Home Alone & An Unexpected Awesome

I can't remember the last time I had a Saturday that was so quiet. Typically Saturdays are the only days Josh and I have to spend together, what with the ridiculousness of our schedules. Lately we've been spending a lot of that time relaxing, but it's still exhausting going back and forth between our two apartments (a million times), running errands, doing homework, etc. In an effort to preserve some sort of relaxation on Saturdays - and some "together" time for me and Josh - I've been moving my long runs to Sunday lately. Still, it's hectic.

How am I supposed to say no to this handsome guy?

So when I dropped Josh off at the airport on Friday morning I was left with a wide-open weekend (of crying and counting the time until he returned, Josh would want me to say). I started off by heading to the local market and picking up some new food. In an effort to be adventurous, I picked up some things I'd never tried before. For instance, Naan. And boy oh boy oh boy is it good!

This morning I slept until I didn't feel like sleeping anymore. I fixed a big breakfast, adding blueberries to my oatmeal as a special treat (yum!) and hunkered down on the couch to be as lazy as I damn well pleased. Suffice it to say, it was glorious. The plan was to head to the gym for the UofL game at Noon and get in 2 hours of cardio. I was pretty specific on the time because 2 hours is what it takes me to run 10 miles. Since I hadn't run much this week I wasn't really anticipating stepping foot on a treadmill at all.

And then I accidentally ran all 10 miles straight on the treadmill. Whoops? It sounds odd, but it just sort of happened. On the way over I thought "I need 120 minutes. Why don't I try to get 40 minutes - a third - of that on the treadmill and then I can switch to the elliptical." So I started on the elliptical and, well, I just never switched. It felt really good to be running and having the game on was a great distraction. There were some iffy moments, and I've been babying my knee ever since, but all in all a pretty great run!

So now I'm rewarding myself with more naan, beer, and season 2 of The Wire.

After a 2 week hiatus I'm returning to my Sunday Yoga class tomorrow and I can't wait! I've also carved out some time to hit up my local running store before I go...good thing I have money left over from Christmas!

Do you get to relax on Saturdays or do you find you're usually really busy?
What do you do when you want to relax or get away from all the stress?

And then there was no coffee

I stumbled out of my nice warm bed this morning and into the freezing kitchen this morning to find this

no...coffee....??? AHH!

Not having coffee is an apocalyptic event in my life. I hardly ever drank coffee before law school and now in my 3rd and final year I require a cup of hot strong java goodness before I can tie my own shoes. It's not the caffeine so much as it's the ritualistic aspect of waking up crusty-eyed and sore on any morning and feeling the sweet release of warmth from a big happy mug. Well, except for today obviously. Coffee is essential when you have a schedule like mine has been.

I'm happy that so much of my 'busy' has been fitness & food related. For starters, I'm in week 6 of my training plan and my long runs have been going GREAT. My weekly mileage, on the other hand, has been struggling. Looking at the schedule I noticed I haven't had a step down week yet, and I'm not due for one until Week 9. Lately my body has been telling me that maybe this is a mistake. I've decided this week I'm going to get my workouts in based on time rather than miles and see how I feel. Since I'm only about 1/3 of the way through, I'm going to focus on staying strong and healthy this week rather than logging every single mile. We'll see how this plan works!

In other news, I've been experimenting with new foods/recipes in an attempt to keep up with my raging appetite. I definitely spent twice my January grocery budget, but I justify it by feeding Josh too. Unfortunately, I haven't had as much luck in the "trying new things" category. Have you ever looked at a recipe and though "mmm YUM!" and then, upon taking a bite, though "uuuugh yuck!"? That happened to me with several things lately. Maybe my taste buds just aren't ready to surrender to some of these things. Then again, I don't know why I thought I'd just love recipes based on egg-whites and pumpkin when I don't really like egg whites or pumpkin. Oh well - I'll keep trying!

Wednesday Wish List
This week's wish list is simple: blog more! I've been (trying) to keep up with you all and had no time to update myself. This week, I'll be working to fix that. Thanks to Jen @ Running With the Girls I've been tagged in the 11 Random Things post that's been going around. What a great way to keep up this "wish". So stay tuned to 11 random things about yours truly!

