Another Workout Video

Oh work.

I took my cold weather running stuff today, but my schedule got the best of me. I woke up at 3, worried about stuff going on at the office. After trying to sleep for another hour, I got up and read. Then I decided I might as well take advantage of my awake-ness and get an early start on the day. So I was in the office by 6. That's early for me.

By 10:30 I was starving. I hadn't really eaten breakfast...  A stupid quick trip to CVS was made for some "food".

By 1:00 I was dozing at my computer. I took a blissful half hour nap.

So, it wasn't a very good day on the eating/exercise front. I left a little after 5 and brought all my stuff home. And decided to do another workout video!

I did the "Shape Sexy Legs" one or something like that. It was a combination of cardio and lots of isolated leg exercises. It was great. I am so weak. These videos are really pointing some stuff out to me, and it's very helpful.

I think I will be sore tomorrow.

December Dedication Days

My month of December is dedicated to getting back on the wagon and nailing the routine. The weather has changed. Wasn't I just writing about running in a t-shirt and shorts?

This much I know about my routine so far: Spinning = great. It can be difficult to get to the class because of work, but I've found that I just need to get up early that day so I have a couple of hours in the office before the class and it's fine and stress-free; it's kind of like an early lunch. Some days it just won't work, but I've already been telling people I'm unavailable for meetings during that time when they've come up. It's my time and if I don't tell people it's mine, they'll steals it from me! My precious!

Anyway. There's another spinning class on Thursday to which I still haven't managed to go. I'm planning to tomorrow, as long as I eat all my green beans and finish my work tonight.

Running. Ah running. I'm not too worried about it right now. I'm still very focused on figuring out my leg pain. But I'm also focusing on getting stronger and losing weight. I think those three things together will give me good results by the end of December.

I made a training schedule. I guess I'll put it up at the top of the main page? It's from now until the Heart Mini Marathon. I'm sure it will get adjusted. There's a lot of running on there, but I'm OK with subbing those days with other workouts. I just need to do something and lose weight.

So far this week has gone well:

Monday 11/28/11

3.0 mile run
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Surface: treadmill - it was pouring rain outside and cold.
Terrain: flat
Shoes: Brooks f'uglies
Overall pace: I don't want to talk about it. 5.5 - 6.0 and it felt like I was sprinting :( 

Pre-run
- Walked for a bit

Run
- No lower leg pain until I stopped to stretch. How about that...makes NO sense.
- Legs seemed to feel better when I was going a quicker pace.
- All I could focus on was how much I hate treadmills and the pain I was feeling.
- Heart rate was around 184 and I was hurting. Felt so weak.

Post-run
- Walked for cool-down
- Stretching on floor



Tuesday 11/29/11


45 minute Spinning Class
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Instructor: Linda
Breakfast: an orange and Hawaiian roll

Previous Night:
- don't remember...

Pre-Spin:
- Stretched on a mat for about 10 minutes.
- Spinned on a bike for about 10 minutes before class started.

Spin:
- No lower leg pain.
- The class was really hard. I was struggling quite a bit.

Post-Spin:
- Typical class cooldown stretching.

Post-Thanksgiving Run

3.0 mile run
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Surface: sidewalk and road
Terrain: flat
Shoes: Brooks f'uglies
Overall pace: 10:43/mi
Breakfast: none

Pre-run
- Didn't do anything special - some light stretching while putting on my shoes

Run
- Lower leg pain first 1.5 miles.
- Leg pain escalated from 4 to 6 out of 10
- Stopped to walk and stretch at 1.5
- Last 1.5 lower leg pain was only 2

Post-run
- Walked for cool-down
- Stretching on floor

Pre-Thanksgiving Spin

I got my butt to work early to get a bunch of LC stuff done so I could go to spinning. The class was a good one, full of hills and jumps (and unfortunately not the greatest playlist). The sprints at the end were really rough. Probably one of the most tired sessions I've had in class. Linda is good about pushing, which I like. However, today she kept spouting off things about burning calories for all the food we were about to eat for Thanksgiving. She did this multiple times throughout the class, randomly saying "mashed potatoes....dressing.....pumpkin pie." It was kind of weird and kind of not cool. I know what she meant, but it just hit me funny. Anyway, class details.


45 minute Spinning Class
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Instructor: Linda
Breakfast: nothing...not a good idea

Previous Night:
- Ate way too much. Felt like crap.

Pre-Spin:
- Stretched on a mat for about 10 minutes. Still tight from IKEA :)
- Spinned on a bike for about 10 - 15 minutes before class started.

Spin:
- No lower leg pain.
- Pushed cardio pretty good a few times. Muscles were fatigued.

Post-Spin:
- Typical class cooldown stretching.

Bike machines aren't for me

Well, I did a whole lot of not much over the weekend. I cleaned like a crazy person, and put together three pieces of furniture from IKEA. I mention that because, well, I'm sore. I guess it was the crawling around on my knees and hammering for a couple of hours. More proof I need to do something about my muscles!

Monday I tried to go to the strength/cardio class called Triple Fit that Amy, friendly gym buddy, told me about. I got there a little late, due to work. And when I got to the room, they had already started. :(  Since I have never been to the class, I didn't want to walk in on it. You need equipment and I wouldn't have known what to get. I did run into Amy after the class. They way she and her friends were talking about it, I am most certain that it is going to be an ass-whooping hard class.

Since I had worn a "fitness bra" let's call it (one that isn't supportive enough for me to run in) I couldn't hit a dreadmill. So I walked around looking for a bike that didn't look like a granny bike. I finally found one, occupied. So I walked on a treadmill for 15 minutes until the person was off. It was a weird bike. I chose a hill interval program, set it for 30 minutes, level 10 out of 20, and got to sweating. I think it was a good workout, but lame. Wouldn't choose to do it again, but it was better than just walking the entire time. So, here are the brief details, in keeping with my leg pain investigation.

30 minute bike interval: hills
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Breakfast: don't remember

Pre-bike:
- Walked for 15 minutes at a 2.5 incline.
- Lower legs started to hurt a little. 2 out of 10.
- Noted my heart rate was usually 128.

Bike:
- Series of hard hill pushes with brief rests - 3 main climbs.

Post-bike:
- Nothing. Hit the showers.

Wonky Hip

I have a wonky hip. And, sometimes, it gets more wonky than its typical at rest wonkiness. This week is one of those times.

At night I am waking up about every hour from the pain...need to remember to take Advil tonight! I'm sure that might help some. It happened after spinning...more specifically after I did the exercise video experiment. I think I might have stretched something out of its normal path?

Surely, if I had been wearing leg warmers during the exercise video, I could have prevented this. ;)

Anyway, I did a few ab exercises yesterday...another Self video! I'm kind of sore today and I didn't even do the entire thing. Woohoo! I'm planning to run tomorrow, and hopefully it will be a-ok.

Strength kickoff

When I got home from work yesterday, I decided to do a workout video I found on Hulu Plus a while back. I know. A workout video. It sounds so cheesy to me. I should be wearing a bright turquoise leotard with super high-cut leg openings, hose underneath and leg warmers. And white Reeboks.

There is an entire season 1 of Self videos meant to tone and slim, yadda yadda. I didn't have much hope for it, but just wanted to move around a little more. I was pleasantly surprised. The video was simple. The music was very faint and simple in the background, just enough to provide rhythm for counts. And there were three women outside on a wood platform in front of the ocean. No cheesy carpeted studio room.

I think the title of this episode was Bikini Slim and Trim or something like that. It started with normal warmups and then weights were used for the rest of it until plyometrics. It totally kicked my butt! There were plenty of arm exercises and legs and standing ab exercises as well.

My legs were a bit shot from spinning. And today, my hip is kind of wonky. I'm going to walk at lunch rather than run.

I can see doing these videos in the morning or after work. So easy to fit in, and if they are all like this first one, definitely worth the time. Weakling that I am, it is pretty clear that I can really benefit from these isolated kinds of exercises. I am glad I did this before going to the strength class at the gym next Monday...yikes. It's going to be rough! :)

Spinning after quite a break

This morning I went spinning for the first time in .... hmmm.... it's probably been over a month! It was great to be back there. I got a bike next to this girl who I see regularly in class and really enjoy talking to. She is so nice and also really good! When I'm next to her, or can see her, I really push in the class. We talked a little afterwords and she suggested I go to a great class on Mondays at 9:40 called Triple Fit. The description is: "A true interval class. Intervals consist of 4 minutes of cardio, 3 minutes of legs, 2 minutes of upper body." She said it's awesome, so I'm going to check it out.


45 minute Spinning Class
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Instructor: Linda
Breakfast: a biscuit and applesauce

Previous Night:
- Stretched for about a half hour while I watched Top Gear. Rolled on the Evil Foam Roller.

Pre-Spin:
- Walked for 10 minutes on a treadmill.
- Lower legs tightened up pretty good. Pain scale: 2 out of 10.
- Spinned on a bike for about 10 - 15 minutes before class started

Spin:
- No pain, but could feel my muscles. Not sure that's abnormal. No lower leg pain.
- Pushed cardio and at times my muscles.

Post-Spin:
- Typical class cooldown stretching.

Figuring this out...

OK. So since I'm at a loss for what is causing my leg pain, which is negatively impacting my running enjoyment, I've decided to track the hell out of myself for a few weeks and see if anything comes to light. Hopefully it does, or it just gets better with consistency. If not, I will have details for a doc. :/


3 mile run
Time: 1:15 pm.
Surface: mostly brick sidewalk
Terrain: gently rolling hills, no big climbs
Shoes: Brooks F'uglies ;)
Overall pace: 10:43 min/mi
Breakfast: English muffin with egg and cheese, coffee, water

Pre-run:
- Walked briskly a few minutes. Both lower legs started to hurt immediately with that.
- Before running, I rubbed a little and felt how tight they were. Outside tight, especially on right leg.

Run:
- First 1.5 I took very easy, over 11 min/mile pace.
- Breathing was light, but the run didn't feel easy.
- First 1.5 miles was painful, lower right leg only. 5 out of 10 on pain scale (10 worst).
- At 1.5 miles I stopped and walked a few minutes. Stretched calves and hamstrings.
- Last 1.5 miles I picked up the pace. Leg still tight but stopped hurting.

