Running Surprises

Things I discovered last week while working out:

1. How difficult it is to run an additional half mile after running 5.5 and then sitting on a train for 40 minutes. 

Monday night I did 5.5 miles with my running club then ran home from the train station so I ended up with a total of just over 6 miles for the night.  But, ugh, let me tell you how difficult it is to run an extra half mile after sitting on a train for 40 minutes.  Embarrassingly difficult, actually.

2. The ease of grabbing a strength workout from a pile of options. 

Tuesday I went down to the gym in my building and did some of my PT exercises and then did a strength workout.  I have a whole stack of workouts that I’ve built up by now so I just grab a paper out of the stack and do that one.  Easy.

3.  That sometimes you DO regret a workout. 

On Wednesday I was going to ride the upright stationary bike in my building’s gym but one of the pedals was broken.  Okay, irritating, but I’ll just switch to the recumbent bike.  Except for some reason the screen on that one wasn’t working so I had no way to adjust the resistance.  Still, I pedaled half-heartedly for the length of an episode of Supernatural on my iPhone via Netflix.  One of those workouts that left me more grumpy than refreshed.

4.  An idea for a weekend outing!

Thursday morning I met up with Emily for another 5ish mile run before starting the rest of my day.  While running we discovered the Festa Italiana was starting that evening!  I took advantage of this festival of food and drink on Saturday afternoon and it was wonderful. I highly recommend this neighborhood festival to my fellow Chicagoans! 

5.  Friday afternoons are busy gym times.

At least, the gym in our building seems to get busy on Fridays!  Jason and I went down there on Friday when I got home from work and I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to get in my entire workout because someone was using the equipment I needed!  This is a new phenomenon.  Thankfully he finished and I was able to do the YTWL exercise.  Try it.  It will seriously challenge your shoulders and upper back.

6.  Emily!

I thought the highlight of my Saturday morning run was going to be the cool weather.  And then I thought it was going to be that I ran past a Harry Potter convention playing Quidditch.  But the biggest highlight was running to Emily on the lakefront path!  We ended up running together and, in the end, I ran 9.75 miles which is the most I’ve run since December 2011.  What a great morning!

7.  That it’s okay to skip exercises even if they’re on the list.

On Sunday I grabbed a workout from the stack and went down to the gym.  I did my PT exercises and then started in on my workout.  But after doing the squat and push-press exercise with the barbell I realized my right wrist was bothering me.  So, I skipped the push-ups portion of my workout.  I also swapped out the step-ups for some more PT exercises.  It feels pretty good to know my body and when I should and shouldn’t push it.  Doesn’t mean I always listen, but I try.

Well Balanced Week

 

I stopped writing my Weekly Workout Wround Up posts after the Las Vegas Marathon last December.  At the time I was in a little bit of a funk and probably a bit depressed.  Post-marathon blues and injury aggravations didn’t trend toward wanting to keep track of my (lack of) physical activity week to week.

But I feel like I need to document this past week.

Monday night I ran 5.5 miles with my running club.  It was slow and I walked some due to the heat, but I got out there. 

Tuesday I strength trained.

Wednesday I ran a race.

Thursday I did some more strength training.  I also did some Tabata intervals on the stationary bike and then did a mile on the treadmill in my minimalist shoes.  I didn’t do the whole mile straight, though.  I’d walk a quarter mile and then run a quarter mile.  My calves could really feel it during the run!

Friday I swam some laps. 

Saturday, though.  Oh, Saturday.  I went on possibly the most fun bike ride I’ve ever done.  Kim did an AWESOME write-up so I won’t reinvent the wheel and instead just tell you to go read her post.  Long story short:  we rode from Libertyville, IL to the Chicago Botanical Gardens, wandered around the gardens for 3 hours (I’d never been there before), and then rode back to Libertyville. 

Total distance?  41 miles.  This wasn’t a speed run.  It was a fun, exploration ride.  One of the things I love about the bike is that you don’t really care if you get a little lost.  Sometimes getting turned around leads you to some neat discoveries. 

Like this beautiful view of Lake Michigan.

And then on Sunday I met up with Emily for our first run together!  She showed me her usual 6ish mile route and we chatted while running past the United Center (home of the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago Blackhawks), through UIC, and around our neighborhood.  It was a good time and I’m looking forward to running with her more.

