So, I love -- LOVE -- hot and sunny weather. I love it. I even love when it's humid and sticky.
I don't really love running in hot and sunny weather. Over the summer I'll run in the morning -- 5:45, 6am -- before it really heats up, but even then, if it's a humid stretch, it's treadmill city to me.
So, you can imagine my internal conflict when I saw this weekend's weather report. High 80s both Saturday and Sunday? Sunny? Hot? YES! WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!
...but wait. Don't I have to run ten miles on Sunday? The day where there's a high of 88 to 90 degrees, with humidity and possible rain late in the day? Um...what?
You can further imagine how unsettling it was to get an e-mail from the sponsors of Broad Street, essentially saying the following:
"Dear Runners: So, you've seen the weather forecasts. Didn't see that one coming, did ya?? Neither did we. You know damn well you haven't trained in these conditions. And you know you weren't expecting this weather. We won't tell you what to do -- except for not get drunk on Saturday night. And make sure you start hydrating three days ago. And by the way, if you die during the race, it's TOTALLY your fault.
PS -- have fun at the expo!"
Ugh. Lame.
Remember how I was sort of vomiting with nerves already? Compound that by the fact that the last time I ran in this kind of heat and humidity -- over the summer -- I actually DID nearly vomit into a trashcan on Kelly Drive. (In front of a coworker, no less! Who hasn't really asked me to run with her again since. Hmm...coincidence, I'm sure.) And that was only FIVE miles.
Well, there's a long time between now and that starting line. I know one thing for sure: I am going to the Expo tomorrow morning and picking up my race packet (not to mention spending cash on a Bondi Band or two, and a SpiBelt). After that...well...I'll let you know if I end up dying.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Confession
Confession: I am petrified about running Broad Street this weekend.
My 8-miler really did go well, with no post-run fallout. And thanks to Steph at The Bright Side, I have some buddies to run with on Sunday. And it's not like I haven't done this before.
But I'm still so nervous that I'm going to injure myself. No matter how many times I tell myself that I'm going to be conservative, and stretch my hips regularly, and walk the second I feel like I need to -- I'm worried that I'm going to be my normal stupid self, and "push through" because I feel like I "should." And end up unable to walk down the stairs for weeks.
I'm being silly. At least, I think I am.
I skipped P90X plyo last night, reasoning that (1) jumping up and down repeatedly is not going to help my let's-not-injure-my-knee goal, and (2) Sunday's race will be more than enough cardio to make up for it. I was going to hop on the Hamster Wheel of Death (aka elliptical) with my new Fitness magazine instead, but that didn't happen.
Sigh. So nervous. So silly of me. I figure that once I pick up my packet, I'll be stuck -- since I can't really wear the shirt without running the race, right? And I can't bring in my bib to add to my display here at work either, right?
Yeah. I'd be a real poseur then.
My 8-miler really did go well, with no post-run fallout. And thanks to Steph at The Bright Side, I have some buddies to run with on Sunday. And it's not like I haven't done this before.
But I'm still so nervous that I'm going to injure myself. No matter how many times I tell myself that I'm going to be conservative, and stretch my hips regularly, and walk the second I feel like I need to -- I'm worried that I'm going to be my normal stupid self, and "push through" because I feel like I "should." And end up unable to walk down the stairs for weeks.
I'm being silly. At least, I think I am.
I skipped P90X plyo last night, reasoning that (1) jumping up and down repeatedly is not going to help my let's-not-injure-my-knee goal, and (2) Sunday's race will be more than enough cardio to make up for it. I was going to hop on the Hamster Wheel of Death (aka elliptical) with my new Fitness magazine instead, but that didn't happen.
Sigh. So nervous. So silly of me. I figure that once I pick up my packet, I'll be stuck -- since I can't really wear the shirt without running the race, right? And I can't bring in my bib to add to my display here at work either, right?
Yeah. I'd be a real poseur then.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Philly Foodie Meetup!
Delayed post numero dos!
Last Tuesday, Sabrina of RhodeyGirlTests.com and Leslie of AndHerLittleDogToo.com were fabulous enough to organize a meetup of Philly bloggers and readers.
You've probably seen everyone else's recaps, so I'll make this brief -- but I had an absolute blast meeting everyone, putting names to faces (or, well, faces to blogs) and making new friends!
