Tuesday June 29th: Toning Class -- Home Alone Workout

I thought long and hard about skipping this class.  I really really wasn't sure about it, but as the day went on I changed my mind because I didn't want to go home to an empty house right after work.  My wife is out of the country, so I figured that if I went right after work it would just make the night longer, so I forced myself to suck it up and go to Toning class. 

I felt worn down from the weekend and Monday's class just didn't go that well, so I thought that I might need to take a day off.  I also knew that I planned to go to Sports Conditioning in the morning on Wednesday morning, which would mean that I would being do two workouts in around 12 hours.  In addition, my Achilles felt a lot better all day on Tuesday, and I was wondering if I should push it or give it some rest.  But the Toning class has no running and the Sports Conditioning class has very little running, so I thought that these two classes really wouldn't stress my Achilles that much.  This combined with the prospect of full night alone prompted my class attendance. 

I was glad that I went almost as soon as I got there.  The class was exactly what I needed.  Lots of abs work along with a good upper body workout.  We did lots of push ups, bicycles, and other ab exercises throughout the class.  I really like that this class is a very focused class with everyone staying together and doing the same exercises.  Most of the other classes that I go to don't keep everyone together, so it is nice to have one that does.  I don't want all of my classes to do that, but it is go for a change of pace.  Also, it allows you to work on form a lot more because you don't need to push yourself to keep up with your classmate. Focusing on form is much more important in a toning class than the number of reps you can blitz through, so keeping everyone going at the same pace appropriate for this class.  Also, it is nice to be able to check you form against your classmates because some people do different variations of the same exercise based upon their level, so it gives you someone options as to who follow.  I felt really good after the class and took some time to ice my Achilles after class, which I think helped. 

Monday Plycore June 28th

I am glad that I went to this class, but I should have taken the day off.  I didn't realize just how tired I was from the weekend until this class got started.  I had spent the day before helping my cousin move in Asheville then drove home to Raleigh.  I also didn't sleep well, but I was excited to go to class.  We started the class off with a big run, and I did well with it, but following the run I started to have some abdominal cramps and began feeling worn out.  I was able to push my way through the workout, but things got complicated because my Achilles began to flare up at the end too.  By the time the workout was over, I was feeling pretty out of sorts.  It is strange because everything just sort of hit me at once, and I wonder if I wasn't just a little dehydrated going into the run and then the humidity got the better of me. 

The workout:

2.33 mile run (warm up)

Sprint, butt kicks, and high knees (up and down the gym)

walking lunges up & down the gym

20 push ups

15 dips

5 box jumps

6 flights of stairs (up & down)

5 chin ups

X3

Achilles Worries: June 28th

I have recently been experiencing some soreness in my Achilles on both of my feet.  The left seems to be the worse of the two at this point.  I am sure that this is due to the increased amount of running and stairs that I have been doing.  And, I know that I need to rest up and treat this before it gets worse.  Achilles problems are common for people that run or have recently increased their amount of running.  Unfortunately it is really difficult to take the time to rest that I need.  Right now, I am hoping to get the situation under control with some stretching, anti inflammatory, and ice treatment.  Accordingly, I have been searching the Internet for some good stretches, and this on seems to be the best that I have found thus far:

Website for this stretch

 Right now I am hopeful that I can treat this without having to take a large amount of time off, but if I can't, I will be sure to move to the pool, bicycle, and weights.  But, I need to keep my fingers crossed that I have caught it early enough.

Saturday June 26th: Asheville Run

My wife is out of the country this week, so I went to Asheville to help my cousin move.  I didn't get to workout on Friday and knew that we would be doing the move on Sunday, so I decided to go for a run on Saturday morning.  Now, I don't know Asheville all that well and my cousin hates to run, so I was just praying that I wouldn't get lost, so I stuck to the Montford and Downtown areas, which I know a little.  However, I did still mange to get a little lost, but not too bad. 

I enjoyed the run a great deal because I was able to incorporate some hills into the run and the temperature was great. Nice little mountain breeze-- I can't tell you how good that felt consider Raleigh feels like Hell's kitchen these days.  Once I got back to Raleigh, I mapped out the run.  It was 3.04 miles, which is really good.  I ran all of it and could have done more easily, but I didn't want to wipe myself out for the move the next day.

Thursday the 24th of June: Treadmill Time

5 mins 3.6

20 mins 6.5

1 min 7.0

1 min 6.5

1 min 7,0

1 min 6.5
1 min 7.0
5 mins 3.6

Weds 23rd: AM Sports Conditioning -- The Return

I hadn't attended this class in three weeks because I needed a break from it.  This class was the class that I went to most regularly, and it is the one class that always has the same instructor, so I was getting a bit burned out on it.  But after three weeks, I thought that I need to return to the class because we do a lot of exercises in this class that I wouldn't do in other classes or on my own.  I know that I need to continue with the class because it really is good for me.  The ab and quad work are worth it alone.  Retuning after three weeks away from the class was really good because I could see which exercises I had improved on and which ones I had dropped off on.  I did really well with the bicycles and push ups, but the Mt. climbers and leg raises were not as easy as they had been.  I really think that if I keep coming to this class it will help me to become more well rounded, and not just do the exercises that I like doing, or just run all the time.  I still don't like the way the class doesn't stay together or that people cheat, but I've just decided that I am not going to let it bother me and just do my work.  We'll see how that goes!

