Weekly Workout Wround Up

Hang on! This week was filled with lots of fun things! I promise, if you make it all the way through this post (or at least three-quarters through) you'll be rewarded with fun photos AND video.

May Days Training Week 3 - February 15th - February 21st

Feb 15

5.5 mile tempo run where I hit my times and then some. Followed by yummy Jimmy John's sandwiches and a rousing discussion of random Winter Olympic sports. Speaking of which, have you ever done roller luge? No, not the version popularized by "How I Met Your Mother", but the kind you do on a track on the side of the mountain. I did it once in Denver and thought it was great fun.

Feb 16

5K run (not a race. It just happened to be 3.1 miles exactly) with the guys in from the work running group. Went relatively slow for a lunch time run. Other than being tired of being cold, it was a good time.

Gym in the evening for strength training. I had to do all the moves on my list out of order due to guys hogging the machines. I hate asking if I can work in while they take rest breaks.

40 minutes strength training with Triceps focus

Push Up (on knees) - 2 sets of 14
Straight Bar Pushdown - 12 @ 20 lbs; 20 @ 15 lbs
V-Bar Pushdown - 15 @ 15 lbs
Seated Dip - 12 @ 45 lbs; 20 @ 30 lbs
Seated Back Extension - 15 @ 70 lbs; 20 @ 70 lbs
Seated Lateral Raise - 12 @ 15 lbs
Seated Leg Press - 20 @ 55 lbs x2
Seated Leg Curl - 20 @ 35 lbs
Lying Outer Hip Raise - 20 each leg
Crunch w/Legs Elevated (Stability Ball) - 15
Crunch w/Legs In (Stability Ball - 20
Side Oblique Crunch w/Legs Elevated (Stability Ball) - 20
Straight Leg Thrust - 15
Crunch - 20


Feb 17

Didn't work out at all due to seeing 101 Dalmatians: The Musical after work. My husband gets free tickets to the occasional show so we try to take advantage of it. Dinner and a show where we only have to pay for dinner? Sign me up!

The show was cutely done but there were a few slow parts and at least one scene that didn't need to be there at all. I'm sure that scene is an homage to the original book but it just seemed out of place. And, yes, there were real Dalmatians on stage at several points. Really well trained Dalmatians. I think the real dogs and the kids playing the rest of the puppies stole the show. Although the woman playing Cruella also did a fabulous job.

Feb 18

Awesome 4.75 mile run with people from work at lunch. The only downside? My hair looked like a sweaty mess for the rest of the day. Thank goodness I didn't have any afternoon meetings!

After work I went to the gym for 45 minutes of strength training. Recently the strength training software has been adding an additional set of ab exercises to the list. It's putting me near 100 crunches of some kind now! Awesome!

Strength Training with Biceps focus

Seated Row - 20 @ 35 lbs x2
Seated Arm Curl - 12 @ 30 lbs; 20 @ 20 lbs
Elastic Curl w/Twist (Green Band) - 20 x 2 each arm
Wide Arm Elastic Curl (Green Band) - 15
Push Up (Wide Hand) - 14; 12
Seated Back Extension - 20 @ 60 lbs; 15 @ 70 lbs
Elastic Front Raise w/Palms Up (Green Band) - 15
Seated Leg Press - 20 @ 55 lbs x2
Adductor - 20 @ 50 lbs; 20 @ 110 lbs; 20 @ 110 lbs
Calf Raise - 20 each leg w/body weight
90 Degree Crunch - 20
90 Degree Side Oblique Crunch - 15
90 Degree Reverse Crunch - 20
Side Oblique Crunch - 20
Decline Crunch - 15


Feb 19

Rest Day!


Feb 20

I was up bright and early but not for a run. Instead, Jason and I joined Kim, her husband, and Kate at North Wall Rock Climbing. The coolest thing about this gym? Every other Saturday morning they offer belay training and then let you loose to climb wherever you want for around $20 a person.


Me belaying while my husband climbs

The climbing gym is sort of small but that worked perfectly for our purposes. Everyone still got to interact, there were some challenging climbs without being *too* challenging, and we got there early enough that we essentially had the whole place to ourselves for several hours.


Me bouldering. That is, climbing with no rope.


Me climbing while Kate belays

Everyone who worked there was super nice and helpful. One of the employees in particular was awesome and showed us a lot of neat stuff and gave us helpful tips. At one point he said, "Have any of you ever tried slack lining?" Well, no, we hadn't. As he started setting it up, I realize that I had just watched a video about it on Friday! This a member of women's Olympic ski team doing just that:



My attempt at slack lining was not as graceful.



Although, I really felt like if I kept at it I could get it!



I didn't yesterday. But maybe some day!


Who had fun? We did!

After doing all of that for several hours and then eating lunch, Kim and I went out on our snow-filled 8 miler.

And, yes, I collapsed into bed around 9PM.


Feb 21

I woke up not quite as sore as I expected. My lats were the sorest and my forearms definitely had a slight ache to them. I really just felt more physically exhausted then anything else.

But, there was a class at the gym I really wanted to try. What class? Intro to Spinning! I'd never tried spinning and though an Intro class would be a great way to get a taste without feeling intimidated.


The spinning bikes my gym uses

I learned how to adjust my bike, what sprints feel like, what "jumps" are, and got a brief taste of hill work. Overall, we rode for about 30-40 minutes and I broke a nice sweat. Will I try it again? Probably. Assuming, of course, there's a class that meets at a time that works for me. I liked that you could adjust the intensity to your own fitness level and that it definitely worked different muscles than running or using the elliptical.

I thought about doing weights afterward, but I was feeling rather wiped out. Instead I came home and ate leftover pizza for lunch.

*************************

Goal Mileage: 20.5
Total Mileage: 21.38

Looks like I exceeded my goal again! I suppose it helps that those 3 and 4 mile runs I do at lunch are always a little long.

This week was a lot of fun. All my runs went great and I got to try some new "cross-training". Many of my workouts were done with friends and groups, too. Running is a great solitary sport but sometimes it's energizing to get out there with other people.

I'm looking forward to this upcoming week. I should be able to get all my runs in one way or another and I should be able to attend my favorite Hi/Lo class. Plus, after talking with Kim yesterday I'm planning on running a 5K race in her neck of the woods on Sunday. I can't wait!