The Long Weekend...

Last weekend (yes the one that just ended yesterday) I took an unscheduled weekend off from training and went home. The trip itself wasn't unscheduled. It had been in the works for a while as a belated Valentines Day celebration trip. But the break from Pittsburgh Marathon training (and not doing a long run last weekend) definitely wasn't planned, but it was well needed...

The truth is my body is tired and I'm tinkering dangerously close to pushing myself into "overuse injury territory". I've been there before. In fact I've been there so often that I recognize the signals long before I reach that dreaded destination. But now that I'm approaching year 5 as a runner I'm wise enough to force myself to stop before I get too close. The wisdom doesn't erase the frustration and disappointment I feel though. And despite knowing that not pushing the limit was the right thing to do, I still feel sad that I'm not getting the mileage completed.

I've never had an uneventful marathon training cycle; probably because running doesn't really come naturally for me. I mean, I wasn't the last one picked for races/relays in school, being picked second to last wasn't much better. So when I started running in 2013 I knew it was going to be an uphill battle. This year, and this training season has been no exception...

This training cycle I've been feeling exhausted... all the time. Despite getting a full nights sleep I still don't wake up feeling rested. And, to add "injury to insult" (so to speak) I'm having shin splints and other areas of concern that are more tender/sore than normal. Some of my usual fixes haven't been implemented yet, i.e. I haven't focused on cross training and strength training as much as I should; I foam roll about as frequently as I'm able to achieve a sub-11 minute per mile pace (in other words, rarely); and every day I set ambitious hydration and nutrition goals only to be undermined by my sweet tooth (and salty tooth... and "any kind of red wine" tooth).

In isolation (and moderation) any of those things probably aren't horrible per se... but the combination is certainly not ideal. And unfortunately they have all been the background tapestry of my marathon training. I have just about two months to go before Pittsburgh so I still have time and (fortunately) I haven't veered completely off course, but I'm definitely not as far along as I would like to be. So the time to auto correct is right now; and after my long weekend off I'm refocused and re-energized...

The next two weeks will have 4 days of running each week, followed by three weeks of 3 days of running per week. Then in April I go back to 4 days of running and before I know it Race Week will be here! My swimming will also pick up steam (in terms of frequency but not necessarily intensity). I'm capping my swimming workouts at 60 minutes (with a minimum duration of 30 minutes). I decided to focus on duration for cross training because I want to ensure it's adding to my overall fitness without making me too exhausted to complete my runs. And I'm definitely keeping my commitment to have a solid rest (and sleep in) day.

So the countdown is on... 2 months to go (just about), which means I have 4 really long runs, 4 moderately long runs, and my taper runs left. I've got this!

You still have time to sign up and join me in Pittsburgh in May! Register (via the link below) and use my discount code (YOUNGDSGPM18) for any of the race distances!

(register here)

What do you do when your training isn't going according to plan?

Do you find it hard to stay motivated and focused during long training cycles?

How many running vs. cross training days do you complete each week?

Consecutive Days of Running...

I completed 193 consecutive days of running. One Nine Three. But now...

I made the decision to listen to my body and not my stubborn desire to be a part of the Running Streakers Hall of Fame (I'm actually not sure if they have one... but they should). So I haven't run since Wednesday, in order to rest my ankle, and today was my first attempt at cross training since the streak ended...

I've also been icing my ankle on and off for the past week and it's wrapped up with an ACE bandage most of the time...

Garmin, Selfies, & What Keeps You Going...

My legs felt surprisingly good this morning considering what I put them through at the half marathon yesterday. And even though it wasn't my best half marathon experience, the 13.1+ miles helped me win my Garmin Step Challenge...

But by the time the evening rolled around my legs felt heavier and I barely made it through my one mile run...

Post-run pic...

If it wasn't for my running streak I would have taken a complete rest day, but my daily run has become somewhat of a habit for me so even when I'm tired I try and find the motivation to get it done...

Bling Chaser...

The day after race day is a "bling chaser's" dream...

