I started a new lifting cycle this week, which doesn’t seem as intense as the last cycle, which was named after a Russian weighlifter.
The HIIT yesterday was a 1-mile run, followed by 50 burpees, jumping up to target 12" above, and then finishing with another 1 mile run. The running was performed on the Curved Manual Treadmill (CMT), which actually makes the running more difficult. I did finish under 30 minutes, but the CMT seems to simulate running up a darn hill and uses more muscles than road running.
I signed up for a 10K trail race in the Santa Cruz mountains next month. They’re also offering a 1/2 and a 50K trail race too. I figured with the elevation changes and the fact that I haven’t increased my mileage enough for a 1/2, a 10K would be plenty for me at the moment. However, if my mileage increases this month, then I may switch to a 1/2, but I kinda doubt it.
Oh yes. Ragweed is definitely out here too. Itchy goopy eyes, mouth and ears. I haven’t noticed my breathing gone bad yet, but I don’t really fun fast enough to tell. I’m still more limited my mechanical issues vs breathing ones.
We had a few days break awhile back and then the dewpoints were stubbornly stuck around 70 again. Today it dropped to the low 60. Funny how much cooler it feels at the same temp with dewpoints in the low 60s vs 70s…
There’s an inverse relationship to running mileage and the body type I currently enjoy. The more I run the less time I have to do strength training and CF.
So there’s no chance I’d run a 50K race, unless they guaranteed all finishers get $500.
Got 4 miles of walking yesterday-- with food breaks
It was a cleaning lady day so we walked to/from bagel place in the morning.
In the evening, we learned that our Mexican joint had flan on the menu for the 1st time in a few weeks, so we walked back over and flan and margaritas for dessert.
So I’ve been swimming every single day for at least a week, today is my last swim for a while. I’m going on a vacation soon. Time to take a break from everything, just eat and be merry, oops, eat and be married.
However, I have a lot of free buffet breakfasts on my upcoming trip, so I might switch my routine to eat a large breakfast, skip or have a lite lunch, maybe a fruit, and then eat dinner around 5pm. This way maybe I won’t gain any weight during my vacation. There will be a lot of tempting food for sure, wish me luck.
Hope you’re going someplace beautiful and relaxing. Enjoy.
We often do what you’re describing - We almost always eat breakfast, and then we have either a late lunch or early dinner.
But sometimes when we go on group bike tours and they feed you, we eat (and drink) way more than the calories we burn biking.
Thank you @1214mom, I’m going to England, Spain, then New England. I’m trying to load up on Omega-3 fatty acids, lol. I will do some walking but no hiking. This time I might want to visit a Picasso museum.
I did a meal plan like that one day during our cross country drive. At lunch, my husband (who did all the work driving) picked a fast food place he wanted for our late lunch. I was still kindof full from breakfast, plus one of his coffee break cookies. Looked at the banana picked up from the hotel and thought, “that could be lunch”
Another strangely good run this morning, even though I’ve been struggling with the ragweed and humidity. We haven’t been hot really, so not too terrible for what we can get, but the dewpoints are still stubbornly around 70. The amount I sweat is insane. But on the route I took to the gym this morning… in the last several weeks I’ve usually been around 30:00 -30:30. I think my best may have been around 29:30sih. This morning? 28:15. Uh ok.
Then my stairmonster intervals have been getting better. In the beginning (back in the spring), I was doing 30 sec hard, 1:30 easy at a certain level. i had been increasing the time and in the last few weeks I had been doing 1:20-1:30 hard with 1:45-2:00 breaks. This morning I tried a 1:1 ratio doing 1:00 hard, 1:00 easy. It was really difficult, but I hung in there. Did some stretching and yoga practice and then ran home and lifted. I have one more weight workout in Phase 3 and then peak week! I am definitely much fitter than I was over the winter and spring. I feel more like my old self again. Now, if this ragweed would just go away… Can’t wait until the frost (usually in early November)
I’m just eating breakfast/brunch right now after getting up before 6am, doing an hour of exercise, getting ready for work and visiting a couple of medical clinics for work. I don’t do intermittent fasting but I often eat a late breakfast and “lunch” is really just a snack at like 2pm.
Have to make a comment about the horrible murder of the runner in Tennessee this week. She was running at 4am and was abducted and killed. I do not run at 4am but I have run or walked before it’s light. Not long distances but still, bad people don’t care how far away from home you are. I know others here are out in the dark and often alone so a plead to please consider some precautions. It’s frustrating because life and daylight schedules around the year sometimes limits the free time one has to exercise.
What are some precautions you take when you are exercising outside and alone - light or dark?
I always have my phone. A couple of months ago I got a whistle/siren type thing that I wear on my waistbelt. If not light I wear a lighted NoxGear “vest”. I often will stay within a few blocks of home (and just rinse and repeat!). I used to use an app that I could turn on when I exercise and link it with my H’s phone so he would get an alert if I wasn’t home (and ended my session) within the time I entered into the app to be gone. But admit I haven’t been using that.
