15 Week Challenge: Week 5

This morning I woke up and did Amy's inner thigh exercises. I did 2 sets of the Figure 8's because I wasn't really feeling it in the first set. Since I didn't have a bar to press here at home, for the sumo squats I held a 5-pound dumbbell in each hand and held them up, with my arms bent at 90-degree angles, my elbows level with my shoulders. I could feel it in my arms as well as my legs by the end. I think my favorite exercise was the sumo squat pulses. Ow!

Then Jason and I went for a run together. We're at different level of the Couch to 5K (I'm still at the beginning and he's doing 3 and 5 minute runs now), but we did our 5-minute warm-up walk together and went to the Brown track to do the bulk of the run.

I kind of felt like I was going to die. I think we waited too long to go. I wanted to go around 9 AM, but we finally got down there closer to 10 and the sun was already high in the sky and beating down on us. It took about an hour after the run for my face to not look like a big purple grape anymore. But at least my shins didn't hurt the whole time. They were a bit sore so I think I'm going to run once a week until my body gets accustomed to it. The other days I'll elliptical and strength train or swim.

Today was an amazingly beautiful day and we were planning on grilling. Then a series of events including going to Costco up by Boston and realizing we were starving by the time we got up there* so we went out for dunch/linner instead made us put off grilling till tomorrow. Jason is going to make steak tips. I'm going to make quinoa as a side, to fulfill the Weekly Challenge to cook using whole grains. There seems to be some debate as to whether quinoa is a whole grain or just a seed, but I think enough people designate it as a whole grain that it counts for the challenge. I'm also going to make some version of grilled zucchini boats, and I'll post the recipe at the Bee's Knees Recipes blog.

* Seriously, we have 3 shopping center meccas near us in Attleboro, MA, Seekonk, MA, and Warwick, RI, but no Costco. BJ's and Sam's Club seem to have cornered the market down here. So it's always a big production to get to Costco now. But that's where our membership is and we're Costco loyalists.