Cradle to Grave 30k Training - 3 Weeks to go

Week Recap:
This was, overall, not a great week though it ended up OK at the end. Being in a class at work where we had exactly ONE hour for lunch meant I did not have the time to get in a workout as usual, so I missed Wednesday through Friday. I did short walks outside during our breaks and during lunch, but it certainly wasn't the workout I'm accustomed to. Oh well, roll with the punches and move on. Maybe the break was a good thing? The long run on Saturday was rough (details below) but I still feel positive about my prospects for race day in less than 2 weeks!

Weekly steps: Aww yess, 100% achievement since starting this challenge!

This makes me happier than it should. 

Monday
Planned: lift + 2mi
Did: lift + 2 mi
Knocked out 2 miles on the treadmill at a decently fast clip (7:50/mi) then got to lifting.
3 sets of 8-10 reps each, super-setted with 100 core reps.
{Core Super-Set: 20x toe-touch with 16lb med ball, 20x heels-to-heaven, 20x mason twist w/ 16lb med ball, 20x pushups, 10x
I forgot to write down what I did on Monday, and now (Tuesday) I can't remember. But it was the usual stuff.

Tuesday
Planned: #10kTuesday
Did: 6.22 mi @ 8:27
Awesome run this morning. Had to get it done early due to being in class, and it was nice and cool with a little bit of misty rain falling. My pace showed it and actually increased through the run! Mile splits were 8:20, 8:32, 8:28, 8:36, 8:13, 8:12, and 8:05 for the final 0.2 - whee!

Wednesday
Planned: bike ride
Did: nothing
In an all-day class at work, and we only get *exactly* an hour for lunch, which means no actual workout time plus being in class I need to use lunch to catch up on actual work because clearly nobody can leave me alone and they all NEED things. I might be a bit frustrated.

Thursday
Planned: hill repeats
Did: nothing.
Yesterday I brought my workout bag to work, just in case I had time for a quick workout. Today I didn't even bother bringing my bag. Frustrated. Also, my work email will.not.open. 😠

Friday
Planned: yoga
Did: nothing.
A short walk at lunch, that's it. Ergh. I've enjoyed the class at work but man, I'm ready to get back onto a normal schedule so I can exercise!

Saturday
Planned: long trail run or short stroller run
Did: 15.05mi trail run
This was a humbling run, but it gave me a good idea of what I can expect from myself in 2 weeks. I headed out to Paris Mountain with the idea of doing 16-17 miles on the trails there. I knew the climb up to the top was about the same amount of climbing as the "big climb" of the race course, so I thought it would be a good test and simulation of the race elevation.

Saturday's Run

Race profile

Not quite an exact match, but not terrible either. I did about 2,900 feet of climbing on Saturday, and the race is only supposedly ~2,400 so at least that is positive. Only bad thing is the race is pretty much ALL at once, whereas my run was a bit spread out. Oh well. Scott helped me look at the actual trails on his trail map, and it looks like a good chunk other than the Big Climb is on forest service (i.e. gravel) roads, so at least it's not hopping over roots and boulders the entire time.

I'll say I learned that pre-run fueling is going to be critical to my success. I did not have nearly enough breakfast before I ran, and I could have probably used some more food along the way (though I always struggle with making myself eat on a run, especially when it's hot).

Sunday
Planned: long trail run or short stroller run
Did: 5.22mi @ 10:31/mi with stroller
This was purely a shakeout run to make sure my legs still worked after yesterday. I deliberately walked nearly all of the uphills and took it slow on the flats/downs. My Achilles, my calves, and my hips are all complaining today, but overall they felt OK during the run. I made sure to stretch really well after the run, and I'm feeling good. Not bad for 20+ miles this weekend!

Cradle to Grave 30k Training - 4 Weeks to go

Week Recap:
I feel good reaching the 15-mile mark in my long run. I'm now much less concerned about the race distance in a few weeks! Still need to keep up the momentum, but I'm feeling good.

Weekly steps: Had a few days that required dancing around while brushing my teeth before bed to get in the last necessary steps, but the streak is still going! I also set a personal record on Saturday... between running 15 miles in the morning and walking all around Charlotte in the afternoon, I got over 43,000!

