Also, I've had some nagging hamstring sh-t that I am NOT happy about. I'm seeing a physical therapist today to get it checked out. Wish me luck!
I spent the past weekend at a resort north of San Diego in Del Mar with Sourabh. He was supposed to be in Philadelphia for two weeks at a trial, but the case settled the night before he was set to fly out. After two months of pretty much non-stop work (he'd worked through every weekend and was routinely getting to the office between 6-7 a.m.), he suggested a relaxing weekend. I'd worked for most of the previous weekend as well, so I was down for a weekend of doing nothing.
It ended up being mostly a lazy Friday night and Saturday since we opted to leave early Sunday so I could run on trails I knew were relatively flat, per Coach Jess's request for my hamstring. It was so nice to relax, though, and spend some quality time together.
The grounds were gorgeous, so it was a great place to relax. We didn't budge from the resort the whole time, other than walking Mason on some of the trails surrounding the gardens.
Thankfully, after a stressful few weeks for him, Mason was able to really relax and get some rest. He works so hard, you guys.
CIM Training Log: Week 11
Monday: Off. 30 minutes restorative yoga and triggerpoint work.
Tuesday: AM 45 minute SoulCycle class + PM strength
Great class with the same instructor from the previous Saturday. Sad he doesn't normally do weekday mornings!
Hit my complex's gym in the evening for strength.
3x15: (1) "Arnolds", (2) weighted split squat jumps, (3) flys, (4) single leg deadlifts, (5) weighted hip lifts
1 min: plank x 2 + side plank each side
Wednesday: AM 60 minute trail run at Bommer Ridge + strides.
The temperature was in the mid 70s, real feel low 80s, with 90% humidity (YES 90% DEAR LORD MAKE IT STOP). Thankfully there was a bit of a cool breeze up where I was running, but I still sweat ALL of the sweat.
6x20 second strides on flat sidewalk at the end: 6:24 avg pace, .32 miles for 5.94 total miles.
Felt really good despite the humidity. Hadn't run on this trail in a few weeks and it was SO gorgeous. Definitely my favorite running route in Orange County.
Thursday: AM tempo run at Back Bay (8 miles total).
Sigh. Mid-70s and 88% humidity. I was just... so over the humidity, and I'm sure that affected my mental game. Also, there were a ton of gnats. When I got home I realized I had dead gnats all over my arms, in my sports bra, on my forehead... drowned from my sweat. I know, you're really attracted to me right now.
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| #sosexy |
So, this wasn't the best run. I was an idiot and wore a too-tight sports bra, and I felt like I couldn't fully inhale in the later miles. I'm sure the humidity didn't help that. Anyway, I ran by effort until the second to last tempo mile when I felt like looking at the time might help me push.
2 mile w/u very easy
Split/HR: (1) 8:41 / 153; (2) 8:19 / 162, (3) 8:37 / 164, (4) 8:30 / 165, (5) 8:19 / 169
1 mile c/d very easy
I was not happy with the run. But at least the effort level was there, based on HR?
Friday: AM strength workout.
3x15: (1) bicep curls, (2) tricep extensions, (3) fire hydrant hip lifts (each side), (4) lat pulldowns, (5) seated rows, (6) hamstring curls
2x15: (1) russian twists (each side), (2) supermans
Saturday: 4 miles easy around neighborhood + strides.
Temperature was roughly 75 degrees, feels like 79 degrees, overcast, 65% humidity.
40:13 for 4 miles, 10:03 avg, 136 avg HR, ~280 ft. elev. gain.
4x20sec strides, avg pace 5:47 -- felt like I could fly on these.
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| Caught the sunset from Inspiration Point in Corona del Mar that night. |
I ran the hilly part of Back Bay as an out and back then did the normal 10 mile loop. I ran a bit later in the day to avoid the highest humidity, and it helped, I think. Fueled with a Picky Bar and coffee beforehand, 16 oz gatorade, about 32 oz water and one gel at the 8 mile mark. Temps ranged from 74 to 76 degrees and 65% humidity. Not horrendous, but I felt pretty hot and was drenched in sweat by the end.
