jementraine

Sunday, November 22, 2009 (weights)

2009-11-23T02:40:18Z

After the scary elliptical attempt, I decided to do something less cardio-intensive.

Guided Benchpress
--5 sets, 20 reps, 20 lbs.
Note: Even this felt harder than usual. After the first set my heartrate was back up again to normal cardio-workout levels, so I took a long rest before the second set, and it was back down to 90 after the second set.

Squats
--100, 10 of which I did with a staff to see what it felt like

Assisted Pullups
--70-lb. assist (pin on 13)
--1 set of 12
--1 set of 10
--1 set of 8

Triceps Pulldown
--3 sets, 15 reps, 32.5 lbs.

I also had a good stretching session after the workout.

Sunday, November 22, 2009 (elliptical)

2009-11-23T02:36:02Z

Today's foray on the elliptical machine was a bit scary. I could tell immediately that I wasn't feeling 100%, and somewhere around 12 minutes into it I felt tightness in my throat and chest, and it felt like my heart was going nuts. I took my pulse on the machine and it registered 225. I figured that was almost impossible, so I took it on my neck, and it was so fast that I lost count--definitely over 200. So I got off.

I don't know if this has anything to do with being exposed to cat allergens last night, but I'm wondering if somehow my lungs aren't completely recovered and I'm not getting the normal amount of oxygen in my blood. This might explain why I feel okay in general but why my heart freaked out when a did cardio.

Whatever the reason, ugh.

Elliptical
Total time: 16:00
Strides: 1930
Calories: 156
Low interval: 7 crossramp, 8 resistance
High interval: 13 crossramp, 9 resistance

Sunday, November 15, 2009 (climbing)

2009-11-16T04:29:42Z

Today I met Micah and Gretchen to climb, but I ended up climbing most of the time with their friend Shane (who warmed up on a long and over hanging 10c). I had been in the mood to climb, and my mood translated to some good, hard climbing.

5.7 pink (icebox, AR) - Warm up. After not warming up properly on Thursday, I really focused on good form, efficiency, breathing, and concentration. All good.
5.9 yellow (icebox, Young M) - I linked this route to the 5.7 even though they weren't technically on the same rope. No problems with this either--still focusing on all of the above.
5.10d yellow (alcove, CC) - As on Thursday, this one felt overrated. Feels more like a 10b, or even a 10a+. But I wanted to do something harder that I knew wasn't too hard.
5.10d pink (icebox, RZ) - This was my third time on this route, and now I've fallen in a different place each time. I messed up some footwork in the middle and burnt a lot of arm energy and had to rest. This will be a little project until I do it clean at least twice.
5.11b black (facing fitness, ART) - Micah picked this one out for me, which is good since I'd been playing it so safe. It was challenging from the start, but a good route. I actually got farther than I thought I would without falling. I fell twice, once because my grip was burnt, and once because I knew I had misread the sequencing. I'd like to do this one clean, but it will be a challenge.
5.11b pink (ice box, DH) - Hard start, and I got a little perplexed at some sequencing in the middle, but once I figured that out, this route seemed imminently do-able. I'm pretty sure I can do this clean.
5.11a orange taped (next to lead wall, CC) - Holy crap this was hard! It was WAY harder than the two 11b's. It seemed to specialize in open holds, of which I am not a fan. I mean, I really struggled. And at this point my arms were already pretty damn tired from the two 11b's. It just didn't feel like there were footholds where I wanted them--not very flowy at all. As I was gripping the last left hand hold, I had my four fingers on it and was willing my thumb to lift up and over my index finger to close the grip, but my arm literally did not have enough juice left it in to do that. It was amazing. It was the only time I can remember in my climbing career that I've used my limb to the point of failure. Amazingly, I did finish this hellish climb, but I sure was spent.
5.10b pink (crack wall, AR) - Just for good measure and to add a little endurance training into the mix, I did one last [easier] climb even though I probably should have been done. It actually went fine, but I could definitely feel the fatigue in my arms and the tenderness of the skin on my fingertips.

Eight routes--that makes fifteen for the week, even though I only went twice! Yay!

jementraine @ 2009-11-04T08:36:00

2009-11-04T16:38:59Z

Tonight I did 90 minutes of vinyasa flow yoga with Jill. It was a great class. I was feeling strong, flexible, and balanced--usually it's only one or two of the three. I was proud of myself for trying poses that I've never done before even though they were not simple. I did have a little shoulder pain right on the front joint when going down in chaturanga the first 5-8 times, but then it went away.

