Trainer Ride in Which I Sorta Talked to Myself

Around lunch time Tuesday, I hopped on the bike trainer for a one hour ride. I hadn't been on the bike in a while, so I wasn't really sure what I'd do. I just started the music and started pedaling.

I took it easy for about 10-15 minutes, spinning with quick legs but easy gear. I wanted to let my lungs and heart rate settle in. Still kind of burny-lunged since being sick. For an hour ride, there was no need to push too hard right away.

It's like Pandora knew my plan. Around the 15 minute mark, the music picked up to something I thought "hey, I'll work with this." And I began to work. I think it was just some pickups during a chorus. My mind wandered. Maybe I should really try to make an effort to get to those Y spinning classes; I'd push myself more if I did. Wonder what it'd be like to teach. It'd be fun to have a friend who'd bring their bike and trainer over and we could ride together. I could "instruct" a mini-class.... 

And then the next thing I knew I was shouting out cues and encouragement to a fake class.

I felt a little nuts, but after one song, I just thought it was crazy fun.

Oh how fun it would be to be an instructor! I could just sub maybe? I don't know. I am not sure how it all works. But it was really fun to think about the things that make a person push. The encouragement, the challenge. It would be really neat to see people working hard, getting results, coming to my class to workout because of how I lead it. I think back to Mel at Urban Active. She was spectacular, by far the best spinning instructor I've ever had. It worked for me.

At the 1 hour mark I finally finished, but I wanted to keep going.

I was clumsy with my words. That would definitely need some practice. But I was also winging it – shouting cues to whatever song came on Pandora. I just went with the music, which I know isn't always the best workout. I thought about that too. I'd come up with some smart interval classes, and spend the time crafting the music around that. But then I'd have some "random road rides" where it would change up sporadically, kind of like how it is on a real road ride. I might have to make it purposefully random, because I'm sure instructors aren't allowed or encouraged to "wing" a class.

I was excited when I got off the bike. Initial thought: Maybe I should become an instructor in 2015?!?! It'd be nice to get out and interact with people, from whomever would employ me to the students. But then I thought about how scary it is being in front of people, and how I'm kinda chubs, and who wants an out-of-shape-looking instructor...
But then I thought again about how much I enjoyed the prospect of trying to get someone to work, to really dig in and feel good. And I thought about how dumb it is to be afraid of things like being in front of people, because fear just holds you back from experiencing amazing things.

I like experiences. I want to do it. I'm still really scared. But I want to do it.

2.8 miles today...and was I holding back?

I ran with K after a meeting today. Earlier in the day I had no breakfast, but a salad for lunch with 2 eggs cut up, cuke, cheddar and ranch (barf) dressing. Oh and a few snap peas. Tea later in the day, with cream. 

The run went super well for me. We slowed and it wasn't because of me. I had to hold myself back. We clipped along at 10 pace, which felt easy. Later it was hard to run so slow (we were slowing). K eventually had to walk at the end. 

I certainly don't wish the feelings of struggle and having to walk on anyone, especially K... But wow it was so weird and different to be the person who wasn't struggling. 

My breathing was great. I felt strong. 

Yay!!

Wrapping Up & Goals

For the past couple of weeks, I've been fighting off a cold. It finally got the better part of me last Saturday. I went on a run with Krista, then came home and really started feeling bad. Aches, tired, dizzy...ug. I made it out Saturday night, after a long afternoon nap. Then Sunday I was pretty worthless. Monday and Tuesday were a struggle, as clients suddenly needed everything last minute and all I wanted to do was sleep. Coughing was getting worse- burning. And I had to finish shopping. I had no appetite, so that helped my diet along nicely.

Christmas eve and Christmas I tried not to hack on everyone. And now it's two days after Christmas and I'm definitely feeling better! Yesterday I went on a 2.5 mile run. Almost immediately, my lungs started burning. But I took it easy, and eventually the burning went away. I didn't even cough much afterwords, so I think that's a good sign.

I was thinking about going on a bike ride tomorrow, but it's supposed to be raining. It was a 20 miler that goes the speed of the slowest rider. So really, it could be pretty painful and cold. I may just stick to the trainer. I just want to get some outdoor riding in this winter. Keep things in check.

Yesterday I realized that the Heart Mini is only 11 weeks away. That sparked trying to really decide what I want to do next year for fun. And so here goes a list of goals.

1. Heart Mini Half Marathon - March 15.
2. Flying Pig Marathon - May 3.
3. Various sprint tris that are close and convenient throughout the summer.
4. Something biking long? I still haven't done any biking events.
5. Fall Marathon - Columbus?


