Invictus

I set up the indoor bike trainer and biked for 40 minutes (5 min in middle gears + 5 min on the big wheel x 4) followed by a shoulder workout and some core.

I had a busy day at work today; I was moving around a lot. I like days like that. Tonight I'm trying to take it easy so I will be sure I can run my 18-20 miles tomorrow. I had salmon and veggies for dinner, and now I'm sipping down some good ol' H2Ooooohyeah. I've been dehydrated all week long...

Hilly 18 mile run. Felt a little difficult.Very cold outside.

1 mile jog warm-up

5-4-3-2-1-2-3 fast minutes with 2 minute jog recovery between each.

Arms/abs today! 

4x15 narrow push-ups

4x8 triceps press

3x8 reverse grip triceps push/pulldown 

SUPERSET 3x8 skullcrushers, 3x8 close grip bench press 

4x8 incline DB curl

4x8 DB alternate bicep curl

2x21's barbell curl

SUPERSET 3x25 BOSU crunch, 3x15 jackknife sit-up holding 10 lb medicine ball, 3x15 reverse crunch holding 10 lb medicine ball between legs 

Lifted legs first:

2x15 narrow stance squats, light (55, 65)

2xfailure narrow stance squats, heavier (95, 105)

4x8 DB step-ups (25 DB's each hand)

3x20 walking DB pulse lunges (25 DB's each hand)

4x8 single leg DB squat (foot on bench, 20 DB's each hand)

3x20 standing weighted calf raise (50 lbs, last set to failure)

3x10 leg extensions (52.5 lbs, last set to failure) 

After that I rushed home to run with Jack. It was a fast run! 6+ miles. Jack stops at no light; we just turn and zig zag our way along the route. It was fun. I'm glad I had someone to push me. 

Long 10 hour work day.

4 miles on the treadmill. 8:00, 7:35, 7:30 to 7:15, 7:15 to 6:58. Easy.

2x8 bench press light (45, 55)

4x8 bench press (60, 60, 60, 65) 

Superset: 4x8 DB flye (12s) 4x8 DB bench (25s) 

Superset: 4x8 DB incline bench (12s) 4x8 dips

4x8 cable crossover

3x25 medicine ball situps (10 lb)

3x15 hanging leg raises

3x15 reverse crunches 

Met two new people at the gym today! Owen and Justin. I love meeting new people. :-) 

I ran 6 miles along the C&O Canal (pain free) followed by weight lifting.

Shoulders!

4x8 Arnold DB press (15-20 lb each arm)

4x8 seated bent over rear delt raise, last set to failure (12 lb each arm)

4x8 one-arm DB press, palms in (12-15 lb each arm)

SUPERSET 4x8 front raise (12-15 lb each arm) and 4x8 standing DB upright row (15-20 lb)

4x8 lateral DB raises, last set is a drop set (10-12 lbs each arm)

4x8 reverse flyes (12 lbs each arm)

Core:

2 sets:

25 Swiss ball crunches

25 Swiss ball side crunch, each side

25 Swiss ball leg levers (switching ball between hands and legs)

Short work day! Yay!

I hopped on the treadmill for 4 miles. Started off easy, 7:45-8:00/mi pace, then increased it every half mile for the last 3 miles. For the last quarter mile, I increased the speed to about 6:00/mi pace. Felt pretty good. Nice, relaxed run. I want to be ready for my 20 mile run tomorrow!

Instead of lifting legs (which is on the schedule), I decided to lift back and reserve the second leg day for after my long run (maybe, but running and recovery take priority right now).

Back Workout:

4x8 Deadlift (45, 95, 95, 95, 95)--felt a little weird, so just kept it at 95 lbs instead of 105 lbs.

4x8 T-bar rows (50, 50, 50, 55)--modified with putting a barbell into a corner and adding weight

4x8 Wide grip lat pull-down, last set is a drop set (60, 70, 70, 70-75-60-65-55-50-45-40-30-20)

4x8 Seated cable rows, last set is a drop set (40, 50, 60, 50, 50-40-30-20)

4x8 Straight arm pull-down (20, 30, 25, 25, 25)

5 strict pull-ups just for fun

Core:

2 sets:

25 regular crunch

25 side crunch, each side

25 leg levers

25 toe touchers

STRETCH!