Post-run:
- Walked for cool down.
- Right leg still tight, but barely any pain. Just the remnant that hurt really bad a few minutes ago.
- Stretching: hamstrings, glutes, hips, quads

Windy Day...Sucky Run

This morning I started out with Greg to do a 3 mile run. I was hoping for a good run but the leg pain was back in full force, both legs and really bad. At a mile, I stopped to stretch. When I started running again, my legs and feet felt like paddles. Biomechanically everything felt wrong. So I bagged it and turned around while Greg continued to get his 3 in.

On the way back I stopped a few more times to stretch, but nothing worked. The pain was so bad I was wincing. The pain with whatever is going on in my lower legs is always very bad. It feels like my legs are trying to rip open, starting on the outer sides. Today's was a 9 out of 10 on the pain scale, while usually it's probably a 6 or 7.

I picked it up at the very end, trying to stretch things out. I was happy to be done at 2.3 and hobbled through my cool down walk until eventually I could walk normal.

So frustrating. I have no explanation. This just happens or doesn't happen for no reason I can yet see.

For the next three weeks starting now, I'm just going to focus on 3 mile runs, and cross-training, and consistency...and we'll see if that gets me anywhere.

Time Change

The time change is really messing with me this year. I am having a hard time not wanting to go to bed at 8. Here it is Friday night, only 7:15 and I feel like it's 10. I've enjoyed the lighter mornings. But I think I'll take dark mornings over early dark evenings!

I didn't manage to run or spin any more this week except Wednesday's run. Not happy about it, but it's OK. I'm going to go out in the brisk morning tomorrow and run a while. Not sure how far yet, but just run a while.

Traffic Assessment Run

I had planned to run at lunch today, but it kept pouring rain intermittently. And I knew that the afternoon was going to clear up, so I waited...and was treated to a lovely, breezy, warm fall run. And, I was able to see that the traffic on the way home is already bad...so highway it is! :)

The route I went was out the studio and north on Montgomery Road. It's hilly. The hills got me, like they do. I should plan to do regular runs at Sharon Woods this winter. Seems like a perfect "get your hills in" place, though it is a bit scary in the winter. Not many people.

I took it easy. My right leg seized up, which doesn't seem to have anything to do with speed, but who knows. I had to walk a couple of times because it hurt so bad. I stretched at the 1.5 mile turn around and started running back. It gradually stopped hurting and I ran the entire way back. My over all pace was 10:27. Obviously not what I want, but I'm starting here!! :)

So, woohoo!  First run after the half... I'll go ahead and label challenging, but a success!

Mason Half Marathon Race Report

Sunday I "ran" my 6th half marathon. And, while it wasn't the worst half I've ever done, it was pretty horrendous :)  But I'm not at all surprised, since I didn't train properly for it.

Greg ran the 5K. Casey, Elizabeth and I ran the half. Saying I ran the half is a bit misleading. I ran about half of it and then went into survival mode :)  Completed is accurate. I did finish.

I am very happy with my first 7 miles. I was clipping along around 10:30 pace, and it felt very easy...
Mile 1- 9:52
Mile 2- 10:34
Mile 3- 10:20
Mile 4- 10:28
Mile 5- 10:34
Mile 6- 10:19
Mile 7- 10:37...

After Mile 7, the wheels fell off. I was so very tired, very unmotivated and even bored. I tried to keep pushing, staying behind a group of 4 very chatty friends running together, a man and three women. They were my entertainment. But my breathing got worse and I felt out of gas. As soon as it became hard to keep up with them, I was discouraged too. I started walking hills and just told myself I was just going to have to get through it.

Mile 8- 11:37 (ug!)
Mile 9- 12:33
Mile 10- 13:08 (yikes!)
Mile 11- 12:01
Mile 12- 13:16 (survival...)
Mile 13- 13:15
.1- 9:24 pace...I was trying hard.

And that I did. I walked hills, took my last gel, hoped my IT bands would behave, and couldn't wait to be done. I walked a bit before the end where the race finished so that I could be sure I was running across the finish line :)  A part of me hoped Casey, Greg, Elizabeth, Jannelle, Roman and David would be inside staying warm and I could slip across the finish line with no fanfare. My time was sooo horrible, it was embarrassing. But, with about 75 yards to go, Elizabeth's voice rang out through the very quiet parking lot: "GOOOOO STEPHANIEEEE!!!!!"  I forgot that she is a cheerer! :)  It was awesome. It didn't matter about my sucky running time. The enthusiasm I heard matched the enthusiasm I had in me despite the fact that my body couldn't produce it in running performance. It felt fantastic.

I crossed the line and then sat down, pretty exhausted. After half a banana and some questionable pancakes, we all reconvened for Skyline... YUM.

So...overall, I am very happy about my first 6 miles. My legs only hurt a little bit, for probably not even a mile, so that makes 2 runs in a row with no pain!!  And my breathing and gait felt strong for those 6 miles. I'm not surprised I got tired when I did because I simply didn't train enough. Today I am extremely sore. My knees feel like they have thick fluid in them and ache. My ankle hurts (around mile 1 something popped and hurt for a while but ended up being ok, though maybe it's not). I think my quads are sore, but the pain in my knees and IT bands is trumping any muscle pain.   Again: Soooo not prepared for this race. I had no business running it, but I'm glad I did. Something that crossed my mind while I was out there slogging along is how much I enjoy running well and doing well at it for myself. It makes me feel so confident and just me, if that makes any sense. It is hard to explain. There I was, barely running, feeling like crap, doing terribly...but somehow I was so happy and pleased with myself. There wasn't a negative thought, and I have been having so many of them lately. Some crazy running euphoria I guess. Maybe it was because I didn't have expectations and just still liked being out there? Or that this was bottom and all I can do from here now is go up? I don't know. Confusing.

Next up: recovering, then back to training, eating better, losing some weight, and finding some motivation (which I think this race performance helped to provide a start). The next half marathon will be lucky number 7, and I'm determined to break my 2:09:49 PR...maybe even by a lot.  

Spinning Delay, Walking With Tubs

Oh work, always getting in the way. Tuesday's spin class was not attended thanks to some last minute LC work. It made me mad, but I thought it would be a great opportunity to check out Thursday's new class. But I've just had to accept a meeting at 9:30 tomorrow so that isn't going to happen either. Grr - I'll get there next week!! Maybe there is an after work one Thursday...but I'm thinking it's really late. We'll see.

Anyway, I was going to go to the gym after work instead to do something low-impact. But the neighbor texted when I was about to leave, asking if I wanted to walk. So I did that instead, taking Dexter along. We went about 3 miles in some drizzle. Dexter did great and never got tired even though our walking pace was fast. He had more in him than I thought. This morning he got in bed and snuggled by my face, resting his chin on my arm.

The plan today is to run at lunch if it's not raining. Christen asked me out of the blue yesterday if I wanted to start running together again. Ummm YES!  She had recently started running after work, but now it's getting darker quicker and she doesn't like to do that. She suggested we try for Mondays Wednesdays Fridays at lunch time, with the hope of at least making two of those times for sure. Woohoo!!! I'll be stoked if we keep that up. There goes my morning time slot idea, but I'll take running with someone over running by myself at any time slot!

My knees have hurt after the 10 miles ran Sunday. Walking last night kind of hurt them again, which surprised me. I am due some good stretches today.

10 miles in the bank

Sunday Greg, Casey and I ran 10 miles. It was a perfect running day, and happened to be the day of the Columbus Marathon. I thought about it a few times that day, how amazing of an experience it was and what got me there two years ago.

The first couple of miles were ran with Max leading the way :)  I forgot my GPS, so I didn't know what pace we were going. I learned later that our first mile was around a 9:05 pace. I am not sure what the second mile was. I felt like we were going a little too fast for me, but I sure didn't think it was that pace - more like a 10 pace. Honestly, I didn't think I could run that pace at all any more. Oh what a difference running with others makes.

After dropping Max off, we continued on through neighborhoods out to Red Bird Lane, a beautiful, hilly, quiet road. The surroundings were quite scenic, especially given the fall colors. At the end of that road, we turned around with only a few miles left. But going back was mostly uphill. I got really tired and slogged up the hills. It wasn't so much my legs, but I couldn't breathe very well. Greg and Casey got farther and farther away. Once we were back in the neighborhoods and the ground was flatter, I decided to push to try to catch up with them. They ended up walking to wait for me. When we all started out again, if there was a hill, I fell behind. I just couldn't keep up. Right before the last mile, I was trying so hard to keep up I maxed out my breathing and got dizzy. It was a lost cause. The last mile back was pretty slow.

But, 10 miles are done now! :) It was a hard run, but I still enjoyed it and the wonderful company very very much.

Well, I haven't gotten to the new spinning class yet. Work got a bit out of control again, plus there were meetings. S'alright. Next week will be better.

I did get out for a run Friday morning. I love to run before work, once I'm out there. The motivation is hard though. I went into the neighborhood that connects near the fire station. It was a chilly morning, but bright fall sunshine warmed my exposed skin. I wore my bright 55 mph "The Commander" shirt because it was a little dark when I set out. :)  There were leaves that were stuck to the wet spots on the pavement. As the wind picked up, some of them were loosened and freed. All of the falling and blowing leaves reminded me of confetti.

On the way back, I saw three deer munching on something crunchy from the ground. One was very small but didn't have spots, the others looked full grown. The first one and I stared at each other every time I moved. I took some pictures with my phone. I was close enough to hear them crunching their snack. A car came along and I shooed them into the woods. I was only about 15 or 20 feet from the last one before it finally decided to leave, and with no sense of real urgency. I feel like I could have worked my way up to touch them if I had enough time. Are deer really that tame now?

The morning running slot is confirmed to be the best. Again, it's hard to get out there motivational-wise. But the rest of the day benefits so much. I enjoyed my lunch that day (even though I was working through it) and didn't feel the stress of having to get a run in later in the afternoon. Instead, I read on my phone until the battery died and relaxed. I simply need to work on feeling not stressed about getting to the office right away. It's just going to have to be how my schedule works. Perhaps if I can make my normal start time by 10, and be OK with that, I will have no reason to stress. That honestly should be fine. I usually work until about 6. I am a bit ashamed to say that I've let work really get to me recently. I'm just down in the dumps about it and it's dumb.

