Archive | February, 2012

New Job for Him, and Hills for Me

17 Feb

Thanks for the encouraging comments on my post yesterday. I was having a rough day all around – mostly because I was absolutely exhausted. I may or may not have slept through an hour-long conference call… and then slept for 10.5 hours last night.

After work, I went to a going-away happy hour for Travis and one of his co-workers because… Travis got a new job! Next week is his last week at his current company and he’ll start his new job the following Monday (2/27). He’s pretty excited. He’ll be doing the same type of engineering (hydraulics and hydrology – what they call H&H) but he’ll be with a smaller company (1 of 2 full-time employees) and will be working from home. He’s also getting a fairly significant pay raise, which will definitely help us be more aggressive in paying off our mountain of student loans.

The thing I’m actually most excited about with this new job, though, is that the dogs will no longer have to live 80% of their lives in our laundry room. I’m really hoping Katy will mellow out – she kind of went berserk when I started back to work after being unemployed and hasn’t gone back to being her regular self.

After sleeping in until 7:00 this morning, I feel more human but I’m still planning on not doing a workout tonight, and on going to bed at a grandma time. Last night, Travis and I both went to bed at 8:30, no joke. He had stayed up really late the night before playing a hockey double-header and I had gone to bed too late all week long. No shame. I’m taking full advantage of blowing off workouts while I can because for the next 18 weeks, there will be none (or very little) of that ::knock on wood::.

Speaking of the next 18 weeks, I got inspired today and updated my training plan with intentional hill days:

After looking more closely at the elevation profile of Mayor’s Marathon, I realized that its hills are similar in length and climb to the ones I ran during the Ralston Creek Half. So… I have to start training on hills, and real hills, not the wimpy little things I was calling hills. Lucky for me, Colorado is full of them.

I thought this article was really helpful about defining the different types of hill work and several articles (including that one) say that because hill workouts are so intense, they should only be done once or twice a week. I went for once a week during the first half of my training, and then once every 2 weeks for the last half. I didn’t want to be too ambitious because this is still only my first marathon.

As with everything, I’m going to continue to play things by ear. If I’m feeling strong, I’ll incorporate some more hills. And if I’m feeling tired or injured, I’ll back off. Adding the hill designation to my schedule was just to get the hill workouts on my radar and give me something of a strategy with timing.

And the most exciting part of my day… it’s Friday and I get a 3-day weekend! Glorious.

Do you get a 3-day weekend?

 

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A Mental Game

16 Feb

I have to admit that the humbling experience of last Sunday’s race has sort of taken the wind out of my sails. It’s not surprising I guess. Just like I can have a runner’s high for the week after I blow my race expectations out of the water, I can also have a runner’s low for a week after failing yet another half marathon PR attempt (and getting my butt kicked in the process).

Travis and I are registered for the Snowman Stampede 5 mile race this Saturday. Part of me is hoping for redemption. Flat course and temp in the low 30s? You’ve got this. Part of me doesn’t even care. I’m slow. I suck. So be it.

After we busted out 2 miles on Tuesday night in 19:57 (say what?), Travis told me that he thinks my problem is mental. I am able to run faster than I give myself credit for.

I agree that running is a mental sport. You don’t come by a PR easily – you have to fight, dig deep, lay it on the line, and cry tears of simultaneous joy and pain. And in those last miles of a tough race,  my mental state often gets the best of me. I have loads of negative thoughts running through my head:

I can’t do this.

This is too hard.

It doesn’t matter anyway.

Why the f*** am I doing this? 

During the race on Sunday, I was battling those thoughts from the start line.

It’s too cold.

I can’t breathe.

My legs won’t move!

I have 13 miles to go?!?!

Even during my run with Travis on Tuesday, I was holding myself back with negative thoughts.

I can’t run this fast.

My legs are going to wear out.

I’m going to burn out after a mile.

According to iMapMyRun though, I ran the first mile in 10:09 and the second mile in 9:48.

Which makes me tempted to say that Travis is right – I can run faster than I think. But I have to say, after years of being disappointed by my running pace and missing race goals left and right, I allow myself to ask the lurking question I haven’t wanted to acknowledge – Why do I spend so much time on a sport that I’m bad at? Why do I have a hobby that makes me frequently feel insufficient and incompetent?

