Hello!
So, week 6 of my training is in the books!
It was definitely a tough week and I’m looking forward to scaling back a little next week. I’ve actually got a middle of the week rest day next week!
Anyway, here’s how it all went down.
MONDAY
Monday morning sunrise at the track!
Speed work at the track. I had 2 x 1200m (3/4 mile) in 5:27 and 4 x 800m (1/2 mile) in 3:34 to do. Apparently, the geese had a party at the track this past weekend because there was goose poop EVERYWHERE!! Gross!
I warmed up with a slow mile and got to work. My 1200m times were 5:21 and 5:27. Not too bad. Especially since I was dodging goose poop. Seriously, there were spots on the track that were just covered so I was kinda weaving around them. Ugh. But, at least I wasn’t dodging the actual geese like I was last Monday!
My 800m times were 3:26, 3:31, 3:34, 3:40. I finished 2 and was tired but kept on pushing. The last 2 were definitely tough. It was a little muggy – we’re supposed to get thunderstorms today – and I felt a little like I was running through water. Blech. Also, I’m not sure what it was but I felt a little something in my left hip. You know, the one that was injured before? 
I didn’t feel a strain or a pull or anything like that – I was just kind of aware of it, if that makes any sense. That’s why my 4th 800m was off the mark. It took almost a full lap before I stopped feeling it. I’m not really sure what’s going on but I’m definitely going to be paying attention to it. I don’t want an injury. Not one little bit.
TUESDAY
6pm CrossFit, no running.
I was really looking forward to tonight’s workout. Coach sends out a newsletter each Sunday with the WODs for the week so we can (plan to skip on days that suck) prepare for the week. Tonight was 3×5 deadlifts and then Tabata row. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect for the Tabata workout – I know what Tabata is but there weren’t specified rounds or time listed.
For the deadlifts, I did a staggered warm-up with 65#, 105#, and 125#. Then, I got down to business. My weights were 155#, 165#, and 175#. Whoop! Since they were 5 reps each round, those are all PRs for me. I might have been able to go a little higher (maybe 185#) but I really wanted good, solid form and I definitely got that. I was pleased with that! Of course, one of the other girls in my group is wicked strong and her top was 225#! She made it look so easy that she darn near had me convinced that I could do it!
The Tabata row turned out to be a 4 minute activity, rowing for calories. Tabata is 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest. That ended up being 8 rounds. Because we were doing such short bursts, we pushed the resistance level up past where we would normally sit for a longer row. I ended up knocking out 47 calories! Some of the guys were up in the 70s – that’s crazy!
WEDNESDAY
Tempo run! I had 5 miles at 8:12 pace on my schedule. Which, honestly, I thought was a little weird. No prescribed warm up and cool down? Guess that was up to me? So, I did some warm up in my driveway (high knees, leg swings, squats, quad stretches, Samson stretch, etc.) and headed down the road.
Okay, is it just me or is everybody a little sad that the sunrise is starting to get later and later? I’m not ready yet! Don’t get me wrong, I love fall temperatures but I was kind of enjoying watching the sunrise on my morning tempo runs. Now, the sun is still technically “in bed” by the time I’m done. Sigh.
So, I didn’t make my pace for the first mile – ran it in 8:42 – but I guess I needed a little more warm up than I thought. The next 4 miles were 8:10, 7:51, 7:57, and 8:12. I finished it off with about a quarter mile cool down just to get back to my house. Phew, those sub-8:00 miles were quick! And unnecessary! I try not to look at my watch all the time because I don’t want to focus on the “how much I have left” part of a run but clearly, I need to pay more attention to my pace. The final mile at 8:12 felt much harder than it really needed to because I had ran too fast on the 2 miles before it. Bah!
Me and my stubby little pigtails. lol
6pm CrossFit – Barbara – holy Hell.
And that’s supposed to be a benchmark workout?!?! Yikes!
Coach said we should only take about 45 minutes to complete the workout and if we thought we were going to need 50 minutes or more, that we should scale down to 4 rounds or wherever we were at that time.
For the pull ups, I kipped the first two rounds. The bar was so sticky! I’m used to sweating so much that I slide right off but not tonight. I grabbed chalk to help prevent me from ripping because I was stuck to the bar but chalk can also dry up excess moisture and make you stick to the bar. Double edged sword! Anyway, in round 3 I went to the purple band for my pull ups because my right hand was threatening to rip and I didn’t want that.
I scaled each and every push up down to my knees. I was really working on form – keeping my elbows in rather than out – and I knew doing 120-150 push ups was going to hurt. The girl next to me used a band to help keep her elbows in. I may have to start doing that!
I had no problems with the sit ups or the air squats. There were just so many of them!
I finished 4 rounds in 42:08 and stopped there. We had mandatory 3 minute rest between rounds which would put me at 45:00 and I knew I wasn’t going to finish the 5th round in 5 minutes to keep it under 50:00 total. Oof.
THURSDAY
6pm CrossFit, no running
Let me tell you something. Yesterday’s workout – Barbara? Yeah, she hurts. My pecs and my abs got progressively sore as the day went on. Oh my goodness. By the time I got to CrossFit, changing out of my work clothes was a little bit of a challenge. Haha!
So, we started off with finding our 1RM snatch. There were only 3 (!) of us in class tonight – guess I wasn’t the only one hurting but hey, I didn’t stay home! – and we had 30 minutes so I definitely had plenty of time to work on my form. I started with just the 35# bar and eventually added 10# for 45#. I’m definitely getting better with it but I still need work. I am not fluid going down into the squat with the weight over my head. I have a little bit of a pause but it’s far better than it used to be. Then, I took the weight up to 55# to see if I could do it and I couldn’t really. My OHS form was faltering a fair amount. Coach suggested I go back down in weight and work on my form. So, I did. I did plenty at 45#. 🙂
Then, the WOD was 15 minutes (for quality, not time) of 2 snatch, 5 strict toes to bar, 5 pistols (each leg).
You know what? Strict toes to bar are HARD and throw in the fact that my abs are sore from Barbara and they get even HARDER. Plus, my grip was shot from all the pull ups. Thank goodness it was only 5!!
I wasn’t counting rounds so I don’t know how many I ended up with. I talked with Coach afterward about my form on the snatch and he said I was doing pretty well – hitting below parallel each time and my form with holding the weight overhead was really good. I just need to work on my fluidity and flexibility. These are all good things!
FRIDAY
Rest Day. Thank God.
My pecs and abs are still really sore and I’m tired. And it’s raining. And, it’s supposed to rain/thunderstorm all weekend. Especially tomorrow morning. When I have a 20-miler on the schedule. I’ll run in the rain all day long but I don’t play with thunderstorms. At present, I’m honestly considering just bagging the run altogether and resting my body/hip/groin area. I have guilt, though.
SATURDAY
Well, I rested.
I debated all day and even into the night.
Even in the middle of the night at a 2am potty break (oh. sorry. TMI?), I was still arguing with myself about whether or not I should run.
Of course, it was POURING outside at that time so that helped me reiterate to myself that my decision was a good one.
It’s still early in my training and missing a training run, albeit a long one, isn’t going to kill me. Running long and not allowing a potential injury to rest and recover might, though. Well, at least it would kill my running – not me literally. 🙂
So, that’s how it all ended up. And honestly, I slept until 7:30 this morning and I NEVER do that. Clearly, I needed the rest.
Now, it’s time to look forward to week 7!
Talk to me: How difficult is it for you to miss a scheduled training run? Do you argue with yourself or is that just me?
– jennifer
A Hungry Runner 