Yasso 500...? Not Yasso.

Tonight's workout started with 500m intervals. I had meant to go for Yasso 800s, but I accidentally measured 0.5 km instead of 0.5 miles. Oops. So I ended up doing ten 500m runs at an average 2:37 time. That is 0.3125 miles. Which means that I was average a 8:23 min/mile over the course of 3+ miles. Huh. This also puts my 800 time probably at 4:11 min, if I kept steady. The theory goes that these predict marathon time, which would put me at 4 hours and 11 minutes. I don't really believe I'll go that low, but its a nice theory.

Afterwards I went back to the gym for lower body and abs. I skipped pilates this morning, so I had some making up to do tonight. I had to do this in the fit box which isn't good for the walking everything. I did my best. 1 set is two lengths to the door.
(1-10) pyramid pushups/crunches/squats (* I want to start timing these)
2 sets of weighted walking lunges
1 set of weighted forward lunges (no foot rest)
2 sets of plie squats
1-1-1 sets (20 rep) of crunches/left/right
butt kicks-high knees
2 30-sec side plank with balance ball each side
Pilates - warm-up
Pilates - Ab series

Food Intake: I'm not sure how to feel about today. I am surprised by how little calories I consumed, but I did work hard.

Breakfast

1 cup Optimum Slim (180/2.5/250/38/11/9)
10 dried cranberries (40/0/0/11/1/0)
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed (120/8/8/8/6/4)
1 cup skim milk (80/0/120/12/0/8)

Snack

Laughing Cow garlic cheese wedge (35/2/260/1/0/2.5)

Baggy of celery(128g) (20/0/100/4/2/0)

Lunch

1 Portobello veggie burger (100/1.5/390/10/3/14)

1 slice of American cheese (30/0/280/2/0/5)

Snack

Barlett Pear (100/1/0/25/4/1)

4 oz nonfat plain yogurt (50/0/80/7.5/0/5)
1 tsp agave nectar (20/0/0/5/0/0)
1 blood orange (70/1/15/3/1)

Dinner
1/2 cup of quinoa, cooked (100/2/6/20/2.5/4)
1/4 tofu (100/4/0/2/1/9)
sauce (2.5/0/230/0/0/1)
mushrooms + baby bok choy (20/0/4/2/1/2)

1/2 cup Pomegranate ff frozen yogurt (90/0/55/18/0/3)

Totals: (1028/23/1823/180/26.4/68.5)

Ratios: 207-720-292 (1219)

(17-59-24)

1.5L water
3 16-oz teas

Totals: 98 oz

Tuesday Night Workout

Tonight I ran around 8 mile around the river. I did fullout sprints every other telephone poll for the normal stretch. I was about three minutes slower than last week, but I was feeling pretty sluggish at first. My calves were killing me from the jump roping yesterday. That, in turn, made me a lot of sensitive to the cement sidewalks along the Mem Dr side.

After that I headed back to the gym for my upper body. I chose to do heavy weight-low reps today, keep it between 6-9 reps, mostly 6. I've been reading a lot about the various types of sets you can do, everyone suggesting that you change it up each routine. The low-rep/heavy weight is for strength building. Mid-rep/mid-weight is for muscle growth. High rep/low weight is for endurance. I knew these basics, but really never implemented them too much, at least not consciously. I kept my high reps to the muscle conditioning class and went 10-12 rep heavier on the machines.

So today I went about a bar heavier on the machines. Three supersets of 6-9 each.
Row (80)/Chest Press (80)
Lat Pull down (85)/Shoulder press(43)
Cable Triceps (69)/Biceps (57)
Delt raise (19)/Crossover (32)/12 push-ups
Pull-ups (70 asst) 10 rep x 2
Balance/Bosu ball crunches

I'm super sleepy, running late to bed and dread getting up at 5am. But I don't want to miss abs and pilates! I need to work in a run tomorrow also. Hopefully at night. Only 3-4 miles.

