Cardio Coach

Yesterday I decided I wanted to try a jog and test my ankle. First, I downloaded a workout from the Cardio Coach website. Cardio Coach is a set of audio workouts designed by Sean O'Malley mainly for use on stationary cardio equipment such as treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikes. I had read a lot about Cardio Coach from some online Cathe forum friends, so I was eager to try it out. I chose Cardio Coach Volume 1, as #1 seemed the natural place to start. I don't have any cardio equipment so I loaded the workout on my iPod Shuffle and hit the nearby trail outside.

Of course, I didn't double-check the order of the tracks on the workout before I went out the door. I realized after a while that I had it all out of sequence on my Shuffle. I started off well enough with a sort of intro, then the warm-up and the first steady state segment. Then it went into a challenge where you had to go to a higher cardio level (perhaps a hill if you use a treadmill but in my case I just kicked it up a notch and sped up). Then it went straight to the cooldown. It seemed like a pretty short workout and I was surprised--I thought I'd just have to repeat it a bit. After that challenge was a "coach's notes" segment with Sean talking about various inspirational stuff. I kind of skipped past that and found another steady state section and that's when I realized it was all out of order. Duh. So I went on from there and finished the rest of the workout. I didn't turn toward home at halfway, so I was out a little longer than the workout, so I did a little more steady state jogging and a little more cooldown.

I enjoyed the workout and I know I pushed myself harder than I normally do when I am just out jogging with my own music or an audiobook on my iPod. It was very motivating having someone in my ear encouraging me to push onward and go faster. I also liked the countdowns right before you went faster and right before you were done with a challenge and could slow down again. I also liked the music well enough. It was sort of trance or New Age stuff, and I'm more of a rock-and-roller, but it was pleasant and pumping enough to keep me going. I'm sure I'll enjoy it more next time when I get the tracks in order before taking off.

Oh, and the good news is my ankle felt fine! On the other hand, I had a bit of a chesty-sounding cough after I came back, but that stopped, so I guess I'm o.k.

I still haven't decided what rotation I'll start tomorrow, so I have some thinking to do today.

Cardio Coach

Yesterday I decided I wanted to try a jog and test my ankle. First, I downloaded a workout from the Cardio Coach website. Cardio Coach is a set of audio workouts designed by Sean O'Malley mainly for use on stationary cardio equipment such as treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikes. I had read a lot about Cardio Coach from some online Cathe forum friends, so I was eager to try it out. I chose Cardio Coach Volume 1, as #1 seemed the natural place to start. I don't have any cardio equipment so I loaded the workout on my iPod Shuffle and hit the nearby trail outside.

Of course, I didn't double-check the order of the tracks on the workout before I went out the door. I realized after a while that I had it all out of sequence on my Shuffle. I started off well enough with a sort of intro, then the warm-up and the first steady state segment. Then it went into a challenge where you had to go to a higher cardio level (perhaps a hill if you use a treadmill but in my case I just kicked it up a notch and sped up). Then it went straight to the cooldown. It seemed like a pretty short workout and I was surprised--I thought I'd just have to repeat it a bit. After that challenge was a "coach's notes" segment with Sean talking about various inspirational stuff. I kind of skipped past that and found another steady state section and that's when I realized it was all out of order. Duh. So I went on from there and finished the rest of the workout. I didn't turn toward home at halfway, so I was out a little longer than the workout, so I did a little more steady state jogging and a little more cooldown.

I enjoyed the workout and I know I pushed myself harder than I normally do when I am just out jogging with my own music or an audiobook on my iPod. It was very motivating having someone in my ear encouraging me to push onward and go faster. I also liked the countdowns right before you went faster and right before you were done with a challenge and could slow down again. I also liked the music well enough. It was sort of trance or New Age stuff, and I'm more of a rock-and-roller, but it was pleasant and pumping enough to keep me going. I'm sure I'll enjoy it more next time when I get the tracks in order before taking off.

