From running in the snow last Friday to running in shorts and a tank this week, I moved from the winter blahs to developing spring fever at lightning speed! This week was about as busy as any week I’ve seen in a while in both the work and working out departments!
As I mentioned on Tuesday, I’ve switched my training to following Runner’s World Run Less Run Faster training plan, and this week was my first week diving into their recommended workouts. I’m making tweaks here-and-there as necessary, but I’m trying to follow the plan as closely as I can with what feels right to my body.
- Monday
- Lift – 1 hour
- Yoga – Yoga Basics (27 minutes)
- Walk – 2 miles at easy pace
After weeks of joking around with how my yoga workouts were not going, I pulled out my new Rodney Yee’s Complete Yoga For Beginners (affiliate link), and checked it out. It has four short (20 to 30 minute) workouts, and was a great introduction back into yoga. Years ago I practiced yoga regularly and got quite flexible and efficient in my poses. Fast forward at least twelve years, and not so much… Today, I would be the perfect candidate for what not to do, and if I took a class, I would be in the very back row, not the front.
- Tuesday
- Interval Run – 1 mile warm-up, 8 x 400 intervals at 8:06, 8:00, 7:53, 7:53, 7:53, 7:47, 7:47, 7:47, 1 mile cool-down
- Yoga – Yoga For Flexibility (24 minutes)
- Teeter Hang Ups – 15 minutes
Embracing the concept of quality runs, I did my first track intervals in ages; albeit on the treadmill. The weather was absolutely gorgeous outside, yet I wasn’t sure if the local high school tracks would be available mid-day for me to use, and with early morning clients, I had no choice but to do a mid-day workout. Something tells me my pace was much faster on the treadmill, anyway.
After the pounding of my run, I hung out on my Teeter Hang Ups (affiliate link) for 15 minutes to stretch and decompress my spine. It feels heavenly on my back, to say the least, but my right foot always complains a little after each session.
- Wednesday
- Lift – 1 hour
- Bike – 15 miles
- Yoga – Yoga For Energy (25 minutes)
- Walk with client – 3 miles
- Teeter Hang Ups – 15 minutes
Rather than following the tempo plan for my bike ride as outlined in the book, I chose to cycle on my spin bike (affiliate link) at a consistent pace. My fear is that too much speed work, too quickly, will lead to either burnout, injuries, or both.
- Thursday
- Tempo Run – 1 mile warm-up, 3 tempo miles at 8:59, 8:55, 8:43, 1 mile cool-down
- Yoga – Yoga For Relaxation (23 minutes)
- Gardening – 2 hours
With temperatures expected to get as high as 80° by afternoon, I decided to get my lazy buttocks out of bed at 4:30 AM to meet my friends on the trail at 5:30 (this week’s average sleep reflects that, too). We ran together for our first warm-up mile, and then I took off for three tempo miles. Once I completed my tempo portion of my workout, I slowed to a recovery pace until my friends caught me. At that point, they adjusted to my pace for the remainder of my cool-down.
As soon as my morning clients left, I headed outside to do a variety of spring cleanup chores in my yard. I also spread Holly Tone around all of my Azaleas, hollies, and foundation plants – until I ran out.
- Friday
- Lift – 1 hour
- Teeter Hang Ups – 15 minutes
Friday afternoon I headed to Costco for my usual items, plus more gardening supplies. While on that side of town, I hit up the running store. After explaining that I’d been wearing Brooks Glycerine (affiliate link) for the past couple of years, I was shown another pair of those and the Asics Gel-Nimbus (affiliate link). The Asics felt so good that I switched back to Asics (this time a neutral shoe) after only two years in Brooks. Just on a side note, I wore Asics for 17 years prior to going to Brooks.
I fell in love with the first pair of trails shoes I tried on, the Saucony Peregrine (affiliate link). They are light and comfy, everything my previous trail shoes were not.
As soon as I got home, I switched my orthotics into my new Asics, and wore them for the remainder of the evening – almost. Eventually, I had to take them off because I was starting to experience pain in the joint behind my right large toe. Before I consider returning them, I plan to play around a little more with the lacing. Despite the wider toe-box, there’s tightness across the top right where I have a bump in my foot.
- Saturday
- Long Run – 10 miles at 10:17 average pace
- Gardening – 1 hour
- Teeter Hang Ups – 15 minutes
Switching back to my old and worn Brooks, I met my MRTT friends for the first five of my ten fun-filled miles at 7 AM on Saturday. Beth, Janet, and I are members of both groups so we’ve been meeting our fellow mama runners for an hour before swinging back to the parking to pick up the Cruisers for the remainder of our miles at 8 AM.
