I am really getting the itch to race. It has been WAY too long since my last formal race for my liking. I had hoped to identify some half marathons that might be close (and cheap) to work into this training cycle, but it has definitely not worked out that way, unfortunately.
Vulcan Run 10K in 2 weeks and the marathon the week after that. Training has been going well and Yassos indicate that I am certainly stronger than the last time around. But who knows. 26.2 miles is a long way.
I am really excited to see what Vulcan bring pace-wise, but it's also the week before Chickamauga so not necessarily the time to go all out either.
In the meantime, 20 miler on deck for this weekend. I am excited not to be injured this time around (achilles tendonitis), but admittedly mildly dreading spending 4 hours alone with my thoughts. I wish I had more running buddies! But Amy and I meeting tonight for 5-6 miles and I am super excited and grateful for that!
Friday, October 21, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Chickamauga Training Recap: Week #14
This felt like a really "off" week for me. I had a hard time getting my motivation going and felt residual leg fatigue from my long run (not quite 18 miles) last Sunday. I think it's probably time for a massage sooner rather than later.
Monday, October 10
Plan: Rest
Actual: Rest
Tuesday, October 11
Plan: 3 miles + boot camp
Actual: Rest
It was rainy and gross all day (including when I left for work) which meant bootcamp was canceled and I was not really feeling an outdoor run. I was starving as I left work so I told myself I would allow myself to go home, eat and digest before hitting up the gym. Except...I never made it to the gym. Not exactly sure what happened, but asi es la vida.
Wednesday, October 12
Plan: 45 minute tempo
Actual: 50 minute tempo
For runs like this, I always hit the 'mill so I can push myself/keep my "prescribed" paces honest. In this case, the tempo section is supposed to be run around 10K pace. Well, I don't have a really recent 10K time, so for my tempos I have been taking my PR 10K pace and subtracting 15 seconds/mile. I would like to think that my 10K time is improving, but who knows? (I'll find out in a couple of weeks)
I run the 1st 10 minutes at a warm up pace and then start cranking an additional .1mph every 60-90 seconds until I reach tempo pace. Hold tempo pace until 15 minutes left in the run. Crank down .1mph until I reach warm up (cool down) pace and stop. I ended up going longer this time because I wanted to reach a "round" number so I extended both the tempo and c/d sections by a couple of minutes each.
This was a really rough and challenging run. My legs never felt like they got in the groove and my breathing was a bit labored at times (but it was mostly just my legs). It was kind of discouraging, but you take the good with the bad and move on.
Thursday, October 13
Plan: 5 miles
Actual: 4.25
I was hoping Amy would be able to join me for our Mountain Brook loop again but she had dinner plans, so I was flying solo. When we ran this loop last week we totally ran out of daylight so I was hoping to hit the trail a few minutes earlier. Well, despite the best of intentions/effort, I ended up at the trail the same time and knew I didn't want to race daylight alone (especially since we got stuck in the pitch black at the end of our last run), so I opted for the out and back route that we used to do almost every Sunday. I needed every singly second of daylight I had to complete this mileage and though I wanted more, I didn't have a safe way to add in anything else.
Friday, October 14
Plan: Rest
Actual: Rest/Travel
I wasn't thrilled about taking yet another rest day this week, but I had a super early morning taking the dogs to the vet and then my aunt Paula was in Birmingham getting her car serviced so she offered to drive me down to Auburn for the football game (and I could ride back to B'ham w/Matt who was already in Auburn and had worked there Friday).
It was a crazy hectic day between being up at the ass crack of dawn, working (heavy on the meetings for a Friday!), meeting my aunt, driving down, going to my cousin Jimmy's HS football game, getting stuff ready the tailgate, etc. Though I drank plenty of water, I barely ate due to all of this and ended up with an expectedly crappy run the next morning.
Saturday, October 15
Plan: 10-12 miles
Actual: 10 miles + 3 mile walk
The Auburn/Florida game was at night so I didn't have to be worried about pounding the pavement at 5am but with other things going on, I also couldn't sleep the day away. I finally peeled myself out of bed at 7:30 and was out the door by 8.
I was planning to run the same 10 mile route I ran last time I was in town, but I must have been (I was) totally zoned out when it came time to turn and just kept going straight. At one point I thought, "I really don't remember these hills" (they were pretty intense at this point) and kept looking for my turn only a few minutes later to realize that I was almost at Kinnucan's and had totally missed the turn long ago.
My pace wasn't really off or anything, but I wasn't properly fueled and felt zapped even as I did power through hills. It was also much warmer than expected and was glad I had opted for a tank (last minute decision) but wished I had opted for my running skirt (also a last minute decision NOT to wear that). I tried to get myself into a rhythm of taking a 1 minute walk break every 2 miles but sometimes I would be on a nice downhill (I didn't want to waste that!), so I would just keep running until I hit an incline. I also had to stop a couple of times to adjust my ponytail since it kept falling out. I had no idea of the running club's route this morning so I was totally on my own for fueling, and I was rationing my water/gatorade mix (22oz) like it was my job.
Also toward the beginning of my run, I encountered another runner coming up a hill (moving from a run to a walk) and she looked exhausted and a little bit anxious. As soon as she got within shouting distance she asked me how close a certain cross street was. It was about half a mile away at that point and I told her so, but poor thing she said "Are you sure? It's not like 5 more miles or anything?" I could tell she was so desperate to just be done and hypothesized that she was visiting a friend in the area and had "gone out for a run" and gotten lost and/or wrongly estimated her distance. I felt so bad and thought maybe I should turn around and run her to her destination or offer her water or *something*. I didn't and still kind of regret it even now.
For the record:
Pre-run fuel: pack of keebler wheat and cheese crackers (I forgot my own food and scrounged around for something that sounded even halfway appealing), water
During the run: 22oz of water/Gatorade mix (arctic freeze) and a couple of Honey Stinger chews (orange) at no particular interval
Wore: UnderArmour capris (again), Auburn tech tank, WigWam Ironman socks, blue Mizuno Wave Nirvana 7s, UnderArmour head band
Accessories: Garmin, Nathan handheld water bottle, Nathan shadowpack (waist belt)
The walking was the parking at Kinnucan's and then trekking to and from the stadium (not even counting the additional walking around campus) At least this time I didn't get a blister!
Sunday, October 16
Plan: Cross (choice)
Actual: Walk (distance??)
I took my aunt's dog for a couple of loops through her neighborhood. I had hoped that Matt and I would take the girls for a walk once back in B'ham but we ended up barely even making it to the vet by pick up time. We were well on the way back to the Ham when Matt realized he'd left his work laptop at this friend's house so we had to turn around and retrace our steps. It cost us at least an hour of driving time and by the time we got home it was almost dark.