As I’m staring down this goal of a marathon, and preparing to start training for real next week, I feel scared. Unsure. Do I really want to do this? I’d be lying if I said I just wanted to finish. I want to reach a goal. I want a time I can feel good about, even if only in my own eyes.

There are days when I can graciously accept that I just was not created to be fast. Then there are other days when it makes me frustrated. Discouraged. And I question why I do this in the first place.

I think every runner, no matter how fast or slow, gets to this place. The place where pace, cadence, distance, races, and goals fall flat and you have to go back to square one: reminding yourself why you run. Most runners I know don’t run because they love winning. Or because they love beating other people. They run because they love it, pure and simple.

So that’s where I am. Reminding myself that I run for the love of it. No matter how slow I go, no matter how much I walk, no matter how many minutes tick by past my goal, no matter how “poor” of a runner I feel like, I’m out there because I love running.

Why do you run?

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3 Losers and a Winner.

15 Feb

My cupcakes lost.

I confessed to Travis that I wouldn’t have voted for them either. The cupcakes tasted too much like chocolate cake and I really don’t like chocolate cake.

Travis told me that I didn’t even know what the other options were.

I don’t need to know.

Loser #1.

……………………..

Saturday night, we went to a college hockey game. Travis and I both had season tickets almost every year in college and whenever the Gophers come out to Colorado to play DU (we drove down to CC in Colorado Springs once but it’s a haul just for a game), we try to go to one of the games.

Traffic on the way down was hideous. But we made it with plenty of time to park, eat at Noodles & Co (which really brought back the memories, since I worked at Noodles my senior year of college), and walk to the stadium. The cold walk brought back memories too – of freezing our butts off every time we stepped outside December through March. I have to say, I don’t miss the tingling sensation of your legs thawing out.

The game was really good – the Gophers scored 2 goals in the 1st period.

But then they let one slip in the 2nd. And another in the 3rd. The game went into overtime and almost immediately, DU scored and the Gophers lost. Seriously, Gophers. You were ranked #1 in the nation and you couldn’t win the one time we get to watch you all year?

Loser #2.

……………………..

Pictures from the race were finally online yesterday.

Let’s just say they’re not my greatest looks.

First, I faked my happiness {nobody’s that happy during a race}:

And then I didn’t give a crap:

Yes, that was the finish line.

Not even pretending to care.

Loser #3.

………………………

Last night, I cooked salmon, dill couscous, and brussel sprouts for dinner. Why I decided to cook (what I thought was) one of the most disgusting vegetables for a special dinner is beyond me. I had tried them once a couple years ago and hated them. But I guess I like a good underdog so I gave them another chance.

Dear Brussel Sprouts,

Just when I thought you couldn’t possibly be any dumber, you go and do something like this…

and totally redeem yourself!

Signed, 

Your Valentine

I prepared them using this recipe, except that I omitted the cheese because they were so good.

The Winner.

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V-Day Cupcakes and February Goal

14 Feb

Yesterday, Travis entered a dessert contest – a $5 donation to the Children’s Home got him a chance to win (what, I have no idea). So he texted me around 3:30 –  would I “help him” make a dessert (aka make a dessert for him)?

Lucky for him, I like baking.

Unlucky for him, I refused to go to the grocery store. That’s why I dragged my butt to the store on Sunday night!

Lucky for him, I had a box of Red Velvet cake mix in the cupboard that I had actually been thinking about making for Valentine’s Day dinner anyway. So cupcakes it was. And what says Valentine’s Day more than Red Velvet?

Usually when I make cupcakes, they are hideous but delicious. This time, since it was for a contest and all, I decided to use a trick I had read about – piping the frosting onto the cupcakes using a Ziploc bag.

After I baked and cooled the cupcakes, I whipped up some frosting using powdered sugar, butter, milk and vanilla (recipe from Betty Crocker cookbook). Cream cheese frosting is 1,000x better but I really didn’t want to go to the store. I spooned the frosting into a Ziploc freezer bag, cut a small portion of one bottom corner off, and piped away. Some sprinkles and sugar hearts later, and I have to say that they are the best-looking cupcakes I’ve personally ever made.

Travis better win. All’s I’m sayin’.

