Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Sunday Gym Run & 12 Days of Christmas

After my misadventures in Umstead park during the Ultra Marathon, I was feeling a tab bit reluctant to move from in front of my TV on Sunday.  I had a knot in my left calf early in the morning, but it had worked itself out by mid-morning.  Nevertheless, I spent most of the morning feeling fairly wiped out and the idea of physical activity just made me ill.  It didn't help that the Hockey playoffs are getting near and there was a game on in the afternoon.  However, it was between the Rangers and Flyers, so my interest was minimal.  Also, the weather was so perfect that if you looked up the word "Spring" in the dictionary, you might well have seen a picture of this very day!  So, after much debating, self chastisement, and a whole assortment of guilt trips, I forced myself to change into my workout clothes and headed to the gym. 

I decided to run there, workout, and run home.  Which seemed overly ambitious the moment I step out the door.  If Hiroko had been off of work, I am sure we would have gone for a picnic and at that moment the idea of just laying down in the grass for the next hour or six was very tempting.  But, I continued my epic struggle and headed onward.  The first 3/4 of a mile was like a Baskin Robbins of sucky, but it got better as it went on.  I did the 1.62 in 16:01.22 for a  9:48 pace.  Mile 1 took10:04.44 and the last .63 took 5:56.78 for a 9.22 pace.

Once I got to the gym I went right into a 12 Days because I just didn't want to tighten up.  Since, It was such a nice day the gym was rather sparely populated, so I decided to incorporated the track into the routine.  The 12 Days:

  1. Lap around the indoor track (1/15 of a mile)
  2. Leg lifts (each leg)
  3. Fire Hydrant (each leg with a leg extension)
  4. Curls with 15 lbs. dumbbells (each arm)
  5. Push ups
  6. Bicycles
  7. Prisoner Squats (with an elbow to knee leg raise on each side)
  8. Crossover Crunches (each side)
  9. Super Mans
  10. Hamstring Curl (with exercise ball)
  11. Bird Dogs
  12. Standard Crunch 
After the 12th round, I put away my stuff and headed out the door because the thing that I like most about this type of workout is that I stay in motion from the moment I leave the house the the moment I return.  I don't need to wait for equipment or adjust anything.  I try not to take breaks or rest between exercises.  Also, I like to try to set up the exercises in a way that causes a need to transition between standing and the floor as much as possible.   The run home hurt, and by the time I got back to my apartment all I wanted to do was hit the foam roller and take a shower.  I did the 1.64 in 15:23.04 for a 9:23 pace.
I did the first mile in 9:26.75 and the last .64 in 5:56.29 for a 9:16 pace.

3 comments:

  1. What motivation again, sir!
    PS. What is a bird dog? I have one at home...does this count?

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  2. Jessie,

    I am sure that your Bird Dog provides you with tons of exercise!!! I, however, live in apartment and can't have dogs. I have an awesome cat named Basil, but he doesn't really help me with my workouts ;) , so I have to do these things:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAqZnu-lEhg

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