For some reason, this week wore me out. I’m panting just thinking about it. Not really, I just wrote that for effect :) Anywho. This week was not particularly intense “training wise” nor did I push myself, but I can just tell my body is all, “Girlfriend. Whut iz UP!” Either I am fighting off something, or I just didn’t get the rest I need, or maybe I didn’t make the best food choices as far a recovery goes. Or all of the above.
This coming week I intend to focus on taking my vitamins, and hormones. Yes. I take hormones (specifically, progesterone). Don’t freak out. I have an engaging story to share, but I am focusing on training event readiness in this post, not on adrenal fatigue (a little teaser for you) nor how important healthy hormone balance can be.
Monday: I did arm weights, some stationary bike and walked on the treadmill. I forgot to turn off my heart rate monitor, so my numbers also reflect the calories burned on my 10 minute drive home from the gym… 352 calories and 2 minutes “in zone”. 2 - heehee. I made it an easy workout since I had done my 7 mile run the day before.
Tuesday: My standing 4 mile run early in the a.m. with a friend. It was great. Great. Great! The sun is starting to rear it’s glowing head… I can’t wait for a little more sun on our runs :) After the run I did a few leg strength activities in the weight room. 534 calories & 46 minutes “in zone”.
Wednesday: Arm weights and spin class. I don’t know why, but I have a super-hard time really elevating my heart rate when on the bike. It doesn’t matter if I’m on a real bike or a stationary bike. I have to make a concerted effort in order to get it up there. When I run - my heart rate just climbs, but not so much with biking. I dunno. 441 calories and though the spin class was an hour I only spent 15 minutes “in zone”.
Thursday: day off.
Friday: Leg strength and swimming. All in all I burned 269ish calories. The heart rate monitor is not as accurate in the water, so one usually burns more than is indicated… but I don’t want to make a guess. The swim was only 25 minutes, so I wasn’t thrilled. However, I’d rather get in a short swim than over-stress my joints by running or biking when I know I need the change.
Saturday: 8 mile, yo. I’m just like Eminem. Yeah… I felt the run went really well. We ran a route that had moderate, but long hills. I wore my super-dorky water fanny-pack. I hate wearing it, but due to my “issues” (blood sugar unpredictabilities, dizziness, overheating, gluconeogensis), anything over 7 miles without fuel and water along the way is too stressful to go without. Though it was only 34 degrees when we set out, I had stripped down to my tank by the end. I am hot - in soooo many ways.
The last time I ran 8 in a training build-up I didn’t take fuel or water. The finish and recovery really hit me hard. I saw a big difference this time. I drank about half the water and took 1 Gu pack at 4 miles. Upon completion, I encountered the usual stomach ache, but it came in small waves over an hour. Not bad considering those stomach aches can last all day.
The biggest news of our 1 hour 21 minute and 46 second jog was the fact that my heart rate monitor showed my heart rate got up to 196! Dudes - that’s 94% of my heart’s maximum. I heard that Lance Armstrong trains at 95% of his max, so me and Katie decided we are just as hard core as Lance.
We walked the first 2 or 3 minutes to warm up, but our total finish time was 1:20:46. 1:18:36 of that was “in zone”. 647 calories were most certainly burned. And today… butt muscles are sore. The top ones. I never took anatomy and physiology, so what are those ones called? Top Butt? Hmm, that doesn’t sound right. Anyway - those muscles haven’t screamed at me in quite some time…
Sunday (today): 2 hour nap (a.k.a. - “da shizzle”)
An now that my post is written, I have a whole 20 minutes to clean the house! It’s all about priorities.
You know I WOULD DIE if I did this. OMG, how dou you…why do you…why? Ouch, ouch, ouch!