So, in the week getting back from Miami, I have been doing my best to get back into a routine. I feel like that is what my life ends up being a lot of: Be in a routine. Travel. Recover from travel. Eat healthy and feel good. Eat like crap. Try to recover from eating like crap. Exercise regularly. Travel and fall off. Try and get back on board.
Maybe I should take the word "try" out of all those things, because, to be honest, I do a pretty good job of bouncing back into the swing of things once I get back in town. I was at the gym every day this week, cooked some yummy foods that my body needs, cut back out the processed stuff (as much as possible) and alcohol. And I've been feeling good!
Workouts for the week following the half marathon included:
(Last) Monday: 20 minute bike ride.
It might not sound like much, and truly, it wasn't much. But it was a good easy recovery ride and really the main purpose of it wasn't to gain any actual fitness out of it, but to speed up the process of getting back into a routine. I made it back from Miami at around 4:00 p.m. and felt so wiped I honestly could have just slept the rest of the day, but I made myself put in some saddle time. I hadn't been on MY bike since the previous Saturday and had only done a short bike ride when in Miami. As the triathlon gets closer, I am going to have to figure a way to get cross training in on the road, because it is shaping up that I will have a lot of trips between now and May 22. So, Monday, could easily have been a rest day (and pretty much was) but did a quick 20 minutes to get in the feel of it and get my butt used to being in the saddle!
(Last) Tuesday: 45 minute ride + 15 minute run.
Tuesday I slept in. It wasn't my original intention, but it happened. I didn't work out in the morning and felt sort of sluggish all day because of it. Why don't I ever remember how I feel when I DON'T workout when my alarm goes off? Every day my mind immediately jumps to all the reasons why I deserve to sleep in every day!
However, I did still get a good workout in. I came home after work and I did a 45 minute ride on my bike trainer and then threw on some clothes and head outside for a 15 minute run. It was raining and that always makes it feel a little more badass to be able to get a run in while raining.
This was my first "brick" workout of this training cycle where I immediately go from doing one sport to another. It is something I'll definitely be working to include more of as training progresses!
Wednesday: Morning swim practice + Boxing + Weight Lifting class
This was a pretty busy day, but it felt good to spend so much time at the gym. I was feeling really focused this week on wanting to get the swim and bike workouts in that I missed while I was away last week. Plus, I wanted to be sure to get in strength training too. Right before I left for Miami, I signed up for a 60-day challenge at my gym and as part of it, you get a number of group training classes. I signed up for the "Lift" focus that has you focus on strength, toning, and weight lifting. I thought I would learn a lot from this and it would be a good way for me to get in the strength training that is often easy for me to skip. I will be doing those on Wednesday evenings from now on.
In the morning, I can't for the life of me remember what we did in the morning swim workout, but I definitely had my mind on Bruce and it kept me motivated. The class had a huge focus on proper form and it was a shorter workout with lots of drill exercises, although I don't remember exactly what they were. Woops!
The other interesting thing that happened on Wednesday when I was at the gym all day was that I learned that I am apparently "nominated" for some sort of an award at my gym. I find out if I get the award in a couple weeks when they have this big evening celebration thing.
I honestly have no idea what this award consists of, but I am guessing it has to do with the fact that I recently referred about 3 people to the gym. I seriously do love it, so I have no problems raving about the gym (Windy Hill Athletic Club in Atlanta!) to anyone I come across. I'm guessing this is just something silly, but it is a great marketing ploy by the gym because I will tell ya, I did feel a bit like the dad in A Christmas Story when he gets his leg lamp and felt pretty special by this. And you guys know I love to feel special.
Thursday: 3 mile run at easy pace
Since the day before was a long day of workouts, I gave myself Thursday to be an easier almost "rest" day. In the morning I went to the gym and did a 3-mile run on the treadmill at an easy pace of 10:00 minute miles. I was kicking myself for not coordinating with friends to run in the morning together but it was okay and I got the easy run in before going to work.
In the evening I had a few extracurricular activities (a work dinner followed by a friend's birthday celebration) and it was a huge test of my self control. I mean, I did indulge a bit but I passed on the ridiculously delicious looking bread and all the desserts. Ugh, trying to be healthy sucks sometimes. I deserve points for avoiding some of this deliciousness.
Friday: Swim + 40 minute bike ride
I started Friday with a swim at the gym, per my usual Friday routine. This time I remembered to write down my actual practice.
