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Training Recap – Week of September 14th, 2015

Don’t mind me guys – I’m just going to hang out in down dog as much as possible this week. My hips and glutes are not happy with me after this weekend’s Reach the Beach adventure. I did my best to stretch in the van but no amount of stretching or rolling with the stick can balance the hours of sitting in between running up the hills of New Hampshire. It was such an amazing experience and I can’t wait to share more details with you guys this week including a recap of the overall event, my suggested packing list for anyone doing a Ragnar or other relay race and last but not least a review of my favorite New Balance gear from the weekend. It’s going to be a jam packed week content wise!

Yoga

Let’s kick the week off with last week’s training recap, giving you all an overview of the workouts I did last week leading up to and including Reach the Beach.

Monday:  This after work Bar Method 60 minute mixed level class was harder than normal due to the water ski move, an extra tuck session and increasing the hand weights from 3 and 4 pounds to 4 and 5 pounds.

Tuesday: After giving my body some extra rest, I had to run my 6 miles after work. Evening miles rarely go as well as morning miles as my body feels sluggish and my legs tend to feel heavier. I ran through Brooklyn Bridge Park and Dumbo at a 9:42 pace while enjoying gorgeous sunset views.

Wednesday: My legs were definitely a bit heavy for the 7 AM Bar Method 60 minute mixed level class since it was less than 12 hours after I finished my run, but it still felt good to squeeze in a second class. Each class I become a bit more familiar with the moves which means I can better adjust myself though the classes are still very challenging.

Thursday: Rest day

Friday: The Reach the Beach fun started on Friday and my first leg was 7.3 sweaty miles which took place between 1 PM to 2 PM in little to no shade. The temperature reached 89 degrees on Friday which meant that i was beet red by the end of this run. I was able to keep a strong pace, averaging around a 9:30.

Saturday: My final two legs were on Saturday starting in the middle of the night! I ran 6.4 miles through small neighborhoods and farms from 1 AM and 2 AM. I absolutely loved the night running, surrounded by nothing but the bright moon and stars. I turned off my music for part of the run, just enjoying the peace and quiet. The 55 degree temperatures allowed me to run stronger than earlier even though it was my second leg. I kept a sub 9 pace for these miles and was smiling the entire time, even on the hills. My third and final leg was an opposite experience. The 6.7 mile run left me cursing the hills, wishing for Fall temperatures and using every mental game in the book to keep moving. The heat index was around 95 when I ran, officially making this the hottest Reach the Beach event to date and explaining why my average pace dropped to a 10:05.

Brooklyn Craft Beer

Sunday: Before enjoying a much needed manicure and pedicure, I spent 30 minutes on my yoga mat. I streamed the 26 minute Jasyoga full body recovery video which helped release some of the tightness in my hips and quads. I should have done a few more videos but instead I chose to recover at the Brooklyn Beer Festival. Oops.

Your turn: Inspired by yesterday’s craft beer festival, tell me what your favorite Fall beer is so I can add it to my list of beers to try! 

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Training Recap – Week of August 24, 2015

running pose

After a few months of no training recaps, I’ve decided to bring these recaps back in a weekly format. Similar to the way so many of my readers love reading Day in The Life posts, I love reading other blogger’s training recaps. Often they provide me with inspiration and ideas for my own workouts. Hopefully these weekly training recaps will help keep me on track while also providing you with a little insight into my workouts. Instead of focusing it on a race or certain event, I will merely do weekly training recaps throughout the year, regardless of whether I’m just staying in shape or training for a specific race.

As a reminder, I have the following races on my calendar, which explains why I’m working with Jes and focused on my running right now!

Maple Leaf Half Marathon in Manchester, Vermont – September 11th

New Balance Reach the Beach Relay Race in New Hampshire – September 18th – 19th

NYRR Bronx 10 Mile Race in Bronx, New York – September 27th

Brooklyn Rock’n’Roll Half Marathon in Brooklyn, New York – October 10th

Savannah Rock’n’Roll Half Marathon in Savannah, Georgia – November 7th

So, like I said, just a little bit of running to do in the next two months. My goal is to finish the race season feeling strong both from a running perspective and strength perspective.  My goal is to do one yoga class and two strength workouts in addition to my weekly runs while also allowing for at least one recovery day.

August 24th – August 30th 2015 Training Recap

Monday: I didn’t start the week off well as this became an unintentional rest day due to after work moving trips to and from Manhattan to bring things from our temporary apartment to our new apartment.

Tuesday: 5 mile easy run through Carroll Gardens and Columbia Street river front

Wednesday: I clearly need to review my workouts before going to bed because without enough coffee I can’t keep track of anything. I thought our speed workout was 1.5 mile warm-up then 4 400 repeats followed by a 1.5 mile cool down which seemed shorter than expected but still left me wanting to hurl by the final repeat (7:40, 7:01, 7:18, 7:03). But, it turns out we were supposed to do 4 800 repeats. No wonder Jess warned me not to run the repeats too fast.  I stretched things out in the afternoon with another great yoga class at Tangerine Hot Power Yoga in Brooklyn. This was my second class in so many weeks and I really appreciate the number of adjustments the teachers make to the students during class.

Thursday: 6 AM Fhitting Room class with Julia & Ben

Friday: 4-mile easy run

Saturday: A wonderful 10-mile run which felt challenging as we were faced with constant rolling hills through Brooklyn and Prospect Park but wonderful when I saw our final average pace of 9:29.

Sunday: In theory this was a rest day but in reality it felt like a stair and strength workout after 8-hours of unpacking and organizing our home.

Your turn: What race are you most excited about this Fall?  

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No Weights Required Workout

Do you ever have those days when you somehow sleep through not one but three alarms?

slept through alarm 3x

This morning I woke up from what felt like the deepest sleep ever to the sound of a fog horn. Yes, evidently my body was so tired that I slept through a fog horn for a total of 45 minutes. I guess this is also the time to admit that my foghorn was on soft since I evidently turned the volume down on my phone yesterday. Ooops.

There was no way that I was getting from Times Square to Flatiron in 2 minutes to make the Uplift Strength class I signed up for earlier this week. After feeling defeated and frustrated, I embraced the extra sleep and spare time to make iced coffee and read the New York Times before logging onto my work computer.

Since working with Jess, I’ve kept my commitment to strength workouts. She stresses their importance and I’ve seen the results from this commitment both in my pace and how I look and feel. If you’ve never done her equipment-free strength training workout for runners, I highly recommend it!

I turned this missed workout into an opportunity to create a new “do anywhere” workout for you guys. This workout can be done anywhere as it doesn’t require weights! The only thing you need is workout clothing, socks, shoes, a timer, and some fun music. I highly recommend listening to Rachel Platten’s Fight Song EP on Spotify while doing this workout.

This workout is short on time since it clocks in at 27 minutes but it packs a mighty punch by working your full body. I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I did; though your muscles may not thank me by the end!

No Weights workout

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