recovery week

this week is coming at a good time. right after a tough week. and right on time. i get to sleep a little more, run a little less, but eat a little healthier. i have no trouble taking rest days or recovery days, especially when i'm tired. i don't get antsy. i don't get annoyed. i get rested.

this week, 8 is the magic number. 8 tomorrow, 8 between thursday and friday and 8 saturday, all at recovery pace. i will also get to enjoy friday with an old running friend who is passing through town, which is running at its best. running with friends is one of my top reasons to run.

recovery weeks are not just for the body, they are also for the mind. i have instructions this week to take care of my body - get extra rest, maintain a good diet, run less miles, etc. while my body is resting a little, so will my mind. there will be no thinking about maintaining a pace or not being able to. the fewer miles will allow for more sleep, more rest for the brain along with the body.

they say, and by they, i mean everyone who knows anything about training, that recovery and rest is as important as the actually training miles. rest is part of training. the body needs it. the mind needs it. and i'm excited about it. here's to recovery week!

hot spots, heat and horse flies - 11 weeks til tupelo

my build for tupelo continues. i've long been a fan of the high miles, and this week we started inching up there. since the snickers marathon in albany, i've done no more than 10-12 for my long runs, mostly 10's, with anything up to 8 during the week, even with speed work. i have 11 weeks until tupelo, plenty of time to ramp it up. along with the miles, this week was complete with heat, hot spots and horse flies.

this week started with 8 on tuesday at marathon pace plus 30 seconds. if you aren't up at 5 a.m., then you probably don't know that it's hot at that time of the morning. one trade off with running so early is you trade in the temps from the sun for thicker humidity. there is absolutely no movement in the air that time of the day, but you don't have the sun beating down on you. it's really a no win situation because whenever you run this time of the year, it's hot. the first 5 mile loop was ok tuesday. i held the pace i needed to, but after the short water stop, the run went south. holding the pace was a major effort.

thursday was a 10 miler. we would do two 5 mile loops. same story, different day, however, i think we felt worse on thursday. we were close to the pace on the first 5, but on the second, we were beyond ready for it to be over. i haven't done this in a long time, but there were 3 short walk breaks. there you go, that's how difficult it became.

so i was a bit nervous heading into today's 14. the last two haven't been successful, and i really needed today to go well. it was 79 degrees at 5 a.m. that's amazing. i decided i would take the run slow at the start, ease into my pace. i did just that. after about 2 miles, i was on the target pace so all i needed to do was hang on for 12 more miles. after the third mile, my legs finally started to open up, and i began to gain a bit more confidence about the run, although keeping in mind the heat and rest of the run to come. we picked up a few friends for parts of the run, and some horse flies. it was that time of the morning when they were looking for someone or someones to pester. luckily they either found someone else to hang out with or gave up on us after a while. i felt strong and solid for most of the run, but in the last 2 miles i began to fade. i still held on to my pace and finished the run right on pace. it worked out that there was about .6 to walk to get back to the car. it was a great way to get a bit of recovery and rest before i piled up in the car to go home.

this week i battled heat, today the horse flies and all three days, hot spots. i need to buy stock in body glide. no matter how much or where all you put it, it's never enough. i have spots on my rib cage, my waist, my arm and my legs. i love the summer for all the fun things like tans, swimming, snow cones, but i despise it for chaffing, dehydrating, and my runs suffering. i'm longing for winter...

tupelo build

my new blog background makes me think of my childhood and my grandmothers. they were very traditional and quilted and sewed and stuff like southern grandmothers do. that talent didn't make it passed my mom to me, but i am happy to enjoy the things they made. i have one of my grandmother's quilts and an afghan that my mom made me, and i plan to continue to pass those down in my family.

this has been a good week of training. i am starting my build for tupelo, and the summer is continuing its build too. i'm beginning to become a bit more acclimated to the temps, but it's a slow process. i ran 8 on tuesday and was supposed to do 10 on thursday, but the humidity and warmth got to me a little so i stopped at 8. i would rather do 8 and maintain my pace than push for that extra 2 miles and struggle. saturday was a 12 miler and again, i chose to stick with my run plan for that day, much to the delight of coach james. i maintained the scheduled pace throughout the run. as coach says, and i'm learning to say, today is not race day. i'm learning a lot about being smart with my training and what to do as well as what not to do.