I don’t like running in the dark, but I used to have to walk the dog in the dark. I always have my phone and when I go for a solo run/long walk I turn on the tracking so H can follow me. Like @Youdon_tsay I never walk/run with headphones/earbuds.
I should turn on location tracking on my and H’s phone. I don’t have a problem with it (and honestly, he’s always running so late it would be great to know exactly where he is!) - but he is so tech challenged I don’t know if he’d remember how to check it!
I am an earbuds wearer - especially when I run - sometimes when I walk. But never use them if it’s not light. Most of the time I’m on a paved trail and I run on the edge so I’m not as worried about clashing with a biker. I don’t keep them so loud that I can’t hear something near me. Music is what keeps me running.
I’ve been running almost exclusively in the dark for 25 years, and at least partially for 35 years. While crime in my city is not great, it is almost always drug and/or family related. I have worn headphones almost all of the time for the last 15 years or so. But, I don’t like loud music, and only one earbud works. I can hear just fine - even the deer snorting in the woods. Except for the trail, my runs are lit, and many of the roads have sidewalks. If they don’t, often they are residential neighborhood roads where I see maybe 1 car every 30 minutes. If I run on a collector road without sidewalks (like this morning) or the trail, I’ll wear a headlamp. And the road this morning has a 2’ striped buffer in between travel lane and the 4’ bike lane. A car probably goes by every 3-5 minutes and I’ll move even further into the gutter pan. I never assume a car sees me.
I always carry my phone and the tracking is always on. I also try not to be predictable with my runs, especially the trail. Many mornings when I wake up, I don’t even know what route I’ll take. But that being said, if someone wanted to bump me off, they could probably find me out there if they looked hard enough, especially since I run 6 mornings/week. There isn’t a lot of traffic out there when I run, which is good for not being hit by a car, but not good if someone were to abduct me… But, many of the cars that pass me are police cars, and there are often sitting in groups of 2-3 in various places along my routes.
It is terrible what happened, and it should give people like me pause and think about their habits. But at the same time, I think how many more people my age - healthy people - who have died from covid or have long covid. And I have plenty of people telling me that I shouldn’t worry about that. But that doesn’t mean I feel invincible when I’m out there. Quite the opposite actually.
I appreciate your honest and candid response. We all know you do run in the dark! And you are right - there is “safety” in terms of being visible and then “safety” in terms of being accosted.
You clearly are fully aware of the risks. And you take some precautions. Lots actually.
I think we often justify what we need to to cover our butts. I’m saying that for many of us!
I guess I just hope that this terrible incident keeps us all evaluating what changes we could make if needed, makes us all more aware, makes us all advocate for lighted streets in neighborhoods (a big problem in our area- many burnt out lights though thankfully not on my long boulevard).
And I thought maybe we could all learn a little bit from others.
I don’t run in the full dark but have sometimes run as the sun is rising or setting (though rarely since retirement)… always on the lake trail.
I used to send a Google locate session to husband each time I ran, whether he was home or not. Then we decided to just do a permanent setup, which would also be handy if I lost my iphone. However, my standard joke is that it will enable him to “find the body” if I go missing.
I will not run without my cellphone, to be ready in case of emergency. Also, I only run with prescription sunglasses (or transition glasses if weather is predicted to be cloudy or mixed). I just feel better with good view of people, dogs or possible critters on the trail.
I listen to podcasts, but only with single earbud in my right ear. That way I can hear if somebody trying to pass or if other needs for caution.
Usually I run my full lake trail, 3.5 miles around . But another caution I sometimes take, due to concerns about weather or lack of other walkers/runners on the trail, is to just go out/back from my starting point (nearer civilization) one direction from the car (or bike) and then the other.
I should also point out that even if you run in the daylight, you still are at risk of being hit by a car or a victim of a crime. Never assume a car sees you. Plenty of distracted drivers out there. My co-worker/suite mate was in a bad wreck last week. Broad daylight, fine weather. Just on her phone and turned left straight in front of him. He should recover eventually, but he is in a lot of pain still.
And I’m probably far more likely to be at the wrong place/wrong time not running. Not so much lately, but in the first 10 years or so that I was here there were several gas station robberies per year. Many of them were during daylight hours. Several of them were at the stations I’d frequent and at the times I’d frequent - just not on those days fortunately. And also more lately, there are shootings in business parking lots. Suspect/victims know each other, but still they occur during regular business hours. Even the Target shopping center around 6-7pm! And just the other week, there were two cars shooting at each other (they knew each other apparently) driving down a main road at a time when H & I are often driving together. But again fortunately not that day!
So while these things are super tragic, and you should reassess your behavior, you also need to keep it in perspective.
I’m saying that for many of us!