Tag: lazy

When the pain begins

So I followed through and went for a run this morning. Getting out of bed was so hard to do; sleep was not my friend last night. Finally managed to drag myself out and hit the road. I could feel my ankle as I started down the driveway, uh oh 😦

I did a route from my house and my mother came too. Usually she walks most of it while I run ahead, usually circling back to her again. She has been adding more running into though, nice! I was dragging today. My ankle hurt, I was tired and it was already getting hot at 9:30 in the morning. Seriously? On the upshot, I got to test my new shorts!

The run route takes us by a cemetery, up a few hills, and down a few hills. Then there are alleys to run through as well as a school, with a few more inclines. I really should be better at hills than I am.

Today’s run was very slow going, but I completed just about 5 miles. While I may wish it was faster, (a lot) it still adds to my training. 😦 I also completed the required 155 squats for the squat challenge that I started on July 1. What was I thinking? I then spent part of my day slacking and icing my ankle. The pain needs to go away.

I was planning on running a few tomorrow but I may push that back to Saturday. My town is currently being invaded by the barely controlled chaos that is the fair. BBQ, funnel cakes and carnies abound!!! I have tickets to a concert tomorrow so I am going to walk down do the fairgrounds and wander around for a couple of hours. That counts right? Ha! Maybe if I wasn’t also planning on consuming one of those afore mentioned funnel cakes. 🙂 And maybe a pretzel. Eating healthy can get back on track on Saturday too. I thought it was hilarious that Word Press chose to highlight the last picture in my last post. All that yummy, fatty goodness right up top 🙂

On a side note, I made a Facebook page for my blog. It’s just getting started but go check it out, and share something!

Frustration leads to…

After the great race on Saturday morning and the festivities later that night, I made Sunday a very lazy, slacker day. Got to say, it was very nice. 🙂 Official chip time was also announced- 57:17, hell yeah!!!!

My left ankle was fighting back on Monday so I decided to take another rest day. I figured that since I had a split volleyball schedule, I could hopefully get in at least 25 minutes of running between matches. It wouldn’t be a lot but I figured it would be an easy jaunt that would test my ankle.

I have to say that I love the camaraderie of the running community. 🙂 The majority of runners I meet are good people and they are just as excited as you are when you do well at a race. I wish I could say that holds true in a women’s volleyball league. By the end of the first match I was so frustrated I was going to scream. So I lost the knee pads, changed my shoes and ran it out. Oh and I was wearing these socks-

Perhaps running when frustrated or angry is not best idea, at least not when the goal is to take it easy. I set the timer on the Nike+ app for 25 minutes and was off. My ankle protested for about half a mile and then it was quiet, woo hoo! Brought in my first mile under 9 minutes, oops. That’s not easy. Slowed down a little and kept going.

Turns out I didn’t know the area as well I thought, got a little turned around but worked it out. Towards the end of my run, I saw a crowd a people a block ahead but thought they were just bbq’ers. Nope! It was a drug bust or probation, didn’t get close enough to read the vests. Turned around when I figured out there were about 10 cops and 3 police cars milling about. So, yeah, that’s a new one. I ended up doing shy of 3 miles in 25 minutes. So maybe running cranky is a good thing. Who knows but I’ll take it!!! And I played the next volleyball match in much better mood:)

The good thing about my training plan is the flexibility, so this week, I am adjusting my two week day runs to Tuesday and Thursday. Starting today, I am on vacation until next week, so yea for morning runs!!! Today I did a little shopping in a nearby town and came back with some new running gear. Always exciting!

I also ate my post-race reward meal this afternoon. After most every race, I go to the same restaurant and get a burger. However after Saturday’s race, scheduling made that impossible so I postponed until today. Oh so yummy 🙂

So what about everyone else? Any post-race traditions?

Low Tide + Running= Squishy shoes

Rock to Pier 10K

So I set out for this race this morning feeling like I usually do; a little green around the gills. Seriously, I should be past the nervousness by now. I didn’t even have a huge goal set for this race. Today’s goal was just to finish. I was really nervous about the sand, having never run on the beach, I was kind of freaking out. Also they said that the race was going to be a wave start, I had never done that before.

It didn’t help that even though we left with plenty of time we made it to the start line like 30 seconds before the gun. I wasn’t even in the chute when the starting gun went off, but luckily neither were another couple hundred people. Luckily it’s all based on your chip time, :). And as for wave starts, there were no pretty colored flags waving anywhere, so maybe next time.

The first hundred or so yards of the race were across the soft sand to get to hard pack exposed by low tide. I thought it was going to suck my shoes off, hehe. Once you got to the hard pack, it was so much easier. And a little softer than pavement, nice!! So then you just got to run along with the waves coming in at your left and making you sure you dodged clumps of seaweed or the random unattended fishing rod. Or the people who were still trying to surf through this crowd of runners.