i'm also learning that running alone is perfectly ok. just like anything else, habits develop, and this is something i'm developing again. there are times when my training schedule will be different than what my friends want to do, and i have to make sure i get my runs in. so when those moment arise, i go alone. mostly this is on sunday when i do my recovery runs, like this morning. recovery works work fyi, in case you aren't doing them. i usually start these runs feeling stiff and tired, but end them feeling a little more energetic and loose. they definitely have a purpose in a training week.

i finished this week with 34 miles and 2 spin classes. i'm really focusing on my running for the first time in years, meaning, i'm mostly just running and limiting other cardio or intense exercise. hopefully it will serve me well come september and january. this week will be a slight ramp in mileage, and i'm looking forward to it! i have a strange love affair with high miles.

vacation and tupelo

the heat has taken the wind of my sail and put the block in my writing. it's hard to write about running when it's the same old story - it's hot. i will not dwell on the heat in this post, just like i'm not dwelling on the heat in my training.

since i last wrote, let's see, i've been running, went on a vacation and switched over to the dark side.

with the record temps these last few weeks, coach james has had me pull back a bit on my paces, including holding off on tempo runs for a while. we have had above average temps here lately and even at 5 a.m. it's tough. i have also started my build for tupelo. it's been a while since i've done more than 12 miles, and well, next week i will get to run 14 again. i have kinda missed it. i have a close relationship with a long run

the best part of my hiatus from blogging was my short vacation to the beau rivage. terri and i went down for 2 nights and 3 days of bliss. we ate, napped, sunned, napped, ate, sunned, watched movies, sunned, ate, napped, ate, napped, etc. you get the idea. it was a wonderful relaxing weekend full of my favorite indulgences. we spent two amazing days at the pool and got some good rest, and ended the trip with a amazing massage. i came back savagely tan, relaxed, and possibly 5 pounds heavier.

lastly, i switched over to the dark side. i am now all mac. i purchased a macbook pro, and just like i was one of those with the iphone, i am now one of those with a macbook. i'm in love. once you go mac, you never go back. it sure made my class today much more fun.

thunderstorms and treadmills and books!

it's been a quiet week on the training front, but that doesn't mean i haven't done anything. after last week's recovery, we were slammed in the face with new, hotter temperatures. coach james decided to hold off on speed work until i am a bit more heat acclimated. i promise, this post won't be about the heat, but this time of the year, weather seems to be a common topic among runners. heat or storms or the rare cool front.

tuesday, the usual speed work day, was a simple 6 mile run at marathon pace plus 30 seconds. after struggling through the runs last weekend, for some reason, it felt a little cooler tuesday morning. my run ended up being just shy of +30 seconds, with the last few miles at marathon pace almost. i felt great, didn't feel overheated, so i went with it. i scaled back in spin class this week after a rough morning on monday. my legs were junk, and i know saturday and sunday were to blame. wednesday i felt much better and amped back it slightly. thursday's workout was to be a ladder, 7 miles, starting at 10, dropping 30 seconds each mile until i got to 8:30 and then back to 10. i woke to storms, lightening, and my power blinking off and on. i couldn't tell if it was raining, but all i heard was thunder, and all i saw was lightening. a few texts between the group sent us all back to bed. by the time the storm would have passed, i probably wouldn't have had time to do the workout and get to work on time. dang work! after consulting with james, the plan was to hit the treadmill after work at the payne center.

now, i have a treadmill at home, however, i almost can't stand it. when i'm on a treadmill, i need to be completely distracted from the fact i'm on the treadmill. runners are mental, but i'm probably the worst, it's no secret. and the treadmill is one of my weakest spots. the plan was to do 3, and then go from there. if 3 was all i could manage, then success. if 4, hooray! if 5, i was done! 3 went by slow at time, and fast at times, depending on what came on the ipod. 4 was a bit easier, and 5, well i was almost done. i played with my speed a bit, nothing faster than a 9:20 or 9:30, and cruised in the last 2 miles. on the treadmill, my mind is telling me that my legs hurt, my hips hurt, i can't breathe, i'm tired, etc. it tries every trick in the book to get me to throw in the towel. it tried yesterday, but i fought the battle and won. i was a little proud of myself, and proud i did the workout. anything mental i can tackle is confidence in the bank.

