Looking Forward to Looking Back

The past few months have been challenging. In looking through the blog, I can tell that my frustration and  negativity has spilled out from my every day life and onto the interweb. For that, dear reader, I am very sorry. The truth is that this blog is designed to let me talk openly about this crazy athletic journey I'm on and the truth isn't always sunshine and unicorns.

As I've begun thinking about the year ahead I've found myself thinking more and more about the year behind. In the weight of all of the negative energy plaguing my life this fall I haven't taken time to really look back and appreciate what 2015 brought me. After all, the only way to figure out where I'm going is to really appreciate where I've been.

So lets see...What happened in 2015? 

I Became a Triathlete

As an adult I don't think there's anything harder than trying something new. With all of the struggles that "adulting" brings it can be hard just to do the things we do ordinarily, let alone add in something different. I learned this year that 'new' can be good. New can be fun and exciting and scary and challenging in a truly amazing way. That's what triathlon has meant for me. I wrote in October of 2014 about feeling underwhelmed with myself. The sweet sweet highs you get after finishing your first 'X' just don't seem to come after your 8th. Triathlon brought that back for me. Each new race, new distance, new experience made me feel excited about my own possibilities. That, friends, is a great feeling. 

I Raced - A Lot!
I didn't set out to race a lot in 2015, but I set out to race Muncie. Part of that meant building up the triathlon ladder. I did that by racing and it was awesome.

Rhoades 10K

Papa John's 10 Miler

Shelbyville Sprint Tri

KDF Mini Marathon

TriFest Olympic

Race the Bridge Olympic

Muncie 70.3 

I was a first timer for four of those races. Each one brought it's own challenges: from the rain at the KDF 13.1 to the heat at Tri Fest or the congestion at Race the Bridge, but each was a great experience. Because of my training and planning - and mental approach - I didn't have a single negative experience at a race this year.

I Stuck to my training plan
When I decided to do Muncie I started reading everything I could get my hands on. The first Tri book I read was Don Fink's, "Be Iron Fit 70.3". I credit my success to this book and the "Just Finish" training plan I got from it. The plan was 16 weeks - longer than most plans I'd attempted before. It included workouts 5 days a week with two-a-days on Tuesdays & Wednesdays. It was challenging, of course, but it never really felt impossible. I missed some swims, of course, but I think at the end of it I'd only missed one or two long workouts. I consider that a huge win. I remember putting the plan up on the fridge and thinking, "Oh God. Can I really do this?" It was intimidating!! 8 hours of training a week while working 50ish? I stuck to my guns and embraced the 'hard' and got it done. This mindset and planning really helped me tackle other challenges in my life. The mental fortitude you get from making a plan and executing it is really something. I'm proud of myself for putting in the work to accomplish my goals

I Learned to Bike
Anyone who followed the blog in 2015 knows what an odyssey this was. I hadn't ridden a bike since I was 12. At least. Learning as an adult has a brand new sense of "ugh" because....well, it just does! Your sense of fear is heightened, I think. There are real consequences to breaking your arm/leg/collarbone in the adult world. And also, it hurts.When I toed the line at Muncie I'd had my bike less than a year. I spent the winter getting comfortable peddling the damn thing, but then in the spring I jut rode. I rode a lot. I got comfortable riding in groups, going out with the Louisville Bicycle Club on Saturday mornings. I completed 3 50+ mile rides at the end of 2015. I didn't have any serious crashes. 

I logged a lot of miles
I often find myself comparing my athleticism or my fitness to prior years. Back in 2009 when I did the Flying Pig I ran long and fast often. I've never been able to get that fast again. In 2012 I logged a ton of miles and dropped some serious weight in anticipation of a marathon and a wedding. Looking back at 2013 and 2014 it's no wonder the weight came back on - I wasn't committing to anything! Just comparing 2014 to 2015 I seriously upped my game.

I increased my swim and bike miles 10 fold while still logging more running. Obviously that's a natural consequence of training for a 70.3. Still, looking at the raw data and seeing in black and white my improvement is pretty spectacular.

I had a lot of fun
I did. I really did. It was hard, and there were tough times where I thought, "Fuck it". But I really had fun. I met a lot of really neat, nice people. So many folks in the Tri Club were so good to me and I look forward to repaying that this year. Most of all, I think I got reacquainted with me. I don't think I realized how bogged down and stressed I was. I don't think I realized how miserable I was. My day to day work is filled with so much negative. So much "No". So many limits to what I can do. To be able to leave here every day and push past my limits was a god send. 2015 put me to the test and what I found that underneath I'm not the lazy slob I thought I was.