After about a mile we saw Cruisers Vamshi and Amit and enjoyed running with them for a mile or so.
Back at the parking lot, we picked up four more Cruisers; however, our paces were quite varied so we spread out quickly. Beth needed to run eighteen miles, and Janet and I hug with her for ten of those.
Once home, I did a few strides in my new Asics. They felt fabulous when I first put them on, but once again, they started digging into my right large toe joint after a little while.
Saturday evening Bill and I met friends we haven’t seen in forever at a delicious little brick oven pizza place we used to take the boys to when they were little. The owner greeted us and immediately asked about both Joseph and Daniel.
- Sunday
- Yoga – 50 minutes
Feeling quite accomplished after four days of beginner’s mini yoga classes, I moved up to Rodney Yee’s Intermediate Yoga (affiliate link), minus the inversion section. It’s going to take me quite some time before I’m feeling very confident with my poses; however, I do have perfect form in both the basic mountain pose and relaxation pose! 😉
Weekly Overview:
- Weight Training: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
- Runs: Tuesday – 5 miles , Thursday – 5 miles, Saturday – 10 miles (Total: 20 miles)
- Bike: Wednesday – 15 miles
- Walking: Monday – 2 miles and Wednesday – 3 miles (Total: 5 miles)
- Yoga: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday
- Stretching: Daily
- Teeter Hangups: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday
- Average Steps Per Day: 15,707
- Average Hours Sleep Per Night: 6:47
Questions:
- What are your favorite running shoes? Trail shoes?
- Do you feel that you stretch enough?
- Did you race this weekend?
Have a great week!
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 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.
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I’m linking up with Holly at HoHo Runs and Tricia from MissSippiPiddlin for their Weekly Wrap. Be sure to check out not only the hosts, but the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!
Well you certainly had a great week of workouts! I like the idea of run less run faster because cross-training is so much fun. My favorite running shoes are Mizuno Wave Creation and my favorite trail shoes are Brooks Cascadia. No, I do not feel like I stretch enough..at all. Yes, I did race this weekend and I got to do it in my trail shoes! Yeah for trail racing 🙂
Diane recently posted…INTO the WILD Race Recap
So fun that you had a trail race this weekend! It’s been nine months since my last trail race, but I have Ragnar Trail Richmond coming up in late April. 🙂
Rodney is kind of my go to when I need to hit all the spots!
Looks like a great week for you!
Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home recently posted…Big Sur Marathon Training Week 6
Yeah, it was a great week, and yay for having someone take care of the all the tight spots!
Cool that you are trying RLRF. I read the book and thought it sounded great, just not for me since I don’t really like biking, swimming, or rowing. I started out in Brooks but they didn’t work for me so I’ve been wearing Asics ever since.
Jennifer @ Dashing in Style recently posted…JASR Half Marathon Training: Week 15
I don’t mind the biking, but I doubt you’ll find me in the pool, since I’m not a fan of swimming either. 😉
You had a strong week of training. I think I need to try that Teeter Hangup. I wear Muzino Inspires for stability. I’d love to try other brands and models but it takes me a while to really know if I like a shoe. And then, I can’t return it. As we all know, they don’t come cheap. Thanks for linking with us Deb.
HoHo Runs recently posted…Montgomery Half (WW # 32)
My back doctor and chiropractor are both big fans of me using my Teeter Hang Ups. Since it can be boring, I usually edit my running pictures on my phone while hanging upside down. 🙂
You had a great training wk! I have never tried a pair of trail shoes. The trail close to my house is completely flat with a mix of gravel and paved so I just where the same shoes I where when I run on the road.
[email protected] recently posted…Weekly Wrap up
That makes total sense not buying trail shoes if your trails aren’t particularly technical. I ran trails for a couple of years before investing in trail shoes, but once Bill and I started running on the Appalachian Trail and it’s side spurs, we had to get trail shoes.
I love my Rodney Yee DVD so much I’ve nearly worn it out. I’ve heard great things about the RLRF plan.
Coco recently posted…Recovering With Spring Fever
I think I got my first Rodney Yee “VHS tape” about sixteen years ago! 😀
I think i’d like a pair of trail shoes just to say I have them. 🙂 I have a running shoe obsession! Great week of training. How did you capture that last running picture? Did you basically just run over the phone?
RUN gina RUN (@hanzelboyzmama) recently posted…In Sickness & In Health: Grandma’s Marathon Training Week 5
Close! I ran past my GoPro which I had laying at an angle on the trail. I shot a video and then captured the frame I liked best.
Does anyone really stretch enough? I made it back to hot yoga the day before my long run and it really helped. i just have to stick to it. Glad to see that plan is working well for you. I feel like I had that book at some point. I need to find it!
