My first run outside since Florida

The weather finally warmed up from 4 degrees, yes 4 (-15 for my Canadian friends), to a balmy high 30s today. To celebrate, the husband and I laced up our shoes after work and headed out for an easy 3.

But I miss Florida weather.

I had wanted to do a speed run, but I'll take some easy miles with my partner in crime any day.

Hurry up, spring!

Week in review March 6-12: Some running, lots of other

A bit of everything.

Nothing really exciting happened this week, so I didn’t have anything to write about. Sorry, I’m just that boring.

I did have a decent week of training, however. I’m back running more regularly and did a 10-miler yesterday, and I got a decent amount of pre-hab in, as well. I have yet to make it the pool, though. I am trying, really trying, to get myself excited to go this week. I had good intentions to go today, but as the day went on I got more and more sniffly, and the roads got worse and worse with a snowstorm, so I'm staying inside on my butt.

One thing I did do last week was go to another runner’s workshop. This one was much more active – we did a bunch of core and glute exercises good for runners. I was hilariously bad at kneeling on one knee with the other foot directly in front, making a straight line. I absolutely could not stay upright! I definitely have to work on building up those balancing muscles.

By the numbers, this past week was:

Run: Three times, all on the treadmill, for 20 miles in about 3 hours, 14 minutes. This worked out to be two steady-state 5-milers and a building 10-miler, and I watched a lot of Orange is the New Black.

I got to leave after a half day at work Friday and I really had good intentions to squeeze in another run in the afternoon, but the wind was bitingly cold, and I took some time to relax with the mutts and do some reading, and by then I didn’t want to. Oh well. Rest day it was.

Now that I’m two weeks out of my ultra challenge weekend, I'm looking forward to rotating in a few more speed workouts. Hopefully the weather will cooperate; it is supposed to warm up to the 40s this weekend and the 50s after that. Hurray!

Weights: Two sessions, one barre class and one of my own heavy/body weight routine, for a total of about 2 hours, 20 minutes. I was less sore this week after pullups and squats, so I’ll take that as a good sign.

Pre-hab: One runners’ clinic and two more solo sessions for about 1 hour, 10 minutes. This was mostly static clams with a resistance band, sideways walks with a resistance band, planks, some static squats, and the aforementioned terribly executed one-knee balancing things.

Yoga: Two solo sessions for about 45 minutes total.

Bike: One 30-minute session to warm up for Saturday’s weight workout. I think I am ready to start working back into the routine real cycling workouts.

Total: 11 sessions in a hair less than 8 hours. Not bad.

But more importantly than the number of sessions or hours, this week checked off a lot of the loose goals I set for myself for March:

Run 100 miles – 28 down, 72 to go, so I may or may not make it. Surprisingly, NOT running 20-30 miles every weekend doesn’t help with this goal!

Plan and start building for a spring half-marathon – my husband and I have a race in mind, but haven’t signed up yet.

Practice yoga twice per week – SUCCESS THIS WEEK!

Lift weights twice per week – SUCCESS THIS WEEK!

Do glute exercises three times per week – SUCCESS THIS WEEK!

Work swim and bike back into the schedule – Half successful: I did for the bike but not the swim.

So, not bad. I expect this coming week to be weird with cold weather and St. Patrick’s Day shenanigans, although I plan on enjoying the extended evening daylight – even if my brain is still an hour behind for a while.

Week in review Feb. 2-March 5: Stepping back significantly

A nice and easy week.

Last week was all about recovering from my big race weekend, traveling home, and getting back to real life. Doing any kind of exercise was an afterthought and mostly very easy stuff.

Monday was a recovery (and spring training) day, Tuesday was a travel day, and Wednesday was about getting back to work and buying and prepping groceries. I finally got on the treadmill Thursday for a few miles to shake the cobwebs out, and did a decent amount of weight lifting and running over the weekend.

