Saturday I cross-trained, doing 1 hr on the elliptical. I also weighed in at Weight Watchers, and my weight was down a little. It had gotten as high as 153-154 lb, after being sick and eating too much dessert. But I was more watchful this week, and that combined with my training has helped, as I was 151.2 (68.7 kg) at my meeting on Saturday, and 150.2 on my home scale (68.3 kg). That's still a little too high, but it's moving the right way. I feel optimistic that it will be down a couple more pounds (1 kg) before my 15K race on May 20th.
***
Sunday was a rest day. We had a birthday celebration for my dad, and I made him apple pie. I will confess that I did eat a rather large slice, as it was the best pie I've made in a while...losing that kilo might be harder than I think :).
***
Today's workout was a tough one: 8x800/200 at the track. 800m, rest 30 sec, then 200m, rest 2 min, and repeat 7 times. Whew. I was a bit pressed for time as I had accidentally left my Garmin on after Saturday's cross-training, and so I had to stay home an extra 20 min to charge the battery, which fortunately lasted the whole workout. So, I only warmed up for 1200m with some strides and dynamic stretching. My legs felt awesome, though, and I thought this could be a good one.
I got started and told myself to take it EASY on the first one, as there would be 7 more. Despite that self-admonition, I did it pretty fast (4:04), though it did feel easy. Still, it was obviously too fast, as it ended up being my fastest one. I felt pretty good through about the 6th one, and then I did struggle on the last two. The last one was especially difficult, and my HR was really high (ave 166 for the 800 and 170 for the 200!). Ouch! It's always tricky to know how to pace oneself, and I came close today, even if I was a bit fast to start. I was able to finish, and only slowed a little bit.
Here are my times: 4:04, 53.8, 4:07, 53.7, 4:07, 54.2, 4:06, 55.6, 4:07, 54.4, 4:08, 55.2, 4:07, 55.0, 4:10, 54.2. Total time for 8km = 40:13.5 (5:01.7/km). Nice! Things are looking good.
Garmin data here.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Friday, April 27, 2012
6K easy (Thursday); 12K fartlek - new PR! (Friday)
I was too busy to post yesterday. Or too tired. Or something.
Yesterday I did an easy 6K; actually 6.25K since I went around Liberty Park. I felt great for the first 3K, and then I felt tired and sluggish. I think I'm still recovering from the hard half marathon and from the track workout on Monday.
The weather was pretty nice - it had threatened to be windy, but the wind waited until later in the day, thankfully. It was about 58F (14C) and calm. Still unseasonably warm, but I'm not complaining one bit!
I did the route in 37:59, which I believe is the fastest I've done it on an easy day. My average was 6:05/km for the 6.25km, with average heart rate of 143.
Garmin data here.
***
Today's workout was a 12K fartlek, which is always a hard one. I thought the weather might keep me from this today, as it was supposed to be pouring rain and really windy. Well, I got lucky. It poured rain most of the night but dried up before my workout. The cold front came in, so it was colder than it has been, but seasonably chilly at 43F (about 6C). It was windy last night, and is VERY windy now - in the afternoon - but it was just a little breezy for my workout and no problem.
I warmed up well, doing 1600m with two 100m strides in 9:28. I felt good, and did some dynamic stretching. I was feeling optimistic and figured today would be a good, fast workout.
I felt great to start, doing the first 1km in 5:22 (2:40+2:42). I continued fast, doing the medium 500s in 2:55 and the fast 500s in 2:45 until the 4th km, when all of a sudden it felt like I was racewalking through mud. Seriously. My quads felt SO tired, and the only way I can explain this is that they weren't fully recovered from the 5x800/200 on Monday and the hard half marathon on Saturday. It was hard to keep going and I started to wonder how this one was going to turn out. I managed ~3:00 and 2:51 for the next 2K, and then I adjusted to the tired feeling a bit. It's not that my legs felt better, but more that I got used to it? The rest of the fast 500s were 2:48-2:50 to the end of the workout, and the medium 500s were 3:02-3:04. That's a lot better than I thought I'd be able to do, considering how my legs felt. I realized I was going to PR the workout, and I was happy about that, but a little disappointed as I knew I could do this one faster if I'd felt better. You could argue that I started out too fast, but I think I started out at a reasonable speed given my conditioning; I just had tired legs today and couldn't hold it on this particular day.
Total time: 1:09:33 with average HR 161. I worked this one really hard and am proud that I kept going when I knew it was going to really hurt for 8km.
I know my coach is going to say this predicts good things for the 15K. I'm sure it does...but I'll tell you one thing - there was NO WAY I was going to do another 3K today at that pace. My legs were DONE! I think that is more a reflection of lack of complete recovery than my fitness, though, judging from the racewalking-through-mud feeling I had. Considering that I didn't feel stupendous, it's a good result.
Garmin data here.
Yesterday I did an easy 6K; actually 6.25K since I went around Liberty Park. I felt great for the first 3K, and then I felt tired and sluggish. I think I'm still recovering from the hard half marathon and from the track workout on Monday.
The weather was pretty nice - it had threatened to be windy, but the wind waited until later in the day, thankfully. It was about 58F (14C) and calm. Still unseasonably warm, but I'm not complaining one bit!
I did the route in 37:59, which I believe is the fastest I've done it on an easy day. My average was 6:05/km for the 6.25km, with average heart rate of 143.
Garmin data here.
***
Today's workout was a 12K fartlek, which is always a hard one. I thought the weather might keep me from this today, as it was supposed to be pouring rain and really windy. Well, I got lucky. It poured rain most of the night but dried up before my workout. The cold front came in, so it was colder than it has been, but seasonably chilly at 43F (about 6C). It was windy last night, and is VERY windy now - in the afternoon - but it was just a little breezy for my workout and no problem.
I warmed up well, doing 1600m with two 100m strides in 9:28. I felt good, and did some dynamic stretching. I was feeling optimistic and figured today would be a good, fast workout.
I felt great to start, doing the first 1km in 5:22 (2:40+2:42). I continued fast, doing the medium 500s in 2:55 and the fast 500s in 2:45 until the 4th km, when all of a sudden it felt like I was racewalking through mud. Seriously. My quads felt SO tired, and the only way I can explain this is that they weren't fully recovered from the 5x800/200 on Monday and the hard half marathon on Saturday. It was hard to keep going and I started to wonder how this one was going to turn out. I managed ~3:00 and 2:51 for the next 2K, and then I adjusted to the tired feeling a bit. It's not that my legs felt better, but more that I got used to it? The rest of the fast 500s were 2:48-2:50 to the end of the workout, and the medium 500s were 3:02-3:04. That's a lot better than I thought I'd be able to do, considering how my legs felt. I realized I was going to PR the workout, and I was happy about that, but a little disappointed as I knew I could do this one faster if I'd felt better. You could argue that I started out too fast, but I think I started out at a reasonable speed given my conditioning; I just had tired legs today and couldn't hold it on this particular day.
Total time: 1:09:33 with average HR 161. I worked this one really hard and am proud that I kept going when I knew it was going to really hurt for 8km.
I know my coach is going to say this predicts good things for the 15K. I'm sure it does...but I'll tell you one thing - there was NO WAY I was going to do another 3K today at that pace. My legs were DONE! I think that is more a reflection of lack of complete recovery than my fitness, though, judging from the racewalking-through-mud feeling I had. Considering that I didn't feel stupendous, it's a good result.