Weigh-In & Measurements

Weight: 159lbs
Underbust: 34"
Smallest waist: 29"
Navel: 34"
Hips: 41"


Food Log

Breakfast
1 slice homemade whole wheat bread (150/3/400/28/4/6)
1 Tbsp plum jam (50/0/0/13/0/0)
1 tsp butter (36/4/29/0/0/0)
*
1 cup Optimum Slim (180/2.5/250/38/11/9)
10 dried cranberries (40/0/0/11/1/0)
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed (120/8/8/8/6/4)
1 cup skim milk (80/0/120/12/0/8)

Snack
4 oz nonfat plain yogurt (50/0/80/7.5/0/5)
1 tsp agave nectar (20/0/0/5/0/0)

Lunch
1/8 pizza dough recipe (200/4/300/36/2/6)
1 Tbsp classico Fire-Roasted Tomato & Garlic sauce (6/0/40/1/0/0)
Some veggies (80/0/60/10/0/0)
1 Tbsp Sargento fat free ricotta cheese (12/0/15/1/0/1.3)
*
2 cups iceberg lettuce (20/0/14/4/2/2)
6 grape tomatoes (12/0/0/3/0/0)
1 tbsp Burgundy Basil Vinaigrette (35/2.5/175/2.5/0/0)

Snack
1 blood orange (70/1/15/3/1)

Dinner:
2 egg(150/10/0/0/13.4)
2 slices American cheese (200/18/820/2/0/12g protein)
1 slice homemade whole wheat bread (150/3/400/28/4/6)
1 tsp butter (36/4/29/0/0/0)
2 Yves veggie ham (50/1/240/2.5/7.5)

Totals: (1677/61/2980/227.5/35.5/79.2)
Ratios: 549-910-316.8 = 1776 (31-51-18)

1L water
2 - 12 oz herbal tea
2 - 16 oz herbal tea

Total fluids: 90 oz

All I wanna do, is go for a run...I gotta feeling, I'm not the only one!

This week is going poorly. After my 14+ mile run on Saturday, I didn't have it in me to work out on Sunday. Yesterday I got sick, and my eyes and throat were bothering me enough that I simply went home. Now it's Tuesday afternoon and while I still feel miserable, I can't put off going to the gym any longer.

My diet over the weekend was a mess also. Eating bad stuff and good things at weird times. No organization to it, which I suspect lead to an unhealthy variety of foods and consumption. I'm giving myself a quick snap-to-it today, recording what I've consumed. If I'm not exercising and I'm sick, I have to be especially careful.

Breakfast: (495/15.5/62/16.5/23)
4 oz nonfat plain colombo yogurt with 1 tbsp agave (110 cal/5g protein)
1 cup of Optimum Slim cereal (180cal/2.5g fat/11g fiber/9g protein)
10 almonds (80 cal/7g fat/1.5g fiber/3g protein)
2 tbsp ground flax (80 cal/6g fat/4g fiber/2g protein)
1/2 cup of nonfat milk (45 cal/62 mg sod/4g protein)

4-16 oz cups of herbal tea

Lunch:
3 cups of homemade vegetable soup (veggie broth, herbs, carrots, beet leaves, onion)

3-16oz cups of tea

Snack:
4 oz plain nonfat yogurt with 1 Tbsp agave (110 cal/5g protein)

Dinner: (315/24/126/10/19.9)
2 slices of pear-banana bread
2 eggs (150cal/10g fat/13.4 g protein)
1/2 cup spinach (20cal/126 sod/4g fiber/5g protein)
1/2 avocado (145 cal/14g fat/6g fiber/1.5g protein)


Totals (- soup/bread): (920 calories/ 39.5g fat/ 26.5 fiber /83.9g protein)
--------

Post-Work Workout:

I ran 7.8 miles around the esplanade in a double loop today. I ended up with an average mileage of 8:41min/mile. Not bad! I felt good when I was done, although my legs were starting to feel it near the end. The last mile involved an adorable floppy-eared German Shepherd running with his long-legged older owner. So I spent the last mile trying to keep up with them. The puppy was totally motivational. That's the kind of dog I want to run with! But two of them. Two sweet German Shepherds!

After the run, I went back to the gym, I busted through upper body fast. The one thing I really dislike about my gym are the old ladies on the weight machines. So I'm doing a superset between the lat pull-down and shoulder press. The room is nearly empty, so my hogging of two machines isn't really an issue. I left my towel on the LPD while I did a shoulder set, fast, when this lady comes up and stares in angry confusion at the towel on the seat. I finish my set and take a step over to remove the towel, since I figure I won't be a bitch a make her wait. But she asks me "Oh, are you using this?" And so, hey, I'm honest. I say "Yes, I only have one more set, it'll be super quick, then it's all yours." But instead of okaying that, she instead looks confused and points at the shoulder machine "Then are you using that?" And I'm like "Yes, I'm doing a superset, going back and forth between them, but I only have one set left, so this LPD is yours in under 20 seconds." She gives me a dirty look, still confused, and then goes over to the chest press. Ooooookay. So clearly I was speaking a foreign language. But literally, like 20 seconds. It would take her 20 seconds just to lower her ass onto the seat and contemplate starting.

