Trying A New Work-Out

In an effort to expand my work-out routine from just jogging/walking, I went to a local sporting goods store today on the search for free weights and a kettlebell.  Admittedly, my original plan went astray.  I was a little overwhelmed by the selection there, and I decided that I'd go for something I'd never imagine myself purchasing.  An "As Seen on TV" work-out called KettleWorx.  It features cardio, core, and resistance routines on DVD using a light weight kettlebell.  They vary in weight from five to 20 pounds.  I thought kettlebells are supposed to be heavy, but these are not... well - so I thought until I actually did a work-out this afternoon.  This is designed to be done three times a week for 20 minutes each, over the course of six weeks.  First cardio, second core, and third resistance.  Then you repeat the next week, and supposedly it gets more intense over time.

I went with the ten pound kettlebell, but now I'm thinking a five pound weight probably would have been better for starting out.  The first routine is cardio (though it felt like strength training, too).  It consists of a warm-up, two sets of a variety of exercises, then a cooldown.  I honestly had to press the pause button after every couple of exercises, because I was either completely out of breath or shaking from muscle fatigue.  Yep, I might have to go back tomorrow and get the five pound weight.  I really enjoyed the cooldown period!  Ultimately, it took me about an hour instead of just 20 minutes and for that I'm a little ashamed although I did do the exercises. 

So on Monday, I'll move on to the "core" work-out.

Also, tomorrow - I plan on going for a brisk walk.  Something that has me slightly worried is that despite taking a very long break since my last jog (and sprint) on Monday, my shins are still bothering me.  Sometimes they ache, and sometimes they give me a little jabbing sharp pain.  I think I probably injured myself overdoing things.  But five days of no cardio (aside from the intense KettleWorx work-out) has been a little disheartening.  So a short two-mile brisk walk tomorrow is on the agenda.

Over and out.

Twelve Minutes

On Monday evening, I got in another three-mile work-out at the indoor track on campus which is really only a two-minute walk from my apartment - super-advantageous for when I'm walking in shorts and it's only 10 degrees outside.  I took pride in the fact that for the second time in a row, I was able to jog for a full mile without stopping or walking.  I jogged a little more throughout the three miles than I did on Saturday.  And this is all paying off because I beat my pace record and broke the 12-minute mark.  11'57"/mile average! 

It appears that during my mile-long jog, it took about 10-11 minutes.  My brisk walking pace is more like 13:30.  So it should figure that if I can gradually increase my stamina, I could jog for a longer period of time and keep on improving my time.  I'm also thinking about buying some weights to do some strength training at home.  Ever since I quit the gym a couple months ago, strength training went 'poof' and we simply can't have that!  Perhaps this weekend, I'll make a trip to a sporting goods store.  My federal tax return should help with that!

As much as I'm happy about my time last night, my shins are killing me.  I know I might have overdone it, and part of the problem might have been when I did a one-lap sprint.  A friend pointed out that I might be tensing up in my legs which could contribute to shin splints.  Reflecting back, I probably did tense up for that lap (plus there was sharp pain in my shins during that sprint).  But the rest of the jog felt pretty darn good - a little bit of shin pain then, but very tolerable.  Another factor is the track's surface might be a bit tough on the shins.  I might need to rest an extra day to give time to heal first.  A shin fracture from repeated stress without rest time would be bad news bears.

If you'd like to see a visual chart showing my work-out on Monday, have at it.  I love the Nike+ipod that I use for my indoor walks where GPS is not possible.  Here it is: http://go.nike.com/63etido

Oh yeah, and in case you're wondering, there was nothing whack on the track this time around. :-)

What's Whack on the Track?

It seems as though every time I go for a walk or jog on the indoor track on campus, I am bound to find someone who is doing something whack on the track.  It didn't happen as much in the spring and summer, but the winter seems to bring the strangeness out of people. 

It's been a week since I last ventured over there, and I had a really, really great workout - more on that in a moment!  But I thought I saw all the strange things until half-way into my jog today.

• A young woman, I think she was perhaps in high school - it'd be a stretch to say she might be a first-year student - came onto the track with a fake stuffed dog on wheels.  She starting "walking" this dog at a very, very slow pace - and of course, in the opposite direction.  As I slowed to a brisk walk, I tried to process it in my brain.  Was she training to walk a service dog? Nuh-uh.  If so, she failed, because one time, the dog fell over on its side and she dragged it like that for half a lap.  I should have asked her what she was doing... but I didn't.  Now unfortunately, I'll have no idea what that was all about.  But that was definitely whack.
• A couple weeks ago, a couple were casually jogging - and holding hands.  It was not enough for them to be enjoying a healthy public activity together - they had to make it romantic, too.  There are three lanes on the track, and they were of course right smack in the middle and taking up half of each of the inside/outside lanes.  As I was sprinting toward them and then asking them to move... nothing.  After maybe three seconds, they heard me and moved for me.  But that was... seriously... whack.
• The other thing I witnessed a few weeks ago was a man going in the opposite direction (why not?) doing ballet kinds of moves.  Perhaps he was a dance major - an aspiring movement artist.  Really the lesson is people need to pay attention to the directional sign and go with the flow of the rest of the crowd.  But I thought that was kind of whack.

That's enough of my sarcastic somewhat mean-spirited observations of people at the track.  I give everyone props who are there to truly get a good work-out and stay in shape.  But it's those outliers who don't really know what they're doing.  Or they just have an imaginative sense of humor and enjoy the strange looks from folks like me. :-)

Now for what was not whack on the track.  This morning, I jogged for the first time since my first 5K on December 5th.  And I was proud of myself today because I accomplished a feat not done since maybe P.E. class in middle school when the teacher forced you to jog like a drill sergeant would.  No, today - I finally jogged a full mile with no breaks and no walking!  And more than half of my 3 mile work-out today was jogging or sprinting.  It was my second best pace compared to the December 5K.  I did a 12'10" mile pace - total 36'27" in 3 miles.  I was a little disappointed I didn't beat my record pace, but I think this was pretty awesome considering the lapse in time since my last jog.

Regardless, I'm happy with today.  I think I could do this more often!