Yoga Monday Version 6.22

Although I'm still on Cloud 9 (yes, still) after completing my 16 mile run on Saturday, the strategic planning has already started for my 18 mile LR in two weeks. I figure I might as well start the mental training from now...

I spent most of yesterday trying to walk like a normal person and then I took my daughter & niece to see the new movie "Inside Out"...

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

A #Silent Night Sunday...

As you can see I'm still on my Christmas song/carol blogpost title kick. But today's post is going to have a bit of a twist since silent night implies that I shouldn't be "talking" in this post (which kinda defeats the purpose of posting doesn't it?) So instead I'm going to post my pics for today with a simple #hashtag intro :)

#MilepostMotivationforthismorning

The Last Long Run & My Six Songs...

This morning was home to the last long run before my final half marathon of 2014. It was a struggle. I'm not sure what's going on with me lately. That's not true...I kind of know...but I really need to figure out a way to stop being my own worst enemy...

(the "anyone" referenced above includes myself)

The scenery on the beach this morning was overcast, windy, chilly, and beautiful...

The end result of my run...

I started to feel left lateral knee pain during mile 4 and so I slowed down a lot (from 4:1 to 2:1 intervals). I was going to stop at 5 miles and just "call it a day" because I'm actually tired of having to deal with knee pain when I run [feeling frustrated]. Then I decided to "suck it up" and finish the 6 miles my running group was scheduled to complete...

Pace per mile breakdown...

Post run selfie...

Next week is my taper week and I'm looking forward to tapering and doing some easy runs, maybe some yoga and stretching in preparation for next weekend. As much as I want to PR at the Palm Beach half, a lot will depend on what's going on with my knee...

*****

And now....it's time for my weekly installment of the 10 "Day" YOU Challenge!

I go back and forth between "I love listening to music when I run" and "I kind of enjoy the distracting huffing and puffing of my own breathing". I've been trying to find songs that have a beat that will help me with my pace when running, but these are also songs that I simply enjoy listening to (and surprisingly no country music made the list). Sometimes I keep one song on repeat and that also helps me stay focused on a steady rhythm during my running intervals.

So the top 6 songs I listen to when I run (based on my music app's "Top 25 Most Played" playlist) are...

1. Magic (by B.O.B featuring Rivers Cuomo)

2. Run This Town (by Jay Z, Rihanna, Kayne West)

3. I'm Into You (Jennifer Lopez featuring Lil Wayne)

4. It's My Life (Bon Jovi)

5. Candy Rain (Anthony Lewis featuring Billy Bang)

6. Animals (Maroon 5 featuring J. Cole)

My musical taste is quite diverse as you can see, but these songs have the right tempo and keep me upbeat (which comes in very handy on the Sundays I'm running double digit long runs). 

Happy Sunday!!!

Is anyone running the Palm Beach half or full marathon next weekend? Or any other race?

Consider everything...

My new cross training routine started today. The gym workout sessions and swimming are on hold for right now (I should probably save some money and put my membership on hold too) so I had to come up with other ways to stay motivated for cross training. I really wanted to run but I'm running tomorrow so I decided to go for a walk...I needed to clear my head anyway and walking (as does running) helps with that. The musical selection collage for this morning's cross training session...

(It's just one of those days...)

I walked for two miles. I didn't wear my knee brace because I figured that would ensure I didn't run... well that didn't quite work and I still managed to squeeze in a few (like 4 or 5) short distance (like 50-100 meters) running sessions. Fortunately my shins and knee felt fine throughout the run and after, so I should be all set to do my official mid-week run tomorrow.

After my two miles I went inside and did a short wall sit ...

...not exactly a great session but I haven't done it in a while so I can't really expect anything else.

Then I did my sit-up challenge. I have been way behind with this challenge. I may redo it for December since I haven't been as disciplined with it as I should have been so far this month...maybe I should redo the sit up and wall sit challenge for December...is that too much??

The scheduled # of sit-ups for today (the 18th) was 90...

I decided to do 5 sets of 20.

