Wednesday, January 21, 2009

I love my coffee.

Sorry I haven't posted for a few days.
Here's what I've been doing, exercise-wise:
Thursday I went back to Spinning class - 55 minutes of serious cardio and sweat, sweat, sweat. I'm not even going to mention the sauna anymore. If I go to the gym, the sauna's a given.
Friday & Saturday: no workout either day.
Sunday: Ran nine miles around town with Barry, Eric, Glen, Lanier, Matt, Mark & Whitney.
Monday: Ran five miles around town with Kristi & Madelyn.
Tuesday: Spinning class (only 45 minutes as Jim was filling in for Debbie, whose classes are usually a bit more intense and a bit longer). Still, though, Jim gave us a good steady workout with five "laps" that included a short seated flat, a medium seated climb and a lengthy standing climb followed by a three-minute seated flat recovery.
OK.
That's all for now.
Time for more coffee.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Sweatin' to the "Oldies"

After Sunday's long run, I opted to take it easy Monday and spent 15 minutes stretching in the therapy pool at the gym before swimming a couple laps in the regular pool.
Tuesday I was supposed to meet Kristi for an early-morning run and a stint on the stadium steps but Nash woke up at 1:47 a.m. and did not go back to sleep until 5:20. As our scheduled meeting time approached, I realized I wasn't going to be able to "sneak" out the door as my "men" slept after all, so I had already called Krist and cancelled.
The day wasn't a total workout-wash, however, as I went to Debbie's 5:30 p.m. Spinning class. As always, it was a tough workout presented in such a way to make attendees have so much fun they forget how hard they are actually working. The theme was '80s music, which is my coming-of-age decade. We sweated buckets as we raced along hills, valleys and straightaways for 55 minutes while grooving along to Duran Duran, A Flock of Seagulls, Guns-N-Roses, Ratt, Madonna, The Pointer Sisters, Bryan Adams, Whitesnake and so on! It was totally rad, dude, like awesome, ya know!
On another note, I finally went to the new Publix yesterday. While the place is certainly a bit pricier than other area markets, the selection of organic foods and gourmet fare is like nothing we've ever had in Limestone County. How wonderful to be able to make a six-minute drive for sushi, gourmet cheeses and breads, and fresh, organic, "exotic" produce instead of having to make the half-hour trek to Madison! Yea, Publix! Yea!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Go long

Wow!
What a great start to a great day!
At 5:45 this morning, I met up with Madelyn, Kristi, Eric, Glen, Mark & Barry for an invigorating run through the streets of Athens. We started at the track and went varying totals...the guys did 10-plus miles but (because I'm a bit of a wimp still) Madelyn, Kristi and I turned back at about six miles and ended up with only 9.25.
We ran pretty steady the whole time at about a 9-minute pace, which certainly isn't fast but that's much longer a run than I've done at all for the past year so I was pleased with it.
Madelyn & Kristi followed up our 9.25 with a couple of treks up and down the steps at the AHS stadium! OUCH! (Of course, I'm looking forward to the time, a few weeks down the road, when I've finally gotten myself back into shape enough to do the steps with them!)
OK, here's a catch-up of my week since that awesome spinning class on Tuesday. Wednesday I ran three miles in the morning then went to the gym in the evening where I did 15 minutes on the elliptical (including that whole backward rotation thing, again, OUCH!) and spent 15 minutes in the sauna.
On Thursday I spent the whole day in a grant-writing workshop and wasn't able to find time for a workout.
Friday I went to the gym and did 10 minutes on the elliptical, another 10 on the treadmill (torture!), five on the weird side-to-side stair stepper thingy, and then 15 or so on the stationary bike followed by another sweatily glorious 15-minutes in the sauna.
Saturday morning I went to the 55-minute spinning class and, of course, the sauna again.
Today, 9.25 miles.
That puts me at 23.6 miles for the year so far. Not much compared to some of my friends who are running 15 to 18 miles each Saturday, but these are my miles, so I'm going to claim them!

