Last week was such a hot mess of workouts. It was a pretty good week overall. But there were a couple workouts that were just not awesome. I’m determined not to be injured in 2017. As such, I am making it my business to make sure I work on strength whenever possible. After all, hips don’t lie. (Some say glutes don’t lie either.)
I’m training for a plethora of races, all varying distances. The one that stands out most right now is the 20-mile drop — mostly because it will be the longest distance until June. The 20 Mile Drop is a super fun race and I’m really looking forward to it!
Here’s how last week went:
Hips Don’t Lie (neither do glutes!) + Astronomical Race Fees
Monday — strength
On Monday I did some much needed strength work. I’m focusing on those tiny stabilizing muscles that are so important to runners — the gluteus medius and minimus. I don’t do much but boy does it burn! It felt great to work those muscles because I knew those were the areas I needed it most.
Tuesday — 6 miles
Tuesday was perfect running weather. It was warm, it was breezy. But it was also very, very rainy. I caught a very brief window of opportunity to run outside. I put my dog in her harness and out we went with the expectation that we were going to get wet. When I say we were drenched within minutes of walking out the door, I wouldn’t be exaggerating even a little bit. We ran down to the end of my road and as soon as we turned back to go the other way it started pouring. And I don’t mean raining. I mean pouring. We were out in it for maybe 10 feet and we were both drenched. Running in the pouring rain with a dog that half listens anyway is not my idea of fun. We went home. I ran 6 miles on the treadmill.
Wednesday — 4.5 miles (hills) + strength
Technically Wednesday was my hill sprint day. Since I was doing it on the treadmill I had to change my workout just a bit so I could reap the benefits of hills but actually be able to accomplish the workout. Changing speeds and inclines on the treadmill isn’t so conducive to short and fast hills. But it worked and I got a great workout in.
After my hills I decided to work on my hips and glutes some more. It felt great. Still burned but not nearly as much as on Monday.
Thursday — 7 miles
Worst run ever. I don’t know what happened to my dog. She was doing SO WELL running with me. Then all of a sudden it’s like she forgot how to function. Within the first mile, she slipped out of her harness because she was scared of a truck. I basically had to tackle her to the ground to make sure she didn’t run away. Then I had to carry her (45 lbs!) past the truck. Finally we made it to the end of the street and she was fine again, like nothing had even happened. She even sat when I told her to sit when a car was passing. (Good dog!!) But something spooked her again later in the run and it was just horrible from there on out.
I was almost dragging her home. Finally we got back to my street and I let her off the leash. I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to sit in peace for a minute to gather my wits.
We made it home and I finished my run on the treadmill. It was much better running in peace. My gosh, though… she makes me question if I even want to take her out again!
Friday — strength
I did some strength work on Friday but wasn’t really feeling 100%. I didn’t finish my workout like I had wanted to.
Sunday — 7 miles
My long run was supposed to be 10 miles this week. Unfortunately I caught the cold my kids both had and I felt really lethargic on Friday and Saturday. The weather was beautiful over the weekend, though, and I really wanted to try to get a run in. I met up with my friend Candice who was also getting over being sick. We logged 6 miles together which was great considering how we were both feeling. When I got home I thought I could finish up my run but alas, I only made it one more mile.
But look! Shorts and t-shirts in January! #winning
Overall the week went fairly well despite a few weather, health, and dog-related frustrations. But I’m happy with how things panned out for the most part.
Looking ahead to this week, I’ll be working on more strength training as well as logging more miles. This is also my second week of hills and I’m hoping to get outside to do them instead of the treadmill but I’ll let Mother Nature let me know where I’ll be running.
Astronomical Race Fees
Before we go, let me circle back to racing real quick. The topic for today’s Tuesdays on the Run is how much you’ll spend on race fees. I could not be-lieve how much the NYCM is this year. $295!!! And that’s just the race fees — that doesn’t even include processing fees. I’m sorry — I’m all about racing — but are these people off their rockers?! Geeze Louise! For me, I top out at $150. And that’s for a race I’ve gotta be really into to spend that kind of cheddar. I would never try to run NYCM because of the sheer volume of the field but $295 is waaaaaay out of my league.
And now I’m curious… what’s your limit for race fees?
xo
TALK TO ME!
Did you enjoy a pop of spring last week?
If you’re a runner, how often do you work on hips and glutes?
Linking up with My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs for Tuesdays on the Run, and HoHo Runs and MissSippi Piddlin’ for the Weekly Wrap.