So my week consisted of three runs, two strength training sessions, one bike ride, and one swimming workout.

Which means I worked out seven days in a row.  But, balanced workouts. 

One of my goals this year was to do something active every day that I can.  I think this past week definitely lived up to that goal! 

Weekend Wildness

Ladies and Gentleman, let me introduce to you the Stupid Tan Lines: Summer 2012 Collection.

Item #1 :

Bike shorts tan line

 

Item #2:

Bike jersey tan line

 

Item #3:

 Bike glove tan line

 

And just how, exactly, did I end up with this lovely collection of tan lines?

By parking my car here:

 

And riding my bike to here:

 

And then 5 more miles to get lunch here:

 

And then turning around and doing it all again to get back to my car.  Plus a slight detour when I got a little lost.  Total mileage?

64.22 miles.  Today my legs feel sore in all sorts of new places.

I am not the world’s fastest cyclist so not counting stops for traffic or my stop for lunch I did those 64.22 miles in just shy of four and a half hours.  My Garmin died around mile 52 so, sadly, it didn’t catch the last four miles where I was pushing it really hard and probably averaging closer to 18 miles per hour (instead of the 14 for the rest of the trip). 

I really just wanted to be done and, thankfully, an older gentleman on a bike behind me gave me the motivation to push harder. 

But riding my bike my furthest distance ever (by a factor of 2) wasn’t the only wild and crazy thing I did this weekend.

Oh, no.  On Friday afternoon I biked over to the nearest gym to which I still have a membership (until the end of July, anyway) I decided to swim some laps. 

That went….let’s go with….well, at least I didn’t drown. 

I have forgotten everything I learned from my lesson back in January.  I think I’ll be taking my work bonus and getting myself some swim lessons.  I felt awkward and ungangly in the water and I think I swallowed half the pool.  I was in the water for 30 minutes and I hope that at least half of that was swimming.  For the first 10 minutes I just did laps, for the next 10 I used a kick board to try and work on my breathing.  For the last 10 I used a pull buoy so I could work on my arm movements. 

I slept really well on Friday night. 

Saturday I tried a new strength workout that left me feeling a bit sore.  Peace Love and Oats posted a workout she recently tried and I thought, hey, why not?  I swapped out the cardio parts, though, for some deadlifts, dumbbell rows, and stability ball work. 

And today?  Today I am taking a rest day.  I think I earned it.

Busy, Busy

I’ve been pretty busy in the workout department since last Thursday.  Of course, now I’m paying for it as my left hip is KILLING me (or maybe that’s just a reaction to the ART session from last night). 

But what was I doing until I decided to give my hip a break?

Friday was my wedding anniversary so Jason and I walked to a nearby pub for dinner and drinks.  After I rode my bike to and from work.  Does commuting by bike count as a workout if it’s only a few miles total? 

Saturday I did a strength workout but my stomach was upset so I didn’t push it very hard and had to rush out of the gym mid-set to use the bathroom.  I felt pretty out of it the rest of the day.

Thankfully I felt better on Sunday, though, because I joined Kim for some kayaking! 

We kayaked around a lake for about an hour.  I could really feel it working my arms but, believe it or not, I wasn’t sore at all the next day!  I have a feeling that if I’d done this last year or the year before I would have felt it for a few days afterward.  Strength training for the win!

Monday I took advantage of my day off and went for a long bike ride.  I rode from my apartment to Chicago’s lake front path and went south to where the path ends.  Then I turned around and headed back.

Although the air temps were warm there was a strong breeze coming in off the lake that made it pretty nice outside.  Minus the fact that the wind felt like it was going to blow me over or backward most of the ride.  I also explored some alternate ways to get home and ended up riding just over 25 miles.  I’m still not very fast on my bike but I am really enjoying being out on it.

And then Tuesday I went for a run all by my lonesome at lunch.  Been a LONG time since I’ve done that.

Funny how different the lake and the skyline can look from one day to the next, isn’t it?  I ran for 40 minutes and finished 4.5 miles.  And, even though it was straight-up sunny and warm I felt pretty good.  Racer back tan line, here I come!

When I got home from work I hit up the apartment gym for a quick strength session.

Now I’m taking a few days off from running.  I might do a strength session tonight or I might just rest.  That ART session left me really sore!

