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Chugging Along Until Serious Training Needs to Begin
It’s that time of year when the weather isn’t always inviting to be outside. Currently it’s 13° (feels like 7°) and yesterday’s high didn’t get above a blustery 26°, even though we only got about an inch of snow from the Nor’easter bearing down on the east coast. These days it’s hard to motivate myself to get outside under such conditions even though a younger Deb would have said, “Challenge accepted!”
The first organized event on my athletic calendar is a metric century bike ride in mid-May (although we might throw in a century earlier in May). So without anything to train for on the horizon, I’ve given myself a little grace. If we do the century ride, my somewhat more serious training will need to start a week from tomorrow. Stay tuned…
Overview of the Week
Before discussing each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll beyond the infographic for daily details…
Sunday
Running: 5K
• Average pace: 8:51
• Start time: 12:03 PM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 34° (feels like 28°)
• What I wore: capris, l/s shirt, gloves, mittens, and ear warmer headband
I’ve run around our circle hundreds of times, always being careful not to trip on the many sections of broken asphalt that really should have been fixed years ago when VDOT repaved all of the neighboring streets except for ours. Funny thing is, I ran on our circle to play it safe instead of taking it to the trails where sections were still covered with snow and ice.
A half mile into my run when my toe caught in the hole created by the chipped out asphalt, I had one of those slow motion falls where I kept thinking I was going to recover and not hit the ground. After several stumbled steps, I went down hard, landing on my right knee, left elbow, and left hand before rolling onto my back. Despite banging up those body parts, I didn’t tear my shirt or capris; however, I tore a hole in my mitten (mittens that are no longer sold by Road Runner Sports).
After brushing myself off, I finished my run, thrilled that I hadn’t broken anything.
Monday
Strength training : 1 hour of total body
Foam rolling: 10 minutes
Stretching: 10 minutes
I awoke quite stiff from my previous day’s fall, so I decided to stretch and foam roll – I’d skipped both the day before after my run.
Tuesday
Running: 5K
• Average pace: 9:15
• Start time: 7:26 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 30° and cloudy
• What I wore: capris, s/s shirt, nylon shell, gloves, mittens, and ear warmer headband
Foam rolling: 10 minutes
Stretching: 10 minutes
I woke up with every intention of riding my spin bike (affiliate link); however, when I heard snow in the forecast for Friday evening into Saturday morning, I opted to run outside while I had the chance.
Wednesday
Strength training : 1 hour of total body
Walking: 2 miles
• Average pace: 14:29
• Start time: 3:03 PM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 64°
• What I wore: capris and jog bra
During my marathoning days I didn’t focus on hip stability and I wish I had. These days, even though I’m running much shorter distances, gaining hip and glute strength is a huge part of my training. Some of my preferred exercises are side leg raises with ankle weights (shown below), side step ups onto a bench or step, lateral band walks, clamshells, and squats (regular and pistol – well, I don’t really like pistol squats).
I took advantage of an afternoon break to hop on my treadmill (affiliate link) for a walk.
Thursday
Cycling: 20 miles
• Average speed: 16.8 MPH
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle Spin
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 8:14 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 66°
• What I wore: bike shorts and jog bra
Friday
Strength training : 1 hour of total body
Stretching: 15 minutes
Saturday
I had every intention of getting at least 20 miles in on my spin bike; however, my kitchen cabinets had other plans for me. I fell into bed exhausted after spending about 12 hours cleaning drawers, while washing, purging, and sorting the items in the drawers. I’ll share more during our coffee date on Friday.
Last Week’s Blog Posts
In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…
Questions:
- • What clumsy adventures have you had while running? 😉
- • How’s the weather been in your neck of the woods? Is this weekend’s Nor’easter affecting you? ~ We ended up with only an inch of snow.
- • Did you run in a race this weekend?
And that’s my rundown… Have a great week!
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I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on the blue product link and then make a purchase, I will receive a small commission for referring you. You will pay no more or less for the product; however, Amazon will show their gratitude for my referral by paying me.
Ouch! I’m glad you didn’t break anything. I think we all know I am special when it comes to being clumsy. I usually run before work and I’ve shown up limping with scrapes, sometimes on my face.
Funny how we could get away without doing all that accessory work when we were younger, right? If only I knew then what I know now…
Yes! I might not have encountered some of my disc issues if I’d focused more on my core and hip stabilization.
What a week. I’m glad you’re okay after the fall.
I used to run a lot in a forest near my parent’s house before I moved out. The first 2 miles were through a small valley with uncovered dirt at the trail and the sides. After a day with heavy rain, I decided to run through the forest. The dirt path had transformed into thick, black mud, which forced me to run on the steep slopes of the valley. Just as I was nearing the end of the valley, I lost my footing and fell into the mud. Covered in a thick layer of mud, with a dislocated shoulder, I had to walk the rest of the route home before being cleaned up and driven to the hospital by my mom.
