All summer, I happily worked on building muscle mass and weight training at a fantastic class at my gym. Literally called “Muscle,” it was a 45-minute, instructor-led strength training workout using free weights. I felt myself getting noticeably stronger, and started to realize what an important part strength training plays in overall fitness.
But since September, when my life got turned upside down, I have had very little time for strength training. I could no longer attend muscle class at the gym (something I’ve mentioned in earlier blog posts), and then I went and quit that gym and joined the Y. I’ve been running five days a week with the 10K clinic. Combine that with 60-hour work weeks, the crazy volunteer work as president of the preschool, and there’s not a lot of time left.
The other problem is that I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to weights. I loved the muscle class for that very reason. I could let the instructor think of the plan, and then just go to the class and be told what to do. No thinking on my part – a nice change! But since my schedule is such that I’ve been unable to go to a class, strength training has fallen by the wayside.
When I joined the Y, I was given the opportunity to get one free personal training session. And, time being what it is, I only got around to doing that today. Mike did his session the second we joined. (Okay, two days later, but you catch the drift). They gave him a really basic plan, including some cardio on the treadmill, and a weight-training circuit on the machines.
I really wasn’t interested in that. For one thing, I certainly don’t need to improve my cardio training. Since November 1st, I’ve already run 115 kilometers. Getting into “shape” really isn’t my problem.
I also don’t love doing weight machines. I know they tend to isolate the muscles, and I prefer using free weights and combining exercises so the body works in sync. That’s what muscle class used to do, and that’s what I want to do.
But once I realized I couldn’t make it to any strength training classes at the Y, I knew I had to do something. After all, wouldn’t doing a machine circuit be better than no strength training at all? I rationalized that it would, and ended up signing up for a session with a personal trainer.
My session was originally supposed to be last Monday, but since Andrew spent Sunday night throwing up, he wasn’t going to school – and I certainly couldn’t take him to the Y in that shape. I had to postpone the training session until today.
Mike is on holiday today, so once we dropped Andrew off at school, we took Chris and headed for the gym. I waited for the trainer while Mike got started on his own workout. The trainer sat down with me at first to discuss what I hoped to get out of meeting with her.
It was great. She is also a runner, and really knew exactly where we should be focusing. She agreed with me that a simple machine circuit wouldn’t be right for someone of my fitness level, particularly since my cardio strength is so strong. She gave me a great routine of planks, push-ups, lunges, squats, free weights, barbells and just a few machines. If I can get a full-body workout in once or twice a week, I should see improvement.
It will also help prevent injuries. By strengthening the muscles in my legs, it will help prevent knee injuries. And core strength training will not only make me run faster, it might help me lose the little pouch I carry in front after having the boys. (When your kids were born at 9lbs. 4 oz. and 8 lbs. 13 oz., your stomach gets a little stretched out!)
What I’m hoping is that by this summer, I’ll see a difference in both muscle tone and strength. It should improve my running times, making me faster and stronger. That may be a tall order, but it’s certainly worth a shot.
In the meantime, I’ll keep up with my 10K training schedule. Only a few more weeks to go until the race. Yesterday, I ran 11K with my group, and made it through the run. We’ll get up to 13K before this clinic is over.
Happy trails…
Monday, November 26, 2007
Saturday, November 17, 2007
The hills have legs
I have a new enemy, and its name is “the hill at La Salle” park. Okay, I don’t know if that’s its official name or anything. But I’ve chosen to nickname it “Hell.”
Yes, I’ve entered a new stage of training commonly known as hill training, or hill repeats. It’s been part of the schedule for our 10K running clinic for two weeks now. I, unfortunately, had to miss the first week, so I e-mailed the instructor for directions to do it on my own.
He gave me some guidance, telling me to go down to La Salle Park (a park in Aldershot – a lovely area of Burlington right on the Hamilton border), and run for about 18 minutes at an easy pace to warm up. Then, pick one of the big hills down there (the area going down to the lake is quite hilly), and run up it three times, at about 85 per cent of my maximum heart rate. Then, cool down by running another 18 minutes.