Monday, October 10
Plan: Rest
Actual: Rest
Tuesday, October 11
Plan: 3 miles + boot camp
Actual: Rest
It was rainy and gross all day (including when I left for work) which meant bootcamp was canceled and I was not really feeling an outdoor run. I was starving as I left work so I told myself I would allow myself to go home, eat and digest before hitting up the gym. Except...I never made it to the gym. Not exactly sure what happened, but asi es la vida.
Wednesday, October 12
Plan: 45 minute tempo
Actual: 50 minute tempo
For runs like this, I always hit the 'mill so I can push myself/keep my "prescribed" paces honest. In this case, the tempo section is supposed to be run around 10K pace. Well, I don't have a really recent 10K time, so for my tempos I have been taking my PR 10K pace and subtracting 15 seconds/mile. I would like to think that my 10K time is improving, but who knows? (I'll find out in a couple of weeks)
I run the 1st 10 minutes at a warm up pace and then start cranking an additional .1mph every 60-90 seconds until I reach tempo pace. Hold tempo pace until 15 minutes left in the run. Crank down .1mph until I reach warm up (cool down) pace and stop. I ended up going longer this time because I wanted to reach a "round" number so I extended both the tempo and c/d sections by a couple of minutes each.
This was a really rough and challenging run. My legs never felt like they got in the groove and my breathing was a bit labored at times (but it was mostly just my legs). It was kind of discouraging, but you take the good with the bad and move on.
Thursday, October 13
Plan: 5 miles
Actual: 4.25
I was hoping Amy would be able to join me for our Mountain Brook loop again but she had dinner plans, so I was flying solo. When we ran this loop last week we totally ran out of daylight so I was hoping to hit the trail a few minutes earlier. Well, despite the best of intentions/effort, I ended up at the trail the same time and knew I didn't want to race daylight alone (especially since we got stuck in the pitch black at the end of our last run), so I opted for the out and back route that we used to do almost every Sunday. I needed every singly second of daylight I had to complete this mileage and though I wanted more, I didn't have a safe way to add in anything else.
Friday, October 14
Plan: Rest
Actual: Rest/Travel
I wasn't thrilled about taking yet another rest day this week, but I had a super early morning taking the dogs to the vet and then my aunt Paula was in Birmingham getting her car serviced so she offered to drive me down to Auburn for the football game (and I could ride back to B'ham w/Matt who was already in Auburn and had worked there Friday).
It was a crazy hectic day between being up at the ass crack of dawn, working (heavy on the meetings for a Friday!), meeting my aunt, driving down, going to my cousin Jimmy's HS football game, getting stuff ready the tailgate, etc. Though I drank plenty of water, I barely ate due to all of this and ended up with an expectedly crappy run the next morning.
Saturday, October 15
Plan: 10-12 miles
Actual: 10 miles + 3 mile walk
The Auburn/Florida game was at night so I didn't have to be worried about pounding the pavement at 5am but with other things going on, I also couldn't sleep the day away. I finally peeled myself out of bed at 7:30 and was out the door by 8.
I was planning to run the same 10 mile route I ran last time I was in town, but I must have been (I was) totally zoned out when it came time to turn and just kept going straight. At one point I thought, "I really don't remember these hills" (they were pretty intense at this point) and kept looking for my turn only a few minutes later to realize that I was almost at Kinnucan's and had totally missed the turn long ago.
My pace wasn't really off or anything, but I wasn't properly fueled and felt zapped even as I did power through hills. It was also much warmer than expected and was glad I had opted for a tank (last minute decision) but wished I had opted for my running skirt (also a last minute decision NOT to wear that). I tried to get myself into a rhythm of taking a 1 minute walk break every 2 miles but sometimes I would be on a nice downhill (I didn't want to waste that!), so I would just keep running until I hit an incline. I also had to stop a couple of times to adjust my ponytail since it kept falling out. I had no idea of the running club's route this morning so I was totally on my own for fueling, and I was rationing my water/gatorade mix (22oz) like it was my job.
Also toward the beginning of my run, I encountered another runner coming up a hill (moving from a run to a walk) and she looked exhausted and a little bit anxious. As soon as she got within shouting distance she asked me how close a certain cross street was. It was about half a mile away at that point and I told her so, but poor thing she said "Are you sure? It's not like 5 more miles or anything?" I could tell she was so desperate to just be done and hypothesized that she was visiting a friend in the area and had "gone out for a run" and gotten lost and/or wrongly estimated her distance. I felt so bad and thought maybe I should turn around and run her to her destination or offer her water or *something*. I didn't and still kind of regret it even now.
For the record:
Pre-run fuel: pack of keebler wheat and cheese crackers (I forgot my own food and scrounged around for something that sounded even halfway appealing), water
During the run: 22oz of water/Gatorade mix (arctic freeze) and a couple of Honey Stinger chews (orange) at no particular interval
Wore: UnderArmour capris (again), Auburn tech tank, WigWam Ironman socks, blue Mizuno Wave Nirvana 7s, UnderArmour head band
Accessories: Garmin, Nathan handheld water bottle, Nathan shadowpack (waist belt)
The walking was the parking at Kinnucan's and then trekking to and from the stadium (not even counting the additional walking around campus) At least this time I didn't get a blister!
Sunday, October 16
Plan: Cross (choice)
Actual: Walk (distance??)
I took my aunt's dog for a couple of loops through her neighborhood. I had hoped that Matt and I would take the girls for a walk once back in B'ham but we ended up barely even making it to the vet by pick up time. We were well on the way back to the Ham when Matt realized he'd left his work laptop at this friend's house so we had to turn around and retrace our steps. It cost us at least an hour of driving time and by the time we got home it was almost dark.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Chickamauga Training Recap: Week ???
Seriously? What week is it? I feel so disoriented coming back from work travel, vacation, etc etc. No better way then to jump right back in...right? (This week was developed before I went out of town, so I am going to write it as previously planned; obviously there was quite a bit of variance!)
Monday, September 26
Plan: Rest (travel back to the United States)
Actual: 6.2 plus tons of walking
This was our last day in Argentina with an overnight flight back to the states. I wasn't sure what we would end up doing given that it was the last day of our vacation. However, I had learned of an opportunity to get a solo guided tour of part of Buenos Aires through Urban Running Tours and HAD to take the opportunity. I woke up really sick and wanted to cancel, but as always, was glad to get out there. Read more about my experience here
Tuesday, September 27
Plan: 5
Actual: Rest
In theory, it would be great to "shake my legs out" after a long flight, but in actuality after getting home at 11:00 a.m., I needed to focus on cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping and picking up the dogs out of town. Plus, I was a sneezing and snotty mess. Getting in the 10K+ the day before made this an easy decision.
Wednesday, September 28
Plan: 4-6
Actual: 4.5
Welcome back to reality! Back to work today and everything that goes with it. My stuffy/runny nose, sore throat and headache (new symptom today!) were in full force, but I told myself that I just needed to get back into a routine. I hit up my favorite trail after work and found a new "off shoot" that could help extend distance a tad without getting too far off track. After being out so long, I left work late, thus getting to to the trail late and squeezed every.last.bit of daylight out of this run.
