Weds. AM Sports Conditioning Class: 6/22

This class marked my fourth day of not running part of it was planned, but part was just bad luck.  The class was boring but effective.  This class is one that doesn't change and at all.  I am just not fond of how it is structured, but it is a good workout, so I still attend from time to time.  Anyway, here is a song that I really love.  "Once in a Lifetime" by Talking Heads.  I just love this song.  Enjoy.

Wednesday Evening Sports Conditioning Class

Monday I did some stretching and general maintenance at the gym.  Nothing really enough to consider it a real workout.  Tuesday was a rest day because Hiroko and I planned to go out for dinner with some friends.  Wednesday's workout almost didn't  happen because of too much sake and Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, but I persevered and went to the Sports Conditioning, which end with just enough time for me to get home and shower right before the face off.  The workout was really awesome and left me a sake sweating mess!  lots of push ups, sprints, abs, dips, lunges, ect.

As for the hockey . . .I had actually called Boston in 7 games at the start of the series.  Everyone else was say Vancouver in either 4 or 5, but I had faith in Tim Thomas and knew that the Sedin twins and Luongo would wilt under the pressure like the flowers they are!  I am not even a Boston fan, but I am so glad that they won!  The Sedin's and Burrows had more diving penalty minutes than points and that type of play should never get rewarded!  So in honor of the Boston Bruins I give you -- The Dropkick Murphys:



And . . . Queen:

Wednesday Afternoon Sports Conditioning 5/25

Great Class!  lots of Squats, Push ups, Burpees, Suicides, Crab walks, Walking lunges, and high knees.  Fun stuff!

Here video of one of my favorite Japanese comedians  Gori Matsuura and his alter ego or Gorie.  Gorie is suppose to be a 15 year old girl who thinks she is super cute and dresses and act accordingly.  However, she looks like a dude dressed as up like a 15 girl to everyone else (which of course she is).  The real comedy is that most people try not to shatter Gorie's self image or hurt her feelings, but in the end, Gorie always pushes people beyond the breaking point.  This is a music video that is a result of Gorie cheer leading, which is one of her many super cute activies:

Weds. Sports Conditioning: Abs Hell Day 4/20

This post will be short and sweet. 

• Ran to the gym in the morning, but Old Bob was out of power
• First naked run (sans Garmin) since buying OLD Bob: kind of liked it . . . kind of didn't.  Hmm not ssure what to make of it.
• Took Teresa's class again . . .
• As we left on Monday, she told us that Wednesday we would do Abs until we puked
• I didn't puke
• Wish that I had.
• My abs still hurt
• Ouch
• Ran home after class
• Thought that I might die.
• Ouch
• Biked to work
• Ouch
• People at work said that I looked like I was either about to die or about to puke . . . opinions varied
• Ouch
• My abs still hurt . . . I am not sure my internal organs are in the right places . . . ouch.

Wed. Sports Conditioning & Pre-Race Leg Issues: 4/6

OK, after Tuesday's workout, my same old cranky left leg decided to start complaining.  Everything felt fine but as the day wore on and I toiled away at my desk my quad started to feel sore and weak just above my knee on the outside of my leg.  I tried to put it out of my mind, but I wasn't at all happy about the timing considering I have two races in the next ten days.  I hit the foam roller as soon as I got home and my leg genuinely felt better.  I decided to go to the Afternoon Sports Conditioning class, just to get some work in before my Race on Saturday. 

The class was a standard Stations class with 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for seven rounds.  The class was really uneventful except that we did to different exercises that targeted my already cranky quad.  I tried to be smart about the exercises and not push too hard.  After the class, I did made sure to stretch, hit the foam rolled again when I got home, and use some muscle cream.  

I am fairly sure that my quad issues are the result of a imbalance between my vastus lateralis and vastus medialis.  I have noticed over the last few months that a lot of my workout classes hit the same muscle groups over and over, which I think is causing my to over work some muscles while under working others, so I have begun to read up on the different muscles and how to better work them, which I hope will over time alleviate a lot of my issues. 

In order to avoid going going Gary Busey crazy about the condition of my leg before the race on Saturday I decided to rest for the next two days and try to go into the race with well rested for my 10k.

weds. sports conditioning: 3/30

Needed to get in some good conditioning because Thursday would be a day of dental repairs and Friday I would be help out at a charity event for to assist Japan.  I still felt rundown from Tuesday's workout by the time I went to Class, but I was able to force myself to attend.  The class was exactly what I needed because it had a nice blend of stationary exercises and cardio stations. 

