Day 14: 12/14/2012
I was again planning on doing my scheduled workout in the evening after I finished my Xmas shopping and wrapping. I was still planning on riding after seeing the horrific news, to sweat out the misery. But when the time came, I just couldn't do it. So I'm stealing Monday's wildcard day to use it here, and will shift the schedule a day until I'm back on track on Tuesday.
Some days just need to end early, with the covers pulled up over your head. Friday was one of those days.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Challenge Day 12
Day 12: 12/12/2012
And we keep plugging along!!!! Today we had a new one for me on the bike, and one I didn't already own, so I thought I'd give the download workout option a try. While I need to find a solution for increasing the volume more than I can using my laptop alone, it worked out GREAT. I have a ~4' step ladder set up next to my bike to hold various crap (chain lube, gels, extra water bottles if I need more than 2, Kleenex, etc.), and the laptop fit perfectly on the top step. If this were a 100% on the bike effort, I could use headphones, but with the on/off nature of this one, that wouldn't work. I just turned it up as loud as it would go and it was fine (I just like Troy yelling at me loudly!).
It was fun to see some familiar faces in this one - Brenda and Marilyn! Brenda is an old friend from another fitness board who, along with Nancy, convinced me I could get into triathlon. She also gave me the BEST advice EVER, at the start of my first race. "When you panic in the water, and you WILL, flip over on your back and backstroke while you get your nerves under control." I'm not sure I ever thanked her for that advice - she saved my swim. :)
Anyway - UltraConditioning 1.0, which has 4 working sets that each consist of a strength building bike set (big gears) immediately followed by some sort of squat set (super slow, squats for time, plyo, mixed of all 3). It was just under and hour and FUN! For some reason the big gear work comes easily to me - it's hard, yes, but it doesn't slay me like the wicked intense interval workouts do. Perhaps it's my strength training work over the years? Dunno. But the workout was fun and I got in a fantastic solid hour of work.
I had done well over 200 squats as part of the workout, but .... again, since I'm an OCD whack-job I felt the need to do my Squat/Plank A Thon squats anyway. So after about 5 minutes I did my 70 for the challenge and my 2:10 plank hold. Until we hit 3:00 I'm now doing a flat out push-up position hold for the full time (I had started mixing in some side planks to make it more interesting). I'll mix in side planks again (and perhaps some other crazy modifications!), but after we hit that 3:00 mark early next week - I want to hit that first!
And we keep plugging along!!!! Today we had a new one for me on the bike, and one I didn't already own, so I thought I'd give the download workout option a try. While I need to find a solution for increasing the volume more than I can using my laptop alone, it worked out GREAT. I have a ~4' step ladder set up next to my bike to hold various crap (chain lube, gels, extra water bottles if I need more than 2, Kleenex, etc.), and the laptop fit perfectly on the top step. If this were a 100% on the bike effort, I could use headphones, but with the on/off nature of this one, that wouldn't work. I just turned it up as loud as it would go and it was fine (I just like Troy yelling at me loudly!).
Anyway - UltraConditioning 1.0, which has 4 working sets that each consist of a strength building bike set (big gears) immediately followed by some sort of squat set (super slow, squats for time, plyo, mixed of all 3). It was just under and hour and FUN! For some reason the big gear work comes easily to me - it's hard, yes, but it doesn't slay me like the wicked intense interval workouts do. Perhaps it's my strength training work over the years? Dunno. But the workout was fun and I got in a fantastic solid hour of work.
I had done well over 200 squats as part of the workout, but .... again, since I'm an OCD whack-job I felt the need to do my Squat/Plank A Thon squats anyway. So after about 5 minutes I did my 70 for the challenge and my 2:10 plank hold. Until we hit 3:00 I'm now doing a flat out push-up position hold for the full time (I had started mixing in some side planks to make it more interesting). I'll mix in side planks again (and perhaps some other crazy modifications!), but after we hit that 3:00 mark early next week - I want to hit that first!
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Challenge Day 11
Day 11: 12/11/2012
After a LOVELY rest day yesterday (I did get in some really, really, really lovely stretching before bed) it was back at it this morning! I felt surprisingly great when the alarm went off - I thought the week was going to be a rough start, but the day of recovery was all I needed. I was up and raring to go, and 33.0 The Pain Cave was just the thing to kick us off! This is another multi-energy system workout. We cover both tempo work and high intensity sprinting work, with lots of rest in between sets so you can really go after each set with all you've got (for the high intensity threshold work - it was a bit of a challenge to keep the tempo efforts tempo efforts - I kept having to dial it back to stay in my tempo zones...). The last set contains all out standing sprint efforts, and I clipped 475W on the last rep - I WILL HIT 500W THIS MONTH!!!!!
The time flew by - it's nice when you get to the point where any workout less than 90minutes really and truly feels like it's no big deal. Yes, the intensity is super high, but it's over in a flash! Anyone can suffer for 47 minutes, right? :)
Then it was time to get back to the Squat/Plank A Thon Challenge - we are on the build up to hit 100 squats and a 3:00 plank hold over the next week. Today was 65 / 2:00. I split the squats in 2 (they are a tad more challenging AFTER the Spinervals workout when the legs are a bit fried) - 35 before the planks, then 30 after. I mixed up the plank as well: :30 normal, :30 side right, :30 side left, :30 normal, which was a fun change up. I LOVE side plank - I really feel it nailing my obliques.
Today is usually yoga at lunch at work, but I just got an email saying class was cancelled. I think I'll do more stretching at home before bed again tonight, I'm looking forward to trying the Gecko pose again!
