New Runners All Welcome! Sept. 9, 09

[morningstar]

Today is a rest day for me. Tomorrow I'm supposed to go rock climbing if the weather is nice so I'm putting off my lower body workout. I paddled whitewater on Monday so its been a weird week for me workout wise - I got in one kb workout, one upper body and a couple of runs. I've done a lot of upper body but my lower body is stiff/sore. Oh well .

Does anyone else have a hard time taking a rest day? I always feel like I should be doing something even though I know better.

Morningstar - good luck on your 5K. What training plan are you using? The
AOS Brooklyn is the second one that has Beth in it. Honestly, I haven't tried it because I'm not sure if I'll find Beth annoying or not. I'm really picky about the people in my workout videos and the AOS dvds aren't cheap. Loved the comment about the tranny hookers!

Alisha - try the kettlebells! I find that they tone but don't add bulk for me. In fact, they have slimmed out my legs in a way that weight lifting and running alone never have.

Syzygy - I've always hated the way the travelling makes me feel with the weird food and the dehydration! Hope you get back on schedule and feeling good soon.

I have never been religious but I'm becoming quite evangelical about Cathe, Cardio Coach and kettlebells!

Alright, catch up with you all later!
Lisa

Ooooh, rock climbing! I am seriously considering giving that a go, except that I can't afford all the gear right now. The white water thing scares me a lot, so good on you. Where do you live? You are obviously able to access the wilderness easily.

I really like CardioCoach too, but I also use him for my own HIIT premixes, so I get tons of workouts out of the 8 he created.

I was using Coach to 5k, but once I hit week 6 or 7 it was all long runs all week and I didn't enjoy that so much. A few days ago I decided to build my endurance using intervals, because I love them a lot more and it is more important to me to love what I do than hit a certain number of kilometres without walking breaks. I also end up running a lot longer and having longer workouts that way.

You can always take an active rest day. I have trouble with taking a complete rest day too. I tend to take them on weekdays, so they aren't coach potato days (I walk to and from work; about 45-50 minutes each way.)


Ps. Syzygy is Tricia.

 

[morningstar]

Okay, so you guys have forgotten about me already!

Good morning Everyone! I'm on East Coast time here in LV and it sucks! Hijacked my SIL's wifi this morning. It's okay, she gave us her password!

Welcome to all our new members! And the ones whose posts I haven't gotten to yet! You have all be very busy already and I've only been gone one day!

All this talk about KB has got me wanting some and at least one dvd! Just what I need, more stuff on my WWL (translate: Workout Wish List)! It's already huge! Oh well, gives me something to continue to look forward to!

Janis - have you tried out that Swim Man yet? I'm curious how well it works.

I'm just getting started reading all the posts and still don't know how many pages to go before I catch up on here!

Hey Morningstar! I'd like to hire you as my marketing manager!

Okay, just thought I'd pop a hello in here while I could! Need some breakfast, if my SIL has anything in the house I can eat! Yesterday, it was about 10-12 hours between my meals. That hurt! Made the mistake of not getting anything at the Philly airport before boarding. Should have at least picked up some snacks to carry on and just wasn't thinking. So around 4:30 local time, we grabbed a few tacos (cheeseless for me!) at Taco Bell - yeah, I know - since we didn't what time dinner was going to be. I was relatively good at Margaritaville (okay, not really! ). I did have a turkey burger with only lettuce and tomato, but I had the onion rings. Hey, there weren't that many! What REALLY did it was the actual margarita! It was good! It is vacation after all!

It was in the 100s here yesterday and very sunny! I can't remember the last time I saw that! We don't get very sunny weather in RI much! It was interesting, although it was very hot, I could still breathe! I could actually run in this! It's the humidity that makes it difficult as we all know!

Anyway, no running yet. Maybe if we have the energy, we can get a run in while in CA.

Catch you all later! Or, at the very least, on the flip side!

Tricia? Tricia who? Silly! How could we forget you? With those onion rings, we can smell you from here!