2:42:14 total time, 10:08 avg pace, 145 avg HR, ~640 elev. gain (approx. 2 loops of Central Park)
Splits: (1) 10:22, (2) 10:29, (3) 10:14, (4) 10:06, (5) 10:12, (6) 10:24, [took quick break to refill my bottle at my car and check my work email at this point] (7) 10:16, (8) 10:30, (9) 10:19, (10) 10:17, (11) 10:17, (12) 9:57, (13) 9:52, (14) 9:42, (15) 9:41, (16) 9:37
I definitely went a bit above the assigned effort level 5 in the last mile or two -- I felt pretty good and I was also hot and kind of just wanted to finish.
Total Mileage = ~ 34 miles
CIM Training Log: Week 12
Monday: Off. Stretching, foam rolling, triggerpoint work.
Tuesday: AM 45 minute SoulCycle class.
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| Derpy cat photo interlude. Bea is so offended that I took her picture in that compromising position. |
Wednesday: PM tempo run at Back Bay (6 miles total).
I woke up at 5am and felt absolutely awful. My stomach felt upset (going to guess the 10 p.m. dinner the night before was the culprit ), I had slept poorly, and the last thing I wanted to do was run. If it had been easy miles I would have done it, but I had a feeling that it might be a terrible tempo run which would negate the whole point of redoing the previous week's tempo to get my headspace in a better place. So I opted to go back to sleep and run after work.
I had to cut the run a bit short because it was Sourabh and my anniversary and we were going out to dinner (and I hadn't been able to get out of work as early as I'd hoped), but I had SUCH a good run. It felt like a breakthrough in terms of focusing on effort. I didn't look at my splits at all, I only looked at the heart rate and distance, and as long as my HR confirmed that I was keeping a steady effort, I ignored it. AND I RAN AWESOME CONSISTENT SPLITS!!! This run felt like SUCH a triumph because I didn't let numbers or my brain get to me.
Temps were 74-72 degrees, 70-80% humidity (blechhh) in the PM. Ran at Back Bay so basically no real hills.
1.5 mile w/u
Splits: (1) 8:19, (2) 8:12, (3) 8:15, (4) 7:59 (HR in mid to low 160s till last mile when it was high 160s to low 170s)
1/2 mile c/d
I felt like I could have kept up the effort level of miles 1-3 for another mile before I sped up, too, so it was a really encouraging run.
It was a low key anniversary dinner to celebrate seven years together, but I was just happy to have some time with Sourabh given how much he'd been working. I feel really lucky to have found such an incredible partner.
Thursday: PM six miles easy + strength.
I recently got a headlamp and I LOVE IT. It meant that after a later dinner (due to Sourabh working and me fitting in the tempo run), I could sleep in a bit Thursday morning and get close to 8 hours of sleep, get to work early (because I had a ton to take care of), and not worry about what time I left in the evening. I live in an area with lots of sidewalks, well-traveled residential roads, with few intersections, and having the head lamp makes me feel a lot safer (in addition to reflective clothing, of course).
Temps were in the low 70s, 60-80% humidity.
6 miles, 1:02:22 total time, 10:24 avg pace, 128 avg HR, 350 ft elevation gain (loop of CP)
4x20sec strides, .22 miles, 6:13 avg pace
Strength/Core - 3x15:
(1) Lateral walk w/ band (each way)
(2) Clamshells w/ band (each leg)
(3) Hip lifts w/ band
(4) Fire hydrants (each leg)
(5) Pike-ups
(6) Side plank leg lifts (each side)
Finished w/ 1 min. plank
Friday: Off.
Had some foot pain in the ball of my right foot so I rolled it, and pushed weight-based strength to Saturday to be safe.
Saturday: AM 4 miles easy around my neighborhood + PM strength.
Foot pain had disappeared by this run, but I got a massage that evening to be safe. I worked most of the day from home, other than fitting in the workouts, grabbing a quick lunch at a new poke bowl place (it's like Chipotle but with poke!), and the evening massage.