I am confident, I am capable, and I am a rockstar.

Thank you, 2015. You were a lot of fun. Now lets see what 2016 had for me.

What Just Happened? - A Weekly Recap

While I'm writing my recap I'm watching Desert Runners. It's insane. If you haven't seen if you need to get yourself in front of a Netflix Machine right now and watch it. It follows several runners attempting the "Grand Slam" of the 4 Desert Series (Atacama, Gobi, Sahara, Antarctic - one calendar year). This quote from the filmmaker stuck with me:

"Why is it that some people look at something and say 

'that's impossible' and another person says its not?"

Think on that. 

Anyway, here's my week:

See those two big gaping holes in a row?? That hasn't happened since March 18th & 19th. See that Blank for Saturday? Yeah. Hasn't happened since March either. So...what just happened?

Monday

This week is one of "the best weeks" for my job because all of the prosecutors go out of town for a conference. Court basically shuts down and we get three days to breathe. Also, my husband (a prosecutor) goes to said conference. My buddy Rania was hoping to take the conference days off for a little staycation time with her awesome family so we moved our Wednesday run to Monday. Hubz had softball so I brought Ellie with me to run. I felt bad because Ellie didn't let us run very much and I know Rania wanted to move. She nicely stayed with me while we power walked almost 4 miles. I love just chatting and spending time with her. She's so fierce. I took Ellie home and we zonked out until bedtime. 

Tuesday

I"m not really sure what happened here. I think there may have been weather? Or was it that I stayed late at work? I really can't remember. What I remember is that by the time I got home there was enough time to go out for a ride and...I bailed. I just wasn't feeling it at all. It's the first time in a long time I actually thought, "I don't really want to do this." So I didn't. 

I also walked to court in Teva's. Wishful thinking

I don't think that was the right call because...

Wednesday

I was in a terrible funk. First day without court since Christmas, I think. I thought I'd get all this crap done and I stalled and bonked. Stressful client meetings back to back to back. I was in a crappy mood, I was sad, I was angry, and I just wasn't having a good day. Hubz had left for the conference earlier in the day so as soon as I thought it was practicable (i.e. "I won't get fired") I high tailed it out of work. I got home and took a nap on the couch with Ellie. By the time I woke up the last thing I wanted to do was bike or run. I thought I remembered taking Ellie for a walk but...apparently not. We ate some dinner and then got in bed around 9. I hate to say it but I think I just needed to wallow. 

Thursday

After a solid 9 1/2 hour sleep I woke up ready to tackle Thursday. Another long day at work without court. While I got a lot done, I realized how dependent I am on the hustle and bustle of court. After being a PD I think I'd find an office job as boring as mud. Anyway, I headed home early again and took Ellie out for a nice long walk. I knew I'd be gone playing volleyball for awhile and didn't want to neglect her. We got in three solid miles before she was begging to go home. I headed to volleyball and played pretty well. At this point my knee was really bothering me. The dreaded grapefruit knee. It was swollen and sore and, to be honest, super painful. But what in the hell did I do to aggravate it? I certainly hadn't done any physical activity! I iced it and took some aleve, hoping it would go away. 

Friday

After another good night's sleep I woke up at my own pace and went for a run. I'm usually super early to work but really reveled in not having a deadline to get there. It was cool and almost crisp when I headed out to the park and I truly enjoyed the run. I was so fast! And I didn't have to walk at all, which is incredible. I've really enjoyed listening to the Rich Roll Podcast while I run. That's how I found out about Desert Runners, in fact. Anyway, it was a great way to start the day off. Plus I'd already gotten my workout in so I could hang out with Hubz upon his return from the Conference. 

Saturday 

Why is it that waking up early to go ride/run an ungodly distance isn't too bad but waking up early to go to work is so hard? I had to work arraignment court so I had to drag my cookies into the jail at 8:00 a.m. on a Saturday. Vomit. I was rewarded though because we were done by 10:30. Rather than get some work done in the office I got my grocery shopping done and spend the day hanging out with Hubz (who has a cold, "bless his heart", and was down for the count all weekend).

