Catching up :)

HOLY CRAP! Wednesday's workout was a little more than difficult. 86 degrees and humid, and my bright self decided to do a speed workout smack in the middle of the afternoon. But I felt good about myself afterwards, even though my legs were threatening to cramp. And I puked a little.

And there's the splits. I edited the summary for moving time and took out my rests (the white rows). Not bad, not bad :) Half mile warm up and then 6 half mile repeats with a half mile cool down. In about 86 degree humid weather. Which is hot for these parts. I'm super pleased with the run! My goal was to get 4:00 or less for each half mile. I did that and then some! Although the last three were treacherous to finish. I definitely had to push it and test my mental capabilities because boy, was my entire body tired!

I did this run with Heather on a local high school track. The map was hilarious and I had to share it! :)

Then Thursday morning was a 3.5 mile recovery run (okay, 3.65 miles). There was so much fog and humidity this morning that my glasses kept fogging up! I had to stop about 7 times to wipe them off because I couldn't see! This humidity has got to go. Soon.

On a cheerier note, I've gotten so many new running outfits thanks to birthday giftcards :)

 

And I won a Sweaty Band from a giveaway on 'Ello Honey Bee's blog! (www.ellohoneybee.com)

 Saturday held a long run in more heat and humidity (surprise, surprise). Although I slept in a little and didn't get out for this run until 8 ish and saw SO MANY other runners and bikers because of it! I guess that little extra hour brings everyone else outside :p I was lucky to avoid the flooding we've been getting lately. We've had a flash flood warning for about two weeks. They just keep extending the warning. And one day last week a whole bunch of roads were shut down. I actually did have to pick a different route for my long run than what I originally wanted because about a tenth of a mile away from my apartment the road I wanted was closed. I'm pleased with the route I took, however. It was hillier than what I wanted but felt good. Plus, the Boilermaker and my upcoming half are both going to be hilly so I should do more of them!

Not bad overall. Nearly 10.5 miles at a fairly decent pace for the mugginess. I was pleased with it :) And my knee felt great afterwards! I took an unscheduled rest day on Friday. I am so glad I did, otherwise I don't think I could have gone quite so far with no pain.

Yesterday held an easier hilly run. Again, the humidity was terrible. I can't wait until this crazy weather is over. I'm sick of muggy, hot, rain, and thunderstorms!! It's getting ridiculous.

 

I love the splits for this run. Each one a little faster :) Mainly because the first mile was all uphill, the second half up and half down, and then the third all down, but who cares :p

Phew! I know it's a long post but I'm almost done catching everything up! Today I have 40 minutes of cross training to do. I'm thinking 30 on the elliptical and 10 on the stair stepper after work.

I've cut down physical therapy to twice a day and am going to continue it for a few more days and then drop down to once a day and see how that goes. The twice a day was a little achy for the first few days but now it's doing quite well. I started tapering yesterday and am thankful for it. I'm getting a little fatigued from following such a rigorous training schedule. The end is in sight, though and it should be just fun from here on out! The Boilermaker is 12 days and then I have a few days of easier recovery runs followed by one more up in mileage for my long run and then I taper for two weeks for my Colorado trip and half marathon :)

What's the hardest workout you've ever done? How about your longest distance?

Is anyone else addicted to running clothes as much as I am?!

Safe and happy running!

Love Your Big Sweaty Butt!

Today's run will come later today with Heather if we can avoid downpours and thunderstorms. I will blog about it tomorrow! :)

In the meantime, I came across this really awesome video today. Anyone who likes the Colbert Report and running will be in heaven. Please, watch this video and I hope it intrigues and humors you as much as it did me!

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,Video Archive

Here is the link in case I can't get the video to work: http://www.stridenation.com/2013/5/17/4341510/colbert-report-discusses-why-humans-are-the-best-long-distance-runners

Firstly, Daniel Lieberman, a Harvard Professor of Biological Sciences identified humans as being unique mainly because we sweat and chew. According to Lieberman, our big, beautiful butts are our strongest muscle. Because of our derrieres we have the power to push ourselves forward and not fall flat on our faces every time we take a step. A huge deal when running :)

Next, we cool our body through sweat. Lieberman explains how other animals, such as dogs, cannot cool themselves while running. They must choose to either pant or run. I guess this is how our ancestors killed prey before the invention of tools. We would chase down animals until they chose running for too long and their bodies overheated and we could kill them. Gruesome, isn't it? But fascinating!

