I Still Have a Blog…That I Kinda Forgot About

Yes, I still have a blog. No, I am not letting it go. But I was seriously considering it. I’ve had a lot going on in the past couple of months, but each time I said I was going to delete all of this together, I couldn’t do it. I still enjoy writing here. I enjoy reading my past experiences. So for that, this little bitty blog is staying alive.

I am however scheduling myself to write a post at least each week. Now, do not hold me accountable. I cannot keep a promise. But I do want to try and get my next training cycle posted. This past cycle was no bueno due to my stomach issues which are still undiagnosed. Right now I have zero pain, which I scream “Hallelujah!” But all the previous complications really hindered my running, and my last race in June. I was no where able to maintain a goal.

So…anyways I will keep y’all updated. I start my next round of training July 11. I wrote June instead of July 😉

See you on the flip side!

When Running Isn’t Fun

There are many great things about running, but there are a few things that really suck about it. I love running for the freedom I get. I can zone out for miles and enjoy each step and cherish the moments of just being free. I run because it makes me feel strong (and kinda badass 😉 ). I run because eventually I won’t be able to, and I run because I am in love with it.

But what happens when running doesn’t seem to love you back?

…it sucks.

You experience an emotional breakup. You get depressed, you get angry, you want to throw everything in a trash can and burn it. Those medals you earned? Trash them, they mean nothing now. You become irritated at Instagram because all these people are having glorious, happy runs. But slowly you come back around and become a normal human and accept that this too shall pass. Everyone has bad runs. It is true, they do! Maybe they decide to not share it, or maybe they just brush it off with a funny caption (guilty).

This is a recap of how running has been for me lately, it will come off as whiny, etc. Just a forewarning. Last Tuesday I had a speed session. And man was it hard. That Sunday I had a pretty bad run and I was hoping to redeem myself with this one. I needed 6 miles, and it was prescribed like this: 1 mile warm up, 3 miles at 10:15 to 10:20 pace, 4 min jogging rest, 4 x 1 minute at 8:30 to 8:30 pace with 60 seconds rest, 1 mile cool down.  I started at the track and it was lightly drizzling  so I thought it wouldn’t be too bad. No. It picked up a lot, enough me for me to throw in the towel and head home to finish.

The part that really sucked was that I was exhausted. My breathing was so hard and I felt like I could nap in the car. I had hit these paces plenty of times before, so why now was this hard? But I just brushed it off and drove home. I was literally speaking out loud to keep myself motivated to run on the treadmill. I managed to finish, and it was fine. But it was just ok. Nothing fantastic like all my other speed sessions, this just felt blah to me (but I made it sound fantastic on Instagram, because I was hoping it would make me feel better).

My stomach started to hurt after this run. I thought maybe I just didn’t eat anything in time so I started eating lunch and my stomach blew up like a ballon and it hurt so bad. So now I was tired and puffed up. Great. I decided to just rest for the remainder of the day and possibly chill out on running for the next day or two. And that is what I did. I was trying to heal my body and I thought I had Sunday.

This picture will fool you. I had just finished 6.44 miles and it appears I did a great job right? Wrong. I needed 10 miles. This run was terrible. I needed to finish strong. Instead, at about 3.25 my body decided to just give out. I had snacks, I brought dates with me, and I had plenty of water in my hydration pack.  None of that was working.  I was out of dates by mile 5, I needed calories and my body was starting to hurt. I just couldn’t find the strength to run strong. That smile in the above picture is because of my outfit. The weather was beautiful, I was so pumped for this run.

Yesterday I ran again. It was Tempo Tuesday and I was scheduled for 6.5 miles. 1 mile warm up, 2 X 2 miles at 10:05 to 10:15 pace, 4 minute jogging rest, 1 mile cool down. I again, was so excited for this, I am starting to love speed sessions. However, it just went to shit. This is what happened:

4 miles instead of 6.5 and I was again, exhausted. I couldn’t get past how tired I was feeling. Once I started back up, I had this tickle of pain that was becoming sharp. I knew to stop. I finished at 4 miles and it left me like this:

Crying in my car. Frustration couldn’t even describe how I was feeling. Even looking at it now makes me sad. And you’re probably asking why? Because I love running. It is more than a hobby in my life, it is a part of my life. It is something that is attached to who I am as a person. I know this post is becoming very negative, and kinda whiny, but I want to share that this does happen. And that it is ok.  This is part of the journey and process of running. Not everyday will be kittens and rainbows. I am just dealing with this more frequently then I am used to.

