Weekly Rundown- A Slight Pause
Welcome to the weekly rundown! I’ve been joining the weekly rundown, graciously hosted by Kim and Deborah for over a year now, and this week I’m making a little change. I usually start the week on Monday and end on Sunday, with my longest run of the week. But it really wasn’t working to get that run in, finish the blog post and then publish. I felt like I was in a hurry to get it done, and who wants to feel like that on a Sunday? So I’m going Sunday to Saturday instead- it feels weird to start with a Sunday, but here it goes! Sunday I already reported briefly (because I was in a hurry!) that I ran seven miles last Sunday. What I didn’t mention- but elaborated on in this post, was that all of my runs felt hard last week, and my heart rate was unusually elevated during all of them, but especially Sunday’s. I decided to take a rest day, so… Monday I did NO EXERCISE AT ALL on this day! It’s been a long time since I took a complete rest day, and it felt good. I got to sleep an hour later and also took a nap. Tuesday I had every intention of running this day, but when I got up I just didn’t feel like it. I know- that was weird. I did do a 20 minute Peloton yoga flow in the morning and the first class of Peloton Crush Your Core 2, week 2. A quick word about this core program- I know some people (oh, hi there Kim!) think it’s too easy. Yes, it’s not the most difficult core class I’ve ever taken (that honor goes to the Jane Fonda Advanced Workout, abs section- we didn’t use fancy words like “core” back in the 90s.) But I like it- the classes are either five or ten minutes, so you can easily add it onto whatever else you’re doing. And although I’ve done plenty of core work, I wasn’t doing any specific core classes before I started this one. I think the problem may be in the title- “Crush” you core makes it sound a little more badass than it actually is. If it were called “Ease Your Way Into a Core Program” it might be better. I’ll definitely finish the four weeks of this program, and then go on to do other Peloton core classes. Wednesday Today I definitely wanted to run, so I did a slow and easy three miles. It felt okay, and when I checked my heart rate afterwards it was a little high. My norm is around 130 for an easy run, and on Sunday it was 165 (eek!). Today’s run was 144 so I figured I’m slowly getting back to normal. Later in the day I did the second core class, and lower body strength. I just wasn’t in the mood for Jess Sims’s perkiness, so I did my own thing. I will say that I basically copied one of her classes though and did single leg deadlifts, single leg bridges, and a lunge sequence where you lunge forward onto your right leg, then immediately bring the right leg behind you for a backwards lunge without touching the floor in the middle- so you’re balanced on the left leg in the transition. Single leg work and balance, my two favorite things! Thursday I started the day with a 30 minute yoga flow and then worked on my pull-ups. I feel like I’m making progress, but am probably still miles away from doing an actual unassisted pull-up. That’s okay! I’m getting stronger. Friday By this time I had figured out that I’m probably dehydrated (sigh) due to digestive issues (sigh!) which I’ve been having ever since I had Covid (SIGH!) I had been guzzling extra water and doubled up on my LMNT, so I started off for a three mile run cautiously optimistic. You know how you can tell right away if it’s going to be a good run? Well, I could tell. I felt better, and after a mile and a half I stopped my watch to check my heart rate, and sure enough it was 130. Note- I don’t usually obsess over my heart rate like this, only when I feel like something is off. Anyway, I felt so good that I played around with the pace a little for the second half of my run. I was listening to this episode of Rogue Running podcast, and Chris gave the best explanation of a tempo run that I’ve ever heard. He explained what it is, why it’s beneficial, how to find your pace, what it should feel like… I HIGHLY recommend this episode if you have any interest in tempo runs. I can’t say I did a tempo run, but I tried out different paces and paid attention to my effort level- could I keep up this pace for an hour? Does this feel like half marathon pace? One rule of thumb is that a tempo pace should be around your half marathon pace (although it can vary) but since my last half marathon was three years ago when I was in much better shape, that doesn’t help me much. Anyway, it was fun to briefly experiment with different paces while I felt good for a change. Later in the day I did core class #3. Saturday Started the day with fourth and final core class for the week, and then did another lower body workout on my own similar to Wednesday. I’ll go back to Jess’s classes… just not this week. Later in the day I did a twenty minute yoga flow with a focus on twists. All yoga this week (and every week) was with Denis Morton… love his classes. On tap for Sunday… It’s like a cliff-hanger! Will I do a long run? Hopefully, the answer is yes. I’ve had my nightcap of LMNT and I’m going to get out