Back home on wiggly legs!

I'm back from a two week vacation! Although I didn't really "work out" during that time, I got plenty of exercise. We were sightseeing, so I was walking and/or climbing steps or hills most days. The day before we came back, we went up 768 stairs to the top of a church tower ... and back down again. On the way down, my daughter was a bit scared, so I had to carry her down the whole way. I was sweat buckets with my down jacket on and was really glad for my improved strength and endurance! I was also glad I was in Europe where they aren't quite as sensitive to body smells, because I was not able to shower afterward!

Even though I ate like crazy, the activity balanced it out, I guess, because I didn't gain a pound! I'm thrilled about that, because I didn't hold back at all. This was mostly heavy, starchy German food (which I love) and the associated chocolates and cakes and Italian ice cream.

We got back Tuesday night. I was going to go back to the gym on Thursday morning, but my daughter, still somewhat affected by jet lag, woke up early and wanted to stay in our bed. She refused to stay there if I got up, so I decided that was a sign that I could also use a bit more sleep.

So, I headed to the gym today to start Stage 7 of New Rules of Lifting for Women. Holy cow, that was a hard workout. I warmed up with four squats using only the olympic bar, then an attempted (failed) chin-up and a negative chin-up. During the workout, I just couldn't hold myself to 30 second breaks. My heart rate got too high and I had to catch my breath. I was really sweating and huffing and puffing. In fact, I reached about 180bpm... with WEIGHTLIFTING. This isn't running!! See below for my heart rate graph. (The split lines mark the end of an exercise and the beginning of the next rest.) My average heart rate was 144bpm.

Overall, I took 45 minutes not including about 5 minutes for warm up. For some of the exercises, I had to pause a few times to finish the set. I aimed for 15 reps because 20 is just tooooo many!

Squat - 1x8@45# then 1x7@55# - I really felt my hams after this. I probably need to work on hamstring flexibility.
Static lunge, rear foot elevated - 4x15@15# each hand
Push-up - 4x15@level 4 on the Smith Machine (about 2 feet off ground) arms mostly in
Romanian deadlift (w/ BB) - 1x15@95# then 3x15@100#
DB bent-over row - 3x15@25#ea then 1x14.5@30#ea (last rep was about a 80% pull)

I had a yogurt+protein powder treat afterwards, finishing off my protein powder again. I'll have to get some more! I think I'll get the same stuff, NNW Healthy Whey Vanilla Carmel Swirl. Yum!

A long fun run

This morning was the coldest yet. It was about 27.5F (-2.5C) when I started and only warmed up one degree by an hour later. There was basically no wind (except the 5mph "wind" always hitting my face.) I set out for an hour long run with the treat of a cup of coffee at a local cafe waiting for me at the end.

It was good that it was still dark when I left because my running getup was supremely dorky. I couldn't find my long exercise pants, so I had slightly cropped ones over my silk thermal tights. I wore my long sleeve technical running hoodie and over that, my rain coat/windbreaker jacket with the armpit zippers open. I also had thin gloves on and a stocking cap. It really worked well, but I'm pretty positive the staff at the coffee house had a good laugh once I left. That's ok. The last 30 minutes the sun had come up, but by then, I was in the zone and didn't care what I looked like. I was feeling so good.

It was one of those runs that just felt darn good. At first, it was a bit cold and I struggled a bit to adjust my lungs to the cold air, but once I warmed up, the cold air didn't bother me. I changed up my route so that I would end near the cafe. I'm getting really good at estimating that. I reached the sidewalk across the street (where I wanted to end) at one hour and 23 seconds. Well, then I jogged across the street to avoid a car, but that doesn't count.

I love to let my mind wander while my feet just carry me along to the music. I can see why some people record their thoughts during their runs. I always think I have interesting things to say during my runs, but by the time I get around to blogging, the thoughts are gone.

I ran to 154bpm Definitive and then finished with 156 Running to Elysium from Podrunner. I should really check if there are more podcasts out in those bpm ranges! If these were tapes, the sound would be distorted by now. That's ok. I don't get tired of them.

In 1:00:23 I ran 5.29miles for a pace of 11:25 min/mile. The last half of my run was mostly at 170bpm, but the average for the whole run was 164bpm.

Bunny count: 21!

