Mixing It Up: Spinning & Strength Training

Our tricep push-ups did not look this hard core, but the form is still the same. Photo by Colonel Bob.

When I first started going to spin class I thought for sure I wouldn’t last. I thought I might get bored or never build up a tolerance for the intense work-out it provides at the crack of dawn. Now I’ve already lost track of how many classes I’ve gone to (though I could check it in my Runner’s World training log) and I have come to appreciate the intensity of spinning and I am certainly not bored. Just as no one run is the same, neither as any one spin class and it’s not just because of having different instructors. The class is entirely about what you put into it, how much extra gear you’re willing to add to your bike, and how hard you’ll try to sweat a little more each time.

The variety of spinning is what keeps me coming back and I recently got even more than I bargained for with a fantastic instructor. She called the course SSOB–Spinning Strength Off Bike. Normally the courses run for a full 60 minutes of spinning. According to the triathlon training schedule I’m using I technically only needed a 35-40 minute foundation ride, meaning a ride at a moderate pace. I figure it’s in my favor in the long run if I can already ride longer and at a higher intensity. This course gave me a good 40 minutes of spinning in addition to a strength work-out which I have been somewhat neglecting.

For 20 minutes we did sprints, out of the seat sprints, a seated climb, and a series of 20 second sprints at gear 6 with 20 seconds of rest. Then it was off the bikes and over to the wall. Continue reading →

Weather Window

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An incredible scene. Photo by cresk.

When it comes to morning running versus night running, winter running versus summer running, or running in the rain versus running in full sunshine, there are many schools of thought about what circumstances make the conditions perfect for running. I tend to prefer morning running as it always allows me to start my day fresh; I’ve gotten used to winter running; and I’m still waiting for my first opportunity to really run in the run.

What I have decided though is that in addition to the perfect time and temperature conditions there are certain weather windows that make running simply enjoyable. Just before it’s about to pour, there is usually a nice breeze, it’s overcast, and in the spring, every smell imaginable seems heightened, to my senses anyway. That pre-rain run is cool, I find the breeze invigorating, and the smell of flowers, clean cut grass, and of course, the indescribable smell just before a rain all make running outside incredibly rewarding. Continue reading →

Finding Flexibility

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42-16033090 This weekend I was in the Sandy Springs area of Atlanta, Georgia, visiting a girlfriend of mine for her baby shower. One morning I went for a short 2-mile run around the neighborhood we were staying in which was filled with hills of all kind, a stark contrast to my own neighborhood. I started out on a sharp decline, flattened out for a bit, pushed through a gradual but not too long incline, flattened out, then had a long gradual incline, and finally a steep but not too long incline to finish the run. Needless to say, my legs were not used to the number of hills and the variety of inclines I experienced in Atlanta.

Sitting with my pregnant friend who is also an apprentice in the TAP pilates instructor program I started to pepper her with pilates questions while stretching. I’ve always struggled with the single leg stretch because I can’t seem to straighten my legs the whole way which frustrates me and also means I’m not benefiting from the exercise as much. As I lay on the ground she stood above me holding one leg up straight and pushed it toward my head. It was the straightest my leg had ever been and I instantly felt the stretch run through my hamstrings. She then asked me to relax my quad muscles. After several tries at what I thought was relaxing, my quads were still fully flexed. I couldn’t relax! Continue reading →

Putting Sprints Into Perspective

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This is not me, but I hope my form will one day look like this. Photo by kimmiepievt.

I have been trying to go to spin class at my gym at least once a week, twice if my body can handle the early morning wake-up; class starts at 5:30 a.m. By now I have had every instructor and they each have their own teaching style, routines, and way of motivating me to push just a little harder than I think I can. Some focus more on out of the seat drills, others prefer hills or using more gear for resistance, and now I’ve worked with the instructor that favors sprint intervals.

Her theme for the class was to “put the sprints in perspective.” At first I could not really decide what that meant but by the end of the class I liked the phrase a lot and felt as though we did indeed put the sprints in perspective. When I first started spinning I had to concentrate so hard on pedaling, breathing, and my form that I really didn’t pay too much attention to the routine, I just did as I was told. Now that I have a good chunk of sessions under my belt, I must be getting a little better because I finally retained most of the drills. Continue reading →

Triathlon Training Programs

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j0387211 For the last couple months I’ve been trying to figure out what I would train for next and at first I thought it would be a summer half marathon (and it still might be), but now it is most definitely training for my first triathlon. The first hurdle has been to find a training schedule that makes sense to me, seems realistic with my life schedule, and that will give me a comfortable balance of swimming, biking, and running.

