Recovery Running

You know what I love?

Cold donuts.

I kept two donuts from work the other day in the fridge until I left and they were delicious.

Warm temperature donuts are blahhh compared to cold ones.

Go ahead. Call me a snob.

You know what else I love?

The fact that Miley Cyrus shops at Trader Joe’s.

Miley does not tell a lie.

Anyway, what’s going on, buddies?

I have a day off from work so I’m totally splurging on the computer and studying my little ass off for the re-take of my ASVAB test. I need to learn my commands and ranks too. Gosh.

This old guy at my gym told me I am going to make a special Marine. I’m not sure what special he was talking about, but I’ll take it! Any compliment is a good compliment, right?

Also, this week I have definitely scaled back on running. Dur, Christy. Running four weeks straight of 50 miles is a little tough even though you don’t feel it until now.

It’s not that I’m sore, but if I am literally dragging myself through runs and can barely make it thirty minutes without dying first, then I need to taper down. I spent some time on the elliptical this week instead. I still sweat like a teenage boy so it’s all good. My face shows it.

I think for any runner, it is very difficult to slow down on runs or even run fewer miles. You look at your Garmin and see a seven-minute mile or whatever the number is, and it really messes with your head. You think you’re out of shape or losing your game, but that is not the case. It’s just a slow recovery run that we do need.

 It’s always difficult for me to see seven minute miles on a run or to only run thirty minutes. I think I need to go, go, go in order to be the best or the fastest. Well, that obviously isn’t helping currently because all my runs in the past two weeks are deteriorating. I am running slower because I just can’t go any faster and then I just don’t want to run. It’s a never-ending cycle, but I need to accept the fact that I need to reduce my mileage and allow some recovery time in order to improve. No one gets faster by running five-minute miles every day. I wish I could run that just once.

I need to scale back on running anyway.

I have the Warrior Dash next week!

Oh my god. I’m so excited. 

The race starts with mud right off the bat then from there it’s climbing and crazy obstacles. The last bit includes water. Man oh man. After reading about it in this issue’s Runners World, I am pumped up.

Who doesn’t want to jump through fire and get extremely dirty? You gotta be crazy.

I think I know what I’m going to wear though.

Some old shoes, shorts I don’t care about, and a sports bra. 

It’s says “MAN UP”.

And my stomach says, “I eat too many donuts.”

Has anyone else done the Warrior Dash or a race similar to it?

Well, well, well. It’s the time again. Time for honorable eats:

Baked falafel + spicy egg whites
Tofu
 Fish + sweet potato fries
Carrot cake 

Happy September!

Push It

Howdy! Should I just skip the chit-chat and get right into details?

Before I talk about the Foot Traffic Flat Half Marathon, guess who I saw today? I was running back to the gym and right by my gym is Duniway Track where Kara Goucher was running laps… like hella fast. She was wearing a sports bra and spandex and she has abs of steel. Oh my god. You could see the outline of her abs.

Anyway, the race! 

Before the race: I woke up at five, got dressed, rolled out my foot, and stood in my room debating on whether or not I should make my bed. I didn’t. I had some water with my vitamins before I left along with a banana and peanut butter. I’m one of those people who can eat before a run, but I cannot eat before a race. There’s a difference. My nerves take over.

We (my parents and I) had to leave the house early since it takes about 30 minutes to get to Sauvie Island. It’s just right outside of the city center of Portland. In the car I listened to pumpin’ music and read Runner’s World. Nothing like Pink and running magazines to get you motivated just to run.

Half way there, the traffic got bad. There’s only one way to the island so of course everyone and their brother is there. The race itself started at 6:45 and we had like thirty minutes to get there once we were on the bridge to the island. Yeah… that took forever. By the time we got across the bridge and a bit further, we had like fifteen minutes until the start of the half marathon. Needless to say, I was starting to freak out. I had to pee so badly too and you know at races… the porter potty line is as long as the line for the food.

We actually got to the start of the race area in time with like fifteen minuets to spare. While I was standing in line at the bathroom, guess who just comes up to me? The girl from the my cross-country team. I know, right? She’s like, “Hey! I’m just going to cut in front of everyone to go to the bathroom too, but I’ll pretend like we’re best friends so no one cares.” Obviously she didn’t say that, but that’s what happened. I didn’t even want to talk to her. Whatever. I wished her well afterwards and walked to the start. 

The race:

The race course was great! By the name of the race, it was obviously flat, but there was a lot of wind. The sun was out and it was just cool out. I loved it. The scenery was beautiful. I passed cows, horses, cornfields, cute firefighters, etc.

