So….what does one do when they have the post-vacation blues?
Sign up for a fun Spring race! :mrgreen:
I am the type of person who has to have things to look forward to…or bust! I decided that I would sign up for an April race to inspire my training until my half marathon in May. I am also debating on running a race on my birthday—May 16th, but I need to think about it some more!
I signed up for the Billy Taylor 15k (9.32 miles) in Guelph, Ontario on April 18th! The race was cheap and only 40 minutes from home (most races are 1 hour and up to get to from my location!), so I decided to take the plunge. Plus, I did my undergraduate degree at University of Guelph and haven’t been back in ages! It will be fun to reminisce old times. :) It will also be fun to go back healthier than ever. I am in such a better place in my life than I was during my undergraduate degree.
A picture of Johnston Hall from U of Guelph:
All of my intro to psychology courses were in this building called War Mem:
Good times!
My finishing time for last summer’s Acura 10 mile race was 1 hour 26 minutes 43 seconds which is an average pace of 8:40 min/mile. It was also the first time I had ever run 10 miles. I was very happy!
For this race on April 18th (9.32 miles/15k) I have set a goal time of 1 hour 18 minutes, which is a faster 8:22 min/mile pace. I will be working on my speed over the next few weeks to prepare for my first race of the season. It should be exciting and very challenging. I also have to do hill work as the course involves a long hill at the end.
I got caught up on updating my Spring Training Plan from the past two weeks…
These are the workouts I did while in Florida: [Click to enlarge]
Overall I worked out 8 out of 12 days while on vacation (2 rest days per week for a total of 4 rest days), which is basically in line with what I try to aim for normally. I found that working out and running on vacation totally renewed me and left me feeling inspired and refreshed. Sometimes all you need is a change of scenery!
I was really happy with my workouts while on vacation. I didn’t plan anything before I left- I simply left the two weeks as ‘TBD’ and exercised according to how I felt each morning. I didn’t want ANY pressure at all while on vacation, so this approach really worked for me.
Are you an exercise planner? Do you make your schedule or training plan days or weeks in advance? Or do you decide what you are doing the day of?
Generally speaking, I think there are two types of exercise planning:
1) Specific day-to-day plans
and
2) general, over-arching plans
and then of course many people prefer not to have any plan and to just go with the flow!
I would love to be a specific exercise planner, but I have found that typically doesn’t pan out for me. You may have noticed that my Spring Training Plan was a huge fail in that I had everything scheduled out, but then I ended up changing it all around each day because I felt like something else! It totally did not work for me. It doesn’t mean that I am not committed or training properly, but that I am just impulsive I guess.
The farthest I go is doing general plans. For example, I plan races to stay motivated.
I also aim for the following each week:
- one long run
- one speedwork session (new in the past month)
- 3-5 days of running total
I find that some weeks I need more rest and other weeks I feel on top of the world. It just varies quite a bit for me!
~~~
Updates:
- If you missed some of my vacation recaps you can get caught up here. All of my posts are in chronological order under Florida 2010 Vacation.
Time to get caught up on 2 episodes of GOSSIP GIRL!!! :mrgreen: I have missed it dearly…
Hope you have a GOOD Friday night!
I am SUCH a planner so I say plan. LOL
i know what you mean about post-vacation blues. last year we went to the Carribbean for a week, and when we got home it felt like we’d never left! at least you signed up for some fun races!!!
love getting my GG dose back-to-back. 2 consecutive hours of nate & chuck are better than uno ;)
Congrats on scheduling the race!! Too bad we can’t train together we’re pretty much at the same pace (My last half-marathon was 8:21min/mile).
I also agree that working out on vacations (some of the days) is a good idea…Makes relaxing in the sun, laying by the pool, and sipping fruity drinks that much more relaxing :)
Are you running any other races this year???
xx,
Lauren
I plan to a certain extent. I try to make a plan of how much I want to do in any given week but if something comes up or I’m not feeling well I want to be able to change things without it completely screwing up the schedule. So far it has worked well for me.
