I’m out of here, y’all.
What was the highlight of your day? My highlight was my morning coffee. It was especially good (and needed)! I went to bed at 9 and still woke up completely exhausted. Tonight, I’m going to bed right after dinner. No excuses. No exaggeration.
Goodness, life is busy right now. All good stuff, but definitely making me look forward to visiting my brother, sister-in-law and nephew next week (and having 3 days off from work)!
I had a pretty good week of training, except that strength training got put on the backburner. I think I’m going to move my strength workouts to Sundays and Thursdays. I just never seem to make Monday happen.
Monday: 3.04 mile easy run (36:15, 11:55/mile)
Legs were exhausted and stiff. Even these 3 slow miles were a challenge.
Tuesday: 4 x 800 w/.5 mile warmup and .5 cool down (37:15 total)
Legs felt stiff and tired for the first .5 mile, then they felt better but still not 100%. First mile time was 9:52 including first 800. I did these 800s as fast as I could go – times were roughly 4:45, 4:44, 4:58, 4:24. After every 800, we walked for 2 minutes.
Got smart and wore my compression tights post-run.
Wednesday: Rest, wore compression tights to bed
Thursday: 3.97 mile tempo run (42:53, 10:48/mile)
Legs felt TONS better – still felt a little slow but overall, great run. Didn’t really push it though – acid reflux showed up.
Friday: Rest
I was tempted to do some yoga or strength training, but really want to start guarding Friday as a rest day for the sake of my long run.
Saturday: 9.09 mile hilly long run (1:42:49, 11:17/mile)
Sunday: 30 minute dog walk, 20 min bike, 20 min strength
It was really windy here yesterday, so not only was I not able to bike outside, my gym lost power so I couldn’t work out there either! So I set my bike back up on the trainer and then did the killer workout below from one of my old Self magazines. Seriously, I can barely lift my arms above my head and my back is ridiculously sore.
Total Running Miles = 19.14
What’s the last workout you did that made you ridiculously sore?
I was actually looking forward to my long run today, but I kept waking up last night feeling nervous about the route, which looked like this:
The elevation chart says a gain and loss of almost 800 feet. I believed it all last night, and all this morning, until I just checked the lowest and highest elevations. It’s only a gain/loss of 400 feet. But I’m still feeling pretty good about this run. Why? Well, here’s the elevation profile of the Mayor’s Marathon (the race I’m doing):
From what I can tell, the Mayor’s Marathon starts at 200 feet above sea level, climbs to 550 feet over 15 miles, and then ends at about 100 feet – a total gain of 350 feet and loss of 450.
My run today start at 5500 feet above sea level, climbed to 5900 feet over 4.5 miles, and ended back at 5500 – total gain/loss of 400 feet (not to mention the additional 5000 feet above sea level). I climbed 50 more feet in less than a third of the distance. If I keep this up, I’m going to be kicking those hills’ a$$, instead of the other way around (which is the whole goal)!
Since my phone is crap and I still haven’t sprung for a Garmin, I used my husband’s Ironman watch for my run this morning, which allows you to track your splits manually. When I mapped out my route last night, I wrote down on a piece of paper where each mile split was (I didn’t end up needing the paper because apparently, I memorized them). Anyway, here they are:
Mile 1 – 11:42
Mile 2 – 11:27
Mile 3 – 11:38
Mile 4 – 12:00
Mile 5 – 11:46
Mile 6 – 10:18 (hello downhill!)
Mile 7 – 11:26
Mile 8 – 10:55
Mile 9 – 10:33
Mile .09 – 0:53
TOTAL – 1:42:49, average pace of 11:17/mile
For the first half mile, I debated about scrapping the route I had chosen. I was running uphill, into the wind and my legs felt crappy, even though I was wearing my 2XU compression tights (and had worn them to bed last night). I couldn’t see how I was going to run uphill for 4.5 miles and survive. But I didn’t stop and after a mile, my legs felt better.
