50k training – week 3 recap

Hi there!

Happy weekend!

So, week 3 of my 16 week training plan for the 50k is in the books. Thank goodness!

It was a long week – a good one but tough, too.

Monday

I had track work on my schedule but I had to be at work by 6:45am so that didn’t happen. Such is life when you work at the Commonwealth’s Attorneys Office and last weekend was a 3 day holiday (read: drinking) weekend. It was all hands on deck for picking up the arrest warrants, creating and entering the cases, and getting things ready for court that morning. Good times.

I would have (maybe … okay, probably not) made it up after work but I also had CrossFit on the schedule.

Before you freak out about the doubles, I only have them one or two times a week (pretty much alternating weeks) so it’s not like I’m going crazy with the working out. 🙂

So, for Monday’s workout at CrossFit, we started with 20 minutes to find our double cluster max. Basically, how heavy we could do 2 squat clean thrusters (hence: cluster) in a row.

Mine was 85#. That’s actually a PR for me too! I tried 95# but I could only sorta get one squat clean and the thruster part just didn’t happen.

Then, the WOD was 3 rounds for time of 10 thrusters and 20 toes to bar.

I opted for 55# as my scaled weight and finished in 10:22.

Tuesday

Just CrossFit today.

We started off with a 10 minute EMOM (every minute on the minute) workout.

The odd minutes were 5 strict pull-ups (you had the full minute to get the 5 done and then you rested until the even minute). I used the purple band.

The even minutes were 30 second hollow holds. Oh, hello abs!

Then, the WOD was “the Ghost” – 6 rounds of 1 minute calorie row (count calories burned), 1 minute burpees (count the burpees), 1 minute double unders or attempts (count how many you did) and one minute of rest. (Um, hello, that’s basically 6 minutes of burpees!)

I knocked out 217 total! I really, really suck at double unders but Coach wasn’t letting us do singles instead. She said that we’ll never learn to do double unders if we always do singles so we were doing attempts. I got a few each round – maybe 5 or 6 so I’m pretty stoked about that. I definitely need to work on those some more though.

Wednesday

Just CrossFit today.

We did heavy Isabel.

The CrossFit “girl” WODs are benchmark WODs. You do them to see where you are, what you need work on, and then, how you’ve improved.

Isabel is 30 snatches.

Coach wanted us to do squat snatches instead and go heavy, making the workout slower and more intense than regular old already intense Isabel.

Of course, I can’t go heavy because my overhead squat is atrocious. I stuck with 45#.

Coach had me power snatch (like in regular Isabel) and then reset and do my overhead squat because I am a big awkward mess.

I can’t remember how long it took me but I was working hard!

The good news is based on the power snatch, I know I can do more than 45#! Just have to really work on that overhead squat.

Dear hips and ankles, gonna need you to work with me and get a little more flexible, please. Thanks! Love, me.

Thursday

Tempo run!

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Had 7 miles on the schedule.

1 mile warm up @ 9:30 pace, 5 miles @ 8:27 pace, and 1 mile cool down @ 9:30 pace.

Except, when I got out there, I forgot it was 8:27 and thought it was 8:30 instead. Oops. I blame early + no coffee.

My tempo miles were 8:29, 8:26, 8:32, 8:34, 8:32.

I cut my cool down mile a little short because, honestly, I just ended up back at my house sooner than I expected and I didn’t want to run down the street and turn around and come back or do laps in my yard like a dog. Besides, I had to get ready for work. #lazy 🙂

No CrossFit today.

Friday

Just CrossFit today.

We started with 20 minutes to find our one rep max of the push jerk.

I PR’d with 105#!!!! AND, I almost got 115# but I just wasn’t getting my body down underneath the bar. But, I’m almost there!!

Then, the WOD was 30 muscle ups for time.

Except, I don’t even have 1 muscle up.

So, scaling for that was 3:1 with pull-ups and ring dips.

That means 3 pull-ups and 3 ring dips per 1 muscle up.

If you can do math, you know that’s 90 pull-ups and 90 ring dips. UGH!

