Archive | Workouts RSS feed for this section

Getting Back in the Groove

21 Jul

The last couple weeks, I have been getting back into my running groove.

My hip is feeling much better, as is my weird foot pain I was experiencing. According to my PT, I have an issue with my SI joint. It has probably been that way my whole life but recently started bothering me due to a couple factors…

  1. Sitting too much. Apparently when I sit down, my pelvis tilts incorrectly. This is why I have nerve pain and the deep aches mainly while I am at my desk or driving my car.
  2. Not stretching and strengthening. When I up my mileage, I get lazy with everything else. I do less ab work, I stretch less, and I stop caring about the other important areas to train.

My awesome PT told me I can start running again. He isn’t concerned I am going to injure myself, or cause damage we cannot fix. But he has told me many times that healing and fixing this issue is going to take a lot of time and effort.

I have been very careful with my ease back into running. After taking 2.5 weeks completely off, and another 1.5 weeks super easy, I knew I had to go easy on myself. All of my runs have been a conservative pace – about 8:45-9:30 pace. Whatever feels good that day, I go with.

My mileage has been relatively slow to pick up as well. First week back was only 7 miles. The following went up to 15, and last week peaked at 29. All easy paced.

This week I hope to reach between 25-30 miles with a hard work out thrown in. Since I am not officially training right now, my focus is building back my base so I am comfortable when it is time to start. I have learned my lesson in the past of starting a training program without a base. Doing that has caused injuries, and will cause an injury (at least it does in my case…)

I am trying SO hard to continue my strength training and stretching. I dread this every day, but when I do it in front of trashy TV it goes by so much faster! I am also trying not to sit down as much. This can be really hard during the day at work, but luckily drinking water like a maniac leads to lots of potty breaks, which means I get up all the time. Another thing the PT suggested is sleeping on my back to keep my pelvis aligned. That part isn’t so fun 🙂

I am confident if I keep doing what I am doing I can come back to my training stronger than ever! And possibly, reach new running goals this fall (those are TBD!)

Other than all this fun stuff above, things have been pretty calm over here!

Drinks at the pool!

Drinks at the pool!

Have you read this book??? SO DARK.

Have you read this book??? SO DARK.

Fiery Stick event in KC.

Fiery Stick event in KC.

Sweet Winnie the Pooch all swaddled. Love our baby!

Sweet Winnie the Pooch all swaddled. Love our baby!

That is all for now!

xo,

Ali

Tags: , , ,

New Workout Adventures

30 Jan

Since I ran the Dallas Marathon last month, I joined a gym and have been trying out new workouts.

I LOVE trying new things when it comes to working out. I have always thought that changing things up gives your body an extra boost and really helps you see results. It also helps you from getting burnt out mentally on just one sport (i.e. only running).

My new workout adventures include three things.

First up, Spinning.

I have always wanted to try spin. I thought it looked fun, and really hard.

3

I try to do spin 2 times a week, and have been loving it. The classes are fun, and the music is super motivational. I also love that we do it in the dark at my gym!

I have heard that Spin is really good for your fast twitch muscles. I am really interested to see if this proves true when I do my next speed workout.

Next stop, Stairmaster.

Holy crap, this thing is so hard.

2

I sweat down to my fingers when I am on this thing. I really like to add this on to the end of my workouts or after I run. Sometimes I make it past 20 minutes, other times I manage 10.

But at all times, I am basically hanging on for dear life while sweat drips off my body.

I try to do at least 2 days on the stairmaster a week.

Lastly among the new workouts, Body Pump.

photo

Body Pump has become my favorite workout of all of the new ones I have tried. I LOVE how strong Body Pump makes me feel. And I mostly love how much of a difference I can already see.

My arms are more toned, and my booty seems to have an extra umph to it!

5

I try to make it to Body Pump 3 days a week. I ran my fastest half marathon when I was doing weight training, and I think it could really help me with my upcoming races.

I have also really loved doing all these new workouts with my good friend Kara! It has been so much fun to start our mornings together!

4

Do you have any new workouts you love? Or have you tried any that I am doing?

xoxo,

Ali

Tags: , , , , , ,

NYC Marathon Training – Week Five

9 Sep

(This post is going up very late….I got a little lazy with the blog last week…)

Week five was a great week of training for me. I knew I would be going out of town to visit Nicole in California, so a high mileage week might be difficult.

I decided to add in extra miles at the front of my week just in case I couldn’t run in CA.

Monday – 3 miles at 8:45 pace. Very hard run…probably due to dehydration.

