Hip Update #2

This morning I had my MRA, magnetic resonance angiogram.  An MRA is a type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan that uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to provide pictures of blood vessels inside the body.  (Thank you Google.)  It started on an X-ray table with the radiologist injecting dye directly into my hip.  He cleaned my hip three times with iodine, covered it with a sterile dressing, and then used a GIANT needle directly into the hip.  First he started with a numbing agent, injecting it and then advancing it further and further into the hip, the whole time using the x-ray to make sure everything was going in the correct area.  Then he injected the dye directly into the joint between the hip and the femur.  The more dye he injected the more it burned and hurt.  I found myself moaning and apologizing and giggling all at the same time.  After the dye was injected they took two x-ray pictures.  This is when I noticed how badly my hip hurt and was heavy and swollen.  The doctor wanted me to take only a few steps, which they escorted me to the bathroom so I cut my scrubs back on.  This was SO painful!  I could barely lift the leg and it was crazy hard to walk.  I even had to have the tech put my shoes on for me and she was so sweet she even offered to help me dress.

After the angiogram procedure and getting my scrubs back on, they wheeled me to the MRI.  The medical center where I had this done was beautiful but unfortunately a little bit under construction, so the MRI was actually done in a mobile unit out back.  It was hilarious to be wheeled to a tractor trailer, put on an industrial lift, and escorted inside a truck.  So funny!  The MRI took 35 minutes and was uncomfortable.  The tunnel felt tight, and even with ear plugs it was loud.  It's so hard to lay flat on your back, not moving, and feel comfortable.  I tried to close my eyes and relax.  I was in pain, though, and it was not fun.

Finally it was over and they wheeled me back to the changing room.  My hip was still extremely painful, swollen, and tight which made getting in my clothes and hobbling out to my car almost humorous.  I wish I had valeted my car or brought somewhat with me, but you've got to do what you've got to do.  It's just great that Dave took a half day off to watch the baby and allow me to get this done so quickly.  The pain in my hip persisted for a few hours.  It was so bad when I got home that I had Dave meet me in the garage with my crutches.  But by lunch I was able to hobble around on my own and now, at 5:00pm, I am able to walk just fine (minus the pain of tripping over the dog yesterday and re-aggravating it).

Thursday I have my follow up with my regular doctor.  I'll find out the results then.  I must say, I don't have my hopes set very high, but you never know.  Wish me luck!

Holiday Weekend Camping

Well, I've been camping.  I'm happy to be home.

Actually, it wasn't that bad; it's just not my cup of tea.  This really wasn't camping.  This was definitely glam-ping.  We were staying at an "RV Resort" where there were less than 10 tents and all the rest were giant campers and RVs.  Even my sister's pop-up camper was dwarfed!  Although we could have stayed with my parents in their camper, we decided to stay in the tent.  The first night it was cold!  We had put Anderson in his pack-and-play in the camper and we froze out in the tent.  (I should say, I froze; Dave snored.)  Luckily, my parents had loaned us a space heater and I used that sucker.  The second night Anderson stayed in the tent with us and it was much warmer. 

The weekend was filled with family activities.  We played on the playground.  Dave played basketball with my niece, nephew, and Dad.  The family went swimming while I went to the grocery.  We had s'mores over the fire.  And the kids rode their bikes around and around and around the campground. 

We left a day early to come back and get some projects done around the house.  Our bathroom is still ripped apart (SIX MONTHS we've been without our master bath!!!), so we wanted to do some work on it while we had the time. 

Honestly, I didn't take many pictures.  It was more about constantly keeping my eyes on Anderson and making sure he wasn't doing anything or going anywhere he shouldn't have.  Here's a few that were taken:

Homemade lawn Yahtzee.  This was fun.  Unfortunately we ran out of daylight and didn't get to finish the game.

Anderson and Ashtyn were inseparable all weekend.

I don't know if there will be more camping this summer.  Maybe in the backyard.  Well, Dave and Anderson.  If I'm steps away from my comfortable bed, I'm sleeping there.

MJ's Memorial Day Fun

In my former life my nickname was MJ.  And during college I would have a little party at my parents' house on Memorial Day weekend where we would cook out, play volleyball, and hang out.  Nowadays I prefer to spend my holidays quietly at home getting things done.  This weekend we're doing something completely different.  We are going camping.

My parents are nearing retirement and bought themselves a monstrous 5th-wheel camper.  My sister has a pop-up camper.  We have a tent.  So this weekend the whole family is going camping together.  I should say, we're going camping with a side of glam-ping.  We will be staying on my parents' site and will have accommodations like a kitchen and whatnot.  This is the first time I've gone camping since Dave and I were dating.  I've got to say, I don't really like camping.  And camping with a two year old scares the devil out of me.  Luckily, we're only going about 15 miles away and we're paying by the night instead of the whole weekend so if it doesn't go well we can always just come home.

Anyone got any tips for camping with a toddler?  Anyone got any tips for those camping with someone who doesn't like to camp?  :)

Expect pictures soon!

Hip Update #1

This morning I went to the doctor again.  We started off with a few strength tests.  Or maybe I should call them "lack of strength" tests.  I laid flat on my back and was told to lift my leg.  Um, yeah, I can't.  Then he moved my leg inward and outward which caused quite a bit of pain.  Next, it was time for x-rays.  Two x-rays were done - one where my legs were straight out with my toes turned in (ouch) and one with my leg bent and knee rested outward.  I love my doctor's office.  Everything is digital and the doc went over the x-rays as soon as they were done.  Surprisingly, there was nothing.  No stress fractures, no fractures, no impingement, no arthritis.  Nothing.  So next up I will be having some fancy MRI with contrast dye injected into my hip to rule out a labral tear..  It's not scheduled yet, but hopefully it will be done in the next week.  For now, there is no running.  Shoot, I'm barely walking.  But, I might get in the pool and pull.  I have to do something.  I'll go insane!!

Cleveland Marathon 2015

Let's be real.  I had no business doing this race.  I've been lying to myself and everyone else around me about how injured and painful my hip had become.  I saw the doctor twice last week and had ART done on it, did about a million PT exercises, stretched, and iced like crazy.  My last run was on Thursday which allowed my hip two days to return back to feeling okay.  See, every time I ran hard or basically at all I would spend the rest of the day limping around.  Some days were worse than others.  Still, I was determined to get through the race.

Sunday morning brought warmer temperatures and HUMIDITY!!!  Regardless, I was "all in" and ready to tackle the race.

I don't like professional basketball, but go Cavs?!

I didn't mess around either.  I started between the 3:25 and 3:30 pace groups and took off way quicker than I am used to.  Although I did not hang with the groups for long, I was moving.  My miles were consistently in the 7:50s to 8:10s.  I was hot and sweaty but I was moving and doing okay.  But then my hip started to ache.  Not hurt like shooting pains, just ache and I found that it was getting more difficult to lift my knee.  I felt like my leg was dragging.  It was going to be a long day at this rate.  