I planned on kipping all of my pull-ups but I set up a band just in case. 90 pull-ups and 90 ring dips is a lot of shoulder work! I have to use a band for the ring dips – not quite there yet with those.

I was moving along quite nicely – broke them down into 9 rounds of 10 until pull-up number 56 when my hand ripped. 😦

I tried to kip a couple more but couldn’t so I had to do the rest banded. I struggled to hold onto the bar because my hand hurt so it really slowed me down.

I can’t remember my time but it was probably 24-25 minutes.

Thank goodness I don’t have CrossFit again until Tuesday! My hand needs the time to heal.

Saturday

Long run!

I had 17 miles at 9:34 pace.

Man, that run was tough.

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Yeah, the 9:34 pace didn’t happen. My legs were tired and a little heavy feeling. I had to stop twice to take off my shoe and massage the ball of my left foot. (I have metatarsalgia and boy, did it decide to flare up. Massaging really helps.) I was drenched when I got home – looked like I had gone for a swim instead of a run. Something chafed my back the entire way – not sure if it was my sports bra strap or my Nathan Race Vest or a combination of the two since the vest had somehow gotten loosened where my phone pocket is – and now I have an really painful spot on my back. I drank darn near a liter of water while I was out there but still ended up dehydrated. And, I only went 16 miles. And that was only by sheer will because I was ready to stop at 14 miles.

I finished in 2:42.22 with an average pace of 10:09/mile.

I felt like crap, got woozy in the shower, had to turn off the water and sit down for a bit. My sailor brought me some chocolate milk and that helped some. Luckily, I kept it down and I could finish the shower! I ate a little, drank a TON of water and some IN Refresh electrolyte replenisher and I took about an hour nap. Whew!

Thank goodness that week is over!

Next week, I have a 20-miler on Saturday and a rest day on Friday. Hopefully, that will help me be more prepared for that long run. I definitely don’t want to be dehydrated again.

Talk to me: What did your week of workouts look like? Are you training for anything? 

 

– jennifer

Leg day + hills = owie

Hello!

Happy Thursday!

Are you enjoying your short week?  Maybe it’s just me but this short week hasn’t been as vicious as most short weeks tend to be. Has yours been good?

So, I’m sure you won’t be surprised to know that speed work did NOT happen on Tuesday.

I could still barely even walk right from Monday’s workout so sprinting was definitely OUT of the question.

But, I did run.

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I even did hills!

It took about 3 miles before I even felt normal.  Not sure I ever really looked normal though.

No comments from the peanut gallery, please. 😉

I was generally okay going up the hills but going down them was a chore.

My booty was not pleased.

And, because it was a lovely day, there were PLENTY of people out in the park to giggle at my lumbering stride when I hit the downhills.

Whatevs.

I’m just glad it was nice enough for a t-shirt and shorts!

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I am runner, see me sweat

Take THAT, old man winter!

Then, yesterday, I hit the 5:30 pm CrossFit class.

I was so thankful to see that squats and lunges weren’t on the menu. 🙂

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But, I figured those burpees were going to be a little tough – what with the squatting down and all that jazz.

I was a little nervous about the power cleans seeing as I hadn’t done a clean in a few months.

Luckily, part of our mobility was stretching and working the muscles needed for those cleans and then practicing them a little.

My hips were a little tight (go figure) and I was a little off-balance at the start but muscle memory took over and I got the movement right.

I did the WOD with 65# and modified the hand stand push-ups to push-ups off the box.

Managed to finish in 11:05 and I only have a small bruise on one collarbone.

And the burpees didn’t break me. 🙂

I really like it at this box so far. Everyone has been really friendly, I feel welcome and comfortable and I’ve like the coach to athlete ratio.

I’m looking forward to growing and improving there.

Tonight’s workout is a tempo run. Unfortunately, it’s not exactly shorts and t-shirt weather today. 😦

Well played, old man. Well played.

Talk to me: Do you think I should take the advice from the Dove Dark Chocolate Promises? 🙂

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– jennifer