Category: Run!

On the Brightside

Happy Tuesday! Congrats on surviving Monday! At least that’s how it felt to me. 🙂

Even though I had used my one rest day on Thursday for the mixer, Sunday was less of a real workout and more of catching up on things. I worked up quite a sweat cleaning my car. I don’t know if that’s more indicative of how hard I worked or how dirty it really was. I spent over an hour on just the inside. It is now so very clean. Well, the windows are still streaky but that’s because I have zero talent at washing car windows. Seriously, it’s bad. This may be a cop-out but I called that my workout for the day. 🙂

All were in my car, I think I have a problem

Other than that little blip, I’ve been doing really good with my no excuses plan so far. I have had plenty of reasons to skip a workout but I wouldn’t let myself. First the two weeks of little to no sleep; that at least finally getting a little better. No lie, there have been more than a few naps. Then it’s like since I made a comment that I may as well get used to my stomach never being perfect, it decided to pick a fight with me. And it is still fighting with me, so yeah, June’s been a little rough. But I’ve kept trucking. And running, even if they haven’t been the best workouts. I am currently on track for one of my best month’s mileage wise, knock on wood. Pace, however has taken a big hit. So, I am trying to think optimistically and call this a base reinforcing month.

I came to this lovely epiphany while running yesterday. My mother wanted to try the new path again without Zoey and asked if I would run it while she walked it. We figured we would pass each other a time or two. I needed to do 5 miles but again my stomach was hating me so I was wondering if I could even complete 2. I walked most of the first mile with my mom before attempting to pick up the pace. I focused on my breathing and tried to keep a steady pace and just kept going. I made it to the top of the street, turned around and headed back. I passed my mother but we just waved and kept moving. I felt a little rough but at the same time this felt like the best run I have had all month. I knew I wouldn’t hit 5 unless I deviated from the path, so I went right onto one street and looped back around into the housing complex before then turning off onto the trail section for the last bit. I finished up my 5 just as my mom was completing her walk. There were some rough moments but I just kept breathing and this turned into the best run of June so far.

While running, I was thinking about my stupid stomach and how this time last year I would have just said screw it and not run, even if that meant a month off. And yes, that’s happened before. But, realistically, these flares happen, so better to deal with it than ignore it. So with that being said, I have decided that my last ~~few~~ month of runs haven’t been that bad, all complaining aside. This flare will pass and I will reintroduce speed work into my work outs. I actually kind of miss it. 🙂 And if that doesn’t work, I have an appointment to see my gastro doc in August. I’m not sure where this sudden shiny outlook is coming from, normally I’m rain clouds and cynicism. Who spiked my Diet Coke?!

After yesterday’s great run, I kind of really wanted to run today. However I had made dinner plans to catch up with a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. Since the schedule was gonna be tight, I decided to make today my rest day. I also used that as a reason to finally get the blood work that I have been putting off. So far, no bruising, woo hoo! Dinner was good and I got the perfect fortune in my cookie-

It’s almost Hump day! Almost at the half way point now!

Ever get any good fortunes?
How about a running epiphany?

A long week and a rough run

Quick recap of the week so far-

Monday– 2.5 miles
Tuesday– Kettle bell workout
Wednesday– 4.5 painful miles
Thursday –Rest- Business mixer-exercising my lack of skill at small talk (and another power nap)
Friday-11 slow miles
Saturday– 4 mile recovery walk- with the puppy!

How can a 30 minute workout DVD cause so much pain? I followed through like planned and completed the kettle bell workout on Tuesday. I felt pretty good when I was done, but the next morning I was super stiff. It was awkward just getting out of bed. My thighs and hamstrings were so sore. I also wore taller wedge heels than usual all day at work Wednesday. My run let me know just angry my legs were with me. My hamstrings were pissed. That lovely achilles issue from February’s race made a reappearance as well. I decided to run that new route from last week again and I hoped my legs would warm up. Yeah, not so much. I took quite a few walk breaks and even stopped to stretch out twice. Even though it felt miserable, I went a slightly different route to get 4.5 miles in. Overall the pace was good for an easy run; my legs were just super cranky. I didn’t feel injured just super sore.

