Week in review Dec. 21-27: Bike, PT, lift, repeat

I had a really good week of training last week. Even taking Christmas Day completely off training, since I only worked two days I had some extra time. I finished a strength/mobility challenge, and I rode a few extra trainer miles. I only got to run twice, but it was cold outside anyway, and twice felt like enough.

I was exhausted early in the week with trying to cram more-stressful-than-usual work days into holiday prep, but I managed two easy trainer rides after work Monday and Tuesday. I did either running PT or mobility every day except Christmas, and finished my Strengthmas challenge. It resulted in one extra strength day after my usual strength day, which I usually never do, but I figured erring on the side of additional strength the day before Christmas was OK.

I skipped a Christmas run because I wanted to relax and because it was FREEZING. I did go out Wednesday and got caught in a random RAIN storm. In December! What the heck! I actually had given up and called my husband for a ride home, but as he was pulling up the skies cleared. I felt bad for making him come out to get me but he had been nearby anyway, and I was able to do an additional 7 miles, so wins all around. It also snowed/iced/hailed on me yesterday, Sunday, during my run. Apparently whenever I go out it starts precipitating something on me. I wanted to do 6 yesterday to hit 15 for the week, but it got colder and windier the longer I was out, and I ended up with 6.25 because I decided I'd rather run the additional 0.25 home than finish early and have to walk longer. Ha!

Overall, it was:

Lots of biking, and good amounts of other stuff.

Bike: Four times, all on the trainer, for 75 fake trainer miles in a hair less than 5 hours. This is feeling good. Santa is bringing me a late delivery of two new pairs of bike shorts, so soon I hope to be able to do laundry a bit less often.

PT/Pre-hab: A bit confusing with some Strengthmas days being more strength and others being more mobility, but I figured this was 6 times total, 3 mobility (1 with Strenghtmas) and 3 PT (1 with Strengthmas), for 3 hours total.

Weights: Again, a little confusing, but I'm counting this as 3 times: 1 online barre + Strengthmas, 1 heavy/body session, and 1 Strengthmas-only session, for about 2:55.

Run: Twice, both on the road, for 15.25 rainy/snowy miles in about 2:35.

Yoga: Two solo sessions for about 30 minutes total.

Total: 17 sessions in a hair less than 14 hours. A great week for me.

I am doing plenty of lazing around, television watching, and coffee drinking this week off, but I am also doing boring adult stuff like cleaning. I'm hoping this strange week between the holidays will be a good mix of a bit more training than usual, a bit more relaxing than usual, getting some sleep, taking care of some home projects, and other stuff I've been putting off.

Hopefully you are celebrating these holidays how you want, whether that's a solo ultra or laying on the couch, or something in between.

A very restful Christmas

I have been in a pretty good routine with riding the trainer and running when I can get outside, but I took Christmas Day completely off.

I spent the day sleeping in, making pancakes and bacon, finally finishing up a crochet project, dropping off presents at both sets of parents (we wore masks and stayed outside, much to the disappointment of our dogs who just wanted to play with THEIR toys and sleep on THEIR couches), cooking, watching Christmas movies, and relaxing. It was pretty awesome.

I wish I could have gotten the leaves to lie flatter, but my mom seemed to like it.

I did a pulled pork in the slow cooker, cabbage braised in the juices, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Everything was delicious.

Daisy enjoyed the snow.

CC had the right idea.

I was back at it yesterday with a nice ride and weights workout, and the weather is a bit warmer today so I'll probably go for a run.

I hope you had a good holiday, whatever you celebrate, and are rested and ready to get back at it... or not. That's fine too.

Pre-holiday week in review for Dec. 14-20

Still a pretty good week, considering.

I am just trying to make it through the holiday over here. Even though Christmas is WAY toned down this year, I still had work to wrap up, cards to send out, and packages to mail. I still have a few oddball presents to pick up here and there and one gift to finish crocheting, but I think I can do it.

The good news is I'm done with work for the year and can relax for the next week and a half. It's supposed to get colder for Christmas, so hopefully that will inspire people to stay indoors and keep their germs to themselves.

Last week was a bit of a struggle. I am still going strong-ish with my Monday and Tuesday trainer rides. I wanted to run on Wednesday, and went out for an easy lap around my neighborhood even though it was snowing, slippery and cold. It actually wasn't that bad once I got going, but I kept it short and easy to keep the risk of falling on my face relatively low.