Garmin data here.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
cross-training
Ahhhh...easy week...I needed this after the half-marathon.
Today I cross-trained on the elliptical for 40 min.
The rest of the day was quite busy: work, dentist, house cleaning, and hosting a group of church friends for dinner. I'm tired!
Today I cross-trained on the elliptical for 40 min.
The rest of the day was quite busy: work, dentist, house cleaning, and hosting a group of church friends for dinner. I'm tired!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
5x800/200
In a hurry to get Calvin to the dentist so this will be fast.
Weather: warm and clear with a breeze. It was 65F (about 17C) this morning! We are having record-setting heat, and I don't mind one bit. Today it is supposed to be 86F.
Warm-up: 1600m with strides in about 9:30. Fast! Felt great!
The workout: In a nutshell, flying fast, though with some quadriceps spasms in each leg. The worst was in the right leg on the last 200m; it's still a bit sore but clearly a spasm and nothing serious. In general I felt great and was able to push these pretty hard as there were only 5. 800s were from 4:01 (the last one! yup, really a 4:01!) to 4:09 (the first one) and 200s were 53 (last one) to 55 (one shows as 56 on Garmin data but I had trouble pushing the lap button and lost 1-2 sec). Heart rate was up to 172 on the last set. I felt good and smooth and fast.
Total for 5K: 24:59. Yes, you read that right...under 25! Yeah, it's intervals, but still...wow!
Garmin data here.
Weather: warm and clear with a breeze. It was 65F (about 17C) this morning! We are having record-setting heat, and I don't mind one bit. Today it is supposed to be 86F.
Warm-up: 1600m with strides in about 9:30. Fast! Felt great!
The workout: In a nutshell, flying fast, though with some quadriceps spasms in each leg. The worst was in the right leg on the last 200m; it's still a bit sore but clearly a spasm and nothing serious. In general I felt great and was able to push these pretty hard as there were only 5. 800s were from 4:01 (the last one! yup, really a 4:01!) to 4:09 (the first one) and 200s were 53 (last one) to 55 (one shows as 56 on Garmin data but I had trouble pushing the lap button and lost 1-2 sec). Heart rate was up to 172 on the last set. I felt good and smooth and fast.
Total for 5K: 24:59. Yes, you read that right...under 25! Yeah, it's intervals, but still...wow!
Garmin data here.
Monday, April 23, 2012
rest day; cross training
Yesterday I took a rest day. Ahhhhhh. My muscles were quite sore, including my abs. I was glad to have a day off, and the weather was beautiful - warm and sunny, and at 86F we broke a record for heat yesterday. We all enjoyed it, though. I took Calvin with me to get a new hammock for our backyard, and we read books in it for a while.
***
Today was a cross-training day. I went to the gym and did 40 min on the elliptical and then did core work with Lisa. After taking the kids to school and getting ready for work, I biked to work, which is another good 25 min of cardio. It's only a bit over 3 miles (5K) to work, but it's a serious uphill climb of 600ft (180m). My muscles are still sore today, though not too bad.
Here's an interesting article from the Salt Lake Tribune on commuting by bike to the University of Utah, which I do when the weather is nice. I'm definitely a fair-weather cyclist! If it's too cold or rainy, forget it.
***
The official race photos are up. Mine are pretty good, though I most likely won't buy them.
Edited to add: I placed 115/375 in my age group vs. runners. Not too shabby!
***
Today was a cross-training day. I went to the gym and did 40 min on the elliptical and then did core work with Lisa. After taking the kids to school and getting ready for work, I biked to work, which is another good 25 min of cardio. It's only a bit over 3 miles (5K) to work, but it's a serious uphill climb of 600ft (180m). My muscles are still sore today, though not too bad.
Here's an interesting article from the Salt Lake Tribune on commuting by bike to the University of Utah, which I do when the weather is nice. I'm definitely a fair-weather cyclist! If it's too cold or rainy, forget it.
***
The official race photos are up. Mine are pretty good, though I most likely won't buy them.
Edited to add: I placed 115/375 in my age group vs. runners. Not too shabby!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Salt Lake Half Marathon, 2012 edition
This is the 6th time I've done this race. It was my first half marathon in 2007, and I've done it every year since. In 2009, I didn't have a time, as I was coaching for Team in Training and actually did a marathon that day, all on the half marathon course. I have not raced it hard every year; I did in 2007 and this year, but the last couple years I've done it as a training walk. Anyway, I love the course, and so I do it every year. I always see people I know out there too. Today I saw a former Team in Training friend, Stephanie, and at race end I saw Megan from work, my Team in Training friend Cara (who now lives in Nebraska!), and my former Masters swimming coach, Malaika, who took 3rd in the women's race with a time of 1:24:xx (a PR for her). Malaika is an amazing pro triathlete whose blog I follow.
The weather was picture-perfect for a race, though a little warm by the finish for someone who has been training in sub-50F (sub-10C) temps all spring. The temperature at the start was about 51F (10C) and it was probably 62-64ish by the finish. My face and body were crusted with salt from sweat at the end of the race. It was sunny and clear, and not windy at all - just lovely. I didn't even have to check any gear.
Pre-race, I drove to the university, where the start is, and parked in a garage near work. I had a little stuff to do in the lab for about 20 min, and then I warmed up with a nice brisk racewalk to the start (probably 1km?). I didn't warm up as much as I usually would because I didn't want to overtax my hip. By the way, the hip gave me just a twinge here and there, so I think it's fine; my left quad had some tightness/minor pain during the first mile but otherwise was fine.
I was to meet some friends pre-race, but couldn't find them in the crowd. Oh well. It was still great being out there in the race atmosphere. I really enjoy it, all the more so since I usually train alone.
The gun went off and I took a nice moderate pace down the hill for the first couple miles. I felt decent but not great. I was able to keep a fast pace on the downhill but not as fast as I would have liked with a moderate effort. The first mile was fine - an 8:45. The second mile is flatter, but still...only a 9:10. The third mile was 8:57, which was good, but I knew I'd have to be faster on this first part if I wanted to go sub-2:00. Not that I was disappointed with my time so far overall - I reached 5K (by my watch, not the course) in 27:40, which is actually a PR for 5K by a few seconds. Downhill helps though - my average heart rate was just 146 for the first mile, 153 for the second mile, and 154 for the third mile (normally in a fast 5K my HR would be in the upper 170s at the finish). Still, I knew that I wasn't feeling good enough to go sub-2:00, so I tried to ease up and save a bit of energy; I figured I could get a PR anyway.
I had trouble with the aid stations today for some reason. They were much better organized than in past years (thanks to the new race director), so that was fine, but I just had trouble drinking out of the paper cups today. I think I've been spoiled by the bottles you can use in racewalking races. Perhaps I should have carried my own water. Anyway, I had to walk more slowly through the aid stations and lost some time there, starting about mile 5ish. I still made it to 10K pretty fast, in 56:45 (by my watch, not by the course markers) which was 29:05 for the second 5K AND a PR for 10K (EDIT: nope, close, but not quite a 10K PR - had 56:31 last summer in a downhill race). Funny...it wasn't that hard to go 10K that fast downhill :). The 2nd 5K was slower, but it was flatter with probably 1km slightly uphill in the section in SugarHouse Park. They changed the course here, so there was a bit more uphill here than in past years (though it's very slight). By my watch, I got to the halfway point in 1 hour exactly. While the first half of the course is 118m downhill (by my watch), the second half is only a net 53m downhill, with a tough hill in the last mile. I figured 2:02 was the fastest I'd go, but I doubted that would be possible as I was pretty tired despite keeping my heart rate and effort moderate through 10K.
