Week in review March 22-28: Back to boring

Absolutely nothing exciting happened last week and that was fine by me. I did all my boring workouts, I ran my usual boring routes, I ate the same boring things for dinner. It was wonderful.

The main out-of-the-ordinary thing to happen last week was the sudden end of my Wednesday furlough days. I had been looking forward to a nice long run during the day, but had to settle for a medium-distance run after work. I will miss my days off, but will be happy when my paychecks get back to normal.

The other minor snafu was getting a late start to the day on Saturday. I did my usual long-ish trainer ride, but it was really too late to start my heavy/body weights routine by the time I wrapped up. So, I did a video that day, instead. I was proud of myself for doing something. I had skipped my weights routine last week since I had gotten my first COVID vaccine the day before, so I'm sure the next time I do it, it will be rough.

But that's OK. It was still a good week:

Give me boring, please.

Bike: Four times, all on the trainer, for my usual 75 fake trainer miles in about 4:41.

Run: Three times, all on the road, for 24.25 miles in about 3:52. This was the adjusted medium after-work run on Wednesday, plus a Fast Friday, plus an easy-ish Sunday because I was too tired for anything more than junk miles.

PT/Pre-hab: My usual six times, three mobility and three PT, for 3:45-ish.

Weights: One core, one barre app, and one video for about 2:20.

Yoga: Three times, all using the Down Dog app, for about 45 minutes.

Total: 19 sessions in 15:23 on the nose.

I am looking forward to some warm weather later this week. I'm still not riding outside or swimming, so my fresh air runs in the sun are keeping me going. It seems like spring is finally here.

I hope you are getting outside and training safely.

Some recent Fast Fridays

I was feeling pretty good after work yesterday and thought to myself, "I wonder how much a couple of quarter-mile repeats would hurt?"

Spoiler alert, they did, but maybe not as much as I feared. I threw in six, two at a time with a quarter-mile recovery in between and a mile in between every set, just to test things out. I was thrilled to see the last one come in at 1:50, and even more thrilled to see that I'd split another one just below 8:00 minute/mile pace without noticing. Woo hoo!

I decided to go back through the last few Fridays, when I started doing "Fast Fridays" again this season:

Yesterday, a few quarter-mile repeats, with two at a sub-8:00 pace.

Last Friday, every other mile fast, coming in at 9:01, 8:50, and 8:13, which is RIDICULOUSLY fast for me.

Three weeks ago, more every other miles, with the fast ones coming in at 8:38, 8:37, and 8:28.

I don't consider myself "fast" but it is always nice to see the results of some steady, consistent work. Maybe there will be a fast-for-me spring 5K in my future yet.

March 15-21 in review: Good weather, long runs, and great vaccination news

My big news is I got my first COVID vaccination on Friday. My health department expanded eligibility Wednesday morning, I called immediately, and had an appointment minutes later. It actually went fine. The city has a drive-through clinic set up in one of the expo center parking garages, and everything was run surprisingly smoothly. I cried all the way home with relief.

I did have a sore arm for the rest of the day and all day Saturday, so I skipped my weights workout. I still felt good enough for a long-ish, steady trainer ride, and it was nice to take the rest of the evening to relax and screw around online. By Sunday, my arm was about 95 percent back to normal, and I did my usual Sunday run, PT, and yoga without incident.

Until the vaccine, my big news was that I did a successful 17K (really 10.5 miles) for St. Patrick's Day for no other reason then it was a beautiful day and I was feeling just fine. My knee has been a bit achy off and on lately, so I kept the pace easy enough not to bother it. I would really like to go 1:59:59 for the virtual half I'm signed up for in May, and this ended up right at goal half-marathon pace plus about 35 seconds, so about right on the nose from where I'd want to be anyway. I've come to terms with the fact that I might have pain or at least discomfort in my knee forever. If I have to run easy for the rest of my life, at least I will be running, and I will be happy.

Not a bad week at all, considering all the excitement.

Overall, last week was:

Bike: Four times, all on the trainer, for 75 fake trainer miles in about 4:43. This was mostly easy riding due to me being exhausted, a very long work day Thursday, and taking it easy Saturday after my vaccine the day before.

