A (2) Week Training Recap

OH HEY. I don’t have a clever way to start this post so I’m jumping right in.

I’m already focusing on pre-NYC Marathon training and maybe a little bit of trying-to-look-good-in-a-wedding-dress prep. I’ve had a great couple weeks of workouts, so here’s a mini recap, in case you like this kind of thing. I personally like to see how people start preparing for races and/or weddings and/or life so I figured I’d share the details on my informal training. There’s definitely not as much running as there should be, considering I have that little race to prepare for and all…but I still have 6+ months to go so for now I’m getting stronger through strength training and HIIT. The formal training will start soon. Okay? Okay.

Monday 4/6: 1 hour in a strength class (Fit On Studios, one of my new favorites) which included weight training, TRX, and about ten 50-meter running spurts.

Tuesday 4/7: 5 mile run, 9:55 per mile average. I barely remember this one.

Wednesday, 4/8: 1 hour in a class at Real Fitness, focused solely on strength stations. I like this class because you do three sets of 10 different strength exercises. In most classes you do one or two max, which I worry isn’t as effective. And they have SLEDS. My favorite.

Thursday, 4/9: 6.1 miles, 10:38 per mile average. SO SLUGGISH. I ran all around the marina in my town and started at beautiful scenery, so that helped. But I felt super tired and am pretty sure I walked during part of it.

Friday, 4/10: 1 hour at another favorite studio, Poise. (Rachel is my favorite. Take her class if you live here!) This class included treadmill sprints and hills + full body strength and some HIIT. SO SWEATY. I’m guessing I ran about 2 miles but it’s hard to track because we get off and on constantly.

Saturday, 4/11: 2-hour hip-opening and backbends workshop at my yoga studio. I learned so much, including scorpion pose! Well, on the wall. Working on it.

Sunday, 4/12: Run/walk with Bren! WOOHOO! We did a total of 5 miles, 3.3 of them running. So proud of him!

Monday, 4/13: Unexpected rest day – I had to work late. Looking at my week I guess I was due for some R&R, but I was in a groove and didn’t want to lose my momentum so I got super cranky. Sorry if you were in my path that day.

Tuesday, 4/14: 2.55 mile run. 10:23 per mile average. FELT AWFUL. Stomach hurt so I turned around early and called it a day. Didn’t even try to push through. Wasn’t happening.

Wednesday, 4/15: 1 hour in a TRX and slide board class + 4.5 mile progression run which felt AWESOME and perfectly paced. I’m so impressed with myself. I planned to start with a 10 minute/mile pace and drop 30 seconds each mile, which I did until the last mile. (Only 15 seconds faster but I gave it my all.) The last .5 was a cooldown.

Thursday, 4/16: NADA. Glorious rest.

Friday 4/17: Another hour at Poise doing treadmill and strength circuits. Love this place.

Saturday, 4/18: Pepperdine Coastal 10K. I signed up because the starting line was only a few miles from my house and I haven’t raced a 10K in a long time. It was a fairly small group of people – most participants opted for the 5K instead. (The 5K began at 8am and the 10K at 9am. I wish it was the opposite.) There was no shade so I was hot and cranky. I stuck around 9:25 for a couple miles, then to 9:38 when I felt like I was crashing…and then my JAM came on my iPod (some days I’m sick of it, some days I love it more than anything. Weird.) and I started thinking about the NYC Marathon and seeing my friends and crossing the finish line. That lasted a mile or so, in which I ran a 9:15. Thennnn I jumped back up to 9:39 and ended at 9:25. Also annoying, I wore sunglasses (I never wear sunglasses while running) and kept having to push them back up. Lame. I was so glad to be done.

I’m a little anxious that I have to run a marathon at a faster average pace but let’s not talk about it right now.

Later that afternoon I went to another 2-hour workshop at my yoga studio in which I learned I suck at backbends AKA wheel pose. My instructor thinks my shoulders are so tight from all the swimming I did in the past couple years, but I literally haven’t been in a pool for months soooo who knows.

Sunday, 4/19: REST AGAIN. Went to the Clippers game with Brendan and drank beer and ate fries. Did a lot of snapchatting. (I’m @kararuns729! Find me!) Coolio was the halftime entertainment. Yes, GANGSTER’S PARADISE Coolio. Another great running jam. He sang and I sang and it was great.

AND THAT’S MY WEEK. Did you want to know all that? Probably not so hopefully you skipped to the bottom here. In other news, I spent this Monday morning watching the Boston Marathon and, as usual post-race-spectating, want to go run a million miles. However, I seem to have tweaked a glute muscle so I’ve been resting the past couple days and am upset. I was so focused on getting protein post-workout and recovering properly and then this happens. It’s getting better each day though so cross your fingers I can run soon. KTHANKSBYE.