Monday, February 8, 2016

Training week recap: Feb 1-7, 2016

Happy Chinese New Year!
Here's how the week went for me:

MONDAY - Warm-up 10 minutes on the stationary bike, lift 45 minutes
TUESDAY - Run 3.1 miles on the treadmill
WEDNESDAY - 35 minutes on the stationary bike
THURSDAY - 3 miles of incline work on the treadmill (10-minute warm-up, followed by 2-minute intervals at inclines 1-5)
FRIDAY - Warm-up 10 minutes on the stairclimber, lift 40 minutes
SATURDAY - Yoga video, 45 minutes
SUNDAY - Run 8 miles (6.6 miles outside, 1.4 miles of 2-minute incline intervals on the treadmill, levels 1-5)

NOTES:
  • Late last week, I had mentally composed a blog post about the cruelties and unusualities of hill-training. I was going to discuss how you experience a much higher total sum of pain from a) 3 months of hill-training torture, versus b) Just going out and dying on one single race day. The post was going to be titled "Training anti-synergies" or something similar.
  • Thankfully, last week's hill workouts went smoothly (which is why you are reading a calm training recap today =D). I'm already seeing some pay-off from all the hard work! I used to take notice whenever I ran over any overpasses, no matter how slight the gradients. Yesterday, for the first time ever, I did NOT notice. Yay!
  • I need to come up with a contingency plan on using the treadmill to finish my long runs. Yesterday, both of my building's treadmills were occupied when I arrived. Luckily, I only had to wait a few minutes before one opened up. I may not always be so lucky, though. 
  • ADVICE: If you ever need to free up a treadmill for yourself, it works well to stand in direct view and alternate maniacally between staring blankly at the users and staring at your watch. KIDDING, of course! Kind of.
  • Work has been busy, which resulted in yoga taking a hit last week. I skipped both my usual classes on Tuesday and Friday. To make up for it, I did an at-home yoga video on Saturday. It was a really nice change to practice in the privacy of my own home. I need to do this more often. (Sorry, Adam, for kicking you out of the living room!)
  • Lesley had suggested using the stairclimber as another incline-work tool. On Friday, I tried warming up on the stair machine before lifting. It was a solid jolt to my entire lower body! Going forward, I definitely want to keep mixing in more stairs.
  • As I mentioned yesterday, I am now planning to run the Rock N Roll DC Half Marathon on March 12. I am trying to figure out how best to reconfigure my long run schedule for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon in May. I've got a couple versions in the works - a "basic" version and a "challenging" version. I feel like it's a precarious balancing act between trying to train ambitiously versus too aggressively. It's a frequent story of our lives as runners, yes? More on this to come.
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Linking up with HoHo and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap.

29 comments:

  1. How do you feel after the stairclimber? It really does engage muscles we don't use that often.

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    1. The stairclimber is no joke!!! I was so exhausted after just a few minutes! It's unbelievable how we can run for miles at a time, but get worn out from just a handful of stairs. Clearly my stair climbing muscles leave a lot to be desired!

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  2. Thanks Karen! Yes, being able to see the top of the hill is really important from a mental perspective. It's the worst when you don't know how far you have to go up! Unfortunately treadmills don't help with THAT type of training, LOL. Great job on nailing those stairs with your coworker!!!

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  3. I love running up hill but hate coming down. I need to work on that. I pass everyone on the way up then go so slowly on the way down, it kills my quads and knees !

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    1. Ahhh, I keep forgetting that it's important to train on the downhills as well as the uphills! Unfortunately the treadmills in my fitness center don't have downhill settings. I need to find a real hill to practice! I am the same as you - it kills my joints to run downhill because of all the added gravitational pressure. UGH!!!!!

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  4. Nice week! No rest days (like full rest?)? Beast! I actually love the stair climber too because It's so hard for me! Really gives me a workout!

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    1. Thanks Amanda! Usually I do a full rest day on either Saturday or Sunday. But since I was so lax about doing yoga this week, I added it on Saturday. I consider yoga to just be a really good stretch so for me, it is about as close to a rest day as can be without resting. =)

      How are you doing!?!?!?!? How is the shoulder holding up these days?

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    2. I'm doing well. Weight loss is going well. And shoulder is holding up. Doctor says I'm doing well. I have a visit at the end of the month. I get frustrated wishing I could do more or be all the way healed but I know it takes time. Thanks for asking!

