Workouts this week: March 12

How is it the middle of March already? Wow.

March 12: Off
Took Sunday off after a week of workouts

March 13: Bodypump + mile 

Did a 60 minute BodyPump class. So hard. Always. I kept the same weight and didn't try to increase. How does the teacher do three time my weight and not be out of breath?

Afterwards, I ran a mile in 7:51 on the indoor track and then an 800 in 3:53. Just trying to get more miles in. And test out my ankle. It hurt all day Saturday. Sunday it was fine (because I was lazy) and it flared up again Monday. I wore boots to work and the small heel hurt. I went home and got a compression sleeve and black tennis shoes. And I iced it and kept it elevated the rest of the day.

Did I sprain it? It's not bruised or swollen but it still hurts. Maybe it's an out for my race Sunday when it's supposed to be freezing.

March 14: Indoor run
Today was supposed to be my long run but it was freezing. The plan was to go outside and run and see if I could run in the cold. I got dressed in warm running clothes and went outside. It was 46 degrees and the wind was blowing. I took the dog out and decided it was too cold to run. So I changed and ran at the indoor track. Running is supposed to be fun. Not miserable. I don't run in the cold. I'm not trying to prove how tough I am. Not worth it for me.

I'm not sure quite what the plan was. I would have liked to get 6 miles in, but I was tired. I ran five miles—40 laps, which is the longest I've ever run indoors. It gets so repetitive. I used to HATE running the 3200m in high school because eight laps was so boring. I just ran 40. I couldn't bring myself to run another mile. I felt okay afterwards at home so maybe that was the right call.

March 15: gymnastics
There was a lot of standing around at gymnastics tonight. I was playing on the bars and the other people were just taking too long. Or I was being impatient.

March 16: speed work 
The training plan called for 10x400s so that's what I ran. I ran them consistently at 1:51s. Which is fast for my 5k pace. I could run 1:30s no problem when I was in high school. ::cries:: And I felt like I should get more miles in so I ran an 800 for a total for 3 miles.

Speed work takes so much time. I could run three miles faster without all of those breaks. I walked 100 meters between the 400s. And I think I've run a mile faster before.

March 17: yoga
I've missed yoga. First yoga class in almost three weeks. I've missed yoga! I didn't realize it had been that long, but there were no Fridays without yoga classes (no classes due to spring break). So that explains why it felt harder than normal. I really was rusty.

It was a busy day. I left the house at 7:30 a.m. Had lunch with a friend, yoga after work, dinner with friends. I was home at 9:30 p.m. That's too long of a day for me. (It's okay every once in a while and I should do more things with friends. Just tired afterwards. How do normal people do it.)

Fish from La Dolce Vita

March 18: long run
I've been tired all week. I was exhausted yesterday. I wanted to sleep in today but the cat wouldn't let me. And I went to a trapeze class at noon. I went to do my long run around 5:30 p.m. I should always do my long run after a day off. Not at the end of the week when I'm exhausted. The back of my thighs were sore during my warmup. And I think I hurt my hip at trapeze. Today's run felt awful. I was so tired. I just didn't feel strong. I ran 8:50s, which is slow. The plan was to run 8 miles. I honestly should have stopped at 2 but did 6.5. I had to stop and walk a few times (which sucks). I think I'm overtraining. I need more days off. (I've been saying this a lot lately!)

Post run handstand

Handstand progress

I've been working on a handstand for forever. (A year and a half.)

I started doing handstands at the trampoline gym and circuit training class. That progressed to wall handstands and gymnastics classes and finally taking a handstand class.

Progress is slow but I'm getting there.

My husband snapped this one of my at gymnastics tonight.
1. Straight up and down. (I tend to tilt my hips and not form a line. Or arch my back)
2. Toes pointed
3. My hands might be a tad wide, but it's okay
4. My head might be a tad out.
5.. Fingers are tented.
I'll take it. I can tell the difference between my handstand now and last summer. 

The goal is a 10 second hold. This picture was like a 2 second hold. I have more 5 second holds now.
I've got a better idea where my balance point is and more holds and fewer junk handstands. (Still plenty of those.)

I still need to work on
• Really squeezing my quads and butt to straighten my handstand out
• Entries. Getting me head between my arms and not out.
• Holding longer. Finding that balance point and holding it—instead of kicking up too hard and falling over.

Super happy about my progress on handstands and hope to be able to hold it longer each month.