Monday
Planned: strength training
Did: 1 mi treadmill + strength training

Another good session today. Started out with a mile on the treadmill for a warm-up, and my hips/back still feels stiff. Need to be diligent about the stretching exercises for it, and my side-steps with resistance band apparently needs to be intensified to strengthen the hip adductor/abductor muscles.

Did my lifting intermittently while watching Boston Marathon footage on the gym TV. 3 sets of 8-12 reps each.

pull-up (30lb assist)
tri dips (30lb assist)
deadlift (40lb dumbbell)
-----
seated chest press (60lb)
squat press (55lb)
calf raise (55lb)
-----
curl (18lb dumbbell)
OH press (18lb dumbbell)
quad extension (40lb)
hamstring curl (40lb)
-----
goblet squat (40lb dumbbell)
rotator cuff (6lb dumbbells)
extended bicep curls (6lb dumbbells)
-----
resistance band side-step
OH tri press (25lb dumbbell)
one-arm row (25lb dumbbell)

Finished with 20x heels-to-heaven, mason twist, and med ball toe-touches.

Tuesday
Planned: #10kTuesday
Did: 6.33 mi @ 9:00/mi 
I did the first 3.2 mi on the treadmill indoors, due to the rain. I considered doing the whole run on the tready as a progression run, but after a few miles my brain was thinking "Ugh. SIX." so I headed outdoors for the final 3. Turned out to be a lovely run, nice cool temps and a teeny sprinkling of rain that was nice and refreshing.

Wednesday
Planned: bike ride
Did: 5 x 400 at 5k pace treadmill intervals
The rain pooped on our bike ride again today. Grrrr. So I ended up on the hamster wheel in the gym this afternoon and decided on quarter-mile intervals at 5k pace. Warmed up with 0.75mi at an easy pace, then alternated quarter mile speed (7:00/mi) with quarter mile recovery (9:30/mi), then cooled down to round out 3.5 miles.

Thursday
Planned: speedwork run
Did: 14.4 mi bike ride
Today's weather was much nicer, so I brought my bike and was able to get out at lunch for a very nice solo road ride. Did the Sherman College loop, felt good though maybe a bit sluggish... this cough/phlegmy yuckiness really just needs to go away because it's keeping me awake at night. The past two nights I've woken up and had a coughing fit around 3am. Blergh. Anyway, I still managed an average 15.3 mph speed, so that was good. Plus, ahhhhh sunshine :)

Friday
Planned: yoga
Did: nothing
I could have used the yoga today, but work meetings got in the way. I did take a couple of short walks at work due to the super nice weather.

Saturday
Planned: Paris Mountain run + extra miles (13-15 mi)
Did: Exactly as planned, 15.07 mi @ 9:25/mi
This run went exactly as planned. Crazy awesome! I woke up early (for a weekend) to get this run done before we left town to visit my folks. Left the house as soon as the sun was up enough for me to feel comfortable running without a light/reflective vest (~6:45am). My plan was to run Altamont Road up to the top of Paris Mountain then come back down to the Swamp Rabbit and tack on as many miles as I could in the time I had remaining. The run up Altamont was beautiful in the early morning light, and mostly quiet. I had to walk a few times, but I felt good going up and enjoyed the views.

 

Total of 25:41 for the ascent. Definitely not my fastest. 

The swamp rabbit miles and the rest of the run back to my house were a pretty decent pace considering I haven't run this kind of distance in a long time! Mostly mid- to upper-8s and low to mid-9s. I felt good through the entire run, though I think I need some different socks because the bottoms of my forefoot started getting sore/blister-y feeling towards the end. I didn't end up with any blisters, but it definitely doesn't feel awesome. 

Oh, hello hill!

Sunday

Planned: nothing?
Did: nothing
A car trip + rain rain rain meant another rest day. After all the walking and running from Saturday, though, I don't really think I missed out on anything critical. Plus, these allergies are kicking my butt! Ugh, go away.

Cradle to Grave 30k Training - 5 Weeks to go

Week Recap:
This was a really good week. I got in all of my planned weekday workouts, had some fun on Friday mountain biking with Scott, and had two solid runs this weekend. Felt great (though tired) after the almost-13-miles on Saturday, so now I've officially registered for the Cradle to Grave 30k!

Weekly Steps:

Another week of 100% goal met!