Knowing your preference for cardio, I think you would prefer Lauren Brooks' KB workout. It's fun and straight forward - no glitz. How she works out with her hair down like that blowing in the wind I will never know, though.

10 hours between meals? I did that, I would be locked up for the violence I would surely commit.

And it wouldn't be a real vacation unless you had a margarita! Remember, protein shakes with rum are drinks for home; pina coladas are for vacation!

 

[lioness]

Hi EVeryone!

I completed the 5K race this morning. It was the HARDEST 5K race I have ever done. It was extremely hilly with lots of steep hills. The course was beautiful though. There were sections that were lined with big oak trees that were dripping with Spanish Moss. We ran up a big grassy hill and ran by horses. My sister was running and a large deer ran across the trail about 10 feet in front of her. When I got done, I was told the we ran the wrong way (everyone did) and it ended up being longer than a 5K. I'm thinking it was somewhere around 3.8 miles based on my time.

I also managed to get in a hour swim this afternoon. It's still hot and sunny here so I thought why not.

Lisa ~ Feel free to join our kettlebell check in. There is one person that does kettlebell workouts all the time. The rest of us do kettlebells and other workouts as well. I don't have Brooklyn. Does that have the rope workouts in it? I have Providence, Newport and Firepower. I love Firepower the best though. Have fun rock climbing!

Sydney ~ Congrats on your run today!!

BBL

 

[morningstar]

Hi EVeryone!

I completed the 5K race this morning. It was the HARDEST 5K race I have ever done. It was extremely hilly with lots of steep hills. The course was beautiful though. There were sections that were lined with big oak trees that were dripping with Spanish Moss. We ran up a big grassy hill and ran by horses. My sister was running and a large deer ran across the trail about 10 feet in front of her. When I got done, I was told the we ran the wrong way (everyone did) and it ended up being longer than a 5K. I'm thinking it was somewhere around 3.8 miles based on my time.

I also managed to get in a hour swim this afternoon. It's still hot and sunny here so I thought why not.

Lisa ~ Feel free to join our kettlebell check in. There is one person that does kettlebell workouts all the time. The rest of us do kettlebells and other workouts as well. I don't have Brooklyn. Does that have the rope workouts in it? I have Providence, Newport and Firepower. I love Firepower the best though. Have fun rock climbing!

Sydney ~ Congrats on your run today!!

BBL

That sounds like a really beautiful race route - and really hard! I would be afraid to break an ankle. Who has deer on their race route? That's amazing!

AOS Santa Monica is the one with the ropes.

 

[Janis]

Good Afternoon Everyone

and a special shout out to Tana, Cindi, Lisa for joining us and Jane and Sydney for re-joining us here!

Jane - congrats on your 5k+ today AND swimming! The description of your route was simply pastoral.

Lisa - I've had a weird week exercise wise too, but nothing nearly as interesting and exciting as rock climbing and white water rafting! Wow. I suddenly feel - uh - boring! {laughing} I usually have a hard time taking a rest day, and now I have taken four in a row! I need to snap out of it. I have a question about the Kettlebells, did you start with AOS or did you learn from a different system first and follow the AOS dvd's?

Tana and Cindi - I can't wait to hear from you again!

Syndey - I am so happy you are back with us, and I can oggle your sweet baby's photo and hear about your amazing endurance runs! Way to go, honey.

Tricia - Hey girl, we would never forget you! (nor replace you!) I told you it was sunny, and RI was not the place to be! [insert Beverly Hill Billies music/theme song] Enjoy your vacation food and your vacation libations!
Oh, the swimman arrived yesterday, I am setting it up today, and I will try it Monday.


Alisha!!! - you found time and wifi to say Hi! How cool! Sorry to hear your treats didn't treat you kindly! Immaculate conception - hmmmm - I hadn't considered that as a diagnosis! {laughing}

Morningstar - "picked a kit that would really go well with my colouring, just in case she wanted to give me the finished product for Christmas!" Oh, you tricky girl, too bad your cunning and clever plan was foiled! Did she at least have the decency to name the little sweet 'ums after you?