This & That

When I started blogging I'm not sure how often I anticipated updating, but I know once a week wasn't what I had in mind. That being said, once a week feels pretty damn current at this point. I've developed this thing during my runs, though, where I'll start plotting the blog I'll write about that run or workout as it's happening. Then I don't write it. C'est la vie. So rather than regurgitate a week's worth of mental blogs, I'll give it to you short and sweet.

• My life doesn't start before 9am these days. While I know I'll look back on this and say "wow, why didn't you enjoy that more?"for now I feel lazy and dumpy sleeping in so much and not doing anything productive. Example? I've slept through my alarm for my Saturday running group every week now. whoops...
• Despite sleeping through the alarm I managed to get in pretty awesome long run on Saturday! I was supposed to do 7 miles but the only route I knew was an 8 miler so....8 it was!

I wish the garmin elevation charts showed hills in
level of badassness          

So much for 12:40 pace...

• I have my first blister of the training season. I'm kind of glad to get it out of the way. 
• I want a dog so bad I physically can't stand it. I think this is the way girls my age are supposed to feel about babies. You can keep your baby, I just want a dog. The minute J and I start cohabitation there will be a dog. We're naming him Arthur. This is who I dream about on my long runs

• I'm starting to get a marathon appetite to go with marathon training. I could eat everything in sight if I let myself. Hopefully this week there will be pictures of all the awesome new recipes I'm trying!
• If it weren't for running (and school...and work...) I probably wouldn't leave my couch. Someone should have told me that starting Downton Abbey and The Wire at the same time wasn't a good idea. 
• This morning my good buddy Carter and I went for a run together. We haven't seen each other - let alone run together - in far too long so it was a great way to start an otherwise boring Wednesday!

• Wednesday Wish List - I really want to change up the blog a little bit so it looks more awesome like all of yours. Specifically, I want to add an awesome title Banner with pictures instead of just title but....I'm at a loss for the skill. Any suggestions?
• I'm loving Dailymile and the fact that I can keep up with everybody and get new workout ideas. If we're not already friends on dailymile, fix it! (Jenn S.) 

Happy Running!

So many of you have been sick! Are you feeling better? REST & eat your veggies/fruits!!

Do you have a 4 legged friend? Will you loan/him or her out so I can cuddle?

Back in action

I feel like a completely different person than I did this time last week. It's amazing what a difference 7 short days makes, but it's true. My efforts at rehabilitation paid off and Saturday morning I woke up feeling 100% again. I even slept until 9:30 - oops! - but managed to have a leisurely day with J and still get in my long run.

Checking off my long run

And yes, I proudly wore my Broncos gear all day Saturday. Football is such a cruel mistress, am I right?

I've pretty much resumed my normal activities this week. Last night I got in a great workout on the treadmill and trudged through three horrible games of volleyball. After we were finished I was oh so excited (read: not excited at all) to find a new achey spot in my knee. Good thing I've got my trusty ice pack to make it all better.....I hope. 

Today I decided to take my short, easy run outside to try out my new reebok wind jacket. It felt great to be off the treadmill, despite the chill in the air. I think I was going faster than my planned leisurely pace but lots of stops for traffic lights forced me to take lots of breaks.

On the bridge between KY & IN - failed attempt
to get the city in the background

An hour of yoga later and I'm whooped. Now for some quality time with Mr. Ice Pack & a bubble bath.

Wednesday Wish List

This week's wish centers around something I've ALWAYS wanted, but just didn't think I was built for: svelte, muscular arms. As a swimmer my upper body was always built a bit like a linebacker & being a bit chesty (Ok, more than a bit), I just didn't think It was possible. But in less than 9 months I will put on this:

So I'm adding strong sex arms to my wish list. Because when I slip on that wedding dress I want to look less like her

and more like her

Do you have any "trouble spots" that no amount of running seems to fix? 

How's the weather where you are?

