So Long Pre-Hab. Hello Sweet Spot Training.

6 weeks of pre-hab has reminded me of a very important lesson: fitness gains are hard won and easily lost.  It's time to put in the work to regain some of that bike fitness I had at the end of last summer.  Enter: Sweet Spot Training.

Not THAT kind of sweet

The goal of sweet spot training is to increase pedal economy and build a base of aerobic fitness on the bike - both of which get sorely neglected as the season progresses.  In this phase I'll be aiming for  three rides a week (2 60-minute sessions, 1 90-minute session), running twice a week (1 shorter session before my training appointment, 1 longer session on the weekend), swimming once a week, and strength training once a week with my trainer.

The final week of pre-hab wasn't too bad.  I actually got up at 5AM every day (Monday-Thursday - I overslept by 30 minutes on Friday) and did a 20 minute yoga practice before work 3 times, and spent some quality floor time stretching on another day.  It was nice not having to fly through the morning as a giant stress ball, but I was definitely wasted by the end of the day - which made finding the motivation to work out rather difficult. My week ended up looking something like this:

Monday: 20 minute yoga practice
Tuesday: 20 minute yoga practice, 15min treadmill run, 30 minute training session
Wednesday: 20 minute yoga practice, 30 minute trainer ride (I just felt like spinning without a plan)
Thursday: 20 minutes stretching on the floor, 60 minute trainer ride
Friday: 20 minutes strength training at home
Saturday: Zero
Sunday: 1000 yd swim

Total Time: 4 hours, 7 minutes
Total Distance: 21.33 miles*

Definitely not the strongest finish, but I think next week will be better.  I has to be.  'A Race Day' is less than 7 months away!

*I looked at 2016's Garmin data and between swimming/biking/running/hiking, I put 895.94 miles on my body.  Let's see if I can blow that out of the water in 2017! I'm also working on trying to find a more visual way to display this, but in the interest of posting this in a timely manner, it'll have to wait!

Muscle Memory

Okay, the formal definition of Muscle Memory, at least according to Google, is: motor memory: your memory for motor skills.  In my case it's more like 'remembering muscles I forgot I had'.

You may have noticed that I haven't posted race recaps for the first three races in the Great Lakes Running Series.  That's because I didn't do them.  After I got back from France, work went from crazy to batshit crazy, the weather went to crap, and the holidays hit.  In short: I didn't train, therefore I didn't race.  I should have known that trying to work around 50 hours a week, train, and keep my assorted family commitments was a recipe for disaster.  It's not like I haven't had this problem before.  So here I am: work has calmed down immensely and I'm working closer to 40 hours a week, the holidays are over, and I haven't done much in the way of exercise in about 2 months. I'm about 4 1/2 pounds over my happy weight and about 7 1/2 pounds over my "fighting weight".  Oh...and the Expo Run  is on January 27th.  Clearly I have my work cut out for me.  This week is all about getting back in the habit of being aware of what I'm eating and why I'm eating it (damn you delicious holiday cookies) and ramping up my level of physical activity - essentially another Wiggle War. I'm really not expecting a PR from the Expo Run, but I'd like to finish without completely embarrassing myself!

So this week I've gone back to tracking calories in vs. calories out (I'll probably post a review of the app I'm using if I decide to stick with it), making a point to drink more water, attempting to get on a decent sleep schedule, and trying to spend less time on the couch and more time moving my butt!

Here's a little breakdown of my week:

Monday, December 31: 40 minute Sun Salutation/Yoga Flow DVD.  Discover exactly how much flexibility has been lost since ceasing in-studio practice several months ago and how much I miss yoga.

Tuesday, January 1: Alternate house-cleaning and couch-laying on last vacation day for a while.  Whine about delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) from above yoga flow.  Vow to practice yoga more often.

Wednesday, January 2: Back to work.  Park self in chair at 8am. Get up only to microwave soup and refill water bottle.  Get home with every intention of working out, but then get one of those phone calls that leaves only one acceptable course of action: drink wine.

