ashleyd /

Workout Recap – June 11-24th

Hey guys! Today I’m sharing the updates from the past two weeks of half marathon training. Things are going better than I expected. It is clear that I thrive when I have a plan to follow and am therefore accountable to you all as my readers and followers as well as my coach.  I’m thrilled to be in the place where I want to train and have the emotional, mental and physical ability to work towards a goal.  While I am keeping a training journal, where I track my progress, I want to also share my training with you all as I know many of you are chasing the same sub 2-hour goal and others are just curious and enjoy reading workout recaps and getting a bit more details behind my daily workouts.

So, with that said, let’s dive into my second and third weeks of training which includes not only my workouts, but also my health and wellness goals.

Average steps:  10,552 (vs previous average of 6,500)

Number of glasses of wine: 4 and 3 (4 one week, 3 the next)

Did I track my meals breakfast, lunch & snacks Monday through Friday? Yes!

Have I lost weight? Yes, so far I have lost around four pounds.

  • Monday: My schedule allowed me to returned to Body Pump again this week. I increased the weights on certain tracks, which made a huge difference.
  • Tuesday: Once again, I kicked Tuesday off with a super, early private Pilates session at A-Line.  I have a few more privates left in my package and am spacing them out over the summer so we can continue to focus on improvements and form as I progress.
  • Wednesday: I was able to get off the wait-list for the early morning tower Pilates class. This is one of their most popular classes and books in advance. The tower class worked my entire body but surprisingly, my glutes and arms were the most sore on Thursday.
  • Thursday: This week’s 4 mile run with the Brooklyn mom running group was larger than normal which made it SO fun! I don’t know why a few new faces decided to join but we chatted the entire time. My glutes were a bit achy at the beginning so I was happy that our pace was slower for the first mile while my body woke up.
  • Friday: Rest Day
  • Saturday: Due to a last minute change, I didn’t run the Queens 10k so instead I headed out in the afternoon for a 3.5 mile long run (9:02, 9:15, 9:09, 9:03). I kept the pace pretty consistent and finished feeling strong.
  • Sunday: The weather was horrible so instead of leaving the house for a workout, I hopped on the bike and did a Flywheel Power 30 class with my favorite instructor, Dionna. I focused on trying to hit a new PR and came just a few points away from hitting my goal.
  • Monday:  I took another lunch time mat Pilates class at Aline Pilates. I’m trying to take an average of two Pilates classes per week and stick with the same teachers as they are able to make corrections and help me focus on my breathing and weaknesses. I was the only person to show up for class so it actually ended up being a private class for the price of a group – WINNING!
  • Tuesday: My Tuesday Tempo runs are quickly becoming my favorite workout! I listened to a Tempo Playlist on Spotify and focused on the 3 segments of this workout – warm-up, tempo pace and cool-down. I kept a 9:07 pace (9;12, 8:55, 9:16 and 9:08) during the workout and covered 3.2 miles.
  • Wednesday: I squeezed in a 20 minute Flywheel POWER class bright and early before a doctor’s appointment. I pushed myself and hit a new PR for the 20 minute class.
  • Thursday: I ran 3 miles with the Brooklyn mom group but had to turn back early due to a busy morning.
  • Friday: Rest Day
  • Saturday: Between chasing kids around the house during her birthday party and running errands, I went to bed with THROBBING legs as I’d logged more than 16,000 steps. I guess you could call this an active rest day.
  • Sunday: My third “long run” of half marathon training was a 4 mile run through Brooklyn Bridge Park. Since Theodora wants my long runs to be at conversational pace, I figured that I would use the Lululemon and Brooklyn Moms group run Sunday morning for this week’s long run. The plan worked perfectly as I was able to run with a few new mom friends who are my similar pace and talking made the miles pass quickly. I was surprised to see that my pace was a 9:29 – 9:39, 9:17, 9:25 and 9:30.

Overall, my second and third week have me so excited for what is to come but, I am not getting ahead of myself. I know that there is a lot of summer heat, humidity and longer runs coming soon! My goal this week is to make sure that I make it back to Body Pump or another challenging, strength workout. I feel my best when I’m doing 2 days of Pilates, 3 days of running and a strength workout! Since I’ll be out in Seattle with Brooks this weekend, I have a feeling I’ll log plenty of miles with the Brooks #RunHappy Ambassador crew!

 

Share Button
Follow:
ashleyd /

Workout Recap – June 4th – 10th

180611-annarachelphotography-8243.jpg

It feels amazing to be back in GOAL mode and following a training plan. As I shared last week, now that I am 11-months postpartum I’m thrilled to be in the place where I want to train and have the emotional, mental and physical ability to work towards a goal.  While I am keeping a training journal, where I track my progress, I want to also share my training with you all as I know many of you are chasing the same sub 2-hour goal and others are just curious and enjoy reading workout recaps and getting a bit more details behind my daily workouts.

