Saturday Dreadmill Miles

Today's miles: 4.5

Week's total miles: 25.27

We slept in and missed the morning group run :(, so my punishment was the home treadmill. Not much to say about the run except that I did it. That in and of itself was an accomplishment, because I did NOT want to do it. I really wanted to run outside, but running outside at noon on a July day did not seem the brightest of ideas. So I jumped on my treadmill, listened to a podcast, and got the job done.

PS - I also completed week 1 of the hundredpushup challenge. My last set was 24 - I'm getting there!

Boot Camp + 7.25 miles (divided)

Yesterday's miles: 7.25

Week's total miles: 20.77

We had a lot of arm work in boot camp (which I was expecting) and the Thursday challenge was using a big hamster ball outside. I didn't do this. I was scared with my lack of coordination I'd be the one who'd roll right into the street and get hit by a car. Wouldn't that make a good headline, though? I just wasn't in the mood to be a headline.

Afterward, despite threatening skies, two of us headed out for 3 miles. Though she says she is slow, I didn't find that to be true. We ran at a good conversational speed and the run felt good - not too hard, and not too slow, either!

Last night we headed to the Y for TKD and a treadmill run. I had really wanted to run outside but that would have prevented Chuck from running (he takes the bike when I run outside) and the weather was just too iffy. I did a 2-mile warm-up and then a HIIT for 20 minutes, which put me at 2.25 additional. I wasn't able to hit the peak for the second to the last minute, which made me really mad. I could only do it for 30 seconds, instead of a full minute.

Afterward I did a few wall sits so I could completely burn out my legs before my rest day, which is today.

Boot Camp - no extra miles

Today's miles: 1.72

Week's total miles: 13.52

My BOOT CAMP titles are getting a little redundant - I'll have to mix it up I think...

I am getting accustomed, for the most part, to the 5am wake-up call. Today I was a bit tired, but still ready to go. The class is jam packed this session. I told her that means there is no room for mountain climbers anymore. She's one of those "never say never" people. I have a feeling we'll do them on the ceiling if we have to. And truth be told, like the plank, the push-up and some other rare exercises, this is one of those that gives you a lot of bang for your buck. I'm all about efficiency!

No mountain climbers today, but we did do a bazillion squats with some holds (I held all the way through, thankyouverymuch!), and some legs-six-inches-off-the-floor (did not hold for these as long!). Push ups and jogging and ... then we took our wobbly jello legs out for a 15 minute run. I was able to do 1.72 in that 15 minutes, making my average 8:53 (I came in 27 seconds faster, so my total was 14:33). Not as fast as I would have liked, but I appreciate the chance to run on weakened legs. That'll make running on fresh legs for a race a nicer experience.

The knee still hurts, but I suspect it's from sitting cross legged yesterday at the computer for a little longer than usual, working. Even still, I'm not willing to aggravate it today just in case it's something else. I will run tomorrow, take Friday off, and run Saturday and Sunday, so my mileage won't suffer from dropping today's run.

PT test, W1/D2 Boot Camp, Extra Miles and Pilates!

Today's miles: 4

Week's total miles: 11.8

Today we did our PT test for my second session. I was able to do 30 push-ups, 32 sit-ups and my mile was a 7:47! I was really pleased with that, especially since my Garmin told me the mile was 7:39. That's a big change from last session 3 weeks ago, so I'm happy. Of course, this is the baseline for this month, so I hope to show better numbers at the end! I didn't post my numbers last session because they weren't too fantastic, but I realized I need to keep a record, because I am having a hard time remembering my numbers from one test to the next. I know I went from 26 push-ups to 29, but I do not remember my sit-up numbers from last time. I apparently didn't have on my Garmin for the 1-miler, either.

After the class and the testing, I joined a few runners for the loop, which is exactly 3 miles.

I thought I'd run again tonight but I went to Pilates, and then Chuck and I decided to skip the run and head to a sports bar instead, while Gregory was at TKD. It was a good choice as the top of my knee is hurting me on just one side, and feels "wobbly" and weak. I'm icing and will take Aleve tomorrow, and hope it's just something weird going on for just today.