So, thinking more about triathlon, I really think I need to back off a bit and just stick to a fun sprint here and there. Until I have the desire and time to really focus on swimming, sprints are plenty fun. Maybe even some duathlons. I missed running a lot last year. I want to get back to running.

My breathing continues to be better. I'm really hoping that this diet change I've made will allow me to have fun again, and maybe even have some cool performances. Maybe, just maybe, if I work hard, I can run a half marathon PR again.

Busy Day and Long Run or 5K

I've had a busy day. Just a lot going on, got up early, felt the urgent need to find something to wear to G's Xmas party tonight so did some brief shopping. It's a classic case of "well now the afternoon is gone" and I don't think I'll work out.

I also didn't work out yesterday.

In reality, I may lift. I did some squats and other leg stuff this morning while I waited for tea to brew. I did counter pushups. I am not ever sore from those, so I guess I need to do more.

Tomorrow morning I'd really like to do a 5K in Loveland. It's a Christmas themed one, and I don't really have anything even red or green...but it's free with canned food and sounds like a good enough reason to run with some people. I would not expect anything stellar for time. Maybe...just maybe I could pull off 10 pace. It'd be good practice.

The problem is I'm already tired and there's this Xmas party tonight...so tomorrow morning may be rough. Not because of alcohol. I'm just dragging a bit.

Alternative idea would be to run long. Like 6 miles. But the newfound overachiever in me wants to run this 5K tomorrow and then run 6 Sunday morning. Because I didn't do anything yesterday or today.

And obsession is starting to kick in big time.

Sub 10-min per mile pace

Tonight, when it was just about dark, I set out on my run. I despise this early darkness. It had been cloudy all day. That didn't help the sun get its last weak rays into the late afternoon. I knew I'd finish in the dark. 

I decided I'd push it a bit. I started out so smooth ad thought maybe it could stay that way. So instead if 3, I did my 2.5 mile loop. I almost tripped over a branch in front of a car at the end. Stupid darkness. 

My pace was sub 10 within the first mile. 9:58 I think. Then I slowed a bit in the middle, struggling with some slight inclines. So I pushed at the end, unable to see my watch but wanting to see sub 10 when I stopped. 9:56 was it. 

I'm certainly happy I did this. I wonder about how hard it was though. I felt weak more than I had trouble breathing, so maybe that's good?

I'm trying to stay positive. Trying to believe I can get better, and people will want to run with me again. 

1 hour 10 minutes on the trainer

I finally got on the bike. This morning I had two sausage links, a stick of string cheese, and coffee with 4 T of cream for breakfast. That cream was spread over 2 cups of coffee by the way.

Then I got on the bike around noon. I decided to ride steady for a half hour. I tried very hard to keep my heart rate below 160 and my pace at 16 - 16.5 mph. This meant either quick legs in an easier gear, or not so quick cadence in a heavier gear. I alternated. And I tried to focus on belly breathing. I had fun watching my heart rate fluctuate. I could take some deep breaths and bring it down a few points. Interesting.


So here's the ride, all done to my mix:

Time: 1:10:00
- 30 minutes of warmup then steady pace 16 - 16 mph with HR below 160.
- 20 minutes of playing with the music, pacing differently, pushing. Still trying to keep HR down.
- 20 minutes of heavier pushing. Got HR up to 171. Includes cool down (probably 5 minutes)

Max HR: 171
Avg HR: 159

Summary: Good workout. Felt strong. Felt when I was weak, but don't think it was abnormal.

After all that time, I felt fine. No crashing, well yet I guess. I had a salad with walnuts, cheese and cucumbers drenched in walnut oil and vinegar. I had a cheese stick right after I got off the bike. I'm about to make some tea because I'm very thirsty.

No Biking Yet

Well, I didn't get up early to ride like I had hoped to. I was so wired last night...and then this morning I was so very groggy. It has been something I've noticed since the new diet. I have a really hard time getting out of bed. I'm not sure why.

So I've made my list for the day, and will do a small piece of work to get a client off my back and then shower. I'll ride later...when I like to ride anyway :) Maybe around lunch time.

Hilly 2.65 in Madeira

Over the weekend, I didn't do much of anything. C'est la vie. I had intentions for Sunday, but got sucked into work.

But now it's Monday!

