Mon, Feb 20

4 miles easy jog today, followed by some lightweight dumbbell overhead presses.

***

Tue, Feb 21

3.5 miles with Pippin in the evening, before the temperature drop and cold front came in at night.

***

Wed, Feb 22

45 minutes on the row machine, followed by dumbbell front raises.

***

Thu, Feb 23

We decided to bake cookies with the natural food color dyes that we got. They came out very interesting in color! The base color of the dough was supposed to be a mint green, and it was more of a green apple color before baking. After they came out, they were red in the middle and mildly yellow-green on the outside. Strange but delicious! 😂

I didn't work out today, but we went dancing to the club at night... My husband and I danced for a couple of hours, what a blast! I call that a fun way to take an active rest day 😂.

***

Fri, Feb 24

50 minutes on the row machine in the morning. 

I wasn't planning to run today, but the afternoon was so nice and the sunlight so warm that I did decide to go with Pippin. It was tank top weather along the long top of the mesa in Palmer.

We made it right to the overlook just as the sun was setting behind the mountains!

What magical timing!

Pippin enjoyed feeling the warm sun on his back at the overlook, and then we headed down and back home before dark.

We got a total of 7.4 miles today.

***

Sun, Feb 26

Today I met with Sharon and Charles again for our Sunday Speedwork!

We did the same ladder as last week: half-mile, mile, half-mile. My times were faster across the board this week! It was encouraging.

I ran 3:44, 7:22, and 3:34. That last half-mile was a good push! I hope to be able to go under 7 minutes for the mile within a few months of our training.

Our total distance was just under 6 miles for the day.

Later, I took Pippin out for a jog over 5 and half miles as well, making my cumulative mileage for the day 11.6 miles, with 2 of those miles at high effort.

***

Mon, Feb 27

Today, I did 8.5 miles at slow/recovery pace, and then took Pippin for 6 miles to the overlook at a  slightly more moderate pace. My total mileage for the day was 14.5 miles. I am trying not to go overboard, I really am! 😂

***

This week was fun. And thanks to Sharon and Charles, I made my twice-monthly speedwork goal for February! Despite it being a short month and also my injury at the beginning of the month.

Looking forward to more fun and fast times as March comes around, and maybe even some mountain runs!

Tue, Feb 7

Dumbbell front raises, with the 10 lb dumbbells. Both unilateral and bilateral.

***

Thurs, Feb 9

Seated chest flies with the 10 lb dumbbells. These felt quite good.

Tried rowing; ankle is still too tight.

***

Sat, Feb 11

Seated barbell bicep curls. Approximately 50 lbs on the barbell total, without being completely certain how much the barbell itself weighs (it's a weird one).

***

Tue, Feb 14

Dumbbell overhead presses. Standing today. I tried to make sure I was standing evenly and engaging my core.

***

Wed, Feb 15

Today I was able to do 35 minutes on the row machine.

The ankle felt a little tight a couple times, so I didn't want to go any longer than that today. Also, I did go at a very light effort level today, just enough to get moving.

Later, I did some sets of dumbbell front raises.

***

Thurs, Feb 16

Yesterday, we had a big snowstorm. In classic Colorado style, the melt-off started today. The roads were still snowy but also beginning to get slushy and sloppy.

Naturally, I decided to pick today to do first run since my ankle injury two weeks ago.

I took Pippin. We went slowly, and did not go very far. But we got a little bit of road, a little bit of trail, and 350 feet of elevation.

2.6 miles today. Short to not over exert the ankle.

Later at home, I decided that I wanted to supplement today's very short run with a little additional cardio, so I did 35 minutes on the row machine.

***

Fri, Feb 17

My ankle is feeling much better overall. Today, I did 6.3 miles with Pippin.

The road to the overlook was still closed to vehicles, but it was completely melted off. The best kind of day to run along the top of Palmer Park, soaking in the sun along the long, flat mesa.

***

Sat, Feb 18

I did a total of 16 miles today. The last 6 were with Pippin.

