Training Log Archive: runninghils

Thought it was about to rain and storm came up fast yesterday so I hit the trainer. Then it didn't rain. Could've ridden outside instead. Darn. Oh well. 5x8 min cruise intervals. These are def better outside.

Warm-up - running, various outside drills

Workout:
1000m row buy-in
then, 3 rounds: (55 lb)
15 burpees
12 thrusters
9 overhead squats
time - 14:20
I was told that this was too fast and that I should have gone heavier. Oops. I thought the OHS would be a lot harder than it was. Not that it was easy, but it was supposed to be really heavy.

Skill - EMOTM
10x 55lb KB swings
3x ring dips with purple band

Up hill trek. Mike's workout the other day made me realize I had to step it up on this. Last time, I set it at 3.4 mph. This time 3.7 - gotta work up in speed.
40 minutes at 10%
20 minutes at 11%
20 minutes at 12%

Run "back down" from the climb. Set the treadmill at -2% which is the max it will do. I guess any more decline is dangerous? The weird thing was that when the treadmill was coming down from 12%, by the time it hit 4%, it seemed completely flat. Crazy!

Wore my pack with 3L water and some random stuff. If there was an efficient route, I didn't take it today. I got in the 2 hours I was going for, though, so I guess that helps. I tracked the route with Strava, which basically confirms some of the silly things I did inefficiently. I decided to not really look at the map before I took off, which probably didn't help.

Majorly messed up on 10 - went too far north and then followed the ridge until I could no longer deny the big reentrant on my left. Had to reattack and got it pretty quickly then. 12 was messy and I went in too early and saw the swamp across the trail, turned around to try to get out/go around it, and immediately tripped on a stump. Lots of clumsy awkwardness. I was even making up a song called "Let me take you to awkward city." while I was out there.

I did have a glorious finish, though. I saw Brenda and Joe just ahead and I stealthily picked up the run pace, caught them and then sprinted in to the finish ahead of Brenda. Ha! Of course it didn't mean anything since we started at different times anyway, but it's still fun to have a sprint finish.

Thought I was going to have to try to get my paddle in tomorrow instead, but while I was out at dinner with Cherie, Mindy sent me a text saying she'd join me. Woo!
We met up at Kent Lake and went out into the wind. So windy! (I guess that's not really that unusual) but then the wind died out on the way back so we didn't quite get the benefit on the way back that we'd expected. It was actually not as cold as expected, but I was glad for waterproof pants.

First 1.5 hours of Brick. It was kind of cold, but not too windy, so I don't mind too much. I did the same route as last weekend. A little faster because of not having the wind. Or maybe because I'm another week out post-race. Either way, good hills at West Branch, as usual.

Distance estimated. Did the south loop at Ogemaw Hills. I figured there'd be more water than the north loop, but the trail was much more wet and swampy than expected... and I didn't have any different shoes to wear home, so I was on a mission to keep my feet dry. Success! This loop goes up to the "Overlook" which means it's got some good hills. However, when I think of what makes a good overlook, this place does not have it. It's a bench facing some more trees - the small dense kind. Even now before the leaves are out, you really can't look out and wonder at the beauty of West Branch. Actually, there are two overlooks, and the second one is marginally better. The weird thing is that the trail that goes to it kind of continues past it and down a super steep hill that I have been tricked into following before on a bike. It was stupid and then it disappeared and you have to push back up the sketchy hill you just descended. I guess enough people have been tricked frequently enough that this non-trail continues to exist.

Again, same route as last time, but I rode just a bit farther on the out. The back took 5 minutes longer. Much more up-hill, I guess. Glad to have my bright orange jacket on for such a gray, dreary day.

No hills home, so I have to
5 min warm up
5x3 min at 5% at 9 min mile
5 min recovery
8 min at 4% at 10 min mile
5 min recovery
3x3 min 5% at 9 min mile
7 min cool down

"Kelly"
5 Rounds for time:
Run 400m
30 Box jumps (20")
30 Wall balls (14 lb)
Rx - 27:57

Tough one! Despite the fact that when I walked in the coach looked at me and said "you look really tired" I still "won" the 5:30 am class. Woo! It helps when it's an endurance-type WOD that involves running since that plays to my strengths. I led the whole thing out and managed to hold Tony off the whole time, but I was glad to have some competition breathing down my back to make me go harder.

