No, Seriously

Who am I? Seriously.

I am not a lazy blogger. I think about blogging a lot, but unfortunately the majority of my day is spent at work behind a bakery case or an espresso machine.

It’s either I am making a 400 calorie drink for someone or burning 400 calories by running.

I’m still in my running rut, but I feel better about it. I no longer feel like dying during my runs, but I prefer the treadmill over the outdoors. Who am I?

I’m also listening to music while running outside. Again, who am I? Before this rut, I would have never put music on while running or even step on a treadmill.

I’m cray cray.

Due to my craziness, I’m going to cover this week’s workouts.

So, Monday…

I don’t even remember that day. I don’t know if I ran or what so let’s just skip that day. Oh wait, now I remember.

I did run. I ran 5.30 miles @ 7:07 pace.

I didn’t even look at my watch the whole time. Go me.

Tuesday: I rode my bike to the gym (7.21 miles) where I did a track workout with a girl at my gym who does Ironman’s and all that crazy stuff I want to do. Her fiance is sponsored by Newton (stay tuned for more Newton news).  I just want to be her.

Anyway, we did two laps as a warmup followed by a mile that was supposed to get faster as we went along. I think I did the mile in 6:03. Next, we did two 400′s, which I did in 1:30. The last thing we did was 6 x 200. All of this totaled out to 4.25 miles.

I can’t tell you the last time I did a track workout. It was awesome.

After that, I went on the elliptical for 11 minutes and lifted some weights before I rode my bike home (9.80 miles).

Wednesday: Another run! I thought I was going so slow, but it turns out I did 8.83 miles @ 6:49 pace. I’m a little shocked.

Thursday: I ran for an hour on the treadmill, probably covering 8 ish miles between 7:03 – 7:13 pace.

Who am I running on a treadmill?

So much butt sweat.

Friday: I rode my bike to the gym (7.23 miles), ran on the treadmill for an hour covering 8 ish miles, lifting for 15 minutes, and then riding my bike back home (9.77 miles).

I did lift some weights on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, but otherwise I was lacking in the weight lifting department. It’s like, yeah, I’m still in this running rut, but if I can handle running on a treadmill, why not do it? 

Running miles: 34+ miles 
Biking miles: 34.1 miles

I definitely want to bring up those running miles to like… 200 miles. Seriously.

In other news, I bought some bike shoes. 

I love it. I’m such a hardcore biker now. Man. Now I just need some stickers on my bike that say “Keep Portland Weird” or “Drink More Beer” and I will fit right in with the Portland crowd.

I got another pair of running shoes (more on that later).

I got acupuncture done again at this new place. My quad has been killing me so I’m hoping some needles will help. My mom came with. Awesome time.

Let’s see. I haven’t been up to much. I’m going to have a post tomorrow on Newton running shoes and a book review. 

Well, let’s wrap this up with honorable eats. Boooyeah.

   Candy cane mocha
 

“Even if you fall flat on your face at least you are moving forward”
–Sue Luke

Get Use to It

You guys should really get use to me being gone all the time. In a few weeks I will be gone for three months.

Sorry to disappoint you. I know how much you all (maybe like two people) love me and my bitchiness.

It’s all good though. It’s all good.

Anyway…

Heyo!

Today included me riding my bike to the gym,

 My awesome bike shorts that give me a butt

sweating on the elliptical, lifting weights, running a mile, and then going to the Marine’s office.

There I did 100 sit ups. Killed it.

Did a flex arm hang for 70 seconds. Died.

Then, my recruiter drove me to the track where we had a tea party where I ran two miles in 18:04. Don’t laugh. I know I fail at running now. I did do my first mile in 6:28. That’s something considering I pulled something in my quad and it hurts like a bitch.

I haven’t run in… a few weeks. Seriously at least. I run at least a mile or two daily, but other than that, I have no desire to run so why force it, you know?

This happened before though except for not that long. I just biked instead everyday. Whatever. I better like running soon since I will be doing it all the time at boot camp.

Aye, I got results and photos from Race the Reaper that I did October 1st.

I game in 5th place in my heap, 51 place overall, and 6th female overall. I feel like I could have definitely done better. Whatever.

As you can see, I was pissed. What’s new?