Eating the rest of the week: I'm still eating too much.  No snacks or anything, but we ate out a lot this week at work because we were so busy.

The wind is howling outside. It's a gorgeous day. Tomorrow's weather looks just as gusty, but a bit warmer. Our plans are to run 10, though I'm not sure when or where yet. I think it will go a lot better than last weekend!

Spinning and eating

Monday I took the day off from exercise. It wasn't a great food day though. I stopped at Dunkin Donuts and got a veggie egg white flatbread and coffee in which they must have dumped about 5 packets of sugar. Lunch was a Pot Belly's Italian sandwich. I only ate half of it...but I had a yogurt smoothie from them too. Monday night Greg and I discussed a work situation he was having until 8 and then ate crappy Pizza Pizza from the end of the street. Prior to the pizza, I was so hungry and munched on a lot of stuff - olives, cheese, a couple crackers. I have a very hard time not eating when I get home. I'm always so hungry and just want dinner now.

Tuesday morning I went to work before spinning, and ate two hard boiled eggs. I wasn't sure how that would work, figuring I might taste them in class, but I didn't :)  Spinning was great. They've added 2 classes - one at 8:30 on Tuesdays and one at 10:15 on Thursdays. I didn't know about the new add and walked into the studio while the class was going on. Ooops! That instructor was the same one that teaches the 9:15 on Thursday that I haven't been going to because I don't really care for her - music or style. However, rumor has it that the new 10:15 Thursday teacher is really great. Linda, our 9:30 Tuesday instructor, said she's heard the class is really tough...so she is going to make ours tougher too! :)  Linda is clearly the advanced class teacher, now that I've taken a few from different instructors. She pushes us, challenges us, and reminds us why we're there. I think I'm going to try out Thursday's class - I'm very curious of what another "hard" instructor is like. While I was waiting to get in the class, I did some crunches and planks, and stretched on a mat. That all felt really great! My calves are really sore from Sunday's long run.

Tuesday's food was about the same as Monday. For breakfast I had the 2 hard boiled eggs. I got a voice mail while I was leaving the gym that upped the stress level and I drove to Starbucks, thinking I needed some coffee to make it through the morning. I don't need coffee to make it through the morning. This is my problem with food in general, one of them anyway. For lunch, Christen brought back Chik-fil-a: a chicken sandwich, waffle fries, and half and half tea. I was starving by the time we ate, sometime around 1:30 or 2. For dinner, Greg and I met Roman at BW3's, a place filled with crappy food. I had the Honey BBQ chicken salad. I suppose there are worse things to eat there, but I'm pretty sure their salads aren't exactly healthy. I didn't sleep well, and woke up at 2:30 for about an hour, and was actually hungry, so I guess at least I didn't eat too much.

Today I'm hoping to get a run in, since I'm going to spin again Thursday, work allowing. So far the week is going well for what I had planned. At least my conscious intake is a start.

Plans for the Week

Sunday, Greg and Casey and I tried our best to do 10 miles at Sharon Woods. But, after a respectable 7.75 miles, we all decided it would be best to try again next weekend. Greg's ankles and achilles tendon hurt and Casey mentioned something about his knee hurting. Nothing hurt on me except I couldn't breathe. So, here's to next weekend! It will be better and we'll rock it!

During the week, I'm going to work more on strength stuff, getting some good runs in, and eating better. I didn't get to spin last week, but should be fine to tomorrow. I was doing well for a while with core exercises, but missed those last week. I could tell a big difference, so I needs to do it! Eating has been a mess - a roller coaster of struggles.

Looks like the forecast is continuing nice fall weather, though not quite as nice as last week, but I'll take it. Woohoo!

Beautiful Fall Weather

Work has been crazy and I've missed writing. 

After the 8 miles a couple of weekends ago, I felt so great. I had normal running thoughts in my head again. I felt like me, the recreational runner, getting better doing what I can :)  I even started thinking about how I'd love to run the Flying Pig in May and how cool it would be to do the home town marathon...would people come cheer? could I do it a little better than C-bus? could I get in awesome shape again? fun thoughts swimming...

Work has been crazy...wait I already said that. And, I have managed to keep working out through it all. Not anywhere near what I should be doing. But I did stuff instead of just napping or working, which was awesome! Even if I'm so tired, getting out and walking or running really is helpful to not feel like a sloth.

Part of that I owe to my neighbor, with whom I've been walk-running. She wants to be able to run 3 - 5 miles without stopping, so was doing some walk-run intervals. So far we're up to 3 minutes running and 5 minutes walking. I'm going to try to convince her to shorten the walking time. But I don't want her to hate running, I want her to be comfortable - it will be tricky to convince her that it's the way to get better. I'm really enjoying getting to know her more. She's super funny and easy to talk to. Our conversations have been all over the place. We've discovered we have a friend in common, Ed. It was pretty nice at first, to share some things. But as the days go on I realize it's bothering me a LOT and I wish we'd never had the conversation. It was my fault, somehow it just fell out of my mouth at one point. It was too comfortable to share, if that makes any sense. And I'm sure it doesn't.

Fall is the best time of year to run, hands down. Er, feet down. I'm hearing a lot of buzz about the Columbus marathon. It's bound to be a great day for it in a couple of weekends!

I can't wait to run this weekend! Soak in the gorgeous gorgeous weather while it's here.

8 miles and I feel like me again

Sunday Greg, Casey and I went to Sharon Woods to do 8 miles.  It seems that none of us have been training very well for the half in October. Thankfully, a group run was scheduled.

Sharon Woods is by no means a walk in the park when it comes to running terrain. It has quite a few hills, some short some medium-long, and some steeper than others. There is a 2.5 mile paved loop through the woods and around a pond. It is very lovely and mostly shaded.

I didn't think I would actually run with Casey and Greg. I had prepared myself for maybe going the opposite direction from them on the loop and seeing them a few times that way, giving myself something to look forward to. But they were nice and took it easy with me. :)  It was sooooooo great. We chatted – mostly them, I was too busy breathing ;) – and the first loop went by incredibly quickly. We stopped for water and then continued on for a second loop. I would lose Greg and Casey on the hills, but they'd wait for me at the top. It was getting harder for me, but I was happily trudging along, finally feeling like me again! I was running a hilly course the same pace I had been running 3 or 4 miles flat. While it was hard to breathe, I felt incredibly great. It was a running happiness I haven't felt in many many months. I never thought about how much I suck; I just felt like I was working towards something and I was doing well. After the second loop, we ventured off to a side-shoot out-and-back trail that had a huge hill. Then we did the loop one final time in the opposite direction until 8.01mi showed up on my GPS.

I am so incredibly happy and feel pretty motivated and like there is hope to feel like a runner again. I know it's up to me to get my ass out there, but running with people is so much more enjoyable. My pace was pushed, my legs didn't hurt (really didn't, it wasn't even that I was distracted) and I felt so good!!! I know I wouldn't have made it around that path by myself more than once before I got discouraged to tears the way things have been going.

I think everyone benefitted from the group run somehow. And we decided to do a half marathon that is 2 weeks later than the original one we planned. We'll all be happier with more time to train – it's not like we haven't all done a half. It's not just covering the distance, it's doing well with the goals, otherwise what's the point.

I know my pace is slow. I really hope I can continue to run with them for the next weekends. It was fantastic company. The pace and performance improvement really makes me happy :)  Hopefully my legs will shape up. Still a mystery yet to be solved, but I sure was glad they didn't hurt Sunday. I hadn't ran or done anything since Tuesday, and they hurt bad that day. Meh, we'll see. I said I was starting over and this is a super-duper start!!

Unsatisfied

Things I thought about on my run today...
- here comes the pain
- why on earth do my legs hurt soooo bad
- I can't wait to feel better
- will I ever feel better
- maybe I'm not getting enough oxygen
- maybe I wouldn't be so bothered by the pain if I was running with someone
- maybe it's my shoes
- maybe I should start over


And now for more rambling...I'm really just trying to solve this...

This has been the cycle: Most mornings I've been waking up with the plan/idea/desire to run. I wake up, limp through the house to let the dogs out and look at my clothes. My body hurts. I quickly lose motivation. I'm not tired, I just feel not awake. So then I say, nah, I'll just do it later, I'll pack my stuff and have a better time at lunch. So I pack my stuff and don't do it later. Work takes over, I don't feel like I should take a lunch, I don't feel like there is time because clients are emailing and demanding. Then it's the end of the day. Often my stomach hurts. I worry about jetting at 5. I'm usually tired and have not much motivation to run anymore.

On spinning days, the class begins at 9:30 on Tuesdays/ 9:15 on Thursdays. I have to arrive at 9 or 8:45 to get a bike. For a few times in the brightest mornings of summer, I went in to work first and then went spinning. It was perfect. Lately, I haven't been able to get up early enough to do that, so just leave for the gym from the house. I get to work around 10:45. It's great. The best thing I love about self employment: control of my time.

Ironically, all year I've been struggling with my schedule that I supposedly control. I don't know what to do except start over and try something else. I know I need a schedule for running. Running whenever I feel like it just doesn't work for me. The only thing I don't think I've tried is use my mornings to do whatever I need to, which I think spinning shows to be pretty successful. Maybe that's what I need and I'd be less stressed/unsatisfied.

In order to do that, I will need to shift work habits from having to get in to the office to get stuff done I said "screw it I'll do it in the morning" to the day before ........ to getting all my stuff done the day/night before so I can enjoy my morning stress-free with exercise and pancakes. OK, maybe not the pancakes. Sure that might not always happen. But I wonder if I've just been getting lazy on both ends of the day, thereby stressing myself out because I haven't been able to stick to anything and then feel so damn crummy about it.

I have no idea. I'm not sure if this will work, but I might as well try. I'm not getting anywhere with what I'm doing now.  Am I doing something else wrong? Any observations would be helpful. Running makes me happy, confident and I'm proud of myself. But lately, I've been so disappointed and unsatisfied, which hopefully is remedied by regaining some schedule control. I'll worry about fitting illustration in later. I don't have motivational issues with that and it doesn't prevent me from gaining weight. :P

Rough Week

Last week had some pretty rough spots. I became really frustrated with my schedule - work and running. I'm trying to make something of the drawing side of me. I'm disheartened at work. Running hasn't been going as well as I want it to. I couldn't do what I wanted to do. A lot of little things went wrong and I just lost my patience. I let it all pile on me and get me down, to a pretty unable to see straight anymore level.

