Hello Dear Reader,
I've been feeling really proud of myself lately- sticking to my goal of training for a marathon. Like clockwork, I'm up and out on the roads by 6 am, at least 4 times each week. Sure, it's cold, dark, and difficult to get out of my warm bed, but returning home from a good run makes it all worth while!
On Tuesday, I had my first consultative meeting with a new personal trainer- Cobra (don't you just love the name?). I left my appointment thinking, "Oh, this is going to be a breeze. I can run long distances. I'm in relatively good shape! I've got this!" This morning at 5 am was my first official day of training. First, I was put on the stationary bike to warm up. The second exercise had me sprinting two laps, followed by 15 jumping squats (repeat 12 times). By the first 4, I was sweating and out of breath. Why is it that I can seem to pick up and run a half marathon with comfort, and be doggedly tired before I can even finish this exercise?
Between exercises, Cobra had me doing ham string stretches. He must have thought my name was Gumby, the way he was pushing and pulling my legs. Might I add that, while setting up the next exercise, he was singing, "Please forgive me..." Whaaaaa?
Third exercise: He placed 6 4kg dumbbells on one wall. I had to squat to pick one up at a time. While holding onto said dumbbell, I had to run up and down a step twenty times. After finishing, I had to squat to place the dumbbell on another wall. Repeat 3 times.
Last exercise: 3 sets (20 reps) of jumping lunges. Just imagine doing a lunge. Got the picture. Try changing from one leg to the other by jumping into position. This was actually not bad. I just need to work on maintaining balance when I'm transitioning.
Oh...my...God. I'd rather run a half marathon! Wow, that was difficult. After I finished, he said, "Just wait, this is the easy part. I'll give you two weeks to adjust and it's on!"
Whew! Now that the torture is over, I can actually feel really good about all of the energy put in to get me out alive on the other side of my workout session! Since the gym is a mere 6 minute walk from my house, I was able to go home, take a bath, and get back in bed for a short snooze before I officially had to wake up. My sweet Ethiopian can hardly believe that I get so much done before he even wakes up!
Speaking of waking up (at crazy hours of the morning)- tomorrow, I'll be waking up bright and early to run the Interstate Busline Half Marathon in Bloemfontein (with my minimalist shoes). I'm super excited about this one, because it feels like ages since I've run a race (even though it was only about 2 months ago). Hopefully, I'll be able to get in a few races before they start tapering down for the winter season. Whew! I'm ready!
Well folks, that's all I've got for now. So until next time...one foot in front of the other...keep it movin'!
Yours in (getting my grove back) training,
Dani
I've been feeling really proud of myself lately- sticking to my goal of training for a marathon. Like clockwork, I'm up and out on the roads by 6 am, at least 4 times each week. Sure, it's cold, dark, and difficult to get out of my warm bed, but returning home from a good run makes it all worth while!
On Tuesday, I had my first consultative meeting with a new personal trainer- Cobra (don't you just love the name?). I left my appointment thinking, "Oh, this is going to be a breeze. I can run long distances. I'm in relatively good shape! I've got this!" This morning at 5 am was my first official day of training. First, I was put on the stationary bike to warm up. The second exercise had me sprinting two laps, followed by 15 jumping squats (repeat 12 times). By the first 4, I was sweating and out of breath. Why is it that I can seem to pick up and run a half marathon with comfort, and be doggedly tired before I can even finish this exercise?
Between exercises, Cobra had me doing ham string stretches. He must have thought my name was Gumby, the way he was pushing and pulling my legs. Might I add that, while setting up the next exercise, he was singing, "Please forgive me..." Whaaaaa?
Third exercise: He placed 6 4kg dumbbells on one wall. I had to squat to pick one up at a time. While holding onto said dumbbell, I had to run up and down a step twenty times. After finishing, I had to squat to place the dumbbell on another wall. Repeat 3 times.
Last exercise: 3 sets (20 reps) of jumping lunges. Just imagine doing a lunge. Got the picture. Try changing from one leg to the other by jumping into position. This was actually not bad. I just need to work on maintaining balance when I'm transitioning.
Oh...my...God. I'd rather run a half marathon! Wow, that was difficult. After I finished, he said, "Just wait, this is the easy part. I'll give you two weeks to adjust and it's on!"
Whew! Now that the torture is over, I can actually feel really good about all of the energy put in to get me out alive on the other side of my workout session! Since the gym is a mere 6 minute walk from my house, I was able to go home, take a bath, and get back in bed for a short snooze before I officially had to wake up. My sweet Ethiopian can hardly believe that I get so much done before he even wakes up!
Speaking of waking up (at crazy hours of the morning)- tomorrow, I'll be waking up bright and early to run the Interstate Busline Half Marathon in Bloemfontein (with my minimalist shoes). I'm super excited about this one, because it feels like ages since I've run a race (even though it was only about 2 months ago). Hopefully, I'll be able to get in a few races before they start tapering down for the winter season. Whew! I'm ready!
Well folks, that's all I've got for now. So until next time...one foot in front of the other...keep it movin'!
Yours in (getting my grove back) training,
Dani