……………………………

I did a pretty goal job on updating you all on my January goal but I’ve been mums-the-word on my February goal (except that it’s posted here). I haven’t forgotten about my goal of reading or listening to the entire Harry Potter series – in fact, I’ve already listened to the first book and have a pretty good start on the second.

But I’m not going to finish all 7 books in one month, let alone the shortest month of the year (thanks for nothing, leap day). So it’s more of a rolling goal that I plan to be done with as fast as I can listen to the books. I can hook my iPod up to my new car stereo and I’ve been listening to Harry Potter on my drive home every day. And if you’ve never listened to the Harry Potter audiobooks, you should. The reader won an Emmy/Grammy (??) for his performance. He does different voices for each character and really helps you get into each scene. I’m enjoying them a lot. Anyway…

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Race Recap: Ralston Creek Half Marathon

14 Feb

Since the race start was only 15 minutes away from our house, and the wave I was in didn’t go until 9:45, the alarm on race morning was pretty painless. I wanted to leave between 8:30 and 8:45 so I got up around 7:15 and ate a breakfast of 2 pieces of peanut butter toast, washed down with 1/2 cup of coffee and some water. I had done a pretty bad job of hydrating on Saturday and even woke up Sunday with a slight headache from being dehydrated. Whoops. But I also didn’t want to overcompensate by drinking a ton and then having to pee 10 times like I did during the Steamboat Springs Oly Tri. So I drank some water and hoped for the best.

After I got dressed and put my Shotbloks, phone and peanut butter sandwich into my jacket, I decided that it was too much stuff to keep in my coat. So I decided to use my Camelbak after all. I tucked the tube more into the backpack, so it didn’t hang down so low on the front and that actually worked out really well – my hand usually hits the tube and causes me to run weird but this solved that. Although in hindsight, keeping my Shotbloks in my jacket would probably have prevented them from freezing… but more on that later.

The temperature race morning was a balmy 9 degrees. Yes, nine. Nine degrees in a dry climate doesn’t feel as bad as 9 degrees in a humid one but still, 9 degrees is 9 degrees – chilly. I stuck with my plan of wearing my fluorescent yellow jacket over two long-sleeved running shirts on top; my UnderArmour ColdGear tights underneath regular running pants; wool socks on my feet; fleece gloves on my hands; and I went for the hat on my head. I didn’t buy a new one – I wore one I already that had soft fleece on the inside.

By 8:45, we were out the door. By 9:00, we were parked at the race site. By 9:10, I had my timing chip and bib, leaving me 35-40 minutes before our wave was supposed to leave. This race did things a little differently than usual – they had 2 waves, the first for those runners who anticipated finishing in 2:30 or slower, and the second for those finishing 2:30 or faster. I was on the fence when I was registering because I was hoping to do faster than 2:30 but my previous half times put me after that. I decided to go for Wave 2… which I kicked myself for later.

We killed time by going back to the car, standing in the portapotty line again (which was pretty long because there were only 6-8 of them), and I did some high knees and butt kicks. I didn’t do any running warmup – I never warm up before my long runs in training and I wanted to save my energy for the race.

Finally, it was time to go. I was actually feeling pretty nervous – not nervous that I wouldn’t finish but nervous that I would be really slow. That is often a worry of mine before long runs and races. Kind of like those nightmares when you’re running but your legs feel like they’re stuck in quicksand.

I lined up in the very, very back of the pack, knowing that there was no way I’d need to pass any of the people in front of me. And that was true. Within the first 50 feet, I was only near a few other women. Several people came up behind and passed me – they had been waiting for the bathrooms when the race gun went off. I hung with the other two women near me for the first mile. They were definitely running faster than I planned to but I just hated the thought of being dead last. I tried to keep up but when we hit mile 1 and my watch said 10:30, I knew I had to slow it down or I’d be screwed later.

So this was my reality for the first 2.5 miles of the race:

Running all by myself. But then…

My friend D joined me! And so did the course sweeper (you can see her on the bike behind us). I was pretty annoyed at the sweeper because having her ride beside me, or close behind me, made it impossible to forget that I was the last person. My legs were also not cooperating – they felt very heavy. But I’m pretty sure that was because the first 8 miles of the race were all uphill:

God bless her, D ran with me until about mile 6, even though it meant going up the first loooong hill. I couldn’t believe that the second hill could be any worse. Ha, was I wrong.