New Boot Camp: W1/D1 + Evening Miles

Today's miles: 7.8

Week's total miles: 7.8

I've got a good start to my mileage this week! That's good!

I started the second session of boot camp this morning. The class was packed! Because it was the first class with a lot of explanation of forms and the class in general, we didn't work as hard as we will. As the instructor said: "Those of you who thought today was easy: Don't worry. Those of you who thought today was hard: Don't worry. Just come back tomorrow." LOL. It was a nice break but it'll be nice to toughen up the routine, too.

I started following Run DMT's blog back when I was googling the Oldsmar Taphouse run and hers came up. She started a 100 push-ups challenge on July 1st. It seemed to dovetail okay with the bootcamp routine (not too taxing) so I've decided to take the challenge. Follow the link to hundredpushups to see what it's all about. What's really cool about this is that you can download an app to your iPhone or iTouch and it becomes an interactive challenge. Of course I did that, because I am always looking for cool apps for my latest toy. Anyway, this afternoon I completed week 1, day 1 of that.

Tonight's stormy weather meant we had no choice but to head up to the Y, which Chuck and I did together. I managed to not die of boredom and got 6.3 miles done. Added to the mile and half we did in boot camp today, and I had a total of 7.8. Not bad for a Monday.

Oh, and when I handed something to one of my teen sons (the blunt one, frankly) he said, "Muscles." I said, "What?" and he said, "You have muscles!" I suspiciously asked "Are you sucking up?" He said no and I beamed "Well thank you, then!" Arm muscles! Think those'll make me faster??

Another new phenomenon: We were at Blizzard Beach and I turned around to say something to Chuck and then jerked back forward because it was my turn to head down the slide. That movement caused me to pull an ab muscle. My very fit friends have mentioned pulling abdominal muscles but that concept escaped me. I guess I really never had the muscles to pull, because this was a new one on me. It was one of those happy hurts - especially since it went away soon enough.

Lutz Independence Day Run 5k Race report

Yesterday's miles: 4.1

Week's total miles: 15.85

I guess it was a taper week, as yesterday's miles would be the end of my miles for the week. Though I'd have preferred more, the weather prevented me from doing after bootcamp miles and an impromptu family vacation this weekend curtailed weekend miles. I did put a race on my schedule. A popular race in this area is the Dunedin 4th of July midnight race but my family and I did that last year (Jonathan, Jeremy, Chuck and me) and we decided once was enough. It was a very cool race, but just too late even for party animals like us. Still, not wanting to be left out of the 5k race fun, I looked for another race and found one at 8am July 4th morning, and signed Emily and me up. Emily wanted a re-draw for her bad showing at the RAP River Run a month prior.

At 7am on Saturday morning, before the alarm, I bolted upright. What if the race started at 7? I forgot to double-check! Part of me hoped it wasn't 7 for obvious reasons, but the other part of me wondered why on earth a FL road race in July would start as late as 8? But it did - it started at 8. Awake now, I got everyone up and we got out the door and headed to the starting line.

Getting our bibs was organized and uneventful (two adjectives that describe a successful race) and the run started right on time, as it always does when run by Ric Dorrie. We ran through the flat and shady streets of Lutz, but the heat really dragged on me. I was slowing down before we even hit the one mile mark, my legs tired and tingling and sweat pouring off of me. When I hit the turn around point, which was a loop through a residential neighborhood, I did not see Emily, which led me to believe she wasn't too far behind me. On our way back, I heard the unmistakable cry of an ambulance, and a truck with backboards went flying past, and of course in my paranoid-mother mode decided that was my girl - alone, on the race course, me having selfishly left her behind in my quest for a PR. At that point I went a little paralyzed, until I realized the odds of it being my baby girl were not good (she was well-trained and acclimated) and that even if it were, the faster I ran the sooner I'd be to her. It turned out that there was no reason for the siren or the truck of backboards, so I relaxed and headed for the finish line.

