Goals

I came home today to find the girls outside playing naked in the dirt, Jess about to hose them down, and Max watching raptly from inside the sliding glass door.  Suffice it to say, a good time was had by all.  Despite work being busy and somewhat draining, I am so fortunate to have this amazing family to come home to.
As for training, my September goal was simple, but I failed abruptly after working nearly all night last Thursday.  Something so easy -- work out every day -- was out my reach.  So what mindset to take?  Give myself a break, or grit my teeth and vow to try again, harder?  Is doing both a cop-out?  I wrote earlier about how much planning to put into training, and I think the time has come to emerge from the shell of randomness and plan out weeks or months at a time.  Sometimes having a plan is the right thing (though sometimes not!)

This was the coolest morning since moving to Florida -- I am looking forward to an intense run tomorrow with some pull-ups, burpees, etc. in the park.  Yesterday's run was nice but dark - until daylight savings time hits I've moved from starting before dawn to finishing before dawn.

Saturday: run 7 miles
Sunday: yoga 20 minutes, indoor bike 20 minutes, 10 pullups and 2  sets bicep curls
Monday: rest
Tuesday: run 4 miles:
Wednesday (today): rest
Thursday (tomorrow): run 4 miles.

September continues

So far doing well with daily workout.  Feels good.  I believe I wrote a few weeks ago about a hint of cool weather.  That hint was a cruel trick, and we are back, for now, to steam room conditions.

Monday, September 6: run 4miles
Tuesday, September 7: yoga 45 minutes
Wednesday, September 8:
   10 sets of 5 burpees, 10 situps (varied: regular, legs straight ahead at 45 degree angle, legs straight to right, legs straight to left, alternating leg raise side crunch; repeat)
Thursday, September 9 - planned - run 4 miles

Fall is coming, baby

Well, we continue to have just a hint of coolness in the morning air, so the early runs are more pleasant.  Last month was busy at work so I fell off the wagon a bit as far as working out.  In September my plan is to exercise every day, without exception.  I've managed to stick with it so far despite an extreme lack of motivation last night.  I'm energized by the weather, by my old running group getting back together for some group runs, and by a few races coming up this fall and winter.  I do think I will be seduced (once again) by the lure of the marathon, so if I can come up with a good training program, not peak too early, and not injure myself, there will be more to come on that topic.  I'll probably go with the "Five Points of Life" marathon conveniently located here in town, in February.  Then, maybe I will be psychologically ready to think about planning for a 100 mile race.  Maybe.  In the short term, the monthly goal:

Goal for September:  Work out every day - one day at a time.  Keep me honest, friends.

Sep 1: Yoga 1 hour

Sep 2:
  Run 1.5 miles warmup / speedwork
  2 sets of:
     dumbbell bicep curls
     dumbbell tricep extensions
     20 squats (10 static, 10 squat jumps;  second set with weights)
     dumbbell overhead shoulder presses
     10 pullups (5 standard, 5 side grip)
     30 pushups (10 std, 10 wide, 10 military)
     20 weighted lunges
     run 0.5 miles in between sets
  Run 1 mile speedwork [total running 3 miles]

Sep 3: Run 4 miles

Sep 4: Yoga 35 minutes

Sep 5: Indoor bike 45 minutes, short core workout.
   

Enough said

I had a great weekend at home with the family.  It is amazing to realize again and again how rich and lucky I am.   Finished with a very busy month at work so I will be able to get into some good training, and perhaps some more interesting and reflective posts.  And, nearly finished with my alcohol-free month!  Odd to celebrate with a beer, but that's exactly what will happen.

Today: 5.75 mile trail run
Yesterday:
yoga 15 minutes for stretching
10 sets x 5 pull ups (alternating standard and chin-up grip)
14 sets x 5 push ups (total 3 sets military, 3 sets wide, 2 sets diamond, 6 sets standard)
Friday: rest
Thursday: ran 4 miles

Tonight's workout

Fun in the garage:

2 sets of:
dumbbell bicep curls (10 reps, max weight)
dumbbell standing overhead press (10 reps, max weight)
15 pushups with bars - assorted regular, wide grip, military
20 situps
10 alternating leg raises (core work)
30 sec boat hold
20 alternating leg raise side crunches
tricep kickbacks (10 reps, heavyweight band)
15 squats, no weight
10 pullups - 5 standard, 5 chinup
15 lunges
10 burpees

and 1 bonus set of 5 diamond pushups (hands touching so thumb and index fingers form diamond shape)


(Yesteday: 40 minutes of yoga)

What I like about running.