Monday
Plan: lift
Did: 1 mi treadmill + 50 min weight lifting
I'm really digging the way this "must lift for more than 45 minutes" thing is changing my routine for weights. I'm getting to do more muscle groups, repeat some of them, and generally feeling so much better about the work I'm doing! Funny thing about putting time and effort into something... 😏
Warmed up with 1 mile on the treadmill just to get things moving, and I think I can tell that I'm coming down with some kind of funk... because my heartrate was muuuuch higher than it should have been for one mile, and I burned 100 calories based on heartrate (where usually I'm like half that). ?! Oh joy.

Moved on to lifting, 3x 8-10 reps for all:

bench press (65lb)
side-step w/ band
squat (75lb)
tri cable pulldown (45lb)
pullups (30lb assist)
tri dips (30lb assist)
deadlift (1x 40lb dumbbell)
arnold press (2x 16lb dumbbells)
curls (16lb dumbbell each hand)
fwd arm raise (6lb dumbbell each hand)
side arm raise (6lb dumbbell each hand)
standing cable row (30lb)
goblet squat (40lb dumbbell)
calf press (55lb)
hamstring curl (40lb)
quad extension (40lb)
[I forgot which things I did in which sets together... but I did all of the above in some order! Derp.]

Then finished with core:
3x20 toe touch w/ 16lb medicine ball, heels 2 heaven, mason twists w/ 16lb med. ball, and 10 pushups

Tuesday
Plan: 10k Tuesday
Did: 6.23 mi @ 9:14 avg 
Had to get this one done early due to a lunch meeting, and I was reminded just how good it feels to get my workout done first thing in the morning. When I got to work it was still dawn/early sunrise time and I didn't have a light, so I decided to do 2.2mi on the treadmill while the sun came up the rest of the way. It was hot and stuffy in the gym and I couldn't wait to get out! It was cool and beautiful mid-50s when I got outside and loved every step of the remaining 4 miles. It's also pretty nice to get your 10,000 steps done before 8am. :)

Wednesday
Plan: bike ride
Did: 10.7 mi @ 13.6 mph avg
Beautiful day today, so we finally got all the ladies out on the bikes together! Megan, Robin, and I did the Upstate Loop and had a great ride. Sunny, warm but not too warm, light breeze... ahhhh.

Wheeeeee

Thursday
Plan: tempo run
Did: rest
After being up part of the night hacking up a lung, I decided I should take a rest day in order to be prepared for a tough weekend of training. Plus, with no other rest day planned this week, it was a good opportunity for one. I did walk on the treadmill desk for about half an hour.

Friday
Plan: mountain bike at Bent Creek
Did: 11.8 mi mountain biking, avg. 7.4 mph 
Scott and I took our rare twice per year opportunity of daycare being open but having a work holiday to go  mountain biking at Bent Creek. I was surprised that I felt really good on the bike despite not having been recently, and I even conquered Green's Lick for the second time ever!

Green's Lick is the ~1000ft elevation drop over 2.5 miles

It was a challenging ride but I was really happy that I felt strong throughout. Great for building the leg strength and supplementing this running habit I have. ;)

The end of Green's Lick

"Wheeeee!"

Post-ride libations

Saturday
Plan: long trail run (12-13 mi ??)
Did: 12.87 mi @ 11:10/mi avg pace
Realizing that the tentative (at the time) race was less than 1 month away, I decided it was necessary to put in some long miles on the trails. Scott, D, and I headed up to Dupont on Saturday morning and I'd planned to run a truncated Yeti or Not 25k route that I'd mapped out oh so carefully. About a third of the way into the run, however, I somehow managed to make an epic wrong turn onto a trail that didn't exist on the map I was using.

The red is where I went... the blue is where I was supposed to go.

It took a while before I realized I wasn't where I was supposed to be, but Google Maps was thankfully able to show me I was indeed far from the planned route but it was easy to get back on course. I edited the rest of my planned route and finished up just shy of 13 miles. I was definitely tired by the end but felt sure that I could muscle out 5 more miles after another month of training.

 

Wintergreen Falls, early in the run

Pretty day in the woods

Close to the end!

