Today I started off with my usual Sunday boxing class. Between travel and the snowstorm, I haven't been to the class in awhile! The instructor is still the best of the bunch. It was a good class!
This afternoon, I did the next run on my training schedule, which was a 100-min easy run. I ran on the treadmill for 1:40:00 at 5.7 mph, which gave a distance of 9.5 mi. My legs were tired today, so I did take extra breaks. Between yesterday's tennis and The Master's Hammer and Chisel program, my legs have been getting a lot of work lately.
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Lots of Tennis
Yesterday was my rest day. In the morning, I did some foam rolling and stretching. I didn't do any other activity.
Today I had a practice with my tennis team. In the first round, my partner, Whitney, and I lost 4-3 - this was pretty good, because one of our opponents was really good. In the second round, my partner, Gloria, and I ended at 6-7, 2-1. In the third round, my partner, Fran, and I won 4-3. It was good to be playing again, since I haven't played since before my trip to Monterey.
This evening, I played in a 3.5 match with my team. I played #2 singles, and unfortunately I lost 3-6, 4-6. My opponent had some nice angled shots, but it wasn't a blow-out by any means. Our team won the rest of the courts, which got us an overall win.
Today I had a practice with my tennis team. In the first round, my partner, Whitney, and I lost 4-3 - this was pretty good, because one of our opponents was really good. In the second round, my partner, Gloria, and I ended at 6-7, 2-1. In the third round, my partner, Fran, and I won 4-3. It was good to be playing again, since I haven't played since before my trip to Monterey.
This evening, I played in a 3.5 match with my team. I played #2 singles, and unfortunately I lost 3-6, 4-6. My opponent had some nice angled shots, but it wasn't a blow-out by any means. Our team won the rest of the courts, which got us an overall win.
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Extra Boxing
Yesterday evening, I went to a boxing class. I wanted to do something different than all the running I've been doing lately. I went to a class by the same instructor as I did last Friday, and the two cl plasses were pretty much identical. That reminded me of why I don't usually go to that instructor's classes very often. The combinations and exercises he does are pretty good, but it's boring to do exactly the same thing each time. I did feel like I had more energy than usual.
This morning I did the next workout in The Master's Hammer and Chisel program, and was Max Hammer Strength. This was an interesting workout. First, you did 60-sec of bodyweight moves to pre-fatigue a specific muscle, and then you did 8 reps of a similar move with as heavy weights as possible. It was kind of nice using the heavy weights, although I really needed heavier weights for some moves. I have individual dumbbells up to 25 lbs. Above that, I have old-fashioned adjustable plate dumbbells, which are annoying to use, and their shape is often inconvenient for a move. I think I may get some 30-lb dumbbells. In this workout, I burned about 90 calories.
This afternoon after work, I did an easy run on the treadmill. I ran at 5.7 mph for 1 hour, so the distance came to 5.7 mi. This was a boring run for some reason.
This morning I did the next workout in The Master's Hammer and Chisel program, and was Max Hammer Strength. This was an interesting workout. First, you did 60-sec of bodyweight moves to pre-fatigue a specific muscle, and then you did 8 reps of a similar move with as heavy weights as possible. It was kind of nice using the heavy weights, although I really needed heavier weights for some moves. I have individual dumbbells up to 25 lbs. Above that, I have old-fashioned adjustable plate dumbbells, which are annoying to use, and their shape is often inconvenient for a move. I think I may get some 30-lb dumbbells. In this workout, I burned about 90 calories.
This afternoon after work, I did an easy run on the treadmill. I ran at 5.7 mph for 1 hour, so the distance came to 5.7 mi. This was a boring run for some reason.
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Easy Run
Yesterday after work, I did an easy run on the treadmill. My easy pace is up to 5.7 mph, so I ran at that speed for 1 hour, which gave a distance of 5.7 mi. This wasn't hard in terms of cardio, but my legs are tired from Hammer and Chisel.
This morning, I did the next workout in The Master's Hammer and Chisel program, which was Chisel Cardio. This was different cardio than I'm used to, because it did involve weights. The idea was to do the moves for a whole minute, which gets your heart rate up. This was a decent workout. I think all the step-up moves on the bench are good for me, which is why I find them hard. I burned about 130 calories.