Who has deer on their race route?" {raising hand} - uh - we have deer looking in our windows like your urban peeping tom's, the cheeky little buggers. I am certain they would be on any race route with the exception of BaytoBreakers, then we're talking about naked bucks of a different sort.{bwhahhaha}

"10 hours between meals? I did that, I would be locked up for the violence I would surely commit." Ditto on that speed racer. That, and going without exercise for four days or if someone pokes at my tricep !{laughing}

Well - exercise has slipped right off the menu for today. I am going to set up my swimman and scrub the shower (hey, where is that cleaning lady?) I must need a break, because it is (sort of) doing me some good, if not the house some good.

Ok - I can google this, but I might as well ask you instead, what is Orthostatic Hypotension?

 

[morningstar]

Hey Janis, brag brag brag about the wildlife, aren't I jealous enough? orthostatic hypotension - basically, I get very light-headed and dizzy when I go from horizontal to vertical too quickly; my blood pressure drops like a stone.

My sister's first baby was a boy and she named him after everyone but me. She is having her second in less than two months from now, and she isn't sure if it's a boy or a girl. I doubt she will name the critter after me, though, probably not least because I keep calling it an "it" and "critter".

 

[lrayburn]

Ps. Syzygy is Tricia.

Thanks Morningstar! I knew I'd screw up names somewhere that's one of my things. Sorry Tricia!

I live in western NC up in the mountains between Asheville and Boone. In the summer and on breaks, I go to the Outer Banks (I teach ~ gotta love the breaks!). My family is in WVa so pretty much I'm all over the place.

I don't climb or paddle as much as I used to - I usually get on the river a couple of weekends a year and climb a little bit more than that. Luckily I picked up all of my expensive hobbies back in high school and college when I had this stuff called "expendible income" and worked as a climbing guide so I got a pro deal.

Morningstar ~ I don't know where you were thinking about starting climbing, I assume in a gym. If that is the case, you can get started with just a pair of shoes, a harness and a chalkbag. Either way, you would want to climb with someone more experienced for a while anyway so they can bring the rope and all the fancy gear. Give it a try! Where are you located?

I'm with you on the long runs too. I would rather do intervals for hours than run steady state. The intervals are good for improving my speed too. I haven't made any premixes yet but I might do a 1/2 in November and some longer mixes would come in handy for that.

Jane ~ Congrats on your run! That sounds like a fabulous course. Where was it?

Brooklyn doesn't have any ropes in it I don't think. My impression though is that it is targeted towards cardio and toning. I really wish there was a good breakdown of the exercises/intervals/goals for each AOS dvd. What are Firepower and Newport like? Why do you like Firepower best? Does it require paired bells?

Janis ~ I have the GoFit kettlebells and I did the dvds that come with them. I think they are called Iron Core or something like that. An introductory dvd came with the bells and then I bought their Volume 1 and 2 before I knew any better. They weren't bad to learn the individual moves from but the workouts were pretty boring. I think I only did each one once or twice until I got the hang of the moves. They were cheap though. I don't consider myself an expert by any stretch but I can cruise through Providence pretty nicely (I use a 15# and 20#, don't do the snatches at the end though) and feel like I'm ready to get another dvd to mix things up.

I have actually managed not to do anything today but housework and some gentle stretching. Usually I take my rest days on my busiest day during the week but some parts were aching and I felt like I needed a real day off. If I "just go for a walk" I tend to wind up going for a hike up a mountain (I'm just below the Appalachian Trail) and needing a recovery from my recovery .

Off to make dinner! Have a great evening everyone!
Lisa

 

[Janis]

Hey Janis, brag brag brag about the wildlife, aren't I jealous enough?

Guess what I saw yesterday! Four praying mantids! Eat your heart out! Hey, I rarely see snails, that must count for something!

I doubt she will name the critter after me, though, probably not least because I keep calling it an "it" and "critter".

There are far worse names than 'it' and 'critter', critter actually makes me laugh out loud. ‘Rug rat’ has a particularly abrasive connotation, and then there is 'ankle biter'. You’ll never get the sweater or the namesake if you call critter ‘snot nosed little brat” or “appendage.” {laughing}

We're having intermittent internet reception, around here that's like losing electricity!

