The Zone is Back

The long run zone, that is.  I managed to get in it this morning on my not-so-long run.  I ran for a total of around 2 miles.  There was a twinge in my toe at first, but it went away.  There was, oddly enough, also a twinge in my left toe after a while.  It ended up leaving, too.  I took a short walk after a mile to judge if everything was doing fine and it was.

My legs felt great and I was in time with my tunes. I chose an oldie but goodie Podrunner track called Strong at 153 bpm.

I'd like to see my (admittedly slow) pace and heart rate, but I'm struggling with my Garmin interface to SportTracks right now.

7 bunnies today.  I almost stepped on a bird.  I think it was a baby robin.  Either that, or it was injured.  I wasn't sure what it was (it was dark out and the bird was in the shadow from the street light) so I stepped beside it, then it flew a few feet away!  It was a beautiful 53F out this morning.  No wind.  Not too humid.  Perfect.

After the run, I watched Bret Contreras' new video about the hip thrust.  I've been meaning to give these a try, so I did 2 sets of 20 reps at body weight.  I'm pretty sure I was doing them right, so next time I'll add some weight!

Toe issues...

Ok, so NOW it's my TOE!  I stubbed it on the carpet.  Yes, on the carpet.  Nothing exciting like the wall or the chair, just caught it on the carpet.  It was surprisingly painful that day (Saturday) and now, on Tuesday, it has lessened, but it's still there.  So, I cut my run short this morning so as not to make it worse.  Actually, mother nature was calling, which helped seal the deal.  When I woke up, it was raining, but by the time I got outside, there was a clearing in the rain.  There was no lightning this time, which has been a rare situation lately.  I ran (what little that was) with Podrunner.  I hadn't done that in a while and I miss it!  In that short run, I saw three bunnies.

After the brief  (<0.5mile) run, I went to the basement to practice some kettlebell stuff.
With the 20# bell:
20 swings
20 alternating swings
10 L cleans
10 R cleans
20 swings
Then I tried some Turkish Getup stuff.  Those are definitely harder than they look.  Unweighted is fine.  With 20#?  Lots of stabilization required.  I might try for a while with a lighter dumbbell just to get the form down.

Careful with those legs!

I was!  I didn't want to wear out my legs too much in prep for my long run tomorrow.  I got down to do Stage 6 B1.  Felt great!  Not very hard, though.  Figuring out how to do the back extension was interesting.  I put my legs under the squat cage safety and my hips on the bench.  It was awkward, but it worked. Instead of the incline reverse crunch, I did hanging leg raises.

Hubby came down while I was working out.  Now I know why I don't lift with him.  He makes me laugh too much.  Try doing push presses while you are laughing.  It's impossible!

Stage 6 B1-2  

Warm-up - FBB  (11:24)  

Reverse Lunge, One DB at Shoulder - 2x10 @20#  

Dumbbell Two-Point Row - 2x10 @35#

Dumbbell Push Press - 2x10 @25# each hand

Back Extension - 2x10 @20#

Hanging Leg Raise - 2x10 (subbed for Incline Reverse Crunch)

Woot! A running goal acheived and kettlebell

Ok, so if you set your goals low enough, they are easier to achieve!  Since I ran yesterday... a little... I wanted a shorter run again today.  My goal was 2 miles.  I walked 0.14 then ran 2 miles at a 11:59 min/mile pace.  Wow, a speedster!  Ha!  I ate a Gu gel before running.  I have a hard time finding something to eat that early in the morning that won't slow me down.  I think the Gu does well.  I don't really like the idea of such a weird food-like product, but I'm not sure what else I can do.  Anyway, my tummy felt fine for the run and I'm still energized.

After the run, I headed to the basement and did a kettlebell workout.  I'm still getting used to it, so it wasn't spectacular, but I did make progress.

10 front squats
10 swings
5 R front squats
5 L front squats
20 alt swing
8 L clean
8 R clean
10 swings
10 L clean/squat/press
10 R clean/squat/press

All these were done with lone kettlebell, a Gold's Gym 20lb kettlebell.  Yes, I don't have a hallowed RKC kettlebell.  I have a cheap Wal-Mart kettlebell.  Yes, I actually did buy it at Wal-Mart.  Bad me.  It seemed to fit me well and was way less money than an RKC bell, especially since I didn't have to ship it.  If I stick with them and need a higher weight, maybe then I'll spring for the good stuff.  I was already getting flack for wanting one, though, so ~$30 was doable.

I did it.

I did.  I got outside to run... a little.  I just really didn't want to do it this morning.  I know I have races coming up.  I know I feel better when I get out and go.  But, that little voice in my head was telling me it would be much easier to just relax.  Be lazy.  Eat whatever you feel like.  That is so much easier than the fit way, in the moment, at least.  It's hard to keep thinking of the big picture.  It's hard to remember how cruddy I'd feel if I let myself go.  What diseases would I be more likely to come down with?  Diabetes? Cancer? Would my allergies strengthen again?  I know I feel on top of the world when I am working out regularly.  But extra sleep is so seductive.  I did get to bed at a decent time last night.  But, thanks to vacation, I've been getting up later lately.   Not crazy late, but 2-3 hours later than when I need to.  I need to give myself a few days to adjust.  Forgive myself for the temptation to be lazy.

The experiment to work out in the evenings didn't pan out.  I don't know if I blogged it before, but I'm going back to all mornings.  I already have, actually.

The stats aren't that impressive.  In total, I ran 1.74 miles in 21:30.  Pace of 12:22.  I walked in the middle for 1  minute and before the run for a little over 8 minutes.  I was yawning a lot during that warm-up walk.