Sunday

Today totally made up for the rest of the craptastic week. Earlier in the week when I was really struggling I'd texted a new friend, Jen, about riding this weekend. Jessie out of town and most of the landsharks were doing ridiculous distances. Jen - who is amazing - reached out to me awhile back about riding/running together and this seemed like a perfect time. We arranged to meet up near her place in Corydon Indiana. Might as well have been Kansas to me. Beautiful place though, lots of farm land and lazy roads and small hills. Jen took me on a local bike route for about 26 miles and it was really nice. I was so lucky to have such a knowledgeable tour guide and strong rider with me. I really hope we get to ride together more in the future. 

  This ride was exactly what I meant when I talked about wanting to work on just being content a few weeks ago. Was I breaking new speed records? No. Was I setting new distance records? No. But I was riding in a beautiful place with a lovely new friend and burning calories in the process. I let myself be in the moment and just enjoy the ride.

After the ride I picked up an awesome Chopshop Salad for lunch and gobbled it down before meeting Emily to walk in the park. I hitched up Ellie and we headed to Tom Sawyer for some trails. Emily really knows her way around these parks from her participation in a local orienteering club. I really love the effect it has had on her. I can tell she's so much happier because she really does enjoy it. She's also lost a ton of weight. I happen to love her a lot. More than just being my friend, she inspires me. 

Ellie loves her too. 

All in all it was kind of a bummer week. But i'm glad to be starting this week off on the right foot. I randomly have tomorrow off and I'm looking for exciting ways to spend it. I have a date with my favorite second grader tomorrow night so I think i'm going to go for a long run somewhere during the day. Time to get back out there and find my contentment. 

Happy Running!

Do you have a buddy you ride/run with?

Do you like trails? I'm learning to!

Week 7 Recap and My First Oly

Well I'm one week away from finishing the Base Building Phase and I'm officially an Olympic Distance Finisher. Week 7, you are officially toast.

This may be my first week that I actually hit all of my workouts. I was a little low on overall time (when you take out my volleyball game) but most of that was because I nailed my swim during Saturday's Tri. My workouts are typically 2000yards in 45 minutes. I swam the 1650 yard open water leg in 21.

Best Workout of the Week
Duh. My race. It was intense. It was by far the most difficult thing I've ever done (probably). I haven't  pushed myself to new limits since I took on the Flying Pig Marathon back in 2008. In terms of speed, I haven't pushed myself since the 2008 Louisville Half Marathon. So yeah, this was super terrifying. I finished in 4 hours, which was about 25 minutes slower than I was hoping. But it was also my first ever Olympic on a hilly bike course. I guess I'll cut myself some slack.

Finisher!!!

Best Meal of the Week
I screwed the pooch a little bit last week in terms of my 'planning'. Whoops. First slip up since January. Guess it's really not that big of a deal. I made my mixed veggie hash with a chile lime chicken burger again. Yum. I'm also happy about how I've been eating better lunches. Tonight I made a variation of one of my favorite meals from home, chicken and pasta. My dad makes it better, but it was pretty yummy.

Being the smartypants that I am, I took tomorrow off as a random vacation day. I sat down in January when I was planning my race schedule and took a bunch of random days off so that I got each and every one of my vacation days. I'm so excited! I have a long to-do list but it's way better than anything that would happen at work. Hopefully a race recap (and recaps for the Shelbyville Tri and Derby Mini) will be on the list too.

Happy Happy Ellie

Happy Running!!

How was your weekend? Did you race? Tell me about it
What's your favorite meal from 'home'? Does your family have any classics?

What I'm up to: Snowpocalypse edition

We are experiencing quite the little surge of winter down here. 

In case you forgot, I live in Kentucky. Ya know: 

Ellie does not approve of the 11" of snow and -15 wind chills. 

To be honest, I'm not crazy about it either. The weekend was filled with sloth and gluttony as my body tried to recoup from surgery last week and some residuals cold nonsense. I went for a run Sunday but the temperatures were starting to drop and I didn't last long. 

Monday the city shut down as the snow fell. We got about 12" in some parts over the course of a few hours. It was tense. We were on the NBC Nightly News for "southern city least capable of dealing with snowfall that they inevitably get every damn year". Something like that anyway. 

So Monday and Tuesday saw the end of my streak of healthiness. I ate like shit. I felt like shit. It has improved slightly. Today was my first day back at work this week. Being on a schedule is crucial. I am a boredom eater. Also, I found these: 

Say what?? They weren't my all time favorite (peanut butter is, in case you were wondering). But they were damn good. 

