Week in review Dec. 23-29: When I don't have to work, I train a lot! Amazing!

A great week for me!

I had an enjoyable week of Christmas vacation last week. I cooked and baked, I slept in, I had (mostly) a good time with family, and I trained a lot. I took the actual day of Christmas off, but I did at least one thing every other day. Bonus: The weather cooperated enough that I got to do all my three runs outside. Yay!

I also felt good enough on my long run, and have been doing my PT religiously enough, that I could knock out 9.5 miles running. It's been almost a year since I've been able to do that with all the weirdness in my hamstrings, IT band, knee, etc. and I have been very careful to build my running mileage back up slowly.

I am hopeful I can continue to build to 2 solid hours of running once a week, before I try to bring my pace down a bit. Ideally I would like to take on a spring half marathon, but I'm not making any plans quite yet.

I had great numbers last week:

Bike: Three times, all on the trainer, for 62.5 fake trainer miles in about 4:07. I thought about doing slightly longer rides during my time off, but in the end I spent the extra time lifting or doing PT, or rushing off to a family event. I'm satisfied with this.

Also, I was planning on doing another FTP test sooner rather than later but ... my usual workouts are still feeling pretty hard, so I am going to put that off for another few weeks

Run: Three times, all on the ROAD, for 22.75 miles in about 3:43. I love running during the day! This worked out to be an easy Christmas Eve run (for which I dressed all in red and green, haha), a nice speed run with actual half-mile pickups (not my fastest but still decent), and the long run of 9.5 miles. These were all chilly but not so cold I was uncomfortable, so this is a big win for me. Yay!

Weights: Twice, one of my heavy/body weight sessions and one video, for about 2:20 total. I skipped my pullup/chinup practice after my video since I wasn't feeling well, but lifting twice a week is a huge win for me, so hooray!

PT: Three times of my latest homework, plus rolling out my quads and calves afterward, for about 1:45 total. My calves have been KILLING me and I'm not sure why — I'm not running hillier routes than normal or anything. I will continue to roll and stretch.

Yoga: One solo, 15-minute session to try to unlock my tight hips.

Total: 12 (!!!) sessions in about 12:10. A great week for me!

I got this week off to a good start with one last trainer ride and one last weight lifting session for the year, and I'm signed up for a last-minute 5K tomorrow to send off 2019. I'm not going to hit any huge goals or amazing numbers to wrap up the year, but that's OK.

Sadly, I go back to work Thursday and it'll be back to my usual routine. BUT, I definitely did enjoy the time off, and the rest and extra training it allowed me. I hope you are also having a good holiday season!

I hope you had yourself a merry little Christmas

I hope your Christmas or holiday of choice was a great one! If you hit all your workouts, great. If you hit rest day hard, great. If you ate your weight in pumpkin bread (ahem), great. I hope you celebrated, or didn't, however you wanted.

I am halfway through my holiday break from work and it's going well. I haven't accomplished my long list of to-dos yet, but I have slept in, done a bunch of baking, and ran or rode the trainer almost every day (I took Christmas off).

It's also been unseasonably warm here in southeast Michigan. It's been nice not having to bundle up for every run. And, I busted out some fun Christmas socks on Christmas Eve.

It was a nice day for an easy run.

The mutts let me take one good picture of them. Merry Christmas to me.

I had to bribe them with many treats.

Here's hoping to rest, relaxation, and peace for all of you!

December 16-22: The beginning of holiday hullabaloo

Not a shabby week, considering.

I'm really trying to get over to this little corner of the internet more often than once per week, but last week was when the holiday overscheduling and stress really started to take hold. It was an accomplishment to do an average of one workout per day, and I'm counting that as a success.

I ended up running errands after work both Tuesday and Thursday, and fit in writing out Christmas cards whenever I could find the time. I took Wednesday off work for personal and holiday-related tasks, and had high hopes that I could get in some extra training. Alas, nothing went according to plan and I had to be happy with one regular weekday trainer ride.

My last day of work for the year was Friday and my boss sent me home early. I had rearranged my whole week for a party that evening, but we ended up staying in. No problem! I used the extra time to dye my hair and we even ran a last-minute errand that night. We definitely put the extra time to good use.