At the moment, it wasn’t much fun, but now, I can’t help but enjoy it.
malthehaagen recently posted…The beginners’ guide to strength training – Everything you need to know
Your story sounded fun (I enjoy running on dirt trails) until the dislocated shoulder. Now that you’ve recovered, it’s a great story to share!
I have plenty of clumsy adventures. Glad you were not seriously injured.
I feel for you on th cleaning out… I spent last summer doing that… and I never put half of the stuff back.
It is cold. Luckily only a few inchers of snow. It is cold.
No race this weekend but another half in 2 weeks!!
I donated a backseat full of stuff today and I’ve got more to clear out. It feels good to purge!
Sorry about that nasty fall! For as much of a klutz as I am, I haven’t had too many stumbles and tumbles…but I have had some good ones, none the less. I think it was last spring (?) when I’m finished some speed intervals (outside, on a 2-block spanse of sidewalk). I was running the 1/2-mile back home easy, but managed to catch a raised edge of cement and had one of those slow-mo falls myself. I don’t know how, but my body instinctively assumed a quick tuck & roll maneuver in that l-o-n-g split second it took to hit the ground. It’s crazy how such a short “fall” seems to take forever to materialize, LOL
Those raised sections of sidewalk are dangerous!
Oh yikes on the fall! Hope you are ok. I fell in Aruba on some wet marble by the pool and my elbow took a beating and hurt for weeks. My kitchen cabinets could use a total purging and reorganization as well.
Ouch on your Aruba fall. My knee is still tender when I kneel on it, but otherwise I’m healing nicely.
I’m getting rid of so much stuff in my kitchen and it feels great!
Ouch on the fall! There’s a cul-de-sacc I run through with a pothole just waiting to trip me up. So far I’ve avoided it in the nick of time.
Which metric are you doing in May? There are fewer Fondo rides this year, and PA isn’t until September.
We’re doing Tour de Madison again. You should do it, the route is gorgeous!
Well, look at it this way- you fell and didn’t break anything so your bones must be nice and strong! That’s what I always tell myself when I have one of those clumsy moments.
Yes- hip stability. i’ve been doing lateral walks and squats with a band before every run, and I think it’s helping me. I liked getting a glimpse into your strength routine. I’ve been curious what all these one hour full body strength sessions entail- maybe sometime you could do a whole post on it?
Great idea – I will share some of my favorite exercises in a post soon!
I’m glad the fall wasn’t more serious! I know that slow motion feeling (but not in a while — part of what kept me inside today). I am sorry about the mitten, though, that’s always a bummer.
Does anyone really like pistol squats? 😉
I definitely work on hip stability via Yoga. Quite a bit!
Smart to work on hip stability. I wish I’d focused on it sooner.
Strength training is way more important to me at 40 than it was when I was 30, that’s for sure! Particularly core.
I’m sorry about your fall! That looks painful, but glad it wasn’t anything more serious!
Smart girl; the natural aging process makes strength training more important with each passing year.
oof, that looks like a bad fall. Glad you didn’t break anything! Boo on the mitten! Hip stability is something I could work on for sure, but I don’t.
Lisa @ TechChick Adventures recently posted…Weekly Workouts – GCM training week 4
It’s not too late to start working on hip stability, especially since you’re still running longer distances.
Sorry for the fall but I am glad it was not anything of serious.
As every runner I know I fell some times while running without consequences but twice I broke the same shoulder. The first time on a downhill I put my feet in a hole, the second (January 2016) was the worst because a metal hoop used for the advertising paper has completely blocked my right foot making me fall ruinously. Now a prosthesis replaces my humerus. And now a question: is sport healthy?
Black Knight recently posted…Anguillara and a play list
Oh no on the two falls, especially the second one. It sounds like you’ve made a complete recovery even with some serious reconstructive surgery.
Sorry to hear about your fall but I am glad you left unscathed!
Thanks!
Oh, ouch! I’m sorry you fell.
I tripped and ate it while out on a bridge run. I still have a nasty scar on my knee from the fall. Funny thing was I walked in the house all bloody, and the boys were in such a frenzy to get out the door that they didn’t even notice. And then I fell down my stairs en route to a run, but that’s not as cool.
I hope the snow wasn’t too bad.
Of course, the guys didn’t notice! LOL Was the fall down your stairs en route to a run the fall where you broke your ankle?
Oh no 🙁 Sorry to hear abut your fall but glad that there were no broken bones. It’s so tricky running outside this time of year because of the uneven pavement and sidewalks.
I did a major kitchen cleaning/organizing when the pandemic first started and it was brutal! I totally see how that could be exhausting.
Thanks, Kim!