This morning, I did the next workout in The Master's Hammer and Chisel program, which was Chisel Cardio. This was different cardio than I'm used to, because it did involve weights. The idea was to do the moves for a whole minute, which gets your heart rate up. This was a decent workout. I think all the step-up moves on the bench are good for me, which is why I find them hard. I burned about 130 calories.
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Speed Intervals
Yesterday afternoon, I did the next run on my training schedule, which had speed intervals. I did 16 x 2:15 at 6.8 mph, alternating with 16 x 1:30 at 5.0 mph. The time for this added up to 60 minutes. I ran on my treadmill, which happily managed to make it through the workout - I keep expecting it to die at any time. The first half of the workout went pretty well. I ended up taking some extra breaks in the second half. It felt kind of good to be doing something other than an easy run. The distance came to 6.09 mi.
This morning, I did the next workout in The Master's Hammer and Chisel, which was Chisel Endurance. This was a pretty good workout. The moves where you step up on the bench were a challenge - I keep wanting to trip. I burned about 120 calories.
This morning, I did the next workout in The Master's Hammer and Chisel, which was Chisel Endurance. This was a pretty good workout. The moves where you step up on the bench were a challenge - I keep wanting to trip. I burned about 120 calories.
Monday, January 25, 2016
Stuck at Home
We are still stuck at home because of the huge snow storm! We got about 24 inches of snow, which is record-breaking for this area. It's taking forever for the roads to be cleared.
Yesterday morning, my husband and I did more shoveling. We had to clear lots of snow off of our cars, because the wind had made it drift quite deeply on top of them. One of our shovels broke, so that was pretty much all the shoveling we could do together. My husband finished the rest in the afternoon. That was fine by me! My left biceps and forearm were really sore from supporting the shovel blade with full load, and my upper back and shoulders were sore from throwing shovel-fuls of snow onto piles as tall as me!
Yesterday afternoon, I did an easy run on the treadmill. I ran at 5.6 mph for 50 min, so the distance came to 4.66 mi. I was just feeling too tired and sore in general to run more. I've definitely become more efficient at running. According to my Basis Peak, these days I only burn about 5 - 6 cal/min during my easy runs, so my 50 minutes of running only burned 250 - 300 calories! How depressing!
But part of the reason I've gotten so efficient is that I've run a lot in the past couple weeks. Running is my go-anywhere exercise, so I did a lot of running when we were in Monterey. And now that we're stuck in the house, that's what I'm doing, too. In the week of Jan. 17 - 23, I ran the most distance I've ever done in a week: 41.1 miles! My two long runs happened to be Sunday and then Saturday, 6 days apart instead of 7, and so it really added up. It was also the longest duration in time that I've run in a week, 7:16:25, all according to RunKeeper. Since November 2013, when I started using RunKeeper, I've run 1468 miles!
This morning, I did the next workout on my schedule for The Master's Hammer and Chisel. This was Total Body Hammer and 10-Min Hammer Abs. My time estimate for these was a bit high, so fortunately they didn't take 60 minutes like I thought they would. Total Hammer was a good workout, with two progressive sets of three exercises. My hands and forearms weren't very happy about holding the weights today. I've really been discovering with this workout program how much weaker my left leg is than my right, so it's been good. I burned about 145 calories with the two workouts.
Yesterday morning, my husband and I did more shoveling. We had to clear lots of snow off of our cars, because the wind had made it drift quite deeply on top of them. One of our shovels broke, so that was pretty much all the shoveling we could do together. My husband finished the rest in the afternoon. That was fine by me! My left biceps and forearm were really sore from supporting the shovel blade with full load, and my upper back and shoulders were sore from throwing shovel-fuls of snow onto piles as tall as me!
Yesterday afternoon, I did an easy run on the treadmill. I ran at 5.6 mph for 50 min, so the distance came to 4.66 mi. I was just feeling too tired and sore in general to run more. I've definitely become more efficient at running. According to my Basis Peak, these days I only burn about 5 - 6 cal/min during my easy runs, so my 50 minutes of running only burned 250 - 300 calories! How depressing!