I had a meeting with K at a coffee shop in Madeira. It was what I'll call an actual coffee shop – the kind I remembered from college years, before there was a Starbucks on every corner. There were mugs to use instead of paper cups. This place grinds their own coffee. There were random things everywhere...a true coffee shop feel. I liked it, and may consider going there to work some day. They had wifi and I think even some food.

After our meeting, we did a run around the neighborhood. Neither of us really knew where to go, but I had my GPS, so I could at least check distances. Madeira is hilly. We climbed some steep ones, much to my disliking. But, I actually feel like my breathing was better. It's a trend I've noticed lately. My strength may not be there yet, but my breathing seems to be deeper and more clear, if that makes any sense.

When I got home, I crashed. :(  Not entire sure why, so I'll just document things here as I plan, so I can hopefully figure out what to eat when.


Breakfast:
- Kale, 3 eggs, onion, mozzarella cheese scramble.
- Chai with some cream and Stevia

No lunch...I never got even snack-hungry. I was also working really hard to get my stuff done before the meeting.

The Run:
Distance: 2.65 miles
Overall pace: 10:45 (ug. 10:40 for the first, 10:44 for the second, and then 11 something for the last bit) Still did manage to talk though...so that seems like an improvement.
Temp: 47º and cloudy
Terrain: hilly

After:
Crashed. Came home and had about a half cup of ricotta cheese with salt and parmesan cheese mixed in. Then thought I was maybe still hungry so I ... mixed about 2 T of butter with some almond flour to make a doughy treat. WTF. That was just weird. I just wanted it though. I probably should have opted for some nuts, but this is what I did. Then I showered. Then I sat on the couch and crashed. I fell asleep and just felt kinda icky. When Greg got home, he waited on me to recover some, then we went to eat. By the time we were done with dinner (taco salad with beef, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, avoided tomatoes) I felt all better.

So, there was the drive – about 30 minutes. Then eating and feeding the dogs – probably at least another 15. Then a 15-20 minute hot shower. And THEN I felt bad. I felt bad an hour after the run, even with having eating some food, albeit nothing sugary. So I don't know what that means. 2.65 miles shouldn't have felt like much effort. Was it the hills? Was it not eating any lunch? I really don't know. Maybe my body just isn't fat adapted yet and it stopped burning fat and that's why I crashed? Not sure not sure...just writing it all down so I can look back later.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Tomorrow morning I am going to do a "fasting" workout. I've done these many times before, not really knowing that's what I was doing. It is simply working out before breakfast. It's true that I don't run first thing in the morning anymore. And when biking, I'd have breakfast because I figured I'd need it. So, we'll see what happens. It's not my ideal time to get on the bike, but I'm going to try it.

The week. I think things are getting better.

Monday I ran 3 miles. It was an excellent run, the first after Thanksgiving laziness. I didn't take my watch, which always seems to result in an "excellent" run....hmmmm...

Wednesday I ran 4 miles, and felt pretty good. 10:20 pace average.

Thursday I rode my bike for an hour. I did speed, and pushed a hill at the end of the ride. I felt great, and felt great afterwords as well.

Friday I ran 3 miles with quarter mile repeats:
warmup: .5 mile.
4 x .25 mi hard with .25 easy recovery jog
.5 mile cool down at 10:20 pace.
Felt great!

Saturday I'm relaxin'. My running partner bailed for tomorrow's scheduled run, but I think I'll still run 5 or 6 slow and steady by myself.


I'm feeling pretty good. I'm feeling "normal," like I can't even tell I'm eating so different. So I'm either missing something, or I'm really beginning to adjust. Maybe I'll buy some keto strips to see what that's all about (morning fast urine test strips).


Sidenote: pooping has been different...not as often. Maybe I need more fiber!?

4 miles that were pretty good!

Wednesday morning I had to get some things done with work. So I opted for the "run later" thing, and I'm happy to report, didn't fail at that.


Breakfast:
A kale-cheese-egg scramble:
1/2 cup kale fried in about 1 T butter. Then 2 scrambled eggs cooked in. Mozzarella cheese was added at the end. I also had some tea with about 1T of heavy cream.
~ 5 carbs

Snack:
Before I ran I had about 6 cashews.
~ 4 carbs

The Run:
My mindset was to take it easy and just run a steady pace. I also wore my heart rate monitor because I wanted to get a base on that. Haven't done that in a while.