Finished Stage 6

Today was the last of Stage 6, workout 6B4 in New Rules of Lifting for Women. Next up is Stage 7, which I've heard is a killer!

Today's workout was harder than I expected. All of the exercises were 10 reps. Last B workout they were 4! The book wants you to drop back to the weights you used in workout 6B2, but that was mostly just down 5#. 10 reps really gets my heart pumping. I was up at 150bpm multiple times. My average was 122bpm, which is rather high, considering the rests were 60sec.

If I can't yet achieve a chin-up, I think I'll repeat this stage after I'm done with Stage 7, which is the last in the book.

Reverse lunge 1db at shoulder- 2x10@25#

DB 2-pt row - 2x10@40#

DB push press - 2x10@25#ea (last rep was hard!)

Back extension - 2x10@40#

Incline reverse crunch - 2x10@30deg (barely finished the last couple reps!)

Hilly loops

Today I decided to do hilly loops around my neighborhood. Normally, I just roam around, turning where I feel like at the moment. Often I choose the flattest route. But, today, I decided to do three loops near my house. My road is a gradual incline of about 1/4 mile. The next street over, however, is much steeper. The steeper part is shorter, of course, and then any incline is more gradual than my street. So, I ran downhill from my house and ran up the steeper hill on the next street. The whole loop was 0.95 miles, which is a pretty nice, even number! Who woulda known?!

From top to bottom, the elevation change is only 162ft (49.7 meters) so it's not that big of a deal. But it's enough of a challenge for 5am in 39degF weather with 5mph wind. Actually, the weather was perfect. The coldness was just right. I could feel my lungs wheezing a tiny bit, but nothing to worry about yet. I wore about the same gear as last time. It was a bit on the warm side, I think. Not too bad, though.

I listened to a 156bpm Podrunner podcast called Running to Elysium. There is a line somewhere around 20-25 minute in that repeats "You don't stop" over and over again. That always makes me pick up my pace!

Overall, I did 3.04 miles in 31:05 for a pace of 10:13min/mile. That's pretty good for me!

No bunnies, but I saw a stray cat! I forgot to mention I saw one bunny during my last run. I'm sure you were wondering...

6A5 Annoyance

What an annoying lifting day. The lifting itself went well, but there was a guy at the gym that threw me out of what I wanted to do on almost every exercise. Argh!

He was doing circuits using the power cage for bench presses and the Smith Machine for squats. (He was also doing leg presses on the leg press machine, which is... well... interesting.) He was using way more weight than I needed, so I didn't feel like even asking to work in for the split squats. I wanted to use the SM for negative chin-ups and push-ups. At least, I could do the pulldowns how I wanted.

Negative chin-up - All at 20#: ~16sec, ~15sec, ~12sec (Used the pull-up bars on the dual cable machine... I was kind of still shaken that I couldn't do these on the Smith Machine, also I had to take a wider hold and I couldn't jump all the way up with the bar being farther up and I had to stand on a bench just to reach the pull-up bars... I think I would have done better on the Smith Machine)

Underhand lat pull-down - 1x4@105#

Barbell split squat - 2x10@30#each shoulder (had to use dumbbells, wanted to use 65# on bar bell. These were hard enough! I had to take a little break in between legs and I still got my heart rate up to 148-152bpm.)

Push-up - 1x9.5 and 1x12 (couldn't use Smith Machine, so I did them on the floor with arms out a bit and letting elbows go out rather than keeping them in... still didn't get as low as I want)

Winter is on the way!

Last night I could already feel the tug to not go for a run this morning. It is getting cold at night now, close to freezing. Yesterday it was extra-cold because of the strong winds, on the order of 30mph. So, I checked the weather forecast and say that it was supposed to slow down to 6mph or less. So, I had no good excuse!

This morning, I tried to dress warmly without overdoing it. I think did pretty well. It was 36F for my run with a wind of about 4.5mph. That may not be much wind, but it's enough to make it feel even colder. I wore a short sleeve dry shirt under a sweat shirt, silk long johns under kind of thin workout pants (not sweats with a fuzzy interior), a reflective vest, a stocking cap, and thin gloves.

I was afraid I'd have problems with my cold-induced asthma. I have some wheezing as I type this, but during the run, I only noticed a tiny bit of squeak. Overall, not bad at all.

I got a bit sweaty, but since it was only a 30 minute run, it wasn't a big deal.