I knew I had to work late Thursday, so I just planned on an easy-ish ride afterward. Friday ended up going much later than expected, I didn't get to run outside before the sun set, and my brain was just fried, so I called it and made it a rest/Christmas planning day. I am bummed I didn't get to run that day, but I was exhausted and the rest day did me good.

I was able to rally and finish strong-ish for the weekend and even do boring adult things like go grocery shopping and clean (a little). It wasn't a rock star week, but I got the important stuff done and even had a little fun in the process.

It was:

Bike: Four times, all on the trainer, for 71 fake trainer miles in about 4:36. I got a little spoiled the week before taking Thursday and Friday off and getting in one longer trainer ride, so this is probably what's going to be standard for the time being.

PT/Pre-hab: This was a bit different last week because I'm still doing my 12 Days of Strengthmas, and some of those sessions are more mobility-focused and some are more strength-focused. But as best as I can figure for my own records that no one will see nor care about, I did five sessions: 2 mobility with Strenghtmas, 2 PT with Strengthmas, and 1 solo Strengthmas, for about 2:55.

Weights: Again, a bit off the usual considering Strengthmas, but I'm calling it at 1 video + Strengthmas and one big Strengthmas session with additional chinups, pushups, and abs for about 1:50 all around.

Run: Twice, both outside in the snow and/or cold, for 10 miles in about 1:44. Since Wednesday's run was quick, snowy, and cold, I wanted to run 6 on Sunday for the sole purpose of hitting double digits for the week. Haha.

Yoga: Twice for 30 minutes total.

Total: 15 sessions for about 11:34. Still pretty good considering work, holiday stress, weather, and the sun setting at a ridiculously early hour, so I'll chalk that up as a success.

Even though I am exhausted I managed to start off the week strong, and now I can relax a bit and focus on Christmas and taking care of myself. I have errands (hopefully the last pre-holiday) to run this morning, and then I can do a nice run and strength workout, and hopefully finish my crochet project. Christmas Eve should be more of the same: Tying up loose ends, getting in a nice workout, doing a little holiday baking, and relaxing. We're not doing anything TOO wild but I am planning on baking and cooking a few special things.

I hope you are relaxing this week and celebrating whatever your holiday of choice however you want. The silver lining to the pandemic is you don't have to interact with anyone you don't want to, and can make and eat whatever you want without judgement!

1,000 miles for 2020

I started wondering the other day how close I was to 1,000 miles for the year. I've ended more than a few months at 98.5 or 123.2 or other ridiculous totals, and I wanted to know sooner rather than later if I could hit the magic number.

I got a bit nervous as I was doing the math because I had a few dips in mileage over the years when I got sick in February and when I had hamstring niggles this summer. But consistency prevailed, and...

I'm already at 1,030 for the year! Woo-hoo!

Going back to my logs, I hit 1,000 on the first Friday run of this month, after a spectacularly bad few days at work. My notes:

I'd had such a shitty week, and needed to make up some time, so I snuck out for a nice run around the neighborhood while the sun was shining and it wasn't too cold. I was exhausted from not sleeping but this actually turned out pretty great and I had the fastest splits I've had in a long time. It was a pretty sunset and actually a nice way to wrap up such a bad week.

Not a bad run to hit 1,000 for the year.

This is only the fifth time I've hit that 1,000 number. When I was doing consistent marathons from 2010-2015, my annual mileage got a bit higher. Yeah, I know it's nothing compared to "serious" running, but it's a good benchmark for me.

There's not a whole lot of running left this year, since I'm just not going to go out when it's dark and cold and miserable. I want to get some more solid miles, but even if I don't, I can't be disappointed with 2020 running. It was one good thing to come out of the year, at least.

I hope the last few runs of the year are good for you, too!

Week in review December 7-13: A bit of extra training time for the holidays

A great week for trainer riding and not too shabby for other stuff.

The last couple of days were pretty busy trying to get ready for the holidays, but I have some time to catch up on personal stuff today. We're not really doing a big Christmas hurrah this year, but I still mailed packages to a few kiddos in my life and I'm still mailing cards to hopefully bring a little joy to these dark days (literally and figuratively!).