I saw Dave at mile 9 and called it a day.  This time he didn't fight me on it.  It wasn't going to happen today.  I didn't even want to turn off with the half marathoners and at least get that medal.

Having spent the day not being able to walk (seriously, I had to get out the crutches to get around and couldn't sleep last night because I was in so much pain), I'm really glad I stopped.  I have talked to my coach (um, yeah, I didn't tell her about my hip until after the race) and my doctor and it's time to do more testing.  Coach is concerned it may be a torn labrum (that would SUCK!!!).  I'm hoping it's just a strain and inflammation.  Tomorrow I go in for some x-rays and there will probably be an MRI in the future too.  Suck.  

Not achieving my goals this year has been heart-wrenching.  I have put all of myself in my training, been more consistent than ever, and I just haven't won the race "lottery."  All the stars must align to go after big dreams and my hip was a star that was WAY off the target.  Hopefully the hip is just a minor bump in the road and there will be more great races ahead this summer and fall.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Foto Friday

The kid likes pudding...

New Kit

I still haven't signed up for Nationals yet but in case I do decide to do triathlon this summer, I went ahead and got my coach's team kit.  I didn't take a selfie but here's what it looks like laid out on my floor.

Pain in the Rear

Every since I had the baby, I've had some trouble with lower leg lateral strength and therefore, I've gotten injured.  I've had some bad shin splints and foot pain and for the last several months I've had some hamstring tightness I just haven't been able to shake.  I've been able to put up with it but it certainly tugs when I'm doing speed work or drills on the bike.  Since my marathon last month, however, the pain has moved into other places.  I've had some pain in my SI joint along with some really bad pain in the same hip.  Some days are not bad and then there are other days, like after my sprint workout last week, where I could barely walk every time I stood up.  Having been around this block a few times, I immediately started doing some PT exercises I knew along with icing like an Eskimo.  Fed up with it not feeling better and starting to feel nervous about the race this week, I called the doctor.

The doctor did a few strength tests, flexibility tests, and then jammed his fingers into my leg.  My doctor does ART (active release therapy) and he went to town on my hamstring.  Gosh, it hurt so bad (good).  It stung for most of the day but did feel pretty good overall.  He also gave me a few more exercises to do.  And we set up another appointment for more ART later this week before the race.

I haven't tested it out on another run yet.  That will come tomorrow.  Either way, I'm doing the race even if I have to be hyped up on a zillion Advil.

Week in Review

I had every intention of writing every day last week, but I blinked and before I knew it a whole week had passed.  Where did it go?  So, I'll try again this week.  Here's what I was up to this week.

Swimming - 5300 yards
Two longer swims this week, one of which was 3000 yards.  I had a biopsy on my ear this week so wearing a swim cap and goggles was not exactly pain free or fun.  My favorite part of my swims this week was the monkey toy on the bottom of the toy that would smile at me with each passing length.

Biking -14.33 miles
Honestly, I can't tell you anything about the bike rides.  They were at the beginning of the week and they were uneventful.  I do remember that I stepped up the heat acclimation with them by not only riding with long sleeves and no fan, but this time I added a winter hat.

Running - 23.76 miles
Running was full of highs and lows.  I had a great track workout where I really tackled my demons and felt great and was moving with speed.  I also had a "long" run that was just terrible.  It was HOT and my hip was hurting (more on this soon) and I just didn't want to do it.  I have no idea what is going to happen in my upcoming marathon.  Training has been crazy sporadic since my last race.

I guess you could say this upcoming week is full-on taper as my marathon is next Sunday. 

My Husband - A Photogenic Runner

The husband ran the Cap City Half Marathon this morning.  He ran a good, smart race and did really well considering his lack of training.  My job was spectating and paparazzi which is a really weird position for me.  I'd much rather be runner.  But, the husband makes it easy as he might be one of the most photogenic runners ever.  Check it out:

I don't know about you, but I've never looked that good in a running picture.  Yeah, he's kinda cute.  ;)

Foto Friday

Anderson has been spending some time with his cousins the last couple of weeks.  He spent the weekend with my parents when I ran with my marathon and then has gone to a few of my niece's softball games this past week.  My sister's youngest child is like BFFs with Anderson.  Anderson loves her just as much.  Here's a couple cute pictures of them two of them from the weekend of my marathon.

April Totals

Even with a taper, a marathon, and a complete week off while on vacation, I still managed some good numbers this month.  There were probably a few workouts I missed, but what is done is done and nothing would have changed the outcome of my marathon except for some better weather and a lobotomy.  Here we go...

Swimming - 13,350 yards ~ 7.6 miles
Sure, it wasn't the swimming of last month, but had I done some of the swims that were assigned during the week after my marathon, I would have been closer.  I think I also didn't do some swims at the beginning of the month because I had a head cold.  Seven miles of swimming is still quite a bit when the main focus is still running.

Biking - 78.94 miles
I had one bike this month that was actually supposed to be outside.  Unfortunately, it was a mere 30 degrees that day so I did it inside.  Hence, I still haven't taken the bike outside yet this year.  I had a few bike rides I missed while I was on vacation, but I have ridden my cruiser up and down the neighborhood.  Does that count?

Running - 78.64 miles
Isn't it amazing how closely my running and biking numbers are?  It's been like this for most of the year.  Wild!  I am right at 400 miles for the year so still on target for over 1000 miles.  That's kinda cool.

YMCA - 12 visits
YMCA Cost Per Visit - $7.11

I can't believe April has come and gone.  What will May bring us (besides flowers)?

Heat Acclimation

I remember back in the day when I some friends training for Ironman Hawaii who did some crazy things to try to get ready for the heat.  I think Sonja used to do trainer rides in the bathroom while she had the shower on and HOT.  Other friends used to overdress during workouts.  And as I mentioned previously, my friend Star (Clove on Salty Running) is utilizing the sauna to help her train for Badwater.

Now, I don't know if my next marathon is going to be hot or even warm, but I want to be prepared in case it is.

I don't have the luxury of making the bathroom super hot and humid and doing a workout in there.  I live a little more rurally and have a well so I don't really want to waste water.  But I can overdress for workouts and I do have access to a sauna, so with a few weeks to go until my next attempt, I've started to put these into practice.

First I started with a trainer ride this week where I wore a long-sleeved Under Armor shirt and did the workout without a fan.  After the initial shock of, "oh my gosh, this is hot" the workout was okay.  It became a contest (with myself, of course) to see how big the pool of sweat could get on the floor.  Seriously gross.

