Tag: slacker

Adios April- Recap

May Day!!!! I am in total denial that tomorrow is May Day. How does this keep happening?

April, while all over the place, was a pretty dang good month. So, here we go-

Races-

I wish that my miles were higher but with the dietary changes during the month, I am still pretty happy with that number. The first couple of weeks were a little rough. A full post on what changes I made… or was supposed to make will be up this weekend. I still feel proud of how I handled everything thrown at me during me SLO. I feel like using an actual training plan and following through 85% of the time gave me the confidence I needed in myself. The last half of last year kind of kicked my pride and confidence in the gut. I know I can and will break 2 and when it happens, it happens. 🙂 Plus those hills at SLO didn’t seem very big this year. 🙂

My body seems confused this week. SLO was my last big race for a while and though it’s only been a few days, I feel a little lost. I am sure the Slacker in me will kick in sooner or later and embrace the laziness but this week I just wanted to run. Monday, I was sore from the fall. My legs felt great after the race but my knees hurt and I suddenly knew how hard I had landed on my right shoulder so I rested. I had Monday and Tuesday off and I indulged by being lazy. On Tuesday, I set out for a slow recovery jog. Ha ha! 3.5 miles in 47:51. It was in the high 80’s and I loved it. I wore my new Wave Inspires since I am still trying to break them in. I just can’t, I’ve never met a pair of Mizuno’s that I didn’t like but these are leaning towards hate. They still feel huge and I can feel the insole on the inside of my right foot. I’ve tried moving it around but no luck so far. A coworker described it perfectly- it’s like when you are wearing boots and short socks and your sock keeps slipping down inside the shoe. I finally just gave up and walked most of it. I figured I didn’t make it through 4 months of training and 5 races to hurt myself on a short recovery jog. I am planning on trying the shoes one more time but I am afraid that we may have to break up. 😦

Today’s run was a farce. My head is in the game but my body is not. I did one lap of the lake. One lap. 1.2 miles. And the Garmin registered it short so it doesn’t even show as that long. My mother called part way through the lap asking if I wanted to meet her and a tennis player at Chipotle. It didn’t take too much convincing. So, that brought me to 79.3 miles for the month. Yes, a tiny part of me considered running up and down my driveway to hit 80 but I didn’t.

On to May. I have decided to pass on one of the 10k’s but I would like to up my training. I want to bring my base mileage up so that I when I start training for fall races, I feel stronger. Also with temps hitting the 90’s again, I would like to transition to running 3x a week after work and a long run on the weekends. That would mean a little less heat and sun exposure, plus an entire weekend day off. That sounds kind of nice. 🙂 Or who knows, this could be the start of me transitioning to running 5x a week. Ok, let’s not get that crazy yet… I’m still a Slacker. I also want to get back out on the trails, I miss them. I should also add cross training. Or at least try.

Oh and I finally figured out what to do with my medals!! –Non running goals for May are a little up in the air. I would like to read more, and hang out with friends. There are some movie nights coming up too. I need to focus on the diet a little more as well. And I really need to start that project for the craft swap I signed up for. Oops!! Running may also turn into stress relief because work is about get insane for a month or two.

How was your April? Goals/ plans for May?

Anyone racing this weekend?

Ever been unable to break in a pair of shoes? Any suggestions?

Happy Friday!!!

Dress Rehearsal

It was the weekend before SLO, so of course I made sure to get in all my workouts right? Ummm, no. I had good intentions but was feeling tired on Saturday. Even after sleeping in. I ended up helping my mom move a bunch of rocks. After multiple buckets of lifting rocks and carrying them, my hamstrings were cranky again. I decided that counted as cross training and was good or the day. 🙂

When too tired for miles, Mizuno make great yard work shoes.

Sunday though was going to happen. Last longish run before SLO. My training plan called for a 75 minute 2/3 progression run, each third progressively faster. On race days, 75 minutes could mean 8 miles, however on long run days, that would be more like 7. Having not run on Saturday, I was internally hoping for 9 at an easy pace. Since I know the likelihood of breaking 2:00 this weekend is small, I was fine with longer, slower miles.