Sunday
Plan: easy run (3-5 mi)
Did: 5.12 mi @ 9:45/mi
By the time Sunday afternoon rolled around, I was feeling tired and lazy... so I quickly put on my running shoes and headed out the door before I could talk myself into a nap instead! My hips/lower back were stiff and sore from running on uneven terrain Saturday, so I almost called it quits less than a mile into this run. Thankfully a nice family needed my assistance taking their Easter photos in a neighborhood park, so I got a brief rest before continuing and was able to finish with a few walk breaks and an easy pace. Glad I got these extra miles in - I need to build up the overall weekly mileage if I'm going to manage 18.5 in a few weeks!!

Total Miles run this week: 25.22

Cradle to Grave 30k Training - 6 Weeks to go

This was a good week overall. There were a few hiccups (working from home one day) but I feel really good about the work I put in. Looking forward to another solid week, and need to start upping my weekend run mileage if I'm going to tackle 18 miles in a month! 😲

Oh, another accomplishment... hit 10,000 steps every day this week!

yessss.

Monday
Plan: strength training, 10,000 steps
Did: 1.75mi treadmill + 48min weights
I'm participating in a Wellness Challenge for the month of April with my mamas group, so I'm adding in little bits here and there to boost my "score" - you earn points for various things related to wellness and track daily in a shared spreadsheet. Fitness is tracked as 45+ mins of weight training or fitness classes, 30+ mins of cardio, or 15 mins of "other" exercise. I lengthened my treadmill warm-up to hit the 15 min "other" mark, and then extended the time I usually spend lifting from 35-40 mins to over 45 minutes of weight lifting. I got to add in some exercises for muscle groups I don't usually hit with my typical routine, so I was really happy about that! Plus the added miles on Monday will help in my overall 30k training goal.

3x 8-10 reps
-----
bench press (65lb)
deadlift (40lb)
-----
squat (75lb)
pull-up (30lb assist)
tri-dip (30lb assist)
-----
cable tri pulldown (40lb)
goblet squat (40lb)
-----
hammer curl (16lb dumbbell)
overhead press (2x16lb dumbbell)
side-step w/ resistance band
-----
rotator cuff standing rotation (4lb dumbbell)
bicep extension (4lb dumbbell)
hamstring curl machine (30lb)
quad extension machine (30lb)
-----
straight arm forward raise & side raise (2x6lb dumbbells)
calf extension (55lb)
-----
plank: held 90 seconds

Tuesday
Plan: 10k Tuesday, 10,000 steps
Did: 6.26mi @ 9:30/mi
Looks like ~4 hours of sleep plus getting a late start and hence being hungry made for a slog of a run. And it was in the 80s! Bleh. But 10k Tuesday isn't optional, so it was done. The end.

Wednesday
Plan: run of somesort?
Did: P90X Kenpo + "14 Minute Workout" at home
Little Man is still sick, so I stayed home with him, plus there were severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings all day which meant we were stuck inside. YUCK. But I made the best of it and got in a solid P90X Kenpo workout (basically kickboxing) plus a little "14 Minute Workout" circuit that a friend shared.

The routine:

1 min high knees

1 min side plank (each side)

1 min squats

1 min jumping jacks

1 min hip raise

1 min mtn climbers

1 min elbow plank

x2

The original workout called for just one side plank per round, then switch to the other on the second time through but of course I have to be an overachiever and I did both sides each time through. So technically it was a "16 Minute Workout" for me. 😜

Thursday
Plan: bike ride 
Did: 6x hill repeats + "14 Minute Workout"
Back at work today, and our planned Ladies' Ride got blown away (literally) by the 25mph winds. I looked at my weekly mileage total so far and was displeased, so I headed out for a run and decided on hill repeats. It was not as smooth of a workout as I'd hoped due to lots of little things that cropped up (late start, wind, dogs, bug in my eye, etc.) but I got it done and it was hard. Guess that means I did it right?

Heartrate = also looks like hills!

Splits. Not too shabby!

Looks like my hill paces were between 6:30-7:20. Pretty pleased with that pace, even though it looks like they were a piddly little 25-45ft elevation gain!

Finished up when I got back to the gym with the 14 Minute Workout (see above) except I only did one side plank per round (as the original workout is supposed to be done). Ooof this workout is tough to do 2 days in a row. Hoping that adding little things like that in a few days a week will help build more core strength.

Friday
Plan: yoga
Did: yoga
Needed this!