Then earlier today I used the sauna at the Y for the first time.  I'm not much of a hot tub or sauna girl.  I don't like to be hot, nor do I want to share that space with other, potentially gross, people.  But I did it anyway.  I walked in and thought I was going to die.  It was so damn hot!  So hot!  I looked at the thermometer on the wall and it said 140.  That was as high as it went so who knows how hot it really was in there.  Anyway, my goal was to be in there for 15 minutes.  I took in a water bottle and drank every couple of minutes.  I was sweating like a beast.  I had water pouring off my face, arms, and legs.  I have never sweat like that before.  Holy moly!  I made it to about 10 minutes and then I thought my nostrils were catching on fire.  Thank goodness the weird old dudes in there started a conversation with me or else I'm not sure I would have made it the last 10 minutes.  Although I didn't enjoy it and felt like it was pure torture, I know it's going to help.  Probably.  I hope.

What lengths have you gone to train/plan for the unexpected?

The Characters at the YMCA

I used to go to what I'll describe as a "fancy" gym.  The women were decked out in head-to-toe Lululemon, had less body hair than I don't know what, I were pumped full of silicone.  They even did their makeup BEFORE their workout.  I never really felt like I fit in there but I enjoyed knowing I was like a thousand times fitter than those chicks.  That gym was expensive too.  We didn't really realize what we were spending until we did a cost analysis on our costs per visits.  It was insane.  That's when we terminated our membership and joined the YMCA for a lot less.

The Y had a whole host of different characters.  There's the trainer that has tanned so much she looks leather and her hair is so feathered and sprayed it doesn't move.  There's the old people who do more socializing than working out.  There's the meatheads who somehow are there in the middle of the day.  Don't you all have jobs?  And then there are the stay-at-home moms, like myself, who take their kids to Child Watch just so they can have an hour to themselves once a day.  But my favorite peopl I've met in the pool.

I go to the gym mid-morning which seems to be a busy time.  There must be a popular aerobics class for all the moms because Child Watch is usually full of kids.  The pool too is pretty busy during this time.  There's always one swim aerobics class going on, which involves more socializing and standing than actually working out.  And for me it's super weird because many of the now-retired school teachers I had in high school and parents of friends from high school attend that class.  There are usually about six lanes of lap swimming and they are usually all full.  The "real" swimmers during the daytime leave a lot to be desired.  Usually they're doing elementary backstroke or a version of breaststroke or just walking in the lane.  If I have to share a lane, I try to find someone who is actually swimming but those folks are usually hard to find.

But what is it that makes it seem I want my workout interrupted to have a conversation with a complete random person?  There's a gentleman who goes out of his way to awkwardly say hi to me every time I walk in.  There was the strange woman who said my workout was very "scientific."  (What the hell does that mean?)  Sometimes I'll have a person tell me I have a good stroke or swim really fast.  A few weeks ago I had a great conversation with a guy in the lane beside me.  Turns out he was a "pure runner" like myself who happened to dabble a little in triathlon.  He was a really good runner.  He had run Boston last year in 2:50.  Holy wow!   We talked for a long time.  I could talk running all day.  Plus my kid was in Child Watch.  Adult conversation!!!!

Then yesterday I had a very strange conversation.  I was about two-thirds of the way through my workout when I guy asked if I was almost done.  I said no but he could share my lane anyway.  I swear I did another 300+ yards before he actually got started doing one lap.  My last set of intervals had specific send-offs and I'm sure he had to have seen me looking at my watch and counting down to my next send-off.  Regardless, he still interrupted me to ask me what I was training for.  And then the conversation went way off on a tangent about sailing.  He is part of a local sailing club and invited me to come sailing with him sometime.  Um, pedophile much??  He told me his name and to ask for him.  He told me what to wear and what to expect.  And blah blah blah.  Um, sure random dude.  I'd love to come sailing with you.  Weirdo.

Next time I'm wearing a full head-to-toe burka and maybe then people will leave me alone.

Do you belong to a gym?
Do random people talk to you at the gym?
What's the weirdest conversation you've ever had at the gym?

Florida

Just a few hours after finishing my marathon last week, Dave, Anderson, my parents, and I hopped on an airplane and headed south to Florida.  We vacation every spring in Venice where we have friends and where my parents hope to retire soon.  There's not a whole lot to do in the town, but that's kind of the point of some vacations.  My plans were to lay on the beach and chill out in the evenings.  Unfortunately, with the little one off his normal schedule he was exceptionally challenging which did not lend itself to relaxing, but it was fun nonetheless.  Here's some pictures from the trip.

Lessons Learned from the Marathon

When I worked as a beginning engineer, I had a manager who would sit with me after every meeting I chaired to give me a "lessons learned" session on what worked and what didn't and how I can improve.  He was a great boss.  Too bad I got laid off.  Whatev!

Now I have a coach to do the same thing with my running.  Last week after a few days of sulking and then getting pissed, we broke the marathon down into things that worked and things that didn't.

My training was spot-on for a PR and/or Boston Marathon qualifying.  My fitness was not the issue.

This was my 17th marathon and I've been using the same nutrition throughout.  Although my stomach hated me during the race, I don't believe my nutrition was the issue either.  I could have helped my stomach problems earlier in the race by eating some Tums.  I had them in my bag.  I should have asked Dave for them.  This one was my fault.  Next time, I'll carry them with me.

One thing that did affect me during the race was the heat.  Sure, it wasn't that warm, but the starting temperature was 60 and the ending temperature was over 70.  I'm not sure I've done one run this whole training cycle in the 70s, except for inside on the treadmill.  You can sure use fans and hydrate a lot to help that when training indoors.  If the temperature had been in the 40s or 50s, I would have been golden.  Spring marathons are a mystery.  You train through terrible conditions (at least, if you live in the midwest like I do) and then you might get lucky with a beautiful 50 degree day or it might be 85 and hotter than hell.  I got unlucky.  My friend Star is an amazing ultrarunner who is currently training for Badwater.  I know she does a lot of sauna training and whatnot.  Coach and I have developed a plan for the next one that includes some heat adaptation.

Obviously, my head got in the way too.  Ever since Ironman Louisville, my head has been kind of a mess when it comes to racing.  I used to enter races confident or at least oblivious to the pressure at hand.  The one thing I love about running is it allows me to turn off my brain and just be.  I don't hear anything; I don't see anything; I just breathe and move my feet.  But recently, I've had a hard time turning off the chatter.  When things started happening, when things got bad, I just thought about how horrible I was feeling, and would I be sick, and were they going to have to pull me off the course, and how much of a disappointment I was, and how this was a waste of time, and how much time I've put into this and not spending time with my son, and on and on and on.  Aside from physically removing my brain, obviously not an option, I'm not sure how to get back to the confident, carefree runner that I was.