And while I did not walk around with my weekend medals dangling from my neck, I'm so happy with them. I think both medals are nicely designed, especially the half marathon medal...

Today I was planning on blogging about core workouts. Mainly because I need to focus on them myself and also because I didn't know what to blog about and a friend of mine gave me that great suggestion. However after I had dinner and went for a run, I started to have an allergic reaction to the shrimp tacos I ate. The hives started at first and then the coughing started and my chest felt tight. And then I discovered that I'm probably the only pediatric nurse and mother that does not have Benadryl stocked in her medicine cabinet 🙈. That's what happens when you live right next to a pharmacy... you get "comfortable" and neglect to stock up on basic medical necessities 😔. 

Anyway, after a quick trip to "the corner of happy and healthy" I was able to take some Benadryl...

Thankfully my throat and chest are feeling better and my hives are going down; but (right on schedule) the drowsiness is starting to kick in 😴. So I'm off to bed for the night!

How was your Monday?

Are you allergic to any food/drinks?

What's your favorite race medal?

"Rolling Hills" & "Pizza"

That moment when your doctor says "I'm going to need some time to study your case and come up with a treatment plan, so don't run until then"...

The appointment actually went better than expected. It was the first time I've ever been to a Chiropractor (which is probably kind of shocking considering my scoliosis) so I wasn't really sure what to expect...

(Turned sideways the x-ray of my spine looks like "gently rolling hills" doesn't it?)

The Elephant In The Room...

It's been over two weeks and I still have lingering pain from my last long run. Being the typical runner that I am I haven't really wanted to talk/blog about it. Runners rarely want to acknowledge that they may have overdone it and need to take a few days off...

I don't think I've done a lot since my 20 mile run, but whatever I've done has clearly been "too much" because on Monday I could barely get through a mile without pain...

Monday Madness Version 7.06

~ Working at a hospital has allowed me to become quite familiar with the R. A. C. E. acronym (rescue, alert, contain, evacuate/extinguish) that is used to ensure safety in the event of a fire. It's not just used at hospitals of course, but that's been my exposure to it. Well today at work there was a tiny incident involving my lunch, the microwave, and what may or may not have been a small piece of foil...

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It was a small fire don't worry. Nothing that required the activation of any alarms or response teams. And thankfully I was able to rescue my lunch before it became engulfed in flames.

My Misbehaving Molars & Tangent Training Thoughts

I had to see my dentist yesterday. Worst. Monday. Ever. My molars are misbehaving and have decided to deviate from the traditional vertical growth path. And while they should probably be commended for their self confident expression of uniqueness, they are causing a problem for my other teeth...

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So they have to come out. Well, the wisdom teeth do. As in, ALL FOUR OF THEM! I wonder if my wisdom is really connected to my wisdom teeth? If so losing all four is going to be a real problem...

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Monday was a rest day, which is typical for me after a weekend of long(ish) runs. I always have these grand plans to do yoga on Mondays, but recently that hasn't really been happening. Plus after my dentist appointment I didn't want to do much. I'm not a big fan of going to the Dentist (is anyone?), but after seeing the estimate for my treatment plan I realized that I probably should have become a Dentist ($$$$$). Oh well.

Aqua Therapy & the Countdown...

The stillness of the water in the pool this morning was the perfect contrast to my state of mind...

Aqua therapy was exactly what I needed

I think I'm beginning to love swimming almost as much as I love running. Almost.
You know you're a swimmer when...

I think I broke my muscles :(

I think I broke my muscles. My entire upper body is sore from my Push-up Challenge and it's only Day Two. I've been working on trying to get the proper form since Monday, but I still can't do them properly. I found a few tips on push-up progression online today...

My brother suggested that I do upper body weights at the gym to help build-up my arm strength. He also (along with EVERYBODY else that I asked for help with push-ups) suggested that I do the modified ones on my knees because I am, as he gently put it, "struggling to do them".

