Bench!

Felt very bleary-eyed and low in the afternoon - didn't sleep well or indeed enough last night. But second workout perked me up (and I finished my spring-semester syllabus, though not the two letters of recommendation - the unfortunate thing at this time of year is that one is both fielding huge numbers of emails and logistical things about the fall-semester teaching while also finalizing the spring semester, needing to place course book orders etc. and indeed also sorting out next year's teaching - I am frazzled!).

1hr upper body

5 x 10 bench @ 85, 90, 90, 90, 90 (failed on final rep of final set, that really must be mental!)

Circuit x 6: (6lb medicine ball)

6 ring rows
10 medicine ball slams
10 mb side slams
10 mb overhead

lateral raise: 3 x 15 x 5lb

plank: 5 x :30 on 1:00

Glorious run!

Another almost miraculously nice one. The weather this December is conspiring to make my running life happy and easy - it's 50F and sunny with very little wind, running along the Hudson in those conditions is pure bliss!

Knee is good; felt some tenderness in right glute-hamstring attachment (this seems inevitable the day after deadlifting, even though I wasn't lifting heavy or high volume yesterday - nothing major).

1:15 as follows:

:20 easy
12 x 3:00 as (1:00 easy, :40 fast, 1:20 walking recovery)
:20 easy

Spin/lower body

Yesterday turned into an unwanted null day due to anxiety about my poor little cat Mickey! At his check-up last week the vet found he had significant periodontal disease (no reason, apparently some cats just have bad teeth). So I dropped him off yesterday at 8 (getting him into the carrier was the most stressful thing I've done in living memory!) and waited anxiously all day for word that I could pick him up. Cats have to have general anesthesia for tooth-cleaning and extraction (five or six teeth came out), and I was really obsessing about it unduly. Relieved indeed to pick him up around 6. He was wobbly on his feet and pretty groggy last night and overnight, but he ate a hearty plate of tinned food this morning and is just as cuddly and purry as usual (I guess he doesn't hate me for putting him in the bag).

Missed powerlifting inevitably, and have just made that workout up this afternoon as follows:

:50 spin
:35 lower body

squats: 4 x 6 x 65 (used lower end of weight options as I am still building technique and confidence on that lift)
deadlifts for speed: 6 x 2 x 155 on 1:00
lateral pulldowns: 5 x 10
single-arm row: 3 x 10 x 42.5

Now need to go and get allergy shots then buckle back down on work stuff....

(Our evening lifting session for this evening is canceled and will be rescheduled for tomorrow, which actually for once suits me pretty well - will be good to be home while it is still light.)

Spin!

Another good ride at Joanna's. Still only at 1.5hr as it was clear that it made more sense to use the rest of the time with bruisingly painful foam rollerdom! I'm not really riding enough for my January event, but it is going to have to do - certainly it's quality time (and I will make sure to get to midweek rides). Possibility that Joanna is going to start teaching a couple daytime spin classes at a gym on the Upper West Side - that would be excellent....

1.5hr indoor ride

Run!

Just a short one as I want to maximize crazy spring-like December running weather. (Once I'm in Cayman, it's too hot to run so enjoyably outside!) This was not lovely - legs had no spring in 'em, patch of chafing under my arm was bothering me and most of all my right lower back was unpleasantly tight. Still, good to get out there (I saw a funny pug running very athletically with its master, and lots of other nice dogs).

:30 easy

Run!

Gosh, that was absolutely glorious! Not exhilarating as such, more meditative, but probably the easiest and least effortful long run I've had forever - nothing was unduly sore/painful, and I felt at the end as though I could have done exactly the same thing all over again (strong biomechanically, metabolically, huffing and puffing).

The morale boost was much needed as I was just wishing I could get a total personality transplant. This week was unduly taxing, which made me go what I sometimes think of as FULL DORMOUSE - slept yesterday afternoon 3:45-5:45, then slept 11:30pm-11:30am, then went back to bed around 1pm and slept deeply for another 2.5 hours. Was disgusted with myself when I woke up, not to mention still drowsy! But my knee felt completely normal for the first time in weeks (took yesterday off to rest it), and internal self-examination told me that there were no obstacles to getting out to run, even if it was almost dark. (Also, it's 65F!) And as I say, it was an absolutely lovely one - still going very slow, but feel like I'm moving better and as though systems are all coming into good train.

1.5hr easy (tried first :20 sprint, but it twinged my knee so I decided to stay at easy effort level)

Squats!

