Monday, November 14, 2022

The Week with the Sore Hamstrings

Monday
Did: 1.3 mi walk + 45 min gym session
Took an early morning walk around the neighborhood to start the day. Got to work and mid-morning I FINALLY got in a good lifting session and mannnnn am I sore. I got the bodyweight workout done (starting over with Week 3 to see if I can finally get through this 6-week schedule) plus some weights in the gym. 
50-40-30-20-10 shoulder taps (R+L=1) and air squats
10-20-30-40-50 skater lunges (R+L=2) and crunches

Tuesday
Did: 6.24 mi @ 7:53/mi avg + 2.42 mi @ 8:28 + 10 min bodyweight workout
Started off the day at the track downtown with a beautiful blood moon (full lunar eclipse!) at the beginning before the clouds rolled in. Did 3x1 mile repeats (7:06, 7:03, 7:02) then felt good enough after finishing that I took an extra loop through the park and back to downtown. Lovely morning! 
Then got the bodyweight workout done when I got home... mannnnn everything is sore LOL
30-20-10 countdown to 3-2-1: Russian twists (1), crunches, Spidey abs (1)

Wednesday
Did: 4.13 mi @ 9:30/mi avg
I am shocked by how sore my legs STILL are. OMG. Hamstrings especially, found it hard to move starting out on this easy run. Whew I hope they will loosen up over the course of the day. Yikes.
Midday bodyweight session: 50 reverse situps, 40 alternating plank toe taps (R+L=2), 30 tri dips, 20 pushups, 10 burpees, 1 min plank hold; then go back up

Thursday
Did: 4 mi treadmill run
My right hamstring is still super painful... worried it might be more than muscle soreness. Ugh. It feels okay after I get it moving (well, at least it doesn't hurt worse) so I feel like just keeping some gentle exercise is the best solution. Ran on the treadmill at the work gym and got in a quick tempo - 1 mile warm-up, 2 mile tempo at 7:30/mi pace, 1 mile cool-down. Not too bad, though I had 3 mile tempo in mind when I started... but decided not to push it.

Friday
Did: 3.1 mi @ 9:58/mi
The rain finally cleared up in late afternoon so I took an easy 5k on the trail before I picked D up from school. Felt pretty good, still sore hammy, but it's finally improving. 

Saturday
Did: 2.3 mi trail run + 4.2 mi hike
Kind of a last minute visit to Paris Mtn State Park, but ended up having a lovely group of folks come out for a hike! Got there a little early and did a quick up and down on Sulphur Springs trail, then met the group and we did the full Sulphur Springs loop (counter-clockwise). Several folks had never been on the hiker-only part of the trail, so that was a fun new experience. :) Turned out to be a lovely morning after the fog burned off.







Sunday
Did: 3 mi walking + 30 min bodyweight workouts
Did a couple of walks (one in the early morning, then one in the neighborhood near church) in the brisk sunny morning - shocking how much temperatures had dropped since yesterday! Then got the last 2 bodyweight workouts done in the evening... finally the hamstring is happy.
4 rounds (15 min total): 3 mins repeating 6x jump squats, pushups, up-downs, shoulder taps (1) / 1 min rest = 14 rounds total
100 Mtn climbers (2), 90 Russian twists (2), 80 high knees (1), 70 air squats w side leg raise (one side only, do the other leg on the way back), 60s plank, 50 skater lunges (2), 40 shoulder taps (2), 30 push-ups, 20 chair dips, 10 burpees = 11:23


The sore hamstring derailed some of my mileage goals for the week but still managed just over 22 miles for the week. Learned my lesson to not go so hard on the weights after not doing any in a while. 

Tuesday, November 8, 2022

How is it November already?

Monday
Did: 3.1 mi @ 7:23/mi treadmill run
I signed up for a Halloween-themed virtual 5k with some friends so I decided to get it done today (also I was short on time, so it worked out well!).
"Everything Hurts and I'm Dying 5k"

wheeeee

Tuesday
Did: 6.29 mi @ 8:36/mi Track Tuesday
Ran track at Furman today, short on time but got 3x1k done (4:17, 4:19, 4:23) and finished out the 10k total for the day. Struggled with some side stitch pain at the end of the run but it went away once I was done with the run. 

Wednesday
Did: 4.53 @ 10:05/mi avg EZ run
Started in the dark and did a loop down to Furman and back. Very glad to be running more this week!

