It is with a lack of fervor, pride, inspiration and direction I write this post. I intend to summarize my training each week.
Training Wrap-Up – Week 1
I strive to inspire, discourage, and confuse as many unsuspecting readers as possible. Oh. And probably Bore. You. To. Death. Today, in particular I am feeling a bit uninspired as far as my training goes – and not sure how to post the info in a way that doesn’t suck. Maybe I need to adopt a small mascot… mascots make everything more fun. Yes?
Without further ado…
- Monday: Strength Training (ST) – arms, and then a 1 hour spin class. Spinny, spin spin. I burned 404 calories!
- Tuesday: ST – legs, and then 3.5 mile on the treadmill. I did 1-2 minute intervals of speed and hills. The hills jacked me knees up. Hills stink, but I hear they help lengthen your stride… I burned 429 calories! I was wearing a shirt that read, “Will run for chocolate”. After I staggered off the treadmill, I was asked, “So, did you run for chocolate?” Um… if it’s drizzled in a martini glass!
- Wednesday: Nada – I know. Slacker. Instead… I had 2 beers, a glass of wine, a whole “personal” sized pizza, and an entire pint of Chubby Hubby. I am not kidding. I am a dedicated athlete. I am fully committed to protecting this vessel as I eek toward peak performance. Eek.
- Thursday: ST – arms, and then 20 minutes on cycle and 10 minutes on the treadmill. I like to do the bike/run thing a lot. Making the transition from the bike to the run can be a strange feeling. The more often I do it, the less strange the transition is. I burned 481 calories.
- Friday: I woke up late. I intended to do arm weights and then head to the pool. Instead, I just headed to the pool. Motivation was not in a spot I could reach, so it was an easy/moderate workout that lasted 32 whole minutes. I forgot to set my heart rate monitor until halfway through. The monitor is not very accurate in the water, I’ll explain some other time. Suffice it to say – my watch logged 100 calories burned, but I suspect it was more like 200-250. Not so impressive in that end, but my knees LOVED me for it.
- Saturday: Nada. Kids were sick, hubs was gone. No creative option. I was hoping to get my dancin’ on, but that didn’t happen either.
- Sunday: Nada. Sick kids, hubs was gone, and when he got back… I. Just. Didn’t. Want. To. Neener.
My 5 mile run was supposed to happen this weekend, but it didn’t. I’m not worried. I have run several 5-milers over the last few weeks. BUT, somehow I need to get 6 miles in next weekend. Going from 5 miles to 7 miles with a couple of weeks in between just isn’t the best plan. I have to make it happen.
Things to watch out for:
- My knees. They are already actin’ up. I think it was the hills on Tuesday.
- My toenails. The one I lost while training for the half in November is nearly back. It’s be nice if she’d stick around for summer. I spent all last summer with only 8 toenails to paint. It’s my dream to paint 10…
Week 2
8 weeks to My first event of the season. 8 weeks… I am having trouble following any particular “plan” because the schedule of My life won’t allow me to make it fit, and my left knee isn’t cooperating either.
Now, I am a “plan” kinda gal, so I do have a “plan” it’s just kinda in my head, and it changes from day to day. I have to be creative and flexible. My plan includes this: when doing any cardio (run/cycle/elliptical), I am learning to focus on keeping a pace I can maintain for 2 hours – even if I’m not running/cycling/ellipting for 2 hours. I was making efforts to increase speed, but I am noticing it is creating issues for my knee. I am coming to the conclusion that being able to finish many events in the future means not finishing them lickety-split.
I need to keep my priorities in order. Knees first. Even if my knee(s) were not an issue, it is doubtful (x2!) that I’d ever be able to compete on an elite level… so why pretend and risk My joint-life? I need to find contentment in the accomplishment of a good finish… even if it means I am always a “back-of-the-packer”. What is a “good finish”? Not dying at the end – that is a “good finish”.
