Yesterday and Today

I am starting to get back into this, both physically and mentally. I challenged myself yesterday and today! Yesterday I did 2 1/2 miles on the treadmill and then I did an intense leg workout. This workout included squats and lunges, the two things I hate to do most while in the gym or anywhere else for that matter. Today, my legs were hating me. Major lactose build-up! Just goes to show how long it has been since I have worked them like that.

I pushed through the pain today and got on the elliptical for about thirty minutes. Felt great, but didn't want to overdue it since I wanted to leave myself some energy to do a hardcore upper body workout to mirror the lower I had done the day before. I did a very good job in the gym today and I am sure I will be paying for it tomorrow morning when I wake up! In any event, soreness is inevitable when you are getting back into a heavy routine. My goal is to lift weights three times a week, two times for either lower or upper body and one time for the other, alternated weekly. My running goal has slimmed down quite a bit compared to the miles I had been doing before to prepare for the Gate. My goal is to run my longer distances on the days I am not lifting. For now, the longest distance I want to do is 7 miles. I realize this is not close to what I was doing before, but my body was tearing apart when I was doing ten miles three times a week. Maybe I will be able to do this in the future without shin splints and ankle problems, but for now it is too much too soon.

Weekly workout schedule (tentative)
Monday: Run 3 miles; intense upper body workout; abs
Tuesday: Run 5 miles; abs
Wednesday: Elliptical; intense lower body workout
Thursday: Run 3 miles; intense upper body workout; abs
Friday: Relax or yoga/pilates
Saturday: Spinning or cycling outside
Sunday: Running Group long run: 5-7 miles.