Spring Marathon Goals: More mileage, more speed, one crazy training plan.

So it's been a few weeks since my half marathon in Dallas, and I've been trying to recover and rest up as best I can for my next marathon training cycle.

Pffffft--who am I kidding?!?  Of course I already set my spring marathon goal (for the Glass City Marathon) in the My Run Plan training app and it's already got me training like a beast this week.

This is my best beast mode.  I'm sorry.

And by "beast" I mean "just like I did at the peak of my half marathon training."  Check out my mileage chart for this week below:

App had me running 10 miles for a long run yesterday, which is what I topped out at during half marathon training.  Looks like a lot of big miles in my future....and I know this is the case because I downloaded my whole plan from the app and already freaked out at some of the workouts.  Because that's good for your motivation, right?  Right.

I also made the mistake of setting my time goal at 4 hours in the app, which means that the app scheduled some crazy insane workouts for me as a thank-you (but didn't adjust my paces accordingly...grrr).  Let me give you a breakdown of the workouts in this plan, just so everyone can see what I'm getting myself into:

• Speed work. Now, I always do speed work in any training plan I take on, and I'm always up for some 400s or 800s.  But it seems that this plan has me doing mile repeat after mile repeat after mile repeat....which thankfully are my fave.  Not really--I hate them with a white-hot hate.  But they're good for me, so I do them.  While consumed by hate.  So healthy.
• Tempo/Threshold Runs: Again, these are a normal part of any of my training plans.  However, when I looked ahead in the plan and saw "Run 1:20:00 @ 9:19" my brain kept trying to translate that into one minute and 20 seconds.  When my brain realized the truth about that number, I thought I could hear some soft sobbing and whimpering.
• Long runs: Again, a staple of any marathon training plan.  This plan has me maxing out at 21 miles for the long run, with two of that distance on the plan.  The difference this time is that I plan on throwing some marathon-paced segments into some of the shorter long runs (12-16 miles) just to get my legs used to that pace.  I really think that was one of the reasons I started to crash and burn at mile 20 last spring (along with my nutrition)--my legs had never actually run at my chosen pace a lot during training, so they weren't prepared to carry me at that pace for all 26.2.  Since the app is generating my paces based on my fastest result, it's actually predicting a 4:04 finish...and is assigning paces to workouts based on that slower goal time.  Since I want to hit 4 hours or below, I'm going to have to practice running at my race pace throughout the training cycle in order to nail that goal.
• One more day of running. Not that I always believe more is better, but I did give myself one more day of lower-mileage running per week.  Why? So I can have some short marathon-paced runs during the week.  These aren't going to be the same weeks as those spiced-up long-runs I mentioned earlier, but I did notice on the copious sub-4-hour training plans I looked at that they all had short marathon-paced runs during the week at some point.  If I start to get overtrained, however, these runs will be the first to go or modified into easy pace runs.
• 50+ mile weeks, anyone?  I made one last mistake of looking at the total miles for each week of my plan...and noticed there are some 50-ish mile training weeks.  I haven't done weeks with that mileage in a LONG time (since I trained for my first ultra), but they don't start happening until March..so hopefully my poor legs will have become accustomed to the abuse of this plan by then.

If you'd like to see my plan in spreadsheet format, feel free to click here.  Hopefully all this training and weight loss craziness will translate into a crazy marathon PR, but at a bare minimum I know it will translate into large dog being ecstatic to run one more day a week with me.

Well, he would look ecstatic if he would actually look at the damn camera.  But I know for a fact he wants you to read the non-learning learnings that always come at the end of one of my posts:

• I scoured the internet for at LEAST an hour looking at every sub-four marathon training plan I could find, so I'd say this training plan of mine is well-researched.
• And by "well-researched" I mean "like a high school student does research before writing a paper the night before it's due"
• If you need me in the month of March, leave a message because I'll be running thanks.
• I have a feeling my foam roller and massage chair are going to become BFFs this winter.
• I need to forget I ever saw the training plan ahead of time and just do each run as it comes...so I won't realize how much this is really going to hurt.

My own personal fitness truths

Rather than participate in the consumer frenzy that is Black Friday, I instead decided to do a little spin and weights this morning, heavy on the weights. (Ha! Get it? I crack myself up!)

I'm really enjoying myself, despite that crazy face I'm making.

I love the barbell but hate shoulder work.  As you can tell.

Yesterday I managed a 9 mile Thanksgiving treadmill turkey trot of my very own, which essentially involved running a few miles at half-marathon race pace sandwiched between lots of slow-ish running.

