Sunday, February 28, 2010

52, 51, 50- Bum Internet and NEWS!

Edit: warning, this is a long post (3 days in one!) If you want the 'bottom line' skip to the bottom and read! **

OMG- It has been much too long!  For some reason, the last 2 days my internet has not been working at all.  On top of it, I haven't even been home enough to fix it/deal with it.  Soooo right now I'm multi-tasking- I'm doing laundry at the laundry mat (possibly for the last time- more on that later) eating my post-run salad lunch, and blogging!  Plus, checking email/reading other blogs.  Ok, update time- lots to say!

First the runs: the last couple of days have gone fairly well.  Friday made for blizzard-like conditions + 2 jobs for me, so I ended up running 70 laps on the indoor track at the Y after work(s).  (It sounds way more impressive than it actually is!)  Butttt, the good news is I got a good strength workout in afterward.  I literally fell asleep pre-8pm Friday night, because I'm that much of a crazy kid and I was exhausted after the week.  Atleast it made getting up for a 3:45am run *alittle* easier!  Normal Saturday 6am-2pm bakery shift- then my parents came out (more on that later!)

Today = long run.  To be honest (and this is really rare) I just wasn't feeling it.  Last night I was tired physically and mentally and the thought of being on the roads for 2.5 hours or so seemed rough.  I comprimised by letting my body sleep in and get a full 12 hours of sleep, had coffee for 1 hour or so and chilled, then headed out at 10:30ish.  17 miles = AMAZING.  I picked a challenging route, but it was also very scenic, taking me along the river, through the $$$ northern part of my town (very nice houses and a 'country' setting, and then along the hilly portion of my normal 10 mile route to end.  I had the option with 6 miles to go of taking the 'easy/flat-er' way, or the hard/hilly way.  I'm SO GLAD I challenged myself on the hills because I ended feeling strong.  Although my pace wasn't quite as fast as last week with my training parter, my legs feel muuucchhh fresher only an hour after my run.  And compared to my 14 miler at my parents' house 2 weeks ago- I'm like a different runner, my stronger, which is promising.

Now, onto my NEWS I've been speaking of the last couple of weeks.  Two big/fun things in my life.  First, I got a new car!  My current car has been with my for 7 years (since my junior year of high school) and has been great to me.  And although it is not dead yet, I know that it is only a matter of time before things start going wrong.  It is 10 years old, with 120,000+ miles on it and the fact is between going up north, to my parents' house on occasion, and my daily 100 mile round trip commute to teach, I need a really reliable car.  Sooooo, when the oportunity presented itself for me to get a 'new' 2007 CR-V from the same person I got my current CR-V from, I knew it was the right choice.  The CR-V is in great shape- seriously like a new car.  I cannot wait until I get the title transferred to my name so that I can start driving it in a week or so.  I'm trying not to think about the two downsides- It cost me a proportionately large amount of the money I make, and I have to get rid of my little 2000 CR-V that has been with me through my ups and downs of the past 7 years.

Second......I'M MOVING!  Just across town, but part of my stress that I haven't mentioned in the last week or so has been the process of apartment hunting.  It seriously took up full days during the last week and I saw probably 10 different complexes.  My parents came out yesterday to help me finalize a decision and we found THE PERFECT place.  Although I'm not gaining a whole lot of space, it is much nicer, with more ammenities, and in a better area (read= less student ghetto, more 'young professional.' )  BEST PART = THE GYM!!! It is brand new, with 4 TREADMILL, ellipticals, stairmasters, tons of strength machines, and open 24-7.  Hello 4AM workouts!  Plus, they have an olympic sized swimming pool for the summer!  I'm soooo excited (can you tell ;)  I've been wanting to make this move for awhile, because even though I like my current place, it is tiny and I've been there two years.  I'm ready for a real place with real furniture (ie couch, not futon, queen bed, not twin) and dishwasher, and washer/dryer!  Rent is higher, but I still got a great deal and I cannot wait to move in 2 1/2 short weeks.  I will take pics and post when I can.

Wow, this post is getting waaay too long, even for me.  I better go move clothes into the dryer!  SO GLAD this may be the last time I'm here (although I did admit to slightly loving the laundry mat, it is just too time consuming.)

If you want the bottom line of this post, and didn't want to read all of the above, here it is:
1) I've been super busy with work/fitting in runs the last couple of days
2) Had a lovely 17 miler along the river today with some challenging hills
3) Bought a new CR-V this week!
4) Rented a new apartment (with a SWEET GYM) and will move in in 2.5 weeks
5) Am happy that this may be my last laundry mat visit because I have my OWN washer/dryer in my new place
6) I'm lovin' life!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

53- Triple Thursday!

It was another Triple Thursday in the land of T-mart!  T'was quite a good one too, if I do say so myself.

