Mother Nature had it in for us last week. What started off as chilly quickly turned more springlike, and then just as fast turned straight to winter — and back again. It was a whirlwind, that’s for sure. Hopefully spring is here to stay and we won’t get any more of that white sloshy stuff for several months. This last storm was a doozy — good thing I saw Marcia mention it or I wouldn’t have even known it was coming. Our neighbor’s brand new truck got leveled by a fallen tree. It was no good!
It was a great week of workouts. Were they tough? Heck yeah. Were they achievable? Absolutely. I can say I’m firmly back on the strength training bandwagon with not one, not two, but three strength sessions last week. Plus, I finally got back into a yoga routine. One more long run before my goal race! This was both a great week and a crazy week of training. If you want that extra little push though, why not try some isometric equipment to really strengthen your muscles. It’s a simple form of exercise that you can do with a spare 5 minutes!
Strength Training, Yoga, and Running all the Miles {Spring Training: Week 13}
Tuesday — 6.08 miles + strength training
Tuesday was super fun. I took Trixie with me for my warm-up miles, but she stubbornly wanted to stick with me for my workout. We did several strides together and then I took her home to give her pads a rest. She logged roughly 5 miles on Tuesday.
Wednesday — 7.1 miles
Cumulative fatigue caught up with me on Wednesday. I had 7 easy miles on the plan, but they didn’t feel easy at all. My route was very relaxing, though, and thankfully the weather was halfway decent. I zoned out and listened to some tunes and had a fairly enjoyable run.
Thursday — 8.01 miles + strength training
On Thursday I met up with my friend Candice. It was finally warm-ish but we knew a horrible cold front would be coming through. We had a small window and decided to get it done. My training plan called for a goal pace workout, which of course was run faster than goal pace. It worked out, though, because the cold front came sooner than we were expecting. When we started it was shorts weather, but by the time we finished the temperature had dropped 12?. It was most definitely not shorts weather by the end. It took me a long time to warm up. When I finally did, I hit the home gym for some strength work followed by a hot, hot shower.
Friday — yoga
My legs have been holding up fairly well through this training cycle. I haven’t been diligent with my foam rolling but I was doing better with yoga. Unfortunately yoga took a back seat over the last few weeks (as the “extra stuff” usually does during peak weeks). I knew I had to do something, though, because my calves were starting to feel tight. I got to business and did 25 minutes of yoga. It felt fantastic. I won’t be skipping it again.
Saturday — 2.66 miles + strength training (and self defense!)
I met with one of my 5K training groups on Saturday for some beautiful, albeit chilly, sunrise miles. We did some drills and a challenging workout after our run. It’s always such fun working with my 5K groups. We had a good morning.
I also took my first of four self defense classes on Saturday. We worked on some basic moves — we’re learning defensive tactics — and I must say, I’m really looking forward to the remaining classes. I almost wish it were more like 8 classes and not just 4, but I’m already pleased with this class choice.
Sunday — 14.09 miles
Sunday was a run of hilly miles. It was my last double digit run before the 20-Mile Drop on April 23rd. The weather was almost perfect — a little chilly for my taste but warmed up quickly. I set off with my dog and at about mile 3 or so, picked up Eugenia. A couple miles later my husband came to pick up the dog (her farthest run to date has been 6 miles so we’re still working on breaching that threshold). With Trixie gone, Eugenia and I had a very enjoyable run together. It was really nice to see her and catch up. We’ve been running together a lot more lately, but always with other people. It was good to have one on one time together. We both needed some therapy miles (and it showed in our splits!).
Several miles later, around mile 8, we picked up Julie. Of course Julie had fresh legs, and technically Eugenia’s legs were fresher than mine, so naturally we picked up speed. With a total of 8 for Eugenia, she split off and Julie and I continued on. Julie and I also had a chance to catch up which was really nice because I haven’t been running with her in ages. We talked Marine Corps and life in general. Our last hill was officially ridiculous with basically a vertical ascent. She ran the whole thing (fresh legs, guys). I ran. Stopped. Ran. Stopped. Finally gave up running and just walked. I told her to remind me never to run that hill again. My mile split for that section was over 12-minute miles. It was interesting to see how much my splits changed with the elevation.
My goal for my run was a fast finish at goal pace. I didn’t necessarily accomplish the written pace goal due to the hilly route, but Julie kept me going at the end which is when I needed it most. Plus, the whole vertical ascent thing. I call Sunday’s run a success.
This week I’ll be completing more pace work with strides and tempos, sprinkled with strength training, yoga, and easy running. I’m looking forward to taking it a bit easy with my last long run before race day. Here’s hoping we have some decent weather so I can avoid the treadmill, too!
xo
TALK TO ME!
What race are you training for (if any)?
Did you have any damage during the latest winter storm?
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.
