Short week so Legs.....

Hit the gym for some legs. No running or spinning. Sort of in tape mode.

Legs

Barbell Squats - 7x12
Barbell Box Lunges - 4x24
Fire Hydrants - 4x24 - 3 second count
Box Jumps(hands over head) - 4x12
Superset - Hip Adductors - 4x15, Seated leg press angled - 4x24

Abs

Plank 4x75seconds

5:30am run in my future.

Bleh.... ready for Hangover

This morning I met the group for a run. We started with a mile warmup. The I ran hard for the next 3-4 miles by myself since the usual group members I run with were absent. Not a great run but was able to average under a 7 min pace.

Hit the gym for some back.

Back

Superset - Under-handed Low Row - 4x12, Over-handed low row - 4x12
Superset - Close Grip Low Row - 4x12, Wide Grip Low row - 4x12
Weighted Wide Grip pullups - 4x12
T-Grips - 4x12
Close grip pullups - 4x15

Abs

Scissored toe touches - 4x15

Feeling weaker

Recently, I've been trying to shave a few more lbs off and as a result I've been losing a little strength it seems. Bleh.....

Chest

Barbell Flat bench press - 5x12
Barbell Inclined bench press - 4x12
Barbell Declined bench press - 5x12
Dumbbell pullovers - 4x12
Superset - Dumbbell Flys - 4x12, High Cable Flys - 4x15
Weighted Box Pushups

Abs

Scissors - 4x24 with a 10 second hold

Arms & Rain

Nasty rainy weather and another long week.

Arms

Weighted Dips - 4x15
Weighted Chinups - 4x12
Declined Dumbbell Tricep extensions - 4x12
Reclined Dumbbell Curls - 4x12
Superset - Tricep overhead press - 4x12, Tricep pushups - 4x15

Shoulders

Arnold Shoulder Presses - 4x12
Superset - Plate around the head - 4x24, Shoulder press - 4x12
Superset - Dumbbell Side raises - 4x12, Platel front raises

Abs

Plymoetric Side Plank - 6x60 seconds

Intervals - Too slow to keep up...

Joined the 5:30am group for the normal run this morning. Here is what we did. 1 mile warmup, 5x4-minute intervals(1000m essentially at a 5:45per min pace) 2 minutes of easy jogging in between & a little cool down. The average pace doesn't do this run justice. I was the slowest person in the 4 man pack this morning. 2 of the pack was clocking in 5:30minute paced intervals. Not the best idea to do intervals the morning after doing legs. Also, my leg turnover needs to improve a decent amount to run 5:30minute pace. I ended up averaging a 6:30 pace for the entire run and my recovery jogging was very slow.

Then, this evening I hit the gym for a 1 hour spinning class to loosen my legs up and for cross training purposes. The instructor today was intense for once.

Wednesday Legs

Hit the gym for some legs. No running or spinning. If my legs feel good tomorrow I'll do both a 5:30am run & 6pm spinning class.

Legs

Barbell Squats - 7x12
Barbell Lunges - 4x24
Weighted Stepups on a box - 4x24
Fire Hydrants - 4x24 - 3 second count
Hip Adductors - 4x15

Abs

Plank 4x75seconds

Chilly 5:30am run in my future.

Tuesday intervals

This morning I met the group for a run. We started with a mile warmup. Then ran some long intervals, 2 x20 minute intervals at a 6-minute pace with a 2 minute rest period in between. I was hurting pretty badly. but managed to hang on. We averaged a 6:30ish pace for the entire run of 7 miles with a 1.5 mile cooldown to end.

Hit the gym for some back.

Back

T-Grips - 4x15
Weighted Wide Grip pullups - 4x12
Barbell Wall rows - 4x15
Inverted Rows - 4x15
High rows - 4x15
Close grip pullups - 4x15

Abs

Side plank on a stability ball - 4x75secs

Hard chest day....

Time to push it a bit since its the holidays. Going to try and hit the gym workouts harder and rest my legs a bit.

Chest

Barbell Decline bench press - 5x12
One-armed dumbbell press - 4x24
Dumbbell flat bench press - 4x12
Dumbbell pullovers - 4x12
Superset - One armed - medicine ball pushups - 4x15, Tricep medicine ball pushups - 4x12
Superset - Flat dumbbell flys - 4x12, Inclined dumbbell flys - 4x12

Abs

Scissors - 4x24 with a 10 second hold
Side plank on a medicine ball - 4x75secs

Nasty Sunday...

At least, its warmer today although a non-stop mist during my run didn't make it much better than the previous conditions for the week. I ran my normal 8 mile recovery run today with lots of stretching. My legs feel pretty beatup from yesterday's faster long run. Thinking about a lower mileage week for the 2nd week in a row to make sure I'm healed when it comes race day.

TGIF!!

The work week has been rough.

Arms

Weighted Chinups - 4x12
Weighted Dips - 4x15
Superset - Dumbbell Hammer Curls - 4x24, Cross chest curls - 4x24
Tricep overhead press - 4x12
Superset - Tricep extensions - 4x12, Close Handed Tricep press - 4x12


Shoulders

Superset - Plate around the head - 4x24, Shoulder press - 4x12
Superset - Dumbbell Side raises - 4x12, Dumbbell front raises


Abs

Passing a stability ball from hands to feet - 4x15

Burrr..... Windy & Chilly

This morning I I went to join the group for a 5:30am run, but only one person showed. It was 21 degrees with a wind chill of 7 and 30 mph gusts to boot. It sounds worse than it was. having the right gear is key for cold temperatures. We ended up running a slower pace due to the cold weather. We averaged around 6:55 min pace for the duration of the 6.3 miles. Nothing crazy, but not too slow either. Its only going to get worse as winter goes on.

