Slacker has a New Meaning

So, as I was getting ready this morning I was feeling like I kind of slacked on my workout last night.

Last night I was planning on doing my yoga tape and some weight training. But I mixed up my schedule and ate dinner before working out. This basically made me pretty unmotivated to work out. Not to mention that I had sort of a heavy dinner (sirloin, asparagus and a glass of red wine). So I decided to do the Crunch Yoga tape rather than the MTV Yoga tape. I knew that the Crunch one was about 15 minutes less than the other one. I also decided NOT to do weights. I also realized how much easier the Crunch video is about 5 minutes into the workout. So I was feeling kind of guilty about that. But I also figured it was probably good to mix it up.

It is surprising to me how relaxing yoga is. I know that it is supposed to be, and that's sort of what it is known for, but yoga has NEVER been relaxing for me. It has always been much more of a chore. I dreaded doing it even though I knew it was good for me. Now, I sort of look forward to it. And I am really concentrating on my breathing. I don't know if that will help me at all in my running, but it does make me feel great.

So, this morning after I felt like I slacked, I immediately realized afterwards that NORMALLY "slacking" for me means not even doing a workout. Or going a couple of days without doing a workout. So then I was like "good for me." :)

I also started reading this book that I have had for awhile. It is called "The Body Sculpting Bible for Women". I got it a couple of years ago, but have really only used to see how to do the weight exercises inside. I decided that I probably SHOULD read it, because it talks about proper nutrition and all of that stuff too. Unfortunately, the whole thing is sort of written like an infomercial EVEN THOUGH the whole first chapter talks about how infomercials lead you in the wrong direction. I mean, the content is great. But the TONE is like an infomercial.

Being an avid reader it really annoys me when the tone of a book is off. (Like the Da Vinci Code...good substance but I HATED the way it was written, so I ended up hating the book). So I don't know if I am going to finish the book or just use it for the weight training exercises, like I have done in the past.

Anyway. Tonight is a ten minute workout and 3 lower loops of Central Park (approximately 1.7 miles each). Each loop is supposed to get progressively faster by 30-40 seconds. I hope the rain holds off :)

I'm a Sad Athlete

Bill and I have finally gotten the wii we were looking for since before Christmas. It is so much fun! My favorite game is boxing, although I must say, I don't have a lot of strategy, I just punch a lot. For anyone who doesn't know...the wii is different from other video game systems because you use the controller in a very intuitive way. Like, if you are playing tennis, you swing it like a tennis racket. If you are boxing, you use controllers in two hands and punch and guard (or in my case, you just punch). I was laughing as I was playing tennis and told Bill that some sad people on the wii site say that the game has changed their lives and they've lost all sorts of weight and things like that. I was thinking what a sad state our country must be in if that's the case. Although I did break a pretty big sweat during the boxing.

Anyway, I woke up this morning and my back and arms were KILLING me. I am so sore. I guess my weight training hasn't been helping as much as I thought. Maybe I should just ditch my free weights in favor of the wii. It would definitely be more fun. (I am just kidding of course). All of this makes me feel like a pretty weak athlete. But then again, I was punching pretty hard. Bill said he thought I was going to go through the tv at one point.

And unrelated wii injuries from this weekend...
I keep getting these HORRIBLE CRIPPLING charleyhorses. They are only in my left calf but they really really hurt. Lack of potassium? That's what I've always heard. I try to make sure I eat a banana every morning with my breakfast, but I haven't had one for the past 5 days or so. I will make sure to eat two of them this morning because charleyhorses suck!

Gym....oooooh, a Gym!

Sorry. Simpsons reference. I am a total nerd.

Last night I hit the gym for some weight lifting. I can already tell the difference after three weeks of weights. I am debating whether or not to continue this as I train for the next marathon. I mean, I will definitely continue doing my arms, back, chest and abs, but I don't know about the legs. Coach Joe says it kind of depends. He doesn't necessarily think it is a good idea because if you are lifting on your non-running days your legs don't really get a rest day. That is enough for me to say I will quit weight training during marathon season. It makes sense. But he also said that plenty of people do it and don't have a problem. I mean, I am not trying to be psycho body-building girl or anything...I just can see how it can really help.