My first minute mile was 7:07. I am never one to get out fast. I don’t do it naturally. I just go at my own pace and eventually build up. I’d rather pass people (which I did) than have people pass me. People wouldn’t want to pass me anyway. I’m insane and I sing out loud. I also said, “Awwww” every time I passed an animal. Good thing there weren’t any cats. I stop when I see cats and pet them. Seriously. I’m a crazy cat lady.

Anyway, my average pace was 6:33. 

I really just tried to push it the whole time. I wasn’t hurting besides like once or twice. My foot was just annoying. It wasn’t painful. Besides, I have been waking up with less foot pain everyday. I can actually get out of bed without falling to the floor.

But I am getting off topic. I really need to work on speed during my regular runs.

During the race, I just pushed it nonstop.

So attractive. I have one leg. You guys didn’t know that?

I didn’t want to slow down, especially after I heard I was in sixth place for the women and that’s when I was literally running side by side with another woman. I had to pass her, so I did.

The rest of the race was just me and myself, running pass men. I would tell them good job or keep it up, man.

I knew I was getting closer to the finish since there were more people and then I saw the end. I just started sprinting, passing men as I went. I wanted it so badly. When I sprint hardcore, I start yelling. I just let out grunts. i didn’t give a shit. I’m strange. I know it.

I suck at recaps so I’m just going to get to the dirty…

My final time was 1:24. 

I was first in my age group.

I was fifth woman overall. 

I came in 45th place out of 1641. 

Sometimes I think to myself that I want to one day be an elite runner and run races hardcore all out with my little spandex on.

I want to train for the Olympics. I love running both for the recreation aspect and the competition. I love racing. I love that after I cross the finish line, I feel like death in a good way. I love that after a race, people come up to me and tell me how great I raced. Then they find out my age and walk away because they realized they just got owned by an 18 year old.

The only time I feel confident in myself is after I cross that finish line. I feel good about myself. I know I tried my best.

This was an amazing race. I don’t even want to know how I would handle myself with an awful race. I know that day will come though.

Until then, enjoy sweaty photos of me.

These were my dad’s photography skills. I was looking at the photos he took since he said he got some of me crossing the finish line and there was an actual photo of a pole. Then there photos of random people sitting. Thanks, Pop.

An actual photographer’s skills:

“Everyone in life is looking for a certain rush. Racing is where I get mine.” – John Trautmann 

Nobody said it would be easy, they just said it would be worth it.

I know it was only a half marathon. It’s not like I ran an ultra or even a marathon, but this race was just the little UMPFFF I needed to fall in love with running again.

Run like you stole something

Doing an 3-4 mile easy run this morning didn’t happen.

I was up at 5:30 for work, out the door by 6:30, and finally at the gym by 11:45. I was fried mentally and physically. Well, I’m sure if I did run, I would have felt better in the first five minutes. I was still super tired though. I normally don’t take naps, but when I got the gym, I just kept thinking if there was a bed here I would sleep. With that thought, I knew I needed more rest than what I was going to give myself for tomorrow’s half marathon.

I did take a Zumba class and I am never taking it again. I am a white girl who can’t dance. For the first 15 minutes no one else was there. I was the only one with the teacher and she was doing all these Latin moves. Don’t worry. The class was easy on my legs since I had no idea what I was doing. I looked like the biggest dork. I looked like a 6th grade boy at his first middle school dance trying to be cool.

Look at all that sweat from Zumba except not really. I bet I was the only person who left the gym today who looked like they didn’t work out whatsoever.

When the Zumba class was over, the teacher was like trying to convince me to come back. Lady, I will come back to Zumba when the Kardashian’s let me apart of their family. 

I haven’t had a rest day in a while. I can’t remember the last time I have sat for this long. I even took a nap! I woke up to no one home. It is my mom’s birthday so I guess she went to see a movie and is going to pick me up for dinner at seven. I can’t wait that long. I’m already hungry.

Does anyone find that they are more hungry on rest days? Oh wee. What up with that? No really. I want to know.

Apparently, exercise is an appetite suppressant. I know on days that I do workout, I get hungry, but never extremely hungry after working out. On days that I may take it easy, I am twice as hungry. Is my body making up for the days that I worked out and perhaps didn’t eat enough? 

