Birthday Week

Monday
Did: strength
Finally, a normal day of lifting! Getting my PT worked back into the routine, avoiding pull-ups and bench press (doing upright chest press machine instead) but otherwise mostly the usual lifts. Feeling good and strong.

Tuesday
Did: #10kTuesday 6.20 mi @ 8:25/mi
Ok, this was my marathon pace and it felt SO HARD and SO FAST. Funny how a few months can change things like that. Met up with the early downtown crew and it was crazy warm (like 61??) and ridiculously windy. I am going to need to do something to maintain speed because I'm struggling to keep pace with this group lately. They are speedy! Thankfully they were only doing ~5, so I got to ease off on the last mile and a half after I split off from them. Still, SO happy to do this run early and get it done.

Wednesday
Did: 3x3x400 treadmill (total 5.25 mi) #speedworkWednesday
First of all, I slept REALLY WELL last night. 🙌

Nearly 8.5 hours total. That blip at 4:30am is waking up to pee, and not a stir otherwise.

Did a new speedwork routine on the treadmill this morning and really liked it! Thanks to a pre-run 💩 I was scrolling Instagram and found this routine that someone posted (I follow the hashtag #motherrunner):

Hmm... yep, doing this!

I read it and thought "hmm that seems challenging but doable" so off I went.

The 10k pace seemed way too easy. I guess that's legit since I was doing a 400 of something I am capable of doing for 6+ miles. The 5k pace felt good, like I was actually working. The 1-mile pace was hard but still totally doable. I might need to bump up the paces on the 5k and 1M for the next time I do these repeats. I haven't raced a 5k at what I'd consider "full capacity" in a long time, so my PR is still just south of a 7:00/mi pace. I've never raced 1M, but I'm assuming my time would be in the 6-6:15 range.

Progressive 3x400. SO many splits. 

One nice thing about this workout is that doing 200m on a treadmill involves some odd math, so that provided a nice distraction rather than just ticking off quarter miles. I definitely felt plenty recovered after 200, so this may be a new tactic I use.

Anyway, felt great through this workout and really enjoyed it!

Thursday
Did: 10.8 mi road bike ride
Got out on the bike with Robin at lunch today. Cool at first, but felt good once we got moving! Hills were challenging but was a good ride on the USC Upstate loop + the hill loop at the beginning.

Friday
Did: 30 min yoga + 2.5 mi treadmill desk walk
Our yoga teacher didn't show up for lunch class today, so we (the other 2 people who showed up for class, and I) dug around and found a 30-min stretch session on a DVD and did that. In the afternoon I spent about an hour on the treadmill desk getting work done, so that was a good supplement to the shorter/easier yoga session.

Saturday
Did: 15.4 mi road bike ride
Got out on the road bikes with Robin after lunch and did a 15-mile hilly loop towards Dacusville via Forestville Road and Old McElhaney. There were several really tough climbs, but overall I really liked the loop. It's hard for the first 10 miles and finishes with easy 5 on the swamp rabbit. I'll have to make this a regular loop to test my climbing abilities! We had a nice ride and saw lots of animals: oreo cows, llama, buffalo, a few dogs, chickens, goats... quite the menagerie.

At the end of one of the longest climbs

Cows and llamas and buffalo, oh my!

Sunday
Did: 6.3 mi Altamont run
Angelina visited Saturday night to celebrate my birthday, and we'd made plans to run Altamont together on Sunday morning. Little did we know we'd end up staying out until 2am, but we soldiered on with our plans despite the rainy weather and getting very little sleep. Totally worth it! The mountain does not disappoint, and running in the rain always makes it feel a little more badass. ;)

We made it!

Back at the bottom - Paris Mtn!

Week Summary:

Running: 17.8 mi / 3x 

Miles biked: 26.3 mi / 2x 

Strength: 1x 

Not as much mileage as I would have liked this week but good consistency with the number of activities. I don't have much else to say right now as I'm desperately in need of a nap. 

Snow Week

Monday
Did: 10.15 mi mountain biking 
Work holiday + daycare is open = mountain biking date with Scott! We headed up to Dupont Forest and biked Reasonover Creek, Turkey Knob, and tried to head down to another creek crossing but were informed by someone coming up the other way that the creek was impassible... soooo we turned around and headed back up and rode the forest service roads back to the car. Not quite the ride we'd planned, but still got a good 10 miles in. I took a spill on an icy patch and have a nice bruise on my elbow, but other than that, a nice cold ride!