I texted Zach about what happened, and the last thing I said was “what is wrong with me?” And that was my answer. My answer is to see a doctor and have them figure out how to make me well so I can continue to run and train for races. I want an answer that will give me relief and energy. I want to know that this will pass and I can be back to where I was. And it will happen, it takes time.

I just want you to know that every runner has bad, terrible runs. And hopefully they don’t happen often to you. What is great about the bad, terrible runs is that you will always remember the great ones. The ones that make you fall back in love with running, the runs where you feel strong and free.

Short Training Weeks and Whole30

This is a collective post of weeks of training. I have had the worst running month in a long time. February was awful. Seriously, the worst. I could barely get in any runs, and the ones I did, I suffered from pain and fatigue. TWO THINGS THAT KILL A RUN.  This post is short and sweet. I have a more in depth post coming up for how I am feeling, but I need to back track a bit.

This particular Sunday, February 21,  I needed 10 miles. I did not make it to 10. I hardly made it to 5. I ended up with 7 and was hurting so bad I was holding back tears with each step. When Zach came to pick me up I just lost it in the truck. I couldn’t stop crying.  It was frustration and pain. My body was not allowing me to run. And when it did, it was short. When I needed it to be a longer time, it was like “no girl, bye” and that was that.

I managed to hide some pain in order to take this picture, but you’ll notice I am sitting down. This was my safe place during those 7 miles. I was 5 miles in and willing to walk 2 miles to finish. I couldn’t get past this horrible run.  I ran slower than I have for 7 miles ever. I finished in 1:18:52, average of 11:16 per mile.

On Valentine’s Day I ran 7 miles and had a blast. Minor abdominal pain and it just felt great. I haven’t had a run like that since.  Seriously. Since February 14th I haven’t had a good run. I’ve either had serious pain or no energy to finish my miles. January 31st is forever burned into my brain as the day my running turned on me. I ran in 1:15:39, average 10:47 and a week later I added about 3 minutes.

Now enter Whole30. Jen from Peanut Butter Runner blogged about this for January. She had fantastic results, and I read hundreds of blogs about this. Everyone had amazing things to say about Whole30. I wanted to try something natural before seeing a doctor, I read that possible IBS is managed by meds, and I want to know if I can do something first.  I read “It Starts with Food” first and it blew my mind. Crazy to know the why behind choosing certain overs, etc. Loved reading that and was getting so excited about the journey on Whole30. I was (and still is) needing relief.

So far I’ve been doing my best to follow this 100%, I’d say I’m about 85%-90% following the rules. I am having less pain after I eat, praise Jesus, and feeling better. But my energy levels are tanking. Each time I run, I am suffering more from fatigue than anything else. I hit the wall each time.

I will have another post coming up, it is mostly about my running and it’ll get pretty raw and emotional. I wanted a Kim K uglying crying picture, but couldn’t bring myself to doing it. But I am laying out all my frustration and disappointment.

Until next time!

Week 2 of Training

I am so late on this  post. I’ve had a lot going on that has delayed this, but its here now! Since that long run on Sunday, January 31st, I’ve been having tummy issues. I’m trying to figure out what is happening. I’m about to start Whole30 in hopes that it can fix anything that is wrong before I have to see a doctor, it seems certain foods are causing me pain and severe bloat (like I look a couple of months pregnant). With this pain I’ve missed some runs. But the ones I was able to do, I put 100% effort into them!

February 2nd I ran 5 tempo miles. That was a beast! I ran in shorts though. Not mad about that! I ran in my oiselle shorts and OMG. So good! I am now obsessed  with their stuff.

