Fairy tales can come true, you got to make 'em happen... it all depends on you. (comments welcome!)

[Naomeri]

Thank you! That's what I use so I just tried it out. So easy!

I like to use it during races to compare what my watch measures as each mile and when I actually hit the mile markers (that’s the example I shared)

 

[superchime]

Signed up for my first Dopey! And my son is running the 5k with me.

I'm excited and nervous. I know this is a stretch for me, so I'm trying to be optimistic but not overconfident.

I've got a lot of work to do but this is something I really want so I'm willing to do it. Someone please remind me of this in about 7 months!

 

[Naomeri]

View attachment 849858


Signed up for my first Dopey! And my son is running the 5k with me.

I'm excited and nervous. I know this is a stretch for me, so I'm trying to be optimistic but not overconfident.

I've got a lot of work to do but this is something I really want so I'm willing to do it. Someone please remind me of this in about 7 months!

I’ll remind you if you remind me

 

[superchime]

I’ll remind you if you remind me

It's a deal!

 

[nancipants]

Woo-hoo! I'll drag you along the marathon with me if you'll drag me with you.

 

[superchime]

Woo-hoo! I'll drag you along the marathon with me if you'll drag me with you.

Absolutely! We can take turns! You can fall apart on the even numbered miles and I'll take the odds.

 

[Herding_Cats]

One of us. One of us.

 

[superchime]

Ok, help me out hive mind! I'm trying to figure out a good schedule for the summer and there are a lot of moving parts to fit together. I'm trying to get stronger and faster without hurting myself.

The non-changeable events are:
Mon - Kung Fu
Wed - upper body strength
Thurs - Kung Fu
Fri - lower body strength

Following the "make your hard days hard" philosophy, I am thinking of doing speed work on my strength days (run in the mornings, lift in the evenings). For now I'm using "speed work" as a general term for harder/shorter runs. The specifics will come down to whatever DopeyBadger tells me to do on these days!

I'm really new to strength training and my first leg day wiped me out. I'm hoping that will improve as my body adjusts to the new training load, but I'm not sure where to put my long run. Mondays or Sundays? I've typically done my long run on Saturdays, then rest on Sundays, but I don't know if I'm going to be able to do that if leg day is Fridays.

Mon - long run? - Kung Fu
Tues - rest
Wed - speed work/upper body day
Thurs - Kung Fu
Fri - speed work/ leg day
Sat - recovery run? or long run?
Sun - or long run here? or rest?

It's not going to make my teacher super happy, but I have decided I'm going to treat Kung Fu as "extra" for now. I'll go if I feel up to it, but I won't feel bad about skipping a class or holding back in class if I need to. Getting ready for Dopey is my priority now.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Following the "make your hard days hard" philosophy, I am thinking of doing speed work on my strength days (run in the mornings, lift in the evenings).

This is what I do. When you get to the lower body strength, just keep in mind that you'll be starting with tired legs if you have speedwork in the morning. You might not be able to do as much as you would going into it fresh.

I'm really new to strength training and my first leg day wiped me out.

That's normal! It will get better. Just make sure you're building up slowly - if you're ever so sore you can barely walk, that means you did too much and you need to dial it back.

I'm not sure where to put my long run. Mondays or Sundays? I've typically done my long run on Saturdays, then rest on Sundays, but I don't know if I'm going to be able to do that if leg day is Fridays.

Mon - long run? - Kung Fu
Tues - rest
Wed - speed work/upper body day
Thurs - Kung Fu
Fri - speed work/ leg day
Sat - recovery run? or long run?
Sun - or long run here? or rest?

I would say you're probably better off not doing a long run the day after speedwork/lower body strength. I would think either Sunday or Monday would be okay, but see how your runs feel once you start getting used to those strength days and that will give you a better idea of what works for you.

Example of what I'm doing currently:

Mon - easy run/upper body strength
Tues - easy run/lower body strength + HIIT
Wed - easy run/core
Thurs - rest
Fri - speedwork/total body strength
Sat - easy run/core
Sun - long run/yoga

I consider Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday to be my hard days. I basically replaced a running workout with harder strength/HIIT, keeping in mind that supplemental training is also part of the 80/20 balance you're aiming for overall. I wouldn't necessarily move upper body strength days automatically into the "hard" category, but I've also been doing strength training for a long time, and I'm generally not lifting so heavy that I'm sore the next day.

When I had karate classes, those were more likely to make me sore, so I would have tried to line up harder runs with karate rather than strength and probably kept the strength a little lighter. I think it's really particular to your own experience - when do you feel the most tired the next day?

 

[superchime]

Thanks! This helps a lot!

This is what I do. When you get to the lower body strength, just keep in mind that you'll be starting with tired legs if you have speedwork in the morning. You might not be able to do as much as you would going into it fresh.

This is good to keep in mind. My knees are delicate flowers, so I already have to be super careful with the weights. This might be too much for one day then. Maybe I could move that speedwork to Mondays.

I think it's really particular to your own experience - when do you feel the most tired the next day?

