Rest Day

Getting out of bed on Monday morning was pretty tough. Early mornings here are just getting colder, and my warm king size bed is quickly becoming my favorite place in the world. Combine the chill in the air with the fact that the husband (J) had taken the day off of work, and you have me laying in bed for half an hour longer than I should have. So, thanks to my laziness, I had to rush around the apartment to get ready for school just so I wouldn't be terribly late.

I only really had 3 minutes to eat breakfast, so my only real option was a packet of instant oatmeal. Thank goodness I love plain oatmeal. J always tells me that I am the only person he knows that eats the unflavored oatmeal, and that it is disgusting. I love it though, so plain oatmeal all the way. And if I'm feeling really adventurous, I add a handful of raisins. ;) Ha.

My gigantic 32 oz cup of iced coffee and I made it to my 8 A.M. class only 5 minutes late, a miracle really considering how stiff my legs still were from yesterdays race. The cold weather really does a number on my legs recovery wise, so I knew that I should give it a rest today. A few months ago, taking a day off would have been a pretty big deal for me. Rest days send me into this kind of panic where I begin to think that I will lose fitness or immediately gain weight, which is silly! So one of my major goals going forward is to develop a healthier relationship with running and eating.

I typically love my Mon/Wed/Fri 8 A.M. lecture, which is Intro to Psychology, and have no problem paying attention. Today the prof talked for a half hour about our next written assignment however. (Which I might add, is listed very descriptively in the syllabus.) For a class that's only 50 minutes long, a half hour discussion on a 1 page paper just seems a little excessive! But for about 98% of the students in class this is their first college course, so I can see why he did that. It makes me wonder if some of them are so used to being nagged by teachers to do their homework, or if they just don't care. Either way, it can be pretty frustrating paying big bucks to take a course, only to waste a large amount of time on things that should not need to be explained.

For the hour in between my Psychology class and my 10 A.M. Anatomy class, I read the latest issue of Runner's World. Kara Goucher was on the cover, and I was really interested in the article that they wrote about her women's running retreat. She seems so likable and approachable, not at all intimidating. She seems like someone who takes their athletic career incredibly seriously, but still wants to be able to touch base one on one with her fans.
I thought it was very inspiring when she described how running became too much of a job for her, and she was just running to meet the requirements set for her by her contract with Nike. For her to instead sign endorsements with smaller companies such as Oiselle (a smaller, very female friendly running gear company), has the potential to really help different running companies grow. I know that I would really love to see running grow as a sport, and become more widely publicized.

When I first started running, I didn't know of a single elite athlete. I would be very interested to see if we could start hearing more about the sport of running, so kids would know marathon runners along with football/basketball/baseball players. With running a marathon becoming a more widespread goal, and running booming in general, it seems like more discussion of the sport would be the logical next step.

Would you watch or attend running events if they were more publicized? 
 

First 5k of the year

Yesterday morning I ran my first race of the year so far. I know, I know.. It's a little late in the year, but I definitely needed to spend this year focusing on myself.

Last year was a busy racing year for me, with multiple 5k races, and my first adventure into running half marathons. I packed too many races in 2013, and just burned myself out. I found out that I am just not one of those people that is able to constantly race. I just get obsessed. Training becomes all I can focus on, and I just let everything else take a back seat.
Training cycles are something that is extremely useful when preparing for a race. Without being properly trained, there is a higher possibility of injuring yourself and not being able to finish. My problem though is that I don't know how to take a break. I run and run for months, getting prepared for a race, and then once it's over I just... Keep going. The opposite of what you are actually supposed to do. Depending on the distance that your run, it can be recommended that you take up to two weeks off of running, and work on lower impact exercise instead. Leisurely walking, swimming, or riding a bike around the neighborhood for example.
Me? I wake up the next day (and the next, and the next, and so on) and go run. Taking a break from running makes me feel anxious and restless. But in the past several months I have managed to scale back on how much I run. I let my body rest, and gained (a much needed) 7 pounds.

Sunday morning was the first time I felt ready to really run full throttle again. I was prepared to get back out there and run my heart out, and whether I won or came in last place didn't matter. And all that time paid off.
It was a little local race at a nearby high school, with somewhere around 360 runners. I went into the race with a fresh mind, feeling mentally prepared to kick some butt. And I definitely needed that mental strength.

For all of you that think that running a 5k is easy, you couldn't be more wrong. I would rather run 8 miles than run a 5k. In 5ks, you really don't have the option to start conservatively. You don't really have a lot of wiggle room as far as hitting your paces goes. Maybe you can start 15-20 seconds less than your overall goal pace, but you need to hit your stride fairly quickly. You need to start fast, and stay fast. I wish I could say that I didn't want to totally pass out at the end of the race, but that would be a complete lie.

I talked a friend into running this race with me (the first person I have actually convinced!), so we chatted a little bit as we toed the starting line. It was nice to have someone to talk to before we started, and she helped calm my nerves a little bit. I was feeling a little iffy about the weather (a rather brisk 34 degrees..), but she kept me distracted until it was time to take off.
Almost immediately my Garmin decided that it was not going to work with me today. Instead of hearing a beep every mile to let me know how far I had gone, I heard random beeping about every 3-4 minutes. That was the biggest bummer I think, since I kept thinking that I was farther into the course than I really was! So here's a pretty accurate breakdown of how I felt in this race:
Mile 0.5- It's really cold. I hope I warm up soon. DID I START TOO FAST??
Mile 0.75- My lungs are already burning.
Mile 1.0- Did that spectator just yell out 7:14 for the first mile? Stupid watch.
Mile 1.75- Why are there no mile markers here? This hurts.
Mile 2- What do you mean I am only on mile 2? Sitting down seems like a good idea.
Mile 2.1-2.9- One foot in front of the other. Legs feel like lead.

Mile 3- Almost there! Did she just say first female?!
Finish line- I'm never running again. Is this what a heart attack feels like? Wait.. I'm first female finisher?

Yep! I finished first out of all the females running, with a time of 22:41. While that's not my fastest time, it's a solid finish that I am very proud of. And it just made sitting on the couch for the rest of the day much more worth it!





Happy Monday everyone! If you are running today (or any other workout!) I hope it's a great one.

Take Two

Let's try this whole "having a blog thing" one more time. In January 2013 I decided to give it a shot, but after a few months it just kind of died out. I think that was because I was trying to be someone I wasn't. It turns out that being honest on the internet is harder than it seems.

It is very easy to get away with portraying your life exactly how you want it to be on your own blog. You operate it after all, so who is going to stop you? However, it does get kind of tiring after a while. A very short while as it turns out. Putting a positive spin on everything, making your life seem like sunshine and roses.. It feels dishonest though.

Everyone has issues. I'm just not going to sugar coat mine.

So here it is. My new and improved blog, version 2.0. All about my experiences running, eating, living, and learning. (Mostly eating.)