Weekly Workouts 9/26-10/2

Monday: I have a love/hate relationship with PopSugar and the way it talks about fitness. There's a lot of garbage about cleanses and losing weight on their website, but their workouts are really great for small spaces and limited gear. I found this link to 13 5-Minute Workout Videos and they are exactly what I need for Mondays.

I only did the videos pictured above because I wanted to focus on my core and stretching, but the leg workouts look really good, too.

Tuesday: W/U .3 @ 9:40; 1 mile @ 8:10; 4x800 @ 8:19. Elizabeth and I did some speed work at the park. My plan was do mile repeats, but after the first I knew I had to adjust the plan. Whatever horrific cold I had a couple weeks ago has finally caught up with Elizabeth, and she couldn't seem to catch her breath. She didn't ask me to adjust the plan, but I could tell by her wheezing that it was for the best; I really didn't want her to keel over!

The change in color gradation was so cool! I love cloudy sunsets.

We ended up finishing the workout by doing half-mile repeats. We kept a really good pace and I felt pretty strong, but I probably rested more between them than I should have. Technology worked for us today, so that's a bonus.

Wednesday: We played around on the Blogilates website and chose a few videos to target our legs, abs, back, and arms. It's been awhile since we've done Blogilates so it was a nice change to come back to!

Thursday: The day before a race I usually rest, but I just felt like running. Elizabeth and I did a moderate 4 miles. My legs felt great, but the humidity is still really taking a lot of effort out of me. Even with a walk break around 3 miles, we were able to keep our pace sub-10, so I was happy!

It left me feeling both physically ready for Friday's race and nervous about the weather conditions.

Friday: Howl at the Moon 5k! This was a night race and the course was almost completely unlit. I had a great race - more details to come in the recap this week - and had zero calf pain! Downward dog is working!

Saturday: Rest! We slept in, then drove up to see my family for a not-really-but-kind-of Rosh Hashanah dinner.

Sunday: 9 miles with Elizabeth. I was absolutely exhausted. My legs felt okay but my body was just dragging. We kept a very slow pace and took some consistent walk breaks every mile or so.

I'm actually surprised our paces aren't more varied! It felt like we were all over the place.

It felt cool at the start (75 degrees) but the 89% humidity caught up with us, I guess. Can we have fall weather yet?!

This week I got in all my workouts as scheduled and felt really good! This was a solid one!

ABK

Weekly Workouts 9/12-9/18

Monday: My last day of recovery from my cold. I felt pretty good but opted to take just one more day off.

Tuesday: Elizabeth and I celebrated my return to health with a 3-mile run. I pushed the comfort zone a little bit and my legs felt great. Afterward, I did some planks.

Funny story: we turned around at the end of our road, which has a stoplight. The guy waiting to turn there called out, "Looking good, keep it up!" or something to that effect...and it was actually genuine sounding. Elizabeth and I were both like, OMG I think he meant that. It wasn't sleazy or weird at all. So I guess there is a way to shout at runners without being a jerk! Color me shocked.

Wednesday: I was really in the mood to work on my core because my planks were so pathetic after Tuesday's run. We did T25 Ab Intervals.

Thursday: Unintentional rest day. I meant to run in the morning but overslept. I had a training from 5-8pm at the district and wasn't home until after 8:30, so running at night was out.

Friday: We ran the bridge and added a little loop through a neighborhood that's being built at one end. I felt really good for the most part. I think maybe the weather was a little nicer - 83 degrees instead of being in the 90s - and it may have even been a teeny bit less humid than usual!

Still, that run had me thinking about my goals for October's 10k. More on that later.

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: 9 miles in 93% humidity. I honestly think I felt pretty good for this run, but toward the end my lungs and heart rate were just a mess. My legs did feel tired toward the end, but despite the fact that it's been a hot minute since we've run long, they didn't feel as tired as I expected them to. Our overall pace was 11:05, which disappointed me a little.

We were absolutely drenched by the end and just happy to be done.

This wasn't a stellar week, but it was a good one back considering I was sick last week and took seven full days off.

ABK

Weekly Workouts 8/8-8/14

Monday: Our teaching convention in Orlando all day, and a 3+ hour drive home? Yeah, rest day.

Tuesday: We ran the bridge for our first speed work session in weeks. It was brutal! My watch glitched out on us, but I think we did ~4 miles in about 41 minutes.

Sweaty and covered in gnats!

Wednesday: Lower body! We did a core and leg circuit five times, and it felt good. My inner thighs definitely felt it the next day.

