Give Me Speed and Give Me Strength

I’m weirdly happy that you guys were intrigued by my laundry system.  It’s really not complicated at all and when saying it aloud makes me feel silly because in the end everything gets washed together.  Yes that’s right: whites, colors, line dry, washer friendly.  All together.  So far I haven’t ruined any clothes (or, more importantly because I’m about a billion feet tall, shrunk anything).  The only thing that gets separately washed is sheets and towels. But that’s because they’re on a different schedule.

Briefly (and I can’t believe I’m writing about this on my *running* blog) : I have 3 laundry baskets

Lucky for you I did laundry over the weekend so the baskets aren't overflowing!

One for anything that can go into the dryer safely.  One for things that MUST get line dried but are a worn once and done deal and one for work clothes that can be worn again (or things like jeans that duh can be worn again).  Essentially it boils down to two baskets for workout clothes and one for regular clothes.

I feel silly typing that out.  It kind of shows that I’m not quite all there? But I’m a runner so it goes with the territory.

Back to running though… and I might confirm that I’m not quite all there because I had on tap for today a tempo run.  I guess this cycle Tuesdays are tempo days.  I still hate tempos and still don’t really quite know what I’m capable of on any given day.  Two weeks ago I ran my tempo @ 7:04 and last week was 7:16.  I think that I should be going slower than that, ideally GMP which is 7:34, and I kind of knew that I wasn’t going to do that today.  So the goal was to go and be in control for the tempo portion.

After a brief warm up (which was on the quick side) I dove right in.  Because I know certain landmarks on the particular route that I ran too I was able to track my progress over the course of the tempo portion.  After the fact of course as no Garmin for me (although THANKS to Megan for the Nike+ that I got in the mail yesterday )

Like I said above the plan the past two weeks has been to do the tempo between HM and GMP.  No different today. And luckily all the snow from yesterday had melted.

The Workout

• Warm up
• 2.2 miles in 16:02 (7:17)
• 2.2 miles in 15:03 (6:50)
• 1.2 miles in 8:17    (6:54)
• Warm down

Grand total for the tempo is 5.6 miles in 39:22 mines which is a 7:01 pace with 13.3 miles total and an average of 8:08.

Well, I went too fast. Big surprise there, right? Normally I’d secretly be happy with it and I guess in the grand scheme of things I am really happy with that pace.  It’s fast.  But not quite a tempo workout. I mean, according to McMillian my tempo pace workouts should be between 6:53 and 7:11.  And this was more faster. Obviously.

I’m also a bit disappointed on the whole “control” goal that I had.  I felt in control for the first portion and probably should have stayed at that pace for the rest of the run but I saw 16:02 and thought (wrongly duh) that it meant 8:00 pace and sped up.  The second portion then felt out of control and was way faster than it should be.  Between the second and third portion I had to stop to cross a road and I couldn’t get a good feeling after that.  The lactic acid had built up and those split seconds of not moving just attacked my legs.  Still I got a good pace on that last 1.2 mile bit.

Overall I can’t lie and say that I hate this workout.  I LOVE that I was able to run as fast as I could for as long as I did.  I love that my hips and legs felt the lactic acid at the end (maybe more rolling later?) But I can’t lie and say it was a true tempo.  I don’t really know what it is.  Maybe it’ll tell my legs to run faster at WR and absolutely smash any notions that I might have for this race.

I guess we’ll see in <4 weeks.  Eeep.

In addition to mega speed I  felt sufficiently bad about my LACK of strength work  the past few months (the last time I did lifting was…July? And core…August?) so I printed off some time efficient challenges: One Hundred Pushups and Two Hundred Situps. The gist of both challenges is that, over the course of 6 weeks, you should be able to do it.  Sounds simple enough.  I did the pushup one over the summer of ’09 and it was HARD.  I think I repeated some of the later weeks so it took me 8 weeks total.  But I did it.

I need to look like this again hahah

I chose these challenges because it wasn’t as time intensive as going to the gym (not that I have a membership) and I didn’t feel bad about not doing 45-60 minutes of lifting.  Today only took 10 minutes and because I was following a program I didn’t feel bad about it at all.  I’m starting with Week 1 Day 1 (W1D1) and column 3 (I didn’t do the initial test but I know that I’m strong enough to do the last column)

Pushups: 10,12,7,7,max(10)

Situps: 15,18,10,10,max (15)

I alternated doing pushup set 1 with situp set 1 until I was done with the whole thing.  My arms feel like jello now! Guess it’s been far too long since I did this stuff.  The funny thing is that when I looked at each set individually I thought “wow this is going to be easy” but I was breathing a little hard by the end.  Probably because on a couple sets I did one or two more than I should. Hello hubris

Google Images

But it was a good workout. And a great way to get back into … well I guess I’m rebuilding muscle now. Then it’s maintenance of it hahah.  And it was a nice way to cap off a really hard speed session too.  I’m at work right now and feel like I’m on top of the world

I’ll leave it at that because this post is long and maybe a bit rambly.  Maybe it’s the wicked strong coffee and I’m out of focus (possibly reflective in the writing of the post!) but if you’ve made it this far you should check out the giveaways from Marcia and Lesley and Sam

http://www.twohundredsitups.com/

Ooooooooooooh we’re halfway there

Bear with me as I wanted to get A LOT into this post: weekly totals, monthly total, year-to-date, New Year goals, what’s next….

I’m not quite sure how interested you guys are in week-by-week accounts of the month or if you want the whole story right away.  But I’m going to break it down weekly just because I think there are a couple of interesting trends that went on.

First off I want to make a big fat disclaimer that this month was obscene.  I had absolutely NO intentions of running as much as I did.  But May ended graduation and I flung myself full throttle into the process of studying for the MCAT as well as applying to medical schools.  This led to the rise of the double (and occasional triple).

I’m actually semi-embarrassed by my totals.  Sure, I do feel great physically with no true wear and tear buttttt….the fact that I was running so much and not keeping tabs on my mileage makes me feel a little bit silly.  I highly doubt I would have run so much if I had known how quickly those “just a few more minutes” or “just another mile” moments added up.

That said, no regrets. While the numbers may be blush-inducing I feel great.  I feel fast and strong. Ultimately I think that’s what matters.

Too bad I don’t have a marathon on the horizon and most fall marathons have already filled up.  Couple that with the fact that New England doesn’t have any December/January marathons and I’m feeling a bit bummed that I can’t *truly* capitalize on this fitness.  Ideally I’d want to take the rest of the summer and scale back and then NAIL a winter marathon.  Maybe Disney? Any other thoughts? In the interim, I do have the local 5 miler in July, a half planned for September and a 10k in October but my mileage is a bit overkill for that.  Hell, it’s a bit overkill for a marathon to be honest.

So here it is, with slight commentary because I was an idiot and didn’t write down lots of thoughts during the actual weeks themselves:

Week of May 31 – June 6

• 92.3 Miles
• 13 hours 23 minutes 32 seconds
• 8:43 pace
• 3X Core, 2X Lifting, 0 XT

First week where I really did doubles with regularity.  At first my double runs were slower, or at least felt slower, but overall very happy with the pace.

