Back in Black

I have been very busy. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, I love when my day is full to the brim [honestly, I do. I'm not being a smart ass]. I'm simply apologizing to my beloved blog for being absent.

Last Friday was Goose's birthday but we had to attend a wedding that day [he was in the wedding party] so I decided to celebrate all week.

Saturday was his stash of expensive, European, sugar free chocolate.
Sunday was his old, vintage, fine pewter Hulk [he is MY hulk].
Monday was his new 'true to the movement surfwear' formal church shirt.
Tuesday was his very, very nice lingerie outfit [on me, not him].
Wednesday was his sugar free applesauce layer cake with baked apples in the middle.
Thursday was his Bolle Piraja sunglasses. [They were his favorite pair that he lost several years ago and hasn't been able to replace].
Friday was his sentimental, gushy card and his reserved spot at the wake camp for a day during our trip to Florida this coming November.

Oh yeah, and I was sick all week; Boo! But, not as sick as Goose was, what a bummer.

The wedding was beautiful. Hopefully, I'll scrounge up some pictures soon.


Friday morning I went to spin again, it was an endurance ride which I liked a lot more. I felt good and sweaty during the class.

Saturday I did my 7M run. What a difference a week makes?! I didn't stop once, even to pick up my water bottle out of the bushes. I only drank once. My legs felt good, my breathing was good. I don't know what to say, I even went for an extra 1/5m slower, jog cooldown and I felt like I could go another three miles. It was strange, but blissful. If only every run were this wonderful.

I'll be back to do some maintenance work on this blog.

Randomonium

I got my monthly active.com e-newsletter today and read over one of the links "4 New Ways to Run Smart" or something like that. I got an extra jazz out of the last one.

Elizabeth Waterstraat, coach and founder of Multisport Mastery (multisportmastery.com) in Chicago advises to run as fast as you want to and not as fast as you think you can. She goes on to say "To know your limits, you have to be willing to test them."

I really dug her way of thinking. We can get really wrapped up in pace, vo2 crap, heart rate, distances, etc. that we can lose a sense of intuition. Are we listening to our bodies at times?

I often think at the end of a long run, did I run fast enough or far enough? Did I push myself as hard as I could have? I admit to rarely leaving my comfort zone. Maybe if I went back to my roots and just ran for the sake of enjoying running I might go all-out, I might listen to my legs and my heart and run with a different sense of vigor.

In other news, I'm sick, too. Join the club, I suppose.


I was lucky enough to be one of the first five people who commented on the lovely Beth's blog, Shut Up and Run! yesterday. This means, I was tagged to share 10 random facts with my two followers.

1. I organized and 'founded' the only 5K in my hometown when I was 13 to benefit a local hospice organization. It's going strong in its 9th year.

2. I learned how to ride a bike when I was 20 years old (2 years ago). Here's a picture of me learning!




3. I love costumes. Any and everything costume wear.





4. I [secretly] hate babies. Pretty much everything about them. I'm sure this one will change as I age.

5. My dog died and came back to life. Thank God.

6. I live for riding wakeskate in the summertime.



7. I don't like maps. When my boyfriend tries to pull out a Road Atlas I have a minor freak-out session. Maybe this is because the only assignment I ever did poorly on was a pop-geography quiz in the 4th grade. I got a 70 and cried for a week.

8. I'm an old soul and all of my friends are at least 15 years my senior, including my boyfriend.

9. I finished undergraduate school in 3 years even with transferring to and from five different schools. Fussy, much?

10. My Senior Superlatives were "Queen of Comebacks" and "Most Argumentative". I assure you not much has changed.


...Night kids.

Speedwork Eek!

My idea of speedwork has always been, well HIIT. I'm a gym girl so HIIT is what comes to mind. Today I decided to try some repeats on the track.

Yep, I'm new(er) to this game.

800m warm up
brief stretch sesh
5x800 @ 4:00, 4:08, 4:07, 4:06, 4:08 with 400m recoveries
800m cool down
stretch sesh

Does that make sense to anyone?!

Anyway, I run around a 10min/mile for my long runs and was aiming at breaking down a 9min/mile for my speedwork. Turns out it was closer to an 8min/mile. I'm happy. I'm also tired.

Going home to frost Goose's sugar free applesauce cake for his birthday!!