- Monday: Nuttin’. I taught at my daughter’s preschool all morning… The kids were AWESOME, but that is hard work. Mrs. Cindy – you are a saint, and I sprinkle you with glitter, caffeine, frankincense and myrrh. Then I took My girls to lunch ’cause there was no way I was gonna MAKE lunch after playing preschool teacher all a.m.! And then I took a nap.An evening workout was scratched… cuzathat my friend Casey was in town and I helped her pack 3 boxes, helped her get rid of some champagne in the form of a mimosa, and then we headed out for a burger and a drink with another friend of hers. We giggled and blasted disco as we packed and quenched our thirst. Bedtime: 11:30…
- Tuesday: Poor planning on my part had me up at 4:30. Yes, a.m. I know. I am crazy. I have accepted it. I have a standing Tuesday morning 4 mile run with a new friend. I could have cancelled, but I forgot to, and then I kinda didn’t want to because I really enjoy the time with another adult. It’s early, but it’s quiet – very little traffic, we carry our handy-dandy flashlights… oh and the birds… we can hear them starting their day. It really is a lovely time.What was the super-crazy part, was the part where I told my friend Katie I could meet her for swimming after the run. So after the run, I spent some time doing leg weights, then I headed to the pool. I swam about 3/4 mile, and it was a super-easy workout. But, Yes. Yes, Yes. I was very tired on Tuesday. Veeeeeeery tired. Stats: I burned about 600 calories. Oooh – in terms of calorie replacement – that’s, like 2 mochas!
- Wednesday: I did an evening workout this day. I was kid-blasted, so I was at the gym longer than usual… working out my frustrations. I ended up going an hour and 45 minutes. I did arm weights, cycled and walked on the treadmill… and burned 508 calories.
- Thursday: For 1 hour & 15 minutes I did leg weights and worked out on the elliptical (less impact on my knees). 450 calories burned.
- Friday: Arm weights and treadmill. A super-duper-easy run. My pace was well over a minute slower per mile than what I usually do. I came in under 3 miles in over 30 minutes. Again – it’s about finishing, not winning… Calories: 440
- Saturday: Our 6 miler. It was a sunny morning. We met at 6:30. The weather was perfect. It was slightly chilly, but we warmed up in the first 5 minutes. We ran along the bay and saw seals kickin’ it on one of the floating docks. I just love that route. It took us an hour and 3 minutes to go the 6 miles, burn 505 calories, and we spent all but one of those 63 minutes “in zone”.
Today, Sunday… I am so “off”. Plus I danced like a fool last night, for like, 3 hours. Not to mention a short trip to the casino on Friday night to catch a set from a band I enjoy. But I only boogied for 6 or 7 songs. I had to get my rest for the Saturday run!
Week 3
I kinda wonder if I should really call this training thing “training” at all. I have deviated from my handy-dandy “plan” and am now just making things up as I go. Part of my “problem” is I am looking beyond the half-marathon in June. Preparing for the half is my main focus, but an Olympic distance triathlon is on the horizon in early August…. 6 weeks to the half and 15 weeks to the tri. I need to be sure to make more room for biking and swimming as the weeks whittle down. Especially the bike – it’s my weakest, and I have a cruiser/mountain bike – not a speedy road bike. Oh, how I long for a road bike…
Enough of the thinking – here’s what was accomplished this week. I know you’re beside yourself with curiosity…
Monday. Arm strength and cardio. I cannot remember what form of cardio it was. I just know that I burned 407 calories between the weight time and cardio time. I spent 29 minutes in my zone. My “zone” is between 147 and 189.
Can I just say I love my heart rate monitor. It has been especially helpful in my bike training. I find I easily slip into “Sunday Stroll Mode” as I am pedaling my cute mountain-cruiser bike. I use my heart rate monitor to keep me “in zone”, thus helping me push a little harder – and not enjoy enjoy the ride so much! That’s not true, but it kinda is…
Tuesday. Leg strength and an exhilarating run on the treadmill (can you smell the sarcasm). I think I went 4 miles. 485 calories were burned and I spent 35 minutes “in zone”… When one considers a half-marathon will take me 2 hours (give or take), somehow 35 minutes “in zone” seems a bit wimpy.
Wednesday. No-flippin’-any-flippin’-thing. Rock. On.
Thursday. Arm strength and swimming. 375 calories. I swam 33 minutes… came up a couple hundred yards short of a mile, but that was because I did stroke and kick work. I really like completing even distances, but there just wasn’t time to get in those extra 12 lengths.
Friday. I liked this day. I spent about a half-hour working on my arms (I do the “arm thing” to improve my swim/stroke, and because running and biking really don’t do much for the arms of a girl whose arms can easily rival the circumference of a tree trunk)… And then I hopped on the treadmill to cover 1.5 miles in a walk/jog pattern… 222 cal.o.ries… and THEN – you’re gonna love me – I went with a friend to get a cuppa coffee! That’s right! I got a tall mocha with a half pump of raspberry. Da shizzle. Yup. I rock at calorie replacement.
Saturday. No stinkin’ anything. Hello! Snow! In April! But… I danced. And I bumped into the mic stand of the singer-chic, but it wasn’t my fault. I was puttin’ some space between me and someone who I felt could use some, well – space. It was more of an “escape move” than “dance moves”, but I made it look dance-ish, so as not to be mean. Awkward.