I knew the last hour would just be holding on, since I was already tired. Each time I reached a mile marker I was a bit disappointed with my mile splits, but I knew if I pushed harder it would cost me more in the end. Last year when I did this race at 85% effort, I did 1:02:45 for the first half and then 1:04:52 for the second half - much better pacing than today. I guess I should not have tried to go out at a sub-2:00 pace today, because that cost me at least a minute off of my final time. Well, if I'd been feeling good I might have kept the pace, so it was worth a shot, especially in a race that was inexpensive (local, entered early for $45) and not a goal race.
The last half is a bit of a blur now. I got to 15K in another PR time (by my watch, not the course markers - they didn't have any km markers) in 1:26:20, faster than my goal race pace for the 15K in Riverside in May, but only 29:35 for the third 5K; I was slowing down. The Riverside race is flat which will be much more challenging than this course, but I'm encouraged that I can do my goal time on a downhill in a half marathon. I think that bodes well for May, and last year I did about 1:30 for the same and then went on to do 1:29:03 in Riverside.
The last 6K was tough. I grimaced at the photographers in Liberty Park (one of them actually cheered me on using the word "racewalker!") and pushed as hard as I dared, knowing that the hill on State Street was still to come. I made it to 20K just before the hill, in 1:56:50 (yet another PR!). The way the course was re-jiggered meant that the hill came about mile 12.5 instead of mile 12, and it was tough as usual. But I knew there wasn't far to go, and managed to do the last 1.1 miles in 10:34, 5:57/km pace despite the hill. My average heart rate for that last 1.1 was a whopping 169! I guess I did give it my all there at the end.
Total time was 2:03:50, with ave HR 158.
Oh, one more thing - the comments from runners were more numerous than usual this year. They seemed really impressed by my pace, especially early on when everyone was feeling pretty good. Several of them asked me how long I thought it would take me to do the race. They were all quite respectful, though, and seemed genuinely interested in racewalking. Some of them even knew that it is an Olympic sport.
Garmin data here.
Here are all my pictures.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
cross-training; 10K
Yesterday I cross-trained. Not for very long, though. I caught some stomach bug from Loren and spent an hour or 2 in the middle of the night tossing and turning and feeling nauseated. When I woke up, it was late and I only managed to get in 20 min on the elliptical, which was about all I could manage in my nauseated state anyway. I only worked for a few hours before heading home to nap for a while before picking up the kids from school. I barely ate all day, but by evening the nausea abated a bit and I was able to eat some.
***
Today I felt OK when I woke up, so I went out for 10K. I didn't have high hopes, coming off the stomach thing and with my hip in an iffy condition. Jim said it was most likely a spasm, and I think he was right, because it felt OK today. It bothered me a tiny bit to start, and I stopped to stretch it at about 4km, but other than that it really felt much better than on Tuesday. I think I just pulled it a bit in the fast track workout on Monday (which made my quads hurt, by the way), and then on Tuesday it was still tender. After a few days of rest and anti-inflammatories, it's mostly better, I hope.
What surprised me was the speed of my workout. I took it easy, as evidenced by my heart rate (ave 144), but I was very, very fast. I finished the 10K in just 59:15, for 5:55/km!
I have a half marathon on Saturday and I'm now hoping for a really good fast time. It's a mostly downhill/flat race, so chances are good as long as my hip is 100%.
Garmin data here.
***
Today I felt OK when I woke up, so I went out for 10K. I didn't have high hopes, coming off the stomach thing and with my hip in an iffy condition. Jim said it was most likely a spasm, and I think he was right, because it felt OK today. It bothered me a tiny bit to start, and I stopped to stretch it at about 4km, but other than that it really felt much better than on Tuesday. I think I just pulled it a bit in the fast track workout on Monday (which made my quads hurt, by the way), and then on Tuesday it was still tender. After a few days of rest and anti-inflammatories, it's mostly better, I hope.
What surprised me was the speed of my workout. I took it easy, as evidenced by my heart rate (ave 144), but I was very, very fast. I finished the 10K in just 59:15, for 5:55/km!
I have a half marathon on Saturday and I'm now hoping for a really good fast time. It's a mostly downhill/flat race, so chances are good as long as my hip is 100%.
Garmin data here.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
5K - hip pain
I was to do 15K today but that was not in the cards. My hip started to hurt about 1km in, and by 2.5km I was wondering if it was wise to continue. I stopped and stretched a couple of times, but it didn't help that much. By 3.5km I knew it wasn't going to get better. I think it might be the IT band where it attaches at the hip, though I'm not sure. The pain is worst during the part of my gait where the right leg (the painful one) is weight bearing, and it hurts less when I walk on the left side of the road, where the cant of the road is sloping toward the right leg. I stopped at a little after 3.5km and walked home slowly (just brisk regular walking) and it hurt a lot less doing that. I arrived at home at 5km on my Garmin (35:xx). However, walking in to work from my car and walking to today's earthquake drill at work has made it ache just sitting here at my desk.
When I got home from my walk, I took an anti-inflammatory (naprosyn) and rolled on the foam roller and stretched a bit. It does not seem to be the piriformis; I've had that hurt before and this feels different. I also did a few hip hikes on the stairs to work my abductors a bit and will do some of the IT band PT exercises I had from when my left leg had IT band problems a few years ago. I'm not sure that is the problem, though, as I've only had it hurt in my knee before. I know it can hurt in the hip, but since I have no personal experience with it I'm not sure that's it.
In any case, I am supposed to cross-train tomorrow, so hopefully a day off, stretching, anti-inflammatories, etc. will do wonders for this. Somehow, I'm not optimistic, though. Seems like I generally have something like this right before a race when training is going really well :(.
When I got home from my walk, I took an anti-inflammatory (naprosyn) and rolled on the foam roller and stretched a bit. It does not seem to be the piriformis; I've had that hurt before and this feels different. I also did a few hip hikes on the stairs to work my abductors a bit and will do some of the IT band PT exercises I had from when my left leg had IT band problems a few years ago. I'm not sure that is the problem, though, as I've only had it hurt in my knee before. I know it can hurt in the hip, but since I have no personal experience with it I'm not sure that's it.
In any case, I am supposed to cross-train tomorrow, so hopefully a day off, stretching, anti-inflammatories, etc. will do wonders for this. Somehow, I'm not optimistic, though. Seems like I generally have something like this right before a race when training is going really well :(.