Afterwards, my head (sinuses?) felt so tight and I felt awful. I got home, showered, ate dinner (sitting in bed, I'm sorry to admit) and passed out by 8:30. I am a night owl. I do not do things like this! But seriously, I could not hold my eyes open and my head was pounding.
Thursday, September 29
Plan: 7 x 800
Actual: Rest
I woke up feeling just as bad as when I went to bed. But after being out for so long and a full meeting schedule, I didn't feel right about calling in sick. I wasn't sure if I had a migraine or a sinus infection, so decided to treat with nasal spray and OTC migraine meds! (nice compromise?) At the end of the day, I think it was a migraine, as the headache went away and the sniffles remained. There was obviously no need to push the issue, so I opted for rest and was in bed early again!
Friday, September 30
Plan: Rest
Actual: 7 x 800 (with w/u, c/d and 400 recoveries)
I was able to leave work a tad early (around 4:40) and hit the gym to get in this speed session. Matt and I had plans to go stuff ourselves at the local Greek Festival (annual tradition for us as long as we have been together) and I knew getting to the gym even a little early would help with timing. I was also hoping that with high school football I would have the gym pretty well to myself and really, it was just me and the regulars.
This workout ROCKED and seemed to fly by. Pretty nice to knock out nearly 6 miles after work and feel great afterwards. I have to confess that I had to leave the treadmill after the 1st 800 to apply body glide though! I love my Nike running skirt but I'm not sure if the compression shorts have stretched or I have lost weight (a little of both, I think) but the shorts were NOT staying in place and I knew I was in for some serious chaffeage if I did not remedy the situation. The really horrible thing though, I was too lazy to go downstairs to the bathroom so I ducked into the lesser used stairwell and prayed that no one would come in. Luckily...Success!
Saturday, October 1
Plan: Cross (choice)
Actual: Yoga (60 min)
Hit up the gym for the Saturday morning class. The class was great, but my hips were tighter than I realized. I wasn't having any pain, but some poses that are usually pretty accessible to me were NOT SO MUCH this particular morning. I've pretty much made the decision to attend this class again next week and shift the long run to Sunday so I can get in this (obviously) much needed component into my routine.
Sunday, October 2
Plan: 15
Actual: 15 (maybe a bit more)
I kept meaning to text Amy on Saturday to see if she would be willing to join me for some miles Sunday, but I was being kind of lazy and never got around to it. Anyway, when I woke up I knew I was in no mood to run my neighborhood or anything even remotely similar. After hitting snooze a few times, I finally got up and decided to drive out to the Lakeshore greenway...run 2 loops of this and finish with the Jemison/Mountain Brook 5 mile loop (actually 5.35 miles) that Amy introduced me to a few weeks ago (the greenway and Jemison trails loosely connect...more about that later)
It was a wonderfully chilly start (53 degrees) and being in s/s and capris, my arms were a bit frozen for the first mile or so. I say "or so" because I made a completely rookie mistake and forgot to charge my Garmin on Saturday. Of course, when I turned it on it beeped "low battery" at me and it was a complete paperweight within 2 minutes of starting my run!
This is part blessing and part "curse" because I only had a rough estimate of total distance and no clue on pace. I know the green way loop is somewhere between 5.25 and 5.5 miles but not sure and the connect points between the trails? No clue. Not to mention, I had no way to gauge intermediate distances (miles) since I was also running sans music and phone (phone was in the car, fuel belt at home so no way to carry it either). Sooo...I decided to run solely based on feel and to take walk/fuel breaks at predetermined land marks. (I had decided to test a new fuel and fueling strategy before the Garmin debacle)
I could tell I was pushing the pace (but feeling great) and when I arrived at my car after loop #1 to see I had finished in 55 minutes, I confirmed my suspicions. After the second loop I made the executive decision to drive (~1 minute) to the next trail head since traffic was starting to pick up (since I got started later than intended) and because I was not in the mood to add the mileage (out and back probably a little more than a mile).
The sun was out full force by now, but it still felt incredible outside and my legs and breathing were holding up really well. My nose was still a bit runny but it didn't affect my overall run. I ran into my former big boss with about 2 miles left and was glad I was still clipping along and feeling strong. By the end, I was actually kind of sad it was over. My body and more importantly, my MIND, had a lot left to give this particular morning and after A. dreading this run and B. not running particularly long in several weeks, it made me feel a lot better about the rest of the training and even potentially race itself. I even felt great all afternoon...was quite productive, never needed a nap and barely sore the next day.
For the record:
Pre-run fuel: One and half "mini" bagels with PB, 8oz of water
During the run: 24oz or so of water/Powerade mix, plus a few sips of straight Powerade before the last segment of the run (fruit punch); About 6 or 7 honey stinger chews (cherry) total (1-2 at various intervals/walk breaks). I REALLY liked these. Good flavor, not too "sticky", easy to chew and most importantly, no stomach issues! We may have a race day winner! The sports beans aren't bad, I'm just really tired of them
Wore: UnderArmour capris, Auburn tech tee, WigWam Ironman socks, blue Mizuno Wave Nirvana 7s
Accessories: paperweight Garmin (no I never took it off) and Nathan handheld
Overall thoughts for the week:
I am really super happy with this week. I was able to bounce back nicely into my routine despite being under the weather pretty much all week and was still able to incorporate yoga AND rest without feeling guilty that I wasn't doing "enough".
Monday, September 26
Plan: Rest (travel back to the United States)
Actual: 6.2 plus tons of walking
This was our last day in Argentina with an overnight flight back to the states. I wasn't sure what we would end up doing given that it was the last day of our vacation. However, I had learned of an opportunity to get a solo guided tour of part of Buenos Aires through Urban Running Tours and HAD to take the opportunity. I woke up really sick and wanted to cancel, but as always, was glad to get out there. Read more about my experience here
Tuesday, September 27
Plan: 5
Actual: Rest
In theory, it would be great to "shake my legs out" after a long flight, but in actuality after getting home at 11:00 a.m., I needed to focus on cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping and picking up the dogs out of town. Plus, I was a sneezing and snotty mess. Getting in the 10K+ the day before made this an easy decision.
Wednesday, September 28
Plan: 4-6
Actual: 4.5
Welcome back to reality! Back to work today and everything that goes with it. My stuffy/runny nose, sore throat and headache (new symptom today!) were in full force, but I told myself that I just needed to get back into a routine. I hit up my favorite trail after work and found a new "off shoot" that could help extend distance a tad without getting too far off track. After being out so long, I left work late, thus getting to to the trail late and squeezed every.last.bit of daylight out of this run.
