I've had zero foot troubles for the past week, and am ready to re-introduce some sort of training workouts into my schedule, with the goal being to being a 10K training plan in mid-April and comfortably break 50 at Peachtree. Until then, I'm hoping to maintain double digit LSD runs, strength train 2x week (with at least one focused ab workout), have a hill or speedwork workout each week, and keep stretching.
Also, there's nothing in that blurb about my diet because I'm completely confident that I can maintain it without much thought. I've reached the point where I'm more or less on auto-pilot when it comes to eating pretty clean, and that feels pretty great. On the rare occasion where I do try some crackers or chips, I find them incredibly unsatisfying and am instantly aware that they're not really doing much for me. Instead of throwing my daily calorie allotment away on things that leave me feeling empty, I opt for foods that offer a better nutritional return on my "investment".
Example daily meal plan:
Pre-run: superhero muffin or egg muffin (eggs, peppers, cheese, spinach- prebaked in muffin tin)
Post-run: overnight oats (plain yogurt, rolled oats, blueberries, a little honey) or hard-boiled egg
En route to work: decaf ground coffee with 1T heavy cream and 1/2c 1% milk
Morning snack: banana or apple
Lunch: spinach, leftover veggies and meat from previous night's dinner
Afternoon snack: PB oat bar, carrots and PB, or KIND bar
Dinner: some sort of meat (salmon, pork, chicken, steak, shrimp) with sweet potato or roasted veggies (zucchini, squash, cauliflower) or broccoli or asparagus or beans... lots of variety here
This diet overhaul was definitely just what I needed. While it was a total PITA to start, I'm glad I did it. Setting habits during a slow period at work has made them much easier to keep up with now that things are rolling again. Not only have I dropped the ten pounds I wanted to lose (wooo! and my fave shorts fit again!), but I truly feel better. I never feel sluggish after eating, have more energy, and am generally happier because I'm not stressing over what I ate. I didn't follow any one set of particular guidelines, but, if you're looking to do this for yourself, I found these guidelines really helpful and educational.
Bonus: My kid is so on board with this that I heard, "Mommy, I need asparagus, please" last night when he saw some on my plate. #winning
Monday
Did: 2mi @ 9:04/mi avg, Big 5, bootcamp, 5x20x10lb Russian twists
Had some morning struggles that prevented me from meeting the girls for our pre-gym run, but got two miles in on the treadmill before heading off to bootcamp.
Finished the day off with 5x20 Russian twists with a 10lb DB before before. Gettin' on that core strength, yo.
Tuesday
Did: 6.33 @ 9:21/mi avg, Big 5
So, this felt a LOT easier than a 9:21/mi pace. Maybe I'm finally getting some of that speed/endurance combo back!
Wednesday
Did: 2xcore sequence + 30min elliptical
Core sequence in our "resting room" during bathroom breaks:
30s: front/each side/back planks with leg lifts, flutter kicks, scissor kicks
20 knee push-ups
Finished the day with 30min of elliptical in the office gym. I don't know how I ever exclusively elliptical-ed (back before 2010). It wasn't the worst, but it was not fun.
Thursday
Did: 1.25mi warm-up, 4x400/400, core, 1x400/400, 1.05mi cool-down = 4.94mi @ 8:38/mi avg, Big 5
Weee, speedwork is back! Only goals for today were to: do speedwork, have "negative splits" between repeats.
Mission accomplished.
For reference:
400m PR 1:15
400m typical repeat time: 1:25
1) 1:40 Felt like I was taking it easy for the first 200, but hit that in 0:45. Obviously slowed down a LOT on the back stretch.
2) 1:33 A little bummed about my incredibly slow first repeat, I vowed to just do this one a little faster. I was already behind goal pace by the 200m, and had to kick it to come in under 1:40. May have gotten a bit overzealous, but 1:33 is still a slow time for me.
3) 1:30 This one felt better. I felt more even, more consistent, and focused more on using my arms, not twisting my core, and keeping myself steady.
4) 1:25 Aww, yeah, finally, a normal-for-me 400m time. I had B cheering me in the back stretch, which helped.
Took a short break to do some core exercises (which were OMGHARD after repeats-- I couldn't even make it through the 30s work periods without a rest), and then did one final 400, really focusing on limiting my twisting and engaging my obliques.
