I swim. I bike. I run...usually covered in boogers and crayon.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Another Week Down...Almost.


Despite running on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and tonight, I still feel like I'm slacking. I think it was because I rested yesterday when I normally run long on Wednesday. I decided because of the five inches of snow we got to stay inside last night.

When I went to the gym tonight to run, I taped my foot to see if that would help my possible neuroma and it didn't hurt at all! So that's my unattractive foot up there. Yea, it's pretty, right? I wish I could say my big toenail suffered a casualty of running but...no. One fine afternoon in October, I was looking for a Phillips screwdriver to replace the batteries in one of The Baby's toys. I reached up onto a shelf in our hall closet to pull down a toolbox and a big, huge metal tape measure slid off the top of the box and landed square on my toe. Immediately, I knew it was bad. Let's just say it was messy, we spent five hours in the ER, and ultimately the toe had to come off with three stitches occupying the nailbed. The day I had a c-section, I tried to stand up straight and let's just say this hurt worse (Ok...maybe not. They both suck, though.)

Now I'm trying to gear up for the 17 miler on Saturday. Can I just say real quick: UUUUGGGGHHHHH.

Good night!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Mixing It Up


Newscasters here were touting all week that this would be the coldest weekend of the winter. Indeed it was. The high yesterday was 25 degrees! I ran 11 miles at 10am hoping that it would warm up somewhat by then but it was 18 degrees when I started. It took an hour to thaw once I got home. If I had my camera with me, I would have taken a picture of the sweat-ice building up on my gloves. I couldn't feel my tights on my legs. It was brutal and miserable but it felt sooooo good to be finished that it made it all worth it. I ran 7 miles today and it was downright balmy at 30 degrees.

I usually run on the Mt. Vernon trail which travels beside the Potomac River. It starts at Mt. Vernon (the home of George Washington) and goes all the way to the Key bridge which connects Rosslyn, Va. to Georgetown, D.C. I typically run towards D.C. but last Sunday, yesterday, and today I took the trail south. Week ten of marathon training has required me to mix it up a bit. The same scenery (even if it's scenic!) can get stale. I also realized it is much hillier in this portion of the trail which is terrific because I feel like I'm cheating since hills haven't really been in my repertoire thus far (I know---bad, bad, bad.) There are also bathrooms along this part of the trail which is awesome! Unfortunately, the water fountains don't work. Or they are frozen which is somehow more depressing.

The soles of my feet have been pretty sore. I know it is due to running 6 days a week but I pulled out another pair of running shoes to see if switching would help and it did. So now I'll rotate my shoes and see how it goes. You're supposed to let your shoes "rest" for 24 hours in between use anyhow. (Since you compress the foam, it needs to decompress or you will wear them out faster.)

This past week was pretty easy but this upcoming week is pretty intense: 3, 5, 8, 5, 17, 9 (!!!). I could skip the 3 miler since it's just a warm-up for my weight training class but 17 miles, really? At once? I guess it's just another chance to surprise myself again. I did 14, I did 15, I can do 17.

Well let's hope we don't get any snow or ice this week. I CANNOT run on the treadmill every day! Also, as another aside, I'm finally below my pre-pregnancy weight. Hurray!

Thanks for reading and have a great Sunday night!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Wonderful Wednesday Weather


It feels like spring today! ...Or at least early March. It will definitely be a pleasant run as long as it holds up into the evening. I have a 5 miler scheduled and then I am going to my first book club meeting. Yes, I have been busy the past few days cramming in about 200 hundred pages but I finished it this afternoon. (The book is called "The Weight of Silence". It's about two girls who disappear and it takes place in Iowa--which is cool since that's where I'm from.) The book club is made up mostly of sorority sisters of mine that live locally and, lucky for me, the meeting is being held in my apartment complex. (Three of my sorority sisters live here!)

Anyhow, The Baby and I hadn't really left the apartment much this week and I decided I definitely needed some diet Pepsi despite my best efforts of cutting back so we went to the store this afternoon. We got back and I was carrying The Baby and the soda to the building. Well, the box of soda broke and spewed cans all over the sidewalk and some even exploded on us. Of course, The Baby had kicked off her socks and I had to set her on the cold sidewalk, sockless, hoping no one would walk by and see how unfit a mother I was as I scooped up the rolling cans. I had another bag and shoved them in there and was able to carry everything in quickly. This is why I am not really a fan of going out without my husband, at least when it comes to carrying bags inside. Oh, and it would have helped if I had a stroller in the car, but I didn't. Lesson learned?

Saturday, January 15, 2011

15 Mile Run: Check


Last Saturday, I ran 14 miles which was the furthest I had ever run continuously. Before then, 13.1 miles was my max. Well, today I ran 15 miles. I ran from home to the Jefferson Memorial in DC. I didn't have the butterflies of last week and I feel like I learned a bit more about what to do/what not to do. I properly fueled today and I figured out how to take GU without choking on it or wanting to gag (just take it like a shot! Easy enough.) It has the consistency of snot and only vaguely tastes like whatever flavor is scrawled all over the front. Every flavor of GU comes with different components in which to hopefully derive energy and today's selection included caffeine. Around mile 12, it felt like I had a couple cups of coffee and (ironically?) I made it to a Starbucks in time to use their *ahem* facilities. Yikes.
My husband and The Baby drove to Gravelly Point which is a park about 50 feet from the air strip at Reagan National Airport (and my 6 and 9 mile marker) and brought me Gatorade and water (love you! xoxo). He also managed to take a horrible, unflattering picture of me which I am debating about posting here...All in all, it was a fabulous run, I am feeling more confident about running 26 miles, and nothing hurt!! Thankfully, I did remember to use Vaseline on all of the parts that chafed last week so there was no "AAAAHHHH!" emitted from the shower this afternoon.

