I wouldn't say I'm all the way up to 100% in recovering from not feeling good on Friday, largely because I'm an idiot and didn't reduce how much I ate even though my stomach hurt, so I didn't want to do my usual 5 miles today. I kept it to a mere 5k, outdoors, near my house.
Why outdoors? One of my friends said it was a nice day for a run. She was almost right. About 5 or 10 degrees warmer, or a sweatshirt or jogging pants, would have been a nice upgrade. Instead, my fingers wouldn't uncurl when I got home until I ran them under hot water for like 10 minutes.
Still, the run was nice. I finished it up in 30:08, and it wasn't really that cold. I was just a little underdressed. As usual for a run near my house, there were small to medium hills all over the place...something people who run in or near, say, Chicago, wouldn't know anything about.
I've learned that I'm a nodder when I run. That is to say, when I pass another runner, I give the little nod to acknowledge them. Really, how tough is it to nod back? I get why someone wouldn't do it in the first place, but I don't get why some people don't do it back when it's done to them.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Long time, no post
Hey there. We haven't chatted in a while. I didn't want you to think I forgot about you. It's just that when I was running on Thursday night (5 miles, same speeds as Tuesday), I was getting really exhausted, and then Friday I think I had some sort of mild stomach bug, and I'm still kind of recovering from that. Plus, I was out of town over the weekend at a charity casino night, where I won a trip to Vegas, baby, Vegas. It's looking like I'll be able to go for a jog at the gym tomorrow, though, so all will be right with the world.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
2 workouts for the price of 1 post
I didn't blog yesterday, but I did go to the gym. 5 miles in 47 minutes at 1% incline, my best time ever for that distance. I got there by doing a mile at 6.1, a mile at 6.2, 1.5 mi at 6.3, 1.25 mi at 6.5, and sprinting the last quarter mile from 7 to 8 mph. That also got me past the 5k mark in just under half an hour, which I think is the first time I've ever done that.
As for today, I finally made up my session to get trained on XpressLine, a circuit training set-up at my gym. You can tell it works, because they dropped the "e" in "express" and jumped straight to the X. It consists of 8 machines with 10 exercises that work every muscle in your arms, legs, and chest. The lower-body workouts weren't bad, since my leg muscles are in decent shape. Not from running, mind you, just from holding my fat ass off the ground for the past quarter century. It was when I got to the biceps, triceps, and the rest of the arms and chest that I realized that the 15 push-ups a week I've been doing are not really getting my upper body in the condition I'd like it to be in. My arms are going to feel like dead weights tomorrow.
So here's the awkward part. This guy at the gym, who started college at Maryland, my alma mater, two years after I graduated, which makes me technically geriatric, was showing me how to use the machines. We chatted a little about the campus and the basketball team, who made it 4 or 5 rounds further than anyone thought they would by getting to the 2nd round in March Madness. But for the most part, we were just quiet while I did the machine and he counted reps. It's weird to have someone standing in front of you, watching you while you're working on these machines. There's no place for me to look except directly at him, which gets really awkward and uncomfortable really fast. They need a better system. For example, having a cute girl standing there instead of a dude would have been a huge improvement.
My favorite advice when it comes to exercising is the one I think I've heard the most, from lots of different people. "Don't forget to breathe." I've been alive for over 26 years, and I've forgotten plenty of things: paying rent, showing up for tests, your name, and the outcome of that volleyball match in "Saved by the Bell" when the tall guy the gang brought in as a ringer hurt his foot, to name a few. Not once have I ever forgotten to breathe, no matter what I was doing.
As for today, I finally made up my session to get trained on XpressLine, a circuit training set-up at my gym. You can tell it works, because they dropped the "e" in "express" and jumped straight to the X. It consists of 8 machines with 10 exercises that work every muscle in your arms, legs, and chest. The lower-body workouts weren't bad, since my leg muscles are in decent shape. Not from running, mind you, just from holding my fat ass off the ground for the past quarter century. It was when I got to the biceps, triceps, and the rest of the arms and chest that I realized that the 15 push-ups a week I've been doing are not really getting my upper body in the condition I'd like it to be in. My arms are going to feel like dead weights tomorrow.
So here's the awkward part. This guy at the gym, who started college at Maryland, my alma mater, two years after I graduated, which makes me technically geriatric, was showing me how to use the machines. We chatted a little about the campus and the basketball team, who made it 4 or 5 rounds further than anyone thought they would by getting to the 2nd round in March Madness. But for the most part, we were just quiet while I did the machine and he counted reps. It's weird to have someone standing in front of you, watching you while you're working on these machines. There's no place for me to look except directly at him, which gets really awkward and uncomfortable really fast. They need a better system. For example, having a cute girl standing there instead of a dude would have been a huge improvement.
My favorite advice when it comes to exercising is the one I think I've heard the most, from lots of different people. "Don't forget to breathe." I've been alive for over 26 years, and I've forgotten plenty of things: paying rent, showing up for tests, your name, and the outcome of that volleyball match in "Saved by the Bell" when the tall guy the gang brought in as a ringer hurt his foot, to name a few. Not once have I ever forgotten to breathe, no matter what I was doing.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
You are only as old as the Wii says
So, I havent written in a while, mostly cause I am lazy. Not too lazy to run 5 miles, but too lazy to write in a blog, go figure. Anyways, I have been running on the track since I went to the personal trainer, as apparently treadmill running isnt as hard. So, I went to the gym last Friday and ran 5 miles on the track, roller bladed about 6 miles on Sunday, and today I ran 5 miles again on the track.
Today I went to a different gym than I normally go to, as it is by my job. I wanted to do spinning class, and I left work a little early. Turns out at this gym you have to sign up for spinning, so I was not able to do spinning. I decided to run on the track instead. However, this track was a lot smaller than the one at the other gym. There are signs all over the track saying to walk on the inner lane. Some smart kids decided it would be intelligent to WALK 3 people across. It was ridic annoying, I literally had to play red rover with them every time I wanted to pass.
Also, on Sunday I tried to do the Wii Fit and play some Wii. According to Wii Fit my Wii age is 50. That's not so good. I think it had to do with my balance, as I have the worst balance ever. However, they have this running game that was pretty fun, but running in place doesn't really work for me.
Today I went to a different gym than I normally go to, as it is by my job. I wanted to do spinning class, and I left work a little early. Turns out at this gym you have to sign up for spinning, so I was not able to do spinning. I decided to run on the track instead. However, this track was a lot smaller than the one at the other gym. There are signs all over the track saying to walk on the inner lane. Some smart kids decided it would be intelligent to WALK 3 people across. It was ridic annoying, I literally had to play red rover with them every time I wanted to pass.