Week of June 7 – June 13

• 112.6 Miles
• 16 hours 30 minutes 30 seconds
• 8:48 pace
• 3X Core, 1X Lifting,0 XT

More miles.  And a slightly slower average pace.  Still a wayyyyy faster pace than during Boston training.  There seems to be an interesting line between a slower average pace but with speedwork (Boston) or just easier runs everyday and a faster average pace.

Week of June 14 -June 20

• 128.1 Miles
• 18 hours 39 minutes 12 seconds
• 8:45 pace
• 2X Core, 2X Lifting, 0 XT

Bam.  Definitely a weekly PR.  Included the triple where I amassed 21 miles in a day (which I went on to repeat later this month) AND I got to run with Jess.  Which I think was a turning point because my runs have just gotten speedier since then.  I also got in an actual long run this week, not a split one, after going out drinking the night before.  So a very interesting, but awesome, week to say the least.

Week of June 21 – June 27

• 125.5 Miles
• 18 hours 2 minutes 2 seconds
• 8:38 pace
• 4X Core, 1X Lifting, 0 XT

Boom.  Pace dropped.  The miles were “scaled back”.  Not intentionally and obviously 3 miles isn’t a lot when the total is so high. I’m just very impressed with the pace for this particular week.

Month of June

• 500.5 miles
• 72 hours 38 minutes 12 seconds
• 8:42 pace

Well these miles are ridiculous and definitely a new monthly PR.  The pace is just mind-blowing to me.  How could I run an average of 8:42 for 500.5 miles?!  I mentioned earlier in the post that there was that interesting trade off when I have speedwork in my week and that generated a slower overall pace.  I think that not needing the shuffle runs this month helped; everything was even keeled.  Well I also think the key is the double.  I was able to sufficiently recover from 2 X 6 miles (or even a 7-9-5 day!) because my ass was glued to a chair and I got to eat between.

Year to Date

• 2169.1 miles
• Too lazy to calculate time or pace hahah

Well if I remember correctly from my New Year’s goals post way back when….well actually I just looked back and I never had a mileage goal for 2010.  I know that 2009′s total was 3116.0 so I’m well on my way to smashing that.  Not sure if I want to though.

In light of the New Year’s goals I figured now would also be a good time to re-evaluate the concrete goals as well as the ways I wanted to reach them (and I just pasted the actual goals here with my current thoughts, although anything in red or bolded is from the original.  If you want to see the original thoughts you can click the link above):

Goals for 2010:

• PR (duh who doesn’t?).  I don’t know how obvious it is or how clearly it comes across in my blogging but I race to race.  I don’t sign up to “have fun”.  I sign up so I can run hard enough to want to puke my guts out when I cross the finish line. I think that by incorporating new strength moves and speed workouts will help that.  Mixing things up and see what happens.  Specifically (and yes they are lofty but I think that with some real focus I can come real close to most if  not all of ‘em): I really wish I had been able to race more!
  

1. sub 20:00 5k Haven’t raced one yet!
2. sub 43:00 10k Haven’t raced one yet! (But definitely have one for October)
3. sub 1:40:00 half Haven’t raced one yet! (But will in September)
4. 3:35:00 marathon — I was going to write sub 3:30 but that’s an 8 minute pr and I’m not sure how realistic that would be.  Actually to hell with it: the goal is sub 3:30.  I left the last marathon feeling like I had plenty of gas in the tank so we’ll see if I can capitalize on that in 2010. The red is what I wrote back in December/January.  Came close with Boston with 3:35:53.  Unfinished business.
   

• Do an ultra. I had one in mind right for right after graduation but all those toe infections, shin problems put that one one hold
• Dare I say it? Requalify for Boston. Check
• Not sure how realistic this one is as I have no idea where I’ll be in the fall but I want to run MCM.
  
• And super long term I want to run the Big 5: New York, Boston, Berlin, London, Chicago.  Maybe I could get lucky and find myself in Europe this fall / next year. I can dream right? Well no plans right now to make good on this one
• Have fun. I am.  Yes I tend to stress out really easy but running really has been fun.  Especially post Boston where I’m just running for the hell of it.

And the ways I wanted to get there:

• Drink more water. Yes. I am definitely drinking more water than I did last year.  But not nearly enough.  One 16 oz bottle isn’t going to cut it.  I know I drink other stuff during the day but I need more H2O
• Get faster. Well by looking at my marathon PR and this past months weekly totals I’d say YES.  But I originally wrote that I wanted to do this via speedwork and the funny thing is that lack of speedwork dropped my overall pace.  But I did go fast in Boston using speedwork so different tactics with different logic behind doing it.
• Get stronger. AKA strength train more. Yeah.  I’ve been dreading going to the gym lately but I have been going regularly.
• XT more in general too. Not so much.
• Stretch more. Ditto above.
• Respect the rest day. Nope.
• Listen to my body. Yes and No.  I’m very stubborn but when I was FORCED to listen to my body (back in March/April) I got better at it.  Let’s keep this trend going.
• Wear sunscreen. Meh.  Definitely room for improvement here too.

So what’s next?

Well I’m thinking that the miles are going to have to come down.  I know I’m not feeling anything terrible right now but it’s only a matter of time before my body can’t withstand the impact.  I know I’m a high mileage runner in general but I’m hoping that July and August is reduced and I find a marathon to do over the winter, or even late fall although I think any around me have filled up.

I also have some unfinished business with my goals so I’m printing out that old post just to keep them in my line of sight and they don’t keep falling by the wayside. I think that I just posted them and then out of sight out of mind.  I need to make a bulletin board or something like that.

And since you made it this far with the post here’s a picture that my friend uncovered from Boston on her camera.  Her caption when she put in on FB was “After she finished. She could have prob. kept running” hahahah.  My response? “So NOT true. but I love this picture anyway” 8)

Gah Who Turned Up The Heat?

Not that it’s summer or anything like that…

But I don’t want my relatively cool mornings to go away! It was 82* when I woke up this morning with roughly the same humidity.  Not cool Mother Nature.  Not cool at all. But I think I hear thunder in the distance so maybe it’ll cool off?

I think that the weather is part of the reason I can’t seem to sleep at all anymore.  In the past week or so I’ve maybe gotten 5 or 6 hours a night.  It’s not like I’m not trying to sleep or anything.  But I just can’t seem to nod off.  I guess I’m just under a bunch of stress and my brain doesn’t think it deserves to turn off or something.  I’m hoping that this, like everything, is cyclical and I’ll be back to sleeping soundly in no time.

I have been running a lot lately too (when I told a friend how much I ran, she looked at me and was like, “well I guess you’ve been under so much stress lately…”) and I’m not discounting that effect in my disrupted sleep.  And by “a lot” I mean that by looking at my training log you’d think I was training for a marathon.  I’m almost embarrassed for the time when I have to total up the month of June, as well as the half way through 2010 point, and actually come out of the denial that I’ve been living in with regards to my mileage.  Currently I’m in the mindset that if I don’t actual have hard data on total miles then I’m okay.

