Weeknight Boxing

Last night I went to a boxing class at my regular club.  I have missed some Sundays, so I like to go mid-week, if I can.  After all, I'm paying for it!

We warmed up by doing some shadow boxing with weights - 3 lbs per hand for me.  This is a good warm-up and typically makes my lats sore the next day.  Today, I am sore, but not too bad.  The class was OK; in some ways it was almost too much boxing, which sounds weird, but there wasn't much conditioning.  That's probably good, since I'm not looking to get really worn out before my half-marathon on Sunday.

This morning I did Body Beast BULK Shoulders.  I burned about 115 calories.

Monday Doubles and Tempo Workout

Last night I played my usual Monday night doubles at TCCP.  I played OK.  Michelyn and I got crushed in the first round by Julie and Jessica - we should not have lost so badly.  Julie was playing really well at the net.  In the second round, Jill and I were down initially, but came back to win decisively.  We finished with a 10-point tie-breaker; my partner and I were ahead when we had to quit.

This morning, I did Body Beast TEMPO Chest/Tris and P90X2 Ab Ripper.  The tempo workouts are very slow movements.  I think the idea is to have more time under tension for the muscles in order to stimulate growth.  I was certainly shaking on some of the moves.  However, they don't burn a lot of calories according to my BodyMedia device; it was about 180 calories for the whole workout.

Shoulders Workout

This morning I did Body Beast BUILD Shoulders.  I upped the weights for the shoulder shrugs and the scap traps.  I burned about 125 calories.

I've been receiving the prep info for my half-marathon this Sunday at the Frederick Running Festival.  I signed up to be able to pick up my bib and other stuff the morning of the race instead of the day before.  Unfortunately, that means arriving between 5:30 - 6:15am for the 7am race.  Honestly, I'd probably aim to get there early like that anyway, but it isn't fun to think about.

I found out from the race information that there will be pace runners doing the race, and I can join a pace group.  I had been aiming for a 2:15:00 or less finish, and of course there's no group for that.  I think I'll join the 2:10:00 group and see how that goes.  If I really can keep that pace (and not get going faster), I should be able to do it.

Weekend Tennis Tournament

I haven't posted for a couple days, so some catch-up.

Friday was my recovery day.  I did my shortened version of P90X2 Recovery + Mobility and burned about 90 calories.

Friday night, I went to Bethany Beach, DE, with some friends from my 3.0 tennis team.  We stayed at Joan's beach house for the weekend.  We played in the Bethany Beach USTA tournament at Sea Colony on Saturday.

Our first tournament match was Saturday at 10am - against each other.  It turns out that no other 3.0 women registered for the tournament, so we played ourselves and the winner won the tournament at the 3.0 level for doubles.  Joan and I played Fran and Mary Ann.  We won 6-2, 6-1.  It was fun, and a beautiful day.  A little disappointing to come out to play one match.  But we got medals!

Joan, me, the referee, Fran, Mary Ann

Saturday afternoon we went back to Sea Colony and played again for fun.  Fran and I beat Joan and Mary Ann 6-3, 3-6, 1-0. 

Sunday also turned out to be beautiful.  I ran 3.03 miles in 29:42 (goal pace) to burn some calories.  Then we went to a different set of courts and played our last round of tennis.  Mary Ann and I lost to Joan and Fran 5-7, 1-6.  Ouch!  It was a really great trip!

Evening Practice

Yesterday in the early evening, I did a boxing class.  I don't usually do these during the week, but I had to be in the area at the time, and so I avoided the traffic.  It was a pretty easy class, honestly.  I was happy that the instructor didn't do any push-ups, because my chest was still pretty sore.  I'm sure he just totally forgot, because usually we do them.

This morning I did Body Beast BUILD Back/Bis and P90X2 Ab Ripper.  I went too light on some of the back exercises, so I noted that for next time.  I burned about 170 calories total.  I'm still pretty sore in my chest and triceps.  Not really feeling it in the shoulders, though, despite two workouts for them this week.  Does that mean I'm not pushing my shoulders as hard?

