Whatever works

So after negotiating our butts off, our house is finally under contract! Now just comes 8.000 different inspections, and provided the house isn't in horrible shape, it will be ours on December 16th!

Yesterday I got a great workout in, which did include a whole bunch of heavy squats. My back has been bothering me lately so I belted up.

#185 for 5 reps, x4

I always tell myself I'm gonna run a couple miles over the weekend. But it almost never happens because my leg day is usually Friday and I'm way too sore to run. So yesterday I just ran after I was done lifting. Brought my running shoes, a pair of running shorts, and a pullover cause it was like 40 degrees. Made sure to wear a bra I can run in. So I just changed, took a GU for some energy, and headed out to the sidewalk that runs along the road by the gym. My Fitbit's batteries were dead, and I also discovered the battery on my Milestone Pod was dead too. So I have no idea, but I guesstimate close to 2 miles. My legs were mad at me for the first few minutes but they acclimated and I started to feel pretty good. And NOW I'm sore, but it doesn't matter because I don't lift again until tomorrow! I think this is something I'm gonna start doing on the regular, as long as I have time on that day.

Post lifting run!

That's about it for now. My husband is really sick right now so hopefully I don't get it and remain 3 for 3 on not getting sick this year.

Gym, running, life

My muscles are feelin it, yo

Thursday ended up being this rando full body workout I made up on the spot. I was 5 minutes late for bootcamp and their rule is if you miss the 5 minute warm up jog you can't do class. Oh well, that just meant some creative thinking on my part. How could I get some cardio and lifting done on the weights side of the gym? It went something like this

Power cleans #75 -  5 sets of 10 (ooof)
Turkish get ups

Then I loaded up #65 for 10 of each, 3 sets
Deadlift
RDL
Row
Squat
Press
Good morning

Then -
Kettlebell swings
Burpees
Jump rope

That was enough to get me tired.

Stretching buddies

This morning I got a 2.5 mile run in, and a few steps in I realized I forgot my watch. I could have gone like 20 feet back into my house to get it but I was like nahh... I'll go without this time and see what happens. Some people say it's better to run "naked" because you can just dial in to your natural pace and not worry so much about what the clock says. At the end of my run I had some idea of how fast I went because of my Milestone pod, and as it turns out I was somehow a little faster than normal today. I was struggling though - 80 and humid, I didn't have any real pain but my legs were just sort of fatigued this morning. During the first half of my run I noticed a really strong cologne smell that was just lingering around the air. Even without my watch I have a good idea of mile markers on my usual running route. How about this.. I seriously didn't pass the guy until 1/4 mile later that's how strong this stuff was. When I was actually near him I was coughing and practically choking from the stuff, it was so potent and disgusting. It's bad enough that the hot humid air is already trying to choke me to death. Yay, Columbia residents!

Today we got rained out of our climbing trip again but instead we're going to go play some racquetball. My husband got into it while he was stationed in Korea and now we're finally gonna play together

I'm going to be watching some of the Olympics, especially weightlifting. This is the first year I've really been excited about it, maybe because I was never active myself until 2012. Somehow this year I have a better appreciation for the talent of the athletes.

Can I just get new legs?

Sigh.

On top of dealing with my on again off again hamstring problems with the left leg, my right leg apparently wants to join the party too.

The right leg has historically had problems with running. I used to have hip pain and a chronic knot in that calf. These are all problems that only happen when I run and not when I lift. The hip doesn't always hurt, but with enough miles/use the calf thing is a given and I have to massage it constantly. Today things were bad. I did wear my compression sleeves because I knew it would be sore, but I still ended up with pain all over my right leg. Hip, calf, medial shin, and ankle today! What the heck is going on? The good thing is I didn't notice much pain during running, but the instant I stopped I was actually limping because of it! When I got home I spent a good while massaging the calf and it feels much better now which is a very good sign. I know this is all muscular, and it probably has to do with a tight hip and the fact that the right ankle overpronates pretty bad. I know all these things are connected, and it'll just be a matter of getting back my running strength and figuring out which tight muscles are the problem. 

I had a good run until I stopped. And tomorrow I have a massage scheduled which is gonna be much needed. I have put myself through it lately, active 6x a week WHILE on a calorie restricted diet for fat loss. I guess it's no wonder things hurt a little. I will roll out and rest up for tomorrow, and possibly tape up the hamstring for my super barbell complex which will likely leave me on the floor. It's so good though. 

Even if stuff hurts, I'd rather be doing what I do than doing nothing at all.

Miles and Burpees

Yesterday I got my butt to the gym for a killer back/shoulders workout. I deadlifted in here too just cause I don't like to DL and Squat on the same day. Pull ups, rows on the cable and TRX, heavy lat pulldowns, then some shoulder work like face pulls and landmine presses. My right shoulder is acting up again and my neck has been bothering me for like a week now. I thought I just slept on it wrong but it is still really tight and painful. I'm massaging it as best I can, and it's been a little while since I last got an actual massage. So I made an emergency appointment - it's not with Pam but something is better than nothing. The shoulder work seems to have helped ease the pain/weirdness in my right shoulder, but overall my back is tight and sore from all the work and my neck is still angry.

