Weekly Wrap: Week 8 And No Rest

This week was kind of amazing in the sense that I just didn’t stop.  I mean even when I wanted to or meant to, it just didn’t happen.  And I actually feel ok!  I did sleep in quite a bit Sunday morning and that seemed to make up for the days where I was feeling a bit lower on energy.

 

 

 

 

I know what you guys are thinking.  And we’ve even talked about it before.  Rest is good for us.  And I plan on doing a bit less next week.  I promise.

 

Here’s what went down anyway:

 

Fitness Week 8

Monday – Field Test (Runiversity), 4.4 extra KM biking (post office run)
Tuesday – Lunch walk, Running with BRENG
Wednesday – Lunch run with colleagues, Pilates
Thursday – 7.6 KM biking (podiatrist), BodyPump
Friday – Intervals Runiversity
Saturday – RPM,  8KM train station round trip biking
Sunday – Long Run day 13KM, 25KM bike support Ron

 

Totals

Running 44 KM
Biking 62KM (includes work commutes)
BodyPump 1 hour
RPM 45 min

Usually Mondays are rest days. I didn’t have a super great day on Monday and didn’t feel like doing the field test (test to find your anaerobic threshold and max heart rate), but then I skipped the Cooper Test last week and I had only done one previous field test in December 2016 so I talked myself into it.  This is also done in the testing I’ve done in Papendal (the Olympic Training Center) only I did the V02 max test along with it.  I believe my max the last time was 11.5KM per hour (8.25 miles per hour), maybe even less.  It was definitely less with Runiversity in 2016, I think 11KM per hour (8.47 miles per hour). With this new field test I managed to get through the full two minutes of 12KM per hour  (8:03 miles per hour) and then dropped out. The way Runiversity does it is 6 minutes at 7KM per hour then every two minutes 1KM per hour faster.  At Papendal it’s increments of half a kilometer every minute.   Anyway, in case none of that makes sense the outcome is that I’m a bit faster and my heart rate got up a bit higher before I hit my anaerobic threshold.  My trainer can now calculate my heart rate trainings more accurately.

 

is it art? or is it an action shot?

Tuesday I was able to get a lunch walk in. My first plan was to bike over to the bike shop to drop off the tire pump from the bike I traded in (I’d forgotten to bring it last Friday), but then my manager said he rides by there daily and he’d just take it for me on his way home!  I wanted to get out anyway so I went for a quick walk.  After work I quickly ate something and got ready to go meet Vincent and the BRENG group.  They recently started up training again on Tuesdays and now that I no longer go to Runiversity that night, I can join BRENG again. It was super nice seeing the guys again.  We did intervals of 1000’s with 400m rest.  Two of the guys did it 4 times, Stan and I were paired up to do it 5 times, and the rest of the guys did it 6 times (based on level and tempo).   As I’d just done 1000’s last Friday I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to hit the tempos again, but it went fairly “easy” and I was right on target.

 

Wednesday is now lunch run day with colleagues! Last week I saw a group from my floor (but different department) going out at lunch so I asked them if it were going to be a regular thing and if I could tag along. Of course it was no problem, so I made sure to pack my bag this morning with all my gear.  We have several parks in the area where I work so we just went up to the first one and did rounds of 600m. I decided to try and hit my 1000 tempo again (so between 9.17 – 8.56 miles per hour)  or a bit faster and then have 100m rest in between.  The weather was fabulous at 11 C (51F) but that meant I was sweating like a pig glistening afterwards.  Luckily we have a shower in our building so once we were back grabbed my stuff again and had a quick rinse.

I have bungee cords now on my bike so bringing my gear for the run was much easier!

Pilates was again challenging, but I think I’m finally starting to “feel” my stomach muscles doing some work!

 

Thursday was such a stressful day.  Totally busy at work and I had to leave during my lunch break to go to the podiatrist across town.   I had to pick up my new insoles and the podiatrist also wanted to check that they fit ok in my running shoes.  Once I went back to work I was toast.  The whole stress of the morning and then biking to and from my appointment zapped me of the energy I had left.  But…after work i had a “date” with the guys to go to BodyPump so there I was again, sucking it up and pumping it out!

