Workouts this week: Dec. 3-9

Monday: Long run
With a race and traveling I didn't do a long run this weekend. It was beautiful so I decided to do my long run a day late.

It took forever to get out the door. I walked the dog and got started about 30 minutes later than I would have liked. I also couldn't find my SECOND set of headphones and didn't want to run 10 miles with no distraction, so I found my dongle and stole the NEW headphones I bought for Matt.  (WHY DO I LOSE ALL MY HEADPHONES? WHERE ARE THEY??)

I decided I'd run 10 miles today. I have no idea what race I'm training for, but I love a good long run.

The weather was perfect. 62. Sunny. At first my watch wouldn't tell me pace. It was on run, not race. So I started it over and then it was on pace. I did a 3.5 mile loop. Stopped for water and gel (they seriously make all the difference). Did another 3.5 mile loop, and water and a gel, and then went out on a shorter 3 mile loop.

I listened to 2 episodes of the Ali on the Run show. There was an awesome career Q&A and then a journalist conversation.

And I just felt so much better after the run. It was a great run. Fast-ish trail pace. I felt great. Never hurting or tired. I was really angry this morning (irrationally so.) So maybe it was because I didn't do my long run. I felt a ton better after the run. And rewarded myself with a burrito bowl. (And didn't eat the chips! Yay.)

Tuesday off
I usually need a recovery day after a long run. I feel like my legs feel extra bad when I run after a long run. So off day. I tried to do some yoga, but was really unfocused.

Wednesday: Junk miles
I did 5 miles on the indoor track. It is FREEZING outside. 5 boring miles listening to podcasts.
Good news: Found my headphones this morning!!!

Thursday: impromptu 800s
I did not want to run. I was having kind of a bad day at work. I kept feeling like I was going to cry. I considered not running. But decided to just go to the gym and keep showing up. (Thanks Des Linden.)

I thought I might do some tempo miles. After a mile warmup, my legs actually felt good. Very light.

My plan was to run 2 tempo miles. But after .5 miles at 10k pace, I needed a break. (A bathroom break specifically) so I made it an 800s workout. My plan was to do 4. And I did 5. But I did a shortened cool down. I was just ready to be home. So only 4 miles today. Which is better than 0.

Reps: 3:50, 3:46, 3:38, 3:34, 3:31 with 100 meters walking recovery between each rep.

(Also Thursdays tend to be bad work days for me.)

Friday: OFF
I've got a busy weekend so the thought was to run today, but according to my Garmin I've run 30 miles in the last 7 days. So I took the day off. Whenever I go too much over 30, let legs start to feel bad. I did 35 minutes on the exercise bike instead.

Saturday: 5 with last 2 faster
Knew I was supposed to do some tempo, but didn't want to. So did a few easier miles and then sped up at the end
8:58, 8:32, 8:21, 7:31, 7:14

Sunday: 10 miles indoor
Gross weather (it hasn't stopped raining) so did 10 miles at the indoor track. Not actually that bad with a good podcast.

Miles this week: 34.9 (with last week's long run)
Runs: 5, workouts 2

Workouts this week: Aug. 13-19

Monday: Easy miles
Took to the trails and slowed it way down to 10 minute miles. When I don't look at my watch, I feel strong. And then I look at my watch and see how slow I'm going. Oh well. Not everything is a race.

Tuesday: Off
After last week's bad speed workout, I wanted to see if the problem was running on tired legs. So I'm taking the day before speed work off.

Wednesday speedwork

Mile, 4x400, 4x200, + mile cool down

This week felt so much better than last week. It wasn't a struggle. That said, my mile wasn't my speediest. Ran it too easy (Still working on pacing. That's what practice is for). Happy with my 400s and 200s are just fun. Wish I could have my 200 speed for longer. 6:51, 1:32, 1:30, 1:30, 1:28, 40, 40, 40, 39

PM: Doctor
I went to my asthma doctor to get a new prescription for my exercise induced asthma. I have asthma, have always had it. It reached it's worst in high school on the track. And I know the doctor would prescribe me Qvar, which I haven't been taking because I've been fine until the last few weeks. I got a new prescription for Qvar, which I'm supposed to take morning and night daily. We'll see if that helps.