Began with a 5 mile run with tempo 400 and 800 repeats.  I did it on the indoor track at the Y, which was a nice change from the treadmill.  I was sore this morning upon waking from yesterday nights' strength training, but felt good overall.  The workout was short, effective, and refreshing.  Next up: the swim!  I loooove swimming because of how good it makes my muscles feel.  Plus, I don't put any pressure on myself for swimming- I just go!  I look at the clock when I jump in, then just swim laps (I don't even count) of front crawl or with a pool buoy for the alloted time.  I know I'm slow at it, but its OK.  It is a nice change of pace from constantly thinking about paces, routes, conditions, etc when running.

Then, it was time for work.  Hah, yeah, that totally broke up my workouts!  Atleast today my 45 minute commute each way was indeed 45 minutes rather than double that like yesterday.

The third and final part of my workout was at run club tonite.  I met up with my usual friend who is training for Boston too.  He is my pace or slightly faster, so we always have a good run together.  Today was even better because we were joined by a local running 'star.'  Seriously, this girl is my idol- she is a couple years older and has a well below 3 hour marathon PR and gets flown places to race and sponsers and everything.  I was QUITE intimidated setting off on a snow covered 8 miler with her and my guy-friend but....I FELT GREAT>  (knock on wood!)  Totally strong and in control the whole time, chatting away with the two of them while really dialing up the pace.  So happy with the run tonite.  I just got home and ate a light dinner, but I'm still starving.  And it is the end of the week so my food stash is dwindling.  May have to go back to the kitchen to forage before bed.....

Tomorrow, I'm back at the bakery early.  I dunno if I'll get up oober early to run because I get out of teachign earlier tomorrow and therefore may have some time to squeeze in a decent workout later.  Plus, I hate to be already running only 8 hours after tonites' good run.  We shall see....

Good times runners!  Have great Fridays! :)

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

54- another busy one, and more snow

Today was another crazy day in the life of T-mart!

Began bright and early at 3:45am.  I awoke excited and ready for the day, even though my alarm was set for PM and didn't go off!  By 4am I was out the door for a quick 5 miles.  At the bakery by 6am-12pm, drive, teach, then the drive home took TWICE as long because of SNOW! Laaaame.  1.5 hours = too much driving.  Buttt, I did not let that stop me!  I was at the Y by 6pm for sommore indoor miles on the track, then strength training.  Got it all done in time to shower quick before an 8pm meeting I had.  Whew!  9:30 and here I am!

Good news is, after a couple ultra-busy days, tomorrow should be more chill schedule wise.  Usually I teach full days on Thursday, but I don't have to tomorrow (only from 1-4) so there will be more time for sleeping + working out.  My kind of day!

Wish I had more to say, but I'm fried.  Peace out! :)

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

55- Lovin' life and the like

Good evening out there!

First off, I'll admit it: I love being busy.  I really do.  And I love not being a student.  When I was a student, I HATED the feeling of having to study and always needing to do more.  Business = stress.  Now a days, I really do love life most of the time.  I AM super busy much of the time, but it's a good kind of busy.  Teaching, prepping my lessons, running, working at the bakery, appointments, swimming, the Y, social life.  I really love it all in the sense that every day has a cadence to it, but is a bit different.  I'm SO NOT the 9-5 type worker, and I love that between my two jobs and my working out, each day feels new and fresh.  I get home after being gone all day, unpack everything, clean and make coffee, repack everything, and feel ready for the next day- good feeling.  Don't get me wrong- its not all roses and butterflies: sometimes my students drive me nuts, I have bad runs, I don't feel like getting in the pool, and it stinks to have to be at the bakery at 6am, but overall life. is. good.  I'm so happy to have student life behind me and be like a real person!

Ok, with that corny introspection behind me- onto the run!  Today was a lovely 10 miles over snow and ice covered sidewalk.  Since the town I live in is so 'green' and lots of people bus or bike around, the sidewalks are *usually* fairly clear.  However, cars had splashed water/snow onto the sidewalks in places, that then refroze overnight making for a slick run.  This route is a tough one and because of the conditions my pace was slow, but I ended feeling stronger than I had in awhile.  I'm feeling pretty positive about my progress over the last 2 or 3 weeks only of running.  I'm hoping it continues!

In other news, my PT wants me to get my SI joint (the injured one in my pelvis) 'injected.'  I am still having pain occasionally there and he thinks it may solve it for good.  I'm nervous because it is not horrible right now, and the last thing I want is for it to get worse.  Anyone have experience with having injections for pain reduction?  I would also have to take a day or two off of running, which isn't cool.  So I'm wondering if it is all worth it.....

Ok, well I'm off to the 'unpack, clean, coffee, repack' stage of my night.  Bright and early bakery morning tomorrow!

Keep it real out there! :)

Monday, February 22, 2010

56- snow and recovery day

Today was a SNOW DAY!  I was actually really pumped to extend break one more day, because my weekend was so crazy that I did not get everything done that I wanted to.  So, today was full of errands, laundry mat, groceries and playing ketchup.  However, I would have rather not had it snow at all, as it interferes with my running and forced me to do my recovery run on the treadmill.  This was tough, because mentally, I didn't want to be there.  I stuck it out though and 'rewarded' myself with a 40 minute swim after.  I love swimming and how good it makes everything feel.

I'm sleepy and will truly be back teaching tomorrow.  It seemed like all day I though of funny, witty things to say on the blog, but they all escaped me now!  Oh well, I'll just leave it at that then!

Peace!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

57- good friend + good weather = good times + good run

Oh man!  What a day!

First, the good stuff- today's long run of 16 miles.  I FINALLY reconnected with my training buddy for a lovely 16 miler.  We set off at 8am, which was crazy-early for her, and nice and late for me!  The weather was lovely, 28* and partly sunny- perfect shorts weather! :)  I planned a nice route that took us through the rolling country side north of the city where traffic was sparse, and we could run in the street easily enough.  My training bud is odd in that she always has me plan the routes and I never tell her where we are going or the distance along the way (I know because I wear my Garmin).  She likes the surprise/not thinking about it I guess, although it would personally drive me nuts!  But then again, I have an OCD where I can only run on the left side of people, so I shouldn't talk.  But I digress.....

Let me tell you- if you ever want a long run to fly by, just run it with a close friend that you haven't seen in a month or so- so much conversation makes the run breeeeeze by.  We took turns talking about school (for her), work (for me), boy/boy troubles, training, summer, the Boston jacket ;) and everything in between.  I couldn't believe when 2:14 minutes were up and we were done!  16 miles at a 8:19/mile pace were just fine with me!

The rest of my day was filled with a bit of craziness.  I got home, showered and scarfed down a late light b-fast of egg whites and spinach, thinking I would be eating right after church.  But, after rushing to church, I was out doing the 'secret news work' that I keep speaking of on here (don't get excited, I'm just not saying what it is because I want it to be a sure thing and don't want to jinx it!)  My PSA for the day regarding this is: CARRY SNACKS IN YOUR PURSE, CAR, ETC AT ALL TIMES!  These driving and walking errands I am speaking of, took me until 5pm when I still hadn't eaten lunch!!  Yikes.  Much too long for me to go the whole day on egg whites and spinach- not to mention, a long run day too!  I woofed down a sandwich and am now trying to unbury my apartment from crap/clean.  Whew.  I wish I had time to grocery shop, but that may have to wait until tomorrow.

Back teaching tomorrow- I feel ready, but another week off wouldn't bug me too much either! 

Off to ice everything (my legs are feeling pretty OK, other than stiffness from all the hills!), stretch, and roll out.  And I may see a frozen yogurt dinner in my future.....

Start the week off great everyone! :)

Saturday, February 20, 2010

58- hiku

Brain is very fried.
Long run planned for the morning.
Need me some sleeps now.

Friday, February 19, 2010

59- busy day, hurting legs

Today was busy, but good.  Bakery work this morning, straight to an appointment I had (regarding said 'news' that I haven't shared yet.  no, its not a baby or engagement, so it's not THAT exciting).  After that, straight to PT, then to docs appointment, and by then it was 5pm and I had yet to get my run in!  Took a new trail by the river and felt *ok* except for my legs from the knee down.  The last few days I mentioned that my shins have been hurting.  Well, it is weird because they hurt barely when I run, but when I stop it feels like my legs are going to shatter from my knees down.  My knees, shins, and ankles hurt so bad I had to sit in my car for a few minutes until it subsided.  It was so sudden and intense!  I spent some time in an ice bath tonite, hoping to alleviate the pain, but we shall see.  I can't handle another set back right now.  Too much more and I'll have to rethink my Boston plans.....

Lots of decision making going on in my life right now too- exciting, but stressful!

Off to sleeps soon.  Loooong day 6am-5pm at the bakery tomorrow.

Have a good one y'all! :)

Thursday, February 18, 2010

60- the only thing better than doubles are TRIPLES!

Ahh, if only every day was like today and I didn't have to work!

I'm going to try to make this snappy, in order to spare y'all, and cuz I got an early morning tomorrow.  Today was a fabulous TRIPLE workout day!  The morning began with a 5 mile treadmill mini workout with pickups at MP and tempo pace.  After I was good and sweaty, I stretched until I was able to *barely* pull my sexy one piece suit over my sweaty body and hop in the pool.  A swim was long overdo and felt great on my muscles.  The afternoon was spent spring cleaning lots and lots of old papers out of my apartment (including 2 year old bank statements/bills!) and doing some errands, as well as I *big decision* that I will reveal later when I find out if it will actually happen.  Suddenly it was almost 6pm and time for Thursday night running group.  It was 30 degrees and I got to run in shorts and for the first half of the run- no headlamp!  The guy I run with and I broke away from the rest of the group from the start and ended up running a lovely dirt road loop (which was much less dangerous than last weeks' 10 miler on the main roads!)  We completed almost 8 miles at a 8 min/mile pace which felt great.

Now I'm icing EVERYTHING and eating EVERYTHING and getting ready for a busy day of work and appointments tomorrow!

Have a great Friday everyone!

Ps. Womens' downhill = crazy.  But in a good way! :)

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

61- REDEMPTION, snow ice packs, and salami-smelling hands....

Wow, I got 4 comments yesterday! New record :)

Soooo, I have to get some sort of award for most random blog titles, right?  Those three phrases pretty much sum up my run today so here goes.......

After contemplating my run for today and deciding against waking up pre-4am to run before my bakery shift, I decided to bring my clothes to work and just run from there.  It isn't all that far from my apartment, but sometimes it is fun to have a new start/end point.  Plus, I have this nasty habit of taking naps the second I hit the door of my apartment after an early work shift, so I wanted to avoid this.  I was worried though, because although I only had a 6 hour shift, my job is 100% on my feet/semi-physical so sometimes my legs are tired after the shift.  Today I actually think it worked in my favor to have a 6 hour 'warmup' so-to-speak. :)

The morning began well, with me setting a new PR on my sandwich making- got them done at warpspeed, including the grilled cheeses (because Wednesday= grilled cheese day= extra 30 sandwiches for T-mart to make.)  The shift flew by, and suddenly I was up front in the shop helping with the lunch rush as the time ticked past 12pm.....my blood pressure was seriously rising because I just wanted to get out and run!  Finally it was almost 12:30 and I jetted out of there so I could do a strip tease....err...change in my car in the parking lot, because I'm classy like that.  And I was off!

Originally I planned to run to the Y, strength train, and run back but immediately my legs felt too good to stop.  I wasn't even out of the parking lot and I could tell this run would be waaaaay better than the last few.  Finally, time for REDEMPTION!  I don't know if it was the balmy temps (high 20s), or semi-dry pavement (only random spots were covered in snow), but I felt GOOD.  I had some seriously good jams going on the ipod-diggity and spent the first half of the run running downhill into the city, then back out at an even FASTER pace.  Yay!  In my fantasy world, I would run Boston that way as the second half of it KILLED me last year.  But, doubtful it will happen given my history of being a fast starter, then die kind of runner.

My shins were *alittle* sore as I was running, but then I got a brillant idea (don't all the best ideas come from running?)  Nature was providing an endless supply of ice packs all around me- snow!  Sooo, stopped at a stoplight, I picked up some snow and rubbed it on my shins- genius!  It was helpful that I was wearing my half-tights (because of forementioned balmy temps) and it was just the fix I was looking for.  Finally, I reason for snow.

Which brings me to the final piece of my title. I was really pumped because I didn't have to wear gloves (it was that warm.) Butttt....FYI:  If you slice salami during the last hour of your shift, even if you wash your hands alot, they will smell like salami when you begin to sweat.  And you will notice when you touch your face.  Every time.  Noted.

In the end, it was a great 9 miles.  It wasn't so much that the pace was AMAZING (~8:40/mile) (although it was better than the last few days) but it was the fact that it truly felt effortless, and I ended the run wanting more.  Drove to the Y and had a good strength session too.  By that time it was 3pm and my lunch-less self was starvin!  Swim class was cancelled for tonite because "the pool is too cold." Yeah, direct quote.  Sooo, I'll be hitting up the Y for a swim tomorrow fer sure.

So basically my mom is going to hate this post because it is totally stream-of-consciousness and my sister is going to hate it because it is so long!  But, if you are neither of those people and you managed to get through it- congrats! :)

Off to go wash my hands....again...then to church! :)

Peace, Love, and Running,
Tmart

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

62- another snowy tuesday, and breaking down to build up

Just like last Tuesday's 10 miler, today's 8 miler was all about slipping and sliding over snow!  Although today, the only time the snow fell was during the hour or so I chose to run!  Laaaame.

Today's run was *ok*.  Not as bad as yesterday, but not awesome either.  I'm pretty good at reading my body and I know with me increasing my milage so fast, I'm right at the threshold where my legs feel fairly tired day to day, but will soon 'breakthrough' the wall and handle even high milage effortlessly.  I'm all about the 'breaking down to build up' idea.  I remember feeling this way over the summer when my body adjusted to 80+ miles per week, which was a new high for me.  Hoping for the 'breakthrough' soon though!

As far as my training schedule for Boston overall- I've obviously had to revamp it.  I'm leery to plan it all out again because honestly, I had a day-by-day calander of Jan/Feb planned out and it depressed me that because of my injury, I could not accomplish the runs I had so meticulously dictated.  Instead, I'm keeping a loose idea in my head.  9 weeks.  This week and next I'm going to focus on building up my milage to an acceptable level, while not stressing about pace and including only 1 speed workout/week.  Then weeks 7, 6, 5, and 4 are going to be all about high intensity and good milage.  I want to feel EXHAUSTED by the end of those weeks, before the last few weeks of taper.  I'm hoping this plan works out and am only going to plan week by week in detail.

Back at the bakery at 6am tomorrow.  It is nice that I only have to work 6am-12pm and then have the rest of the day off because I'm on winter break from teaching this week! :)

TTFN,
T-mart

Monday, February 15, 2010

63- Character Building

Today's run was just that- Character Building.  I've recently gotten 'into' this phrase whenever I'm doing something that is really tough.  Today, as I ran through the snow with my tight legs and my slow pace I thought "hmm, today's run sucks, but it sure is character building!"  I had a really good attitude going into the run, but my legs never "woke up" and they felt tight the whole time.  It was meant to be an easy 7 miler, but it turned out to be a 7 miler that wasn't so easy.  4 miles up to the gym, then 3 with my mom.  Thankfully, the 3 miles with mama went by fast as they always do with our conversation and such and because we took a new route around the surrounding subdivision.  I'm so fortunate to be able to run with my mom (and pop!).  Fortunate to have healthy parents and share my favorite activity with them.

Easy strength workout at the gym afterward.  Although, I focused mostly on stretching because I think my lack-there-of yesterday effected me today.  And, I'm still paranoid about doing too much ab work because of my pelvis.  I'm not going to stress too much about the run, because I basically went from 3.5 weeks of no running, to almost 60 miles last week.  Not nearly my ideal milage, but a pretty big jump.

The rest of my afternoon was spent like this:

Me doing an infinity of prep work, Ollie laying on the heater on the kitchen floor...


My goal is to have all of my prep work done for next week by tomorrow so that I can spend the rest of break NOT THINKING ABOUT TEACHING!  I like it, but a mental break is needed.  Plus, after tomorrow it is back to my apartment and my bakery job.

In other news, my mom who is an occasional reader of my blog commented that I sound very "stream of consciousness."  She was asking me "why do you say some of the stuff you say?"  Legit question.  I guess I just type as it comes.  I know I don't have very many readers, so I don't have alot to lose, ya' know?

Alrighty, that's it for my prep work break!

Peace Out Home-slices! :)


Sunday, February 14, 2010

64- I love freeways, and hills

Well, the first part of that title is true.  Ask anyone who has run with me over a period of time- I have a "thing" for freeways.  I always plan routes to go above them just so I can be the person that people see from their cars as the speed under and think "wow, look at that runner!"  It also makes me feel like I have gone great distances if I am out by a freeway, even though I don't really live all that far from them...

As far as the hills go, I totally blanked on the fact that although I am at my parents' house and our town is flat, the neighboring town is anything but.  Sooo, I decided to run north to get me some hills!  My plan was to go to a trail about 5 miles away, run some miles on the trail that cut diagnolly across town, and run home.  Hah, it did not occur to me that the trail would be completely covered in snow and there would be a whole bunch of xc skiiers at the entrance...hmm, time for some thinking on the fly.....

Sooo, I ended up running the mile roads in the hills against the wind, (with no shoes, blah blah blah. ;)  14 miles later at a 8:58 pace, I was home.  I'm actually really proud of this run because it was my first official 'long-ish' run back (I say 'ish' because I consider anything under 15-16 to be a medium long run)  After the first 2 miles, I seriously thought about quitting.  I felt slow and refused to look at my Garmin to find out if it were true.  The wind was horrid and plowing on the sidewalk was spotty at best.  My cold was raging and I was coughing the whole time while snow blew in my face.  All the excuses in the world went through my head but I finished faster than I started with an *ok* long run pace for me.  I seriously think the thing that stopped me from turning back the most is the fact that I HATE out and back courses.  Literally, even though I was hurting, it was more appealing to run an additional 12 miles, than turn around and run the same 2 miles back.  True story.  I'm that anal.

Legs were alittle tight after, but ok now.  I think my sweet pink compression socks fixed everything!  I am SO HAPPY that I don't have to work tomorrow, and my parents are coming home right now so we can watch the Survivor Premier that we DV-Red.  Fun fact: I've watched every season of Surivor with my dad dating back to when I was in 8th grade!  Plus, my favorite fro yo for dinner while we watch...sweet.  Life is Good.

Hope all is well wherever you are! :)

Saturday, February 13, 2010

65-WHY!?!?!

Literally, the day after my first day feeling like I'm 'back' (ie Thursdays' great 15 miles) I am so so sick and struggling!  I'm getting so frustrated with everything right now.

Got up at 6am to run 6 miles before driving an hour to the bakery for work.  They were *ok* miles but I could feel the illness/nyquil coma and my eyes were watering the whole time- annoying!  Plus, in my hometown the roads and routes are flat and fairly boring.  Work day was loooong and busy.  Usually I work in the kitchen for my normal 6am-2pm shift on Saturdays.  But, today I was up front in the shop and it was super busy/nonstop for my entire 10am-6pm shift.  We sold lots of apple-bacon donuts and bacon pepper farm bread (both on specials today, yeah, we love the pig....)  By the end of the shift my back was hurting and I had to drive the hour back home to my parents.  I almost made it home but had to get gas in a sketch-tastic area because I was aftraid I was going to run out!  Now, finally I'm home with Ollie in my lap, it is hardly 7pm and I'm exhausted and thinking about bed.  Tomorrow is a long run, supposively, so we'll see how that goes.  Atleast I can have a good, long sleep and slow morning before heading out.  My eating has been spotty and not great, so I gotta get that back on track too in order to promote better healing power!
Sorry for the depressing post!  I'm just bummed about being sick.  In positive news, I officially have 3 DAYS without either job! :) :) :)

Friday, February 12, 2010

66- WINTER BREAK and illness strikes!


