I just got back from the gym. I am really *not* digging the ~3 miles for 5 days/week 5k training schedule at all. I’m also working legs 4 days per week between TT and my two personal training sessions and doing 2 days of hard bike sprint intervals as part of TT, so you could say that my legs are hating me right now. I absolutely loathe the LISS run days. I don’t like to run 1 mile at a steady pace, let alone three. I’m going to experiment with doing HIIT for a full 5k next week and see if the time is comparable to my LISS stats.

:crazy:

The only bonus is that I am still eating a decent 2200-2400 calories per day, so at least I am not bonking out in the middle of my workouts. Thank goodness tomorrow is just TT with bike sprints. I don’t run again until my 2 mile HIIT on Saturday. :claplow:

I’m on track with food today, though I’ve only had a workout shake so far, but my oats and omelette breakfast are on the table, and I plan to be good today through dinner. It’s my father’s 64th birthday, so that meal might end up being a Chinese buffet trip. And yes, that would be a 10% meal according to Precision Nutrition rules, or a splurge/cheat meal according to all other nutrition plans.

I see a lot of fat loss challenges starting up around the web on January 1st, but I’m kind of glad that I’ll just be focusing on developing a new healthy habit (in my case, this will be integrating flexibility training into my workouts at least twice a week) during that month as part of the Pinkdumbbells.com Healthy New Habit challenge while working on my 5k training and continuing to keep my calories at true maintenance. There is too much pressure and temporary enthusiasm going on during that month; the flame of motivation always ends up getting snuffed out as quickly as it was lit in the first place. I’ll be in much better shape physically and mentally to take on a cut after the 20th of January.

TODAY’S WORKOUT
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Leg Circuit with Trainer:
BB Squat (3 x 10-8-6 @ 115 lbs)
DB Jump Lunges/Mary Catherines (3 x 10 @ 10 lbs)
Plie Squats (3 x 10)
Plie Squats Pulse (3 x 10)
DB Burpees (3 x 15-12-10 @ 10 lbs)

3 Mile LISS Run – Treadmill (Avg. 6.3 mph for 29 minutes)

I am such a moron sometimes.

After declaring my intention to never EVER run another 5k race again after the September Rock ‘n’ Run a few months ago, I got suckered into registering for the Seasons 52 Park Avenue 5k on January 20 by my friend Ed. The race is right between our birthdays (I’m on the 18th, and Ed is the 21st), and we sort of started a tradition this past January of running it with party hats on to celebrate the fact that we were over 30 but still fit. :jester: One year we will run with clip-on microphones and a portable karaoke machine boombox sitting in a baby stroller so we can serenade the masses with our gasped out renditions of such 80’s classics as Kajagoogoo’s “Too Shy” and Def Leppard’s “Photograph.” We are sticking with party hats shaped like birthday candles this year.

Even worse–and I am almost ashamed to admit this–I conned at least three of my co-workers and my fiance into running with us. Misery truly loves company. :biggrin:

In preparation for the awful January 5k, I took a look at my workout schedule on my Treo this weekend and re-organized it to mesh my TT workouts (M, W, F with HIIT ~60 minutes total) and personal training sessions (T/Th ~ 30 minutes) with a 5 days/week 5k training schedule (~30 minutes/session) and one YF flexibility workout (~30 minutes). I won’t have a full day of rest from workouts, but Saturdays will be very light with just a 2 mile HIIT run to do in the morning.

I plan to keep my intake at a maintenance level of 2400-2500 per day, so with the increase in cardio volume I may even lean out slightly in the next few weeks before I go into my full cutting mode. I do need to clean up my diet a bit, however. I’ve been following my meal plans through meal 4, but meal 5 usually turns into something that includes coconut macaroons or mint chocolate chip ice cream, and I have noticed that my body just doesn’t function as well the next morning when I exercise on these sub-prime carbs as it does on the clean stuff.

