Just Plodding Along

....not to give the ending away but this week was a bit of a bust. Last weekend I felt under the weather and by Monday- bam- felt like death. And that freakin cold was a stage 5 clinger and really lingered. SO. MUCH. COUGHING. Monday: Nothing but naps, and couch time. Luckily this guy was around to keep me company. Tuesday: A light weight workout at home. Skipped my scheduled run due to lack of ability to breath without hacking up a lung. Wednesday: Tried to get back on the wagon. Did 2 miles on the treadmill with 8 30 seconds fast, 30 seconds recovery thrown in. Coughed so hard I almost puked. Got off treadmill and laid on floor. Did manage to lift weights during lunch. Bonus points for me. Thursday: After a night of coughing, reset my alarm and slept in until 7. Ran 3 miles outside in the evening with 3 minute run/ 1 minute walk. Felt good until the last mile and then that walk break began to creep up in time as the coughing and snot production increased. But it got don...

I realized several things this week in training 1) I had not taken a rest day since Sept 1st, which probably contributed to my overall rundown feeling this week and case for backing off a bit. Work has been a lot lately as well with evening events, lots of projects and the overall I am kind of doing multiple jobs since we are down some staff in my office tiredness. 2) I do not enjoy evening workouts because it means less time at home hanging with my favorite person and 2 favorite canines. This training week was a bit less than I have been doing though still a lot. I did take a rest day which was much needed. For next week, less evening workouts, because I want to be home more. Live and learn. Monday: AM Swam, then worked through lunch and stayed a bit late at work so that was it for the day. Tuesday: Ran 3 miles with 5 X 30 second surges of speed with 30 second recovery in the middle. Lifted weights and took a pilates class Wednesday: Climbed uphill on the treadmill for an ho...

Taking pretty much an entire year off  of running and then wanting to come back an do something epic in the next year is going to take some doing. To make things easier I have joined the YMCA which is conveniently located next door to where I work making lunchtime and evening working out possible. There is also a Y a five minute drive from our house making weekend and early morning and any other time workout easy as well. I think making it as easy as possible to do something ups me actually doing it by a factor of 100. The other nice thing about the Y is they offer a gazillion classes. Everything from spin to barre to boot camp, three of my favorite cross training classes at the moment. In my time off from running I got a bit lazy which resulted in a loss of not only cardio fitness but also strength so I am working on getting both of those back slowly but surely. A typical week of training looks a little like: Monday- AM swim laps, lunch time lift weights, evening boot camp cl...

This is the first time in a long time that I have no big races looming over my head. Nothing of any sort of significant distance until the fall. Yippee. And even then the longest distance I have in mind is 13.1 miles. The fall line-up includes: Quick note about this race: I deferred last year due to my foot injury. The race director deferred my entry to this year. Super nice guy. I would recommend giving this race a try just based on my interaction with the race director.  Since the marathon I have been taking it easy. I took one whole week off from running, though I still kept up walking at least a mile every day. Usually longer. Last week I finally started back running but nothing over 4.5 miles. It was nice to do a marathon and not have any significant aches and pains to come back from. I feel pretty much 100%. Only thing that is still a bit wonky is my knee but a friend who is a PA and knows about these things gave me some exercises to do to help with that so now it...

So last week I did some form of cross training all seven days. Can someone please put a gold star on a chart for me. I am not gonna lie, the entire time on an elliptical, stair machine or bike I am super But the fear of the three marathons I have registered for and the fact that I don't want to be left in the dust by the people I am training is the only thing keeping me from embracing a sedentary lifestyle. So onward with cross training I will go. The one good thing in all of this is that I have actually started to enjoy weight lifting. Even leg day which makes me very sad about two days after when I try to move. I am more willing to spend more time lifting and hopefully this will result in a more balanced and injury free running body. If it could also result in a six pack I am totally fine with that, I don't want to by pushy about it but I am just saying if it happened I would be okay with it. This week in cross training workouts: Monday- leg day, squats,...

When the inevitable running blow out happens it is important for me to have something to fall back on (lets see there was the knee blow out, hip flexor strain, stress fracture, heart issue, tendinitis in various places, to name a few). Cross training helps keep my fitness level from falling to nothing, to get my daily dose of endorphins and because I want to keep stuffing my face like I am running 50 miles a week. Mostly the last one. This time around I decided to actually try to limit even the amount of walking I was doing to let me posterior tibial tendinitis heal as quickly as possible. So I have been hitting the weights hard. Actually it feels like the weights have been hitting me pretty hard. Everything is sore and this has been a reminder of why I find it hard to lift regularly while running a lot. Lifting weights makes it really hard to move the next day. But I am doing my best to stick with it in the hope that I will be able to power through my upcoming runs even though I...

