I think the time I get home to start my blog posts keeps getting later and later. It is currently 9:30 pm and I just sat down. I love being busy and having lots of work, but there is NOTHING better than coming home and enjoying some time on the couch with my husband. I look forward to it from the moment I leave the house in the morning.
This morning my day started around 6:45 am. I got up and completed my normal morning routine (i.e. feed all the animals and take the dog out), grabbed some breakfast, and was out the door in about 20 minutes to head to the gym.
My workout looked a lot like yesterday – 90 minutes on the spin bike.
The spin room was completely empty. This was actually really nice because it allowed me to relax and start the morning off easy.
After workout pictures – awful hair and all!
Coffee was also necessary to get through the work day afterwards.
I just couldn’t seem to wake up!
A couple of you asked about my spinning sessions. There are two important things to note about the sessions:
1. They are not high intensity.
2. They are simply to keep up my endurance for extended periods of time.
Cross training is a tough thing because nothing really mimics the endurance and act of running identically, but there are things you can do that will keep your endurance up during a time when you are not running.
1. Spinning
2. Poll Running
3. Swimming
I have done a little pool running, I’m too much of a wimp to get in a cold pool right now, so I opt to spin 95% of the time.
The key for me during most of my spinning workouts is to simply keep up my endurance for a longer period of time. I typically will set my bike on a 7-8 resistance and keep it at that for most of the workout. If I do intervals it will be sprints or occasionally change in resistance for a set amount of time. Overall they are very simple workouts.
If you are newer reader (and since I got a few questions in the comments) my ultimate goal is still and always will be to quality for the Boston Marathon. It has always been a dream of mine that I didn’t used to think would ever be a possibility. In fact I used to joke about it, but early last year I finally started to see that maybe I could be make the dream a reality one day.
I have run two marathons in the past with my PR being 4:28. It’s a long way off – I know this. I also know that if I take the right steps that one day I can make it happen.
I began training but as most of you know I suffered an injury set back.
My dream is not gone. I still plan on getting back into training very soon and slowly work my body back into shape to begin speed training again. Once I get back into speed training and working on getting quicker I will slowly work my body up to where it needs to be. I have no idea how long this will take.
At one point I had the plan of running ONE marathon in hopes of qualifying, but now I have decided the smarter way for me to approach this is to set smaller goals. Each race I do, each training piece I complete, will have a time goal attached that will slowly work its way down. I feel that this will be a safer approach for myself and my body.
Do I have an exact plan in place? Nope.
Do I have each race scheduled? Nope.
If I have learned anything during the past several months it’s that life has it’s way of changing your plans. I will eventually have a training plan and decide on the races and my time goals, but for now my goal is to simply get my body where it needs to be to train. I have to be in the right place before I commit to a plan. I know how my mind works and how determined I get and if I jump back into exacts it could possibly mean another injury.
What’s the purpose of going through all this? I have gotten a few questions about my goals AND I want you all to know that it’s okay to not have everything planned out. It’s okay to have dreams that are still a far ways away but still be at the forefront of your mind. It’s okay to set your dreams big. I know it’s not going to happen tomorrow, next month, or maybe not even this year. I also know that it will happen and that I must go about it the right way.
It’s about taking the small steps that will lead you to something great!
What is a big dream of yours?
Do you follow a training plan or just go with how your body feels?
I have a dream that one day I will climb a mountain. Preferably sooner rather than later 🙂
That is such an awesome dream!
You are so right that life has it’s way of changing your plans. That statement could not be more true for me. I just came across your blog and I’m excited to follow along. Keep up the good work. You have an awesome goal!
Ashley, Married to the Game
I see you’re a sweat pink ambassador too! Are you doing the mnb challenge?
Ashley, Married to the Game
I hadn’t seen that – I’ve been so out of the loop lately! I will have to go and check it out. Thanks for letting me know!
Thank you Ashley! 🙂
You have it 100% right. The key is to keep with it! I have a coach so I do have a training plan but I have also learned to listen to my body and not live by the plan. I used to have a mental breakdown if I had to miss a workout that was on my calendar, god forbid! But I am much better now. To keep your run strength up lunges are one of the best workouts!
