My impromptu half marathon, come thunderstorms or cloudy skies, will be over at this time tomorrow.
I'd say it's hard to believe but meh. I haven't been hyping it up much and, at this point, I have yet to feel the race day jitters. I just want to drive down to Muncie, check in to the hotel and go to sleep. (Yes, I know it's breakfast time. Live.) I want to wake up tomorrow morning, eat a bagel and drink some coffee, pick up my packet and run.
That said, I am totally excited to be doing the race. Seriously.
ONICE | The race directors sent out an email this week detailing the aid station set ups for the course. There will be 10 for 13.1 miles, which I think is a near perfect ration. Water will be stocked at each one. Gatorade will be at 4 of the 10, gels at two and popsicles at two. Popsicles, people. POPSICLES. I'm not sure where I'll actually take a popsicle but I think it's a pretty genius move given the 9 a.m. start time for a mid-September race.
ONSWAG | At this point in my running life, a race shirt is a race shirt is a race shirt. And I will get one tomorrow morning (thank heavens for day-of packet pick up). It looks nice enough on the website, too – red with a fierce looking American Indian riding a horse. I'll wear it. But, silly as it might be, I'm totally amped to get a pint glass with the same logo. I might even drink a beer in it if I'm feeling particularly celebratory on Saturday. It's the little things. The little things.
ONCOURSE | In the 11 years I have lived in Indiana, I have been to Muncie a whopping one time. There's a university there (Ball State) and the Ball (of Ball jars, folks) estate. That's all I know. I'm excited to run along a new stretch of path and get acquainted with a new part of my state. The route takes us along the White River Greenway Trail and through Minnetrista – the one place in Muncie I'v visited. It promises gorgeous architecture and garden and river views.
ONFUEL | A few weeks ago, I stopped at my local running store to hit up the Gu wall (as I like to call it). I needed supplies for my 12-mile run, this race and any double digit jaunts I'll take before the Bourbon Chase. I grabbed my new favorite (Root Beer), a favorite from last summer (Salted Watermelon) and a new flavor (Big Apple). I know it's dangerous to try something new on race day but it will be hard to resist the temptation. I might try it at mile 12 if I follow a three Gu fueling strategy. If something goes wrong, I should be across the line and near a portable toilet.
ONATTITUDE | This race started out as a way to get in a supported training run. I am not going to PR. I am not going to go sub-2. I will not even entertain whether 2:05 is possible. What I will do is have fun and make running feel the best it can with what the day gives. When I registered, I told myself that I would use a run-walk strategy to help me complete the distance without tanking myself. My ego, now, is having a hard time committing but I will be walking through water stops.
And maybe eating a popsicle. Just to say I did.
Showing posts with label five for friday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label five for friday. Show all posts
Friday, September 18, 2015
Friday, February 27, 2015
Five for Friday
It was a milestone.
On Wednesday, I walked down the hallway to the far away bathroom and I didn't feel a pang until I was halfway there. I almost stopped to do a happy dance but I figured that it would not be socially acceptable to pop, lock and drop it in a place of business.
Also, I don't think I could get up.
1. So, yes, after two weeks of frustration, I am starting to see improvement with my piriformis. I still have discomfort even just walking but the pain is less severe and my gait is improving. As Mark told me, my waddle isn't so gimpy.
2. I changed up quite a few things this week to see whether it would improve the situation but I would be hard-pressed to say that X, Y and Z helped but not F, G, H. I'm even hesitant to share because I don't want anyone to mistake what I'm doing for actual advice.
But, for the sake of honesty, here's my self-prescribed therapy: I quit going to the actual physical therapist, stopped incorporating pigeon into my stretching routine and eliminated sugary treats. I added cherry juice, epsom salts, Deep Blue doTERRA oil and began using my Tiger Tail before doing my new stretches.
3. Thankfully, I've been able to teach my classes and the regulars have been understanding if I'm doing a modification or switching things up. Last night, though, I had a HILARIOUS moment. A newcomer to boot camp gave me the strangest look and just sort of stared. I asked if she was OK and she seemed hesitant to answer. Then, almost stuttering, she asked if I was pregnant.
Why yes, yes I a.m. It's sort of obvious at this point, especially with a Fort4Fitness tee strained over my belly and being relegated to wearing Mark's sweats.
"You're not doing this are you?" she asked.
No, no I'm not. But only because of my bum bum, I thought. There's nothing in this particular workout that I couldn't or shouldn't do. (It was a fun 30-20-10 workout, AMRAP style. Six minutes to complete as many sets as possible of three exercises. The first exercise, a cardio style, had 30 reps; the second exercise, large muscle group, had 20 reps; and a balance or core exercise was last with 10 reps. I think we got through four different groups of exercises in the 45 minutes.)
Anyway, it just made me laugh that people see the belly and think I can't work out.