How many people have this burned into thier mind?

Recently, I purchased a new GYMBOSS Interval Timer, which I love!  I had one that I used most of the summer, but I accidentaly left in the gym.  I fianlly admitted to myself that I was never going to find it and ordered another one.  The GYMBOSS is a nice inexpensive gym tool that is an effective way to incorerate interval training into your workout.  I am a big fan of intervals because I hate trying to count reps.  I would much rather work for a designated period of time.  The GYMBOSS is nice because it allows you to set up to different interval periods, which can be set for different lengths of time, and will also count down the number of sets you do from whatever number you designate up to 99.  I used to love using it for skipping rope as well as for regulaer exercises.  I don't run intervals, but I can't see why the GYMBOSS couldn't be youed for running in tervals as well.  The only issue that I have with it is that it has a tone of features but only three buttons, so trying to remember how to program your settings can be difficult at first.  But after a little while, it becomes second nature.  It sort of reminded me of tring to remember the cheat for CONTRA on Nintendo 64.  I am not one for plugging products on my blog, but I really think that the GYMBOSS is awesome (and I have no connection to the company or anyone that works for them.  Just incase you are wondering).  I have used it in the past and don't think many people are aware of it, so I don't mind taking the time to spread the word because I searched high and low for something like this for a long time before I stumbbled upon it.

Lastly, I have decided to start logging my bike commuting totals at the end of the month, but I will cover everything I have done until now just to get it out of the way.  Since 2/14 I have commuted 76 miles by bicycle.

Morning Run & Class: 3/16

You'll have to forgive the tardiness of the next few posts.  I've gotten a bit behind in my blogging recently.  Last Wednesday was Hiroko's Birthday, so we both took the day off to celebrate together (insert Aaahhhh's **here**). 

I got up early and ran to the gym before Hiroko woke.  I enjoyed the run more than I can really explain, but I'll try.  Early morning before the sunrise is my favorite time of day, always has been.  One of my best memories from childhood is of a pre-dawn trip, my aunt took me on, to a local pre-Starbucks era coffee shop/cafe.  Being up and out before the sunrise always feels like stepping into an alternate reality, and the people that you see moving about are different, like members of a secret Illuminati-esque society.  They' re more aware of the people, who cross paths with them than people who keep regular hours and seem to be searching for a secret gesture or signal that indicates if you're part of their pre-dawn cabal.  Perhaps, it is just my over active imagination, who knows, but the point is that I really enjoy this time of day. 

And, I find my connection to this pre-dawn world is much stronger when walking, running, or on my bike rather than in my car.  Recently, I've shed my I-pod on my runs, so Wednesday's morning run just seemed to come alive much more than it ever has with, depending on my mood, Adam Lambert, Wolfmother, or Johnny Cash streaming into my ears.  Wednesday's morning's air was cool but still warm enough to wear short sleeves.  The feeling of the air on my skin mixed with the sounds of all the birds just beginning their day put me in a great frame of mind, which I needed because I've been struggling and letting frustrations from one aspect of my life bleed over into others.  Running's been the area of my life where the lines have held firm.  As I made my way to the gym, I listened to my breathing, the sounds of the city and my feet falling on the pavement, and began to long for my next run in Umstead.  I decided in that moment that my next run their would be a 7 miler, my longest distance to date.  By the time, I arrived at the gym the decision was set in my mind.

The workout class was Lisa's interval Sport's Conditioning where we do three exercise a 30 seconds, rest 10 seconds in between each one, then run back and forth across the gym, before moving on to the next set of exercises.  By the end of class, I was pouring sweat, but I wasn't exhausted to the point where I thought that the run home would be difficult.

The run home was a different than the run to the gym because t he sun was nearly up and the streets  more activity.  But, I was feeling really invigorated and looking forward to spending the day with Hiroko.   By the time I arrived at home, I felt awesome and was ready to cook Hiroko breakfast, and start the birthday festivities.


first run -- 1.65 15:02.77 9:07
1 9:29.95
.65 5:32.82

second run 1.63 15:12.21 9:19
1 9:30
.63 5:42.21

Doing Away with the Crap: Wednesday Sports Conditioning

Three straight crap runs were reason enough for a change, but the changing I ended up doing wasn't what I had in mind.  I used Tuesday as a rest day because I had run on Sunday when I should have rested.  The time change made the morning classes difficult to attend, so I only attended the afternoon Sports Conditioning class.  Cross training is going to be really important if I want to avoid injury over the spring and summer.  The weather is getting nice and the urge to run everyday is going to get stronger as the days get longer.  I'll need to go to the gym in the morning to avoid the temptation because it will be difficult to force myself into the gym on a beautiful day after work.

