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Old 01-01-21, 01:53 PM  
AlisonH
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Endurance Check-In Winter 2021~~Swim, Bike, Run, Row, Hike, and More

Starting off the winter thread. We do a little bit of everything, and all are welcome to join the fun!

Winter Questions:
What activity do you REALLY hope to get back to doing in 2021?
What goals did you set for 2021?
2020 was rough, but was there something good from it you can share?
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Old 01-01-21, 02:07 PM  
AlisonH
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What activity do you REALLY hope to get back to doing in 2021? It’s hard to pick one, but I guess travel is the top of my list. I won’t get to do my bike the Danube trip this year either, but maybe a U.S. adventure trip will be possible.

What goals did you set for 2021? Focus on my well-being while handling stress. I can’t control the stressors around me, but I can control how I react to them.

2020 was rough, but was there something good from it you can share? I lost 23 pounds, finished (as of the end of next week) two strength-training rotations, and I have been tracking my food since July 20.

Happy New Year everyone! I did not stay up til midnight last night, but that’s okay. Daphne: I found an unused used rower at a “get this out of my house” price and bought it! It’s nowhere near as nice as the Hydrow, but it does the trick for now. I have the Apple Fitness+ app on free trial, which has rowing, so I’m going to work on my technique with it. I did a workout this morning, and it was rough. I can’t seem to get the core and then arms part, which I struggled with the last time I tried rowing too. Once I master it and this free trial expires, I might try the Hydrow app trial.

New Year’s Day workout: 10 minutes on rower, 30 minutes on spin bike, 15 minutes of lower-body floor work, 10 minutes abs, and 5 minutes stretch. Let 2021 begin!
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Old 01-01-21, 02:38 PM  
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Check out Shane Farmer

Alison: check out Dark Horse Rowing on YouTube. Shane Farmer is his name. I used his beginner videos for a couple few months and he is spot on with teaching form. Then when you ease into the Hydrow app, you’ll have the hang of it and the Athletes of Hydrow will reinforce all you learned. Yes. I speak from experience!!!!

Be patient with yourself. It was a good month and I was ready to give up when it finally all came together . It clicked and then I was on my way. Went on to scenic rows (another you tube channel I enjoy, no voices, just a scenic row and a foghorn when you change strokes per minute).

Hydrow then Becomes the icing on the cake!!! Welcome to the world of rowing. (And lookey there... now i have an arrow on the endurance check in and can lurk easier!!!!!) .

Edited to add: Congratulations on scoring the new rower!!! I have a water rower, so I just use the app. Some day. I'll get either the Hydrow (or am still holding out and hoping that Peloton puts one out. Then only one subscription.)

Back to your regularly scheduled check in.
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Old 01-01-21, 03:30 PM  
Pratima
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Happy New Year! Y'all are a bad influence--I bought a rower too. It's a Proform that retails for about $1K. There's a local business that sells liquidation items (open box, return, etc.) and delivers. The store is 60-90 minutes away but delivery is $50 and it arrives assembled, so I'll have a rower Tuesday!

Cleda, thank you for popping in with the recommendation. The rower I'm getting is iFit enabled but I was wondering if there was a good intro video, so i'll check that out.

Allison, wow, 23 pounds! Everyone else is putting on that much. Ugh, I really should track. If you should travel to this area, we should get together. I am still hoping we'll make it out that way--my aunt lives in Herndon and she invited us there in 2019.

Winter Questions:
What activity do you REALLY hope to get back to doing in 2021?
Running and hiking! I feel like I wasn't outside as much as I should have been. Oh and it's not fitness-related but how about talking to people other than my family regularly?
What goals did you set for 2021? Uhhh nothing yet. I'm in such an odd place. My hip doesn't feel strong enough yet, my job is weird, and I feel like we'll never see our families again. Maybe to just be at peace? I was relatively peaceful while unemployed, so I need to hold on to that feeling.
2020 was rough, but was there something good from it you can share? My kids got to be really good swimmers and can cook and clean like champs! So they're relatively independent. And while I didn't leave my job at the time and in the way I'd wanted, I do think overall it's good I'm out. I was ready to leave for a while and the only thing I miss is all the vacation time I'd accrued!