We met up at Garces Trading Company, Jose Garces' newest restaurant. PhillyGuy and I are rabid Food Network fans, and I was delighted to see Garces become the newest Iron Chef.
I wasn't sure what to expect with Garces Trading Company, but I loved it. It reminded me a lot of DiBruno's at 18th and Market...if only DiBruno's had table service and (gasp!) its own wine shop.
(Sorry for the blurry pics -- I'm working with a point & shoot here!)
Our table shared a chef's selection of cheeses. The blue, paired with the lavendar honey and a thin slice of apple, was pretty much enough to make me die and go to heaven right there.
I followed that up with the lamp chops, which came prepared medium rare and paired perfectly with the glass of red wine Sabrina was kind enough to share:
I'd definitely head back for dinner with PhillyGuy, and would probably try the pizza next time -- several girls ordered that, and it looked unreal. Pretty basic, with a thin crust and simple ingredients -- it was a real toss-up between the pizza and the lamb for me, but I was happy with my choice.
All in all, it was a really great night -- I am ridiculously happy about the idea of a Philly blogging/fitness/foodie community. It was fantastic to hang out with people who share my biggest interests, and I cannot wait to do it again.
PhillyGuy and I spent this weekend up at his parents' house visiting with family. As always, we packed our gym clothes with the intention of doing our scheduled P90X workouts. And, as always, things just didn't work out that way. Friday night was yoga night -- but we didn't even eat dinner until 8pm, and at 9, headed over to his grandparents' to hang out. So, he asked me to hold off and do yoga with him when he got back from golfing with his dad. Except their tee time was at 8:30ish -- which is, no joke, a good two hours later than it usually is. And when they rolled in around 12:45, people had started to arrive for that afternoon's "picnic." I was a little cheesed, since I'd spent the morning reading trashy magazines and could have been doing precious yoga...but, whatever.
So, when we got home last night around 6:15, I was itching to work out. By the time we unloaded the car, walked the pups, and all that jazz, it was close to 7:30, and PhillyGuy decided he needed to hang out at home and get some work done. Peace out, brother -- I hauled my butt right to the gym, where I rocked out some Core Synergistics solo. Our new gym has an aerobics studio-style workout room, with wood floors and a full wall of mirrors, which was the perfect location for my various banana-superman rolls, pushup variations, and overall contortions.
Except for Dreya rolls.
That guy can do Dreya rolls. I can't. They are WAY harder than they look. I get stuck on my ass.
Oh well. One of these days.
Last Tuesday, Sabrina of RhodeyGirlTests.com and Leslie of AndHerLittleDogToo.com were fabulous enough to organize a meetup of Philly bloggers and readers.
You've probably seen everyone else's recaps, so I'll make this brief -- but I had an absolute blast meeting everyone, putting names to faces (or, well, faces to blogs) and making new friends!
We met up at Garces Trading Company, Jose Garces' newest restaurant. PhillyGuy and I are rabid Food Network fans, and I was delighted to see Garces become the newest Iron Chef.
I wasn't sure what to expect with Garces Trading Company, but I loved it. It reminded me a lot of DiBruno's at 18th and Market...if only DiBruno's had table service and (gasp!) its own wine shop.
(Sorry for the blurry pics -- I'm working with a point & shoot here!)
Our table shared a chef's selection of cheeses. The blue, paired with the lavendar honey and a thin slice of apple, was pretty much enough to make me die and go to heaven right there.
I followed that up with the lamp chops, which came prepared medium rare and paired perfectly with the glass of red wine Sabrina was kind enough to share:
I'd definitely head back for dinner with PhillyGuy, and would probably try the pizza next time -- several girls ordered that, and it looked unreal. Pretty basic, with a thin crust and simple ingredients -- it was a real toss-up between the pizza and the lamb for me, but I was happy with my choice.
All in all, it was a really great night -- I am ridiculously happy about the idea of a Philly blogging/fitness/foodie community. It was fantastic to hang out with people who share my biggest interests, and I cannot wait to do it again.
PhillyGuy and I spent this weekend up at his parents' house visiting with family. As always, we packed our gym clothes with the intention of doing our scheduled P90X workouts. And, as always, things just didn't work out that way. Friday night was yoga night -- but we didn't even eat dinner until 8pm, and at 9, headed over to his grandparents' to hang out. So, he asked me to hold off and do yoga with him when he got back from golfing with his dad. Except their tee time was at 8:30ish -- which is, no joke, a good two hours later than it usually is. And when they rolled in around 12:45, people had started to arrive for that afternoon's "picnic." I was a little cheesed, since I'd spent the morning reading trashy magazines and could have been doing precious yoga...but, whatever.