4. While I'm anxious to be 100 percent and resume all physical activity, I have to say that this down time has been nice. I've been able to sleep in, relax (somewhat) and do more with the family. Novel, I tell you.
This morning, for example, Mark wasn't feeling great and stayed home. He and Miles played video games while I hung prints and curtains in baby boy's room.
5. And because babies are more fun to talk about, I am *this* close to being done with the room. I just need to touch up the paint on the dresser and bookshelf and get a few more decorations. The theme is dinosaurs but I'm trying not to be overly cutesy. On the book shelf, I want to display some 3-D dinosaur puzzles and I might get one more thing to hang.
Also, I need to buy baby socks ... because I had a dream that I didn't have enough.
On Wednesday, I walked down the hallway to the far away bathroom and I didn't feel a pang until I was halfway there. I almost stopped to do a happy dance but I figured that it would not be socially acceptable to pop, lock and drop it in a place of business.
Also, I don't think I could get up.
1. So, yes, after two weeks of frustration, I am starting to see improvement with my piriformis. I still have discomfort even just walking but the pain is less severe and my gait is improving. As Mark told me, my waddle isn't so gimpy.
2. I changed up quite a few things this week to see whether it would improve the situation but I would be hard-pressed to say that X, Y and Z helped but not F, G, H. I'm even hesitant to share because I don't want anyone to mistake what I'm doing for actual advice.
But, for the sake of honesty, here's my self-prescribed therapy: I quit going to the actual physical therapist, stopped incorporating pigeon into my stretching routine and eliminated sugary treats. I added cherry juice, epsom salts, Deep Blue doTERRA oil and began using my Tiger Tail before doing my new stretches.
3. Thankfully, I've been able to teach my classes and the regulars have been understanding if I'm doing a modification or switching things up. Last night, though, I had a HILARIOUS moment. A newcomer to boot camp gave me the strangest look and just sort of stared. I asked if she was OK and she seemed hesitant to answer. Then, almost stuttering, she asked if I was pregnant.
Why yes, yes I a.m. It's sort of obvious at this point, especially with a Fort4Fitness tee strained over my belly and being relegated to wearing Mark's sweats.
"You're not doing this are you?" she asked.
No, no I'm not. But only because of my bum bum, I thought. There's nothing in this particular workout that I couldn't or shouldn't do. (It was a fun 30-20-10 workout, AMRAP style. Six minutes to complete as many sets as possible of three exercises. The first exercise, a cardio style, had 30 reps; the second exercise, large muscle group, had 20 reps; and a balance or core exercise was last with 10 reps. I think we got through four different groups of exercises in the 45 minutes.)
Anyway, it just made me laugh that people see the belly and think I can't work out.
4. While I'm anxious to be 100 percent and resume all physical activity, I have to say that this down time has been nice. I've been able to sleep in, relax (somewhat) and do more with the family. Novel, I tell you.
This morning, for example, Mark wasn't feeling great and stayed home. He and Miles played video games while I hung prints and curtains in baby boy's room.
5. And because babies are more fun to talk about, I am *this* close to being done with the room. I just need to touch up the paint on the dresser and bookshelf and get a few more decorations. The theme is dinosaurs but I'm trying not to be overly cutesy. On the book shelf, I want to display some 3-D dinosaur puzzles and I might get one more thing to hang.
Also, I need to buy baby socks ... because I had a dream that I didn't have enough.
Friday, September 19, 2014
Friday favorites
If I had to be honest, I've been teetering on the edge of burnt out when it comes to running. The aggressiveness of my training plan (my fault), participating in a lot of races (my fault) and being a bit tired (not my fault).
But, there has been hope.
Here are some things that I have been loving on the run lately.
1. Revisiting old routes. I've been sticking to the same two routes on my morning runs and though I like them, I am feeling a bit bored - at least with the one. So, this morning, I bribed myself with a jaunt through my old neighborhood and throwing the plan out the window to get in the miles. It was just what I needed! The river from this part of the Rivergreenway is picturesque, and I love how the trees reflect in the water. I also got to run by some grand homes whose yards were showing fall color.
2. Oiselle Flyte Shorts. I've been looking for a good compression-type short but haven't found anything in store that made me want to hand over the credit card. My favorite running store recently picked up Oiselle, and I went to check it out. I was a bit leery of the shorts as even the long version looked too short but I bought them anyway. So glad I did. The material on these shorts is so soft and comfortable that even sweat-soaked, I don't want to take them off.
3. Salted Watermelon Gu. I've been off and on the Gu train, and I even experimented with fuel-free long runs as my diet changed. I wanted to try this flavor, though, and I'm glad I did. I like that it has extra sodium but isn't as sticky sweet as the Salted Caramel. Don't get me wrong - I still like the Yeti - but the watermelon is more palatable over the long run.
