General Cardio

Cranked out a quickish 5k on the rower today before Pilates class. Time was roughly 26 minutes but I wasn’t really cranking hard - more like a few minutes of warmup, then one minute hard, one minute recovery for the duration. Rowing seems to be pretty stong for me so I’m working hard on form and will be shooting for a sub-20 minute 5k by using pacing boat workouts and also really working on my pushoff. Currently my pushoff is too arm-driven and flat - apparently the display (on the screen of your power output) is meant to look more like a haystack if you’re correctly stomping/starting with your legs rather than arms.

Logbook Activity

• Type: General Cardio
• Date: 04/03/2008
• Time: 17:15:00
• Total Time: 00:30:00.00

Logbook Activity

• Type: General Cardio
• Date: 04/01/2008
• Time: 17:30:00
• Total Time: 00:20:00.00

I’m pretty sure I can pinpoint when my dependence on devices began. Though I’m not sure of the year, I am sure it was when AT&T Wireless first introduced their ‘unlimited minutes’ wireless plan. I had a mobile prior to that but really only made use of it for the odd “one the run” call or emergency. The unlimited plan removed the barrier to continuous use and, as I recall, also included data. The phone was enormous and expensive and it began a cycle of complete dependence on devices for me. There were digital organizers, translating hand-held devices, phone after phone after phone after PDA after messaging/phone/web device, smart watches, portable DVD players, noise cancelling headphones, music devices, and countless laptops for the massive amount of travelling I was doing. Then came my fitness programs bringing a whole slew of new device fun – more music players, heart rate monitors, several GPS/heart rate monitors,  and, of course, a little fob to stick in my shoe that wirelessly connected to a device that plugged into my portable music player to tell me over my noise cancelling headphones how fast I was running. SRSLY? I’m sure there’s more – sure I’m missing some KEY category of mobile/technology/gadget but you get the point. I’ve become hopelessly addicted to devices.

The addiction isn’t the worst of it. What’s worse is that I use those devices to distract and distance myself from what’s going IN and AROUND me. Let’s take the latter first. Arguably blocking out what’s going on around you is sometimes a great thing – snoring seatmates on long flights – but for me, at least, it’s become a continual and compulsive habit. Car radio, headphones, mobile e-mail, television, sometimes all at the SAME time mean I rarely experience anything organically unless I’m specifically out hiking which happens all of about 1/every six months. My room at the B&B in the desert had ZERO entertainment or media devices. No television, radio, or even clock and it was blissful not just to turn one of them off but to eliminate ALL of them for most of the time and use one, maybe, occasionally to punctuate or accentuate a moment. I did listen to some music on my drive out through Joshua Tree National park but it was the only time and I did so consciously  - to augment my experience – and to create a touchstone that I could use later to access the feelings of peace and relaxation. (I tried it at the office yesterday during a particularly stressful time and it really worked – for a few moments I felt the pressure fall away and soon I felt clear enough to continue on my long ‘to do’ list.) Since returning from my trip I’ve made the change almost without even thinking about it. Now I don’t always have the radio on in the car – industriously seeking a channel that’s not on a commercial, or switching to CD or my IPod plug in to ENSURE that I am distracted by something that I’m CHOOSING to listen to as opposed to nothing or merely what’s going on around me. I don’t have a television in the room I spend most of my time in at home, so I’m finding that perhaps I sit down and watch something a night or two a week – and really kind of enjoy it – but only watching what I’m really enjoying. Somehow my DVR had become another “to-do” list and I’d find myself  “Cranking through” television in order to delete it to make space for more to record. Entertainment as a “to-do” list? I really think I might have gone around the bend.   

Ok, point made. More importantly I’m afraid that these devices really get me out of touch with what’s happening with/inside my body. I plug in tunes so I can’t hear the sound of my breath laboring through exercise and so the time will “pass more quickly” and I won’t have to think about how hard I’m working or which muscles are moving or how they are doing while I’m forcing myself to do activities that I think are most likely to make my body into something that I love. I watch a heart rate monitor screen to see how my body is responding to the work I’m doing and really?? Really??, I’m not training for the Olympic time trials here so WHY WHY WHY does it matter if my HR is 137 or 142? Sheesh. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with these devices or that they can’t provide benefits – what I am saying is that I’ve gone completely overboard and that I’m missing out on a lot by covering myself with them. Part of what has made this clear to me is that I have YET to crave headphones and my iPod while doing Yoga. Quite the opposite, in fact. I love listening to my breath and working (and MAN does it take work for my crack addled brain) to mentally focus. So lately I’ve been hitting the gym just as often as I used to but am doing more yoga, more swimming (and NO I haven’t yet purchased a waterproof music device and hopefully won’t), and even cardio sans music. Yes, I hear the whir of the machines and the conversations of those around me and for now that’s perfectly fine. At least I feel like I’m experiencing the world around me and perhaps if I keep doing that and stop trying desperately to distract myself from it and/or block it out I’ll relax a little and be just a little more at peace every moment rather than blocking it all out until I’m nearly ready to jump off a building to escape it all.

