I guess I need to post my strength training workout from Wednesday evening.
First, I rode my bicycle for one hour. I am not riding very fast because I have yet to invest in a good bicycle. Still riding the old Wal-Mart standby.
As soon as I got home, I started the strength training routine:
upper body: (15) seated dumbell triceps extensions, 21's bicep curls, (15) pushups with knees on stability ball, (15) dumbbell lateral raises; 90 second rest...
core: (15) crunches on ball, (15 each side) dumbbell side bends, (15) back extensions face down on floor, (15 each side) oblique crunches on ball; 90 second rest...
lower body: (15) stiff legged dead lifts; (15) wall squats with ball; (15 each side) standing adduction; (15) dumbbell squats; 90 second rest then repeat the whole sequence.
After the weight training, I do a full body stretching routine including some yoga poses.
Thursday July 23
I was supposed to walk 8 miles this evening, but ended up working in the mattress store. I really don't like driving to Rosenberg, and this is no secret to my boss, but if it is necessary for me to work there, then I go. There was a dissatisfied cutsomer at the end of the day, and I really wanted to help her. She left happier than she arrived, so I scored one up for the day!
I was just too tired to do 8 miles by the time I got home, after 7pm, so I ate the wonderful fried chicken that Raymond had cooked for dinner and postponed the walk until Friday.
I woke up this morning at 4 am with the worst charley horse in my left calf muscle. No more shoes with heels for me. The sandals I wore to work only have about 1 1/2" heels, but I was on my feet the whole afternoon. Lesson learned.
I'll check back in later and edit this post to report how my walk goes this evening.
Friday, July 24:
Walked 7.2 miles in trail shoes on mixed surfaces: dirt, grass, asphalt and gravel. I did not carry anything with me because I was walking to the little league park where there are plenty of water fountains. I am at work right now so I can't report the exact time it took. All I know is it was still hot outside. Raymond called me when I was stopped for a second to drink some water at the fountain, and whatever he told me made me angry, so I forgot to restart the garmin when I walked away from the water fountain. I do know that the loop I walked is 9/10 of a mile, so I started the gramin back up at the start of the loop and added that much to the total. I wish there was some way to edit the workout in the training center software. If there is a way, I am sure it is much too technical for me to figure out. The city is still not finished with the new retention pond and walking path they are working on, but I use it anyway, because it is the only place I have to walk that is not asphalt or concrete roads.
Someday I may go to the local state park, but it is too dry right now and the park is right along the Brazos river. There are a lot of snakes there because we are in a severe drought this season. Where there is water, there are snakes. There have been lots of reports of snakes in yards where people are watering...
Friday, July 24, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Again, more workouts, or not.
I didn't walk Sunday afternoon like I thought I would. I guess I will call it the weekend off in what is starting to look like a 4 week cycle. 3 weeks hard workouts, then a weekend off. I saw an ultra racing training schedule (I don't remember where) that suggested such a training schedule and it seems to work for me.
Monday, July 20:
I am back on the bicycle! Yes! I rode for an hour, then came home and did two sets, 15 reps, of 12 strength exercises for upper/lower body and core.
the workout looks like this: upper body: shoulder press; tricep extensions, curls, pushups; 90 second rest; core: crunches, plank, oblique crunches, crunches on ball; 90 second rest; lower body: wall squat with ball, lying abduction, single leg squats with chair, lying adduction; 90 second rest then repeat the whole sequence. I change exercises with every workout so that all muscles get the same attention.
Stretched everything when I was done. Now I am having my favorite post workout snack: partially thawed frozen strawberries topped with yogurt and free cool whip. I was so far out of whack with my eating program this weekend that most of what I ate today was fruit and vegetables.
Tuesday, July 21:
I went to the track fully intending to do a ladder workout. The gates were locked and the track was closed due to pesticide spraying. So, that made me almost as angry as having to fight the children for 1 lane of the track while their parents stroll along talking on their cell phones.
Instead, I fartleked around for 6 miles. The average pace through the first 4 miles was 12:18 with an average HR of 78% (I believe that means I could have gone faster), then a mile at marathon pace 13:08, then one slow mile for cool down.