The class was a standard stations class with intervals.  We did seven sets of one exercise before moving on to a new station.  Each set was 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds rest.  The exercises were sprints, bicycles, Bosu step ups, push ups, side shuffles, mountian climbers, and hamstring pulls with the exercise ball. 

Yes, my litter box is clean!

I began with sprints and ended with the hamstring pulls, which I think was for the best.  The hamstring exercises were awesome and  really hit my hammy's hard. Sprinting after doing those would have just sucked.  The push ups were the most difficult of all of the exercises, and cost me the most becasue I challenged Hiro do 15 in her last set.  She busted out 15 (girl push ups) in 20 seconds meeting the goal that I set.  Her reward was that I would clean Basil's litter box next time it needed cleaning.  Next time, I will maker her do 10 guy pushups because Basil is a really awesome cute cat, but a litter box is still a litter box!

Wendnesday Two-a-Day Sports Conditioning Double Dip: 3/9

Over the last few weeks, I have begun to add more two-a-days into my workouts.  I know fitness people have strong opinions on two-a-days with some people swearing by them and others thinking that the risks out weigh the rewards.  I have nothing really educated to say on the matter.  When it comes to my workouts, I am kind of subscriber to the Doctor Emmett Brown Zany Scientist approach: I read a lot of idea, listen to people, try things out, and come up with my best ideas after slipping off the toilet. 

My point is that, I have my reasons for following my workout regiment, but I am not sure if it is the best idea ever.  My main goal is to push myself as hard as I can without injuring myself.  I am always open for suggestion, and I am pretty susceptible to peer pressure, so if you have any ideas or dastardly plans you feel like sharing, please give me a shout!  The main concern for me is to push myself out of my comfort zone.  I have lost some weight and done good work, but I am not satisfied with my results or attitude of late.  I hope that doing two-a-days, taking different classes, and trying new forms of exercise that I will be able to meet my goals without burning out or breaking down. 

A few people at the Y have started to notice that I do two-a-days either because of comments from instructors or because they switch between AM and PM classes from week to week and upon seeing me will ask if I missed the morning class.  Most times, they will compliment me on my dedication or talk about me being hardcore.  I won't lie, at first I liked it a little, but now it makes me uncomfortable because I there isn't anyway to express to them the desperation behind my efforts.  I am so filled with regret and frustration for letting myself get to this point and for not having enough self-respect to change my life before now that I am willing to do crazy two-a-days not because I am hardcore, but because my 20's are long gone, my 30's are fading fast, and God knows that I don't want to hit 40 with my ass this large! 

So here is last Wednesday's "Hardcore" regret and shame induced two-a-day:

I rode Frankenbike to the gym in the morning for Holly's Sports Conditioning class.  We did an all out track run for 6 minutes.  Our goal was to try to get as close to a mile a we could.  The track at the gym is 15 laps for one mile, and I completed 11 laps.  Not sure what that pace would, but it wasn't important for what we were doing.  We then did six stationary exercises for one minute each, then ran again for three minutes with the goal being to do more than half of what we had achieved in 6 minutes.  I completed just over 6 laps in 3 minutes.  Following this we stationary exercises for the remainder of the class.   I then Rode Frankenbike home and then to work.

After work, I returned to the gym for Holly's boot camp, which was basically intervals.  We rotated through groups of exercises doing each one for 1 minute.  This class did not have as much space, so we were not able to incorporate that much running, but we did run suicides, carioka's, side shuffles, and some stairs.

Sports Conditioning with Sinus Issues: 3/2/11

My sinuses HATE me!  I am not sure if this is because of pollen, shifts in barometric pressure, or one of those Total Recall tracking devices.  So, I've started wrapping my head in a wet towel taking copious amounts of decongestant. 

