FATS 50k Training - Week 2 of 16

Week 2

Week Starting Thoughts: Feeling really good after a solid week of meeting every workout goal. Hoping to keep up that momentum!
Week Ending Thoughts: Another good week, 100% on-plan. Feeling good!
Miles this week = 18.4

Monday
Planned: strength
Did: strength
Good lift today. Had to get it done early due to meetings and I'm soooo glad I did instead of trying to put it off like I usually do. 3 sets of everything, super-setted by core/PT (20x med ball toe-touch, heels-to-heaven, mason twist, clamshell, pushups, and glute bridges).

8x pull-ups (20lb assist)
10x tri-dips (20lb assist)
10x squat (85lb)*
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8x bench press (75lb)*
side-step resistance band
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10x hammer curl (18lb dumbbells)
10x quad extension (40lb)
8x overhead press (18lb dumbbells)
10x hamstring curl (50lb)*
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10x rotator cuff (6lb dumbbells)
10x bent fwd arm raise (6lb dumbbells)
10x tri cable extension (50lb)*
10x deadlift (40lb)
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*indicates a weight increase from last time (based on my memory, so possibly inaccurate)
I need to find a better way to track this stuff (spreadsheeeeeeeeet).

Tuesday
Planned: #10kTuesday
Did: 6.32 mi @ 8:43/mi
I decided to put a little kick into this workout if I'm going to have any hope at keeping up with the sub-50 group at Peachtree in a couple of weeks. I went easy for 2 to warm up (boy my legs felt like running through peanut butter), went "sustainably hard" for 3, then easy to finish out. Overall goal was to finish in under 55 minutes, which I accomplished with 30 seconds to spare when I hit the 10k mark. I had no real pace in mind for the fast miles, just wanted to push and see what came out of it. The result?

Yassssss sub-8!!

Did NOT expect that, given how slow my typical pace has been lately. Granted, it's barely what I would need for a sub-50 10k time, but at least there's hope that I actually have some speed that is accessible. Apparently my legs are just fine, it's my mind that needs training (isn't that always the case?). ;)

Wednesday
Planned: XT
Did: 7.9 mi @ 12.7 mph
Had to cut the ride short today due to meetings, but got out early with Megan & Robin and did the Upstate loop. Was nice and cool and cloudy, very comfortable for riding!

Thursday
Planned: 2 mi tempo
Did: 2 mi tempo + core/PT, short track race
Did my tempo run on the t'mill due to a) rain and b) short length of run. I wanted to get the most out of this so I figured some closely-controlled conditions would be more ideal. Started out with half mile at 9:00 then steadily ramped up until I hit 2 miles (final ~0.1mi was at 7:03/mi pace). Felt good and not very hard.
Finished up with some core/PT work:
3 rounds:
20x push-ups
20x toe-touch w/ 18lb med. ball
20x heels-to-heaven
20x mason twists w/ 18lb med. ball
20x clamshell (each side)
10x "peeing dog" (each side)
10x donkey kick (each side)
10x glute bridge (each leg, then both legs together)
... and some stretching

Bonus! Short Track Mountain Bike Race
The rain held off just enough for the event to go on as planned, and it was a fun time as always. I think I rode 6 loops in the race plus a practice loop for a total of 5.6mi at a 9.2mph average. I rode the Intermediate/Sport category and was the ONLY female rider, so I won the overall women's race for this category. Sometimes it really is just about showing up!

Super D doing his kids' race

Podium for both of us!

Friday
Planned: yoga
Did: yoga
Good class today, felt good to get nice and stretched out before the weekend!

Saturday
Planned: 10 mi
Did: 10.03 mi @ 9:08/mi
This turned into a bit of a tempo run... I had to get this done early due to commitments later in the day, so I started out around 6:15 a.m. from Furman and ran south on the Swamp Rabbit trail. The plan was to meet Megan, Robin, & Dale at the Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery at 7am where they were going to run north towards Furman. I delayed my start a little bit due to the clouds making it a little darker than I'd anticipated, and I told the group I'd probably be later than 7am for my arrival. I got started and turns out there are lots of people out running on the trail that early! I ran fast to make up time and ended up making it the 5 miles to the Cafe in just under 43 mins, so I arrived right at 7! Took the next few miles easier with the group, then finished out fast to get back to the car for the last 2 miles.
Miles 1-5: 8:51, 8:20, 8:17, 8:03, 7:38 (um, hello negative splits)
Miles 6-8: 9:49, 10:49, 11:07
Miles 9-10: 8:39, 8:34
Felt really good overall, and excited to see that I'm not as slow as I thought I'd gotten.

