Marathon Training Week 3

Monday 12/16/2013-This was a spin day for me, and as it turns out, my last spin day. The resistance knob on my bike was broke and I was having an incredibly difficult time moving the knob in either direction. The instructor (the one I can’t stand) keeps looking my way and making comments about the lazy riders who are “skipping load increases”. She is going on and on about how some other rider would be happy to have lazy rider’s bikes, and if a participant isn’t going to do the work then they shouldn’t be in the class. At some point my resistance knob seized up completely and I couldn’t increase or decrease the resistance at all. I got so sick of the comments from the instructor that I just left. I’ve decided to get new pedals and a computer with cadence for my bike and ride my trainer from now on. As I said last week, my workouts and time are too precious to put up with shitty workouts!

Tuesday 12/17/2013-This should have been a 3 mile run day, but I knew that I was going to have limited time at the end of the week. I figured since I had cut my spin workout short the previous day, I could do my “long run” early. It was not a very “long run”, only 5 miles, but it felt pretty good.

Wednesday 12/18/2013-Swim day! The time clock was missing from the pool at the gym so I did a 2,150 yard straight swim. It was a great swim! I had the pool to myself for the first half and had my own lane for the entire swim.

Thursday 12/19/2013-Easy 3 mile run

Friday 12/20/2013-I was up a little late for the gym and saw that freezing rain overnight had left the roads a mess. My drive to work is about 45 minutes on a good day. As I was watching the news I saw that a Semi had overturned on the freeway I use to get to work. I decided to skip the gym so I could leave early for work. I did a few sets of squat presses, pushups, V-ups, and Russian twist before I got ready for work. I was really happy about my decision when it took me almost an hour and a half to get to work.

Saturday 12/21/2013-I had a session with my trainer today. There was a lot of squatting, pushups, pull-ups, and abs. I did my best not to complain. It was a really great workout and I hope my trainer has more like it planned for the future. I was feeling so energized that I polished off my last 3 mile run for the week. I ran my first mile at 8:40, second mile at 8:20, and third mile at 7:45. I got home and finished setting up for the early Christmas celebration we were hosting that night. I also got to spend some time with my little Raleigh who turned 2 years old! Happy Birthday dear sweet boy!

Sunday 12/22/2013-Rest Day!

Marathon Training Week 2

Monday 12/9/2013-This was the first day of my new job! I started out the morning with a 5:15 am spin class. Unfortunately, I do not love the early morning spin instructor. She plays pretty good music but she is not at all inspiring or encouraging. It’s pretty frustrating because I have no other options for other spin classes. I hope she was just having a bad day.

Tuesday 12/10/2013-Run day, 4 miles. I tried to keep it at an easy 9 minute mile pace but got bored and ran the last 2 at 8:30 pace. I felt good and didn’t have any soreness. I have no plans with my trainer this week because I don’t know exactly how my new schedule will work.

Wednesday 12/11/2013-Swim day! Got in the water early enough that I had my own lane for my whole swim. My new Ironman friend was in the water when I started and put the time clock at the head of my lane as he left for the day. This is what I love about being part of the marathon and triathlon community!

200 free warm up

4 X 150 (50 kick, 50 pull, 50 swim)

2 X 400 negative splits

4 X 50 Sprints

200 cool down

2,000 total

I think next week I might try to swim a time trial. It depends on how early I can get to the pool and how busy the lanes.

Thursday 12/12/2013-Run day, 30 minute tempo run. I ran a 5 minute warm up at 8:45 pace and then ran 25 minutes at 8:15-8:10 pace. I’ve never really understood tempo runs very well. The pace didn’t start to get really uncomfortable until the very end. I think next time I am scheduled to do a tempo run I will play with my speed a little more.

Friday 12/13/2013-Spin day, 45 minute class. That bad news is that the instructor was not just having a bad day on Monday. The good news, I didn’t even care because I knew I was going to be observing in the OR at work! I realize I may have to find other arraignments for bike workouts. Life is too short and my workouts are too precious to me to put up with an instructor I don’t like.

Saturday 12/14/2013-Rest day. I spent today catching up with my kids and cleaning my house after my first week of full time work in years. It felt so nice to cuddle with my boys! I also got some much needed Christmas shopping done with my kids.

As you can see, my kids were not so thrilled with being at the crazy busy mall and buying presents for other people.

Sunday 12/15/2013-Run day. It was only 9 degrees outside when I was ready to head out. Last Sunday it was about 25 degrees and my fingers were numb and then very painful by 6 miles. There was no way I would get through 7 miles with my fingers intact, so I took it to the gym.

