Gold's Gym and 4 miles (finally)

On Friday afternoon, I finally made it over to Gold's Gym to start my 1-week trial. Well...it's a gym. Lots of strength training equipment and tons of cardio machines (which are upstairs and overlook the weight machinces--kinda cool), a decent-sized pool (with a sauna!!!), a basketball court, a few classrooms, a spinning room, and a smoothie bar. There's also a "Cardio Cinema," where they play movies on a huge screen in a darkened room while you do your cardio. I think this would be a little unnerving, because it's really dark in there and I'd be afraid I'd fall off a machine, in my typical clumsy style. I'll probably try it out one day, if I like the movie they're showing.

So, I got the tour from this dude who seemed more interested in trying to be super-cool (and flirty?) than actually telling me about the joint. Luckily I asked lots of questions and forced him to do his job (what a novel idea...). He also kept trying to get me to join that day instead of doing the week trial, which totally defeats the purpose of a week trial. I held my ground and signed up for the week trial. If I'd been a different person, this guy might have turned me off of the whole place. But I wasn't there to deal with sketch dudes, I was there to work out.

The next day I had a free session with a personal trainer, which more than made up for dealing with the sketch dude. This guy seemed to know his stuff and was able to give me tips on working off the last 10-15 lbs. He suggested that I eat less complex carbs, like cereal and bread (I eat cereal most days and bring sandwiches to work on whole wheat bread), and drink smoothies in the morning. He also suggested I incorporate resistance training into my workout regimen and showed me some exercices that I could make into a circuit. He was able to answer all of my questions and gave me very helpful advice regarding nutrition. I thought I was doing ok in that department, but there's always room for improvement. He then scheduled me for a follow-up visit for this Friday.

I had a friend staying with me this weekend who is a hardcore foodie, so there was lots of good eating and socializing to be done. Even so, I committed myself to finally getting in those 4 miles on Sunday morning. I got up at about 7 and set out. It wasn't hot, and it was cloudy and breezy, which made for a pretty nice time. I started out slow and took breaks periodically to avoid early fatigue. Even so, I hit a mental wall at about the halfway point. I think this was because I was doing 2 laps of a 2-mile loop, and I had to pass in front of my apartment complex, which made me just want to quit and go home. However, I took a walk break and continued on. For the rest of the time, I did a 5:1 run/walk breakdown which really kept me from getting really tired. I probably could have gone on another mile doing this, which is good to know for when I do go another mile. So...hooray! I went back to my apartment, ate cereal (I think carbs are kinda necessary post-run--I'll save the smoothies for the non-running mornings), stretched, showered, and went to church and lunch with my friend and her uncles.

This morning, I made my first smoothie with banana, frozen strawberries, skim milk, yogurt, and a little bit of protein powder. It was really (really) thick, so maybe less yogurt, more milk next time. For lunch, I brought one of those soup cups and my usual apple and yogurt. I also brought some carrots as an afternoon snack, so I won't starve until dinner. After work, I'll hit the gym for cardio and maybe do some of the circuit exercises. It will be interesting to see how things work when it's full of the post-work crowd.

Schooled.

Ah, life lessons. And I thought all that learning business was over and done with after graduation last week. Silly me...

On Saturday, I woke up and drove to Lady Bird Lake with the intention of running 4 miles--my longest distance to date. Well, actually, I was going to use more of a Galloway "run/walk" approach, since I didn't want to wear myself out too early. I left my apartment at about 8:20ish and got to the lake at about 8:45. I munched on half a Clif bar on the way, and drank some water when I got there. Although it was only about 9:00, it was already 80 degrees, sunny, and kinda humid. However, since it was an hour earlier than my last (failed) attempt to run at the lake in the sun, I figured I'd be alright. WRONG.

I decided to do the Pfluger pedestrian bridge/I35 loop, which is approx. 4 miles. It also takes me along Riverside Dr., which leaves the immediate proximity of the lake and follows the street. I started off just fine, even after taking a wrong turn and ending up on Congress. However, when the trail veered off onto Riverside, I about fell over.

Problem 1: no shade (or not much). For some reason, I have a real problem running in the sun. Since I started running in November, when it was much cooler, it hasn't posed much of a challenge up to now. But since the temperature has started its rapid and sadistic yearly rise, I'm having trouble finding a good time to run. The last time I ran at the lake, it was about 10AM. The first half was fine, since it was in the shade. On the second half, however, I hit a wall on Cesar Chavez (not literally, but it probably would have had the same effect). I really think I need to just invest in a good hat. Or run earlier. Or in the evening. But more on that later.

Problem 2: Hills! But that's Austin. I need to get over that (no pun intended--or maybe it was).

So, I hit Riverside. And walked. Didn't get to 35, but turned around and headed back into the shade. Once I got back by the lake, I felt better and was able to run back to my car. Overall, I covered about 3.5 miles. Not 4 miles, but I'm ok with that.

Last night, I went out about 8PM to do 3 miles, as part of my plan to increase my mileage this summer. For this 3 miles, I just planned to do 2 laps around Dell. So, I started off great, saw a few other runners also trying to dogde the sun and heat, and generally felt good. I hit my first mile at 11:00 minutes, which is fast for me. So I slowed down a bit, but I knew the damage had already been done. At the halfway mark, I pooped out. I walked for about 5 minutes, ran a little more, walked a little more, then ran home at a pretty nice pace. 2.5 miles. Boo.

So, my lessons learned?

1. Get a hat.
2. Run before 8AM, or after 7:30PM (until about October).
3. Don't start out too fast (which I've been doing lately, and I really need to work on).

Tonight I start a trial week at Gold's Gym, since I can't go to campus anymore. I need to incorporate more cross-training and strength training into my routine, especially since I've got more time now (outside of job hunting...). Check back for a report on that.