Week in review February 18-24: Grumpy, cold, and getting old

Lots of biking, meh everything else.

It ended up being not a great week last week. After I had done my longest long run in a while the week before, I had a bit of knee pain to deal with these last few days. I’m not sure why 11 miles walking and running is fine but 12 miles makes my knee hurt, but OK. This is something I’m going to have to get used to as my new normal, I guess.

So, I ended up taking Monday off training and got some personal work done, and getting called into some financial stuff Tuesday that turned into going out for sushi afterward and missing another training day; no regrets. I did get nice trainer rides done Wednesday and Friday, but was pretty exhausted at the end of the day Thursday and did nothing workout-related. Three days off in a week is a lot for me, but it seemed like my body needed a bit of a break so I went with it.

I was able to rally this weekend for some decent training. The weather was relatively nice on Saturday so I went for a very ginger, very easy run around the neighborhood, in case I had to turn around and head home. It actually wasn’t bad and my knee was a bit uncomfortable here and there, but never in pain and never so uncomfortable that I thought it was a bad idea to be out there. Plus it was my first run in a week, so some of that may have been joints and ligaments remembering how to run again. I called it at about an hour so I could quit while I was ahead, glad for the fresh air and sunshine in February. This was actually the fourth time I’ve run outside this month, which is about four times more than I usually run outside in the winter hellscape that is February in Michigan.

I didn’t have a lot going on this weekend so I did a bunch of training both Saturday and Sunday. I lifted weights for the first time in a while after my run Saturday (and I’m still feeling it) and did a nice long ride while food prepping on Sunday. I got some PT and even some yoga in there, too.

I was bummed the week started off on such a painful note, but happy I was able to rally for a strong (OK, strong-ish) finish. By the numbers, it was:

Bike: Three times, all on the trainer, for 49.5 fake trainer “miles” in about 3:36. It was NOT my highest-volume week, otherwise I would have been really mad I didn’t do an additional half mile, haha.

Run: Just once on the road, for 7.25 miles (6.25 running with a half-mile warmup and cooldown) in about 1:19.

Weights: One round of my heavy/body routine in about 1:15. Even though I haven’t lifted in a while, there’s a small victory that I can still do almost two hanging pullups in a row. Go me!

PT: Two sessions in about 1:15. I’m sure it’s not a coincidence that this has been lacking and running is getting painful again.

Yoga: One 15-minute session before bed on Sunday. Even these little sessions make a big difference in my muscle tightness.

Total: 8 sessions in about 7:40. Considering this included 3 days off, this is excellent! I don’t think cramming on the weekend is the way to go, though.

I’m on vacation next week, and am already thinking about what kind of changes I’d like to make when I get back. I would like to get back to barre regularly (not only because I have a bunch of passes to use up), once or twice a month at least to shake up (heh) my weight routine. I also think I need to cut one weekday workout short and do PT for the second half of my workout instead, to get PT back into my regular schedule. 

But I need to tackle this week first and I hope to do that with a few solid workouts. Bike and run, here I come. And if I have time, some other stuff too.

Week in review Feb. 11-17: Ugh

Lots of running and my knee is feeling it today.

I’m glad last week is behind me. The weather wasn’t terrible – I even got to run outside twice. But I had a lot going on, I didn’t sleep well, and it was on the more stressful side.

I was glad I had taken Monday off after our weekend wedding in Iowa, because we got home super late Sunday. After sleeping in and going out to one last amazing brunch Monday, I did the usual routine of grocery shopping, food prepping, laundry, etc. to get ready for the week ahead. I even got a good run in outside and did some PT.

The rest of the week felt like two weeks of craziness were crammed into four days. Tuesday was stressful catching up on everything at work, and I stopped at a funeral home on the way home to support a friend during her loss. The weather was lousy and I was drained, and I think we ended up getting burgers and watching the Westminster dog show with the bar staff (at least we were among our people). I was able to rally Wednesday and Thursday for a trainer ride and a nice speed run. Thursday was also Valentine’s Day, which we don’t really celebrate, but we did order in barbecue that night. So romantic!

