I Saw the Doc AGAIN...

Ran three miles to the gym, fussing with my phone a lot of the way, since the earpiece seems to have some kind of issue with sweat. I think I would have enjoyed whatever they were saying about fatal brain infections. Oh well.

I saw the doctor's vehicle at the gym, but she was done and in the locker room. I said HEY THERE to a few old friends and worked on: bicep curls, shoulder lifts, upright rows, standing back rows, lateral (shoulder) raises with rotation, abs on that slanted thing (obliques and lats, baby!), pushups on the ball, frogs on the ball, ball passes. It was great fun.

Here is a picture of a hole in the ground that I did not trip on or fall into.

I didn't make it the whole three miles back home, fussing with my phone and earpiece, missing most of the podcast on higgs bosons (I think the jokes were pretty funny: Boson walks into a church and tells the priest 'you can't have mass without me'), because suddenly, a mile from the house, there was the doc in her vehicle saying 'get in.' Which I did. The rest is dinner.

Jumps and Planks, Expanded Version for Masochists

Hey Doc! I'm so glad to see you blogging. I decided to take the night off from running since I was so wiped out last night, so for an easy workout, I did the following. Now I am considering being wiped out again... Here's a kitten just because we haven't really done that yet, and this is the internet.

5 minutes jumprope

elbow plank with left arm/right leg straight out (1 min), then right arm/left leg straight out (1 min), except that I had to go to knees pretty early for each side

elbow plank with knee pulled toward chest, shin parallel to floor (1 min), then other knee in (1 min)

2 minutes box jumps (I thought I would die)

elbow plank with knee pulled across chest to opposite shoulder (1 min), then other knee (1 min)

straight arm plank pulling knees across chest to opposite shoulders quickly (1 min) like Josh does

2 minutes box runs

elbow plank with 'donkey kick' - 90 angle bend, foot facing the sun (1 min), then other leg (1 min)

elbow plank with knee pulled to same side shoulder (1 min), then other knee (1 min)

2 minutes jumping jax/HIIT jax

straight arm plank with knee to chest (1 min), then other knee (1 min)

child's pose (1 minute) - not planned, but OMG

straight arm plank to T (1 minute)

2  minutes scissor jax

elbow plank with right foot out to side and back to mid (1 min), then left (1 min)

1 minute high knees, 1 minute buttkicks

side planks, 1 minute each side

side planks, hip to ground and back to center, 1 min each side

2 minutes squats and squat turns

thread the needle, 1 min each side

2 minute downward dog

5 minutes jumprope

I saw Lynndi!

I ran 3 miles to her house yesterday.

Then we ran 3 miles back to the gym.

Then I broke out in hives from head to toe!  I went home and took 2 benadryl and then slept for 10 hours!!!!

But that was YESTERDAY and this is today!

Today I had my last physical therapy session.  My trainer repeated the strength tests that she did at the beginning of our training sessions 2 and a half months ago.  She was very impressed with how much stronger I am.  She thinks (and I agree) that with a much stronger core that my marathon running will be improved and that my times will be better.  Unfortunately, the marathon I am doing in November is not a flat course in the city.  It is on all kinds of different terrain (beach, rainforest, hills) so my time will not be faster but I think I will feel stronger throughout and I will be able to tell the difference during my training runs along the flat streets of Chambana.

The workout I did today was on the flat belt of the treadmill.  I was a bit nervous after yesterday's hive fiasco (my skin is still sore from scratching those darn hives...and if you didn't already know it, scratching hives only results in MORE hives) so I did speedwork indoors.  I did a 2 mile warm up at my usual pace, then did six 1/4 mile repeats, running each of the 1/4 miles at a faster pace.  Then a 2 mile cool down.  My legs were shot after that workout.  I did a little more core work after running (roll outs on the stability ball, scissors, ball passes, obliques with med ball).  It felt very good and no more hives!!!  

Tomorrow:  hill work...more running ramps at the stadium.

I am hoping to actually see Lynndi again (maybe I will get to claim MY corner of the couch and we can have salads and bad television)!!!

I Saw the Doc!!

She ran three miles from the gym to my house.
We ran three miles from my house to the gym.
She showed me the new ab routine, which requires some equipment. While there, I also did 30 pikes on the stability ball, because I love and miss those so much.
Then I ran (and walked) three miles from the gym to my house.