So far So good

Yesterday [Sunday] I went out for a 2.5M easy, recovery run. It actually felt good to get my legs moving and my muscles loosened up. So far, I'm on board with this easy run post long run thing. Today I am taking it easy with an hour of yoga before grad school this evening.

A week or so ago my middle brother [I'm the baby] came up to visit from San Fran. We got together with my three younger cousins and took some family shots.

Setting Up.

Almost everyone in the frame.

Three generations of beautiful; Myself, Mother, Grandmother

And how do I feel that a couple of weeks ago I was running in teeny-tiny running shorts and sports bras and last night I ran in this...

Mama Said Knock You Out

[x]

Yep, I listened to this today during my 6M 'long' run. I like old school rap. [Is it lame that I think rap from the 90s is old school?] I digress.

You know how some days you are really feeling your long run. You're all like "bring it on, baby. I'm psyched to get out there and put my feet to the pavement! Let's do this!" And other days, not so much...

Today was a not so much day. I worked, came home and ate a big lunch, took a nap and woke up feeling a little sluggish. But, now that the sun sets significantly earlier, I prefer to get my run in before it is dark. So, I went out, pretending to be psyched.

I always feel like dung until about my third mile. [Imagine how much I enjoy those short, three mile runs where I feel like dung the entire duration!] I engage in a good deal of negative self-talk. I whine and complain and make excuses for why it's okay to just throw in the towel, even though I don't usually throw in said proverbial towel.

Had a righteous side stitch at about 2.5M and had to walk for a short spell. My last three miles were heaven. Great pace, felt like I was running on air, happy, comfortable, hydrated, etc. All in all it wasn't a terrible run.

I came home, stretched, grabbed my gatorade [and my jacket] and waded out into the black lagoon [aka my lake]. I went in up to my booty and relaxed. I kept my iPod playing and sipped on some gatorade for about 10 or 15 minutes. Then, my numbass self got out. Who knows what creatures are lurking in there at night time?!

Came in and had a glass of skim milk with some choco protein powder.

Wrapping Goose's birthday presents and downloading some yoga classes for tonight and this week.

I'm looking into a hydrofit class on Wednesdays also. Gotta keep on keepin on.

Climbin' up on Solsbury Hill

Today I took my spin class. I'm new, seriously, shockingly new to spinning. Heck, I only learned how to ride a bicycle at the age of 21. Bikes are a new beast to me.

Today was a strength ride. Not exactly what I would have picked the day before a long run but I still wanted to kick its ass.

And I did. For my first class. Really?

Now, I am no fitness diva here, nor am I tooting my own horn. But did you ever go try a new class and think it was going to be new, awe-inspiring, and so challenging you would have to admit defeat?

I have.

Yoga class.
Pilates class.
Belly dancing class.
Pole dancing class.
Rock Climbing.
Zumba.
Cardio Kick.


I want more.

Its hard for me to remember that everyone is at a different place in fitness. If I want an extra umph, I should have jacked my resistance even more. My own fault. I just was expecting more of a dramatic challenge.


Don't get me wrong, I still like spin and it is still going to be my Friday cross training.


Food for thought, even if it's just crackers.

If it IS broken, fix it!

I'm not new to running. I've been running for, well, my whole life casually.

I AM new to distance running. [Is a half even considered distance running? Ha!]

This whole thing is a process. I'm learning, growing, adapting and changing. Lately I've been reading more about post-run recovery [long runs]. After a long run, I stretch a bit, chug some agua and go about my day.

So, it's time to change things up a bit. Afterall, the learning process is all about trial and error, right? Finding out what works for YOU.


Current training schedule:
Sat: Long Run
Sun: OFF [yoga]
Mon: 3.5M run, upper body
Tue: yoga, arc trainer
Wed: legs at gym
Thu: 3.5M run
Fri: Spin class


New training schedule:
Sat: long run
--Directly following long run, stretch, walk your tired booty down into the water, stand there and relax. I live on a lake, it's getting cold out, why don't I make use of my backyard and substitute it as an ice bath? DRINK + eat [english muffin with pb] Stretch/do gentle yoga that night--
Sun: 30min recovery run
Mon: OFF
Tue: Speedwork at the track
Wed: Full body w/o at gym, yoga
Thu: 3.5M tempo run
Fri: Spin class, yoga

Note to self: EAT!! Remember to eat something following long run. Don't neglect stretching. Try out ice bath [ie lake freeze].



We shall see...