Exercise, Running faster & some workout gyan!

Sometimes I really love the routine of the weekdays. People at home - including Chittu & the husband and those who come and live with me understand that exercise like morning tea/ coffee is a non-negotiable part of my routine. I wake up sufficiently early so that I can attend to the family's needs - like get the Scientist's lunch ready at 6 a.m. on some days of the week, keep the toddler's milk ready in case he wakes up before I return from the gym, make the FIL's coffee, turn on the washing machine, give the veggies for chopping to Maami - before I head out of the door to the gym in the morning.

Believe me, this did not come easily to me. When the Scientist and I were just married, I once paid an annual membership to a gym and went only for 3-4 days!!! Can you believe it?? I wasted about 12-13k if I am right.

Now I have my gym bag packed the previous night, lay out my gym clothes and even have a filled water bottle, so that I minimise the excuses I can come up with for bunking gym! And yes I try to hit the bed early so that I can manage to do all the above and go to work and be productive there :)

Today, I decided to run at the gym. I have a 10k event coming up soon and I better get some running practise! I find that as I lose weight, I am able to run faster.I did a 5k in 37:30. I think thats my personal best so far! Here's proof:

My aim is to be able to do a sub 30 minute 5k. That needs some hard work, but I guess it IS possible!That apart I have been totally missing my body pump classes :( The only problem with the classes is that they all start only at 7 a.m.(Only???) 7-8 is the time Chittu wakes up, bathes and gets ready for school. Being in the gym at that time means missing out Chittu time, which I don't want to do!!! So I guess I'll be exercising this way for a while longer.

Just to give you an idea, this is what I do in the gym:

• 20-25 mins on the elliptical/ arc trainer + 5k on the recumbent bike (13 minutes) + 5-10 mins stair master
• treadmill 5k run
• 15 minutes on elliptical/ arc trainer + 3k treadmill ( 20 minutes) + core workout*

* core workout - regular blanks, modified side planks, pelvic bridge pose, crunches

I always end with a good set of stretches - the down dog, simple warrior, child pose, camel pose, glute stretches, hamstring stretches, calf stretches, chest stretches, neck & arm stretches

I cannot stress enough about the imporatnace of stretching post workout. One thing is certain - If you fail to stretch, you are setting yourself up for injury. Streching helps the muscle to release the stress and go back to its original size after vigorous exercise. So those of you who pass off stretching, please do give it another thought!

Enough gyan from me. How do you workout?