Baby Steps

There's no other way to put it: Sunday I was not feelin the blog. I was feelin' my couch. But the rest of the week I got up and got moving, so no apologies.

Monday - So my week wasn't as crazy as I thought because I settled that trial I was supposed to start Monday. However, I didn't pack my body pump bag since the odds of me being able to make Body Pump were 0% when I left the house Monday morning. Oh well. Moving on

Tuesday - Tuesday was beautiful. I'm trying to take more pics for the blog but I HATE running with stuff in my hands. Gotta work on that. Anyway it was beautiful and warm and the leaves were changing so I decided to go out for an hour. I didn't care how far I went, I just wanted to go for an hour. I set my watch to my "1hr workout" - a 4:1 Run:Walk ratio. It felt really good. I think this may have been my longest run since Muncie, which is kind of shocking. My legs definitely started to feel heavy after about 30 minutes (the length of my average run lately) and I ran out of fuel at just about the same time. I drank some water and that helped, but definitely need to eat before I run. Duh. Anyway it felt great and I stretched afterwards and drank my body weight in chocolate milk. Like a pro.

Wednesday - Wednesday runs with Rania are back! After two weeks of vacation and a trial it was nice to get to head out with my work friend again. It's a nice mid-week vent session and I love hearing about her sweet 2 year old. We kept it short - just under 2.5 - and took walk breaks. I'm all about walk breaks these days

Thursday - I played volleyball and did add anything. I'm ready to see the end of Volleyball. It's not competitive anymore, I don't feel like I get much out of it and it really just isn't fun anymore. This session ends around Christmas and I expect it will be my last full session. Also, I hyperextended my elbow - oooouuuch. I stupidly tried to one arm pass a hard driven ball at full extension and it just went *pop*. No bueno.

Friday - My elbow was super sore in the morning and a little worse after work so Hubz & I forewent Friday night Tennis for a little date night. It was actually a great call. We had cocktails and appetizers at a bar downtown and just hung out together. Exercise for the soul.

Saturday - I had grand plans to wake up and run with the Tri Club & then man the water station for a local half marathon. I slept horrible. Also something I ate at date night did not agree with me at all & I felt terrible most of the morning. I got up in time to make the run but...I laid on the couch and drank fizzy water for an hour before I decided to back out. An hour or so after that I was feeling a little better so I decided to go out for a short run. It was humbling, to say the least. Stomach: Off. Ears: Throbbing. Legs: Dead. That I got 2.5 miles was a wonder. But I did, and I'm proud of that.

Sunday - Sunday was supposed to be a work day. But I decided after my first cup of coffee that Sunday was going to be a 'me' day. I wanted to ride - feeling bad for having neglected poor ghost for awhile - but I didn't want to deal with the "outside". So I changed out my tire and put on my trainer tire (all by myself, no less - I rule!) and hopped on the bike trainer. I definitely feel like I've lost a lot of fitness on the bike but I'm really going to challenge myself this off-season to make gains there. Afterwards I headed to a yoga class at the Y that was actually great! I got a great instructor and the perfect workload.

Today - breakfast and Blogging

So I feel like this week was a good improvement in terms of effort. I took two days off - my traditional 'off' days during Muncie Prep - and pushed myself in some workouts. The eating side of things is a little...troublesome. I don't know if it's just the shock of being back home and not walking 135082735 miles a day, but the weight is creeping back up. But then again, I've been eating crap like this...

So I'm trying to focus on intentional eating this Halloween week. And intentionally staying the hell away from the offices that stash candy. Definitely avoiding.

Happy Running!

Fun in the wilderness - Weekly Recap

What a week. There were a lot of ups and downs but overall it definitely ended on the 'up'.

 Monday - a big fat zero. I anticipated going to Body Pump but work got in the way.
Tuesday - I went for a great run when I got home. Short, but pretty speedy. Lately I've been having trouble keeping my pace down, which is a new problem for me
Wednesday - Considered riding but wanted to run instead. Particularly with daylight going faster every day
Thursday - I worked late until volleyball. It was fun but it confirmed my decision to stop playing after this session. It doesn't bring me joy anymore. No time for stuff that doesn't.
Friday -  Hubz got home late but we had enough time to go play Tennis. It was really weird playing under the lights! I had a lot of trouble finding the ball and my eyesight just seemed terrible. We split games before deciding to call it quits. I'm glad we did because, frankly, I'd had fun but was just kind of over it. It was enough exercise to justify eating the naked burrito I ordered for Dinner which is exactly what I needed
Saturday - Wilderness 5k with Emily!! My first race since Muncie

I got an email from Headfirst Performance while I was in London about the Wilderness 5k. It was put on by Headfirst as part of the Mayor's fall Hike at Jefferson Memorial Forest. It was touted as a great trail race for beginners - it didn't disappoint! I immediately forwarded it to my Bestie Emily, who ran her first 5k just a few weeks ago - and she was in.