Yay bike date!

That is SOLID ice. Very hard.

 

Cool ice needles

Tuesday
Did: 6.2 mi treadmill speedwork ladder
Scott's traveling for work, which meant no early downtown group run today. :( Thought about doing the Pint & Pie run this evening, but worried it might be too chilly for D in the stroller so I didn't want to take the chance of missing #10kTuesday entirely! So, treadmill was the name of the game today... and of course, treadmill requires speedwork, because I cannot just run mile after mile at the same pace. Nope nope nope. Did a ladder workout today, up and down the ladder. 400 / 800 / 1200 / 1600 / 800 / 400 each at 5k pace (~7:00/mi) and a 400 of recovery between each. Skipped the 1200 on the way down the ladder because I miscalculated the total mileage for this workout... no worries. I was glad to skip it by that point! Felt hard after the first 800 and I wasn't sure if I'd make it through the 1200 and 1600, but was able to power through. Whew!

Wednesday
Did: 3.9 mi snow walk
Work and daycare are closed today, so we're at home avoiding driving anywhere. It's too slick out to go for a run (sadface) and I was tentatively planning on strength training at the gym today... not great resources for strength training at home so I opted for a neighborhood walk in the snow. We'll take little dude out later to play, but I wanted to actually get somewhere and get my heartrate up (moderately). Did a pretty solid out and back plus loop, total of nearly 4 miles in a bit over an hour. Roads are NOT going to be driveable for a while until it gets above freezing!

Snowy Neighborhood

Snow

Pretty deep powder

Icy slushy roads

the Reedy River (more like a creek by the time it gets up here to us!)

Thursday
Did: nothing, shoveled snow for 30 minutes
Daycare with limited hours, working from home, work delayed opening = no exercise.

Friday
Did: treadmill desk walk 2.25mi, short lift & 1mi run
I started writing this entry saying "ugh, work took over the day again and I didn't get to work out"; then I stopped and thought, 'NO. I'm going to work out, dangit.'
So I did.
It was a quick one - some random mostly upper body weights, some PT and stretching, and a quick 8:00 mile on the treadmill. Total of 30 minutes working out, but it's better than nothing.

Saturday
Did: 5k race + 7.1 mi run home
Greenville News Run Downtown 5k race report here.

After the race, we went to Swamp Rabbit Cafe for breakfast. Scott ran from downtown to the cafe, we all ate, then he and D drove home while I ran home. It worked out great and allowed us both to knock out a long-ish run today. Pretty happy with a sub-9 pace (8:57/mi avg to be exact), too! It was a beautiful day to run long and solo. :)

I need to get better angles for my pics. Accordion neck is not attractive. 😬

Sunday
Did: 30.5 mi road bike ride
What a gorgeous day to be on the bike! I set out solo from the house and did a loop on Little Texas Rd to Bridwell/Enoree and picked up the Swamp Rabbit Trail in TR. Headed to Furman to meet up with Robin & Dale for Part II. We rode to the north end of the trail, then back down past Furman to the old train car and back. Did just about 15 miles with them, and ended up with a little over 30 total for myself! Longest ride in a good while... super happy to be getting some miles in the saddle. Just looked it up... JULY was the last time I rode over 30 miles!

Week Summary:
Running: 16.44 mi / 3x (short this week due to snowy conditions)
Miles biked: 40.6 mi / 2x (yay!)
Strength: 1x (kind of a half, but I'll count it)

Feeling good. Loving getting back on the bike, but not loving that it's taking my running mileage down. I'm excited to get back into the long run / long bike rides on the weekends, and it seems like I have friends who are also wanting to get on this routine so hopefully will have some external motivation and company to get that accomplished!

Race Report: Greenville News Run Downtown 5k

This is always a great race - people are gung-ho about starting the new year on the right foot and are all excited about running in the cold weather. Especially after the week of snow and ice we had, this was the first "nice" day and you could tell people had been indoors too long! Just lots of buzzing energy and positive attitude out there today.

All 3 of us (Scott, D, and I) signed up for this one... Scott and I doing the 5k, and D for the "kid's run". We did packet pick-up after work yesterday, so we had a relaxed morning which was nice. We ended up both waking up before 6am today for no reason, though, so we definitely didn't need to rush!

We got downtown around 8:15am (race start 9am) and easily got to our company's meet-up spot. This race is part of the Greenville Track Club's Corporate Shield series, the first of the 2018 season, so we had a great group from Milliken who came out to participate!