But let’s just say that I’ve been running an obscene amount.  It’s making me think that I should sign up for a marathon or something. You’ll see in a few days when June wraps up (YIKES!).

I can start to feel the miles adding up too.  Just little aches and tightness that make me want to schedule a massage.  No pain but my muscles have been in high demand lately.  I’m not sure if it’s the miles per se or if I need new shoes.  The stupid ones I’m in now are NOT holding up the way my beloved New Balances did.  I’m probably going to have to shell out some $$.  Soon. Boo.

The numbers, however, do not seem to want to taper off and I keep running faster (and keep sounding like a broken record!).  Case in point: this morning during my run the leg-os were feeling a bit sluggish for maybe 75% of my run but if you were to look at my overall time for the run you wouldn’t think that at all.  Heck, when I look at the numbers from this morning I’m like, “I was feeling slow?!” Oh relativity.  And so much for not using my physics degree ever because I think that every event in my life I relate to some physics concept tee-hee

Hello. My name is MM and I am a nerd

I actually even have glasses.  But I like to think I look hot in them

In addition to running earlier today I had 2 runs yesterday.  The morning one was FAST and I felt like I was flying.  It was the type of run that I didn’t want to stop because I was just feeling so strong and powerful.  Weird because it was the morning.  (Lately if I do a double it’s first thing and then around dinner.  With the lack of sleep I need something to wake me up.  My  post-study break mid-day is  now a food one ) It was the greatest feeling ever though and one where afterward I felt like I could pretend that I was an elite runner hah! My legs during the second one felt a little like jello but, in true MM form as of late,  the pace was stellar.

Since the last time I posted, and talked about how I was feeling the lack of gym-time guilt, I did hit up the gym.  Today in fact.  I went in the early afternoon and it was a god-send to be in air conditioning.  I think I might go to the gym everyday just to feel the air conditioning.  I almost didn’t but seeing Lacey post her workouts everyday gave me the kick is the butt to go.  It was one of the hardest workouts I’ve ever done (well maybe not but it sure felt it) but, like always, I felt good when I was done.  Maybe it’s just vanity but I love the way I look after a good lifting session.  I know you can’t see results immediately but I always feel like my muscles are just a bit nicer looking.  Again, I’m vain so I would notice these things.

Oh and on another running related front, I still haven’t seen that lady yet.  I’m totally not complaining but I’m waiting for the moment when she, like, pops out of the woods at me during a run.  Which is scary in and of itself but I zone out wicked bad when I run so I’m likely to die of a heart attack.  So, while I haven’t been a regular blogger lately because of MCAT stuff, if I don’t post for a few days send up a quick prayer that I’m recovering from said heart attack.   Or a prayer that MCAT stress goes down.  I’ll take that too

Sorry for a kind of blah post.  I’ve been pretty distracted lately and without focus to be all exciting haha. Hope everyone is having a great start to your week!  I know I am because, despite the heat, when I woke up this morning there was NO ONE home and no one has come home since then.  Not that I’m complaining or anything because it was a pleasant surprise to be able to have quiet to study in for once.

And check out this giveaway from Emily and RunningDivaMom

Monthly Recap: May 2010

First off: Wow. I’m so glad that you guys are viewing my study running breaks as a good thing and something that we all use to keep our sanity after a long day sitting down! Thanks for the positive vibes too. They are definitely appreciated.  You guys are the bestest

So I know that yesterday I said that I was going to do a “How Double Running Can Rock” series.  And I’ve actually drafted two of them already (of the power of procrastination ha) but I wanted to get this up before I forgot and since yesterday was the last day of May…it’s apropos.

May was definitely a….well let’s just say an interesting month.  I finally was able to jump back into running.  And I did, full throttle.  If you remember the end of April was me getting my IV out and just prior to that was Boston.  So April was on the low side with running.  Let’s just say I was chomping at the bit and ready to hit May hard. Not as hard as March when I ran 400+ miles but still hard nonetheless.

May also wanted to hit pretty hard back: not only was it the wrapping up of a school year but the wrapping up of my UNDERGRADUATE career.  Scary.  So I was pretty busy in my non-running life, especially the first half when all my senior projects and presentations were.

But when does running not happen? Yeah yeah besides scary infections and shin splints

Luckily May didn’t have any of that for me so here’s a week by week glance at the fifth month of the year (and seriously?! How have 5 months gone by already?!)

Week of May 3-9

• 56 miles
• 8 hours 18 minutes 8 seconds
• 8:55 average pace
• 4X Core, 1X Lifting, 2X XT

First full week of running not only post-infection but post-Boston.  Needless to say I’m not a fan of the slow and steady thing? 10% rule what? I do have some notes in my log book saying that the legs were a bit tight but I think that’s more so because I reintroduced lifting this week and I have a complete disregard for stretching. The pacing was spot on too and I think that’s due to huge recovery period post-marathon and ~50% reduction in peak training miles.

Week of May 10-16

• 67.3 miles
• 10 hours 4 minutes 45 seconds
• 8:59 average pace
• 3X Core, 1X Lifting, 1X circuit, 0 XT

Whew a close one with that pace   Finals were this week which, for a lot of students, is a huge time suck and stressor.  Not so much for me and I was able to get some quality runs in.  And by quality I mean feel really good about the runs quality.  Still no speedwork here, too soon post-Boston it had only been 3 weeks.

Week of May 17-23

• 71 miles
• 10 hours 43 minutes 15 seconds
• 9:04 average pace
• 3X Core, 2X Lifting, 0 XT
• 1 double day

Senior Week! Very much relaxed (except for packing up my life) and trying to be on cruise control for the week.  Lots of good-bye runs this week too so I was pretty nostalgic.  I was also sick at the beginning of the week with some type of flu-like illness (oh immune system, can you please behave? haha) but I bounced back.  On Sunday, the first full day at home was also the first day of doubles that I had been talking about lately and it was a good two runs, both very strong and a good way to round out the week although I wish that I had been able to lower the average pace a bit.

Week of May 24-30

• 72.9 miles
• 10 hours 35 minutes 26 seconds
• 8:47 average pace
• 3X Core, 2X Lifting, 1X XT
• 4 double days running, 1 double day of lifting/running

Wow.  Huge mileage and a fast pace.  I think this week was the first true no-obligations week I’d had in a very long while.  I’m not on my third (but really fourth) floor room and my legs, while running more, are overall more rested. Lots of doubles here and clearly they added up more than I thought they did but the leg-os aren’t hurting or sore.  If anything something is happening right because my pace was WICKED low for a weekly average for me.

May totals

• 286.6 miles
• 42 hours 40 minutes 49 seconds
• 8:56 average pace

I think I talked enough about my running this month in the preceding paragraphs so just one note: the pace.  I don’t think I’ve ever had a month (at least while I’ve been consciously tracking things like monthly data) where I had an average pace under 9 minutes.  Woot! I think I’m prouder of that than my 400+ month of March!

