About That

Well.  Yesterday’s post was a bit of a downer, huh?  Wasn’t mean to be.  That title really is the truth.  Life is good.  Truth is though, I’m tired.  But who isn’t?  No reason to be all woe is me about it.

I also let the first doubtful thoughts creep in about my ability to complete the marathon. And, more importantly, my mental ability to talk myself into training the way I should so that I can finish the way I want to.  The excuses have taken over lately.  Cue my 5:10 AM solo “dance” in my kitchen.  I honestly wish someone had witnessed this so I’d know just how ridiculous I looked.  When my alarm went off, I (maybe out loud) said “oh hell no.” But I got out of bed to feed / let the dogs out since they were already whining and I needed to let Tom sleep after getting home from work around 2AM.  Mentally promising myself I could go get back in the guest room bed for another hour of sleep.  Once I walked into the kitchen though, I was waking up a bit more.  And then I froze as my mind swirled.  Stepped/leaned in the direction of the bedroom.  Caught myself and stepped/leaned in the direction of the pantry to grab some nuun and TJ’s apple sauce squeezable packets (best thing to eat before an AM run that’s not too long.  Hands down.)  Leaned back toward the guest room.  Leaned back toward the pantry.  I’m pretty sure this actually happened and that I looked completely absurd.  Fortunately, the applesauce and running shoes won out.  It rained.  It was hard.  I went a mile less than on the plan.  But my mood for the day lifted considerably.   5 is way better than 0 and in no way do I feel bad about that.  I’ll call it a win.  Steps forward.

ANYWAY, happier things are definitely afoot.  Today is Foodie Pen Pal reveal day!

This month, Lauren from Girl and Pup sent me a box of goodies.  Lauren and her pup are adorable, and the goodies she sent me were delicious!

 Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips and Mango Peach Salsa – Lauren knew I love chips and salsa, so these two goodies were right on the mark.  I was making taco salad the night I received the box, so I broke into the chips immediately – LOVE them.  And the salsa was opened just a few days later (already had one open.  Always.)  It’s sweet and slightly spicy – completely delicious.  And made me miss Wegman’s – making a Wegman’s run was always a treat in college.

Peanut Butter Pop Tarts – Oh my.  Apparently these are limited edition and they are AMAZING.  Go buy some now.

18 Rabbits Granola Bar – YUM!  Had never seen these before, and loved it.  Will have to find some because this chewy sweet deliciousness was a must repeat.

Roasted chickpeas – Glad I got to try these, because I had roasted some chickpeas a few months ago and thought I did it wrong, but I think I just don’t love roasted chickpeas, no matter how much I love hummus. I ate a few handfuls and gave them to a coworker (who loved them, so clearly it’s me)

Peanut butter with pretzel pieces – another oh my.  Had never even thought of such a thing but it’s amazing.

In short – THANK YOU LAUREN!  What a delicious bunch of treats!  Cullie agrees ….

Cullie just can’t resist a sniff

Interested in participating?  Find out more details here: http://www.theleangreenbean.com/foodie-penpals/

Life is Good Today

Highlight of the Week:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amazing kickoff to Pop’s birthday weekend – awesome tickets to Zac Brown! (See also – crazy dehydration because of the heat that meant a postponed long run.  Totally worth it.)  Thanks Sally B for getting us awesome tickets!

Lowlight of the week:

The death of my long-loved, pretty pink ipod shuffle.  No green light = no charge = no tunes.  RIP friend, we’ve traveled many miles together.

When I first started writing this, I was en route back to Nashville after a weekend chock-full of fun celebrating a special day for a special man.  (Hi Pop!  Happy Birthday!).  Tom and I headed up to New Jersey Thursday night for his dad’s birthday, and the weekend was full in so many ways – lots of time with family and friends – busy but relaxed all at the same time.  We were celebrating a birthday, hearing about the latest in wedding planning from Tom’s sister, and generally enjoying a hot but wonderful weekend with lots of food, lots of pool time, a fantastic Zac Brown Band concert, and generally soaking up precious minutes with family we don’t see enough.

Amongst all of that, running still happened!  Here are the deets:

Chicago Marathon Training Week 3: Sunday 7/14 – Satuday 7/20:

 Sunday:

 2 Hours of a mentally grueling tennis match in the bright sun.  A mental and physical victory, as it went 3 hours and my opponent was clearly fading at the end and two hours of work is standard for me at this point.  Finally distance training helps my tennis game too!