Afterwards, my head (sinuses?) felt so tight and I felt awful. I got home, showered, ate dinner (sitting in bed, I'm sorry to admit) and passed out by 8:30. I am a night owl. I do not do things like this! But seriously, I could not hold my eyes open and my head was pounding.
Thursday, September 29
Plan: 7 x 800
Actual: Rest
I woke up feeling just as bad as when I went to bed. But after being out for so long and a full meeting schedule, I didn't feel right about calling in sick. I wasn't sure if I had a migraine or a sinus infection, so decided to treat with nasal spray and OTC migraine meds! (nice compromise?) At the end of the day, I think it was a migraine, as the headache went away and the sniffles remained. There was obviously no need to push the issue, so I opted for rest and was in bed early again!
Friday, September 30
Plan: Rest
Actual: 7 x 800 (with w/u, c/d and 400 recoveries)
I was able to leave work a tad early (around 4:40) and hit the gym to get in this speed session. Matt and I had plans to go stuff ourselves at the local Greek Festival (annual tradition for us as long as we have been together) and I knew getting to the gym even a little early would help with timing. I was also hoping that with high school football I would have the gym pretty well to myself and really, it was just me and the regulars.
This workout ROCKED and seemed to fly by. Pretty nice to knock out nearly 6 miles after work and feel great afterwards. I have to confess that I had to leave the treadmill after the 1st 800 to apply body glide though! I love my Nike running skirt but I'm not sure if the compression shorts have stretched or I have lost weight (a little of both, I think) but the shorts were NOT staying in place and I knew I was in for some serious chaffeage if I did not remedy the situation. The really horrible thing though, I was too lazy to go downstairs to the bathroom so I ducked into the lesser used stairwell and prayed that no one would come in. Luckily...Success!
Saturday, October 1
Plan: Cross (choice)
Actual: Yoga (60 min)
Hit up the gym for the Saturday morning class. The class was great, but my hips were tighter than I realized. I wasn't having any pain, but some poses that are usually pretty accessible to me were NOT SO MUCH this particular morning. I've pretty much made the decision to attend this class again next week and shift the long run to Sunday so I can get in this (obviously) much needed component into my routine.
Sunday, October 2
Plan: 15
Actual: 15 (maybe a bit more)
I kept meaning to text Amy on Saturday to see if she would be willing to join me for some miles Sunday, but I was being kind of lazy and never got around to it. Anyway, when I woke up I knew I was in no mood to run my neighborhood or anything even remotely similar. After hitting snooze a few times, I finally got up and decided to drive out to the Lakeshore greenway...run 2 loops of this and finish with the Jemison/Mountain Brook 5 mile loop (actually 5.35 miles) that Amy introduced me to a few weeks ago (the greenway and Jemison trails loosely connect...more about that later)
It was a wonderfully chilly start (53 degrees) and being in s/s and capris, my arms were a bit frozen for the first mile or so. I say "or so" because I made a completely rookie mistake and forgot to charge my Garmin on Saturday. Of course, when I turned it on it beeped "low battery" at me and it was a complete paperweight within 2 minutes of starting my run!
This is part blessing and part "curse" because I only had a rough estimate of total distance and no clue on pace. I know the green way loop is somewhere between 5.25 and 5.5 miles but not sure and the connect points between the trails? No clue. Not to mention, I had no way to gauge intermediate distances (miles) since I was also running sans music and phone (phone was in the car, fuel belt at home so no way to carry it either). Sooo...I decided to run solely based on feel and to take walk/fuel breaks at predetermined land marks. (I had decided to test a new fuel and fueling strategy before the Garmin debacle)
I could tell I was pushing the pace (but feeling great) and when I arrived at my car after loop #1 to see I had finished in 55 minutes, I confirmed my suspicions. After the second loop I made the executive decision to drive (~1 minute) to the next trail head since traffic was starting to pick up (since I got started later than intended) and because I was not in the mood to add the mileage (out and back probably a little more than a mile).
The sun was out full force by now, but it still felt incredible outside and my legs and breathing were holding up really well. My nose was still a bit runny but it didn't affect my overall run. I ran into my former big boss with about 2 miles left and was glad I was still clipping along and feeling strong. By the end, I was actually kind of sad it was over. My body and more importantly, my MIND, had a lot left to give this particular morning and after A. dreading this run and B. not running particularly long in several weeks, it made me feel a lot better about the rest of the training and even potentially race itself. I even felt great all afternoon...was quite productive, never needed a nap and barely sore the next day.
For the record:
Pre-run fuel: One and half "mini" bagels with PB, 8oz of water
During the run: 24oz or so of water/Powerade mix, plus a few sips of straight Powerade before the last segment of the run (fruit punch); About 6 or 7 honey stinger chews (cherry) total (1-2 at various intervals/walk breaks). I REALLY liked these. Good flavor, not too "sticky", easy to chew and most importantly, no stomach issues! We may have a race day winner! The sports beans aren't bad, I'm just really tired of them
Wore: UnderArmour capris, Auburn tech tee, WigWam Ironman socks, blue Mizuno Wave Nirvana 7s
Accessories: paperweight Garmin (no I never took it off) and Nathan handheld
Overall thoughts for the week:
I am really super happy with this week. I was able to bounce back nicely into my routine despite being under the weather pretty much all week and was still able to incorporate yoga AND rest without feeling guilty that I wasn't doing "enough".
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Urban Running Tours: Buenos Aires
You know you're a runner when...
One of your activities on vacation is signing up for a guided running tour.
Seriously :)
This actually came about completely by accident, as I was searching for Buenos Aires running clubs, running spots, etc. Our Argentina trip was "bookended" by stays in Buenos Aires and since our flight back to the states did not leave until 9:30pm on Monday, Sept. 26, I knew we would have quite a bit of time to kill that day.
Enter Urban Running Tours This company offers personalized, guided running tours (in English or Spanish) at any pace through your choice of Buenos Aires neighborhoods. For $50 (standard tour), you get a 10K guided run of your choice (at whatever time you want), tech shirt (sorry no pic--it's in the laundry), bottled water (carried by your guide), and photos taken at various spots around the route (actually when/wherever you want). Considering that I would normally pay $35-$40 for a 10K around Birmingham, I considered this to be a comparable experience. Plus...a personal guided tour of Buenos Aires too :)
Before we left, I arranged everything easily through email and chose an 8:30 a.m. start. Backing up for just a second though...on the flight back from Patagonia Sunday afternoon, I started sneezing and noticing that my throat was feeling scratchy. I could tell I was coming down with something. Upon arriving in Buenos Aires that night, I started drinking OJ like it was my job, supplementing with cold meds and cough drops. When I woke up Monday morning, I felt like DEATH. Awful congestion, a general sense of lethargy and stupor and just completely drained. However, I really had no way to cancel the run at this point, so I decided to roll with it and take it easy as needed throughout the run. It's MY tour, right?