I felt really great for my workout today. I felt really intense (good form, challenging weight for me) on the lifts.

B - Starbucks tall chai tea, spinach breakfast wrap

S - Greek yogurt with a little granola and fresh blueberries, strawberries

PreWorkout - Starbucks protein box: 1 boiled egg, grapes, apple, fruit bread with almond-honey butter

PostWorkout - EAS protein shake (300 kcal, 42g protein)

S - OJ, Simply Naked chips

20 slow miles. 30 degrees. 27 mph winds. 17 degree wind chill. Miserable.

I need to adjust my nutrition and increase my water intake. I was definitely dehydrated today. I stopped sweating near the end of the run.

I also need to increase my mileage in the middle of the week. I have no clue how I went from running comfortable 7:15-7:30 pace for long runs to 7:56 average pace...and hurting (started out a little fast, maybe?). Embarrassing, but here is the breakdown:

8:15, 7:32, 7:28, 7:10, 7:10, 7:10, 7:27, 7:25, 7:33, 7:51, at this point, I said farewell to Jack, took my 100 kcal gel, and turned back home...now into the wind...

8:10, 8:14, 8:17, 8:07, 8:33, 8:21, 8:31, 9:07 (Rosslyn hill), 8:25, 7:46

I logged this as "slow miles" but nothing with Jack is ever slow! We ran 7.25-7.3 miles in about 51 minutes (not too shabby for me). After that, I lifted arms and abs (same as last Monday, more weight) and did a couple routes today (read: two 5.7, two 5.8, attempt at a 5.9).

 Hoping for my energy back tomorrow. 

6 mile run in SHORTS and a T-shirt (like Monday) along the C&O Canal. So peaceful...I love the area around Old Anglers. Random sciatica acting up again...piriformis?

Lifted legs and abs. 

4 miles in the morning. It's been a while since my morning workouts...love them! Stretched my piriformis since it was causing me some pain. :-(

Ran 1/2 mi warm-up. 1 mile quick (5:50-6:50...faster every 200m). Ran 1/2 mi cool-down.

Lifted chest and abs. 

I didn't run today because my car died. I biked to and from work today, which was not pleasant in the morning because it was so cold. I taught my body sculpting class in the evening, which was okay, and then I biked back home. It was about 26-30 miles total, so it wasn't much. I'm completely stressed out with everything in my life right now. I'm 24 years old; I shouldn't be stressed.

I almost backed out on the group ski trip because I feel I'm falling back into a cycle of depression. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and cry all weekend. Instead, I climbed out of the shower, made it to the bedroom floor, and cried on the floor, wrapped up in my towel. After about 45 minutes of that, I finally found the energy to put on some pajamas, call a friend, and go to bed.

I took the day off work to bring my car into the shop. I ran 6-7 miles today, which was a bread run (my fatty, delicious bread) and some ab work. It was very pretty today--59 degrees. I even opened the house to let the air circulate a little better. Fresh air is great.

Headed out for the ski trip tonight. I'm still feeling not so great.

No run. Snow was everywhere, and I was sliding everywhere. I decided to ski a little today.

Again, no run, and that's bothering me like crazy.

I got in a few good runs on the slopes.

I feel fat. 

I just got back from the ski trip. I'm tired. I'm upset. My car won't be fixed until the end of the day tomorrow, but I need it for work. I'm still stressed about everything. The ski trip was relaxing, but now it's back to reality. I'm just not happy. I hope a nice long run today will fix that...trying to muster up the energy...

 Update: I squeezed out a 12 mile run. I don't know why my energy levels have taken a huge drop lately, but I haven't been able to maintain a steady 7:30 pace lately. I'm frustrated. I think it's my life that is taking a toll on my health.

Felt sick today---massive headache since I woke up, fatigued (even after solid night of sleep), and definitely dehydrated. I didn't go to work. I spent all day resting and re-hydrating. I picked up my car tonight, but I had to run there to get it (thus the 4.5 miles run today). Slow. Stop and go with traffic.

I dragged myself to work today. I'm still not even 75%, but I had to do some work.