In the backyard I did the following, 25 each, twice through:
calf raises
side bends with 15 lb weights
squats with weights, first time through at shoulder height, second time through at sides
on all fours, leg lifts (25 each side)
then fire hydrants (25 each side)
lunges with weights at side
suitcase crunches (25 each side)

And finally a 1.5 minute wall sit. I really wanted to do 2.5, but I'm going to have to work up to that.

Sunday Workout - Still no nln or Slamma

After the million cups of coffee, I had a great 5.5 mile run under mostly overcast sky. I am so glad I look down because I noticed this guy right ambling along in front of me (Cecrodia Moth Caterpillar)...

He saw me too, or rather noticed my pink and yellow shoes, because he stopped ambling along and hauled ass toward them. (My cute video of this gigantic caterpillar's race to the shoe has disappeared!)

Then I went to the backyard where a cicada was dying, and I did the following, 2 sets of 25 each:

bicep curls (heavy band);
upright rows (heavy band);
ab crunches (upper/lower) on the bench;
standing back rows, each arm (heavy band);
squat to standing, with shoulder raise (light band);
that side to side ab thing nln does, back and feet on bench (25 each side);
overhead triceps (heavy band);
chest pulls (heavy band);
bicycles (25 each side);
outer thigh lifts;
inner thigh lifts;
pushups.

Saturday Workout, Also in Review

Started with a little bit of Dutch Baby and sugar-free syrup and about fifty cups of coffee.

It was a slightly less than six mile run, but filled with walking/texting breaks due to the humidity. I continue to stop for a $1 bottle of water so that my left hand has something to do other than freak out about the sidewalk. I continue to look down. The audio track was about hugs, and I learned that if you hold that hug for 20 seconds (which is about 17 seconds beyond the average hug length), you can get a nice dose of oxytocin, which has a role in lowering cortisol. I personally don't have a cortisol lowering need, since I rely on coffee to get me any cortisol at all, but oxytocin is very very nice anyway, and this might be helpful info for everyone else. There was no time to stretch or add any exercises because I had to hang out in the hot tub after that run, and then go play the gig in Royal.

Friday Workout, in Review

This Friday's workout wasn't very strenuous, though it was humid and therefore pretended to be strenuous. It looked something like this picture. At least I had workout partners, which is otherwise never the case anymore. Unless you count wildlife.

Talking to Myself, Old Skool Workout

Got new shoes!

We're playing the CrazyK pretty soon now. Maybe I'll even run it if I can figure out how to sign up for a spot right after we're done playing.

It was a little under six miles today thanks to a detour through a field and over to the location of a future gig, the Savoy Orchard Fest. I think this is the right place.

I was sad about it, but I saw a lot of them tonight, the fallen.



And later I did the classics: 25 crunches in table position, 25 tricep pushups, 25 lower ab crunches, 25 regular pushups, 25 (each side) of those side to side ab things (I can't remember what the doc calls them, but she's got a fancy name for em), 25 decline pushups, 25 (each side) bicycle crunches, 25 regular pushups.

So Lonesome I Could Cry

This blog is a lonely place with nothing but me, the blasé resistance routines, average runs, occasional foxtails and banana peels, and frequent tragic mishaps. I guess Slamma is still down with the bones from Mars, and Dr. nln is training for a November race, but I've got my fingers crossed that they'll write to me again one day. Until then...

I downloaded a free timer app (why that took three years, I can't say) and did the following, all by myself in the backyard:

4 minutes jumprope
elbow plank with left arm/right leg straight out (30 sec), then right arm/left leg straight out (30 sec)
elbow plank with knee pulled toward chest, shin parallel to floor (30 sec), then other knee in (30 sec)
elbow plank with knee pulled across chest to opposite shoulder (30 sec), then other knee (30 sec)
1 minute box jumps
straight arm plank with knee to chest (30 sec), then other knee (30 sec)
1 minute box runs
elbow plank with 'donkey kick' - 90 angle bend, foot facing the sun (30 sec), then other leg (30 sec)
elbow plank with knee pulled to same side shoulder (30 sec), then other knee (30 sec)
1 minute jumping jax
corrected donkey kick planks
1 minute scissor jax
elbow plank with right foot out to side and back to mid (30 sec), then left (30 sec)
1 minute squat jumps
side planks, 30 sec each side
1 minute lunge jumps (prisoner jumps)
side planks, hip to ground and back to center, 30 sec each side
1 minute high knees
thread the needle, 30 sec each side
1 minute squat turns
4 minutes jumprope
1 minute downward dog

Oh Hi, Nature. What Are You Doing Out Here?

