Weekly review

Well, another week over and time for my weekly review.  This week went pretty well as far as work outs go and I'm happy to say I finally got in all my planned workouts, 3 cardio and 2 strength training.  Plus a ton of walks.  It's been way too long since I've managed to do that so I'm happy with this week.

Monday - rest day

Tuesday - Jillian Michael's 30 day shred at home

Wednesday - rest day

Thursday - I meant to go to they gym after work but it didn't happen.  However, I did manage to get in 30 minutes on the elliptical at home.

Friday - I woke up early again this week to get in 30 minute run in the neighborhood Friday morning.

We also went out in the evening and had some delicious tapas for dinner, as well as caught a bit of a local band playing outdoors at the town center while we went on a post dinner walk.

I was so hungry I ate the patatas bravas before taking a photo, but here are some stuffed peppers and a tomato salad.

Saturday  Mike dropped me off at the gym while he went to run errands.  So I got in a 20 minute warm up on the elliptical and then a body pump class.

Saturday night, we went to a yummy dinner at American Eats in the Ritz-Carlton at the Tyson's Galleria, followed by seeing Kurios by Cirque do Soleil.  We both loved the show and the dinner.

We split the macaroni and cheese appetizer, Mike has chicken and biscuits, and I have a bunch of sides as my dinner (fried green tomatoes, roasted beets with goat cheese, and wild mushrooms and seasonal vegetables in a mushroom sauce).  Plus they really themed everything well, down to bringing the check tucked into the pages of a classic American novel.

Sunday - I got up early to meet friends at a local 8k.  It was humid and hilly so I'm happy with my performance given those conditions.  I'll share more about it later this week.

So that's my week!  I hope everyone else had a good week too and another good week to come.  I'm linking up   with HoHoRuns and MissSippiPiddlin for their Weekly Wrap.

 

Weekly Review

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  It was a busy one here but fun.  Here's a quick recap of how my week went.

Monday - rest day

Tuesday - rest day

Wednesday - rest day

Thursday - a bit more than 35 minutes at the gym

Friday - Jillian Michael's 30 day shred

Saturday - Lawyer's Have Heart (I was signed up for the 10k but ended up doing the 5k since I was not handling the heat well.  More on this in a later post).  We also went out with friends Saturday night to celebrate their anniversary.

Post race selfie time!

Sunday- Jillian Michael's 30 day shred and we had friends over in the evening to watch the Tony Awards.  I made a lot of yummy food themed to the best musical nominees but sadly forgot to take photos.  #bloggerfail

Living room full of Hamilton fans

But we had a great time catching up with friends over the weekend.  Sadly, my foot pain is back.  I didn't notice it after Saturday's race but the first time I noticed it hurting was during the 30 day shred jumping jacks on Sunday.  I don't think the jumping jacks caused it though.  I'm going to ice and rest this week and we'll see how it goes.

I'm linking up   with HoHoRuns and MissSippiPiddlin for their Weekly Wrap.

 

Weekly Review

Last week went pretty well for the most part.  I was under the weather with a sinus headache toward the middle of the week but I think a lot of people have been struggling thanks to all the rain we've had as it seems to be extending allergy season.  But here's the summary.

Monday - rest day

Tuesday - Strength training at home (three circuits of jumping jacks, squats, crunches, glute bridges, clam shells, planks, push ups, lunges)

Wednesday - rest day with a sinus headache

Thursday - another rest day with a sinus headache

Friday - this ended up being a beautiful day and thankfully that made my sinuses feel much better too.  I got in about 35 minutes at the gym.

Saturday - Semper Fi 5k with a 15 minute warm up.  More details on this later in the week but it was my first sub-35 minute 5k!

Sunday - 40 minute strength training yoga with Adriene video

I'm not sure what this week will look like.  Today needs to be a rest day just because I have a lot of errands to run in the evening.  Tuesday should be body pump and I'm hoping to be able to get a run in on Wednesday.  Thursday, we leave for vacation!  

I'm linking up   with HoHoRuns and MissSippiPiddlin for their Weekly Wrap.

 

Weekly Review

This was another week without much working out to report.  For some reason, I was just absolutely exhausted at the beginning of the week.  I tried to make up for it later in the week but there is only so much making up that can be done.

Monday - rest day

Tuesday - rest day

Wednesday - rest day

Thursday - I made it to the gym!  I had some coffee around 3 in the hopes that I wouldn't be exhausted after work but that worked a bit too well and I felt jittery for almost the whole evening.  So coffee is not necessarily the solution, but at least it helped me get there.

Friday - Strength training at home with my usual 3 rounds of jumping jacks, squats, crunches, glute bridges, clam shells, planks, push-ups, lunges and calf raises.

