My goal for 2014 is to improve my swimming and biking, and complete the Double Mussel and REV3 Poconos 70.3 races. I'm in the process of moving from Rochester to Albany, and am looking forward to making some new friends!
I explained it to my class this morning as follows: Endurance classes you try to keep a steady heart rate, around 60 percent (though very few people have monitors). The intervals are longer but less intense, and the rest periods are shorter.
Interval classes have short bursts of really high-intensity followed by longer rest periods.
For today's endurance class I took them up three big (5-6 minute) climbs. After each one there's a recovery then either jumps or sprints to keep things interesting. Each climb was over two songs, so I intentionally made the second song a little faster so the last two minutes or so of the climb would be more challenging. All climbs are a combination of sitting and standing. Here's the playlist:
Rolling Stones: Start Me Up -- warmup
Yael Naim - New Soul: Start climb #1 out easy. About a 3 or 4 on a scale of 1-10. Increase the last minute of the song.
To say that the nerves are kicking in would be a vast understatement.
So here's another music post! It will take the place of my normal spinning playlist because I didn't make one this week, I just used old ones.
I'm also so bummed, the Flying Pig doesn't post split times to Facebook and Twitter like the other races do, so I'll try to do a quick update on my phone as soon as I can after the race.
Here's what I'm super excited to listen to during the Pig:
I got home from a long-ish day at work, took Lizzie on her regular walk around the block and then we both plopped ourselves down on the couch. I put my feet up on the coffee table, and still wearing my work clothes I spent the next 20 minutes not-quite-getting Jon Stewart's jokes about the Easter and Passover coverage.
I SO wanted to stay there for the next few hours, see what Colbert had to say, see if Stewie has attempted to kill Lois lately (I'm a few episodes behind) or laugh at whatever personas Roger whips out next. An ideal Tuesday evening, really. Laundry can wait. Dishes can wait. Someone bring me a pizza? Yep, a whole one.
But no, I have to get up, bleck!
I'd love to say that I had the drive and motivation to go to the Y. But today I didn't. I'm off my training plan again, sidelined for a couple more days due to recurring calf pain. No, the only thing getting me off my lazy butt this evening was the fact that somebody had to open her big mouth when they needed someone to fill the time slot for cycling.
Why, why, why did I do that?
I slug upstairs, groan slightly as I put on my tights and a wrinkly top, again curse the fact that I cut my hair just too short to fit in a ponytail, pull my baseball cap down low, toss a cookie to Miss Lizzie (lucky brat gets to stay on the couch AND eat a bacon flavored treat, so jealous) and head out the door.
Race recap coming! But one of the best things I did was ask my Facebook friends for suggestions for my race playlist. I posted my full playlist (12 hours, more than I needed) yesterday. Here are some of my favorites:
Beatles -- The Long and Winding Road: This will forever be attached to the Cleveland Marathon. As the song was ending, I saw the finish line.
Queen -- Somebody to Love: This, hands down, has become my favorite song to run with. Funny thing -- I had adjusted the volume on all my old music but not the stuff I downloaded yesterday. So, while I was running, some were really loud and some were really quiet. And after the first half it was impossible to control my iPod because my hands were wet and sweaty. So, around mile 16 this song comes on, this guy starts running right next to me, and says "thanks for the Queen, it helps", yea, that was one of the loud ones.
Cleveland Rocks: How could I leave this off initially? This is what they started us off with, though it took me 7 minutes to even get to the starting line!! AND!!! Drew Carey ran his first half marathon today! How awesome is that???
Beatles -- Hey Jude: What I always play when I need to slow down!
Creed -- Rain: This has been the song of the week given the lovely weather, and was only fitting to start out with! I think it rained the entire time. I hardly noticed.
Shakira -- Waka Waka: Suggested by Jessica F, addicting, great beat! And it's still in my head.
My Chemical Romance -- Welcome to the Black Parade, and Sing: The former was suggested by Malia R., the latter is played in spin all the time and I just love it!
P!nk -- So What: Another Malia R. suggestion! And Raise Your Glass, also a great pick-me-up!
Me First and the Gimme Gimmies -- I believe I can fly: Original version suggested by Rohit J., punk rock cover by Kyle W. Sorry, Rohit, I went the punk rock route!
Florence and the Machine -- The Dog Days are Over: Jamie K. reminded me of this one days before my race, I love it!
Fleetwood Mac -- Don't Stop: Suggested by Kerensa P. Classic! Came on toward the end, it helped push me through.
Arcade Fire -- We Used to Wait: I was running a marathon in a big city. It just fit.
Dave Matthews Band -- Grey Street: Always loved it.
Journey -- Don't Stop Believin': Do I need to explain why? Suggested by many.