This evening I had an outside practice for my tennis team.  I played pretty well in the first rotation, but so-so in the second.  When the Sun gets pretty low, the angle of the light and the shadows really mess with my ability to see the ball properly.  I just feel kind of weird playing in that .

Intervals During Taper

Yesterday afternoon I ran some intervals on the treadmill.  I am tapering before my half-marathon now, so it wasn't too heavy.  4 x 2 minutes at 7.2 mph and then 4 x 90 sec at 3.5 mph.  With warm-up and cool down, it took 24 minutes and the distance was 1.89 mi.  Then I walked at 3.5 mph for the remainder of the hour to burn a few more calories.

This morning I did Body Beast BULK Shoulders.  I was correct yesterday in my assumption that my chest would be pretty sore today.  Nothing I can't live with, but everything seems just a bit more difficult.  I burned about 110 calories in this workout.

Monday Night Doubles

Last night I played my usual doubles at TCCP.  It was fun.  Although my legs were still tired, I ended up playing quite well.  I was seeing balls at the net better and had really good shot placement.  Sometimes I wonder if it's helpful to "pre-exhaust" myself so that I end up having more control.

I had been thinking last night before bed about how far I've come in my fitness abilities over the last 5 years or so.  After all, looking back over the last few days, I played four hours of tennis on Saturday, did boxing and ran 13 miles on Sunday, did a strength workout Monday morning, and still killed my tennis Monday evening.  That's a lot of activity to be doing, most of it at a pretty successful level.  And I am not unduly fatigued or sore.  (I did drink a heck of a lot yesterday, though.)  At any rate, it made me think about how much I've accomplished, and I'm pretty proud of it.

This morning I did Body Beast BUILD Chest/Tris and P90X2 Ab Ripper.  I wasn't as sore as I expected from the shoulder work yesterday.  However, usually my chest gets really sore the first time I work it in awhile.  I felt like I was quite a bit stronger in my chest today than the last time I'd done it, which I suppose is good.  I burned about 190 calories total.

13-Mile Run!

Yesterday afternoon I did my first 13-mi run!  I did it at my goal pace of 5.8 mph, so it took 1:34:30.  It was really hard to keep going and going.  I did jump on the rails for breaks, and I took a couple stopping breaks.  Wow.  However, I didn't have to go to the bathroom, which is good news, I hope, for the actual race.  I distracted myself by watching one of my all-time favorite movies: Contact with Jodie Foster.  I hadn't seen it in quite awhile, and I did enjoy it.

Today I'm pretty wiped still, although I'm not sure I feel as tired as I did after the 10K race last Sunday.  I did break a new personal record for calories burned yesterday:  over 4000 calories according to my Body Media device.  And about 34,500 steps for the day, another personal record.  Well, running 13 miles will do that!

This morning I started a strength block in my morning exercises.  I did Body Beast BUILD Shoulders.  That burned about 125 calories.  Surprisingly I'm not too sore today from boxing yesterday, but I can feel I'm going to be sore tomorrow from the shoulder workout this morning.

Doubles Loss

Last night, Fran and I played on #1 doubles in our first 3.0 match of the spring season.  Unfortunately, we lost 6-4, 5-7, 0-1.  We played really well in the first set, with a lot of well-placed balls.  In the second set, our opponents switched sides, but that didn't seem to do much.  We got up 5-3.  But then somehow they started beating us...not really sure what the difference is.  We started having more unforced errors, I guess.  One of our opponents limped, and so we tried to run her around (and succeeded on that), but it didn't matter.  I still can't quite put my finger on why we lost.  At any rate, our team won 3 other courts, so we won the match overall.

This morning I went to my usual boxing class.  I missed it last week because of the 10K race, so I imagine I'll be feeling it tomorrow.  I didn't try to work really hard at it, since I'm planning on running 13 miles this afternoon.

Morning Practice

This morning my tennis team had an outdoor practice.  It was a little chilly to start, but the Sun came out, and it turned into a really nice morning.  I played pretty well.  It was a good warm-up for our 3.0 match tonight.