Thursday: 6 miles
Another slow, easy trail run.

Friday: Off

Saturday: 5k fail
I ran a 5k for my speedwork. I hadn't planned on it being a goal race, but it went worse than I anticipated. I figured I could run under 23 without too much effort.

Mile 1: 7:29. I spent the first half mile trying to get my music to turn on. I had it preset before the race, But when I hit play, it wouldn't play. I wasted time here.
Mile 2: 7:36. I guess I slowed down.
Mile 3: I wanted to walk. I wanted to barf. I felt awful. 8:13
I slowed way down and finished in 23:23 for third place woman. It's about a minute slower than I thought I'd do. But everyone was struggling with the humidity. I have no mental toughness.

I felt fine a minute or two after the race.

Tuna salad from the Last Resort. 

Sunday: 13 miler
I'm almost used to the hills on the Rogue route.

My watch stopped.

Miles this week: 34

Workouts this week: June 11-17

June 11: Monday, off

June 12: Easy 5 miles

June 13: Speed work

After more than a year, I FINALLY MADE IT TO THE 5:30 A.M. TRACK WORKOUT.

I'm the one with the giant frizzy hair.

Thursday: 5 mile bike ride

Friday long run

I took Friday off work, so I decided to use the extra time to get my long run in. I did 4 hill repeats in the middle. 

Lunch from the Grit.

5 mile bike ride

Saturday: Bot gardens + core

I need to get better at running hills so I ran at the botanical garden. Ugh. (I think I did have to walk twice.) It was hot. But I'll run more hills and get better. 

Evening: 20 minutes of core

Sunday: Speed work plus yoga

After months of 10k speed, I want to work on shorter distances. My goal was to work on my mile or 5k this summer. 

There's a mile race in September. It's 12 weeks out, so I decided to do a time trial.

This training plan said that if I could run 1,000 meters at my goal pace, I could do a mile in 6 weeks.

So I went to the track. 

• Mile warmup. (And my legs felt lighter than they had in a while.) I did some strides and drills.

• 1,000 meters. I stopped my watch at 3:50, which I think is 5 seconds too slow. But my watch had 6 minute pace the whole time. But I felt good.

• Then I did a 400 and 200 meter just for fun. (1:28 and 41 seconds)

• 1 mile cool down

Overall, super happy with this workout. Think a 6 minute mile might be possible for me. It was good to feel fast. 

Evening: 40 minutes of yoga.

Workouts this week: 3 yoga, 5 runs, 2 bike rides

Miles this week: 27 

Workouts this week: The week that wasn't

Sept. 18-24

Monday: Off day
Worked out six days in a row so took Monday off. Went home after work and took a nap.

Tuesday: Speed workout
Today was the return of the 20 minute workout. One minute hard, one minute off. Which I can run all day with breaks. But this workout is just so hard.

I had to work late today. Fun. I went to the track and walked two laps, then ran two laps as a warmup, and stretched.

Then the workout was 2 800s and a slower pace. So 10k pace or 5k pace + 20 seconds. And when I tried to do that I was SOOOOO much behind everyone else. (Three girls today. Sally is fast. Leila is fast and apparently ran in college.) So I ran a little faster than I should have but was still about 100 meters behind everyone else. (PLEASE more people come to these workouts)

Warmup: 4:07 (8:16 pace)
800: 3:39 (7:20 pace, which is around my 5k pace)
800: 3:35 ( My Garmin went crazy during this lap. Yay. )

20 minutes of 1 minute hard, and 1 minute off. The direction was 400 meter pacing. Which I didn't think I did when I first saw the numbers, but actually did.  But I ran hard enough. And I wanted to WALK during the off portion (which was the direction in the email, but all the fast people were jogging. I jogged only because the fast people were, and walked the last 4 or so. And of course I lost track around 7 or 8).

So I had 10 hard bursts: My pace was between 6:04 a mile to 6:34 pace (which is actually closer to 400 pace than I originally thought). And it WASN'T as bad as it was the first time I did this workout (and my splits were faster than my late May workout). It was hard though.

My goal was to run 1/2 mile as a cool down, but I ran three laps instead to get my Garmin to an even 4 miles.

