Floating Along With Life

Life has been rather interesting lately. Aerial yoga took a back seat to a visit with my rheumatologist. They only took two vials of blood this time. But I have to go back for one test still.

Thursday, on the way to the gym, fiancé and I took my car to a friend to get a sound looked at. It sounded like a loose belt. No big deal. Well, it wasn’t the belt. It was the transmission, and it was cracked. So gym time and yoga time turned into hunt for new car time. Even when we had a few spare hours, I just couldn’t bring myself to get to the gym. I was anxious. Some of my cars haven’t been the greatest. I might have, in fact, felt better if I went, but I didn’t.

Long story short, I found a car. And life got back to normal.

I went for a treadmill run on Sunday. It was about 55 min and 4.75 miles. I seemed rather slow but I added some hills. I also added 1-2 minutes of ten minute mile sprints. And I was stuck in my head. And it was rough. The hills were awful. The wi-fi wouldn’t stay connected, so I couldn’t distract myself with Jessica Jones. But around mile 4, things got a little better, and then worse. I have never wanted to puke after a run but I did after this run. I looked like a hot mess after the run. So here is a picture from before I started running. No one wants to see this "after" picture.

This would definitely qualify as a bad a run. Still, I got thru it. Because I could. Because I decided that a bad run was just a bad run and stopping wouldn’t make it better. It would just make it shorter and I would have given up on something that deep down, I knew I could do.

I don’t have a lot to report. That’s really it. So thank you for joining me. We did go to the pet store for crickets and I took a few pictures of the reptiles. I also took some pictures of the dog and dragon in house.

To Gym or Not To Gym

Happy Monday! We made it thru the weekend.

Friday I went to Level 1 Aerial yoga. Went with my stepdaughter-to-be (SDTB). She really enjoys it too. One of the actresses from Pretty Little Liars does aerial stuffs. We enjoyed the scene from Pitch Perfect 2. And of course, there is the fun and freedom of doing yoga in the hammock.

It was a nice class with familiar faces. I was feeling a little stiff going into class. Stiff and tired. I also got to finally pick up my Christmas presents from the studio. Which reminded me to actually purchase their presents sitting in my etsy cart.

I don’t know that we focused on anything in particular in class. It just felt like a good overall workout. I felt loose by the end of class. My flexibility is suffering due to the running. I need to recover it. I would like to eventually get my splits. I never had them even as a child. Backbends, however, I don’t really have any urge to improve. Anyways, the class reminded my why it’s good to go to other classes than my own. It gives me a chance to relax and enjoy class more. Not to say that teaching low aerial is high stress but you have to be aware of all the students in class and help them with their needs. We talked about running for a minute too, which I never mind talking about.

Not from Friday's class

Saturday, we drove the SDTB to the Madison area in the morning, when I normally do my long run. It felt good to sleep in. It was nice to get up and see the sun already up. At the same time, it did feel strange watching what I ate on Saturday. I think the dog was happy to take a rest even though she is a bundle of energy at this point.

My fiancé has been wanting to start going to the gym. I’ve resisted. I’ve got plenty of body weight and yoga exercises I can do at home and have all the equipment already. Plus, I’ve got running stuff for cold weather. What do I need a gym for? Hold that thought.

The gym he chose is a good gym. Close to the house and lots of equipment including a pool and lots of classes. The staff is all sorts of friendly. They even have a treadmill that is easier on the joints and TRX straps that I can work on aerial conditioning. There is even a nice hot tub, sauna/steam room, and roomy and clean locker rooms.

But still why do should I spend money on a gym when the world itself is my oyster? The answer is this morning. It was -7 degrees and even the roads were shiny with a layer of ice. Because of this, I’m pretty sure I’ll be joining this gym.

While I was there on Saturday, I managed to get in 4.75 miles. Since I wasn’t going to be able to get in my normal 3 hours, I worked on speed. I played around with the pace and incline. I ran my butt off. I tripped a couple of times when I was starting out. It feels weird to run but go nowhere. With such a steady pace, I realized too how much my pace varies. Even though I average 5.2 mph, I definitely go slow in some spots and get a little more speed in others. It was tough to hold a pace. The fiancé checked in on me a couple of times, which made it hard to find my rhythm but I’m glad he did. He knows I can get anxious in new places.