But, we have come up with a plan.  For my PR/BQ attempt, I need a bigger race - one with spectators and lots of runners and undulations to the course.  I need to feel the energy and move with the crowd.  I need others to call out for me and push me.  I want to go out with a pace group and see what I can do. 

Yes, there is another marathon on the schedule in a few weeks.  For now, I'd like to keep the details to myself (to my Maine friends who think I might be coming to join their party, unfortunately, no).  I basically took the whole week off after the marathon (I was on vacation) but did do one very, very short run when I got home.  It felt great.  I mean, good grief, I walked a TON of that marathon.  This week we are going to take it day-to-day to see how I'm feeling and how much more running my body can handle.  The heat adaptation with start two weeks out from the race. 

I want to try again.  I deserve the race I trained for!  I'm pissed that everyone else I know had great spring marathons and mine sucked.  I want to be added to that list! 

See you at the starting line...

Athens Marathon 2015

Well shit.

The Athens Marathon was not the PR party or Boston qualifier I had hoped or trained for. Unfortunately, I did not win the weather lottery and it took its toll.

PS - I would have loved the weather they had for the Boston Marathon.

Let's start from the beginning. Although nervous I felt like I was doing well the morning of the race. I was able to eat breakfast, got to the race site easily and calmly, and I took some port-a-John stops and snacked on some gummies. I lined up and felt relaxed. I turned on my iPod and it was Taylor Swift's "Fearless", my power word of the day. It was going to be a good day.

Seriously, look how much leaner and fitter I look than my last marathon.

The plan was to start out easy, take the first hour to warm up, and start to build pace. The first mile was mostly downhill until you got to the trail and then the rest of the race was flatflatflat. My pace felt easy. I felt relaxed. Everything was going to be great. After mile 4 I noticed how warm it was getting. My pace was around an 8:16 average but it wasn't feeling easy. Although I was carrying water I used the water stops (few and far between as they were) to dump water on myself. I saw Dave before the half marathon turn around and let him know that it was just going "okay."

 This is my look of "I don't know how this is going to happen."

And then my stomach started bothering me. I started panicking. I was dry heaving and freaking out. I was hot, my pace wasn't falling, and I just felt horrible. I told myself that it would pass, that I always felt low in the first part of the race. Unfortunately, it wasn't passing and the voices in my head were starting to talk. Near the halfway point I decided I was going to drop out. This was ridiculous. There was no way I could set a PR, no way I could qualify, and it was going to suck for quite a bit longer. Dave, being the voice of reason said no and made me continue on. 

The next couple of miles were not slow but I was already doing some walking. It was too early to be doing any walking. The next time I saw Dave I was toast. Done. Finished. DO NOT WANT TO RUN ANYMORE!  I was at mile 16ish and there was still a long way to go. I stopped and tried to reason with him. He was having none of it. The medical staff calmed me down, gave me a bag of ice (awesome) and somehow, I started moving again. The ice was a godsend. It stuffed it down my sports bra and sucked on some. I, obviously  needed to cool down. 

Note...it wasn't 'that' hot. But it was in the 70s and that's way hotter than anything I have trained in this winter. 

For a while after I saw Dave I was able to get my head back in the game. I was running pretty well and holding some sort of a pace. Although there weren't many people on the course (gosh this race was small), I was starting to pick off people. At mile 19ish I saw Dave again and he said I looked like I had perked up a little. He gave me some Coke to settle my stomach and ran with me for a few minutes. The next time I would see him would be the finish. 

Those last couple of miles were long. There were points where I did not see anyone in front of me or behind me. I tried using tricks like counting my steps or finding landmarks to focus on but all I could focus on was the pain - my stomach, my feet, my legs, my head. I turned off my watch. Just move forward, Meredith. 

The finish seemed to take forever to get to. It was incredibly windy and there was nothing to block the wind. I swear I would have been faster walking faster than the doing whatever shuffle I was mustering. There was one last water stop at mile 26 and I yelled to the volunteer "Jesus Christ where is the finish?!?!"  I apologized to him for the language. I apologize to you. 

Finally, there was a left turn onto a patch of grass (stupid), down a homemade ramp (even dumber), and then onto the track for the finish.

 That look pretty much says it all.

4:02. Ugh!!  Pathetic, pitiful, disappointing, but mostly sadness. I worked too hard for this result. I had great training. I sacrificed so much time.  I gave up drinking. I ate better. I recovered like a boss. Whatever.  I really cried. I cried a lot. I cried most of the day, actually. I was so disappointed. 

But then there was this...

Only one woman went under 3:30. I was the 10th place female and second in my age group (my award was a travel mug). The conditions got to everyone. You've got to work with what you're given and this was the best I could do that day. Disappointing, but there will be other races.

One of the ugliest marathon medals ever.

Seriously, a travel mug?  I think I would have preferred a cheap trophy instead.

Tomorrow, more on what I learned about this marathon and thoughts on my next attempt. 

37

Today is my 37th birthday.  It feels so weird to be 37.  I don't feel 37.  I don't think I look like what 37 looks like.  I remember when my parents were this age.  All very weird.

Anyway...

We had a little celebration tonight at home with my parents, Dave, Anderson, and me.  Dinner was spaghetti and garlic bread.  I mean, of course, I'm tapering!  There was also chocolate cake, which Anderson loved.  Me too.  Then I got a few presents.  My parents got me some construction/garden gloves.  These will come in very handy at this house.  They also got me a VISA gift card that I plan to save for something special.  (Not that I've figured out what that something special is yet.)  Anderson drew me a picture which he said is a picture of cake.  The kid loves cake.  Dave got me a new bikini (oh yeah, have I mentioned that a few hours after my marathon on Sunday we're hopping on a plane to the beach for a week?), some new Lululemon running shorts, and signed us up for a glass blowing class in a few weeks.  How cool is that? 

I think the start of 37 was great and I can't wait to see how the year unfolds.

Marathon Outfit

The weather is looking not so great for Sunday (rain - more on that later in the week), but temperatures are going to be great for a PR attempt.  And here's what I'll be looking fab in...

Shorts, tank, compression calf sleeves, my socks which I call my "Buckeye socks", and my super fast Kinvaras.  The sunglasses will be if the weather is nice (not likely) or I'll wear my lucky Boston 2006 hat. 

Foto Friday (on a Tuesday)

(I have other posts planned for later in the week so I'll show some pictures of the kiddo earlier.)

We're starting him on the path toward triathlon early.  He's been in swim lessons for a year and a half, loves to run races, and now this...

And then look at this cuteness.  He said he was watching the clouds.  I just love him.

Week in Review

The taper started this week.  I caught a cold.  I lost my mind.  I missed some workouts.  Whatever.  I'm trained and ready.  Nothing I do now will change the results next week.