After some helpful clarity, I know now it's just temporary. And most importantly, that all of these temporary "failures" don't change who I am. That was very meaningful, because I am usually thinking the exact opposite. Every time I have a bad run (and they've outnumbered the good lately) I am in disbelief that I ever ran an entire marathon. I feel like I don't have the ability anymore. When I don't get to draw (I haven't kept up with my workout drawings that I was doing so well at and feel are important exercises-no pun intended), I feel like I'm slipping away from being able to make something out of my illustrations. I feel like I am not going to get anywhere working so lazily. Work has just become work, and the thing that takes away from everything else I'd rather be doing. And so it goes, blah blah blah, whine whine. My parents' voices pop into my head: 'You're not trying hard enough, what more could you expect.'  If they read this, they would certainly say I'm being ridiculous and undermine the most important aspect of all of these things- they're things I love and feel passion for.

I really don't know. Maybe I am not trying hard enough. But I think the main thing that is hindering me is I'm not happy enough trying. My attitude has been in the shitter. I have been dwelling on how much isn't going right and worrying about what will happen because of that. It's probably as simple as that.

Tomorrow I'm going to try to run 8 miles. It's going to be iffy because of rain. I'm guessing it's not going to go well, but I'm going to try. And when I get so down about my running fitness and how I don't even know if I'm going to be able to run a half marathon in October, I guess I'm just going to remember it's what I want to do and the alternative - not running - is a way worse thought.

Today I bought a cheap, simple scanner for home. I haven't been able to cram in scanning & finishing my drawings in the mornings at work like I did for a while. If I have a scanner at home, then I can do everything at home and not stress about the time I'm taking away from work, and wondering if my biz partner is OK with it. I installed it and gave it a shot tonight, and it all works. So I'm really excited about that.

I finally figured out a way to have my own updatable website for my illustrations. Behance.net has an awesome portfolio site that you can link into a website builder. There are simple templates with crazy amounts of design, color, and style controls. It's near perfect. I kept paying for the stephaniesmithcreative domain and now have that pointed to the Behance site. So, soon, I should have my very own illustration portfolio online at my own web address. I am amazed at how it's all coming together. I want to keep up the momentum and see where it will lead. Illustration Friday is helping. And I think the new scanner will help make the workflow more doable.

I had the beginnings of an interesting conversation with the business partner last week that has left me feeling kind of uneasy. We aren't 100% aligned with where we see the business in 5 years. It was all very preliminary, but I am really worried about how my reasons and enjoyment for working independently might be threatened.

So... I have so much more to do this weekend. I have to do some work, run 8 miles, I'm going to see my grandma and parents, I need to read Anita's short story that she wants me to illustrate, I need to get to the paper store for D&J's wedding invites...  The bottom line is I want to do all of it because I enjoy all of it. I might have to cut some of it out, and I have to realize that is OK, and remember that it doesn't change me or what I'm about.  It is really hard for me to do. I feel like right now, I desperately need a voice telling me all my efforts are worth it and I'm not being silly.

Beginning of September

September started off as a scorcher, but soon cooled. Sunday I did a long run and was glad I waited rather than trying to do it while it was so hot.

Sun Sept 4:  Ran 7 miles...with...NO LEG PAIN!!!! :) :) :) At all! Other than that, the run was a horrible mental mess, but I can't be unhappy about not having the leg pain. That was a relief. Baby steps...

Mon Sept 5:  nothing... just nice relaxing time with friends...and a fantastic motorcycle ride on some great roads.

Tues Sept 6:  Double workout day---  1 hour spinning class in the morning and track in the evening. The spinning class was good. I paced myself well. It got rough toward the end. The music was all very clubby/dance and was pretty fun and energizing. At track, I ran a mile to warm up. Then I did the stairs 2 times. First set, I ran up taking about 15 seconds to do so. It was just a comfortable run. I walked back down the other side and repeated for all isles. After a little break, I decided to do them again, but faster...and with more breaks. I "sprinted" up the stairs taking about 9 - 10 seconds for each. Then I slowly walked down the stairs. By the end, when I was waiting to go up the last few isles, my legs were shaking! I think I might feel this one tomorrow.

Wed Sept 7:   Rest day.

Thurs Sept 8:  Unintentional rest day. I wanted to run after work. Everything piled on all day (the past two days actually) and I never got to what is due the next day until around 5. I still thought I'd take a break, go out for a lovely run, come back and do more work. I even got changed. I didn't want to do any more work. But I didn't know I'd be able to get it all done at 4 a.m. either. And I was upset that I wasn't going to really be able to get it done and do everything I wanted to. There weren't enough hours or motivation. This has been how things have been going with running, drawing, working lately. I don't know which should be a priority anymore or where my efforts should go. All I know is more often than not, none of the above are executed well, and I just end up very disappointed with everything. Tonight was a perfect example of it. Each has its own type of disappointment too. Maybe I should figure out which type I'm best at handling and take my losses there.  I'm still not done with my work, I didn't run, I couldn't get my submission for IF up, and I'm perplexed at how I keep managing to do this to myself.

Fri Sept 9:  Planned to run after work...left a little early. But I got my allergy shots and had another reaction. I'm sure I could have survived the run, but I didn't know if it might make things worse, so I played it safe.

Sat Sept 10:  Nothing.

Last days of August, begining of September

I am thinking that my workout schedule needs to be a little more regular. Most mornings work the best for me, both for my schedule and for my energy levels. I miss running in the mornings. It takes a minute to get the body awake and ready, but the day is so much better because of it. And morning runs are much more enjoyable than afternoon runs. So here's what I'm going to try this week:

Sun - 6 mile run, core
Mon - 3 mile run before work
Tue - morning spinning and track after work
Wed - core
Thur - run 4 miles before work
Fri - run 3 miles before work
Sat or Sun - run 8 miles


And here's how it played out...

Sun Aug 28:  Ran 6 miles. I went from the house by myself, to Landen Park. I noticed they have a turkey habitat now at the park. There is a Duke Energy sign under all the big power lines. Strange. Maybe they're putting turkeys in all the areas they have to cut down for the power lines? If so, they are going to be very electrified turkeys that would glow on Thanksgiving.   Didn't do core, but did get to do a very slight amount of walking around for a short game of disc golf. Just spending any time outside on this beautiful day was so nice.

Mon Aug 29:  Wow, sore hip! The only nice thing about having injuries is when they start to happen again, you can identify it right away and take preventative measures! That's why I didn't run, even though I really really wanted to. Instead I did some core work - planks for 15 seconds each x 4, and lifting.

Tues Aug 30:  50 minute spin class. It was all I could do to get there this morning. Emails, phone calls, panicking printers, and then a stopped highway. But I made it and got the last bike. I need to start planning on just going an hour early and doing something else until class. Less pressure. Linda said next Tuesday's class might be an hour, so we can get some of our weekend worked off. The class was rough. I felt pretty crummy about myself not even 10 minutes into the class. When she says things like "you should begin to feel like your heart rate is rising, in the yellow" and I feel like I'm already in the orange or red... Maybe I just need more time. My tail bone started hurting and I'm wondering if spinning is the culprit. I didn't do the last jumps.

Wed Aug 31:  3 mile run. It didn't go well. My legs seized up again. It hurt so bad. I stopped a couple of times to stretch and manage the pain, but they hurt the entire 3 miles. More than anything, it hurt my confidence. I don't know what's going on. I am tired of sucking. I couldn't do any better than an 11 minute pace, and that was a struggle.

Thur Sept 1: 45 minute spin class.  I got up at 5:30 this morning. Part of the reason was because I woke up at 5 and was wide awake. But I also had to get to work to get a bunch of stuff done so I could make the class. I did, and even got there early enough to secure a bike and do a little half mile run warm up and stretching session. I knew I wouldn't have time to stretch after class.

Fri Sept 2:  rest day

Sat Sept 3:  nothing. It was pretty hot... Made the decision to do the long run Sunday.

August week 4...

Sun Aug 21:  45 minute spinning class. First ever for Greg. Now we get free gym memberships through insurance, so he's going to give it a whirl!  We went to this spin class because I knew the guy that teaches on Sundays is very nice and in my opinion good for beginners. He explains a lot. The class ended up being OK.

Mon Aug 22:  Ran 4 miles after work. First, I fell asleep on the couch. I'm not sure how long I was out, but I was so exhausted. I really wanted to bag the run, but didn't. I started out trying to keep it easy, but it was hard. It was pretty disheartening, and I tried to just focus on the fact that I was out there. At about 1.5 miles I turned around and started to at least feel like I was just running. But my pace was so slow while it felt so hard. Oh well. I made it through the 4 miles. It's runs like these that really make me question what the hell I'm doing anymore.

Tues Aug 23:  45 minute spinning class. I was really looking forward to hearing some good loud music. The spin instructor, Linda, had a new playlist. It ended up being top 40 crap, but some of it wasn't bad. Some of it I didn't know. Linda is probably my favorite instructor. She is really good at using the music to do the changing up of whatever we're doing, which makes it a lot more fun to me. And she's also really good at pushing us. She yelled at us today that we weren't working hard enough. Then at the end of the class she said she was stressed and admitted that the ride was probably a bit on the hard side. It was the first class I've been to where I didn't think I could make it during the stints of hill climbs with run intervals. I was exhausted. And tonight is supposed to be a track workout too....
...and it was, kind of. I tried to run, but only managed a slow wog of sorts for a half mile. I decided I'd do the stadium stairs. I ran up them and walked down them. Walking down was difficult and I was so winded, clearly feeling tired from the past few days' workouts and horrible sleep I've been getting. After that I walked a lap, stretched, and actually fell asleep as I was waiting for Roman and Greg to finish. Body is telling me: TIRED.

Wed Aug 24:  Rest day. I tossed and turned all night, itchy. Allergies are in full swing. Time to take some Allegra.

Thurs Aug 25:  Ran 3 miles. I went to the gym because I thought it would be good to maybe do some interval work. I hate treadmills sooooo much. I need to stay off them for a while until I feel better while running. After that I tried some machines.

