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Seven months ago, I joined Athletic Endurance to have a consistent, solid training schedule, make new friends among runners, have a reason to wake up at the ungodly hour of 6:30 AM on Saturday mornings.
One month ago, I stopped five miles into a ten-mile run with a gasp and a lightning bolt of pain.
Three weeks ago, I stopped a mile into a five-mile run and limped back to walk with friends.
Yesterday, I slept in.
My decision not to run yesterday came with great difficulty and not a few tears.
In the wake of Smurf’s blog, this might be considered kicking the FitLife blog while it’s down, but let’s just see it as the universe balancing Rob’s great Sambo weekend by dealing the rest of the FitLifers a sweep to the leg.
A few weeks back, I took a sweltering—but otherwise terrific—run along the Embarcadero, through Crissy Field, up to the bridge and down to Sausalito. (Here’s the map.) Coming off the bridge down into the two-lane road into Sausalito, I felt twinges in my outer left knee. The shoulder was wide, but slanted, and my left leg literally took the high road. The pain wasn’t too intense, though, and I (correctly) attributed it to the combination of fatigue, running downhill, and the angle of the road.
Don’t miss tonight’s PROM PARTY AU GO-GO, hosted by San Francisco’s Sweethearts, The Devil-Ettes!
WHERE: The Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell @ Van Ness
WHEN: Doors at 8 pm; Dancing starts at 9! TONIGHT–That’s Thursday, June 26!
HOW MUCH: $10 a head; 18 and over
WHY: Because there’s no aerobic exercise like go-go!
Prom attire is encouraged but not required, but there WILL be a costume contest!
Nothing like a race to get your motivation going. Of course, you could be like me and make a raceday decision that you just can’t do it (Bay to Breakers, cough), but generally, if you plan for it, you’ll make it. And you’d be surprised how little time you need to train for some races. After all, you don’t have to go for speed–you can just go to finish.
Here are a few upcoming races you can still train for–there’s time left!
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You’ve been running, lifting weights, asana-ing and jack-jumping until you can’t take it any more–so put some go-go in your step! The MiniSkirt Mob, a spinoff off The Devil-Ettes, is looking for new recruits for the upcoming Prom Party Au Go-Go! Yes, it’s free. Yes, it’s for women AND men. And yes, you get to take a free go-go class with San Francisco’s Sweethearts!
Here’s the idea: Show up for a free go-go class on June 19 (tentative schedule right now, but I’ll let you know for sure very soon!); learn a quick-and-easy routine; come to the Prom Party on June 26th; and at some point, emerge from the crowd, flash-mob style, and go-go with The Devil-Ettes! You’ll also learn how to freestyle go-go and boogie down with us for a few more numbers.
I’ve done it before, and it’s loads of fun! And for the FitLifers, it’s most definitely a workout. If you’d like to join The MiniSkirt Mob, e-mail The Spitfire at spitfire.a.go.go@gmail.com. If you just want to come to the Prom Party, get your tickets now!
Last week started rough, workout-wise. The 5:30 AM commute for Pilates had me sleepy all day, not energized. My Saturday run involved outpacing myself, hitting a wall, and thinking if I couldn’t do five miles, how would I ever do 13? Lingering jet lag, a newly busy schedule, and fitting in exercise had me feeling zombie-like by the time I laid down at night. I’m not running enough. I’m not doing enough strength training. I’ll never get through my half-marathon.
I made several decisions:
I’ve been to Weight Watchers off and on for ten years. Even when I don’t attend meetings, I try my best to at least log my food and exercise into their online journal . Generally, you can find what you need, food-wise, and you can easily build recipes if they don’t have your particular lunch meal. And every day I get to see how I’m 6 to 9 points over my weight-loss points target, which is to say, no bloody wonder I haven’t lost weight.
This morning, I may have reached a new low–or high, depending on your perspective–in the Great Motivation Mind Game Sweepstakes. In the last three years, I’ve trained for a half-marathon to raise money for a friend with breast cancer (as long as I tell people it’s for Marcie, I’ll have to run); I’ve poured quite a bit of cash into Pilates , because if I miss a scheduled Pilates class, I have to pay for it anyway; I’ve joined a strictly scheduled marathon training group , because I’ll be accountable to at least my pacer; I invested in a SodaClub so as to curb my evening wine habit.
Most of my mind games pay off, at least at the start–