Susie_D is crazy excited!

[Susie_Derkins]

(Table credit to Josh_C!)

Background: 24yo office stooge that won't stop talking about chinups. Lately, I've been focusing a lot on strength training (), but at the cost of cardiovascular activity (). With this challenge, I'm hoping to return to running, while maintaining a weight training program.

[TABLE=width: 400]

Name:

Susie_Derkins

[/TD]

Race:

Gnome

Class:

Scout

Attributes:

Strength (STR)

1

Dexterity (DEX)

2

Stamina (STA)

4

Constitution (CON)

2

Wisdom (WIS)

3

Charisma (CHA)

3

Total

15

[/TABLE]

[TABLE=width: 500]

Goals (June 18-July 30)

Points

Attributes

Diet & Fitness:

Strength train 3x per week.

+4

STR

Run a 7:00 mile.

+5

DEX

Eliminate soda.

+3

CON

Lifestyle:

[TD]

Read two books.

+1

WIS

ETA: Meet with an investment adviser, do some internet research, and develop a solid savings plan for retirment and house down payment.

+2

WIS

[/TABLE]

Challenges:

• I’ve created a bad habit of relying on diet soda to get me through a long day at work.
  
• Vacation July 14-21.
  

Overcome:

• Continue with a tweaked version of the "create your own workout" circuit on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
  
• Time my mile at a local University’s track. Follow a training plan to increase my speed. While not a plan, I like the diversity of this approach.
  
• Have seltzer bottles and green tea at my desk to deal with slumps.
  
• Pick two books from the library. So far it’s Pastoralia and Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants.
  

[Josh_C]

These sound like great goals! Except the books, which, to me, sound super boring. But I'm just a different kind of nerd :-)

[Susie_Derkins]

Josh, not to panic you, but I saw the BIGGEST rat in our neighborhood the other day. Like, the size of a small cat :shivers!:

[Roocifer]

Love your goals! What's your mile time right now? I can't stop talking about chinups either, you might be my fitness soulmate haha

[Relic]

The mile running guidelines you linked sound pretty solid.

If you're up for a short/nasty workout try Tabata sprints. Good anaerobic/aerobic stimulus.

You know it's a good workout if you dread a 4 minute interval workout.

Also, good job having a replacement for the soda, it will make the transition easier.

[Susie_Derkins]

What's your mile time right now?

I actually haven't timed myself in over a year. At that time, it was around 7:30. However, at that time, I was training for a half and likely a lot faster than I am now...

I can't stop talking about chinups either, you might be my fitness soulmate haha

Right?! I can't wait to be a hammy showoff that does chinups off cross beams and doorways and anywhere I can, just to be obnoxious.

[BarefootDawsy]

Nice. Great to see you're back into running! What's your starting mile time (if you know it)?

[bgvanbur]

I like the reading book goals (my last two challenges had them). You should run that mile sooner than later so you can get a starting point

[Josh_C]

Josh, not to panic you, but I saw the BIGGEST rat in our neighborhood the other day. Like, the size of a small cat :shivers!:

Yikes. I don't like it, but I appreciate the warning.

[Susie_Derkins]

Spent my lunch break at the track and timed my mile - 8:17. Not a bad place to start. After the mile, I did another 1/2 mile of speed intervals. Woulda liked to have done more, but the heat made me cranky.

What do you think, Scouts? Can I knock off 77 seconds in 6 weeks?

[Roocifer]

Spent my lunch break at the track and timed my mile - 8:17. Not a bad place to start. After the mile, I did another 1/2 mile of speed intervals. Woulda liked to have done more, but the heat made me cranky.

What do you think, Scouts? Can I knock off 77 seconds in 6 weeks?

Hmm, that's a pretty big jump - I have no idea if that's possible or not, but I say go for it! You could probably shave a few seconds off just by running in cooler conditions, plus with the speedwork you're going to be doing...you'll definitely be even speedier by the end of the challenge!

By the way, love your new avatar. This place totally needs more cats!

[bgvanbur]

It will be challenging to cut 77 seconds (but isn't that the point?). And I agree with all of roocifer's advice.

[mdv6]

How long have you been running? 77 seconds is a lot to shave off the mile, but if you've only recently started training you should be able to make big gains pretty quickly. Thanks for posting that link to the article on improving mile time--I'm going to use that as a resource.

[BarefootDawsy]

Spent my lunch break at the track and timed my mile - 8:17. Not a bad place to start. After the mile, I did another 1/2 mile of speed intervals. Woulda liked to have done more, but the heat made me cranky.

What do you think, Scouts? Can I knock off 77 seconds in 6 weeks?

You can totally do it! It will take commitment but it's definitely do-able. Intervals, hills, and strategy will see you through. Hit me up if you need help.

[engineman312]

Spent my lunch break at the track and timed my mile - 8:17. Not a bad place to start. After the mile, I did another 1/2 mile of speed intervals. Woulda liked to have done more, but the heat made me cranky.

What do you think, Scouts? Can I knock off 77 seconds in 6 weeks?

if you can add some plyometrics into your strength training, that would probably really help! squat jumps, box jumps, and scissor jumps would help build your strength. throw in a few sets of these in between weighted exercises at the gym.

good luck!

[citabean]

Spent my lunch break at the track and timed my mile - 8:17. Not a bad place to start. After the mile, I did another 1/2 mile of speed intervals. Woulda liked to have done more, but the heat made me cranky.

What do you think, Scouts? Can I knock off 77 seconds in 6 weeks?

My vote is, Yes you can!

Great goals! I especially like the saving plan one. Yay down payments on houses!