But part of the reason I've gotten so efficient is that I've run a lot in the past couple weeks. Running is my go-anywhere exercise, so I did a lot of running when we were in Monterey. And now that we're stuck in the house, that's what I'm doing, too. In the week of Jan. 17 - 23, I ran the most distance I've ever done in a week: 41.1 miles! My two long runs happened to be Sunday and then Saturday, 6 days apart instead of 7, and so it really added up. It was also the longest duration in time that I've run in a week, 7:16:25, all according to RunKeeper. Since November 2013, when I started using RunKeeper, I've run 1468 miles!
This morning, I did the next workout on my schedule for The Master's Hammer and Chisel. This was Total Body Hammer and 10-Min Hammer Abs. My time estimate for these was a bit high, so fortunately they didn't take 60 minutes like I thought they would. Total Hammer was a good workout, with two progressive sets of three exercises. My hands and forearms weren't very happy about holding the weights today. I've really been discovering with this workout program how much weaker my left leg is than my right, so it's been good. I burned about 145 calories with the two workouts.
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Long Run
Yesterday at noon, I did a boxing class. This is definitely not my usual class, since I'm usually at work. However, the university was closed and the whole area was starting to shut down in preparation for the big snowstorm that was coming for the weekend. I knew I'd be doing a lot of running on the treadmill while everything was closed down, so it seemed like a good idea to do some different activity while I could.
The boxing was OK. It was not my favorite instructor. Also, I had tweaked my left knee while golfing last weekend (of all the things I do, THAT's the one that messed up my knee), and it was really bothering me during the jump rope warm up. Then we did some sprinting, and my knee was not happy about that. My hamstrings also didn't want to do much sprinting - they weren't sore, they just weren't doing a heck of a lot. I really need to do some work on the fast-twitch muscles. I've definitely gotten a lot more efficient at the long and slow work of running.
Yesterday evening and overnight, we got about 16 inches of snow. This morning my husband and I shoveled a bunch of it, even though the storm wasn't done. I could feel that my back wasn't happy about the shoveling, so I tried to squat with each shovel and used my legs. That's a lot of squatting! My husband had also shoveled some last night.
Then, after lunch, I did the next run on my training schedule, which was a 2-hr easy run I ran on the treadmill at 5.6 mph, so the distance came to 11.2 mi. I took a lot of breaks on the rails, as my legs were tired from the shoveling. While I was running, my husband shoveled more - we had gotten another 5 - 6 inches.
The boxing was OK. It was not my favorite instructor. Also, I had tweaked my left knee while golfing last weekend (of all the things I do, THAT's the one that messed up my knee), and it was really bothering me during the jump rope warm up. Then we did some sprinting, and my knee was not happy about that. My hamstrings also didn't want to do much sprinting - they weren't sore, they just weren't doing a heck of a lot. I really need to do some work on the fast-twitch muscles. I've definitely gotten a lot more efficient at the long and slow work of running.
Yesterday evening and overnight, we got about 16 inches of snow. This morning my husband and I shoveled a bunch of it, even though the storm wasn't done. I could feel that my back wasn't happy about the shoveling, so I tried to squat with each shovel and used my legs. That's a lot of squatting! My husband had also shoveled some last night.
Then, after lunch, I did the next run on my training schedule, which was a 2-hr easy run I ran on the treadmill at 5.6 mph, so the distance came to 11.2 mi. I took a lot of breaks on the rails, as my legs were tired from the shoveling. While I was running, my husband shoveled more - we had gotten another 5 - 6 inches.
Friday, January 22, 2016
Easy Long Run
Yesterday after work, I did the next run on my training schedule, which was a 90-min easy run. I ran on the treadmill at 5.6 mph, so the distance came to 8.4 mi. This really did feel like a pretty easy run - I was just mostly bored, despite the shows I watched.
This morning I did the next The Master's Hammer & Chisel workout, which was Iso Speed Hammer. This was an interesting workout, because each move was done at tempo pace and then at a fast pace. I feel like the workout missed the mark a bit, though, because the tempo reps seemed to be rather fast, too. Overall, the workout was very short - just under 25 min with the warm-up and cool-down. I burned about 85 calories.
