Legs felt super heavy after yesterday’s speed work and leg workout so took it super chill and easy with 4 strides thrown in at the end. Even a “hard” feeling run is better than no run at all! Glad I was able to get it done!
Yesterday = Speed work x leg day = a solid combo!
Worked on a mix of long and short intervals over the course of a 5 mile run as I inch closer to my goal 5k pace. Also got in a gym sesh later for my 2nd workout of the day to hit legs and core and do some upper body push. If only every day could feel this good!
Leg workout included the seated leg press and weighted leg curl machines, barbell good mornings, weighted lunges and calf raises, and weighted single-leg rear deadlifts.
Recovery tools this weekend will include extra sleep, proper hydration, epsom salt, reading time, and mobility work. Anything else I’m missing?
Headed out early this morning for a local Sunday group long run. Started off a little too fast trying to keep up with some of the guys in the group. The first 2 miles were smooth sailing, but after the guys were warmed up, they took off!
Ended up finishing solo, never quite able to catch them after the turn around. But it was an out and back so, on the bright side, I didn’t get lost. And what a beautiful morning to run!
It’s always seems that group runs end up this way for me. Either the other runners are way faster or they tend to be newer runners with a slower walk/run party pace. I haven’t figured out a solution just yet, other than to just get faster 😂
After finishing a little over 5 miles in 50 minutes I did a little post run cool down and social chat with the group, then headed over to the gym for some back and core work. I really enjoy lifting 3-4 days per week right now, as I’m focused on building my strength prior to entering my summer block of marathon training.
Muscle mass and strength tend to decline as we age. One of the best antidotes for that is lifting, and lifting heavy. Especially for women. I’ve learned a lot about this topic and have increased my confidence in the gym so much. I hope to inspire other women to do the same!
I spent a few days last week up in the mountains of western North Carolina. Ahhh…so peaceful and scenic. It was hard to come home! But, I am extremely grateful for the time I got to spend up there running and hiking the mountains and trails.
Chasing a little vert at Moses Cone Park And a little dirt
Now that I’m back home in flat Florida, my typical training resumes. I have a sprint tri in a couple weeks, and several trail races lined up this fall. My “A” race is a north Georgia mountain 50k in early November. And, today is Track Tuesday!
Our cardiorespiratory system, the heart and lungs, can’t tell the difference between speed work and climbing at slower paces. All the heart and lungs know is effort. Now the legs, they know, but that is a different topic for a different day! I do plan to mix in both speed work and hill repeats into this training block, as well as continue at least twice per week lower body strength and conditioning. I just have to work with the terrain I’ve got here in Florida to properly train for the upcoming events.
The flat and fast local track
Todays workout: 5x 800m repeats with 4 min recovery between each interval. Start with a 10-15 min warm up jog with dynamic drills (skipping, leg swings, high knees, butt kicks, carioca, etc.). Finish with another 8-10 min of easy pace running and a minute or 2 of walking.
Yes, you are allowed to walk!!! It really helps bring the heart rate down and prevent blood pooling in the legs after hard effort sessions. And, hiking workouts on the treadmill set to inclines 5% and higher can supplement trail race training too!
My pace is fast to some, slow to others, but it’s all relative. I controlled my paces today to stay sub-8 on each interval. This was not an uncomfortably hard effort, but rather felt like steady work.
The whole workout, start to finish
I could’ve gone faster, but wanted to finish feeling like I could give one more, as I have a bike sesh on tap this evening. I feel grounded and ready for the work day ahead after a workout like this!
Well I’m still around, just focusing on many different things lately! It’s a case of runner/triathlete ADD. Local triathlon races (3 since my last post!), summer vacation, 3 times a week strength training, still base building the miles, and, once again, trail running.
3rd place AG at the Heartland Olympic Tri 4th place AG at the Sommer Sports sprint in June 4th place AG at the Sommer Sports sprint in July
Speaking of those trails – I had a great trail run this past weekend at a new to me venue, the Orlando Wetlands Park. I met up with a local trail running group and ran the outer 6 mile loop, then one of the inner 3 ish mile loops. Running with these peeps is always such a blast! Good people, good attitudes, with a “no man left behind mentality”!
Heading out to start the outer loop Selfie mode! The whole gang
In order to share all these unique outdoor adventures and spaces, I created a second Instagram page just for my trail runs. Check it out @pigtails_and_trails
Since I’m still Tri training, yesterday was a 1 hour swim and light strength training day using bands for hip and glute work. This morning I got in a solid 5 miles for #tracktuesday with 5x 400m + 2x 200m nailing those goal paces!
My total running miles for July will likely fall a tad short, but I’ve also been spending my Friday mornings stand up paddling instead of running which is a nice summer time treat! And then there was a vacation in the Florida Keys and new flooring in the house … July has been very productive and a whole lot of fun! Sadly, 3 weeks and counting until we’re back to the school year routine, so I’m trying to make the most of the summer days while I can! Still a couple more adventures to go!
Does anyone actually pay attention to warning signs? 🚧
I’m definitely trying! Tonight I had 4 easy zone 2 miles on tap. It was truly hard to get out the door! Motivation was lacking and fatigue from the long week was starting to set in. But I told myself just do 10 minutes, that’s all. After that if you want to call it, then go ahead. If you’re feeling good, then finish the run!