5) 1:23 This felt the slowest of all of my repeats, but clearly was not. :)
Happy to be back on (the) track. heehee
Friday
Did: 2.07mi @ 9:26/mi avg, Big 5, bootcamp (included an additional ~.5mi run), another ~1/2mi run to the playground post-work
Saturday
Planned: 11-12mi easy
Did: 13.1 @ 9:10/mi avg, Big 5
Well, I planned a 12ish mile route to do with B&B this morning. There was a big hill right off the bat and a series of smaller ones around mile 10-11 that we'd finish with. Otherwise, the route was relatively flat/rolling. I had no expectations for pace, since this just needed to be a comfortable LSD.
That was a good goal, considering I was unaware of some serious construction along our route that had us running on roads that were so in-progress that there was neither a shoulder nor gutter to run on. I'd checked street view before sending out the route, and there had been sidewalks the full way... Oops. Each time cars came, we either hopped curbs to land in mud pits full of excavator tracks or hid behind construction barrels, hoping for the best. I was glad we got that part of the route done early. Pre-5:30am = not much traffic.
I talked the ENTIRE time. Like, it was definitely more one-sided than a conversation. :P It didn't feel fast. It felt easy and comfortable, like I was just hanging out with friends and not running.
When we got back to the cars, I saw my watch had us at 12.4mi in 1:53. The first thing I thought was "No way I'm stopping now. I'm super close to a half marathon... and a sub-2 one at that."
The only half marathon I've raced was my second half ever: Rock 'n Roll Savannah in 2013. I wanted to break 2, and I hit 1:59:54.
My current half PR (1;56:something) is from 2017, when I ran whatever I felt for Publix, found myself ahead of a running mama doing her comeback race, and stopped less than a mile from the finish line to hug my own baby, chat a bit, and wait to finish with her.
Had some morning struggles that prevented me from meeting the girls for our pre-gym run, but got two miles in on the treadmill before heading off to bootcamp.
Tuesday
Did: 6.33 @ 9:21/mi avg, Big 5
So, this felt a LOT easier than a 9:21/mi pace. Maybe I'm finally getting some of that speed/endurance combo back!
Wednesday
Did: 2xcore sequence + 30min elliptical
Core sequence in our "resting room" during bathroom breaks:
30s: front/each side/back planks with leg lifts, flutter kicks, scissor kicks
20 knee push-ups
Finished the day with 30min of elliptical in the office gym. I don't know how I ever exclusively elliptical-ed (back before 2010). It wasn't the worst, but it was not fun.
Thursday
Did: 1.25mi warm-up, 4x400/400, core, 1x400/400, 1.05mi cool-down = 4.94mi @ 8:38/mi avg, Big 5
Weee, speedwork is back! Only goals for today were to: do speedwork, have "negative splits" between repeats.
Mission accomplished.
For reference:
400m PR 1:15
400m typical repeat time: 1:25
1) 1:40 Felt like I was taking it easy for the first 200, but hit that in 0:45. Obviously slowed down a LOT on the back stretch.
2) 1:33 A little bummed about my incredibly slow first repeat, I vowed to just do this one a little faster. I was already behind goal pace by the 200m, and had to kick it to come in under 1:40. May have gotten a bit overzealous, but 1:33 is still a slow time for me.
3) 1:30 This one felt better. I felt more even, more consistent, and focused more on using my arms, not twisting my core, and keeping myself steady.
4) 1:25 Aww, yeah, finally, a normal-for-me 400m time. I had B cheering me in the back stretch, which helped.
Took a short break to do some core exercises (which were OMGHARD after repeats-- I couldn't even make it through the 30s work periods without a rest), and then did one final 400, really focusing on limiting my twisting and engaging my obliques.
5) 1:23 This felt the slowest of all of my repeats, but clearly was not. :)
Happy to be back on (the) track. heehee
Friday
Did: 2.07mi @ 9:26/mi avg, Big 5, bootcamp (included an additional ~.5mi run), another ~1/2mi run to the playground post-work
Saturday
Planned: 11-12mi easy
Did: 13.1 @ 9:10/mi avg, Big 5
Well, I planned a 12ish mile route to do with B&B this morning. There was a big hill right off the bat and a series of smaller ones around mile 10-11 that we'd finish with. Otherwise, the route was relatively flat/rolling. I had no expectations for pace, since this just needed to be a comfortable LSD.
