Back to Barre3 & the Zoo

No, they are not related but it has been a while since I've been to either. 

Either the legs were still a bit tired from the trail race or I need to remember to continue leg strength work. Or both. I was pleased to find the return to a barre class not that bad. Oh it was a great workout and I can feel it but I felt strong throughout except the legs were a bit tired. 

My work held a summer picnic for employees at the Woodland Park Zoo just a few miles from us. It was a lot of fun and we had a nice dinner with drinks included and then a chance to have 3 "animal encounters" plus we could wander through the zoo. 

One of the animal encounters involved a spectacled owl. He was stunning to look at and the handler/zoo keeper was great to talk to. I've seen an owl before while running early in the morning. yes they can be territorial at times but nothing to fear generally. We then wandered through the trails and saw the wolves. It was a very peaceful evening and quite enjoyable.

Find the work

That was the bit of wisdom in this morning's barre class. And even after years of doing weight training, this class is helping me figure out engaging my muscles when specifically trying to work them.  Sounds dumb right? Evidently this wasn't something I quite understood when doing strength work. Oh you contract the muscle when you lift and hold and slowly release. Barre uses little movements to target the muscles and you hold it and engage for a longer period of time. I have been finding the work and I'm curious as to whether I'll notice the difference in running. I think yes!

Meanwhile it is dark. All the lights are going up downtown. This always makes me happy.

It's September right?

We hit 90 degrees today! It's the glory days of a late summer. However, I want to both run and get in an early morning barre3 workout. A barre3 workout in the am and a run in the evening makes for a very slow run.  Add in 90 degree heat and that would be unpleasant to say the least!  So it was a very early morning to get in a nice 3 mile recovery and then an excellent barre class.  Strength work standing on one leg really shows me that barre3 is a great tool to build strength. 

Barefoot

4 Barefoot for Barre3

No sledgehammering today. I need a break. This was the only time to get in a strength workout this week.  I'm fine walking around the house barefoot but I'm not a fan in this sort of setting.  Yoga classes included.  The hard floor can bother my feet.  I'm trying to be careful and more mindful of foot placement and not overextending my big toes.  I think yoga classes caused a round of sesamoiditis (an inflammation of the sesamoid bones - teeny little bones in the ball of your foot) for me a couple years ago.  Would it look silly if I wore my running shoes in a barre class?

Good class. It felt a lot easier. I think that might be because my legs weren't tired from a long ride and/or run the days before.  It was a happy glute workout and a very good stretch too.

Mixing it up

I'll admit it.  The last thing I like to do during the summer is come home and do any strength training.  It's hot out, I've walked up the hill from the bus and i'm sweaty. I need to set hoses to water or cook or go run track!  The last thing i like doing is doing strength training workouts and when i do them, i slack off in the summer.  There are too many other things to do.

I need that strength training though so what to do? Hey!  A new Barre3 studio opened up close to me.  What is a barre workout?  There are various types (barre method, barre3, lotte berk method) and all seem to use a ballet barre, isometric holds and light weights to strengthen.  It's hard to describe.  I was pretty happy that the class i tried didn't really have a cardio component.  I've got that already!  This doesn't mean i wasn't breathing hard or sweating though.  No, my legs were shaking and my arms were burning with effort.  One of my van mates at Ragnar said that she has found that the barre workouts do the best for her to keep knee and hip injuries at bay.  And judging by the one class which targeted glutes until they were screaming for mercy, i'd agree!  It was fun and I'd do it again. 

It's been great weather this summer and it's been fun to get out on my bike with K.  I'd run many times in Discovery Park but had never biked there.  After a nice walk through the locks on our bikes, we found some huge hill to go up by accident.  That left my legs quivery!  I resisted the granny gear but just barely made it up.  This also gave me a chance to try a new type of fueling on the ride.  The Feed Zone Portables comes from testing on the Tour de France and other major bike events.  Turns out that if you feel rider of long multi-stage bike rides crappy junk, they feel pretty crappy and soon don't want to eat that stuff.  You don't eat when biking?  Bad things happen!  So they set about finding easily cooked, easily digestible ingredients that taste good.

Coconut rice bar with blueberries & chocolate

I tried a blueberry chocolate rice bar made out of cooked rice flavored with coconut milk, sugar and salt and mixed with fresh blueberries and chocolate.  it was super tasty, easy to eat and make. I had one when riding and had one a couple times as a snack at work. It is mild tasting for a snack at work and tastes much better when out on the bike. Freezing it did change the texture and consistency.  Freezing caused it to fall apart easily which makes it a bit harder to eat on the bike and taste was a bit less fresh but still perfectly acceptable.  I cannot wait to try a savory recipe.  I cannot wait to try these on long trail runs too.