Showing posts with label ymca. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ymca. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

A Bunch of Stuff that I'm too Lazy to Think of a Witty Title For

  • I know I'm beating a dead horse here, but there's only a few days left to enter the First Annual Earn Your Donuts Bad Race Photo Contest (Brought to You by Road ID). We've got two entries that I think are classics, but there's no other brave souls out there willing to make fun of yourself a little for a $35 Road ID Gift Certificate? Send in entries as instructed or leave a link to your photo in the comments, whichever's easier for you. Submissions will be accepted until 11:59PM ET on Monday, 2/27/2012.

  • So, I guess I'll get the update on the Great Comeback of 2011 out of the way -- it's going fine. 3.1 miles on Monday in 28:28. I felt really great for the first two miles, as if all my mediocre powers had returned, and then kind of died at mile 3. Today was supposed to be running day, but I took a day off because I've felt sick with cold symptoms plus a huge headache all day. If I feel better tomorrow, I'll run 2 or 3 miles. If not, I'll probably just put it off to Saturday to get back on a regular schedule.

  • I took the day of on Monday. We didn't do anything exciting, but it was a nice relaxing day. However, we did go to the gym that evening. I rode 6.5 miles on the bike in half an hour and did (ellipticalled?) 3.1 miles on the elliptical. I slept really well Monday night!

  • I don't like to talk about my job very much on the blog, but on Tuesday, I had one of the worst days of work I've ever had in eight years of my job. It's pretty common for me to be stressed or burnt-out, but this day just left me really, really, angry...like "want to punch a wall angry". I know that doesn't end well, so instead, I took my frustration out in the weight room, and let's just say that I should lift every time I'm really mad about something. Increased weight in everything. Note to self: download a bunch of older Metallica albums for the full angry lifting effect.

  • I went my first of four personal training sessions at the Y later on Tuesday night. It's more of an informational session/orientation than a real workout, or I wouldn't have lifted before. This evening's session was an introduction to all the leg machines, and let's just say that I was a little sore today just from the one set of everything that I did. Leg press, leg curls, leg extensions, calf raise machine, hip abductor, hip adductor (don't ask me to remember which is which!).

    I've barely done any legwork at all (Except, you know, running), so I think this will make a big difference in improving my endurance. Hopefully will make me a little quicker, too. (There'll be some instruction -- which I need! -- on free weight leg exercises, too, but that's a later session).

(It's not a very good picture,
but I was trying to be sneaky so that I didn't look creepy.)


  • This has been another pretty boring entry. You know what that means: ADORABLE KITTENS!!!

(Carl, the orange tabby, and PT, the brown and white tabby,
were two of my pals from the Adoption Center at Petsmart.
Luckily, they've both found homes.)

Saturday, February 11, 2012

The Comeback Begins...

With a wintry mix falling over Central PA, coating the grounds but not the roads, and me waking up (covered in cats) feeling like I'd been hit by a train despite a very good longer than usual night of sleep, I was leaning toward putting my run off till tomorrow.

Instead, Chris (who had a 4-miler today on her training calendar) and I headed up to the indoor track at the West Shore YMCA. And, I'm glad we did.

My plan was to try for two miles. I started out feeling great, it was nice to run again after over a month off. After two miles, I felt good enough to go for three. I was definitely a little bit winded afterwards, and my quads are bit sore but don't feel injured, but I'm otherwise ok.

Shinsplints? Gone.

Mystery bump? No problem.

One mile at this track is 16 laps, and I might have miscounted as I was singing along with Van Halen in my head (I hope it was in my head), but I believe that I ran an even 3 miles or one lap extra in 28:57. Other than being indoors, this run could not possibly have gone any better. This year's Shamrock Marathon is out of the question, but I feel very confident about the spring 5Ks, 8Ks, and 10Ks and trying to destroy the Harrisburg Mile in the Summer.

It is a long way back to being in marathon shape, but it is great to be started on that road.