P90X3 and Me - Month 2 Wrap-Up

It's funny, when I look back at all of my blog post, I have several favorites...most of them are race reports. However, when I look at the stats,  my top post of all time is about P90X3. Go figure.

My first go at P90X3 is still the top post.

There are a couple of reasons that I decided to do P90X3 over the original P90X or P90X2:

• P90X3 is only 30 minutes long. I loved the original P90X, but with my current marathon training, I just didn't have the time or energy for 60+ minute workouts.

• P90X3 seems to be geared towards athletes. If you read the fitness guide or listen to the comments that Tony Horton makes during the workouts you will notice comments about preparing the body to compete, preventing injury, etc.

Month 1

I was shocked during the first month of P90X3. I figured that I was in the best shape of my life. It had been a month since I had completed Vineman, my first "iron" distance triathlon (2.4 mile swim, 112 bike, 26.2 run) I couldn't have lost that much fitness in just a few weeks. It wasn't like I did Vineman and then stopped working out. I took a few days off for complete rest, but I was back in the pool and running and biking before the week was up...I felt great.

Anyway, that was my frame of mind when I started P90X3...it should be no problem. Well, I was wrong. I struggled with any type of pushup...in fact, yoga turned out to be quite a tough workout for me. How could that be???

Regardless of how tough everything felt, I kept at it. At the end of the first month, I was down 4 lbs. and I was starting to look more toned.

Day 60 - Down Another Pound
(My tan is fading fast LOL)

Month 2

The second month has marked the return of my strength. I can now do push-ups again and I feel fluid and strong during the yoga workout. While I know that the workouts in the second month are supposed to be more challenging than the first month, I actually liked them much better. The eccentric upper and lower routines are great and I was pleasantly surprised by Triometrics. I was certain that Triometrics was going to be 3x worse than P90X Plyometrics, boy was I wrong. Triometrics has some jump training moves but nothing like I was expecting.

TRIOMETRICS

"Old-school plyometrics is jump training. Welcome to Triometrics, X3's state-of-the-art take on a plyo workout that goes far beyond simple jumping. "Plyometrics" here means explosive. It's highly effective means of training muscular efficiency or power. The downside of this training is the time factor. The more explosive force that's created, the more downtime you need. Triometric's proprietary formula utilizes three different levels for every exercise, each targeting a different plysiological response while minimizing the downtime needed between movements. The result is a workout that increases speed and power in a fraction of the time you're used to training."

Speed and power...that's exactly what I need. I have the endurance (or had LOL), but the longer my triathlon training got, the slower I seemed to go. I was concerned that my 47 year old body was just slowing down. Maybe I was to the point where I would never see another PR :-(

This past Friday I went out for a 6 mile run (it was the end of my P90X3 transition week)... my average was sub-8 minute miles. I hadn't run that fast in a long, long time. I was thrilled. The only thing I can attribute this to is P90X3 and workouts like Triometrics.

My weight loss has been very, very slow this month. I am battling to get the last 4 lbs. off before CIM. I am going to have to really watch what I eat over the next 30 days if I want to get to my goal.

Trying to use Photo Booth on my computer to take pics...
didn't work so well LOL

Month 3

I started the third block today. I was tempted to skip it and just stay in bed, but I got up and made my first attempt at "Decelerator".  HS even joined me today. Decelerator was challenging, but it was the perfect cross training work out.

DECELERATOR

"Most athletic injuries occur on landing, not during takeoff, which is why a University of Southampton study concluded deceleration training is a must for general fitness training. Decelerator focuses on this type of training, using strategic angles to force loads on different parts of your anatomy, thus increasing your ability to stabilize and protect muscles, connective tissues, and joints. It also focuses on the strength and explosive power associated with launching into a move, creating a balance between your ability to go up strong and come down safe."

While I am a bit disappointed in my weight loss, I know at this point, it is going to be tough to get those last few pounds off. When I look at my pics though, I see more of a change in this last month than one pound could explain. It could be that I may have lost fat and gained muscle. Who knows...I feel better, I'm performing better, and I look better. Bring on month three!!!

Garmin 910XT Elevation Fix

Back in May my Garmin 910XT went haywire in terms of elevation. All of a sudden everything I did was at some crazy elevation that just flatlined for the entire workout. I Googled all sorts of solutions and found that I wasn't the only one having this problem. Several people wrote about how they sent their watches back multiple times to have them replaced with a refurbished unit only to have the same issue a few months down the road.

This is what most of my elevation data looked like...28,000 feet...no change.
Note: This is for a run in Stockton, CA with an average elevation of 26 feet!!!

Since HS and I were on a little vacation up in Tahoe, I didn't want to record my runs with incorrect elevation data. I wanted accurate info!

The Gingerbread cabin. So cute!

So, one morning as we sat and drank our coffee in the Gingerbread cabin, I found a post that said all I would need to do is wash the watch in warm soapy water and use a tooth brush to clean the barometer vents. Worth a shot because I definitely didn't want to part with my watch while I waited for a replacement from Garmin.

Warm water, but not too hot.

Where did I get a Michael David toothbrush? LOL

Apparently the problem stems from sweat, sunblock, dirt, etc. plugging up the barometer holes on the back of the watch. My first attempt at cleaning the watch was unsuccessful. I cleaned and scrubbed the watch, turned the watch on and went outside to check the elevation reading. Tahoe may be up there, but its not as high as my 910XT was telling me.

I went back inside the cabin, warmed up the water (just a bit warmer this time) a let the watch sit for about 10 minutes. I took care to work the bristles of the toothbrush back and forth in the barometer holes.

There are two holes, one small one on the side of the watch and another one
by the screw.

Success!

This time, when I turned the watch on, I had a reading indicative of Tahoe! Next I went on a 10 mile run to see if I was getting an accurate reading.

No more flat line!

Sign reads 6,245
(Not sure if this is the center of town elevation or the elevation at the sign)

Garmin reads 6,270