Thursday, April 28, 2016

Tennis Practice

Last night after work, I had a practice with my tennis team.  It was a little chilly and gray, but we had some good tennis.  In the first round, my partner, Bhanu, and I won 6-3, which was a bit unexpected, given our opponents.  We definitely had a lot of good games.  In the second round, I played singles against one of our most consistent 3.5 singles players, and got creamed 0-6, 4-6.  She is very good about placing her shots exactly where she wants them.

This morning, I did the P90X3 workout The Challenge.  In total, I did 221 push-ups and 39 pull-ups (unassisted), which was good!  I can definitely do more push-ups next time.  I burned a whopping 75 calories!  Ha!

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Easy Run

Yesterday after work, I did the next run on my training schedule, which was a 60-min easy run.  I did this outside on the Sligo Creek Trail.  In 57:20, I ran 5.17 mi, which was an average speed of 5.4 mph.  I won't run in that direction on the trail again, because there are too many street crossings with long waits at the traffic lights!

My Basis Peak gave much more consistent and reasonable heart rate readings during this run.  This was the first time I had run since I reinstalled the firmware for the Peak, as per the support person's instructions.  Hopefully this will fix the problems!  I still have to try it running on the treadmill.

After my run, I did some extra stretching for my back and foam rolling.  I'm trying to take care of my sore back and sore glute/hamstring!

This morning, I did the P90X3 workout The Warrior.  This is a mix of cardio and strength moves.  It's not my favorite, but it does go quickly.  I burned about 150 calories.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Tennis Doubles

Yesterday morning, I did a P90X3 workout, Total Synergistics.  I burned about 95 calories.

Yesterday evening, I had my usual tennis doubles at TCCP.  Unlike Sunday afternoon, I actually played pretty well!  In the first round, my partner, Abby, and I won 6-4; this was a very good round, since our opponents were quite good.  In the second round, my partner, Sally, and I won 6-5, in another close round.  In the last round, my partner, Valerie, and I tied 2-2 when we ran out of time.  It was a fun night!

This morning, I did another P90X3 workout, Triometrics.  This is a pretty good workout, with a combination of leg and balance work along with plyometrics.  I'm still really feeling the pull in my left upper hamstring/glute.  I was hoping it would heal up a little faster, but apparently it's not going to.  I burned about 160 calories.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Busy Sunday

This weekend has just been packed!  This morning we got groceries like usual, and then I did some yard work before lunch.  After lunch, I changed the cat litter and then went to a practice with my tennis team.

Unfortunately I played horribly today.  I'm just tired, I think, and doing everything a little bit off.  In the first round, my partner, Jody, and I lost 6-2 - blah.  In the second round, my partner, Cora, and I lost 7-5 and then evened it up at 2-2, if I remember right.  In the last round, my partner, Bhanu, and I won 5-2.  That was all her effort, since I was still playing badly.

After practice, I cleaned the floors and we had dinner.  We are trying to get everything done early so we can watch Game of Thrones and go to bed!  It's been a very busy weekend!

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Busy Saturday

Yesterday was my rest day.  I did some stretching and foam rolling before work.

This morning, I had planned a practice with my tennis team, but it was raining, so we had to cancel.  Instead, I did the next run on my training schedule, which was a 2-hour easy run.  I ran on the treadmill at 5.7 mph, so the distance came to 11.3 mi.  This run was just OK.  My left upper hamstring is still bothering me.

This afternoon, my husband and I went biking on Rock Creek Trail.  We biked 15.75 mi in 1:26:03.  That gave an average speed of 11 mph.  That was maybe a little slow, but there are definitely a lot of hills.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Two Runs

Yesterday after work, I did the next run on my training schedule, which was a 90-min easy run.  I did this on the treadmill.  I ran at 5.7 mph, so the distance came to 8.47 mi.  My hamstring and calf were bothering me, so this run did not go very well.  I took a lot of breaks on the rails.

This morning, I changed things up for my workout.  I've been getting burned out on The Master's Hammer and Chisel, so even though I'd planned to continue with it for this week and next week, I stopped today.  Today I did P90X3 Total Synergistics.  I burned about 100 calories.  I'm going to do a few weeks of mostly body-weight work before my goal race on May 21.  Hopefully this will help my legs get more rested, since I'm not stressing them with the heavy weights.

Today after work, I had wanted to go to cardio tennis at TCCP, but again it wasn't held because not enough people had signed up.  So I came home to do a run.  I wanted to run outside, but it looked like it might rain, so I ran on the treadmill.  It didn't rain, of course.  I ran for 1 hour at 5.7 mph, so the distance came to 5.65 mi.  This run felt better than yesterday's.

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Tennis Loss

Last night, I had a match with my 3.5 tennis team.  Unfortunately, my partner, Nicole, and I lost 6-2, 3-6, 0-1.  After warming up in the first few games, we really dominated the first set.  Our opponents didn't make that many mistakes - they had trouble handling Nicole's blasting groundstrokes.  In the second set, they did better with Nicole's returns, and they started doing some better strategic lobs.  We were close in the match tie-breaker until I double-faulted about halfway through and we made a few more mistakes.  Ah, well.  It was a really fun match, because there were lots and lots of good points, and it was very competitive.  Unfortunately my team lost all of the courts in the match - we were playing one of the top teams.

