A Not-So Awesome Run

So, it's pretty normal to have bad runs every now and then. I know that, and I don't beat myself up too much over it. But I'm getting really frustrated because it seems like every Monday, I have a bad run. And I think I know why. During the week, I have a pretty set schedule - I go to work about the same time, eat oatmeal, an apple, and a banana, and then just work at my desk for most of the day. So I'm in a pretty good routine. And then the weekend hits, and I get off early on Friday, and then I exercise at a different time, and I sleep later or do a race or a class at the gym or go somewhere fun on Saturday morning, and my schedule is all thrown off. Then I can't get back to a routine, plus I generally eat a little more (or different foods) than usual, and by the time Sunday night hits, my stomach is a mess.

So then when I try to get up and run Monday morning (which pretty much never happens) my stomach is still all messed up, and I have to wait until after work to run. And this past Monday, it was still feeling super weird so I could only run 3.5, and the last mile felt like 10. So I have tried everything I can think of - eating oatmeal for breakfast on Saturdays, fiber supplements, drinking more water, and nothing is helping. But I also don't want to get so stuck in a routine that I can never do anything other than sit at my house on Saturday mornings.

Ah, first world problems.

This week, I also started trying to cut back a little on Diet Coke. I'm not trying to give it up, but realized I was starting to rely on it a little too much.

Thinking about signing up with my friend for the Haunted Half in October! Looking at the training plan makes me a little nervous....but also excited because having a race on the calendar is the only thing that keeps me motivated to do long runs.

Yogurtland...step one.

So, on Friday night, I decided I needed Yogurtland. Since I have a voucher that lets me get all sorts of deals on my yogurt addiction, it usually doesn't take too much convincing to get Chris to come with me. Plus, I was running a 5K the next morning, and what better way to fuel than 2 pounds of yogurt and toppings + The Cosby Show? Answer: no better way.

So the 5K was okay, it was actually the ending to a USANA (read: multi-level marketing vitamin and supplement company) conference that lasted all week long in SLC. So it makes more sense now why they never sent out a single email with info about where to pick up packets....pretty much every other person running the race had been at the conference and was fully informed. Whoops! I picked this race because my friend and husband decided they both wanted to run a 5K with me, and August 17 was the exact end date of the Couch to 5K program, so we all signed up. It was $25 which is kind of ridiculous for a 5K, but I was being a supportive runner friend, so I shelled out the $50 (!!) for mine and Chris's registrations.

Fast forward to 8 weeks later....both of them bailed, and I ended up running it with my parents. They ran out of shirts so we all got giant sizes, and the course was kind of lame - just an out and back route on a sort of sketchy, very industrial street. But there were probably a few thousand people running it, so it reinstated some of my confidence since I didn't get lost or come in last.

So, after that race, I went to Seven Peaks with my friend (a local water park) and got super sunburned, and also went on this super awesome water slide. It has about 8 slides all lined up, and you race the other people going down at the same time. It was fun until the very end, when a gallon of water shot up my nose. After that, we called it a day and went home. I spent the afternoon napping, putting aloe on my sunburned self, and then babysitting for a church event.

We had about 40+ kids at the event, so it was a little wild! I was pretty tired by the time I got home, but the whole time I was thinking about how I was going to trick Chris into going with me to Yogurtland for the second time in two days. And here's how I know we are MFEO:

Me: "Chris, I want something sweet."
Chris: "How about Yogurtland?"

Sunday was uneventful, but I did eat many chocolate chip cookies!

Intervals and Million Dollar Bars

Now that my house is finally back to its previous state, (minus the giant puddle on the floor that I stepped in this morning....my cat can't resist playing in his water bowl) I am hoping life will go back to normal! Husband starts school again in a week and a half, but he only got about three weeks off because he went to summer semester. But it'll be a pretty big change because he's taking four classes (so far, the most he's taken since we've been married is two at a time) and one of them is at night on Tue/Thurs. And since I'm gone every Wednesday night to my church youth group, I might forget what he looks like in between.

But it will all be worth it when he's graduated and designing awesome new roads.

Since about May, I've been trying to get up on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings to go running. It's too hot to run during the day, and I'm trying to not run so much on the treadmill, since I don't think it really trains me for races. I've put the incline on 0.5, but then I feel like I'm going to die and that doesn't make me feel very good about myself. But....since May, I think I've run in the morning a total of....four times? Maybe three. So that plan isn't really working out so well. I keep trying though, and setting my alarm for 5:30, and trying to go to bed earlier.