The rest of the run was actually very enjoyable. I did have a few moments on the way out when I thought “My legs are so tired! I’m so sick of uphill!” But overall, I was distracted enough with remembering where each mile marker was and enjoying the gorgeous weather (60 and sunny!) that before I knew it, I was at the turnaround. The section right before the turnaround was a glorious downhill, so I used that opportunity to take my first gel – a Clif Shot Razz gel. It was good, but a little too tart for my taste (let’s be honest, the Peanut Butter Gu has ruined me). But I liked the consistency and the fact their wrappers come with a “Litter Leash”:
That way, you don’t have to hold on to the top (or drop it). Very smart, I tell ya.
Mile 6 was by far the best mile of the run – my legs felt great and I was running the perfect downhill slope – not too steep to make it hard on the knees, and not too flat to barely be advantageous. The sun was shining and I had that runner’s high moment of “Yes, this is awesome.” I seriously felt like raising my arms in victory and singing along to my music out loud.
Mile 7, my right calf started threatening to cramp up. I’m pretty sure it would’ve actually done so if I hadn’t been wearing my compression tights. I just read this article on muscle cramping that Run, Eat, Repeat posted yesterday, where I learned that cramps mean you’re low on sodium. So I decided to eat the other gel I had brought, the Espresso-flavored Hammer Gel, to see if that would help. The gel was really good – if you like coffee, you’d like that one. It didn’t really help, but I was able to keep running – as evidenced by those last two miles being two of the three fastest of the run! I finished strong and stretched a bit before driving home to an epsom salt bath and egg sandwich (not simultaneously).
This run has really encouraged me – not only because it shows that my legs and lungs are able to handle hills better than a month ago, but also because it gives me hope that the hills in the marathon won’t completely slaughter my goal (which I’m still determining). That’s what keeps me motivated during these hard(er) runs – like Sarah OUAL says, “It sucks now, so it sucks less later.” All this hard hill work will make the marathon easier less brutal.
Another long run in the books!
What flavor of gel is your favorite? Definitely the Peanut Butter Gu, but I bought a few more today to try out because they didn’t have that flavor in stock!?!?
The feeling of spring outside has me reminiscing on the good old days when I lived up in Boulder. There were so many wonderful trails to choose from. If I wanted to run by a stream, I could. If I wanted to run on dirt, I could. If I wanted to run by a crazy group of middle-aged hippies, I could.
I had one 4-mile loop that was my favorite. I even labeled the route “My favorite loop on greenway” in MapMyRun. I don’t why it was my favorite – perhaps it was because one early morning, I was just running along and thought, “This is the absolute best feeling in the world.” I can actually remember exactly where I was when I thought that. And still, there isn’t much that beats a great run in the early morning, when the sun is just peeking over the horizon, the ground is wet from dew, and the air is cool. It’s that feeling that reminds me why I’m a runner.
{That picture is surprisingly accurate for how mornings look in Boulder – maybe it was taken in Boulder?}
The thing that made those Boulder runs so memorable was that I was running just because. I decided which route I wanted to run while getting my running clothes on. I ran without a watch. I ran with a watch. I ran alone. I ran with Travis. I ran with music. I ran without. I didn’t have a purpose, or a reason, or a goal. I just ran.
On my 4-mile run last night, I was thinking about my experience with learning to swim freestyle. I read so much about the correct technique and positioning, and tried so hard to swim “correctly,” that it actually made doing the freestyle stroke harder. Once I stopped overthinking it, though, I got the hang of it.
And I realized that I’ve been doing that with running. I’ve gotten exhausted and stressed out by constantly thinking about running form, cadence, foot strike, pace, tempo, intervals, hills, repeats, miles, training schedule, weight workouts, arm swing. Sure, I’d like to run faster, but am I willing to sacrifice my love of running to do so?
