Hey! So I slacked on my recap yesterday, so I wanted to post it tonight. BTW, I’m taking advantage of the fact that Mr. Student has a lighter schedule for the summer and letting him do more of the cooking these days. But if I do cook (or…bake…) something worth sharing, you know I will. Oh and I finished American Wife
Monday: 5.5 miles with Jenny (Week 6’s long run)
Tuesday: Cross-training/gym session. I warmed up with 25 min on the elliptical (it was going to be 15 but I wanted to finish my magazine) and then I loosely followed a routine I read on Finding Radiance (sorry Lori, can’t find the exact link!):
- Assisted pull-ups: 88 lbs/10 reps/3 sets
- Back extensions: body weight/10 reps/3 sets
- Incline chest fly (on incline bench): 10 lbs each hand/12 reps/3 sets
- Plank: 1 minute each/3 seta (phew! that was tough at the end)
- Mid-row machine: #2 resistance/10 reps/3 sets
- Upright row: 30 lb barbell/10 lbs/3 sets
- Overhead tricep extension (standing): 20 lbs/12 reps/2 sets
Wednesday: 3.5 miles. I don’t remember my final time, but it was something just under 38 minutes, or around a 10:45 pace. I remember m first mile was something like 10:05. I was sorta hoping for a faster time, but this was all I had.
Then after work I had the first of a Wednesday yoga class being held at the Japanese Friendship Garden. It’s a 60 minute Hatha yoga class, so I thought it wouldn’t be challenging. Yeah…my arms and abs were sore the next day. That was awesome. I signed up to do these classes for the meditative/relaxation/stretching/inner-peace aspects to yoga, so I was pleased that my muscles got some work too.
Thursday: REST.
Friday: Went to the gym for about 30 minutes of strength training. I didn’t write down what I did, it was one of those “playtime” workouts in that I just wandered around doing different exercises. Felt good, though.
Then, I ran/walked with Nina for about 42 minutes, we covered about 3 miles and the only time I walked was uphill. I called that my “run” per my training plan. I am always dragging Friday after work, and this workout was really tough…my legs left so heavy
Saturday: 50-minute hill/interval walk with Nina. An easy “recovery” workout, but got the blood flowing and got me out of the house when I was bored.
Sunday: 6 miles! My hamstrings were, as usual, pretty tight, but I managed. We finished in 1:09:43 or an 11:37 pace. I’d prefer something closer to 11:30 or below, however, I was dragging a little. BUT we didn’t walk!
On our run, Jenny and I talked about how it might be time to start thinking about how to hydrate or fuel mid-run. I think I’m going to go the “Camelbak filled with Gatorade” route because I don’t really want to eat anything while running and I don’t want to deal with having a water bottle on a fuel belt. I’m…sorta klutzy. I think the Gatorade will keep me going and won’t upset up stomach. We’ll see.
Other reflections:
Like I said, I was a little frustrated by my running this week. I was getting faster and feeling stronger and now…not so much. I feel like I’m getting worse, like it’s getting harder. And this is after basically a week off! Reading all the Tweets about the Rock and Roll marathon before my 6-miler were actually getting me discouraged, like I’ve signed myself up for something I can’t do (post-run, I felt a ton better, BTW).
Now, the FunHouse mirror of low self-esteem that is my brain is telling me that since I’m a few lbs over my “happy/ideal” weight, the extra space I’m occupying is why it’s harder to move. More realistically, I know I’m keeping up with my fitness program, and I’ve been trying to clean up my diet in the past week too (more veggies/protein, less white flour and sugar). So, given that, I’m wondering why, these workouts seem to be getting harder when they should be getting easier. Looking back on my schedule, I actually worked out a lot last week (didn’t feel like it at the time), so maybe I need to schedule more rest days? Maybe I’m just not pushing myself to my max? Maybe I’ve lost muscle since ending my bootcamp (well, that’s not really a maybe)?
I was going to do an at-home bootcamp thing tonight, but I don’t have it in me, I don’t think. So we’ll call it “rest day” and not “Hallie’s a lazy bum” day, OK?
Any thoughts (hello, personal trainers!) would be appreciated. Even if that advice is, “stop overthinking it so dang much! You’re wasting brain space when there are important things out there to focus on.”
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Running is a fickle thing – try not to let the inconsistency discourage you! Sometimes there’s a reason why runs suck (tired, overtrained, mentally exhausted) and other times it seems like every run sucks with no rhyme or reason. Then other times, all the stars align and running feels great. If you think about it too, you technically did 2 long runs last week. Just try to keep listening to your body. Taking a rest day isn’t lazy AT ALL. Now, taking 5 rest days without injury may be another story…
Oh! And mid-run nutrition. I usually have something when my run is over ah hour long. Usually around the 45-60 min point. I really like Clif shot bloks or GU. Cleaning out your camelbak after putting gatorade in it would be a bitch.
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