I woke up with a crazy headache on Monday that kept me home from work.  Tuesday, I went in and was planning to workout after work even though I wasn't feeling top notch when one of my Co-workers offered my free tickets to a hockey game that night.  So, of course, I went to the game! ( Since it was Carolina vs. Florida, I wore my Hartford Whalers shirt, which is a close as I come to supporting the Canes.)    I had a great time at the game, but I was forced to face the fact that I hadn't done any kind of cross training since last Wednesday, which meant there was no way that I could allow myself to miss Sports Conditioning class, no matter how bad my Sinuses felt.  Luckily, since this was a race week I had planned on taking things a bit easy and not do any two-a-days, which meant that I could sleep in and take the PM class, which I did. 

The class was a Set & Sprints class. we started with a warm up on the track for about 5 minutes.  Then, we did a rotation of three exercises for 60 seconds each, rested, but for 10 seconds between the first two exercises, then sprinted up and down the basketball court, and switched two three different exercises.  After completing those three, we would repeat the process again.  Example:

Push ups 1 min
rest 10 sec.
Jumping Jack 1 min
rest 10 sec.

Burpees 1 min
Sprint
Plank 1 min
Rest 10 sec.

Squats 1 min
Rest 10 sec.

Crunch 1 min
Sprint
(repeat)
Push ups 1 min

rest 10 sec.
Jumping Jack 1 min
rest 10 sec.
Burpees 1 min
Sprint
Plank 1 min
Rest 10 sec.
Squats 1 min
Rest 10 sec.
Crunch 1 min
Sprint

then we would move on two six totally new exercise.  We did 3 or cycles of this then had a stretch.  The sprints really seemed to crush me, but after the race on Saturday I was really happy that they are such a big part of Lisa's class.  I really needed to know just what I was capable of doing at the end of the race and the sprint sessions have helped me build my confidence.  I did feel kind of dizzy and queasy at times from my headache, but I was able to manage without getting all weepy.

The Demon that Never Let Lettie Mae Thornton Make Hoecakes

I am in desperate need of a race!  The Krispy Kreme Challenge, which I ran at the beginning of the month doesn't count.  It was a random act of extreme stupidity in which I am happy to say I took part, but it does not satisfy my need for a race.  The last race I ran in was the NHL All Star 5k, which ran while jetlagged out my mind from a 10 hour flight and only six days removed from running The Harold Chapson 8k, so to say that the NHL5k was not a chalked full of nutty goodness great time for me is a vast effin' understatement!  To put it bluntly, it sucked ass.  I showed up, froze my butt off, ran, and went the fuck home.  Therefore, my 8k in Hawaii was really my last honest to goodness race that satisfied the demon living inside me, which compels me to haul my big ass out to to race once a month so I can push myself to my vomit threshold.  Now, my demon is not as big of an asshat as The Demon that never let Lettie Mae Thornton make hoecakes, but trust me they're kin, and he's a Fucker nonetheless!

"Oh, my fuckin' God. Girl, this about to get ugly."

Now, over the course of the last few months, I have come to consider myself a serious runner.  Note, I did not say fast runner.  I am fat not fast, but I am serious!  I think about running all the time.  I train for running.  I read about running.  Given half the chance, I'll talk your ear off about my latest run.  And when I do get to race, I DO NOT dress up in costume, I do not take pictures with my cell phone (OK, I did take pictures with my camera in Hawaii but that was because I was a tourist and allowed to make a jackass of myself), I do not chat/wave to the crowd as I trot by, what I do is try to run myself into the ground.  And, I LOOOOOVE IT!  In fact, you know what I hate most about a race?  Waiting for the volunteer to pull my timing chip off at the end of the race because usually by then I am close the point of either blacking out, vomiting, or wetting myself -- note to insert your own Charlie Sheen Reference at your leisure.

So what am I getting at?  Just this . . . I need a race!  I am signed up for and 8k on March 5th, but my demon is impatient, and 9 days is like nearly as long as Charlie Sheen can take rehab ! So, I have attempted to placating my Demon with two-a-days at the gym.   Yesterday, I took Lisa's Sport's Conditioning Class twice: once in the morning before work and again after.  I was able to get Hiro to do the afternoon class with me, which made it hurt a little less.  We did station with 7 sets of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for each exercise.  In the morning class (which is a little longer) we did sprints for the last 5 minutes of class.   We did:

Push ups
Back extension
Cariokas
side plans
side shuffles with weights
shuttle runs
Mt. Climbers on a basketball
Toe tap quad exercise

I was beat by the end of the second class, but you know what . . . this morning, I was still looking to see if I could find a race on Saturday in which to late register.  Haven't done it yet, but really . . .  really want to do it!  The demon says that I can Make some Hoecakes if I register!

