Week 4 Shamrock

Monday - bootcamp, 23 minute bike ride
Tuesday - 3.5 mile run
Wednesday - 35 minute bike ride
Thursday - bootcamp, 2 mile run
Friday - rest
Saturday - 4 miles
Sunday - 30 minute bike ride, hour yoga DVD

I had a great week of workouts and I'm feeling fabulous!  It's nice to feel back in the groove.  My legs were super dead on my run on Thursday so I took it incredibly slow and easy.  I definitely feel like I'm getting stronger, leaner and slimmer.  Week 1, I gained a quick 4 pounds and was up to 133...  but I've weighed 131 the last couple of days which I take as a sign that my body is adjusting in a positive way. 

I'm on vacation next week and I've signed up for 6am bootcamp on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday (class isn't offered on Wednesday).  We'll see if I make them all... but, if I do, that would be SO AMAZING!  Also, I'm considering trying skating if my derby girlfriend is free to take me on Wednesday (update:  she is!!!).  Lastly, I'm working on getting a group of girls together for a weekly 'bootcamp'.  More on that in another post! 

Bootcamp Day 4

Yesterday was my fourth day at bootcamp and I am still loving it!  Everyone in the class is so friendly and inviting.  And the workouts are seriously challenging!  We worked in pairs again and did 'partner relays'.  Basically, one partner did a 'stay' exercise while the other did a 'travel' exercise.  The girl who I partnered with on Monday, Jenny, was there again so we immediately decided to be partners.  Here's the routine that we did:

   S:  low jacks
   T:  lunges with twists

   S:  squats with kicks
   T:  alternating lateral lunges

   S:  wall sits
   T:  backward lunges

   S:  shoulder bridges
   T:  over/unders and sit stands

We did each for two minutes with quick water breaks in between.  Then we did it again, each for two minutes, but without the water breaks.  It was tough.  I think, though, that I'm getting in better shape because I wasn't nearly as sore as I had been on Friday!  So that must be a good sign. 

I emailed on Friday asking for their pricing after my $20 month unlimited is over.  If the price is right, I think I'll keep going twice a week. 

Bootcamp Day 3

No, I didn't make it to bootcamp on Saturday.  BUT, I did go this morning so that already gets me to a better start than last week!  Bootcamp is taking the place of yoga if you're referencing my training calendar.  Since I didn't get my 30 minute bike ride in yesterday, I'm hoping to do it tonight after work. 

This morning's bootcamp was AWESOME!!  We had a different instructor...  I think her name is also Emily?  She was also super friendly and welcoming but she introduced herself when I was only 1/2 a cup of coffee in to a Monday morning.  So, really, I shouldn't be expected to have registered and remembered her name, should I? 

We did a differnt warm up where we were jogging the length of the space and doing different things each time.  Skipping with forward arm circles, skipping with backward arm circles, lunges with side twists, you get the idea.  Then we partnered up and grabbed a resistance band.  We did exercises 1, 3 and 5 with 5 reps each and taking turns.  We did 2 and 4 for 30 seconds each and taking turns.  For all of these except the rows, we were both in the band, if that makes sense. 

   1.  Inside leg toe touches (side by side)
   2.  Sprints (running away from stationary partner as fast/hard as you can)
   3.  Lunges (facing away from stationary partner)
   4.  Sprints (again)
   5.  Row (facing each other each holding the band with palms up)

We did that routine two times.  I loved the sprinting...  it was the oddest sensation and also funny to watch but it felt amazing.  I think it would be worth it to get a resistance band because I think Ty and I could do the toe touches, lunges and rows at home together.  I don't think I could hold him for the sprints, though! 

Week 3 Shamrock

Monday - rest (supposed to be a snow day but that didn't happen!!)
Tuesday - 3.5 miles
Wednesday - rest (got home to a crate filled with puppy poop, lost all motivation to bike)
Thursday - bootcamp, 3.5 miles, 20 minute bike ride*
Friday - rest
Saturday - rest
Sunday - 3.5 miles

As can be seen above, I'm struggling with balance.  I'm skipping workouts and then trying to cram them in on other days.  My goal for the upcoming week is to do better with that... 

* - super leisurely as I was biking wtih Ty and Onya while they were running. 

Bootcamp Day 2

I know, I know.  Why is this just Day 2 when it should be Day 4?  Because Day 1 kicked my ass so hard!!!  I couldn't walk after Day 1 and just getting out for a measly two miles on Saturday was near to impossible.  But I did it.  My Monday excuse was that it was supposed to snow.  And it was Monday.  I blame Pubes for both.  Even today was hard...

