First Calories for March’s 1500 Calorie Challenge
You know that moment (or moments) when you aren’t sure if you are doing the right thing. These thoughts mostly show up in the most inconvenient of places and if you listen for too long, they can totally derail you. C’mon, you know the moments I’m talking about, the barbell feels like it weighs 1000lbs and you still have 15 lifts to go. You’re running a half marathon and you miss time your nutrition and end up bonking (hitting the wall where the body has nothing left to use for energy). The run that starts of glorious and ends up terrible because the monsoon starts at the turnaround point and you didn’t check the weather before you went out. Disheartening for sure, but no reason to stop. For each of those little nagging questions there are little moments of EXTREME joy and happiness. You hit a big PR, you gutted out the last 1KM or you just had a really good session.
Sometimes you just have to get through the crappy moments to find a good one that makes it all worthwhile. So let me tell you about today and how if you just look around you can find moments everywhere.
As part of #ChicagoMarathon2017 prep, I’ve been bouncing the idea of doing some lunchtime runs while I’m at work. Sadly it won’t be as easy as going around the block because one of those streets has no sidewalks and insane truck traffic, but there are other options. Being in IT I have the unique ability to work remotely and I do so every couple of weeks. Today I decided to see how a run over my lunch hour fit. As soon as the twelve bells of noon struck I started wrapping up what I was working on and started to layer up. Today was cold and the wind was brutal, but the sun was shining so it wasn’t all bad. Originally I had planned a 6+ KM route but the cold and some odd fear of being judged by drivers today (yeah, haven’t been able to figure out that one), so I decided for a more secluded run on the Hill. The wind sucked. It would have been very pleasant otherwise. Still I had made the turn for home and I ran smack dab into THE MOMENT. You know the speed boards they put in school zones that tell you how fast you are going (I once wrote about breaking 60KM/H while riding the Red Rocket in Muskoka), well today, my speed registered on the board! BOOM! I was clocking in at a magical 8KM per hour and the feeling of getting that thing to light up made today’s run totally worthwhile.
I covered 5.21KM in 37m34s with an average pace of 7m29s/KM. I’m guessing I was this quick because the wind was roaring behind me at some points. My run cadence actually felt better today once the old yams warmed up, but the stats showed that my strikes per minute were down at 160 (average). Ideally I need to be in the 180-200 range to minimize the time spent on the ground. Even my heart rate didn’t get to wild, averaging about 125BPM. Happily it seems my chest strap is working again. All in all, a great way to spend a lunch hour. It almost makes me envy the people close to parks or the Lakeshore that can really stretch their legs at lunch.
As for strength training, I just completed @Eastbound_Power’s first Bench Press Cycle and I have to tell you I feel really strong. Probably the best I’ve felt in years. I’m excited to see what the second round has in store, although I have no doubt it will be heavy. As for WODs @CrossFitCanuck, I’ve been mostly absent the last couple of weeks. There just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day. Hopefully the schedule lightens up a bit and I can get back into it. The CrossFit Open is on right now and I feel awful that I can’t participate with my fellow Canuck’s. The risk of further injury is just too great and I have to exercise patience (something I’m not good at) until the Doctor has a look.
Some OPEN Shenanigans
How is the March 1500 Calorie Challenge coming? I might have made this one a bit too easy. I hopped on the rower last night and managed to hit 150 calories right out of the gate. Those first ones are the hardest right? Remember you have to collect 1500 calories on the Rower, Treadmill, Air Assault (or Airdyne) before the end of the month. Good Luck!
Beez