I was DONE by the end of the day Friday and mad that I missed my dogs’ vet appointment, at which my husband learned our old lady pit bull needs MORE dental work. Our lab mix completely freaked out at the vet, too, so we spent the rest of the night cuddling them and telling them what good girls they are. Thankfully, things were back to normal by Saturday, when I did a chilly but enjoyable long run before a friend’s party and then becoming a hermit for the rest of the night. Since yesterday was colder and snowier, I saved my long trainer ride and more PT for then, after and during another round of pre-week prep. It never ends.

My knee is a little tender after my long run Saturday and long trainer ride Sunday, so I’m planning on a day off today. Saturday was my longest run and this week was the most running I’ve done in I don’t even know – at least since October of 2017. I don’t know yet if this is an “oh crap I overdid it” tender or a “you did just run 11 miles for the first time in a year and a half” tender. It was feeling fine after the fact on Saturday so I’m hopeful.

Also, this is a stark reminder that I have to stop slacking off my PT. The more I run, the more I have to be vigilant about it. The end.

Anyway, last week’s numbers were:

Run: Three times, once on the treadmill and twice on the road, for 26.5 miles (that was an accident) in about 4.5 hours. Monday’s run was a chilly afternoon run while I was off work (I canNOT wait for Daylight Savings Time and evening daylight); Thursday’s was a building leapfrog of a challenging mile, a recover half-mile, a slightly more challenging mile, etc.; and Saturday’s was a chilly, boring-ish, long-ish run to see if I can build distance for a half this spring. You know, the basics.

Bike: Twice, both on the trainer, for 35.5 fake trainer miles in about 2.5 hours. I made running the priority this week instead of trying to make up trainer rides on the days I didn’t do anything fitness-related.

PT: Twice for about 1:30 total. I haven’t been good about doing this during the week, but I did one session on my day off Monday, and another on Sunday after my long trainer ride.

Yoga: Twice! Which I’m pretty sure doubles my total for the year! I was able to squeeze in two 15-minute sessions, which is better than nothing, and I’ll take it.

Total: 9 sessions in just longer than 9 hours. Not terrible.

I’m a bit grumpy today with the knee and the cold weather and the stress so I’m going to try to enjoy my evening off, get some other stuff done, and look forward to warmer temperatures. Bah, humbug.

Here are some pictures of my mutts just because I haven't posted any in a while. Pics of them play fighting never fail to make me laugh.

Typical Saturday night.

Typical sisterly fighting.

A long, chilly run

It was a brisk day today, with a temperature in the mid-20s and windchills in the high teens. However, it is February, and we have just gone through a Polar Vortex, and it's expected to be a bit colder, snowier, and windier tomorrow. So off I went on my long run today.

Brisk but not terrible.

I did 10 running miles two weeks ago so I was hoping for 11 today. My long run pace would be in the range of 10:09-10:39-ish, but it was so chilly I found myself running a bit faster and my miles splitting at about 9:30-9:40. Oops! Other than that, my run was pretty unremarkable. My knee felt fine, my hamstring wasn't too bad, and my lungs felt great. The only drama I had was losing an earbud cover, which I found on the next lap.

Way too fast for long run pace, but at least I was warm. Ish.

This was a great run to get in the bank. I haven't signed up for a spring half marathon yet, but after today, I feel like I could do it. We'll see if the weather cooperates enough for a few more long runs outside over the next few weeks.

Week in review Feb. 4-10: A nice weekend for a (snow) white wedding

Run, bike, wedding shenanigans.

Hello! I've been MIA because I was at a destination wedding... in Iowa. Yes, really. My husband was a groomsman for his best friend and while I would have much rather he got married in Florida or Jamaica, we bundled up and headed out. And we had a great time.

I did manage workouts Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before we left town on Thursday. I still had a bunch of errands, cleaning, laundry, bills, etc. to take care of so I kept it to one thing per night so I didn't get too stressed. I did bring my outdoor running clothes just in case, but it was 15 degrees with wind chills in the negative teens on Friday... not great.