After a LOVELY rest day yesterday (I did get in some really, really, really lovely stretching before bed) it was back at it this morning! I felt surprisingly great when the alarm went off - I thought the week was going to be a rough start, but the day of recovery was all I needed. I was up and raring to go, and 33.0 The Pain Cave was just the thing to kick us off! This is another multi-energy system workout. We cover both tempo work and high intensity sprinting work, with lots of rest in between sets so you can really go after each set with all you've got (for the high intensity threshold work - it was a bit of a challenge to keep the tempo efforts tempo efforts - I kept having to dial it back to stay in my tempo zones...). The last set contains all out standing sprint efforts, and I clipped 475W on the last rep - I WILL HIT 500W THIS MONTH!!!!!The time flew by - it's nice when you get to the point where any workout less than 90minutes really and truly feels like it's no big deal. Yes, the intensity is super high, but it's over in a flash! Anyone can suffer for 47 minutes, right? :)
Then it was time to get back to the Squat/Plank A Thon Challenge - we are on the build up to hit 100 squats and a 3:00 plank hold over the next week. Today was 65 / 2:00. I split the squats in 2 (they are a tad more challenging AFTER the Spinervals workout when the legs are a bit fried) - 35 before the planks, then 30 after. I mixed up the plank as well: :30 normal, :30 side right, :30 side left, :30 normal, which was a fun change up. I LOVE side plank - I really feel it nailing my obliques.
Today is usually yoga at lunch at work, but I just got an email saying class was cancelled. I think I'll do more stretching at home before bed again tonight, I'm looking forward to trying the Gecko pose again!
Monday, December 10, 2012
Challenge Day 10
Day 10: 12/10/2012
REST DAY!!!!! Well, technically it's a Wild Card day where we do whatever we want for 1 hour. I pick "sleep in" for my activity for the day. Maybe I'm getting old, I don't know, but I need 1 pure rest day a week to do nothing more strenuous than stretching. Some Challenge peeps are putting in some serious yards in the pool or miles on the run, but .... I put some serious "zzzzzzz's" on my pillow and am proud of it. :)
See you tomorrow when we are back at it!
REST DAY!!!!! Well, technically it's a Wild Card day where we do whatever we want for 1 hour. I pick "sleep in" for my activity for the day. Maybe I'm getting old, I don't know, but I need 1 pure rest day a week to do nothing more strenuous than stretching. Some Challenge peeps are putting in some serious yards in the pool or miles on the run, but .... I put some serious "zzzzzzz's" on my pillow and am proud of it. :)
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| No, this isn't me, just some random sleeping chick on the Internet. I don't look nearly as cute sleeping, with my hair all crazy, and likely the dog half sleeping on my head...... |
See you tomorrow when we are back at it!
Challenge Day 9
Day 9: 12/9/2012
Given the late workout on Day 8, I knew I wasn't getting up early to hit Suffer-O-Rama, the aptly named workout of the day. It felt lovely to sleep in a bit, but I did get in my Squat/Plank-A-Thon Challenge work early before I forgot about it (60/1:50 - it's getting serious, and my legs were not too pleased to have to work just yet...). With that out of the way, I just had to decide when to do my bike workout. Before the late afternoon dinner party? Or after I got home????
I decided on after I got home as the lazy morning turned into a lazy early afternoon. This was somewhat risky, as it would have been easy to say yes to a glass of wine with dinner and shoot all chance of a workout later that night. But I was VERY good and not only skipped the wine but ate sensibly, so when I got home at 8:30, I was feeling good. Thankfully it was a short one - under an hour.
It's a toughie though. I remembered the "5-Killer Minutes" from previous times with this session (they are, indeed, killer), but had forgotten all the standing work in the tempo sets. My legs were really quite fatigued from not only the 3 hours the night before, but from the cumulative effort of the week - the standing work HURT and my legs were a wobbly mess! I felt damn good on the interval sets though, which somewhat surprised me. I think because the reps are short - a minute max - so you can go all out and hold it. JUST when I felt I was about to lose it, it was over and we had a nice rest. This is definitely one of my favorite interval workouts - to the point, hit it hard, solid work in under an hour. LOVE IT.
Given the late workout on Day 8, I knew I wasn't getting up early to hit Suffer-O-Rama, the aptly named workout of the day. It felt lovely to sleep in a bit, but I did get in my Squat/Plank-A-Thon Challenge work early before I forgot about it (60/1:50 - it's getting serious, and my legs were not too pleased to have to work just yet...). With that out of the way, I just had to decide when to do my bike workout. Before the late afternoon dinner party? Or after I got home????I decided on after I got home as the lazy morning turned into a lazy early afternoon. This was somewhat risky, as it would have been easy to say yes to a glass of wine with dinner and shoot all chance of a workout later that night. But I was VERY good and not only skipped the wine but ate sensibly, so when I got home at 8:30, I was feeling good. Thankfully it was a short one - under an hour.
It's a toughie though. I remembered the "5-Killer Minutes" from previous times with this session (they are, indeed, killer), but had forgotten all the standing work in the tempo sets. My legs were really quite fatigued from not only the 3 hours the night before, but from the cumulative effort of the week - the standing work HURT and my legs were a wobbly mess! I felt damn good on the interval sets though, which somewhat surprised me. I think because the reps are short - a minute max - so you can go all out and hold it. JUST when I felt I was about to lose it, it was over and we had a nice rest. This is definitely one of my favorite interval workouts - to the point, hit it hard, solid work in under an hour. LOVE IT.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Challenge Day 8
Day 8: 12/8/2012
Saturday. The long bike day. 3 hours. It's been .... years since I've done a 3 hour ride, and I think I've only done ONE 3 hour ride on the trainer and that was a VERY long time ago. I honestly had NO idea how this was going to go.
And it almost didn't happen today! I usually do my workouts early in the morning before the kids get up - get it done before the day gets away from me, especially these longer workouts. But last night The Girl Child snuggled into bed with me (it's been a while since she's done that) so when my alarm went off at 4:30am I promptly turned it off and snuggled back into her. It was also really nice to sleep in (until 8:30 - unheard of!) and I needed it. But .... when to then fit in the 3 hour ride? I was planning on swapping the Saturday/Sunday workouts, and getting up early on Sunday to get this long ride in. But as the day went on, I really wanted to do it per the schedule, even if it meant a late night, and while I had a busy day, I was feeling really good. The Sunday workout is a short one - just an hour, so I can squeeze it in easily at multiple times depending on how I feel. So ... after tucking The Girl into bed, and telling The Boy not to stay up too late playing video games with his buddies, I went down to the basement and started my workout at about 8:20pm.