 

Friday, my day off –  I slept in a wee bit and Ron had taken the day off so it was a pretty nice relaxed morning.  I had an appointment though, in the Hague, at 2pm so at 12 I got in the car to drive across the country.   I was inspired by Wendy and Marcia (and ultimately by the Australian Reality Show “Bringing Sexy Back”  – hate the title and the show was like watching a train wreck, but oh well) to get a DEXA scan.    Unfortunately I couldn’t find anywhere that did it that wasn’t far away from me.   I used to live in the Hague so I thought it would be nice to be back in fairly familiar territory (I was there recently with my friend Sheena as well).   I didn’t like the physio that much that did the scan (but it has more to do with how I was treated in general as a patient)  but the scan itself was super interesting!  I promise to tell you more about this soon!    The drive back was horrendous, but I expected nothing less with Dutch traffic. Filed under “things I do not miss”  – driving to and from Arnhem when Ron and I were still in a “long distance”  relationship.  I was 4KM from home for about a half hour just because the motorway was completely stuck.   I finally got home, quickly ate a sandwich and got changed to go to training.   On tap was the Pyramid – 10 x 500’s with 200m recovery – 1 @ 90% max, then 95%, then 100%, then 110% two times and back down again.    It was tough but felt good to reach my targets.   Then after training we helped our trainer again with working on his new space (he’s still painting, etc and doing most of it on his own).   More working out of arms and shoulders (because they weren’t sore enough from BodyPump) from sandpapering and painting…

 

 

Saturday back to the gym for RPM!  I was NOT feeling it as I went to bed too late and slept like absolute crap (hello being too active before bed AND having a coffee around 10pm…), but Ron said “I promised Dick (our instructor) we’d be there!”  UGH.  Fine.  Did my best, sweated absolute buckets and felt great afterwards..

We had another meet up with friends Saturday night so hopped on the bikes to go to the train station to go to Hilversum where our friends Alex and Samantha live.  We had a super fun time celebrating Alex’s birthday with good food and a few beers (yes, again but it was less than last week) but about three hours later we had to head back home (it’s about 1 hour by train and 20 min by bike x 2).  We were both so exhausted by the time we got home.  I decided there was to be no alarm clock in the morning.  We’d get up when we were ready!

Alex enjoying the fact that I cannot tap beer properly!

 

 

Sunday  – ah the long run day.   It’s been absolutely gorgeous out the last several days and today was no exception.  We did get a slightly late start to the running but Ron supported me on my run (on the bike) and I supported him.  It made for a pretty active and long afternoon!     My run was 6KM at my 10K long run tempo (6:01 per KM), 500 meters recovery and then 6 KM slower long run tempo.  I was once again empty somewhere around 10KM.  But it’s training and not supposed to be easy, right?   I’m curious how my 10K is going to go next weekend, especially with all these intervals I’ve been doing lately.

 

 

 

And that’s a wrap!

 

Have you been experiencing spring already where you are?  When was the last time you had no rest days in your week?  How’s your running going?  When is your next race?

 

 

Comments

  1. Oh God, even Savannah was plenty cloudy the majority of time! I am so in desperate need of some sun (more than a minute or two here & there).

    The Dexa scan really sounds super interesting but alas there is none anywhere close to us.

    Sometimes I can push through a lot . . . and sometimes I can’t. I think it’s all about listening to our bodies. Which is why I took this week easy — cause I have absolutely nothing on my calendar right now.

    1. Renée says:

      I feel so bad for you all suffering from awful weather. :( It’s surprising that the DEXA isn’t more widely available for you. Would you drive 2 hours to do one? ;)

  2. Wendy says:

    What is this spring that you speak of? We are getting back to winter for at least the next 2 weeks. It’s almost preferable to the rain and ice we had all week. As much as I love my new TM, I do want to get outside.

    That traffic you have has to remind you of Rand Road through Lake Zurich. O.M.G.

    1. Renée says:

      OMG WENDY!! I pretty much blocked out Lake Zurich traffic!!! AWFUL! And back then I used to drive my dad’s “spare” car which was a hunk a hunk of burning junk. No fun.

  3. No, nothing spring-like in Iowa LOL My next race is a 10K in a couple weeks, then a couple other 10K’s in the weeks following. I have not done a 10K in awhile (maybe last summer?), so it will fun to see what these legs can do ;-)

    1. Renée says:

      no I should have had a disclaimer on my question like “except for Kim as we know it’s been absolutely ridiculous in Iowa” haha!

      excited to see how your 10K’s are going to pan out! FUN!

  4. Darlene says:

    Wow. What a week.

    Hilversum brings back memories. My bff’s husband was transferred there for 2 years back in 2000. I went to visit them.

    Lunch time runs. I used to be able to do them in my previous job.

    No spring here. Still freezing slowly icy windy.

