In college, I always felt that I had to fight for academics to take precedent over athletics. Not the normal college experience, despite going to a school where athletics wasn't exactly a top priority to the institution.
Now, I am finding myself in the opposite extreme, where a career takes precedent over running. The hardest thing for me to learn was to be flexible. I have always been used to controlling my schedule. If I was efficient, planned out my work schedule, and got work done then I would have time for what I needed to do. But I can be as efficient as humanly possible and it won't stop an assignment from coming in the door 20 minutes before I'm supposed to meet up for a track workout, or sleeping through a run because I had to work on an emergency project till 2am the night before.
I've had to learn the consequences of not getting up out of laziness in the morning (then being in the office till late and missing a run). I've discovered how to do an 8-miler during lunch and not appear too desheveled for the rest of the day after a quick clean up in the women's bathroom. I've accepted that tempo runs on the treadmill suck, but sometimes there are no other options when the work day wraps up at 8pm.
Life has been busy, but lately I've managed ok.
April 12-18 - 40 miles
w/o #1: Tempo cutdown - Treadmill
w/o #2: Fartleck 6x (3min on 2 min off)
April 19-25 - 45 miles
w/o #1 - First attempt at Hills. Ouch.
w/o #2 - 4 x mile w/ 400m recovery
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Back to the grind...
Have you ever had one of those mornings where you wake up and just feel stressed out for no good reason? The sound of rain outside and the memory that it was supposed to clear up and be sunny this afternoon kept me in bed till the last possible moment before needing to get up for work. I instantly felt stressed. Every little thing was stressing me out. The dirty dishes in the sink, the fact that I hadn't responded to several overdue emails, strange dreams from the night before, taxes, even the fact that my shoes were disorganized in my closet. The uneasiness carried through to work this morning, and is only now beginning to disapate as I look at my to-do list and silently remind myself I am not overwhelmed; it's under control.
This weekend was a good one for running. Got a solid speed workout in on the track. Not as fast as I would like, but a good start. Again my mantra of patience kicks in.
Spent all Sunday morning at the C-bad 5K. Got to hang out with some people that I hadn't seen in awhile, watch some other friends kick butt in their races, and ran my longest distance run (8 miles) since my achilles injury in January. Other than soreness from the speed the day before, things are feeling good.
Weekly Mileage: 33
This weekend was a good one for running. Got a solid speed workout in on the track. Not as fast as I would like, but a good start. Again my mantra of patience kicks in.
Spent all Sunday morning at the C-bad 5K. Got to hang out with some people that I hadn't seen in awhile, watch some other friends kick butt in their races, and ran my longest distance run (8 miles) since my achilles injury in January. Other than soreness from the speed the day before, things are feeling good.
Weekly Mileage: 33
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Sickness
March 27
Sick - bagged workout again. 4 miles.
March 28
LA all day. Not feelin' great. No run.
March 29
5 miles. Blah.
March 30 - April 2
SICK. No running. Lots of nose blowing. Very sexy.
April 3
Treadmill in Las Vegas - 4 miles. Not great but felt good to atleast run.
April 4
Treadmill in Vegas - 5 miles. Feeling much better today. Think sickness has finally run its course, at least physically.
Weekly Mileage = 14
You win some you lose some.
April 5
Off. Tired from trip + full day at work + desire to just go home, make dinner, and watch the NCAA game with Marc = no run.
April 6
Track - 3x (600 w/ 300 recovery, 400 w/ 400 recovery) 2x400 w/ 400 recovery. Total miles = 7-8
Worked in to Katie's workout. Body felt WEAK, not too shocking. But my original plan was to do 4x 600/400 so the fact that I almost managed to make it through should make me happy, considering my recent illness and lack of running. Time to do this.
April 7
5 miles easy before work.
Sick - bagged workout again. 4 miles.
March 28
LA all day. Not feelin' great. No run.
March 29
5 miles. Blah.
March 30 - April 2
SICK. No running. Lots of nose blowing. Very sexy.
