Short run

I was huddling in bed at 3:30, looking at the very wintry sky outside (really it's 50F, but it gets dark so early at this time of year) and thinking how off-putting it seemed to go back out. But I had dressed directly in running clothes after yoga, and really it made more sense just to get out there for a short run regardless. (Alas, an email in my inbox informed me that B.'s flight this afternoon was canceled, so I needed the mood boost! Should be he'll get here tomorrow, though.)

Nice easy three miles. Thinking about running tomorrow morning also - my Monday meeting this semester is at the dreaded hour of 8:30, which really for a night owl does not allow for exercise first, but my Friday meeting isn't till 10, which is quite humane...

:31, c. 3mi easy

Hot yoga!

Thursday is essentially my weekend day (I finish teaching on Wednesday, today's for regrouping before starting to focus on work again tomorrow), but it still feels pleasantly decadent to start the day with 10am hot yoga! Didn't make it out to exercise yesterday afternoon after all - lay down in bed to read and instead fell near-instaneously asleep for 2 deep hours, woke up feeling groggy and exhausted. Then, predictably, couldn't fall asleep till 3am, which was entirely my own fault for napping! I will run before dark, though, too, as it has turned into a beautiful day - around 50, sunny. The hot yoga is definitely coming back, though it was also helpful today that the room wasn't quite as hot as it sometimes gets....

1.5hr hot yoga

Hot yoga!

It is rather decadent to go to hot yoga in the middle of the morning on a "school day," but I guess I bought the right by doing some hours of work last night considerably after the time when I felt completely tapped out! That was really good - I was only a little stiff/sore yesterday after Sunday's run (much less so than I had anticipated), and now I feel really back to normal. Coming up on when I can start doing a lot more yoga - end of semester is in sight....

1.5hr hot yoga

2:28:18

One of the slowest half-marathons I've run, but also one of the most luxuriously enjoyable - my mother very kindly watched L.'s baby so that we could go and enjoy ourselves!

Spin!

That was amazing. 2 x 16min climb (4 x 4min splits, alternating seated and standing). I haven't replaced the battery on my HR strap, partly because I think that I do better with cycling form when I'm not also paying attention to HR. J. sensibly observes that it is a very good idea at this time of year to let yourself get detrained without getting deconditioned, so I think just going on feel and concentrating on form and holding onto some base fitness will be the way to go. I'm going to start swimming again once classes are over (pool chemicals put a lot of stress on my immune system); it's an event for participation rather than performance, but I'm doing the half-iron aquabike in Cayman the third weekend in January, so I definitely should be doing some swim and bike volume in December....

1hr spin

Hot yoga!

That was amazing. I am finally reacclimating, I think. Usually if I have midday Friday free, it makes most sense to go to my most-favorite Friday spin class at Chelsea Piers, but I'm having dinner in Chelsea later with friends and it seemed crazy to go down there twice when I could go to hot yoga close by (also having strong yoga cravings this week). Will spin tomorrow before heading to Philadelphia with L.K. for the half-marathon Sunday morning.

1.5hr hot yoga

Hot yoga!

That was amazing. I am finally reacclimating, I think. Usually if I have midday Friday free, it makes most sense to go to my most-favorite Friday spin class at Chelsea Piers, but I'm having dinner in Chelsea later with friends and it seemed crazy to go down there twice when I could go to hot yoga close by (also having strong yoga cravings this week). Will spin tomorrow before heading to Philadelphia with L.K. for the half-marathon Sunday morning.

1.5hr hot yoga

Yoga!

Exercise FAIL over the last few days due to cold weather plus busy busy school stuff - I haven't seemed able to get my act together to get out of the house, and really what that often means is that I am genuinely so tired I shouldn't exercise. Went to a lovely evening yoga class at Chelsea Piers this evening, though, with my friend E. Light meal afterwards at La Lunchonette. Teacher Paolo is superb - I have always really liked his classes; I should try to get to them more often.

1.5hr yoga

Run!

OK, this has turned into pretty much the best and most relaxing day I have had since the semester started! I guess I'm nine weeks out from IMWI - feels like the first real endurance training day I've had since then. Restorative yoga was super, I am very keen on that class, it's the perfect thing to do after spinning; and then I went to Brooklyn for a run with L. We were set on trying 5:1 run-walk - we are running the half-marathon in Philadelphia this weekend, it's L.'s first long run since having a baby in June and really we needed to do at least ninety minutes to make sure that we could! We have set ourselves a (friendly - we will abandon it if someone is in actual pain!) goal of beating 2:30 - I think it can be done.