We were to do 30.0 Muscular Endurance PLUS, which is a 2 hour, 25 minute workout, then tack on an additional 35 minutes to get to the 3 hour mark. Alrighty. I've had 30.0 for a while now but haven't done it, so it was going to be an adventure, and it was a grey zone workout, so it was going to be challenging. One would think that riding the trainer on "the road to nowhere" as Coach Troy calls it would be mind numbing. But this workout seriously FLEW by. The sets get progressively shorter so mentally you feel the time clicking away at a decent clip. I was nailing my zones perfectly and feeling really, really good until the last set. This one was tough - 6x5 minutes, and within each 5' rep, we changed gears every minute and either decreased or increased our cadence accordingly. Mentally, it was great - you broke up the long 30' set into 5' blocks, and those 5' blocks into 1' increments. Beautiful. But this all happens after you've already been riding hard for 2 hours, and this set is challenging - Troy is really pushing us here. This is when I started to hurt a bit - the legs were definitely turning to jello and I felt on the verge of cramping up a few times. But I never did and didn't have to decrease my effort, so I feel pretty great about the first 2:24 of the workout. Then the formal workout ended, and I had to rewind back to the beginning to repeat the first 20' set. This was SO hard to do - I wanted to be done. The people in the video were done!!!!! But .... it was a "suck it up, Buttercup" moment. Back to the beginning I went. At about this time I pretty much lost all feeling in my lower body so I just put myself on autopilot, watched my numbers to make sure I was where I was supposed to be, and kept the legs spinning round and round. I then ff'd to the last 5' sets to finish off the time and nailed the full three hours. THREE HOURS!
I did well with hydration and nutrition - felt strong and solid the entire time, which is great. I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to do Suffer-O-Rama (best title ever, no?) tomorrow as I think just walking down the stairs might prove difficult, but thankfully it's a short one. Anyone can suffer for an hour, right?
Thank GOD I did the Squat/Plank A Thon (55/1:40) early this morning, as I'm not sure the legs could do anything resembling a squat right now. Tomorrow's 60 could be ugly. :)
Saturday. The long bike day. 3 hours. It's been .... years since I've done a 3 hour ride, and I think I've only done ONE 3 hour ride on the trainer and that was a VERY long time ago. I honestly had NO idea how this was going to go.
And it almost didn't happen today! I usually do my workouts early in the morning before the kids get up - get it done before the day gets away from me, especially these longer workouts. But last night The Girl Child snuggled into bed with me (it's been a while since she's done that) so when my alarm went off at 4:30am I promptly turned it off and snuggled back into her. It was also really nice to sleep in (until 8:30 - unheard of!) and I needed it. But .... when to then fit in the 3 hour ride? I was planning on swapping the Saturday/Sunday workouts, and getting up early on Sunday to get this long ride in. But as the day went on, I really wanted to do it per the schedule, even if it meant a late night, and while I had a busy day, I was feeling really good. The Sunday workout is a short one - just an hour, so I can squeeze it in easily at multiple times depending on how I feel. So ... after tucking The Girl into bed, and telling The Boy not to stay up too late playing video games with his buddies, I went down to the basement and started my workout at about 8:20pm.
We were to do 30.0 Muscular Endurance PLUS, which is a 2 hour, 25 minute workout, then tack on an additional 35 minutes to get to the 3 hour mark. Alrighty. I've had 30.0 for a while now but haven't done it, so it was going to be an adventure, and it was a grey zone workout, so it was going to be challenging. One would think that riding the trainer on "the road to nowhere" as Coach Troy calls it would be mind numbing. But this workout seriously FLEW by. The sets get progressively shorter so mentally you feel the time clicking away at a decent clip. I was nailing my zones perfectly and feeling really, really good until the last set. This one was tough - 6x5 minutes, and within each 5' rep, we changed gears every minute and either decreased or increased our cadence accordingly. Mentally, it was great - you broke up the long 30' set into 5' blocks, and those 5' blocks into 1' increments. Beautiful. But this all happens after you've already been riding hard for 2 hours, and this set is challenging - Troy is really pushing us here. This is when I started to hurt a bit - the legs were definitely turning to jello and I felt on the verge of cramping up a few times. But I never did and didn't have to decrease my effort, so I feel pretty great about the first 2:24 of the workout. Then the formal workout ended, and I had to rewind back to the beginning to repeat the first 20' set. This was SO hard to do - I wanted to be done. The people in the video were done!!!!! But .... it was a "suck it up, Buttercup" moment. Back to the beginning I went. At about this time I pretty much lost all feeling in my lower body so I just put myself on autopilot, watched my numbers to make sure I was where I was supposed to be, and kept the legs spinning round and round. I then ff'd to the last 5' sets to finish off the time and nailed the full three hours. THREE HOURS!
I did well with hydration and nutrition - felt strong and solid the entire time, which is great. I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to do Suffer-O-Rama (best title ever, no?) tomorrow as I think just walking down the stairs might prove difficult, but thankfully it's a short one. Anyone can suffer for an hour, right?
Thank GOD I did the Squat/Plank A Thon (55/1:40) early this morning, as I'm not sure the legs could do anything resembling a squat right now. Tomorrow's 60 could be ugly. :)
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| 3 hours and nearly 43 miles on the Road to Nowhere |
Friday, December 7, 2012
Challenge Day 7
Day 7: 12/7/2012
Day 7 of the challenge - a full week down! Woo Hoo!!!!!! I'm feeling the cumulative effect of the week - I'm tired. I've been getting a good sleep at night which is great, but I am most definitely tired. Today I took a vacation day to get some Xmas shopping taken care of, which meant I could sleep in a bit and that helped a lot. We had one of the virtual training rides on the schedule today, one that I've actually done for real! Gates Pass in Tucson AZ,which is an AMAZING ride. I was looking forward to the re-creation today. The virtual rides follow Coach Troy as he rides the route with a camera van following along behind him. We get to see the ride from Troy's helmet cam as well as from the van camera - we really get the simulation of riding along with Troy. As always, the workout tells you your gearing, cadence and perceived exertion, so we can feel how we'd be feeling if we were really there.
