Workouts this week: Week of Jan. 29

Sunday: Bodypump + Yoga

Dose of weight lifting followed by an hour of yoga.

In yoga, I did the easy option of everything. Went straight to downward dog or child's pose.

A girl complimented me on my arms after BodyPump. It totally made my day. I do like my somewhat beastly arms. They're muscular (without looking like I take steroids). I think I look strong. And I've been working on them for four years. :)

Monday: Off
Scheduled off day. Went home and relaxed.

Tuesday: Trail Run
Tried a new trail. Didn't die. Have some nice bruises to show for it. More about it here.

Wednesday: Rest
I was tired. I listened to my body and went home and slept for two hours. And had no trouble falling asleep that night. I needed the rest.

Thursday: 4 mile trail run
Ran at the IM Fields today. It's always hard to get over there after work before the sun goes down. Traffic is brutal. I tried a different route to drive over there and it might have been slower. (I think I could run over there faster).

I ran 4 miles. The goal was just 2 since I was so tired after Tuesday, but my legs always feel better after mile 2. So I did 4.

My goal was to do a saved Strava segment, but even though I did the segment, I didn't get credit for it. My GPS threw a weird signal and shows me starting in the middle of the lake (when I made sure to stand in the exact spot the segment started. I had it open.) That was kind of annoying

Friday: Lunch pilates

Third Friday gymnastics meet in a row. So that means I can't go to yoga. (Miss you YOGA). So I go to lunch pilates.

I prefer yoga. But today the class was in a new building on campus—that I hadn't been in before. Was pretty cool. So nice to get out to another part of campus.

Saturday: Speed work at the indoor track
Did 8x800s at the indoor track. They were nice and consistent.
3:40, 3:37, 3:42, 3:40, 3:41, 3:45, 3:44, 3:33. I can run all day if I can take breaks. Why can't my 5k time be that fast?

 I rewarded myself with chicken and waffles afterwards. (I couldn't finish. It was too much)

Workouts this week: Jan. 15

Workouts this week: Jan. 15

Sunday: BodyPump + Yoga
First double workout of 2017. I did an hour of BodyPump followed by an hour of yoga. I haven't done this combo in over a month, so I died in yoga. I'm not usually that dead. Usually I always go for the hardest option. In this class, I just went straight to downward dog a lot.
Still, I like taking the time to stretch after lifting.

Monday: Run at the IM Fields
I had the day off workout and it was 61 degrees out, so I did a trail run. (5.72 miles in Strava, 5.1 on my Apple watch)
8:24 pace.

Tuesday: Off

Wednesday: Gymnastics
Went back to gymnastics for the first time in a while. Worked on the usual: Handstand forward roll and back handspring. I might have accidentally whacked a coach in the face. Oops. I think he was fine.

(Ran a mile before gymnastics. Since I was early and need every mile I can for the challenge. There's a .7 mile walking track that I thought would work. Only it wasn't lit. I had to use the flashlight feature on my phone. Not my best idea to run in the dark. But got my mile in.)

Thursday: Run + Yoga
Usually I'd run after work, but there was a free class at Lululemon that I really wanted to go to (the last one was SO good) so I ran on my lunch break. I probably only have time to run 30 miles, but I usually want to run more. I did 3.66 miles in 30 minutes. (I thought I ran closer to 4.)

After work, there was yoga at Lululemon. It was yoga for runners. And it was a more intensive than I'd anticipated. I'd wanted an easy, stretching class given all the miles I'd put in lately. But this class kicked my butt. There were no breaks. It was fast and intense. It would sub this for a workout. Not in addition to running. And I got two free class cards. (For when I'm not as tired).

Friday: Lunch pilates
I had tickets to see college gymnastics so I couldn't really make yoga. So I went to lunch pilates instead.

Foggy morning run. It poured all morning—
starting right after my run.

Saturday
I had to get the last 4 miles for that Lululemon challenge in. I got up early and got my run in before 9 a.m. (which is my favorite. To get my run in first thing. But it's usually too cold to do this in winter). It started pouring almost as soon as I was done with my run. My legs were super heavy. Mile 3 was awful. And then I started feeling better.

Put I did it 25 miles in two weeks. More on the challenge in a separate post.

Workouts this week: New Year's

I had a lazy week. I blame the holidays. I just felt like sitting around.

