159 bpm

Today, I picked up the cadence another notch, running to a 159bpm Podrunner podcast called The Road of Excess.  The run felt great, but it almost didn't happen.  Even though I got to bed on time last night, I was really tired this morning.  I didn't want to get up and when I got up and got downstairs, I wanted to go back to sleep.  So, I ate a Gu gel with a little caffeine in it.  As I was getting ready on the couch, I almost went back to sleep.  But, I already ingested 100 calories in the name of running, I couldn't back down now, right?  Plus, my FR305 was already outside collecting satellites.  I told myself I had to at least walk around the block.  Of course, once I got out in the fresh, 62F weather, I was ready to run.

The increased foot turnover did seem to have the effect that people said it would.  My footstrike did seem to be more midfoot than it normally would be at a slower cadence.  It wasn't hard to keep that cadence, but I think I felt my leg muscles being a little more tight than normal.  I'm debating whether my long run this weekend should increase again or stay here.  Maybe I don't want to add distance and foot falls?

I just downloaded a lot of archive Podrunner podcasts at higher beats per minute.  Before, I didn't grab many of these because I didn't see a need!

I had planned on 3 miles today.  I ended up in front of my house at 3.1 miles, so I thought that was a nice "round" number!  My average pace was 11:08min/mile.  Somehow, I thought it felt faster than that. 

2 bunnies

Going heavier

When I started out today, I thought I wouldn't be able to increase my weights much.  I thought I might in one or two exercises.  But, I increased in all!  And not by a little, really.

I was unhappy with how the back extensions were feeling, so for the last set I did the hip thrust, ala Bret Contreras (since it seems there are different exercises with this name).  Duh!  Why didn't I think of that before?  The back extension is mainly a glute exercise.  I was doing it on a weight bench with my legs under the safety bar of my squat cage.  So, I didn't have a large range of motion and at the bottom, my nose was almost touching the ground.  I was not looking forward to missing a lift and breaking my nose!  So, I basically flipped it around and but my upper back on the weight bench and did the hip thrust with the same weight.

Again, I subbed the hanging leg raise for the incline reverse crunch.  I think I'll need to do something harder next time.  But, this time I focused on keeping my shoulders down, which apparently should help with pull-ups eventually.

Stage 6A4-2

Warm up - FBB (10:55)

Reverse Lunge, One Dumbbell at Shoulder - 6@22.5#, 6@25#, 6@27.5#

Dumbbell Two-Point Row - 6@37.5#, 6@40#, 6@42.5#

Dumbbell Push Press - 6@25#ea, 6@27.5#ea, 6@30#ea (last set HARD!!)

Back Extension - 2x6@30#

Hip Thrust - 1x6@30#

Hanging Leg Raise - 3x6

180bpm?

I was reading the latest issue of Runner's World magazine last night.  There was a blurb that mentioned the "ideal" foot turnover is 180 times per minute.  That translates to keeping time with a 180bpm Podrunner podcast.  Really?  I've been running to podcasts in the mid-150's.  I'm not so sure about that, but I decided to give it a try.  I used the next podcast I had up 1bpm from my last one. I figure it's not great to jump too far forward.  I ran to a 157bpm podcast called Native Suns.  I better download a few more faster ones if I'm going to try pushing it up a bit.

Since I was planning only a 2 mile run, I pushed myself a bit more than usual and ended up averaging 10:37 min/mile.  Not bad for me!  I also ran a course that had me reaching exactly 2 miles (plus a ~0.14 warm up walk) right in front of my house.  The engineer in me loves efficiency, so that was very satisfying. 

Only 1 bunny today!

Another lifting session

I like how I can do Stage 6 workouts back-to-back without much problem.  Today I did Stage 6A3-2, even though I did 6B2-2 yesterday.  The kids joined me for a while, but they were really annoying, so hubby took them upstairs.

There aren't many exercises to this workout, but that doesn't mean it's easy!  Those ten sets of lat pulls are killer.  Also, the negative chins zap all you have.  The BBSS aren't easy, and by the time I get to the push-ups, I feel like a wimp.

I still love my gym setup.  I'm SOOO glad I got the cage with the cable station.  Totally worth it.

Stage 6A3-2

Warm-up - FBB (11:00)

Negative chin-up - 21s@15#, 17s@17.5#, 17s@17.5#

Underhand grip lat pulldown - 10x115#

Barbell split squat - 3x65#

Push-up - 3x6 with 1 sec pause at bottom

Lifting and kettlebells

After walking around the zoo for several hours yesterday, I was exhausted.  This morning, I slept in and recovered, but I did get to the basement this afternoon to do some lifting.  The kids were severely annoying me, so I needed it. They did follow me, but they were out of their funk then, and we had a good time.  My daughter (3 years old) did a lot of my warm up with me.

I did the 2nd workout of New Rules of Lifting for Women, Stage 6, Workout B.  It's not a super-intense workout, but still challenging enough given heavy enough weights.  Afterward, I did some practice with kettlebells using Pavel Tsatsouline's Enter the Kettlebell DVD.  It's rather cheesy, but very good instruction.

Stage 6B2-2

Warm up - FBB (10:00)

Reverse Lunge, One Dumbbell at Shoulder - 1x8@20#, 1x8@22.5#, 1x8@25#

Dumbbell Two-Point Row - 3x8@37.5#

Dumbbell Push Press - 3x8@25#ea

Back extension - 3x8@25# (on bench with legs under squat rack safety)

Hanging leg raise - 3x8 (subbed for incline reverse crunch)