Run: Three times, all on the road, for 25 miles in about 4:02. This was the long run on Wednesday, a zippy run Friday afternoon that included a few legitimately fast miles, and an easy run on Sunday for which I swung by to pick up one of my mutts for the last mile. This was the first week in a while that I had run more than I did PT!

PT/Pre-hab: My usual three sessions of mobility and three sessions of PT for 3:45.

Weights: I skipped my Saturday heavy session, but still did my Monday Mobility and a mid-week video for 1:20 total.

Yoga: Three Down Dog sessions for 45 minutes total.

Total: 18 sessions in 14:35.

It was a roller coaster of a week and I was happy to wrap this one up. Mostly, I am glad that I was able to take a big step toward getting things back to normal. I am still going to be social distancing and wearing my mask and I hope you all are doing everything you can to stay safe, too.

Week in review March 8-14: You say boring, I say consistent

Nothing too exciting here.

Not much is happening over this way. We had some nice weather for a few days, and I enjoyed not putting on 15 layers before walking the dogs. I did all my usual workouts. I'm still not really sleeping.

I'm pretty much pandemic'ed out. I'm still staying in, wearing my mask, and all that jazz, but it's really wearing on me. We started having our first work discussions about getting vaccinated and getting back into the office. But, Michigan's numbers are going up again, and no one knows what to expect. As of Friday I'll have worked from home for one full year. No one expected it would last for this long.

I did some retail therapy to make myself feel better, picking up some new running undies, workout headbands, and a pair of shorts and a pair of joggers with pockets. I was under-pocketed last spring and had to make do with the loungewear I had on hand, and that will not happen again this year. I was hesitant to join the jogger crowd, but I really need something lighter than sweatpants, looser than running tights, with pockets for those morning dog walks. Yes, my wardrobe is about 50 percent run/biking and 50 percent walking the dogs these days.

As stressed out as I was, it wasn't all bad. I cooked dinner every night, and we had those few days of good weather. It helped.

Workouts were:

Bike: Four times, all on the trainer, for 76 fake trainer miles in about 4:43.

PT/Prehab: Six times, three running PT and three mobility, for about 3:45.

Run: Three times, all on the road, for 20.5 miles in about 3:21. This was the most excitement I had all week; I got a late start Wednesday after a dentist appointment and grocery shopping, but still got to enjoy 60-something degree weather in March! Friday's run made my knee a little grumpy so I kept it on the short side, and I forced myself to run what felt easy on Sunday. Still, my "easy" paces are getting a bit faster these days, which makes me happy. I hope the consistency is paying off.

Weights: Three times, including one core, one barre app, and one heavy/body session, for about 2:45.

Yoga: Three times, all Down Dog app, for about 45 minutes.

Total: 19 sessions in about 15:19. That seems to be about my sweet spot these days.

I wish I had more to say but there's really nothing else going on. I am in a good routine, except for not getting to the pool right now, and enjoying the fresh air when I can. I was happy to move the daylight to evening, which should hopefully make my evening runs a little less rushed. I'm just trying to get through the days and enjoy my workouts when I can.

I don't know when I'll be able to race again, but I hope to be ready to go once that happens. I hope you are all staying safe and healthy out there.

Belated March 1-7 week in review: It's been stressful.

I'm still here. This week has been rough. I haven't been able to get a good night's sleep for the life of me. I pass out for about 20 minutes and then lie awake with thoughts and heart racing for a few hours. I have been able to rally in the afternoon/evenings so I have felt normal enough to do my after-work workouts, and I figure the exercise might actually help me get tired enough to sleep. I think the one-year anniversary of the pandemic is getting to me, plus all the usual work and other stressors.

But, in spite of all that, I had a good workout week last week. The weather took a turn for the better so I was able to run outside, and everything else was business as usual. It was pretty boring, honestly, but I could use some boredom in at least one aspect of my life right now.

You say boring, I say consistent.

Bike: Nothing out of the ordinary here, just my usual four trainer rides including some easy, an interval, and a long. I went a bit extra on my long ride to hit 40K for a friend's 40th birthday, which was fun. This ended up being 78 fake trainer miles in a hair less than 5 hours.

