Workouts the First Half of January

• Fri, Jan 1: Nothing.

• Sat, Jan 2: 5.5 mile tempo run in 37:33 (6:50 pace). I posted a picture from this run 2 weeks ago - it’s the one that left me a little frosty:

• Sun, Jan 3: 2500 yards of swimming with Julia and the gang, then some weights and core. (I posted all the details from this workout before, too.)

• Mon, Jan 4: Nothing. (Flew to AZ to visit my grandparents.)

• Tues, Jan 5: 9.1 mile run (in beautiful 70 degree weather) in 1:01:58 (6:49 pace), and a little upper body workout. Pharmie took off for a run just before I did. She was already on her way back in as I was still running out. Here’s a photo I snapped of her running back:

This was the run that caused all those beautiful blisters that can be seen in yesterday’s post. Sheesh.

• Wed, Jan 6: Hiking, climbing, and/or running for 5 hours in the Lost Dutchman State Park and the Superstition Mountains. If you didn’t see those photos, click here to see about 40 images from a GREAT hike! We hiked and climbed for about 3.5 hours, and then we ran easier trails for over an hour. Here’s 2 photos of Pharmie running near the end of our day:

• Thurs, Jan 7: Nothing. I had to let my blisters heel.

• Fri, Jan 8: Nothing. Same reason as above.

• Sat, Jan 9: Easy 8.25 mile run in 1:04:03 (7:46 pace) in AZ. I wanted to go 10 or so, but I also didn’t want to re-aggravate my beat-up feet. I did a loop that put me back at grandpa and grandma’s at mile 6, and then just ran a bit farther before figuring I should turn around shortly for the sake of my feet. I kept telling myself: “Putting in 10-11 is less important than keeping your feet healthy. If you hurt your feet, you’ll be done running for a week+.”

• Sun, Jan 10: Nothing.

• Mon, Jan 11: 1900 yards in the pool, and them some weights and core. I did the “No Minds” workout seen in the Jan 2010 Triathlete Mag: 1000 warm up, 250 race pace, then 5x100 every 4:00 ALL OUT with slowing times. The workout is an “every 4-6 weeks” off season workout meant to keep up some intensity, gauge swim fitness, and boost your lactate threshold. Here’s what I did:

- 1000 easy warm-up: 18:01 (1:48.1 / 100 pace)
- no break, just go right into:
- 250 "race pace": 1:42, 1:43, 0:51 (1:42.4 / 100)
- 2:00 rest
- 5x100 every 4:00 all out:
         - 1:22 (rest 2:38)
         - 1:20 (rest 2:40)
         - 1:23 (rest 2:37)
         - 1:23 (rest 2:37)
         - 1:25
(1:22.6 / 100 interval average)
- cool down

The first 50 of the first 2 100s felt like FLYING, and those 2 100s were my fastest recorded 100 yard times EVER! Starting 3 and 4, I had heavy, heavy arms. I shared a lane with Steve T (SUPER swimmer) the whole time, and that pushed me (especially during those 100s - I could see it being hard to keep up the intensity on #4 and 5 without motivation).

• Tues, Jan 12: Ladder interval workout at the Metrodome. The dome is about 600 meters around, so I did a ladder of 1 lap, 2 laps, 3 laps, 3 laps, 2 laps, 1 lap, all with 2 minutes rest between. Here are my times (and individual lap splits):

- 600m: 1:59
- 1200m: 2:01, 2:06 = 4:07
- 1800m: 2:06, 2:09, 2:09 = 6:24
- 1800m: 2:06, 2:12, 2:07 = 6:25
- 1200m: 2:08, 2:08 = 4:16
- 600m: 1:56

Huffing for air after my 3rd interval


With running/tri buddy Jen before our last interval (she was doing 3x1500)

The last 1200 and 600 were TOUGH. I was happy I could push through it. I’ve only done ladders once or twice before over the last 2 years, and they suck so much. But it’s because they suck that I know I should be doing them more often!

• Wed, Jan 13: Strength and core only.

• Thurs, Jan 14: Easy 7.4 mile run in 56:46 (7:40 / mile). This was just to flush out the legs a bit and make sure I remember how to run in the cold. I actually (literally) ran to the U of M to take care of some quick pre-semester business, and then I ran home. Two birds with one stone.

• Fri, Jan 15: Good strength and core session, and 30 minutes on the trainer. After interviewing Linsey Corbin and Cathy Yndestad and hearing how they like to hit their trainers this time of year, I was getting the itch. So I hopped on for a bit while Pharmie and I watched... no... say it isn’t so... “Ghost Whisper!” Oh the humanity!! I turned it into an interval workout and spun up for 30 seconds whenever something cheesy happened. Needless to say, I spun HARD for the entire workout. ;)

• Sat, Jan 16: (scheduled) 10-12 mile run. This will be the last long run before NEXT WEEKEND’S HALF MARATHON!! I’m heading out for my run shortly. I have a 12 mile route planned out that will take me close to home at mile 10 should I need to call it quits. I’ll maybe update this post (or leave a comment on this post) letting you know how it went.

Happy Weekend!