Strength training

Harborside Week 4

September 24, 2017 by Michelle 26 Comments

Week 4 of Harborside Half training is done and what blur of a week it was! It was one of those weeks where you stare at the calendar on Sunday night, take a deep breath, and brace yourself for the scramble to come. J was traveling so I was doing the single-parent thing…throw in the dog returning from board and train and the usual school/sports/homework dash and you start to get the picture.

Source: Tiny Budha

Workouts happened when they happened…there was some running, a little hiking, time on the Arc Trainer, and some yoga…with an assist from the newly-returned pup!

New meaning to downward dog!

I also got some time with my massage therapist who gave me an earful about needing to balance my running with more strength work. She has a point…strength work was noticeably absent from this week’s workouts and has been hit or miss lately. Past experience has taught me that I am not one of those people who can just run…my body holds up much better when supported by strength training.

So this upcoming week I’m re-committing to strength training. My friend E just joined my gym and we’ve made a pact to meet every Wednesday (and most Fridays when kids sports schedules allow). I’ll be incorporating the RunnersConnect Kettlebell for Runners program. I had started to do some kettlebell work with Trainer Stacey before she left and I’m looking forward to getting back at it.

So how was your week? Are you consistent with strength training?

I’m linking up with Holly and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap. If you do a weekly training recap, be sure to join this great link-up for inspiration and motivation!

Filed Under: half marathon training, Harborside Half Marathon, Schedule vs Training, Strength training, Weekly Wrap

RtR Week 5 Wrap-up

April 10, 2016 by Michelle 30 Comments

Another week of Run to Remember training is in the books – boys these weeks are just flying by! I’m joining Holly and Tricia for their #WeeklyWrap – once you finish here, be sure to stop by and check in on how this week has treated everyone.

Monday 4/4: Rest Day.
Tuesday 4/5: Back to work with Trainer Stacy – 1 hour of ~~torture~~…er.. strength work.
Wednesday 4/6: Afternoon run of 3 miles.
Thursday 4/7: A 5K with the sunrise….and then a 90 minute sports massage later in the day – just perfect!

Friday 4/8: T25 Beta – Core Cardio.
Saturday 4/9: Another early morning run for 4.25 miles.
Sunday 4/10: Mostly a rest day with some core work and 4 hrs of standing at both of the boys’ lacrosse games.

My runs this week were ok. The frigid temps returned (again!), but I made the transition back to early morning runs (one of my goals for this month) – a good thing for sure.

I was very excited to get back to work with Trainer Stacey! While I have been fairly diligent over the last couple of months to keep some strength training in the mix, this session was both eye-opening and hard! After talking about my running and goals for this year, she put me through a full assessment. And let’s just say I have some work to do! But, it’s all good and I’m looking forward to our next session this week. I’ll also be looking to bump up my mileage – fingers crossed my legs cooperate 🙂

So now your turn – how was your week?

Filed Under: Strength training, training, Weekly Wrap

Friday Five – What’s in my gym bag

January 16, 2015 by Michelle 12 Comments

Happy Friday!

This has been a loooong week and I’m so happy to see Friday come!

I’m linking up once again with Courtney, Mar and Cynthia for the Friday Five. Today’s topic “What’s in your gym bag?” couldn’t be more appropriate since I’ve been living at the gym lately working on getting stronger – in fact I had a great session with Trainer Stacey this morning that I’m sure I’ll be feeling the rest of the day 😉

Koss FitClips — I’ve made no secret of my love for music when I’m working out and since I’m not always a fan of the music playing in the gym, my Koss FitClip earbuds are a must have. I got to review these a year ago and they’ve been a fave ever since!

Strength training plan – I find I’m doing much better being consistent with my strength work now that I’m gym bag2 following a training plan just as I would do for running. Seems so obvious right?!

Towel — My old gym didn’t offer a towel service, and even though my new gym does I find I never leave home without a towel in my bag.

Water bottle — Gotta stay hydrated right? And yes, there’s usually Nuun Energy in that Nuun water bottle – again it was a another product I got to review and have just kept right on using.

Multiple Shoes — One of the things I love about my gym bag is that it is roomy enough for multiple pairs of shoes. So if I hit the treadmill or elliptical I throw on my Wave Riders, but if I’m doing strength work I’d rather have the extra stability of my Asics Gel Pursue. The Gel Pursue definitely proved to be more shoe than I wanted for running, but I’m finding they offer the great stability I want for strength work – win! I also keep a pair of Nike Studio Wraps in the bag for when I head to my Pilates Barre classes. Yes I know…I have shoe issues 🙂

And speaking of my gym bag…I would be remiss if I did not mention just how much I love my Apera tote (you can check out my review here). It’s got a ton of pockets and holds everything I could possibly need with room to spare!

So what are you hauling around in your gym bag?

Filed Under: #WaveRider18, Apera Yoga Tote, ASICS GEL-Pursue, Friday Five, Koss Fit Series, Nuun, Strength training

December Runfessions

December 19, 2014 by Michelle 16 Comments

Given that the last Friday of the month falls on the day after Christmas, Marcia decided to do her monthly “runfessions” today – and once again, I’m in.

Runfession #1 — I’m very excited that the lottery gods smiled on me and I’m in for the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler! After playing around with lots of race possibilities for 2015, there’s something about having this one firmly on the calendar that makes me finally ready to pull the trigger on some others.

Runfession #2 — I have so been enjoying running without a watch that I’m actually starting to wonder how I’m going to get use to it again once training starts.

Runfession #3 — I really miss my running buddy E, and it looks like her prognosis to return to running is not looking good. While weekend runs with my husband have been fun, there’s nothing like catching up with a girlfriend while logging the miles.

Runfession #4 — Working with the trainer has shown me in no uncertain terms just how little attention I’ve been paying to strengthening my hamstrings and glutes. It was no secret to me that I’m quad dominant, but these workouts have been a ~~leg-shaking~~ eye-opening experience!

Runfession #5 — I’ve been invited to another event at Athleta tonight – oh be still my heart! Is it wrong to offer to my husband to buy my own Christmas presents 😉

There….I feel better now! Do you have any runfessions to share?

Filed Under: Athleta, Cherry Blossom, Friday Five, general musings, Runfessions, Strength training

Small Change Update – Planning for Strength

November 21, 2013 by Michelle 8 Comments

Well it’s week 7 of the #OneSmallChange challenge! I’m happy to say that my week 6 change to regain control of my day and ever-growing to do list went very well. My planner is my new BFF and I’m feeling less stressed.

So what’s the change for this week?

I’m sticking with the theme of planning – planning my strength workouts.

I’ve been reflecting on the good and not so good of my training and racing this year, and one thing that sticks out for me is my inconsistency in strength-training and cross-training. While I had days ear-marked for strength work, I didn’t have a concrete plan for what to do during each specific workout. If I’m being totally honest, in the absence of a workout to follow, my approach was sometimes willy-nilly.

Going forward I’m going to detail my strength workouts, mapping them out each Sunday for the week (and tracking them along with my runs). Hopefully this will help me to build the consistency and strength I want.

Tell me do you follow a strength/cross training plan or do you tend to wing it?

Filed Under: Small changes, Strength training