My mailman has become one of my favorite people to see each day lately. I do most of my shopping on the internet, and have had made quite a few orders lately, including putting in an order for a new Wii dancing game and a new pair of Vibram shoes.

It looks like quite a few people have decided to jump on the “Just Dance!” band wagon. Gold’s Gym has come out with it’s version of a dance/exercise game, “Gold’s Gym Dance Workout.” It was released last week, and I expect to have it here sometime this week, hopefully before I leave for a 4-day karate camp in North Carolina so I can try it out. Normally I don’t buy a game that’s just been released. I prefer to see what online reviews say. However, I have “Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout,” and I enjoy that game, so I’m hopeful this one is just as good. I’ll let you know what I think of it once I’ve had a couple days to try it out.

Also coming out for the Wii is “Zumba Fitness” which will be available 30 November according to Amazon; “Just Dance 2,” available 12 October, with plenty of new songs, a partners mode and an exercise mode that tells you how many calories you burn while dancing; and “Dance on Broadway” for the Wii, which is already out. Of these three, “Dance on Broadway” is about the only one I’m not really interested in. The reviews seem okay, but I really prefer to dance to rock or disco music, rather than Broadway show tunes.

So that’s what’s coming up on the Wii dancing front. Now on to shoes. I had been trying to get a second pair of Vibram shoes with little success. While Vibram has come out with plenty of new styles, just about every place I checked didn’t have any shoes available to sell in the styles I wanted or in my size. Everything was on “backorder.” I tried backordering a pair from REI.com, but they were on backorder so long the order eventually just cancelled (I was on vacation when they sent me the email to ask if I wanted to keep the shoes on backorder, so wasn’t able to respond yes and that’s why they cancelled it). Then, out of the blue, SeeJaneRun.com contacted me to let me know they finally had Vibram Bikilas in! I had tried ordering from SeeJaneRun.com when I first started hunting for Vibram shoes, but it looked like they went out of stock just seconds before I hit the “place my order” button, so I was never able to purchase from them. But they kept my name on a list, and emailed me to say they were sorry about the shoes going out of stock and if I was still interested, they’d send me a pair and forgo the shipping to apologize for the delay. You just know I jumped all over that. Anyway, big kudos to SeeJaneRun.com for helping me get another pair of Vibrams. I should have the shoes sometime this week, again hopefully before I leave for that 4-day karate camp in North Carolina.

And no, I’m not going to go into a lot of detail about that karate camp which I have now mentioned twice. I’ll give you the details when I get back. Suffice to say I think it will be great fun and completely exhausting. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Well, we’re done. On Saturday Hubster and I tested for san-dan (3rd degree black belt). The test lasted about 2 hours and focused mainly on technique and advanced timing in kata and kumite drills. It wasn’t one of those brutal, get the stuffing beat out of you tests, the kind you limp away from. However, it was exhausting and I’m glad we’re through with it. Hubster and I won’t test again for another two years, when we’ll be up for yon-dan, or 4th degree black belt.

It’s slightly freaky to realize Hubster and I are actually san-dans now. Honestly, it doesn’t seem like that long ago we were just starting karate. Most of the time I just go to class and practice just like everyone else, but then every now and then I pop my head up and I realize how long we’ve been training. It’s kind of scary, but I guess it also goes to show how far a person can go if they just keep working at something.

In other news, we’ve been playing a lot of “Just Dance” at home. The kids love to play, and Princess just crushes all competition when “Who Let the Dogs Out” comes up. Meanwhile, I hold the highest score on the Spice Girls’ “Wanna Be,” around 18800 points. I told Hubster the reason I do so good on that song is because I’m the fifth Spice Girl, Habanero Spice. Strangely, I don’t do as well on the B-52s’ “Funplex,” but I don’t care so long as I can get up and dance when the song comes up.

There’s only a couple weeks left until Princess starts school and Pixie heads back to regular preschool. As always, a change in their schedule means a change in mine. I always have fun with this. I enjoy looking at what I might be able to do with my time. With regards to exercise, I’d like to get back to water aerobics more regularly, as well as do more running. I think I’ll save the Wii workouts for evenings, weekends, and bad weather. My karate schedule is the one thing that won’t change.

