RunAPalooza Training Week 8

I have fallen SO behind on my blogging! Life has been so crazy with work and family stuff, but if you follow my socials, I've still been putting in the work! Since I'm pretty much stuck inside because of the pending Noreastersnowmageddonpocalypse (Part 4, BTW), I decided to catch up on blogging! Here's how week 8 went down:

Monday-REST

Tuesday-4 miles and Centergy

This one was supposed to be 6, but it was super cold and windy. Plus I was not feeling 100% (lack of sleep and forgetting to eat-totally owning up to it). So I cut it at 4, got myself a smoothie, and took a Centergy class with my friend Rachel. Felt better.

Wednesday-REST

This was Noreastersnowmageddonpocalypse Part 2. I wound up going to work for a bit in the morning, so I couldn't get in the gym then. My gym closed at 3, so no Ride and Power at night. Took it as a rest day and watched Angry Birds.

Thursday-30 minute speed run, Barre, and ViPR

Thursdays mean short and fast runs with a side of Lori's Barre and ViPR. This run was 2.68 miles, which put me at a 11:24/mile pace. Loaded functional training with strengthening work after a run. It is working. I feel improvements in my conditioning. This was the best I felt all week.

Friday-Ride and Core

No Wednesday workout meant having to get it in on Friday. Solid spin class followed by a good Core class. I do need to get more consistent with core work, but I'm getting there. 

Saturday-Cycle and Power

Tough workout. No mercy was shown in cycle at all. Power was equally tough. It was tough, but I nailed it!

Sunday-5 miles

The "long" run of the week. I attempted to go my full nine (which was the plan), but working from 4:30 in the morning the day the clocks changed forward left me feeling wiped out. So I did what I could. This run was crap, but it was something.

Total Run Mileage-11.68

Total Spin Classes-2

Total Strength Training-1 hour (Power)

Total Mind-Body Work-1 hour (Centergy)

Other Workouts-30 minute Core class, 30 minute ViPR class, 60 minute Barre class

Overall, this week was not so great. I was less than 100% for much of the week, the weather threw me off, and I was working like crazy. I did get something in for five days, which is better than nothing, but still not where I wanted the week to be. Week 9 was much better, and I'll have that post up soon!

RunAPalooza Training: Week 7

Whoa, I'm halfway there. Whoa, livin' on a prayer. Okay, I'm showing my inner Jersey girl a bit, but I finished week 7 and am just under seven weeks to 13.1! 

Here's how this week went:

Monday-REST

Tuesday-6 miles
This one was actually a split run since life happened. I had a split shift at work, and I had to take my dad to the doctor's. It was a hilly run, but the pace wasn't terrible on either end.

Wednesday-Ride and Power
The usual Wednesday night. I pushed resistance in Ride and went for my heaviest weight on legs in Power, along with bumping it up on the shoulder track. Legs were shredded for sure!

Thursday-5 miles, Barre, and ViPR
I am digging Lori's Barre and ViPR! So worth the trip to Ocean on Thursdays! Those are not easy classes, but they are helping me with strength, lengthening, and conditioning (which runners can always use). Before that though, I got five miles in OUTSIDE since the rain managed to hold out after I got off work! Yay!

Friday-REST

Saturday-Ride, Team Training, and Centergy
Solid morning of cross-training that hit everything! I started with Ride, then followed that with an upper body heavy Team Training class. After those two, I cooled down with Centergy. Pretty good mix for a Saturday morning!

Sunday-9 miles
This was tough. It was cold and windy. I had quite a few points where I wanted to give up, but I kept going! I stayed in my town and did the same two mile out and back four times. After the fourth round, I went a different way for my last mile. Nine miles under 13:00/mile? I'll take it!

Total Run Mileage-20

Total Spin Classes-2
Total Strength Training-1.5 hours (Power and Team Training)
Total Mind-Body Work-1 hour (Centergy)
Other Workouts-30 minute ViPR class, 60 minute Barre class

NAILED IT! I feel great about how this week went! I finally got every workout I wanted to get in done! I even added some new stuff too! Mileage may go down next week since it's tempo week, but I hope to keep this awesome momentum going!

Johnny Mac House of Spirits Train Run (Asbury Park, NJ)

While this run was not a race by any means, it was a fun experience despite some miserable weather, so I decided to recap it on its own instead of just a brief summary on my weekly training log.