That being said, I can't even do two of the machines for legs because they irritate my knees. I guess I have answered my own question.

One thing I love about the weight room...I always feel like a total weakling because my settings on my upper body are so low. And there are usually only men in the weight room, so most times I have to take the peg and move it up like 100 pounds or something ridiculous and then I have to watch the guy after me take the peg out and move it waaaaay down after me. BUT, the settings on my legs are so high. They usually make the men look like weaklings. Ha ha ha ha ha. I'm like "yeah! Take that!" in my head. Except for last night when this older (like 70 something) slender man was doing abductions while I was doing adductions. When we switched I saw he was on 130 while I can only do 100. I sort of felt like when all the people with strollers and all of the old skinny people pass me in a race. ;)

Oh well! That is more incentive to keep in shape forever!

UPDATED 7/5/07: to include new youtube link

Hyde Park Course

Tonight training for the Hyde Park Blast. It should be fun because I've recruited some friends who are running it to join me and Bill tonight. Unfortunately I think it just may be the muggiest day of the year. So it may help to wait until later.

I will be interested to see how I think the hills are in the course this year. I'm sure I will still think they are bad, but maybe they will not be AS bad, since I have trained so many hills for the pig, and I had been doing hill drills while I was in London. I don't know. I remember Menlo (I think that is the name) being absolutely horrible and I think it was at the end of the race.

Last night I hit the gym for some more weight training. I tried to not overdo it this time. I know I said last week that I didn't overdo it, but it was about two hours after I posted that I could barely walk because I was so sore. I was smart this time and when I got to the quad machine and did one rep and felt pain in my knee I hopped right off! No need to tear up my knees just so I can do reps on those machines. If I make it past noon without a ton of soreness I will be golden. I'll welcome some soreness since that just means my muscles are tearing and rebuilding themselves, but I do need to play in Landor's softball game tomorrow! (and more importantly, run injury-free this weekend in the Blast!)

Lifting. Yay!

It is nice to be back at a gym that has weights!
And I don't know if there was some 20/20 episode about the benefits of lifting weights or something like that on or what, but the weight room was packed. Usually there are just the "regulars" which include about 3 people, but there were a LOT of people there last night, including a lot of women.

I did the whole body routine...arms, legs, back and chest. My arms are soooooo weak. I was doing 15 reps 3 times of light weights so that I could work on building lean muscle. My weight on my arms was pitiful...but my weight on my legs was DOUBLE what I started with before marathon training. Crazy. (And NO I was NOT overdoing it).

It felt really good to do some weight training. It made me not want to run tonight. It made me want to stay in the cool confines of the gym. But alas! I have to get used to this heat and mugginess.

Muskles

My legs are like solid rocks! I guess that is what happens when you run like a crazy-woman. I mean, I should have kind of expected that, but I LOVE it!

And I never really believed my friend (who also happens to run) Jen, when she said running builds up your abs. But after the marathon my abs (along with everything else) were killing me. Now, I don't have a washboard stomach like she does, but I am definitely slimming down. In fact, I lost an inch and a half off of my waist from January. I know this does not sound like a lot, but for me it is. I have had the same waist size since the end of high school, which was (holy cow) 10 years ago!

My arms are definitely more defined. That, I guess was the most surprising to me. My arms just do NOT get definition. And my arm muscles are sad. When I used to go to the gym to lift on the machines I would have to do my should presses on a setting of 15 pounds. In the meantime I am watching 14 year old girls and skinny women in their late 60s lift 45 pounds on the same machine. But every time I went on a 10 plus mile run, at around 9 or 10 miles sometimes my arms would feel like they were going to fall out of their sockets. My husband was like "duh, you've been moving your arms back and forth for almost 2 hours!" I guess it makes sense if you think about it.

Anyway, I am loving it!

Tonight, I run the Beat the Banana in Hyde Park (London, not Cincy...much flatter) and tomorrow I hit the gym for weight training.