First Win of the Spring Season

Last night I played my first 3.5 match of the spring season and had my first win.  Flora and I played together on #2 doubles, and we won 6-2, 6-0.  Our opponents were both 3.0 players, so this was not an unexpected result, but it was still a fun match.  Our team won 4 of the 5 courts overall.

Today is my rest day.  I did my shortened version of P90X2 Recovery + Mobility to burn about 90 calories.  I have no other plans for today in terms of fitness.

Outside Evening Practice

Last night, we had our first outdoors evening practice of the season.  It was a little chilly, but OK.  I played pretty well.  Fran and I played together, since I play on us playing together in our first 3.0 match of the season on Saturday.

This morning I did P90X+ Kenpo Cardio+, one of my favorite workouts.  I burned about 290 calories.  This workout will be the last one of my recovery week.

Next week, I'm going to start a strength block for 5 weeks.  This is for several reasons.  First, I haven't been doing much strength work for about a month.  Second, the workouts will generally take less energy, so I shouldn't be quite as tired.  I think that this is going to be good leading into my half-marathon, as well as after that.  I will not be working on my legs, as the running is hitting them enough.  Third, the workouts fit well in my schedule in terms of time.  I really want to hit my shoulders, as I'd like to make them a bit more impressive-looking.

Speed Intervals

Yesterday afternoon I did a run focusing on speed intervals.  The plan was to run 3 min x 6 intervals at 7.2 mph alternating with 90-sec intervals at 3.5 mph.  My legs were still rather fatigued from the 10K on Sunday, so I had to take some breaks during the speed parts.  The total was 3.28 mi in 37 min.

This morning I did Cathe Friedric's 4 Day Split Kickbox workout.  An old favorite of mine that I usually do during my recovery week.  I burned about 220 calories.  My legs are starting to feel a little better.

Monday Doubles

Last night I had my usual Monday night doubles at TCCP.  My legs were still pretty fatigued, so it was tough, but I played OK.

This morning I did Insanity Core Cardio & Balance as part of my recovery week.  I burned about 190 calories.  My legs still felt pretty tired, but they've been improving throughout the day. 

It's amazing how that extra effort during a race can really wear you out!

Recovery

Well, I didn't do any significant additional activity yesterday.  I was pretty tired from the race, and my mother was visiting, so we enjoyed that. 

In fact, I wanted to get to bed early last night, but did not, so I skipped my morning workout today.  This is my recovery week, so I had planned to do some foam rolling, but I decided it would be better to get 45 minutes more sleep.  I did have the opportunity to slip in about 8 minutes of foam rolling on my hamstrings and IT band.  I'm still feeling pretty fatigued.

Before my half-marathon, I will definitely have to get more sleep!

10K Race!

Last night, I had a 3.5 doubles match.  Unfortunately Whitney and I lost: 6-2, 4-6, 0-1.  One of our opponents was left-handed.  In the first set, they played with her on the deuce side.  In the second set, they changed size, which really affected how we wanted to serve to them.  Also, the other opponent started have more success with her weird slice shots, which were hard to return.  It was frustrating to lose, because I think we could have won it!

This morning, I ran the Clyde's 10K in Columbia.  Going to bed after midnight after a 2-hour tennis match and getting up at 5:45am is really not the best idea for doing your best in the race.  The course was urban, being on streets and wide shoulders.  It was really hilly, which was painful.  Since the course was completely closed, they discouraged the use of headphones.  I didn't use them, but a lot of other people did.  I had to take a 1-min walking break at 4.5 mi and 5.0 mi.  The last quarter mile was downhill, which gave the chance to really build up the speed, but the very end was flat, so the finish was hard.  I was totally wasted.

I finished in 56:36, which I am very happy with!  I placed 508 out of 1209.  Among women 40 - 44, I was 24th out of 113.    There were a few spectators on the course, which was cool.  I have never been cheered on before!  I grabbed some yummy muffins and a cookie from the after-party.  I did not try the Clyde's chili - who eats chili at 9am?