This morning I did the next The Master's Hammer & Chisel workout, which was Iso Speed Hammer. This was an interesting workout, because each move was done at tempo pace and then at a fast pace. I feel like the workout missed the mark a bit, though, because the tempo reps seemed to be rather fast, too. Overall, the workout was very short - just under 25 min with the warm-up and cool-down. I burned about 85 calories.
Thursday, January 21, 2016
The Match That Didn't Happen
Yesterday morning I did the second workout in The Master's Hammer & Chisel program, which was Hammer Plyometrics. This had a lot of interesting plyo moves - some tried-and-true, and some newer. The whole workout, with warm-up and cool-down, was 25 minutes, so short and sweet. I burned about 100 calories.
After the first two workouts in The Master's Hammer & Chisel, I was definitely sore, especially my legs. Hopefully that's a good sign that the new program is doing something! Or maybe just that I had too much time off from traditional workouts over Christmas.
Yesterday after work I was supposed to have a tennis match with my 3.5 team. However, during the evening rush hour, it started snowing lightly. The problems started because it was so cold that the snow froze into ice on the roads almost immediately. There were lots of accidents and traffic was at a standstill. There was no way any of us were going to get to the match, so the other captain and I called it off. Fortunately MCTA was OK with that, and it will be rescheduled.
This morning, I did the next H & C workout, Iso Strength Chisel. This was a very different workout, with alternating reps and holds. It was definitely hard. Again, it focused a lot on the legs. In 35 minutes, I burned about 145 calories.
After the first two workouts in The Master's Hammer & Chisel, I was definitely sore, especially my legs. Hopefully that's a good sign that the new program is doing something! Or maybe just that I had too much time off from traditional workouts over Christmas.
Yesterday after work I was supposed to have a tennis match with my 3.5 team. However, during the evening rush hour, it started snowing lightly. The problems started because it was so cold that the snow froze into ice on the roads almost immediately. There were lots of accidents and traffic was at a standstill. There was no way any of us were going to get to the match, so the other captain and I called it off. Fortunately MCTA was OK with that, and it will be rescheduled.
This morning, I did the next H & C workout, Iso Strength Chisel. This was a very different workout, with alternating reps and holds. It was definitely hard. Again, it focused a lot on the legs. In 35 minutes, I burned about 145 calories.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
A Run in CA and a Run in MD
Yesterday morning, I did another outside run in Monterey. This was a short one, since we had to start our drive to the airport, and I was tired from my really big run the day before. I ran for 29:15, and the distance was 2.7 mi. This gives an average speed of 5.53 mph, which I'm quite suspicious of. With the hills and my tired legs, I felt like I was moving so slowly. I suspect that the GPS skipped a bit, although I don't see anything obvious in the tracking map.
We flew home yesterday. This morning, I started the Beachbody The Master's Hammer & Chisel program. I am adapting the schedule, since I have other things I'm doing as well, so the 60-day program is going to take more like 75 days. This morning was Chisel Balance, which turned out to be more challenging than I expected. Two of the balance moves were really tough. The first move, which was a 1-legged squat to sit on the bench was very hard, especially on my left leg. The last move, a 1-legged row and pistol squat, was also hard. Well, I guess that means there's room for improvement! I burned about 160 calories in 40 min, which was a surprise.
Today after work, I did an easy run on the treadmill. I ran at 5.6 mph for 50 min, giving a distance of 4.66 mi. This did feel like an easy run, which I was happy about. My legs were still a little twingy from my very long run on Sunday.
We flew home yesterday. This morning, I started the Beachbody The Master's Hammer & Chisel program. I am adapting the schedule, since I have other things I'm doing as well, so the 60-day program is going to take more like 75 days. This morning was Chisel Balance, which turned out to be more challenging than I expected. Two of the balance moves were really tough. The first move, which was a 1-legged squat to sit on the bench was very hard, especially on my left leg. The last move, a 1-legged row and pistol squat, was also hard. Well, I guess that means there's room for improvement! I burned about 160 calories in 40 min, which was a surprise.
Today after work, I did an easy run on the treadmill. I ran at 5.6 mph for 50 min, giving a distance of 4.66 mi. This did feel like an easy run, which I was happy about. My legs were still a little twingy from my very long run on Sunday.