Before this, I had never done a train run. In short, a train run is where you take the train to where you want to start, then run back. The Jersey Shore Running Club puts on one where you take the Asbury Park train to either Bradley Beach, Belmar, or Spring Lake, depending on how far you want to run. I saw it and had eight miles planned for last Sunday, so I decided to make it part of my long run and take the train down to Spring Lake.

Even though this was not a race, I decided that I still had to sparkle AND rep my We Run Social crew! It was Phoenix Marathon weekend, which is pretty much the We Run Social anniversary, so I broke out my hoodie for the occasion. ;-)

I woke up on Sunday and saw rain. Just, ugh. I would have ran at the gym if I didn't already pay for the run. So I grabbed my poncho and down to Asbury Park I went. I did not get the mile and a half that I was planning on because of the weather, but I would be okay with what I got. 

Check in for the run was at Johnny Mac's, which is where you got your train ticket (included in the price of the run). Once I got my ticket it was a lot of mingling until we went to the train station at about 10:30 (train was scheduled to depart at 10:58).

We then went to the train station for the national anthem played by Trumpeting Dave (if you've never ran a JSRC race, you wouldn't get it) and some photo ops before getting on the train.

A post shared by Tracy Carroll (@tradledee85) on Feb 25, 2018 at 7:50am PST

Soon enough, we were on the train, and there were actually a handful of us who were going long and making the trip down to Spring Lake. 

I started off okay, but soon enough, the weather took its toll on me, I got separated from the pack, and I was going solo. Which normally would be fine, but on a wet day like that one, it was not a fun run. My feet got SOAKED within two miles, so going for another four(ish) with wet feet was MISERABLE!

Because of the weather, it was very slow going. I got back on a main road and cut it short by about three tenths of a mile. Definitely not my fastest, but I am proud of myself for not backing out and sticking with it through some tough wind and rain. 

A post shared by Tracy Carroll (@tradledee85) on Feb 25, 2018 at 10:07am PST

I made it back to Johnny Mac's, where I checked back in for my souvenir shirt and drink ticket. After I got my drink (Miller Lite never tasted so good), I got my ticket to get pizza. I thought it was a slice, maybe two. WRONG! It was a whole bar pie. So worth it. I spent a few hours hanging out with other runners, and got home at about 3:00. 

Other than the weather (which is out of our control), this was a fun experience! Train runs are pretty cool, going somewhere I normally wouldn't. It was also nice to get to hang out with other runners. Pizza, a drink, shirt, and a train ticket at $25 was a pretty sweet deal. I would totally do this again, but hope for better weather.  

How about you? Have you ever done a train run?

RunAPalooza Training: Week 6

Hello, everyone! It has been a busy week and I finally just found time to recap my sixth week of RunAPalooza training! I shook things up a bit, and it seemed to be okay. Here's how it went down:

Monday-Centergy and Core

I took Monday as an active recovery day. Plus I missed my girl Adrienne A LOT. Nothing too over the top, just enough to get moving and feel good.

Tuesday-4 miles

I RAN ALONG THE BEACH IN FEBRUARY! If you haven't guessed, I like running along the beach. ;-) It was a beautiful day, so I went to Pier Village in Long Branch (my happy spot) and ran a solid four miles. 

A post shared by Tracy Carroll (@tradledee85) on Feb 20, 2018 at 4:38pm PST

Wednesday-Ride and Power

The usual. It's getting harder to recap Wednesday night workouts unless I really amp up something in either class. I just played around with my weight in Power and felt some really good challenges in class.

Thursday-3 miles, Barre, and ViPR

I took a trip to the gym in Ocean to take Barre and ViPR with Lori, who has become a fav of mine in the short amount of time I've taken classes with her. The three miles were amazing with a pace of 11:14! Barre and ViPR proved to be a challenge too, but gave me some needed conditioning and toning work.

Friday-REST

Saturday-REST

I was planning on some type of activity on Saturday, but life and work happened. So I took a second rest day after all.

Sunday-Johnny Mac House of Spirits Train Run (5.7 miles)

I recapped this separate, since it was an experience in itself. Recap is HERE.

Total Run Mileage: 12.8

Total Spin Classes: 1

Total Strength Training: 1 hour (Power)

Total Mind-Body Work: 1 hour (Centergy)

Other Workouts: 30 minute Core class, 30 minute ViPR class, 1 hour Barre class

My goal mileage for the week was 15 miles, and I did come short on my long run. I'll have more about that in the Train Run recap, but overall, I feel good about last week. I got to run outside, make a new friend, and got some different types of workouts in! I'm still trying to balance everything, but I feel like I'm making some good moves forward!