Other than the overcast sky, the weather was perfect, about 58. Of course, I felt cold before so started out in a long sleeve shirt over my tank. At mile 2, I wanted it gone, but it wasn’t until mile 4 that I was slowing down to walk. I shoved my water bottle in sports bra and tried to lose the shirt and get it tied around my waist as quick as possible. Still took too long, next time no long sleeves! Or maybe just my arm sleeves, easier to lose while running.

Since my goal wasn’t to push it,and with my recent ankle twinges, I just took my time and tried to maintain my pace without taking another walk break. So other than the wardrobe issue, I ran the whole race:). It was nice not stressing too much, and the change of scenery was awesome too. Seeing the pier come into view at mile 5 was a great feeling, finish lines are usually that visible from far away. That was also about the time that people running the half marathon were coming back our way. So you go from feeling like “yes I ran a race this morning!” to “oh they are running more than me, now I feel lazy”. Hehe, mood swings at mile 5.

At the finish line, we left behind the sand dollars and crabs, and water getting into your shoes to cross another stretch of soft sand. Even harder when your shoes (and socks) are wet! Crossed the finish line at 58.21, Nike said 56:47 but it was being glitchy, so now I just have to wait for the chip time to be released. I am happy with that finish:)

Met up with my race photographer (my mother) at the end, where she always relays her people observations from the finish line:). It’s great having support there for you.

So now I have run my race, had a nap (slacker!), CPR done for my shoes, I think it’s time to celebrate yesterday’s birthday!!!

Maybe not so easy…

Ok, this was supposed to be up last night, so read it like it’s still Thursday:) Stupid power outage!

So, Thursday is here and as I previously mentioned, it is a day that I usually choose to be a Slacker:0 I am not sure if it is the fact that I have a race in 2 days (eek!) or that yesterday’s run was slow enough it should be called a walk. So this morning I packed my running gear thinking I may do an easy 2 miles after work if it went well.

Work was crazy and halfway through the day; I felt it, a little twinge in my left ankle. Umm, no thank you. I haven’t even worn heels in 2 days, ugh. I figured I would hit the park and just take it easy see how it feels and go from there. On a side note, I finally figured out how to get to the good parking lotJ

So I start with a little walk before picking up the pace. I feel twinges for the first half mile or so, and then it settles down. Woo Hoo! The plan was to do 2 laps and quit. Well, I settled for 3 and almost beating my 5k PR. Umm what? How did that happen? Feeling good now, only to see how it feels tomorrow.

As much as I like this running path, there is one section that tests me every time. It’s the 50 yard dash while holding your breathJ. There is about a 50 yard section toward the back of the lake which reeks!!!! It smells like something died and quite frankly, I don’t want to investigate. It’s a true test of your determination, you don’t want to slow down, but you really don’t want to breathe either!!!

So tomorrow will definitely be rest day, plus it’s my birthday so what better reason to be a Slacker? After work that is.

The Slacker Way

So, yeah the 4^th of July planned run didn’t happen, the weatherman lied! Over 100 again, too hot even for the chair, couldn’t even be a Slacker the right way.

So a little bit about the Slacker way:

My goal is to run 3 times a week, cross train twice and have two rest days. In the beginning I stuck to the training plan really well. Then come January, I was offered a promotion in a different town and began commuting every day. The plan took a hit 😦 I managed to stick to the running 3 times a week but the cross training took the hardest hit. I had been riding a stationary bike twice a week as my cross training. It was helping my running; I felt that it helped with my breathing which in turn helped my pace. Then the slacker-ness set.

Over the past few months, my training has looked somewhat like this- Run Monday, Wednesday and one weekend day. I play in a volleyball league on Tuesdays so I was treating that as cross training (ha!). As for my runs, I would aim for one speed-work and one long run and the other would just fall in the middle. Shortest run would be around 3.5 and my long run around 5.5 when not training. My running has at least stayed on pace and I can see improvement in my times, so woo hoo for that!!!

This week after posting and reading what everyone else was posting, I just felt like more of a Slacker than usual. I ran on Tuesday and Wednesday plus volleyball on Tuesday but not following through with a run on the 4^th just made me sad, hehe. So Saturday afternoon in the middle of a migraine and the nausea that came with it, I was like what the heck, let’s hit the track.

I love the track, for me it’s faster than a treadmill (boring!) and it’s a good place to go when you are feeling a little crappy. So much easier it walk back to your car than 3 miles back to your house :). Plus, when I run the track my mother joins me to exercise as well. It’s perfect, she does her pace and I do mine. Also good to have someone there when you are feeling wobbly. So my goal was to out run my headache. I figured an easy 45 minute run would help, bring on those endorphins! Forgot that I have troubles with the Easy part when on the track, oops! But even though I pushed harder than I should have (not the best idea) I defeated the headache!!!

As a reward for the 4.5 miles, the weather cooperated enough to make the comfy chair comfy again, yeah!!!!

And on Sunday, I followed through and got back on the bike! 8 miles done, heck yeah!!!! Now, if I can just keep it up:)