The Week Before Vacation

Last week, I powered through my work week knowing that by 4:00PM on Friday, I'd be on vacation for a week! In my years as a teacher, I often had several weeks off (though not when I was nannying and certainly much less than most people assume teachers have), but with my advising job, I have to plan my vacation carefully. I had a week in June and a week in August planned ahead. Also, I took all Fridays and a few other days in July off. However, with the house purchase/move and my grandfather's funeral, most of July was not quite a vacation. A week at Squam Lake with the Beaudoins was exactly what I needed to relax and focus more on training. I was consistent with my crossfit workouts and pushups last week but again found the idea of getting up early for cardio daunting. I made it to one morning spin workout on Friday, which felt fantastic btw!, but forgot necessary clothing items for work and had to drive back to Hopkinton and then to Manchester for work. Not living in Concord has posed some serious inconveniences; although I am usually very organized, the lack of a routine in my every day life has thrown me into a tizzy many days. I am hoping this will all stabilize soon and I'll find a routine/schedule that is consistent and effective. Mark and I finished off the week with a 35 mile bike ride around Squam Lake which was difficult, but made me believe the century ride is obtainable in September! The highlight of my training this week was my 8 mile run on Saturday. I had a fast (compared to my normal runs) run of 9:33 pace. I attribute part of this to actually resting my legs a bit on Friday afternoon/evening and part to the obscenely delicious Ruben sandwich that I had on Friday night at Kathleen's Cottage in Bristol where we saw one of our favorite music duos--Tina and Her Pony! I am kidding about the sandwich, but it was a great run! I've found several running routes in Hopkinton that I enjoy so that is important as we start to settle into the new home.

Week of 8/12 Workout Summary:

Monday- Crossfit
Tuesday- Rest
Wednesday- Crossfit
Thursday- Crossfit
Friday- AM Spin Class
Saturday- 8 mile run (9:33 average pace!)
Sunday- 35 mile bike ride

*Pushups 5 sets of 22 X 6 days*

I also want to congratulate the triathletes that participated in the Timberman Triathlon in Gilford, NH this past weekend. That is a very challenging course and it takes serious dedication to complete events like Timberman.

#WHITEMOUNTAINSTRONG Challenge Test Week

Well, I started this post as a draft the week right after I did testing for the WMCF challenge; however, I was sidetracked by home ownership (so exhausting!) and being busy training. Getting our kitchen floors redone definitely hindered my ability to eat like a champion the last few weeks, but I am hopeful that some of my workouts have kept me out of a total relapse of bad habits. I feel strong during runs and at the gym. On August 8th, I improved my 5K pace from a 5K I ran in May by a minute, so that was a solid improvement. After assessing the dark/dangerous options for running before work and the exhaustion of bricking too many runs in a day, I have opted to focus on 2-3 days of running per week with one being a long run. This is more manageable. I also had to incorporate spinning instead of biking outside due to the dark mornings. It makes me sad when the fall approaches :(

Anyway, here are the results of Week 1 Testing (I'll do the side by side at the end of the challenge in a few weeks)

Lifts:
Back Squat = 125lbs
Bench = 95lbs
Power Clean = 90lbs
Push Press = 90lbs
Deadlift = 200lbs

Fit Test Results:
"The Chief" = 17 rounds @ 65lbs
1 Mile Run = 8:14
"Helen" = 11:24
2 Mins Pushups = 40 pushups
500 M Row = 2:06
"Fran" = 6:05 @ 65lbs

In addition to testing and running, I started training for the Seacoast Century so I've been busy! I was able to squeeze in a few perfect bricks (6) in three weeks. This something I am going to have to focus on if I want to hit my goal of 150 bricks for the 2013 year. I need 91 more perfect bricks which seems daunting considering I had hit 150 by August of last year!

Week of July 22nd - July 28th Workouts (Week 1 WMCF Challenge, Week 2 Half Marathon)

Monday- AM Walk/ PM Xfit (Brick #54)
Tuesday- AM Run/Walk/ PM Xfit (Brick #55)
Wednesday- Xfit in the PM
Thursday- AM Run/ PM Xfit (Brick #56)
Friday- AM Run/ PM Xfit (Brick #57)
Saturday- Rest day (Moving Day!)
Sunday- 7 mile Run

*Pushups 5 sets of 20 for 6 days*

Week of July 29th- August 4th Workouts (1st Week Century, Week 3 Half Marathon, Week 2 WMCF)

Monday- AM Xfit
Tuesday- 1 Hour Bike Ride
Wednesday- PM Xfit
Thursday- AM Treadmill track workout / Afternoon run (Brick #58)
Friday- AM Spin Class/ PM Xfit (Brick #59)
Saturday- 20 mile Bike Ride
Sunday- 5K Practice Race

*Pushups 5 sets of 20 for 6 days*

Week of August 5th- August 11th Workouts ( Week 4 Half Marathon, Week 2 Century, Week 3 WMCF)

Monday- AM Stretch / PM Xfit
Tuesday- PM Track Workout (cross country trails)
Wednesday- PM Xfit
Thursday- 5K Cigna Road Race
Friday- PM Xfit
Saturday- 28 mile Bike Ride
Sunday- 7 mile run

*Pushups 5 sets of 20 for 6 days*

I'll recap on this current week over the weekend or next week during my vacation week! Looking forward to some relaxation, rides, and sun!