So yesterday, instead of focusing on leaning slightly forward, and maintaining a fast cadence, and running a tempo pace, I just ran. I ran comfortably fast and averaged a 10:48 pace. A good tempo run in the books.
I’ve also been overthinking recovery. Since my legs have felt so tired and heavy lately, I was starting to get worried. “Can my body not handle this mileage? Should I cut out the strength training? Did I do too many hills? Is it because I’m eating too soon before my workout and my body doesn’t have time to convert the food into fuel? Is it because I’m not getting enough sleep? Is this the beginning of the end?”
During my Tuesday night speed work with Travis, I had an epiphany: I should wear my 2XU compression pants for recovery! So I wore them to bed Tuesday and Wednesday, foam rolled an extra time, and my legs felt (almost) great yesterday! Definitely TONS better than they had been feeling. Silly me.
So I’m still plugging along with the plan. This week, I’ve done all my runs on their proper days, although the strength training has been scrapped bumped. Tomorrow, I’ll tackle 9. And instead of overthinking, I’m just going to run.
That’s what my new long-sleeve running shirt from Brooks says! I’ve been wanting another long-sleeve running shirt for a while, because I only have 2 (and no, I have no problem re-wearing 2-3 times before washing, but I’d prefer not to). So when a Brooks closeout email popped up in my inbox, I decided to check it out.
And fell in love with this shirt:
And it was only $24!
I’m definitely going to run happy in this. I have a busy night ahead of me so I’m out!
Hope you had a great Tuesday (and not a Damn Dreaded Tuesday like my friend B)!
The weather this past weekend was absolutely wonderful. Sunday after church, I went shopping at Gordman’s and found 4 cardigans for $5 each, as well as some basic tanks without shelf bras for $5 each. I love finding bargains! And now that it’s getting warmer outside but stays the same temperature in my office, it’ll be nice to have some cardigans to throw on over my summery tops.
After that, I went to a Silpada party, thrown by a lady I work with. I went planning to spend $50-60 and ended up deciding on this necklace:
There are so many pretty options to choose from, but I tried to buy something that I loved, that wasn’t like something I already have, and that would go with almost everything. This fit the bill!
While I was at the party, I ate more than my fair share of chips and guac, and I had a couple of margaritas. It was a great way to enjoy the beautiful weather. On the way home, I stopped and got Yogurtland. I was so full after that, I didn’t anything else until 9:00! (It was totally worth it.)
Anyway, on to last week’s training. It was a decent week, though as I look through my workout notes, I see remarks each time about my legs feeling heavy and tired. More on that in a bit.
Monday: 3.15 mile easy run (34:47, 11:02/mile)
Tuesday: Rest (day of the 12 hour meeting)
Wednesday: Rest (planned)
Thursday: 3.24 mile fartlek run (34:34, 10:40/mile)
This was the day that my legs felt the weirdest. My right leg was really stiff, and it seriously felt like I was running on someone else’s legs, or on fake legs. Just so weird. I think my body was freaking out a bit from Tuesday and Wednesday.
Friday: 4.53 mile tempo run (48:13, 10:38/mile); Insanity Strength Exercises
I ate 3 pieces of chocolate-covered licorice and 2 Starbursts before this run, even though I knew I’d regret it. And I did. Luckily, I also remembered to eat some Tums so no acid reflux, but my stomach was a little off.
Then I did the Insanity fit test exercises listed on nhershoes and that definitely got the heart rate soaring! I was amazed at my ability to do the Pushup Jacks until I re-watched the video afterward and realized that I had forgotten the pushup part. Whoops.
Saturday: 5.36 mile trail run (1:21:09, 15:08/mile)
Sunday: 2 mile walk with pooches (35:00), 40 min upper body weights (video)
I was going to do yoga again on Sunday like I did last weekend, but I figured it was a bad sign when five minutes in, my legs were already burning. So I did the upper body and core portions of Kathy Smith’s Lift Weights to Lose Weight 2 (BTW, this is a GREAT weights video – I don’t think I’ve ever not felt like jello afterward.)