One last bit of news, I’m getting a second pair of Vibram shoes. I swear, I get stopped at least once a day by people wanting to know what the heck I’m wearing on my feet. Now they can ask twice as often. I managed to snag a pair of the Bikilas from SeeJaneRun.com, which was pretty lucky. Everyone seems to have problems keeping them in stock. No surprise there. My KSOs have to be the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever worn.

And that’s the news on the fitness front this week. Until next Monday, keep moving!

Two years ago, I invented an entirely new Olympic event at Disney World. I call it the Mom Sprint. To compete, participants must be race from one end of their resort to the other, to catch the shuttle bus that has just arrived to take people to the Magic Kingdom. Participants must carry one child weighing at least 20 lbs under each arm, and have a full diaper bag and umbrella stroller strapped to their back. To win, they must catch the bus before it pulls away and leaves them stranded at the shuttle stop for the next 20 minutes with two whining children who will mercilessly howl at the participant about how they really, REALLY wanted to go to the Magic Kingdom right now but Mommy just wasn’t fast enough to catch the bus.

Or something like that.

I invented this event (or maybe just discovered it because I’m sure lots of other moms have been in the same situation before me) during a summer stay at a Disney Resort where the Hubster was attending a conference on aerospace engineering. He goes to this same conference every year, and every year the kids and I go with him. While he sits in an air conditioned conference hall and participates in discussions on subjects like flight simulators and modeling gravity, yours truly ends up out in the heat, hauling the kids around whatever locale we end up in. It’s exhausting, to be honest. While the kids are usually well behaved, being in a strange environment can put a strain on them, especially if it’s hot and we spend most of the day walking around. I try to stick to places with AC, like museums, but sometimes we end up spending the entire day walking around outside. After a few hours of this, we’re all usually fried, so we head back to the hotel, to find Hubster waiting for us so we can all go out and have fun together!

Ugh.

I do enjoy the trips, but honestly, I wish all that walking and sweating counted for something in the exercise department. I can’t really get to the hotel gym during these stays because Hubster has to leave so early to get to his conference and I can’t take the girls with me while I work out. And while we do walk and sweat, it’s apparently not enough to fight off the effects of eating out for breakfast, lunch and dinner all week long. I try to watch what I eat, but regardless of what I pick from the menu, I guarantee I’m still going to consume more calories than I should.

Oh well. We’ll be in Toronto next week, touring around until we’re ready to drop. So don’t expect a Move It Mama Monday post then, even though I will be moving quite a bit. I’ll post something when I get back. Promise.

There’s this old saying; “Life is what happens when you make other plans.” And boy howdy is that ever true.

If you’ve been reading here a while, you know that I like to make plans and schedules. Doing so helps me stay on top of everything I need and want to do. I’m a busy person, with a lot going on, and I rely on my plans and schedules to keep myself on track.

But I’ve also come to learn over the last 7 years or so that the best laid plans of mice and mamas often do not come to fruition.

Take my exercise plan for the summer – running and karate practice 3 days a week; karate classes and water aerobics classes 2 days a week; hard core morning workouts followed by light afternoon workouts; plenty of outdoor time with the girls, to include yard work and gardening. Yep, I’ve got a schedule all right.

Of course, I haven’t managed to follow it yet.

To some extent, I have done the things I planned to do. I’ve been pretty good about making it to karate classes. I have no choice there, since I have that test coming up in August. Water aerobics, I make it there at least once a week and last week I actually made it to both early morning classes! But the light afternoon workouts, the running and practice sessions, and most of the gardening have not been happening. And honestly, I’m not surprised, nor am I going to beat myself up over it.

As much as I plan, I also know that I never truly know how well a schedule is going to work until I try it. When I made my schedule, I had not realized that I would be caterpillar farming with the kids, or that I’d be spending quite so much time traveling to and from play dates. The plan had been to have the kids’ friends come over hear to play while I worked in the yard, but those other families have their own schedules to deal with, and more often than not they will suggest a meeting at this museum or that park. The travel to and from these places eats into my schedule like nobody’s business, but my kids need their playtime with their friends, so I cut stuff I had planned to give them what they need.

Then there’s all the appointments we’ve had to juggle. Car repairs, doctor appointments, vet appointments, hair appointments. I swear, at least one day every week since school let out, I’ve had to be somewhere for some appointment, and some days I’ve had to be three places at once! That really kills a day.