My bike has been my friend with the crazy weather and I've gotten in some good rides. I am sort of chalking this week up as a loss and hoping to just get through tomorrow before rebooting on Saturday. Here's hoping!

Happy running!!

Have you gotten any of this devil snow??

How do you deal with the winter weather?

Week in Review

Hard to believe we're half way through with February. This week also starts lent which means fish fry's and (sometimes) warmer weather here in Louisville. I don't hate it. 

Tonight, though, they're predicting snowpocalypse. 

This week was pretty forgettable. At least I'm hoping I can just forget it and move on. Wednesday I had a third surgery to remove debris/stones and inflate my bile duct. I agonized over the decision to have the surgery. I don't feel like my doctors listen to me or understand my issues. I called 10 other GI's and none would see me because I'd already seen a GI and it would be considered a "second opinion". Worse than the mafia, these assholes. Anyway, I had the procedure and hopefully this is behind me now. Recovery was a little rough this time no think the anesthesia and intubation just exacerbated the chest cold I've had. I was basically immobile Wednesday and slept about 17 hours. Thursday was tough going back to work but Friday was honestly terrible. 

More from last week: 

Onward and upward. 

Ran this morning and felt good. No running with the girls this weekend. I was honestly super bummed we didn't get to run together. I really look forward to it every week. 

Trying to get back on track this week with workouts and nutrition. Got my plan set but lots of potential obstacles. 

Happy running!!

What's the weather like where you are?

What are your plans for the week?

September Setbacks

Sometimes life hands you lemons and you make some lemonade. Then there are times when life hands you a triple fudge sundae with nuts, caramel AND a cherry on top and you just eat the damn thing and ignore the consequences. September, it seems, has given me both of these.

September started off with my triple fudge sundae - I got married! The event we'd been waiting for these last 16 months finally came to pass and it was wonderful. Hurricane Isaac's threat to ruin the entire (outdoor based) day, but ended up causing nothing more than a very stressful week and a little bit of mud. We had a blast, the Cards beat Kentucky, and I'm now officially a Mrs.

Best of all, the morning of the wedding my mom and I got to put aside all of the craziness and do what we love to do: go walking. The rain kept us out of our favorite park, but we headed to the mall and churned out three mindless miles. We talked about so many random things and window shopped and laughed. After what was a pretty stressful lead-up to the wedding, this was a great start to the day. For those of you who don't know, my mom got me into running initially. When my weight started to get out of control back in college she and my grandfather started making me walk with them on Saturdays. What started as a (somewhat) painful chore became two marathons and five half-marathons. Walking with mom on my wedding day was an amazing way to reconnect to that memory, and to honor both our relationship and my grandfather at the same time.

However, one thing got sacrificed for the good of the wedding (and the honeymoon that followed): my training plan. There are 2-3 weeks that are just blank on my calendar. Does this bother me? Yeah, it does. I'm a type-a runner girl and it annoys me to have stretches without training before a race. Will I get over it? Absolutely. I'm glad I was able to put aside my often neurotic need to run in order to enjoy the occasion. When life hands you the perfect sundae, you don't stop and worry about how it will effect your waist line, you eat!

Top Left-right: in front of the Shedd Aquarium, On the Willis Tower Skydeck
Bottom Left-Right: with the Lions of Tsavo @ the Field Museum & dinner @ the Capital Grille

September has also brought some damn lemons my way. Last week during volleyball my back started getting super tight. Sometimes I get lazy and don't really bend my knees when I play (whoops!) and end up stretching my back out. Usually the soreness goes away after a day. Not this time. Within 3 hours of playing my back was totally locked up and any bending was searing, needle-like pain. Slowly over the week with the help of a good heating-pad and lots of Motrin things started to ease up. Thursday morning I felt good enough to take Ellie for a walk before work and a nice 2.4 miler afterwards. Unfortunately Friday was back to square one.

I've never had a back injury so this is all new to me. I have no idea whether to stretch or heat or ice or immobilize or what. I have no way of knowing whether it's a strain, sprain, or what. Unfortunately, a visit to the doctor is almost completely out of the question since I just took a week of unauthorized time for my honeymoon (worth it!). I'm hoping that more Motrin, some light stretching and heat heat heat will help.