Distance: 4 miles
Overall pace: 10:20
Avg heart rate: 167
Max heart rate: 186
Temp: 38º and slightly sunny
Terrain: around the 'hood...slight inclines here and there

Towards the end of the run, it was definitely always above 171, and held around 183 for quite some time. Any slight incline would make it go up. I don't think the 167 is accurate because I was stopped for about 1 and then 2 minutes during the run, in which it fell a bunch. Meh.

I felt pretty good the entire time. I still feel like hills are rough...but have kind of always felt like hills are rough? So I feel like this run is closer to my current fitness level now.


Post Run:
Felt fine. Showered. Eventually had a couple meatballs, but I'm just not really hungry.

New Stuff

Last Tuesday wing night, I explained what I've been doing with my diet over the past month. It's such a complicated thing that I find hard to explain in one sitting, one paragraph, one breath.

Background:
- For the past couple of years, I've been exercising and trying to eat well, but have not lost weight much, and often have gained for no clear reason to me. In a nutshell, it's been frustrating.
- I have been feeling really crappy physically for a while. Just not healthy feeling, unexplainably tired, even though I didn't feel like I was making terrible choices all the time to warrant how bad I felt.
- Exercise was becoming more and more difficult. Performance in things has been declining. It's been a struggle to do things that were once a given.
- I have palindromic rheumatism and have had more problems with my hands hurting the past year.
- I have super high cholesterol, even though I exercise and "eat right". Doctor has recommended medicine, which may just be what needs to happen...but I want one last try to control it.

Closer to now:
- My uncle came to town hyping a couple books he read about calories, the way we eat, and carbohydrates/sugars.
- Timing was interesting, given how much I had been thinking about everything recently, trying to figure out what to do.
- I decided to read Why We Get Fat and What We Can Do About It by Gary Taubes.
- I decided that I agreed with nearly everything in this book, that the science was encouraging and that I should change the way I eat to see how my body would react.

Current:
- I became a living science experiment. I cut out carbs and sugar from my diet around the second week of November. I also increased fat.
- I went through 2 weeks of really feeling awful. I felt like I had the flu. No energy. Dizzy. Disconnected. I got my period in the middle of my cycle. I was irritable. My hormones felt all over the place. I could barely muster a shuffle when running. I slept like crap.
- Thanksgiving happened....I ate some sugar and paid for it the next couple of days feeling off and with headaches.
- I now feel pretty adjusted. I am eating less than 30 carbs a day, probably in nutritional ketosis, and am feeling really really good. My workouts are back to what they were.

Things that have changed:
1. Food tastes different and better. It's more satisfying. It tastes more like food than just substance I'm filling up on.
2. I haven't over-eaten at all since I've been eating more fat.  (!!!)
3. I have a constant energy throughout the day and don't feel the crashes I used to feel in the afternoon.
4. I've changed shape. I've lost weight, but mostly I notice my belly shrinking.
5. My hands don't hurt anymore. (!!!) Could be a coincidence, but it's interesting and notable nonetheless.
6. Eating is so much more satisfying now, and I'm never ravenous like I used to be. Hunger is completely controlled. It's awesome and I don't feel like a slave to food anymore.
7. Cravings are way less. In fact, the only cravings I'm having now is still for something sweet after some meals. But I can manage those.


Soooooo that's what is happening. I'm still adjusting, and experimenting. I'm trying to figure out what alcohol I can enjoy a bit of. I've been having a beer maybe once a week. I've tried bourbon, which I love, but feel pretty bad after drinking that. Vodka seems to work out ok. But mostly, just drinking one drink is an improvement anyway.

I'm anxious to see how much weight I can lose, if I keep losing weight or not. And I'm anxious to see if my performance gets better or stays the same. I hope it doesn't deteriorate. I think there will need to be some playing around with eating some low GI carbs before long excursions. We'll see.

The Plan:
To track everything here so I can refer to it as needed. 

I'm already feeling way better physically and am starting to also see the mental side as well. My uncle kept talking about a clarity. I think I'm beginning to feel that as well.

So...onward. It's a new journey that I'm pretty excited about.

A Trainer Ride

Finally finally FINALLY I got on my bike trainer again for real. I listened to some tunes and had a pretty great time. I don't really listen to music much, so maybe if I keep it that way, I'll be starved for music and get on the trainer more ;)

I've been doing some runs. Again, nothing too exciting or consistent. But this week I ran 3 on Tuesday, and then did a 35 minute bike ride on Wednesday. All I have to do today is run.

Saturday I'm going to meet Krista for a little run! We haven't ran together since days of working together at her former job. I'm soooooooo looking forward to running with someone. I hope I don't slow her down too much. She just wants some motivation, so hopefully that will be ok. (But I know her...)