As for the early running, switching to the Vibram shoes has slowed me down. Don’t get me wrong, I love those shoes! Running in them has eliminated most of the knee and hip pain I’d been experiencing previously. However, my calf muscles and Achilles tendons are still getting used to this new way of running, so I’ve had to take more days off between runs than I had planned.

Plus there’s the fact that I had not counted on being so damned worn out by all the chasing after the kids and by the combined karate/water aerobics classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. When I’m that tired, it’s kind of hard to get up early in the morning and go for a run.

So what do I do? What I’ve always done. Stick to the schedule when I can, and always be on the lookout for opportunities to exercise when I can’t. If the kids go swimming, I can bounce around in the pool with them, using the Pixie as a sort of wriggling, giggling water aerobics weight/partner while Princess swims in circles around us. If it’s late in the afternoon and too hot to go outside, I can pop in Wii Sports Resort and work up a sweat sword fighting with one of the girls. Or I can set up Just Dance and we can all shake our groove thang.

And some days, I just need to take time off to rest. I’ve found the running is easier if I allow two days between runs. My calves are recovering faster after each run, so long as I allow them time to recover.

So I had this exercise plan for the summer, and it’s sort of been blown out of the water. It’s okay, I’ll deal. And if you’re having similar problems, think about ways you can deal too. Because remember, flexibility is always a key component of any workout plan.

Yeah, I know, bad pun, but still very true.

Well, I’ve had the new Vibram shoes for a week now, and I think things are going well, although slowly. I have to alternate running and walking at 1-2 minute intervals right now, because the new shoes have changed my running stride so that I no longer land on my heel, but on the ball of my foot. This is great because now I don’t get all that jarring impact every time my foot strikes the ground. Instead, I’m springing along on the balls of my feet. However, landing on the balls of my feet and then springing back off again requires a lot more work from my calves, and they definitely aren’t used to that.

I’ve had a few days off being really sore in my calves, so have been taking things slowly. However, I’m not experiencing any knee or hip pain after my run/walk, so that’s a huge benefit. I’ll see where I’m at in a couple of weeks.

Other comments on the Vibram KSO shoes. It has taken me a little while to get used to having my toes separated in my shoes. The discomfort from that passed quickly, but if I sit too long with the shoes on, it does come back. It’s better when I’m moving around and walking. I’ve had one hot spot on the back of my left heel, where the edge of the shoe hits the achilles tendon. A sports bandage took care of that. And I’ve noticed I feel the heat from the pavement a lot more when wearing these shoes. The soles are much thinner than an ordinary running shoe. I only noticed this though when I practiced karate at a local tennis court. When I run, I don’t notice it at all.

I’ll keep you updated on how things go with the shoes. I’m hoping by next week I’ll be able to run for a 5 minute stretch at a time. We’ll see!

Whaddya think? I got new running shoes! Ain’t they cool?

I first saw these on Mur Lafferty’s feet at a con earlier this year and had no idea what the heck they were. Shoes with toes? Looked very strange, but also intriguing. Then I saw someone else’s pics of these shoes on Twitter, so I decided to look them up. They’re Vibram 5-Fingers shoes, and looking for these turned out to be good timing, because my old running shoes were getting pretty worn out and I was having knee and hip pain every time I went for a run. I have enough problems with my knees and I don’t need any more, so I knew I had to replace my running shoes soon. But I also knew that the hip and knee problems weren’t necessarily going to go away with any old pair of sneakers. All the jarring that comes from running with my heel landing first every time I take a stride is a big part of the problem (plus I have three knee injuries which doesn’t help). So I did some research on the Vibram shoes. Apparently, these shoes alter my stride so that I run landing on the middle of my foot, not the heel, thus reducing the jarring and the stress on my hips and knees.

Well that sounded good to me, so I ordered a pair of the Vibram KSOs and they arrived Friday. They take a little work to get on, since I have to wiggle my toes into each little pocket, but once my feet are in, they’re good. I’ve been wearing them around the house and taking some walks, and I did a mix of walking and slow running this weekend. They’re so light, I can feel difference when I go from carpet to sidewalk to road to grass. I mean, seriously, I can feel the GRASS brush against my feet as I walk. I like that, because that gives me a better sense of the terrain I’m on, and a better sense of the terrain allows me to adjust my balance accordingly. Regular running shoes usually feel like I’m running with bricks on my feet when they’re brand new, and it takes me a couple weeks to a month or more to break them in. I will admit, running in the Vibram shoes does take some getting used to as well, since landing on the middle of my foot exercises different muscles than landing on the heel. I definitely felt the difference all through my calves and feet after that first walk/run, so it will probably take a bit of time before I can run my usual distance and speed. But it beats the hell out of running with bricks on my feet!