Luckily, thanks to a business mixer, I had a great reason for Thursday to be a rest day. The mixer was at an Inn that I admit I never knew existed before but it’s actually super cute. It’s in a 100 year old house with pretty grounds. We were lucky enough to get a tour. Which was doubly good because it was less time that I had to think of decent small talk. Parking was tight so we parked at church and were driven to the Inn by trolley. That was fun, I hadn’t been on a trolley since high school. However my legs were still sore and climbing on it in heels and a dress was a little problematic. 🙂

I volunteered to work on Saturday for someone so that meant I was able to go in later on Friday. For some reason I was not feeling the idea of my long run this weekend. I needed to get in 10-11 miles but the idea of running that on Saturday or Sunday just seemed unlikely. I don’t know why. Since I was going in late Friday I figured I would run it Friday morning. When I went to sleep Thursday night I was looking forward to my run the next morning. After another night of less than stellar sleep and some stomach issues, I ended up trying to sleep for an extra hour before heading out for 6 miles. I started out slow making sure I wasn’t going to be sick again but I never got into gear. I felt like I was crawling and I walked way too much. It was also hot! I checked the weather before I left and it said 59. It lied. It was off by at least 20. Sweat and sunblock were dripping in my eyes. It was the kind of run that makes you wonder why you do it, ugh. Friday happens to be scale day, so just for kicks I re-weighed myself after my run. I lost 3 lbs. on a 6 mile run, oops. I even ran with more water than usual. Never trusting that app again.

So what does a crazy person do when they have a horrible, no good run that falls short of their mileage goal? They go to work, make it home by 7, change and get back out there. This time I used the same method I did last Sunday and met up with my mom and the puppy every mile or so. My overall pace was even slower than the craptastic run but I was ok with that this time. 5 more miles done to bring the total to 11. Long, slow run done before the weekend, sweet!

Today, I covered a different location than usual so I had a shorter commute. Awesome! I met my mother for lunch at a local burger place. I was planning on taking it easy today, so I indulged with a tri tip sandwich, so yummy. After a trip to Target and another power nap (I picked up some Epsom salt at Target I will be trying soon) I ended up heading out for a walk with my mom and the puppy. My mom wanted to check out the newer-to-me path. She really liked it and so did Zoey. Zoey was very intrigued by the horses across the street at one point. It was a good 4 miles, the pace has really picked up with the puppy. We were just under 15:00 per mile tonight. And that includes her stops to shove her nose in whatever plant smells interesting. I still don’t think she will ever be a runner though.

Work is done, all my errands are done, so other than some lovely chores tomorrow -can we still call them chores as adults?- I am hoping to have a relaxing day. I should complete the yoga DVD again but we’ll see how it goes. I have stuck to my plan so far and only taken 2 rest days since June 1st. But does a DVD really count?

How was your Saturday?

Anyone race today? Or racing tomorrow?

A Little Truth

Since I joined the blogging world almost a year ago, I’ve that there are some thematic posts out there. Like What I Ate Wednesday, which I don’t understand. I mean I get the premise behind it but most everyone posts in the morning. So is it really “What I’ve been eating lately and I saved up the pics for Wednesday”? I will probably never do this post because I pretty much eat the same thing every dang day thanks to my lovely slow stomach and there’s no need to bore anyone else with that. I’m bored with that. I do post pics of pizza though, because, well, pizza rocks. 🙂

Another theme is confessions. I feel I’m pretty open and honest about things anyways. I’ve always said own your faults. Plus I’m pretty boring… and weird. 🙂 I won’t go as far to say that I am a stick in the mud but I am very set in my ways. My mother can’t stand it. But all that leads to this-

I have 2 little facts about me to share tonight-

I have never driven farther than 45 minutes for a race, at least not one I was running in. I did drive NikeC to Huntington Beach for Surf City a a few years ago. Does that count?
I have never booked a hotel room. I can’t even remember the last time I stayed in one. I am over 30.