Monday, July 20:
I am back on the bicycle! Yes! I rode for an hour, then came home and did two sets, 15 reps, of 12 strength exercises for upper/lower body and core.
the workout looks like this: upper body: shoulder press; tricep extensions, curls, pushups; 90 second rest; core: crunches, plank, oblique crunches, crunches on ball; 90 second rest; lower body: wall squat with ball, lying abduction, single leg squats with chair, lying adduction; 90 second rest then repeat the whole sequence. I change exercises with every workout so that all muscles get the same attention.
Stretched everything when I was done. Now I am having my favorite post workout snack: partially thawed frozen strawberries topped with yogurt and free cool whip. I was so far out of whack with my eating program this weekend that most of what I ate today was fruit and vegetables.
Tuesday, July 21:
I went to the track fully intending to do a ladder workout. The gates were locked and the track was closed due to pesticide spraying. So, that made me almost as angry as having to fight the children for 1 lane of the track while their parents stroll along talking on their cell phones.
Instead, I fartleked around for 6 miles. The average pace through the first 4 miles was 12:18 with an average HR of 78% (I believe that means I could have gone faster), then a mile at marathon pace 13:08, then one slow mile for cool down.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
More workouts... or not.
Skipped the workout on Thursday, I was just too tired after going to the concert Wednesday night... that was a 5 hour workout in itself.
Friday July 17, 7.41 miles... the first 7 at 12:54 mpm. The last 3.41 miles were in the dark with the headlamp on. I really need to get some night walking done for this midnight marathon next month. I don't think walking all night is going to be too much of a problem for me, heck I may even go for another marathon pr. I only need to do the marathon at an average 13mpm pace for a decent pr. The moon will be a few days past the full moon, so it won't be completely dark.
Saturday July 18 - spent the day with mom. We drove to Grapevine Texas (just north of the DFW airport) for the paper show... Not much paper which is really what my mom was looking for. They had tons of rubber stamps and related supplies. She did find some unique stamps... but the only paper they had was card stock. Not at all what she was hoping. So we drove all that way and only spent about an hour at the show.
The best part of the day was our stop in West on the way home. It is an interesting old Texas town with lots of Czech restaurants, bakeries, etc. We ate authentic ethnic food for lunch... stuffed cabbage, sweet sauerkraut, locally made sausage, and fried potatoes with onions. The pickled beets on the salad bar were really good in addition to a cold salad made from sauerkraut. Great stuff!
We finally got some rain on the way home, so a walk was out of the question for me. I only have roads with no shoulders to walk on and since this is our first rain since May... the roads were too slippery for me to feel safe walking. People just drive too carelessly and I don't feel like getting run over.
I plan a little shopping trip in a little while today, then I will get a 12 mile walk done later this afternoon.
Friday July 17, 7.41 miles... the first 7 at 12:54 mpm. The last 3.41 miles were in the dark with the headlamp on. I really need to get some night walking done for this midnight marathon next month. I don't think walking all night is going to be too much of a problem for me, heck I may even go for another marathon pr. I only need to do the marathon at an average 13mpm pace for a decent pr. The moon will be a few days past the full moon, so it won't be completely dark.
Saturday July 18 - spent the day with mom. We drove to Grapevine Texas (just north of the DFW airport) for the paper show... Not much paper which is really what my mom was looking for. They had tons of rubber stamps and related supplies. She did find some unique stamps... but the only paper they had was card stock. Not at all what she was hoping. So we drove all that way and only spent about an hour at the show.
The best part of the day was our stop in West on the way home. It is an interesting old Texas town with lots of Czech restaurants, bakeries, etc. We ate authentic ethnic food for lunch... stuffed cabbage, sweet sauerkraut, locally made sausage, and fried potatoes with onions. The pickled beets on the salad bar were really good in addition to a cold salad made from sauerkraut. Great stuff!
We finally got some rain on the way home, so a walk was out of the question for me. I only have roads with no shoulders to walk on and since this is our first rain since May... the roads were too slippery for me to feel safe walking. People just drive too carelessly and I don't feel like getting run over.