Garmin fail:
I had tried to set the workout on my Garmin. BUT I didn't do it quite right. (Learned something). I loaded the workout in, and it was beeping and telling me my pace, BUT I had set a repeat for the 1 minute intervals, but I set it wrong and it wanted me to repeat the whole workout warmup and all (instead of just the interval). So it recorded the second 800 wrong, and then told me to do an 800 warmup again. But thankfully, it was still in run mode and I was pressing the lap button for my splits so starting at split 7 things are correct. I'll try this feature again next time and hopefully it will work better. Still learning.

Wednesday: recovery miles
I was so tired today. I went home and took a nap before my run and didn't really want to run. It was also really hot out. 90. I dragged my feet long enough to run at 7 when it was only 88. I had written 5 miles down on my workout calendar. I was so empty I thought I could do three. I got to the 2-mile mark and decided I'd do 4 miles, a happy medium. Then I decided I wanted to run some of my cool down barefoot in the grass. But the field I wanted to run in had a women's flag football game, and the next two fields also had games going on. I finally found an empty field at mile 3.98. So I decided to do a lap and do 4.25. 4.25 became 4.5, and I wanted to do another loop, and then at that point I just decided to make an even 4 miles. My pace picked up a ton when I ran in the grass (it was flat, so a minute per mile faster.) And then I stayed up late watching TV.

Thursday through Sunday: sick
No workouts for me. I was sick. It started Thursday morning when I felt dizzy. I went to work anyway. Went home at lunch time and slept for three hours. On Friday my throat was sore. Saturday and Sunday I didn't have the energy to make myself food. So no running when you can't breathe.

And that was it. I worked out Tuesday and Wednesday and then stayed in bed for the rest of the week. So sick.

Workouts this week: Sept. 11-17

Monday: Off
Today Hurricane Irma (or tropical storm) rolled into town. It rained all day. There were furious wind gusts all day.

It wasn't a day to run or leave the house.

It was a good day to take off. Maybe the first tropical storm I've weathered in Athens—3.5 hours from the east coast and 12+ hours away from South Florida where the hurricane initially hit. (I weathered one at Tybee in 2005).

Tuesday: speedwork

I had the day off work (because of the storm) so I napped all day. Then I did speed work.

There was no group workout (I'm blaming the storm), so Matt and I headed to the track to make up our own workout.

I suggested a ladder. I like going down the ladder and getting faster. Matt wanted to do a longer workout and go up and down. So we did a variation on a ladder workout we've done before. (It was hard. I'm hoping it was effective.) What we eventually compromised on (and this is why we're not track coaches) is 800, 1200, 1600, 1200, 800.

I walked two laps. And did a half mile warm up (too fast). 3:44. (That was extra energy for being cooped up all day)

800: 3:30 (7 minute pace)
1200: 5:27 (7:19 pace)
1600: 7:14 (calf cramped up on this one, but ran through it and was fine. This felt harder than I'd like)
1200: 5:26 (7:17 pace)
800: 3:23 (6:42 pace). And I cranked it up with 200 meters to go, and went all out for the last 100 meters. Had an epic footrace with Matt. It was pretty close. I think he won by a foot or less. He can sprint. (Garmin says best pace: 3:25)

Then I did  half mile cool down and walked another lap and went home. Sore legs.

This was a hard workout. (Also, it was 63 degrees when I started. Felt chilly so I did my warm up in a long sleeve. Did the workout in short sleeves, was super hot during the workout and then was FREEZING as soon as I finished, so I put the long sleeve back on).

Wednesday: 5 easy miles
Logging miles today. I didn't have to be at work until 10 a.m., so I used my extra time to run before work. (I really like starting the day with a morning run.)

It was 59 when I started, and I was cold. I ran in a long sleeve and shed it at the halfway.

Here are some pictures of the storm damage. Not too bad and it was mostly cleaned up that day (it helped that the trail is wide enough for trucks to drive on and bring in equipment.)

Thursday: 6 miles
Another easy run to log miles. I didn't really want to run today. I put it off and off but did eventually run and got my run in right before sunset.

Friday: Yoga
No running for me today. I went to yoga.

Saturday: 10-miler
I feel like this deserves it's own post. But I ran 10 miles. It wasn't that bad. I did it. It wasn't the scary thing I made it out to be.