So I’m joining a gym. I’ve got plenty of work I can do in the morning on my rest days. But on days like this morning, I can run safely inside. I wasn’t so worried about the cold, but the sheen on ice on the roads. Sidewalks were nearly a solid sheet of ice. We are also dog sitting a little Jack Russell and I don’t think he is up for runs in the morning. Right now, I’ve got a week pass. I will see about running in the morning and running/walking in the afternoon when I go with the fiancé. When I was using the treadmill, I had to admit that it could be a great tool, especially for me and my need for speed and ice free conditions. Now I’ve got some research to do on how to keep my skin and hair healthy with gym work outs. I might have needed to do it before but now I feel like it’s really important.

Saturday and Sunday, we watched football and I held Karn. The dog is getting disinterested in it as it seems to do very little and doesn’t move very fast. Karn hangs out under my sweatshirt or scarf or even hair where it’s warm and goes to sleep. He also got a new background of Monument Valley which looks rather spiffy.

Here is a shot of Monument Valley that I took this Spring

 

 The dog was also super snuggly. She was cuddled into whoever was on the couch. For a collie mix, she sure can be a couch potato.

That’s it. That’s my report in. Nothing too ground breaking or earth shattering. No epiphanies or wise words. Just staying active and happy. 

First Race

It’s been a while. I’ve not abandoned you. I’ve got a lot to recap

Wednesday is yoga day and aerial yoga day.  And today, it was race pick up day too. Performance Running is a great company with a few stores in my area. Everyone there seems to be very knowledgable both in experience and in the products. They have never made me feel weird because I’m a beginner. I’ve found the running community to be very welcoming overall, and the employees of this store are no exception. Pick up was easy. Got checked in with my bib, then off to get my fleece, and done. Of course, I had to do a little perusing. After talking to someone about the merits of salting watermelon, I got some Gu for my long runs, including the salted watermelon flavor.

In class, we focused on gratitude. It was very restorative with only a few “power” moves to get the blood moving. Of course, I snuck in some runner’s yoga too. After all, I had my first race on Thursday. I had a wonderful surprise. One of my first yoga “students” came to class. I was bookended by my first and most recent students. I felt extremely blessed and honored that these people choose me to help them with their yoga practices. Both are extremely kind and wonderful people. I really don’t like to call them students. I would like to think of myself as more of a guide or lead for them to develop their yoga. It was a great way to start Thanksgiving weekend.

Thursday was THE DAY! I’ve been training to increase my distances but this was my first race. I started running in spring and I was about to run 5 miles with a large group of people. Wednesday night I put lavender in our humidifier and it worked like a dream. I slept like a rock till the dog woke me up for the morning pee. After our little adventure outside, I went back to bed, setting the alarm, drifting back off to sleep. And suddenly bolt awake! It was too light out and I felt too rested. My alarm didn’t go off! I was running ten minutes behind. While shoveling a light greek yogurt in my mouth, it occurred to me that the alarm was set for Saturday, not Thursday. I took a shower to wash all the anxiety away, well, most of it. After getting dressed and not pestering my boyfriend too much with “let’s go,” we were on our way thru the city to the Lake. Lake Michigan is a fickle neighbor. You never know how windy it was going to be. Or if a sudden rain storm or snow will begin.

Thankfully, we got their 45 minutes early. I tried to convince my boyfriend we needed an hour but compromised for 45. I like to be early, get the lay of the land, and get comfortable with my surroundings. To be honest, 45 min was just about right since I had already grabbed my bib. There were lots of people. Some serious looking runners to a teen dressed up in a bacon costume. We walked thru the avenue of PortaPotties to the starting line. I did some dynamic stretching while observing everyone around me. Boyfriend and I checked out the runners in matching costumes and tried to avoid the runners with see thru running tights. I do not need to know you are wearing a thong.