This morning, I did The Master's Hammer and Chisel Hammer Plyometrics.  I increased my reps on some moves, which was good.  I am feeling some soreness in my upper left hamstring from sprinting after some drop shots in the tennis match last night, but it bothers me mostly when I'm sitting on my butt!  I burned about 115 calories.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Monday Night Doubles

Yesterday morning, I did the next workout in The Master's Hammer and Chisel, which was Chisel Endurance.  This went pretty well, and I burned about 135 calories.

Yesterday evening, I played my usual Monday night tennis doubles at TCCP.  My play was really up and down.  In the first round, my partner, Sally, and I won 6-2; we really just outplayed our opponents.  In the second round, my partner, Donna, and I lost 6-0 - in this case we were outplayed by our opponents.  In the third round, my partner, Lindsay and I lost 6-4 - this was a much more balanced match.  It was all fun, although the second round was frustrating.

This morning, I did another Hammer and Chisel workout, which was Chisel Agility.  This was OK.  I don't think it's very difficulty on the agility aspect, but it does have some cardio and plyo.  I burned about 155 calories.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Tennis Win!

Yesterday morning I had a practice with my tennis team.  This was our first spring season practice.  We had 10 players, which was a good number.  In the first round, my partner, Susie, and I won 6-2.  In the second round, my partner, Donna, and I lost 5-7 and were then ahead 3-1.  In the last round, my partner, Nicole, and I won 4-3.

In the evening, we had our first 3.5 match of the spring season.  We won four of the five courts!  My partner, Nicole, and I won 7-5, 6-4.  We had a really fun match, with a lot of good points and not so many errors.  Nicole is new to the team, so I'm glad she had a good first match.

Today I did the next run on my training schedule, which was a 2-hour easy run, with the last 20 minutes at race pace.  I ran on the treadmill at 5.7 mph for the first 100 minutes, and then ran at 6.3 mph for the last 20 minutes.  I started getting a bit light-headed in the last 15 minutes or so, so I had to take a lot of breaks.  The distance came to 11.49 mi.

Friday, April 15, 2016

Two Runs

Wednesday evening after work, I did the next run on my training schedule, which was a 90-min easy run.  I did this on the treadmill at 5.7 mph, so the distance came to 8.47 mi.  This run didn't feel too bad.

Yesterday morning, I did the next workout from The Master's Hammer and Chisel, which was Iso Speed Hammer.  This is a short and sweet workout that I still think is pretty good.  I burned about 90 calories.

I wanted to do cardio tennis at TCCP after work, but yet again, they didn't have enough participants to hold the class.  I went home and did a run outside on Sligo Creek Trail instead.  I was really trying to keep my heart rate low so that it would be an easy run, but my heart rate seemed to be pretty crazy high in the second half.  I really don't think that could have been correct, but I ended up running pretty slowly.  My overall time was 58:50 and the distance was 5.04 mi, so the average speed was 5.15 mi.  Well, I suppose that was easy!

Today is my rest day.  In the morning, I did some stretching and foam rolling.  No other real activity for me today!

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Tennis Sweep!

Last night, I played a match with my 6.5 combo tennis team.  It was our last match of the season, and we swept the courts!  That's a nice way to end the season.  My partner, Joan, and I won 6-2, 6-3.  We were definitely playing better than our opponents, so I really didn't have any doubt about the outcome of the match.  I got to hit a lot of good overheads, which was fun.  Our opponents started playing better in the second set - better than the score would show - but we were able to win it decisively.

After the match, I got the news that my 3.5 tennis team, which had been playing at the same time in a different location, also got a win overall.  Another good end to the season!

This morning, I did the next workout on my schedule, which was The Master's Hammer and Chisel Iso Strength Chisel.  This is definitely a good workout, as it makes my legs burn like crazy.  I burned about 120 calories.

Monday, April 11, 2016

Easy Run

Yesterday morning, I did an easy run on the treadmill.  I ran for 1 hour at 5.7 mph, so the distance came to 5.65 mi.  My legs were feeling tired for this one.

This morning I did the next workout from The Master's Hammer and Chisel, which was Chisel Endurance.  I increased my reps on some of the moves.  I burned about 120 calories.  Afterward, I did some stretching and foam rolling.

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Race Pace Run

Yesterday was my rest day.  My only activity was some stretching and foam rolling in the morning.  Otherwise, I definitely sat on my butt a lot because I had a bunch of meetings at work.

This morning, the weather was bad, so we couldn't have a tennis practice.  I could've gone to a boxing class, but I'm not sure if the boxing last week is what bothered my back so much, so I decided not to do that.  Instead, I did a Hammer and Chisel workout at home, Hammer Plyometrics, followed by a bunch of stretching and foam rolling.  The workout burned about 120 calories.