I did a bunch of counter pushups yesterday. I was pretty sore from it this morning.

I'm trying to cut out sugar from my diet. It's interesting.

I just had two job proposal things happen today. One was a scope of work proposal and the other was meeting with people, reviewing the potential work. I'm not sure if I have either for certain, but I'm hoping I have both!

Oh I got a Fitbit! It's pretty fun. Really eye opening to see how little I move during the day. That is the one down side of working from home I guess. I don't have to walk across campus to go to meetings like I used to. However, the up side is I can step outside whenever I want and go for a walk.

Consistency, dammit!

Well, I think things are starting to settle down now. It's been a busy and fun fall. I'm not complaining. But I'm also looking forward to not going anywhere for some weekends.

Work has ramped up again, which is good. I really struggle with finding the time to take off. It seems I can only take off when my clients take off. I don't have a back up yet, but that would be a good thing to have. I want to make a network of other people I can manage and give work to. That would be a good next step for the business.

And speaking of business next steps, I finally have a web page! It's just a placeholder right now. I had to get something up because I put my web address in the back of the March of Dimes program I did. So at the very least, people can find my contact info. Other than that, it is a terrible site. But I had an hour and half to pull it together :)

And now, running. After the weekend up in South Have for the LeMons race, I was pretty wiped out. I did some running. Then I hurt my back last weekend. I didn't do anything except go on a motorcycle ride and put on deoderant. Putting on deoderant sent my back into spasms. I am not sure what exactly happens, but this is the third or fourth time I've had this problem. Maybe I need to figure out some stretches. And weight training would probably help too.

This morning I cautiously went out for 2.5, with full preparedness to stop if needed. My back is tolerable and I don't think I did any damage. I got a massage yesterday, which may have helped? But mostly, I'm bruised and swollen from it. I need to find and emergency massage person who can work this weird deep tissue issue I have. I have a deep tissue issue. That sounds funny.

So, I think it's time to set some November goals. Looking forward to more consistency, maybe some new shoes, and hopefully the weather staying temperate for another month or so!

Fall morning.

I got out this morning with the full expectation that I would be running in the rain. It was about 65º, but I took a jacket in anticipation of getting chilly in the cloudy, windy weather. However, I beat the rain somehow, and just enjoyed a beautiful, cool, blustery morning.

The run was sluggish and not strong feeling. I thought by putting a day in between runs, I'd feel better. I'm not sure what's up. I know I'm pretty stressed about the upcoming race and Harley-dog. I think it's wearing on me more than I realize.

I did pick up the pace in the last half mile which felt good. It wasn't my breathing that was holding me back, just over all tiredness and legs just didn't have anything in them. I am most definitely still in the "getting back to it" phase, establishing consistency. So I'm not worried about it. I'm just looking forward to that consistency finally happening.

I thought about winter running and how I'm just going to do it no matter what this year. I love running in the morning so much. It trumps the cold. I also came up with the idea that I'd like to run the pig half, and run it under 2 hours. I've been thinking about what I want to do in the spring for a while now, with nothing ever really jumping out at me. Today for some reason, a sub 2-hour half marathon sounded like a great goal. I need to start working now.

Outside my window I see it's windy, the sky is full of puffy gray clouds and it looks like everything just got desaturated a bit. I love these colors.

Hurting a bit

It has been slow getting back to things this week. I don't know if it was the trip or what but it's just taken me a few days to get up and running. Plus, my back started to hurt in a couple of places on Tuesday. One was my tail bone joint and the other was my spine in the middle of my back. Not sure what is going on with them. The pain has subsided some now. Not sure if it's related, but I've had a headache since about Tuesday also. Everything seems to be getting better though, so yay for that.

I was a sloth Monday and Tuesday. Wait, I may have lifted Monday. I don't remember. It rained all day both days.

Wednesday I went for a 3 mile run. It was pretty good, but I was in a good deal of pain, so it was a struggle. I thought maybe the run would either shake things out or get things worse so I could know what to treat. Neither happened. Wednesday night my headache was so bad I was nauseous and trying not to move on the couch. I got out for dinner, and not laying down anymore actually seemed to help. That is why I'm wondering if the headache is being caused by whatever is going on in my back.

Thursday I hurt again and just didn't end up doing anything. Worked a lot on the March of Dimes program - an all day marathon of it kind of thing.