That was a good goal, considering I was unaware of some serious construction along our route that had us running on roads that were so in-progress that there was neither a shoulder nor gutter to run on. I'd checked street view before sending out the route, and there had been sidewalks the full way... Oops. Each time cars came, we either hopped curbs to land in mud pits full of excavator tracks or hid behind construction barrels, hoping for the best. I was glad we got that part of the route done early. Pre-5:30am = not much traffic.
I talked the ENTIRE time. Like, it was definitely more one-sided than a conversation. :P It didn't feel fast. It felt easy and comfortable, like I was just hanging out with friends and not running.
When we got back to the cars, I saw my watch had us at 12.4mi in 1:53. The first thing I thought was "No way I'm stopping now. I'm super close to a half marathon... and a sub-2 one at that."
The only half marathon I've raced was my second half ever: Rock 'n Roll Savannah in 2013. I wanted to break 2, and I hit 1:59:54.
 |
| PRing with Sweet Adelines friends sub 1:45, sub 2:00, and sub 2:15 |
My current half PR (1;56:something) is from 2017, when I ran whatever I felt for Publix, found myself ahead of a running mama doing her comeback race, and stopped less than a mile from the finish line to hug my own baby, chat a bit, and wait to finish with her.
Anyways, all of this is background to say that a sub-2 half is a typical race finish for me these days, but it's still that benchmark in my head that tells me whether or not I had a good run, especially since the average pace is a good bit faster than what I do most of my runs at.
So, B tagged along (because she's ruled by her Garmin too), and we finished out a pretttttttttty fast last "three laps" on the greenway. DIdn't hit sub-2 officially, but I feel like we probably did with all the stop/starts we had to do in the early miles' construction zone. Kind of curious to see what I could pull off in a race situation if I actually tried.
I felt 100% awesome at the end of our run. I never wanted to stop anywhere along it, even when we were pushing 7mim/mi paces at the end. I feel strong. I feel capable. I feel fast.
I don't want this feeling to end.
Sunday
Did: 6.3mi @ 9:30/mi avg, Big 5, 14.07mi cycling @ ~11-12mph with bike trailer
What an amazing day and weekend. It's the first weekend we've had all year with beautiful weather, and we definitely took full advantage of it.
Started the day off with a couple "solo" miles with just me and my little one along the river. I'm really glad I've started going early to Running Mamas and getting a few in before everyone joins us. It's been nice to have some one-on-one mama/baby (toddler) time, and go a different way along the river.
Running Mamas did another easy 4.5 along the boardwalk afterwards. It really is a beautiful thing to spend my Sunday morning pushing a running stroller with a friend who's doing the same thing... and discussing our kids' potty-training status. #parenting
What an amazing day and weekend. It's the first weekend we've had all year with beautiful weather, and we definitely took full advantage of it.
Started the day off with a couple "solo" miles with just me and my little one along the river. I'm really glad I've started going early to Running Mamas and getting a few in before everyone joins us. It's been nice to have some one-on-one mama/baby (toddler) time, and go a different way along the river.
 |
| #RunSquad |
Running Mamas did another easy 4.5 along the boardwalk afterwards. It really is a beautiful thing to spend my Sunday morning pushing a running stroller with a friend who's doing the same thing... and discussing our kids' potty-training status. #parenting
I remembered to do my Big 5 for the first time in forever on the playground post-run. :D
The weather this afternoon was too nice to sit around the house, and we'd spent yesterday chillin in the backyard, so Jerry and I opted for a bike ride along the greenway. We're not cyclists, but having a running mama friend who IS has really made me see biking with a toddler trailer as a normal, do-able sort of thing. We bought the secondhand trailer when I had my PF tear, and haven't used it since I healed up, but really enjoyed doing the ride as a family today. Well, I did, at least. Jerry realized halfway through (after I took trailer-hauling over from him) that his brake was permanently on... which explains why he was SO SLOW compared to me. lol. Oops.
 |
| No, there are no (more) triathlons in my future. Maybe this kid's, but not mine. |
Total Weekly Mileage: 35.46mi run (I'M NOT EVEN TRAINING FOR ANYTHING), 14 bike
Week-ending Thoughts:
Um, yes. I feel like SUCH a boss this week. And, even better, nothing is hurting. I'm finally ready to say that I'm baaaaa-ack from that PF tear. What's next on the goals front? I don't know, but I'm ready to start thinking about it. :D
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