If you haven't seen this yet - GO NOW.
SERIOUSLY.
Showing posts with label puppy. Show all posts
Too many miles.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Today's run:
Half Marathon Training Week Four, Day Three (HATEFUL TREADMILL)
5.6 miles/1:16:32
Look who got in the shower today! Hold the applause, please.
Bonnie had the grace to let me sleep in today... until 6:45 am. Then the ever-present "squeak, squeak" of her little corn toy made its presence known. It is cute, really, but I have to say it would be cuter a few hours later. Regardless, we had a rather tough morning together - she decided it would be way more fun to poop on the floor instead of outside, and it would be SUPER DUPER FUN to wrangle herself away from me at the beginning of our walk and race down the street when a car was coming. That was a delightful start to the day. If she wasn't so stinking cute, she'd be in serious doo-doo... maybe the same doo-doo I cleaned off the tile.
Lucky for her, she is still absurdly cute.
After that super adventure, I met my friend Ross for lunch. Ross is an old friend... we've known each other since high school and yet, still don't hate each other. This is a rarity, kids. Unfortunately, Ross has the metabolism of a... well... a guy that's in shape. Rude. So he eats things and I get jealous and tell myself that I can eat them too. This is how I ended up eating a lunch that was 53 PointsPlus values. Since I get 29 PPV a day, that was perhaps not my greatest choice. But 30 of those PPV were for possibly the greatest thing ever: a Black Forest milkshake. Worth it.
Buuuuuut... when I got home and realized how many PPV I'd used on a single meal, I realized I couldn't keep putting off today's run. So I sucked it up, got off the couch, and drove to the rec center to meet my dear friend, the treadmill (also known as Satan). And like most of my runs, parts of it were great and felt wonderful, and parts of it felt like my legs were made of lead and I was going to die on that treadmill. Because let's face it, kids, I don't care how much you love running... over an hour on the treadmill is too long. I will be very excited to have people in my house again so that Bonnie has someone else to squeak at in the morning when I'm running on the trail. And I'll be even more excited when it's September and I can run at a reasonable hour because it's not a million degrees outside!
The shins weren't completely thrilled with the run, especially because I'm still struggling to find the right shoe. I bought five different pairs of shoes from the Road Runner sale, and right now, I think I'm only keeping one pair... the Asics Gel-DS Trainer 16s. Which are performance shoes. They are pretty great on tempo runs, but I tried them out today and it was just too long. I need more cushion for long runs. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble finding what I need. So I think a trip to the Boulder Running Company (fabulous local running store) is in order, where I will torture the poor salesperson by hogging the treadmill and trying on every pair of cushiony stability shoes they have. In the meantime, there will be a whole lot of this happening.
Please keep all discussion of my paleness to a minimum.
And yes, I did put this through Instagram solely to make my legs look less ghostly. Can you blame me?
There will also be lots of Advil, but I didn't really feel a need to take a picture of me popping pills. Why I felt the need to take pictures of huge ice packs on my shins, I will never know.
But here's some nice evening walk pictures to balance it all out. An hour of walking around and sniffing stuff and Bonnie still has energy. I wish I could bottle that. And hoard it.
And the award for worst blogger ever goes to...
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Um. Yeah. It's been a tough week.
Today's run:
Half Marathon Training Week Four, Day Two (on hateful treadmill/not with my beloved Garmin)
2.92 miles/40:00
I'm home alone with the Bonster Monster all weekend because my parents are visiting my sister... so my routine is a bit off. I got up early to go for my run this morning (read: alarm went off at 5:30, I groaned, and hit the snooze button at least twice) but Bonnie had other plans. So instead I went on a nice long walk with her, complete with sprinting. I love Bonnie, but I question her ability to become a running partner... she likes to do 4 minute miles. Then it was off to work. So the run got pushed back to this afternoon. It wasn't too bad... I do really hate treadmills, and it felt awfully hard. This was partially because the rec center wanted their air conditioning set at a reasonable, normal level... and I thought it should be set to about 45 degrees. I wanted to be seeing my breath.