Monday, April 16, 2012
5x800/200
Yes, I know, I was supposed to do 7x800/200. I overslept my alarm again :(. Apparently I'm still a bit overtired, despite a nice nap for an hour yesterday afternoon. Of course, before the nap I did go to church (and play the piano for prelude, offertory, and communion - the usual), do a Costco run, and take the kids to a birthday party. It was a swimming party, and I was in the pool with them a good deal of the time. Obviously I need to learn to slow it down a bit on my rest days, but it's very difficult balancing home and family life with training. I was thinking about that this morning, as I knew I was running late, and Calvin woke and asked me to fix the tape on his toe (a toenail ripped off a bit too short). I did that, and then he wanted my attention about a few other things, and finally I told him "I really have to go to the track now, Calvin. I'm late!" I felt bad about that, but Calvin can really keep you going for a while if you let him, and you have to draw the line somewhere. It's a balancing act.
So, while I was warming up on the track, I was thinking about what kind of mother I am. I was worrying that I don't have the right balance. I enjoy doing lots of things with my kids: Kindermusik, piano lessons, ice skating, helping them with homework, and special things like taking them to the planetarium, more-than-weekly playdates with their friends. However, I know that none of my friends who have kids this age expect their kids to get dressed and get themselves breakfast in the morning while mommy is off working out (and daddy is home sleeping), and I do expect mine to do that. And actually, most of the time, they DO it. They might not match their clothes well, and sometimes they dress too warmly or not warmly enough. They don't always make the best breakfast choices, either, but they are doing better. I guess as I write this that I see the benefits of expecting them to fend for themselves a bit in the mornings. But still, sometimes I wonder if I'm doing it well enough.
The weather was perfect this morning - 45F (7C), sunny, and calm. Despite that, I almost left the track after 2 warm-up laps. I knew I didn't have time to do all seven 800/200s, and the mommy guilt was getting to me. But I felt good and I told myself I'd just do ONE 800/200 and see how it went. Then if it went well, I'd keep going. I only warmed up for 1200m total with some strides and some dynamic stretching, and then got started.
The first 800 I took it pretty easy, remembering last time I did this workout that I went out too fast and it wasn't good at all. I did a 4:16.1, with average heart rate of just 142 and max 152. Wow, that was fast for the easy effort. However, my right hip was hurting a little bit...annoying...but I kept going as I basically felt pretty good. After 30 sec rest, I did the 200, and it was a smokin' fast 53.9 seconds. The 2 min rest felt nice and long, and I didn't even consider quitting. The hip continued to nag me a bit during the workout, but it never got to be more than a twinge. I was revved to keep going despite the hip. I continued to do them fast and well, feeling really in control and surprised at my times. 4:11.1, 53.1, 4:10.8, 54.0, 4:08.0, 53.5, 4:10.7, 53.1. By the last one, I was working hard but not unmanageably so. I probably should not have done that last one due to time, but I did it anyway, because I was having such a good workout. I did manage to get the kids to school on time as well :) so it all worked out just fine. I feel sure I could have done 2 more under 4:15 and 0:55; I was fatiguing, yes, but not so much that I couldn't do a couple more...but of course I didn't have time.
Well, I did the best I could, and this is my best set of 800s ever. Too bad I couldn't do all seven. My only concern is technique. I wonder what is going on w/my hip, and also hope I am still legal. I feel that I am, but any time you make progress like this you do worry a bit if you are holding your form correctly. Am I lifting? Are my knees bent? Hopefully the answer to both is no.
Edited to add: The total time for 5K today was 25:24...wow! OK, so I did rest in between, but still...wow!
Garmin data here.
So, while I was warming up on the track, I was thinking about what kind of mother I am. I was worrying that I don't have the right balance. I enjoy doing lots of things with my kids: Kindermusik, piano lessons, ice skating, helping them with homework, and special things like taking them to the planetarium, more-than-weekly playdates with their friends. However, I know that none of my friends who have kids this age expect their kids to get dressed and get themselves breakfast in the morning while mommy is off working out (and daddy is home sleeping), and I do expect mine to do that. And actually, most of the time, they DO it. They might not match their clothes well, and sometimes they dress too warmly or not warmly enough. They don't always make the best breakfast choices, either, but they are doing better. I guess as I write this that I see the benefits of expecting them to fend for themselves a bit in the mornings. But still, sometimes I wonder if I'm doing it well enough.
The weather was perfect this morning - 45F (7C), sunny, and calm. Despite that, I almost left the track after 2 warm-up laps. I knew I didn't have time to do all seven 800/200s, and the mommy guilt was getting to me. But I felt good and I told myself I'd just do ONE 800/200 and see how it went. Then if it went well, I'd keep going. I only warmed up for 1200m total with some strides and some dynamic stretching, and then got started.
The first 800 I took it pretty easy, remembering last time I did this workout that I went out too fast and it wasn't good at all. I did a 4:16.1, with average heart rate of just 142 and max 152. Wow, that was fast for the easy effort. However, my right hip was hurting a little bit...annoying...but I kept going as I basically felt pretty good. After 30 sec rest, I did the 200, and it was a smokin' fast 53.9 seconds. The 2 min rest felt nice and long, and I didn't even consider quitting. The hip continued to nag me a bit during the workout, but it never got to be more than a twinge. I was revved to keep going despite the hip. I continued to do them fast and well, feeling really in control and surprised at my times. 4:11.1, 53.1, 4:10.8, 54.0, 4:08.0, 53.5, 4:10.7, 53.1. By the last one, I was working hard but not unmanageably so. I probably should not have done that last one due to time, but I did it anyway, because I was having such a good workout. I did manage to get the kids to school on time as well :) so it all worked out just fine. I feel sure I could have done 2 more under 4:15 and 0:55; I was fatiguing, yes, but not so much that I couldn't do a couple more...but of course I didn't have time.
Well, I did the best I could, and this is my best set of 800s ever. Too bad I couldn't do all seven. My only concern is technique. I wonder what is going on w/my hip, and also hope I am still legal. I feel that I am, but any time you make progress like this you do worry a bit if you are holding your form correctly. Am I lifting? Are my knees bent? Hopefully the answer to both is no.
Edited to add: The total time for 5K today was 25:24...wow! OK, so I did rest in between, but still...wow!
Garmin data here.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
25K
Really briefly - before I teach piano - busy day today!
Weather - started at 44F (about 6C) and breezy, and partly sunny. Ended at 48F and breezier and threatening rain. It actually started raining right after I finished.
Before the 25K this morning I timed our club 5K race, so I didn't get started on the 25K until 9:30ish. I ate a couple bananas (in a hurry...), one before leaving the house and one before starting the 25K.
I felt tired today. My legs were heavy and sore from about 10K on. That's a long time to be sore and heavy-legged. However, I wasn't as slow as I felt. I still managed 6:16/km for the 25K. I'm missing 0.2km of the distance and time from my watch because I accidentally forgot to start it after stopping for traffic once. Oops.
Total: 25K in 2:36:38 (extrapolated the extra 0.2km = 73 sec) with ave HR of 147 and very tired and sore legs. Done!
Garmin data here.
I loosened up my legs afterwards with a little figure skating with the kiddos. I have now mastered the Mohawk, 3-turn, and today I figured out power 3-turns! Plus my legs feel better after skating a bit - not so tight.
***
Edited to add: figured out 5K splits from this walk, adding the 73 seconds to the last 5K. 30:55, 31:23, 31:29, 31:25, 31:24 - that's pretty good! Much better than I thought it was.
Weather - started at 44F (about 6C) and breezy, and partly sunny. Ended at 48F and breezier and threatening rain. It actually started raining right after I finished.
