<p>I joined a gym!!! Everyone keeps teasing me because the gym is still under construction but the presale membership is $25/m vs regular price of $60/m. It’s only a 20 minute walk from home and there is a location near my boyfriend’s house so it’s really convenient. I even bought a yoga mat in preparation 
I’m turning 40 net month and S is off to college next year. I can no longer keep calling “it” baby fat.</p>
<p>reeinaz, congratulations! </p>
<p>BCEagle, I’m eager to hear how your matches go against the new, better player. Sounds like it should be fun.</p>
<p>The other guy generally wins 2-1 against the guy I regularly play. He’s also better than a 4.5 player that I see on the courts that normally plays with a 5.0 player. I wouldn’t mind playing those guys but I’m not sure as to how to get into their circle. It may be that I should try a few tournaments this summer but that would mean tossing tennis as I’d need to train several times a week.</p>
<p>I’m in the process of selling most of my old racquets and fixing that problem. My favorite racquets also cause some amount of arm stress but it’s okay if I don’t play too frequently. There are a set of racquets available that would probably work well but I need to clean out the closet before filling it up again.</p>
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<p>Fantastic. The great thing is that it will be brand-spanking new! Plus, a 20 minute walk each way is the perfect warmup and cool down after a workout.</p>
<p>When does it open?</p>
<p>It’s supposed to open the end of this month. And it also has a 10 lane bowling alley in it so I get free bowling during off peak hours. I can go for the bowling and stick around for a workout since I’m already there :)</p>
<p>Well, tomorrow morning is the Ordination Run! We have two 5 mile sort-of-loops and a 10 mile bigger loop. We have out of town and local friends to run with us for a lot of it. My daughter’s best friend from boarding school/maid of honor and her fiance are running the last 10 with us. It will be slow, but that’s good. The longer we are on our feet the better the preparation for our May 6 marathon. I’m trying to get WildChild to run some of it, but his knee is acting up a little and I’m not sure he could run that slowly. He flew home last night (first time we’ve seen him since Thanksgiving) with the black Ragdoll cat and we now have the cat for awhile while my son makes his move back to Philadelphia. He swam at the gym this morning, went to my physical therapist at noon and is now off on a bike ride. He makes me nervous.<br>
I should pass the 2000 mile pace bunny tomorrow with the 20 mile run.</p>
<p>Good luck with the ordination run tomorrow, MOWC. I’ll be praying for you and your daughter (or something!).</p>
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<p>Burpee Fusion for me this afternoon. 25 minutes, 108 kettlebell swings (40 lb) and 54 burpees. I would say that it was a tough one, but Burpee Fusion is always tough. It’s those damn burpees. The saving grace is that it’s short enough (just three 6 minute sets) that it’s OK. It did leave me rode hard and put up wet, though. I guess that’s the point…</p>
<p>The ankle was OK on the squat jumps. It’s a little stiff, but not really painful.</p>
<p>MOWC, run well. I’ll be thinking of you.</p>
<p>So iPod nazi is celebrating “April of Abs” with a series of informative YouTube videos on exercise for fat loss (specifically belly fat loss). I’m sure this will all culminate with a video offering too good to resist pricing on an iPod workout program (probably the Amazing Abs program I did last summer). But, for now, the videos are just great explanations.</p>
<p>This one is an overview of exercise for fat loss:</p>
<p>long slow cardio
high intensity interval cardio
strength training
abs/core training</p>
<p>This is really Exercise for Dummies 101. He has an effective style of presenting a great way to think about fat loss workouts. </p>
<p>[Abdominal</a> Training - Cardio, Strength, and Core Workouts - YouTube](<a href=“How to Get Six Pack Abs with Cardio, Strength, and Core Training - YouTube”>How to Get Six Pack Abs with Cardio, Strength, and Core Training - YouTube)</p>
<p>This one explains the basic concepts of core training and why core stability is so important for protecting your spine and preventing back pain:</p>
<p>[Ab</a> Training - Stability vs. Movement - YouTube](<a href=“Core Training: Why Stability Is What Your Abs Actually Need - YouTube”>Core Training: Why Stability Is What Your Abs Actually Need - YouTube)</p>
<p>And this one covers the three worst core exercises and better alternatives:</p>
<p>[Abdominal</a> Training Mistakes - YouTube](<a href=“3 Huge Abdominal Training Mistakes - YouTube”>3 Huge Abdominal Training Mistakes - YouTube)</p>
<p>Good stuff.</p>
<p>Did nothing yesterday - too much other stuff to take care of. Playing tennis today. I took today off from work and it was nice getting to sleep until 7 AM. I’ve been running on way too little sleep lately and haven’t had opportunities for naps. Things should get better when I’m completely done with taxes.</p>
<p>Ya’ know, I’m fine with the concept of paying taxes. A little from me, a little from you, and before you know it we’ve got paved streets, public schools, and a fire department. What I’m not OK with is doing the taxes. I’m intelligent, but I find them too tedious and difficult to do on my own.</p>
<p>Sometimes I am reminded why I run!</p>
<p>Great Ordination Run. Yes, it was 20 miles and it felt like it. I wasn’t interested in extending it. We executed it perfectly and average 10:30ish for the 20, which is probably a little fast.</p>
<p>First 5 my daughter and I had a friend with us for 2 miles and then she had to turn back to go to work. The 5 went smoothly and quickly (out and back on a nice path). Back at the car- got a drink. </p>
<p>Second 5 we branched out in another direction which neither of us had run before so we had new scenery and it was still flat and nice. Went fine- still not too fired up for another 10! Got to the cars, had Gatorade and I changed into a lighter shirt. It was 39 degrees when we started and about 60 when we finished. Blue skies, light breeze and gorgeous.</p>
<p>Last 10 we were joined by my daughter’s friends who now live in lower Canada and are PhD students in music. This was their first 10 miler. The guy has lost 75 pounds and, as I told him, has a LOT of running ability. He talked the whole time, ran extra across fields and took little detours like a puppy. It was fun. We did an 8 mile loop which included the path and some nice neighborhoods and added on in a few places to get the extra mileage. There were some small hills, but nothing awful. We finished with smiles and tired legs.