I took a couple of days off last week for errands, but also took advantage of the extra time for some additional training. It wasn't anything groundbreaking, but I added a mile here and there to my runs and 15 minutes here and there to my rides. It was a nice changeup. I was lucky with the weather cooperating and allowing me to get outside to run three times.

I am feeling good about shifting to three runs and four rides per week rather than vice versa. I'm not running particularly long or fast right now, so three runs per week of varying length and pace seems to be doing the trick. The second day in a row of riding has been an adjustment, but I've been managing that pretty well, I think. I am still hoping Santa brings me more bike shorts so I can lay off the laundry a bit.

Overall, it was:

Bike: Four times, all on the trainer, for 76 fake trainer miles in exactly 5 hours, 1 second. This made me laugh so hard. It's easily the most time I've spent on the trainer in a week, and I'm going to need more Netflix shows if I want to keep it going. I've already burned through The Good Place, The Crown, The Queen's Gambit, Queer Eye, and Schitt's Creek, and have already watched all of The Office, Breaking Bad, Arrested Development, and a few other classics. I started watching Parks and Recreation through again but it got pulled off Netflix, and we just subscribed to Hulu, so I'm taking suggestions.

Run: Three times, all on the road, for 20 miles in about 3:17. This ended up as a medium distance run, a peppy-ish run, and an easy run. This seems like a good assortment for me.

PT/Pre-hab: Six times, three mobility sessions and three running PT sessions, with one long PT session because it included the first session 12 Days of Strengthmas as organized by a triathlon/running coach I follow on Instagram. I felt it in more core immediately and it was definitely a reminder that 1. core work is important and 2. I need to keep shaking things up to get good results.

Weights: Twice, one online barre class and one heavy/body session, for about 2:25. I'm in a good routine with doing a longer session on the weekend and a shorter one during the week. This winter, I'll probably be looking to shake it up a bit with some new routines.

Yoga: Twice for about 30 minutes total. Again, I'm feeling good making extra time in the week for that second session. My next target is to make more time for a third, so I'm doing yoga every day I run. I'm working on it.

Total: 17 sessions in just a hair less than 14 hours. A great week for me.

I'm off to a pretty good start this week, but I know I have a long work day tomorrow so it'll likely end up being a lower-volume week. But that's OK; I'll do what I can fitting training around the remaining holiday tasks and other boring adult stuff like work, cleaning, and cooking.

I hope your holidays are off to a great start for whatever you do or don't celebrate, and that you're still staying healthy and safe.

Week in review Nov. 30-Dec. 6: Trying a new trainer routine

Fun fact, or "fun" fact, depending on your point of view: The way Detroit lies on the planet, there's only one week during December when the sun sets at 4:59. It's the only time of year that the sun sets at 4 something. And we're in the thick of it right now.

This time of year is always hard for my circadian rhythms, although I feel this year is SLIGHTLY better because I'm still working from home and spend a good part of most days working from my fairly sunny kitchen. Morning dogs walks have been in the dark for at least a month but I'm OK with that, since when it's this cold they just want to poop and turn around for home and breakfast, anyway. I'm mostly just tired: Not tired enough to not train, just overall tired and blah.

Considering that, I'm pretty happy that I posted a solid week of training last week. I tried something new: With my knee being a bit finicky lately (I think it's just the cold weather and age), and no races coming up, I decided it would be a better use of my time to ride four times a week and run three. I don't think I have ever in my life trained on my bike two days in a row and I wasn't sure how it would go, but it went fine and I had just as much energy the second day. My big issue right now is that I need more bike shorts! I am doing laundry all the time.

I know, I know. Riding multiple days in a row to become a better rider isn't rocket science. But I love running and would rather do that. Baby steps, OK? Depending on how this winter goes, and what our treadmill situation is, I may be riding 7 days per week and running 0 by the time February comes around. Haha!

Lots of trainer riding last week.

Anyway, last week was:

Bike: Four times, all on the trainer, for 72 fake trainer miles in about 4:40. This is easily the most trainer riding I've ever done in a week, although I've done more miles in the saddle when 70.3 training and doing four-hour rides outside. Still, it's progress. 100 miles per week is probably a bit of a lofty goal for me right now, but the 62 (100 K) to 75-ish is more reasonable for me to shoot for every week.