Saturday- rest day

Sunday - I went out for a run for the first time in 2 weeks.  I met up with a friend and we went to a county park in her neighborhood.  It was a pretty run but it just felt like a bad run to me.  Part of it probably was the fact that it's been 2 weeks.  It just seemed like a lot of little things were combining to make it a bad run, my knee hurt a bit, my breathing was difficult, my contacts were bothering my eyes, there were a lot of little hills, and there were a lot of windy gusts.  But I did it and I'm hoping to keep that momentum up for this week!

I'm linking up   with HoHoRuns and MissSippiPiddlin for their Weekly Wrap.

 

Weekly Review

I had a pretty good week, but it was busy.  And my rest days ended up being at the beginning of the week again so all my workouts were concentrated toward the end.  But, I got in everything I wanted to get in so that's a positive.

Monday- rest day

Tuesday - rest day

Wednesday - Body pump and 15 minute warm up on the elliptical.  I pushed it again and I think I was sore until Saturday!

Thursday - 40 minutes on the elliptical at the gym

Friday - Runner's World yoga essentials. I had meant to get to body pump but couldn't get away from work to make it to class.  So I did a yoga video instead.  It was probably a good thing since I was still a bit sore.

Saturday - Ben's Run 5k with a 1.5 mile warm up before the race (full review later this week)

Sunday - 30 minute run before my volunteer shift at the Pike's Peek 10k.

I ran this race last year and had a bad experience (totally my own fault for not checking the weather report ahead of time) so I decided to just volunteer this year.  I was placed at bag check at the finish line so the job consisted of setting up the area, organizing the bags in numerical order once the trucks arrived, and then handing them out to runners as they came up.  It was super organized and there were just the right amount of volunteers.  Everything went so smoothly and it was a great experience. Plus, I got a lot of steps running back and forth to get the bags :)  I had around 5,000 steps when I started and around 12,000 when I finished.

My other bit of fun on Sunday was we went out for pub trivia with friends in the evening.  We ended up getting 3rd place, which meant we got to choose one of the categories for next week's trivia.  Which means we have to go back next week!

This week is going to be a bit tough to get in a lot of work outs because I have family visiting from out of town but I'm going to try my best and see what happens.  I'm linking up   with HoHoRuns and MissSippiPiddlin for their Weekly Wrap.

 

Making running fun again

I mentioned in my last post that I was a little burned out on training and that I was looking forward to just running for fun again.  Well, I'm really excited for my run tonight!  One of the reasons is that I downloaded a new album which I love.  After binging on it a bit Sunday, I'm not letting myself listen to it again until I go on a run.  I'm saving it and really looking forward to being able to listen to it again :)

 

My current obsession

So this got me thinking about other ways that I can use to make running fun again and get my mojo back.  I realize I do this same thing with the gym.  I'm watching Alias on Netflix right now and the only time I let myself watch it is when I'm on the treadmill or the elliptical. 

Speaking of the gym, I've decided that I'm going to make running as comfortable as possible right now.  And that means if the weather is cold or windy, I'm going to let myself just run on the treadmill.  I won't do this with warm weather because I do need to get acclimated as the Summer heat will start soon enough.  But running in the cold isn't serving any purpose for me at the moment.  I've also bought another patella strap.  Yep, I've come to terms that both my knees seem a bit unhappy and the strap helps out.  So I'm going to be the one out there rocking a brace on both knees. And that's ok because it makes me more comfortable while running.

Something else that I'm hoping will help out is to explore new running routes, or go back to old routes I haven't been to in a while.  And definitely going back to the track as it's been months since I've been there.

I'll probably just drive downtown some people and have a flat, scenic run around the monuments

I'm also thinking about doing a couple runs without my Garmin.  I think it puts a lot of pressure on me to see the data right there on my wrist and even when I tell myself I'm trying to run easy and not worry about pace, the watch makes it hard to do that.  I might just go back to runkeeper for a couple runs so that I have the data for later but don't see it while I'm running. 

One of the things I've done in the past has been to buy new running gear as that always got me excited to get out there to use it. But I'm not going to use that one this time as I'm trying to save money and don't really need anything at the moment.  Something else I've done in the past is sign up for races to get me excited about training but that would be counter productive at the moment.  So I'm holding myself back and limiting it to 5ks and 10ks for the Summer

Any tips on things you've done to get excited about running again?

Oldfields Half Marathon training - week 3

This was another iffy week of training.  Some of it was because my allergies are back with a vengeance now that Spring is here and part of it is just a generalized lack of motivation, I think maybe because my body thought I'd be done by training by now.  But this is the last week of training as the race is this weekend! So here is how the week went.