Training-wise, last week was:

Bike: Three times, all on the trainer, for 63 fake miles in about 4:04. I feel like it took me a few weeks to settle into my latest FTP, and recently I am happy to complete a tough ride without needing a break. I have 4-5 tough, hour-long workouts I do on repeat pretty much, and I'll keep doing them until they get less hard.

Run: Three times, two on the treadmill and one on the road, for 21 miles in about 3:32. Whatever is going on with my hip/IT band/glute is feeling better enough that I tested out a real speed run on Friday, slowly building speed every mile, and ran for 9 miles on Sunday. Hooray!

PT: One session of my latest exercises followed by quad and calf rolling for about 35 minutes. My hip KILLED when I did these which was positive (negative?) reinforcement to keep doing it.

Total: Seven sessions in about 8:11. Considering how many holiday-related shenanigans were packed into the week, I am perfectly fine with this.

Like I said, I'm done with work for the year and couldn't be happier. I plan on taking Christmas Day off training, but hope to get in a few extra workouts and minutes here and there. I also plan on sleeping in, drinking lots of wine, taking my dogs on walks, and otherwise relaxing and enjoying myself.

I hope your holidays are off to a good start and you are staying sane!

Week in review Dec. 9-15: Winter riding and winter running

Not a bad week!

I meant to come over here sometime mid-last week to check in, but with the holidays and associated stress levels and to-do lists, something had to give. Sorry! Everything is mostly fine, just busy.

I made one daily workout and cooking a healthy dinner my priorities, and therefore managed a pretty darn good week of workouts. Yesterday, Sunday, marked my ninth day of workouts in a row. Woo! I was out of town a bit during November, so I’m happy to get a good base for December going. And, a wedding Saturday was the only time I didn’t cook a (mostly) healthy dinner last week. Double woo!

Of course, it meant my week was pretty boring. I did a mini mid-week food prep session. We stayed in and watched TV Friday. The victory/accomplishment of the week was getting new passport photos taken, and I am just fine with that being the height of excitement this time of year. It’s OK to be boring! (hahaha)

I did have some good workouts last week. Even though I was more tired than usual (damn short sunlight hours) I did two shorter trainer rides during the week and one long trainer ride Saturday. My hip/psoas/glute/IT band/whatever is going on there felt well enough that I could do a bit of speed on the treadmill Friday, and I happily did not regret it on Saturday. I also did 8.5 miles running Sunday, only the second time I’ve been able to do that since last February. I was a little sore last night trying to sleep but not to the point where I felt I should not have run.

I think what really helped this week was two weights sessions (one barre class and one of my regular videos) and a round of PT, so three days total of something that included glute and hamstring exercises. I KNOW I need to do this more often to continue to strengthen my glutes and hamstrings but I often just run out of time. I am working on it.

The week worked out to be:

Bike: Three times, all on the trainer, for 62 fake trainer miles in about 4 hours, 5 minutes. I try to mix up my weekday workouts with different interval sessions (progressively shorter with higher intensity, repeated builds, etc.) and do a longer slog on Saturdays for endurance. So far, so good.

Run: Three times, twice on the treadmill and once on the road, for 20 miles in about 3 hours, 25 minutes. My treadmill runs were one easy and one slight progression of 5 miles increasing from 6.2-6.6 mph on the treadmill (9:40 minute per mile pace to 9:05 pace). I haven’t been doing any speed work at all so I felt challenged, but not BAD.

So, I felt OK shooting for 8.5 running miles Sunday, and didn’t really notice my hip/IT band/glute/whatever until the last 2 miles or so. It was chilly for me, but I bundled up and tried to keep moving. My ears were pretty cold, but I survived; plus, I knew I had to take advantage of getting any midday sun I could. (One more week until the solstice — I can do this!) My splits ranged from 9:33 for my first to a 10:04 pace for my last half mile, which is about what I expected. I’m not terribly concerned with doing fast long runs right now.

Weights: Twice this week! Yay for me! This a Muscle Monday (haha) video at home, and a barre class later in the week. I followed both with chin-up and pullup practice. I can do three sets of TWO full, HANGING pullups (overhand grip) now, which might be the most pullups I’ve ever been able to do. I have no real reason for working on these other than I want to and it’s kind of badass. Haha!

PT: Not nearly enough, but I did do one round of hip/glute/etc. moves for about 35 minutes on a day I didn’t do weights.