Wed. Morning Sports Conditioning: 2/9

Sports Conditioning Class ends at 6:45am, which means that I need the car after my workout if I am going to make it home to shower and eat before I got to work.  However, Hiroko needed the car to get to work at 7am.  So I left the car for Hiroko and ran the roughly mile and a half to the gym for my class.  After class, I ran to Hiro's work, which is only a few blocks from the gym and got the car.  I really enjoyed the way that this worked.  I go a nice warm up in before class and neither of us had to mess up our schedules to accommodate the other.

The run was very nice.  It was around 24 degrees ans still dark when I left the house but there was little wind, which makes all the difference.  As I have said before, I love to run in the pre-dawn hours, and his morning I was feeling what Hiroko calls "genki" meaning, "enthusiastic, energetic, or lively" in Japanese.  I did the first mile of my run in 9:38.83 and the last .64 in 5:31.76, which is a 8.37 pace.  I did the whole 1.64 in 15:10.59 at 9.15 pace.

The class in and of itself was one of the best classes that I have had in a long while.  Lisa was the instructor and we did stations and intervals, but since we had the whole gym to work with she was able to do both stationary exercises like jumping jack and push ups, as well as more active exercises like sprints and Carioka's that take up a lot room.  I have taken other stations and interval classes, but they were always in smaller class rooms, which limited what we could do.  Having this class in the gym makes a world of difference because it gives the instructor a lot more options.  Also it allowed us to workout in groups of three or four instead of one or two, which I thought enforced the idea that this was still a group workout rather than just a bunch of people doing their own thing in the same room.

  


Carioka

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.

2. Lift right knee to waist level at a 45-degree angle.

3. Keeping your knee high, rotate your hip so your knee is straight in front of you.

4. Step your right leg in front of your left.

5. Step to the left with your left foot.

6. Step behind your left leg with your right.

7. Step to the left with your left leg. Repeat the sequence for 20 yards, then change directions.

Wed Jan. 5th: Run, Class, Run.

I decided to run to the gym, took the morning Sports Conditioning class, then ran home, showered ate, and rode my bike to work.  I want to just do more this year.  Push myself to be more active and to not just be satisfied with doing what I am comfortable with and know that I can handle.  I'm at the point where I need to push myself if I want to see the results that I dream about.  Recently, my mood has be in a state of flux and it feels as if I have lost my way a little.  If I want to find satisfaction with my life and myself, I am certain that I must be willing to push beyond my comfort zones.  I know that as far as my workouts are concerned that this will require me to be honest with myself and not think about my former fitness level because it is too easy to think, "wow, I am doing great because I didn't used to be able to do this."  Well now I can, so I need to move on to something else that I can't do and start doing that!

. . . .Which is why I decided to run to class.  It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be.  The class was good, lots of Push ups, which I have lost nearly all ability to do, so I really need to work on them.  I plan to focus on the morning classes after I return form my upcoming vacation.  I've been trying to go to them before the trip, but the weather has not been kind to us and the classes have been canceled on several occasions.  I am hoping that February will be much more mild than January has been.  I don't mind running in the cold, but ice and snow are not the best things in the world.

Sports Conditioning: Dec. 22st

I went to my first morning workout class in a long time and could feel the difference in my conditioning.  I got up and ran the 1.67 miles to the gym, which was a good warm up.  Then when I arrived I took the Morning sports conditioning class.  They were doing a 12 days of Christmas workout, which is one of my favorite workout.  However, it is kind of difficult for your first day back and involves running a lot of stairs, which I am not confident that my PF will really allow me to do at this time.  Currently, my left foot is doing better but my right flares up at times.  Plantar Fasciitis is just one of those nagging injuries that is really slow to heal.  I have heard of people having to deal with it for several months, which is where I am.  However, mine was not really treated correctly for a long time, so I who knows how it would have responded. 

I did two thirds of the class before I went and did some abs and stretching on my own for the last 15 minutes of class.  Afterwards, I jogged over to Hiro's work as a cool down and picked up the car for work.  It was good to go back to the class, but I felt bad about how much my conditioning had dropped off.  I am glad that I took a break from the class and focused on running, but I know that I need to maintain at least degree of cross training i n my workouts. Therefore, I really need to plan my weekly workouts better over the coming months.