Team!

Family :)

I decided to be the stroller runner for this race... honestly, I used it as a safety blanket. I could have gone hard for a PR, but I haven't done any hard work since the marathon in November and really didn't want the disappointment of yet another attempt & failure... so I opted for the stroller as my "excuse". Silly, I know, but one of us did have to push it and I usually make Scott do it (bless him) because I'm always "going for a PR". So really, it WAS my turn to do it anyway.

It was chilly (around freezing) at the start, but by the time we got moving it had inched into the mid- to upper-30s and was quite comfortable. Stroller running this race wasn't quite as bad as some of my previous experiences. The start is pretty wide and stays at least 1 lane if not 2 lanes of traffic wide for the entire route. I got stuck a few times behind a barricade of people, but it was short-lived and I got to joke with some folks along the way which was nice. It was a nice change of pace to just be able to relax and enjoy the camaraderie of the race.

"You need a train horn on that thing."

"Aw come one, getting passed by a stroller?!"
"Don't feel bad," (pointing to D) "he's been training really hard for this."

Pace variation shows the challenges of stroller running.

I felt great through it all, never felt over-exerted or really like I was giving 100%, which is fine. That makes me even happier with the results!

Sub-8 average with a stroller? I'll take it. ;)

Still not training for anything lol

Monday
Did: strength

Repeat of last week, with a few extras.

I was feeling uncreative, so just ended up repeating most of last week's workout routine. Seems like even without marathon training, I need to maintain some amount of PT for my hips/glutes... I'll see if this helps avoid the lower back issues I was having over the holidays.

Tuesday
Did: 7.00 mi @ 8:47/mi avg
Ran with the early downtown group for #10kTuesday and then some (they usually do a 7-mile route on Tuesdays). We ended up doing the "RU7" route a bit slower than normal due to black ice EVERYWHERE on the roads and Swamp Rabbit Trail. It was soooo sketchy, and a few parts we walked due to it being like a skating rink. Crazy! Loved getting this done this morning, though, and it felt so comfortable being a balmy 33 degrees outside. #perspective lol

Wednesday
Did: 14.4 mi @ 15.9 mph road ride
Was going to do a short loop by myself at lunch today, but last night Scott recruited his riding friend at work, Donnie, to ride with me. I always feel like he's getting people to babysit me when I ride, but I usually do appreciate the company out on the road. I've ridden with Donnie several times before and he's very low-key, no pressure, good company. Enjoyed the cloudy but oddly warm day (was supposed to be in the 40s but it's in the mid-50s) even though I was way over-dressed. I even took my gloves off halfway through! I need to figure out how to get on the bike more... not going to regain much stamina riding just once a week.

Thursday
Did: 4x400 treadmill + Big 5 stretching
Rain this morning, and needed to get a run in quickly. Did a 4x400 on the treadmill for #SpeedworkThursday, cranking it up to 6:00/mi for the speed intervals. Felt hard but doable. Almost went for a couple more intervals but decided to keep it to 4 since it's been a while since I've done this kind of speedwork.

Whee, heartrate intervals!

Followed with the "Big 5" for stretching (thanks to runner mama friend for the details). It's quick but it's better than nothing, which has been my standard!

1. Quads
2. Glute/Piriformis ("figure 4")
3. Hammies
4. Calves
5. Hip flexors

Hold each side for 30 seconds = 5 mins total. DOABLE. 

Friday
Did: nothing officially, but 1.8 mi walk on the treadmill desk
Had lunchtime obligations so missed out on yoga class, opted for a rest day and just walked the treadmill desk to get my steps in.

Saturday
Did: 6.45 mi Paris Mountain run
Decided to run the mountain today but didn't want to tire out the legs too much, so I opted for the shortest version and drove over to Furman to start from there. Makes a total of a bit over 6 miles instead of 9. It was windy and below 40 degrees, but the sunshine made it okay. I didn't really push for speed or anything, just wanted a nice climb, and I accomplished just that. Splits for the run are below:

1 - approach to Altamont
2 - up the mountain
3 - little blip where I tried to go up the Tower Road, only to find a gate, a "no trespassing" sign, and security cameras. So I turned around, because I'm a rule-follower.
4 - down the mountain
5 - back to campus

23 mins up... 18 mins down.

Loving the mountain!