I had Tempo Tuesday and those 5 miles looked like this: 1 mile warm up, 3 X 1 mile at 9:50-10:00 pace, 1 mile cool down.  <–I did not want to do this run, but I LOVED IT! It was so great and just felt good. I love runs like that.

I averaged a 9:59 pace and hit all my marks. I loved every minute of this run and if I could repeat this daily I would.

Wednesday I wanted to make up the missed Monday run, but I couldn’t. I had pain all day and running was not happening.  Wednesday is a scheduled rest day, but I like to use it as a make up day if necessary.

Thursday I missed my run!  But I made it up Friday evening instead. My views weren’t bad on the run 😉

I mastered the running selfie.

YYYYAAAASSS.

Saturday I had ZERO time to run. I was trying so hard to squeeze in just 3 miles, but I couldn’t do it.

Sunday I ran 8 miles. This long run was better than last Sunday’s 7 miles because a) I didn’t need a bathroom break (is that TMI?!) and b) I ran faster. I still had some stomach pains at mile 7.3 so I stopped to make sure I’d be ok and once I felt better I finished. I still managed a good time, it was a nice easy pace and I just clocked in miles. I ran an average 10:45 and kept close enough pace to make my runner heart happy (10:44, 10:46, 10:43, 11:00 (was kinda confused where this came from) 10:49, 10:44, 10:29, 10:44).

I ran 18 miles for week 2 and ugh, I wish I could of ran more but I couldn’t get past abdominal pain. I missed a lot. But thankfully this week is going better!

 

Week 1 of Training for my Fast Half Marathon

This is my 5th time around for training for a half marathon. The half is hands down my favorite distance. I haven’t trained for anything else since my full marathon in 2014 (in November it’ll be 2 years since I did it!) and this time I am so pumped. In October I had my best finish time for a half, it was 2:23 and I was gunning for a 2:20. I had trained well for that time, but race day is unknown. I suffered pain in my ankles in the last 2.5 miles and it was hard to put pressure so I did my best. I still had  PR and this April I want a 2:15.

Today concluded my first week of training, and boy am I tired. My legs are feeling a little heavy, but I know with time they’ll get used to it. So here is my recap with the past week of running. Enjoy!

My beloved Greenway was damaged on Sunday. We had rain/ice/snow/HURRICANE WINDS the week before and although the sun was shining, the aftermath was ugly. I did manage to cross this on the make-shift balance beams to the left, but I was a little scared. HA! I’m sure the kids were having no issue having the guts to cross, but my 27 year old self was like “please don’t fall.” I ran 5 miles in 52:46, averaged 10:32.

Monday I was up for 3 miles, but I had no time. I know, its an excuse, but I attempted to make it up Wednesday.

Tuesday I was off so I did my speed-work. I have a love-hate relationship with speed-work.  I love the feeling of really pushing myself, but I hate that it takes so long to finish. Say what? Each one of my speed sessions is for a long-ish distance. I mean running hard for miles at a pace that is uncomfortable for you gets annoying. But I love the results. I seriously do!

This workout was 1 mile warm up, five repeats of 800m at 9:30-9:40 pace, with 3 minutes or 400m  recovery jog, 1 mile cool down. I messed up my laps. I was so good about tracking them, and then for some reason I missed one and it shouldn’t of messed me up, but nope. So I don’t know what I was pacing for my repeats. But I finished in 54:45, average pace of 9:57.

Wednesday I attempted my missed Monday run, it was 3 miles at easy pace. I started this so late. I was losing daylight and I was running on a different trail around the park because the track was completely taken up with a high school. So after my first loop, I was done. I was not having it. I told Zach that it wasn’t feeling great, so no need to finish. I ran 1.8 miles in 19:04, averaged 10:46.

Thursday I had 3 miles at easy pace with four 20 sec strides and 10 sec rest between each stride. Again, ran in the evening. It was windy so I ran kinda fast because I wanted to be done. I hate running in wind. The trail was still covered in mud puddles from it flooding the week before, and I saw this tree just hanging across the trail.