So the moral of the story is that we should all embrace our posteriors and remember that they keeps us from plunging face first into the ground. And to revel in our stinky sweaty musk because it means we wouldn't starve if somehow transported to caveman times.

I also wanted to touch on shoes. Colbert shows us his Vibram-type shoes and they discuss which is better to run in. Although Lieberman seems to lean towards minimalist and barefoot running, he says that shoes are good too. As long as our form isn't doing anything that would hurt us if we ran barefoot. Good to know!


Therefore I would like to share with you the shoes that I have :)
For speed work I run in my Pearl Izumi Em Road N 1's. I won these at a Run for Boston fun run :) LOVE THEM! They are a neutral road racing shoe.




My main shoes are the Saucony Guide 5's. I have a pair in red/gold and in yellow. These shoes are a trainer and have moderate stability.








To switch it up every now and then I also have a neutral trainer. The Saucony Ride 4. I love this shoe, and unfortunately will have to retire it soon. But the Ride 5's have some awesome colors... and the Ride 6's might even be out!






Finally I have my trail shoes, which are also Saucony! (surprise, surprise) These are the Guide TR 3 which are just like my red and yellow pair but a bit more weather-proof and with greater tread. I use these shoes for the trails and icy winter sidewalks. :)




I just can't help it! I absolutely love shoes, and my favorites are Saucony's. They fit my foot shape perfectly and are well made and (usually) have awesome colors to pick from. The toe box is large enough that I just don't encounter blisters, even in a brand new pair. That in itself is worth it's weight in gold. The Pearl Izumi's are also a wonderfully comfortable ride. They too have a spacious toe box that spares me blisters, and none of my shoes have any heel slippage :)

What animal would you chase if you had to catch your dinner?
What shoes do you run in? Why do you like them?

Safe and happy running!

Worrying Gets You Nowhere

It's amazing what 10.5 hours of sleep and over 3 water bottles can do for you... I feel much better! Although mentally I am dreading this day. 13 hours of work? No, thanks! Ah, well. Money is always nice.

This morning's workout was a bike ride... outdoors! I felt like I had a sticker slapped across my forehead that said "HAS NO IDEA WHAT SHE'S DOING."

Now, let's face it. I do know how to ride a bike. I'm just extremely unstable and a huge worry-wart. "What if I fall? What if ...." Okay, it's pretty much just what if I fall and get hurt. But by the end of the 50 minutes and 9+ miles, I was doing better. Feeling a little more at ease and confident. I wish I had brought my new phone with me because the scenery along the canal was gorgeous this morning. There was literally smoke on the water and the sun hit it perfectly and the air was cool even though it was pretty humid still. And I saw four rabbits.

But now I want to talk about my new phone :)

That's right, it's waterproof! It's the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active. I got the blue one and I absolutely love it... Even though I'm not 100% sure how to use it yet. And I'm not sure if I'll ever actually put it underwater (what if?!) but it's really cool that it would (should) survive. Perhaps I'll test it to the max this weekend.

I'm going camping with my fiance and his parents :) I'm going to get my 10 mile long run in. As best I can... However we are leaving Friday night at about 10:00 after Brian has work and band practice and I have both jobs. We won't get to the campsite until about midnight, and then setting up the tent... And I have no knowledge of the area for running... And there are bears and wildlife...

I'm just a big ball of worry today!
My running worries are: GI issues, getting hit by a car, having a random heart attack/severe dehydration in an area where no one will find me, stepping on a snake, twisting my ankle... wait, why do I run again?! Oh, yeah. Because running also relaxes me and makes me worry less about such things. You can tell it was a cross training day!! What worries you most about running? (if anything)

Safe and happy running!

Catching Up

Where do I even start! Working two jobs has me pretty tired and tight on time. These next two weeks should be a bit slower, and I am thankful for that. Why don't I start with Thursday's speed work?