Also, on Sunday I tried to do the Wii Fit and play some Wii. According to Wii Fit my Wii age is 50. That's not so good. I think it had to do with my balance, as I have the worst balance ever. However, they have this running game that was pretty fun, but running in place doesn't really work for me.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Late gym trip
I learned something today. My gym is pretty much totally dead after 9 pm. Thanks to that, I have absolutely nothing interesting to say about today's 35 min bike ride workout, on random hills at level 10, going at an average of 98 rpm, for an average speed of 24 mph and a total distance of 14 mph.
Seriously, that's it. Nobody was doing anything weird in front of me, or next to me, or near me. There was only one annoying college-age girl talking about spring break, and that was as I was walking out of the building, so it barely counts (although apparently, everyone finds their first spring break "overwhelming").
I probably wouldn't have even gone to the gym tonight if it wasn't for the fact that Beth told me she was going, and I didn't want to let her post to the blog without getting something up here myself.
Maybe tomorrow's run will be a little more interesting...
Seriously, that's it. Nobody was doing anything weird in front of me, or next to me, or near me. There was only one annoying college-age girl talking about spring break, and that was as I was walking out of the building, so it barely counts (although apparently, everyone finds their first spring break "overwhelming").
I probably wouldn't have even gone to the gym tonight if it wasn't for the fact that Beth told me she was going, and I didn't want to let her post to the blog without getting something up here myself.
Maybe tomorrow's run will be a little more interesting...
Sunday, March 22, 2009
New shoes!
I woke up around 7 this morning to get to Central Park to volunteer as a chip clipper for the Colon Cancer Challenge. The CCC is actually 3 events: a 4 mi run, followed by a 1.7 mile Remembrance Walk, and then a 15 K (9.3 mi) run. No, people did not do 2 or all 3 events - you could only sign up for one and you could only run the one you were signed up for. For anybody who's never run a race, a chip clipper cuts the timing chips off of the runners' shoes and collects them, just after they cross the finish line. I picked that job partly because it was advertised to be the one that allowed me to show up the latest, and partly because it was the one I could sit during. As it turned out, I had to get there the same time as all the other volunteers, but given how cold it was when I got there, I'm really glad I wasn't doing something like filling up water cups, which, I'm sure, would have ended up with me covered in water and suffering from hypothermia.
Anyway, the 4 mi runners and the 15k runners all had timing chips (the walkers didn't), so we had a decent amount of work to do. After the first run, we got about an hour break while the walk went by and the 15k started. I ended up working until about noon, then headed home.
One nice thing about joining the New York Road Runners is that I keep running (no pun intended) into people that I haven't seen in forever. Last week I saw two guys that graduated from my high school a few years before me and were friends with my sister. Today I saw one of those same guys, who ended up being stationed at the same chip clipping stand as me. Also, I was taking the chip off one runner's shoe when she started insisting that she knew me from somewhere. It turned out she's one of my good college friend's best friends from home, who I've met a few times before, but haven't seen in at least 4 or 5 years.
Anyway, I got home, and having watched nearly 5,000 people cross the finish line after running either 4 or 9.3 miles, and with the temperature creeping up towards 60, I had all the motivation I needed to take my new running shoes out for a spin. They fit like a glove. If they ever make any real non-aesthetic changes to the Brooks Adrenalines, I'm going to be very upset. 5 miles, a bunch of hills, and 48:08 later, I was back home.
A special shout out this post to my sister Stacey, who got me a Garmin GPS runner's watch last year as a graduation gift. If it wasn't for that, I probably wouldn't have made it through the first two miles today. It seemed like every time I glanced down to check my pace, I was running faster than a 9 minute mile, which I can't sustain all that long.
Beth pointed out to me last night that yesterday's post was probably the first one where I didn't talk negatively about her, so today I'll just mention that since the last time she's posted (and presumably, exercised), which was a full 5 days ago, I've run 15 miles. There, is that better, Beth? I wouldn't want you to feel left out.
Anyway, the 4 mi runners and the 15k runners all had timing chips (the walkers didn't), so we had a decent amount of work to do. After the first run, we got about an hour break while the walk went by and the 15k started. I ended up working until about noon, then headed home.
One nice thing about joining the New York Road Runners is that I keep running (no pun intended) into people that I haven't seen in forever. Last week I saw two guys that graduated from my high school a few years before me and were friends with my sister. Today I saw one of those same guys, who ended up being stationed at the same chip clipping stand as me. Also, I was taking the chip off one runner's shoe when she started insisting that she knew me from somewhere. It turned out she's one of my good college friend's best friends from home, who I've met a few times before, but haven't seen in at least 4 or 5 years.
Anyway, I got home, and having watched nearly 5,000 people cross the finish line after running either 4 or 9.3 miles, and with the temperature creeping up towards 60, I had all the motivation I needed to take my new running shoes out for a spin. They fit like a glove. If they ever make any real non-aesthetic changes to the Brooks Adrenalines, I'm going to be very upset. 5 miles, a bunch of hills, and 48:08 later, I was back home.
A special shout out this post to my sister Stacey, who got me a Garmin GPS runner's watch last year as a graduation gift. If it wasn't for that, I probably wouldn't have made it through the first two miles today. It seemed like every time I glanced down to check my pace, I was running faster than a 9 minute mile, which I can't sustain all that long.
Beth pointed out to me last night that yesterday's post was probably the first one where I didn't talk negatively about her, so today I'll just mention that since the last time she's posted (and presumably, exercised), which was a full 5 days ago, I've run 15 miles. There, is that better, Beth? I wouldn't want you to feel left out.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Another day, another five miles
I didn't work out on Thursday - I was busy folding socks or something equally important - so I made sure to get to the gym on Friday after work to get a run in. I got on the treadmill for five miles, 1% incline, same speeds as last time (6.1 for 2.5mi, 6.3 for 1.25mi, 6.5 for 1mi, 7.0-8.0 for a quarter mile sprint).
Something I've noticed about being on a treadmill for close to an hour: you get to run next to a lot of different people. That's not necessarily a good thing. Sure, sometimes it's just a bunch of different cute girls, which is great, but often, it means you're just running next to different types of annoying behavior. For example, about half the run, the treadmill next to me was occupied by the loudest treadmiller I've ever heard. Now, I have pretty lousy form, and my feet come down on the ground hard. Anyone who has been in my house when I was coming down the stairs can attest to that. That makes my jogging on a treadmill kind of loud. This guy absolutely destroyed me in decibels...and he was just walking. He wasn't even walking fast. And he was not anywhere close to the beat of the songs I was listening to, which just added to the annoyance.