The old ladies don't understand sharing or trading off on the machines either. So if I had more than one set left, I could just say "Oh, you want to just trade off between sets?" because she wouldn't get it. Then I'd spend 5 minutes explaining what I meant, which is five times more time than it would take for me to finish my workout on that machine. But these ladies just sit down on a machine and do wicked slow sets, and then sit there....for like five minutes between sets. And for women who are only doing two sets, this is ridiculous! I just wish they would observe gym etiquette, that's all.

We are strong, no one can tell us were wrong

It's mainly been running since Thursday, so as a quick overview (you can read more in details on my running blog), I ran 12 miles on Saturday and ran the 5K on Sunday with a barely-there-PR. My quads were actually sore on Sunday afterwards - probably a combo of the long run backed by a speed-fest then next day. I certainly felt it during the race.

Monday, I did nothing. I straight out confess. I slept in and then worked until 8pm, so it seemed pointless to go to the gym when it closed within an hour and then I probably would have missed my bus home anyway.

Tuesday, today! I got back on the horse. Okay, okay. I'm probably weird because I consider missing one day of working out falling off the wagon, but I'm sure if you're reading this blog by now, you probably already think I'm crazy. So I went for a run after work. I did the 3.97 mile loop in 34:28. I feel something is really wrong with that time, but seriously, I was there. My watch was working. Mapmyrun is on target. Even though a snotty girl made me get out of her way while running under this bridge along a path that's only one-person wide, and made me feel slow - I was not! Okay, I wasn't fast either. But that's an 8:41 min/mile average. Not bad for a casual, flat run. Along the flat, straight part of the esplanade, like where it loops out into the river, I did telephone pole sprints. They are seriously fun. Maybe later this week, I'll just do them back and forth a bunch for like 20 minutes. I'm trying really hard to get myself to integrate speedwork. Running along the esplanade has really helped out with this - because there are lots of other runners which bring out my competitive side. My goal is to run the half marathon at a 9min/mile pace in May. I'd love to do less, but I have two months to work with here, so I'm not setting my expectations out of range.

Anyway, I got distracted with the running business. I then returned to the gym and did my upperbody. One of the grunting, muscle-bound latino B&G guys stole the chest press from me mid-superset so I ended up doing push-ups between sets of rows instead. I need to remember that I can use dumbbells on a bench or ball instead. Push-ups just aren't the same, and I think they must overlap with the rowing muscles quite a bit too. Actually, I need to remember to really research more into the muscles I pair.

So after I gave up on getting the chest press back, since he was clearly there to stay, sipping on his whey protein shake in between sets, I went over to the cable machine. Tricep pushdown(56)/Bicep curls(44) for four sets of 15. Back to the bigger machines with a Lat Pulldown(70)/Shoulder press(40) for three sets of 10. Yes, that's right: 40 pounds on the shoulder press. This might not be so impressive to most, but I was in a RUT for the past year on that thing. I was trapped at 30lb, trembling to failure at 33lb. But lately, I've busted up and moved to 40lb! Yeah! It's like my birthday! But without cake. Oh and protein-man finally did get off the chest press, where I got in a couple more sets at 73lb. I'm moving up there too.

(Note: These weights are all relative, mind you. All equipment is different, with different lifting mechanisms, numbers of pulleys, etc. So I write down the actual pounds simply for my own records. It means nothing outside of my gym really. So all you can really take out of it is that I'm making progress.)

I did some flies on the ball, back extentions and crunches. Then went home. I'm still super excited after the run and subsequent increases in weight. :D Oh and I keep listening to Love Is a Battlefield. It's incredibly empowering while you workout.

It's Wednesday already?

This week is flying by! I keep forgetting to update, once again.This weekend, if you check out the running blog, you can see that I went running.

Saturday - 5 1/2 mile run
Sunday - 10 mile run

For both of these runs this weekend, I wanted to keep going. Saturday was a destination run and I had to runs errands, plus it was already late, so I just stopped. Sunday I wanted to go to the last two miles to make it a 12-miler, but I had forgotten to wrap my toes and the blisters were just too painful by mile 10. Next weekend, I plan to complete the 12 or so on Saturday. I'd try for more, but I have a 5K race on Sunday and I don't want to wear myself out too bad.

