Family Gym Night [The Science Center], and Intervals, Oh and Running

Last night, my husband decided to join me at the gym which meant that the kids were going to come, too. The little boys were very excited to go and play, and Grace, well, she managed to fall asleep on our way to the gym so we just hoped that she would wake up in happy spirits.


As an aside: What a day the boys got to have!  We were at the Carnegie Science Center in the morning, shopped for birthday presents for friends and cousins in the afternoon, and then gym playroom at night!  Sweet!

 In the Robot Room

There were 2 of these giant operation games.  The boys really got a kick out of playing with them.

Back to the gym:
Since Bob was there and I wanted to work out with him  we decided to "run" on the elliptical.  I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I am not really a fan of the elliptical machine.  I would rather run (surprised?).  I do, however, find myself using it as a tool to work muscles that I don't otherwise work while running outside or on the treadmill.  Usually I'll hit the elliptical on days when I know I'll be using free weights as my warm up.

Anyway, a mile was more than enough for me, and he seemed ready to move on around the mile mark, so we were going to head down to the sprint track to do lunges and squats and all sort of fun legwork exercises. I spied a free treadmill just as Bob did when we were walking down the stairs, and he saw the look in my eye and suggested I grab it before someone else does.  He decided to cycle, and I ran intervals.

I. ran. fast.

I started at 6.5 mph, ran a minute or two, stretched, and then began climbing speeds in .2 increments.  10-20 seconds rest in between 45-30 running time 1 minute running time for the first few speeds).  It really felt good.  I climbed all the way up to 9.1 mph and ran at that speed a few times 3x for 15 each time.

9.1 mph Woot!  hahaha, I ran a mile and a half in 13 minutes -- a record for me ;)

After the my intervals and Bob's miles on the bike, we did a couple of exercises on the circuit machines.  Just looking at them overwhelms me. He showed me how to use a few of them to isolate different arm muscles (I'm terrified of getting giant shoulder muscles and still having flabby arms, Weird, huh?).  I still am not sold on the machines, but I appreciate his help.  I think that I'll have to try them out a few more times to become more confident with them.

We left the gym earlier than I had intended as Grace woke up and was grumpy for Nicky, so we called it a night.  It was a great night though, and I'm looking forward to more gym dates with the family!

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This morning I ran for 40 minutes.  I ran around 3.5 miles.  It was a "slow" morning compared to last night, but it was running just the same.  The goal was to run for 40 minutes with my heart rate average 60-75% of it's maximum, which I did, and not to run at crazy speeds.

I am learning how powerful that my body can be.  I am learning, slowly, how fast I can go. I am learning how much I can really accomplish with hard work and dedication. (Thanks, Dolvette).  I am learning how much I can endure when I put my mind to it.  I like this learning. I like it a lot.


Blessings! and Joy!
Nicole mArie