Running in Paradise

While, I've been in Hawaii over a week, and island hoped yesterday. The whole reason why I had taken so much time off from running when my knee started hurting was so that I could run while I was here.

And it was sooo worth it.

Running in March with just a running skirt, sports bra and vest :)

 

I ran 3 miles Monday (day 1) 4 miles Tuesday, took a break wednesday and Thursday and then 4 on Friday and Saturday.

 

Some people have a hard time running while on vacation, and I will admit there are some challenges.

 

For example:

             Eating Habbits- are completely different (you are on holidays, thats why you work hard all year round), oh and don't forget all the specialty beverages your drinking!

             Climate Change- the temperature change can be hard for your body to adjust to

             The Group- when you run, whoever you are traveling with may be waiting for you to get back so that they can make plans for the day which can put pressure on you to cut your run short.

 

But heres the thing, to me, exercising while on vacation is what I look forward to the most! I finally have no schedule to keep me tied down. I can run when I want, hit up the gym when I want and go take a swim in the ocean whenever I'd like. Plus, all of the walking around I've done is so much better then sitting in an Office Chair for 8 hours a day!

 

Now the quality of my runs while here may not have been the best, but really, just because you are in paradise doens't mean your runs are going to be paradise (see the above reasons for challenges... I'm sure some of those were contributing factors).

 

All, in all, for me, running is a part of my vacation that I look forward to, so I make time for it by waking up before the people that I'm traveling with. Its nice to start off your mornings by yourself, pounding the pavement or the plastic wood path. Passing fellow runners, saying good morning, and noticing how much straighter everyone runs here, with no pressure or burdens on their shoulders.

 

So when your on vacation, don't allow your routine or training to take a slide. Enjoy the freedom of a no work schedule, and if you are feeling the pressures of your group to be ready early, then wake up earlier. You aren't going to be the only one out there running, and it is nice to know that althouh you may be far away from your home running community, there is a running community that exists while on Holidays.  



    Cooling off in the Ocean after my Run... Not something I get to do back home

When the Snooze Button Wins... Kind of

Happy Wednesday! I do not know about you, but I am soooo happy that it is Wednesday, the only thing that would make this day better is if it were Thursday, or Friday oh Heck who am I kidding, really what I'm looking forward to is Sunday! (When I leave for Hawaii)... anyways, back to the reality of Wednesday.

As mentioned previously, I have been having some issues with my right leg, which turned Monday into a rest day (no tempo run), Tuesday into a rest day (no workout dvd), which brings us to Wednesday.

So, this morning I had every intention of waking up at 5:45 am, out the door by 6:30, at the gym at 7 (when the work gym opens) and go on the bike for 40-45 minutes...

5:45 rolled around, snooze was pressed, 6 am rolled around and the thoughts going through my head were not very nice. With the time change, we have reverted back to dark, dark mornings, where you peer out of your sleep filled eyes to find only darkness out there... That is not inviting... Anyways, 6:05 I mustered the energy to kick my blankets off and at 6:10 (yes, I was moving at a tortoise pace*) I finally made it upstairs to make coffee. Quickly* getting my lunch gathered for the day while the coffee was being made, and finally at 6:45 I was out the door.

I made it to the gym for 7:10, but upon getting there any thought of going on the bike was gone, as I looked at the 3 free treadmills waiting for me... I could hear them calling me from across the way, the comfort of the treadmill just drew me towards it. So I decided I'd give running a try, make sure I was looking at my form in the reflection of the window in front of me and the mirror beside me and the most amazing thing happened... Nothing hurt! So I ran 2.5 miles at an 9.05/mile pace and .5 miles at an 8:34 pace.... It was great!

This morning went nothing like I had planned, but even though that was the case, it was still great. I'm happy that even though I woke up late I didn't throw in the towel and sacrifice going to the gym. 3 miles is 3 miles, and 35 minutes on the always comforting Treadmill is 35 minutes of activity that I would not have gotten. So although the snooze button may have won the early battle, I came out victorious. I got my workout in before work, and it turned out to be better then I could have anticipated. (take that time change!) Anyone else experiencing the effects of this time change interfering with their pre work workouts?

Oh and quick side note, this morning at the gym, the people were actually working out! Granted it was predominately girls who were there right at 7 am... hmmm maybe its just the Thursday gym goers who are weird... The one girl was doing a circuit that scared the heebeegeebees out of me and made me happy I had a 'valid' excuse to be taking it easy!

An Unexpected Cause to Pause

Happy Monday, for those of you enduring the effects of Time Change, my one suggestion-Coffee... and lots of it. Now if you are confused as to where to find your coffee maker or filter, then you are in BIG trouble and I suggest treating yourself to coffee out this morning.

Last week was my first official week of marathon training and it looked a little something like this:

Mon-rest
Tues- 4 mile tempo run, Workout DVD (Shed and Shred by Jillian Michaels)
Wed- Ab and arm circuit with 5 min skipping warm up (30 min total time0
Thurs- Hill Training (aka DEATH)
Fri- 30 min swimming
Sat- rest
Sunday- 60 min swim with coach

Okay, so that little word following Sat is the cause for pause... what, Rest, isn't that supposed to be the long run day? Yes, yes it is... However, I have encountered a small little problem, that was a tweak a few weeks ago, but is not going away and I now have just accepted that it is a problem. At first, my right knee felt off. No big deal, take it easy, it'll go away... But then, I started compensating for it with my left leg... yes, now we are headed for troubled waters. Fast forward a week and last week Thursday evening my whole leg was almost in a semi flex, and my hip is telling me that something is definitely out of line.