I was a little sore from the rocks, oops, so I headed to the lake path for a flat surface. I headed out before lunch!! Who am I? My mom came with me, she was going to walk laps of the lake while I was running. I walked my usual warm up and just got to running. I didn’t feel up to the 2/3 plan but I thought maybe I could run the first have around 10:45 and the last half around 10:00. That sounded like a solid plan to me. That’s what I thought I could do, I was wrong. But in a good way for once! I didn’t feel like I was moving faster but according to my splits I was. I’m not sure how I hit those when I was feeling super tired but no complaints from me! Mile 6 was a little slower as I had run into my mother again and walked a bit with her. At that point, she was planning on only one more lap and I was torn between 2 or 3 more miles. It was a warmer day than planned so I decided to be smart and call it at 8 miles. It was in the 70’s by the time we were done. Last longish run done! Bring on the taper- oh wait, my plan doesn’t have one!It’s crunch time for the race now, so I set out on Sunday in a potential race day outfit. I had purchased a new skirt at Lululemon the week before so I wanted to test it out. SLO has a Lululemon now, well kind of, it’s only open 3 days a week, and my first time there cost me some money. I love their shorts so I bought a new pair and a skirt. Oops! I think I am a skirt fan now. If I could have an unlimited budget at Skirt Sports and Lulu, that would be awesome. Well, there and Mizuno too. 🙂 Endless shoes and skirts!!

I also hope it is partly the shade. :) — I also hope it is partly the shade. 🙂

Over all the outfit worked well. I am still not sold on the shirt and I will be wearing full compression socks but the skirt is a go. It turned out to be super comfy for 8 miles and that was without any Body Glide. I figured that was the only way to figure where the hot spots might be. 🙂 Since my mom was with me, I asked her to take a pic. I think another goal of 2015 is to finally get a decent race pic. Seriously, the pics from Surf City and Wine Country were so bad. So bad. Actually breaking 2:00 might be easier than a good race pic. Ha! My sock tan makes me laugh. I don’t wear full compression socks that often, just long runs and races but check that out!

Does moving rocks count as cross training?

What do you like to race in?

Do you take good pictures?

I Needed That

I really, really needed that.

If you’ve been along for the ride awhile, you may have heard me mention a time or a million that my stomach and I don’t get along. Also that it’s been a rough 10 months, stomach wise. That roughness carried over into my running and things slowed down. I was so gung-ho to set PR’s in 2014 and it just didn’t happen. Even though I finally accepted that and moved on, a part of me was still frustrated. Also with doctors but that’s another story.

While I have trained pretty consistently this year, I am still not where I was before my flare. Walk breaks have become a part of run, long or short, slow or fast. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with walking, heck I look forward to those breaks on most runs. But long runs stressed me out. I don’t know if I hid it well or not but I was beginning to dread long runs. I felt like I was moving so slow and that I walked too often but just couldn’t seem to pick it up.Beyond that I have a serious mental block when it comes to long runs past 10 miles. I love half marathons but double-digit slow runs by myself? Umm, not so much. I have done one 12 mile run outside of a race. One- and it took me 2.5 hours. Actually it might have been longer but I’ve blocked it out, I am pretty sure I walked the last 2 miles. So when I saw so many 12-16 milers on my training schedule, I had a mini freak out. And I haven’t run a single one. Once again I topped out at 10 for most of the runs. Which was noticeable in Wine Country when I hit a wall at 10. Did that make me go out and run 12 the next weekend? No. Then my doctor changed my diet pretty drastically and I missed 2 long runs in a row. Crap. I knew I could not miss another with SLO being so close.

While I am looking forward to my 5k race tomorrow, it is one that I know leaves me super sore. So sore that I knew banking on a 10-12 mile run with a fast finish on Sunday was probably foolish. Because work was a little crazy this week and I worked longer days on Monday and Tuesday and couldn’t leave the building on Wednesday and Friday, my boss said she was going to try and let me leave a little early on Thursday. This sparked an idea but I wasn’t fully committed. A small part of me thought I could move my long run to Thursday instead. My 5K race is not a PR race but more for fun, so I figured if I was a little tired for it that was fine. But I was still on the fence about if I even wanted to run that many miles after working all day. Or if I even could. I got off an hour early so I headed to the lake to run a few laps. My stomach was the crankiest it’s been since I started this new diet, but then I had cheated the day before. I also wasn’t dressed for a long run. I wasn’t wearing compression socks nor a 10+ mile sports bra. Yes, I have different sports bras I wear depending on the length of the run. If I did run long I was going to split it. 7-8 miles at the lake and then I was going to head to the river path for the remainder. My mother was thinking about meeting me for the second part. So, in other words, I wasn’t expecting much and anticipating another Slacker moment.