The first half of the run I was taking it nice and easy on stiff joints & sore glute muscles. Yesterday was a short, but intense, leg day followed by a tough interval spin on the bike trainer. In spite of all my recovery methods (foam rolling, stretching, protein, fluids, turmeric, tart cherry), I’m feeling ALL the feels today! Hoping for better sleep tonight so I can really hone in on better recovery.
Moral of the story: Easy runs on paper are not always easy in real life. Don’t compare yourself to others. Give yourself some grace in times like these and listen to your body! It will thank you!
How original, right? But also, nothing more true. We’ve all been through something that has either challenged us, changed us, or made us grow into who we are today.
I grew up an only child, which was always a very lonely existence once I was old enough to realize it. I guess when you are a baby you don’t know any better. When you get older you start to feel it – the summers that were oh so long. I spent them with my grandma during the day, and usually at her house. She always had toys and games for me there, and LOTS of snacks, as grandparents do. But it was never like home, never quite the same.
Each day I would settle in for breakfast, cartoons (cue the classics like the Flintstones and Jetsons), card games or puzzles, lunch, and then the hours of afternoon TV. The line up started with soap operas and ended with the 5 o’clock news. The ever popular 80’s and 90’s talk shows were sprinkled in, too, with 3pm ice cream and cookies.
At some point I got bored. Really, really bored. Grandma tried to entertain me, sure, but she was older and didn’t have the energy to keep up and could no longer drive. She did take me for bike rides and played a backyard version of 2-square with me. We gardened and cooked together, and I spent a lot of hours jumping rope and dancing to my Debbie Gibson boombox out in her carport. But I needed more.
It’s funny, I can remember it like yesterday, her backyard. The perfectly square shape with a thick viburnum hedge for a fence bordering the back. It is there that I found my ‘more’, there that I discovered running. I couldn’t have been more than 4, or 5 at the oldest, and I would run and run and run laps around the yard. And it felt so good, both the freedom it gave me and the release of what I realize now was the stress of those long days away from home.
When school finally started in the fall, I was so excited to go back! One of my favorite parts of the day, in those early years, was PE. Our oval shaped dirt track looped around the grassy back corner of the campus. Back then, PE was true physical activity and occurred every single day. We would warm up with jumping jacks and other calisthenics like toe touches, arm circles, windmills, etc. and then it was time to run our laps!
I always wanted to be the first girl to come in. And I did, lots of times. But there were other times I came in 2nd to a girl named Deana, and this used to drive me crazy! I would chase her around that track once or twice depending on what coach assigned us that day. We would laugh about it and were always friends, but I remember that feeling of wanting to win.
As I grew older and my body and interests changed, running faded away for a while. But when I was 13, something relit that spark. I cannot recall what it was, but I remember that first run around my neighborhood. The navy blue spandex shorts I wore and the midday sun shining on my skin. I did not know pace, time, or distance, all I knew was the love of the run and how it made me feel.
Over the next few years I began running more and eventually joined my high school track team for one season, but once again, running had to take a backseat. I had to choose either competitive dance or track. But those 5 mile runs with the other girls on the track team – out on the country roads by ourselves chasing endorphins – those made a lasting impression on my soul!
I stuck with dance all 4 years of high school, but I did not stop running. Instead, I managed to fit in 3-4 mile runs around the school track between dismissal and 4 pm dance practices. Or around my neighborhood after school before evening events. I would run on the days I didn’t have dance. Eventually I started running before school and later before college classes, as early as 5 AM which made my mom, and most everyone else, think I was nuts!
My first road race circa 2000
On September 4, 2000 I ran my very first race. It was the Miracle Miles 5k benefitting Arnold Palmer Hospital where I worked at the time, and coincidentally, also part of the same work family I belong to 22 years later. Reflecting on this, it seems very ironic how life can come full circle, just like the laps around that dirt track.
Running has always been a constant in my adolescent and adult life, even when everything around me shifted. I plan to run for many more years to come, God willing, and want to share my love of running with others. I’ve learned a lot along the way. I’ve made mistakes like we all do in this journey of life, yet I’ve come out stronger on the other side each time. Running has brought me peace in times of sorrow, joy on the best days, and confidence to handle everything in between. I can truly say I have found my ‘strength in running’.
Ok…maybe some healthy eating and triathlon tidbits too!
I’ve been a recreational runner since I was 13 years old, completing distances from the popular 5k to the entry-level ultra 50k and everything in between. In 2015 I entered the world of triathlon, competing first in sprint races and eventually working my way up to the 70.3 distance (x2!) in 2021. Along this journey, I’ve had many successes, but I’ve also hit a few bumps in the road related to injuries.
In the early days, I kept a running scrapbook with all my race bibs, course maps, and finish times to document my progress. Eventually that method transitioned over to the Garmin connect app plus Instagram, as life seems to have gone paperless these days. But I sure do miss the good ‘ol days! Now doesn’t that make me sound ancient???
My old school running scrapbook
Since I am “well seasoned”, I would like to share what I have learned along the way, as well as where I plan to go from here. In doing so I hope to inspire and help others in their journey to happy, healthy, strong running and every day life!
Determined to Tri AND Run 