The Human Body Baffles Me

That, my friends, is a bruise^^^^^^. I'm not really sure how to explain it, except it followed the discomfort I had with yesterday's run. It's the kind of bruise I have inflicted upon myself when in my clumsiness I smacked myself on a chair in passing or something like that. Things are sore today and feel a bit banged up and stiff in areas. I guess it isn't really excessively so though.  I did some rolling out, icing and wore a brace for a while and such yesterday and today. I don't really know what to say except that the human body baffles me sometimes. I'm sure I will still be able to get out there and run on Monday. I'm actually really looking forward to hitting the ground running and cranking up the mileage in April!

Mileage Totals: {March}-ing Behind...

January Total: 56.8
February Total: 61.39
March Total: 52.49

Total: 170.68

Thanks to my shin, and the lack of mileage early on in the month, March was my lowest mileage month yet :( I am quite a bit behind (by 80 miles overall) :( I don't want to think about it because I can only go so far as my legs will let me without injuring myself. As per my workout plan for April, if I stick to it to the letter I will hit 80 miles. I need to be doing 83.3 miles per month so I am just not quite there!

But I have a few ideas:

Add one mile to the ends of shorter runs (3 miler to 4 miler, 4 miler to 5 miler) especially if I'm feeling really good.

Run more days of the week while keeping those extras a little shorter (3-milers).

In the evenings, steal away for 30 minutes to do an extra 3 miles on the treadmill (daily doubles)

On cross-training days, do like 2 miles as a warm up.

And Nine Turns to Five...

Ahhh, the journey of a runner.

There you have it...feeling injured, which is never good news. My left shin is banged back up(actually it is pretty localized to my superior/medial ankle region). I'm sitting here in my smelly, sweaty clothes with my left leg elevated, in compression socks with an ice pack wrapped around it. It's hurting. Nothing major I'm sure, but it was just one of those days. My first mile went great, but at about mile 2 and on my shin was just killing me...a throbbing type of discomfort which turned to pain. It would localize hear my ankle, then up the medial side, then throb deeper. I was really hoping it would go away but it just kept feeling worse and worse. I knew better than to push it but I was quite a ways from my house so I was forced to run farther than I would in the interest of avoiding injury. I was shooting for 9 but I'm not too bummed. As long as I didn't hurt myself bad.

The good news is that while it has been raining for 4 days now, I was able to avoid it. Everything BUT my left shin felt great, that is also good news. And hey, I did add 5 miles to my calendar so that's good. But I will be taking it easy through the weekend, icing, rolling and compressing my shins.

Garage Workouts Rock

Run/Workout: 3 miles
Location: My (newly cleaned) garage-Treadmill
Run Time (if applicable): 30:08
Run Start: 8:45 am
Temperature: ??
Weather: cloudy and pouring down rain outside, but dry inside! 

Notes:


Today I continued on my half marathon training plan with three miles and added those strength training moves I'm glad I have started doing! 


10 minute walk warm-up
10 stairs
10 burpees
25 mountain climbers
15 heel raises
25 high knees (each leg)
25 butt kicks (each leg)
40 x-jacks


Then I ran 3 miles on the treadmill, which went fine! Listened to my iPod but didn't try to track my run, I just used the treadmill stats. I find it strange, but it seems like to me, the treadmill is harder than running outside. A 10:00 pace on the treadmill feels about the same exertion as 9:00 outside. Throughout the run, I did increase my pace gradually. Everything felt good. 


After the run, I walked for an additional 30 minutes; part of my weight-loss efforts.


40 classic crunches
10 push-ups
10 bicycles (each side)
15 tricep dips


Exercise photos. I am not one of those people who try to look all pretty and girly when I workout by the way! Here are a few examples:


Burpees

 Mountain Climbers

 The stairs I climb

Push-ups

Treadmill-yay!!  

The moral of the story...it is totally possible to get a good workout in your own garage! :)

Five Miles Plus Fun Extras!!

Today's Workout: 5 Miles on the treadmill! Yay! The sun is gone today, well not gone but hiding behind a whole lot of clouds. It has been sprinkling too and with the kids home for spring break, the most pleasant option was to use the treadmill. I added some plyometrics and strength training which was actually fun! Here's how it went:

5 minute Warm-Up
10 Stairs (we have a set of 16)
25 Mountain Climbers
15 Heel Raises
25 High Knees
25 Butt Kicks
40 X-Jacks (jumping jacks, only your legs cross instead of just come together medially)

Ran 5 miles (collaberated my Nike+ today too which was way off! The pace shown in the picture is not quite correct, but I haven't figured out how to get either the treadmill or the Nike+ to callibrate correctly)

Ended with:

 40 classic crunches
10 push-ups
10 bicycle crunches (10 each side)
15 tricep dips

It felt great! I felt like I got a good all-over body workout. I am going to keep incorporating these moves into my workouts.