Rest and Recovery

Not too much to post about today.  Usually Friday is my day off, but I have a match tonight, so my "day off" was yesterday afternoon/evening and this morning.

Yesterday afternoon/evening I did not workout.  We took a 20-minute walk through the neighborhood to see what's blooming.

This morning I did my shortened version of P90X2 Recovery + Mobility.  It felt good to foam roll.

Speed Intervals

Yesterday afternoon, my run was speed intervals on the treadmill.  I did 2 min x 9 at 7.2 mph alternating with 90 sec at 3.5mph.  With a 5 -min warm-up and cool-down at 3.5 mph.  This was definitely starting to push me.  At the end of each 2-min interval, I was very happy to slow down.  This totaled 3.54 miles in 41:30.

This morning I did Insanity the Asylum vol. 2 XTrainer and Ab Shredder.  This combination still kicks my butt!  I burned about 326 calories.

Doubles Win!

Last night in our 3.0 match, Michele and I won on #1 doubles.  We were playing a good team, so we were happy to win 6-3, 6-3.  In the first set, we started off a little slow, but soon started placing the ball and forcing errors.  In the second set, our opponents were definitely starting to adjust to us.  On strategy they started using was hitting to Michele's feet when she was at the net, which was really working.  So we decided that Michele should play back, and then I'd approach the net when I had an opportunity.  hat worked really well, and I enjoyed hitting a lot of overheads.  Unfortunately the team only won one other court in the match, so we lost overall.

This morning I did Insanity the Asylum vol. 2 Agility Tutorial and Pure Contact.  This turned into a real sweat-fest, as it's getting warmer outside and the house isn't cooling off as much over night.  I was still pretty tired from the late match last night, but did OK.  I burned 226 calories.

I am starting to get psyched to run my first 10K race this Sunday: Clyde's of Columbia 10K .  I've sent the organizers a couple questions and haven't heard back from them, unfortunately.  First, I want to know if there's a suggestion about where to park - I have no idea how busy the area will be.  Second, I want to know if they have restrictions on running with headphones.  I like to run with one earbud so that the music helps me keep my pace, but some races don't allow headphones at all.  Hopefully they will send me the answers!

Monday Doubles

My Monday night doubles last night went pretty well.  In the first round, my partner Jill and I were down 5-1 and came back to win 6-5.  My (different) partner and I won the second round 6-3.  The last round was just four games, and we lost 1-3.  I felt pretty good playing, probably because I didn't totally wear myself out the day before.

This morning I did P90X2 Plyocide.  I burned about 210 calories.  The last time for this workout for awhile.

Last Week of Cycle

This morning I started the last week of the my current workout cycle.  I'm going to have to decide what to do next, although next week will be a recovery week.

This morning I did Insanity the Asylum vol. 2 Agility Tutorial and Ab Shredder.  This went better than last Monday because I wasn't so sore in my legs!  I burned about 185 calories.

Happily I am not too sore from all my yard work yesterday.

Easy Win

Last night my 3.0 team had a match.  Fran and I won on #1 doubles 6-1, 6-0.  The opposing team is usually not very good, and they didn't change that last night.  We won all of the courts, except for a double default on #2 singles, because both teams had a sick player.  Fran and I won in about 70 minutes - it was really fast.

This morning I did my usual boxing class.  It was good, but nothing special.

I did a bunch of yard work this afternoon - the first clean-up after the winter.  I expect I'm going to be sore in unusual places tomorrow.

Long Run

Yesterday afternoon I did a 10-mile goal pace run.  It took 1:43:46.  It was definitely a hard run, since I think my legs were still sore and fatigued from the tempo run on Wednesday.  I took a 2-min break at 6.0 miles and had to take a bathroom break at 8.0 miles.

This morning I had a tennis practice.  We were outside, and it was nice and sunny, but it was SOOO windy.  We really had to chase the balls all over the place.  I'm not sure how effective it was for practice, but it may make tonight's match seem relatively easy - the balls will actually move as expected!  I played without the wrist brace this morning, and that seemed OK with my elbow.