300 Warm Up Swim
200 Warm Up Kick
200 Warm Up Swim
4x through...
2x75 (Kick-Drill-Swim)
2x50 (Choice)
2x25 (As Fast As Possible)
200 Cool Down
Following the practice, I went home, which is outside of my normal routine. I was working from home on Friday, which allowed me to have a little more time in the morning. I came home and jumped on the bike trainer to make the morning a little bit of a brick workout. It is probably not considered an official brick since they were not immediate back-to-backs, but I at least got them in pretty close to one another. Working from home can be pretty nice.
Since I got both my swim and my bike done early in the day, I was able to spend the evening being super duper lazy and on the couch. I am definitely prepared to enter my 30s because this is an ideal Friday night for me.
Saturday: Short hike.
I spent my Saturday morning at Kennesaw State Park exploring some of the trails over there. I had never been and was really excited to spend the morning there. There are some great trails and paths and even places to run so I definitely need to head back there more. There's also a ton of history there, so my education of living in the south can keep growing as well.
Sunday: 90 minute bike ride + 30 minute run
Sunday began lazy and then I made a few adjustments on my bike to get it ready to ride outside and head out on the Silver Comet trail. I decided to ride for time rather than distance and try and get an estimate of how many miles I ride in a given period of time. I rode for 90 minutes and that totaled 23.41 miles on the bike, which is about 15.2 miles per hour.
It was about 60 degrees out when I went riding and it was pretty chilly on the bike. My feet were totally numb when I finished riding. I tried to run around the parking lot just to shake my legs out but it was so hard to run with numb feet. Otherwise, I felt pretty decent on the bike and it was nice to be outdoors after a month of riding on the trainer.
Helmet hair is back!
About an hour later after my bike ride I went out and ran for 30 minutes with Movers and Pacers, which ended up being 3.23 miles. My legs definitely felt stiff, but I was glad that my pace was okay and actually improved as I went along, which is always good. My friends and I decided to wear our Miami shirts to celebrate and I really do love the color and shirt from the Miami Marathon. A lot of race shirts, I don't end up wearing but I like this one!
Monday: Swim (total 3100) + Yoga
I was back to my traditional Monday workout routine (which I love) this week, that consisted of a swim in the morning and yoga class in the evening. I feel like it is such a great way to follow up a tough weekend workout, which I felt like I had on Sunday (I was tired after that bike ride and run.)
My swim felt awesome in the morning. Coach Bruce is definitely keeping me motivated from up above and challenging me to push myself a bit harder than usual in the pool. I am enjoying it and wish that he was around to see me.
400 Warm Up
4 x 75s (Kick-Drill-Swim)
4 x 50s (Build)
4 x 25s (Fast)
Repeat 3x through:
200 Pull
2 x 150s (75s Kick-Drill-Swim)
4 x 50s (Fast-Easy on 1:00)
The evening's yoga class was "delicious" which is a word that the yoga instructor uses often. I needed it as my legs have definitely been feeling tight. A foam roll session is also in order, which I tentatively have planned to follow this blog entry!
Tuesday: Speed work 4.25 mile run
Tuesdays I am trying to keep as speed work days at least until the New Orleans Half Marathon is past, because I would like to try and use that race as an official race to try and PR. It would be great to break from 1:57 down to 1:56 or 1:55 (which I have no idea if it is possible for me or not.) My goal to get there is to continue with speed work and long runs up until the race, try and lose a little weight, and give it my best. I know there are some challenges ahead of me with my training, but I am going to give it my best.
Today's workout had me drenched in sweat at the end. I was super proud of myself for finishing it though because it was NOT a workout that I wanted to do at the beginning. I struggled to get myself out of bed and felt tight and lazy, but I powered through and finished the whole thing. Attractive, right?
I was already feeling proud of myself for finishing my workout today, and then as I went to the locker room, I was scrolling Facebook and saw my "On This Day" post for February 2nd. Turns out, six years ago today was the day I made a decision that changed me inside and out. I downloaded the Coach to 5K app on my "iPod Touch" and planned to get it started the next day. I can't believe such a simple decision changed so much and brought so much amazingness and amazing people into my life. If Apple is ever doing an "How An App Changed My Life" campaign, I should be on the list to be highlighted. I can't believe how much has changed since I made that post 6 years ago. Little did I ever, ever know at that time it wouldn't just be "Couch to 5k" but "Couch to Marathoner."