My alarm sounded, I promptly turned it off and asked Ty if I should go to bootcamp or stay in bed.  He replied that I'd feel better if I made myself go to bootcamp.  I replied that I wasn't feeling bad at all!  But, then, I did get up.  Only to find out that Ty had changed the timer on the coffee (WHY? WHY? WHY?) by 10 minutes.  So, it was just starting to brew instead of just finishing.  But I was early to my first camp so I decided to wait a couple of minutes and drink really strong coffee on my drive there. 

With my really strong coffee in hand, I headed out to brave the deluge.  As I was hydroplaning my way along I-5 South, alla sudden, I see that the Macadam/Ross Island Bridge exit is closed!!!  WTF?!?!  Don't they have a reader board before the Corbett exit specifically for communicating things like this?  So, I end up having to get on I-84 and taking the OMSI exit with 5 minutes to go before class starts... and I end up running in exactly at 6am!  Whew.  So glad I got up and cursing Ty under my breath. 

But then class started.  And it DID feel good to be there.  And the instructor/owner, Emily, addressed me by name - which I found super impressive after meeting me just once.  Again, we had a nice warm up.  Then the workout began...  we had 20 minutes to do as many circuits of THIS as we could (I did 1 1/2):
            10 assisted pull-ups
            15 burpees
            20 hanging leg pull-ups
            25 half burpees
            30 double time jump ropes (or 90 regulars)

Holy crap.  Guess who won't be shampooing her hair for the next few days!  My arms are already sore.  I consider myself to have T Rex arms so I suppose this is good for me.  And it did feel good to already have had a killer workout under my belt when I arrived at work.  Will someone remind me of that when my alarm goes off at 5:20am on Monday?

Frozen Toes!

We had a rare snow day today!  If there's one thing you need to know about the Pacific Northwest, or at least Portland, it's that we entirely shut down with just a trace of snow.  Which I really, really love...

The snow started falling in earnest around 8am here in Lake Oswego so pup and I decided we had best get out in it!  For the first mile or so, my toes were really hurting.  Lately, my feet have been struggling to handle running again.  They feel sore and not very flexible.  In the past, when my feet got cold, I'd just flex the toes to kind of warm them up.  I could do that every couple of minutes and that would be sufficient to keep them comfortably warm-ish.  But, perhaps related to the soreness and lack of flexibility, that wasn't really doing the trick this morning.  I considered turning around but realized I was actually almost a mile in and only had two more to go so I figured I could tough it out. 

As we were getting to the second park on our standard three mile route, there was a sweet puppy playing fetch in the cul-de-sac with her owner.  As we headed into the park, she decided to come along and she ended up staying with us the whole way through and back out.  I wasn't too worried because the trail is only about a quarter mile long ending in a small loop and you can only get out of the park by going back the way you came in.  I also figured that her puppy-papa wouldn't be too worried either and Onya loved the company. 

After we reunited the puppy with her owner, I noticed that the snow seemed to have turned into more of a freezing rain and that the sidewalk was starting to get a little slippery.  I was careful to pay more attention to my footing which was especially important because the rain was turning the snow that had fallen into little translucent pellets of slickness.  I about ate asphalt crossing a fairly major road in our neighborhood not long after.  When I was about a block or two from home, the heavy, fat flakes started falling again.

By this time, my feet and toes had finally stopped hurting but they were pretty numb as I took off my Fingers.  When I was showering, they were painful little bundles of burning and itching.  I can't wait for my feet to adjust back to running in Fingers!!  Feet aside, it was a great run in some fun and unusual weather. 

Week 2 Shamrock

Another week of good workouts in the bag!

Monday - yoga (on demand)
Tuesday - 2 miles
Wednesday - 30 minute bike
Thursday - bootcamp and 2 miles
Friday - rest
Saturday - 2.5 miles
Sunday - rest

Let me just start by saying the bootcamp KICKED MY ASS.  Seriously.  I couldn't walk right until SUNDAY.  So, I ended up skipping it on Saturday and then I took that extra rest day on Sunday instead of my 30 minute bike ride.  I was supposed to go to bootcamp this morning but, with all the snow predictions, it was too cold.  And, I wanted to sleep longer.  But I do plan on going back on Thursday and, unless it kills me again, go back on Saturday.  This week, the milage finally starts going up just a smidge and I'll be incorporating 3 mile runs - which works perfectly since I'm checking in on a friend's cat all week and her apartment is just over 3 miles from my work! 

Turner Runs Too!

My aunt and two cousins stayed the night at our house last night.  This morning, we dragged Turner, 12 years old, out running with us!  He's closer to my height than Ty's and slender so we decked him out in a pair of my running tights, basketball style shorts, wool shirt and Eugene Marathon tech shirt.  With Onya, we did a 2.5 mile loop through the neighborhood.  Turner did great - not a single 'are we there yet', he paced him self well and sprinted it in.  In fact, he won the race to the mailbox from the corner quite handily! 