HOWEVER, our AirBnB had an amazing fitness center with top-of-the-line treadmills and even a Peloton room. While we were picking up my husband's tux and other last-minute running around on Friday, I popped into Target to get the cheapest pair of capris I could find so I could do a speed treadmill run later that day. I would have LOVED to do a Peloton ride but I just couldn't make it work with all the wedding shenanigans happening.

I was happy to get four workouts in at all:

Run: Twice, both on the treadmill, for 12 miles in about 2:12. This was an easy run after work one day and another speed run of quarter-mile builds on Friday.

Bike: Twice, both on the trainer, for 28.5 fake trainer miles in about 2:02. Nothing out of the ordinary here except that my new power targets are HARD. I can hold them but it is challenging.

Total: Four sessions in about 4:14.

We'll call it a cutback week. I'm thrilled I got this much training in at all, considering I was gone for four days. I had a few good workouts and a lot of fun.

January in review: Cold, a cold, and biking and running too

I finally have a very quick minute to breathe, now that January has wrapped up but before I head out of state for a wedding. The first few days of February were filled with high-society activities like getting a haircut, passing out on the couch at 10 p.m., and a Super Bowl party. I don’t know how I do it.

Overall, I’m happy with how January shook out. I got off to a slow start after I returned to work in the new year, and then caught a cold. Other than that, I was pretty consistent with a bit of training after work and some longer sessions on the weekends. The cold weather kept me inside for most of the month, but I did some solid indoor workouts.

This time of year, it’s easy to become a hermit, but I successfully went out with friends and family a few times. It wasn’t completely work, train, cook, sleep, repeat. Another fun thing I did in January was re-watch almost all of Game of Thrones in preparation of the final season in a couple months; it’s been my husband’s and my fun little tradition to watch it from the beginning before every new season. That has been something to look forward to most evenings as we eat dinner.

But back to training. January consisted of:

Biking mileage over the past 13 months.

Running over the past 9 months.

Bike: 11 times, all on the trainer, for 180.25 fake trainer miles in about 13 hours, 40 minutes. This was an excellent month for me volume-wise, although the number of sessions could have been a bit higher. But I am putting in some solid Trainer Road sessions and did bump up my FTP a bit.

Run: 9 times, once on the road and 8 on the treadmill, for 65 miles in about 11 hours, 55 minutes. This is a solid month for me, not my best since I started rebuilding, but within a good range. Most importantly to me is that I’m rebuilding slowly and smartly, and increasing that weekend long run for a potential spring half marathon.

PT: 7 times for about 4:30. I need to get this up to 3-4 times per week, so I could definitely improve here. I heard the phrase “target-rich environment” at work a few weeks ago and I think this is a perfect use for it.

Weights: 4 sessions that include 2 barre classes, 1 video and 1 heavy/body session in a bit longer than 4 hours. Eh, it’s still an average of once per week, so I’ll take it.

Yoga: 4 sessions for just over an hour total. Again, I’ll take a once-per-week average (although in reality it was twice per week to start the month and then nothing), working toward twice.

Total: 35 sessions in about 35 hours, 15 minutes. Not quite as monster of a month as both November and December were, but pretty solid.

I didn’t make it to the pool at all last month. I just couldn’t summon the motivation to go out in the cold and drive to a place where I would get wet.

I also set some casual goals and picked a phrase for the year, so let’s look at those:

- Continue to rebuild running, SMARTLY: So far, so good. On the right path.

- Make my PT as much of a priority as running. Room for improvement.

- Keep cycling on the trainer until it's nice enough to cycle outside. Test my FTP regularly and get better. Yes and yes. I successfully increased my power a few weeks ago toward my goal. On the right path.

- Figure out a pool schedule that works and get over my swimming anxiety. No progress this month.

- Stick with my weights routine/rotation. On the right path. I did successfully find new squat/lunge moves that don’t aggravate my knee.

- Get into a good yoga groove. On the right path.

