Dare You To...

Health update: I'm finally well again! 

After over a month of pain, my cough has finally disappeared. My recovery makes me really glad I made the hard but healthy choicenot to run the 10k in October--definitely the smart decision.  While I was sick, I intentionally stepped back exercise because my lungs couldn't handle it and I really wanted to get better.  There's little glory in coughing myself through a workout, no need to put additional stress on an already stressed body.

BUT, feeling well and ready to work out... how do I get back in?  

For me, it started with walking.  As I explained in my post about not running my 10k, even walking around the city was leaving me short of breath.  So, that's step one: Early in November, I began going on the treadmill on a slight incline, walking at 3.0 mph for 20 - 30 minutes.  Later, I increased to 3.5-4 mph and also added in yoga stretching to warm up my muscles again.

In the second week, I tried the elliptical to get my heart r…

A few weeks ago, I gushed about my love of Spinning (aka Cycling, Flywheel, etc.) and dared you to give it a try.  For those of you who were already spinning or accepted my challenge, I now encourage you to take your cycling to the next level, by using the right shoes.



Spin Shoes: Yes, it is possible to do spinning without the right shoes by buckling your sneaker into the pedal cage (below), but it's simply not the same.  My instructor had been on me to get spin shoes for some time, and I finally got around to it when I noticed that my performance was suffering because my feet felt loose or I was unable to sprint in standing positions.



^This is what the pedal looks like on a Spinning bike.  You can either turn it over to slide your regular sneaker into the little cage there, and pull the strap to tighten, OR you can clip your spin shoe directly onto the top of the pedal, and they move, connected.

I spin once or twice each week.  My sneakers were no longer cutting it.  They were li…