And before I dredge back into MCAT/essay land I want to share a story of my second run on Memorial Day. In true MM fashion it’s long and not about me but I felt it worthy to share and am sticking it at the end of the post so those of you who roll your eyes at the length of my posts can stop if need be

I ran it with my sister, K4 (I’m the oldest of 6 and all our names begin with K so we’ve been assigned numbers haha).  I was really unsure of whether or not I wanted to “bring her along”.  Sure she’s an athlete and actually ran XC last fall…but her schtick is Throwing.  And she told me that her best XC race was ~28 minutes for a 5k.  Which is slower than I wanted to go.

I told her that we’d do a tempo kind of thing for her.  My distance was 4 but we could go at “tempo” (for her) for ~1.3 miles then she could turn around and recover while I ran to the halfway point and then catch up with her pacing her back in.  She was down for it, I think that I was still unsure if she could keep up.  I figured that even if I went at a 9 pace it would be pushing it for her.  And a note about my family: we rarely complain about things like pushed paces.  Sure I may complain, bitch & moan about an eyelash in my eye but I will push through anything physical and the same goes for K4.

That said, at ~Mile 1 she stopped short.  I told her that if she was going to throw up she better do it away from me.  That got me a laugh as well as a dirty look but after a second of catching her breath we were off again.  We hit the ~1.3 miles at (calculated later)…8:46 pace!!  Here she turned around and walked a bit and I’m assuming at some point she started jogging because when I caught up to her she was much further than I thought she would be.

When she saw me I think a part of her died buttttt I told her that the goal was just to not stop running for the ~3/4 mile we had left.  And she did it.  She had a really bad stitch-in-side but she did it.  I am soooooo proud of her for being so damn tenacious and determined.  I think that, even though she considers throwing her thing, she could have a strong XC season if she wants it and decides to do it again.  She’s not that big into running, definitely not a passion of hers,  but she could own it if she sets her sights on it.  Maybe not *winning* but I think she could be strong and SMASH her PR and expectations.

So that’s the story.  About my sister. I’m hoping that we get to run more together this summer

We All Came Here To Make It

So first off I’m obsessed with this song.  Pretty basically been listening to it on repeat the past week.  Sound up and rocking out.  I saw him (Jason Aldean) last summer in concert and am in LOVE with him too.  Why do all my celebrity crushes have wives?!

Anyway, life is about to get crazy for me.

My MCAT class is picking up steam and it looks like I’ll be studying ~6 hours a day, 4-5x a week for the next 10 or so weeks.  In fact, I should be studying right now…but I’m not *shhhhhhhhh* I’m not quite sure what to think of the class.  It’s definitely going to be a HUGE boost to me but it’s also going to be tough and challenging.  I’m going to have to tackle things head on that are not my strengths.  Last summer when I was studying for the exam (on my own and with textbooks) I was able to shy away from things that were hard.  And it showed.  Sure, my score was good enough but not what I knew I was capable of.  Hence the class this summer.

I’m also starting the process of applying to med schools.  I’ve started drafting the two (in my opinion) hardest sections: the work/activities section and the personal statement.  If there’s anyone willing to look over them (or at least the essay) I’d be forever indebted.  Seriously.

So even though those are the only two things I have to do from now until July-ish (when I’m targeting the application being sent in) and mid-August (MCAT), it’s going to be quite a busy thing.  I’m already feeling a bit of the stress that deadlines and commitment bring.

Luckily I have an amazing agenda book that I can create to-do lists in and gain satisfaction in crossing off items.  Sometimes the list becomes really big.  And I’m the kind of person that if I don’t start making progress and roll with the momentum then nothing will happen.  So the physics joke from a few years ago in the club “Mo’mentum Mo’problems” really isn’t apropos here.

Luckily I also have running.  The weather has “cooled” off here — aka 70* rather than 95+* — and it feels nice.  Especially at night and I’ve been actually a bit chilly in the morning when I get up. Granted I have perfected the placement of fans / open windows so that my room becomes an ice box but still…running at noon as my first study break didn’t feel bad yesterday nor did it today.  Oh relativity.  I probably was complaining in April about how a few 70* days felt like a heat wave after weeks of 40* and rainy weather.

Not that I should complain, and I try not to because I BEG for hot weather in January/February.

And I’m going to take the fact that not many people seemed to read my Tips for Hot Weather Running yesterday as a sign that you guys are smarty-arties and already knew all of it.  And for those of you who commented and added your suggestions: THANK YOU. I need to start getting smarter in my running life if I want to keep improving.  I’ll take all the help I can to run STRONG, run FAST and have FUN.  Too bad I can’t think of a great F word for strength.  Then I could call it the “Three Fs” or something.  Run with fortitude? Doesn’t have the same ring to it.

But that’s what I have been doing the past few days.  And even, if you were to go back and re-read my posts, the past 2-3 weeks (I’m lucky that I have my log book right out in front of me).

Today was no exception.

But first: I think that Tues/Fri is going to be my lifting schedule for the summer.  At least it’s what I’ve fallen into lately. And today was TOUGH.  My legs, which have been pretty tight, were not all that interested in lifting.  But I figured that since I actually drove to the gym then come hell or high water I was going to get a full body lift in.  Gas ain’t cheap and I drive an SUV.  I augmented my lifting to a weight load lighter than normal.  Still hard though.

After doing my legs I decided to try out foam rolling on my IT band.  So I grabbed the foam roller and set to work.  And my first thought? PHsssssssh this isn’t so bad.  Then I realized that the part of the roller I was on was really worn down.  So I moved over to the end portion of it and my thought? Okay this hurts more but still isn’t so bad.  I’m thinking that I was doing something wrong because everything I read on blogs has said this should hurt like hell.

I came home, refueled, studied some in my physics review book then hit the streets for a nice run.  And it felt good.  Like I mentioned a few paragraphs ago, my running has been good.  Not quite spot-on — ideally I’d be doing workouts and a hard/easy type of schedule.  But running has been so effortless lately.  I’ve never felt like I’ve been exerting myself and yet my paces have been so fast.  I’ve been doubting whether or not my mapping system is accurate.  It’s been so nice and such a confidence / mood booster.  It’s been allowing me to keep focused for studying / application writing / my 3 hour class.

But in case anyone was wondering what I mean about paces: today was 7.2 miles @ 8:34 pace.  Typically when I go for an easy run, post-lift run etc.  I try to target 9:15.   And my easy run paces the past two weeks have, with maybe one exception, all been sub-9.   And maybe my tightness in my legs is telling me that I need to put on the brakes a bit in terms of pace.  But I’m in such a good state-of-mind lately that I just don’t want too.

Bang Bang Bang

Check out this giveaway from Tricia.  And have a great Memorial Day Weekend.  Hopefully you guys have more exciting plans than me….aka studying. So I might be MIA in both blogging and commenting on-and-off the next week or so as I struggle to find a balance with everything.