As I was finishing up yesterday Adam came in to do his burpee mile. It's a mile of long jumps and burpees, and he planned to do this all inside on the turf/walkway. He brought in a device that measures distance so he could calculate how many laps he would have to do. I had to go take a shower and get ready for work, but 15 minutes later when I came out he had gone 400 ft and was already totally drenched in sweat.

He was taking them slow, which is probably the best strategy. He figured this would take several hours. I had to leave so I couldn't watch for very long but T came in to cheer him on. I was like "I did 20 burpees?" cause they were just part of my HIIT stuff at the end of lifting. There's no way I could do a burpee mile, I would absolutely die.

Today I ran 3 miles and it felt ok. I'm slow as shit anymore. Thankfully I have a heart rate monitor so I know I am working my absolute hardest - it was in "threshold" between 160-175 but the pace was only like 10:30. That feels so slow to me, but oh well. I'm working hard, I FEEL like I'm working hard, and that's the important thing. My husband and I were talking about half/full marathons and he asked if I would ever do a full... I said it's probably going to be a bucket list thing for me, but I need to get to a place where I feel confident enough with my running and then train for all that mileage. Definitely not until after we move back to GA and I also need time for my body to adjust because I'll be doing Crossfit. Once I feel like I'm in a good place I may train for a full. It'll definitely be a destination race, maybe somewhere out west (that isn't too hilly) or a city with alot of character like New Orleans. We shall see :)

Ups and Downs

I haven't been active as much as I'd like this week. But the days I did have been awesome.

Monday - squats #155, bench #40's plus a host of other leg/upper body things. I also had this insane idea to start going "heavy" on my Turkish Get Ups. A #18 bell was used, up from the #10 I usually do. I plan on doing more of these and seeing what I can get up to without dying

Tuesday nothing... and Wednesday I ended up staying home with a bad migraine and pretty much slept half the day.

But today..

Went to class on my day off. It was one of my better days, I powered through and got several rounds of each station in before time was called. One of the stations today was weird, it was like a stability ball hamstring curl but it was also kind of a side twist. It ended up being nearly impossible to do but my squad was really impressed by the fact that I could do them at all. I liked how the song "Wobble" was playing while we did them, cause that was definitely what was happening! Family Time was a bit brutal today, bear crawls, running, then burpees straight into more bear crawls.

After we were done I was chatting with Adam because he seemed way too excited about the burpees. Come to find out he had just run a Spartan Beast, so of course we ended up talking forever. Then T came up to us and asked if I wanted to go running. Like.. now? After class? Hmmm... I'm sure I could manage a couple of miles, but I don't have the shoes or bra I run in. But Adam is wearing Nano's so I don't really have an excuse. "How fast do you run?" "8-10 min/mile" Hmmm ok. Ah screw it, I'll go running. They started their watches and we set off on T's predetermined route on the sidewalks and neighborhoods outside our gym. We chatted for a bit, well as best I could while running. During the last mile we encountered some hills and it was getting harder for me to keep up with them. I haven't run in nearly 2 weeks. But I made myself run the hills and did whatever it took to stay just behind them. Ended up being 2.7 miles and I heard Adam call out 9:40 for mile 2's pace. I didn't die - it was actually pretty fun. I'm always looking for ways to work harder, so perhaps this is one of them. I'm going to start bringing my running shoes to class just in case T is there and wants to run.

After our run we chatted more and T said "You're like the poster girl for Crossfit, you're so muscular!" Welllll I dunno about all that, but thanks :) Made me feel good anyway

Chipotle and lying down on the couch really hit the spot after all that..

Speaking of running, I'm starting to slip again so I resolve to run at least once a week if not more. Tomorrow I lift some more, then run 2 or 3 on Saturday.

I have a problem

It's been another good yet busy week for me. A little update too - my shin isn't hurting anymore. Seems like not using an insole is the ticket. However, my calves and feet are on fire during/after a run because they're not used to doing all the work. This is temporary and I'd much rather deal with this than shin pain.

On a sort of but not really related note, for those that don't know I work at a running store and therefore have alot of shoes. Like I mean a ridiculous amount of shoes. Especially lately I've gotten alot of freebies and my husband is just like "Really??" So last week he took it upon himself to round up every shoe I have and dump them on me and take a picture.

So here we have it.