When I saw the finish clock reading 26:xx I was discouraged, and gave Chuck the thumbs down. Upon evaluation I realized that the time wasn't too terrible; it showed a 30 second improvement over last month in even more adverse conditions. I would have preferred a better time, but I can acknowledge that the work I am doing is showing some improvement, if not a significant improvement. Emily finished in 34:47, with a blister and a red and blotchy face. She's sworn off summer 5ks, and I can't say I blame her. They ARE hard, and if you don't believe me, pick up this month's issue of Runner's World. She did end up with 1st place in her age group (which is all she cares about) and true to form, I ended up with 5th. As you might deduce, that means there were awards four deep in my age group. That trend persists!

Tonight's Run

Today's miles: 6.5 @ 9:10

Week's total miles: 11.75

While Gregory was at TKD I got my much needed sweat in. I decided to start by running to where we do our 1-mile test and do a 1 mile test, as I'd figured out to do today in my stream of consciousness post. I had Chuck time me with a stopwatch and of course I had my trusty Garmin.

My time was 8:16 on the stopwatch but that included a bathroom break (GRR!). One downside to the humidity is the fact that I need to stay hydrated and have to go to the bathroom 1000 times a day. I guess one of those times decided to be at the 800M mark. My Garmin (which I stopped) said 7:49 and my first 800 was a 3:40 or so. Chuck said he could tell a difference in my stride, too. I could feel a difference in my core, an area I think that was holding me back. Mainly, I could feel the fact that I'd done 400 crunches and various other ab-blasting exercises bright and early this morning.

I finished the run to round it out to 6.5 total. My times included water stops, so I don't think I did too badly. Our area has been pummeled with rain and there was standing water everywhere, and it was steamy and wet. It was like running through a paved rain forest - which made it difficult and I was happy when it was over!!

BOOT CAMP W3/D3 &D4

DAY 3

No running for day 3; the weather just wouldn't allow it. It was PT (testing) day so we could see how we'd progressed. It was pouring rain so only about 1/3 of the class made it. I almost didn't go, but decided that I'd feel really bad all day if I didn't. It wasn't an easy drive but it was worth it. I didn't realize there wouldn't be make-up PT if we weren't there on the designated day so I am glad I went! I also learned today that some people purposely avoid PT day. I personally cannot fathom that; I HAVE to know where I stand by the numbers. I understand we are all different, but in my case I would have been upset to miss it!

Because of the weather yesterday (and today) we weren't able to measure the improvement of our 1-miler, which of course is a disappointment. I am running a 5k on Saturday so that will obviously give me some feedback. I guess I could do my own tonight with Chuck if I really want to know...

After the testing we did a lot of core and lower- body workouts. It seemed weird to not leave a dripping sweaty mess. We worked hard, but it was inside in the A/C, and not cardio-heavy, so not as much sweating! :)

I decided to take the day off running completely, given the state of my fatigued legs. I had time to run, which made the idea seem like a lame one, but I just felt like they needed a break.

DAY 4

There was a threat of rain and severe weather again today, so again we stayed inside. As it is the last day of the session, we were broken into teams and played "last man standing". I apologized immediately to my team - I would NOT be the last man standing for any exercise. The one I felt I had the chance to maybe compete in was wall-sits, but even then I was a mid-packer. The exercise I surprised myself in was crunches. The last game's winner had 600, so I didn't think I'd be a contender, but I managed 400 with a hold at the end. Since there were so many of us still in the running (and I could have done more, though likely not too many more) the team that had all their men standing at that point won the contest. I was happily surprised that my abs didn't seem to be objecting as much as my arms behind my head were - so I am getting that elusive core strength after all! Yay!

I won a prize for perfect attendance (which Chuck acknowledged was well-earned given the monsoon I drove in yesterday) and was recognized for a 60% improvement in sit-ups. :)

I'm signed up for 2 more sessions (8 weeks). I don't know how many more I'll do after that, since I'll be right up against the marathon, but I'll definitely return after October. It's been a fun class, and though it's been hard to get up at 5am every morning, it's been worth it.