Week in review Dec. 24-30: Starting like Buddy the Elf and ending like Ebenezer Scrooge

Lots of biking and a good amount of other stuff.

The week got off to a pretty good start. I knew I wouldn't be doing much training on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and I was right; all I logged was one trainer ride on Christmas Eve. The rest of the day was spent wrapping presents while watching Christmas movies, cooking in advance of the holiday, and relaxing before going to bed on the early side. Christmas Day was a long, exhausting, and fun day of family festivities.

I was ready to jump back into training on Wednesday. I spend the morning farting around and running a couple errands, but did get in a nice run later in the day in the sunshine with some new running tights my mom had given me. I even rallied again for barre later that evening.

The rest of the week included trainer rides, another legit speedwork run, and lots of PT. I think I overdid it on the weights on Saturday, though, because my knee was in a good amount of pain on Sunday. I was pretty bummed, especially because it was another relatively warm, sunny day. I tried to get some chores done around the house and did manage some yoga before bed, so not all was lost.

Although the week ended on a downer, my numbers were still pretty good:

Bike: Three times, all on the trainer, for 51.5 trainer miles in a little longer than 4 hours. I think this might be my best trainer week EVER. Since I had some extra time on my days off, I tacked on an extra 10 or 15 minutes here and there, and it showed.

PT/Rehab: Four times, all solo sessions, for about 2:30. This is also the most PT I've done in a while! Amazing what I can get done when I don't have to work, haha.

Run/Walk: Twice, both on the road, for 13.5 miles in about 2:20. OK, this wasn't a total fail — this consisted of a nice, easy run and a speed run, both outside on nice days. I am bummed about missing my long-ish run, but all told I am still 2 for 3.

Weights: Twice, one barre class and one heavy/body session, for about 2:15 all together.

Yoga: One self-guided session for 20 minutes of mostly bends, twists, figure 4s, etc.

Total: 12 sessions for about 11 hours, 26 minutes. Not bad!

Of course I could have done better doing training on Christmas Day and not missing my long run, but I'm still happy with how the week turned out. I'm especially proud of myself for making PT such a priority. Almost as important, I'm glad I took it easy on a few days and rested my knee when I needed to. Hopefully this will help set me up for a good 2019.

Two Fridays in a row of legit speedwork

I have been doing a lot of "speedwork" as I built up my running from my injury last year, but the last two Fridays (hashtag fast Friday) I've done what I consider actual speedwork, without the quotes.

Last Friday I did a virtual 5K for my team, TBD Racing, and managed a respectable 25:24, according to my Garmin. I had a few twinges in my left hamstring but my real limiter was having to slow down so I wouldn't barf. I guess, officially, that means I have room to improve on my cardio fitness, haha. I don't really RACE 5Ks but that time isn't far off from what I think is my fastest time, at the end of a sprint triathlon a few years ago when I was in peak-for-me fitness.

Yesterday I resurrected an old speed workout from the last time I was in shape and did what I call leapfrogging miles, one mile easy followed by one mile fast, repeat. I walked a half mile to warm up, hit a hard lap (I finally figured out how to do that on my "new" Garmin that I've had for a year, haha), and started with an easy-ish mile.

I was surprised at how fast I ticked over the easy miles: 9:21, 9:21, and 9:20. I didn't feel like I was working too hard. My "fast" miles weren't bad: 8:48, 8:47 (talk about consistency!), and 8:27. I ended with another half-mile walk to cool down.

Not too shabby!

I am a little bummed I only had so much speed in those fast miles — we're talking a difference of only about 30 seconds for the first two — and I was hurting by the end of the last. I joked on Instagram that the 8:27 felt like a 6:27. BUT, I'm going to attribute that to getting back into shape and eating too many (not really) Christmas treats.

If nothing else, I now have baseline. When I do this workout again in a month or so, I'm optimistic that I will see a bit of improvement. Yay, Fast Fridays!

Week in review Dec. 17-23: Giving myself the gift of not freaking out about workouts

Not too shabby for the week before Christmas.

I knew this past week would include a couple late nights, trying to make work deadlines, more Christmas errands, and probably a meltdown or two. I was correct on all accounts, but at least I had planned and prepared properly.

I tried to give myself the gift of not freaking out or beating myself up if I couldn't or just didn't want to do something one day. As expected, I was sick of everything by Tuesday evening, so my husband and I went out for steak and fries cooked in duck fat. It was completely worth it.