My workout schedule through 1/20/07:

Monday: TT + HIIT bike sprints (60 minutes)
Tuesday: Personal training + 3 mile LISS treadmill (60 minutes)
Wednesday: TT + 3 mile run (TT-style HIIT for 19 minutes, then LISS for remainder of distance) (70 minutes)
Thursday: Personal training + 3 mile LISS treadmill (60 minutes)
Friday: TT + HIIT bike sprints (60 minutes)
Saturday: 2 mile BFL-style HIIT run (20 minutes)
Sunday: 3 mile LISS outdoor run + YF Flexibility or Yoga Conditioning for Athletes (60 minutes)

I’m sure my brain will hate all the running, but my legs and lungs will adapt.

Following my new schedule, I got out to the gym by 7:30 this morning and did my entire TT workout, including optional core workout and HIIT bike sprints, in 64 minutes. I am going to work on cutting my rest times between supersets down from a full minute to 30-45 seconds in the future to shave off a few minutes from the workout.

I cut out a new party dress last night from one of the 99 cent Butterick patterns I scored from Hancock Fabric’s Saturday sale this weekend. I also picked up a ton of other Butterick and Vogue patterns at the sale and will hopefully be upgrading my wardrobe very cheaply over the next few weeks using the huge box of fabric I have been accumulating for the past few years. The only problem is that I really don’t want to sew too many fitted items right now since I am at the high end of my weight range and would have to take everything in once I get back down to 130. Sigh…

TODAY’S WORKOUT
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TT Weeks 1-4 Workout B
A1) BB Bench Press (3×8 @ 95 lbs)
A2) DB Romanian Deadlift (3×8 @ 40 lbs)
B1) Underhand Seated Row (3×8 @ 85 lbs)
B2) Stability Ball Leg Curl (3×15)

Core Workout B
A1) Ab Curl-up (2×12)
A2) 1-leg Hip Extension (2×10)
B1) Stability Ball Jackknife (2×8)
B2) Side Plank (2×6 per side)

Bike Sprints (10 minutes total for warm up/cooldown + 6 sets of level 12 (60 seconds)/level 8 (30 seconds) intervals

TODAY’S WORKOUT

Upper Body Resistance Tubing Circuit (30 min):
Seated Shoulder Press (3 x 10 Red tubing)
Front Raise (3 x 10 Green)
Lateral Raise (3 x 10 Green)
Bicep Curl (3x 10 Red)
Tricep Kickback (3 x 10 Green)
Standing Chest Press (2 x 10 Red)
Standing Flye (2 x 10 Red)
3-Direction Elevated Push-ups (2 x 3)

HIIT Bike Sprints (19 min)
Warm Up (5 min @ level 8)
Intervals (6 x 30 sec. @ lvl 11/60 sec. @ lvl 8)
Cool Down (5 min @ level 9)

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TODAY’S EATS:
WO: 1/2 scoop dextrose, 1/2 scoop chocolate whey protein
1: 1.5 c. Frosted mini-wheats and Rice Krispies combo, 3 egg whites, 1/2 c. light soy milk
2: 2 oz. trail mix with almonds
3: 3 oz. chicken breast stir-fried with 1 c. mixed vegetables, 1/3 c. oatmeal
4: 1 scoop whey protein, 1 large orange, 1 c. mixed raw veggies, 1 T. ANPB
5: 4 oz. sauteed pollock, 1/2 c. diced tomatoes, 1/4 c. fat free mozzarella, 3 c. lettuce, 2 T. salsa, 2 low-cal corn tortillas, 1 oz. walnuts
6: 4 egg white /2 whole egg omelette with 3/4 c. mixed veggies

Water: 16 cups (~2 cups green tea)
Supplements: 3 capsules Digest-All, 6 capsules fish oil, 1 multivitamin, 1 calcium 600 + D, 10 g. l-glutamine

CALORIES: ~2200 calories (35% carb/35% protein/30% fat)