Weekly Recap - MOAR RUNNING

Look at me, doing a weekly recap the day after the week actually ends! What a novel concept. I am all-together lacking the part of my brain that is in charge of organization (it was taken over long ago by song lyrics and pop culture trivia).

This week started kinda shaky but ended up being just fine. I battle some headaches Monday and Tuesday, that got much worse when when I ran. I rarely ever get headaches. I have no idea what caused it - but I think it may have been a little dehydration and possibly some salt imbalances. I became more mindful of my hydration and felt much better by Wednesday.

My week looked something like this:

Monday: rest. My husband had been away for 10 days and I really wanted to hang out with him, rather than go to a yoga class.

Tuesday: Headache all day. Finally decided to run at 7pm. Major fail, threw in the towel at 4.6 miles, 8:37 avg. pace.

Wednesday: 4 miles AM, around MGP (8:00 pace). Ran to the grocery store. 5.5 miles PM with the husband, 8:18 pace.

Thursday: scheduled rest day, but I had mileage to make up. 4 miles, 8:35 pace.

Friday: Friday was a ROUGH day. I got late notice on Thursday for step aerobics audition on Friday morning, and I was really nervous about it and stayed up late practicing my moves. I couldn't sleep - I maybe got 3.5 hours of sleep and then proceeded to really blow the audition. I was so tired and so deflated after that, but still had 12 miles on my training schedule. It was also very hot by the time I got to run (11 am) - around 85 degrees. I struggled hard to maintain a 9:15 pace for 11 miles before I threw in the towel.

And if Friday couldn't get worse - around 8 miles into my suckfest run, I dropped the mic cover that had just been given to me at the audition (I'll need it for the classes I start teaching tomorrow) and the breeze picked up. I chased after it, trying to dive down and grab it at least 3 times. I finally caught it (whew) but not after my calve muscles had totally seized up and my entire right side hurt.

Saturday: Recovery - 5 miles, 10:00 pace. I seriously cannot believe my husband and I ran that slow. It was moving day in Boston, and we live in college student central, so it was really comical to see the moving day craziness. I probably had to dodge 100 tube TVs and at least 15 mattresses. Also, my calves were so sore from my stumbling the day before (see above) - they felt like I had golf balls in them. Not cool. But I felt much better after the run was over.

Sunday: 20 miles, 8:56 average pace. The weather was gorgeous - maybe like 70 degrees. We took it easy and just cruised. I really wanted to pick up the pace and GO in the last 5 miles but my husband was not a fan, so we stayed even. It was SO nice to finally have a long run that felt really successful. I feel much better now about how I will fair at the main event in October. I still think it's a long shot to BQ, but like I told my husband, what do I have to lose? I am just going to put it out there and see what happens.

And that's a wrap! Total mileage for the week: 54 miles. Another new personal high.

Scenes from last week:

Bit the bullet and just ordered boxes of chews and gels. It's like our little personal running store.

Christen wears lipstick (actually lipstain if we are being technical). I always feel SO weird wearing lip color.

My fortune cookie. Don't worry, I don't get it either. Side note: I met some girlfriends for dinner one night, and my husband ordered $50 of Chinese takeout. He should not be left alone, apparently. Also, I ate Chinese food for 3 days. I won't complain.

Recovery drink of champions. I hate protein powder. Milk has protein, it's real food, I like it. Win.

My girl, Darla, ruining my throw pillows. When I bought those I totally envisioned them being her personal perch (/sarcasm). Good thing she's cute.

Cooking:

I also did some cooking this week as well (GASP, I know). I made the Fit Sugar recipe for zuchini carrot bread that I discovered through SUAR. It was awesome. I actually cut the sugar in half and it rocked. Down side? My husband now thinks I should bake all the time (he can probably count on one hand the times I've baked something in the 7 years we've been married).

I also made the Chicken Enchilada Slower Cooker Stew from Frayed Laces. It was so easy and SO good. I actually used Trader Joes' frozen Soy-cutash (because I did not have black beans, and I love edamame) and I added a jar of Muir Glen Salsa just because, and it came out delicious. Further proof that slow cookers are amazing.