Off I went to the park, which is actually a good 20-25 minute drive from my house. I dutifully followed the instructions, choosing what I THOUGHT was a good hill. It was probably about 100 meters or so, and very steep. I ran my 18 minutes, did my three hill repeats, and did the cool down. I happily reported back to the instructor that I had finished!
So this week, it was time for hills again – only this time, we were to do four repeats. I was very, very close to skipping the class. I hadn’t been feeling the greatest, I’d just had my flu shot that day and I found myself making excuses.
I decided to go anyway – if for no other reason than I really didn’t feel like going all the way down to the park by myself for more hill training. I met the rest of the class in the parking lot, and the instructor gave us our little weekly talk. (This time, it was on goal setting.)
Then he said, “Okay, for those of you who missed last week, here’s where we’re running.” He proceeded to map out the route.
Uh oh. It turns out, I did that hill training completely wrong. The “hill” I chose? NOTHING compared to Mt. Everest on the other side of the park. It was at least 400 meters long – almost ½ a kilometer!
I was terrified. I did the warm up run with the people in the clinic I enjoy running with (we call ourselves the “slow” group!) Then, it was unavoidable. It was time for the hill.
I knew we were supposed to push ourselves, and, quite frankly, on our “easy” group runs, I don’t push myself that hard. Our instructor tells us that for the easy distance runs, we should be able to hold a conversation while running. I take that advice to heart. Last Sunday, we did our first 10K group run, and it was fantastic. I chatted with another girl in my group the whole way, and we took the 10K nice and easy.
But hill training is different. It’s meant to strengthen your legs, and boost your cardio performance. And since I haven’t been spinning much lately, I haven’t been pushing my heart rate up there like I should.
So I started my hill at a speed to get my heart rate up. (It turns out, I’m a bit faster than I think, as I quickly pulled away from the slow group.) It killed. My legs were burning, my breathing was heavy and it took every ounce of effort to get up that hill. The instructor was halfway up the hill, and he ran up to the top with me, shouting advice.
“Head up! Shorten your stride!” he bellowed. (Easy for him to say… he’s something like 5’5”. At 5’11”, with long legs, your stride’s always going to be pretty long.) “That’s it… you can do it… go right to the stop sign!”
Really? Right to the stop sign? But that’s so far away! Finally, I made it to the sign. I felt like puking. I’ve never been much for sprinting or speed work (I know I’m more of an endurance runner than a speed runner), and I felt awful.
“Good job!” the instructor chortled. “Now get back down that hill – three more to go!”
I made it through all four repeats. The good news is, they didn’t get any harder after that first one. The bad news? They didn’t get easier either. But I finished it, and set out on my cool down run. I actually took that run a lot faster than my warm up run – mostly because I really, really wanted to finish my run!
Finish it I did – and I will go back for another round next week. We’re moving up to five repeats next week, so let’s hope I can make it through that.
I’m really enjoying this clinic. I’m learning a lot about running, and getting some great exercise. For one thing, I’ve learned how one can live off Halloween candy for two weeks and still LOSE a pound. Just run 30-35 kilometers a week! (And I’m not kidding… so far, I’ve run 27K this week, and I still have a 6K run left today.)
What is ahead for training? The distances are steadily increasing. We do another 10K practice run tomorrow, and one of our weekly runs moves up to 8K. In the next few weeks, will increase our hill repeats, introduce speed repeats (somehow, I don’t like the sound of that…) and increase our longest distance to 13K. (Yes, I know this is a 10K clinic, but apparently that’s how they do this.)
We also haven’t chosen a goal race yet. There is no 10K race in Burlington in December, so we have to make some decisions. Our instructor thinks they might just do one for our class at the Running Room, but time us and make it official and everything. I hope they decide soon – I’d like to plan the month of December!
Happy trails…
Yes, I’ve entered a new stage of training commonly known as hill training, or hill repeats. It’s been part of the schedule for our 10K running clinic for two weeks now. I, unfortunately, had to miss the first week, so I e-mailed the instructor for directions to do it on my own.