After he left, another guy got on. Every two or three strides (and that is not an exaggeration) he would wipe the sweat off his face or adjust his headphones. That part was fine. It was the fact that every time he did it, he flung his hand all the way out to the side as it was going to do whatever he was doing. Every 5 seconds I thought he was about to smack me in the nose and kept flinching because of it. That got pretty annoying.
But the big news today is: I got my new running shoes. They're the same kind I've been using for the past 2 or 3 years (Brooks Adrenaline GTS). I love them. I'm going to break these out as soon as there's a day I can run outside, and it looks like that will be tomorrow.
Also tomorrow, I have to be at Central Park at 8:30 AM to fulfill my volunteer requirement for NYC 2010 guaranteed entry. I'll be cutting the timing chips off peoples' sneakers after they cross the finish line, because that job starts the latest of all the volunteer jobs and involves sitting.
Something I've noticed about being on a treadmill for close to an hour: you get to run next to a lot of different people. That's not necessarily a good thing. Sure, sometimes it's just a bunch of different cute girls, which is great, but often, it means you're just running next to different types of annoying behavior. For example, about half the run, the treadmill next to me was occupied by the loudest treadmiller I've ever heard. Now, I have pretty lousy form, and my feet come down on the ground hard. Anyone who has been in my house when I was coming down the stairs can attest to that. That makes my jogging on a treadmill kind of loud. This guy absolutely destroyed me in decibels...and he was just walking. He wasn't even walking fast. And he was not anywhere close to the beat of the songs I was listening to, which just added to the annoyance.
After he left, another guy got on. Every two or three strides (and that is not an exaggeration) he would wipe the sweat off his face or adjust his headphones. That part was fine. It was the fact that every time he did it, he flung his hand all the way out to the side as it was going to do whatever he was doing. Every 5 seconds I thought he was about to smack me in the nose and kept flinching because of it. That got pretty annoying.
But the big news today is: I got my new running shoes. They're the same kind I've been using for the past 2 or 3 years (Brooks Adrenaline GTS). I love them. I'm going to break these out as soon as there's a day I can run outside, and it looks like that will be tomorrow.
Also tomorrow, I have to be at Central Park at 8:30 AM to fulfill my volunteer requirement for NYC 2010 guaranteed entry. I'll be cutting the timing chips off peoples' sneakers after they cross the finish line, because that job starts the latest of all the volunteer jobs and involves sitting.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Back at it
I've only exercised once in the past week. That's pretty bad for me, but at least now I know how Beth feels all the time.
Since I haven't done anything since the 8k on Saturday, I was pretty set on getting to the gym tonight, even though I had dinner plans in the city after work. I left my house a few minutes earlier than usual (I usually leave at about 6:45) to leave my gym bag in the locker room before getting on the train to go to work. That ended up working out pretty well, since going home before the gym just gives me an excuse to not go to the gym, and this way I didn't have to make that extra stop.
Of course, I figured I'd get right back into the swing of things with a run. Well, technically, it was more like a beer, most of a pulled pork sandwich, some fries, a chicken tender I stole off my nephew's plate, and a run. I'm trying to be really careful with the whole minor-Achilles-tendinitis thing, so I stretched my lower legs out a lot and did my usual warm-up walk. I started the run off at 6.1 mph with 1% incline, and made it...exactly .24 miles. Yes, that's right. Less than a quarter of a mile. I started getting shots of pain in both of my legs and had to hit the stop button.
Impressive, right?
But I'm a stubborn guy, and I wanted to do 5 miles. So I stretched out the legs again, did a really short walk to get back into it, and then started the run over, this time at only 6.0 mph and no incline. After a few minutes, I realized that I now find 6.0 mph to be entirely too slow and boring, so I went up to the 6.1 I was originally planning on and put the incline back on. By the time I hit 5 miles, I had spent the first half of the run at 6.1, the third quarter at 6.3, a mile at 6.5, and the last quarter mile from 7.0 to 8.0. I finished up in about 48 minutes.
That felt a lot better.
About 3 miles in, some girl who clearly knew me walked by my treadmill, smiled at me, and waved. I waved back and spent the next 2 miles trying to figure out who the hell she was. I still don't know, but I think she might have gone to high school with me.
Hopefully I'll have time to get some exercise in tomorrow, but I also need to finish up a couple of applications that I've been working on for the past three days. Never apply to take a Bar exam. Filling out the application is entirely too much work for entirely too little payoff.
Since I haven't done anything since the 8k on Saturday, I was pretty set on getting to the gym tonight, even though I had dinner plans in the city after work. I left my house a few minutes earlier than usual (I usually leave at about 6:45) to leave my gym bag in the locker room before getting on the train to go to work. That ended up working out pretty well, since going home before the gym just gives me an excuse to not go to the gym, and this way I didn't have to make that extra stop.
Of course, I figured I'd get right back into the swing of things with a run. Well, technically, it was more like a beer, most of a pulled pork sandwich, some fries, a chicken tender I stole off my nephew's plate, and a run. I'm trying to be really careful with the whole minor-Achilles-tendinitis thing, so I stretched my lower legs out a lot and did my usual warm-up walk. I started the run off at 6.1 mph with 1% incline, and made it...exactly .24 miles. Yes, that's right. Less than a quarter of a mile. I started getting shots of pain in both of my legs and had to hit the stop button.
Impressive, right?
But I'm a stubborn guy, and I wanted to do 5 miles. So I stretched out the legs again, did a really short walk to get back into it, and then started the run over, this time at only 6.0 mph and no incline. After a few minutes, I realized that I now find 6.0 mph to be entirely too slow and boring, so I went up to the 6.1 I was originally planning on and put the incline back on. By the time I hit 5 miles, I had spent the first half of the run at 6.1, the third quarter at 6.3, a mile at 6.5, and the last quarter mile from 7.0 to 8.0. I finished up in about 48 minutes.
That felt a lot better.
About 3 miles in, some girl who clearly knew me walked by my treadmill, smiled at me, and waved. I waved back and spent the next 2 miles trying to figure out who the hell she was. I still don't know, but I think she might have gone to high school with me.
Hopefully I'll have time to get some exercise in tomorrow, but I also need to finish up a couple of applications that I've been working on for the past three days. Never apply to take a Bar exam. Filling out the application is entirely too much work for entirely too little payoff.
