yesterday's fitness fest!

I was in bed by 9 p.m. last night. I would have gone to bed earlier, but when you have two small children you still have to get them ready etc. before you can go down. Why was I such a slug? I worked my@$$ off yesterday.

9:00 a.m. -- taught a typical Stroller Strides class*.

11:00 a.m. -- Run 5.75 miles with a pretty major hill**.

3 p.m.-- Hike 3 miles. Gain of almost 1000 feet in 1.5 miles***.

*Here is what my Stroller Strides class consisted of:

station 1-
>dynamic warm-up

station 2- (We run or power walk between stations. It is 1-2.5 miles total for the class on an average day)
>Step ups onto 12 inch step (edge of a fountain)
>Step outs onto 12 inch step. Step on to step and then extend hip abductor out to side.
>Quad dips
>Static lunge with high knee lifts. Slow pace and double-time.

station 2-
>Bicep curls with resistance band anchored chest high onto a fence. Upper arms remain parallel to ground.
>Triceps kickbacks with resistance band.

station 3-
>One arm fly across chest with resistance band anchored onto fence. Add side lunge.
>One arm fly above head with resistance band anchored onto fence. Add side lunge.
>One arm fly sweeping under like an upper cut with resistance band anchored onto fence. Add side lunge.

station 4-
>Deep squats
>Static squats
>Static squats on one leg at a time

station 5-
>Abdominals (3-4 abdominal exercises with 10-20 reps each)
>Stretching

** My run constisted of running from Balboa Park down to the convention center and back. The return trip up 6th is the same hill that kicked my booty during the AFC Half Marathon in August. I did sort of a hybrid tempo run/hill training/speed workout. Whatever you call it, I was working hard. I tried to alternate the relatively easy miles with the miles where I really pushed myself (miles 2 and 4).

I am pleased to say that my second fastest mile was one with the most elevation gain. It was only 123 feet, but it sure felt like a lot. Here are my splits:

• mile 1- 9:07
• mile 2- 7:48 (this mile was completely downhill; I lost 107 feet in elevation)
• mile 3- 9:01 (elevation decrease of 52)
• mile 4- 8:34 (elevation gain of 123)
• mile 5- 9:34 (elevation gain of 40--I was getting tired by this point)
• .76- 6:49 (8:59 pace)

The good news is that I felt pretty strong. The bad news is that the La Jolla Half Marathon in April not only has a 190 foot hill, but a 420 foot mile-long hill!!! I have some work to do!

***My hubby and I hiked up Cowles Mt. to celebrate our anniversay. Other couples go out to dinner on their dates, we go hiking and mountain biking. I sure do love that guy! It is a relatively strenuous hike and my hips and hamstrings were killing me by the time we reached the top. Don't get me wrong, Kenny and I aren't all fitness and exercise. When we reached the top, we pulled out a bottle of chilled white wine and a couple of plastic wine glasses (that insulated wine carrier we received from our wedding sure does come in handy). We toasted to the eight years we have been together and the eighty years ahead of us. We ended the afternoon with an early dinner at a Thai restaurant close by. It was my kind of evening.