Get Fit Chicks!

Well after my brilliant run on Friday (if you read back you’ll see that I hit another persoal best in the speed work!) I was hoping to do a repeat on my long run on Sunday. Well…not so much. I simply was NOT in the mood to run on Sunday. My head wasn’t in it. Usually by the time Saturday rolls around I’m starting to get excited at the prospect of my long run, anticipating it a little. This time on Saturday when my roommate asked me “are you looking forward to your run tomorrow?” I was surprised to realize that I wasn’t – not at all. I shrugged off the feeling and figured that by Sunday morning I’d be feeling better about it.

Sunday on the way to my starting point I STILL wasn’t feeling the run. I popped into the gym to use the bathroom and chatted with the manager for a few minutes and found myself almost whining about having to head out – never a good sign! But off I went, Ipod on for company. About 1km in I already wanted to give up, turn back and just do gym cardio instead. But I pushed on promising myself that it would get better. About 4km it started to rain. I used to LOVE running in the rain but ever since the day of the self cleaning pants (when I got so cold it took forever to warm up) I’ve had this dread of running in the rain. I told myself that if I could just do 15km out I could turn around, so I plodded along.

I got to the 15km mark and turned around for the trip back. I still wasn’t happy but knowing that I had pushed through the first half (even if it was 1k shorter than usual) felt pretty good. Then my IT-band tightened on me and my knee started to hurt. With about 4K left to go i stopped dead in the street (with something not so nice to say – out loud at that!) I walked it off for a few minutes and then ran again. The last bit of my run was a run 5min, walk 1 min until I was done and could hobble into the gym and hit the sauna – happy that at least I had finished.

In the end I did 29.5K (down a little from my usual 32K) and my pace was still good – less than 5min per km on average. The thing that worried me though is that usual I’m mentally pretty strong. When I hit those rough days I can dig deep and push myself through it, finishing as strong as possible. This time I didn’t seem to have what it takes to do that. To push through when the chips were down. Sure I finished the run, but I didn’t feel strong. Which makes me wonder – are some days just like that, or do I need to work more on the menal side of endurance? Do I have a marathon in me?

So my running friends – what do YOU do to get over a bad run and move on?

This weekend I went for a 20 minute run on the treadmill.

For those of you who are very active already, you’re probably thinking “okay, and then…?” as in, that can’t be my whole story. For those of you who are not active yet maybe you’re thinking “Twenty minutes? How did you run that long?” For me, a 20 minute run was pushing my cardio limits. Consider it my baby step in advancing my aerobic endurance.

It’s the most cardio I’ve done in a really long time. Devin suggested a schedule of doing a long run on Sundays, by long he meant 60 minutes. When I was reviewing the schedule with him I pointed out that 60 minutes is completely out of my league! Devin recommended that to start off I should try 4min run/2min walk and just try to do that for 20 minutes. This Sunday, I warmed up for 4 minutes, then ran/walked for about 22 minutes on top of that. I’m trying to appreciate the progress that I make without overwhelming myself by what I’m NOT doing. I’m starting with the 20 minute run once a week in addition to my two visits to the gym. Adding one day of 20 minutes a week doesn’t seem so bad does it?

I was able to run at a speed of 6.0 and walk at 3.5, I tried to increase the walk speed to 4.0 but that was too fast for me! When I reached my half way mark around 10 minutes I started feeling tired. I knew it would be a push to get to the end. The last run/walk was really hard to get through. If I hadn’t been on a treadmill I doubt I would have been able to do it.

The treat for myself at the end of it all was a visit to the steam room. That felt so good! I have to admit that thought of a reward kept me going during my run.

Stacey has been encouraging me to consider doing a 5K run. I’ve mostly laughed it off (as politely as possible) because to me that seems practically impossible. What was shocking to me was that my 22 minutes was about two miles which is 3.2km. Who would have thought? I’m sure with some training and lots of time I could work up to 5K…just don’t tell Stacey that

After last weeks speed work I was POSITIVE there was no way I would beat it again, but beat it I did!