Sunday: Home workout

45 minutes of interval training. Five minutes on the exercise bike + 100 abs, pushups and pull-ups. Repeat.
Lots of abs, arms, and legs.

Monday: Off
Did 15 minutes on the exercise bike to keep Apple Watch happy

Tuesday: Back to work
The university being open meant the gym was open—so ran 4 miles on the indoor track.

Wednesday: Exercise bike
I was going to go to the gym and use the machines. I thought it would easier just to do my exercise bike + ab and arm circuit at home. So that's what I did.
45 minute workout.

Thursday: Indoor run
I tried out the Strava app—because Lululemon and Strava have a promotion. Run 25 miles in two weeks and you get something (IDK what) at Lululemon. I can run that mileage so I downloaded the app again (I've tried it and hated it twice before), so I tried it again today.

I ran 2 miles on an indoor track with good wifi. I had my phone and apple watch on me. My Apple Watch says I ran 1.8 miles, the Strava app says 1.2.

Well I can't run 25 miles if the app cheats me half my mileage. Guess I won't be participating in that challenge, since you can't import workouts.

The track is crazy busy. It;s always crazy busy with New Year's resolution people. I always forget though. And it's extra shocking because the gym is so empty in December. It's hard to move through people. Technically you're supposed to walk on the inside and pass on the outside, but it's really a free for all.

Friday: Pilates

Saturday: Exercise bike: 28 minutes. It was a snow day. There was a dusting of snow. So everything was closed. And I was super unmotivated.

The nerdy girl's guide to pilates

Today I tried pilates.

I felt like I knew what pilates was. There are elements of pilates in Pure Barre. I think I did a DVD or two of pilates back in college.

Pilates was not what I was expecting. I went straight for the tower class. I figured I'd done TRX before, I'd be good.

Hahahahahahaha. I'm not sure if I've even been so bad at something in my life.  (Well yes, I am bad at lots of things, but I should have set my expectations lower.)

The class was small. There are only three tower machines. So the class could max out at three. It was a white haired lady, me and the instructor. The instructor seemed really knowledgable and could tell what was tight on me (glutes, okay well everything).

For most of the class you're on a low table covered by a mat. One end is open and one end has the tower. You'll be sitting or lying or stretching on your side for most of the class. Part of the class used a bar on springs, or straps (like TRX) that attached to the tower and you put your feet in.

There were some hip openers (that would probably be familiar to yoga people), and deep breathing.

The class started off with a lot of stretching.

My favorite part of the class was using the bar and the straps. It worked all of your muscles harder. I even got to put my knees over the bar like a trapeze knee hang! (HIGHLIGHT)

That said, I'm pretty sure I did everything wrong.

Turn my shoulder in my socket? I don't even know what that means.

I got a lot of corrections. Which is understandable. The movements were completely new to me. Sure, I can push down on a lever and do leg or hip circles—but the pilates moves muscles in a way I wasn't used to. It was moving my abs deeper than I ever have before. And dropping my shoulders without popping my ribs. I just kept thinking "I don't move that way" when I got corrections.

I have a weird back. I have an eight degree curve in my spine. My tailbone sticks out more than it should. But if I go to the chiropractor every few months when I'm feeling out of whack then I'm fine. It doesn't bother me. Apparently, I should have told the instructor this, so she would know that my back really doesn't move that way. It's just never been an issue. It doesn't effect my ability to run or flip or stand on my hands. But when I'm lying on my back—it makes a difference.

I'm thinking about buying a month to the studio to try out the different classes. If so, I'd try it out again. And see if I'm any better the second time around. Apparently the learning curve is 3-4 classes.

The down side was that my heart rate never got up, there were only two or three exercises that used any sort of strength and I was probably doing them wrong. It could be day for a day when I'm all beat up

All in all, I I think the class hurt my pride.

Nerdy Girl's Guide to pilates

What to wear: I'd wear yoga clothes and socks. I wore socks and it was probably better to wear socks with the pilates straps. (I wore full length leggings since it was cold out.)

What to expect: Do more prep work than I did. Lots of stretching, movements using your core, especially hips, tailbone and some pelvic floor.

Best for: People looking for a low intensity workout. (Mother-in-law, you should try this.)

Advice: Maybe don't go straight to tower, if you're a newbie.

Would I go back? I certainly have a lot to learn. I'd like to try some of the other pilates classes before I decide on this discipline. I should keep it in mind for days when I'm bruised, limping or achey. I really should stretch more.