Swimming - 3000 yards
I had three swims on the schedule this week, but I only did one.  I lost motivation to get over to the Y and do the swims.  Plus I was sick and yuck and I didn't want to take the little one to childcare only for him to catch his millionth cold this spring. 

Biking - 24.28 miles
I did two indoor bike rides this week - one shorter, one longer.  Neither of them were especially hard.  Mostly they focused on cadence.  Oh how I wish all bike rides were like taper bike rides.  That'll change in a few weeks.

Running - 24.29 miles
Monday was the long run where I hit the intervals but felt terrible.  I also tried a track workout that was disastrous.  Finally, the week ended with a fun, strong run with friends. 

Strength - 0 hours
There were no strength workouts this week.  Yahoo!!!

One more week!!!

Running Friends - Good for the Soul

The last time I ran with friends was at the end of December when Amanda came home for the holidays and joined us.  I have done 100% of my training since that time by myself.  I don't mind training alone, it builds character, but sometimes I miss my friends.  For my last weekend run I got a babysitter and headed up to Highbanks to see my friends and enjoy a group run.

It was so good for the soul.  Having a cold this week and being in the taper, I was feeling quite blue about my race next week.  But six miles with my friends was a great pick-me-up.  Plus it was a fast pace and I was able to hang quite easily (and it didn't hurt that they told me I looked as fit as they've ever seen me).  This run was a turning point in this taper and I'm now very excited for the marathon.

I love having a coach.  It takes the thinking out of training and keeps me accountable to my training plan and goals.  But every once in a while it's nice to share a run with my friends and enjoy a lovely Saturday out on the trails. 

Do you run with a group or a friend?
How much training do you do solo?

Foto Friday

This week we had some typical spring weather - warm, wet, and stormy.  We also discovered that Anderson may be afraid of storms.  Wednesday we put him down to sleep and just a few minutes later he was screaming and crying and telling us he didn't like the thunder.  I rocked him and soothed him to sleep and he slept through the night and the storms.  I hope this isn't a 'thing'.  We get A LOT of storms during the night.

And check out how big he is.  Good grief he is tall.

Thursday Thoughts

Back in the day when I had a job that paid real money and Dave was working too and we were childless, I found that I liked to afford luxuries.  One of my favorite luxuries was having a house cleaning service.  Once or twice a month we would have someone clean our house top to bottom.  When I was a kid my mom used to have specific chores for my sister and I and we weren't allowed to do certain things until those chores were done.  And Saturdays were house cleaning day.  The house got cleaned before anything else got done.  When I live alone in an apartment I kept to this schedule.  I always got the house cleaned every week and everything was put away.  When I got married and bought a house this type of discipline fell to the wayside.  My life partner, aka The Husband, doesn't have the same feelings as me of always having the house clean and picked up and minimalism, etc., so I've slacked too.  If I'm not getting help why should I do all this for two?

Anyway, I loved having someone clean the house.  It was a luxury I wish I could still afford.  Or frankly, have the motivation to do myself.

If you had the money, what luxury would you indulge?

The Taper - It's Driving Me Crazy!

I guess I'm officially tapering now.  And it's already driving me crazy!  I headed out to the track to do a pretty simple, short ladder workout and my head was already a mess not even two miles into it.  Part way through the first interval I decided to modify the workout.  And two intervals in I decided to call it a day.  I've still got a lingering cold which has induced a cough and a tight chest and a Nyquil coma. 

Is this taper thing going to my head?  Is the cold effing me up?  Am I crazy or just a few days out from my major race?

I've had such a good training cycle.  Everything has gone really well.  I've hit all my intervals and workouts.  I've got stronger, leaner, fitter, and faster.  Next week I'm going to kick ass at the marathon...if I can get there.  I'm feeling like things are falling apart! 

Am I going crazy?  Is this just the taper talking?  Am I going to get over my cold in time?  What the hell is going on???

Not All Workouts Are Great Workouts

I have to admit, my training has pretty much gone off without a hitch.  I'm nailed, like, 99% of my workouts.  I have rested, recovered, nutritioned (it's a word), and caught every stinking cold my son has had (although I've gotten better quickly and missed very few workouts). 

Seriously kid.  Can you stay healthy for one week?  You don't go to daycare.  What the heck?

Anyway, yesterday was my final longish run.  I ran just shy of 15 miles and to be honest, it kind of sucked.  It sucked right from the start.  I'm fighting another tiny cold and Aunt Flo paid her monthly visit too.  Then, I was not even a mile from home and it started raining and pretty much kept raining the rest of the run. 

I warmed up for about a half hour and then the middle hour had some intervals that were to be done at marathon pace and then faster.  And, those intervals went pretty well.  I hit all of them, although maybe a little slower than last week.  Then things just fell apart.  After the last one, I took a bathroom stop at the library.  When I came out it was pouring.  I was in the last 30 minutes of the run and heading home.  My legs had other plans, though.  Everything stopped working.  My calves felt like rocks, my hamstring said "are you stupid", my hip didn't want to go, and overall I wish I had just stayed at the library and called the husband to come get me. 

I finished the run and felt terrible.  My husband massaged my legs, I put them up against the wall, I rolled them on the foam roller, and then had a terrible time sleeping I was in so much pain.  It was like I had run a whole marathon in racing flats (which I will; I just shouldn't feel that awful after a training run). 

My friend D (gah, I can't find her blog!!!) mentioned recently she wished more people wrote about their bad workouts instead of being all rainbows and sunshine.  Well here it is, folks.  I had a bad run less than two weeks out from my marathon.  And that's okay.  I think you should have bad runs.  You need it to learn what not to do and what works for you.  What did I learn today?  I learned I hate running in the rain.  Looking at the forecast for next week I had better learn to like it quickly.  I learned that I always feel fat and slow when I first start my period.  Thank goodness I'll be missing that for my race.  I learned and should have learned this lesson long ago that I should not work out when I'm sick.  And most importantly, I learned to live for another run.  There is a better one around the corner.  Don't sweat just one bad run. 

Week in Review

My weeks have been all screwed up for a while.  I do some workouts from a week ago; some from this week and then put them in whatever order makes sense.  In the end, I do all the workouts and that's what is important.  Right?

Swimming - 4750 yards
Only two swims this week - one long, one shorter.  The longer one was about 150 yards longer than expected as my coach can sometimes not add correctly.  At least it was only 150 yards and not 1150 yards longer.  Glass half full!!!

Biking - 24.49 miles
I actually had a workout that called for outside biking this week.  Unfortunately, it was 35 degrees outside.  Um, no.  I'm not that hardcore.  And also unfortunately, the kiddo keeps ripping apart his train tracks while I'm on the bike (and Dave's not home) so every few minutes I had to get off the bike and fix the tracks.  I'm not sure the bike rides were very productive this week.  I may need to put the baby back in the chair and show cartoons while I ride so I can do my workouts continuously.  Any of you have any good suggestions for keeping the kiddo occupied when I need to do my workouts at home alone?