[Susie_Derkins]

Thanks for the optimism! This is my plan for the next 6 weeks:

Monday - 2 hours of yoga (in lieu of a strength training day.)

Tuesday - Run a timed mile (does this count as a rest day? I'll only be running for about 15 minutes total, incl. warm-up and cool down.)

Wednesday - Strength training, broken up with squat jumps and burpees.

Thursday - 3 mile tempo run, aiming for a 9:00 pace - this will include hills.

Friday - Strength training, broken up with squat jumps and burpees.

Saturday - 1 hour of yoga, with a gentle 2 mile run to class and a gentle 2 mile run home (does this count as a rest day?)

Sunday - 3 miles of speed intervals at the track. I'm thinking 400 meters fast, alternating with a 100 meter recovery jog.

Notes:

• Any other plyometric suggestions? Squat jumps seem like an obvious one for running. I've read that box jumps are good, but they scare me.
  
• The yoga that I do is pretty agressive, so I'm okay with subbing that for a weight day.
  
• Do I need more rest?
  
• Dawsy - Regarding hills, would you say that running several smaller hills (preferred) is equivalent to running one large hill? I live in a very hilly city and can route my run around either.
  

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated! Have an awesome day, Scouts!

ps. Hey, Roo -[ATTACH=CONFIG]4064[/ATTACH]

[engineman312]

the monday 2-hour yoga is a great active rest day, but in my opinion, you need at least one day of complete rest!! what you have planned can lead to being burned out and overly tired.

i like the yoga you do, for flexibility and body weight strength training. keep that. i like yoga a lot, and has helped with my overall stretching and recovery.

if it were me, on your thursday hills training, i wouldn't really worry about pace too much, but concentrate on sprinting up those hills. i live in a slightly hilly area, but not overly so. i have about 4-5 small hills in a row that i sprint up, coast down, and then repeat.

if you can make your schedule to alternate cardio and strength training, i think it would be more beneficial. m-w-f strength, tu-th-sat cardio. or something like that. and if you want to double up on saturday and run and do yoga, go for it! i love two-a-days!

[Roocifer]

I agree with engineman - I think a day of complete rest with no exercise at all (except if you did some light restorative yoga) is a good idea.

With regards to the hills, maybe you could switch it up and run a route with several smaller hills one week, and then a route with one big hill the next (my calves are groaning just thinking about it!). I think that running ANY hills is hugely beneficial, though, so if your preference would be for the smaller hills then I say stick with that!

[Susie_Derkins]

I think I was secretly hoping y'all would suggest more rest. How about..

Monday - 2 hours of yoga (in lieu of a strength training day.)

Tuesday - Run a timed mile. Then, 2-3 miles of speed intervals at the track, 400 meters fast, alternating with a 100 meter recovery jog.

Wednesday - Strength training, broken up with squat jumps and burpees.

Thursday - 3 mile tempo run, aiming for a 9:00 pace - this will include hills.

Friday - Strength training, broken up with squat jumps and burpees.

Saturday - 1 hour of yoga. 2 miles of fartleks to class and 2 miles gently running home afterwards.

Sunday - REST.

[engineman312]

much better!!!

[Susie_Derkins]

Good morning, all! Some updates:

• I've done two strength-training sessions.
  
• I timed my mile and am hoping to shave off 77 seconds over the next six weeks.
  
• No soda, only seltzer.
  
• About halfway through my first book, Pastoralia.
  
• Started a Pinterest board of articles about investments for newbies. Subscribed to a few personal finance blogs and spent a couple hours digging through their archives. Figured out how much we need for an emergency fund and am beginning to draft a monthly budget of expenses.
  

Happy Thursday, Scouts! One more day until the weekend

[JPAN]

Does the company you work for have a 401k? If they do be sure to put in at least what they match, it is free money! As for investing be sure to diversify your investments. Depending on how involved you want to get with it mutual funds might be the way to go, as you can just buy 1 thing as apposed to buy tons of smaller things. I am pretty green when it comes to investing too, but these are just a few things I have picked up so far.

Halfway through your first book already, way to go! I am still trying to find one to read... yeah I should probably get on that

[Susie_Derkins]

Hello!

Does the company you work for have a 401k? If they do be sure to put in at least what they match, it is free money! As for investing be sure to diversify your investments. Depending on how involved you want to get with it mutual funds might be the way to go, as you can just buy 1 thing as apposed to buy tons of smaller things. I am pretty green when it comes to investing too, but these are just a few things I have picked up so far.

Yes, my employer matches my retirement contributions 100% and I always do the max. Best of all, they'll match me 150% after I vest. Hooray for free money!

I've been researching mutual funds and certificate of deposits. I've found the blog GetRichSlowly to be informative. Plus, I like his principles of frugality and intentional spending.

Halfway through your first book already, way to go! I am still trying to find one to read... yeah I should probably get on that

Thanks! I really like the website GoodReads for book recommendations.

[Susie_Derkins]

Good morning!

Yesterday I did the 4x100 sprints (whew!), then finished up with a 2 mile tempo run. I tried to maintain a 9:00 pace, which is about 45 seconds slower than my current mile PR. It feels really good to be running again, but I'm trying to be neurotically safe about hydration. Fortunately, Pittsburgh's temperatures are due to drop over the next few days.

I’ve been reading during my bus commute every day. I work in finance, but majored in English, and my failure to read regularly has been wearing on me emotionally. Plus, my city has an awesome public library system, so there’s really no excuse. My book, Pastoralia, is weird. I like it!

The strength training has been going well. I really wish I had started years ago; it does wonders for my self-esteem.

I’m really enjoying the challenge so far! It’s fun cheering everyone and I definitely feel more accountable to my training plan. Have an awesome day