A Penguin in Tri Clothes

I should not be blogging right now. I am tired, feeling down and just generally not in any sort of state to be writing and possibly infecting anyone with my mood. Why am I tired? Who knows, it's been ailing me since Tuesday. It could be related to my lingering sore throat, or to not enough vitamin B, or not enough Iron, or the weather, or the kids, or, or, or. I know it's not not getting enough sleep because I have been going to bed early every night. Miguel actually suggested I'm getting too much sleep and that's why I'm tired. !? I started to wonder if he was secretly giving me decaf in some twisted attempt to get us off caffeine. Whatever it is, I'm riding it out.

I have been hanging out a bit in the active.com community forums. There's a newbie running forum where a lot of people are doing c25k and so I've been following their progress. And that's where I was introduced to a new term: the penguin runner. Now picture a penguin...short, round, slow, tends to waddle. Sounds about right. So someone posted a quote by John Bingham on the active.com site:

If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run.

I had to look up who this guy was - John Bingham, a former couch potato turned marathoner. He wrote a column called The Penguin Chronicles for Runner's World Magazine and eventually a book, The Courage to Start. Of course I love this guy now. And I found a new term to add to Athena (an overweight triathlete).

I am an Athena and a Penguin. Try dressing up like that for Halloween. Actually, that would be funny. I would have to get a penguin costume and then put triathlon clothes on top. That might be better for Bay to Breakers. Whoa, I'm getting off course here.

Is this a fitness blog? Yes, I do believe it is. On Monday I went to the gym and did c25k Week 5, Day 2. Two 8 minute runs with a 5 minute break in between. Did I do it? You know I did! Wow, I'm already feeling a lot better than when I started this post. Ok, so after my victorious jog run I hit the weights to do chest, triceps, core work and then 5 minutes on the stair climber before my stretching/cool down.

Tuesday was another gym day, this time I did the bike. The random route was sort of easy so I upped it to level 5. Things were going along fine until near then end when the bike tossed out 3 minutes of level 8 resistance. Ugh. I have this whole rpm scheme, looks like this:

Levels 1-2: 100+ rpm
Levels 3-4: 90+ or 100+ rpm depending
Levels 5-6: 90+ rpm
Level 7: 80+
and now, with the addition of level 8...
Level 8: just keep pedaling

I think I like the challenge. Maybe. Sort of. Anyway I'm probably going to stay at Level 5 because I don't like to go backwards. Unless I have to of course. After the bike it was legs, shoulders, core work and then 5 minutes on the stair climber before I cooled down and stretched. I did some fancy sideways climbing on the stairs (I wonder, is that bad for the knees?) and left the gym feeling content.

On to tri news. I asked my local tri club about renting wetsuits and got all sorts of tips, etc, even an offer to do a practice swim! Now there's a good idea being I've never swam in the bay. Someone also suggested I join North Bay Aquatics in one of their practice swims. One of them is described like this, "Boats take you out half way to Angel Island and you can practice swimming into the finish area." Ok, that sounds scary to me. I think I really need that practice swim. I'm going to look into wetsuit rental, rent one, and then follow up with the guy that offered to arrange a practice swim for me. Once again, thank you nice people of the world!!

Today I plan to go to the gym and do Week 5, Day 3. That's a 20 minute run people! It will go well, I will have plenty of air, strong legs, and a good mind. Oh, and I want to read The Courage to Start - anyone have it and feel like loaning it to me?

The Hills are Alive...

with the sound of music. I wanted to post a pic of the route I took to the gym the other day AND post a list of my workout playlist and then the Sound of Music song popped into my head. No, I don't listen to music while riding the bike because I need all my attention on the road but if I did I might be tempted to add that song to my cooldown playlist. Without further ado - here is the route:

And, because I spent WAY too long trying to figure out a better way and couldn't, here is my "workout" playlist in image form. This is the "fast" playlist for cycling or elliptical, etc. I have another one that is not as fast for weight training that I'll post another time. To make it readable you'll have to click on the image. Once the image comes up click on it one more time to make it big enough to read.

So, what do you think? Are any of these songs on your workout playlist?

Change of Plans ...and, People are Nice

So much has happened since my last post...

