Training for the ZomPoc

 We're restarting our blog, with a slightly different twist.  Each week, we're going to watch a zombie movie, and then analyze our training to see how/if it would help us if that particular zombie apocalypse happened.  If you're like us, you've gotten a little bit discouraged with training during 2020, since races seem to keep getting canceled.  This is a way to to keep us engaged & active; and if you want to play along, we'll let you know each week what movie we plan to watch.  Fast zombies, shambling zombies, rage zombies....   We hope to survive them all!

Catching Up  

YTD, Big Sis Teresa has run/walked/biked/hiked 3,170.69 miles so far this year.  That includes the Great Smoky Mountains Half, the Beaver Chase Urban Trail quarter marathon, Run(317) Carmel/Westfield and Speedway, and several virtual races.  Can zombies run that far?  I think not!

Owltober

Cindy, Scott, and Teresa are all participating in Ride Owltober, a virtual challenge that encourages
people to get out & participate in whatever activity they enjoy, while raising money for Warren Wilson College men's & women's cycling teams.  We hope you'll join us!  Only $15 to get involved!

 

This Week

We're watching Romero's Night of the Living Dead   A classic that premiered the same year Teresa did, it still speaks to issues society is dealing with today. Going forward, we hope to share some of our fave zombie movies with you, and we're happy to entertain suggestions if you have some you'd like to share as well.   Please comment if you have any fave zompoc fiction you'd like us to train for!

 

 

Who's ready for the Inaugural 465 Challenge?

Don't Miss the Inaugural 465 Virtual Challenge! Shown above: Inaugural 465 Challenge Sticker included with Premium and Basic Registration Packages. Coming January 1, 2020 . . . Inaugural 53-Mile VIRTUAL 465 Challenge! WHO: Fabulously motivated YOU! WHAT: The Inaugural 53-Mile VIRTUAL 465 Challenge is an event conceived by Indianapolis-based Vision Event Management. Why 53 miles? Here's the skinny: Indiana Interstate 465 is a 53-mile loop around Indianapolis. As a kid, do you remember driving somewhere with your parents and imagining yourself moving on a map? Now, dig if you will a picture of yourself running, walking, biking, skateboarding, scootering or performing any physical activity of your choice for the 53-mile loop around the 465. THIS IS A VIRTUAL EVENT SO PLEASE DO NOT ACTUALLY STEP FOOT ON INDIANA INTERSTATE 465!

Countdown to Vegas Week 5: Run Detroit

I spent most of last week in Detroit taking classes towards being a Certified Housing Asset Manager.  I didn't let the travel derail my marathon training though.  I had already planned several runs and workouts before I even left Indy, and of course my fave running shoes went in my carry-on bag.  I am not taking any chance of losing those!

Monday - Long Run

Classes every day except Friday ran from 8:00 - 4:00.  As soon as Monday's class was over, I headed back to the hotel to change and go run.  Monday's weather was in the low 70s with low humidity, and based on the forecast for the week, it was going to be the most perfect day for a run.  My plan was to go down to the Riverfront and run north to Belle Isle bridge, then run over the bridge to Belle Isle State Park, about 4 miles.  I thought I'd find somewhere there to buy water and a snack, then run back.  The first part of the evening went according to plan.

Once I got to the island, I was a little disappointed at first.  There were very few signs, and even fewer sidewalks.  For a park, it was not pedestrian friendly at all.  There were roads and bike lanes everywhere, and all the walkers and runners I saw were in the bike lanes, which forced the bikes into the roads.  Most of the attractions were closed since it was after business hours, so I headed over to the beach.  There my disappointment went away.  The beach was delightful, and even though the cafe was closed there was an ice cream truck, so I got my snack and water, and took my shoes off to run on the sand and in the water.  The Detroit River is very clean and pretty.

Countdown to Vegas Week 3: This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

While the thermometer showed temps in the 80s this week instead of 90s, it still felt really hot and humid, and I'm so salty and itchy by the end of even a short run.  I've been eating bananas and baked potatoes, and drinking coconut water, but I am still struggling with calf and foot cramps.  I'm going to keep working on finding a solution, so if you have any tips please share.  Here's how this week's training went:

Monday - Hills

At this week's hill training with BGRIndy, we split into groups.  Those who missed the Tired Legs workout from two weeks ago got to do that one, while those of us who were there for it did partner hills sprints.  We tackled that hill hard!  It was a short workout but a tough one.

Total miles: 2.7

Hot In The City: Countdown to Vegas Week 2

Holy heatwave Batman!  The temps this week have wreaked havoc on training plans and driven many of us inside to the dreadmill.  Here in the midwest, it looks like we will start to see a break from the heat by Thursday, but then we will be dodging thunderstorms as we schedule our runs.  I would still rather be hot than cold any day, so I'm just going to hydrate and try not to complain too much.  Here's how this week's training went:

Monday - Hills

Confession time: one of the main reasons I joined Black Girls Run Indianapolis was because I wanted to do these hill workouts on Monday.  I have no problem going out and doing a long run by myself any day - those are fun to me.  But putting in some of the hard work like hills, speed training, or cross training takes a group to make me accountable.  I'd been following these ladies on Instagram for a while and know they work hard and have fun together encouraging each other.  So I joined up and I'm really glad I did.  This week we ran suicides up Soap Box Derby Hill.  I never caught her, but I'm pretty sure Brandi kept moving those cones farther apart each round.  It was also Crazy Sock week, and you know I'm always up for wearing crazy socks.
Total miles: 4

Ketchup Post

Catching up on a few things I haven't had a chance to blog in the past couple weeks....