Wow! Is for Wednesday: . Quesadilla Fajitas 4.8 mile run Two-a-day! (10/6)

The plan is toast!  But, I think it is in a good way.  Here are the most important details of the day:

1. I got up and went to Sports Conditioning Class: it was so-so.
2. I went to work and had a craptastic day, and I am not even sure why.
3. I ate Mexican food for lunch.
4. I came home and went for a run.  (I know where you might think this is going considering I once held the nickname "Puke Skywalker," but not this time!
5. I ran 4.81 mile along the most hilly street in Raleigh  and did it in somewhere around 40 mins. (I need a Garmin!!)

Alright, let's expand on the these.  The class was only alright because I didn't really feel like pushing myself too hard.  And, to be honest I am struggling with this class because it never changes all that much.  I know that I need the ab workout and cross training is important.  However, it is difficult for me because the class has change very little in the year that I have been attending.  I know that their is a good side to such stability, but I am just not enjoying it at this moment.  I stopped at the 30 minute point to get some extra stretching and to use the foam roller, which I have been doing over the last few weeks when the class begins doing more jumping exercises, which would wreck my heels.

Today's Lunch: not sure how I kept this in me!

I am going to make the work portion of this quick b/c it isn't important in the long run.  I just had one of those days where you think I would just can't wait for work to be over, and you would love nothing more than to uninvent the fluorescent light bulb!  Fluorescent light bulbs -- Yuck!  Mexican Food yum!  However, running nearly 5 miles after Mexican food when you weigh as much as a small Llama is not the best idea. BTW: (My weight = Small  llama regardless of eating Mexican)

In fact, it usually a recipe for disaster.  However, today was not the case.  I had not planned this run, but after work, I knew that I needed to run or I would just sit a stew all night, so I asked Hiro if she want to go for a run with me and once she stopped laughing enough to shake her head no, I was out the door without any real idea where I was going.  I decided to run along Wade Ave. because it is the only really hilly spot near where I live, and I wanted to run on cement somewhere more challenging than the 5k course will be on Saturday.  Also, if I had seen someone running along that street 6 months ago, I would have thought they were nuts.  The street is only has small rolling hills, but they are some of the biggest hills that you will find around here.  I had a bit of stomach pain toward the tail end of Wade Ave., but it in noway slowed me down.  Once I hit about 2.5 miles had no problems.  I was really shocked at how easily I handled the hills.  All of those Umstead runs are paying off.

It was a nice cool day, and I was running just before Sundown, so it felt great to be out.  I still had a nice sweat going and could tell that this was going to be a great run when I finished.  The best part of the run came at the last half mile or so.  I was running south on a street and a running group happened to be running north (may a dozen or so people), and we me up at an intersection at the same time, and we all turned west at the same time.  I fell right in with them for the last half mile of my run, it was an awesome feeling because I ran right to the front of their group and then out past them.  I wasn't trying to do it, but I was just running really strong and got excited.  I doubt that they cared in the slightest.  But, I just really liked the feeling because it made me think that I might be able to call myself a runner at last. 

Mummy Feet: Day 2 Morning Run & Wed. Sports Conditioning Class!

Okay, My feet aren't mummified, but it does take a bit of time to get used to running with them taped up like they are.  The PA that I saw is a triathlete and swears that I could still run, which I am doing . . . cautiously!  I'll be traveling this weekend and early next week, so I plan to take a few days off, which I hope will help the healing process along.  I did a very short 1 mile run on the track at the Y last night just to get warmed up for my stretching and foam roller.  My feet felt really weird running on all of that tape -- it was like I had borrowed Jimmy Hoffa's shoes because they felt like the bottom the bottoms were filled with cement.  I used yesterday as a both a light and adjustment day rather than just rushing head long into a workout. 




This is not exactly how my feet are taped but very close.



I got up this morning at 4:30am.  It was still dark out while I was running, and just so relaxing.  I love running before dawn before the traffic picks up.  The city is just so peaceful, and it is a great time to set aside life more mundane problems.  This mornings run was particularly noteworthy because the sky was really clear, the stars were stunning, and the air was just cool enough -- right around 64 degrees!  I ran the same 2.67 course from Monday, felt sluggish at points and weird from the tape at others, but overall was really calm throughout the run.  I'm not sure what I was even thinking about for the most part, but I know that I was glad that I had gotten up and ran. 

After the run, I attended 30 Mins. of the sports conditioning class, mainly the abs and legs portion of the class.  My legs felt more sturdy than they did last week, but I still avoided anything closely resembling a hop, skip or a jump.  After the  class, I used the foam roller some more and stretched.  I am feeling good about my treatment.  I feel like there has been some improvement, but it is really too soon to tell.