Apparently I have very flexible shoulders. In one pose Jill came over and helped me go even deeper into it, which involved some intense (but not painful) shoulder stretching, and it was good. Good class overall. I did some arm balances that made me feel strong and focused, and I'm finally not so inept when it comes to Warrior 3 (aka Virabhadrasana III, or this). I used to think of it as torture. In Eric's class it kind of is, since we're in it (that is, standing on one foot) for about nine hours. Jill is more reasonable.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 (weights)

2009-10-28T05:27:44Z

Bicep Curls
--3 sets, 15 reps, 10 lbs.
--1 set, 30 reps, 4 lbs.

Triceps Pulldown
--3 sets, 15 reps, 32(?) lbs.

Assisted Pullups
--3 sets, 10 reps, 70-lb assist (pin on 13)

The pullups were definitely challenging at the end. I think I will be sore tomorrow. But I can't express how good it felt to get back to the gym with enough time to do my FULL workout--cardio and weights, plus some good stretching after the treadmill.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 (running/walking)

2009-10-28T05:19:36Z

Yay! Finally back to doing cardio!

Treadmill Run/Walk
Program: 13 (intervals)
Total time: 53:00
Calories: 403.7
Walking interval: 2:00, 3.5 mph, 2% incline
Running interval: 4:00, 5.9 mph, .5% incline
Total distance: 4.16 miles

Most inspiring song: "Map of the Problematique" by Muse

Friday, October 23, 2009 (weights)

2009-10-24T06:01:45Z

After climbing, I had just enough time to do two arm exercises:

Bicep Curls
--3 sets, 15 reps, 10 lbs. (ow)
--1 set, 30 reps, 3 lbs.

Triceps Pulldown
--3 sets, 15 reps, 32(?) lbs (2 plates + half plate) (ow)

Yeah, I've clearly lost all the muscle I gained at the end of the summer. That sucks.

Friday, October 23, 2009 (climbing)

2009-10-24T05:58:35Z

Today I climbed with Adina. It's the first time we've climbed together in donkeys' years.

5.8 orange (main pillar) - I went for an easy but longer warm up. But the route was a little awkward. Not my favorite.
5.9 white taped (next to small wall) - Fine (more warm up).
5.10a black (main pillar arete) - Totally overhung, so hard for me since I'm a few pounds heavier and have lost some muscle lately, but at least it was juggy.
5.10c yellow (crack wall) - Totally weird and in a dihedral and hard to figure out. Had to hang a lot.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009 (yoga)

2009-10-17T17:24:14Z

Tonight I did 90 minutes of yoga with Jill. It was really good! It's been a while since I've been to yoga, though, and the first downward dog kinda hurt my calves. I need to stretch even when I'm not regularly going to yoga....

Sunday, September 20, 2009 (climbing)

2009-09-21T02:53:35Z

This afternoon I climbed with Micah and Gretchen.

5.8 blue (small wall) - A solid 5.8, kind of up one side of the arete.
5.9 orange taped (next to/onto small wall) - Fine, but I didn't sequence it beforehand, and so I was surprised by the direction the route took.
5.10b green (door wall) - Fine.
5.10c black (ice box) - A good 10c. Clean.
5.11c blue (ice box, CC) - My first 11c!! I actually did the first 2/3 totally clean, which really surprised and impressed me! But the last three hand holds were near impossible. Just total sloped pinchers. Brutal. But I finished it. Woo!

Saturday, August 22, 2009 (yoga)

2009-08-22T19:28:00Z

This morning I did 90 minutes of yoga with Eric. It was my first time back in several weeks because of summer travel, and it went okay. It wasn't my favorite session--not very flowy, unfortunately. But the good news is that I didn't have any shoulder tweakiness during chaturangas, and I can still do arm balances, so that's good.

Monday, June 22, 2009 (hiking)

2009-06-22T23:30:01Z

Today I went on a 4.1 mile hike in Chaco Canyon. It was the South Mesa Trail, and [off duty] Ranger Jed and I went through South Gap and up to Tsin Kletsin. Elevation gain of about 400 feet from the canyon floor.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009 (yoga)

2009-05-14T03:26:38Z

Today I did 90 minutes of vinyasa flow yoga will Jill. She didn't annoy me at all tonight, which is always nice. The practice tonight was focused on stretching the hamstrings and legs--lots of standing splits, triangle, half splits, etc... But I was delighted to discover toward the end of the session that my downward dog was so stretched out that my head grazed the floor! And I even did a couple of pretty well-balanced and grounded warrior threes.

They had recently painted the studio, and the fumes weren't all that fun. But they hadn't put the clock back up, and I think not knowing how long we had left actually worked in my favor.

Sunday, April 26, 2009 (The Great Race)

2009-04-26T19:55:48Z

This morning I ran the 4-mile Great Race from Saratoga to Los Gatos. No training for this one, as usual, except for one treadmill run/walk about three weeks ago which hardly counts. I think my time was around 42:40, which is about what I expected. I ran the whole thing except for the minute and a half right at mile 2 when I walked so I could eat the homemade chocolate chip cookie that two little kids were giving out, and so I could drink my Dixie Cup full of water.

