Workouts this week: March 19

New trail shoes. Nike Zoom Wildhorse 3. Really like them.

March 19: Off. 

March 20: Yoga
I went to a gentle yoga class today. It was my first time to Monday yoga. We used bolsters a lot. I don't like bolsters really. And I don't like reclining positions. I left the class feeling super relaxed and mellow.

The plan was to go run a mile afterwards, but I didn't want to ruin my chill so I didn't.

March 21: Trail run---super slow
This is usually when I do my long run, but it was 86 degrees, so I decided to scale it back. I went to the Botanical Garden to run, since the trails would be shadier and cooler to run in. And it wasn't a good run.

That first mile, I really had to push myself to run my normal time. And I crashed about at mile 1.5 where the hills starts. I walked the second half of the course and it was my slowest run in a year.

WHY!? Why was this run so bad.
1. The heat. I haven't run in 80 degree weather in a LONG time. I'm not used to it yet.
2. It's a hard course. I ran it 3 minutes faster two weeks ago. But the weather was cooler then. This course is mentally hard too. I kept giving up on the hills. I shouldn't have.
3. I've been tired for a while. After two days off I thought I'd recovered, but maybe not.

So here's hoping my next run is better.

March 22 - Off, short run
I felt bad all day at work. My quads were sore from the climb. I went home and slept. And that's what I needed.

Wednesday is my usual gymnastics day but I skipped it to nap. Then I needed to work out my quads so I did 15 minutes on the exercise bike. Then I was going to go on an easy run. The goal was one mile, but I was feeling good so I did two. Under 8 for both my miles. I always run trails so it's nice to have faster times on the road. I tried out some new shoes.

I found some $115 Pearl Izumi road shoes on sale for $35 at TJ Maxx. They're 9 ounces and I think what I'm going to run in next weekend. They did great. And I felt great on the run. Hooray! Only 9 more miles to run this week.

March 23: long run

I wasn't sure if I was going to do my long run today or Saturday. I decided to see how I felt.

I slept great last night. So I didn't have my usual fatigue going on.

IM Fields. Where I always run.

I wanted my long run to be at Sandy Creek but didn't feel like going out there today. I went to the trails near the university and said I'd run at least 4. Maybe 7. The temperature was good. I felt okay. And sure enough I got to 7. When I get to 9 minute miles I feel like I can run forever. So maybe I should slow down on my runs. I ran 7.09 miles in a little less than 61 minutes. So I'll take that. It was a decent run. About the same as my normal speed. No course records on Strava.

March 24: Friday yoga
I love my Friday yoga class. It's the best way to end the week. Except there was a crazy swim meet going on so kids everywhere.

Also, I want to learn to do a forearm stand.

Bibim-Bop bowl for Friday lunch

March 25: Lots of workouts
I really wanted to do flying trapeze today and had two miles to run to make my goal of 15 miles per week. So I went to the indoor track to do speed work first thing in the morning. I had written down to do 5 x 400s, but for some reason I ran an 800 for my first one. And decided that 800s would be good for me. I did four of those and then a mile since I felt like I should get more miles in. (I really don't follow my training plan at all).

I ran 3:40, 3:41, 3:47, 3:53 and then 7:51. I then hurried home, showered and drove an hour to Atlanta for an hour trapeze class.

That was my birthday present to myself. I had wanted my friends to come. No one came. I was sad for a little but. But I did the class by myself and had fun.

It wasn't my best day.

Workouts this week: March 12

How is it the middle of March already? Wow.

March 12: Off
Took Sunday off after a week of workouts

March 13: Bodypump + mile 

Did a 60 minute BodyPump class. So hard. Always. I kept the same weight and didn't try to increase. How does the teacher do three time my weight and not be out of breath?

Afterwards, I ran a mile in 7:51 on the indoor track and then an 800 in 3:53. Just trying to get more miles in. And test out my ankle. It hurt all day Saturday. Sunday it was fine (because I was lazy) and it flared up again Monday. I wore boots to work and the small heel hurt. I went home and got a compression sleeve and black tennis shoes. And I iced it and kept it elevated the rest of the day.

Did I sprain it? It's not bruised or swollen but it still hurts. Maybe it's an out for my race Sunday when it's supposed to be freezing.

March 14: Indoor run
Today was supposed to be my long run but it was freezing. The plan was to go outside and run and see if I could run in the cold. I got dressed in warm running clothes and went outside. It was 46 degrees and the wind was blowing. I took the dog out and decided it was too cold to run. So I changed and ran at the indoor track. Running is supposed to be fun. Not miserable. I don't run in the cold. I'm not trying to prove how tough I am. Not worth it for me.

I'm not sure quite what the plan was. I would have liked to get 6 miles in, but I was tired. I ran five miles—40 laps, which is the longest I've ever run indoors. It gets so repetitive. I used to HATE running the 3200m in high school because eight laps was so boring. I just ran 40. I couldn't bring myself to run another mile. I felt okay afterwards at home so maybe that was the right call.

