Tag: slacker

Shaking it Off

Yeah, I went there, sorry. 🙂 I actually did not like this song the first time I heard it and now I think I’m obsessed. I got through my last few runs with Theory of a Deadman and Rise Against and the last few days have been Taylor Swift on repeat. I feel like I am all over the place this week and it shows even more than usual in my music. I may have played this on repeat tonight while driving from work town to run town. There may have been a tiny bit of car dancing involved, but there are no witnesses.

The last two weeks have felt a little scattered. I’ve been a little stressed by work, a little stressed by my stomach and just life in general. How do people with kids do it? After an unplanned rest day on Tuesday and a planned one on Wednesday, my feet were feeling itchy to run. Because I had a business mixer to go to after work tonight, NikeC and I moved back gym night. I wasn’t sure what time I could get there and didn’t want to make her wait. I figured I would try to get in a quick 3 miles after the mixer if possible. I just hadn’t figured out how I would change yet. 4:45 rolls around and I just didn’t think I had the mental capacity for a mixer plus my stomach just hated me today. I was just tired, and I wanted to run. I felt mentally tired and I just wanted a few miles to quiet my head. I needed to run it off. After a discussion with a few people, we decide to bypass the mixer and attend next month’s. I was relieved and looking forward to running, I was thinking of now trying for 5-6 miles.

It was a happy thought for about 2 minutes. At 4 minutes to closing, I happened to be looking at the door as IT walked in. What the frak? If they drove all the way out, it was not going to be a quick visit. Ok, reassess, I had to stay but I would still run it would just be a little later. I changed into my clothes anyways and then just waited. I got cold, so I put my blazer back on. Running shorts and a blazer- the new business casual?

It was hard to be productive since the systems were taken down. I caught up on some blogs on my phone, checked twitter, and posted some randomness to Instagram. Then I was over that. So I got some Clorox wipes and started cleaning. I finally headed out around 6:45. Even though it’s summer, I am not a fan of running at dusk. Just seems like too much room for error there. And of course, I was wearing dark running clothes because I had really wanted to wear the new shorts that came in the mail yesterday. Flowers! But a visibility fail.I got to run town a little after 7. Just as I parked, my mom called and asked if I wanted to do a late dinner. No! I was running. I walked a half mile warm up before running. Between dusk and my stomach I only got in 2 miles but they were kind of awesome. They weren’t the fastest or the best and my ankle kind of hurt but I was just glad to be running. It was a good little reset. And tomorrow is Friday!!

Ever had one of those days or weeks where you just needed to run it out?

Do you wanna rock a blazer and shorts now? Haha.

What are you doing this weekend?

Success… of a Sort

My last half kind of kicked my ass both mentally and physically. 13 miles of sand aggravated some shin splints I thought were mostly behind me. My confidence took a beating as well. This led to my change in thinking during July and for the most part it helped. My most recent attempts at long runs have kicked me around a bit, too. Today, I finally completed the 10miler I attempted twice last weekend. However, it was Ugly. However before we get there, let’s look back.

Thursday turned into a rest day instead of gym night, I was feeling a little under the weather. Earlier in the week, I had made a smart ass comment about something happening on Friday. I said that if all the stars aligned in the right way, I would buy everyone lunch. Granted, at the time, I thought there was no way. That being said, I followed through when I was proved wrong.

Saturday was a day spent shopping. I may have spent a little more than planned, but it was fun. 🙂 And when did my impulse purchases become running shoes?

After getting home, I took my family to a local steak house for dinner, where we I might have eaten too much. I followed dinner with a late evening stroll with my mom and the puppy. Had to test out the new shoes, right?

My stomach did not thank me for yesterday’s indulgence, so this morning got off to a rough start. I did manage to get out the door for my long run by 9 though. My mother wanted to meet at the track and do some laps. After I was going to help her change out a tennis net. I ran 8 on the track a few weeks ago and did not want to again. I mapped out a route that was 7 miles across town to the school and planned to finish the last 3 miles on the track. The downside was that I had to run across the main bridge in town. I hate running across the bridge, I feel like I am on display, it’s so noisy and just seems so long. In comparison to big cities I am sure that our bridge is tiny, but I think it may be the biggest in the county. Not sure if that’s more indicative of the bridge or the county though, hmmm.

