Exercise Diary: tight and tired

Day 2 of pre-8pm gym adventure.  The gym was again packed.  And I somehow ended up running next to the same old man as yesterday, although I wasn't on the same treadmill.  In fact, I was on the treadmill next to the one I was on yesterday, which incidentally was the treadmill the old man was using yesterday.  I realized today that even though he ran intervals, he ran way harder and longer than I could ever do since his intervals were for 1 mile and he did like a bizillian of them.

Sadly, the only reason why I was on the treadmill next to the one I used yesterday was because yesterday's treadmill was broken.  I don't think I'm the one who broke it, but it's still sad and weird to know that just a day ago I was using it and it was fine.  Incidentally the now-broken treadmill also used to be my favorite, until I kept not able to use it and subsequently realized that all the treadmills, except for the really bad ones, are pretty much the same.

One of the result of running next to a broken treadmill was that I got to watch countless number of people getting on it, trying to start it, failing, and moving on to another treadmill or another piece of machinery.  It's kind of funny that neither I nor the girl on the other side of the broken treadmill bothered to warn them, and as far as I know no one had reported it broken to the front desk.  I didn't bother since I couldn't really talk, and also since I had been one of those people who jabbed the touch pad without success, I thought it would be fun to watch other people doing it too.

Watched almost an entire episode of Rizzoli and Isles during my run today.  Too bad I didn't get to find out what happened in the end.  But since I don't even remember what the episode was about now I guess it wasn't a great big loss.

Oh, and I also somehow had the belief that I had to do 3 miles instead of the planned 2.5, that I struggled the last half-mile for no reason.

I don't know how it happened.  Somehow during mile 1.5 I told myself that I was half way done and never realized until after I was done how silly I had been.  My Nike+ was also being bitchy.  Somehow now it thinks I'm running slower than before, after countless times I had to re-calibrate it for over-calculating my speed.  I think it may have to do with the way I moved my legs.  I tried to slow and lengthen my stride as I got faster to control the number of time my feet had to hit the ground, and since my Nike+ iPod uses a sensor on my foot that measures the speed and length of one's stride, I guess I could appear to be going slower than usual.  Except I think the sensor should be smarter than that.  I don't know, I hope I don't have to get a new sensor before switching to an iPhone.  Not that an iPhone would be great to use on a treadmill, but evidently the Nike+running app on iPhone allows you to input your workouts manually, so you will still have a record of your runs on Nike without having the app doing any work.  I wonder if I could do that on the webpage when I move on to my GPS watch.  So far I haven't figured out how.

Anyhoo, today's run was... brutal.  I had a banana before going and I didn't feel hungry or anything during the run, and it was a short run, but I just felt so tired and it was such a struggle.  I should not run the day after a long run, even if the long run was only 5 miles.  My legs were tight from the very beginning.  In fact they were tight all day today, and I could feel the muscles as I walked up and down the stairs.  They weren't sore, they were just tight, and you are aware of them.  Now they are sore, even after stretching and all that.  And the thighs are particularly bad since I think I used my thighs a lot to pull my feet up since the run today really ruined my right foot.  The plantar fasciitis was really acting up, right after I slowed down after my speedier pulses.  It got even worse during my cool down walk, and I really hope I can still walk tomorrow.  I also wanted to use more of my upper body to take some of the pressure away from the legs, but I didn't know how.  I tried to breathe from the core, and all it did was made me spit a lot.  I tried to tighten the core and lift my torso a bit but all that did was giving me tight shoulders.  I know strong abs help with running, but since I still don't have strong abs what am I supposed to do?

But somehow I still manage to finish my run, half a mile more than planned no less.  I didn't stop to walk or anything, and I really hope I either burned more fat than usual or strengthen my thigh muscles some what.  I went home and did two blogilates videos, one on the glute and the other on the arms.  I also resumed my thigh and butt challenge moves, Day 13 of the 30-day workout, on the 25th of this month.  Oh well, better start again some time.  It's really starting to get warmer out (I went to the gym today in my capris, a fleece and a wind breaker, it was that warm), and before I know it I will be running outside with my t-shirt and capris, and I really need to get serious about this weight loss thing.  I realize that now I'm not really trying to use running as a way to lose weight, but rather I'm trying to lose weight so I can run better.  Not just to lose weight, but also to build my muscles.  I like running, and I like to run long and far.  It would be great if I can actually be good at it.  I have marathon goals, goddammit.