My guide, Phillipa, a really nice girl originally from South Africa, was waiting for me promptly in the lobby of our hotel at 8:30. After brief intros, she explained our general route (Recoleta--the neighborhood we were staying in, as well as Palermo Chico and Palermo Lakes, per my previous requests in the email with the company owner.) I warned her that I was congested and not feeling 100% up to par and she was INCREDIBLY accomodating and never once made me feel uncomfortable (luckily she was also carrying tissues!)
Our route encompassed SO MUCH and since we had stayed in Recoleta the first leg of our trip, I at least had some general bearings about where we were going. We ran through the Recoleta business/shopping district (Avenida Santa Fe), through several residental areas, past and through various plazas and parks, the Recoleta cemetary where Evita (and several other noted Argentinians) are buried, etc. Like any running partner, Phillipa gave me not only a guided tour, but we also talked about our backgrounds, upcoming races, current events, travel, etc.
It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky but starting to get warm and I had that awful "I'm getting sick" sweat going on--you know the one that feels especially "thick" and salty? Ugh. I must have looked even worse than I felt because Phillipa did ask if we needed to stop and get me something else to drink. Haha!
I have no idea of pace, we ran I would say 90% of the 10K at a pretty good clip, but there were times when my nose was simply a faucet and I HAD to walk just to get it under control. I kept apologizing telling her "I promise I am a real runner!" to which she reassured me that I was doing much better than she would be and that we could walk at any time! (My Type A is apparent in any country, I guess, but it was frustrating b/c other than my nose and throat I felt pretty great and was wishing for a better run under better circumstances) I only had her take a couple of pics mostly b/c I was feeling like crap and didn't want to keep stopping but I don't regret it b/c I took away so much from the experience and am so glad I got to do it.
All in all, a really great experience that I would recommend to anyone visiting Buenos Aires. (And what a great business model for expanding into other cities! This is the "Business Development" part of me thinking out loud...)
I was not compensated in ANY way for this review...I paid for the tour with my own $$. All opinions are my own, I Just want others to know about my experience.
One of your activities on vacation is signing up for a guided running tour.
Seriously :)
This actually came about completely by accident, as I was searching for Buenos Aires running clubs, running spots, etc. Our Argentina trip was "bookended" by stays in Buenos Aires and since our flight back to the states did not leave until 9:30pm on Monday, Sept. 26, I knew we would have quite a bit of time to kill that day.
Enter Urban Running Tours This company offers personalized, guided running tours (in English or Spanish) at any pace through your choice of Buenos Aires neighborhoods. For $50 (standard tour), you get a 10K guided run of your choice (at whatever time you want), tech shirt (sorry no pic--it's in the laundry), bottled water (carried by your guide), and photos taken at various spots around the route (actually when/wherever you want). Considering that I would normally pay $35-$40 for a 10K around Birmingham, I considered this to be a comparable experience. Plus...a personal guided tour of Buenos Aires too :)
Before we left, I arranged everything easily through email and chose an 8:30 a.m. start. Backing up for just a second though...on the flight back from Patagonia Sunday afternoon, I started sneezing and noticing that my throat was feeling scratchy. I could tell I was coming down with something. Upon arriving in Buenos Aires that night, I started drinking OJ like it was my job, supplementing with cold meds and cough drops. When I woke up Monday morning, I felt like DEATH. Awful congestion, a general sense of lethargy and stupor and just completely drained. However, I really had no way to cancel the run at this point, so I decided to roll with it and take it easy as needed throughout the run. It's MY tour, right?
My guide, Phillipa, a really nice girl originally from South Africa, was waiting for me promptly in the lobby of our hotel at 8:30. After brief intros, she explained our general route (Recoleta--the neighborhood we were staying in, as well as Palermo Chico and Palermo Lakes, per my previous requests in the email with the company owner.) I warned her that I was congested and not feeling 100% up to par and she was INCREDIBLY accomodating and never once made me feel uncomfortable (luckily she was also carrying tissues!)
Our route encompassed SO MUCH and since we had stayed in Recoleta the first leg of our trip, I at least had some general bearings about where we were going. We ran through the Recoleta business/shopping district (Avenida Santa Fe), through several residental areas, past and through various plazas and parks, the Recoleta cemetary where Evita (and several other noted Argentinians) are buried, etc. Like any running partner, Phillipa gave me not only a guided tour, but we also talked about our backgrounds, upcoming races, current events, travel, etc.
It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky but starting to get warm and I had that awful "I'm getting sick" sweat going on--you know the one that feels especially "thick" and salty? Ugh. I must have looked even worse than I felt because Phillipa did ask if we needed to stop and get me something else to drink. Haha!
I have no idea of pace, we ran I would say 90% of the 10K at a pretty good clip, but there were times when my nose was simply a faucet and I HAD to walk just to get it under control. I kept apologizing telling her "I promise I am a real runner!" to which she reassured me that I was doing much better than she would be and that we could walk at any time! (My Type A is apparent in any country, I guess, but it was frustrating b/c other than my nose and throat I felt pretty great and was wishing for a better run under better circumstances) I only had her take a couple of pics mostly b/c I was feeling like crap and didn't want to keep stopping but I don't regret it b/c I took away so much from the experience and am so glad I got to do it.
In front of the law school at the Universidad de Buenos Aires, the largest university in Latin America (this university is completely free of charge for EVERYONE, including foreigners)
La Flor, an aluminum sculpture designed and donated by Argentine architect, Eduardo Catalano; when operational the flower opens in the morning and closes at night
All in all, a really great experience that I would recommend to anyone visiting Buenos Aires. (And what a great business model for expanding into other cities! This is the "Business Development" part of me thinking out loud...)
I was not compensated in ANY way for this review...I paid for the tour with my own $$. All opinions are my own, I Just want others to know about my experience.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
She's alive!
Yes, I'm alive...we just got back yesterday from an 11 day vacation in beautiful Argentina :)
We enjoyed beautiful landscape, meeting friendly people and eating amazing food and wine and food and dessert and coffee and wine...did I mention food? and wine?
Hahaha, but seriously...all things in moderation, right? I guess that includes running...I "only" ran 15 miles while we were gone, but walked a TON, went horseback riding, trekked across a glacier and truly and thoroughly enjoyed myself. (By the way, I actually consider getting the 15 miles in a major success)
I promise to share more of our vacation soon. I'm back at work today, have my gym bag packed to go running after work and am slowly but surely working my way through Google Reader catching up with everyone.
Only 6 weeks until Chickamauga!
We enjoyed beautiful landscape, meeting friendly people and eating amazing food and wine and food and dessert and coffee and wine...did I mention food? and wine?