I was super impressed...  I think that boy may have a future running career ahead of him!  At the very least, I'll be encouraging him to join me on future visits. 

Bootcamp!!!

I had my first bootcamp this morning at 6am.  Last night, I was very good and got things all ready.  I packed a bag with work clothes for today, bathroom things for showering here at work after bootcamp and workout clothes for today's run.  I also packed my breakfast and morning snack - banana, instant oatmeal, Clif bar.  I set out my bootcamping outfit and shoes as well and set my alarm for 5:20am. 

Upon arriving to Fit Body Bootcamp, I was greeted by Emily.  She was warm, friendly and inviting.  Class started exactly on-time, which I always appreciate, with jump roping.  Let me tell you, it's been a LONG time since I've jumped rope!!  We then did a series of warm up activities before heading into the core of the workout...

The first set was 20 seconds of activity followed by a 10 second rest.  We started with our hands on the ground and our feet to the right.  We then threw our feet up and to the left, then back to the right, then back to the left.  Then, we did two split leg push ups, pulled our legs back together on the left and repeated the jumps.  And we did this 8 times. 

Then, we did squat burn-outs:  half squats for 10 seconds, full squats for 10 seconds, pulsing half squats for 10 seconds and a 10 second rest.  We did this 5 times. 

THEN, we repeated the jump split push ups 8 times and THEN we repeated the squat burn-outs 5 times. 

Holy crap.  That was followed by some stretching and we were done. 

The class is 45 minutes long and I was dripping sweat by the end - which is always a good sign!  I'm super excited about this class because, so far, it seems just my style and speed.  I will be going Monday, Thursday and Saturday for a month and I know it's going to make me feel GREAT! 

More Biking

Wool hat, Oakleys, helmet, wool chute, gloves, wool long sleeve, tech shirt, fleece jacket, thick running tights, thick running socks, ENDs. 

I bundled up for today's bike ride and, I'm excited to say, I did not freeze.  But that's still not the same as not being cold...  so I'll be bundling even more on my next ride!!  The picture in this post is of how much clothing I was wearing.  It probably didn't help that it was super windy out either.  The entire 'out' part of my ride was against the wind.  The paths were littered with pine cones and downed branches, too, as if I need MORE bike challenges!!

I still haven't figured out how to signal.  I don't know which arm I'm supposed to use but that's kind of okay because I'm really not ready to take a hand off my handlebars yet!  On Sunday, Ty commented that I'm the most cautious bike rider he's ever seen.  Although, it should be noted, that he was biking WITHOUT BRAKES.  So I guess that makes him the most reckless. 

I did pass two other bikers and they both gave me a wave which I really appreciated.  I'm still slow and wobbly but I'm getting better at using my gears.  And I feel like I'm getting faster...  and it's taking longer into my ride before my legs feel like they're just going to fall off. 

All in all, I'm really glad that I'm making myself bike for crosstraining. 

Oh Noes

I didn't end up getting to run today.  I had a haircut at 3 and then I had to meet some people about a thing.  They were late, then they wanted to buy the thing tonight so they had to go get their truck and come back.  Which took another half hour.  By the time I got home, it was dark out and Ty and Onya were already back from their run AND showered. 

Which means that I'll be running AND biking tomorrow - my first brick!

The key to getting your workouts in can sometimes be simply staying flexible.  And that is certainly much easier when the mileage is low.  It can get a lot more difficult to reschedule workouts when you're above 20 miles in a week. But, luckily, that is not the case for me at this point in my training. 

Daily Burn Tracker

Over the years, I have periodically used Daily Burn Tracker to track my calories, nutrition and weight.  It is a super nifty like program that has most standard foods that you might eat out OR make at home.  And it has a lot of organic brands...  which I really appreciate.  Since I started training again, I thought it would be a good time to check in with my nutrition and tweak it as needed. 

As you can see, I've actually GAINED weight this week.  Which is incredibly stupid but totally normal and predictable.  Since I used it last, they've added a handy 'dashboard' at the bottom.  You can toggle it between daily (where it lists how many exercise calories you've burned today) and weekly. 

Every single time I've gone through this exercise, I've found that I am heavy on daily calories and fat and always, always, always light on protein.  Since my New Seasons Market quit carrying my favorite brand of greek yogurt (milk is challenging for me so I'm super duper picky about these things or else I'll just gag), I've started eating organic instant oatmeal every morning instead.  I guess it's time to find another supplier of my yogurt (please, please let the new Zupan's going in mere blocks from my house carry it!!!). 

If you're looking for a tool like this, I totally recommend the Daily Burn Tracker! 

