Circuit drills at the track today
Today was a departure from the last two track practices (which were basically just timed short runs). I welcomed the change, just because I feel like I've been doing a lot of running and walking lately, and was glad to have something a little different on the horizon.
Rudy, a mentor and fill-in coach for today since Coach Al is in Alaska with the spring run team, said that the point of today's exercise was not only to help us find and keep our pace, but also to help build up the core muscles, particularly the abdominals.
So the practice went like this: Warm up 1-2 laps, stretching, run a lap, 15 squats, 15 crunches, 10 push ups (girl pushups ok for the girls), 15 more squats, run another lap, 10 supermans (lay on your belly and arch your back so your legs and arms are raised off the ground and hold for 2-3 seconds - called the locust pose in yoga if memory serves), 10 push ups, 10 one legged squats for each leg, then repeat both sequences and end with a final 1-2 laps.
It was tougher than I expected it to be. I forgot how much things like crunches, push ups, etc. can really get your heart rate going, and since it was already going pretty well because of the laps, I found myself pushing a little too hard in some places, particularly in the laps.
However, I was able to repeat last week's accomplishment of running an entire lap without having to drop into a walk. I was very happy about that. I kept my pace nice and slow in my warmup lap, and lo and behold, I was back to the starting point before I realized it.
All in all, I feel pretty good about how today went. It would have been nice to not have my heart rate quite so high or to have my running endurance on the laps between the calisthenics be quite so limited, but since this is the first time I've ever done something like this, I have to cut myself a little slack.
The nicest part was when I was finishing up my final lap, one of the gals on the team walked back up the track to meet up with me and run with me to the "finish line."
I can't say enough about how wonderful it is to be supported in this adventure by people whose names I don't even know yet, and whose faces I'm only just now beginning to recognize. I don't think I would be doing nearly as well as I'm doing without this essential team aspect that I sort of overlooked when I first signed up to do the half marathon.
Go, TEAM!
(and now back to your regularly scheduled Advil...)
Rudy, a mentor and fill-in coach for today since Coach Al is in Alaska with the spring run team, said that the point of today's exercise was not only to help us find and keep our pace, but also to help build up the core muscles, particularly the abdominals.
So the practice went like this: Warm up 1-2 laps, stretching, run a lap, 15 squats, 15 crunches, 10 push ups (girl pushups ok for the girls), 15 more squats, run another lap, 10 supermans (lay on your belly and arch your back so your legs and arms are raised off the ground and hold for 2-3 seconds - called the locust pose in yoga if memory serves), 10 push ups, 10 one legged squats for each leg, then repeat both sequences and end with a final 1-2 laps.
It was tougher than I expected it to be. I forgot how much things like crunches, push ups, etc. can really get your heart rate going, and since it was already going pretty well because of the laps, I found myself pushing a little too hard in some places, particularly in the laps.
However, I was able to repeat last week's accomplishment of running an entire lap without having to drop into a walk. I was very happy about that. I kept my pace nice and slow in my warmup lap, and lo and behold, I was back to the starting point before I realized it.
All in all, I feel pretty good about how today went. It would have been nice to not have my heart rate quite so high or to have my running endurance on the laps between the calisthenics be quite so limited, but since this is the first time I've ever done something like this, I have to cut myself a little slack.
The nicest part was when I was finishing up my final lap, one of the gals on the team walked back up the track to meet up with me and run with me to the "finish line."
I can't say enough about how wonderful it is to be supported in this adventure by people whose names I don't even know yet, and whose faces I'm only just now beginning to recognize. I don't think I would be doing nearly as well as I'm doing without this essential team aspect that I sort of overlooked when I first signed up to do the half marathon.
Go, TEAM!
(and now back to your regularly scheduled Advil...)
Labels: Training
posted by Erin at 11:02 PM
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