Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Texas Tour...

Friday, September 24 - No workout
I'm the type of person who likes to get things over with...especially when it comes to long runs. Knowing that I was going out of town on Friday afternoon, I had every intention of running in the wee hours of the morning, but chickened out...I'm skeered to run in the dark in the 'hood. This meant I would be forced to run on Sunday evening - oh the horror.

Saturday, September 25 - No Workout
Unless you think I should count walking a hundred miles back and forth around SeaWorld, I did not workout on Saturday. Count the fried catfish and shrimp I had for dinner later and I think I gained about 5 lbs - even with the profuse sweating all day in the hot sunshine. But, it was a great day! We surprised the kiddos with the trip to SeaWorld and got to visit with the in-laws...okay, and a trip to the San Marcos Outlets. And, I finally had a chance to use my Sunglass Hut gift certificate on a cute pair of Lauren aviators! Yipee!

Sunday, September 26 - 6 mile run
Okay, so it wasn't the 10-miler on the schedule, but after getting home from San Marcos, unpacking, doing laundry, and going grocery shopping there wasn't much time left. Six miles was all there was time for before dinner and the kiddo's bedtime. But, it was a great 6 miles! It was a tad bit on the warm side, but the humidity was low and the neighborhood sprinklers were on! Overall pace was 10:23 and the last two miles were my fastest. Yippee skippy!

Monday, September 27 - no workout
This no workout thing is starting to become a habit. A month ago, when I was still finishing up Insanity, that would be unheard of! But, I knew it was going to be a long day - work in the morning, drive to College Station, presentation to students, dinner with students....I opted to get an extra hour of sleep.

Tuesday, September 28 - ~4-mile run
Ah Aggieland! I almost never get to go back to the A&M campus, except for the occasional recruiting trip for work (and there's rarely time for just wondering around the campus). This time, I happened to be recruiting with a couple of runners, so we decided to head out for a 5 am run around the campus. It was great to run around my old stomping grounds. I imagine it's like any other college campus - a lot has changed in the past 14 years! It was amazing to see all the new buildings and a little sad to see some old buildings gone. It was also a little sad to see that you can no longer drive through the campus streets - probably a post 9/11 precaution, so that no one could drive too close to any of the larger buildings. The temps were in the high 50's, so that was a great treat as well!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Flexibility

I am a typical type A personality. I like schedules. This week, I've had a few lunch meetings, so I had to try my best to be flexible...luckily, the hubby is very far from type A and he helps balance out this OCD thing I have with schedules.

Wednesday, 9/22 - Run
I usually run on Tuesday and Thursdays during lunch at the gym at work (nice, right?), but this week I had lunch meetings. Fortunately, I knew this far enough in advance to plan ahead! ('Cause I'm a planner like that.) So, I managed to get in a run at the gym on Wednesday instead. I did a warm-up mile, then 2 laps fast (relatively speaking) followed by 1 slow x4, then a cool down. All in all, just a little over 3 miles. I managed to leave my watch at home, so I have no idea what my splits looked like. I do know I finished the 3 miles in less than 30 minutes...small improvements...

Thursday, 9/23 - P90X - Chest and Back, plus Ab Ripper X
Again, I had to be flexible - this is Friday's scheduled workout. On Friday, I shall attempt to run.

In my effort to continue to build some muscles, I have vowed to do a P90X workout 2x per week. Today's workout was nothing but push-ups and chin-ups, and I could tell it had been 2 months since doing this workout - it hurt! I could also tell by the number of "real" push-ups I could do, that I am much stronger than the last time I did this workout - that kinda rocks! During each exercise, I did about 20 "real" push-ups, before I had to drop to my knees and do "girlie" push-ups...the only exceptions were the dive-bomber push-ups. I still suck at those.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Rest (sorta)

After finishing both P90X and then Insanity, I decided to take a little hiatus from everything Beachbody.com related.

The week before my tri, I only ran...then, last week (the week after my tri) I did one day of Insanity (I caved) and ran.

Tuesday, 9/14 - 3 miles, indoor track - took it easy...

Wednesday, 9/15 - Insanity - I only did the shorter, 45 minute workout

Thursday, 9/16 - 3 miles (again)

Saturday, 9/18 - 10 miles

That 10-miler on Saturday went well...I decided that I was going to push the pace a bit. In the heat, my pace sucks. Seriously. But, I usually finish my long runs feeling like I could have pushed a bit more. And, I end up pushing the pace a bit on the final mile or two. This week I pushed it and my pace was about 30 - 40 seconds faster per mile. I didn't have much left to pick up the pace at the end, but it felt great!

Now, I am only 2 weeks away from Ten for Texas and I am concerned that I might not PR. Last year, I maintained a consistent 10:30 pace for the entire race...totally unexpected and rather "fast" for me. This year, my pace has been faster with my shorter runs, but not so much with the longer runs.

The weather also plays a huge role in performance. Last year, we had a nice cool front come through just in time for the race - it was a nice 50-something degrees. I'll be hoping and praying that we're lucky enough for similar temps this year!

Thursday, September 09, 2010

Quickie Post...

Sorry to post and run, but it's past my bedtime. Gee, I sound like a granny!

Tuesday, 9/7 - 5 mile, indoor track

Thank God for the indoor track at work! It rained all day, so there would be no running outdoors. And when I say rained, I mean in sheets. It was crazy! I wasn't really feeling "it", but went to the gym anyway. I compromised - go to the gym and if you still don't feel it after 3 miles, you can stop...but, if you feel good - do 4 miles. I did 5 miles! I felt great, so I kept going. The best part? This was an "easy" run for me, meaning I didn't really push the pace at all...but, I managed to maintain between a 10:05 and 10:15 pace for each mile. Definitely improvement!