I hit the Y after work Wednesday for a treadmill run and managed a trainer ride after a Christmas errand on Thursday. Our department had a nice Christmas lunch on Friday and both my boss and I decided afterward we weren't doing any more work this year, so we headed out early enough that I could run a virtual 5K outside before it got dark on the shortest day of the year.

My husband and I were lame and didn't make any plans for the weekend, so I was able to rally with a trainer ride, weights, and PT on Saturday; and my longest run in more than a year, PT, and yoga on Sunday. I didn't have to work today, Monday, so that saved me a few hours on food prep Sunday, which was greatly appreciated.

Even with the extra running around I managed:

Run: Three times, once on the treadmill and twice on the road, for 19.25 miles in about 3:20. For almost all of my runs, I'm only walking as a warmup and cool down, so I think I can stop calling them run/walks, at lest for now.

Bike: Twice, both on the trainer, for 34.5 fake trainer miles in about 2:37.  I couldn't rally on Tuesday but still managed a shorter ride and a longer ride later in the week.

Weights: Twice, one video and one round of heavy/body moves, in about 2:10. I can't even remember the last time I did a pull-up and I'm going to be sore for days, in a good way of course.

PT: Three times, all solo sessions of moves given to me by my therapist from long ago, for about 2 hours.

Yoga: Twice, both solo sessions, for about 35 minutes total. Hey, two yoga sessions instead of one or zero! Progress!

Total: 12 sessions in about 10:42. Hey, a 10+ hour week! Not bad at all, considering.

I've got all the Christmas presents wrapped, the dishes I'm bringing to my in-laws' brunch are prepped and ready to go, I thoroughly enjoyed a homemade hot chocolate earlier, and I am now cuddling with a dog. I'll most likely take tomorrow completely off from training to relax and visit with family, and hopefully will be getting back into in on Wednesday all caught up and ready to go.

A great (short) day for a 5K

It was cold and drizzling by the time I escaped work early today for the holiday but I knew I wanted to do a virtual 5K today for my team, TBD Racing. I bundled up and headed out while it was still light outside, on the shortest day of the year.

I walked for a half mile and then jogged a half mile before turning on the jets. My goal was to give it my all without hurting myself for 3.1. I had to back off a few times as I approached what I call puke threshold.

I was shocked to see the first split of 8:20. I was more shocked to see an 8:16 and a 7:58 for miles 2 and 3. I was hurting by the end but my Garmin told me I had nailed a 25:24. I pretty much obliterated my goal of sub-27 by the end of the year. And I didn't have to stop or walk!

My left hamstring is a little tight, and I was limited by my cardio fitness, but I'm thrilled with the result. Plus, my Garmin also tells me I had a 7:56 mile in there somewhere. My previous fastest since my knee injury was an 8:25.5.

Not bad for a run I had to talk myself into. A little cold and a little rain couldn't stop me.

Not bad for the shortest day of the year.

Week in review Dec. 10-16: Hectic before the holidays

Not bad, considering how busy I was.

I am feeling the Christmas crunch. I don’t have kids, I don’t do a lot of shopping, and I don’t even bother to put up a tree anymore, but I still spend a good amount of time sending out cards, running errands, buying and cooking groceries, and crocheting last-minute scarves.

So, last week I tried to be gentle with myself and not beat myself up because I couldn’t do as many workouts as usual due to holiday errands. I ended up doing something Christmas-related after work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, AND Friday – running to the craft store, tracking down photo paper, printing pics, wrapping gifts to get in the mail, prepping packages, and running to another craft store. It really would have been pushing it to get in a solid bike or run, AND do my PT or weights, AND knock out some holiday to-dos.

Ideally, I would have gotten up early Friday to do a speed run before work since I had a haircut scheduled for after work, but I didn’t make it to bed early enough Thursday and, let’s be honest, I just didn’t want to. Still, even skipping a full day, I had a decent showing this week. Enough to burn off some Christmas cookies, anyway, haha.

Last week included:

Bike: Three times, all on the trainer, for about 3.5 hours and 45.5 fake trainer miles. I’m actually pretty proud of myself for getting three solid rides done.

Run: Twice, once on the gym treadmill and once on the road, for 13.75 miles in about 2:24. I went to the gym after work one day since my home treadmill is being difficult, and it was nice enough yesterday that I could do a long-ish run outside. I’m not sure why, but both IT bands seemed to be a little aggravated. I tried to run gently and didn’t push it, and it never got to the point of pain. I also managed 6.75 of those miles running, the longest straight run I’ve done in a long, long time.

PT/Rehab: Twice for about 1.5 hours total. I mean, twice is better than zero, so I’ll take it.

