Today was unseasonably warm - in the 60's when the average temp this time of year is in the 20's - so I went for a walk with the kiddos. Four miles in an hour or so. Then I did 30 minutes yoga. I was so tired from walking (I was excited to get out so I really pushed hard) so I was happy to really hold those yoga poses for a generous amount of time and do them over and over (usually I get into the pose, hold it as long as I can, then get out and move on to the next thing). It was glorious!

Jan. 4: no exercise. It was dd's 21st birthday and I couldn't fit work and everything else in.

Jan. 5: 60 minutes Zumba

Totals:
4 days
270 minutes

Friday, Jan 6:

45 minute spin class, lots of standing up to work the hamstrings, and afterward, stretching. I've found that I like an extremely simple yoga pose in which I lie on my back by a wall and put the whole length of the backs of my legs and my feet up against the wall. This really flattens out my slightly sway-backed torso, and the flattening of my lower back on the mat feels like ahhhh. I need to do this more, even at home.

Saturday, Jan. 7:

Ran about 4 miles, because of the unseasonably warm weather, but then missed the yoga class I'd intended to go to.

I've missed out on yoga for a whole week, for one reason or another. I think I'd better not sign up for the next six-week session. For whatever reason, I'm not wanting to extend my workouts to a second session in the evening or stretching after an hour of cardio.

It didn't look as though I'd manage any exercise today but the DB wanted to talk to me about a subject of very little interest to me (and I have fairly catholic interests). I said yes, if we went out for a walk, so we spent 45 minutes ploughing along the road. I'll do that with him again, if it's light, as I always feel it.

No workout yesterday. Spent the day dealing with computer issues - one was dead, the other two wouldn't connect to the internet. Ended the day making chocolate chip cookies (got more cookies out of the batch than usual, so my tasting wasn't really too excessive) and a beer of which every drop was heartily enjoyed. Onward!

Still planning to do yoga today but probably won't happen until after children are in bed.

Jan. 6: 90 minutes bikram yoga

Jan. 7: 60 minutes elliptical

Totals:
6 days
330 minutes

Sunday, January 8th:

15 minutes on Stairmaster, aerobic setting, warmup
50 minutes shoulders, bicep and tricep routine
45 minutes arc trainer, hill interval, resistance at nine
60 minute vinyasa yoga class

Jan. 8: 90 minutes Bikram Yoga

Totals:
7 days
420 minutes

I did do yoga last night, not quite abbreviated but not going the extra mile either. Here's to a new week!

Monday, January 9th:

45 minute spin class, which was a difficult one, with us upping the resistance and trying to sprint once it was increased.

Today we had a new person in the class, always notable at this 5:45 AM class, which tends to draw a die-hard crowd of regulars. A really nice older woman, who'd never done a spin class before, and in fact, hasn't been doing much cardio at all. I worried the minute I saw her being fitted to her bike and learning about raising & lowering the resistance. She kept confusing which way to turn the dial to make it harder or easier. This is not a beginners' class. This teacher has a following among the most serious athletes in the gym. There are several male triathletes who make a point of taking this class with her & also go to her free weekend boot camp sessions, and among the rest of the class, there are men and women who regularly run full marathons & even travel south in the winter to keep up their off-season training. I find this class physically challenging, not being at that level -- and I've been doing spin three to four times a week for close to two years now.

So the instructor called out different instructions to this new woman, aside from what she told "the regulars" to do. And then maybe 15 minutes into class, I could see peoples' heads turn in the woman's direction, and I looked, too. She was just standing up on the bike with a distressed look on her face. After a few minutes, she just sat there. And then she ended up getting off shakily, sliding her back down the wall and sitting there. The instructor kept talking to her, got off the bike, brought her water, brought her an energy bar. But the woman was done and sat on the floor watching the rest of us.

I hope this does not make her quit. I hope she tries out a stationary bike, on her own, or an elliptical, and builds up toward this class.

Two years ago, I would have had great trouble keeping up. Five years ago, I would have vomited or passed out. No, I wouldn't even have dared enter the classroom, such was my fear of working out before witnesses. I mean, I was walking around in my neighborhood in all weather & in the dark, because I was afraid to be seen entering a gym: Me, a fat girl, thinking she had any right inside an actual gym. So that woman is miles further ahead psychologically than she probably imagines she is.

I hope I see her again. Stranger, you're in my thoughts today & I wish you well.

I'm behind. Again. As always.

1/5: 25 mins total wog, 2:30 run walk intervals for 20 mins of it
1/6: Second NRLW workout
1/7: 25 mins total wog, 2:30 run walk intervals for 20 mins of it
1/8: 30 mins swim, 22 laps total
1/9: 25 mins total wog, 2:30 run walk intervals for 20 mins of it

Jan. 9: 30 minutes body pump
30 minutes cx training

Totals:
8 days
480 minutes

Tuesday, January 10:

Ran just over four miles, on the usual route, but did it clockwise, which meant that I ran flat and slightly downhill, rather than on the grade. I did this because I could: It's 40 degrees and the ground is clear and dry, though there were tiny pellets of sleet at certain points.

1/10: NRLW S1W2A
1/11: 25 min wog 2:30::2:30 for 20 mins, plan to attend a 45 min yoga class at lunchtime