Run: Three times, all outside, for 17.5 miles in just less than 3 hours. These were all easy runs just to keep things functioning. Now that it's getting colder I'm going to lay off the long and speedy runs for a bit and just run to keep in shape and enjoy some fresh air now and then. Between weekends and furlough days, I am hopeful I can continue to get outside regularly when the weather cooperates.

PT/Pre-hab: Six times, three mobility and three running PT, for about 2.5 hours. I'm in a good groove with this. Doing a full rehab routine on "school nights" is still a bit tricky, but I'm making it work a couple times per week. The good news is "only" my knee has been hurting lately (knock wood), and none of my soft tissues, so I feel I'm in a good place with this.

Weights: A work-related emergency during the week and trying to cram too much into a Saturday caught up with me, and I could only do one video on Sunday. But still! I got something done.

Yoga: Twice for about a half hour total. Twice per week is definitely feeling good for my body. I'm working on adding days and length, but, again, baby steps.

Total: 16 sessions in about 11:42. Not the best week, but a pretty darn good week overall.

I could say I wish things were more exciting, but I really don't. In the year 2020, I want boring. We all want boring. And my life is pretty boring right now: Work, train a bit, hang out with the dogs and my husband, cook a bit, watch Netflix, sleep. And I am TOTALLY fine with that.

Hope you all are staying boring, safe, and healthy out there, and getting your sunlight when you can.

November in review: Turkey, trails, and trying to stay healthy

November was a pretty darn good month, considering. I didn't make it to the pool, and I eased up a bit on running toward the end, but I still logged a good amount of training. Sessions-wise, I think it was the highest number all year, and hours-wise, only May had more volume.

I know it's not about the numbers, especially now when there are no races and I'm really staying in shape and sane, but I still like track from month to month. I really got into a groove this month with 24!!! PT or mobility sessions, maybe the most I've ever done; 9 weights sessions and 8 yoga sessions are also very, very good for me.

Full disclosure: I did take some time off this month. I took a few days mid-month to celebrate my husband's birthday, and then I had some time off around Thanksgiving. But even then, I didn't do anything ridiculous to pack my days with workouts; it was more about sleeping in and getting stuff done around the house.

It was hard not seeing family for Thanksgiving, but we made time for group Zoom calls, cooked only our favorite foods, and didn't have to share desserts. We made the best of it during this pandemic. And not having to squeeze in two family dinners meant that we could do our own Turkey Trot, so there were a few silver linings.

Overall, November consisted of:

Mileage for the last few months is looking good.

Run: 16 times, all on the road, for 109.3 miles in about 18 hours, 48 minutes. I ran four times per week early in the month, including a mid-week 11-miler, 10-mile trail run, and 12-miler. My bad knee was a bit tender after that, so I backed off a bit for both frequency and long run distance. It's getting colder and the sun is already set by the time I wrap up with work, so I'm OK with easing up a bit for now. I also only did one speed run early in the month, for the same reason. Eh, I'm OK with running mostly easy miles for a while.

Bike mileage is also looking pretty good.

Bike: 12 times, all on the trainer, for 231 fake miles in about 15 hours, 11 minutes. Not my best month by a long shot, but I didn't get outside at all, either. This was mostly steady riding as I watched Netflix, with the occasional more challenging ride or longer ride thrown in. I did end the month with my first FTP test in over a year, so I'm looking forward to even better numbers in December.

Weights: 9 sessions in almost 11 hours. This broke down to 3 online barre classes, 2 videos, and 4 heavy/body sessions. This is a little skewed because I did one weights workout on the 1st, a Sunday, when I usually lift on Saturdays, but twice a week every week is very good for me.

PT/Mobility: 24 sessions in about 9 hours, 40 minutes. I am in a good groove alternating shorter mobility sessions and longer PT sessions every other day, usually missing one or two days during the week, and I THINK it's helping me stay loose. Placebo effect, anyway.

Yoga: 8 sessions for a bit longer than 2 hours, which is probably the most yoga I've done in a month in a while. Sad, but I'm getting there, and I also think this is helping, too.

Last month's hours had a good variety.

Total: 69 sessions in about 56 hours, 38 minutes. A really good month for me, volume-wise.

I'm not setting any records, but that's OK. I had a solid month with consistent workouts, I had a few adventures, and I ended it overall uninjured and still married. I don't know when my next race is, but that's OK. I'm still having fun and keeping things interesting.

I hope your November was good and that your December is off to a great start!