Jan
18
2012

Turn It Up Some

By Theresa on January 18, 2012

Tonight’s spin class was…a challenge…

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The stereo system in the spin studio was on the fritz majorly…which meant we could hear NOTHING during the entire class. 

Scratch that.

We could hear things – just not MUSIC.  The sound system was like a pendulum that caused us to go from “hearing nothing but the sound of the spin bikes” to “hearing only loud crackles and fuzz coming from the speakers”.

It. was. rough.

I’ve never had so much trouble getting into the zone during this spin class.  I mean, the playlist was GREAT, we just couldn’t hear it! The instructor even added a song especially for me!

Request

Granted

But alas…it was not to be. She played it – but it sounded like absolute gobbledygook!

Honestly, if Kristen (the founder of Karna Fitness and my running group) wasn’t instructing I would have walked the eff out. (I have no problem walking out of a class if it’s not working.) For me, it’s the music that makes spin class so good.  A great instructor is a bonus, but bad music is a total buzz kill!

My fingers are crossed that things are fixed by next Wednesday!

WHAT ABOUT YOU: Would you leave a group fitness class if the sound system was out of whack? What’s the “final straw” for you?

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Jan
17
2012

21 Days

By Theresa on January 17, 2012

December 27th.  <— That’s the last time I was in the effing pool. 

(I may or may not have had to look that up because I couldn’t remember when my last swim actually happened…)

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What happens to me after 21 days of not swimming? My body basically forgets how to swim!

From my very first stroke I could tell it was going to be a tough swim.  My legs kept sinking…my breathing was all over the place…I kept getting mouthfuls of water…

So instead of stressing myself out focusing on freestyle tonight I decided to do a mixed interval workout, switching strokes every 100 yards. Here’s the breakdown:

Warm Up: 1 x 100 Easy Freestyle
     
Main Set: 1 x 100 Kick Board
  1 x 100 Freestyle
  1 x 100 Backstroke
  1 x 100 Freestyle
  1 x 100 Pull Buoy
  1 x 100 Kick Board
  1 x 100 Freestyle
  1 x 100 Backstroke
  1 x 100 Freestyle
  1 x 100 Pull Buoy
     
Cool Down: 1 x 50 Freestyle
  1 x 50 Easy Freestyle

Using the “other strokes” as a sort of rest (instead of actually stopping at the end of the lane and taking a breather), I managed to swim the 1200 yards in 34:11. 

Sure, I didn’t get in very much work on freestyle – but by the end of my last free interval, I could feel that I was getting then hang of my stroke again. 

Was it pretty?  Most certainly NOT. 

But was it better than nothing?  YES.

Are my arms and back muscles already sore only 2 hours later?  YES!

I really need to keep on track with swimming – if nothing more, once a week.

From this point onward, Tuesday night = my standing date night with the pool.

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Jan
11
2012

Night Vision

By Theresa on January 11, 2012

I learned a lesson the other day:  I don’t have night vision…and it’s pretty darn dark around here in the evenings!

I set out for a run on Tuesday at about 7:00pm, all decked out in a bright yellow reflective vest and a hat with reflective strips all over it.

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And then I realized that people and cars could see ME…but I couldn’t see anything!

I guess it’s been a long time since I went for a run in the dark.  It’s not so bad while the sun is still setting – or in the case of you morning people while it’s rising.

But it was PITCH dark in some spots – and I was terrified of tripping or twisting my ankle in a hole because I couldn’t see the ground in front of me.

So – It looks like my first “running purchase” of 2012 is going to be a headlamp. 

headlamp

(Photo Credit)

Or maybe a set of Knuckle Lights?

Knuckle Lights

(Photo Credit)

All I know is that I wasn’t even in the most unlit part of the neighborhood and I could. not. see. a. thing.

Other than the whole “not being able to see” situation the run was pretty decent.  3.24 miles in 39 minutes for a 12:08 average pace.  My run intervals were all under 10:45 pace which is good for me.  I just gotta focus on not meandering during my walk intervals!

WHAT ABOUT YOU: Do you run with a headlamp or other light source when it’s dark out? Any recommendations for a good one?

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Jan
8
2012

Weekend Warrior

By Theresa on January 8, 2012

Criminy – It’s 7:00pm on Sunday night and I feel like it’s MIDNIGHT.

After several weeks of lack luster workouts…and…ahem…lots of rest days…I really had a doozy lined up this weekend.

First up was a 6 mile training run with the Karna Fitness running group.

(photo credit)

We did our usual 2 min run : 1 min walk intervals and I finished up in right around 1hr 15min for a 12:19 pace, a perfect for a long run for me.

After the run, my pal (and running partner) Kerri and I sped over to the Legacy Trail to meet up with a group we’ll be riding a 2-day event with in April.

We committed to riding 20 miles – 10 out, 10 back – while the other 4 riders were planning on getting 30 in.

Legacy with Cyclotron

The first 10 felt hard, like a good “push” effort.  The “10 back” was sheer torture.  Ok, really just the last 5 sucked. 

My calves started cramping up, my hips were cramping up…I was just tired.  I was fueling and hydrating, but I was beat.  Nothing like a reverse brick to jump start your workout routine after the holidays, right?

I finished off the weekend today with a trip around the Wilderness Parks “Main Loop” with Ryan.

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It’s SO great to be back on single track trails again – I can’t believe how much I missed mountain biking! (Nor can I believe how much more confident I feel out there now!)

I even took the lead for a few miles today – which I basically had to be forced to do before. 

I was going along at a pretty good clip…taking turns and riding over roots like a champ…and then I crashed.  And by “crashed” I  mean “overcorrected, then re-overcorrected, then ended up on the ground”. 

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That’s where my bike landed…I was to the left, laying on my stomach, perpendicular to the bike with my feet between the seat and handlebars. 

Somehow I managed to un clip and bobble around – even hopped on one leg for a bit – before I faceplanted.  It felt like 30 seconds passed.  Probably really only took about 2. 

Believe it or not, it was NOT scary – and was absolutely hysterical.  Ryan saw the hole thing go down & was trying really hard not to laugh until he realized I was laughing too.  (I’m actually still giggling to myself a little bit now as I write about it!)

Here’s the damage:

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Yeah – just dust on my knees.   Terrifying, no?

In the end we logged just over 15 miles of single track for the day.

Wilderness Parks-Main

My rear end is NOT happy with me after 2 days in a row of “in the saddle” time.

But logging 41 miles over the span of 2 days feels pretty good…especially considering I haven’t logged that many miles in a single WEEK since the beginning of November.

Welcome back motivation.  Welcome back.

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Dec
22
2011

The Commitment

By Theresa on December 22, 2011

I’m not exactly sure how this happened…but I may or may not have committed to running a marathon in 2012.

And it’s not just any marathon.  It’s a big one!  One that 30,000 people run – 4 of whom will hopefully (if we get our registrations in fast enough) be me & Ryan and my parents.

Race day is October 28, 2012.

 

Those are only hints I’m giving about which race it is…for now.  But it’s pretty obvious, no?

Ten months is plenty of time for me to mentally prepare, right?  I’m not so worried about the physical part.

Geeze – what on earth have I gotten myself into by committing to this?

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