April 3
Treadmill in Las Vegas - 4 miles. Not great but felt good to atleast run.
April 4
Treadmill in Vegas - 5 miles. Feeling much better today. Think sickness has finally run its course, at least physically.
Weekly Mileage = 14
You win some you lose some.
April 5
Off. Tired from trip + full day at work + desire to just go home, make dinner, and watch the NCAA game with Marc = no run.
April 6
Track - 3x (600 w/ 300 recovery, 400 w/ 400 recovery) 2x400 w/ 400 recovery. Total miles = 7-8
Worked in to Katie's workout. Body felt WEAK, not too shocking. But my original plan was to do 4x 600/400 so the fact that I almost managed to make it through should make me happy, considering my recent illness and lack of running. Time to do this.
April 7
5 miles easy before work.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Slow and Steady
Friday, March 26
Planned day off. Felt physically exhausted all day.
Saturday, March 27
4 miles - easy
Bagged the workout. Body is done. Got a bit of a cold and it took all my energy just to get up in the morning and move from point to point in my apartment. Finally dragged myself out for an easy 4 miles before rallying to head of to LA for A-M's bday.
Sunday, March 28
Off - Actually felt almost back to 100%, which was strange after feeling so crappy yesterday a.m. Decided not to run out of convenience. I'm usually pretty diligent about mileage, and there are some days where it's nice to just let it slide. Got home from LA and sat with Marc and watched the sunset while dolphins jumped and played in the waves. Sometimes it's nice to just sit and watch the world go by, instead of always racing to keep up.
March 22-28: 28 Miles
Monday, March 29
5 miles - North on backroads of S.B. Coast
Rolled out of bed late, and normally wouldn't have tried to squeeze in the miles, but I could really use the day after work to hit up the grocery store, come home and read on my couch. Ran slow not out of fatigue (felt well rested, not surprising after a weekend of light activity), but more just a lack of urgency. Workout tomorrow on the track. Would like to start seeing some fitness seeping in after 3 weeks at mileage in the high 20s.
Planned day off. Felt physically exhausted all day.
Saturday, March 27
4 miles - easy
Bagged the workout. Body is done. Got a bit of a cold and it took all my energy just to get up in the morning and move from point to point in my apartment. Finally dragged myself out for an easy 4 miles before rallying to head of to LA for A-M's bday.
Sunday, March 28
Off - Actually felt almost back to 100%, which was strange after feeling so crappy yesterday a.m. Decided not to run out of convenience. I'm usually pretty diligent about mileage, and there are some days where it's nice to just let it slide. Got home from LA and sat with Marc and watched the sunset while dolphins jumped and played in the waves. Sometimes it's nice to just sit and watch the world go by, instead of always racing to keep up.
March 22-28: 28 Miles
Monday, March 29
5 miles - North on backroads of S.B. Coast
Rolled out of bed late, and normally wouldn't have tried to squeeze in the miles, but I could really use the day after work to hit up the grocery store, come home and read on my couch. Ran slow not out of fatigue (felt well rested, not surprising after a weekend of light activity), but more just a lack of urgency. Workout tomorrow on the track. Would like to start seeing some fitness seeping in after 3 weeks at mileage in the high 20s.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Recovery Miles and Strength
March 24, 2010
5 miles on cliffs and DM neighborhoods in the morning. Definitely tired from working out the night before, but starting to get excited about getting into racing shape!
March 25, 2010
Gym session this morning. With daylight savings I can now hit up the gym in the morning and go for my run after work. While this could easily be flipped during the winter, let's just say my motivation to go to the gym after work was often lacking, whereas my motivation to hit up some miles in the daylight is definitely high.
Planning on running 5 after work at Lake Miramar. With track workouts now part of my routine and the pain being gone from the achilles, it's easy to take up the mileage too high without even realizing it. Gotta keep the recovery runs as recovery and not squeeze in too much mileage before the body is ready.
5 miles on cliffs and DM neighborhoods in the morning. Definitely tired from working out the night before, but starting to get excited about getting into racing shape!
