Sure!

Let's see - we got the rain I was pleading for, so the planned Saturday long run wasn't an attractive option and we opted for a yard workout instead. Since my new HR monitor arrived, I really didn't care what we did as long as we did something. I've had a chest strap for years but the watch was the simple display model - no memory, no fun stats. This was fun!

Saturday 7/14 Weight 137.4 (lowest I've been except for dehydration), BF 21.65%
Speed rope/burpee intervals: 2:30 min jumping then 2 minutes for 8 burpees and whatever breath I could catch - repeat for 8 sets. Was interesting to see that with jumping my HR got into the 140's, but burpees took me up into the 155 range. Evil little buggers!

Also did some tricky bar play and cartwheels!



Sunday 139.2 - big work day in between rain showers. Not sure that this burned many calories but spent the day crawling under and out from under a building and working on the supports. My wrists are a bit tight from all the turning of the screwdriver!

Monday 139.2 - too nice a day to workout in the gym (sunshine!) but too muddy to attempt the Shoe Hill Loop. Speed rope intervals: 2:15 minute jumping intersperced with 2 minutes of doings with 10 lb dumbbells. Then because it had dried off, 10 minutes on the trampoline. HRM says 320 cals.
 
Tuesday 7/17/12 Weight 138.4
Tuesday workout - Saddle Mountain as usual, and despite having an invite to go with the "guys" on their usual epic, T chose to come with me instead.

I ran more of the up, but the 1100 ft climb was kicking my butt and I was a minute slower than my best time. Naturally, had to wear the new HRM and out of curiosity, I split the workout into Up and Down.
Up in 33.30, 306 calories, avg 154 and max of 175
Down in 22.05, 211 calories, avg avg 159, max of 166

So T says I am slacking going up the hill! Just a matter of doing my warm-up within the actual run instead of in advance, but...

Stats for my reference
33.30 up is 12.11 min/mile
22.05 down is 8.02 min/mile
55.35 total is 10.06 avg pace

The Snowbowl Hill Climb race is on Sunday so today was my last hard workout for the week. I'm thinking I'll hit the gym for some "fast-feet" cardio, but no leg weights or lunges.
 
Got home late last night, got up late this morning, but I needed to MOVE and T had already claimed the trampoline, so I headed to the gym to sweat and do another HRM experiment - new toy, gotta play!

Wednesday 7/18/12 weight 138.2
EFX crosstrain program #3 (the double hill profile) at resistance level 7, plan was to keep steps/min at or above 180. Went to 100 calories to get in a warm-up, then started the HRM because I wanted to compare calories. I've always known the EFX was waaay high on what it reported for calories - so at the end of 30 minutes, EFX says 400 - 100 = 300 and HRM says 185. If I were eating back calories, 115 would add up, or maybe slow down weight loss if I were trying to lose.. anyway, good to know.

Kept resistance steady @ 7 but increased the crossramp by 1 part way down the first hill.
Averaged 186 steps/min
Avg HR 148, max HR 157
 
Thursday weight 138.2
Shoe Hill Loop with T. Moderate run @ 8.15 but sprinted at the end so had max HR of 174. Finished off by chasing cows off the property - wretched beasts!
 
Friday 7/20/12 Weight 138.2 - another mild workout to rest up for Sunday race, another HRM experiment
Trampoline for 30 minutes, oodles of flips cuz they make me happy.
Avg HR 133, Max 147, cals 217
For as hard as I'm breathing, I am a little surprised the max doesn't go higher. I'd expect the avg to be low because I didn't warm up before I started.
 
...and the results are in: I am thrilled to report I knocked more than 9 minutes off my time! I've done this race (7 miles, 2300 feet elevation) twice before and both times were stubbornly similar. I was shooting for 5 minutes better, so to get 9 (improving more than 1 minute for every mile) was wonderful!

Saturday 138.4, BF 21.8%
Rest day mostly, a friend was out so we played on the slacklines - got a few turns of the hula hoop going while up on the low line, and trampoline.