Hit the gym for some legs.

Legs

Barbell Squats - 7x12
Superset - Medicine Ball Lunges - 4x30, Standing Leg Extensions - 4x24
Fire Hydrants - 4x24 - 3 second count - 3x12
Hip Adductors - 4x15
Angled Seated leg press - 4x24

Wednesday - spin session

Today, since I'm trying to let my sore right foot & calf heal I decided not to run, but to still get some cardio in. So I hit the gym for an hour spinning class. Luckily, today was an interval day so I did a good job of getting my heart rate up. The foot & calf are feeling better, but no sense pushing it until its feeling near 100%. I showed up 15 minutes early to warmup & stretch some. I really need to do more cross training. Very chilly 5:30am run in the morning.

Tuesday recovery

This morning I met the group for a run. Unfortunately, due to my sore calf & stiff right foot I had to backoff a bit. I ended up running the 7 mile course in about 49 mins for a 7 min flat pace. My foot and calf held up fairly well considering that wasn't super slow. Hopefully, this means a quick recovery.

Hit the gym for some back. My chest is very very sore today from yesterday's weight session.

Back

Barbell bent over rows - 4x15
Superset - Hammer strength underhand grip - 4x12, Hammer strength overhand grip - 4x12
Weighted Wide Grip pullups - 4x12
Superset - Low rows close grip - 3x12, Reverse flys - 3x12
Close grip pullups - 4x15


Abs

Pike on a stability ball - 4x15
Side plank on a stability ball - 4x75secs

Monday.... stiffness

My calf is very tight today today & my right foot is very sore. I think I've been running to hard for too many weeks in a row. 4 days a week of "hard" running of either being a tempo run, long run, or a interval workout has finally taken its toll. I'm going to have to backoff for the week.

Chest

Barbell Flat bench press - 5x12
Barbell Incline bench press - 4x12
Superset - Cable flys - 4x12, Dumbbell pullovers - 4x15
Weighted box pushups - 4x12
Barbell Decline bench press - 5x12
Incline Pushups - 4x20

Abs

Scissors - 4x24 with a 10 second hold

5:30am chilly run in the morning. Hoping my right foot is a little less sore and my claf is a little looser.

Friday.. at last

It has been a long week. Going to end up running in the snow tomorrow it looks like. Just hope it isn't too slick.

Arms

Weighted Dips - 4x15
Dumbbell Tricep extensions - 4x12
Reclined curls - 4x12
Close Handed Barbell Tricep press - 4x12
Weighted Chinups - 4x12


Shoulders

Dumbbell Shoulder Shrugs - 4x15 hold for a 3 count
Arnold Shoulder Presses - 4x12
Barbell Seated Shoulder press - 4x12


Abs

Scissored Toe touches- 4x24
Crab Crunches - 4x15
Side Planks on a medicine ball - 4x75secs

Intervals & leg lifting

I joined the group for a 5:30am run this morning. I joined one of the group who was doing a 5-5-4-2-1 workout where you get progressively faster with each interval. The last one was in the 6:10 range so my legs were burning quite a bit. Overall the average pace wasn't that great, but the intervals were fast enough though after hills last night.

Hit the gym for some legs.

Legs

Barbell Squats - 7x12
Superset - Barbell Lunges - 4x30, Plank - 4x75secs
Fire Hydrants - 4x24 - 3 second count
Supermans - 3x12
Hip Adductors - 4x15
Seated leg press - 4x24

Lots of stretching for the very tight hamstrings.

Rainy hills

Today, no lifting as my chest & upper back are very sore from the 2 previous days of work. I headed out for a hill workout. I chose a hill that was .20 miles long with a slightly steeper incline at the beginning. After a 1.5 mile warmup, it was time to get to work. I ran the repeats 10 times up with recovery jogging back down the hill. It was brutal, but my pace was even throughout which was my goal. The last 2-3 really did hurt and made my quads burn alot. I then ran the reverse of my warmup for a 1.5 mile cooldown. I feel running hills makes me a much stronger runner more so that speed work. However, logic says my leg turnover will suffer without enough speed work.
In the coming weeks I need to get a few speed sessions in the remind myself of my 5k & 10k race pace. No time for rest with a 5:30am run in the morning.

Wow, its December already

Hard to believe its December already. Where has the year went? I feel I've improved my health immensely this year. I feel like a serious runner finally where as I began the year never having ran more than 7 miles. Ideally, I would have a marathon under my belt at this point, but patience is key as continue to build my base.

I joined the 5:30am group this morning for the 7 mile hilly course. The run wasn't slow, but it wasn't too fast either. We ended up with a total time of 48 mins flat for the most part. It was a sub-7 average with a slow initial mile and a 4 minute walk with someone doing intervals. So my time while running was speedy for the most part.

Hit the gym for some back today.

Back

T-Grips - 4x15
Weighted Close Grip pullups - 4x12
Superset - Low rows close grip - 3x12, Wide grip low rows - 3x12
Reverse Flys - 4x12
High Cable Rows - 4x15
Run the rack Dumbbell rows - 5x6 -no rest increasing in weight

Abs

Weighted leg raises - 4x15
Side plank on a medicine ball with 10 half-pike twists per hold - 4x75secs
Legs raises - 4x12