much better run

This morning I did my short run for the week and added an extra bike ride (just a short one) to get my workout up to 40 minutes. I felt much better on my run this morning. Granted, it was significantly shorter than my run the other day, but still I'm glad to have gotten a better run in this week. I didn't have a fan blowing straight at me so I was more aware of how I was actually doing and got enough water in to make me feel good by the end of it. One more workout for the week! By the way, I heard the dumbest made-up word of all time this morning. There are a lot of stupid ones out there, but this one takes the cake: Momtourage! Ridiculous! Apparently this is the entourage that moms need. Where do they come up with this stuff?

a day off

Wednesdays are my usual day off training mid-week. I hadn't planned on taking a day off mid-week this week since I'm trying to get myself back on track, but I decided to take the day off around 3:45 this morning when I was finally falling back to sleep for the third time after having been awake for about 30 minutes. I'm not sure why, but I did not sleep well last night. After a sleepless night, the last thing I wanted to do was drag myself to the gym and into the pool at 5:15. So, I'm giving myself the day off. I finally slept pretty well from 4-6:30. Hopefully this unexpected day of rest will help my body recover from my first three workouts of the week and give me energy for the rest of them. Plus, my legs are still sore from all the miles I rode on the bike on Sunday and Monday, so this will hopefully help that as well.

running on empty

I'm pretty sure I overdid it this morning. After being seriously sore all day yesterday (and with Becky's advice), I decided to skip the extra short swim I had planned for this morning and just do my long run for the day. I'd planned to run for 32 minutes; I ended up running/walking for 35 with less running than I would have liked. I don't know what my deal was, but I just felt like there was nothing in me this morning. I pushed too hard--in part because I'm too stubborn for my own good and in part because I had a fan blowing directly on me. (The fan, by the way, felt good, but made me less aware of just how worn out I was halfway through my workout and therefore unable to regulate myself based on how I felt until I started feeling really gross.) About halfway through, I walked for a few minutes and then ran/walked the rest of the time. By the end of my workout, I was definitely feeling rough and a bit lightheaded. I feel better now that I've gotten some fresh air and a lot of water. I wish I had some Gatorade at home which would probably help balance me out; maybe I'll get some when I stop for gas on my way in to work this morning. Lesson learned: I will not run with a fan blowing directly on me again; this seems to have been my downfall today. In unrelated news, I learned on Sportscenter this morning that my Chicago Bears have decided to start QB Kyle Orton over Rex Grossman. Good decision, Lovie; I approve especially since I was thought it was pretty unfair that he was passed over so quickly after winning 10 games his rookie season.

I did well this morning: 15 minutes in the pool, 32 minutes on the bike. Just a couple of quick thoughts after my early morning workout: 1. The pool was PACKED at 5:30 am. I'm wondering if this has anything to do with Michael Phelps. Perhaps he has people motivated to swim and attain Olympic glory as he has? I'm not sure about that, but I'm still not that fond of swimming. In related news, I believe that I set a world record this morning for the slowest lap of all time--serious I'm a really, really slow swimmer. Oh well, time isn't that important, at least to me; it does seem pretty important to Michael Phelps. 2. I find myself doing a little people-watching as I workout in the morning. Mostly I'm interested in what they're doing and/or watching as they workout. This morning I noticed that a few other people in the gym were watching sportscenter like I was, but others had some very interesting choices. I saw a middle aged man watching VH1 and looking really into it and a woman watching an infomercial. A few others were reading--several reading the paper which I'm impressed by; to me, its hard enough to handle the bulk of a paper sitting at a table; I impressed by anyone who can handle it while walking on a treadmill or riding a bike.

slacker goes to the gym...

So I've been a serious slacker lately on my training, but this week I'm committed to getting it back together and getting back on track. So, I got up early this morning and went to the gym before church. I decided to do my long bike ride for the week since it takes the most time and is hard to do in the morning before work because getting up any earlier than 5:15 is just not going to happen. I rode the bike for 52 minutes which ended up being about 18.5 miles--this was quite a surprise to me! It wasn't bad. About 15 minutes into my ride, I felt like it was never going to end and like I had already been riding forever! But I made it through, thanks in part to the fan on the bike and to cabel tv. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that in addition to my usual gym television (espn), I watched part of an episode of Full House. I know its cheesy and I'll probably get laughed at for it, but Full House always reminds me of Friday nights as a kid and brings back great memories--you've gotta love TGIF television! I only laughed out loud once during the episode though I smiled quite a bit. Despite the embarrassment I might feel for having watched and enjoyed it, it made the end of my long ride bearable and for that I'm grateful to the Tanner Family.

Catching Up...

Though I haven't posted in some time, I have actually been training still...well, there was that week I totally slacked off and only worked out once, but since then, I've been on the straight and narrow again.

I still hate to run. I keep thinking and hoping that it will change, but it doesn't. And that's okay. It's just something I have to make myself do. only I'm not always super great at it. Like tonight. But we'll get to that in a minute.

I ran Saturday and wanted to do nothing on Sunday other than lay around and watch the Olympics. I didn't want to run 2 days in a row, so that was out. I didn't want to bike because the seat on the bike seat in the fitness center is about the most uncomfortable thing in the world. I didn't want to swim either. Really, I just didn't feel like slathering on the sunscreen and performing the necessary contortions to cover my entire back so I don't get a sunburn while swimming. But, it was the lesser of the 3 evils, so I slathered and swam.

And tonight: I biked and then ran. I wanted to try the two in order, back to back. At first it wasn't as horrible as I imagined it to be...8 miles of biking and right into the first 5 of running. Not liking it, but not dying yet either. Then we got into the 6th minute and my calves and shins got super tight. I stopped and stretched and then finished out the 17 minutes alternating walking/running. Not the most successful night of running, but it's a start, I guess...