Sunday: Yoga
I had debated doing some tempo miles today, but didn't have time to. Did go to yoga.

Workouts this week: 5 runs, 2 yoga classes
Miles this week: 26

Workouts this week: Feb. 12

Sunday: Yoga
After my epically difficult trail run I made Sunday a recovery day. I skipped weight lifting and just went to yoga.

Bill was our sub. I hadn't had him before. He taught a good class with some poses I hadn't done before. (I'm blanking on the names a day later.) I like learning new poses. Vinyasa is always such a fast class. Always moving. I know this but wouldn't have minded a slower class. Just a little more time between poses.

Monday: Trail run

The weather was gorgeous today:. 67 and sunny. My goal was to try that Strava segment and see if I could best the time (okay, see if I could finally get credit for the segment). I felt great today (weather!) and bested the women's course record by 21 seconds. I ran 2 miles in 15:42, which I'm quite pleased with. That's a really hilly two miles—including the horrible 1/2 mile in the middle of the course. (I'd like to run sub 15 for two, but that's probably going to be on the track or a flat surface.) I was pretty pleased with that two miles, but it was too pretty to quit so I took a 20 second break, and ran again. After 4 miles I felt like I should run more, so I kept going and ran 5.78. Which I thought my legs would be too dead for after Saturday, but I felt good. I felt strong. Yay.
Although as soon as I finished the sun set, it got dark and cooled off quickly so I was sweaty and that made me really cold. Brr.

Strava vs. Apple watch
Strava: 5.78 miles run, 8:33 average pace, 774 calories burned, splits: 7:59, 7:46, 8:58, 8:43, 9:07, 8:54
Apple Watch: 5.6 miles run, 8:46 average pace, 504 calories burned, splits: 8:09, 7:52, 9:09, 9:02, 9:33, 9:03

Tuesday: OFF

Wednesday: Gymnastics
Worked on pullovers on the bar. So hard! Also bruised my hip bones.

Thursday: Run
It was cold so I did speed work inside. I dread doing speed work. I like going fast. And it's not THAT hard since I can take a lot of breaks. I just dread speed workouts. And would rather run timed miles than 800s. 800s are the worst. Only one near collision today. Some guy tried to duck inside while I was already inside, and quite tired and braindead. We didn't collide, but he scared me.

Ran consistent 3:40s.

Friday: Yoga
I like my Friday end of the workweek yoga ritual.

Saturday: Slow, awful run
I was going to run Saturday. But then it was cold and rainy all day. I gave up on running and ate two bowls of soup. As soon as I did this the sun appeared and the weather turned gorgeous. Argh. I haven't missed a Saturday run in awhile, so.....I tried.

And running an hour after eating two bowls of soup isn't the best idea.

Also, I don't run well in this temperature. I am super sensitive to the cold—being cold makes me feel like I have the flu. I'm not anemic, just really sensitive. And 56 degrees is too cold for me to be comfortable running. I ran. But it was a hard run. And everything hurt. My muscles weren't warm enough. My feet and ankles felt funny for the first three miles. My calves were tight most of the run. My hip and knee started hurting at the end of the run. And I did stretch.

I wore insulated tights (and was never too hot). I wore a short sleeve shirt and a cheap Old Navy long sleeve. (The sleeves were slightly too short, which is ridiculous because I'm short). The sleeves were uncomfortable for the whole run. I finally tied the shirt around my waist after mile 2. I wore a neck warmer and a headband. I didn't do a hat, because sometimes the sweat gets trapped in the hat and makes my head cold.

It was a crappy, crappy run. Maybe better than nothing? It stinks that I can't run in this temperature. Isn't this the temperature marathoners prefer?

Workouts this week: Feb. 5

From Monday's sunset trail run

I've been working out six days a week for a while now. I think I really want to scale back to five days a week. I'd like more time for myself. To be home. To do laundry. Clean out my car. I just need more time.

I've been really tired this week. I don't know if I'm doing too much, coming down with an illness or just not getting enough sleep. I think that's one of the reasons I want to cut back on working out.

Sunday: BodyPump + Yoga
My quads were sore today so I went easy with leg weights (lunges) but tried increasing my arm weight. I tried increasing for biceps at the end and DIED.

