workout – Page 7 – A Measured Life

Different Shorts for Different Sports or How I Learned That Workout Clothes Are Not a Waste of Money

If you’d asked me a year ago if I would have more sports bras than regular bras and a pair of workout shorts for every day of the week (and still feel like I need a few more pairs) I would have said you were crazy. (I also wouldn’t have believed you if you told me I’d be running 30 minutes solid or even that I’d be running at all.) I would DEFINITELY have not believed you if you told me I’d be wearing neon yellow shorts in public. But in the last 2 months I’ve learned a ton about what works for me in terms of kettlebell workout clothes versus running clothes versus yoga clothes.

Kettlebells

Shorts/pants need to be cut close to the body. Loose shorts just get in the way when you pass the bell from hand to hand during lunges. Shirts can be loose, but too loose shirts can also get in the way when passing the kettlebell around the body. It can be very dangerous when you pass 30 lbs of solid iron underneath a leg and grab both the handle and your shorts. Losing your grip on a bell can cause broken objects or worse, broken bones. So keep it close to the skin. Also, gloves are a necessity in my opinion, to help maintain grip, but some would argue that they aren’t.

My favorite outfit: Slimfit cotton shorts with a drawstring waist and a sports bra. No socks, no shoes.

Running

Running clothes definitely need to be less snug than kettlebell clothes, but I find that the longer the shorts/pants are the more snug I like them. I don’t think I would like fabric flapping around my ankles when I was running. And I’ve definitely found that shorts length makes a difference when the weather is warmer. I have one pair of running shorts that’s just a hair shorter than I’d like, and this causes some thigh rubbing when it’s hot. They work better when it’s cooler or less humid. As for tops, I’ve worn everything from a baggy oversized tee shirt to a snug cotton tank to a long sleeved tee in cooler weather. It all works fine. I definitely prefer a more snug tank in hotter weather. Color here is important, though: when running on roadways or in dim light, brighter colors make you more visible to passing cars.

My favorite outfit: obnoxious neon yellow shorts and a skull tank top over a sports bra with my neon watermelon running belt. Good running shoes and cushy socks are a necessity. I also wear metatarsal support gel pads.

Yoga

We all know yoga pants. It seems they’re more of a fashion statement than anything else these days, but I never really thought much of what sorts of tops to wear while doing yoga. Super baggy tee shirts? They’re a TERRIBLE IDEA, even if you’re just doing yoga in your living room. Not only will you flash everyone, but during downward dog that extra fabric WILL try to suffocate you, which is totally the worst way to find inner peace.

My favorite outfit: Slimfit cotton shorts with a drawstring waist and a stretchy tank. No bra. Because, come on, it’s yoga. Isn’t the point to feel a little free? I don’t actually have any photos of myself in yoga gear, but I like this one!

So yes, you need different clothes for different workouts. If you’ve been following me here for a while you’ll know I hunt thrift stores and clearance sales for workout clothes. (I will buy almost any item of clothing from a thrift store save underwear, socks and shoes, because why not?) This has saved me a fortune I’m sure!

What are your favorite workout clothes?

On deck for next week: My homemade kettlebell workout, chocolate covered strawberry protein bars, the last week of C25K!

C25K Week 7 & Running Belt Update

NOTE: I’m writing this entire blog from a comfy armchair at my local Panera Bread where I’m enjoying a delicious mango iced tea and a FREE chocolate pastry. Mmm. Okay, yes, eating a chocolate pastry isn’t very measured, but it was free. FREE I TELL YOU.

Image Courtesy of http://weight.sdghealth.com/couch_to_5k_weight_loss_success_stories.html

What can I say about Week 7? Yeaaaah. Week 7 of the C25K app is 3 days of solid 25 minute runs. No intervals. A little intimidating, no? Yes and no.

W7D1 – 7 am run. I had planned a route around the nearby neighborhood that would minimize the hills. I did a little mapping and managed to find a route with only a 50 foot gain. I live on the top of a hill (the neighborhood next door is actually named Hilltop) so no matter which direction I run there’s going to be some hills, so I planned around the really steep climbs. This was a success. The first half was definitely the harder half, but once the “You are halfway!” prompt sounded in my ears I relaxed and smiled and kept going. At the one minute remaining mark I worked on lengthening my stride to finish up. I finished feeling good and proud!

W7D2 – 2 PM run. 90 degrees and sunny. PMS. Stomach felt oddly full. Still, I’d promised Josh I’d run, and I’d stopped at Dick’s Sporting Goods the night before to use my gift card to purchase a Frogg Toggs Chilly Pad to stave off the heat stroke, plus a nifty (you heard me, NIFTY) headband to keep my hair from looking like I stuck my finger in an electric socket. So at this point, despite having a bad feeling about it, off we went to run. I planned a route around town to again avoid the hills, and I made it about 14 minutes into the run before my stomach started to rebel. Now I’m stubborn. I will push myself if I want to. But nothing, NOTHING, is worth vomiting over. So I stopped and walked a bit. Josh continued. I jogged off and on until the end of the timer before heading back to work, and I don’t think I’ve ever sweat that much in my entire life. It was like I’d just gotten out of the pool. For serious! After much discussion Josh and I decided to move our joint run to Friday nights at 5 instead of the hottest part of the day.

This is my queasy face. Why yes, he IS sitting on my lap. — This is my queasy face.

W7D3 – 7 am again. Ridiculously humid, but pleasant. Same route as D1, but this time, I used the Map My Run app so I could pace myself and see how fast I was actually going. I averaged 11:30 per mile, which I was pleased with! It puts me right in line to finish a 5k in 35 minutes. I’ve been e-mailing my friend Christina (remember her?) because I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with myself once this training program was over, and she gave me a few suggestions, and I’ve decided I’m going to work on speed! Maybe by the time my official real 5K comes along in the fall I could do it in 30 minutes!

