Recovery/Bridge (Week 2 of 4)

Weekly Impressions: This week ended up being a little haphazard, but overall got some good work done. I'm looking forward to be "in training" again because it's far too easy/tempting for me to slack off when I don't "have" to do a given workout. I wish it weren't so, but clearly I need that extra bit of motivation!

Steps:

Boooooo.

Apparently breaking the streak also destroys my motivation. Yes, sometimes I feel silly taking extra laps around the house just to get my 10k steps in a given day, but it's just a little goal I like to cross off each day. We'll see if I can beat my streak! (Last streak: 52 days)

Monday
Planned: ?
Did: 3mi stroller walk + quick strength workout
Stayed home with sick toddler today, so we worked what we could. In the morning we took a 3mi walk since little man was going stir crazy (apparently he's feeling better?). I started out thinking I'd run some of it, but the humidity quickly zapped that desire.
Once he was down for a nap, I got in a quick strength routine. Did the "14-Minute workout" below, plus some curls, overhead press, tri press, and pushups.

14-Min. Workout
1 minute per exercise, repeat full set 2x
- high knees
- side plank
- squats
- butt-kickers
- hip raise
- mountain climbers
- elbow plank

Tuesday
Planned: #10kTuesday
Did: 6.20 mi @ 8:19/mi

Looks like a treadmill day. 😒

Yep, treadmill day. Turned this into a progression-style run which made the indoor hamster wheel more tolerable.
Mile 1 - 6.5 mph
Mile 2 & 3 - 7.5 mph
Mile 4 - 6.5 mph
Mile 5 - 7.5 mph
Mile 6 to finish - gradually increased to finish at 8.5 mph

Yep. Pretty much matches speed!

Wednesday
Planned: bike ride
Did: nothing
The good (and bad) thing about not being on a plan, is that I feel less bad about skipping a workout. But I was grumpy the rest of the day, so maybe not so great. Womp womp. I don't know how people go through life not having a regular workout routine and don't go insane.

Thursday
Planned: run
Did: strength + Short Track Race
Since I didn't get to lift at the gym on Monday, I got it done today. I'm hoping to be able to ride in the Upstate SORBA Short Track race tonight, so that will give me some cardio. Depends how Dargan handles being kept out later than usual!
Anyway, lift went well. Felt good and strong. Really happy with my progression on the strength side. Also feeling excited since I put together some plans for 50k training.

Lifting
{Core super-set between each: 20x toe-touch w/ 16lb medicine ball, heels-to-heaven, mason twists}
3x8 18lb Curls
3x8 18lb overhead press
3x10 40lb Quad extension
3x10 40lb Hamstring curl
3x10 50lb Upright row/ wide arms
3x10 50lb Upright row/ narrow arms
-----{Core SS}-----
Pull-up 20lb assist
Triceps dip 20lb assist

3x10 60lb Chest press machine
3x10 40lb dumbbell goblet squat
-----{Core SS}-----
3x8 6lb rotator cuff
3x8 6lb extended curl
3x8 6lb lying down side rotator cuff
3x10 45lb deadlift
-----{Core SS}-----
3x8 45lb tri cable pull-down
3x8 45lb straight arm pull-down
3x15 side-step resistance band

Short-Track Race
This was a fun event! Upstate SORBA does a great job with this series. The short track race is basically a timed race to see who can do the most loops of the pump track in a certain amount of time. They have a kids race, a Beginner/Intermediate race, and an Expert race. D participated in the kids' race (which wasn't actually a race, just a ride around a small section of the pump track) and they awarded everyone medals.

Not sure what's happening

Will respond to "say cheese" 😁

I didn't get any photos of my race, so that's why you get D instead. ;) My race was 30 minutes, and I made it 6 or 7 times (I lost count) around the track. Total of 5.4mi in 33 mins (avg. 9.7 mph) which I'm pretty happy about! I was just about 100 yards behind the 3rd place female, so I was mere seconds away from a podium finish. Oh well, maybe next month!

Friday
Planned: yoga
Did: nothing
Forgot I had a coworker's baby shower during lunch at work, so no yoga for me. Instead, I ate 3 cupcakes. 😏

Saturday
Planned: ?
Did: 8.12 mi @ 10:07/mi w/ stroller
D and I headed out for a neighborhood stroller run on Saturday morning and enjoyed 1,300+ feet of elevation gain during our nice 8-miler. I didn't have any pace goals for this run so I walked a good bit of the uphills. Felt great and enjoyed the time with little man!

Yay running!

