October Recap, so late it isn't even ok!!

It was crazytown up in herrrr all thru the month of October. Sometime during the middle of August Eric and I looked at the list of dates we were planning to be busy and basically said "shit."
The good news is that we got through it and it was fun!
Oh, on a side note- my recovery post NYCM was a breeze. Since I never "pushed" the pace I was quite mobile the day after and feeling very good by late on Tuesday. Apparently I have turned into one of those asshats who can run a 3:35 like it is NBD. That is just rude.... I kinda hate myself right now!

So, what did I do in October?

Miles Run: 104 which included a zero week #score

Races run: 2

BQ's: ONE! (also, one marathon PR. cha-ching!!!)
Number of races where it poured on me: ONE. See below.

Smuttfest slogfest

Number of times that I randomly placed 2nd in a half marathon: 1.... which may never happen again?
But hell, I'll certainly take it! I could get used to that top dog thang. Clearly I'm famous now.

Oh the FAME! The FORTUNE! ...what...?

Number of times I puked on my shoes: ZERO. Damn I'm making this a habit!

Number of horse shows attended 4 days post PR marathon. One, ouch.

Recycling pictures. A true sign of lazy blogging...

Number of trips to massage therapist and chiropractor: 4 (it clearly could be worse!)

Core/Crosstraining: Fuck that. Oh I'm lying, I actually made it to yoga on a semi regular basis. I promise that after my post insanity break that I will recommit to strength and all that crap. Blah blah.

Now that we are well into November I've had a bit of time to think about how nuts-o it was in October. I actually kinda enjoyed it and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. I don't think that marathons that close together make for an excellent second attempt but I was no worse for the wear which is nice.
I've had a few days off since and I am enjoying a little break! I am also looking forward to getting back into the swing of things for the winter season though. However, history has taught me that for every serious training cycle you need to chill out for a while if you want to stay healthy. so that is what I'm up to (for the moment....)

August Recap

August Recap. A few days late but that's cool...

Miles run- 148. Well THIS is better than last August's 35 miles!

Miles Biked- 32 Hahaha whoops! Taking into account the fact that I had a couple of rest weeks I'm fine with this. Also, and importantly, I had a very tough time cycling with the summer traffic. The roads were crazy, there is no shoulder at all and my confidence on the bike is still lacking.

Core/Yoga- I did better this month. Still room for improvement but a good upswing from July.

Races run: 3!

Beach To Beacon. The day a 10k was actually an 8 miler.

Family 5K trail race.
This was a month when I was lucky to run so many races with excellent company!



Rev3 Half- another fun picture for the 2013 collection.
And the day when I remembered that I can actually run pretty well...

PR's set- Zero, unless you count the trail 5K which is semi-legit.

Number of times I puked on my shoes- ZERO. Going strong in the no puke zone!

Times I quit running: Zero. Strange but true.

Longest training run- 17. Going strong prepping for Smuttynose in early October.

Number of new shoes purchased: 1, which brings me to pair #4 for the year. Keeping Mizuno in business.

So in conclusion, August was a very strong month especially considering the post Ultra recovery time and my super busy work schedule. I feel really great going into the high volume weeks ahead and I'm very motivated to run a solid Marathon in October.

I'm really happy with my current running mileage (I thrive on 45-ish miles a week) and I know that I can incorporate some extra cross training into my schedule for an extra fitness boost. I'm hoping to be at my peak fitness for 2013 this fall so am ready to crank it up (more. basically I live my life that way, gosh...)

June Recap

Before I wax poetic about June 2013 I want to reflect for a moment about where I was a year ago.  

So yeah, I had a 202 mile month in June of 2012. I also ran every single one of those 202 miles on such a badly injured leg that I could not walk normally, go down stairs, or (honestly) remember what pain free running felt like. I was about to start the count down to my first marathon and was scared to death that one missed workout would spell certain doom. I still am not sure how the hell I got it done, but I did (and then had to essentially the the entire month of August off. Yeah that was awesome!)

Two major changes in the last year.

-I have a fantastic coach who has kept me fantastically healthy. Clearly I could not do that myself. I don't want to say it out loud but I have not had ANY problems since I began to follow her plan and that is not my norm (my norm is awesome, but chronically injured awesome which basically equals terrible...) 

