Compared to last week’s run in a thunderstorm and unexpectedly hitting my 15k run milestone, this week was pretty tame. I did an upper body gym session on Monday, leg day on Thursday, and a nice quick 5k on a snowy trail on Saturday morning. I also tried my hand at making apple chips, which were a success, and made some more cocoa date balls to try and offset my craving for baked goods that inevitably comes with this season.
The finished apple chips. They were gobbled up very quickly!
Monday: Chest/Triceps/Shoulders
I was back at the big-league bench press this week and was able to add a little bit more weight to the bar. I still have a fair ways to go to reach my goal of benching 100 lbs (I’m currently able to bench 3×7 @ 60 lbs) but I still have 5 months to go before my goal deadline and I think I should be able to make it!
Workout:
5 minute warm-up on the treadmill
Bench press
Incline flyes
Lying dumbbell triceps extensions
One arm rows + kickbacks
Cable rope triceps pulldowns
Seated dumbbell shoulder press
Front raises
5 minute cool-down on the treadmill
Thursday: Leg Day
I was able to get a rack this time around instead of using the Smith machine. It was definitely harder! I don’t think I fully appreciated being able to push back against the Smith machine with my heels the last time around until I couldn’t take advantage of it this week. I was able to do a full four sets of 12 reps at 65 lbs this week, so I don’t think I’ve been challenging myself enough with these. I’m going to be stepping up the weight a fair bit next time to make sure I reach my goal of 150 lbs on time. I also tried out Bosu ball lunges thinking that it would be a nice way to challenge those support muscles while I lunge. Well it was a challenge alright! I almost fell over multiple times but managed to mostly save face. They were much more challenging than I was expecting and I’m looking forward to getting better at them!
Workout:
5 minute warm-up on the treadmill
Squats
Seated calf raises
Hip adductors
Hip abductors
Deadlifts
Bosu ball lunges
Kettle bell swings
Saturday: Morning Run in the Snow
5km – 28:12 (5:37/km)
It’s finally snowed here in Southern Ontario!! This may be bad news for some, but I’m one of those people who can’t wait for it to snow once October/November rolls around. I am a little concerned that with the snow will come some slippery conditions for running, but this also means that I have an excuse to go into the running store to get more winter gear!
There was only a little bit of snow on the ground Saturday morning so it wasn’t too slippery. I could feel the snow slip a little bit under my toe when I pushed off, but it was no worse than running on mostly wet sand. I did half of my run on a nearby trail so that I could soak in the winter wonderland view.
On Sunday it snowed most of the day so we have even more snow on the ground now and I’m really hoping that it will stick around for Christmas! All this snow also means that it’s almost snowboarding and skating season! The pond down the street hasn’t totally frozen over yet, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it won’t be long now. It’s always so much fun to throw on a pair of skates and go whisking about for an hour or so.
What are your favourite wintertime activities?
What’s your secret to staying warm while enjoying the snow?
I had a very interesting week running-wise this past week. I swapped out one of my gym nights for a quick run after work and ended up running in the middle of the pouring rain and a thunderstorm! In December! I didn’t even know that was possible. Then on Saturday I set out for my usual morning run and half-jokingly set myself a turnaround point that was very far down the road, which I actually made it to, and surprised myself by finishing my first ever 15k!
It’s also beginning to feel a little more like Christmas. The temperature, though still a little warmer than I’d like, is gradually getting colder which means that it’s more likely any precipitation will be snow (hooray!) and people in the neighbourhood have started putting up their lights and it looks really pretty at night. I mailed out all my Christmas cards on Saturday and have one more present to buy before I can check that off my list. I have also begun to consume large amounts of egg nog, which may pose a problem for my goal of eating healthy haha.
The downside of the weather turning cold is that I’ve realized that I have very little winter running gear. I have a couple of pairs of thicker leggings, a nice jacket that has served me pretty well so far, and some thin gloves, but I don’t think they’ll be a match for the full force of the Canadian winter. I’m hoping to get a bunch of winter running gear for Christmas, but I need to figure out what to ask for first. I’m thinking I’d like to get a buff that I can wear as a scarf or ear warmer, and some warmer leggings, but beyond that I’m kind of stumped. I don’t like carrying around extra layers that I’ve pulled off when I’m running so I need to find things that are lightweight, and wicking so that I don’t have to carry my whole closet with me haha. Another thing I need to figure out soon is how I’m going to run outside when it’s icy out. Any suggestions?
Monday: Back, biceps, and shoulders
My assisted pull-up is getting stronger and stronger! I’m almost ready to take another 5 lbs off the counterbalance, which means I’ll be another 5 lbs closer to my goal of an unassisted pull-up (and to my goal of a muscle-up!). I’m still having some grip issues, especially on back days I’ve notice. I think it might be because the pull-ups take a lot of strength to hold myself up, but all I can do is keep working at it and hope it catches up in time for my deadlift goal.