Beautiful Chicago Weather (no that is not an oxymoron)
Ok so after writing like 8 pages about the personal trainer. This one is going to be short and sweet. Today it was like 75 out in Chicago, so Gabe and I decided to go for a run. We went to this amazing forest preserve and I had a pretty sweet probably around 4 mile run, and it felt amazing.
However, I ran ahead of Gabe and his friend Ivan and when I came back to find them I thought they already went to the car, so I decided to head towards what i thought was the path back to the car. We had to go through this leafy semi-muddy area to get to the trail. However in my infinite wisdom, I thought it was this other uber muddy path that I ran into like 2 feet and realized "wow I am basically wading in mud water" I turned back and found them on the trail literally 3o seconds later. Now my running shoes are pretty much destroyed. Whoops.
However, I ran ahead of Gabe and his friend Ivan and when I came back to find them I thought they already went to the car, so I decided to head towards what i thought was the path back to the car. We had to go through this leafy semi-muddy area to get to the trail. However in my infinite wisdom, I thought it was this other uber muddy path that I ran into like 2 feet and realized "wow I am basically wading in mud water" I turned back and found them on the trail literally 3o seconds later. Now my running shoes are pretty much destroyed. Whoops.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
The Narcissist and the Lawyer (My personal training session)
So, I havent written in here a while, so I am going to do 2 entries. The first one is for my personal training session last Wednesday. I thought I was going to be meeting with this very in shape lil blonde girl who runs marathons. I was pretty psyched as I thought she could offer some great insight. Turns out, she is the boss and doesnt train people. Instead, I got stuck with some metrosexual meathead. I could tell as soon as this guy walked up I wouldnt like training with him. He was a good looking guy, and in pretty good shape, but he had this cocky walk indicating "stick with me kid, I mean look at my muscles."
So we start by him asking me what I do when I regularly work out. I told him I run on the treadmill for about 5 miles 3-4 times a week. At this point, I think most people would be like oh not too bad, etc. This guy makes a face like I just sharted and is like "I like to call running on the treadmill the I can pick up my feet exercise." Now I get where he was coming from as it doesnt require as much energy because its on a belt, but 5 miles is still 5 miles. He asked me my mile time, and I told him and then he goes on to telling me how when he runs he can do 7 minute miles when he runs distance and 6 minute miles when he sprints. Now I had a couple of problems with this: a) this was completely unsolicited and just a way for him to tell me how mr. awesome he is b) you work at a damn gym! That's like the lil Japanese hotdog eating guy telling me how many hotdogs he can down in a minute. Its what you get paid for! I sit in an office all day.
Then we went to go do the exercises and he had me do a 10 min running warm up to which I actually did a little more then a mile. We then did a series of exercises and sprints. He would have me do lunges, or pullups, or squats, etc, and then sprint a lap. There was however one problem with this. For those of you who know me I was messing up the form of every exercise he showed me. At first he was patient and worked with me, and then I think he just kind of gave up, and let me do my modified incorrect workout. However, this type of training was crazy hard and unlike anything I have ever done. I was still sore 3 days later.
After all this working out, he told me to lie down on this little table. He then took this foam tubey thing and used it on my back to give essentially a back massage with it. Ordinarily women would be pretty excited to have some attractive man that close to them. I was skeeved out, and I hate being touched. The whole time I was just closing my eyes hoping it was over. Afterwards, we went into the office to talk figures. Of course I wasnt going to hire this guy, but I felt as though its just courtesy to let him go through his spiel. We got to talking turns out this guy also went to Illinois State for a semester. However, he spent his freshman year of college at ISU, when I was a senior. Damn I am old! My personal training session wasnt the eye opening experience I had hoped for, but I learned some new things and some new exercises to do, so overall it wasnt too bad.
So we start by him asking me what I do when I regularly work out. I told him I run on the treadmill for about 5 miles 3-4 times a week. At this point, I think most people would be like oh not too bad, etc. This guy makes a face like I just sharted and is like "I like to call running on the treadmill the I can pick up my feet exercise." Now I get where he was coming from as it doesnt require as much energy because its on a belt, but 5 miles is still 5 miles. He asked me my mile time, and I told him and then he goes on to telling me how when he runs he can do 7 minute miles when he runs distance and 6 minute miles when he sprints. Now I had a couple of problems with this: a) this was completely unsolicited and just a way for him to tell me how mr. awesome he is b) you work at a damn gym! That's like the lil Japanese hotdog eating guy telling me how many hotdogs he can down in a minute. Its what you get paid for! I sit in an office all day.
Then we went to go do the exercises and he had me do a 10 min running warm up to which I actually did a little more then a mile. We then did a series of exercises and sprints. He would have me do lunges, or pullups, or squats, etc, and then sprint a lap. There was however one problem with this. For those of you who know me I was messing up the form of every exercise he showed me. At first he was patient and worked with me, and then I think he just kind of gave up, and let me do my modified incorrect workout. However, this type of training was crazy hard and unlike anything I have ever done. I was still sore 3 days later.
After all this working out, he told me to lie down on this little table. He then took this foam tubey thing and used it on my back to give essentially a back massage with it. Ordinarily women would be pretty excited to have some attractive man that close to them. I was skeeved out, and I hate being touched. The whole time I was just closing my eyes hoping it was over. Afterwards, we went into the office to talk figures. Of course I wasnt going to hire this guy, but I felt as though its just courtesy to let him go through his spiel. We got to talking turns out this guy also went to Illinois State for a semester. However, he spent his freshman year of college at ISU, when I was a senior. Damn I am old! My personal training session wasnt the eye opening experience I had hoped for, but I learned some new things and some new exercises to do, so overall it wasnt too bad.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
I didn't know there was an 8:30 AM on Saturdays
NY Sports Club has this thing called XpressLine, which is a group of 8 machines designed to give you a complete workout in 22 minutes. They train you on it as part of your membership, and after that lousy run on Wednesday, I knew my session to do that on Thursday was just what I needed to get right back into it.
So I skipped the session to watch TV instead.
Friday night we went out for my friend's birthday, which, as he mentioned once or twice, wasn't actually on Friday. Of course, I had to have several drinks and a late Chinese dinner.
That got me in perfect shape for the NYRR 8000, an 8k run in Central Park at 8:30 this morning. But somehow, I did manage to wake up 10 minutes before my 7:00 alarm, get up to the park, and do the run. It ended up being, I'm almost positive, the first time I've run a race at or better than 10 min miles. According to my trusty runner's GPS, the race went a little long at 5.05 miles, which I ran in 49:57, or a 9:53/mi pace. I have trouble believing this, but Garmin claims I crossed the finish line at 12.7 mph.