What A Way To Start The Summer

Wow I’ve been running around like a chicken with my head cut off.  Moreso than when I was in school! But I tend to thrive when life gets busy so it’s all good.  It just means that I don’t have time to string together a coherent post (and trust me I’ve tried but when you can only write in 5 minute snippets the tone of the post goes all over the place!) .  Oh well.  I think that this week is the exception until about August so apologies in advance if I go MIA again for the remainder of the week.

But let’s back track.  I’ve been doing some pretty decent runs since coming home.  The area that I live in really isn’t that hilly but compared to where my school is located…well let’s just say I feel like I’m running in the Alps right now.  Just shows you how relative everything is.  Not that I’m complaining too much; as much as it sucks to be out of breath on the actual hill itself there’s a BAMF factor at the end of it.

Another thing factoring into my BAMFness? The heat and humidity that has been cast upon New England.  As of when I got up this morning at 0800 it was already in the low 80* with ~68% humidity. Yuck.  But I think there are going to be some T-storms later today which hopefully cools things down.

So it’s made my runs a bit interesting. Here’s a bit of a recap

Sunday: I know in my last post I said I was going to XT it up but the lure of running was too much (and when is it not?! ha) so I went out on my favorite home route, a really lovely 8 miler.  It was fast too but I think that it helped that I went out at noon.  As much as the heat isn’t the funnest (and yes I know it’s grammatically correct to write more fun) to run in my paces are so much quicker when I *don’t* run first thing.  But I followed up the run with corework, and since I had been running in just a sports bra I got to see my abs working which made me feel strong.  Around 1600 my running buddy from home called and wanted to know if I was up for a quick run.  Very last minute because she wanted to leave right away! Luckily I hadn’t showered yet (LAZINESS!) so I was able to get a 4 miler in.  Which was WAY fast.  But it felt good so I went with it.

Monday: I know I haven’t talked much about post-graduation plans BUT I had a job interview on Monday so I had to get up early to run before heading up to NH for the interview (and no I’m not going to go into details right now.  Don’t want to jinx myself before anything comes through) I will say I think the interview went well and combined with a decent interview last week I’m hoping something comes through.

But back to the run.  Okay, so early is an exaggeration.  I mean to say that I ran first thing when I woke up rather than set an alarm.  I love that during the summer I can do this! But it was sticky out already.  I run a fan in my room and get some cross ventilation with my windows so my room was chilly and I think I overdressed in a tech shirt and shorts. Should have done the sports bra + shorts thing.  My legs felt a bit tight during the run but I did run a really good 9.1 miles @ 9:15 pace.  Much faster than it felt.  And of course I got my core work in.

Tuesday: Another busy day here too.  I had a doctors appointment that was back down at my school (an hour away) followed by an MCAT prep course (can’t remember if I mentioned this before).  I know I took the exam last year, and I did decently on it, but I studied solely with my college textbooks.  Not ideal.  So I laid down the money to get really focused and intense work, which the pre-health advisor at my school thinks can raise my score ~7 pts.  Which is huge.  So last night was the first night and we did a 5 hour diagnostic test. Ouch.  I think 20 milers are easier!

My workout was a double this day.  Since my appointments were all in the afternoon I took the whole morning to get a good lifting session in followed by a 6 mile run.  The lifting was first thing and felt hard! I wasn’t doing much differently than normal (actually nothing differently) but my muscles were definitely being worked hard.  After getting back to my house and refueling with a pb & banana sandwich and oatmeal (yes oatmeal in the summer. I’m weird) I went out at noon for a run.

Maybe not the smartest order to do my workouts in because it was definitely 90* and humid. The plan was just to take it easy and my perceived effort was easy but my pace was 8:35. Whoa there.  I kind of wish I had looked at my watch earlier, not to dial back but to take advantage of the speediness that my legs were giving me.  Either way it might have been the smartest thing to only do 6 miles in the heat.  I was sweating a TON and am not fully acclimated yet.

Wednesday (today): Not sure what exactly I’m going to be doing today.  I only have one appointment today in the PM but I have lots of post-grad stuff to do.  Not to mention catch up on NCIS and The Biggest Loser which I missed last night due to my prep course.  Priorities

I’m thinking an easy 7 or so.  My legs, as well as the rest of my body, are feeling a bit tight so something easy to get the blood flowing probably is appropriate.  Kind of a bummer because I wanted to do a speed workout and start to make those a regular occurrence in my weekly routine.   And easy because I’m not likely to get out until noon again and it’s going to be another hot one.  But I think some T-storms are coming through so hopefully it’ll cool things off.

Jeez Louise! I’ve written so much already.  Guess that’s what happens when life gets in the way of blogging

Here are some other things I wanted to talk about but will bullet point it because this is getting very lengthy

• LOST and 24 are over.

Forever. Sad face   I’m not sure how I feel about the LOST ending, I’ll likely have to re-watch it sometime soon to wrap my head around it.  I liked the note that it ended on but I *really* wanted all the mysteries to be solved. Like, how did MiB become the smoke monster? How are the rules of the island created? Why did pregnant women die ? What did the bomb accomplish? I felt that a lot of the physics in some of the mysteries was fast and loose and as a scientist (and hello physics major!) I felt frustrated.  But overall I enjoyed it.

As for 24, again mixed feelings.  I liked pretty much everything about it except for the fact that for a series finale it things open ended.  I guess it’s because there’s talk of a 24 movie.  But I loved that Jack went all Mike Tyson and “judge and jury” on us.  Really BAMF.

• Health and Fitness Expo June 12-13th in Boston (I think on the Common) Anyone interested in going possibly?

So much for my bullet points And saying that this might be a coherent post haha! But check out the giveaway from Mel

D-1. Eeeek.

Phew. What a long day! I know that I’ve had longer but I’m all zapped out of energy at the moment and all I want to do is lay down on the floor.  Because my bed is lofted and I don’t think I can hoist myself up onto it hah!

I guess part of my exhaustion is my own doing.  After Rosecliff (thanks for all the compliments! Glad you liked the post and my dress and told me that I looked wonderful ) and getting very little sleep that night, I was out late again Thursday night celebrating the last Thirsty Thursday.  Normally not a big deal but I wanted to get a run in before my graduation rehearsal this morning.  Which started at 0900.  Ugh.  Oh well.  At least I’m not a hardcore drinker.  Some of my peers were still drunk when they showed up ha.

So I got up at 0600 (good thing I’m graduating because I sure don’t act like a normal college kid!) to run because I knew that by the time it ended it would be really hot and I’d be unmotivated.  And sure enough by the time I finished my run at around 0730 or so it was already 70*.  Hello summer?

The run itself was pretty unremarkable.  A tad on the humid side but it felt bearable.  I need a gradual build up to full blown swimming pool.  Think that my runs would count as XT at 100% humidity and I could call them pool runs?