Workout:
5 minute warm-up on the treadmill
Assisted pull-ups
One arm rows
Wide-grip lat pull downs
Seated cable rows
Upright rear delt row
Straight leg deadlift
Bent over reverse flies
Front raises
Wednesday: Thunder Run
3.94km – 20:24 (5:11/km)
Me in my soaking wet gear. My hat was literally dripping water.
This run was slightly terrifying and the fastest I think I may have ever run, at least recently haha. I got home from work and immediately headed out for a run. It was already starting to rain by the time I started and as I headed out it started to get heavier and heavier. I tried my best to avoid the puddles wherever I could, but it’s really hard to see puddles in the dark.
As I was approaching the point where I had planned to turn around there was a big flash of light in the sky behind the houses I was running past. “That was weird,” I thought to myself “that almost looked like lightning.” I dismissed the thought though, because there’s no way there would be a thunderstorm at the beginning of December. Even though I didn’t think it could be lightning I still kind of kept an ear out for thunder, but I never heard anything. Nonetheless I turned around, just in case.
A couple minutes later, another flash lit up the sky. I knew without a doubt then that it was definitely lightning in December. Sure enough a few seconds later there was an ominous rumble of thunder. I picked up the pace, regretting that I had gotten so far from home and still had to make my way back.
I continued to run back to my house as a couple more lightning flashes lit up the sky and I started counting the seconds between the lightning and the thunder, really hoping I could make it home before the storm was right over me. At this point I was running as fast as I felt I could without sprinting down the sidewalk, not bothering at all to try and avoid puddles. I just wanted to get home without getting fried!
I made it home just fine, though I did run right up to the door when I usually stop running at the top of my block, to give myself a bit of a cool down. I was absolutely drenched, but not electrocuted, and I logged my fastest pace ever: 5:11/km (with a pace of 5:08/km for the last two kilometres on the way home).
Saturday: Surprise 15k Run
15.2km – 1h39 (6:31/km)
If this run taught me nothing else about myself, it is that I’m ridiculously stubborn sometimes (which, really, I should have already known haha). As I mentioned above, when I set out for this run I picked a point that was very far down the road I would be running on that would allow me to head north on a road and create a giant loop back to my house, without actually thinking that I would make it that far. I had run down this road two weeks ago and gotten only about halfway to this turning point so I figured that I would just gradually work my way towards this turn and eventually get to run the whole big loop.
This was the elevation for my run.
The reality of it was that the way out was very hilly. Not nicely rolling hills with a gradual incline, but unpleasant rolling hills that were steep, had a short downhill followed by another steep uphill. Every time I thought about turning around before my turn off, I thought about having to run all those hills again, said “no way” and kept going.
The giant, long, crazy steep hills I ended up having to climb when I got to my turn off was probably worse than having to repeat the other hills (apparently I have a very flawed memory for the steepness of hills and never remember how bad they are until I’m already climbing up them) but there was no way I was turning around. See? Stubborn as heck.
My mid-run snack, which definitely helped me not die.
Once I got to the top of the hill(s) (which required a couple of stints of walking) I was able to run the whole rest of the way home. The top of the hill was fairly flat, with only a few gently rolling hills, and then I had a nice long downhill and some flat ground to finish off my run. It was a nice change from all the uphills I’d had to do, and a large relief for my body, which by this time was pretty sore, my ankles and hips in particular (my knees joined in later in the day).
I wasn’t sure how long the whole route was since I hadn’t measured it out beforehand so I was surprised and crazy happy to find out that I’d done a full 15km when I finally got home and measured it out! I have now conquered that milestone and it will be onto the next! The weird thing is that I felt like I could have kept running longer too, as long as there weren’t any more steep uphills! However, judging by the state of my body later in the day, I should probably be a little bit more careful about tackling long distance milestones out of the blue.
I had this amazing view at 11k. It helped keep my spirits up.
I think this week I’ll probably go for a single, shorter run to try and give my lower body a bit of a break, as my joints are still feeling a little stiff. I really don’t want to injure myself and am going to play it safe so that I can keep running in the weeks to come!
Have you ever unexpectedly reached a milestone?
What kind of winter running gear do you wear?
How do you stay safe while running outside in icy conditions?
I continued to run back to my house as a couple more lightning flashes lit up the sky and I started counting the seconds between the lightning and the thunder, really hoping I could make it home before the storm was right over me. At this point I was running as fast as I felt I could without sprinting down the sidewalk, not bothering at all to try and avoid puddles. I just wanted to get home without getting fried!
Go Jessie Go 