On Thursday I cut my thumb while cooking. I cut it so bad I thought I'd need to go to urgent care but it stopped bleeding and seemed fine. Still, no gym for me. On Friday I wasn't sure if I could lift weights with my thumb so I took a pass on getting up at the crack of dawn to hit the gym. Bummer. I got on the scale for my weekly weigh in and what do you know? I was down .8 pounds! Happy me!!

We packed up the car and hit the road for beautiful Mendocino. We arrived after 4pm and it was cooold. I guess we won't need the swimsuits I packed! The coast is notoriously unpredictable though so I held out hope for a decent weekend. Friday night turned out to be the worst night ever when it comes to sleep. BOTH kids were on some sort of screaming their heads off routine. As soon as we'd get one quiet and sleeping the other would start. I don't know if it was the cold weather or change of routine or what but Miguel and I got nearly no sleep. We decided at 2am that we were not staying another night. At 5am I still felt that way. At 6am Miguel (aka my hero) took both kids for a drive to let me sleep for an hour or so. I LOVE HIM!

We made the best of Saturday and had a nice time with the kids. It was chilly but not that cold. We had a good breakfast and then went on a beautiful hike toward a waterfall. Miguel and I saw that waterfall last time we were there but with the kids in tow we didn't quite make it. They were getting tired of walking and the adults were getting tired of carrying them so we turned around. Still, the walk was beautiful and the kids had fun running, jumping, and eating wild blackberries.

Here's a picture or two from our trip. First, Marek and his buddy on their bikes.

And Myra enjoying the dirt. She LOVED playing in the dirt.

We let Marek run around in his long-johns and jammies most of the morning. He does have shoes on at least :)

We had a gorgeous campsite with a creek running behind it. Too bad we didn't get to enjoy it the whole weekend but we squeezed all the fun we could out of it given the circumstances.

After the hike Miguel packed up and we headed home. Both kids were asleep within about 1 minute - probably a record. But Marek kept half-waking and crying, then going back to sleep. By this point it was clear that both kids were getting colds. Maybe that was part of the horrible screaming night?

We got home too late for me to go to the gym; I was too wiped out anyway. Thank goodness, thank anyone who will listen - the kids slept all night last night. Today (Sunday) I slept in until - get this - 9:30! Again, best husband ever!!

When the kids went down for their naps I was lounging around kind of feeling like going to the gym when I remembered I planned to ride my bike there. Up! I was excited. Got on my bike and headed out the door. The hill between home and the gym was a tad easier than the last time. I felt good getting over that hill.

I was about 2/3 of the way to the gym when I got a flat. My first flat and I'm all alone. I sit down to ponder my situation when a nice guy rides up and offers to help. THANK YOU NICE CYCLISTS EVERYWHERE!!! We get my tire changed and I couldn't really thank him enough. I rode to the gym, did my back, biceps, core and stair climber thing and then got on the bike to ride home. My front tire was low so before I took off I added some air. Big mistake - I broke the valve stem. Call to Miguel to come get me. While he was coming I hit the treadmill for a 7 minute run and felt really strong - who knows how long I could have run, but he got there and home we went.

Whew! That was a weekend for sure. A cut thumb, screaming babies in a tent, two flat tires - but lots of fun to make it all worthwhile just the same. Oh, and .8 pounds lost. At this pace I'll be to my goal weight come this time next year!! Thanks Kristy for doing the math :)

On Again, Off Again

Is it Wednesday already? Things have been going well on the exercise front. I started off shaky though, I was so tired on Monday and Tuesday that I walked around with puffy eyes all day and just felt like I could nap at anytime. I was going to take some iron on Monday but I forgot. I still dragged myself into the gym on Monday and put in the effort. I did 25 minutes on the bike and then did chest, triceps and core work. I didn't have time to do the stairs. I wrapped it up with stretching. Tuesday (yesterday) I took the day off but remembered the iron. I'm feeling better today but I don't know if it's the iron or the day off from the gym - either way I am happy to have lost the puffy eyes.

Today was my day home with the kids. We went on a nice little walk in the woods with some friends in the morning. Before the day was done Marek had 3 meltdowns - 2 medium, 1 major - and about did me in. If I need to be "training" for anything it's probably parenting. I don't always have the mental energy or patience it takes to deal with a toddler. Thankfully Miguel came home early and I was able to go to the gym before dinner.