Monday:

 More tennis – this time with a (guy) neighbor who’s a fantastic player and way better than me.  Much more of a workout than some of the ladies doubles I get roped into these days.  I do love the women I play with, but running hard, reacting to someone who hits with more topspin than I do, and hitting the ball HARD was nice for a change.  Note to self – play with guys more often for a better workout and to actually get better at tennis again!

Tuesday:

Just over 6 miles, including warmup and cooldown of a tough but weirdly fun workout.

3 x (800 @ 7min/mi pace , 400 jog; 400@6:30 pace, 200 jog; 200@6:00pace), 400 jog between sets.

First set was a bit fast, then hit my paces right on the nose with a fast last 200.

Wednesday: Rest.  But I did foam roll, with a bit of distraction.

Thursday: Unplanned  rest.  Meant to wake up and run with the lululemon run club, but when I found myself still sending emails after midnight, sleep won instead.  Got on a plane that night, passed out, stayed up late chatting with Tom’s parents and then finishing up work that got cut short because I thought I’d have wifi on the plane but didn’t.

Friday: Rest (oops, 3^rd day in a row)

Saturday:  Unintended rest.

12 mile run planned.  Really intended to keep on schedule, and I even emailed with a local run club in my in-laws’ town to meet up for a run on Saturday.  They were super nice, and I’m sorry I missed them but …. Considering I was dripping sweating before Zac Brown even took the stage on Friday (major heat wave in the northeast earlier this month if you haven’t heard), I decided the late night + automatic dehydration warranted a delay.  WORTH IT!

 

Week 4: Sunday 7/21 – Saturday 7/27:

 Sunday:

Tom helped me map out a run from his parents’ house, and I managed to drag myself out of bed at the earliest hour I ever have  ever woken up when staying with them.  This is where the lowlight of my week happened – my beloved shuffle, which has made it through countless miles and more rain than I ever thought it could, died before I made it out of the driveway.  I was about to set out on my longest run without buddies or music ever.  And it didn’t start well.  My legs were heavy, my breathing heavy …. Honestly, it totally stunk.  I had mapped out two loops, and was pretty sure I would stop after the first.  Fortunately, I convinced myself to keep going, and in the middle of the loop only ran into the house to refill my water bottle and convinced myself to keep going.  Glad I did, but boy was the second loop tough.  Lots of hills, and the humidity was brutal.  But I made it – major mental victory.  The best part?  Leaping into a pool at the end of my run!  Wish that were an option all the time!  Managed a 9:45 pace, which pleasantly surprised me.

Monday:

Rest.  Exhausted after a late flight back and a long day of work

Tuesday:

An exhausting track workout.  Just wasn’t feeling it.  Not sure if it was the half bottle of wine the night before, the chips and salsa I ate about 45 minutes beforehand, or the near-100% humidity, but it was a slog.  The workout was a ladder, building from 200s to 800s and ending with fast 200s.  I hit all of my paces except for the 800, but was totally wiped.

Wednesday:

Unplanned rest day.  More foam rolling with my buddies.  My Achilles hurts.

Thursday:

Supposed to be a run in the AM and tennis in the PM.  After feeling feverish Wednesday night, I slept in on Thursday and just played tennis Thursday.  A slog of a match, but I won!  My mileage is suffering, but I needed something lower key, as I still felt feverish that night.

Friday:

Rest.  Planned, but I did kind of want to go to yoga, but opted for more sleep after the feverish episodes of the past few days.  I think I can chalk it up to not enough sleep, so that’s the new goal.

Saturday:

12.5 miles (supposed to be 13, but route was a little short, and contrary to most of my life, I’m not slave to exact Garmin miles).  Honestly?  This was rough.  The heat was lower, but it was still crazy humid.  And my legs felt super heavy.  Operating on not quite enough sleep, but I’m not sure whether that’s it, or whether my body is just trying to adjust.  This was my first marathon reality check, suddenly wondering whether I can handle the distance, whether I was prepared when I started this, whether I can cut it.  I mean, I’ve now skipped two Thursday workouts, and I’m still tired.  Hope I can cut it ….. I did still keep up a 9:40 pace, so perhaps I just need to slow down?

So, not the best two weeks ever but …. I made it.  Here’s to a better next few weeks?  Only 11 to go!