Accessory
Pull-up/Dip complex

4x10 min cruise intervals, 5 min in between. The road that is usually the "best" route back looked like it blew up between the last time I rode it and today. Apparently, things thawed out and it messed the road up something bad. If they don't start fixing these roads, it's going to be really rough on all the cars.

Warm up, roll out, etc

Strength:
Overhead Squat - 2 every 2 min 5 rounds
75*75*80*80*85

Workout:
"Isabel" - 30 squat snatches for time
the Rx (95#) is over my 1RM, so I went with 65#
Time: 7:24

Accessory:
EMOTM 10
10 heavy wall balls (20#)

Long, sustained climb trekking... since we don't have anything like this anywhere in Michigan, it was on the treadmill. Progressively increased the angle over the course of the workout
10 min @8%
10 min @9%
40 min @10%
10 min @11%
10 min @12%

The local news was on, and when the weather came on, I remembered that last year someone I knew told me that he went to school with the weather guy and that he was a runner and single... and that I should date him. Seriously, I know he was trying to help, but what was he expecting me to do? Call up the station "Yeah, a mutual friend said that we should meet up." No. I may be weird, but I'm not about to stalk a stranger at his place of employment.

C • news people are all on twitter 10

Run "back down" from the climb. The treadmill actually had an option to run down hill... only to 2%, though. It seemed extreme at first after the climbing, but eventually I got used to it.

Yeah! Getting on the local trails with 70 degree weather. Awesome. Distance estimated. I think my legs are getting back to normal condition - not having that weird hamstring tightness throughout the day or anything. Unfortunately, I didn't bring the right food/timing of food to work today and about 30 minutes in to this run, I realized I should have eaten some more carbs around 4:30 or so. Boo. Low energy, some headache, hungry. Tried to go faster on the flats except when I was climbing over the mass debris on the trail. It was almost like an off-trail run at times. I am thinking about trying to organize a trail clean up day. There is no way you could mountain bike this trail in its current condition... well, I mean, unless you really don't like your derailleur and you like hauling your bike over downed trees.
OH and I saw an owl. Perhaps a barred owl... We were staring each other down but a picture does indeed last longer and I had no camera. So no hope of a clear identification now.

Family left later than expected, so the only thing I had today to work off the amazing bittersweet chocolate and pear cake with homemade buttermilk ice cream was about a mile walk with my mom and sister around the neighborhood and digging out my new fence garden. Well, not really new, but I am actually committing to it this year. It doesn't hurt that the parents have offered to come over for two days next week to whip the yard into shape for me. Either way, shoveling in a straight line by eye is a lot harder than you would think. It looks like, as my mom likes to say, "a snake going to war." Maybe not quite that bad.

C • Does the edge of the garden... 2

First part in the brick. Wanted to check out the trails, but decided that the roads had better hills with more climbing, so I went out and finally put together a sort of loop. It was nice out, but I still had on two layers plus a jacket, though I did manage to take off my ear band. Worked on keeping my breathing under control while climbing and still putting in the effort. Managed to ride up the whole Fairview Hill without dropping it to granny. Whoo!

TRAILS!!!!! Yay! Not feeling very speedy, but made some efforts up the hills. Actually wanted to go to the O-meet today, but with trying to get home to prepare for the family visit, West Branch was much more accessible with the shorter drive. There was still a little snow/ice on the trail in a few places, but for the most part it was dry. I also worked in some impromptu trail work - clearing the few small branches that were down over the trail. Not much traffic out here yet, so I occasionally got a little off track because the trail disappeared in the leaves. There was a little bit of hamstring tightness/soreness, but nothing like I was seeing 2 weeks ago.

Second verse - same as the first - a little bit louder and a whole lot worse.

Well, except it was only 1 hour so I had to cut some of the distance. Rode to Detroit (St) and back. This time, I went straight at the Fairview hill instead of going around the extra loop as an attempt to get a PR on it. I also stood up a bit up the hill and did it! PR! Of course, I'm still ranked 8/8 on Strava. How do they ride it that fast? Well, presumably on road bikes and not at the end of a big brick.

