More random things running has taught me

Yesterday I did one freaking hard workout.  It was a threshold workout that consisted of three 2-mile repeats at at 8:43 pace, with a roughly 3-mile warm-up and a 1.5 mile cool down--roughly 10.5 total miles. 

While that workout is hard enough in and of itself, I made it harder by doing it outside on all the hilly hills around my house instead of on the treadmill.  This decision was made because temps were again in the mid-60s, and you just can't waste a summer morning like that by staying inside and staring at a blue wall whilst slogging away on the treadmill.

But as I was getting ready to go do the run, I didn't think I could do it.

The distance and the hills (not so much the pace--8:43 I can totally handle) and the amount of 2 mile repeats were all getting in my head and forming a big ball of doubt.  But I forced myself outside and you know what happened?  I totally crushed that workout.

I've been running for a little over 9 years now, and you'd think I wouldn't doubt myself before a run anymore--but nope.  But I also love proving to myself that I can do the things I think I can't do, which is the one thing that motivates me to get out and do a run that I am fearful of doing.  It's one of those things I've learned in my 9-ish years of running--that I can do more than I think I can.  It's also taught me some other things along the way as well, which shall now be enumerated in a bulleted list for your viewing pleasure:

• I'm not invincible.  Sometimes I get injured because I'm playing fast and loose with recovery days or run too many races without enough rest.  When injuries start to crop up, preventative maintenance is needed - such as ice baths accompanied by cats with WHOA faces.

• Getting enough rest is essential.  Sleep is essential for getting the most out of your runs and for recovering/getting stronger.  It is also essential for staying awake at work the entire time and not wanting a nap at 2 PM because you got up at 3 AM to get that run done.  
• You'll always feel better if you just shut-up and get that run done.  At least, that's what the master of naps says in our house.

Hyooman.  Go running so you GO AWAY

• Consistency is key.  I've said this in previous posts, and I'll say it again - if you want to be better at running, you have to run consistently and with the intent to get better.  That's true for running ot anything in life, really.
• It's a hill.  Get over it.  Yesterday's run was full of annoying little rolling hills.  But because I was running for a certain pace, I told myself to power through them (up them, really), get over the hill (literally and mentally) and get to the downhill part as fast as possible.  It wasn't always easy and I wanted to stop and cry several times (especially when I had to run 0.25 uphill *sob*), but I kept going because I knew my post-workout would be beating myself up mentally for stopping.  Plus, I'm training for Twin Cities, which is known for its hill back half--what better training could there be for it but an elevation profile that looks like this?

holy hills

• Running is always better with a buddy.  Even if that buddy is constantly trying to pull you sideways into a ditch while you're trying to run in a forward direction and slobbers on himself during the entire run.

So much slobber.

• Skinnier doesn't mean stronger.  I used to be 20 pounds lighter than I am now, as shown in the pic below after my 4th 5K ever about 9 years ago.  However, that girl couldn't run a marathon, grit her teeth through an ice bath, or even think about running all the crazy hills I do now.

And she definitely wouldn't have thought about running over 10-ish in just a sports bra and shorts before going to work on a Tuesday morning, like the girl below does on the regular.

Tomorrow's workout:  I still have one more thing to learn - how to get tomorrow's 17-mile long run in before the heat gets all crazy while still attending a 5K with my dog at 8 AM at a location 35 minutes away.  So, if anyone has any helpful suggestions about how to solve the word problem I just gave in the previous sentence, I would welcome them (other than "skip the run you psychopath").  Myself, I forsee a 4 AM start time in my future....so if you're in my area Saturday morning and you see a bobbing white light following by a green blinky one on a lone country road, it's just crazy little me running in the dark.  Nothing to see there.

Four pics, four sentences, four AM workouts.

This morning's workout was Cathe's Cycle Sweat, during which my cycle did not sweat but I sure as heck did.

What am I pointing at?  Who knows.  It was 5 AM when I finished.

I did this workout at 4 AM because I had to be at work super duper early this morning; you can tell how excited I was about that.

4 AM workout WOOT FAKE EXCITEMENT

Along with the copious amounts of sweat released by yours truly, please note the ice on the windows in the above pic from the polar vortex and the spike of my heart rate in the pic below:

Also note that male cat could give not a crap about any of this.