Sweaty!

Sunday
Planned: XT
Did: bike 21mi
Took D with me for some cross-training today and pulled the bike trailer down the Swamp Rabbit to the park near the zoo. Let him run around for a little while there, then we got back in and headed home. It was tough to pull him but felt strong and happy that we got out of the house because I almost decided to scrap the ride when he was extra whiny this morning and didn't want to cooperate.

FATS 50k Training - Week 1 of 16

It begins.

Week beginning thoughts: Here we go, week #1 and it's a challenge because I'm traveling for work all week (Tues-Fri).
Week ending thoughts: Yep, I was right - but got it done and feeling good!

Side-note on Fitbit steps: my Fitbit battery died early Thursday morning, so I couldn't track until I got home late Friday and charged it. No idea if I met my goal or not. Womp womp.

Monday
Planned: strength
Did: strength
Apparently I've found my groove with strength training because even though I was not enthused when I headed down to the gym this morning, I rocked a solid 50 minutes of weight training. Usually if I'm not mentally into it, I'll poop out after about 30 mins. Woohoo! Now let's see if I can remember everything I did... it was 3 sets of everything...

10x chest press (60lb)
10x leg/calf press (70lb)
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core & PT ("preventive therapy") superset: glute bridges (10x each leg, then 10x together), piriformis stretch, 20x each side leg clamshell, 20x med. ball toe touch (16lb), 20x heels to heaven, 20x mason twist w/ med. ball (16lb), 20x pushups, various other stretching
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8x pull-ups (20lb assist)
10x tri dips (20lb assist)
side-step with resistance band
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core & PT superset
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10x upright row (50lb)
8x arnold curl/press (18lb)
10x quad extension (40lb)
10x hamstring curl (40lb) *these were super easy, need to up weight next time
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core & PT superset
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8x upright rotator cuff (6lb)
8x side arm raise (6lb)
10x dead lift (45lb)

#gymselfie makes me feel perty.

Tuesday
Planned: #10kTuesday
Did: 6.21 mi @ 9:51/mi

This was for today.

Scenario: I had a 7a.m. flight for a work trip and a meeting that was scheduled to start at 2pm (flight arrival ~11:30am). My options for #10kTuesday were:

1. Try to run as soon as I arrived, but with no guarantee of a shower since early check-in wasn't available. Also risk late flights and missing the chance to run.
2. Run after the evening cocktail reception/dinner. Risk saying "screw it" and skipping the run altogether.
3. Run before my 5:15a.m. departure from home. 

I chose Option #3

I decided I was not willing to accept the risk of missing the run due to schedule complications or other lame excuses (tired, hungry, too much wine, etc) so I set my alarm for 3:00 a.m. Yes, that's right. I'm THAT crazy. I actually was pretty excited about it once I decided to do it, and while I was definitely tired I was more than happy to head out the door with the head lamp and go trotting down the neighborhood streets.

Headlamp + moonlight

The moon was pretty bright, and the headlamp (which I eventually ended up holding in my hand) worked well enough. My neighborhood doesn't have as many street lamps as I would prefer, so there were a few dark streets I avoided, but after a few loops I felt pretty comfortable. It was ohhhh so humid, like ZERO air movement at all, even at that early hour. I didn't push pace or anything, just held steady and got it done. Felt so happy to have it done before I left. What a mental relief! I do not think I will make a habit of this, though. Good to know it's an occasional option. ;)

Wednesday
Planned: XT
Did: treadmill intervals (3x400) = 2.0 mi @ 8:30/mi
I had a shorter morning before the conference breakfast started today vs. tomorrow, so I did the quick workout today. Headed to the treadmill in the hotel gym. My plan just said "2 miles"' but I've decided my shorter weekday runs will be some kind of speed or hill work. Today was intervals, which usually is some number of quarter-mile ("400m") at approximately 5k-pace (~7:00/mi). With the run only being two miles, I didn't have time for much, so I warmed up with a half mile @ 6.5mph (9:15/mi) then did three speed intervals @ 8.5 mph (7:04/mi) with a recovery interval after each (same as warm-up pace). I almost felt guilty that my workout was <20 minutes total, but I've also told myself that I should take the easy runs when I can get them!

Thursday
Planned: 2mi INT
Did: stationary bike, 11mi @ 16.4mph
Really didn't want to get out of bed today. Conferences are just hard... you want to stay out and socialize ("network") but zomg so tired. Plus ALL THE FOOD, all day long, makes me feel so blahhh. Anyway, I got my butt out of bed and down to the gym, and pedaled away on a "random" program on the stationary bike. At least it was a normal bike and not a recumbent. I struggled through the first part but felt better after I got warmed up and started working up a good sweat. Glad I made myself do this!