I warmed up with my usual slow first mile before picking it up. Miles 2 and 3 clocked in at 9:57 and 10:10. So not long run pace. I should have been aiming for 10:45-11:15. I went out too fast, there was no way I was maintaining. I was irritated with myself and doubting that I would even follow through with driving to the river path. Then my mother texted that she wasn’t going to make it. There went that motivation to follow through. Ok fine, I was just going to run until I was tired or my stomach rebelled, I figured 6 miles tops. Around mile 6, I noticed that I was still running. As in, I hadn’t taken a single walk break. Not one and I felt pretty good. Huh? I did stop for a bathroom break but decided to just keep running after that. Mile 7 and I was running. Mile 8 still running. Mile 9, more running. Still no walk breaks. I was starting to think I might actually pull this off. Miles 9, 10, and 11 all came in at 10:00 or under. Did you see that 11?!?! I cleared 10 miles on a long run!!!!!! I wanted to throw a party and celebrate but I was surrounded by strangers! I stopped my Garmin at 11 and walked the 3/4 of a mile back to my car.

Dudes, I ran the whole thing- no walking breaks!! Who am I? And 11 miles at that pace and not racing?! I know it’s not much by some standards but for me and the past year, I was stoked. It also reinforced that consistent training works and does pay off even if you don’t see it immediately. I was seriously beginning to doubt I could even hit double digits after the last few weeks. I was feeling rough and not confident in my running ability at all. I had chalked my last race up to being a fluke and was mentally preparing myself for a rough race in a few weeks. I didn’t know how badly I needed a long run- a good, long run. Until I pulled it off. 🙂 Bring it on SLO!

Lapping the lake so many times, I passed a few people multiple times. I was wearing a tank that says “I hate running” and that was getting a few comments. 🙂 I passed one pair of older ladies multiple times. They said something to me once but I didn’t quite catch it. Another 2 times past them and they stopped me. One asked how many I was doing because I had to be near 20. I wish! I said that I was aiming for 11 miles and only had 3/4 of a mile to go. I passed them again on the cool down walk and they said good job. 🙂

I still want to do a little happy dance when I think about yesterday’s run. Training works, who knew? I think I need to get this McMillan plan laminated for future use. Haha. Now I should probably get some sleep, I have a mountain to run up in the morning. 🙂

How do you feel about long runs?

Who is racing this weekend?

What was your last great run?

Strike 2

And another missed long run. If we are counting, I have not run long in 16 days. SLO is 20 days away. And yet, I am not freaking out.

I had great intentions with my long run this weekend but I also had great intentions with a lot of things this past weekend. What do they say about intentions? For some reason I made quite the weekend to-do list without taking some things into account. Like I worked Saturday morning. I wanted to spend 2+ hours at the movies. Easter was Sunday. Oh and I am a Slacker. I accomplished maybe half of I wanted to do this weekend. Better than nothing right?

After getting home from work on Saturday I headed out for the scheduled easy run. While the overall pace looks easy, the run was kind of erratic. I started out walking with my mom and then I would run ahead and double back. Except that didn’t always work. Every now and then I would lose her somehow and have to run like hell to catch up. I did one hill loop backwards with the hope of catching her at the bottom after that loop but no luck, she was already more than halfway up it. I’ve never run that side of the hill but I gave it my best. Halfway up I needed a short walk break before resuming running. I lost her one other time towards the end too when she switched streets on me. I ended up spotting her though an alley and again had to haul. I loved the walk breaks when I caught up with her. 🙂 So let’s call it easy meets fartlek training? 6.5 miles done.I did spend the evening at the movies. I am a sucker for the Fast and Furious movies so I dragged my mother with me to see Furious 7. Yes, it was totally over the top and borderline ridiculous but I still loved it. I only got a little teary eyed. We lucked out with fresh and hot popcorn and I disregarded all dietary rules. It’s not like I go to the movies all that often. 🙂