5K PR Watch

I made another attempt to achieve a new 5K PR at the 2nd Merrell Summer Series 5K on 8/28.  It was in the 80's and very humid that evening. I think they tried to help us ignore the heat by using race bibs leftover from the Polar Bear Run, but they didn't really help.I carried water with me since there were no water stops in the 1st race, but I still struggled through the heat and slowed down rather than sped up.  I'm okay with that, though. A lot of the reading I've been doing lately has said to run by feel, not by pace or speed.  So when it's hot and the run takes more effort, it's okay to slow down.  I'm still working hard and getting the benefits of that conditioning. As always, I had a lot of fun running with my friends from the Indy Women's Fall Training group.  And got a bonus t-shirt! Carmel Road Racing Group was giving away old race shirts to people who had preregistered.  Everyone knows how much I love Christmas, so I'm sure it's no surprise I picked this 5Ks of Christmas shirt.

 

I Am A Spartan

One of my friends told me about the Spartan Workout Tour, a free group workout designed to teach you how to train for a Spartan Race.  I've never done a Spartan Race - they look pretty hard core - but the workout was free and included a free t-shirt. So how could I say no?

Helix Workout

Since Cindy & I are both huge fans of the SyFy show Helix, we came up with this Helix workout we can do while we watch the show. We know tomorrow is the season finale, but we are hopeful SyFy will renew Helix and we can keep watching & working out during season two.

If you try this workout during the marathon or the finale, post a comment or tweet us @UglyPaxtonSis and let us know what you think. 

Baby sis is finally blogging again! (Part 1)

What to blog, what to blog?  I know, it has seriously been a very long time, and I won't try to give you excuse, because there is none.  So should I write about finally running an entire 5K without walking on Thanksgiving?  Rate/review the 5K training program app that I used?  Discouragement after 5K?  Tour de Toys Bike Ride in December?  More info on the Yellowstone Half Marathon that I posted on January 1?  Starting a 5K-10K running program?  Second time I ran an entire 5K race in February?  How about a little bit of all?

Pin It and Do It Update - 2/3 Done

I meant to blog an update of my progress in Trish's Pin It and Do It Challenge before now - really I did.  But I actually have been doing my Pins, just didn't write about it before now.

I committed to pinning and doing 4 Pins during October, and I created Big Sis Teresa's Pin It Do It Board on Pinterest for the Challenge.  (Shameless plug: If you don't already follow us on Pinterest, go do it as soon as you finish reading this post.)

First up was Run with Jess's Virtual Ride for Breast Cancer. For this virtual event, you bike 50K or 31 miles during the month of October.  It can be anywhere you want, any type of bike - mountain, road, stationary, spin class - and it can be all at once or spaced out over the month.  Little sis Cindy also participated in this event.  I've been using Run Keeper to track my biking.  We had two East Side Bike Rides this month: on 10/2 we rode up the Monon Trail and back for a total of 11.02 miles; and on 10/16 we rode looped around downtown on the Cultural Trail for a total of 7.5 miles.  That puts me at 18.52 miles for the month, so I still have 12.48 to go.  I'm planning to ride Sunday to the B&O Trail and as far along it as I can go (it's not all paved yet), so that should finish this event/Pin.

Next up was the Haven Workout.  I created this myself (see the blog post from 10/4).  I modeled it after The Walking Dead workout which is popular on Pinterest, and tailored it to one of my favorite shows: Haven (SyFy, Friday at10pm ET).  It's been repinned several times, so hopefully other people like this too.  I have been doing it as I watch Haven on Fridays, and I like it.  It ends up being really heavy on the squats - they mention the Troubles A LOT.  If anyone else has tried this workout, please comment & let me know what you think - good or bad.


My third pin was this plank workout from Self magazine. I need a different strength training workout.  I didn't really like the one I used in my first half marathon training plan.  In fact, I don't really like strength training, but I know it's important.  It can help you be a better runner, and also help avoid injury.  It's not that I can't do most of them, I just find them boring.  I tried this one on Wednesday night, and I really did not like it.  Not only was it boring, but it felt really awkward.  One & done - I will not repeat this workout.


So - that's where I am.  Two pins done, one pin 2/3 done.  I'm on the lookout for one more strength training workout to pin and do, so post a comment if you have any good suggestions. 

Haven Workout

There's a Walking Dead workout that's popular on Pinterest (do 10 jumping jacks when someone kills a walker, etc.); and I've seen similar workouts for other shows. One of my favorite shows is the SyFy Original series Haven (SyFy, Fridays at 10 pm Eastern). I searched online for a Haven workout but couldn't find one, so I decided to create my own as part of the Pin It and Do It Challenge Trish is hosting. 

I'm going to try this out tonight while I watch Haven. If you are a Haven fan also, please Pin, Share, and Tweet, and remember to use #DiscoverHaven so we can get it trending again and get a Season 5. After you try the workout, come back & leave a comment -  let me know what you think. 

And if you aren't a Haven fan yet, what are you waiting for?  Seasons 1-3 are on Netflix, and you can catch up with season 4 on Here. #DiscoverHaven

Pin It and Do It

I always enjoy mixing up my training sessions and trying new things, so for October I'm going to try some new workouts as part of Trish's Pin It and Do It Challenge.

To participate, you pick the number of pins you will complete in October, pin them, do them, and report back.  I'm going to go for 4 Pins - basically 1 pin per week -  which puts me in the Pinterested category.

It's not all about working out - you can do crafts, try out house cleaning tips, whatever you are into.  If it sounds like fun to you too, click on over to Trish's blog via the link above and sign up.

Happy Pinning!