I'll try to list them all out starting from my head. About half of these were free or incredibly cheap for me

Newton Motion (3?) - future running shoes
Newton Kismet x2  - future running shoes
Reebok Nano 4.0  - lifting shoe
Mizuno Wave Inspire  - wear to work
Newton Distance 5  - future running shoes
Saucony Kinvara 5 - used mainly for Soldierfit classes
Vibram Bikila - used mainly for lifting
Newton Kismet (purple) current running shoe
Nike Free Flyknit 4.0 - everyday/work shoe
Altra Torin 2 - potential running shoe
Mizuno Prophecy (3?) - work
Saucony Peregrine 5? - trail shoe
Adidas Pure Boost X - wear to work/around town
Saucony Triumph 2 - for work
Nike Pegasus Flash 32 (men's) - wear around, especially if it's raining
Adidas Energy Boost 3 - for work/but it hurts my toes
Nike Metcon 2 - lifting shoe
Under Armor Apollo - everyday/gym/Soldierfit
I think some random Merrell casual shoes are here too
Adidas Energy Boost 2 - retired work shoe
Brooks Launch 3 - work/everyday
Nike Free Run Distance - work/everyday
Nike Vomero 10 x2 - work/everyday
Mizuno Wave Hayate - work shoe
There's another black and white Nano 4.0 in here somewhere, men's 8.5 that was given to me

And there you have it. A stupid amount of shoes. I will give some to a co worker before I move, but may also buy more for future purposes, for example an Oly lifting shoe

I am a girl and I have a shoe problem, but not like you'd think :)

Running - problem solving

The saga continues as I try to figure out what's at the root of this pain I've been having in my right shin. And I think I'm making some progress.

I largely attribute this pain to getting back into running consistently after some time off. I have the same shoe nearly a year ago when I was running 10-15 miles a week and even ran a half marathon in it with virtually no problems.

But wait, last summer I got my insoles and started using them in my shoe...

I had used them sparingly over the last 6 months, then in Jan/Feb I started running 2-3 x a week on the treadmill, and am now running outside. At first I thought they were working well enough, I even noticed I feel less overpronation when I wear them. But now that this pain is creeping up it led me to consider.. could it be my insoles?

I think the answer is a partial yes. Today I ran 3 miles without my insoles and noticed a difference right away. No shin pain until the very end of my run, which allowed me to run faster and complete the same run in a 10:24 pace vs a 10:38 pace 2 days ago. My heart rate was in the aerobic zone instead of the "easy" zone. My efficiency improved (180 cadence, higher leg swing, lower rate of impact) and I overall felt "lighter" on my feet. Without my insoles it was like the pain shifted over to my right calf, probably because my feet had to work harder to absorb the impact and stabilize my ankles. Calf pain I can deal with, for 2 years I've had a chronic knot on that side and I know it's cause that is my weaker ankle.

So yeah, I'm pretty sure that is what's going on. I have tried for a year to use the insoles we sell at my work, my first pair was made wrong and caused achilles pain in both sides which was totally new to me, and it looks like the second pair just isn't gonna work either. I make and sell insoles every day and almost every day we get returns. I find that they work for some people but not others. Every day I have people telling me how the insoles got rid of their knee/heel/etc pain and allowed them to run again... then I get some people who say they didn't notice a difference, and then some people who actually had more pain after using them. Sadly I seem to fall into that last group. Maybe part of it is me being a mid to forefoot striker, and coming down directly on that plastic plate is stressing my shins and arches? Our insoles aren't even that hard compared to something like Superfeet or orthotics. I dunno. I'm just glad I'm getting somewhere with this. Now I figure I just keep my mileage low yet consistent, and in time it'll work itself out.

Altra Torin 2.0

A few weeks ago we had an Altra clinic at my work. The rep came in to talk about all the Altra shoes and tell us why they're different. I have wanted to try them for myself for awhile and I know several people who run in them and swear by them. 

Basically their concept is zero drop shoes (not to be confused with BAREFOOT or MINIMAL shoes) that still offer decent cushion and protection from the ground, yet allow you to run in a more natural form. Altra feels that the traditional running shoe is so built up with heel cushioning that it forces the heel to strike first, which is not a natural pattern and therefore could lead to injury. So in the quest to help people with their injuries they created shoes with an even platform from heel to toe (zero drop) and a more foot shaped toe box to help the toes spread out naturally during a run. All of this sounds right up my alley, so when I got these babies I was super excited

The Torin 2.0! 

I love the color!

... And my cat who was super curious about this shoe box. 

So the Torin - a highly cushioned shoe, which normally I shy away from but when I compared it to the Intuition I found I liked the feel of the Torin better. It seemed softer. I considered getting the Provision which is their stability model for overpronators like me, but my store doesn't sell it and the rep only had an 8.5 to try on which was way too small, so I couldn't really get an idea of the shoe. The rep said I should be fine in the Torin. Altra doesn't believe in stability in the traditional sense, as they don't do medial posting and put their stability in the forefoot because the toes should provide stability when they land. 

