Pages

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Marathonfest & Muscles

Last week I decided to shake things up and add an extra training day with Bruce. We scheduled a noon appointment on Saturday. He said we would be in the weight room with no running, so I was excited and nervous!

And then my friend Barbara called and said she was running with her Marathonfest group on Saturday morning, and that I should really try it out because I would love it. (Everyone knows that I run happier when I'm with a friend. I love the distraction. And I love to talk.) :D

Bruce gave the green light, and so I made plans to meet Barbara at her house at 5:15 on Saturday morning. I got up at 4:30, got dressed and grabbed coffee, breakfast, and water, and was out the door at 5:00. We met the group on Park Avenue in Winter Park at 5:45 for a 6:00 run. We were there in time for me to do my warmups, which I was very happy about! Everyone in the group was super nice, especially the group leaders. 

We ran 5/1, which means we ran for 5 minutes and then walked for 1. I've learned over the last few weeks that I run faster overall when I take walk breaks. Also, the course we ran on was supported, which means there were water stops! I thought that was awesome - I didn't have to carry my water bottle with me! It was great to run and chat and listen. We did just under 6 miles, and our pace was much quicker than my usual pace. I kept up with no problem!

Afterward, we had breakfast together at Panera. Then I had to get home and shower because I had a class to teach before my weight training. When I stepped into the shower, I immediately discovered that I had some chafing in a few unmentionable areas! I didn't even feel it until the water hit it! Some of it was pretty red and angry looking. I put my glide stick on it and headed out the door.

When I got to the gym, I did my warmups and then we went to the weight room. I'd never been in there before. Bruce had a nice little circuit set up for me and it was HARD. We did lots of work on my arms, shoulders, and back. Some things incorporated the legs and waist. I had to do pushups with rotations on a bar and they almost killed me! But when I was finished, I felt such a sense of accomplishment! Bruce said I got the best of both worlds with the long run AND the weight training. 

I had lunch with Brian (he was at work) and then I came home and got in a nice, hot bath. Then I took an amazing nap! I don't normally nap, but after getting up at 4:30 and doing all that work, I couldn't really help it! :) The evening was spent resting, relaxing, and icing my shins and calves. It was a great day! I'm still amazed that I can even work out that hard at all!

Tuesday's workout was a little different than normal. I did my warmups, some core exercises, and then we headed to the weight room. Bruce handed me two 10-pound barbels and I had to hold them while I stepped up on this stool that seemed super high! It was one of the hardest things I've ever done! The first 10 weren't bad, but by the time we got to the third set, I could hardly heave myself up there! In between we did some shoulder and arm exercises. 

And then we headed to the treadmill. I was supposed to run as fast as I could for 30 seconds, then run at 5.2 (a little lower than my normal pace) for 2 minutes.  The first sprint was at 7.0. It actually felt really great to open up my stride and run fast. The second sprint I did at 7.5. That's pretty fast for me. :) I'm not really sure how many times I did the circuit...I was really focused on my breathing. But at one point I said, "I don't think I can do 7.5 again." And Bruce said, "Yes, you can. This is your last one." 

I'm so glad he pushes me instead of giving in to my weaknesses. When I finished that, he set the timer for 10 minutes at my new "regular" pace - 5.8 - and as usual, it was the hardest 10 minutes of the whole hour. But I did it and I didn't stop to walk. I did 2 miles in about 22 minutes, including my 2 minute warmup walk. In Bruce's words...I kicked butt!

And that was it! My knees have been bothering me a little bit. I hope it's just from lots of use. :) Bruce said it's normal for them to feel achy after a long run. He said I'll get more used to it. 

I'm definitely noticing some muscle definition in my arms, and my shoulder muscles are starting to feel really solid! My thighs are solid too, but not the inner part - I need to work on that! It's really fun to see my body change. I wish my giant belly would decrease some, though!! I know I need to be patient, but now my belly doesn't fit with my more muscular arms and legs! Ha! I just want to keep building muscle and then maybe when I get rid of all this fat, there will be some ab muscles under there!

I read an article that said when you're building muscle, you need to eat lots of protein so your body won't lose muscle mass. So that's my eating goal now: ~30 grams of protein at each meal. 

No comments:

Post a Comment