So, when we got home last night around 6:15, I was itching to work out. By the time we unloaded the car, walked the pups, and all that jazz, it was close to 7:30, and PhillyGuy decided he needed to hang out at home and get some work done. Peace out, brother -- I hauled my butt right to the gym, where I rocked out some Core Synergistics solo. Our new gym has an aerobics studio-style workout room, with wood floors and a full wall of mirrors, which was the perfect location for my various banana-superman rolls, pushup variations, and overall contortions.
Except for Dreya rolls.
That guy can do Dreya rolls. I can't. They are WAY harder than they look. I get stuck on my ass.
Oh well. One of these days.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Farmers' Market
Delayed post number one, here we go:
So, last Friday night was one of those nights where PhillyGuy and I were both just total wastes of space.
It's hard to remember exactly why. I know I had an insane morning trying to wrap stuff up before bosslady left for vacation, followed by dashing downstairs to catch a train out to Norristown for a hearing...only to discover WHEN I GOT THERE that it was cancelled, without notice. Booooooo. Double BOOOOOO for having to wait 40 minutes for a train back to the city. Triple BOOOOOO for having to pretend to do important work on my blackberry to ignore the woman in the train station talking to herself (and intensely!) about vegetables. BOOOOOO again for having to go back up to the office and deal with more shenanigans for a few hours, instead of going straight home from court like I'd hoped.
Hmm. Maybe I do remember exactly why. Oh, well.
Regardless -- PhillyGuy also had a long day. So, we did what any normal people would do after a long day -- headed straight to New Delhi up in University City, where we stuffed ourselves with Indian food, before coming home, collapsing on the couch, and watching Food Network until we couldn't keep our eyes open. Which was, um, like 8:30pm.
After our ridiculously early bedtime, PhillyGuy and I were both wide awake around 6:30 or 7 the next morning. After a nice leisurely dog walk, we hit the gym for shoulders, biceps and triceps. After a nice hour's worth of arm-destroying, we headed out, happy and sweaty, to run by the farmer's market.
First stop: Cafe Lutecia at 23rd and Lombard for an iced coffee.
I LOVE this place. It's very simple, very French, and everything is delicious. In our pre-P90X days (i.e. before our diets shifted to 70% protein), this was on our regular weekend breakfast rotation. Usually, we'd "split" a scone (that means I had three or four bites while PhillyGuy took care of the rest, pretending he ordered it just for himself), and order a couple slices of whatever their daily rotation of quiches was.
On to Fitler Square:
Every Saturday, a small farmer's market sets up right in front of the park from about 8am to 2pm.
It's only a few tables, but they always have plenty of local, seasonal produce, fresh dairy and eggs, and other treats -- delicious baked goods, local honey, jams, etc.
It was very crowded in such a small place, so I couldn't take pictures without causing a traffic jam...but we ended up with fresh portobella mushrooms, some asparagus, fruit and a dozen fresh eggs.
The puppies enjoyed the sunshine:
I love the "couples' leash," as our dogwalker puts it. Without it, I end up getting tied up when they try to run in opposite directions. Or in the same direction -- running in circles around my ankles. That's always a favorite.
So, okay, that was a six-day delay on that post. Ooops. Oh well. Coming soon: my recap of the Philly Foodie meetup at Garces Trading Co.!
(By the way -- good lord, did those eight miles kick my butt. I am creeeeeaky today. Still on the fence about Broad Street -- I need to make a decision, and FAST!)
What are your favorite farmers markets in the city?
So, last Friday night was one of those nights where PhillyGuy and I were both just total wastes of space.
It's hard to remember exactly why. I know I had an insane morning trying to wrap stuff up before bosslady left for vacation, followed by dashing downstairs to catch a train out to Norristown for a hearing...only to discover WHEN I GOT THERE that it was cancelled, without notice. Booooooo. Double BOOOOOO for having to wait 40 minutes for a train back to the city. Triple BOOOOOO for having to pretend to do important work on my blackberry to ignore the woman in the train station talking to herself (and intensely!) about vegetables. BOOOOOO again for having to go back up to the office and deal with more shenanigans for a few hours, instead of going straight home from court like I'd hoped.
