"Stay off Your Feet"

The whole "stay off your feet as much as possible" plan is really putting a damper on my training. The arch supports and ankle wrap seem to be helping, but I'm not going to put my ankle/foot to the test until mid-late next week. I don't want to push it. It's hard for me to be motivated to swim though because I'm not that great at it. I swam "competitively" when I was in middle school, but truth be told I was never that good. I know, practice...it's just hard to stay motivated when swimming is really my only option these days. Well, that's my short update on what's been going on...sorry I feel off the face of the earth there!

Off to the ice bucket of doom!

A Snag in the Plan

Well, this last week hasn't been everything I thought it would be.

Sunday I rocked out on the erg. I hadn't done any serious rowing in a while, so I thought it was time. I rowed a 5k, and threw in power 10s and power 5s to spice things up and revitalize the stroke. It felt really good. I was a little congested, but my legs/back/arms/shoulders handled the workout beautifully.

Then there was Monday. Long run Monday...I had my head in the game and was ready for my two hour run. The roads were still kind of snowy and I'm not a fan of pushing my ankle, soooooo I set up the treadmill for 90 minutes (99 is the max and that's just weird). I started working out the kinks and soreness from the Sunday workout, but after two miles my right IT band was already starting to twinge. It's been taking 6+ miles to get there lately, so I wasn't happy when that happened. I pushed the pace back a little bit, lengthened my stride and picked up my feet more. Did it help? Not really...the minutes ticked my so slowly. I picked up the pace again just hoping it would work itself out. Nope, didn't happen. I didn't want to push myself, so I made myself stop after an hour. I got in 6 miles, and wasn't completely happy about it. Stretching and hydrating just weren't as satisfying since I didn't reach my goal.

Tuesday was yoga with Ashley! I always love yoga class on Tuesdays. There was an anonymous request for an ab workout, and I wasn't complaining. We did some amazing Sun Salutes to get warmed up, and then some twists that my back loved. The abs were definitely different. We did variations I'd never done before and two of them I will be using in the future for sure! After our ab workout we did more twists for our backs, and then an amazing 10 minute relaxation. I felt like a new woman after that class.

My Wednesday workout was shoveling the driveway. My best friend, Caryn, told me that shoveling for 20 minutes is the equivalent of running a mile on the treadmill. So, I guess I did 2 miles! Woot! My ankle has been very angry since Tuesday. The tendon on the inside of my right ankle twinges and bothers me too much. I've been icing, but that hasn't helped much. I rocked the IcyHot and then a heating pad just to spice things up.

Today after an extra "awesome" shift at work my ankle really hated me. I wasn't going to pass up a free afternoon, so I headed to the gym anyway. I did a core workout then hopped into the pool. I grabbed a noodle and did a few laps of kicking just to get used to being in the water again and for my legs to loosen up. My lane buddy and I were both slowish swimmers, so that worked out well. After 800m or swimming I called it a day. I walked a lap to see if my ankle hurt in water, and it didn't! =)
Side Note: my lane buddy is running the Flying Pig Half, so it was fun talking about training with someone that will be running the same race (sort of) as me.

Well, it's time to get some rest before another long day of work tomorrow! Good night!

Banished to the Indoors...Again...

Mother Nature hates me. Sunday's amazing run outside was a HUGE tease. I'm pretty sure Greenwood hasn't seen anything above freezing since then. *sighs*

Monday was a rest day, followed by....a rest day. I'm lame, I know. I did some stretching at home, but nothing toooo intense. Wednesday was my "attempt" as getting back into things. I did yoga, which was fantastic! I felt like a new woman! Then in the evening...I lifted weights. I hadn't really lifted in awhile, but things went really well. I worked on my arms and back. Then I hopped on the erg. That was gross. I planned on doing 5x500m with the fan on four. Well, I made it two before I called it quits. My body got fatigued really quick. So...I figured I'd fight it off with a run. HA! I died about a half mile in...so sad. I called it quits after that.

Today, Friday, thank goodness. I got off work early, so I got to workout! WOOT! I headed to the gym determined to blow yesterday's crap out of the water. I did. I hopped on the bike for a seven minute warm up, and that was only the beginning. The warm up felt great. I hopped off, did a little bit of stretching, and then was back on for 60 minutes of "random hills." I was happily in front of a TV that was showing ESPN, so I was a happy camper. The minutes ticked by slowly when the resistance was low and my legs were flying. I felt a little out of control, which I don't like, and I think that's why the minutes when by so slowly. As soon as the resistance kicked in just a little bit the minutes flew. My legs were working, I was squinting to read the latest baseball news, and I was sweating. It was glorious! The "hills" were intense! My quads were tight and burning, but I pushed through. If I'm going to survive Mt Adams in Cincinnati there can be no excuses. I will dominate that hill when I get to it.

All in all...Sunday and today rocked my world. The other days were just days. Tomorrow will be even better. I know it! Happy Friday night everyone! =)

I Really Love Long Runs

Okay, between my job searching, working a crappy job and training I'm not updating as often as I originally planned. Sorry! I promise not to let it go over a week though!