All in all - I'm still up on the month. My first priority right now is to rest my back and make sure I'm completely healed before I do something stupid. My second priority is to dive into YOUR world and find out how things are going for you! Whenever I need inspiration, you guys are always there to lend some (in a big way!). For instance, knowing that my dear friend Julia @Pain Pride & Perseverance finished her first UltraMarathon yesterday has kept a smile on my face all weekend.

Keep up the good work everyone! You're all so wonderful :)

Happy Running!!

Good, Good and Great

The ladder part of last week was conspicuously absent of exercise. I can't even remember anymore why we skipped Wednesday's walk - weather maybe? - or why I cheated myself out of Thursday's run - no time, probably. Obviously nothing memorable, just the little excuses that crop up and come between me and a run.

Dailymile really knows how to make '0' days look depressing

Friday was an off day for a whole different reason. Remember back in March when I confided that I have a totally messed up digestive system? Well my super exciting endoscopy was bright and early Friday morning. I'm happy to report that this time was worlds different than last time - great staff, excellent drugs and the doctor was top notch. Turns out my stomach is super lazy and doesn't bother to flex and squeeze when I eat. Jerk! The good news is that it doesn't seem bad enough that I'll have to seriously alter my diet (this is awesome seeing as though the gastroparesis diet usually excludes fiber, whole wheat, raw veggies/fruits, peanut butter, fat and caffeine). Two new medications for six months and I should be good to go!

We got home from the procedure around 8:30 a.m. on Friday and I did just about nothing for the rest of the day. When I woke up Saturday I wasn't really sure whether my planned 20 miler would happen or not. I was actually a little worried about it, to be honest. As I geared up Coach Josh gave me all of the pep I needed to get out the door. I planned it so my route was based on the Derby Festival Marathon Route.

And then, I just did it. I ran 20 miles!

Not only that, but I ran them pretty fast too! Here's Saturday's 20 miler vs. my 17 miler 2 weeks before

I'm pretty excited, to say the least. On top of that, I've managed to stay on track with my healthy - and lazy stomach friendly - eating habits despite easter.

Fresh fruit & pizza w/ veggie cheese & turkey pepperoni - YUM!

Another busy week at hand and only 17 days until the Derby Festival Marathon. Well, 13 days until my Tax final so I guess I should start training for that? Nah, running's more fun so we'll do that instead. 

Happy Running!

The Other-Other F Word

It happens to the best of us, and usually hits like a freight train carrying a whole load of acme anvils. The flu. No, I'm not talking about the cold/flu viral sinus thing (I was lucky enough to kick that sucker back in January). No, I'm talking about the other Flu. You know.

Sunday I was riding the high of my Saturday run and excited to start a week of "spring break" wherein I would be responsible for one class and no work instead of 3 classes, work, and an externship. I made a fabulous recipe I'd been DYING to try, and some ridiculously gluttonous Oreo-Chocolate Chip cookies. perfection.

And then Monday morning I woke up and got so sick I thought my insides were going to be on the outside. I threw up for 5 hours straight, took phenergan, then threw up for another hour before finally my innards finally gave up their siege. Needless to say - it was not what I had planned for Monday. By the time Tuesday rolled around I'd survived entirely on Gatorade and stubbornness. Tuesday was lost to recovery.

Wednesday I was feeling a lot stronger and got so far as to eat some fruit snacks (YES!) without any issue. Excited by my progress but not quite ready to run, Josh and I took a nice long walk. I was famished. I turned to my favorite sure-fire "easy belly" meal - a plain white bread sandwich with turkey only. It tasted amazing.

This morning as I packed my running bag for a nice after school run....well, I thought Monday might repeat itself. I felt nauseous, my stomach cramped, my arms and legs were heavy. I searched the pantry for anything that sounded or looked appetizing. Fruit loops? Nope. Granola bar? Nope. Et tu, applesauce? Yeah...definitely not. In short,  today has been a big step back. Back on the hydration train so hopefully the guts get what they need to start chugging along the solid-food highway again.

So here's my question to you!


I have to competing interests/feelings at the moment:

1. I've accepted the fact that there's absolutely no way that I will be getting my 35-38 miles in this week; BUT
2. I have a 17 mile long run scheduled saturday and I don't want to "lose my fitness"

Of course I'm aware that missing one long run won't screw me out of 11 weeks of relatively good training. On the other hand, there's only 6 more weeks of training and this 17-18mi long run is a big step to getting me to my goal of 20 pre-marathon miles. Some options I've considered:

• Do it - Do the 17 and don't worry at all about how long it takes. Stop when you need to, drink lots of water, and walk if you have to
• Spread out the mileage - do 9ish on Saturday and 9ish on Sunday
• Maximize Minutes - Don't worry about mileage, focus on minutes. 17-18 miles would take me roughly 3.5 hours. Rather than get in "miles", focus on spending 3.5 hours doing some kind of cardio
• Get over it - After a week of not running at all, trying to get in 3.5 hours of cardio of any kind is kind of stupid. Do what you can, worry about the rest next week. 
• Move the step-down - Next week is a "step-down" week with a goal of 14mile long run. Move that up to this week and do 17 next week. 

I'm thinking some kind of combo of Move the step down and doing the cardio rather than all running. But I want to hear from you! What's your gut reaction?

Throw it out there (or up there, har har) and let me know what you think!

Hello! My name is Negative Nancy

While I am 100% aware that "you are in charge of your reactions/emotions/feelings," there is a subconsciously negative drag on my emotions lately. Maybe it's the weather - the constant back and forth between 75 & 35 degrees - or the stress of trying to do 850,000 things all at once. Whatever it is, I've had my negative nancy costume on for the last couple of days and I'm headed straight to Debbie Downerville.

Saturday after running a 5k with Josh I set out on a search for a dress for this gala we're going to. I know, fancy right? Who would've thought that at 25 I wouldn't have a little black dress for this kind of crap. Well, believe it. I know why, though - because after 6 hours, two malls, and a million stores I hadn't found ANYTHING to wear that didn't cost a kidney. Worse yet, I was in pain. My right foot, right knee, right glute had had enough.

Sunday I'd planned on getting in some extra miles to compensate for such a short Saturday run and to celebrate Jamie @From Couch To Ironwoman's birthday. That was not to be. My right leg mounted a coup against me. Refusing to submit to the prospect of a "0" day - and mount my own resistance against my warring limb - I went to a Piyo class at the Y. It was every bit as challenging as I thought it would be, but not all that bad.

Have you noticed that I pretty much constantly complain about my knee? Don't worry, I've noticed it too. I want nothing more than to head straight into my doc's office and get some answers about what makes my knee such a pain in my ass (literally, sometimes). Unfortunately, my knee is low on the priority list at the moment in terms of health care, which leads me to the primary source of negativity right now!

I may have mentioned that last year my gallbladder and I ended our tumultuous 24 year long relationship. It was a less than amicable breakup, to say the least. Even after I had the thing removed it still played rough. It enlisted my pancreas to exact its revenge and finally after 4 days in the hospital without food or water, I was "cured."

Fast forward a year and I still have trouble eating and digesting just about anything. Particularly: whole grains, peanut butter, nuts, fats, fried food, or spicy foods. If you're relatively healthy or training for anything I dare you to try to find a protein bar or "healthy" food that doesn't have one of these in it. Spoiler Alert: you can't find one. So I have to go back and have another endoscopy, which I can tell you I'm not that excited about. I cried when they told me and poor Josh, he's such a trooper. If you find a man who demands to go with you to appointments where 99% of the conversation is about your bowel movements and menstrual cycle, hang on tight.

So that's where I am with that. Constantly stressing because I feel like crap or simply because this isn't something I can control. When my workouts suck, I can look at the problem and fix it. When my weight goes up, I can look at what I'm eating/doing and fix it. I have no real control over this (right now, at least) and it's K I L L I N G M E.  Oh yeah, and I got this in my email the other day:

I'm all for starting early, but how about you let me graduate from law school before you start getting me "pumped" for an exam that's in July mmmmkay?

But it's not all bad. Saturday was the Anthem 5k, the first leg of the Louisville Triple Crown of Running.    It was my second race with Josh and since he had been having some back trouble all week we were running just to finish. It was a really nice experience to be out there running a race for him and not for me. I wasn't concerned with my garmin or my stride, just being with him doing something I love. Our clock times even read the exact same - 31:43. Can't beat that!

I'm 99% sure he would absolutely not love me for posting this :) 

One thing that has kept me positive is reading all of your blogs! I love how everyone is going through different things at different times - there's always someone I feel like I can relate to, and someone who is inspirational. We all take our turns, I think. Don't get frustrated if I become an uber-commenter during my time of negativity. It's my coping mechanism.

