Lämmchen's Workout Thread

[tango]

Got another run in today. I planned to make a specific effort to keep my pace down a little, as I'm trying to do more exercising at a lower aerobic intensity. It turned out today I felt strong enough that I could have had a good shot at my personal best, had I not started out slow. But I kept the pace mostly lower, not worrying so much about my pulse rising when I went up hills but keeping my pace down to try and get it lower once I crested the top. Then for the last mile or so I ramped the pace hard, to the point my watch kept buzzing at me telling me my pulse was high.

A friend who is much fitter than I am has given me some pointers about running more slowly. It's surprisingly hard to do, but it will be worth it if it helps my high intensity running. It should also help if I ever decide to go for longer distances.

 

[Lamb]

I've been getting my 10,000 steps in, but started to return to doing the low impact workouts I find on YouTube. I'll be prepping for my garden in a few months and need to get my body ready to squat down and pull weeds!

 

[tango]

I've been getting my 10,000 steps in, but started to return to doing the low impact workouts I find on YouTube. I'll be prepping for my garden in a few months and need to get my body ready to squat down and pull weeds!

If you need extra practice I've got some weeds you can pull

 

[tango]

My tracker software has monthly challenges, so today I rose to one of the challenges and did a 15k run. I'd originally planned a 10k but it was warm and the wind wasn't as bad as the forecast said so I rerouted to a different loop to get the extra distance.

Then my wife wanted to go for a walk so I did that too. My watch says I've done a shade over 15 miles today. I fear I might ache in the morning.

 

[Lamb]

I went to the county park to walk yesterday and the hounds were there for a run (with horseback rider owners). Usually the park gets blocked off so that people don't get in the way when there is a hunt, so this wasn't a hunt, just exercise for the dogs. I followed behind the path they took because I didn't think they would turn around, but at one point, they did turn around and suddenly I was surrounded by 37 happy doggies! They were so gentle and friendly and it was a wonderful feeling to be among them.

Oh and I walked 2 1/2 miles and lost a pound finally. That makes 7 since the new year. 3 more to go to reach my goal.

 

[tango]

The weather this week isn't looking great so I went for a run today. I had originally thought to do a 10k loop but then noticed I needed 7.3 miles of running to finish a monthly challenge, so went for my 8-mile loop instead. It makes a nice change - the 10k loop covers the same ground in a few place and it's always nice to just have a single loop.

Now the forecast is OK for tomorrow morning and grim for most of the rest of the week so I might take the chance to get in a gentle recovery run tomorrow. I'm not always very good at doing the whole "gentle" thing but perhaps the day after a longer run my legs will remind me to cool it a bit.

 

[tango]

It looks like a 15k run is going to be a regular monthly challenge with my tracker. Previously they only appeared in June and September. There was a challenge to do one during March so I figured I'd take advantage of the nice weather and hit it nice and early, so yesterday I started out the month with a longer run. Rather than doing an 8-mile circuit with a loop on the end to make up the distance I just did a 10-mile loop. Interestingly even though the run was more about covering the distance than worrying too much about the pace I shaved a minute or so off my personal best for the route.

Even more curiously my legs don't hate me this morning. That said I don't know that I'll be running again today...

 

[Lamb]

We had warm weather today so I walked a couple of miles in my neighborhood.

 

[tango]

Two runs in two days.

Both times I was trying to keep my speed down a little, with varying levels of success. It's surprisingly hard to slow down when what I naturally want to do is pace faster.

Yesterday my suggested workout was a sort of interval routine. Not particularly high intensity, basically 8 minutes of moderately fast jogging interspersed with three minutes of recovery. The recovery pace it suggested was more like a fast walk for me, so I jogged more slowly but didn't get my speed down to where it suggested.

Today's suggested workout was a base level effort - a slower pace sustained for 45 minutes. I didn't manage to keep the pace as slow as the suggestion, even when running into a 30-40mph headwind my natural pace was faster than it suggested. But on a positive note I'm getting further with my heart rate not going as high as before, so hopefully I can do more of these and build a stronger base, then use the base to push further and faster. I just need to make sure I do a few harder runs to keep the top-end balanced. When it stops blowing so hard I might start doing sprint repeats again.