Run: Twice, both on the treadmill, for 8 miles in 1 hour, 20 minutes. I kept both runs at a 10:00 minute-per-mile pace just to get back into the swing of things. I really wanted to get outside Sunday but my schedule ended up getting weird, so I finished season 3 of Orange is the New Black instead.

Weights: Once, my heavy-body weight routine, for about 1 hour, 20 minutes. Yes, I lifted weights as much as I ran this week.

I am still feeling this now two days later. Although I kept up with barre and weights videos until the week before my race, I haven’t lifted heavy since I got into the race almost two months ago now. Every single pull-up and squat muscle is extremely mad at me. I didn’t realize I had been neglecting them so much.

Bike: Once, on the trainer, for 30 minutes to warm up for my weights workout. I’m pretty sure that was the first time I’ve been on the bike this year.

Total: Four sessions in 3 hours, 10 minutes. Not great, obviously, but considering I was out of pocket for three days, I’ll take it.

I’m pretty tired today so it's been a quiet evening of yoga and some glute exercises, but I hope to really get back into it tomorrow, if I'm recovered from my weights workout by then!

Some good news on the scale

I was pleasantly surprised to see I had lost a little weight after my Florida vacation and race. I, um, definitely wasn't on a diet, and sometimes I gain weight when I bump up to longer distances.

Downward. Hooray!

I'm still a few (OK, more than a few) pounds from race weight, but I feel like I'm getting there.

A quick February wrap-up and looking toward March

A steady running build over the last 13 months.

February was a great month, running-wise. I successfully built for my big race(s) at the end of the month, and I did a bit of yoga and weights, too. I did a tiny bit of pre-hab and didn't get any other sports in, but the running races were my big goal so that's OK.

Here are my goals vs. what I actually did:

Run 100 miles: I actually did 127. Wow!

This worked out to 16 times, 5 on the treadmill and 11 on the road (4 of those races), in about 22 hours.

Finish final build/taper/race for Gasparilla: Done!

Practice yoga twice per week: I actually managed 5 sessions for about 2 hours total, so let's say once per week.

Lift weights once per week: I managed 3 sessions, so almost once per week.

I also did two quick pre-hab sessions to try to strengthen my glute muscles a bit.

I want to get back into the routine of doing things other than running for March: I want to increase my weight lifting again, do quick sessions of yoga and glute pre-hab throughout the week, and start rotating swim and bike back in. I also want to start thinking about a spring race. I'm looking at a couple of half-marathons and/or a shorter trail race in April. And, of course, I'd like to hit 100 miles again.

It's a lot, yeah, but without a big race to focus on, I think I'll have a bit more free time to do other stuff. And, it'll keep things interesting.

Week in review February 20-26: Final taper and lots of racing!

93% of the time, I run every time.

I realize it’s Thursday of the following week, but I’m doing a quick week in review anyway for posterity’s sake. #dontjudge

The week was obviously running-heavy with two final shakeout runs, losing a day to travel, and the four races that made up the Gasparilla Ultra Challenge weekend. I did manage a few minutes of yoga and glute exercises on Monday evening while starting Chef’s Table on Netflix.

By the numbers, it worked out to be:

Run: Six times, once on the treadmill and five times on the road (four of those races), for a total of 38.73 miles in a bit longer than 7 hours.

1. WOW, that’s a lot of running! It has to be my highest mileage week in at least a year and a half, the last time I was doing marathon training. I know the 30+ miles is the most I’ve ever run in a weekend, since I don’t run the day before or after my marathons.
2. Yes, that’s a slow average – it works out to about 10:55 minute miles. BUT, I’m OK with that. My solo races were in the 10:40 range, which was about what I was expecting with very slow starts and easy paces through the end. My last shakeout run and the other two races were with my husband, and we averaged about a 12:00 pace. I was in this for fun, not speed!

Yoga: One quick solo session (20 minutes). I know I should have done more after my races, but I was busy hanging out with my sister and doing Florida things.