 

[RapidBreath]

Hey Janis, brag brag brag about the wildlife, aren't I jealous enough? orthostatic hypotension - basically, I get very light-headed and dizzy when I go from horizontal to vertical too quickly; my blood pressure drops like a stone.

Me too I didn't know the name though. The doctor told me to drink gator ade.

 

[RapidBreath]

Jane- Way to go on your race. The course I jog (when jogging) is chock full of hills that are so steep its like an intensity interval when walking super slow. Spanish moss is such a blight on the trees.

Lisa- I used to be a hardcore, never wanted to take a day off up until about 6 weeks ago when I got sick and now the idea of working back up to the level I was at seems a tad daunting. I will try the KBs are there any workouts that don’t have those dangerous moves, I’ve heard about people hurting themselves.

Janis-We have deer, they ate my rose bushes whole, roots and all.

MStar- “snails take the bend at an amazing negative 5 mph followed closely by MStar at negative 5.5 miles per hour. “ I psych myself into workouts all the time but I will put the DVD on, let a different wo than the one I’m going to do, run so I can at least learn some other choreography. Thanks for the ginger idea I will try that one later.

Tricia- yeah, now I’m thinking about KB and I have to put something new on my wish list. You don’t get much sun in RI? You can have ¼ of mine. Its always sunny/hot in Rescue (except when its not.) To run in CA be sure you wear a hat, sunscreen, and sunglasses. Yumm onion rings. 10 hours between meals? I would be probably dead.

Sydney- Welcome back. Come and go at will ok? Btw, that’s a really good wo 1500 calories, wow.

Is MStar going to be our marketing manager? Cool

Hi Jenn and Cindi

I will be back tomorrow,

Alisha

 

[morningstar]

Hi Jane, you offered to answer racing questions, so I have stupid questions for you:

• What do you do with your personal items during the race if you are there alone?
  
• How do those little square thingies that you put on your torso stay on? If it's pins, do the race organizers give you the pins, or do you find your own?
  
• If there is a race t-shirt given out, do you have to wear it, or can you wear whatever you want?
  
• Listening to your headphones is frowned upon by the race organizers; do most people wear them anyway?
  
• How do you avoid falling over other people? I run early in the morning partly to avoid everyone else (I think I might be a bit claustrophobic too).
  
• How common is it to take walking breaks during shorter races like 5Ks? I assume it is a lot more common for longer races. I prefer to run 8-10 minute intervals with 2 minute breaks, but I'm worried about looking like an idiot in the 5k race.

Off racing now, but on training, could you define fartlek and tempo runs for me? I've heard about 4 different definitions for each.

Thanks!

 

[jharris]

Hi Jane, you offered to answer racing questions, so I have stupid questions for you:

• What do you do with your personal items during the race if you are there alone?
  
• How do those little square thingies that you put on your torso stay on? If it's pins, do the race organizers give you the pins, or do you find your own?
  
• If there is a race t-shirt given out, do you have to wear it, or can you wear whatever you want?
  
• Listening to your headphones is frowned upon by the race organizers; do most people wear them anyway?
  
• How do you avoid falling over other people? I run early in the morning partly to avoid everyone else (I think I might be a bit claustrophobic too).
  
• How common is it to take walking breaks during shorter races like 5Ks? I assume it is a lot more common for longer races. I prefer to run 8-10 minute intervals with 2 minute breaks, but I'm worried about looking like an idiot in the 5k race.

Off racing now, but on training, could you define fartlek and tempo runs for me? I've heard about 4 different definitions for each.

Thanks!

Hi Morningstar, not Jane but I may be able to help. Each year I do a Shamrock Run, it is about 3 miles.

Some people where fanny paks. I think on amazon you can buy something called a shoe wallet to hold your stuff. I didn't have to worry about this stuff since my mom dropped us all off at the start and the finish was in walking distance to her home.

Most race organizers provide pins for the numbers, you really only need 4 pins per number so they should have enough.