Total: Nine sessions in about 10 hours, 15 minutes. Yay, I hit the 10-hour mark! It’s been a couple of months since I’ve done that.

I am hoping that this week is another quiet, uneventful week during which I can do my workouts, cook healthy dinners, do some prep for Christmas here and there, and otherwise stay off the radar. I’m taking Wednesday off for errands and other things and I have a fridge full of healthy food, so I am well on my way. I just need to make it to Friday, when I can rest, relax, and reset.

I hope you had a great week and if you are preparing to celebrate the holidays, you are full of cheer and not stress!

Week in review Dec. 2-8: Slow to get into a groove and the start of Christmas shenanigans

Not a great week, but not terrible, either.

It was A Week. I had a work event Wednesday night, and that derailed most of the rest of my week. Add in it getting dark at 5 p.m., difficulty sleeping, and beginnings of holiday stress, and I never really did get into a good groove last week.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom. I still rode the trainer three times, and ran 8 miles for the first time in over a month. My hip is still being weird, but it’s not feeling any worse and I’m not in actual pain. We did our annual Christmas photo shoot with the dogs and got one usable pic. We had an amazingly hilarious time at a Christmas party with friends. It was still a good week, just not a great one as far as training.

I also got to sleep in Saturday morning and felt like a new woman afterward. It was short-lived, as we were out late for the party Saturday and watching the series finale of Silicon Valley Sunday. Oh, well.

Like I said, it wasn’t terrible:

Bike: Three times, all on the trainer, for 63.5 fake trainer “miles” in about 4:07. This was my one real victory last week! I am coming up on another scheduled FTP test, and I honestly don’t think I’m ready yet. There are still workouts I need to take short breaks to complete, so I will keep chugging away for a bit yet.

Run: Twice, once on the treadmill and once on the road, for 14 miles total in about 2:26. I just didn’t have any energy left by Friday evening, so took the night off to do our Christmas pics and make dinner instead. I was passed out in bed by 11 p.m. I obviously needed the rest more than I needed a third run.

Yoga: One 15-minute session to try to stretch out my hips and lower back.

Total: Six sessions in about 6:48.

They can’t all be rock star weeks, and I’m happy to have done what I did. And, I got some non-training, important other stuff done too. My goal is to regroup for the coming week so I have a strong base going into the holiday season. Making time to work out can be stressful but not working out at all makes me a short fuse, so it’s better for everyone in the long run!

November in review: Lots of time away but that’s OK

Hours last month: Decent biking and running, considering how busy November was.

It's the 8th already!!! It's been... a week. I don't get enough sleep on a good week, work has been stressful, I am letting Christmas stress get to me, the dark evenings are leaving me exhausted, and I had to work an evening last week, which threw off the whole rest of the week. But! I am here now and better late than never for a monthly recap.

I knew November wouldn’t be the best month for training as it’s usually a busy month. Both mine and my husband’s birthdays were last month, plus we usually semi-host Thanksgiving, and this year we went on a road trip for a few days. The last few months have seen at least 30 training sessions, but I only managed 26 for November. I ended up taking 9 days completely off training: five for our road trip, two for my husband's birthday, one for mine, and one Friday for a friend's holiday party. I mean, it's the holidays — there are going to be things scheduled, and I'm not going to feel guilty about them.

Even with the holiday hubbub I still had some training victories. I had a huge bump in my FTP. I ran a 9-miler, my longest run in months. I still managed some PT and weights. I managed to work out on the weeks we had events or were traveling, before or after we left. It wasn't all gloom and doom.

Overall, November worked out to be:

Bike: 9 times, all on the trainer, for 179 fake miles in about 11 hours, 53 minutes. It's still more than twice per week, and I am logging slightly more mileage in the same amount of time as my FTP goes up, so this is a slow and steady win.

Run: 10 times, 4 outside and 6 on the treadmill, for 61.5 miles in about 10 hours, 55 minutes. My hip was acting weird most of the month (I'm sure it's compensating for my weak glutes since I've been avoiding PT) so I had to cut back on mileage and speed work, but I was able to start building back by the end of the month.

Weights: Three times, two barre classes and one heavy/body session, for about 3:25. Not a great month for weights, but I was gone or off quite a bit, so I'm counting this as a victory.

PT: Three times for about 1:45. WAAAAAAAAY less than what I should have done. Most weeks, this was the first to go. And it's no coincidence that my hip starts acting up when I start neglecting the PT.

