Christmas

I am way behind on posts! I have a lot of things to talk about, including the Bloomington Bagel Company Turkey Trot, triathlon related Christmas gifts, 2012 races I've registered for (check the Race Page), and goals for 2012, including being a better blogger.

Right now I'm visiting my in-laws, but I promise to get caught up, make excuses for why I'm so behind, and do better in about a week!

Swim Report

Laps in the pool this morning. I did the alphabet thing again, with a geography category. I only made it to X this morning before I ran out of time (600 yards). It is so crazy the thought process one goes through when working out. For example, I counted Arkansas three times... one for A, one for K, and one for S. And then I forgot how the alphabet goes and put W before V. Crazy.

CycleFit

We did something a little different in CycleFit today. Perfect timing, as I finally recruited someone to come to class and then we switched it up! We did a little warmup and then a 21-minute long race simulation. So we were more or less on our own to "race as hard as we could" for the entire time. Judy did tell us what she was doing, and I think most of us just copied that. I know I did anyway... I ended up burning 442 kJ, but I'm just not good at envisioning racing scenarios. If it were an actual race, I'd probably put forth more effort, but I just can't do it for a pretend race. I much prefer the method she usually cues us on (power zones, perceived effort, or cadence). However, Shelly enjoyed the class and may stick with it! I hope she does. Just because I love CycleFit and want everyone else to love it too. :)

NROLFW

Workout B of Stage 1 seemed easier than Workout A. Today I did deadlifts, dumbbell shoulder press, wide-grip lat pulldown, lunges, and swiss-ball crunches. Again, I had more trouble with the lunges than anything else. I find it difficult to balance sometimes. My legs were still sore from Monday, but I think it's more because I broke my right ankle in high school and it just isn't as strong as it should be. I have a hard time balancing on it. But maybe this will help fix that.

Today was a little entertaining because there were a lot of guys working out this morning. So there are like four around me, lifting much bigger weights and then there's me right in the middle with little pitiful ones. I hope they were impressed that I was lifting instead of making fun of me in their heads. Not that it really matters anyway. I'm impressed with my efforts to get stronger and be in better shape, and that's what's important.

Run Report

Ran 2.9 miles with Shelly this afternoon around campus. We got a late start due to some troubles in lab.

Also, I found this virtual Turkey Trot 5K at A Journey to Thin. Since I'm already doing the Bloomington Bagel Company's Turkey Trot 5K, I'm totally using that! I'm really looking forward to free coffee and BBC bagels. I eat there like twice a week, so clearly, I have no problem getting up early on Thanksgiving to get free bagels. And I convinced Seth to do it too. And most likely Shelly and her husband, Grant. Woot!

Swim Report

I read this funny article this morning while drinking my coffee. She pretty much nailed what goes on in my head when doing any sort of lap, but I have an even shorter attention span in that I can't count past four. I'm pretty sure this is due to the years I spent in band.

Anyway, I thought this alphabet thing was genius, so I tried it this morning. It totally worked! I made it all the way to Z! Only I didn't limit myself to any category. I just thought of whatever I could that started with whatever letter I was on. Sometimes it was people, many times it was food (especially candy products...), and for some reason P started with possum and ended up with all the P elements in the periodic table. There are a lot. I counted lead. And then spent the rest of the lane debating in my head whether or not that was legitimate.

So, clearly that article was meant for me. But I'm quite proud that I swam 650 yards this morning.

NROLFW

I started the New Rules of Lifting for Women this morning. I'm really excited about strength training!

However, Stage 1 is already kicking my butt! This program is going to hurt. In a good way.

I love how this is a quick, simple workout, but you definitely get some bang for your buck. Today's workout was 2 sets, 15 reps of five exercises: squats, pushups, seated row, prone jackknife, and step ups. Given how much I use my legs with the cycling and biking I do, I expected squats at least to be easy. Boy, was that a terrible assumption. I also expected the seated row to be hard since I feel that I have limited upper body strength, but it was very easy and I will definitely have to increase the weight. I'm looking forward to mastering these exercises and really knowing my way around the gym. And getting stronger and leaner in the process.