This week was the same route – with the aim to try to make it past the 6 benches at the beach that we made it to last time. We also had the goal of making the return trip faster than that trip out (something that I frequently struggle with). The conditions for a run couldn’t have been better – brilliant blue sky, nice cool temperature, no wind and a path along the beach. So we lined up at the ’starting line’ and after one false start (the watch timer didn’t start!) we were off. Right from the start I was pushing it hard and by the time we reached the halfway point I couldn’t talk I was breathing so hard (something that usually doesn’t set in until the return trip!) BUT we were one bench farther than the week before – whoohooo. That said, at that point I was CERTAIN there was no way I was going to beat the time on the way back. I was already feeling the run out. But we turned around and kept pushing on the way back and in the end finished 22 seconds faster then the week before AND a total of 27 seconds faster then the trip out. WHOOHOO.

Talk about setting the bar high! I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up – or if I in fact can. Will be interesting to see how speed work goes this Friday. Yikes! For now I’ll bask in the glory of another great speed work day.

Stacey and I had our first training session together and I have to agree with her, it feels wrong to say a workout can be fun, but it really was. I was nervous at first because I know if Stacey and I went head-to-head on any exercise she would smoke me, hands-down.

We warmed up together first which was a really nice time to catch up and talk about what we were about to endure. Then Devin walked us through our routine. I was amazed that we were doing pretty much the same exercises (thank goodness for Stacey’s memory, she listed them in her post), but Stacey had an extra variation to make it harder. Lunges, for example, Stacey did lunges with heavier weights than me and she did them on the bosu ball! She is amazing!

After getting a little more comfortable with the exercises I managed to finish faster than Stacey and she started giving me the evil eye for getting through so quickly. I assured her that it was a situation of the tortoise and the hare. You know, the tortoise and the hare are in a race and the hare thinks for sure he’ll be faster than the tortoise so he goofs off and makes stops along the way and as it turns out the tortoise wins the race! I may have been the hare in our “race” at the gym but I know Stacey will win the final race in health and fitness!

It was a lot of fun to cheer Stacey on and to have her push me through the workout. We really fed off each other and it was great energy. I know they say that having a “buddy” to do activities with can be very motivating and it really was with Stacey! I look forward to working out with her more.

If you’re trying to push yourself forward or try something new, I highly recommend finding a partner. You may find one in unexpected places!

Last night I had my first ever training session with Caroline. Caroline and I have hit the climbing gym before but we’ve never actually had a workout together. We had a blast (or at least I did – will have to see what C has to say about that when she posts!)

We had a joint session with Devin so we met up at the gym for the warm up and then it was time to hit the weights. Is it wrong to say you had “fun” at a training session? There was lot’s of hard work – absolutely! But we had some good times and good laughs too. Devin decided it would be a good idea to put us through a full body workout so we went through two circuits of squat presses, lunge curls, push-ups, row-boats, reverse push-ups thingys (I am sure there is a technical name for these), back extensions, a couple of practice pull-ups for me and finally some stretching. It was a moderatly tough workout but not TOO bad. I thought I might be a little sore today but surprisingly I’m pretty good. My glutes feel a bit fatigued but that’s a good thing – they could use some work!

Caroline makes a great workout partner. She’s got a great attitude, and is a great cheerleader. We did largely the same workout with some modifications thrown in to meet our specific needs but for the most part the same workout. It was great because it meant that we could cheer each other on and bring in that healthy competition to do “just two more!” Caroline was a rockstar – moving through the sets with no problem (or so she made it seem). She compared us to the tortoise and the hare – i was the tortoise, a little bit slower on the reps. Devin even did a lot of the exercises with us which is very motivating and adds to the fun factor (but also tough – especially when he says “ok – stay with me now!” At one point I said “if you want me to stay with you you’re going to have to slow down!”) He’s a great trainer and good at getting us to push ourselves to our maximum which is just what we need. The fact that he’s fun too is a great bonus.

Can’t wait for our next workout together C! We’ll have to get together and do a few in between to keep the motivation high.

