Slow Slow Day

I don't really know what happened. Of course, I also don't know about the rowing machine, so there may be a setting that I'm missing. No matter how hard I tried, I could not move my pace under 10 minutes. I would lean forward and row as hard as possible...and I couldn't move under 10 minutes. I was just slow. So so slow.

 

My final time was 10:32.4, which was almost a minute and a half slower than Tuesday...and I don't know why. I should have been much faster, but I couldn't go.

 

The run, however, was decent. It was a little more exhausting than usual (considering I had just been on the rower), but it really didn't take me entirely too much effort to finish. And surprise - I'm done with Week 1! And two days in a row wasn't bad...I feel fine today. I really do think my only problems with soreness and tiredness were related to coming off the rower.

 

Contemplating going ahead and starting Week 2 tomorrow.

A dilemma...

I just realized that I won't be able to make it to the gym tomorrow night.

 

Tonight is my rowing night. Do I dare attempt Week 1 Day 3 the day immediately following Week 1 Day 2? I feel good enough after last night that I feel can do it...so I'm going to try it.

 

I'm just worried about how I'll feel tomorrow...and the day after tomorrow. I hope it doesn't set me back. Hopefully it will leap me forward.

 

There's only one way to find out!

C25K Reprise: Week 1 Day 2

In what I believe is my fifth attempt at the C25K, I think this is only the third time that I've made it to W1D2 and it may actually be only the second time I've made it there within the span of a week.

 

The run was almost the exact same as Monday...I built up to 3 MPH on the treadmill during the warmup...then did every run at 4 MPH. I was able to snag the treadmill in the corner, which meant I wouldn't be running in front of someone on an elliptical. For some reason, I don't want random cute girl on the elliptical to see me huffing and puffing and slowing down to a walk every other minute (or running at a blazing 4 MPH).

 

Also, my TV wouldn't work, so I listened to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo instead. Horrors, I know.

 

It definitely was the easiest W1D2 of the bunch, which I attribute to a) my new pacing rules and b) the fact that this isn't my first rodeo. To be honest, I could probably do all of Week 2 right now, considering that I run an extra 5-10 seconds on each run just to make sure I go all the way through it, but I want to do it correctly, so we'll stick with W1D3 tomorrow.

9:10.3

Subjects are hard. After a while, when you don't really have any rhyme or reason to naming your blog posts, you sort of just have to wing it...like yesterday's post, which I brilliantly named "Monday Monday" despite it being written on a Tuesday.

 

I did the rower last night and had a new personal best, thus, the title of the post. I at least have found a way to give my brain a little bit of a rest...I just have to get a personal best every day I do the rower. Or not.

 

Moving on, obviously, I finished my 2000m in 9:10.3. My initial timed runs last week were 9:44.9 and 9:48.5. Somehow in a week, I've become 30 seconds better. The only difference I made this time was I warmed up for about 5 minutes, going at a 15 minute pace. I also wore weightlifting gloves which, per my calculations, made me look approximately 8.2% more badass. And finally, I didn't have music because I forgot the armband to my iPod. It wasn't easy...not at all. For one thing, there was a guy on the rower next to me and he managed to move his rower over closer to mine. While it never hit hard enough to do anything but be annoying, he was so close that about every ten strokes or so, the bar from his rower would brush across my elbow. I wasn't a fan of that, but it wasn't like I could just get up and move his. Other than that, it felt like a strong run, but it probably could have been stronger. At one point near halfway, the monitor said that I was making about an 8 minute pace. My theory is that when I try it tomorrow, I should aim for a negative split so I have energy left in the last half to try to get below 9 minutes.

 

After my row, I went to my old trusty recumbent bike and did the old trusty Alpine Hill at old trusty level 8. I got past 10 miles, which was my goal - I've been out for a week, give me a break! While I contemplated a cooldown row, I realized that with my legs exhausted and W1D2 of the C25K coming up today, it was time to call it a night. And that's what I did.

Monday Monday...

No, this time I haven't been slacking. I've just been sick.

 

The last time I worked out was last Wednesday (July 21). The following night, I put on my gym clothes and went to eat dinner at the Cheesecake Factory before heading over to the gym. However, I was full and figured missing one night wouldn't hurt me.

 

At 5 am, I woke up...and I was sick. No gym for me Friday through Sunday. I still felt a little iffy on Monday and Tuesday. When I finally hit normalcy on Wednesday, I decided just to take the whole week off so I would be fully recovered and ready to rock and roll on Monday. Also, I managed to probably lose about 10 pounds while I was sick (I don't recommend it...at one point I decided that losing a limb would have been more pleasant).

 

Last night, I headed back to the trusty YMCA with running in my head...so I decided to try C25K one more time with what I believe is a failsafe strategy. I started out on the treadmill walking at 3 miles an hour and only ran at 4 miles an hour. Yes the runs were extremely slow, but they caused no pain and there was no doubt that I would get through them. In all of the W1D1's I've had, last night was the easiest. There really isn't much more to tell.

 

Tonight, I continue my rowing quest after my brief hiatus.