Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Easier than I Thought

I really have found that on days when I intend to workout in the morning, the best strategy is to wake up and put on my gym clothes. Otherwise, it gets hard to motivate getting out of the door, even if I really do want to get to the gym. This morning, of all the things to distract me from getting out the door, it was reading blogs that made me feel like making a cup of coffee and just catching up on reading and commenting.

Luckily I put that thought on hold - had a banana and 2 dates, put on my gym gear, grabbed a change of clothes and headed out. I had a simple workout planned for this morning - C25K Week 3 Day 3. The dreaded 3-minute run of week 3 has definitely become easier. I increased my 3-min run speed to 7.7 km/hr and my 90 sec run speed to 8 km/hr. I didn't struggle with the pace. What's still a bit challenging is keeping going for that long (3 min, not 90 sec. The 90 sec is easy now). Still, I got it done. I've improved my distance with each running session.

I'm a bit annoyed with the fact that I still dread going for a run (parts of a run), especially when this is something that I actually want to do ... how can those two opposing feelings exist? I don't know. All I know is that when those feelings of dread (it's really that fear of failure that's popping up again) come up, I tell myself - If you want this, you gotta do the work. So I did.

My goal is to try and complete Week 4 while I'm in Italy. I know I'll be gone for 2 weeks, but I think it may be too ambitious to try to complete both Weeks 4 & 5 while being away. I'll be satisfied if I just finish the 3 days of running while I'm on holiday.

I got a chance to relax a bit this afternoon, and for the first time this summer, I finally felt like I was on vacation. It was a good feeling!

Later in the afternoon I headed to the CrossFit Box. We had a good session today. We mainly focused on core work versus strength. It was a nice change of pace (though we were still panting and sweating at the end of the WOD!)

Warm-up
200 jump rope skips (Getting easy now! I should attempt double unders soon.)
Dynamic stretches

Strength focus
Military shoulder press -- you take the barbell and press straight up over your head without using your knees to help you push the bar up
5 sets of 5 reps
I was the only one to manage 2 straight sets with 25 kg weights :)

WOD
15 minutes AMRAP
8 pull ups
10 jump squats
12 hanging leg raises

Doesn't sound like much, right. Try it for 15 minutes straight and then judge!

Ran into a friend that I hadn't seen in almost 2 months and he said that I looked like I had lost quite a bit of weight -- I can never get tired of hearing that statement! :)


6 comments:

  1. 3 minutes of running sounds like torture to me right now. But I know the feeling of thinking that you shouldn't DREAD the run because inside you really WANT to do the run. Very conflicting - but that is exactly how I feel with this program too.
    I guess we just have to keep plugging away at it. I admire you for wanting to stick to it during your vacation. Best of luck!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It sounds like a LOT to me. I'm the world's worst procrastinator and have to get my exercise in early or it won't happen. I have a million excuses -- all good. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I find too, if I get up in the morning an dress for a workout I will do it! If I put anything else on I tend to put off the workout all day :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. It took me 6 months to stop hating running, and 18 months to truly love it. Now, I love it but there are still some days when I wish I didn't have to! Most of the time I love it though.

    Give yourself a little more time, you'll get there. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. "I'm a bit annoyed with the fact that I still dread going for a run (parts of a run), especially when this is something that I actually want to do ... how can those two opposing feelings exist? I don't know. All I know is that when those feelings of dread (it's really that fear of failure that's popping up again) come up, I tell myself - If you want this, you gotta do the work. So I did."

    TOTALLY FEEL YA ON THIS! And ya know what? I'm training for a half marathon and I still feel like this before I head out for a longish run. This exact feeling is why I've grown to love running! Because I'm doing it despite the pain & fear! And so are you! Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  6. KILLER WORKOUT!

    When I was single-ish (i.e., estranged/separated from my then-husband and sleeping alone), I used to sleep IN my workout clothes to save me some time in the morning!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! I can use all the support I can get :)