And...I'm out

It's been a cruddy week. I've made the hard, irritating decision to drop the half marathon.  My knee is not happy and where it was taking 3 miles to feel it, it's now only taking 1.  I have no swelling, redness, etc, but I'm not feeling good at all about it.  My coach tells me that there are other half marathons and to NOT tear myself up over this one.   Depending on when you ask me, I might be okay with it, but last night I dreamed that my husband was doing a triathlon and I couldn't even complete a 5K...I was devastated....of course that same 5K course in my dream included a repelling section...

The race is next week and while he is doing the half marathon, I'm going to do the 5K.  I won't place which is a bummer b/c I'm not fast enough, but I guess it's something to do.  I'm not running all week b/c it's the one thing I'm perfectly trained for and don't need to to more.  I will do other things- swim, bike, elliptical- but not run.

This week I did this:
Monday- walked steep hills for 2 miles then did some TRX (google this it's pretty cool)
Tuesday- did an awesome bike ride with some friends..I should actually blog about this by itself.
Wednesday- took my first day off in a week.
Thursday- went to run 3 miles outside, got 1.5 into it and was so dizzy I thought I was going to pass out, so I walked home (1.5 miles).
Friday- got new shoes (4 pair), got on the treadmill and ran a mile in each one to choose the perfect shoes (more about this later).  Then did some TRX (seriously, google this!)
Saturday -So sick I couldn't even walk around.
Sunday - still sick, really icky stuff. Probably explains the weird dizzy spell I had on Thursday.

This week will be another low profile week.  It's weird to have trained and trained for a race only to drop it.  This is a new experience for me.  It's making me feel like a quitter, I hope I'm not, I'm 32 years old and not interested in filing some of my best upcoming racing years under "had to have knee surgery".  I'm going to be smart about this and hopefully that will suppress the overwhelming sense of failure.

Finally!

I am FINALLY posting...it's been over a WEEK!  I had that low you get after coming off a great race.  I have been super dooper busy at my store too! I did get a little bit of training in this week. Monday I taught a spin class and did weights.  I've been slacky about those weights and I've been LOVIN' my husbands birthday cake...does NOT mix.  Tuesday I ran at home.  That was an interesting one...I set out to do 5 miles, a mile in, I decided I hated the shorts I was wearing, my ipod was too heavy, my cell phone was still in my hand and getting irritating, and so went back by my house and dropped everything but the Garmin and set back out.  At mile 3 my left knee started hurting so I stopped 4 miles in.  Wednesday was an off/ run errands day.  Thursday was suppose to be a run day with April, but she ended up busy so I swam a mile! Slowly but surely!  Friday I just had time to teach spin before I had to get back home and clean for the in-laws coming in town.


Yesterday my husband and I set out for an 11 miler.  3 miles in I was almost crying in pain from my left knee.  We were still 2 miles away from the car and walking didn't seem to hurt, so we walked, talked, and had a fun "date". I'm so unbelievably frustrated with my knee though.  I have a 1/2 marathon in 2 weeks and I've only ever hit 10 miles.  This is getting hairy.

I've ordered 6 pairs of shoes to try (we have NO running stores in this area...I've mentioned it's the 2nd fattest state in the nation, right?!)  and see if that's it.  Pain in the past has always been corrected by my shoes...please pray!!!1

Today I wanted to test my theory of slowing down and walking the downhills.  I ran/jogged/walked 3 miles in my hilly neighborhood at no faster than 10 min miles.  My knee had that, "careful, I could get irritated" twinge to it, but I got through the exercise. 

Oh boy.  Let's see what this week has in store!  I hope I am better soon. R.I.C.E!!

Chuck Smith 10K Race Report

Today Mike and I ran in the Chuck Smith 10K in Beckley, WV.  Everyday this week has been sunny and 70's, naturally it was 50's and drizzling today.  I'll be honest, I think that's why I did so well.  You see, I lived in Alabama for 7 years and HATE the heat...almost as much as I HATE open water swimming!  Give me a ski resort and keep your beach!  I need the cold weather.  Well...I need it,but I could have done without the drizzle.

So we started off and I watched the Garmin to make sure I didn't sprint out of the gate (my downfall).  There weren't too many 10K women runners, but it's nice to have competition!  So I kept my pace between 8 and 9 minute miles and watched my back and ended up coming in first overall female!  Kinda rocked!  It was my longest running race every and I am just happy I did so well.  I wanted to hit 54:00 and ended up with 51:42!!!  There really are no words for how you feel during an actual race!!

I did have some violent knee trouble about mile 3 and worried I'd have to drop the race, but I prayed and ran and prayed and ran and then before I knew it, I was done!  I'm feeling like crud now, but hopefully some ibuprofen, ice, and rest will help.  Guess I won't be doing my 11 mile run tomorrow...grrr.

I am also so proud of my spin class chica's who rocked the 5K!! They are working so incredibly hard and I'm so incredibly proud.  They hung back and watched me get my trophy....despite the freezing cold rain trying to run us off.  What a good race!

Chelsea

I did some just plain old swimming yesterday.  It felt good.  No timing, no counting, just 35 or 45 minutes of laps.   I felt pretty slow, so on some I stepped it up, but I just enjoyed myself.

Today I taught spin and then worked tri's, shoulders, and abs.  It was a pretty easy workout, but I do wonder if that's now because I'm in much better shape.  I certainly hope that's the case!

Tomorrow Mike and I are racing in a 10K running race.  It's my furthest running race and I'm NOT excited.  It's good for me though; switch it up.

Well in other news, my sister (see pic - she's the short one, muah ha ha ha!!!!) has decided she's put on too much weight and is now wanting me to help her get it off.  I  have given her the first rules:  1. It's 80% diet.  Watch what you eat, eat clean, eat often.  2.  MUSCLE.  Put it on.  It burns more calories that fat, protects your musculoskeletal system, and you CAN'T get too muscle-y unless you commit to it and work extremely hard for JUST that.  3.  Make it a lifestyle. If you're just "visiting" the healthy-zone, you're not committed and you'll fail.  Make it the way you live. Let the prepackaged snack foods and couch potato behavior become foreign to you.

So now she's got me sending her a diet plan.  For the record, I HATE the word "diet".  I'm basically telling her to load up on the protein and add some complex carbs for breakfast.  Light snack of a lean protein and fruit mid morning; Big salad/veggie serving with some good proteins and fatty acids for lunch; some carbs to power through mid afternoon (good complex carbs) along with a bit of lean protein again; small balanced dinner.  She can treat herself to something light for dessert, but it's a good idea to remove sugar from the diet!

Hopefully she'll stick to all of this, start subscribing to good, clean magazines like Clean Eating, Eating Light, and Oxygen (hmmm Christmas ideas) and make this the way she rolls!!! 

Okay, and a side note...the picture of us was from Christmas.  I couldn't find a recent picture of her.  This is what she wants to get back to!

Intentions

Monday I had a half sick, half tired little girl on my hands and since there was no school and I didn't want to pawn her off on a neighbor or sitter, I didn't workout.  I could have figured out the trainer on the bike or done a P90x video, but I just threw in the towel and cleaned house and played with her. 

I got up Tuesday morning and put my swim gear on with the intent to head to the pool...then I caught a glimpse of myself in the suit and wanted to cry!  My muscles! Waaaah!  Where are they??  So I changed into gym clothes and decided on a good, hardcore, heavy lifting day.   When I got to the gym, April grabbed me for a quick 3 mile run...legs still felt like lead from Sunday's 10 mile run!  Ugh!  After that I did a hearty round of lats, bi's, and abs!  Felt good too. 

