Poo.

You know how some days you just wake up feeling like poo- that’s me today.  Nothing physically wrong with me, I just mentally feel like crap.  I am feeling very negative today.  It is probably all the stress I have been under with school and life in general, mixed together with some anxiety about these upcoming races.   I just want to go back to sleep and have a do-over and wake up positive. 

I am really getting nervous about Broad Street (5 days) and my half (19 days).  I have worked so hard to get where I am and I feel really frustrated by the fact that I was feeling some pain during last Saturday’s run.  It feels like a slap in the face; I did everything right, I stretch and ice and continue to do everything they told me to do.  I had a month of totally pain free running and then BAM a week before a race I feel it.  And the worst part is, it is affecting my mental focus.  I keep reminding myself to treat Broad Street like a training run for the half; have fun, don’t focus on time and stay positive, but for some reason I am really struggling with that today.  Hopefully it’s just a funk. I am going to go out and run a (very) easy 3 miles tomorrow and I am hoping it lifts my spirits a bit.

*sigh* I am done whining now.  Tomorrow day and hopefully a better one.

I asked in my last post about tips for self-motivation- I sure could use them right about now.  🙂

Early Morning Week in Review

At some point every Sunday night, I take a few moments to reflect on my previous week.  This reflection, for the most part, becomes my week in review post.   One thing different about this week’s review: it is 830am as I write this.  I am writing early today because I have a busy day and a paper to write tonight; I don’t want to get caught up writing this later and lose valuable paper-writing time.  I have already procrastinated enough! 

Coming off Spring Break I knew it was back to the grind- and was it ever!!  This past week was filled to the brim with school-work, softball and life in general.  Week nights were all late nights and both weekend nights were spent studying.  I need my life back!  Have I mentioned my need for the semester to be over?!?!?!

I am happy to report that I did get in all my training runs and I am going to bike for an hour later this morning and do some strength training.  In reality that means I only had to forgo one bike and the swim.  I have been really bad at getting swims in and I while it is my strongest discipline, I know I need to get more on top of my swim training.  Right now though, all my concentration is on my upcoming 10-miler and half-marathon.  Any biking and/or swimming I fit in are all a bonus.  As long as my runs are completed then I feel accomplished.  After May 17 it will be back to a three-discipline focus.  And by then school will be out for the semester.  And that will make me a very happy girl J

This week I ran really well but had some pain for the first time in almost a month which kind of freaked me out. 

 My Tuesday run went really well.  I felt good, paced great and was generally just happy to be out running.  I felt really on.  I finished at just about sub-30 minute 5k pace which is a major goal for me this year. 

Yesterday’s run was completely the opposite.  I went out for 8 miles and right from the beginning I just felt off.  Despite feeling off, I was running great- keeping my pace @ 10min for each mileà that is until that familiar pain began to surface.  It was right around mile 6 and it totally ruined my mental game; all I could think about was the pain in my knee.  I pushed through for one more mile but called it a day after 7…I just didn’t want to push it with these important races looming.  I ended up with 7miles in an hour and sixteen minutes- that last mile killed my time/pace and really bummed me out.  I was really concerned about how this would affect my 10-miler next week and if I could even run it (ugh-negative mental thoughts!) but I came home and iced me knee and when I woke up today it felt good as new. 

Even though I feel great today, I certainly don’t want to push it; therefore I have decided to treat my 10-mile race next week as a training run for my half.  As much as I might want to get out and push it or “race” per say, I am going to just enjoy being there.  Broad Street is a race I have looked forward to for over a year, so just being a part of it is exciting for me.  Like with every race I enter, the ultimate goal is to finish.  That is always goal #1. For Broad Street, goal #2 is to enjoy the run as a training run.  This upcoming week I will take it light with training and focus on mental preparation.

How do you mentally prepare?

 

Hope everyone has a great week!  Hopefully you are all enjoying equally amazing weather 🙂

Also, best wishes to Rebekah…she is running OKC Marathon today (her first!) and has been through a lot to get there- I hope you rock it Rebekah!