Oh, and the good news is my ankle felt fine! On the other hand, I had a bit of a chesty-sounding cough after I came back, but that stopped, so I guess I'm o.k.

I still haven't decided what rotation I'll start tomorrow, so I have some thinking to do today.

Cardio Coach

Yesterday I decided I wanted to try a jog and test my ankle. First, I downloaded a workout from the Cardio Coach website. Cardio Coach is a set of audio workouts designed by Sean O'Malley mainly for use on stationary cardio equipment such as treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikes. I had read a lot about Cardio Coach from some online Cathe forum friends, so I was eager to try it out. I chose Cardio Coach Volume 1, as #1 seemed the natural place to start. I don't have any cardio equipment so I loaded the workout on my iPod Shuffle and hit the nearby trail outside.

Of course, I didn't double-check the order of the tracks on the workout before I went out the door. I realized after a while that I had it all out of sequence on my Shuffle. I started off well enough with a sort of intro, then the warm-up and the first steady state segment. Then it went into a challenge where you had to go to a higher cardio level (perhaps a hill if you use a treadmill but in my case I just kicked it up a notch and sped up). Then it went straight to the cooldown. It seemed like a pretty short workout and I was surprised--I thought I'd just have to repeat it a bit. After that challenge was a "coach's notes" segment with Sean talking about various inspirational stuff. I kind of skipped past that and found another steady state section and that's when I realized it was all out of order. Duh. So I went on from there and finished the rest of the workout. I didn't turn toward home at halfway, so I was out a little longer than the workout, so I did a little more steady state jogging and a little more cooldown.

I enjoyed the workout and I know I pushed myself harder than I normally do when I am just out jogging with my own music or an audiobook on my iPod. It was very motivating having someone in my ear encouraging me to push onward and go faster. I also liked the countdowns right before you went faster and right before you were done with a challenge and could slow down again. I also liked the music well enough. It was sort of trance or New Age stuff, and I'm more of a rock-and-roller, but it was pleasant and pumping enough to keep me going. I'm sure I'll enjoy it more next time when I get the tracks in order before taking off.

Oh, and the good news is my ankle felt fine! On the other hand, I had a bit of a chesty-sounding cough after I came back, but that stopped, so I guess I'm o.k.

I still haven't decided what rotation I'll start tomorrow, so I have some thinking to do today.

A Gorgeous Day for a Jog Along the Hudson

Today I actually had the urge to go for a run. I haven't had that urge in a long while. In the summer I just hated running in the heat--it's hard for me to do any intense cardio when it's very hot. Then in August I sprained my ankle and there was definitely no running after that. However, today my ankle felt good and I felt I just had to run, even though I had shoulders & back weight training scheduled for today. I figured I shouldn't ignore a healthy urge for a jog, so I went. I can't run full out the whole time. I run a bit, then walk a bit, then run a bit, etc.

I think part of the urge to run started this morning when we drove around the area looking at the beautiful fall foliage. We went to a nearby state park and I saw people jogging along the park trails. It occurred to me that it was probably a gorgeous time to jog along the trail that starts near my house and goes along a hill overlooking the Hudson River. I much prefer running in the fall to running in the blazing summer sun. Sure enough, it was the perfect day for a jog. The sky was slightly cloudy, but not dreary. It was cool and crisp and leaves littered the trail. The trees had lost just enough leaves for me to glimpse more of the river than I can see in spring and summer. My ankle felt fine except for one scary moment when I hit something on the path and it twisted in pain just briefly. I walked gingerly a bit but it seemed o.k. so I kept going. I actually ran a little better on the way home, when I got into my old rhythm of picking a spot to run to before slowing to a walk. Then I would near the spot and decide I was good to go a little further and pick another spot. This way I pushed myself to run a little more than I had before.