I plan a little shopping trip in a little while today, then I will get a 12 mile walk done later this afternoon.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Clutch Concert Wednesday July 15
Jonny and I had a great time at the Clutch concert at House of Blues in Houston. We started out by checking out the new mall that is being built in that area of downtown Houston. It is multi level with large circular openings above the streets in spans over. Kind of a cool outdoor concept. There are some shops open already with plans for lots more to open soon. Also lots of great restaurants.
We chose to eat dinner at House of Blues, just because. The food was not all that great, but the service was good and the atmosphere was interesting to say the least.
So the show opener was a band called Lionize. They were really good for a show opener. Kind of a reggae/blues mix. Later we found out that the guitar player is also the Clutch guitar player.
Band #2 was horrible. They are called Baroness and hail from Savannah Georgia. I guess it was supposed to be heavy metal. It made no sense... Each musician was playing their own thing and it just did not come together. I absolutely had to turn my back so I was not trying to figure out what was going on. Periodically the singer would scream into the microphone. It made me feel nauseous and dizzy like I would puke and pass out. I was ready to leave. Finally they had mercy on us and finished their set.
Clutch, of course, was fantastic. I don't go to a small venue so I can sit on the sidelines, so Jonny and I were a little right of center in the mosh pit. I was warned that Clutch fans can be a rough crowd. A man brought his +/- 12 year old son down to the front and I warned him that two guys directly to his left were getting ready to get it on. A minute or two into the first song, the beer throwing slugfest started. I got out of there and watched the fight from the sidelines. When things cooled down a couple of minutes later, I went right back to where I had been when the fight started. From that point, I was able to enjoy the show and only got jostled around a few times by the crazy college kids who were slam dancing. Jonny always stands between me and the action and he got shoved into me a couple of times... and I got to help him shove back a couple of times. Anyway, I was able to take a few good pictures with my cell phone.
We got home really late, and of course I had to get up and go to work the next morning.
We chose to eat dinner at House of Blues, just because. The food was not all that great, but the service was good and the atmosphere was interesting to say the least.
So the show opener was a band called Lionize. They were really good for a show opener. Kind of a reggae/blues mix. Later we found out that the guitar player is also the Clutch guitar player.
Band #2 was horrible. They are called Baroness and hail from Savannah Georgia. I guess it was supposed to be heavy metal. It made no sense... Each musician was playing their own thing and it just did not come together. I absolutely had to turn my back so I was not trying to figure out what was going on. Periodically the singer would scream into the microphone. It made me feel nauseous and dizzy like I would puke and pass out. I was ready to leave. Finally they had mercy on us and finished their set.
Clutch, of course, was fantastic. I don't go to a small venue so I can sit on the sidelines, so Jonny and I were a little right of center in the mosh pit. I was warned that Clutch fans can be a rough crowd. A man brought his +/- 12 year old son down to the front and I warned him that two guys directly to his left were getting ready to get it on. A minute or two into the first song, the beer throwing slugfest started. I got out of there and watched the fight from the sidelines. When things cooled down a couple of minutes later, I went right back to where I had been when the fight started. From that point, I was able to enjoy the show and only got jostled around a few times by the crazy college kids who were slam dancing. Jonny always stands between me and the action and he got shoved into me a couple of times... and I got to help him shove back a couple of times. Anyway, I was able to take a few good pictures with my cell phone.
We got home really late, and of course I had to get up and go to work the next morning.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Catching up the workouts again
Monday, July 13:
I think this is week 3 of consecutive completed Monday weight training workouts. Upped the sets to 3. So, 3 sets of 15 repeats of 12 exercises for upper/lower body and core. I also did a full stretching routine afterwards including some twisting yoga poses.
Random thoughts:
I am only going to taper 2 weeks for ET. That seems to work best for me when training for a marathon. If I try to taper 3 weeks like I did for Mohican, workouts seem to cease rather than taper off... Besides, I don't need to taper to be crazy... because…"It's better to be crazy than lazy!"
This weekend, I will walk 12 on Saturday after I get back from a scrapbooking and paper convention in Dallas, and then 10 on Sunday. My only 20 miler for ET will be a week from Saturday.
Btw, I might get to go to a rock concert Wednesday night at House of Blues in Houston. I am keeping my fingers crossed. In case anyone is interested, the band is Clutch.