Sunday
Did: 10.04 mi @ 9:23/mi
This was a disjointed run, but a good long one nonetheless! Started out with about a mile and a half on my own downtown before Megan joined me for a nice 5-miler on McDaniel and Augusta Road. We finished with a loop around Greenville High School and the baseball stadium before heading back to the cars. I was supposed to meet Scott to do a child hand-off, but his plans ended up changing so I headed home and finished my remaining 3.5 in the neighborhood. It was COLD today, but still great run all around.

Week End Summary
Miles run this week: 26.6 (yay!)
Bike: 1x
Strength: 1x

Still pretty aimlessly training... working on some hills in casual preparation for the Ville to Ville Relay in April. Need to nail down a triathlon (or not) to determine whether I need to start my seemingly endless search for a pool. I'm kind of enjoying the aimless training though... for once I'm not letting myself go slack, and I'm enjoying not being tied to a plan. But I'm sure that'll change... ;)

New Year, Same Me!

Monday
Did: 1.08 mi @ 8:44/mi
Finished out the #RWRunStreak with a simple one-miler in the neighborhood. Need to get a plan or something on the schedule because I'm feeling aimless in my runs lately.

Tuesday
Did: 6.2 mi treadmill #10kTuesday

Nope. Treadmill it is!

Chickened out on running outdoors today, though as hot as the gym was I almost would have preferred 14F. UGH.
Did a ladder workout to make it interesting...
ladder intervals @ 7:00/mi
1600 / 1200 / 800 / 400
3x 400 @ 6:30/mi
Tough but manageable. First 10k Tuesday of 2018!

Wednesday
Did: strength training
I finally talked to the physical therapist's office about PT for my abdominal separation... they said their first available appointments were in March. 😐 I'm not going to do nothing / take it easy for 2 months, so I decided whatever "damage" I've done in 2.5 years can't get too much worse if I keep doing what I'm doing for another 2 months. SO I went back to my normal routine, but nixed the mason twists and pull-ups for the time being.

Thursday
Did: 6.2 mi mountain bike ride
Rode the USC Upstate trails with Scott today. With the 10+mph winds and 17F windchill, we figured staying in the relative shelter of the woods was a good idea (spoiler alert: we were right). I bundled up as much as possible, including the Electric Marshmallow jacket. The ride was good... I was a bit pokey and overly cautious since I'm still "getting my legs back" on the mountain bike, but other than that, it was a nice day in the woods. The wind was VERY cold, but eventually everything except my toes warmed up nicely.

Friday
Did: #yogaFriday

Saturday
Did: 8.15 mi @ 8:13/mi avg - "Best 10" route
Ran with the early downtown group to get in some COLD miles. I was super cold (mostly my face and hands) for the first mile or so, but after that I felt good. It was about 12F when I started with 3 others who braved the frigid temps, and one cut short after 4. The rest of us ran 8 and even though I'd wanted and felt like I was getting a decently easy run, turns out we pushed the pace just as much as last week's "easy" Friday Five. Guess I'm pretty happy that I haven't lost as much speed as I think I have!

I also had an odd thing happen... after the run, I got back into the car and cranked the heat while heading home. After a few minutes I noticed my legs were itching like crazy! I thought it was just the normal tingly feeling as they warm back up from being cold, but it was insanely itchy. I got home and realized I basically had hives popping up on my upper legs. I Googled it (because what else do you do??) and apparently it's A Thing. You can be allergic to the cold! #themoreyouknow
Thankfully it went away after 30 mins or so. SO STRANGE.

Sunday
Did: 5.07 mi @ 8:53/mi avg
Headed out after lunch in the much more reasonable temperatures of 28F. Did the reverse of the loop through Green Valley that Scott and I had done last week. I liked this direction! Took a picture of a cool tree, had some really insightful and philosophical things to say about it but don't have time to write as much as I wanted to on that thought. Basically, the tree is your life (the general "your") and each branch represents reaching towards something... a goal, a person, etc - something that leads you down a certain path. There are twists and turns as you're on your way towards that 'something' but in the end, those twists and turns are what make the entire tree beautiful.

"Reaching"

Yep, still cold.

Week End Summary

Miles run this week: 21-ish

Bike: 1x

Strength: 1x

I've decided that while I'm not "in training" for anything, I'll maintain a goal of 20-25 mpw running, 2x biking, and 1x strength. Made that except for only once on the bike this week, but while the temps are this cold, it's tough to make that a reality.