Definitely back into the groove

So it's been a while since I've been in this space, but I must say my healthiness journey hasn't lacked. I completed the Crescent City Classic 10K in late April. I didn't complete it in the time that I wanted, but I did it despite the excessive heat that morning. Since then I've completed a 5K in mid-May and numerous runs just to keep me on my healthiness journey.

I just checked my stats and as of today, June 30th, I have 208.24 miles. The end of June 2010 found me with 163.12 miles. I'm 45 miles ahead! Sweet!

I've tried to embrace the treadmill since it's been excessively hot. There were two days over the past month where I ran in the evening and it was brutal. Brutally difficult! If I'm going to log miles during the workweek, it's going to have to be at the gym on the treadmill. Not ideal to me, but there are some benefits. I think the treadmill will help me developing a consistent stride and with my pace.

Yesterday I did a 30 minute interval run: 1 min at 6.0 speed and 1 min at 5.0 speed. That was my first time pumping the treadmill up to 6.0. I was pretty impressed with myself! I'll continue to do the interval run as such and gradually increase the time for 6.0 speed. It can only help!

I'm still going to run on the road, mainly on Saturday & Sunday because I'll get out early in the AM. I wish I felt comfortable running early in the AM during the week, but I just can't see getting out there when it's too dark. Must stay safe!

Anywho, just wanted to provide a brief update on my running.

Back into the groove

So last week was a wash regarding returning to training due to illness. I'm all better now and I've already gotten my week started off right by heading to the gym earlier today. I got in 50 minutes of cardio by completing 40 minutes on the elliptical and 10 minutes on the bike. It felt really good to be back in the gym after 6 days away. I thought it would be difficult to accomplish what I planned on doing, the 40 minutes, but it wasn't at all. Impressive!

My plan for this week will include weight training in the morning and running in the evening (if the weather cooperates *fingers crossed* I really don't want to run on the treadmill). I'm 4 weeks out from my 10K, and I need to step up the training. No half-stepping. It is likely I won't be able to run the entire 10K due to my lack of training, but I want to be able to run at least 4-5 miles. We'll see....

Sick

Soooooo....my exercise plans this week, thus far, haven't panned out as planned.

Yesterday I wanted to do a full weights workout at the gym. Unfortunately, the lights at the gym conspired against me. When I rolled up to the gym at 5 am it was totally dark. Normally, all of the lights are blaring. I saw a few guys milling around outside so I assumed the guy who normally opens wasn't there. What to do? What to do? After about 5 minutes, I saw them go in. Huh? It turns out he was there, but for some reason the lights wouldn't come on. He couldn't get into the main office where I don't know what could take place, but no lights until someone else showed up. The electricity in the building was working and lights were on in the locker room, but not the cardio room or weight room. Needless to say, I couldn't do weights in the dark. To dangerous. So I did cardio in the dark. I did 22 minutes on the elliptical with the lights coming on about the 15 minute mark.

I moved to the weight room then and did a lackluster leg workout as I was extremely tired from the cardio. Normally, I'm not that tired from that amount of cardio, but I was also a bit under the weather. I've been fighting a cold and I'm not winning. :(

Then I ended up spending much of yesterday evening in the emergency room with my Mom. All is okay now, but I didn't get to sleep until 1 am. Needless to say, no gym today. I attempted to go to work mid-day and had to leave due to a massive cough bout which ended with my vomiting (though I had very little on my stomach).

Not sure about tomorrow just yet. Perhaps I should rest one more day.

Changing it up

I've been really bored with my workouts lately. So bored, that I haven't been doing much weight training at all. I've always like weight training, but I haven't really been into this year at all. Therefore, I need to change it up. Starting this week I'm going to switch to 3 days of weight training in the morning, 2 days of cardio in the morning (the elliptical or bike), and 3-4 days of running outside.

I really need to get back into serious weight training as I think it helps with the running. I recently read an article in Fitness magazine where a lady training for a marathon incorporated weight training to build her upper body strength for endurance during the marathon. I never thought about that! Reading her training for the marathon helped me to realize the importance of weight training in my overall routine, not that I didn't know it wasn't important, but I just wasn't focused or into.

I have a 10K I'm participating in next month, 5 weeks away. I have the opportunity to really make a difference if I focus over the next 5 weeks. That's my goal. To really focus.

Green Monster

I finally got the nerve to try a Green Monster, and just like everyone has stated, you really don't taste the spinach. At least I didn't with the combination of items I used and I didn't go overboard with the spinach. I mean, this was my first time and all, baby steps! Here's what I included:

8 oz light cranberry juice
1 banana
strawberries (a handful)
blackberries (a handful)
8 oz plain yogurt
spinach (a handful)
1/2 scoop vanilla protein
ice

That's it. It was quite good! I'll try it again with more spinach next time. Not sure if I'll ever get to the point of trying a green monster that is truly green, since the color isn't too appealing to me, but perhaps in time. For now, I'll stick with my concoction with a limited amount of green coloring.

