8 miles from hell

Uh. So I did my long run today...

Here's what I usually do. Legs at the gym on Monday, 2 short runs during the week, and a long run on Saturday so my legs are fully recovered by then. Circumstances changed this week because I was asked to help out at work on Saturday, leaving me Thursday to do a long run. My legs are still sore from Monday.

But I had to do it. This is my last chance to get a long run in before Tough Mudder. This weekend I work and next weekend I'll be in VA because my mother in law is getting married. So - had no choice but to STFU and go do it.

That being said, today's run was far from ideal.

Bad things
Slept in, woke up way too late
Took way too long to get moving today
Almost walked out the door forgetting keys and sunglasses
Forgot to put body glide on my thighs
Added a bunch of new songs to my playlist yet shuffle didn't play a single one, so it was all songs I was kind of tired of.
The heat.
The heat.
The motherf'n HEAT.

Things I did right
Brought my Camelback instead of my Nathan belt which means lots of water
Uh, I did it?


I knew sleeping in and not getting out the door until 10 was a bad idea because of the heat.

It. Was. RIDICULOUS.

I've said it many times before - I'm not made to run long distances in any weather over 70. I sweat uncontrollably, turn fire engine red all over, can't breathe, my head hurts, my pace is slow, and I just feel like I'm gonna die.

It was 83 and rising by the time I got out. By mile 2 I had regrets. My legs were already hurting. Here it was still pretty shady from the trees, but by the time I got to the lake which was around mile 3 I was struggling. There is a wide open field with a bunch of hills. Running hills in the sun sucks a big one. I began to question why the hell I was out here doing this. I was the only person crazy enough to. Yes there were other runners but surely none doing 8 miles in this mess, they would have had water with them. There was a girl wearing tights - really bitch? My skin is on fire and you're out here running in tights? Please go die. My legs felt like cinder blocks. I must have looked like I was near death because almost everyone I passed spoke to me (Couldn't hear exactly what with my headphones on) and usually they might just wave or not do anything at all.

I felt like I was in hell. I really did. There were so many moments where I thought about turning around. I actually started to at mile 3.5 but I made myself keep going to make 4. So many times I wanted to walk. But I refused to do it. I knew that moments like these is what it means to be an endurance athlete. Part of my training is learning how to "embrace the suck" so that when I am facing something like a Spartan Beast on a mountain, I have the mental toughness to push through it. The moments when I am suffering through a run, workout, or endurance race are the moments that make me better.

I have no regrets. Well maybe some, but do I regret doing it at all? No. I'm glad I got through it and I am in a good mood now, feeling good except for a mild headache. After my run I got some Chipotle, looked around at Dick's but didn't buy anything, went to Target for snacks, and had a really nice and funny conversation with my dad. Speaking of which, I must get my dislike for running in the heat from him because he was a cold weather runner himself. Or maybe I get it from my mom's side and I'm just a reincarnated Viking? Either way I guess I was doomed to suffer in the heat.

Now to finish out my week with a back workout, 1 more short run, and a rest day! And lots of work.

May Stridebox

Stridebox! Yay!

Ha. You better believe I earn my showers, and I have the sweat to prove it.

Glukos energy gel - This is weird! It's liquid, where the consistency of most other gels is.. well, gel. And it's a huge pack. Not sure how I will like this one? We'll see.
Massage ball - I have a Foot Rub which is similar, so I tucked this in with my mom's birthday presents because I figure maybe she can make good use of it. These things are awesome for your feet and hands.
GU Chews - It tasted just like a Ring Pop! Hah, memories. I had this before a 4 miler that was post-leg day, it really helped give me some extra energy to push through the soreness in my legs.
Osmo hydreation powders - Tried the mango one first, I didn't stir it well enough so most of it sat in the bottom and it resulted in me not really tasting the flavor. Tried the blackberry one, stirred it well but some still settled in the bottom. It tastes good though. I like the fact that these actually have sugar in them (Hello drink companies?? Athletes actually need sugar for energy and recovery!) As it gets hotter out I'm definitely gonna need a hydration product post run and even during long runs. I tend to get headaches out there in the heat and I think getting enough sugar/electrolytes prevents that.
Vitaperk - This is a vitamin powder that you put into your coffee! I'm gonna use this on a day when I really need some extra oomph, probably this Sunday's shift at work.
Tiger Balm patch - I have heard so many good things about Tiger Balm and I can't wait to use this. But I'll have to wait until I actually have a pain to use it on.
Bounce protein ball - This was a cute little mint chocolate protein ball! Sadly it didn't taste too great, not sweet enough and it had a bunch of seeds in it. It definitely needed more flavor to make the texture more palatable.