Total Running Mileage: 16.28 miles
………………………..
So about those legs. I did an easy 3 mile jog today at a 12:00 pace and even that felt challenging. My legs are just exhausted. So I’m going to listen and take it easy until I’m not feeling like my legs are filled with lead – I think my legs are saying they need a little bit of a break. AND it probably didn’t help that I did a challenging trail run on my stepback week. heh.
I also crammed my 3 hard runs into Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of last week, and grouped my rest days together, both of which aren’t good. But life happened last week and it was all I could do. I am thinking through how I can be more of a stickler with my training plan – whether it requires saying no to things, running at work during lunch, running after work and not going home before my evening plans, or such. I have to put my foot down somewhere and say that my training is too important to keep getting bumped by silly things like work (kidding). So that’s where I’m at.
When can you tell your body needs a break?
Today, I ventured over to Red Rocks State Park for a 5-mile trail run. I’ve gone hiking in the foothills at this time of year before, and always regret it, because even though the snow has melted everywhere in Denver, it’s just beginning to melt up there – making the dirt trails very muddy and slippery.
But that doesn’t stop hardcore Coloradans (such as myself?). I got to the trailhead at 11:30 and the place was packed. Not a single open parking spot. There was a side section reserved for horse trailers until noon – and since there weren’t any horse trailers to be seen, I decided it wouldn’t hurt to grab a spot 30 minutes early.
The weather was absolutely beautiful today – clear skies, sunny, 60 degrees, a cool breeze just strong enough to feel good but not make it hard to run. It’s too bad I was almost working too hard to enjoy it. Almost.
Since this is my first trail run since last September, I was huffing and puffing up the steep parts. The steepest part also happened to be on the north side of the mountain, meaning it was also the muddiest and slipperiest. Which worked out okay, since I wanted to walk hike those parts anyway.
Before I knew it, I was at the top.
I really enjoy this trail.
My legs were pretty tired by the time I got to Mile 2 but I pushed on. I ended up finishing 5.37 miles in 1:21:09, a 15:08/mile pace. Pretty slow BUT that’s 8 seconds per mile faster than the last time I did this trail and this time, I did 2 more miles. I like progress, even if it’s small. 🙂
I don’t have splits again because my smartphone is being stupid (like that little play on words?). It’s 2 years old and while I am completely content with it and don’t want a new phone, I think I might have to get one.
Another sad thing is that the chest strap for my heart rate monitor is losing its juice as well – and to replace it will be about $75. I’m still debating if now is the right time to just spring for a Garmin. They do make Garmins that are also heart rate monitors – which I would really like – but they’re like $250. Ouch. Maybe for my birthday?
Anyway, it took me 46:44 to run the first 3 miles of this run, at which point I took a break to eat a Montana Huckleberry Hammer Gel and drink some water (I was carrying my Camelbak). I liked the flavor, but the gel was thicker than the Gu brand, which I wasn’t particularly a fan of.
The last 2.4 miles took me about 34 minutes.
And my legs were really dirty by the time I was done.
Well, I’m off to walk the pooches and then we’re going out to dinner and bowling with some new church friends.
Have a great Saturday night!
I get to leave work at 12:45 today. And because it’s sunny and almost 60 degrees outside, I feel like a kid getting out of school for the summer. I have been looking forward to this all week long – it’s the little things in life.
I am so excited to go on a run in the warm daylight, and still enjoy a full night of relaxation afterward. This week has been crazy and this afternoon will be Glorious.
I just have to make it through a call about life insurance with our financial planner…
You might know that I don’t do anything with money except spend it. All things financial bore me to tears and anger. When I announced last night that I was going to bed, Travis started talking to me about life insurance. Nope, not talking about this now. See ya.