So, I have been meaning to talk about my acupuncture appointments. I have had three acupuncture appointments and all of them were great. The first time I did it, I had a Groupon.

I did have a problem with my right foot again. After the appointment, my foot did feel better. Then, I went to a new acupuncture place that my mom paid for and, afterwards, my foot felt brand new. It helped so much and I was able to run better immediately. Of course, I still iced my foot, wore compression socks, and toe separater(?) socks to increase my recovery.

Even though I didn’t feel like running, I ran to test out my foot and to see if the acupunture indeed helped. It did in my opinion.

Acupuncture isn’t even painful. Basically, you get very fine point needles put wherever you feel some type of pain. The needles sit there for, like, 30 minutes while you sleep.

“Acupuncture, the treatment of pain and injury using thin, disposable needles, has a history dating back thousands of years in China. Although its practice and theory have evolved since being introduced to Japan, both styles share a similar focus: reducing pain and muscle imbalances by treating specific points of the body. Russ Stram, a New York-based licensed acupuncturist at Brill Physical Therapy, practices a mixed style. “Acupuncture follows Chinese medicine theory with the philosophy of restoring balance to the body,” he explains. “A practitioner takes a thorough history and examines the body for tight and painful areas, choosing points based on the meridian point system.” (Source.)

If you are a runner and are experience some muscle soreness or another type of injury, I recommend acupuncture instead of seeing a doctor who will just tell you to stop running.

“But more than recovery from injury, acupuncture’s greatest potential may come in injury prevention. According to Stram, “Running and training hard, whether it is fast acceleration sprints or long distance, takes a toll on the body. This is especially true of problem areas such as the back, hips and legs, which are most affected by running. Acupuncture needles can get directly to deep muscle bands to maximize the treatment effect. ” (Source.)

I loved acupuncture and will be going back once more before I leave in November.

Also, don’t be afraid to try a few different acupuncture specialists until you find one you like. My first experience with acupuncture was just okay so I tried it again and found someone better who knew what they were talking about. It was fantastic. Don’t be afraid of needles either. You literally feel nothing.

So, I’m going to wrap this up with some honorable eats:

 Tamale w/ tofu

Black bean burger

Not that great tasting, but I like that it’s crunchy
 I just started eating this bread. Love it.

Ramblings

Hi!

I’m still alive in case you were wondering. I have just been super busy with work. Boohoo. Earning money is hard time consuming.

I love my job. It isn’t even sad that I have no social life because of it. Not that I had one before so who am I kidding.

Anyway, I ran two times since we last talked.

Two times that were unbelievable slow and painful. My foot wasn’t the painful part either. It’s just painful to be that slow runner that I sometimes make fun of. I apologize, folks.

My foot is just annoying. I don’t understand what went wrong or what’s even wrong with it now, but come on. Damn, toe.

I ran on Saturday. I wanted to do my favorite run despite it being quite long. The run was 11.64 miles. I took two breaks (not counting the ones where I stopped to pet cats) and a walking break towards the end. It’s embarrassing for me to even admit that. Not the cat part, but the walking part. My average pace was, like, 7:20.

As you see, it  got slow in the end.

Then I ran again on Monday.

My pace was faster; about 7:15. I’m like 40 seconds off from my ‘normal‘ pace.

I’m really up in the air about running currently. Should I continue to run or wait it out until I’m 99.9% healed?

It’s just my second toe that is bugging me, which affects my whole foot. When I’m running, I’m just slow and I run odd. It’s not painful, but I know it’s not normal. I do I have another acupuncture appointment so perhaps that will be helpful.

You know what’s helpful?

Having this big tub of protein powder I got from this lovely lady.

It’s About Time whey protein powder that is cake batter flavor. Oh my gosh.

Dare I say I switched up my breakfast of eggs just for it.

I put some of the protein powder in my bowl of oat bran with a side of Orlando Bloom. I forgot he existed.

So, other than working and running and peeing every two seconds because I drink too much water/coffee/Vitamin Water…

I haven’t been up to much. Of course I have been making time for the Charlie Sheen Roast, Dancing With the Stars, and Two & a Half Men.

 I did do a little photo shoot the other day…

It was fall-like weather, but I wore shorts anyway. I’m a loser.