Temps were mid 70s, feels like 80, 60% humidity. 4 miles in 40:03, 10:01 avg pace, 190 ft elev gain, avg HR of 140 (felt very hot). Felt pretty good on the run -- thoroughly decent.
Did strength work in the evening focused on upper body - 3x15:
(1) lat pull downs
(2) seated rows
(3) chest presses
(4) bicep curls
(5) fire hydrants
(6) donkey kickbacks
2 x 15 reps of Russian twists (each side) and 1 minute planks.
Sunday: Long run (18 miles, fast finish) at Back Bay.
Woke up to an email saying I needed to come in to the office as soon as I finished my long run and would likely need to pull two all-nighters. More than being depressed at the prospect of working , I was actually just thankful that I work with someone who understood how important it was to me to get my marathon training in.
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| Caught the tail-end of a firey sunrise at the beginning of my run. |
Weather was so much nicer than previous long runs -- high 60s to mid 70s, but overcast and not too humid (50-60%).
3:01:28 total time, 10:05 average pace, 139 average HR, ~650 ft elevation gain.
I ran four miles out along the hilly portion of Back Bay, four miles back, then met up with Kristina to do the 10 mile full loop. The plan was 16 miles easy, 2 miles at tempo pace.
Splits: (1) 10:33. (2) 10:31, (3) 10:08, (4) 10:24. (5) 10:25, (6) 10:21, (7) 10:18, (8) 10:14, (9) 10:15, (10) 10:09, (11) 10:05, (12) 10:16, (13) 10:07, (14) 9:55, (15) 10:09, (16) 10:09, (17) 8:53, (18) 8:33
At the end of the run, Kristina asked me how I felt. As I told her, "surprisingly good!" My hamstring didn't bother me on this run at all, which was great.
Total Mileage = 34 miles
CIM Training Log: Week 13
Monday: Off. Stretching, foam rolling, etc. etc.
Tuesday: Off. Stretched more, and decided to push strength to Wednesday due to my hamstring feeling off.
Wednesday: AM six miles easy at Bommer Ridge + PM strength.
Was in the mid 60s, cool breeze, 75% humidity. 6 miles, 1:04:17 total time, 10:42 avg. pace, ~600 ft elev gain, 140 avg HR.
PM Strength - 3x15: (1) single leg deadlift (went lighter on weight; wanted to stretch/strengthen hamstring without burdening it too much), (2) tricep dips, (3) squats (again, lighter on weight), (4) shoulder presses
2x15 overhead med ball oblique tilts (each side) + 1 minute plank
Thursday: Off.
Work was exceedingly hectic, and I needed to be in early, so I pushed the planned mile repeats to the next day. I didn't want to run them in the evening with a headlamp because Back Bay would be pretty dark and I like to listen to music for speedwork, so I pushed the repeats to the next day knowing I'd be working from home and would be more flexible.
Friday: AM 3x1600m repeats with 90 seconds rest in between at Back Bay.
Closed the deal that had kept me so busy for ten days, then headed to Back Bay to get this workout in.
Low 80s and 10% HUMIDITY. Yes, the insane humidity of the past couple months has broken. It was AMAZING. Actually, with the 10-15mph wind, when I turned around and ran into the wind, my mouth and throat were insanely dry and I couldn't really swallow. But I ended the run not even that sweaty. AMAZING. Still, it was quite hot.
2 mile warm up (low 10s)
Splits (pace/HR): (1) 7:29/171, (2) 7:39/171, (3) 7:47/177
1 mile cool down (mid 10s)
154 avg HR for the whole workout, 191 max
I had no clue what my pace was and focused on effort level the whole time. I'm bummed with the positive splitting, but happy that my heart rate indicates my effort level stayed hard. Also, I had a 10-15 mph headwind in the second and third repeats, which definitely might have played a part. At any rate, Jess is always more concerned with effort level than actual times, so she said she was content with this.
Sourabh and I had hoped to head to the resort we were going to stay at around noon, but random work kept coming in, so even though I was working from home we weren't able to leave until 3 p.m. Still, we got a weekend away, so I have absolutely no complaints!