Today was the start of c25k Week 5 and, you guessed it, I gave it a try and it was fine. Kristy pointed out that Week 5 has three runs which, cumulatively, are 15, 16 and then 20 minutes of running. Somehow that made me think I might be able to do it. Anyway, today was three 5 minute runs with 3 minute rests in between and it was great! Runs after a day off often are. The iron probably didn't hurt either. Then I did legs and shoulders, core work and the stair climber. I counted calories burned during the stairs - 50 calories - not bad for 5 minutes, and then stretched. I walked out feeling ready to face the evening.

So I'd pretty much decided not to do a tri this year. I started to think I was pushing it and wondered why I was even thinking about it considering how crazy our lives are right now. I was all set in the "no" camp when I had a chat with a tri trainer (I'll spare you that story) and he has me thinking I can do the Marin sprint without a wetsuit. This would seriously increase my interest. I am going to write to the organizer and see what he thinks. So I was off of the tri, but now I'm sort of back on. We'll see, I have time.

So we've got a busy weekend ahead, we're headed north to go camping. Back to Russian Gulch, where we camped in 2008 pre-kids. I borrowed a Strider balance bike from a friend to see if Marek enjoys it. I am hoping to get some exercise while we're away because my food intake has been not-so-good this week. I am planning to get up on Friday morning and go to the gym, like I did last time.

That's it for me. The next time I post will probably be with camping pictures!

Squeezing in the Gym during a Busy Weekend

Whew! This was one of those busy weekends where Miguel asks me more than twice why I planned so many things for the same weekend. It just happens that way sometimes. But I managed to get to the gym both Saturday and today (Sunday) and Miguel is a rock-star husband for being so supportive.

On Saturday I had a mom's club event so I spent the morning hours at the park with other moms and kids. I had a good time running around with toddlers and was happy to have energy to keep up with them. Being out in the sun drained me a bit though. I came home and had a chicken salad sandwich for lunch. A couple hours later I left for the gym. I didn't do a gel because my lunch was enough to keep me going.

I did 25 minutes on the bike and then started my legs and shoulders routine. My back was a bit achy but I was able to get through it without experiencing any actual pain. I mixed in the core work and hit the stair climber for 5 minutes (which was super hard after a leg routine) and then wrapped up with stretching.

I read this article about new exercise guidelines from The American College of Sports Medicine. Damn! These are no "take a 30 minute walk 3-4 days a week" guidelines. They include cardio, weight training, flexibility, and neuromotor exercises. I'm pretty sure I'm not up to snuff according to these guys. That's ok though, I'm comfortable with what I'm doing. I think getting to this level of specificity for people is probably good though.

I also read an article on motivation. I liked a lot of the tips for staying motivated but found this bit of info interesting.

People who asked themselves each week, "How much will I work out?" increased their activity by 138 percent. Wow! How can posing a question have that big a reward? It yanks you off autopilot (when you constantly and unconsciously choose the couch over the elliptical) and encourages you to actually make your fitness plans happen, explains study author Pierre Chandon, Ph.D., professor of marketing at Insead business school.

Interesting stuff. I've "liked" a few pages on Facebook and they keep my news feed filled with motivation - active.com is one, couch to 5k is another - they both post links to short but motivating articles. Keeping exercise and fitness on the brain is good. I've also liked my local running shoe store and the marin triathlon - and voila!, my news feed is motivating too.

So, back to my weekend. Last night (Saturday) I went into SF for dinner with some of my favorite girlfriends. We had a nice evening and ate some good, but healthy, food. I appreciated that. Then this morning was a baby shower (Congratulations Michelle!). Snacky foods and cake, but all in moderation. After a little break (it felt SO good to be laying on the couch I was tempted to stay there but no...) it was off to the gym. I had a very nice c25k run, Week 4/Day 6. It was so encouraging I'm thinking about trying Week 5 just to see how it goes. After the run, strength training back and biceps. I dropped the bentover rows and went back to the seated row machine. I think my back is better off this way. I'm really pushing myself on the biceps front - why? I have no idea. Core work, the stair climber and then some good stretching to close out this busy weekend.

I came home and enjoyed nice backyard fun with the kids playing with water and just hanging out at home. Next weekend is camping so it's going to be super busy. After that I'm sure I'll be ready for a weekend with nothing at all on the calendar.