I am really one of those people who complains they are always cold just because they won’t put on a sweatshirt. True story, bro.

Anyway, I do have a WIAW coming up so I’ll stop here. Instead, enjoy drooling over my honorable eats.

    Roasted mushroom tofu sandwich
Eggs + teriyaki tofu
tiramisu
Salad w/ lots of veggies and Green Onion dressing

“Besides pride, loyalty, discipline, heart, and mind, confidence is the key to all the locks.”
 -Joe Paterno

What have you been up to lately?

Go Big or Go Home

No matter how long I have been running and no matter how any miles I have racked up in the past months, taking two weeks off from running was actually the hardest part.

I was burnt out. Every run was awful and I didn’t even want to run after awhile.

Then, when I reduced my mileage to about twenty miles, my foot began to hurt. Go figure. After that, I really had to stop running. I didn’t run for over a week or so and today I finally got out to run.

I ran a long time (with several breaks and I didn’t plan on it). I ran about 9.9 miles on my own at an extremely fat, ugly, slow pace. Then, I ran three miles with my dog Dean. He was pulling me at points.

Christy, why didn’t you ease your way into it? Uh, I don’t know. Because I’m stupid.

I’m a person that either goes big or goes home. I could barely run twenty minutes straight on this run without walking. Do you know how big of a kick in the teeth that is to someone who can run six-minute miles for 14 miles?

I felt like an out of shape runner. The elliptical is great for cross training and burning off cheesecake, but that’s about it. It doesn’t make you a better runner. It doesn’t guarantee that when you do begin running again, you’ll still be able to run three miles in less than 30 minutes.

Building mileage is tough. Forcing yourself to run just to hit a certain mile or to give yourself an ego boost is difficult. Not running is rough too. Well, for me at least. Some people go their whole life without running. No problem for them. For me, it’s tough. I like to run. I want to run.

Getting back into running… that’s the worst. I only took two weeks off (barely) and I wanted to die while on my run.

Running is always easier said than done. It is not an easy sport. There is always room for improvement. A few days of not running and you can be either slower or faster than the last time you ran. I was hella slow today. Building my speed up and my mileage is going to be brutal. However, I’m a strange little bird that likes it. I don’t mind sweating so much that my eyes start to burn. I don’t mind the dirt on the side of my legs. I don’t know how it got there, but it’s there. I don’t mind being out of breath to the point that I think I should stop, but I don’t. Moreover, I don’t mind pushing through that nagging voice that tells me how worthless I am because I’m not as fast as other runners (cough, Tara and Hollie).

If my foot doesn’t hurt tomorrow, I’ll run for an hour. I could do a long run on Saturday if I want to die before I’m twenty, but we’ll see how that goes.

As you can see, I am the kind of person that goes big or I won’t do it at all. I even worked out with the Marines today. It was actually a workout/circuit that got me sweaty. It was tough though. I definitely need to step up my game. 

In other news, I bought these bad boys. Or rather my mother’s credit card did.

They are Merrell Barefoot shoes. I’m going to start wearing them at work. I got red though.

Also, in other news, I got a sick souvenir from the Warrior Dash. It was worse than that, honestly. Maybe I’m just a wimp badass.

You guys are lucky. My legs were shaved for this. They were looking nasty.

So, I been meaning to do a post on acupuncture for runners, but I’m curious about what you guys want to know. Do you want know what acupuncture actually is and why it’s helpful in the first place or what? Let me know. I got another appointment coming up too. Woo.

Well, well, well. I got some honorable eats…

Squash
Meatless meat + zucchini + tomatoes + goat cheese 

“I ran to be free; I ran to avoid pain; I ran to feel pain; I ran out of love and hate and anger and joy.”
                                          –DAGNY SCOTT

Warrior Dash

Hiya!

I bet you want to hear all about the Warrior Dash. Well, that’s gonna have to wait. I’m going to rewind a bit.

Friday: No work! I woke up at six anyway to workout with some Marines. You know how that turned out. After that, I rested for a bit before I headed to my acupuncture appointment. It was incredible! The back of my legs (hamstring, calves, part of foot) was done. It didn’t hurt at all. I’ll have a single post on acupuncture for runners later on. I also got a massage. The woman giving the massage told me my right leg was extremely tight and so was the arch of my right foot. Go figure because that’s where my current problem is now. My right foot/toe area is bugging me. Now it’s not so terrible and I feel like I could run, but I’m holding it off.