But I don't want to do the modified ones. I want to do the regular ones. So I'm having an internal temper tantrum about the whole thing. Maybe I should start with the incline push-ups??? I barely got through my attempts at 4 regular push-ups today (I've attempted 3 times), so I'm giving my broken muscles a break until tomorrow.

A Peek Into My StrideBox...

Summer is here!!! Well at least it seems that way based on the ridiculous humidity levels and outrageous B+ and A- temperatures we've been having! And because Florida gets so hot there are not many long distance race options to look forward to for the next few months (no one wants to run a half or full in 90 degree weather!)

Instead the race circuit is permeated with 5Ks and 10Ks, otherwise known as the "sprints" of long distance/endurance running (ok I may have totally made that up or read that somewhere; but it makes sense right?). I love the 5K and 10K distances as training runs, but not necessarily for races. I know the reason for that is entirely superficial (so you don't need to point that out). Mainly it's because the medals for the shorter events are not as nice as the medals for the longer distance races. There are a few exceptions of course, but generally speaking a half marathon medal is usually nicer than a 5K or 10K medal. I race for the bling as much as I race for the experience so medals are pretty high up there on the priority list.

So when people tell me about races that don't have medals I usually say...

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"Five" Friday Favorites!

I'm celebrating today! I've been worried about a potential issue over the past few days, but I got the "everything is fine" notification today...

So I'm in full celebration mode!!! 

It's the perfect way to end the week and start my weekend so I did a couple of things to help me celebrate:

#1 I got new swimming goggles! My old goggles are somewhere at the bottom of the ocean or wherever they drifted off to after they left my head during Swim Miami last weekend. I don't miss them. Today I invested in what I hope will be a great pair that will last me a long time...

When I was walking into Dicks Sporting Goods to buy the goggles I saw this...

I love this! Who will you be?

Yoga Monday version 4.20

First I want to say CONGRATULATIONS to all the Boston Marathon finishers!!!! I didn't get to watch the live streaming of the event but I did see a few of the highlights on various social media outlets throughout the day. I know this marathon was a "bucket list" event for a lot of runners and I'm glad that they were able to complete the journey...

I focused on yoga today for my typical "Yoga Monday" session. My muscles are a bit sore from yesterday's swim. And although the soreness is mild and tolerable I was really looking forward to doing yoga today. I spent some time working my way through a variety of yoga poses and physical therapy exercises...

My "issue" and the current state-of-affairs...

I broke into my piggy bank today. A while back I mentioned I had a piggy bank that I used to save for my full marathons. It started off as just one piggy bank for the Athens marathon trip because airline tickets to Greece are NOT cheap! But then I decided to start saving for Chicago too (mainly to facilitate my anticipated post-run food appetite and desire for an upgraded airline seat on the return flight home).
My Piggies...

Only one is an actual "piggy", the other is a "hippo"

However a few days ago I had this weird dream that my piggy banks caught on fire and I lost all my savings. In order to avoid seeing my savings go up in smoke I decided to open a dedicated "marathon savings account" with my credit union and keep the money there.

**DISCLAIMER: There are a few areas in my life where my selective OCD tends to shine. I use the term "selective" because my OCD doesn't apply to every aspect of my life (if you saw my closet you would understand). One area where it does apply, however, is with my finances. When it comes to budgeting and saving my OCD is like a humming bird that overdosed on caffeine ;) **

A Recap of sorts..

I completed a 1000m breaststroke swim on Thursday morning and I had the lane all to myself! There was a couple in the lane beside me so the pool wasn't completely empty, but I didn't feel rushed to finish so I actually enjoyed the workout a lot better than the one I did on Tuesday...

On Thursday evening I went for a walk. It took me a long time to finish, but to be honest I wasn't in a rush. It was a moment for me to decompress from the day. It was quiet and peaceful and just short of perfect...

It's times like these...

The Monday after Easter is a public holiday back at home (in Jamaica) so while I was in the midst of a very busy day at work, my sisters were enjoying the last day of their 4 day weekend (they also had Good Friday off)...