All my running schedules have always been in miles. (I hate to admit that I have yet to train with speedwork, hills, fartlek, etc but that is also in my future if I’m going to do all this the right way.) You slowly increase mileage balanced by some easier or rest days and then taper off closer to the run. I thought for sure that triathlon training would somehow be similar.

Well, wasn’t I shocked when I started to look at a variety of programs that vary from ones that are entirely time/duration based to ones that are a mix of time and distance to ones that focus on heart rate training to others that rely on each work-out being at either foundation, tempo, sprint, or time trial pace. There’s so much to choose from! A comforting line, however, in a Runner’s World article written for runners trying a tri said “it’s ok to experiment.” Continue reading →

Swim-Bike-Run, Oh My!

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pe05982_ A couple years ago my husband and I went to watch his sister and her fiance and some other friends finish the first triathlon in Annapolis. We cheered her on through the finish line at Navy Stadium and I remember clearly being in awe of the hundreds of people who had just done three sports in a row! My sister-in-law and her fiance have competed in a number of triathlons and I feel fortunate that I am continuously meeting and connecting with other triathletes as their multi-sport talents are ever impressive.

In getting to know triathletes, however, I still always positioned myself as a runner forever and ever. No need to also be a biker and a swimmer. But then I took a break from running and started spinning, albeit not the same as road biking, but certainly a good introduction to the work-out. And then a friend of mine signed up for a triathlon in July and we got to talking about swimming. Next thing I knew, I was at the pool trying for a half mile swim with her. Continue reading →

What Are All These Thresholds? Introduction

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j0313896 When I started training for my first half marathon last year I was stumped by how tired I would get after long runs. A close friend, who is now a NSPA-certified trainer (National Strength Professionals Association) recommended I get a Polar watch to monitor my heart rate while training to make sure I was not over-exhausting myself on those long runs. I did and despite having read the owner’s manual there are still some things that stump me about heart rates, “own zones,” and what the numbers really mean.

As I started to pay more attention to message board posts, other blogs, and articles that discussed heart rate training I started to find that heart rate is usually used in the same sentence as lactate threshold or anaerobic metabolism or VO2 max–all terms that in all my years of running I am just now discovering. For example, a spinning instructor recently had a hand-out at the end of class an article from a copy of Spinning and what is probably the summary sentence of the article is quite foreign to me: “Testing your lactate threshold provides you with a maximum aerobic heart rate because it tells you at what heart rate your body switches to anaerobic metabolism.” Continue reading →

Day by Day

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Sitting on a notepad next to me is a list of topics I plan to write about on this blog. In the drafts section of the blog editor are a handful of posts I’ve started but that aren’t quite ready to be published. And on the “notes” area of my Outlook program is another long list of things I’d like to research and write about here. Rather than complain about how there never seem to be enough hours in the day, as I’ve done before, I’m going to attempt the “day by day” strategy and just fit in what I can. On my run this morning I was thinking about all the things I haven’t done and all the things I have yet to start, blog posts being one of them.

I thought it might be helpful for both me and you to think through what has happened so far, reflect on how some things have been going, and figure out what’s next on life’s list. Ideally at the end, you’ll have something to look forward to reading and I will be accountable for getting it written.

Since the March 1st marathon and a month of recovery from ITBS, I am grateful to be back running again on a consistent schedule. I got very focused on strength training for a while, but there is some vortex that running pulls me into and it’s all I want to do. Since running had made its way back into my life, the weights have taken a back seat which goes very much against my original goal of having a better balanced work-out plan the second time around. Knowing that I will be in training mode soon, I need to work in the balance of cardio and strength training. So I am sorry to report that with the exception of core work-outs I have let the arm and leg exercises slide, but this will change starting today.

I also reported that I was going to be doing my first adventure race. Due to my own poor planning and schedule conflicts, I did not make it out to Rocky Gap for what would surely have been one of the more gratifying and challenging races on my calendar. Doing an adventure race is definitely still on my radar, however I think I’ll start with trail running first and build up an actual understanding of “off road” training before heading into the wilderness.