I was aiming for about a 7 minute mile, which would have been anything less than 1:45 per split. Didn't happen. But it makes it something to work towards! The effort was definitely there even if the pace wasn't.

Saturday's long run was a 9 miler and was tough to get through. My legs were tired from the busy week, and I think I was a bit dehydrated. I really need to work on drinking more water. I checked out a new section of one of my regular routes and quite enjoyed it! I wish I had brought my phone on that run because it was an awesome view. At one point the path went up and over a highway and it was really awesome to be standing on top of the traffic on just a little pathway (there was adequate fence/railing/stuff). I also saw 4 other runners, which was awesome. One at the beginning of the run during mile 2 and three during mile 9. This was extra cool because I was out the door around 6:30am. My internal clock doesn't let me sleep in. Ever.
Here were the splits:

As you can see I was a sloth on Saturday. I was hoping for a quicker run about a minute faster for each mile, but I'll take what I can get. I still don't want to push it too hard and further injure my knee. I've been down to 2 sessions of my physical therapy exercises per day and it seems to be okay. there are minor aches and pains but I think it has more to do with the humidity than with my injury, because it is more of an ache instead of a burning. Also, it's around my knee not under the kneecap...

The rest of Saturday was nice. I spent it up north with my out of state family from: Indiana, Colorado, and Maine. I missed my New Hampshire family during the insane workweek. After a lot of porch sitting, the fiance and I stayed at my mom's house and went even further north for a gathering of his family. It was our nephew's 2nd birthday party :) lots of cake, presents, balloons, food, and a pool. Which was awesome in the heat! I hopped in and hung out with the kids, monitoring those that couldn't swim. Also walked back and forth and did some kicking to try and rehab the ache out of my knees. Which actually worked because the muscles felt a little less sore and my knees a little less achy :)

Today would never show that the pool helped, though! I felt slow today too. Although my moving pace is faster than what my Garmin was telling me during the run. The humidity this morning felt like I was running through not only soup, but chowder! It was insane how humid it was. Going uphill for most of the run didn't help me either. Annnnd since I was just out and about exploring, I explored a little too much and did 5.1 miles instead of the 4.5 I had planned for today. Kinda good though. I don't mind front loading the week to make the long run on Saturday easier. I saw two runners outside today :)

Well, that's an abridged version of what I've been up to this week!
What time does your internal clock wake you at?
Have you ever daydreamed or miscalculated and done more than you intended? Less?

Safe and happy running!

COS, here I come!

This morning's run was really nice once I dragged my butt out of bed. I saw another runner at the beginning and after about .4 miles we met up and ran for a couple minute before he veered off onto another road. It was really cool because I've never seen another runner out in the morning, especially at 6:05 am! The road was covered in snails, and the way the sun hit the pavement you could see all their little slimy trails and where they'd been. It was poetic, if you think about it... They mostly went in circles, haha. I also passed a couple roadkill that smelled wonderful (vomit). Annnnd saw a biker around 6:30. People are getting more active in the morning!!

Tried for negative splits, and definitely got them! :) it was a wonderful run with the sun and a brisk temperature of about 50 that actually felt refreshing.

I also had my doctor's appointment follow up today. They bent and swiveled and poked and prodded and decided I don't need to come back unless I'm having issues! Doc's orders are to finish out my physical therapy appointments and once my formal PT is done, after about 6 weeks of at home PT I can start phasing out the annoying beastly brace! :) Very excited for my prognosis.

But that's not the only reason I'm excited!! On July 30, 2013 I will depart my beloved homeland and cruise the skies to Colorado Springs! I finally bought my ticket. Now all that's left is to register for the Beulah Half Marathon :) How embarrassing would it be to go to Colorado and not even have registered for the race I want to do!! I'm going to wait until Friday's paycheck to register for the race... Unless I get even more nervous about the trip and register today (could very well happen...)

This will be my first flight ever, and I could just about vomit from nerves and excitement.

So, have you ever been on a plane? How was your experience?
Any recommendations of things to do or bring? Things NOT to do or bring?!

Safe and happy running!