I saw Travis and D’s husband, Doug, several times throughout the course – the photo above is me throwing my sunglasses at Travis around mile 4. They kept fogging up and nothing annoys me more than foggy glasses. Shortly after, I ate 3 Shotbloks. I had been carrying them in my hand for about a half mile (you can see those and my gloves in my other hand) because they were hard as rock coming out of my backpack. I walked a little while eating them because running uphill + trying to eat frozen Shotbloks = no oxygen.

After D pulled away, the course flattened out a bit (which you can see on the elevation chart). The bike sweeper was riding right beside me again, but I was in a much better mood this time, and decided to actually talk to her. She mentioned something about having to go over the giant hill in front of us and I laughed. “Ha, no freakin’ way.” And then I looked and saw little people making their way along the switchbacks up the giant hill.

You’ve got to be kidding me. This picture doesn’t do it justice but I didn’t want to expend energy trying to take a picture with my camera.

I ended up passing an older guy right before the switchbacks started, meaning I ditched the bike sweeper (sweet!). I knew I needed some extra oopmh to get up those switchbacks so I pulled out my phone and started Pandora on the Lady Gaga station. I ran as much of those switchbacks as I could, but had to walk some. This course made me realize that what I thought were hills on my training runs, were definitely not hills.

One benefit from all the hills I guess was that I wasn’t counting down the miles or worrying about my pace at all. I was simply focusing on survival.

Finally, I made it to the top and I knew from D that the course was all downhill from there. Hallelujah. I passed mile marker 8 and got out 3 more Shotbloks but after holding them in my hand for a while, they were still pretty hard so I just decided to eat my peanut butter bread instead. I took small bites of that for the next mile while I cruised down the downhill. My legs felt great – tired but so welcoming of the downhill after 8 miles of uphill.

This shows it well – mile 8 was a 13:14 pace (killer!). Then miles 9 and 10 were 11:05 and 10:36!

D joined me again around mile 9.5 to mile 11. I realized that even though I wasn’t going to beat my PR, I could still beat my Heart and Sole half marathon time (2:33:50). But I was getting tired but trying not to think about how ready I was to be done. After D left, the wheels fell off. I wanted to turn Pandora on again for that extra motivation but my phone was running out of juice and I wanted my splits more than I wanted music. And I couldn’t get my d@mn earphones untangled. So back in the pocket they went.

I started doing run/walk intervals. My legs, specifically my hips and glutes, were just so tired and so sore. By mile 12.5, my entire body was in pain. I’d run until I couldn’t stand it and then walk until I couldn’t stand it. Doing either hurt. I just kept focusing on running to a landmark, then walking to a landmark, running, walking. Little by little, I was making my way to the finish line. I didn’t care about time anymore. I just wanted to be done.

Finally, I was. My time was 2:38:24. But I didn’t care.  I took my medal and collapsed on a chair near the finish line. Doug was there to congratulate me (Travis got lost in suburbia and was still getting back from trying to see me on the course) but I was so exhausted and delirious that I told him I couldn’t talk.

I was starving so I went over to grab some food. They had chocolate chip banana bread, which I had been looking forward to since reading about it in the pre-race email. But since I’ve had bad experiences with sweet things after races, I grabbed a piece to eat later.

Travis showed up and I handed him my banana bread while I went to get a breakfast burrito. I wasn’t a fan, so then I went and grabbed a couple of orange slices. They were absolutely amazing. I ended up going back to get about 10 more. I just couldn’t get enough.

After I had my fill of orange slices, we headed home for me to take an epsom salt bath and then meet D and Doug at Denny’s. The bath was wonderful but it used up all of our hot water. Poor Travis didn’t get a shower.

At Denny’s, I had a giant glass of chocolate milk and the Super Bird (grilled turkey, bacon, tomato and cheese) with fries. But after my milk, half the sandwich and some fries, I was so ridiculously full that I thought I might puke. It was the weirdest thing. I’m never that hungry the day of a hard workout like that but still, you’d think I’d be able to manage a bit more than that.

I was planning to take a nap but ended up watching TV for a couple of hours and then around 5:30, I decided that I needed to clean, do laundry and go grocery shopping. So I did. I was amazed that I had the energy but getting up and moving around helped me feel less sore. Today, I feel pretty good – not really that sore, just pretty tired.

