Another Day of Speed Work

Jeb and I hit the track this morning for another day of speed work. We repeated my workout from Wednesday (4x200), and my times were better (64, 64, 65, 62). I followed it with 8 hill sprints and am feeling it now! I wasn't moving too well after a tough deadlift workout on Friday, a busy day on my feet yesterday, and not sleeping well over the last several days. After a good warm-up, though, I felt more like myself and was able to push it. As frustrated as I am that my numbers aren't anywhere near where they used to be, I'm glad to see improvement.

Running with New Gadgets!

Today was day 3 of Week 7 of Couch to 5k. I changed a few things with my workout that ended up being pretty positive. I should backtrack a little bit....

...I had a bit of a scare last Thursday when out jogging in my (normally very safe, quiet) neighborhood. A truck drove past me several times, slowing down so the two men inside could stare at me. I tried to avoid them by changing my path and heading down a side street - but had no luck. They found me there too. After passing me that time, however, they stopped their vehicle and watched me out of the rearview and side mirrors. Just when I was starting to REALLY freak out, one of my neighbors pulled out of her driveway and the truck sped off.

Naturally, I was concerned. I wasn't close enough to home that I would have easily been able to run away from them and lock myself inside. Also, I am not overly confident in my sprinting abilities at this point! Probably my biggest worry, though, was that I didn't have my phone with me and couldn't call for help.

I don't usually bring my phone with me to work out - for a variety of reasons. First of all, that is MY time. Since I am on call for work, I often get phone calls that time of day and it takes away from my workout. Also, I already carry my iPod and (sometimes) keys, so I didn't want to have to carry anything else. Obviously, I had to make some changes to feel safe out on the roads again.

Since I have a new, fancy phone, I decided to try and figure out how to sync iTunes with my phone. It took about an hour to do that (especially since I'm not overly tech-savvy and most of the directions were for PCs - and I have a Mac), and then I decided to search for an app that used the GPS from my phone to track my run. I found (and used) CardioTrainer - and it was SO FUN! I'm really bad with gadgets - I love knowing as many useless details as possible about my workouts, food intake, etc., so this was perfect for me. Hopefully I'll be able to post screenshots, but for now, I'm happy to report that I completed 2.3 miles during my 38 minute workout (10 minutes were walking - 5 for a warm-up and 5 for a cool-down). Yay for me!

I'm Back!!

I'm totally overthinking this whole blog thing. First, I thought it needed more focus - but then it was so focused that I couldn't ever think of anything to write about! I'm still alive - still cooking healthy food, training regularly, and working like crazy!

Some updates:
*I pulled my Achilles tendon on 12/30. I was running late to my favorite mindless cardio class - BodyCombat. I didn't warm up and jumped right into class. During jump-kicks, I pushed too hard and felt it pop - it was awful - and I was seriously depressed about it for days! My workouts had been going great, I was achieving some decent fat loss, and I felt completely stuck! Fortunately, the Men's/Women's Health Big Book of Exercises had just come out, and I found Dave Tate's Bench Press workout! It gave me something to focus on, when I couldn't do much for lower body workouts. Instead of completely vegging out, I improved my upper body strength and mobility - and I REALLY learned the value of a good warm-up. Since I've recovered, my workouts have picked up and I'm actually stronger than ever!! Still frustrated, though, that I can't seem to break a 135# bench press though - it would probably be easier if I actually spent significant time on it...

*Leigh Peele released a new cookbook for Body By Eats - the "5 Ingredient Cookbook." It has some great recipes in it that have been so helpful for Jeb and I as we've tried to fine tune our diet. I've even taught the kids at work some of them - all a big hit! I really really love tricking the kids into eating something healthy for a change!

*I've really increased my kettlebell work. Since I'm focused so much on fat loss right now, I dropped lifting to twice/week, and am completing some sort of circuit (Spartacus workout, KB circuits I shamelessly borrowed from someone else's blog, Cardio Strength Training, etc.). The workouts are fun, difficult, and have helped me improve my conditioning rapidly.

*Kettlebells rock for core strength! I HATE core work, and only do it because it's important. Last summer, I made a sorry attempt to perform a Prone Jackknife on a Swiss ball. I couldn't really even hack it, so I had to use an egg-shaped swiss ball. This exercise hasn't been part of my program for awhile, so when I found out it was a part of my new workout phase, I was intimidated! At the gym, I grabbed the Swiss ball and gave it a try - and I COULD DO IT! Better than ever, actually! It felt great! I can't really think of anything else that could have made me improve this much without specifically working on it, but kettlebells do work the core (especially Turkish Get-Ups), so I think that might have been the difference. YAY!

*I am definitely going to stop overthinking, and start posting more often. :)

Until next time...