Now that I'm not training for any long distance races, my weekend workout routine is a bit influx. During training, I normally dedicate Saturdays to my long run, and leave Sunday as a rest/recovery day.


My last long run of the past training cycle

But with no long runs on the schedule for several months, I decided to mix things up this weekend. I hit the gym Saturday morning and did a short and speedy run on Sunday.

Saturday's Gym Workout:

During the lifting portion of the workout on Saturday, I focused on pull-ups and handstands. Pull-ups are definitely one of my weaknesses, so it was good to dedicate some time to them. I'm still using a resistance band to help on the pull-ups. I think I'm really going to need to dedicate more time to pull-ups if I want to graduate from the band.

For the handstands, I started by focusing on 30 second holds. (These are supported handstands against a wall, I don't have the balance to hold a handstand for more than a few seconds without support.) By the end of the lift session, I had worked up to holding each handstand for one minute. During the last one, my arms were a little shaky and I kicked off the wall before I ended up falling on my face.

Saturday's sweat portion of the workout was intense:

• 800 meter run


• 40 pushups


• 400 meter run


• 40 kettlebell swings


• 200 meter run


• 40 ball slams

All those sprints definitely reminded me that I am a distance runner, not a sprinter.

Sunday's Run:

On Sunday's run, I was feeling a bit speedy (I was after all wearing my "fast shoes") and though I didn't take my Garmin with me, the 5K I ran was fast.


My "fast shoes"

I felt like I was flying across the ground and that the hills were nothing. I pushed myself hard and finished panting, gasping for breath, hands on my knees. It was a good endorphin-boosting run.

It was fun mixing things up this weekend with a slightly different workout routine, and I'm looking forward to keeping up some of that variety throughout the summer.

Do you vary your weekend workout routine when you're not in training?