When I got home I rested for a few minutes, then I got up and did some weights for my shoulder and back after all. Then I did a lengthy session of core work. I didn't follow a video for all this (for once) but just did my own thing. I've been following workout videos long enough to know some great exercises now. Then I gave myself a really good stretch before curling up on the couch to write this. I feel really great, and I think I might start running more often again. I've always done better with weight loss when I add a little jogging to my workout rotation.

A Gorgeous Day for a Jog Along the Hudson

Today I actually had the urge to go for a run. I haven't had that urge in a long while. In the summer I just hated running in the heat--it's hard for me to do any intense cardio when it's very hot. Then in August I sprained my ankle and there was definitely no running after that. However, today my ankle felt good and I felt I just had to run, even though I had shoulders & back weight training scheduled for today. I figured I shouldn't ignore a healthy urge for a jog, so I went. I can't run full out the whole time. I run a bit, then walk a bit, then run a bit, etc.

I think part of the urge to run started this morning when we drove around the area looking at the beautiful fall foliage. We went to a nearby state park and I saw people jogging along the park trails. It occurred to me that it was probably a gorgeous time to jog along the trail that starts near my house and goes along a hill overlooking the Hudson River. I much prefer running in the fall to running in the blazing summer sun. Sure enough, it was the perfect day for a jog. The sky was slightly cloudy, but not dreary. It was cool and crisp and leaves littered the trail. The trees had lost just enough leaves for me to glimpse more of the river than I can see in spring and summer. My ankle felt fine except for one scary moment when I hit something on the path and it twisted in pain just briefly. I walked gingerly a bit but it seemed o.k. so I kept going. I actually ran a little better on the way home, when I got into my old rhythm of picking a spot to run to before slowing to a walk. Then I would near the spot and decide I was good to go a little further and pick another spot. This way I pushed myself to run a little more than I had before.

When I got home I rested for a few minutes, then I got up and did some weights for my shoulder and back after all. Then I did a lengthy session of core work. I didn't follow a video for all this (for once) but just did my own thing. I've been following workout videos long enough to know some great exercises now. Then I gave myself a really good stretch before curling up on the couch to write this. I feel really great, and I think I might start running more often again. I've always done better with weight loss when I add a little jogging to my workout rotation.

A Gorgeous Day for a Jog Along the Hudson

Today I actually had the urge to go for a run. I haven't had that urge in a long while. In the summer I just hated running in the heat--it's hard for me to do any intense cardio when it's very hot. Then in August I sprained my ankle and there was definitely no running after that. However, today my ankle felt good and I felt I just had to run, even though I had shoulders & back weight training scheduled for today. I figured I shouldn't ignore a healthy urge for a jog, so I went. I can't run full out the whole time. I run a bit, then walk a bit, then run a bit, etc.

I think part of the urge to run started this morning when we drove around the area looking at the beautiful fall foliage. We went to a nearby state park and I saw people jogging along the park trails. It occurred to me that it was probably a gorgeous time to jog along the trail that starts near my house and goes along a hill overlooking the Hudson River. I much prefer running in the fall to running in the blazing summer sun. Sure enough, it was the perfect day for a jog. The sky was slightly cloudy, but not dreary. It was cool and crisp and leaves littered the trail. The trees had lost just enough leaves for me to glimpse more of the river than I can see in spring and summer. My ankle felt fine except for one scary moment when I hit something on the path and it twisted in pain just briefly. I walked gingerly a bit but it seemed o.k. so I kept going. I actually ran a little better on the way home, when I got into my old rhythm of picking a spot to run to before slowing to a walk. Then I would near the spot and decide I was good to go a little further and pick another spot. This way I pushed myself to run a little more than I had before.

When I got home I rested for a few minutes, then I got up and did some weights for my shoulder and back after all. Then I did a lengthy session of core work. I didn't follow a video for all this (for once) but just did my own thing. I've been following workout videos long enough to know some great exercises now. Then I gave myself a really good stretch before curling up on the couch to write this. I feel really great, and I think I might start running more often again. I've always done better with weight loss when I add a little jogging to my workout rotation.