We did stay up last night. The neighbor family we were supposed to spend Thanksgiving with (but didn't because the mom got COVID) came over and we had a firepit and fireworks in the driveway. They were legalized a few years ago, and the kids had fun running around and setting them off. We watched a movie after and didn't actually do anything when midnight hit!

This morning I got up at 7 and did my Body Beast workout. I went to our room to change for a planned hike and DH got called in to work but basically drove there, sat for 15 minutes, and was sent home. So I did go hiking. It was this odd thing where a new member of my MRTT chapter set it up but also posted it in apparently a ton of other groups. There were at least half a dozen women there. I'd ridden with a friend, and so she and I started out right on time since we both needed to get back.

The same friend and one other are coming over Sunday afternoon for sangria and snacks in the yard. My one friend does "driveway drinks" every now and then, to be distancing-ish and still see people.

I'll get to talk to people other than my family 3 times this week! I can't tell you how exciting that is.
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Old 01-02-21, 12:03 AM  
Cleda
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Congratulations!!!

Pratima on your NEW rower.

Next thing you know, we'll need to start a "rowing" check in!

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Old 01-02-21, 12:32 AM  
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Just pasting my VF exercise marathon check in. I will be back tmrw!

I didn't sign up for a morning time slot (good thing since I stayed up till 3 this morning!) but I started at 10:48 AM (MN time) and did days 18 and 19 of Lee Holden's Qi Gong 30-day challenge, then I did days 1 and 2 of Lucy Wyndham-Read's Fitness Advent calendar (only a month late!) and finished with Fightmaster Yoga -Yoga for Beginners at Home 30-day challenge day 3.

For my 6 PM time slot I started a little late bc our walk got wonky with other dogs out (Cyric is terribly dog reactive) so at 5:10 my time I got started with day 13 of the Crossrope 14-day beginner's challenge (that I started last February! ) and then Lucy's calendar day 4. I was supposed to have started hers earlier in the week to be on day 4 today but never did. I'll do day 3 tmrw. Anyway, it was fun knowing Linda was working out at the same time. If not for this marathon I would not have worked out this evening but doing so afforded me some extra calories! While jumping rope, though, I was so thankful I don't have a weighted rope bc I could not stop tripping no matter how I jumped or what I tried. Very frustrating. Maybe that 3 AM bedtime catching up to me??
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Old 01-03-21, 02:20 PM  
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Cleda: Thanks for the tips! I checked out Dark Horse Rowing and it looks like it will be very helpful. I too hope Peloton finally comes out with rowing.

Pratima: I’m glad you got to go hiking! I should say that I gained at least half of those 23 pounds during the first few months of quarantine! I’ve been stuck the last few weeks, but no surprise with the big holiday meals and treats. I still have a long way to go to meet my goal. The goal isn’t so much weight as it is fitting in clothes, but I still track weight. I hope you do make it out here—Herndon isn’t too far from me. I also hope to head west again as soon as travel is safer. Although we need to start doing college visits with Megan, and I have no idea how that will work!

Vantreesta: The marathon is such a good idea—one of these years I’ll join in too.

Daphne: I’m sure you’re rowing somewhere scenic!

Me: I did the Peloton functional threshold power test today so I can do the power zone rides without estimating. The test was hard, pushing nonstop for 20 minutes. It makes me think I wasn’t really estimating my power zones well when I had been doing the power zone rides. I plan to do one with my real zones tomorrow and see how it goes. I love having the power and cadence meter!
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Old 01-05-21, 11:09 AM  
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Happy 2021, Endurance Chicks! I'm so looking forward to a better year, a vaccine, and hopefully (for the sake of my marriage, LOL) a less politically divisive world.