Rest and Recovery

Yesterday afternoon/evening I did not do any physical activities.  It was my rest and recovery afternoon since I will not be resting this afternoon like usual.

This morning I did an extra short run through P90X2 Recovery + Mobility.  I typically only have time for the foam rolling and stretching.  Today I had to cut out some of the stretching, too, because I woke up to find several spots the cats had been sick that I had to clean up.  Fun.

This afternoon I am doing a 10-mile goal pace run.

Fast Tempo Run

Yesterday afternoon I was able to do an outside run.  It was time for the tempo run I postponed from last Sunday.  This was my second chance to use PaceDJ to help with my pace.  I wanted to go a little faster than my average last time (6.1 mph), so I increased the BPM from 160 to 162.  I did in fact get an average speed of 6.3 mph this time.  I ran 6.04 miles in 57:45.  This was a hard run, because I was really tired from the singles tennis the night before.  I had to take a 2-minute break at 3.0 miles and then 1-minute breaks at 5.0 and 5.5 miles.  It doesn't help that the beginning and end of the route I ran was really hilly.  The hills up at the end were killer.  So I'm not happy with the breaks, but I'm happy that I could pretty much do that speed.

Unfortunately, Pace DJ cut out four or five times during the run.  It just stopped.  When I pulled out my phone and started it, it acted like it was starting up all over again, so I think it really did quit.  Annoying.   That didn't happen in my first run with it.

This morning I did Insanity the Asylum vol. 2 XTrainer and Ab Shredder.  These were really hard this morning because I was still pretty tired from yesterday.  I did manage to get through, but it wasn't my best workout.

This afternoon/evening I am resting.  I have a match tomorrow, so I can't take a whole rest day tomorrow, so I'm making it be tonight and tomorrow morning.

Big Singles Win!

Last night I played #2 singles in our 3.0 match.  We were playing a very hard team, and I only put myself on singles when I don't have enough of our usual singles players.  I ended up playing the same woman that I played and beat in singles earlier this season (6-3, 6-4), who was very nice. However, with my tennis elbow, I was apprehensive about the singles.

I lost the first set 6-2.  I wouldn't say I played horribly, but I had a tendency to hit things a bit long, and I wasn't getting off the mark quickly enough to get some short balls.  In the second set, I kept my shots in better, and we played much more evenly.  The second set was especially exhausting, as we had some really, really long points.  And we weren't just hitting back and forth to each other - we were moving each other around the court and just managing to keep getting the ball back.  I was almost getting dizzy during some of the points because I was breathing so hard.

I won the second set 7-5.  We were pretty even until 4-4, then my opponent got up 5-4.  I'm happy that I managed to win the next three games.  Then the match tie-breaker:  we were pretty even until around 6-6, then I took it away and won 10-6.  It was a great match!

[Edit Apr. 3 to add this paragraph] I really think that my workouts with P90X2 and Insanity the Asylum vol. 2 have helped out my tennis a lot.  The stability, core strength, and agility training in the workouts have improved my strokes and especially helped out with the footwork to keep getting all over the court to get the ball.

Terri won her singles court, so we managed to win 2 courts out of 5 in the match, which is an improvement against that team!

This morning I woke up and felt like I had hardly slept - that was not helped by the fact that I didn't get to bed until almost 1:00am.  My legs were so fatigued.  I kept on my morning workout schedule, though, and did Insanity the Asylum vol. 2 Agility Tutorial and Pure Contact, burning about 225 calories.  It was tough working through that.  Fortunately, as I write this later in the afternoon, I'm feeling more recovered.

I had forgotten to record that I signed up for the Clyde's 10K on Sunday, Apr. 13, 2014.  This race is more expensive than I had really wanted to spring for, but I really want to get in a race longer than a 5K before my half marathon.  Hopefully the weather will be good!

Monday Night Doubles

Last night I played my usual doubles tennis at TCCP.  I played OK:  won two rounds, lost one round.    It was fun.

This morning I did P90X2 Plyocide.  My legs are finally not really sore, which was good for this workout.  I burned about 220 calories.