Cross-training is the one thing that has managed to remain a part of my new routine. Spin class continues to be at least a one time per week work-out for me and while I have yet to say that I love spinning, I can say I love the work-out that spinning provides. It makes me sweat like no other exercise makes me sweat and I am acutely aware of my beginner level skill at spinning so I welcome the challenge each time I go to the class, including the challenge of waking up at 5 a.m. to get to class on time. These are some of the things that have been going on over the last few months.

What’s Next?

With regard to races, I think I finally have my summer schedule figured out which is a huge relief because now I can start training and get some order back in my life. I plan to do the Ben Moore Memorial Half Marathon August 1st, followed by my first sprint triathlon in upstate New York with my brother-in-law on August 9th. I realize that back to back races might not be ideal but I feel as though with a solid three months to train for both that the tri training will keep me even better conditioned for a summer half marathon. The Annapolis 10-Miler is one of my favorite races and is August 30th, so that will be on the schedule as well. In June we’ll find out if I get into the NYC Marathon, so we’ll cross that marathon bridge when we come to it.

In addition to training for the above mentioned races, there will be a host of things I have to learn about triathlons and I plan to write about them as I discover the answers to my new questions. I am training again with my Polar heart rate watch and this is a subject I will cover here once I get it all figured out. I have some definite “user error” issues with the watch as well as a mental block in regard to how to train by heart rate; but I will learn and share.

I will continue to do reviews of training logs and have a couple more weeks using the Runner’s World log before I write the review, but I am eager to move on to the next log; we’ll just leave it at that for now.

One category that stands out on my multiple lists of blog topics are things in the “health” category. This blog is “Health and Running” and while running is by default a healthy thing to do, it is by no means the end all be all of health. Food and nutrition is a whole category of posts but as I am not a food or nutrition expert, I’m just a normal eater, I will explore some of my own food and nutrition questions and bring you the answers I find. A friend of mine just started a site aimed at helping others make informed eating decisions and with his knowledge and that of many other helpful resources and healthful eating experts, I imagine we will start to cover more of the “health” in Health and Running.

So that’s what’s next on my plate; feel free to add to it if you want. What’s next on yours?

Proper Treadmill Form

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j0405142 One would think that proper running form is proper running form. To a certain extent I believe that there are fundamental components to running that apply whether one is running on a treadmill, grass, a track, or the sidewalk. However, I’m keenly aware that I run different on the treadmill than I do on my outdoor routes. For starters, I use an ipod on the treadmill as I think it’s the only way to survive the boredom of running in place. I know that running with music outside distracts me from focusing on my form and breathing so there’s a good chance that the same things happens on the treadmill but it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make in order to get in those runs.

To get an idea of proper treadmill form, I paid close attention to my own form and position on the treadmill on my recent gym trip. Let’s just start with the ipod. I set it on the cup holder platform on the machine and the wires to the headphones seem to cross in front of my body in the exact area where my arm should also be moving. To compensate, I tend to swing my arms either a little lower or a little higher (depends on the day) to avoid the wires. The simple solution is to get an arm band that fits so that I don’t have to worry about the wires. However, even when I’ve run without the ipod, the angle of my arms always seems to be inconvenient. I have banged my knuckles many a time on the dashboard part of the machine. Continue reading →

Running in the Rain

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Running in the rain. Photo by stevenjohn19.

I am a somewhat obsessive weather checker. Weather.com is almost always an open tab on my web browser and at a minimum I look at the the forecast for the day first thing in the morning and before I go to bed I check the hourly forecast for the following morning. Knowing the temperature and predicted precipitation and wind is typically what determines what running clothes I get out in preparation for the next morning.

If there is more than a 40% chance of rain I am on the treadmill. If I wake up and it’s drizzling, I’m on the treadmill. I’ve never voluntarily gone out to run when it’s already raining. I can’t even recall a time where it started raining while I was running. Snow, yes. Rain, no. I’ve not even gone out in a warm sprinkle. But I want to. I don’t want rain to stop me from running outside. A torrential downpour? Sure, I’ll stick with my treadmill routine if it’s dumping, but I am frustrated that I let a simple spring rain keep me inside. Continue reading →