Ouch- blisters!

This past Sunday I ran 4 miles and when it was all said and done I had a small little blister on my foot. Not such a big deal; threw on some ointment and went about my week.  Then I ran 4 miles yesterday and when I pulled off my sock that small little blister was now a very angry (much bigger) blister.  It doesn’t help that it is located on the bottom side of my foot and that I have to wear heels to work. OMG- it is painful killing me!!!

So Internet blogger friends…I need advice- how do you deal with blisters?  Do you wear certain socks?  Have any tried and true methods of avoiding blisters?   Currently I wear Nike socks and Brooks Adrenaline shoes.  When I was a skater I would get blisters all the time, but I had special pads to wear in my skates that would help ward them off or alleviate them when I did have them.  Is there anything like this in the running world??

A few other random notes:

-I have Yoga tonight and I am really looking foward to it.  Each time I go I get a little better and make a little less of a fool of myself 🙂  Plus, with my busy schedule, the relaxation time is much needed.

-Spring break starts in 1.5 days! I am out of my mind excited. Even if most of my time will be spent writing three papers, I will still be able to sleep in a few days, get caught up on housework and have no problem getting my workouts in.

-I also plan to try a few new recipes over break from AthlEAT and LiteBites.  They are always posting yummy homeade foods and I never have the time to set aside to make them.

That’s all for now…hope everyone is enjoying their hump-day 🙂

About time…

Finally went to the gym.

Finally started my schedule.

Finally.

Not only did I get to the gym last night but I had a GREAT workout!  I had decided earlier that I would need to do todays scheduled easy run last night along with my long bike because I have a meeting tonight that will prohibit me from getting to the gym.  Normally I would have just done my run this morning but after the dumping of snow we received over the weekend the paths are all icy and I am just not willing to risk a fall.  And the treadmill first thing in the morning is just not something I can get excited about.

Speaking of falls- yesterday while I was cleaning off my car to come into work I fell on a slippery patch of ice. This was not shocking as my ENTIRE parking lot was a skating rink (fun for the whole family perhaps, but not for me!). So naturally I went down on my good knee and I am now sporting a vicious looking bruise on the outer left side of my kneecap.  I guess its better than having went down on my already not quite functioning knee, but now instead of icing one at night I have to alternate the ice bag. Fun.  Have I mentioned how forward I am looking to nice weather?

Despite the freshly hurting right knee and the sometimes still hurting left knee I still had a great, albeit, short run. I was thankful it was the easy day, thats for sure.    2 miles in 24:08 following a 17 mile bike in 48:00. Even did an abs workout before I called it a night. Score one extra for me 🙂

And the training begins…

 It’s official- I have clearance from my orthopedic and I am allowed to resume my workout schedule as of next Saturday. This is very exciting and is actually almost two weeks earlier than he had originally predicted.  Turns out all this PT is working- hopefully the whole knee issue doesn’t return and I have a pain free season.   

 

 Now that I have the go ahead on my workouts, it kind of makes me wish I hadn’t bailed out of the Ocean Drive 10-miler, although I don’t think I would have been near ready.  I know my body will bounce back fairly well, but it wasn’t like I was breaking any records before so I am glad to have more time to prepare for the start of the season.  

 

 Here’s the problem- I don’t feel like training. It could be all the stress from work and school and moving put together, or maybe it’s because I am currently recovering from the worst stomach virus ever and my energy is low, but every time I think about my training schedule I cringe. It could also be that I have never been one to really follow a training schedule and now I feel more pressure.

 

 I have always considered myself a lazy athlete- I have never followed an actual schedule; more so just decided when I woke up what I wanted to do that specific day. But now that I am working towards (much) bigger things I really feel like I need a schedule. The thing is, I feel like a schedule takes some of the fun out of. So we shall see. I have a schedule. Here’s hoping I can stick to it.