Drove up to Edenville after work for some hill repeats. Realized I forgot my watch, so everything was done by total approximation
Warm up for 10 min
7x2 min hill, jog down
5 minutes easy recovery
7x1 min hill, jog down
5 min recovery
7x30 sec hill

Not sure where I was going over, but I know I did somewhere. Legs were still feeling it a bit today, but Karen this morning didn't help that. They were building up to sore/tight by the end, but not as bad as they had been.

Warm-up - run down and return with lunges, inchworm, kicks, skips, etc
Mobility - roll quads and hams. The spot on my left ham that was super tender on Tuesday was ok today. Good.

Workout - Karen - 150 Wall Balls (14 lb) for time
Not my best - 8:39

"Accessory" - Pull-up/Dip complex
Alternate 3 pull-ups (various grips) and 3 dips (7 rounds at own pace)

Shorter class today. After warming up:

20 minute AMRAP
Deadlift
Clean
Front Squat
Jerk
I only did 75 lb because my left hamstring was feeling sore still
This is supposed to be lower reps, but I got in 37 rounds - really trying to focus more one technique and form. I think it was the right decision. I felt fine and the soreness got worked out a bit, but it was still tender when I went to roll out afterward.

C • combos 4

Easy trainer ride to spin out the legs. Yeah, it was cold and risking rain out so I just rode inside.

Event: The Breakdown Adventure Race
 

Started out running for 5 CPs including the prologue point. We made a good call on CP2 to go straight to the lower trail because it was at the base of the overhang. Other than CP1, it was all trail and then road running down to CP4, where we crossed the river in inflatable boats. They acted like you were going to have to paddle hard upstream to make it across, but it really wasn't that bad and we had to adjust because we started out just going upstream. Ha! Trail run to the TA, where we didn't bother changing into bike stuff knowing that it was a steep uphill push to the bike drop/O-course.

Our Nav was right on, and we cleared the second foot section and were the 6th team to leave. Then, we got lots more bike climbing. Some of it was really steep, requiring pushing. I don't prefer to push my bike - riding it is much better. The first part of the downhill was a sketchy dirt/rocky road, so we couldn't just open it up and fly. Eventually, we hit pavement, so that was a welcome relief. At this point, it was getting "hot" and I ran out of water right next to a house where some people were hanging out in the yard, so we asked to fill up from the hose. Perfect timing. Even though it was warm, I was never uncomfortably hot - just sweaty and thirsty.

We left 30-45 minutes behind the leaders on the bike, but arrived first to the paddle. Cool. We left one paddle point for last with the option of dropping it if time ran out, but we were able to clear the O-course with enough time to go get it. We were a bit concerned that we wouldn't have enough time to get the rest of the points on the course, but we just couldn't leave that point and risk coming in with a bunch of time to spare having skipped it. Go fast take chances, right?

We left on the bike just before 6pm with about 16 miles to bike back to the finish (not counting 3 more foot points along the way plus some single track), but it was hillier and we were more tired than anticipated. We picked up the 3 foot points about a mile from the finish and headed toward the single track hoping to get three (out of four) with an hour on the clock. However, by the time we picked up the second point, we only had 17 minutes to go and didn't want to risk going for one more and maybe missing the cut off. I'd been feeling like puking for about 1.5 hours (probably dehydration-related) so I was happy to go in. Though we really wanted to clear it, when we got to the finish, we found out that getting all but 2 was enough for the win. I felt physically worse than I'd ever felt at the end of a race, but was also super happy to finally win an out-of-state race against some great competition. It makes the hard work and the pain worth it!

Oh, and NO hamstring issues. :)

C • congrats on the decisive victory! 4

Hamstring/glute/hip/back massage today. I hope this makes the big difference. She said the hamstrings were really tight still. Two more days of rest...

Also, I smell like butter. I am pretty sure that the massage oil was not a stick of butter, though that is a really funny image to me.