Monday - rest day

Tuesday - rest day

Wednesday - 15 minute warm up on the elliptical plus body pump

Thursday - A bit more than 40 minutes on the elliptical at the gym.  I had to move to another machine part of the way through because someone with really strong perfume got on the machine next to me.  This seems to happen to me more than other people or maybe I'm more sensitive to strong scents because of my allergies?

Friday - I tried to go for a run in my neighborhood but my eyes were watering and nose running by the end of the block.  It turned into more of a brisk walk, and I didn't even bother measuring it with the Garmin.  Just from past runs in my neighborhood, I would say it was somewhere between 1.5 miles and 2 miles.  But here are some of the pretty flowers I saw during the walk, though they were probably the cause of my breathing difficulties.

Saturday - Yoga with Adriene, strength training. Perry decided to supervise from the top of my yoga mat.

Sunday -   I actually had a pretty good run this day.  I did 6 miles with a friend on the C&O Canal tow path.  I wanted to get a run in on an unpaved surface as the race this weekend is on a similar sounding crushed gravel trail.  I'm a little nervous about it after this run but I think it should be ok.  I'm just going to have to watch my footing if there are large, loose rocks as I felt like I almost turned my ankle at one point.

Since this is the last week before the race, I'm going to cut out the body pump.  I'm going to try to get in 2 short runs and then a couple days of yoga before the race on Saturday.  Also, I'm linking up with HoHoRuns and MissSippiPiddlin for their Weekly Wrap.

 

Oldfields Half Marathon training - week 2

This was a pretty good week, with great weather during the week though it took a turn back toward Winter over the weekend.  Also, I realized I made a mistake with my training plan. I prepared the plan for Rock and Roll DC, not realizing at the time I was going to turn that into a training run and use an April half as my goal race.  So I didn't really have a plan this week.

Monday - rest day

Tuesday - rest day

Wednesday - 30 minute walk around the sculpture garden since I happened to be downtown for a colleague's retirement lunch plus body pump in the evening.

Thursday - 40 minutes on the elliptical

Friday - rest day

Saturday - yoga with Adriene, strength training

Sunday - as mentioned, I didn't really have a plan.  I figured I'd do a 9-10 mile run.  But once I saw the weather, I decided to take it indoors to the gym.  And then I saw they had a body pump class while I was there.  So I did 3 miles on the treadmill, took the body pump class, and then jumped back on the treadmill for another 3 miles after class.  Those last three miles were tough but I made it.

I belatedly realized the photo of the first treadmill set didn't include the time, it was around 39 minutes I think.

So for this week, I'm planning to run in the neighborhood on Tuesday, body pump on Wednesday, running on the treadmill on Thursday, body pump on Friday, yoga on Saturday and a 10 mile run on Sunday.

I'm linking up with HoHoRuns and MissSippiPiddlin for their Weekly Wrap.

 

Oldfields Half Marathon training - week 1

Well, I had a great week!  The funny thing is that there weren't that many workouts.  For some reason, I just couldn't get running in this week until the race.  I think I had been thinking of RnR DC as my goal race for so long that it felt like a true taper week even though I'm actually still training for an April half.  Oh well, I did get in a lot of walking (met my fitbit goal every day) and had a wonderful time at the race!

Monday - rest day

Tuesday - rest day with an evening walk

Wednesday - yoga.  I tried a random yoga for runners video on You Tube.  I liked the routine but I didn't like the video itself since she used a voice over instead of talking during the video.  It felt weird not seeing her mouth move.

Thursday - rest day with another post work walk in the neighborhood.  And my first day with my new convertible standing desk!  I've been trying to stand for 30 minutes and then sit for 30 minutes and alternating that way.

Friday - Yoga in the morning and then walking around the expo and the city in the afternoon/evening.

Saturday - Race day!  It was perfect running weather and I had a great time.  Full review later but I already went ahead and signed up for next year since they have their $50 price going right now.

Sunday - Walking around the city before brunch, lots of foam rolling, and the recovery yoga from Runner's World in the evening.  All of which really helped because my muscles were a bit sore yesterday but I'm feeling good today.

Yummy brunch from Compass Rose.  I love that the creamer came in a cow shaped pitcher.

So that was my week!  I hope everyone else had a wonderful week too :)  I'm linking up with HoHoRuns and MissSippiPiddlin for their Weekly Wrap.

 

Rock and Roll DC Half Marathon training - week 13

I hope everyone had a good week last week!  It went pretty well for me.  I did a lot of resting and icing for my foot and I think that worked out well.  Here's the details on last week.

Monday - rest, foam rolling and icing

Tuesday - rest, foam rolling and icing

Wednesday - Body Pump and a short warm up on the elliptical since my foot was feeling better.  I hadn't been to body pump in a while and I was sore until Friday!