On Tuesday I had my “quarterly” fitness test with Devin (quarterly is in quotes because my last one was in September but usually we’re pretty consistant with them) And the results are in! My body fat dropped slightly (which is great, and I wouldn’t have wanted it to drop anymore as it’s already very low) and I’m at my goal weight so all is well there! Measurements were all great…so then it was on to the physical stuff.

The highlights:

12 minute run: 1.66 miles (average speed was 8.3) last fit test: 1.57 miles/7.9 speed, first ever fit test: 0.89 miles/4.5 speed
Lat pull down: 50 pound weight, 11.5 reps, last fit test: 50 pounds/12 reps, first ever fit test: 42.5 pounds/8 reps
Squats: 25 pound weight/40 reps, last fit test: 25 pound weight/30 reps, first fit test 20 pound weight/15 reps
Bench Press: 65 pound weight/17 reps, last fit test: 65 pound weight/14 reps, first fit test: 65 pound weight, 12 reps
Sit ups: 41 in 1 minute, last fit test: 42 in 1 minute, first fit test: 28 in one minute

So I improved on my run, squats, bench press, weight, measurements and bodyfat %. I stayed pretty much the same on the lat pull down and did one less sit up. I can’t compare the push ups because on my previous tests I did “girl push-ups” and this time we switched it up to doing them on a bar which is significantly more difficult, so while the reps went down the difficulty factor went way up.

I was surprised not to improve on the lat pull downs – with all the work I’ve been doing on pull-ups I thought that would be better (although Devin tells me my FORM was better so I suppose that’s something anyway). The sit-ups were also a surprise. I’ve been doing sit-ups on an incline bench while holding a 20 pound weight so I thought FOR SURE regular sit-ups would have improved. Not so much. hmmmm.

As for the run, it improved but I think I can do better. I ran as hard as I could on that day, at that time, but I think on another day I could have pushed it harder. Something to aim for next time!

Overall I’m quite pleased with the results and the benchmarks I now have set.

Tonight it’s off for an upper body workout!

I’m starting to realize more and more how much of a role mental fatigue plays in whether I have a great workout or just a so-so workout. This seems obvious and you’d think I would have noticed it already but it wasn’t until this week that I really tuned in to how my body was feeling in my various activities and how that related to my mindframe on that particular day. It started when I was riding the bike at the gym on Thursday and thinking to myself “man, my long run is only 2 days away, I don’t know if I have the energy for this!” By the time Sunday rolled around though I was in a much better frame of mind and was ready to take on the run, and what a great run it was! Afterwards I was tired, drained and ready to pack it in…at that moment if you asked me if I was ready to do it again in another week the answer would have been a resounding NO. No way am i doing this again. But give me a few days for the memory of the fatigue to fade, to get over the blisters and low points and I’m good to go, ready to take on the challenge. It’s not a physical tiredness at that point, it’s mental. It’s summoning the mental strength to go out and keep training. To push harder to improve the time or the distance (but never both at the same time) and to just do it. Some days that mental strength is stronger than others.

I had another experience with mental fatigue and it’s impact on my ability to perform last night. Last night I was tired. Part of that was physical – I hadn’t slept well the night before – and that compounded into me just not having the mental strength to push myself that hard. I went to the gym and had a so-so workout (which in the end turned out to be a good thing because I switched up my normal routine to compensate and switching things up now and then is always a good idea). After the gym I headed out to the climbing gym for a climb…that is where being tired REALLY showed through. I was able to do some great routes – even ALMOST finishing a 5.10c (to date my best climb has been a 10b) but I was finding that I just didn’t have the mental strength to really push myself on the wall. To will myself to take it out of my comfort zone and go for it, rather than admitting defeat. So I wonder, had I been better rested would I have finished that route? Probably.