    I guess my injury came at a good time. I better be better by the time it warms up.

    1. Renée says:

      oh wow, really? Did he work for Nike? I lived in the area the first 3 years I was in NL. And worked in Hilversum. Spent a LOT of time there. How cool you’ve been there!

      really hoping your injury is over QUICK!

  5. Coco says:

    That was quite a week! LOL at driving across the country … in 2 hours. I got to go to The Hague once for work. I can’t do lunch time workouts — it takes my brain too long to get back into work mode!

    1. Renée says:

      I know right? but it’s all relative. It’s a tiny country. And most people have absolutely balked at the fact that I went to the Hague for just one hour. It was kind of nuts but then again so am I :)

      I did suffer a bit in the afternoon after the run, but I also tried to do most of the “heavy lifting” before the run so that I only had easy tasks in the afternoon.

  6. kookyrunner says:

    We had one day that felt like Spring last week. Of course it was the day after a snow and sleet storm, LOL.

    You had quite a busy week! When it comes to rest days, I actually really look forward to them. I usually designate Fridays as my rest days since I normally do my long runs on Saturdays when I’m training for a race.

    1. Renée says:

      seriously possessed weather!

      hey so I was wondering why most Americans do the long run on Saturday? Do you know? I think that WHEN I have a rest day it’s usually Monday but that hasn’t been the case for two weeks now…

  7. Alinda says:

    Wow! You made the most of the week!
    Which 10k are you running next week?

    1. Renée says:

      Achtkastellenloop in Vorden! Ron’s doing the 30K! Are you going? It’s kind of far from you but if you are training for a spring marathon it’s handy for the long run. More interesting than the 30K in Almere (3 loops of 10 -kill me already!).

  8. Wowza you had quite the busy week! I’m jealous of your weather – we flirted with high 40s but it didn’t last and this week’s suppose to be frigid.

    Isn’t the DEXA scan fascinating?! I just had one a couple of weeks ago.

    1. Renée says:

      it’s 66F today! SIXTY-SIX. In the Netherlands. There is something not right here!!!

      definitely interesting! I didn’t realise you had one too! Did I miss that post??? or did you not talk about it?

  9. deborahbrooks14 says:

    It’s been a really long time since I tested my VO2max or HR. That’s great that yours is improving. Busy week for you!

    1. Renée says:

      Thanks Deborah! and yes definitely was a busy week!

  10. Marcia says:

    Busy, busy girl! I’m tired just reading this. :P Can’t wait to hear more about your Dexascan. Good on you for braving traffic to get it. My money is on you for a strong 10k race!

    1. Renée says:

      ah thanks Marcia! I’ll be channeling you and Tokyo and sending vibes at the same time!

  11. Liz Dexter says:

    What a great week! And yes, it’s very warm here in the UK, blue skies all over the place, too.

    1. Renée says:

      isn’t it amazing!! are your countrymen complaining yet that it’s too warm? haha! I’m waiting for that to happen, never fails!

  12. It’s been cold and snowy(!) here but it’s supposed to be in the 70s by the end of the week. I’ve had nothing but rest days for like a week. UGH, stupid cold.

    Oh, Dexa scan? Interested I want to get one of those done someday. Last I checked there wasn’t many near me.

    1. Renée says:

      and that’s really odd for AZ!!! Huh you’d think they’d have more than one place to get a scan where you are!

  13. What a busy week!! Wow, you were on such a roll! Well done on getting it all done – I really wish we had a shower at work as I would definitely get some lunch runs done especially in winter when it’s a lot cooler.

    1. Renée says:

      Thanks! The downside of the shower is that there is only one and one of my colleagues found it totally normal to wait outside in the common area in his underwear… (it’s true and I will have him visually in his underwear now every time I see him).

  14. With all the intervals you’ve been running, I bet your 10K will go smoothly. I can’t wait to hear all about it!

    As you know, my running has been nonexistent, but I hope to go on a short trial run tomorrow. Wish me luck!

    1. Renée says:

      I’m so excited for you!! Finally a trial run!!! Thanks for the vote of confidence on the 10K!

  15. Cari says:

    Wow, your week made *me* tired
    I miss the bike commuting of Osaka. I technically could here, but Citibike not the best equipped for safety for an inexperienced rider. Maybe one day.
    Look forward to reading about the results of your DEXA scan – shame you had a poor experience with the trainer. Ugh

  16. Hannah says:

    I can’t handle a whole week without a rest day, personally, but I don’t think it’s automatically bad to do that occasionally so long as you can get extra rest later.

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