By the way, this trail always floods. And each year when I run the Georgia Peach Jam, this puddle is deep and I always have to run through it. Maybe this year it’ll be dry.

When I was finishing the run, I went to the track to finish my strides. Now, my heart is still full from this moment. I was running my stride at 7:28 pace (which is like WAY fast for me) and this coach had asked if I could pace his student for her strides, she wasn’t maintaining pace. So I said “YES!” And she and I went out for the strides and cool downs and it was a blast. I couldn’t believe it. I am beyond proud of this moment. I ran 3.2 miles in 33:01 at a 10:19 pace. I did not for some reason keep my watch going for my last cool down lap..? I was tired.

Friday was REST. Glorious rest.

Saturday I ran 3 miles, did it on track and at night. I met Zach there after work because he brought me my clothes, best husband ever. And I ran at a pretty good pace. I was a little tired at the end because 1. I was working all day and 2. I ate at 12:00 and nothing since then. So this was good in the fact that I was able to run this pace with no energy. 3.15 miles in 31:13, average pace of 9:55.

Today was my long run, 7 miles. I ran 7 miles 11 weeks ago. Since then I’ve hit 5-6 miles as my longest run. I was super excited about this run today. I knew my legs were tired, but I wanted to take it easy but if I ran a little hard that would be ok.

I ran decently. Until I didn’t. I started easy, too easy. First mile at 11:39, second mile at 11:10. I maintained 10:55 for miles 2-6 which is good. My stomach cramped like something fierce at at 5.5 miles and I had to stop. I had to figure out my next step, because I hadn’t experienced this in a hot minute. Well…one bathroom stop later I felt great. I did however suffer in the last mile, I could not pick up my pace. I was just…over it. My last mile was 12:18. So, that was that.

I was  tired. I finished with an average pace of 11:15. There is always another run. Next week will be better. But let me tell you, so I finished and started walking to meet Zach at the top of the hill on the other side of the park. I told him I was tired and my legs were done, but he’s like “I’m waiting for you.” UGH. So this was in front of me and I could of cried.

Nope. Was not going to happen. I just wanted to share what my husband wanted me to walk up to get to him 😉 but I forgot about the other path way so I took that. Still uphill but not so steep.

Man that is one long post. Maybe I should do mini recaps? HA. I don’t blog enough for that 😉

So I had a great week of training, it was good. I ran each scheduled run minus Monday. Total miles (minus the 5 mile run last Sunday) was 20.6 miles, I was scheduled for 21.5.

Thanks for reading!

 

Welcome 2016

Can you believe it is already the new year? I can’t even deal with 2015 being over. It was a crazy, great year for me. Even though I ran a lot less than my norm, I still had a great year of running. I ran my slowest 10K in a trail race and had a blast, and I ran my fastest half marathon in October. In between the spring and fall was a hot Georgia summer where I ran until I was a sweaty mess with heat exhaustion but a smile on my face. I overall enjoyed my time running in 2015. However towards the end, I was tired. I took a break. I got sick and my body needed rest. So that is where we are now!

2016 will bring me my goal for my fastest half marathon. I’m wanting at 2:15 and I am giving myself two times this year to achieve it. October 2015 I wanted a 2:20, but my foot hurt during my race so I ended with a 2:23:04. I could of achieved my goal had I not hurt myself. So this year I am going with an open mind, a healthier body (info coming), and a stash of inspiration!

From “Mile Markers”

“Contentment and improvement are not mutually exclusive. It is indeed possible to be good enough in the midst of getting better.” <—LOVE THIS SO MUCH.

2016 is a new year with new possibilities and I can’t wait to share with you!

GOALS FOR 2016:

1. RUN A 2:15 HALF MARATHON
2. RUN 1000 MILES IN A YEAR
3. Add more strength training and stretching.
4. Run one more step. <–my mantra this year
5. Be a badass runner! 🙂

What are your goals for 2016? Are there certain times you want to beat or run a new distance?

Crazy Weather and Stuff

This Georgia weather has been crazy! I swear the last 2 runs were in summer temps. I ran in a tank top Wednesday and this time last year I was in long sleeves and fleece tights. And now it is freezing. So strange.