That was my first time running in Central Park. It's a nice place to run. On the other hand, it's a nice place for almost anything you could do in a park, so that's not really surprising. Finishing the race earned me my first of the 9 qualifying races I have to run, plus the one I have to volunteer for, in order to gain automatic entry to the 2010 NYC marathon. I'll be volunteering as a chip clipper next Sunday at the Colon Cancer Challenge 4 mi run/15k run/1.7 mi walk to fulfill that part of the requirement.
Of course, I'm sure Beth will blog later today about how she ran 6 miles at 7 min per, all uphill, in a blizzard, carrying 40 lb of weight. Or, maybe she'll just walk around a 6 block area to go apartment shopping and call it "exercise." Definitely one of the two.
So I skipped the session to watch TV instead.
Friday night we went out for my friend's birthday, which, as he mentioned once or twice, wasn't actually on Friday. Of course, I had to have several drinks and a late Chinese dinner.
That got me in perfect shape for the NYRR 8000, an 8k run in Central Park at 8:30 this morning. But somehow, I did manage to wake up 10 minutes before my 7:00 alarm, get up to the park, and do the run. It ended up being, I'm almost positive, the first time I've run a race at or better than 10 min miles. According to my trusty runner's GPS, the race went a little long at 5.05 miles, which I ran in 49:57, or a 9:53/mi pace. I have trouble believing this, but Garmin claims I crossed the finish line at 12.7 mph.
That was my first time running in Central Park. It's a nice place to run. On the other hand, it's a nice place for almost anything you could do in a park, so that's not really surprising. Finishing the race earned me my first of the 9 qualifying races I have to run, plus the one I have to volunteer for, in order to gain automatic entry to the 2010 NYC marathon. I'll be volunteering as a chip clipper next Sunday at the Colon Cancer Challenge 4 mi run/15k run/1.7 mi walk to fulfill that part of the requirement.
Of course, I'm sure Beth will blog later today about how she ran 6 miles at 7 min per, all uphill, in a blizzard, carrying 40 lb of weight. Or, maybe she'll just walk around a 6 block area to go apartment shopping and call it "exercise." Definitely one of the two.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The wrong stuff
I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Maybe it was because I jumped right into the run at 6.3 mph instead of my usual 6.0 or 6.1, maybe it was something else, maybe I was just having an off day, but whatever it was, that workout sucked. Instead of my planned 3.5 mi run with a 1% incline and increasing speeds, I did a 3.11 mi (5k) run, with no incline for most of the second half and decreasing speeds down to 6.0, including a 2/10 mi walk in the middle.
That's so lousy I can't even make fun of it. It's too much of a joke on its own. Saturday's 8k better be an improvement over that.
Speaking of Saturday's 8k, my friend turns 27 on Monday, so he and his girlfriend are inviting people out to happy hour Friday night to celebrate. I figure that should go just fine for me the next morning. I did the Soldier Field 10 mi run last May in Chicago, and the night before, I went out for beers and free wings. Ended up running the whole thing even though I hadn't prepared for the race at all and had been sure for days that I'd be walking by the second mile. Beth beat me that day, but I'll have my vengeance at Disney. Oh yes...I shall have my vengeance.
By the way, I've never seen anybody open the curtain to an occupied changing room at my gym. I guess the people around here are just a little smarter than the people around Glenview.
That's so lousy I can't even make fun of it. It's too much of a joke on its own. Saturday's 8k better be an improvement over that.
Speaking of Saturday's 8k, my friend turns 27 on Monday, so he and his girlfriend are inviting people out to happy hour Friday night to celebrate. I figure that should go just fine for me the next morning. I did the Soldier Field 10 mi run last May in Chicago, and the night before, I went out for beers and free wings. Ended up running the whole thing even though I hadn't prepared for the race at all and had been sure for days that I'd be walking by the second mile. Beth beat me that day, but I'll have my vengeance at Disney. Oh yes...I shall have my vengeance.
By the way, I've never seen anybody open the curtain to an occupied changing room at my gym. I guess the people around here are just a little smarter than the people around Glenview.
back at it
So, today I went back to the gym refreshed. I did 5 miles, and to be honest, it wasnt too bad. Hopefully I am over my running funk. I think it was because it was hot and humid in the gym. Today I thought it would be the same, but I actually went to the gym and was okay. I found that the humidity and laziness were getting to me. Today, I went back and exercised waaaay longer than half an hour. Even more then twice that. *Ahem Moser*
Also, as I was in the changing room, some lady burst in on me. Luckily I wasn't in a state of undress, but basically the way our gym works, is if you are out of the changing rooms, the curtains are pushed aside. Why would this lady go in the only room that has it closed. Once again confirming the people at my gym are a lil slow. I guess if you are in shape you dont have to be smart. Luckily, I graduated law school so after this whole training thing dies down, I am thinking of eating a dozen donuts and sitting on my couch for 2 weeks.
Also, as I was in the changing room, some lady burst in on me. Luckily I wasn't in a state of undress, but basically the way our gym works, is if you are out of the changing rooms, the curtains are pushed aside. Why would this lady go in the only room that has it closed. Once again confirming the people at my gym are a lil slow. I guess if you are in shape you dont have to be smart. Luckily, I graduated law school so after this whole training thing dies down, I am thinking of eating a dozen donuts and sitting on my couch for 2 weeks.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
"Let the spinning wheel spin"
I figure I won't even mention the whole Beth-not-working-out thing after this. It'll probably blow over soon anyway. She says she's going to the gym tonight. And if not, we'll just know that I'm generally a better person than she is, that's all.
So, I finally got to try the spin class at NYSC. The instructor was some guy, and he knew about half the peoples' names, so they're obviously regulars. I knew I was in trouble when all but 3 of the 17 people in the room raised their hands in answer to the question, "Who has their own heart monitor?"
I do not have my own heart monitor. The good news is, even if I did, it would have just been a waste of money. I wouldn't have had a clue of what the guy was talking about. Everything I know about lactic acid I learned from the cross examination of the doctor in "A Few Good Men," and that was not quite enough to follow along when he started talking about thresholds and different levels and all that.
Anyway, we did 3 9-minute sets on varying intensities, spending about a third of each set standing. Here's my problem with spinning, and I think I mentioned this the first time I tried it too: I have no clue what high or low resistance is. I mean, I know what I think is high or low resistance, but I don't have a clue of what the people around me think. I know, I'm just supposed to do whatever I think is right, but it drives me nuts that I have no way of knowing if what I think is medium intensity is the same as the average or whether it's higher or lower. I'd just like to know, that's all.