It’s bittersweet to be running this week.  Obviously I’ve mentioned it enough but graduation is tomorrow an dI’m moving on in my life, exciting!!, but moving into a very unstable world, scary!! For my running this means I likely won’t ever have reason to run these routes again.  They’ve been with me (through some modification of course) for the past 4 years.  I could, and probably have, run them asleep.  And I know I’ve run some of them still drunk after a good Thursday night.

But enough nostalgia.  Today’s run: 9.3 miles of goodness.  It didn’t feel good the first 4 miles and I questioned whether or not I really wanted to be doing this.  This meaning 0600 running, not running in general.  Especially since I had had such an amazing run the day before. When that happens sometimes a little lethargy and lead in the legs shuts down the go-get-em mentality.

Regardless I had another mile to go before I passed by the dorm and by the time I got there my legs were feeling good to complete the rest of the run.  I negative splited the run, not too hard to do when the first half is wicked slow ha!, and ended on a semi-fast note.  A strong note.  Another good good-bye run.

I also did some core work right after the run.  I was planning on going to the gym after the rehearsal but I still like to do my core immediately after finishing.  I think it started when I needed to make my gym time shorter when I was doing doubles and the natural thing to do was to move my 15 minute core routine to right after the morning run but I’ve kept it there because I like feeling hardcore and the burn while I’m still wicked sweaty.  Today was a mix of that and the fact that I had that picture of my abs on my brain from yesterday and wanted to keep those abs rock solid

And I’m not vain at all.  Promise

After the rehearsal I did make it to the gym and man, it was HOT in there.  I know it’s a small school with a limited budget so I’ve never expected air conditioning in the gym (or in any other building really) but it was stifling.  So I did my thang and got out of there.   And I also wasn’t really in the mood to be lifting either.

Which brings me to a question I’ve been pondering: how much of what you do, do you do because you feel like you have to? I mean, I obviously love running and never feel like I have to do it but rather I want to.  But sometimes with lifting I’m questioning why I’m there.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve written about how awesome I think weights are for you and the fact that I grew up with a father who was wayyyy into lifting so I don’t see it as evil.  But sometimes I think I do it because I know it’s going to make me a better runner and that’s the only reason I head over to the gym.  Yoga and stretching are the same way although I avoid them like the plague and never do them.

It was nice to read this post from Jess saying that she hadn’t lifted in about a week and a half.  Sometimes I wonder if it’s really necessary to make sure to hit the weights 2-3 a week, every week.   Oh well, just some musings.  I’m definitely not pushing my body to do something I don’t want to do and after my date with the weights I felt really good and powerful and strong.  But sometime it’s so hard to take that first step.  Guess how that it with many things in life.  The whole inertia thing.  Yup Newton’s first law.  I am getting my degree in physics tomorrow

Speaking of tomorrow, I plan on getting up early to run and calm myself before the ceremony — yes I know that means I’ll not be sleeping a wink tonight so maybe “getting up early” is misleading haha. Final goodbye run.  Don’t know where it’ll be yet but I think I have an idea.  I probably should be hyping these runs up so much — I told my friends about them, the whole saying goodbye thing, and they looked at me like I had two heads!   But the run will likely be one of the first routes I can recall running regularly.

Oh man! Look at the time! And the length of this post! Gotta go get ready for my last night on campus.  We’re doing a sentimental night and the second half of the candlelighting ceremony (the first half was done our very first night on campus).   And then the Last Chance Dance. Wooooot!

Check out the giveaway that ErikaH is having. And I apologize in advance if I’m not around much this weekend to comment on all your lovely blogs.  I may have a few moments here and there and I still love you guys but I’ll be too busy graduating

Done?!

Whew. Even though finals week is never really stressful / crazy for me I guess this just isn’t the typical semester. As you guys know (and are probably sick of hearing) I’m taking quantum physics and we got a take home that…well didn’t really kick my butt but was being a time suck.  Couple that with any “free” time being totally taken up with trying to get my shizznit together for finding, you know, a source of income for the next year and well, I’ve been feeling a bit stressed.

But luckily I’m 100% done with undergraduate work so it’s not so bad.  Now I just need to find a job. And I appreciate all the comments telling me to push through and that I can do it, don’t stress and enjoy these last few weeks.  I definitely needed to hear that

Thanks for the good lucks on my thesis too.  Except for the fact that I”m not doing one haha. Kind of sad, kind of not but thanks for the support anyway   I think that the confusion arose because I’ve been going to a bunch of defenses for my friends but I definitely did not do one.  I was doing enough already that I think a thesis would have put me in the loony bin.

Luckily I had running to get me through the year and because I’ve been really busy lately (sorry to all those blogs that I read but didn’t comment on the past week because I haven’t had time! And doubly sorry to all the emails i have yet to respond too, I promise I’ll play catch up soon!) here’s a quick (well not really quick) little running recap because I do call myself a runner.  Plus I really haven’t been doing anything other than school work and running.  I’d be willing to bet that you’d rather read about my runs than my Quantum physics exam.  Just a hunch though

Tuesday was a run and a full body circuit (which can be found on the tab on the right-hand side of the page).  The run was actually at a nice cruising pace.  I was really surprised when I mapped out the route and found that it was 8.8 miles and that my pace was ~8:59 (gotta LOVE having that one second under 9s hah).  I guess the soreness in my legs from the weekend wore off nicely because my quads and hammys weren’t shouting in protest.  The circuit itself was pretty unremarkable.  I had wanted to hop into the gym but because of finals week the hours are all screwy and I couldn’t go when I needed to.  I figured the circuit was a good “placeholder” strength workout — a workout where it doesn’t really help you add muscle or make gains but it keeps your muscles from forgetting that they need to work.

Wednesday morning I got up early to run before my Spanish exam (gaahhh can’t believe that’s over with! So sad). The weather forecast wasn’t looking too good (rain bleh) but because of the limited fitness center hours I knew that I would have to get out there if I wanted to do a run at all.  After the exam I needed to work a lot more on the quantum exam.  But I’ve been really lucky lately.  Even though the weather has been quite chilly for mid-May (highs only in the upper 50s and lows into the upper 30s) I’ve so far been able to avoid the precipitation.   Give me sub-zero temps any day (well maybe not as I really do hate being cold) just as long and there is no snow or rain.  It misted a bit during the run but I was able to crank out another great feeling run.  I faded a bit at the end but I think that’s just my legs saying “Hey there, you really want to get us back into a regular running routine?!”

Thursday: So my intention was to get up early and run, do some quantum work then lift.  But life happens.  Or rather flu-like illness happens.  Wednesday night was not pretty with chills, body aches, sore throat and fever.  Basically a restless night of sleep.  Although “sleeping” it off (I was in bed for 13 hours but was tossing and turning the majority of the night so I wasn’t asleep) made me feel better I knew that my plan was out the window.  I was really dehydrated from all the sweating overnight and have that hangover headache.

