P is for Progress

My training schedule each week has increased in intensity, which is AWESOME, but it’s hard to feel like I’m making progress or completing a workout thinking “oh, that was easy”. When workouts continue to get harder I am always in the same mental boat of “how the heck am I going to get through this week?!” But I always do despite all of my complaining and not taking any time to reflect that I am, in fact, making progress.

Of course I realize that I still have a lot of work to do, but this past week I had a few shining moments where I was able to be so joyous during my workouts. The week wasn't off to a great start with a track practice in the pouring rain, a solo bike ride with 20mph winds and a LOT of saying “I don’t want to”, but bounced back in true Newton’s law form.  

I was feeling nervous and intimidated to run with the SB running & racing team Saturday morning (even though I met a few of them already at track practice) because they're such an elite group of runners! I definitely wasn’t the fastest… not even close… but the people in the group are all so friendly, humble and helpful. Much like the SB Tri group. (I need to start including hash tags like #strengthinnumbers or #whyikeeptraining in my posts to emphasize how important and beneficial it is to train with a like-minded group(s)!)

Anyways… back on track… we ran around the Mountain Drive/Gibraltar area & if you need a new running route try this one! The views are SO spectacular that I was often distracted by them & not realizing I was on mile 6… 10… 13. I’m not sure I should share this next part with you because I’m still trying to wrap my brain around it, but I’m not one to hold out on you guys :) . I ran 15 miles total (warm-up, tempo run, warm-down) with NO ELECTRONIC DEVICES. No iPod, no audio book, no nuthin’. The craziest thing is that I actually felt like the run was easier and I could keep my pace (& sometimes go a bit faster).

This goes against everything I've ever believed in regarding running. I was running hills + long mileage on a early Saturday morning, listening to my own breath and ENJOYING it.

Mind. Blown.

I've already been instructed to run with the same group this upcoming weekend so I’ll let you know if that time was an outlier or if I’m becoming *gasp* a runner. Also have to admit that my knee was feeling a bit fatigued/sore the last few miles but I assume that’s because of the hills I hope?

Another shining moment was in yoga class yesterday. I’m finally able to do the crow pose!!! I must have looked like a psycho in class with my “kid on Christmas” smile after we were done holding that pose, but I was so giddy to finally be able to do a new pose that I've been failing at for weeks that I couldn't contain myself. We were then supposed to follow it up with a tripod headstand but my brain heard “not-so-graceful somersault” instead. Maybe next time.

So yes… the feeling of actual progress... It’s awesome. I’m thankful for the moments I realize that the training really does pay off and VERY THANKFUL for the people who hold me accountable, teach me and support me. This week of workouts is looking pretty intense… but at least the weather is going to cooperate and after next Sunday I start tapering! Yipeeeeeee! :))

Less than 1 month!!!!

Don't let the exclamation points fool you... I'm soooo not excited about this race (yet?). In fact I'm the opposite. I got in a 3-hour 18 mile run this past weekend including bathroom, water and a few walking breaks (mainly to mess with my Audible and iTunes accounts). This has been the longest run of my entire life to date, and instead of celebrating the fact that my short stems made it that far, my only thought was "I have to run 8 MORE miles after this to finish the race!?" 

I had enough fuel from a wonderful home-cooked (day after) Valentine's day dinner the night before & packed my favorite GU's & plenty of water for the run, but I think the lack of a good night's sleep played a part in my fatigue after mile 14 of 18. I'm still such a novice that I need everything to be jusssst right to get in a good run. I need the right fuel(s), an embarrassing amount of sleep, sunny but chilly weather, to be really pissed off about something, my lucky socks, etc etc. It's very rare (never happens) that all of these elements are present when I have a big workout scheduled. I can't wait for the day when I can just go out at any point to run an obscene amount of miles and just love/enjoy/appreciate every bit of it. 

Running 6-8 miles is my very sweet spot. This is the amount of running I can do without an iPod or break, have peaked endorphin levels and feel like I got a great workout in. Anything up in the double digits has not been the most enjoyable experience of my life to say the least... aside from the bragging rights. All of the 15+ mile training runs have only been enjoyable AFTER I'm done, have had a hot shower & any kind of food in front of me. I usually treat myself to Blenders. No judging. Although this past weekend I had a Crushcakes cupcake for breakfast. Sorry I'm not sorry. (oooh I can just imagine most of you cringing at the mere thought of eating processed sugar!!) :)

I'm not sure what's on deck the next couple weeks for my long distance runs yet, but I can guarantee you that I will be giving myself a lot of sugary rewards every step of the way. I may not enjoy 3+ hours of running, but I am pretty proud of my legs and can't wait until I can say that I ran & finished a FULL marathon. Not trying to qualify for Boston... just want to FINISH the race. I'm sure my coach is thrilled to read about how shameless I am about aiming at the very lowest point possible to achieve my goal. I'm sure I'll pay for that at track practice :)

Other positive notes: marathon training makes me like swim practice a lot more, I don't feel guilty about eating like a human garbage disposal, I have a deeper appreciation for other runners & for yoga, & truly enjoying the horrified looks on people's faces when they ask "how far did you run today?". Also I can't possible forget about, or forget to thank, all the people who are so supportive of me & my crazy goals ;)

See y'all out there (because let's be honest, that's probably the only time I will see most of you) :)

Quads & Coughs

Another half marathon under my belt J. At this point, I should say it’s just another training run under my belt on my bigger journey to my first FULL marathon in a few weeks. With my warm-up miles included I ran about 15 miles total today (same as last weekend) and am still very skeptical on how I’m going to make it to 26. I can only say that I enjoyed parts of the run, but luckily it seemed to fly by pretty fast. My brain was having a good day, but my mind & leg muscles have a LOT of work to do in the next few weeks!

I love admitting that half marathons are kind of no big deal now. I can hear myself slowly turning into a running snob, but I’m still on the safe side until you hear me say that I LOVE running marathons. Don’t hold your breath, y’all.

I was really hoping to set a PR today, but for not working out all week because I got sick AGAIN and still having a nasty cough, I was just glad to run at all & use this as my training run. It's so much easier when you're running with people! For any co-workers reading this or people who’ve been around me a lot this past week… I think you’ll back me up when I say my cough probably added at least 10 extra minutes to my time haha. AND…. AND… still no knee pain!!! I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll get the green light from my PT tomorrow to only come in once a week.

Hopefully I can get back into my regular training routine this week since I’m feeling better, but since I start my new job tomorrow we’ll see what happens with my schedule now J. If I have to miss swim practice I will absolutely not be upset about it. I AM looking forward to my bike workouts though since I have a new fancy-shmancy bike to ride! If you see a flash of white light go past you on the street… it’s probably someone else. I’ll be the not so flashy cyclist who looks like she just learned how to ride a bike.

Next race planned is the Marathon (LA - March 17) so I won’t have any races to blog about until then… just a lot of complaining about my quads & how my brain won’t ever shut off. Maybe swim practices will actually be preferred over running workouts before too long.

See ya out there!