on the way home, i treated myself and picked up my favorite grilled chicken salad from crescent city and enjoyed my night on the couch, READING! my friend jenny maul (hello jenny) turned me on to the hunger games, and i finished it in just 4 days. i'm now starting the second book of this trilogy, catching fire. i can't put them down! i really love to read, and with school starting back next week, it might be a short lived luxury, but i plan to keep it around as a moment of sanity in a hectic and short 2 months of class.

the plan today, enjoy my rest day and prepare mentally for tomorrow's tempo. i will be visualizing success, nailing the paces, and the feeling of victory at the end of the workout.

summer, it's a love/hate relationship

recovery week ended with a heat wave! last tuesday i ran in a long sleeve shirt and 45 degree weather. thursday, it was warmer, but still upper 50's. by saturday the fun was over. and i think it's over for good. i told james this week that i wish it would just get hot and stay hot. as much as i love the cool snaps, it just needs to go ahead and stay warm so i can start getting used to it.

saturday was tough. it was still recovery week, and i was scheduled to do 12 miles easy. i felt really heavy and had very little energy so i dropped back to 10. i had NO trouble keeping my pace where it was supposed to be for the recovery. it's amazing how much the weather affects your body. james had a great post about that last year and reposted it today. you can read about it here. it's interesting to know what goes on inside your body as the temperatures rise and fall.

sunday was tough too. i woke up and did the 6 recovery miles early, grabbing some water at about the halfway point. i managed the pace a little easier, but my body still felt the heat. i was happy to spend the rest of the day off my feet, relaxing by the pool and on my couch in the AC. i think we are in for a rough summer! i have a love/hate relationship with summer. i love that campus is quiet with students being gone. i love the fun things summer includes like the pool, the lake, movies, sugar free snow cones. but i hate how hard it is for me to run. that hate equals all the fun things i mentioned above, that's how strong it is. but as much as i hate it, there is nothing i can do about it except deal with it!

this week is back on with intensity, and it will be challenging with the lows being in the upper 60's and the humidity being high. the a.m. runs are like a double edged sword. you avoid the sun and the hotter temperatures, but you get the highest level of humidity during the day. i definitely do better before the sun comes up.

i have one more week before school starts back. i'm going to ENJOY it! i have a great book to read, and a long weekend ahead that will include some more pool time! and that is pool time with a float and a radio.

4.0 and 3 semesters to go!

i don't normally write something two days in a row, but i'm in a pretty good mood today so i thought i'd put a little something down.

monday is monday and they usually are tough, but a monday where you find out you got another 4.0 makes a pretty good day. i have NEVER had a 4.0, at least since 9th or 10th grade maybe. at this stage in my life, after being out of school for 15 years, i'm pretty jazzed. i don't consider myself a great student, but i do think i'm working a little harder than i did during my undergraduate days. i'm old, what else do i have to do but study and write papers? well, i could think of a lot of things, but not all are productive. i have realized that my fellow grad students in my program might look at me like i looked at those 'non-traditional' students back in the day. however, i try to break the stereotype and don't ask for extra homework or make us stay late with tons of questions. in fact, i'm as eager to get out as they are, if not more. they are the ones staying late and asking questions.

so at 38 (sigh), i'm 2 for 2 with 4.0's. now i want to keep the streak going and finish my masters with a 4.0 GPA. i have 5 more classes, so it's doable, but it won't necessarily be easy. on may 31 i start back to summer school with a class on tuesday and thursday mornings from 8 - 12:30. it's a five week class, so that means a lot of work in a short amount of time. i also start a night class that will go through the first of august, 10 weeks i believe. that's still a short amount of time. the good thing i guess is the same professor teaches both classes - maybe there will be mercy. ha!

on the training front, it's recovery week. i started out my day with an easy 8 mile run with terri and chris. we had some good talks as well as a good run. i think these runs where you talk about life and get off your chest the tough stuff you're dealing with are some of the best. not only do you let your legs recovery, but your mind is refreshed. i get a few more of these this week, and i'm looking forward to them.

for today, i'm going to enjoy work, then go celebrate with a few friends after work over dinner and then a movie.