This was particularly fun because as I mentioned, I've ridden this route before, a number of years ago, when I attended Coach Troy's March training camp. It was an INCREDIBLE experience and I can't wait to go to another camp soon. The Gates Pass ride was my favorite of the trip, although the back side of the pass is a brutality that is impossible to describe. Granted, I was a VERY new rider and really had no business attending camp at that time, but I'd venture to guess that this climb would still be brutal for me today. The workout did a great job of simulating both the rollers of the McCain loop (my absolute favorite part of the route - this is so much fun in real life - roller after roller after roller, through an amazing Saguaro forest) and the back side climb out to finish the ride. Troy happened to point out the parking area at the base of the backside of the pass where I pulled over to contemplate the climb. I still distinctly remember stopping (big mistake!) and just looking at it thinking "No Freaking Way." Thankfully a passing rider yelled out some encouragement which helped me get my head right and get moving, but it was ugly. I want to go back to show it that this time I won't be scared and will kick its ass. :)
This was my kind of workout - mostly a tempo workout which I like, with some hard climbing sections mixed in. I felt really good throughout and had a lot of fun. Thumbs up!
After the 1:15 bike workout, I tacked on today's Squat/Plank Challenge: 50/1:30 - after the tempo/climbing my legs were toast so this was tough today. I split up the squats - 25 wide stance / 1:30 plank hold / 25 narrow stance which helped a lot.
Tomorrow is a 3 hour aerobic ride. Some folks are doing Tough Love, but that's on the schedule for next week and I can't stomach the thought of doing it two weekends in a row! I need to build up to that beast. :)
Day 7 of the challenge - a full week down! Woo Hoo!!!!!! I'm feeling the cumulative effect of the week - I'm tired. I've been getting a good sleep at night which is great, but I am most definitely tired. Today I took a vacation day to get some Xmas shopping taken care of, which meant I could sleep in a bit and that helped a lot. We had one of the virtual training rides on the schedule today, one that I've actually done for real! Gates Pass in Tucson AZ,which is an AMAZING ride. I was looking forward to the re-creation today. The virtual rides follow Coach Troy as he rides the route with a camera van following along behind him. We get to see the ride from Troy's helmet cam as well as from the van camera - we really get the simulation of riding along with Troy. As always, the workout tells you your gearing, cadence and perceived exertion, so we can feel how we'd be feeling if we were really there.
This was particularly fun because as I mentioned, I've ridden this route before, a number of years ago, when I attended Coach Troy's March training camp. It was an INCREDIBLE experience and I can't wait to go to another camp soon. The Gates Pass ride was my favorite of the trip, although the back side of the pass is a brutality that is impossible to describe. Granted, I was a VERY new rider and really had no business attending camp at that time, but I'd venture to guess that this climb would still be brutal for me today. The workout did a great job of simulating both the rollers of the McCain loop (my absolute favorite part of the route - this is so much fun in real life - roller after roller after roller, through an amazing Saguaro forest) and the back side climb out to finish the ride. Troy happened to point out the parking area at the base of the backside of the pass where I pulled over to contemplate the climb. I still distinctly remember stopping (big mistake!) and just looking at it thinking "No Freaking Way." Thankfully a passing rider yelled out some encouragement which helped me get my head right and get moving, but it was ugly. I want to go back to show it that this time I won't be scared and will kick its ass. :)This was my kind of workout - mostly a tempo workout which I like, with some hard climbing sections mixed in. I felt really good throughout and had a lot of fun. Thumbs up!
After the 1:15 bike workout, I tacked on today's Squat/Plank Challenge: 50/1:30 - after the tempo/climbing my legs were toast so this was tough today. I split up the squats - 25 wide stance / 1:30 plank hold / 25 narrow stance which helped a lot.
Tomorrow is a 3 hour aerobic ride. Some folks are doing Tough Love, but that's on the schedule for next week and I can't stomach the thought of doing it two weekends in a row! I need to build up to that beast. :)
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Challenge Day 6
Day 6: 12/6/2012
Day 6 of the challenge and still going strong! I had a full day downtown with an early start, so I had to get up extra early to get the workout in. I was not pleased with the 4:40am wake up, but I thought of a fellow Spinervillain (thank you Cleda for the group name - love it!) Shaker, who gets up at ... seriously, get this ... anywhere between 2:45am and 3:00am to get his workout in before he needs to go to work. Ok, if Shaker can get up before THREE FREAKIN' AM, I can get up at the comparatively leisurely hour of 4:40am.
After a few tough days in a row, we had a nice 1:20 aerobic ride on the schedule. It was quite wonderful, and I am surprised at how pretty much ok my legs are feeling! Tomorrow will close out week 1 of the challenge - time flies when you are sweating buckets and having fun!
I wrapped up with the 45 squats and 1:20 plank hold on the Squat/Plank challenge schedule. I'll admit that the squats are starting to get tough - the last 5 required a bit of mental toughness. Tomorrow could be interesting, especially since they will come right after a hard hill workout on the bike (legs, legs and more legs!).........
Short but sweet today - busy day, almost time for bed (it is after 8pm after all!). See you all tomorrow!
Day 6 of the challenge and still going strong! I had a full day downtown with an early start, so I had to get up extra early to get the workout in. I was not pleased with the 4:40am wake up, but I thought of a fellow Spinervillain (thank you Cleda for the group name - love it!) Shaker, who gets up at ... seriously, get this ... anywhere between 2:45am and 3:00am to get his workout in before he needs to go to work. Ok, if Shaker can get up before THREE FREAKIN' AM, I can get up at the comparatively leisurely hour of 4:40am.
After a few tough days in a row, we had a nice 1:20 aerobic ride on the schedule. It was quite wonderful, and I am surprised at how pretty much ok my legs are feeling! Tomorrow will close out week 1 of the challenge - time flies when you are sweating buckets and having fun!
I wrapped up with the 45 squats and 1:20 plank hold on the Squat/Plank challenge schedule. I'll admit that the squats are starting to get tough - the last 5 required a bit of mental toughness. Tomorrow could be interesting, especially since they will come right after a hard hill workout on the bike (legs, legs and more legs!).........