So, BIG NEWS! I've registered for my marathon!!! I will be running the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, on May 2. I'm PUMPED! I've got a lot of friends in Ohio and it's close to home, so I'm excited to have a support group cheering me on. My best friend will be making her way out from DC to celebrate her birthday and my first marathon. She rocks!

Training is going pretty well. I'm still doing more cross training than most training schedules recommend. I biked 15 miles last Tuesday, and felt fantastic. My leg muscles have been impressing me since they seem to never get sore (knock on wood). I erged 7k+ Friday, and that was a big lung test. Since you work you're whole body, chest muscles included, it's a great challenge as an asthmatic. The endurance of rocking out a 7k is great for your arms, shoulders, back and legs. There was a tad of soreness after that workout because I didn't stretch very well. Saturday I did a little bit of lifting to help beef up my arms. I need strong arms to help me get through the 26.2 mile adventure I have ahead of me.

Sunday Run Day! Sunday was the 80 minute run. I was a little put off by it Saturday since the forecast was telling me there would be tons of rain and wind. Pfft. See if I ever listen to the weather guys again. It was almost 50, sort of windy on the open roads, and I got sprinkled on for maybe 6 minutes of the run. It was FANTASTIC! I knocked out 7.5 miles in 72.5 minutes, and jogged out the last 8 minutes as a cool down. I was so impressed with my killer run and reaching my house 8 minutes earlier than expected that I was okay using those minutes as a cool down. My right ankle, aka the healthy one, started getting angry 25 minutes in. That was a bummer...but I was running in an older neighborhood with concrete streets. Once I got back on to asphalt my ankle was much less angry with me. My lungs held up great on the first outside run of the year. The only thing that really hurt was my IT bands in the last five minutes. They were SO tight. My 20 minutes of stretching helped with that, thank goodness!

After the awesome run yesterday I'm really looking forward to the 100 minute run next weekend! After next weekend It'll be time to rock the two hour runs. WOOT! I'm excited!

Well, I'm off to rest up for yoga! Good night running people!

Two Workouts? Anyone?

Yesterday was a nice easy no impact day. I went to the gym and swam 15 laps. I know...not too impressive, right? Well, the only reason I swim is to build up my lungs. I have athletic asthma AND really small lungs (my doctor said 80 year old cancer patients probably have more lung capacity that I do). The pressure from the water and the thick air in the room makes it hard for me to breathe, so I try to swim every so often to beef up my lungs. My ankles and knees really benefit from a no impact workout too.

Today was my first "two-a-day." This morning I went to yoga. Today we did six or seven Sun Salutations to get warmed up; and I can't even explain how much my legs, back and neck benefited from that. Then we did a series of twists to loosen up our back and squeeze the toxins out of our internal organs. It was fantastic. By far one of the most relaxing Tuesday yoga classes I've even been to.

This afternoon my killer migraine of death returned, so I decided to try working out. I sucked it up, grabbed my iPod and water...then off to LA Fitness I went. It was PACKED! I hopped on the last open bike for a warm up and watched as the treadmills were taken one by one. There were two left when I was done warming up. I chose one between two running people instead on one between two walking people. The stupid thing wouldn't let me do any workout besides "QuickStart." So, after a few frustrating minutes I gave in and just pressed the button. I ran my 2.5 miles in 25 minutes and wished I didn't have to be home for dinner. I ran faster today than I have been lately and could've kept going. I guess that's more motivation to find my dream job and get back out of Mom and Dad's, right?

Tomorrow if everything goes as expected I will do a huge glycogen depletion workout. I'll fill you in on the awesomeness tomorrow!

First Workout of 2010

Well, before I get into how much I loved my workout you have to understand one thing about me. My friends don't only think I'm crazy because I love running so much...they think I'm crazy because no matter how cold it is I won't run in pants. I will run in running tights...rarely. I prefer the shorts, soccer socks, Under Armour, gloves and ear band style. I do have a cut off temperature though...wind chills in the single digits. I like to feel my cheeks when I get home, and I'm a big fan of my lungs. So, sadly, I was banished to the gym today.

Being banished to the gym was excellent though. I love working out when there are tons of people at the gym, and since New Years just passed EVERYONE was at the gym today. My competitive genes got fired up, I ran into people from high school, and had a great sweat. Since I was a rower in college I tend to erg (rowing machine) a lot because I know how huge of a workout it is. I did a mini pyramid workout to get my legs and lungs worked out. The pyramid was 1 min on-one min off; two min on-two min off; three min on-three min off; four min on-four min off; and back down again. I will be feeling that work out until Friday I'm pretty sure. I triiiied to run on the treadmill, but I'm so scared of falling off I run into the stupid bar. I'll give it another try or two before I cut it out of my life completely. Hopefully the temperature comes back up so I can just run outside.

For anyone who doesn't normally run or is training for a race, cross training is very important. I use erging/rowing, biking and yoga as my cross training exercises. Swimming is very beneficial as well, so I'm going to blend it into my routine this year. Cross training helps prevent injury and workout out other muscles that running doesn't. Another bonus is that it breaks up the monotony of doing the same thing everyday.