Monday, June 11, 2012

Pump Some Iron and a Winner!

Um, whoa last week is kind of a blur right now...I was on the go go go all week and barely had one afternoon over the weekend to actually relax.  I usually prefer life to be pretty busy but I could certainly use a couple days off to be super lazy and do nothing.

I plan on doing a post or series of posts sometime in my blog future about the importance of weight training and how I'm certain it has helped me become a better runner but for right now I'm just going to tell you..."incorporate some weight training in your weekly routine!"  I used to believe that running surely is enough to strengthen my legs right?  Well, sure it does help, but doing some actual weighted movements really makes a bigger difference and I can certainly tell!  Add in some upper body movements and you have a better looking physique which is always nice while running right?!

If you were to incorporate ONE leg exercise into your routine I would highly recommend lunges, specifically a single leg barbell lunge with your foot on a bench.  Try a few sets this week and I swear you'll feel it through you whole legs, especially your butt! Bodybuilding.com has a great video that shows this move perfectly:


Source: http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/one-leg-barbell-squat

So, let's recap my week, weight training and all!

Monday - Legs
Busted this routine out at the gym right after work and included 30 minutes of easy elliptical after.  I included some squats, lying leg curls, the one-legged squats seen above (I held 20 pound dumbbells in each hand and did 4 sets of 8 reps), glute brides and calf raises. My legs were the perfect amount of sore the next day, although my butt remained sore for a few days :).

Tuesday - Push workout plus easy run
Did the chest, tricep, shoulders workout at the gym in the morning and ran 4 easy miles with the pup after work.  It is actually really nice to split up my workouts although I go through a lot more workout clothes this way!

Wednesday - Pull workout plus cardio
Did a quick back and bicep workout and then 20 minutes on the stationary bike plus 20 minutes on the elliptical.  I intended on staying on the bike but my butt kept getting numb...how to bikers prevent this?!

Thursday - Adventure Run - Yummy dinner
Mother nature has been playing some cruel cruel tricks to Seattleites this week and it went from torrential downpours to bright sun to howling winds today so me and my running partner decided to just stay safe indoors and had a yummy yummy, can't wait to go back to this place, dinner at Ravish.

Friday - Rest - Easy run
Since I missed running Thursday I woke up super early and got my run done in the morning with my pup. It was slow, but it felt good to be out in the fresh morning air.

Saturday - Rest
Well if you count being on your feet for 9 hours straight rest.  I recently became part of the Nuun sample team and get to work at events where Nuun has a tent or booth.  I worked the Evergreen Bike Festival for them this weekend for my first event and it was a lot of fun.  Mountain bike people certainly are a different breed from runners but I learned a ton and the fact that Nuun is universally loved by all sports!
These girls seriously came by about 5 times and chugged the Nuun "juice"
Sunday - 11 mile long run - oops, 10 miles
So 10 is pretty close to 11?  My friend Lindsey and I took off for an extended Lake Union loop on Sunday morning and didn't calculate it quite right. We felt confident putting away 10 miles as our longest run before Rock and Roll Seattle.

Man that was a looonnngg week!

Oh you want to know who won my Nuun giveaway, ok I'll tell you...drum roll please:

It's Mary from Minutes Per Mile!  Email me at marathonlar@live.com with your shipping info and I'll get it right out to ya!

Man that was fun, I want to do more giveaways!

Okay, this post is getting too long so I'm not going to bore you with what I plan on doing workout wise this week but I will let you know that you should come running with me and Scott Jurek Tuesday night in Seattle...k? I already have a ton of questions for him swimming in my head and if you can't make it I'll be sure to do a full recap.

Question: What one question would you ask a ultramarathoner rock star like Scott Jurek if you got the chance?

2 comments:

Ricole Runs said...

That's so awesome you're on Nuun's sample team! Tell me more! How many events do you work? That sounds really fun. Nice week of workouts! You're my hero.

Ricole Runs said...

You need a new post to tell for sure. :-)