Travis asked me again this morning when would be a good time to have our phone call. I couldn’t keep my eyes from rolling. The last thing I want to do on my glorious day of freedom is talk about money.
But, in an effort to be grateful for a husband that cares about things like life insurance and kindly doesn’t ask me to be involved unless legally necessary, I will allow the phone call to infringe. I realize it’s not necessarily a good thing that I don’t want to be involved in our financial situation, but I don’t think you’d want to be involved in something that made you want to poke out your eyes with sharp objects either. (And no, I am not being overly dramatic at all.)
After the call of gloom, I will skip happily and merrily into my free afternoon of running and reading! I might even paint my toenails with the fun purple color I bought a couple weeks ago…
What are you up to this fine Friday? Do you like talking about finances and future planning?
A couple weeks ago, I mentioned that I was starting a food log as part of the Love to Eat, Hate to Eat book study I’m doing with my church, and as a way to be more mindful of what I eat. I have been faithful in logging my food everyday, even on Tuesday when I was stuck in a meeting in the same freezing room for 12. hours. straight. Well, we did get a few breaks. But it was a looong day. Everyone at work was still exhausted yesterday. I feel mostly recovered. Wowza.
At first, I thought that my eating log wouldn’t be a true representation of my eating habits – wouldn’t knowing I was going to write it all down motivate me to choose wiser than normal? Perhaps it did for the first few days. But just like I can slouch on an exercise ball, I can eat for emotional reasons even if I’m tracking it.
I have been encouraged to see that 85% of my eating is not emotional. Some days I don’t even make one emotional choice. But then I have days like yesterday, when I’m exhausted and grumpy, and I just want sugar, sugar and more sugar, and throw all discipline and control out the window.
The biggest surprise shock has been to actually see how many calories I eat. In the past when I’ve counted calories or tracked my eating, I’ve conveniently ignored the times when I eat a little bit too much, or regret my dinner choice. “The damage is done – I’m moving on” was my mentality.
But if I am really trying to please God with my eating habits, I can’t just ignore the ugly parts. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). So to bring everything into the light, I’ve kept track of everything – the little bites here and there, the candy, the condiments, everything (even Tums!).
During the first week, I counted calories as I wrote my food down. But I could feel the temptation to become obsessed with the numbers and this is supposed to be about gaining insight and not about making changes. So last week, I decided that I’d leave that part off.
This morning, though, I went through my log from last week and tallied it up (mostly out of curiosity). I don’t believe that our bodies operate on a 24-hour schedule like we do, so I am using a 7-day average as the measuring stick. While some days are scary high (pushing 3,000 calories), the weekly averages for both last week and the first week are around 2,190 calories a day. According to this calculator of Daily Calorie Needs for a moderate activity level (I sit around at work but am fairly active otherwise), I’m eating the right amount for my body size and activity level. My scale agrees. I’m still at the same weight I was 2 weeks ago, 2 months ago, and 2 years ago. My body just likes this weight. So while the sticker shock has yet to wear off, I think that I’m feeding my body an appropriate amount.
That leaves me to tackle the whole emotional aspect of my eating habits. I wish it were as easy to solve that issue as it is to tally a bunch of numbers on a piece of paper. But it isn’t. On days like yesterday, when I am so moody and emotional in general, the idea of not eating the delicious-though-they-cost-$1.25 Reese’s peanut butter cups awaiting me in the vending machine makes me want to yell or hit the first person who dares to annoy me. Glorify God? Respect the temple? I. Don’t. Care.
Even though I don’t have the solution figured out when I’m already in a bad mood, I do have one insight into prevention: SLEEP. It is no coincidence that yesterday was my roughest day eating-wise, and also the day I felt like a walking zombie. I’ve known for a while that Tiredness + Kathy = Bad Life Food Decisions. I think I also channeled my frustration over having to be at work into eating – Maybe this donut will send me into a wonderfully numb sugar coma so that I don’t realize I’m still here.