But, however intense my workout was compared to everyone else, it was a pretty good one for me, although not long enough. Only 30 minutes. Next time I'll pair it up with something else.
So, I finally got to try the spin class at NYSC. The instructor was some guy, and he knew about half the peoples' names, so they're obviously regulars. I knew I was in trouble when all but 3 of the 17 people in the room raised their hands in answer to the question, "Who has their own heart monitor?"
I do not have my own heart monitor. The good news is, even if I did, it would have just been a waste of money. I wouldn't have had a clue of what the guy was talking about. Everything I know about lactic acid I learned from the cross examination of the doctor in "A Few Good Men," and that was not quite enough to follow along when he started talking about thresholds and different levels and all that.
Anyway, we did 3 9-minute sets on varying intensities, spending about a third of each set standing. Here's my problem with spinning, and I think I mentioned this the first time I tried it too: I have no clue what high or low resistance is. I mean, I know what I think is high or low resistance, but I don't have a clue of what the people around me think. I know, I'm just supposed to do whatever I think is right, but it drives me nuts that I have no way of knowing if what I think is medium intensity is the same as the average or whether it's higher or lower. I'd just like to know, that's all.
But, however intense my workout was compared to everyone else, it was a pretty good one for me, although not long enough. Only 30 minutes. Next time I'll pair it up with something else.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Boring workout
I was going to go for a jog...but I did that yesterday, and I don't like to do the same workout on consecutive days.
So instead I was going to hop on a bike...but I signed up for spin class tomorrow, and, well, you know the rest.
So, for a while I was just going to skip the gym. But then, I had an appetizer of cookies, and followed that up with some cookie hors d'oeuvres. I started thinking that maybe I should at least do something exercise-related. At least I'd get the added benefit of not giving Beth any material when she gets home from her personal trainer and reads this. I headed over to the gym, and I used some of the machines that I've already done, along with some crunches and push-ups, and threw in a leg press, for about 45 minutes.
Since I'm running the NYRR 8000 (just under 5 mi) on Saturday morning, I took the unusual move of planning out my exercise for the week in advance. Tomorrow will be the spin class, Wednesday will be a 3.5 mile run (hopefully outside), Thursday I'm learning the Sports Club XpressLine, an 8-machine group that promises a full body workout in 22 minutes, and Friday I'm picking up my race materials and hopefully sleeping at someone's apartment in the city (I'm talking to you, people I know who live in the city). The race will be my first qualifier towards the nine I'll need to gain automatic entry into the 2010 New York City marathon, which will probably be my last marathon for a while.
So instead I was going to hop on a bike...but I signed up for spin class tomorrow, and, well, you know the rest.
So, for a while I was just going to skip the gym. But then, I had an appetizer of cookies, and followed that up with some cookie hors d'oeuvres. I started thinking that maybe I should at least do something exercise-related. At least I'd get the added benefit of not giving Beth any material when she gets home from her personal trainer and reads this. I headed over to the gym, and I used some of the machines that I've already done, along with some crunches and push-ups, and threw in a leg press, for about 45 minutes.
Since I'm running the NYRR 8000 (just under 5 mi) on Saturday morning, I took the unusual move of planning out my exercise for the week in advance. Tomorrow will be the spin class, Wednesday will be a 3.5 mile run (hopefully outside), Thursday I'm learning the Sports Club XpressLine, an 8-machine group that promises a full body workout in 22 minutes, and Friday I'm picking up my race materials and hopefully sleeping at someone's apartment in the city (I'm talking to you, people I know who live in the city). The race will be my first qualifier towards the nine I'll need to gain automatic entry into the 2010 New York City marathon, which will probably be my last marathon for a while.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
2 cheesesteaks in under 24 hours
As the title of the post indicates, I ate an ungodly amount of food while in Philly for the past couple days. Luckily, when I got back at about 3:30 today, with the weather at a cool but comfortable 65 and cloudy, I knew exactly how to work off those extra calories:
With a two and a half hour long nap.
Once that was done, though, I was ready to burn the weight I gained this weekend by...
Hanging out with my 19 month old nephew for half an hour.
But after he (and everyone else) left for dinner, which I had absolutely no interest in (I was still living off the three brunches I ate on the train ride home), I finally ran out of excuses. It had gotten cooler, into the mid 50s, but the gym was closed, so I ran outside in New York for the first time this year. It felt nice, but the problem with running outside around here is that my house is pretty much at the top of a hill. So, not only is it much more hilly around here than anything I'm used to, but inevitably, the last quarter or half mile of the run is uphill. Never a fun way to finish it off. Since I had to deal with small to medium hills for the first time in about 5 months, I took it easy today and stopped at 5k, finishing it up in 31 minutes (almost exactly 10 minute miles).
Just to make sure this post doesn't end with nothing anti-Beth, anybody else notice that Beth started having second thoughts right around the exact same time my runs consistently started roughly matching hers in difficulty? Sounds like someone is scared.
With a two and a half hour long nap.
Once that was done, though, I was ready to burn the weight I gained this weekend by...
Hanging out with my 19 month old nephew for half an hour.
But after he (and everyone else) left for dinner, which I had absolutely no interest in (I was still living off the three brunches I ate on the train ride home), I finally ran out of excuses. It had gotten cooler, into the mid 50s, but the gym was closed, so I ran outside in New York for the first time this year. It felt nice, but the problem with running outside around here is that my house is pretty much at the top of a hill. So, not only is it much more hilly around here than anything I'm used to, but inevitably, the last quarter or half mile of the run is uphill. Never a fun way to finish it off. Since I had to deal with small to medium hills for the first time in about 5 months, I took it easy today and stopped at 5k, finishing it up in 31 minutes (almost exactly 10 minute miles).
Just to make sure this post doesn't end with nothing anti-Beth, anybody else notice that Beth started having second thoughts right around the exact same time my runs consistently started roughly matching hers in difficulty? Sounds like someone is scared.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Sad realization
So, last night I went to the gym, and Chicago had a significant warm up yesterday. It was like 60. You might be thinking why didnt I run outside...well by the time I got off work it was dark, and I get lost manuvering around my house let alone running in the dark. Plus I am a scaredy cat, and it was windy. Anyways, now that I have conjured up excuses. So, needless to say, hot outside, hot in the gym. So, after I changed I started to walk to the treadmills, and I felt this sense of doom come over me. It was then I realized...gosh, I hate running.