That being said, I was able to keep a pretty good pace - I tried to keep my running intervals at 5.3 MPH, and at the end, pushed it to 5.6. I was sweating EVERYWHERE. All the normal people kept looking at me like a freak. And then I believe they looked at the speed on the treadmill and went, "Really?" Especially because the treadmills at the rec center are RUDE, and have these handy "quick" buttons with different speeds. One for "Walk" at 2 MPH, one for "Jog" at 4 MPH, and one for "Run" at 6 MPH. So I'm not even running? Thanks, machine. You're an ass.
Post-run, I went for a great recovery plan: getting back in my car after no stretching, going to the bank, getting Starbucks, and playing fetch with a crazed puppy. I can tell you right now, as I feel my legs seize up under me, that this is a great plan. Highly recommended. Actually... I do recommend the Starbucks. I needed that tea to stop sweating like a banshee.
Also, it's interesting being alone with Bonnie - I think the universe is essentially screaming "YOU'RE NOT READY TO HAVE KIDS" at me. Not that I thought I was ready, but good Lord, if I struggle this much with having a puppy depend on me, let's not add an infant to the list. I don't mind being her source of food and care, but being the one and only source of activity and entertainment is tough. We went on a long walk this morning and another long walk tonight, and I am wiped out. But we were going slow enough for me to snap some pictures, so I shall leave you tonight with an ode to my new favorite app... love you, Instagram.
I swear I haven't given up on blogging...
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Monday's workout:
Fire 30
263 calories/31:16
Tuesday's run:
Half Marathon Training Week Three, Day One
2.74 miles/40:00
Wednesday's workout:
Fire 30 (with weighted gloves) and Core 20
430 calories/51:10
Today's workout:
Fire 45 EZ
431 calories/43:58
Forgive the extended absence... this has been a busy and stressful week. To make a very long (and super whiny) story short, I was given a new Weight Watchers meeting to lead on Tuesday afternoons that I essentially wasn't trained or prepared for. So instead of blogging, I spent most of Monday crying and making everyone around me crazy because I was dreading the meeting... I spent Tuesday running around like a chicken with my head cut off before AND after the meeting... and I spent Wednesday trying to figure out how to clean up the mess of Tuesday. Really. I swear I'm not incompetent, but they pretty much put me on a sinking ship. My receptionist on Tuesday, who is a saint for putting up with me, has been with the company for 10 years, and when she tried to figure out how to tally and close the meeting, she couldn't stop laughing. It was that bad.
Buuuuuuut, I'm not here to whine about my job, I promise. And I am relatively proud of myself for continuing to get a workout in every single day, despite being stressed out of my mind and ready to yank my hair out. So let's talk about that instead, shall we?
I decided to restart Turbo Fire this week with renewed dedication. As usual, this was motivated by my inability to breathe in my skinny jeans. They are back to being able to close (HUZZAH!) but I kind of can't sit down in them. I'm not sure why that's important, but society seems to think I shouldn't undo my pants to sit down, so... we're back to burning calories. I'm still not sure how well I'll be able to stick to the Turbo Fire schedule along with my half marathon training, but I'm going to do my best. After all, rock star Janae runs marathons while still managing to do spin classes and Body Pump all the time. I think I can manage.
Tuesday's run was planned as an easy run - I wanted to keep my running pace around 12:00 miles. Apparently I suck at pacing, because it was all over the place, and I felt good so I kept wanting to push it. So this is something I am going to try to work on. And I think on my next easy run, not only am I going to try to keep the pace easy, but I'm also going to add more walk breaks... maybe run for 2 minutes and walk for one minute instead of the 3-1 ratio I normally do.