Official Race Stats:

Time – 2:38:24

Age Group – 30/37

Gender – 184/228

Overall – 369/421

So that’s the story of Half Mary #4. My best time is still from Half Mary #1. I’m thinking I might just have to run the Colorado Half again next year to beat it… that is, if I don’t beat it in the Platte River Half on April 15.

I do feel good that I beat my time from the Malibu Half, which was 2:44:44. I think this course was the hardest race I’ve ever done. Holy hills batman.

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Training Recap: 2/6 – 2/12

13 Feb

I forgot my camera cord this morning and since I don’t want to post a recap of yesterday’s half marathon sans pictures, I’ll post my training recap now and post the race recap tonight.

I will say, however, that the week started off crappily but went out on a high hilly note. Five words: The half kicked my butt. It was a LOT harder than I was prepared for. (And then I go look at the results and the winners ran like a 5:30 pace. WHaaaaAAATTT?) Anywho, I’ll save the meaty details for posting tonight.

This was last week’s training:

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 1.97 mile tempo run (22:10, 11:15/mile); first 30 minutes of P90X Yoga

I was really excited after doing the yoga because the first time I ever did it, I just about died and was sore for at least 4 days afterward. This time, it didn’t seem that hard and I was only slightly sore for 1 day. Progress!

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: Rest

Friday: 3.04 mile easy run (35:56, 11:49/mile)

Saturday: 1.55 mile easy/tempo run (16:48, 10:50/mile)

I ran easy for the first and last .5 mile, and picked up the pace for the middle .5 mile to wake up my fast-twitch muscles. (I’m just saying that because it sounds cool.)

Sunday: Ralston Creek Half Marathon… 13.1 miles in 2:38:24, 12:04/mile

So I didn’t quite make my goal of beating 2:30:46 but I ran my little heart out. It was a tough race, both physically and mentally, and I gave it my all. So it is what it is.

Here’s a sneak peek…

Hint: They didn’t make the trail meander just because they felt like it.

…………………….

Looking ahead, I only have 1 week left until the Official official marathon training starts (last time was just a teaser). Travis and our friends, D and Doug, are going to do the Snowman Stampede with me next weekend and since they’re all going to do the 5 mile instead of the 10 mile, and I haven’t signed up yet, and there’s no reason I have to do 10 miles next weekend, I’ve decided to just do the 5 mile distance too. And I swear it’s not just because I had my @$$ handed to me by the Ralston Creek Trail.

The main thing I’m going to focus on is getting back into the routine. I feel like my training has been all over the place for the past 3 weeks or so, and I’ve moved workouts around, cut them out, or revised them so many times, I don’t know what’s going on. So I’m going to try to stick to my training schedule more consistently. I actually miss strength training! I really like how I feel when I’m consistent with that.

And to end, I updated my Marathon 2012 page a couple weeks ago so if you’re interested in what the latest is, go check it out.

Stay tuned for the race recap…

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11 Things

10 Feb

I was tagged by Candice from Forever is Composed of Nows for the blog-tagging extravaganza of the year. So here goes:

RULES

1. Post these rules.

2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.

3. Answer the questions set for you in their post.

4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.

5. Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them.

6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people.

11 random things about myself:

  1. I ice skated for two years and got to skip the “Snowplow” levels because I had awesome skills good balance.
  2. I am horrible at remembering what year or age things happened in my life. The ice skating? Maybe 5th and 6th grade?
  3. I once ate an entire Chipotle burrito and a banana split from DQ in one sitting.
  4. My favorite thing to get at DQ is a Blue Raspberry Mister Misty Float.
  5. I ended up with a bloody foot on my first date with my now-husband (from a rogue flipflop).
  6. I laugh every time they say “Rogue Robots” on Wall-E.
  7. My favorite movie genre is animated.
  8. I refuse to join Pinterest, Daily Mile and Twitter. It’s the principle of the matter.
  9. I refused to join Facebook for 5 years and then caved in 2009. ;(
  10. I still secretly want the outfit matcher Alicia Silverstone had in Clueless.
11. I hated sushi the first several times I ate it, but now I love it.