Tuesday June 22: PM Toning Class

I like this class.  I went to it with my wife once again.  Bryan's class has a really good pace, and he keeps the class working together.  We used both the body bar and Dumbbells again, and I went with the 18lbs bar and the 8lb weights.  The class is an hour long but the time flies by rather quickly.  Today we really worked our abs and our arms, both of which I needed because I did a lot of running the week before.  I really needed a good ab workout.  Once again the bicycles were the featured exercise of this class.  Bryan really stresses that we do them slowly which makes them much more effective, and I like that he doesn't tell us how many to do or for how long.  He just say to do them until he says start, which is great because when you tell someone to do 50, they just sprint to 50, which is ineffective.  This is quickly becoming one of my favorite classes.

Sun June 20th: Treadmill Time

Ran pretty strong, but backed off at the end because I had run the day before too.

5 mins 3.6
15 mins 6.5
2.5 mins 7.0
2.5 mins 6.5
5. mins 3.6

June 19th: First Run at Umstead Park

My wife and I go hiking a Umstead park often. Every time we go their we see people running the trails, and I almost always comment on how crazy they are because I would be afraid that I would trip on root and fall. But secretly, I was envious of those people because I have always wanted to do just what they were doing; however, I was too out of shape to even consider it. I would see people running the trails and it would set off this deep feeling of regret because I've always wanted to be fit enough to run. I remember that as far back as Jr. High School I thought that it would be really fun to run cross country, and growing up in West Virginia and going to college in mountains of North Carolina, you couldn't ask for a better places to run trails (except during hunting season in W.V.). But, despite the strength of my desire, I used my weight as an excuse for not trying. I would go hiking sometimes and spent a lot of time in the woods camping when I was young, but I never tried to run. However, as I have lost weight and gotten stronger over the last few months, I began to think that I could actually run the trails in Umstead. And after running the 5k on the 12th, I couldn't get Umstead's trails out of my mind.

My wife and I usually hike the Company Mill Trail, which is a 5.8 mile trail. The first part of the trail leads from the parking lot to a small creek. Once you cross a small foot bridge the trail goes into a loop and you can go either left or right and you will eventually end up back at the bridge. This loop is 4.5 miles and consider to be a moderately difficult trail. At the top portion of the trail there is a small gravel road that cuts across the trail, and you can run the road to cut down the distance and difficulty of the run if you want. So, Saturday morning I got the idea that I would run the loop and cut down the road, catch the backside of the trail when it crosses over the road again, and then run to the bridge. I wasn't sure just how far this would be, but I figured that it would be near enough to 3 miles and when combined with walking the first part of the trail back and forth to the parking lot, I would have a good warm up, run, and cool down.

I left my apartment at 7:30am, which was much later than I had planned, but I was nervous and kept thinking of silly things that I need to do to prepare like takings unnecessary keys off of my key ring. It was around 8am by the time I started down the trail, but I was really excited. I had to stop myself from running before I got to the bridge, but I was able to wait. Once I crossed the bridge, I didn't hesitate at all, but I didn't bust out into a sprint either, just a normal pace. I was listening to The Black Keys new CD on my I-pod and running along the trail, and it felt incredible. Bring something that you've only dreamed about to reality is an amazing feeling. At first I was worried about tripping, but as I ran I got more comfortable and worried about it less and less. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to to run the whole route that I had selected but was determined to give it my best effort. The first part of the trail was the uphill portion, so I felt that if I could get to the road that I would have a chance. About a quarter of the way a round a group of five runners just blew right past me, but I still felt great because I was running just like they were. I made to the road with no real difficulty, but the road was a bit of a problem because I could see to far ahead and thoughts of walking started to creep into my mind a bit, but I was able to fight those thoughts off . I knew that walking would only make it more difficult to start running again, so I pushed myself to keep going. By the time I picked the trail again, the excitement started to take hold, and the thoughts of stopping were gone for go. In fact the problem now was that I didn't want to stop at the bridge like I planned and walk back to the car. I started thinking that I might just run back, but I knew that I need to stick to my plan, so when I reached the bridge I stopped running. I felt great, but I was so sweaty and it wasn't long before The Horse Flies found me. I HATE HORSE FLIES! They a evil, so despite my best efforts, I found myself doing a crazy looking half run back to my car trying not to be bitten by those bastards!!! So much for a peaceful relaxing end to my run. But, I didn't matter because I was able to do something that last year would have been the death of me. Stretching at my car, I remembered the first time that my wife and I hiked that trail, how much I huffed and puffed, and the many times that she had to stop and wait for me. And now I running it, I can't tell you how proud I felt

Thurs June 17: Plycore -- Reaching for Something New

This morning while I was working out, something happened, and the world seemed to only consist of me, the little stretch of road that I was running on, and the patch of blue sky above. I have heard that some people find there to a spiritual side of running and other people speak of a runners high. I am not sure that I know enough about what I am feeling yet to say that it is either of these, but something is happen. Each time that I run and really start to push myself, my mind just begins to relax, but my focus becomes more intense. I just get this amazing feeling of clarity and all of my thoughts seem so clear. And when I am running outside, I begin to notice things in a greater detail: the colors of the sky standout and I notice the sounds and smells around me much more than I have. I can explain the feeling of peace that comes to me as I am pushing myself farther and harder than I ever have in my life. I am sure that a skeptical person would say that this is just a chemical reaction caused by the release of adrenaline into my system, and that may be true, but that doesn't really matter. What matters is that I am beginning to feel a power, strength, and peace within myself that I have never experienced. Honestly, I feel like I am starting to unshackle the person within me that I always dreamt of being.

The workout:

Two short laps around the building (warm up)

6 flights of stairs up and down
10 Push ups
15 dips
10 kettlebell squat thrusts
5 Chin-ups
10 lunges each leg with 10lbs weights
Sprints: High knees, Butt kicks, wind print up the driveway
1 long lap
X3

26 flights of stairs up & down.

I finished this workout, but those stairs and sprints crushed me.