Stop-motion videos are my new obsession.  You're just going to have to deal with it until this phase of my life is over, people.  Sorry.

Anyhoo, whilst I was treadmilling away staring at the big blue wall, I found my mind wandering to all of the things I've learned from fitnessing these past 10+ years or so...those little annoying truths that can only come with a lot of trialling and erroring and succeeding and screwing it all up.  Below are a few I'd like to share with the world:

1) When running in the winter, it's never as cold as I think it's going to be outside.  Whenever I have to do a run outside in the dead of winter, I'm the WORST at mentally whining about how cold it's going to be and how much the run will suck.  And then I force myself to get dressed and get out there, and--lo and behold--after the 2nd mile I'm actually pretty comfy.  (Exceptions to that rule: All polar vortices as well as anyone who loves in northern Canada, Siberia, or Alaska.  Or anywhere else that's super duper cold all the time.)

2) Time slows down when you run faster on the treadmill.  Everyone knows a mile on the treadmill at 7:50 takes WAY longer than a 10:00 mile.  It's the rule of treadmill relativity, and I'm pretty sure it was referenced by Einstein somewhere in his research on general relativity.  Maybe.

3) On any race taking place on a bike path, you will encounter three racers running three-wide on the path so you can't pass easily.  You know those runners.  We all do.  They have their place in our universe much like the person counting out exact change at a register, drivers who drive 5 miles under the speed-limit in front of you when you're late for work, and speed bumps when you least expect them.

4) The second cup of coffee before a race is ALWAYS a bad idea.  But I drink it anyway and then get irrationally mad at everyone in the port-a-john line at mile 3 slowing me down with their urinary needs. 

5) There will always be people that tell me that I shouldn't lift weights or I'll get those big bulky muscles.  I had this happen to me in a hotel fitness center recently, when a complete stranger decided to offer that little tidbit of wisdom to me as I was using some 15 lb dumbbells.  I suppose these people think females shouldn't have visible muscles...or something.  Good thing I don't think that.  My goal is to look like I could kick someone's sweet patootie (and other parts of them as well) if they met me in a dark alley.

6) There will always be people that insist that because I run as much as I do I can eat whatever I want and not gain weight. What plays in my head when I hear this: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO What comes out of my mouth when I hear this: As someone who gained 20 pounds while training for a marathon, I can tell you that is most definitely not true.  But people still don't believe me when I say that, probably because sometimes people like to hang on to these weird little untruths despite evidence right in front of them to the contrary.

7) The treadmill resetting itself after you get off to answer the call of nature is one of the most excruciating forms of agony a runner can experience.  Especially if your running watch is always way off when you treadmill run and you don't remember what the mileage was on the treadmill before it reset itself like a total jerk.  The struggle is real, people.

8) That one nonrunning friend that can never remember that a marathon is always 26.2 miles.

Me: *runs a 10K race*
Friend: "How was your marathon this weekend?"
Me: "It was just a 10K race, not a marathon."
Friend: "But that's still a type of marathon?"
Me: "Well, it's a type of race, but it's not as long as a marathon."
Friend: "But marathons are races, and you ran a race!  So, how was your marathon?"
Me: "....fine.  It was fine."

9) The hubbs will never stop telling me that I run too loudly on the treadmill.  I have no idea what this really means, but him saying this to me does legally allow me to scream "CLOMPITY CLOMP CLOMP" at him on the rare occasions he's on the treadmill.  Because that's how good of a wife I am.

10) Whenever I sneak down to the workout room to do a treadmill run, there will always be a large dog there to judge me.  Mainly because he's there to guilt-trip me because I'm not running outside with him.

*judgementrays*

So there you have it - some of my running truths that I have cultivated over the years I've been fitnessing.  And here's some learnings from this post I cultivated in my brain for the last 5 minutes or so:

• Seriously.  Love me some barbell.  Loooove.
• I was thankful that I didn't die of boredom on that 9 mile treadmill run.
• Seriously - for the love of all that is holy and running-related, just because you run a lot doesn't mean you can overeat.
• Strong is sexy, people - having muscles is a beautiful thing.
• Having large dog judge you is not beautiful - it means he's going to destroy a random part of the house later.
• CLOMPITY CLOMP CLOMP CLOMP.

Tomorrow's workout: Technically I'm supposed to run 10 miles, but I'm going to go run a half-marathon in the rain because I accidentally signed up for a race series.  More on the blog about that later.

