Finally A Good Training Week!

This week's training was pretty decent. I got through all my scheduled running mileage (except for one run that I cut short) and a strength training session. I haven't done any swimming yet but I'm hoping to do that tomorrow. This morning I did 12 miles for my long run. I was the only one in my running group that was scheduled for anything over 8 miles so I ran 4 miles by myself and then 8 miles with my group...

And I decided to try hydrating with my new addiction...

I put my hydration pack (filled with coconut water) in the freezer overnight so it was ice-cold for my run this morning. It was amazing!!! It's hard to find the right hydration balance for humid runs because you want to ensure you're getting enough fluid, without putting yourself at risk of nausea and vomiting because your stomach is too full. Recently plain water has been making me nauseous, but the coconut water this morning was perfect. 

98 Days...

The Berlin Marathon is now officially "less than 100 days" away...

I had a great blog post planned for the 100 day mark, but training wasn't going so well and I felt less than motivated to blog about it. Somehow, between last year and now, I forgot how much I hate training in the Summer. Seriously, this humidity sucks. And the bugs... well let's just say they are constantly enamored with me (it's not a mutual feeling and they don't seem to be getting the hint no matter how much bug spray I use). It's mostly the humidity and bugs that have made the past few weeks less than ideal, but adding to that is the fact that I have not been sleeping well. I can't even remember the last time I felt well rested 😩.

Last week I changed my work schedule to four 10 hour days (Mon-Thurs) to facilitate my desire to get a second job (because 1: Kai's college expenses are only two years away & 2: race entry fees don't pay for themselves). The change in schedule will take some getting used to, but hopefully by the second or third week of the new schedule I'll feel better about it. In addition to changes at work, I also started strength training last week Wednesday. It was a very sad attempt at core work and squats, and at the end of it I think I broke my quads...

My Legs Need Ginkgo...

I recently started taking Ginkgo Biloba because my memory really sucks. A lot of that is probably due to stress (actually, 99% of that is probably due to stress). And the fact that my brain does a lot of triaging when it comes to my memories and sadly not a lot of information meets the "this is important to remember" threshold (even when it is important). It's usually not too much of a problem because I make notes and send myself emails and calendar reminders so I don't forget to do things. But there are times when it is a huge problem... like when I woke up one morning and completely forgot what my iPhone password was. Aaaaand I entered the wrong one so many times that my phone got disabled. Aaaaaand I didn't remember what my iCloud password was because I made a note of it in my iPhone.

The memory issues aren't new. I've always had a bad memory (at least as far back as I can remember). But it's been getting progressively worse and I think it's starting to affect other areas of my body, like my legs. I mean, that's the only logical conclusion I can make because my legs seem to have forgotten what marathon training is actually like!

source

This week marks the third week of Berlin Marathon Training (which is also the first week of Chicago Marathon training) and things are NOT going well. The first two weeks of training have come and gone and I feel LESS fit now than I did before I started. I know that the humidity certainly doesn't help with my pace (it's been insanely humid recently) but I'm also getting nauseous and vomiting after my runs... my legs constantly feel tired and heavy... and I'm always hungry even though (believe me) I have not been running that much.

We Are Ragnarians!!! {Ragnar Niagara Race Recap: Part 3}

[This is the third and final installment of the race recap so if you haven't already, you should read Part One and Part Two]

On our way to the finish line we stopped at our hotel and checked in, off loaded our bags (filled with two days and three runs worth of dirty running clothes and gear), and made our way to the finish line parking area. We had some time to kill so we decided to check out the finish line festivities, which included massages...

(which were pretty good)

And a nice view of the rapids...

Music and other entertainment...

And food...

At previous Ragnars teams got a coupon for food after the finish. Unfortunately... that was not the case at Ragnar Niagara. So that was a little disappointing.

Generic White Van... with magnets {Ragnar Niagara Race Recap: Part 2}

<<If you haven't read part 1 of the Ragnar Niagara race recap you should check it out before you read part 2 😉>>

We made a quick stop at Walmart to get markers to decorate the van after we had lunch (before we got to Exchange 12). We didn't really have a theme for the van decorations so we stuck with an authentic representation of our home on wheels for the remainder of the race...

And then we did the traditional team roster van display...

When we got to Exchange 12 Van 2 was already there waiting for Ray (runner 12) to finish his first leg. Exchange 12 is another major exchange since that's where Van 2 turns the slap bracelet over to Van 1 for the start of our second legs. But again, just like Exchange 6, Exchange 12 was kind of small...

While we were waiting for Ray to finish running, the ladies of Van 1 took some selfies...

Eventually we heard the volunteer call our team number and it was time for Leg 2 to start...

Once Ray handed off to me I started on my 5 mile run for Leg 2. The course had changed a little from the original route because of some flooding in the area, and I didn't really pay much attention to the elevation before the change, but the revised second leg was very very hilly...