Hahaha, but seriously...all things in moderation, right? I guess that includes running...I "only" ran 15 miles while we were gone, but walked a TON, went horseback riding, trekked across a glacier and truly and thoroughly enjoyed myself. (By the way, I actually consider getting the 15 miles in a major success)
I promise to share more of our vacation soon. I'm back at work today, have my gym bag packed to go running after work and am slowly but surely working my way through Google Reader catching up with everyone.
Only 6 weeks until Chickamauga!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Chickamauga Training: Week 8 Recap
This week looks a little bit different because of college football/traveling/holiday weekend...the key is recognizing that schedule is kind of jacked up, readjusting and then rolling with it :) And yes, I know I am more than halfway through week #9 but that's the way I'm rolling this week too :)The good, the bad and the ugly of week #8...
Monday, August 29
Plan: 4 miles
Actual: Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred (Level 2) + 2.5 mile walk
It was a LONG day at work with meeting after meeting including 2 trips across campus (and back) in 5" heels. (I did not plan that well) I'm counting this because A. even with the walking I do, this is out of the norm and B. the walks to/from the meeting were NOT leisurely, and the pace had me striding out to the point where I'm pretty sure I looked like I was power walking (I was walking with men and needed to keep their pace).
After I got home, I knew I didn't feel like running...my legs/feet were sore from what I put them through at work and I was a little sore from my long run the day prior. Matt was doing his Fantasy Football draft so I popped in Jillian and decided to kick it up to level 2 (which I hadn't done in a while). Holy cow, that was tougher than I remembered! And my upper body strength is TERRIBLE.
Tuesday, August 30
Plan: Boot camp
Actual: 4 miles
I counted my Jillian video as "boot camp" for this week, so tonight was time for a run. I ended up working late again and was starving so I headed home to eat before going to the gym. Ugh. I had about 30-45 min to digest dinner before I jeopardized being able to fit in my 4 miles before the gym closed. Not to be totally TMI but I ended up burping dinner pretty much the entire run and actually threw up in my mouth a couple of times. Pretty gross. But despite that, the run didn't totally suck.
I ended up deciding to run a progression run, partly b/c I was trying to make treadmill time interesting and partly b/c I knew I needed to if I was going to get it done before closing time. I started at warm-up pace (11:30) and every 5 minutes bumped it up by .1 mph...until the last .5 when I bumped it up by .2 or .3 every 1 minute. This was out of necessity and I ended up at an 8:XX pace by the end, feeling pretty good. I'm pretty sure I'm capable of going faster than my current training paces, but I know trying to add speed AND distance can be a recipe for disaster and I'm really not trying to get myself injured. It's something to think about as I work on my half marathon plans later this fall/winter. I think there is a 2:10-2:15 half marathon to be had with some work!
It would have been really easy to blow off this workout tonight but I had no VALID reason. Marathon training is not always supposed to be comfortable and easy, and I know there will be other times that I may have to skip a workout...tonight was not comfortable but I'm so glad I got it done.
Wednesday, August 31
Plan: Yoga
Actual: 3.5 mile walk w/Matt + dogs
I was actually really looking forward to yoga tonight but traffic was JACKED on the way home, so I wasn't able to make it to the gym by the 6:00 class time. My legs/feet were feeling so sore and fatigued (and kind of have been the past few days) so I knew I couldn't try to switch the tempo run to tonight so I opted for a walk instead. Ummm...my legs cramped on more than one occasion, including once completely buckling underneath me. I know I wasn't dehydrated and I have been fueling decently (not optimally, but not terribly either) and it was at this point that I knew I needed to book my massage for tomorrow. I missed it on my recovery week due to scheduling and other things going on and my body was CLEARLY telling me I needed it!
Thursday, September 1
Plan: 40 min tempo
Actual: Rest/Sports massage
I had a nice 9:00pm massage time booked which allowed me to work late and spend some time prepping for my weekend out of town. Massage Envy will let you customize your massage and lately I have been asking for only neck/back/legs/gluts. The last massage I got was AWESOME and he spent tons of time on my gluts/IT bands. This time I had a different chick who didn't seem to be able to apply anything more than light pressure and spent like 2.5 seconds on my gluts. Any massage is better than NO massage, but I am coming to be worked on and I asked for firm/deep pressure. Yes, I know I had one of the late slots, but I usually have one of the late slots and I've never had that be an issue before. Oh well.
I ended up staying up until almost 1am working on some volunteer stuff for the Humane Society and was hoping I could roll out of bed in the morning with time to squeeze in my missed tempo run from today.
Friday, September 2
Plan: Rest
Actual: Rest
Yeah, going to bed so late did NOT agree with me and it was all I could do to get myself together to get to work and get some minimal packing done for my weekend out of town. I was luckily able to leave work around 2:45 so I could get home, throw some more stuff together and get the girls loaded for the trek to Auburn. Matt had gone down Thursday afternoon since he telecommutes and could work from his friend's house Friday during the day. I BARELY made it in time to drop the dogs off at my aunt's vet (so sad!) at 6:00 because traffic was the SUCK going down (not thick, but I couldn't get any separation b/c of multiple idiots going under the speed limit in the LEFT lane). Anyway, my aunt and I got it together and headed to my cousin's football game to watch him march. (He's a sophomore and plays snare in the band.) It's so "Friday Night Lights"...I secretly kind of loved it :)
Saturday, September 3
Plan: 7 miles
Actual: 7.1 miles + 5 miles walk
No, this is not an extreme step-down week :) It is, however, the 1st weekend of college football...it's my favorite time of the year!!! Even though I graduated from FSU, I am a huge Auburn fan. I grew up there, my dad, aunt AND Matt (as well as many, many family friends) are alumni and have spent pretty much my entire life going to games. This year, my aunt Paula ("Auntie P"), cousin (Jimmy) and I got season tickets together, so I will be going to most of the home games.
This week was an 11:00am kick off, which means leaving for the stadium between 8 and 8:30 so we can do Tiger Walk, see friends and head into the stadium before pre-game. NO WAY was I getting in a 15 mile run on that timeline!! I essentially shifted my medium-long run to Saturday and have my 15-miler slotted for Monday since it's a holiday and I'm off work.
I headed out around 5:40 a.m. and dare I say, it was actually cool outside. It was still kind of dark and I saw several other runners along my route. My plan was to run to campus, *possibly* meet up w/the running club for a few miles and then run back to my aunt's. I knew the AORTA route and passed a group of about 5 runners close to the meeting place. I knew it was them and that I wouldn't be catching up to anyone else, but it turns out it was a SLIM crowd on Saturday because there were only a couple of cars parked at the meeting spot (they usually have several dozen runners). It was actually fine, I loved running around campus so early and checking out all of the people setting up their tailgates, security getting set, etc.
At one point I heard solo footsteps behind me and I was hoping not to get passed. About a mile later, I pulled over to take a picture and realized another woman had essentially been using me as her pace bunny. Kind of funny and I almost wished I had kept going to keep up the motivation.
