Tag: flexibility

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#Sub60: 11 and 12 of 61

Saturday's post-run sunrise
Saturday’s post-run sunrise

Yesterday Blue and I ran two miles and strides. We arrived early to the park, ahead of the 5k racers. We got our two on the greenway and closed out the strides on the track. I wore new running shoes for the occasion, but I didn’t run long enough to see how my feet liked them.

Today’s long run was a 5-miler. An extra rest day Friday and carb loading yesterday proved great choices. I experimented with my pre-run fuel this morning as well, eating a little banana with almond butter before the left. The combination left me feeling energized and strong the entire run. My shoes also worked pretty well, and I’m looking forward to some good miles with them.

Next week I move into more vigorous runs and increased mileage. As it is, last month I set a personal record for most miles run in a month (58.4)! I am traveling to Colorado later this month. It takes me a few days to get used to the altitude, so I’m expecting a few days off then.

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#Sub60: 10 of 61, Rain or shine

I planned to run rain or shine. It shined. After multiple forecasts predicting rain today, Mother Nature graced us with sun instead.

The agreeable weather did nothing to help my Garmin, which located me a quarter of a mile away from where I actually was. This is the first time I’ve experienced this malfunction, so hopefully it’s a rare occurrence.

The mistake confused me at first, and I invested plenty of energy troubleshooting and trying to adjust. Since I run the same trail most days, I knew where the first mile marker (not 1.20!) was. I restarted the Garmin from there and it had no trouble after that.

My legs, however, are another story.

Kaylin Whitney

Tuesday’s slow run with strides coupled with strength training yesterday, resulted in fatigued muscles today. The mileage itself has been no problem, and is on par with my running to date. But the strides – short sprints at the end of a run –  have worked my muscles differently.

Let’s just say they’re learning.

Muscle fatigue meant I worked harder to maintain my target pace, and although I had instant snapshots of my pace via my Garmin, I didn’t have my usual chirps  warning me to speed up or slow down to stay on track.

All said, it was a taxing run.

Even with the challenges, I enjoyed myself, and the beauty of spring. Looking forward to stronger legs in the weeks ahead.

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Wednesday, weights

Ernestine Shepherd, award winning bodybuilder.

Today is Global Running Day.

This is an event I’d never heard of until my RunKeeper app pushed a notification encouraging me to participate. I debated this, but I decided to stick to my running plan, which lists today as a non-running day. This is risky because where I live, it rains every Thursday in June.

Truth is, I was a little tired yesterday.

I turned in thinking I’d catch up on rest this morning, rather than lift weights as planned. Despite all alarms being off, my body still anointed 5 a.m. as the waking hour. I snoozed until 6 but then I needed to make a final decision. Resting or not?

A vision of Natasha Hastings on Instagram persuaded me to choose not. Wednesday is weights day after all, so I went for it. If I feel too fatigued, I can always take breaks, or quit, I thought.

I got hydrated and dressed, and pushed play on strength DVD.  I did take a few short breaks, but I felt energized overall.

Tomorrow is back to the pavement. And yes, the forecast shows the standard Thursday rain. Wish me well! I won’t run in a thunderstorm, but I won’t let simple rain keep my miles off the books.

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#Sub60: 9 of 61

Not sure if it was vacay mode this weekend (and yesterday), or something else, but I was a tad bit slower overall today. Still on pace for the plan, but after so many runs at a consistent pace, it was surprising to see the numbers.

I tried something a little different this morning. I usually treat my first mile as my warm up, which means the first half mile I’m a little slower than target. Everything balances out after that. Today I did two short strides and a little bit of walking to begin. It helped me start the run faster than usual, and that could also have added to my slower pace later on. Rather than a half mile of adjustments, I was pretty close to my target range in half that distance.

Fruit infused water
Fruit combos. Which do you like?

In addition to everything else I’m doing, I’m actively working to increase my fruit and vegetable in-take. I like goddess foods, so it’s not a chore to eat them. But I do need some more recipes and meal-planning ideas. My medium term goal is to follow a pescatarian diet, with my long term goal to follow a mostly plant-based diet.

Right now I’m sipping a mason jar of infused water… orange slices and a cinnamon stick. I drink plenty of water daily, but it’ll be nice to play with the infusions this summer.

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Monday, rest day

Today is Monday, an exercise rest day according to my running plan. It’s a good thing because I need it.

Before the plan, I alternated running, PiYo (“Pilates based yoga”), Pump (weights) and rest. I generally ran two-three days a week, did weights two days a week, one day of PiYo and one day of rest.

Last week I experimented with new things, including basic classical Pilates and a short kettle bell routine. The activities themselves may work with my running program, but I’ll have to be more intentional about planning which activities on which days (and to what degree).  This week proved to be a little much.

I found this guidance on Runner’s World:

LONG RUN
Day Before: Cross-train or total rest
Day After: Cross-train or total rest

SPEEDWORK
Day Before: Cross-train or easy run
Day After: Cross-train, easy run, or total rest

TEMPO RUN OR HILL REPEATS
Day Before: Strength train or easy run
Day After: Strength train or easy run

Natasha Hastings

I have Monday, Wednesday and Friday as non-running days, and thus far my body is pretty firmly committed to Monday (today!) as a total rest day. I’m playing with strength training on Wednesdays, and PiYo on Fridays. For now at least. I’ll see how my body recovers this week.

Later on, I plan to incorporate swimming, and that will be an adventure all its own.

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#Sub60: 8 of 61

Five more miles in the books!

My plan calls for consecutive runs every weekend, with lighter mileage on Saturdays and long runs on Sundays. Yesterday we ran a 2-miler. Today’s long run was 5 miles slow.

Mother Nature provided another great morning for a run, and Blue provided great company. Blue trains for marathons when his schedule permits, but these days he’s kept it short and sweet. It’s been a treat to have him along for a couple of runs while he’s had a little down time.

Today's RunKeeper trophy.
Today’s RunKeeper trophy.

Today I reached/exceeded my initial goal of 50  miles a month. And there’s still one more run on tap for May!

During my running season, I usually start light with 20-30 miles a month and increase the mileage to the 40-50 range. I haven’t calculated this plan’s monthly mileage yet, but this week, I’ve logged 14.

In another week or two, the volume climbs. I think I spotted a 20-mile week sometime in July…

It’s exciting to follow a plan, worrying only about weather interruptions. For years I ran with fibroids, which sidelined me a few days each month.

In 2015 in particular, I’d pretty much have to rest 6-7 days in a row, in addition to my standard rest days each week. Last November, after a lengthy decision-making process, I had a hysterectomy.

It’s freeing to run unencumbered now.

I’m curious to see how my body responds to the increased cardio, and I’ll be doing what I can to minimize injuries and stay strong, yet flexible in the coming weeks.