It's times like these that make me wonder if I should move back home

The Year of the Full: Chapter Four...Let the Celebrations Begin!!!

April is Kaiyu's birthday month! Let the celebrations begin!!! We are 10 days away from her birthday (using my traditional countdown system... i.e. not including today and not including the actual birthday) and normally all birthday celebration plans would be set by now, but she is still undecided about what she wants to do. It's partially my fault (I vetoed some of her initial ideas), but we should know what the plans are by this weekend. Hopefully.

April is a pretty busy month overall...

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12th: Kai's Birthday (I can't believe she'll be 14!!!!!)

16th: Chi Running Class (1/3... can't wait to get started!)

19th: Swim Miami (still not ready for this event)

21st: Anniversary (9 years and counting...)

23rd: Chi Running Class (2/3)

26th: MADD 5K (I was asked to run & represent a company that I consult for; pending registration)

30th: Chi Running Class (3/3)

I'm still "resting" so I didn't run today, but I did wake up and do some more physical therapy exercises this morning. I have not been motivated to go to the gym and swim. I have absolutely no idea how I am going to prepare for Swim Miami (which is in 17 days as determined by my countdown system). Although I have done a one mile swim before... it was in a pool... and it was several months ago. I'm 98% sure that I will make it through the event ok; and equally confident that I might be the last one to finish ;)

It's only been two days...

Since I'm taking a few days off from running to rest my hip I have found that my approach to the concept of time will have to change. It's only been two days, but normally my days are categorized based on whether or not I'm running. So a typical Tuesday would either be a "day that I run" or the "day before I run". But today was just like a plain old regular Tuesday. I tried to explain how annoying that was to a co-worker of mine and got this response...

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Taking days off also highlights the underlying void I've felt by not keeping an actual paper running journal. I have one that I'm waiting to use once I start my full marathon training plan in May. But until then I've just been tracking mileage on my Garmin and keeping an account of my cross training (or lack thereof) in my blog posts. It's not the same as having an actual journal that you can look at to compare weeks of training etc. Especially when you want to compare your cross training. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how empty or full you perceive the glass to be) I haven't done a lot of cross training since the beginning of the year so I don't have a whole bunch of stuff to compare.

Since I didn't have a journal to look at today, I kept myself busy on the Garmin website where I can see my routes and mileage accumulation summaries for various timeframes. It's because of this awesome feature that I had to face the realization that I was not going to achieve the goal I set to run #100miles in March. I've known for a while actually but the delusional OCD aspect of my personality wouldn't allow me to post that revelation until the LAST DAY of March (you know, just in case I was suddenly capable of running approximately 10+ miles a day for 4 days straight).

A Huge Mistake...

Back when I was doing physical therapy for my left knee injury/hamstring tendonitis the therapist told me that there was an issue with the alignment of my right femur in my hip socket and that my hips (in general) were weak. So in addition to focusing on my knee I was also given exercises to strengthen my hips. At the end of my physical therapy sessions (otherwise known as "when my insurance company decided to stop covering them"), I was given strict instructions to "continue to perform the exercises at home". I didn't listen. I should have listened...

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So this morning when I woke up and still had the same lingering hip pain that I've had since Thursday, I knew I could no longer ignore the warning my body was giving me. I wasn't very happy...

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It's Spring Cleaning Time!!!!

I don't actually wait until it's Spring to clear the clutter out of my life (I hate hoarding stuff). But Spring has already started and today seemed like the right day to do another "clean house" activity (which surprisingly enough doesn't mean I'll actually clean; I just throw stuff away).

It's also the period in which I clean up other aspects of my life (including my social media pages). I can't speak for everyone but over time I find that my feeds are filled with a lot of great stuff, but also negative garbage as well. I know occasionally people feel the need to vent on their digital soap boxes for all the world to hear (see/read). And we all have bad days so the occasional rant doesn't bother me (much). But I'm a little over the negative/ profanity filled/ disparaging posts. So it's time to clean up my feed...

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