This has been a pretty good box from what I have tried so far!

Bad run, good run

3 days, 2 runs. 2 very different runs.

Friday I woke up with a very sore upper body. Ok, time to run instead. Planned on just 3 before driving to Rockville for work. Problem was, I didn't go to the bathroom before this run. Side note - I'm very "regular" if you know what I mean. Every morning like clockwork. The previous night I had to go but I held it because I wanted to watch a movie with my husband. Didn't go before my run either. This nearly resulted in a disaster. For the first 2 miles I was fine, then all of a sudden it became an absolute emergency. I stayed in the butter zone between not going too fast, but going fast enough to get me home so I could GO. By the time I got back to the lake near my house (2.7 miles) I could no longer run. There was just no way - something was gonna come out if I kept running. Stopped my watch, slowed down to a brisk powerwalk which I'm sure looked hilarious to others. But it worked and the crisis was averted.

That sucked.

So this morning I went out for 5 before work, headed to Rockville once again for a long day there. And this run was exactly the opposite of Friday's. Felt great, temperature was perfect so I wasn't overheated, negative splits, kept my pace nicely throughout the run with a nice sprint at the end, and most important of all I was just out there enjoying myself. Runs like this are the best! Happy to have redeemed myself from Friday's fail.

From today's run!

So, there you have it. The worst of runs and the best of runs!

Worst girl ever

Uh, so I have a problem. A shoe problem. My job has just fueled the habit.

I have -
Newton Kismet (road running)
Merrell Bare Access Arc (road running)
Inov8 Trailroc (trail running)  (About to buy a Saucony Peregrine to start rotating the Inov8's out cause they are near dead)
Reebok Nano (gym)
Vibram Bikila (??? Got it for $27 at work)
Saucony Kinvara (Mainly wearing to work, got for $27)
Nike Vomero (Got for free from work)
Adidas Energy Boost (For work)
Oofos flip flops

Then some random things like hiking shoes, more flip flops and slip ons. I have a billion shoes but no dress shoes or "cute" shoes. That's just how I roll - not good at being girly, never was and never will be.

I'm the worst girl ever :)

So I found some shoes for $60 on Amazon (my work is out of the color/size I want). I don't need them. Not exactly sure what I'll use them for yet. But I couldn't resist...

They. Are. So. CUTE!

It's the Mizuno Hayate. A trail stability shoe - hey, I can actually make use of that! I think I will take this out on the trails for light use (no mud or anything crazy) and then wear them to work for "Mizuno Monday". This is a size 10, maybe a tad big on me but I prefer my shoes big and especially for Mizuno which can run short and narrow. 

Ahhhh they're just so cute. 

Yes, I have a shoe problem. But not in the way you'd think. As I said, I'm not good at being girly.

Worked out!

Oh. I'm kinda tired.

Last night was awesome cause I came home from a super long day at work (my last customer took forever to pick a damn shoe) and I just cuddled/rough housed with my husband on the couch. He was hungry so we went and got some tasty mexican food. I really gotta stop eating so bad. I'm just too lazy to cook things and I love food. Most often the food wins.

Today was my day off so I rolled out of bed late, got to the gym at the sprightly hour of 10am.

Did a few different things today

- Close grip bench press. 75 lbs, 3 sets of 10. Not used to doing these so it was interesting
- Push presses. Been awhile since I worked on these. 50 lbs
- Push ups to failure. Literally, to muscle failure. Yowza. First set was 17, then 11, then 9.
- Overhead tricep presses, 25lbs. Haven't done them in awhile cause I don't really like them, but wanted to change it up from my usual skullcrushers, tricep dips, and pulldowns.

My arms are like noodles after all that.

Also did some flys, front raises, single arm presses, leg raises, kettlebell cleans, jump rope, and no burpees cause I literally couldn't do the push ups. I was so damn tired at the end of this. Then around 3pm I got super sleepy and haven't really recovered. Should have taken a nap but I didn't want to? I don't know. All I know is I'm tired and I have earned a good night's rest.

I have to go work in Rockville for this week's remaining shifts. Not looking forward to it. It's 45 minutes away and traffic is shitty. I like my store and my coworkers. Their people aren't as fun - in fact, one of them seriously said this to describe a customer - "He's hoping to do a marathon in the fall, but he might not be able to work his mileage up to that level so let's just stick with a less cushioned shoe" Uh, what? You're supposed to say "Yes, you can ABSOLUTELY do that marathon!" So I kind of saved the moment for the customer and said "Oh you have plenty of time to train, and we're gonna do our best to help!" That didn't sit well with me and just shows the difference between their store's and my store's attitudes. But evidently I impressed the regional manager so much that they requested me to come help out. And still, I have a good job that I enjoy so I can't complain too much.

