Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Wednesday Workout Update - With Apologies to Clint Eastwood

I'll begin with the good - I ran 3.1 miles (yes, a 5K!) on Sunday without stopping! Jenny, of box-jump fame, met me at our local park and we set off with the goal of being able to carry on a conversation while running, and to go as far as we could. Jenny had never run more than a mile and a half before and wasn't sure how long she would last. Well, I'm telling you, she did great! When my Nike+ told me we were at 2.45 miles, we decided to go for 3.1, and we did it - even ran some sprints from light post to light post for the last 2/10ths - yes, we were practicing running toward the finish line, lol! It was awesome - I felt great through the entire run and was so pleased to see that we did it in 38:43. It was also very special to see Jenny's joy at running that far for the first time - what an accomplishment!

Taken with my cell phone right after the run...now who looks like she ran 3 miles and who looks all fresh-faced and pretty?!? Note to self: a little mascara would might help!

OK, here's where it gets bad - even though I stretched a bit after the run, and again later in the evening, my legs were quite sore! I should have taken some ibuprofen that night, but I didn't (too lazy to get out of bed and go get it), and as a result, I tossed and turned all night - my legs were letting me know that they had worked out hard that day.

And now onto the ugly - Monday's workout. I haven't felt this worn out at the start of a workout since I started working out a year ago, which wasn't a good sign. Brad had me, Jenny and Kathleen in the gym for a Fight Gone Bad (yes, this name still makes me giggle) workout with ball slams, ring pull ups, thrusters using a 45 lb. bar, chest presses using 20 lb. dumb bells, and quad extensions with 75 lbs. One minute at each station, counting our reps and adding as we progressed. It wasn't pretty. On the second go-round, I spent close to 30 seconds at the thruster station just trying to get up the gumption to flip the darn bar so I could get started. I'm telling you, this extreme fatigue was unusual for me...and weirdly, both Jenny and Kathleen were struggling as well. We finally finished that workout and went to the cardio room, where we completely wimped out on what Linda had planned for us. It was pathetic! I don't go there to be a wuss, I go to get a good workout in - but it just wasn't happening on Monday. I guess I really shouldn't run that much on Sunday...but the weather was bitterly cold on Saturday, plus neither Jeri nor Jenny could run that day, and I like to have a partner when I run. I know, excuses, excuses...

I'm happy to report that I got my mojo back for Tuesday afternoon's workout, and today's was tough but good. Another Fight Gone Bad in the gym - this time with different stations, including a split squat using a 35 lb. bar, which was challenging just getting all of the motions in (think Molly Shannon doing her "Superstar" move, only put a heavy bar in her hands, and that's what it looked like). I can't imagine doing this with actual weights on the bar, but if I know Brad, that's where we are heading! At least when we got to cardio with Linda, we didn't embarrass ourselves today.

I mailed in my registration for my first 5K race, which is on February 26 - my $10 will get me a "t-shirt, glow sticks and fun!" according to the website, so how can I go wrong with this as my first ever 5K race?

I also want to give a huge shout out and thank you to Meg of Meg Runs - she sent me her old Garmin! It's an amazing piece of equipment that will be great to run with - really, it's more than I need right now but will be so nice to have as I move forward with my running. This kind of support for a newbie runner like me is so awesome and makes me feel like I'm welcome in their world...THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MEG!!!

18 comments:

  1. Holy: you just got a Garmin!!!!! What a nice gift of Meg. I'm so happy that I bought mine last December, I love it.

    Your first race is soon and I'm sure you're going to do great.

    And I'm proud of you that you did you're workouts even though you felt worn out. While reading it I got my inspiration back because I'm not feeling well today (tired and headache) and I skipped my workout. Now I'm angry with myself that I did. I'll make it up to you tomorrow: promised!

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  2. YAY on running the 5k!!!! But why are you ladies not even sweating?! Come on! It should like you at least had to struggle a little bit. LOL

    There seemed to be a lot of people struggling Monday. I had trouble even getting out of bed! :-/ And quite a few folks elsewhere told me Monday was a tough day for them too. Maybe a solar flare? Maybe aliens are controlling our minds? I don't know but I'm glad it's over.

    You had me cracking up over the "Superstar" moves. I can totally see that. Loved Will F. as a cheerleader on SNL too.

    And WOW on the Garmin. What a sweet, sweet gift!

    That 5K in Feb sounds like so much fun. I wish I were ready for it. Maybe next year?

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  3. Oh Shelley, you are amazing!! Good for you!

    Just a note of caution tho - when Brad wheels out "Knife Fight in a Phone Booth", run for the hills.

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  4. Great job on running a 5K! That is one of my goals. Slowly, but surely.

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  5. We all have those tired days. They just stink trying to slog through them!

    Congrats on the 5K, runner girl!

    Now get some rest :D

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  6. That is all so exciting...Only watching the news would have gotten a smile off of my face if I were in your shoes!

    Congrats!

    p.s. I'm researching Garmins too, but looking at the Edge 705 which is for cycling, but others have used it for running and it has a map!

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  7. A new Garmin...wow!! :)

    Congrats on signing up for your first 5K. You'll love it!

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  8. You're going to end up loving that Garmin so much more than the Nike. Make sure if you decide to "make-up" for your race that the mascara is waterproof!

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  9. Great work -- I guess you don't need to worry about whether you'll make it through your 5K any more!!

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  10. Great job to you and Jenny on the 5K! Send me your race info so I can include it on the Turtles blog for Thunderous Applause Thursday. Are you really racing on a Friday, or did I misread that?? Very cool of Meg to send her Garmin. She's awesome! Now, get some rest and let me know if you're interested in being featured on the Wednesday Winnder segment. Would love to share your story with others!

    HUGS!

    P.S. Mascara is terribly overrated...Ha Ha!! Being over 40, we can be sassy without it!

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  11. Just noticed: March 7th - Blogger Run Day??? Do tell me more!

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  12. You guys look awesome! Good for you! I would like to humbly suggest that you consider being the athlete you are and take care of your weak points with icing in the first 12 hours after an athletic event and ibuprofen on those evening in the future.

    real athlete do this...

    go girl! I SO WANNA RUN! I dream of the day. :)

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  13. sorry you were feeling so run down; hope it gets better tomorrow. And you look GREAT after such a long run! :D

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  14. You're welcome Cutie Pie! Gosh, it sounds like you're working VERY hard, nice job! Good work signing up for the 5k, they are really giving away glowsticks? Too funny!
    meg

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  15. Okay, I am tired just READING about your work out - you rock sister! And sometimes it just isn't there.

    My favorite line: yes, we were practicing running toward the finish line!!

    I actually do that on the treadmill when I finish my 5k! :D

    Happy Thursday my friend - hope you aren't as sore today.

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  16. Wait a minute... you get glowsticks with your $10-for-a-5k? Dang! I feel cheated! :(

    You are going to have a fabulous time at this 5k. You're going out there to hold up the honor of all the women in our age bracket, so kick ass! (Yeah, like there was any doubt. I know you're going to do great.)

    Do you like the Nike+? I was looking at them in the store, and I wasn't sure if I should get one or not. Would you get another one, if you didn't have your shiny new(ish) garmin?

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  17. Whoo, you inspired me to sign up for my 5K too! I've been lax about running the last 2 weeks, but this was just the kick in the pants I needed to get back in the game. Mine is a St. Paddy's day run; I need to buy green running clothes! :)

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