WWWHHHHYYYY??????!!!!!!! BOO.

As you can see we had some glorious weather and then, BAM! Chilly and windy and ew. I also pointed to a breakout I was suffering from on Wednesday.

I’m starting to get back into my running, slowly but surely. I’ve been super busy with work and I’m putting a lot of energy into it, so I’m balancing everything right now. Isn’t it funny that running becomes such a big part of your life that it almost controls it? Like you start to get depressed when you can’t run, you start to stress when you miss a day or two. This is what happens to me and I start to feel like I’m not a runner anymore, but then I get back into the groove and viola, I’m able to juggle everything. This always happens in the winter I swear.

How is your running going this winter? What sort of things are you wanting for Christmas? I told Zach that I would love a new pair of Superfeet inserts, I know such an exciting gift 😉

Life. It’s Busy.

Life. Funny how it can get super busy. That has been my struggle with this blog lately. I’m on the fence about it, I want to continue with it, but then I don’t. I love having the space to share, but it is constantly on the back burner. I need to schedule time for it. I just wanted to share that information. We shall see what happens.

So remember how I was training for my half marathon? I wanted to run a 2:20. Well October 31st came and went. I ran a 2:22. My stats are different on official results, but the official results are not correct. The race organizers made a HUGE mistake with timing chips, so they are getting everyone as close to the times as to what they finished. Mine has yet to be changed. Anyway, it was a good, hard race. I loved every step until mile 9. I kept my pace on track and was ahead of my time which of course made my heart explode with happiness. But an annoying discomfort pain became a full on “I’m sure there is now a stress fracture with my ankle.” It was bad. I saw my dream PR slowly slip away at mile 10. Regardless it was a great race, I put so much effort into my training and actual race day that I wouldn’t change a thing. I loved the course. If you want to run the Silver Comet Half Marathon, do it! It is flat and gorgeous. Zach snapped this praise worthy finish photo. I’m in love with it!

In other news, I have dived into my work head first and reading a ton of books. Legit our house looks like Barnes and Noble. Anything related to customer service, self help, etc. is currently in my possession. I love it. This book, Strengths Finder 2.0 is fantastic! It is crazy to find out your strengths and what you could follow on with your life. I got Restorative as my #1 strength, which is great if you want to be in a customer service industry, like working in a salon. Love it! Also love the Compound Effect.

Random, but I cannot stop eating these. I seriously cannot get enough of them. Kroger has a deal of like 3 of $5 or 2 for $3 and I get that many each time. One bag lasts a day. They’re that good! Get them, but not all of them so I can get my bags too 😉

Also, Clemson is #1 for ACC and 10-0! WOOHOO!

There is my life lately. I am in my second round of training for another half marathon in January. This is week 2 and so far not starting out great. Feel slightly under the weather today, but it’ll be ok. Hope all is well for you today!

Updates

How are y’all? I hope well. I’ve been uber busy and cray cray so I haven’t updated as much as I’d like. I have my half marathon in 2 weeks! 2 WEEKS!!! I’m super excited/nervous/scared/happy about it. I have a pretty hefty goal for this race, and I’ve put in as much effort and gut as I could. So fingers crossed it goes accordingly.

I did a track workout. It was intense! I had to document every step for proof. I wore my new lululemon long sleeve, which is incredibly different than the tanks. Like I felt kinda constricted, but I didn’t mind it. It just took some time getting used to it.

1 mile warm up, then 5 repeats of 800m at 9:30-9:40 pace, 3 minutes recovery, 1 mile cool down. I finally figured out how to lap my 800m’s and it was so much easier to track. Ha, I swear I’m not a techie.  I averaged 8:59-9:20 for my 800m and it was awesome! I couldn’t believe it!

Love the track!

I then ran some long miles. I ran 8 the week prior, so this time I ran 9. It was a little hard at first, I struggled a bit. But it was a gorgeous run. Until I ran into a mud puddle. Kinda bummed  me out! The fall leaves made up for it though.

