Workout Recap 3/24 - 3/30

Last full week of March!  Holy cow, where is this year going?!  I did think March was a bit of a long month, but yet, not really.  The weather has been kind of crazy, but all in all, it was a decent month for training.

Monday - Cross training and CXWORX.  I ran 11 miles last Saturday and Sunday, so I opted for cross training on Monday.

Tuesday - 7 miles of happiness!  This run felt great!  I went to Body Pump Express at lunch, and even after some killer squats, my legs were ready for a run!

Wednesday - CXWORX and 5 treadmill miles.  I was reeeeeally hesitant to get back on the treadmill after it made my foot hurt last week, but it went ok.  The wind was 40 MPH and there was a high wind warning.  I was happy to stay inside during that.

Thursday - 6 miles outside before work in the drizzle.  It was still nice and warm in the morning, but that drizzle turned to snow later.  BOO.

Friday - REST.

Saturday - 18 miles!  This long run felt fantastic!   It was definitely the confidence boost I needed after the last two weeks.  Next week I'm set to tackle 20!  

Sunday - 4 miles at 8:22.  This was a "recovery" run and I still felt like I was bolting out strong!  My legs felt great after the long run, and I had to really contain myself not to run further.

Workout Recap 2/17 - 2/23

Another week down.  Seriously, time seems to be going way too fast!  I had another solid week, and hit a milestone as well.  It was my first ever 40 mile week.  I know this number is TINY to some runners, but I've really been taking the weekly mileage increase slow and steady.  Truth is, if I didn't work 8-5 every day, I would probably have toyed with higher mileage a while ago.  But I don't have all the time in the world, so I fit in the most quality miles possible.  So far, so good!

Monday - 7 miles on the treadmill.  
Warmup : 7.0, mile @ 7.6, 8.0, 8.1, 8.0, 7.7, and cool down mile.

Tuesday - Body Pump Express (40 minutes) and elliptical.  I honestly don't remember much about this workout!  I did the hill climb preset, and hit a few extra weights, and did 10 easy minutes on the spin bike.

Wednesday - Gorgeous morning to get outside early again!  I kind of forgot what that felt like!  I ran slow, relaxing miles, and it was very refreshing.  CXWORX (30 minutes)

Thursday - Lifted weights for 30 minutes at lunch and headed home to the treadmill for 7 miles.  I think this might have been one of my fastest 7 ever.  Few seconds faster than Monday.  

Friday - CXWORX (30 minutes) and rest the rest of the day!

Saturday - 15 miles, 8:30 average pace.  Just all around awesomeness.  I really struggled mentally on last weeks long run, but this week was much different.  I felt much more relaxed from beginning to end, and ran a better pace as well.  It was a gorgeous morning, so you really can't beat that!

Sunday - 5 miles, fun and easy.  We have snow and cold back in the forecast, so this was my last nice day for a while.  I did a few weights and abs at home after I came in from running. 

Workout Recap 2/10 - 2/16

Last week was my much needed cut back week.  I was totally spent, and found myself fighting major mental battles and doubt about being able to get through this training.  This was a brand new week, and I felt great.  I felt re-charged and ready to get back after it!  That said, the morning running just hasn't been happening lately.  I can't get out of bed in the mornings, luckily it's still too cold and yucky in the mornings to get outside, but the evenings have been perfect.

Monday - 7 miles, pyramid style.  My only early morning and only treadmill workout of the week (WAHOOO!) CXWORX (30 minutes) and crazy, ambitious me went back to the Y after work, to dirty my third pair of workout clothes for the day... and to do some upper body lifting.  I had endless energy!

Tuesday - Body Pump Express and cross training.  40 minutes arc trainer and 20 on the elliptical.  I always do some sort of hill preset on the ellip, and the arc I usually do a cardio section for 20 minutes, and a hill or strength section for the other 20.  

Wednesday - 7 miles outside after work.  I set out with a tempo run goal, but I was in some wicked pain from my blisters, and there was still quite a bit of ice and snow in some spots.  Anyway, I did manage a 2 miles warm up, 4 miles at tempo (7:58 pace to 8:10), and a mile slow to head home.  I was proud of the workout all things considered.

Thursday - Body Pump Express and 7.5 miles after work.  The goal was steady pace miles, and I pulled that off.  It was a perfect evening, and the ice and snow I dodged on Wednesday had all melted. 