Action shot of male cat not caring.

No more pics, just learnings:

• I am happy I added spin workouts into my weekly workouts.
• But not as happy as that crazy excited picture, mainly because holy cow look at that heart rate spike willya?
• Male cat would be very happy if I left him alone.
• But that will not happen as long as he keeps sitting in front of the shower after my workouts.
• 4 AM workouts BUH

Tomorrow's workout: 9 mile run...maybe in the freezing cold with my new thermal running tights...or maybe on the treadmill.  The suspense is killing you, isn't it?

That feeling when...you have so many feels.

That feeling when you wake up and have to get dressed for a 4:30 AM treadmill threshold/tempo run so you take a selfie of yourself at that hour of course:

Huge runner thighs are a go for launch

That feeling when you just wish you looked like this again and wish Medifast could make this happen in two weeks (minus being covered in mud because man does that set off my eczema these days):

That feeling when you use your urge to look like the aforementioned picture to get your butt down to the treadmill so you can run 7 miles under a bare lightbulb amongst that awesome smelly basement smell:

That feeling when you actually run both of those 2 x 2 mile repeats @ 9:00 pace without stopping ONCE to go to the bathroom:

That feeling when you walk into the bathroom to shower after your epic threshold run and see this first thing:

Whut hyooman a little privacy please

But especially that feeling when you realize you have a lot more treadmill runs ahead of you thanks to Mr. Polar Vortex coming back for a visit:

negative 22 BUH

That feeling when the post finally ends and puts you out of your misery with some learnings:

• I'm very impatient with weight loss.  But as my wise mother once said, "It took a while for it to gain, it's going to take a while for you to lose."  *sigh*
• I kicked ass on that mud run, btw.  6 miles of obstacles in 53 minutes.
• I also kicked ass on that threshold/tempo run.  Didn't think I would be able to do both repeats because I tend to mentally break down during tempos on the 'mill.
• Speaking of mental breakdowns, SERIOUSLY NEGATIVE 22 OH COME ON MOTHER NATURE
• The cat, I can honestly tell you, is not worried about the weather at all.  Or tempo runs for that matter.

Tomorrow's workout: I have declared Fridays a "free space" to do whatever workout I want.  I'm leaning (or jumping, as it were) towards a total body plyometic workout, but who knows what 4 AM will bring?  Stay tuned.

5 miles, 5 things

For my penultimate run of 2018, I took large dog for a spin around my new neighborhood for 5 miles.  Here's a thing for each mile:

Thing #1: It is MUCH HILLIER around my new house. 

Hill be stalking me.

I know that hill doesn't look like much from the picture, but imagine tons of rolling hills just slamming into my feet.  On the bright side, Twin Cities (known for its hills on the back half) should be way easier in 2019.

Thing #2: Large dog was more than happy to yank me down the downhills at breakneck speed.

Running rookie.

Every time we hit a downhill large dog decided to pull me at warp speed, causing me to feel as if I was going to fall forward and slam my head into the pavement.  I'm pretty sure this is payback for running on the treadmill earlier in the week.  Just like you should always remember that I am a moron, you should always remember that large dog runs like a rookie and is kind of a jerk like that.

Thing #3: Even though I manged it in the previous pic, it is actually quite hard to get a mid-run picture of large dog and it not be blurry.

Case in point:

Must be one of them blurry snout hounds, I reckon.

Thing #4: Oh, and I actually ran this easy run right on the pace that little MyRunPlan app said I should.  Merry Xmas to me and all that jazz, I guess, for doing it without even trying.

Thing #5:  Male cat thought 5 miles wasn't enough to stop large dog from eating his head later.

Hyooman. 5 miles is NEVER ENOUGH

Enough things; time for learnings:

• I'm not kidding about all those hills around my new house.  It's going to be a whole new training experience kids.
• I'm also not kidding about how fast large dog yanked me down the hills.  Going to get a lot of downhill training too, it looks like.
• Blurry photos are large dog's thing, apparently.
• Male cat's thing is not getting his head eaten.  And, obviously, overeating.

Tomorrow's workout: Some strength and maybe some spinning because why the heck not, people.

Facetious cycling tips. Because why not.

Today I was doubly blessed with two workouts on the schedule - a weight workout and a cycling workout.