“Need to get more sleep” has been written on my log more days than not over the past 2 weeks. I haven’t been doing my morning routine of Bible + writing because I wake up sooooo tired (which is not normal for me). Several days, I’ve woken up to see that I had been hitting my snooze for 45 minutes without even realizing it. Yesterday after work, I walked in the door and promptly laid down on the couch. I didn’t even take my jacket off. I seriously would’ve gone to bed right after dinner if I hadn’t had my ladies group, and I would’ve skipped that, if I hadn’t been the one leading the discussion. I left right after we were done, went straight to bed when I got home, and then… I couldn’t fall asleep. {My mind was running a mile a minute. Even about work stuff. Seriously? So I finished reading Robinson Crusoe. The book was okay. It was pretty slow moving, which isn’t that surprising since it was first published in 1719 (100 years before Dickens was even born!).}
Anyway, to sum it all up, my eating log has helped me be more mindful of what I’m eating, but I have yet to eradicate emotional eating. Stay tuned for more on that…
Do you like reading old classics like Dickens, Tolstoy, or Twain? Which book is your favorite?
Yesterday, after we got home from church, I turned on my Harry Potter audiobook and deep cleaned our kitchen. The book kept me entertained enough that I powered through cleaning the microwave, refrigerator, freezer, the front of our cabinets, and the OVEN (that has needed to be done since we moved in 3.5 years ago). Now whenever I use the oven, I will think about the first lesson that Hagrid taught at Hogwart’s about Hippogriffs, because that was the story plot as I fumigated the kitchen with oven cleaner. (Am I the only one who can remember stuff like that?)
Even though I really dislike the act of cleaning, I love the aftermath. A clean house just makes me happy.
What else makes me happy is my second full week of marathon training. Life threw a few curveballs of busyness last week but I fought back.
Monday: 1.5 mile run on track (18:45, 12:30/mile)
This was when I almost got killed by brussel sprouts.
Tuesday: 3.6 mile tempo run (40:09, 10:54/mile)
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 4 mile run – 3 miles moderate (33:00, 11:00/mile), 1 mile time trial (9:42)
I wanted to do a speed workout this night, but since my long run on Saturday was going to be a tough one, I decided to do most of the run easy, and then do a 1 mile time trial. I definitely could have gone faster but I had to slow down for a car or two, and I was feeling some acid reflux. After Monday, I was still a little spooked. I seriously need to start eating Tums before each and every run I go on. But I feel like 9:42 is a good starting point.
Friday: 50 min P90X Yoga
Saturday: 7.94 mile hilly long run (1:27:27, 11:00/mile)
Sunday: 10 mile bike ride (45 min)
Finally, I got to ride my bike outside! It was 60* yesterday and sunny. It felt just like spring. I’m loving every minute of it and ignoring the Debbie Downers who keep telling me that March is usually Colorado’s snowiest month. A girl can dream, right?
Riding outside also means that I got to test out my new bike setup. The verdict is: meh. The seat was comfortable enough for 10 miles but I can’t envision me doing 40-50 miles on it. And for some reason, my back still really hurt after 5 miles. We took a break and I could barely stand up straight. If any of you out there know more about bikes than I do, is that just my back needing to get used to that, or is my bike fitted incorrectly?
Total Running Miles: 17.16
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Finally, can I just say that this is the most annoying ad EVER?
The lady on the right sneezes and blows the entire calendar over. What’s so annoying is that you have to wait for the ad to run before you can do anything. Ugh. I would have expect that such a craptastic display of marketing ingenuity would come from Aetna. Have I ever told you how much I hate them?
And on that note, Monday is over! I have a work meeting tomorrow from 7 am to 7 pm so I probably won’t post. But it’s not that bad because they’re feeding us breakfast, lunch and dinner, AND since I’m a contractor and can only work 40 hours a week, I get to jet early on Friday. I won’t argue with that!
Life, Really Blog 