But I've tried to stay diligent about getting a workout in, even if it's on the treadmill at 0 incline. I've also been working on my speed because I'm really slow. Which is funny because in every other aspect of my life, I move really fast. I type 100+ WPM, I have a really hard time sitting still, and I'm always thinking ahead and planning out what is coming up next. My mom one time told me, "you do everything really fast" and I said "well, except for running." And that's true. So I did some research on speed training and am currently doing Hal Higdon's intermediate half marathon training, and it's totally working! Yesterday I did my first interval workout, and boy was I sweaty. I think I was grossing out the people on the treadmills next to me. But I loved it! 1/4 mile at fast pace, then 1/10 mile at regular pace, repeat 8 times for a total of 3.5 miles with warmup and cooldown.

Now that's a sweaty face. 

But I do love the shirt I'm wearing- the only good thing about that 10K I did a couple weeks ago.

Then I made chicken broccoli casserole for dinner, along with making a million freezer breakfast burritos for husband, and veggie dip for dinner tonight! And then I cleaned my house because it was disgusting and still had sheet rock dust and scraps all over the floor (even though the guy finished on Sunday!). And then I was really tired so I sat on the couch and watched Jeopardy while savoring my post-run treat, which I had been saving since lunch.

Million Dollar Bar from Zupa's. Yes. Giant chocolate chips, coconut, and all kinds of yum on a cookie crust.

Double 10K Recap!

Oh, what a crazy few weeks it's been at my house. About a month ago, our condo ceiling collapsed in the utility room with the furnace and water heater. Mind you, this is the third flood we've had in the condo since May. So we are beyond fed up with it all. Finally getting around to trying to get it fixed (now that husband is done with finals) and no one is calling me back!

Aside from that, some of my family was in town the week before last, which was super fab. My sister and I ran the Deseret Classic (her: half marathon, me: 10K) which is supposed to be a PR course since it's all downhill. It was pretty fun, but it runs on the parade route (24th of July is a big holiday in Utah, with a GIANT parade that people camp out on the streets of downtown SLC to see) so it was interesting to run a race among spectators who are asleep, eating breakfast, smoking, or otherwise ignoring the runners :)

Me:

My sister:

Spent some time in Park City that weekend with Chris's family, then went camping last weekend for one night and rafted the Snake River. Came back for the SheRuns 10K in Midway, which is a fun little Swiss-themed town about 45 minutes north of SLC. Drove up with my running friend, and realized that this is a VERY small race. Maybe about 40 people running the 10K, and about 60 running the 5K. So I was a little worried about being at the back, but they assured us that the course was very well marked, and there would be people at every turn to help guide. Which there were...for the 8 minute mile runners. Those of us bringing up the rear had no signs and no people, so I ended up running about a 7K because I had no idea which way to go. It was really frustrating, because I felt like I was unintentionally cheating. So, until I run 8 minute miles, I guess I'm sticking to bigger races that have longer distances along with them.

Well, I've been doing this thing I always do after a race, where I talk myself out of staying on my running schedule. Skipped my long run last week, went to the movies instead. Stayed in bed yesterday morning, had to cut my run short in the evening. I just feel like if I don't have an upcoming big race, I totally slack off.

But I did get in 4 miles yesterday after work, so that was good. I'm leaving tomorrow morning for church camp, and I'll be there until Friday. There will be some hikes and other opportunities to get some exercise, but I'm kind of taking a break from WW this week because I won't be able to calculate PP of any of the things we'll be eating. My weight has plateaued over the past few weeks, but I know it's because I have been going way over my allowed PP every week. So I'm lucky I haven't gained.

I'm having trouble with calculating activity PP. I use this calculator: http://www.exercise4weightloss.com/activity-points-calculator.html which works very well, but I can never figure out if my runs are moderate or heavy. I am definitely more of a jogger than a runner, and since I run longer distances, I generally try to stick to a pace where I'm not breathing too heavily, so that I can maintain for the full run. So that makes me think that I should calculate as moderate, but when I was doing that, I was losing like 3-4 lb per week, which I know is a lot faster than they recommend. But high effort seems like too many points for jogging. Anyone out there do Weight Watchers and have any tips?

American Fork Canyon Half Marathon Recap

So, like I said in my last post, I ran the American Fork Canyon Half Marathon last Saturday. I was really nervous about this one, even though I've done 3 half marathons already. I started back up with running in January, and then my boss at work told me about this race. It's sponsored by my work, so entry was like $30 for employees (regularly $70) so I figured I'd give it a try. I trained really well for it, except for the last month (which is the most important....) but I had two floods in my house, and my grandpa passed away in that month. So I felt proud of myself for getting runs in, even though they weren't as long as they should have been. My longest was 8.5 miles, which was the week before the race, so I was worried about my endurance and ability to finish. I also had pretty bad hip pain on my longer runs, so I was nervous about that.