PT/Pre-hab: My usual 3 mobility, 3 running PT/pre-hab sessions for about 3:45 total. I'm going to keep going with this routine as long as it's working for me.

Run: Three times, all on the road, for 22.5 miles in about 3:37. This was a medium run on a very warm (for March) day, a chilly speed run with every other mile peppy, and an easy run for which I forced myself to wrap up at the hour mark.

Weights: My usual rotation of Monday core, a mid-week video, and a weekend heavy/body routine for about 2:50. This is going about as well as I could hope; I am getting some pretty good definition in my upper back and pushups are getting slightly easier. Hopefully this translates into strong multisport if we ever get a multisport season.

Yoga: Three 15-minute sessions with the Down Dog app. I have been good with doing yoga on every run day. It's not hurting.

Total: 19 sessions in a hair less than 16 hours. This was a big week for me!

This week is shaping up to be equally as boring and I am just fine with that. If I can put my head down and do all my rides, weights, PT, and yoga, and get outside for some running in the fresh air, I will be happy. Hopefully I will be able to get a couple of good nights' of sleep, too.

Hope you are staying healthy, safe, and free of stress out there.

February training: Staying consistent even through the cold

February was fairly consistent and, dare I say, even boring, considering the cold snap we got that made it hard to run outside.

I was like a robot when it came to bike, PT, and weights. I biked four times per week for 75 fake trainer miles, every week. I did PT six times per week, three mobility and three pre-hab, every week. I lifted weights twice and did core on Mondays every week. I also did yoga on every run day, plus one.

I wasn't quite as consistent with running due to the cold. I still managed 10 runs for 59 miles, mostly easy with a few peppy miles in there. I dusted off my old kickboxing bag twice as a replacement for running, and even got in the pool once on a day off work when I knew there wouldn't be anyone there.

Overall, it was a huge month for both volume and number of sessions, bigger than anything I did any month last year. I guess when it's cold outside and you're in pandemic, what else is there to do but ride your bike, lift weights, and do your PT?

I also did OK on my Healthy February goals. I was pretty consistent on drinking a full 24 ounces of water before Round 2 of coffee most days, except for weekends and furlough days when I tend to linger over coffee and fart around for a while before I accomplish anything. I never had refined sugar more than once per day; I am more of a salty snacker, so too much sugar has never really been a thing for me. Speaking of being a salty snacker, I only had potato chips for Super Bowl and one or two other days. That is a food I just can't have in the house or I eat the whole damn bag, so I have to start thinking of chips as a special occasion food. Also, I still drank wine or cider on the weekends, and I'm fine with that.

I did stick with my goal of doing some yoga, at least one sun salutation, every single day except for one. (I didn't count this in my overall yoga totals.) This started out OK, and I appreciated that this goal forced me to slow down and breathe for a few minutes every day, but by the end of the month it just became one more source of stress for me, and one more thing to do before I headed to bed. So while this was nice, I'm going to scale back to my "yoga on run days" goal.

And, the goal of getting to bed at a reasonable hour was a complete flop. So, I'm making March, March Yourself to Bed Month. My problem is I always try to tackle too many things before bed, so I need to be better about workout, dinner, relax, bed. I am hopeful that when the weather warms up in the mornings, I'll be able to get back into a long dog walks before breakfast routine, and that will force me to get to bed a bit earlier. For this first week, I'm just tracking what time I get into bed and wake up, so I can be more conscious about how I'm spending my times in the evenings.

A monster month for me!

Anyway, my February numbers roundup is:

Nice, consistent biking.

Bike: 16 times, all on the trainer, for 300 fake trainer miles in about 19 hours, 17 minutes. Nothing special here, just getting on and riding.

PT/Pre-hab: 24 times, split between mobility and running PT, for 15 hours. Six days a week, usually skipping the busiest day.

Weights: 12 times, with four core and the rest split between my heavy/body routine, videos, and my barre app, for about 10 hours, 40 minutes. I am starting so see a real difference in my shoulders and back muscles, and I can do more pullups than I ever could in my life.

A low-mileage month, but that was to be expected.

Run: 10 times, all on the road, for 59 miles in almost exactly 10 hours. This was mostly getting out for a few miles on not-so-cold days and trying to enjoy the warmer, sunnier days when I could.