Sorry for the TMI but I'm just being real and it IS going to get worse (omg).
Now I have the rest of the day to do anything but run! Enjoy your weekends, everyone!

FYI, this is a picture from today but not the horrible, unflattering one.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Rest Day

Hellooooo Friday!! I love Fridays for several reasons. First, it is the only day of the week I am not required to exercise. No dvd videos, weight classes, running, vacuuming (ok...just kidding about that one). Second, my husband has every other Friday off in something the federal government likes to call "regular day off" which means he works an extra hour every day to have one day off every two weeks and today happens to be one of those days. Third, my husband resumes weekend duty which basically means I don't have to change another diaper until Monday (and he is off this Monday!) So, yea, Fridays are pretty awesome.
It will be an early bedtime tonight since I would like to be finished running by 11am which means I need to start around 8am and wake up in time to fuel and dress--a tech shirt, tech pullover, tights, shoes/socks, earwarmer, gloves, knee strap, fuel belt, GUs, keyfob for the building, camera (you never know!!), ID, pepper spray (again, you never know!) ipod and headphones. I prefer not to wear a watch these days. I figure if I'm not sprawled out in the road, I am going fast enough for me.
Wish me luck!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

So long, Short Runs


It's Thursday and I've run on the treadmill four times this week. Way too much treadmill if you ask me! This week, I ran on Monday to make up for a run I skipped on Sunday and ran 4, 7, and 4 the rest of the week. Next week, it goes to 5, 8, 5 and will increase from there. (Weekend runs are a whole other animal!) No more four mile runs, however ;(
For the rest of tonight and tomorrow, I will focus on resting because I have a 15 mile run on Saturday. I've already mapped it out and decided to run to the Washington Monument and back. Running across the 14th street bridge will be interesting!
Alright...off to to rest.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Elliptical Machine


Tonight was supposed to be a 7 mile run outside but just walking to the gym demonstrated how wise my decision was in keeping it indoors this evening: everything is iced over. I managed to walk all of 500 feet to the gym without slipping, fortunately, but that was the easy part. I really despise the treadmill so before I left, I wrote down a treadmill workout that I found on another running blog to keep me going. I did an easy 2 mile warm up first. The workout was 0-3 minutes of 6.0 mph at 4% incline, 3-5 minutes of 7 mph at 6% (!!!!!) incline, etc. until you complete 30 minutes. What the heck? I got through about 8 minutes before almost flying off the back. Was the author of this smoking crack? Who can go this hard? I definitely can't. So I resigned myself to another slow two miles (6.0 mph at .5% incline.) Ahhhh. Relief. THEN, because I had to fulfill 7 miles worth of running, and was dead, I tried the elliptical machine. I admit that I am one of those people who look smugly at the elliptical-ers from my haughty perch on the treadmill. They think they're runners. Hmmph. But sometimes low impact cardio is just what you need. I set the machine to 10k and hoped for the best. Within two minutes, I couldn't feel my feet. No matter, I kept going. At the end, the machine said I burned about 800 calories. It didn't really feel like it...but ok, elliptical machine! I'll take it. All in all, there just isn't anything like running.

Blah!


How do you know when you're having a bad day? For me, it's when I am finished bundling up myself and my nine month old and are about to head out the door when my pants split. Yes, my favorite pair of jeans now have a gaping hole in the back. Need to know what color my underwear are? Just follow the shreds of denim (ahhh...good old polka dots.) The Baby and I were on our way to a lunch hosted by a mom in my mom's group. It was a terrific reason to leave the house but The Baby was the oldest one there and the only one crawling all over everything and trying to demand half eaten slices of quiche from people's plates so we left early. (Cutting short a social event that involves speaking to adults and drinking wine = No fun.) I would look forward to my run tonight but it is soooooooo windy, the doors to our apartment building wouldn't open automatically and I had to pull them (uugh) while maneuvering a stroller, balancing a pie plate, and lugging an overstuffed diaper bag. I know the run will be good for my overall sanity so we'll see if I can tough it out. My marathon training schedule indicates that tonight is a seven mile "pace" run meaning that I should run it at my expectant marathon pace, which, to me, doesn't mean much. Running is running at this point but I will see what I can do. The thought of being out of the wind might help a bit with my speed. Or not...on days like this, it really is mind over matter.

By the way, isn't the graphic funny? It evokes coldness and wind...and some needed comic relief today.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Winter Weather


I was all set to go running outside this evening! I was even looking forward to the possibility of running during the snow event. (For those who don't know, a snow event is DC slang for not enough to cancel anything but just enough to F things up.) I packed my camera thinking I could get a rosy picture of King St. with the lights strung on all of the trees amongst the backdrop of snow. But no. I got about a hundred feet before the sting of freezing rain forced me to retreat. I might be tough but I am not THAT tough! So I changed clothes and trudged across the parking lot to the gym and slaved away for four miles on the dreadmill. Oh well! I guess it beats not running at all.

Long Time, No Write

Hi there!!

I "created" this blog (aka, signed up for it) about two years ago when I was training for my first half marathon. I had every great intention of telling you about the ups and downs of my long distance running adventures. Well...lets just say that my follow through on this has been less than stellar. But, wow, how things have changed in those two years!! I've run five half marathons, got married, had a baby who is now crawling and I'm FINALLY going to run a full marathon five days before she turns one year old. Which brings me to this blog. Do you know how many thoughts go through your head when you run fourteen miles? A lot. So I want to write about running again. I have a few things on my plate but this outlet is going to be a priority, let me tell you. My life is suddenly consumed by running and I intend to tell you all about it.

The baby is yanking on my leg so hopefully I will catch up with you later after my four miler in the snow this evening. Yippy!!!