This was also SuperBowl Sunday and our state's team was in the Super Bowl so yoga attendance was down. And MY FAVORITE YOGA TEACHER was subbing. That was awesome. She taught vinyasa and I probably challenged myself a little more than I do with the other teacher.

Monday: 4 mile run
Run at the IM Fields. Tried the Strava route again. Maybe I'm going the wrong direction on the route. I will try it ONE MORE TIME. My legs were sore. This run was a tiny bit slower than the other day, but I probably shouldn't worry about 7 seconds a mile.

Tuesday: Yoga
I felt like more yoga today. We used blocks a lot. It was a good class and I needed it.

Wednesday: Gymnastics
I was tired but went to gymnastics anyway. I did some pullovers and back hip circles on the bars, which was fun.

Thursday: Off
Off. I was supposed to run. But I needed a day off. It was too cold to run outside (and super windy) and I didn't really want to go to the indoor track. I also had some work to deal with from 5-6:30. So if I only run twice this week, oh well. I usually do this once or month or so.

Friday: Yoga
Yoga. Very easy yoga class. I forgot to turn the workout on my Apple Watch. Oh well. I went to bed at 9:30 p.m. That's how tired I was. I woke up at 6:45 a.m. and felt a lot better.

Saturday: Sandy Creek Run
I went back to the epic 6.5 mile trail around Lake Chapman at Sandy Creek park. It was just as bad as I remember and I don't think I walked any less than last time. I didn't fall though, so that's good. My times were dead on with last time. I paused my watch midway to catch my breath, but it didn't pause so Boo. My times were weird. Strava said I was faster on the route, by a minute. But it also said my pace was 24 seconds a mile slower. I'm confused.

There are at least three creeks to cross in the first three miles. I got mud on my shoes, which I am every unhappy about. I walked a lot. I took Matt and he tweaked his ankles some. I'm hoping they don't bruise tomorrow. He says the course is tougher than we are and doesn't want to go back. (I really do want to go back! I need to get my times down.)

**Update: On Monday, Matt texted me that we should definitely try the course again. Because we have to do better. Also, I'm not nearly as beat up as I was last time. I died on the route and for about a week after. I had a great run two days later, so maybe I'm tougher for doing the run? Or I needed a light week?

January workout highlights

Workouts: Month in review

13 runs for 61 miles

4 yoga classes

3 BodyPump class

3 pilates classes

2 gymnastics classes

2 home workouts

6 off days 

January highlights

The month started off a little slow with me in holiday mode—but with some double workouts in, I'm definitely back to gym rat status. I'm doing the same classes that I like. I haven't tried any new classes, but a few highlights for the month.

• Signing up for races Will race in 2017. At least twice as much as 2016 ;) 

I know I'm doing 6.6 miles in the Chick-Fil-A half in April and a trail race March 19 I have a bunch of others I'm thinking about including a 10k in February. 

• Completing the Lululemon Strava challenge for a free Swiftly shirtsleeve (and guacamole!)

• Increasing my weight in Bodypump. Woot! 

• Increasing my distance! I have been gradually increasing the distance I run. This time last year I was running 3-4 miles. I don't see a run over 4 miles until July. I've increased from 4 to 5 and change. I finally got to 6 miles this month and can do a 10k. Which is awesome.

(Running longer distances = blood blisters on my feet. I'm between shoes. Retiring old and breaking in new) 

Blood blisters

Just leave them if they're under a callus. They're fine.

• Finally running at Sandy Creek Park. I should make a list of area trails to try.

• Also, I was pretty good with meal prep. Definitely makes a difference!

Goals for next month: 

1) Mileage up to 7 miles

2)  Run better at Sandy Creek (less walking! less falling) 

3) Try a new trail if the weather (maybe make a list of trails in the area to try. Can you tell I love lists?)

4) Stay healthy! 

Workouts this week: week of Jan. 22

Sunday: BodyPump
Sunday is usually BodyPump + yoga. But I was tired today and didn't even want to go to BodyPump. So I went to BodyPump and skipped yoga. I was tired.

Also meal prep: sheet pan chicken and veggies

Monday: OFF
Much needed off day. My legs were tired so I did a tint bit of exercise bike on the easiest setting, just to get some of the lactic acid out of my legs.