Sidelined by sickness

I think I set a land speed record this morning for the rubber boot shuffle! While some of you have been dealing with "winter" for awhile now, we here in the bluegrass have had an unusually mild season speckled with just a few sub-30 degree days. Needless to say, I was not excited when I saw this:

"Feels like 5 degrees" = Feels like face breaking off into tiny shards. All I could think on my shuffle into work was, "You people run in this?" No thanks.

Last weekend I spent a few hours with my folks watching a UofL game that ended in double overtime sadness. Around half-time my dad started complaining of a sore throat & stuffy nose. 24 hours later I too had the sore throat and stuffy nose to go with my post-Basketball loss depression. When it comes to being sick I'm kind of odd. I can deal with pain no problem, but when it comes to stuffy-runny-pressure-cold/flu-related crap, I'm in agony. Worst of all, I hate cold medication. I know it's the only thing that will fix me up, but the hangover feeling I get from almost any kind of cold/flu medication just makes me feel abysmal.

Rather than get too depressed about being sick during training, I decided to go on the offensive: lots and lots of Vitamin C, multi-vitamins, fruits & veggies, water, pseudoephedrine, and rest.

3 Zero's in a row? Blah!

While I hate to see blanks in my training, I think my tactics may have worked. I woke up this morning with (mostly) clear sinuses and only a little cough. Thank God my sinuses finally opened up, I felt like a drunk sailor wobbling around most of Wednesday. Not really the professional sort of appearance I was hoping to put out.

Today is a planned rest day and I'm hoping I'll be able to get some sort of run in tomorrow. I have 6 miles scheduled, but I'm flexible. Just can't wait to get moving again!!

Food Journal Notes 
Last week I noticed my stomach was getting kind of upset after meals that involved a lot of dairy. Not just dairy, but straight milk (i.e. chocolate milk recovery or milk in a smoothie). I bought my first ever carton of soy milk and I have to say, I'm totally happy with it! Tastes awesome and no bellyaches. Jury's still out on yogurt or cheese yet. Greek yogurt doesn't seem to bother me, but cheese does. Any thoughts - does one have more lactose than the other? Weird.

Happy Friday the 13th everybody - hope you're safe and warm wherever you are!
Do you run when you have a cold? How sick do you have to be to cancel a workout?

Every year after the holidays we take stock of our lives and come up with a new set of resolutions for the coming days. Often these "resolutions" are overly ambitious and lofty pronouncements created after the two weeks of sheer gluttony and laziness we call "The Holidays". While made in good faith, these resolutions are often so ambiguous and unrealistic that we leave ourselves room only to fail. When a news anchor for CNN was asked what his resolution was he happily announced "I want to be a better husband and father." What does that even mean? Laughing, Josh said "it means he wants to stop cheating on his wife." Fair enough.

Thinking about Mr. News Anchor brings me to a good point about these resolutions: we set our sights on this improbable goal without any roadmap to get there. What good is 'I want to be a better father' if "i will stop cheating on my wife' is not included? Exactly. In the January 2012 issue of RunnersWorld, Ed Eyestone examines this problem with runners and comes to a similar conclusion. If you want to succeed, you need to set a defined goal and focus on the specific requirements for reaching it. For 2012 I have a couple of running and non-running related goals, and here are my plans for reaching them!

Run a Marathon

- Derby Festival Marathon April 25 2012

- Create a training plan and post it on the fridge (DONE!)

- Find a running group/partner to complete long runs 

- Run at least one 20 miler

- Use the blog & daily mile to keep me accountable for my training

Healthy Body for the Wedding

(Best way I could think of to say 'lose weight' without actually saying it)

- Maintain free lifetime Weight Watchers membership in 2012

- Try new vegetables and recipes! Add good finds to the blog

- Take stock of what I'm eating, how I feel, & how it effects me (30 day food journal challenge)

- Continue my effort to take the word "Fat" out of my vocabulary

Keep the Apartment Clean

(this one is my adult goal, mostly because having a messy apartment stresses me out!)