 

[Lamb]

It was way too windy for me to chance it by going to the park to walk. Tree limbs flying about is no fun to get hit with, so I did all my steps indoors. I can't wait until it's consistently 60 degrees because then it's cool enough to do the tougher hikes and not die.

 

[tango]

Yesterday was a bit busy and a bit windy so didn't really have a big enough window to get hot and sweaty running, so went for a walk instead. Today the weather was nice, if a little breezy, so I figured I'd run again. Tomorrow it's supposed to be cold again, and I didn't want to miss the last chance of the week to get some more miles in.

I'd planned a more gentle run than I ended up doing. It just felt right to be going a bit faster than my original plan. Maybe next time I'll have another go at keeping my speed down again.

 

[Lamb]

I had to do my steps indoors again. I just couldn't get out there in the cold.

 

[Lamb]

My workouts have been indoors for a week now and I want warmer weather to be consistently here where I live!! We were supposed to get snow last night but I don't see any and now the wind is going to blow until tomorrow. It's dangerous to go hiking when the wind is bad because of falling tree branches. No thanks to that.

But the good news is that I've lost a total of 9 pounds since the new year. Yay! 10 is my goal so only one more to go. I stopped trying really for the past couple of weeks and I'm glad I didn't gain.

 

[tango]

It's been a few days since I went for a run because weather. Either wet or cold. Today I got another run in. Still not doing as well as I'd hoped keeping speed down but the natural speed my body wants to run is faster than it has been.

Tomorrow is supposed to be wet so maybe I'll do another run on Saturday and have another go at keeping my speed down. It feels frustrating having worked to get my speed up to now be trying to keep it down again but everything I'm reading about building fitness tells me it's the way to go.

My friend's son, who is 15, set a 10k personal best that's five minutes faster than mine. Yes, I'm pretty much old enough to be his grandfather but it would be nice to shave that margin down a little. I'm sure before long he'll be trying to set a faster PB.

 

[Lamb]

I did a 3 mile walk yesterday and my feet were hurting when I got home. I guess they weren't prepared for it LOL I'm really hoping now to remain consistent with the 3 mile walks and work my way up to 4 miles consistently by the end of summer.

 

[tango]

I did a 3 mile walk yesterday and my feet were hurting when I got home. I guess they weren't prepared for it LOL I'm really hoping now to remain consistent with the 3 mile walks and work my way up to 4 miles consistently by the end of summer.

It's surprising what body parts you find out about when you push something a little more than you've been used to! I remember the first ever time I did weight training as a teenager and the following days I discovered muscles I never knew existed...

 

[tango]

I had hoped to get some running in over the weekend but it was very cold and windy, not really good weather for running. I went out today, managed to keep my heart rate down better than I have in the past. Then for the last 3/4 of a mile or so I went for it. The last part of this route is mostly downhill so I can get some good speed going, even if it isn't great for keeping my pulse down.

I got home to find I'd completed my tracker's monthly running target, and was 0.7 mile short of the quarterly target. I considered doing a slightly longer route to get both the targets but at the point the routes diverge didn't feel like I really wanted to be doing the longer one. Then I spent the next couple of miles wishing I had done the longer one. Oh well...

 

[Lamb]

I've been doing my 3 mile walks each time I go to the park now. My feet have gotten used to it!! I really want to start increasing it to 3.5 or 4 miles.

 

[tango]

I found some virtual events to play with on my tracker software, which gave me an excuse to do another 10k today. I'm finding my pace is getting quite consistent, although I was a little disappointed when I saw my metrics after the run because I thought I had kept my pulse lower for at least most of it. I ramped the pace for the last downhill section but the amount of time I spent in the higher heart rate zones suggests I was pushing a little harder than I intended for a good chunk of the run.

I also finished off the remaining 0.7 miles of running I needed to get a pretty badge on my software.

 

[tango]

A very gentle 5 miles yesterday, alternating walking and jogging.

Today was a harder 10k. Not giving it everything, at least for the first couple of miles. My suggested workout was to improve my VO2 max, so I went at it a little harder than suggested.