My cross training morning routines will probably start to look more and more like this. I'm going to try and get a yoga mat so I can incorporate yoga into the mix as well. Hopefully the cross training will help me focus on other areas/muscle groups that I need to strengthen to become a more successful runner. With that, I will also need to focus on other types of runs (tempo etc) for my mid-week sessions so that I can develop a more comprehensive training plan....

For the past few days I've been trying to keep myself distracted from a whirlwind of emotions by focusing on ways I can improve my training. I want to be a strong runner and so I need to train harder and improve both speed and endurance in order for that to happen...

...but I'm going to do it at a pace & with a training plan that works for me & my injury prone body.

Thursday November 20th is Hug A Runner day (I didn't even know that was a thing) and this year proceeds from the virtual race registration will be donated to the Girls on the Run charity...

I'm not usually into virtual races but I know this charity and they do great stuff for girls in local communities. I'm trying to see if I can get a group of runners together (I know it's short notice) for a fun run on Thursday evening. That really only gives me tomorrow to plan but hopefully people will get excited and make the effort and commitment. The website to sign up for the virtual race is www.hugarunner.com. If you want to learn more about Girls on the Run you can check out their website HERE.

Are you participating in Hug A Runner day?

What's your favorite way to cross train?

The Quartet & Running tech-less

I am happy to report that I made it through my running session this morning doing the 4:1 intervals and I did not die. There was a moment during mile 2 when I'm fairly certain time stopped and my interval timer was glaring at me...just daring me to pause it... But I didn't and I survived the whole ordeal relatively well...

I'm trying to increase the duration of the mid-week runs (but still focusing on time, not distance) so I ran for 35 minutes today...

Pace per mile break down...Pretty even splits throughout...

I rarely run with music nowadays, but I was in a Country music mood this morning so this was my theme song quartet...

Post-run selfie...

(I'm holding the phone with both hands because I literally could not keep my right arm up long enough to hold the phone and take this picture...."Houston we have a problem"..fortunately the shoulder pain got better throughout the day)

Post-run recovery...

(this yoga pose has made a HUGE difference in how my legs feel post-run)

Because my focus is on constant improvement and getting stronger as a runner I utilize objective data a lot. That basically means that I rely heavily on my interval timer and Runtastic App...

Recently there have been a few runners that have posted their plans to do a "tech-free" run leading up to their big race (whether that be the NYC Marathon (@adamrunsnyc) or some other big event). And a lot of my 5K friends don't focus on devices during their races at all. One of my friends said "Well I know how many water stations there are and how close the last one is to the finish so I just count them down during the run". It's an interesting approach and to a large extent allows you to take in the scenery a bit more. Along this same theme Runners World posted an article about doing a "tech time out" during your run...

According to the author you might surprise yourself with a PR if you lose the devices and run "tech-less". I'm not 100% confident that will work for me because I think time moves a lot faster in my head than it does in real life...so I may think I'm doing better (running faster) than I actually am. Or (even worse) I may expect to do better than I actually can at the moment (the endless expectation vs reality debate). I guess essentially the overall point is to encourage you to just enjoy the run, rely on how your body feels to guide you and your mental focus to push you...

On an unrelated note...
Getting ready in the morning is always an interesting venture. Most mornings I drop Kai to school and as she accelerates into her teenage years she keeps me both busy and entertained. This morning, as she was expertly designing the "hairstyle of the day" in the mirror, I stood beside her pouting because (again) I was reminded that she is taller than me. Normally she gets overly excited at my recognition of these objective signs that she is indeed growing up, but this morning the conversation played out a little differently...
Kai: (looking at me through the mirror) "I'm much more than 1/2 an inch taller than you now"
Me: "Sigh...yes I know"
Kai: (with as much compassion as she could muster despite the glee she was feeling) "That's because you don't drink your milk Mommy"
LOL I nearly died laughing. It's great to know the pearls of wisdom bestowed on her at age 4 still resonate to this day...so much so that she felt the need to remind me of them ;)

What's your favorite running theme song or music genre?

Running tech-less...yay or nay?