Sunday, January 17, 2016
My Longest Run Ever!
Yesterday, I went golfing with a lot of my husband's family in Monterey. I really have started to dislike golf, but they needed me to fill out the second foursome. The course was pretty and interesting, and fortunately it didn't rain and wasn't too too cold. I planned ahead with a lot of layers and was OK. No rain was key.
Today, I went to the gym Fitness Evolution in Monterey to get a day pass to use the treadmill. The next run on my training schedule was for race-pace intervals. I had to do 10 x 1 mi at 6.3 mph (9:30 min/mi), alternating with 10 x 5 min at 5.0 mph (12:00 min/mi). Following those paces and times, the distance comes to 14.16 mi, which is the farthest I've ever run at once! One time previously, I ran 14 mi. The time for this added up to 2:25:00.
This was a hard run for a number of reasons. First, doing the race-pace intervals is hard. The first few were OK, especially since I was watching a movie, but they definitely get hard. However, the run was made much harder than it really had to be because of the stupidity of the treadmill I was using. It would automatically pause (i.e., stop) if no one was running on it for 30 seconds. I suppose that is a good safety feature, but it's annoying for taking breaks on the side rails. Then, it also defaults to only allowing 20-min runs, which is annoying when I was going to be running almost 2.5 hours. Later on, I figured out that I could increase this time to 60 min, but then the pausing would sometimes reset that. Overall, that was very frustrating.
To make it even worse, I was having trouble watching the movie on my Kindle. I was naturally sweating a ton and spraying sweat all over, including on my Kindle. The sweat droplets sometimes acted like touches on the Kindle. Mostly it liked to jump my movie to different parts of the movie, and then I had to fiddle with it to get back to where I was. Often, that caused me to stop running for more than 30 sec, so the stupid treadmill paused, and I had to reset that.
In total, the run was a hard and frustrating experience. Because of the treadmill and Kindle issues, I know that I ran a lot less than I was supposed to, although I tried to lose the most time during the 5-min rest portions.
Today, I went to the gym Fitness Evolution in Monterey to get a day pass to use the treadmill. The next run on my training schedule was for race-pace intervals. I had to do 10 x 1 mi at 6.3 mph (9:30 min/mi), alternating with 10 x 5 min at 5.0 mph (12:00 min/mi). Following those paces and times, the distance comes to 14.16 mi, which is the farthest I've ever run at once! One time previously, I ran 14 mi. The time for this added up to 2:25:00.
This was a hard run for a number of reasons. First, doing the race-pace intervals is hard. The first few were OK, especially since I was watching a movie, but they definitely get hard. However, the run was made much harder than it really had to be because of the stupidity of the treadmill I was using. It would automatically pause (i.e., stop) if no one was running on it for 30 seconds. I suppose that is a good safety feature, but it's annoying for taking breaks on the side rails. Then, it also defaults to only allowing 20-min runs, which is annoying when I was going to be running almost 2.5 hours. Later on, I figured out that I could increase this time to 60 min, but then the pausing would sometimes reset that. Overall, that was very frustrating.
To make it even worse, I was having trouble watching the movie on my Kindle. I was naturally sweating a ton and spraying sweat all over, including on my Kindle. The sweat droplets sometimes acted like touches on the Kindle. Mostly it liked to jump my movie to different parts of the movie, and then I had to fiddle with it to get back to where I was. Often, that caused me to stop running for more than 30 sec, so the stupid treadmill paused, and I had to reset that.
In total, the run was a hard and frustrating experience. Because of the treadmill and Kindle issues, I know that I ran a lot less than I was supposed to, although I tried to lose the most time during the 5-min rest portions.
Friday, January 15, 2016
Run in Monterey
Yesterday, my husband and I traveled to Monterey, CA, for a surprise birthday party for my father-in-law. We and a bunch of family are staying in a huge mansion that is technically in Carmel. This morning, I did I run on the road the house is on, which leads to a county park with some nice trails. I ran 4.38 mi in 51:19, which was an average speed of 5.12 mph. This run was very hilly! But it was pretty and cool. Quite a different run from the usual for me.
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Long Run
Yesterday before work, I did P90X2 X2 Shoulders + Arms. I increased my reps on a few moves. I burned about 120 calories.