Running - 22.84 miles
Yes, I know this is not a lot of miles, but really, I've still got a workout or two to do this coming week that were part of last week.  I like to think of my workouts not as weekly but as a collection of the bigger picture.  I get them done.  Whatever.  I had a great 11 miler earlier in the week that included a lot of faster running.  My overall average was faster than my last half marathon pace (of course, that was in the snow).  Mid-week I had another speedy workout that Dave and Anderson were able to join me on (on the bike).  It was nice to have company for once.  I have done this entire training cycle alone.  One last semi-long run that I'll do today and then I guess I'll officially be tapering!!!

There were no strength routines this week, although I did do some pushups and core routines by myself during TV commercials.

Almost there.  Almost there.  Almost there.  Almost there.  Almost there.

Happy Easter

Speaking of Second Thoughts...Anderson is 2!!!

Anderson turned two last week and we had a weekend of celebrating.

On his birthday, Dave and I took him to Red Robin where they sang to him and gave him some ice cream.  Kid loves ice cream!  And he loved them singing.  I thought it was nice to celebrate just the three of us.

Then on Saturday, when he asked for cake for breakfast, we got him a donut with lots of sprinkles.  That's close to a piece of cake, right?

Later in the day my parents, Dave's parents, and my sister and her husband came over to celebrate Anderson.  We ordered pizza, he opened presents, and we had cake.  He got a cool signing elephant, a bubble mower, some clothes, a camp chair (see picture from yesterday), a life jacket, and we got him a HUGE train table with tons of trains.  He was in boy heaven!

On Sunday, Dave's brother was able to come over, had a meal with us, and gave Anderson some cool cars.  One of them is a car carrier with four little cars.  He drags it around and says "BIG CAR!!!"  It's so cute.

Happy birthday Big Boy! 

Foto Friday

My kid is such an intellect.  He loves to read.  Or he likes to pretend he's reading.  There's, obviously, no pictures in this book.  :)

This is compromising.  We came home from the Y and got ready for lunch.  Anderson did not want to take off his rain coat.  I 'compromised' and let it wear it on his head.  Then he didn't want to sit in his high chair.  So, I let him sit in a big-boy chair (and found the booster seat shortly after I took this picture).  This day was a battle.  

Anderson got his own camp chair for his birthday.  (More on his birthday tomorrow.)  He loved that it had a holder for his cup.  I think he's ready for camping or bonfires.

This might be my favorite picture I've taken in a while.  Here he is "mowing" in his sweats and trucker hat.  I love this picture so much I made it my screensaver on my phone.  So funny.

I like this picture because he put his hat on himself.  Backwards.  Like a hillbilly.

Finally, my favorite time of every day (and not just because he's going to bed and I get a few hours to myself/with Dave).  I love watching him and Dave get ready for bed.  So cute.

Hope you all have a great Friday!!!

An Evening We Don't Want to Remember

It started on our drive home from Anderson's swim lessons on Tuesday.  Dave's phone started ringing.  It was a 1-800 number.  We thought it was just crap so we didn't answer.  Then they left a message.  Then a text.

Our debit card number had been used for an $800+ purchase.

Great.

When we got home Dave got out his wallet to get his card to call our financial institution.  Both the credit card and debit card were gone.  Physically stolen.

Great.

As we were calling the bank, the bank called us.  We were able to stop the credit card and debit card, which were being used as we were talking to them...Chipotle, gas station, etc.  They were able to reverse the charges (thank god).  We then called the YMCA where we believed the theft happened based on the location of the charges and the timing.  Of course, they couldn't do anything but we at least wanted to alert them that it had happened.  Then Dave, at 9:30pm, headed to the local police station to fill out a report.  Because we were able to do all of this so quickly after the theft, they were going to give all the information to a detective so he/she could pull tapes from Target (where the $800 purchase was done) and the Y and the gas station and whatnot.  Hopefully they catch those little boogers.

So how did this happen?  We don't really know.  We're always really careful to lock our stuff up at the Y.  And Dave said he did.  I believe him too.  They only took the credit and debit card and nothing else.  Not even Dave's iPhone 6+.  Did they take them out of his back pocket?  Seems kinda crazy, but then again this whole thing was kinda crazy.  In the end, we don't know and we're not going to fret about it.  The good news is, (a) they went and made a HUGE purchase which alerted our bank and (b) because of that we were able to stop those bastards quickly and get our money back.

Having Second Thoughts

I have enjoyed the multisport training I have done this winter.  Swimming and biking has been good addition.  It's helped me get stronger and faster without piling on the miles and risking injury.  In fact, I haven't had a single week of training for this marathon where I've reached 40 miles in a week.  Yet, I'm running faster than I have in a good six years.  Of course, as soon as this marathon is over the focus will actually be triathlon.

I have a confession, though.

I have only signed up for one triathlon.  And it wasn't Nationals.  And, I'm having some second thoughts regarding actually doing triathlon.  I'm not very confident when it comes to triathlon.  I'm not very good.  That frustrates me.  I easily talk myself out of doing well and that's just dumb.  And to be honest, I'm doing really well at running right now, why would I want to switch over to triathlon?

I'm just being ridiculous, right?  Why would you turn down your chance to race at Nationals?  I just need to pull on my big girl panties and suck it up.  Sign up for those races already, Mer!!!

March Totals

I cannot believe March has come to a close already.  Only a few days until my marathon.  Where has the time gone.

It's gone into training.  Good grief!  Look at these numbers?!

Swimming - 27,450 yards ~ 15.6 miles
Woah.  Just woah.  I have spent a lot of time at the Y in the chlorine this month.  I believe this is at least double what I swam last month.  Am I training for an ironman instead of an Olympic triathlon?

Biking - 104.42 miles
One hundred miles may not seem like a lot of biking miles, but these were all done indoors on the trainer.  Most rides were only about 11 miles.  You do the math.  That's quite a bit of time on my bike.  I have done cadence workouts, threshold workouts, workouts where I stood up a lot.  I had mechanical problems that required more knowledge and help than I could handle.  And I dropped my chain about a thousand times.  I'm getting stronger on the bike and it is showing in my run too.  It'll be interesting to see how this translates to riding outside.  Spring and warmer temperatures are coming soon.  Right?  RIGHT???

Running -116.53 miles
This could have been more.  I missed a 9 miler just over a week ago when I had a head cold and I didn't do a 5ish miler today as I was recovering from a tough run yesterday.  I'm still hoping to get those done, honestly.  Sure, I'm not running a whole lot of miles, but I've had GREAT WONDERFUL POWERFUL SUCCESSFUL runs and I've really seen great improvement in my running.  Only a few weeks until we find out how it has all worked out.

