Rubriik: Jalgrattasõit

Workout Week 12.–18.05.2014

Published on by Margit Partei2 kommentaari

In Workout Week posts I will tell you everything about my last week’s workouts.

12.-18.05.2014

Monday started off great: I got an A for my last very important exam. This means I have still a chance to graduate cum laude if I get an A on my bachelor’s thesis. With my mood still sky-high, I went to BodyPump. Before the class I did 30 minutes of cycling to warm-up. I felt a little tiny bit of tension (but no pain) in the lower part of my left calf near my recovering ankle. I decided to play it safe and replace all lunges with squats just in case. The BP class itself was pretty good in general. I also bought a new foam roller since my old one completely broke after 1,5 months. OMG. The new roller is really hard and it hurt so much to roll my thighs. But I know that it will do me only good.

Tuesday was officially rest day since I needed to take one day off (either Monday or Tuesday) after racing last Sunday. I just took a foam rolling class at my fitness club. 

Wednesday: back in Jooks Jõud Venitus! So happy about that. 🙂 It was a lovely workout: we ran outside for about 45 minutes and then foam rolled. A really relaxing recovery workout, nothing hard or intense and no strength training because most of us raced last weekend and needed some rest. I just loved it: nice weather, great people, just chatting and running in a slow pace. I felt well rested from two easy workout days and was ready to give it my all in Thursday’s BodyPump. Ankle report: a tiny bit of tension while running but absolutely no pain.

Thursday was a crazy day: I had so much energy I wanted jump through the roof. 😀 First I did 30 minutes of cycling, then a BodyPump class (increased squat and chest weights), then went home and walked the dog, foam rolled and still had so much energy I could’ve run a marathon or something. It was really funny how energetic I was. I think a little bit of sugar (few squares of dark chocolate & a muffin) and two easy workout days before had something to do with it. 😀

Friday was the most active day this week, burning in total around 1300 kcal. First I cycled to the city to go swimming: 500 m breaststroke, 1000 m front crawl and 100 m backstroke for cooldown. Then I cycled back home, walked the dog. Did other errands and some work and then walked to the other city to get my road bike. Yes, you read that right: I got my road bike! 🙂 An early graduation present from my family. Then I cycled home. This bike is so smooth and fast compared to my old bike. Love it! Ended the night with foam rolling as always.

My new bike: Scott Speedster Contessa 45

Saturday: running day! A short 47 minute run, around 7,6K and average pace of 6:09 min per km, so actually pretty fast for me. The weather was gorgeous and I was out all day long. My face even got a little burnt by the sun. My body was a little sore from the previous days so it was good to rest more.

Sunday was the day to properly try out my first road bike. The day before was a total carb-fest (lots of bread & cake…), so it was good to put these carbs into use. I cycled on the Saka-Ontika-Toila limestone cliff and the views there are just simply breathtaking. All in total: 2 hours and 5 minutes, 51 kilometres. My longest bikeride and my legs actually didn’t get that tired, my hands were the worst. And now I have my top all tanned on my shoulders. 😀

I already know I’m so going to enjoy the views of Ida-Virumaa on my bike all summer long. Can’t wait! 

 

In total:

4 hours of foam rolling

4 hours of cycling

2 hours 50 minutes of walking

2 hours 15 minutes of BodyPump

1 hour 30 minutes of running

45 minutes of swimming 

12.-18.05.14

When last week was about recovering, this week was about slowly returning to running. I originally really wanted to do a longer run on Saturday but since Maris advised me to only do an easier and shorter run, I followed that recommendation. Just because my ankle doesn’t hurt right now, doesn’t mean it’s all recovered. I can’t just start running 35+ km a week like I did before the injury. I have to take things slow to return to running and stay injury free in the long perspective. 

I know I can run the half-marathon in 4 weeks. It’s my first 21,1K so the time and pace won’t matter. It’s all about completing the track and getting across the finish line. Of course I have some time goals in mind but I have stay realistic and not forget the long perspective (= it’s not my only race this season or in my life). I feel like I’m ready. Luckily I got to run the 16K in Elva before the worst times began with the injury. The 16K there proved me that my body and mind are ready. I even enjoyed the run although my foot hurt like hell! I’m not sure if I can run any longer distances before the race on the 15th of June but if I don’t, at least I have the 16K experience under my belt. But it would be nice to do at least one 14–17 km run…

We’ll see how things go. Take one day at a time and don’t worry too much.

Oh, today’s bike ride gave a crazy, insane idea. Tartu Rattaralli 70K 2 weeks before my half-marathon. Should I do it? I kind of want to… But would it be wise? I doubt that. I’m the most afraid about falling in a crowded start and getting hurt before my 21,1K and graduation. I’m going to have to think about it.

Narva Energy Run: in less than a month. Tartu Olümpiajooks: in less than a week.