Winter Q&A:
What activity do you REALLY hope to get back to doing in 2021?
I'll echo you, Alison -- travel. Jamie and I had a week-long hiking trip to Banff and Lake Louise set for June 2020 that never happened.
What goals did you set for 2021? I haven't set goals for the year but have some goals for the winter: get outside every day; take a road trip somewhere; take more days off work; get in touch with one friend by phone or zoom every week. I've gotten too comfortable with my WFH lifestyle and letting work colleagues, neighbors & family become most of my social life.
2020 was rough, but was there something good from it you can share? Losing my commute gave me more time to focus on fitness and healthy eating. I bought my Hydrow rower and joined a meal service. I always thought I hated cooking but it turns out I just hate planning and shopping, I enjoy the rest, especially all the easy, delicious ways to make veggies taste great. I lost 25+ pounds in 2020, and with Hydrow, I've finally broken past a weight I've been stuck at for 6 months. I intend to keep the progress going in 2021.

Alison and Pratima - You both bought rowers!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited! I echo Cleda's recommendation of Dark Horse Rowing, which I watched but never actually rowed to, since my Hydrow has a 3 "learn to row" workouts that I quickly switched to once my rower arrived.

Rowing thoughts - One of the things that also helped me was to use google images to isolate and freeze-frame different stages of indoor rowing. Looking at diagrams and illustrations of body positioning at the catch, release, drive, etc. helped me to visualize and connect with rowing even better. There are days where I can feel my stroke working well and the metrics reflect that. Other days, I can tell I'm a little off, so it's a constant work in progress that keeps it interesting.

Alison - regarding not really feeling the arm part of the stroke, I am the same and I don't know if that's a good thing or not. I feel my arms (biceps and lats actually) most at the catch when they're perfectly straight and my legs are starting to drive back. It's just like a split second of straight-arm pull and then my legs (drive) and then core (with the hip hinge) and arms (row) take over the work. By the time my body is swinging back and my arms are doing the bent row motion, the resistance feels pretty minor compared to the other parts of the stroke. I'm not sure if that's how it's supposed to be or not. Hydrow offers 30-minute 1-on-1 form coaching, which I plan to sign up for once Nema has passed.

Alison - I love Peloton's power zone training approach. Cleda has been doing it for a while and occasionally sends me these very intimidating but impressive graphs. Her progress has been remarkable, but she's pretty incredible anyway.

Pratima - So glad you got your hike in, plus hopefully the driveway sangria was a nice ending to the weekend.

Vannie - Hope you enjoy the jump roping! I'm terrible at it as an adult. There's an account I follow on Tiktok with a young woman who is an amazing jump-roper.

Me- I had 10 days off work and ability to do quite a few longer workouts, but it's back to the usual schedule and shorter daily workouts now. Still sticking to alternating days so that one day is mostly running with a side of rowing and the next day is the opposite. Strength training is really getting short-changed but at least rowing is a good total body workout.
  • Running: I signed up for a virtual outdoor challenge for January. (Local racing company sponsoring it.) I had to choose between committing to run 50 miles or 100 miles this month. I wish they'd had a 75 mile option but they didn't so I settled for the 50, which is not a stretch at all for me, but unfortunately I know the 100-mile option would not be good for my body. Several women from my old running group ending up joining me in the challenge, so we've formed a team.
  • Rowing: In addition to a huge library of workouts that you can filter (like Peloton), Hydrow offers about a dozen different training programs. I decided to do their new 14-day home challenge and today I finished day 3. The challenge is supposed to help me make jumps in my power and skills. Day 1 was a good workout but nothing remarkable. Then came Day 2, which was -- YOWZA. Very power-focused. Training blocks of intervals at either 16 SPM or 32 SPM. The 16 SPM intervals were killer because you were supposed to maintain the same speed at 16 strokes as you did at 32 strokes. This requires a TON of power on the drive. My legs are still feeling it. Today, Day #3 was an easy 30-minute functional strength and mobility workout. Of course, those are always the workouts that leave me incredibly sore, so tomorrow could be interesting. Yes, I'm loving the scenery and had some really hard laughs at some of the instructors lately. I keep switching favorites from week to week. They are all incredibly likeable.
OK, I need to get back to work. I'm just thrilled we have a whole rowing thing going on here now. 2021 is looking good.
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Old 01-05-21, 12:20 PM  
Pratima
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Daphne, you enabler you! 10 days off work sounds amazing. That's the one thing I miss about my old job--all the time off I'd accrued. Are you cooking new things? I personally hate the cleaning up! DH does a lot of the dishes, my kids unload the dishwasher and clean the table and island, so that helps.

