Weekly Rundown- New Planner, New Plans
I don’t know about you, but I’m still feeling the “freshness’ of a new year. I’m trying out a new system- instead of keeping a log of my workouts in one place, and using a different planner for everything else, I’m keeping it all in one planner. The new planner is bigger than what I’m used to, with full-size 9×11 pages and a two-page spread for each week. There’s room to write down goals for each week at the top, and then plenty of room in each day to record my workouts, plus any other appointments or events I need to know about. Writing out the goals for each week has been really helpful so far. Last weeks goals included “Run M-W-F-S, try a new yoga class, try a new Peloton strength class, trail run 1-2 times, finish I Let You Go, and sleep for eight hours a night.” Ahem. Let’s ignore that last one for a moment. All the other goals were achieved! Somehow, having it written down pushed me to try the new yoga and strength class, which I probably wouldn’t have done otherwise. I’m linking with Kim and Deborah for this weekly rundown. Here’s how the week went! Monday Three mile run. All my runs this week were preceded by banded squats and lateral squat walks, and I feel like it’s really helping to get my glutes activated. Tuesday I did a 45 minute yoga flow class with my favorite instructor, Denis Morton, on the Peloton app. I was starting to wonder if there were other yoga classes out there that I might like- maybe i’m limiting myself too much by doing Denis’s classes all the time. WELL! Keep reading to find a partial answer to that question… Wednesday I started the day with a new and different (to me) Peloton strength class. I tried a regular class, not strength for runners- it was a 20 minute glutes and leg strength with Daniel. I liked it, although I had to modify parts (I don’t do plyometrics with my “difficult” foot.) It was good to do something different- there were reverse lunges in this class which I haven’t done in a while. THEN! I got out to the trail for a run, yay!!! In order to get in a little more distance, I walked a mile and then ran four miles. During that early one mile walk, I saw a creature on the trail ahead of me. It could have been a large dog? Or a small deer? But… I’ve encountered these before, so I was pretty sure it was a pig. Yes, Florida is so weird- we have wild pigs. It looks like I’m closer to this guy than I really was (I had my camera zoomed in all the way.) Any wild animal could be dangerous, so I approached slowly and cautiously. He was snuffling around in the dirt and didn’t hear me at first, but he suddenly became aware of me and ran off into the woods. I was sorry to have scared him, but happy to have the path clear. Thursday I was a little sore today! No doubt from the strength class, but I think it was also from the trail run. I was sore in weird places like my calves and quads, which I usually don’t feel after a strength class. My trail run included some “Florida hills” (aka “slopes”) and maybe that did it- my usual routes are so flat. Today I tried a new yoga class- I’ve heard people talk about Yoga With Adriene on YouTube and decided to check it out. Well… It definitely wasn’t what I’m used to. Granted, this is the only one of Adriene’s classes that I’m taken, so maybe they’re all different. But this was a lot of gentle stretching. Now, I don’t deny that I need it! But… I like Denis’s class. I like how in addition to stretches, there are strength elements, and his flow gets my heart rate up and blood flowing. Live and learn! After yoga, I did some upper body strength! Yes, I did! Not only pushups, but also rows, and I even got out my pull-up bar. A couple weeks ago, Wendy talked about working towards a strict pull-up. I don’t think I have a goal anymore of doing an unassisted pull-up (that just leads to disappointment.) But I agree with Wendy that at least working at it makes my back stronger- a stronger back is a good goal. Friday Three mile run, preceded as usual by banded squats and lateral squat walks. Saturday Ah! Back to a Denis Morton yoga class. This was a 45 minute class, and I had an even deeper appreciation for him. Thank you, Denis. Sunday So how’s that foot doing, anyway? Well… it’s better. Getting out of bed in the morning is much, much easier. And it feels fine while I’m running. But as the day goes on it starts to ache. I think it’s the universe’s way of saying “Not so fast, young butterfly! Don’t get carried away with that running mileage!” Duly noted, Universe. I ran four miles today. I would like to be doing a long run, but I’m happy to be running four miles. I threw Lisa’s fartlek ladder workout into this run, and it was fun! And now… time to make waffles. I mean, obviously- it’s Sunday, right? Did you do any new workouts this week? Do you like trying new classes or do you like to stick to the same ones?