Trail sign. Still got lost ;) 

Sträva leaderboard. Woot! 

Tuesday: Run at Bot Garden
It was 60 and pretty outside. I was going to run at the IM Fields, but I went to the botanical garden because I had a work errand to do there. My plan was to run the white trail to the orange trail, for a 4 mile loop. (I usually run orange to part of white and double back). Somehow I got turned around and ended up where I started. (This has happened to me before). So then I ran my regular route for a total of 4.4 miles. Slow miles. Those hills KILLED me. Maybe I should go walk the trail a few times so I know where to turn? I feel like the arrows point forward but mean go right. It's confusing.

Wednesday: Gymnastics
Gymnastics. I worked on handstand forward roll. My back handspring was a mess. Maybe I should move on to a different skill?

Trail run: longest run

Thursday: long run
The weather is getting colder—and isn't quite as springlike. It was on the cold side, but I decided to get one more outdoor run in before the weather went back to winter.

I drove over to the trails—and had to wait through three light cycle to turn into the parking lot because cars kept blocking the turn. It was so annoying. I honked a lot. But I finally got parked.

I prefer to run when it's 60 or above, but it was about 58 so I decided to try it. And if I died I'd go to the indoor track, which is across the street. (I've got asthma and the cold triggers my asthma attacks.)

I think I dressed right for the run: My usual crops (I hate leggings), a long sleeve run (brand new long sleeve swiftly from Lululemon), a neck warmer (to keep my airwaves warm), and a hat.

This Lululemon Swiftly long sleeve is the best!

The first mile was pretty cold. I almost quit. But it got better. I never got warm enough to shed the long sleeve, like I have on some runs. The shirt had thumbholes and went over most of my hands, which really helped. When I got warmer, I'd roll the sleeves up to my wrists, but I alternated with the shirt over and off my palms for most of the last half of the run.

That first mile I would have told you I was just trying to get three miles in. But then I decided to get five in. And then I wondered if I could do 6. I haven't done 6 yet. I've done 5.7, so I know I could.

I should add that I had this run going on both my Apple Watch and the Strava app on my phone. And at some point my Apple Watch dinged like I had completed a goal. Which it usually does when I'm done. I didn't think anything of it. And then I look down at my wrist to see how close to 6 miles I am. And the watch isn't even in workout mode. It turned itself off at 4.97. Ugh!  Thankfully I had the app going on my iPhone, (because the Strava app for Apple watch didn't want to work that day), but it was timing a segment, so it was showing 10 minutes and change, instead of my 40-50 minute running time. After some swiping I saw I was at 5.8 and I had some trail left. So I got to 6. And then doubled back to get .2 more miles in, so I can say I did a 10k. I stopped and took pictures of the sunset and ran the .2 mile back to the top of the trail for 6.47 total miles. (It's interesting that it shows as 6.47 in Strava, so it doesn't round.) But that's the longest I've been on. Wahoo! I could definitely do a 10k race. (Since I did 10 kilometers running trails and hills.)

So pretty proud of my run. Running my longest distance. I think I'm more proud of myself for running in the cold. (I abhor the cold). My iPhone later said the temperature was 55 degrees. I totally loved my new Lululemon shirt. 

Sunset runs mean seeing pretty light

Friday: pilates
Lunch pilates since I don't have time for 5:30 p.m. yoga.

Selfie fail: Selfie with a stray ear bud.
After running indoors Saturday

Saturday: Speed work at the track
It was back to January weather so I did some speed work at the indoor track. I love/hate speed work. I love running fast. But I hate it because it's hard. It's repetitive. I'm only running against myself. I didn't do speed work for months, because I'd rather run trails. But it's cold and I'm running on the indoor track, so I guess I will. I looked up the Hal Higdon 15k training plan. He suggested 4 x 800 repeats at 5k pace today.

Two miles seemed a little low to me, so I ended up doing 6 x 800s for a total of three miles and then three extra laps so my Apple Watch would finally register that I'd run 3 miles (it's off by a 1/10th. I know I need to recalibrate.) I pretty consistently ran 7:30 pace. Which I'm not usually that consistent.