We did each exercise for 30 seconds, rested for 30s between circuits, and completed it 5 times.

Thursday: Four easy miles. Although the pace was overall faster than on Tuesday, the effort felt easier and the run felt better in general.

Friday: We had a run planned, but because Matt and I were traveling to Sarasota for his Nana's memorial service, we didn't have time.

It was nice to be in Sarasota. My mom has had some health issues this week. She had a routine procedure done early in the week, developed appendicitis, and then got an e. coli infection! Needless to say, seeing her after all that was worth not getting my run in.

Saturday: Matt and I spent all day with family for Nana's memorial; when we got home, I was hungry and tired. Matt went to SUP and I thought I might just relax...But when Dad came in from walking the dog, he said there was no humidity and it was beautiful out. So I had to run.

It was later than usual, and my calves and shins were a bit stiff, but I felt like the run was quality - easy, but faster than my weekday runs lately, and with just the right amount of effort - and it was so nice to run in mid-70s! I saw some deer out there, which put me in a good mood.

Sunday: We didn't get back to Fort Myers until close to 8pm, so Elizabeth and I just barely squeezed in a run. It drizzled on us, but was uncomfortably humid. It's funny how much harder Sunday's run felt compared to Saturday's.

I'm still feeling a bit worried about where my speed and stamina has gone, but I think exhaustion from work and the summer weather is just impacting me the way it usually does, and I need to be patient and put the work in to see the results I want.

My runs are averaging in the upper 10s right now, and I'm just not happy with that.

I'm trying not to feel discouraged, but after all the progress I made in spring, it just kind of stinks to be struggling so much right now.

ABK

Weekly Workouts 7/11-7/17

I traveled a LOT this week, but still managed to be fairly successful with my workouts. I'm feeling good about overcoming circumstances and making fitness a priority on the road!

Monday: After traveling up to Clearwater to visit with my Sub30 buddy Melanie, I settled in at my parents' house for training this week and got in a couple quick ab circuits. Please disregard the stupid video titles. I really like Blogilates but I don't like that her older video titles really play on the old "bikini body" tropes.

I did 10 burpees before and 10 after, too.

Tuesday: After training from 9-12, it was looking very stormy at my parents'. They live on a loop that's 2/3 of a mile, so when it was clear that it wasn't going to storm but was going to stay kind of dark and cool, I went out for an earlier run than usual.

True story: 86 and 65% humidity felt downright cool at first. It's crazy how humidity can make such a difference.

As you can see by my splits, toward the end the clouds began to blow over and it started to heat up again and I began to feel queasy. I didn't want to run the last lap but I convinced myself to do it, even if it was slow. I know I also suffered because I've never done these longer repeats so fast; I'm usually in the 8:30s the entire time. The first three splits were closer to how fast I run 1/3 of a mile at the park. Between laps I did bicep curls, presses, and pushups.

Wednesday & Thursday: I rested both days. Wednesday my right hip flexor really hurt so I planned to rest, and Thursday we ended up having a late dinner with friends and driving all over Sarasota to visit Matt's old ceramics teacher and nana. I was okay with taking two rest days in a row because traveling allows leads to special circumstances.

Friday: I got up before work and ran 5 miles because I knew I wouldn't have a chance in the afternoon - more travel! I thought I'd only have time for four miles, but my new shoes and cooler weather (75F with 67% humidity!) meant I ran fast enough to fit in five!

I am super excited for my new Ravennas. I'll post about them after I've tried them out more, but I think I've finally got a good replacement for the Kayanos!

Saturday: We drove up to St. Augustine Friday night to spend the weekend at our friends' beach house. I was so excited to do a quick circuit in the morning on the balcony to our bedroom. It was hot and mildly breezy; I did about 15 minutes of core and upper-body stuff.

Sunday: I haven't really been motivated to run long at all since it's gotten so much hotter in July. Luckily, that's fine because I'm not training for anything long and this is my year for short distance! I got up and ran 4 miles at 9:38 pace (and negative splits the entire time) and felt pretty good about it all, especially because after a day hanging out with friends, it was hard to muster the energy to get out of bed.

But it was worth it, because this greeted me as I stepped outside! I ran on the Coastal Highway rather than on the beach because the tide was too high, but it was still a lovely run and a gorgeous view!

How was your week?
Do you like running on the beach?
Where do you go for weekend getaways? 

ABK

Weekly Workouts 6/27-7/3

Monday: Because I missed Sunday's long run, I ran Monday. I wasn't feeling it at all but forced myself to go out and do something before it was too dark on the golf course. I ended up enjoying a gorgeous sunset, three easy, happiness-inducing miles, and a new podcast. Glad I went!