Kung Fu is so unpredictable. Some classes we go super hard, and some classes are more stretching and material work, and there's no way to predict what's going to happen when. So I'll just have to go into class with whatever energy level I have for that day (and what I know is on my schedule for the next day) and dial my participation up or down as needed. Luckily I've been in this class for a couple of years now so I have a pretty good idea about what is going to be too much for me, and my teacher is used to me modifying or sitting out on certain moves now.

Mon - speed work - Kung Fu
Tues - rest
Wed - speed work/upper body day
Thurs - Kung Fu
Fri - leg day
Sat - recovery run
Sun - long run

Hm. Sunday and Monday back to back might not be ideal with this schedule.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Your legs will get better/used to lifting in probably 2 weeks. At least that's been my experience with going back to lifting after a long break. The first week especially always makes me really sore, and it's usually not much of a problem after that.

We've done a fair amount of talking in the group about what to do first on lift (legs) and running days, and the general consensus is to do whichever is more important to you first. If lifting heavier is more important, do that in the morning. If speedwork is more important, do that in the morning. Speed work once a week might be enough for you too while you settle into the routine of all of the new things/new focuses. And once you've adjusted, you can see where a 2nd session would fit best into your routine.

 

[superchime]

Your legs will get better/used to lifting in probably 2 weeks. At least that's been my experience with going back to lifting after a long break. The first week especially always makes me really sore, and it's usually not much of a problem after that.

This is very good news because I was dying last weekend!

We've done a fair amount of talking in the group about what to do first on lift (legs) and running days, and the general consensus is to do whichever is more important to you first. If lifting heavier is more important, do that in the morning. If speedwork is more important, do that in the morning. Speed work once a week might be enough for you too while you settle into the routine of all of the new things/new focuses. And once you've adjusted, you can see where a 2nd session would fit best into your routine.

I have to work around the lifting days/times because I'm working with a group (which has been great because I absolutely was not doing it on my own). But it's good to hear maybe one day of speedwork might be enough. I've also got a month break from Kung Fu coming up because my teacher will be out of town, so that will help with the transition too.

 

[superchime]

Weekly Summary
April 8 - 14

Mon - plan: Kung Fu
I was still a little sore from the weekend so I was glad that tonight’s class was a lot of stretching and mobility, then straight into our material.

Tues - plan: register for Dopey
Success! What have I done?!

Wed - plan: Kung Fu, upper body strength
Oof, this was a long night. I’m doing my strength training with a group and we decided it would be best to go after Kung Fu. Probably the right move but we ended up closing down the Y and it was 10:00 before I had dinner.

I'm also having trouble with my neck hurting during my upper body strength training, because I have basically no upper body strength at all so the neck tries to help out.

Thurs - plan: Kung Fu
This was our last class before we break for a month, so it was a hard one. My right elbow and shoulder are a little angry from yesterday’s strength training. I think it’s similar to the situation with my knees, where I don’t have much muscular strength so I’m putting too much pressure on the joints. The pain isn’t terrible, but now I know I need to be careful.

Fri - plan: easy run
2 miles in 38:02

Sat - plan: lower body strength
Not as bad as last week, although I was definitely ready to be done. I'm really enjoying my little weightlifting group, though.

Sun - plan: recovery run
1.06 miles in 33:41

My son’s activity this morning ran later than expected to I wasn’t able to get out until afternoon and the temperature had climbed (which was fine, it was a beautiful day). So my recovery run turned into a recovery walk and I’m ok with that.

However, I am nowhere near as sore as I was after my first leg day last week. Knees are feeling a little irritated, but no sharp pain. Oddly enough, my upper back is more sore today than it was after my upper body workout earlier in the week. One of the exercises we do at the end of lower body day is this thing where we dangle and pull up our knees. I was having trouble getting my back muscles to activate on Wednesday, but apparently they were willing to participate in this move.

Trying hard to cram in all the protein. Ugh.


Extra note: I was talking about Dopey with my weightlifting group after Kung Fu class the other night and another student overheard and asked about it. When she heard the mileage she immediately started encouraging me to run a local 100 miler next! That’s the first time anyone (aside from you all) has encouraged me to run more. Turns out she used to run half marathons. She’s 70 now and doesn’t run any more but she’s still super active and exactly who I want to be when I’m her age.


It was a low mileage week as I'm still working on adjusting to my new weightlifting routine, which will go off the rails immediately because I leave for Springtime Surprise in a few days!

Total time for the week: 1:11
Total miles for the
Week 3.06 miles
Month 8.06
Year 206.66

 

[Scootin'By]

It's not going to make my teacher super happy, but I have decided I'm going to treat Kung Fu as "extra" for now. I'll go if I feel up to it, but I won't feel bad about skipping a class or holding back in class if I need to. Getting ready for Dopey is my priority now.

You have to take care of you!

Oof, this was a long night. I’m doing my strength training with a group and we decided it would be best to go after Kung Fu. Probably the right move but we ended up closing down the Y and it was 10:00 before I had dinner.

You're making me hungry just thinking about missing dinner until 10

 

[superchime]

You have to take care of you!

I'm working in it!

You're making me hungry just thinking about missing dinner until 10

It was not pretty, let me tell you. And I didn't eat much earlier in the day because I didn't want to be too full for class. Definitely need to get this figured out before next time!