Aerial's!

Been a very full week of work!  I am excited it is the weekend! California took more out of me than I realized!  I have been so exhausted all week, all i want to do is sleep, and I have been!  Because of that my motivation to work out has been slipping.  Tuesday I just did abs, wednesday i took totally off.  Thursday I go up and ran about 2.5 miles, which felt really nice.  So far today I have not done anything.  Beginning to think that this will just be a week of rest.  Might get up and run a little before we head out tomorrow.  Guess my body needed some time to recover.  Hopefully my normal energy levels return soon.

BACK!!!

I am finally home.  San Jose was absolutely amazing!! I cannot imagine a better way to have spent my summer.  All the pics are up on facebook.  Unfortunately, I got incredibly busy while there, with class work, and updating this blog quickly lost priority.  But now that I am home, I am back.  For the most part I was good at working out while there.  The last week I was wiped out and developed a cold so I ended up sleeping in every morning except for monday, but I did get to the gym most evenings.  I am absolutely gonna miss that class.  I learned so much, and I made what I know will be life long friends.  I am happy to be home, and am really looking forward to getting back to school in a few weeks.

Today I got back to working out after several days off due to travel and such.  Got up around 7 this morning, and it was already hot and humid.  Started my warm up with something I have not seen in a while, a hill!!!   That mile actually felt really good, guess the work I did in Cali paid off!!  Then ran approximately 60 m in the yard.  It was fun dodging trees and running on the side of a hill! hahaha!  The plan was to run 24 total.  I was dying in the humidity.  Started with a set of 7, then 6, then 7.  Then stopped for a while, thinking I needed to be done.  But after a few mins inside, I put my shoes back on and headed out to finish the whole thing.  They were not particularly fast or anything, but I am proud of myself for finishing the whole thing.

This afternoon I headed to the basement to get a little lift in.  Started with 3 sets of 8 handstand push ups, 3 sets of 10 dips, 3 sets of 10 curls, and 3 sets of 8 military press.  Next round had 3 sets of 20 push ups, 3 sets of skull crusher series (minus the middle one), and 3 sets of behind head tricep raises with weight.  Finished up the day with 3 sets of consecutive 2 min abs, was struggling by the 3rd set but made it through.  Overall today was a good day, very productive.

4th of July!

Today was a great 4th of July, slept in til just after 9 this morning then did lab all day until around 3 when we headed out for our run!  It was hot!  Started with a mile warm up only to find that the normal park was filled with a 4th of July picnic, so we changed course and went on campus to find a spot.  Ran 60 m today.  2 sets of 6.  I was so excited to start but then the early stages of heat stroke set in, I did not drink nearly enough water today!  So my speed dropped of significantly!!  Got clear through the first set then went on a mission to find water.  Ran 6 more then skipped a set of 2, then finished out the last 4, opted out of the bonus to today as well.  I am quite disappointed in myself for letting this happen again! I need to get better about drinking water!  Overall it was still an alright workout, finished up with 2 mins abs and stretching.  Just finished up the 2 labs that are due on wednesday and getting ready to head out to some fireworks with group!  Its exciting to celebrate the 4th in the US this year!!

Too Many Lab reports!

