Goodbye 2013 and hello 2014! This past week of workouts saw my final miles of 2013 and my first miles of 2014. It also saw me stretching and icing (my shins) not only after every run, but after every workout. Starting the year off right. Fingers crossed that I get to run all the miles with healthy shins this year!
Monday- Complete rest day. Today was supposed to be my final day of the 30 day plank challenge, with a 5 minute plank. But I was just so done with planks. They had really gone downhill, to the point where I wasn’t hitting the times I was aiming for, and I made the executive decision to nix the last day.
Tuesday- 2:40 plank (just because I quit on the last day of the 30 day plank challenge doesn’t mean I quit on planks).
4 mile run with Sven (the treadmill), while Barry biked on his road bike on the trainer I got him for Christmas. This run felt really good and it was nice to get one last run in before ringing in the New Year.
Wednesday- Cross training. I did a new Jillian Michaels workout that focuses on “trouble areas” which translates into working everything from your shoulders to your knees. It was set up as a 40 minute circuit workout, with seven 6 minute intervals. I enjoyed the new workout, found it challenging, and got a good sweat in. However, I did feel like quite the cliche trying a new workout on New Years day!
Thursday- I was sore from my shoulders to my knees from Wednesday’s workout! Those lunges and shoulder strength moves really got me. I decided an easy 3 mile run was a good way to go. I toyed with the idea of running up to 5 miles, but when I hit 3 I felt like that was enough. Then I spent a long time stretching. I also decided it was time to cut the jingle bells off of my shoes since the holidays are over.
Friday- 4 mile run on the treadmill. I took it easy during mile 1 to warm up and then continually bumped up the speed during miles 2-3.5, before slowly bumping it back down to cool down during the last half mile. I ended with an average pace of 9:47/mile which was nice to see. I’m hoping to get back to where 9:45-9:50/mile is my comfortable short, easy run pace.
Saturday- 3 mile trail run at Mountain Lake with Barry. When we finally got parked, we only had about an hour until sunset, hence the shorter run. This was my first time running on trails in the snow and it certainly added an extra challenge. We were pretty much either going up or going down the whole time and the snow made both difficult.
That’s all the details on this run for now, because I’m planning to do a full recap later this week.
Sunday- Level 3 30 day shred workout. If you’ve ever done the 30 day shred you know that it’s short but intense. When I finished this workout, my hair looked the same way it does at the finish line of a 5K when it’s 75 degrees outside. And that’s why there’s no picture for this one.
Total Miles: 14 miles
Total Miles of 2013: 1,076 miles (the first time I’ve ever run more than 1,000 miles in a year)
Turkey Runner 
Great week. I am really intrigued by this Jillian trouble areas workout! More details, please! And do you have Yak Trax? They are necessary on trails that go up and down in the snow. May be worth looking into 🙂
Meagan! Do you by chance read HRG’s blog? She had a post about scraping today and then linked to this post: http://thedailyrounds.com/gau-sha-whats-all-the-hullabaloo/ I have no idea if you are into Chinese medicine or anything, but I was totally thinking of you and your shins that have been bothering you. You have not mentioned it recently so maybe the shins are feeling better anyway, but thought this was an interesting post. They did not say where it works best, but if it would help with my glute/piriformis which sometimes bother me, I would totally do it, though I am a big believe of pain = gain. It sounds painful!
What do you want to know about the Jillian workout? It started and ended with a 10 minute warm up/cool down. The middle part was broken into seven six minute intervals, each focused on one or two areas within the “trouble zones.” I needed a yoga mat and hand weights and most of the exercises were dynamic moves that involved working legs along with arms, or core along with legs… that kind of thing. I will look into Yak Trax! Thanks!
I do read HRG and I saw that post on scraping. I first heard about scraping/Graston treatment from Emily at Sweat Once A Day last year. It’s definitely worth looking in to, although I’m also terrified that it will make things worse. But what if it solved all of my problems?? My shins haven’t been bothering me as much lately, but I’ve been really careful about running on soft surfaces, stretching, icing, and spacing out my running days so they’re not back to back.It sounds painful, but if it helps….
Wow. You broke a grand! Just think of the walking miles you do daily that you don’t record.LUD.
Yea man! There are probably plenty of walking miles that didn’t get counted, between walking the dogs while camping, walking with you, and walking at work!
I can’t wait to read your full trail recap from Mountain Lake! It’s snowing here today and the temps are plummeting. Think I’ll be on the dreadmill for the next few days…
It’s coming at you tomorrow afternoon 🙂 At least you’re still getting to run!
My favorite would be the trail run! 🙂 I really need to check out a Jillian video.
I’m not getting paid to say this or anything (I wish..) but I really like the Jillian workouts!
Congratulations on your thousand-mile year!! Doesn’t it feel awesome?!I’m too afraid to even attempt those Jillian workouts (although I guess not owning the DVD is a bigger barrier)… strength training is definitely not my thing (blah blah good for me blah blah injury prevention blah blah, I still hate it). But of course, I’ve been lamenting my lost arm strength so I suppose it’s not fair to complain if I’m not doing anything about it.
I feel like a rock star 🙂 hahaYou can complain if you want, I don’t judge.
Can’t wait to read about your Mountain Lake run. From remembering Bill’s and my drive up there one time, I can imagine how hilly your run must have been! Amy mentioned YakTrax and I wrote about them on Sunday. You would definitely benefit by owning a pair!
You are imagining correct! It was very hilly. I can’t wait to see what that place looks like without the snow.
I’m so behind. But catching up! Congrats on breaking the 1,000 mile mark! =)Also? You have fantastic jingle bell stamina. Those suckers would’ve been gone the moment I crossed the finish line….
I don’t think they would have lasted as long if Barry had been running with me. They would have annoyed him so much that he would have removed them when I wasn’t looking!