This morning I woke up with the intent to go on a bike ride with my friend Andrea...well it rained last night and we weren't sure if it meant to continue and since I don't get paid to do this stuff we scrapped it. I haven't done anything today and I'm still plenty sore from my day yesterday. So I'm now counted for having actually worked out 2 days in the last 5!!!!  Gotta love holiday weekends :) 

I've got a race on Saturday anyway. It's a 10K, but it's the furthest running race I've done. I'm actually interested in how I do, but not nearly as excited as if I were doing a triathlon...do they have a Triathletes Anonymous?   I think I might have a problem.  

Tomorrow is a swim and then tri's and shoulders and ab's (again).  I'm suppose to do legs, but with a race coming, I guess that's stupid.  I also have to make room to teach spin on Friday.  So for the next 3 days I'm going to move my lazy butt!

The first double digit-er

"Ran" 10 miles today.  Why "ran"?  Because I did so with my friend who is much slower, so it was more of a run/jog.  She tried to walk a couple of times...there would be none of that on my watch, LOL! She and I did a 10-11min/mi pace for 7 miles.  That was wildly helpful for me since I usually come out of the gate under 9min/mi for the first 2-3 miles...not good if you're trying to sustain distance and are already a poor runner.  So running with her got me to keep a slow pace for a bit.  I went on by myself for the last 3 miles and did it around 9:15 min/mi pace, not fast, but doable.  I told you I'm having foot trouble, well this run didn't aggravate it as much as the last time when I did 9, but I think it's thanks to the slower pace.

During the race I'm going to try to keep b/t 9-10min/miles.  I know, I know, why not just walk it!  Well it's my first 1/2 marathon and it's not like I'm trying to win anything...heck, I'll probably be one of the only women running it at all...it IS West Virginia! :)

Next Season

Okay, next season I'm going to schedule a tri for September.  I'm feeling like a bum.  I taught spin on Friday and decided on a day off.  I've been pretty tired for about 2 weeks now, so I'm just taking it a day at a time while still trying to get my mileage in.  I think if I had another tri to train for I'd have the kick in the pants I need to stay motivated. 

I had a yard sale today and the whole thing reminded me why I don't do yard sales :)  'Nuf said!

I'm going to HOPEFULLY get a run in tomorrow, a longer one.  I'd like to get up to 10 miles, but we'll see.  I NEED to be there, but the time/pain is always a bit of a challenge.  I'll have an update on how that goes later!

2 is better than 1

Great, slow run today.  Hmmm, "slow run", I seem to use that a LOT these days.  Well my feet are all messed up and I'm not "feelin' it" lately.  I might need a new pair of running shoes to soften my mood :)
Either way, my friend April (remember her from Tri training?) and I did a 10K loop with her little dog and it was way more fun running with a friend! Hopefully we'll get more of these in together.  We hold the same pace and have a lot to talk about, so it's a good time.  

Running on "E"

Boy, did I have a nasty workout yesterday.  I'm getting tired I think.  I've definitely reached critical mass on my burn-out-o-meter!  I don't know what I was setting out for yesterday, but I starting hurting when I only 2 miles in, so I went a whopping 3.25 miles and it took me about 30 minutes!!!  I just had to listen when my back cramped and my knee was yelling and throwing a fit. 

Today I did some strength training.  I did legs (yeah, yeah, not smart) and then did some sprints (only about a 1/4 mile total) and then 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer.  I feel like I wasted an hour at the gym.  It's amazing how far I've come, this pitiful workout would have been considered a really good one 2 years ago! 

I'm very frustrated though.  I've been putting on a bit of body fat lately; not weight, but fat. I want more muscle, but I feel like I'm fighting against something and I can't figure it out.  I've not changed my diet and I'm still working out, but maybe not as long.  I really need to get that figured out.  I practice "Clean Eating", but that's a lifestyle, so you have to program for yourself.  I definitely recommend it, but it's a bit harder to get use to.  It is very much NOT American-diet friendly.