There's my baby Ollie!  He asked to be on the blog tonite. ;)  In this pic he is laying on my friends' dry fit that I brought home to wash!  It is on the dryer, which he loves.

Well, good news is that I am on winter break from teaching for a week!  Bad news is, I still have to work my other job (including tomorrow allll day) and I woke up sick with a getting-progressively-worse-all-day cold.  Stocked up on nyquil and am planning on OD-ing on it soon even though it is only 7pm. 

Running wise, not much to report.  My legs recovered nicely from yesterday and I'm looking to get sommore quality runs in the weekend if my illness holds off.  Maybe even try to post some pics so my blog isn't quite as boring.

Question: does anyone know where you can get candy-canes after the season?  I'm obsessed with eating them in the evening and I'm almost out!?!?!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

67- doubles are for lovers!

15 MILES TODAY OF AMAZING-NESS!!!  Allow me to explain...

I arose early this morning at my parents' house with a long day ahead of me of teaching and driving back to my homeland (aka apartment).  Everything was pretty snow-covered and I knew I was meeting up with my Thursday night run group later, so I took myself up to the gym for a short, but sweet and effective tempo workout.  5 miles total done in under 39 minutes that looked like this:

1 mile wu @ 7.0mph (8:34 pace)
1 mile tempo @ 8.5mph (6:58 pace)
1 mile easy @ 7.1 (8:27 pace)
1/2 mile tempo @ 8.6 (6:53 pace)
1/2 mile easy @ 7.2 (8:20 pace)
1/2 mile tempo @ 8.7 (6:49 pace)
1/2 mile cooldown @ 7.3 (8:15 pace)

Although it was short, I was drenched in sweat and liked feeling my legs pick it up a bit.  I have a thing where if I turn up the treadmill, I don't turn it down the full way ever again (hense going down to 7.1, then 7.2 etc.)  Overall, I felt fresh when I was done and not tired at all and finished with some light biking.  Off to work I went.....

Then, the glory continued when I met up with my Thursday night group that I haven't run with since before the holidays!  There is a guy there who is my pace who is also training for Boston that I love running with because we really push each other, especially at the tail end of all runs (we always seem to finish with 6:XX last mile!)  I figured we would do an easy 6 miles or so which would be perfect for my first double day back.  Well, the 'leader' of the group told my friend and I a route to take because we are faster than other runners in the group.  In his exact words "oh, it is about 7 miles or so."  We were stupid for believing him!  Suddenly it was pitch dark, we were running on hilly, snow covered country roads in the middle of nowhere with oncoming traffic in our faces that kept flashing their brights at us!  We thought we had missed the turn after we had been running for awhile.  Well, as you can see by my first line in this post the route ended up being a hilly 10 MILES and we barely got back to the running shop where we start before it closed!  It was a great run though, catching up about training and I was really happy with how well my legs and aerobics held up after only one week back.  We flew on the last mile as usual and ended being satisfied.  Not sure how my legs will feel tomorrow, but for now I'm feeling good!

One more day of teaching before winter break...i think i can....i think i can...

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

68- snow day

Does it make me a bad person that I would rather not have a snow day, and not have snow!?!?!  I. hate. snow.

Today was indeed a snow day, but fortunately my parents live in a condo in which they plow really early in the day, so I was able to do my run on a 1/2 mile x 1/2 mile loop basis.  It actually was fun and I got to run/chat with my mom for a bit, plus get in a bit of strength work at the gym.  So overall, a good situation.

I also got lots of work done and am ready to tackle the next 2 days of teaching before WINTER BREAK! :)  yeah, I'm alittle bit excited about this.  I'm going to have a week off from teaching and 3 whole days without either job!  Yay.

I got my hair cut short today.   Pretty fun.  I'm super low-maintenence, so I'm hoping I can maintain this look but we will see.  I have a track record of sucking at hair...

Now, time to catch up on a bit more work.  Not much else to report.  I wish all the snow would melt overnight.....

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

69- is it spring yet?

OK< rant insuing....

If you are a teacher, show alittle maturity.  I know that snow days are really exciting and teachers want them more than the students, but honestly, don't make it so obvious!  And stop 'rooting' on the snow.  Seriously, is your life that lame that it only revolves around whether or not you have to go to work?  Do you not realize that snow means crappy slow driving, no running, minimal leaving of the house, more car accidents, cold, ice, blah blah!?!?!  So if your life is that narrow and meaningless that all you care about is getting out of a day of work that you are being paid to do anyway, please work on that.

/end rant

Seriously, the attitude of teachers can be so ridiculous!  We are expecting/getting tons of snow right now, but honestly, I am hoping against a snow day just so people get over themselves.  Seriously....