Well sexy is not gonna bring itself back  and perhaps more importantly half marathons are not gonna run themselves so last week I finally got back to some serious training. Oh and it hurt, it was a deep burn.  But I put in around 45 miles and lifted 4 times last week. Boom Monday: After the great track search of 2015 I did some speed work followed by hitting the gym for leg day. This was a very, very poorly executed plan as due to some deep lunges with heavy weights the rest of the week involved a lot of waddling and a deep hatred for the toilet. 7.5 miles for the day. Tuesday: Hit the weights for some sweet upper body action. That evening did some hill repeats while screaming the entire time in my head. 6 miles for the day. Wednesday: Pilates and serious stretching followed by an evening run. 6 miles for the day. Thursday: Walking because you know I broke my butt on Monday.  Lifted upper body. 3 miles for the day. Friday:  Tr...

On last Thursday I found out I am excessively fat. Not exactly what you want to hear.  Now to be fair I went to the Army Wellness Center to find out this very information. The Army has an Army Wellness program where you can get into their super duper futuristic bod pod that measures your body fat versus everything else in your body, you know bones and muscle and blood and organs and stuff). Clad in spandex shorts, sports bra and a swim cap (guess long flowing locks will mess with things) you are shut in this pod and it somehow measures what is going on inside. And what is going on inside is 37% body fat. Ideally females will be 30% or less to be in the best of health. Now as someone who has the best cholesterol doctor's have seen in awhile, been told by numerous doctor's I am super healthy, has a very low resting heart rate, and runs a bit....okay a ton....at first I was like And while I am not a small person by any means, no one is gonna mistake me for an el...

Last weeks training: 8/11 to 8/17 Mon: 1 mile warm-up and 4 miles with the goal of 9 minute miles. Turned into a 9 and a 9 and a 9:13 and a 9:20. Lifted weights Tues: 7 miles of hills and trails. When I first moved here I was not excited about the desert but running out here is actually kind of awesome. Wed: Lifted weights, Pilates and 30 minute swim Thurs: 4 miles on the treadmill and Pilates Fri: 6 miles of hills and trails. Sat: Nada Sunday: 45 minutes of spinning, lower body: squats and lunges I almost ran more miles last week than I ran the entire month of July. That is kind of fun to see! My main focus has been getting fitness back for the relays coming up. At first I thought my relay legs for Hood to Coast were gonna be super hard but looking more closely I have some of the easier legs overall. Whoop! Well except for my middle leg which is a lot of climbing but I am hopeful all the hills I have been running will help with that.  I am getting supe...

This was my last weekend of being able to go to the Saturday market here in Columbus. Luckily I found this little beauty. He makes me so happy. Can't wait to put some flowers in him.  The best thing after a long run in the heat and humidity. So amazing! If you see this at the store, purchase and enjoy. It is so delicious! Last week I ran 52 miles. That is a lot for me lately and I can feel it. Luckily it is taper time because Saturday I am running the Rockin Choccolocco 50k. It is gonna be hot and sweaty and super fun because I am going with running friends! 50K round two here we go! Monday- 4 easy miles in 38:25. Pretty fast for lately. Tuesday- 6 miles of intervals on the track./ lifted weights Wednesday-  5 miles easy/ Pilates Thursday-  4 miles easy Friday- 20 miles with Kelcey to prep for the 50K Saturday- lifted weights Sunday- 13.1 miles with Amanda to prep for her half/ yoga Favorite quotes of this week: "May your compression gear...

Today was my last scheduled day working at Big Dog Running Company. So of course I had to go out with a bang by buying all the things. Mace, anti-chafe wipes and spandex. Keepin it sexy, safe and friction free. I am really gonna miss the discount.....oh and also all the great friends I made. Friends more than discount I swear! The last few runs have seemed kinda tough and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why until my friend was like well you took a few weeks off for tendonitis. Oh right that and then though I have been doing a lot of big running things- relay, ultra attempt- I went a few weeks without actually running all that much. And then it got hot. So now it all kinda makes sense. Long story short I am out of shape and sweaty. But last week I made a push to get back into shape. Monday -   4 miles of hills. Big ass hills just to be clear. Repeatedly. It hurt. And then I lifted weights. Actual weights. I didn't just say I was gonna lift weights and then sit o...

