If you ask my coach, Joanna, there’s a method to the madness of this all which includes peaks and valleys and training blocks etc and a bunch of stuff that I don’t understand. She says “do this”, and I shut up and (try to) do it.

Week 10 was the end of another ‘block’ of training, with a planned rest weekend (woooo!) since the beginning of training so I could go away for the weekend to see Dave Matthews for something like the 39th and 40th times since 2000. Said ‘block’ of training did not end quietly.

#SeaKatyWheeze – Week 10 Recap

Day 64 – Sunday 6/11/17

AM: Run 10 Miles / PM: 1 Hour SUP

That run took place in the burning, humid depths of hell. Coach says, that if you can handle it, try training outside when it’s hot out. Reason being, Sunday wasn’t “teehee it’s 77 out, I’m feeling a little warm”, but 94 degrees with thick, humid air. So, I went out at 10:00a in the name of ‘heat training’.

Prior to starting, I filled my 20oz Amphipod with water per usual, and planted another full water bottle inside my front door so that I could swoop by midway through my run and refill without stopping.

As predicted, I was done with my water in 5ish miles. I looped home at 6mi and instead of taking the now lukewarm bottle from the porch, I filled my bottle with ice cold Gatorade within 45sec and was off running again. That didn’t even last the next 4. By mile 9, I was out of liquid. By mile 9.6, I got a stitch in my side that would not go away.

Barely able to move, my pace was about 14:00/mi for that last fraction, because there was no effing way I was going to stop and walk at 9.66 of a 10 mile run.

After chugging some Nuun, another bottle of water and some Gatorade, I was determined to have a little fun with the rest of my afternoon once I was able to move again. Not to mention, too many weeks had passed since getting lululemon’s Wild Abandon One Piece (pictured above), waiting for a warm weekend day to wear it. First SUP session of the season!

Day 65 – Monday 6/12/17

CrossFit

Strength
Shoulder Press (5×65%) – 50lbs
*use 90% of 1 Rep Max from the CrossFit Total Day for these percentages*
Shoulder Press (5×75%) – 55lbs
Shoulder Press (5+x85%) – 8 reps x 65lbs

Metcon
Helen
3 Rounds for Time:
400m Run
21 KB Swings (35lbs)
12 Pull-Ups
Result: 13:43 Rx

In all of this run training, I will admit to having neglected working on upper body strength. The pull-up bar isn’t the most familiar or comfortable place for me, so that was one contributor to my non-PR performance. Sunday’s run probably hampered some speed on the 400s. Actually didn’t feel as crappy as I’d expected to a day after said 10 mile sweat fest.

Far cry from a lifetime PR (11:55), but I’ll take the 13:43 and be content with it. The last Helen I had on the books was a 14:11 in June 2016. At least I’m not getting any worse.

Day 66 – Tuesday 6/13/17

Rest Day

Seeing that last week’s tempo run got the shaft to favor the wall ball WOD at CrossFit, this week it was time to pay fair attention both the physical and mental stamina required for tempo workouts. Rest day spent worrying if I would be able to hold up the pace for the 4mi on the docket for the next day.

Side note: It happened to be a muggy 95 degrees outside on Tuesday. I felt no guilt about sitting at home in the AC while my friends were sweating it out at CrossFit.

Day 67 – Wednesday 6/14/17

Run – 2mi Warmup + 4mi Tempo + 1mi Cooldown

It’s time to take it off the treadmill, sister. I tried, I failed. Kind of. My immediate post-workout comments from the training app Joanna and I share:

Not sure where to start. The Launch 4 is officially BANNED from my feet for any run greater than 800m. I’ve worn them for 3 Tempo runs with 3 different pairs of socks and all three times I’ve had foot issues. However – NOT blaming the shoes for my body’s ineptitude.

First mile actually went very well. Second mile, I got hot and it did not go well. Had to pause for a minute to cool down a few degrees, gather myself and try and muster up the mojo. Just didn’t happen on mile 3 either. So, I paused again before the 4th to find the Beastie Boys “So Whatcha Want” (my PR mile song) and put it on loop and stick to the cadence for the final mile, which improved the pace and my morale significantly.

50% failure to keep up is not ideal. I am going to do some homework and start searching for a mix of songs that all match that speedy yet doable cadence for me and hope to crush it next week. While the 2-hour mark feels like a long shot to me at this point, I don’t feel like it’s out of range just quite yet. Got my work cut out for me, though.

Day 68 – Thursday 6/15/17

CrossFit + Run 1mi

Strength
Front Squat (5×65%) – 100
use 90% of your 1 Rep Max from June 9th
Front Squat (5×75%) – 115
Front Squat (5+x85%) – 10 reps x 130lbs

Metcon
2 Rounds of:
25 Toes To Bar
15 Over Head Squats 95/65

Result: 6:27 Rx

Kipping T2B, Y U SO elusive? I can open a WOD with 5 of them strung together, then they peace out and say BYEEE for the remainder of the workout. Slow AF singles. Jello arms on the OHS, did them unbroken. Not a horrible showing on the Front Squats, IMHO.

Day 69 – Friday 6/16/17

Rest Day / Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds – Night 1

Hello REST WEEKEND! Week 10 completed another major block in my training, so I was feeling spent and ready for a break. Things have been increasingly busy at work in the past couple of weeks, so I was firing on all cylinders both in the office and in my training.

Judge me all you like, I’m a big Dave Matthews fan. I’ve been going to see DMB or Dave & Tim Reynolds yearly since 2000. This weekend was our annual food & music fest up in Saratoga, NY. 😀

Set list was amazing. It was one of those nights that left you wondering what they were going to play the next night, because you just heard all of your favorite songs and then some.

Day 70 – Saturday 6/17/17

Rest Day / Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds – Night 2

On the second day of our Dave & Tim extravaganza, we found ourselves playing mini golf to pass the afternoon. Loser buys ice cream.

While I lost (and treated the group to soft serve), I would just like to go on record and say that this mini golf course had tin cups with raised lips that were VERY unkind. Ask any of the others who were there how many times I was robbed because the ball went DIRECTLY over the hole or was pushed away thanks to the crappy tin cups and they’ll tell you. A lot.

More music to round out the weekend. We spent the first night out on the lawn in GA, and scored actual seats for the second night. Three cheers for being able to make out facial features onstage, and many more cheers to Dave & Tim for two shows very well played.

This Week’s Mileage: 18.75 miles // #SeaKatyWheeze Cumulative Total: 156.25 miles