Training Week #3 - December 24-30

Monday - I skipped my YAYOG ladders tonight. Stripping paint and wallpaper and washing the walls has been workout enough for my upper body. I'm pretty sure if I even tried a pushup right now my arms would break. I have a four mile run scheduled for tomorrow which I'm looking forward to. Merry Christmas eve!

Tuesday - Merry Christmas. I went out for 4 mile run today. I felt a little stiff in the beginning but got in the groove of it pretty quick. In the last mile I felt a numbness/tingling in my left hip. It felt like there was something caught in my hip. The feeling passed before the run was over though.  Garmin stats I don't know what the extra lap is about. I probably hit the button accidentally. My heart rate is weird at the beginning (not just on this one). I think it's because the monitor is not connecting to my skin right off. I should wet the contacts. In summer that's not an issue but I guess it is in winter. I really need to work on keeping my pace steadier. If it's going to flucutate I should be aiming for the negative split - slower in the beginning and faster at the end.

Tomorrow will be a challenge. I prefer to do biking for the cross days and strength work. The forecast is for rain and wind and a flood advisory. At the moment we are on the snow/rain line so it will be a mess. I will likely skip the bike but if it's not too bad I might go for a walk instead of bike. We'll see.

Wednesday - I did opt for the walk. The forecast today includes a flood watch and the maps show the I-95 corridor on the snow/sleet/rain line. Precipitation is not expected until the afternoon but the clouds were rather ominous looking. I'd rather get stuck walking in rain/snow than biking.

I walked around Media, exploring some side streets I don't usually go on since they are cul de sac streets. I was out for a little over an hour. I ended up at the Acme to pick up some things but I turned off the Garmin in the store thinking that I was going to go there anyway so in the store shouldn't figure into my exercise minutes. Garmin stats. I didn't wear the heart monitor this time. Although I guess I could/should have to get a feel for where I'm at in all kinds of activities. The change in pace for the third mile had to be while I was on State Street. I was taking my time there checking in on the stores. I love Media. :)

When I came home I did a Tabata routine which included push ups, pointers, swimmers and bicycles.

Thursday- the usual 60 minute outing and today I was supposed to mix in speed-work. Do you know how much I dislike speed- work? Let me count the ways. Actually just take my word for it - I HATE speed-work and leave it at that or we may be counting for a very long time.

I've been wanting to get a more accurate reading on my max heart rate. The formulas available are not always accurate. So today I was going to do run/walk intervals over to Springton Lake Middle School and then use the track there to try Jenny Hadfield's workout for finding the heart rate.

It was not a good day. I did more walking than running on my way to the track. It was like walking to the gallows. Again, I HATE speed-work and although I know I can do it I just couldn't convince myself to run hard for 2 minutes at a time. I did do a few shorter hard/slow intervals so the workout was not a total waste of time but my heart just wasn't in it. No pun intended. I walked the slow intervals instead of jogging them. Garmin Stats 

Tomorrow is a rest day and Saturday I'll be going out for 9 miles at Forbidden Drive.

Saturday - 9 miles today. You can read some of the details here. Here are the Garmin Stats I impressed with the more or less steadiness of the pace. Lap #5 was when we stopped to take a photo at the turn around marker and the last lap was the downhill finish. :) The rest are a lot closer to each other than they usually are. I'm surprised at the lower average heart rate compared to last Saturday's run. The average pace was slower too, though, so I guess that makes sense.

Sunday - I get a fail for today. I did not do 90 minutes of cross. I knew the bike was not going to happen early on. Saturday's snowstorm blew out but the winds that did so remained. The gusts were pretty awesome (but not for bike riding) and the wind chills were in the teens. The funk I felt on Saturday seemed linger. I slept almost 11 hours from Saturdy to Sunday. Breakfast didn't sit real well at first. I decided to get to work on finishing the bedroom renovation and see how I felt after that. I thought if I felt up to it I'd go to Ridley Creek State Park and hike instead of bike.

We spent 5+ hours finishing up. This including cleaning not only our mess upstairs but the corresponding dust and grime that filtered downstairs as well. I showered and even changed into clothes suitable for hiking. A few minutes later I switched to my jeans and a sweatshirt. I'm tired. I'm not thrilled at missing a day like this but it is what it is. I know there will be other days like this and I know that I am not bailing out of laziness this time. I'm bailing for the need of some rest.

Next week is a drop back week. I only have 5 to do on Saturday. This week also brings in the New Year and many of my running/walking buddies will be meeting on New Year's day for a run or walk followed by breakfast at the Collegeville diner. I'm looking forward to that.