Functioning Alcoholic :p

First off, last night was a blast.

I actually got my lifting in after work, which I didn't think I was going to do. And I'm squatting 110 now for 3 sets of 10, which I'm pretty happy about. Especially since it doesn't hurt my knee :) After lifting I went home for a quick shower and my family arrived. We went to UNOs for dinner and drinks.

My first legal alcoholic beverage was champagne at the house before we left. Then a wildberry lemonade at UNOs. After dinner we went to a local bar for some shots. 2 Jagerbombs, a Kamikaze, and something my sister ordered for me which was really good.

I'm pretty sure it was vodka and cranberry of some sort. Yum! I really enjoyed this night out with my family and friends :)

Since everyone had things to in the morning (work for most of us), we called it an early night and Brian and I were home by 10, sleeping by 11. It made for a functioning day today, though!! :)

No, that wet hair is not from sweat! It is from the complete torrential downpour that was thrust upon me from the sky during my first mile this morning. And no, those are not raccoon eyes, but makeup from last night smeared everywhere from said rain and me trying to keep the droplets out of my eyes. The sad part is, it barely sprinkled for the last 35-30 mins of this run so I had actually dried off some by the time I got back in, if that gives you any indication of how wet I really was!!

Not sure if you can see the difference in color from the front of my shirt versus the back. The wetness line is just to the left of the seam. It was actually kind of fun to run in the rain, and it was my first rainy run that was voluntary. It would have been better if I had a hat to keep the drizzle out of my eyes, but it stopped in the beginning of the run, so that was good.

This run was a very hilly run as well, and I did it without my knee brace going totally by feel. I tried to be very in tune with my body and take shorter strides to make things a little easier on my joints. My pace didn't suffer from changing my strides and taking it easy, so that was awesome. Right now my knees feel awesome. My left shoulder did get really tight and kinda crampy during this run, though. I made mental check-ins every now and then to be sure and keep my shoulders relaxed and my arms down towards my waist instead of tucked up close to my chest. Perhaps the dehydration from last nights alcohol caused this? My shoulders don't usually hurt unless its the end of a long run and very warm out.

On a funnier note, I seem to be tripping over my own two feet. A lot, lately. And always with someone around to see it. I actually tripped just moments ago while I was putting a paper away in the midst of writing this post. My first conclusion was that I was drunk from last night, and that's why I was functioning so well this morning. Since I didn't drink that much and I really feel fine today, I ruled that option out. I think the real reason I keep tripping is because for physical therapy, my left hip was so tight that my left leg was actually a bit shorter than my right from the way my hip was rotated. Since I have stretched it out tremendously and my legs are now the same length and looseness, I think this is why I'm tripping all over the place.

And on that note, have you ever had a chiropractic adjustment or anything that moved your hips around altering your legs just slightly enough that you walk in circles or trip like a fool? (I've felt like I'd been veering in circles from the chiropractor before)
Also, tell me about your 21st birthday! If you remember it, that is ;)

Safe and happy running,

3 sets of 21 :)

Ahhhh. After Saturday's run I went to the beach with my fiance and roommate. It was really nice to just relax in the warm sun. Yesterday was a wonderful rest day with my fiance. We took it to celebrate my birthday by going to Outback Steakhouse for lunch and then to see the movie This is The End. Very hilarious. I highly recommend it if you like those stupid-funny movies.

This morning held 45 minutes on my spin bike. It was supposed to be 4.5 miles of hills, but I couldn't drag myself out of bed and drive to the trails. And then I didn't want to be rushed when I finally decided to get up. I did seven and a half minutes for a warm up and cool down with three sets of eight 30 seconds fast, 30 seconds slow and two minutes rest between each set. Now, you may be wondering why the title of this post is 3 sets of 21. That's because today is my 21st birthday! My family and I are going out to dinner and drinks to celebrate it tonight... for the third time. :p There can never be too much celebration!

I walked into work to these awesome balloons :) Definitely brightened my morning! Later today I'll do weights on my lunch break and the off to spend time with my family! :)

When you don't feel like working out do you suck it up and do it anyway, pick something else to do, or just forget about it and move on?

Safe and happy running!