Today I decided I'd go to the Y and try another cycling class. I think the instructor was Carrie. Steve was listed, but, well, she didn't look like a Steve. It was an ok class. Music, people...why is it so hard? She actually skipped songs on her CD that I thought "all right, here we go!" in favor of some whiny pop singer. I don't know why the music thing is such an issue with me. Maybe because I've had such great classes with great music and I know how awesome it is. There are still other classes to try. And in general, I should just get over it I suppose. Aside from the music, the class was pretty good. She said it was going to be an "easy" day. I'm out of shape, so easy felt pretty comfortably challenging, which is a good sign. I'm still learning the bikes and how to get the gears right. I feel like I spend way too much of the class shifting gears. I'll have to remember to wear my heart rate monitor next time. It will show up in the display (supposedly). That would certainly help with figuring out my effort.

Time to take more Advil.

Baltimore is hilly too.

Thursday we left with the Gways to head to Baltimore to visit C's brother and sister-in-law, also who I did the triathlon with earlier this fall. It was a visit and Renaissance Faire visit as well. Apparently Maryland has the second largest Faire in the U.S.  So, corset and wooden beer mug was packed.

The drive out was long. We got a little bit of a later start than anticipated and hit a detour on the highway driving out. I drove the last bit, in the dark through twisty mountain roads, which was fun. We got in around 1 I believe.

Friday I got out with C for a run while others were napping/showering/etc. We did a 3 mile loop which was supposed to be a 2 mile loop, but we missed a street because the street sign was down. Thankfully, C had his phone and mapped us back. We ran past and then through the Johns Hopkins campus, which was fun to see. It was certainly hilly! Kind of like running through Hyde Park except the hills weren't as long or quite as steep. I'm definitely sore today, mostly on my left side which is strange. That morning we had also done a round of disc golf at a nice park. Probably walked about 2 miles there. Saturday was the Ren Faire. It was so crowded. We walked mostly at a snail's pace through the grounds, saw a couples shows, went in a couple shops. I don't think anyone was interested in getting in lines for food and drink, so we ended up leaving there a lot earlier than I imagined we would, which was fine. It was a fun trip.

Running with C was really great. I haven't ran with anyone in so long. It really makes such a difference for motivation and energy during the run. We clipped along at an easy pace over the hills. It was wonderful. I enjoy parts of running by myself - unwinding, no pressure, getting lost in thoughts. But I really miss runs like that. Especially since I'm by myself for what feels like all the time these days. I don't find I need the solo runs too often.

Today it's raining a steady, cold rain. I doubt I'll venture out unless it clears up later. I may get the bike hooked up on the trainer and play some tunes to ride too. I could really go for some good music to pump me up.

I don't want to put any pressure on my successful recent consistency, but I do kinda want to start planning a spring run. Maybe the Pig half again; I've missed doing it the past couple of years. And everyone always asks me if I'm doing it, which makes me wish I was. Starting training now, for me, is very reasonable. I want to get strong this winter. I need to figure out some days to get to the Y for the Active Trax stuff. Woohoo!! So maybe I'll plan...I do like a plan...

Random thoughts.

Furnace installers are here, installing a new furnace. Wow, what a bad sentence.

Anyway, I got out before they arrived. It was about 7:30, the sun was just coming up at the end of the street, it was cool and pleasant. I did the 2.5 mile loop. It felt good. Easy and probably slow, but steady.

4 miles and the week ahead.

Thursday I ran 4 miles. Slow and steady, it felt easy and fine. Sometimes my breathing would pick up, but nothing was ever too laborious.

It was a good start to the "getting back to it" week I suppose. 9 miles total. I had some yard work and an impromptu garage sale in there on Friday and Saturday. Sunday was a car day, and I was beat from Saturday (garage sale, parents, evening fun) so I didn't get up to run prior. It's ok though.

This week is busy. And furnace installers are coming Tuesday and part of Wednesday to install the new furnace. Thursday we leave for Baltimore. I'm definitely taking running stuff. Maybe Erika would want to go out with me.

Back to work. So much to get done in these next few days.

Squirrels are throwing nuts out of trees.

Another brisk, beautiful morning to run. This is two days in a row for me! Oh and it's the first day of fall - woohoo!

It was kind of hard waking up this morning. I didn't sleep well due to itchy ankles that kept waking me up. And I'm sore from using the weed-eater. But I did eventually roll out of bed and started my new routine of NOT worrying about work. Instead I did some stretching and some pick up the house kind of things to wake my body up. Yesterday at the end of the work day, I made sure I was really done. Mentally done. I wasn't going to worry about anything all night, having a project loom over my head in the morning, distracting me from running, starting my day how I want, and just relaxing in general. It worked. I ran and here I am writing. Yay!

