Planned Miles: 18
Completed Miles: 19
Since I switched my full marathon registration to a half marathon, things have been going pretty nicely. For instance, when waking up in the morning I’m like: Let’s go and kill this run instead of Ugh, I gotta run today.
Running/Spinning:
While it was easier getting out to run, I will admit that my running workouts have not been super intense. Like some folks have said, perhaps doing something other than running will help me find my motivation for running. Taking that advice, I decided to take another crack at spinning.
After one of my lower back issues, I really got into spinning as an alternative to running. I was pleasantly surprised that I found my old pair of biking shoes. I had no clue that 1. I still had them and 2. they made it in the NYC to Va Beach move. While I haven’t attended a spin class since moving to the area, the rec center has a couple of spin bikes. For my ‘spin routine’, I did intervals of 3 minutes of seated flats and alternating 30 seconds of seated climbs and standing climbs. It felt kind of nice working out my legs in a different format compared to running. Since I was sore the day after my first spin workout, there definitely are some weak muscles in my legs that I should focus on . . . at some point.
Zumba time:
Ok, so something weird happened this week. One night, I had a dream about Zumba, and I’m not sure why. Maybe the melatonin caused it.
BTW, these gummies are DELICIOUS. I almost wanted to eat about 5-6 of them at once. Ok, back to Zumba. I found a Zumba class at the local rec center and had a BLAST. Man, the folks here take Zumba very seriously. The Friday class started at 5:30 pm, so I figured that I would go to the rec center around 4:30 pm to stream one of my Beachbody on Demand yoga workouts before the Zumba class. That plan was a ‘hell to the no’ because folks were already lined up for the Zumba class when I arrived at 5. From my understanding, the first 35 people are allowed into the class. I think that I was number 21 or 22 in the line. In my head, I was like no one is going to attend at 5:30 pm Zumba class on a Friday . . . I guess that I was wrong.
The class was nice; however, I think that I’m going to try and get a spot closer to the front so I can see the instructor and her moves. While everyone else in the class knows the moves, I prefer to follow the instructor over my fellow classmates.
Actually, going forward, I’m going to try to attend the Wednesday class instead of the Friday one. I had to sit out my Saturday long run because my legs were super sore from the previous day. I figure if I do the Wednesday class, that will give my legs a few days to recover before long run Saturdays.
Long Run Chronicles:
Although I could not do my long run on Saturday (due to my post-Zumba soreness), I did manage to get my run in on Sunday. Like most of my long runs, I pretty much ran a bunch of loops in Mt. Trashmore State Park. In the near future, I need to find another spot for my long runs.
Actually, it was a perfect day for a run. While my plan was to run 7.5 miles, I really had to fight myself not to run any further. To be honest, I cannot remember the last time that I wanted to run a longer distance than what was in my training plan.
Intermittent Fasting:
Last week was my first week of fasting for 16hrs on a daily basis (not counting the weekends). Since returning to intermittent fasting, I have been gradually increasing my fasting window – 10hr, 12hr, 14hr, and now 16hr. LOL. Due to an unexpected long-ass meeting on Friday, I actually ended up fasting for 17.5 hrs instead of 16hrs. I wonder if this means that there will be 18hr fasts in the near future.
Eh, let’s stick to 16hr fasts for at least 4 weeks before moving up to 18hr fasts because I was super angry and cranky because of the 17.5hr fast on Friday. Now, that I’m at the 16hr mark I hope that I’ll start becoming full with less food. At least that’s what happened with I first started intermittent fasting back in 2017.
Training Plan:
Goals for the week:
-Keep on keeping on.
-Nightly stretching and foam rolling.
-Update my Spotify running playlists.
-Random: Buy more underwear.
Long Run Playlist:
Questions of the Day:
-Did you accomplish all (or most) of your goals for January?
-Any suggestions for running- or fitness-related podcasts?
Social Media Plug:
Run There, Drink That 
Long run idea. Park at the Owl Creek Tennis Center. It’s 2 miles from there to the boardwalk and the boardwalk is just shy of 3 miles in length. Easy way to get 10+ miles in. Also there’s water fountains all along the boardwalk so you have built in hydration.
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Nice job on your running! I have no idea where January went. It flew by.
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It really did. 😉
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Well done, lovely to see you’ve got your mojo back! I used to love spin but the airless studio not so much – I left the gym and haven’t rejoined another one. I have a recumbent bike but almost never use it, but I suppose I should see if I can get back on it. Not as fun as spin though! The woman who used to teach my class was a tiny Black woman in her 70s, not the usual demographic for instructors in our gym, but she was FIT and amazing!
I did my 20 ish miles a week and got back to continuous running after my back thing, then aggravated my high hamstring tendonitis I know I have a propensity to by doing speedwork then stretching and stretching it. Did a load of research, know what to do to strengthen it and what not to do so fingers crossed I’ll be OK (heading out for a long run in a minute!).
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Perhaps, you could stream a spin workout for your home bike. Like you said, it probably will not be as fun.
Keeping my fingers crossed that you have figured things out regarding your tendonitis.
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Well that long run never happened, though it turned into a fun dog walk instead. I went to see a private physio yesterday and she confirmed it’s my muscle, not my tendon, which is a huge relief, obviously. It has scar tissue and I have to do heating then rolling and see her again next week for the strength exercises. I can’t run this week, though. I have a recumbent bike which is annoying, as a) not good for the ham, b) not fun trying to spin. I have a cross trainer too so might give that a go with something from the peleton app, although I’m not meant to push it, just keep moving. And rolling.
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Keep it moving, but keep it easy while you’re healing. I’ll take a fun dog walk over a long walk any day … I guess I would need to get a dog first.
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