11 Questions from Forever is Composed of Nows:

1. What is your biggest and/or hardest goal for 2012? Finishing my book? Running a marathon? Getting pregnant? Time will tell…

2. Vegetarian or Meat-eater? Meat-eater but I don’t really like meat and could give it up in a heartbeat. But my hubby’s a hunter and we have a freezer full of meat.

3. Would you rather write something down with pen/paper or on a computer/cell phone, etc? Depends on what I’m writing. I journal and make to-do lists on actual paper, but when I’m actually writing thoughts and need to edit/revise/delete, I will always choose a computer. I hate typing on my phone.

4. Dog or cat person? Dog but I love animals.

5. What is your favorite season and why? Fall – nothing beats a brisk fall day with leaves changing color.

6. If you could live anywhere other than the place you currently live, where would you live?  Minnesota.

7. Do you prefer Facebook over Twitter or vis versa? I don’t have Twitter and only go on Facebook once a week, maybe. So neither?

8. What is the longest run/race/workout you have ever done? 14 mile run, 30 mile bike run (not on the same day)

9. If you could only read one book over and over, which one would it be? The Bible

10. What is the biggest risk you have ever taken? Moving to Denver without a job

11. What motivated you to start blogging? Wanting to get better at writing.

I tag the following: Winners Wear Yellow, Chic Runner, Diary of a Slow Runner, The Runner’s Plate, She Collects, B. in the Know, Butler: Party of 2, True Things, Cow Spots and Tales, Enjoying the Journey, run.around.aroo

My 11 questions:

  1. What do you think is the most annoying blog trend?
  2. What is one thing you wish you liked, but just don’t?
  3. How long were you friends with your best childhood friend?
  4. How many blogs do you read on a consistent basis?
  5. What’s your favorite fro-yo topping?
  6. Did you go to college? If so, where and why that school?
  7. What’s your all-time favorite TV show?
  8. Did you have an invisible friend growing up?
  9. Is there any social media that you refuse to adopt?
  10. What is one thing you see other people doing that makes you say, “You couldn’t pay me enough”?
  11. What is the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?

Remember to tag 11 more people to keep the blog chain going!

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How to NOT Prepare for a Race.

10 Feb

Don’t:

Run only 2 miles the week before.

Let your sore throat prevent you from drinking water.

Have a busy work week plus plans after work that keep you out at least an hour and a half past your bedtime each night.

Ditch your Thursday run for 2 glasses of chardonnay at happy hour and pass out in a chair (at home) before 8 pm.

Eat sweets like they haven’t touched your lips for a month.

Eat food like it’s going out of style.

Stay out late at a hockey game the night before the race.

Plan the race for a morning of cold and snow:

Do (Attempt to) Redeem Your Race:

Fit in an easy 2-3 mile run on Friday and Saturday so that your body doesn’t curse you for springing 13.1 miles on it out of nowhere.

Be a man runner and dress for the weather instead of whining about it. That’s why you bought a $110 Speedy Bullet (blindingly bright) jacket. Wear your UnderArmour tights UnderNeath another pair of running pants. Don some wool socks and winter gloves. Possibly buy a winter running hat instead of your chintzy ear warmer.

Drive only 15 minutes from your house to the start line.

Download a GPS-tracking app so your friend can come out and cheer you on as you run past her house.

Ditch the Camelbak that annoyed you on your last 10 mile run. Stash Shotbloks in your jacket and drink water at the aid stations. Bring a piece of bread with peanut butter too, since you know you love it it helps you not feel sick after mile 8.

Have fun. It’s only running, for pete’s sake.

Would you wear an ear warmer or a full hat for this race?

How have you redeemed a week of poor race preparation?

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Busyness is the new black.

8 Feb

Yesterday, I hit a milestone at my job: I worked the entire day. I didn’t even check my gmail. (I decided to end that streak today.)

Things have picked up here big time and it feels so good to finally be involved, contributing, bettering the company that I’m working for instead of just schleping a paycheck home every week.

Since my blogging time has now become work time (and rightly so), I’m back to the ever-a-struggle of finding time to blog during non-work hours. Which has been tough so far this week…

Monday night, I was excused from a workout by spending an hour and a half at the vet just for Katy to get her heartworm shot. I swear, going to the vet is even worse than going to the doctor. And my dogs go to the doctor more often than I do! Completely. ridiculous.