I’m not 100% sure where I’m going with this post, in terms of what it means for me, I’m still trying to figure that out. Do you build mental strength by pushing through those “I don’t want to do this today” and making it happen anyway? Or modifying a bit so that you still get something done, even if it wasn’t exactly what you intended to do when you set out? Do you sit back and take a day off when those feelings hit and then go back stronger the next day? I suspect it’s a combination of all of these factors. Sometimes you push through and feel better as a result, sometimes the fatigue is a sign that it’s time for a break and you should listen to that. It’s something I’m still working on, and it’s an interesting part of this journey to be “fit”. I’ll keep you posted as I figure it out.

I posted a little while ago about a knee issue that I was having on my long run. Long story short – 2 weeks ago after my long run I found myself unable to put any weight on my right leg without shooting pain going through my knee. I was terrified that I had ripped something and was going to be out of commission for weeks. Thankfully a light cardio workout followed by some weight training the next day and the issue seemed to work itself out.

This week after my long run I noticed a bit of knee pain (it would come and go in the hours after the run) but nothing compared to what it had been the week before. Luckily I had an appointment with my physio yesterday and was able to have it looked at. The physio poked and proded and then advised me that it was an it-band issue (which is what Devin had predicted it was the week before). It was SO tight that it was pulling me knee out of alignment causing pain. This is another face to my previous hamstring issue – two sides of the same problem. And likely magnified by the fact that two weeks ago I did my long run entirely on pavement.

The good news is that it’s not a lasting problem, or really anything I have to worry about all. I’ll need to be careful for awhile – making sure to warm up well before my long run (both adding heat as well as riding the bike for 10 minutes or so before I head out), stretch well after and ice ice ice when I’m done. I will also see my RMT this week as well as use a foam roller. If I keep all this up it should be problem solved. And the best news? I can still run! yay!

So in the end the “injury” isn’t so much an injury as a minor setback. whew!

I had another GREAT run today. I went out early because I needed to be done the run, stretched out and over to a friends to watch the GOLD MEDAL HOCKEY GAME by 12:15. So I started at 8:35 which was a little bit later than I had hoped. I pushed the pace a bit right from the start, keeping it under 5 minutes per KM. I wanted to maintain that for as long as I could – creating a “cushion” for the return trip in case I slowed down.

I managed to maintain the pace all through the first half arriving at the halfway point 4 1/2 minutes faster than expected. I turned around and set back, hoping to keep my pace around the 5 minute mark. To my surprise I continued a pace of about 4:45 per km, sometimes going as low as 4:30. A few times I slowed a bit but always managed to get the pace back I had decided at the halfway mark I would aim for a total time of 2 hours 40 minutes (7 minutes faster than my previous 32KM time). As I got close to the end I realized that it was going to be more like 10 minutes faster.

Realizing I was ahead of my pace spurred me on even more and in the end I finished 32.14KM in 2 hours and 36 minutes – a full 11 minutes faster than my previous time! And my average pace was 4:51 per km which is the fastest per km pace I’ve ever set on a long run.

Not bad for a morning of running! Being a good Canadian girl I have to wonder if the pace was my way of making sure that I wouldn’t miss the puck drop. But really I think it had more to do with the fantastic Friday run pace – after that running 4:45 kms didn’t seem that fast anymore.

So Canada wins GOLD in hockey and I had a fantastic long run. Not a bad day.

Now that I’m at my goal weight I’m finding it REALLY hard to transition from eating for weight loss to eating for fitness/performance. For a VERY long time I have been focused on losing weight. That meant keeping myself in a calorie deficit and working as hard as I could in my workouts to burn the calories that I was taking in.

Now that I’m trying to switch over to eating for performance I’m not 100% how to do it. How do I balance out my calories so I’m eating closer to what I’m burning? What foods should I be eating to ensure that I’m getting the most of my workouts/training days? How long before/after a workout should I be eating them? What balance of carbs/protein/fat/fiber is right for what I want to achieve? What AM I hoping to achieve with all of this?

With all of these questions rattling around my brain I decided it was time to book a nutritional consultation. So next week I’m having a consultation and I’ll hopefully solve a few of these mysteries! I have dutifully done my food/workout log and sent it in and have put together my list of questions. Next up is to sit down and talk about it and come up with a plan.

Can’t wait! Stay tuned – I’ll let you know how it goes!