Friday
Planned: yoga
Did: 15 mins hotel room yoga
It was pretty half-assed, but I tell myself it's better than nothing. Observation: I am not good at yoga first thing in the morning. Soooo stiff.

Saturday
Planned: 8 mi run
Did: nothing
After both Scott and I traveled all week, we enjoyed a day together as a family doing nothing in particular - took D to the playground, family grocery shopping trip, household chores, family dinner. Definitely needed.

Sunday
Planned: XT
Did: 8.33 mi run + 18 mi bike
I hadn't intended to actually do two exercises today, but I do feel happy that I made it through my first week of training without skipping any workouts! Started out the morning with 8.33 miles through Green Valley. I got out the door just after 7 am and it didn't feel too hot yet. I was pretty slow (9:46/mi avg) but I attribute it to travel hangover and some stomach issues I've battled the last 48 hours or so. I felt progressively better throughout the run, which is always a positive thing.
After I got back, had breakfast, we decided to go on a family bike ride (that's what Scott wanted to do for Father's Day). Unfortunately he injured his knee last week and wasn't sure he could pull D in the trailer, so we hooked it up to my bike and I pulled him for a ride down the Swamp Rabbit trail and back for a total of 18 miles. Surprised I felt pretty darn good, but definitely tired by the end!

Recovery/Bridge Week (4 of 4)

Lots of question marks on the schedule this week. Those will disappear for the next 16 weeks after this. 0_0

Forgot to post steps, but I'm 100% on goal for this week!

Monday
Planned: ?
Did: nothing
Had to take the afternoon off to get D to his dentist appointment. We went to the park afterwards, then ran from thunderstorms.

Tuesday
Planned: #10kTuesday
Did: 6.23 mi @ 9:50/mi (trail)
Hit the trails today for a cross-country 10k Tuesday. I don't know if it was heat-, food-, or sleep-related but I struggled today. Woof.

Wednesday
Planned: bike ride
Did: neighborhood stroller walk 
Home with an ill child today. Not sure what's wrong with him, but we were both awake every 1-2 hours through the night and he remained unhappy most of the day. Awesome.

Thursday
Planned: run
Did: bike ride, 14.4 mi @ 15.9 mph
To make up for missing yesterday, I went for a solo ride at lunch today. Did the Sherman College loop and it was gorgeous outside. A little breezy, but very low humidity and lots of sunshine. Felt really good to get out!

Friday
Planned: ?
Did: nothing
Worked from home to get caught up on work before being out most of next week (work travel).

Saturday
Planned: Sunrise 8k
Did: Sunrise 8k
Race Report here.

Sunday
Planned: ? 
Did: 9.08 mi @ 10:45/mi w/ stroller 
Tired from race effort yesterday, and pace showed it! Plus it was already pretty hot when we got started just before 9am. Ran all the roads in the neighborhood (1,500+ feet of elevation!) and actually felt the best for the last 2 miles or so. Feet started hurting towards the end, so not sure if I need new shoes or just need to get my feet used to more time pounding the pavement. I thought about working in some foot-strengthening PT at some point (golf ball on the soles, and some towel scrunching with toes). We'll see if I actually do this or it's one of those fleeting "I should stretch more" type thoughts. :P

Race Report: Sunrise 8k

Saturday, 10th June
Start time: 6:16 a.m. (sunrise!)
Distance: 8k (4.97 mi)
Previous times: 37:44 (2013), 38:21 (2012), 40:30 (2011)
PR for 8k distance: 35:18 (Turkey Day 8k, 2013)

Pre-Race

Not much to say about this... I didn't do early packet pick-up, and left the house late on race morning so I didn't even do my own race-day packet pick-up! (Thanks, Megan & Robin, for getting my stuff).

Race

I barely noticed that they were getting ready to start the race... that's the nice thing about a) running with friends and b) not having a goal for this race. Nothing to really worry about, just run it! A quick countdown and we were off. The first half mile of the race has a few rolling hills before it stretches out onto a long, straight, flat mile. I felt like I was running at a pretty good clip and had a fleeting thought of maybe PR-ing, but when I passed the first mile marker and the volunteer called out a "7:45" time, I knew a PR was already out of reach. No way I was going to run sub-7 for the remaining 4 miles. In a way, I was kind of glad because it let me just relax a little, run what I felt, and enjoy the race instead of pushing to go faster than I wanted.

