Tag Archives: elliptical

Footprints: Weekly Recap

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OK, so I’m very late with my usual Monday morning recap again thanks to a busy, fun-filled weekend that I’ll fill you in on more in a later post. Getting right to it though, last week was mostly filled with PT appointments and non-impact training so I’ll be good to go Sunday for the Marine Corps Marathon. You can read more about my proactive PT plan here if you missed it.

Here’s the day-by-day breakdown…

Monday: Physical therapy session which included some treadmill running, dynamic stretches and soft-tissue work.

Tuesday: 6-mile easy run along the Custis and W&OD Trails to my PT appointment so they could get a look when my calves were more flared up, which usually starts right around mile 5 or so. PT included a run analysis, drills, stretching and soft-tissue work.

Wednesday: Today was a rest day, but included lots of stretches and exercises I got at PT.

Thursday: I was back up to PT after work Thursday night for some more run drills, dynamic stretches and even more soft-tissue work. I WILL get those knots out before MCM!

Friday: I spent 35 minutes on the elliptical at the same intensity I would have done my run today so I can try to keep the same level of fitness without the impact. This way I won’t undo all the soft-tissue work I’m getting done at PT. I finished up with core work, PT exercises and stretching.

Saturday: Today was a repeat of Friday except with 45 minutes on the elliptical before getting into core, PT exercises and stretching.

Sunday: In a reversal of my usual role, I spent this morning biking and walking all over town to cheer on friends in the Army 10 Miler. I started in-between the 1 and 2 mile markers near Arlington Cemetery and could not get over how many people run this race!

Army 10 Miler

            Army 10 Miler

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

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Last week started off pretty rough as I was fighting a cold and despite sleeping 10 hours a night still felt exhausted and missed a few workouts as a result. I came back strong over the weekend though to get myself back on track. I’m hurting pretty good today from all the weekend miles, but here’s hoping lots of stretching, rolling and some cross training today will help take care of that.

Here’s the day by day breakdown…

Monday: Spin on my own – 25 minutes, Elliptical – 35 minutes, Full-body strength workout

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: Rest

Friday: I hoped to get my track workout in today, but ran over to the W&L track to find an event going on, so I just kept going and got about 45 minutes in. I felt great on this run, but was just wearing a regular stopwatch so I have no idea how far I went.

Saturday: I put off my run for most of the day wasting a really beautiful August day in D.C. and landing in the gym that night for 12.3 treadmill miles.

Sunday: Not my smartest move… after the 12 treadmill miles the night before I got up early to get most of my long run in before meeting up with a few of my new Oiselle teammates for a few miles along the Mall. It was a bit of a rainy morning, but still warm enough out that it felt good. I got 12 in on my own running through Arlington, Georgetown and Hains Point and was so relieved to have some running buddies for the last 5 miles along the Mall. I’m not sure I could have kept going on my own!

Rainy Run with some members of the Oiselle flock!

Rainy Run with some members of the Oiselle flock!

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

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I started off this week in a total funk and my one-week recovery after the half marathon turned into more like 2 weeks. A busy week at work and coming down with a cold midweek didn’t help my motivation any, but I finally broke out of things with a good Friday evening workout, a better than expected 5k after 2 weeks off of running and a good Sunday run.

Here’s the day by day breakdown…

Monday: Spin Class

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: Track workout with my  new running coach. I did a 2-lap warm-up and dynamic warm-up drills with the group and then worked on my form while others did their workouts for the week. More to come on this later.

Thursday: Unplanned rest day. Today was a great example of why I shouldn’t put workouts off. I had to go into work early and was sure I could get in a lunch run, but ended up working through lunch.

Friday: Elliptical for an hour followed by a strength workout

Saturday: I ran the National Police Week 5k, and while it was a bit off my best performance, it was much better than I expected after a nearly 2-week layover from running. Recap coming tomorrow.

National Police Week 5k

National Police Week 5k

Sunday: I put in a strong 5.03 mile run averaging sub 8-minute miles on a beautiful afternoon through Arlington and D.C.

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

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Week three on my training schedule for the Nike Women’s D.C. Half was a fall back week so it was a bit easier than normal weeks and it came at a good time. I came down with a little bit of a cold so I wasn’t feeling great and I also had travel plans over the weekend, so it was nice not to have to worry about a couple tough runs over the weekend. I ran 12.43 miles last week. Here’s the day by day training breakdown…

Monday: Spin Class in the morning followed by a strength workout. Those early morning classes sure are a lot easier when you have the day off and can come home and go back to bed afterwards!

Tuesday: I was up early to get in a speed session running hill repeats before an early morning personal training session with a client. Fortunately it wasn’t too cold out as I charged up the Wilson Boulevard Hill from Rhodeside to Four Courts seven times in the middle of my 5.25 mile run.

Wednesday: Today was supposed to be a cross training day, but I had another personal training session planned for Thursday morning that was going to get in the way of my tempo run so I gave back-to-back speed days a shot. This was tougher than I expected and I struggled through just a 30-minute tempo run mid-afternoon at the office gym. I got in 4.08 miles starting at an 8-minute pace and reaching a 6:58 pace by the end. I usually don’t count my first 8 minutes at an 8-minute pace as part of my tempo pace, but just wasn’t feeling it today and let it count as part of the 30 minutes. I followed the run up with a strength workout.

Thursday: My PT session ended up getting cancelled, so instead of biking there and from there to work as the day’s cross training, I decided to hit my apartment gym early and put in 30 minutes on the stepper.

Friday: Rest Day.

Saturday: 30 minutes on the elliptical in my parent’s basement. This made me crave a treadmill in my own apartment even more – so nice to not have to go elsewhere to workout especially when you’re not feeling great.

Sunday: My Mom got me a guest pass to the Y she belongs to. It’s an awesome gym just down the road from their house and I’m always bummed that it wasn’t there until after I left for college. I was planning on 3.1 today and knew I couldn’t go as fast as usual since I was still a tad congested, but got a pretty good run in starting at an 8-minute pace and working my way down to 7:19  by the end. I’m ready to get back into the full swing of things next week after a good recharge week.

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

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Well, I’m back running and it feels great! I’m still working on my strength and flexibility so I can get to 100 percent, but I’m doing so much better and am almost finished with my physical therapy as well. Now that I’m back training, I’m going to make “Footprints” a regular Monday feature on the blog recapping my training week, and letting you know what I’ve been up to and what roads (or treadmills) I’ve left my footprints on each week. For the next month I’ll be in a base phase building my fitness level before I start an official training plan in February to prep for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon.

Last week I tallied 17 miles and mixed in some cross training as well. Here’s the breakdown:

Monday: 4 miles at the Fairfax Four Miler. This was such a great New Year’s Eve race and a fun way to start off the night’s festivities.

Tuesday: 3 miles easy through Arlington with a finish near the Iwo Jima Memorial – I love this city!

Wednesday: I hit the gym for 45 minutes on the elliptical.

Thursday: 4 miles easy – Today’s run took me from D.C. to Arlington with a run home from work.

Friday: Today was a bit scattered. I got about a mile in on the treadmill at physical therapy, followed by 2 easy miles on the treadmill at my office gym later that afternoon and 35 minutes on the elliptical.

Saturday: 3 miles easy through Arlington

Sunday: I hit the gym again for an hour on the elliptical. Luckily I had NFL playoffs on the TVs to keep me entertained.

Feels good to be back! Credit for naming the Footprints feature goes to my creative director Ian Gallagher.