4.5 miles and then a series of things, 25 each twice through:

standing abs, knee to elbow at side, each side;
(standing) jackknifes, each side;
standing abs, knee to elbows in front, each side;
that twisty standing thing where one knee crosses the opposite elbow, each side;
bench press, 15 pound hand weights;
chest flyes, same (but 12.5 the second time through);
skull krushers, same (but 12.5 the second time through);
bicep curls, 15 pounds; upright rows, 15 pounds;
side bend (abs), 15 pound hand weights.

I think this was someone's tail. A little further down the road was a dried up body, probably not the owner of the tail but maybe its victim. I decided not to stop to photograph the poor guy.

Theme? What Theme?

5.5 mile run (or what?) with this great physical therapy innovation to keep my pinky correctly bent and occupied with something other than fear:

Then twice through 25 each of the following: lying face down with one knee bent to the side and that foot crossing over the other leg (at knee), lift the bent knee from floor as high as possible, everything else stable - each leg; fire hydrants - each leg; leg lifts (hands and knees on the floor) - each leg; frogs; supermans; bridge lifts; calf raises; and a 2:15 wall sit because it's been about a year since I did a four minute wall sit. Here is proof that I really really did it:

But as the post's title suggests, this was a fairly random workout.

Form vs Function

Yesterday I was acting like some kind of purist. I had a nice 5.5 mile run without injury or incident, though I did get bored with the podcast about yoga and switched to a bunch of songs. After that I focused on 'high quality' pushups, crunches (upper and lower), tricep dips, and those side crunch things - 50 each. And I probably ate carefully most of the day.

Today is all about variety and ignoring the shower! I did two sets of 25 each of all this stuff: mountain climbers; lower/upper ab crunches on the bench; double plie squats with weights at top and chest level; light weights shoulder raise in three positions; standing side abs; squat jumps with shoulder lift; tricep extensions; lower ab crunches on bench; balance lunges; burps; bicep curls; upright rows; standing back rows; box jumps; bicycles; chest pulls; shoulder press; tricep pulls.

The doctor is running all over Chicago.

A Tarp to Keep the Grass Dry!

This was the usual sightseeing 4.5 mile run with no other activities. I stopped for a gigantic piece of plastic which was helping to protect these plants from rain and maybe even cook em a little in the beating sun. Clever!

Some Random Arm and Ab Exercises

I can't even describe them, but they all came from the latest issue of Fitness magazine, plus a bunch of burpee and mountain climber and jumping jack and prisoner jump sets just to keep myself awake. Did em all, took nap.

and now we start increasing the mileage...

What a difference a week makes!

Last weekend WS and I ran at 7am.  It was already blazingly hot and we had worked up a sweat just standing outside!

Today, we started our run at 6:30am.  For those of you who don't know me, I am not a morning person.   In order for me to be ready to run at 6:30, I need to get up at 5:15 so that I have enough time to eat my peanut butter toast and have coffee and more importantly to DIGEST said pb toast and coffee.  5:15!  AM!  

I was in a deep, almost comatose sleep when my blaring alarm terrifyingly woke me up (I use the tone on the iPhone that sounds like an air raid signal, you know the one I am talking about)!  After my heart rate returned to normal, I checked the weather channel app (yes, I know last post I said I didn't believe them anymore, but I have nothing else to go by) to see if would even need a shirt or if I could just run in my jog bra.  Imagine my shock when I saw that the temperature was only 51 degrees!!  This is HALF the temperature that we have seen in the previous weeks!  For a brief moment, I actually contemplated wearing my running capris, but then I settled on shorts and a LONG SLEEVED running shirt.

We have started increasing mileage, so today was a 12 mile run.  What a fantastic run!  My legs haven't felt this strong in a long time.  It is SOOOOO much easier to run in cool weather.  Unfortunately, I don't hold out much hope that it will be cool on marathon day...but hey, I can hope!

