Friday, March 17, 2023

What Time is it?

Does anyone really know what time it is? 
Does anyone really care? 
If so I can't imagine why
We've all got time enough to....  die, cry, fry, eat pie...(fill in the blank) ~Chicago

I don't normally struggle too much with going between time zones or turning the clocks forward. But between the two hour time difference between California and Chicago and springing forward to daylight savings time, my body did not know what time it was. It really hit me hard on Tuesday, when I got up at 4:30 to go to the pool before work. Thankfully, I was off work the rest of the week for my annual PNP conference, which I attended virtually from home. That gave me a chance to take it easy and get back on track. 

Of course, I got all my workouts in. I do have my priorities!


Weekly Rundown
Sunday: trail run 11 miles
Monday: CrossFit, yoga with Adriene
Tuesday: Pool running
Wednesday: Run 6.3 miles, yoga with Adriene
Thursday: CrossFit
Friday: treadmill run/hill ladders x 3 (5.2 miles), yoga with Adriene
Saturday: rest

Running

Last Thursday, I came home from California to snow and when I woke up Sunday morning, it was snowing again. I started to feel the blues creeping back in--post-vacation blues or seasonal depression. Whatever it is, I don't want it. As hard as it was to get motivated to run outside, I drove to my local preserve where the Trail Sisters Chicago Northwest were meeting for our weekly run. Since it is 'my' preserve, they were counting on me to lead. Sometimes it's good to have that incentive. We stuck to the main trail and they were a sloppy, muddy mess. At first, some of the group wanted to turn around but once we got our feet wet, so to speak, we just kept going. It's a 5.5 mile loop and we really enjoyed it. We saw a lot of deer in the woods and some ducks swimming in the marsh. When we were done, I wanted to do another loop. One of the women said she'd join me and we pushed each other. Hard. This was a much faster loop and I'm so glad we did it. 

Oh, and those blues? Gone. I hope for good! As always, I am so grateful for this wonderful group! 


Since I did that long trail run on Sunday, I took Wednesday's run to the bike path. My legs felt strong, but they also felt tired. I promised myself these would be easy miles and for the most part, they were. It was cool but the sun was shining and really, what else do you need?


Friday was windy and cold and I just didn't see any benefit to getting outside to battle the conditions. Still concerned about my lack of trail training, I got the bright idea to do hill repeats on the treadmill. I actually found a YouTube workout, 40 minute HIIT and HILLS. All I can say is IBX running, which is all treadmill workouts, where have you been all my life? The first part of the class was 1:30 intervals of a hill ladder alternating with recovery. I skipped the second half of the class, choosing to repeat the hill ladder segment 2 more times. The hill ladder went from 0-2-4-6% and then back down again. I ran the same pace on each interval and by the 3rd ladder, I was toast. This was a GREAT workout and I plan on repeating it again unless I find something better. What I really liked was the cueing of the instructor. It was nice that I didn't have to think about what I was doing. We all know how I struggle with that (see yet another example below). 

CrossFit

Monday's WOD was deceptively tough. The strength/skill portion focused on push-ups of the perfect kind. I've shared those here before and it's all about quality over quantity, chest to the floor, and tight abs and glutes. We did 5 rounds of these alternating with double under practice. I was able to do 4-5 push-ups with each round and I was feeling those for a couple of days after this. Instead of holding planks for an eternity, try doing perfect push-ups. The MetCon was a 14 minute AMRAP of 21 calories on the rower, 15 single arm dumbbell hang cleans (25#), and 9 burpees. 4 rounds was all I had in me.

My shoulder was a little unhappy after these. It probably didn't help that I didn't do my shoulder PT when I was on vacation last week. I'm back at it and it is feeling better already.


With my virtual conference scheduled to start at 9, I had to hit the early (6:15) CrossFit class. My poor body is just so confused. The WOD was interesting. It was a MetCon in 3 5 minute segments. Each segment had a 35cal row buy-in, followed by an EMOM. Segment 1 had 12 deadlifts and 8 box overs. I did 95# and completed 2 sets. Segment 2 had 8 deadlifts and 8 box overs. I did 125# and completed 2 sets. Segment 3 had 4 deadlifts and 8 box overs. I intended to do 145#, but math is hard and I put on 165#, which I didn't realize until the coach told me at the end of the workout. That was the rx weight, lol. I thought it felt hard! I finished 2 sets of the deadlifts but only 1 set of box overs before time was called.  I sure felt this in my posterior, which is always a good thing!

Pool Running

Once again, I have to share my pool running workout. A few weeks ago, I shared that I am going to do my speed workouts in the pool. Timing is everything, and Jennifer from Fluid Running sent me the newest Level 3 workout! Double Time was another class that was focused on track workouts, with 1000 meter repeats and sprint ladders. It was hard and I was sweating buckets at the end. But what a satisfying way to sweat!


I did what?!

Remember when I said I was done with long distance road races? Ha! Last week, I received an email from the Chicago 13.1, a new race that is organized by the same people who do the Chicago Marathon. Last year was the first year for this race. Chicago has a system of boulevards on the west side of the city that run from the north to the south, What intrigues me about this race is that the course runs on several of the boulevards, something I've always been interested in! You know I love exploring the city and this race checks all the boxes. Erica ran this race last year and is doing it again this year because she loved it so much. Ok, so maybe I'm not completely done with road races. The race is June 4. If anyone wants to join me, let me know. It's guaranteed to be well organized and very scenic and fun!