Deborah @ Confessions of a mother runner recently posted…What A Vegetarian Mother Runner Eats In A Day
Great questions, and I doubt it! I’m sure hot yoga would be a great way to get a really good stretch, but I just don’t think I’d like it. I’m not a fan of the heat…
Looks like it was a good week for you. I love the warmer weather can’t wait to get out and run.in it.
I have been thinking about some trail running shoes just not sure which ones to try.
I was clueless about which trail shoes to buy. When I told the guy I needed a neutral shoe that wouldn’t fight my orthotics, these were the first ones he suggested. He brought out two other pairs, but I loved these so much that I didn’t even try them on. 😀
The battle to stay healthy changes doesn’t it?! I had a time this week trying to find new shoes and the issue was the stitching around the laces, I could feel pressure. My feet tend to swell when I run and I figured if it hurt just trying them on it would kill me later. The inserts can be challenging.
Great week 🙂 At least you laced up your old shoes and got a good long run in. It is nice not putting multiple layers on but it was so sticky here today I about died. LOL
Karen recently posted…We Skipped Spring, and I Ran Finally!
It sounds like we have the same issue with the way the top of the shoe hits our foot. I put my new trail shoes on this afternoon and wore them all evening around the house, and they felt fabulous! Perhaps I need a neutral Saucony… Good luck finding the perfect shoe that keeps your feet happy!
Nice job with your workouts this week. I used the Run Less, Run Faster book for training for my second half marathon and dropped over 17 minutes. It really does work. My favorite shoes are Brooks and I have been wearing the Ravenna model for 5 years!
Pam recently posted…Weekly Workout Roundup: Mar 14th
Oh wow, congrats! It’s great to hear that you cut so much time off your half marathon PR. I hope to see the same kind of results.
I’ve been a Saucony girl for most of my short running career, but I’m finding now that they don’t have enough arch support. I’m getting custom orthotics because of some other issues, but I may be looking for a new shoe brand pretty soon!
Alison recently posted…Fitness Friday
Good luck finding the right shoe for your new orthotics. I know it can be quite frustrating until finding the right one.
Wow that’s a full week! Awesome job getting in all of that yoga. There’s no way I’m keeping up with you at Ragnar in April now that you’re doing RLRF 😉 But it will work out well since you’ll probably also be doing your GoPro stuff. I hope you get the shoes figured out – that can be so frustrating! I’ve been in a bit of a dilemma since Hoka changed the trail shoes I was in love with and I can’t find any of the older model in my size anymore (my fault for not paying more attention and stock piling). But I’m cautiously optimistic I have found a new love, also Hokas.
That’s so neat that the owner of the pizza place asked about your boys!
Meagan recently posted…TNF ECS 50K Training – Week 11
Ha! We’ll do just fine at Ragnar.
Don’t you just hate it when a shoe company changes or discontinues a perfectly good shoe? Fortunately, it’s happened to me once over the years, but when it did (Asics came out with a major change to my shoe), I had to find another Asics model for that season. The following year they switched back to closer to the old style, and I went back to that shoe.
Wow! Your workouts are impressive. I love your new shoes too. I need to get back into working out and running regularly.
It definitely takes commitment, but being a personal trainer, I have to practice what I preach!
I could sure use the benefits of getting back into yoga, even if it is just a few sessions a week. Maybe I’ll look at it for my next challenge. I run in Glycerines and seem to do better in them. But I also have run in the Asics GT-2000 I think. I liked them. I went to a Saucony Guide but it seems to give me blisters. I did in my marathon but then I thought it was just the marathon distance but I tried them again 3 weeks later for a 10k and it started rubbing. Maybe my feet were still tender, and needed more time. They do fine for normal training days thought. Thanks Deb for linking us!
Tricia@MissSippipiddlin recently posted…Weekly Wrap 32 Montgomery Weekend
Hope you get your shoes figured out, too. Who would think that it would be so hard?
Mizunos have been my favorite since I started really really running but the discontinued the ones I loved 🙁 I have heard good things about the new Catalyst they have but the price is a bit much 🙁
No racing g for me this past weekend. I am suppose to run the Charlottesville 10 miler this upcoming weekend. ..we will see how that goes.
Looks like you had a great varied week of workouts!
I do not stretch enough for sure!
Run less-Run faster, I have heard great things about that program. I am considering Galloway for the fall if I do a half.
Jeff Galloway trained three other coaches and me to use his training method with our runners when I coached for the National AIDS Marathon Training Program. My runners had great success with it. I think you’ll enjoy it.
I’ve recently switched to Altras… they have a really wide toe box which I need with my bunions.
I’ve not tried Altras, but I have a few friends who LOVE theirs.