Catching up

So it has been too long since I wrote my last blog.  I'll summarize what I've done over the last couple of weeks:

8/23: Gym workout.  I've started doing the Tough Mudder workout at the beginning of my gym workouts. That can be found at: http://toughmudder.com/training-prep/.  I've been doing just one set to warm up, and it's been going pretty well.  I found a Fat-loss workout from my Men's Health Big Book of Exercises.  So here's what it was:
   Dumbbell Bench press: 45 lbs, 2 sets, 15 reps.
   Dumbbell row: 30 lbs, 2 sets, 15 reps.
   Scaption: 10 lbs, 2 sets, 15 reps. - This is a weird word for a shoulder exercise where you simply raise the weights out in front of you.  Maybe they should have tried something like: "Forward shoulder raise". 
   Seated dumbbell rotation: 10 lbs, 2 sets, 15 reps. - This is a really annoying excercise that is supposed to help counteract the caveman effect of doing too many arm exercises.  It's a decent exercise, but just annoying to actually do.
   Plank: 2 sets, 8 reps. I've started heeding the book's suggestion to do these as reps- you hold the position for 5-10 second, relax- and that's a rep.  It seems to be much more effective than simply holding the position for say, 30 seconds straight. 

8/24: Bicycle day. I towed the little monkey behind me for 15 miles.  It took me about an hour and ten minutes.  I rode on the C&O Canal path, from mile 184.5 to mile 177.  You can check out the entire trail here: http://bikewashington.org/canal/.  As an aside, I'm hoping to ride the entire trail from September 16-18th.  I'll let you know how that goes!

8/26: Gym workout.  Again, started with the Tough Mudder workout.  Another Fat-loss workout:
   Pushup: 2 sets, 12 reps.
   Inverted row: 2 sets, 12 reps.  This is another awkward exercise.  Not a big fan.
   Combo shoulder raise: 10 lbs, 2 sets, 12 reps.
   Lying external rotation: 10 lbs, 2 sets, 12 reps. This is similar to the Seated Dumbbell rotation, only you have to balance yourself on a rickety incline bench and do it.  Luckily the exercise requires only about a 10-15 lbs weight.  Otherwise, there's just no chance of doing it without looking like a Stooge. 
   Side plank: 2 sets, 8 reps.  Again, breaking these into reps worked great!

8/27: Running day.  I've been trying to seriously increase my cardio, so I've been trying to run/bike for at least an hour each time.  This day, I ran 7.03 miles in about an hour and 10 minutes.  This was one of those runs where everything felt great.  I made good time, didn't get winded, and my legs felt good.  I did about four miles on the nice, flat C&O canal path, so that helped me add the distance I needed.   It did rain for the last 1.5 miles, so I got a little bit of a Tough Mudder factor added in.  The last half mile or so was kind of rough on my knees. 

8/29: Bicycle day.  I rode 11.88 miles towing my son behind me in the trailer.  This trip, I took the Greater Alleghany Path (GAP).  For half of the ride, it was uphill and downhill for the last half.  I kept a 10mph+ pace up, which is always my goal. 

8/30: Gym workout.  Tough Mudder workout warmup.  Then chest and back workout of my own.
   Incline bench press: 45 lbs, 10 reps, 3 sets.  Starting out on this exercise always allows me to complete it and still be able to continue working my chest. 
   Seated machine row: 200 lbs, 10 reps, 3 sets.  My gym has a machine for this and the lat bar, but the seat is up off the floor and I never seem to do very well with it.  It never seems to actually work out my back.  So I decided to use another machine, but sit on the floor.  It allowed me to focus on using my back and lift more weight. 
   Flat bench press: 45 lbs, 10 reps, 3 sets.
   Seated lat bar pulldown: 180 lbs, 10 reps, 3 sets.  Again, I sat on the floor and was able to really focus on using my back muscles. 
   Kneeling ab machine pulldown: 200 lbs, 10 reps, 2 sets.
   Some sort of lower back machine workout where you sit on a bench and lean back against the weight of the machine.  200 lbs, 10 reps, 3 sets.

8/31: Run day.  I ran 6.1 miles in an hour.  This doesn't seem like as tough of a run as on the 27th, but in fact it was tougher.  There is this one road about 1 mile long that I sometimes run downhill on.  It drops quite a bit in that 1 mile.  And every now and then, I try to run up it.  And I did that this day.  I usually do it within the first few miles of my run, so I can keep going.  It mixes things up and I feel like it helps me prepare for the big uphill in Tough Mudder.  I'll let you know if that's true after the event. 

9/1- 9/4: I took a few days break from "workouts".  Over the long weekend on 9/2-9/5, I built a bed for my wife an I.  It was a bit of work, so I took a few days off from working out or running.

9/5: Run day.  Today I ran the farthest I've ever run with my New Balance Minimus: 3.64 miles.  And it was raining the entire time.  A Tough Mudder run.  All in all, the shoes held up spectacularly.  No sloshing around, even though I ran through my share of puddles.  They drained well and kept snug through the whole run.  And it seems like my legs and feet are starting to get used to them as well.

So that's what I've been up to.