Running Friends

All week I worked out by myself. Wes was sick and Mindy was single mothering it since her sweetheart was out of town. I actually enjoyed the flexibility of setting my own workout schedule to suit my time frames and pleasure.

But, it gets kind of lonely. No one to talk to. No one to complain to. No one to tell you to suck it up and do it.

This morning I joined Mindy and Marnie for our usual Saturday morning "long run". It started out last night with Mindy sending me this email:

If the weather is like this in the am for our run, I am out! Sorry ladies. If it is just a little rain, I will see you at 8am at the usual spot.

Peace!

Mindy

Okay lightweight.

Steph

Whatever. Tomorrow you might to be the one pushing me. :)

Mindy

is this Travis?

Steph

No, it is your unmotivated running friend, :) I will be good to go in the morning.

Mindy

This is typical banter between the two of us. One of us is usually worn out and unmotivated (me) and the other has to light a fire under the others rear.

So running this morning with Mindy and Marnie (our stalwart) was so nice. I asked for a flat run. Marnie asked if it was possible to find a flat run in Sherwood? I conceeded she was right and just asked we skip the largest hills around. We ran slow. We talked about life. We drug eachother up the hills with words of encouragement. The sun shone. The wind blew. And before we knew it six miles had past and it was time to head home, back to life as usual.

Thursday

Running:

3.0 miles

30 minutes

Strength training:

20 minutes

arms and back

Friday

Cycling:

6 miles

30 minutes

Strength training:

20 minutes

legs

Saturday

Running:

6.0 miles

1:01:09

Extra sleep can make you a better athlete!

I'm convinced!

Wes has been sick. Same story as the rest of us, blah blah blah. So, he told me that he wanted to take the week off from getting up super early to workout. I was more than happy to agree because I love sleep. If I could get paid to sleep, I would do it. Professional sleeper- yes, that is me.

So, this week I've been sleeping in until 7 am and each workout so far has been top notch. Not that I'm killing it out there, just that I feel so good. Rested. Happy. Awake.

So, in conclusion (reverting to ninth grade English class here), I believe more sleep is the answer for me. The only problem with it is the rest of my day is a bit more crowded, but it may be worth it. I'm going to keep this going, at least for the rest of this week, and make my final analysis then.

Saturday

Running:

5.7 miles

54:43

Monday

Running:

4 miles

35:00

Tuesday

Swimming

1150 yards

27:00

Are Thursdays cursed?

For the last two weeks I have missed working out on Thursdays. Last week because of fatigue, this week because I felt like crap. Wes has been under the weather too, so my swim work out buddy hasn't really been feeling up to getting up early for swimming. Fortunately, this evening we took our two youngest to the Y for open swim and traded off with them so the other could get in a swim workout. It's kind of weird swimming in the evenings when you are so used to swimming first thing in the morning. I could feel my orange chicken with rice dinner churning in my tummy while I was pounding out the laps. I think I prefer the morning routine.

Wednesday

Swimming:

1150 yards

29:04

Friday

Swimming:

1250 yards

30:00

Overdue update

The first two weeks of February are always a mad house for me because of multiple birthdays, Valentines day and the inevitability of having at least one sick kid at the time. Well, I got through it and am now ready to relax and continue on with a normal life again.

I still can't quite say I'm over my cold- three week anniversary today, but I do feel about 90% so I'll call that good. Like I mentioned before, with an impending half marathon on the horizon my training is going to start veering more to the running discipline until race day. My training partner Mindy must have been reading my mind about this because she has definitely decided to kick it up a notch in the running department and is kindly dragging me along for the ride.

Today we did a fairly easy five mile route and it was hard for me. I felt really terrible the last half mile and wanted to quit, but I didn't because of the girls I was running with were keeping me going. Another testament to the importance of training partners to help you over the hump.

Wednesday

Swimming:

1200 yards

29:09

Friday

Swimming:

1100 yards

28:30

Saturday

Running:

just under 7 miles

1:04:22

Monday

Swimming:

1100 yards

28:01

Cycling:

5.2 miles

22 minutes

Tuesday

Running:

5.1 miles

51:00

I know

I know I need to update, but I've been sick and when I'm sick I just don't have it in me to blog. My ears have been plugged up and hurting for two weeks now, along with a sore throat and a nagging cough. My training has been lighter because of it, but still going. I'll try to update thoroughly in the next day or two.

Grinding

Sometimes keeping consistent with my daily workouts feels like a total grind. Sticking with it despite the desire to sleep in, take a break or slack off is key.

My half marathon is coming up in three months so by the end of this month I will be on a training schedule that will give me a little more structure and focus. I'm planning on following Hal Higdon's second tier half marathon training plan in hopes of not only finishing, but beating my PR by eight minutes. I do struggle with a few nagging knee issues, so I'll have to customize the plan to accommodate my plan to not run back to back days in order to avoid knee pain at all cost. Obviously, I'll be substituting cross training workouts for some of the run days that I'll need to miss.

Monday

Swimming:

1050 yards

25 minutes

Tuesday

Running:

3.5 miles

35:00

Strength training:

Legs

20:00

Awesomeness!

What was awesome this week:

Getting in my first outdoor ride of the season.

Riding my longest ride ever (20 miles+)

Being able to swim Friday despite my many ailments.

Getting over my cold in two days instead of a week like most folks around here.

What was not awesome this week:

Getting a cold in the first place. Thanks kids.

Getting a crick in my neck Wed. night for no good reason. My range of motion was awful for a good two days.

Missing my morning run with my girls today because of scheduling difficulties.

Only working out three days this week. Ahhhh!

Tuesday

Running:

3.5 miles

35:00

Friday

Swimming:

1100 yards

27:09

Saturday

Running:

3.61 miles

32:54

Cycling:

20+ miles

Not sure on time.