On that note, here is my week in review:

Monday: Approximately 11.08 miles
Tuesday: Elliptical and a strength & conditioning class
Wednesday: 11.41 miles
Thursday: 8.46 miles 
Friday: Approximately 8 miles (I forgot to press start again after stopping at a stoplight at 6 miles)
Saturday: Spin class and elliptical
Sunday: Zumba/Rest

Total running mileage: Approximately 45 miles. 
I really want that to increase so maybe next week I’ll be adding a few extra miles. It was the same mileage as last week, which somewhat disappoints me.

Damn you, foot. I hate you. I’m starting to think it will never go back to normal.

I did buy a pair of Adidas Recovery Sandals.

I don’t know much about them, but I saw the word ‘recovery‘ so I bought them. Does anyone else wear them or know if they actually are good for your feet?

Well, that about sums it up. I’m going to spend the rest of my of rest day watching Baby Mama, carbo loading, reading Runner’s World (half marathon edition. What’s the luck of that?), and making cornbread. Sleep will happen since my race starts at 6:45. That seems so early! I’ll just go in my PJ’s.

Let’s get racin’!

Happy 4th of July to everyone!

Questions:
What are you doing for the 4th?
Like my new sticker on my car?

Random story of the day:
My coworker asked me what I was doing tomorrow and I said I was racing. Then she asked how much I run daily and I hate when I get that question because, you know, it varies. Gosh, non-runners know nothing. Anyway, I said I could run 8-9 miles in an hour and she was like,

Then everyone she saw, she told them how much I ran. It made me feel all fuzzy inside. Weird. I know. Then I was embarrassed. At least someone takes an interest in my interest. And yes, my coworker is Snooki. We like to eat pickles together.

“Running is a big question mark that’s there each and every day. It asks you, ‘Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?’”
- Peter Maher, Irish-Canadian Olympian and sub-2:12 marathoner

Catch Up

Hello, hello! Is it odd that I missed blogging? I feel like such a terrible blogger though. I don’t know how you guys blog daily.

Where to begin? Well, first off, I got a puppy! He’s a German short-haired pointer meaning he will be a future running dog for me when I hit the trails.

I originally wanted a Vizsla since I know they are basically the number one running dog, but my family (my mom and brother) decided they wanted a pointer because it was way cuter. Whatever. Either way he is so cute. We – I – named him Dean after Dean Karnazes. He better be a runner. According to Runner’s World, German short-haired pointers are good for long, steady runs (ten miles), going fast, and running on trails. I tried to walk him the other day and he started to cry so I turned around. We walked for about five minutes. I’m sure he’ll find his calling soon.

I have been trying to get photos of my other billion animals, yet I only got three photos.
 

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As for running, it’s been going very well. Knock on wood. I have been trying to strengthen my feet and legs by wearing my Vibrams every day. I finally had the guts to wear them at school. Everyone kept saying, “Christy, those are such cool shoes! I want a pair. Are they comfortable? They look weird. What do you do with them?” As if people at school don’t think I am freak already, I’ll just add toe shoes to the mix.

Monday: I set out to run three – five miles and I ran eight or so. My foot was just a little sore, but not painful.

Tuesday: I did six hill repeats with a 15-minute warm up and I think a 15minute cool down. All together, I did about seven miles.

Wednesday: I went easy with a plan of doing five miles or so. I think I did nine miles in one hour and five minutes. I feel like a slug. In March I ran a 10k in one hour and two minutes.
Thursday: My foot was really sore so I stuck with the elliptical and weights. I ran about a mile in addition, but I didn’t really feel like running anymore so I went back to the elliptical.
Friday: I covered over nine miles in about one hour and seven minutes. I did something to my right knee while running because it gave out a few times. Then, I had a realization if I didn’t favor my right foot and just ran, my knee felt okay. I didn’t really have any foot pain either.  My ankle was hurting, but maybe that’s because my shoes were too tight. Any ideas?

A guy took a picture of me running too. I’m famous now.

One of my goals for April was to take running slow and build my endurance again, yet I barely did that. I probably went too quickly in adding mileage, but it was excruciating or anything. Wearing my Vibrams for just walking around is something I am still going to continue with because I notice they help a lot. My legs are tender from wearing them, which for me is a good thing. My foot’s pain has decreased too since I got my new shoes. It’s great. I hope I don’t jinx myself.

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In April, I gave myself four goals that included start swimming, listen to my body, take running up again slowly, and cycle more. I realized that giving myself goals each month is almost silly. I give myself goals constantly. Each week I think of something I want to achieve and I aim for it. Giving myself monthly goals is pointless for me. I don’t think I am going to type out what I want to achieve for May. Mostly I just want to run more, run farther, run faster, and do well in my trail race.