As far as I know you can where you want, if we got a t-shirt we just put it on over what we were wearing or tied around the waist. We had long sleeve shirts.

Let faster runners had out first. They usually hang out the front of the line. Once everyone gets moving the congestion usually clears up and you can find your pace.

The race we do is a fun run so there is always mix of walking and running. Jog strollers, kids of all ages, etc.

One year my shoes sucked, they kept coming on tied and did not absorb shock well, so I ended up walking. The second year I ran the whole thing since the kids kept saying "Come on Aunt Jenn were not walking" so I had no choice. Damn children.

I wouldn't wear headphones until your off and running. This way you can hear what they have to say. Our race is the start of the Saint Patricks day parade so there is no traffic on the race route.

I'm sure you will do great.

 

[jharris]

Good morning everyone..

is it okay to sneak back in? I will read through the post alittle later on. Just wanted to post that I did my long run this a.m I'm so happy....as well as really tired. Here are the numbers:
8mi @ 11:44
1:33:57
1553 Cals burned.

off to shower then eat something....anything....

Hey Skyy sneak in whenever you can. ^^5 on an awesome run.

 

[jharris]

Hi EVeryone!

I completed the 5K race this morning. It was the HARDEST 5K race I have ever done. It was extremely hilly with lots of steep hills. The course was beautiful though. There were sections that were lined with big oak trees that were dripping with Spanish Moss. We ran up a big grassy hill and ran by horses. My sister was running and a large deer ran across the trail about 10 feet in front of her. When I got done, I was told the we ran the wrong way (everyone did) and it ended up being longer than a 5K. I'm thinking it was somewhere around 3.8 miles based on my time.

I also managed to get in a hour swim this afternoon. It's still hot and sunny here so I thought why not.

Lisa ~ Feel free to join our kettlebell check in. There is one person that does kettlebell workouts all the time. The rest of us do kettlebells and other workouts as well. I don't have Brooklyn. Does that have the rope workouts in it? I have Providence, Newport and Firepower. I love Firepower the best though. Have fun rock climbing!

Sydney ~ Congrats on your run today!!

BBL

Jane your race at the plantation sounds breathtaking.

It is no longer hot and sunny here in the northeast. I think we had about 2 weeks of summer if we were lucky.

 

[jharris]

Today is a rainy day and I want to try out my new Nike sensor. I also am going to have to be in the rain all day watching my friends son play football and her daughter cheer.

Janis any soccer games this weekend?

Alisha how are you feeling?

Tricia hope your having a great time on vacation. Bring us back lots of pictures.

 

[lioness]

T
Jane ~ Congrats on your run! That sounds like a fabulous course. Where was it?

Brooklyn doesn't have any ropes in it I don't think. My impression though is that it is targeted towards cardio and toning. I really wish there was a good breakdown of the exercises/intervals/goals for each AOS dvd. What are Firepower and Newport like? Why do you like Firepower best? Does it require paired bells?


Lisa

Lisa ~ We ran in a plantation. At the start of the race, the race director said that we would see some wildlife. I didn't see any but it was a beautiful course. I live in South Georgia. There are lots of plantation down here but the one we ran in was open to the public.

I'll get the break down for Newport and Firepower. I like Firepower because it does require paired bells, although you can do the workout with single bells. I like it because it's short but you can choose to do it twice through with long or short breaks.

 

[lioness]

Hi Jane, you offered to answer racing questions, so I have stupid questions for you:

• What do you do with your personal items during the race if you are there alone?
• How do those little square thingies that you put on your torso stay on? If it's pins, do the race organizers give you the pins, or do you find your own?
• If there is a race t-shirt given out, do you have to wear it, or can you wear whatever you want?
• Listening to your headphones is frowned upon by the race organizers; do most people wear them anyway?
• How do you avoid falling over other people? I run early in the morning partly to avoid everyone else (I think I might be a bit claustrophobic too).
• How common is it to take walking breaks during shorter races like 5Ks? I assume it is a lot more common for longer races. I prefer to run 8-10 minute intervals with 2 minute breaks, but I'm worried about looking like an idiot in the 5k race.

