Ayobami HATES Running and Chachi

Chisel(ing away the fat. In my brain.) 0

I’ve been learning through trial and error about precisely which classes (and instructors) at my gym are rated E for everyone or H for ‘oh hell to the no’. Spinning 101? Not so terribly horrible. Chisel? Um, huh. Well, let’s just say that its pretty hardcore. How bad was it? So bad that I ended up doing my best imitation of one of the Biggest Loser contestants and puking my guts out afterward. Rough, I know.

That being said, I absolutely refuse to let this class beat me! I don’t care if I puke all over everyone in it - I WILL learn to do 4 count push ups with ease and my triceps WILL STOP cramping and dumping me on my arse during dips and dammit, I will take this class if it KILLS me! And it will, so don’t be surprised when the next entry is my obituary.

Workout:

• Type: Strength Training
• Date: 01/26/2010
• Time: 19:45:00
• Total Time: 00:45:00.00
• Calories: 475

Posted under Strength Training by ayobami Digg! this story.

I’m in the marathon…yay? 1

Against what little better judgment I have, I’ve entered the lottery for the NYC Marathon 2 years in a row, chock full of hubris, brimming with excitement and raring to go - and not been accepted.

This very morning, I received my guaranteed entry email (under the 9 + 1 requirement) for the 2010 marathon should I choose to enter annnndddd… I don’t think I want to do it. A definite ‘whatchu talkin bout willis’ moment if ever there was one, yes?

For some reason, despite being a born and bred New Yorker (or perhaps because of being a New Yorker), the idea of running the NYC Marathon scares me spitless. San Francisco Marathon? Where da entry form?! NYC…eep, eep, eep!!

Not really sure what I want to do here although I apparently have until March 15 to enter, so I have some time. I mean, it’s New York!! I had to run nine races AND volunteer at one last year in order to get this but now that I have it…huh.

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Worst run EVER! 0

I know I’ve said that before but this really and truly was the worst run I have ever had. In fact, I almost can’t call it a run cause in the end, it was more of a limp/jog/walk. I don’t know what the heck I was thinking - I should have just waited and did it on Sunday instead when it was sunny and clear out but NOOOOOOO, I wanted to get it over with before it started snowing. I was supposed to do 17 miles but ended up doing around 15 or so - hard to tell because my Nike+ ipod thing got wet and stopped and then started over later without my knowing (my headphones got so wet they shorted out) so I have no idea what my mileage actually was.

I got soaked to the skin both by the rain and by passing cars throwing up gigantic water sprays, and since everything got wet, almost my entire body was either chafed or blistered. And the worst, worst, WORST part is that I had to go to the bathroom for almost the entire thing which sidelined me REAL fast. By the time I made it home, I had no feeling in my feet and I was a frozen numbsicle for hours afterward. God it was terrible. TERRIBLE with a capital WTH!

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 12/05/2009
• Time: 09:00:00
• Total Time: 3:25:28.00
• Calories: 1619
• Distance: 13.28 miles
• Average Pace: 15:27.84/mile

Posted under Run by ayobami Digg! this story.

Run - 1.5 hours - 12/03/2009 0

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 12/03/2009
• Time: 19:07:00
• Total Time: 1:30:40.00
• Calories: 953
• Distance: 7.54 miles
• Average Pace: 12:01.44/mile

Posted under Uncategorized by ayobami Digg! this story.

Run - 3.7 hours - 11/28/2009 0

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 11/28/2009
• Total Time: 3:39:19.00
• Calories: 2304
• Distance: 15.11 miles
• Average Pace: 14:31.67/mile

Posted under Uncategorized by ayobami Digg! this story.

Turkey Trot/Prospect Park 1

The turkey trot was only 5 miles but I ran to the park to bump my total up to the schedule approved 7 miles.

I love the way they set the course up: 1 uphill, 2 downhills. Yay Prospect Park Track Club! Plus I felt much better about stuffing my face later

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 11/26/2009
• Total Time: 1:34:33.00
• Calories: 782
• Distance: 7.71 miles
• Average Pace: 12:16.2/mile

Posted under Run by ayobami Digg! this story.