Exercise Diary: Got tired/ lazy yesterday, will not let that be a slippery slope

First of all, whoever binge-read my blog yesterday, thanks very much!  I don't advertise my blog much since I don't really put all my heart in it, but rather just use it as a place to record all my workouts and other random thoughts.  But to the few who do visit, thank you~

I got lazy yesterday (Tuesday) in that I skipped my thigh and butt challenges as well as my Day 8 beginner's workout.  I woke up Tuesday morning absolutely exhausted and sore, and just the though of doing lunges and kicks make my body ache.

I did end up going to yoga though, so it wasn't a completely waste of a day.  I have to say, last week's workout already has such a pronounced effect.  My crescent lunges were much stronger and stable, my standing splits and worrier IIIs were effortless.  I just felt that I could do the whole class with less effort, but because I was stronger I could push myself more so I got a better workout at the same time.

But because of that I was so exhausted when I got home.  And hungry.  I had a banana before going to class and that totally got burned away during the first 20 minutes because I was famished when I got home that I didn't feel like doing anymore exercises.  And after looking at the calendar, which said that Day 8 consists of a total body workout video, a cardio video, and a lower back stretch video, I died of exhaustion just by looking at the list.  So I made instant noodles, showered, and called it a day.  Totally unproductive for the rest of the night and even though I went to yoga class I felt like a failure.

Couldn't fall asleep last night despite going to bed early.  Woke up early today to make lunch and go to my friend's PhD thesis defense so I scratched the morning challenge routine.  Was tired the whole day since I opted to not take any coffee this morning, which was a big mistake.

But after getting home at 11pm I still managed to make up the challenges and rolled out my yoga mat.  It turned out that the workouts weren't so bad.  I cheated a little bit on my cardio workout since I couldn't jump around too much without shaking the while building, but other than that I did most other moves faithfully.  I felt that I had done the total body workout video before but parts of it felt foreign.  It was total body too, I got to work my abs, my butt, my back and my arms.  Not sure if I will feel all of them tomorrow but I was hurting while doing it.

So all my pilates workouts have been pushed back a day.  Which I guess is fine as long as I keep going more regularly afterwards.  And I have to remind myself that just because I skipped out on the pilates calendar doesn't mean that I didn't exercise hard.

Exercise Diary: Week 5 of HM training 3/2/4.5

Happy March!  Can you believe we are already in Month 3 of 2015?  Seems yesterday that I just came back from my fabulous trip from Japan and China.  Since I did relive my journey as I was telling a friend about it yesterday, it seems that I did.

Went to Boston yesterday to see a show that was postponed from snowy February, although it snowed again last night and Craig Ferguson had a big riff on that.  Met my friend that I haven't seen in a few months, had way too much food (Dim sum, cupcakes, vegan thai food, and bubble tea) that I almost got motion sickness on the bus back, and laughed so hard during the show that I was exhausted afterwards.  All in all a great day.

And now we are in week 5 of training~  I did my 3-miler today even though my Nike+ only registered 2 of those miles, which pissed me off since it was a hard run.  I didn't eat a real dinner when I got home tonight and could feel the tiredness it brings, and the fan on my good-TV treadmill was way too weak so that I was sweating through everywhere and felt very stuffy and hot.  When I sped up for my last mile my right foot protested with persisting dull pain near the arch, and I'm not sure if I will still be paying tomorrow.  I did find out that the pain I was feeling on the heel of my left foot was not from the bone (well, not totally at least), but also from the peeled dry skin I always have during winter.  That made me feel a bit better.

I'm not sure what to do about it other than to take it easy.  I think my body just can't take the extra few pound of weight I put on from the last two weeks and is telling me about it as I put more pressure on it.  So I guess I will just have to be patient until the weight get back down again.  I'm almost getting there.

Exercise Diary: Back on the treadmill

Last week had been hectic.  Had to make a poster for a departmental retreat.  Stressed over a meeting with my advisor that never happened.  Had to attend the said retreat.  And right afterwards I had my annual thesis committee meeting.  I was so exhausted afterwards, and upset that the stand-up performance I was supposed to go see on Valentine's Day in Boston was postponed because of the snow.  So instead of catching up on my exercising I cooped inside my apartment for the entire weekend and read Bared to you while the rest of the world went to see "50 shades of gray."  Having read 50 Shades before I have to day that while I saved my money and time with the movie, I still wished I haven't decided to read the other book.