March 15: gymnastics
There was a lot of standing around at gymnastics tonight. I was playing on the bars and the other people were just taking too long. Or I was being impatient.

March 16: speed work 
The training plan called for 10x400s so that's what I ran. I ran them consistently at 1:51s. Which is fast for my 5k pace. I could run 1:30s no problem when I was in high school. ::cries:: And I felt like I should get more miles in so I ran an 800 for a total for 3 miles.

Speed work takes so much time. I could run three miles faster without all of those breaks. I walked 100 meters between the 400s. And I think I've run a mile faster before.

March 17: yoga
I've missed yoga. First yoga class in almost three weeks. I've missed yoga! I didn't realize it had been that long, but there were no Fridays without yoga classes (no classes due to spring break). So that explains why it felt harder than normal. I really was rusty.

It was a busy day. I left the house at 7:30 a.m. Had lunch with a friend, yoga after work, dinner with friends. I was home at 9:30 p.m. That's too long of a day for me. (It's okay every once in a while and I should do more things with friends. Just tired afterwards. How do normal people do it.)

Fish from La Dolce Vita

March 18: long run
I've been tired all week. I was exhausted yesterday. I wanted to sleep in today but the cat wouldn't let me. And I went to a trapeze class at noon. I went to do my long run around 5:30 p.m. I should always do my long run after a day off. Not at the end of the week when I'm exhausted. The back of my thighs were sore during my warmup. And I think I hurt my hip at trapeze. Today's run felt awful. I was so tired. I just didn't feel strong. I ran 8:50s, which is slow. The plan was to run 8 miles. I honestly should have stopped at 2 but did 6.5. I had to stop and walk a few times (which sucks). I think I'm overtraining. I need more days off. (I've been saying this a lot lately!)

Post run handstand

Workouts this week: March 5

Sunday: Reluctant run
I couldn't decide whether or not to run today. I put it off and put it off and looked for every excuse NOT to run. But did anyway.

I ran hills at the botanical garden. (Meaning I ran the hilly trails. I didn't actually run hills like we did in high school. Ugh!) And I actually had a good run!

Despite being the third day in a row I've run. (I never do this.) I ran a minute faster on this route than last time. I walked twice (instead of 6 times). I felt so much stronger. That hill up from the river is brutal and I went from a 14 minute pace to a 9 minute pace. I walked a few steps at the very top (it never ends) and then once more. But that one big hills is it. Can I run it even faster next time? It just felt so much better than last time. I'm glad I ran. And it's kind of awesome that I CAN run three days in a row. THANKS LEGS.

Monday: Pilates
It's spring break in my college town so no Ramsey classes for me. The students are gone. So I went to noon pilates. Which was probably good for me. My quads are tired. I'm tired. I died in the class. I couldn't hold my plank (and I have been neglecting my abs). I needed to do some abs. And I needed an easy day.

Bathroom selfie. Thought this mirror made me look young. 

Skipped my evening run. Went and got curry at a cheap sushi place instead. (Cheat day!) Saw the university swim coach there. Haha

Tuesday: Lunch run through campus
I NEVER run on pavement. Ever. I had horrible shin splits as a teen and always attributed this to running on the pavement. Now I run on the trails or track. And that's it.

HOWEVER, I signed up for a 6.5 mile run on pavement. I wanted to be able to see if I could do it. So I ran three miles of that course on my lunch break (the other 3.5 miles of the course is in the ghetto and isn't safe to run by myself.) I've never actually run through campus before. Even though I've been on campus for over a decade.

The run wasn't easy, but I persisted and had some pretty good times. And since I train so much on hills, I got all sorts of Strava speed records. Which was nice. So I should be prepared to do the race April 1 (really, really worried about the temperature though since I don't do cold.)

Wednesday: trampoline park
There was no gymnastics this week because of spring break so a bunch of us went to the trampoline park. Super fun. I was so tired by the end of the hard. I kept moving for a solid 54 minutes before dying. I did flips and handsprings, back bounces, the ninja course. And then I was completely worn out.

Bonus: Ran into a friend I used to work with.

Thursday: Long run

I've been following an online plan to get in shape for a 6.5 mile race (I used a 10k program). And that race has you training up to an 8 mile run for the race. I like the idea of running longer than the race calls for so you can definitely do it. I usually do my long runs on Monday or Tuesday but there were storms Tuesday and the weather was nice today. I went out and the goal was to run 7.5 or 8 miles depending on how I felt. I was a little slower today than normal—sore quads and I definitely wore myself out at the trampoline park the day before.

I ran my normal route for the first two miles and then tried to find this Strava segment I've attempted to find before (and finally got it today, wahoo!). So I did that .5 segment (total 3.5 miles), back up to the top of the lake (4 miles) and then I did the Lake Herrick loop segment (1.8 mile, 6 mile total), back up the hill all the way to the top of the segment (7 miles), back down to the gate and back to the top of the lake and it was 8.3 miles on Strava 8.09 on my watch. (I keep the run on my watch since Strava for Apple watch is too slow to tell me the distance).