Today was supposed to be a tempo run, but I slept in too much (read - I slept until 7:30 am... lame) and the thought of running in the heat made me want to keel over and die. We've been having huge storms every day for a while now, so on top of being hot, it's also really humid, especially for Colorado. When I got up this morning, my phone said it was already 65 degrees outside, with 79% humidity. Um... no. Especially not for a run where I wanted to push my speed. So I did a Turbo Fire instead. I'm hoping it's a little cooler tomorrow morning (and I'm planning on getting up earlier... gross) so that I can run outside, but if not, I might have to take it to the treadmill. My fave.
This was taken immediately after Fire 45 EZ this morning... incidentally, it is also the face I make when I think about running on a treadmill. It's not a happy face.
But worse things have happened than having to run on a treadmill. Like the time I posted this picture and allowed the world to see my many chins.
Yup. It's still attractive.
Now I'm just hanging outside (in the shade, obviously) with the Bonster, who keeps on growing despite my every attempt to keep her puppy sized. Luckily, she does continue being adorable, so I'll allow it.
I, on the other hand, am still wearing my sweaty workout top and my sexy compression shorts. Oh, and the $5 sunglasses I bought from Forever 21 to wear running because they cover up half my face. And make me look like one of the jerks from Jersey Shore. Double win.
Take that, Situation.
That's enough foolishness for the time being. Stay tuned for a Triple Tangent Thursday... I know it's late, but you would not have enjoyed a Triple Tangent Tuesday from me this week. It would have been something like this...
1. My life sucks.
2. I hate my job.
3. I'm going to go eat my weight in ice cream now.
So today's will be more uplifting. Or at least more amusing.
I'm too cool to blog every day.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Yesterday's run:
Half Marathon Training Week Two, Day Two
3.02 miles/40:01
I really pushed my speed on this run - after finishing the Liberty Run in pretty good time, I was frustrated that my Wednesday run was so slow. I proved that I was physically able to maintain a faster pace, so why wasn't I doing it? Well, maybe because I sometimes let myself off the hook a little bit. Because I know I'm never going to be doing 7-minute miles, so I think working on speed isn't important. But I'm competitive. So I have to work on speed or else I'll beat myself up all the time!
I was actually going to skip the run Friday morning because I was too tired... but puppy alarm clock decided to bark her fool head off at about 5:45 am.
She's a lot cuter when she's quiet.
So I bitterly got out of bed, got on all my gear, and headed out. And as much as I hate to admit that having Bonnie go ballistic that early in the morning was a good thing... it was a damn good thing. I was out the door and running by about 6:30 am, which meant that something amazing happened. I was chilly when I started my run. HUZZAH! Of course, by the end of the run, I was covered in sweat, but still. Tiny victories.
As exhausting as it was, I think it was the right decision to try to push my pace, and it helped me realize what I think I need in my half marathon training. I am going to stick with my original plan of using the Hal Higdon training schedule, but with slight modification. At least for now, instead of progressively increasing the lengths of the shorter runs, I'm going to stick with the Jeff Galloway idea of making those 30 minute runs (for me, these are 40 minutes long, with a 5 minute walking warm-up and a 5 minute walking cool-down).
I'm also going to incorporate an important aspect of the Runner's World plan that I looked at, which is that if you're doing only 3 runs a week, each run needs to fit a specific purpose. I decided not to follow that specific plan because it's ahead of my mileage at this point, and I think it's geared more towards someone who wants to run a faster half, rather than someone like me who just wants to finish the damn thing. So instead of doing a speedwork run, a tempo run, and a long run, I'm going to do an easy run, a tempo run, and a long run, with maybe some speedwork thrown in at some point. My plan right now is to make my first 30 minute run of each week my easy run with a more relaxed pace, then make my second 30 minute run a tempo run, and just try to get through the long runs! So, following my revamped Hal Higdon schedule, tomorrow is another 4 miler! Yeehaw!