Been a long time since I have been able to post because my days have been full of class lab reports and studying.  Did still manage to get several good workouts in, but have not had the chance to write about them.  Wednesday was a "light" day.  Went of the mile loop around campus.  Kurt decided to go hard though turning my day off into one of the fastest miles I have run!!  That afternoon, after taking a mid term that went ok, we headed to the gym.  Did an arm work out, it was good, my triceps were sore for days!!  Thursday was back to the 3 mile run before heading to Berkeley National Lab for the day.  Pleased with my run, but let myself easy up a little since the previous few days had been so rough!  The trip was great, it was so cool to see the place I spent so much time learning about in the Spring, and being at a place where real scientists do real work!  Friday morning we got up and headed to the pool again.  Excited to have Jeff join us.  It was great to have a second coach!! My swimming has gotten much better!  Managed to do a full 50 m swim with flip turn and all!!  Excited to continue getting better.  Saturday had no structured workout but we spent the day at the beach playing volleyball.  It was an amazing day!!  Could absolutely go back again!!  Today was a light shake out kinda day.  Quick light 20 mins run this morning then a trip to the gym this afternoon.  Sunday's are ab days for Kurt so I decided to see what I could do.  I was quite pleased with myself!  Started off with crunches ups, toe touches, heals to the heavens, twists and 6" 12 " with a weight ball.  Then did some mountain climbers with a ball. Finally we headed in to the actual weights.  The circuit consisted of side pulls with a weight (made my day on the second set when I walked over next to some guy who thought he was pretty legit, picked up a weight 5 lbs bigger than his and did the same exercise!!!  hahaha love it!!!)  broomsticks, knee up series on the pull up bar, decine abs and decline twists.  Did not quite get to finish because the gym closed at 5, but none the less it was a great work out!!  Hoping my abs are sore tomorrow, been a while since that has happened!  Now dinner and back to lab reports!

Back to running!

After our swim yesterday, Kurt and I got back on the normal schedule and headed out for the normal tuesday run, 3 laps around the SJSU campus.  Very proud of myself for holding on for real for the first two full laps, and getting to the last corner before Kurt got back.  I pushed myself well this morning and was proud of it.  Then had some good morning recess time, Lab, lunch, rad safety test, lab again, volleyball in the rain (which was amazing!!) Pizza for dinner, and then studying...  Midterm tomorrow!  also very excited to get to talk to Michael for a few mins!!  been way to long!!  Looking forward to a light run tomorrow and hopefully a lift in the afternoon if I survive this test!!!  But for now my brain is done studying and I am headed to bed!

What a Monday!!!

So after a wonderful weekend, I got up this morning for my first swimming workout!!!!  I am definitely still a failure but it was so much fun.  Kurt took me through a little of swimming 101, but I just need to get comfortable.  There was no real workout this morning, just swimming laps, right now I can barely survive a lap!!!!  Wanted to learn how to flip turn, but always ended up just flipping and not hitting the wall!!  It is weird to be wearing good enough goggles that I can trust them to keep the water out!! I am still closing my eyes more than necessary!!  Despite the lack of plan it was definitely a workout!! I was so tired afterwards!!

Unfortunately, our professor for the week has a urinary tract infection and was unable to lecture, this resulted in us having the afternoon off!! So after some volleyball that resulted in me getting burnt :(  Kurt and I went to the gym.  I did not have a plan for the day so I decided I would tag along with him.  I really love learning new exercises and trying new things so it was fun!  Today was a shoulder day for him, so now my shoulders are pretty sore!  We did a whole bunch of stuff!!  shoulder shrugs, military press, these strange things where you put weight under ur legs while sitting on the end of the bench and pull it up til it hits ur legs (apparently I can lift more than the other TA!! hahaha!!!!!)  Then we did a circuit that included shoulder series work with light weights, bar rows, standing military press, somethings kinda like flys but on your stomach and pull ups.  For the most part I did 3 sets of 10, there were a few where I did not quite hit it though.  It was a great arm workout, but because the exercises were new I did not quite no what weights I need to be lifting.

Overall it was a great day!  Much more relaxing with plenty of time to get done all that I needed to.  Some crazy stuff is happen in the next few days, so we will see!

Finally Friday!!

I was so excited that today was Friday!! I got nearly 7 hours of sleep last night and it was wonderful!! I was still really sore, but was excited to get out and sprint.  Last nite I was told that todays workout was death sprints!!!  It was close, but definitely an overstatement!!  Marked out 50 meters then ran 100 m cut backs.  First was 2 sets of six.  Then pushed it up to 200 m for the second set!! I was flying on the 100s!! Even managed to win one!!!  Apparently Kurt did not know it was a race!!  I informed him that everything is a race!!  But I got destroyed on the 200s!!  Three cut back were just brutal with sore quads!!!!  But made it through anyway!! Can already tell I am getting stronger!!  Then enjoyed some intense volleyball time after a great dinner at a Japanese steakhouse!! Today was a great day, but the 7+ hours of lecture made my legs even more stiff!!  Now my brain is just done and needs some time to relax!!!  I am so excited for the redwood forest and the beach tomorrow!! Gonna be a great day!