Onto next week! MOAR RUNNING, now with a side of fitness classes! I predict soreness in my immediate future...

Running. I'm still doing it.

No big shocker there. I was (fortunately?) blessed with the gift of stubbornness, so even when I hate it, I won't quit.

Last week was a recovery week, so my mileage was lower. And it felt SOOOO good. I swapped my LR to Saturday, because my dad came into town Saturday night and I didn't want to have to run Sunday morning (since he was only here for a little less than 24 hours).

Fenway nights (also, I now realize how much I look like him)

I was supposed to run 8 miles on Sunday, but I waited too late and ended up only doing 4. My week looked like this:

Monday: Vinyasa Flow Yoga, 1 hour, sweatfest! I am almost embarassed by how much I sweat in yoga.

Tuesday: 9 miles, easy pace (8:50)

Wednesday: 6.5 miles, easy pace with 5x800 in the middle. I was really tired that day and the 800s were a struggle. They went like this: 3:35 on the first two, forgot to time the third, then 3:43 and 3:37. Not terrible. I would like to run them again when I feel less drained.

Thursday: 4.5 miles, recovery pace (9:20) - made the mistake of running this one near a body of water at night. OMG bugs. I swallowed at least 4. As one of my DM friends said, extra protein for the day!

Friday: rest

Saturday: 14 miles, 90% MGP (8:37). AWESOME weather. Seriously, high 60's in August? It was amazing. Not pushing too hard, just ticking off the miles.

Sunday: 4 miles, recovery (9:20).

This week has been a little more of a struggle. I felt a little ill on Monday & Tuesday - I had a terrible headache for 2 days that was exacerbated by running. I think it possibly had to do with not drinking enough water or salt imbalance. I worked on that and felt much better yesterday.

And I will start doing my weekly recap right after the week actually happens, haha. I start teaching 5 fitness classes next week - I am so nervous but very excited and grateful to have some employment. It will also be interesting to see how this works with my training schedule. I am teaching studio classes that focus on step cardio/ strength training, so I anticipate I might have to go down to running one less day a week so that I'm not totally miserable and sore. But I am looking forward to the challenge!

I miss you, running.

So I haven't posted in a while, mostly because I haven't been running. Specifically, I didn't even run a step for 5 days. I know.

My mom and stepdad were here for the last 5 days, making it impossible to run. They don't travel much and they aren't very self-sufficient, so I felt obligated to keep them entertained. We did do a shitload of walking and I played the part of a substandard Boston tour guide (with a Southern accent) for most of the time. I have to say, being a tourist is exhausting.

Yep, Supertourist with Mama & Stepdad

Yes, this was taken from a Duck Boat.

Not giant balls. Giant Vandergraff machine at MOS (which was terribly disappointing)

PENGUINS!

SEALS!

After making my 4th trip to the airport in 10 days (and I do not work there, nor did I ever get on a plane) via MBTA (a 60-75 min one-way trip), I got home yesterday and stayed on the couch for the better portion of the day. The best part is I have only a 48-hour reprieve, because my sister and her husband arrive on Saturday. AND the day after they leave, I have more friends coming to stay with us. Hotel CK is booked. 

How do you guys get your workouts in when you have houseguests? I am at a loss trying to figure out how to do it. I guess I just worry they will feel like they are wasting their vacation time waiting on me.

My husband also had a rough week - miltary full-time job + 2 summer term grad classes = he's running on fumes. I convinced him to come run with me yesterday and we did a slow 4 miles and talked (because we've barely even seen each other over the past 7 days). 4 miles, 9:00 avg pace.

I've been reading Advanced Marathoning by Pfitzinger. I am such a geek, because I find all this information fascinating. I'm only about halfway through the book, so I will refrain from speaking about it until I finish. But already I have to say I really wish I would have read it before I ever ran a marathon. The title is somewhat misleading, because this information would be useful to anyone looking to successfully run a marathon. Marathoning isn't just about getting the miles in - it's also about fueling, hydration, rest, and run strategy -all of which is covered in this book.

Marathon training doesn't need to begin for a few more weeks, so for now I'm just running casually (and slowly) and going to the gym, yoga class, and some spinning here and there.