Monthly Archives: January 2014

To Split or Not to Split?

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Happy Friday everyone! I’m so ready for the weekend. It’s been gloomy and rainy here, but I don’t even care. The weather won’t drag down my spirits before Superbowl weekend!!

But before I start rambling, look at this super attractive photo my coworker took of me this morning!

IMG_3196We have a new glass panel in our office that is perfect for standing behind and drawing funny faces on people. So that’s what we did for a good chunk of the morning. Don’t judge. It’s Friday.

So yesterday I started pondering my running plans for the weekend… I checked my Little Rock marathon training schedule to make sure I wasn’t crazy. 20 Miles. 20. Miles. Holy cow. That one’s gonna hurt. I decided a mini carbload could only help the situation, so I started today with brown rice and Greek yogurt.

IMG_3192Does anyone else like their rice hot with milk, cinnamon and sugar? Nick thinks I’m absolutely insane when I put this concoction together, but it’s a total comfort food that my mom used to make for us with leftover rice. He believes rice is meant to only be salty/savory. And I feel it can awesome sweet or salty. 🙂

Then for lunch I had some tortilla chips and cottage cheese followed by an open-faced bagel sandwich.

IMG_3194Disregard the cheese….I was craving it and decided the one piece would be worth the pain. So far so good. 🙂  I had half a bagel leftover from carb loading last week, so I microwaved it with some chicken deli meat + Gouda cheese. It was delish!

To Split or Not to Split?

With my long runs for the next 2 weeks being so long, right at or exceeding 3 hours, I started wondering if this is really good for me. And is it really necessary to do it all at once? Well Google only confused me on the subject of splitting up long runs (darn those other running blogs!), but I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to shoot to do it all at once. BUT, if I have to split it up due to social events, weather, etc, it won’t be the end of the world. Many people mentioned that running longer than 3 hours can set you up for more injuries and will take longer to recuperate before your next run.

I was happy to hear this as we are forecasted to have lots of rain tonight and into tomorrow morning that could mess up my 3 hour running plan. You’re thinking – just run after it stops?! Right?! I know. But I’m so OCD about when and where I run. I want to get out early while it’s still dark. I want to run on some roads that get too busy later in the day. And I just want to the rain to go away so I can do these things on Saturday morning! But you’re right. I could just wait it out as the rain is supposed to subside late morning. And Sunday is always an option as well – working around Jazzercise and the Super Bowl, of course!

So the main point of these ramblings? I realize I need to be flexible with my weekend training schedule. And if my run has to be split into 2 sessions, then that’s okay too!  And just to throw in one more curveball…we have lots of snow in the forecast for next week! Holy smokes!

Superbowl Plans

Do you guys have any? Nick and I are being little hermits this year and decided to party it up at home with Mac for the Super Bowl. We’re awesome….we know. 🙂

I’m a horrible sports fan. I rarely even know the teams that are playing in these major games, unless it’s a team from Missouri of course! But I’m the sucker that still gives into the ‘hype’ of the game. I will watch the pregame show, the puppy bowl, the whole game, commercials, and the half-time show. And I will eat chicken wings and chips and be excited for whichever team wins. And I will go back to not really caring Monday morning. Nothing against the game or sport – I’m just not that attached to it!

If you do have plans, I hope you have tons of fun! Have a great weekend and I’ll talk to you all soon!

My Coworkers Must Hate Me

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Hey there! I hope your Wednesday has been a good one.

Mine started out with my first real run since the race. I was feeling a lot better yesterday and thought I would be fine to get up and run today. It felt so weird as I was running out of my subdivision this morning – it was like I had stepped back in time and was suddenly ‘pre-race’ again. It was weird! I also felt oddly alone and freaked because the last time I ran longer than 30 minutes was at the race with 400 other people. So running this morning in the dark alone wasn’t so cozy. It probably didn’t help that it was 7 degrees either. 🙂  But I got back into my groove (kinda) after a mile or so, and it felt good. My pace was almost a solid 30 seconds slower than normal, but I was ok with it. My muscles were frozen and could only push so hard!

After my run I was feeling motivated and did my best to pack healthy snacks for work.

IMG_3186I had some Greek yogurt with this yummy Atkins protein bar for breakfast. I felt good – not too full and not hungry. And then one of my coworkers walked in….with a box of donuts. Why must they torment me with these things?! Can’t they see I’m trying to be good and feed my body non-fried items?? I held off until right before lunch time. I snuck about 3 bites of one on my way out the door to lunch because I was starving. And then I had a red velvet cake donut for my dessert right after lunch…ugh. Needless to say, my tummy isn’t feeling so hot. I’m thankful I ran for an hour this morning! Those donuts really helped me make up the calorie deficit. HA.