I was the same way Hayley! I would freak out if one workout didn’t happen – now I have realized how much more important it is to listen to your body!
A big goal/dream of mine would be to run a sub 2-hour half marathon. And to beat my PR for my full marathon (which was over 5 hours).
I usually go with how my body feels for training, but I also make sure I stick with a running program I set up. I don’t want to fall behind if I don’t push myself far enough for each week!
That’s an AWESOME goal Shannon! I know you can do it!
Although I haven’t even completed my first marathon yet (this year!), I also would love to run Boston someday…especially since it’s right in my backyard! I’d LOVE to qualify, and would prefer that to be my method to get there, because I know I would feel like I earned it more, but if I can’t do that, I would probably join a fundraising team. But you’re right, you just have to take things step by step, take small goals, and turn them into bigger ones.
Awesome! Good luck on your first marathon this year!
My dream is to quit my job I hate and become a writer. I’ve always wanted to be a writer since I was a little girl. I also want to motivate & coach other people to live healthy & fit lifestyles. I lost 80 pounds 4 years ago & I love my life more now than ever. I want to share that with others & motivate them. I don’t want to feel unhappy anymore. I need to find more time to blog & do freelance writing.
How awesome! That is so great Megan! Congrats! I hope you find a way to pursue your dreams!
I love that you have this goal for yourself! I too would love to be able to qualify for Boston, but I know I have a LONG way to go. Its scary to set such big goals, but I think its the best motivator to train hard, stay healthy, and not give up.
It sure is! 🙂 I love having a big goal because it will make it that much sweeter when it happens!
I would love to qualify for Boston, and know I can chip away at my time a bit each year while still keeping to my main goal – the ability to get up and run each day. I’m coming up on 25 years since I started running, and it has meant different things at different times to me – usually weight loss or maintenance, but for the last two years it has been all about the running!
It is funny – now as I am older I can look and think ‘2-3 years, no problem’. In my 20s I would have thought ‘2-3 years?!?! are you out of your mind!’ 🙂
I guarantee you qualify pretty soon! What would you need to qualify?
I’d need a 3:25, which means just over a half hour off my PR time. I know I can takeoff half of that time, and hopefully will do it this year, so I might have a shot next year or the year after. Let’s hope we both do it in the next couple of years!
Agreed! 🙂
I totally agree, life definitely doesn’t care about what plans you’ve made, you have to adapt and be ready for whatever comes your way 🙂
http://www.simplyhsquared.com
So true! 🙂
Hello! I’ve been reading your blog for a few months now and finally decided to leave a comment. If your a book reader, the book “Run Faster, Run Less” might be a great option for you. I can see how lots of time on a spin bike might seem like a good way to keep endurance up, but without the intensity, it probably falls along the same lines as “junk miles” – miles that often aren’t worth running and can even be detrimental. That’s where the idea of working better, not harder comes in. I know you had mentioned in a previous post that you’d received comments about your workout plans, but I have a feeling many of those comments were out of concern (runners love to talk about running, I’m sure you know)!
Thank you! I will have to take a look at that book!
Just found your blog through NYCRunningMama. I just wrote about this today: dreams. The ones we hold close. Running a BQ has always been a big dream of mine as well as becoming an RD. I’m not sure when those things will happen since I’ve got a family of little ones, but I want to make them happen at some point. YOu’re right little steps get you there.
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂 I know how you feel – I don’t have a family of little ones YET but I do want to think about that in the next couple years so that may delay it some too, but I know it will happen one day!
I hate when bloggers pretend to know things that they don’t. You say this about cross-training: “there are things you can do that will keep your endurance up during a time when you are not running.”
Beware: There is absolutely no scientific evidence to support that claim. Sure, there have been a few small-scale studies that show running can work to maintain fitness in cyclists, but not vice versa.
Google this: SAID principle
Read this: http://elitetrack.com/blogs-details-6901/
I am not pretending to know anything, I am just doing what works for me. You are entitled to your opinion as I am to mine.
