Category: Training Log

Training Log

training logs february – april 2021

koribarnum

For the last four years, winter for me has been the tale of balancing as much skiing as possible with as much running as possible and praying that all that time on feet is making me a stronger endurance athlete. This year an additional priority was getting lots of volunteer sessions in with Oregon Adaptive Sports, an amazing organization that works tirelessly to make wilderness activities accessible to all.

February:

  • 8 ski days
  • 6 month marathon training plan started Feb 22 – the couple of weeks before this involved a break from running and generally lower activity to get psyched up mentally and physically
  • continued PT strength work focusing on gluteals and hamstrings

March:

  • 11 ski days
  • weekly run mileage: 25; 31; 17; 31 – endurance building block. Generally, this plan entails 3 tough/building weeks followed by 1 recovery week (low mileage, all easy) – which I love. It’s easier to put in the focused, demanding work knowing that you get a mini-vacation every fourth week. I’m having to move the weeks around a little at times to accommodate my race schedule, but that’s a small price to pay considering I’M GETTING TO RACE!!!
  • PT strength work

April:

  • 2 ski days [insert sad face]
  • weekly run mileage: 37; 45; 14; 34 – speed building block. Hitting the same track times I did during my Boston qualifying training 3 years ago (and my legs are actually feeling stronger, likely due to all that PT work).
  • PT strength work + adding in more upper body/back/arms. Not sure when climbing will come back into my life, so I need to really work to gain back some of that strength.
Training Log

training log january 2021

koribarnum
image: koribarnum

January was all about the skiing and consistent strength training, with easy base running miles sprinkled in to maintain fitness. I continue to be encouraged by how strong my legs and core feel from the consistent PT work I’ve been doing – I was originally concerned that all the work on the hamstrings, inner thighs, and gluts wouldn’t translate into strength for skiing, but I have been very pleasantly surprised. I can hold control going much faster now, my legs don’t get tired, and I don’t get gripped (with the exception of when the ski terrain is really bumped out, that technique is still requiring some coordination I don’t quite have yet, but I’m working on it!).

Training Log

december 2020 training log

koribarnum
Mt Bachelor…ski ski ski…repeat

December marked my official focus change from all the running to all the skiing. This is my fourth year as a downhill skier, something I never thought I was capable of doing and have been surprised and even overjoyed to learn that I can! And it’s another way to be outside a ton of time in the winter in a magical wintry environment!! The 19/20 resort season was cut brutally short in March with pandemic-related closures, so this year I am making the most of every trip up the mountain. I want to develop as a strong intermediate skier and start venturing off the groomers with more confidence.

With the exception of one week deliberately taken off, I have been diligent with my PT strength exercises, and am transitioning into a maintenance mode, which means 45-60 minutes 3x a week of intense gluteal and hamstring strength work. I want to be running when I’m 80, so now is the time to put in the work and invest in my running future with lots of targeted weight work.

Oh, and I’ve gone on a couple runs, obvi. Not a whole lot though – wanted to take a little breather and a few more rest days this month.

Training Log

november 2020 training log

koribarnum

Almost a year into blogging, and I’m finding that publishing training logs on a weekly basis has been fun, but I think with this weird free-flow year of pandemic and injury and crime scenes and not following a specific plan lends itself, in the near future at least, to a monthly training recap.

Big running news this month: my only IRL race this year (Happy Girls Sisters Trail Half Marathon) and completed registration for the 2021 Chicago Marathon next October (deferred entry due to this year’s event being canceled).

Nov 2-8: W & S PT strength exercises. W gym climb

W: 5 miles easy on road, 10:03 pace

Sa: Trail Half!!

can I get you some trees? Happy Girls Sisters Trail Half

Total run miles 18

Nov 9-15: Tu & Su PT strength exercises

W: 5 miles easy on road

Th: 10 mile trail hike

F: 11 mile trail hike

Sa: 5 miles easy on trail

Total run miles 31

Nov 16-22: PT strength exercises W, F, Su

Tu: 8 miles easy on road 10:15 pace, w/6x 20 seconds hard hills & 2 minute recovery

Th: 4 miles easy on road 10:24 pace. R hip creaky for the first time in weeks, so opted to not do as many miles as I originally planned. Wasn’t easy to stop early, but trying not to be a jackass. With typical runner goggles, I assumed the hip creakiness was due to wearing new shoes on Tuesday, but now realize it’s far more likely it was due to speed work for the first time in months. Duh.

Sa: 7 miles easy trail, 10:27 pace. Felt AMAZING. Wow, what a difference 48 hours can make. Also this run was AFTER ski touring for the first time this year. Shrug.

Su: 11 miles easy trail, 10:38 pace. 8 x 20 seconds hills hard w/2 minute recovery.

Total run miles: 30

Nov 23-29: PT strength exercises Tu, Th & Sa; Ski tour Th & Sa.

Tu: 8 miles easy on road, 10:17 pace w/ 8 x 30 seconds hills hard w/1 minute rest. After this workout, realized that yeah, it’s probably this speedwork that is making the hip creaky. Going to step back from the speed. I’ve been able to run up to 3 hours comfortably and maintain my PT strength exercises without issue, so I think my body is just not yet ready to add the speedwork back in.