That's pretty much it for me and exercise today. I skipped working out today because for the past two nights, I've gotten a combined 9 hours of sleep, and that makes me lazy and grumpy pants. Plus, all I really felt like tackling today was this beast of a workout, which may have made tomorrow's run a little painful. So instead, I got ready for bed at 8:30 pm and plan on being asleep by 10:30, which hopefully ensures a functional version of Jessica for tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures from before my HIIT workout on Thursday that I forgot to post.
The I-think-I'm-a-model pose. Please ignore the mess... I'm not an organized person. Shocker.
The I-AM-SASHA-FIERCE pose. Sorry Beyoncé. I got this.
Awful quality picture taken only to prove that I do have real hair before I workout. Afterwards, this is not true.
Aaaaaaaand... since you lived through three pictures of me, here's something much cuter to look at.
Bonnie really loves cottage cheese.
Sometimes running makes me cry a little bit inside.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Yesterday's workout:
Fire 45 EZ
462 calories/46:28
Today's run:
Half Marathon Training Day 2
3.58 miles/49:56
Why, yes, that is relatively pathetic pacing. Did you notice? I certainly did when I thought I was going to die halfway through. How do the marathoners do it, people?! And more importantly (if you're as narcissistic as I am), HOW AM I EVER GOING TO RUN A HALF MARATHON?!!!
I'm hoping that the past two runs have been more indicators of how much of my fitness base I lost in the two weeks that I felt like bonding with my couch... and less indicators of my actual running abilities. Right now, I feel that this morning's run showed me that I need to have a heart-to-heart with some ice cream, order a pizza, and give up. But I'm going to try very hard not to listen to that destructive little voice, and stick with it. I'm planning on running another race (!!!) on Monday morning, and even though I'll be using it as a training run rather than "racing" it (HAHAHAHA at the idea of me "racing" anything), I'm going to try to give that run my all. And I think I'm going to try adding in more of the HIIT workouts from Turbo Fire and maybe even some Insanity workouts to get back in shape faster.
... okay, this is officially a boring post. How about I shut the hell up about my failed runs and post some puppy pictures?
That's better.
Slacker, party of one, your table is now ready.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
I kind of can't believe that I haven't updated in an entire week... but this week has been absolutely nuts. You can pretty much blame three things for my absence.
plus...
and who can forget...
All super awesome things... okay, maybe working a ton wasn't all that awesome, but having money is splendid. But I can't believe I left my blog hanging, especially since I FINISHED COUCH TO 5K THIS WEEK!! And it was splendid. But I will post more on that later, because right now I want to hang out with my Pops and celebrate Father's Day, and then I need to pack because I leave tomorrow morning for this...
So that I can see this...
and do a whole lot more of this!
Luckily, D-Money has insisted that I blog regularly while in California... mostly because he wants to read them. So the fact that he can't get enough of me works in your favor. And mine :)
A new, adorable addition to my family.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Today's run:
Couch to 5K Week Nine, Day One (LAST WEEK!)
3.0 miles/42:12
Today was not my greatest run of all time, but that's okay. I went out on the trail, and it was super sunny and pretty darn warm when I went out, even though it was pretty early (about 8:30). Plus, all I had was a banana and a few sips of Cytomax before I started running, so I think I crashed a little because of lack of sustenance. But it wasn't a horrible run, and I got through it, so I'm proud!
I'm completely exhausted and planning on passing out very soon, but I wanted to give a little photo update of my weekend since it was a HUGE adventure.
Glorious smoothie-in-a-bowl refreshment on Saturday morning.
Rockies game this afternoon with my whole family, complete with pictures taken with my awesome new hipster-y photo app. Sorry for not making my dad squish in there with us... he was crazy and wanted to, you know, actually watch the game. Weird.
And then... the most exciting part of the whole weekend... bringing home this gorgeous girl.
More on that to come, I promise! For now, it is bedtime. Well... maybe ice cream sandwich and then bedtime. A big weekend deserves a little something!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