Came home and immediately did some research on how to clean your shoes without a washing machine and dryer. Just soaked them in warm water, used a shoe cleaning stick, and bam! clean as a new pair. Score!   (and yes, I have been running in the insoles and not my SuperFeet blue ones, these haven’t caused an issue so hopefully it stays the same 🙂

And last week I turned 27. Woohoo!  I had a great birthday, and I’m truly blessed to have such great family and friends.  That highlight be on fleek.

So hopefully these last 2 weeks in training so really well! I did take today as a rest day and will do my long run of 10 miles Wednesday. Everything feels like SOS miles (something of substance) at this point, but I do have one last speed workout and 2 long runs, then some filler miles. Thanks for reading!

I Don’t Know What Week Im in For Training, But Here is A Long Recap

I’m that terrible blogger that only blogs like once a month. I’m sorry! I always try to get back on track with my blog, but life gets in my way. I have never stated this before, but I love my job and I value how hard I work, and when I have off time I throughly enjoy my off time. I don’t want to work on this blog all the time, and I know I probably shouldn’t have it if I feel it as a burden. However, my blog isn’t a burden, it is something I put on the back burner until I have the will to come to it. That can change, or it could continue.

Anyway, enough adult talk. I seriously don’t know  what week I am training in. But I know I have like 5 weeks left before my race. This is a post packed full of pictures. Enjoy!

I ran 10 miles at the beginning of September, and this was my first double digit run of this training plan. I was so excited! I finished under 2 hours, that is huge for me. I know it is still slow, but that was a good time for me. I averaged 11:39.

I ran some speed work on the treadmill, I was a little excited to get back on my treadmill. I enjoy running anything that requires me to push my pace, because 1. it gets my pace correct and 2. I can step off if I’m about to die.  This was on 9/9 at it was 6 miles, 1 mile warm up and 4 miles at 10: 50, 1 mile cool down. I averaged 11:07. I stretched afterwards, and rested on the belt. It was hot and felt so good!

Yes I am that pale, but also thanks to the awesome lighting in our apartment.

I ran 10 miles again on 9/13. My Garmin died as it was finding satellites so I had to use my stopwatch on the phone. Now, I was concerned if my distances would be accurate so I made sure to start at the exact starting point and lap myself at each mile marker sign. This could be a little off, but I followed my gut and I ran my FASTEST 10 mile long run ever! Y’all, I was flying!  I averaged 10:49, 10:49! I need to run a 10:41 or faster for my entire 13.1 miles so this was exciting for me.

Ran in my new lululemon hat that I bought for my race. Which, I love. I wore pretty much all lululemon on this run, I just realized. HA! I love the hydration pack y’all. I cannot believe how awesome it is.

This is how excited I was, can’t even tell I just pushed my body to a hard limit for 1 hour and 49 minutes.

Last Tuesday I had the best day at work so I had to run and make it an even better day and busted out a fast 3 mile run. Don’t know what got into me last week, I was running fast. Not complaining!

Sunday, oh Sunday. This was 9/21 and my plan had 11 miles on schedule. This was not a good run. I took a new supplement before hand because a lot of people rave about it for long distance runners. My body did not like it. I was running fast, but my breathing was so labored and my heart rate was so high that I had to cut this short and only run 8 miles. I had the worst headache afterwards too. At 4 miles I had to break for like 10 minutes. That never happens to me, not that soon into a run. So I listened to my body and did a run that felt good and distance that was doable. You have to know when you can, and when you cannot. This was a cannot, but lets do what I can.

I still ran fast, and again another run under 11:00 minute miles. I averaged 10:58. I wish I had finished those 11 miles, and I kept telling myself I could run those last 3, but I knew I’d be making a mistake.

This was the last humid run, I was drenched and couldn’t believe how hot it felt. But it could of been the beta-alanine I took beforehand.

There you go. I’m done. Sorry for the long post! But I will be making more effort, I promise. I’ve got a little time left before my race and I am driving myself mad with trying to get this goal of a 2:20 or better half marathon.

Thanks for reading!