Saturday at the gym

I wonder how busy the gym is at lunchtime on Saturday. Hopefully not busy. I hate when it's crowded. I'm about to change and go over there. Oh I also have to pick which exercises I'm going to do today. I'm combining 2 days, but there's no way I could do all of both days' exercises--especially as my shoulders are sore from swinging a 16kg kb yesterday-- and still run. I'm liking the running again. I did a Polar fit test last night; my VO2max is still 33.

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Well, it wasn't crowded at the gym, not too many people. I did about half of each of the two days' of exercises and ~30 min on the treadmill. It would have been nice to go outside, but I'm using the treadmill to maintain a steady pace. Today was harder being the day after a leg workout; I ranged 3.7-4.2 mph in my pace depending on my HR and music. (Pandora Muse station) Overall a good workout.

Merry Christmas

Clearly I have not been feeling the blogging bug. I've hardly even been reading any blogs. If I don't follow the writer on Facebook, and therefore see there that there's a new post, I don't see the new stuff. I have still been working on the LiveFit program. Weeks 4, 5, & 6 I only worked out a couple of times each week and could tell I was falling behind. I asked my sister if she thought I should continue and basically jump back in or start over again. She suggested going back to my last full week and restarting there. So I went back and repeated week 3. This week is week 5 again, and it has been going better this time (except today--haha). This week (5) brings cardio back in to the workouts; I ran on the treadmill Monday and Tuesday and was able to keep a pretty steady 15 min/mi pace both jogging and walking. In fact, these treadmills have walk, jog, and run presets: 2mph, 4mph, 6mph. Ha ha.  I've also noticed that my clothes are feeling looser in the waist. :-)

So it's Christmas evening (not to be confused with Christmas Eve) and today feels like it's been 2 days. There was the present opening time, go back to bed time, watch son lose his RC helicopter and then go look for it time, wash dishes and cook dinner time, and now it's chillin' time. Pretty soon I need to call some family members.

OK, so

So long time, no write.  Despite the last couple of weeks feeling particularly slow, this month has gone by quickly. Next thing you know, it will be 2014. I'm still getting used to writing 2013!

Thanks to Z's company, I did weeks 1-3 of LiveFit. Then in week 4, she was gone all week. I went to the gym on Tuesday & did legs and threw in a set of KB snatches: 20 per hand. It was an 18lb KB (all the KBs on the rack were marked "KG" but the 14 and the 18 were actually pounds, not kg) and felt light, so I was snatching rather quickly. Good thing I remembered to start with my left (weaker) hand, or I wouldn't have finished with 40. I barely reached it as it was.

I went to the gym again on Thursday, but it was a group workout, and we did circuit training. I think I needed most of the week off, though. It was restful (in that regard); I'm still not going to bed early enough. I skimmed a Runner's World article about training hard for 2-3 weeks and then backing off for a week. I need to read it again more carefully.

Monday Z was back at work, so we went to the gym (week 5). We add cardio back in starting this week. I did a mile on the treadmill, and if felt good. Z used this funky stairmaster that had actual stairs, like a mini escalator. She thought she was starting out on level 1, turned out to be level 11!  Tuesday and Wednesday were busy, so I didn't make it. Today, well, it's Thanksgiving! I thought about going for a jog this morning, but temps were below freezing. Maybe I should have gone anyway, b/c I only got out of the house once today--at sunset--to take out the trash. I finally tried strawberry rhubarb pie today; it was pretty good. I'm not much of a pie person; I don't usually like the crust--it's too much. But, with the exception of the ice cream that we didn't open, pie was our only dessert this Thanksgiving. (!)

I also need to do better eating-wise. I know that menu planning helps a lot, but I get bogged down too easily in the details, and it starts taking a long time. Well, my Team Beachbody subscription just renewed. I had gotten it for the food planning, but it wasn't working for me past the first couple of weeks. However, since I just spent more money on it, I guess it's worth giving it another shot, especially since I can't find the "cancel my subscription" link.

