Howe Street stairs | bike commute | Expresso exercise bike

Nice. Then I got to thinking, as impressive as all this activity sounds I got in exactly 2:15 of exercise. That said at least half of it was at a good tempo.

Still, I have some accomplishments to report.

1. Today is the first day since my ankle injury that I have been able to alternate walking with running on the Howe Street stairs. To tell the truth I was just jogging and only one step at a time but hey, progress!
2. I set a new PR on this Expresso course by about 1:30! And it was not easy, by the end my heart rate was sitting steady at 160. I also averaged 90 rpm while doing so. Bonus.

At the stairs today I was not feeling super fresh so kind of played it by ear. I knew I wanted to try running (and I did it!) but after the first runner I was harshly reminded that they are harder than walking... If you look at my Garmin data below you will see my heart rate spike every other flight. I held on for a solid 45 minutes which I am okay with. Maybe I will try for longer some weekend day when I can sleep more before and not feel the time crunch after.

My ride to work was slow but not a death march, I was just as tired as I would expect after this stair workout.

At lunch down at the IMA I was feeling okay so picked a longer course that I had done once before. I just happened to get off to a good start and when I had 20 seconds on my previous best I decided to see if I could stretch that gap out a bit and succeeded here too. To go any faster I will need more fitness!

The ride home felt heavy but again not insanely so.

Sleep	6
Waking HR
Body Weight	7:00 AM - 182 lb. 12:00 PM - 181 lb.
Body Fat	7:00 AM - 8
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	stairs - large bottle w/2 scoops HEED
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day	stairs - 5:20 AM Expresso exercise bike - 12:00 PM
Workout Type	strength, endurance, tempo
Weather	stairs - mid 40s, dry, calm, mostly cloudy commute home - mid 50s, partly cloudy, dry, calm
Course
Results
Time	stairs - 48:31
Distance	stairs - 13 flights (2.2 miles)
Pace	stairs - 3:45/flight
Equipment	stairs - Brooks Launch commute - Raleigh Mojave 8.0
Clothing

Technorati Tags: Expresso exercise bicycle,Grape Stomper,Howe Street stairs

elliptical trainer

Oh man... I was/am tired today.

The alarm went off this morning and after stalling for 15 minutes while debating with myself whether or not I should go to the gym I rolled over and slept (poorly) until Shelley's alarm went off.

I had a boat load of work to do so didn't get out of the office until way past noon. This meant I was pretty hungry and combined with being tired it was a pretty big effort on my part to get my ass in gear and get it down to the IMA.

Once there starting out was tough, my legs felt pretty heavy. Luckily, once I got moving I was able to keep the cadence up pretty well.

Not a great day; I couldn't tell if I should rest more or sack up and work harder. :(

Sleep	7?
Waking HR
Body Weight	1:00 PM - 182 lb.
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day	1:00 PM
Workout Type	endurance
Weather
Course	elliptical trainer
Results
Time	30 min
Distance	3.9 miles
Pace	got my cadence up to 160 rpm pretty quick and held it there for the duration, heart rate peaked around 150 by the end
Equipment
Clothing

weights | core | exploring Frink Park

Another session in the gym and another step closer to my regular core routine!

It seems my back is getting a bit stronger as the squats are not bothering me as much as they did the first time I tried them. That's a HUGE relief because the first couple of times I was honestly worried I would not be able to continue.

The workout took me longer than ever, partly because I have increased the reps for one exercise and added a couple of exercises but also because I had too much wine and chocolate last night (which resulted in not enough sleep). Again. Some people learn lessons slower than others obviously.

After almost calling it quits for the day (I was on the couch watching television having eaten a big lunch with dessert and having had two beers) I rallied and went for a spirited walk in Frink Park. It was a blast. I gently jogged up all the hills and walked the flats and the descents. My ankle felt fine thank goodness.

Sleep	6
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast	6:00 AM - lots of water 7:15 AM - banana
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	water
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day	gym - 8:15 AM walk - 4:30 PM
Workout Type	strength, rehab
Weather	walk - upper 40s, cloudy, some light rain
Course	leg extensions 3 x 22 - 115 lb. leg curls 3 x 22 - 120 lb. squats 3 x 22 - 95 lb. incline leg press 3 x 25 - 140 lb. walking lunges 156 (3 x 52 back-to-back-to-back) single leg squats 3 x 20 each leg calf raises 2 x 20 wobble disk 2 30 sec each leg push-ups 20/14/12 ball leg lifts 3 x 15 each leg plank 2 min, 60 sec each side twisters 50 each side - 12 lb. leg extensions 100 back extensions 3 x 25
Results
Time	gym - 1:10? walk - 57:27
Distance	walk - 3.8 miles
Pace	walk - 15:15/mile
Equipment	walk - Brooks Launch, Garmin fenix
Clothing	walk - Brooks 5" Essential Run Short, Brooks Podium SS shirt, long sleeve fleece shirt, Patagonia Capilene 4 Expedition Weight Beanie, Polypropylene gloves

Technorati Tags: Frink Park

Howe Street stairs | BaDi dance class

I tried something new today! But first let's talk stairs.

I did a solid hour today - hooray for me! I walked all the flights two steps at a time except the last one which I gently ran one step at a time. It's probably too early yet to be doing this and I have no excuses. On the up side it did not hurt my ankle and although running every step feels slower than walking every other step it was indeed 20-30 seconds faster and it got my heart rate up about 10 beats higher too. Bonus.

It was a BUSY day at the Howe Street stairs today. Not only were there about eight people doing their solo thing but about five flights into my workout this boot camp class shows up and suddenly there are about eight more people on the steps. Doing drills no less. That's a lot of bodies to dodge.

And again I was amazed by what you see on these stairs. There was a woman with her two tiny lapdogs. She would walk up the steps with them on leash and then pick them both up and CARRY THEM BACK DOWN. First of all, dogs on a leash are a super bad idea on stairs where people don't want to get tripped up and secondly, if you have to carry your dogs down should they really be here at all? That's obviously rhetorical. NO is the answer.

Whatever. Today I outlasted all of them and for the last two flights had the stairs all to myself.

After I got home and had a snack Shelley and I went to a BaDi dance class.

That's right, dance.

And yes, I felt like THE stereotypical, no rhythm having, token guy there but you know what? It was pretty fun. The instructor was great as were the songs and I just need to learn the moves. Good to branch out I always say.

Sleep	7
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast	7:00 AM - orange, tea
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	stairs - large bottle w/2 scoops HEED dance class - water
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day	stairs - 8:15 AM dance class - 10:30 AM
Workout Type	strength, endurance
Weather	upper 40s, dry sky, mostly cloudy
Course
Results
Time	stairs - 1:00
Distance	stairs - 17 flights (2.8 miles)
Pace	Sub 4:00/flight even while walking! When I ran up that last flight it too me roughly 1:30.
Equipment	stairs - Brooks Launch
Clothing	stairs - shorts, Brooks Podium SS shirt, Brooks Podium LS shirt

Technorati Tags: Howe Street stairs,BaDi