Before the 25K this morning I timed our club 5K race, so I didn't get started on the 25K until 9:30ish. I ate a couple bananas (in a hurry...), one before leaving the house and one before starting the 25K.
I felt tired today. My legs were heavy and sore from about 10K on. That's a long time to be sore and heavy-legged. However, I wasn't as slow as I felt. I still managed 6:16/km for the 25K. I'm missing 0.2km of the distance and time from my watch because I accidentally forgot to start it after stopping for traffic once. Oops.
Total: 25K in 2:36:38 (extrapolated the extra 0.2km = 73 sec) with ave HR of 147 and very tired and sore legs. Done!
Garmin data here.
I loosened up my legs afterwards with a little figure skating with the kiddos. I have now mastered the Mohawk, 3-turn, and today I figured out power 3-turns! Plus my legs feel better after skating a bit - not so tight.
***
Edited to add: figured out 5K splits from this walk, adding the 73 seconds to the last 5K. 30:55, 31:23, 31:29, 31:25, 31:24 - that's pretty good! Much better than I thought it was.
Friday, April 13, 2012
hilly 10K
I could NOT get out of bed this morning. That's not like me. I was sooooooo very tired until about 11am, and then I started to feel more normal. I went to the gym this morning and did some core work, but did not racewalk until this afternoon. Luckily, it was a slowish day at work, so that was fine.
It's hilly at work. I did the flattest course I could, but it is still rolling hills. I was supposed to throw in 2x5' fast segments, but I didn't because 1) I was tired, and 2) the hills did that for me. Some parts were pretty steep.
Anyway, I felt OK, albeit tired, and my time was decent. I did the 10K in 1:01:26 for 6:09/km with ave HR of 148. That seems pretty good with the hills.
I wore a new pair of retro New Balance 420s, and I liked them; they seemed like they did the job all right. Nothing special, but they worked. They were on clearance, and they are bright red, so why not :)?
I hope I feel better for my 25K tomorrow. I am just so very tired today! The boss commented that maybe I am overtraining. He is an athlete himself (running, biking, and triathlons mostly) so it's possible he's right. Personally I think I just had a bit of a tough week sleep-wise, despite trying to get better sleep, and that is partly responsible. But I have been putting in a lot of hard miles, so I suppose I'll just keep an eye on things.
Garmin data here.
It's hilly at work. I did the flattest course I could, but it is still rolling hills. I was supposed to throw in 2x5' fast segments, but I didn't because 1) I was tired, and 2) the hills did that for me. Some parts were pretty steep.
Anyway, I felt OK, albeit tired, and my time was decent. I did the 10K in 1:01:26 for 6:09/km with ave HR of 148. That seems pretty good with the hills.
I wore a new pair of retro New Balance 420s, and I liked them; they seemed like they did the job all right. Nothing special, but they worked. They were on clearance, and they are bright red, so why not :)?
I hope I feel better for my 25K tomorrow. I am just so very tired today! The boss commented that maybe I am overtraining. He is an athlete himself (running, biking, and triathlons mostly) so it's possible he's right. Personally I think I just had a bit of a tough week sleep-wise, despite trying to get better sleep, and that is partly responsible. But I have been putting in a lot of hard miles, so I suppose I'll just keep an eye on things.
Garmin data here.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
12K fartlek on tired legs
The title pretty much sums this one up. My legs felt sore last night, but were OK by this morning. Still, it was clear by a few km into the workout that it was just going to be a struggle to finish this one well. That's really not surprising given that I did 7km of intervals on Monday and 15K pretty fast yesterday, plus biking to work Monday & Tuesday. Oh yeah, and I was up until 11:30 pm for work and then had to get to the track by 6:15 am to do the workout before taking the kids to school. So, considering all of that, it went pretty well I guess.
It would have been nicer to have the cross-training day today that my coach originally scheduled, and do this workout tomorrow. However, a big storm is due to arrive and they say that the wind gusts tomorrow morning could be 45mph, so a track workout might not be so good then. More rest would have been nice, but I suppose that if I could get through this one OK on tired legs, then I'm doing all right.
I got up a tad later than I wanted after being up late for work, and so I had to rush my warm-up a bit. I did 1200m instead of the usual 1600, though I did do my dynamic stretching. I felt good and reasonably fast on the warm-up, and did some strides during the last lap.
I started the 12K fartlek, and the first km (fast) felt good, at 2:40 and 2:46 for the 500s for 5:26 for the km. I wanted to be a little conservative on that first km, and I felt that I was. However, on the medium 500 following it, I felt a bit stiff and ungainly, and was a bit slowish in 2:59. I pulled out a nice fast 2:44 for my next fast one, but then I just didn't feel so great on the 3rd km and that's when I knew it was going to be a long slog of a workout. I thought "at least I'm 1/4 done" and kept going, though I will admit the thought of quitting did cross my mind. I told myself that champions don't quit, and pushed on.
I slowed down just a little after that, and it helped. I knew I'd have to in order to complete the workout. I still got to 5K pretty quickly - in 28:54, faster than when I was in New York City. But I paid for that. The second 5K was 29:53, and the last 2K was 12:07. Ouch.
Total time: 1:10:53 and average HR 159.
Edited to add: Garmin data here.
Well, at least it's done.
It would have been nicer to have the cross-training day today that my coach originally scheduled, and do this workout tomorrow. However, a big storm is due to arrive and they say that the wind gusts tomorrow morning could be 45mph, so a track workout might not be so good then. More rest would have been nice, but I suppose that if I could get through this one OK on tired legs, then I'm doing all right.
I got up a tad later than I wanted after being up late for work, and so I had to rush my warm-up a bit. I did 1200m instead of the usual 1600, though I did do my dynamic stretching. I felt good and reasonably fast on the warm-up, and did some strides during the last lap.
I started the 12K fartlek, and the first km (fast) felt good, at 2:40 and 2:46 for the 500s for 5:26 for the km. I wanted to be a little conservative on that first km, and I felt that I was. However, on the medium 500 following it, I felt a bit stiff and ungainly, and was a bit slowish in 2:59. I pulled out a nice fast 2:44 for my next fast one, but then I just didn't feel so great on the 3rd km and that's when I knew it was going to be a long slog of a workout. I thought "at least I'm 1/4 done" and kept going, though I will admit the thought of quitting did cross my mind. I told myself that champions don't quit, and pushed on.
I slowed down just a little after that, and it helped. I knew I'd have to in order to complete the workout. I still got to 5K pretty quickly - in 28:54, faster than when I was in New York City. But I paid for that. The second 5K was 29:53, and the last 2K was 12:07. Ouch.
Total time: 1:10:53 and average HR 159.
Edited to add: Garmin data here.
Well, at least it's done.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
fast 15K
I felt great today! I guess it helped that I didn't quite do all of the workout yesterday...but enough beating myself up over that. It's done now.
The weather was gorgeous: 50F (10C) and calm and clear. Perfect shorts and T-shirt weather :) (50F is my cutoff for that). No gloves either...ahhhh so nice!
