I feel like I’ve really been slacking on workouts lately. First there was the week of vacation, where I didn’t have access to any kind of gym. That’s obviously no excuse and I could have done some bodyweight workouts on my own… but I didn’t. I thought I’d get back on track the next week, but that was when I got really sick, and even navigating from one room to the next was problematic. No way could I exercise!
Last week was finally my chance to get back into the swing of things and have a regular schedule, but it was also my first week without Classpass. A few weeks ago, I decided it wasn’t worth it to keep my membership now that it switched from unlimited to ten classes per month. I’m already signed up for eight classes a month at Orangetheory, and I ended up getting stressed out trying to use all the classes at both! (Go figure that with unlimited I could have taken more classes, but it’s with fewer classes that I felt more pressure to use them all.) Orangetheory’s mix of running, rowing, and strength is really my favorite kind of class anyway, and I was always trying to find classes that replicated it – of which there really aren’t any in the Denver area.
I may go back on Classpass in the future if I’m traveling to a city where I can use it more, but for now, I’m keeping my membership on hold for $10 a month (which also allows me to take one class each month – so not a bad deal). That changes my workout routine to two Orangetheory visits a week and the rest of my workouts on my own, rather than classes. That’s actually not a bad mix for summer, since I’ll be hiking and swimming a lot too!
Whatever I do, though, I need to get in the groove fast. I have been feeling pretty slow/unfit at Orangetheory lately, and disappointed in my running speeds in particular. I know some of that is because I’m comparing my treadmill speeds at Orangetheories in Colorado (at altitude) to my Orangetheory speeds in Florida, but I also had a sneaking suspicion that my slowdown was really due to how many workouts I’ve skipped lately. I’ve noticed while doing my daily pushups that I’m not as strong as I once was, and I want to get that strength back! But there’s no quick fix – just need to get back into a regular routine.
This morning, I went to Orangetheory feeling kind of average, not thinking I’d do particularly well. As I progressed through the workout, though, I was really proud to see how well I did. For the row, we were tasked with rowing 500 meters for time, taking a 20 second break, and then trying to beat our time from the first round. I went at a decent clip in the first round, finishing in 1:55… but in the second round, I went all-out and managed to finish in 1:39!! I was thrilled with those split times – I feel like I am finally starting to lock in good rowing form and use my legs more than my arms.
On the arm front, we had an arm-heavy weight room segment today – I was definitely feeling the burn after multiple rounds of TRX chest presses alternated with pushups to renegade rows. But when we did squat to bicep curls, I was psyched to be cruising through my set with 17.5 pound dumbbells. In retrospect, I probably could have bumped it up to 20 pounders. That is a lot of weight for me to be able to curl for multiple sets!
The treadmill, though, was where I really made myself proud. In Colorado, my base pace is usually a 7.0-7.5mph, push pace is usually 8.3-8.5mph, and all-out pace is usually 9.5-10mph. As per usual, I started the first push at 8.5mph – hoping I’d be able to stick with it, but thinking that realistically I’d slow it down a bit as the workout progressed. After a quick break going down to base pace, we went up to a 3 minute incline push – the first minute at 2%, the second at 4%, and the third at 6%. I managed to hang onto my 8.5mph throughout that whole thing, even though it was definitely tough with a 6% incline. And in the second block, we finished with some all-outs that came right on the heels of a push. I did my first all-out at 11.0mph, and my second all-out at 11.5mph! I’ve never attempted that speed before, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought. I left the studio feeling incredibly proud and accomplished… and like maybe I’m not quite as out of shape as I thought.
The Bolder Boulder 10K is coming up at the end of the month, and while in March I was thinking I’d try to PR, I’ve been rethinking that goal ever since. After the 3W Races Six Pack series ended, I’ve been telling myself I’ll keep up with running, but I keep delaying it and turning my jaunts out on the trails into power walks rather than runs. I haven’t been consistent about my running (okay, fine, I haven’t been running at all outside of Orangetheory) and it feels like setting myself up for failure to try to PR without actually, you know, training for it. Though maybe, like today, I could surprise myself?
My decision on how fast to run is also complicated by the fact that I’ve always run the Bolder Boulder in costume and would like to continue that tradition. I’m really not sure at all what kind of costume I want to wear, especially since this is my first year running Bolder Boulder alone instead of with Adam. Having two people makes a costume a lot more fun! But I definitely need to figure out what I’m doing soon. I know that a lot of costume choices would probably slow me down, so choosing a costume is also wrapped up in my decision to run fast or take it easy.
Suggestions on a costume, or on my running as a whole? I need to get motivated!