SORE!!!!!

So i was right, my legs felt like lead when i got up this morning!!! i was a little upset at my alarm for going off at 6:00, but knew i would be upset of I bailed on running this morning!!  Kurt and I decided it was ok to just go for a random run today rather than running the usual tuesday/thursday loop.  We headed off in a new direction and just explored for a little while.  Ended up going to a new part of town.  Also, I now know where the walmart is!!  Overall, it was 34 mins, at a decent pace, heart rate barely elevated, but legs very tired!  Today was a full day with class and lab, so with too much sitting I got very sore.  Now i am having issues getting up and down the stairs!! It is aweful what happens when u stop squating for 7 weeks!!  But my legs should be good to go for a sprint workout tomorrow.  Things are much better right now since the lab that is due tomorrow only took like 2 hours rather than like 15-20!!  Hopefully the rest will be more like this one!  I am looking forward to guest speakers and dinner tomorrow!!  Cannot believe it is gonna be friday already!! This week went crazy fast!

Lab reports ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Way too many lab reports to do!!! I have nearly finished 3 since I got here and have done the lab but need to write the report for 4 more!!! and it has only been a week and a half!!! Holy cow!!  At least I am getting faster at them.

Got a little better sleep last night and was not nearly as upset when my alarm went off.  Today was just an easyish mile in the morning.  Ran at a faster pace than last week, less chatting, but def not breaking any records.  Today's lab was a little shorter and I was able to get in a lift this afternoon!!
3x10 shoulder press with 30 lbs weights
squats 10 at 135, 8 at 155, 6 at 175 (then failed at an attempt at 4 at 185, not a bad day back!) with 3x8 leg lifts
3x10 calf raises each direction with 30lbs weights
3x10 incline press with 30 lbs weights with 3x12 back extensions with a 30 lb weight
3x8 box jumps with 3x11 dips
Michael's push up series with 3x10 incline abs
2 mins abs and 5 mins on the elliptical to finish up.

So I'm gonna be very sore in the morning.  Most likely gonna do another slower run to just get my legs moving and postpone tomorrows run to like Saturday morning when my legs hopefully won't feel like Pb bricks!

Rough Day!

Today started out rough, when I was disappointed to hear my alarm, then I lost a contact!!  My run this morning was not the best  Just over half way through lap 2  I got a very bad stomach cramp!! Kurt was nice and walked about 50 m with me until it relaxed a little.  Because he was nice I was able to reach my goal for the morning of holding pace for 2 whole laps, cheated a little, but technically i did!! haha!!  But by the end of the second lap, my body was done.  I am really tired and pretty stressed out from all of the work I have to do!!  But with a up of coffee this morning lecture was fun and lab was bearable!  unfortunately, because lab took like 5 hours I did not have enough time to go to the gym,  spent 4 hours working on a lab report instead!!  I will play tomorrow and thursday by ear in that respect and just see how it goes, if I am not able to start lifting again until next week when things calm down, thats ok.  Overall, I am really enjoying this class!! Lectures are really interesting, labs just take way too long!!

Sleepy Monday!

So I have not been getting the sleep I need lately, so waking up this morning at 6 after going to bed at 12:30 was rough.  But nonetheless by 6:15 Kurt and I headed out on the warm-up, about a mile.  Then we went to the field and ran 60 m sprints.  2 sets of 10.  I was happy that I kept it so close!!!  Obviously I expect to loose, but its nice to feel like I am at least holding my own!  It was tricky running in the grass, lots of holes and the ground was wet!  Then we simply had to run an extra 2 to pick up the plate we used to mark the 60 m line!!  Overall it was a good work out.  But I was struggling to be awake during the 3 hours of lecture this morning, especially because it was mostly review today, but I made it, and I made it through a really long lab.  Now workin on some homework, finally starting to transition back into school mode!  But its gonna be a long week.