Blue Level

I've reached the Blue Level (syncing 621+ miles) on Nike+. Sweet!

Only Rant

"Jason only completes 12 minutes of cardio."

"I only walked 1.5 miles."

"Maxine only bench pressed 50 pounds."

Sometimes the term only is self-depreciating or others use it in a depreciating manner when speaking about what someone else has done. meaning. Personally, I think that word should be banned or not used as such.

The example statements above are prime examples. Jason did 12 minutes of cardio! That's great for Jason. The term only makes it seem like 12 minutes is not a lot. It is depending on the person. That could be someone for whom 2 weeks ago 12 minutes seemed like an hour. One shouldn't assume that 12 minutes of cardio is not an accomplishment.

The other day someone said that a guy at my gym was only on the treadmill a short while. That's what prompted this post. I responded, but he's on there and that's what he can. That's what's important! He's making the effort (my mantra). He's at the gym most mornings and putting in his time to get healthy. One must admire that. Once I said my speil the other person agreed.

You see, it's not always about doing what you feel is the most. It is about the individual. One has to do what is safe and comfortable for them. Who am I to judge? I don't know what Jason, Maxine, Shawn, or anyone else for that matter can do. I only (used in a good way!) know how far I can push myself. I don't know about others. Yes, I can encourage, but that person knows what he/she can do. Therefore, I choose not demean what others can do by using the term only to describe what a person did. I choose to state exactly what that person did and see it as an accomplishment. I do so because it is an accomplishment!

Timing at the gym, redux

Since I wrote this post, my timing has improved at the gym. I'm putting in 20 minutes of cardio then a weights workout. I've reduced my time between sets which helps to keep my heart rate up and reduces idle time. At present, I'm going 5 days per week. I'll do that this week so that I can finish out the month (I'm out of town next week).

Here's my routine:

Monday - biceps & triceps
Tuesday - legs
Wednesday - back & abs
Thursday - chest
Friday - shoulders & abs

I complete 20 minutes of cardio, the weights workout, and end with stretching.

Next week, I'm only in town Monday & Tuesday. I haven't decided if I want to do a full body workout each day or just cardio each day. We'll see how I feel come Monday.

Pound it Out!

This past Thursday morning I awakened with a pounding headache. I debated for a moment about staying home from the gym, but decided against knowing I couldn't go after work. So off I went after eating a waffle w/ peanut butter and a glass of water.

I jumped on the treadmill aiming for about 20 minutes of a run/walk interval. It was difficult because with every run interval I could feel the pounding of my headache. However, by the time my 20 minutes were up the headache was gone! That was an awesome feeling! I'm so glad I forced myself to go and get my workout in. It was SO worth it!

Radio Silence

Sorry for the radio silence. Life called. Didn't have time to update this space. I'm still around (check the twitter stream over there-->>) and doing my workouts.

Timing at the gym

I think I need to adjust my timing. Yesterday and today I put in 20 minutes on the treadmill then moved to the weight room. I then moved to the weightroom for 30 minutes. That seems like a lot of time, but when you consider the 15-30 seconds of rest time between sets, moving around the room, doing abs, and stretching - it's not a lot of time.

Yesterday I did 6 exercises and today I did 7 exercises. That seems like a fair amount, but I don't enough time to do abs and stretch. I either need to do less cardio or adjust to weights 3 days per week and cardio 2 days per week. I'm going to finish this week out as is so that I can become familiar with the machines in the room. I'll reevaluate at the end of the week.

January Plans

As stated over the weekend, I was successful with my cardio blitz in December and now it is time for a change. I'm going back into the weight room this month and will continue to cardio as well. Since I'm still at a new facility (today was first day in weight room), I still have to learn what's all available. I don't know what's in there and how to set-up my weights routine just yet. Therefore, this week I'll play it by ear until I learn what's there.

This month, I'm also going to get back into a regular routine of moving my body by walking/running. I've already started with the walking/running by putting in 3.6 miles on January 1st. Yay! This morning I put in some time on the treadmill and logged the miles with Nike+ GPS. I've never done that before, but decided why not since there's the treadmill option in that app.



I then moved to the weight and did an arms workout (biceps, triceps, & shoulders). I finished out with some abs, push-ups, and stretching. All in all a good workout.

I hit the pavement after work for some more miles:



By the numbers:

3.62 miles
25 minutes of weights (upper body), abs, push-ups, stretching

All in all, a good day!