Why do these matter? Other than I never get out apparently? This is happening –

13.1 Here I come! source — 13.1 Here I come!
source

Ok so, this race is not super far away so hypothetically I could have driven down super early on race morning. My mother even offered to drive so I could sleep on the way. However, I am too neurotic for that. What if there was traffic? So, instead we are making a weekend of it. I am trying to talk ML into it but no luck yet.

Now, naive little me thought that I didn’t have to worry about the hotel part until later. But I was bored some night last week, so I played around online. Why are there so many booking websites? I couldn’t remember which one I was using half the time. I think I may have mentioned before that I have germophobe tendencies, so I was trying to find what looked to be the nicest hotel that wouldn’t break the bank. The first 5 I checked were all booked. Umm, what? Crap, I better get on this. After lots of searching and talking to people who “kind of” know the area, I chose one and booked. Fingers crossed it doesn’t scar me for life. I am still trying to figure out how to do Rock N Roll- Las Vegas this year. That would definitely need a hotel. Whoever said running was cheap was crazy.

A bonus for this race? It’s primarily flat. Holy crap, I may have a shot at finally breaking 2 hours! I don’t see that happening in 3 weeks with all the dune sand; not that it won’t be fun. 🙂 The Ventura Marathon actually has a few perks that I think are cool. They have the option to defer to 2015 if needed and offer race day pick up for a fee. I haven’t seen deferment in a smaller race. I felt a little more confident registering early. I am usually a last minute registrant. Now I am torn between wanting it to be September now and wanting time to slow down. How is it almost July?!

Happy hump day!

What did you think of my little truths? How weird am I?

Any interesting facts you want to share?

Sleepy and Slow

After waking from my third power nap of the week on Saturday afternoon, I realized that my planned 10 miler on Sunday might not be the best idea. Sleep was not my friend then and it still is not now. Saturday wasn’t even a stressful day. It was a day of relaxing shopping and yummy food. I had a generic gift card to blow so I treated myself to a ridiculous pair of flip flops. They’re black and basic but super supportive, I have high arches and for the first time, I feel like these actually support them. But the price did make me a little squeamish, they better last forever! And of course, I had to spend money at Dick’s. 🙂

I was still tired after my little nap, but I followed through with my no excuses plan and completed my yoga dvd. I almost let myself believe that walking around while shopping could count as my days’ exercise but unless you are running from store to store or aggressively trying on clothes, it’s more of a leisurely stroll. I felt a little better by the end of the DVD though. Since going to sleep at the usual time hadn’t helped and neither had earlier times, Saturday I flipped it, I stayed up reading until 2 hoping I would be so tired I would sleep. Yeah, not so much.

I headed out Sunday afternoon for a run. Since I had decided that running the full 10 wasn’t the brightest, I thought that a least a 10K was 10 of something. I also met up with my mom and the puppy at various points, so those were opportune walk moments or miles. 🙂 Since I was so tired, I made sure to take as many walk breaks as I needed and not care about my pace. The weird thing was that I felt like my form was spot on for the first time. I felt like I was running tall and strong. Of course no one was watching so it could have all been in my sleep deprived head. According to my watch I spent 2 different ½ mile sections at around an 8:00 minute pace. What? I can’t do that when I am fully rested. I was still tired but I felt good after my run.

That feeling did not translate in better sleep last night and I was dragging butt this morning. Work was straight up chaos, more so than the usual Monday but we got through it. I admit to 2 sodas getting me through the day. After work, I hit the park for a very short 2.5 miles. I just wanted to get moving. Plus I had a new visor to break in. I bought the visor to be a spare on Saturday only to discover Sunday that my month old purple one was broken. Ugh. Talk about good timing. The run was ok, nothing great but nothing bad either. No complaints here! If I don’t sleep well tonight, tomorrow will be a complete rest day. I would like to do a kettle bell workout but we will see how it goes. I used to be a night owl/ insomniac (2 AM was the norm) so you’d think I’d be used to this.