Anyway, I’m hoping to go to another acupuncture appointment soon. It seemed to really help.

Friday night I went out to dinner, too, with my folks as well as my brother and his girlfriend. My family usually doesn’t eat at commercial restaurants, but we went to Outback Steakhouse. That use to be my favorite place when I was meat-eater. Besides, they have delicious bread. I got the Mahi with a salad and grilled onions.

Let me tell ya, I love onions. I seriously thought my meal was so good. I was really surprised and impressed.

After that, we raided fro-yo.

Saturday: I worked all day. No joke. After work, however, I did get Voodoo Doughnuts. In case you never heard of Voodoo Doughnuts even though they appeared on Food Network and the Cooking Channel, they are the best donuts ever.

They are rather popular in Portland. Voodoo Doughnuts makes some of the awesomest (yeah, I said it) donuts.

I just got the classic Voodoo donut as well as cereal one.

Sunday: Warrior Dash!

 

It was rather hectic getting there. My mom decided to bring two of our dogs and it was 90+ degrees out. We were trying to park and there were 200+ cars in a single file line trying to drive down a dirt road to a giant field where there would be parking. My mom was freaking out since we were running out of gas and she’s just a spaz. I got angry and left the car, got my bib number, lined up, and raced.

It was tougher than I imagined! It started with giant hills. Not like any hill, but hills that were so steep I could not run up them. I was running in a shuffle, luckily passing others. There was so much dirt too. I was eating and breathing dirt.

The first obstacle was going into deep water and climbing over logs. I was too short to even reach the bottom of the creek/pond/whatever it was water.

The next obstacle was jumping over cars. That was simple. There were plenty of wall climbing and running through hanging tires or ropes. I know it sounds like a piece of cake, but I was so out of breath from the running. Amazingly enough, my foot did not hurt until I dropped a few feet from climbing over a wall.

I was passing people like crazy though. It was the most I have ever cussed in a race. Also, it was the first time I walked in a race because I swear it turned into a hike. I felt like I was crawling up a mountain.

The last obstacle included jumping over fire then swimming in mud.

Exhibit A:

The price I paid for getting into that mud… hives. I have little red bumps all over my chest and back right now. I am itching like crazy that I went home from work early today. I couldn’t take it. I am not on enough medicine that I am passing out while I type this.

Warrior Dash was hella fun and tough. I don’t know why I thought it was going to be easy. I finished in less than 30 minutes though.  Some people took over an hour. It all depended on your fitness level. I know mine could definitely be better.  I can’t blame myself though. All last week I did not run. I was on the elliptical because of my damn foot.

It’s just odd that I felt nothing running in the race. Then, today, it felt okay. It didn’t run still and now I really want to run. I do not understand how I can run 50 miles for a month then reduce mileage insanely and that’s when I get hurt. It angers me.

Anyway, Warrior Dash was a blast! If it is different next year, I will definitely do it again.

After I finished the race around 3:00 (I’ll have more accurate info when I get my results), I went to look for my mother. Yeah, she was not there. I sat by a tree for two hours. Turns out she left and didn’t even watch me race. I suppose she was a terrible mood that day, which caused me to be a terrible mood today too.

Well, here’s the review of August 5th through August 11th:

Monday: Ran 8.58 miles @ a very slow pace
Tuesday: Ran 5.71 trails
Wednesday: Elliptical + Weights
Thursday: elliptical and strength class
Friday: Elliptical + stair master + weights
Saturday: Elliptical + weights
Sunday: Spin class + Warrior Dash (3.1 miles)

Total mileage: 17.39 miles

I wish it was higher, but whatdaya gonna do? When you can’t run, you can’t run. Good thing I don’t mind the elliptical and good thing I am giving up desserts.

Honorable eats:

Apple tart
Spicy fritata
 Apple quinoa
Sweet potato cakes + eggs
 

That’s it for now! I hope you  all are having a fabulous week.

“Just do the best with what you have, and you’ll soon be doing it better.”  -Gil Hodges