Marathon Training Day 3 & 4

Day 3: It started off great. I got my miles done, running half of them as scheduled. I felt great and went home to finish it with some yoga. After the yoga, I headed to the grocer's only to discover that a weirdo that I encountered at a gas station a few weeks ago had followed me home and was parked outside across the street from my home. I couldn't see the driver. When I got in my car and cranked it, the driver started that truck. I watched him in my rearview follow me to the grocer's. He parked his car next to mine and came to my door. I started snapping pictures of him with my phone and he started running. I got out of my car and started snapping pictures of him as he escaped and took everything I had to the police. Apparently they've been getting more complaints about him. I filed a report.

I wasn't afraid, I was pissed. I'm STILL pissed. I was shaking with rage the rest of the day. No one lectured me about changing my run/walk routes, which I appreciated, because my front door opens up to the street where he was parked. I'm not changing my fucking routes anymore. If he tries to come near me again, I'll be ready for his ass. I don't care what happens, I'm done with these bullshit, useless precautions. They don't work. I know they don't work. I'm sick of society putting the responsibility and blame of dealing with predators on their targets. I'm done with enduring this bullshit. This time I'm fighting back.


Day 4: Today was a day of "supposed to's". I was supposed to x-train, but I switched workouts because thunderstorms are supposed to happen all day tomorrow. I was supposed to go to the trail, but decided to take my miles around the neighborhood. I was supposed to run, but decided to walk. In the end, I suppose that it doesn't matter as long as I got off the couch. I'm feeling really proud right now. 5K in the afternoon.

Marathon Training Day 2

Tonight was unnecessarily stressful, thanks to people that can't follow simple directives. Added stress caused by d***ish response to reinforced plea to follow directives. Nevertheless, even though I waited really late to do my xtraining, it is DONE! I'm feeling really proud right now. It's ridiculous that I waited this late to workout, but at least I worked out! Chased this with some nighttime yoga.

Playing Catch-up: Little Rock Half Marathon (3-2-14)

(Copied from 3/3/14 Facebook post)
 
I had an AMAZING time this weekend in Little Rock with my awesome BGR sisters Shilonqua, Kimberly, Temeka and LaJuana! Half marathon #2 is DONE with an unexpected PR! The weather went from acceptable to chilly to rainy to "What the...is that snow?" to freezing, "I think we may be in the first stages of hypothermia" sleet in a matter of hours. Thank you, Mr. Medic Person for helping me with those awful cramps I got at the finish line, even though I tried to limp away from you to get my medal. Thank you, BGR Little Rock for the pre-race goodie bags and for being such gracious hostesses and thanks to Little Rock Marathon even though it had to shut down early because of Winter Storm Titan. The lipstick table at Mile 12 was a cute idea! Thanks to my SIL for creating what was the best looking tutu at the race. Congrats to all of my wonderful travel companions for finishing strong and congrats to Shilonqua for completing her 10th marathon!

Marathon Training, Day 1

Yes, you read it correctly. Marathon training. The "M" word. Not 3.1 miles, not 6.2...not even 13.1. No, the big one. Twenty-six point freaking two miles.

I'm ready to be a long distance runner. I've wanted this for so long. My race is chosen and it's in November. There is plenty of time to do this. I want to know what it feels like to RUN 20 miles just because I could. It's time to stop letting sloth rule my life. I don't understand why I do when I know how awesome I feel after hitting that pavement. Part of the problem has been sleep, but one of the major obstacles of that has (hopefully) been permanently nixed.

I want to do a marathon. As frightening as the prospect is, I want this checked off my runner's list. Today is the first day on that path.

My journey starts now.

Happy Mail

Worth the read: 1200 Calories

http://sophieologie.me/2013/09/26/1200-calories/

Food Fixes

There are no words in the English language that can convey how much I stink at making Chinese food, especially lowfat Chinese food. Every attempt has been an exercise in blah. Today, however, I decided to give it another go. I added a tablespoon of dry Sherry to this Cashew Chicken dish and it made a HUGE difference!

Hot Chocolate 15K/5K 2014

So epic, so awesome! Doing a race on my birthday! I looked wonderfully ridiculous with pink polka dot balloons pinned to my badonkadonk. Some of the runners even sang "Happy Birthday" to me on the course! Fabulous day!

The Insanity Continues...Round 4, Fit Test #16

I cannot believe that I'm doing this s*** again. I haven't been exercising, even though I want to do it. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and I didn't run. Something must be done. So for some unknown reason, I decided, "Hey...I'll just start Insanity again since it's Monday."

W...T...unvarnished...F...