West Branch road ride - hit the big hills. It was pretty warm and sunny, but the trails in the woods are still ice/snow covered.
I had a massage this morning with the whole hour spent on my back of my legs and my tight spot on my back. Jerica confirmed that my hamstrings were ridiculously tight. They were feeling good after the massage and after not running for two days. I set up another massage for Wednesday evening.
An hour into the ride, hammies started to tighten up. I tried to do some on-bike stretching here and there. Don't really think it helped. The hills were good, though. Rode harder up the hills and recovered on the flats and down hills.

After the ride, I transitioned to the run. Supposed to be 1.5 hours. After 22 minutes, I realized that my hamstrings were not going to loosen up. In fact, they were getting tighter as the run went on. So, I turned around and started to run back. When I got to the base of the fairview hill by the gravel pit, I realized that I needed to walk. It was super frustrating because I wasn't tired and my quads felt great. I just felt like someone was pulling my hams tight from both ends. I walked most of the way back with a short bit of running after the top of the hill. Choked back the tears while I was walking. I just wanted to run - why won't my legs just work the way they should? They must be back at 100% by Saturday. Must.
I called Anna on the way home and she gave me some tough talk on letting them recover and some things to do to aid that process. (It's nice when your friend/running buddy is a sports doctor.) On the plus side, maybe this means that I'm using them more? Maybe that's why they're still a mess - because these formerly neglected muscles are actually getting activated. I've been typically quad-dominant, so in the long run, if I really start using my hams and glutes in running that would be a good thing.

C • Recover, Recover, Recover 9

Hammies were feeling a little less tight today, but still were a bit tight, so I just did the paddle today. I had planned to put in on Sanford lake at the park, but turns out it was still frozen. I was trying to find a place to put in that was not frozen and was also public. I was beginning to wonder if all I was going to just get a lot of practice driving around with the kayak on top of the car. Finally, I found the trail off the side of the road where I'd put in a few years ago when I paddled with Don - just off M30 north of Edenville.

The river was MOVING! Sometimes, it felt like I was on a huge outdoor kayak treadmill! I paddled upstream for 28 minutes before I saw the dam and decided to turn around. Being near dams is scary to me. I never know when they're going to turn up the flow. After I turned around, it took me 10 minutes to go about 1.5 miles - back to the put-in and then down stream a way. Wow- what a difference.

Pattern today was 10 minutes steady, 5 minutes harder/race pace. Sometimes, just to get through a fast section, I'd have to turn it up a bit.

When I got back, I had a hard time getting close enough to shore not to have to step in the water. It was pretty close to 32 - I know because I stuck my hand in to try to pull myself closer, which resulted in a cut that I didn't notice until the hand warmed back up again. Eventually, I was able to rock and shimmy the boat until it was close enough to shore that I could step out. Whew!

Warm up - Run 400m, 30 squats, 20 Dislocates, 30 overhead squats

Mobility - roll quads and hams

Workout - AMRAP
Work for 5 rounds of 3 minutes, 1 minute rest between
3 Power Snatch (65 lb)
6 Push Ups
9 Air Squats
Score: 18 rounds+4 reps

Skill: Pull up dip complex
Somehow I tore my fingers on the snatches in the workout, so this was less fun.
10 minutes of 3 strict pull-ups with different grips alternating with 3 ring dips.

Scoping out some hills for hill repeats. I think they should be long enough to get a 2-minute run climb on them. Decided not to do the run because hammies are still so tight and sore. Massage Sunday morning is scheduled.

4x 10 minute cruise intervals 10 min w/u, 5 min easy in between, 10 min c/d

Warm-up
30 squats, 20 dislocates, 30 overhead squats (pvc)

Workout:
Tabata 0:20 on 0:10 off x 8 rounds (1 minute between different movements)
Used 20 lb dumbells
Air Squats - 115
Push Press - 57
Front Squat - 57
Push ups with row - 36
Squat Clean - 42

Extra:
Every 0:15, sprint 25m for 16 rounds
Toward the end, I was getting closer to beating the guys and even beat them on a few rounds.

Feeling slow still. Legs were pretty tight by the end. First 3 miles out at a very easy pace Z1-2 type, but into the wind. Turned around and aimed for Z3-4 for the way back. Way out was 34:25. Yikes! Back was faster. I should try to hit yoga some time this week or at least get a good long stretch in.