So, with that said, let’s dive into my first true week of training which includes not only my workouts, but also my health and wellness goals.

Average steps: 8,108 (vs previous average of 6,500)

Number of glasses of wine: 5

Did I track my meals breakfast, lunch & snacks Monday through Friday? Yes!

  • Monday: After a long time away, I finally returned to Body Pump. Our local YMCA offers Body Pump classes 10 different times throughout the week and I’ve chosen this as my primary strength workout during this training. With so many weekly opportunities, it is easy to fit in my schedule and it’s included in my YMCA membership plan.  Since it was my first time doing Body Pump in AGES, it took me a few tracks to figure out the right weight combination. I wish I’d written down the weight I used during class so that I can easily remember each week but I’ll have to do this next time. The class flew by and I appreciated all the adjustments the instructor made during class.
  • Tuesday: Thanks to a package I received at Christmas, I have a few private Pilates sessions at my neighborhood Pilates studio, A-Line. I spent a lot of time here during pregnancy as it was one of my favorite prenatal workouts and the breathing techniques helped me through labor. Now that I’m safely postpartum, it is so much fun to push my body during their tower and mat classes. The private class helped me focus on form as Lindsay constantly adjusted and helped me focus on the breath. These private classes are giving me more confidence to take the tower and mat group classes.
  • Wednesday: In celebration of Global Running Day, I joined Brooks and a few of my friends for a fun-filled 5k run along the West Side Highway bright and early before work.
  • Thursday: While I rarely have double workout days, I ended up running 4 miles with my Brooklyn mom running group bright and early and then ended the day with a 45-minute mat Pilates class. We did a lot of posture and back work during this class which helped me focus on my posture throughout the week and standing just a little bit taller and straighter.
  • Friday: I was able to sleep in an hour and a half later than normal since Bo and I decided to kick off our date night with a 45 minute Flywheel class. Since I frequently spin at home these days on our Fly Anywhere bike, it was a treat to not only take class in a studio but with one of my favorite instructors – Dionna!
  • Saturday: 100% rest day including a relaxing bath and some foam rolling
  • Sunday: My first “long run” of half marathon training was a 3.3 mile run throughout Red Hook.  I focused on the pace and having consistent splits – 8:56, 8:59, 9:07, 9:09.  The last 3/10 of a mile were completely uphill so the change in pace wasn’t a surprise. Since I knew I only had one small window of time to run, during Katie’s afternoon nap, I definitely “made it count” and focused on my form, breathing and enjoying the water views and my playlist.

Overall, my first week was exactly the kick in the butt I needed and left me feeling excited, energized and hopeful for what is to come!

Share Button
Follow:
ashleyd /

Running a Sub 2:00 Half Marathon

diamond family run

It has been a while since I’ve had a fitness goal that excited me. During my pregnancy, my goal was to stay active and healthy. Following Katie’s birth, my goal was once again to stay active which helped me stay physically and mentally healthy. While I was able to achieve both of these and benefited greatly, now that I’m 11 months postpartum, I’m excited to focus on a goal that helps me return to my fitness roots – running.  While I’ve run more than 25 half marathons, 5 marathons and over 50 shorter races since beginning my running journey in 2006, I’ve never been able to break 2 hours in the half marathon.

I’m hoping to run a sub 2:00 half marathon at the NYCRuns Brooklyn Half marathon on October 20th!

Over the past few years, I’ve striven to improve my half marathon times. While I had a few highlights of running 2:01 half marathons along the way, I’ve had more than a few disappointments.  As I look back and read multiple race recaps, a few things stand out: over-training, lack of training, lack of strength training, or lack of recovery time.   I laugh as I read through prior posts and see that I was running 4-5 times a week in addition to taking boutique fitness classes on Classpass or when we lived abroad, traveling every single weekend. I wasn’t allowing my body anytime to recover. Then, when I read other recaps I realize that I went into a race with a stretching goal on very little training.

IMG_5101

ashley 9k

This time around, I am doing a few things differently:

  • I’m balancing motherhood and a career which means my training needs to be efficient and effective.
  • I have given birth and gone through a level of pain that made me stronger mentally and physically.
  • I am starting my training early so I can build a strong base.
  • I am reading to gain knowledge and insights so that I can train smarter. In fact, what is your favorite book or resources? 
  • I am working with my friend Theodora, who is a run coach. As I train for my sub-2 this summer and fall,  she’s putting together a training for me. FYI, she is making plans for both remote runners and those local to NYC. Email her at Theodora@preppyrunner.com for more details.
  • I realize the importance of strength training, core training, and recovery in addition to running.
  • I am going to record EVERYTHING using Strava and my GPS watch.

So there you have it! I’ve shared my goal with you guys as well as with Bo and I am so excited for the training along the way. It has been a dream of mine to set an example for Katie and I can’t wait to run towards her and Bo at the finish line in October!

 

Share Button
Follow: