Lazy W Marie

Carpeing all the diems in semi-rural Oklahoma...xoxo

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Archives for April 2017

motivation monday: running not racing & a good lesson learned

Hello and Happy Motivation Monday! I would love for these Monday posts to be all about marathon prep, but since last we spoke on this topic things have changed. I am still running, just no longer training for any upcoming event.

Not that this kept me from enjoying last week’s Boston festivities! Between watching progress of local friends running it and reading tons of runner-bloggers’ recaps afterwards, I was full to busting with BQ inspiration! Maybe one day.

Okay.

You might remember that shortly after Valentine’s Day I was super happy to have discovered Kara Goucher’s 10-week half marathon training plan, the one that allows for all kinds of flexibility and cross training, and the one that incorporates more speed work than I was used to? I actually found it the night before the ten week plan would bring me up in perfect timing for the OKC Memorial weekend. Which is this coming weekend already!!

Friends, this plan has been great. For the first five and a half weeks I had a blast! And I was already seeing results, believe it or not, like faster sprinting, gobs of delicious adrenaline while running hill repeats, a little bit of surprise slimming down, and just overall an abundance of energy day after day without eating enough food to feed nine teenagers. A big priority for me this time around was to get ready for a race without depleting my energy and cutting corners around the farm. Things were going well. I was so happy.

Until I hurt myself a little bit. It wasn’t the plan’s fault.

Somewhere along the way, especially as the weather improved, I got a little addicted to tacking on extra miles and gradually started neglecting the all important core work and strength moves that Kara Goucher (and my smart friend Christy and all good, decent runners in the world!) recommended.  I maaayyybe did some mellow stretching after each run, but zero dynamic warm-ups and maybe one or two 8-minute abs video per week. Even fewer cross training days. That is not enough, you guys! Although my energy was better than ever, I threw my body out of balance. A minor foot discomfort translated to some sort of compensatory twisting and a painful blister, which was exacerbated by speed work and eventually resulted in ferocious leg cramping, which showed up one other fine day as a true knee pain and some limping. All on the left side.

You know that old song, The foot bone’s connected to the knee bone! The knee bone’s connected to the hip bone! Etc? Well it’s true. Haha

First my husband gave me a killer massage to eliminate the knots in my calves. That hurt so much I actually cried, but it felt wonderful too. The next day my knee was still pretty bad off, so I rested almost completely for one week (it also happened to be my Shark Week, so… cranky!). Eventually I added in some long walks and yoga then more yoga and some strength exercises, understanding that stronger supporting muscles would help my joints.

I should have been doing yoga and strength exercises all along, remember. These are actual elements of Kara Goucher’s 10-week plan!

Most of these activities during week 7 felt great, or at least they helped me believe I was helping the situation, haha. Little by little I was able to move comfortably throughout my days as long as I elevated my left leg at night.

But I still wanted to run, and I still wanted to try for a fast half at the OKC event. It just did not seem like my left side was bouncing back to normal quite on schedule. So I reluctantly decided once and for all to not register. My procrastinating ended up saving me some money. 

Since this Gigantic Learning Experience Disguised as a Bummer of a Situation began almost three weeks ago, I am now markedly better. I am running again, albeit much more slowly, and am up to about 28 miles per week with no more than 8 at once.

I am using the extra time to do more deliberate cross training and yoga. Lots of yoga. A woman in a local running group said that yoga is what cured her of a similar complaint, and although it took her a few months to recover she has had zero problems since.  This is encouraging! And I am grateful to at least be able to run again so soon, even if I am dropping out of the OKC Memorial fun.

There will be another race, always and obviously. Zero to be sad about. (I keep telling myself this.)

Dinner one night recently was a giant green salad topped with lots of raw veggies, grilled tilapia, and a mango seasoned with this heavenly stuff. Have you tried it??

 

So going forward I am trying to keep it simple:

  • Eat as much good, beautiful food as I need to have energy all day long, with a special emphasis on produce (see above).
  • Run just 5-8 miles per day without the pressure of speed work right now, maybe one longer run on Fridays if I feel good.
  • Make strength and yoga a priority several times per week.
  • I have a short series of dynamic warm-ups memorized now, and the whole thing takes only about 6 minutes, so no excuses. 

No events or deadlines or measurable goals for a little while, just a healthy life until I am 100% lusciously recovered and at peace with some things in my head. Maybe by summertime I will be happy about looking for another race. (My half-marathon time goal, by the way is 1:45. I don’t have a full marathon time goal right now but want to run one soon, when I feel strong about it, not sloppy.)

Misguided urgency can be the enemy of progress. 

If I can not just run consistently and keep my time and energy balanced with the rest of life, but also keep my mind and body strong and happy, then I will call every bit of this a lesson well learned.

A big part of the pleasure here is learning for ourselves what strategies serve us best. And every person is unique. Servant not master, right? 

If you are running any of the OKC Memorial events this coming weekend, I wish you all the best!! Our weather forecast looks gorgeous, and it is such a fun, loving community tradition. Enjoy every second and know that I am rooting for you.

“Take care of your knees, Mom, your knees love you!”
~My daughter, avid cross country runner, age 21,
giving me advice and permission to rest
XOXOXOXO

 

friday 5 at the farm: rainy indoor day edition

Today Oklahoma is gladly receiving a heavy late season rainstorm. It woke us around 3 am, actually, with the luscious violence of thunder and window-shimmering lightning flashes. The deluge now is calm and warm, drenching all the prairie green to a deeper, more exotic shade, exactly what our eyes have been craving. Our own little jungle hemmed in with pine trees and buffalo grass. The pond is high far beyond its banks, and we are so grateful.

 

 

The saying goes that rainy days are when gardeners do their housework. With only two of us living here, our big house stays relatively tidy and dusted up, minus some evidence of a rambunctious two-year old German Shepherd living here too; but some projects do get neglected in favor of long mornings spent running both miles and errands, and maybe playing with the horses, and long afternoons spent working in the gardens. So today’s flood watch invites me indoors to play catch up.

Here’s my Friday 5 at the Farm this week, rainy indoor day edition:

Read & Write: I have two gorgeous fiction books I have been wanting to finish reading, a family cookbook project I would really like to nibble at before Mother’s Day is upon us, and several blog post ideas that only need some time applied. This little corner of the Apartment is calling my name.

 

Sewing: Once I finish repairing a fun tablecloth order for my friend Suzanne, I have a small pile of apron projects cut out and ready to assemble. I am loving the fresh summer fabrics and am kinda extra happy about getting back to basic shapes. Do you need an apron? Send me a note!

 

 

Laundry & Ironing: One big load of laundry to wash and fold, then this easy line of shirts to press for Handsome for next week. During ironing time lately I have been listening to podcasts. Stuff about either minimalism or running and nutrition. Good stuff, man. Great stuff. I am learning so much.

 

 

Deep Stretch & Strengthening Yoga: No running today, though I could easily use the garage treadmill. I am actually taking the day off on purpose to do some seriously indulgent, profitable yoga, core work, and foot exercises. I have more to share about this on Monday, these lessons learned recently about not being in balance and how it can lead to injury.

 

 

Poor Klaus: Clearly the most important thing on my rainy day agenda is keeping my big playful pup happy and occupied. He is currently pining hard for his llama buddy, his barnyard chores routine, a romp around the back field, and maybe another swim in the turtle habit, aka our overflowing pond. Poor buddy. We will be playing lots of indoor fetch today, I predict.

 

 

How do you spend offbeat days? Do you relish the chance to do something different, to indulge in a new routine and catch all of those elusive loose ends?

Seize the days, whatever they bring and however they look. Redeem the time. The common and the lovely moments, the surprising and the rare.

Happy Friday, friends. I hope you are getting all the rain and inspiration you need.

XOXOXOXO

 

a new shade garden for the farm

A childhood daydream is coming true for me, right here at the farm: We are building a new shade garden.

It will grow beneath the canopy of some blackjack trees, in the sleepy, loamy area just downhill from the house, right between our bonfire yard and my raised beds veggie garden.

 

 

When you stand outside my kitchen and turn right, you first see the herb garden, then past a little expanse of lawn you will soon see this new shade garden adjacent to full sun beauties, then beyond that some sandy hills full of frogs and turtles, then the pond which is blessedly full and glassy right now, and beyond that your eyes fall easily on the back field and western horizon which is every evening ablaze with color.

 

I snapped this photo yesterday evening as some intense winds stirred up those clouds. The sky looked like whipped denim.

 

We all sure do love Oklahoma sunsets. And this telescoping alleyway of one view after another, culminating in a long drink of sunset reflecting on the pond is one of my favorite features of the Lazy W. Especially in warm months between the hours of about 5-9 p.m. because bats and dragonflies fill the dusk. It’s a little bit of magic, and we are working to maximize that.

In my mind, this new space mimics a garden my grandparents grew in Oklahoma City, when I was in grade school and still climbing trees barefoot and using grated blue and purple chalk for eye shadow. Back then, they grew the most beautiful and luxurious examples of everything good and fragrant. And they seemed to do so easily, though I know they worked hard. Here and now, we already have one each of hydrangea, viburnum, bleeding heart, and an optimistic little white azalea. That’s not much for so much open space, even keeping in mind the tree roots. Soon we will add larkspur, foxglove, hollyhocks, extra herbs, more Hydrangea, more viburnum, and definitely more azaleas plus a few thick ruffles of caladium. Because in addition to mimicking my grandparents’ style, I want to nod generously to our beloved French Quarter. The aesthetic there never fails to conjure up a certain mood, a certain pleasure-seeking vibe that both Handsome and I love. More on that another day.

 

 

This afternoon I spent the sunshine hours adding mulched up leaves and composted horse manure to the bare beds, incorporating it into the soil and breathing in the perfume. I was happy to find lots of earthworms but so far no baby snakes. I then spread several bags of black mulch over the newly cultivated areas and stood back to admire how great everything looks with that clean, crisp, uniform backdrop. The white azalea blooms are visible from a greater distance now. The “garden” is more clearly defined from the “path,” and I swear emerald green becomes Technicolor green with that mulch and a heavy dose of molten sunshine.

 

 

All this color and freshness eliminate the feeling of desolation you sometimes get by looking at too much dry, barren earth and dead things. Does that happen to you?

The overarching goal here is to grow more ornamentals and edibles for our private use, near where we luxuriate daily. (Market growing is happening in the front field this year.) We want all of it back here to be part of the landscape, orchestrated more or less with curves and repeated groupings, and far more easily maintained than before. The borders and mulch will do a lot to accomplish that.

I wish my Grandpa could see this latest farm improvement, because he and Grandma inspired so much of it. And all these years since Handsome and I bought this place, Grandpa was so encouraging and supportive.

But he is with me when I smell crushed tomato leaves and when I accidentally mow a garlic row. He is with me when I “double dig” exactly the way he taught me to and when I mulch the grass clippings of course. And on cool mornings when I wear his quilted nylon vest with pockets.

This childhood daydream coming true is already more beautiful than I ever thought a real garden of my very own could be.

XOXOXOXO