Feeling The Burn!

OOOO! Don't you just love it when you feel the burn in your muscles that tells you that you are working, and working it hard! Firing up your muscles! I LOVE IT! That is the point I know that if I push just a little longer it will make me stronger! I felt it today with my run as I upped the speed on the treadmill for my run. So when I was running, I was running faster than usual and forced myself to just go a little farther.

Burn is different than hurt! Don't hurt yourselves but it is ok to get a little burn going. So excited that my training is going well and that I am still running even after the 4 miler. I have new goals and will keep going!

Speaking of being on FIRE, GO SUN DEVILS (my alma matter) on their win this past weekend!

QOTD: When you weight train do you feel the burn there too? 

Rest Day

So Sundays are my rest day. No blogging, no exercising, just rest and relaxation (after church and after the kid goes down for a nap of course.) Today things have been a little crazy with visiting with friends and grocery shopping. My body feels fine after my run last Saturday, but it is just...tired. It feels tired. I am happy that I don't hurt, or too stiff, or anything but my body definitely noticed the upgrade in mileage this past week. So I will still keep up the mileage but I decided to take an extra rest day today. (Nap time for the kid and then I have a full schedule of teaching this afternoon.)

So here is to rest day for me and to keep on going! Tomorrow is 4.25 miles run. I'm loving it!

QOTD: Do you let your body rest an extra day when it needs it?

5 Miles

My first 5 miles post baby! YEA ME! I took it really easy so that I didn't overdo it at all. I am still doing a walk/run style of training which is great for me! Today though I increased the amount of running time compared to walking time. My goal was just to do a nice steady 15 min/mile pace which is what I did. I actually went just a hair faster than that due to the warm up which was nice and slow and I took the whole 5 min for that. At the end of the 5 miles I continued to do a long cool down giving me a total of 5.5 miles walked/ran. I normally don't include my warmup and cool down in the timing but since I new I was going to be on the machine for a long time I included the warm up and did the cool down as extra.

Findings for running my first 5 miles in 3 years:

IT IS A LONG TIME TO SPEND ON A TREADMILL! Even doing it in just an hour is still a long time. Today was a nice day out too and I should have run outside but I didn't and opted for indoors. At least I knew exact mileage though and I could time myself on the walk/run intervals.

Find a good show or have good music! Thankfully the machine I used had a TV and I could watch the food network, but I downloaded Pandora on my phone for next time just in case.

Use the bathroom. It is a long time on the machine or out and about.

Need more energy. Time to start using gel things or energy beans to keep me boosted up on energy. I got super tired and just felt like I was limping in my energy at about 4.25 miles.

Listen to your body. I realized that my breathing is amazing, now! I had a steady breathing pattern. I was taking full breaths not short little spurts that I used to. I would have been able to run and talk. I finally didn't sound like I was dying. I sounded like a runner. My thighs were burning which is great! They were really working it. NO SHIN SPLINTS OR CALF CRAMPS AT ALL!

I am so proud of my mind and body for doing what I asked it to do today. 5 miles is a long time, but every Saturday it just keeps going up by 1/2 a mile for the next few weeks in preparation for the 10k coming up. And honestly today I thought, "ok next week I am running 5.5 miles and the 10k is only 1.2 miles more, I CAN TOTALLY DO THIS! It isn't that much further!!!" And I felt like I was in a good groove and pace and one that I could sustain longer. Would I like to be fast, heck yes! But, I want to be injury free and cross every finish line with a smile on my face and as I proved with my 4 miler, I will get faster. This was just my starting point!

Total walk/run mileage this week alone: 16.4 miles!
Elliptical mileage: 11.75 miles
Spin Class: 21.4 miles

My legs have done a lot this week! 6 days out of 6 days! GO ME!

QOTD: Do you prefer indoor or outdoor long runs?

Needs Improvement

My needs improvement this week is to stretch much better than I usually do. Honestly, I admit it that I don't stretch as much as I should. I am usually pouring sweat and just want to get home and relax and take a shower. So I just rush through what is probably the most important part of the workout.

Yesterday after my second cycling class, we did awesome stretching. I felt my hamstrings actually loosen up while stretching and relax just a little more than they usually do. And because of the stretch yesterday, my thighs do no hurt today, which I was anticipating they would because of all the "hill" intervals we did and the amount of burn I felt during the workout. Today they felt strong, supportive and great which in turn made my short 2 mile run strong and it just felt great!

After my run today, I took the time to stretch, stretch and stretch some more. I have my long run tomorrow so I want to be nice and relaxed for that! If you couldn't tell, I am a little excited about my long run, because the last time I ran 5 miles straight was 3 years ago, but 3 years ago I did run it straight, currently, I still walk run but still power through it. This week has been a really great workout week for me! I did cross training instead of just running and I went everyday. I haven't done that in a while. I am super proud of what I have accomplished this week! Come back tomorrow for my highlights on my long run!

QOTD: What is your favorite cool down stretch? 
~Mine is the threading the needle where you are lying on your back and place one ankle on the opposite knee and grab the straight leg and it stretches the bent leg! LOVE IT!

Second Timer

Today I completed my second spinning class. Second class was not as hard as the first. It was much better. But don't get me wrong, THE CLASS IS HARD! Today we had a sub and SHE LOVES HER HILLS! It felt like ever song was a hill and almost was. BUT I really, really, really like this class! Thankfully my butt doesn't hurt as much and I still took it easier than some of the ladies in the class. Like the lady next to me, SHE IS A SUPER WOMAN! She was insane and amazing! One day I will be like her. Just getting warmed up!

Enjoying my cross training days! Tomorrow I run. Saturday I run. Saturday is my long run for the week and looking forward to seeing how well I will do with it. My first 5 miles in 3 years. EXCITED! Yes. NERVOUS? Yes!

QOTD: Have you tried a spinning class? Do you like the standing portion or sitting more?