I’m particularly looking forward to trying these for karate practice, since my usual routine is to run for 20 minutes, practice karate for 20-30 minutes, and finish up with another 10-15 minutes of running. Running shoes and karate practice don’t usually mix well, and in my experience, by the time I’ve broken in my running shoes well enough to use them for karate, they’re no longer any good for running. I don’t think that will be the case with the Vibram KSOs. I’ll be testing that theory this week and will let you know next week how things go. Meantime, I like the way these new shoes fit and feel, and that I’m hopeful they’ll improve my run.

If anyone else has the Vibram shoes and has tried them out, please let me know how you like them. I’m interested in hearing what other folks have to say about them.

I am all off schedule this week, thanks to a bout of stomach flu last week. After spending most of a night hurling my guts into a bucket, I had hoped for a speedy recovery. Alas, that was not to be. I ended up with some sort of follow-up inner ear thing (I don’t really know what to call it) that made me too dizzy to stand upright for more than a few minutes at a time. So it was late Wednesday night before I started to feel better.

Obviously, 3-4 days of being sick pretty much screwed my entire workout schedule. And I didn’t get any exercise in this past weekend due to a family trip. Not that I’m complaining about that. We don’t get to see our family nearly often enough, and we were able to make a bonus trip to see some friends while we were in the area.

So this morning was the first day in a week that I was able to get in a workout, and what a workout it was! I ran for 20 minutes, did 30 minutes of karate practice, and then finished up with another 10 minutes of running. Even though I ran early in the morning while it was still cool out, I was completely drenched before I was half-way finished, and I was really sweaty-gross by the time I got home. Here, see for yourself…

Ain’t I gorgeous? That was taken at 7AM today, right after I finished my run. The t-shirt says, “I need my space,” and I’m pretty sure I stank badly enough by that point that I could have had all the space in the world if I wanted it.

But I’m not complaining. It felt good to get back out and sweat again after so many days sick or traveling. Tomorrow morning, I’m hitting the pool for an early morning water aerobics class. I’m too busy ferrying the kids to summer camp this week for karate classes, but that’s probably just as well. I think I need a week to ease back into the routine before I try to tackle every physical activity on my plate.

Here’s hoping everyone else is enjoying the warm weather and getting in plenty of exercise. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got lots more work to catch up on.

I admit it, I get easily bored. Well, not too easily bored, but I can’t keep playing the same Wii workout game without getting tired of it. So I’ve gotten into the habit of switching around the games I play. Wii Fit Plus, EA Sports Active, Just Dance, Walk It Out, Dance Dance Revolution, Gold’s Gym Cardio… I’ve got them all. I even have My Fitness Coach, but I honestly can’t play that one. Trying to do the aerobics-style warm up that comes at the start of every workout just kills my knees. I would love to use it for yoga, since it does do some very nice asanas, but unfortunately they don’t narrate the yoga routines properly so that I can follow along even when I’ve got my head between my legs. That kind of makes My Fitness Coach useless in my opinion.

But anyway, back to dealing with workout boredom. I tend to switch around between the games, pulling out one when I get bored with whatever I’ve been playing. I have to admit, Walk It Out has kept me entertained for quite a few weeks now, much in the same way Wii Fit kept me entertained. But even now I’m feeling a hint of tedium. I want something a little different. So I’m pulling out my other games and working them into my workouts.

This is the right time for me to switch things up, actually. With summer vacation coming, I can now change my workout schedule so that I do my Wii workouts in the afternoon (I plan to do all my running, karate practice and water aerobics in the morning before the girls wake up and Hubster heads out to work). Since I don’t have to worry about being at a bus stop at any particular time to pick anyone up, I’m hoping to be able to do some longer sessions, mixing EASA or Wii Fit with Walk It Out or Gold’s Gym Cardio Boxing. And of course, with the girls home, we’ll have plenty of opportunities for Just Dance!

Of course, by mixing things up like this and not sticking to just one program, I’ll have to put up with just about every program nagging at me for missing days with it. That’s the one thing that annoys me more than anything else about these workout games. I know they’re supposed to motivate me to keep coming back, but honestly? I’m not married to any of these games, and even Hubster doesn’t nag me when I don’t use him every day for a good sweat-inducing workou– er, I mean, let’s move on to the next subject.