Sunday dawned and after a week of rough sleep, and not getting to sleep before 1 the night before, I was looking forward to sleeping in. I woke up at 8. Seriously?! I briefly thought about going for my run but really wanted to fall back asleep. I stayed in bed until 9 when I gave up on the sleeping in. Kimi was happy though, she loves when I sleep longer. So one of us was happy. 🙂

I knew we were having family dinner for Easter so I needed to run before that. The time came to get a 10-12 mile run in and I just wasn’t feeling it. I kept putting it off. First 10 minutes then 20 and so on. I finally decided that I would head out for an easy 6 and call it good for the day. But even that didn’t happen. My uncle dropped by for a surprise visit. Family trumps running, right? After that we enjoyed a yummy dinner and there was no way I was running after that. So long run fail.

But I am actually ok with it. Something in me just wasn’t feeling it this week and I decided to listen to that little voice. Yes, that re-confirms my Slacker status. That being said I cannot miss my long run this coming weekend. Plus all the stuff I didn’t get done last weekend. Oh and I have a race! First 5K in 5 months. And it’s gonna kick my ass. I am so looking forward to it!!

Happy Monday! Can that even be a thing?

What was the last movie you saw?

Ever missed 2 long runs in a row?

Horrible to Harmony

This week was rough. Which was shown partly in my lack of posting.

The Horrible-

So in an effort to not whine too much, here’s a brief recap. Monday was a typical Monday except that my stomach graduated from asshat to bastard level and that continued through Wednesday. Good thing I don’t run on Monday’s right? Tuesday I was all set to run but my dad had a phone emergency (he’s on my plan). There was no way for me to run and go to AT&T and still eat dinner at a time that wouldn’t piss off my digestive system further. So no run. Wednesday- usual rest day but I needed and wanted to run after missing the day before. After finishing up at work I headed to the lake path hoping I had enough time to get in 3.5 miles before it got too dark. It was a horrible, miserable run. It wasn’t even because of my achy legs or hamstrings. Those felt fine. My stomach was horrible, my toes hurt and my head was not happy. I called it at 2.5 miles.

Waking on Thursday, I found that the headache that had been playing peak-a-boo for days had turned into a full on migraine. Stupid hormones. I thought about calling in but I am covering another location while their manager is out and knew I couldn’t do that. One plus, is that it’s a shorter commute. Never having worked in this location before I kind of felt like I was putting out fires all day and I didn’t know where the fire extinguisher was. The day ran late and by then my head hurt so bad and I was so nauseated that I didn’t even attempt to run. Friday was more of the same head wise, work was a little calmer though. My head hurt so bad that I actually took 2 Aleve for it Thursday. One thing I’ve never mentioned here is that I dislike taking pills. Maybe because I have so many prescriptions as it is but I rarely to the point of never take something for pain. My go to is an icepack for pretty much everything. I didn’t realize how shocking it would be for me to take something though. I had some interesting reactions when I mentioned it to some people. It was useless anyways, they didn’t help. Oddly the only thing that helped was food. Not only food but greasy food. I ate In n Out 2 days in a row for lunch. The pain actually eased for a few hours. But I was so ready for the weekend by the time work was over. Harmony-

Saturday I was super tired and though my headache had eased, it was still lingering. I slept in before heading to SLO with my mom. It’s kind of a monthly thing. We had both taken running gear so we could potentially go on an easy hike. I wasn’t sure I would be up to it but I felt like a sloth. Particularly after 2 days of fast food. 😦 After a good day of shopping we headed to the Harmony Headlands. It’s short, 4 miles out and back, easy, not technical at all, and has a gorgeous turn around. Let’s be clear, this was not a run, it was supposed to be an easy hike. Which for the most part it was, but damn my mom walks fast. It was hard to keep up sometimes. I know I had an off week but come on. But that’s ok, the scenery made up for it. Plus the weather was awesome. I had some phone problems so I didn’t get a lot of pics from the start of the trail but I figured it out by the end.

All in all, it was a great way to end the day. My legs were happy and my head was good too. And we may have seen whales!!! Well just the spouts, still cool though.

How was your week/ weekend?

Ever had a headache that wanted food? Or am I just weird?