Last note:

I have noticed the last few weeks that I have a sort of natural "running personality". Everyone has a comfortable way that they complete a run. Sometimes a person has a tendency to start out fast, loose some steam and maybe finish strong. Some are really good at keeping a steady pace. Some have bouts of faster pushes mixed in with slower slogs. Others take regular walk breaks.

For me I have named my running personality the "Accelerator". It seems what works most naturally for me is to start out at about a 10:00 pace and I slowly accelerate throughout the run, the last mile or two almost always being my strongest. I know racing I start out faster and the whole run is a lot harder, but in normal, everyday runs I follow the "Accelerator" mode.

Sandy Beach Run

This morning I got up in a daze as usual (I'm just NOT a morning person) , dragged myself downstairs to make a cup of coffee and tried not to look outside at the dark, cloudy grossness which was our weather for today. What a bummer crappy weather always is to me! Here in Oregon, it seems sunshine is few and far between these days, at least in Winter/early Spring. :( My mood depends so much on the weather, and while I try not to let it, it just does.  It makes me so happy when it is sunny, and likewise, so bummed when it is crappy out!
That being said...God must have heard my inner grumblings because just as the sun really started to rise, so the clouds began to dissipate! Yay for sunshine!!!

Oh glorious blue sky!!

So instead of the treadmill workout I had planned, I suited up and put on my older running shoes to hit the beach. I have wanted to incorporate more of these workouts for a while now, but running on the beach isn't all that great unless it is at least sunny. Otherwise it is just miserable.
Four miles on the beach was pretty fun. It is ALWAYS wonderful getting out in the sunshine and the ocean is just beautiful. The headwind from miles 1-2.75 sucked the big one but the last mile was great, and I f-l-e-w down the beach :)

Pace Stats- notice the Red/Orange heading S then the nice Yellow/Green heading North!

Mileage Stats

 I jogged lightly for a cooldown on the way back and headed home. It really was a pretty day

Tillamook Head at Seaside Beach

Lastly, I have added push-ups, crunches/bicycles and tricep dips to my routine. I do them after my run/during cool-down phase.

Running Stuff I Love, Springtime Edition

This, my friends is the Lululemon Scuba zip-up hoody. I tried it on last weekend while in Portland for the Shamrock Run. It is by far the most comfortable sweatshirt/jacket I have ever put on! It comes at a hefty price ($108) so I am thinking maybe for my birthday next month?? I can't justifying just plopping that kind of money down at the drop of the hat. It wouldn't feel right. But nonetheless, I LOVE this jacket.

I also love the Lulu logo on the hood.

I am an official believer in compression wear! My compression socks have worked wonders for me! I am now wondering about compression calf sleeves for running. My socks are very tight and have been useful for recovery, but they are hell to run in. I'm thinking that possibly if I find some calf sleeves (or socks) that are a level or two less compressive, I would love to run in them. And look at all the colors!!

I am also very intrigued by insoles. I am sure they would be a great help for my high arches/pronation. I had some molded at RoadRunner once, but again, they were pretty high-priced (around $80). I wasn't prepared to throw down that kind of money right then and there for insoles but I have kept it in mind. They felt really, really good. It was nice to feel the sole meet my high arch and offer support.

And now for some fun stuff!! I ran across an easy tutorial for tutu-making and it has gotten me all interested in a tutu! I have a sparkle skirt that I love but honestly it is getting worn out! I think I'd like to try a tutu, especially for the Disneyland Half in September. I have a running tank that I love in a pink pattern so I thought I could dress as one of my favorite princesses-Aurora.

There are also fun and easy ways to make these fabric crowns out of lace, modge podge and gold spray paint. Aren't they pretty?

To be continued...I have to get some stuff done today! Plus it's sunny out so I'm outta here!

The Continuance...(3/31)

Self-Tanning Cream: Let's face it, at this point in the year, my skin is pasty white and I get so sick of it! I do not believe in subjecting myself to voluntary skin cancer risk, so instead I slap on one coating of the self-tanning cream and I feel like a million bucks! Faux or not I don't care, it makes everything look smooth and tone and for some odd reason that in and of itself motivates me to get my workouts in! Weird? Maybe.

100% Whey by Muscle Milk in Chocolate: By pure happenstance my husband had purchased a bunch of this protein powder and not ended up using much of it. Since I don't like to waste "food", I have been using it to make my after-run chocolate shakes. I love it! I use crushed ice that I blend further, add milk and blend some more, then I add the powder and mix it all up. It really does taste like a chocolate milkshake and isn't too many calories (I think it comes to 140 calories for the mix and 170 calories for the fat free milk).



Love this Lulu skirt...but funny thing is that once you hit their website, the skirt is not available. Probably just not available yet.

"It's not sweat, it's pixie dust!" Shirt : This is too cute!

My foam roller: This baby will probably make my list more often than most other things. It saves my tendons and ligaments!

I will leave you with some Inspiration: