Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote ...

Maintainers head for the roads, the pathways, their gyms or their studios, or their home gyms, and they get moving. Sometimes to move the number on the scale, sometimes to get stronger and faster, and occasionally for joy at being alive and having a body and having the ability to move it.



Join me in striving to move daily, sometimes dutifully, sometimes with gratitude for relief from stress, and sometimes just for the sheer pleasure of working our bodies.

Tuesday, April Fool's Day

30 minutes StairMaster, trying to work on the concept of "body sensing" from my inspiring "Chi Running" book, managing all but three minutes hands-free -- not bad when my legs were still recovering from yesterday's run
60 minutes shoulders, chest & triceps routine

April 1: 7 miles running (52:55) Ran my fastest mile ever - 7:03 - SO CLOSE to that elusive 7 minute mile!!!
4 miles walking the dogs (1:02:30)
30 minutes foam rolling

Saef - I looked up Chi Running briefly and I'm not sure that I "get it". Was this recommended or something you ran across? Thoughts so far?

April 2 plan - 4 miles of Leslie Sansone 5 really big miles!

Lovely title, saef. "Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages." We can be like the 29 gathered together at the Tabard Inn in Southwark to go on pilgrimage to Canterbury. The April showers are here today and I agree with Chaucer, 600+ years down the line, that's it's the right time to start another leg of this journey and learn along the way.

Managed to do the MBF exercises this morning but no more. I'll build up slowly after a month of blocked ear and virus.

Thanks, saef. I really like Chaucer. We spent hours reading the original at school, and translating. The first poet in English although he was a French speaker at court.

I need a 'like' button for the thread title.

April 1 AM: 10 min on stairs, 10 min on arc trainer. Quick in-out
April 1 PM: Short (30 min) hike up nearby mountain at sunset.

April 2: 60 minutes weight lifting (legs and back)

Glad that you approve of the thread title, Shannon and Birchie.
Over 30 years ago, I had to memorize the first 12 lines of the Canterbury Tales for a British literature survey class, including the correct pronunciation. My classmates and I were always practicing while walking across the quad or sitting in the dining hall eating lunch. It's astonishing to me that I can still recite those 12 lines. We're finally having that mild spring weather, so the lines bubbled up for me this morning.

Wednesday, April 2

60 minutes elliptical, backward & forward, trying to spare my feet for a run tomorrow.
5 x 5 set of deadlifts

April 2: Short lunch walk (about a mile), 5 mile run with BF and roommate (who was once told she'd never walk normally due to disc herniation by a crappy doctor)

April 3 AM: 1 mile treadmill warmup run, barbell squats, barbell deadlifts, DB bench presses, lat pulldown, glute bridges, planks

I love your thoughts about why we move/exercise Saef. So true.

April 1: 100 minutes bikram yoga

April 2: 100 minutes bikram yoga

Totals:
2 days
200 minutes

Jen, I meant to reply to you about Chi Running. Someone on the forum recommended Chi Running to me in a PM, after reading in my posts about how much difficulty I was having with running. This correlated with my own Google searches and reading about it and also the Pose Method. But really, finally it clicked -- the idea of **relaxing** while running rather than trying to power through. And checking in with the different parts of my body to determine what is tense and what needs to relax. I still believe I am overthinking it, but the concept of relaxing just seems so radical to me -- I'm so used to the idea of "activating" or "pushing through."

Thursday, April 3:

Ran 4.27 miles, with three walking breaks. This was nevertheless a better run than this past Saturday.

60 minute Pilates mat class

Walked aprox 3 miles of the 5 really big miles and did a 10 minute mile in the 4 fast miles Leslie Sansone

I have the ChiRunning book and video, but have never been able to make myself focus like it wants. I should give it a try. Saef, how do you make yourself relax enough to do it?

April 2: 55 minutes
Workout 3, Week 6 (I'm in week six of a specific plan, one workout left in this 'week')
Exercise
1) Squat 2x10x125, 2x15x12, rest 120 seconds
2a) Ring push-ups 3x6, 2x10, 45 second rest
2b) 1 arm DB row 3x8x20#, 2x12x20#, 45 second rest
3a) Back extension 3x10, 2x20, 45 second rest
3b) L sit progression - 10s,10s,10s,8s, 45 second
4) Elliptical sub - 10 minutes, 30 degree incline

Very interesting! I often do a "body check" while running - especially when I want to quit. I ask myself "How are your legs? How is your breathing?" Usually the answer is that I am fine and my mind just wants to quit. I'll have to read up more on this!!

In other news, I ran my first mile ever under 7 minutes today - squeaking in a 6:58!!

Jen