Thursday - I started out on the elliptical and my foot felt good after 15 minutes so I moved over and did the treadmill for another 20 minutes.  

Friday - rest, foam rolling and icing

Saturday - Yoga by Adriene.  I did the soothe and stretch routine since I was still feeling a bit sore.

Sunday - The Pacer's St. Patrick's Day 10k.  I'll do a full review later this week but the short version is that I absolutely loved this race!  It had high energy but didn't feel too crowded after the first half mile, it was a beautiful scenic course, and it was flat for the most part.

So I think I'm ready for RnR DC this week! Given how sore I was from body pump last week, no body pump for me this week.  I think I'm going to try for a run on Tuesday and Thursday with some yoga on Wednesday.  And then walking around the expo on Friday and race day on Saturday.

I'm linking up with HoHoRuns and MissSippiPiddlin for their Weekly Wrap.

 

Rock and Roll DC Half Marathon training - week 12

Well, this week did not go as planned.  It started out ok but I'm a bit worried about the state of my foot.  The same place where I injured myself training for the Richmond Half in November of 2014 is hurting again.  That turned out to be a sprain of a muscle on the bottom of my foot and it took around 4-6 weeks to fully heal.  And we're so close to RnR DC, I think discretion is the better part of valor so I'm going to concentrate on icing and resting, and see how my foot feels as far as running goes.

Monday - rest day

Tuesday - 40 minutes on the elliptical at the gym.  I meant to use the treadmill but all the good treadmills were taken.

Wednesday - Strength training at home

Thursday - This is the day my foot began to hurt so I took it as an unplanned rest day.

Friday - rest day

Saturday - we were in Atlanta visiting family.  I had asked online for advice on a place to run and was told about this 5 mile loop around a golf community.  My initial plan was to do 2 loops but my foot started hurting around mile 3 or so so I just did one lap and called it a day.  It was also a fairly hilly course and that didn't feel good on my foot either.

It was a beautiful area and there were just enough people around that I always felt safe but it never felt too crowded.  And it was a gorgeous morning.  Though there were some sections where the route was a bit unclear so I had to stop a couple times in mile 1 to figure out where I was going.  And mile 4 (average pace of 17:26!) had a grass surface instead of pavement in parts, plus a giant hill that I ended up walking after the halfway point.

Sunday - Yoga with Adriene (strengthening and lengthening) which was about a 40 minute video.  I also took a couple walks through the day.

Sadly, my foot is not feeling better.  It feels a bit worse today.  I'm planning on resting it today and tomorrow with lots of icing.  I'm going to see how it feels Wednesday and try for a short run in the neighborhood if it's feeling better.  The Pacer's St. Patrick's Day 10k is this Sunday and I was planning to run it because 6 miles seemed like a good distance the weekend before the half.  Also, I had deferred this race due to the freezing rain last year so I'm already registered without paying anything extra.  But we'll see how the rest of this week goes.

I'm linking up with HoHoRuns and MissSippiPiddlin for their Weekly Wrap.

 

Rock and Roll DC Half Marathon training - week 9

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  Mine was a good mix of relaxing and being productive.  Plus, I was participating in Mar's 14 days of self care so I remembered to engage in a bit of self care every day.  It's amazing how much of a difference that makes.  So here's a summary of my training this week.  I got my runs in but still didn't get all the strength training in that I wanted.

Monday - rest day, with plenty of foam rolling and stretching

Tuesday - unplanned rest day since my stomach wasn't feeling well

Wednesday- Yoga for strength training from Yoga with Adriene

Thursday - Running on the treadmill after work

Friday - rest day and a fun dinner in the evening catching up with a friend I hadn't seen in a long time.

Saturday - A short run in my neighborhood in the morning.  It was a cold morning but beautiful.  Sadly, there were still some icy patches and places where people hadn't shoveled the snow from the sidewalks.  It's not that big a deal for me, I could step over or go around.  But I know there are people with mobility devices in the neighborhood as well as people with strollers.

Sunday - Long run with friends on Beach Drive.  This was a beautiful run and I even saw some horses along the way!  Though we made a bad decision at the end and ended up wading in ankle high icy water for a bit.  Thankfully that was when we were almost done so I ended up walking from mile 8.8 to mile 9.  My feet were so frozen it was more of a shuffle than a walk.  That 15.24 pace at the end was because of the time we were wading in the water.

And the evening ended with a super bowl party at a friend's house.  We had a great time with lots of yummy food.  Our contribution ended up being a mix of healthy and decadent :)  I made parmesan roasted chick peas and Mike baked brownies.

So that was my week. I'm linking up with HoHo Runs and MissSippiPiddlin for their Weekly Wrap.