Monthly Archives: March 2015

Tired. Need More Sleep.

Unsplash / Pixabay

This weekend, I did another 12 mile run, and it was rough.  I didn’t get enough sleep the night before (thank you, basketball), and I just wasn’t feeling it.  It was a slog to just get started, but I forced myself out.

This run was another paced run, where I had 4 miles of warmup and cooldown and another 8 at set paces.  I think I’m supposed to be working on getting faster.

With my brain half asleep and my body fighting me, I just could not find my pace.  But I wasn’t too slow.  I was too fast.  I can’t decide if this is a good thing or not.  On one hand, it’s awesome that even a bad run can be faster than anticipated.  On the other hand, I really need to learn to pace myself.

When I let myself run too fast, that’s when I run into heart rate issues.  I push too hard and my HR monitor beeps at me, telling me I need to slow down.  Usually, I don’t have that problem on a training run, but I did yesterday, early in the run.  I managed to settle in and clear that up, but it’s something I’m going to have to keep an eye on, especially as the temperatures rise with the changing seasons.

It can be frustrating to not be able to push as hard as I want and to have to slow down just when I’m feeling fast, but the other option is to just not run at all, so I have to remember to be thankful that I can be out there in the first place.

Strength Training

jboelhower / Pixabay

One thing that my current training plan has been lacking is strength training.  It’s my own fault – it’s the one area that I don’t make the time for.

And it’s clear that it’s one area that I need to make time for.

Last night, with the threat of approaching thunderstorms, I made the decision to not go to swim practice and instead stayed home and lifted weights.  There is nothing more frustrating than driving the 30 minutes to swim only to get in the water and immediately have to get out due to lightning in the area.  I didn’t want to completely miss a workout, so I figured weight lifting was a good substitute.

Years ago, I bought the Beachbody program ChaLEAN Extreme.  It’s a weight lifting program focused on slow controlled movements using body weight and free weights.  It’s a good program that gives me about a 35-45 minute workout.

It was tough.  I had to drop my weights well below what I used to lift.

It was definitely a good reminder that I need to get back to weight training.  Maybe I’ll just ease in with once a week.  It’s better than nothing.  The last time I tried to add weights back in, I decided that I would get up early in the morning, lift, go to work, then come home and do my triathlon training.

Yeah, that didn’t last.  It was too much.  Instead, I need to slot in the weight work where I can, and as I get more used to it, add in more workouts per week.

Does anyone else do strength training at home?  I’d love to hear what your plan entails.

Wednesday Workout Recap

Last week was a recovery week.  Allegedly.  Oh, to be back in the days where I didn’t workout so many hours each week.

Monday – Choir rehearsal!  It’s lovely to be back.

Tuesday – 7 mile run. This one was tough.  I hadn’t gotten a ton of sleep the night before and just wasn’t in the mood.  But I got it done just the same.  I’ve found that I frequently don’t want to do my Tuesday night runs, but I always feel better for doing them.

Wednesday – Bike trainer workout.  I have got to work on getting my RPMs up.  I’m pretty decent at powering through, but I’m terrible at spinning fast.  Practice, practice, practice.

Thursday – Team Fight swim.  Love this.  Lots of sprints and my body still isn’t used to being back in the pool, but it’s so good to be back.

Friday – 45 minute run.  My quads were so tired today.  Coach told me to stop whining.  She’s mean.

Saturday – Rest Day.  I should start lifting weights again.  And yet I did not.

Sunday – 12 mile “easy” run.  Somehow, I did this almost as fast as last week’s paced run.  I guess all this work really is making me faster.

Do The Time, Get The Results

IMG_2171This is actually what my planner says for tonight’s workout.

I cannot tell you how much I mentally hate mid-week speed workouts. Physically, they feel awesome. But staring down that workout, knowing that I’m sleep deprived from Monday’s choir rehearsal and tired from work… it’s tough to convince myself to go.

But it’s worth it.  I’ve seen so much speed improvement over the past few months.  Sure, I’m still not fast by anyone’s standards, but I’m definitely seeing results and that’s the key.  I’m not trying to be better than anyone else.  I’m just trying to be the best that I can.

So think of me tonight while I slog away on the treadmill for many, many miles.

Maybe for a recovery drink, I will have another kale smoothie with peach schnapps.  It’s surprisingly delicious.

 

Where does the time go?

When I set my race schedule for 2015, I remember thinking “Oh, I have so much time to train for all of these races.  And yet the races are coming faster than I thought.

Cherry Blossom is in under 3 weeks.  Two more weeks of training and a nice taper to get me ready.  I’m excited about this race.  I don’t have a PR in me (my 10 mile PR is from before my heartrate issues were diagnosed and I don’t know that I’ll ever get back to it), but I’m hoping for a really strong race.

My first triathlon of the season is in 7 weeks.  This kind of terrifies me more than it should.  It’s “only” a sprint, but it’s going to be my first open water swim of the season, and that never goes well for me.  I’m hoping to get a chance to get into the water at a practice somewhere in the weeks before.  But when you’re looking at early may, open water swimming is a bit limited.

And then it’s 12 weeks until my big race of the season, Challenge Williamsburg.  I’m doing the olympic distance, and I’m confident I can be ready for that one.  12 weeks is a long time, right?

Oh wait, I was just talking about how time flies.  Fingers crossed, I guess.