Tuesday, July 14:
I just got home. 6 miles including 42 sets of bleachers. There are 14 full sets of stairs at the stadium, 10 on the home side and 4 on the visitor side. I walked a mile to the track, three laps with all the stairs each followed by a regular lap in lane 8; slow racewalk 1 mile; regular walk 1 mile; walk 1 mile home. I did a full stretching routine concentrating heavily on hamstring and ilio flexibility followed by some twisting yoga poses with slow easy breathing.
Wednesday, July 15:
Going to do my upper body and core exercises at lunch today so I will have the evening open to go to a concert with my son... we might go to see Clutch at the House of Blues in Houston.
I think this is week 3 of consecutive completed Monday weight training workouts. Upped the sets to 3. So, 3 sets of 15 repeats of 12 exercises for upper/lower body and core. I also did a full stretching routine afterwards including some twisting yoga poses.
Random thoughts:
I am only going to taper 2 weeks for ET. That seems to work best for me when training for a marathon. If I try to taper 3 weeks like I did for Mohican, workouts seem to cease rather than taper off... Besides, I don't need to taper to be crazy... because…"It's better to be crazy than lazy!"
This weekend, I will walk 12 on Saturday after I get back from a scrapbooking and paper convention in Dallas, and then 10 on Sunday. My only 20 miler for ET will be a week from Saturday.
Btw, I might get to go to a rock concert Wednesday night at House of Blues in Houston. I am keeping my fingers crossed. In case anyone is interested, the band is Clutch.
Tuesday, July 14:
I just got home. 6 miles including 42 sets of bleachers. There are 14 full sets of stairs at the stadium, 10 on the home side and 4 on the visitor side. I walked a mile to the track, three laps with all the stairs each followed by a regular lap in lane 8; slow racewalk 1 mile; regular walk 1 mile; walk 1 mile home. I did a full stretching routine concentrating heavily on hamstring and ilio flexibility followed by some twisting yoga poses with slow easy breathing.
Wednesday, July 15:
Going to do my upper body and core exercises at lunch today so I will have the evening open to go to a concert with my son... we might go to see Clutch at the House of Blues in Houston.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sunday, July 12
I went to bed at 8:30 pm last night instead of going out for my 18 mile walk. The alarm set for 4 am. The coffee pot was ready, I just had to turn it on when I got up. I did not have too much difficulty getting up, eating breakfast (3 small blueberry pancakes and a pre-cooked turkey sausage patty) and getting dressed to go out for the walk this morning. I walked out the door at 5:13. I wanted to be on the road by 5am, but this is about as good as it gets for me early in the morning, unless I'm traveling or racing. I have been known to get in the car at 3 am to drive 100 miles to a race.
My main concern with getting out so early in the morning are spider webs. There is a type of spider that lives in the oak trees. Every evening, they descend from the trees and build new webs. No one gets out that early in the morning in my neighborhood, so I am constantly dodging spider webs. If there is anything I really loathe, it is the thought of a spider crawling on me.
I usually start my long walk with a large loop outside of town, but since it was dark, I walked up and down all the streets in my neighborhood first until about 6 miles, then headed out of town for a 4 mile loop. I stopped at my house for a quick restroom break, then back out the door. I did a good job of pacing between 13:30 and 14:30 and in that range, the HR also stayed where it was supposed to. I always like to put in a quick mile at the end of a LSD walk if I am feeling up to it, so mile 17 was the fastest one. It helped a lot that a crazy Butthole Surfer song came up on the play list. It was fun walking to the beat. I haven't gotten so obsessive with the music play list that I plan it for the distance. I have a huge library of music, and I let it play in alphabetical order of song titles. The list includes everything from Johnny Cash to The Kinks, to Opeth, Korn and Metallica. Anyway, I finished up the walk, stretched and headed right to the shower.
Once finished showering and getting dressed, I headed over to my Mom's house. She was having company. Aunt Cathy, cousins Lynn and her daughter Gracie, Dana, and Jonathan and his girlfriend Megan. My niece Charlotte, her dh Jeff and ds Joshua, and nephew Tim, his dw Channing and dd Kailei, and my dd Emily and ds Jonathan also came along. We had a really nice visit! Jonathan has been living in Katy for a while now, and Lynn, Gracie and Dana are moving to either Spring or Tomball. It will be so nice to have family in the area so that we can get together once in a while. As usual, Mom had a huge spread... homemade black bean salsa, cold cut tray, pasta salad, veggie tray, and best of all; homemade peach and blackberry cobblers with Blue Bell ice cream.