Wait--what was that about Nema passing? I feel like I missed something. I know she wasn't doing great but somehow assumed she was stable, at least for an older dog.

Vantreesta, I keep going to bed at 11 and getting up at 5, and it definitely takes a toll. We did a lot of jumprope at Burn Bootcamp. I finally bought a Wunder Under rope. I don't think it's weighted per se but does have more weight to it than a regular rope and I find it easier to use!

Allison, I keep wondering when we'll be able to go out there. My aunt in VA is my dad's age and I don't know when she'll get the vaccine. I'll have to talk to her, maybe we could shoot for October break. Remind me which bike you got. Mine doesn't have a power meter and I've tried using the Kinetic app which is suggested but I don't really have the patience to figure out the whole power zone thing yet at this point.

My rower arrived early (yesterday instead of today) and is sitting by the front door! I rearranged the workout room and sold my Fluidity barre (within like 20 minutes of listing it) for more than I paid. I kept saying I'd never sell but now I just lean on my bike so oh well! The rower seems really solid, bigger folded up than I expected, but it'll fit. DH is going to have the neighbor help him bring it up.

I keep reading how strength work is most important as you get older, so I'm really trying to focus on Body Beast and do mostly short HIIT cardio. I'm also trying to work on hip/glute strength so I can run when I want. I am also going to hike, hopefully with family and friends.

The sangria and snacks was perfect! My two friends came over and we sat out in the backyard. One brought her two kids which are both a little older than mine. Mine played with them, and two neighbor boys. At one point they went to the park at the end of the street and that was awesome!

I'm on week 2 of Body Beast Lean. I can definitely do 3 weeks of this phase, which is what the schedule says. I'm sure I can do 4 weeks of the next phase but it says to do 5, so we'll see!

The new year isn't much different from the old one yet but I will say I'm trying to make it a good one.
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Old 01-05-21, 01:21 PM  
AlisonH
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Pratima: You must have gotten a way bigger rower than I did! Mine said it’s not good for tall people, but not a problem for me or DH, who’s around 5 foot 10. I should sell my Fluidity bar too—we never use it, and I also have Cathe’s tower. I bought it used but I don’t remember what I paid. I also don’t remember what I paid for the spin bike I just sold. I bought the Schwinn AC Power, which is a gym-level model. It’s very pricey new, but used it was on par with Peloton—still expensive, but it had everything I wanted without dealing with the delays in buying a Peloton. So glad you had a good time with your friends. It’s so important these days!

Daphne: Yes, you’re an enabler! I will look for the stroke images. Five or so years ago, one of my students, who was on the rowing team, helped me with my stroke, but it’s not coming back easily. Tomorrow is another row day for me.

I ran my neighborhood route today, and it felt pretty good. I was dreading it, but once we got going, it all came together. My running buddy works occasionally in a hospital, so she got the vaccine already. She also works at a ski resort, so I’m so glad for her own health and sanity that she got the vaccine.

I planned out my next program after Body Beast. I’m taking a break from the long pre-planned rotations and creating my own 4-week one. I need to work on my squat form and my lunge and squat range of motion. I’m also bringing kettlebells back one day a week. I’m also going to focus my bike workouts a little more now that I can do power zone training correctly. I’m going to take next week off from strength training first though.
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