Note: I really want to try the Root Beer if only for the novelty, and Gu Energy just came out with Caramel Macchiato.
4. Fall weather. I wore long sleeves on two runs this week, and there's a crunch beneath my feet as I move. Need I say more?
5. Listen up. Somehow, I had an Audible credit, and I decided to download "Gone Girl." I know I'm the last person to read the book but I'm loving it so far. I may have to subscribe to Audible this fall when I start slowing down to enjoy the runs.
What are you loving late?
But, there has been hope.
Here are some things that I have been loving on the run lately.
1. Revisiting old routes. I've been sticking to the same two routes on my morning runs and though I like them, I am feeling a bit bored - at least with the one. So, this morning, I bribed myself with a jaunt through my old neighborhood and throwing the plan out the window to get in the miles. It was just what I needed! The river from this part of the Rivergreenway is picturesque, and I love how the trees reflect in the water. I also got to run by some grand homes whose yards were showing fall color.
2. Oiselle Flyte Shorts. I've been looking for a good compression-type short but haven't found anything in store that made me want to hand over the credit card. My favorite running store recently picked up Oiselle, and I went to check it out. I was a bit leery of the shorts as even the long version looked too short but I bought them anyway. So glad I did. The material on these shorts is so soft and comfortable that even sweat-soaked, I don't want to take them off.
3. Salted Watermelon Gu. I've been off and on the Gu train, and I even experimented with fuel-free long runs as my diet changed. I wanted to try this flavor, though, and I'm glad I did. I like that it has extra sodium but isn't as sticky sweet as the Salted Caramel. Don't get me wrong - I still like the Yeti - but the watermelon is more palatable over the long run.
Note: I really want to try the Root Beer if only for the novelty, and Gu Energy just came out with Caramel Macchiato.
4. Fall weather. I wore long sleeves on two runs this week, and there's a crunch beneath my feet as I move. Need I say more?
5. Listen up. Somehow, I had an Audible credit, and I decided to download "Gone Girl." I know I'm the last person to read the book but I'm loving it so far. I may have to subscribe to Audible this fall when I start slowing down to enjoy the runs.
What are you loving late?
Friday, September 20, 2013
Five for Friday: Injury edition
1. This morning, with 11 miles under my belt for the week, I headed to the YMCA for a bit of cross training. I'm trying to safely yet aggressively regain the fitness I lost when I was taking it easy and then taking it easier. And so rather than taking 2 (or more) rest days this week, I took off Monday and just kept it light today - 30 minutes on the indoor bike and my PT exercises.
I kept the resistance fairly low, 3-5 on an unknown scale, and covered up the display. Mostly because I was studying for my ACE CPT exam, which is in three weeks, but also because I didn't want to worry about RPMs, speed or distance.
2. Speaking of my ACE exam, while I'm getting to the terrified "I'm probably going to fail" mindset, I've been grateful for this injury. Hear me out. The medical process from pain onset to diagnosis to treatment has reinforced the anatomy, prime movers and functions of the lower extremity. I've also done some of the movement screens - specifically, the Thomas, stork and blood pressure cuff tests - which have brought the book to life. I nearly giggled with excitement when my PT (yes, she's mine) said she was going to get the cuff for yesterday's session. She's also been really great about overexplaining things - her words, not mine - so every session is part therapy, part studying.
3. Of course, the therapy part isn't as fun. The PT is taking a multifaceted approach to improving the strain in my hip flexors. She discovered during my first visit that my injury was not new but rather something old that had been aggravated as evidenced by a significant amount of scar tissue in the hip and IT band regions. To break it up, she is doing a process called scraping to break up the capillary system within the tissue and promote re-healing. We're also working to improve the strength of my gluteus maximus and medius, as well as reprogram the neuromuscular pathways in my legs. She says that runners often have problems with the glutes not firing, causing the hamstrings to overcompensate. The hamstrings aren't designed to create the force required for running, which can cause overuse and injury.
4. I have several exercises to do to improve the strength and activation in the glutes that I do in therapy and once a day in between sessions - clamshell with resistance band, glute bridges with a ball and prone glute raises with a bent leg. The key is to activate - or concentrically contract them - before initiating the movement. It sounds easy but it's a real struggle, which means my glutes aren't as strong as I thought. I don't notice it as much with the clamshell and bridges but those damn leg raises are terrible.
5. All of this work - the stretching, exercises, therapy, slow build in fitness - have led to improved pain in running. Where as last week I was becoming aware of the hip by mile 1.5 and ready to stop at 3 or 4, I've been able to run 3 or 3.5 without noticing the area and am finishing with less discomfort and less limping post-run .The PT says I was lucky to respond as quickly as I did - or as quickly as you can with a mound of scar tissue - as it's probably why I'm seeing such results.
Results I am definitely not taking for granted.
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