March 25, 2010
Gym session this morning. With daylight savings I can now hit up the gym in the morning and go for my run after work. While this could easily be flipped during the winter, let's just say my motivation to go to the gym after work was often lacking, whereas my motivation to hit up some miles in the daylight is definitely high.
Planning on running 5 after work at Lake Miramar. With track workouts now part of my routine and the pain being gone from the achilles, it's easy to take up the mileage too high without even realizing it. Gotta keep the recovery runs as recovery and not squeeze in too much mileage before the body is ready.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Back on Track
March 8-14
Mileage: 24 mi
Strength sessions: 2
Quality: some tempo effort at St. Patty's Day Race.
March 15-21
Mileage: 26 mi
Strength sessions: 1
Quality: 6x400 @ 80-84; 1 min rest
Monday, March 22
6 miles at Lake Miramar after work (first 3 miles with Marc). 8 min down to 7:30 pace. Slowly getting into shape again. Post-run shrimp tacos and beer compliments of my awesome man ;)
Tuesday, March 23
Track Workout: 2 w/u; 4x800 @ 2:55; 3x800 83-84; ~300m recovery; 2 c/d
Mileage: 24 mi
Strength sessions: 2
Quality: some tempo effort at St. Patty's Day Race.
March 15-21
Mileage: 26 mi
Strength sessions: 1
Quality: 6x400 @ 80-84; 1 min rest
Monday, March 22
6 miles at Lake Miramar after work (first 3 miles with Marc). 8 min down to 7:30 pace. Slowly getting into shape again. Post-run shrimp tacos and beer compliments of my awesome man ;)
Tuesday, March 23
Track Workout: 2 w/u; 4x800 @ 2:55; 3x800 83-84; ~300m recovery; 2 c/d
Met with Brian and Katie to partake in part of their repeat 1,000s workout. With the only quality I've done occurring two days before and my mileage only in the mid-twenties, I was pretty unsure as to how much and for how long I could hang. By the third 800 my stomach started doing flips and the legs started to turn to jello. Took one interval off then jumped in for one more 800 effort. Did a few 400s to finish things off and bring Katie in at the end of some of her 1ks.
The largest inadequacy in my training since my return to the world of running has been my quality workouts. They are few and far between. I'm too stiff when I try roll straight out of bed before work and I do better when I have someone to push me. I think Tuesday night workouts on the track might be what I need to take things to the next level.
Grabbed food and beer with Katie and Brian post-workout and spent some time exchanging war stories from the track. Good day.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
In Lieu of a Run...
Tuesday, December 29
Off - I debated getting up and either biking on my road bike (awww, i miss biking) or hitting up the gym for elliptical/biking, then realized that I had only taken one day off for some undetermined pain which I had no evidence to suggest would NOT be aggravated by activity. So, I took today off. Things are feeling MUCH better today. More fatigue as opposed to PAIN. It no longer hurts to lift either knee up to my chest. Amazing how we prolong injury by refusing to take a few days off when sometimes all it takes is rest. Runners are idiots. I embrace it.
So in lieu of running I am setting forth my New Years Resolutions. Most people know that when it comes to Goals I think two things are important: Writing them down and telling others. That way they are REAL and you can be held ACCOUNTABLE. Last year was the first time in forever that I even did new years resolutions, but I actually kept those things in mind for most of the year...things only tended to fall apart when I got overly busy either at work or in my social life. So here's what's up for 2010
Running
Time
5K - Sub-17:30
10K - Sub-37:00
Half - Sub-82:00
Marathon - Sub 3 hours
Strength
Gym - Twice a week.
Health
Stretch - Often I'm rushing to work in the morning, but it doesn't mean I can't find 15 minutes to stretch out later that night (stole this from Jilane ;) )
Massage - All my issues of late have been due to tightness. I need to get in for regular appointments to get things worked out if I want to be able to maintain 70+ mileage.
Health and Nutrition
Sleep
This is a repeat from last year, I believe, but I need to make sure to keep getting between 7-8 hours of sleep so I can be awake when I run in the mornings and to give my body proper time to heal.