Short but sweet today - busy day, almost time for bed (it is after 8pm after all!). See you all tomorrow!
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Challenge Day 5
Day 5: 12/5/2012
Last night I cleared out some space to the side of the bike so that I could give UltraConditioning 5.0, Total Body a whirl. All we needed was a stability ball and one set of dumbbells, so I thought I could pull that off in the very limited space I have next to my bike set-up. I have had this workout for a LONG time now, but have never done it because I didn't think I'd have the room for it. I'm glad I gave it a shot, it was FUN!!!!!
I definitely know that I've been working hard on the bike for a few days straight now, but I felt surprisingly good this morning. I set my alarm a little earlier to make sure I had plenty of time to get the workout in (and I'd like to slowly eek my wake-up to 4:30am as I'm pushing it a bit with the 5:00am time - I'll leave it at 4:50 for a few days, then move back another 10 minutes incrementally until I get to 4:30....), and while I was cold and really didn't want to get out of my warm bed, it was easy to get rolling once I finally threw the covers off and got moving.
The workout is structured really well - you warm up on the bike (duh), then continue to warm-up on the floor with squat thrusts. Those of you who know me know that I love working out. I really do. I love everything about it for many, many reasons. But .... I hate squat thrusts. Hate. Them. It's not that I find them particularly difficult, I just feel like a clutz doing them for some reason (I blame being tall - too much leg to throw around that quickly!), and when I start to get a little tired, then I really feel like a spaz, flinging my legs back, heaving them back in.... Ugh. Not a picture of grace by any stretch of the imagination. So when we finish off the set of 10, I think "Thank god that nonsense is over! Hopefully he doesn't have any more of these later in the workout..." Yes, you know what's coming. At that moment he of course announces that we have 2 (or was it 3?) more sets of 10 to complete this floor session. GACK! I was damn happy to get back on the bike. :)
We then tackled single leg drills, squats/lunges/squats, super spin sets, core work, tempo sets, squats/lunges/squats, power sets, core work, and then "burnout" sets (both on and off the bike) complete this great little 90 minute workout (about 50m of bike time, 40 of off bike time). It's solid hard work both on and off the bike, and it's really, really fun. And during the power set I saw a max power of 432W!!!!!!! That is a beast of a number for me, so while it was fleeting, it was pretty cool to see. Now to just to be able to hold even 1/2 of that for a length of time.... :)
While I ABSOLUTELY had the requirements for the Squat/Plank A Thon covered with the workout itself, I chose to do it anyway after I finished. So I tacked on 40 squats and 1:10 plank hold for good measure. My legs are pretty toasted.
I am already discovering a few benefits of this challenge, in addition to the new friendships being formed as mentioned in the previous post. I have been having some issues with insomnia lately (some personal stuff flying through my head at night keeping me awake until WAY WAY WAY past my bedtime), and that was slowly driving me batty. Since the challenge started I now sleep like the dead. THE DEAD. If I can make it to 9:00pm it's a late night for me, and I'm asleep before my head hits the pillow. Bliss. I also wake up feeling great. I am AWAKE and ready to go, which means I'm really sleeping well. I also feel a little leaner already. I don't have anything really to lose, other than those 5 vanity pounds that everyone always has, but I think I'm dipping into those vanity pounds already. I'll take it!
Tomorrow is an easy day with an 80 minute aerobic base builder on the schedule, which will be refreshing after the last 2 tough workouts. I'm feeling good about the rest of this week until we get to Saturday, which is a 3 hour ride - it's been a while since I've been on the bike for 3 hours, so this could be interesting. I really like the 2.5 hour workout Troy has on the schedule, and for the extra 30 minutes I'll tack on an episode of Weeds, which should do the trick...
Happy Wednesday Everyone!
I definitely know that I've been working hard on the bike for a few days straight now, but I felt surprisingly good this morning. I set my alarm a little earlier to make sure I had plenty of time to get the workout in (and I'd like to slowly eek my wake-up to 4:30am as I'm pushing it a bit with the 5:00am time - I'll leave it at 4:50 for a few days, then move back another 10 minutes incrementally until I get to 4:30....), and while I was cold and really didn't want to get out of my warm bed, it was easy to get rolling once I finally threw the covers off and got moving.
The workout is structured really well - you warm up on the bike (duh), then continue to warm-up on the floor with squat thrusts. Those of you who know me know that I love working out. I really do. I love everything about it for many, many reasons. But .... I hate squat thrusts. Hate. Them. It's not that I find them particularly difficult, I just feel like a clutz doing them for some reason (I blame being tall - too much leg to throw around that quickly!), and when I start to get a little tired, then I really feel like a spaz, flinging my legs back, heaving them back in.... Ugh. Not a picture of grace by any stretch of the imagination. So when we finish off the set of 10, I think "Thank god that nonsense is over! Hopefully he doesn't have any more of these later in the workout..." Yes, you know what's coming. At that moment he of course announces that we have 2 (or was it 3?) more sets of 10 to complete this floor session. GACK! I was damn happy to get back on the bike. :)
We then tackled single leg drills, squats/lunges/squats, super spin sets, core work, tempo sets, squats/lunges/squats, power sets, core work, and then "burnout" sets (both on and off the bike) complete this great little 90 minute workout (about 50m of bike time, 40 of off bike time). It's solid hard work both on and off the bike, and it's really, really fun. And during the power set I saw a max power of 432W!!!!!!! That is a beast of a number for me, so while it was fleeting, it was pretty cool to see. Now to just to be able to hold even 1/2 of that for a length of time.... :)
While I ABSOLUTELY had the requirements for the Squat/Plank A Thon covered with the workout itself, I chose to do it anyway after I finished. So I tacked on 40 squats and 1:10 plank hold for good measure. My legs are pretty toasted.
I am already discovering a few benefits of this challenge, in addition to the new friendships being formed as mentioned in the previous post. I have been having some issues with insomnia lately (some personal stuff flying through my head at night keeping me awake until WAY WAY WAY past my bedtime), and that was slowly driving me batty. Since the challenge started I now sleep like the dead. THE DEAD. If I can make it to 9:00pm it's a late night for me, and I'm asleep before my head hits the pillow. Bliss. I also wake up feeling great. I am AWAKE and ready to go, which means I'm really sleeping well. I also feel a little leaner already. I don't have anything really to lose, other than those 5 vanity pounds that everyone always has, but I think I'm dipping into those vanity pounds already. I'll take it!