Weights: One video for about an hour. Again, once is better than nothing.

Yoga: One Sunday night, much-needed session of bends, pigeons, etc. for about 15 minutes. My hips are so tight, ugh!

Total: Nine sessions in about 8:45.

While training wasn’t great, it was still decent. Plus, I made headway on that last-minute scarf, especially important because this person is impossible to shop for. I think it’s OK to trade 5 hours of crocheting someone a handmade gift for 5 hours (OK, 1-2 extra hours) of training this time of year. Plus plus, my new hair looks pretty good, just in time for the holidays. =)

I’m going to continue to take it easy and be nice to myself this week. If I can get done my holiday to-dos and one session a day, I will be thrilled. Everything else can wait until next week.

100+ workouts already this quarter!

In October, I set a goal to do 100 workouts before the end of the year. I didn't have many hard and fast rules, just that it had to be something I would log into DailyMile: swim, bike, run, weights, yoga, PT, etc.

I passed that goal earlier this week!

89 + 6 + 7 is... uh... more than 100.

I didn't intend to front-load workouts earlier this quarter, but I am glad I did. With all the extra stuff that needs to get done before the holidays, I have been running more errands and doing more Christmas chores, which takes up time I would spend lifting or PT'ing. I don't have a goal for the end of the year, just to keep doing what I'm doing. Honestly, I am just glad to be doing anything at all.

Here's hoping you are getting in some holiday workouts among the office parties and shopping, if that's your thing.

Week in review December 3-9: It wasn’t great, but I enjoyed a bit of a break

Eh.

It wasn’t a great week. I logged about half the number of workouts and volume I usually do. Part of it was because I felt super crappy and exhausted on Tuesday (thanks, hormones) and part of it was that my old, rusty treadmill decided to stop playing nicely. I am pretty sure Santa is going to bring us a new one this year.

The week actually started off well with a barre class Monday. We had had our Christmas card pictures taken the day before, so I spent the rest of the evening color correcting and ordering cards. (Yes, we are the weirdos who do pics with our dogs every year.) I barely slept early in the week but rallied for an easy treadmill run on Wednesday followed by a bit of yoga, and a decent trainer ride on Thursday.

It had been a loooooong day Friday and I wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and order takeout, but I rallied again and got on the treadmill to do a speed workout only to find that the belt wasn’t keeping up with the speed I wanted to run. I managed to plod for a mile before calling it quits. The jerky motion aggravates my hip and knee and I didn’t want to be surprised if/when it did suddenly start going the speed I wanted.

I could have been productive on Saturday after a good night’s sleep, but I did boring things instead like have a nice breakfast out with my husband, run errands, address cards, and start Christmas shopping before meeting my parents for dinner. I was surprisingly successful tracking down gifts so it wasn’t a total waste of time. By the time Sunday came around, I was refreshed and ready for a long-ish run.

As frustrating as the week was, it had its successes. I cooked dinner every single weeknight. (Going out with my parents Saturday was the first time in almost TWO WEEKS we had gone out to dinner!!!) I had a prepped breakfast and lunch every day. It was warm enough to do my long-ish run outside. After a walk warmup, I ran a straight 10K, the first time in over a year that my knee has allowed me to do that.

I think my biggest “fail” of the week was that I didn’t do any PT. As we get closer to the holiday crush, I expect that I am going to have to be judicious with my time in the evenings. I know I have to run one errand after work today and probably another tomorrow, so I may be deciding between cooking, a run or a ride, OR PT, but not all three. I get frustrated when I can’t check off my entire to-do list, so I am going to have to practice patience with myself. Maybe I will call it getting into the holiday spirit.

Anyway, my week by the numbers was:

Run/Walk: Three times, twice on the treadmill and once on the road, for 14.1 mile in a bit longer than 2.5 hours. This included one aborted speed treadmill run and a really nice 10K in the brisk air.

Bike: Once on the trainer for 13.5 fake trainer miles in an hour.

Weights: One barre class for about an hour.

Yoga: One self-guided session of mostly hip openers, bends, etc. for 20 minutes.

Total: 6 sessions in a hair less than 5 hours.

Yeah, I could have done a lot more. But everyone needs a few days off here and there, and hopefully I can use that rest to build toward a stronger week this week.

Week in review Nov. 26-Dec. 2: It was a “little bit of everything” kind of week

A third run, a third bike, a third other -- sounds about right.

It wasn’t a spectacular week, but it had its small victories. I got to the pool! I did a birthday “triathlon”! I got to run outside in the sunshine and warm-ish air! I was able to squeeze in some yoga!