Shirt I wore

It was time to get in the corral.  A man over the loud speaker insisted that walkers start in back, competitors in front. I tried to position myself in the middle. There was no “GO!” or starting pistol, just a throng of people moving forward. Some people were jogging, others walking and the speedy people were trying to make it to the front. I had started my Runkeeper and my Garmin but the race started a few minutes late, so their evaluation of me was a little off. I tried to keep to my pace but everyone was passing me. Bacon passed me. Turkey Tutu Twins passed me. Inflatable Turkey passed me. And I abandoned my pace. All these people couldn’t be passing me and me be going at my planned pace of 11:00. I had to be counting wrong. I found out later looking at my stats it was just everyone rushing. I knew that there were going to be people passing me but I didn’t expect that much. Eventually, I just settled in and did my best to keep jogging. I didn’t want to walk. I can jog 9.5 miles, so I can certainly do 5 miles. As I settled in, I found I had misjudged the race course and there was a very large hill. That hill took people out. But I kept going. I heard retching behind me and other racers on the side, hands to knees. I passed Bacon and the Turkey Tutu Twins. I passed very athletic looking people. I was in my head and my head was in my ear telling me I was in over my head. But I reminded myself I did this twice a week. I had trained for this and longer. I felt confidence and my legs grew more steady. Some people were still passing me. There was a 5k option and it was hard not to turn in. I was tired from my fast start. The wind was stealing my breath. I reminded myself I can and will do this. And no walking. I will finish. I think that’s when my training set in. I saw more and more people struggling on the side of the trail. There was my boyfriend driving by waving, cheering me on. I started counting again. Piano lessons and a metronome came to mind counting out meters. One guy would speed pass me and then be winded at the side. I ran behind a girl high stepping for a while. I heard a group of guys ask when the fun starts and I yelled behind me “With the cinnamon rolls!” And I made the turn and started my last leg. I was feeling my legs, there was no disconnection. I felt each footfall. My stomach started to flip flop. Apparently, my yogurt was not enough. I hadn’t stopped for the water, maybe I should have. The last leg felt long. Very long. The sprinkles had turned into a full on rain and my shirt was plastered to me.

Picture boyfriend took.

And then I saw the PortaPotties. I felt hope re-engergize me. I found that last push. I crossed that line feeling strong and nearly in tears. In spring, this never would have been possible. I couldn’t run a mile in spring. And I just completed my 8k race. The joy and pride was overwhelming. Not only that, there was a delicious cinnamon roll in my near future. My end stats were 54:39, which I think translates into 10:55/mile. I was 463 out of about 600 but there were some that didn’t make it in time before the course closed. Boyfriend insists I was in the middle and I should be kinder in my head to myself. He is probably right. :)

Pre-Race

Post race

My friends and family have two main responses. Half think I’m crazy. Heck, I would probably think the same thing of someone last year. The other half just tell me how proud and amazed they are. And the truth is that I think most have a mixture of the two. All I know is I am thankful that I did this and then got to enjoy three Thanksgivings with loved ones.

Happy Thanksgiving!

More to come. I have Saturday and Monday to recap. And will have a Tuesday too. Stay tuned tomorrow.

Ice Ice Baby

Thursday is the big day. Thursday is my racing debut.

And I'm anxious. Very anxious. My brain is divided into two parts. There is the part that is excited and knows that I'm more than capable of completing this course in time, and without walking. It knows that I can do this with hills at an 11:00 pace. I do this distance twice a week. The other part is worrying. What if I forget to wear my running shoes? What if the wind from Lake Michigan undermines my clothing choices? What if I come in last? What if I have to poop?

So I put my trust in my training, in my Higher Power, and knowing someone has to come in last, but at least that someone finished.

All of this is going thru my head as I do a short run this morning. Which is sort of funny because I can now say 2.6 miles is a short run. Last January, that would have seemed daunting. I have some serious mileage ahead of me and my long runs don't even scare me any more. If I don't have early responsibilities, I should be running 10.5 miles and I'm looking forward to it.

The run itself was relatively uneventful. I went without music as headphones are discouraged at this Turkey Trot. I just needed to get used to listening to all the stuff racing thru my mind. I am very grateful I wasn't trying to do any sort of speed work. 1) The dog was a serial pee-er again. 2) Ice.
Ice is the runner's nemesis. While most of the sidewalks were clear, there was sneaky patches of ice. There was the skip of my heart when I felt the slippery footing underneath my Xodus GTX. Sometimes, whole sections were blatant ice rinks that required careful shuffling across. My time was slow, but it should be. The point of the run was to keep my legs loose for the race and not to try for a personal record.

I did find one thing out. Runkeeper is silent when I don't have my headphones plugged into it. I'll carry it with me so I can see my splits on Thursday. I am also considering running in this shirt. It might be funny, or might be out of place. I can't decide.

Tomorrow is yoga in the morning, pick up race packet after work, and aerial yoga in the evening. Maybe I should make a list of questions in hopes someone at the store can answer them and pick up some racing fuel for my long run. In yoga, I'll be focusing on my quads, hamstrings, achilles and hip flexors. I'll also be focusing on shushing my mind.