Running Belt Update: I took the belt in about 2 more inches, and MAN does it work better now! I still need to slide my phone around to rest on a hip to minimize the bounce, but it’s working great.

Lastly, I forgot to mention in my post about social anxiety and the Adventure Run that I won a prize that night: free registration to a 5K Mud Run! How perfect but also terrifying! (Do you know how EXPENSIVE those things are? I mean, I am totally aware of the strange irony that you’re paying a ridiculously high fee to basically torture yourself for an hour and get so dirty you need to burn your clothes.) So I got an awesome friend to join me and hopefully I will have tons of pics of me looking like Swamp Thing’s mistress to share with you!

Next week is the final week of the C25K App. D1 and D2 are 28 minutes, and D3 is 30 minutes solid. I’m not terribly worried about any of them except for the evening run, because I always seem to run worse in the afternoons/evenings. I genuinely prefer running on a mostly empty stomach.

Anyhoo, I’m wrapping it up here as my butt is going numb (note to self: more Donkey Kicks). Tchau!

C25K Weeks 4 & 5

When we last left our running heroine, she was curious about what foods are good to eat before running. The general consensus all around was banana: easy to digest and easy on the stomach for a quick burst of energy. This turned out to be a fabulous success. Unfortunately I also developed an “injury”. When I’m barefoot or in cheap flipflops (my two favorite types of footwear) there’s a clicking sensation inside the ball of my left foot. A little Googling (yes, yes, I know, never research your health on the internet) suggested I could possibly have a Morton’s Neuroma. From http://www.foothealthfacts.org/ :

A neuroma is a thickening of nerve tissue that may develop in various parts of the body. The most common neuroma in the foot is a Morton’s neuroma, which occurs between the third and fourth toes. It is sometimes referred to as an intermetatarsal neuroma. “Intermetatarsal” describes its location in the ball of the foot between the metatarsal bones. Neuromas may also occur in other locations in the foot.

Tingling, burning, or numbness

Pain

A feeling that something is inside the ball of the foot

A feeling that there’s something in the shoe or a sock is bunched up

It definitely felt like there was a rock in my shoe, or like I was walking on a tiny piece of bubble wrap that would POP and refill. So I took a few days off from running, and ordered a pair of inserts for my running shoes. And during my hiatus? I found I missed running. More than I miss yoga now that I’m not doing it. So after the delivery of my inserts, I got back on the saddle, and my foot is improving, especially since I’m not wearing crappy flipflops anymore! So here’s the recap:

W4D1 – Run 3 min, walk 90 sec, run 5 min, walk 2.5 min, run 3 min, walk 90 secs, run 5 min. Not much trouble here. I was out and about around 7 am.

W4D2 – Run 3 min, walk 90 sec, run 5 min, walk 2.5 min, run 3 min, walk 90 secs, run 5 min. About the same as D1, not much trouble.

W4D3 – Run 3 min, walk 90 sec, run 5 min, walk 2.5 min, run 3 min, walk 90 secs, run 5 min. *sigh* Josh and I run together on Saturdays, and it’s always in the afternoons. This works against me. It wasn’t terribly hot, and it was far less hilly than where I usually run, but I struggled with my breathing. It felt like a chore. I ate a protein bar about an hour before the run, but it was almost 4 pm, and I’d eaten 2 meals plus snacks by then, and worked half a day. This is apparently not good for me. I felt a wee bit nauseous towards the end, but I made it through.

IMG_20150523_162052237_HDR — Not our most badass pic. Don’t judge!

W5D1 – Run 5 min, walk 3 min, run 5 min, walk 3 min, run 5 min. I don’t remember this run, so I’m assuming it went fine.

W5D2 – Run 8 min or 3/4 mile, walk 5 min or 1/2 mile, run 8 min or 3/4 mile. Okay C25K, way to ramp it up. Jerkface. I was nervous about this one. I played music. Jay Z, Rihanna and Kanye saved me with “Run This Town”, which came on near the end of my second 8 minute run. “Victory’s within the mile, almost there don’t give up now.”

For my run with Josh, we repeated W5D2, because W5D3 was a solid 20 minute run. Again, afternoons are NOT my time, and it was 85 degrees and very sunny. I had to walk a minute of the second 8 minute stint, and MAN was I sweaty!

Look at Josh looking all suave while I look like I belong in a 90s Budweiser commercial.

It felt so good standing in front of a fan this sweaty!

Totally treated myself to a giant iced coffee with skim milk after that!

W5D3 – RUN FOR 20 FREAKING MINUTES. I admit, I was pretty nervous after not being able to complete my second 8 minute run with Josh. How could I possibly run 20 minutes all at once if I couldn’t run 16 minutes in 2 segments? It was misting when I started, and I cranked up my music and just decided to go for it. I chose to go east from my apartment, which had a smaller elevation change than west. By the time I heard the apps voice telling me I was halfway there, I just smiled and kept going. I made it! Yes, the mental game was hard in the first half, but once I was halfway done the second half was easier. By the time I was done it was raining lightly but it felt SO GOOD.

I think I really look like my mom in this photo. I swear I'm not angry! — I think I really look like my mom in this photo. I swear I’m not angry!

Looking forward to Week 6! The good news is W6D3 is a 22.5 min run, but that will be a solo day, and I’ll have shorter stints with my co-run with Josh, since I won’t be able to convince him to run in the morning.

Did you surprise yourself this week with anything you thought you couldn’t do? Let me know in the comments!

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