 After that, I went to the gym for this quickie:

Dynamic warm-up (jumping jacks, gate swings, squats, lunges, leg swings, inch worms, tiger crawls)

1/2 mile slow jog on treadmill (8:00/mi pace)

1 mile quick outside (6:50?)---downhill then uphill...sciatica pain was very sharp

5 rounds:

15 x 24" box jump 

10 x strict pull-ups

12 x 45 lb. push press

12 x BOSU bicycle

Then I hopped on the treadmill for...

4 rounds: 1/4 mile slow (8:00/mi), 1/4 mile quick (6:00-6:30-ish, faster each quarter)

1/2 mile steep incline (12%) with quick walk (4.5-5.5 mph) cool-down

Finally, I finished with some stretching and some work on the pull-up bar (still trying to get kipping pull-ups down).

I think I'll take tomorrow off work. Feeling ill again... 

6 easy miles. Sciatica pain.

Core work.

Took Friday completely off. Need a reset button.

Ran 9+ miles with Jack this morning. It actually felt pretty good. Sciatica pain still tugging, but it wasn't too sharp today. Held an okay pace after warming up for a while... 

Perfect weather today. Ran an easy 23 miles. Pace was all over the place, but I think that's because of trails and hills. Felt decent for the most part.

I finally ran Rock Creek Park/Beach Drive! Loved the company of all the other runners just being outside. Also crossed paths with the famous local--Matt!

Good confidence run for the marathon...now to take care of my body, stretch, add some more speed work, and keep taking my vitamins.

I think my body is responding well to reintroducing alcohol and crap-food (read: chili fries) into my diet. I think it runs on alcohol and fat... 

6.5 easy miles

5 rounds:

15 KB SDHP (sumo deadlift high pull)

15 DB push press

15 DB bent over row

15 push-ups

25 Abmat sit-ups

25 Abmat back extensions 

Stretched and practiced KB clean and presses.

I made a kick-ass dinner of butter chicken and rice for my boyfriend. :-) 

Lately I've been reading Andy Weir's The Martian. It's a great book! I love science fiction novels. Go to Amazon right now and download it. I've been reading it on my Android and on my laptop because I don't have a Kindle, so...no excuses! 

B - cereal with skim milk, water

L - chicken sandwich (grilled) with lettuce, tomato, and mustard, chocolate chip cookie, chocolate milk

S - 2 oranges

S - hot chocolate

S - hot raspberry tea 

Pre-workout - Gu espresso gel (2x caffeine)

Post-workout - bread from Great Harvest

D - TBD 

I jumped onto the treadmill for a 1.5 mile warm-up at 7:18 pace. I increased the pace to 6:58 for a half mile, 6:45 for a half mile, 6:30 for a half mile, and did 3x30 second sprints during the last mile (6:00 or faster). My overall average pace was 7:08 for 4 miles.

I'm going to start my power phase of my lifting program next week. This week, I will ease into it.

SUPERSET: 3x10 bench press + 3x10 burpees

SUPERSET: 3x10 leg press + 3x10 jump squat

SUPERSET: 3x6 strict pull-ups + 3x10 back extensions

Abdominal Circuit:

3 rounds:

15 weighted sit-ups

15 weighted toe touchers

15 weighted banana boats

25 Swiss ball crunch

25 Swiss ball side crunch, each side 

STRETCH!

Energy felt pretty good after the workout. I wasn't trying to kill myself. :) 

B - bread, oatmeal, herbal tea

S - bread, water

L - salad with chili, water

S - orange, water, clementine, water

D - pasta with sun dried tomatoes, bell peppers, spinach, zucchini, squash, and a sprinkle of cheese/herbs

8 mile run along the C&O Canal

5 rounds:

12 front squat (55 lb)

10 push press (55 lb)

5 Deadlift (95 lb)

2 rounds:

15 front leg raises

15 right side leg raises

15 left side leg raises.

Easy day. I really wanted to focus on my form, so I dropped the weight a bit and got low for my squats and pushed through my heels for the push press (still uneven with the arms sometimes). I can deadlift more, but my back seemed to be spasming at the light weight, so I kept it there and focused on form. Leg raises were unusually difficult today...not sure why.

4 hilly miles

4 rounds:

20 sandbag squats (toss bag over one shoulder, switch after 10)

20 uneven side to side pushups on sandbag (switch sides each time)

10 bent over row and then clean with sandbag