So I decided to do my work in the morning and if I felt better after hydrating and getting some fluid in me that I’d get out for a run.  By mid-afternoon I was sooooo ready for a study break from the quantum exam so I figured a little run and some fresh air would do me good.  I was also feeling *much* better.  I had that sexy voice from being sick but that was it.  And wouldn’t you know it: my run was the fastest I’d done all week and felt AMAZING.  Well it didn’ t feel stellar at the time, it didn’ t feel bad or anything but it felt like a typical easy run.  Not the case and I had to triple check my route because my pace was really good.  It’s funny how I consider the 8:38s I ran this day to be blistering because it was an easy run but I would never accept that as a fast pace for a tempo.  How how everything is relative (and that’s also a total physics joke with the club too)

Friday was trying to get my planned Thursday lift in.  I was feeling 100% illness wise (although with a slight sore throat and that sexy voice still) so I got a quick run in outside in the misty rain.  Nothing too strenuous because I knew I was essentially doing a double workout with the pending lift but the pace was spot on.  Nothing like Thursday but still a respectable 9:05.  It felt pretty good too and if you had asked me mid-run I’d have told you that I was running way slower.  I definitely think not doing the mega-miles now is letting me run faster on a daily basis.  Guess that’s just the trade off between miles and speed.

I then looked over my Quantum exam, handed it in and eventually hit up the gym for some lifting (and did the arms and legs portion in the Lifting tab on the right).  I didn’t do the abs/back at this time because I wasn’t sure if I really would get to the gym and I love doing core / think it’s really important to do regularly, so I did it right after the run in the AM.  As for the weights, last weekend when I reintroduced lifting I went with slightly lower weights but today, after not being incredibly sore after that lift and Tuesday’s circuit, I decided to go back to what I was using pre-Boston.  And man was it tough.  It hurt — but in that oh-so-good way.  I’ll likely be feeling it tomorrow and I welcome it with open arms.

Aside from the soreness I’m not quite sure what the weekend holds for me running wise. I decided not to go home this weekend so I get one more LR on campus and trying to decided when / where to make this final goodbye LR is a really tough decision!

Anyhoo that’s been my running/working out update since Monday when I last updated it.  And I really am starting to think I should have been an English major given how long my posts are

Now I get to relax a bit and bask in the glow that is NO WORK.  I mean, starting tomorrow I have to start drafting more cover letters, but as of right now I really don’t have to do anything.  I’m trying not to think about it too much because it means that graduation is in 8 days so I guess party time?

(And yet again I’m not proof-reading this post before posting.  Sorry for any typos/grammar errors!)

Check out these giveaways from SkinnyRunner and Marcia

Not As Bad As I Thought

[ETA: Oops to forgetting to post this up Sunday when I finished writing it! I swear it was ready to go that afternoon! That's what I (and you) get when all you want to do is take advantage of free time before the craziness of finals week starts hahah.  I tried to go back and edit so it sounds like I wrote it today but I really wrote it Sunday.]

Definitely not as sore as I thought I’d be after my lifting session Saturday[ETA: Well Sunday morning when I got up this was the case.  As time has gone on the soreness factor has increased a bit but I'm not sure how much is lifting and how much is the LR that I did].  And I’m glad that I chose to hit up the gym, because the weather was soooo spazzy: one minute nothing then the next downpouring to clear again.  That’s not even mentioning the random thunder and lightning that cropped up.  I can handle the rain / heavy rain but I’m terrified on thunderstorms so that would not have been good.  Plus I don’ t think it’s all that smart to be running in that kind of storm

But the gym was good.  I did my “typical” lifting routine (found here) sandwiched between some elliptical and some treadmill action as warming up and down.  I kept the weights on the light side because, like I mentioned yesterday, it has been a good 4-5 weeks since I last hit the weights.  I think I used the correct weights for my legs (oh hey there hamstrings!) but I probably under did it with the arms as I’m really not feeling any effects of the session.

My process of choosing the weights was take the weights I was using during training and go down one.  I don’t think I lost as much fitness as I think I did because my body isn’t omg-I-can’t-move sore.  More of an okay-hello-muscles sore.  I’m debating whether to increase my weights next time or keep it at the lower ones for another couple of sessions.

In a way it’s good that I’m not as sore as I was anticipating because my long run was pushed off to Sunday. It felt really weird to not do a Saturday long run because that’s what I’ve been doing, not just during Boston training, but since my last training cycle save a few actually no, the summer was Friday lrs but I haven’t done Sundays since…(checks log book) February 8th 2009.  Wowza.

But since classes are over there is no reason to keep Sunday really free and clear.  I even pushed off the run to mid-morning to allow some food to get into my system and pray for a bit that the wind would die down a bit.  Obviously the running gods did not want to listen to me because it was still very windy when I hit the road.  Oh well.  It was certainly better than trying to run in the tstorms of yesterday.

And to be honest (and I’m going to just state that I really hate that phrase…and the phrase “not going to lie”…so I don’t know why I want to use it here hah) the wind wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.  Sure it gusted a bit but it kept me from overheating and I’ve turned into a pansy as of late with my running.  I only want to run in perfect conditions.  I’ve been spoiled because of all the XT I’ve been forced to do and avoid the elements.

So I put on a slightly heavier long-sleeve (and by slightly heavier I mean heavier than a tech shirt but not a thermal shirt) to keep the wind at bay and took off.

Like really took off.  Since you all know by now that I don’t have a garmin (I think I write that so much ha! Guess as much as I say I’m happy without one, having one would be nice.  Too bad they’re so expensive!) I don’t know what my pace was for the first few miles (or any individual mile really) but suffice it to say that I felt like I was cruising.  And who knows, maybe I was.  I do know that my pace decreased in the mid-miles and then re-increased during the last 5k or so and I ended right around 8:00 pace (which was my GMP for Boston).

But overall I’m really happy with how the run went and I’m really glad that I went for it.  I was debating pushing it off some more but figured “why the hell not do it today?”.  I think I also got a fire lit under me because this is the last weekend I’ll be on campus (next weekend I have to go home for a dentist appt and the following Saturday is graduation) so this was the last weekend to get a long run in and I wanted to do a good-old standby route.  Because I’m not likely to ever do another long run again in this area. Tear.

Like I just mentioned I likely went out too fast in the beginning.  I could feel the slight soreness in my legs from yesterday’s lifting but it didn’t affect me and my stride.  In fact the slower I went the more I noticed it!  The mid-miles, though, were a bit tough.  Not necessarily from a physical standpoint but from a mental one and I’m pretty sure I slowed down a bit during miles 6-10 or so.  I remember thinking at some point in there: how in God’s name did I do this as a recovery run route before? But once I hit that 10 mark I was able to get a second wind and really feel good in the homestretch.  I’m also pretty sure that I had a nice tailwind over the last few miles and that certainly didn’t hurt either!

The overall stats:

• 13.2 miles
• 117- mins
• 8:51 pace

I was thrilled with this run immediate when I got back and am doubly thrilled when looking at this data! I definitely cannot remember the last time I ran a LR sub-9 without checking my training log and the amazing feeling of running at a pushed pace, but with ease, has eluded me for quite awhile, save the past week.