Well, that cycling workout wasn't a blessing--more on that in a sec.  But it was nice to lift some weights and throw that barbell around.

Barbells ALWAYS get a thumbs-up.

And, as usual, there were animals invading my workout on a regular basis.

Hyooman..heard you were being a wimp. As usual.

That was the easier workout of the two, even with animals darting around my legs while I was trying to do static lunges with 20 lb dumbells in each hand.  Why was the cycling workout harder?  I can sum it up in one word:

WIND. 

Freaking WIND I share my FIST at you.

All day I had been looking outside, working myself into a frenzy about the wind by looking at how much the trees were bending.  But because I have a duathlon in about 2 weeks, I knew I had to suck it up, buttercup, and do this ride.  So I bribed myself - I told myself I could ride into the wind as slow as I wanted...and hit up Dunkin Donuts afterward for a huge iced coffee.  I ended up biking slowly through the first nearly 8 miles straight into some gusty winds, which dragged my average speed down considerably.  But I'm not really caring at this point about the speed - the point was to get the ride done.  

And to help others get their ride on, below are some of my super-duper-special riding tips for you.  For whatever riding tips are worth coming from someone who still sometimes falls over when she stops because she forgets to unclip from the pedals.

Tip #1: Even though you have every intention of doing the ride in the early AM when the winds aren't as strong, always procrastinate so you go when the winds are stronger and then your ride is slower.  After all, riding into the wind builds character.  Or at least that's the lie the hubbs tells me every time I do this.

Tip #2: When you're riding in colder temperatures, ride a few rides with cold, numb feet before you remember to dig out those toe warmers you got in your stocking for xmas and actually, you know, use them.  Because cold frozen toes builds character too, apparently.

No frozen toes today, kids!

Tip #3: Never use earbuds while on a ride.  Instead, bring a little bluetooth speaker (pictured above) you can use to blast your music so you still can't hear any cars coming up behind you.  Safety first, kids.

Tip #4: When you come to a steep hill on your bike, don't drop down in gears--just pedal faster to get it over with.  Screw energy conservation for the rest of the ride; I need that hill to be OVER WITH NOW.

Tip #5: Always wear sunglasses while riding, even if it's not sunny.  This lesson was learned after several bugs-to-the-eyes last summer.  Gross.

Tip #6: Never ever attempt to take pictures of scenery whilst in motion on the bike.  I will die if I ever attempt this.  I don't know how all those cyclists I follow on Instagram do it and not die.

Tip #7: Always take post-ride selfies and allow your cat to photobomb them.  As if I could stop the cat from photobombing, anyway.  I'm too afraid they'll kill me in my sleep if I don't let them do whatever they want.

Hyooman. I "buh" this selfie.

Selfie SO BORING

Let's ride on into some learnings, kids:

• I do enjoy biking.  Except I would rather get a root canal that ride into the wind.  Ever.
• Those toe warmers were FANTASTIC.  And it was nice to be able to walk on warm toes after the ride.
• That tri suit is quite nice and comfy.  In case you were wondering.
• Mmmmm iced coffee.
• There's no stopping a cat in my house.  Not while they still have their front claws.

Tomorrow's workout: FARTLEKing.

It's all about perspective. And bad workout photos.

When I got up today at 3:30 AM to take the dogs out as per the uzhe, I was welcomed to this unwelcome sight for an early April dark morning:

BOOOOOOOOO

Which was better than 3 years ago today, when this was outside in my front yard instead of snow:

DOUBLE BOOOOOOOOO

That day I spent most of the evening in a dark basement with candles and an old arthritic scared dog under a blanket waiting for my house to be destroyed.  I'll take the snow, thanks, after putting that in perspective.

And now that I have some mental perspective, let me show you a few perspectives from the workout this morning.

#1: The perspective of me finding that premix for my upper body workout that has the abs inserted in the middle of the workout:

#2: The perspective of me choosing a lighter weight upper body workout because my taper started this morning...with me being completely flummoxed by the sheer lightness of the weights:

Is it really a weight if it's under 10 pounds?!?

#3: And finally, the perspective of male cat judging my choice of a light weight upper body workout.

Hyooman.  Your puny weights disgust me.