Then I think this weekend we are going to VA Beach to see my husband's stepsister so probably no long run for me, but that's ok. Life is more important sometimes.

Keep Moving

I have been feeling lazy of late. It's affecting my workouts slightly but for the most part I am staying consistent. Had to drag my ass out of bed this morning and now I'm going for a run in about 40 minutes.

Saturday I didn't do my long run. After weeks of doing something every single saturday, plus the fact that my calves were painfully sore, I skipped my run, got breakfast and played games with my husband instead. It was nice. I have no regrets - I don't have to run or do something every single weekend.

However, later on in the day I got the urge to take a walk. Asked my husband if we could go and he says "Actually I was thinking about going for a run" Okay! I asked him how long and he said he wanted to be out there for at least an hour. I was pleasantly surprised. Grabbed the water belt for both of us to use cause it was kinda hot out there. We headed out around 4, he started running and I did my best to stick with him. He's a slower runner, and I'm not fast by any means but I found it hard to run at that pace and always ended up 15-20 feet ahead of him. Before we knew it he had gone 1.5 miles before stopping for a break. We walked for a little bit and it started to rain a tiny bit. Felt good considering how hot it was. Once we reached the field he asked me where the 2 mile mark was. "Just a little bit up ahead." By this point he was wanting to turn around but I persuaded him to go to the 2 mile mark. I may have embellished the distance a little bit, but I have this thing about reaching mile markers before turning around. And I like to push him to do more. We turned a few corners and then hit the bridge which marks 2 miles. He stopped to stretch because his hip was bothering him. It helped out but from this point on he needed to do run/walk intervals. We picked landmarks to sprint to, At one point he started a sprint and he was going faster than me! But that lasted about 10 seconds before he slowed down. Back in the day he was a decently fast runner, I guess he has retained it to some degree. We continued this all the way back home - a grand total of 4 miles

Got back just in time to avoid a massive thunderstorm, got sandwiches for dinner then saw Mad Max (it was awesome!!!!)

I'm so proud of him - he's been working out 2-3 times a week and running or walking occasionally too.  He's improved so much already, going a mile and a half without stopping is impressive for someone who is just starting to run. It's great seeing him be active again.

Stronger Every Day

Yesterday I started off Monday morning like any other, by going to the gym. Only thing I did differently is switched it to a back day instead of a leg day. My legs aren't sore but I figure I should rest them for a bit after running the half.

I had a pretty awesome day in the gym

Last week I did my deadlifts at 65# x15 for 3 sets. Yesterday 65 wasn't enough so I upped it to 85. 15 deadlifts in a row gets tiring, so I'm feeling pretty awesome for being able to up the weight.
(I'm doing an experiment for a few weeks and doing less weight at more reps to increase my muscular endurance, I figure it will be useful for obstacle racing as well as just training in a different way than I'm used to)

I think soon I'll be ready to up my lat pulldown weight, #85 is getting too easy.

And I'm getting better at Turkish get ups. Worked on them a couple months ago and I couldn't even get through 10 reps on each side. I am not using heavy weight at all, but now I can go 10 reps on each side no problem. They're still an exercise straight from hell, but I can see where I have made a drastic improvement since the last time I attempted them. I did 2 sets of 10 on each side, would have gone for a third set but I ran out of time.

Also - feels like it's taken forever, but my back muscles are finally showing through. I noticed it in the mirror yesterday while doing my pull ups. Been noticing it while doing squats too. Another way you can tell you have a muscular back - the edge of the tub hurts like hell when you lay back against it to shave your legs. No more fatty cushion to lean back on!

I really do love lifting. I can't live without it. It's the most liberating, empowering thing you can do for yourself on a regular basis. For me it's all about performance - how much can I lift? How am I gonna do on my next obstacle race? How long can I go before my limits have been reached? I won't ever look perfect. I still have my tummy pouch, which likely won't ever go away because I love food too much. But I have still leaned out a bit despite that fact, and I'm seeing more and more muscle definition as the months pass by. I love my muscles!

Oh yeah - my mother in law's wedding date has changed, and you know what that means! I'm going to Tough Mudder! And it also most likely means I can see my family for a bit because they are in VA. I'm quite excited.