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Monday, October 31, 2011

So Not a PR

Besides eating not enough too much pizza and cookies and pancakes yesterday, I also did a 5k race with my parents. My Mom walked it (but she is in training for her first 5k on Thanksgiving- GO MOM!) and my Dad ran it with me. When we got to the start it was 36 degrees. This made for a very, very cold Emily. So cold I had on my double-layer running gloves, fleece running pullover, and longsleeve shirt. But not tights, because God  forbid I actually do laundry frequently enough to have running tights available when I need them.
   They had to delay the start by 10 minutes because the course was so icy and they figured allowing the sun a couple more minutes to melt the white stuff might help people not slip and fall and break things. Turns out they were right, sort of, because though the roads in the park were very very icy when my Dad and I were jogging to the pavilion to warm up beforehand, by the time we got to the same point during the race, there was hardly any slipping and sliding. There were 3 or 4 other spots, though, that just screamed "danger, Will Robinson," so I took it nice and slow on those parts, because I'd rather sacrifice seconds than twist something.. again (trail run on Friday... rolled my left ankle THREE times. Good thing I was wearing stiff shoes!).
   I ended up with a fairly respectable time considering the ice and the fact that I hate 5ks, but all during the race, I was thinking
-Running fast sucks
-I hate 5ks
- I wish this were a half
-or an ultra.
- Running fast makes my stomach go wack-o
-How in the world is it not over yet?!
- I want a bagel
-NO TO TRACK IN THE SPRING.
    Apparently everyone else went pretty slowly too, because I somehow got 2nd woman overall with a time that normally wouldn't even put me in age group standings. Pretty awesome, especially since I got a glass mug as the award. Hello root beer floats!
    I am continuing to vacillate between wanting to do track and not wanting to do it, but I think I might just suck it up and try it. Worst comes to worst I stop if I don't like it, right? I mean, as long as I can still sneak in 17-23 milers on our days off I'm good. Plus, I did love my summer track workouts. But that was partly due to the fact that I had Lil' Wayne blasting in my ears through all my 400's...

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Cold Front What What?

It is supposed to get down to 32 degrees tonight. I could still see my breath at 11 o'clock this morning. It is supposed to snow on Saturday. WTF FALL YOU HAVE ANOTHER TWO MONTHS LEFT.

   In other news, running continues to be awesome, but I am having an insane moral dilemna going on because of it: Do I do outdoor track when I get to school and risk having to give up my weekly long runs in favor of someone else's training schedule that, according the coach, will include a possible decrease in mileage? I love love love my long runs, and am starting to realize that the points in my life when running has become less enjoyable have coincided with a focus on speed, PR's, and pace. When I just run by feel, doing tempos on the fly and taking slow days when needed, it when I have had my best PR's. Am I willing to give this ability to listen to my body up in favor of competing for a team and making friends?

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Crawl

Legs: WTF. Kick set AND another tempo run?! And box jumps last night? Are you trying to kill us?



I am currently ignoring all training plans and running by feel, for however long I want each day. I am totally ignoring the 10% rule, choosing instead to keep most of my runs, especially the long ones, slow and steady (except for today and yesterday, when I decided running out my stress in the form of tempo running coupled with Fall Out Boy blasted at top volume) but increasing or decreasing mileage in whatever quantities I see fit. I am absolutely love love loving it and, with all of the foliage we have goin' on here PLUS the upcoming snow storm, I cannot wait to lace up my shoes each day and pound the streets. I am, however, still cross-training like a madwoman and doing yoga 3x a week so my body doesn't continuous yell at me.
   And eating lots of *healthy* cookies (I promise a recipe soon!) because your body needs carbs, and my heart needs chocolate.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Crabs. The Shellfish, not the STD

So I could lie and say I have been super busy and that's why I haven't been posting, but I'm an honest girl, so I'll just be real and tell you that I've spent my weekend getting sweaty, reading Dean Karnaze's latest book, and eating crabs.
   Yesterday was supposed to be a long run but, despite having it for two months now, I still do not know how to properly work my iPhone alarm system and I woke up 30 minutes before I was supposed to be at the meeting place for my run (and the place was 45 minutes away). So instead I schlepped down to the trainer for my weekend long ride. 1.5 hours and 3 episodes of Man v. Food later, I got off and headed to the local rummage sale to buy some books and a pair of absolutely fantastic never-worn suede high heeled boots with 60's crochet on it. Best. Purchase. Ever. (Besides the Cole Haan boots I got last year...).
    After timing a swim meet and eating a Chipotle salad the size of a small infant, I went to bed at 6:45. I know, I know, I am a party animal. But, I had an excuse. Race for the Cure was this morning! And I was going to get in 4 miles beforehand to warm-up! Then the iPhone alarm system decided to fail me again (or maybe I accidentally set it for Saturday??) and I woke up 15 minutes before we were supposed to leave. It's all good, though, since WE DIDN'T EVEN GET TO RACE. That's right- got to the starting line 20 MINUTES after the race started. The buses were all backed up so we got to stand in line for 45 minutes with 400 other freezing racers dolled up in their finest pink. My Dad and I jumped into the race halfway through and ran 1.8 of the 5k course. Does standing+sprinting still count as racing for the cure? I think so.
    Possibly the best part of the weekend, other than the crabs? My two hour long run, the first one since April!!!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Discoveries

1. I sweat the most out of the THIRTY people in Bikram yoga last night.
2. I finally taught myself to can the negative thoughts when swimming hard sets.
3. Tribe 40 spices hummus is. the. greatest. hummus. ever.
4. I need to bake more chocolate chip cookies today.
5. Only a few more months before crab season is over! Gotta get my crustation fix in soon!!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Cloudy Days

Another day, another list of things to do.
-job interview
-workouts
-yoga
-grocery shopping
-laundry laundry laundry out the freakin' whazoo

 Good thing I get to run in my favorite kind of weather today: cloudy and cool. Everyone here is moaning and groaning about all the cloudy weather we have had (seriously people? Because folks in Seattle deal with this crap like 9 months a year...) but I happen to love it because
1. I don't get sunburned when I go outside (yes, even though it is fall this STILL happens)
2. The trees all look gorgeous against the cloudy sky
3. I can justify taking a 2 hour nap because it is a perfect "nap" day.
4. Cloudy weather makes for perfect baking weather! I am thinking of making some pumpkin cookies or scones tomorrow.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

All I Need is a Cape

Two Posts in one day?! Who am I? Someone who has way too much time, 17.5 hours to be exact, on their hands. I already
-made lunch
-cleaned the kitchen
-made a monthly budget
-went to yoga
-went to Masters
-read
  And now I am waiting for my whole-wheat pear cake to pop out of the oven so I can eat some dinner/desesrt before work/working-out. It's okay to call me SuperWoman. I won't be offended.
  Speaking of baked goods, I have been making a lot of them lately now that the dietician has given me the okay/nudge ("you are a very healthy eater..... you know you can eat sweets, right?" <--- Best. Advice. Of. My. Life.) to splurge again. I am still doing mostly low-sugar recipes, but now that gluten is no longer the enemy, I have made best friends again with my whole wheat products. Six months without them was far too long.

Full-Body Ouch

Ah, the residual soreness of running a race. I didn't expect to be too sore from Saturday and Sunday's efforts, but then I didn't take a day off of running and swam my butt off yesterday and today, so my body was not quite as limber in yoga this morning as it usually is. This resulted in some DEEP stretching going on during the class, which is good for my body, but bad for my energy level, as I am now pooped beyond beliefe. Good thing I still have to make lunch, clean the kitchen, lift and do the elliptical, and work! (and why am I blogging when I could be doing all those things!?!?)
   I actually might have definitely fell asleep during the ending portion of yoga, the "savastana" or however it is spelled, making it the second week in a row I have done this. I wonder if this means I need more than 6 hours of sleep per night...

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The Bitch is Back

And by bitch, I mean my bottomless appetite. Half-marathon+still running everyday= me eating like half of our food in 2 days. Good thing I do the grocery shopping in these here parts!

Monday, October 17, 2011

2 Days of Awesome

 A PR. On what is in most local runners' minds one of the harder road half-marathons. HOW THE HECK DID THAT HAPPEN?!
   Honestly, I have no idea how I pulled this one off. I didn't taper, didn't carboload, didn't do any weeks over 35 miles, hardly did any speedwork, and only had 2 long runs of any consequence. Still, my city knows how to pump a girl up, and with all those people cheering on every street and at every water stop, there was no way I was going to slow down my pace. I started off easy, deciding not to look at my watch until the 1st mile marker, and when I saw a pace that would, if held until the end, take me to a new PR, I thought "Hey, let's see how long I can hold on to this one without feeling like poop!"
   When I got to Mile 4, a thought occurred to me: Holy. Macaroni. Is this race hilly. I train on hills, but a lack of carbohydrate stores combined with a lack of sleep and a lack of taper had my legs going "Woman, slow down!" There was no chance of me dropping off my pace, though, so I did what any runner in my situation would do: Turn up the explicit rap music, swig some Perpetuem, and keep on keepin' on. After all, this was my favorite race of the year, and no way in heck was I coming out of it with anything over a 1:45 (Hi, I'm Emily. I am extremely competitive and if I tell you that I am going to just "run by feel" and take a race "easy," it is a blatant, absolute pile of bologna).
    What I love about half-marathons is that, in my opinion, once you get to mile 8, the race really does fly by, and on Saturday I knew if I could make it to mile 8 on pace, I would be able to sustain enough to get me across the finish in a respectable (for me) time. Mile 8 turned out to be windier than Chicago in January, with gusts so big I was basically being thrown from one side of the path to the other, but I knew there were free gummy bears and a dancing tiger on an old, 1980's wagon ahead, so I told myself to suck it the eff up and get the lead out.
   Sure enough, the tiger was there at mile 10, but as always, my stomach was saying no no no to free gummy bears, so instead I lived vicariously through the crazies in front of me that were shoving those things in their mouths like it was the first morsel of food they'd seen in years. I passed my old coach at mile 10 (personal victory, since the woman is actually a superhero), and prepared myself for the last bitch of a hill at mile 11. The wind was so bad at this point that people were literally hunched over trying to block it, and I started to feel really bad for the taller runners who were waving like planks in the wind.
   Thankfully after that last hill it's pretty much a straight downward slant to the finish, so I kicked it into high gear once I hit mile 12. Unfortunately, the wind was being a major biotch and was blowing me all over the place as I began my finishing kick, but I dealt. Less enjoyable was that feeling, a first-time for me, of ohmygosh- I will blow chucks- queasiness that happened about 200 yards out. I tried to remind myself that was just my body pushing it to the limit, and thankfully I passed through the finishing chute in 1:44:33, with my breakfast still intact.
   That race reaffirmed my love for 13.1's, and helped me set some BIG TIME goals for the next two halves I have coming up in November. Can you say sub 1:40?

Friday, October 14, 2011

Doc Says

Nutrionist: You should be eating about 8 servings of carbs a day. And breakfast cereals are fine as long as they have less than 4g of sugar and lots of fiber. And duh you have have fries and pie sometimes.

^^^ Best. Appointment. EVER.

Life Update

Good Ideas:
- Oats in a Jar. Peanut Butter in the AM makes my day.
- My favorite half-marathon tomorrow in my favorite city.
-Nutrionist appointment
-Sugar-cookie tea (um NO it is not too early for holiday flavored teas)

Bad Ideas:
-207 20lb. squats 2 days after my tri
-Not washing my sports bra from said tri for 4 days (who knew ocean water made stains?)
-not eating carbs. Sandwiches, please come back into my life.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Absent Note

So for the last few weeks I have been checking up on blogs, but taking some time off from posting. I am trying to enjoy what is most likely the last of my free time for the next 4 years or so, so I've been working out, baking, reading, and storing up some good stuff to write on here. I will be back in action today or tomorrow, and from then on will be writing some shorter but more frequent posts (hopefully) on the daily.