Invictus

I think I'll start recording my training again.

10.2 mile easy run (7:20/mile pace) alone. Perfect weather.

I read YOU (Only Faster) by Greg McMillan in February, and I set up a 12 week training plan for a 10k I'm planning on running in June. I'm finishing up week four today.

Here are some of the key workouts:

Week 1: 12x30sec (fast) with 1 min jog

Week 1: 10 hills (did them on the treadmill, about 200m each)

Week 2: 2mile tempo run (treadmill, felt difficult)

Week 2: 12 hills (outside, long hill)

Week 3: 12x30sec (fast) with 1 min jog

Week 3: 6x1mile with 0.25mile recovery (6:16-6:29/mile goal pace, ran it outside with my Garmin, felt very difficult, took a couple days to recover, didn't lift that night)

Week 4: progression run of 60 minutes (last 10 minutes fast)

Week 4: 12 hills (outside, long hill)

I've also been lifting three times a week in the gym. For reference, here is a quick note of the weights I've been using:

squat: 105lb moderate, 115-125lb heavy

deadlift: 115-125lb focusing on form

bench: 65-70lb

overhead press/push press/thruster: 45-55lb

biceps curl: 15-20lb

strict pull-ups: max at 12, easily 7-10...varies weekly

TRX workouts...

2 mile warm-up jog
4 mile tempo run (goal 6:20-6:36 mile pace): 6:26, 6:38, 6:22, 6:18
2 mile cool-down jog/survival jog home

TRX workout:

2x10 single legged squats (each leg)

2x10 pistol squats (each leg)

2x10 sprinter starts (each leg)

10 hamstring curls

10 hamstring bridges

20 (alternating) bicycles

8 tapping side planks (each side)

10 atomic crunches

10 forward pendelums

STRETCH! (mini yoga session)

Perfect weather--sunny and sixties with minimal wind.
Felt pretty good. The second mile was slow, and the last mile was fast. Still trying to dial in that tempo speed. Felt a little sick after the workout, but that's normal for me with longer hard efforts.

Watched the Boston Marathon before my workout. It was motivating to see the top four women break the previous women's Boston Marathon course record (and see Rita Jeptoo finish alone). I also loved seeing Meb win for USA (though he had me worried, depending on the camera angle)!

As a note of what I have been doing since Patriots Half last year, I ran a bunch of road races (a handful of 5k's, two 10k's, and a 4 miler) with no "real" training (running and doing sporadic speed sessions). Those are all up on my blog: http://nonsequitur-box.blogspot.com/

This year, I'm trying to focus on lifting three days a week and doing yoga twice a week (even 5 minutes counts).

Super easy pace. Ran down to Teddy Roosevelt Island, did 26 burpees, ran back.

Core work: 2 sets of...

25 straight leg crunches

25 side crunches (each side)

25 leg lifts

25 toe touches

Stretched! Legs felt dead today.

B - 1/2 c. oatmeal with dried cherries, 1 glass of water

L - curry chicken, rice and beans, cabbage, 500mL water (food trucks came to work today!)

S - mint

S - 2 ginger cookies (before run)

D - chicken and vegetables with teriyaki sauce, 4oz orange Gatorade, 4oz chocolate soy milk, handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 mile warm-up to the track

Realize we can't run on the track with a soccer game going on, so we head up to the nearby Custis Trail, which has markers every half mile. We started at the 1.5 mile marker and ran toward the 0 mile marker. After every half mile we jogged for about .06mi and turned around to jog back and start at that mile marker (I hope that makes sense; Jack didn't understand me at first).

6x800m at cruise interval pace (3:05-3:09 target pace, which is slower than "fast" but faster than tempo) with 200m jog recovery

Results: 3:10/1:29/3:03/1:18/2:57/1:46/3:12/1:05.3:03/1:26/3:09

The Custis Trail is slightly hilly, and there was a little wind today. I'm content with those paces, even if they seem all over the place (matching up the hills: 3:10/3:09, 3:03/3:03, 2:57/3:12). Jack was good to have on this run, since the hills were an unexpected surprise for me (I had my mind on a track all day long!).

I forgot I was supposed to do 4x100m at the end until I was in the shower. Oh well.

2 mile cool down

Stretch.

I wanted to get in a quick lift of some sort today. Wednesdays are usually my long work days followed by speed work AND a lifting session, but that will change soon.

