Thursday, June 25, 2009

Build up those muscles, runners

The sun has finally here...and while I'm resigned to the fact that dark clouds will soon gobble it up again, I am just happy to see it up and about. I need to air out my running shoes....inspite of washing them, they smell like wet, dirty dog.

The "Super G" wiped me out on Sunday, so I modified my workout week a little...I swept Monday off my running calendar, substituting my run with spinning class and a 600 yard swim. Swimming worked wonders for my tired muscles and I felt restored.

Next week is going to be a short week (forget running 5 days in the week), because we will be away, camping at Shenandoah National Park during the long weekend.

Due to weekend activities the next couple of weeks, I've altered my workout weeks, so provided my legs cooperate, I can get at least two 5-day work weeks in the next 3 weeks:

Week of June 22: Tuesday - Monday
Week of June 29: Tuesday - Thursday (condensed week)
Week of July 6: Monday - Sunday (back to the routine)

I'm probably not making any sense at all, but do you fellow neurotic runners see why I am doing this? You see, I've become obsessed about getting in 5 days a week of running and increasing mileage at the same time, hence the elaborate calendar manipulation. You know you're a running addict when your calendar revolves around your runs!

I started my week with a dreadfully slow 6-mile run on Tuesday. This morning's 16 miler was painful and slow, due to the unusual amount of junk consumed yesterday. I was not really checking my watch, but I averaged about 9:45 minutes per mile.

Some of you asked about the strength training portion of the "Super G" workout. Here are the exercises we did. I forget the exact order in which we did them and which ones we repeated...but most of the major muscle groups were exercised. I went a little crazy with the pics.

1. Gate swings (hop)
2. Pushups
3. Shoulder press 4. Ball swing
5. Dips 6. Arnold Press
7. Rows 8. Kickbacks


9. Wide Clap/ Short Clap (under legs)

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22 comments:

Lindsay said...

hey you know, whatever it takes to get your miles "in" each "week" :)

the strength exercises look good! i'll have to try them out.

Aileen said...

I know how that is with the mileage and whatnot per week...once you're on a roll you just can't stop!

The strength training looks cool, actually...thanks for the pictures :)

J said...

I think i sorta follow your plan for running! I have been running 4 days in a row and then taking a day off. It definitely gets tricky!

Anonymous said...

You are definitely not alone in obsessing about fitting your runs into the week and increasing mileage.

I just wonder about the 5 days a week. Is it not too heavy not to have a day off between every run? I am still very uncertain about running 2 days in a row.

I Run for Fun said...

COMC - I know what you mean...I obsessed about running 5 days a week for the longest time. But I think if combined with proper stretching, strength and cross training, 5 days of running should be fine. I've been running 5 days a week for the past few months.

Marlene said...

I had to play around with my miles this week to make it work, too. Gotta do what we gotta do.

Hope you have a great time camping!

Tammy said...

I used to run 5 days a week, but I found myself running a lot of "junk" miles. I shoot for 4 days a week and 2-3 days of ST.

Have fun camping!

Emily said...

Super G would wipe me out for a lot longer! It sounds like a great workout, though.

Sounds like you have a good plan in place for your running!

Aron said...

haha you are def not alone with the obsessing over fitting runs in, etc :)

Abby said...

Awesome, thanks for the details on the strength training. Have a great time camping!

Anonymous said...

Trying to fit runs in can be crazy! Sometimes you just have roll with things. Nice strength exercises, they will help keep the body fit and ready to run.

Anonymous said...

Oh...lucky you and your vacation! I hate to admit to being a neurotic runner, but yeah, I understand why you rearrange your sked to get enough days in. I've done so when I go away, when I have crazy work, etc. etc.

Erica said...

I'm the SAME way - a crazy planner! In the end it makes me more sane though because I feel like I keep a good workout schedule. YES! Weight training is important. I try to fit in 1-2 weights workouts a week

Felice Devine said...

Ha ha ha, yeah. Totally not alone. I am ridiculous when it comes to fitting in the runs. I often find little scraps of paper around the house that have alternate and sub-alternate running schedules on them. So weird.

Scheri said...

It is a pain to fit in those rest days ;-) You are doing great! Thanks for posting the strength exercises.

Mel-2nd Chances said...

it's fun that our calendars involve something we enjoy though! Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

Mel-2nd Chances said...

it's fun that our calendars involve something we enjoy though! Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

X-Country2 said...

I like the strength with all teh helpful visual aids. I always forget at least one of those when I try to lift.

Beth said...

I notice the same thing when I count up the number of runs in a week. What constitutes the week always seems to change. Hey, at least your getting the workouts in.

Amy said...

I'm actually glad you posted the pics because I always forget about kickbacks. I think I'll do those today during my lifting! Thnx!

Vickie said...

Definitely if you stick with this strentgh routine, you will find yourself stronger and running will become easier. You know you are a runner/triathlete at heart when your LIFE revolves around your races.

Steve Stenzel said...

Good luck with the mileage. And nice strength routine!!