Friday - CXWORX (30 minutes) After work I went to the Y and lifted weights for about 20 minutes and then made my way down to the basketball court to shoot some hoops for a while.  It felt amazing.

Saturday - 16 mile long run.  This run was ALL over the place.  Mentally, the first half was ROUGH.  I just couldn't convince myself that I even wanted to do it.  It was a struggle.  The second half was like I was a completely different person.  Out of nowhere, my pace picked up effortlessly, and stayed up.  I finished the run on a major high and felt incredible.  It was a far cry from how I started.  I guess this type of run was a good thing.  It taught me to dig deep, and push through.

Sunday - 4 miles on the treadmill and Level One of 30 Day Shred as some active recovery.  My legs felt fantastic after Saturday, but I kept the treadmill as slow as I could stand it. 

Running and Social Media

I don't remember when I officially became addicted to blogs.  I think it was last year over Christmas break.  I stumbled upon Skinny Runner, and it was all down hill from there.  (Even though she is no longer blogging, make sure to "like" her on Facebook and Instagram)

Speaking of Facebook.... it turned 10 this past week.  Wow.  I personally DID NOT create a Facebook movie to celebrate.  If you did, good for you, if not, good for you too.  I watched quite a few of them.  It always amazes me what they think of next and how everyone always follows the trend.  Like the hashtags on Facebook?! #seriously #hashtagsarefortwitter #everyonesgrandmawhohasfacebookwillbehashtagging

MY POINT of this post is, do you let social media influence, inspire, or effect your running?  I'm the first girl to admit, there is nothing more gratifying post-race than posting your status, or a picture of yourself with your medal and a grin, and hopefully a PR.  I like to tell people I ran.  I'm that girl that posts pictures of their GPS showing their long run or a really fast tempo run some morning.  I record all of my runs with Nike+ and there is the lovely SHARE ON FACEBOOK option.  Yup, I use it.  I don't post or share EVERY run, because that would even annoy me.  But I sure as shoot let everyone know that I ran 15 miles today.

  

WHY?  Am I an attention, notification seeking freak?  Well, no.  For the longest time, I would post my runs or watch pictures for selfish reasons.  I wanted everyone to see how far and how fast I went.  Not necessarily to brag, but maybe show off a little.  I'm totally open to admit that.  But within these past few months of blogging, and diving into marathon training (round 2) I've realized I love to show people what I did so they believe they can do it too!  I know several of my Facebook friends are training for the Lincoln half marathon this May, and a couple of them it will be their first half.  I want to inspire them to get a run in for the day, or give them an idea of what a tempo run is.  I love running, I love talking about running, and I don't care that my entire Facebook page is almost completely cluttered with running statuses and pictures, that's who I AM.

I've been straight up addicted to Facebook since college.  I say I'm not, but seriously, I check it constantly.  Then comes my newest, and even greater addiction... dun dun dun.... INSTAGRAM.

Hi, my name is Brittnee, and I'm addicted to Instagram.

It's kind of crazy that I've connected with total strangers through Insta.  Not just random weirdos, but other runners!  I guess we might be weirdos to some... But it's been so motivating to me.  I love seeing other people's watch pictures, or their Nike+.  It inspires me!  I follow some freakishly fast ladies that I know I could  never keep up with, but I love reading about their runs and workouts.  

Could this be a negative thing?  Well sure.  You have to embrace who YOU are as a runner, and not lose your identity when you dig too far into the social media side.  Just because someone ran a 1:25 half, doesn't mean you have to, or are any less of a runner because you aren't capable of that pace.  I love the saying "we are all runners because we run."  My point of this whole post is social media can be a great aspect of your running, if you let it.  If you see the positives, and feed from the inspiration, it can broaden your knowledge and your passion for our sport.  If you use it only as COMPARISON, and put pressure on yourself, you are setting yourself up for some hard falls.

Favorite time to run

I snoozed through my workout this morning, meaning it looms over my head all day knowing I have to knock it out after work.  I used to be an evening runner, I never once dreamed of waking in the 4am hour to run.  Who does that?!  Oh yeah, me.  