My Coworkers Must Hate Me

So today, late afternoon, I got bored and found this meme about running.

runner-memeI’m sure you’ve seen them around on Facebook, Google, etc. I think they are hilarious, especially when they pertain to you and something you are personally involved in. Well this one took the cake today, and I immediately sent it to all my coworkers with a bajillion smiley faces over Skype. Yup, I’ve become that person. And now there is a new meme to describe me. I’m not sure I like it.

marathon2My coworkers literally must hate me. Everytime I open my mouth lately it’s about running. And if it’s not about running, it will be about Jazzercise, Nick, or Mac. And usually it’s just my ramblings that they have heard a million times. But 9 out of 10 times, it’s about running. Oops. I’ve become the annoying, chatty cubicle mate. I’m almost positive they probably want to sew my mouth shut at this point. 🙂

Oh well. The first step in fixing a problem is realizing there is a problem. So I’ll kick down the running talk at work. Unless of course they bring it up first.

Tonight I’m just enjoying a relaxing night at home with Nick and Mac. I hope you all have a lovely evening!

Post-Race Blues

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Happy Tuesday! I hope the beginning of your week has been off to a good start. Mine has been busy busy busy, but that’s just life! And settling back into the normal groove after a weekend away is never easy. 🙂

Mac loves traveling :)
Mac loves traveling!

We arrived home from our quick and busy race weekend in STL late on Sunday evening. It felt like I should still be celebrating post race, but it was time to get back to reality.
IMG_3169We had time to unpack, eat, and head to bed. I feel like time is never on our side during the weekends that we travel. But I was happy to be home and in my own bed.

Post-Race Thoughts

Post-race has been a learning experience all in itself. Saturday I was on Cloud 9. Everything and everybody was awesome. I was sore and tired, but it was okay since I had finished my first half-marathon. Sunday was the day of mental fatigue. I drove us home from STL, and I felt groggy and weird the whole way. I just felt fatigued and drained….there’s no better way to put it. I was physically tired and getting some soreness, but it wasn’t too bad yet. The soreness finally set in yesterday. And it was bad.

I got out of bed for my early Monday morning Jazzercise class and was immediately upset with myself for not getting a sub for my class! I was certain that I would be fine by Monday, but I was definitely wrong! I got to class and had 2 smiling faces show up to dance. The first half of class was painful (and probably pitiful looking!), but I was feeling a million times better by the second half. I thought it did my muscles good to warm up and then stretch. But then the rest of the day wore on and my quads kept getting sorer and sorer. To the point that I couldn’t have squatted to get into the bottom of the cabinets if you would’ve begged me. Ow. I hobbled around the office and then around my house all evening. Nick went to the gym after work; I went to the couch. And I don’t think I moved more than 3 times all evening. 🙂 I hate being lazy, but I knew that I owed it to my body to be still and relax for a couple hours.

Today, thankfully, my legs are feeling 95% better. I can walk and climb up stairs without cringing like yesterday. But today has deemed it’s own label: the day of Blues. I’m on day 3 post-race, and I am not loving how I feel. I don’t really feel depressed, just more ‘down’ and sad. I figured it was because I didn’t get in a morning workout, but after some lovely (and supa trustworthy) Google research, apparently ‘post marathon depression’ is a thing! And a very common thing!

I love this post on Pace of Chicago about ‘post marathon depression’: http://www.chicagonow.com/pace-of-chicago/2013/10/how-to-deal-with-post-marathon-depression/. It’s specific to the Chicago marathon, but it is such a good read for anyone feeling blue after a big race. It’s perfectly normal to feel a little sad. Let’s face it – I’ve been training and focusing on my first half-marathon for MONTHS. And now it’s over and past. I have more races coming up to look forward too, but I’ve been too tired and sore to be excited about racing again right away. My favorite part is where the post discusses eating well and resting post-race. The days after your race should really be focused on taking good care of yourself as a way to thank your body for getting you through months of training and across the finish line. What a good way to sum it all up! After a big event like a marathon, treat your body well and thank it with rest and yummy, wholesome foods to help it recover. 🙂

I’ve still been on a carby kick since the end of last week, so today I really tried to get away from it and go back to my veggie-filled salad for lunch. I still wasn’t feeling satisfied or full though post-salad, so I brought along some of my favorite yogurt to have this afternoon as my little treat for getting in a bowl of vegetables today.

IMG_3182Yum!!!

Tonight will be a busy one teaching Jazzercise from 5:40-7:45, so I won’t have much time to munch on carbs for dinner. I can slowly feel myself going back to normal after the build-up for my race. And I must say, it feels good. We are such creatures of habit!

I’m going to attempt going on my normal Wednesday morning run tomorrow. Wish me luck that it goes well so I can get back into my normal training groove! Have a great night!