A Training Diary: Tracy Anderson, the Treadmill and LLS Team in Training

Please Share

I am running a half marathon on May 6 in honor of Oliver, a small boy with Down syndrome who is currently fighting leukemia. Please visit his Caring Bridge page – and lend his family support, your prayers and your love. You can also sign up for email updates on his progress and you can download the Caring Bridge app which makes it even easier to tune in and show your support.

I am trying to raise $2,400 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society – I am 12% there – I’d be delighted if you would contribute to this most worthy cause by visiting my page: LLS Team in Training.

******************************************
Monday, February 13th

I did the Tracy Anderson video. Have you heard of Tracy Anderson? She’s that buff bit of humanflesh that whipped Gwyneth Paltrow into shape and served as Madonna’s personal trainer for some time. Um, yeah. Madonna.

I have two videos of hers (and sorry, I was born in ’73, I say video), one just a normal sort of ball-breaking, butt-whupping slaughtering sort of thing that she produces and the other is the post-pregnancy one. I reached for the post-pregnancy one on Monday (see below for links)

I was not feeling it on Monday. Not in the mood for doing anything other than lying in bed rolling around in the blues. I’m not over Mexico yet, far from it. So my push to go with Tracy Anderson was really more along the lines of herculean effort.

Good thing I have kids.

Every time I paused or didn’t do what Tracy did, Micah would belt out, “DO WHAT SHE IS DOING, MOMMY! You have to LIFE YOUR LEG NOW, Mommy!”

Moxie was a less taxing drill master

She was chillaxing, enjoying her snack and watching Mommy kiss the ground with Tracy-from-the-video giving her orders.

Yeah. that snack was pretty good.

******************
Tuesday, February 14th: Group Training Day

I woke up at my normal 5am, but by the time I got to the lake and realized there was NO PARKING AT ALL ANYWHERE it was a few minutes past 6am. I saw the team at a distance, finishing their warm ups and headed to a clearing. After a few more sweeps, looking for parking, I thought it was futile to park way away from where they were and then try and find them. In the dark. At the lake. Naaaaaaah, I”m not doing that.

So, vowing to get there at 5:30 next time, I went to the gym.

It was dark still when I got there, but so sparkly. My gym is a building on the former Naval base, in an old hangar. It’s as cool as all-out, with actual playing fields inside. I joined it because they have really great childcare for the times that I am able to go. No windowless box-like “play” place, “kids korner” a’la 24-Hour Fitness there, nuh-uh – the kids get full-on bouncy house fun, tons of space to roll around and do their thing, big play structure, mini basketball court and so forth.

The view is of San Francisco. If you get there when it’s dark, San Francisco rises up above the water like a glittering, silvery metropolis – lovely in its urban glory.

The old battleships are lit up too, the moon caresses them in a gentle pre-dawn light.

Back to training:I got on the treadmill and thought I’d focus on breathing and pace. I run too fast and it catches up with me since I can’t catch up with it. I thought I’d start off with an up-down “jog”  at an easy walking pace.

I watched my breathing…looked at the hanging flags… tv was on but dang, only CNN? bleh, where is the MTV or even better now, VH1? Watched my breathing… looked at the hanging flags…tv was on… more Whitney Houston, that is so sad. Watched my breathing… looked at the hanging flags… and you get the picture. I was getting mighty bored. I remembered what Meredith had said about how counting helps her, so I started counting, just one-two-three-four, up to a hundred, in time with my foot step, and it really helped. I got to two miles, my goal, and then thought, what the heck? Why not try 2.5? So I did that. Then thought, ‘Well, I might as well just do 3 now’ and so did that. Then I was really just not wanting to be there anymore, so I cooled off, stretched and left.

3 MILES!!!! Sure, at 3.5 miles an hour (- easy walking, I told you), but I JOGGED 3 WHOLE MILES!!!

Photo time

We are becoming intimate here, aren’t we. I am sharing unedited makeup-less photos of myself having completed exercise. Wow. I never in a million years thought I’d ever do something like that.
**

I drove home, showered, ate (-oatmeal!) and then biked the 8 miles (roundtrip) with Moxie to her program.

Then waited for her to wake up so she’d be rested.

While waiting. More facebook time…and instagram’ing.. and pinterest… Heck, we were probably even chatting, weren’t we?! This photo amused me as I blend right in with the brickwork.

******************

More on Tracy Anderson (not that I’m trying to promote her; I’m not, but that video does a good job of BURNING, if that’s what you are looking for)

The Tracy Anderson Method Presents Post-Pregnancy Workout DVD – and more of them (Gosh, they are REALLY expensive now that she’s famous – they were only around $20 when I bought them)

The Full Tracy Anderson Post Pregnancy Video List, Including Used

Full List of Used and New Tracy Anderson Mat Workout Videos

** again, I’m shocked at how expensive they are! When I bought them, they were something like $36 for the both of them – see what fame does for inflating prices? **

******************
PS
Please do visit Oliver on his CaringBridge page, share your support with him and his family.

…and please, if you can contribute to the fundraising, I’ll be so grateful I can’t even begin to tell you: looking at raising over $2,000 kind of freaks me out. Here’s my page. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Please Share