My Long Run Logistics

Saturday is my long run day.  Why?  Because trying to cram in a 2.5-3.5 hour run on a Sunday when you leave all your work and housecleaning until Sunday requires a day that is longer than 24 hours long.

During the summer I get up pretty early to get the run done before the heat becomes too obnoxious, and today was no different.  Large dog and I headed out the door at about 6:30 AM and got nine miles in before I could no longer stand the fact that he kept trying to pull me sideways into the ditch with him while I tried to stay moving in a roughly forward direction.  After dropping him off, I slammed out the last 8 solo, feeling pretty good even though by the time I finished it was nearing 10 AM and the sun was all out and starting to blaze.

My God I just want to run without having to counteract his sideways pull.

WHEE 17 hot miles

I honestly didn't feel that bad for the last 8 miles in the heat, as it wasn't humid and there was enough shade along my route to get some relief.  Also, I think I'm getting acclimated to the heat now that it's August and temps will start to cool soon.  Of course.

Anyhoo, a lot of people ask me how I can run all these crazy miles every Saturday.  Most often this question is phrased as "are you NUTS you run that far for fun?!?" but I'm sure they really mean "Gee, Terie, how do you prepare to run all of those miles each weekend like the badass you are?"  Well, to answer the latter, here's the lowdown on my long-run logistics:

1) Make sure you have good shoes.  And by "good" I mean "shoes you pulled out of the back of your closet and decided to run in since you haven't worn them for awhile and they're only 2 versions back from the current brand and model you wear."  In my case, I grabbed a pair of Brooks Launch 4s that looked like they could have used some fresh air.  Tiny dog seemed to approve of this choice as well.

2) Make sure you're wearing comfortable gear.  This means making sure you have clothes on that don't chafe but yet make a definite statement to all of the cars that pass you during your run.  The statement my gear made today was "It's hot and I'm fat and don't give a rat's arse what you think of me running around in just a sports bra and shorts because it is glorious that a shirt is not sticking to me--GLORIOUS I TELL YOU"

My gear apparently had a lot to say today.

3) Never ever ever (ever) forget to bring toilet paper with you on a long run.  I actually bring it on every run, tucked away in my running belt all snuggled up in a plastic bag so my sweat won't destroy it.  Because Mother Nature has the WORST timing for calling me.

4) FOOD.  MUST BRING FOOD.  While I always throw down a banana before I leave the house, I bring my two favorite flavors of gels with me that I buy by the case because I can:

If you're running long, you have to have some nutrition with you or you're going to be in a world o' hurt after about 90 minutes or so.  I may or may not have made this mistake and ended up curling up into a ball on the side of the road once. *ahem*

5) I back off the pace for the first mile or four.  I don't really know why this works for me, but I find that if I just run in the 10s for the first few miles I am pretty much banging out the last few miles well above my planned pace and feeling fantastic while doing it.  This was the case today as well:

Betcha can't tell which miles Mother Nature called me, can you?  Actually, I bet you can.  Glad I had that toilet paper.

6) I plan for my post-run recovery.  This means jumping into a bathtub full of ice-cold water and using my foot massager as I blog about all my running nonsense.

"NNNNNNGGGGHHHHH COLD"

While the ice baths are NOT PLEASANT AT ALL (and occasionally a curious cat falls in the tub with me), they have really helped my sore hip and the sore top of my right foot that had been plaguing me for weeks.  In fact, my hip and foot didn't bother me at all, unless you count when some insect-ish critter had crawled into my right shoe during a Mother Nature stop and then proceeded to bite the hell out of the top of my foot.  Stupid nature.

Speaking of stupid, this post is now over.  You know that because you're about to read about tomorrow's workout below.

Tomorrow's workout: Some spin and some upper-body weights; gotta keep working on the guns, after all.  Oh, and rest my legs or something.

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.

Oh speed work. You jerk.

Running a speed work session that consists of six 20m repeats (@ 7:17 pace) on either side of one easy mile inside on the treadmill like “TOO EASY GIMME THE HARD STUFF, TRAINING PLAN!”

Running that same speed work workout outside for the first time in at least 9 months like “Simon....I think my femurs are permanently shorter because of that run.”

Throw in all the hills I had to climb whilst I was speeding through the speed work and not only do my femurs feel compacted but my quads have been whining allday. Going to have to rethink that jumping HiiT workout I had planned for tomorrow, huh? 

OK I thought about it. I’m still jumping. Because I’m amoron. 