Sunday = work day!

Not too much of an off day for me today, but very happy I was so productive!  Got up just before 7:30, threw my laundry in the wash then headed out for a run with Kurt.  Did the same loop as wednesday, just over a mile.  Had fun making him sprint out the finish even though his legs were sore from the day before.  Went hard about 50 m from the finish and knew he wouldn't let me win (which i didn't :( ) But it was fun nonetheless.  Then after a nice breakfast I got to work on my lab report.  Fought with it for several hours before heading to the weight room.  SJSU has a decent weight room, not breath taking by any means but it will serve its purpose for the summer.  Took me a little while to get acclemated with the area then got going.  Decided to go for a full body workout.  It has been a while since I lifted so I kept it light.  Started with 3x8 NG pulls, with leg raises  (great to have the equipment to do these again).  Then headed over to bench, 3x8 at 95 lbs, low weight but I was by myself and it was my first day in a while.  Also, the clips for the bar are terrible!  Don't think I will be doing many workouts where I need to change weights!!  With bench I did decline abs with a 25 lbs weight.  Then 3x 5 cleans at 95 lbs, and 3 x 8 sets of the shoulder series.  Finished up the lift with 3x8 lance step ups with a 35 lbs weight with 3x8 decline russian twists with the same weight.  Ended the day with a nice cool down on the treadmill.  Afterwards its was nice to catch up with my parents a little, and get to talk to Michael, been a while!!  Then spent several hours trying to finish up this ridiculous lab report,  all done now.  Got a pretty busy week ahead, but hoping to reintroduce lifting into my schedule.

Friday!!!!!!

So once again this morning I got up early to run, today was a sprint day.  Kurt and I did a mile ish loop for warm up.  I was super pleased that I kept up much better than monday morning!  Prob because I wasn't wearing my bag.  The we hit the field and measured out 100 m.  The workout for this morning was pyramid style.  100 m cuts backs, from 100 to 500 meters then back!  I felt exhausted by the first 400 and did my best to get through the rest.  Luckily, I am super competitive so I would never stop.  So glad I got through it  but i was miserable while I ran it.  then we headed back and headed off to our last day of class for the week!!  Today was a very interesting but very long day!!  I loved the guest lecturers tonite, but my mind was hurting by the end of it.  Dinner was great! I am really looking forward to taking the day off and enjoying San Francisco all day tomorrow!!!!

Gettin Better

So this morning I already noticed an improvement in my running.  I held pace with Kurt for about 100 meters farther than I did on tuesday.  But at that point I felt on the border of hard to breath sobs so I backed off some trying my best to keep myself just below that point.  But once again I ran the whole way,  more than I can say for my 5K, so I'm getting better.  My lungs still need to get stronger in order to keep up with what my body can do.  Class today was really interesting, its getting much less scary now that we know what to expect.  Lab also went well to.  Tonite is an easier night than last nite, so we r looking forward to spending some time together relaxing again.  Tomorrow is a sprint day again which will be exciting, looks like a hard workout.  Then Saturday is an off day from running as we head out to San Francisco.  Overall, I am starting to really enjoy myself as I set into a routine and get used to doing work again.

Nuclear Boot Camp!!

So this experience has been refered to by others as nuclear boot camp and I can absolutely see why!! These first few days have been a little rough!  Approximately 3 hours of lecture in the morning, then 3 hours of lab in the afternoon!! Makes for a full day! Especially now that we have lab reports to write a quizzes to take!! But through it all I have managed to continue a pretty good workout routine.  Got up and met Kurt every morning this week.  It helps to have someone else going!  My competitiveness won't let me bail!!! : )  Tuesday was a hard distance run.  We lapped San Jose's Campus 3 times.  It is between a mile and a quarter and a mile and a half.  Did that 3 times total.  Kept up with Kurt nicely for the first lap and about 2/3s of the second, then I could no longer hold pace.  But I did run the whole way.  So now the goal for the summer is to maintain contact longer every time we do the run!!!  This morning we got up and went for a short easy run.  Just one lap this time.  It was at a nice chill recovery pace, slow enough we could chat most of the way!!  Glad the week is moving a long nicely!!  Already looking forward to the weekend trip to  San Francisco!