New and unaccustomed soreness!

Today I finished the first week of a new training program. It's the Jamie Eason 12 week Live Fit program, which can be found at Bodybuilding.com. I never thought I'd be doing a training program from a bodybuilding website! My sister shared it with me. She asked if I had daily access to a gym; I said, "yeeeess," hesitant about what I was getting myself into and thinking about the bare bones workout space we have at work (a treadmill, rowing machine, stationary bike, dumbbell set, and some workout bands and mats). When I saw the plan I realized I wouldn't be able to properly complete it at work, so I asked a coworker if she'd go to the gym with me. To my relief she said she would. We started on Day 2; I did Day 1 at home, only having to substitute 1 exercise.

Day 1 was triceps and chest; Day 2 was biceps and back. My hands were not prepared for holding and manipulating all that weight! Not only were my triceps sore (too sore to do proper preacher curls the next day!) but my forearms were sore from my elbows into my hands! By Tuesday night my arms hurt so bad! I slept extra warm, hoping they'd feel better in the morning. The last time I can remember (specifically) being that sore was Spring Break my freshman year of college: I'd gone home with my roommate, and one day we went canoeing on a river. Since I sat in the front of the canoe, I couldn't tell when I was the only one paddling upstream. My muscles went through the soreness process twice as fast as usual--I could hardly move my arms that night, slept warm, and was good to go the next morning. Well, it didn't quite work out that way this time. I did finally start feeling better after I took a very warm shower and put on a tight-sleeved long sleeved shirt. Ah! Compression! Wednesday (Day 3) was legs, and, having learned my lesson, I went easier with the reps and weights. Today, Day 4, was lats and abs; 5lb was the lightest dumbbell weight available--fine for shoulder presses and front raises (still fatiguing by the end of the sets), but more challenging than I expected for the other exercises.

I need to work on nutrition (fruits and vegetables! no Cokes!) and getting enough sleep. For example, I should be asleep already, so,

good night.

Heart Rate Training

I recently used PolarPersonalTrainer to create an 'improve my fitness' training plan to start heart rate training. I've set up the three basic workouts--hilly run, intervals, long run--in my HRM watch. I'm still learning the tricks of getting it to work right. Apparently I have to pick a time or a distance for each zone or else it record everything as just the first zone. I wish I'd picked one that downloads workouts to the watch. At least I did (accidently) figure out how to easily merge my uploaded workouts with my planned workouts. Click, drag, and drop on top. I'm on week 2 of 4; there are 3 workouts/week, and I've done 4 workouts. I've written off the first long run as a loss, and I still need to do this week's. I was supposed to do it this afternoon (Friday the 27th), but I got into a rut at work and really didn't feel like going out. My bike ride home was surprisingly chilly and windy (out of the north). It might snow this weekend? Guess I've gotta suck it up and go out in the morning.  I almost said "...run in the morning" but keeping my heart rate in the target zones means lots of walking, little running. I know it will work though if I just have patience. So I guess I'd better shut up and go to bed.

Hiking, Running, and Swimming in Italia and Turkiye

 

Top: View of Italian mountains from hotel balcony. We hiked one a bit farther north...after we walked to it. Then once we got back down to the bottom, we ran back towards the hotel.

Bottom: The beach at the Mediterranean as seen from the street.

 

Turkey: "Heaven" A church deep in a ravine, at the mouth of a cave, where early Christians hid and worshipped. Going down wasn't too bad, but the hike back up? !!! I counted well over 200 steps up, of varying heights. I thought I had some pictures that gave a better idea of the height, but I can't find them.

I only know that it's deeper than I am tall. Beautiful!

It really is easier to float in salt water. But it's not easier to swim when there are big swells. Obviously there weren't any in this bay, but the water was rather chilly in this spot.