So now, I shall be headed to physio sometime this week (hopefully sooner rather then later) as I have a suspicion as to what it is, and am desperately hoping it will be a quick fix. Unless I can do enough home stretching and exercises to correct it. But either way, I need to go get it checked out by a professional before I do any real damage. I hope that your training is going better then mine!! and remember, if your body is telling you something is off, take a break before you do greater damage, even if it means detouring from your 'plan'.

Neon On, Pride Off

Alright, so day numero 1 of hill training... umm OUCH! First of all, what masochist invented hill training (this better pay off!!) and Secondly, what other crazy people actually do this!

1.5 mile warm up 9.05
1 min incline 2.0, 2 min 3.0, 1 min 4.0, 2 min 3.0, 2 min 2.5, 1 min 3.0, 1 min 4.0
1 minute rest in between and on the back half I slowed the pace to 9.34/mile
cooldown
Total mileage done - 3.41

Okay, so I worked up the courage and went to the gym at work (I work at a University so it is the same gym that students, staff and faculty use...). I dressed quite modest (for me) to the gym,  capri's, running T-shirt... Mistake number 1 right there... Now remember, I am used to running on the treadmill in the privacy of my own home... meaning short shorts and sports bra/racerback. So I was dying of heat .12 miles in.

Mistake number 2- expecting no one to be there, sheesh I pulled up right when it opened and two guys were already on the treadmills. No worries though, 4 were available and I think I got the prime one, not super close to the mirrors, centred with a tv, Yes things were good. Except, I ended up being the only person in the whole freaking place who looked like they were in discomfort. Seriously! I think I had 2 or 3 waves of people come on the treadmills beside me and leave. Oh ya, because they were doing 'circuit' training... when I do a circuit I still break a sweat but hey, who am I to judge... I'm just saying 1 rep a minute aint going to get you anywhere fast... Oh ya, and the girl who came on the treadmill beside me, had a Tim Hortons coffee cup in her hand as she leisurely walked.... And people wonder why even though they go to the gym they aren't losing weight? (I mean if all you can do is 1 rep a minute then good for you! Do that, but if that is all that you could do you would probably be breaking a sweat because it is uncomfortable! I don't mean to be judgey, but I do think I rolled my eyes at the girl drinking her coffee while on the treadmill....)

So yes, I ended up being a hot sweaty mess, sweat dropping into my eye balls and falling on the treadmill, hair all over the place despite my head band. Ugh, this is why I enjoyed running in the privacy of my own home... all of these self conscious issues were avoided, but here's the thing, the purpose of a gym is to work out. So I learned a good lesson this morning. When the workout gear goes on, the pride comes off.

My workouts are not going to be perfect, my tempo pace wont always be met, and there may even be days when I have to walk. But at the end of the day, the point is that I make the best of the situation and don't let myself off the hook too easily, but extend grace when necessary. Its a balance that I will likely always be working at, but one that needs to be kept in check in order to ensure the longevity of my running life. Anyways, thanks for reading the random thoughts/rant about my gym experience... I have a feeling this may become a common trend: Random gym sightings!

Marathon Training... Its begun

Sorry for my delayed absence from this little blogging corner of mine. My sister was home for a week and a bit so I was busy visiting with her, then my parents got back from a 3 week holiday so my schedule has been a bit out of wack after work hours. 

So, Marathon training has officially begun, as of Yesterday when I fit in my 'tempo' run...and for those wondering the plan that I am following, it can be found here: http://abbotsford.runforwater.ca/run/training , this is what my copy looks like:

Page 1, converted to miles and dates altered for Rock'n'Roll Seattle

Although I am Canadian, I 'run' in miles. I can't do the km thing, because mentally, that is just too many!!! My mental strength can be rather weak at times, so I do not need a looming number surrounding my run to psych me out.

 Why I liked this training option?

                     a- its simple (although I roughly followed a trianing plan last time, I didn't stick to it, and my marathon was a disaster, sooo lets try and stick to a plan!!) 

                     b- 3 runs a week, I cannot run 5-6 times a week and if I can squeeze in a 4th junk mile run I will, but if my body feels like its going to break I'm going to swim it out

                     c- it easily allows me to fit in the BMO half as the week prior to it is a recovery week! :D 

I have realized that marathon training is hard, mentally, physically, financially even (just because of how much your eating and the quality of foods your eating) so this time around, I would like to give it the respect it deserves. 

My plan is the following:

                      Monday - Tempo Runs

                      Tuesday- DVD workout 

                      Wednesday- Intervals/Hills (or circuit training)

                      Thursday -junk mile or I will do the Interval/Hills if I can only run 3 days a week

                      Friday- swim before work

                      Saturday-  Long Run Saturdays 

                      Sunday - Swimming 

Now I realize that to the outsider, it appears that I have no rest day, but  I should clarify. Because I am not too sure how my muscles will respond, Wednesdays may become a rest day and Thursday will be the Intervals/hills as noted above. Also, Swimming on Fridays would be by myself, and for me, swimming is extremely relaxing and it stretches out my back and hips in ways that yoga does for other people... I just do not have the patience for yoga, just like most people think swimming laps is crazy and boring, I have the same feelings about yoga.

As nothing is set in stone I will try and update every Monday my week plan, and do Recap Sundays to digress about how things are going. 

Happy Wednesday! Hope wherever you are you are using the start of March as a reset and have started a journey towards a new goal or an old goal you have been putting off.