Saturday
Plan: run
Did: 8.26mi @ 9:18/mi stroller run
Took D out in the stroller on the Swamp Rabbit with a loop around the Furman lake & through campus. Had hoped for closer to 10 miles, but little man slept until after 8:30 so we got a late start! Was a beautiful day for a run, and felt great throughout.

Sunday
Plan: ?
Did: group bike ride, 26.8mi @ 14.5mph
Scott forwarded me an email notice about a group ride hosted by Trek Travel that was leaving from Hotel Domestique on Sunday afternoon and went up the watershed to Saluda. Seemed like a great opportunity, so I signed up! Along with the guided ride, we got a goodie bag and pre-, during-, and post-ride snacks. It was great fun, and there were about 40 riders. Beautiful sunny afternoon, and felt great climbing up the long climb to Saluda.

Biiiiiig hill.

It was a challenging ride but I was really happy with how I was able to climb especially since I haven't done much bike riding lately.

State Line selfie!

Cradle to Grave 30k Training - 7 Weeks to go

Ok, maybe this title will actually stick... #commitmentprobs

Probably? Maybe??

Also, I'm continuing to adapt my blogging format and I'm shamelessly stealing this week's format from Angelina. 😇

Monday
Plan: strength & stretch
Did: strength & stretch w/ 1mi treadmill warm-up

1 mile warm-up on the treadmill felt better than I'd expected given yesterday's hard effort up Paris Mountain. I broke things up into smaller sets today, just for convenience/time management and trying not to hog one machine for too long since I got a later start than usual and I was worried the lunch crowds would start rolling in before I was done. Turns out everyone was running later than usual today. 😏

3x 8-10 for everything:
-----
pull-ups (40lb assist)
tri-dips (40lb assist)
squats (75lb)
-----
tri cable pull-down (40lb)
bench press (65lb)
-----
curls (2x16lb dumbbells)
OH press (2x16lb dumbbells)
side-step w/ resistance band
-----
deadlift (40lb)
one-arm cable row (30lb)
-----
core set: 3 rounds, reps of 20x/15x/10x
16lb medicine ball toe-touch
heels-to-heaven
16lb med ball mason twist

3x10 pushups
stretching

Tuesday
Plan: 10k Tuesday
Did: 6.24mi @ 8:39/mi
It was warm today at lunch! Felt pretty good despite the fact that I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Pace was better than anticipated, only had one mile above a 9 (Mile 4, 9:09) and even had a mile close to 8 (Mile 2, 8:11). Yippee!

Wednesday
Plan: run
Did: 4.51mi @ 9:27/mi cross-country trails
I'd thought of doing some hill repeats today, but then realized I'd packed my trail running shoes so I opted for an off-road nice and easy run. Did the 5k course + Vita Course loop for a nice mix of grass, dirt, gravel, and a bit of road at the end. It was warm again! And my legs are definitely tired as this is my 5th straight day of running. Had to switch the usual Wednesday XT / Thursday run due to others having conflict with a Wednesday bike ride. Plus, knowing I'm not going to run again until Sunday made it a little easier to push through!

Thursday
Plan: bike ride
Did: 5.57mi bike ride + 3200m rowing machine
I headed out on the bike thinking I could sneak in a ride before the rain rolled in, but I was mistaken. I got about 5.5 miles done and the mist turned into actual rain, so I turned around. The rain itself wasn't bad, but the impending thunderstorms had me a bit nervous about being out. I got inside and hopped onto the rowing machine for some variety, did 2 miles (3200m) in ~20 minutes. Felt pretty good about the overall workout despite the required change of plans!

Moist.

Friday
Plan: ? (rest day)
Did: nothing
Rest day = done.

Saturday
Plan: nothing - Contest Day!
Did: Contest! But still got 10,000 steps 😄

Amazing day!

Sunday
Plan: 9mi run @ Salem Lake (annual tradition!)
Did: 9.04mi @ 9:19/mi w/ stroller & Angelina

Favorite post-contest tradition: run at Salem Lake!

Angelina and I headed out to Salem Lake on Sunday morning and loved the cooler temps as we started out. D fell asleep about halfway through after talking to us for the first half of the run. Gorgeously sunny day, kept a solid but comfortable pace through the run, and felt strong to the very end. Perfect way to round out the weekend!