We’ll see how long I last

Logbook Activity

• Type: General Cardio
• Date: 01/17/2008
• Time: 07:30:00
• Total Time: 00:45:00.00

Brussels Sprouts and Chocolate are a nutritious dinner, right? 

My eating habits have been quite strange lately – due to massive changes in my life, and schedule. Last night’s dinner? A starter of raw celery and carrots followed by a main of steamed then quickly sautéed Brussels sprouts and one half of a dark chocolate bar for dessert. Oh, then I may have had a few whole-wheat ginger/Cocoa tiny cookies, too.  Weird, right? I’ve just really been “off” protein for quite some time except for a nearly daily craving for scrambled egg whites with some veggies.  

*shrug* Can’t say I felt amazing at spinning this morning but it was an awesome class with a bunch of climbing intervals with “active recovery” in between. Lifted for 30mins or so after on the Free Motion then closed off with a quick lap of lunges.  

Oh, and my doubles partner didn’t show up for our match on Friday night so one of the instructors was kind enough to hang around after his shift and play 2 sets of singles with me. Yeeeoooww! It was really nice of him, and I had a great time hitting lots of ground strokes. He was gracious enough to let me win a game or two so I went home tired but happy! Fridays sure are long days, with Pilates at 6am, 30 mins on the stepmill after that, then tennis from 6:45-8pm.

Super excellent tennis practice last night with lots of running drills. Given all the huffing and puffing I was doing it’s clear that I need to jump back into doing some interval running drills! We worked some short approach shots followed by deep lobs that we had to run back for - and run around to hit a forehand on then some poaching drills as well as ton of volleys. This is the first coaching series in a while that I feel is really improving my stroke consistency - this coach is super good about giving “tricks” to remember: showing off your “diamond ring” on your left hand when hitting a forehand in order to keep your balance, or little mantras like “Turn, Punch” for proper volley form that doesn’t send them straight into the net :-)  

Logbook Activity

• Type: General Cardio
• Date: 11/13/2007
• Time: 18:45:00
• Total Time: 1:15:00.00

I’m taking things a little easier these days. Taking it slow and being a little nicer to myself while doing everything I need to get done. I learned a strange thing: if I slow down and relax it all STILL GETS DONE. amazing.

So Sunday and today did a half hour of light cardio on the stepmill. Yesterday (Monday) decided that a brisk dog walk prior to the CT scan would be sufficient. Need to do some lunges/rear work (ha!) and some arms - so maybe tomorrow after Pilates.

For now it’s off to tennis drills. yay! We started a new session with the start of November and got a new instructor who talks a LOT less than the one last time. More hitting = better strokes!

Logbook Activity

• Type: General Cardio
• Date: 11/13/2007
• Time: 07:30:00
• Total Time: 00:30:00.00

Having decided to back off from serious training and taking a more relaxed approach to fitness is really lovely, I have to say. Today after Pilates I jumped on the stepmill for a very moderate intensity 30minute interval hill climb. Kept it purposefully low-key as we have a tennis match tonight and I need to have some legs left to chase down angles and those pesky lobs!

Logbook Activity

• Type: Other
• Date: 11/02/2007
• Time: 06:00:00
• Total Time: 1:30:00.00

Logbook Activity

• Type: General Cardio
• Date: 08/25/2007
• Time: 08:00:00

Today was my first day back to work and the gym after an incredibly strenuous ‘vacation’ spent on hard-core house projects such as clearing and hauling 3 years of brush from our woody lot, 4 carloads of assorted construction scraps and computers to the transfer station and electronics recycling dropoff, stripping, filling, grouting and sealing about 1000 square feet of marble flooring, weeding, and lugging 10yards of bark in one-bucket increments up a long flight of stairs, dumping it over a railing, then raking and spreading up the hillside from there. Excellent to get so much done, the place looks great but it was completely exhausting working about 8-10 hours each and every day for as many days in a row as possible. *phew*! Great to come back to the office and sit on my butt!

Got back into the swing with a quick 40mins on the stepmill and a few rounds of abs.

Logbook Activity

• Type: General Cardio
• Date: 08/14/2007
• Time: 07:00:00
• Total Time: 00:40:00.00

Gave in to extreme peer pressure from training pals and colleagues and hit my first boot camp session this morning. Yep, that boot camp taught by former Marine Josh Fitchitt from the Bellevue ProClub. We showed up at 6am (thankfully not a big deal for me. Slept in a little, in fact) in one of the aerobic studios and spent the first 20mins or so cranking out abs, then more abs, then some side planks, then finished with some crunches. Oh, then some scissor, flutter, and a few other kicks (also abs). Awesome. Fine for me as I work my abs super regularly (with little progress) so was easy enough but certainly more than I typically do on my own. Check and good.