On another random note, one of the security guys joked with me that I looked way too happy for it to be so early, so I jumped into the air and clicked my heels for a "good morning"...I think we both got a kick out of that.
We always park 1.5 miles from the stadium (at my aunt's work) and then walk...good exercise and actually more convenient then it sounds. I was wearing flat sandals (slick bottom) and by the end of the day knew I had (at minimum) a hot spot. Got home and OMG the nastiest blood blister about 3 inches long. BARF. All the running and high heel wearing I do and I end up with a blister from the flat sandals I wore all summer? Doesn't add up, does it?
Sunday, September 4
Plan: Rest
Actual: Rest
I would usually join my aunt at the gym, but between the nasty blister that made it difficult to walk and my pending 15 miler, I opted for the extra rest this morning.
Monday, August 29
Plan: 4 miles
Actual: Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred (Level 2) + 2.5 mile walk
It was a LONG day at work with meeting after meeting including 2 trips across campus (and back) in 5" heels. (I did not plan that well) I'm counting this because A. even with the walking I do, this is out of the norm and B. the walks to/from the meeting were NOT leisurely, and the pace had me striding out to the point where I'm pretty sure I looked like I was power walking (I was walking with men and needed to keep their pace).
After I got home, I knew I didn't feel like running...my legs/feet were sore from what I put them through at work and I was a little sore from my long run the day prior. Matt was doing his Fantasy Football draft so I popped in Jillian and decided to kick it up to level 2 (which I hadn't done in a while). Holy cow, that was tougher than I remembered! And my upper body strength is TERRIBLE.
Tuesday, August 30
Plan: Boot camp
Actual: 4 miles
I counted my Jillian video as "boot camp" for this week, so tonight was time for a run. I ended up working late again and was starving so I headed home to eat before going to the gym. Ugh. I had about 30-45 min to digest dinner before I jeopardized being able to fit in my 4 miles before the gym closed. Not to be totally TMI but I ended up burping dinner pretty much the entire run and actually threw up in my mouth a couple of times. Pretty gross. But despite that, the run didn't totally suck.
I ended up deciding to run a progression run, partly b/c I was trying to make treadmill time interesting and partly b/c I knew I needed to if I was going to get it done before closing time. I started at warm-up pace (11:30) and every 5 minutes bumped it up by .1 mph...until the last .5 when I bumped it up by .2 or .3 every 1 minute. This was out of necessity and I ended up at an 8:XX pace by the end, feeling pretty good. I'm pretty sure I'm capable of going faster than my current training paces, but I know trying to add speed AND distance can be a recipe for disaster and I'm really not trying to get myself injured. It's something to think about as I work on my half marathon plans later this fall/winter. I think there is a 2:10-2:15 half marathon to be had with some work!
It would have been really easy to blow off this workout tonight but I had no VALID reason. Marathon training is not always supposed to be comfortable and easy, and I know there will be other times that I may have to skip a workout...tonight was not comfortable but I'm so glad I got it done.
Wednesday, August 31
Plan: Yoga
Actual: 3.5 mile walk w/Matt + dogs
I was actually really looking forward to yoga tonight but traffic was JACKED on the way home, so I wasn't able to make it to the gym by the 6:00 class time. My legs/feet were feeling so sore and fatigued (and kind of have been the past few days) so I knew I couldn't try to switch the tempo run to tonight so I opted for a walk instead. Ummm...my legs cramped on more than one occasion, including once completely buckling underneath me. I know I wasn't dehydrated and I have been fueling decently (not optimally, but not terribly either) and it was at this point that I knew I needed to book my massage for tomorrow. I missed it on my recovery week due to scheduling and other things going on and my body was CLEARLY telling me I needed it!
Thursday, September 1
Plan: 40 min tempo
Actual: Rest/Sports massage
I had a nice 9:00pm massage time booked which allowed me to work late and spend some time prepping for my weekend out of town. Massage Envy will let you customize your massage and lately I have been asking for only neck/back/legs/gluts. The last massage I got was AWESOME and he spent tons of time on my gluts/IT bands. This time I had a different chick who didn't seem to be able to apply anything more than light pressure and spent like 2.5 seconds on my gluts. Any massage is better than NO massage, but I am coming to be worked on and I asked for firm/deep pressure. Yes, I know I had one of the late slots, but I usually have one of the late slots and I've never had that be an issue before. Oh well.
I ended up staying up until almost 1am working on some volunteer stuff for the Humane Society and was hoping I could roll out of bed in the morning with time to squeeze in my missed tempo run from today.
Friday, September 2
Plan: Rest
Actual: Rest
Yeah, going to bed so late did NOT agree with me and it was all I could do to get myself together to get to work and get some minimal packing done for my weekend out of town. I was luckily able to leave work around 2:45 so I could get home, throw some more stuff together and get the girls loaded for the trek to Auburn. Matt had gone down Thursday afternoon since he telecommutes and could work from his friend's house Friday during the day. I BARELY made it in time to drop the dogs off at my aunt's vet (so sad!) at 6:00 because traffic was the SUCK going down (not thick, but I couldn't get any separation b/c of multiple idiots going under the speed limit in the LEFT lane). Anyway, my aunt and I got it together and headed to my cousin's football game to watch him march. (He's a sophomore and plays snare in the band.) It's so "Friday Night Lights"...I secretly kind of loved it :)
Saturday, September 3
Plan: 7 miles
Actual: 7.1 miles + 5 miles walk
No, this is not an extreme step-down week :) It is, however, the 1st weekend of college football...it's my favorite time of the year!!! Even though I graduated from FSU, I am a huge Auburn fan. I grew up there, my dad, aunt AND Matt (as well as many, many family friends) are alumni and have spent pretty much my entire life going to games. This year, my aunt Paula ("Auntie P"), cousin (Jimmy) and I got season tickets together, so I will be going to most of the home games.
Jimmy was too cool to show his face here
This week was an 11:00am kick off, which means leaving for the stadium between 8 and 8:30 so we can do Tiger Walk, see friends and head into the stadium before pre-game. NO WAY was I getting in a 15 mile run on that timeline!! I essentially shifted my medium-long run to Saturday and have my 15-miler slotted for Monday since it's a holiday and I'm off work.
I headed out around 5:40 a.m. and dare I say, it was actually cool outside. It was still kind of dark and I saw several other runners along my route. My plan was to run to campus, *possibly* meet up w/the running club for a few miles and then run back to my aunt's. I knew the AORTA route and passed a group of about 5 runners close to the meeting place. I knew it was them and that I wouldn't be catching up to anyone else, but it turns out it was a SLIM crowd on Saturday because there were only a couple of cars parked at the meeting spot (they usually have several dozen runners). It was actually fine, I loved running around campus so early and checking out all of the people setting up their tailgates, security getting set, etc.