First long run… 0

was surprisingly not terrible. It wasn’t chocolate and champagne obviously, but it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting it to be.  Of course, it definitely helped that I wasn’t doing it alone. On my own, I never would have routed myself over 2 different bridges around mile 10. Still, good run.

One down, 15 more weeks to go. 15 miles this weekend.

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 11/21/2009
• Time: 12:00:00
• Total Time: 3:08:05.00
• Calories: 1977
• Distance: 13.24 miles
• Average Pace: 14:13.08/mile

Posted under Run, Uncategorized by ayobami Digg! this story.

Back in stride again… 0

Ok, I’m not really back yet. What I AM doing however, is gearing up for my very first long run in a very long time, damn that Runners World schedule.

This is only the first week of training for Barcelona and the very first long run on the schedule is 13 miles. 13 *(&^$#@^***** MILES!!! Can you believe that? Oh, and NEXT week’s long run is 15 miles. Are your legs aching in sympathy yet? Still, gotta do it as (a) I refuse to be the only slow female runner in Barcelona and (b) I REFUSE to be slower than my 72 year old father, which is another story entirely!

Anyway, first run tomorrow morning and can I just say how much I am thanking God for my runner friends - specifically Sandy who is both the queen of haters and cool super downness. She’s gonna run with me AND she came up with the coolest route whereby we will be running by the water and over bridges. Running is always so much better with friends, don’t you think? Just like liquor. And chocolate. But not chocolate liquor - that’s always best savored alone.

Anyway, wish me luck!

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I love infomercials. 1

I had a bit of exercise insomnia last night so I stayed awake for a few hours flipping through channels. Before I finally settled on a combination of Cartoon Network and the VH1 Soul Channel, I watched quite a few exercise infomercials for various products (’legitimate’ and otherwise) and I just don’t get it. I mean, are Americans really that lazy? LOL, I just cracked myself up with my own rhetorical question. OF COURSE, we’re really that lazy! I just don’t get how anyone can delude themselves into thinking that squirming around on a rotating disc or pretending to be a drunk sorority girl stripper for 10 minutes a day will turn them into a fitness model with 6 pack abs.

Still, how awesome are some of the infomercial claims! I admit, so far my favorite one is for that tread-stepper hybrid thingummybob. ‘Now, for 7 easy installments of $3995.99, you can burn more fat than you thought possible in just 15 minutes a day!’ How is the thing any different from raising the incline on your treadmill and walking uphill?  Or, saving your money for mortgage payments or new jeans and just walking up an existing hill?

Oh, and then there are the ones touting new and fabulous ways to do crunches without straining any muscles in your body - those commercials are awesome! (And by awesome, I mean awe inspiringly hilarious). ‘Does your neck hurt when you do crunches? Have you done countless crunches over and over again but not seen any results? Well, then you need the Ab-Roaster!’

Really? Do you really need to pay 4 easy installments of $29.95 for a gigantic plastic spring-loaded towel when you could just: (a) do some real exercise to see results and (b) stop pulling on your head when you do crunches? I mean come on, at least the Billy Blanks tae-bo infomercials were popular cause tae-bo was and is a certified arse kicker.  I just don’t get it.

Posted under Uncategorized by ayobami Digg! this story.

I’m calling this a do-over 1

Worst speed training run EVER this morning…and that’s saying something cause I’m bad at speed in general and I have had some really terrible runs.

It doesn’t really help that I have elected to follow the Runners World ‘Run Less, Run Faster’ marathon training plan, also known as the "Run! Die!" plan. Figuring it out is akin to rocket science plus it assumes a particular level of speed that I just have not reached consistently AND it’s friggin crazy! Seriously, since when is the very first long run 13 miles?

Anyway, I was slated for a 10 - 20 minute warm-up, 3 X 1600 with a 1 minute rest interval and then cool down. What actually happened was that I was dead before I finished the easy-peasy completely downhill one mile run to the track. I just couldn’t catch my breath and even now I’m still hacking up bits of lung. I think I will have to try this run again later in the week. Or later today on the treadmill. Whatever works.

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