10k Training and Fitness Updates

After finishing our 5k earlier this month, Nick immediately signed up for the Snoqualmie Valley 10k and I, of course, agreed to join him. Despite having run dozens of them, the 10k is my least favorite race distance. But it is fun to have a race on the calendar that requires training, and it's really fun to watch another friend get sucked into the wonderful cult that is running.

As far as training this month goes, things were a bit spotty (pun intended) in the middle. I had some heavy breakthrough bleeding the week before my period (hence the pun), so I had two weeks of menstruation + low energy + cravings. I ended up missing some workouts, including one of my typical Tuesday double-headers (gym then volleyball), which I've come to rely on for motivation early in the week.

I didn't do nothing during those weeks, which would have been typical of me in the past, but I certainly did less.

Running

I've managed to ramp up my mileage this month from 3 miles to 4.5, and I'm planning a 5-miler with Nick this weekend. I'm pretty pleased with how mentally easy it's been to add mileage, since I've been stuck in a 2-mile rut for ages.

We're getting shorts weather here and there!

I've also been trying to get out for a long walk at least once a week. In fact, the day I ran 4.5 miles, I had planned a long walk with a friend for that same afternoon, and during the run I kept thinking how the run was for race training and the walk was for general fitness, and how strange it felt to categorize running as something other than "fitness" for the time being. 

It's hard to explain, but since I haven't trained for a race since last May (when Matt and I ran the Vancouver Half), running has just been about wellness; it feels a little surreal to be training for a race after nearly a year of barely running at all.

Lifting/Fit by 40

I've been keeping up with my lifting, too, although this month I fell off the horse with regard to intensity and protein prioritization. Part of that has been due to a lingering elbow injury that's caused me to lower the weights for some upper-body exercises and part of that was sheer laziness. I got it in my head that I don't need to be constantly increasing weights to still see a difference. But my latest body scan suggests otherwise—while I lost another 3 pounds this month, most of it was muscle, not fat.

I am definitely feeling a certain way about that. I'm glad I'm losing weight, but I don't want to be "skinny fat"; I want to be strong. So, April will bring a rededication to protein and possibly changing things up at the gym so I can start to see improvements, even with the wonky elbow. (I hurt it playing volleyball. Oops.)

I do think pretty soon I'm going to put that red dress back on to see my progress and get a nice boost of motivation.

Volleyball

I've been increasingly enjoying my Tuesday evenings. Volleyball games are at either 8:30pm or 9:30pm; I go to the gym beforehand, then play an hour of volleyball. This season we've been undefeated and it feels so great to see our team finally gelling. I'm having a blast returning to my first sport, and a team sport at that! 

Running can be social, but there's just nothing quite like depending on your teammates during a game. While Tuesday nights make Wednesday mornings a little rough, I've come to depend on the two-hour block of exercise early in the week to stay motivated for the rest of it.

All things considered, March has been a pretty good month. I have some tweaks to make next month, but I'm feeling pretty good overall about my progress, both on the running front and the fitness front. And now that the weather is getting nicer (here and there), I'm looking forward to some beautiful spring runs.

Ali