Yoga: 11 times, all using my Down Dog app, for 2 hours, 45 minutes (not counting the extra sun salutations every day). I usually pick a "boost" of hamstring stretches, hip openers, or twists, and I think it is helping me stay a bit more limber.

Other: 2 boxing sessions for 1 hour total. I did this on days when I just couldn't get out and run, but a bike workout didn't make sense.

Swim: Once in the pool for 1750 yards of drills in 47 minutes. Nothing special nor fast here; this was about getting in and feeling the water again.

Total: 76 sessions in 59.5 hours. This is a huge month for me. Yes, many of the yoga and core sessions were short, but it all added up. This was a good month and I feel good about it.

I hope I can take this good momentum into March. We'll probably get at least one more big snowstorm, because Michigan, but I am looking forward to more sunshine and warm weather. I don't know if any races are in my future, so I'll enjoy the training process while I can.

Stay healthy and safe out there! Wear your mask and keep your distance. I miss going on vacation!

Feb. 22-28 Week in review: The weather warmed up and I got in the pool

It was a great week, relatively speaking.

Last week was a doozy. I had a big work even on Wednesday, which required a lot of hours early in the week and then working on my usual furlough day. I was able to take a Thursday furlough and Friday off completely, so it was nice to end the wild ride with a four-day weekend.

Some good news was that after chilly runs on Wednesday and Friday, it did warm up significantly on Sunday and I enjoyed an 8-miler. Also, I decided to take advantage of the day off on Friday and try to get to the pool at a low-traffic time. It was actually so low-traffic that it was locked and I had to track down a maintenance worker! But I got in the pool for the first time in five months and only had to share with one other person, which is a level of risk I'm comfortable with at this time.

Other than that, it was a pretty boring week. I did all my rides and weights. I did all my yoga and PT. We didn't go anywhere or do anything. I did some decluttering and cooked a couple nice dinners. That's fine; I'm OK being boring right now. I was happy to get out in the fresh air and sunshine without freezing.

By the numbers:

Bike: Four times, all on the trainer, for 75 fake trainer miles in 4:47. This included an FTP test on Saturday for which I blared Pantera and got another 6 watts. This consistency is starting to pay off. There's nothing sexy about getting on the bike and doing the work, but it's getting results.

PT/Pre-hab: Six times, three mobility and 3 PT, for about 3:45. Again, boring but getting the job done.

Run: Three times, all on the road, for 19.5 mies in about 3:16. Woo hoo! This was an easy run, a peppy run (mostly because it had gotten colder and I wanted to get home), and a long-ish run that ended up being 8 getting progressively faster every 2. It was such a nice day on Sunday that even my husband couldn't resist a run, and joined me for the first 1.5.

Weights: My usual of 1 core, 1 barre app, and 1 heavy/body for about 2:45. I think I did a couple extra pullups this week, which felt good. I am ready to shake this up a bit, though. I need to do some rearranging of furniture when I continue with my decluttering mission, and I hope one result of that is better access to some of the weights toys I have.

SWIM: Once in the pool for 1750 yards of drills in about 47 minutes. I don't even care this took so long! Since I was by myself for part of this I just switched out kickboard and pull buoy drills and that was fine with me. I was just happy to be there.

Yoga: Three times, all Down Dog app, for about 45 minutes. One thing I have going for me so far in 2021 is being consistent with doing yoga on run days. It may not be explicitly helping but it sure ain't hurting... but I think it is helping to keep things loose and recovering from runs.

Total: TWENTY sessions, which may be the most I've done in a week? in a sliver longer than 16 hours. An excellent week for me, especially in the dead of winter.

I was glad to get a good week behind me and close the door on another month's worth of training, even if it was boring.

One personal note. A family member of mine tested positive for COVID last week, and one of our usual grocery stores had an outbreak so bad among its employees they had to close. I had originally wanted to hang out in my parents' back yard on Sunday, but decided that I was just too close to the grocery store outbreak to risk it. So I had to tell my mom I wasn't coming over and get a sad face emoji in return. Guys, this isn't over yet. Wear your masks. Quit gathering in groups. Get your vaccine. People are still getting sick.

Hope you are all staying safe and socially distant.