Work has continued to be out of control, and training gave me a much needed way to blow off steam. A few days I felt tempted to stay at my desk and work through lunch, but the gym refreshed my every time and help put things in perspective. Sure, work might not be anywhere near perfect, but I can still nail my workouts and keep at least a few ounces of sanity.
Monday, November 17
650 yd swim
My swim instructions were to swim and kick non-stop for 20 minutes, so I alternated between 100 frees and 50 kicks, tacking on an additional 50 free to hit my time goal. I think this is the first time I swam continuously for time, rather than resting after each interval. Going without a break was hard! When (and I'm consciously saying when and not if) I get back into tris, I'm going to have to incorporate more of this type of workout.
Tuesday, November 18
lunch - lift
PM - 3x1000s @ 5:20, 6.4 mi total
My workout called for five 1000s, but I was completely winded after the third, so I ran the rest of the required mileage easy. This was hard for me mentally, but I truly had nothing left to give, and even the easy pace felt relatively hard.
Wednesday, November 19
650 yd swim
Same swim as Wednesday, still felt just as hard.
Thursday, November 20
AM - 4 mi tempo @ 9:21, 6 mi total
lunch - lift
We got hit with several inches of snow Wednesday night, and even though the sidewalks and roads were pre-treated, they were a huge mess by the time I left work. I was afraid what the untreated trail would be like, so I sucked it up and broke in the indoor track for the season. I was the only runner, and everyone properly gave me the inside lane.
I was pretty nervous for this run, as that pace sounded like it would be challenging for me. I was certainly out of breath and needed a lot of mental focus, but I felt strong and in control the whole time. This was an awesome run for me because it showed how much fitness I've built over the last four weeks.
Friday, November 21
rest
Saturday, November 22
20 mi long (11:11 min/mile)
I think all the stress of the week had finally gotten to me, and I just wasn't feeling this long of a run before I even started. I happened to see on Facebook right before I left that the trail was icy, and I'm glad I did, because I needed my crampons for the first 10 miles, before it got warm enough to melt all the ice. Some walkers gave me weird looks when I had them strapped to my fuel belt later on, which I thought was funny.
I tried out a new podcast and loved it (Stuff You Missed in History Class), and I was engaged for the whole run. I did take a couple brief breaks to stretch out the horrible knot I've been plagued with in my right quad and to refill my bottles with snow. I was almost upset with myself about these pauses since it made the run "not perfect," but it's been seven months since I've run that far outside of a race, so I'm going to let it go.
Sunday, November 23
Slow Flow Yoga
I was a few minutes late to class because I got stuck behind someone driving five MPH, no joke.
My whole practice felt a bit off after missing the beginning, but I tried my best to connect with my breath. I haven't had a problem with the strength portion of class so far, despite yoga being the day after my long run, but this time my quads and glutes were shaking in every pose. They still held me, but it was a struggle for sure. My hips and lower back did feel absolutely amazing when I was done.
Run Miles: 32.4
Swim Miles: .7
Lifting Time: 44 mins
Yoga Time: 60 mins
Total Time: 8:15
This coming week will be a little tricky, what with the Thanksgiving holiday. The terrible time at work will be officially over today, so I'm looking forward to taking some time to recharge, and hopefully it will reflect in my workouts.
I'm most excited to run my hometown Turkey Trot again with Eager Feet Dad. (Hopefully the course will not be .15 long this year, and I can get him his sub-30!) I'm also pumped to do my long run down in Ohio, where I'll be spending Thanksgiving. I love my path here, but I'm looking forward to a change of scenery!
Awesome week! I could never do a swim workout like that, so props to you! Good luck at your turkey trot :)
ReplyDeleteWell, my swims aren't very pretty or very fast! At least the lifeguards don't look concerned any more. Good luck with your second Turkey Trot!
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