I find it easiest to hop from bed to road or mill and just git-er-done.  The first step out of bed is the hardest, the rest is pretty effortless.  But sometimes the first 20 steps from my office chair after 8 hours are impossible.  In the summer time, if I slept through my run, it meant it just plain wasn’t going to happen that day.  With the winter FREEZING temps we have this week, it’s indoors regardless, so I’ve found myself being more flexible.

I don’t mind the 5pm runs if the weather is decent, or in this case on my treadmill with some episodes of the Big Bang Theory.  After sitting all day at work it usually feels great once I get myself going.  Sometimes getting going is the problem though.  I’ve built a ridiculous tolerance to caffeine, so I can have a Spark at 5pm to get me running and I will still be asleep by 9.  The thing I don’t like about evening runs is they tend to be sluggish just from the sitting and the day’s food.  We all know about GI and running… moving on.

What is your FAVORITE time to run?  If you could get out every day at this time and do your workout, when would it be?  My ideal time for my body is around 7am.  I have time to get up and get fully awake.  If I’m running longer, I will have some breakfast, simple toast and PB2 is usually my go-to.  Since I have to be to work by 8:00 and not be a disgusting mess, this time is weekends only.  Such is life. 

Training updates: I made it outside for my run Monday morning, but then we got spanked AGAIN with ridiculous wind and now ridiculous cold, but NO snow.  I’m hoping for an outdoor long run of 12 miles on Saturday!  Tonight’s workout is speed…. I’m still deciding on what all to incorporate.  Mile repeats or 4x800s.  Decisions!

Workout Recap 1/13 - 1/19

Another training week in the books.  I felt great about the workouts this week, and was able to get outside twice, which made it even better!

Monday – 7 miles (8:25 avg)  Easy run day, and outside.  CXWORX (30 minutes)

 

Tuesday – Body Pump Express (40 minutes) and cross training.  I broke up my hour between the elliptical and the arc trainer (40/20) and had a major sweat going.  I finished up at the Y and headed right to city rec volleyball.  We lost our game, which ended our season.  SAD FACE.

Wednesday – 8 miles on the tread followed by Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred, Level 1 (20 minutes)  I was SWEATY after this, and tried Cellucor's Alpha Aminos for the first time.  I was definitely a fan!  I will do a post this week about Cellucor products I use and why I love them.  This product gives you BCAAs and it's geared toward endurance and hydration, without stimulants.  The fruit punch flavor tastes AMAZING!  Oh, and Lolo rocks.

 

Thursday – Tempo run total of 6 miles, 4 at tempo.  I think treadmill tempos are easy peasy because you just can’t slack.  I felt challenged by this workout, but maybe not challenged enough, so next time I’m upping my tempo pace.

Friday – CXWORX (30 minutes) Body Pump (60 minutes)  *Disclaimer: If you are familiar with these Les Mills classes, the order I complete them in is NOT encouraged.  You shouldn’t do any heavy lifting after CXWORX.  Whenever I take both classes in one day, CXWORX is always at noon and Body Pump is always after work.  The window of recovery time is sufficient and I haven’t had any issues.  If you try this, and find you have back discomfort, make sure to do them on separate days, or take CXWORX after Body Pump , if it’s offered.*  It was the launch night of Body Pump 88, and oh man was I feeling it the next day!

Saturday -  10 miles on the tread.  It was crazy windy outside all day Saturday.  It was reported we had a gust of 67 MPH.  Yikes.  January 18, 2014 the running community dedicated their miles to Meg, who was killed by a drunk driver while out for her morning run.  I was heartbroken to read the story, and it really hit home for me.  My prayers are with her family.

Sunday – 5 mile easy run outside.  I’ve been breaking my “no run on Sunday” rule these last two weeks, mostly because the weather has been great.  I’ll probably do some adjusting once my Saturday runs get higher than 16 miles.

Treadmill Training

I used to be a treadmill hater, but I’ve definitely changed my tune here of late.  When the high for the day is still below zero, outdoor running just isn’t possible.  I’m lucky to have a treadmill at home, because I wouldn’t leave the house to go fight for one at the Y.  With spring marathon training beginning, I definitely NEED Mr. Treadmill!

There are TONS of articles about treadmill training, the good, the bad, the hating, or the loving.  I think it’s a powerful training tool, if used correctly.  I’m not going to say it’s super fun and not insanely boring, but there are ways to make it fun, challenging, and worth your while.  

