Training Widget

Friday, April 29, 2011

Daily Mission

Today's #dailymission

What have you done that you previously didn't think you could do?

This questions is easy peasy lemon squeezey... MARATHON! Have I ever mentioned that I'm not really a runner?

Thursday, April 14, 2011

The Blah Face


blahGroup cycle 16 mi 01:00

This is my dailymile entry for today. The little face indicates how the workout went, or how you felt during the workout. Your choices are great (big smiley face), good (less big smiley face), alright (expressionless face), blah (see above), tired (tongue sticking out), or injured (expressionless face with a big bandage on it). I had to give today the blah face.

I cannot rightly remember the last time I used the blah face. I'm not sure that I've ever used it. Most days, I feel happy and blessed to have the ability, the time, and the desire to be active. Today, though... blah to the max. I did not want to get out of bed, I didn't sleep well the past two nights, my kitchen still has all the breakfast and lunch dishes strewn about, I need to get the house picked up for book club tomorrow evening, my hubby's out of town until late Saturday morning, and I sure as hell did not want to ride that damn bike today. BLAH!!!!

As a general rule, I LOVE this class. Of course, I'd always rather be running, but the instructor is great, and I always work much harder than I ever would on my own. So, to be annoyingly redundant, 'blah' is abnormal.

I am okay with feeling blah about today's workout. What's really throwing me, though, is that it's already seeping into Saturday's long run. I'm scheduled to run 13 with the run club, and I'm seriously trying to find an excuse not to go. I think all of the reasons listed above are contributing factors. I'm also slightly apprehensive about that fact that, although I'm running 'with' the group, I'm likely to be pretty much on my own for this one. Usual running/life partner Chris is OOT, and there currently aren't really any folks in the group who run at my long run pace of 9:00-9:30/minute miles. I'm slightly anxious about it.

Again, it's unusual. I've run upteen hundred miles by myself over the years, so I'm not sure why this is an issue. Over the past couple of years though, I haven't run too many longer runs solo (thanks to run club). Weirdness.

I WILL be running Saturday, because hard as I may try to find one, there is no reason not to. The babysitter is booked. It's a done deal. I just wish I felt differently about it. Tomorrow is a new day. Hopefully it will come with a new attitude.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Mantras

#dailymission on April 08, 2011

What mantra do you repeat when you need to dig the deepest?

It varies, really. A couple I frequently go to:
  • You wanted this. You signed up for it. Remember?!?!
  • If this were easy, everyone would do it.
And, my last thought on this for today...
I honestly haven't had to dig deep since running the marathon last fall. When the time does come, though, I'm pretty sure I'm going to think back to that day. My friend Tiffany, who I ran it with, was running it for her friend, Heather, who was battling breast cancer. Heather came out to cheer, and I'm pretty sure I will never forget the exchange between them at about mile 16. Big hug, tears, the whole business. As Tiff said, 'screw it, 10 more miles is nothing.' Indeed, 10 miles is nothing, compared to the real life battles people have to fight.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Daily Mission

I must say, I'm finding this to be quite fun!

Today's #dailymission

Post a recipe of your favorite pre-race meal (pics work too:)

Same as every other day.
My very own oatmeal concoction-- old fashioned oats, almond butter, agave nectar, cinnamon, and vanilla soy milk; all mixed up and nuked for a minute and 45 seconds. Coffee on the side, with almond milk and a little more agave nectar.
Here's the TMI portion-- I like this breakfast because it gets things moving, if you know what I mean. It gets things moving BEFORE I leave the house and not DURING the race. Because when things get moving during the race, 'tis not pleasant.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Another dailymission

#dailymission on April 04, 2011

What is the one bit of advice you wish you someone shared with your when you started running/biking/swimming/etc. ?

Early on, I was way too worried about what people would think. As in worried that the real athletes of the world would scoff at me and say I had no business corrupting their sport with my mediocrity. I wish someone would have told me that NO ONE REALLY GIVES A HOOT. Other runners/athletes don't care if I'm slow, they don't care if I don't look like a runner, they don't care if my shirt and shorts don't match, they don't care if I can't swim worth a damn, etc., etc. If they DO care, they're stupid.