Several Things Thursday

Whew.  Sorry for dropping off the planet there for a minute.  Where have I been?  Moving to my new apartment!!

That’s our kitchen/living room/dining room/balcony

Finishing up packing, moving, unpacking, and getting settled took all of last week and the weekend.  Monday I was back at our previous abode finishing up a few things.  So, I didn’t get a workout until Tuesday.

What did I do Tuesday?  I went for a run at lunch.  Just 3ish miles.  I forgot my Garmin since I’m all out of sorts with the move.  The run felt strong, though, so I’d like to think it was a good pace.

On Wednesday I rode my bike to work.  It’s about 1.5 miles from my apartment to my office and it took me a little less than 15 minutes.  Of course, I had to dodge cabs and buses and now totally understand why drivers hate cyclists.  I’m TRYING to follow the rules but when buses and cabs cut me off or drive so close to the curb there’s no room for me I’m going to take some drastic maneuvers.

Riding home was a different story.  First I rode to my ART appointment and that was fine.  Easy, even.  But getting home meant trying to navigated super congested streets with very little room for cyclists.  I have a feeling I’ll be checking out some out-of-the way streets instead of taking the more direct route.  Riding my bike was exhilarating, though, when it wasn’t terrifying or irritating. 

And then Wednesday, after my adventures in bike riding, I used the gym in my apartment building for the first time.

 

I did the following workout.  You do the teal and the magenta sections three times each and the yellow sections once.  I had to lower some of the weights (specifically the bicep curls, tricep extensions and the chest presses) but overall it was a killer workout.  My glutes are still feeling it today.  Whew.

Source: foodandfunontherun.com via Erin on Pinterest

 

Should make for an interesting showing at the Chase Corporate Challenge this evening.  Yes, I’m running (but not racing).  But as a bandit.  I didn’t register so I’m just going to use someone else’s number.  Shhhh. 

Also, because I was so busy moving I didn’t get a chance to participate in Mag Mile Runner’s photo challenge for this week.  The prompt?  Your worst race. 

Soldier Field 10 Miler 2011

That’s me in the red tank top.  I don’t know what it was about this race, but my heart wasn’t in it.  And afterward my hip hurt so bad it was the first time I was really worried about what I’d done to it.  I think it was my horrible form on that day.  I mean, look at me in that photo. Ugh.  Anyway, the Soldier Field 10 Mile race is this weekend and I’m not sad at all that I’m not running it. 

That’s what I have for you this Thursday.  How are you?

Moti-what?

Some days you're more motivated than others, right?

On Monday night I wasn't feeling all that motivated.  Right now I'm pretty much running once a week since I'm not training for a race and I'm spending more time strength training, packing, and going to various PT appointments.  So I knew if I didn't go out for a run on Monday I might not run at all until this weekend.

Which means that even though I wasn't feeling particularly motivated I went running anyway.  My pace was definitely on the easy side but I was running with someone who was joining the Monday night run for the first time so I didn't want to leave her behind.  That worked out well since I wasn't too motivated to push the pace much harder, anyway.

Tuesday, though, my motivation came back with a vengeance.  After doing part of the strength workout I'd been planning to do on Monday at lunch I decided to finish it up Tuesday after PT.

Some of that motivation might have come from the fact that my left leg, which had been bothering me after Monday night's run, felt MUCH better after PT.  Apparently if I just have my physical therapist use her elbow to loosen up the tight spots twice a week I'm golden.  Skip a week and there's hell to pay.  Not a perfect long term solution, though, so hopefully we can figure out something else.  Do they make compression socks for your hips?  I mean, I know they make them for your legs because Sara is raffling off a pair. 

Anyway!  After Tuesday night's PT appointment I came home and put together three parts of some workouts I pinned on Pinterest to come up with the following:

Abs
Complete 3 circuits – move from one exercise to the next with little to no rest.
Flutter Kicks – 30 reps (15 each side)
Side V-ups – 20 reps (10 each side)
Push Through – 30 reps

Lower Body
Complete 4 circuits
Step-ups – 30 seconds each leg; rest 10 seconds after each leg
Prisoner Squats – 30 seconds; rest 10 seconds
Stiff Legged Deadlifts – 30 seconds; rest 10 seconds
Butt Blaster – 30 seconds; rest 10 seconds
Heel Clappers – 30 seconds; rest 10 seconds
Leg extensions – 30 seconds; rest 10 seconds

Arms
Complete two circuits
Bicep Curls – 20 reps
Rest 20 seconds
Tricep Kickbacks – 20 reps each arm
Rest 20 seconds

Cardio
One set of Tabata intervals

Let me tell you, those Butt Blasters are no joke!   Also, I'm pretty sure that after multiple days in a row of doing strength training my triceps are bigger than they've ever been.