After work, I did the next run on my training schedule, which was a 90-min easy run. I ran at 5.6 mph on the treadmill. I had serious technical problems, though. My streaming video stopped 5 minutes into the show, which was annoying. But then my treadmill randomly emergency stopped a couple times. It's really starting to have problems. Assuming I ran for exactly 90 minutes, the distance should have totaled 8.4 mi. I did a run pretty close to this.
After work, I did the next run on my training schedule, which was a 90-min easy run. I ran at 5.6 mph on the treadmill. I had serious technical problems, though. My streaming video stopped 5 minutes into the show, which was annoying. But then my treadmill randomly emergency stopped a couple times. It's really starting to have problems. Assuming I ran for exactly 90 minutes, the distance should have totaled 8.4 mi. I did a run pretty close to this.
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Two Days
Yesterday morning, I did P90X2 Chest + Back + Balance. I increased my reps on a number of moves, mostly pull-ups, which was nice. I burned about 140 calories.
Yesterday evening, I had my usual Monday night tennis doubles at TCCP. In the first round, my partner, Jessica, and I won 6-4. In the second round, my partner, Donna, and I lost 6-1. In the last round, my partner, Whitney, and I tied, 2-2. I played reasonably well.
This morning, I did P90X2 X2 Core. Over the weekend, I inflated my stability ball better, and it's much firmer now. It really made a difference and made a number of the moves easier to do. I burned about 130 calories.
Today after work, I had wanted to go to cardio tennis at TCCP, but it was canceled because not enough people signed up. So I came home and did an easy run on the treadmill. I ran for 60 minutes at 5.6 mph, so the distance was 5.6 mi. This run felt reasonably easy.
Yesterday evening, I had my usual Monday night tennis doubles at TCCP. In the first round, my partner, Jessica, and I won 6-4. In the second round, my partner, Donna, and I lost 6-1. In the last round, my partner, Whitney, and I tied, 2-2. I played reasonably well.
This morning, I did P90X2 X2 Core. Over the weekend, I inflated my stability ball better, and it's much firmer now. It really made a difference and made a number of the moves easier to do. I burned about 130 calories.
Today after work, I had wanted to go to cardio tennis at TCCP, but it was canceled because not enough people signed up. So I came home and did an easy run on the treadmill. I ran for 60 minutes at 5.6 mph, so the distance was 5.6 mi. This run felt reasonably easy.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Long Run
Today I did the next run on my training schedule, which was a 110-min easy run. I ran at 5.6 mph on the treadmill for the appropriate time, which came to a distance of 10.2 mi. This was not as easy as I was hoping, as my legs are a little sore from plyometrics on Friday and boxing yesterday.
Saturday, January 9, 2016
Busy Day
This morning, I went to a boxing class. I don't usually go on Saturday mornings because I have other activities, but it worked out today. Unfortunately, an instructor that I really don't like was subbing. Blah. I did burn a lot of calories, but I just don't like how he does things.
After the boxing class, I went to a fitness equipment store to try out treadmills. My 15-year-old NordicTrack Apex 4100 is about to bite the dust. It's on its fourth belt, and it's having other problems. My husband and I agreed that we'd get me a new treadmill after Christmas.
After some research on the Runner's World's fora, I decided to look at Precor, Spirit, and True treadmills. This store had Precors and Spirits to try out. I ran on a Spirit 485, Precor 211, and Precor 223. The Spirit was the cheapest, and happily enough, I liked it the best. It's certainly a lot quieter than my current treadmill, but that's really not saying much. I liked the set up of the console and the arms, and it felt fine to run on. I ran and walked a little over a mile on it. It also goes up to a 15% incline, which I can't imagine using, but it's notable.
The Precor 211 doesn't have arms, and that turned out to really bother me. The console is also very minimal, without much space to set a phone or tablet, and not much in term of quick-buttons. I didn't bother to run on it much. The Precor 223 had arms and a better console, but I thought it felt clunkier to run on. Also, the tablet-holder on the console stuck up high enough that I think it would block my TV view at home. Given that it was almost $1000 more than the Spirit, it didn't seem worth choosing it.
