Theme for this week: UNFULFILLED
MONDAY
I completed a simple 5 mile treadmill run. Mondays are supposed to be my recovery runs BUUUUT I did not do a long run on Saturday. Maybe, I recovered from being lazy all weekend. ;)
TUESDAY
I attended my Zumba class and did static stretching. I think that I may take a break from this particular Zumba class for a couple of weeks. I have been pretty religious with attending this class, but the routines are becoming stale. Do not get me wrong, I love the instructor but I like a little more variety in my life. Perhaps, I will try another Zumba class at a different Crunch Fitness on either Monday or Wednesday. I wish that Zumba instructors would add 1-2 new songs to a class every 2 weeks or so, just to keep the routes interesting and fresh.
Even though I was slightly unfulfilled with my Zumba class, I still did a good job - in terms of staying in my peak cardio zone for the majority of the class.
WEDNESDAY
No running, because it was my Bu's birthday. It's spelled "Bu" because that would be the Spanish pronunciation of "boo". We went to The Ten Bells and Estela on the Lower East Side. The Ten Bells is one of the few places that I have given a five-star review on Yelp. Estela is supposed to be one of the top 50 restaurants in the world. To be perfectly honesty, I do not get all of the hype for this place. The food was really good, but the portions were kind of small. It is one of those places where you spend about $200 bucks for dinner (including wine), but you need to get a slice of pizza on the way home. Although the food at Estela is nice, it is a restaurant that I only plan to visit once a year.
Estela
THURSDAY
I ran the NYRR F-U-N 5K Run in Central Park. Brief summary, I ran faster for this race than i did for NYRR's F-U-N 5K run in Prospect Part.
FRIDAY
Nothing because I was lazy and crabby. I really tried to hit the gym but I just could not drag myself there after work.
SATURDAY
Long run day!!!! I did an in-and-out 11 mile run from Bed Stuy to the Lower East Side and back. When I started the run, I was so unmotivated and indifferent to it. However, I got into my groove once I hit mile 3. I'm a little shocked that it took me so long to get into my groove. Being tired, in my opinion, was part of the problem. Although the run was kind of fun (and much needed), I was kind of disappointed that I had to walk a little bit on the Williamsburg Bridge. The run aside, I will say that the weather was very conducive to running. It was cloudy and windy, and I believe that the temperature was in the low 70's. After the run, I combined some body weight exercises (tricep dips, squats, push ups, lateral squats, and lunges) with my post run stretch in Saratoga Park. Although I felt like crap before the run, I am really glad that I went through with it.
Some pics from the run.
SUNDAY
In earlier posts, I mentioned that I wanted to incorporate more strength training into my routine. I proposed to do strength training at least 3 times a week (body weight training or lifting weights), but I have been failing with this component of training. Alas, it felt really nice to pump some iron and workout different muscles. For this workout, I focused on legs and arms.
My exercises
Hopefully, I will continue to incorporate my strength training going forward.
SONGS OF THE WEEK
For some reason, I really love finishing my runs to Shakira's "Sale el Sol". The song is about a breakup, but the sun will rise after the storm. It's a perfect theme for struggling through and finishing a run.
GOALS FOR THE WEEK
- Really get on track with monitoring my eating habits. I have been somewhat of a pig this past week by eating at Burger King two times. Plus, I really want to prepare my own food for the week, as a way to eat healthier and to save money.
- Sign up for some more NYRR races. As of now, I have completed two races and I have registered for three races. I need to register for four more races in order to meet the conditions for the 9+1 guaranteed entry to the TCS NYC Marathon for 2018. This year's marathon counts towards the 9+1 program, but I want to have an extra race, as a buffer, in case I do not finish the NYC Marathon in November.