New Month, New Week, Same Old me and my running ritual!
Shall we?
Day 1 – Sunday, March 01, 2020
Thank God, I was not running a Half Marathon again on this day. I think, my body has been through a grinder this week and I was not ready for one more long run. But, as it goes, I couldn’t help but drive 30 minutes to my gym to put in those miles.
Remember, it doesn’t matter how much you put in when you are at the peak, but when you do one more push-ups, run one more mile, when you are down. That is where the real work gets up in and the characters are made.
I gave myself a pat on my back when I hurled my ass to the gym for this run.
Once I was at the gym, only a couple of trainers were working out and I was the next in line. I grabbed my gear, stretched a little bit and started off with my run. The most frustrating part about the run was the treadmill OR should I call it a “dreadmill”. I don’t know how many times it stopped during the run, which messed up with my timing and strategy to attack the run. I had to stop many times to reset the machine and continue with my run. Apart from this one hiccup, everything else was good for me.
I finished 7 miles in 1 hour 24 minutes 24 seconds at the pace of 12 minutes 03 seconds per mile.
My Apple Watch after the run.
Obviously after this long run, I had to recover myself and I used my now-normal technique to do that. I think this was the best part of the day. By now, I think my body is in tune with the cold water and ice, therefore, I could sat through the entire time in that cold water. I got up only after I saw every piece of ice morphing into the water. It was a good feeling and the Sunday did not feel that tired to me.
Day 2 – Monday March 02, 2020
Monday brought in the rest day for the run, but some grueling work thanks to our wonderful coach, Jeff. Damn, we put in some serious work during this workout.
I am not sure if you can read it clearly, it was a 5-minute EMOM of 6 rounds each.
My rounds were as follows.
1. 12 heels to ceiling
2. 15 Box jumps
3. 15 Wall Balls
4. Dumbbell Bear Complex
5. 2 rope lengths of Sled Pushes
6. 12 Kettlebell pullovers
It was a crushing workout, as you can see!
Day 3 – Tuesday March 03, 2020
The funny & interesting thing about this run is that the original plan was 5 miles run, but, I ended up running more than I anticipated, so that the total number of miles will be a whole number.
As soon as I hit 3 miles, I knew I could go for a bigger distance. It was a reminder to myself that my stamina has increased and can take on new challenges.
I finished the 5.4 miles run in 01 hour 04 minute 59 seconds, with an average pace of 12 minutes 01 second per mile.
Day 4 – Wednesday March 04, 2020
New Day! New Challenge! New *grilling* workout by our coach, Jeff. I think, by now, whenever I hear the word “TABATA”, I get scared real fast. This workout needed more efforts than I thought in the beginning. Just by looking at it now, gives me sweats and not in a good way!
I attempted this workout in the following way.
1. Tubing Press crossover – pulling the tubes horizontally with your back to the tube, working harder on your triceps.
2. Burpees – no explanation needed here.
3. Battle Rope – make sure you keep your upper body stiff and move only your hands, without rocking those hips
4. Row – self-explanatory
5. Plank shoulder tap – it was easier than I thought. Jeff made it harder by telling me to slow down the tapping process and bringing hands closer.
6. Squats – initially tried the “slow pace” approach, which Jeff, clearly saw and asked me to target 16 squats per 30 seconds, which I did. Ughh.
7. Triceps Extension – with a 45 Lb dumbbell, it looks easier than done.
8. Ball slams – looks easier, but when it is the last round of your TABATA, the body tries to give up. This is where I had to push myself the most. Jeff helped keeping the motivation alive till the last round.
Gosh, I just relieved this workout!
Day 5 – Thursday March 05, 2020
Talk about the weather on this day. I was very excited for this as the weather finally allowed me to run outside, which I have craved for quite some time now. Honestly, I love my CrossFit gym, but running on the same treadmill everyday gets kinda boring after a few times, therefore, it was refreshing to run outside finally!
Here’s the snap that I took that very morning.
There were many downsides to running outside though. Let me list those down here.
1. Windy – Though it was sunny and high of 60s, the constant wind made it harder to run and breath properly at some times. I underestimated how cold it was as I didn’t check the wind conditions, and hence end up regretting dressing lesser than required, which had further repercussions on my body and bones (literally).
2. cold – The windy weather made me shiver so much that I had to sit idly in my car for a good 2 minutes. I was shivering so much that I could not get my key and start the car. I remember just sitting in my car, looking at both of my hands and how red they have become. I thought of clicking the picture, but couldn’t muster the courage and strength to do it. It was post 3 minutes, I moved my hands and put the key in ignition and drove away to the nearby Costco, to treat myself with a slice of Pizza. I was desperately craving for that.
3. Improper hydration – Before starting the run, I had a KitKat bar for my sugar intake, but I think, my water intake was not right, and hence, at the end of the run, I could feel my lips to be dry and slightly hard, which is not good in any weather. So, I should take care of it during the next time/weather.
Here’s the KitKat bar that I had before the run.
And here’s my Apple Watch after the run.
And my treat for the day – a slice of Costco pizza.
It was a good day filled with many learning and adventure.
Day 6 – Friday March 06, 2020
A much needed rest day. Plus, we celebrated the birthday of one of my best friends, Monika. Here’s the cake.
Day 7 – Saturday March 07, 2020
Here comes my favorite day of the week.
The usual ritual of this day is to finish my run, complete my interval workout, and then head to my favorite brunch place!
Run – the 4-mile run was quite uneventful. I corrected my past mistake of starting my run later. This time, I made sure I start it in advance so that I would get at least 40 minutes to rest before starting the interval workout.
I finished the 4 mile run in 47 minutes 05 seconds with the pace of 11’44” per mile.
Interval Workout – The Interval workout was really fun and competitive. All credit goes to our Coach Jen. She wrote down the workout on one whiteboard, and the time we took to finish each workout on the different whiteboard. Seeing that after each round made us work harder than everyone else and we saw the real competitive spirit during this.
Brunch – After finishing both the run and the workout, it was time to feed ourselves with our favorite Saturday Brunch routine. This time, I ordered an extra side order of sausages, which I was craving for, along with my regular Western Omellette, with wheat bread, and hash browns.
I was so glad that this week was finally over. Tomorrow is bringing the new week, same grind!
stochasticity 