The article you linked to states: “Cross training is when an athlete undertakes training in a discipline other than their main sport for the sole purpose of enhancing performance in their primary event.” I am not trying to enhance my performance. I am simply trying to keep up some sort of fitness. The article you linked too is discussing cross training and it’s purpose WHILE running. I am not running right now I am just trying to keep up some sort of fitness level so I am not coming from nothing when I start back. I am not trying to mimic running or even get the same workout from running.
I won’t argue with anyone, but I have the right to express my opinion as you do yours AND if it has worked for me in the past why all of the sudden is it wrong? I am not saying anyone has to do what I do, everyone knows their body and knows what works for them. I know what works for me.
Thanks!
LOL, you call science an “opinion”!
Why are you being such an antagonistic jerk? What she said comes down to keeping active helps keep you fit, even if it isn’t in the particular area you are training for.
Are you SERIOUSLY challenging that?
Also – WHAT science? Your link is full of ‘I feel’ and ‘I think’ … NEITHER of which represent the scientific world I deal with every day.
So here is my thought – either prove that alternate forms of exercise DO NOT maintain endurance and fitness, or apologize, admit you are wrong and STFU.
Wow, settle down, Sparky.
The article is written by Vern Gambetta. He is a serious authority in the field of athletic development.
Cycling will not maintain running fitness, period. Like I said, google the SAID principle, which is a basic tenet of athletic development.
I’m not wrong. I am an NSCA Strength and Conditioning Specialist, with a master’s degree in exercise science. So, yes, I am challenging the perpetuation of silly myths about exercise.
But hey, if you just wanna burn calories (as I suspect is the case here) and aren’t really concerned with athletic performance, keep spinning your wheels and ranting on the interwebs. Good luck.
Have a good night!
Please explain the following:
http://www.kemibe.com/distancecoach/labreports/crossbenefits.shtml
http://runnersconnect.net/running-injury-prevention/deep-water-running-for-cross-training/
http://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/article026.htm
PLEASE NOTE: The multiple studies that are linked at the bottom and throughout the articles.
I understand that it does not replace running I am not trying to replace running, I am simply trying to maintain some level of fitness.
Onxmaikyo: No offense, but are we all suppose to believe you because you are NSCA Specialist and have a master’s degree? Or believe what one person Vern Gambetta thinks? I guess since you are an NSCA Specialist and have a Masters then I guess we should all ignore the other studies done, which are too numerous to account for or the ways not only everyday people maintain fitness but also injured Elite athletes maintain fitness when injured? You are completely entitled to your opinion and welcome to spread whatever “knowledge” you feel is “right” but I would think you of all people would know to have more backup research then to come on a blog of all places and start spewing pure opinion.
I would list off about 10+ research studies if that is what you really want to go off of…or how about anecdotes from elites athletes? How about everyday runners and their experience with cross training and maintaining fitness? You know why I don’t…because it is basically pointless to argue with people such as you that believe one way is the only way and want to start dropping your credentials on a BLOG!
In the end, there is more to an athlete than pure science and research. Any athlete will tell you there is a mental point to fitness and performance. If an athlete can stay mentally engaged by feeling like cross training helps – then great! Inspiration and motivation goes a long way.
I guess the elite running groups like Nike Oregon Project and the other elite running groups tell their athletes to sit on their butts when they get injured because cross-training doesn’t help.
I truly hope you don’t spew that stuff to your clients. I am all for open mindedness but to completely just say one way is right and one way is wrong is ignorant.
Sorry – I lurk on this blog daily but never felt compelled to truly post until I saw that blatant ignorant post. You can feel free to delete my comment if you would like but I almost feel like just writing a guest post for Sarah just to make people aware that their are benefits to cross training when injured and to maintain fitness both physically and mentally.
Thanks for your comment!
I just wanted to say I don’t want to start a debate on here. Everyone is allowed their own opinion. I don’t want anyone bashing or attacking on the blog. I am going to do what I think is best for me, and I hope everyone out there does what works for them. We are each different in our own way. I know some may not think much of me due to my lack-luster marathon time and I know that I am no where near what some would even consider an athlete. I am just working to maintain fitness so when I do run again that I can slowly work up to attempting to get my marathon time down and eventually one day qualify for Boston.
Thank you everyone for our opinions! Have a great night 🙂