Tag Archive | cross-training

You Have to Start Somewhere

May11

Many people want to head straight for the finish line before they have even gotten to the start line or even started training.   I, myself, am no exception.   Patience isn’t always my specialty or a virtue that I posses.   To be honest, I’m not sure that I have any specialty but live by the expression Jack of all trades. Master of none.   That’s me.   I’m cool with that.    A little of this.   A little of that.

Right now like so many people staying at home, I’ve got a lot of time on my hand.   I’ve filled a lot of it with baking.   This week alone I have made Mocha cupcakes with espresso buttercream, Rose Water Cupcakes with Rose Water buttercream, and today I’ve made bagels for the first time.   That is a lot of goodies.     I need to balance out these extra calories with a more sedentary lifestyle by adding more exercise.

I’m not sure if I mentioned that we semi converted our garage into a home gym.   We don’t have a lot but we’ve got more than others and enough to get the job done.   I’ve also been dabbling with the Nike Training App which currently has free upgraded access to the premium workouts.    I’ve really been enjoying the workouts.   They have all different types of workouts.   I’ve done tried all the different types (endurance, mobility, strength and yoga).

I will further say that I enjoy the endurance workouts on days that I am not running which due to the weather has been a decent amount.  I feel that these will help me push myself while running.   The Mobility has been great for cool downs, hip opening, and general flexibility.    What I’ve really been spending some time on is the different yoga routines.  Several years ago, I regularly practiced at a Hot Yoga studio.   It was intense.   It was a workout.   It helped with flexibility and balance which I could desperately need.   I loved it and I really don’t know why I stopped.  As I said before, I let other workouts fall to the wayside as I focused more on my running.   I’m reminded recently how these all go hand in hand and can be beneficial.

What I also noticed besides how tight my legs are is that I forgot how strong you must be to do yoga.   I remind myself that when I am holding my body with up that is a pretty decent amount.    I also thought that in order to improve, I will need to continue to practice because as the saying goes practice makes perfect.   Although is their perfect in yoga?   Just good form which I don’t have either.  A work in progress.

So I will practice.   I will remind myself that as cool as it would be to be able to a handstand or any of the inversion movements that I must start at the beginning.   Like a marathon, you can’t just show up and expect to get to the finish line.   So I begin at the beginning with the basics.    The basics for me are not so basic anyway.   I need to find muscles that I forgot to use.   I need a core which has gone MIA.   I need to start at the beginning.

It is these beginning steps which make crossing even the smallest finish lines worthwhile.   If everything came easy, they would be no sense of accomplishments.   And while I have a long ways to go, I am still proud of how far I’ve come even if that just means entering my garage to practice yoga or any workout.

I further admit that I needed to remind myself of all of this because it is easy to throw in the towel and say, “Well I can’t do it.”    Really what we need to say is “I can’t do it today but I will eventually be able to do it and if I can’t I enjoyed the process.”

So here I am enjoying the process.

Out of Balance

Apr17
amazing balance blur boulder

Photo by Nandhu Kumar on Pexels.com

I’ve been in better shape.

I’ve been in worse shape.

I’ve been stronger.

I’ve been weaker.

I’ve been in better shape.

I’ve been in worse shape (really).

I’ve been so many things and I will end up being so many more.  Things ebb and flow.   Up until a month ago, I seemed to be right on target for my Birthday Half Marathon right up until the world stopped.   Since then, training has not been training but getting a run in here and there as allowed.   Races right now are non existent.  Although, I think I might still try to do the  virtual run, but I don’t think I will run the full half.   Probably just the 8K.

Since formal training has come off the table and I have been trying to not loose my mojo.    Not just me but my whole household.   You know when you have nowhere to go and nothing to do, you really have time to squeeze in a workout.    We even cleaned out the garage.   Bought some equipment, mats for the floor and are in process of turning our garage into a home workout space.   It helps that many are sharing workouts online.   One that I have found that I like is the Nike Training App.   During the Stay at Home orders they are even allowing you to view workouts for free.   Yeah.

I even went so far as to dust off a no equipment workout from my CrossFit days.   Let me just say that while I did the workout, it was not pretty and it made me think.   I realized that while I’m not sure that I would want to be doing CrossFit now that I was in the best shape of my life when I was doing it.   The cross training was key.   I further realized that I gave my all to running and allowed everything else fall to the wayside.   Time was limited and I chose running over yoga, CrossFit, cross training, and everything else.  It seemed like a necessary tradeoff but it wasn’t a smart one.

On top of that I realized that by letting everything else go, I was missing out.   Now I realize that I am now in my early 50’s, but I have lost a lot of upper body strength.   A lot.  Yes, I can run marathons.   Yes, I have endurance.    Yes, I can get to the finish line.   All those things are true, but I lost balance.   Balance in life is good.   Balance in life brings harmony.   Balance is easy to loose.   I could still run a marathon but I had to push harder than I should because of all that I stopped doing.

When I had balance with running, biking, HIT workouts, weight lifting not only was I in great shape physically but I was also able to run faster and further without injury.   Now I realize that I am getting older by the day, so I may not get faster but I can certainly get stronger and find the balance that I lost.   And since I am getting “older,”  my body needs balance more than ever.  I also realized I missed it.   Yes, I’m a runner but I’m am more than legs especially at 5 foot 2.   In thinking about it to, saying I am a runner made it ok not to be anything else.    I used it as an excuse not to do other things even things that I enjoyed doing.

Often our lives become out of balance with out us even realizing it.   We take more responsibility at work, our families require more of our energy, volunteering for important causes takes time, pets, responsibilities and one and on it goes until we realize we don’t have time for “self care.”   We become out of balance without even paying attention or noticing.