Fri Aug 26:  nothing.

Sat Aug 27:  nothing.

--------------------------
The beginning of this week kicked my ass. 4 days isn't bad, so now I just need to add in some more strength stuff and eat better. I gained weight this week. Ug.

August week 3 recap

Sun Aug 14:  6 mile run! I went very very slowly, but it felt good. Comfortable, easy breathing, and my legs never hurt. I just wanted to run for a longer time than I have been, and that was accomplished. Also, we played a slow game of disc golf at Woodland Mound. It was crowded and full of families. Had to wait on a few holes. Funny.

Mon Aug 15:  Nothing. Sore legs... Walked 2 miles with the Dexter Dog, aka Tubs. Tubs had a great time and was notably happier when we got home. I want to walk him more, both for him and me.

Tues Aug 16:  50 minute spin class. It was a rough class. There were no breaks and she pushed us pretty hard. My quads were still sore from the 6, which I felt in the beginning, but it seemed to get better. Another soreness is my tail bone. Very strange. I suppose this is from the 6 miles? Right after class it felt better, but then got sore again. No biggie, just strange. I don't remember the last time my tail bone has been sore, and didn't know it could get sore from running.

Wed Aug 17:  Lifting. I tried to go for a run, but my tail bone still hurt really bad, plus I just felt like crap. So after a bit I turned around and headed home. I only went about a half mile, but figured that was a good warm-up for lifting. So I did weights and core stuff on the ball instead.

Thur Aug 18:  Nothing. Ouchy ouchy tailbone. Work was hectic, so I decided to rest.

Fri Aug 19:  Did 50 minutes on the elliptical and stretched. Tail bone is really sore.

Sat Aug 20: Nothing.  Felt pretty crummy most of the day. Did some yard work and think that hurt my tail bone more.

------
Training is underway, and I feel good about the 6 miles, but need to get this tail bone better.

August week 2 recap

What a rough week! Work kicked my ass and my lack of workouts proves it. But actually, it was OK because after the Ultimate tournament, my legs were pretty trashed. So I'm looking at this week as a recovery.

Aug 7 - about 4 hours of running around during the Ultimate Frisbee tournament. It was a great time!

Aug 8 - nothing. I was at work until midnight or so.

Aug 9 - nothing. Wanted to do spinning, but in a bit of work hell as I was basically on call for every little thing that came up: feedback, changes, new items...it sucked.

Aug 10 - 3 miles easy. Had a lot of leg pain. Pretty sure it was from all of the pounding my legs took Sunday.

Aug 11 - nothing. Again missed spinning thanks to work.

Aug 12 - nothing.

Aug 13 - nothing. Wanted to run, but decided to wait until Sunday, so that entry will just have to come later. Spoiler: it was an awesome 6 miles!

So this coming week should be a lot better, as things with my client have settled down and I'm all recovered. Bring on the training fun! Oh and this week's weather is going to be awesome!!! Highs in the low 80s!! I hope the humidity stays low too.

August week 1 recap

It's August! Where is the summer going?!?!?!

It's officially Cincinnati Half Marathon training time - woohoo!  Compared to the Pig, I think we all probably have some new goals. Greg wants to run it under 2 hours. The Pig was just fun, his first half, and he had to stop and use a port-o-potty, which can be quite a long process. Casey fought traffic the entire way of the Pig, which held him back, so I think he's going to blast away his time from last year. This race won't be so clogged. Me...well I was under-trained. So we'll see what I can do with spinning and other stuff now. Ultimate Frisbee is over, and it has honestly pushed me more than I've been pushed in a long time. I'm excited to apply that to my regular running.

Aug 1 - nothing

Aug 2 - Spinning for 60 minutes...the instructor had just gotten back from vacation and was eager to work hard and long. And that we did.

Aug 3 - final Ultimate game. Lost.  However, I noticed personally that I've come a long way in terms of endurance for the games since the beginning of the season. That makes me super happy.  Must have been all those games I had to stay in the entire time. :)

Aug 4 - Spinning 45 minutes.

Aug 5 - nothing

Aug 6 - 2.5 run and lots of walking in Louisville while visiting Erin and Richard. The run was through a beautiful park near their house. It was hilly and full of people. Very cool.

Good week for exercise. Bad week for eating. Need to work on that.

End of July update

I figured out my leg pain: pretty certain it was the cleats and not being able to properly adjust to their severe lack of support. I bought pretty cheap ones, not really thinking about it. Perhaps more expensive ones offer more support. Anyway, I stopped wearing them at practice and during games and voila - no more odd pain! I ran 3 miles and felt normal again.

Speaking of running, I haven't been doing much of it except during Ultimate, but that's OK. However,  I am really looking forward to some long runs again. I would like to do the Cincinnati Half Marathon again this year. It was fun enough, and cheap. It would be fun to repeat the Pig Half and run with Greg and Casey. The more the merrier. I think I'll have a goal too...doubt I can run it as fast as I did it the first time which is also my half PR, but who knows...with spinning and some buckling down....

And the rest of July went like this:

July 11th: Interval run on the treadmill on a very hot day. Legs hurt. 10 minutes on the elliptical to cool down.
July 12th: Spinning
July 13th: Ultimate Frisbee
July 14th: nothing
July 15th: nothing- car ride up to South Haven
July 16th: nothing - having the time of my life racing a Chevette
July 17th: nothing - continued Chevette racing fun
July 18th: nothing - so tired from the weekend
July 19th: nothing - tired
July 20th: Ultimate Frisbee
July 21st: Spinning
July 22nd: nothing
July 23rd: Ultimate Frisbee practice and scrimmage
July 24th: nothing
July 25th: Ran 3 miles and didn't have leg pain for the first time in a LONG time. :)
July 26th: Spinning
July 27th: Ultimate Frisbee game
July 28th: Spinning
July 29th: rest...my muscles are actually sore!
July 30th: planned: 6 miles, easy.....but I drank too much at Keith, Jeff and Rick's party.
July 31st: did some yard work.

July update

My lower legs have been giving me fits. New shoes didn't help like I thought it would. Adjusting to cleats didn't help. But I think that finally things are getting better. I have gone spinning a number of times now, and I'm sure that helps with the over all leg strength.

July so far has been pretty consistent, thanks to spinning. Out of 10 days, I've had 4 off but I can honestly say I needed at least 3 of them as rest. I would like to start running more again though. I went Friday - 3 miles. The first 1.5 miles my pace was 9:45...kind of unheard of these days. I was pleasantly surprised. It felt easy. But when I turned around, I was really hot, and going up a slight hill took it all out of me.  I finished with a 10:02 pace. I don't think I have any endurance anymore.  If my lower legs behave, I hope to start doing more long runs really soon. Yay!!

July 1 - nothing
July 2 - 2.5 mile trail run. Unsuccessful in leg pain, but successful in inspiration and fun!
July 3 - nothing, day in P-burg
July 4 - nothing, day with friends and still a lot of leg pain
July 5 - Spinning. Pushed since I'd been doing nothing the days before.
July 6 - 2 hours of running around at Ultimate (plus 2 laps before the game...maybe a half mile?)
July 7 - much needed rest day
July 8 - 3 mile run, no pain just tingly
July 9 - 26 mile bike ride
July 10 - nothing, autocross up in Dayton

The Gym

So I joined Urban Active. Soon, Greg's insurance will pay for the membership for free :)  But for the next couple of months, I'm paying (just $25...not bad). I mostly did it for the spinning classes, because I missed spinning a lot. So far I've done one and enjoyed it.

My legs are aching like crazy. I think it's all due to the increase in track and then running around in cleats. I have been thinking about it more, and, looking back, there was a track workout at Sycamore where I did 14 100s or something like that. I remember feeling the twinge in my lower legs then from the pounding. Perhaps I shook something up. I just hope I haven't damaged too much. It's getting to the point where I wonder if I should run on them at all (when not playing Ultimate). We'll see if things start balancing out once I build up some strength with spinning. At track Tuesday, I only ran one lap because everything hurt. I walked the rest of the laps. Then before Ultimate I warmed up a lap around the park, sending my lower legs into their painful tightness and making my knee feel like it could give out at any moment. For the game, I babied it, limping a little when running hard. It made it, so that's good.

I'm still trying to decide if I want to do a fall marathon. Seems silly to even discuss given the state my legs are in. But there is still time. Perhaps it's another half–a much more manageable distance and more fun for everyone.

For now all I really want is to be able to run without any pain.

Track Tuesday

It was a very stormy afternoon. But Roman and I agreed to meet and run anyway. I will run in rain. But if there's lightning I kind of feel like a target, so that was where I'd call it. Luckily, when we got there, it wasn't even raining anymore and held off the entire time.

We warmed up together for a mile, chatting about work and leg pains, and watching the sky. We saw a really cool cloud that was huge, spiral-y and scary looking. I am still not adjusted from my cleats. My legs are taking a beating from them and hurt. I have new shoes now, but didn't wear them because it was supposed to rain. Didn't want to break in the shoes all soggy-style. I am SO DONE with these old shoes. There is nothing left in them I'm afraid.

Anyway, after we warmed up and stretched, Roman was going to do a couple of mile repeats. I did 100s. I did 7, not counting, just hitting my lap button on my GPS. I love that thing.
Here are the 7, with walking 100 in between to recover:
22:79
24:12
21:38
21:52
20:48
22:15
19:79

These are a lot slower than the 100s I did a couple of weeks ago. Also, I noticed my legs were really slapping when I struck the ground. I decided my body was too tired to handle 100s without making my shins and knee even more sore. So I switched to 200s, smother and slower.

Here are the 4 I did, with walking 100 in between to recover.
50:79
51:75
53:48
51:72

Sooooo yeah, not the speediest, but it was still a good workout. Roman and I walked 2 laps after that and then hit BW's. Thursday I'm supposed to hear back about my blood work I had done Monday. Maybe there will be some explanation for how I've been feeling lately.

