems for sometime-  but somehow over the course of this past week, my knee has decided to act like a two year old that didn't get what it wanted- and throw a temper tantrum.  So, because my knee complains every time I suggest it do something slightly harder than moderate- I have to dial back the intensity of my lower body workouts until it decides to come out from time-out.

So, instead today, Brutus decided we would work my core-  oh yeah and some arm stuff too-  but really my core got the brunt of the punishment.  For most of the workout-  we did repeated circuits-  five of them. Yes.  Five.  Though really I shouldn't complain since last time I worked out with him, he made me do six, and I was soaked in sweat by the time I was done.  So, technically with five, I got off easy-well sort of-  but don't tell him that.  Most of the things we did we regular old trainer stuff, so I won't bore you with the gritty details.  But two exercises that were new to the Millie/Brutus routine tonight:  Around The Worlds (that's what I call them anyway-  I'm sure Brutus has some trainer-techy term for them-  but for me, Around the Worlds works)  They look like this -  okay never mind- Ive spent the last twenty minutes trying to find a picture to no avail... so it's imagination time peeps.

You take a weight (mine today was a 12 pound medicine ball-  Brutus' Significant other uses a round weight that would typically go on the end of the Bench Press Bar.)-  so Brutus had me take the weight and starting on one side, rotate it about my head from side to side in a circular motion.  It works your arms, but you really need to be tucked in (abs wise) to keep the motion going.

Oh yeah, and I forgot I got to play with a Kettlebell too....  that worked the abs as well.


After we finish with our five circuits  I'm thinking "hot dog, I'm done early"  but of course not...  Brutus decides to take one of those big Swiss balls with the sand in them- which I usually SIT on- and play catch with it.  And not just any kind of catch oh no, the twisting throw cross ways and then good luck trying to catch the one Brutus throws back-  kind of catch.  Holy moly- I think we probably tossed it maybe 20 times... and seriously after the 20th one  I was WIPED OUT.

Now,  three hours later, my stomach feels like jelly and I seriously think I am going to be hurting in the morning.

BUT-  you know I love it  :)

A Word From Brutus Regarding Modifications- Legs

Hey "Show Me Your Guns" Participants!  I have a new post from Brutus regarding Lower Body Modifications:

Hey Everyone,

 

Today we're going to cover lower body exercises and their modifications.
 

First we have the Squat: Squat 

Dumbbell Rear Lunge: Dumbbell rear lunge
 Good Morning: Good morning 
Leg Extensions:Leg Extensions 
Leg Curls:Leg curls 
Seated Leg Curls:Seated leg curls 
Stiff Leg Deadlift:Stiff leg deadlift 
Hack Squat:Hack Squat 
Leg Press:Leg press 
Glute Bridge:Glute Bridge 
Standing Calf Raise:Standing calf raise 
Machine Seated Calf Raise:Machine seated calf raise 
or Barbell Seated Calf Raise:Barbell seated calf raise
 Modified Stiff Leg Deadlift with Dumbbells:Modified Stiff leg deadlift with dummbells 
Back Extensions:back extensions

The Dumbbell Rear Lunge, Leg Curls, Stiff Leg Deadlift and Glute Bridge are all great exercises to develop the Hamstrings and Glutes. The Squat is great for the entire leg while the Leg Press and Leg Extension primarily work the Quads. Some of these exercises might prove to be too difficult or cause some discomfort, for these exercises I have provided some modifications or alternative exercises. For the Good Morning, a great alternative would be the Back Extensions. For the Stiff Leg Deadlift we have the Modified Stiff Leg Deadlift. For the Hack Squat you can either use the Hack Squat machine, lower the weight of the exercise or do the Leg Press. Hope this helps everyone

The Importance of Fuel and Hydration

Image from Dales Road to Kona

I received a phone call from Papa Millie  this morning (that would be my dad)...  and he tells me "so, did I tell you that I did 25 miles on my bike yesterday?"  He proceeds to tell me that his goal is a hundred miles a week, so he's been trying to reach longer and longer workouts. Now for those of you who aren't in Chicago, you probably don't know that yesterday's temperatures made it well into the upper 90s yesterday with insane amounts of humidty. Why do I tell you this?  Read on...

So, Papa Millie says  "yeah, so I was fourteen miles in and I was so dizzy I was afraid I was going to pass out mid ride.  I actually decided to turn around and actually considered calling a friend of mine to come and pick me up".  My first question "what did you eat before you rode?"  His response "Nothing....  I mean I had breakfast in the morning,  but I didn't eat anything before I went out.  I was more concerned with getting my ride in before the Thunderstorms came in"  OyVey.  Then, he goes further to inform me that he ran out of water somewhere around mile eight and he was going to stop at the McDonald's but decided he could make it home.  Double oyvey.

When training, planning a long workout, or just taxing your body in general -  you ALWAYS need a fuel source.  Remember what happened to me when I worked out with Brutus a few weeks ago?  I got weak and almost passed out...why?  Because my body was on EMPTY.    Before I go into suggestions for long bike rides, lets touch on the basics.

Before a long workout you must eat something.  Even if its a protein shake with some peanut butter in it,  a peanut butter and banana sandwich (my personal favorite)  some eggs, tuna etc.  Whatever the choice, you need a protein with a carb.

Now in addition to eating before you leave-  never leave home without at least 2 bottles of water (even if you don't end up needing both, its always good to be prepared)  some form of electrolyte replacement (especially on a hot day, coupled with a physically taxing ride).  These can come in the form of GU (which is kind of gross)  Electrolyte powders which you can add into water (or if you're really in a pinch you can grab a Gatorade at the gas station)  or  my favorite  Clif Shot Blocks Energy Chews  

Now depending on how long your bike ride Active.Com  suggests 16 to 32 oounces of fluid per hour  and 30 - 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour (thats 1 to 2 shot blocks)  and when its hot-  be sure you are keeping HYRATED!  Remember by the time you are thirsty you are already in the process of dehydration!