So the run. I went into the Landen neighborhood that borders ours. With the sun so low, even at 8:30, most of the roads were in the shade. I wore shorts and a shirt with a long sleeve jacket over that. But I was out of the jacket by the time I was at the end of my street (about a half mile). However, in the shade it was chilly. It's just that time of year where you are hot and cold at the same time.

I took it easy again. Definitely didn't feel as peppy and strong as yesterday, but everything did feel easy, so that was good. I heard a lot of squirrels chattering and dropping nuts. I managed to avoid any bonks on the head.

At the half way point, I bent over to stretch my back. I did some yard work yesterday, and my lower back was tight. I thought it would have been tighter after running, but it actually felt ok, so on I went. Coming back I think I picked the pace up some. I felt like my stride lengthened. Again, no watch, so all that is left to do is feel good that I got out there. Accomplished.

And now I have my work day ahead of me. It will consist of more work, some more yard work (I'm so eager to get the back slate stuff figured out!), and maybe a motorcycle ride, but we'll see. Tomorrow I think I will just walk in the morning – make sure everything is adjusting nicely in my body to this consistency thing. Thursday...it's going to be even warmer and I hope to get in a real motorcycle ride up to where I used to live. I've been wanting to do this for years. I always want to go in the fall to see the crops. This week will be early, but I just don't want to miss the chance if it's there.

Pretty fall Monday.

My "getting back to it" began last Thursday. And I didn't really run again until this morning. But it's ok. I was relaxing, party planning, Ren-Fairing, strength-training and working.

This morning I ran the 2.5 mile loop again. It felt great again as well. I felt smooth, strong and light. Breathing was totally in control. Posture was good. I just felt like it was easy. It may be because it was incredibly slow. I don't know and it doesn't matter. The goal for the next few months is just to run consistently and enjoy every minute of it. So far, I'm on track!

It was brisk this morning. I know it's just going to keep getting colder, but running in the morning is a habit I need to get back into. While thinking about all of the triathlon training and work failures over the past months, one thing that I have discovered is I completely lost any kind of habit to anything I did. Be it work or training or making dinner, everything evolved to decisions rather than habits. I crammed things in when I could, never made lists, had no idea what I needed to accomplish except that I had to do it all and do it now. I have began to wonder if this lack of habit/structure is part of the reason I struggled so much. Yesterday I visited the book store and meandered over to the travel section, wanting to find a Lonely Planet book on Ohio. On an end cap I saw the book The Power of Habit. I'd heard about it before, as being really good for business owners. I scanned the back and decided to buy it. If nothing else, it sounded like a fascinating read about brains. I'm only a couple chapters in and have confirmed that it is going to be some good insight for my business and for other habits I seem to have lost (exercise, dinner, drawing, etc).

This week is full but not too crazy for work. It's also going to be absolutely beautiful. I'm hoping to get in a good motorcycle ride and do a lot of yard work. So now I better get cranking on work work!

My feet are polka-dotted with bug bites right now. I'm up to 15 on the left and 17 on the right. I slathered anti-itch cream on them and put them in socks. So far so good. Running was pretty uncomfortable though, as every step ticked the bites and made me want to itch. Lesson: don't start a fire in the fire pit in sandals.

Back to It

The triathlon is over, vacation is over, I had a very good break from anything physical (other than riding my motorcycle) during vacation and I feel rejuvenated.

Now it's time to get back to it...to running! Woohoo!

Triathlon training just didn't go that well for me this year. I'm still trying to figure out why. One thing was I got a late start. Another was I just haven't been feeling that great, and my bad performances seemed to lead to a bad mental state with working out. It's hard to do something a lot when every time you do it, you let yourself feel bad about it. I think that was the cycle I got into. At the triathlon, I told myself nothing mattered. I just wanted to have fun. I told myself how lucky I was to be there, and that this hour or two of activity would be a good celebration of being able to do things I like to do and being healthy. Surprisingly, I listened to myself for once. The swim was terrible - I couldn't breathe right for some reason. But I did a lot of back stroke and got through it. The bike was fun. It always is. Running was down right pleasant. But for the entire race, I was s l o w. For once it didn't bother me, and that was a great feeling. Erika had a great time and was so happy I did it with her. Her first race happiness became my happiness too.