Anyway - this morning I tested them and here are my thoughts

This shoe felt great. It's really light. There's alot of cushion, perhaps more than I'm used to, but this is good news for distance runners/anyone who needs cushion. Yet I could feel my lower leg muscles working as is customary with a zero drop shoe. Now, I do have some problems at the moment. I took some time off from running and am now running 2-3 times a week and trying to increase mileage slowly. I'm experiencing some shin pain particularly on my right side, which is pretty new to me and I attribute it to my body getting used to running again. I had no issues for the past year in the same shoes, but then after I took a break and came back I suddenly have pain. So everything kind of hurts right now, but in this shoe I continued to have pain. I even had some pain in my arch which never bothers me during my run, although it can feel sore after a run sometimes. I also had issues with the fit of my left shoe, my heel was sliding around all over the place. Already laced it to prevent heel slippage. I could wear a thicker sock but I think it will still be an issue that would prevent me from using these shoes on longer runs, it's just way too distracting. I wanna use these shoes for shorter distances. They feel really good and the toe box isn't constricting like so many other shoes out there. One of my left toes did hit the end of the shoe but that may be a matter of my toenails being a little long at the moment. But I definitely couldn't go down in size because of this. I ended up in a 9.5, which is possibly too short but too big for my tiny ass heels. 

I wanted this shoe to be perfect for me. And it's so close... but there's just a couple issues with the fit that might not make it work for long distances. I'm going to keep testing it and try to fix the fit, and once my body adjusts to running again hopefully I can really get a better feel for these shoes. This is just the first of many runs with my Torin :)

When simply DOING it is your best effort

Ufff...

I'm beyond tired. My SOUL is tired

Today I was struggling to get off the couch and it hit me.... I'm doing way too many things at the same time and I may need to back off a little. I have read about overtraining and burning out. Right now I feel like my body is trying to tell me to chill for a minute

Lifting heavy after 2 months off
Running 2-3 times a week after 6 months off/not being consistent
Building running mileage
Doing Soldierfit at least once a week, some of which is a whole new type of training for me
That leaves 1 rest day, but this week it's gonna have to be 2. I just can't

This is Tuesday and it's my day off, so it's my long run day. Right now "long" is 5 miles. I dunno what happened today, but it just was not a good run at all. I was so tired. Everything from the knees down just hurt. I felt like I was exerting myself way harder than I actually was. None of the songs that came on were what I wanted to listen to at the moment, like I didn't get that "pick me up" song to energize my spirit. The upside was the weather was gorgeous. Sunny, 50 degrees, running in shorts. Still, that was the worst run I have had in awhile. As I approached the turn around point I told myself I was only gonna do 4 today. Wait... 4.5, that's a compromise. No. I'm doing all 5 today. I didn't suffer through this to turn back a measly half mile from my goal. Really, what's another half mile? So at that point I stopped listening to myself and just made my legs keep moving forward. Hit the turn around point, fate is sealed it's gonna be 5. I wanted to stop and walk so bad. I just had absolutely no energy. Must have been a combination of being tired from other forms of training/getting used to running again/possibly not eating enough yesterday and this morning. Thank god I brought a GU with me, it quite possibly saved my run. And this run was so damned SLOW, my pace was 11:30! I haven't seen those numbers in a LONG time.

But... I did what I set out to do without compromise. And some days, that's all you can ask for. Sometimes due to whatever circumstances, simply getting something DONE is your maximum effort. And that's ok. I know there were forces holding me back, and I know I'm capable of better.

Sometimes I think back to 2 years ago and wonder why I'm not as fast as I was back then. I'm heavier now, back then I was nothing but a runner and had developed that type of body. I am a weightlifter now too, and as a result I am heavier. But, with time and work I can still be faster. I am also out of practice. Back then I ran more and was able to focus solely on it. Now I have so much going on that running isn't my #1 priority, so of course I won't be as fast. With any luck I will at least get a little better now that I'm training consistently again.

So yes, I think I will rest tomorrow and then if I feel alright I may sprint on Sunday. Sleep is gonna be magic tonight!

Running outside and Waffles

Whew! I'm pretty spent. I've done alot this week and wrapped it up with a 4 mile run. I got to go outside! It's been a LONG time since I ran outside, just with snow/ice/15 degree weather.. the treadmill has been my companion. So I'm back outside, hopefully for good, and building mileage back up slowly once again. I will probably max out at 8 miles for long runs, and if there's a longer distance race I'm training for I will step it up to 10. I didn't run much over the last 6 months and it definitely shows. I have some new shin/ankle pain (shankle?) happening and I figure it can be 1 of 3 things

- Getting used to running again (probably the issue)
- Shoes. Mine have 200 miles on them so I don't think it's the shoes
- Insoles. I didn't use them last year but kept the same shoe and had no issues.

It's probably getting used to running regularly after some time off... but with any running related pain you have to keep an eye on things - Are your shoes too old? In my case, probably not. I feel I could get at least another 100 miles out of them. Have you changed anything? Yes - my insoles. I used them during the last half of the year but I was maybe running once a week whereas now I'm running 2-3 times a week consistently, and increasing mileage too. So it's something to consider. If the pain doesn't subside I'll experiment with different options. That's always what I tell my customers to do - I give them homework. Try a new shoe, try not using an insole, etc.

