A lazy short post about a not-so-lazy 13 mile treadmill run.

Hubbs has canceled all outdoor running for me as long as it's below zero.

He is so unreasonable; he acts like it's all chaos out there just because it's cold.

But it's not.  It's just an increased risk of a little frostbite.  Hubbs always overreacts.

Anyway, since I couldn't go outside and run and I had a ton to do today, I decided to get up at my normal wakeup time and get those miles in on the treadmill at 5-ish AM. 

5 AM SUCKERS.  Only I'm really the sucker.

The animals were a little weirded out.

You're going running instead of playing with us at 4 AM
and waking up Dad?

Weirdo Hyooman.  Go back to bed.  It's Saturday.

But I didn't let freaked out animals stop me from getting my first long run done on the training plan.  My strategy was the same as last weekend - do one easy mile followed by 2 faster miles.  That way my brain can split the workout into smaller chunks (4, to be precise for this morning with a mile easy as a cool down) so it can fool itself into running in place for 2 hours without realizing that's what it's doing.  It worked well, especially since I popped in a good movie (Hidden Figures) to watch during the run.

Afterwards, I was pretty impressed with myself-not only for making it through all the miles, but getting up that early on a Saturday and, you know, not farting around for hours before actually doing the run.  Although full disclosure:  I promised myself Starbucks if I finished all 13 miles.  And I always keep my promises.

I was so impressed with myself about this run that I let Squiggy (our female judgy cat from the picture above) know I had done all 13 miles:

The big one-THREE baby

But she was busy and couldn't be bothered.

Learnings?  Yeah, here are a few:

• It was a busy day of running and errands and working on my new house, so a few pictures and sentences are all you get today.
• I was impressed that I did that entire run-and I only had to stop two times for pit stops.
• I had to re-take my "one-three" picture after I realized I was really making a "three-one" for everyone instead.
• Squiggy needs a lot of rest because, after all, she has to deal with this stupid human all day.

Tomorrow's workout: Upper body weight-lifting goodness!

Day 2, Week 14: I have to go pack for my marathon, so here's some memes for you. And a lazy cat.

Did some Cathe upper body weights again this morning, only this time it was an upper body workout from her ICE (Intermediate Conditioning Extreme) series.  Male cat was supposed to workout with me, but I caught him lounging around instead of pumping iron.

I told him the weights were way lighter than normal since I was tapering, but he said he was already booked for lying around in my way during the workout and expelling carbon dioxide and taking in oxygen.

Cats.  You can never depend on them.

But you can depend on Cathe to give you a solid workout even with those puny weights listed in the picture above. Even though the weights are light, the exercises and number of reps are such that you will feel like you worked out.  Do I feel completely badass like I do after heavy weights? No.  Do I feel like I got a nice little workout that got my blood moving?  Absolutely.

And I am absolutely going nuts tapering.  I've already told you that I am way overpreparing in response to this taper.  Add the fact that this is an out-of-town marathon, and the stress of having to pack and get myself to the bus station and then make it to the airport on time and then go to the expo and make sure I get enough sleep so I can get up on time and make it to the start line is causing my nerves to go all jittery.  So the rest of this post will consist of the best tapering and/or marathon memes I can find so you can enjoy those pictures while I go start packing as a self-soothing measure.  Enjoy!

Learnings?  See below:

• I like memes.  Memes are my favorite.
• Male cat is a champ at exchanging gases.
• I really, really believe that consistency is the key for training, even during a taper.  The way to develop a workout habit is to make it a nonnegotiable part of your day.
• Even though I lifted puny weights this morning, my shoulders and back are feeling it right now.
• I'm going to panic about hitting my goal time while I pack tonight.  FYI.

Tomorrow's workout: Only a 6 x 400m speed session tomorrow.  What will I do with all my free time in the morning?

Day 4, Week 5: Two pictures and some learnings

Workout #1: Chasing the large dog after he kept stealing socks out of the laundry basket.

Turd mode: Activated

Workout #2: A 6 x 800m workout on the treadmill.  My knees only slightly protested.

Cat be like, "Hyooman. Welcome back from nowhere."

What can we learn from these two pictures?

• I just did speed work two days after running a marathon
• I'm a slave to the training plan
• I'm also a slave to the dog's sock whims
• When will I learn to lock up the laundry basket? (Answer: never)
• Yes, the cat is judging me.  Always.  Judging.
• It's pretty obvious I didn't have time to think of a real post so I threw up the first two pics I found in my phone

Tomorrow's workout: Weights and some more unhelpful running tips!