 

My favorite way to do speed work is on the treadmill.  There is no wind, no cars, nothing in your way, oh and you know EXACTLY what your split will be.   You can make your workout as structured or as unstructured as you want it to be.  Some people go by minutes, I personally shoot for mile repeats, 800s, or 400s.  It’s easier for me to break it down in my head that way for some reason.

Example of some of my treadmill workouts:

 

PYRAMID
Mile 1: 7.0
Mile 2: 7.5
Mile 3: 8.0
Mile 4: 8.1
Mile 5: 8.0
Mile 6: 7.5
Mile 7: 7.2  Total time 55:21
This can be used for any distance.  I set 7 total miles as a goal for this workout.

TEMPO w/ Recovery
Mile 1: 7.0 (warm up and recovery pace)
Mile @ 8.0
400 (.25) @ Recovery pace
Mile @ 8.1
400 @ Recovery pace
Mile @ 8.2
400 @ Recovery pace
Extra miles for distance and cool down, vary the speeds, but within recovery range.

LONG
These depend on the distance and how I’m feeling.  I always start with a warm up mile and alternate between quicker miles and recovery miles.  Anything to help pass the time.  My best advice is change it up, don’t run very long at one pace or you will mentally psych yourself out of staying on for the long run.  I try to find something good to watch on TV or DVD, but usually have music playing as well.  If your treadmill is located near a window, open the blinds so you can get the outdoor feel.

My setup... TV, DVD player, facing windows and my medals

Let’s talk incline.  I’m bad about using it.  It’s obviously pretty easy to constantly run on a flat surface with no wind or obstacles.  I throw in inclines on recovery paces but the treadmill inclines tend to really bug my calves.  There are lots of ways to make challenging hill workouts on the treadmill, I just haven’t quite gotten myself to that yet.

I will post more workouts as I come up with them... and work on incorporating that good ol incline as I progress through this portion of training.

Workout Recap 12/16 - 12/22

Hello, I'm a slacker.  On just about everything.  Posts, Christmas shopping, T25....
Only good news on the homefront is my calf is almost 100%.  It still has it's moments.  Good thing for KT Tape and Pro Compression.

Monday - 6 miles.  CXWORX (30 minutes)

Tuesday - OUTSIDE!!! It was about 25-26 degrees when I went out, felt pretty good!  I wore a base layer of a Nike Pro long-sleeved shirt, a tech fit t-shirt, and then my Under Armour coat.  Bottoms were regular socks, Pro Compression socks, and Under Armour tights.  I wore a hat and gloves of course.

Wednesday - CXWORX (30 minutes) Body Pump (60 minutes) Arc Trainer (10 minutes)  This was my first full length Body Pump class in a while and I was feeling the burn! 

Thursday - 5 miles.  Easy, nothing too exciting.

Friday - CXWORX (30 minutes)  This was my rest day.  Not much else went on...

Saturday - 10 miles on the mill.  I don't mind hitting the 10 mark, but it's going to take some mental preparation to get over that without croaking of boredom.  I did watch Newlyweds with Nick and Jessica, that kept me pretty entertained.  I was obsessed with these two, and yes, I know they broke up...

Sunday - Elliptical (35 minutes) Body Pump (60 minutes) Arc Trainer (10 minutes)  YAY for strength training twice this week!!

Workout Recap 12/9 - 12/15

Monday – 6.2 miles. CXWORX (30 minutes) 

Tuesday – Body Pump Express (40 minutes) 

Wednesday – 6 miles. CXWORX (30 minutes) FIRST night of Focus T25! Beta Cardio (25 minutes) I think I went to bed right after this. I was wiped out. 

Thursday – T25 Speed 1.0 (25 minutes) followed by 1.3 miles on the treadmill. This was the beginning of the end for my left calf. My calves were definitely feeling the burn on Wednesday night during Cardio, but felt decent during Speed 1.0, and I was sporting some Pro Compression sleeves. The goal was the T25 workout followed by 5 easy treadmill miles. FAIL. My calf gave one distinct pull and that was it. I hobbled off in defeat. 

Friday – Weights hit arms and legs (30 minutes) T25 Total Body Circuit (25 minutes) OK, I did not give my all on the TBC, I really went half speed, took most of the modifiers, and still almost didn’t make it. Sore calf or not, this was TOUGH. 