I started off fast, but my heart rate wasn't high at all (upper 130s) and I felt I was taking it easy. At 5K I was surprised to see my time was 29:48! Granted, it's a slight downhill, but still...that was fast. The next 5K felt good as well, and was also fast, in 30:19. The final 5K I was working harder (HR about 150) but not too hard, and finished in 30:43 for a total of 1:30:50 for the 15K (6:04/km!) with ave HR of only 144. Wow. That's the fastest "easy" 15K I've ever done.
After the workout, I took the kids to school and then punished my glutes with a bike ride up the hill to work. Ouch! But it felt good :).
Garmin data here.
The weather was gorgeous: 50F (10C) and calm and clear. Perfect shorts and T-shirt weather :) (50F is my cutoff for that). No gloves either...ahhhh so nice!
I started off fast, but my heart rate wasn't high at all (upper 130s) and I felt I was taking it easy. At 5K I was surprised to see my time was 29:48! Granted, it's a slight downhill, but still...that was fast. The next 5K felt good as well, and was also fast, in 30:19. The final 5K I was working harder (HR about 150) but not too hard, and finished in 30:43 for a total of 1:30:50 for the 15K (6:04/km!) with ave HR of only 144. Wow. That's the fastest "easy" 15K I've ever done.
After the workout, I took the kids to school and then punished my glutes with a bike ride up the hill to work. Ouch! But it felt good :).
Garmin data here.
Monday, April 09, 2012
3x2K, 4x1K DNF :(
Don't panic! Yes, I did not finish (DNF) this workout, but it was only due to oversleeping/poor sleep and not due to injury. Whew.
Still, I am really mad I didn't finish, because I was doing really well. I'm totally mad at myself for 1) staying up too late last night, 2) eating too much Easter candy, and consequently oversleeping my alarm this morning. I fell asleep on the couch last night at about 10:30pm and woke disoriented at 12:30pm and dragged myself to bed. I slept fitfully and heard my alarm but pushed snooze too many times :(.
Goal for this week: GO TO BED EARLIER! Seriously...lights out at 9:30. Well, I won't be able to do that Tuesday night, as I have a hypoxia experiment at work that will keep me up until 11 pm (or later), but at least Wednesday morning is a cross-training morning, so that should work OK.
All right, I'm still mad, but at least I've mostly gotten it off my chest. Now on to the workout.
Arriving late at the track, I did a short warm-up of only 1200m with strides. I did a few dynamic stretches and then got started. I wasn't in a very good mood but know from experience that doesn't necessarily matter too much. The 2Ks went well. I took it easy on the first one and was still fast - 2:45, 2:45, 2:46, 2:49 for 11:05.7 w/ave HR 153. The next two I worked a bit harder but was able to hold my speed; by the third one I was working very hard at the end but by then I knew I didn't have time for all of the 1Ks, so I figured I might as well push harder. The second 2K was 11:06.7 (ave HR 160) and the third 11:08.2 (ave HR 163).
I thought I'd have time for two 1Ks at this point, but obviously don't do math well when working out at high intensity :). I did one in 5:33.2 (2:46.5, 2:46.7) and when I looked at my watch it was just too close to do another one before getting the kids to school. My legs were tired at this point but I am 100% sure I could have done one more at the same speed. After that I'm not sure what would have happened, obviously. I think I would have done pretty well, and I'm still mad that I couldn't finish and find out.
Oh, and the weather was perfect too, so it would have been really nice to finish. It was 45F (7C) with a light breeze. It's predicted to get to 78F today! Of course, this being Utah, it's supposed to snow on Thursday I hear.
Grrrr.
Garmin data here.
***
Edited to add:
1) Yesterday was a rest day, and so I took the kids figure skating, and practiced a bunch myself. My Mohawk is finally getting better! I'm working hard on my 3-turns but they're not good yet.
2) After DNF-ing the workout I decided I'd bike to work for a little more work for the legs. Penance of sorts, if you want to call it that. It's gorgeous out and I'm biking over to a friend's after work while the kids are at Mad Science (extra afterschool program) and we're going to bike together (easy, slow :)!).
3) I forgot to post some Easter pictures. Here they are. My favorite is my husband posing with the hammer. He replaced the roof on the shed, which was just pure awesomeness.
Still, I am really mad I didn't finish, because I was doing really well. I'm totally mad at myself for 1) staying up too late last night, 2) eating too much Easter candy, and consequently oversleeping my alarm this morning. I fell asleep on the couch last night at about 10:30pm and woke disoriented at 12:30pm and dragged myself to bed. I slept fitfully and heard my alarm but pushed snooze too many times :(.
Goal for this week: GO TO BED EARLIER! Seriously...lights out at 9:30. Well, I won't be able to do that Tuesday night, as I have a hypoxia experiment at work that will keep me up until 11 pm (or later), but at least Wednesday morning is a cross-training morning, so that should work OK.
All right, I'm still mad, but at least I've mostly gotten it off my chest. Now on to the workout.
Arriving late at the track, I did a short warm-up of only 1200m with strides. I did a few dynamic stretches and then got started. I wasn't in a very good mood but know from experience that doesn't necessarily matter too much. The 2Ks went well. I took it easy on the first one and was still fast - 2:45, 2:45, 2:46, 2:49 for 11:05.7 w/ave HR 153. The next two I worked a bit harder but was able to hold my speed; by the third one I was working very hard at the end but by then I knew I didn't have time for all of the 1Ks, so I figured I might as well push harder. The second 2K was 11:06.7 (ave HR 160) and the third 11:08.2 (ave HR 163).
I thought I'd have time for two 1Ks at this point, but obviously don't do math well when working out at high intensity :). I did one in 5:33.2 (2:46.5, 2:46.7) and when I looked at my watch it was just too close to do another one before getting the kids to school. My legs were tired at this point but I am 100% sure I could have done one more at the same speed. After that I'm not sure what would have happened, obviously. I think I would have done pretty well, and I'm still mad that I couldn't finish and find out.
Oh, and the weather was perfect too, so it would have been really nice to finish. It was 45F (7C) with a light breeze. It's predicted to get to 78F today! Of course, this being Utah, it's supposed to snow on Thursday I hear.
Grrrr.
Garmin data here.
***
Edited to add:
1) Yesterday was a rest day, and so I took the kids figure skating, and practiced a bunch myself. My Mohawk is finally getting better! I'm working hard on my 3-turns but they're not good yet.
2) After DNF-ing the workout I decided I'd bike to work for a little more work for the legs. Penance of sorts, if you want to call it that. It's gorgeous out and I'm biking over to a friend's after work while the kids are at Mad Science (extra afterschool program) and we're going to bike together (easy, slow :)!).
3) I forgot to post some Easter pictures. Here they are. My favorite is my husband posing with the hammer. He replaced the roof on the shed, which was just pure awesomeness.
Saturday, April 07, 2012
20K
Weather: 30F (-1C), clear, and a very slight breeze. Chilly for April, but it was actually quite a nice day to be out. The flowers are in full bloom here and yesterday's snow is all melted. It's predicted to warm to 60F today (15C) and 70F tomorrow for Easter. Nice!