In other news, my run today was.....interesting.  I got to 'sleep in' until 6am which felt good compared to yesterday.  For some reason, this equated to it being light out in my head, although it was not when I started.  I was trying to beat the snow, but it already started to freezing-mist when I was about a mile in.  I also decided it would be a great day to do 10 miles in case I'm confined to the treadmill and decided to do some serious hills.  I set out on a dark dark road where the only lights are cars shining their brights in my face at the pre-7am hour with freezing mist in my face and where it is completely uphill.  The beauty of this particular route is the fact that after the first 4.5 uphill miles, you turn and get a gentle downhill.  Well, although it was light at this point, the ground was covered in a thin ice-mist-snow mix that was slick so I could not enjoy the downhill.  Also, the combo of running, long day, swimming yesterday made my leggies a bit tired.  Needless to say, my pace was not stellar, but I finished it nonetheless, setting a post-injury distance PR in harsh conditions.  My eyelashes were frozen when I returned home.  Yeah, should have gotten a pic of that....

Soooo, now I'm at my parents house because they live so much closer to the school I teach at which made my commute home waaaayyy better.  WHEN we STILL have school tomorrow, it will be easier to get back to work as well.  Did I ever mention that I have a great bed here?  Well I do.  Which = good sleeps tonite.   Yeah, I'm pretty obsessed with sleeping. 

Stay warm and run long! :)

Monday, February 8, 2010

70- pretty nuts...even for me

I don't want to come on here and constantly complain about being busy/having lots on my plate but today pretty much was nuts, even for me.  Honestly, I like it this way though.  Let me explain via my schedule...

3:45am!!! wake up (think, "yeah, I'm a bad ass")
4:00am run 6 miles, relaxed in 7 degree darkness, get cleaned up for work, chug a chocolate milk
6:00am-12pm bakery job!
12pm-1pm commute to teaching
1pm-4:30 teaching job
4:30-5:30 commute back
5:30-6:30 swim! at the crowded Y
7pm- buy new running shoes to celebrate surviving the day (oh, and cuz your others have like100000 miles on them!
7:45pm (ie now)...blog
smoothie and sleep to follow soon after...

Yeah, getting up at 3:45am was a new record, but I am sooo glad I did it!  Left the evening open for a much-needed shake out swim.  The swim was a bit annoying, caught circle swimming with a weirdo wearing flippers and soccer shorts and another guy who kept getting all up in my grill.  Forced me to go fast and really push it though, because I have a serious ego.  The run was good too!  My legs were alittle more tired than yesterday, but my pace didn't drop that much and the pelvis seems to be holding up (knock on wood)!

Lame that we are going to get like a foot of snow on Tues/Wed.  I can handle this cold, cold weather, but snow- I hate it!  I run too much and commute too far to deal with it! 

Off to complete my day via smoothie and futon relaxation...peace out!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

71- great eight!

Today after a lovely 11 hours of sleep (10pm-9am) I got up for my 'long' run (ie longest since my injury and my 3rd run back.)  I set off on my hilliest course, although I must say all of my runs are pretty hilly because of where I live.  I channeled my inner marathonmadien and tried not to be judgemental of my pace or even worry/look at it during the run.  I actually felt fresh and 'spring-y' throughout the whole thing and returned home wanting more!  Even more surprising was the fact that upon looking at my garmin when I returned, I ended up averaging 8:17 miles, which is15 or so seconds faster than my normal 'recovery pace.'  Splits were pretty gnarly and promising too:

7:55
8:18
8:37
8:20
8:21
8:29
8:09
8:15

Glad I finished strong, especially after the hills took alot out of me in the middle.  I need to build back up my leg/lung strength!  The pelvis felt good throughout and is *mostly* ok through the rest of today, it feels more tight then hurt if that makes sense.  My legs are super tight too- I really need to get back into the whole stretching program that I was so diligent about pre-injury!

Overall, a good catch-up day of prep work and cleaning.  I love having my apartment clean going into the week.  All my stuff is packed for jobs x2 tomorrow and I'm going to have a whole new level of busy-ness with my day tomorrow.  Stay tuned....

Saturday, February 6, 2010

72- scrapbooking and peanut butter

Finally, after 13 work days, it is my one day weekend! :)

I celebrated tonite by not doing any work and instead working on and finishing my running scrapbook mostly up to where I have pictures.  It was fun to 'relive' my past races, especially Boston.  My Chicago Marathons and 1/2 marathon are probably the best though, thanks to my sis and my bro-in-law as my fabulous pit and picture taking crew- lots of fun pics from those races!  I've had the scrapbooking stuff out under my air conditioner since like September and tonite it just drove me nuts not having it cleaned up so I scrapbooked until it was done and put it away.  Feeling better about that now!

I've also realized that about 89% of the calories I've been eating per day are coming from peanut butter (or sometimes almond butter).  Not necessarily a bad thing...