After the race, I realized how glad I was to have the race be behind me. Next up was vacation! I didn't do anything for that entire week, and it was perfect. It's not that I had trained so hard I needed a break; I think I needed a mental break. I needed to not worry about when I was going to get in my workouts and still get all my work done. I didn't need to think about how I was feeling for workouts, and if I had eaten enough/the right thing. Man, all of that crap really got to me this year!

And so now...back to running.

This morning, I went for a 2.5 mile run. It was the first run since the tri. I didn't wear a watch, and I just went easy. It was great. It's so simple.

I need to simply run for a while. I'm not going to wear a watch until 2015. NO WATCH UNTIL 2015!!!! You heard it here. If you catch me timing myself, yell at me! (You, the invisible non-existent reader.) No timed workouts, no feeling bad for how slow I am, no comparing myself over and over and over again. I want to run, and feel my muscles working, steady my breathing, enjoy fall (my favorite time of year to run), and just get back to consistency. I also want to work on strength training. That will come too. But for now...just my old pal running.

Yes.

5 more days!

Yeah, so I'm just going to write tri and running stuff here now. Public blog with the parents reading just doesn't work out I'm afraid.

5 more days until the triathlon! I am excited. I'm a little nervous, but only that I won't push as hard as I possibly can. I think I've come to terms with my performance just isn't going to be what I want it to be because I'm not in the shape I want to be in. I got a late start. More than running, you can't make up physical gains with triathlon. You just have to have the time. I had a few bad bike rides. I have had many bad runs. Swimming has been steady, but I don't think I've gotten better. So where's that leave me? Just having fun on race day and pushing my hardest.

In a way, I'm looking forward to the triathlon being over. It has been so hard to train this year with work. My confidence has been sacked. I'm looking forward to just having some running ahead of me for the next few months. I want to start strength training and just haven't been able to with my schedule. I am going to stop swimming for a bit, or at least just do it once a week. Everything has just been way too hard and not fun. I want fun back.

I'm looking forward to camping. We're putting up a tent in the park we're racing in. I and E have a camper stove so we'll cook. It will be fun! Hope it doesn't rain!

Yesterday I went on a final hard bike ride. I did intervals, pushing 1 - 2 miles at a time, trying to push through that feeling where I just want to slow down that has plagued me this year. Today I'll run, I think that's all I have time for.

It's been hard planning for this and Deals Gap at the same time. Today I have a meeting at 11 and plan to ride my motorcycle to it so that afterwords I can go to Sport Tour and check out some tank bags. And then also maybe to Honda where I will have them listen to my noise the bike makes now.

A new week.

I'm ignoring last week. It doesn't do any good to dwell on it, so here's to a new week!!

- cheers! -   clink  - 

I didn't do anything over the weekend. No biking, no running, no swimming. I did help work on a car. We've started our next LeMons race prep. I helped Casey take apart the head. It was really fun! That's the most I've ever done on a car I believe.

I rode my motorcycle up the shop and back. It rained coming back, so that was an experience.

Sunday I walked some in Waynesville. Looked at old stuff and antiques. It was exhausting, but I'm pretty sure the shopping aspect is what exhausted me, not the walking. I went to bed early, couldn't sleep, and here I am now.

So. I swam after a meeting this morning. It went ok. It was hard, as swimming is. Meh. I got the yards in and felt like I worked hard. It's a new week and I'm going to stay focused and productive and stop worrying about training so much. I'll get it done. I could do a triathlon right now if I had to. I'm fine. Soon the pressure will be off and I can figure out what I want to do next.

Man triathlon training is hard.

The week

This week has been more relaxed, but I'm still struggling to get my training schedule and work schedules to align, and to feel better. I'm not sure why I'm having such a hard time with it this year. I love tri training, but I keep feeling pressure to do more, or do less, or just in general that I'm not doing it right. I think that's because I just don't quite feel right yet in the health department.

So far this week:

Monday - swim and run.
Tuesday - off. I ran 4 miles Monday and it destroyed my quads. Again, why? Am I being overly confident to think a 4 mile run that I could only muster around a 10:30 pace shouldn't leave my legs trashed??
Wednesday - 2.5 miles, easy loop. Again, didn't feel very easy.
Thursday - off. But did a 12 minute cardio workout from my phone which kicked my ass.


Soooo I'm not really sure what is going on. I am still taking iron, and the restless legs and agitated feeling has gone away. But I'm still getting a heart flutter every now and then.

Today I think I'll swim and run and see how those things go.

I want my energy back.