Yoga: Once for about 15 minutes. Again, WAAAAAAAAAY less than what I should have done. With everything else going on in my life, I just am not making this a priority.

Total: 26 sessions in about 27 hours, 43 minutes. I'll take it.

December is off to a slow start with a work event and a Friday off already throwing me for a loop, but I am confident I can rally and get into a better groove as the month goes on. Plus, I have some time off work coming up, which words cannot express about which how happy I am. If I can hang on until the 20th I know the extra rest and time for training will do me good.

I don't have any big goals for December since I have been slacking on adding up all my workouts for the year. I think I'm at 356 as of right now, so 400 is probably out, but maybe 375? (I did 453 total workouts last year, much of that PT.) I am not worried about the numbers as much as finishing strong — continuing to build my rides and runs; continuing my weights, yoga, and PT; and finally getting into the pool. And, while I'm at it, enjoying myself and the holiday season.

Hope your December is off to a holly jolly start!

Week in review Nov. 25-Dec. 1: Not bad for two days nearly completely off

Not a shabby week, considering the mid-week festivities.

(I forgot to publish this last night — eek! Happy Tuesday!)

I knew there would be downtime in in the middle of last week with my birthday and Thanksgiving, so I planned to hit Monday and Tuesday hard and rally on Friday for a strong weekend. What really happened was I poked Monday and Tuesday, rested and relaxed most of Wednesday and Thursday, and had a strong rally Friday through the weekend. I’ll take it.

I did my usual Monday trainer ride and Tuesday run after work, although I got stuck in a huge traffic jam on the way home from the gym Tuesday and didn’t eat dinner until around 9:30 p.m. (I had to coach my husband over the phone how I wanted an onion chopped and ground beef seasoned, but he did it.) I took Wednesday off work to mourn/celebrate turning the big 4-0, and also took it off from training. I really wanted a day just to relax and do whatever I wanted, and it was great. We went out for breakfast, we got massages, I upgraded my phone, etc.

Thursday, American Thanksgiving, I hit the mimosas and family started coming over to our house late morning. We went out to an early dinner, but did desserts and coffee afterward for a few hours back at our place. By the time everyone was gone at 5:30 or so, I was so confused about what day and time it was. We watched TV for a bit and I got kind of bored with being a slug, so I did a bit of yoga, bought one thing online, and called it a day.

I did have Friday off work and I hate the whole concept of Black Friday shopping, so I did some training instead. I went to barre class, worked on chin-ups and pull-ups at home, went for an easy run after it warmed up a bit, and even did my PT. And I was done with plenty of time left for us to go see a movie — Zombieland: Double Tap, exactly the sort of brainless (haha) comedy we were hoping for.

Saturday I did my usual long ride and then my PT, and Sunday I did a long-ish run (I’m back up to 7.5 miles running) and more PT. Three days is the most PT I’ve done in a week in at least three months — shame on me. But it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the hip pain I’ve been experiencing lately is probably due to neglecting PT exercises.

Overall, the week worked out to be:

Run: Three times, once on the treadmill and twice outside, for 19 miles in about 3:13 total. This is almost exactly the same time I ran last week with an extra half-mile total mileage, which I attribute to doing my long run slightly faster. I’m not really trying to go faster, but my hip is feeling better enough that I don’t have to go quite as slowly, if that makes sense.

Bike: Twice, both on the trainer, for 46.5 fake trainer miles in about 3:05. I knew I would have to skip at least one regular workout with the holiday/birthday, and decided to skip the third bike session. Eh, whatever.

PT: Three times of my most recent prescribed moves and rolling out of the quads and calves for about 1:45 total.

Weights: One barre class followed by pull-up/chin-up practice for about 1:10.

Yoga: One solo session for about 15 minutes.

Total: 10 sessions in a hair under 9.5 hours. Not shabby at all. I could have gotten up super early on Thanksgiving and done one more, but… eh. I’m happy with how the week turned out.

Last week was fun but I am appreciating being back in my routine. I prepped healthy lunches for the week Sunday and made sure to eat the rest of the brownies before I went to bed — you know, to get them out of the house (haha). I’m not appreciating getting up early, leaving my dogs, and going to work, but adulthood and all that. I am hoping to knock out some consistent workouts so I can get this week and December going as healthfully as possible.