Birthday Week!!!

Welcome back. I’m looking forward to this week. Lots of social events. I’ll have to be sure to get my runs in the morning. Can’t be sure that I’ll be getting to the gym in the afternoons.

Friday, fiancé and I hung out. We both haven’t been feeling well. There have been some lingering colds and we managed to catch it. Plus, a mild flare for me. Achy joints, itchy and burning skin, plus a few other fun things. So I built up my Netflix cue. Also, we discovered that Karn does NOT like kiwi even though it’s supposed to be a popular dragon food. It reminded me of this video:

Saturday I to 11.3 miles in. I did it at the gym. I was lazy and I didn’t want to get dressed for an outside run. Plus, I feel more motivated to shower after. Sometimes, from outside runs, I just come back and crash for a nap. Again, I watched Jessica Jones. Last time I was there, I noticed that I could plug my phone in and watch Jessica on a bigger screen. I decided against after seeing some of the sex scenes. Small screen seemed like a better idea.

It took a while to fall into stride. A guy ran next to me for an hour and congratulated me on my persistence and distance. I played with the incline and the speed. My breath came easy but I could feel my body sucking up all the oxygen as quick as it could. My Brooks kept my feet comfy. I bought a revive Vitamin water when I get to the gym. I thought it a good idea after the 2 glasses of wine on Friday night. And strawberry GU Chomps. It’s my second favorite with watermelon being my favorite. A fellow runner complimented me on my distance and consistency as he headed off to a spin class. I enjoyed watching people get on the treadmill and then glance at me as they left.

My pace was 11:48. It was the best pace so far for that mileage. I don’t know if treadmill running is easier or not. I suppose it is in that you can set it and forget it but at the same time, very few people run at the same pace for an extended amount of time when running outside. It would vary on many factors, like terrain, weather, etc. I think for me, holding a pace is harder for me. And I’m lucky that I can lose myself in music or a TV show and forget that I’m running and getting nowhere. I was content being where I was and doing what I was doing. A long run really lets you get into your mind and explore feelings. There is no hiding from yourself when it’s just you and yourself for 2 hours.

This week should be fun. Stepdaughter-to-be’s birthday is today and we will being going out. Tomorrow, we will be going out for my birthday (on Weds). Wednesday, I have off but that was more incidental (Dr. appointment). I’m considering taking the dog to one of the good dog parks. 

Thursday, I will be getting some blue hair. And wedding stuff hopefully on Saturday.

I’ll be sure to be getting my runs in so I can clear my mind and enjoy all the fun things happening.

Suck It Up, Buttercup

I don’t wanna. That was how I was feeling about everything these past few days.

Seemed an appropriate shirt for my attitude

Around noon, no one had signed up for my aerial yoga and I was daydreaming about how I would spend my free Wednesday night. And then it happened. The lone person signed up right before I was leaving my full time job. I’ve found frequently when “I don’t wanna” the classes are end up to be rewarding. It was also a regular so there is amount of relief that if I’m off, it won’t be the first impression the student has.

The dog came with me. Normally, she goes with my fiancé to a friend’s house and plays with all the other dogs, but he had something to do first. I do like bringing her along. It’s a good way for her to learn manners with other people. She has bad manners, like barking for attention and jumping up to say hi. And she is a collie/border collie so that requires us herding us while we practice. My regulars know about her and know she may make unexpected appearances. The health center connected to the studio often have canine visitors as well. Overall, it’s a very dog friendly yoga/health community.

When I messaged the regular about the dog, she mentioned she had a really bad headache. The benefits of hydration, caffeine, and peppermint oil were bandied about. I also thought what a perfect time to try some yoga healing. After a little research, I found asanas that were repeated from website to website. I put together a general sequence of progression of pose expressions. I wanted to be gentle rather than throw ourselves into a pose. Which is my habit and her habit too.

The dog and I arrived at the studio and started to set up. I turned down the lights (which I find so much more relaxing for an evening yoga practice) and chose the Peaceful Sleeping IHeart channel. When my friend/regular showed up, we chatted about her headache and possible causes. I told her how to deal with the dog who is a kisser and a hugger and we began.

Who could deny this face?