So Monday rolls around and a new week of my half-marathon has begun and I'm behind with two runs from last week.  This week is supposed to be 3/2/4.  And I did my 2 today, which was a smart decision.  The run itself wouldn't be as bad, if I hadn't eaten only a banana for dinner tonight.  I knew I was in trouble before I even put on my gym clothes, but I wasn't feeling well before and didn't want to eat anything, or move at all.  So I had a banana, and hoped for the best.

I had trouble breathing during my run.  I could feel a shin splint coming on which seems to have nothing to do with lack of dinner.  The treadmill I was on had a very weak fan so I was sweating much more than usual but felt even hotter.  The cold water I drank from my water bottle gave me a stomachache.  For the first time in my runs I ran with a mantra: suck it up.  Suck it up, I told myself, don't breathe like you are about to fall off the treadmill.  Suck it up, I said, it's just a small stomachache.  Suck it up, I shouted, it's only 2 miles.

Surprisingly by the end of it I didn't feel so terrible anymore.  I thought about keeping it up and maybe make it to mile 3 but thought better of it.  I would probably make it to 2.3 and call it off.

So it's been a rough start of this running week but at least it's starting again.  After the crazy week and the lazy weekend I really need to get my shit together, and cook and eat and exercise better.  Not sure about yoga tomorrow since I still feel weird and I think I'm getting my period soon, but if not I'll still do something at home, or maybe even go to the gym.  I've heard good things about this new show Fresh Off of the Boat.  So we'll see.

Exercise Diary: First week of HM training completed

And yesterday's 2-miler was hard.

I'm not sure why that is, but I'm glad I discovered this so early in the training, since the actual race is going to be in the early morning.  If I can't get used to running in the morning then I will be fucked.

I have run in early mornings before, when it was nice and warm out and I used to get up early on weekends and do my long runs in the morning sun.  And I used to like it a lot.  I had all the time in the world, I explored new routes, and I didn't have to worry about wondering too far away and lose the sun.

And I ate breakfast.  Not a large one, but one after which I didn't feel hungry.  It was health too: I finished the last of my homemade chia pudding (just add coconut milk to chia seed and let time do the rest).  And I drank water before I left.  Maybe it wasn't enough but I didn't want to wait too long for a big breakfast to digest before going out of the door.

I slept a reasonable amount too.  About 8 hours.  Granted I slept very little the night before and had a long day Saturday, but when I got up on Sunday morning I didn't feel like I had to be dragged out of the bed.

Apart from the fact that the TV shows were kind of dull and the gym was more crowded than usual (with more people going for the treadmill so I couldn't get my usual spot), I couldn't think of how yesterday morning was different from all the other nights.  My shoes were acting weird too.  The insoles, which normally feel fine, were particularly uncomfortable yesterday.  The arch support was way too high and I felt weird pain all over the bottom of my feet.  Not sharp pain that indicate some sort of acute injury, but annoying dull pain that made me slow down and want to stop.

I also felt tired.  Making it to the 2-mile mark felt particularly long and difficult.  I don't know if it was the psychology of having to be there and do two miles at a time I no longer regularly run, or if it was just the physical fatigue that seeped into my psyche, but it was just hard.  I blamed most of it on my lack of a better breakfast, since it's the easiest thing to fix for next time I guess, and I ordered a new pair of insoles as soon as I got home, but I think it's going to take more than those, and more trial and error to fully adjust to a better morning run.

Which also scares me, since weekends are supposed to be my long-run days.  How am I supposed to do that if it's the one day I'm mostly out of shape?  I could very feasibly switch my long run days to another night, like tonight when I have to be there for an hour anyway (for the newest episode of Castle), but I don't like this idea as much since the actual race day is on a weekend morning.  But temporarily it could be a solution, until I get my weekend morning routine set up and going.

If I'm doing this then I'll have to pretend that last week was all short runs (which they kind of were) and today is the first long run of the first week of training, or I'm simply switching the order of this week's run.  I'm not sure how much difference it will make to my body, but for someone who likes to follow a good plan it is slightly disorienting.

So 3 miles tonight then.  Which is still not that big of a deal but still good to get me into the routine.

Happy Running!