The More I Run...

My goal this week was to get over 11 miles done.  If I was able to do that, great.  If I was able to do more, even better!  If I was able to get to 18-20 miles, perfect!

So I might not have gotten to the 18-20 mile mark, but I did run more than 11.  I was able to get in 13.18 miles... just over the half marathon mark.  The best part, it felt better for longer.  Almost to mile 9 I was feeling pretty good with only a few small annoyances.  That's what I've decided most of my aches and pains are... annoyances.

The picture above came to mind during my run.  I was so impressed with how good I felt and how strong I was feeling.  I was so proud of myself, partially because the night before I was so tired and sick of running I wasn't even sure if I was going to get out there and do any of these longer runs.  The night before my run I was at one of my lowest lows about my feelings toward running... kind of like a runner's depression, but I got outside and I was able to run 13 miles!  So, so proud of myself.

I've realized my biggest issue is the lack of true strength training.  It's going to be on my focuses, I think, for next year and my next (shall I really say it?) marathon.  If anyone has any favorite circuits or routines for strength training for runners, I would love to hear them!

In other news, another reason I had to run yesterday... Christmas party!  I hosted my work's cookie exchange and white elephant.  The hard part was that I was on my feet for a majority of the day AFTER my run, but I did get to eat all these yummy cookies.  My red velvet cookies were a big hit and considering how addicting they are, I'm stopping by work today just to get them out of my house!

How Swimming Habits Help Me Now

I was a competitive swimmer for 14 years and loved it (at least most of the time).  This means that for a majority of those years I was working out 7-9 times a week, driving endlessly for competitions, and learning how to listen and train my body.  Well today, I realize that it's another aspect of swimming I really didn't think too much about that's helping my today.

With competitive swimming we don't just swim (ok, some of us distance swimmers do a majority of the time, but still).  We have dry land aspects to our training.  In fact, for some sprinters the dry land (weight lifting and cardio) can actually make up quite a bit of their workout.  Swimmers will come in, get whatever dry land their coaches have planned and then get in the water.  For me, it was running, stretching, or calisthenic circuits.

Well today I working on some calisthenics and weight training when I realized something.  My morning routine of either running or circuits was just like my dry land.  Maybe not the methods or the actual exercises, but I was getting my dryland done to transition into what I see as my second workout of the day... work.  I never really thought about it before, but have multiple aspects to a workout can actually train you for multiple aspects of life.  I'm not going to throw 100% of my energy into my dry land because I know I have a few tours at work today, but I will through 75%-80% in.  '

I doubt I've explained it clearly, but for me I've just seen the connection between my competitive swimming life and my real life.  It's amazing how many life lessons I learned through swimming.  Leadership, work ethic, and now balancing life in more ways than just scheduling out my day...

Fail? Or Just Hit A Limit?

Today was an off run day and so I popped a couple Jillian Michael DVDs into my computer and decided to get a strength workout in.

I started really well.  I jumped back into week 3 of 30 Day Shred and it was pretty intense.  By the 3rd and final circuit my arms and quads were screaming at me. I could barely hold myself up.  I'll admit, there were a few exercises that I did skip.  I figured I was going to do another circuit workout that I could give myself that.

So I decided to move ahead and work on Jillian's Yoga Meltdown DVD.  I figured I would get some good stretches in, loosen up some of the soreness that had set into my legs last night.  But, have I mentioned that pretty much nothing that Jillian Michael's does is easy?  Ya, because it's not.

I barely got through the first part of the Yoga meltdown before collapsing.  My arms were just too tired and my legs were on fire.  There were a lot of static poses added for strength that just made me feel like I was going to collapse into a pile of mush. So yes, I quit.

I still go a pretty decent 30 minute workout in and my arms are still humming from the workout.  These DVDs are meant to be intense and done individually, not together.

I can't decide if I should have kept going and modified my moves or if I really did just hit a limit.  I'm probably going to be sore and my muscles will be singing for a while, but I'll question if I could have gone farther.  Of course, it is probably better that I didn't push myself too far since I have the Princess Half in just a few weeks.  I ran it last year with my ankle injured (or well on the way to recovery) and I don't want to do that again this year.

Here's how I am justifying this... Tomorrow I plan to run 3-5 miles (probably closer to 5) with at least one circuit afterwards.  Now, depending on how board and restless I get since it is my day off I might do an afternoon workout again. Get back into those doubles that I used to do when I was a competitive swimmer and triathlete.