Thursday, July 25, 2013

The Weekend without a Long Run

My right leg is currently fighting off a marathon-ruining injury. I could be exaggerating. But I have broken a bone training for a half marathon before. And twingy pain in a pretty localized area scares me. So I'm trying to shut down the running/spinning train for now, until the pain is 100% gone.

So it was the first weekend since the  beginning of june without a long run.

except that I ran a 5K on saturday. Without much pain, without a garmin, going pretty darn slow, and enjoying getting sprayed with food-dyed corn starch. which may or may not have been a good idea. time will tell.



On Saturday, I woke up incredibly early to run the Color Me Rad 5k at solider field. (entry fee won in a giveaway from Running in the Windy City. Thanks _____!) packet pick up was in the burbs, and I was not feeling a 1.5 hour commute on public transit out of the city to get my packet. So race-day pick up it was. Packet pickup was slow, but decently efficient. I had my bib within a half hour or so.





The race itself was a good loop, with water at the half way point, which I graciously stopped to drink, as I failed to drink water before the race. There were no volunteers at the water point, just pint sized water bottles from costco in kiddy pools. it was super effective for an untimed race.

After the race, my knack for finding all things free swag was in full force. I ended up with an apex water bottle at the race.

I decided I would walk from solider field to the Green city market, as my weekends in chi are numbered. On my way, I stumbled upon a target giveaway at the beach. SOLD. I ended up with a meal pack, and a bag full of sunscreen, fruit snacks, and cheddar crackers.

Then was the farmers market, full of its fresh produce glory.



I got home later that afternoon, spent a few hours planted on my butt watching pretty little liars on netflix instant, and then headed to whole foods to pick up a few things (mainly ice cream. priorities people!).

Sunday morning I woke up early, of course, had no long run on the agenda. but i did have a to do list.

I decided I wanted an everything bagel with cream cheese and lox for breakfast, and was all dedicated to procuring the ingredients for that breakfast feast. except that the bagels i bought had something green on them. and i didnt discover this until i got home.

so back to the jewel it was. where i found out it was frosting from the cupcakes they bake (and frost?) on the same tray. so I was ready to eat my bagel anyway. and then there it was, a breakfast food truck right in front of me.








I was sold.

I got the scoundrel - an awesome breakfast sandwich filled with egg, turkey, bacon, cheese, and spinach. on a PRETZEL ROLL. it was to die for.

The rest of the day? Killing that to do list. cleaning, and watching more PLL's, and working on law school journal stuff.

Culminated in ice cream and pizza/cheese bread delivery to my door.


So yes, my weekend of finding substitutions for running went really well.

This week? not going as well. which sucks. but that's another post.



Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Marathon Training Weeks #6 and 7

we can blame the blog absence on the presence of my boyfriend for a week and a half. I can also blame my shoddy running schedule keeping on him.

but regardless, the running has been a little sporadic, and shoddy, but i have no more crazy trips planned for the next few weeks, and a bunch of races on the schedule. so i'm sticking to it, here on out.

so, Marathon Training Week #6

Monday - spin. 50 minutes. the usual, nothing spectacular here.
Tuesday - AM run. The problem with being two weeks behind on a training recap. you dont remember what your runs are like. so let's just throw down some garmin numbers and call it good. It apparently was fast though? 5 miles/8:08
Wednesday - yoga. 60 minutes
Thursday - travel day/off. traveled to see the boo! watched awesome fireworks! slept in a tent! good times all around.
Friday - 2 miles. lame, i know. cut short because i was having body issues. 2 miles/8:54
Saturday - the rest of friday's intended 4-5 miler. this short run was followed by a large smoothie and new running tops and gu because i intelligently forgot to pack running tops, and didnt feel like doing a long run in a cotton tee. 3.25 miles/8:34
Sunday - 8ish mile long run. no garmin. just me and michigan state's (ick) campus. in all honesty though, east lansing isn't bad. I have a way of finding paths along the water, and this was no different. ran along the cedar river, encountered ducks, swans, herons, and other runners. oh and this run-inspired graffiti.

are you saying its a good thing I didn't run with my garmin?