Tuesday: Speed work day. I did six (I think) .3 repeats and upper body between (bicep curls, Arnold, and tricep dips). The duckling fiasco kind of took the wind out of my sails, but my rest breaks were shorter without Elizabeth with me and my repeats were faster (one was even 7:11!).

I left not feeling really great but glad I got something done. I think maybe I'm struggling with some burnout this week; it's hard to stay motivated in this heat! I may need to switch things up.

Wednesday: Rest.

Thursday: It felt really good to do some strength stuff, especially because my quads and hamstrings were sore from Tuesday's workout. I completed the ab/butt video twice with the arm video between.

It will never cease to amaze me how much these videos hurt even though on the surface they seem ridiculously easy!

Friday: A little more than 3.5 miles before dark. I wish the golf course had lights of some kind because I really wanted to do 5, but ran short on time. This it totally my own fault because I should have started earlier, but there are golfers out on the course until about 7:15pm. I'd rather not get hit by a stray ball, so I usually wait until after they're finished to start.

Saturday: A few minutes of intense abs (I just did my own thing - no video or circuit) and some stretching. My hamstrings and quads were still kind of achy, and my calves were a bit tender.

Sunday: Rest. I worked with Matt in his studio to get it ready for its GRAND OPENING on the 4th of July. We were there late and then his mom came to pick up Milo (her Yorkie, who we've been watching for her while she was in St. Croix visiting Scott).

Have a happy 4th, everyone!

ABK

Weekly Workouts 6/20-6/26

Monday: Two rounds of Blogilates. You know what's weird about ab workouts? They burn SO much during but as soon as you're done holding a move, the pain goes away! I don't even feel like I've done a workout until DOMS sets in.

Tuesday: Elizabeth was leaving for Nicaragua to visit family that evening, so we fit in our last workout together on Tuesday morning. Usually we do speed work at night; it was hard to remember what I like to eat before an early, hard-effort run. I ended up just having a Gu (salted caramel, with caffeine); it's been awhile since I've eaten one and the texture was super gross, but it ended up being the perfect fuel for the morning.

We did 8 x.3 repeats. The first was slow (around 9:25) as we woke up, but after that everything was in the 7:40s. I felt unstoppable; I would have done two more repeats and I regret not going a little longer, but it is what it is.

Between rotations we did upper body (presses, bicep curls, tricep dips, and push-ups) and when I got home I did a few minutes of abs and iced my heel. I've been having a little pain in it that I think is mild, early PF. I've had this symptom before, so I'm just icing, massaging, and stretching diligently. Hopefully it goes away soon!

Wednesday: Rest.

Thursday: I created a lower body/core circuit and completed it while watching Castle reruns.

I was pretty proud of myself for putting burpees in there because I hate them, but I'm trying to learn to love them.

Friday: I went out for a moderate-paced run without a goal pace or distance in mind. I just knew I had to at least complete a 5k. It was my first solo run in months, and I just wanted to enjoy the golf course, my music, and my thoughts. I paused at one point to take a picture of a rainbow I saw. I ran in and out of the sprinklers. I generally just enjoyed myself.

Even though I'd already donated to the official GoFundMe for the Orlando victims' families, I signed up for this virtual race (the proceeds also go to the Orlando families) as well. Tonight was a good night to run it. I feel like that rainbow was kind of a sign.

Saturday: Lots of errands and work today...I was going to do some core work, but ended up resting.

Sunday: I slept fitfully Saturday night; I think being on prednisone for my allergies this week is messing with me and giving me insomnia. After waking for the fourth time around 3am, I turned off my alarm (which had been set for 4:30) and planned to run long in the evening.

Then this happened:

So in the end, I did a quick circuit instead. I'm really enjoying creating these myself, and I like that they're a fast workout but effective! I like that I can do them at home whenever I want, no matter the weather.

Burgees-In-Progress are hilarious!

This is the first run I've missed in months, and I'm pretty unhappy about that...although maybe I should be impressed with myself for fitting something else in, instead! Oh well; nothing I could about it this time around!

How was your week?

ABK

Weekly Workouts 6/6-6/12

Monday: OMG, it was the last Monday of school with students! How did June get here already?! I was at school until after 7pm for our annual Sports Banquet. It was really kind of emotional this year because quite a few of my 8th graders have been on the team since 6th grade, and I had to say goodbye to them.