Thursday
Did: 5.0 mi treadmill interval run
Had to run on the treadmill at work (two treadmill runs in one week! insanity!) due to Scott traveling. Decided on 10x400m intervals with 200m recovery between. Increased the pace with each 400m, starting with 7:30/mi and got up to ~5:50/mi for the last one. Felt great!

Friday
Did: 2.3 mi walk
Took a nice walk in TR after my haircut appointment. Such a pretty day!

Saturday
Did: 8.52 mi @ 8:19/mi avg + 7.2 mi mountain bike ride
A good day outdoors despite some less than perfect weather! Started the morning with 8.5 dark + rainy miles on the Swamp Rabbit Trail. Then went up to Bent Creek for a family mountain bike ride. It's been a minute since I rode some real trails, and it was great! 

Sunday
Did: 2.5 mi walk 
Meandered through the neighborhood near church while D was in Sunday School. Rain held off while I walked although my shoes got squishy... ew.


Totals for the week:
27.5 miles run
4.8 miles walked
7 miles biked

Not bad! Still working on getting run total at 30+ mpw for a solid pre-marathon base. Will continue to work on that. 

Monday, October 31, 2022

Aaaand I'm sick.

Monday
Did: 2.4 mi walk
Woke up congested and sneezy. This is expected after not much sleep. Missed my step goal by a few hundred steps but didn't care.... sick and multiple 20k+ days in a row, it was time for a break.

Tuesday
Did: 6.23 mi @ 9:22/mi
A tough 10k Tuesday... really did not feel well enough to run but had to get it done. Wasn't sure I'd have enough time before having to go pick up D from school but was able to squeeze it in. 

Wednesday
Did: 2 walks - 3.4 mi total
Fall colors are just 😍

Thursday
Did: 4.5 mi @ 8:42/mi
Ran on the trail in the morning after school drop-off, felt much better than expected. I think I'm finally getting over this crud.

Friday
Did: 3.2 mi walk
Nice walk in TR on the trail after drop-off today. 

Saturday
Did: 3.5 mi run
This run was a reminder of why I do not run after breakfast. 

Sunday
Did: 2 mi walk
Meander in the neighborhood by church in the misting rain. In awe of the colors on the trees.

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Weekend Wizarding

Monday
Did: 30 min strength + walks

Tuesday
Did: 7.01 @ 8:08/mi
Track Tuesday, did 3x 1mi repeats (7:03, 7:06, 7:01) and felt really good. It was quite breezy but not too cold. 

Wednesday
Did: 3.91 mi @ 10:50/mi
EZ miles today and it was the first COLD run of the season... car said 33F when I finished, and that was while it was sitting in the bright sunshine. BRR! 🥶 Gotta get adapted to this kind of thing for winter runninggggggg :)

Thursday - Sunday
Did: a boatload of walking!
Went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter 👓🗲 in Orlando, FL with a group of friends, so did not do any dedicated exercise but mannnnn did we do a lot of walking! 

Monday, October 17, 2022

Crunchy leaves :)

Monday
Did: 1.2 mi walk

Tuesday
Did: 6.5 mi @ 8:54/mi
Early downtown run, nobody felt like meeting for track but that was ooookayyyy with me. Little bit on the tired side for no good reason, but still got in a nice #10kTuesday run.

Wednesday
Did: all the walks: 1.8 mi + 2 mi + 0.45 mi
And then I realized my Garmin was being wOnKy and not tracking things or syncing to the computer. I reset it about half a dozen times even though it was still tracking steps... I got well over 10k steps, but somehow it "lost" some when I reset it, and it says I only had ~9700 for the day! LIES! Oh well, I know I hit my goal. 

Thursday
Did: 6.52 mi @ 8:18/mi 
Nice speedy run this morning on the Lakeview Lollipop... though with the extra loop at the end it's more of a barbell? Anyway. It was a nice run, though warmer than it has been which was not entirely pleasant.

Friday
Did: 4.02 mi walk
Took a nice long walk on one of the chilliest mornings yet!
Sunrise over Paris Mtn

Mist over Swan Lake


Leaves!

Saturday
Did: 6.05 @ 9:05/mi + 1.4 @ 8:25 + 3.7 mi @ 7:35/mi
All the runs today! Started with the downtown group for about an hour of running, then solo for a little bit while I waited for the Swamp Rabbit Cafe to open so I could get breakfast :)  Finally ran the GE 6k cross-country race on the gorgeous Hartness Nature Preserve. Total of about 11 miles today!
Dawn on the trail

Hartness

Mountains in the distance 

Sunday
Did: 2.8 mi walk
Solo walk around the neighborhood and trails at the horse farm. 





Siiiiiigh, fall. 🍁🍂🍃😍

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Forgot to blog, whoops.

Monday
Did: 30 min strength 
Started the morning at the work gym for a strength session. Still not a good long session but at least got 30 mins done which felt good. 

Tuesday
Did: 7.03 mi @ 8:08/mi Track Tuesday
Felt SO good and strong today, and it was chilly which made it even better. 
400 (98s), 4x800 (3:21, 3:19, 3:16, 3:14), 400 (86s)

Wednesday
Did: 4 mi EZ run/walk, 12-min bodyweight workout, 6 mi bike ride
All the activities today!

Thursday
Did: 7.2 mi @ 8:19/mi avg 
Lakeview Lollipop with extra, plus 3x30s strides at the end

Friday
Did: 2.24 mi walk

Saturday
Did: 9.78 mi @ 8:52/mi 
Batman route! Nice to get in some solid miles before a crazy day.

Sunday
Did: 9 mi bike ride, 2 mi walk

Monday, October 3, 2022

Oh yes, I'm IN for real!

Monday
Did: 30 min walk + 20 min strength training
Stopped at Furman for a short early morning walk on the way to work, then hit the gym as soon as I got to the office. 
20 RFT: 5 pushups, 6 mtn climbers, 7 air squats = 9:15
Didn't do quite the extensive strength workout that I'd had in mind, but more than just the bodyweight workout. 

Tuesday
Did: 6.5 mi @ 8:02/mi avg Track Tuesday + 6 min core
Had a great group today for downtown Track Tuesday! Most of us ended up doing 1k repeats - I did 4x 1k (4:20, 4:13, 4:17, 4:20) + 2x200m (41s each). Felt amazing with the cool fall temps, I almost wished I'd brought some sleeves. 
Did the bodyweight core workout when I got to work.
5 Days of Core:
1- 60s plank
2- bicycle crunches
3- reverse situps
4- Russian Twists
5- flutter kicks
= 6:30

Wednesday
Did: 3.73 mi @ 12:53/mi EZ run/walk + 15-min bodyweight workout + 5.7 mi bike ride
Started off the morning with a run/walk on the SRT - lovely and cool, felt great.

Midday at home, did the bodyweight workout. Improved a good bit on this one vs. 6 weeks ago, so feeling great about that!
2x 90s each, 30s rest between each 90s: shoulder taps, up-downs, high-knees, squat & pulse (hold low squat and pulse), Score is total of each = 
taps 68+70=138
updowns 33+37=70
knees 102+117=219
squats 97+115=212
Finished the day by riding my bike to D's soccer practice.

Beautiful sunset!

Thursday
Did: 7.3 mi @ 8:51/mi including 6x Hill Repeats + 6 min bodyweight workout
Mannnnn what a perfect morning! Chilly and breezy for the group run downtown. Ran 5 miles together then a few of us were brave enough to tackle a few repeats up and down the hill near the Governor's school. 
Did the bodyweight workout once I got to the work gym:
50 RTs, 40 flutter kicks, 30 single-leg glute bridge, 20 crunches, 10 side plank crunch (hold side plank, touch elbow to knee), 10 other side plank crunch, 20 reverse crunch, 30 single-leg glute bridge (other side), 40 flutter kicks, 50 RTs = 5:55

THEN while I was sitting in a meeting, I got the OFFICIAL EMAIL!
🤩🤩

Friday
Did: 3.27 mi @ 12:11/mi avg + 15 min bodyweight workout
Hurricane warnings and school shifted to e-Learning for the day, so my schedule was a bit disrupted. Got out for a run/walk in the mid-morning...intended to just be a walk but with the unknown timing of the storms rolling in, I decided to hurry things up a little by slow jogging some portions. Turned out to be lovely, just a bit breezy!

Got the bodyweight workout done later in the day.
3x 30s each: jacks, fast feet, jump squat, mtn climbers, high knees, TD squat, forward kick (alternating legs), rest

Saturday
Did: 3.6 mi bike ride w/ D
A pretty casual day other than some walking around and a short bike ride with D on the Swamp Rabbit Trail in the afternoon. 

Sunday
Did: 12.35 mi @ 8:43/mi
Long run in the morning and mannnn those temperatures were perfect! Started just before the sun came up and had beautiful sunshine by the end. Finished with 4x20s strides even though I was sooooo tired/hungry. Felt good to give a little push at the end. Beautiful run!