At one point I heard solo footsteps behind me and I was hoping not to get passed. About a mile later, I pulled over to take a picture and realized another woman had essentially been using me as her pace bunny. Kind of funny and I almost wished I had kept going to keep up the motivation.
Jordan Hare stadium at sunrise
On another random note, one of the security guys joked with me that I looked way too happy for it to be so early, so I jumped into the air and clicked my heels for a "good morning"...I think we both got a kick out of that.
Reason #540 why I love running on the plains...
I was really shocked that by 6:30/45 traffic had REALLY picked up. Getting close to my aunt's house (running on the sidewalk) a car laid on it's horn and I JUMPED in the air...didn't miss a stride but I know it was comical looking. I am used to the occasional "beep beep" but this was shocking...holy MOLY!We always park 1.5 miles from the stadium (at my aunt's work) and then walk...good exercise and actually more convenient then it sounds. I was wearing flat sandals (slick bottom) and by the end of the day knew I had (at minimum) a hot spot. Got home and OMG the nastiest blood blister about 3 inches long. BARF. All the running and high heel wearing I do and I end up with a blister from the flat sandals I wore all summer? Doesn't add up, does it?
Proof that I wear more than just running clothes on occasion
Me with Matt & Jimmy before the game
(Auburn squeaked by with a win against Utah State)
Sunday, September 4
Plan: Rest
Actual: Rest
I would usually join my aunt at the gym, but between the nasty blister that made it difficult to walk and my pending 15 miler, I opted for the extra rest this morning.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Marathon Widower
It happened a little bit earlier in the training cycle then I expected but last night Matt "delicately" noted that it seemed like I was gone all the time and that I always seemed to be smelly/in my running clothes. OUCH. And to his defense, he tried not to express this in an unkind way but of course I got defensive.
I immediately started jumping to conclusions: "What do you mean? I thought you said you supported my marathon training"
"I do...I am so proud of you, babe, but I don't know if I can handle you running 5 days a week plus the weekends" (He was being dead serious)
Well, I think we all know my training plan DOES NOT call for running "5 days a week PLUS the weekends" (I have 4 runs planned during the week plus at least 2 cross training sessions) BUT I get the point and I know that I am very rarely at home before 7:00p.m. these days for one reason or another.
I really do try my very best to find some sort of balance between work, training and my family and friends and it would be easy to say that Matt is being selfish but I don't think he is: He's not telling me stop running, but he IS communicating that he feels like we need more time together. And it's important to listen even though it can be hard.
You might notice in my training logs that there are a lot of "walk with Matt + dogs" and we both love and cherish that time together. However, and this is me being completely honest, sometimes my legs are sore and tired and tackling the hills for another 45-60 minutes feels like a sacrifice on my end...I would love to, at that point in the day, just plop my butt on the couch and relax but it's a healthy choice and one that ends up sparking a lot of great conversation because we are not distracted by TV, social media, our phones, etc.
Could I get up and get all of my runs done before work? Not all but maybe I can switch *something* to an a.m. schedule on occasion. (My long run is usually complete before Matt is even out of bed, so that's 1 run already accomodated) I am NOT a morning person and early morning meetings at work sometimes make this a fairly prohibitive option (If I need to be at work at 6:30a.m. I am NOT getting up to run, shower and commute beforehand!!) Maybe Matt would be willing to run with me after work? Even part of my mileage?
I was talking to L. about this at lunch today because it has been weighing on my mind and I talked myself into the following conclusion: For me, finding balance can often be harder than the actual workout
Yes, the workouts are physically demanding, often quite taxing and sometimes unpleasant BUT I can endure that for 45-60 minutes or whatever the length of my commitment. It's shuffling things around to make room for LIFE that can often cause consternation. "I have XYZ commitment, maybe I can move this run to the morning...oh but I have an early meeting OR well, if I move this to the morning then I have less than 12 hours between tough workouts and I don't want to completely kill myself before ABC OR well, I can move this to my rest day but then I will have run/worked out 7 days in a row and if I do that I put myself at the brink of overdoing it/risking injury, etc etc etc" And sometimes, there really is just no good way to shuffle, so you skip the workout or flake out on your friends/family/whatever other request may be coming your way.
I have to remember that what I do on any ONE day is not going to make or break my training; it's what I do over the course of the training cycle that will get me to the start AND finish happy and healthy.
Any tips you have for finding balance?
I immediately started jumping to conclusions: "What do you mean? I thought you said you supported my marathon training"
"I do...I am so proud of you, babe, but I don't know if I can handle you running 5 days a week plus the weekends" (He was being dead serious)
Well, I think we all know my training plan DOES NOT call for running "5 days a week PLUS the weekends" (I have 4 runs planned during the week plus at least 2 cross training sessions) BUT I get the point and I know that I am very rarely at home before 7:00p.m. these days for one reason or another.
I really do try my very best to find some sort of balance between work, training and my family and friends and it would be easy to say that Matt is being selfish but I don't think he is: He's not telling me stop running, but he IS communicating that he feels like we need more time together. And it's important to listen even though it can be hard.
You might notice in my training logs that there are a lot of "walk with Matt + dogs" and we both love and cherish that time together. However, and this is me being completely honest, sometimes my legs are sore and tired and tackling the hills for another 45-60 minutes feels like a sacrifice on my end...I would love to, at that point in the day, just plop my butt on the couch and relax but it's a healthy choice and one that ends up sparking a lot of great conversation because we are not distracted by TV, social media, our phones, etc.
Could I get up and get all of my runs done before work? Not all but maybe I can switch *something* to an a.m. schedule on occasion. (My long run is usually complete before Matt is even out of bed, so that's 1 run already accomodated) I am NOT a morning person and early morning meetings at work sometimes make this a fairly prohibitive option (If I need to be at work at 6:30a.m. I am NOT getting up to run, shower and commute beforehand!!) Maybe Matt would be willing to run with me after work? Even part of my mileage?
I was talking to L. about this at lunch today because it has been weighing on my mind and I talked myself into the following conclusion: For me, finding balance can often be harder than the actual workout
Yes, the workouts are physically demanding, often quite taxing and sometimes unpleasant BUT I can endure that for 45-60 minutes or whatever the length of my commitment. It's shuffling things around to make room for LIFE that can often cause consternation. "I have XYZ commitment, maybe I can move this run to the morning...oh but I have an early meeting OR well, if I move this to the morning then I have less than 12 hours between tough workouts and I don't want to completely kill myself before ABC OR well, I can move this to my rest day but then I will have run/worked out 7 days in a row and if I do that I put myself at the brink of overdoing it/risking injury, etc etc etc" And sometimes, there really is just no good way to shuffle, so you skip the workout or flake out on your friends/family/whatever other request may be coming your way.
I have to remember that what I do on any ONE day is not going to make or break my training; it's what I do over the course of the training cycle that will get me to the start AND finish happy and healthy.
Any tips you have for finding balance?
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