Tag: run

Rung my Bell

Monday, I was feeling a little sore from the hill’s on Sunday but I was coming around to my race time. 🙂 I took it easy all day, just caught up on some laundry and course work. I had skipped foam rolling on Sunday (Slacker!!) so I made sure to roll Monday evening. Holy crap, my right IT band was/ is angry with me. That’s what I get for putting it off.

A little foam rolling... — A little foam rolling…

I was looking forward to a ~~nice~~ sore, easy run at the lake Tuesday after work. Being 4 weeks out from the SLO half marathon, I knew I needed to get back to training. Particularly if I want to improve my time from my PR of 2:05:57. I knew Tuesday’s run was going to be slow and awkward but I just wanted to get my legs moving. I figured my week would look like this-

Monday– rest Tuesday-3 slow miles Wednesday– long work day Thursday 4-5 easy miles Friday-rest

I know that I have mentioned my gracefulness (or lack thereof) before but my proclivity for stupid accidents really reared it’s head. Tuesday morning I was a little tired, so I slept a few minutes longer. This prompted me to get ready in a hurry. Which led me slamming my head into my bathroom counter. Such skill!!!! After a few four letter words and hopping around, I moved on. While putting on makeup, I noticed a big welt forming above my brow bone, so nice. I only felt a little pain, so I finished getting ready and headed out to work. 3/4 of the way to work, I knew I had a problem. I made it to work, but it’s a little hazy. 😦

I spent the day completely nauseated, hating light and sound and trying to not move much. One of my coworkers tried to make me track his finger, not could I not do it, I almost lost my cookies. I managed to keep down some chips- my go to for nausea- and made it home after work. No running for me but lots of rest in a dark room. Today was slightly better, I manged to eat real food. My head feels tight and the nausea comes and goes, yay! I spent my lunch napping in the break room. I am hoping tomorrow will be little to no nausea. I would like to get in a run but that’s probably not likely. Which means my hope of hitting 75 miles this month is not too likely either.

So let’s just call this a true recovery week? That’s was happens when my innate grace comes out to play. Actually come to think of it, my entire family is talented at hurting themselves in weird and crazy ways. So while my posts may not include any actual running, I do have some gear reviews that I have been meaning to post and some blog awards I have been I’ve been slacking on (thank you!). And I will anxiously count the minutes until I run. 🙂

Happy hump day!!!

Anyone else have any hidden injury talent or is it just genetics?

Sadness and Cookies

Thank goodness it’s almost Wednesday.

Monday started on a sour note, coming in to work we learned that our fish- Mo Betta- had joined the great guppy in sky. He had been sick for a few weeks and we tried so many things but in the end nothing worked. I admit I refused to even look in the fish bowl (punch bowl) I let the others deal with that. We were all in a little funk after that. Have I mentioned the awesome customers? One felt bad for us and showed up a few hours later with a gift. Say hello to this little guy-

Confusion abounded while we tried to figure out what to do with him. A coworker refused to use the “death bowl” again and all we had were vases. Luckily that same coworker had a large glass jar thing. So that is currently his home, his name is also a work in progress. Wish us luck that he stays feisty.

It’s also that lovely time of year that tempts all healthy eating plans. Yup, these were delivered yesterday as well-

Girl Scout cookies!!! So much for no gluten. Not that I am allergic to gluten but it seems to be the easier way to manage this Low-FODMAP thing my doctor has me on since December. At least 85% of the time, I told him I’m not giving up pizza or a hamburger once a week 🙂 He rolled his eyes. And continuing on the healthy kick, I put spinach and kale in my smoothie tonight. Spinach!!! I hate spinach, have ever since I was a kid, can’t even stand the smell of it. I managed to drink the whole thing so woo hoo! 🙂

Today was rough for some reason. I was dragging all morning. I took yesterday as a rest day since I was still a little sore from Sunday’s run. So I wasn’t tired from a hard workout. Work turned a little crazy by the end of the day, too. I originally had plans to go to the movies tonight with a friend but that fell through. So I headed to the gym after work.

I told myself I would do an easy 4 miles to wake myself up and get me going for the rest of the week. Once I got going, I felt pretty good. I have been foam rolling often and I found a new (to me) yoga/stretching routine that seems to helping to. Things never really hurt, just sometimes I feel a lingering soreness. My easy 4 turned into an easy 5 for the night. 5 miles- 50:53. Oddly enough there was a guy running on a treadmill near me who would throw boxing jabs while running. That was interesting. 🙂 I made sure to foam roll tonight as well, plus my newest torture device-

In other news, Run or Dye is coming to town in May. I am on the fence about how I feel about these runs. Having never done one, I can only speculate. I am already stressing over the logistics of not staining my car seats or my shoes. But I have always promised C that we would run a race in tutu’s and this seems like the perfect opportunity. We actually have quite the team growing, C’s husband and NikeC and ME and more, so it should be a fun day. And colorful.