Tomorrow is an easy day with an 80 minute aerobic base builder on the schedule, which will be refreshing after the last 2 tough workouts. I'm feeling good about the rest of this week until we get to Saturday, which is a 3 hour ride - it's been a while since I've been on the bike for 3 hours, so this could be interesting. I really like the 2.5 hour workout Troy has on the schedule, and for the extra 30 minutes I'll tack on an episode of Weeds, which should do the trick...
Happy Wednesday Everyone!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Challenge Day 4
Day 4: 12/4/2012
Testing Day. Ouch.
I was beyond exhausted last night. I tried to watch Christmas Vacation with my son, but had to cry uncle at 8:30 when I simply couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. I kissed him goodnight, went upstairs and set out my workout clothes for the next day. Testing Day. Ouch.
I slept like a corpse and when my alarm went off I silently prayed for the ability to turn back the clock another couple of hours. After staring at the clock for a few minutes to only watch it mock me by continuing to move ahead in time, I reluctantly got up and got changed. It was Testing Day. Ouch.
While I've been training regularly, I have primarily been on a strength training kick so my bike fitness is not where it was back in the good old days when I was tri tri tri all the time. As a result, my cycling associated body parts aren't either. Meaning, certain more "delicate" areas are feeling the effects of the last few days on the bike. When I hopped on this morning there was protesting. "Again? Seriously woman????" Thankfully after the warm up I felt surprisingly settled in, and after the first lead in set I was actually feeling hopeful about my numbers for the test.
Test? What is this test I keep mentioning, you ask? For those who aren't Spinervals or cycling training freaks, we need to regularly perform a Time Trial (TT) test to compute our training zones. Some days are easier, aerobic days. Some days Coach Troy makes us feel like we are going to vomit. Other days we question our sanity and plot ways to kill Troy in his sleep. We need to know what it means to work in those zones - what numbers to target, either heart rate, or power. I have a power meter and am ALL about training with power - it is a huge motivator to lock in on that power number and either hold it, or try to beat it during these workouts. It's such a powerful number for me personally (pun intended!) - a direct measure of how much power I am applying to those pedals to make that wheel spin. From MY legs. It's not artificially elevated because I got a lousy night's sleep or am on the verge of a cold (as can happen with heart rate). It doesn't take time to build as you start to work and time to drop as you rest. It's a direct measure of instantaneous power, pure and simple. And when you retest and your average power for the TT is higher than it was last month? Yeah, that's money right there. Fitness improvements, in your face, in black and white. Your body had changed, whether you feel it or not. Truly priceless.
The downside of this is that the test hurts, and hurts bad. Troy thoroughly warms us up, then we start a HARD 20 minute TT effort. You dial it in, then you hold on for dear life. For 20 minutes. There is a skill here to knowing how hard to start out as you do NOT want to go out too hard and fade over the course of those 20 minutes. You also don't want to hold too much back and finish thinking that you could have gone a little harder. The way I describe it to first timers is that when you hit the 10 minute mark, you should be struggling mentally. Your legs should be burning and you should be VERY uncomfortable. Not yet dying (or praying for death, that comes later), but you should be struggling. Mightily. You should be thinking "I'm REALLY not sure I can hold this for another 10 minutes." If that's how you feel at the 1/2 way point, you are on track for perfect pacing. Then you mentally break it into 2x5' sets. You make it through the first 5' (come on, it's only 5 minutes, you can do this, just keep spinning those legs and do NOT let off...), and are REALLY hurting. Now you are thinking that there is NO WAY you'll make it another 5'. So you mentally break it into 5x1' sets. You can do anything for 1', right? Right. So go do it 5x (this is when you might start to pray for death). :)
That's how I handle these tests. That last minute hurts like nothing you've ever felt, you really feel like you might throw up, but you keep pushing. I stare at my power number on my bike computer and try to increase it, even if only by 1W to make sure I don't let myself fade. Sweat is literally pouring off of me, but I just let it. There is nothing else but my legs and the pedals and that power number - I'm in a weird robot-like state.
And then you here those glorious words "Three, Two, Oooooooonnnnnnneeeeeee!" as Troy announces that you are done. WOO HOO!!!!! The good news is that my numbers didn't suck as much as I was expecting!!!! I am a far cry from where I was when I was in top cycling shape, but not by as much as I was expecting. That's good. Very good! I can't wait to see how they improve over the course of winter training.
I've also been having a BLAST keeping up with the other Spinervals Members on our FB page. There are a LOT of us doing the Challenge and it is such a great motivator to know there are people out there suffering like you are, and who are expecting to see your daily check-in posts. There can't be slacking when people are watching!!!! It's a great group of people who are extremely welcoming and fun. And some seriously talented athletes - very inspiring. If you are interested, I highly recommend joining - they have a variety of options and all are very reasonable, and you get fantastic discounts on DVDs, training camps and training plans. And access to the FB page where all the coolest kids hang out! Membership Information
After finishing the workout (it's an hour total - the TT is the main brutality, but he's got a few other sets worked in to make it a solid stand alone workout) I wrapped it up by doing my squats/plank for the day (today was 35 squats followed by 1:00 plank - my legs were a tad wobbly toward the end of the squat count, that's for sure!).
A great way to start the morning!
I was beyond exhausted last night. I tried to watch Christmas Vacation with my son, but had to cry uncle at 8:30 when I simply couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. I kissed him goodnight, went upstairs and set out my workout clothes for the next day. Testing Day. Ouch.
I slept like a corpse and when my alarm went off I silently prayed for the ability to turn back the clock another couple of hours. After staring at the clock for a few minutes to only watch it mock me by continuing to move ahead in time, I reluctantly got up and got changed. It was Testing Day. Ouch.
