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I had a much better training week this week, thank goodness! You can find all the beginner sprint triathlon training posts here.
Workout Summaries
Sunday: 30 minute run outside, doing my best to maintain that 10:54 pace. Mostly bouncing back and forth between 11:11 and 10:33. I’m trying to run outside when it’s mild as much as possible. It felt pretty good! I don’t feel the mental struggle of having to convince myself not to just hit the stop button when I run outside. Also did a spin class.
Monday: I did the missed speed workout from last week here — six 30-second intervals at my 800meter pace of 7:00. These were hard but not nearly as hard as they were the previous week, which is not nothing! I was pretty gassed at the end of this short workout but still went to my boxing class. Slept great this night.
Tuesday: rest day–a snowstorm closed the gym and the roads!
Wednesday: 30 minute treadmill run. Terrible mindset after a bad day, and I really had to push to get through it. It absolutely helped my mood though, and I’m going to hang on to that memory to convince myself to run the next time I’m not in the mood.
Thursday: Pilates. I meant to run this day and got stuck at work late and it just didn’t happen. I did take a walk on my lunch break.
Friday: 30 minute run on the treadmill at 10:54. Felt great on this one — loose, mobile, and distracted enough that it wasn’t torture. I’m eager for the weather to improve so I can get outside.
Saturday: AM Pilates, afternoon run on the treadmill at 10:54. It was cold out. Mentally a tough run, physically a pretty solid one.
Notes on this week
Treadmill Mindset
I am having a rough go of it with the treadmill! I can’t read or watch videos on the treadmill without getting nauseated, so I’m stuck with music and whatever’s in my head. This has never really been a huge deal before but since I started this beginner sprint triathlon training I’ve been running a lot more than I ever had before in the winter. Here in the Northeast, there’s just not going to be many days in February where running outside is an option! So I need to work this out if I’m going to make it through the next month or so.
I’m going to try five minutes of meditation in the sauna at the gym before I head up to the treadmill, which I think will help reset my mentality a little bit. I noticed this week that having a terrible day meant spending my run dwelling on what happened. So I need to try to go into the next runs with a little bit more of a positive mindset, or at least not actively upset.
Feeling Better!
I honestly can’t believe how solid the runs felt this week. I have had a little tightness and achiness, particularly in my left hip that had me laid up next week, but I feel like I’ve found a decent set of stretches for loosening it (turns out it’s called piriformis syndrome!). Doing those stretches every day regardless of where I am in the pain cycle has helped a lot. I’ve also been more careful to only run in my most supportive shoes (I have Hoka Gaviotas that I’m very devoted to — a lot of more supportive shoes are not good for runners like me who supinate.)
Beyond even the hip — I feel faster and stronger, and my body doesn’t feel fatigued as quickly. I wouldn’t say I feel incredible, and I often really don’t want to run before I start. But I am starting to get what people say about “runner’s high”. I consistently feel that my mood is so improved after the run!