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    3. Amanda, I am so glad to hear the fantastic news about everything going so well! I know how frustrating the healing process is, but once you get there you will be golden!!!

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  5. Nice week! You got a lot of different stuff in!

    I did the stair climber on Friday, too. I was going to do intervals on the stationary bike but I felt like I needed something that didn't require me to maintain the pace myself. So, stairs it was. I'm still working on figuring out how to do intervals on them, though! It's a different kind of workout than doing treadmill intervals, that's for sure.

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    1. Thanks Erin! I was bummed because I had to miss Zumba on Wednesday, but the stair climber was a nice change. Indeed, it feels SO different! Good for you for trying to figure out how to do stair intervals. Right now I'm just trying to get acclimated to climbing stairs, period. =D

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  6. I will be hill training starting this week. So let's keep it positive, because I'm dreading it...

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    1. You've SO got this, Wendy!!! The way I've been looking at it, even modest or easy hill-training is better than none at all! So I say start out with the hillwork at a manageable level, go at your own pace, and feel good about what you are doing, no matter what!!! =)

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  7. Hills. You go up. You go down. That's the advice I got when I realized my first half marathon was super hilly. You're doing great with your training!

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    1. I am thinking of my high school science teachers who would say, "What goes up must come down. It's the law of gravity." LOL. Thanks Marcia! Appreciate the words of encouragement!

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  8. What a great week.

    I did a tower run last year which involved running up 42 flights of stairs. I used the stair machine for training and found it so hard. No matter what setting I use I just can't get a rhythm.

    As for hills, the more you run them the easier it gets!

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    1. Thanks Nicola! 42 flights of stairs is KILLER - congratulations and way to push through! You must have felt AMAZING after getting to the top of that tower. Are you planning on trying another tower run in the future???

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  9. Hills worry us all! My first running friend told me to keep me head down and keep moving, I still hear her voice when I hit a big hill!

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    1. I love the idea of keeping your head down and keeping moving. Sometimes the toughest part about a hill is looking UP and seeing how far you still have to go, right? So much better mentally to focus just on what is right in front of you!

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  10. Looks like a good week of training! Yay for seeing some results of hill training! Not noticing while running an overpass is big! :) Enjoy your week!

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    1. Thank you so much, Sharon! It's the little things that make such a difference during our weeks of hard work. =) I hope you have a fantastic week, too!!!!!

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  11. Karen has a good point about training for the downhills. I find those more challenging that the uphills when my body is tired. There is a huge downhill at the end of the Milwaukee Marathon that feels horrible. For me, anyway.

    I am happy you are seeing the results of your hill work! And that is funny you were thinking about the amount of pain you put in to train to have less pain on race day. Ha. Think about how much the elites train compared to us - this is just what we do to get better!

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    1. In my experience, the downhills are so hard on the joints! And I think when I'm going downhill, I am trying to stabilize myself from falling forward, which uses muscles I'm not used to, as well. That's interesting to hear about Milwaukee - the course must be hillier than I realized!

      Thanks, Kim! Sigh, yes, the elites put in enormous amounts of hard work just to make comparably slight improvements. The more elite you are, the harder it is to improve!!!

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  12. I have no doubt you'll come up with a workable plan for both the Pittsburgh and RnR DC runs! It is a balancing act isn't? We want challenging but we also want realistic I look forward to seeing how you fair! Thanks lady for linking up with us!

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    1. Thank you for co-hosting the link-up, as always, Tricia! Much appreciate your confidence in me. I tend to feel like our training can be more art than science sometimes, since our bodies are always changing. It's a never-ending journey to fine-tune our efforts!

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  13. Great job on the hill training! OK, I admit I've never run at incline on a treadmill. I'm not sure my finger could push that button! However, I have plenty of hills in my neighborhood. Although the game is usually to avoid those. Now that I'm feeling better, I understand trying to work in another half... or five. I'm sure you'll have no problem with RnR DC. Thanks for linking up with us Emily!

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    1. Thanks HoHo! If I had hills in my neighborhood, you better believe I would avoid them like the plague, too. And YES - it has taken a lot of fortitude to hit that "increase incline" button the treadmill. I am so glad you are feeling better these days. There's nothing better than that sense of improvement!!! Thanks again as always for co-hosting the link-up!

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  14. I don't think I've ever been on the stairmaster. Now, I am afraid to.

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    1. The stairmaster is no joke! It works muscles that I didn't realize we don't already use for running and walking!

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