NEW Fingers

On the left, my well worn old fingers...  on the right, the SAME COLOR fingers brand new out of the box... 

Telecommuting

I'm working from home today which is something that I love and wish I could do more often.  I was at my desk at 5:45 this morning and worked away until 8.  Because I have a much better set up at home, including dual monitors, I am significantly more efficient.  At 8, I took a break to take the pup out for a quick 2 miler (gotta love the low mileage early in a training plan!!).  She was actually really well behaved and, if she's really lucky, she'll get a second 2 miler when her Papa gets home from work this evening. 



This is how you know it's time for a new pair of Fingers!!  My poor little toes were so cold this morning as they splashed through puddles and slipped in the mud.  Currently, at rei.com, you can get the slate/palm colored Sprint Fingers for only $55.93.  Combined with my dividend and free shipping, I should have a new pair by the 9th for less than $18 - YAY!!! 

Okay, enough with the blogging...  back to the grindstone!! 

Jess Bikes Too!

Who knew?!?!  The last time that I was on a bike was about 2 1/2 years ago...  and the last time before THAT was probably 20 years prior!!  If you follow this blog, you know that I'm trying be more well rounded during 2012 - the year of balance.  I've decided that I need to do more than just run so, until Shamrock, I'll be incorporating two biking days into each week.  Then, after that, I'll cut back to just one day so I can add a day of running for marathon training. 

I was pretty nervous about my first ride and it was compounded by knowing that I had to do it solo.  I could have bagged the whole thing for a couple of reasons...  first, it was lightly sprinkling and, second, my bike tires were flat.  Seriously, though, you shouldn't count as a Native Oregonian if you can't do things in the rain.  I got the bike pump out and, after a little trial and error, figured out how to pump my tires.  So, I headed out...

I debated which route would be best/easiest all day today and then I totally abandoned my plan in the heat of the moment in favor of a route that I am familiar with.  I ended up riding for 28 minutes when my training plan called for 30 minutes.  All in all, I consider the entire endeavor a win.  Here are some things that I found are different than running:

• I need to dress much warmer for biking than I would for running.  My car said mid-50's on my way home so I donned some capris, my fingers, a cute biking Icebreaker (short sleeve), a sleeveless rain slicker thing and my running gloves.  I was freezing the whole way and, 50 minutes later after a hot shower, I'm still freezing!  Although, I'm sure the deluge that started about 5 minutes in and lasted the duration didn't help.
• Fenders are necessary.  I'll be purchasing one ASAP because the cold, rain and being under dressed was seriously compounded by my sopping wet butt!  BRRRR...
• Bikes are even less visible to drivers of luxury SUVs than runners - who knew!?!? 
• I need a few supplies besides just the fenders - a light, a rack, a small pack...  bike shorts, a visor for my helmet to keep the rain from blinding me... 

If anyone reading this has any excess biking gear that they'd like to pass my way, I'd sure appreciate it!  Ty and I are heading to downtown LO to check out a pub and attend a Meet The Brewer event tomorrow night.  Hopefully we'll have enough time to get there early so I can check out some supplies at the bike store down the street.  And at least buy fenders! 

Biking

Tonight, I have to do my first bike ride of 2012.  I haven't really biked since I was a teenager so this should be interesting.  I'm insanely nervous about it.  And, to make matters worse, Ty can't go with me so I have to do this solo!  I'm not exactly sure what I'm nervous about...  I guess just that it'll be hard?  Or that I'll fall?  I'm sure I won't get lost so I've at least go that going for me. 

Planning

A big part of successful running is planning.  Whether that's planning the day's meals to planning to bring running clothes to work to planning for one race to planning for a year's worth of events, the daily training runs and events definitely go better if you've got a plan. 

I've consistently been pleased with Hal Higdon's training plans for pretty much every distance I've ever raced.  I particularly like that he has various levels of plans at each distance.  I just print up the appropriate plan, figure out the race date and work backwards from there to put the plan on a calendar.  I use Yearly Calendar Maker to design a custom and free calendar that I can then print either in color or black and white.  You can see the result on the 2012 Training Calendar tab on this blog. 

If you have any planning tips, I'd love to hear them!! 

Week 3

This is the last week before Shamrock training officially begins...  and I have to admit that I only ran twice...  and just three miles each time.  But, that's okay.  It's a taper for training, right?  Okay, not really, but I'm totally not going to beat myself up over it. 

In somewhat related news, I just bought a Sharing Spree for $20 for a month of unlimited bootcamp!  I'm planning to start a week from tomorrow.  I think I'll try to go three times a week.  I'll take Monday yoga off the calendar since I still haven't figured out a good place to go for that. I'll leave all the scheduled biking and running on though.  Good luck to me and happy new year to y'all!