Chickamauga Training: Week 2 Recap

Monday, July 18
Plan: Rest or cross train
Actual: Rest

After I got back in town Sunday afternoon I headed straight to my office to prepare for an off-campus presentation Monday morning. It would have required me to stay late to get all of this stuff done on Friday afternoon and I did NOT have it in me after a busy and mentally draining week. Ended up being a good call b/c I was at my office for nearly 2 hours...

That being said, I was not in the mood to grocery shop, etc Sunday night so I took Monday after work to go get a much needed manicure, cook a nice dinner with Matt and go grocery shopping (Whole Foods and Publix so it took a bit of time)

Tuesday, July 19
Plan: 3 miles + boot camp
Actual: 2.4 miles + bootcamp

I actually debated on skipping bootcamp tonight and just running. Not b/c I was feeling lazy or unmotivated or sore but because I have a HORRIBLE nasty case of poison ivy that has taken up residence on the inside of my right arm. It seriously grosses me out to look at it and while I try to keep the two larger spots covered with bandages during the day, it's still covering most of my inner arm. I have taken to wearing cardigans and blazers at work despite the 90+ degree weather so as not to gross out all of my coworkers and I was worried about grossing out all of the other people in the class.

I hemmed and hawed trying to make my decision and finally decided to just suck it up and not worry about it (too much). I put on a few bandaids and headed out to class. There was a photographer taking pics of us working out for nearly the entire class so I'm sure there are some unflattering photos of me that I will be able to share at some point. Not sure if the photog was just for the website or for the news or what, so we'll see!

Wednesday, July 20
Plan: 5 miles
Actual: 32 min tempo + 1 mile walk w/Matt and dogs

I ended up having to stay at work until about 6:15, so I was really in no mood to set out for 5 miles in thick humidity...plus, I was already really hungry. I ended up changing at work and driving to the gym to do my tempo run. I have not run on a treadmill in months(?) but I wanted to dial in on my pace and knew this was the best way to do it. Unfortunately I had nothing to snack on except for 2 Gu chomps left over from my Saturday experiment and since I am a glutton for punishment, I ate them on my drive over. My stomach was NOT happy with me later so I think I need to stop trying these and expecting to get a different result. Insanity anyone?

The run was tough but I felt refreshed when I was done. Went home, ate a quick "summery" salad and took the dogs out. A major storm was brewing though so we were chased inside after a 1 mile loop.

Thursday, July 21
Plan: 30 min tempo + yoga
Actual: 4.5 miles + 2 mile walk w/Matt + dogs

Unfortunately another week of missed yoga. This time yoga was cancelled b/c it had rained nearly all day long and the ground was soggy (this is an outdoor class on the Railroad Park green) and there was also a huge threat of rain/storms that was supposed to roll in right around 6:00. I checked the radar and thought that I was going to be forced inside because I ended up having to stay fairly late at work again and thought I had no prayer of getting this done. I had actually planned to do my run in the morning but I woke up to heavy rain and did not feel like revisiting the treadmill twice in 12 hours so I opted for the extra sleep knowing that yoga was likely getting cancelled and I could make up the run in the evening.

I actually headed over to RR park to do this run because there is a .80 mile loop on the edge of the park (part paved, part cushy track-like surface) and it's A. in a corridor where I would be able to see major weather headed our way and B. it's a loop so I would never be too far from my car/shelter in case things got ugly. No worse feeling than being stuck alone at the oppostie end of a trail and the weather turns south.

It was oppressively humid (97+%) with ZERO wind. I ended up allowing myself to walk 1 minute at the end of every mile because I was so uncomfortable. I was running in the low-mid 10s for most of this run so I suppose I could have slowed down but actually going slower was worse b/c it just reminded you of how hot and stagnant the air really was. I swear I'm not trying to bitch about this weather excessively but it's a bit frustrating b/c I feel like I am more capable than my paces and efforts are showing. I KNOW I'm in better shape than this time last year and I know that everything will catch up in the long run but it's a bit disappointing in the interim.

The park was sponsoring "Relax By the Tracks" last night so everytime I would loop near the pavilion area I was treated to a pleasant acoustic guitar/vocal performace by a local artist. He was pretty good and it was a nice treat to see what he was doing each time I looped around. Also saw a girl from marketing and one of the SOM deans out walking while I was there...there is always plenty of traffic in the park but I am glad to see others that I know enjoying it as well.

In case you haven't noticed, this is also the 2nd run that's been cut slightly short this week and I kind of cringe admitting it. This night I just DID NOT have it in me to go any further. Sure, I could have walked the remaining .5 (and I ended up walking 2 more miles once I got home) but that's not the point of a RUN and besides, I was DONE.