Sunday 139.4
Race day - ran/power walked 7 miles up the road to the ski resort, 1:22, 765 cals, avg HR 159, max HR 169. I'm going with the "new shoes make me run fast" theory - I wore a bright blue, new out of the box pair of Keens. No really, I am completely convinced this one was all in my head. I wavered a little between miles 3 and 4 when it got steep and the wimpy part of my brain tried to say "but we only go 2.75 miles up Saddle Mt and we are beyond that now...". I quashed that with "yes, but we turn and run back down the hill as hard as we can and our HR is higher on that than it is now so we can keep going..." Luckily, between miles 5 and 6 a lot of folks were struggling and this is where my really strong power-walking paid off - I powered past them as they jogged. Typically we would trade back and forth a couple of times and then I'd pass them for good because if the grade eased off, I could still run. Passing so many people gave me a huge mental boost. And I could see T for most of the race - part of me really wanted to catch him. He may be my husband/partner, best training buddy, and sometimes coach, but he is also a competitive target. I was less than 2 minutes behind him this year vs. 11 minutes last year

Went to the swimming pool after the race and did 12 laps. Does it count as a "brick" if there are 2 hours in between activities? ;) Later in the day, was encouraging the cows to move down the valley and tried a short herding run... legs were OK as I had done some intense rolling, but my heart and lungs said NO! to any further cardio effort. I was spent.

Monday 139.4
Recovery power walk around Shoe Hill, 3.2 miles, 46 minutes. We did a really brief sprint just to see - it felt pretty bad... 226 cals, max HR of 152, avg 112.
 
Tuesday 7/24/12 weight 140.2 - Saddle Mt got rained out but that's OK, I was ready for a good weight workout.

First though, I got in about a mile herding cattle in crocs, in the mud and wet grass - not the best running shoes but maybe there is some fitness benefit to using the toes to grip the loose clog in hopes of keeping it on the foot? Dodging the pies and the ankle bends and twists must have value, right?

Balance on the BOSU with 5kg medicine ball - various movements to warm up. I could happily do this all day it feels soooo good.

Flip the BOSU round side up and do my own lunges
8 ea leg holding for 3-5 seconds - (and visualize a good tele turn)
10 each leg, switch sides, 3 sets on the BOSU
20 each leg alternating on the BOSU
On the floor stepping back with 5kg medicine ball
10 each leg, switch sides, 3 sets
20 alternating, stepping forward
I adore lunges!

Bench press
45lb x 8 warmup
65lb x 8
75lb x 6 x 3
70lb x 6

Leg press
240lb x 8 x 2

Quad lift, single leg
40lb x 6 x 3 (I think I'll do a set at 45 next time - these are feeling good)

Hamstring press, single leg, cables
22.5lbs x 8
25lbs x 8 (highest I've done)

Triceps, cross body pull w/lunge
50lbs x 8 x 2 each side

Row, single arm with twist
60lbs x 8 x 2

Lat pulls
70lbs x 8 x 2 (finally increased to 70 and was able to use lats without reverting to arms)

Shoulder press
35lbs x 8 x 2
 
Wednesday 7/25/12 weight 138.6
T and I did our rain-delayed Saddle Mt run this morning. Unfortunately, I had nothing in the tank after the race on Sunday and yesterday's weight/lunge session. Woke twice during the night from hamstring cramping (despite rolling last night). Bleh!
33.46 up/12.17min/mile, 315 calories, 158 avg HR, 173 max HR
22.26 down/8.09 min/mile, 216 calories, 161 avg HR, 173 max HR
 
Thursday 7/26/12 weight 138.6
Feeling yucky today so took it easy.
15 minutes of EFX, resistance level 7, 180 steps/min. Avg HR 138
Core workout on fitball plus push-ups and planks
 
Feeling much better today. Would have gone for trampoline but it was raining with lots of lightning and a wet trampoline leads me to spectacular crashes - didn't need that... Gym for weights for the 2nd time this week and that was probably good.

Friday weight 139.8
Leg press
250lbs x 10 x 3

Quad extension, single leg
40lbs x 6 x 2
45lbs x 6 x 2 (new high weight!)

Cable hamstrings
22.5 x 8
25 x 8 x 2

Squats - haven't done these for ages, but felt good
65lbs x 8 x 2
85lbs x 8 x 2 - smidge of a knee wobble unless I really focused - out of practice!

Bench press (I'm thinking of having T spot me on a single rep max attempt this weekend)
65lbs x 8
75lbs x 8 x 3
70 x 8

Triceps cross body pull
60lbs x 8
55lbs x 8 x 2

Single arm row with rotation
70lbs x 8 (new high weight)
62.5lbs x 8 x 2

Shoulder press
35lbs x 8, tried to increase weight but failed - Grrrr!
 
Saturday weight 139.4
Shoe hill loop with T, we started off going for a record time and did get one on the mile, 7.35, but then got messing around with our heart rate monitors on the last leg. Hit a max of 178 during the run, probably during the sprint at the end. Avg HR 144.

Spent the afternoon digging a 5 x 9 x 5 foot hole for a project... Didn't finish, but made good progress and was beat!