Food
I love cooking. I find it calming and so rewarding. And I can't remember the last time I cooked a really solid meal. I blame being busy, evening workouts, and just being too lazy when I get home at the end of the day. I'm going to get back into my routine of cooking 1-3 meals a week. And eating more vegetables.
Friends
With so many wonderful people in my life spread out all over the country, its often hard to keep in touch. I'm not a big phone person, and I don't really like being on my computer after work since I'm on it all day, so sometimes I lose touch. There are certain people that I should be at least shooting an email to or calling on the phone at least once a month.
Other
Golf
I took up Golf during my final year of lawschool and the summer after I graduated. Then I got busy with running, work, social life, family, and all the good stuff that I spend my time doing. I want to really work on getting out to the driving range a couple times a month and get to the point where i feel like I could actually play a round without embarrasing myself.
Organization
I am currently in the process of completely reorganizing my apartment. Closets, cupboards, drawers, EVERYTHING. I want to work on keeping my apartment clean and organized on a regular basis, instead of my typical routine of getting busy, letting things fall apart, following by massive cleaning session, and repeat. I'd also like to take five minutes to organize my office every day before I leave.
Ok - That about does it. Let's hope for a pain free run tomorrow.
Off - I debated getting up and either biking on my road bike (awww, i miss biking) or hitting up the gym for elliptical/biking, then realized that I had only taken one day off for some undetermined pain which I had no evidence to suggest would NOT be aggravated by activity. So, I took today off. Things are feeling MUCH better today. More fatigue as opposed to PAIN. It no longer hurts to lift either knee up to my chest. Amazing how we prolong injury by refusing to take a few days off when sometimes all it takes is rest. Runners are idiots. I embrace it.
So in lieu of running I am setting forth my New Years Resolutions. Most people know that when it comes to Goals I think two things are important: Writing them down and telling others. That way they are REAL and you can be held ACCOUNTABLE. Last year was the first time in forever that I even did new years resolutions, but I actually kept those things in mind for most of the year...things only tended to fall apart when I got overly busy either at work or in my social life. So here's what's up for 2010
Running
Time
5K - Sub-17:30
10K - Sub-37:00
Half - Sub-82:00
Marathon - Sub 3 hours
Strength
Gym - Twice a week.
Health
Stretch - Often I'm rushing to work in the morning, but it doesn't mean I can't find 15 minutes to stretch out later that night (stole this from Jilane ;) )
Massage - All my issues of late have been due to tightness. I need to get in for regular appointments to get things worked out if I want to be able to maintain 70+ mileage.
Health and Nutrition
Sleep
This is a repeat from last year, I believe, but I need to make sure to keep getting between 7-8 hours of sleep so I can be awake when I run in the mornings and to give my body proper time to heal.
Food
I love cooking. I find it calming and so rewarding. And I can't remember the last time I cooked a really solid meal. I blame being busy, evening workouts, and just being too lazy when I get home at the end of the day. I'm going to get back into my routine of cooking 1-3 meals a week. And eating more vegetables.
Friends
With so many wonderful people in my life spread out all over the country, its often hard to keep in touch. I'm not a big phone person, and I don't really like being on my computer after work since I'm on it all day, so sometimes I lose touch. There are certain people that I should be at least shooting an email to or calling on the phone at least once a month.
Other
Golf
I took up Golf during my final year of lawschool and the summer after I graduated. Then I got busy with running, work, social life, family, and all the good stuff that I spend my time doing. I want to really work on getting out to the driving range a couple times a month and get to the point where i feel like I could actually play a round without embarrasing myself.
Organization
I am currently in the process of completely reorganizing my apartment. Closets, cupboards, drawers, EVERYTHING. I want to work on keeping my apartment clean and organized on a regular basis, instead of my typical routine of getting busy, letting things fall apart, following by massive cleaning session, and repeat. I'd also like to take five minutes to organize my office every day before I leave.
Ok - That about does it. Let's hope for a pain free run tomorrow.
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