once again it was spinning class with aaron who is not very good at projecting his voice and has the music on too loud. however, i was able to semi-interpret what he was saying, which was that we would be doing 5 minute intervals mixed with 4 minute intervals, and the 5 minute intervals should be slightly hard but trying to keep rpm around 100; 30 seconds rest; 4 minute intervals should be slightly harder and try to keep rpm above 90.
i found that the bike i rode today was much different from the one i rode last week. (i sat in the front row with kyle and alex) for one, the gears were way different. usually my base gear is an 8 or maybe a 9. 10 would be working hard. i would stand for gear 14. today, gear 13 felt pretty good for keeping it around 95-100 rpm and when i put it up to 14, i could keep the rpm at 90-95.
first, bike settings.
seat height = I (or was it J?)
handles = 3
seat dept = 4.5
this seemed more comfortable than however i had it before. though still not comfortable.
base gear = 13
warmup - 5 minutes
for the 5 minute intervals: 5 total
gear = 13
rpm = 100
for the 4 minute intervals: 4 total
gear = 14
rpm = 90-95
when, during the last 5 minute interval, "call me maybe" came on, i started rocking out (head thrashing, arm gestures, etc), and was able to do some sprints where i got up to 115 rpm easily on gear 13. i also did a few 1 minute climbs on gear 17.
workout totals:
average rpm = 90
average wattage = 132
total kcal = 442
total distance = 23.6 km
after that, i went downstairs to do some abs, since i didn't want to do walking pushups in the cycling room on the hard floor.
abs (all x20 unless noted):
crunch
flutter kick
scissor kick
bridge
bridge hold (30 seconds)
penguins
alternating toe touch
bicycles
100s (65x2)
side crunch
knee plank (30 seconds)
reverse crunch
full situp
back extensions
food: cheese and black bean quesadilla, chocolate milk w/protein powder. not bad for a monday!
tuesday 10/23 - weights (arms, shoulders, back, abs)
kelly couldn't make it so i met up with alex and we did some of the usual exercises, plus some additional ones to keep things interesting.
| bicep curl | 20lb bar | 3x10 |
| deadlift | 20lb bar | 3x10 |
| fly (side) | 5lb each | 3x10 |
| tricep - skull crusher | 10lb both | 3x10 |
| lat pulldown | 62.5lb | 3x10 |
| shrug | 20lb each | 3x10 |
| upright row | 10lb each | 3x10 |
| seated row | 65lb | 3x10 |
| tricep - kickback | 10lb each | 3x10 |
| pullover | 20lb both | 3x10 |
| hip walks | blue band | 3x20 |
| abs (10 min): | ||
| back extension | 30 | |
| side extension | 30 | |
| captains chair knee-ups | 30 | |
| situp | 10 | |
| crunch | 30 | |
| side plank (knee) | 30sec | |
| flutter kick | 30 | |
| scissor kick | 30 | |
| dbl leg lowering | 10 | |
| bridge | 30 | |
| bridge hold | 30sec | |
| penguins | 30 | |
| bicycles | 30 | |
| alternating toe touch | 30 | |
| supermans | 30 |
by the end i think we could safely say that our abs were fatigued and we felt like we'd definitely worked out. i know i still need to work on core strength (more planks) but overall i felt good about the workout.
food: banana, chocolate milk, 1/2 an avocado, 2 pieces of pita with cheese melted on it (leftover from saturday dinner). yum!
wednesday 10/24 - swimming and running
swimming
getting up this morning was a little more challenging than previous days, simply because i didn't get to sleep until after 1130 and 5.5 hours of sleep is pushing it when i'm already tired. at 5 the alarm started going off, and i thought, "i could sleep for 5 more minutes." but then i remembered that i needed all the time last week, and even those last 5 minutes count when getting ready in the morning and feeling sleepy. this, thankfully, was a morning where time did not go by faster than it ought, and i was able to eat my granola bar, make my breakfast burrito, pack my things, get dressed, put on my shoes, and be on my way out the door at 550. it was not raining much (maybe a light sprinkle) and while the road was wet, the ride was easy. it took me 7 minutes to get to the gym and one more minute to lock my bike, etc. and i was still maybe 2 minutes early, so i was ready to run in and get my towel as soon as they let us through the gates.
| 200 swim | 200 |
| 8x50 drill [4x4/CU/fist/ftd] w/fins | 400 |
| 200 (supposed to be 300) | 200 |
| 150, 100 (supposed to be 3x150) | 250 |
| 150 (supposed to be 300) | 150 |
| 3x100 (supposed to be 3x150) | 300 |
| 100 ez | 100 |
| total | 1600 |
the great thing about today was that, although i was winded most of the time, taz (the swim coach) told me that my form looked great and that my stroke was very efficient so he didn't think we needed to work on that. what we need to work on is my endurance. but he was impressed (he said "your stroke looks awesome") by my improvement from last week. every length of the pool i have to remind myself about so many things:
- dunk your head deeper; hinge at the hip, force upper body downward.
- try not to turn your head too far when you breathe.
- kick from the hip / point the toe.
- rotate from hips with each stroke, turn body sideways toward bottom of pool.
- stick the hand in and anchor, pull body past the hand.
so i started thinking later, maybe the reason that i'm out of breath all the time isn't because i'm out of shape. i have tons of endurance when i'm dancing, and while this is in the water, it shouldn't be THAT different. now that my stroke is getting more efficient, i should be gliding through the water with ease. but i'm still out of breath. i then thought, maybe it's because every time i breathe, it feels like i'm gasping for air. at work later, dave made a good point, suggesting that i try to completely empty my lungs before going for a breath. as i reason this out, maybe the reason i'm out of breath is because it's almost like i'm hyperventilating. we'll see. i will ask the coach on friday and maybe test out this skill.
food: breakfast burrito - tortilla, 2 eggs, 2 slices provolone cheese, 2 spoonfuls black beans, 2 spoonfuls yumm sauce, 2 cups chai tea soy drink with 3 tbsp protein powder
running - http://goo.gl/maps/5k08f
when we all showed up for running, it was sprinkling outside and cold. i hadn't brought a long sleeve shirt (note to self: bring long sleeve shirts to work) and i thought my fleece jacket would get to hot and wet inside and icky. so, i opted for just my t-shirt and short workout pants and my bandana which would have to keep my ears warm. (and the sleeve of my shirt would double as a kleenex)
we started out and immediately everyone was gone. i decided not to push my pace right away. it occurred to me that another aspect of my slowness is that sometimes i have no idea where i'm going or what's in store. i knew there was at least 1 hill but i didn't know exactly where or what it would be like. these other people have probably run this course 100 times and know it backward and forward. maybe one day i will too. then i saw a rainbow and i was happy to be out where i could experience it.
it was cold and my arms and hands were cold, but overall my body felt pretty good. i kept reminding myself to relax my toes so i wouldn't get a blister again. i found that the arch of my foot, my ankle / ligament, and my knees were the main culprits of discomfort while i was running. nothing terrible, but i think i will look into getting some new shoes very soon. that was a nice daydream while i plodded along - shoe shopping! also maybe some long sleeve performance shirts and some running tights w/zipper pocket!
the team all got to wherever they were going (i don't think they went as far as they were 'supposed' to) and then came back down the hill toward me. well, one girl who i'd not met yet came down first and i thought, "oh, this is nice, she'll run with me" (even though she'd kept up with the fast group the whole time) but she just jogged slightly in front of me until the rest of the team came barreling down the hill and then she turned and went back with them. the president (aaron) gave me a high five and said "nice job" and then they were all gone again.
one nice thing about this run was that the landmarks that i remembered from the map kept coming sooner than i expected. the bad thing was that i wasn't exactly sure which way the roads went at a few crossroads, so i did a little extra running for no reason, other than i didn't know which road was which.
overall this was a pretty nice route. there was a semi-long hill but in retrospect, it wasn't that bad and i could probably do it again. the hills, both up and down, are more of a walk than a run for me. i still don't have that spring in my step that propels me up an incline, and i'm terrified of spraining my ankle again on a downhill. i took that time to remember to breathe, and relax out a cramp that was starting to form on my side.
but the best part of the run was when i got over to brooklane dr. the trees that had been planted along the road / sidewalk interspace were all changing color to orange and yellow and red and the sky was bluish with big white fluffy clouds along with pinkish hues and some darker clouds. it was not raining. it was not cold. it felt really comfortable and for the first time in awhile, i felt my posture improve and i felt happy that i was out there to experience this moment.
i was satisfied that i found the route completely on my own, and that i put a little pep in my step once i crossed from brooklane to 26, and i really pushed myself from western all the way back to the gym. the rest of the group was just finishing up their running drills and were doing some stationary exercises / stretching. i did a few lunges but my knees were bugging me. i did some calf stretches and i figured, they saw me, they know i'm back, i can go now.
note to self: it is not summer anymore. wear more clothing.
summary - 5.2 miles, 63 minutes
food: chocolate milk, yogurt, apple sauce
thursday 10/25 - zumba and running
zumba
met up with laurie at noon for zumba class. it is definitely more fun to take this class with laurie. she is funny and gets her groove on. and she is more coordinated than me, and celebrates my ridiculousness when i go right instead of left or make funny faces or can't figure out how to make my body do the moves. and when i do get it right, i can safely say "we are the party." zumba is fun and silly and there's lots of booty shaking / bumping / wiggling and also chest popping. it's just 45 minutes of good times. a fun break to all the serious workouts i've been doing lately, and a welcome moment of laughter and ease.
summary - 45 minutes cardio, with lots of core work
running - http://goo.gl/maps/GxcCt
i was able to convince alex and kelly to go running with me a little later than the prescribed 515 meeting time, simply because the experiment was taking longer than i expected (hello fragmented day) and i knew i wouldn't be ready to go until 530, and those runners DO NOT WAIT. we met up at dixon and i proposed going out to 53rd via the covered bridge road. everyone seemed amenable to that, knowing it was slightly longer than a 5K. i also encouraged them to run at their pace if they wanted to go on ahead, i would be OK. or they could hang back with me and get a taste of my experience in the slow lane. it was a really nice night, cool but i don't think it was a cold as yesterday, and it wasn't raining. i'm not sure if kelly had been on the covered bridge road before, but she was pretty excited when we went past the llamas. who wouldn't be?
after we turned around, i discussed how we could, if we wanted to, do intervals, like sprints between telephone poles or other landmarks. we could also do skipping or side steps or powerwalking. we did all of those. the most notable was skipping in the covered bridge, after alex said he didn't know how to skip. also, apparently i rock at powerwalking. who knew?
i was able to sprint the last bit before we got back to dixon, at which point i crossed the road and discovered kelly and alex having this deep discussion about a dragon and dwarfs and black and white hats and how to save the dwarfs from being eaten by the dragon. it was all a little to deep and philosophical for me, so i did some stretching while the bended (bent?) their minds around this subject.
we didn't do any addition ab exercises. maybe everyone is saving themselves for swimming in the morning.
summary: 3.8 miles, 40 minutes
friday 10/26 - swimming and dancing
swimming
another early start, made possible by last night's planning and action.
this morning we are doing 200s, which i am finding that i just can't do without stopping. with the addition of more relaxed breathing / not gasping, after 100 i still find myself struggling through the water. not sure if it's because i feel some sense to rush or hurry up, or the combination of all the aspects - head dunking, swallowing water, twisting - which is getting easier, kicking from the hip, and now relaxed breathing. it's a lot to remember and do. i ended up doing mostly 150s for everyone else's 200s, but for the fast 200 we were supposed to do, i attempted to do a full 200 without stopping. i got through 150 and thought i could keep going, but i got a few strokes into the last 50 and realized i just couldn't do it. i was too short of breath and fatigued and swallowing water and i decided i couldn't / didn't want to struggle through any more. so i retreated to the end where everyone else was getting their 200 times and being congratulated by the coach. i was so out of breath that i was kind of hyperventilating and then, out of nowhere, i just started crying. it was hidden well in the gasping breaths, but i felt like i couldn't hold it in anymore, as if i'd been holding it in for some time.
sometimes i think that when the coach tells me to adjust something, he figures i'll do it immediately. maybe everyone else is just a sponge and can change things on a dime. he does keep saying my stroke looks good, that we'll just work on more relaxed breathing. and he keeps adding things for me to work on, and my body is still adjusting to the other things, and it all feels like too much. and then i put pressure on myself to be better more quickly, and because i'm not improving like i feel like i should be, i am a little frustrated or maybe just disappointed in myself and there go the tears.
| 200 swim | 200 |
| 150 (12 kick x 3 pull / drill) - CU/Fist/FTD | 150 |
| 150 en1 | |
| 150 build | |
| 100 ns | |
| 150 fast | 550 |
| 150 en1 | |
| 150 build | |
| 150 fast | 450 |
| 300 EZ | 300 |
| total | 1650 |
anyway, alex didn't join us this morning, but kelly made it. and after swimming i sat with kelly while eating my breakfast and we had a nice chat about things. especially unexpected crying; it's like, we're not in pain and we're OK, but any shock-like situation (like gasping for air or getting the wind knocked out of you) brings on the tears for what feels like 'no reason'. it's good to know i'm not alone in that.
food - breakfast burrito: 2 eggs, thick piece of provolone, grillers original morningstar burger, 1/2 tomato, 1 spoonful yumm sauce, chocolate protein drink.
dancing
i know i'll be doing 4 hours of high energy dancing in seattle tonight! can't wait - especially to see my friends! maybe i'll catch some zzz's on the ride from portland to seattle (jon will drive so i can sleep)
saturday 10/27 - dancing! about 10 hours worth...
sunday 10/28 - dancing! about 4 hours worth...
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