week in review: september 8–14

Dopey Challenge Training: Week 11

Monday, September 8: Cross Train (Bar Method – 60 minutes)

Tuesday, September 9: Cross Train (Bar Method – 60 minutes)

Wednesday, September 10: 3.33 miles

Thursday, September 11: Cross Train (Bar Method – 60 minutes)

Friday, September 12: rest day

Saturday, September 13: 3.41 miles

Sunday, September 14: rest day

Weekly mileage:  6.74 miles

Total mileage for Dopey Challenge Training: 165.03 miles

What a week! I only ran twice this week, as I was at Riot Fest all 3 days this past weekend, and I just couldn't bring myself to run again on Sunday. Talk about exhausting! I've got a blister on the bottom of one of my toes because I had to wear boots everyday, due to the muddy conditions. It was a lot of fun, but my entire body is sore from standing for so long each day. Not to mention I'm just plain tiiiiiirrrrreeeed.

Some of the carnival.

Fire Dancer... is that what they're called? Either way, it was crazy!

The Flaming Lips.

Bar Method classes went great this week! Unfortunately, this was my final week of class. As much as I loved it, and as much as I notice a difference in my strength and can tell I am more toned, I feel with my Dopey training mileage amping up soon, it's best to concentrate on my running, rest days, and other forms of cross training. I plan on joining the gym this week so I can start swimming (looow impact cross training, thank you, but still quite difficult). I learned a good amount during my month of classes, and will continue to do some of the workouts on my own. I would love to take more classes come the spring, if I can swing it.

Saturday = cooooold. As much as I love those temps,
my body isn't quite ready for them.
I saw a funny sign outside a coffee shop that said
'BRRRRRIOT FEST'. Haha.

Repping some of my favorite companies:
Orange Mud hat, ENERGYbits sunglasses,
and Picky Bars t-shirt (though I couldn't get
my arms to reach far enough away to show it).

I did not feel like going for a run on Saturday before heading back to Riot Fest, but I took some ENERGYbits and got my butt out the door for a short 3.41 miles. Thanks to my bits, I was able to keep a pretty good pace (for me) the entire time. It's funny how now, when I feel like I'm going slow, I'm still a minute faster per mile than I used to be. That's a great feeling!

Remember I have an ENERGYbits giveaway going on now, so make sure to enter before Friday! The winner will be announced Friday afternoon. Or, if you're looking to buy a full bag, use promo code 'HeatherRuns' for a 25% discount!

Couldn't get a focused photo, but Picky Bars and ENERGYbits
helped me get through the exhausting weekend.

On a side note, BibRave.com was featured in a recent Runner's World article about Chicago. Check it out here. Also, Jessica (one of the co-founders of BibRave) completed an The North Face Endurance Challenge Wisconsin on Saturday (50 mile trail race!). And by completed, I mean she demolished it! She won 1st place in her age group, and was the fourth female overall – that's amazing! She's an inspiration, and her BibRave family is so proud of her! Join me in congratulating her on this amazing accomplishment. You can check out her review here, and don't forget to review your own races while you're there :)

How was your week? Did training go well? Any races over the weekend? Let me know how it all went :)

week in review: august 25–31

Dopey Challenge Training: Week 9

Monday, August 25: Cross train (60 minutes Bar Method)

Tuesday, August 26: 2.6 miles 

Wednesday, August 27: rest day

Thursday, August 28: Cross train (60 minutes Bar Method)

Friday, August 29: rest day

Saturday, August 30: 3.29 miles

Sunday, August 31: 13.4 miles (Chicago Women's Magnificent Mile Half Marathon)

Weekly mileage: 19.29 miles

Total mileage for Dopey Challenge Training: 138.87 miles

I was only able to go to Bar Method twice this week, but it was still pretty hard! I'm not sure why, but on Thursday, my arms were quite tired, even at the beginning of class. I'm still loving it, and even though I'm getting the hang of it, it doesn't get any easier, mainly because you can always challenge yourself by going deeper into the move, or raising your arms during certain exercises to work on balance or engage your abs even more. It's awesome!