Workout Week 5.–11.05.2014

Published on by Margit ParteiLisa kommentaar

In Workout Week posts I will tell you everything about my last week’s workouts.

5.–11.05.2014

I’m going to start this week’s post with the end of last week. After posting my last Workout Week, I got a letter from my BodyPump and running coach Maris (who has been mentioned on my blog for at least 694873875 times because she is awesome). As I’ve stated before, I trust her 100%. She gave a ton of recommendations about what I need to do to recover from my ankle injury. To sum up:

  1. 2–3 week break from running
  2. Maybe skip the 10K race on Sunday
  3. A visit to a physiotherapist to get some anti-inflammatory medication
  4. Less walking (or anything that puts pressure on my ankle)
  5. More swimming, cycling and strength training
  6. More foam rolling

I don’t want to be overdramatic but I had tears in my eyes when I read all of that. No running for 3 weeks?! 😥 My world came crushing down. I love running. Forbidding running is like putting a heroin-addict into rehab. In my mind, I do understand that all of this is necessary in the long perspective. But in my heart, it hurts like hell. Maris said something very wise that I’ll remember forever:

Truth! I can take 2 weeks off now or half a year off later, it’s all up to me. I’m going to try my best to stay positive. Now is time to work on cycling and swimming to keep my fitness level and by doing that, also get ready for my triathlon in July. Find a positive in every negative!

This is not going to make me weaker. This is the time to show myself how strong I can be. I will never give up on my goals and dreams. I am running that half-marathon. I am competing in that triathlon. I will do it all…

…if I act smart now.

Monday is usually a running day. Instead, I went cycling for 30 minutes in the gym (saw my running group stretching from a window 🙂 ) and from there went straight to BodyPump. Increased some upper body weights and replaced all lunges with squats to save my ankle as much as possible. In shoulder track Florian wondered about his weights and asked us if we wanted to see him die or scream. I answered: “Both.” 😀 He put on 8,5+8,5 kg. Out of solidarity I added some weights as well: my bar was 4,5+4,5 kg. Awesome workout! Walking home, my ankle was a little tired and uncomfortable but I wouldn’t say in pain. Later I also foam rolled at home for about 20 minutes to relax all muscles.

Tuesday was all dedicated to cycling. I spent 1,5 hours and 41,7 km on an indoor bicycle. Indoor cycling has one huge plus: I can take my study materials with me and read them while working out. Perfect! After that, I had a small break and then went to foam rolling for an hour. This is painful every time. Overall it was a good day: my ankle hurt only once when I didn’t think about it and sat on my leg in a misfortunate manner. Other than that: pain-free!

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Wednesday: cycling (30 minutes) + BodyPump. I had a great day. My legs were a little sore from Monday (2 squat tracks!) and there was a spot on the back of my thigh that felt weird. Nothing painful but still: I have to be careful. I didn’t tie up my ankle and it didn’t hurt at all. YAY! But when I was walking home, my left ankle did feel tired and had some pain but not in the injured spots, it was on the outside part. Nothing major though. I was pretty optimistic about recovering fast and not feeling as sorry for myself. Finished the day off with foam rolling. By the way, my foam roller is breaking and doesn’t really work anymore. Bummer! 😦

On Thursday I was up bright and early and jumped in the pool just around 8 AM. I did my longest swimming session ever: 1,5 hours and 3,1K. I started with 1500 m of front crawl, then switched to 1500 m of breaststroke and finished everything off with 100 m of really slow backstroke. I was so tired I almost wanted to fall asleep in the sauna. All I kept thinking in the pool when I was getting tired is how much respect I have for the people who do Ironman (3,86K swim, 180,25K bike, 42,2K run) or Half-Ironman (1,9+90+21,1K) triathlons. Respect. I ended my day with some foam rolling (taking it seriously this week!).

Friday was cycling day again. I was so not in the mood but after cycling for about an hour, it wasn’t that bad. All in total: 1,5 hours, 42,2K. I realised I just cycled through a full running marathon. 🙂 And ofcourse: some foam rolling before bedtime.

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I will write more about Saturday and Sunday in my race summary coming up next week. To conclude: I raced the 10K, it didn’t hurt my injured ankle and I accomplished all possible goals. A total success!

In total:

  • 1 hour 30 minutes of running
  • 4 hours of indoor cycling
  • 2 hours of strength training
  • 1 hour 30 minutes of swimming
  • 3 hours 40 minutes of foam rolling
5.-11.05.14
The heart rates aren’t accurate (assumed by the program sportlyzer.com)

This week was all about recovery. I stayed off me feet as much as possible, didn’t even get close to 10 000 steps a day from Monday to Friday, foam rolled every single day, cooled my injured ankle, skipped running for 9 days straight, wore compression stockings a lot, tied my ankle up with elastic support. Everything was about getting better to run again. 

And I ran! 🙂

Narva Energy Run 21,1K: in less than 5 weeks.