Sunday. Got in the 7 miles today. We almost found a way out, but the weather just didn’t “go south” enough for us to feel OK with calling it off. Katie and I both know we can skip long runs at this point. We’ve not given ourselves enough room to weasel out. So we headed out – 38 degrees… icy droplets began to fall. However, by the end of the run we were blazing hot (sweaty hot, not “hottie” hot… though “sweaty hot” is considered “hottie” hot by some, unless you take into account BO and such… I digress…). In summary – 38 degrees is actually not so bad when you’ve been running a steady pace for over an hour. I can’t believe myself. Who have I become?
I burned 586 calories in an hour and 12 minutes. I spent 1 hour and 11 of those minute “in zone”. Hmmm… in terms of calorie replacement, that may be a half-pint of Ben & Jerry’s. Hmmm…
Physical consequences: I got my little post-run belly ache, but it was minor compared to last week. My left knee hurts. And I can’t keep my eyes open.
Week 4
For some reason, this week wore me out. I’m panting just thinking about it. Not really, I just wrote that for effect 🙂 Anywho. This week was not particularly intense “training wise” nor did I push myself, but I can just tell my body is all, “Girlfriend. Whut iz UP!” Either I am fighting off something, or I just didn’t get the rest I need, or maybe I didn’t make the best food choices as far a recovery goes. Or all of the above.
This coming week I intend to focus on taking my vitamins, and hormones. Yes. I take hormones (specifically, progesterone). Don’t freak out. I have an engaging story to share, but I am focusing on training event readiness in this post, not on adrenal fatigue (a little teaser for you) nor how important healthy hormone balance can be.
Monday: I did arm weights, some stationary bike and walked on the treadmill. I forgot to turn off my heart rate monitor, so my numbers also reflect the calories burned on my 10 minute drive home from the gym… 352 calories and 2 minutes “in zone”. 2 – heehee. I made it an easy workout since I had done my 7 mile run the day before.
Tuesday: My standing 4 mile run early in the a.m. with a friend. It was great. Great. Great! The sun is starting to rear it’s glowing head… I can’t wait for a little more sun on our runs 🙂 After the run I did a few leg strength activities in the weight room. 534 calories & 46 minutes “in zone”.
Wednesday: Arm weights and spin class. I don’t know why, but I have a super-hard time really elevating my heart rate when on the bike. It doesn’t matter if I’m on a real bike or a stationary bike. I have to make a concerted effort in order to get it up there. When I run – my heart rate just climbs, but not so much with biking. I dunno. 441 calories and though the spin class was an hour I only spent 15 minutes “in zone”.
Thursday: day off.
Friday: Leg strength and swimming. All in all I burned 269ish calories. The heart rate monitor is not as accurate in the water, so one usually burns more than is indicated… but I don’t want to make a guess. The swim was only 25 minutes, so I wasn’t thrilled. However, I’d rather get in a short swim than over-stress my joints by running or biking when I know I need the change.
Saturday: 8 mile, yo. I’m just like Eminem. Yeah… I felt the run went really well. We ran a route that had moderate, but long hills. I wore my super-dorky water fanny-pack. I hate wearing it, but due to my “issues” (blood sugar unpredictabilities, dizziness, overheating, gluconeogensis), anything over 7 miles without fuel and water along the way is too stressful to go without. Though it was only 34 degrees when we set out, I had stripped down to my tank by the end. I am hot – in soooo many ways.
The last time I ran 8 in a training build-up I didn’t take fuel or water. The finish and recovery really hit me hard. I saw a big difference this time. I drank about half the water and took 1 Gu pack at 4 miles. Upon completion, I encountered the usual stomach ache, but it came in small waves over an hour. Not bad considering those stomach aches can last all day.
The biggest news of our 1 hour 21 minute and 46 second jog was the fact that my heart rate monitor showed my heart rate got up to 196! Dudes – that’s 94% of my heart’s maximum. I heard that Lance Armstrong trains at 95% of his max, so me and Katie decided we are just as hard core as Lance.
We walked the first 2 or 3 minutes to warm up, but our total finish time was 1:20:46. 1:18:36 of that was “in zone”. 647 calories were most certainly burned. And today… butt muscles are sore. The top ones. I never took anatomy and physiology, so what are those ones called? Top Butt? Hmm, that doesn’t sound right. Anyway – those muscles haven’t screamed at me in quite some time…
Sunday (today): 2 hour nap (a.k.a. – “da shizzle”)
An now that my post is written, I have a whole 20 minutes to clean the house! It’s all about priorities.
