Heather's Training - Week 3

Training Day #7 - June 7, 2010

2.3 miles in 30 minutes. Booyah! I have absolutely no idea how I did it either. I have salsa class on Monday nights that are pretty intense. They are hour and a half classes that make me sweat in places I didn’t even know had sweat glands. Then, after my class, I practice for a half hour or so with a guy from my class, to go over the moves we learned and in grain them into our heads. So, let me say this again. I spent TWO HOURS dancing salsa tonight. And then I ran for 30 minutes. I have completely lost whatever sense I thought I had. Not to mention that I smell like an armpit. That’s not a metaphor for smelling bad either. I really do smell like arm pit. We learned a salsa move tonight that involves me rolling my head under a guy’s arm as I’m spinning. And apparently I didn’t duck low enough with one guy and my head collided with his smelly, sweaty, hairy armpit. So, yeah, that was a super fun smell the rest of the night.

But, for some wild and bat-shit crazy reason, I ran like I’ve never run before. Usually by about 6.5 minutes, I am huffing and puffing and about to blow the poor piggie’s house down. Not tonight. Tonight I was a rockstar. My walks were nearly runs and my runs were at a faster speed than normal. I’m still doing my 2-minute intervals, and I’ll probably move on next week to something more challenging. But, tonight, I felt great until I had 6.5 minutes LEFT in my run. This. Never. Happens. I do not know what kind of sugar-high/crack I was on, but I like it. I must have more of this.

My feet were starting to hurt near the end, as well as my shins, but for the most part, my body felt pretty good. Better than it has the previous six runs. I hope this is a breakthrough for me, and I will continue to grow from here, rather than this being some freak full moon or something. That would really blow the wind out of my sails.

Time for a shower with lots and lots of sweet-smelling soap.

Note to anyone who ever works out at the gym: Do not, I repeat do NOT take cell phone calls while you are at the gym, unless you are in a far corner away from everyone. I do not care to hear about your baby daddy, your kid who wet his pants in class, that stupid gurlll who stole your man or your boss who’s an a-hole. And I especially don’t want to hear these things OVER the top of the already loud, borderline ear-bleeding volume of my headphones. Nothing is that important that you need to have a conversation while running on the treadmill. If it’s that important, take it outside. Or I will break your face.

That is all.

Mental note: I am totally digging the calorie burn count after each of these runs. And I’m noticing clothes are a bit looser as well. This. I. Like.

Training Day #8 - June 11, 2010

So, yeah, I think Monday was a fluke. At least the mad energy skillz part. I had zero energy tonight. That was probably mostly attributed to the lack of sleep all week and the previous 24 hours of heading back home for the funeral. But, excuses aside, I was pooped. When I got home, I fell asleep upright on the couch while watching tv. I awoke twenty or so minutes later and realized that if I did not get my butt moving, I would never make it to the gym. And with it being Friday, and only running once this week, I wouldn’t get my 3 runs in. Crap.

I again made it to the gym on an off night. Gee, I wonder why 6pm on a Friday night isn’t a hot time for the gym... So, I was able to have my pick of the treadmills again. I never thought I’d say this, but I’m not hating them as much any more. Don’t get me wrong, I do not love the damn things, but they’re starting to grow on me a little bit.

Due the lack of energy, I was struggling, even at the beginning. I just didn’t feel like running. At all. I tried to distract myself by watching tv, but there’s apparently nothing on on Friday nights. I made the mistake of putting Food Network on again, but fortunately, there was nothing too enticing on tonight. This gave me a chance to people watch. I’ve decided that every time I’m at the gym, I’m going to try to pick out a unique individual and give them a name. Tonight it was Combover McStaresalot. He was maybe 5’3”, dressed in Hawaiian shorts and a red wife beater (classy) and balding with a ridiculous comb-over that started from the back and headed straight for the forehead. And I don’t think he was physically capable of blinking. So, he stared at everything. And everyone. He took “people watching” to a whole new level. I would have been creeped out if he just stared at me like that, but I think there was some lint on the floor that kept his attention for a good 7 minutes. Congrats Combover McStaresalot, you’re my first victim.

Even though I felt like those little cartoon mucus people were jabbing the insides of my lungs, and I didn’t think I’d finish my run, I miraculously ran 2.3 miles. I really didn’t think I’d make it. I have no idea how. I guess I have will power after all. Where was this will power this afternoon when I ate two desserts? (That is not entirely my fault. I had already picked up a brownie when my mom informed me they had coconut pie. I had to have a piece of coconut pie and I couldn’t put the brownie back. That would have been rude...right? Right?!!) Good thing I did run tonight. I had brownie calories to burn.

I’m definitely done for tonight. I hope I have more energy tomorrow to complete the week. Wish me luck.

Side note: Hottie McNavy came in runner-up for the naming ceremony tonight. Too bad I didn’t see him first (seriously, it’s too bad I didn’t see him first, because I probably wouldn’t have noticed Combover McStaresalot AT ALL). Must see Hottie McNavy again soon. (He was wearing a Navy t-shirt, in case you were wondering.)

Training Day #9 - June 12, 2010

I am once again a rockstar. Yesterday must have just been a bad day for me to run. I got up this morning and ate a hearty breakfast of eggs before I headed out the door. My gym is only about 4 blocks away, so I walk there as often as I can when it’s not dark or frigid outside.

The end of the treadmills that I usually use were all booked up, so I headed to the other end to one of the free ones. And this one is completely different than the ones I’ve been using for the last 3 weeks. Great, now I have to try to figure this one out. It doesn’t have the preset interval training for times, but it does have a speed interval setting. It took a few tries before I figured out that you put in your total running time, then your jog speed (i.e. walk speed) and then your run speed. You get the job of toggling between jogging and running. There’s no set time limit. I hated that. At first. I am coordinated enough to not fall off a treadmill, but I am not coordinated enough to run AND keep track of the time to switch it. Good grief. (I did manage to get better at this and actually liked the flexibility of it by the end.)

The first ten minutes weren’t too bad. I was able to keep my eye on the timing and switch between the fast walk and run every two minutes. And I was feeling great. No lung constrictions, no knee or shin pain, no jagged breaths. SCORE! However, I did think my treadmill was going to fall apart. As soon as I started running, the thing started shaking back and forth so bad you’d think I was a 400-lb lineman.

I seriously felt great the entire run. No joke. I think that maybe, perhaps, I’m kinda sorta turning into a runner. But, shhh, don’t say that out loud! Who knew it would only take 9 days for me to get this way? I sure as hell never thought it would happen. I feel great about the run in September. If I’m feeling this good now, I should be in tippy-top shape in 3 months....and now I’ve just jinxed myself.

I’m such a rockstar that I even ran for the entire final 5 minutes. Yep, you read that right, I ran 5 minutes straight. Boo. Yah. I never knew I had it in me. I increased my distance again today to 2.4 miles in 30 minutes and with my 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down I broke the 3 mile mark. So, if I can walk/run a 5K in 40 minutes, I sure as shit better be able to run it in 3 months.

My victim for today was Sweaty McGruntsalot. I’ve mentioned him before, but today I got to witness his Awesomeness. This guy is always at the gym. It doesn’t matter what time of day it is or what day of the week. I think he has a slight exercise addiction. But surprisingly he’s not as big as a house. He does however make noises that no human should ever make. He makes noises that you should shield your children from. I find it incredibly difficult to work out when he’s around because I can’t stop giggling. It’s kind of a cross between being kicked in the junk and having the best night of your life. Hence the R rating for your kids. Dude, seriously, stop making those noises. It’s creeping everyone in the gym out. I'm not the only one holding in laughter.