I’m pretty happy with my time and how I felt during the run. I ran into my trainer at the gym and scheduled my next workout with him. I met another Ironman while at the gym and got some tips on peddle technique and cadence training. When I got home, I was able to spend the rest of my day with family and watch football! GoPackGo!

My RaleighBear wishes you a happy week!

Marathon Training week 1

Monday 12/2/2013-Started the week with a 1&1/2 hour spin session. This workout helped shake the last of the soreness from my legs.

I just happened to run into my trainer after spin and told him we were not on speaking terms. He pretty much laughed at me and I shook my fist back.

Tuesday 12/3/2013-Workout with my trainer which included squats, lunges, pushups, and some TRX work. Early in the workout I told him I still had a 3 mile run that day and could not be as sore as last time. We are back on speaking terms apparently. I’m sure I am the client every trainer hates. I whine and complain and try to sneak out of reps. Maybe my New Years resolution should be to complain less during my sessions (I’ll think about it).

After my session I hammered out 3 miles at 9:00 pace. This is about 15 seconds per mile slower than I have been running lately. I started out at a 8:45 pace but quickly had to slow down because I could feel my right quad knotting up. When I got home from the gym I stretched, rolled and iced my quads, and drank my beloved chocolate Vega Sports Performance protein. It’s the best tasting vegan protein powder I have been able to find.

Wednesday 12/4/2013-Swim Day!

200 warm up

2 X 150 (50 kick, 50 pull, 50 swim)

1,000 ladder (400 swim-40 seconds rest, 300 swim-30 seconds rest, 200 swim-20 seconds rest, 100 swim)

4 X 100 EBHE (25 easy, 25 build, 25 hard, 25 easy)

4 X 50 sprints on the 1 minute

200 cool down

2100 yards total

Great swim and I met another member of TriWi in the pool. Turns out he’s doing the same 70.3 as me.

Thursday 12/5/2013-Another upper body workout with my trainer and a 3 mile run. This time I was able to push the pace a little better with less soreness.

Friday 12/6/2013-One hour spin class. Not the usual Friday instructor which was a bit of a bummer.

Saturday 12/7/2013-Rest day.

Sunday 12/8/2013-Long run in the cold and snow. 6 miles with an average pace of just under 9 minute miles. I had to slow down due to icy roads and I was having a little trouble seeing because of the ice that kept forming on my eyelashes. I wanted to turn back early a couple time but toughed it out. The only reason I’m still running outside is to work on mental toughness.

The thumb and index finger of my left hand were numb for about 10 minutes after I got home. I will take any and all suggestions for winter running gloves. The rest of my attire was appropriate for the conditions. I thawed myself with the hottest shower I could tolerate and spent the rest of the day watching football!

   

Hope you had a great week!

 

 

Sunday Runday

Thanks to my procrastination to get out the door for my run this morning, I managed to dodge some awful weather.

This is what my backyard looked like for part of the day… the part before the tornado sirens started going off. So, I decided to nix my whole, run outside to build mental toughness plan, and headed to the gym. The great thing about going to the gym on a Sunday, when tornados sirens are sounding, is the huge selection of equipment that is open! This is great for me because I tend to fling my sweat up to three machines away, especially during my more challenging workouts. I know there are many purist runners who abhor treadmill running but I welcome the chance to do some indoor speed work occasionally.

I call today’s run a “broken ladder” workout. Ladders usually indicate increases or decreases in distance, but in today’s workout the distance stayed the same and I varied the speed at which I ran the distance. The first half of my run: 5 X 1 mile descending times 8:45, 8:30, 8:15, 8:00, 7:45. After the first 5 miles I took a break from running to work my abs. I did all floor work for abs with no machines, and did 25-30 reps of each exercise moving quickly between each exercise. Then I hopped back on the treadmill and repeated my 5 X 1 mile run backwards 7:45, 8:00, 8:15, 8:30, 8:45. This put me at a total of 10 miles for today.

I do runs like this for a couple of reasons. First, if I am on a treadmill I will get bored after awhile so I need to vary my speed. Some days I run more of an interval style workout but today I wanted to progressively increase my speed. Second, I break to do my abs in the middle of the workout because sometimes I just won’t do the exercises if I wait until the end of the long run. Last, it is important for me to progressively slow my pace to focus on form at slower speeds when I am tired. I also like to force myself to slow down slowly sometimes rather than ping-pong between fast and slow speeds.

This was an awesome run for me today and it felt great! I was totally drenched by the end of my workout and earned my long hot shower!

True to Wisconsin weather, the sky was a beautiful blue and it was about 55 degrees when I left the gym.

Happy Training, Run Happy!