Sunday
Planned: ?
Did: bike ride to zoo w/ friends
We had some friends visiting from out of town, so we took the opportunity and (thankfully) the break in the rain to bike down the Swamp Rabbit to the zoo! It was great fun, had a nice leisurely ride, and the kids enjoyed the animals. We stopped at Swamp Rabbit Grocery on the way home for lunch before making the rest of the trip back up the trail. Total of 22.9 miles @10.7 mph.

Ultra Planning

Halfway through "recovery" and eager to get into a training schedule (clearly I'm bored!).

I've read through a bunch of different training plans and I think I've landed on one that seems manageable and adaptable to my training style (flexible!).

The plan comes from the Santa Clara Runners of California and UltraLadies.com

Hoooo boy. 50+ mi/wk will be new territory.

It's a 13 week schedule (I'd planned for 16, so that gives me a few weeks of base-building) and the key features are:

• 2 back-to-back weekend long runs
• mid-week semi-long run
• Monday/Friday rest days

It's not going to be easy to keep up with these, especially the mid-week long run. I'm already planning some edits... obviously the mid-week long run will be on Tuesday (#10kTuesday goes Imperial!), and I'm thinking the Sunday long run will be time-based, not mileage-based. Another plan I looked at had a similar structure, and Sunday was always a one-hour medium effort run. I think I like this idea, being able to run by time and just get whatever mileage feels good that day at a moderate pace, especially in the heat of the summer.

So, tentatively edited schedule...

Aww. Yesss.

I CAN'T WAIT TO START THIS TRAINING. 😆💃🎉

Recovery/Bridge week (1 of 4)

Nothing much going on until I start my 18-week training for FATS 50k. So I'm just calling the next 4 weeks recovery/bridge. No real goals, just maintenance. And I'm still not 100% sold on FATS, but figure I should go ahead and start training so I'm not behind once I make a decision!

Also, I finally (unfortunately) broke my 10,000 step streak this weekend. Just too much going on (D ended up in the ER again on Friday night) and it was time to stop the insanity of dancing around in the bedroom before getting in bed because I *HAD* to get my steps.


Monday
Planned: strength training
Did: strength training
A good lifting session today. I didn't do any warm-up, just jumped right into lifting. Went up on some reps, but kept the same weights that I've been doing (I think).

3x8
Pull-ups (20lb assist)
Tri Dips (20lb assist)
Squat (80lb)

3x8 Bench press (70lb)
20x side-step w/ resistance band

3x10
Tri cable pull-down (45lb)
Deadlift (45lb)

3x
70lb calf press x 10
18lb dumbbells curl x10
18lb dumbbells Overhead press x8

3x10
50lb seated row
40lb hamstring curl
40lb quat extension

3x10
6lb dumbbells side arm lift
6lb dumbbells rotator cuff

3x25 core with 16lb med ball:
- toe touch
- heels 2 heaven
- mason twist

Also, I have to share this... I've been pretty consistent in my strength training and have finally gotten into a good groove. I'm really really pleased with the visual results I'm getting, and generally feeling very strong and fit!

#gymselfie

Tuesday
Planned: #10kTuesday
Did: 6.23 mi @ 9:16/mi
Done and done. Did some off-road running (about 50/50) for this one and felt good. Was pretty warm though.

Wednesday
Planned: bike ride
Did: 14.4 mi @ 14.4 mph
Megan and I rode the Sherman College loop today. It was warm, but felt very nice since it wasn't overly ridiculous humidity. Great ride!


Thursday
Planned: run
Did: 3.61 mi @ 8:19/mi #speedworkThursday
I was so so so close to bailing on today's run, but as always, I'm glad I did it after all. I was going to go out for an easy 3 since time was running short, but realized after changing into shorts and tank top that I'd left my Garmin at my desk. UGH. So I went for some intervals on the treadmill. It's been a while since I've done speedwork, and I actually felt really good! Did 6x quarter-mile intervals at 5k (7:00/mi) pace.

Friday
Planned: yoga
Did: rest
Leaving for a weekend camping trip right after work, so just needed to focus and have less extraneous stuff in my car, so I left the gym bag at home. Looking forward to a weekend unplugged. Will take Took a ~20min walk during lunch break, so at least I won't be sitting ALL day.

Saturday - camping trip
Planned: mountain bike ride 
Did: 7.95 mi @ 9.4 mph
It was a bit of a rough night on Friday night (ER visit with little man for breathing trouble) so we didn't get to spend all day riding on Saturday. Both Scott and I had time for a quick ride before we left, which was nice, but boy I was exhausted from getting 2 non-consecutive hours of sleep.