I even managed a rest day, taking Thursday completely off training. I don’t remember why, so I was probably just tired and fed up with the week. Usually that happens by Tuesday, haha. But I was able to finish the week out strong with doubles Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, so a day of rest and an early bedtime definitely didn’t hurt.

My week was:

Run/Walk: Three times, twice on the treadmill and once on the road, for 18.25 miles in about 3:17. This was a weird week: One 39-minute straight run for my birthday, bookended by walking warmups and cooldowns; one “speed” run of increasing 0.75-mile intervals with alternating walks and jogs, ending with a jog to hit 65 miles for the month; and one straight “long-ish” run that ended up being shorter than my “speed” run earlier in the week. But, I got to enjoy the 50-degree weather and sunshine yesterday, and nothing hurt by the end of the week, so I’m considering this a success even if I got there in a strange, roundabout way.

Bike: Three times, all on the trainer, for 41.32 fake trainer miles in about 3:13. Doing a shorter ride of 39 minutes for my birthday threw off my usual totals a bit, but other than that the week’s rides were pretty unremarkable.

PT: Just two solo sessions this week for a total of about 1:15. Unfortunately I can’t make everything a priority, and these fell down the list this week.

Weights: Just one video this week for about 50 minutes (skipping the warmup because I did this right after a trainer ride). Again, I would have liked to do a heavy/body session, but it fell down the priority list. I usually lift heavy on Saturdays but we went to a Christmas party with friends instead, and we had a blast, so the trade-off was well worth it to me.

Swim: Yay, a swim! Just one session of 39 minutes of drills for my birthday.

Yoga: One quick Sunday night session of about 15 minutes. I definitely needed this. Even though I logically know my hips and glutes would especially benefit from some yoga several times during the week, I am struggling to find even a few minutes here and there. Usually by the end of the day I’m tired and just want to relax. This is something I need to keep working on.

Total: 11 sessions in about 9.5 hours. Overall, a good week.

We’re moving solidly into the holiday season and I’m hoping I can keep up my good weekly habits. We don’t have a lot of plans … yet … but I’m sure the parties and shopping and all that other stuff will be popping up shortly. On the days when I can work, work out, sleep, and repeat, I will. On the days I can’t, I won’t. I’m going to do what I can and try not to beat myself up about it. And if I have more "little bit of everything" weeks in the meantime, that's good, too.

November in review: Highest volume and run mileage in a long time!

I love it when I add up my numbers for the month and I'm pleasantly surprised. I only had a couple of days here and there during which I did not workouts at all, mostly when I had plans or just needed a day off. I put in a solid couple of days over Thanksgiving break and I did a birthday triathlon, which helped with some of that solid volume.

I also managed to run 65 miles this month! I was so happy to see that I was in the late 50s by the end of the month and I wanted to hit that milestone. The last run of the month was on the 30th and my husband was running an errand, so I found a new series on Netflix (Schitt's Creek — HILARIOUS) and settled into the treadmill. And, best of all, my knee held up.

Running miles for the last 13 months.

I didn't get to ride outside at all. We pretty much went straight from summer to winter and missed fall completely. I got a couple of runs in outside, but sadly the bike is probably inside for the winter.

Not a bad showing.

Overall, my month turned out to be:

Bike: 12 times, all on the trainer, for 177.57 trainer miles in about 14 hours. Nothing special here — just a lot of Trainer Road interval rides.

Run: 12 times, 6 on the road and 6 on the treadmill, for 65 miles in about 12 hours. Again, nothing special — just building up slowly and steadily so I don't re-injure anything.

Weights: 6 times of 3 videos, 2 heavy/body sessions and 1 barre class, for about 6 hours. This averages out to about 1.5 per week which isn't terrible. I can't be too mad.

PT: 11 times in about 7:30. Eh, this should be closer to 2-3 hours per week. I keep working at this.

Swim: 39 minutes for my birthday triathlon, which worked out to be 1200 yards of drills.

Yoga: 2 sessions in about a half hour. Eh, again — this should be about 1 hour per week. Something else to keep working at.

Total: 44 sessions in about 40.5 hours. WOW! I haven't had that kind of volume in a while. Thank the Thanksgiving holiday, thank wanting to do something special for turning 39, thank my boring life and desire to be a hermit.

I am trying not to gain 100 pounds with the holidays coming up, so hopefully this will give me a good base to hitting December hard. Or, at least, hard enough where I can fend off some of the stress without creating more for myself. I do plan on enjoying wine and cookies in the near future; I just plan on enjoying some runs and rides, too. =)