December 11th: Looks Like I'm Stuck Indoors for a While

Well, I think we can say that we're into the dead of winter now. Wind chill was below 20 this morning. That's way too cold even to think of an outdoor run. Looks like it's going to stay cold for a while, too. So Work Out World is going to be my home away from home for the foreseeable future. I think the real loser here is the dog.

My workout went generally as planned this morning. After my normal warmup, I did core exercises first:

• Ab Coaster -- facing forward and then rotated each way, 12 each, 3 sets.
• Bicycle crunches, 3 sets.
• Horizontal leg lifts, 3 sets.

I have to say, I wasn't looking forward to this part of it. Even though I did a little core work yesterday, this was the first time I'd targeted my abs in close to a month. But I felt better for having done it. It was hard work, but I know it will help in the long run.

Then onto the belt. I knew I had only about a half-hour, so I kicked up the speed to a little faster than race pace and set the incline at 1 percent. That's a serious challenge for me! I tried to get a quick shot of the screen while I was running -- it came out clearer than I thought it would, but I cut off the distance, and I guess that's my finger in the way at the top. I kept going for a little more than a minute past this, getting to 3.5 miles in 31.30. I'm really hoping that combining the speed with the incline will pay some dividends. I'm not sure how much longer I could have kept up that pace.

I think I'll be back at WOW tomorrow. I'm not sure what my workout will entail. I do want to keep up the core work, but I also want to keep logging miles. Maybe a repeat of today. I guess we'll see. Friday is a likely off day -- it's Jackie and my annual Shop Till We Drop Day! Hey, maybe I'll have more stamina than last year. Then another long on Saturday or Sunday.

Total miles since starting the blog: 158.3