Strength - 1 hour
All short core routines.  I guess all my strength routines were done in the pool this month.

YMCA Visits - 27
Cost Per Visit - $3.16
I'm sure making use of the Y membership this year!

Onto April....

Over It

I don't know about you, but when I reach the end of a training cycle I get moody and cranky and just plain over it.  This is BEFORE I reach the taper!  This training cycle hasn't been especially long and hasn't included a whole lot of miles.  However, I've put my whole heart and soul and body into it and I'm tired.  Physically exhausted.  Mentally exhausted.  Sore.  Hungry.  Ready to be done. 

Saturday morning we woke up early and I thought about going to run with my friends at the local trail.  They had called me out in an email the day prior for not being seen the whole winter (don't you worry your pretty little heads, I was training!).  I knew I needed to make an appearance.  I checked my phone for the weather and it said 18.  You've got to be kidding me!  No!  I stayed warm in bed, snuggling with my boys.  I never did get out and run that day.  Who cares.

Sunday I had to run, though.  The plan was for two runs: a longer one in the morning and a short easy one in the evening.  I checked my phone for the weather - 20s with the feel like temperature of 18.  $&@!*#!!  As if I wasn't already cranky I was now full-on-rip-your-face-off angry.  I bundled up and headed out.  God, it was windy.  And cold.  And this was stupid.  I went about 5 miles and said enough.  I've over it! 

I did get that second run in after 8:00pm.

It's been a long couple of months.  I have trained and parented and trained and parented all while the temperature has been stupid cold and we've been stuck in the house.  I have spent HOURS on the treadmill.  I have spent HOURS watching cartoons and reading books and playing trains.  I want to get outside.  I want to go to the park.  I want to wear shorts.  I want the boy to not have to wear a winter coat.

Winter, training, cold temperatures, everything...I'm over it!!

The Longest Run

I've got to be honest, I have been working my ass off this winter.  I have swam, biked, ran, and strength trained my way into great shape.  I have improved my diet.  I have completely given up alcohol.  My body is lean and fit (and my jeans are falling off to prove it).  And I am ready.

And FYI, I have not neglected my little guy in any of this.  He's #1.  Running is a hobby.

Yesterday I did my longest run that I'll do leading up to my marathon - 20 miles.  My parents helped me out by watching Anderson for a little bit while I got started and then Dave picked him up after he got off work.  The plan was an hour of warming up and building pace, then three half hours of progressively fast tempo, followed by a cool down to complete the mileage.  I am a slow starter and like to build my pace.  That's how I roll.  So, I was surprised when my first mile was under a 9:00.  Then it kept getting faster from there.  I kept telling myself to chill out, slow down, be comfortable.  I was comfortable, though, and easily breezed through the first hour.  The next half hour felt pretty fast too.  Again, I was telling myself to slow down that I didn't need to be going that fast.  I was comfortable so I just went with it.  Then, I thought, things would get tricky.  The second half hour was supposed to be at race pace.  I have some pretty big goals for this race.  Big Hairy Scary Goals!  My motto for the marathon is Fearless and that is how I approached this workout.  I destroyed that next half hour and picked it up another 10 seconds per mile for the final half hour interval.  Unfortunately, I ran out of daylight with about 2-1/2 miles left.  I was able to return to my parents' house, grab my reflective gear and headlamp, and head out in their neighborhood.  I am a little skiddish about running in the dark.  I always fear that I'm going to fall.  I slowed down considerably.  That's okay, though.  I completely my quickest 20 miler I have ever done in training.

You'd think the story would end there.

After I finished the run, I quickly gathered my things and headed home.  It was nearly 9:00pm; I hadn't had dinner yet; and I wanted to say goodnight to the little guy.  I didn't take time to calm down or get any recovery food/beverage.  It felt very dark outside as I climbed into the car.  About halfway home (which is all of a four mile drive), I started to get really cold and lose feeling in my hands.  Then I started to get pins and needles in my ears and jaw.  I was feeling sick and I opened a window (it was in the low 40s outside, maybe even 30s).  With one turn left and less than a mile I didn't think I was going to make it.  I prayed the light would turn green and I could make it home.  My vision was starting to blur and tunnel.  I parked the car in the garage, got in the house, and asked Dave to help me immediately.  I felt like I was going to pass out or be sick.  I laid on the ground and Dave propped my feet up.  For several minutes I laid there shaking like a leaf, freezing, and scared.  Only twice have I felt that way - when I was pulled off the course at Ironman and right before I had my cesarean.  Finally I was able to get my breathing under control and make it to the bathroom.  Dave had started a shower for me.  (The baby was asleep through all of this.)  Dave helped me into the shower and soon I was feeling warm and normal again.

That's not all!!!

I don't sleep very well after big workouts.  I hurt, my toes don't want to touch the sheets, I feel restless, etc.  This night was no different.  I hadn't eaten much dinner (didn't feel great), so I was only starting to feel hungry when I crawled into bed at 11:00.  Midnight, 1:00, 2:00.  Still awake.  At 2:30 I got up and ate a little bit and drank some fruit punch.  Calories.  Any calories.  I watched TV until 3:00.  I tried to sleep again for another hour.  I turned on the TV again at 4:00 and watched until 5:00.  At 5:00 I crawled back into bed and still felt terrible, so I went back out to the living room.  Finally I fell asleep at 6:00 and was unfortunately was awoken just an hour and a half later by thunder.  Thunder?! 

I'm dragging today and quite sore.  But I'm excited.  The training is paying off and the finish line is in sight.  I'm ready.  Bring it on.

Foto Friday

Here's a few pictures of the little dude to brighten your day...

Anderson discovered dental floss.  That was fun to clean up.

Yep, this.  We're not forcing the issue but we're letting him explore potty training.  He thinks he has to get completely naked for it.  Yesterday he actually asked to go, ran down to the bathroom, and successfully peed in the toilet.  Maybe this might be easy?

Monday it was nearly 70 degrees and we celebrated with a little free ice cream at Dairy Queen.  Yum!

I've been thinking about investing in a GoPro for more pictures and videos.  Any of you have one?  Do you use it?  What do you use it for?

Thursday Thoughts

I was BIG when I was pregnant.  I carried a small linebacker.  I was out shopping for baby socks with about 6 weeks to go in my pregnancy.  The woman at the checkout counter said, "woah, you must be about ready for this baby."  I gently let her know that I still had several weeks to go.  I know she probably meant well, but she sure stuck her foot in her mouth.