Four Pic Post - a July wrap-up

Pic #1:

Large dog, his tongue, and I ended our July by running an easy 6 while watching the sun rise this morning in some awesome mid-50s temps.

His tongue enjoyed that sunset.

Pic #2:

This run topped off our July total at 155 miles and some change.

I have no idea if this is good or bad.  Maybe good since I ran all those miles.

Pic #3:

My hip wasn't so bad this morning, but I was feeling some tightness toward the end of the run - which is why I did my hip and glute strengthening exercises this evening under large dog's supervision.

He's ready with toys in case I need those for my exercises.

Pic #4:

Female cat cannot believe how stupid this blog post is.  And how stupid this blog is because it has so much large dog on it, who just likes to eat her head when she least expects it.

SO MUCH STUPID EVERYWHERE

And she thinks it's stupid I included a picture of her in this post just because I needed a fourth picture.  Cats.  Sheesh.


Tomorrow's workout: 30 minute tempo - a gift from the My Run Plan gods.

Counterattack your own brain with these eating mantras.

Weight loss.  Buh.

That "buh" isn't because I'm not losing weight--I'm doing really well, with 8 more pounds to go for me to hit my weight loss goal of 20 total pounds lost.  In fact, I have to remind myself I'm doing REALLY well compared to 15 years ago.

The picture on the left is when I was 29; the right, present (age 44).  Not too bad for an old broad who used to look even older 15 years ago due to an unhealthy lifestyle of copious smoking and eating and running was only something that was done if a child in her science classroom was about to set themselves on fire when bunsen burners were in use.  (And wtf is up with those gross highlights??  Double buh to those hideous things.)

But even though I have to give myself credit where credit is due, I also recognize that I am my own worst enemy when it comes to losing weight, doing stupid things to sabotage my goals.  For some reason when I'm doing really super duper good at losing the pounds my brain starts justifying the resumption of eating crap food.  It uses a variety of tactics against me, but I have developed some nice mental mantras (counterattacks, really) over the years that work...that is, if I remember to use them. 

Mental Mantra #1: Eating <insert name of tasty yet woefully unhealthy snack here> won't get you where you want to be.

Thinking this helps me refocus on my goal and what it really takes to get there.  I not only want to lose weight, but I want to completely rock my marathon too--which means I also have to work in the next mantra.


Mental Mantra #2: Food is fuel. 

Saying this (not out loud...all the time) targets the "what" of what I'm really eating when I want to eat 20 Hershey's miniatures in under 60 seconds flat.  Will what I'm eating contribute to fueling my body so I can smash my next 12 mile workout before work?  If the answer is "no" (and it usually is), then I have an easier time backing away from the delicious calorie-bombs full of nothing but empty calories.  But I may cry just a little while backing away.  Just sayin.


Mental Mantra #3: But you're not even hungry.  Stupid.  Now put it down.

Hey, I never said these were kind, fluffy, soft unicorn-filled mantras.  Anyway, this one is usually particularly effective when I remember to think it, because it points out to me that I'm just eating to mindlessly eat...or I'm stress eating and need to find a different way to cope other than stuff my face.


Mental Mantra #4: You have to run a calorie deficit to lose weight.

Thinking this one stops me every single time because it reminds me that the goodies I want to shove down my gullet are "extra" calories not on my diet plan, and therefore will never, EVER help me lose weight no matter how many miles I've run that day.  Speaking of running...


Mental Mantra #5: Running is not an excuse to overeat.

This is one I had to practice getting into the habit of saying, mainly because it is the antithesis of my usual justification to pile on the craptastic goodies.  But now that it's a mental habit, it's been a useful phrase to make my brain say when it wants to use the fact that I ran that morning to eat horrible and horribly tasty things.

Mental Mantra #6: Live every day like this dog's face.

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

What can I say, large dog digs the runs--even the easy 7 milers like we did today.  Not an eating mantra, I know, but this is a mantra for LIFE, people. Go ahead and soak that stuff right up.


Like I mentioned before, these mantras have to become mental habits that replace old ones--old ones that have been in charge for far too long and that allowed crappy eating habits to rear their ugly heads.  And speaking of things rearing their ugly heads, here's the end-of-post learnings right now:

• I have the usual regrets about "why didn't I eat healthy when I was younger" don't you worry about that.
• I've been told my self-talk needs to increase in niceness.  But I'm a tough love kind of mental mantra person.
• The hardest thing I've had to re-learn is not to use my running as an excuse to overeat.  That's been a habit 10 years in the making (I've been running for almost 10 years now).
• But we should all go through life like large dog on a run.  #truth

Tomorrow's workout: 9 miles of tempo--FUN.  And by "fun" I mean BUH.