Right from the get-go, I knew it was going to be rough. I had a shortcut option to cut 2 miles off before the school if I felt ill but I did not want to take it. After my warm up mile, I decided to test out the run/walk feature on my Garmin. Once I figured out how to do that I set it for 8:30 run and 1:00 walk. I was foolishly hoping that it would help the run seem a little easier. It did keep miles 2, 3, 5, 6 around 10:30 pace which was pretty cool for a long run. Mile 4 was my fastest at 9:29- the bridge mile- I just wanted it done. I hit 4 traffic lights in the last half of 4 and beginning of 5; I paused my Garmin at each one but let the Nike App run. I was curious to see how long they took. All in all they added 5 minutes to my time.

I completely ran out of gas by the end of mile 6. Since I was on a path and not the street, I had put in both headphones for a pick me up. Bad idea- a cyclist came up on my left and I never heard him. I felt his presence more so I took out a headphone as I turned my head, oops. I was hugging the far right of the path, so he had plenty of space. We chatted a bit, I apologized for the headphone gaffe (I swear I only ever use one!) but that I was in such misery I was hoping it would distract me. He agreed that it was a rough morning and already too warm. My pace slid off from there. Miles 7-10 all clocked in the 11’s. Even on the track. I have never run that slow on the track but I was just spent. I even thought about calling it at 8 and heading back out later to another 2 but I really wanted the run done all in one. I was so glad when I was done. I stretched some and then headed off to help my mother. Or try, turns out the replacement net was worse off than the old one, the replacement had been donated. 😦

We followed that up with some yummy Chipotle for lunch, have I mentioned we have a Chipotle now?! I also learned that you should never go to the grocery store after a long run. I wanted to buy everything!!! Luckily I wanted to buy all the fruits and vegetables but still there’s only so much food a person can eat. I didn’t look at my splits for a few hours because the run just felt so rough to me. Turns out my overall pace was pretty much near where I had wanted to be for a long run, the run just felt the total opposite of easy. It makes me a little nervous for the 12 miler I need to do next weekend.

How was your weekend?

Every make a statement you didn’t think you’d have to follow through on?

Ever go to the grocery store after a long run?

Any long run tips?

Running with Turbo

Even though I have been running for a few years now, there are still times that I feel like a complete newbie. I know plenty of people have faster times, some people run more miles on a daily basis, so many people have run a full marathon and I am not sure that I ever want to run one. Usually I am ok with all of these things but sometimes all those feelings and insecurities come rushing back.

After Sunday’s fail of a run, I headed out Monday with the a goal of 4 easy miles. To that end, I headed to the nice, flat lake path to take it easy. My left leg has been a little sore off and on so I was thinking of the following splits- 13 for the warm up mile, 10-10:15 for 2-4, with a .6 mile cool down walk. I am still walking the bridge through the playground area due to construction and little children so this seemed not only doable but easy. That was the plan.

About 1/4 into my warmup, I stopped to get a rock out of my shoe. This was when I first encountered Turbo. A guy dressed all in black comes running my way moving pretty fast. No big deal, I’m warming up, nothing to feel embarrassed about right? I hit the half mile mark at about 7.5 minutes and break into a jog, then around .75 of a mile here comes Turbo again. Still warming up, still ok, but I did pick up the pace a bit. I was just finishing the first lap (around 1.2 miles) and nearing the bridge area when WTH?! Here comes Turbo again! Adding insult to injury, he was now bouncing a tennis ball on the ground and catching it, all while running. Come on! Now it was matter of pride, I mean he essentially lapped me 3 times! No walk break just keep running. He passed me again during lap 2 and twice in lap 3. I had to take a short walk break, which of course happened right as he was passing, still bouncing his ball. Starting lap 4, I noticed that he had moved on to do pull ups and chin ups- which I think he did the entire time it took me to complete that last lap. I’m not sure what made feel more self-conscious; the fact that he was so damn fast or that he had no idea I was being an insecure creeper. 😦

Miles 2-4 all mid 9's again, oops. — Miles 2-4 all mid 9’s again, oops.

Since Monday turned out faster than planned, I took a rest day Tuesday. I headed back to the lake on Wednesday for another easy 4. This time it was woman I ended up ~~racing~~ pacing. You know that e-card about a treadmill racing? Definitely. This also applies to stationary bikes...

