Talking Recovery

I truly believe that recovery is the most important aspect of training. Sure, your workouts are extremely important, but if you aren’t recovering efficiently, you may not actually be gaining anything.

I think we can all agree that rest days themselves aren’t fun, but the run or workout the next day usually makes up for the one day of suffering! I find myself recharged and refocused and excited to get back out there. I think basic rest goes a long way in the recovery cycle of training, but I’m also a believer in products that assist recovery. 

Pro Compression sleeves and socks: These are just a huge part of my life. I run in socks, come home and foam roll and shower, and immediately sport a pair of calf sleeves the rest of the day. 

Rezzerct by Complete Nutrition: This is probably the only non-Advocare product that I get really excited about. I love this stuff! I always take it after Body Pump to help eliminate soreness. I took a scoop after every race I ran last year, and it helped me not hobble the next day. It doesn’t taste the best in my opinion, but I usually just chug it and move on! 

Chocolate milk: I drink a glass after EVERY run. It makes me happy! I’ve never been a milk drinker, my dad had to force me to drink milk growing up. I’ve just recently gotten into the chocolate milk post workout trend, and I have to say, I’m a believer. 

Nighttime Recovery by Advocare: YOU NEED THIS PRODUCT!! I recently purchased this for the first time, and wow, it is amazing. I will take a serving before bed on days I’ve completed a long run or just a tough workout. I wake up feeling recharged and have either reduced soreness, or none at all.

Workout Recap 3/3 - 3/9

Pretty boring and basic week.  I found myself pretty fatigued by the middle of the week and hit a rough patch.  Nothing some solid rest couldn't cure!

Monday - 6 miles on the treadmill.  I did a warm up mile, 4 miles at tempo, and a cool down. 

Tuesday - Body Pump Express at noon and CXWORX and 25 minutes elliptical after work.

Wednesday - 7 miles outside after work.  It was a perfect night, I just was in turtle mode.  I struggled with pace from the start and it just got worse.  The sidewalks were a little snowy and icy in some spots, so that will be my excuse I guess.

Thursday - 3.5 miles.  This was the rough night when I realized I'm SHOT.  I had 7 on schedule and nearly died getting 3.5...

Friday - REST!! I didn't do a darn thing!

Saturday - 18 miles.  It was around 20 degrees, sunny, PERFECTION!  I felt great the entire run.  This was definitely a solid confidence boost after feeling shaky on my last couple runs.

Sunday - 4 miles easy outside.  It's in the 60s today! But the wind is crazy of course.

Basic week, not a lot of pictures.  I'm cutting back the mileage a little bit this week and focusing on some speed work to get ready for my 5 mile race on Saturday!

One of THOSE runs

When bad runs happen to good people… Kidding, but really, the bad ones hit like a ton of bricks straight to the face sometimes.

I had 7 miles planned last night, and it was pretty windy outside, so I took it to the treadmill.  Truth be told, I wasn’t feeling it from the start.  I really didn’t want to run at all.  Every single step once I got going was a struggle.  I kept pushing the DOWN button on the speed, I couldn’t get focused, and just didn’t feel right.  I completely stopped the treadmill at 3 miles, got off and walked around a little.  I turned on my fan, I tried everything, another half mile and that was it.  I felt dizzy and tired, and just couldn’t put one foot in front of the other.  I cut my losses, grabbed my brand new foam roller and rolled and stretched, and called it a day.

I felt like I slogged my Wednesday night run outside too.  Some weeks are just that way.  I haven’t felt like I’ve had solid legs under me all week.  So today is a complete rest day, and hopefully I can start tomorrow’s long run off on a better foot.

In EXCITING news, I signed up for a 5 mile road race next weekend!  I ran this race last year, and it was brutally cold and windy, but still a lot of fun.  It’s St. Patty’s Day themed, and according to the website, prizes are given to the best dressed in Duck Dynasty costumes.  I don’t think I’ll put on a beard or camo for this race, but I’m excited to see the ones that do.

My favorite types of cross training

I’m not a high mileage runner.  I WISH I had the time and the body to run 60-70+ miles a week, but I just don’t.  I sit right in the 35-45 range.  45 is HIGH.  I would love to run every day, but I don’t.  I think I’ve found the combination that works best for me, in terms of when to cross train vs run.  I run 4-5 days a week, the other days are either cross training or rest.  Some days it’s a chore, I would rather just lace up my Mizunos and get a runner’s high.  Other days, I enjoy the change of pace.

