01/24/2014 PM Workout

A little crunched for time this afternoon so I stuck with a 20 minute moderate to high speed jump rope session.  I alternate step patterns constantly to give either and both feet/legs an ever changing workout.  Jumping rope is a great workout and I find it fun to do as a change.  It feels good and it really is beneficial.

On a side note,  I have a good amount of soreness in my upper body from my workout yesterday so I am happy with the routine.  I am going to revisit the same sequence next week at least twice, if not three times.

Easy trivia question.  Who's the actor and what movie is this from?  Leave your answer in the comment section.

01/23/2014 PM Workout

I was able to skip the bike tonight so I am quite happy about that.  As a second workout today, I got in about 30 minutes of soccer with the U10 girls team I help coach.  I know, soccer with 10 year old girls a workout?  However, yes it was.

I only had 6 girls show up for practice because of other in season commitments from the others on the team.  Consequently, I immediately became a valuable member of a team throughout the whole second half of practice.  I played for both teams during the passing games and scrimmage and definitely consider 30 minutes of mild to moderate exercise a conservative estimation.

On a side note, playing soccer with U10 girls makes me feel old.  Jesus they are quick.  I think I now have to adjust my beliefs on the speed I possess.

I am fast.....for my age.  Thank God for age grouping at races!

01/23/2014 AM Workout

In favor of not going outside in the 10 degree weather, I chose an inside workout this morning.  I started off with a half hour walk at 4 MPH.  2 miles in case the math started to fry your brain.  It was a good stretch of the legs and warmed me up nicely for my circuit activities that I followed up with.

I did the following set of exercises twice through with only a minute break in between rounds.  No breaks between individual exercises.

1.  2X 10 pull ups, 20 total
2.  farmer's walk for 1:30
3.  50 Russian twists
4.  10 single arm cleans each side, 25 lb. kettle
5.  20 kettle swings
6.  15 medicine ball slams, 12 lb. ball

The second time through I did 25 push ups instead of the pull ups.  Other than that, everything was the same.  It took me 15 minutes to the nose with the 1 minute break I had between the rounds.  It is a really heavy upper body workout.  This is what I have been focusing on more these days since I get a lot of lower body with the running and biking I do.

I am probably going to bike again tonight as a secondary workout for the day.  Without the ability to run often, I am itching to workout more so I can get my fitness level stronger.  I do not want to miss a lot of early running and lose fitness totally.

01/22/2014 PM Workout

Guess what's even more boring than running on a treadmill in your garage when it's only 17 degrees out?  Riding a stationary bike in your garage for 45 minutes instead because the treadmill will not turn on.  I headed out to the garage earlier knowing that it was too cold for the treadmill to turn on, but still hoping I might get lucky.  

No such luck.   I couldn't get it to turn on so I jumped on the bike.  I got in a high speed ride for 45 minutes at about 20-22 MPH.  It was a decent workout and I got a good sweat in with the bundle of clothes I had on.  

Tomorrow, with a better job of staying warm, I will brave the elements to get a good run in.  My focus from now through March is to really build my fitness/running base.  I want to head into April healthy and strong to start some specialized speed workouts and hill work.

01/21/2014 AM Workout

I am labeling this as a cross training workout even though it started as a run.  I got about 1.5 miles into what was supposed to be a 4 mile run at about 8:15/mile pace.  It only took about 13 minutes for my hands to nearly fall off in pain.  It is the beginning stages of a 6-12 inch snowstorm and the temperature is about 17 degrees F.  I was dressed fine for the run, except I have gloves that are really only rated down into the thirties.  My hands hurt.  I started off thinking 4 miles and I felt good.  After a mile, I adjusted to 3 miles because of the hands being really cold.  Then, by about 1.35 miles, I knew I was screwed.  They weren't cold anymore, they just burned.  I forced myself to finish 1.5 miles and got inside.  It took about 10 minutes for them to stop hurting.

I then quickly started a makeshift station workout for the next 15 minutes.  It was half hazard and on the fly, but my upper body is toast right now so I am happy.  Here is what it looked like:

1.  25 Pushups
2.  1 minute farmer's walk w/about 39 lbs. on each side.
3.  5 scorpions to each side
4.  30 Russian twists
5.  10 Medball slams

I did this whole workout 3-4 times through with no breaks between each item and only about 30 seconds between sets.  Again, the timing is all estimated loosely.  I through it together so don't hold me to timing.  

I am going to try to get on the bike or treadmill later if it is possible.  Unless I am doing a lot of snow removal.  By the way, that's not me in the picture.  I just saw it and liked it.

01/20/2014 AM Workout

A good run is a good run.  Sometimes that is all I need for the rest of the day to go well.  I got a good solid 5 mile jog in for 45 minutes.  While the 9 minute mile pace is slow, I was glad to have it.  Sometimes I like the feeling of finishing and knowing I could have gone another 5 miles at the same pace.  It felt good to go slow and leave some in the tank.  

As I have read a lot about running theories over the years, I have started to build a solid belief system of my own.  One of my major beliefs is that you have to have all different speeds included in your workout.  Slow, medium, and fast workouts all have a place in your training plan.  More on that subject and other training ideas to follow.

Finally, the only thing I didn't like about the run was how cold it was.  I am a cold weather wimp.  However, I am telling myself to suck it up.