So, hopefully I will get the Spirit 485 in a couple weeks. The salesman gave me the sale price for New Year's, so it is not as expensive as I thought it would be, although the delivery/assembly and take-away of my old one add to the cost.
This afternoon, I had an indoor tennis practice with my team. In the first round, my partner, Shelley, and I got creamed, 6-1, 3-0. We weren't playing that badly, but our opponents were playing really well. In the second round, my partner, Jill, and I did well, with a score of 7-6, 1-1. In the last round, my partner, Whitney, and I won 6-2, 1-1. We played well together.
After the boxing class, I went to a fitness equipment store to try out treadmills. My 15-year-old NordicTrack Apex 4100 is about to bite the dust. It's on its fourth belt, and it's having other problems. My husband and I agreed that we'd get me a new treadmill after Christmas.
After some research on the Runner's World's fora, I decided to look at Precor, Spirit, and True treadmills. This store had Precors and Spirits to try out. I ran on a Spirit 485, Precor 211, and Precor 223. The Spirit was the cheapest, and happily enough, I liked it the best. It's certainly a lot quieter than my current treadmill, but that's really not saying much. I liked the set up of the console and the arms, and it felt fine to run on. I ran and walked a little over a mile on it. It also goes up to a 15% incline, which I can't imagine using, but it's notable.
The Precor 211 doesn't have arms, and that turned out to really bother me. The console is also very minimal, without much space to set a phone or tablet, and not much in term of quick-buttons. I didn't bother to run on it much. The Precor 223 had arms and a better console, but I thought it felt clunkier to run on. Also, the tablet-holder on the console stuck up high enough that I think it would block my TV view at home. Given that it was almost $1000 more than the Spirit, it didn't seem worth choosing it.
So, hopefully I will get the Spirit 485 in a couple weeks. The salesman gave me the sale price for New Year's, so it is not as expensive as I thought it would be, although the delivery/assembly and take-away of my old one add to the cost.
This afternoon, I had an indoor tennis practice with my team. In the first round, my partner, Shelley, and I got creamed, 6-1, 3-0. We weren't playing that badly, but our opponents were playing really well. In the second round, my partner, Jill, and I did well, with a score of 7-6, 1-1. In the last round, my partner, Whitney, and I won 6-2, 1-1. We played well together.
Friday, January 8, 2016
Extra Easy Run
Yesterday after work I had been planning to do cardio tennis at TCCP. However, there weren't enough people signed up for it, so it was canceled.
Instead, I did an easy run on the treadmill instead. I ran for 60 min at 5.6 mph, so the distance came to 5.6 mi. This seemed like a really boring run.
This morning, I did P90X2 Plyocide. I haven't done this workout for quite awhile, and it was hard. That means it's good for me, I suppose. I didn't do the neurointegrated stretching at the end, but did my own stretching. I burned about 215 calories, even so.
Instead, I did an easy run on the treadmill instead. I ran for 60 min at 5.6 mph, so the distance came to 5.6 mi. This seemed like a really boring run.
This morning, I did P90X2 Plyocide. I haven't done this workout for quite awhile, and it was hard. That means it's good for me, I suppose. I didn't do the neurointegrated stretching at the end, but did my own stretching. I burned about 215 calories, even so.
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Easy Run
Yesterday after work, I did the next run on my training schedule, which was an 80-min easy run. I ran on the treadmill at 5.6 mph for 80 minutes, which came to a distance of 7.45 mi. This run felt pretty blah - I don't think I was in the mood. I have switched back to my previous running shoes to test the hypothesis that my current running shoes are contributing to my lower back pain. I'm really not sure that that's the case, but we'll see.
This morning, I did P90X2 X2 Shoulders + Arms. I burned about 115 calories. I increased my reps on a few moves.
This morning, I did P90X2 X2 Shoulders + Arms. I burned about 115 calories. I increased my reps on a few moves.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Combo Match
Last night I played my first 6.5 combo match of the season. Unfortunately, my partner, Joan, and I lost 6-2, 6-3. One of the players we played against was a 3.5 that Joan and I lost to at the end of last season - very frustrating! The other two courts both went to match tie-breakers - we won one and lost one. Too bad to not get an overall win for the first match.
