Three Things Thursday

#1 - Taper Run: Last run before Sunday's race this morning went well. I ran 4 miles again, in almost the exact same time as Tuesday, but it felt much easier and it was a bit more consistent. It wasn't foggy, so the humidity wasn't as bad, and the slight breeze helped. It was a great last run and now I just want Sunday to be here already and see what I can do.

#2 - Spicy Indian: We went to an impromptu lunch with my team to an Indian restaurant we frequent often. Since Jason had already had lunch part 1 and we always have leftovers, we split a meal. He chose the meal and I agreed to tried it medium spicy instead of my usual wimpy mild. Oy! That was not enjoyable lol I just don't get the appeal of spicy food. It wasn't awful, but I can't even tell you what it tasted like right now because all I can remember is the spiciness in my throat.

#3 - Date Night: We had a Groupon to see a play at the Orlando Shakespeare theater. We rode our bikes there since it's only 2.5 miles, and I'm glad we did because the ride home with the crisp air was the best part of the evening. It was still warm and humid for the ride there, but not too bad. The play was twice as long as I expected and just seemed to drag. The theater was really warm, and it was a struggle to stay awake. It finally ended and that was the best part, both because it was over and because it was a funny witty ending that made more sense than the entire 2.5 hours prior.

Leap Day Fun

Today's 12athon Leap Day bonus challenge was to run/walk 2.9 miles for 2.9 points. Since I'm in taper and today was a rest day,  I completed this challenge by walking instead. My normal daily walk to/from the bus would cover this, so I wanted an additional challenge. Since I couldn't attempt to run 2.9 miles in 29 minutes, I had some fun trying to finish with an average of exactly 2.9 mph.

It was certainly a challenge to stay at this "speed." My usual walking speed is closer to 3.2-3.3 (no I don't usually track my walking in mph, so I had to do some math) but this was nice because 1.5 of these miles was walking to campus for a meeting and it warmed up a lot so this helped make sure I wasn't a sweaty mess when I got to the meeting. Every time it would it would dip to 3.0, I'd have to take a few baby steps to get it back down to 2.9. Oh man, did this make my day. It's the small pleasures in life :)

It seems today was all about slowing down, because my Daily Challenge was to schedule a 10 minute nap or rest today. I couldn't take the time to do this at work, so I did it on the bus. Instead of playing on my phone as soon as I got on the bus, I set a timer for 10 minutes, put pandora on the yoga station and meditated for 10 minutes with my eyes clothes and focused on my breathing. It was hard because my mind wouldn't stop and the music was putting me to sleep, but I kept at it until the 10 minutes were up. The yoga station is great though. I will be using it for my morning bus yoga from now on.

I had plans to do a photo shoot with Jason of us leaping, but we lost the sunlight. I'm kinda glad it turned out this way. What better way to spend this extra day than by slowing down and enjoying small pleasures, something I often take for granted in my otherwise super active days.

Happy Leap Day everyone!

Two for Tuesday: Foggy Run & Daily Challenge Fun

Foggy Soggy Run

I got to sleep in a little this morning and still go for a morning run with 2 people from my group who came to my side of town. I was hoping to run 3 miles at half marathon race pace, but the ridiculous humidity from the fog made that impossible. It was probably for the best since my hips were all achy, but they certainly felt better after the run and 20 min of yoga/streches. I think they just needed to loosen up. While my average pace for the 4 miles this morning was 11:23, we sped up considerably at the end and our last mile was 10:04! I'll take it :)

Daily Challenge Fun

I'm having a lot of fun with the Daily Challenge, and I'm currently on a 50 day streak. The last two challenges from the Pleasant Pauses track were quite hilarious, so I thought I'd share.

Today's challenge was to practice drawing or writing with my non-dominant hand and compare that the dominant hand. I took a sticky note, folded it in half, drew a little house and tree, and wrote the respective words on each half with each hand. Not only was my dominant hand better, but the other took twice as long. I was surprised at how difficult this was. Here's a pic of the results. I'll let you guess which is my dominant hand ;)

Yesterday's challenge was to recite 1 tongue twister. The site gave a few examples, and I tried them all to hilarious results. Good thing no one was listing. These things are always tough for me because I already have pronunciation issues because my first language is not English. These two -- Shy Shelly says she shall sew sheets, or She sells seashells by the seashore -- are particularly troublesome/funny because I always mix up the "sh" and "ch" sounds.

Achy and Lethargic (Plus British Shows Tangent)

My legs and hips feel inexplicably achy today; it must be race week :) 

Honestly, it could be from this gloomy weather or the fact that I've been pretty in active the past 2 days. I didn't do yoga yesterday like I planned, quitting after only 12 minutes because I wasn't feeling it, which set the tone for the rest of the day. Other than a short walk to Publix for groceries, I didn't do much the rest of the day. I felt really lethargic until then. When we got back, I was a bit more energized and baked another carrot cake, made dinner with Jason, then relaxed while watching Merlin the rest of the night. 

(Have I mentioned that I love British shows? I don't think I've seen a BBC show that I've not yet liked. It started with Doctor Who and Torchwood, then Sherlock and now Merlin. They are brilliant! and I love the way the british say the word brilliant. Actually, now that I think about it, it really started with Whose Line Is it Anyway? /tangent.)

Despite waking up with plenty of time to do yoga this morning, I kept telling myself I was too tired to get up until it was too late, so I skipped it today too. The bus was too full to do yoga then either, so other than walking to/from the bus I've been pretty inactive today too. Top that off with all the sugar I've consumed from leftover birthday cake, and it's no wonder I'm feeling lethargic. Tomorrow will be a better day. 

Recap: Week 8 2012

This week I got back into my normal routine with 3 great runs, more walking than I think I've ever walked in a single week before, biking and even a bit of core & upper body strength. This coming week I'll take a little easier as I taper for the half on Sunday. Not much else to say, so I'll let the numbers speak for themselves.

Week 8: Feb 20-26

• ran 15 miles
• walked 23 miles
• biked 14 miles
• 10m of planks/push ups
• 3h yoga

Goals for Week 9

• run 20+ miles
• Orange Blossom Half
• walk 10+ miles
• bike at least once
• 2h yoga

Running, Biking, Postcards & Carrot Cake

Today was a great day, starting with a great run and ending with homemade carrot cake :) Let's take it from the top.

Since I can't ever sleep in anymore, I was awake before 5:30 am even though our run wasn't starting until 7 am. But that's ok because it gave me plenty of time to get ready without feeling rushed. I spent a good part of that looking for a pair of knee high socks I wanted to wear that I never did find, but I still had plenty of time to bike to the run start at a leisurely pace. Not that I really had much of a choice because the brutal wind was relentless.

The temp was in the low 60s, perfect for running in a skirt with a long sleeve tech tee. The wind made it feel much colder while on the bike, so I wore the windbreaker jacket I got when I volunteered at the Disney Marathon. I swapped it for the long sleeve tech tee when I got to the school and it was perfect during the run. Towards the end of the 6 miler I was able to run comfortably in just my tank top.

I was originally planning to run 8 miles, since I only ran 6 last week, but then I came to my senses. Last week's 6 miler was for recovery and this week's for taper. I would rather have the extra recovery and fresh legs for Sunday's race than over do it just to get in more miles. We ran today's 6 miles using 2:30/1 intervals, which is what I plan to use for the race, and almost a minute per mile faster than last week. I was feeling it in my legs and hips by the end of the 6 miles and thought it best to not push further. We had several runners join us that had not been out in a while. It was so nice to see them all again and catch up.

By the time I got home at 9:30 am, I had also biked over 9 miles mostly against a headwind. I had errands to run, but I knew I had to change into dry warmer clothes or I'd freeze, so I went home first. I did 25 minutes of yoga as soon as I got home. As usual, I just wing it with the poses I know work best for after a run, but this was a really great yoga session. I was in the zone and was able to flow from one pose to the other stretching out my whole body. I was tempted to do a core/strength workout, but I was getting hungry so I called it quits. After showering and eating breakfast, I got back on my bike to run a few more errands. I was getting tired and the wind wouldn't quit, so I kept it to a minimum.

When I got back home and had lunch, I tackled my daily challenge which was to send out a postcard. This turned into quite the adventure. I've been meaning to participate in http://www.postcrossing.com/ for a while now, and this challenge finally  gave me the push to get it done. I had a postcard I bought at the LEGO store in Downtown Disney a long time ago for this that I never sent. I could not find it anywhere, so I went for a walk in search of one -- post office (closed), CVS, Publix, 7-11, random store -- and none sold them. I finally gave up and came home determined to just make my own. I checked one last time where I thought the post card ought to be and there it was all along. I had actually seen it this morning but thought it was something else. So I addressed it to the woman in Taiwan that postcrossing assigned me and is ready to be mailed when I get a stamp on Monday. I'm going to order some post cards with photos of Orlando that I or Jason have taken and send out a few more as soon as they come in.

But my adventure was not for nothing because I picked up some cream cheese frosting to make home made carrot cake. I bought Beth some carrot cake from Publix for her birthday on Friday, and really wanted to try my hand at a healthier version where I knew exactly what went into it. I know that as far as cakes go, carrot cake is far better than most, except for the frosting and all the sugar, but this version is not bad at all. It is made with whole wheat flour, mostly natural ingredients, and the only sweetener is honey. I used finely chopped raw apple instead of the canned pineapple and it turned out great.  Someday I'll try my hand at making the frosting too.

Marathon 1 vs 4 (30 Minute PR)

Two years ago, I ran my first marathon in 5:22. Two weeks ago, I ran it 30 minutes faster than that. What did I do differently? Below is a comparison chart between the two training cycles (June to February). 

Criteria	First	Last
date	February 28, 2010	February 12, 2012
training goal	finish; have fun	5 hours
base	less than 2 years; 24 races (3 half marathons)	almost 4 years; 70 races (3 marathons & 12 half marathons)
20+ miles training runs	3	6
longest training run	24 miles	31 miles
speed work	no track; 14 random races, mostly multi-sport	weekly track workouts; 9 races strategically substituting for comparable speed workouts
mid-week runs	2 x 3 miles; comfortable pace; ran alone	2 x 4-6 miles; tempo/race pace/track; ran with group
race w/group?	raced alone	raced with pace group
race intervals	1/1, 2/1, 3/1	2/1
goal pace	comfortable; held back at start	push it! leave it all out there
chip time	5:22	4:52

I attribute my improvement mainly to consistency and added endurance. I had a much bigger base going into it this time. I only missed a total of 4 runs on my training schedule, added more volume, but paid very close attention to recovery to ensure I didn't get injured. I also made it a priority to warm up before all mid-week runs and races to allow me to hit those hard paces without risking injury. Part of my additional mid-week milage came from these warm up runs, but it was still time on my feet at low risk. 

Becoming an Athlete

This year, I felt like a true athlete. I've felt like a runner pretty much from the moment I ran my first 5K, but it's been kicked up a notch this year. Sure, my increase in speed has helped, but that's not really what defines an athlete. For me, it was been the consistency and determination to train for a goal that seemed so utterly out of reach just 2 years ago. When I ran my first marathon, I just wanted to do it once and finish with a smile on my face. I wanted to enjoy it, and I enjoyed every bit of that race and the training leading up to it. Before I finished training for it, I knew I'd do it again. 

This time, I didn't take the easy route. I wasn't in it just to finish, but I wanted to go big! I've given every part of myself this time, running in imaginable conditions from scolding heat to pouring rain to freezing temps, and it's paid off in a big way. I only ran 10 races this season, but this season was about quality, not quantity. I finished with a personal best at 7 of those races, but I never jeopardized marathon training to do it; most were actually run not much faster than marathon race pace. I dug deep this season, and I know it's still only the tip of the iceberg of my potential. I can't wait to see what next season will bring! :)

Three Things Thursday: Speed, Planks, Push Ups

#1 Speed Work: I dabbled in a bit of speed this week. I ran 3 miles at half marathon race pace on Tuesday with an average pace of 10:20. It had been a while since I've averaged below an 11-min/mi pace, so it was a little tough but totally doable. I was sure to stretch well after. I felt fine this morning, so I tried 400s at the track. Since it's been a while and I just ran a marathon less than 2 weeks ago, I kept the goal a bit conservative but nailed it. I again stretched well and my legs feel really good. I'm going to take it a little easier next week as I taper for the half marathon next Sunday. If the weather cooperates, I'm going to attempt an aggressive goal. If not, I have another the following week :)

#2 Planks: On Monady, I tried this plank workout (or rather fitness test) that Steve in a Speedo posted where you alternate between standard and side planks every 3 breaths for as long as you can. If you can last 9-10 minutes, your core is strong. I gave up after 5 minutes. I probably could have pushed myself to do the whole 10 minutes, but it had been weeks since I did any core work and I didn't want to press my luck, plus I was getting bored and had to get ready for work. It was a great workout for sure. My abs were sore for days and are finally back to normal today. I'm going to give it another try soon, but probably after my next 2 races. I sure don't want to race with sore abs. I also found this other combo plank workout recently that I may try too.

#3 Push Ups: Now that marathon training is over, and my wrist pain went away, I want to start a strength routine that's more than just yoga. So yesterday after yoga I did a bunch of push ups of different types (standard, wide, narrow, spades, negatives, staggered) and a few planks. After adding up the fit deck cards from the various push ups I did, I saw that I did a total of 40 push ups (all on my knees to not put undue stress on my wrist). I struggled a little during, but was able to finish them. I'm certainly paying for it today. My arms and shoulders are really sore. I'm going to start the 100 push up challenge again soon, but on my knees because I don't want to aggregate my wrist for fear of not being able to do downward dog during my yoga routines :)

Looking Up

Today was a much better day. I started with 30 minutes of yoga at home, planks and push ups, a 3/4 mile walk to the bus while sipping my homemade breakfast smoothie, then 10 minutes of yoga on the bus. I love starting my day with yoga, even if it's just 10 minutes of upper body stretches while sitting on the bus and having everyone thing I'm crazy :) I sometimes just close my eyes and focus on my breathing and it sets the tone for the day.

Things just kept looking up from there, literally, because this was my daily challenge today:

Take a break today and look up at the sky. Spend two minutes watching the clouds drift by, and try to find shapes and images in them like you did when you were small. Take note of any birds or other objects in your field of vision. If the sun has already set, spend some time looking at the stars. Try to find your favorite constellations, or make up new ones based on what you see.

That's just so perfect! I walk another 3/4 mile from the bus stop to my office every morning, and today I had leadership training so that's an extra 1/2 mile to HR. I got off the bus one stop earlier, chose my mellow station on pandora, and made it a point to look up at the sky and enjoy my surroundings during the almost 30 minute, 1.5 mile walk to HR instead of playing with my phone. I didn't spot any shapes in the clouds, but I enjoyed looking at all the different patterns, the blue sky peeking through the white clouds, as well as some grey because it was partially overcast. I noticed the sun peeking through some clouds and trees, playing peek-a-boo throughout the walk. I saw a few birds flying and followed one until it left my field of vision, and I even saw a plane. I felt the cool air and noticed the colors of all the flowers in bloom. I was almost sad to see my walk come to an end.

I need to remember to be present more often during my daily walks and just enjoy the peace instead of fiddling with my phone. This is why I really want to tackle the Wonderful Walks track next, because even though I walk every single day, I often take them for granted.

Inner Strength

Today started off well with a speedy run, 3 miles @ 10:20 pace, but then I got dealt a curve ball. I'm not going to go into details, but suffice it to say that all I wanted to do all day was go home and crawl into bed. Being already at work, I figured it best to just finish the day and stay distracted, so my next impulse was to finally rip open the 2 boxes of girl scout cookies I've been saving and devour them. Nothing like some good ol' emotional eating to make everything better, right? But I recognized it for what it was, and I resisted the urge. I never thought I was an emotional eater, but I guess I can be if I don't pay attention. I also never considered myself overly emotional, but the older I get the more things seem to affect me. I think I cry a lot easier now than when I was younger because I can feel the gravity of things much more as an adult than as a child. But I am also a lot stronger; I have to be. I just tried to hang on to that good feeling from this morning's run to try to get through this tough day and it helped … a little.