It was my longest run to date. I didn't walk a step. I felt amazing for being strong enough to do that. (I felt strong enough that I could gradually bump my mileage up to do a half if I wanted.) I actually researched halves in May or June. Let me get through my next races and see how I feel.

Friday: Pilates
More pilates today. This class is so hard. I am so bad at pilates (which maybe means I need to do it.) I came home from work and walked the dog.

Saturday: Trail run

I ran the 5k route at Sandy Creek park twice. I wanted to run the course once more but needed to get some mileage in—so we ran the course twice. I also tried to roll my ankle twice. The first time I was looking at Matt and not the ground. My foot went one way and my body went another. It hurt. And then on mile 4 or so I was feeling good thinking about how strong I was for doing this hard course twice and I rolled it again. It hurt the rest of the day :( I iced it twice and kept it raised. It was fine the next day. I also got a blood blister on that same spot. I drained it.

The run was a few seconds faster than last time and I did the first 5k without walking. I was pretty tired the second time. So I'm ready for the race this weekend. If only the race was at noon. It's at 8 a.m. and I'll be lucky if it's 40 degrees. I never run when it's below 58 or so. So I'm not sure what I'll do. My body hates cold weather. PLEASE BE WARM NEXT SUNDAY.

Workouts this week: 2-26

Sunday: Bodypump + Yoga
I was so tired from my speed work yesterday but went to class today (even though I wanted a nap). I kept my weight pretty low (my last semester weight) and even lowered my weight for lunges and still died! I increased weight for shoulders since it was the end of class. It always kills me. But maybe a class with low weight is better than napping on the couch.

My quads were super sore from the run yesterday so I went to the back weight room in search of a foam roller or something. I found this plate machine a teacher told me about last year. It works like a foam roller, you sit or lie on it according to what's sore and it vibrates and massages your muscles. I did 60 seconds on it and my quads did feel a lot better. Hooray! Maybe my favorite new machine.

I went to yoga. The classroom was COLD. I kept my long sleeve shirt on the entire time. I also went straight to downward dog almost every time and skipped the pushups. I didn't have it in me.

Monday: OFF
I went home and made tacos. I ran out of black beans! so I tried to make some in the instant pot (I had dried beans). It took about 40 minutes, but by then I was too hungry so I ate kidney beans. Then I had a huge vat of black beans. So first adventure in the instant pot. The lid is hard to take on and off. I wasn't impressed. Thinking the Instant Pot was a waste of $100.

Tuesday: Long run
The goal was to run 7 miles. I've got a 6.5 mile race coming up and the training calls for up to 8 mile runs. It makes sense to be able to do a longer distance. 7 miles was on the docket this week, so I at least wanted to get a 10k in tonight. The weather was good and I felt good after two days off running. I felt strong running. Normal time. About 8.5 minute miles. But it was all uphills tonight. I didn't get the usual downhills. I didn't walk a single step until after mile 5 when I died. I walked for about a minute up a steep hill and then ran some more. I wanted to get 7 in so I was nearing the end at 6.75 so I added some length and ended up finishing at 7.2. Starve said 7.4. That is my longest run to date. I ran for 63 minutes. And felt good afterwards.

I did have a blood blister on the bottom of my right foot and a blister on one of my left toes. But that's normal. I always have 2-3 blisters and usually 9 toenails (I've got a black one now.) I wear the expensive Balega socks and $100 Asics. So it's just my feet. I used to blister a lot in high school too. So does my sister. It just shows I'm tough. I kinda like my calluses and have no intention of smoothing out my feet. I earned my battle scars.

Wednesday: Gymnastics
It was a smaller gymnastics class today. I played on bars. I learned a new track. I think it was called a basket swing. You hook your knee and swing yourself up over the bar. And repeat. I got this on maybe my third try. And felt like maybe I'm good at bars. I got my handstand forward roll by myself.

I also tried to remember how to do an assisted kip with my feet in the band. I didn't remember how to do it though. So I put my feet in the band and flipped around the bar and scared the coach to death. Thankfully I held on so I didn't fall on my head. Oops.

Thursday: Off
I was supposed to run today. It was cold. I was tired. I had to work late. It didn't happen. I did a little bit of stationary bike, but still felt guilty. I think I needed the day off.

Friday: Trail 5k
We ran the 5k trail race route again. It's a hard course. I had to walk on one hill. I ran 8:42s. Which is 12 seconds a mile faster than last time. So I'll take it. (I would have liked to run more miles but Matt had somewhere to be.)

Saturday: Speed work
I did some speed work at the indoor track. It was pretty cold today. And I need to get some speed work in. I tried to run 3 miles at race pace (or 8 minute miles), I ran 23:19. Which is awesome. (I run faster indoors than on hills). Then I needed to get to 15 miles this week so I ran 3 800s at 8 minute mile pace. And that was it.

There was a giant gymnastics meet at the gym today. So I got to watch gymnasts while running my laps. That was fun. They were all so cute and happy. (This means there were lots of kids and parents on the track. Sigh)

Totals:
Three days running. 15 miles
BodyPump
Yoga
Gymnastics
Two days off