A final perspective from a learnings point of view:

• Yep.  I'll take snow over tornadoes any day of the week.  Or month of the year.  Or year of the decade.  You get the idea.
• Well, that light weight workout was effective, because my back is kind of begging for mercy right now.
• I think my little head scarfy-thing just increases the overall sexy of that is that post-workout selfie.  Really.
• Cats.  Nothing I ever do will be good enough.

Tomorrow's workout: Speed!  5 x 1000m!  Maybe outside!

Mother Nature needs to stop messing with my long runs.

Despite the fact that I did not blog last night due to the tired getting me right after I got home, I was a good little exerciser and did 30 minutes on the spin bike Thursday morning.  This morning was a total body workout - Cathe's Total Body Trisets.

Like usual, I did the total body express premix where you do all the triset groupings but only one set of each triset (if that makes sense at all...sorry to make this like a math problem).  And certain body parts are telling me right now that one set of each triset was more than enough, thankyouverymuch.  Male cat diligently watched me to make sure I wasn't slacking off.

Hyooman.  Not good enough.  

So, overall, two really good workouts, but nothing much to say.  Unless you want to listen to those body parts that are sore from this morning's workout, but they're just a bunch of whiners, anyway.  Wait until they have to go with me for a nice 15 mile run tomorrow - then they'll have something to whine about, for sure.  But here's the catch about that run - it's supposed to be 20-30 mph winds and in the upper 30s for pretty much the entire day tomorrow.

Well.  Of course it is.  Especially now that I've gotten used to running without worrying about frostbite developing anywhere on my body. By the way, it's also supposed to snow a little in the morning.

Of. Freaking. Course.

So now I'm forced to make a decision about this run: do it on the treadmill, or do it outside on Sunday instead, when spring is scheduled to return.  And this decision is making me all bummed out.

To help cheer myself up, I will instead dedicate the rest of this post to National Puppy Day by slapping down some gratuitous pictures of my dogs as puppies.  That way we can end this post in a big old "AWWWWW" and temporarily forget that Mother Nature is messing with my long runs with her whole "OK it's spring wait no it's not OK it's spring again whoops nope here's some snow for you" nonsense.

Large dog was once small...well, smallER.

Using those cuteness powers since day one.

Hyooman I dog too my picture goes here.

Just some little learnings:

• Some serious glute work in that Cathe total body workout.  If you think your glutes aren't firing when you're running, this is the workout for you.
• Just in case it was keeping you up at night, I still like my new indoor cycle.  Spin bike.  Whatever it is.
• I guess I better download a movie on my Kindle for tomorrow's treadmill run.  BUH.
• Male cat really is a third dog.  And if I didn't put his picture up there he would have killed me in my sleep, I'm sure of it. 

Tomorrow's workout:  I'd tell you but I already did.

A short and slightly stream-of-consciousness speed work post.

So I am beginning to suspect that my training plan hates me because these damn mile repeats keep popping up right after a 20 mile run.  Because large dog had chewed through one of my socks while I was sleeping, I got large dog and myself suited up and we headed outside to do this most dreaded of workouts together.

Mom.  No amount of running will keep your socks safe.

Although this run almost didn't happen because I got trapped for a little bit under a fuzzy, large, slightly weird cat.

No running. JUST KITTY RUBS HYOOMAN

But, as you already know, large dog and I did make it outside where, just like our tempos, we ran the mile repeats too fast.  Evidence:  Exhibit #1 below, where the pace is listed on top of the word "best."

Also note 5 freaking AM...and I was LATE getting out the door.

I was supposed to run these repeats at an 8:00 pace...but no.  My legs went all crazy and large dog was all "OMG FAST RUNNING" and this speed work got all out of control, people.  It was so out of control my calves were partying well after the run was over, and by "party" I mean "causing me great anguish," which forced me to wear sort-of-cute flats to work instead of my very cute high heels.  Oh, the tragedy.

But my calves feel better now.  Just in case you were wondering.  And also in case you were wondering...those little dips in the middle of the repeats are the graphical representation of large dog yanking me into a ditch without any prior warning.

Like a jerk.

Innocent large running dog or Ditch-dragging jerk?  You decide.

And let there be learnings:

• This short post took a long time to write this evening because I had to stop and handle a small dog poopocalypse.  This is my life, people.
• Seriously...wearing those flats was the best decision I made today.  Well, for my legs, anyway.
• There was just no doing this run on the treadmill this morning.  It was either do it outside or stay trapped under that cat.
• Will I ever not run outside too fast?  All signs point to no.