And it was terrible. Terrible! I don't think I did this bad when I started Round 1! So awful, cardio carnage. Absolute cardio carnage. It was so awful, that I feel like I should do penance for it.


21 switch kicks
10 power jacks
40 power knees
1   power jumps
3   globe jumps
2   suicide jumps
0   push-up jacks
5   low-plank obliques

Tomorrow:  Plyometric Cardio Circuit (damn, damn, DAAAAMMNNN!!!)

Pavement rainbows

Hey...it counts as crosstraining for me!

This is one shelf of books (and CDs) in my home. I was moving furniture around and ended up moving four bookshelves in the process. There might have been 12 paperbacks out of all the books. The rest are horribly heavy hardcovers. As far as I'm concerned, that is my strength workout for the day.

A much needed excursion

I've never fared well with groups. When it came to group work in class, I loathed it simply because I always ended up doing the lion's share of the work. When it comes to running with a group, however, it is more of a case of intimidation. Sure, I've done my fair share of races, especially for a beginner, but I'm dreadfully slow. I'm old-turtle-trapped-in-molasses slow. As long as you don't mind my lagging behind, I will eventually get there.

And that is a source of consternation for me, because I don't like holding people back. I also worry that the thought will go through their minds, "Wow, if she's that slow, how did she do that XYZ race?" Well, I did it. It just took me a while to get to the finish line.

Today I went out with a group, a local BGR group. The irony of my source of intimidation is that it makes me panic and go even slower, thus risking being the holdout that I dreaded. Even though I was among the last, I still felt like a winner. I was greeted in such a welcoming manner that is still shocking to me. People I just met remembered my posts on our page. They wanted to have their photos taken with me. The love and appreciation I felt was unmeasurable. I cling to that bright light, and I cannot wait to run with these ladies again.

Shoot for the Moon challenge

Guess who's happy about today's mail? THIS CHICK!

Last year, I participated in a year-long group challenge called "Shoot for the Moon". The goal was for the group to cumulatively run or walk enough miles over the year that would equate to the distance to the moon. We logged our miles online daily. The goal was to reach 238,900 miles by December 31. We reached 258,974 miles! You get the medal or t-shirt after the race is over. My challenge finisher package arrived today! The medal is bigger than a DVD!

Fat Chick Running, ready for Year 3

In 2012, I decided to give running another try after giving up on the pursuit numerous times. That year I finished 12 races. In 2013, I finished 34 races--including my first half marathon and my first Spartan--and two challenges (Dirt in Your Skirt 100 and Shoot for the Moon). Let's see how much of that wall I can cover with race bibs in 2014!

I'M IN RUNNER'S WORLD (well, my question is, but still)!!!

Here is the original tweet.

I'm ready...

A great day

I had a great run today! I'm off work for the rest of the year so, I went to Mass and then headed for the trail afterward. I ran for a little over half an hour. I even tried to run up this monster hill (emphasis on "tried to run"). On the way back, I stopped for gas. It was nothing but guys and one grandma there. All eyes (and smiles) were on me in my BGR gear! I usually get weird looks when I'm out in my BGR gear. This was a very pleasant departure! This elderly black woman looked at me and she smiled at me and gave me a "You go girl!". I felt so proud. 

I don't understand why I miss runs the way I do. They always make me feel so alive after they are done!

The Assessment

There are 11 days left in the year, and while I've made some progress, there are some things in my life that need work if I'm going to get to my Running Nirvana. I realized that I am really terrible about allowing outside distractions (translation: other people) interfere with my health pursuits. I've got to stop being quiet and start saying, "Nope, it's exercise time. You can either join me or come back in an hour or so." While I made a great effort to take control of my sleep, I didn't realize that my sleep environment can easily take control of me. No more being patient with loud neighbors! I looked at my sleep record and saw that I was averaging 3.06 hours a night until I fought to get my sleep back. Is it any wonder why I've been struggling to workout?

Even though I have improved, I still have a problem with eating. Years ago I had this awesome rhythm: on Sundays I would cook my lunch for Monday and all the snacks I needed for that week. I need to reinvent that rhythm. Being tired and hungry is a recipe for disaster!

I also need to stop getting sucked into the snack vortex! When other people come over and they are hungry, there is a 99.999% chance I will eat whatever they are eating. I need to flip that script! Finally, I need to start being nicer to myself. I need to believe that I deserve to be on this journey. I need to stop letting people get in my head because I'm not the same size I was six years ago.

It's time for an upgrade.

RW suggestions for a playlist

http://www.runnersworld.com/running-playlists?cm_mmc=NL-Womens-_-1531882-_-12182013-_-20-Great-Playlists-for-Running