Quick recap, I ran a half marathon in Duluth, hung out with an old friend and some new friends. I went to a work party in Chicago and made the most of my 24 hours in that beautiful city.
My kids are great, my work is great. I feel great.
Summer is delicious.
Morning run stats (don’t believe the splits, my phone or the runkeeper app has been wonky, I know the distance is correct though.)
Wooo, such a beautiful morning, it feels HOT and it’s awesome after our long ass winter. The greenway smelled of lilacs and everything is blooming, it’s gorgeous. And of course, Sunday morning means lots of people biking, walking and running. It’s so wonderful to see us utilizing the greenway, it’s really amazing how the city turned a sketchy and often dangerous area where addicts and alcoholics hung out to a thriving green space that attracts all kinds to get out and get their exercise on! Good job Mpls!
So I foam rolled the hell out of my left butt, hip and thigh before I headed out after I had my usual cup of coffee with cream and big glass of water. I need to remember to just drink water ALL day, especially now that it’s getting hot and I’ll sweat a lot more on my runs. My knee felts great through the whole run. I thought about running around Lake of the Isles too but decided I wasn’t up to adding three more miles onto my run. Maybe tomorrow morning 🙂
When I got back to my exit on the greenway, I did some stretching (calves, hips, butt and hip flexors) and then headed to the house. Now I’m eating, my post run eats: two pieces of sprouted whole wheat toast with peanut butter, a glass of hippy gatorade (this time it’s 100% tart cherry juice, juice of two limes and coconut water), a spinach salad with apples, goat cheese and red wine olive oil dressing. Might eat an avocado too.
Then I get to work for ten hours. I will sleep like a rock tonight.
I just completed an activity with RunKeeper http://runkeeper.com/activity?userId=15259197&trip=356267930
Happy to report, I complete this run with NO knee pain. Yoga, strength training and massage (plus acupuncture this last session) seems to be working. Oh hell yes, I was so worried the IT band syndrome was going to derail my whole summer running plans!
So yesterday I didn’t get any glute work done before I had to get the kids off to their dad’s and myself off to work. I need to get a step counter so I can track how much walking I do at work. I have a feeling it’s well over 15k steps, especially on a Saturday. I read about RunKeeper and a new app they have for tracking your steps and general level of activity throughout the day but it’s only available for iPhone. I’ll download that once it’s available for android.
I made sure I got my glute workout in this morning. I did 3 sets of lunges, squats, planks and side leg lifts. My butt will hurt tomorrow and I love that feeling. I did ten minutes or so of relaxing yoga at the end to stretch everything out and also, just because yoga feels amazing.
Okay, did the same workout today as yesterday, the 30 minute pre-programmed workout number 4 on my treadmill and a yoga recovery workout from Runners World. I’m feeling real good but my knee is still painful ugh. So tomorrow is a no running day. I’ll do some glute work in the morning and then work a 10 hour shift on my feet with a lot of walking.
I moved my treadmill out of my living room and into my four season porch and today was my first workout with the new set up. I’m very happy with my new home gym, hah. It’s great to have the treadmill out of the way and not overcrowding my living room but still easily accessible. I will need to configure a good cooling system for the summer heat though as the porch bakes in the afternoon sun.
So, as far as my slack training, I’ve been nursing a tender left knee for over a month now. I’m pretty sure it’s IT band syndrome and it’s irritating as fuck. I ran a 15k a few weeks ago and while my time wasn’t horrible and I ran across the finish line, I could hardly walk for 30 minutes or so after the race. Stupid, maybe, but I paid to run that race and I was going to run it. I’ve been researching and reading up on how to help my knee and I believe I’ve come up with a good plan. Any experts or others that have been through this want to weigh in, please do so!
I don’t like doing much of anything slow but I need to protect my knee and body and if I want run long-term, I need to do this right. My next race is one month away which should give me plenty of time to get myself together.
I haven’t ran at all since the 15k two weeks ago so I got on the treadmill and did one of the pre-programmed workouts, number 4. I like that workout because of it’s slow build up and nice slow down with a power punch at the very end. I didn’t want to just jump on the treadmill and go out for my usual 5k pace which I felt would have made my knee throb pretty quick. I’m happy to report that my knee only had a bit o’pain at the very last fast part. And now I’m going to do some yoga!
I just completed an activity with RunKeeper http://runkeeper.com/activity?userId=15259197&trip=332999771
First time with Cae Cae and the stroller this year. Slow going and I have a nagging pain in my left knee. Time to get serious with the cross training!
I just completed an activity with RunKeeper http://runkeeper.com/activity?userId=15259197&trip=330578423
So it’s Jan 2nd and I’ve already filled up my year with races! wooo!
Here’s the schedule so far:
Feb 8 5k
Mar 8 10mile
Mar 15 7K
June 1 relay 8 or 7 miles depending on which leg I run
July 4 Half
Oct 5 Marathon
Oct 25 Half
I’m sure I’ll sign up for some 5ks and 10ks.
Going to be a good year for running!!
Here we are, at the end of a year again. My mom was so right when she would tell me that time moves so much faster the older you get. 2013 was definitely a year of change, self-discovery and growth. My partner of ten years moved out, we made the transition from one house for our kids to two houses and split time with each parent. We tried to make this transition as smooth as possible for our kids with a minimal amount of stress and they seem to have weathered the change well but I guess we’ll see in the years to come. After quitting smoking in December 2012, I started running at the Metrodome in January and by October, I ran my first half marathon. That’s 13.1 miles people. I’m damn proud of myself. Running has taught me so much about myself, but the most important thing I’ve learned from running is that I can do anything I set my mind to. Yes, yes, most of us grow up hearing this idea and being told it by parents, teachers, and mentors but it’s so amazing when you, yourself, actually figure that shit out! I also connected and reconnected with a handful of wonderful ladies who just make my world a much better place. I traveled and had adventures, got tattooed three times, saw some great live music (PRINCE!), ate a lot of great food, camped, drank, had good conversation and few bad conversations. Opened myself up to my emotions, cried a lot, laughed a lot and loved a lot.
To cap this amazing year off, tomorrow is a Major Life Change. I’ll write all about it tomorrow but just know, there is one more amazing (and maybe a bit terrifying) thing that will happen in 2013.
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I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions as I feel they tend to not really last so instead, I focus on goals. Some of my goals carry on from year to year until I can complete them, like Getting Out Of Debt, it feels like that one will last forever. But, I am making progress on that goal, my credit is great and my debt is very manageable. I will keep working on managing my debt, paying it down, moving forward and being more responsible with my money. I will, of course, keep running with the intention of running the Twin Cities Marathon in October. Baring any injuries, this will happen!
What I really really want to get a handle on is parenting my kids better. I had such a bad mommy moment yesterday during bath time, I wanted to cry after I apologized to my kids for losing it. ugh. It was horrible and frustrating and just not good. My poor kids deserve better than a screaming mommy monster when I’m feeling stressed. I take it out on them forgetting that they are just little kids with little kid brains and hearts and how scary it is when an adult and especially their mom, is yelling at them. So I guess I can call this goal the Stop Yelling At My Kids goal. (Unless they are in danger, then I’ll yell like crazy.) I feel like in this is something very important for me to get a handle on since it will effect the girls for the rest of their lives, how they parent, how they talk to themselves, how they interact with each other. No one deserves to be yelled at, yet we do it to kids all the time. They don’t deserve it either. They don’t deserve to be made to feel horrible or less than.
I want to live this year full of love and compassion. Here’s the a great 2014! *cheers*
monybalony 