It was a good feeling run. I didn't even have the first mile dread I often have. I took an easy pace and chose a hillier route. There are some pretty decent hills in this area. Nothing San Fransisco like, but if I don't want hills, I have to pick my route carefully.

In 30:22 I covered 2.67 miles. That's a pace of 11:21. I ran to the Podrunner podcast "Definitive" at 154bpm. One of my favorites.

Here's to a great start to the day!!

Feeling strong!

Last night I attended a yoga class of a new yoga instructor at the gym. I was the only one there, so I got a private lesson for $5. I think I'll pay more than she's asking if I go again. That just isn't enough. It was really good and this was the first time in a long time I had a mirror to check my form in.

This morning was 6B4 for me. Next are the last two Stage 6 workouts!! Things went well. I even increased some of the weights. I realized that last time on the 2-pt row, I did both arms at the same time. Oops!

Reverse lunge 1db at shoulder- 4x4@30#total

Db 2-point row - 4x4@45#total (one arm at a time, this time! I run the weight parallel to my body, otherwise the width gets in the way and hits my body... maybe this isn't totally right, but it's the way I do them)

Db push press - 1x4@25#ea then 3x4@30#ea (wow, that's hard!! difficult to stabilize at top)

Back extension - 3x4@45#total

Incline reverse crunch - 3x4@30deg

Am I close to a chin-up yet?

Today was 6A4 of NRoLfW, otherwise known as the "armbuster." Well, I'm the only one calling it that, but it is true! I mean, 15 second rests? Yikes!

I'm getting frustrated with the triceps pushups. They are just soooo much harder than when I let my elbows track outward. They feel so weak compared to all the other powerful stuff I'm doing.

It was a good workout. It took about 34 minutes. I'm wondering when I should attempt a real chin-up. Definitely not today or tomorrow!!

Negative chin-up - 1x25sec@10# then 1x20sec@15# then 1x17sec@20#

Underhand lat pulldown - 2x2@112# then 8x2@105# (yikes!! 15 seconds for resting is nothing!!)

BB split squat - 3x4@80# (for the last set, I didn't get down as far as I would like)

Push-up - 3x4 on the floor with arms in (argh! So frustrating... didn't get as low as I would like and did some dipping to get up a couple times...)

Pi mile run

Yes, I did it. I finally ran in the Pi Mile Run, a 3.1415... mile run, rounded to 3.1 miles (5k). LOL! It's put on by an engineering group that I was a member of back in college. It was a super small race... 12 people. But, because of that, I came in 5th! The 4th place person just beat me. I didn't have the energy left to kick it more at the end. My Garmin read it at 3.25 miles or so. I'm pretty sure that is correct, because they took a longer route on that course than I have in past races held there. It was a friendly race. I finished the course in 33 minutes. Which means I finished 5k in about 31:29. That would be about my best time, I guess! I need to check my Garmin log and see if it agrees.

It was cold and windy. I'm sure that didn't help turnout. Not horrible for a run, though.

Update: I finally took a look at my Garmin output and although it's not 100% on the mark, I don't see any glaring errors in the GPS tracking. So, I hit 3.1 miles at about 31:06. Not bad! Maybe I'll break 30 minutes some day. The race course was about 3.3 miles.

My HRM was losing contact every now and then. (There is no way I was at 130bpm in the middle of the race!!) But, it looks like my heart rate was around 185bpm for the last 9 minutes of the race. Wow! I guess I did push myself and it's no wonder I was only able to muster a short 8min/mile kick at the end!

I think I'll be sore tomorrow!

Today was 6B3 of New Rules. It was tough! I tried to increase all my weights, in the first section, since the set number stayed the same and the reps went down. I kept the weights the same for the second section, since another set was added.

It was a hard workout. My form suffered at points, but not too bad. Sometime during the first section, a slight soreness appeared in my back. It didn't get worse, though, so hopefully it will go away.

Reverse lunge 1db at shoulder - 3x6@30 (form was getting sloppy towards the end, the weight got lower, so I started bending to the side to offset it)

DB 2point row - 1x6@45#ea then 2x3@45#ea and 3@40#ea

DB push press - 2x3@30#ea and 3@25#ea then 1x6@25#ea

Back extension - 3x6@40#

Incline reverse crunch - 3x6@30deg