MONDAY, 05.04.09. Today I thought it would be good to do Plyo. This plyo class usually keeps my legs wobbly for four days. And because I thought there was no bike or run this Thursday, its okay to be sore until then. So 200 + squats and a couple of extras later, I looked at the schedule and realized we have more hill repeats this Thursday. Aaahh! Hopefully foam rollers will save me. I walked back to work chewing on my apple and realized that it seems more difficult for me to chew up a large apple than to do squats! My cheek muscles were tired of chewing! Is that possible?
SUNDAY, 05.03.09 Today was the 5 Boro bike tour I've been wanting to do for a couple of years now. I am missing team swim and run. =( We anticipated rain all day and indeed it did. Since I awoke at 5:30 am it was already gloomy. By the time I got there it was drizzling. Good thing I changed to my sneakers from my biking shoes! I was so afraid of slipping and falling. Since I was late, my cousin Ray and I rode together. Together we practiced our bike handling skills on wet grounds, pointed our potholes and obstacles while we chatted about dangerous aspects of biking. Like that girl who was on the phone while biking - we talked about her until she suddenly dropped her phone. I swear Ray has some sort of witch power or maybe it was me (have you noticed my elongated witch chin?). We met up with a few of his friends. As we rode together, they each commented on how they wished their wife\S0 signed up for these kinds of things. I wished the same. It was starting to get cold especially when the traffic became stop and go in central park. I should've listened to my dad when he suggested for me to wear pants that morning. I sucked it up biking uptown manhattan through highways and into bronx. By the time we were about to cross over to Queens, there was a long break. I reconsidered continuing the ride as I started to hate the wait, the wet, and the cold. Besides, I have the perfect excuse. I have my first race this upcoming Saturday and how bad would it be if I were to get sick? I left the tour early and visited BJ's (the wholesalers). I got back into CTown where I went straight for the bed. My 2 hour nap felt great - I didn't \ couldn't move a muscle. As soon as I awoke, KC was starting his Ab Ripper X workout. I would be disappointed if didn't join. After ab ripper, I finally felt some heat in my body after a whole day of being wet and cold.
SATURDAY, 05.02.09. Today was a day without any planned exercises. It was my brother's big day. Though rain was expected throughout, it turned out to be just a lovely day. If there was any event to be considered exercise that day, it would be my single handedly carrying the bride in her wedding dress during picture taking that morning. Wow, I have a sister-in-law now. Anyhow, between that and dancing all night in unfamiliar high heeled shoes was my home made exercise.
FRIDAY, 05.01.09. Today is my brother's birthday. This morning I was in a defensive mood as I was reminded about a disagreement I had earlier last week. But nothing that Tri-Body and lifting weights couldn't fix! But Tri-Body was cancelled. =( They forgot to hire a sub. Boo... So instead I went to half a cycling class and a yoga class then hopped into the jacuzzi. I can't wait for abs and swim later today. I need to release some built up stress and anxitey...
THURSDAY, 04.30.09. Oops! Last night I said I would run but instead I ran home as fast as I could and got a pedicure and a manicure (in prep for my brother's wedding this weekend). Hey! It's quite the creative excuse as most people only get married once (or a single digit number) in a lifetime. Anyhow, Coach Laura is out on vacation this week with her new squeeze and Coach Jenn took on her role. She's quite hardcore and I like her. She really cares about the team and each individual that's part of it. She teaches us how to suck it up and sets a great example of it. Tonight's theme was to beat down Harlem Hill - the enemy. We did a double paceline warm up loop and on individual effort did 20 minute hill repeats on harlem hill. I thought I was going to do 3, but instead I did 4 loops alternating seated and standing climbs. Hills are truly my thing. I've noticed that throughout the weeks of training, I am able to tackle hills with an extrememly high heart rate and sustain it. I climb it smooth, I climb it hard and I climb it steadily. Right after we transitioned and attacked Harlem Hill again, but this time with our sneaks. I did 3 hill repeats and really enjoyed the uphills over the downhills. End of story.
WEDNESDAY, 04.29.09 No silly excuses like "my leg hurts" or "I rather eat." Tonight I'll be running. At Coach Laura's cycling class I tried hard to push my heart rate to 90% of max - which would probably be around 188 bpm - but I couldn't. Instead I was steady at 162-168. I've done it before without trying, why couldn't I do it today? It could've been my breathing effort. Yesterday at the lecture, we learned that by exhaling more, we can bring our heartrate down. Maybe this is what happened to me today?
TUESDAY, 04.28.09 I don't care how creative my excuses become, I'm making myself run today. I had morning swim - lap after lap of drills - and 30 consecutive push ups. Coach Carlie had to pull me out of the pool to show me my wrist and elbow rotation problem. It turns out I flare my arms too wide (like a V shape) when I pull the water underneathe me. My hand and arms need to be parallel like a ladder. Disappointing that I'm learning this now - just a week or so before my race. But better now than never. In the afternoon I lifted weights and upgraded again. 5 sets of 20 lbs military presses on each arm and 4 sets of 17.5 lbs curls. After work, I went to Reebok and contemplated on hopping in the jacuzzi - but the excuse was not creative enough. So I changed to my workout clothes and looked for the outdoor track. On my way there I stumbled across a dance class! I swear I stood there contemplating for 30 seconds if I should dance instaed of run. It was such a hard choice, but I eventually walked away. I found the outdoor track that measures 6-lap-to-the-mile. I ran 25 minutes until the pain in my abdomen flared up - and if I counted correctly, I did 15 laps. I ran slowly, so it sounds about right. The lecture that evening was on stress management. I was hooked on to the machine that basically showed me that I was very calm and stress free. Emily called me "dead." I just know how to regulate my breathing when not underwater and probably was overly exhausted after 3 workouts today. It was 11 p.m. by the time I got home. I got lost in the subways again - it seems to be a recurring incident during late nights for me. Luckily my dad met up with me and brought me food and shared stories during our train ride back. Got home, scarfed some more food down before I went to bed.