On the Board: Chicago Marathon Training Weeks 1&2

2 weeks down, 13 to go.  Biggest news of this recap is that I actually did every (running) workout I was supposed to do.  I personally believe I deserve a medal for this accomplishment.  Ok ok, yes, that’s what a person who’s training for a marathon is supposed to do.  But still.  Two weeks of sticking to a plan is pretty darn revolutionary for me.

The first two weeks of training have been pretty manageable.  There’s been plenty of heat and humidity, a good bit of rain, and pretty much just status quo in terms of running, as the long runs are still distances I’ve run before.  What I have noticed is that, at least right now, I have a bit of extra motivation to get the miles in so that I don’t have to admit I didn’t follow the (only 3 days a week) schedule.  Noticeably absent?  Cross training.  Which I’ll blame on the rain, as a lot of my scheduled cross training was tennis, which can’t be done in pouring rain, but I admittedly could have changed course and done something else.  Oh well, room for improvement!

This post is kind of long and wordy. If you don’t want to read about training details, just check out this picture of Annabelle and then go on with your day!

 

So!  Here we go – my first ever detailed training recap.

Week 1:

Tuesday – 5 miles

As I’ve mentioned, I’m doing speed sessions with Fleet Feet on Tuesday nights.  This first workout was 8 x 400 with 1 minute rest at 1 mile time trial pace.  I started out way too fast, running the first in 1:28 (goal was 1:38), the second in 1:30, but then settled in for the rest and hit each one around 1:36 – 1:38.  Still working on dialing into the right pace on these workouts, but getting better.  And man alive, that 1 minute rest felt very very short starting around #5.  Extended my warm-up and cool-down to hit 5 miles total.

Wednesday – supposed to play tennis.  Rain.  Laziness instead.

Thursday – 5 miles

Our 4^th of July was blessed with pouring rain all day.  I watched some Wimbledon in the morning and finally got out of door around noon.  For once this summer, going out early didn’t matter because it was pouring rain and not hot.  Started out quicker than expected and didn’t want to spend longer than I had to in the rain, so I decided to make it more of a tempo run than a regular old out for some miles run.  Picked it up for 3 more, then cooled down for 1.  8:39, 8:15, 7:54, 7:45, 9:15.  Then sangria, burgers, other 4^th of July deliciousness, beer pong, and no fireworks (because of rain) with friends.  Awesome day despite the rain!

Friday – rest (planned)

Saturday – 10 miles

First group run with Fleet Feet and guess what?!  More rain!!  Steady, but it wasn’t so terrible, and honestly I’d take it over screaming heat and humidity.  I met some great people, and confirmed my suspicion that training with a group is going to be much easier than going at it alone.  We all went out a bit faster than we should have – between first run excitement and not wanting to stay out in the rain, it was hard to slow down – and finished the run around a 9:00 average.  I was sleepy (we’re starting at 6!  Eep!  But will appreciate it when the heat is back) but felt good.

Sunday – tennis planned, cancelled because of sore throat/headache/general grossness and threat of rain.

 

Week 2!

Monday – Tennis!  Finally!

HUMID, but good to get out on the court.  I didn’t play too well, but got a good 1.5 hours of short lateral motion and  a semi-upper body workout in (a stretch, yes.  Truth is, I love the sport, and I’ll risk the change of a turned ankle or something to keep playing as much as I can.  Tennis is likely in no way recommended marathon cross training, but whatever. It’s exercise, and good exercise when I’m playing singles at that.)

Tuesday – 5 miles

Lord have mercy this track workout was a WORKOUT.  The heat was back in full force, making 6 x 800 with 1 minute rest rather daunting.  I adjusted my expectations a bit, but completed the workout pretty well considering.  First 4 were right around 3:30 as planned, with about 1 minute rest.  The next two were between 3:35 – 3:40, and my rest was extended to 1:30.  Desperately needed that extra 30 seconds!  Overall happy with the workout.

Wednesday – rest

Tom actually had knee surgery on Tuesday, so I didn’t want to spend too much time away this week.  Fortunately my wonderfully amazing mother in law came down to help us out for the week, so all was taken care of (hi Peggy!  THANK YOU!!).  Plus, it was pouring again (I sat in my car for 15 minutes after getting home that night because the lightning was literally on top of me) so anything outside was out of the question.