We talked, we stretched, we checked in with our bodies to make sure we did no harm. The dog soon laid to the side and watched over us. The class focused on the places where our bodies like to store our stress: necks, shoulders/back, and hips. While yoga may or may not be able to cure chronic headaches, it can help alleviate. It can take away tension in the body. It can relax the body and mind and soul, allowing the headache to just be the headache and nothing more than any other pain in the body.

My view at the end of class. Savasana

Collies must make sure everything is OK. Floating is still questionable in her books.

In an aside, personally, I find this knowledge comforting. With my myalgia, I recognize that my pain is real but an overreaction to pain stimulus. So while I may want to cry while holding a standing pose in the fabrics or in coffin, I suck it up. It reminds me of a trigger point massage I got last year. It felt questionable when I got it, felt terrible the next day, and felt wonderful the day after that. Delayed gratification.

And talking about suck it up, this morning’s run. I knew I was tired last night. I tried going to bed early but somehow it always ended up after ten. Four am was coming way too fast. When my alarm went off, I snoozed it and argued and rationalized with myself. But I had my secret weapon. I slept in my running clothes. All I had to do was put on my shoes. And headphones. And reflective bands. And put a leash on the dog. And find my running belt. And track down my headband that always ends up at the bottom of the bin. But all of that is still easier than fighting with compression pants and sports bras when you’ve just woken up.

It wasn’t nearly as cold as I thought it would be but I wished I had my gloves to start. I have yet to keep my gloves on for a full run. We took down the same route as I did Tuesday. I wanted to compare my performance between the fasted run and the GU run. And I knew from the start, this was not going well. My legs were heavy, my breath labored and all before mile 2. My mind kept telling me to all it, but the other part told me, “suck it up, buttercup. Put on your big girl leggings and run.” And I did. I pushed thru the discomfort. I ran till my legs loosened up. Maybe that’s when the half packet of GU kicked in.

It wasn’t an easy run. My legs did not float like Tuesday. I had no runner’s high. I just had pure determination. And confidence that I did this Tuesday and I run twice this on weekends. I can do it. I will do it. With renewed energy, I fought my way to the midpoint and at the other half of GU. The dog was less than keen this morning on the run even though she was my cheerleader out the door.

The middle was good. I kept hearing my average pace go down. I heard consistent sub 12:00 min times which gave me hope that Runkeeper wasn’t lying this morning. I scared a man walking to his bus stop. I can’t imagine I’m quiet between the dog tags, my tired feet hitting the pavement and my heavy breathing, but apparently I was. I called ahead, “on your right” and he jumped to the grass with a big “OH” and as he gathered himself, “Good morning.” We’ve passed him before. Maybe he will remember us next week.

Last two miles were rotten. I had used up my positive thinking and all I could think about was keeping my legs going and keeping my pace down. I didn’t want another slow day like Tuesday. I wanted to go faster. I wanted to beat PB’s and be happy about it.

And that’s when the odd thing happened. My phone as I pulled into my driveway, never announced the 6.5 miles. According to Runkeeper, I only ran 6.48 miles! The good news is that my pace was better than Tuesday. No PB but much better. The bad news is the same route showed .08 miles less. I had heard that gps has an error rate but this was the first time I experienced it. Also, good news is GU seems to help.

 Headache hair. Don't care.

Overall, it was a good run. I ran thru my exhaustion. I ran thru my headache. I ran thru a bad run and got a pretty decent time out of it all considered. I’ll keep with my “suck it up, buttercup” attitude. I find at worst, I feel bad which I already did, and at best, I do things I can be proud about, like helping a friend with her pain, or run 7 miles before work.

First Half Marathon Distance and the Evil 5k

Lazy. I was lazy on Friday and I didn’t go to aerial yoga. I was feeling tired. I’d had a few late nights and the Packer game on Thursday went very late. And I’m so glad I stayed up for the whole game unlike so many who gave up after the 1^st quarter when things were looking so grim. I did a little yoga at home. I was so lazy I didn’t even do aerial at home, just regular ground yoga.