However, I did cycle more in the month of April. I cycled to the store, mail office, and my tanning salon. Yeah, I tan. Yeah, it is most likely terrible for me, but I look better with a tan. Anyway, I somewhat listened to my body. I became more conscious of my hunger and pains then acted accordingly. I did not swim more. I will when school ends though since my gym now offers swimming lessons. I can swim. I just don’t know all the fancy strokes and what not about it. I can doggy paddle and that’s about it.

Speaking of the gym, why am I overly modest when it comes to changing in the women’s locker room? Women get completely butt naked and try to have a conversation with me. I find it so odd. I don’t even know where to look when they’re asking me questions. It’s so awkward. Perhaps I’m too modest. That’s a lie. I’m a runner. I have peed in public during the day, barely behind a bush. I also do snot rockets while running and picked wedgies. I’m just not going naked and then asking my friend about the weather.

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On a final note, I plan on meeting Kara Goucher Monday since she is doing a book signing. I plan to become BFF’s with Kara and then skip to Coldstone with her. I have coupons.

That’s all that I remember that I was dying to share. I bet I left out some juicy stuff like how I wrote Coldstone because I was pissed off at  them and now I get free ice cream. Wanna hear that?

Honorable eats: 

Sweet potato

Any goals for May?

Are you modest at the gym? Any strange gym stories? 

Don’t Even Get Me Started

It’s no surprise that I love magazines.

I have subscriptions to Runner’s World, Women’s Health, Fitness, Health, and Shape. Then, occasionally I buy Self and Oxygen. Sounds like a waste of money, yeah? Maybe, but I don’t care.

I recently picked up the newest issue of Self Magazine since Gwyneth Paltrow was on the cover with smokin’ abs.

I mostly love every article in Self, yet lately their ‘meal plans’ have been irritating me. Their idea of a snack is an apple – no problem there – and four almonds. Four almonds? If you go over, you had better get your fat ass on the treadmill. Lunch was a peanut butter sandwich with (yes count ‘em) ten baby carrots. I guess I just find it silly to put such a limit like that on carrots or something healthy like a vegetable when I eat a pile of brussels sprouts with my two fish fillets, corn, and rice. I know these magazines are for women who generally want to drop a few pounds, but eating over ten carrots isn’t going to make you gain weight.

People at my school are normally alarmed at how much I eat. Half of them think I don’t eat actually so I’m lying, yet they are shocked that I can put away so much food. Women can eat over the range of 1200 – 1500 calories? With exercise, I can easily eat more than that. Even on days I take it ‘easy’ (let’s face it, I don’t do that), I can eat. I eat dessert every night if I want it. Ice cream is my food staple. According to these ‘fitness’ magazines though, I should be wider than a school bus. I suppose I am just breaking the rules of how women should eat and exercise. Don’t even get me started on women getting ‘toned’ and lifting weights.

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Yesterday I ran. Yes! Today I ran. Woohoo! I only ran for ten minutes today and it was on the oh so fun treadmill and without shoes. I ran in my socks. I realized that I am a huge heel striker on my right foot, which is my injured foot. I hope to change that when I get some Vibrams over the weekend, hopefully. My fingers are crossed. Just to clarify, my whole foot isn’t injured. I only get pain in my big toe or on the left side of my right foot. I have started icing again and soaking my foot in Epsom salt. Supposedly Epsom salt will reduce the swelling of sprains and bruises. Maybe it’s helping. I don’t know. Maybe I should do some foot stretches though to make my foot stronger…? Any tips?

I am torn between getting a pair of Vibrams or these: http://www.merrell.com/US/en-US/Product.mvc.aspx/22877W/0/Womens/Barefoot-Pace-Glove?dimensions=0

I still think I am going to go with the Vibrams.

Now onto to some honorable eats:

White bean spinach salad with onions and an egg

This was Heaven

P.S.

I got my braces off yesterday! I would show a picture, but I’m going to wait until I don’t look like a lazy bum realizing that they have this thing called makeup and jeans.

Do any fitness magazines irritate you with their health tips and articles?

Who else hates the evil treadmill?
-I just want to run outside forever and ever and ever. Damn foot. FYI, I ran outside yesterday and the hard surface bothered my foot.

“Strive for that greatness of spirit that measures life not by its disappointments but by its possibilities.”  -W. E. B. Du Bois