Hmm. Maybe I do remember exactly why. Oh, well.
Regardless -- PhillyGuy also had a long day. So, we did what any normal people would do after a long day -- headed straight to New Delhi up in University City, where we stuffed ourselves with Indian food, before coming home, collapsing on the couch, and watching Food Network until we couldn't keep our eyes open. Which was, um, like 8:30pm.
After our ridiculously early bedtime, PhillyGuy and I were both wide awake around 6:30 or 7 the next morning. After a nice leisurely dog walk, we hit the gym for shoulders, biceps and triceps. After a nice hour's worth of arm-destroying, we headed out, happy and sweaty, to run by the farmer's market.
First stop: Cafe Lutecia at 23rd and Lombard for an iced coffee.
I LOVE this place. It's very simple, very French, and everything is delicious. In our pre-P90X days (i.e. before our diets shifted to 70% protein), this was on our regular weekend breakfast rotation. Usually, we'd "split" a scone (that means I had three or four bites while PhillyGuy took care of the rest, pretending he ordered it just for himself), and order a couple slices of whatever their daily rotation of quiches was.
On to Fitler Square:
Every Saturday, a small farmer's market sets up right in front of the park from about 8am to 2pm.
It's only a few tables, but they always have plenty of local, seasonal produce, fresh dairy and eggs, and other treats -- delicious baked goods, local honey, jams, etc.
It was very crowded in such a small place, so I couldn't take pictures without causing a traffic jam...but we ended up with fresh portobella mushrooms, some asparagus, fruit and a dozen fresh eggs.
The puppies enjoyed the sunshine:
I love the "couples' leash," as our dogwalker puts it. Without it, I end up getting tied up when they try to run in opposite directions. Or in the same direction -- running in circles around my ankles. That's always a favorite.
So, okay, that was a six-day delay on that post. Ooops. Oh well. Coming soon: my recap of the Philly Foodie meetup at Garces Trading Co.!
(By the way -- good lord, did those eight miles kick my butt. I am creeeeeaky today. Still on the fence about Broad Street -- I need to make a decision, and FAST!)
What are your favorite farmers markets in the city?
Thursday, April 22, 2010
8 Mile
I don't know what got into me today -- maybe it was chatting with my fellow Philly Foodies the other night, maybe it was just the sunshine -- but I decided randomly this afternoon that I was going to run tonight.
Not one of my typical runs from the past few months, where I knock out four miles or so and cry about how I'm not as fast as I used to be.
No -- this was a test run (pun). I wanted to do 8 miles. I figure -- if I could cover 8 miles, even 8 slow miles, I'd know if I could do ten next weekend at Broad Street. If the 8-miler was a big fat fail, well -- then it was time to give up the bib.
Here is what Chrissey looks like when she completes 8 miles in a reasonable amount of time despite not having trained at all:
HAPPY!
How the crap do you take a good picture of your Garmin, anyway? I took at least 8 or 9, and this one was BY FAR the best.
Anyway -- so, I did it. I ran down 24th street, picked up the Schuylhill River trail at Locust, and did a nice out-and-back down Kelly Drive, which I haven't done in a VERY long time. I told myself I was just going to do four two-mile runs. After every two miles, I was allowed to stop, pause the Garmin, and stretch my hamstrings/glutes. And I did that -- never for very long, but I really think it made all the difference in the world.
The first six miles felt GOOD. There were a couple of times when my legs felt like bricks, but I pushed through every time, and I just felt...GOOD. The last two miles...well, less good. Mile 7 was rough...so rough that I walked for half of mile 8. I ran the last half miles and, despite my achin' legs, finished strong. Splits:
Mile 1: 9:50
Mile 2: 9:34
Mile 3: 9:54
Mile 4: 9:31
Mile 5: 9:53
Mile 6: 9:27
Mile 7: 10:05 (starting to fall apart)
Mile 8: 13:04 (walked first .5)
I'm so glad I went. Around mile 3, I started noticing that the sky was clouding up, and I starting thinking to myself "hmm...maybe I should have checked the radar." Sure enough, right at my turnaround point at mile 4, gale-force winds started blowing and it started to rain. I'm glad it did, actually -- it only rained for about 6 or 7 minutes and completely refreshed me. I was sort of disappointed when it stopped...mostly because I was already outlining how I'd tell the story of my "OMG SO HARDCORE RUN" where I ran the WHOLE SECOND HALF in the rain.