This afternoon, I did the next run on my training schedule, which was a race-pace run.  I did 5 x 2 mi at 6.3 mph (9:30 min/mi pace), alternating with 5 x 5 min at 5.0 mph (12:00min/mi pace).  I did this on the treadmill, and the distance came to 11.9 mi in 2:00:00.  This was a hard run, which I knew it would be, so I did take breaks on the rails.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Tennis Loss

Last night I had a match with my 3.5 tennis team.  Unfortunately we lost all of the courts except one that our opponents accidentally defaulted because someone didn't show up.  My partner, Whitney, and I lost 6-4, 6-2.  One of our opponents was extremely consistent and hit very hard, and we just couldn't figure out how to beat her.  It was a frustrating match.  I'm getting tired of losing - I seem to be in a bit of a slump lately.

This morning I did the next workout in The Master's Hammer and Chisel, which was Chisel Balance.  I haven't done this workout for awhile, and it showed in some of the moves.  Other moves were fine.  I'm feeling it in my glutes, however.  The workout burned about 150 calories.

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Easy Run

Yesterday after work, I did the next run on my training schedule, which was a 60-min easy run.  It's been awhile since my training schedule had such a short run on it!  I was going to do this run outside, but it was unseasonably chilly, so I stayed inside on the treadmill.  I ran at 5.7 mph for 1 hour, so the distance came to 5.65 mi.  My Basis Peak totally screwed up my heart rate during this run - most of the time it read way too low.  I stopped and checked my heart rate on my neck to be sure.  Frustrating!

This morning, I did a workout from The Master's Hammer and Chisel.  I'm pretty much done with the original program, since I had adapted it to four days a week.  I'm going to do a few more weeks of it, but I set up a schedule to use mostly the shorter workouts.  Today I did Iso Speed Hammer, followed by 10-Minute Ab Hammer.  This burned about 125 calories. 

I wanted a shorter workout this morning, because I put together a list of stretches to do to try to help loosen up my lower back and hamstrings and glutes.  I did those, plus some foam rolling, which took an additional 35 minutes, approximately.  Hopefully doing all this a few times a week will help!

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Tennis Loss

Unfortunately last night my 6.5 combo team lost all the courts in our match.  The matches were all competitive, but we just couldn't get a win in any of them.  My partner, Justine, and I struggled to figure out how to beat our opponents.  We just seemed to hand them all of these great balls to put away, no matter how we tried to change things.  We lost 6-4, 6-2.  Next time, I guess!

This morning, I did the next workout in The Master's Hammer and Chisel, which was Total Body Chisel.  This is a good workout that I really do like, even if I hate lunges.  I increased my weights on a move or two.  I burned about 100 calories.  Unfortunately my lower back is still really bothering me, but I think it's a bit better than yesterday.

Monday, April 4, 2016

Very Long Run

Yesterday I did the next run on my training schedule, which was a repeat of my longest run ever: 150 minutes.  This time it went much better, although it was still pretty darn long.  I ran on the treadmill at 5.7 mph, so the distance came to 14.12 mi.  I did not take as many breaks as the last time, and I didn't get light-headed, so that was a big plus.  Oddly, though, as soon as I stopped the run, my ears got plugged up like they needed to pop.  It took about an hour for that to work itself out.

Today, my lower back is much sorer than it has been for quite awhile - I don't know if it was the long run yesterday, or the boxing the day before.  Either way, it's very annoying.

This morning, I did the next workout in The Master's Hammer and Chisel, which was Hammer Plyometrics.  With my sore back and sort legs from the run, I really wasn't feeling this; at least it's a short workout.  I burned about 100 calories.  Afterward, I did some stretching and foam rolling.

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Tennis Loss/Win

Yesterday morning it was raining, so my team tennis practice outside was canceled.  I decided to go to a boxing class instead, which was something I hadn't done for awhile.  When I canceled my membership, I bought a punch-card for 5 classes, but it turns out when I got there that my membership hadn't officially ended yet, so I didn't have to use it.  The class was good in getting my heart rate up, but I didn't work hard on a lot of the leg moves, since I knew I had a 2.5-hr run waiting for me today.  I definitely got a good soreness in my lats, triceps, and shoulders from the punching.  That's why I always thought boxing was good for me:  it helped develop upper-body power that certainly should be good for tennis!

Yesterday evening, I had a match with my 3.5 tennis team.  My partner, Whitney, and I lost 7-6, 7-5.  It doesn't get a whole lot closer than that!  We were ahead in the first set 4-1 because we were playing pretty well and our opponents were making lots of errors.  They started to play better, and caught up to us and eventually won the first set.  The first set tie-breaker was 8-6!  In the second set, we started making more errors, but we still were neck-and-neck with them in the whole set until the very end.  It was frustrating to lose when we were so close!  Fortunately, our team won three of the other courts, so we won the match overall.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Tennis Loss

Last night I had a match with my 3.5 tennis team.  Unfortunately, my partner, Grace, and I lost 7-6, 6-4. It was a really run match!  We were very even, so there were a lot of good points, and it was really neck-and-neck the whole time.  It was too bad that we got edged out in the end.  All of the individual matches were close, but we only managed to win one of them.  Too bad!

Today is my rest day, so I did some foam rolling and stretching in the morning before work.