I'm not going to lie to you:  I had a tough run today in 90/90 conditions - 90 degrees and near 90 percent humidity.  Although I got my start running in Florida, the two times I've moved back here have been a real challenge.  It doesn't help that we tend to move in the  middle of summer, from cool dry places (first from Colorado and now from Vermont).  So I've been slowly acclimatizing to the heat and humidity, trying to run in the morning when possible.  Today I didn't quite make it out in the morning, but the motivation was there at about 11:30, so off I went.  I will tell  you now, I was struggling to maintain a pace that in other circumstances would be a recovery pace or a post-race shuffle.  I could feel my metabolic workload skyrocketing as I moved between patches of shade and sun, and even the inclines that pass for hills here were kicking my ass.

But, as I was pondering the various theories of fatigue (for example, that the feeling of tiredness is less related to muscle fatigue itself than to a message from your prain telling your muscles they are tired when you are about to impose too much demand on your heart), I was also pondering why running stays interesting and why I keep doing it.  Running is beautiful in its simplicity:  shorts, shoes (if that), and out the door.  From there the possibilities are endless, with variations in distance, interval training, hills, and company.  But the physical variations barely scratch the surface.  Today the run was simple, but the mental challenge was intense.  I spent the run focused intently on minor variations in feel, keeping positive, and pushing myself to maintain some semblance of a pace.  This is a run I've done many times before, but the experience is really quite different each time.  It is never completely predictable when a run will be hard and when it will be smooth and easy and I feel like I'm flying. That's what I really like about running.

Misadventure

Today was my triumphant return to cycling -- It's been nearly a year (sing August 16th of 2009, in fact) that I've even been on my road bike.  Granted, I've been biking to work one or two days a week since moving to Florida, but I was psyched to pump up my tires and go.  Although I've been a runner from the beginning, I really enjoy cycling, and in the past have done some good riding -- especially when training for triathlons and when I lived in western Colorado.  So I got the bike down, got out the pump and oiled the chain (don't worry, not WD40), and got going.

Now, I have an unofficial rule that I don't, or at least shouldn't, postpone an outdoor workout just because it might rain or snow.  If it is actually raining or snowing, that's a different story, but if it is merely cloudy or threatening to precipitate I usually try to just get out and go.  In general this has gotten me out the door with only a few memorable slogs or epics, and let's be honest -- it can rain even if it doesn't look like it will.  Today, it had rained overnight and earlier in the day, but the weather was partly cloudy as I headed out of the garage.

The ride started out well enough, though my cadence was sluggish, but after about five miles, as I turned onto the road that would be the major part of my route, I saw a very dark and threatening cloud overhead.  It started to rain, and rain hard, as only a summer thunderstorm in the south can do.  Visibility was quite low, and I was riding through newly-formed six inch puddles, but what the heck.  It was a warm day and I was having fun.  When the lightning started I turned back toward home, trying to picture what Jess would say if I kept going.  (Hint: it might contain the words "not very smart").  I got back and the girls were playing in the backyard in the rain, so I joined them for some swinging and sliding, then went back to the garage to complete the day's workout.

So my triumphant return to cycling was all of twelve miles, but as usual I am happy just to have gotten out the door.   In all honesty I've had some trouble finding/making time to work out in the last few weeks, and my schedule at work is busier than in a long time.  So to paraphrase G.I. Joe, getting out the door is half the battle, and I've at least been doing that.

Wednesday - short but worthwhile early morning yoga
Thursday - ran 1.5 miles to park, then 30 each of burpees, pullups, squats, lunges, pushups; ran 1.5 miles back home.
Today - cycle 12 miles (44:25 / 16.4 mph); then 3 sets of: 40 straight leg alternating side crunches, 15 pushups with bars, 5 pullups, and 8-10 rep dumbbell bicep curls.