Not so much.
Playlist that kept me going:
I have eclectic taste in music. It's ok.
Question of the day: what's the better Rocky workout/montage song? "No Easy Way Out" or "Hearts on Fire?" I have such a hard time deciding -- on one hand, does it GET any better than angry, mourning Rocky speeding around in his ridic sports car? On the other -- yes, when he RUNS UP A MOUNTAIN. Gah. So hard to decide.
Not one of my typical runs from the past few months, where I knock out four miles or so and cry about how I'm not as fast as I used to be.
No -- this was a test run (pun). I wanted to do 8 miles. I figure -- if I could cover 8 miles, even 8 slow miles, I'd know if I could do ten next weekend at Broad Street. If the 8-miler was a big fat fail, well -- then it was time to give up the bib.
Here is what Chrissey looks like when she completes 8 miles in a reasonable amount of time despite not having trained at all:
HAPPY!
How the crap do you take a good picture of your Garmin, anyway? I took at least 8 or 9, and this one was BY FAR the best.
Anyway -- so, I did it. I ran down 24th street, picked up the Schuylhill River trail at Locust, and did a nice out-and-back down Kelly Drive, which I haven't done in a VERY long time. I told myself I was just going to do four two-mile runs. After every two miles, I was allowed to stop, pause the Garmin, and stretch my hamstrings/glutes. And I did that -- never for very long, but I really think it made all the difference in the world.
The first six miles felt GOOD. There were a couple of times when my legs felt like bricks, but I pushed through every time, and I just felt...GOOD. The last two miles...well, less good. Mile 7 was rough...so rough that I walked for half of mile 8. I ran the last half miles and, despite my achin' legs, finished strong. Splits:
Mile 1: 9:50
Mile 2: 9:34
Mile 3: 9:54
Mile 4: 9:31
Mile 5: 9:53
Mile 6: 9:27
Mile 7: 10:05 (starting to fall apart)
Mile 8: 13:04 (walked first .5)
I'm so glad I went. Around mile 3, I started noticing that the sky was clouding up, and I starting thinking to myself "hmm...maybe I should have checked the radar." Sure enough, right at my turnaround point at mile 4, gale-force winds started blowing and it started to rain. I'm glad it did, actually -- it only rained for about 6 or 7 minutes and completely refreshed me. I was sort of disappointed when it stopped...mostly because I was already outlining how I'd tell the story of my "OMG SO HARDCORE RUN" where I ran the WHOLE SECOND HALF in the rain.
Not so much.
Playlist that kept me going:
I have eclectic taste in music. It's ok.
Question of the day: what's the better Rocky workout/montage song? "No Easy Way Out" or "Hearts on Fire?" I have such a hard time deciding -- on one hand, does it GET any better than angry, mourning Rocky speeding around in his ridic sports car? On the other -- yes, when he RUNS UP A MOUNTAIN. Gah. So hard to decide.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Quick & Dirty
AHHHHH.
I want to write a real entry! PhillyGuy and I went to our local farmer's market/weekly food stands on Saturday and I took pictures and everything...and I just have NOT found the time to even upload the pics, let alone post about it.
My boss is out this week -- I really thought I'd have a nice easy week. Nope. Instead, not only did she leave me with MORE than enough work to keep me occupied, I'm left to handle all of the day to day stuff that comes up. Like this stupid closing on this stupid deal that JUST WON'T END.
It's my fifth week of P90X, but due to some scheduling issues, PhillyGuy and I repeated Week 3. So this week is our "Week 4," which is a "recovery" week. What that means is a break from most of the weight-bearing or intense lifting exercises, and replacing that with two days of yoga, two days of "Core Synergistics," and two days of "StretchX."
Last night, I could not WAIT for yoga. I headed home, walked the pups, and by about 7:15, was settling in with my mat and the windows open to the beautiful night. The first 45 minutes was tough, as always, but I'm really seeing some improvements -- I can hold Crane for longer (um, which means about 5 seconds at a time instead of 3-4, but believe me, that's something) and I got up into Warrior 3 on each of my legs without too much struggle. Trust me, it still ain't pretty, but that's OK -- I'm definitely improving.