And now, it is time for a NAP!!!!!

And the Kitchen Sink!

I'm sure I showed you this before, but it never gets old: the banana peel I did not slip on.

Ran something like 5.5 miles (took some detours for shade and scenery and water, so it's not exactly as the crow flies), picked peppers and hung out with the birthday cat...

Then I did two times through twenty five each of the following:
ab crunches (lower and upper, on bench)
two plies as light weights meet overhead and at chest level
shoulder raise in three positions, light weights
side abs, light weights
squat jumps with shoulder lifts, light weights
tricep extensions, light weights
lower ab crunches on the bench
balance lunges, light weight
bicep curls with heavy band
upright rows with heavy band
tricep dips on the bench
bicycle (abs) on the bench
chest pulls with heavy band
shoulder press, each arm, with heavy band

Run and Abs and Pushups

It was important to take Wednesday night off because I could barely think anymore. I considered a nap, did not consider laser tag, did consider a movie, but ended up chatting in the hot tub for a few hours and then getting some food. HA HA HA!

Here is a hole I did not fall into. I am more likely to trip on a completely flat surface.

But tonight I did the simple approach (again because my brain is too fried to think of anything else) with a 4.5 mile run plus (25 at a time) one hundred pushups and two hundred various ab crunches. Then salad and Olympics and part of a movie.

More hills!

You may be asking yourself "WHAT hills?"  And you would be justified in asking that question.   It does make hillwork difficult when you live in the flat lands of Chambana.  So, you have to be creative in finding hills.  You also have to stretch the definition of "hill."  I have attempted to do hillwork on the treadmill.  While you do get the sensation of going uphill, you don't get to experience the downhill (and if you have ever run hills, you know that the downhill is tough on your knees and requires as much training as the uphill).

Today WS and I ran the ramps at Memorial Stadium.  There were three separate ramps that went up the stadium and we ran each one twice.  This was much steeper than the parking garage we ran last week.  We were both sucking wind by the end of it, but the goal for next time is to run each ramp THREE times.

It is amazing how much more energy you have on a run when it is not blazingly hot outside!  What a treat it was to do the warm up and cool down run with an overcast sky and a cool breeze blowing!!

By the end of the run I was singing James Brown "I feel good!"  WS was trying to conquer her allergies and was strong of leg but short of breath.  Let's Australia doesn't have the same allergens.

Run and Plank

Simple: 4.5 mile run followed by seven minute plank series plus one minute downward dog plus one minute child's pose, all while listening to the Brain Science Podcast about "Secret Lives of the Brain"... Not really sure what it said, but I had a nice time.

Monday Circuit!

That's not something I saw today, or even this year, but I like it and thought it would be less boring than these words.

While Dr. non was running three miles and doing core work, I stayed in the backyard with the bad cats and did two sets of 25 of each of these:
burpees, mountain climbers, box jumps
(with bands) bicep curls, upright rows, chest pulls
v-sit with rotation with weights
scissor jacks, jumping jacks, side kicks, squat turns (180 degrees)
(with bands) standing rows, overhead triceps lower ab crunches, upper ab crunches, lower and upper ab crunches
(with light weights) crosses, hooks, jabs, cuts frogs supermans

I hope Slamma was sitting around or having a nice swim.

Girl Interrupted

Here's a gratuitous photo just in case words are too hard to look at.

Sunday's always a great day to work out twice, and the weather was perfect for it. I ran an unknown route and therefore for an unknown distance. I made a couple of stops for water and one at Body n Sole, where I learned that it's not likely I can replace the Newtons for anything less than full price. Sad but a reason to stop paying the power bill or some other luxury. Once home I goofed around, putting various pets outside and then back in, pretending to get myself clean, pretending to clean small parts of the house. But eventually I did one handweights set (not more than one because dinner was ready) with the usual stuff: shoulder raises in three positions, that plie thing with two weight positions, tricep extensions, balance lunges, squat jumps with shoulder lifts, two things I'm forgetting, and 200 ab crunches. Monday will be better.

I no longer believe the weather forecast

According to the weather channel app on my iPhone, it was supposed to be "72 degrees and mostly cloudy" this morning.  yeah right!

