Sunday, January 10, 2021

Weekly Sweats: Ladder

 

Of all the things that I expected to tell you this week, the fact that I ran 31.25 miles was not one of them!  Wait, let me say that again, the fact that I did 3 strength workouts, assorted yoga, and ran 31.25 outside miles was delightfully unexpected.

I'm linking up with the Weekly Run Down, please head over to Kim and Deborah to check it out. 

Monday: weights and 4.25 miles

Tuesday: ladder up!  I've been trying to figure out how to casually throw speed work back into the mix and I remembered an old "inspired by the treadmill" workout that I had set up on my Garmin.  1 mile warm up, then 0.1 miles fast/0.1 miles slow-0.2 miles fast/0.2 miles slow-0.3 miles fast/0.3 miles slow-0.2 miles fast/0.2 miles slow-0.1 miles fast/0.1 miles slow x 2.  The reason that I use distance instead of time for a workout like this is so that I know where I am distance wise during the run (I didn't know until recently that all I had to do was push the down arrow to see total distance during the workout, and anyway the difference between one minute and 0.1 miles is a few seconds).  For pace, I'm just targeting <11:00 minute, so nothing too crazy fast, I'm just trying to remind my body that it know how to run faster than a 12 minute pace.  5.75 miles total (all that I had time for between sunrise and my first meeting of the day).

Wednesday: weights and running rest day.  Though I did make it a point to get my "rest day commute" of a short outside walk to get from the couch to the upstairs office.

Thursday: 6.25 miles with a mile warmup, 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 ladder, and 0.25 mile cool down.  The roads looked fine, but within the first half mile I encountered a few slick patches and you guys know that I don't mess around with ice.  Conditions were fine for walking but not for running.  Hmmm...what to do...the options were to go half a mile home to the treadmill or half a mile to "Speedwork Park" (my name for the park with a flat dirt walking trail where I do speed work and virtual races).  I hadn't been to Speedwork Park in quite a while since all of the rain and snow we've had for the past few months had turned the trail into a mudpit.  But with a good week of dryness the trail was dry and non-icy.  I finished my workout just in time to call into a meeting, and walked home while attending said meeting.  WFH running win!

Friday: weights and 4.5 miles.  This time I drove to Speedwork Park so that there would be no repeat of the slip n'slide.  Yes 5 loops of the trail is a bit repetitive but totally worth it for a non-treadmill winter running option.

Saturday: 7.25 miles, which is the furthest I've gone since October.  There was not one patch of ice to be found, so I was able to get crazy and run the town instead of sticking to my neighborhood.  My pace was slow but everything else felt right, and in particular my legs still felt fresh afterwards.

Sunday: by rights it should be a rest day, but I felt good and the weather permitted so...3.25 miles with mile 2 alternating fast/slow.

So What's the Plan, Stan?

Eh, darned if I know.  As long as the weather holds up I'll be outside, and when it inevitably doesn't then I'll be back on the treadmill.  I'm feeling pretty fly from 6 weeks of consistent strength work and yoga.  I'll keep pushing the ladders in the hope that my body will get the hint and pick up the speed. 


 

30 comments:

  1. What a great week for you! It's always nice when the weather cooperates in the winter. I bet you will make a lot of progress from doing those harder workouts!

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  2. Killing it!!! I am with you, I sure didn't expect to be training so hard this month. I usually take it easy in January. But really, it seems like everything is pushing back at us right now, so why not keep on keeping on!

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    1. Exactly! We'll take it easy when the world starts taking it easy.

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  3. WOW!!!!! Very well done on the (outside) miles! Doesn't it feel great when the miles just kind of happen with everything else feeling so good!

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  4. Speedwork Park! I need one of those :) Great week for you, lots of strong miles in there!

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    1. It's super convenient, and I'm really happy to have a non-treadmill running alternative.

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  5. Great week! We have not had one bit of snow or freezing rain — and no rain at all last week— and yet there’s a stretch of sidewalk on one of my running routes that has several icy sections. The water drains from the grass onto the concrete and freezes — it’s so annoying!

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    1. It was one of those things where there was just enough moisture and just enough cold to make slick spots. Thank goodness for the park.

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  6. well look at you! Great week of running and workouts. Thanks for linking and have a great week ahead

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    1. Thanks Deborah! I see your miles getting up there!

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  7. You crushed it this week! Way to go!

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  8. Wow, you had an amazing week! Nothing wrong with repetitiveness as long as it gets you outside and doesn't drive you nuts in the process. I run loops on my half-mile circle because I feel safe there as opposed to the trails and streets when I'm running alone at 5 AM. As long as it's dark, it doesn't get boring, but I wouldn't like it in the daylight so I run on the trails then.

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    1. Believe me I am very happy to have a treadmill alternative! I hope that the roads stay clear next weekend so that I can get out and do a long run on the town.

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  9. Love it!

    You're really seeing some great progress from your dedication. I just started my speedwork last week and I am hoping to see some progress of my own.

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    1. Yay Jenn! I guarantee that you'll see progress. If nothing else, the speed workouts are fun.

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  10. Has it been 6 weeks already? Wow! Times flies by.

    Another great week for you! I love how you are mixing it up to add excitement to your routine/workouts.

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    1. Thanks Zenaida! I love hearing about your streak each week.

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  11. amazing work!! I hope to get up to that level at some point!

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    1. Renee, you've made great progress in coming back from your injury. You put in all of the hard work on rehab and it will pay off.

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  12. Awesome job on your outdoor miles!

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    1. Thanks Kim! I can't believe that the weather held up for me.

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  13. Wow! Awesome running week! Good for you. It has to make you feel good to see the progress you are making with your running. I love the name you gave the park - Speedwork Park! :)

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    1. I've done quite a few miles at Speedwork over the years. It's perfect b/c it's a mile uphill from home so that helps to keep my warmup easy, and then it's downhill for my cool down, so I can let gravity take me home.

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  14. Great job this week! It's always nice when you get unexpected good weather and can take the run outside!

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    1. I tell you what, it's amazing that it's "just" cold instead of "just" cold with a bunch of ice and a few feet of snow on the ground. I will take it while I daydream about the day that we can get back to our beloved FL beaches.

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  15. I love that you can save workouts to the Garmin!

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    1. It's so nice. I would never be able to keep track of the intervals otherwise. All I have to do is run and the watch does the work.

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