Back At It: The Good and The Bad

I have not been doing a good job of running lately.  My main excuse is that it is unbelievably hot and humid outside.  We are in the midst of a heat wave that has settled a soupy haze over the entire island.  

But...I had promised myself that when we got back from vacation I would get back into an exercise routine.  I had toyed with the idea of going to classes at the gym, but with all of the appointments for the kids and their activities that get scheduled over the summer, I knew those classes would soon get pushed further and further down the priority list.  

The other option was the 6:00 AM classes.  I know it sounds terrible.  Who wants to get up that early in the summer if you don't have to?  The upside is:  I was usually up anyway.   Only I would be up wasting hours sitting in my pajamas, drinking coffee, and waiting for the rest of the house to wake up.  I decided to just go, get the exercise out of the way, and be home before anyone even woke up.

I started this week.

MONDAY:  My first Spin class in Y-E-A-R-S.  Remembering how hard it was last time, my goal was to just stay on the bike.  Yay!  

TUESDAY:  Didn't go :(   For whatever reason, I got about 45 minutes of sleep Monday night.  There was no way I would be up for anything at 5:00.  Plus, since lack of sleep is a migraine trigger, I didn't want to chance it.

WEDNESDAY:  Spin class!  A bit saddle sore, but I knew I could do it.  I could see all of the sweat dripping off my body.  

THURSDAY: X Factor with Robin.  This was a weights/cardio class that kept you moving the entire time.  Sometimes I couldn't complete all of the reps, I did several of the modified exercises for the old and out of shape, and I really struggled through the abs portion.  I know exactly where all of my weak areas are and I know I will have trouble moving tomorrow.

FRIDAY:  Spin Class.  Hills, hills, hills.  Great workout, pools of sweat.  I also purchased the 30-class punch card.  

Looks good, right?  When I got home, I felt so good and the temperature was probably only in the upper 80's (not yet sweltering, but almost)  so I decided to clean out, and detail my car.   I think this was my mistake.  The minivan was an oven.  About halfway through, the migraine aura started.  I really wasn't expecting it.

 

Last year when I was running regularly, I didn't see a migraine until August.  Looking at the barometric pressure today, I can't blame that (first time in a long time).  So it must have just been the heat.  

So that's happened.  It's over.  I am hobbling around from Thursday's torture session.  My original plan was to join up with the Jamestown Running group on their run tomorrow morning, but this heat is too much.  I have tentative plans to use my punch card and try out the yoga class on Sunday.  It'll feel good to get some all-over stretching before tackling the hills in Spin class on Monday.

Anybody want to join me?

On another note: I really need to figure out the best way to keep my hair out of my face.  It's too short for a pony tail, but I need it off my neck.  Any ideas?

The Best Intentions

Unintentional Intentional Intervals

Mackerel Cove in the morning.  Jamestown, RI

I knew I was running this morning.  I told myself over and over last night that I was running this morning.  I didn't sleep-in this morning because I wanted to get an early start before the oppressive heat gave me the excuse I was looking for.  Up early, cup of coffee and dressed in the coolest clothes I could find (unfortunately the only tank top I could find was an Ann Taylor Loft tank and not a workout tank.  It may never be the same.)

I stepped outside...into a lovely cool mist.  What?  Yes!  The morning run lottery!  I decided to head out to Fort Getty.  Turns out this is a 2.9 mile course.  As I began running, it felt like my brain was bouncing around inside my skull (more so than usual, but I kept going hoping it would soon subside--it did.)

As I turned onto Ft. Getty, I came upon an older lady out for her morning walk.  I decided to walk a bit with her.  (She is 73, Portuguese  a diplomat's wife, and has been spending her summers at Ft. Getty for 41 years).  When I got to my turn around, I said good morning and ran back toward the beach.  I started doing a bit of speed work between the telephone poles, but then I spied a gentleman standing in the surf, enjoying the beach.  That looked like a much better idea than fartleks.

The shoes and socks came off and I did a trash walk down the beach, enjoying the cool water on my feet.  So peaceful and beautiful.  

When I reached the end of the sand, I wiped off my feet with the outside of my socks, put my shoes back on and continued running home.

My almost 3 mile run turned into a lovely, almost 3 mile run/walk.  I'm good with that.

When I got home, I completed today's challenges, and refueled with water, more coffee, and a bagel with cream cheese prepared by my dude.  

Good morning.

Who am I kidding?

First run of the summer.  

Post-vacation run.

Back at it.

Who am I kidding.  What I did today was START OVER.  

It was a slow start, but it was a start.

I tried to convince myself to only run my mile loop, but I knew I needed to run longer than that.  I ran the 2.25 mile loop.  Well, ran/walked the loop.  It took me approximately "a long time" to finish.  I say approximately because my running watch took a fatal dip in the hot tub while we were in Colorado.  So, let's go with "really slow".  

But, I did it.  I stuck with my plan.  July is a month that is particularly free of "must dos", so it is a really good time to get back in the habit of daily exercising.  That is my plan.  In addition to regular running, I have taken on two "Challenges" courtesy of The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans .  

  

I had started the June challenge last month, but had to stop because of a pulled abdominal muscle.  So this month I am redoing the the June Challenge and adding the July Arm Challenge.  I finished day three after my run and cool down walk with Carley.

  

The crunches weren't bad and I was glad to see that my injured stomach seems to be healed.  I did modified push-ups because, at this point, the full push-up is hard and always hurts my knees.  I plan to be doing full push-ups before the end of the month.   Due to my non-existent watch, I had to count out the plank seconds.  I counted one-one thousand, two-one thousand,...,fifteen-one thousand.  If, by chance, I counted a teeny bit quicker in the teens it was unintentional.  The dips were a bit easier, but I felt them toward the end.

What are your plans for July?