Week 8

Week grade: B

Monday: Max Cardio Conditioning

Tuesday: 9.01 mile run

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: 4.5 mile run

Friday: Cardio Power and Resistance

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: Rest

Total miles: 13.5

I took some extra rest days this week.  Wednesday was originally supposed to be Plyometric Cardio Circuit but after the long run that would probably do more harm than good.  Saturday wasn't a total rest day by any means.  I had the day off and the sun was shining so I finally got around to mowing (part of) my lawn.  That is a total bitch in the early spring in the pacific northwest so it ended up being a decent workout.

I am actually considering cutting out the Insanity stuff completely.  It might be better to do that program as a winter tradition when the weather sucks.  It kind feels weird using a workout DVD when it is so nice outside.  I'll stick with it, though maybe with a modified schedule, up until my half marathon.  After that I'm thinking my mileage will be too high and the my body won't have time to recover with the intense Insanity workouts.  I am a little concerned that I won't get enough cardio without them, though.

Happy Easter!

Week 7

Week's grade: A

Monday - 8 mile run
Tuesday - Pure Cardio
Wednesday - Plyometric Cardio Circuit
Thursday - 6.3 mile run
Friday - Max Interval Circuit
Saturday - 3.43
Sunday - Rest

Total weekly miles: ~18

Not a bad week!  My weekly routine was totally out of whack because of some crappy weather.  Monday and Thursday were going to be Insanity days but I just played it by ear.  If there wasn't any rain, I ran.  The weather is looking much better this week so maybe I'll be able to break 20 weekly miles.  I have a little over a month before my half marathon so things are looking good.

Week 6

Week's grade: B+

Monday: Max Interval Plyo
Tuesday: 3.01 mile run
Wednesday: Pure Cardio
Thursday: 5.1 mile run
Friday: 4.1 mile run
Saturday: Cardio Power and Resistance
Sunday: Rest but I will end up walking over 3 miles before the day is done.

Total miles: ~12.2

As you can see I did not do a long run this week.  The weather has been really wet and windy.  I'm not committed enough to spend an hour in that crap.  Work has also been very stressful and has taken up some of my free time.  I guess that should be fine.  A "light" week might be something that I've needed for a while.  I know work will be better now and I hope the weather will be too!

Tomorrow I start out next week with Max Interval Circuit.  I consider that to be the hardest of the Insanity workouts!

Happy St. Paddy's day!

Week 5

Grade: A

Monday - Max Cardio Conditioning
Tuesday - 3.13 mile run
Wednesday - Plyometric Cardio Circuit
Thursday - 3.12 mile run
Friday - Cardio Power and Resistance
Saturday - 8.01 mile run
Sunday - Rest

Total miles: 14

This was a very good week in all departments, fitness and life.  As you can see I managed to get all my workouts in, increased my long run mileage and got over 10 miles/week for the first time in this round of training.  The weather on Saturday was beautiful.  It was in the 50s and the sun was shining.  That's perfect running weather!  Both of my knees started to get pretty stiff at the 4 or 5 mile mark.  They didn't hurt but it was uncomfortable.  I did some research and it could be that I'm just over working them.  I knew going in to this that doing Insanity and running might be a little too much and I might need to scale back some as my mileage gets higher.

I finally got around to registering for my next half marathon.  It will be the Heroes Half in Everett, WA.  I am committed now!

Week 4

I gave my workouts letter grades last week and I kind of like that!  This week I'll give myself a B+.  It would be an A but I skipped a day because I am still undisciplined.

Monday - SKIP :-(
Tuesday - Run 3 miles
Wednesday - Max Interval Circuit
Thursday - Stationary bike 30 minutes
Friday - Plyometric Cardio Circuit
Saturday - 7 mile run
Sunday - Recovery

Total miles: 10

I did Max Interval Circuit on Wednesday.  It was the workout I skipped on Monday and I figured the two workouts I cannot skip are my MAX workouts and the long runs.

I wanted to run on Thursday but my work schedule was screwy all last week so I didn't get home until later and the weather was pretty crappy.  The weather was crap on my long run as well.  I had a 20 MPH headwind for about 3 miles of it but I kept a 9:04 mile pace which is really good for me.  In the past a long run would be more around 10:30.  I think there are a few factors that improve my pace.  First is just being in better shape.  Insanity really helped my cardio.  My resting pulse rate was down to 58 beats per minute the other day.  Before I started Insanity it was around 80.  Next is my weight loss.  I am down almost 10 pounds since my last half marathon.  It saves quite a bit of energy not lugging that around!  Then we have my improved nutrition.  Using myfitnesspal to make sure I am eating enough has helped immensely.  Last is the shoes.  I love the Ghost 5s.  I can't believe I ran on my old shoes for so long!

I'm hoping to get over 10 miles total next week.  That should be easy to do as long as the weather cooperates.