- Start from a "clean" slate by floor to ceiling scrub down (Done!)

- Bi-weekly cleaning on Sundays 

- Empty sink at night (no dirty dishes in the sink overnight!)

So it's taken me a little time to get these worked out, but I think I'm on the right track! One week down, 51 to go. You may note that there are a few big ticket items absent form this list (i.e. graduate from law school, pass the bar, get married). As far as I'm concerned, those aren't "goals" in the traditional sense. What it takes to accomplish/achieve those things was set in motion long ago and there's little I could do now to alter those outcomes. But I'll probably keep you up to date on all of that stuff too, you know, just in case ;)

Happy Monday Everybody!

Back to the Grind

Today was officially my last first day of school. Ever. I was having mixed feelings about ending law school; the impending bar exam, the whole idea of being a lawyer (FOREVER)....I was torn. But after kickstarting my final semester with a 2 hour lecture on Income Tax that was decidedly less interesting than paint drying, I've decided I'm really ready to leave. 

Add about 15 years and you have my tax professor..ugh

In happier "kickstart" news, Marathon training has commenced! I can actually say MARATHON now because I'm officially entered in the 2012 Derby Festival Marathon! I'm still finagling my training plan and all of that, so I'll share as soon as I know what it is. I've also cooked up a good set of 2012 Goals (I'm not calling them resolutions since I think Steph @RunningtoHealth is on to something) but they're also not quite ready for public consumption. So again.....stay tuned!

So far my whopping 4 workouts have gone really well and I'm feeling healthy & happy with how it's going. What more can you ask for? I've also gotten to try out some of my awesome new Christmas gifts, including a cute and fuzzy warm Saucony pullover. It's pink to match my Team Sparkle skirt, obviously. 

New pullover and UA gloves kept me warm for the first cold run of the season!

As the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge has started winding down, I'm excited to have started the Run To the Finish 30 Day Food Journal Challenge! Since I started doing weight watchers 5 or so years ago, I've been tracking what I eat almost consistently. Seeing a daily log what you eat really impacts the choices you make. If you're looking to make a change in your dietary health - to lose weight or just to feel better! - writing it down will really help you take stock of what you're putting in your body. While I'm still tracking weight-watchers style, I'm taking more notes about how I feel, my energy/hunger levels and when I'm eating. Excited to see how it shakes out at the end of the month!

Getting back to the grind after the holidays is such a pain, but at the same time it's really relaxing to return to a normal routine. Almost comforting. I'm sure the monotony of school, work, and training will soon set in, but for now - I'm loving it!

How is your week shaping up? Do you like routine or do you need spontaneity or something different every day? 

Boring Post Alert

Well....hi there!!

It has been a whirwind kind of week(s), and realizing that it has been almost 2 weeks since I last blogged about anything has only made it seem longer. Shopping, baking, celebrating and traveling have made up the bulk of the last few weeks leaving little room for anything fitness related. Thus, I have almost nothing to report.

Things from the Past

• Last week I managed to get some activity in almost every single day - I was quite pleased!
• Wednesday (21st) I celebrated my 25th Birthday and it was glorious. One of my birthday "traditions" is to go for a run - sort of my present to myself - and this year instead of a run alone, J went for a long walk with me. Best birthday present ever.
• I managed to make some smart food choices over Christmas weekend, including lots of veggies, some veggie smoothies, and no true dessert craziness. I'm pretty proud of myself
• The day after Christmas we left for Tennessee to visit J's family. All good food decisions and exercise regimens disappeared when we crossed into Tennessee. As much as I love being with J's family (they are truly wonderful people) I'm ready to get back into my own groove and my own routine

Things for the Future

• Tomorrow we leave to head back to Kentucky. My ToDo list is insane, and as much as I'm looking forward to getting on a schedule, that schedule is going to be brutal
• I heard from the DerbyFest people saying "you can switch to the full marathon" (for a huge fee, obviously) "can we proceed?" and after my response, I've heard nothing. The email address she contacted me from is invalid to actually send emails to, which makes it difficult. We shall see - either way I'm still running 13.1 in April so that's great
• Trying to nail down my training plan for the spring - I can't wait to share! I think blogging through training will be a great tool to keep me honest and push me through training

I'm still catching up on all of YOUR holiday fun, so keep the posts coming. So excited to start a new year!

Just a reminder

I needed these today and I thought you might too. Happy Hump day :)

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!

A call for advice and other things

Back at work after almost a week of laziness. After two weeks of being out of the office (finals, etc) it's weird being back, especially since things are exactly where I left them. Outside of work I'm making cookies and buying christmas presents and spending lots of time in the gym. At my desk I'm watching a tape from a sentencing hearing where a kid about a year older than me is getting sentenced to life in prison. Reality, man.

Sad reality face (and sad, bare office - yikes!)

Anyway.... I have a dilemma and I think I need your help. As I noted a couple of weeks back, I signed up for the Kentucky Derby Festival Mini Marathon. I'm ECSTATIC. 2012 is going to be an awesome year for me (25, graduating law school, taking/passing the bar, getting married) and I can't think of anything better to add than the KDF Mini. Or can I......

I kinda really wanna do the full marathon instead. I ran the Flying Pig in 2009 thinking it would be the only  time I'd ever run 26.2 and I was totally ok with that. Half of the time I didn't think I would even finish the training for the Marathon, let alone the Flying Pig. And then it was over. I finished, I was thrilled, I wore my medal everywhere and went happily back to Half Marathons (3 more) and smaller races. But now I feel like marathons are like potato chips - you can't do just one.

It's a nagging feeling - like I need to do something for me to put an exclamation point on 2012. J thinks that's kind of crazy, seeing as though I will become a Juris Doctor 2 weeks after the race, and maybe he's right. But there's still this pesky feeling....I blame all of you and your awesome stories about your recent races, training, and inspiration to be better runners and people. So lets break it down:

DO IT! Run the full 26.2 because

• It's easy to switch, won't be a hassle at all
• If I started now I'd have 22 to weeks to train and if I started Jan. 1st I'd still have 17 weeks to train
• Don't have to worry about being gone for a week for spring break since I have a class
• No high expectations - I'd be happy with just finishing. No pressure
• I really want to prove to myself I can do it again (and do it with J by my side)
• It would be my last big race with MY last name (don't know why that seems symbolic to me)

HOLD OFF! stick to the 13.1 because

• It's 5 days after your final exam and 2 weeks before graduation - I'll be a little busy
• Next semester I have the externship AND coordinating a HUGE project involving 140 people and 2 weeks that will eat up tons of time
• My grapefruit knee - will it hold up? 
• Paralyzing fear of failure - what if I can't do it? What if I can't train that hard, or miss workouts, or just can't do it? 

On this week's belated Wednesday Wish List: I wish I could make a decision!!

What factors do you consider when signing up for a race? What things make a race a definite YES or a definite NO for you?


Happy Running!

The Lowdown On My Rubdown

After a pretty restless (read: awful) night's sleep, I was really happy that today was massage day.  I arrived my recommended 15 minutes early to fill out the paperwork and hit the table. I'm still on the fence about the whole thing, but here are just a few of my initial thoughts after my first Sports Massage

• The staff at Apex Spa Louisville are kind, knowledgeable and very professional (they also have a super awesome dog that works there too, and that was almost the highlight)
• It wasn't awkward at all, which I was kind of worried about (being my first massage)
• Though their sports massages normally stick to the lower body only, I asked her to also take some time on my lower back & she gave me a detailed explanation of everything she would be doing before she did it
• One thing I noticed is that there were times that I almost couldn't feel her hands. Maybe I'm desensitized because of the foam roller, but her dainty little fingers weren't doing much for my hips and hamstrings
• When I left, I didn't feel that much more relaxed OR sore than when I went in
• It's really really expensive

We'll see how I feel tomorrow, but my thinking is that it's something I could maybe do as a post-race treat but not at all regularly. 

After the massage I commenced a day of baking. I spent most of the day running in and out of the kitchen making upwards of 50 Almond clouds, some sugar cookies, and the innards of a chicken pot pie J and I will be eating for dinner shortly! I also managed to get in Cardio Core and Balance while one batch was in the oven. 

As you can see, it's not what you would call 'spacious'

Since my student budget is a tight one, I like to make gift baskets with love from my kitchen for friends and family. Most of these recipes came out of holiday desperation: when I was losing my initial weight I needed cookie/candy alternatives that I could eat without losing my diet goals. Over the last three years I've accumulated some good ones! I also love that I can feel good about giving my family treats that aren't (too) bad for them, but that taste just as good as any other holiday goodie. Enter, Almond Clouds. 

I could eat this picture, they taste that good

These delicious meringue-esc. goodies are a little bit chewy, a little bit crunchy, and a lot tasty. They're SUPER easy, keep for ever, and one batch makes a gazillion (give or take a few). I can't remember if I stole these from Weight Watchers or Ina Garten, but either way, they even out pretty good on the nutritional values. Check out the recipe, here. 

Hope those of you in the mid-west/Ohio Valley aren't washing away - GO AWAY RAIN!

Got any good holiday recipes for me? How was your run/workout today?

Crossed the finish line - of the semester!

Lazy /ˈlāzē/

Adjective: 1. Unwilling to work or use energy 2. Characterized by a lack of effort or activity

Example: After her final Jenn was so lazy she did absolutely nothing for three days

Finishing a law school semester is a lot like finishing a big race. You're elated: your endorphins are pumping, you're on cloud nine - you're smiling from ear to ear at your accomplishment. Regardless of how you finished, it's over and you've done it. The highs of finals are also followed by a short trip into the deep abyss of depression that can only follow weeks of stress, little sleep, and lots of coffee. I'm happy to say, I survived both! 

Once the exam was over,  my four day 'nothing' binge commenced. There has been lots of pizza (maybe twice now?), lots of decorating for Christmas (three trees in one week, sheesh!), shopping for Christmas, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (twice!) and just plain sitting on my butt, on my couch, watching Seinfeld DVD's. Sweet, sweet, vacation. 

Despite my supreme laziness, I've tried to keep my butt in a workout routine. Mostly because I don't want to be embarrassed in the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge, but also because "it's good for me" (mostly for the HBBC though). Thursday I went back to Pure Barre and it was a vastly different experience. The workout was almost the exact same, but my body was just tired enough from Tuesday's class that it was a LOT harder. I also got a ridiculous migraine about 10 minutes in that made it difficult to concentrate (and not vomit...ugh). 

I don't know if it was my soreness from this class, or that I overstretched but I seriously funked up my right hamstring during the course of all the stretching and pulsing and whatnot. Friday I could definitely tell I'd over-stretched it and the whole right leg (but mostly the hamstring). I had the time, though, and I wanted to sneak in a workout so I decided to go for a trail run. 

 

I started running trails during training last year as a way to be kind to my knee but keep running. I love that it forces me to be "present" in the run and really pay attention to every moment (mostly so I don't fall down). This one was especially nice because the trails are almost covered in leaves, making speed damn near impossible. My miles were pretty slow, but they were also really enjoyable and the elevation changes and unevenness of the trails really gave my legs a good workout. 

Clear patch of trail coming back

Uphill weave starting out 

I also love that the route is almost entirely off of the roads on the map

Yesterday was almost entirely devoted to Christmas shopping and spending time with J. Managed to get two miles in on the treadmill today, which I was proud of considering how my body feels like it's been put through a meat grinder. Relief is on the way though because I scheduled a sports massage for tomorrow! It will be my very first and I'm a little nervous, but I've heard it does wonders (especially for ITBS). Fingers crossed!

Do like taking "lazy time"? Have you ever had a sports massage - thoughts?

**Also - welcome to my new followers! I'm so glad you found my blog - mostly because I love reading yours. You inspire me and keep me motivated. I hope I can return the favor!

Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge

Total Daily Points - 2

Total Weekly Points - 2

Total Cumulative Points - 39.62