My husband made amazing waffles for breakfast and I told him to save some batter for after I got back from my run. I ate them with some coffee about an hour afterwards and it was just awesome

Now for some much deserved rest

zzzZZZzzz..

So I've been really active lately and I'm super tired because of it

Lifting Thursday... Ran 3 Saturday, did sprint intervals Sunday, lifted today...

I did the intervals and today I did a complex because both of them are good fat burning exercises. Right now I'd like to trim off some of the pudge I've accumulated lately. My calves are super tight and I know I'll have more sore muscles in the morning. That complex had me covered in sweat and shaking

I have been running on treadmills lately because there's tons of snow and ice around here. Going to the gym every day + work uniform + at home clothes = so much laundry!

I'm also trying not to eat so much crap. Protein, fruits, veggies, some bread/rice, and a couple pieces of chocolate at night. So far it's going well and I feel pretty good. I don't eat perfectly healthy but I am at least trying not to eat so much convenience/fast food, snacks, sweets... etc.

So yeah, I'm super tired. But to me this feels better than having too much energy at night, I like feeling like I have exerted myself at the end of the day.

Exercise = good

First full week of being active again is a success

It feels sooooo good!

Ran 5 miles total, would have been 6 but yesterday I ran out of time and had to cut my run short.
Full body workout over the course of 2 days
And I'm about to go to the gym with my husband to do more stuff

Everything feels so much better... I don't feel like such a pile of crap, I feel calm and happy... Sleeping way better, I'm out within 30 minutes of lying down (makes it hard to watch movies though) and bathroom stuff is back to normal too.

I have also noticed that I feel much better at work. After the initial pain of my injury subsided I was still having pain at work. I do alot of squatting and bending down during at typical day, and any deep squatting was really hard because of reduced range of motion, lots of tightness in my back and hamstrings. This week it's been awesome and I can squat down with no pain. I'm also in a much better mood overall which makes it easier to deal with the occasional asshole customer.

So basically... I'm not sure I did the right thing by waiting so long to run and lift again. I have never had an injury like this before so I thought I was doing the right thing in being cautious and taking my time to heal. But it turns out exercising is actually helping significantly, and doing nothing seemed to make it worse. I'm still having a little bit of pain sometimes but it's so much better than it was.

I'm back at it with almost as much fire and intensity as before. Not lifting super heavy just yet but I'm working just as hard. There is some pudge to be shed off of my body so I'll be adding in some complexes and interval sprints soon.

The Squatpocalypse

After a few weeks of deloading - taking a break from lifting really heavy and just lifting like 60-70% of my 1rm for more reps - I squatted heavy on Monday and am paying for it dearly. Only like 155 4 sets of 5 reps. I have done heavier before. Yet my legs are acting like I've never done a squat before. WTF.

It was so bad that I was incapable of deadlifting yesterday. My quads literally cramped up when I tried. So I moved on and focused on other back-like exercises, and finished it off with some kettle bell stuff. Apparently my legs don't want me to deadlift but they're perfectly ok with Turkish Get Ups. I haven't done them in a long ass time (April? May?) and they have always been a killer for me. Yet somehow I found them to be alot easier, my knee didn't hurt at all while in the lunge position, and while I did feel tired at the end I found I had much more endurance than before, WITH a slightly heavier weight than I used back then. Guess it's a sign of overall improvement in fitness. Yay!

This morning I went running (my legs no longer feel like death) and this time I was fully aware of how to use my new watch's heart rate display. It was mostly either in the green/aerobic zone, or the orange/threshold zone. However it kept randomly crapping out after the first mile and was showing like 90 bpm, which is not possible. So my average HR ends up being like 120. But at least I figured out that it's all screwy, and when it DOES show my actual HR it's where it needs to be, and that I am pushing myself. So I guess the pace I am running at is right for me at this point. It's a little frustrating because I know I used to be faster than this 2 years ago, but I am also not training as often - lately it's been 1-2 times a week with an average of 3 miles each run. I'd like to get out there 3 times a week with one long run of up to 8 or 10 miles. But I'm training differently now, with much more of an emphasis on lifting, whereas 2 years ago I did not lift at all. I'm 170lbs muscular vs 160 lbs of not-muscle. I think that if I train more and work on intervals at least once a week, I can get down to like a 9 min mile. And I need to do a better job of pacing myself, which is something I'm normally good at but lately I'm just too focused on trying to go fast.

I'm happy to say that my husband is lifting at my gym almost every day after he gets out of work. He's even doing DEEP SQUATS - he can't really squat heavy because he doesn't have great balance as a result of his foot surgeries. So we've both been hobbling down the stairs and grunting like old people. Even though our schedules only match up to lift together once a week I'm glad that he is going on his own time.