Sunday - return home from camping
Planned: nothing?
Did: nothing

Rainy day and recovering sick toddler = day in the house. That's the nice thing about not being in training yet... no obligation to do anything!

Cradle to Grave 30k Training - Race Week!

Weekly Recap:
Most things are captured in the race report, but the week overall was hectic. Scott was out of the country for work travel, and I had tons of stuff going on between work and preparing for D's birthday party this weekend, so it was a bit crazy. Nevertheless, got done what needed to get done!

Steps:

The streak is still strong!

Monday
Planned: strength + 1mi
Did: elliptical warm up + weights
I had a late start and shortened workout time today, but I made the most of it and felt great. Started out with half mile warm-up on the elliptical.
Per my intentions from last week, I upped weights on everything, therefore made this a "crazy Eights" workout and did 8 reps of everything. Also super-setted with core work for a total of 80 reps to keep with the "eights" theme. I'm a dork.

bench press (70lb)
tri cable pulldown (45lb)
side-step resistance band
-----{20x med ball toe touch, heels 2 heaven, med ball mason twist}----
squat (80lb)
pull-ups (20lb assist)
tri dips (20lb assist)
-----{20x Core SS}-----
rotator cuff (2x 6lb dumbbells)
side arm raise (2x 6lb dumbbells)
upright row (50lb)
deadlift (1x 45lb dumbbell)
-----{20x Core SS}-----
curls (2x 18lb dumbbells)
calf press (70lb)
-----{20x Core SS}-----


Tuesday
Planned: #10kTuesday
Did: 6.23 mi @ 8:47/mi
With a busy day at work and Scott out of town, the #10kTuesday had to be done outside of working hours, so I took the opportunity to join back up with the Pint & Pie Tuesday Night run crew at Sidewall Pizza. D and I got rolling just before 5:30 to do 3.2mi on our own before meeting up with the group for the last 3. We did an out-and-back on the north side of the Swamp Rabbit trail (did it twice, since it turned out that was the planned group run route too!), which unfortunately is about 60-70% unshaded. It was HOT and there was a stiff breeze that made the stroller into what felt like a parasailing apparatus. I figured it was just the temperature, time of day, and wind that was making me feel like I was working really hard. Then I looked at my splits.

Oh, well then.

No wonder it felt like I was working hard! Pretty pleased with that, though didn't feel awesome at the end. Too much heat and by then I was hungry. We joined the Pint & Pie group for pizza and beer after the run, and that made everything better.

Pizzaaaaa!

Wednesday
Planned: bike ride
Did: 14.5 mi @ 15.4 mph
Nice solo ride today, though it was quite warm and a bit breezy. Felt a little tired and didn't push the pace, but managed a good speed throughout.


Thursday
Planned: nothing
Did: nothing


Friday
Planned: yoga
Did: nothing
Realizing just how early I'm going to have to wake up to get to the race tomorrow morning. Extremely limited parking opens at 6:30 a.m. and it's a 1.5 hour drive to get there. UGH.


Saturday - Race Day!
Planned: Cradle to Grave 30k
Did: Cradle to Grave 30k


Sunday
Planned: rest
Did: not exactly rest, but no intentional exercise

Race Report: Cradle to Grave 30k

A little less than 7 weeks ago, I decided to run this race. I didn't really know what to expect or have any plans other than "oh boy that's a really long trail run." I followed my loosely-concocted training plan and felt decent going into the race.

Pre-race

It wasn't until I was planning out my morning-of schedule that I realized I was going to have to leave the house at 5:15 a.m. in order to get to the start at a good time. In my head all along, I'd had "oh it's about an hour away", but really, it was more like 1.5 hours. Scott decided to go with me (so thankful!) despite the fact that he'd just flown back from Japan the night before. We also had the challenge of finding breakfast options that were open that early. Thank goodness for Dunkin Donuts. Beth runs on Dunkin, apparently. Specifically, I ran on a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel + cream filled chocolate iced doughnut. And coffee. '

We got to the start area with plenty of time and lots of parking left. Hooray, Mission #1 accomplished. We parked, I got my packet, took advantage of the visitor center restrooms (yes, REAL restrooms on race morning!), and then hung out in the car for a little while before getting my shoes and hydration vest on.

 

 

This race is pretty small, total cap of about 200 participants for the 30k. Despite its small size, it was very very well organized and supported. It still had a casual feel to it, though, and we all kind of milled around in the start area until an older gentleman in overalls shot a shotgun to start the race.

