Weekly Rundown- Pure Chaos
AAAAUUUGH! What a week. Did you know that it’s very, very hard to function without a kitchen? Just kidding- everyone knows that. I don’t mean to complain, because the end result will be a new kitchen, but this week was tough. Looking on the bright side, I usually have low blood pressure but I don’t have to worry about that anymore- my sodium intake has gone through the roof due to all the takeout we ate. Of course there were still workouts! Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown. Let’s get right into it. Monday 4 mile run. In spite of the heat, this run felt pretty good! Tuesday Leg day at the gym! After everyone’s encouraging comments last week, I was determined not to compare myself to my fellow gym rats. Someone asked WHY I was looking at other people anyway- well, if I’m waiting three full minutes between sets, I have to look at something. I did squats, deadlifts, Runner’s Touch exercise, calves, and abs. Good workout! Wednesday Okay. I wanted to do some sort of speed work, but I’m pretty sure the speed work I was doing is what hurt my shin. So I did hill repeats on the treadmill! Hills are speed work in disguise, right? It’s been ages since I’ve done hills. After a warm up, I did intervals of two minutes at 4%, and it was hard! I was trying to mimic the effort of running fast intervals. It was a good workout- 4.5 miles total. Thursday Oof. It was a hard morning. The kitchen was a shambles, and it took me forever to do little things like feed the cats and fill water bottles. My daughter had band camp at the high school, so she needed breakfast, and I had to drive her there. I got out for a run, which felt TERRIBLE! I guess the last two days- leg day and then hill repeats- took its toll, and my legs were sore and achy. I had to laugh, because the night before I wrote my “Runfessions,” where I whined that running has been hot and boring. I felt like my body was saying, “Oh, you’re complaining? I’ll give you something to complain about!” 3 hard miles. And I forgot to take a picture, but instead I’ll treat you to this stunning photo of my kitchen: Friday Back to the gym. Since I hadn’t done upper body this week, I did a little of everything- squats, lat pulldowns, overhead shoulder press, calf raises, abs and low back. Saturday Off! I was able to sleep in a little before going to work, and I needed it. Oh! And now the upper and lower cabinets are in… But no counters yet, and no sink. Obviously we need a backsplash and the floor has… issues… but at least when we get the counters and sink (hopefully Monday) the kitchen will be functional. Sunday On tap for today… a longer run! 6 miles planned. And then- prep for the trip to Texas. My son and I will be leaving Tuesday morning for Baylor. We’re driving his car there, then I’ll get him moved in to his new house, hang out for a couple days, and fly back on Saturday. Oh, and I can’t wait to run there! Somehow I’ve managed to plan a trip to the only place hotter than Florida. The forecast for Waco next week is well into the 100s every day. I’ll be bringing my hydration vest and water bottle! How was your week? – I hope it was more calm than mine. Do you incorporate hills into your runs? – I live in the flattest place on earth, so if I want hills, it has to be the treadmill.
July Runfessions!
It’s the last Friday of the month, which means it’s time for Marcia’s runfessions! This time I don’t have any fun stories about mishaps on the run, or complaints about injuries… I just have one big runfession. I’ve heard talk of this thing called a “running slump” but I never really understood it. As a matter of fact I would get slightly annoyed when people talked about not being motivated to run- how can that be??? If you’re healthy and not injured, why would you NOT want to be out there running? I also couldn’t really grasp why people complained about running in the heat. It’s SUMMER. Did you not know it was going to be hot? Wear a tank top! Run early in the morning! What’s the big deal? Well. This summer I’ve been experiencing an odd situation. I’m really not excited about running. I don’t want to NOT run, but I’m not enjoying it. I’m just not motivated to seek out fun routes, so I keep running the same boring loop. The heat is also intense. The moment I walk out the door at 7 am, it feels like the sun is trying to kill me. Now, wait a minute! (you might be thinking.) If it’s so hot, why are you running at 7:00??? You could be running at 6, or even 5:30! Well, yes- that would help. But I can’t get up that early, because I go to bed too late. Here’s the problem: at the beginning of summer, I decided my priority would be strength, and one day a week of speed work. Other than that, I would run shorter distances 3-4 times a week, until September when I’ll start to ramp up training for my race. Strength and speed work (which I do on the treadmill) occur in the GYM, where it’s nice and cool. I don’t need to go at 5:30 am. With both kids home, I’ve been going to bed later in order to spend more time with them. Ergo, on the days I run, I’m really feeling the heat. I also don’t have the time to seek out an interesting route- I have to just run straight from my house, which means the same loop almost every time. So, what’s the solution? There is none- other than just waiting it out. Next week my son goes back to school (sob!) and on August 10th my daughter starts high school (with a 7:30 am start time) so we’ll be forced into an earlier schedule. And then, before you know it, it’ll be September and I’ll be able to shift my focus back to running. I guess this is one of those situations where you can’t have it all. I can’t stay up late with my kids, prioritize going to the gym, AND have amazing runs. I just have to embrace the running I’m doing (and be thankful for podcasts, which are keeping me sane and at least somewhat happy to get out the door) and know that everything will change again soon. Do you have any summer runfessions? Are you enjoying the heat, or taking your workouts indoors?