Total: 18 miles

Marathon Training Week #7

Monday - OFF
Tuesday - these were hot sticky high humidity miles. I didn't bring water, and stopped just about every mile for water. 6 miles/8:42
Wednesday - OFF
Thursday - double header. just shy of 3 miles run, and 60 minutes of yoga.  2.88 miles/8:37
Friday - evening speedwork. last week I really struggled with garmin functionality. I hit start/stop instead of lap, and then there was no first yasso recorded. oh well. 4.5 miles/8:21 
Saturday  - OFF
Sunday - Home miles. 12 on the Ann Arbor stomping grounds. Arb, to huron river trail, and back. these were good miles, except for that part around mile 5 when I stopped in a clearing and got ATTACKED by bugs. It was absurd, and I was freaking the eff out because I didn't know what kind of bugs they were or what they were going to do to me. Turns out they were going to bite me UNDER MY BRA. wtf bugs. you suck. 12 miles/9:00

Total: 24 miles



Wednesday, July 3, 2013

6 steps to successful morning running

6 steps to Successful Morning Running

1. go to bed early

I know, the 10PM bed hour makes you feel like you're 70. But it is so much easier to wake up in the morning when you've had a full night of sleep, and it makes your run better. so just do it.

2. get together all your running things

this is something that has foiled runs for me. Take this morning for example. I knew I needed my handy ipod shuffle, Elle Woods, for my run.



So I pulled it out of its basket-full of electronics home. And then buried it in my bed, so I was searching for it for 10 minutes this morning. and then leaving one of the silicon earbud thingies in my bed so i had to go back for it. WASTE OF TIME LAUREN.

3. prep for the next day
breakfast, lunch, outfit.

When these things are figured out the night before, getting ready in the morning is infinitely easier. I'm not always so great at this, but it definitely helps.

4. go to bed in your running clothes



not only are most running clothes super comfy, but they also are nice to not have to figure out in the dark in the morning.

you're probably sensing a trend by this point. One of the keys to morning run success is allowing myself to sleep in as late as possible and be as efficient with time as possible.

5. snack before your run (or don't)



some mornings I don't need/want a snack and other times I do. Do what works best for you, and don't feel like there's and fast rule on this one. because there isn't.

6. run

And then get out there and run. Know that you are out there getting your heartrate up before the day even really begins. Enjoy the sun coming up, the cool breeze, and the joy of running!

tuesday morning run scenes


that gorgeous lake

Monday, July 1, 2013

Marathon Training Week #5



Monday - 55 min spin at gocycle studio. the usual monday evening grind. This time it was in the middle of a crazypants storm that you could hear OVER the music. oh, I also had my first spin mishap. While I was riding the seat of my bike just completely CAME OFF. it was like i had tightened the bolt enough, but I'm sure I did. this resulted in me switching bikes in the middle of class, and decreased calorie burn. but oh well. makes for excitement right?

Tuesday - unintentional off day. I woke up in the morning SUPER tired. proceeded to skip the 6 miler i had planned for the morning. went out to grab food with some co-workers after work, and didn't get home until 10-ish. Updated the ipod shuffle with new music, made sure my garmin was charged, went to bed at that time, planning on getting up at 5:30 to get the run in.

Wednesday - guess what i woke up to? Rain. Rain. More Rain. Hence PSA post here.
But I got the six miles in after work. They were good, highly motivated by new music miles by the lake. the usual. love. 6 miles/8:13



Thursday - the two a day to make up for the extra rest day. 3 miles on tired legs in the morning. 60 minutes of hot yoga in the evening. all good. 3 miles/8:47

Friday -  another off day, in prep for a saturday long run.

Saturday - 11 miles by the lake. It was a day where I was happy to be running. Whole thing felt good. Garmin was being a huge pain in the ass, and I found myself getting super frustrated with it because all I wanted to do was keep running, and it was refusing to track my miles. Gu at 5.5. Energy levels good, overall run was good. It was a cool foggy morning, with a bunch of wind by the lake. But a good long run, for sure. 11 miles/8:39


navy pier! 

so foggy!

typical shoes shot

Sunday - evening fast miles. the garmin decided to totally not function, so I said screw it and ran free. In the glances at the pace, I stayed below 8:15. A decent number of peeks at the garmin gave me a number starting with 7. It was an "I'm-super-grateful-for-these-legs-that-are-strong-and-that-propel-me-forward" kind of run. ~4 miles

So first week where I wasn't consistent. All my workouts got done except for a yasso run, but it was tough juggling everything (although the evening runs were a nice change). These next two weeks involve a lot of traveling and a visit from the boo, so we'll see how they go.

Total Mileage: 24 miles

Plan for the week:
Monday: Spin
Tuesday: Run 6
Wednesday: Yoga
Thursday: Run Yasso's
Friday: Run 3
Saturday: OFF
Sunday: Run 12