How is everyone’s week so far?

Any thoughts on color runs?

Any helpful betta fish hints?

A Wave Rider Interval

As Monday was a holiday, I was able to get in a good 5 mile run outdoors instead of having to head into the gym. Prior to that I went to lunch with my mom and then helped her prune a bunch of oleanders. We do this every year and we always use a ladder in ways we shouldn’t while holding shears. This year was no different. I always crack jokes that it’s a great arm workout. Apparently a little too great, between that and puppy pulling on Sunday and Monday, my arms are so sore! Hmm, maybe I should check out the other equipment available at the gym, not just the treadmill.

My training plan called for 5 miles on Monday. I headed out early afternoon so I could get the miles in and then go get the puppy for walk attempt #2. The first part of my route takes me past a cemetery and I run if no ones there but if people are visiting close to the side, I walk. For some reason my mind thinks that more respectful. 🙂 This day someone was blowing the roads in the cemetery and next to it with a motorized golf cart looking blower thing. I ran into a dust storm! I came to a hacking, coughing halt from all the dust I aspirated in. My boss happened to call right then and I answered since I wasn’t running anyway, she thought I was dying sick again. I had to convince her it was just the dust! I ended up walking the first 1/2 mile, so I started off slow.

Even once I got going, I could tell I was tired. Both my legs and my breathing felt labored. The plan was 5 miles with 4 easy and the 5th faster. My 4th was faster than mile 5, oops. My legs felt heavy, and my stomach was telling me that lunch had been a little too big. By the end of the run, I could feel that I had a cranky toe as well. Sure enough, it was a little bloody. Ahhh, the joys of running. 🙂

I then picked up the pup and drug her down the driveway. Actually she trotted right down and halfway down the block before she realized what was going on. Then she just plopped flat on the sidewalk. With some coaxing and strong arming, we managed to walk a mile in 22 minutes. Yikes!!! I think people find us amusing. There was a man standing on his deck at one point laughing as we passed. Or as I drug her past. We then walked past a bigger version of her and she wasn’t sure how to process that; it was so funny. At the mile point, we turned around and took a slightly shorter route home. Same as the day before, the second we were headed back, she was the model of a perfect puppy behavior. We made the .84 mile back in 11 minutes. And yes, I timed it this time. 🙂

My reward for the almost 7 miles? A super yummy homemade smoothie-

Today called for a 3.75 mile interval workout. I knew it would after work and on the treadmill but I was ok with that because I still needed to actually run in my new Wave Riders! I also had a new armband to test out. I hate armbands as they usually make me bleed but I need one for the gym. Plus since switching to the iPhone 5s, all my old ones had the earphone jack in the wrong spot. I picked up a new one when I was at Sports Authority a few weeks ago.

The shoes felt amazing while driving but kind of awkward while walking. It made me a little nervous. I don’t usually run 4 days in a row, so even though I was going to follow the interval that Nike laid out, I wasn’t going to push it. Plus I wasn’t sure how the shoes would feel. I ran a mile warmup- 2 minute walk then 6.2 for the rest. Interval 1 was .75 of a mile at 6.6, then a .25 of 5.5. This was followed by a planned .75 at 6.6. I did all this then upped it to 7.1 for .25, not on the plan but I just felt like it. Then is was a cool down of .75 at 6.00. I shut Nike off at 3.75 and slowed the treadmill to 4 and walked until 4 miles or 40 minutes, whichever came first. They came at the same time, sweet!!!! The intervals were very smooth, now if I can just up the pace, I can hopefully break 2:00 this spring!

The shoes felt pretty good actually, I need to get in a few more miles to really try them out. Some street miles too. The armband held up well too. No bleeding so far, woo hoo!!! It could have fit a little snugger, though.

Tomorrow is hump day and a rest day!!!!

How is everyone’s week going so far?

Finally a Reason

Friday morning, I woke up feeling like I had slept more hours but they were just as crappy. I just wanted to burrow under the covers for a few more hours. But I dragged myself out of bed and got ready for work. Since I was feeling crappy, I wore my newest skirt and my most comfortable boots to work. Fake it ’til you make it right?

Yeah, I rock funky socks, every day :) — Yeah, I rock funky socks, every day 🙂

Don’t worry, I push the socks down before we open the doors. 🙂 I was also treated to this morning view while picking up the cookies-

Shaping up to be a good day, right? By early afternoon, my headache had turned into a head pounder and my swallowing was so painful. Ahhhh, light bulb moment, I was sick. Maybe that explained the week of crappy sleep and the zoning out I did a few times at night. I watched Biggest Loser on my DVR over the week, but I couldn’t tell you a dang thing that happened. I don’t remember it at all. 😦 After leaving work yesterday, I crashed in the Comfy chair with a blanket. I was hoping I would be better in time for a long run today.