Sunday weight 138.6 and did BF@ 22.1 - need to get back in the pool for a real measure.
Big rain so the day started off lazy. We decided to go to the gym to workout and see some Olympic coverage (no tv at our house). Went for long, "go all day" training.
Treadmill @ 6.0% incline and 4.1 mph for 60 minutes. HR avg 119, max 124 - perfect! Treadmill gave me 500 calories, HRM says 378.
Next, went for 30 minutes @ 2.0% and 4.6 mph, walking. HR avg 118, max 124-exactly what I wanted.

Got home at dusk to a cattle invasion and I saw red! Hate those animals! Picked up a stick and chased them out of the fence, then rounded them up as if I was a border collie, or maybe a better image would be as if I were a cattle pony... Lots or running back and forth, stopping breakaways, throwing sticks and rocks at strays, racing about in the rain soaked field, dodging cow pies and sage. It took about 45 minutes to round the wretched beasts up and chase them out of the valley. I felt great! Effortless running, quick turns, good sprinting. Yes, got to admit that public lands grazing and the damage it does is the reason I have not eaten beef in 20 years...

Monday weight 137.8
No workout - yesterday was likely enough. Dental exam and then a trip to Phoenix, ugh!
 
Weight 139.6 - Torrential downpours last evening (driving home was kinda scary) so it was too muddy and wet to play outside. Went to the gym for lunges and weights.

- balance/corework on the BOSU with 5kg medicine ball
- flip the hard side down for lunges - 4:36 minutes (1 song) on the soft side of the BOSU - I am going to be so ready for those telemark turns this winter!
Floor with medicine ball
- lunge and hold, pulse for 10 each side, repeat 10 times each leg
- lunge back, alternating legs, 40 each
- lunge forward, alternating legs, 40 each
Bench press
45lbs x 6
65lbs x 6
70lbs x 6 x 3
ugh - mens stinky aftershave guy drives me out

Leg press
180 x 8
270 x 8 x 2
Unfortunately, it doesn't occur to me until I'm in the shower that if I had just popped a couple more plates on the machine I would have done double my weight... Next time!

Quad lift, single leg
40 x 6 x 2 (knee said no to more weight after all those lunges)

Hamstring
22.5 x 8
25 x 8 x 2

Tricep cross body pull
50 x 8
60 x 8

Row with twist
60 x 8
70 x 8

Shoulder press
35 x 8
35 x 5 (no increase in weight here for ages)
 
Took a few days off work and away from all technology. Had 3 good, hardworking days of fence building, dodging lightning bolts, and chasing, um, herding cattle out of the valley. Actually, as we were finishing up the south fence line on Saturday afternoon, the ranchers came and rounded up the wretched beasts to move them on to the next pasture. My garden has survived the incursion intact and the giant holes (really big animal + very soft wet ground = deep hoof print holes) and truly massive cowpies will endure for the rest of the year.

In addition to the hard labor and sprinting/herding runs, we did morning Shoe Hill Loops. T just read a book about how Bannister and others broke the 4 minute mile barrier so he is incorporating their training strategies on our loop. Bannister focused on each quarter mile independently, getting his speed up and repeatable until he could do all 4 quarters in less than a minute. So we break the Shoe Hill Loop into 3 segments, the first is the longest, about 1.25 miles, and has a pretty big hill to get to Tub3, the second is the gentle downhill run at just over a mile, and the last canyon segment is a steady, slightly uphill climb for a little under a mile - 3.3 total. Each segment has rough, rocky spots and other obstacles.
- Thursday 8/2/12 weight 137.6, worked on fence. Also, bought new blood pressure monitor, 95/68, so pretty normal for me.

- Friday 8/3/12 weight 139.0
We went for best time ever up the canyon - just broke 10 minutes, 35 minutes overall
337 cals, avg HR 145, max HR 173 More fence building.

- Saturday weight 137.6. BF% 17.3, 26.3 so avg 21.8
We went for best time to Tub3 - 12.30 minutes, and we kept running the rest of the loop for overall time of 31 minutes. More fence building.
379 cals, avg HR 156, max HR 172

- Sunday weight 138.8
Was to be an attempt at breaking 30 minutes overall, but we woke to pouring rain and it was just too muddy. We gave in to relaxation until mid-day when the sun came out. Then headed outside for a yard workout - 11 2:30 minute speed rope intervals mixed with 2 minute dumbbell/medicine ball/burpee/push-up breaks. When the rain returned, we called it good and went inside to stretch.
428 cals (1 hr) avg HR 115, max HR 147

Monday weight 138.8, walked Shoe Hill Loop (except for brief sprint on the one flat, smooth portion).
 