Tuesday – 10 miles, 2 warm up, 5 x 1600 repeats: 7:21, 6:41, 6:38, 6:33, 6:37, 3 miles cool down. Good run overall. Ran the repeats in the neighborhood to give me some up and downhill practice.

Wednesday – 4 miles at 8:45 pace. Following the run, went to TRX class.

Thursday – 8 miles at 8:15 pace. This felt really hard. It scares me to think this was much slower than what my marathon pace should be…

Friday – Tried out Nicole’s “Cross Pit” class in California. Loved it!

Saturday – 16 miles at 8:48 pace. Awesome Saturday long run in California with the most amazing scenery along the way!

Sunday – 3.5 mile hike. This was crazy hard at parts. I don’t know how trail runners do it!!

Total Mileage: 44.5 miles.

I took this photo on my 16 miler in Cali. Pismo Beach is so pretty!

Tags: , , ,

Mile Repeats: The Side Effects

28 Aug

Mile repeats have been a big part of my marathon training thus far. It seems that every week, Coach (aka Dad) puts crazy mile repeats on my schedule.

While torturing our bodies this morning on the street, my friends and I kept naming off our various ailments. And we had quite the list.

We joked that our list was like a side effect label on a pill bottle….so I decided to make it reality.

And although this run sucked this morning, we still rocked our repeats.

Mine coming in at 7:21, 6:41, 6:38, 6:33, 6:37.

And I can only hope that the best side effect of all with these mile repeats is a marathon PR!

xoxo,

Ali

Tags: , , ,

#Dedication

10 May

The last couple weeks have been crazy. But crazy in a good way. My travel schedule has taken me to Vegas, and the Kentucky Derby on back to back weekends (actually with only a day in between).

Although I love my busy schedule, it posed an issue in getting in my last 20 mile run before my Marathon on May 20th. After going through all my options, it was determined that the only option for running my 20 miler would be doing it before work. Ouch.

Lucky for me, running buddy Diana was also in the same predicament as I was, and would be running the 20 miler with me. Her too, before work.

Wednesday afternoon I created us a route, as well as a water plan. If the route panned out perfectly, we would have a great 20 m mile course around Lee’s Summit.

Wednesday evening it was early to bed (ok, not as early as it should have been…..), and I set my alarm for well before the crack of dawn.

Thursday morning came much too quickly. And by 4:15 I was out the door to begin our 20 mile adventure.

We planned our run to have two water stops at Quick Trip. This was the perfect plan. We were able to refuel on our GU, and get ice water and Gatorade. I was praying I didn’t run into anyone I knew…seeing that our second water stop was in the middle of the morning rush. Good news – I saw no one!

By 7:40am, our run was over. We rocked it, and most importantly had FUN.

By 8:30am, I was out the door for work.

I got bangs!

 

By 9:00, I was at my desk

By 9:45am, I was ready for a BIG nap 🙂

And all day, I felt like a total bad ass. I mean, how many crazy people run 20 miles before work?!

Have you had a #Dedication moment recently? Or an accomplishment you would like to brag about? If so…let me have it!!

XO,

Ali

Tags: , , , ,

My Love/Hate Relationship

15 Mar

I am in a love/hate relationship. And this relationship is with speedwork.

Every week, I dread my Tuesday/Thursday runs because it means we are doing speedwork. And this week was no different; tempo run on Tuesday, track work on Thursday.

Speedwork is hard. And uncomfortable. Speedwork forces you to put your body in a state of discomfort for an extended amount of time, and makes you feel like death while you’re doing it. Speedwork is also very scary, and intimidating. You see the times you must run your repeats in and immediately think, “Holy crap” (or at least I do).

But one thing is for sure: Speedwork pays off, and makes you run faster than you think is possible for your body.

As I said earlier, speedwork is a love/hate relationship for me. And although last night at 9pm I hated it, today at approximately 6:26am, I was in love…

Diana’s training schedule (I use Di’s, because I have yet to make one for myself) listed mile repeats for today. When I heard this, I said to her, “Oh, well you can do those but I am doing my own thing. I despise mile repeats. They suck. No way.”

As I was driving to meet the girls this morning, I was trying to figure out what I was going to run…800’s? 400’s? A ladder? And when I got up to the track, I still had not decided. We ran our warm up run, and still no decision (It is really hard to think at 5:15am).

Then it was time to start the actual workout. So I sucked it up and said I would do the first mile repeat with them, and then do my own thing (whatever that may be).

Well, I never started my own thing, and ended up running all 4 of those dang repeats.