Yeah, it was like that. We seemed to be evenly paced, so we passed each other at the same 2 places on each lap. If we had been running the same direction around the lake, that might have been creepier actually, breathing down each others neck. Then when I was walk/ jogging my cool down, guess who was coming my way? Turbo, again all in black. I made it back to my car and was putting all my gear away when he ran by again, bouncing his trusty ball. I swear if it wasn’t a huge privacy issue and slightly stalker-y I would have tried to get a pic of him and his ball.

What about you guys?

Ever run into or by someone that made you feel like a total newbie?

Please tell me I am not the only ~~lurker~~ person who checks out other people’s running habits?

What are you up to this weekend?

Oops, I Did it Again

After getting back to running long(er) on Sunday, I wanted to take it a little easy on Monday. I was feeling a little sore so I figured 3 laps of the lake path would do. My mom met up with me and we did the usual warm up walk, which yes I included in my mileage for the day, before separating. In good news, the bridge is now fixed! I thought they were taking the bumpy boards out and replacing them with smooth ones, but they put back newer bumpy boards. Except now I don’t know where these bumps are so I used that as a reason to walk the bridge. It’s super short anyways so it’s not like it hurt my pace any. I also tested out the new inserts I had purchased on Saturday. They were a little awkward, I felt like my shoes were super loose in the heel area. Even after 3.5 miles, I felt like my right foot kind of liked them but my left foot hated them.

I’ve decided to use my Garmin to track pace and my Nike app for overall mileage. When it comes to races, I turn the Garmin off after the finish line anyways. Why I count my warm up for both, I have no idea, maybe I am just weird. 🙂 After finishing my 3.5 miles, I stopped my Garmin. I looked around for my mom but couldn’t see her so I jogged/ walked back the opposite way figuring I would meet up with her shortly. I hit the back parking lot and the end of the cement bridge and still no sign of her, what the frak? I waited for 5 minutes, expecting to see her coming my way but nope. I then turned back towards the other parking lot, starting to get a little nervous. Once there, I finally saw her coming the opposite way. Apparently she randomly decided to walk some of the neighborhood streets and got a little lost- not cool. 😦With running 8 on Sunday and then a few on Monday, I took Tuesday as a rest day for my legs. I think they appreciated it. 🙂 Wednesday I decided to take my new shoes for a speed work spin. I planned on a baby progression run. Mile 1 warm up, mile 2 in the low 10’s, 3 in mid-9’s and mile 4 in the high 8’s, followed by a cool down. Full disclosure- this is an out and back course with a slight incline for miles 1-2 and decline with 3-4. This time I met up my mom and the puppy. Mile 1 went according to plan. Mile 2 felt comfortably hard which I had anticipated. What I did not anticipate was my time at mile 2-9:17. Oops? I wasn’t sure I could tighten it any more to bring miles 3 and 4 faster than that, I didn’t think I had it in me, but I decided to try. Mile 3 got a little harder, I took a tiny 10 second walk break. – Clocked in at 9:07, but I was starting to get tired and winded which made me cranky. I know it’s been ~~months~~ a while since I’ve done speed work but come on. Mile 4 started with another tiny walk break- .05 of a mile- then I pushed hard. I was slowed by intersections so I changed up my route slightly to run the back of the path into the river trail which gave me 1/2 a mile without intersections or driveways. I focused on speed and just kept running. I took a tiny 10 second walk break towards the end before running through and when my watch buzzed 4, I was so happy to hit stop. I was breathing so hard I was panting, I actually did the whole bent-at-the-waist, hands on my knees gasping for air pose. Then I checked my watch hoping for around 8:30- holy crap I just did what?!!! Faster than last week, too! If I hadn’t taken those 2 little breaks, I would have been in the 7’s!!!!! I then walk/ jogged back up the path until I found my mom and the puppy, stopping to stretch along the way. Total miles for the day 4.7.

It's all the shoes, or maybe my clearance Abercrombie shorts — It’s all the shoes, or maybe my clearance Abercrombie shorts

I was never a runner in high school, in fact I managed to get out of PE most of my high school years. I had it freshman year, and dance sophomore year, got off campus early junior year, and had athletic PE senior- which outside of tennis season amounted to nothing. Not to say I wasn’t athletic, I played softball and tennis year round but running was not my thing. We had to do those stupid Presidential fitness tests every year and part of that was the mile. My fastest mile ever was 7:37, which I remember because it reminded me of a plane. I half-assed that mile, and now I wish I had tried a little harder. Who knows where I would be now, hopefully not panting like a dog at the end of 8:05 mile, haha.

