P90X - Day 9

Plyometrics. "The mother of all workouts."

I first heard the term "plyometrics" when I was a freshman in college. I was in a sorority my freshman year and we started training for Tug, a giant tug-of-war competition held every spring. We did hill sprints, stadium runs, toes-up wall sits, the erg (rowing machine), and plyometrics. Plyometrics consists of squats, lunges, and jumping, with combinations of these three exercises. Plyo helps to improve speed; it's vaguely similar to long-distance runners doing sprints. Sure, you're going to be running 26.2 miles, not sprinting it (though if you ask me, those Olympic marathoners are sprinting at 4:45-ish minute-miles). But you need to work on your short bursts of speed to build your way up to your goal time. When I was training for a half-marathon with Team in Training, my coaches provided a schedule that included cross-training (i.e. cycling), easy runs, short sprints, and form runs (to focus on your running technique), in addition to our long runs.

All this talk of running reminds me that I need to start training for a half-marathon again. I need to find a running buddy.

I bought a bag of Gala apples over the weekend and I needed something to do with them...

Cinnamon Apple Chips
1 apple, sliced (I used Gala, but you can go for a sweeter variety if you choose)
2 Tbls cinnamon
1 Tbls pumpkin pie spice (optional)

Preheat oven to 250 F. Slice your apple (perpendicular to its core). Lay pieces on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with cinnamon, as much or as little as you like/love. Bake for 45-60 minutes, flipping halfway. The apple slices should be thoroughly dried out, but not burnt. It'll look all crinkly and delicious.