Weekend Warrior (Jan 16-26)

It was busy time at work, so it was good that I could use some rest from the 2 marathons in 1 month, anyway, and felt no pressure to stay on a training schedule. 

Saturday, Jan 16: 
6.3 mi in 53:45, 8:39 average.  Run around the neighborhood, although with narrow or no shoulder to run on, and a barking dog.  It gave me extra incentive to run fast on my way home, though.  Couldn't get into the fitness room, which is why I ran outside, instead.

Sunday, Jan 17:
The Spartan Workout Tour came nearby, to Charlotte.  This was my third.  The first half was in freezing rain, so I wore my jacket.  It warmed up a tiny bit later, so I took it off in the second half of the 2-hr workout.  There were spurts of sunshine coming through, but it was still very cold. 

Warmup: Butt kicks, running in place, high knees, jumping jacks, lateral tire steps in/out.

Learning the 5 Basics: Squats, pull-up simulation (no bar, not leaving the ground, just mimicing the motion, but squeezing hard as if it were real), pushups, lunging backwards, burpees.

Workout: 30s squats, 30s burpees, 30s low pushup hold, 30s burpees, 30s lunge, 30s burpees.

Animal Moves: Bear crawl, crab walk, ape sideways, gorilla front & backwards w/ some donkey kicks, inch worm w/ pushups.

Variations of the 5 Basics: Squats - squat jumps, jumps with heel clicks; Burpees - spider man, dive bomber, 360 or 180 degree jumps, archer pushups super hard; Pullups - chin-ups, let down, Pushups - plyometric; Lunges - clockwork.

Core: Snow angels, sit-ups, flutter kicks, Russian, Plank.

Group Exercises: Sit-ups with arms hooked, barbed wire crawl below 19 high-planked bodies, crab position alternating hand claps.

The next day, could've run, but didn't.  Felt and looked strong all day.

Saturday, Jan 23:
10.5 in 1:43:53, 9:49 average.  Ran on the snow-covered roads, to try it while I could, after a rare snow storm.  My first run in Inov-8 X-Talon 212 trail shoes.  Great cleat grips and possibly waterproof sides made it great for this run.  My right knee complained about a mile 8, but it got over it.  I could've pushed on if I wanted to after 10.5, but I wasn't training for anything.  Had a longn sleeve tech tee, buffs on my head and neck, mitt gloves, and shorts.  Various paces, due to hills and needing to be careful on ice.

Sunday, Jan 24:
The next day, the snow that had melted a bit froze, making the roads not so runnable.  I biked at the fitness room, instead, watching the 1st half of the Panthers winning the NFC championships.  I also did some arms.  My calves were sore from the previous day.  80 minutes of stationary biking.

The next day, could've run, but didn't.  Felt a bit cold and not in the mood.  Immune system felt a bit down in the first half of the day, but it got better in the second half.

Tuesday, Jan 26:
4.5 in 36:59, 7:52 average, 2 degrees of incline. Time went by slowly, and the run felt harder than it should've.  Felt very warm in the room, too - maybe I got used to being in the cold.  My feet felt a bit swollen by the end.  Oh well, just working towards getting back into the swing of running.