Did you ever have to do those fitness tests? I still can’t do a pull up…or was is a chin-up?

Ever been happily surprised by a run?

What are your plans this weekend?

Happy Friday!!!

Return to Long and a Goofy Garmin

Thank you all for your encouraging comments on my last post. I felt a little odd posting it. I wasn’t sure how well “re-embracing the Slacker” would go over. It does sound a little backwards 🙂

Friday was one of those days that started ok and went south real fast. So fast and south that it made me question how well I was doing my job. By the time I got off work all I wanted to do was eat a pizza. Like, the whole thing. I had had tentative plans to hit the track for some speed work with a friend but those fell through. Part of me wanted to use that as added justification for the pizza. The other part of me wanted to run. In the end I met up with my mother at the river path. We walked the first 3 miles while I ranted. Well as much as I could without going into too many details. By the end of mile 3, my feet were itching to run. So I decided to run the last mile. I felt really good on that mile; I felt like I was running out my irritation and doubt. So good in fact, I am pretty sure I threw down my fastest mile- 8:15. Sweet! I can’t find the proof to back that up though, apparently my Garmin doesn’t track single mile records?! My fastest unofficial 5k is 26:35 so I double checked the times on those miles, and yep, this was still faster. 🙂

The only bummer was that while running I determined that my white Wave Riders are pretty much done for. 300 miles and done. Poor, pitiful shoes. I have already been breaking in their replacements but it’s still sad to say goodbye to these. Normally I would try to get a few more miles out of a shoe but since I should be in a support shoe but choose to run in a neutral shoe, I have been trying to pay more attention to how the shoe wears down. On Saturday, I did some shopping and I did purchase some fancy insoles to try and see if that would help get some extra miles out of them. The verdict is still out on that one. I also purchased another belt to try out. I have a fitletic belt and a Flipbelt, but I am always open to possibilities. Sunday, I finally followed through on a longer run. I made it to the track for 8 miles. I have missed the track. I didn’t feel up to speed work and figured a long, slow run would be more beneficial anyways. My Garmin apparently had other plans. It took awhile to find the signal and by the time it did, it was almost 2/10 of mile behind. By the end of my run, it had dropped even more distance. I could not figure out was going on. Luckily, I am a little neurotic and still run with the Nike app too. It tracked well enough. Warming up was hard on the track. I had to force myself to walk 3 laps, which is huge compared to the 200 meter warmup I used to do. After that I just tried to keep an easy pace. I ran miles 2, 3, 4 and took .1 walk breaks in miles 5 and 6. After that it was all running until I hit 8. The weather was kind of weird for the run, overcast and kind of muggy but not too hot. At one point, I thought I smelled rain in the air but nothing ever happened. Boo, that would have felt great.

I stayed in lane 7 the entire time, my Garmin disagrees.

I also got to see a prodigy in the making. This family came to the track to have the little boy ride his big wheel. He was having some problems steering. However the scene stealer was his towheaded, little sister. They brought her a tricycle but she didn’t need it. She ran laps around the track, barefoot. He father was cutting across the grass trying to catch her. She was all of 3 years old and so cute. She thought it was all a great game to her. If she keeps running, I’m betting she’s gonna be fast. 🙂

After stretching out some, I tried messing around with a self timer app that I downloaded. Haha, umm no. I was either out of the shot or looked like I was tripping instead of running. I also determined that the new belt is a no-go. While the pouch didn’t move or bounce, the belt refused to stay put. Granted I wear my belts super low. So low, a woman in the SLO half grabbed my shoulder at mile 2 to tell me it was falling off. Nah, that’s normal. I could do without the bubble butt effect but it works for me. This Nike belt will not, so it’s going back.

Do you see how low that is? — Do you see how low that Flipbelt is?

My run felt good. It was a little harder than I would have liked but considering I had to talk myself into getting out there, I was ok with that. I tried to rationalize another weekend of shorter runs but even with my revived Slacker-ness, I knew that was a bad idea. But I admit I was glad when I was done. Then it was time for a quick shower before heading out to dinner with the family. Olive Garden, yummy.

Ever run into any running phenoms?

Any suggestions for a wacky Garmin?

How do you carry your gear?