He gave me some guidance, telling me to go down to La Salle Park (a park in Aldershot – a lovely area of Burlington right on the Hamilton border), and run for about 18 minutes at an easy pace to warm up. Then, pick one of the big hills down there (the area going down to the lake is quite hilly), and run up it three times, at about 85 per cent of my maximum heart rate. Then, cool down by running another 18 minutes.
Off I went to the park, which is actually a good 20-25 minute drive from my house. I dutifully followed the instructions, choosing what I THOUGHT was a good hill. It was probably about 100 meters or so, and very steep. I ran my 18 minutes, did my three hill repeats, and did the cool down. I happily reported back to the instructor that I had finished!
So this week, it was time for hills again – only this time, we were to do four repeats. I was very, very close to skipping the class. I hadn’t been feeling the greatest, I’d just had my flu shot that day and I found myself making excuses.
I decided to go anyway – if for no other reason than I really didn’t feel like going all the way down to the park by myself for more hill training. I met the rest of the class in the parking lot, and the instructor gave us our little weekly talk. (This time, it was on goal setting.)
Then he said, “Okay, for those of you who missed last week, here’s where we’re running.” He proceeded to map out the route.
Uh oh. It turns out, I did that hill training completely wrong. The “hill” I chose? NOTHING compared to Mt. Everest on the other side of the park. It was at least 400 meters long – almost ½ a kilometer!
I was terrified. I did the warm up run with the people in the clinic I enjoy running with (we call ourselves the “slow” group!) Then, it was unavoidable. It was time for the hill.
I knew we were supposed to push ourselves, and, quite frankly, on our “easy” group runs, I don’t push myself that hard. Our instructor tells us that for the easy distance runs, we should be able to hold a conversation while running. I take that advice to heart. Last Sunday, we did our first 10K group run, and it was fantastic. I chatted with another girl in my group the whole way, and we took the 10K nice and easy.
But hill training is different. It’s meant to strengthen your legs, and boost your cardio performance. And since I haven’t been spinning much lately, I haven’t been pushing my heart rate up there like I should.
So I started my hill at a speed to get my heart rate up. (It turns out, I’m a bit faster than I think, as I quickly pulled away from the slow group.) It killed. My legs were burning, my breathing was heavy and it took every ounce of effort to get up that hill. The instructor was halfway up the hill, and he ran up to the top with me, shouting advice.
“Head up! Shorten your stride!” he bellowed. (Easy for him to say… he’s something like 5’5”. At 5’11”, with long legs, your stride’s always going to be pretty long.) “That’s it… you can do it… go right to the stop sign!”
Really? Right to the stop sign? But that’s so far away! Finally, I made it to the sign. I felt like puking. I’ve never been much for sprinting or speed work (I know I’m more of an endurance runner than a speed runner), and I felt awful.
“Good job!” the instructor chortled. “Now get back down that hill – three more to go!”
I made it through all four repeats. The good news is, they didn’t get any harder after that first one. The bad news? They didn’t get easier either. But I finished it, and set out on my cool down run. I actually took that run a lot faster than my warm up run – mostly because I really, really wanted to finish my run!
Finish it I did – and I will go back for another round next week. We’re moving up to five repeats next week, so let’s hope I can make it through that.
I’m really enjoying this clinic. I’m learning a lot about running, and getting some great exercise. For one thing, I’ve learned how one can live off Halloween candy for two weeks and still LOSE a pound. Just run 30-35 kilometers a week! (And I’m not kidding… so far, I’ve run 27K this week, and I still have a 6K run left today.)
What is ahead for training? The distances are steadily increasing. We do another 10K practice run tomorrow, and one of our weekly runs moves up to 8K. In the next few weeks, will increase our hill repeats, introduce speed repeats (somehow, I don’t like the sound of that…) and increase our longest distance to 13K. (Yes, I know this is a 10K clinic, but apparently that’s how they do this.)
We also haven’t chosen a goal race yet. There is no 10K race in Burlington in December, so we have to make some decisions. Our instructor thinks they might just do one for our class at the Running Room, but time us and make it official and everything. I hope they decide soon – I’d like to plan the month of December!
Happy trails…
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