Off racing now, but on training, could you define fartlek and tempo runs for me? I've heard about 4 different definitions for each.

Thanks!

Here are my answers.

I have both shirts and shorts that have zippered pockets. The only thing I usually have to carry is my keys. I don't bring anything else unless it's a long run and I'll bring gels. I don't like wearing stuff around my waist. So the zippered shirts and shorts work well. I leave my purse in my trunk and I don't carry lots of money with me.

I now have a collection of safety pins although MOST races will give you pins with the race bibs. I have been to a couple where they ran out of pins so I bring my own.

Wear whatever you want. I could never wear some of the shirts that I get to run in because it's too hot. I can't wear sleeves. I took all my race shirts from last year and made them into a quilt through a company called campus quilts. It's so cool!

The majority of people wear headphones regardless of the fact that most races say you can't. I only wore then in one race and I didn't like it. I like to be present and "in" the race.

I always stay back in the pack, because I'm slower. I only had 1 race that was really tight for the first 2 miles and then it thinned out. I just try to be courteous and aware of the people around me. In the race yesterday I only had 1 or 2 people near me.

Do not be ashamed of walking. In every race I've been to, there has been people walking. I have walked in every race I have even done. When you stop to walk, just make sure there is no one behind running. I tend to move off to the side and then slow down. You will see all types of people running and everyone is doing there own thing. It can be quite inspiring.

 

[jharris]

I have just came back to report that I am a dummy. I really need to read things better before I purchase them. My recently acquired Nike Sensor is just that the sensor and nothing else. I needed to purchase the whole kit. The sensor is no good without the reciever thingy and of course that is not sold seperately.

Ok I am off to do another round of Kickbox surge and then to a rainy a football game.

 

[lioness]

Off racing now, but on training, could you define fartlek and tempo runs for me? I've heard about 4 different definitions for each.

Thanks!

I found these definitions that explain it really well (and better than I could).

Fartlek involves varying your pace throughout your run. In other words, you integrate intense sprints into your workout, followed by a recovery run or slow jog slightly below your normal running pace.
For example, if you are a beginner, you might include five short sprints -- that's every 6 or 7 minutes -- over the duration of a 45-minute run. As your fitness level improves, you can increase it to 10 sprints. I usually run 4 to 5 minutes followed by a 30-second sprint.


This is a good explantation of tempo run.


http://www.active.com/running/Articles/Tempo_Running_Tips_to_Boost_Your_Speed.htm

I don't really do tempo runs all that often.

HTH,

 

[morningstar]

I found these definitions that explain it really well (and better than I could).

Fartlek involves varying your pace throughout your run. In other words, you integrate intense sprints into your workout, followed by a recovery run or slow jog slightly below your normal running pace.
For example, if you are a beginner, you might include five short sprints -- that's every 6 or 7 minutes -- over the duration of a 45-minute run. As your fitness level improves, you can increase it to 10 sprints. I usually run 4 to 5 minutes followed by a 30-second sprint.


This is a good explantation of tempo run.


http://www.active.com/running/Articles/Tempo_Running_Tips_to_Boost_Your_Speed.htm

I don't really do tempo runs all that often.

HTH,

Jane, that was really helpful. What's weird is that during my regular, non-HIIT runs, I kind of go as slow as I can to ensure that I can keep going as long as I can. But some of the results I have are similar to that described in the article for a tempo run:

Heart Rate: 85 to 90 percent of your maximum heart rate (I'm usually around 92% of max, according to my HRM)

Perceived Exertion: An 8 on a 1-to-10 scale (a comfortable effort would be a 5; racing would be close to a 10) (I'm probably around a 5, actually)

Talk Test: A question like "Pace okay?" should be possible, but conversation won't be. (that's where I am)

So, I don't think I should go any slower than I already am, but I'm not sure what to make of this.

It seems like a fartlek is similar to, say, some of the CardioCoach workout intervals, where he has you vary your speed and/or incline throughout the interval.