However, that last 45 minutes -- which is my favorite part! -- really started to drag. I got bored. I started wondering how the dogs were doing downstairs. I started thinking about what I was going to wear to tonight's Philly Foodie/Blogger Meetup. I had to fight with myself not to turn off the DVD when I still had 25 minutes left. BUT...I didn't turn it off. I didn't pick an outfit or go visit my dogs. I finished the workout and still felt refreshed and happy at the end -- maybe not quite AS refreshed and happy as usual, but I'm glad I did it.
The length of the YogaX DVD is a common criticism I've seen in P90X reviews. The four times I've done the workout before, I never had an issue with length -- I felt every second of that first 45 minutes, while my legs burned and my body shook and I tried like hell to keep myself in poses. But the last 45 minutes always flew by. We'll see if I'm back to "normal" with my second pass through it this week.
This morning, I did Core Synergistics. Fancy name for -- surprise, surprise -- a lot of very core-centric exercises. Not that much direct ab work, but lots of planks/chaturanga variations, pushup variations, and hollow-hold type exercises that force you to roll around on the floor. My personal jury is still out on this one -- this is going to be another routine I head to the gym for. It involves a lot of dumbbell work that you can't substitute bands for. I'll try it with better weights later this week.
The other thing with Core Synergistics is that it's one of those workouts where it's VERY easy to just go through the motions and "phone it in." If you're not concentrating 100% on flexing what needs to be flexed and working what needs to be worked, you'll find yourself with your butt floating in the air, not really breaking a sweat, and generally wasting your time. There are better ways to waste an hour -- like on my couch watching the Kardashians, not rolling around on my guest room floor. Not to worry -- Tony is constantly barking at you to "DON'T JUST KIND OF DO IT!"
So, that's the quick n' dirty on the first third of Week 4 of P90X. Monday we take our progress pictures/measurements/etc -- that will be great motivation to stay on track while we're up at my inlaws this weekend.
So pumped for tonight -- this will be my first blogger meetup! I feel so legit now :)
I want to write a real entry! PhillyGuy and I went to our local farmer's market/weekly food stands on Saturday and I took pictures and everything...and I just have NOT found the time to even upload the pics, let alone post about it.
My boss is out this week -- I really thought I'd have a nice easy week. Nope. Instead, not only did she leave me with MORE than enough work to keep me occupied, I'm left to handle all of the day to day stuff that comes up. Like this stupid closing on this stupid deal that JUST WON'T END.
It's my fifth week of P90X, but due to some scheduling issues, PhillyGuy and I repeated Week 3. So this week is our "Week 4," which is a "recovery" week. What that means is a break from most of the weight-bearing or intense lifting exercises, and replacing that with two days of yoga, two days of "Core Synergistics," and two days of "StretchX."
Last night, I could not WAIT for yoga. I headed home, walked the pups, and by about 7:15, was settling in with my mat and the windows open to the beautiful night. The first 45 minutes was tough, as always, but I'm really seeing some improvements -- I can hold Crane for longer (um, which means about 5 seconds at a time instead of 3-4, but believe me, that's something) and I got up into Warrior 3 on each of my legs without too much struggle. Trust me, it still ain't pretty, but that's OK -- I'm definitely improving.
However, that last 45 minutes -- which is my favorite part! -- really started to drag. I got bored. I started wondering how the dogs were doing downstairs. I started thinking about what I was going to wear to tonight's Philly Foodie/Blogger Meetup. I had to fight with myself not to turn off the DVD when I still had 25 minutes left. BUT...I didn't turn it off. I didn't pick an outfit or go visit my dogs. I finished the workout and still felt refreshed and happy at the end -- maybe not quite AS refreshed and happy as usual, but I'm glad I did it.
The length of the YogaX DVD is a common criticism I've seen in P90X reviews. The four times I've done the workout before, I never had an issue with length -- I felt every second of that first 45 minutes, while my legs burned and my body shook and I tried like hell to keep myself in poses. But the last 45 minutes always flew by. We'll see if I'm back to "normal" with my second pass through it this week.
This morning, I did Core Synergistics. Fancy name for -- surprise, surprise -- a lot of very core-centric exercises. Not that much direct ab work, but lots of planks/chaturanga variations, pushup variations, and hollow-hold type exercises that force you to roll around on the floor. My personal jury is still out on this one -- this is going to be another routine I head to the gym for. It involves a lot of dumbbell work that you can't substitute bands for. I'll try it with better weights later this week.