Saturday – 10 miles T25 Ab Intervals. Nothing like laying your towel on your mat to do ab intervals when you are as drenched as you would be post-shower… CONFESSION, I only made it 20 of the 25 minutes of the ab intervals. I had trouble getting set up for each new move, I learned I need to watch each one first so I know exactly what I supposed to be doing, and maybe what the modifier is doing… 

I'm in a full blown hibernation mode, contrary to the belief of the cute bear in the pic...

Sunday – Arc Trainer (60 minutes) and not much else... Laaaaaazy day. 

Since T25 came in the mail mid-week, I don’t know that this counts as my first week of the program. I plan to officially start it on a Monday, but I may need to wait until my calf is full strength.

T25 Total Body Circuit and it's baaaack

Welcome back to my life KT Tape. You really are miraculous.  Calf strains have nothing on me.

Friday night was my third day of T25.  Total Body Circuit on slate.  I did a little bit of strength training earlier in the day, but mostly just hobbled around and tried to ease the horrible cramped pain in my left calf.  I was nervous to do the T25 workout, but threw on some Pro Compression sleeves and went for it.

Barefoot.

I did some research on the best shoes for T25/Insanity, and I know this is a big discussion.  Shaun T himself recommended the barefoot approach, or minimalist shoes.  I had done my first two days in clean Wave Rider 15s I had in my treadmill room, and I think that play a part in my calf tightness.  I really loved being barefoot as opposed to the clunky shoes.  I am considering getting a pair of minimalist toe shoes, just to prevent slipping around, but the yoga mat and my rug on the floor seemed to work well.

The Total Body Circuit was an absolute killer.  I had to stick with the modifier in several points.  Part of me was being over cautious on the calf front, but mainly it was just a butt kicker.

Injured… T25 Day 2

I have to have the most injury prone body on the planet.  I was definitely feeling the effects of my first T25 workout.  All of the jumping, squatting, and lateral movements did a number on my calves and hip.  For someone who can run long, run fairly fast for races, and lifts weights and core trains on a regular basis WHY does this happen?  UGH.

Well, last night I did Speed 1.0.  I wore my Pro Compression sleeves thinking that would be a benefit to my legs.  I made it through my T25 workout no problem.  Then I hit my tready for some easy miles.  My warm up mile was complete and it hit the speed button to increase for a while, and with the first step my calf muscle pulled.  I tried to just run it out for maybe a minute.  No such luck.  I hobbled off and immediately used The Stick and foam rolled.  I spent the rest of the night on the couch with some ice and compression sleeves on.

I’ve struggled with calf issues in the past.  I don’t think it’s a major strain, but it’s a nice, unhappy pull.  I’m really frustrated at the moment.  T25 day 3 calls for the Total Body Circuit.  I’m guessing the calf isn’t going to be ready to handle that tonight, so I might swap out and do Total Abs instead.

Sucked in by infomercials

My T25 DVDs arrived…

Yikes.

I got sucked in by the infomercial.  I have this weird form of self-motivation where I have to watch workout infomercials while I’m on the treadmill.  I have even put in a Jillian Michaels DVD just to watch while I’m running.  I think maybe that’s weird?  I don’t know, it works, whatever gets my butt moving.  So T25 is always on during the lovely 5AM hour, and I decided after two weeks of seeing the lovely before and after testimonials that maybe this would work for me.

I’m using this blog as a way to hold myself accountable to actually do the dang workouts.  I’ll do a full review, and updates on my progress.  I even took some scary BEFORE pics this morning… (I'll spare you those)

 

My GOAL and purpose for doing this is to get stronger and hopefully increase my muscle definition.  I’m excited about the 25 minute idea.  

Update:

DAY 1 – first workout in the Alpha phase is Cardio.  I’ve never done Insanity or P90X, but I’m assuming most of these moves are incorporated in those workouts as well.  It was tough no doubt about it.  I was able to hang in the full time, the only modifier I did was on the jump lunges. (I stuck with touching my knee as opposed to the floor.)  The 25 minutes went really fast, and you couldn’t lose your focus otherwise you’d miss out on the next move.

I’m definitely feeling it today!  

Tonight after work I have day 2 which is Speed 1.0.