9.5 miles.

This morning when I woke up, I was feeling pretty tired and I was second guessing my idea to go running.  I did about 35 minutes of Pilates, and once my blood was flowing, I finally got the motivation to just get dressed in my running clothes and get out there.  Of course, I didn't regret the decision.  I did a 9.5 mile loop leaving from my house, and with the sun shining brightly and the air warming slightly, I had a great time.  Some days, running is like therapy.  Today was one of those days.  I just wish I could carry that feeling through longer.  One week from today my husband and I will join our friends from Salt Lake City and run the Ogden Marathon.  I am really looking forward to it and hope this week I can keep things in balance and retain my energy reserves and have a good race.

Another busy Friday.

Another typical Friday for me, with cub scout meetings and kid-things to do all morning.  Before I did all that, I was able to get in about 45 minutes of Pilates.  Then this afternoon, we had a couple of hours to spend as a family before my husband needed to go to work, so we packed up a couple of backpacks and hiked up a dirt road/trail from our house.  We ended up going almost 5 miles.

Tri-Thursday!!

Last night, as I made the realization that I would be more or less on my own this morning and could arrange my workout however I wanted, I decided to make it a tri-day.  Normally I go to spin class on Thursday mornings, but this morning I got up a bit early and went out for a 3.1 mile run before the kids went to school, then after I got them all out the door, I headed into the gym where I did an awesome spin class (with my favorite instructor-yay!), then after that I went straight into the pool where I swam 1/2 mile.  Here are my stats:

5k (3.1 miles) - 30:16 - 9:45 min./mile pace

Spinning, 1 hour (ave. heart rate during that hour = 170)

800m (1/2 mile) swim - 18 minutes

I'm really happy with how things went for me today.  Granted, I had a break between the running and the spinning, but still, I was glad that I felt strong doing my swim.  I don't know how many miles would be the equivalent of an hour of spinning, but I'm guessing it would be more than 20.  That guess is based on the fact that when I ride a regular upright bike at the gym for an hour, the distance readout is usually at least 20 miles, and I know I am working much harder and going faster when I'm in a spinning class.  Has anyone ever figured out how to gauge that?  I would be very interested to know.

31.5 miles (on the bike, haha!)

This morning I had two episodes of the The Voice to watch, which I was eager to do before the final outcome was spoiled for me by reading something on the internet.  I pedaled on the recumbent bike for the whole time, but I also used my 5 pound hand weights to do some bicep and tricep curls for a while.  After a time of 2 hours and 23 minutes I had "gone" 31.5 miles.  It's not the same intensity as when I use a spin bike, of course, but I was pretty soaked with sweat by the time I was done.  After I finished with that, I went outside and helped my husband and little boy for a while where they were working in the yard and garden.

How I celebrate my birthday.

Today is my birthday, and it also my husband's day off and our usual day "alone" when we would normally go to spinning and then run errands and things like that.  Today, we decided to go to our gym's alternate location, which is an adult's only facility.  There are no classes at this location, and the atmosphere is a bit more laid back than the main gym, but they have a little pool/hot tub/sauna/menthol/steam room area that has a nice, relaxing ambiance.  We started out doing about 30 minutes of weights, then my husband (who is still sick and coughing like a madman) went to the pool area, while I did an hour and 15 minutes of cardio on my own.  I started with 30 minutes on the StairMaster, then 20 minutes on a rowing machine and finally 20 minutes on an elliptical.  Then I joined my husband in the hot tub for a bit before we headed to lunch, and of course, running a bunch of other errands.

Yes, I enjoyed all the cheesy goodness of these chicken enchiladas, at least until I got full and my husband helped me out. ;)

The Flu and 9.2 miles.

What a weekend.  After a pretty normal day on Friday, I woke up Saturday morning feeling nauseous, dizzy and achy.  I ended up staying in bed the entire day, I could barely move my body at all.  It was awful.  What made it worse was that my husband and a couple of my kids have been fighting a terrible chest cold and nasty cough, and I felt bad I couldn't do more to help take care of them.  I was glad when I woke up Sunday morning feeling slightly better, at least the severe aching in my joints and muscles had lessened and I wasn't as sick to my stomach.  I was actually able to eat a few things, which slowly helped me feel stronger.  By the time I went to bed last night, I was feeling optimistic I might be feeling well enough to work out this morning, but I wasn't sure how much strength and energy I'd have.  After all, I had only consumed about 600-700 calories for a 48 hour period.  That's not too good.

So this morning I did about 45 minutes of Pilates after I got the kids' school lunches made, then once the kids were off to school, I decided to go ahead and try to run.  The sun was out, the high's supposed to be around 65 today, so I wore just a tank top and some capris and figured I'd be fine.  Yikes.  The wind was blowing - hard.  I should have known better.  My arms and hands felt frozen.  I did a 9.2 mile loop, and thankfully the 2nd half of the loop heads back towards the sun, so I was able to defrost a bit.  I ran slowly, doing a 4:1 run/walk ratio.  My average pace was only around 11:50 min/mile, but I was just happy to get out there and do something.  That was my first run back out on the road since I ran 26.2 one week ago.  I had done a bit of running on the treadmill and of course all my other workouts, but there's nothing like being out on the road.

On another note, this was today's Runner's World Quote of the day:
(Why does it not surprise me that the creator of the world's best vacuum cleaner is also a runner.  Hmmm.  Oh, how I love a good vacuum and a clean carpet.  A Dyson is on my forever "want list"!)

Running focuses my mind and allows me to think around a subject. I still need a workshop to make discoveries, but on a run I might think of a new avenue to explore. Another thing I learned from running is that the time to push hard is when you're hurting like crazy. The moment you should accelerate is the moment you're the most tired. I found that to be so in life as well. ~ Sir James Dyson, founder and chief engineer of Dyson

4 treadmill miles.

I wasn't able to get to my workout until this afternoon, since I had cub scout meetings to attend.  I did get in a little "extra" workout, in the form of raking and yard-work helping with the annual spring city clean-up for about an hour, though.

Once I finished making homemade chicken noodle soup and juicing some vegetables and fruit for my sick husband, I had some time to get on the treadmill.  Of course, as you can see through the door in the picture above, the sun decided to appear and warm things up, after a gloomy, windy and cool morning.  It would have been perfect running weather.  Oh, well.  Tomorrow.

So, I started out doing a few sprint intervals, to get my heart rate up and the blood flowing.  I wasn't sure how my legs would react to some faster running, but they actually felt okay.  Then I put the incline up on the treadmill and did some "hiking" at 3.5 - 4 mph.  I also jumped off the treadmill a few times to do some burpees.  That whole workout lasted a little over an hour.

Question:  What are some of your favorite running/inspirational books?  I need something new to read to get me motivated and excited for a summer of training, post and pre-marathon.  I'm thinking of Dean Karnazes' new book "Run!: 26.2 stories of blisters and bliss", because his book "Ultra-Marathon Man" was totally inspiring and fun to read.

Spinning, weights and time.

This morning after the kids were in school, Chris and I were able to go to the gym to take a spinning class and spend some time lifting weights.  While most of the soreness in my legs has diminished, spinning was no piece of cake.  I guess that's why I love it so much, though.  We even did a little over an hour today because just as the class was supposed to be finishing up, the instructor came upon one of her favorite motivating songs on her playlist and asked if we could do one more working song.  Of course, we all groaned in agreement. ;)

After class, as we lifted weights for about 45 minutes, both of us were feeling pretty tired and worn out.  And hungry.  When we left the gym, we ate the lunch I packed for us, then went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things.  After that, we enjoyed a little time "window shopping" at Dick's Sporting Goods, one of my most favorite places, then went to TJMaxx and paid reasonable prices for some new running gear.  My husband got a couple pair of Nike running shorts and a Nike shirt, and I got two tanks, a long bra and a pair of capris - all for only $79!  That's like the price of 1 1/2 running shirts at Dick's. ;)  My slump is officially over. I'm ready to go out running again.

Oh, the (mind) games we play.

So far, this day has been a bit of a drag.  I dragged myself out of bed this morning, then dragged myself onto the recumbent bike for 90 dragging minutes, then I dragged through 35 minutes on the treadmill trying to walk some of the kinks out of my legs.  (Please don't judge me if I am totally using that word wrong! Haha!)

At least I can say I did do something today, even though I don't feel that great.  In a way, I'm not even sure it's completely due to my physical fatigue and soreness that I feel this way.  It's hard to explain, and I even tried to have a conversation with my husband about it last night, but I still don't feel like he "gets it", so I'm hoping that someone out there will be able to relate.  See, after all of my marathons, and now I can also say after each of my three 26+ mile training runs during the month of April, for about 2-3 days following I go through this slump.  It's more of a mental slump than a physical one, at least I think it is.  There's something about the prospect of preparing myself to do something difficult or great or admirable, however it may be seen, during the time leading up to those long runs, which is so exciting and keeps the adrenalin flowing, that is then completely gone the moment I finish the 26 mile distance.  It's like a deflation of spirit.  Like, okay...I just ran that far, now what?

The stupid thing is, it's not like I'm just so good at running long distances that I need to move on to harder things.  It's hard, every time!  Every run I (still) feel as though I'm fighting against my natural tendencies to do this running thing.  Obviously in some ways I have improved over the past couple of years, like an increase in endurance, less joint pain, fewer GI issues - all those problems I had when I first took up running have certainly decreased in intensity.  And I can't say enough about how following Jeff Galloway's Run/Walk/Run method has made it possible for me to go farther and longer.  But as I sit and think about each run after the fact, I still can see where I need to improve, how I would like to do better, where I'd like to be stronger.

Another stupid thing about all of these thoughts going through my head is that I honestly tell myself (and others) all of the time that I don't really care about my "times" or how fast I am, I know I'll never be a very fast runner, and that's why I like to go long - because I truly enjoy being out on the road, moving along at whatever pace my body feels comfortable, enjoying the excitement and adventure that comes with traveling so far away from home and then back again, carried only by my own two feet.  And that is really, truly how I feel.

But then, every once in a while, apparently near and around races, that little flicker of competitiveness kicks in, even though I'm really only ever competing with myself.  For example, I knew going into my run on Monday that my friend would "push" me to run a faster pace than what I'm used to, but I had prepared myself for it and actually accepted the challenge.  When my legs were aching with miles to go, I knew I was going to be more sore than usual and my recovery might be a little tougher.  And even when we were at mile 25, and she seemed to have boundless amounts of enthusiasm and energy and I was shuffling along, completely knowing it was all mind over body for me at that point, I was trying to internalize what she was saying to me about how proud she was that I had pushed myself past my own limits, maintaining a consistent pace that was faster than my legs were accustomed to, that I was doing something I hadn't done before and I was about to have my best 26.2 mile run ever, even if it wasn't in a formal race setting.

And now what does this mean for me?  I don't know.  I really don't.  I felt pretty stoked about having finally broken through that 5 hour barrier, and it was sure fun to share that excitement with my running friend who really seemed to understand what it meant for me.  But when I tried to share the enthusiasm with my husband, and with another friend, and even through other social outlets, I didn't quite get the same response - instead, more of a "Wow.  You ran another 26.2 miles.  Cool."  This short-lived feeling of satisfaction made me realize that I must stay in touch with those intrinsically rewarding feelings of accomplishment, satisfaction and growth.  It really doesn't matter who ran what, when or how fast.  We each have our own journey.

With all of that said, I'm looking forward to May 19th and the Ogden Marathon (route pictured above) as an opportunity for me to spend time with my family and some close friends whom I love dearly, sharing with my husband in his first marathon experience and what will hopefully be a beautiful day to "Get Out and Live," just as the slogan for the Ogden Marathon says!

Post-run recovery?

There is no doubt that I pushed myself yesterday, at least so my quads are telling me today!  When I got up this morning, and limped downstairs to make the kids' school lunches, I considered taking a day off from exercise.  Then I went back upstairs and did 30 minutes of Pilates, sent the kids to school and headed to the gym for spin class. :)  It was tough to even pedal the bike, so I spent most of the time with my eyes closed, working on my mental toughness.  About half-way through the hour I started to feel better and stopped regretting the decision to go to class.  After spinning, I did 30 minutes of upper body strength training, then I went and sat in the hot tub for about 15 minutes.  Maybe tomorrow I'll be easier on myself, then again, maybe not.