Not bad at all

Although bladder issues did crop up.  Thank god during Boston I was able to run the whole thing without stopping.  Now that I’m back to just running, however, I guess my bladder wants to misbehave.  I did make it the whole way without stopping but it was a full out sprint to the bathroom when I got back. *LeSigh* haha

But remember how I said the lifting soreness wasn’t as bad as I thought? Well it wasn’t until after I showered then I got the lifting+hard run sore feeling.  Not painful bad at all but totally a “daaaaaaaaaayum girl you’ve been working hard” soreness.  Which I like. So I’m going to reward myself by sitting in my comfy chair by the window and opening the good book I’m into (apparently I was wrong when I thought I had read every John Grisham novel out there, as I found a copy of one that I must have missed somehow.  AMAZING!).  It’s too windy and not quite warm enough (barely cracking the 50s!) to sit outside and read but being by the window is a very close second.  And let’s be real here people: once I get into a novel I am oblivious to the world so does it *really* matter when I am? haha.

Check out this giveaway from Mel

_____________________________________________________________

Again, the above was written yesterday (Sunday).  And I’m too lazy to do a real overhaul.  So I’m leaving as is for now.  I did end up reading a lot which was really nice and a great way to recharge before finals week starts…today.  Finals week is never too stressful for me.  This semester I only have a Quantum take home and a Spanish pre-scheduled, so two finals? Not so bad.

Nothing today except to pick up the take home but I’m going to my friend’s thesis defense so I got up early to hit the streets. I probably could have waited until after the defense but I like to get up at get going.  Something that doesn’t feel the same way as me? The temperature.  We had a frost advisory last night! The sun was shining though so it didn’t feel as bad as it could have been.  There wasn’t any wind either which made it pleasant out.

And my legs? Wowza soreness! I can feel the knots in every muscle in my legs.  I was thinking of trying out the foam roller but I’m too afraid of how much pain I’ll be in! Maybe I’ll brave it after the defense.  I was also thinking of hitting up the weights again today but I’m not in a hurry to really make a set schedule for strength stuff just yet.

Therefore after my ~7 mile recovery run (and trust me it was recovery after such a great LR yesterday) I just did some core and my PT hip exercises.  The exercises are getting wayyy easy so I’m happy because it means that my hips are getting stronger.

Aaaaaaaaand I’m going to wrap this up here because between two days worth of running recaps I’m about to write a thesis myself.  Gotta dash off! Send good vibes her way if you can

Thunder, Please Don’t Ruin My LR Plans

Hola! I can’t believe that yesterday I had my last class of my undergraduate career. Craziness I tell you! As I expected it doesn’t really feel any different than the end of any other semester, I’m sure it’ll hit me after finals week when it’s “Senior Week” and pretty much only the seniors are on campus but right now it just feels like business like usual.

Or not.  Normally on the weekends I have So. Much. To. Do.  But because there are no classes I don’t have anything.  My Quantum professor hadn’t yet written our exam so we’re getting that on Monday and my Spanish final is something I’ll study for the night before…leaving this weekend free to lounge around and read *for fun* GASP!  The weather was really nice for this on Friday but today it’s suppose to T-storm.  Clearly not a read outside day but a curl-up-in-my-comfy-chair and read day.  Not too shabby in my book either.

Unfortunately the storms meant that I had to push my highly anticipated double digit run off.  I was hoping that the storms would miss us, or blow over earlier as I woke up in the middle of the night to a big storm, but sadly I still am hearing the thunder.  Who knows though: as I type this it’s still pretty early on Saturday morning (although I make no promises as to when I actually hit post hah) and I might be able to get out there.  Doubtful though.

So while I wait to make a decision of what to do today I’ll briefly recap Disorientation.  I do not have pictures because, despite bringing my camera, I just don’t ever play photographer.  I leave that up to my friends and no one has posted their pictures on facebook yet for me to steal

But the gist of Disorientation, like I mentioned in my last post, is that the whole senior class is shipped off to a mystery location to have fun…and drink.  This year we went to a bowling alley.  And I know what you’re thinking: bowling? But it was cosmic bowling and there was a bar there along with an arcade and laser tag.  And it was surprisingly fun although there’s only so much bowling one can do.  So the night ended in dance party fashion with my class turning the back area of the bar area into a dance floor.  I had a blast.

Sadly, though, I couldn’t drink because of the antibiotics BUT that night I took my last dose of antibiotics Yippee Sure they’ll stay in my system for a bit longer but I don’t have to take any more pills.  I was taking so many each day that I had to set alarms haha.  Luckily that is over with. And that’s an excellent thing.

Not so excellent that it’s over? Jazz class from last semester.  If you guys remember / have been reading for awhile you’ll recall that I took a dance class in the fall which I had a BLAST doing.  And remember how I vowed to stay flexible/limber? Yeah well that hasn’t happened but I went to the Dance Co. show last night (because my really really good friend is an awesome dancer and captain of the company) and I really want to dance.  Mhhmmm I have no coordination whatsoever but the dancers made it look so easy and fun.  And it made me miss Jazz. Like a lot.  Because dancing at dance parties is fun but totally not the same haha

So kind of a hodgepodge post here.  The thunder is getting LOUDER so I think I’m going to have to nix a run today. At least one outside.  I guess I’ll head to the gym soon, once it opens, and do a bit of elliptical, a bit of running and a bit a LOT of lifting.  Not too much of either cardio because I really need to get back into lifting.  I haven’t lifted since the second week of April! I meant to do lifting last week but with the toespolosion (thanks Sarah for that word!) it clearly got nixed.

It feels weird to write a post pre-workout like I’m doing now so I’ll mention yesterday’s run.  I knew that my legs weren’t going to be the happiest because of all the dancing the night before but I was pleasantly surprised.  Yes the pace wasn’t as great as my runs in the earlier week but I felt strong the whole way through.  Always a good thing! Nothing too special about it.  It was “chilly” at 45* but still felt good and a t-shirt/shorts were comfy.  And I took a risk and went sans gloves.  My hands did go a bit numb but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  The reason I went without ‘em was because I got to the ground floor, realized I forgot them and didn’t want to trek back up to my room haha!

Okey-dokey time to get my butt to the gym (and I’m hitting post without proofreading! If you notice any grammar /spelling errors let me know!).  Again, a hodgepodge post but the feedback I was getting suggested that hodgepodge can be good? Let me know if you hated this and reading it was like pulling teeth.  Hopefully the weather won’t be so lightning and thunder-y tomorrow (doesn’t look like it will be at the moment. Windy, yes but storms? No) so I’ll be able to get in my double digits on my favorite route.  Speaking of favorite routes though I am really sad that I’m going to be doing *real* goodbye runs this spring because I won’t be coming back in the fall! Tear for sure!

Also I’m finishing up a “My thoughts on my Boston training” post but I’m not going to post it until the week because I’ve discovered that not many people check blogs over the weekend.  So look out for that early next week.

And giveaways! From ErikaH and Sarah and Tricia and Courtney and The FitBride