Now some people hate the phrase “self care” or view it as hokey.   Some think it’s selfish. Some think that there is no time.   Some don’t understand that it doesn’t necessarily mean bubble baths, salon visits, or even running.   Self care is what is necessary in order to recharge your batteries what ever that may be for you.

Right now most of us have a lot of extra time.    There is no where to go.    There is no better time to give yourself some TLC because you deserve it.   Right now the world is raw, emotional, and tender.   Everyone is worried.   Everyone is stressed.   Everyone has their own baggage that most people have no clue about.    There is no better time to add balance and self care to your life because you can’t care for others if you don’t care for yourself.

So with that said,  I’m looking to control what I can in my life and bring balance to it where I can.    For now that means adding full body workouts.   Taking time to do more than just lace up my shoes.    And the good thing is that right now I have to the time to see where this will take me.   Hopefully it will take me to a more balanced approach to my running.

Do you have balance?

 

 

I Didn’t Ask for any Lemons!

Apr2

when-life-gives-you-lemons-grab-tequila-salt-6

Yeah, we have all heard the “If Life Gives You Lemons” analogy.   You know what?   I find that a pretty sucky analogy because sometimes you don’t want lemonade.   Sometimes you want a Margarita!    That being said though I tend to be a pretty positive person because I learned early on you’ve just got to suck it up no matter what.   So if you’ve got to suck on a lemon because that is all you got, you better learn to like lemons.

Now just because I tend to be a positive person does not mean that things don’t get to me.   I am not a cartoon character after all.   So 7 days ago when i rolled my ankle, I was mad at myself.    Then when I realized that this was more than just a give it a few days rest kind of roll, I had a what the Hell moment.   I went through the stages (quickly) because as I’ve said I’ve learned long ago that you just have to roll with it.

Denial

Maybe it’s not that bad

Anger

Why did I go out for a run at night?   Idiot.

Bargaining

I’ll rest it a couple more days and I’ll be good as new

Depression

I’m loosing everything I’ve worked so hard to build up.   Why bother?

Acceptance

Well I better do something to give my ankle/foot time to be 100%

foot2

Still not 100%.   Bruising is getting better.  No pain to walk, but do feel it at the end of the day.   Also not good to run as when I stretch it to mimic a run it hurts.  Boo Hoo.

I know that I rolled my ankle pretty bad.   I know I totally jacked up my foot.   Not enough to go to the doctors because he is just going to tell me what I already know.   I need to rest it.   I need to give it time.   I need to do this now, so that I can go about my life.

I will say that nothing compares to running, but I am going to embrace this SHORT recovery time while not letting my endurance slip.    It won’t be the same.   It won’t be as good, but maybe just maybe when I do start running again I will find that what I’m doing will benefit my running.

Sounds like good enough BS that I can buy it.   Although there is some truth to it and cross training really is good for runners.

So today I went to my local gym.    I rode the stationary bike for 15 minutes for a total of 3. 37 miles burning a whole 120 calories.   Whoop.  Whoop.  (inserting sarcasm here).  Then I did some strength training for my abs, back, and arms.   I do need to do this as they say “a woman my age” should be strength training.   I’m sure I will feel it tomorrow which will make me not so secretly happy.

I’m going to plan some things out this week.   Swimming, more strength training, longer stationary bike rides and a combo of all of them.

I may not get any lemonade or Margarita’s but maybe I can learn to like the lemons on their own.

PS   – I miss running

 

A Necessary Evil

Jan27

I’ve been good in listening to my coach.   I’ve done the required runs with the required paces.   I listen to the things that she asks me to do because I know that she knows what she’s talking about.   That being said, I may have slacked off a bit on the cross training.   Not until recently did she really give details on cross-training.   It had been more of telling you to cross-train.   So I will say that my cross-training may not have been what was expected, but I was doing my runs.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

I know that’s not really the way it works.   There is more to running than the actual running.   I know.   When I first started running, I was doing Crossfit which I loved.   Loved.   Loved.   Loved.    At the time though, I really couldn’t justify paying for both Crossfit and having a coach especially when I already belong to my local YMCA.    Besides I was finding that between recovering from an event or tapering for one, Crossfit was no longer a good fit for me.    For a while I was good about continuing my cross-training.    Then little by little, things just slipped away to the point that I really was not doing much more than running.

 Ooops.

I also know that if I want to improve my running, I can’t continue just running.    I need to get back into doing other things.   Maybe tone up my abs a little.   Now I’m not deluding myself into thinking that I will ever get washboard abs or even pre washboard abs.   I’m thinking maybe I should have a little less jiggle in the pouch.    No amount of running is going to make that happen which really does suck.

As I said before, now my coach through Training Peaks is giving specifics.   I will admit that yesterday she said 4 sets and I only did 2, but baby steps.   Besides I’m sore today from just 2 sets.   I couldn’t imagine how sore I would have been with 4 sets.    What really stinks too is that there really is no excuse not to do these things as there really isn’t much equipment involved and what is involved I already have.

Here is a sample of my workout

10 push-ups, 20 Kettle-bell swings, 10 burpees with push-ups, 10 bicep curls, 15 triceps dips.

Back in the hey day of Crossfit, I could have killed this workout.    Not so much now.   I had to break them up some.    I realized how just because I can now run around the block a few times, does not mean anything when it comes to cross-training.   I realized that I missed it a little too.    So I will continue to add these back in and do more than just the running.

I even went today and did the elliptical and stationary bike today per my schedule.

It is a necessary evil that I really shouldn’t avoid.

Besides I do like it:)

Yeah, I’m crazy like that.

 

What do you do for Cross-Training?

Do you like Cross-Training days?