Saturday I had an 11 mile run in mind. The weather was nice. The dog woke me up at 4:30am which was also nice because I could get my run in and then take a nap and still get up at a “normal” Saturday time of 9 or 10. I wore my Saucony Rides. Long runs on the road means comfy padded shoes are needed. I love my Xodus GTX but those are for wet runs. It was foggy and beautiful but not wet. I went light and even then I wanted to remove layers. Music was a list of my favorites from Iheart. Dog was anxious to go. I can’t say I was. The distance was a bit intimidating. Only in spring, I couldn’t even run a mile.

The run started a bit rough. I couldn’t find my pace, Runkeeper was being a poop, my music kept stalling out, and the dog kept stopping to pee. Finally, everything started to bend to my will. I wanted to keep slow so I didn’t wear myself out. I started out with a half a pack of watermelon Gu with the plan of taking a half pack every 4 miles, raspberry was the other flavor. I think the Gu is very helpful with long runs. I could feel when it kicked in and when it wore off some.

The mileage went pretty fast except on some of those straight a ways. Oh, those were tough. I could see where I wanted to go and that spot just didn’t seem to get any closer. My fiancé’s words kept ricocheting around in my head between song lyrics. “Be kind to yourself.” I wanted to get on myself that my slow pace but I was doing fine. Speed comes after distance. The whole run was pretty comfortable. After a certain point, my legs were moving on their own as naturally as my body knew to inhale and exhale or how my heart would beat all on it’s own. My mind sang the lyrics, checking in with pain to make sure it wasn’t serious. Pain is part of my life so it is vital for me to check in and ask myself “real or not real.” While all the pain is real, what I really ask myself is the pain proportionate to the area. My body exaggerates it’s reaction to pain stimulus. But I did well. My miles slowly built in speed until my last mile was my fastest.

Around mile 8, I made a decision. In my previous runs, I had a nagging urge to run 13 miles but I wanted to trust the plan. However, I had decided to abandon the plan around mile 6. I can’t say it’s serving my running needs any more. I think I need more speed intervals. Distances were getting longer but my speeds were still turtle-like. Anyway, I decided to add 2 miles to my run. I was feeling good. Actually, I wasn’t feeling much at all. I hear that’s a good thing. I did some maths in my head and figured where I could find the mileage. About this time, I started getting dirty looks from the dog. I told her she was a border collie and to keep going. We past the zoo and she was surprised by monkey and elephant noises. When we past a local coffee shop, we ran into a pack of santas roaming on bicycles. I’m not sure which freaked out the dog more. At mile 11.5, I died. Those legs I couldn’t feel started to feel like cement, slogging thru cement. Part of me whispered, “Stop at 12. It’ ok. You still did great.” But if I could do 12, I could do 13. Pure determination got me thru. They say running is a mental game and I think I won.

The smile is because I can't feel my legs. 

Runkeeper had a virtual race on Sunday. It was a 5k and I thought that was doable.

I had just done 13 miles on Saturday. A 5k couldn’t be that bad. It was the longest three miles of my life. How I felt during the last part of Satuday’s run was how I felt during the whole run. All of it. I wanted to quit and go home, I wanted to stop and walk. I wanted to do anything but run. The dog felt the same way judging from the piercing glares I was getting. I tried to be positive but I think I used up all my positive thinking on Saturday. The good news is I’m stubborn. And I finished and I did not walk. It wasn’t my fastest time and it wasn’t my slowest run but it was definitely one of my hardest. Originally, I didn’t plan on getting a t-shirt for this race. It felt not quite like a race because it was virtual. After finishing this race, I realized I needed that shirt. I also want one of those 13.1 stickers for my station wagon.

Really, it was a triumphant weekend. I did 18ish miles. I did a half marathon. I ran thru all my discomfort and doubt to victory. A victory that seemed impossible in April. 

Three runs and a funny hat

So I am playing catch up with my posts.

I was pooped from the holiday so I took Friday as a slug day. I barely moved and catch up on my TV shows like Criminal Minds and Sleepy Hollow. It was like visiting with old friends. With all the running I’ve been doing I haven’t been able to watch much TV. I ate horribly and I have to say the day was wonderful minus the piles of laundry I had to fold. It is vital to take time to let your body recover from all the trials we put it thru on our way to fitness. My body hurt from the race.