So I have been cross training forever. Okay for about a week. BUT LIKE FOREVER. And I am over it. My typical day looks like: -one to two mile walk with Max -Pilates for an hour or Yoga - Bike or Swim for 30 min to an hour...basically as long as I can stand it (I don't see any sort of triathlon greatness in my future FYI).  Yes this is good for me. Yes it is good for tendinitis. But I super miss running so am gonna whine about it. Max is really enjoying me being injured because he is all about the walking so is happy to help me rehab. He is also all about yoga mats. Every time one is rolled out he runs over to lay on it. Cute....but not super helpful. He has got Shavasana down. But the good news is my tendon is not swollen anymore and feels almost 100% better. I see an easy run coming up in my future. And I say it every single time I get injured. I should do more cross training for overall fitness/ strength. I am totally gonna keep this up.....guess we sha...

Last week's training:  Monday- Run in Destin Florida along the water = awesome. Tuesday- 6 a.m. body pump and couch to 5K run of about three miles Wednesday- 6 a.m. run with Big Dog Peeps to try Brooks stuff for 4 miles. Thursday - Couch to 5K for about two miles and blatant ignoring of body pump Friday- Rest day Saturday- 5.5 fast miles at the Big Dog pancake run Sunday- 75 minute run for 7.7 miles. Total miles around 24. Cross training not great. Overall I feel like I am getting a bit faster and have been pushing it on a lot of runs. I can feel it in my legs since they are a bit sore and my abs and arms are in constant pain from body pump. Maybe that will stop one day. On to the randomness. I bought this sign the other day. Love it. Makes me happy every time I see it. Found these tortillas at Sam's and they crack me up. XTREME Wellness. So much healthy wrapped in a tortilla. Holiday baking time. So excited. Fancy marshmallows make me happy.  ...

Look where I was this morning That's right! 6am body pump for the win. Unfortunately my arms would not stop shaking after (may have gone a little too heavy) and that coupled with being short on time before work- I have postponed my tempo run until tomorrow morning. Arms seem vital to trying to maintain an 8:35 pace for 35 minutes.  Speaking of running (when am I not speaking of running) some exciting news on the relay home front. My friend Katie in Alaska has a team going to Hood to Coast and asked if I would be interested in joining them for a little running fun. After I got done screaming while jumping up and down I calmly replied I might be into that. Just kidding. I am pretty sure I used all caps and a criminal amount of emoticons to say Please Yes Please can I tag along! Fingers crossed August 22 & 23rd I am hanging out with an awesome team making my way to the coast!!! Katie you rock!!!! An if it couldn't get any better Stacey, a friend from high school, a...

Confession time. I did not go to body pump yesterday.I got up, I got dressed, I ate a honey stinger waffle for energy (okay I ate it because it tastes like magic) and complained about going the whole time. And then I realized that the reason I did not want to go is because the instructor on Tuesdays is super screamy and negative and I just do not want to hear that at 6 a.m. I go to group class for someone to encourage me to keep going not scream at me about how much my form sucks. Let's be upbeat about how much my form sucks. I have only gone to this one instructor's class once but once was enough to make me not want to go again. First impressions matter I guess. The issue is while I thought I was mature enough to pump the iron on my own, I even laid it out to tackle after my speed session on my treadmill, but apparently not. Weirdly most of the workout involved me laying on the floor watching House Hunters.  This does not happen at body pump which means I should pr...

Today I am having a Treat Yo Self day And I am very pleased about this. Holiday craft fair and nail salon here I come! I will also throw in a dash of responsible adult by doing laundry and taking Max for a check-up at the vet. Hello Friday! I love you. This will also distract me from being sad that the parents left yesterday. Thanks for coming! I had so much fun! Kim over at IlaxStudio  asked what my 5k training plan was like so I will share a bit. Mondays are easy runs. This Monday I did three miles plus Pilates Tuesdays are speed work days. I did 6x400 on the treadmill after a body pump class. So basically speedwork without functioning arms. Then ran another three miles with my Couch to 5k group. Wednesdays are rest or x-train days. I walked. Thursdays are tempo runs. I ran 30 minutes at about a 8:30 pace. Again after body pump so seemed a hundred times more difficult than it actually was. Fridays are rest days. I am doing nothing productive in the exercise area. TR...

This week I did some pretty awesome cross training and even survived the body pump class.  Monday: Pilates- super love this new exercise. My core loves it less but I think this will for sure make me a stronger runner. Tuesday: Birthday fun recovery. When you go out on a Monday night and that night involves a lot of free shots due to birthday celebrating there is a pretty good chance that you are not going to the 6a.m. body pump class. Just FYI. Max and I did manage to walk a few miles though. Wednesday: Body pump and yoga. Two classes back to back. Yoga was a bit tricky since my arms were dead from body pump and we were doing a lot of arm work in yoga. Pretty much super awkward shaking going on the entire time. Body pump is fun and hard and makes my arms so sad so I should for sure keep going. Thursday: Pilates again. Friday: Three mile walk with my favorite four legged friend.   This week concluded the end of my two week running break so on Monday...