Pre-hab: One 15-minute session. Sadly, this is the most I’ve spent on pre-hab in months, but I need to fit in these quick sessions more often if I want to keep running. I’m not a spring chicken anymore.

Total: 8 sessions in about 7:38.

It’s about what I expected for a race week. This week will be easy activity as I get back into the swing of things. I’m sure I’ll be bitten by another race bug before too long.

Gasparilla, part 2

All my medals, in case you missed them the first time. =)

I'm way behind in everything, so we'll see how far into this I get before I fall asleep typing.

Sunday was Race Day, The Sequel. We had a 4 a.m. wakeup call and me, my sister and my husband all headed out before 4:30. The half-marathon started at 6 and although I knew where I was going by then, I was still a bit nervous about being rushed. We couldn't park at the expo again but we found a parking garage nearby and made that our home base. My sister volunteered for the role of sherpa and I lathered on Body Glide and sunscreen. I was starting to get a bit nervous — today was the BIG day.

We popped into the Tampa Convention Center to use the real bathrooms again (I really can't say enough how much this was appreciated!) and headed off to the start line. Confusingly, it was at a different location than yesterday's races, but maps and volunteers were everywhere, so we eventually found our spot. It was still very dark out. We chit-chatted and I bounced around, made sure my Garmin was synced, cued up my iPod, etc. At 6 a.m. we surged toward the start line, I said my good-byes, and we were off!

The first few miles were very slow but I was fine with that. There were a few spots on the course that were VERY dark — I saw one lady laying on the ground and bleeding (she was being helped). I lost my throwaway shirt at about mile 2. I took a drink of half coconut water, half cherry juice every 2-2.5 miles, and had a Huma gel every other drink stop. It worked fine.

It started to lighten up a bit and I tried to enjoy the scenery. At about mile 5-6 I thought, I am not even halfway done! What am I doing! But I tried to focus on enjoying the run and the day. I was a bit stiff and sore from the 12 miles the day before, but everything was functional. The miles ticked by and I tried to zone out to my music, the view, and the people around me, many dressed like pirates. My hips and knee got a bit grumpy but it was never actual pain. I ran and ran. I also realized that since this was my only second open half-marathon, it would be a PR. Hey! Finally, I was in the last stretch. I heard my sister and husband cheer. I was done!

... for now.  I got my third medal of the weekend and some water, and caught up with my cheering squad. It was starting to warm up and the sun was out, so I resprayed sunscreen and swapped out my glasses for sunglasses. My husband was doing the 8K with me and we had about 45 minutes until the start, so we went back to the expo center, took a few pictures and goofed around for a bit before meandering over. Everything from my hips down was starting to get angry but I knew I could do 5 more easy miles. Another start line, another countdown, and we were off — again!

The last race was all about being slow and steady. There were a zillion people so the first few miles were very slow, but that was perfectly fine. We saw more pirates. The funniest part of the race was the guy playing a keyboard at the turnaround, but all he knew was "God Bless America" set to a calypso beat. We had to listen that for about a half mile toward the turnaround and about a half mile back. It was SO bad, but we laughed and laughed after he was behind us.

The last couple miles were tough. I just put my head down and got it done. I sped up a bit as the crowd thinned out and I got into a groove but the miles of the weekend were definitely making themselves known. Before long, the finish line was up ahead and we went for it. We saw my sister and cheered. And then, we were DONE, for real DONE!

I got my 8K medal and a special Ultra Challenge medal. I was so proud of myself! I had gotten into the race late, managed a decent build, and finished in respectable time. Not bad at all! We headed home shortly afterward where I took a nice, long shower and ate about 500 cookies and candies, Mexican food, and more cookies and candies. No regrets!

All in all, it was a great weekend. The logistics of getting to Florida from Michigan were tricky, and the race weekend itself was a bit complicated, but I think it was organized and managed as well as possible. I don't know that I'd do this one again, but it was definitely fun to do once. And the medals are awesome! And seriously, Tampa Convention Center, you and your real bathrooms were the MVP of the weekend.