What a great way to spend a Sunday. Walking 18 miles... and not feeling any guilt about the cobbler I ate.
My main concern with getting out so early in the morning are spider webs. There is a type of spider that lives in the oak trees. Every evening, they descend from the trees and build new webs. No one gets out that early in the morning in my neighborhood, so I am constantly dodging spider webs. If there is anything I really loathe, it is the thought of a spider crawling on me.
I usually start my long walk with a large loop outside of town, but since it was dark, I walked up and down all the streets in my neighborhood first until about 6 miles, then headed out of town for a 4 mile loop. I stopped at my house for a quick restroom break, then back out the door. I did a good job of pacing between 13:30 and 14:30 and in that range, the HR also stayed where it was supposed to. I always like to put in a quick mile at the end of a LSD walk if I am feeling up to it, so mile 17 was the fastest one. It helped a lot that a crazy Butthole Surfer song came up on the play list. It was fun walking to the beat. I haven't gotten so obsessive with the music play list that I plan it for the distance. I have a huge library of music, and I let it play in alphabetical order of song titles. The list includes everything from Johnny Cash to The Kinks, to Opeth, Korn and Metallica. Anyway, I finished up the walk, stretched and headed right to the shower.
Once finished showering and getting dressed, I headed over to my Mom's house. She was having company. Aunt Cathy, cousins Lynn and her daughter Gracie, Dana, and Jonathan and his girlfriend Megan. My niece Charlotte, her dh Jeff and ds Joshua, and nephew Tim, his dw Channing and dd Kailei, and my dd Emily and ds Jonathan also came along. We had a really nice visit! Jonathan has been living in Katy for a while now, and Lynn, Gracie and Dana are moving to either Spring or Tomball. It will be so nice to have family in the area so that we can get together once in a while. As usual, Mom had a huge spread... homemade black bean salsa, cold cut tray, pasta salad, veggie tray, and best of all; homemade peach and blackberry cobblers with Blue Bell ice cream.
What a great way to spend a Sunday. Walking 18 miles... and not feeling any guilt about the cobbler I ate.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
more workouts... the purpose of the blog.
July 8, 2009
I am really on a roll! Just finished the strength training here at home. Upper/lower body and core followed by a full stretching routine including some yoga poses. I know it's kind of late, but oh well I did it!
July 9, 2009
I guess 13 seconds a mile faster than marathon pace counts as a tempo walk in this heat. 7 miles average pace 12:57; average HR 78%; max HR 86% by the end of the 7 miles, then I walked an additional mile to cool down. Nice and slow and easy. Now to towel off and stretch before a shower. I am, yet again, drenched in sweat! I always like to complain about how hot it was when I started my walk... 96 when I started and 90 when I finished. High humidity as usual. I think we reached a high temperature of 102 with heat index of 108 this afternoon. I could fry an egg on the hood of my black car.
The after workout refuel snack for the evening was yogurt with slightly thawed frozen mixed berries and some fat free cool whip! What a treat!
I am really on a roll! Just finished the strength training here at home. Upper/lower body and core followed by a full stretching routine including some yoga poses. I know it's kind of late, but oh well I did it!
July 9, 2009
I guess 13 seconds a mile faster than marathon pace counts as a tempo walk in this heat. 7 miles average pace 12:57; average HR 78%; max HR 86% by the end of the 7 miles, then I walked an additional mile to cool down. Nice and slow and easy. Now to towel off and stretch before a shower. I am, yet again, drenched in sweat! I always like to complain about how hot it was when I started my walk... 96 when I started and 90 when I finished. High humidity as usual. I think we reached a high temperature of 102 with heat index of 108 this afternoon. I could fry an egg on the hood of my black car.
The after workout refuel snack for the evening was yogurt with slightly thawed frozen mixed berries and some fat free cool whip! What a treat!
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