Monday, January 26, 2015

Plugging along

Last week was good, but I may have to rethink my schedule.  Right now I have a plan of running plus kettlebell on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, then yoga on Tuesday (plus kettlebell swings) Thursday (no swings), and a long run on Saturday.  Sunday, which is a rest day, I do Yin or Restorative yoga.

On paper this works nicely, but in practice by Friday I'm shot.  My Thursday's are spent out, the entire day, and on Friday I'm wiped out.  Last Friday I ran but I had trouble doing kettlebell.  I want to keep up my strength work, so I'll have to see how this all works out.

My "long run" on Saturday was just 5 miles, but that's the longest I've ran in months.  I didn't hurt at all, and it felt so good to run more than 3 miles.  I ran a total of 15miles last week, which is back to the minimum that I want.  I'm making sure I get my push-ups and pull-ups done, which I think is the key for my strength work.

On a more fun note, I spent last Thursday at REI shopping. I went in there for SOL emergency blankets, for when my husband and I hike.  I end up spending $100.  Included in that was a map and a trail guide for The Big South Fork area.  I think it would be fun to explore that area this year.  It's a bit of a drive, but no more (and usually less) than the Smokey's.  I'm excited to do more hiking.  I love hiking and would prefer that over more races, which just seem to make me push myself and get injured.  I love being outdoors and on the trail, and I have a goal of at least 5 long day hikes with my husband this year, and at least 6 shorter hikes with the kids.  If it goes well, maybe my husband and I could do an overnighter.  We don't have the gear, so we'll have to see.

Monday, January 19, 2015

Hike to Dogslaughter Falls

Last week was busy, but I managed to get my training all in.

M - 3 m run plus 30 mins kettlebell strength work

T - yoga in the AM, then a 1 mile run in PM

W - 3 mile run plus 30 mins kettlebell strength work

Th- yoga

F- 3 mile run (outside!!) And kettlebell.  I had to cut the kettlebell short. I felt wiped out.

Sat- 3 mile run, then 7 mile hike to the falls.  It was a beautiful day to be outside.  There was still some ice on the trails, which made it hard (we don't have traction devices) but it was fun. Came home and did some resrestorative yoga by the fire.

Sun was a rest day.

It was a good week and I've been able to be consistent,  which is good. I would like to work more on some strength goals, but right now I just want to work on being consistent and continue to run.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Getting back to blogging and back to running

The holidays were as busy as they always are, and again, I was sick.  I seem to get sick every Christmas.  This year I had 2 different stomach bugs and a nasty cold.  No flu, not yet at least.  My beautiful workout schedule fell apart, but Christmas came together.  We had a great Christmas, with our Polish Christmas Eve supper and our Christmas day breakfast feast and then turkey dinner.  The kids loved all of their presents, and then we left for vacation.  The kids went skiing/snowboarding while I stayed at my folks and read books. :)  I also started running again.  I got 3 runs in while at my folks, including one that was so cold that my feet hurt the entire 3 miles.  I also have been getting back at kettlebells and of course, yoga.

And that brings me to my normal crossroads. I want to get my running back up, I want to increase my overall strength, but more then anything I want more yoga in my life.  I'm trying to find ways to sneak it into my day.  I've always done some yoga stretching after running or kettlebell, it's been my cooldown, but I'm wanting more then that.

Today I did a 90 minute Ashtanga practice and I loved it.  I know I really want to work on that, but I also still want to improve my strength and increase my running.  I want to be running between 15-20 miles a week.  All of this takes time, which is not something I have a ton of.  I don't work full time, but I have 4 kids at home who I am homeschooling, plus driving them to all of their stuff.  Still, I want to work on my goals too, and I plan to find ways to make it happen.  Yoga can be yin before bed. It doesn't have to be a 90 minute fast moving practice.

I'll see where this all goes in the next few weeks. I'm still trying to increase how much I run, and I want to do that carefully so I don't re injure my hamstring.

And blogging.  Writing stuff down helps. It helps me think through it all and helps me see what I'm actually doing.  I plan to try and keep it up.   We shall see.