January was ... a month. I started strong with the last few days of the Christmas/New Year holiday meaning I got one extra weekday run in, on the first, before the snow really moved in. The first week back at work was a doozy, with late nights all week and a 12-hour day on Friday. I ended up taking that Saturday completely off to recover.
The last week of the month was a repeat work-wise, but in between those two big events I managed to at least do SOMETHING every day. And although it was cold, it wasn't SO cold that I felt unsafe going outside to run. I took advantage of every moderately warm, sunny day that I could. Running mileage wasn't anything outstanding but it was decent enough for not having access to a quality treadmill right now.
I did a LOT of PT in January and a LOT of weights, plus kept with my new core Mondays schedule. I don't know yet if it's making a difference, but it's not hurting. I also did a LOT (for me) of yoga last month. So, even if I couldn't get outside to run, I really did try to make the best of it with "other" workouts.
As far as volume and sessions go, it was a great month, with one caveat. I'm tracking PT much closer to the actual time it takes me, so I'm logging my running PT homework as an hour rather than 35 minutes. I don't even remember how I came up with the 35 minutes number, and it usually takes me closer to two hours anyway, so I figure one hour is a decent compromise.
Compared to last January, I logged almost TWICE as many sessions, with lots more PT, weights, and yoga, although I was swimming as well in January 2020. May 2020 came close volume-wise as the only other month I hit 58+ hours in the past 12 months. I logged 2 more sessions in December (I was a little more consistent with PT) than last month, but last month's volume was the highest in a long time — again, with the PT caveat.
Still, even with work shenanigans and sub-freezing temperatures, it ended up a darn good month.
(My old training tracker document fell off the face of the Earth, so we get cool new colors this month after I rebuilt everything!)
Bike: I got on the trainer 15 times for 293 fake trainer miles in almost 19 hours. This included a painful yet fruitful FTP test and a lot of less exciting, head down do work-type days. I also watched a LOT of Netflix true crime documentaries, haha.
Pre-hab/PT: 22 sessions, 12 mobility sessions and 10 running homework/PT, for 13 hours. Breaking it up with shorter mobility sessions is really helping me keep my routine here.
Run: 11 times, all on the road, for 75 miles in about 12:25. There was really nothing special here, just a mix of easy miles, a few peppy miles, and a long-ish run or two. I did the best I could with the cold and the dark.
Weights: 13 sessions for about 11:35. This was a mix of core work every Monday, and a mix of heavy/body routines, online barre, and my go-to videos. I don't know that I have made any "gainz," but I know that I'm slowly adding to the number of pushups, chinups, and pullups I can do in one go.
Yoga: I really got deep into my Down Dog app and did 11 sessions this month, 10 of them via the app, for about 2:45 total. Like the core work, I'm not waking up feeling 19 and bendy again, but I'm sure it's not hurting. Plus, I am enjoying the 15 minutes of quiet time a few days a week.
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| Overall volume for January. |
Total: 72 sessions in about 58:42, a very high volume month for me.
It was weird starting the year with no races on the horizon and nothing to train for, and having only limited access to a gym or pool. I think I did the best I could adapting without putting myself or anyone else in danger. I got outside to run when I could, and spent a lot of time on the bike trainer. For a cold month during a pandemic, I think it was just fine.
I hope you had a good January and that your February is also off to a good start.
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