Now I know what some of you will say. Oh you hate it cause you are on the treadmill and cant enjoy the scenery, or its boring. But, the thing is, I have run outside before, and I am not one of those people who can clear their minds when they run. Basically, here is what goes through my head when I run..."I am tired...this is taking forever...ooh this is a good song...eh I am over this song." And so on and so forth. So doing it for like an hour is draining enough let alone when training intensifies and I am running for hours at a time.
So, I ran 5 miles yesterday on the treadmill, even though I was basically over it before I even started. I have a personal training session Monday, so hopefully that will get me reinvigorated. The weird thing is, I love food, and I love not looking like Kirstie Alley, so how come I cant love running.
Oh, and just to round out this blog, Moser smells and sucks at running.
Now I know what some of you will say. Oh you hate it cause you are on the treadmill and cant enjoy the scenery, or its boring. But, the thing is, I have run outside before, and I am not one of those people who can clear their minds when they run. Basically, here is what goes through my head when I run..."I am tired...this is taking forever...ooh this is a good song...eh I am over this song." And so on and so forth. So doing it for like an hour is draining enough let alone when training intensifies and I am running for hours at a time.
So, I ran 5 miles yesterday on the treadmill, even though I was basically over it before I even started. I have a personal training session Monday, so hopefully that will get me reinvigorated. The weird thing is, I love food, and I love not looking like Kirstie Alley, so how come I cant love running.
Oh, and just to round out this blog, Moser smells and sucks at running.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
I should have gone to sleep earlier.
I stayed in the city after work for my sister's birthday dinner with her family and my dad, so I almost got home too late to get to the gym. Totally worth it to spend some time with their 19 month (in 30 minutes) old son. But, I ended up getting back just early enough to get in half an hour on the bike on random hills at level 10. I read in a book somewhere that that's roughly the equivalent of riding over the Rocky Mountains from Colorado to Canada.
Seeing an old naked guy in the locker room is gross and annoying, sure. But seeing the same guy on the train platform at 6:50 the next morning going to work, well, that's just weird.
It's getting late, and I have to pack for Philly. I'll be back on Sunday, when it's supposed to be 63 degrees here. It's looking like it'll be a day with a run outside...maybe on the way home from the driving range.
Seeing an old naked guy in the locker room is gross and annoying, sure. But seeing the same guy on the train platform at 6:50 the next morning going to work, well, that's just weird.
It's getting late, and I have to pack for Philly. I'll be back on Sunday, when it's supposed to be 63 degrees here. It's looking like it'll be a day with a run outside...maybe on the way home from the driving range.
It is so on.
Yeah, that's right, I matched the 4.5 miles with a 1% incline that Beth did a week or two ago.
Wait, what's that? Beth did it at 6 mph? Well, that's pretty good, I guess, if she's trying to beat a turtle. Personally, I thought it would be more of a challenge if I went a little quicker than that. You know, more of a 6.1 for 2 1/2 miles, 6.3 for a mile, 6.5 with a sprint from 7 to 8 at the end kind of a thing. But yeah, I guess if she wants to get all excited about going the distance at what is essentially a brisk walk, or going a tiny bit further while running on what is basically a simulation of a padded cushion of air (she failed to mention that she didn't put in that 1% incline to make it feel more like real running), good for her. Whatever gets her to sleep at night.
Anyway, I knocked out the 4.5 just in time to pick up a few friends for ten cent wings, because, in addition to the cholesterol, calories, and fat, chicken wings have an iota of protein, and nothing washes down a good run better than a couple beers. Then I hung out with a couple of them until a few minutes ago, and now I have to go to sleep, because my alarm clock is going off in 5 hours whether I like it or not.
Wait, what's that? Beth did it at 6 mph? Well, that's pretty good, I guess, if she's trying to beat a turtle. Personally, I thought it would be more of a challenge if I went a little quicker than that. You know, more of a 6.1 for 2 1/2 miles, 6.3 for a mile, 6.5 with a sprint from 7 to 8 at the end kind of a thing. But yeah, I guess if she wants to get all excited about going the distance at what is essentially a brisk walk, or going a tiny bit further while running on what is basically a simulation of a padded cushion of air (she failed to mention that she didn't put in that 1% incline to make it feel more like real running), good for her. Whatever gets her to sleep at night.
Anyway, I knocked out the 4.5 just in time to pick up a few friends for ten cent wings, because, in addition to the cholesterol, calories, and fat, chicken wings have an iota of protein, and nothing washes down a good run better than a couple beers. Then I hung out with a couple of them until a few minutes ago, and now I have to go to sleep, because my alarm clock is going off in 5 hours whether I like it or not.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
A lot of trash talking...
So, it has been a while since I have wrote in this blog, much to the chagrin of my fan (that's right singular). Anyways, I was in New York last weekend and stuck there Monday because of some snow storm. For all the trash talking New Yorkers do about how much better their weather is, it sure screwed me. Anyways, Moser and I did in fact run with me on Saturday, and I find it amusing how he bragged about "matching me." That's not something to brag about, and we only did 4 miles, which is less than I usually run but we took it down a lil for Moser. It was kind of weird cause the gym went to had mirrors in front of the treadmills. I felt very vain just staring at myself when I ran, although I must admit, I looked good. :)
Anyways, after not running since Saturday I went back to the gym today and did 5 miles in 46 minutes and 30 seconds. Moser said something about running 4.5 miles at an incline, but as you read I did that a few weeks ago, so its nice he's bragging about things I already did. Also, since I renewed with my gym they had a personal training session for like 20 bux. So next Monday I am meeting with this tiny lil personal trainer from my gym who runs marathons. I am pretty psyched and she seems pretty energetic, so we shall see how that goes.
Anyways, after not running since Saturday I went back to the gym today and did 5 miles in 46 minutes and 30 seconds. Moser said something about running 4.5 miles at an incline, but as you read I did that a few weeks ago, so its nice he's bragging about things I already did. Also, since I renewed with my gym they had a personal training session for like 20 bux. So next Monday I am meeting with this tiny lil personal trainer from my gym who runs marathons. I am pretty psyched and she seems pretty energetic, so we shall see how that goes.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
IM
Beth: i went to the gym today
Beth: however this is just a test
Monday, March 2, 2009
Remember Beth? I don't either.