And with that, I will sign off for today. Have a great Tuesday everyone!
Maybe I should take the word "try" out of all those things, because, to be honest, I do a pretty good job of bouncing back into the swing of things once I get back in town. I was at the gym every day this week, cooked some yummy foods that my body needs, cut back out the processed stuff (as much as possible) and alcohol. And I've been feeling good!
Workouts for the week following the half marathon included:
(Last) Monday: 20 minute bike ride.
It might not sound like much, and truly, it wasn't much. But it was a good easy recovery ride and really the main purpose of it wasn't to gain any actual fitness out of it, but to speed up the process of getting back into a routine. I made it back from Miami at around 4:00 p.m. and felt so wiped I honestly could have just slept the rest of the day, but I made myself put in some saddle time. I hadn't been on MY bike since the previous Saturday and had only done a short bike ride when in Miami. As the triathlon gets closer, I am going to have to figure a way to get cross training in on the road, because it is shaping up that I will have a lot of trips between now and May 22. So, Monday, could easily have been a rest day (and pretty much was) but did a quick 20 minutes to get in the feel of it and get my butt used to being in the saddle!
(Last) Tuesday: 45 minute ride + 15 minute run.
Tuesday I slept in. It wasn't my original intention, but it happened. I didn't work out in the morning and felt sort of sluggish all day because of it. Why don't I ever remember how I feel when I DON'T workout when my alarm goes off? Every day my mind immediately jumps to all the reasons why I deserve to sleep in every day!
However, I did still get a good workout in. I came home after work and I did a 45 minute ride on my bike trainer and then threw on some clothes and head outside for a 15 minute run. It was raining and that always makes it feel a little more badass to be able to get a run in while raining.
This was my first "brick" workout of this training cycle where I immediately go from doing one sport to another. It is something I'll definitely be working to include more of as training progresses!
Wednesday: Morning swim practice + Boxing + Weight Lifting class
This was a pretty busy day, but it felt good to spend so much time at the gym. I was feeling really focused this week on wanting to get the swim and bike workouts in that I missed while I was away last week. Plus, I wanted to be sure to get in strength training too. Right before I left for Miami, I signed up for a 60-day challenge at my gym and as part of it, you get a number of group training classes. I signed up for the "Lift" focus that has you focus on strength, toning, and weight lifting. I thought I would learn a lot from this and it would be a good way for me to get in the strength training that is often easy for me to skip. I will be doing those on Wednesday evenings from now on.
In the morning, I can't for the life of me remember what we did in the morning swim workout, but I definitely had my mind on Bruce and it kept me motivated. The class had a huge focus on proper form and it was a shorter workout with lots of drill exercises, although I don't remember exactly what they were. Woops!
The other interesting thing that happened on Wednesday when I was at the gym all day was that I learned that I am apparently "nominated" for some sort of an award at my gym. I find out if I get the award in a couple weeks when they have this big evening celebration thing.
I honestly have no idea what this award consists of, but I am guessing it has to do with the fact that I recently referred about 3 people to the gym. I seriously do love it, so I have no problems raving about the gym (Windy Hill Athletic Club in Atlanta!) to anyone I come across. I'm guessing this is just something silly, but it is a great marketing ploy by the gym because I will tell ya, I did feel a bit like the dad in A Christmas Story when he gets his leg lamp and felt pretty special by this. And you guys know I love to feel special.
Thursday: 3 mile run at easy pace
Since the day before was a long day of workouts, I gave myself Thursday to be an easier almost "rest" day. In the morning I went to the gym and did a 3-mile run on the treadmill at an easy pace of 10:00 minute miles. I was kicking myself for not coordinating with friends to run in the morning together but it was okay and I got the easy run in before going to work.
In the evening I had a few extracurricular activities (a work dinner followed by a friend's birthday celebration) and it was a huge test of my self control. I mean, I did indulge a bit but I passed on the ridiculously delicious looking bread and all the desserts. Ugh, trying to be healthy sucks sometimes. I deserve points for avoiding some of this deliciousness.
Friday: Swim + 40 minute bike ride
I started Friday with a swim at the gym, per my usual Friday routine. This time I remembered to write down my actual practice.
300 Warm Up Swim
200 Warm Up Kick
200 Warm Up Swim
4x through...
