Tuesday noon
Anticipating having to shovel a lot of snow later, during my normal workout time 4-5pm, I decided to get in a short version of my Front ST workout, which I had blown off on Monday, at noon. Shoulder felt close to normal so I did close to my max bench. I got to try out my new homemade clubbells too.
Each one weighs about 7.7 pounds. I did some basic mills. It’s a great workout for the wrists/forearm, not sure if there’s much benefit for the upper arm or shoulder. Will have to wait until I become more proficient, and can do some of the more complicated behind-the-back mills, but just for the wrist/forearm workout, it was worth making these. Much better than using an uneven dumbbell for supination and pronation forearm exercises.
I also got to try my new TRX-type straps.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006V6D6I0/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I didn’t have much time, so I just did the reverse flies. It was kind of a poor man’s version of cable cross-over flies, but since I’m a poor man who can’t afford a double cable system (
http://www.amazon.com/Solid-Functional-Training-Center-GDCC200/dp/B000NZPBRE/ref=sr_1_23?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1362567848&sr=1-23&keywords=cable trainer), nor do I have the space for it
,
the straps work pretty well—much better than doing single arm cable flies, which is what I had been doing, although I do like the way single arm cable flies force one to work or 'stabilize' the lower trunk, a.k.a. ‘the core.’
BTW, Nick, your ST routine is similar to the way I used to break things up for a long time, except I had the presses together with the chest and arm day. Good to hear your new regimen is providing an energy boost.
Later,
Tuesday afternoon
6.49 mi / 10.44 km
29 F / - 1.6 C
18 F / -8 C winchill
2.5 miles shod in Neo Trails
4 miles bare
I had intended to reschedule my Tuesday run for today (Wednesday), but the fluffy white stuff was just too tempting. I hadn’t yet gotten in a proper snow run this winter. Plus I didn’t want to screw up my just-revised weekly workout routine just the second week into it. So after shoveling nine inches of snow from our walks and driveway, I headed up our street in my Neo Trails, expecting a great quad and glute workout over 2-3 miles of 9-inch snow.
Didn't happen.
Pretty much everyone had already shoveled their walks, to varying levels of proficiency, even though it had only stopped snowing about two hours before. Once in the fairgrounds, I saw that its streets had also already been cleared, leaving just a thin layer of snow covering the roads. And up on my back-n-forth street there were even sections that were clear of snow altogether, with nice wet pavement shining through smartly, calling to me like a bfr siren. Oh boy, this was too much. I had to take off the shoes.
So back and forth I went. My legs felt pretty heavy. I hadn't done a good job of stretching and massaging after my run Sunday, plus I had only slept 4-5 hours two nights in a row. My pace was almost a whole minute per mile slower than on Sunday's run--10:26 mm. Oh well. It was good to get in another run in the 5-8 mile range. After each run in that range I gain a little more confidence that the ITBS ogre has been conquered once and for all, but I'm ever vigilante nonetheless, manning the upper wall with an eye out towards the wild woods of repetitive stress monsters. Er, something like that. I think I need a second shot of espresso to get my brain working this morning.
Anyway, good run. Put my shoes back on for the run back home. My feet were pretty numb--the wetness, wind, and patches of snow were taking their toll. My feet took the whole run back home to regain proper warmth. My calluses are about 2/3 back to where they were before they molted from frost nip/bite. Just a few sore spots. The Neo Trails are pretty awful on sections of snowless asphalt, but I'm getting better at adjusting my gait with them on. I think overall these last few weeks my form has gotten subtly better. It almost always feels pretty smooth these days, no matter the pace, conditions, or degree of shoddedness. Nonetheless, I had one wipe-out on a section with ice below a thin layer of snow. Luckily, I fell abruptly, with no chance to regain my balance, so I didn't pull any muscles, and managed to land flat against my right upper arm. No harm. Good to know this 220-pound middle-aged body can still fall without losing a body part. I wonder if the Neo Trails' lugs are really such an improvement over my Vapor Gloves' thin tread. If it snows again, I may head out in my Vapor Trails to see if putting up with the greater stack height of the Neo Trails is really worth it. Anyway-anyhow, my fairgrounds back-n-forth route should be mostly dry in time for Thursday run, so I'll probably drive up to the fairgrounds for a purely bare experience then.
Nah, this is the mileage forum, which mean it's specifically for posting stuff like this to keep it out of the general forum where no one wants to read this stuff. The fact that we're reading this forum, means that we choose to listen to all of the babbling about dogs, frostbite, scruffs, scraps, random musings, weather announcements, snowfall reports, swim stories, etc.
Thanks for the License to Spill (ink) . . .
Thanks.
I think we added some diversion to the daily commute for some residents. 
