Making it through the week

It's been a good training week so far. It started out a little iffy with a weird upper calf tightness/strain. I don't even know what I did other than sit on a bar stool Saturday night for too long. I promise I wasn't doing anything wrong. Just hydrating, yes, that's what they call it.

Icing, rolling and stretching helped very little Sunday. I waited until Monday evening to bike. Look at those amazing quads over my knees. Squint really hard, I promise they are there. No calf pain, but still tight after the ride. And yes, my feet are really long.

I got the bright idea to wear my Pro Compression socks to work on Tuesday, and bingo, calf pain almost entirely gone. I had a great tempo run on the treadmill. More treadmill runs than I like, but thanks to monsoon like conditions on the East Coast, I'm grateful to have the option.

I'm really trying to follow the Run Less, Run Faster plan. I did pause a couple of times to check my calf, but it felt great during and after the run.

A little more time on the bike Wednesday morning before hitting the road to visit my little guy at my in-laws and celebrate the 4th. I'm working on riding for time at specific cadences on the bike. Hopefully this will give me some better turnover for running.

I got up early on the 4th to try to beat the heat. Guess I should have gotten up at 4:00 am instead of 6. Days like this make me wish for the snow. I had 5 miles mapped out on a double out and back course (determined to find as much shade as I could). My plans were waylaid by two roaming dogs that scared that #%?$ out of me, and I later found out that they wouldn't hurt a flea. I stopped to let them sniff me a little because I knew I couldn't outrun them and I was right in front of their house. I figured I could scream if I needed to. They followed me when I started walking away, so a little yelling at them to go home finally worked. I ended up being a little short, but I figured my elevated heart rate made up for the distance.

Little guy wanted a picture of me wearing my necklace he picked out.

A sweaty smile at the finish before a quick shower. We headed into historic Edenton for a reading of the Declaration of Independence. It was a gorgeous day with no rain.

We continued our celebration with this when we got home. A great refreshing, reward.

Ever been stopped short in your tracks by a dog?

How did you handle it?

Did you have a happy Fourth of July?

 

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Long Run with Hubby Support

So it's taper time for next week's half in Annapolis. We were out of town for a few days at my inlaws, and I needed to get 6 miles in. This is definitely on the shorter end of my long runs these days. Never thought those words would come out of my mouth. Being out of town meant no run with my buddies that I have come to rely on these last several months.

My inlaws live in the middle of nowhere. It's quiet and peaceful and very flat, think pancakes. If I head out from their house and take a right, I can get three miles before hitting the main road. Perfect for a 6 miler except for I am now spooked. You don't see any, make that no, runners out here, but you see lots of hunters. I wish I didn't think this way but a run where I am looking over my shoulder the entire time is not how I envision a peaceful time.

This is where hubby became my hero this weekend. He got to use his new toy, a fat tire bike with a borrowed basket. He kept calling himself my mobile SAG. He was so proud of himself.

Just a really cool shot. We are in the middle of nowhere.

Pretend you only see the cows and beautiful day in the background. There is no heel striking and over-striding here. Nope, you don't see any of that. I promise as soon as this half is over, I'm going to have a gait analysis and start back on my core strengthening. If I don't, someone please smack me.

The mandatory action shot.

And the staged shot to show off the bike. I have one awesome hubby to cruise around and keep me company for 6 miles. Thanks and love you dude.

The other crazy part about this run. I purposely waited until 11:00 am to run so it would be warmer. Next week in Annapolis, the low is 70 and a high of 80, and I was not successful at any heat acclimation with this run. I'm not sure what's going on with this crazy weather, I only wish it would last one week. This girl is going to melt into a puddle.

And thanks Emma, the new Lucy top was awesome. Cool and comfortable, lots of pockets, just wish it wasn't quite so see through. The hubby liked that part. ;)

And because my hubby made the effort to video me. Please ignore me adjusting my shorts. Oh well.

 

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First Day 5k 2013

I talked my hubby and BF to run a 5k with me on New Year's Day. Lucky for them, it didn't start until 11:00 am. So we should have enough time to recover from the previous night's festivities.

I had no idea of a plan for this race. The 3 mile distance for the week was supposed to be sprints, so faster would be ideal. But how fast should I try. Now that I have been hit with a few PRs, I want to be careful to not aim for a new one every time I race. My last 5k was a PR at 25:40. Since I haven't run that fast in the last month, a new PR would be a challenge and I don't want to get hurt.

On the way there, hubby predicted 24 minutes to which I responded absolutely no way that would happen. It was in the mid 30s and the rain was holding, and the longer we waited, the more I bounced around.

I made my decision to run fast, but to try to stay comfortable. This course was relatively flat, where my last 5k was mostly downhill for the first half and almost all uphill for the second. So comfortable was the plan ... until the starter said go. My hubby said he saw me take off and start weaving through the crowd.

It ended up fast (for me) and not quite comfortable, but doable.

I stayed consistent with my speed and my cadence. Double win! And a new PR. My official race time (no chip) was 25:10. Good enough for 6th place in my age group.

Woohoo! Now to slow down and build up some miles.

And an added bonus #5bythe5th done and miles for #TeamGiraffe in the #chillychallenge.

 

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Holiday Fun

Yes, I dressed up in a completely ridiculous outfit to celebrate the holidays. Only one other person in my training group participated, but I forgot to get a picture. So, hubby to the rescue for a photo of just me when I got home. I love my new Target socks.

I take myself way too seriously at work, and in general for life. My morning was made when my son saw my getup and said "Mommy, your running group if going to love your outfit." The smile on his face was perfect.

Sometimes, you just need to lighten up and say "Merry Christmas."

 

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