Next - outside for a “warm up” mile down to a local park. Chuckles when Josh said “Warm up”. This was exactly the thing that has deterred me from doing bootcamp for the TWO YEARS my friends have been nagging me. I’m an endurance runner. A slllooooooow endurance runner. A fast mile for me is in the 10s and a killer short interval might find me in the 9s for a bleem. My warm up is like a 12. As expected these bootcamp folks shot out of the door and launched into 7 minute miles while I hung back and labored my way through what was about a 10 (again, WAY fast for my warmup). My leg muscles (spoiled things that they are) were SCREAMING as they were shoved into working hard right off the bat. Enough whining. I made it down to the park and managed to pass about the back 1/3 of the pack as several of them quickly realized they went out way too fast about 1/2mi in.

At the park we cranked out some “conditioning” moves that I really enjoyed. This was totally my favorite part of the class. Perfect lovely morning with Josh in front of 3 lines of folks (felt JUST like morning practice at my beloved band camp) doing sets of jumping jacks, mountain climbers, star jumps, and pushups in the wet turf. And no, I can’t do full pushups yet on my wrist, but can do all the rest and did pushups from my knees. We did two sets of 20ish of each counting off military style on 3 with a wind sprint in the middle.

Next - hill repeats for the veterans. Even though it was my first time, I’ve been training for a few years so I set off with the pros for a few hill repeats rather than stay behind with the newbies for a slow jog around the track. Hill repeats fine. I’m strong and slowish and manage to look reasonably competitive as even the speediest of the reedy runners typically slow down a bit on the hills and I just keep on rolling my big butt up….and then to my strongest part…downhill where gravity, for once, is actually my friend. I lean forward and let nature do the work getting nice acceleration and not really letting it be a recovery (HR in the 160s downhill and in the upper 170s headed up). Two hill repeats up a pretty easy hill and then back to the track.  

Now the sun was out in full force and the pleasant dew coated turf was steamy…mmmm. Down for some pushups, lunges, and more wind sprints. Ergh. Fatigue was kicking in pretty hard at this point and I was all out. I was getting that embarrassing “wheezing” with each breath and off we went for a few more laps! “Jog” the straights, sprint the corners for 3 laps (on a 5 lap=mile track).

All over but the crying at that point. Some pals and I did an easy jog for the mile back to the club, chatting and enjoying the weather. Me, jogging and chatting – that was pretty cool. Overall it was a *great* workout that really took me out of my usual routine and comfort zone. I felt pretty awful about being among the slowest if not the slowest but I knew that was coming and I should be used to it by now. Last year I compensated by starting an hour earlier than the rest of the training group for the 20 mile supported runs ‘cause I just couldn’t deal with the shuttle driver having to wait an extra hour to drive me back to the start point after everyone else had long gone. Yes, I’m always proud of myself for doing it and everyone I’ve ever met during training or racing is really super encouraging…..it just does take a bit out of me every time I’m the back of the pack. Hopefully boot camp will speed me up a bit. Next week we’ll do a fitness test with a timed 2 mile run to benchmark against at the end of the 9 week session _if_ I decide to show up for 6am bootcamp during my week of “vacation” (during which I’m coming in for meetings and working on our house. Hrumph).

Oh, and as expected, the “motivation” was nothing like what real military boot camp is. It’s positive, encouraging, and energizing – not abusive. Give it a try! I guarantee you won’t be the slowest runner there! That’s MY spot!  

Logbook Activity

• Type: General Cardio
• Date: 08/02/2007
• Time: 06:00:00
• Total Time: 1:30:00.00

Quick 45 on the stepmill this morning. Slightly tired from what I assume was not enough protein yesterday.

Logbook Activity

• Type: General Cardio
• Date: 07/18/2007
• Time: 07:00:00
• Total Time: 00:45:00.00

Logbook Activity

• Type: General Cardio
• Date: 07/10/2007
• Time: 06:00:00
• Total Time: 00:30:00.00

Pretty much sleepwalked my way through an hour of stepmill this morning and barely made it through that. Meant to lift but didn’t quite make it so will sub with yard work/gardening (yay Robin!) this weekend.

Found this mega distressing/confusing discussionabout marathon training *gasp* causing fat gain. My experience is a bit atypical given my several month “on the bench” period this winter but I can certainly say that my body comp has NOT benefited from marathon training over the last year (even before my injury). So far my body responded best to lifting for an hour 3x/week and 5 days a week of cardio - mostly stepmill.

Maybe/hopefully adding some diverse activities like tennis, cycling, and soon swimming as well as keeping the lifting going will start to show continued improvements for me.

Logbook Activity

• Type: General Cardio
• Date: 07/06/2007
• Time: 07:00:00
• Total Time: 1:00:00.00