Splits (which it adds about two seconds of lag every time I pause it. So if I stop on :34, it will start again at :36 or :37. Which is annoying.
3:45, 7:32, 11:17, 15:03, 19:01, 22:45. So #5 was my slow split. I was off by 15 seconds. So about 4 seconds a lap. (200 meter track). I'll take it. And It would be AWESOME to run 23 or under in a 5k. Maybe one day?

Also, I've pretty much had it with my Apple Watch. It doesn't track distances right (and I can't correct it), doesn't count calories right. I'm looking into getting a Garmin.

Workouts this week: Jan. 15

Workouts this week: Jan. 15

Sunday: BodyPump + Yoga
First double workout of 2017. I did an hour of BodyPump followed by an hour of yoga. I haven't done this combo in over a month, so I died in yoga. I'm not usually that dead. Usually I always go for the hardest option. In this class, I just went straight to downward dog a lot.
Still, I like taking the time to stretch after lifting.

Monday: Run at the IM Fields
I had the day off workout and it was 61 degrees out, so I did a trail run. (5.72 miles in Strava, 5.1 on my Apple watch)
8:24 pace.

Tuesday: Off

Wednesday: Gymnastics
Went back to gymnastics for the first time in a while. Worked on the usual: Handstand forward roll and back handspring. I might have accidentally whacked a coach in the face. Oops. I think he was fine.

(Ran a mile before gymnastics. Since I was early and need every mile I can for the challenge. There's a .7 mile walking track that I thought would work. Only it wasn't lit. I had to use the flashlight feature on my phone. Not my best idea to run in the dark. But got my mile in.)

Thursday: Run + Yoga
Usually I'd run after work, but there was a free class at Lululemon that I really wanted to go to (the last one was SO good) so I ran on my lunch break. I probably only have time to run 30 miles, but I usually want to run more. I did 3.66 miles in 30 minutes. (I thought I ran closer to 4.)

After work, there was yoga at Lululemon. It was yoga for runners. And it was a more intensive than I'd anticipated. I'd wanted an easy, stretching class given all the miles I'd put in lately. But this class kicked my butt. There were no breaks. It was fast and intense. It would sub this for a workout. Not in addition to running. And I got two free class cards. (For when I'm not as tired).

Friday: Lunch pilates
I had tickets to see college gymnastics so I couldn't really make yoga. So I went to lunch pilates instead.

Foggy morning run. It poured all morning—
starting right after my run.

Saturday
I had to get the last 4 miles for that Lululemon challenge in. I got up early and got my run in before 9 a.m. (which is my favorite. To get my run in first thing. But it's usually too cold to do this in winter). It started pouring almost as soon as I was done with my run. My legs were super heavy. Mile 3 was awful. And then I started feeling better.

Put I did it 25 miles in two weeks. More on the challenge in a separate post.

Workouts this week: Week of Jan. 8

I'm back to taking classes at the gym again. Hooray! Classes started back Monday and I'm so happy about that.

I LOVE classes. 💗Someone please tell me what to do in fitness classes. Let me turn my brain off and just do. It's what I need. Since I'm always overthinking things and tend to be rather tightly wound. I love an hour where my only worries are—can I actually do three more reps, can I increase my weight or should I take the harder option? I like the class dynamic. It pushes me. Makes me think twice about skipping a rep or putting down my weight (because I don't want to be the only one.)

Also, it was free week at the student gym. So you can take the fitness classes for free. Which means the classes are EXTRA crowded and full of newbies. I already bought a pass, and just took the classes I already took. But free week is just crazy busy and you have to get to the classes extra early (and are filled with people who aren't in shape, don't know what they're doing, which is fine. It's the unmotivated people who don't try that bug me the most.)

Sunday: Indoor run with PRs
Back to the indoor track again. It's super busy with all the New Year's people. But there are also fast people at the track. I got behind a fast guy and let him set the pace.

First mile: 7:15. Which ties my PR for a mile time! I felt strong. I think my previous PR's also come from January or this time of year, since I'm stuck doing speed work at the track. I get faster! :)

Mile 2: 15:03. Which is MY BEST TWO MILE time since I left high school. I REALLY wanted to break 15. I guess I have something to work towards.
(Small water break, catch breath break here. One lap, so 2 minutes)

Mile 3: 23:12 Which is freaking AWESOME. (The fast guy must have been running 6-8 miles because he was still going. He lapped me at some point. But I am so happy with my FAST times!)

