Weekly Wrap-Up: Oct 22-28, 2012

I’m bacccckkkk! I had a fantastic mini-vacation to Florida this past week. It was wonderful spending time with my mother and my cat Maci, reuniting with my sorority sisters, and tailgating at the Florida-Georgia football game (even though the Gators lost).

I know that I said that I would have a recap of the trip, but I was having too much fun to even bother with taking pictures. In fact, I think I only took five pictures the entire trip! So in a nutshell: I had a blast, the trip was way too short, and I can’t believe how much I really missed Florida! I should be back in December, but I’m not sure for how long (it depends on if I get another job that I applied for…fingers crossed!) but all the fun I had this weekend will carry me over until I do make it back to the Sunshine State.

Despite the crazy and busy week I had, I still made some time to workout. I am starting to amp up my training again after taking a couple of weeks easy. I am beginning to prepare for Disney in January since it is just around the corner! This week was my last “easy” week for awhile and I took full advantage of it!

October 22-28, 2012:

Monday: Swim 2000 yards

Going into the swim, I had no sense of direction as to what I wanted to do. It was days like this that make me wish that I had a swim coach or a team to train with. While I prefer to work out solo, I know that I would benefit significantly with some guidance in the water. Anyway, my workout consisted of the following: 400 warm-up, 300 drill, 6×25 (1-3 focus on form, 4-6 speed- decreasing every set), 2×150 (descend every 50), 1×400 steady (pick up speed last 50), 3×50 speed (:43), 300 cool down.

Tuesday: Strength Training (AM)+ Core/ Stretching (AM)+ Run 3 miles (PM)

I decided to flip-flop my run and gym time and headed to the gym in the morning before going to work at my uncle’s law firm. I did a full body strength training workout, and went up on all of my weights. I also did core work with stretching at the end.

I’ll admit that I was a little lethargic during this run. I ran around my aunt’s house, which I actually do not like because the neighbor has a very aggressive dog. The dog likes to come extremely close to me (mind you I’m across the street from the house, on the grass near the forest line) and on this particular day, tried to snap at me. Needless to say, I will be searching for new running locations because I don’t want to take any more chances with this dog. Other than the aggressive dog, this run went fairly well and I was pleased with my pace.

Wednesday: Spin Class+ Planks+ Stretching

Since I had my flight to Florida after work, I had to get up super early to squeeze in a workout for the day. I was up and at the gym by 5:10am where I went to a spin class. This was my first time back in the saddle since my metric century a little over a week prior. The class itself was nothing too crazy (lots of climbs) and was a good way to wake up in the morning. I did not have time to do a full core workout, so I did 1:30 sets of a standard plank and side planks (on both sides) before stretching and hitting the shower!

I’ll admit that it felt good to have my workout done by 6:15 in the morning, but I don’t think I will be making it a regular thing. I am becoming more of a morning person, but I like to sleep too much to (voluntarily) get up that early every weekday.

Thursday: Run 3.29 miles

I had a little more energy during this run than Tuesday, even though my pace was exactly the same. I ran around my parent’s neighborhood and had fun passing by all of the childhood homes of my friends. This run was very humid (I was seriously dripping in sweat afterwards) but it was not unbearable.

Friday: Swim 2000 yards+ Core/ Stretching

This was probably the earliest I have ever swam (other than during a triathlon) and I definitely felt it. I felt very lethargic at the beginning and it took me a long time to warm up. Unfortunately I forgot to write down the workout, but I did some kickboard work, sprints, and used a pull buoy for the first time (which was very awkward at first). Before swimming, I did some core work and stretched out a little.

Saturday: Run 4.1 miles

I felt really really good during this run. It was early and dark, but my legs seemed to naturally fall around a 9:00 pace. Before taking time off from running last month, I would often struggle to maintain this pace because I was so burnt out and exhausted all the time. I still have a long ways to go if I want to PR at the half-marathon distance, but for now, I am going to let my legs fall into whatever pace they want.

I honestly could have gone further for this run, but I also know that I need to take it slow in rebuilding mileage. Slowly but surely I will get there!

Sunday: REST (Travel back to Maryland)

Rest and recovery after Florida/ Georgia and a busy week!

• Run Mileage= 10.39 miles
• Spin Classes= 1 class
• Swim Distance= 4000 yards
• Total Distance= 12.66+ Spin Class

A decent week; this was the first week where I ran continuously during all of my runs (no planned walk break intervals). I’m still not posting big numbers, but as stated above, I am starting to get ready to amp up my work outs in preparation for Disney training. Stay tuned. I’ll be working on my training plan this week!

Last Week’s Goals:

• Maintain workout schedule despite traveling later this week (CHECK!)
• Start making training plan for Disney (FAIL!)
• Have fun in Florida!!!!! (CHECK!)

Goals For Next Week:

• Be flexible with workout schedule- Hurricane Sandy is coming!
• Start making training plan for Disney
• Switch up strength training
• Get back on a regular blogging schedule (depending on Hurricane Sandy)

Have a fantastic week! For those of you in the path of Sandy, please stay safe!