The workout: I felt good today for the first 15K or so, and the last 5K was a bit of a slog, with tired legs. My legs were sore when I got up, probably from the walking lunges I did yesterday at the gym (w/10 lb weights). Those are great, but if I don't do them at least once per week they make me sore when I return to them. I've been bad about lifting, so it's been quite a while, hence sore legs today. The nice thing about having sore glutes is that it makes you more aware of when you are using your glutes and when you are not using them as much, which leads to some good technique work. Still, the last 3K really hurt, and my legs were complaining a lot. After the workout I took the kids to SugarHouse Park for the Easter egg hunt, and my legs were very sore when we were there! It was good to walk around a bit and get the stiffness out.
Here are my splits and total time; my average HR was 149 for the whole workout. 5K 30:27.3, 10K 30:59.5 (1:01:27), 15K 31:10.6 (1:32:37), 20K 31:46.2 (2:04:24).
Garmin data here.
The workout: I felt good today for the first 15K or so, and the last 5K was a bit of a slog, with tired legs. My legs were sore when I got up, probably from the walking lunges I did yesterday at the gym (w/10 lb weights). Those are great, but if I don't do them at least once per week they make me sore when I return to them. I've been bad about lifting, so it's been quite a while, hence sore legs today. The nice thing about having sore glutes is that it makes you more aware of when you are using your glutes and when you are not using them as much, which leads to some good technique work. Still, the last 3K really hurt, and my legs were complaining a lot. After the workout I took the kids to SugarHouse Park for the Easter egg hunt, and my legs were very sore when we were there! It was good to walk around a bit and get the stiffness out.
Here are my splits and total time; my average HR was 149 for the whole workout. 5K 30:27.3, 10K 30:59.5 (1:01:27), 15K 31:10.6 (1:32:37), 20K 31:46.2 (2:04:24).
Garmin data here.
Friday, April 06, 2012
cross-training
I was happy to be cross training today. It was snowing sideways, blizzard-like, when I went to the gym. Cold, VERY windy, and snow. Brrrr! The elliptical for 45 min plus some weight training and core was just perfect for a day like today.
It's supposed to be cold tomorrow morning but at least it is not supposed to be snowing, and it's predicted to warm up to 60F (15C) by midday tomorrow, so not too bad.
It's supposed to be cold tomorrow morning but at least it is not supposed to be snowing, and it's predicted to warm up to 60F (15C) by midday tomorrow, so not too bad.
Thursday, April 05, 2012
5K fartlek - new PR for this workout!
I really did not want to get out of bed today. I was warm and snug, and I'd been up late at work doing a 36-hr time point (I was there from 9:40-10:40 pm), and so I didn't get to sleep until after 11. Add to that tired and sore body and legs from weight training and from racewalking, and it was hard to get up! The weather was decent at least - 36F (2C) and no wind, which I was very happy about. Yeah, a little chilly, but not bad at all. Warm compared with January weather anyway, and tomorrow it's supposed to snow, so I am not complaining at all about today's weather.
I warmed up for 1600m in 9:45ish with strides on the last lap. I did some dynamic stretches and was ready to go. 5K fartlek is a short workout, but you do have to go hard, and I wasn't necessarily excited about that with my sore legs. However, I'd felt good on the warmup so I figured I would see what I could do.
I started off really fast - the first 500 was in 2:37.8 and the second in just 2:41.8 for 5:19.6 for the first km. I was happy with that but a little worried as I still had 4 km to go and didn't want a repeat of Tuesday's 5x800/200 workout. Fortunately, my body held up better today. I was really surprised that all my fast intervals were 2:43 or less! Here are the rest of my splits: 2:53.8, 2:43.6, 2:55.1, 2:42.6, 2:56.4, 2:43.8, 2:56.6, and 2:42.1. I really worked this one very hard - my HR monitor went a bit crazy the last few km, but for the 2nd and 3rd km it was in the upper 160s for the fast segments, so I know I was going hard, and I'm sure that it only got higher as I went on. Note to self: wash out HR monitor strap every day to prevent salt accumulation and weird readings! This did not happen with my last HR monitor, but the monitor part on that was all plastic. This strap is softer and cloth, hence more comfortable to wear, but also more erratic.
Total time: 27:53.6! Yay! New PR by 5 seconds or so. I'll take it!
Legs are sore and so is the rest of me, but I have cross-training tomorrow plus some weight training and hopefully I'll feel a bit recovered for 20K on Saturday.
Garmin data here.
I warmed up for 1600m in 9:45ish with strides on the last lap. I did some dynamic stretches and was ready to go. 5K fartlek is a short workout, but you do have to go hard, and I wasn't necessarily excited about that with my sore legs. However, I'd felt good on the warmup so I figured I would see what I could do.
I started off really fast - the first 500 was in 2:37.8 and the second in just 2:41.8 for 5:19.6 for the first km. I was happy with that but a little worried as I still had 4 km to go and didn't want a repeat of Tuesday's 5x800/200 workout. Fortunately, my body held up better today. I was really surprised that all my fast intervals were 2:43 or less! Here are the rest of my splits: 2:53.8, 2:43.6, 2:55.1, 2:42.6, 2:56.4, 2:43.8, 2:56.6, and 2:42.1. I really worked this one very hard - my HR monitor went a bit crazy the last few km, but for the 2nd and 3rd km it was in the upper 160s for the fast segments, so I know I was going hard, and I'm sure that it only got higher as I went on. Note to self: wash out HR monitor strap every day to prevent salt accumulation and weird readings! This did not happen with my last HR monitor, but the monitor part on that was all plastic. This strap is softer and cloth, hence more comfortable to wear, but also more erratic.
Total time: 27:53.6! Yay! New PR by 5 seconds or so. I'll take it!
Legs are sore and so is the rest of me, but I have cross-training tomorrow plus some weight training and hopefully I'll feel a bit recovered for 20K on Saturday.
Garmin data here.
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
10K
My legs were quite sore this morning from the fast speed work yesterday, and they were pretty tired. I figured I'd have a lousy walk, but I knew that didn't matter - I just had to get out and do it.
By the way, I looked up my 800s and the 4:09 that I did yesterday is definitely my fastest ever, along with the 0:55 200m. No wonder my legs are sore!
The weather was great this morning; 45F (7C) and calm. It's been windy a lot lately, so it was nice to have a wind-free workout. It's supposed to get up to 70F here today :) but the wind is coming back this afternoon, or so they say. Tomorrow morning is predicted to be 42F and breezy for my 5K fartlek on the track, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
It was still dark when I headed out at 6 am; I was trying to get to the gym at 7 to meet Lisa. I did get there and do weights with her, but I was about 15 min late. Ah, I digress again.
I started off and felt so very sore. Yet surprisingly, I wasn't slow. I got to 5K in just under 31 min, and though my legs were tired and sore, I was pleased with that. I worked a bit harder on the last 5K, which is a slight uphill, and made it back in 1:02:09 for 6:13/km with ave HR 148. That's pretty fast for being sore and tired! I'll take it! Now my legs are even more sore...5K fartlek tomorrow could be interesting. Or maybe I'll recover well and it will be good.
Plus 3 data here (Garmin website is down...grrrrr).
***
I hopped in my car and drove to the gym and got in some good weight training. Not as many sets as I wanted, but good nonetheless. I did bench press (only 25 lb dumbbells on each arm...sigh...out of shape!), abductor machine/elastic bands (alternating), hamstring curls, lat pull-down (70 lb - my usual weight for this, so didn't lose much there), plank (90 sec), ball crunches front and each side, ball passes from feet to hands, and some light stretching. Hopefully Friday I'll get in a few more.