And in the TMI department...holy chaffeage, Batman! I knew I was sweating while I was running but when I got home and out of my car I realized that my shorts were so wet it was as if I had peed my pants (I DID NOT). Before we took the dogs out I commented about this and thought about changing my shorts but I thought "Ugh...I don't want to add to the laundry" so I just went with it. Yeah. BIG mistake. Rookie mistake. I should have known better and let's just say, I will NOT be making that mistake again!

Friday, July 22

Plan: Rest

Actual: Rest

Mentally and physically ready for a rest day especially given the aftermath of last night's walk.

Saturday, July 23

Plan: 9 miles

Actual: 9 miles + 1.8 mile walk w/Matt and dogs

I don't know why but I was really dreading this run. To the point where I thought I heard it raining when the alarm went off this morning and almost didn't even bother to get up and check. However, I did not want this hanging over my head so I got up and went outside to find it NOT raining, just foggy/overcast and HUMID (95+% humidity). Not wanting to waste a minute of overcast skies, I started getting dressed/ate breakfast and was out the door just shy of 7am.

I didn't really have a route in mind, was kind of hoping to head down 31 and avoid my neighborhood as much as possible. Ended up running to the mall and noticed that on the way down, traffic was already starting to pick up on 31. On the way back up, with traffic even thicker, I decided to run to the gym, hit the treadmill for a couple of miles and then run the 2 miles home. I didn't have my gym card with me since this was not part of the (non-existant) plan, but I knew they could just check me in. The guy asked if I needed a number for spin class...huh? Maybe it was the capris? When I got upstairs to the cardio room, I glaced in the mirror and OMG...soaked. I ate 3 sports beans at this point, drank some COLD water from the water fountain, turned on the ceiling fans and hopped on the 'mill.

Since the gym had just opened it was pretty quiet in the cardio room, save the 2 guys on bikes in front of me. I did not have headphones so I could hear their conversation loud and clear and willed myself to tune them out. I'm just as nosy as the next person but these guys were being SO negative...being racist about downtown Birmingham, being nasty about our own suburb (which I happen to like, all things considering...and they are residents of too since you have to be to be part of this gym)...nothing they had to say was positive and I didn't want that energy to impact my workout. Thankfully, I was able to focus in on the ESPN closed caption and a few more people came in which created enough machine noise to mostly drown those jerks out. Funny closed caption moment of the morning: instead of saying that XYZ player was helping his team achieve success...it said XYZ player was helping his team achieve "suck sex" I laughed out loud at that one. Yes, I am 12. :) Before I knew it, the 2 miles was up.

I was really dreading the run home but knew that the next 2 miles would be only moderately difficult and that I was on the home stretch. Plus, I really had no other option! I did wet a papertowel with ice cold water and put it on my neck just before leaving the gym though. I got home just as our contractor (and friend) was pulling in our driveway to do some work on our gutters. He was asking me questions about my training, showing genuine interest, which was really nice considering that he is a non-runner. I tried to keep my answers pretty simple and not scare him off. Although he swears he will "never" do something like the marathon, this is the 2nd time in a row he's seen me and asked about running so maybe there is a seed being planted there!

Post-run glow...you can see the papertowel still on my neck!

Also, I have to brag on Matt for a second. I was in the shower post-run thinking about how I was hungry and wondering what I was going to do to get some protein...Organic Harvest shake? Chocolate milk? Matt came in and told me he was making me a tomato and feta omlette. I had not verbalized any of the above, but it's like he read my mind. What a sweetie...and it was DELICIOUS!

For the record:

Pre-run fuel: 1/2 of a honey wheat bagel with nutella, approx. 6 oz of water

During the run: 20 oz of water/gatorade mix in my handheld plus maybe 12 oz of water (directly from the water fountain and added to my handheld before leaving the gym). Maybe another 8 oz of straight gatorade gulped when I got home. 3 sports beans (fruit punch flavor)

Wore: UnderArmour heat gear capris, Nike dry fit tank, Wigwam Ironman socks, pink Mizuno wave nirvanas, UnderArmour headband.

Accessories: Nathan handheld, Garmin

In the late afternoon we walked down to the lake, fed the ducks and did a couple more laps, per Matt's request. We know I can't say no to this and actually would have walked longer but it started to rain and we had to make a mad dash back to the house.


Sunday, July 24
Plan: Cross train (choice)
Actual: Rest

Unless you count napping on the couch and going grocery shopping as cross training ;) Seriously though, it was SO HOT and the weather kept vascillating between sunny and "the skies are going to open at any second" cloudy. I was hoping to get in a walk with the dogs before True Blood but it didn't happen and I'm not going to beat myself up about it. I'm feeling stressed about some things at work right now and my body apparently needed/wanted the break.

Overall thoughts:
My attitude wasn't bad but it was less than stellar. I need to stop the negative talk about the heat and humidity and just deal with it, but it's hard. However, I live in the south and will do what the training requires and keep in mind that when fall rolls around this effort WILL pay off and is making me stronger in the meantime :)