It felt like a thousand degrees and 100% humidity at 7am.  It is never good when you are dripping with sweat while you are still waiting for the GPS watch to catch a satellite!  I think I sweat off half my sunscreen before the first mile.  By the way, would someone please remind WS that even if she doesn't "like the feel of sunscreen on my legs" she still needs to wear it, her legs are not immune to skin cancer.

So, after treating WS like a 3 year old child and forcibly applying the sunscreen to her legs, we set out for a 10 mile run.  This is the shortest run we will do until week 14 when we start our taper.  Although it was both hot and humid, it turns out there actually was a light breeze.  We didn't notice it for the first five miles because it was pretty much at our backs the whole time.  however, at mile 5 we stopped for water and power gel and turned back around to head home.  It was a mercifully cool breeze and it helped blow the dripping sweat off of us!  The run felt pretty good.

When I got home I had a gatorade and a protein shake.  I took a short ice bath, which felt INCREDIBLE!  Now I am clean and rested.  I am confused by the sport of "Olympic Trampoline" (which is what I am watching as I type this).  While I certainly don't doubt the athleticism of these olympians, I wonder if in the years to come we will also see olympic hula hoop and pogo stick????

A Very Strange Sky

Well, the sunset looked pretty normal, but the rest of the sky was so dark, even pitching some mini-electrical fits, that a sillyhead might have started to expect rain. Not me though! I ran and ran, listening to The Other Brain, had a glass of water at Mom's, and then ran some more in total darkness down an unfamiliar sidewalk. But I did not fall. (My best guess is 6.5 miles, and I didn't bother with any abwork.)

Setbacks and Resets

I have been having pain in my right foot for quite some time now. As one of my best friends says if I state my pain is between a 4-5 it's really a 7-8. It started out as a nagging pain in my right foot, gradually it moved up my foot into my ankle and eventually my knee. Over the past month it got worse every week. Finally I accepted the inevitable and went to the doctor. My arch had a huge bump on it. I researched this online and it turns out it was a navicular bone. Basically an extra bone in the arch of my foot. Its very common among women however is aggravated by very athletic women who run or skate or do high intensity workouts. What happened is that it has gotten very inflamed, which in turn has caused stress on the tendon that runs from your foot to your knee. If I was to continue without treatment I would destroy that tendon which would be a problem because it's one of the main ones in your legs. So..the doc decided steroids and rest in an air cast would be best to give that tendon a rest and the inflammation around the bone the time to heal. She thinks in 2 weeks I can be back on skates again with some orthodontic inserts. If not we may be looking at surgery. Either way I know my body needs rest so I am listening. She said I could still lift weights with the upper body and swim for endurance workouts so that's what I'll be doing. It is, however, frustrating to know that this is caused from being 'healthy'. Still...I wouldn't trade in my perfect blood pressure, 2 sizes droped in clothing, or low cholestrol for a 'normal' foot.

Sweet Jeebus it is HOT outside!

Have I mentioned that marathon training has officially begun?  Well, actually, it "officially" began 4 weeks ago.  The training schedule has us ("us" being me and WS--who is the only other person I know crazy enough to embark on this adventure) running 4 days a week, cross training 2 days a week and taking one day off to rest.

Oh, and for those of you new to the blog (or don't gmail chat with me all day long) the adventure is a marathon in Australia in November!

Every running day also has a specific purpose.  Monday is cadence work, Tuesdays speedwork, Wednesdays hillwork and Saturdays are long runs.  Today is Wednesday.  That means hills.  You may have noticed that here in Chambana, we don't have hills.  So, we ran the parking garage in downtown Champaign.  We started with a 20 min "warm up."  Turns out that when it is 90+ degrees outside, the warm up very quickly turns into a "damn hot" up!  It was actually a relief to run the parking garage because we were in the shade.  Other than having to dodge a few cars, it was actually not bad.  We ran to the top of the garage and back down twice.  Then we did a cool down run back to my house.  Again, the term "cool down" takes on a new meaning when you actually end up hotter than you were during the workout.  I was sweating something awful by the end of the workout and my quads were angry with me, but it felt good!

after that, I ate my body weight in my mom's Indian cookin' and that felt good too!!!!