The rest of the miles ticked by pretty uneventfully. I love this race since it weaves through a subdivision where one house always has a sprinkler running and spraying into the road for runners to pass through. They've changed the route over the past few years and it no longer goes up the "big hill" (it wasn't steep, just a long gradual incline). I'll admit I was a little disappointed! I kept looking for the hill and it never came.

The race swag consisted of socks and a pair of "finisher" flip-flops. Pretty sweet!

Finish time: 37:50, #3 Age Group
(though my watch said 37:40 - no chip timing for the start line)

Recovery/Bridge (Week 3 of 4)

Weekly summary thoughts: One more week until the "real work" starts. Enjoyed this week being able to be a bit flexible and got in a really great ride on Sunday!

Back on track with steppin'!

 Monday
Planned: run
Did: 8.09 mi @ 9:56/mi
Took the rare opportunity for a long solo run and ran the hills of Green Valley before breakfast. Turns out I don't run very well on an empty stomach. Oh well. And oddly enough, the "hilly" neighborhood of Green Valley was about half of the elevation gain of my stroller run from Saturday! Still, felt good and happy to get out for a nice early morning run.

Tuesday
Planned: #10kTuesday
Did: 6.28 @ 9:48/mi
I think 4 straight days of endurance activities (>1hr duration) is wearing on me. I felt super sluggish on this run, though running the cross-country trails doesn't always give me a good feel for just how fast or slow I'm running. I was thinking I should probably try some speedy 10k runs in the weeks leading up to Peachtree in July to see if I can tune-up for the race, but I'm also like "eh, don't wanna". We'll see what the next weeks bring.

Wednesday
Planned: strength
Did: strength
Good session today, almost a full hour of lifting! I was tired going into it and didn't know if I'd have the motivation to push through, but once I got going it was alright.

3x10 squat (80lb)
3x8 pull-up (20lb assist)
3x10 tri dip (20lb assist)
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core super-set: 20x toe-touch w/ 16lb medicine ball, 20x heels-2-heaven, 20x mason twist w/ 16lb medicine ball, 20x reverse crunch on stability ball, 20x pushups
Side commentary: 20 push-ups in a row seemed like totally nbd today. whaaat??
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3x8 hammer curl (18lb)
3x15 calf press (70lb)
3x10 upright row (wide arms and narrow arms, 50lb)
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core super-set
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3x10 tri cable pull-down (45lb)
3x10 chest press (60lb)
3x20 side-step resistance band
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core super-set
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3x10 rotator cuff (6lb)
3x10 out-stretched curl (6lb)
3x10 goblet press (10lb)
3x10 deadlift (45lb)
Commentary: I'm not actually sure "goblet press" is the right term for what I did... 

I basically did A & C (skipped the squat part) and kept my elbows narrow. 

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core super-set

Fun fact: I learned the difference between Russian Twists & Mason Twists! They're essentially the same motion & target the same muscle groups, but Mason Twists require feet be OFF the ground, so are the harder version of a Russian Twist. #learning #doyouevenliftbro

Thursday
Planned: rest
Did: not exactly rest, but no exercise
We have an associate from our Shanghai office visiting this week, so we took her on tours of some of our manufacturing plants. It's been several years since I'd seen them, so I tagged along. It was really cool to see it all, but boy I was exhausted by the end of the day from being on my feet!

Friday
Planned: bike ride
Did: 10.7 mi @ 11.5 mph
Robin and I had a lovely bike ride at lunch today! We did the Upstate loop plus the Hill loop at the beginning. Felt good and enjoyed the sunshine.

Saturday
Planned: run & Freak Bike
Did: short stroller run - 4.4mi @ 9:17/mi
I'd had a longer stroller run in mind for today, but D was having such a good time playing on the playground before we got started that I went ahead and let him play. We still had a good run afterwards and then went about our grocery store trip.
Sadly, Freak Bike didn't get organized so that got scratched from the plans.

Sunday
Planned: probably run
Did: Paris Mountain bike ride w/ Megan - 22.3 mi 
Got a text from Megan earlier this week asking if I'd be up for a Paris Mountain road ride. I said heck yes! We met up at Furman and set out from there. First was the climb up Altamont Road, which was beautiful this morning, and then we meandered through the neighborhoods on the other side of the mountain. It was really pretty and we discovered some more tough hills to tackle! We got back to campus with enough time for a few more miles down and back on the Swamp Rabbit trail. Such a good morning!

Dat hill tho.

We made it to the top!