Meriden and More...It's a Good Sore

Right now, the term "Hip Flexor" is an oxymoron. My hips currently have NO flex thanks to the Meriden Hills yesterday, core class and spin class from this morning!

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Wow...tons of people showed up for the Meriden Hills workout. It was very crowded making me feel slightly guilty that I changed workout days even after Gilbert encouraged me not to. He said to do a maximium of 5 x 1K loops with :90sec rest in between. Then, we would do 5 sprints up the first hill, followed by 3 backwards repeats up the same hill. Hills aren't really my strength so I vowed to run these smart instead of trying to run them super fast. I took off with Amy, Runner Sean and several others. It's really odd running hills in the dark, especially when you are slightly unfamiliar with the terrain. As I was running downhill I just hoped a prayed that my footing was steady and that there were no bumps or potholes that I couldn't see. Fortunately, I didn't bite the dust.

#1: 5:02 (8:06 pace--felt hard. not good)
#2: 4:54 (7:53)
#3: 4:49 (7:49)
#4: 4:41 (7:32)

I was happy to quit after that and be proud of the proper execution of this drill. However, when checking with Gilbert to see if 4 repeats was enough, he really said he wanted us to do one more. In fact, at that moment, two guys from my pace group started to go for their 5th and Gilbert said, "Go now." Ughhh...Amy and Runner Sean stayed behind. I started running again. I was pretty damn beat on this one and not mentally prepared. I wanted to stop at 4 repeats. Too late now...shut up and run. Well, I did fine until the final hill climb and could feel myself losing steam.

#5 4:48 (7:43 pace...damn, not a negative split)

Overall, it was a good return to the 1000m hill loop of Meriden.

I completed my 5 sprints up the hill, but by the 3rd one, you could hardly call it a sprint. Then, I did my 3 backwards repeats and jogged back home with Amy. We tacked on about 10 extra minutes of cool down, but my legs were wasted.

Wednesday, March 21st, 2007

Speaking of wasted...Went to Happy Hour Last night to celebrate my friend's birthday and had one glass of wine and two mojitos throughout the evening. I was feeling good, but not drunk or anything. It was just that nice relaxed feeling. I probably should've stopped at two drinks, but I was hanging with a group of girls that I don't see often enough. In those situations, it's easy to convince myself to just laugh a little and enjoy the moment. For God's sakes, have a drink (or 3). Unfortunately, this morning, I was a tad foggy when I got up to got to the gym for spin class. I tried to come up with all of the excuses in the book...your legs are sore from yesterday. Take the day off...sleep a little longer and go for a ride on your real bike this morning, etc. In the end, after expending all of the mental energy formulating excuses, I just got up and went to the gym.

Spin class: 50 minutes of Hills and speed intervals. More Hills!! Great workout and it got the legs and heart pumping. My hip flexors were sore though.

Elypitical: Hopped on for 20 minutes of high-cadence aerobic activity. I always like to flush my legs out with a run (or simulated run) after a bike ride. It's good practice for T2 in a tri.

Rock Climbing Wall: 10 min of upper body on the rock climbing tread wall...

Pools still closed at Castle Hill. I'm starting to get pissed about it since it's been a month now. They've offered other freebies in the meantime. I know they're trying to accomodate. I'm trying to be patient. I miss my Endless Pools.

Getting ready to pick my parents up at the airport from Ohio for a week-long visit. They haven't been in about two years...Definitely haven't seen the new house. It's always a good time to watch them relax and show them around town. Plus, I'll put my Mom to work finishing up my wedding invitations. I only have about 30 more to send out. She is my Maid of Honor, after all.

I've been eating well...(except for the drinking thing last night)...lots of lean proteins, salads, turkey, salmon...good complex carbs...I'm actually feeling pretty good going into my bloated week. Skinny jeans still fit. yay for me.