Oh what a glorious morning (place music symbol here!). T blew off the guys to do Saddle Mt with me, it was wonderful. The sky was clear, the sun was shining, the dew was sparking, summer wildflowers are everywhere now that the rains have come and running up a big hill in the forest was actually enjoyable! I felt really good and was actually a little surprised that my time wasn't better, but didn't care that it wasn't. At the top, we took in the views, and then turned to run down. T walked as he has had a grumpy hip flexor of late, and I ran, but more slowly than usual as it was just too pretty a morning to rush through.

Stats for reference: weight 138.8
cals 640, avg HR 154, max HR 175
32.52 up (11.83/mile) 1000 ft elevation gain
23.50 down (8.55/mile) 1000 ft elevation loss
 
Wednesday weight 138.6
Was very tempted by the trampoline this morning as I watched the Olympic trampoline videos yesterday - a few dozen flips would have adjusted my karma nicely... but given the chance we might hike on the weekend, I needed to get in my weights and lunges today so I had 2 days to recover from the misery that will result.

Cranked up my favorite Depeche Mode tunes for BOSU with 5kg medicine ball to warm up, did single leg balance moves as well, not sure why I've been skipping those this summer, but I can still do king dancer while balanced on the BOSU.

Flip the BOSU over soft side up for lunges - ah, the stretch and the burn of a zillon lunges... Love it!
7 minutes (2 songs) of BOSU lunges
- press and hold for a count of 4, repeat each leg x 8
- alternating legs (visualize a fantastic and long run down a ski slope on the tele skies :) )
3:35 minutes (Banarama - Cruel Summer) of step back/hold lunges with 5kg medicine ball - feel the burn!

Bench press
45lbs x 6
65lbs x 6
75lbs x 6 x 3 (felt wimpy today)
70lbs x 6

Leg press
270 x 10
290 x 8 x 2 (whoo hoo - more than double my weight!)

Single leg quad lift
40 x 6
45 x 6 x 3

Hamstring cable
22.5 x 8
25 x 8 x 2

Single arm Row with rotation
60 x 10
70 x 8 x 2

Cross body tricep pull
50 x 8
60 x 8 x 2

Lat pulls
60 x 8
70 x 8
Darn... out of time, no shoulder press (yippee!!!!)
 
Thursday weight 138.2
T invited me to join him on a long run this morning which would have been nice, but I was really psyched for a trampoline workout and knew my legs would be dead/sore/stiff and unfit for running after yesterdays workout.

Gorgeous morning - sunshine, dew, lots of blooms in the garden. I had just gotten started, still warming up when Coach T shows up - "point those toes", "legs together when you flip" - yadda, yadda. He was joking. Since we don't have TV, my mother in law has recorded a lot of Olympic coverage to DVD and mails disks to us. We were watching womens gymnastics last night and the commentators would mention when a toe wasn't pointed or if legs were not tightly together in a flip.

Great session, one fairly major (my neck will be sore) crash, and I won't be trying out for the Olympic team anytime soon. 36 minutes, 321 calories, avg HR 136, max HR 150.
 
8/10/12 weight 138.2
Shoe Hill Loop with T. Went clockwise direction and just power-walked it. Gorgeous morning, excellent conversation.
 
The weekend was all about hard work - pulling weeds, cleaning the water tank, digging a really big hole for a storage bin. Did no specific exercise but got plenty.

Saturday 8/11/12 weight 138.8, scale BF 17.5/26.5 for average of 22%. Did caliper measures and got 19.3%.

Sunday weight 139.4 - highest I have been in about 10 days.

Monday 8/13/12 weight 138.8
Shoe Hill Loop with T. Ran the back mile at near PB pace, 7.44, then ran up the valley in 10.50. Overall time was over 36 since we didn't push on the first section. Avg HR 139, max 175, cals 332.
 
Tuesday weight 138.2 - Saddle Mt day.
T opted out as he wanted to get an early start on his work day since we might get by without any rain... boy, it's been a while since I was on my own with the mountain.

I was running late and really wasn't up for pushing my limits, so after the first curves (probably a little over .5 mile) I looked straight up the hill to the cell towers and decided to go cross country! Yea baby - I am a hiker at heart. No matter that I was wearing my road flats, I just headed straight up the hill - power step, slide back, jump up again, leap over the fallen log, dodge the sticker bush, admire the pinks, breath in - step, breath out - step -forget any 2 step pattern, this requires AIR!

As you might guess, I had a fantastic time. Got to the top and said good morning to the slightly surprised cell tower workers who offered me water. I said no thanks and headed over to the road to run down the hill in the usual way.
13.34 of intense climbing, 22.43 total climb time
22.07 to run down, so 8 minute miles
513 calories, avg HR 157, max HR 172, happy factor 10!
 
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