Monday - No pilates class anymore = :( Apparently the 4:45 class is filling up really fast with a waiting list, so I have no hope that a lack of interest will lead to the return of 6:30. So I'm on my own these days. This Monday night took some mental convincing to get myself in there, but luckily, guilt prevented me from taking the evening off. I was glad once I got inside too. I did legwork and 20 min of power bursts on the upright bike. I'm really settling into a studio-routine where I do all kinds of lunges and squats. I'm a huge proponent of the plie squat these days. I think that its really firming up my inner thighs, more than the weight machines could.

Tuesday - Last night I arrived to find every single cardio machine full. Literally every single one. Even the really shitty old treadmills in the back corner. And even the stairclimber! As a result I had to delve into upperbody without a cardio warm-up.
- Military/Neutral pull-ups with 75lb assisted - 10rep/set
- Tricep(56lb)/Bicep Cable(44lb) - 4X
- Lat Pull-down(70lb)/Shoulder press(40lb) - 3X
- Ran at my 5K pace for 25 minutes alone the esplanade - beautiful!!!
- Chest Press (70x3)Good stretch.

I missed out on rowing, but this old lady was just hogging it all night and I wanted to make my bus home at 8pm.

Wednesday - I warmed-up with 10 minutes on the Stairmill this morning. What horror! Really, it was easier today, but its still boring torture. I really don't know how anyone has the patience for that machine beyond 10 minutes. The upright bikes and treadmills were full again, so that's what I was left with. After that was Abs class followed by pilates. We used the little 6 inch balls today that she had finally managed to get reinflated. Class itself was relatively easy though, we busted through it at a relatively rapid pace because it was all the usual people.After class I did three sets of lunges, two weighted, one twist and the other backwards. A set of regular side-walk squats and another of plie squats. I then did leg-weighted hip raises. I finished up with supersets on the Leg Ext(70lb)/Leg Curl(80lb). The hip abductor machine is still broken, so I ended up on just the adductor (80x3). I was doing all of this on 4 hours of sleep, so I'm pooped now. Ready for a nap.

Snow shoveling and stumbling

Daily Exercise Review

This morning I shoveled snow for about 40 minutes before work. While back-breaking, I barely broke a sweat so I'm not sure if that can be categorized as a workout. I did cut a serious swath through a massive amount of snow though. I even made this adorable little garbage can area with entryway from the road for the trash pick-up guys. Typically a walkway is shoveled out just wide enough for one person and there is no room at the end of the driveway or on the street for the trash bins. I am a genius, a considerate genius!

After work I swung by the gym, in spite of the temptation to just go home and get my sleep schedule in check. Mondays are lower body and core. I started out with 13min on the upright bike to warm-up. I then headed into the studio where I executed a variety of lunge laps (light weight, heavy weight, raised-arm twist, backwards). Squats, plie squats, walking side squats, walking plie squats. I ran through double and single leg hamstring rolls on the balance ball, and leg-weighted hip raises. Finally, I finished up with the low plant-high plank-mountain climber combo with two sets of 30 sec followed by two sets of 15 sec. My arms were a little trembly in the end. It was also awkward because I used the wide mat, not accounting for the fluid adjustment to high plank and mountain climbers which don't go well on a mat.

After the studio work, I went through leg curl/ext heavy 4 supersets, and abductor/adductor superset heavy weight with a drop to failure on the last set. I closed out the workout with a 10 minute walk/jog on the treadmill. It's a little more complicated than that though. I was intending to just do my usual inclined powerwalk- flat splint intervals, but I'd spent much of my afternoon reading about Pose Method running, so I decided to give it a try on a slow treadmill setting. Big mistake. It was going well, I was getting the feel for it, but then I just lost balance and the treadmill kept going. I nearly landed on my face! I manage to hop off onto the sides before that happened, so only my ego was bruised. I will attempt new running techniques on solid land in the future.

I'll try to talk more about my growing fascination with Crossfit later this week. I kept thinking that such athleticism was beyond my scope or ability. But I mean, I used to think that about a marathon and I already have made it halfway there. So really, why couldn't I do it one day?