And then the nicest thing is getting home after a longer day out than I usually have and being greeted with huge enthusiasm by two funny cats....

1:32/8.25mi/11:09/mi pace (course is much flatter than Prospect Park, so I think we should be able to hit close to 11:00/mi even with the walk intervals)

Didn't really do any work yesterday or today, which means a lot has piled up for tomorrow, but that's fine, I'm mentally fortified for the week. I will just go to 10am hot yoga tomorrow and work the rest of the day. Rather busy week coming up, I'm afraid, with evening plans Monday and Tuesday and a workshop to lead on Thursday, but it's all good. Ready for the semester to be over - four more weeks!

Spin!

V good class with Joanna. Am having decadent day of exercise - will do restorative yoga@ 12 (conveniently they changed time so now I can shower and breakfast post-spin), then to Brooklyn to meet L for run-walk in the park.

:55 spin

Hot yoga!

The room was almost intolerably hot - this teacher likes it really hot, it is a bit of a nightmare! (Also of course I already did one hot sweaty hour of exercise earlier, which makes a difference.) I had to sit out the second set of standing bow-pulling pose, and sat down one more time at the end of the standing series; on the other hand, it was more just overheating and verging on hyperventilation, I was not actually feeling queasy. The floor series felt very good, and I am already much more flexible (especially in fixed firm pose, which I always think really must be called "fixed fern" - I got it in my head that way at the beginning, and it stuck) than I was a week ago.

This must be the first double exercise day I've had for several months - feels like coming home! Double again tomorrow - 10am spin and then meeting up with L. at 2pm for a long stint of run-walk (5:1 or 6:1, I think) to make sure we'll be OK for next week's half-marathon in Philadelphia. Then on Sunday I'll probably just do yoga again. I have a lot of work to do this weekend, but no other plans or commitments, thank goodness - I am due some downtime.

1.5hr hot yoga

Spin!

That was glorious. The weekday classes have a different vibe than weekend (more regulars I suppose). Spring semester I should be able to go most Mondays.

: 55 spin

Hot yoga!

That was excellent. I am regaining heat acclimation (it's still too hot!) and did much better today with standing bow-pulling pose - that's the hardest one for me if I've had a layoff. Am going to make hot yoga plus running/spinning the main focus from now till the end of the calendar year - I don't think I can quite do a 30-day challenge yet, and I'm not sure those arbitrary challenges are really great for quality of life, but I do think I should go to as many classes as I can between now and the end of the semester!

(L. and I needed to reschedule our run for Saturday afternoon, which really was better for me in many respect - I slept late and am now going to have a quiet day at home, for work/life catch-up (I realize I never sent my rent check!)/visit to allergy doc.

1.5hr hot yoga

Short run!

I'd hoped to get to hot yoga yesterday, but in fact I was just flattened by fatigue. Early afternoon, went out to try and find a quiet place to reread final three books of Tom Jones, found myself rejecting one coffeeshop after another as too crowded/chaotic - after the fifth one, belatedly realized that the problem was with me rather than with the coffeeshops & came home and ate some lunch and went back to bed!

4mi easy (:43:30)

Hot yoga!

I am nine minutes short of the week's non-negotiable six-hour total, but after the weeks I've been having, I will count that as a win!

Hot yoga was excellent. Best of all for acclimation/heat adaptation is to go every day, but now I've done three classes in two weeks, I'm getting a bit of it back. Still falling out of all the one-legged poses, but didn't feel nauseous during the standing series, and the floor series felt amazing. It also helps that I finally got two reasonable nights of sleep in a row.

Out of town now for a talk, no exercise tomorrow, but I am hoping this coming week will be a really good one for exercise - running, spinning, hot yoga, maybe a Pilates class or two. I consulted both Joanna and yoga teacher about sore hip; Joanna points out that the first thing to do is get new running shoes (and indeed, I think the pair I've been running in may have been quite old - I reverted to an old pair I'd left at Brent's when the new model was giving me a blister) and yoga teacher says run on softer surfaces, so I will try and follow both those bits of advice.

1.5hr hot yoga