Ultimate Game #3

I am definitely starting to feel the benefits of more intense running that happens within Ultimate. About mid-way through the game last night, after a rather long play, I was huffing and puffing...but then very quickly got my breath back. My energy was good and my legs felt fresh even with a sore knee. I felt a glimmer of strength that I haven't felt with physical activity since last fall. It's nice to be pushed. I have struggled with pushing myself for a while now. But being on the team, being in front of others, knowing that if I don't hustle I'll just look slow or lose my person I'm guarding...those are all good motivators. And for the first time in a while, I felt like it will in fact be possible to run faster again, be strong again, and feel like my happy physical self again. My game sucked last night, and I never even got to handle the disc. But I'm elated that I felt again what I used to feel so often from running, not so long ago.

The Rest of the Week...

...didn't go as I hoped. I think I'm beginning to repeat myself here. :(

Ultimate Game #2

I keep learning about this game, and it's very fun. Tonight we played a game 3 guys down and did rather well considering. For me, everything is starting to make more sense about where to be and the general flow of the game. I'm still not understanding the forcing to sides though. Every time Lee explains it, and even has a white board for illustration, I just don't get it. I feel like I need to study it myself or something.

I didn't make any good plays or anything. Definitely made some mistakes, but we all did. I think I'll get cleats for the next game. My feet were sliding like crazy in my shoes.

In general, I was happy with how well I was able to keep trying while I was out there. Having 5 girls to rotate 2 positions seems like a perfect amount. Next week I have to find some cooler shorts though. My running shorts were sticking to me and felt tight and not breathable.

It's Hot

Didn't do track today because the DAAPworks show began and I met Greg and other BHDPeople down there. It was fun to walk around the building I spent 5 years in. It's funny how things take you back. I noticed details that apparently stood out to me before again tonight. And the smell of the place! It was pretty funny. I also drove by my old apartment...it looks like a shithole!

Anyway, in the afternoon, I snuck in a 2 mile run. I wanted to do 3, but woah. It was hot and I'm not acclimated yet. My head got all poundy and I was moving along at a snail's pace. So I thought 2 was enough. It would have been a good track day though. Even in the afternoon heat, the repeats allow for breaks and water!

Tomorrow is ultimate. Now is bed.

Strength Day

I didn't go on the group ride. I'm not sure if it happened. There wasn't a group message and I didn't call. My neck hurts really bad and I just didn't feel up for it.

Instead I went outside and worked on the stone path for a couple of hours. Digging, moving, digging, deciding, digging more. It's pretty fun. Slow and methodical.

As for working out, I'm calling it a strength day. I did leg lifts and ab work on the floor. I can tell I feel better already from all of the yard work I've been able to do the past couple of weeks. And there is plenty of more left that can fill the rest of the summer.

20 mile bike ride

Perhaps knowing I'm going to write down my workouts does end up helping. Today we spent a lot of time outside in heat, watching a SCCA auto-cross event up in Wilmington. By the time we got back, I had a pretty nasty headache (thanks to not wearing my glasses much I think) and was a bit tired from the heat. I watched the Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia on Netflix. (Wow!)  Sitting in the AC with the dogs was very pleasant. But I wanted to go on a ride. The couch and lure of reading a good book tried to suck me in, but then I thought how on the very first day of my wanting to do something every day of this week I would put down "I had a headache"?  Nahh...

So I went on a 20 mile ride from the house. :)   I can get to the trail easily. It's getting home that's kind of difficult right now. The hills kill me. I think it's about 4 miles to the trail. Then I did 12 on the trail. Then it was about 4 miles home, a different but very hilly way. It made me think of spinning class. Man spinning sure is good for road cycling.

So, first day is a success. 20 mile bike ride. :)  I'm not judging how I do on anything this week. The only thing I'm judging is if I do it.

Goal for this week: run or bike every day

I'm sitting outside with my coffee after some breakfast and the weather is perfect. What a beautiful morning.

Today I am going to go for a bike ride on the trail. Probably no hills but I just want to get some time in the saddle. Commuting by bike is probably not going to be happening for a bit. There is some new construction going on on Montgomery road. On one hand it looked kind of nice because with pylons up, I could have my own lane :) But the other day, I noticed I would be in the way on either side of the pylons. Best not to piss anyone off I guess.

I just remembered tomorrow is the group ride from Cycle Sport. So that could mean two days of biking in a row! :)

My goal this week is to do something every day. I'll write about what I do here to keep myself accountable...to myself, I guess. If I am going to record it, I want to see good recordings, not a "didn't leave work on time".

And now to continue to enjoy this beautiful morning...

Next

It's hot now. The studio's Open House is over. Work is still work, but perhaps is going to be manageable in the next couple of weeks. Ultimate Frisbee is starting this week. I rode my bike to work today for the second time ever. It's not going to rain much if at all this week. And it's almost June. All of these things make me feel like there is a new page to turn in training/exercise and reason to be excited and motivated.

I'm happy I got to ride to work today. I was yelled at though, which was a bummer. I knew it would happen some day, and that if I continued to ride more, especially on the road, that experience was bound to happen. It made me feel crappy. My ride home was uneventful, except for managing stop and go traffic on a hill.

So, I'm not sure what is next for training. I'd like to pick a race to try to see how fast I can go. A short race, 5K. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to more good track days and Ultimate helping to whip me into shape and lead to some fun times.

Track Tuesday

Warmed up 1 mile.

Then did 14 x 100. I've never done that many 100s. I don't know what got into me.

Plus, I looked up my 100 times from last April...and they were all about 22 - 23 seconds each while my times today were 19 - 20. Sooooo....either my GPS was screwed up or the track is wrong or I am stopping my time funny? It just seems really hard to believe that my times were faster today, because I was in way better shape last year. Perplexing...

Anyway, here are my times. So I have them as a benchmark. My favorite was my last one. Because I told myself to push, listened, and pushed. It got a 'fuck yeah' when I was done.

19:30
19:45
19:62
20:27
19:80
19:25
19:02
19:00
19:55
19:00
19:48
20:03
19:35
18:75

Busy Work Week

Christen and I are getting ready for our Open House at the office and the workload is just nuts. But, I'm determined to not let it get in the way of working out.

So far this week:

Sunday - I kind of lifted and did some leg exercises.

Monday - I ran 3.3 miles at lunch. It was a pretty awful run. I had to stop and walk a few times. I'm really not sure what is going on with my legs. The ache is bad and is the entire leg. Eventually it can go away. But it's so painful...and a recent development in things. I just don't know.

Tuesday (tonight) - I ran 8 x 200 at the track. I don't know if that was enough, a good amount, or what. It was hard. By the time I came to the end of each 200, I could barely breathe. The weather got super humid all of the sudden, so I'm sure that is part of it - the other part of it being I haven't been doing this.

I'm trying to get some consistency back into my workouts. I feel like I've been trying to do this for quite some time though.

Plans for the rest of the week... I can't ride my bike tomorrow because I have a bunch of errands to do. But perhaps I'll lift and run. Thursday and Friday I could ride... I just don't know when to do my runs. My schedule is all out of whack still and I'm not sure how to fix it.

Day 2 after running 13.1 miles, and I'm not as sore as I was yesterday - woohoo! I can get up now without having to stabilize myself for a few seconds.
A quick recap of the Pig Half:

• 2:33:something. Which is a slow pace. I didn't want to go that slow. It was a slower pace than I ran my marathon! That says a lot, lol.

• Felt great in the beginning. Got a bad side stitch mile 4 but I ran through it by grabbing my side and making what had to have been a pretty hilarious face.

• Fell apart on the hills; they wiped me out. But I'm not surprised, as I wasn't very well trained. I need a hill plan. Hills and me aren't friends right now. They bully me! I need to learn how to fight back ;)

• Races are a lot more fun when you are properly trained for them. While I was willing to have a suffer-fest, I just couldn't move any faster than a shuffle at times.

• I am very very very happy that my joints never hurt during this race or afterwords. My hips hurt afterwords, but that pain went away the next day. I am so thankful for this - it's a good sign. My IT band didn't hurt either, though it was sore to rub after the race. But it didn't make my knee hurt. All good stuff.

• I looked at this race as a really good workout, kicking off a new phase of training for some fun times ahead!


I put some race ideas/options in a tab up top, mostly 5Ks. Just have to see what people want to do! I love running with friends! And I have some goals for myself this summer.

Burning Leg

I had a 5 mile loop mapped... Cooper to Zig Zag to Kenwood to Cooper and a big more on Montgomery. But soon after starting to run, my lower right leg hurt incredibly. It was mostly on the outside, a burning pain. It was annoying but I kept running for a little over a mile, until I started limping. That's no good so I stopped. I tried to stretch but that hurt even worse, like I was going to rip something. So I turned around and started hobbling back to the office.

After a little bit I tried to run again, hoping it would just loosen up. It still hurt, but was manageable. So I went down random roads just running slowly, trying to get some miles in. Sometimes it hurt worse than other times. Hills or any uneven terrain was really bad.

I finally called it and mapped what I had done. Instead of 5 it was about 3.5, so at least I still got some miles in. My only guess to why it was so awful was the trails in Symmes Township. While not feeling sore after that, maybe my muscles needed some rubbing and stretching.

Today I'm going to ride my bike to work. I just installed the light on the seat post. Here's hoping traffic is nice.

Symmes Township Park

Today I finished up taxes - yay. I had some faxing to do to the CPAs, then dropped off the checks, then got my allergy shots. Reward? A nice run. Greg and I went over to Symmes Township Park. I wanted to run kind of long today, but didn't feel like heading out of the neighborhood and trying to make a 10 mile route. Plus, it's been a while since I ran, so all of the sudden doing 10 maybe wouldn't have been good. So I thought the soft challenging hills of Symmes Township park would be good for me.

Greg ran the first ultra-slow mile with me just so he would know the distance since I was wearing my GPS. The loop is 1.6 miles.

The trails is split up by the parking lot. The first section starts out on a mulch path that winds back into the woods with some easy ups and downs. It goes past the dog park the turns right and heads even farther into the woods, changing surfaces: crushed up asphalt-gravel. It winds around and goes downhill for a while, back onto mulch and gravel. Then a long uphill begins with a couple of steep sections, where you feel like you are just climbing stairs on your toes. It was nice. I saw a lot of greenery starting to pop up between the old leaves.