So, yeah, motivation.  It comes and goes.  But, dang, when it comes you know it's going to make you kick butt!

Three Things Thursday

I feel like this week is going by both quickly and slowly.  As in, I keep asking myself "Is it only Thursday?"  and "It's Thursday already??"

This could be because I'm keeping myself pretty busy.

Monday night I ran with my running club and played ambassador to a woman who was running with us for the first time.  We ran an average 9:30 pace for 5.5 miles (positive splits for me again) which she said is faster than she usually runs.  She kept up well, though!  My left leg, however, was a little pissed at me so I was glad for being too busy on Tuesday to get in a workout.  Forced rest for the win!

Actually, Tuesday night was our monthly running club meeting where we had the executive director and the racing coordinator for the Chicago Area Runners Association come speak to us about some of their new initiatives and to get feedback on what we though they could be doing better.  If you're a Chicago area runner and you don't belong to CARA you should know that they do more then get you race discounts and race training!  They also have partnerships with businesses to get CARA members discounts on running apparel, gym memberships, and other running-related goodies.  They also keep a database of volunteer opportunities so if you want to volunteer for a race in the Chicago area you can contact them and they'll let you know when they need volunteers.

Last night I wanted to get in a quick strength workout.  I did two rounds of the Bikini Beach Bum Workout from the Tone It Up training video series.




I followed that up with day 1 of a 7 day arms workout I pinned on Pinterest.

Source: skinnyms.com via Erin on Pinterest

Day 1 is focused on triceps and today my triceps are SORE! Whew. So far it looks like a really good series of quick arms-focused workouts to add to any strength routine. I usually prefer compound moves but every so often I feel like I need a more focused session. This definitely fits the bill!

Which means tonight I plan to do the second day of that series and throw in some Tabata intervals. Good times.

Fulfilled Wishes

 

Wednesday evening I wanted to squeeze in a strength workout.  I thought all day about which one to do and ultimate decided on my Top to Bottom workout with the addition of some more push-ups.  I also discovered something else.

 

I’ve been trying to do (and hold) a straight-legged V-sit since 2009!  And, look, I finally accomplished it!!!

And this wasn’t a fluke, either.  My camera was acting up so I had to do it several times before I got this photo. 

I guess all that physical therapy has been good for something!  It’s finally taught me how to use those lazy lower ab muscles. 

Speaking of physical therapy, after my lunch time run on Thursday (approximately 4 miles, pace unknown.  My Garmin battery was dead.) I could feel my hip slowly tightening up as I sat at my desk.  I tried to get up and stretch it out but that’s kind of difficult to do when you’re wearing a sheath dress.

Thankfully I had a physical therapy session scheduled for Thursday evening. She poked and prodded and pushed and then, lo and behold, I could feel just the slightest stretch in my left adductor when I went into a side lunge.  For the first time in almost a year I didn’t feel a strong, horrible pinching sensation in my hip!  It’s still tight but it felt so much better that I started laughing hysterically in the middle of the PT gym.  I really, really hope this means I’ve turned a corner! 

This weekend I probably won’t be working out.  Instead, I’ll be volunteering at the Illinois Marathon.  Course set-up from 4AM – 7AM and then course marshaling between miles 18 & 19 from 8:30 – 1:15 PM.  My mom and my husband are volunteering to drive one of the sag wagons, as well.  I wish I was running this race for a variety of reasons but volunteering is the next best thing.  You can’t have a race without volunteers and I like to give back. 

So, unless you're running the Illinois Marathon, I’ll see you on Monday!  Have a good weekend! 