The other thing with Core Synergistics is that it's one of those workouts where it's VERY easy to just go through the motions and "phone it in." If you're not concentrating 100% on flexing what needs to be flexed and working what needs to be worked, you'll find yourself with your butt floating in the air, not really breaking a sweat, and generally wasting your time. There are better ways to waste an hour -- like on my couch watching the Kardashians, not rolling around on my guest room floor. Not to worry -- Tony is constantly barking at you to "DON'T JUST KIND OF DO IT!"
So, that's the quick n' dirty on the first third of Week 4 of P90X. Monday we take our progress pictures/measurements/etc -- that will be great motivation to stay on track while we're up at my inlaws this weekend.
So pumped for tonight -- this will be my first blogger meetup! I feel so legit now :)
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Productivity!
This has been an exceptionally productive morning for me -- and it's only 9:30.
I have a big deal that we've been negotiating for an exceptionally long time that (cross your fingers) looks like it's going to close by tomorrow. That means that I've been spending countless hours drafting and editing lots and lots and LOTS of documents, sending lots and lots and LOTS of emails, and making lots and lots and LOTS of phone calls. Yesterday, I sent out a "final" draft of the main agreement. When I came in at 8:06, I already had two emails and a voicemail from our "opponents" with "comments." Meaning -- even though we were "done negotiating," they are STILL NEGOTIATING.
Nothing is EVER final...so I've spent this morning making further edits, phone calls and emailing explanations (of things I KNOW I've gone over multiple times before...but WHATEVER). After all that, I ran down to DiBruno's for my second cup of coffee of the day.
Pardon the exceptional amount of cups on my desk. The silver travel mug just sits there waiting to be filled with hot tea when I'm cold...the ceramic high school graduation mug is full of pens...behind that is my ever-empty Nalgene, which theoretically I should fill with water every day, several times a day. But (here's a dirty little secret) unless I'm in the middle of a workout, I do NOT like to drink water. I just don't like it. I'm weird.
Last night was plyo. God, that hour flies by. I've been doing this one up in the "home gym," by myself, so I can work out in bare feet, a sports bra and shorts. That kind of thing doesn't fly at the gym, you know? I find the jumps to be significantly easier on my knees in bare feet...and why get a shirt dirty if I don't have to?
I'm definitely feeling it today -- mostly in my glutes and hamstrings, somewhat in my calves. Not at all, in any way shape or form, in my quads -- which is sort of frustrating. What is wrong with the way I use my legs that my quads aren't ever incorporated in anything? Pretty sure this contributes significantly to the fact that my patella just won't stay where it belongs :)
I have a big deal that we've been negotiating for an exceptionally long time that (cross your fingers) looks like it's going to close by tomorrow. That means that I've been spending countless hours drafting and editing lots and lots and LOTS of documents, sending lots and lots and LOTS of emails, and making lots and lots and LOTS of phone calls. Yesterday, I sent out a "final" draft of the main agreement. When I came in at 8:06, I already had two emails and a voicemail from our "opponents" with "comments." Meaning -- even though we were "done negotiating," they are STILL NEGOTIATING.
Nothing is EVER final...so I've spent this morning making further edits, phone calls and emailing explanations (of things I KNOW I've gone over multiple times before...but WHATEVER). After all that, I ran down to DiBruno's for my second cup of coffee of the day.
Pardon the exceptional amount of cups on my desk. The silver travel mug just sits there waiting to be filled with hot tea when I'm cold...the ceramic high school graduation mug is full of pens...behind that is my ever-empty Nalgene, which theoretically I should fill with water every day, several times a day. But (here's a dirty little secret) unless I'm in the middle of a workout, I do NOT like to drink water. I just don't like it. I'm weird.
Last night was plyo. God, that hour flies by. I've been doing this one up in the "home gym," by myself, so I can work out in bare feet, a sports bra and shorts. That kind of thing doesn't fly at the gym, you know? I find the jumps to be significantly easier on my knees in bare feet...and why get a shirt dirty if I don't have to?
I'm definitely feeling it today -- mostly in my glutes and hamstrings, somewhat in my calves. Not at all, in any way shape or form, in my quads -- which is sort of frustrating. What is wrong with the way I use my legs that my quads aren't ever incorporated in anything? Pretty sure this contributes significantly to the fact that my patella just won't stay where it belongs :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
