Wednesday
Two miles of run-commutes, my mini plyo/mobility/'core' workout in the morning, then Back/Bottom ST in the afternoon. My squats are really starting to take off. Probably have the most room for improvement with that exercise, since I ignored it for so long. In addition to full squats and split squats, I did overhead squats for the first time, tricky.
Not sure if I just needed to change things up a bit, or if the two-bodyzone workouts are superior to single-zone workouts, but the strength-training seems to be going better this week.
Thursday morning
Run-commute then my mini plyo/mobility/'core' workout. It's starting to solidify into a routine:
First, I do box jumps on a cinder block a little less than 8" tall. I got an adjustable plyo box coming Monday that starts at 14", then has 19" and 24" heights:
I've convinced myself I won't break anything jumping at 14", but I'm not sure about the other heights. I might just use them for step-ups.
Then I ignore a bunch of floor exercises I'm supposed to do, do some crunches, and then I put on my ankle weights for a half-dozen or so mobility exercises. Then I move on to some fun twists and tosses with my new 30-lb medicine ball, stuff like this
I toss these straight up in the air, in lieu of a partner
I do these with a pullover motion.
And wrap things up the power wheel.
I'm doing everything pretty lite and easy to start with, so that I can get into a daily rhythm with it and not get so sore that it interferes with my ST sessions or running. Seems like about 10 minutes per day is the right dosage, but I'll up the intensity as I get better at this stuff.
Thursday afternoon.
3 miles track work.
I got off to a late start. The idea was to do intervals and hills, but didn't have time left over for the hills. Just as well, as I experienced my first numb-plunge of the season while doing the track stuff.
I first ran a mile at tempo pace on the sandy gravel/gravelly sand track, and then did 2 miles of 100-meter sprints on the grass field inside the track. Both surfaces were still soggy from the snow we got the day before. The air temp wasn't too bad, at 2.22 C (-1.66 C windchill) but the surface moisture had my feet numbing down right from the start. On some of my previous runs this season, I've felt a little numbness on the skin, but this was the first time it penetrated, and I got some pins and needles on a few strides. On several sprints I was running close to 5mm pace to try to warm up the feet, then on my 30/40-meter jog in between intervals, from one side of the field to the other, the feet would numb down again, a little more after each round. I kept telling myself after each circuit (two sprints on either side of the field, and two jogs in between)
that that would be my last one. My mets were getting stiff, so it was just a matter of time before I would have to tap out, but then they seemed to stabilize a bit after two miles or so, and then at the three-mile mark it was time to go get the kids anyway, so I was saved by the bell.
I feel like I've been re-baptized. I had been feeling a little apprehension about experiencing this deeper numbness again, but I'm full in it now!
By the time I got to my daughter's school, after first picking up my son, my feet had regained their warmth, and the street's dry asphalt as I got out of the car felt nice and cozy.
Friday morning.
23F / -5C
19F / -7.2 windchill
Man, the concrete bridge on my morning run commute felt really cold this morning. I guess with air below as well as above, it gets a lot colder than the sidewalks on either side of it. A very refreshing way to wake up in the morning! I got a surface thermometer arriving today, so it'll be fun to see exactly what the temperature difference between different surfaces is.