 

Body Pump – hands down my favorite non-running day workout.  Based on my schedule, most weeks I am only able to get to the Express class over my lunch hour.  The Express class is only the main tracks, and it’s only about 35 minutes as opposed to the full hour.  In Express, we do warm up, squats, chest, back, core, and then alternate between either lunges, biceps, triceps, or shoulders.  I prefer the full class, but Express is better than nothing sometimes.

CXWORX – another Les Mills favorite.  I take this class on running days also, but sometimes will take it on an off day along with Body Pump.  Quick 30 minutes of core work!

Elliptical – I have a love/hate relationship with these machines.  Some days I love hopping on, turning on a good show, and just coasting through a 30-40 preset workout.  Other days the time drags and I almost die of boredom.  (That was me last night…) I don’t think I always work hard on the elliptical.  Let me rephrase, I RARELY work hard on the elliptical.  I always turn to a hill setting, so the resistance and incline changes for me, but I never really push myself.  It’s an easy, non-impact way to get my legs moving, so I guess it’s ok.

Arc Trainer – This machine never fails to kick my tail.  I use a setting, either hill, or cardio.  These machines are boring too, but I work up a killer sweat, as opposed to the elliptical.  My only issue with these machines is there is no happy little TV attached.  So be mentally prepared for boredom.  I enjoy people watching, so I just watch everyone else doing fun things, such as running…

So my workout recaps usually consist of some of these activities throughout the week.  I used to take a cycling class at least once a week, but I’ve gotten away from that in this training cycle.  I never feel like I’m set up right (my own fault, the instructors take set up appointments) and I don’t have clip in shoes (because all my $$ go to Mizunos).  All of these excuses, and some past hip issues, have kept me out of the cycling room.

Workout Recap 2/24 - 3/2

Well March came in like a lion in Nebraska.  We had a lovely dump of snow yesterday, and some wicked cold.  I made it outside twice last week despite snow and cold, we'll see how this next week shapes up!

Monday - CXWORX 30 minutes and Body Pump 60 minutes.  I normally always run on Mondays.  I decided to mix things up a little this week and take my cross training day on Monday.

Tuesday - 6 miles, 7:47 avg.  I think I blacked this run out for a reason, it sucked.  I mean it was hard.

Wednesday - CXWORX 30 minutes and 8 miles outside.  SLOW and easy.  I seriously felt like I could have ran forever!! The sidewalks had some snow and ice on them in spots, so I slowed it way down and just enjoyed everything about this run.  I went out after work, but luckily it's staying light later into the evenings, and one more week until we get to spring our clocks forward!!

Thursday - Cross training 30 minutes on the elliptical and a few weights.  Kept this really easy.

Friday - Long run 17 miles.  It was 13 degrees when I started, so I was prepared to loop home after 10 and finish out on the treadmill, but it actually was perfect outside!  I had to loop back after 10 because I didn't carry any fuel because of the cold.  I grabbed a Gu and ate half and some Powerade and headed back out for the last 7.  It felt really tough at the end.  I think I tanked out so bad because of poor fueling.  

Saturday - 6 recovery miles on the treadmill.  It was -1 outside, and snowing... It is really hard for me to stay disciplined and run easy on the treadmill.  I want to just crank up the speed and get it done.  But I cooled my jets and ran easy.  

Sunday - 40 minutes elliptical and Body Pump 60 minutes.  I'm so glad I got two full BP classes in this week!! I always feel better when I strength train!

Bye Bye February!

The shortest month of the year always seems like one of the longest.  Maybe it's just me.  I think the winter aspect of it makes it tough.  I took today off work to get some things done at home and head outside for my long run of the week since tomorrow the high temp is like 6 degrees, and 1-3 inches of snow.  BOOO!

Anyway, today's run was the longest so far of this training cycle.  It was like 13 degrees when I started, so I was prepared to loop back and finish on the treadmill if I needed to.  But the sun was shining, and it warmed up to 30 by the time I finished.  Needless to say, I was slightly overdressed by the end.  I layered quite a bit today, and it really worked well, until the end when I realized how much I was actually sweating!

This month was all over the place weather wise.  We had 60 degree days, and we had days where the high was maybe 5 degrees.  We haven't had much snow this year, but we had a few inches earlier in the week.  Luckily the roads and sidewalks clear very quickly.

I rounded out the month with 158 miles.  I had a pretty decent mix of indoor and outdoor, and luckily all but one long run were outdoors.

So the groundhog said we would have more winter... so I guess we keep moving forward, and here's to March!

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.