Jemez 50K Training, Week 2: A Week of Some
It was a week of some running, some walking, some yoga, and an Insanity workout. Went back to the doctor for the third (and hopefully last) time about the coughing, and still managed to get in a couple of easy runs. Rather than sitting around feeling sorry for myself, I’ve resolved to just be thankful for whatever running I can do. I can freak out about not being ready for Jemez, or about losing all my conditioning, or I can just take things one day at a time and run when I can. For me, the bottom line is just being able to run. I may not be as fast or as strong as I want to be at a particular moment in time, but as long as I can get out and do even a few miles, I’m good with that.
MON: Strength – 20:00, Yoga – 20:00 – It’s getting serious now! Started the morning off with some lower body strength training (squats and lunges, anyone?), followed by twenty minutes of yoga (standing poses). The squats weren’t as bad as I thought they might be — it has been several months since I abandoned strength training — but I’m sure I’ll be singing a different tune tomorrow. I’ve decided to add hills to every single run to get ready for Jemez. I love my easy runs around the lake, but they really won’t help me much come May 25 in the mountains.
TUE: Woke up to sleet when I let the dogs out, then fell back asleep and woke up to a blanket of snow. Decided to abandon the run — which wasn’t a hard decision because I am so sore from yesterday’s squats and lunges. Went to see the doctor (again) in the afternoon for the coughing, and he put me on a daily cortisone inhaler and a nasal spray. I really, really, really hope it helps.
WED: No running, no yoga, nothing. Decided to rest to get rid of the cough.
THU: Strength/Core – Insanity Workout – 1:00:00 – Oh. My. God. Did an Insanity workout with my son’s girlfriend, Nicole, and it nearly killed me. The cardio parts weren’t too bad, but everything else was really, really hard. If I did this everyday I would be a machine. I told Nicole if she could do Insanity every day, she could handle running a few times a week.
FRI: Rest – Still coughing, but it’s getting better. More rest.
Beautiful sunset from my front porch.
SAT: Run/Walk – 3 mi – Slept in and skipped the group run since there’s no way I would be able to keep up for 11 miles. Ran with Michael, Nicole, and the dogs later in the neighborhood. It was fantastic weather, and it was also Nicole’s longest run ever. She did GREAT! We’ll make a runner out of her yet.
SUN: Long Run – 9 mi – I had already decided to run a lake loop all by myself today in the gorgeous spring-like weather, but was so happy when Bill texted and asked if I wanted to run/walk a loop with him. The lake was packed with cyclists, families, runners, roller bladers, and little kids on new Christmas bikes. It was a wonderfully leisurely jaunt around the lake with one of my favorite friends. Since we almost always run at the lake early in the morning, it was so different to see it on a Sunday afternoon. It was the perfect way to end a week. Best of all: my coughing seems to be improving. Keeping my fingers crossed that I’m on the mend.
Stats for WEEK 2: Run – 12 miles, Yoga – 20:00, Insanity – 1:00:00
RUN NATURE 
I hope you are definitely on the mend this time; your long runs are still probably double what I am doing. My Achilles does seem to be getting better though and I’m encouraged.
Funny how you can be in such great shape to do one sport and then when you do a diff kind of workout it’s so exhausting. I guess that’s why sport-specific training is so different for each sport!
Good to hear you are doing “some.”
Glad your Achilles is doing better. It is funny about doing some other type of exercise and being a total wimp! Insanity kicked my butt, literally. Hang in there, Tania. You’ll be ramping it back up before you know it.
Hope you feel great soon! I too abandoned strength work for about four months. Wish I never had! Started back at it along with running and have seen a huge difference. Never quitting that again! I was under the assumption squats and lunges would hinder my running. It was tough to do both at first but works now.
I think the squats and lunges do slow you down when you first add them to your routine, but eventually they make you even stronger and faster. It’s just being patient and getting to that point that’s tough. Plus, they make me really sore!
Good for you for getting some exercise in even though you feel so poorly. That is hard. Hope you feel better soon.
Thanks. Already much better this week.