Monday Moans

Monday again. And my body is feeling it. Not sure what exactly I did this weekend that kicked my butt, but I am exhausted and sore this AM. Okay, maybe I do know what I did. Aside from errand-running and box-packing, I did an hour of strength training:

Source: sweettoothsweetlife.com via Erin on Pinterest

I did Group #1 and Group #2 from this workout I pinned a month ago. Repeating each group five times definitely gives you a good workout but it gets kind of monotonous after awhile. Also, each group takes about 30 minutes if you do all 5 moves 5 times. If I do this one again I'll drop the repeats but up the weights.

Sunday my hip was bothering me so I thought about just taking it easy but for some reason I found myself with a lot of free time so I hopped on my bike trainer and busted out 30 minutes. 5 minute warm-up, 16 minutes of intervals (1 minute fast, 1 minute recovery) and then a 9 minute cool down. I tightened the straps on the toe cages on my bike pedals in the hopes that I could work on pulling and not just pushing the pedals. I don't know if that made a difference but my legs are certainly feeling something today!

The one thing I didn't do was run. The weather was actually pretty nice for running (minus the wind) but even if the weather was bad it probably wouldn't stop me if I wanted to get in a run. I've run in wind and snow and rain. I've even run on ice! Which is why I think this shirt that Kim is giving away would be perfect for me.

And now, in an effort to wake up my body I'm off to drink my occasional cup of tea. Hope you're enjoying your Monday more than I am!

Mid-Week Fun

Tuesday and Wednesday I decided to have fun with my workouts and try something different. Since I didn't strength train on Monday I decided to squeeze it in before my physical therapy appointment on Tuesday night. Meghann at Meals and Miles posted about her most recent strength workout and I realized I recognized the moves from the latest Self magazine.

Source

If you're reading this via Google Reader or another website you'll have to click through to see the video

Easy enough, right? So, that's what I did. I had 30 minutes and twice through the workout was almost 30 minutes exactly. Perfect! Also, those push-ups at the end? Killer. I now have sore spots under my arms that I didn't even know existed.

Wednesday night I decided to tackle 30 minutes of running. My hip's feeling pretty good. Still pinchy and sore but not in a "makes me gasp" kind of way. I contemplated running through the cemetery again but decided at the last minute to try something I've been wanting to do for awhile: run up and down all the streets in my 'hood.

Unfortunately the Garmin freaked out during the first mile so I didn't get the pretty lines I was hoping for. Also, I realized that my neighborhood is bigger than I thought! I was only able to get in about half of the north-south streets before I hit 30 minutes. Now my goal is to run all the north-south streets in one run before we move in a month.

I put my Garmin on time-only so I had no idea what my pace was. My legs actually felt like lead so maybe Monday night's run combined with two strength workouts was more than my body is used to lately. Who knows. Still, it was a fun run and I saw streets that I'd never really been down before even though I've lived in the neighborhood for several years. Funny how that happens.

My Weekend Goal

I only had one goal this weekend. Well, that's not entirely true. I only had one workout goal. And that was....to actually work out!

The past few weekends have been filled with fun things but not much in the way of workouts. This weekend was almost the same until Sunday afternoon.

Originally I was planning to ride my bike but the wind and the threat of rain drove me inside even though it was almost 80 degrees. So instead of bike riding I pumped iron at the gym.

I started with this workout:

Source: sweettoothsweetlife.com via Erin on Pinterest

I only did it once through, though. However, I upped my weights from the 8 pounds I've been using to 12.5. The benefits of having a full set of dumbbells at the gym.

After doing all of that I had some time left before I wanted to be done so I added the moves from the first two circuits that Chicago Runner Girl listed here. I only did one set of each circuit, though, and stuck to 10 reps for most of the moves.

My triceps are certainly feeling all of that today!

However, my hip feels pretty good! Even after all of those squats and deadlifts. I'm optimistic. I think this whole ART thing might actually be doing something. Well, that and cutting back on my running. Good thing I like strength training!

A Weighty Subject

I was a lazy slug most of last week.

Well, okay, that's not entirely true.

On Monday I did both a strength workout AND a run.

The strength workout? This one that I made up by combining a few that I'd seen online:

Then on Wednesday night I did another strength workout:

Source: sweettoothsweetlife.com via Erin on Pinterest

This one was as advertised. Definitely sweaty! I did it twice in a row and was pretty shaky afterward.

My only other activity for the week included a physical therapy session, walking around Lincoln Park Zoo, walking to get ice cream (which promptly negated most of the other walking), and hauling boxes from place to place. All of which was fine with me.