And we're off!

Race

I could best sum up the course as a 7 mile nature trail / gravel road run to a 4-mile strenuous hike loop, and then back 7 miles to where we started. I would have called this an easy course except for the Pilot Cove/Slate Rock loop. But of course, that's where the incredible views are, so it makes it all worth it.

Pretty trails

One of many crossings

I took several pics of this guy because I was behind him basically the entire time we were on singletrack before reaching the forest service roads. He was keeping a good and steady pace, so I didn't mind. I chatted with a few people but mostly enjoyed a quiet run through the woods.

The first couple of aid stations came up much quicker than I'd expected, and I felt like I was making good progress. I didn't really stop any any stations because I had my pack with snacks. I had a few pretzels at one, but otherwise stuck with my own supplies.

After a few miles on the gravel roads, we reached the steep climb up Pilot Cove / Slate Rock. I knew it was coming, so I had no qualms about walking (hiking) the entire climb. There was no way I could run it any faster than I could hike it, and knowing there was a) the descent and b) the 7 mile return trip to finish the race, I knew I had to conserve where I could.

Climbing

Steep hike

Elevation

The climb is basically ~850 feet over 2 miles. Pretty darn close to the climb up Altamont Road, but on rooty trail instead of asphalt. The descent is even worse... same vertical but about half the horizontal distance. It's worth it though.

Just look at that view!

Made it!

The clouds and fog parted in time for my arrival at the overlook bald rock. It was breathtaking! I stopped for a photo op and admired the view for a few seconds, then headed towards the descent. I walked/hiked a lot of the descent, because running would have been incredibly dangerous. It wasn't overly technical, but on tired legs, I had to take care to make sure my footing was secure.

The fire roads (gravel, ugh) were a bit tough. I didn't enjoy the next few miles, and took a couple of walk breaks to eat some more food. My legs were tired and the gravel roads were mentally challenging. Just kept plodding along and felt a mental boost when I got back onto the singletrack that I knew meant I was getting closer.

In the middle of a creek crossing

Ooooh, rhododendron tunnels!

When I exited the Pink Beds Loop trail, the volunteer at the turn (this course has awesome volunteers!) said, "Welcome back! Just around the corner and you can hear them cheering at the finish! You're almost there!" I was SO glad. I usually hate when course monitors say "almost there" because it's usually not true (or not true enough to make me feel good about it), but this was an accurate enough "almost there" statement that it gave me just the boost I needed to finish strong.

 

Final time: 3:30:39

Soooooo close to my original goal of 3:30, but you know what, I'm okay with it. My adjusted goal after a few weeks of training was 4 hours, so this was much faster than that estimate. Whatever, I'm happy with the result! 

The post-race food and festivities were awesome. Incredible food, tasty Oskar Blues beverages, and a great bluegrass band playing. I would have enjoyed hanging around, but I was cold and wet (from rain and sweat), and we had things to get done at home. Still, it was a great experience and I was really happy that Scott was there with me. I highly recommend this race to anyone who loves trails!

Edit: After many months, the race photos got posted! I made a new entry here. 

Cradle to Grave 30k Training - 2 Weeks to go

Weekly recap:
Again, not a perfectly executed week, but pretty good overall. Nervous and excited that now I'm less than a week away from race day! eeeeks. Nothing to do but keep myself healthy and rested for the next week. Fingers crossed on that one.

Weekly Steps:

Another week, another streak. 

I think that officially makes it one month of goal reached! Last time I didn't make 10k was April 5th. We'll see how long I can keep this up!

Monday
Planned: strength
Did: .5mi elliptical + strength & core
Today was another good strength session. Somehow I seem to have gotten over my strength training funk that I was in for a long time. Maybe I've finally stuck with it enough that I'm seeing improvement? Who knows.
Warmed up with 0.5mi on the elliptical (didn't run because TIRED LEGS), then proceeded with a "Perfect 10" workout (did 10 reps of everything). Now that I can do a full 3x10 for everything, it's time to start upping the weights next time.

pull-ups (30lb assist)
tri-dips (30lb assist)
hamstring curl (40lb)
quad extension (40lb)
-----
hammer curl (2x18lb)
tri cable pulldown (40lb)
goblet squat (40lb)
-----
bench press (65lb)
side-step w/ band
-----
rotator cuff (2x4lb)
arm side raise (2x4lb)
upright row (50lb)
seated leg press (70lb)
calf press (70lb)
-----
arnold press (2x14lb)
deadlift (40lb)

Finished with the P90X Ab Ripper X routine with 10 reps for each move.