And my phrase of the year: ARRIVE, DRIVE, STRIVE, THRIVE, ALIVE. I’ve been working on 1 and 2 and maybe a little of 3; I am showing up, even when I don’t want to (most of the time). I’m doing the workouts, and working toward improving. “Thrive” and “Alive” are still works in progress.

I designate January “so far, so good.” Some solid progress, some room for improvement, a bit of hard work, and a bit of fun. Hopefully this sets a good tone for the rest of 2019.

Week in review Jan. 28-Feb. 3: A polar vortex day

So much running and biking!

Last week was great, volume-wise. I started off steady, and then my office was closed Wednesday due to the polar vortex and dangerously cold temperatures. This is a rare treat that has only occurred a couple of times in my adult life, so I made sure to take advantage of the day by sleeping in, baking, rubbing my dogs’ bellies, and doing a bunch of training, of course.

I did an awesome speed run Thursday and took Friday off training for a hair appointment, but hit it hard again Saturday. I was asleep on the couch shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday – another rock star day here – and had a long day Sunday of food prep, a kiddo’s birthday party, and a Super Bowl party, but managed to squeeze in 10 RUNNING MILES outside in the beautiful weather – my first double-digit run since before I hurt my knee in the fall of 2017.

I’m thrilled I hit my ideal three runs, three rides, and two weights workouts! Hooray! I only did PT twice and did no yoga or swimming. Boo. Still, it was a great week overall:

Run: Three times, twice on the treadmill and once on the road, for 23 miles in about 4:09. This is the longest and farthest I’ve run in a week in a long, long time.

Tuesday’s run was an easy go in the morning before work (I worked at an evening event and went in late) and I had to randomly stop for side stiches. I’m going to blame this on running in the morning when I’m not used to it. Thursday I used a good treadmill at the gym to do increasing quarter miles with the fourth as recovery: 6.4, 6.6, 6.8, 6.0, start the next at 6.6 etc. I did this four times with an extra increase on the last to end at 7.4 mph, a 7:54 pace. It was challenging by the end but doable. The next time this speed run comes around I hope to start at a faster baseline and finish faster overall.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day after the polar vortex moved out and I was going to run outside come hell or high water. Speaking of high water, there were a few puddles (haha) but I chose a route that I knew would be plowed and salted, and therefore free of any melting ice. I walked for half a mile, ran 10 with a couple of drink/fiddle with my podcasts/take a quick pic for Instagram/etc. breaks, and walked for another half mile. My knee and my fitness felt fine, but my upper left hamstring is still being a bit wonky. It was the only thing that hurt afterward and I think this is encouragement to keep working on the weights and PT, focusing on those glutes.

Bike: Three times, all on the trainer, for 53.75 fake trainer miles in about 3:53. I took advantage of the polar vortex day Wednesday and rode for 1:15 instead of my usual hour-long weekday workout. I can tell that my fake trainer mileage is up a bit since my last FTP test. My new power targets are challenging but I am meeting them consistently.

Weights: Twice, one video and one heavy/body session, for about 2:05 total. I am happy to say that my knee felt fine after my heavy/body session, since swapping out one-legged lunges and wall sits for the weighted walking lunges and squats that aggravated it a few weeks ago. I am still sore all over from pull-ups and chin-ups, though.

PT: Two sessions for about 1:30. I only managed these on my polar vortex day and on Saturday. I am just crunched for time during the week and this tends to fall through the cracks.

Total: 10 sessions for about 11:36. I’ve only done a couple of 11.5-hour weeks over the past few months, so I’m happy with the volume. A couple of long trainer rides and an actual long run will do that to a training week.

This coming week won’t have as much activity because I am going out of town for a wedding and need to do errands and bill paying and kitchen cleaning and all that stuff I like to have taken care of before I skip town. I'm going to try to take it easy on myself and be happy with one thing per night – I don't want to stress and I don't want to leave hours behind schedule, either. We'll consider it a step back week.

Until then, I hope you had the chance to get outside and enjoy the warmer weather. Only 44 days until spring!