Lazy W Marie

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

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marathon monday: plot twist!

Okay, friends, happy Monday! Is it still Marathon Monday for many of you? For me, not so much, at least not in the literal sense. As part of the far reaching, ongoing global plot twist served up by the Corona Virus, our Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon has been postponed until October 4th.

It’s only postponed, not cancelled, but things are not necessarily that simple. The 12-18 week training cycle layered against the realities of summer travel (which I realize may or may not be possible either), hot and steamy weather, competing events on October 4th, and just the sense of abandoning all the progress I have made these past few months… it all had me spinning for a while. Some of my running friends have decided to forge on with current training then run “virtual” races on their original spring race dates, albeit most likely alone. Some people have gone immediately to maintenance running or less. I am probably going to fall somewhere in the middle.

 After wrestling with my options and kind of letting the dust settle, as my friend Jeff described it, I have decided to pause heavy training for now, despite how well it was going, but keep up the spirit of the plan in my own ways for a few months. Then by mid-summer I will reevaluate the October race.  

running, pile on the miles, lazy w, marathon training, run eat repeat

Last week would have been Week 13 of the plan, meant for really gaining momentum toward peak volume and the hardest workouts, but instead I was as glued to the news as anyone, devouring sugary trail mix, and consumed by a new sense of urgency about growing our own food (more on that later this week). I barely scraped together 35 miles and made a couple of pathetic efforts to get reacquainted with my baby hexagon weights, ha. My arm and back muscles were so sore afterwards that I thought for SURE I had the coronas.

Aches! Stiffness! General lethargy! Are these symptoms of the virus? Just kidding.

To say that I was distracted and unfocused last week is an understatement; but knowing this was a community-felt undercurrent helps me kind of package it up and set it squarely in the past.

I have sulked and scrolled Twitter and eaten extra carbs pointlessly for enough days.

Onward!

Here is what I know, regardless of whether or when I might race next:

  • Running is fun! It feels awesome. I hope to run for most of the rest of my life, and racing (for me) has very little to do with that.
  • So far in Oklahoma we are still free to run outdoors as long as we remain at a safe distance from other people, and on days when that does not feel like the right choice, I still have my 0.33 mile loop on the sandy hills of our back field plus my reliable treadmill. For these I am truly thankful.
  • Handsome and I suddenly have very little on our calendar outside of farm and garden projects, so running is less intrusive to our life than it sometimes is.  
  • Running is an excellent stress relief, it helps me feel energized and happy, and having a little weekly structure will help me keep a positive outlook.

So I will continue running a similar and fluctuating volume, 40-65 miles per week, but with the luxury of flexibility to make adjustments for real life priorities as needed. This is where my body feels best, where I can keep my energy up for a busy summer garden season and my jeans size down at a reasonable volume, and where I believe that I could easily join in on a spontaneous half marathon with no trouble.

I will also strive to vary my pace and distance daily, eschewing that dreaded “grey zone,” but not running hard SOS workouts as often. Maybe tend to some of the lower leg and feet pains I have been feeling lately. There is wisdom in getting leaner and fitter overall but saving some enthusiasm and focus for the upcoming summer cycle, if I dive into that. (The BIB is already paid for, and the race is local, so the thought of dismissing it wholesale makes me nauseous.)

Something I have been actively reminding myself to celebrate is how much progress I made from mid-January to early March, and that all stays in my body if I maintain it. That all stays in my mind, too, if I capture it.

The internalization of how each pace feels, the luscious union of breath and cadence, the swell of energy when you hit the fourth or fifth or eighth tempo mile. (It feels like riding the wave pool at White Water when we were kids.)

 I get to retain the times I won arguments with myself over whether or not to attempt something difficult, and the sourness of disappointment when I cut an interval a few seconds short. Both are instructive.

 I can hang onto the slow build of confidence from completing longer and harder workouts. The pleasure of fasted runs that cleansed me. Fueled runs when I overcame fear of food in my belly, ha! All of it. And if I understand the method as well as I think I do, the physiological adaptations are progressive. I have not lost much in just a week of mediocre activity, so I can keep my body healthy and maintain some stuff for a while then see what additional magic is available later.

Plus, before long, watermelons will be abundant, and that makes everything better.

Honest confession, I cried a little bit when the decision was finally made to postpone the race. But in the scheme of things, this is so small. We all have much bigger problems. I have millions of very real blessings to count, among them the pleasures and lasting effects of the past ten weeks. It is the training, after all, that changes us, not the race.

Take care, friends, and happy running!
XOXOXOXO

less and more in these exciting times

March 20, 2020: Worldwide and local realities of the Corona virus pandemic, some thoughts on how we can thrive more fully, in a less-and-more format:

Less scrolling our internet news feeds, more phone calls with loved ones. More paying attention to good sources of information.

Less thinking of people on the news as strangers, more realizing they are all our sisters and brothers.

Less thinking that all of this is someone else’s problem, more believing that as a group we can thrive. More placing value on what every single person contributes to society. Less demonizing any segment of the workforce, including white collars and government officials, ok? More appreciating all the layers of cooperation we need and enjoy.

Less complaining about government leadership, more supporting the things going well, more affirming the hard work being done, more praying for the human beings in charge, who have never navigated this before.

Less feeling lost in our homes not knowing what to do with this time and these new tasks (laptop work from home, schooling restless kids, etc)  and less wandering around, more sinking in and nesting together. More making silly memories, more making all kinds of memories that will last a lifetime. This will hopefully be a once in a lifetime event, and none of us will forget how we dealt with Corona virus 2020. Make your future self proud, haha!

Less outsourcing your daily decisions, more tapping into your personal wisdom.

Less newsy, opinionated podcasts in the background, more music.

Less stress snacking, more sunshine walks and stretching.

Less busywork, more meaningful progress on big projects. Also more disinfecting, ha!

Less worrying and talking about each other’s complaints and woes, more praying about actual challenges. More praying for specific people. More praying for specific situations and needs.

Less food waste and hedonism, more appreciation for good nourishment and more sharing with others.

arugula

Less slouching, more dancing and yoga!

Less dwelling on plans thwarted, on goals delayed, on what fun we could be having out and about, more living in the moment and more trusting that this weird time is a gift to be enjoyed, maximized, savored. There are untold hidden treasures in this mess.

Less “What if… (bad stuff)” and much more “What if… (good stuff)!”

Less droopy outlook, more JOYFULNESS and inner aliveness!

Less focus on the negatives of social distancing and more focus on human connections.

Less takeout, more homemade comfort food and maybe more growing our own food.

sourdough for the win

Less driving, more staying put.

Less marathon training, more being healthy and having fun with health and fitness and not being sad about the marathon and also looking forward to starting fresh soon. On that note? Less group runs, more treadmill miles and more weights. It’s fine. It’s fine! Also, runners, listen to the podcast below if you need a morale booster about your race being cancelled. Good wisdom here.

Less planning out the details of every week coming soon, more living within the bounds of this exact day, because we really have no idea what is coming next.

Less control, more implicit trust, more surrender.

Less complaining, more actively giving thanks. Thanks to God, to our spouses and children and parents, to our neighbors and friends and workers and leaders. Thanks to everyone for everything we can manage to notice, because it matters.

Less stress, more peace. Good, deep peace, the kind that helps you breathe well. Invite that feeling, embrace it. Protect it. Allow others to have their own.

Less excessive junk food, more small hobbies that keep our hands occupied while watching movies because let’s be honest we are gonna be doing that.

Less fear, more confidence.

Less seriousness, more playfulness.

Less number crunching, more hand washing.

Less disregard for each other, more flattening the curve.

Less seeing how much we can get away with, more being proactive about our social responsibilities.

Less scarcity, more abundance. Abundance in all things. An attitude of abundance, in our thoughts and supplies and capabilities. More attitude of abundance in our relationships and our world.

Less fear, more Love. That’s really it.

What would you add to this list, friends? And how are you and your people doing? What a weird time. What a bizarre and beautiful gift this is, really. I hope you are finding the diamonds and gooey centers in your days. Stay in touch, take care!!

XOXOXOXO
~Marie

marathon monday: kickoff week 12 & lessons lately

Hello and happy Monday! I have birthday stories to tell and garden notes plus lots of gratitude and insight to share about the KFOR “Remarkable Women” experience. My heart is full, and I hope you’ll check in throughout the week to see what’s going on at the Lazy W.

But today I have a running and fitness update. This is our first Marathon Monday blog post of 2020, and there might not be many this year. Let’s dive in!

Only 47 days remain before the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon. I am one of many local runners who are beginning week 12 of an 18 week Luke Humphrey (formerly Hansons) training cycle, and momentum is building. The easy volume is well established, my body has long since preferred running six days per week, and gradually the “SOS” workouts are not just doable; they are also pretty exciting. I can see that my body is adapting week by week. I feel stronger and more capable of running a good, strong full marathon than I ever thought possible. April 26th will be the day to prove it, ha!

Speedy days can be literally terrifying to me if I spend too much time anticipating them. But, as with every difficult task in life, once they are completed, the feeling of exhilaration is irreplaceable. Learning to speed up and grab that feeling of control over and over again has been disorienting and fun and, again, exhilarating. One of my motivations for pursuing a BQ is that I crave more agency over my own body. More impulse control, more awareness of how things feel, more control over everything from hunger to power and exhaustion, fear and focus and self consciousness, resolution, all of it. Internalizing the sensations of narrow pace ranges has helped a lot with this.

Okay. I could talk about that forever.

I have recently learned a few things worth sharing:

  • Do not look too far ahead at the SOS workouts, because stressful anticipation can erode your confidence and ruin the fun. I write them down in my planner a few weeks ahead and try to ignore the details until the morning of each workout. Then, if I feel queasy about it, I consciously fill my head with at least three times as many positive affirmations and negative fears. It’s just good old fashioned encouragement to myself. Nothing fancy, but it helps.
  • Stay in the moment and trust the experience. Remember that no matter how hard any interval may feel in the moment, you invariably feel stronger and healthier and somehow magically better at the end of the full workout. Run the mile you’re in. Run the interval you’re in. Be in the moment. Let the next step or interval or mile or challenge bring its own difficulty. Worrying about what is coming next just ruins the current effort. Trust deep down that you have everything you need, that tomorrow and even race day are already well provided for. Every single day that seemed like the hardest test ever, has turned out to be a blip on my radar. I bounce back almost immediately, even as the weeks grow in difficulty. This is good to remember.
  • I have been reminded of the crucial little daily habits! Dynamic warm ups are great for cold muscles and joints, slow stretching is magical for an exhausted body, and strength moves are imperative, not optional. My feet are the first to let me know that my hips are getting weak. Pretty cool little warning system built in there. Spend the time.
  • Run those speed and tempo days outdoors, no matter the weather, if at all possible, even if it’s very inconvenient to your schedule. The treadmill does not provide the same difficulty as road running, so your body may not reap the same rewards, and the paces are not perfectly accurate. (Apparently the faster you go on a treadmill, the greater the pace discrepancy between its readout and your watch’s. And on Tuesdays especially, you need to know how fast you are running.) Best case scenario? The lingering doubt as to whether you “completed the assignment” will be absolutely haunting. Depressing. And worst case scenario? You will straight up not be prepared for race day. What a waste of all that effort. Embrace inclement weather.
  • Nutrition and sleep make a luscious difference, especially on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays! So nice to be well fed and deeply rested for hard runs, haha!
  • I have learned to give thanks for every mile, whether easy or hard, successful or embarrassing.

One of the unique features of this plan is that the weekend long runs are capped at 16 miles. Many marathon plans prescribe exhausting runs well beyond that, so runners who have not used HMM before are surprised. But the supporting work leading up to those 16 mile Sundays is so substantive that your body is far from rested when Sunday morning rolls around. Last week, for example, I had already logged 48 miles, 16 of them pretty hard, by Saturday. Then Sunday morning I was able to run 16 at a good, steady pace, not far off of my tempo. If I were to think about that very long, I would make myself tired and sad. But the reality was that, somehow,  I felt amazing. Not drained at all, just hungry.

This fact alone gets me excited for how great I will feel at the end of taper week, which has a grand total of just 26 easy miles scheduled. The book explains a lot about enzyme replenishment, the restorative powers of sleep and stretching, glycogen stores, etc. Everything combined? There is a fabled 3 or 4% performance increase at the end of this cycle. I can’t wait!

 So including this week, I only have six more speedy Tuesdays, 6 more tempo runs (they gradually longer), and 2 more 16-mile runs. The weekly volume continues to build, but so should both my fitness and my fatigue, haha! Such a funny combination.

Okay. Have you endured enough rambling? The process of marathon training is so interesting to me, even when I am not in the thick of it. But being in the true thick of it again, in a focused way with measurable goals attached, is so fun. So exciting. I am thankful for the experiences of facing nervousness and fear of failure, of flying and being carried by that rippling purple cushion of energy that shows up during a good tempo run, of spending everything I have in my body on a fasted, depletion run and laying flat with a bottle of water nearby. I love the feeling of sharpness it all hones. I am smitten with the work coming next.

Thanks for checking in!!  

would you rather, gardeners’ edition!

Friends, I am shin-deep in pruned off rose branches and dried pampas grass clippings. My ponytail is full of shredded oak leaves and dried manure, and all my jeans are loose from excessive wear and grimy from, well, everything. Seed trays, still devoid of green sprouts, are filled with what looks like brownie batter and are also wrapped in plastic, coaxing all that sunny-window magic they can to germinate tomato seeds and other treasures. Sugar snap peas have soaked overnight and are ready to find a spot outside. Potatoes are soon to follow.

My trusty work gloves are getting as much use as my best kitchen apron, and I love it all. I am giddy from it, and the season is just getting started. My imagination for the outdoor spaces is in overdrive this year. I have more construction ideas and growing inspiration than ever before, or maybe it always feels that way?

Let’s play a game! Let’s play “Would You Rather, Garden Edition!”

Please share as many of your answers as you can. I love to hear how other gardeners think and feel!

Would You Rather…

Rehabilitate on old, overgrown garden… or start with blank earth and design your own? (I always want to rehab spaces. Driving around neighborhoods and small towns, especially abandoned properties, I cannot resist visualizing how I would change things. Rip out old shrubs, prune trees, double dig weedy flower beds, what would grow here?  How could we change the eye line? Etc.)

Would You Rather…

Grow only food… or grow only ornamentals? ( I would choose food and edible flowers and herbs, but grow them in artful arrangements.)

Would You Rather…

Win a huge lottery-style budget to spend all in one gardening year… or win free, unlimited garden labor for that year? (I would choose the budget win, and spend it on long term investments like trees, perennials, and masonry supplies. Because I love working outside and Handsome does pretty much anything I cannot do, physically.)

Would You Rather…

Have access to unlimited flats of healthy annual color… or have perennials guaranteed for life? (This question pops into my head every time I visit places like Six Flags, where their annuals beds and baskets are overflowing every single day, and I just know they have greenhouses full of replacements for the inevitable losses. Still, I would choose perennials that never fail.)

Would You Rather…

Grow all the roses… or all the hydrangeas? (Hydrangeas for me, only if you force me to choose! I have several of both at the farm.)

Would You Rather…

Grow only old fashioned, stand by heirloom vegetables… or only the new, fun hybrids, bred to solve modern problems?

Would You Rather…

Have a gardening mentor… or be a gardening mentor?

me with my mentor and my mentee xoxoxo

Would You Rather…

Invest a windfall amount of money in statuary or other garden art… or invest it in gardening machinery? Tell me what you would buy!

Would You Rather…

Spend your November cash on paper whites and poinsettias for the holidays… or spend it on tulip bulbs for spring? (I always spend my winter gardening money on immediate gratification then regret, come spring, that I did not buy at least a few tulip bulbs. Every year I resolve to plan better. Including this year.)

Would You Rather…

Use chipped wood mulch… or well rotted organic compost?

Would You Rather…

Wear boots or golashes… or flip flops?

(…or maybe your Grandpa’s old leather boots?)

Would You Rather…

Work outside in the morning… or in the evening? (Tough call. I feel extremely lucky that most every day I can flit form task to task at my liesure, more or less following the sun. If I had to choose, though? Morning.)

These are fun to track in wild thought, and they can help us refine our wishes and priorities; but how wonderful that we rarely have to choose. We can grow and design and indulge our senses in myriad ways. We can do things differently every year if the mood strikes us.

What projects are on your early March calendar? Tell me everything!

“And forget not that the earth
delights to feel your are feet
and the winds long to play with your hair.”
~Khalil Gibran
XOXOXOXO