Saturday: 40 minutes on elliptical + strength.
40 minutes on the elliptical at the hotel gym. Not sure of my heart rate, but I worked up a good sweat. The hotel had wifi, so I watched 30 Rock episodes on my phone while I pedaled away. Really not an elliptical fan, but Coach Jess didn't want me running the day after speedwork (which I knew was smart).
3x15: (1) lat pull downs, (2) flys, (3) bridges w/ Pilates ring b/t legs, (4) lateral walk w/ band, (5) hamstring press w/band.
2x15: (1) single leg bicycles on BOSU, (2) single leg toe taps on BOSU
Sunday: 20 mile long run at Back Bay / San Diego Creek Trail.
Since the route I found that seemed relatively flat was a 30 minute drive, Sourabh suggested we just drive back really early (since we were gaining an extra hour of sleep due to the time change). He was planning on watching football most of the day anyway, so I agreed, and off we went.
I ran a loop of Back Bay and then an out and back on the San Diego Creek Trail (paved bike path) for about six miles, and finished with just under four miles on the flat part of Back Bay.
It ranged from mid 60s (feels like high 60s) to high 70s (feels like low 80s) with a 10 mph headwind near the end. I appreciated the breeze, though!
20 miles, 3:24:10 total time, 10:12 avg pace, 139 avg HR, ~450 elev gain over whole route.
Splits: (1) 10:30, (2) 10:26, (3) 10:13, (4) 10:07, (5) 10:29, (6) 10:17, (7) 10:11, (8) 10:04, (9) 10:12, (10) 10:06, (11) 9:51, (12) 9:55, (13) 10:05, (14) 10:15, (15) 9:56, (16) 9:54, (17) 10:10, (18) 10:08, (19) 10:05, (20) 9:50
Of note: my average HR in the first 10 miles, which was relatively shaded and not so hot, was 134, and my average HR in the second 10 miles was 144, when I felt a lot hotter.
I ate half a plain bagel with peanut butter and sliced bananas + coffee w/ 2% milk on the drive back to our place, then had a Gu at mile 7 and mile 13.5. I've had some minor side stitches on previous long runs. Jess wanted to see if Gatorade was the cause, so I drank plain water and had about 2.5 handhelds. Still had a bit of an issue -- nothing I couldn't breathe through -- but it was a bit better, however I also really focused on hydrating on Saturday. I'm great when I'm at work, but sometimes forget on weekends. We'll reintroduce Gatorade this coming week and I'll keep the focus on hydrating on Saturday, and we'll see how it goes.
My hamstring did not feel good, but it didn't feel painful. It just felt off and achey -- not good, not bad -- mediocre. It always improved after I would stop to stretch it, so I stretched it out several times over the course of the run. I mainly felt it in my high hamstring as opposed to the center of the hamstring where my past injuries have been. It's frustrating because I've focused strength and stretching on my glutes/hamstrings/hips, but I wonder if there's just only so much I can do given that I sit so much of every day.
Other than the hamstring, I felt really good during the run, if a bit achey. My feet hurt a bit, but just in that "I ran 20 miles" kind of way. Mentally I felt great -- I just kept plugging away at the mileage and my pace remained pretty consistent with a slight negative split.
Total Mileage = 32 miles
Some great weeks of training there. Solid marathon work. Good luck with the hamstring hope it gets resolved. I have had issues with my hamstring/glute since my half mid October and have reduced my running days for days on the spinner. I have managed to run a pretty good 5K and PR'd the 10K though in the meantime!
ReplyDelete100% jealous of your running views. That cannot ever get old.
I'm right there with you as far as updating training logs go. :-/ It's the worst when work/life gets in the way of training. Nonetheless, super kudos for getting it all in even when things get crazy. Hopefully you and the PT can solve the hamstring issues--I want to see a BIG PR! :)
ReplyDeleteI need to start taking better records of my fitness journey! I think I have a new New Years Resolution, lol! <3 - www.domesticgeekgirl.com
ReplyDelete