So, now it's a new week and I've started it off with the strength training workout I described last week. Except we also skipped the mountain climbers. Tonight I'll get in a run and then who knows what else the week will bring!

The Weekend Workouts That Weren't

Source

Where did my weekend go???

Well, I know where most of it went. So let's just say I'm super glad I got in a killer strength training workout during the day on Friday.

Source: sweettoothsweetlife.com via Erin on Pinterest

I made a few changes to this workout. Instead of split jumps we did regular lunges with bicep curls and we skipped burpees entirely. The room we workout in is about 80 degrees and we were dripping sweat. In the middle of the day. At work. Not a good look. Anyway, I did add 15 roll-ups, 15 3-2-1 crunches, and 2 sets of 10 bird dogs to the end. Trust me, this workout will shred your muscles even without the burpees and split jumps!

Then on Friday night I walked a little over a mile while I hung No Parking signs for my running club's 5K race.

On Saturday I spent a good chunk of the day working on a post for my fashion blog (that post was super fun, by the way) and then helping set-up for the 5K race some more. Our landlord also texted us to say the realtor would be taking photos of our house on Monday or Tuesday so Jason and I spent most of the weekend cleaning and decluttering.

Sunday morning was the 5K race and I was on my feet from 7:00 AM until 11:45 AM doing various tasks. My main jobs included helping to set up the finish line water station, doing a bit of course marshaling, and then ferrying results from the timing table to the results board. After a volunteer appreciation lunch it was back home for more cleaning and some errands.

So, no other workouts but I didn't mind. It didn't even feel that weird to not be running the 5K even though I've run it past two years. I think I'm finally reaching the stage where I'm working out because I want to instead of stressing out about fitting something into my schedule.

I'm not perfect. I still worry about losing fitness or gaining weight or losing muscle or not being able to race again. I'm still in this weird limbo spot where I don't know if I should sign up for races or have hip surgery. But I'm getting a bit more comfortable with taking a weekend off because I'm busy doing other things I enjoy.

Three Things Thursday

My workout last night consisted of three separate parts. Perfect for a Three Things Thursday post!

Part 1

Source: myfoodnfitnessdiaries.com via Erin on Pinterest

I've done this routine once before. That time it felt challenging but not killer. Last night, however, I could barely make it through one full set! So, I just did the one set and moved on to...

Part 2

Source: sweettoothsweetlife.com via Erin on Pinterest

I only did this routine one time through, as well.

Part 3

Source: sweettoothsweetlife.com via Erin on Pinterest

Since I was working out on my back deck I didn't feel like hauling the stability ball outside (nevermind that I brought my yoga mat and my handweights out there). So I just did my crunches on the floor. I did two sets of each move and my abs were burning by the end.

So, three short workouts that worked my entire body. Not too shabby.

Monday Two Day

Monday was a day full of workouts! After my weight lifting session on Sunday afternoon my upper body was a little bit sore but I still had a weight class to lead over lunch.

One other coworker and I did what I'm calling the "Top to Bottom Workout" that ended up working some of the same muscles I worked on Sunday. Rookie mistake. Still, it's been awhile since I've been sore from a workout and I kind of missed the feeling.

Bridge w/Dumbbell Press
Pilates Roll-Up
Dumbbell Chest Fly
Shoulder Fly
Reverse Fly
One Legged Dumbbell Deadlift
Side Lying Leg Lifts

Let's just say my rear deltoids and my shoulders were pretty tired by the end!

And then, when I got home, I went running! Yes, running! I did 5.5 miles at a 10 minute per mile pace with my running group. It was also a Mizuno Fun Run night so I tried out a pair of the Mizuno Wave Inspire. They reminded me of my old Brooks Adrenalines. Not something I could wear every day any more but they were a nice change from my usual Asics Gel Foundations. Much lighter, anyway.

The run felt pretty good. I could tell I'm still not in great shape but the fact that I'm still able to run 5.5 miles is encouraging. And it wasn't too painful afterward. I stretched and today I'm a little sore in the same spot I was sore in on Friday after running but it appears running isn't making anything worse.

I was flying pretty high by the end of the day. I don't think I'll be back up to 20 and 30 mile weeks any time soon, but it's nice to be able to go for a run when I want.