I had a little shopping trip planned with my mom; she wanted help looking for a wedding gift for one of her former players. I set an alarm in the hopes I could get a run in this morning first. Ha! My head and throat were worse. So I tried to get a little more sleep before getting ready for the day. Shopping went well, even if both my mother and I were feeling poorly and moving a little slower than usual. Even though my throat hurt, I was able to enjoy lunch. 🙂 She also found a great gift, which is good as the wedding is tomorrow. 🙂

She then needed to head to the Tennis Warehouse to pick up a few things for the team. Uhoh- danger zone! The Running Warehouse was literally 10 feet away. And I had been feeling the urge for new shoes. I was one of those rare runners who only had one pair of shoes. I wore them for every race, training run and occasional trail adventure. When they wore out, I replaced them. With my planned increase in training this spring and more half marathons on the schedule as well I was thinking about getting another pair.

The place was packed, but then the store front is small. However customer service there is amazing. I tried to resist, I really did. I ended up trying on the Mizuno Wave Inspire 10 and the Mizuno Wave Rider 17. I love my current pair of Inspire 9’s so I was optimistic for the 10’s. They felt like an entirely different shoe, tighter and flatter. Not cool. The Wave Rider’s on the other hand felt awesome! Restraint be damned!

The Wave Rider’s are a neutral support shoe so that is a change. So I will be trying them out on the treadmill for the first few runs. If I like them, I figured I would use them for the flatter, shorter runs and races. I can’t wait to test them out. Our shopping trip was longer than planned; I ran out of daylight. My mother cannot make a quick trip to Petco. I ended up wandering away at one point and having a conversion with a little boy about betta fish. He was excited because they are fighter fish. I told him we have one at work that likes to try to attack a coworker. He thought that was great. 🙂

Once home, I had absolutely no energy for the gym. So today became a rest day. I am hoping that I will feel better tomorrow and can get in some miles. Maybe not the 8 that I missed today but anything between 4 and 6 would be cool. It will have to be early though as I am my mother’s plus 1 for the wedding. My dad, well he’s not the partying type. Neither am I, really, but I fake it better. 🙂

How was everyone’s Saturday?

Was I really the only one with one pair of shoes?

Treadmill Tuesday

Totally random, but let’s start with this little snippet- Hell froze over!!

Sorry couldn’t help it, but that must be why I made it to the gym two days in a row 🙂 Can we say ugh squared to the treadmill? Maybe it’s because of the circulated air or the fact that you have run while staring at yourself in the mirror but running just seems so much harder.

Last night I slept horribly. First I couldn’t fall asleep and then I tossed and turned. For someone who used to be something of an insomniac, this is not cool. An unexpected bonus to commuting and the crazy insane schedule I had for the first 3-4 months of the year was finally sleeping a little better. I am hoping tonight is better and that last night was just a one off.

6 miles were on the plan for today but I knew that wasn’t likely when I woke up. While getting ready, I figured I could do a 2 mile walk while on lunch and then hit the gym for 3-4 miles after work. That seemed more feasible. As I was walking out the door to go to work, I received a text message. Someone called in sick. 😦 So I canceled the lunch walk with the intention of taking a shorter lunch and getting back to work. Best laid plans right?

We have a Comfy chair at work too, and I sat down after eating my lunch. Then I fell asleep… oops. I had even turned my jacket into a blanket. I woke up almost 40 minutes later. So much for a short lunch, it was just shy of regular. I jumped out of the chair, refilled my water bottle and ran out of the break room. FYI, I also spilled my water 3x today.

I was still tired and was debating even running but I knew I needed to go. Luckily ME emailed me around 4, so I asked her join me. Part of my gym membership is that I can take a guest whenever I want :). She wanted to go, so we planned to meet up as soon as I got back into town. Woo hoo for company! She’s just getting back into things after a nasty bout of strep and I was still tired, so short and sweet it was! 3 steady, solid miles, done! We hadn’t seen each other since before Christmas so we exchanged gifts in the parking lot after. We’re classy like that. 🙂 So, ME is super crafty and she made these adorable earrings for me-

I managed to finally get the Garmin to work on the treadmill. Well, kind of. As you can see in the picture, the mileage was off. Both Nike+ and the treadmill actually agreed for once. The Garmin however was lagging behind. Time for more research on how to get it calibrated properly, or at least as close as I can. I love Google.

I came home and rewarded myself with a nice cold strawberry banana smoothie. I may have killed the blender in the process, it was not a happy camper. Since it’s so heavy, will that count as strength training for the day? Probably not. 😦

How was everyone’s Tuesday?