Goal: Practice at home.
I don't have a lot of space to practice in my townhouse, so I take a Sunday handstand class and Wednesday gymnastics. That's twice a week. If I can get a few handstands in at my house or at the student gym, I think I'll make more progress. I've really just been doing them once a week and that's not enough.

(What I wore: Glyder Mosiac crop and Athleta PR tank. I like tanks with built in bras that won't come up like a loose tank might for gymnastics. )

Bonus: My husband came with me to my adult tumbling class tonight  :) It was awesome. He had a blast. He said "that was a lot of fun for $10. They have all the toys. You can pick want you want to do. And there are coaches around to help you do it." He wanted to play on the bars. So Robert worked with him on basic bar work. I think he wants to do a kip.

We walked on the balance beams. I showed him the cheese wheel for back handsprings. We played on the tumble track. He played on the parallel bars and had a bar set up for him on the floor.

Lesson: You're never too old for gymnastics. (My husband is 35.) And it is fun!

Handstand practice

Missed my workout at the gym today, so I had to improvise.

25 minutes on the exercise bike—with weights
Assisted pull-ups
Russian twists, crunches, scissor switches and flutter kicks
Handstands

Handstands turned into a selfie party. It started because I wanted to see my form, but then I kept playing. I ended up using a shoe as a camera holder and setting the iPhone timer for 10 seconds. I got some awful shots (below).

The top one is a shameless but I like it. My arms look a little too open (see how my forearms aren't in line with my arms. Weird). L handstands are a good strength exercise.

L handstands
• Sit on the floor, with your back against the wall. With your legs straight, see where your feet are. That's where you want to put your hands.
• Stand up and turn around and put your back towards the wall. Put your hands down in that spot you just measured and walk your feet up the wall.
• You want your body at 90 degrees. You want your legs to be a straight line. You want your back to be a straight line, with the bend at your waist (opposite of sitting down on the floor when you were figuring our where you hands go.)
• Try and hold it.
• It gets easier with practice, but it's killer on my arms.

 #stronggirls.

Year midpoint goal check

Half of 2015 has flown by. How is this possible?

But what a great time to look at my fitness goals from January and see where I am.

1) Get my left split.  Done.

Doing a split at Pure Barre. 

2) Front tuck on the floor (with a spring board is acceptable).  Haven't tried. I can't figure out run, run punch. 

3) Climb once a month. I got certified to climb in February and have climbed twice and mean to go this weekend (before even looking at this post.) I miss climbing.

4) Keep trying new classes (once a month if I can find something new).

Have tried trapeze, a new barre class, a different Pure Barre, a SPARC class, fitness class at Rush, ninja course at Rush and took up running. I'd say good progress is made on this.

Taking a class at SPARC.

5) Take a class at Leap Flying Trapeze school.  Done. Obsessed.

6) Try the 6 a.m. Pure Barre class. Have yet to do.

7) The the vertical pole class at Canopy. My goal to do this summer maybe this month. 

8) Hold a handstand for at least 5 or 10 second. I'm still working on my handstands but think I've gotten a five second hold a few times.

Handstand on the beach.

9) Buy something from Lululemon. (Maybe a cute top for my birthday). I have 20 or so pieces and am a total Lululemon addict. I've spent my lulu budget for the month and aren't allowed to buy anything else.

10) Keep working on 6-pack abs. (One day!). My abs are looking good from Pure Barre. Not six-lack, but it's a something pack when I suck in ;) 

So, four of these goals I can check off as done, with two in progress and four to work on. I'd count this as progress.

Maybe I should even add a few goals. (Not necessarily by the end of the year.) 

1) Bump up running to twice a week.

2) Run a 5k. Before next summer.

3) Run a 5k in under 25 minutes.

4) Get a fitness tracker.

5) Touch my feet to my head. (Handstand scorpion).

Working on my scorpion. I can hold my
 own weight for about two seconds! Will get this trick. 

6) Do body composition testing.

7) Make a fitness plan for the fall.
8) In 2016, find some relay races to run in like the Chick Fil-A Half or the All Comers Track meet.
9) Take a class at Blast.
10) Try a pilates class. 

Handstands on the beach

After driving 6.5 hours to the beach, I really needed to stretch my legs and my back. My sister lives a mile from the beach so we went and walked on the beach at sunset. It was really nice. And by the end my calves were killing me, so a good workout too.

I wanted to do some handstands—in part to stretch out my back some, but sand is hard to do handstands in. I couldn't get my balance on the soft sand. I could get my balance better on the hard wet sand by the waves, but the ground was a tad uneven, so that made balancing a little more challenging. We'll see if I can get a handstand split while I'm here.