While I've been training regularly, I have primarily been on a strength training kick so my bike fitness is not where it was back in the good old days when I was tri tri tri all the time. As a result, my cycling associated body parts aren't either. Meaning, certain more "delicate" areas are feeling the effects of the last few days on the bike. When I hopped on this morning there was protesting. "Again? Seriously woman????" Thankfully after the warm up I felt surprisingly settled in, and after the first lead in set I was actually feeling hopeful about my numbers for the test.
Test? What is this test I keep mentioning, you ask? For those who aren't Spinervals or cycling training freaks, we need to regularly perform a Time Trial (TT) test to compute our training zones. Some days are easier, aerobic days. Some days Coach Troy makes us feel like we are going to vomit. Other days we question our sanity and plot ways to kill Troy in his sleep. We need to know what it means to work in those zones - what numbers to target, either heart rate, or power. I have a power meter and am ALL about training with power - it is a huge motivator to lock in on that power number and either hold it, or try to beat it during these workouts. It's such a powerful number for me personally (pun intended!) - a direct measure of how much power I am applying to those pedals to make that wheel spin. From MY legs. It's not artificially elevated because I got a lousy night's sleep or am on the verge of a cold (as can happen with heart rate). It doesn't take time to build as you start to work and time to drop as you rest. It's a direct measure of instantaneous power, pure and simple. And when you retest and your average power for the TT is higher than it was last month? Yeah, that's money right there. Fitness improvements, in your face, in black and white. Your body had changed, whether you feel it or not. Truly priceless.
The downside of this is that the test hurts, and hurts bad. Troy thoroughly warms us up, then we start a HARD 20 minute TT effort. You dial it in, then you hold on for dear life. For 20 minutes. There is a skill here to knowing how hard to start out as you do NOT want to go out too hard and fade over the course of those 20 minutes. You also don't want to hold too much back and finish thinking that you could have gone a little harder. The way I describe it to first timers is that when you hit the 10 minute mark, you should be struggling mentally. Your legs should be burning and you should be VERY uncomfortable. Not yet dying (or praying for death, that comes later), but you should be struggling. Mightily. You should be thinking "I'm REALLY not sure I can hold this for another 10 minutes." If that's how you feel at the 1/2 way point, you are on track for perfect pacing. Then you mentally break it into 2x5' sets. You make it through the first 5' (come on, it's only 5 minutes, you can do this, just keep spinning those legs and do NOT let off...), and are REALLY hurting. Now you are thinking that there is NO WAY you'll make it another 5'. So you mentally break it into 5x1' sets. You can do anything for 1', right? Right. So go do it 5x (this is when you might start to pray for death). :)
That's how I handle these tests. That last minute hurts like nothing you've ever felt, you really feel like you might throw up, but you keep pushing. I stare at my power number on my bike computer and try to increase it, even if only by 1W to make sure I don't let myself fade. Sweat is literally pouring off of me, but I just let it. There is nothing else but my legs and the pedals and that power number - I'm in a weird robot-like state.
And then you here those glorious words "Three, Two, Oooooooonnnnnnneeeeeee!" as Troy announces that you are done. WOO HOO!!!!! The good news is that my numbers didn't suck as much as I was expecting!!!! I am a far cry from where I was when I was in top cycling shape, but not by as much as I was expecting. That's good. Very good! I can't wait to see how they improve over the course of winter training.
I've also been having a BLAST keeping up with the other Spinervals Members on our FB page. There are a LOT of us doing the Challenge and it is such a great motivator to know there are people out there suffering like you are, and who are expecting to see your daily check-in posts. There can't be slacking when people are watching!!!! It's a great group of people who are extremely welcoming and fun. And some seriously talented athletes - very inspiring. If you are interested, I highly recommend joining - they have a variety of options and all are very reasonable, and you get fantastic discounts on DVDs, training camps and training plans. And access to the FB page where all the coolest kids hang out! Membership Information
After finishing the workout (it's an hour total - the TT is the main brutality, but he's got a few other sets worked in to make it a solid stand alone workout) I wrapped it up by doing my squats/plank for the day (today was 35 squats followed by 1:00 plank - my legs were a tad wobbly toward the end of the squat count, that's for sure!).
A great way to start the morning!
Monday, December 3, 2012
Challenge Day 3
Day 3: 12/3/2012
After getting home a little after 11pm last night from my weekend out of town, I was a little worried about the 5am alarm.... But I also knew that if I didn't get up, the bike workout would not happen, and I am NOT skipping any workouts this challenge, and certainly not on day 3! Surprisingly I had no issue at all when the alarm went off - hopped right up, got changed, and headed to the House of Pain (HOP, otherwise known as my scary basement). It's been an embarrassingly long time since I've been on my bike, so I first had to deal with flat tires (I need to run out today to get a new bike pump - it gave up the ghost as I was finishing the job) and lubing up the chain. Then, GAME ON!
Today had 17.0 on the schedule ABB II, one of the few Spinervals in the Comp series that I do not own. So I pulled out 25.0 ABB V, which is a 2 hour compilation workout (containing bits of ABB II!) and did 1:20 worth of that workout. It was a slow start - the legs weren't feeling the love initially, and I had forgotten to turn on the floor fan so I was HOT initially which didn't help matters. After the first set (4x5') and realizing the fan was off and fixing that issue, I settled in and felt really, really good for the remainder of the workout. I was even a bit disappointed when I hit the 1:20 mark - I would have liked to keep going! But that's about as long as I can fit in with a 5am wake up, so regardless I had to get off the bike. And tomorrow is our Threshold Test - pain, pain, pain. Adding in extra work today would have been stupid.
When I emerged from the HOP I did my 30 squats and :50 of plank that were on the schedule for the Squat/Plank a Thon to wrap up the morning. We've got a strength/flexibility workout on the schedule today as well, so after dinner tonight I'll get in an UB workout.