So, the night before the race, Chris, my parents, and I all headed to Olive Garden for some pre-race pasta. I went to bed around 8, since I had to be to the bus by 4:00 a.m. I woke up every hour, thinking I had missed it. But somehow, when the alarm went off at 3:00, I felt pretty rested. Ate my oatmeal and drank some water, took some ibuprofen, and my dad dropped me off. Rode a bus for about 30 minutes up the canyon, and when we reached the top, it was completely dark and freezing. I could tell who had run it before, because they were dressed in sweats and sweatshirts, with blankets and beanies. Note to self. We sat up there for about an hour or so, and then started down the path! The first mile was super steep downhill, so I was running very fast.

I tried to pace myself a bit for the next few miles, and when I arrived at mile 5, it was still freezing so I still had on my long sleeve shirt over my tank top. One photographer told me to do something funny, and the other one was yelling that he couldn't see my bib....so this happened:

The coolest thing about this race was that it was a benefit for patients in the area who have cancer, and 100% of the entry fees went to help cover treatment for those who can't afford it. Every 200 yards or so, there were signs along the course that had a quote from someone who had cancer, or whose family member had cancer. It was such an inspiring and motivational way to keep myself going. I loved it! The first 9 miles were completely downhill, so the flat roads on miles 9-13 felt a little challenging. 

Also, since it was down a canyon, the roads we ran on were curved and slanted, so the outsides of my hips got sore. It was a miracle, but the right hip I'd been having all that trouble with didn't actually hurt at all. It was a fantastic race, and I was able to run the whole thing, walking only through the water stops. When I got to the end, Chris and my parents were there to cheer me on and give me high fives, and it was just a great experience overall!

I am planning to do some speed work over the next 6-12 months, and look forward to running it again next year and beating my time!

so, i haven't been blogging. it's probably fine, because nearly everyone i have on my list has a similar year in their last post as well :) but i miss it, and i've been reading TONS of blogs lately in an effort to keep up with my attempts to lose weight. so i think i'm going to come back, but add in more about my efforts, along with the other things that are going on in my life.

so, if weight loss blogs are super boring or awkward to you, feel free to skip out on mine going forward.

i gained back about 30-40 of the 100 lb i lost over the past year. bummer. it just goes to show that jim gaffigan was wrong: "when i see really fit people at the gym, i just want to tell them to go home. you made it. you won." i got too comfortable in bad habits, and ate way more than i needed...plus, with a knee injury and a general feeling of laziness, i wasn't working any of it off. so, shockingly enough, i gained weight! so here i am. one of my very favorite bloggers talks a lot about weight watchers, so i decided to give it a shot on my own. I found a free points calculator app, figured out how many i get per day plus how many i earn for my favorite exercise, and off i went. i do love weight watchers, because i think it's logical plus the easiest way to track. it's hard for me to remember that i ate 364 calories for breakfast plus 579 for lunch, so that leaves me with...how many? whereas points are just so much simpler. 4 points for breakfast, 29 to go.

i also started training for a half marathon, which is actually my 4th half marathon, but i haven't done one since 2009. i was training for the st george marathon that same year, and my knee was acting up so i visited a sports med dr who basically told me that the cartilage in my right knee was gone, and was fading fast in the left. he encouraged me not to run, and that's about when i stopped. i was frustrated and upset, but i didn't want to spend my 30s not being able to walk, and in that moment, it seemed like it was pretty serious.

fast forward to last year, when i got fed up of forcing myself to do the elliptical or stationary bike, so i went to a sports med dr who is completely non-surgical, and focuses on healing. he told me that my quads and calves are strong, but the muscles surrounding my knees are weak and that's causing my knees to take all the strain. he also told me that if i lose weight, the pressure on my joints will be drastically alleviated. (!!) so, i did 6 weeks of no running while doing daily strengthening exercises, plus i started taking glucosamine/chondroiton and calcium every day. and the fabulous news is that i can run with no knee pain!

i trained for and ran the american fork canyon half marathon (recap to come) and it was a great race. i loved it and can't wait to run it again next year. but i did notice that this time around, my legs were sore for much longer. i attribute that partially to the fact that the first 9 miles were downhill, so it used different muscles. but i also know that i am heavier than i was when running any of the previous 3 half marathons, so that's putting pressure on my legs. after the st. george training injury, i talked myself out of ever doing a marathon. but i'm now thinking that once i can reach a better weight, i will do a marathon. my body just can't take it quite yet.

so that's what's up! i have 2 10K's on the agenda, one in july and one in august. my goal for the next 6 months is to work on speed training with intervals. i have great endurance, and can run a long way, but am pretty slow. so i want to work on getting a little faster!