2x75 (Kick-Drill-Swim)
2x50 (Choice)
2x25 (As Fast As Possible)
200 Cool Down
Following the practice, I went home, which is outside of my normal routine. I was working from home on Friday, which allowed me to have a little more time in the morning. I came home and jumped on the bike trainer to make the morning a little bit of a brick workout. It is probably not considered an official brick since they were not immediate back-to-backs, but I at least got them in pretty close to one another. Working from home can be pretty nice.
Since I got both my swim and my bike done early in the day, I was able to spend the evening being super duper lazy and on the couch. I am definitely prepared to enter my 30s because this is an ideal Friday night for me.
Saturday: Short hike.
I spent my Saturday morning at Kennesaw State Park exploring some of the trails over there. I had never been and was really excited to spend the morning there. There are some great trails and paths and even places to run so I definitely need to head back there more. There's also a ton of history there, so my education of living in the south can keep growing as well.
Sunday: 90 minute bike ride + 30 minute run
Sunday began lazy and then I made a few adjustments on my bike to get it ready to ride outside and head out on the Silver Comet trail. I decided to ride for time rather than distance and try and get an estimate of how many miles I ride in a given period of time. I rode for 90 minutes and that totaled 23.41 miles on the bike, which is about 15.2 miles per hour.
It was about 60 degrees out when I went riding and it was pretty chilly on the bike. My feet were totally numb when I finished riding. I tried to run around the parking lot just to shake my legs out but it was so hard to run with numb feet. Otherwise, I felt pretty decent on the bike and it was nice to be outdoors after a month of riding on the trainer.
Helmet hair is back!
The Silver Comet was packed and busier than I have seen it a lot of days during the summer. It seems like a lot of people decided to take advantage of the weather today and the parking lot was completely full!
About an hour later after my bike ride I went out and ran for 30 minutes with Movers and Pacers, which ended up being 3.23 miles. My legs definitely felt stiff, but I was glad that my pace was okay and actually improved as I went along, which is always good. My friends and I decided to wear our Miami shirts to celebrate and I really do love the color and shirt from the Miami Marathon. A lot of race shirts, I don't end up wearing but I like this one!
Monday: Swim (total 3100) + Yoga
I was back to my traditional Monday workout routine (which I love) this week, that consisted of a swim in the morning and yoga class in the evening. I feel like it is such a great way to follow up a tough weekend workout, which I felt like I had on Sunday (I was tired after that bike ride and run.)
My swim felt awesome in the morning. Coach Bruce is definitely keeping me motivated from up above and challenging me to push myself a bit harder than usual in the pool. I am enjoying it and wish that he was around to see me.
400 Warm Up
4 x 75s (Kick-Drill-Swim)
4 x 50s (Build)
4 x 25s (Fast)
Repeat 3x through:
200 Pull
2 x 150s (75s Kick-Drill-Swim)
4 x 50s (Fast-Easy on 1:00)
The evening's yoga class was "delicious" which is a word that the yoga instructor uses often. I needed it as my legs have definitely been feeling tight. A foam roll session is also in order, which I tentatively have planned to follow this blog entry!
Tuesday: Speed work 4.25 mile run
Tuesdays I am trying to keep as speed work days at least until the New Orleans Half Marathon is past, because I would like to try and use that race as an official race to try and PR. It would be great to break from 1:57 down to 1:56 or 1:55 (which I have no idea if it is possible for me or not.) My goal to get there is to continue with speed work and long runs up until the race, try and lose a little weight, and give it my best. I know there are some challenges ahead of me with my training, but I am going to give it my best.
Today's workout had me drenched in sweat at the end. I was super proud of myself for finishing it though because it was NOT a workout that I wanted to do at the beginning. I struggled to get myself out of bed and felt tight and lazy, but I powered through and finished the whole thing. Attractive, right?
I was already feeling proud of myself for finishing my workout today, and then as I went to the locker room, I was scrolling Facebook and saw my "On This Day" post for February 2nd. Turns out, six years ago today was the day I made a decision that changed me inside and out. I downloaded the Coach to 5K app on my "iPod Touch" and planned to get it started the next day. I can't believe such a simple decision changed so much and brought so much amazingness and amazing people into my life. If Apple is ever doing an "How An App Changed My Life" campaign, I should be on the list to be highlighted. I can't believe how much has changed since I made that post 6 years ago. Little did I ever, ever know at that time it wouldn't just be "Couch to 5k" but "Couch to Marathoner."
And with that, I will sign off for today. Have a great Tuesday everyone!
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