After my long Saturday, a relaxing Sunday was in order. Finished my house chores during the day so I could play 3 hours of beach volleyball followed by a bonfire with some friends in my backyard. Nothing like friendly competition with and roasting smores to make you feel like a kid again! I don't know what it is but we've been playing volleyball pretty regularly lately, enough so that you would expect me to be better at it lol.
I don't know about you but I'm probably 50/50 about running with my Ipod. I guess it just depends on the day and the run. I know I definately don't like it for races but somedays on my run I just want to escape into the music and not get lost in my sometimes overactive thought process. If anyone can overthink a situation it's me. But hey I'm working on it :-) So today's playlist being a short run consisted of my latest music obsession, Kings of Leon. I'm diggin their latest CD. Not really the best tempo for most runs but eh what can ya do. I also discovered that Juke Box Hero for some reason is a feel good song for me to run to when the pace starts to drag. Anybody else have some favorites to listen to when running?
Anyway, easy three miles today went well but sadly enough I was really lacking on motivation to get out the door and do it. I finally had to remind myself it's only 3 miles and it will be over in no time. It's not like I had some pressing obligation or better way to spend my evening. Now I find myself strangely looking forward to my mile repeats tomorrow. I'm guessing it's all due to it being a change of pace, and hopefully I share the same feelings tomorrow when I am actually running repeat miles haha.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
How much Michael Jackson can a wedding dj play?
Holy long day Batman! and I slept in later than I planned on! Thankfully here in Michigan the weather doesn't follow basic guidlines such as seasons, so today the temperature didn't make it over 65ish and the majority of the day was much lower than that. So this was great for me since as much as I would love to be the early morning runner type......I'm not.
The alarm went off and the snooze button was promptly mashed into its hole. After finaly rolling out of bed around 9ish and dealing with some unexpected delays, I got my run underway. Again I decided to try out GU for my long run and since it didn't play well with my body last week I decided to modify my intake. I took 1/3 half hour before, and then another 1/3 about six miles into the 14 mile journey. I cramped up for a quarter mile or so but other than the fact that the "vanilla bean" flavor taste like a chocolate turd (in my opinion)..... it went well.
I also have a new favorite post run snack, whole wheat toast with peanut butter and honey....Delish. So all in all my run went well, felt good, no blisters, though I did notice some slight pain in my right foot again off and on, it wasn't bad enough to warrant any real concern.
This is where the long day part comes into play, I also had a wedding to go to this afternoon/evening of which I just got home from. So after poorly dancing the night away to what seemed like Michael Jacksons entire discography (I pulled out great classy dance moves such as the sprinkler, shopping cart, 'lawn mower, and the always crowd pleasing "stand there and bob your head to the beat") I feel like my hips are held on by wood screws. Thank God for rest day tomorrow, and what is shaping up to be a great night of beach volleyball followed by a bonfire. Can't wait! I'm off to runner dream land cheers!
The alarm went off and the snooze button was promptly mashed into its hole. After finaly rolling out of bed around 9ish and dealing with some unexpected delays, I got my run underway. Again I decided to try out GU for my long run and since it didn't play well with my body last week I decided to modify my intake. I took 1/3 half hour before, and then another 1/3 about six miles into the 14 mile journey. I cramped up for a quarter mile or so but other than the fact that the "vanilla bean" flavor taste like a chocolate turd (in my opinion)..... it went well.
I also have a new favorite post run snack, whole wheat toast with peanut butter and honey....Delish. So all in all my run went well, felt good, no blisters, though I did notice some slight pain in my right foot again off and on, it wasn't bad enough to warrant any real concern.
This is where the long day part comes into play, I also had a wedding to go to this afternoon/evening of which I just got home from. So after poorly dancing the night away to what seemed like Michael Jacksons entire discography (I pulled out great classy dance moves such as the sprinkler, shopping cart, 'lawn mower, and the always crowd pleasing "stand there and bob your head to the beat") I feel like my hips are held on by wood screws. Thank God for rest day tomorrow, and what is shaping up to be a great night of beach volleyball followed by a bonfire. Can't wait! I'm off to runner dream land cheers!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Rest days, New Shoes and GU's
I've decided I have a love hate relationship with my rest days. They're nice when I get out of work late on Wednesdays all I have to do is eat, play with the pooches, and relax before bed. Then comes Thursday's run and I'm stiff and feel like I am made of cinder blocks for the first mile. The head wind on the first 2 of my "easy" 4 miler didn't help the situation too much.
Now that I've done my complaining for the day I'm happy to say that my new running shoes I purchased on tuesday are suiting me nicely. Off and on over the last couple months I've had some pain in my right foot which would come and go during runs, and for the first time in my running life blisters have begun to be a common sight on the tips of the toes on my left foot. Something was definately wrong. Well since my New Balance 769's were nearing their end I ventured out to the local running store and started my quest to find a new pair. I say quest because after about an hour and 12 different shoes I am the new owner of a set of Brooks Glycerine 7's. I hope they play well with my New Balance socks. So far so good, no new blisters, and no noticeable foot pain. Apparently since I was fitted last march for my 769's my feet have changed from a normal arch to a high arch. So my shoe options therefore have changed and instead of needing a stability shoe, I am now lacing up some cushy soft shoes.
I've got another easy 4 miles tomorrow after work and then Saturday morning I'll be putting one foot in front of the other for 14 miles. I'm going to make another attempt at trying out GU on saturday too since I had some unexpected results after last saturday's 16 miler. I'm not certain it was the cause of the nausea and puking out the side of the car but it is quite the coincidence. That being said, if anyone who uses GU has some advice on how they use it and results I'd love to hear it.
Ahh Tomorrow is Friday, work has gone well this week but even the best week at work gets better at 5:01 on Friday. So cheers to my fellow runners and thanks for reading my rambling.
Now that I've done my complaining for the day I'm happy to say that my new running shoes I purchased on tuesday are suiting me nicely. Off and on over the last couple months I've had some pain in my right foot which would come and go during runs, and for the first time in my running life blisters have begun to be a common sight on the tips of the toes on my left foot. Something was definately wrong. Well since my New Balance 769's were nearing their end I ventured out to the local running store and started my quest to find a new pair. I say quest because after about an hour and 12 different shoes I am the new owner of a set of Brooks Glycerine 7's. I hope they play well with my New Balance socks. So far so good, no new blisters, and no noticeable foot pain. Apparently since I was fitted last march for my 769's my feet have changed from a normal arch to a high arch. So my shoe options therefore have changed and instead of needing a stability shoe, I am now lacing up some cushy soft shoes.
I've got another easy 4 miles tomorrow after work and then Saturday morning I'll be putting one foot in front of the other for 14 miles. I'm going to make another attempt at trying out GU on saturday too since I had some unexpected results after last saturday's 16 miler. I'm not certain it was the cause of the nausea and puking out the side of the car but it is quite the coincidence. That being said, if anyone who uses GU has some advice on how they use it and results I'd love to hear it.
Ahh Tomorrow is Friday, work has gone well this week but even the best week at work gets better at 5:01 on Friday. So cheers to my fellow runners and thanks for reading my rambling.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
59 Days and Counting
In just under sixty days I will have completed my first marathon. Thats the first goal anyway, to follow through with my training and complete what I hope is the first of many to come.
I started running again consistently seven weeks ago, and realized how much I missed in my years off. I ran in high school on the cross country and track team. When I got out of school I got out of running. Here and there I would run a couple miles feeling motivated shortly but never kept up with it. So long story short, five and a half years later I'm once again caught up in the rush of chasing down finish lines, and shooting for PR's. I have started planning my Saturdays around my long runs and putting thought into what I eat not just swinging through the drive thru on the way home.
So here I am looking at my schedule for the rest of the week and when last year that schedule would have been planned around the local bar drink specials, today it's planned around hill workouts, LSD runs, recovery days and so on. I feel a lot better today than a year ago. No I didn't put on a ton of weight in my running hiatus, the most I've weighed in my 24 years is 155 pounds and at 6'1 I'm sure most would agree I'm light to say the least. But I did spend a minimum five days a week in a bar with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other. I'm proud to say I'm going on seven months without a smoke, and vaguely remember the last time I was drunk.
Holy cow I'm rambling, anyway today was a rest day and tomorrow is an easy 4 miles. Well If anyone reads this I hope you will get something out of it, be it motivation or maybe just a laugh here and there. I like to leave with something cheesey like happy trails.... yeah that sounds good.
I started running again consistently seven weeks ago, and realized how much I missed in my years off. I ran in high school on the cross country and track team. When I got out of school I got out of running. Here and there I would run a couple miles feeling motivated shortly but never kept up with it. So long story short, five and a half years later I'm once again caught up in the rush of chasing down finish lines, and shooting for PR's. I have started planning my Saturdays around my long runs and putting thought into what I eat not just swinging through the drive thru on the way home.
So here I am looking at my schedule for the rest of the week and when last year that schedule would have been planned around the local bar drink specials, today it's planned around hill workouts, LSD runs, recovery days and so on. I feel a lot better today than a year ago. No I didn't put on a ton of weight in my running hiatus, the most I've weighed in my 24 years is 155 pounds and at 6'1 I'm sure most would agree I'm light to say the least. But I did spend a minimum five days a week in a bar with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other. I'm proud to say I'm going on seven months without a smoke, and vaguely remember the last time I was drunk.
Holy cow I'm rambling, anyway today was a rest day and tomorrow is an easy 4 miles. Well If anyone reads this I hope you will get something out of it, be it motivation or maybe just a laugh here and there. I like to leave with something cheesey like happy trails.... yeah that sounds good.
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