It's been a long 3 months, but I'm finally back!

Workouts of any shape, kind, or form ceased three months ago when I started the fall semester. Why? Well, I learned that I would have to find time to:

1. work full-time
2. take two graduate-level courses
3. complete and pass my Ph.D. Preliminary Oral & Written Examination, and
4. wrap-up my M.S. thesis defense.

I sat and figured it out and it broke down like this:

• There are 168 hours in a week.
• I work at least 45 hours a week (leaving me 123 hours).
• I'm in class a total of 6 hours a week (117 left).
• I spent 12 hours a week doing homework (105 left).
• Researching, writing, and re-writing for my prelim was another 12 hours every week (93 left).
• Writing, re-writing, and revising my M.S. thesis took another 5 hours every week (88 left).
• I did my best to sleep 8 hours any given night (24 left).
• I ate twice a day (10 left) and showered once a day (3 left).
• Errands, laundry, paying bills, cooking, and organizing took the remainder of my time (0).

There would be NO time left to go workout, let alone be planning for it! It was then I decided to just "let it go" for now. And I did. And while I missed it terribly and I've gained another 10 lbs., I'm glad I didn't let it stress me out. I've completed all of the above tasks, made the marks, and am finally free of the burdens! I can workout again ...

... this morning, I rode my commuter bike, Juniper, to the gym and partook in the Strictly Strength group weightlifting class at The Weight Club. It was tough (and humbling) to be starting from scratch again, but it felt so empowering and so good to get back in there and sweat a little. I'm a little achy/sore now, but I'm looking forward to walking it off tomorrow with my dog and boyfriend. I think I'm the only person who loves Winter Break for the fact that I can finally find time to workout and lose weight! Ha, ha!

RUN Week 1, Tuesday 11/8 - Weightlifting

Training stats for the day's weightlifting ...

Context

City, State: Chico, CA

Location: Chico Sports Club

Course and/or Class: Weight Machines

Terrain: N/A

Distance and/or Time: 45 minutes

Speed or RPE: 5 (somewhat hard)

Tuesday, November 8, 2005

Weightlifting

• Lat pull-downs


• Leg press


• Ham curls


• Chest press


• Shoulder press


• Torso extensions


• Back extensions


• Ab Curls


• Deltoid press


• Triceps pull-downs


• Bicep curls

Synopsis

• Upshot: I'm getting stronger.


• Downside: Shoulder press is harder with more weights.


• What I'm most proud of: That I've not given up!


• What I would do differently: Do this more often.

Overall

The standard set of weights for Sam and I. Blazed through them all, adding an average of 5 to 10 lbs. Must be the swimming. Overall, not too shabby. But we really do need to do this more than once a month. I think it loses some of the effectiveness, doncha' think?

Week 13: Tuesday, 9/20 - Run

Training Stats for the day's run and weight set.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

The Run

I covered 5.05 miles total.

• 10 Minutes - Warm-up: 0% grade; 10 minutes: 4.5 mph.


• 10 Minutes - Interval 1: 4% grade; 9 minutes at 5.0 mph; 1 minute at 4.5 mph.


• 10 Minutes - Interval 2: 4% grade; 9 minutes at 5.5 mph; 1 minute at 4.5 mph.


• 10 Minutes - Interval 3: 2% grade; 9 minutes at 5.5 mph; 1 minute at 4.5 mph.


• 10 Minutes - Final Interval: 0% grade; 1 minute alternating speeds:
  
  
  
  • 1 minute at 6.0 mph, 1 minute at 5.0 mph
  
  
  • 1 minute at 6.5 mph, 1 minute at 5.0 mph
  
  
  • 1 minute at 7.0 mph, 1 minute at 5.0 mph
  
  
  • 1 minute at 7.5 mph, 1 minute at 5.0 mph
  
  
  • 1 minute at 7.5 mph, 1 minute at 5.0 mph


• 10 Minutes - Cooldown! 0% grade; 10 minutes at <5.0 mph;


• Happy ending heart rate of 127bpm!

Weights

Lots of arms and core lifting. I left my log in my gym locker, but I do recall how surprised I was at how much stronger I am since the last time I lifted weights (~2 months ago). The only area in which I was weaker today was in my core strength (abs, lower back). Surprising overall. There's no doubt that swimming has made a huge difference in my arms and upper body and back strength.

Overall

Totally awesome morning! I love starting the day like this!

Week 12: Training Review

Training stats and info ...

Sunday, September 18, 2005

Week 12 Training Review

Sunday:

• PG Triathlon - 0.25 mi swim, 12.4 mi bike, 2.0 mi run

Monday:

• Swim 1.5 hours (~2000 yd free, 10 min rest, remainder drills)

Tuesday:

• Weights -
  
  Lat pull-downs, Leg press, Ham curls, Chest press, Shoulder press,
  
  Torso extensions, Back extensions, Ab Curls, Deltoid press, Triceps
  
  pull-downs, Bicep curls.

Wednesday:

• Swim 1.5 hours (~2000 yd free, 10 min rest, remainder drills)

Thursday:

• Spin 45 min (hill intervals) ~12 mi


• Run 30 min (5.5 mph, 4% grade) ~2.75 mi

Friday:

• Bike 25 mi (Old Humboldt Rd.)

Saturday:

• Bike 10 mi.


• Brisk walk 1 hr. (4.0 mph, 1% grade) ~4.0 mi

Total output for Sunday-Saturday

Swim: 4000 yards

Bike: 59.4 miles

Run: 6.75 miles

Weights: 1x

Week 03: The Workouts

The workouts for the week!

Aerobic HRM

Moderate rate/goal throughout: 153 bpm

• the Swim: 143-160 bpm
• the Ride: 143-153 bpm
• the run: 145-157 bpm

Day 67/10/2005 @ 4:30 PM at the One Mile, Lower Bidwell Park

Ride: 6 miles

• warm-up: 10 minute spin (easy)
• main portion: cycle in your aerobic zone
• cool-down: spin easy... bring your HR down for last 5 minutes

Day 7 - Day Off!

Day 87/12/2005 @ 5:00 AM at the gym

Swim: 200 yards total (4 laps)

• warmup: 50 freestyle easy
• main set: 4 x 25 easy style
• swim down: 50 very easy

Run/Walk: 20 minutes

• Warm-up: 9 minutes
• Intervals: 2 minute run, 1 minute walk 3 times for a total of 9 minutes
• Cool-down: 4 minutes, give or take

Weights: 30 minutes @ 5:00 PM at the gym

• Lat
  pull-downs, Leg press, Ham curls, Chest press, Shoulder press, Torso
  extensions, Back extensions, Ab curls, Deltoid press, Triceps
  pull-downs, Bicep curls.

Day 9
7/13/2005 @ 6:00 PM at the One Mile, Lower Bidwell Park

Ride: 6 miles

• warm-up: 10 minute spin (easy)
• main portion: cycle in your aerobic zone
• cool-down: spin easy... bring your HR down for last 5 minutes

Day 107/14/2005 @ 5:00 AM at the gym

Swim: 300 yards total (6 laps)

• warmup: 50 freestyle easy
• main set: 8 x 25 freestyle, 10 sec. breaks
• swim down: 50 freestyle very easy

Day 11 - Day Off!

Day 127/16/2005 @ 8:00 AM at the One Mile, Lower Bidwell Park

Run: 30 minutes

• Warm-up: 9 minutes
• Intervals: 3 minute run, 1 minute walk
• Cool-down: 5 minutes, give or take

Weel 02: Day 04 Reflections

REFLECTIONS:

I wasn't feeling as spunky as last time we ran, but I held on well.

It was nice to have our newest member, Sam, joining us! (It's particularly nice for me to have a partner to lift with!)

Weights
went so much easier this time, and I'm not even sore today. Yea! I'm thinking this twice a week weights thing will be way more all right than I had originally thought.

So, a thanks again to the ladies for staying true and showing up! I'm looking forward to seeing them all at the bike ride this evening. (I need to work off all that homegrown bacon of Jenn's!)