2015 Comes to a Close

I have 2 jobs these days and have been working more than I ever have in my life. If it weren't for my husband and all he does at home (even though he works a lot too), I would go nuts! Things should calm down a bit as January begins but lately I have hardly had time for running let along logging my running! So here is a rundown:

I ran 174.4 miles in 2014...which is 174.4 more miles than I expected! I'm feeling great. Today's run was 4.5 miles in crazy cold temperatures as we have had a serious cold storm move through. It's awesome though, we get a touch of winter in SoCal.

Less than 3 weeks until the Carlsbad Half Marathon! I'm so excited! My longest run so far has been 8 miles which is pretty good. I still need to get a 10 miler in next, then another 8 or 9 miler. I don't see myself getting anything longer than 10 miles in before the race.

One interesting challenge has been just finding time to run. I love my morning runs. Get some coffee, get some water, toast w/almond butter & banana down, take kids to school, then go for my run. It's usually sunny and after my run I can kind of plan what chores need done, what errands I need to run, etc. But I have been working a lot of morning shifts which totally screws up my schedule. I have gotten up early once, but I hate getting up early. No matter how much motivation I try to give myself, no matter what I tell myself, I just can't get up early. I ran after work one day and that was awesome. I work in Pacific Beach for one of my jobs so there are countless gorgeous, accessible places to run nearby. A lot of the time though I have a kid in some sport that I need to get home to see. But some days it works out and it is pure bliss.

In the end I am just so thankful. I have been on quite a journey. January 9 I posted this before my surgery the next day: "With all of the nervousness I feel there is also an exponential measure of hope. This journey will take the good part of 2014, but I have hope that the end result will be a success story. I have hope that I will walk again normally, that I will run again one day. Hiking, biking, swimming, etc...I will do it again. It sucks not to be able to do it for such a long time but at least I know that once I can again, I will never-not for one second-take it for granted."

Above races to run or anything else I do this year, I'm thankful I can do anything! Here's to a healthy, injury-free 2015!

Into Week 5 and going strong

Well as my title would suggest (obviously), I'm into week 5 of half marathon training and I'm going strong! I have some soreness after yoga and strength training sessions and foam rolling is rough but for the most part running is feeling more and more natural.

Today was an "off-day". Now I don't mean "rest day", I mean "OFF-day". Today my 4-mile run was majorly off. I went into it after a good warm-up too (which I'll admit I am often too impatient to do). My L lower leg was burning, I felt sluggish and about mile 2 I just about pooped myself. Thankfully I made it to the Rite Aid. I blame my 2nd cup of coffee, which I usually never drink before a run! My body has just been a little bit off today. Nothing to totally throw me off my plan. I am hydrating better today and I think the #2 issue should be resolved. It was just hard...I didn't even want to think about how the half marathon is 9 more miles!

Generally speaking my body is feeling a lot better since starting running. I was dealing with an ulcer, and was having issues with gas and constipation and some blood sugar-regulation issues when I began my half marathon plan. Since then it seems most of the gas/constipation issues are very rare, and the ulcer is healed nicely. Running seems to work out a lot of stuff digestively speaking. I am more careful about what I eat for sure as well. I also feel like the energy I expend during a run helps to regulate my blood sugar and of course offers much-appreciated endorphins. I'm relieving stress and my body feels so much better. It also trickles into other areas of my life as well and I am getting better at remembering my vitamins, stretching, drinking more water and generally taking better care of myself. Of course these are generalities which did not exactly apply to today ;)

Also I am part of a small but active running group on Facebook. We report in on our daily runs, share funny pictures and helpful articles we find online. I like having a group with like-minded ladies.

I'm getting so excited about my target race! The Carlsbad Marathon/Half Marathon has a Facebook page as well and they post something every couple of days, such as a recent video. I am really looking forward to this race!

Capping off Week 3 of HM Training

Today I finished up week 3 of half marathon training. It has been a pretty good week. Life is very busy so my schedule can vary from week to week. My #1 goal is to get my runs in, followed by yoga sessions and then other cross training as I can. Everything is coming along. I am feeling less like I am dying during my runs as my body gets back into shape. I know it will just continue to get better.

Yesterday I had to work and along my commute is a Road Runner Sports store, including a Clearance store. Every time I pass I drool wishing I could stop. Today I finally did. I didn't have a lot of time but I stopped! I looked at shoes first but the shoes at the Clearance store were all gently used and I'm just not into that. The shoes at the regular store were all full price (upwards of $100, no thanks) so I did not end up buying any shoes. The Clearance store did have tops and bottoms and a few new shoes but I just didn't have time to sift through everything. I did end up buying some calf sleeves (non-compression), a new running visor, a pack of Gu Brew tabs and a new running jacket. It is more like a light windbreaker, but exactly what I have been looking for. It has vents you can unzip as you warm up. It doesn't get all that cold here in SoCal but a jacket is really nice to have for many reasons, and will come in handy if I get up early any day for my run. I haven't had this type of jacket since I left my Eddie Bauer one in my gear-check bag at the Eugene Marathon so it was time.

Today's run was great. I love the calf sleeves! I have been wanting to buy some for a while because even though my achilles is strong, I'm still building my calf back up and my L ankle kind of feels it a bit . Today everything felt good...actually felt normal...and that's a great feeling!

Add caption

9:16 per mile! Yahoo!!

I walked to warm up and then jogged about a mile before I arrived at the track. Then I did the rest on the track, focusing on my form and breathing. The last mile I took a couple 20 second walk breaks but then the last 300 meters I really sprinted. I am very pleased with my time. After my workout I did some push-ups, sit-ups, tri-dips, etc and finished up with 10 stadium stairs. I'm feeling great!

I also wanted to mention that this morning I was not feeling great. I woke up with vertigo, and just not feeling very good. Post-run I still have a little bit of it but running really felt good and I am glad I got out there and got it done.

Week 3 of Half Marathon Training!

So here I am...week 3 of half marathon training! I wanted to wait a couple of weeks before I posted to make sure that I would stick with it. Sounds backwards...wouldn't I post it so that I would have to stick with it? Well I did post this picture on Instagram...

At it's start it is nice and clean and white...since then I've been adding colorful sparkly star stickers. Gotta love little extras like that!

I had to find a way to get myself back on track and this has worked for me! I think my caution was due to my being unsure how my leg would handle running. Right now I run 3x a week, yoga 1x (although I'm going to start making it 2x) and sneak in XT when I can, but it hasn't been consistant because my bike tires are flat and I don't have a pool available. I usually consider a nice long walk or hike my XT. I am hoping to look into strength training classes at the gym where my brother works, and though the yoga I do is serious strength training yoga (not your gramma's yoga!).

My body is tolerating the training very well. I take frequent walk breaks as needed and do 10 stadium stairs after each run as much as I can (sometimes the field is locked). I definitely notice that my legs tolerate the activity differently. My right butt might be sore while my left shin is...or my L hamstring might be super tight but my L is perfectly fine. It's really weird and I have to really concentrate on my form and make my (lazy) left leg perform properly. My L calf muscle just isn't as strong as my R. This is why I walk as needed and stretch often. My L Achilles is super strong but I'm all about preventing injury these days!

Exciting news for me is that I'm all registered for the Carlsbad Half Marathon Jan 18! I'm so excited to get back out and participate in an event of this caliber! I don't even care what my time is or anything else...I think I registered with an estimated finish time of somewhere between 2:00-2:15. Even if I don't make that time I won't care. I'll just be glad to get that medal and know what my body is capable of again.

Excuses Excuses

I'm tired of excuses. I'm tired of being too busy...too tired...too many places to go...

Fall has officially arrived in SoCal so at least the "too hot" excuse is out the window finally! I did some runs while it was hot and I was a hot mess when it was all over. I have done some hiking and such and although my left leg doesn't really tolerate them well (sore for DAYS), if I were doing it more often, perhaps it would get stronger (DUH!)

Day 1 of (another) new plan

Today I got out and went for a run. It was awesome! Somehow it felt relatively like I had never stopped. I managed a surprisingly fast 9:30 pace through the 3 miles. Fall is great here with lower temps plus the pretty sunshine. I enjoyed every minute. After my run I did 10 stairs and the last 3 I did some quick sprinting. Honestly I was surprised that I was able to do these things. And it's not that I thought that I couldn't, it's just that I have been too busy and distracted from running that I haven't tested myself in a while (except a recent hike with my husband that rocked my calves).

Yesterday I wrote out a great half marathon plan and taped it to my bathroom mirror. I have some cool sparkly star stickers to mark each day with. My goal race is the Carlsbad Half Marathon Jan 18-which is just about on the year anniversary of my Achilles repair surgery. I think it will be great timing.

Along with running I am going to start going back to yoga. I have been holding off on so many things that might cost money but it's time to do a few things for myself again. I have a good strength training routine that I will follow on my own on Strength & Stretch days. For cross training I'm not sure yet because my bike tires are flat and it's not swimming season anymore...

But let's just say it's nice to be doing some normal things again!

Working Woman

Life has been so crazy busy ever since I got this job. I love it by the way! It's so busy though, full time Mon-Fri, 8:15 until about 4 each day. At first I underestimated how tiresome it could be, but now that we're in week 4 of working I'm starting to get the hang of it...sort of.

My running agenda is kind of up in the air. I am on my feet all day long which surprisingly makes my achilles really sore. I stretch and try to take care of it after work. I have tried getting up early to jog like I did during nursing school but my body isn't having it. I certainly do not have as many "excuses" as I did during nursing school but my body wakes up and is like, NO. I did a little trail run/walking the other night and I found that I am actually enjoying doing a workout that time of night which is new for me. It works out well because it is during my youngest son's football camp (which will later become football practice-same place and time). I think that is going to be my best bet.

In my "free time" I have been finding ways to chisel out some exercise. Saturday I took the kids to the pool where I swam my 10 laps. At night I like to do some yoga (although I hugely prefer taking an actual class). Of course 4th of July weekend a few weekends back I got great exercise and had a ton of fun battling waves boogie boarding.

So it's all a work in progress. Change always seems to be the word of the season. Change, adjust, enjoy. Change, adjust, enjoy. I'll get there soon!

On the flipside I have been doing great with my intake. Because I have this routine, I pack my lunch and stay too busy all day to do much snacking. I start out the day always eating a good breakfast and in the evening we almost always eat something relatively healthy. There is always sugary treats at my work though-always! Someone is always have a birthday or celebrating something which brings in the cakes and donuts, etc. I haven't been too bad with it, since in reality those types of treats give me a sugar rush headache/nausea most of the time. So I usually just take a very small portion and enjoy it. Life is too short not to eat dessert! But the end to this paragraph was to say I have lost a few pounds just because of the discipline that being so busy had bred. I'm not disappointed at all!