-A year ago I was very new to long runs. I was under the assumption that they should feel good (and thus, was quite shattered when many were rather awful.) Bottom line: long runs should NOT hurt because you are suffering from a grievous injury. But shit- they DO hurt. Physically, mentally you name it. They can suck hairy ball sacks. Getting a good long run in is awesome but often concerns me because I fear that I have blown my load too early. I'd rather suffer in training and save the good stuff for race day! 

Moving on... 

Race # 1 in June: Quassy! REALLY HOT REALLY BADASS AND FUN.

Number of races run: 2

Number of PR's- HAH. haha. HAH! ZERO homies, ZERO. I did set a 2013 Half PR in (for me) a rather abysmal 1:49 and change. It was a training run, that's my excuse and I'm gonna stick to it!

(and yes, this has me itching to actually "run" a half as I consider this to be one of my better distances. However, it isn't in the cards for this year...)

Number of times I puked on my shoes: Z-E-R-O

Running miles- 155

Cycling miles: 177 plus an hour on the god-damn-useless-torture-trainer

Core: FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL

Times running gave me an adult tantrum: 1 (more on this later...)

Longest run: 20 miles

Number of failed track workouts due to Reginald Doodie: ONE. He is such a shit. Haha get it? 

Number of times I quit running/being an athlete/all the things: 1 (and once again, it didn't take,. I quit then promptly ran 17 like an effing boss.)

Number of times I wore a sundress and compression socks to family dinner: 1
But if I could get away with it this would be my go to outfit.
I'm so hot. It's ok to be jealous.

Take away message for June of 2013: While I might not have the running mileage of 2012 I have more actual hours of working out in the bank. I feel good. The plan we are following for this ultra might be a little left of center but have you met me? So am I. I have complete confidence that the work I'm doing is going to get me to the finish of my longest race to date. 

Other fun facts? I'm focusing my efforts this year on distance vs speed. Last year I did both (train for a marathon! PR in a 5K every week! F**K my legs royally! Cry for my Mom!) I have the 4 on the 4th in the schedule next week and I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that I am not going to be able to run as fast as last year. One side of my brain is like "dude, that sucks!" But the logical side of my brain says "you have been training for a freaking 50K. Don't be a hero. Run 8:30's and be cool with it... drink a beer!"So with a pretty huge training week in store we will see what my sprint to non-victory brings. But dudes really? I'm just excited to have a day off in the middle of the week. 

May Recap!

YAY! A finish line photo from Quassy!!!

I look like I'm about to die.

Please note the awesome tan lines that I'm going to get from my most favorite bra (Oiselle strappy for anyone curious- GO GET ONE. Or two. I need many more!)

 

 

So what happened in May...?

Running miles- 107 (yes, this is 90 miles fewer then in 2012. I'm more fit now than I was then. And uninjured. And all around badass!)

Cycling miles- 96 miles. Not bad for a noob :-)  Needless to say, I'm going to beat that amount before the first 10 days of June is over from the looks of things...

Core/Yoga- NOT ENOUGH. I vow to really up the core work in June.

 

Cute outfits? MANY!!! Thanks Oiselle for a skirt a tough girl can wear!

Times I quit running- 2. And I REALLY MEANT it on one occasion. It didn't stick though. 

 

Times I puked on my shoes. Zero. But I really, really wanted to a couple times...

 

Races run- 1. My epic Duathlon debut!

 

Hence, ONE PR! Hah!

 

Longest run- 14 miles. LAME!!! I wish ALL long runs could be 14 miles though. Not gonna lie.

And I looked damn good after. Per the norm.

The big takeaway message from the month of May is that when I start getting really busy with work I end up suffering a lot more than normal when I workout. My job is pretty physical and for a couple of weeks until I adapt I honestly feel downright resentful of having to workout for an hour or more at the end of a relentless 10 hour day. Luckily, I get used to it and get over my LEGIT first world drama. I am lucky that I have the leisure to pursue my athletic fun, and that I have a job to keep me busy (and hopefully keep me from living in a cardboard box!)

 

I always feel like quite the little princess of whiney-ville during the times when training seems like a terrible life choice. (it is during those times that I can see- but still not really understand- how people can fall of the exercise bandwagon... not me though, not me...) The good news is that once I start acclimating to the heat/busy days/exhaustion running and I become very good friends again!

And this is a good thing. Because GCI is looming on the Horizon....