Weds. Sports Conditioning & the Foam Roller: 8/8

In accordance with my plan to try and strengthen my lower legs.  I returned to Sports Conditioning Class this week.  I also miss taking part in the classes, which I mentioned in my last post.  My plan was to take the first half hour of class and then go off and Stretch and use the foam roller.  I really wanted to do the ab portion of class and then do the lower leg portion that usually comes next, but I also knew that I would need to avoid the jump rope and jump squats.  I replaced these exercises with heel raises and regular squats.  The abs were a little difficult because I had done Bryan's Toning Class less about 12 hours earlier, which was ab intensive.  The single leg squats were not too bad, which was somewhat shocking.  The leg raises were not fun however, but I wasn't really worried about how my achillies would be during class because it mainly flares up after I have been sitting or inactive rather than while it is in use. 

I did leave the class after thirty minutes like I had planned, so that I could stretch and use the foam roller.  I was able to take my time stretching.  I the roller really seems to make my legs feel better.  It isn't a pleasant feeling in the least, but the roller does seem to reach deeper into the muscle than ordinary stretching.  If you are having leg pain I really recommend giving the roller a try.

Addiction!: Weds. 18th Sports Conditioning (Abs only) And a Run.

The 5k was just around the corner, and I really didn't know how much I should or shouldn't be running, but I just couldn't hold myself back. Some major changes are taking place. I love to run! Pushing myself to go farther and stronger than I thought I could is so appealing. I used to dread the thought of running, not the running itself so much, but the thought of it used to make me ill. I would turn into Ferris Bueller on a fine spring day in Chicago and find myself licking my palms and faking stomach cramps, but now it is more likely that I will be ignoring pain in my legs and trying to convince myself that a short run will help me loosen up the muscles that are strained than anything else. It is crazy, my Netflix queue is full of running documentaries and Steve Prefontaine Movies, and my YouTube history is worse because it is full of inspirational running/sports commercials for shoe companies. Here is my favorite:



The most difficult part of this transformation is dealing with the regret that fills me anytime I think about the years that I wasted sitting on the couch watching Real World marathons or worse sitting in some coffee shop smoking.  Honestly fighting off those thoughts is harder than gutting out the last half mile of any run.  When they creep in and nest in my brain, I just try to remember that regrets are boring but challenges are much more interesting and force myself to think about things to come.

Wednesday morning, I got to the gym early so that I could run before the Sports Conditioning class.  I did the Capitol run which with one lap around the building is around 2.68 miles which I did in under 27 minutes, so I felt good about my pace.  then I joined the SC class for their first 15 to 20 mins. of abs, which was what I had planned, so with two more days to my race I was feeling pretty good about things.

Wed. 8/11 Sports Conditioning . . . sort a kind a!?!

The achilles is progressing and I want to get back to normal, but I know that I need to do things in a measured way.  Plus my second 5k is on the 21st, so I don't want to do anything that will put my participation at risk.  That said, I still want to train so that I have a shot at improving my time from my last 5k.  So last week I decided that until the 5k was over, I would only do the ab portion of the Sports Conditioning class.  That's why last week I did the 20 mins. ab portion of the class then went and ran two miles on the indoor track.  I really enjoyed it, and I might do this every once in while once I am healed just to avoid getting bored with the class.  I really need to do the abs, so I am committed to that portion of the class, but a lot of the other things that we do in the class are things, which we do in other class or that I do as part of my solo workouts.  And, recently I have begun to enjoy running on the indoor track, which is better on my body than the hard pavement.

Start of Something Bad: Wed. Sports Conditioning

I don't regret going to this class.  What I regret is that I didn't use my head and avoid things like step ups and jump rope.  Not really sure what I was thinking, but my best guess is that I just wanted to be better so badly that I tried to push it just a little too much.  The class started out well with a great ab session that I really enjoyed.  But I should have known that the rest of the class would push me in  ways that I am just not ready for at this time.  Also, I should have know that once I started taking the class that I would not back off.  When I go back to this class, I will limit myself to the ab portion of class and then move on to my own thing until my achilles are fully recovered.  Because, Thursday wasn't good, Friday was bad too, and Saturday was one of the worst days I have had yet.  Luckily things improved mightily on Sunday, but I go into all of that later.