Wednesday, 9/8 - no workout
Instead, I got to see PARAMORE! They were amazing. I went with two good running friends and we started with dinner and margarita's and the rocked it out at the concert...good times!
Wednesday, 9/9 - 3 miles, indoor track
Yep, it's sunny again. And hot. Indoor track is great...3 easy, peasy miles - 9:58 pace.
This weekend I am doing my final tri of the season, so I'll have a race report for ya next week!

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

BRICK

So we had lower temps on Sunday. Less humidity too. Unfortunately, that was the one day I couldn't run or bike outdoors. On Monday, I had the opportunity to get in a quick brick and I was hoping the weather would still be nice. Imagine my disappointment when I opened the garage door to feel another 100% humidity day. Grrrrrr....

Fortunately, on my bike I can deal with crappy (and even hot weather) much better than when I run. My time was limited, so I decided on 45 minutes on the bike, followed by a 3 mile run. I have to say that while I am scared to death of crazy drivers on the road, I still have a love affair with my bike. To me, riding a bike doesn't feel like a workout...it's fun! I think that comes from me riding my bike up and down our street with my friends as a kid. I associate it to those fun, carefree days....you know the ones - when you wake up on a summer morning and wonder whether you're going to head to the pool, ride your bike all day or maybe just run through the sprinklers and lay out for awhile. Then again, maybe if I'd incorporate more intervals and speedwork into my rides it WOULD feel like a workout, lol.

I decided to wait for the sun to come out a bit more before heading to the nearby neighborhood where I like to ride. I killed some time in the areas of our neighborhood that are still being developed. There's a nice .65 mile loop where I did some intervals - 2 fast, 1 slow - for a few miles. Then, I finally headed out to my favorite roads to ride and actually mis-judged my mileage a bit (oops!). I ended up riding for 55 minutes (~14.75 miles), which only left time for a 2-mile run. There were quite a few people out on their bikes, which was good to see.

For the run, I hopped off my bike, put it and my helmet in the garage and then headed out (thinking about transitions in my head, of course!). I ran the easy, peasy two mile loop around my neighborhood. I tried to push my pace a bit, thinking that I was probably going to be completely anaerobic after a swim and bike during a tri. The result? Two miles at a 9:16 pace! Yeah, I've always been the 10:30 pace person...maybe 10:00 if I really pushed it. But 9:16? About a month ago, I rode 15 miles and ran a 3-miler at a 9:35 pace...so I think something I am doing is helping! Honestly, I think it's the Insanity program - I mean, you are in an anaerobic state for 30 minutes to a hour during those stupid workouts. (At least I am!) I think I'm getting used to that...which I know can be good and bad. Anaerobic is supposed to be great if you want to burn calories, but bad for building muscle (I think). Oh, and by the end of those 2 miles, I was definitely anaerobic...not quite ready to puke though. ;-)

Anyway, I am pleased with the workout and had a great Labor Day with the hubby and kiddos! Hope you enjoyed your Labor Day weekend too!

Sunday, September 05, 2010

Playing Catch-Up

Busy, busy times! Here are my workouts for the past week...

Friday, 8/27 - Insanity - Maximum Interval Circuit

Saturday, 8/28 - 11-miler...great run!
Was a bit worried, because I've run a 10 miler in the past few weeks, but that's been it with the double-digit mileage since Zooma in April. Fortunately, it went well and turned out to be 11.5 miles! It did help that the weather was a teeny bit cooler much less humid than normal.

Sunday, 8/29 - 1 hour bike ride, ~16.5 miles
I'm so lucky to have a great place to ride near my house - minimal traffic, gorgeous scenery & good roads!

Monday, 8/30 - Insanity - Maximum Interval Plyo
Another insane workout at 4:15 am! I hate it when we have to do 16 push-ups, followed by running in a plank position...

Tuesday, 8/31 - Double workout day...
AM - Insanity - Maximum Cardio Conditioning
Another one of those insane workouts...

Lunchtime - 4 miles (indoor track)
Did a little speedwork - 1 mile warm-up, then switched to 2 laps fast (relatively speaking), then 1 lap slow...repeated 4 times, then 1 mile cool down.

Wednesday, 9/1 - Insanity - Maximum Interval Circuit
What is there to say - another nutty workout at an insane hour of the morning...

Thursday, 9/2 - Insanity - Core Cardio & Balance
Ummmm, okay, this is technically the "recovery" day for Insanity. I decided to sleep for an extra hour and have a real recovery day. I fully intended to get in a run, but between the kiddo's gymnastics class and thunderstorms, it just didn't work out.

Friday, 9/3 - Insanity - Maximum Interval Plyo

Saturday, 9/4 - 8-miler (cut-back week)
We were anticipating lower temps this weekend...at one time, the weather forecast even predicted lows in the high 60's and low humidity. Imagine my disappointment when I woke up to a humid 75 degree morning...not that 75 isn't better than 83, but still...Overall, it was a great run, great route and the morning ended with a trip to Starbucks and lots of girl talk.

Sunday, 9/5 - Bike / Run brick Swim
Didn't happen. Unfortunately, the Hubby was on call and ended up getting called into work which meant no brick! I'll keep my finger's crossed that it can happen tomorrow instead. I did make it to the pool to swim a few laps - 1600 yards. It felt great, but I could tell it had been a few weeks since my last swim!

Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend!!!