Dumbbells Smell

Posted by Lauren

Hello friends! Let’s jump right into a summary of Week 5 of my “run faster” training plan. Also known as: the week I didn’t do any strength training and fudged my long run.

p.s. If you’d like to see the 12-week plan, you can download it here from Norton Zone. (Also: Week 1 I needed headphones, Week 2 was a solid week, Week 3 sparked the late run dilemma, Week 4 was draining).

p.p.s. Bored? Skip to the PURPLE phrases, and then to the end!

Monday – chest/shoulders/triceps workout + treadmill hike
I skipped the strength workout because of one reason: I am lazy. When will it “click” and be enjoyable to lift weights? They smell. Instead, I “hiked” on the treadmill for 50 minutes. Incline walking is my fave.

Tuesday – easy recovery run
6 miles at 7.4 mph/8:06 pace… this was torturous and borrrrring because my iPad decided not to pick up 3G. I had no idea what was going on, so I disconnected the service somehow, reconnected, and finally got it up and running for the last 10 minutes of my run. iPad repair while maintaining an 8:06 pace? NBD.

Wednesday – 6×800 speed intervals + back/biceps workout
In between 800m sprints, I jogged 200m to cool down. My interval pace was about 6:40 (9.0 mph on the TM) and my jog pace was 9:41 (6.2 mph on the TM). I was in a bit of a hurry, so I skipped the back/biceps workout. Darn? At least my run went well – the speed intervals are definitely my favorite.

Thursday – 45 minute tempo run
- 10 minutes at 7.2 mph/8:20 pace
- 15 minutes at 7.8 mph/7:42 pace
- 10 minutes at 7.2 mph/8:20 pace
This was horrible. Overnight, I developed a blister on the ball of my left foot. (I actually went to the doctor on Friday to confirm that it wasn’t a plantar wart. PHEW!) Running was very uncomfortable, but I stuck it out for the 45 minutes, standing on the side of the TM when necessary.

Friday – HIIT + legs/glutes workout
Again, I was short on time so I only did the HIIT and skipped the strength workout. I squeezed in a 1 mile warm up, 15 minutes of HIIT, and 1 mile cooldown before Nicole’s birthday dinner. Little did she know I didn’t wash my hair before her party. MUAHAHA.

Saturday – scheduled rest/ski day > 10K
The Bouncy Ball 10K!!! I tied for first place women’s with a comfortable finish time of 51 minutes :)

Sunday – 90 minute long run > ski day
Instead of a 90 minute long run, I went skiing. (Way better use of time IMO.) My legs were pretty sore after the day at Alpine, so I bet I got a decent workout in. :) Plus, the guys I skied with took me over to Beaver Bowl (off the Summit chair) and it was tough stuff.

Total Mileage: 30 miles

This was a good week. The highlight (besides Nicole’s 21st of course) has to be the Bouncy Ball 10k – crossing my fingers it turns into a monthly thing!

Question: What’s your favorite way to cross train? What am I going to do when ski season is over??

-Lauren