By the way, I looked up my 800s and the 4:09 that I did yesterday is definitely my fastest ever, along with the 0:55 200m. No wonder my legs are sore!
The weather was great this morning; 45F (7C) and calm. It's been windy a lot lately, so it was nice to have a wind-free workout. It's supposed to get up to 70F here today :) but the wind is coming back this afternoon, or so they say. Tomorrow morning is predicted to be 42F and breezy for my 5K fartlek on the track, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
It was still dark when I headed out at 6 am; I was trying to get to the gym at 7 to meet Lisa. I did get there and do weights with her, but I was about 15 min late. Ah, I digress again.
I started off and felt so very sore. Yet surprisingly, I wasn't slow. I got to 5K in just under 31 min, and though my legs were tired and sore, I was pleased with that. I worked a bit harder on the last 5K, which is a slight uphill, and made it back in 1:02:09 for 6:13/km with ave HR 148. That's pretty fast for being sore and tired! I'll take it! Now my legs are even more sore...5K fartlek tomorrow could be interesting. Or maybe I'll recover well and it will be good.
Plus 3 data here (Garmin website is down...grrrrr).
***
I hopped in my car and drove to the gym and got in some good weight training. Not as many sets as I wanted, but good nonetheless. I did bench press (only 25 lb dumbbells on each arm...sigh...out of shape!), abductor machine/elastic bands (alternating), hamstring curls, lat pull-down (70 lb - my usual weight for this, so didn't lose much there), plank (90 sec), ball crunches front and each side, ball passes from feet to hands, and some light stretching. Hopefully Friday I'll get in a few more.
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
5x800/200
Ah, an easy little workout! NOT! This was really hard today, probably because I started off too fast and then my legs were just wasted by the end. I haven't done this one in a while, so it was tough to pace myself properly. I was afraid of going too slow because I've been doing longer intervals, but then I went too fast.
I worked out in the late morning at the track at the U. It's a fairly new track, and I haven't tried it yet, mostly because the one at East High is generally more convenient. But today I got up late and so I skipped the early am workout and went straight to work a bit earlier than usual, so I was able to sneak out for a track workout.
Here's a photo of the track from the U website:
Today it was more beautiful than the picture, though, because it was clear & sunny and the mountains were snow-covered. It was about 50F (10C) and windy at the track. Not so windy that it cost me a lot of time or anything, but it was definitely windy.
I warmed up for 1600m in about 9:45 with a few fast 100s in there to get the legs going. I felt pretty good. I did some dynamic stretching and then started the set. I was to do 800m, rest 30 sec, then 200m, rest 2 min, and repeat for a total of 5 sets. I went way, way too fast on the first 800 (I did stop briefly at 500m to turn off my auto lap - grrrr!). I did a 4:09. Oops. That cost me for the rest of the workout. I followed that up with the fastest 200m I think I have ever done: 55.6. Smokin'! Only I didn't save much for later. The rest of the workout got ugly fast, though it could have been worse. I was hurting a lot - my legs were just totally unresponsive and floppy by the end. The last 800 was very painful and slow, too. Here are my times for the rest of the intervals: 4:16.2, 55.9, 4:24.2, 58.2, 4:17.6, 57.9, 4:26.7, 58.5.
Despite the slowness at the end, I think this is one of my fastest sets of 800s (on average), and the 200s were definitely pretty good. I wish I had been more consistent, though. Sorry coach. This workout takes practice to get consistent, and I haven't done it in a while. That's my excuse anyway :).
Garmin data here.
I worked out in the late morning at the track at the U. It's a fairly new track, and I haven't tried it yet, mostly because the one at East High is generally more convenient. But today I got up late and so I skipped the early am workout and went straight to work a bit earlier than usual, so I was able to sneak out for a track workout.
Here's a photo of the track from the U website:
Today it was more beautiful than the picture, though, because it was clear & sunny and the mountains were snow-covered. It was about 50F (10C) and windy at the track. Not so windy that it cost me a lot of time or anything, but it was definitely windy.
I warmed up for 1600m in about 9:45 with a few fast 100s in there to get the legs going. I felt pretty good. I did some dynamic stretching and then started the set. I was to do 800m, rest 30 sec, then 200m, rest 2 min, and repeat for a total of 5 sets. I went way, way too fast on the first 800 (I did stop briefly at 500m to turn off my auto lap - grrrr!). I did a 4:09. Oops. That cost me for the rest of the workout. I followed that up with the fastest 200m I think I have ever done: 55.6. Smokin'! Only I didn't save much for later. The rest of the workout got ugly fast, though it could have been worse. I was hurting a lot - my legs were just totally unresponsive and floppy by the end. The last 800 was very painful and slow, too. Here are my times for the rest of the intervals: 4:16.2, 55.9, 4:24.2, 58.2, 4:17.6, 57.9, 4:26.7, 58.5.
Despite the slowness at the end, I think this is one of my fastest sets of 800s (on average), and the 200s were definitely pretty good. I wish I had been more consistent, though. Sorry coach. This workout takes practice to get consistent, and I haven't done it in a while. That's my excuse anyway :).
Garmin data here.
Monday, April 02, 2012
catching up
Saturday in NYC I did a hour on the elliptical in the morning before we headed out for a day's worth of activities. We walked around the city a lot, went to the UN but got there too late to do the audio tour, went to Lindt Chocolates (mmmmm), ate lunch, and then pretty soon it was time to leave :(. We had wanted to rent bikes and ride around Central Park, but it was too rainy and cold (misting, and about 40F).
***
Sunday I took a rest day, from exercise anyway. The rest of the day was busy. After getting in late from the NYC trip, I still managed to play our Palm Sunday service, make dessert for our college ministry, teach 2 piano lessons, and make dinner for the family. Whew.
***
Today I tried to get up early enough to get some good x-training in, but failed. I did manage 30 min on the elliptical, and I plan to try to get some more in later somehow. I am taking the kids to practice figure skating this afternoon as well, though that's not much cardio unless I'm skating fast around the rink, which I don't usually do as I'm often trying to practice turns or elements I need to know to pass this level.
I'm glad this is an easy week for racewalking. I do have a couple speed workouts, one of which I'll do tomorrow, but they are short. Saturday will begin three hard weeks of training again; I'll probably do 20K this Saturday and then we'll likely up that. I do have a half marathon planned for the 21st (SLC half; should be fun!).
***
Sunday I took a rest day, from exercise anyway. The rest of the day was busy. After getting in late from the NYC trip, I still managed to play our Palm Sunday service, make dessert for our college ministry, teach 2 piano lessons, and make dinner for the family. Whew.
***
Today I tried to get up early enough to get some good x-training in, but failed. I did manage 30 min on the elliptical, and I plan to try to get some more in later somehow. I am taking the kids to practice figure skating this afternoon as well, though that's not much cardio unless I'm skating fast around the rink, which I don't usually do as I'm often trying to practice turns or elements I need to know to pass this level.
I'm glad this is an easy week for racewalking. I do have a couple speed workouts, one of which I'll do tomorrow, but they are short. Saturday will begin three hard weeks of training again; I'll probably do 20K this Saturday and then we'll likely up that. I do have a half marathon planned for the 21st (SLC half; should be fun!).
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