Cross-training and strength training

Before I trained for my spring half marathon, I had never done much to incorporate cross-training or strength training into my running routine.  I have flirted with some Pilates workouts before, but I never really committed to doing them regularly.  However, knowing that I wanted to be strong throughout the training cycle, I made a conscious decision to incorporate cross-training and strength training twice per week.  And I did it: I consistently included such workouts twice a week for the duration of the training plan.  However, I quickly discovered that treadmill speed walking does not hold the same allure as running and therefore could not motivate me to wake up at dark o'thirty.  More often than not, I did these non-running workouts during my kids' afternoon nap, which though not ideal, worked out well enough.

Since January, I've embraced a number of different cross-training options: yoga for runners, barre-style workouts, speed walking on the treadmill (while watching guilty pleasure TV shows), and Pilates.  I continually search for ways to keep cross-training fresh and fun so that I stick with it, both for my mental and my physical well-being.  Running remains my preferred activity, but I believe four days per week is the most running my body can handle.  Still craving some me-time the rest of the week, cross-training has stepped in to keep me sane and strong.

When cross-training, I strive to include at least 20 minutes of strength work, relying on exercises I can do at home with little to no equipment.  Last winter, I used two formalized routines provided by the Another Mother Runner challenge, and I still incorporate many of those exercises into my strength workouts today.  Among my favorites: planks, side planks, squats, bridge, hunting dog, calf raises, tricep dips, and one-legged squats.  My least favorites, which I've abandoned as my one tiny form of rebellion, are v-sits and chest raises.  And one that I hate but keep because it is good for me: pushups.

I'm with you, T-Rex...

As I once again embark on a half marathon training plan, I intend to renew my commitment to cross/strength training twice per week.  I'm off to a good start: Monday featured a 20-minute strength circuit followed by a yoga routine for hips and hamstrings.  What are your preferred forms of cross-training?  Do you have any strength moves I should add to my repertoire?

What goes up...

About three weeks before my early-April half marathon, I felt a twinge in my hip.  I had run a 10-mile training run on Sunday (which was an amazing, all-the-stars-aligned sort of run) and then on a stupid, 3-mile Tuesday morning run, something felt off in my right hip.  I ignored it, stretched more than usual, and hoped for the best.  To no great surprise, all my ignoring, stretching, and hoping did nothing to heal my poor hip.  I continued training, though I ran very little in the 10 days before my race.  After I crossed the finish line and hobbled for several days, I knew I needed professional help.

I found an incredible chiropractor, herself a mother runner, who worked hard to put my body back together.  My lowest vertebrae were misaligned, likely from pregnancy more than running, though the constant pounding of the road certainly didn't help matters.  Under her guidance, I took a complete break from running for two weeks and then tentatively returned at the end of April.

Since I've returned, almost all of my runs have been top-notch.  I feel like I'm in the zone: my body is strong, my brain is engaged, my heart is happy.  Every time I lace up, I remind myself that this zone of running nirvana can't last; eventually, I'm going to have a crappy run.  After all, what goes up, must come down.  I leave my house half-expecting to bonk on the run, but each time I've returned grateful, rejuvenated, and full of life.

I'm at this peak, and I fear the inevitable pit.
Could I just skip the pit and settle for the reasonably-priced snacks and drinks?

To make this string of amazing runs all the more unbelievable, the runs have been wrought with opportunity for complaining and agony.  We have launched into a full-on St. Louis summer, complete with palpable humidity and scorching temperatures.  But I haven't minded.  Torrential rain threatened to blight my run commute last week.  But I just felt all the stronger because of it.  Even fighting through last week's treadmill run left me feeling elated rather than defeated.

I know this can't last.  Such zen-like states are fleeting, in both running and life.  So while I am trying to soak up the beauty of each run, I can't help but wonder when the other shoe is going to drop...

Negative Splits

Yesterday's run was one that I'd love to bottle up and save forever.  The sky threatened rain as I headed out, but no rain fell until hours after my run, and the cloud cover made for a cooler run.  My legs felt powerful, my core was strong, my heart and lungs clicked along without any protest.  I ran several of the hills in my neighborhood, which have sometimes loomed large in the past.  Yesterday, they were easy as pie.  It was a run where I felt like I could go forever feeling free, energized, and strong.

When I set out, I had no firm plans.  I wanted to run 5 or 6 miles, and I hoped to achieve negative splits.  I felt good about my negative split goal through mile 4.  When I realized I had run that one in 9:24, however, I wasn't sure that I could continue to speed up for 2 more miles.  I thought I'd be lucky to just hang on to that pace.  Mile 5 felt surprisingly easy (another 9:24), and I glanced at my watch as I began mile 6.  It read 8:03AM, or 3 minutes past the hour I'd promised my husband I'd be home.  Not only did I need to beat a 9:24 mile to continue my negative splits, but I also had to book it in order to relieve my husband of kid duties.  I cranked it up, finishing out the run with an 8:41 mile.

A work of art that only a runner would appreciate: perfect negative splits :)

Elated doesn't even begin to describe how I felt at the end of this run.  This was my longest run since I admitted that I was injured in early April.  Running 6 miles, feeling strong and healthy throughout, left me with an incredible sense of accomplishment.  As I stood in my kitchen, stretching my quads as my kids filled me in on their morning, I felt invincible and ready to conquer the world.  It's a feeling I need to commit to memory so I can draw on it in the future when running - or life - feels like too much to handle.  The struggles will always come, but if I can remember this incredible feeling of triumph, I will survive the low points and return to victory.

Post-run Stretching

Thus far into my running career, I've been remarkably lucky on the injury front.  I've had my share of tight muscles and intermittent discomfort, but I've not faced any ailments that have caused me to miss multiple runs.  I attribute much of my good luck to my post-run stretching routine.  Though I sometimes slack off, I try to do a series of stretches after each run, and when I'm really dedicated, I do them on non-running days, too.

It is sometimes tricky to fit in stretching, especially after a long run.  Mommy guilt rares its ugly head when I've been gone for a lengthy run, and I feel like I shouldn't spend the extra minutes stretching.  But my body is always grateful when I do.  To lessen the mommy guilt, I often stretch in my living room with my kids.  They sometimes join me in doing their own "stretches", which always brings a smile to my face.

Neither my running nor my yoga form are this good, but a girl can dream, right?!

I found a couple great stretching resources that I use in my regular routine.  This Runner's World article outlines several yoga poses that are beneficial to runners.  My favorite poses are the Triangle and the Pigeon Forward Fold because they stretch out my hips so nicely.  I've not done much yoga in my life, but I feel like these stretches are easy to do and hit all the major running muscles.  Finally, this psoas stretch is incredible.  It really stretches the quads and hip - it hurts so good!