Thursday, January 3: Get home from work. Contemplate driving to indoor track since it's a frigid 19 degrees outside.  Opt for bike trainer/strength workout DVD in the basement. Struggle to complete it.  Experience jello-legs immediately.  Feel good about having done it - even if it kicked my ass!

Friday, January 4: I never pay attention to how many times a day I get up to run to the printer/copier/water cooler until I have sore legs. Apparently I am a human Jack-In-A-Box.  Realize at 4:30pm that I'd gotten so caught up in a project that I never ate lunch. Consider gnawing on office furniture.  Arrive home, order pizza, and proceed to spend the rest of the night with Mr. R&R sorting through the guest room closet (aka: miscellaneous catch-all space) and drinking wine.

Saturday, January 5: It's a sunny, reasonably warm (34 degrees), not too windy day. Pile on layers and go for a 3 mile run for the first time in...well...too damned long.  The first 1 1/2 miles feel pretty good.  The last 1 1/2 miles are hellacious: uphill, into a bitter cold wind that has sprung up out of nowhere...and some jerk who didn't think that city shoveling ordinances applied to them, thus leading to running over a large patch of ice.  Crawl through door feeling thoroughly humbled.  I'm pretty sure a septueagenarian with a limited mobility could have out-run me today.  There's only one way to fix it: Quit slacking, suck it up, and RUN!

Sunday, January 6: Wake up to a thin sheet of ice covering every flat surface in sight and quads that feel absolutely shredded.  After a near death experience on the aforementioned ice while walking a bag of trash 15 feet from the back door to the bin, determine that today is a lost cause since I don't want to walk on the ice, much less drive or run on it!  Continue guest room cleaning project, bake egg muffins as a grab and go breakfast for the next week, make lunch for Monday and Tuesday, and generally spend the day getting my metaphorical ducks in a row.

And there you have it...my week in a nutshell.  Was it perfect? No.  Was it better than the 8 weeks before it? Hell, yes! 

Wiggle War Recap: Week 2

Week 2 was a definite improvement over Week 1, but it has become obvious that the odds of achieving my goal of 20 active days this month are slim.  As of today, I have 13 days left in the month and need 12 more active days.  Simply put - NOT GONNA HAPPEN.  However, I've always believed that goals are just that: goals.  They are something to shoot for, but not something to beat yourself up over.  My new goal is to come as close to 20 active days as possible.  To that end, here's the run down on last week:

Miles: 10.13 (including the Tundra Challenge which I've learned was actually 4.1 miles as opposed to the advertised 3.6!)

Eating: I was pretty good all week, but completely fell apart on the weekend.  This is an area that needs some work!

On a more fun note, I registered for my first road race of 2012 - The Great Lakes Expo Run! I'm really hoping to improve on my 10k time from the New Year's Eve race.  The weather has turned from spring-like to a true Wisconsin winter - complete with snow, ice and temperatures that make a freezer seem like a sauna.  In order to cram in some miles, it looks like I'll be getting reacquainted with the indoor track.  Fortunately, I should have a new toy to help me out while I run in endless circles.  I received a Garmin Foot Pod for Christmas and I'm looking forward to trying it out - possibly as soon as tomorrow.

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This nifty little device attaches to my shoe laces and transmits pace and distance data to my Garmin, so I can still use my favorite training tool indoors (GPS doesn't work so hot inside!). 

I've also returned to the studio this week - the yoga studio that is.  My teacher is in the process of obtaining her next level of certification and she'll be sharing some of what she's learned with her students and incorporating some new elements into the class.  This should be interesting.  All I can say so far is that my abs are sore after yesterday's class.  From what she described, it sounds like developing 'core strength' will be a central feature of this session. I'm hoping that added core strength will finally help me achieve a full Crow Pose.

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At the moment, I can kind of sort of get my feet off the ground, but I lack the arm strength to hold my weight completely on my arms, and the abdominal strength to pull my legs all the way up and balance - I immediately tip forward!  I was a little impressed with myself when I discovered that I'm finally comfortable doing one of the Headstand Poses without positioning myself against a wall as a safety net!  I guess you win some, you lose some. 

So there you have it, all the goings on in Rabbits and Runs land.