I didn't see anyone I know except for a former student helping with traffic control. I did get to pet a really awesome bulldog right before the race started. He was thick and lovable and appreciative.

Okay, so I guess running season has commenced. Fantastic (she said, sarcastically).

For the record, I ran with music for either the first or second time in a race ever. Some tunes that helped:

Coldplay "Square One" - It was, appropriately, the first song. Great song out of the gate.
The Raconteurs "Steady as She Goes" - This was the second song that came on, and how perfect!
Ratatat "Stunt 101"
Radiohead "There There"
Tori Amos "Tombigbee"

Saturday, April 4, 2009 (yoga)

2009-04-05T02:47:22Z

Today I did 90 minutes of vinyasa flow yoga with Eric. He started class out differently than usual; we did five Sun Salutation A's and five Sun Salutation B's. I was behind everyone on the B's by about two poses because I was staying with my breathing, which was slower than everyone else's, I guess. I find those Sun Salutations very aerobic.

At one point when we were in parivritta-parshvakona-asana, and Eric came by and said to the class, "You should be stretching every skin cell on your right side--one long, straight line from your foot to your fingertips." As he said this he ran his finger lightly up my side.

Yoga crush for sure! Ha ha.

We did a series of one-leg balances, starting on the left leg. The left leg went well--one of the best balance days I've had ever--but when we switched to the right leg, I was so inept. Ugh. Oh well.

I also made a funny: Eric fell during a pose and I piped up with his mantra for us when students fall--"Come back." Everyone laughed, and he said, "I deserved that."

Friday, March 13, 2009 (climbing & bouldering)

2009-03-14T05:36:32Z

This afternoon I climbed with Scott, whom I met online. He was nice--he normally boulders, but we mostly toproped today.

5.8 (small wall) - Very easy warm up.
5.10b blue (main pillar) - This route had a lot of holds, so it didn't look like a 10b from the floor. And it was indeed pretty straightforward and easy, even though it was long.
5.10d yellow ( ice box, CC) -
5.11a black (first pillar, CC) -
5.10b yellow (door wall) -
V2 - Mantles, nice moves.
V2 - A little traversey. Doable.
V2 - Hidden left hand hold above a large hold--once I saw that on try #2 it was much easier.
V0- - This was on the longer, higher wall. I did fine until close to the end and then I was just tired. I'm sure I could have finished it, but I jumped down. It was a big traverse, so it was a long problem.

I think those were my first V2's! And they weren't that bad at all!

Satruday, March 7, 2009 (yoga)

2009-03-07T20:30:30Z

Today I did 90 minutes of vinyasa flow yoga with Eric. It was good. He rubbed my back during one child's pose, which renewed my yoga crush on him. I also did a new arm balance, but I have no idea what it's called--right thigh over right upper arm, feet crossed at the ankle, bend elbows, lean forward, and straighten legs out to the right. I did it on both sides. Half the time I was tipping down onto my nose/forehead, but I did get it, and that was cool.

Sunday, February 1, 2009 (biking)

2009-02-02T05:05:45Z

Today Rob came over and we biked to Willow Glen to have breakfast. It was about 3 miles, so I did 6 miles roundtrip on my bike. It was only my third time riding it!! Sad. But I really loved it. I think I picked a good bike, and I'd like to ride it more. Plus I could tell that it was working leg muscles that I need worked!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009 (yoga)

2009-01-29T04:48:30Z

Tonight I did 90 minutes of slow vinyasa flow yoga with Jill. I liked the change of pace from Eric's classes, and I have to admit I liked the change in routine; Eric tends to do the same or a similar routine every time. I asked Jill about my positioning in the chair/seat pose (can't remember the name!), and I think I have it now. Now I get what they mean when they say sink low but curl your tailbone under. Good times. I also did my first head inversion ever--a modified crow. I didn't hold it for nearly as long as everyone held their headstands because it hurt the top of my head! Ow. But I did it for a while.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009 (climbing)

2009-01-29T04:44:14Z

Climbed with Adina:

5.8 green taped (next to lead wall) - Fine for a warmup.
5.10a black (tall wall) - Harder than it looked. Most holds were open grip, which I'm bad at. I got a bit stuck/tired at one spot but eventually got through it. Not my best technique ever. The good news is that Adina said my arms looked good. :-)
5.10a blue (ice box) - Short but... interesting? A little weird, to tell the truth. It was also tricky because it was interwoven with a green and a black route, so it was sometimes hard to tell what was blue.
5.10c orange (door wall) - Felt more 10a/b'y until the last few moves. They involved a tenuous right toe hold on which I had to put all my body weight to reach the last right hand hold. But I did it clean. Woo!