They get to go to lunch with the Rector to talk about Ordination stuff, and I had to rush home and get into the office. Oh, yay. Wearing my Zensah calf sleeves and drinking my large Sonic iced tea.</p>
<p>My daughter is thrilled with her first 20 miler and I’m glad to have it done. It was about as enjoyable as a 20 mile run can be.</p>
TurboTax reported a $290 income item with no documentation. I couldn’t figure out where it came from from my statements. Is it worth the tax on $290 to spend an hour to try to track it down? No. I had a few things like that - I didn’t bother taking expenses because it would be more work than I’d care to spend on my taxes.
2 hours of tennis, 6-1, 6-0, 6-2, 3-0 and gave up. I switched to the softer racquet for the last set. The harsher racquet (which I play better with) was doing a number on my arm.
Congratulations to MOWC and SOWC on the Ordination Run! Running 20 miles is an exercise activity that is beyond my comprehension, but I sure am impressed!
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Day off for me. I woke up this morning with just slightest tinge of the upper cervical issue that I have had occasionally for many years. The symptom is pain in left shoulder, chest, lats – but the origin is inflammation on a nerve root somewhere around the C5 vertebrae at the base of the neck, upper back… This isn’t even pain, just the slightest tightness, but I have learned the hard way to pay attention immediately to the slightest early indication and lay low for a day so it never gets to the pain stage. So that’s exactly what I’m doing.
<p>MOWC, congratulations. What you do is beyond my comprehension.</p>
<p>And then you went to work after that?? I’m amazed.</p>
<p>VeryHappy:</p>
<p>I just figure that runners are a different species. Kinda like zebras and race horses. Or, in my case, probably more like mules and race horses!</p>
<p>There’s gotta be a genetic component. Even in high school, I was the slow guy bringing up the rear of the pack running laps at soccer practice.</p>
<p>Took a five-hour nap after tennis, had a little dinner and then went to do weights. I guess it was a pretty productive day for recuperating.</p>
<p>Awesome run for MOWC and SOWC. </p>
<p>All I did was a 1 hour walk, not particularly fast, at that, because I was with a friend whose dog was getting more exercise at the dog park than we were. Felt a little sad having to go stag, since I had to put my dog done a few months ago. Wore my vibrams, which always feel great for those kind of activities. My friend has had a long battle with plantar fascitiitis, has tried everything to no avail, and is now trying the vibrams. They hurt her feet just walking though, so she is easing into it.</p>
<p>BcEagle91…I had no idea you were such a good tennis player…</p>
<p>You are able to play with 4.5 and 5.0 guys? That is getting up there…</p>
<p>Were you a great player when you were younger?</p>
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<p>Yeah- the going to work part was not a lot of fun, which is why you usually do this stuff on the weekend! Had to do it today because of the Ordination, etc. I am still a contract employee, so if I don’t go to work I don’t make money! I just plopped in front of the computer and tried not to do anything stupid!</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone. I’m just trying to be in as good of shape for the May marathon as possible so I can help her and not be struggling too much myself. It’s never easy. A lot of my friends are in a total uproar right now as they watch 4 months or so of training for Boston go down the tubes (Bunsen- be glad you aren’t going) due to projected temps in the 80s. It’s going to be a disaster, and people paid a lot of money to get there and had dreams of PRs. NOT a happy group, but such is the way of marathon running.</p>
<p>BCE- You must really be a great tennis player.</p>