Friday, January 9, 2009



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Wednesday, January 7, 2009

A new twist, er...spin on things

Something new happened yesterday!
I made it all the way through spinning class without even once thinking I was going to die!
And it was the first time I've even been to the class in several months.
Wow!
It was great!
Every single time I've ever taken the class not only have I allowed myself to slack my way through, but I've also - about ten minutes in - always thought I'd absolutely keel over before I finished. But not yesterday. Yesterday, the whole time, I pushed myself as hard as I could push and never once did I want to stop.
It was absolutely exhilarating!
Anyway...so today I ran a scant little three miles at the track and along the Greenway. I may go to the gym this evening, as well. Not sure yet.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Yesterday, today & tomorrow

Today, nothing.
Yesterday, in the early a.m.: 4.25 miles (2-ish with Madelyn & Kristi, who I encountered just as I was crossing Highway 31 to reach the track); then in the p.m.: 15 minutes on the eliptical followed by 15 minutes in the sauna.
Tomorrow: Spinning class, maybe.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Rain, rain went away

Just as I was about to head out the door for a run around 8 this morning, the rain came fallin' down. I was rather disappointed. Since I was already dressed for a workout, I went to the gym and by the time I got there, the rain had stopped so I stashed my gym bag in a locker and took off on the course of a now-defunct 5K that starts & finishes at the park right next to the gym.
What a wonderful, cool morning it was!
When I got back to the gym I climbed on the eliptical for 15 minutes, alternating backwards and forwards for the last six minutes.
Then I sat in the sauna for 15 minutes.
What luxury!
I MUST do this more often.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Just call me Olive

No run today.
Went to the gym instead, sat in the sauna for 15 minutes, got out, cooled off, and went back in for 10 minutes more.
It's been way too long since I've done that and it FELT GREAT!
I was so wonderfully relaxed afterward. It was absolutely worth skipping the workout.

Before I got in the sauna, I weighed on the medical scale in the dressing room.
121.
How can that be? I eat junkety junk food as much as I want and, let's face it, I haven't really been on top of any real exercise regime in the last few months.
Ugh.
Must build muscle!
Despite what those on the other end of the scale may think, being scrawny-fied is NOT the gold at the end of the diet rainbow.
Ugh. I mean, really, nobody ever holds Olive Oyl up as the epitome of good health, now do they?

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Speaking in generalities

Today, as I was eating black-eyed peas and greens with the inlaws, I decided to look up the why-withall of this New Year's Day tradition...so here it is...courtesy of wikipedia.

"Hoppin' John is the Southern United States' version of the rice and beans dish traditional throughout the Caribbean. It consists of field peas or crowder peas (black-eyed peas) and rice, with chopped onion and sliced bacon, seasoned with a bit of salt. Some people substitute ham hock or fatback for the conventional bacon; a few use green peppers or vinegar and spices. Throughout the coastal South, eating Hoppin' John on New Year's Day is thought to bring a year filled with luck...The peas, or beans with little black “eyes,” signify coins. Fill your plate with them and your cup will run over, as in the 23rd Psalm, perhaps. Collard greens along with this dish are supposed to also add to the wealth since they are the color of money. On the day after New Year's Day, leftover "Hoppin' John" is called "Skippin' Jenny," and further demonstrates one's frugality, bringing an even better chance of prosperity in the New Year, it is hoped."

So, there you have it.

There's no tradition, really, to eating strawberry swirled cheesecake for breakfast, but that's what I did this morning. It was yummy but I sure did feel all heavy and slow on my pitiful little four-miler just now.
Oh, well.
Still, four miles after having cheesecake for breakfast is better than no miles after having cheesecake for breakfast, right?
Maybe there is a bit of tradition to be established here, though. The reason I ate the cheesecake in the first place was because I have decided to allow myself more little luxuries and enjoy life more. For me, getting out and running four or five miles almost every day is just about the ultimate in luxury. So, maybe that'll be an easy resolution to keep.
Another luxury I afforded myself today: I got out the door bright and early to take Nash to the park. We fed the ducks and played on the slide and just generally enjoyed each other's company.
Then, while grocery shopping, I bought two avocados, some sour cream, green onions and multigrain Tostitos. Later tonight, I'm gonna make myself some guacamole for no reason other than I like guacamole.
So, there!
Happy 2009 friends!