To gym or not to gym?

Raise your hand if you pay monthly for a gym membership you use less than once a month!

Yeah. That's me.

This is why I started adding up how much Jason & I pay a month for the gym and how many months of membership fees it would take to just purchase what we needed for use at home. After all, we have a spare bedroom we could clear up for workout space and then there's no excuses about not wanting to have to "get out" or not having time. And so, we have cancelled our membership.

So I'm thinking a yoga mat & ball, medicine ball, resistance band, aerobic step and some weights? My old coach, Kate Martini-Freeman, also suggested the bosu ball which I think is pretty fantastic.

Jason would like to add a bench and some heavier dumbbells to the list.

First, I'm going to see if I can find some of these things on Freecycle. If you haven't tried out Freecycle, I highly encourage it. It is exactly as it sounds. Freecycle might make the home gym very possible and affordable.

Imagine how much we'll save not paying for a membership we rarely use!

Now the question is, will I be able to stay motivated at home?

Friends Don't Let Friends Stop Running

Jason and I had the good fortune to be "forced" to run this last Sunday.

As we mentioned before, we're signed up for the Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Half Marathon because our friend, Nicole, is fund raising for that event with Team in Training. She was out visiting this weekend and needed to complete a 5 miler as part of her training so asked if we would do it with her.

Our training location of choice is the Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area in Irwindale, CA. Pictured below is our "loop" route around the park.

This reminds me of the importance of a "team effort" mentality for those of us who aren't disciplined or seasoned runners, or at least need accountability. I know when it came to training with the team for our very first marathon, I needed my pace group's encouragement and I benefited from the challenge of pacing with faster runners. Now, Jason and I push each other on. I have never done well trying to run by myself. Maybe someday.

I know that we probably wouldn't have gone out for a 5 miler at 4-1 intervals had Nicole not asked and, without our interval watch and familiarity with where and how far to run, she would've had a more difficult time of it on her own.

I'm glad to say that I think Nicole has been improving in her pace and stamina since our last run together. This time we ran 4-1 intervals, she was conversational and kept pace to the end of each run interval. GO TEAM!

Strength Training?

When we first joined Team In Training, our cross training nights involved Strength Training. We're talking all those humbling exercises that show you how sad your stabilizer muscles and core strength really is. Planks and bridges, man. Planks and bridges.

Anyhow, we actually did make it to the gym a few days ago and I tried some of those strength moves again with the addition of a few new things I watched/read that are supposed to be helpful for runners.

When I say "tried" I really mean "sampled". I figure it was a start and it did encourage me toward the idea of supplying myself with the basic equipment necessary to do these workouts at home...away from the scrutinizing and curious eyes of the other women and men of the gym. I don't know why but it really messes with my focus when others are walking around me as I lay on the ground trying to lift my hips into the air and squeeze my glutes.

More on home gym later.