climbing + weights + bike trainer

I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I'm no longer working at Cornell. The gym is next door to my building, the climbing wall is across the parking lot, and the indoor track is across the street. Today I took advantage of that and went to both the climbing wall and the gym. I did a little bit of bouldering and then went to the gym to work on my upper arms. It's interesting-- my fear of heights is not a problem when I'm harnessed and on ropes, but it quickly becomes apparent when I'm climbing without ropes.

After a full Saturday at the lab and in the gym, I headed home and spent 30 minutes on my bike trainer. After all, today was supposed to be a cross training day.

Half Marathon Training
Week of 1/18/10 red=incomplete; green=completed

stretch & strengthen

3 m run

2 m run or cross

3 m run + strength

rest

30 min cross

4 m run

Trainer ride

I was exhausted after work, but I did a quick 30 minutes on my bike trainer. I think it gave me the energy I'll need to stay awake for trivia night.

Half Marathon Training
Week of 1/18/10 red=incomplete; green=completed

stretch & strengthen

3 m run

2 m run or cross

3 m run + strength

rest

30 min cross

4 m run

Bike trainer + strengthening

I took two days off this week, so today I doubled up cross training with strength training. I spent 30 minutes on my bike trainer and then started doing a yoga video. Unfortunately, I got demoralized by my weak upper body strength and, without peer pressure to power me through, I gave up. I ended up lifting weights instead and doing crunches for a core workout.

I also finished up Iron Heart. I'll admit, I was a little skeptical about the book from the first few chapters. But I quickly got caught up in Brian Boyle's struggle to recover from a car crash that left him first in a coma and then in a wheelchair. I think the story is especially compelling because he's very easy to empathize with. I think a lot of readers see qualities of themselves in him and find themselves rooting for him to succeed. It's a completely crazy story at the end... the man trains for the Kona Iron Man in four months.

Half Marathon Training
Week of 1/11/10 red=incomplete; green=completed

stretch & strengthen

3 m run

2 m run or cross

3 m run + strength

rest

30 min cross

4 m run

Spinning while sick

Yesterday I came down with a sinus infection which put a damper on my grand plans for the week. I had recruited a bunch of people to go to spinning class, but I had to cancel so I could rest.

I'm still not feeling great, but I decided 30 minutes on my bike trainer couldn't hurt, especially since it gave me time to listen to the latest Savage Love podcast. It was another great workout. I finally feel like I'm pushing myself hard enough on the trainer to get some good exercise.

stretch & strengthen

3 m run

2 m run or cross

3 m run + strength

rest

30 min cross

4 m run

red=incomplete; green=completed

Fighting the winter blues on my bike trainer

After absolutely no aerobic exercise this week, I finally found the motivation to spend some time on my bike trainer. I spent 40 minutes on my bike while watching an episode of 'Dexter.'

I failed miserably at my goals for the week. In all fairness, I forgot to account for the gym being closed this week, and I couldn't have known that Ithaca would get two feet of snow and have a windchill of -20F. I'm itching to go for a run and am so excited that gym opens tomorrow.

Goal for the week of 12/28/09
1.5 hours 50 minutes of biking
15 miles of running
+climbing

I'm trying a new format for my weekly goals, since the previous way has failed twice in a row. It comes from Half Marathon Training for Novices (courtesy of Maddie). They have a 12 week program for building up to a half marathon. I won't stick to their daily schedule, but I'll try to do each of their suggested exercises each week and check them off each day (sort of like workout bingo). (Note: I'm not actually signed up for a half marathon yet. A bunch of friends are doing the Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon on April 11. I'm not sure if I'll be in town that weekend, but if I am, I'll definitely do it too.)

stretch & strengthen

3 m run

2 m run or cross

3 m run + strength

rest

30 min cross

4 m run

12/13/09: bike trainer

I tried to go spinning for the first time in a long time, but I was turned away because I didn't have my Cornell ID. I came home and spent 35 minutes on my bike trainer in front of 'Law and Order: SVU.' My ability to sleep has been really inconsistent lately so I'm hoping that I wore myself out enough to sleep through the night.

11/25/09: bike trainer + strength training

I meant to go running but the cold always scares me off. Instead, I biked to one episode of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' this morning before work. After work, I did a few short strength building exercises from sparkpeople.com.