Thursday – 6 miles

Started my run from my office after an afternoon thunderstorm, and it was cooler but super humid.  Didn’t realize how much I was sweating until I looked down and my shirt was soaked through.  Took an easy out and back route for a steady 6 miles around 9:00/mile.

Friday – more rest.  Considered getting up for yoga but had a really hard time getting out of bed.  Also still had a scratchy throat so gave in to it.

Saturday – 11 miles

Lovely morning for a run!  It was 62 degrees when I got in my car, which was glorious.  Slowed it down a bit for the first 9 miles (9:30 – 9:40) and picked it up for the last two at 8:55.  Felt great coming in.  Big confidence booster, but I know I still have a long way to go!

So there you go – my first two weeks of training.  Goals moving forward include slowing down my long runs a bit, getting in more cross training, not complaining so much about the humidity, and taking the dogs when I run in the AM!

4th of July Ramblings

1 – When’s the last time you read The Declaration of Independence?  As I was skimming through my usual news and social updates this morning, it was posted more times than I remember in the past, and I read it through in its entirety admittedly for the first time since about 11^th grade.  As seems to be the case more and more these days, I look forward to holidays as a day off from work, or a day to catch up, and forget what the actual holiday all about.  The problems with that are for another post, but as for the Declaration? The dang thing is incredible – the bravery and foresight that the founders of our country had is inspiring and humbling.  I’ll try to remember that amongst cocktails and fireworks later today.

2 –  

I’ve been watching as much Wimbledon as I can in the last 1.5 weeks, and I love the trailer for the upcoming series Andre Agassi did with Jacob’s Creek wineries – a film series seemingly based on digging into the story of some interesting characters – where he says that the only athlete that can comprehend what it’s like to be a tennis player is a boxer – but even they have their coaches and trainers in the corners when they come back, and tennis players don’t.  You can view it here  http://www.youtube.com/user/jacobscreekfilms/featured.  He says “of all the games men and women play, tennis is the closest to solitary confinement.  That’s why we open up to the ones we love, and the ones who remain true.” As a lifelong tennis player I know what he means.  It can be pretty isolating sitting out on the court on changeovers alone in your head, unable to discuss strategy with anyone else in that moment, having to trust that you can make the right decisions, and mentally and physically hold on to that plan despite whatever your opponent throws at you.  I think that’s why my favorite tennis memories are from my high school team, where the individualism of the sport was suddenly combined with the awesomeness of teamwork that I loved from my other team sport days.  Suddenly, this very solitary pursuit became something that was about more than me, and the girls I had always played against were decidedly in my corner – whether we could talk during points or not – there was celebration from the sidelines, and hugs and high fives with a win, or consolation on a tough loss.  It’s also what I love about the running community.  I think Andre forgot a similar sport when he made this video – what other sport is so lonely at times as running?  Only you can keep your legs moving, convince the voices in your head telling you that you can’t that you they’re wrong.  You don’t even have someone else hitting a ball back at you to react to – you simply have yourself, your own goals, your own mental battles to fight.  Until you hit the finish line and the congratulations of friends and strangers, until you meet up with your running buddies for your weekly run, until you engage in the broad community  – in person and online – that keep you going through those solitary times.  That’s what keeps me running, and sharing, and pushing.

(lighter note – how cute is Sabine Lisicki?  I was really bummed that Sloane Stephens, the rising American star, lost in the quarters, but Sabine is now hands down my choice to win the tournament.  She’s just so happy, and grateful, and humble and a confident fighter all at once.  Turn on Breakfast and Wimbledon on Saturday morning and check her out – she’s an irresistible inspiration).

 

3 – Track is Back!!   

I made it through my first track workout of the summer on Tuesday night.  8 x 400, all around 1:36, with the last at 1:29, right where I was supposed to be.  Fortunately the temperature had dropped a bit in time for the workout (you know you live in Tennessee when 80 degrees seems pleasant), which was a relief from the 90+ degrees and 90% humidity we’d been having.  I go into each of these workouts with a mix of excitement and dread.  I never ran track in high school, so it’s still somewhat new and exciting to me, and it’s fun to see continuous progress when I do the work, but I do have to talk myself into the push every time.  But it’s oh so gratifying when it goes well.

 Ok, that’s it for random 4^th of July thoughts – off on a run through the rain then it’s BBQ time!