I ate dinner once I got home and barely had time for a workout, but I did fit in 15 minutes of core work via the Nike Training Club app. I figure 15 minutes at 9:30pm is better than none at all.

Also, despite the brevity of this workout, I was absolutely shaking and dripping by the end. This seems to be a pattern on ab days!

Tuesday: 8x.3 repeats on the park's "track". Between repeats we alternated bicep curls and Arnolds (15 reps). It was really humid and we ate a lot of gnats, but it felt good. My legs and breathing actually felt really strong; it was "easy" to keep the paces steadily in the low 8s and high 7s.

LOL...look at the gnats all over my face!

Wednesday: Rest...kind of. Does corralling 135 students at graduation, dancing in heels, and cleaning up the dance afterward (still in heels) count as rest or cross-training?

Thursday: I did the same NTC workout as Monday's. I was just exhausted and wanted to do something that wouldn't take much thought. I honestly didn't even want to workout Thursday, so I'm glad I got something in.

Friday: The last day of school with kiddos! It was emotionally charged and tough in a lot of ways; running twice made it easier. I met Kristin in the morning for two miles before work, which put me in the perfect mindset for the last day, then ran 4.2 with Elizabeth in the evening, which helped me get out some end-of-year frustrations and feelings.

I tried salt tabs for the first time on this run and I think I noticed a difference in my energy.

Saturday: Rest. Mega-rest. Sleeping in super late and lying around all day kind of rest. Well, that was the plan. But after sleeping in I ended up doing a brief core workout before meeting Elizabeth for shopping. I'm beginning to like doing multiple short core workouts throughout the week instead of a single big core workout once a week.

Sunday: 8 steamy miles with Elizabeth. We started at 5:30ish to avoid the sun, and it was cloudy for the duration of our workout, which was nice. I had killer heartburn the entire time. That's never happened to me before and it was brutal, but I focused on just moving steadily forward.

The rest of my body felt great - I took two salt tabs and I definitely noticed a difference this time, but they made me want to puke because of my acid reflux. I had to walk a couple times because of the burning. No more andouille sausage the night before a long run!

How was your week?
Do you use salt tabs?

ABK

Weekly Workouts 5/30-6/5

Monday: Because we didn't have work on Memorial Day, Elizabeth emailed me early in the morning to let me know which ab workouts she had done. I was going to do a Runner's World workout, but these seemed harder!

I did the first video twice and the second video once. I have no idea how she barely breaks a sweat and is able to talk so normally throughout her videos! Give me 90 seconds and I'm panting so much I can't talk!

Tuesday: Elizabeth and I completed the bridge loop twice for a four-mile run. We were worried about rain so we parked closer to the bridge than the last time I did this run (hence the shorter distance), but it ended up just being muggy and sweltering with nary a drop of rain in sight.

I didn't look at my paces at all. Even though this was speed work, I concentrated more on effort because of the heat. (We had to run earlier so I could go home and pack for DC.)

Wednesday & Thursday: These were technically "rest" days. I was up at 4am to meet the kids at the airport for our trip to DC. I knew I wouldn't have any time for workouts on Wednesday, and Thursday ended up being a long day too. I did get quite a few walking miles in, though. We were all over the city and did Arlington on Wednesday, so I'm counting that as hill work!

Friday: At 2:30am the fire alarm in the hotel went off and we had to get evacuate all the kids and wait for the all-clear from the fire department. (It was a small fire in the staff lounge, from what I gathered. I was relieved when I smelled smoke because I knew it was legit and none of the kids had just pulled the alarm as a joke!)

Still, three hours later I was up for a short run on the hotel treadmill. I only had time for 25 minutes, but I made the most of it, increasing the pace every five minutes or so and finishing at a sprint.

I also walked 4.5 miles that day for a total of 7 miles. Ouch.

Sunday: I was so exhausted on Saturday, I pushed our "long run" to Sunday night and opted to just do an hour run/6 miles. Of course, once we got out there, I realized just how tired I was. My legs felt heavy and I was having a hard time keeping a solid pace; the humidity was taking a lot out of me. Was it the stairs, hills, and constant walking of DC? Was it that I was still sleep deprived? All I know is that this run was a struggle-fest, and we ended up cutting the run a little short, but at least we got out there!

Let's play "how many gnats did Ali eat on her run tonight?"

I have five more days of school-with-students. I know this week is going to be nuts; I've got my blinders on and I'm ready to power through and finish this year on a great note!

How was your week?

ABK

Weekly Workouts 5/23-5/30

Monday: Self-made core circuit from last week. We changed up one of the planks but otherwise kept it the same.