I am feeling like myself again!

***

Sun, Feb 19

Today, I met with Sharon and her husband Charles for an interval session.

It was a simple and short ladder - I did half a mile, a mile, and half a mile. My times were 4:07, 7:32, and 3:40.

I took the first half mile a little slower. I was really happy with my mile being in the 7:30 range!!

Sharon and I did a bit longer cool-down and got a total of 7 miles. What a fun interval session 😲💯!

Later, I took Pippin to Palmer Park for a short 5 mile jaunt, bringing my total mileage for today to 12 miles.

I also walked a couple miles with the family. To be clear about my yearly mileage total, I don't include walks or hikes with the family into my running mileage. But any walking that is part of a run (like walking between intervals, or hiking on steep uphills in the mountains) I do include towards my yearly total.

***

To summarize, I did some weights while my ankle was injured. Once I began to feel better, I felt all better all at once. I still want to be careful and reasonable as I return to higher mileage, but I'm currently riding a wave of feeling good (likely as a result of all the rest!)

I was concerned that I might not be able to make my twice-monthly speedwork goal this month because of the injury, but as long as I go next weekend, I'll get it.

Sun, Jan 29

Barbell bicep curls in the morning. It was time for these. Standing, engaging the core.

6.5 miles with Pippin in the snow in the afternoon.

Actually it was snowing when we left, and stopped pretty soon after. Then it stayed nice and cloudy, but didn't snow anymore until after we got home.

***

Mon, Jan 30

This was the most picturesque day for canicross yet!

Pippin and I set out in single-digit temps. As the sun came out, it lit up the yellow sandstone mesas in Palmer Park, making the surrounding air pockets feel quite warm.

I wore spikes on crunchy snow and ice. I did a mix of trails and roads, since the road to the overlook was closed to vehicles due to the snow.

Pippin is nearly 100% trained now. It's been less than a month, and he already knows how to stay on the right hand side and not cross the trail; he understands his force and how hard to pull; he understands the command "whoa" to slow down. He didn't jump at a rabbit that we saw today, which is a first! He has a strong prey drive, but he is beginning to learn to curtail that instinct when he is "on the job" - aka pulling me on the run.

Today, we found a pocket of sunshine between the clouds surrounding us, and I got a lot of "classic Colorado" photos with the snow, clouds, mountains, and the rock formations.

It felt like running through a Bob Ross painting! 🎨

We ran 8.6 miles today, with a good amount of playing in the crunchy snowy playground of trails.

This was my 9th day in a row of running, and I'm feeling fine overall. I'll work on my legs with a massage gun tonight to help.

***

Tue, Jan 31

6.2 miles with Pippin in the park, 10th day of running.

Unfortunately, I stepped off the side of the road weirdly in the last two miles and twisted my ankle, so now I'll need to rest from running until it's healed.

Sad and upsetting, as I was just getting into a good running routine with the dog! My streak is ended after 10 days.

But I hope this setback will be minor, and I need to take the time to rest my ankle fully.

Bonus photo of our other dog, Buddy, in the collage. (As a short nosed older dog, Buddy isn't as much of a runner like Pippin.)

***

Fri, Feb 3

I'll be doing upper-body cross-training while letting my ankle heal.

Today, I did double dumbbell press-outs with the two 10 lb dumbbells, for a total of 20 lbs.

***

Sat, Feb 4

Unilateral 10 lb overhead presses, then also bilateral presses with both dumbbells together for 20 lbs.

This workout was sufficient for today, but since rowing involves too much ankle movement, I can't really do any cardio.

***

Sun, Feb 5

Side lateral raises with the 10 lb dumbbells.

***

Well, this week was a bummer in that I got hurt!

I am taking it easy and resting and healing. I am still able to do some lightweight arm work each day.

I am disappointed that my run streak was ended after 10 days, but after I heal, I hope to continue the pattern of running "most" days. Too bad that it might be another couple weeks before I feel comfortable and healed.