 

It was easier to run at sea level. It also felt a lot hotter thanks to all the humidity! Nevertheless I did a couple of afternoon runs in Turkey of 1.5 - 2mi. Not to be confused with having the runs, which I also dealt with in Turkey. :-|

Live.Love.Tri. Report

"Live well. Love more. Tri hard."

It's high time for my race report.

The week leading up to the race was busy and somewhat stressful. Friday night I stayed up way too late getting ready for the race. DH was going to go with me this time, but he stayed up even later (nervous about waking up in time) and ended up being way too tired to go. When my alarm went off, I really didn't want to get up. I reminded myself that I'd paid to do this, so I had to do it to not waste the money. So I went by myself. I don't like being up before the sun; it just seems wrong to wake up -- and be out and about -- when it's still dark.

I got to the race site, got my bike off the rack and my bag out of the car and realized that I didn't have my helmet. I'd taken it off my bike the night before, so it wouldn't get in the way when my husband put my bike of the rack on the car. Instead of putting my helmet straight into the car, I put it into the house thinking something like 'Of course I'll remember it in the morning.'  I nearly cried when I realized I'd left my helmet at home, nearly bawled like a baby. There wasn't time to go back home and get it.

I decided to go on up to the start and see if someone had a helmet I could borrow. Failing that I'd volunteer to help. May as well stay and do something. On the way to start, I passed a sign that said "Remember, you paid money to do this!" I almost cried again.

FORTUNATLEY, someone had a helmet I was able to borrow! Yay! I was so happy! I took my stuff to transition and set up. Later I saw my old boss -- his wife was doing the tri too. I mentioned about my helmet, and he said he had an extra. But by then I didn't need one. (Yay.)

 

 I had been forewarned that the course would be hilly, but as race day drew closer and I slacked on training, I started to be in denial about it. Just how hilly could it be? Albuquerque's so flat; well it's on a slant, but still. HA! Not only was the course hilly, but a good chunk of the run was in soft dirt! Too bad I couldn't take my phone w/me--not that I think I'd have stopped and taken a picture. I mostly walked up the hills and ran down. On the last leg of the run I met up with my old boss again who cheered me on then passed me pushing his kids in a jog stroller.  :-P  It was uphill again into transition then a lovely downhill ride into the street...

... only to have to drop gears for a big hill. O_O   I saw a couple of women walking their bikes up it. I thought about it but decided to tough it out, and I dropped me gears to 1-1 and slowly pedaled up that hill. And that wasn't the only hill I had to climb in that gear ratio!  Fortunately the "back" part of the out-and-back route was more downhill.  There was one part where I turned a corner and saw a big hill ahead of me. I wanted to cry; then I realized I didn't have to climb it--the route turned. Yay! (again)  As I approached transition again, I was behind a woman who was going rather slowly, even though it was downhill. I would have passed her, but there was traffic passing us, plus cars parked on the side of the road, so I wasn't comfortable with the space, plus I wasn't sure where the turn in was and didn't want to overshoot it, so I stayed behind her. 

I parked my bike back on the rack, pulled off my shirt and shorts and ran to the pool. As I dropped into the water (the deep end! caught me off guard) I realized I'd left my goggles in transition. Duh. The lanes were 25 meters long. I was used to swimming 25 yard lengths. It was hard; I did a lot of backstroke. I finished the race in 1:58:30.3. Just under 2 hours. They did have finisher's medals! I wasn't sure if they would, it being a small race. Cute bracelets.

After a bit, I turned in the borrowed helmet and bought a t-shirt and necklace. Then I went home, took a shower, and took a nap. And probably some allergy medicine. My allergies have been killing me this season what with all the rain making stuff grow.  Achoo. Overall it was a good race, and I would do it again if I were going to be here next August. I don't think it's such a good course for a first race, unless you're used to running &/or biking hills like that. I think the Girls Tri Too race was better for that, shorter and shallow water.