This morning, I did P90X2 X2 Core. I really tried to emphasize keeping my body straight in the moves and not stick my butt up. I burned about 130 calories.
This morning, I did P90X2 X2 Core. I really tried to emphasize keeping my body straight in the moves and not stick my butt up. I burned about 130 calories.
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Monday Night Doubles
Yesterday we drove back home to Silver Spring. Last night, I had my usual Monday night tennis doubles at TCCP. It was good to be back playing tennis! My partner, Jill, and I lost our first round 6-2, but we were playing a really good pair, and we kept all of the games close. In the second round, I lost at singles 6-5. I had been ahead 5-3, but couldn't hold on to it. In the last round, my partner, Lindsay, and I lost 3-1.
This morning, I did P90X2 Chest + Back + Balance. I really feel this workout when I do it! I burned about 110 calories.
This morning, I did P90X2 Chest + Back + Balance. I really feel this workout when I do it! I burned about 110 calories.
Sunday, January 3, 2016
Two Runs
Yesterday, I did the next run on my training schedule, which was an 80-min easy run. Since I like to watch something while doing a run that long, I went to the local YMCA to use the treadmill. In the 80 minutes, I ran 7.45 mi. This run did feel a bit hard on my hamstrings.
My lower back has really been bothering me again. I think the fact that I'm running more than usual and I'm not stretching as much is what's causing it, similar to the situation I was in in September when visiting Grosse Pointe for my mother-in-law's funeral. I've been trying to be good and stretch more, but we'll see how it goes.
Today, since it is Sunday, the YMCA wasn't open in the morning, so I did my run outside. I went to the same paved trail along the river that I did on New Year's Day. The temperature was a bit below freezing, but at least it wasn't windy, and it wasn't snowing, at least when I started running. By my turn-around point, it had started precipitating very small pellets of snow/ice. Fortunately the precipitation rate was pretty low, so it didn't bother me too much. In 1:00:36, I ran 5.56 mi, which was an average speed of 5.5 mph. Not bad! Even better, my splits were all negative on the run. Considering the conditions and the run I did yesterday, I'm very happy with that. A bonus I discovered about these cold winter runs in Franklin is that since there is pretty much NO ONE else on the trails, I can see along to my 80s pop music while I run and not bother anyone! Ha!
My lower back has really been bothering me again. I think the fact that I'm running more than usual and I'm not stretching as much is what's causing it, similar to the situation I was in in September when visiting Grosse Pointe for my mother-in-law's funeral. I've been trying to be good and stretch more, but we'll see how it goes.
Today, since it is Sunday, the YMCA wasn't open in the morning, so I did my run outside. I went to the same paved trail along the river that I did on New Year's Day. The temperature was a bit below freezing, but at least it wasn't windy, and it wasn't snowing, at least when I started running. By my turn-around point, it had started precipitating very small pellets of snow/ice. Fortunately the precipitation rate was pretty low, so it didn't bother me too much. In 1:00:36, I ran 5.56 mi, which was an average speed of 5.5 mph. Not bad! Even better, my splits were all negative on the run. Considering the conditions and the run I did yesterday, I'm very happy with that. A bonus I discovered about these cold winter runs in Franklin is that since there is pretty much NO ONE else on the trails, I can see along to my 80s pop music while I run and not bother anyone! Ha!
Friday, January 1, 2016
Snow Run
Yesterday, Bill and I traveled up to Franklin, PA to visit my mom, my sister, and family for the holidays. This morning, the local YMCA was closed because it was New Year's Day, so I couldn't run there. I decided to brave the weather and do a run outside on the paved trail near the river.
It was snowing lightly the whole time, and the temperature was a few degrees below freezing. I wore a couple long-sleeved shirts and a wind-breaker, along with running leggings and light gloves. That really was enough to keep me warm during the run. I ran 4.86 mi in 53:47, which gave an average speed of 5.42 mph. That wasn't bad at all for the conditions.
It was snowing lightly the whole time, and the temperature was a few degrees below freezing. I wore a couple long-sleeved shirts and a wind-breaker, along with running leggings and light gloves. That really was enough to keep me warm during the run. I ran 4.86 mi in 53:47, which gave an average speed of 5.42 mph. That wasn't bad at all for the conditions.
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