Also my Apple Watch is stupid. I had to run 3 extra laps to get it to 3 miles. I should recalibrate it. But I know how much it's off by and it's always off by 1/8th of a mile.

Monday: Bodypump
It's been a month since I've done weights. I wasn't expecting it to be pleasant. And it wasn't that bad until one and two days after the class.

First, BodyPump is a really popular class. (Which I don't get. If I'm going to be honest, I don't actually like lifting weights. I do it because I should. I probably should more than one day a week actually, but that's all I have time for. I like the instructors. I like the format—except the lunges, I hate them.) I got there at 20 minutes until the class started. I was Number 24 on the sign in list. So I got in. I was expecting Petey to teach the class, but apparently she's teaching boxing and a blonde named Sarah was teaching the class. She had a South Jersey accent. Apparently she had a baby 7 months ago (and still looked strong, thin and fabulous.) It was a good class. My forearms were sore when I left. But the next two days, my quads were really sore.

Tuesday: Indoor track
More running today. I needed to run. I didn't want to mess with Free Week classes. (I saw about 20 girls get turned away from a very full zumba class). It's madness. There are huge crowds outside all of the rooms.
First mile: 7:29
Second mile: 15:17
Third mile: 23:05, with no breaks. So this was a pretty consistent run for me. (My first mile is always the fastest. So 7:29, 7:48, 7:48) I felt strong. I would LOVE to run a 10k at this pace.

I should note that this was without breaks. I like to take a break after two miles (16 laps) because the running gets so repetitive. I didn't take a break this time.

Wednesday: OFF
I usually go to gymnastics, but was feeling sick so I skipped. I was feeling tired. From weights on Monday and my asthma flared up in the afternoon. I took an hourlong nap at home instead. I think it was the right call.

Thursday Run
The weather was absolutely glorious today. It finally turned warm after two weeks of gross cold weather (that forced me to run inside.) I've had it on my calendar to run outside for a week (since the forecast said it would be warm.) So I may or may not have ducked out early to get 5 miles in before the sunset. I got 5.5 miles in and enjoyed 70 degree weather. The run was slower than I thought—especially with all the speedwork at the track. But I'll take an outside run.

Then I showered really fast and met a friend for dinner. (I got home before 9. Which made for a 13-hour day).

I did my crown braid for dinner. Since that or a hat is the only way to have decent hair after running.

Friday: Yoga
I finally got a yoga class in. My first one in more than a month. And it was free week, so the class was packed. I think there were 52 people in the studio. The instructor plus 51. There were 10 people in the first three rows of the class and 11 people in the back two rows. It was so packed we were doing our sun salutations with arms forward because you couldn't put your arms out to the side.

I thought it was funny that a group of sorority girls sat their stuff down in the very front—where the teacher sits. Wow. Someone told them to move.

Also, at about three minutes after the class started a group of three people opened the door like they were going to come in. They looked around and saw there was no room at all, giggled loudly and left. It's free week. There was no monitor outside the class. You can't show up late to a popular class and expect to sneak in.

Saturday: 4.5 miles at IM Fields

Great first mile and a strong first three.

And then I died. I had to walk some in mile four, but finished 4.5 miles.

I'm cool with walking. I've done 17+ miles this week. My legs were tired. Every run is different.

I actually almost ran a local 5k on Saturday, but it would have been $30, so I decided to save the money and find cheaper races for later this year. (And oddly enough, my body just quit after 3 miles like I had been doing a 5k. Haha.)

Times
Apple Watch, Strava
7:36, 7:32
8:26, 8:14  (which may be my record for this uphill mile. It's a steep hill that always kills me)
8:34, 8:05
9:21, 9:12   (this is the mile I walked some.)
8:27, 8:44
8:28 average pace, 324 active calories, 388 total calories/ 8:22 average pace, 549 calories
The calorie count is the biggest difference. Both apps know my height and weight. And I have a heart rate monitor. I've always thought Apple watch always estimated low (ex: 200 calories for one hour of intense weight lifting).

So that was my week. I'll take spring weather!