W: 6 miles easy trail, 10:54 pace. Legs felt good but low on fuel

F: 4 miles easy road, not feeling it.

Total run miles: 18

Training Log

10.25.20 – 10.31.20 training log

koribarnum
Horse Butte trail system, Bend

WEEK OF 10.19 – 10.25: M, Th, Sa: PT strength exercises

T: 3 mile easy road run, 10:05 pace + gym climbing

W: REST

Th: 3 mile easy road run, 9:51 pace

F: 12 mile trail run at Horse Butte, 12:38 pace. I will be running my buddy Heather’s first half marathon with her in two weeks, so today I practiced her interval system (run 2 minutes, walk 1 minute). It was SUPER FUN – you get excited every time you get to run, then chilled out and relaxed every time you get to walk, and both just keep rolling around. Cool way to organize a workout!

Su: 5 mile road run w/2 half mile hiking hill repeats

Total running miles: 23 Meditated 3 days

WEEK OF 10.26 – 11.01: Tu, F, Su: PT strength exercises

M & W: gym climbing

Tu: 3 miles easy on road, 10:26 pace

Sa: 11 miles trail on my favorite loop near our house, practicing “Heather Intervals” of 2 minutes running, 1 minute walking in preparation for running her first trail half next Saturday.

Su: 7 miles trail, easy out and back to keep the legs moving

Total running miles: 21 Meditated 7 out of 7 days

Training Log

10.18.20 training log

koribarnum

M, Th, Sa: PT strength exercises

W: 11 miles easy run/hike on trail at Horse Butte w/Alex. One of my favorite trail systems – wide open and rolling and windswept, with one of my favorite running partners – so much chatting!!

Th: 5 mile easy road run – ran to my PT appointment and back – I’d consider that major progress!! I’ve graduated from 2 PT appointments a week to now only once every 3 weeks. I’m sleeping like a champ and am not experiencing discomfort when running. Right hip still feels generally a little sticky, but I am making progress!

Su: 6 miles easy trail – 10:33 pace, felt SO STRONG.

Total run miles: 22

Meditated 4 days

Training Log

10.11.20 training log

koribarnum

Felt really tired and worn down this week. Not compartmentalizing work stress well at all, and wasting energy feeling like a failure for not compartmentalizing work stress. Sigh. Tried to listen to my soul, which told me to take extra rest days and not feel guilty about it.

W & Sa – PT strength exercises

M – 3 miles trail easy

Sa – 15 minutes treadmill hike @ 15% incline

Su – 8 miles trail @ 10:52 pace

Meditated 5 days.

Training Log

10.04.20 training log

koribarnum

Tu, Th, Su – PT strength exercises

Th – 4 miles trail – wow. that. was. tough. First time I ran after doing my 45 minute PT strength routine that is a super hard glut + hamstring circuit. I will likely not being doing that again, as my legs felt like lead and my butt was way too tired to participate in the run.

F – 5 miles road on country lanes in rural Idaho with my beloved. Warm, humid, and smoky, the best part was the pair of hawks that kept pace with us for a few miles, swooping overhead – just another couple out exercising.

Su – 4 miles road. Felt good to stretch out after 8 hours in the car.

M & Sa – REST.

Meditated 3 days.

Training Log

09.27.20 training log

koribarnum
Emma Coburn’s Virtual Elk Run 5K!!!
(I may have done it for the hat LOL)

M- PT strength exercises

T – 3 miles easy road. 9:45 pace + climbing

W & Th – REST

F – 4.5 miles trail! Yeah, back on dirt where my soul sings + PT strength exercises

Sa – Emma Coburn’s Virtual Elk Run 5K – laps around my block for 28:25. This is I think (?) my fourth virtual race this year; it’s becoming tough to keep track of anything during these wild and unusual times. Pace was a solid 75 seconds per mile slower than I’d like to do, but I’m trying really really really hard to accept my training each day for where it is, and find the patience to slowly work up my endurance without much focus on pace.
Su – 7 mile hike on the lesser known side of Tumalo Falls, 2:15 time on feet + PT strength exercises

Meditated most days. This will be a practice I follow my entire life, but for some reason the last few weeks I’ve needed to give myself permission to take a few days off each week. Trying to keep up a meditation streak has felt like one more thing that must be done instead of a healing, positive force in my life. The only thing I don’t love about my meditation app is that it keeps track of your “streak” – which feels very UN-meditation-like. I do, however, love that it keeps track of your total time meditating – I recently topped 4000 minutes – that feels like something more worth celebrating.

Training Log

09.20.20 training log

koribarnum

M – REST

T – PT strength exercises

W – 5K easy treadmill run ~ 10:10 pace

Th – PT strength exercises

F – 3 miles easy OUTSIDE!!! Possibly still a little too hazardous air quality…but.i.could.not.take.it.anymore.

Sa – 5K outside again!!! Easy run on the roads with the sun shining, the birds singing, and joy everywhere. I am always grateful, every run – but this year and its challenges have raised this gratitude, this awareness of what a gift movement outside is, to an entirely new level. + PT strength exercises

Su – return to climbing! Yep, that definitely feels like it’s been awhile.

Meditated most days.