Sure has gotten lonely over here at Jews for Jogging. I'm sure Beth has all sorts of excuses for why she didn't work out today. She'll probably say something like, her transportation from New York City to home got canceled, and she was stuck. Well, I'm not buying it. First of all, I know she has workout clothes and shoes with her, and her membership at Bally's gets her in the door at their NYC locations. Second, my transportation from New York City to home got canceled too, and I managed to work out. Granted, hers was a flight to Chicago, delaying her trip back by a full 24 hours, and mine was the express train to Long Island, and I was able to take the local that left 10 minutes later. Still, it was pretty rough. I had to spend my train ride home on a local train, with the common folk, most of whom, it must be assumed, are lepers.
Anyway, after navigating an LIRR schedule filled with delays and cancellations to get back to Great Neck, I headed out to the gym, and with no running yesterday, I decided to get on the treadmill today and kick it up a notch. I did 4 miles again, and since I ran it at a higher speed than usual with Beth on Saturday, I now know I can do it at that speed, and there's really no excuse not to, so I did it the same way today. But today, I added in that 1% incline that I had mentioned to Beth, to more accurately simulate running outside instead of on a treadmill. It definitely makes a difference. After 2 miles, I wasn't even sure I'd make it to 5k, let alone my goal. But somehow, I got there. Now I guess I'll have to do 4.5 at some point in the next week, especially since I'm signed up for an 8k race a week from Saturday.
An observation I had today: People always tell you the positives about getting in shape. You'll lose weight, you'll have more energy, your posture will improve, all that kind of stuff. Nobody ever talks about the negatives. For example, today I was getting ready for work and noticed that I'm halfway between holes on my belt. I had to decide between being really uncomfortable or feeling like my pants were going to fall off. That's just a lousy choice.
And yes, I know, everyone who took the Bar last week is only thinking one thing after reading that first paragraph: "Leprosy? That's a loathsome disease. You just committed slander per se!" Well, if you are thinking that, I have good news for you. The test is actually over now and you don't have to think that anymore. But I also have some bad news. You thought about the elements of defamation while reading a blog about running, so you're kind of a loser.
Anyway, after navigating an LIRR schedule filled with delays and cancellations to get back to Great Neck, I headed out to the gym, and with no running yesterday, I decided to get on the treadmill today and kick it up a notch. I did 4 miles again, and since I ran it at a higher speed than usual with Beth on Saturday, I now know I can do it at that speed, and there's really no excuse not to, so I did it the same way today. But today, I added in that 1% incline that I had mentioned to Beth, to more accurately simulate running outside instead of on a treadmill. It definitely makes a difference. After 2 miles, I wasn't even sure I'd make it to 5k, let alone my goal. But somehow, I got there. Now I guess I'll have to do 4.5 at some point in the next week, especially since I'm signed up for an 8k race a week from Saturday.
An observation I had today: People always tell you the positives about getting in shape. You'll lose weight, you'll have more energy, your posture will improve, all that kind of stuff. Nobody ever talks about the negatives. For example, today I was getting ready for work and noticed that I'm halfway between holes on my belt. I had to decide between being really uncomfortable or feeling like my pants were going to fall off. That's just a lousy choice.
And yes, I know, everyone who took the Bar last week is only thinking one thing after reading that first paragraph: "Leprosy? That's a loathsome disease. You just committed slander per se!" Well, if you are thinking that, I have good news for you. The test is actually over now and you don't have to think that anymore. But I also have some bad news. You thought about the elements of defamation while reading a blog about running, so you're kind of a loser.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Unlazy Sunday
If you listen really carefully, you can hear the sound of Beth not working out.
Apparently, my household was not the only one that thought it would be a goo
d idea to get to the supermarket today, with a forecast of 10 to 14 inches of snow overnight. While spending the better part of the afternoon there after the gym, I had plenty of time to realize this about one of the people I kept passing in every aisle: If you have 3 chins, and you're wearing spandex, you're pissing everyone else off.
Good news! My cousin gave me a diagnosis over e-mail on that ankle pain I get. It looks like I might have Achilles tendinitis! I looked it up, and it seems to be a problem in people who increase their activity significantly after a long period of not moving at all. Shocking that that would affect me, when I didn't move at all for the first 21 years of my life and most of the past 5 years as well. Hopefully his advice, to stretch in the morning and at night, in addition to what I already do before I run, helps it out.
So last night I had one of the more exciting Saturday nights I've had in a while. After the 4 hours of sleep, 3 hours of walking, and 4 miles of running, I made it to about 9:30 PM before I realized that I had no idea what TV show I had been watching for the past half hour because I could barely keep my eyes open. So I turned out the light, got into bed, and was passed out by 10. On a Saturday. Am I cool or what? On the plus side, I slept for 11 hours, and I was ready for today's workout.
I had my free personal trainer workout with the new gym today. It was pretty good, I learned a lot of new exercises, but since it was just a sample of what I could get with a trainer, it was more about doing a little bit of everything than doing a few things a lot, which would have been a better workout. Still, it's good to know a handful of new exercises to do, and many of them I can do from home if I want.
Wait, I thought I just heard Beth lacing up her running shoes.
Oh, no, sorry, that was just the wind.
Apparently, my household was not the only one that thought it would be a goo
d idea to get to the supermarket today, with a forecast of 10 to 14 inches of snow overnight. While spending the better part of the afternoon there after the gym, I had plenty of time to realize this about one of the people I kept passing in every aisle: If you have 3 chins, and you're wearing spandex, you're pissing everyone else off.Only in New York would it be a superstore.
Good news! My cousin gave me a diagnosis over e-mail on that ankle pain I get. It looks like I might have Achilles tendinitis! I looked it up, and it seems to be a problem in people who increase their activity significantly after a long period of not moving at all. Shocking that that would affect me, when I didn't move at all for the first 21 years of my life and most of the past 5 years as well. Hopefully his advice, to stretch in the morning and at night, in addition to what I already do before I run, helps it out.
So last night I had one of the more exciting Saturday nights I've had in a while. After the 4 hours of sleep, 3 hours of walking, and 4 miles of running, I made it to about 9:30 PM before I realized that I had no idea what TV show I had been watching for the past half hour because I could barely keep my eyes open. So I turned out the light, got into bed, and was passed out by 10. On a Saturday. Am I cool or what? On the plus side, I slept for 11 hours, and I was ready for today's workout.
I had my free personal trainer workout with the new gym today. It was pretty good, I learned a lot of new exercises, but since it was just a sample of what I could get with a trainer, it was more about doing a little bit of everything than doing a few things a lot, which would have been a better workout. Still, it's good to know a handful of new exercises to do, and many of them I can do from home if I want.
Wait, I thought I just heard Beth lacing up her running shoes.
Oh, no, sorry, that was just the wind.
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