Tuesday: "Recovery" speed work...meaning the pace wasn't as fast as we usually try to keep it lately. We did 6x800 repeats and kept the paces in the low- and mid-8s. Between each repeat I alternated tricep dips and push-ups (15 reps) because I forgot my weights.

Wednesday: Elizabeth and I completed the leg circuit I created a couple weeks ago. As usual, I was dripping and shaking by the end! This one is definitely a keeper.

30 seconds each, repeat 4 times with 30 second rest between repetitions

Thursday: Rest...and well-deserved. Standing up after sitting and climbing chairs made my quads ache!

Friday: This five mile run started off shaky. My legs still felt pretty stiff and heavy from Wednesday's leg day, and I realize now that on weeks when I do an intensive leg day I may need to keep an easier pace on my Friday run. But I warmed up as I went on, and this turned into a pretty consistent progression-style run!

I felt like I was working moderately hard the entire run, but the last two miles felt the easiest.

Saturday: Rest.

Sunday: Nine very sunny, hot, and humid miles with Elizabeth at a 10:42 pace (we had positive splits because by the time the sun was fully up, it was so hot and we were dying). This run was not fun, but we got it done. I had to walk a little at mile 7.5 or so. It's really time that I resigned myself to starting long runs at 5:30; starting after 6 just isn't cutting it.

Smiling because it's OVER.

I was in new shoes for this run. I got the Asics Kayano 22s after being in the 21s for the last couple years. The new design is much narrower and the toe-box especially is more snug. I'm not sure if I like it. I tried going up a half size and the shoe was obviously too big, but the smaller size is pretty tight. I didn't get any blisters or painful toenails, but my feet didn't feel as comfortable as I'm used to on long runs. I'm torn - they're okay, but I'm just paranoid about the tight fit and I just don't love them.

They're SO pretty...I want them to work!

I may need to branch out and try other shoes, which is really disappointing being the Kayano has been my sole-mate for years, and we all know how stressful finding new shoes can be.

I wrote a constructively-critical letter to Asics, and I'm naively hoping that they fix the toe-box issue in the 23s.

Did you have a productive week?

ABK

Dynamic Planks & Volleyball

As runners, we know that core strength is essential to avoiding injury. "Core" doesn't just refer to abs; it includes our glutes, hips, and back muscles as well. If you find yourself slouching forward during runs, especially during long runs, your core may be in need of strengthening.

I am definitely one of those slumpy runners.

Photo evidence: totally slumped over during the last mile at Spacecoast.

Many of us turn to planks as an easy go-to strengthening exercise, but planks are fairly static. Even as we increase our time (I'm always blown away by people who can hold a plank for over three minutes!), we're still just holding there.

Definitely check out the full routine here.

I found this set of dynamic planks a little while ago and finally began doing them recently. My first impression was that they were incredibly more difficult than I expected! I was dripping sweat and panting as I went through the moves.

I completed 5 of each plank (per side in the case of the side planks) and did the entire routine twice. I think I'll build up to completing it three times.

As with any body-weight exercise, purposeful movement is key. It's important not to rush so that you're truly targeting and engaging your muscles.

My form needs tons of work, but I know it will improve as I get stronger!

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the results of adding these planks a couple times a week to my usual workouts.

The rest of my weekend can be seen in the background: papers I graded and laundry I folded. I was very productive!

In other weekend workout news, we had our faculty volleyball tournament this weekend! Despite only practicing three times before the big day, our team held its own...

We didn't exactly win, or even place, but it was a ton of fun and we raised $1000 to send to a sister school of ours in Haiti.

I really want our team to keep meeting after school because I miss playing volleyball so much, but maybe I'll look for a Meet Up group to join if it doesn't interfere with weekend long runs.

(I took last week off from running because of all the travel/jury duty/classroom catch up/rest from Gasparilla weekend...but this week it's back to training as usual for my next half on March 15.)

 On a random note...I know quite a few of you liked Serial. Are you watching The Jinx on HBO? It's like Serial but about Robert Durst. I actually know one of the actresses who plays Kathie Durst in the reenactments (she's my best friend's sister), which is why I started watching, and now I'm hooked.

I had seen the movie All the Good Things about Robert Durst a couple years ago and find him really intriguing. This documentary is super creepy, and Durst himself sat for interviews throughout the series. He's a truly unsettling character.

How's this for a totally random post?

Do you do planks?

What is your favorite sport to play besides running? (Can you "play" running?)

Do you like the true-crime genre?

ABK