Tuesday night I went to see Arcade Fire at the United Center with my friend from college. It was a great concert, and we had a lot of fun, just like back in the old days :)

Arcade Fire Reflektor Tour – Balloon Drop!

I was able to get my three training runs in this week, though it was a bit off. On the schedule were two runs of 45 minutes during the week and 3 miles on the weekend. I cut my run on Tuesday short by 10 minutes, and then I registered for the Chicago Women's Magnificent Mile Half Marathon for Sunday (I didn't decide to register until Wednesday. I had been thinking about it for a while, but didn't make my final decision until fairly last minute.). The race was hot and sunny, so a bit tough for me, but I still beat all of my half marathon times from last year, so I always am happy with that result. Hopefully, each year will be like that :) The race was well organized and I was happy that I decided to register. I will have more details in my race recap, as well as writing up a review on BibRave.com.

I met my @Oiselle #Flystyle Thirteen Point One twin at the expo Friday night :)

After the race, I went over to my friends house to have a pool day and re-hydrate session with beer (don't worry – I also drank plenty of Nuun that day). It felt so great to be in the pool, not only because it was so dang hot out, but it also felt great on my tired, slightly sore muscles (hips, legs, knees... pretty much everything haha).

Overall, the week in training went well. I'm feeling stronger thanks to Bar Method, and I think it's helping me become a better runner. Yay! Now on to a new training week (is it really week 10 of Dopey Challenge training?!) and another half marathon on Sunday. I should be able to manage all three training days plus three days of cross training.... that's the plan, anyway :)

How was your week? Did you race this weekend, and if so, how did it go? Would love to hear about your week in general, in training – whatever! 

P.S. If you did race, it would be great if you would review it on BibRave.com – help out your fellow runner! It's a great place to find information regarding races, which can help others find a new race, or decide if one they're considering is worthwhile. Thanks :)

week in review: august 11–17

Dopey Challenge Training: Week 7

Monday, August 11: Cross Training – Bar Method class (60 minutes) + 25 minute walk

Tuesday, August 12: 3.44 miles

Wednesday, August 13: Cross Training – Bar Method class (60 minutes) + 25 minute walk

Thursday, August 14: 2.69 miles

Friday, August 15: Cross Training – Bar Method class (60 minutes) + 30 minute walk x2

Saturday, August 16: rest day

Sunday, August 17: 3 mile run + 5 minute warm up walk + 30 minute cool down walk

Weekly mileage: 9.15 miles
Total mileage for Dopey Challenge Training: 106.96 miles

Training this week went well, overall. I managed to get in 3 days of cross training with Bar Method, and all of my training runs in. Even though the training schedule only had 3 miles planned for the weekend, I was hoping to tack on an extra 2–3 miles. My body had other plans. Though I felt good with plenty of energy, my right knee was in pain. 

Every time I started a running interval, it would be in pain whenever I stepped on my right foot for about the first 15 seconds, then it dulled. I had attempted to use KT Tape, but unfortunately, it came off almost right away. It was helping a bit, until it came off. Next time I'll have to be better at cleaning the area prior to applying the tape, as suggested in the videos. I also bought some adhesive spray and KT Tape Pro, which I'm sure will all be helpful.

Since my knee was hurting, I knew that if I did extra miles, I'd be hurting other places than my knee, since I'm likely to overcompensate, trying to lessen its pain. I did wake up to some hip discomfort this morning, which I am blaming on yesterdays run. Anyway, I stopped at 3 miles and then walked for about a half hour to cool down and ensure that I would get in my 10,000 steps for the day. Walking wasn't painful at all.

I've really been enjoying Bar Method classes – they are a GREAT workout, and I can already notice the toning in my arms. I'm so excited that I can flex and see the muscles in my biceps and triceps haha.