A note about Emily: she is amazing. We've been friends for over 10 years now and she's my go-to gal. I've never met someone as crazy, funny, interesting, sincere and wonderful as her. She started running a little while back with the Couch 2 5K program and has just nailed it! She did her first 5k 2 weeks ago and this was her third one in three weeks. She inspires me to get my butt off the couch.

Looking gorgeous as my maid of honor

So Emily picked me up around 8am to head out to the Forest. I woke up insanely early, then fell back asleep on the couch. I finally woke up about 10 minutes before she got here. Man, what a major change from endurance racing! I changed into some capri's and a long sleeved shirt. It was about 40 degrees at the start and I knew we'd be waiting around for a bit so I wore a jacket to the start. I thought I'd change into a pullover but...nope! Turns out I'm still a wimp in the cold. A big one.

I'd never been to the forest before but I'd heard tell from other Landsharks about the massive hill heading up to the visitors center. There was a nice crowd gathered and people were setting up for the fall festival that followed the race. Emily and I checked in then hung out in the car for a bit before the start. Around 9 everyone was assembled and we were off and running!

The course was in fact perfect for trail newbies. I.e. Me. It was equal parts gravel paths and actual trails. The leaves were about half changed and some of the trails were a little hard to spot. At one point both of us tripped on some roots but no major tumbles, luckily. The race itself was awesome. I loved just being out in the woods and hanging out with my Bestie. Before we knew it we were back at the finish, some 2.4 miles later. So yeah, not a 5K at all. Nevertheless, I had a perfect morning and look forward to running out there again!

This week could be rough. I'm slated to start a trial tomorrow morning that is making my stomach knot. Hopefully I can get to body pump tomorrow but I'm not holding out hope. I'm setting out my running stuff in case I can't sleep - then maybe I can get up and get a run in. I'm gonna just try to take it as it comes and stay positive.

And stop eating so much chocolate. Yeah. That too.

Happy Running!

Hitting Re-Set

As a "Millennial" - someone growing up or coming of age at the turn of the new millennium - I learned early on that there is a surefire quick fix if you ever have a problem with something: reboot it. For people my age most problems can be solved with a simple Control - Alt - Delete. Unplug the damn thing, then plug it back in. 

While this only really works with electronics, i think its applicable to people too. 

Friday night I got back from a 2 week vacation. You read that right; two weeks. Hubz and I took an 11 day trip to London, England together. 11 days of eating what we wanted, sleeping as much as we wanted, spending time just the two of us, doing whatever we wanted in my favorite city in the world. It was heavenly. We walked (a lot. Seriously.) and we ate a lot of pub food. I drank my body weight in cider and ate copious amounts of good cadbury chocolate. To say it was "wonderful" doesn't seem to cut it. 

Before we left I was in a pretty weird place. At work I felt hopeless. I started getting panicky at night before work and having difficulty sleeping - something that hadn't truly been an issue since I started at my job. In particular the week before we left was really challenging. What frustrated me the most was that more than just being tired, more than being overworked, more than being stressed...I wasn't interested in the job. I found myself losing my patience with clients, getting annoyed with colleagues, snapping at everybody. Usually the love of the job, the deep connection with the work, can get you through the hard times. The last month that I've felt that way was the first time in three years that I have. It was unsettling. 

So I'd leave the office and come home and home life seemed just as tough. It drove me nuts that Hubz couldn't read my mind and tell instantly what was wrong. I felt on edge all the time and found myself getting angry with him easily. I spent a lot of days just being perpetually angry. 

And there wasn't a race to train for or an event to plan for. My workouts were getting sloppy and unplanned. There was no focus. And I was angry about that too. And feeling hopeless and lost. 

Suffice it to say the trip came at the right time. 

So I think now what I need is to re-set. I've put a lot of pressure on myself this year on a lot of different fronts. I've done a lot of great things. Sometimes that momentum can propel you into the next great thing. In my case, at this time, I think the speed of it all has left me a bit dizzy. So it's time to re-set, re-boot, and start again. 

So...what's next?

It's time to get back to basics. Right now I want to race and jump right into something. But I'm in this for the long haul, for a lifetime. I need to stop thinking that if I don't do another race right now I won't do another one. 

What I can do is take the last 2 months of 2015 and make them work for me. 

- I have about 10lbs left I'd like to lose. I'd settle for 6 of them. I will to be under 170 for Jan 1 2016

- I want to get stronger. I will go to weights class at least once a week through the end of the year. 

- I'll participate in the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge again this year to further both of those goals

- I'll continue to plan my weekly meals and workouts 

So there we go. Reset. New goals to achieve. New things to do. Time to go to work. 

Happy Running!