Sucess!

I've not been neglecting strength work. The 10 pound weights are too light! Time to up them. 

You know you love 'em!

(oops - day late posting) The goal is two strength workouts a week. If that means a quick weight workout after work on Friday. So be it. Better than trying to cram it in on sunday.  And my goal is to lift heavier too.  More on this later...

The Sledgehammer Workout

3 - The Sledgehammer and "pond"

The defunct pond that has been in our back yard since we moved in?  It's time to go!  It's about 3-4 feet wide and had been partially buried the 16 years we've lived in our house.  The previous previous owner (ie the owner before from whom we bought our house) was a do-it-yourselfer in the worst sense of the word.  We've found evidence of this all over the property.  Some things like the electrical system required immediate attention.  This pond is now in the way of trying to plant anything in a very visible area of the back yard. The area under a very large cedar tree has been overgrown with some thuggish shrubs which will either be polite, cut back annually or come out.  

digging out around the pond, pulling out the loose baby head-sized and larger rocks set around the pond and then swinging the sledgehammer to break up the 8"+ cement pond is some workout!  Swinging the sledgehammer and breaking up the cement is very satisfying and therapeutic.  I can swing the sledgehammer right or left handed and am pretty happy that I'm in the sort of shape required to do this. And 30-45 minutes a day is perfect.  This isn't my full time job after all.

So I started thinking, there must be some nuts who do this for a workout.  Sure enough!  A quick internet search of "sledgehammer workouts" brings up a ton of links.  What do you need?  A sledgehammer and a large tire to take the blows.  So you want me to bring more junk into my backyard?  No thanks! 

Mixing it up

I'll admit it.  The last thing I like to do during the summer is come home and do any strength training.  It's hot out, I've walked up the hill from the bus and i'm sweaty. I need to set hoses to water or cook or go run track!  The last thing i like doing is doing strength training workouts and when i do them, i slack off in the summer.  There are too many other things to do.

I need that strength training though so what to do? Hey!  A new Barre3 studio opened up close to me.  What is a barre workout?  There are various types (barre method, barre3, lotte berk method) and all seem to use a ballet barre, isometric holds and light weights to strengthen.  It's hard to describe.  I was pretty happy that the class i tried didn't really have a cardio component.  I've got that already!  This doesn't mean i wasn't breathing hard or sweating though.  No, my legs were shaking and my arms were burning with effort.  One of my van mates at Ragnar said that she has found that the barre workouts do the best for her to keep knee and hip injuries at bay.  And judging by the one class which targeted glutes until they were screaming for mercy, i'd agree!  It was fun and I'd do it again. 

It's been great weather this summer and it's been fun to get out on my bike with K.  I'd run many times in Discovery Park but had never biked there.  After a nice walk through the locks on our bikes, we found some huge hill to go up by accident.  That left my legs quivery!  I resisted the granny gear but just barely made it up.  This also gave me a chance to try a new type of fueling on the ride.  The Feed Zone Portables comes from testing on the Tour de France and other major bike events.  Turns out that if you feel rider of long multi-stage bike rides crappy junk, they feel pretty crappy and soon don't want to eat that stuff.  You don't eat when biking?  Bad things happen!  So they set about finding easily cooked, easily digestible ingredients that taste good.

Coconut rice bar with blueberries & chocolate

I tried a blueberry chocolate rice bar made out of cooked rice flavored with coconut milk, sugar and salt and mixed with fresh blueberries and chocolate.  it was super tasty, easy to eat and make. I had one when riding and had one a couple times as a snack at work. It is mild tasting for a snack at work and tastes much better when out on the bike. Freezing it did change the texture and consistency.  Freezing caused it to fall apart easily which makes it a bit harder to eat on the bike and taste was a bit less fresh but still perfectly acceptable.  I cannot wait to try a savory recipe.  I cannot wait to try these on long trail runs too.

BOOM!

Didja hear it?  That was an old, old PR going down this weekend! 

And I cherry picked it.  After last week's 30 second PR on the track with 2 miles at 6:45, I knew i could run a 5k PR.  The issue? 

I am tired!  this was the third week at higher mileage for me on 6 days of running per week. I'm at that time of the month. I raced last week. Did I mention I am tired?  So tired that i fell asleep on my lunch break one day this week at work. 

Last week, I ran two miles at 6:45.  The Valentine's Day Dash 5k is a flat course with a speedy field.  If I planned it right, I could break that 7 year old PR.  Yes that 5k PR is from 2006.  I don't even consider it a true PR because I am pretty sure the course was short. The course was marked in kilometers and I even walked in the last mile.  I finished that 2006 race in 22:30 and although it was a PR, mentally i always attached a little asterisk to it.  Technical PR but probably not a true 5k.  I'd never come under 23 minutes again until 2011 and just did that by 10 seconds. I considered that my master's PR and have been proud of it. 