3 rounds:

10 KB swings

10 KB goblet squat

5 KB triangle (each side)

5 KB snatch (each arm)

2 KB Turkish get-ups (each side)

B - banana, 8oz chocolate soy milk, 1 tsp instant espresso, 4 ice cubes

L - banana with 1 TBS almond butter, butternut squash and quinoa salad (Trader Joe's) with dressing, water sips

S - snack bag of crunchy Cheetoes, 2 Girl Scout shortbread cookies, water sips

D - (post-run) 16 oz lemonade, red snapper (fish), rice, and bok choy

Easy 4 mile run. Recovery. Worked abs afterwards.

B - banana with almond butter, chai tea latte

L - leftover chicken teriyaki and vegetables, pretzels with Nutella, water

S - 1 orange candy piece

D - water, bread and crackers with butter and olives, 1 glass of red wine, filet mignon with mashed potatoes and green beans

Did a dynamic warm-up and 5 minutes/1000m on the erg.

Lifted:

3x10 Squat (warm-up, 2 sets at 105lb, 1 set at 115lb)

3x10 Bench (warm-up, 2 sets at 65lb, 1 set at 75lb)

5x5 Deadlift (warm-up, 3 sets at 105lb, 2 sets at 115lb)--extra form focus

3x10 Push press (2 sets at 45lb, 1 set at 55lb)

5 sets of pull-ups: 10-7-5-4-4

Planks: 1 min front, 1 min each side, 1 min front

Stretch. Go home. No run.

B - banana, chai tea latte

L - vegetarian salad, pretzels with Nutella, water

S - 1 peppermint candy piece

D - ravioli with red sauce and cheese

Ran 12 miles with Capital Area Runners on the C&O Canal path today. It was great! We started out very easy and ended at a comfortable pace.

S - 1/2 banana, water
B - Picky Bar
L - Trader Joe's salad, mango juice
D - chicken panini, chai tea, apple, 1 piece of baklava
S - 1 piece of dark chocolate, water, lots of popcorn, 1 beer, and two squares of pizza

5.7 easy miles with Jack. Sunny and pretty outside.

B - 1/2 banana

S - 2 slices of toast with butter, some asparagus, cube of chicken (taste testing lunch)

L - summer rolls and sushi from Whole Foods, milky drink with cinnamon and almonds in it

S - 1 egg muffin with bell peppers

S - 1/4 cup gelato

Easy 4 miles around the block.

Lifted with some dumbbells:

3 rounds:

15 squats (light, only 20lb DBs)

10 Swissball DB bench (15lb DBs)

10 DB biceps curl and overhead press (15lb DBs)

10 bent over row (15lb DBs)

Core circuit with push-ups

I decided to put work off for a few hours and ran with Capital Area Runners in the morning at the track. I was so glad I did this!

Easy warm-up (1.5 miles?)

6x800m (started off around a 3:00/800m pace, lowered into the 2:52-2:56 range, did the last one around 2:47)--felt great! I enjoyed having a full 400m jog recovery between each interval!

Easy cool-down (0.5 miles?)

Downpour today! It started thunderstorming after I finished work, so I ran on the treadmill. After meeting Coach George Buckheit, I've learned to really warm-up. I took the first 1-2 miles at a very easy (9:30-9:00/mile pace) and then slightly (very gently) increased the pace down to 7:35/mile (for the last mile). I think I remember what a real recovery run is! It felt good, even if it was on the treadmill (I don't care what anyone else thinks or says, I always feel like the treadmill is more difficult than the road for running).

Lifted:

4x10 squats (light, 95lbs)

4x10 bench press (65lbs, last set at 75lbs)

3x7 pull-ups

3 circuits:

1 min front plank

1 min left side plank

1 min right side plank

25 push-ups

15 seconds rest

+ extra set of 25 push-ups (gotta get to 100!)

I changed my diet a little this week.

Breakfast: I made egg muffins with cheese and bell peppers--great for a quick meal! I eat 2-3 each morning (about 2-4 eggs total)

Lunch: Chicken and asparagus most days, or salad (today)

Dinner: Monday was chicken and asparagus. Tuesday was soup and a turkey sandwich. Wednesday was soup and ginger chicken from the Thai restaurant

Snacks: I bought some Quest bars, so I've had one a day each week. Extra 170kcal (20g of protein).

Water: Started carrying my water bottle. I didn't realize how dehydrate I've been!!