The second section goes to the other side of the park, winding down along the creek on a paved trail. It kind of feels like Sharon Woods here. The path winds along the creek and is pretty. Then it turns left and a steep uphill begins. It levels only slightly before an even steeper uphill happens. Then it is slightly uphill until you pop out of the woods again and there is a bridge. After the bridge you turn left and almost double back on the part you were just on except that now the path is up on the top of the ridge on the other side of the creek. This part is sidewalk, and winds around the small amphitheater and basketball courts. Then it dumps back into the parking lot.

Given all of the changing terrain, environment and running surfaces, the 1.6 miles goes by very quickly! I did three total laps. I know I'm not supposed to be looking at time right now, but I just wanted something to gauge effort as I went along, and also to be a starting point for hopefully improving in the next weeks. So, first lap was 18:27. Second lap was 18:35. After the second lap I was overheated. I felt my face getting really hot and I had a bit of a headache. So I sat in the shade for a few minutes drinking water before going on. Third lap was 19:37, an entire minute slower, which I wasn't surprised about. It was rough and I had to walk up one of the crazy inclines. Greg also did three laps, quicker of course.

Overall, this is an awesome place for a great workout! I think it will be good to whip myself into shape for trail running. The extreme up and downs are like nothing you can get on the road.

I'm hoping to start riding my road bike to work this week. I'd like to start riding my motorcycle too, but first I think I need more exercise. The mornings will be chilly, but the evening will be awesome. It is 7.4 miles to the studio, so 14.8 total for the day. That's nothing on a road bike, but it's rolling hills and sprinting in traffic, and will probably take me a half hour. So that's an hour extra of exercise. It's time to get to work. I really feel like I've lost it. I need some accountability.

Running from the New Studio

Track night...cancelled again. I can't say I was too disappointed though. I didn't fee like trying to run fast. But I did feel like just running for a while. Aimlessly. Since I was on my own, that's what I did.

I decided to try out a run from the new studio in Montgomery. I went down Cooper and then south on Kenwood into a neighborhood that I've ran in quite a few years ago when I did a training group at Fleet Feet. I just plodded along, not really paying attention to much. It was a hilly route. My legs hurt a lot in the beginning, as they seem to be doing regularly now. This time I knew I wasn't dehydrated because I was careful to drink a lot of water the past few days. Also, my lungs hurt as if it was bitter cold out. Not sure what that was about, unless it's just my allergies. I had a lovely high pitched wheeze on the exhales. Ah spring. No wait, ah anyseasonbutwinter.

The little neighborhood I ran in had a big hill, which was great. This route was really good hill training for the Pig: no flats, just up or down. I was tired and felt kind of sluggish, but the weather was nice and I enjoyed the sun greatly.

When I got back to the corner of Montgomery and Cooper, I checked my phone. I was running the MapMyRun app, which turns out to be pretty awesome. However, it sucks the battery life away. Maybe the screen was on the entire time - I'm not sure, I just stuffed the phone in my pocket. Anyway, I saw 5.4 miles and was pretty shocked. It just didn't seem like I had been out that long. So close to 6...I had to add in more distance to get there. I had guessed the route would have been 4 miles, but apparently it was more. I turned onto Montgomery and at 5.75 my phone completely died, but I knew that was where I needed to turn back to finish up to 6 at the studio. 

It was pleasant. I'm sure some of the bliss came from the fact that I am not familiar with the area, so everything went by quickly. But one run in, I really like running in this area...and like it way more than the sparse options I had from Loveland. Maybe I'll run from the new place more often. I already know I can bike pretty easily from it into Indian Hill, thanks to my crazy hilly bike ride I did with the Trek store ride leader on Saturday. That ride was great, but man. Eye opening to how bad of riding shape I'm in! At least it's only April I guess. It was a very fun ride that would have been even greater if I could have handled it a bit better. Soon.

Track Night

We tried a different track- Sycamore. It was cold and windy. That's nearly all I remember.

Ok, not really. There were a whole bunch of little kids there practicing, which was entertaining but kind of scary at the same time. They just don't watch what they're doing and move so irregularly!

I ran a mile to warm up with Roman. Then I did 4 x 400...in lane 8. So I guess it was more than 400, but it doesn't matter. By the third one I was very down about the experience and so freakin' cold and grumpy. I felt like a snail. I didn't take a watch, still continuing with just worrying about effort rather than any times. I tried to tell myself I was at least pushing and working hard. But I just felt crummy. I did the last 400 anyway, because I knew I'd be really upset if I didn't. Then I cooled down a mile. Then I sat in my sun-warmed car and thawed my legs. Man it was cold!

Today is beautiful though. Not getting out today, but hopefully tomorrow after work? Work is just nuts. I can't wait for this week to be over.

Awesome weather, less awesome run

I am tired. I have spent the last few days moving the studio, lifting things, on my feet more than usual, blah blah blah.  I'm beat! But I wanted to run 6 miles today. Actually, I wanted to run 10. However, after spending all day at the new studio again, my feet and legs told me why don't you start with 6 and see how that goes? Those feet and legs... they're always right.

It was a horrendous run, lol. Painful, slow, painful...  But I chugged along and was happy to be outside in the sunshine. I think I have windburn on my face! It was super windy coming back.

So, 6 miles is still OK. I picked it up at the end and pushed, which felt good.

Speedwork in the 'hood

Tuesday was supposed to be track night. But Roman and Greg were both too tied up with work stuff, and Erin has hurt her back. Since it was just going to be me, I decided I'd just run in the hood, doing some repeats on the street. Something different.

I warmed up a mile, running to the end of Townsley and back. Then I started at the mailbox and ran the other way down Everett (to where it dead ends) and walked back. I did that 4 times. On the fourth time, I jogged back, then kept going toward the end of Townsley again, picking up the pace, to get another mile in. So it was about 3 miles total.

I think it was beneficial. I'm not sore today, so maybe I could have done a few more. I haven't done any "speed work" yet this year, so I just started with 4 repeats. I'm happy with how strong I felt.

Busy Week

Last week was a busy one with work since Christen was on vacation. But I survived. I was pretty exhausted by the end of the week and didn't make it to the run Friday morning. I was dressed and everything, but my body said no.

Saturday morning I ran with Kristie. She came to the house and we went on a two mile run-walk. I said for her to set the pace and we could of course walk whenever she wanted to. I think we made it almost to a mile. She did great and we talked for about an hour and half afterwords too, which was awesome, about running, mountain biking, and just general funny stories around those subjects. It sounds like she wants to want to go again some time. I'm not sure what her running plans are. But, I look forward to going again with her.

Sunday I ran 8 miles. Greg and I went out to Miami Whitewater. I don't think he wanted to go that far initially, but decided that he could probably run at my pace that far and be fine, even a week after the race. So he chugged along with me. It was a rough run for me. Started out really bad, one of those 'how am I going to do this for 8 miles' kind of runs. At about mile 4 I finally loosened up and thanks to some downhills got my breathing under control. The rolling hills there are nice. I pushed it when I could and slowed down when I felt I needed to. Again, like at Sharon Woods, no watch. I have mixed feelings about the run. It was hard. I tried to push when I felt like it would be a good time to push, and I suppose I paced it ok that way. There is a long steep hill at the end which really took it out of me, like hills always do. So that was a bit demoralizing, but all in all, I guess the 8 miles was a healthy and fun 8 miles. And, it was a lovely sunny day! The wind was c-c-cold, but the cut of the land around the trail blocked it sometimes. A lot of the wildflower grass areas have been burned back. Not sure why that is. It was very stinky through those parts though.

Great start to the week, the 8 miles! But I think I'm getting sick... bleh.

Beautiful run in Sharon Woods

Today has been a crazy work day...so I'm taking a break to write. Ahhhh...

Wednesday morning I had to take Greg over to the motorcycle shop to pick up his car before work. I thought since I was in the area, I'd do a run at Sharon Woods. I haven't ran there since my first run after the marathon two Octobers ago...and that ended with a two and half month IT band injury/recovery. Of course that was in the back of my mind. But what I was really interested in was enjoying the spring morning.

I'm not going to run with a watch for a while. I've come to realize that I might be too focused on time. I judge everything on it, and consequently have damaged a couple of things: my morale and my fitness. A lot of runs are disappointing because I don't hit a certain pace. That in turn hurts my motivation and I run less, which in turn hurts the fitness. Voila, a vicious circle I had no idea I was in. Yep, I was very deep into my watch times with absolutely no advantage to me.

So when I got out of the car Wednesday, the skies were moving. Big, blue-gray clouds looked like they were bumping into each other. This must be my most favorite atmosphere to run in: right before a storm. It's as if you get energy from all of the energy stirring in the sky. I started out around the pond, taking it very easy. My legs were still pretty tight from Sunday. My right lower calf hurt like hell. I stopped a couple of times to try to stretch it, but stopping hurt even worse, so I just kept running easy. Eventually it worked itself out.

Sharon Woods is not an easy run. There are a lot of quick and very steep ups and downs. It's actually a great place to train I think. The off-camber path can be a little rough on the knees, but there are also some wooded paths that are fun and not tilted. Plus there are always plenty of people around, so running by myself I feel comfortable. I think I'm going to try to go there a little more often.

It's also a beautiful run–a very nice change from the uninspiring neighborhoods I usually run through. The tufts of green plants coming up along the sides of the path contrasted against the brown leaves. And the squirrels were everywhere. I saw 6 right off the bat and thought I wonder how many I will see today...I should count! So I did, and got to 36. It was funny. Most of them had their heads in the ground and would pop up at the last minute when I approached.

As for the no watch thing, I have to admit, when I got to the .5 mile marker I automatically checked my naked wrist. I wondered how fast/slow I was going, and thought oh I must be going so slow. But with no numbers to verify this, there was nothing left to think about except how I was feeling. I was feeling great! My legs hurt, but this was a recovery run and I was enjoying the spring air. The same feeling happened at mile 1 and again I was simply happy running. It was wonderful and I honestly felt like a runner again.

Work is kicking my ass but I'm really determined to run tomorrow morning. Now hurry up and come back, spring!

Core

This morning I got up kind of early and did some core stuff while paying a lot of attention to some curious dogs. Or maybe it was that I got up to play with the dogs on the floor while also throwing in a couple of core exercises. That was probably their perspective :)  Harley especially loves it when I get down on the floor to stretch. In my face. Wet beard. Pet me pet me pet me...here I'll roll over so you have easy access to my belly!