Tomorrow's workout:  Boot Camp!

The NyQuil in me is only allowing time for a 4-picture post.

Picture #1:

Unlike yesterday morning where I ditched my workout because I had a low-grade fever, this morning I sucked it up, buttercup, and did my total body weight workout while the cat supervised.

Hyooman you a wimp.  Workout harder.

Picture #2:

This made me pretty happy, because it opened up my sinuses long enough for me to give them a good rinse.  Didn't really want to know about my sinus rinsing?  Well, too late.

Sinus rinses for everyone!

Picture #3:

Hubbs and I went out to dinner and he ordered this delicious brownie with ice cream.  Normally, I would have inhaled it all before he could get his spoon pointed in the direction of the plate, so me not having any of this was a huge dietary win for me.

mmmmmmmmmm NOPE

Picture #4:

Small dog is bored and the post shall end now.

Bored by the boringness of the boring post.

Quick!  The learnings!

• That feeling when you get home and take NyQuil and then feel like everything else you do afterwards is racing the clock before you pass out.
• I mean, seriously - I never ever passed up a brownie until today.  I think my sugar addiction is waning.
• Even more seriously - how big is that little dog's mouth??  It's almost freakishly large.
• I think we've all learned that the world is a much better place without blog posts written whilst hopped up on NyQuil.  Yep.

Tomorrow's workout:  20 miler on the schedule...let's see how many of those miles actually get done.

The Bladez Fusion GS II exercise bike: An ode in bulleted list form

This morning's workout was 30 minutes on my still new exercise bike.  And, after using it for a few weeks now, I think I like it.  I really, really like it.  Like, really really.

Love at first ride.

So, why do I like this little Bladez Fusion GS II beauty so much? Get ready for some reasons:

• It doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles.  I had a fancier one that had an electronic screen, a connection to iFit, and pre-loaded workouts that promptly broke about 6 months after I had it.  For this purchase, I didn't want all that fancy stuff - I just wanted a bike where I could simulate more of an actual ride rather than something pre-programmed for me.
• It's freaking quiet.  Even female cat isn't freaked out by it, and she's pretty much freaked out by anything that makes any noise whatsoever.

Hyooman.  Leave us alone to bond.

• The seat doesn't hurt my sweet patootie.  A lot of people complain about bike seats, because, you know, it sure isn't like sitting in a nice soft recliner.  But this seat isn't too bad -- especially if you wear bike shorts with padding.
• The bike computer ain't fancy, but it tells me everything I need to know.  Don't need more than distance, calories, speed, and time.  Easy to reset after each ride, and it auto shuts off after a certain amount of time.
• So adjustable.  The seat can adjust up, down, backwards, and forwards, and the height of the handlebars can also be adjusted.  This is a good thing where you have a 5'8" cyclist along with a 6'3" husband of that cyclist who sometimes tries to literally get back on the bike.
• You'll get worked out.  I am always sweating like mad by the end of the first five minutes, and the resistance is such that it really feels like you're pedaling uphill on an outdoor bike.  Because when you're training for an outdoor race, that experience kind of helps.

The only thing I don't like are the design of the handlebars.  While the long bars are long enough so you can lay down and kind of simulate a ride on an actual tri bike with aerobars, they're too far apart and it feels all weird.  There are two shorter bars in the middle where aerobars would be, but they're like really short - not long so you can lay your whole arm on them.  Not too big of a deal, but I may have to grab a real pair of aerobars and slap them on the bike for a better handlebar experience. 

But maybe...before it gets to that point....I'll be riding outside instead!  A runner who is a wanna-be cyclist can only hope.


And maybe there will be learnings listed below:

• The bike is an amazing piece of equipment for a post-really-hilly-marathon low-impact workout.  Just a little FYI.
• The bike is also amazing for those mornings where you have to get up at 3 AM and only have time for 30 minutes of working out.
• It's amazing that I am even posting tonight because, once again, I am exhausted.
• The male cat is amazed at how stoopid the hyooman is that gets up and sweats every morning.

WHOA.  So stoopid.

Tomorrow's workout: Total body weights!  Barbells!  Yum!