A Podcast… and Gratitude For the Little Things
You guys. While I was at the gym today I listened to this episode of the Big Ass Runner podcast. This is a podcast I regularly listen to, and this week’s episode was “A Powerful Story of Tragedy and Triumph (with Karen Sparks).” I had no idea what the “tragedy” was- you never know with these things. It could have been something like “I broke my leg but then came back to run a marathon.” But… no. This woman was married and had two kids, a girl and a boy, ages eight and nine. Her husband turned out to be a fraud and ultimately, a psychopath. She decided to divorce him, took the kids and moved out. But she couldn’t prevent the kids from seeing their father, so she dropped them off with him for a weekend. Well. I feel like I should somehow ease into this but there’s no way. The guy set their house on fire with himself, both kids, and their two dogs inside… and they all died. I just can’t stop thinking about this. This actually happened. Those kids…. and this woman had to somehow go on living after that. In the podcast episode she talks about how she managed to find her way through this- partially from taking up ultrarunning, but she also obviously had massive therapy. At one point she was suicidal and checked herself into a residential treatment facility that specializes in trauma. Now she runs a nonprofit organization that helps women who need this kind of treatment but can’t afford to pay for it. She sounds incredibly strong, but I’m sure she lives with a tremendous amount of pain. My worst day is probably still better than her best day. It really, really helps put things in perspective, and reminds me to focus on all the good. Obviously we’re all grateful, every day, that our loved ones are safe and healthy. And that we have a roof over our heads. But there are plenty of little things I’m grateful for as well. Like… the fact that my daughter can get lunch at school this week. She’s started band camp for marching band, and they had the option to bring a lunch or order lunch from Subway. When I asked her which she wanted, she said, “Well, since we won’t have a kitchen I guess I better get the school lunch.” Good call. I’m also incredibly happy that our air conditioning is fixed! What if it had gone out this week, while our kitchen is also ripped apart? I guess we’d be staying in a hotel. I’m also grateful that Publix has vegan subs! I can foresee this being dinner many times over the next week… or two. And I’m grateful that I have a job… a job that takes me OUT OF THE HOUSE all day. My poor husband has been home dealing with the kitchen, and it’s not fun. Meanwhile I’m at work checking in periodically: Yep, this kitchen thing is trying. But I can’t really complain when I’ll end up with a new kitchen. It’s just going to take a little longer than we thought- but that’s okay. Patience! All will be well. What’s a little thing you’re grateful for today?
Weekly Rundown- Is It Progress?
Hello there! Thanks for stopping by for the Weekly Rundown, and thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting. It was another hot, steamy week, but that’s to be expected for Florida in July. I also had some discouraging moments, but it was all good in the end. Let’s just see how it all went down… Sunday 6 mile run on a nearby cross country trail. It’s a very well-maintained, grassy trail. I was happy to be out there running, but it was HOT. Luckily I had my water bottle. Monday Leg day at the gym! For some reason this turned into a squat extravaganza. I did regular squats, Bulgarian split squats, and then finished off with some sets on the hack squat machine. As always, I did calves and abs as well. I have to admit I got discouraged during this workout. Every single time I’m working at the power rack, someone comes to the rack next to me and squats a tremendous amount of weight. I mean, literally every time. And I’m talking about women! I thought, “I’ve been doing this for long enough- shouldn’t I be able to put more weight on the bar? Maybe I’m doing something wrong. Maybe I just can’t get strong. Maybe my frame is too small.” I know- shut up, brain. I figured I can either give up, or keep working at it. If I keep working, I’ll have to see progress eventually…right??? Tuesday 4 mile run! I’m not really sure what I was thinking this morning- I started off wearing a full-length tank top. By the last mile I was SO HOT, I had to take my shirt off and tuck it into the back of my shorts. That helped a lot, but I still came home and gulped down a huge glass of ice water with LMNT- that felt good. Wednesday I really wanted to run on the treadmill today, but I’ve been noticing a nagging pain in one of my adductor muscles on the left side. I couldn’t put my finger on any moment where I hurt it- but if I had to guess, I’d say it started the day I went to the gym with my son and did the adductor and abductor machines. I felt it on my run yesterday, so I opted for an upper body day at the gym. Bench press, rows, lat pulldown, overhead shoulder press…. and of course calves and abs. Thursday Another 4 mile run. This one felt much better- look at those beautiful clouds! Clouds help a lot. Friday Back to the gym for leg day! Because I’m trying not to stress that adductor in any way, I focused on the back of my body- deadlifts, Runner’s Touch, calf raises (of course) and abs. Saturday 5 mile run! It was a hot day (obviously) but this run felt good! Sunday Off! I planned this day as a rest day so I could sleep in. Remember how I said I was going to start tracking my sleep? Well, Garmin tells me I got an average of 6 hours, 40 minutes per night for this last week. Yep, I tried- but I had some rough nights. I figured I could make up for the lost sleep by sleeping late today (that’s how it works, right?) Overall I felt a little frustrated this week. The pain in my adductor kept me from doing any speed work (for the second week in a row) and also prevented me from doing squats on Friday- I feel like it’s always two steps forward and one and 99/100ths of a step back for me. But… I got to run or go to the gym every single day. I’m not injured (just trying to prevent an injury.) If I keep putting together those 1/100ths of a step, I’ll get there eventually- forward is a pace (and patience is a virtue!) How was your week? Overall would you say you were encouraged or discouraged? How many hours of sleep do you get a night? Do you feel like it’s enough?