Working on Goal #1 for the Year

Goal #1 for the year is to stay injury free.  I think this was smart of me to make this my #1 goal so if I ever feel like being lazy I can just say I am working on my first goal.

But honestly this is the hard for me.  I want to run everyday.  It takes more willpower for me to take a day off then to get out the door for a run.  (I wish I had this problem with eating too.  Unfortunately I may just have eaten a huge bag of starbursts. Didn't really want to eat the fruit instead.)

I have missed 2 of my scheduled runs this week.  I have been having some different pain and I thought that maybe my body needs some extra rest.

So you would think that I would have tons of energy now and feel great.  No...I am now sick.  I am sure it is a virus of some kind.

Why does this happen?  Many runners say that they tend to get sick during their taper weeks.  Well I have a theory...

I can't use the disclaimer that I am not a medical professional and have no training in medicine.  Because I am a medical professional and do have a lot of medical training.  But this is still my opinion.  There has been no scientific study on this (or at least I have never seen one).

I think running or any sort of exercise boosts the immune system ( ok this has been studied) but  when you take time off not only does your body take a nap but so does your immune system (my opinion).  Well probably your B and T cells don't really take a nap but maybe they are not on high alert and so those little viruses that are all around sneak in while everybody is resting.  Then the virus attacks and your body gets sick.

So basically what I am saying is that I am sick and will now have to take more time off.  But I am still working on goal #1.

No Excuses

This was a busy week.  I guess every week seems busy, but this one did especially.  Why?  Well Ryan was  on a ski trip with his friends for the week.  Lucky guy, right?

Ryan on his way to Vail.

So I was a single, working mom of 3 this week.

I could have used this excuse to tell myself that I didn't have time to work out.  But I didn't.  I needed something to keep me sane.

Monday: The kids didn't have school today.  So I dragged them to the gym with me.  Our gym daycare is awesome.  They have a three story play gym, basketball courts, computers, tons of kid's toys, and a TV that they play a movie on.  They may protest on the way there but they have so much fun.  I did my spin class with my favorite instructor, Sharon.  Followed by a 30 minute core workout.  This class always makes me sore.

Tuesday:  30 minute run on the treadmill before the kids woke up.  The treadmill almost sucks all the fun out of running but I had not choice today.

Wednesday:  Rest.  Sort of... Still had to work, take Kaitlyn to gymnastics (Kaitlyn has gymnastics 4 days/week so there is a lot of driving), and take care of the all the other things that need to get done on a daily basis.

Thursday:  25 minute run on the gym treadmill.  Running on the treadmill at the gym seems so much easier than at home.  I was feeling great today and my legs loved it too!  I did not want to swim but I made myself because I haven't gotten in the pool in over 2 weeks.  If I still want to do a triathlon this summer, I need to keep some sort of swimming base.  I swam 1500 yards total.

Friday:  Spin class before work.  I pushed myself really hard again on the spin bike.  Since I can't push myself running yet,(Still on my return to running after a stress fracture plan)  At least I can really work hard on the spin bike.

Saturday:  Another spin class at the gym.  The kids were not happy that I made them wake up early on a weekend, but once again they had fun at the gym too.  I thought I would take it easy in this class but not possible with Sharon yelling things like...Come on give me 2 more minutes, come on you are an athlete, come on you don't want to have any regrets in life, etc etc...

Sunday: 30 minute Treadmill run at home.  Not the funnest or easiest, but still felt good once I finished.

I really want to increase my running mileage.  Running to me does not feel like working out.  But I will keep following my sad little training plan.  Hey next week I get to run 4 miles in a row!

I hope everyone had a good week!  Remember... No excuses.

Falling in Love Again

For the past 6+weeks, I had to pretend...  that I didn't love running, that I didn't need running, that I wasn't jealous of everyone else being able to run, that swimming and spinning were just as fun as running.

But today I know I was not being honest with myself because, I LOVE RUNNING!

It was a perfect running day.  Low 40s, no wind, and sunny.  It was the perfect day to have my first run outside in almost 2 months. I have been doing some running on the treadmill but this is not the same.  Running on the treadmill felt so hard.  Today running felt easy.

I have been struggling on the treadmill.  I thought maybe running would never be the same for me as it was before my injuries.  But today was different.  My comeback plan still called for a few walk breaks.  My running pace started around 8:40, much faster than my treadmill pace but felt nice and easy.  When it was time to walk, I did not want to.  But I forced myself take the walking breaks.  My last mile was a little too fast around 8:20 and my last .25 mile was way too fast at a 7:50 pace.  I just hope that my foot doesn't suffer from my little running high.

All day I have been on a running high. I miss this feeling.

On a side note, the energy in Indianapolis is amazing!  We went down to the super bowl village early this week and walked around and did the NFL experience.  What a great week.

The boys were too busy watching the zip line to look at the camera.

Nathan in deep thought about the lights.