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| My View From the Bike in the HOP |
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| Post Workout Happy Face! |
Today had 17.0 on the schedule ABB II, one of the few Spinervals in the Comp series that I do not own. So I pulled out 25.0 ABB V, which is a 2 hour compilation workout (containing bits of ABB II!) and did 1:20 worth of that workout. It was a slow start - the legs weren't feeling the love initially, and I had forgotten to turn on the floor fan so I was HOT initially which didn't help matters. After the first set (4x5') and realizing the fan was off and fixing that issue, I settled in and felt really, really good for the remainder of the workout. I was even a bit disappointed when I hit the 1:20 mark - I would have liked to keep going! But that's about as long as I can fit in with a 5am wake up, so regardless I had to get off the bike. And tomorrow is our Threshold Test - pain, pain, pain. Adding in extra work today would have been stupid.
When I emerged from the HOP I did my 30 squats and :50 of plank that were on the schedule for the Squat/Plank a Thon to wrap up the morning. We've got a strength/flexibility workout on the schedule today as well, so after dinner tonight I'll get in an UB workout.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Challenge Day 2
Day 2: 12/2/2012
Wildcard Day! Today was an easy day for me - I'm still on the road so my options are somewhat limited and I want to be feeling pretty fresh and loose for the week ahead. Getting back into a rigorous Spinervals routine with additional strength work worked in is going to be a challenge - I can't wait!
Today was 30 minutes on the treadmill for some high incline work (again, thank you Netflix!!!), followed by the daily Squat/Plank-A-Thon Challenge. Today the challenge consisted of 25 squats and 0:40 plank. We are working up to 100 squats and a 3:00 plank - if you aren't already doing the challenge, join in! We have a good group involved, it's easy to do anywhere and takes very little time. Here are the details:
Find me on Facebook (Michelle Sewell Spina) and join in the fun!
Tomorrow is back at home in the House of Pain for 1:20 aerobic work with Aerobic Base Builder II. See you then!!!
Wildcard Day! Today was an easy day for me - I'm still on the road so my options are somewhat limited and I want to be feeling pretty fresh and loose for the week ahead. Getting back into a rigorous Spinervals routine with additional strength work worked in is going to be a challenge - I can't wait!
Today was 30 minutes on the treadmill for some high incline work (again, thank you Netflix!!!), followed by the daily Squat/Plank-A-Thon Challenge. Today the challenge consisted of 25 squats and 0:40 plank. We are working up to 100 squats and a 3:00 plank - if you aren't already doing the challenge, join in! We have a good group involved, it's easy to do anywhere and takes very little time. Here are the details:
Find me on Facebook (Michelle Sewell Spina) and join in the fun!
Tomorrow is back at home in the House of Pain for 1:20 aerobic work with Aerobic Base Builder II. See you then!!!
Saturday, December 1, 2012
2012 Spinervals 32-Day Challenge Kick-Off!
Day 1: 12/1/2012
It's that time of year again! That's right - today was Day 1 of the Spinervals 32-Day Challenge!!!!! As you may or may not remember, I did this challenge last year and LOVED it. I did fairly well with keeping with the schedule, but while well-intentioned, didn't stick to it when I was on the road (I detest gym cardio bikes), so I'd give myself an 85% success grade for last year. This year I am determined to hit ALL 32 DAYS!!!!! I started the Challenge on the road, and contemplated shifting the schedule, doing anything possible to avoid the dreaded cardio bike. But in the end, my iron will won out and I put in a solid 1.5 hours on the bike at the Planet Fitness near my hotel. HUGE snaps to Planet Fitness for being so welcoming, and for chatting with me afterwards about my marathon session on the bike (apparently it is NOT typical for them to see someone on the bike for so long - they were talking about me behind the desk wondering how long I'd stay on!).
I was very, very concerned when I was already clock watching at 11 minutes in. Uh oh. Then I had a brainstorm - I had my phone with me. I had a solid 4G signal. That meant I had Netflix!!!!!!! Three episodes of Weeds and the time just flew by (isn't Mary-Louise Parker just the cutest thing? I'm loving this show!!!). I think I could have made it to the 2 hour mark as prescribed if I didn't have a lunch appointment, but then again, those bikes also tend to make my knees wonky so I think the 1.5 hours was plenty. I also feel NO guilt for being below the 2.5 hour target - I firmly believe the added torture of a cardio bike adds a solid hour to the ride time. You know how Coach Troy always says an hour on the trainer is worth 1.5 on the road (or whatever it is he says.... something like that....)? Well, I think we should add an amendment for gym bikes.
Tomorrow is a wildcard day for Day 2 (whew! I think I'll hit the treadmill and the weight room), then I'll be back in the House of Pain for Monday's 1:20 ABB II.
Bring on the Holiday Craziness - I'll be ready!!!!!
It's that time of year again! That's right - today was Day 1 of the Spinervals 32-Day Challenge!!!!! As you may or may not remember, I did this challenge last year and LOVED it. I did fairly well with keeping with the schedule, but while well-intentioned, didn't stick to it when I was on the road (I detest gym cardio bikes), so I'd give myself an 85% success grade for last year. This year I am determined to hit ALL 32 DAYS!!!!! I started the Challenge on the road, and contemplated shifting the schedule, doing anything possible to avoid the dreaded cardio bike. But in the end, my iron will won out and I put in a solid 1.5 hours on the bike at the Planet Fitness near my hotel. HUGE snaps to Planet Fitness for being so welcoming, and for chatting with me afterwards about my marathon session on the bike (apparently it is NOT typical for them to see someone on the bike for so long - they were talking about me behind the desk wondering how long I'd stay on!).
I was very, very concerned when I was already clock watching at 11 minutes in. Uh oh. Then I had a brainstorm - I had my phone with me. I had a solid 4G signal. That meant I had Netflix!!!!!!! Three episodes of Weeds and the time just flew by (isn't Mary-Louise Parker just the cutest thing? I'm loving this show!!!). I think I could have made it to the 2 hour mark as prescribed if I didn't have a lunch appointment, but then again, those bikes also tend to make my knees wonky so I think the 1.5 hours was plenty. I also feel NO guilt for being below the 2.5 hour target - I firmly believe the added torture of a cardio bike adds a solid hour to the ride time. You know how Coach Troy always says an hour on the trainer is worth 1.5 on the road (or whatever it is he says.... something like that....)? Well, I think we should add an amendment for gym bikes.
Bring on the Holiday Craziness - I'll be ready!!!!!
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