However, remember that 6:45 pace.  If I ran 3 miles at 7:05 - 7:10, I'd still come in to a PR time.  20 seconds should feel significantly easier. I could do that, right?  Did I mention that I was tired? 

The other goal was to run even splits.  It has been very challenging for me to do that with the 2 mile races.  I've always gone out fast and slowed the second mile. Even splits would prove to me that my chosen pace was a solid effort for me but a safe effort.  I could do this. 

And I DID!  Woohoo!  It was a bit chilly with maybe a hint of a breeze.  It's a big field for this race. I've learned with the 2-mile race series that I really do need a long warm up so I got in almost 4 miles before the race.  I got to the start line with about 10 minutes to go and lined up just right. 

7:04
7:04
7:08
22:03! 

I couldn't believe it!  I ran in control and felt strong and didn't freak out that i was running fast miles. At mile 2, i had to give myself a stern talking to about not squandering the hard work I'd put in.  One more mile.  I worked hard for that last mile, made the turn towards the finish and was delighted to see the clock just ticking over to 22.  Could I have run 3 seconds faster? No, not today and not when i was so tired. I could another day though.

What has been the deciding factor in all these PRs lately?  I"m pretty sure a big factor is increased strength and consistent weight training.  The higher mileage has helped maintain weight but I am actually heavier now than i was.  Why is that?  I am a lot stronger and have more muscle.  The body fat scale i have confirms that. The readings are consistently higher for muscle mass. It's not a lot but makes a difference. I still look like i have noodle arms but those noodle arms are strong! 

I completed a 90 day p90x lean program and probably only hit about half the workouts.  I skipped all cardio workouts and got in maybe half of the strength workouts (I've been aiming for two a week).  But those workouts forced me to do strength moves I've not done before and the sessions got easier.  No i still cannot do a pull up but i am willing to try especially when I can run faster and stronger than ever before.  

It's that time of year...

Yep, it happens every year about now.  You know what I mean. All of a sudden it is dark and cold and wet outside.  Sometimes it is windy too.  The better days for running re-set standards.  Not raining, only a little breezy and 40 degrees?  Wow, that is good running weather.

I'd planned to be done with marathon training by the end of October but of course my plans were derailed.  I took a week off to regroup and figure out what I wanted to do.  I wanted to run a marathon and soon.  So the past three weeks have been high mileage for me which is 40, and then back to back 50 mile weeks.

And yeah the weather has sucked.  How do I keep it going?  It has helped that I've had someone to run with once or twice a week.  Those miles go much quicker when chatting companionably with someone.  Even better if we are doing a "workout" and are going at a faster pace which requires concentration.  Those are always easier with other people.

I've figured out how to check audio books out of the library and I've been listening to those for certain longer runs.  Normally I prefer not to listen to anything.  Listening to music doesn't do much for me but a good, well read book?  Oh yes, that holds my concentration very well but it does not detract from the mindful running I prefer. 

I try to get out to trails for easy recovery runs.  Of course that can only be on the weekend when i'm not working but a trail run is always better in the rain than a road run.  Recovery runs are particular pleasant on trails as I love the better range of movement i get on trails.

I've also added back in a more consistent weight training routine.  I'd normally do some upper body weights, core and hip strength work twice a week generally.  I'd really wanted to look into a more consistent routine and finally decided on the p90x program.  Note: I am not receiving anything for reviewing their product.

Why this program?  Mostly because they had an app for my iphone.  Yes, really.  I didn't want to go to a gym (although I'd looked at some kettlebell programs) nor did i really want a set of dvds.  Our player is so slow to load and truthfully i get bored!  I need to be able to do a program while watching something i want to watch (not an exercise video).

The app lets you track and schedule the program and you can download (for a fee - much less than the dvd set) guided workouts for the program.  I've picked a program (lean) and I'm doing it concurrently with my run schedule.  I generally keep the specific strength workouts for arms/shoulders/abs/legs/back and am for now skipping the other workouts besides Core Synergy.  I don't feel all that comfortable adding in such different cardio workouts on top of the running.  If I am tired or sore from running I have skipped the strength workouts or kept them easy.  It's worked though.  Even in a few weeks I feel stronger especially in upper body.  I wasn't sure about the leg or back work but it turned out I could either modify it or have found those movements useful.

it's a good reminder about one of the reasons I enjoy running. Keep moving!  I'm not getting any younger or stronger by just sitting on the couch! There are so many reasons to strength train in addition to my regular running routine. 

And yep, that helps me get out the door to get in my runs when it is raining, windy, dark and cold.