An Unintentional Cutback Week

I didn't mean to run fewer miles than usual this week. My weekly 'goal' mileage is around 20 miles. This week I ran about 15 miles. The cutback wasn't intentional--Mother Nature forced my hand. The weather continues to deliver bitter cold temperatures and brisk winds, which is as unpleasant as you might imagine. I'm no weather wimp, but my enthusiasm for all the things outdoors is wearing thin. Long distance runs are really tough when it's so cold.

Maybe it's a blessing in disguise. We've been amping up our strength work at the gym and my legs are feeling the fatigue. Hopefully, between the strength work and the reduction in running miles, I'll see some strong spring runs! 

Weekly Rundown

Sunday: trail run 4.25 miles

Monday: CrossFit

Tuesday; Fluid Running

Wednesday: Trail run 6 miles

Thursday: Strength Training

Friday: treadmill run 5 miles

Saturday: XC skiing, 5.5 miles

I met 3 fellow Trail Sisters on Sunday morning at one of the local preserves. It was blustery as advertised and we set a distance goal of 4-6 miles. By the time we were closing in on 4 miles, we decided to call it quits. It was pretty uncomfortable. But on the other hand, I felt so much better than I did last week and the company of my friends made for a very nice morning.

This was week 2 of the 4 week strength cycle; Monday's work out was a repeat of last Monday's.  The goal this week was to build from last week. Again, we had 4 different movements to do in 3 sets in 40 seconds or less:

Set 1: pick a weight in which we'd hit failure in 8-12 reps 

Set 2: drop the weight and complete 8-12 reps to failure 

Set 3: drop the weight and complete 8-12 reps to failure. 

I went a lot heavier this week except on the lunges. 

 

Movement 1: Dumbbell deadlifts 60#, 55#, 50# 

Movement 2: Barbell backward lunges  55#, 50#, 45#

Movement 3: Dumbbell strict press: 30#, 25#, 20# (I did push presses on the left arm with 30#, 25#)

Movement 4: Bent over barbell rows: 75#, 70#, 65#

Oops, my phone was on silent and on Tuesday, my alarm didn't wake me up at 4:30 for pool running. Somehow, I woke up at 4:45 and debated...should I stay or should I go? I got up, had a cup of coffee, and got myself out the door. Once I got in the water, I knew I made the right decision. We never regret a workout, do we?

Due to an impending snowstorm predicted to hit hard on Wednesday afternoon, my clinic hours were changed from the evening to late morning. That meant I had to get up and on the trails earlier than I normally do. And am I glad I did! I didn't have a lot of time to explore, so I stuck to the main loop trail. I wasn't expecting to see much interesting on my run, but holy moly--the deer were out en masse. I felt like it was Deerapalooza or something. I kept running into them and at one point, I literally ran into a cute little guy who was munching on foliage next to the path. He (she?) didn't run away and even let me take a couple of photos. Day.Made. 

Oh, and the run? Besides stopping to snap photos, I ran at a pretty good pace for a trail run and dare I say, I felt strong? Maybe the strength work is having a positive effect on these old legs! What a fun run and a great reminder of how much I love these trails, no matter what the weather!

Thursday's strength workout was a repeat of last week's. We were expected to push to failure on the first set of each movement and do drop sets for reps with the last 2 sets. 

Set 1: Bulgarian Split Squats: 25# each hand-again x 8 reps, I could and should have done 30#, which would have been my fail weight. Next 2 rounds were 20# (8 reps) and 15# (15 reps). 

Set 2: dumbbell bench press: 30# x8,  25# x8, 20# x10

Set 3: Hip thrusts: pushed it to 130# x 8, 125# x8, 120# x10

Set 4: Pull-ups: 5 blue band with push off, 5 green band unassisted, 10 black band unassisted

The sprint work was different from last week. It was an E2MOM: :10 sprint on the assault bike, 5 squat jumps to a plate, and 8 abmat situps. I was consistent with these at 37 seconds each time.

Friday morning was cold and icy, and I didn't want to risk injury, so I reluctantly took my run to the TM. I didn't feel well either, so access to the bathroom was much appreciated. This run was a slog from the get-go. I was fatigued and struggled with pacing. But I promised myself I'd run for an hour, and that's what I did. 

I woke up on Saturday morning with the whole day ahead of me. The hubs was going up to the lake, but I decided to stay home. The last time we were up there it was bitterly cold and I didn't relish another run in that weather.  Here at home, we had a fresh dumping of snow, but it wasn't as cold--heck, it was 28F, and no wind, which felt like a heat wave. I spontaneously decided to take my XC skis to the forest preserve and ski a lap around the main trail where I ran on Wednesday. The snow couldn't have been more perfect-fluffy powder and not too deep. Most of the time I was alone, but I occasionally came upon another skier. The deer were out, but not like on Wednesday. It takes me longer to ski the loop than when I run and I worked up a pretty good sweat! I was happy to be done. 

Off the road...

After I finished skiing, I headed into the city to meet my sons and my future daughter-in-law for lunch at Longman and Eagle, always a treat! Then we went to Pilot Project, a 'brewery incubator', where smaller brewers are allowed to brew and share their beers with customers. I had a flight of 4 pale ales which were really tasty. The conversation was good too! 

How was your week? Are you dealing with the bitter cold? How cold does it have to be before you take your run to the treadmill? What was your favorite run (workout) of the week? I think you know which one was mine!

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