Saturday was a different story. The dog let me sleep in. We didn’t start our run until 6:30am. It felt strange running in daylight. I started with a Gu and slammed some milk before I left. It wasn’t the salted watermelon. I went safe with a blueberry pomegranate. I’ve heard sometimes these running fuels can lead to upset stomachs and this was a long run. They are sort of like the consistency of jujubes than the gumdrops they look like.

The run itself felt pretty good. I felt comfortable right away. I tried to think positively cheering myself on when the legs started to tire. I reminded myself that discomfort is natural. After a while, I could just focus on my breathing. Breathe in fresh breath, breathe out the old breath. This time out, I had no route planned. I had a general idea of where I was but I followed a road that had no sidewalk suddenly and then found a trail that looked like it followed said road. It did not. It ended rather in the middle of nowhere. I found a road that I was trying to avoid because of the high foot traffic. In the midst of the confusion, Runkeeper told me that I was 5 miles in, time for more Gu. It was very hard to chew as my mouth was dry. I don’t really remember the mileage. I just ran, trying to stay in the 12:30 range. The second half of the run was much less relaxed. People had started to move around the city. Other dogs were about and the dog had to show how tough she was. I’ve trained a lot of her old habits out of her but that one still lingers. I do remember the last mile. I was feeling tired but I didn’t really feel my legs. I knew they were there and I had some knee and shin discomfort but it felt sort of far away. I finished with 10.3 miles. Sometimes, when I am doing these long runs, I want to cry. There are so many emotions that run thru me. There is accomplishment and pride and a little panic. Mostly, there is amazement that my body can do this.

There is a new ache. My back, my upper back. The tribulations of being a blessed woman. I know my core itself is good but I need to work on strengthening my back. I’ve tried doubling support but so far still a sore back.

Monday was a great run. It felt good. There was a little rain. Just enough to cool me off as I pushed thru the 5k. My legs felt extremely tired but they still felt good. I don’t know how to explain it but I felt confident in their ability to carry me thru this run. I also remember thinking I’m going thru a good run streak. Because there are good runs, bad runs, and ugly runs. Sometimes, you are lucky and have a good run streak and with Saturday and Monday, it felt like one was coming on. It was a nice easy run and I sped up for the last mile. That last mile was exhilarating. My new found power shone and carried me easily home.

We are in the homestretch. We are on today’s run.
Let me tell you that streak ended today. It wasn’t an ugly run but it wasn’t a good one either. It was raining when I started, rather heavy, only to turn into a mist and finally disappear at the end of the run. I was gasping for breath from the start. I tried Gu as this was a build up run. It was supposed to be a 6.5 mile run so I took one before I left and one at 3.5. The legs were heavy but I did not have the same confidence as I had yesterday. It was like I was slogging thru mud. The dog also was not feeling this run. She was running next to me and this made the run like an obstacle course with the leash slack between us. Finally, I wrapped the extra around my wrist loosely. A less tired me might of thought of that earlier after the first or second hop over the leash, but it was taking all my minds focus to keep the legs moving. There is a monster of a hill at the five mile mark. It starts slow and then builds up in severity. Another hill is rather deceptive at the last half mile. It doesn’t look bad but when my tired legs hit that incline, it takes a lot of interior cheering to keep me going. While I did well, my first full running mile started at 13:07 and built up to 11:04. It is hard to tell exactly what I did as I generally include my warm up and cool down walks in my time. The last thing I want to do is futz with my phone while I’m out. Especially, in the rain where the touchscreen gets a little dodgy with the water droplets. All in all, it was a good run even if it didn’t feel like it while I was running it.

I wasn't impressed with the GU and I couldn't figure out why everyone was such a fan. Then, I figured something out. I was eating like a fourth of what was recommended for the time I was out running. I probably won't eat two or three packs a run, but I might try eating half before my run on Thursday and half while I'm out in this soggy weather.

Also, why all the selfies? Because running is fun. And I hope my smiling face is encouraging to those that question that reality. I questioned it less than a year ago

My head has been a little stuffy so sorry if this was a little meandering. To make up for it, here is a picture of the dog with her Christmas hat ala The Grinch