Spring Training Week 3

This week was a big one! At this point I am 7 weeks out from San Diego Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon and 11 weeks from the San Diego International Triathlon. I realized this weekend that this is the first time in nearly 3 years that I have trained specifically for a half marathon. It feels good to focus on a goal and hopefully all the hard work I’m putting now will help me with a  solid performance at Rock n’ Roll and also set me up for a successful fall marathon (TBD).

This was week 3 of P90X3 which means we did the same workouts as Weeks 1 & 2 but that next week is recovery week. Then Phase 1 will be finished and we’ll move on to Phase 2, with nearly all new workouts. P90X is all about “muscle confusion” so the workouts try not to be too repetitive and exactly as soon as your body gets used to the workouts you’ve been doing, it’s time to switch it up. It also keeps things interesting that way!

This week was a big one and I called it the “calm before the storm.” I had very few obligations outside of work and working out, so I was able to get in a lot of workouts. Soon I will have a lot of commitments, particularly on weekends which won’t allow me to do as much as I did this week (which is totally ok because all of those commitments are fun things like bachelorette parties, holidays, weddings, birthday parties and vacations!). Knowing this, I stuck to my plan this week and tried to get the most out of it.

I wasn’t sure how this week would go as I came out of last week pretty tired. I also had a busy week at work and carried a bit of stress with me which caused me to have some pretty bad nights of sleep. I could definitely feel my legs were heavier this week after two intense weeks of training but bizarrely by the end of the week, I was feeling great. I have a feeling a lot of it has to do with my renewed focus on supplements. I’m using VegaOne Performance Protein several days a week, VegaOne Recovery Accelerator after hard runs, and drinking a mix of high quality gluatmine and BCAAs 1-2 times daily. Nutrition wise, I made fewer exceptions and ate tons of whole foods including veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. There were still a few treats of course but overall it was definitely a 90/10 week or better.

Monday: 

I slept in and then after work Mike and I went out for a very, very slow 4.5 mile recovery run. I wore my heart rate and kept it in zone 1 or 2. My legs were heavy and the pace was slow but the run did it’s job!

Tuesday: 

AM: P90X3 Total Synergistics – Core, push-ups, pull-ups, lunges – this workout has it all!

PM: Short Hill Repeat Run (6 miles). I ran about two miles to a hill on the coast (which I always hate coming back from a long run!) and did 8 x 50 second HARD effort hill repeats. The hill wasn’t super steep but steep enough to really feel it at the end. Luckily the hill was just about the right distance. I jogged back for recovery and repeated. I was tired at the end but not exhausted. I ran home for a total of about 6 miles.

Wednesday: 

I slept in again, definitely feeling like I needed it. After a long, stressful day at work I was able to get in P90X3 Agility which felt like a stress reliever!

Thursday: 

AM: This is when the come back started to happen! I felt revived after more sleep and woke up early for a double P90X3 workout to try to catch up. I did P90X 3 Yoga X followed immediately by The Challenge. The Challenge is the workout where you pick a number of push-ups and pull-ups and try to make your goal for each set. There are 4 push-up moves and 4 pull-up moves and each are completed twice, for a total of 8 sets of each. Plus, a bonus round. This time I set a goal of 17 push-ups and 10 (assisted) pull-ups and I was able to do it! I did all of the wide and standard push-ups on my feet and the military and staggered push-ups on my knees. Then during the bonus round I did another 13 push-ups, 10 pull ups and held a plank for 1.5 minutes (I couldn’t physically do any more push-ups!!!). My upper body strength is coming back slowly bur surely.

PM: After work it was time for the key workout of the week – a 6 mile run with 2 x 15 minute tempo segments (1 min rest between).  My legs were feeling a bit heavier and I knew that I wasn’t going to have the killer run I had last week. Knowing that a recovery week was coming, I wanted to get in this workout and do the best I could. I was happy that after the 1 mile warm-up I was still able to hit beat goal pace for the first 15 minute tempo which had a decline and a tailwind. The second 15 minute segment wasn’t as great since I was going uphill and with a headwind but I was still able to manage a pretty good performance! Overall I was happy with the run and although slower on average than the prior week, I know it did the job.

Friday: As usual, I met up with my friend Allison for our Friday morning run. We ran 6 miles easy and started Friday off right.

Saturday: 

A friend of mine is training for her first Ironman and as a new cyclist, she is very eager to get out on the road as much as possible. Although I haven’t been on my bike outdoors for nearly 7 months, I figured I could handle one of our old Ironman training routes. Mike and Jeremy also wanted to join and Mike didn’t want to do the coast (i.e. flat) route I suggested, so we headed inland for a very hilly route that was part of our favorite Ironman training route.

I really enjoyed myself and was pleasantly surprised by my endurance and definitely a bit disappointed by my speed (or lack thereof!!) especially on hills. I found that my legs were just not strong enough to keep up with my breathing. This could also have something to do with the fatigue from the week but likely also that I’ve just lost a lot of my power there. I think that the P90X 3 workouts will definitely help get some of that strength back, as well as getting back out on the hills!

In total we rode nearly 40 miles with about 3,000 feet of climbing and 3,000 feet of descending. 

Determined to get in all P90X3 workouts this week, after a breakfast burrito and some relaxation time, Mike and I put in P90X3 CVX for 30 more minutes of cardio. This is the workout that incorporates a weight into the cardio so instead of focusing so much on getting my heart rate super high or getting deep into the squats and lunges, I carried a heavier weight and focused more on upper body. It helped but I was pooped by the end.

Sunday: 

12 miles with 3 miles @ marathon goal pace. I was guessing my legs would be heaving on Sunday and they weren’t as bad as I anticipated. Mike and I met up with Asia and Jeremy for our long runs. This was Asia’s final run before she leaves for Boston to run the Boston Marathon and I really wanted to join her. Luckily our workouts meshed pretty well so we were able to run almost the entire thing together. Asia and I ran the first 8 miles of the run super easy and slow and enjoyed each other’s company (the heaviness in my legs went away at mile 4) and then we picked it up for 3 miles, averaging just under an 8 minute mile (Asia’s marathon goal pace). I felt surprisingly good during this portion and my heart rate wasn’t too out of control despite the fast pace. I often found myself naturally falling into the 7:40s and having to remind myself to hold back. It felt good. I finished the run energized and feeling great!

After a healthy breakfast, a nap and some relaxation, I finished up the final workout of week 3 of P90X3 – The Warrior. I actually felt really good during this workout. It consists of four sets of four moves – first an upper body move (usually involving plank and/or push-up), followed by a cardio move, then a core move and finally a leg move. Pretty much all moves are full body but there is definitely more emphasis on one part in each. I really like this workout – it may be one of my favorite so far.

After writing this recap I realized that I definitely am in need of a recovery week more than I even realized! I’ve gone really hard the last 3 weeks and this week is a much deserved recovery week. I can’t let all the hard work I’ve been doing go to waste because I didn’t rest enough! Those BCAAs, glutamine and VegaOne can only go so far. I’m making a promise to myself right now on this blog that Week 4’s training recap will include A LOT of the word “easy” (today was a complete rest day so I’m on to a good start!)!!

Weekly Totals: 

• Miles Run: 34.5 miles
• Miles Biked: 40
• Hours Strength: 3.25
• Total Time: 11.75 hours