A Week of Workouts - February 8, 2016
Happy New Year! Lunar New Year, that is. I have 14 days off of work right now, and I couldn't be happier.
Also, welcome to my blog, those of you searching for race recaps of the Mercedes Benz Marathon in Birmingham, Alabama. <-- My report from the 2015 race is linked right there, if you are looking for it. The race is six days away, so I hope you guys are getting pumped up for it! I will be cheering in Avondale Park, and helping some of my friends with the final two-mile stretch, depending on how my ankle is doing.
And about that ankle...BOOOOO. It seems problems really compound one another, right? If you follow me on Strava, then you know I have a bit of an injury brewing right now. It started Wednesday afternoon, seemingly out of the blue. I went for a morning run, stayed in my running clothes and shoes (typical haha), then started feeling a twinge in the side of my foot around 2 pm. The chiropractor said he couldn't detect any skeletal problem, when I went in for my regular weekly appointment.
I tried to run on it the next morning, which was BAD IDEA JEANS. In my defense, I thought it was just a little "catch" in the bones or maybe some bruising. (Where my fellow weird feet peeps at? You know what I'm talking about, right?) I made it about a mile and a half before I decided it was hurting WORSE, and then walked back home. I haven't run since.
I still managed to get in these workouts:
Monday - Rest, following my eight miler on Sunday. Which followed a very low mileage week and four days off...SIGH. Hindsight is 20/20, right?
Tuesday - 5 @ 9:16 on a hilly loop. This was slow because I did it fasted and felt very weak.
Wednesday - 5.2 @ 8:28 on the same loop as the day before. I felt better. Up in the afternoon, my foot started to ache.
Thursday - 3 miles, and bailed after a mile and a half. I think it ended up around an 11:00 average pace haha.
Friday - 30-minute upper body "push" workout, basically a chest workout with heavy weights. In case you care, here it is:
Warmup with 3x5 pushups, hands turned inward (to load more weight on the chest, less on the triceps)
3x10 incline press
3x10 bench pushup
3x10 bench press (done as a superset with the above pushups)
3x10 dumbbell flys
3x10 dumbbell Arnold press (I failed the third set and didn't finish)
I had more time, so I got in the pool and swam laps for an hour, about 3,000 yards. I know this sounds like a crazy-hard workout, but you have to remember that I swam seven days a week, two or more hours a day, for years. Swimming is a sport where technical knowledge sort of lasts a lifetime, and you can always get in the pool and burn off some steam without exhausting yourself. I find swimming very relaxing.
Saturday - 90-minute weights workout, including a 30-minute legs circuit, followed by a 60-minute full body track with a trainer. My gym has these little circuit classes periodically, and any member can jump into them. They are cardio tracks that keep your heart rate up between sets. Here was the legs circuit I did:
Warmup with body weight squats
3x10 front barbell squat
3x10 back extension on the Romanian rack (done as a superset with the above squats, mainly so no one would steal my barbell weights)
3x10 leg abductor
3x10 leg adductor
body weight Sumo squats to failure
Sunday - Ashtanga yoga class
Totals - About 13 miles of running, lots of weights, a swimming workout, and a yoga class.
This next week will probably be mostly the same, from what I can tell. I'm alright with taking this opportunity to get stronger and focus on things other than running. Even though I am one of those crazy people who actually ENJOYS the feeling of a nice hard run, and I really miss it when I'm on a break. I have an appointment with my orthopedic doctor two weeks from today. Even if I'm not feeling better by then, I can get some answers. Dr. Google seems to think this is a peroneal tendon issue, so I am giving it the rest/ice/NSAID treatment for now. Maybe it will magically heal? There's always hope!
Everyone have a great week!
Also, welcome to my blog, those of you searching for race recaps of the Mercedes Benz Marathon in Birmingham, Alabama. <-- My report from the 2015 race is linked right there, if you are looking for it. The race is six days away, so I hope you guys are getting pumped up for it! I will be cheering in Avondale Park, and helping some of my friends with the final two-mile stretch, depending on how my ankle is doing.
And about that ankle...BOOOOO. It seems problems really compound one another, right? If you follow me on Strava, then you know I have a bit of an injury brewing right now. It started Wednesday afternoon, seemingly out of the blue. I went for a morning run, stayed in my running clothes and shoes (typical haha), then started feeling a twinge in the side of my foot around 2 pm. The chiropractor said he couldn't detect any skeletal problem, when I went in for my regular weekly appointment.
I tried to run on it the next morning, which was BAD IDEA JEANS. In my defense, I thought it was just a little "catch" in the bones or maybe some bruising. (Where my fellow weird feet peeps at? You know what I'm talking about, right?) I made it about a mile and a half before I decided it was hurting WORSE, and then walked back home. I haven't run since.
I still managed to get in these workouts:
Monday - Rest, following my eight miler on Sunday. Which followed a very low mileage week and four days off...SIGH. Hindsight is 20/20, right?
Tuesday - 5 @ 9:16 on a hilly loop. This was slow because I did it fasted and felt very weak.
Wednesday - 5.2 @ 8:28 on the same loop as the day before. I felt better. Up in the afternoon, my foot started to ache.
Thursday - 3 miles, and bailed after a mile and a half. I think it ended up around an 11:00 average pace haha.
Friday - 30-minute upper body "push" workout, basically a chest workout with heavy weights. In case you care, here it is:
Warmup with 3x5 pushups, hands turned inward (to load more weight on the chest, less on the triceps)
3x10 incline press
3x10 bench pushup
3x10 bench press (done as a superset with the above pushups)
3x10 dumbbell flys
3x10 dumbbell Arnold press (I failed the third set and didn't finish)
I had more time, so I got in the pool and swam laps for an hour, about 3,000 yards. I know this sounds like a crazy-hard workout, but you have to remember that I swam seven days a week, two or more hours a day, for years. Swimming is a sport where technical knowledge sort of lasts a lifetime, and you can always get in the pool and burn off some steam without exhausting yourself. I find swimming very relaxing.
Saturday - 90-minute weights workout, including a 30-minute legs circuit, followed by a 60-minute full body track with a trainer. My gym has these little circuit classes periodically, and any member can jump into them. They are cardio tracks that keep your heart rate up between sets. Here was the legs circuit I did:
Warmup with body weight squats
3x10 front barbell squat
3x10 back extension on the Romanian rack (done as a superset with the above squats, mainly so no one would steal my barbell weights)
3x10 leg abductor
3x10 leg adductor
body weight Sumo squats to failure
Sunday - Ashtanga yoga class
Totals - About 13 miles of running, lots of weights, a swimming workout, and a yoga class.
This next week will probably be mostly the same, from what I can tell. I'm alright with taking this opportunity to get stronger and focus on things other than running. Even though I am one of those crazy people who actually ENJOYS the feeling of a nice hard run, and I really miss it when I'm on a break. I have an appointment with my orthopedic doctor two weeks from today. Even if I'm not feeling better by then, I can get some answers. Dr. Google seems to think this is a peroneal tendon issue, so I am giving it the rest/ice/NSAID treatment for now. Maybe it will magically heal? There's always hope!
Everyone have a great week!
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