Tuesday
Planned: #10kTuesday
Did: 6.23 mi @ 9:57/mi
Ran the cross-country course today to get some more off-road miles under my belt. I was tired and walked a bit due to some soreness/tightness in my left calf. I'm sure it's just residual tiredness from the weekend's long run. It was really nice out, and I got to run through the fields of flowers :)

Pretty day on the trails

Wednesday
Planned: bike ride
Did: 10.8mi @ 12.5 mph
Robin and I did the Upstate Loop plus the extra hill at the beginning. Beautiful day for a ride and felt great out in the sunshine! Got some hill sprints in for an extra push.

Thursday
Planned: speedwork or hills
Did: nothing
Work and stuff and things. Also rain. Blergh.

Friday
Planned: yoga
Did: yoga and Swamp Rabbit 5k
I did yoga at lunch as planned (yay!) which was a good stretch sesh as always. That evening was the GHS Swamp Rabbit 5k in Travelers Rest. I have avoided this race for several years due to it being far too large for the small town that hosts it, but decided to give it a try thinking that it surely couldn't be as bad as I'd remembered it (spoiler alert: it was).

I arrived in TR around 5:15pm, picked up D, and headed down main street to park. I parked at a local beverage shop that I needed to go to later anyway, and it was far enough from the park where the race started, I figured it would be less chaotic. I cursed as I pulled in the driveway, thinking there were already no parking spots left... thankfully I found one. Halleluia. Loaded D up in the stroller and headed down to the pre-race festivities. Picked up my bib and shirt, chatted with some friends who were also running, then headed to the start line area with about 30 minutes before race start.

And then it started raining.

I wheeled D over to a tree that we stood under, and I huddled myself under his stroller cover. With about 10 minutes to go, I went and got myself in line for the start. This is the biggest issue for this race: self-seeding start corrals. There are signs that marked pace guidelines for where you should line up: <6min, 6-7min, 7-9min, 10+min, and then Walkers/Strollers. I quickly decided to line myself up by anticipated race pace, not by "stroller" category, despite repeated announcements by the organizers that STROLLERS GO IN THE BACK.

No. No they do not.

Anyway, I nestled into the ~9min/mi pace group and exchanged knowing glances with a few other rogue stroller runners. Right at 6:30pm, we were off, and the chaos began immediately. Like most races, there's the initial surge then stop as people do something as they cross the start line... hesitate? Start their Garmin? Who knows, but it happens at every race.

I ended up walking almost a full block before I could start to carefully trot. I weaved in and out of the crowd as much as possible, but constantly was stuck behind blocks of people. Inevitably, within 100 yards of the starting line there were people in front of me WALKING already. Seriously people, you cannot do that and finish with an 8min/mi pace. Just no. You should start in the back.

This chaos and frustration continued throughout the entire 3.1 miles of the race. I never got to a point where I felt I could run freely the pace I wanted to. Even  up the hills I was passing people left and right. I don't think I've ever cursed so much during a 5k.

"Just get me to that d@mn finish line."

My little running buddy. 

Despite the frustration and crowding, I managed to finish in 27:42 (8:50 pace, just like I lined up for!).

669/3628 overall
173/2084 overall women
24/428 age group women

I will say, what I like about this race is that it is accessible to non-runners. It's on an "easy" course (though it's actually not that easy... the fact that it finishes on the Swamp Rabbit trail belies the hills early in the course!). It's cheap ($6, and you get a shirt!). It really does appeal to those who have never done a 5k, and of course that's why you have all of the problems with self-seeding.

Anyway, I'll stick to volunteering for this one in the future.

Saturday
Planned: March of Dimes 5k Walk
Did: March of Dimes walk (~3.5mi in about an hour)
I wore my Garmin, but completely forgot to turn it on. Oh well. It was a beautiful walk for a beautiful cause. So happy I could share it with D.

Sunday
Planned: long stroller run
Did: 10.05mi @ 9:50/mi
I met up with Robin at Furman and she joined me for the first 6 miles of the run. (She's starting marathon training for her first marathon! Woohoo!!) 😃
We did a loop through campus then headed south on the Swamp Rabbit for the remainder of the miles. After we parted ways, D and I ran north for a little out-and-back to finish off the 10-miler. Felt great in the unseasonably cool weather, and happy to share part of the run with a buddy! Also pretty excited that my splits for 3 of the final 4 miles were all sub-9 pace (8:45, 8:34, 8:31 for Miles 8, 9, and 10 respectively). Holler!

Post-run selfie by the Furman Lake.