OK, I haven't really been complaining about it here, especially since it hasn't stopped me from doing workouts, but my left knee really isn't right - very sore walking downstairs or any time it's hyperextended, though not sore as such while running or doing other forms of exercise. I felt super-cautious re: squats - knees were strong and stable at the bottom, but as soon as I was close to upright (or indeed even in the walkout phase, with straight legs/locked knees) I was getting major twinges. So did assigned squat set with no weight other than the bar:

4 x 10 x 45 (impatient to be back at real weights but must not do anything to further break slightly broken things!)

150 abs with band (5 x 30)

lat pulldowns 3 x 6 heavy

4 x 10 x 6-pound medicine ball slam

Then we had team powerlifting dinner ("Friendsgiving") and it was lovely - aside from everything, 2 extremely nice little dogs!

Run!

Almost uncannily good running weather - it must be almost 60F, sunny and mild! Had a couple morning things I needed to dispatch first, but got out midday for a very nice one:

:52 as

:20 warmup
10 x (:20 fast, 1:40 walking recovery)
cooldown

I really felt like I was flying on the fast bits!

Run!

Very good one too. For once I got up "early" enough to finish crucial work bit and still get out to run (though if I do not scamper pretty quickly - or even if I do - I will be a few minutes late to my noon meeting).

:50 as

15:00 warmup
10 x (:45 fast, 1:15 walking recovery)
15:00 cooldown

Upper body!

So glad to be back in the routine. Felt a bit rocky at first (fatigued!) but got in the groove pretty quickly. Had a really good day in the end (yesterday was overwhelming and not particularly good) - both exercise sessions were satisfying, very nice late lunch with friends in Chelsea Market, got necessary work done. Ready to go home now, though - cats, pajamas!

Bench:

2 x 3 @ 95
1 x 10 @ 95

3 x (a) flat bench press (b) incline row @ 27.5

cable fly 3 x 25

100 abs with band

1hr total

Spin!

Hmmmm, pressure-cooker aspect of academic life in December has led to surge in stress without any real other specific precipitating factor. They were doing roadwork on my block late last night and I had some trouble falling asleep, then woke (horribly) at 4:30 and was awake for long enough that finally I gave in, got up and read the 2 dossiers that I needed to write reports on today! Went back to sleep around 7:15, dragged myself out of bed a few hours later and cranked out the reports, then cabbed it down to Chelsea for midday spin. Had hoped to get here early enough to run first for 30 minutes, but it was not meant to be (and I have lunch now with friends, so it will have to happen later or not at all).

A good spin class - this is really helpful for laying down some bike fitness to make sure January's 56-miler isn't too horrible....

:50 spin!

Lifting!

I had a very demanding day, including an extra half-hour of school stuff that detained me uptown and made me half an hour late to lift, but it's not a big deal, they do a second session at 6pm anyway and running 5:30 to 6:30 doesn't seem to bother anybody (I texted Josh to let him know I'd be late). Still babying my left knee - it felt fine yesterday while I was working out, but stiffened up afterwards and is clearly not quite right - also decided I'd better forego notional spin class. More important to stay healthy than to overdo it, a lesson I have learned more than once....

1hr lower body! (SO happy that we are all back in the normal routine - it really didn't feel right last week without it!) Did baby weights on squats because of (a) knee and (b) trying some different technique stuff (bar very much lower down on back).

Deadlift:

3 x 2 x 185
1 x 10 x 185 (hahahaha, forgot how strenuous a set of 10 deadlifts feels even when it's not at super-heavy weights!)

Squat:

3 x 2 x 65
1 x 10 x 65

Circuit x 4:

20 shrugs (42.5)
10 single-arm row (37.5)
5 4-second eccentric ring row

AND IT WAS GOOD....

And spin!

And an equally lovely endurance ride in Joanna's studio - 90min, I did not have vim for more, but will hope to get up to 2hr next week. Definitely starting to feel a little more at home on the bike again - it was good/important to get to midweek spin classes this week, will try and do the same this coming week.

1.5hr indoor ride (Friel zone 2-3, verging more on the latter)

Run!

I am ashamed that I had three days this week with no exercise, that is pretty pitiful, but on a brighter note I have just had a most GLORIOUS run. High 40s and sunny, very little wind - went along the river and felt very happy to be out there!

1.5hr (:20 warmup, :50 with every fifth minute faster, :20 cooldown)

Short run!

Demanding Friday of committee meeting and report writing-up. Did a little bit of tidying up in my extremely squalid and chaotic apartment, scaled down more ambitious exercise plan at that point as we were close to dusk and just went out for short local run. As always, even a short run is worthwhile on a day with no other exercise!

:35 as :10 warmup, 10 x (:30 hard, 1:30 walking recovery), :5 cooldown