How was your weekend?

Ever have rough periods of sleep? Help!

A Little Indecison

Happy Friday!!!

I am so ready for this weekend. I haven’t slept well all week and the tossing and turning is getting to me. So bad, I took a 15 minute break yesterday, set a timer for 12 minutes and took a power nap. It only slightly helped. That being said, I was still looking forward to running after work.

Once we were done for the day, I was suddenly struck with indecision. I had planned on running in work town, aiming for an easy 4 miler, but I didn’t want to wear pants. For some reason I feel uncomfortable running in shorts in work town. I am not sure why but I never said I was always logical. 🙂 I had both shorts and capris packed in my bag, so I chose the shorts and headed to the lake path. Halfway there, I decided I didn’t want to run the path. I don’t know if it was because I have run it so often lately or if it was lingering, uneasy memories of the lurker from Tuesday. So I kept driving. I thought about driving home and running from there but that didn’t sound enticing either. I tried to think of another option.

I finally settled on a path I knew over by a friend’s house. It was an out and back that I had run portions of at various times, but I had never run the whole length before. Walked/ran parts during my first horrible 10K but never run the whole thing. There’s a new portion now that connects to the original, so I was hoping that it would be around 2.5 miles to the turn around which would give me 5 for the day. It would be uphill to the turn around, but I figured that would just ensure that it was an easy run.

I started off with a warm up walk, that was probably too short, before picking up the pace. I felt pretty good going uphill actually. Even though this was supposed to be an easy run I was looking forward to some faster running on the return downhill. I haven’t run this path in well over a year but for the first time I ran the whole way up. I was stoked but also tiring as I neared the turnaround. I was also disappointed. The turnaround came at 1.75 miles, boo. 😦 I turned right and ran until the sidewalk ended but it didn’t add a lot before heading back down.

Then it was all downhill, literally and figuratively. I suddenly felt like someone had hit me with a tired stick. I felt like I was running through water, and as a result crawling. I actually took a walk break just before mile 3 because I just felt rough. A break going downhill? After that I told myself that the faster I ran, the sooner I would be done, so I just pushed on. Hitting the new path section was the hardest, the sun was setting right in my eyes, the trees are still saplings so no shade, it felt like I was running in a desert. I hit the street finally and was only at 3.75 miles. Ugh. The path picks back up on the other side of the street so I ran a little more until I hit 4. And I was done. Later I checked my Garmin and noticed that the elevation gain was only 127 ft, man, that’s barely a hill. I think that first 10K 2 years ago really traumatized me, I remember it feeling so much bigger. Ha! 🙂 I also noticed that my last mile was 8:40, sweet!

Even though I had some lovely sudden onset tiredness, I liked the path, I may run it again. I just wish it was longer. The path actually runs all the way to the other side of town, but that involves running under a bridge. Ummm, no thanks. I did it once with my mom and ML and I felt like we needed protection.

After another poor night of sleep last night and a busy day at work, I was looking for something low-key today. I was also wishing I hadn’t wasted my 1 lazy day on Wednesday, stupid stomach. So it was time for a 5K puppy walk! I headed out with my mom and the puppy. We were dodging graduation traffic, so we kept it pretty leisurely. We had a scare though when some crazy large poodle rushed a fence, barking and growling at us. The fence was useless because the poodle almost cleared it in one jump. Meanwhile the owner is sitting there watching. Really?! Zoey never barked back, just looked at us like “what’s his trauma”? I have to say the dog was actually pretty scary.

Now I am looking forward to a hopefully relaxing weekend. A little shopping, a little reading and a not so little run.

What are your plans this weekend? Anyone racing?

Any crazy dog encounters on your runs? I’ve been attacked before, that’s actually why I started carrying pepper spray.