Thursday, December 3, 2015

The boom-bust cycle

I am feeling naughty in various regards: first for taking off downtown for glorious midday exercise when a huge pile of work tasks awaits me (but my usual Thursday 2:15 meeting was pushed back to 3:30, and I don't have powerlifting later either, so it was irresistible); second for falling into the boom-bust trap instead of the more on-point mode of daily consistency! Except when under true duress of hard deadlines, I conduct my writing life on an admirably daily and regular basis - it is all about the production of quota. Why, then, should the exercise binge be so irresistible?!?...

Anyway I had an even more grandiose plan that was going to include three (powerlifting) or perhaps even four (powerlifting and swimming!) components, but I am trying to keep my insanity in check and don't want to overdo it. Run and spin proved sufficient - put me into an incredibly good mood (also the sun's out again, which is extremely helpful).

Jogged down to Chelsea Piers as follows:

21min warmup jog

then 14 x (1:40 jog, :20 hard, 1:00 walking recovery)

5min cooldown jog

1:08 total

That was on an empty stomach, it felt surprisingly good/easy though I was ravenous for calories by the time I got to the gym. Had a creamsicle smoothie that made the goosebumps come up on my skin (beautiful running weather, high 40s and sunny, but very windy and I was in short sleeves with gloves), realized that I had better go straight to the spin studio to start warming myself back up. Can do the other lower-body workout tomorrow afternoon, I think, in conjunction with a swim.

So 1hr spin (the class is :45)

Very happy about having laid down a solid double and made it to two mid-week spin classes this week. Priorities for the next seven weeks: (1) nutrition and weight loss (2) enough time on bike that the 56-mile Mercuryman ride is pleasant rather than horrible. There are other things too, of course - run a lot in December while I am in NYC, start swimming again, continue with powerlifting progress - but none of those is quite as important just now.

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