Last night, I raced home after work for a quick 2 mile run with the pooches and then did the first 30 minutes of P90X Yoga before heading to my church for a book study. I helped clean up afterward so I didn’t get home until 10:30 – waaaay past my bedtime. But somehow, I still managed to wake up this morning at 5:15 without an alarm. This has happened to me a lot lately. How does my body know what time to get up even when I go to bed later than usual? It boggles my mind.

Speaking of that 2 mile run, I wore my new Speedy Bullet jacket for the first time. And I am totally convinced it was worth the hefty price tag. My biggest concern about the jacket was that it wouldn’t be warm enough but it was 25 degrees on my run yesterday and with just a long-sleeve running shirt under the jacket, I felt perfect. Even, perhaps, slightly too warm (though I’m not complaining). This means I don’t have to dress like the Abdominal Snowman anymore!

Even though I was very impressed with my new coat, I was not impressed with the running trail.

My choices of running terrain were: 3 inches of snow or black ice. I actually didn’t mind running through the snow but the ice scared the crap out of me. And of course, the pooches were pulling me along wondering why I was being so slow. I’m ashamed to say that after at least 10 yanks on Katy’s leash, I used it as a rein to slap her butt so that she’d slow down and not pull me over. It worked… but she was not happy.

To switch topics in a completely random way, I have a new favorite breakfast.

Mix 1/3 cup old-fashioned oats with water and microwave. Add 1/2 tbsp peanut butter and 1/2 tbsp raspberry jam and stir until blended. Add 1 tbsp vanilla protein powder and 1 tbsp ground flaxseed; stir until blended. Top with 1/4 cup freeze dried strawberries, fresh blueberries and Fiber One cereal. Mmmm…

This idea was inspired by Run Eat Repeat and Clean Eating Chelsey – they always get creative with their breakfasts. I like that this keeps me fuller for longer than just plain cereal, but it’s also a way to get my cereal fix. It’s a win-win!

What’s your favorite way to eat oatmeal?

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Training Recap: 1/30 – 2/5

6 Feb

I have a case of the Mondays today. I was so tired that I got up an hour late, I ate too much at the Super Bowl party last night so I feel like a blob, and I still haven’t quite shaken my sinus/throat congestion.

My training last week:

Monday: 3.0 mile run (37:36, 12:31/mile)

I did this run at a really easy pace because I was still recovering from the chest congestion of the previous week.

Tuesday: 6 x 400 repeats @ 2:30 on treadmill (3 miles total, 33:56); Physical therapy

I was going to do 4 x 800 but it wasn’t happening. So I did 6 x 400 instead and even though I was only running a 10:00 pace for my repeats, I felt challenged by the end. I blame the sickness.

I also count physical therapy as my strength training because I always end up sweating.

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: 1.15 mile dog walk (20:00); 2.4 mile run (28:00); 1.5 mile walk at incline on treadmill (24:00); 15 minute tabata workout

This was the night that I discovered I should not eat a salad before a run. I was planning to run 5 but could only muscle through to 2.4. I actually felt sick enough that I had to sit down and rest for 5 minutes. Ever the stubborn one, I finished off an unofficial 5 miles by walking 1.5 miles on the treadmill, starting at 2.0 incline, working up to 8.0 and back down.

My tabata workout (from what I remember) consisted of squats with overhead press, lunges with bicep curls, knee pushups, and bicycle crunches.

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 11 mile run on track (1:58:36, 10:46/mile)

Sunday: 1.5 mile dog walk

I was going to do yoga when I got home from the Super Bowl party but instead, I went straight to bed. I’ll try to do a longer cross-training workout this Wednesday.

…………………………….

Even though I’m coughing and blowing my nose less each day, I still wake up feeling like poo. And since I have races the next two weekends (so I’m technically in taper mode now) and I would prefer to not start official marathon training still sick, these next two weeks are going to be fairly laid back – yoga, cross-training, hydration, sleep. Nothing too crazy.

And since this cheered me up on this Blah of a Monday, I had to share:

There are some other funny ones there too.

What is your favorite part of tapering before a race?

Mine is usually having time to do all the things I haven’t had time to do during training but since I just had an entire week of no running, I think the perk this time is having yet another reason to go to bed at 8 pm. 😉

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