Our instincts are telling us to stay inside, away from the darkness and chilly weather, and to huddle down and conserve our energies for the coming winter.

For some of us, it's getting harder to stay in motion.

Please join us in keeping our bodies active during November.



And this is for any country in which a big bird is a centerpiece for a holiday feast. Looks like the boy is getting the worst of this encounter, though, doesn't it?

Saturday, November 1st:

60 minute spin class
60 minute Pilates mat class, in which she did legs, and again, I was done.

Sunday, November 2nd:

Another Strong Curves workout down, thankfully more focused on glutes and upper body than quads.


Monday, November 3rd:

45 minute spin class, fairly well-attended, as people were more alert early in the morning from Sunday's time change.

A good workout this morning, combining flexibility, weights and cardio.

I should do at least the MBF (movement-based flexibility) routine every morning, I'm starting to think, to keep my SI joint and all the rest of the body supple. It's a question of when. And it's a question of a trade-off with sleep, which I value more than rubies or pearls.

I'll join you all here, if you don't mind. I feel the need for the positive reinforcement and accountability of writing down what I've done.

Sat. Nov. 1: a "walking and working" day; took walk breaks to run errands between bouts of laptop labor. Totaled about 10 miles of walking with a few steep hills.

Sun. Nov. 2: Trail run, 9 miles.

Welcome, all -- the more of us out there moving, the better.

Tuesday, November 4th:

Strong Curves workout, once again squatting, but less done-in afterward.


Wednesday, November 5th:

45 minute spin class, with the instructor's mind elsewhere, and she wasn't as hard on us. Or else my legs are getting stronger.

Thursday, Nov. 6th:

60 minutes of the usual elliptical session, with me activating my glutes as much as possible, thinking of Bret Contreras all the while. My lowest mileage session on this thing in months.
60 minute Pilates mat class. I must NOT do that thing where we open up our legs straight overhead while on our backs. My IT band or whatever it is protested so strongly I wanted to yell.

Friday, November 7th:

Strong Curves 4A session. The glute bridges with a barbell across my hips draw curious looks from other gym goers.

Saturday, Nov. 8th:

60 minute spin class
60 minute Pilates class

I felt physically lighter in spin and worried this was my blood sugar dropping. I was hungry at the start of Pilates class. But I had a good, focused class. And when it was over, walked with a neighbor back to my apartment complex, and did not feel ravenous, as though I couldn't wait to get rid of her to eat. So yeah, hunger will not kill me. It will even go away for a little bit till it comes around again. Now it's just past noon and I haven't had lunch yet and I am still okay.

Went for a long bike ride, 38 miles. We usually do 20-25 on both Sat and Sun, but tomorrow I have to go to school for an open house to sell the school to incoming ninth graders for next year. So we wanted to go longer today and we went to a trail we hadn't been to before. It was great but at one point the police shut it down because there was a coyote who had attacked two bikers. So we had to wait a whole and eventually we heard a gunshot and then a few minutes later we were allowed to go. Didn't even know we had coyotes here.

I'm feeling it in my legs though.

Sunday, Nov. 9th:

I wish the scale reading did not hang over me on days when I don't like it.
Anyway, I still got to the gym, though a bad scale reading makes me wonder why I'm so persistent ...

Another Strong Curves workout, though my triceps and pecs were still sore from Friday.

Sat Nov 8 - 5k run/walk. A smidge under 40 mins, with which I'm okay since a) have not run a step in nearly a year, b) it was on a golf course and it was VERY slippery from the light sleet/snow, c) the first mile was almost purely uphill (the side of the adjoining ski hill), and d) it was 34 degrees.

Becky, earth isn't your element, water is, so that sounds like an excellent tme to me.

Monday, November 10th:

45 minute spin class. Leg training means these are getting easier.

Thanks Saef - I agree wholeheartedly but I am experiencing that awful stereotype that swimming doesn't help fat loss. Running sucks, however, it seems to work. At this moment in time, I'm motivated enough to give it a try for a while.

That being said, 2400 yds tonight, 90 minutes. Much practice with flip turns and "race pace" into the walls. Probably a good night to go easy ... I am wiped out from the ribs down from Saturday. ��

Ugh, my best intentions already fell apart. My belated summary (better late than never, right?) is:

Mon 11/3-Thurs 11/6: Bike commute (15 miles per day with a few hills)
Fri 11/7: flight and conference = no exercise.
Sat 11/8: climbed 22 flights of stairs out of desperation for exercise.
Sun 11/9: conference = no exercise.
Mon 11/10: finally made it to hotel gym for 4 mi run on treadmill and 30 min of free weights and abs.
Tues 11/11: conference and flight home = no exercise
Wed 11/12: AM boot camp 45 min; bike commute 15 mi.

I'm finally back on track today with exercise. I still feel a bit like a veal calf after the enforced inactivity of the conference I was at, but hopefully the "damage" is minor.

2 hours of self-defense training with a Kubotan. Going to have some bruises tomorrow, but I earned them!

Becky, I googled Kubotan and learned a lot - how interesting! Who trained you?