Next subject, of course, is what do people want in future versions of these Wii games. I happened to stumble across a discussion on Amazon.com where people mentioned what they’d like to see in future versions of Walk It Out. Some of these ideas are pretty neat, and include things I’d been thinking about myself. For starters, other locales to walk in, including something sci-fi or fantasy based. And how about changing up the weather? Heck, if Rune Factory Frontier can give me rain and snow on a random basis, surely Konami can add something similar to Walk It Out!

As far as discussion on other games, I usually check the following…

Wii Fit Forum has all kinds of discussion threads going, including suggestions on more cycling games and enhancements on the step routines and jogging. They also have news and reviews of other Wii games and suggestions on how to add them into your workout routines.

Also on Amazon.com are customer discussions for EA Sports Active and other Wii games. Topics in the EASA discussion appear to include comparisons of EASA to Wii Fit Plus and tips on how to use the game. If you’re stuck for a certain bit of information, consider poking around on Amazon.com.

Wii Mommies was probably my first introduction to Wii Fit and I stop by there occasionally to keep up with what’s going on in the Wii exercise realm. This is a good place to check out for all things Wii exercise related and for discussion on healthy eating, exercising while pregnant, and other topics.

Beyond that, I usually just do a Google search and keep an eye on both the Nintendo and Konami websites. I’m hoping some time this summer to see some interesting news on new games or updates on the games I currently have, and I expect midway through the summer I’ll probably invest in yet another new game.

Because you know, I gotta keep myself interested to keep myself working out!

In two weeks, school lets out and the kids are home with me all day! Yay! And AUGH! What am I going to do with two children at home all day? How am I going to keep them occupied and keep me from going crazy?

Well, I’ve actually put quite a lot of thought into that first question (what to do with them), and as for the second (how do I keep from going crazy), all I can say is, “Too late!”

But seriously, I have been making plans for the summer, especially in regards to my workout routine. I have options, thankfully. And I have a very clearly defined goal – my third degree black belt test. Now I just need to put together the plan.

So today’s post is me thinking out loud, if you will. First up, I’ve made arrangements for Princess and Pixie to stay with our preschool provider down the street two days a week. Pixie’s preschool teacher is a lovely lady with a big garden and I know she’ll get the girls outside to play. Also, two days a week for both girls won’t break the bank. So on Tuesday and Thursday, the days I need to be at the dojo, I won’t have to worry about dragging the kids with me to sit through 2 hours of class at a time.

As for the rest of my workout plan, I’m planning to get my other big workouts done in the morning before the girls get up. I prefer early morning workouts, so I’ve told Hubster I intend to be up by 5:30 AM so I can head out the door to exercise. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, this workout will be a 20-30 minute run plus a 20-25 minute karate practice. We have a tennis court in the neighborhood and I like to run there, practice, and then run home. As for Tuesday and Thursday mornings…

Well, here’s where things get hard. I want to keep up with my water aerobics classes, but I also need to clear the mornings so I can stay home with the girls. I could take them to the Y with me and drop them off at the child watch facilities there, but Pixie hates that, and honestly, that takes such a huge chunk out of the day. I’d really rather get my workouts done early in the morning and have the rest of the day to stay home with the girls or go on a day trip with them. Since Tuesday and Thursday will already be eaten up by karate classes, and since those are the days my favorite water aerobics instructor teachers early morning classes, I’m thinking of toughing it out and going to the Y at 6 AM on those days. Yep, that’s right. I’ll be putting in three solid hours of hard core exercise on those two days. Fortunately, those are the days I won’t have to deal with the kids at home, so I think this will work, especially since I’m also planning on scheduling some serious nap time for those two afternoons.

I do plan to add in a second, lighter workout on MWF, probably sticking with Walk It Out, Wii Fit Plus, maybe some Gold’s Gym Cardio Boxing or EA Sports Active. Whatever I do in the afternoons, it will be short and it will happen after the girls and I are done playing outside, working on the garden, and going out on day trips. Weekends I’m planning to keep workouts very light, maybe only a session of Walk It Out on Sundays and nothing at all on Saturday.

So, I’ve got my workouts cut out for me. Hopefully this plan works out, because I need the exercise and I really do need to push myself in terms of karate practice and classes.