Trainer 'no show' and Thor 3D = missed workouts

Well, the last few days have been interesting on the exercise front. My son has been in the hospital since Tuesday, and with my wife staying with him at the hospital, my mornings and evenings have become more complicated. Especially the mornings, because now I have animals to take care of when I get up (not usually my responsibility). (FYI: Number One Son will be fine, hoping he will be home this weekend)

So on Thursday, I was supposed to do Strength Training with my trainer Jordan. So I wake myself up, get the dog and fish squared away, get dressed and head to LifeTime Fitness. I get there only to find that my trainer is nowhere to be found. Really? I was not amused.

Since I had not planned to be running, I had only brought my cross trainer shoes. So after a little while of waiting, I just decided to get in a quick jog and call it a day (I was really tired anyway and I wasn't feeling the drive to lift weights by myself). So I got in a 2 mile walk-run and left much earlier than usual. So I guess we will call this my 'mild day'. I figured I will work hard on my Friday cardio.

That would have worked out fine, except that I went to see Thor 3D at midnight on Friday. Awesome movie!!!!! My plan? Get in a 3 hour nap beforehand, then see the movie, then get 3 more hours of sleep before my cardio workout. Good plan, eh?

Well, it 'was' a good plan. But the reality wasn't well executed. I overslept and missed my workout! I woke up at 6:15am (15 minutes late for the workout) with my alarm shouting at me. Ooops!!! Sorry, Meghan! Blame Thor 3D for its awesomeness! (At least I got some run time in on Thursday...)

So I am going to have to put in a solid run on Saturday morning to make up for missing Friday. I can expect no less, right?

This week: Cardio and Strength Training

I felt pretty good after the run, but on Sunday, I had some discomfort just below my right knee. I have had this before but only when I run on concrete. My trainer says I should ice it and get a Patella Knee Strap and that should help support that tendon. What is weird is that I only have this problem with my right leg. At least the twinge is pretty much gone now.

Coming off the 5K, I decided I should take it easy for a few days -- 1 day per mile -- and do stuff other than running, so it is back to my cardio program and weightlifting this week. Up and at 'em at 5AM! Yeah, on weekdays I do my workouts really early in the morning before work (because by the end of the day, I am either too tired or have other commitments with church work or family). It took me the whole month of January to get used to this new schedule.

TEAM Weight Loss (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday)
I went to my TEAM Weight Loss class at 6AM, where I get to walk on the treadmill for 55 minutes (usually at a 3.2 speed) at differing inclines (from 2 to 15) while also utilizing hand weights and resistance bands at various intervals. It is a solid cardio workout that keeps my heart rate between zones 2-4 throughout. By the time it was over, I clocked 2.6 miles and almost 700 calories burned. I enjoyed a nice FastFuel protein smoothie with banana and peanut butter afterwards!

Strength Training (Tuesday and Thursday)
Today I got to work with Jordan, my Personal Trainer. We focused on legs/lower back and shoulders this morning. It felt good to use other muscles today -- lots of squats, leg extensions, shoulder lifts, calf flexes, back crunches, etc. Three full circuits in an hour. I will probably feel it around 2pm this afternoon! Lol

On a side note...

I got a "Congrats" tweet from Coach Jenny Hadfield this morning. She runs Chicago Endurance Sports in downtown Chicago and co-wrote the running book I am using "Running for Mortals". That brought a smile to my face!

I also decided to join the Chicago Area Runners Association. I figured it would be a good way to connect with a community of runners for advice, support, and maybe find a few folks I could run with. It is more fun to run with people who are around your same level or a bit better (so you get challenged). And I get a subscription to Runners World in the deal, which is nice.