Last week Dave and I were picking up dinner from our favorite Chinese carryout.  I haven't been inside the establishment for a long time because I'm usually waiting outside in the car with the baby.  This time the baby was with my parents so I went inside with Dave.  The ladies at the counter said to me, "You look so much better.  Your face is fuller.  You're not as skinny."  Woah, was that ever a backhanded compliment.  I smiled and thanked them but inside it hurt a little.

Have you ever stuck your foot in your mouth so badly you don't know how to reverse it?
Have you ever received a backhand compliment that left you wide-eyed and shaking your head?

Ugh! The Bike!

This evening I did a bike workout that required a lot of gear changing - small gears to big gears, big gears to small gears.  I had 10 intervals like this.  In just my first one, I dropped my chain.  Ugh!  I put it back on, went upstairs and scrubbed my hands, and continued on with my workout.  On my third interval I dropped my chain again.  You've got to be kidding me.  Fixed, hands washed, continue on.  Two more intervals and the chain got dropped for a third time.  I probably should have stopped the workout at this point.  I got back on the bike and now my power meter wasn't reading correctly.  Please, someone send a text asking to go get ice cream?!?!?!  I soldiered on, though, and finished the workout.  What doesn't kill me makes me stronger, right?

Have you had a workout that has totally gone awry? 
What was the worst workout you've had that you got it done anyway?

Week in Review

Last week was rest week.  Thank goodness.  There's only a few weeks to go until the marathon and to be honest, I'm feeling a little burnt out.  This is normal for me, but hard to overcome.  I just want to lay on the floor and watch tv, not run.  But, I keep reminding myself that I've come so far and done so well and it's only a little bit longer until the reward.

Swimming - 4800 yards
Only two swims this week and both were pretty tame.  I don't really have a whole lot to say about that.  :)

Biking - 19.91 miles
There were two bikes this week.  They were both pretty tame too.  They were more about cadence than power.  I cut one of them short to go on a family walk.  There's more important things in life.

Running - 23.14 miles
I had hoped to run a race this past weekend but unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate.  Our plan was a 10 miler in Pittsburgh but Saturday's forecast was 100% chance of rain.  We didn't want to drive 3 hours and pay for a hotel for a soggy race.  Instead I just did an easier, shorter run on the treadmill.  The hard workout for the week was a track workout of one billion times 400m.  Just kidding.  It was 12 intervals, but that seems like a lot.  I've got to admit, track workouts make me crazy anxious.  For being a track kid, the track makes me nervous.  But I dominated this workout and that makes me happy.

Strength - 0.25 hours
Just one core workout this week.  I better look bangin' in a swimsuit this summer!

Next week is BIG!  I hope I survive!

Week in Review

Whew!  It was a big week and I rocked it!

Swimming - 7200 yards
I swam half as many yards this week as I swam all of last month!  I had three swims this week: one was 2800 yards, one was 2400 yards, and one was 2200 yards.  The long one was a recovery swim.  It was long but not a lot of difficult stuff.  The second one had a lot of sprints to it.  The third one was actually a continuous swim and I was pleased to see my 100 yard average to be 1:43.

Biking - 25 miles
I "only" had two bikes this week and both were at least an hour long.  There was lots of BIG gear riding, with LOTS of sweating!  I'm feeling pretty pleased with how my biking is coming along.

Running - 33.98 miles
Had I known I was 0.02 miles away from a round number, I would have done 0.02 more miles.  Good grief!  I don't know how many times I ran this week.  There was a recovery run (see post from Friday) that was easy and slow.  I also did short mileage with a warmup/cool down for some strength work and a short run off the bike on Saturday.  I did a speed workout that will hopefully be my last treadmill run for a while (and it was an amazing run).  And finally, I rocked my long run this morning - 18+ miles at an overall pace faster than my Boston Marathon qualifying pace.  Just to quantify - I was not TRYING to run fast.  My workout had a long slow build followed by an hour of race pace stuff.  My goal is to run a PR which is quite quick.  Therefore, my run was quick.  I was really happy with my runs this week.

Strength - 0.25 hours
Only one core workout this week.  I did a different variation of last week's, using a stability ball instead of a medicine ball.  It was a GOOD workout.

Next week is a step back week and there may even be a race at the end of the week.  Unfortunately, the weather is looking like rain for the weekend so I'm not sure I'll enter the race. 

Oh, Old Navy, You Can Do Better

This weekend the boy and the husband went up to Cleveland to visit family.  I stayed behind and enjoyed a little "me" time.  I went shopping.  I miss shopping.  Now I do almost all my shopping online.  It's so hard to go shopping with a two year old.  Anyway, I went to Old Navy.  Funny enough, I only bought items for my son, but I found some things that really disturbed me.

Let me start by saying that yes, I am a girl.  But I'm not very girly girl.  I would love to be a girly girl, but after nearly 37 years of life, I'm just not that girl.  In conclusion, I'm not a huge fan of the color pink.  It's just not very favorite.  My favorite color is red.  I'm finding, though, colors besides pink are not readily available in workout clothes.  Check out this wall of workout clothes at Old Navy:

I mean, you've got to be kidding me?!

Next came the girls athletic section:

Cheer?  Dance?  Can't we be encouraging girls to run and jump and kick and throw??

Old Navy, I'm disappointed.  You can do better.

Recovery Runs - A Pet Peeve

Soabox out.

It really grates on my nerves when I read on social media, "I just did my recovery run at a 7:XX pace!  I'm getting faster!"  People!  That is not a recovery run!  Unless you're freaking Meb Kaflezighi a recovery run shouldn't be done that quickly.  A recovery run is typically done at 1-1/2 to 2 minutes slower than your 5k pace.  It repairs your muscles and gets the recovery juices flowing.  Plus there's science behind it and stuff that you can research yourself.  And why wouldn't you want to take an easy day every couple of days to just chill out and enjoy the sunshine on a nice, EASY, run?

Salty Running wrote an article about it this week.  Check it out here.

Soapbox put away (for now).

Pretty Ugly

I am not, necessarily, a girl who cares about being high fashion...especially when it comes to workout clothes.  In the past, I've generally purchased running clothes on the cheap and wore them until they wore out.  Only in the last year have I decided to purchase nicer quality and better looking workout clothes and boy, what a difference it has made.  I sure made a statement this week at the Y with this crazy outfit.

I was wearing my new Lululemon shorts with a black tank top and a turquoise sports bra.

 

The I was wearing my new Pro Compression running socks.  I don't know if these are ugly or like a party inside my running shoes.

 

Finally, I broke out a new pair of running shoes.  These are the Saucony Ride 7.

Are these not the ugliest running shoes you've ever seen?  This picture does not do it justice.  The laces are actually florescent orange.  I'm thinking of replacing the laces with grey ones to make them my Buckeye shoes.

What is the craziest or ugliest running outfit or regular outfit you've ever worn?  Pictures in the comments appreciated.  :)