Before yesterday's run, I had a Pear Apple Peach Powerbar Performance Energy Blend – it was pretty good. Directions said to take 30–60 minutes before the run (which worked out well, I woke up, drank one and then got ready). It's basically like eating applesauce from a pouch. As some of you may know, I have trouble eating much of anything before races, but I can drink without much of a problem. I think these things will come in handy for those types of mornings (when I don't have Energybits, like yesterday... delivery soon!). According to Powerbar, this "fruit-based energy food has a 2:1 glucose to fructose blend found to deliver 20–50% more energy to muscles than glucose alone and improves endurance by 8%". Whatever the case is with these pouches, they taste good and I felt good during my run, so that's what matters to me.

Other than running and taking Bar Method classes, not much has been going on. I spent time watching my nephew Saturday night so his parents could go have dinner and run some errands. I haven't really spent significant alone time with infants since I was younger and did babysitting in my high school/early college days, so I was a little nervous, but everything went well. I even had him smiling/laughing most of the time.

How was your week of training? What do you do to help alleviate knee pains? I know icing and elevation are a good idea, though I'm horrible at actually doing so. In order to help with that, I ordered a Dr. Cool Wrap – I'm excited to try it out with the ability to move around with ease while still getting the healing qualities from the wrap.

friday five: free friday

Hey guys! It's that time again - Friday Five! Yay for Friday! I am linking up with the lovely DC Trifecta for Friday Five: Courtney at Eat Pray Run DC, Cynthia at You Signed up for What?, and Mar at Mar on the Run. This week's theme is "Free Friday". Uh-oh. That means I have to come up with something on my own... haha. Here are some random thoughts/things I liked this week.

1. Christian Stoinev on America's Got Talent. I don't usually watch this show, but there's not much on in the summer, so this show has been getting more views in our house than usual, especially when we are just eating dinner and don't really have the time to get in to anything involved, like starting to binge watch a tv series. Anyway, this guy did an act with his dog, and I just loved it! If you don't know by now, I am a dog lover, and this dog was just so awesome. I can't get over it. If you don't feel like watching the intro, the act begins at about 1:15.

2. Bar Method class. Pure Barre didn't have much availability in their classes, my friend and I found another class that actually is in a better location (for our travels home) and offered more classes/times to fit in our schedules. We gave it a go this week, and today will be day 3. I'll do a post about it, but overall, I am really digging it. Even though it's still crazy hard, I feel like it's a little less intense than Pure Barre (read: I don't usually feel like I'm going to pass out), and I get more instruction on form/positioning, which I need/ like.

3. Nephew time! This weekend I have the privilege of hanging out with my nephew while my brother and sister-in-law go out on a date. I haven't had a chance to see him in a while, so I'm so very glad they asked me to watch him and that I was actually free! That's quite rare. 

4. I have a new book to read: 'The Cuckoo's Calling'. Anyone else read it? Did you like it? It was written by JK Rowling under her pseudonym, but was later revealed that it was her (not sure under what circumstances... was it leaked?). 

5. Cross training update. I had talked a while ago about starting to swim as cross training, but since I decided to do a month of classes at Bar Method, I couldn't afford to also buy the gym membership on top of it. Not to mention, I wouldn't have much time to go. I'm already pretty exhausted from running and bar classes, so I think I'd really be stretching myself thin if I also tried to do something else on top of those. Once my month of classes is up (unfortunately I won't be able to keep it up at the moment... $220 for classes is just to steep for me right now), I plan on joining the gym and getting my swim on. The gym also offers spin, yoga, and PiYo classes, which I'd like to try.

What do you have going on this weekend? What's your favorite kind of cross training? 

Thanks to Courtney, Cynthia, and Mar for hosting! Make sure to check out their "Friday Five" posts (direct links above in first paragraph) and link up if you are joining in on the fun, and then check out some of the other link up posts – so many great ones to choose from!