So that's all for now, gonna relax for a bit before heading to work.

Milestone Pod

It's been a busy week - full of learning!

A couple reps have visited my store and trained us on some products. One of them was a massage stick and the other was this cool thing known as the Milestone Pod.

I got a free one! They only had pink but that's ok, I appreciated the free gift

This thing is really cool. It's a little thing that you lace onto your shoe and then just go for a run. No waiting to connect to satellites *cough*NIKE*cough*  because it runs on a watch battery that's good for up to a year and operates independently of satellites or internet connections. When you get home you just turn on your phones bluetooth and it syncs. It tells you things like distance, pace, cadence, ground contact time, stride length, foot strike type, rate of impact, and then gives you a Runficiency score. The only downside is you can't see your pace/distance/etc while you run because the pod is on your foot. It doesn't display any data in real time. I do like knowing where I'm at because I want to push myself if I'm going too slow. But the best part is this thing costs 20 bucks! That's a huge bargain compared to most watches costing $100-500.

I took mine out for a run this morning and here's what it had to say.
(I also wore my watch and it once again couldn't connect until half a mile in. I turned it on anyway to see what it would tell me vs the Pod)

3.57 miles - Interesting, Nike usually tells me this same run is about 3.1
406 Calories
5,844 steps
32:50, 9:11 Pace. That's interesting too. My watch said 10:34 pace. Now, I *know* I was going faster than 10:34. The watch dropped connection at least twice that I know of during this run. It's been bugging out like crazy lately. So I don't think I trust it's pace estimate anymore. However, I still don't know if I was actually a 9:11 average pace. I am ordering a new watch so we'll see how this compares.
Foot strike - 100% heel. Now I know this is a lie. I think one time I hit my heel because of a bump in the path. But I'm always up on my midfoot or toes. I think this error is because I run in the Newtons and maybe the lugs hitting the pavement are throwing off the pod's sensors.
Cadence - 178. This is a stat I have been curious about for a long time because my watch can't measure it. They say you want it to be around 180 and I'm pretty much there. Yay!
Stance time - 285. This is the time in milliseconds where your foot is on the ground. I'm not sure what good is, but the graph had space for 100-500. It says most elites are under 200. So I guess mine is decent??
Rate of impact - 43% low, 57% mid, 0% high. How quickly force is transferred from the ground to your legs, high impact can lead to injury. All good there.
Stride length - 39. Average distance between the heel strike of one foot. Not sure if this is good, it just says this depends on your height
Leg swing - 4% low, 96% mid. Angle between your calf and hamstring measured during leg swing

Runficiency score - 76.  According to the Milestone Pod website the average score is 72. I'm better than average, woohoo! Looking at the graphs it seems like the efficiency of my form vs my pace is telling me that I could technically run faster. I wasn't trying to go fast - this was really just an "average" run for me.

This is a really cool little gadget that showed me some great stats about my running form that I never knew before. I've been curious about whether or not I have "good" form and it seems that I do, and now I know where I can use some improvement. Pretty awesome for only 20 bucks!

Fall running

I'm so happy to be running in the fall - where the temps are around 50 and it's just beautiful outside

This is literally what I see when I step out my front door. I don't really dig this state because of all the buildings, traffic, and people, but it is a beautiful place once you take all that away.

Today's run was 6 miles. A little slower than normal, probably because during the first couple miles I felt some minor pain in my shins and ankles, probably my body getting used to running distance again after some time off. Also my left arch has been tight lately so I'm massaging it often. But this was a great run. 50 degrees, sunny, beautiful fall colors surrounding me, and there was a nice strong breeze so every few minutes it would come along and cool me off. The breeze also brought red and orange leaves down from the trees and they were falling all around me during my run. Very pretty.

My watch did ok too. Guess it's something I just need to keep my eye on.

Can it always be like this please?

38 degree bliss

It's Sunday and I'm proud to say I have finished out a week of being active 5 days a week. We missed the gym yesterday because my husband is sick. I could have gone by myself but ehhh... lol. A nice 5 miler on Thursday, complete with witnessing a guy pissing in the woods with his pants down. I was far away, but I saw some things. So awkward. My calves are kinda sore from running on a regular basis again. They're not used to being worked regularly. This morning I'm happy to say I was greeted by a chill 38 degree morning for my run. It was so amazing. Usually once I'm like 2 miles in the air will start to feel suffocating because I've gotten so hot. But this time I was nice and cool. I could have worn shorts and a t shirt but I wore long sleeve and capris to play it safe. Yes, 38 degrees is what it takes for me to be comfortable running. I think that's just a little bit crazy.

I have lost a little weight by eating a little better and cutting back on sugar.
But once a week I indulge

It's not hard to lose running fitness

Ok, so as you may know I have struggled with motivating myself to run this summer. I had some good momentum up until it got really hot outside, hmmmm wonder if the two are connected? Between June and September I think I ran all of 5 times, not counting a 1 or 2 miler in the gym about once a week. I want to fall back in love with it and make running a regular thing again, and aso shed some extra pounds that have crept back on.