Friday, January 2, 2009 (climbing and bouldering)

2009-01-03T03:18:44Z

Today Adina and I climbed in SF with her friend Steve.

I warmed up in the bouldering area and did a total of three the whole day:

V0 (top-out island) - An easy warm up.
V0 (top-out island) - I messed up my last foothold (wrong foot), which made the end of this much trickier than it should have been. But I did it.
V0 (bottom of ramp) - Easy.

As for top roping...

5.8 orange - This felt just slightly too difficult for its rating, but it was fine. I just wanted it to feel super easy, and it felt like a little bit of work. That's what I get for eating holiday food and not climbing for a while.
5.9
5.10a pink (long middle wall) - I rested at one spot in the middle, but otherwise this was fine. Just long, and I'm not well conditioned for actually grunting through a route right now....
5.10b yellow (wall facing front desk) - This took me three tries to stick the third move right off the ground. Had to really chalk up. I ended up resting in the middle after a slip and also stopping near the top. When I tried the top again I managed it with a difficult right-to-left foot switch on a tiny hold and finished the route. No give-aways on this one--a hard 10b.

I have no recollection of the 5.9, only that I did one. I may have done one other climb, but I can't remember now. I'm clearly getting old.

It was cold in the gym; I wore my hat.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008 (yoga)

2008-12-23T22:40:13Z

Tonight I did 90 minutes of yoga with Jill. Tonight's focus was on "intuitive flow," which meant for several minutes we all did our own flow with no lead. It was awesome. I also feel like this is the first time I've ever gotten the transition between chaturanga and up dog the way it's supposed to go. Before I was always adjusting my hand position or something instead of just pushing up into up dog. So tonight chaturanga and I became better friends.

Sunday, December 7, 2008 (yoga)

2008-12-08T04:46:06Z

Tonight I did 90 minutes of vinyasa flow yoga with Jill. She got the room pretty warm so I actually had drops of sweat fall off my face and onto the floor at one point, but it was kind of satisfying. I had a hard time with Crow today, but for the first time ever I did a side arm balance (didn't stick my legs out, though).

We'll see how sore my shoulders are tomorrow. For the past several sessions I've done (which hasn't been more than once a week), my shoulders have been pretty sore the next day. Just goes to show that I need to keep going and get stronger. I have visions of yoga really helping me with my climbing, which is what I'm kind of on fire about right now since I'm climbing 10's so solidly at the moment. Lose a few pounds and get a little stronger and who know what will happen.

Just to record it, here's a list of current injuries/aches and pains:

Right index finger near the knuckle (next to middle finger) is sore/tender. I don't know if this is from bouldering on Wednesday or if I did something else to it. It was quite bad on Thursday.
Left SI joint is causing problems. Often feels cramped, as if it's not settling into place or moving correctly. Aunt Carolyn confirmed this. Until recently it was causing radiating pain down my hamstring and quad, and all around my hip/buttock.
Knots in my upper central trapezius. Intermittent. Woke up with one on the left side today.

Monday, December 1, 2008 (climbing & bouldering)

2008-12-02T04:20:19Z

Climbed and bouldered with Court today, even though I was sore from yesterday's yoga.

5.8 (crack wall) - Easy warm up.
5.10b (crack wall, Art) - Very easy for a 10b. Felt more like a 5.9.
5.10a orange (ice box, RZ) - "Top of wall off." I watched Andy do this one a few weeks ago, and he found the top crux tricky. I grabbed the top of the wall, but then redid the crux without doing so. Very interesting. I was surprised that I got over the last roof without either falling or resting.
5.10b?c? (ice box) - I messed up the beginning, but got the route on the second try. Interesting--a bit balancy and attention had to be paid to body angles.
5.10b (alcove, DH) - Not bad at all. Clean.
5.10a yellow (wall facing fitness) - This is the third time I've done this route, and it felt so easy this time.

Before that last route I was talking and joking around with a woman named Mirella as she belayed her friend Cynthia. Mirella was talking about checking out one of the shirtless boulderers (hhhhot). I gave her a cookie when she said she was hungry.

We bouldered just a little:

V0 - I think I did two.
V1 - I think I did one.

I think I'll take tomorrow off to let my muscles relax and heal.

Sunday, November 30, 2008 (yoga)

2008-11-30T23:33:00Z

Today I did 90 minutes of vinyasa flow yoga with Lorraine. To be honest, I didn't like her class very much. I think I'll try to go back to Erik's class next weekend, or maybe even go to one of the evening classes this week with someone else. I'm finding that yoga exploits a lot of my weaknesses that need to be addressed for climbing, like shoulder and core strength.

After yoga I tried to boulder, but my arms were much more tired than I thought they were, so I only did two and a half V0's.