And what I ate, for the record

This morning:
Chobani Peach NF greek yogurt (6oz)
Cereal-

1 cup 1% milk
2 Tbsp flaxseed ground
10 almonds
1 cup Optimum Power Breakfast

Lunch:
1 cup of quinoa/asparagus/red pepper dish

Post-workout snack:
1 pear

Dinner:
1 portobello veggie burger
1 Tsp Romano
79g snap peas
85g baby carrots
20g green onion

1/2 cup fat free peach frozen yogurt

13 Miles Down!

Well, I did it!

I ran 13 miles!

Friday I spent the day hydrating a lot. Like I chugged water most of the day. I had a healthy whole-grain dinner (sauteed zucchini and soy chik'n strips on 7 grain rice). Then I went to bed early to ensure at least 7 hours of sleep. Hydrating before sleep too.

Bright and early, I took a bus out to the middle of no where, which is where the Minuteman Bikeway begins in Bedford, MA. The bus ride took approximately one hour. So while waiting for the bus I ate a 4 oz greek yogurt and (please forgive me) a chocolate glazed donut. I figured that the extra carbs would help fuel me and it would be okay, since, hey, I was running for over two hours straight. Since I ate them a full hour before I started running, they didn't result in any cramping or heaviness in my stomach. I also consumed a 12 oz water bottle on the way out.

That was a bad idea. Hydration-wise it was good. Having to pee when I got there finally was bad. So I literally held it for the entire run. Note to self: locate bathrooms in the general vicinity.

So I took off around 9am. It was in the lower 70s. Cloudy. Damp. It had been raining all night. After the first half mile, I thought that I had a pacer that I could follow. I slowly caught up with her though and around mile 2, she stopped for a drink and I passed her. I had assumed she was a decent runner and would make the full trek since she was wearing a fuel belt and looked athletic, but I guess looks deceive you since I never saw her again. Either she was insanely slow or turned around at some point.

The first few miles were good. The best part about this is that its paved, two-bike lanes wide and totally flat. I mean, I swear, not even a 1 degree incline. It was beautiful. Easy running. It frequently crossed roads, but the traffic was light and almost always stopped. I could keep my legs going for a few seconds. Around mile 5, I noticed a bad rub on my two little toe on my right foot. So I actually did stop because I was concerned that it was a pebble that would rub a blister over the next 8 miles. No luck. I took my sock off, felt it up, shook it out, felt inside the shoe...and nada. I put the shoe back on and it was there again. So I just learned to ignore it. (Currently I see no sign that it was ever rubbing at all).

I want to note that I was where a jogging belt with two 5 oz water bottles. I never drank any water, since I hate the cramping. At mile 8 and mile 10 1/2, I rinsed my mouth out and spit out the water. It was very refreshing.

I'm not sure that I can tell you much about the next five miles. They were kind of a pleasant blur. Nothing significant. Although when I hit Arlington center and had some major intersection to cross, I realized that I literally couldn't just stop. I had to keep moving or else my legs would cramp up. But I continued to avoid that. You sort of reach this point where you realize that if you stop, slow down or walk, you're not going to be able to start up again. Like its over. So you don't. You keep going no matter how badly your legs want to give out. That's how I was at mile 11. Mile 11 was the end of the bikeway at Alewife. It's another two miles back to my house from there.

In a lot of ways the last two miles sucked. First of all, my legs gave out on me. It was literally pure willpower that got me home. Secondly, the bikeway was over so it was onto the Linear Pathway, which is a lot of up and down, and then onto the cement sidewalk which is a slow hill almost all the way to my house. So the most torturous landscape was the last two miles when my legs were ready to just give out on me.

When I hit my house, my watch said 2:05:38.

I barely managed the locks. And I literally walked directly to the couch and collapsed. My legs, immediately started cramping up. I removed belt, shoes, socks. I had to stand back up again and walk on my legs to work them out in spite of their exhaustion. I ended up getting cramps in my leg foot and toes. I massaged my calves. Eventually I took a hot shower. I wrapped my lower left shin in an ice pack and took two prescription strength advil. Then curled up in bed to take a two hour nap. Oh, l also drank like two water bottles and two gatorade when I got home. Oh, yeah, and I peed. Two hours and 13 miles later my bladder thanked me.

When I got up after my nap, I was tired, but good to go. I had applied the ice pack, pain reliever and rested because I was terrified that I'd get some kind of shin splint from overuse on my left leg. Either my immediate precautions avoided that, or I didn't actually overwork it. Today its like I never went running yesterday. I suppose that means I should go for a jog.