And I gotta say, it does not take long to lose running fitness. I always go out there after some time off like "Ehhh I'll be fine!" But to give it some perspective, the last 2-3 weeks my pace has averaged in the 10-10:30 minute mile, on 3 mile runs, and that's with some effort. I ran a hilly half marathon in May with an average pace of 10:20. Yikes. I know I can eventually get back down to the 9's, it's just all about training consistently. I'll also be working some intervals in there about once a week.

Back to working out 6 days a week! My house is gonna look like this

Best Purchase Ever

It's Saturday - gym day! Except not. The Mr is not feeling 100%, he is getting over a bad cold so his sinuses are all stuffed up. So I thought hey, I'll go run. My legs are runnable now that it's been a few days after the Squatpocalypse.

The goal was to do 3-4 miles. I was feeling pretty good so I said hey, I'll do 5. I think I can make it without any water and be ok. Then about 1.5 miles in... bam, the path was closed because they were cutting down trees. Well shit. I turned back and just made it a 3 miler. Which is just fine by me, it's better than nothing. I kept it at a good pace of 9:57, despite feeling like I was on fire during the last mile. Sunny and 70 degrees really does feel like the surface of the sun while I'm running. Viking no like heat!

Came back and broke out the cooling towel! I found this thing on sale a few weeks ago and it's been amazing. Best purchase ever.

In case of running induced face fire, apply cooling towel to face and shoulders. Rinse and repeat!

DC Sprint Pics

I'm just absolutely flooding my blog with Spartan pics this summer.

 First we have this pic where my face pretty much sums up how I feel about this obstacle. Seriously though, that bucket carry wasn't so bad compared to what I've suffered through in the past! Note the clever use of the tree as a bucket rester by the gent behind me :)

Then a nice post- dunk wall picture for ya. Ptthhhbbbhh!

I love this one!

A nice sideways view of the fire crossing

DC Spartan Sprint

Once again the Trifecta is mine!

I got my third and final medal to make my 2015 Trifecta complete. This year the red medal came last, I got the hard stuff out of the way first I guess. Yesterday I was in southern MD for the DC Sprint. My heat was at 9:45, so I had plenty of time to check out the course map and find my buddy Leon who was volunteering in the morning and running in the afternoon.

He needs to work on his selfie

They warned us that there were bees all over the place. I immediately had flashbacks of getting stung at the Wildwood Games. But no bees stung me this time! My heat started with the announcer taking requests for the opening speech. He rallied us with the Mighty Ducks speech and it was amazing. Ducks Fly Together! This course was 4 ish miles, 23 obstacles. Elevation wouldn't be an issue compared to the other 2 races I did this year, but it was still pretty darn hilly! I power walked the hills and jogged the flat areas. This course reminded me alot of the SC Beast, and that's a good thing! The first obstacle was some log hurdles, then the 6 and 7 foot walls. I needed a boost over the 6 because it had no foothold. The 7 had a foothold, and just like I did in PA I got up it all by myself. Within that first mile we were assaulted by obstacles. The inverted wall - this time I got up it by myself, which I have done before but the last 2-3 times I needed a boost. Then the Stairway to Sparta, a wall with a ladder on top. I got up the wall by myself, but somehow found myself wedged underneath the first rung of the ladder. I had to drop back down and I ended up getting a boost from somebody. Once I figure out a good technique for it I'll be able to climb it by myself. Water station next, also fueled up here because I did not want this race to turn out like PA where I started having blood sugar crashes. I stayed on top of my nutrition yesterday. We had an Atlas carry here, this thing is just getting too damn easy for me. I owe it all to my deadlifting. Next, the 8 foot wall. Victory of the day - I climbed it all by myself! This wall has 2 footholds. I stepped on the first, put my left hand on the outer edge of the wall, put my foot on the second hold, then reached my right hand to the top of the wall, pulled myself up and moved my left hand to the top. So now I was hanging off the top with my feet on the higher foothold. I pushed myself up from hanging position. It was hard, I was shaking and my muscles almost gave out on me. I remember the volunteer cheering me on. I hung my arms over the wall and pushed. And then I was at the top. I'm proud, not many women make it over that wall without help. Immediately after the wall were the monkey bars. Did alot of pausing and swinging here to maintain momentum because their bars are so freaking far apart, but this was easy peasy. I can see how my grip strength has imrpoved because I wasn't struggling to hang on at any point. Not too far after the monkey bars... there was the bucket carry. As much as I hate this obstacle, I was pleasantly surprised because it was really not that bad! There were some hills, but it wasn't up a damn mountain and also it was in the shade. I only stopped 3 times. Maybe I just hate carrying objects up black diamond ski hills. But next, the sadistic course designer placed the Z walls in our way. First burpees of the day for me. 

And so ended the first onslaught of obstacles! All within the first mile! More hills in the woods, then a very easy wooded sandbag carry. We exited the woods again to find a water station, an A frame cargo which was a very slow climb because of all the people, then a slippery wall. As I was climbing it the girl next to me slipped and instantly screamed for help. A guy appeared at the top of my lane to help her, which was nice of him except for the fact that I couldn't climb up because he was in my way, and I was gripping the chain at the top and it was hard to hold on to. Asking for help is fine, but this girl didn't even TRY to get herself over the wall, just instantly screamed for help. I remember fighting for dear life when I slipped on this obstacle at my first Spartan 2 years ago. Anyway. Back in the woods for more trails. The hills were pretty relentless. But we were in the shade, I was having fun laughing with some other 9:45'ers (because Ducks Fly Together) and then before you knew it we were exiting the woods for the mud hills. These things were steep (look at how small the guy on the hill is in the picture) and they had no ropes. The hills got very slippery. I picked what looked like the driest section, got about halfway up, then I just slid down really slowly and splashed back into the water. There was just nothing to grab onto. I exited the pool on the side and climbed the hill from the side. It was still within bounds :) Later in the day I saw they put ropes up so it must have been pretty bad. Next - rope climb. The mud hills actually tired me out quite a bit. My upper body strength was sapped from all the obstacles early on. I got into the pit ready to rock but I realized there was no knot at the bottom. The first knot was like face level! I pulled myself up as high as I could with my arms and scrunched my legs up, but could not get my feet on the knot. I tried 3 times and it just wasn't gonna work. Bummer. I'll get it one of these days.

Back into the woods for a long stretch of running. The trails were flatter so I ran here, but eventually we encountered several pits of crazy thick mud. This was like Neverending Story level mud. Many shoes lost, people slipping all over the place. I slipped and fell on my ass, totally played it off and everyone around me just laughed. My left butt cheek hurt after that and I know the bruise will be colossal. After an eternity of trudging through the peanut butter mud, we found a cargo climb in the woods. One of the ones that's between 2 trees so it moves around on you. There was bottlenecking because the net was extremely slippery from the mud we had all just been through. Right as I was about to go, a girl fell off the top and landed on her head/neck!!! She lay there silent for a bit, eventually said she was ok but the medics were called and she was most likely pulled off the course. The girl in front of me screamed as she almost slipped off the top. I said nope, screw this and walked on past. I'm sorry, but my health isn't worth a silly obstacle. If that thick mud wasn't all over it I'd have no problem, I have done obstacles like that many times. That just seemed borderline unsafe to me so I made a judgement call. I did see alot of people sidelined, one ankle injury at the inverted wall, tons of people with cramps, and a guy throwing up on the side of a hill. My take on it is, yes you do sign a waiver but you should also use your judgement and walk away from anything that looks unsafe beyond reason. But back to the race - many more hills were climbed, then we faced an easy plate drag, the final water station which was much appreciated, and the multi bars - rings, then a softball??? then a pipe. More burpees for me, yay! Followed by a very slippery Herc Hoist, but still conquered with amazing swiftness by yours truly. I guided a fellow chick through it, ready to help out if needed because she was struggling pretty badly. It took her awhile but she did it. Spear throw next, barely missed it! At least I'm getting better at it though. 

Then at long last we entered the barb wire crawl. This was a good old muddy, watery, fun crawl. I felt like I was back home in GA again with that orange clay like mud. I took a few breaks but got through it in 8-10 minutes, even faster than some of the boys. Caked in glorious mud, I emerged from the crawl, jumped the fire, and crossed the finish. I received my red medal, and therefore my 2015 Trifecta. 

I went and found Leon who wanted to get a picture of me all muddy. I wished him well and then he headed off to go run his race. 

I had a freaking blast. I forgot how much fun the Sprints were, having not done one in over a year. I need to move back south, because I'm learning that I love Spartans just like this one, and the Carolina Super/Beast. They are challenging, muddy, and fun. The mountain races were just too difficult to the point where it wasn't fun anymore. I have no problem climbing hills, they're a good challenge and serve their purpose in creating a good race, but climbing mountains just for the sake of climbing isn't really what I want to do. If I wanna do nothing but hike then I'll go hiking. The mud is also considerably absent in the mountain races, and that's a huge part of what makes it fun for me. So with any luck we'll be back down south for the 2016 season and I'll be happy running the GA/SC races. 

I also said farewell to my Inov8's. They got me through a year of trail running, a half marathon, and like 8 OCR's. 

And my results - I did pretty damn good considering the fact I didn't even try to go fast whatsoever! I didn't run much at all and spent a lot of time bottlenecked at obstacles and helping other people out. It'll be interesting when I get really really good and actually try to go fast.

• Overall
  2,374th
  of 7,472
• Female
  510th
  of 2,630
• F25-29
  121st
  of 642