Good for you for working out while on vacation! I didn’t workout once on my last vacation, but it’s not entirely my fault. I was 17 (I’m 20 now), and you could only be in the gym at the resort if you were over 18 or had an adult with you and neither of my parents wanted to go. I did swim quite a bit but I don’t think anyone would call it a workout.
I used to live on that street!!!! Though, I moved out of Guelph a few years ago, but I’m still not that far away. That’s so awesome :)
You just ran 12 miles–you’re gonna rock this race! Your school looks similar to mine–very gothic and beautiful.
Gossip Girl – awesome!!!! You missed a lot!
And I like plans! I can’t wait to train for and run a race once I am able to exercise again after healing from my stress fracture.
I am definitely an exercise planner! I write everything down in my calendar. I try not to be obsessive and inflexible about it, but I need to know that the plans are there. It just makes it easier to know I’m getting all the right amounts of cardio/strength.
There are a few Toronto races coming up, if you are interested! Guelph looks lovely, I’ve never been.
That is going to be such a beautiful run!
I am a planner. I kind of freak out if I don’t have things planned. :)
I definitely plan my exercise out – mostly the strength training aspects. I alternate chest/back, arms and legs workouts, or alternate doing push-pull workouts.
And I’m so excited about your race in Guelph – I’m just finishing up my undergrad there :). Too bad I think I will have moved home by the 18th, but if I’m still in town I’ll be cheerin’ you on!
I do make exercise schedules but they never pan out :S
You and I run at the same pace. Are you doing fartlex for your speed training?
GET SOME!! You’re going to do great!!
I did a lot of planning last year – then I got injured, took 2-3 months off and now am training for a 1/2 marathon in 3 weeks (eek!). This is my first 1/2 (I had to withdraw from the other one b/c of said injury) and I definitely haven’t gone with any sort of plan. I started t-mill running in February, and today I did my second long run of 9 miles. I definitely prefer to have a plan – it’s nice to see things all laid out and to have a goal in mind in advance. However, I haven’t really had that luxury this time, so I am just focusing on gradually increasing mileage, strength training, and stretching, stretching, stretching!! I am VERY bad at doing it (as in just find it boring so always cut it short) and I think that contributed to some of my problems last year. While I am definitely feeling better, the real struggle is the psychological part of it – overcoming my fear and getting back out there! :)
Hope you’re enjoying your evening . . . I’m doing the same thing . .. but more In Plain Sight and less Gossip Girl. It’s nice to relax after a busy vacation – hee hee!
Good luck. I think that’s great that you have signed up for a race.
When on vacation or even everyday I have to plan out my time for exercise so that it gets done and life doesn’t take over. When on vacation I exercise in the morning so I have hte rest of the day to do whatever I want. I also usually exercise extra before leaving for vacation (the week or two before), so if I don’t exercise as much I still feel like I have banked some days so it’s okay.
I am a huge planner. When I ran my first half marathon, I planned out my race schedule for 24 weeks of training, and I never missed on run. Crazy. I am actually trying to become more flexible in my life in general. Not that there is anything wrong with planning, but it’s a great way for me to stretch myself.
You’ve got me itching to sign up for a race!!
I really have to plan it out. Each Sunday I write down what I want to do. That doesn’t mean that it always happens the way I have it written down, but at least I have a plan. I may switch a run for a step class at the gym, but as long as I work out on scheduled days I am happy :)
Somewhat unrelated but I didn’t know how much the Guelph campus looks like the Queen’s campus (where I went!). I’m moving back to Ontario this summer and you just got me so excited about coming back up North (though, it’s not that hard to get me excited about that!!)
I used to plan my vacation exercise but I am going to try to roll with it like you did. I definitely think that is the way to be on vacation!
Glad you found an awesome way to beat the post-vacation blues:)