Happy Running!

Things and Stuff

I didn't realize that it had been 5 days since I last posted. It has been a relatively busy few days, though at this exact moment I can't recall exactly what it was busy with. Nature of the beast.

Saturday I got to go out and buy new running shoes after my prize money finally came in the mail. Louisville is blessed with a lot of awesome running stores and, in the interest of showing support, I've shopped at all of them. Lately I've been shopping at the new-to-Louisville store Blue Mile. The guys that work there were super helpful - and honest - in helping me pick out a Garmin and were really friendly. Not to mention they have an awesome rewards program that gives you store cash for spending money there. So I headed in and the first person I found was the store owner, who chatted with me about my volleyball shoes, told me a charming story about Balaga brand socks and passed me over to Wes for my gait analysis. I hadn't ever had a true gait analysis, so this was interesting. I brought in my past two shoes, showed them where I get blisters, and did the gait test. After some more treadmill running - questions from Wes - and a bit of bouncing around I decided on these babies

I'm glad I started the day out with such an awesome purchase because the rest of the day was spent shopping.....for ALL of my Christmas gifts. I don't know why I decided to do it all in one go (maybe because I have ZERO free time, see Infra) but it was enough to kind of dim my faith in the idea of "Christmas Cheer". Whatever happened to manners, being nice to people, and simple social courtesy?

If i sound like a negative nancy, it's probably because I'm kind of feeling negative. As good as my fitness was before thanksgiving, it has gotten equally as bad lately. My runs are sluggish, Grapefruit knee/ITBS is raging, zero energy, and tons of water retention and weight gain.

I'm having trouble deciphering what my body wants me to do. In the midst of all of the holiday craziness I want to spend my free time working out or running. Moreover, this whole trying-to-plan-a-wedding-right-now-so-my-family-will-shut-up-about-it thing means if I don't spend some quality time in the gym, I get super cranky and hate everybody (myself included). But then the physical signs make me feel like maybe I'm pushing it and could risk starting 2012 out injured instead of strong. I honestly have no idea which it is. Either way, it's gross and I'm not a fan.

In positive terms, my friend Emily got me to try a fruit smoothie with Spinach in it. I'm sort of hooked. In a preemptive strike against the holiday bulge, I filled my fridge with fresh and frozen fruits and veggies, milk and greek yogurt. The smoothies are, oddly enough, super tasty! They don't taste like spinach but they ARE spinach. Genius, really.

Emily says the trick is "don't look at it, just drink it" 

I contacted DerbyFest about switching over to the Marathon. Negative Nancy says, "Tough S%@!, too late."But i'm trying to remain positive and just keep doing my thing. That's all I can ask.

Odd, I feel better having at least openly discussed that I'm in a pissy mood....strange how that works! Thanks to you all who share your ups, downs, and in-betweens so openly on your own blogs. I am constantly inspired by even the most mundane parts of your lives and your fitness journeys - thank you for sharing with me!

You can't spell S%*$ without 'IT'

Today's workout: Cardio Recovery and Volleyball (later)

Lets just get this out there:

• Thursday's run felt amazing. It was absolutely energizing and renewing
• Friday morning my knee was the size of a big fat apple - couldn't bend it past 90 degrees, can't squat, nothing
• After a week of smart food choices, good workouts, and NO peeking on the scale, I finally got on the scale on Saturday ready to see some preliminary results. I was not ready to see the that I'd actually gained weight

Friday and Saturday were long, stressful days that reminded me very glad I'd gotten a run in. After about 5 hours of sleep I was up Saturday morning for a Law School competition. To say I was underprepared would be an understatement. In running terms, I'd prepared for a marathon with a long run of 13 miles. Needless to say, it was stressful and I was exhausted but I advanced to the semi-finals! So...I get to do it again next week. 

And the Cards won too!
Is it too much to ask that we both win next week too?

After 5 hours of constant mental stimulation I was shot, my knee was still swelling, and I just couldn't endure a workout. So I put a big circle on my workout chart (signifying 'missed') and spent the evening walking with J, eating froyo and drinking microbrews. GREAT decision. 