Up and Running!

This morning I got up and joined Kurt for his morning workout!  I am so excited to have someone to work out with!  Don't know if my body has stopped needing sleep or if I was just excited for today but at 6 o'clock I was up and ready to go!  Started out with about a mile loop round the area.  I was kinda struggling by the end but ill be up for that is no time!!! Then we went to the park and ran 30 meter cut backs.  His call was for 2 sets of 10, with minimal rest between each one.  He also pushed me through one extra one at the end just to always keep getting better.  Obviously he beat me every time but I am proud of my self for keeping up my speed the whole way through.  Then we headed back to the I house got cleaned up and headed to our first day of class!! I was so excited!!  Our prof this week is great.  The majority of the stuff was review from radiohem last semester, I am so glad I took that class!!!  3 hours of lecture is a long time though!!! After a nice lunch we toured a little then went back for another 1.5 hours of lecture!!!  This is def nuclear boot camp!!  But the profs no what they are doing and give us nice breaks where we go to the court yard and throw a frisbee or volleyball, and they make sure we have snacks!!  I'm gonna do a lot the next 6 weeks but im sure it'll be awesome!!!

first days of nerd camp!

So I have finally made it to San Jose and I love it!!!  Some of my classmates decided to be clever and call this nerd camp, in the most loving way possible.  It is a blast to be with others who are so excited about chemistry, particularly nuclear, and it’s great to have other people understand the humor of science jokes!!!  Everyone is great, the International house is really nice, campus is pretty!!  It is all pretty wonderful!  Yesterday was a very long day because I was up early for my flight then I had to stay up late in order to adjust to the time change quickly.  I was incredibly tired but made it.  Yesterday was not an incredibly active day for me since I spent over 8 hours traveling, but once I got here I walked the neighborhoods and played Frisbee with some of my classmates, I was not the best at Frisbee since we were basically playing at what would have been 10 or 11 o’clock at home!  but it was a blast.  This is a very active group.  This morning after breakfast we headed over to campus and threw a Frisbee and football for a little while, then we walked around and explored the city of San Jose for a little while.  When we got back we were introduced to In and Out burger which is apparently a big deal here.  It was good.  Then we played cards for a while.  Afterwards, my roommate Ali, and another guy, Logan went on a run to explore campus for a while.  We went for like 30 mins, made it all the way down to the track and back.  It was nice, then we joined back up with the group and messed around with a volleyball.  Afterward, we headed out to our first dinner as a group, a place called The Elephant Bar.  It was very good!!  Later we wander the neighborhoods some more and even stopped at a house with an orange tree where they let us pick some oranges!  They were so fresh and delicious!!!!  Tomorrow I am waking up and joining one of the TAs, Kurt, who is a big workout buff, for a morning workout.  Very excited to have someone to workout with!!   Could be a very productive 6 weeks in that area!!  I am really looking forward to tomorrow!! Don’t think I have ever been so excited for a class to start before!!!  Loving San Jose!!!

Quick Lift/ Getting ready to go!

After work yesterday I spent the afternoon packing and getting ready to leave.  Then headed down stairs to do a quick lift.
5x5 Incline bench (95lbs) much harder than I thought it would be!
4x8 decline abs with 25lbs
3x8 split jumps each leg, 10 lbs weight, with 3x8 leg raises on the decline
3x5 side/back lung series with 3x5 shoulder series and 3x8 squat curls
was supposed to do wide grip pull ups but couldn't use the bar and i did not feel like dealing with slipping off the bar so instead I did 2 x8 handstand push ups.

Today  I worked for 5 hours so now im wiped after workin with kids all day, so made the decision to relax and finish packing rather than try to fit in a workout.  Excited and anxious to get going tomorrow!