How was your week? We're up in Wisconsin and as you read this, I'm trying to get some vert in preparation for my upcoming trail race. The weather is making life hard for this runner!  Have you ever done a guided treadmill workout? Are you training for anything? Does anyone else struggle with workout math? Have you ever done speedwork in the pool? Who is going to run the Chicago 13.1 with me?

I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown. 





28 comments :

  1. That's why I enjoy Peloton workouts on the treadmill! It's funny, in the 3 (or is it 2 years?) I've been on the app, I've only recently crossed the 100 treadmill run. I do get in most of my runs outside! My neighborhood is very hilly though, so it's easy to tackle hills. :)

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    1. It's not very hilly here, except in certain places. So it's nice for me to go up to Wisconsin, where I can tackle some impressive climbs!

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  2. Yeah the weather was all over the place this past week. I'm so over the extreme cold. Hope your time in Wisco gives you ideal running conditions. I used to do speed intervals in the pool by taking off the flotation belt and churning hard to stay afloat. It's effective!

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    1. I wouldn't call today's conditions ideal, but aside from the 12 degree temperature, it was pretty nice.

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  3. Ooh, that race sounds fun! If I were there I would do it with you, although "with" might be inaccurate- you would probably be way ahead of me. We would meet up at the finish line.
    Yeah, I can see how turning the clocks ahead would be especially hard when you're suffering from jetlag! You got in some great workouts though. You're definitely doing everything you can to prepare for your trail race. Now you just need to start sleeping in an altitude tent and you'll be all set.

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    1. Ha! I think I'll be stopping for photos. This race is going to fill my cup for sure.

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  4. The only way I can survive a treadmill run anymore is with an interval/HIIT workout of some sort. The time goes so much faster when there's a constant change of speed or incline. That said, I haven't tried resurrecting Milly since she passed out on me a couple months ago, though I haven't thrown her to the curb just yet.

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    1. I would agree with you that intervals definitely make the time fly by!

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  5. Your snowy trail run must have been a rude awakening after the California warmth. I'm glad you had friends to meet to motivate you. Hope you're having fun in Wisconsin and getting in a good training run.

    I ran the Chicago Spring Half back in 2016 when our son was at Booth. It was along the lake, though. I wish I could join you, but my body just won't let me run those distances anymore. :-(

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    1. This is a different race than the one you ran. I'm kind of done with races on the lakefront path as well as around downtown. It would have to be something really special for me to sign up for one of those.

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  6. HIIT and Hills sounds like a great way to get through a treadmill run! If this cold weather continues I may have to return to the mill as well. I'm so ready for Spring weather!!

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    1. After today, running in 12F and listening to the birds singing, I'm convinced that Mother Nature is messing with us.

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  7. Haha we were in Japan (15 hours ahead) but then with daylight saving we were 'just' 14 hours ahead. It was so confusing just trying to figure out what day it was!

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  8. Man, I can't keep up with the timechange and I haven't traveled at all yet! I've also been feeling the winter blues. I keep thinking this is our "last snowfall" And then another one comes! Nice job getting in those snowy trail miles.

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    1. I'm hoping that the next time I'm up there, the trails will be clear!

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  9. Sweating from a pool workout is so interesting! I get tired from just swimming a few laps so getting a good workout in wouldn't be a hard stretch for me. I'm so used to just floating around in my pool!

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    1. Oh, me too. i always joke that the only swimming I do is when I jump in the lake to swim to the waterski!

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  10. So you casually did an 11-mile trail run with a negative split? Well done!! Do you feel more confident now for your upcoming race?
    And SUPER well done on those 165 deadlifts! This proves that we can do more than we think. I wish I could RX one day. This morning, was just over half (17kg) of the RX (30kg) for clean and jerks and power snatches.

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  11. I'd love to do that trace... maybe next year.

    Don't have a treadmill but I think a pool would have been helpful to me to be able to run with a broken foot.

    As Someone said above, my swimming is floating around a lake to cool off.

    I think you are so ready for your trail race.... I can't wait to hear about it.

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    1. I used the pool to recover from my broken ankle and foot--it isn't swimming if you are running!

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  12. That race sounds amazing. I would love to race in Chicago. One day, I guess. Depression can be hard to manage - I am glad to see you are able too push through. I always struggle with the darker mornings, and while I'm getting up, I'm also dragging butt. Those pushups look brutal!

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    1. I do feel better when I move and this winter, that has been the key!

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  13. Sign me up for that race next year! I love to run in Chicago and it won't be so hot by then. The time change did not bother me as much this year. I am already enjoying the extra afternoon daylight

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    1. I do not like the dark mornings! but yes, the lighter evenings are definitely nice.

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  14. I always struggle for 2-3 days after DST - my body hates it, lol. I finally feel back to normal now which is nice.
    That race sounds really cool - you know how much I love Chicago :)

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  15. I will admit I'm glad you're not done with road races but I do like hearing about those :) especially new ones!

    That trail group sounds so lovely and its awesome you had someone to push you on the second loop. Way to go! Great photo too.

    Amazing week Wendy!

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