Tomorrow I have a 'long' run on tap.  We'll see how that goes...Although I have to catch up on work too, atleast I finally don't have to go into either of my jobs which means....SLEEPING IN!!! :)

Friday, February 5, 2010

73- home for the night

So nice to be at my parents' house, even if it is for only 12 hours.  My comfy bed, my cat, life is good.  I'm off to enjoy it- write more tomorrow! :)

Thursday, February 4, 2010

74- fab five-er

Good evening all!

Hit up a 5 miler this morning and it went fairly well.  Actually I've been really down the last few days and when I got up this morning early-ish (because I teach full days on T/TH) I was totally 'out of it.'  Soon enough I was off and running and it felt sooooo good.  It was a balmy 23 degrees, the pavement was mostly dry, and it felt almost 'spring like' out.  My first mile felt effortless in 7:40.  I settled down and ended up completing the run at a 8:25/mile pace which I'm pleased with because that is my normal 'easy' pace and I did it pretty comfortably even after all of the time off.  Maybe there is hope for me?

PT tonite too.  They make everything all better. 

I am SO PUMPED tomorrow is Friday after my hell-ish teaching week because a) I have a short(er) work day, b) I'm going home for the night to help my mom (and hopefully score some free food) c) I get to work a 10am-6pm shift at the bakery on Saturday instead of 6am-2pm!! :) sleeps :)

Smoothie time for t-mart...peace out!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

75- RRRRUUUUNNNN!!!

Finally!  I can start calling myself a runner again after a whopping 3 miler this morning!  I have to say, I think it was a success in that I had minimal pain while running and haven't had any for the rest of the day (knock on wood).  From a fitness standpoint, I think I'm in *OK* shape.  Not totally good, but not horrible either and I'm hoping it will come back with time fairly quickly.  I also had a really good swim class tonite in which the instructor killed us by making us work on flip turns and stroke drills.  It was cool though because it was only me and one other guy (instead of 4 people) so it was basically like a private lesson.

Hoping for sommore running tommorrow and minimal soreness.  My life outside of running/swimming is still basically in the crapper so I need something right now to go off of.

Keep it real peeps.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

76 now? and WTF

With the hope in trying to keep my blog from being a constant bitch fest, I won't go into details about how horrible my day was today.  Let's just say that it culminated with one of my 11th grade students yelling "WTF!" really loud, right when the principle walked by.  And no, he did not use the letter abbreviation.  Yeah, I looked really cool and professional at that moment....  Then, driving home, it was snowing and there was a horrible accident on the freeway (going eastbound, I was going westbound) and they closed the freeway because it was a fatal accident.  For some reason it really shook me up because I drive that direction on the way to work and I drive so much and I kept doing the whole "that could have been me!" thing.  I almost started crying by the time I got to physical therapy just because I was so tired and burnt out!  My PT wants me to wait a few more days for things to heal more and hit the elliptical really hard instead.  I don't think I can resist though.  Atleast he said he didn't need to see me tomorrow which means a) I may sneak a run in and b) I can have a good, easy morning because I don't teach till later and don't have to work at the bakery (finally).  Ok, time to end this.  I'm edging on getting whiney again!  Off to watch Biggest Loser and eat a smoothie while reading Runners' World.  Atleast a good night to end my crazy day...

Monday, February 1, 2010

70- my countdown is off. what day is it?

Marathonmadien mentioned awhile back that my Boston Countdown was off.  She was right.  I'll figure it all out again when I am running again.  Which will hopefully be WEDNESDAY.

I seriously have no idea what day it is!  The non-stop workweek with no weekend has really killed me.  Currently, I'm at the laundry mat because I had almost zero underwear.  And besides the few select groceries my parents bought me at our meet-up yesterday (ie hummus and $$ lunchmeat) I have zero food so I'm currently eating laundry mat peanut M&Ms.  I haven't mentioned this on the blog, but I've been eating no sugar and totally clean the last few weeks and have been feeling great.  Since I haven't been running, I've been watching my eating closely and loved how I've been feeling because of it!  However, I'm only human and on my 8th day of a 13 day work stretch, I have caved and eaten chocolate!  So. Good.  So. Worth it.  Usually Peanut M&Ms and my guilty post-race splurge.  With that said, the next time I will eat them will be post-Boston! :)

My blog has been totally boring lately, and for that I apologize.  I also realize that I've done quite a bit of whining about work.  I really do like my life and my jobs right now, but sometimes I'm so overwhelmed with the planning for my 4.5 classes that I teach (calculus, chemistry, physics, pre-algebra, and PE), driving 100 miles a day to and from work, fitting in swimming (and usually running), balacing my tenuous financial situation,  and trying to maintain my sanity and *sometimes* an actual social life!  I feel like I'm doing the best I can most of the time, but end up falling short in some areas.  I'm sure once I get back into running it will all make more sense.  Right now, I just feel myself being 'off' sometimes and feeling exhausted.  Not cool.

Well, I realize I have very few readers (but I appreciate those of you out there!)  But it still feels good to put my thoughts out there.  Time for me to go move my clothes to the dryer!  I wish I had more chocolate...