Return to Running & Lauren’s Birthday!

First…a huge thank you to everyone for you kind words of encouragement. It means more to me than I can express. I am not an exceptional runner…I just really love running. Thank you for sharing in the joy!!!!

I have another marathon in a month, so I’m doing a reverse taper.  Here’s my training this week.

Monday.

3 mile walk plus more airport walking.

Tuesday.

Sore quads. Rainy day. 3 miles of treadmill walking and lots of upper body weights.

Excited to wear some of my Chicago swag!

Wednesday.

6 rainy miles with friends. Slow but felt great…woo hoo! Wanted to run extra but decided to be smart.

In lieu of extra miles, I went to get a crepe instead…priorities:)

Evening Orange Theory Fitness class with lots of time on the bike and rower.

When the hubs is away, the wife will not cook dinner and instead get a tofu taco salad, watch hulu, and eat entirely too many tortilla chips. Such a glamorous life!

Thursday

Special Breakfast Club run in downtown Franklin with breakfast at Frothy Monkey

to celebrate Lauren’s birthday!!!  Aren’t Alex and Lauren the sweetest couple?!!

5 miles with group this awesome group!

Breakfast

2.5 solo miles afterwards in my new Saucony Kona Kinvaras!

Here are some great tips from Runner’s World on When To Return To Running After A Marathon.

As a general guideline, I suggest taking three to seven days completely off after a marathon. Sleep in, eat, and enjoy your accomplishment! After that, begin an active recovery program. Active recovery includes light exercise and even some running, if you are not sore. “Light” exercise means exercising at a low intensity level, i.e., no more than 60-65% of your max heart rate for a relatively short duration, less than 60 minutes. Activity actually helps you recover faster than inactivity because it promotes circulation. Good circulation delivers fresh oxygen and nutrients to muscles and carries away metabolic waste and, therefore, aids healing and recovery. Walking, running, riding a bike, stretching, or swimming for 30 to 60 minutes at low intensity will promote circulation and assist your recovery. Massage therapy and foam rolling can also help relieve muscle soreness and assist recovery by increasing the body’s circulation too.

Where are you at in your training?  Taper, Recovering, Long Runs?

Do you run with groups?  Why or why not?

Favorite Breakfast?  Mine is obviously oatmeal!

#choosejoy

Checkout My Orangetheory Fitness Results!

A new Orangetheory Fitness just opened near my house and I was curious to try it.  Fortunately a couple of my girlfriends felt the same way, so we made a date.

These ladies ROCK!!

For our first class they asked us to arrive 30 minutes early for orientation. One of my favorite features of this workout is that it’s based around your heart rate.  My results are posted below.  We were fitted with our heart rate monitors, met the instructor (Sunil), and were ready to go!

Half of the class starts on the treadmills and the other half begins with weights/interval training.  Of course we chose the treadmills…hello comfort zone!  The mood is great with dim lights and club music.  We were having our own little dance party.  I’m sure the rest of the class thought we were nuts, but working out should be fun!

There is a monitor above the treadmills with each class members name.  It lists your heart rate and shows if you’re in the Base (green), Push (orange), or All Out (Red) zone.

Here’s a link from their site to explain the Science of the OrangeTheory Workout.

For my workout: My Base was 6mph (1% incline), Push was 9mph (1% incline), and Push was 9mph (3% incline).  Next time, I’m going to increase my inclines.  I’m afraid I will fall off if I run any faster!

Halfway through the class we switched workouts and did the row machine, TRX squat jumps, core work, weights, and abs with a medicine ball.

I’ve never done heart rate training, so I LOVE having this data.  And, having my number on the big screen made me so aware of keeping a nice relaxed breath and posture.

After the class, you can look at your results, BUT they also send you this email summary.  How cool is that?!

I will definitely take more Orangetheory classes in the future!  Sunil was so encouraging and motivating throughout the entire hour.  I know it’s cheesy, but his high-fives kept me pushing towards the end.  As a runner, it was harder to get my hear rate into the red zone.  Increasing the treadmill inclines will surely help with that in my next class.  If you have one near you, check it out.

Do you workout with a heart rate monitor?  Is so, do you wear it for every workout or just certain ones?

Did you race or have  a long run this morning?  Feel free to brag about your run!!!

Happy Weekend!!!