I'm at the end of my rope in terms of my IT band. It only bothers me when I run. I've been doing Insanity® for 3 weeks and it has yet to rub, swell, or irritate me. In fact it's gotten more flexible and comfortable. Then I run for 40 minutes and I can't bend it for 3 days. Infuriating. A friend of mine who coaches Cross Country at my Alma Mater reminded me I needed to be more diligent with the foam roller. "Four or five times a day, at least" he tells me. Okay Coach, I'll do my best. 

Still feeling pretty tight and tender, I changed today's workout and did the recovery video instead of the scheduled workout. Boy am I glad I did. It's a working recovery video with lots of squats, yoga and pilates moves. It definitely helped to shake out the stiffness that comes with not working out for a few days.  Afterwards I immediately jumped into a warm bath with epsom salts & hit the foam roller. It's up to you now, IT band. Don't disappoint!

As far as the weight goes - I'm doing my best not to feel defeated. Sometimes your body is resistant to change, right? Well listen here, body - change is coming!

How do you deal with nagging injuries? How do you rebound from bad weeks on the scale?

Running Away From It All

Today's Workout: Insanity® Cardio Power & Resistance (morning),  3.5 mile run (evening)


Last night, as I was packing up my lunch, I decided I was going to do something I hadn't yet been able to do this semester: get up early and workout. My schedule is such that I really don't have to be anywhere until 10:25 so you can see where it's difficult to really get up and moving at all early. So I steeled myself, set the alarm a little bit earlier than usual to give myself that precious snooze-button time, and set out all my clothes.

Well, I managed to lay in bed about 10 minutes longer than I'd planned to (oops!) but I got up and got my workout in! The Cardio Power and Resistance video is a bit ridiculous. It's a mixture of squats, jumps, and speedwork that really keeps you guessing. It also keeps your muscles from really getting any 'real' rest. Despite the fact that my HR never really got up into my 'max' zones, it felt great! I sweat my butt of AND got a chance to try out one of my new Active Bands. Win-Win.

Gave in to the polka dots - I'm 

Thursdays aren't my longest day, but there's something about Thursdays that just seem to last forever. I have class in the morning, then straight to work. The transition between school and work usually serves to remind me about just how much I have to do (and how little time I have to do it). This is the first semester I've worked and I'm quickly realizing that the 'free-time' (read: catch-up time) I used to have had a valuable purpose. By the end of the day I was feeling really deflated under the "To-Do" list.

So I hit the blogs. I read about your travels and your runs and I was inspired. Not only was I inspired, but i was jealous. I got home and added some new tracks to the Ipod (thank you Beyonce´) and hit one of my local parks. I figured I'd only run as long as the playlist last, or until it stopped feeling good.

It never stopped feeling good, so I just kept hitting play.

How was your run today? What inspires you to put on your shoes?

Now is the October of my discontent

It's turning into a particularly dreary night out there. Not that I can see anything outside - I live on a blissful little unoccupied corner of a very busy section of town. But I can hear the steady streaming of rain hitting the windows and the roof, and that sound in and of itself is rather dreary. But I'm warm and dry in here, and up to my eyeballs in the US Code and First Amendment and Legal Ethics. Ok so maybe it's a little dreary inside too.

I'm particularly dreary at the moment because I realized some grand, exciting plans I'd laid won't come to fruition. After making his first pit-crew/coach performance for my half marathon in Chicago J expressed some interest in running the Louisville Triple Crown in the spring. I've done the series three times now (right?) and only bowed out last year due to a defective gallbladder and the surgical correction thereof. Needless to say when J decided he wanted to join the Triple Crown club I couldn't think of a better pre-wedding activity.

Since the last vestiges of this cold had me feeling kinda 'meh' I'd decided that I might as well register for the series and have a date (well, 3) to put on the calendar for the spring. Motivational tactic at its finest. Turns out, the third and longest race - the Papa John's 10 miler - is the same day as an event that I'm in charge of. Therefore, no 10 miler for me.

Insert blind rage [ here ]

Needless to say I'm bummed. Not just for me (because it will be more expensive just to do the 5K and 10K legs without the 10 miler), but for J, whom I'd love to get the Triple Crown but likely won't do it without me. I'm sure there will be new developments, so stay tuned...

Today was a rest day and it was exactly what I'd needed. Usually I swim on Tuesdays to get the full benefit of the stretching and tension release the pool has to offer. After the Alka Seltzer cold/flu medication made it damn near impossible to focus in class, I decided to forego it. I'm confident it was the right decision.

And despite how crappy I feel, I'm itching to run.... Good sign!