I stretched a bit...that felt good. Then I did the ball pass from holding it between my legs to over top of my head. It's a core exercise. I did some wall pushups. And some leg lifts and extensions I did in PT. And some more stretching. And then side reach thingies...man I need some names for this stuff. Here's a maybe somewhat cohesive list:

Stretched
Exercise ball overhead leg pass 2x (That's what I'll call it. For now.)
Straight leg lifts while on my back
Leg extentions while on my back for 10 seconds (still a bit sore from the race)
60 wall pushups
Side reaches while standing
A lot more stretching

I think that's it...feel like there was something else leg-wise, but oh well.

I didn't make it to track tonight, thanks to work. I did make it to BW3's for a short break and dinner...and now I'm back at work. It's going to be a long week.

File should be saved by now...back to work I go.

Heart mini is over...and 2.5 hours of bike fitting fun

What a very fun weekend. Hanging out with friends all weekend is definitely my favorite thing to do. Then throw in a race and it's pretty much perfect.

We had some rain for the Mini, but it wasn't ever a downpour, so that was nice. And this just means that the weather for the Pig will have to be great!

Everyone did so great. Greg and Casey ran their asses off. And so did Jess. And Daryl did great and blew his training run paces out of the water! As for me, I am sooo happy that my knee issue went away and I was able to finish. I was worried my mystery knee pain would bring me to a halt. However, my knees held up, even on that very challenging, hilly course. That was great and a relief. My lack of training/fitness leaves me nothing to be proud of though.

When I scheduled my bike fitting at the Trek store to be the Monday after the race, I didn't know how perfect the timing would be. It was a nice shift. I loaded my bike in the car (it was POURING, plus I just cleaned and lubed my bike, plus my roof rack seems to be a little loose) and headed down to the Trek store to meet Nick. First he put my bike up on their level trainer which is by some mirrors. Then we went over some questions about how often I ride, what kind of riding I do, injuries, etc etc. After that I laid down on a mat and he did some PT-type flexibility/range of motion measurements. He laughed at the flexibility part because I went way further than most people so he knew that wouldn't be an issue during the fitting. Then I stood up and he just looked at my posture and how I stand. He noted my right shoulder might be a little lower than my left. Also, my shoulders are 38" wide, and my bars are 40". I guess they should be 38" but he said it's not a huge deal. It was a bit awkward standing in my bike shorts as some guy walked around me with the single purpose of looking at my body and how it is put together, lol. After all of the measuring, he put the stem adjuster on my bike and I hopped on.

First was pedaling and seat height. I'm a toe down pedaler, which is bad. He taught me about how my feet should be level and how since I point my toes down, that might be part of some of the knee pain I get from biking because I'm over extending. He adjusted seat height and seat front-back adjustments. Once that was all good, we worked on the front. The goal was to get my back flat and reach good. After many many many adjustments, it was pretty much accomplished. He rotated my bars and adjusted my shifters and the angles of everything. The process was me pedaling, Nick standing back and watching, and then him making very small adjustments to things. Then it would happen again and he'd evaluate how I'd look. Over and over and over again. I also gave feedback to how I felt. Sometimes the adjustments were so slight I didn't feel them. He also adjusted my cleats on my shoes. I had no idea they adjusted! One was turned out some and the other wasn't straight either. I could really feel that difference when I got back on the bike. That might also effect my knees. Hopefully, the adjustment prevents my foot numbness issue I have. The pressure point might have been too far back rather than on the bony part.

So, 2.5 hours later, after he got everything exactly how he wanted, I got off the bike and he wrote all of the measurements down. He'll email them. I need a new front stem in order to get the angle and length that was decided upon. He's going to have to do some digging for the part because my bike is "old" and they just aren't made like mine is anymore. Ha! It really isn't that old...bikes must be like computers. I am looking forward to going out on a ride and seeing how I feel!

A Letter

Dear Knee and IT Band,
Hi, how are you? Well, I know how you are, actually. You are loud complainers, both of you.

Anyway, just wanted to say hi and ask for you to feel good tomorrow during the Heart Mini. Knee, please don't blow up. You are feeling better today! That's good! I'll take it easy on you tomorrow. IT Band, I'll roll you some more today. Stay loose, dude. Stay loose.

Please cooperate so I can have a fun 9.3 mile run with all of my friends, and not feel more left out than I already do.

Thanks,
Steph

Knee Woes

For whatever reason, my left knee has decided to stage a huge protest. After yesterday afternoon's run, I noticed it was tight and hurt. Then when I got down on the foam roller, I could barely do my right side because I couldn't use my left leg to help propel me. I still chalked it up to just being oddly sore. All night it hurt and woke me up. And this morning it was no better. I can't put weight on it to get up or sit down, and it hurts to bend it.

I guess I'll see what happens. I wouldn't be able to run on it right now, but maybe by Sunday it will be better. I'm really really hoping. I  feel sucky right now.

HMTD31: Run in the Rain

1. I'm sick sick sick of working at the flavor house. April 11th can not come soon enough.

2. I want a vacation. On that vacation I would like to get up with the sun and spend my time walking around outside, sitting and staring, and going for leisurely runs in beautiful land.

3.0 miles is what I did in 29:44. I should be happy.

HMTD30: 7 Hilly Miles

Sunday around one o'clock I ran from the house in the hilliest direction I know: to Duke Blvd. (I suppose I could do hill repeats over there some day!)

The weather wasn't as nice as it had been Saturday, but it was still a very pleasant run. I had on my make me faster tights and then two layers of short sleeve shirts with arm warmers. And my headband. Perfect. The sun came out from behind the clouds a couple of times and warmed me. I think it's going to be warmer for the race this weekend...maybe even shorts weather!

I felt really good in the beginning. Pace felt easy. But up one hill and my pace dropped a lot and I felt tired. It's the state of things now. During the boring stretch on Duke, after sucking wind up the bigger hill, I couldn't stop comparing myself to myself back in the fall. For a while it was me, the empty road and disappointment. But I pulled myself out of it with the hope I have for the Pig and thinking about maybe doing more fun trail races this summer. My knee started hurting pretty bad at mile 5 - IT band pain. I rubbed the side of my thighs while I was trying to fall asleep last night and found the tightness no problem. Foam roller here I come!

The race this weekend is going to be fun fun fun because a bunch of awesome people are running it: Daryl, Jess, Roman, Casey, Greg, Joe (half), Anne (5K)... That might be the most people I've ever known at a race! Despite my lack of fitness, I'm still really looking forward to running with everyone...or at least starting with everyone as the case may be. I don't have any goals; I'm not in a good enough shape for anything but a finish. I want to finish strong and feel good – that will make me happy. And I'm so curious to see how everyone is going to do! I hope everyone does great and we have good weather! I'm looking at this as a training run towards the Pig. Then we'll see what I can get done for May 1! Woohoo!

HMTD29: Spinning

I spun for an hour last night after I got home and played with the dogs for a bit. It went well. I'm not sure if my cyclometer is set right now that it's on the back wheel. I will have to check on the trail with the mile markers when I get out there some day. Or ride to the end of the street, which I know is a half mile. It's still at least a gauge of effort comparatively. I did some intervals and while doing them I tried to keep my speed above a certain mph for a half mile. It got harder to do that as the intervals went on, so that is good.

HMTD28: 4 miles

This morning I ran 4 miles. There really isn't anything too special about the run. It was a pleasant cold temperature. I felt pretty good. Had some hard times breathing. Things are growing, if anyone is wondering. My lungs were full of it and I was hacking for about 2 hours after the run.

I went down Montgomery Road and then into the neighborhood that is behind the old Shell station. I haven't been back there in a while. There are some really cool homes and some really awful homes – quite a mix. It's pretty entertaining to look at.

First, coming into the neighborhood, there is a house on the left whose owners must LOVE black and white. The driveway going to the attached garage is a checkerboard of black and white tiles. The driveway to the detached garage in the back is painted white. There are a bunch of yard knick-knacks that are all painted black and white, such as a little fake well. The entire house is trimmed in black and white, and brick is white. The mailbox is too. It's pretty crazy. I don't even think I've seen all of it while I run past. It's kind of like trying to look at a house with too many lawn ornaments: you simply can't take it all in.

There is an absolutely gorgeous dark wood siding house that is tall and new with a 3-car garage. It had to be a case where they tore down the previous home and built this one. I love love the color of the wood. I imagine it's a lot of maintenance, but it looks so welcoming and cozy (even though it's a large house).

On the back stretch of road is a house that looks like it's trying to be in Florida. It's peach, and there are facade walls in the front to make kind of a court yard. It reminds me of a small scale house that could be seen from our apartment in Florida. There is also a humongous water feature off to the right. It's so big and odd looking – as tall as the house!

Those are the ones that stand out to me now. It's just funny to me how unique so many of the houses are from one another. And it kept me entertained looking around and thinking about them. That neighborhood's loop is about 1 mile. So tacked on to the 1.5 to the Shell station, it was a perfect 4 miles when all done.

I saw today in my facebook feed that the Heart Mini is 13 days away. Huh.

HMTD27: 3.8 miles...after a long week

Well, it's Saturday, and I hadn't done anything since last Saturday. As mentioned briefly in the previous post, I pulled my lower back while working on my bike. It ended up being really bad and left me unable to do anything for a week. And what a long week it was. I hate that I missed a week of training, especially after two very good and promising weeks. Oh well, challenges are good.

The turning point in my back getting better was finally going to the doctor and getting pain meds and a muscle relaxer. It would have probably gotten better faster if I could have just taken a day off completely and slept on the drug. But I took it every night, and with each pill, it got better. Once again, I am reminded how fortunate I am to live without chronic pain.

So, today my back just feels like it's sore from shoveling or yard work, so I ran 3.8 miles. I didn't expect my run to go well at all. Not only was I not biking or running last week, but I was barely moving. I couldn't walk upright and did as much activity as one does while having the flu. However, I managed to run easily at a 10:20 - 10:30 pace and got it down to 10:12 by the end. About half way through the run I stopped to stretch, and then got a wonderful rejuvenation which caused me to pick up the pace on the way back very nicely.

I am really happy to be feeling almost 100% again. It's been a very discouraging week.