And some people (Papa Millie)  shouldn't be riding their bikes when the sun is at it's highest, on the hottest day in Chicago so far.

Gonna Make You Sweat

Illustration from 10 Dans

This morning, I headed off to the pool for my normal morning routine.  Ive been realizing lately that my form, stamina and buoyancy are changing drastically.  I got out of the pool this morning, got ready for work, drove to work, and was probably a good half hour into my day before I finally stopped sweating.  Which, is surprising, because I didn't feel like I really beat myself up with my workout all that badly.  It was just an average workout or so I thought, but apparently considering the amount of sweating that I did, I worked out harder than I thought I did.

Fast forward to this afternoon.  A few weeks ago Brutus said to me, "When you're done with school-  we should add a mid-week workout to our routine so that I'm working with you twice a week."

Me:  Whimper. "Umm...yeah....a  second workout huh?....  Boy I'm gonna have to think about that one"  meanwhile I'm thinking in my head-  yeah like I'm about to get tortured twice in one week....  but alas, apparently I am a sadist, because I found myself at mid-week butt kicking numero uno this afternoon.

I forgot to bring my Fitblogger Weight Training Program with me to my workout with Brutus...  so, he decided instead to invent his own.  Yeah--- ...  I thought that the Fitblogger "B" workout was hard... the BRUTUS workout is a million times harder.  I mean, don't get me wrong I feel great, but seriously, I have never sweat that much in my entire life, I'm quite certain.  Ive been home for an hour and my hair is still soaked.  As are all of my clothes.  If I could find enough motivation to move from my position in the living room I'd probably 86 the sweaty clothes and rinse the sweat off, but I seriously can't move.  I have a feeling I'm gonna be hard core hurting in the morning.

I also wanted to mention that if you are following the SHOW ME YOUR GUNS  challenge  please keep track of the weights you are using.  I'm going to be asking for your starting weight and current weight at the mid point check in... and I forgot to tell you that last week.

So *thumbs up* for channeling my inner gym rat and getting all sweaty and grunty like the Muscle Heads :)

Oh, also-  someone asked if that is actually Brutus in the picture.  Yep-  it's him.  He cant have his likeness on any other websites other than the one for the gym,  so we circumvented the rule by posting only his body.  But that is in fact Brutus not some random muscle guy off the Internet :)

A Word From Brutus Regarding Modifications

Alright everyone, you've been training for a week now. I hope all of you are enjoying the exercises and feel great. Today we're going to cover modifications. Modifications are utilized when a particular exercise is too difficult or too heavy. A modification can be as simple as lowering the weight if you are using a machine, posting your hand on a nearby wall, posting for additional balance or changing the position of your body to make the exercise more manageable. A couple of examples of this would be the push-up and the bench dips. Below are links to see how to modify Push-Ups and Bench Dips.. When you’re doing a modification , don’t forget to keep your form in mind, as well as how you’re stabilizing yourself. Be careful not to lock your joints at any point, and stop if you feel any sharp pains. I’ll be back later on to show you how to modify the lower body exercises. Hope this helps.

Until next time,

Brutus


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyd6ivn9ZpU&feature=related (modified pushup)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPfHuRi2Zvw (modified bench dip)

Wait... I'm the Pace-Keeper?? :looks around:...Seriously?

After last night's meltdown a good nights sleep provided me with some clarity.  I headed to the pool this morning, because nothing makes me feel better than a meeting with my oldest friend (the pool).  And the pool delivered, as per usual.  The water was Swimming Commercial perfect  (and, in case you don't obsessively watch the swimming championships on ESPN and you've never seen a swimming commercial,  typically the camera would be the swimmer-  and it dives into a crystal clear pool, showing under water the glints of sunlight reflecting off the moving water, and with the sun shining and an empty pool, it was exactly that same feeling this morning.

I got a bit of a late start, so I wasn't in the water until 6:40 and the pool was EMPTY!  I was thrilled.  AND-  someone finally got  the message at Lifetime and turned the heat up on the pool (or, maybe it was the 5am Ironmen that warmed it up for me ;-)  )

I start doing my thing, and eventually the 7:00 swimmers start filing in and taking up the other lanes.  Now-  I need to take a bit a detour here, just briefly.

In competition swimming-  your coach, the professionals, the books, magazines, fellow competitors etc  tell you to always keep an eye on your competitors and pace them.  So, when you are competing, you are breathing both right and left so that you can spot each swimmer on either side. And you want to make sure you are always keeping pace with them.

Typically, when lap swimming, everyone is at different skill levels, but there is always that one person that everyone has sighted that they try to keep pace with- to challenge themselves.

As I'm swimming back and forth back and forth, I look around and notice that everyone is within ten or so strokes of ME!  *I* was the Pace - Keeper!  Now, it took me about 200 meters to actually believe that I was the pace keeper but sure as shit, every turn I made, there were four consecutive flip, flap, flap, flop, sounds ten, fifteen, twenty seconds behind me.

I don't think I've EVER been the pace keeper before.  Ever!!! But today!  I WORE THE YELLOW SHIRT (well, figuratively anyway).  Talk about riding high-  after coming to that realization, all of my concerns from yesterday just melted away.

:spins and tra-la-las with ribbons and glitter:

I had a really decent workout too.  I did just under mile in about forty-ish minutes.  Woot Woot!  And seriously, like I said yesterday- working with Brutus is helping my swimming immensely.  And not just in my stroke return (which as I said yesterday, is Awesome!)  but also just in my overall stamina and power.

So-  woot woot!  For being the pace-keeper!!  What an awesome morning it was!  :)