Some of my new normals.

This round of weight loss and this training plan have me doing some stuff I've never done before or stuff I haven't done/experienced in a long time.  For example....


...12.5 mile treadmill runs before work so epic I have to lay down to take my post-workout selfie...

I'm not trying to be sexy.  I'm just trying to save energy by not standing.

Doing a 6 mile easy run after all those 10-12 mile morning runs and being shocked at how short it was because normally I'm all like SIX MILES OMG IT'S GOING TO TAKE FOREVER....

ZOMG only six miles?!?

Having dinosaurs quietly roaring away on my ankles as I run to nowhere in front of the big blue wall...

roar.

Having female cat approve of my roaring socks...

Hyooman. You may wear those socks.
Now keep the rubs coming.

Actually tracking my weight religiously and getting on the scale every. single. morning (except when I travel and don't have a scale) even when I don't want to get on because I fear an increase and seeing a nice downward trend...

Trend: DOWN

...and finally, putting on a pair of size six pants this morning and not having muffin tops spill over the top and being able to breathe while sitting all day long.

Large dog is unimpressed and is wondering when he'll
get that treat he was promised earlier.

These things are my new normal, if you could call it that.  I hope they become a permanent normal (except for those 12 mile pre-work runs), much like these nonlearning learnings I put at the end of each post:

• Another new normal that isn't new is that I'm pretty much exhausted after work and blog super tired all the time.  You could probably tell.
• Everyone needs a pair of Roar socks.  Literally everyone.
• Female cat's approval of my socks is nice, but ultimately unnecessary as they had already been approved by large dog.
• Large dog barely recognized me in normal clothes and without a visor on.
• But I'm sure you recognize how awesome those red shoes are.  Yes, you do.

Tomorrow's workout:  Spin.  Weights.  Cross training goodness.

So I'm Running (and walking and biking and maybe crawling) the Year. Again.

In my last post I talked about all of my goals for 2019..well I recently added another one to the list:  I'm doing that crazy Run The Year thing.

I've done every Run the Year since it started, but I haven't always been consistently conscious about it.  In fact, last year they sent me the medal at the start of the whole thing and my brain went into shut-down mode about it and never thought about it again until I just moved that medal (it's pretty) to my new house.  Good thing I did end up with the right mileage at the end of 2018 or....nothing would have happened, really, except my sister who runs mocking me relentlessly.

Notice that's for all activities, not just running.  That's how I do a "Run" the Year; I tend to count all active miles because I know I'll injure myself if I run every day. By counting all my active miles I can challenge myself to be more active in the activities that I already do.  For example, in 2017 I only biked 470 total miles; in 2018 that number jumped to 810-ish. Now I know some people are really literal about the whole running part of the Run the Year challenge, but if live pigeon shooting was at one time considered an Olympic sport, I can consider counting my miles any way I want, thankyouverymuch.

Speaking of counting, there are definitely some things I did since last we met that could be considered workouts:

1) I did two spin + weight workouts, because of that whole spin addiction thing I've mentioned before plus why not give me more to do every day.  Please note that the hubbs got me a weight rack for Xmas and that the man gets me, he really really gets me.

2) I did a 6 mile "long run" that was in the MyRunPlan app thingie with large dog on a 40 degree (!) January morning where I did not have to wear gloves.  Plus, wearing tights plus a running jacket made me extremely overdressed.

The bigger the tongue, the better the run.

A peak between two vicious little hills

Not too shabby.

I'm really determined not to slack off on the workouts...and I am also determined to think of them this way (props to the I run to drink account on Insta for this).  Let's face it: most of life and what you do in it is all about the proper mental framing.

Now let's frame some learnings:

• Still having a hard time with sticking to that whole "bedtime" thing.  One thing at a time, I guess.
• If those Run the Year peeps send me a medal it's going to be hard for me to remember that it's not over already again.
• The only thing that wasn't awesome about running with large dog in 40 degree weather in January was him dragging me downhill on all the downhills at warp speed.  Again.
• My quads also think that wasn't awesome of large dog right now as well.
• It's time to end this post now, because I have to get up early and celebrate what I can do on the treadmill.

Upcoming workouts: Fartleks (lolol) tomorrow morning, of course more spin and weights, and more running.

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.