The times for each mile were as follows: 7:02, 6:43, 6:41, 6:34. I thought anything under 7 would be good, and after the first mile I knew I needed to kick it into gear and pick up the pace. I didn’t think I would have these 6 min miles in my legs today, but it appears I did.

After I finished, I was proud and happy (as I always am after a Tuesday/Thursday run). And on a total runners high (my favorite feeling!!!). I am so glad that I pushed myself to do this workout today and didn’t give up. Diana and Stacy also did awesome on theirs, and we were a happy group overall.

Stacy wrapped up our run with a groundbreaking observation. She said to us, “You know what makes you run a fast race? Practicing a fast pace”. Shut the front door, I never would have guessed!!!

 

How do you feel about speedwork?? Do you love it? Hate it? Or both like me?

xo,

Ali

Tags: , , ,

Marvelous Mondays – January 9th

9 Jan

Well, it’s Monday again! But that is ok, because I have many things to be quite excited for this week! Following a nasty cold that threatened my sanity last week, this week is going to get started off right.

So why am I so happy? Well, read below and you’ll find out!

Bootcamp

Tonight I am going back to my favorite workout class – Survival Bootcamp! I have been going to Survival Bootcamp off and on for almost 4 years, and it is one heck of a workout. I am so ready and anxious to be back at bootcamp after quite a break. (If you creep the website enough, you will see some pretty awesome pics of me working out!)

Running

I am SO excited to be back to running tomorrow morning. Stacy, Diana and I are getting back into our weekly runs! As long as the weather cooperates this winter, we will be running (hopefully) at least twice a week together. I miss the girls, and I need them to get me through the cold winter months!

Get ready to be worked, Brooks Ghost

The Pact

Last night I started reading ‘The Pact’ and I cannot stop thinking about it. I rarely get into a book that fast, but this one is really good..

Revenge

I love Revenge!! And this week I get to enjoy another awesome episode of this gripping show! Will Emily Thorne get Revenge?!

SVU

Although it has been an adjustment this season without Stabler in the picture, Olivia is still there and I really love her. This week, it appears she will have a new love interest in the form of Harry Conick Jr.!

And last but not least…..

The Bachelor

I have been a Bachelor finatic since season 1. I love the show, and I love making fun of everyone on it. Even though I am not Ben’s biggest fan, I will still be there watching as he attempts to find love. I have my Bachelor crew, and we have watched every episode together for years. It makes me happy.

 

So that is what’s making me happy this week. Now please share what’s making you happy!

Cheers to you and a great week ahead,

Ali

P.S. I am thinking about writing a Marvelous Monday post every Monday to start the week off positive…do you think that is a good idea?

Tags: , , ,

Life After Marathon.

18 Dec

People keep asking me, “So when is your next marathon?” and I keep saying, “I dont know”. What I would really like to point out is that asking someone who just ran a marathon when their next one is, is like asking a woman who just gave birth when she is having another baby. It isn’t something I am ready to think about quite yet…

Other than Boston 2013, I have no marathon plans just yet 🙂

So how will I stay in shape?

I have decided that while I am not in training, I would like to try to mix up my workout routine and try new things. I think my body needed a break from all the running, and also really needed a change.

My recent workouts have included Jillian Michael’s, 8 min Abs/Arms and a trip to Kickboxing!

Jillian

Jillian is a beast. I have been doing 6 weeks to 6 pack and it is brutal! I don’t understand how I just ran a marathon and did it fast (in my opinion), yet a Jillian Michael’s dvd kicked my ass! Seriously, I was sore for 3 days. This weekend I purchased the 30 day shed to add to my collection. I will report back on how brutal she is in that one!

8 minute Series

I have been a user of the 8 minute workouts for years! My best friend Nicole and I used to do these workouts all the time in high school, and I swear we had 6 packs. For a super fast workout, these things are awesome and I plan to supplement them in on days when I don’t have time for anything else.

Kickboxing

Today was the funnest workout of all – kickboxing! My dear friend (and boyfriends sister) Brianna took me along to Title boxing this afternoon to try it out. Brianna just started going and I really wanted to try as well! It was awesome and such an amazing workout, cardio and strength. It was also an incredible way to work out some aggression. Nothing better than punching and kicking a bag to let out some stress!

Bootcamp

In January, I will be back in my bootcamp class. This class is one of my favorite things and I am quite excited to see all my friends again!

I hope that everyone had a fantastic weekend and you’re ready for the holidays that are quicky approaching!

Talk soon!

Ali

Tags: , , ,

%d bloggers like this: