Lazy W Marie

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

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new running goal and a training plan to match

Ask my husband to confirm this: The only thing more annoying than a super enthusiastic and focused runner is an enthusiastic but indecisive one. Specifically, and especially to a run-running spouse, it’s far easier to listen to a person drone on about how well training is going or how challenging it is than to listen to how she cannot decide what plan to follow, what race to try, how much, how far, how fast, etc. Every. Day.

WHAT DO I DO?? 

For all of January and most of February, this was me, and my husband patiently endured it. I was feeling good 8 weeks into an 18-week plan, unfluffing from the holidays and rebuilding stamina, but I needed a change. The time came to reevaluate.

The first step was focusing on my actual goal.

In a nutshell I want to be faster. Specifically, to start with, I have decided to try for a sub-2 hour half marathon. This may sound easy to some people, but for me it will take considerable work. These past few years of dipping my toes into the running waters, long slow miles have come pretty easily to me, but not so much the swiftness. In my wildest imagination, meeting this current goal will lead naturally to a faster full marathon later this year, then Boston Qualify, then the Olympics etc. Ha! Kidding. Mostly. I do think a sub-4 hour marathon in within me. And that is exciting.

So around Valentine’s Day, goal in my head, I gathered advice from a few trusted running friends and started shopping for a new training plan. I needed something that would help me keep running in balance with a busy springtime at the farm, too. A quick internet search led me to a really enticing one by Kara Goucher.

It has everything:

  • Good, satisfying weekly mileage (most 13.1 plans are flimsy feeling, which makes it difficult to abandon the 26.2 plan).
  • But no three-hour Fridays!! Perfect for my busy springtime calendar.
  • Lots of variety day-to-day, plus lots of flexibility to invest in other physical details (abs, upper body, stretching).
  • Speed work!!
  • This plan is only ten weeks long, and I happened to find it exactly when ten weeks would land me at the OKC event should I choose to race. No biggie if I don’t. (There is something else big that day which I will tell you about soon.)

Just a few weeks into this plan, I already feel better and am seeing small improvements. Perhaps more importantly, fitting in the daily workouts has been easy and natural. Life balance is so important, and this plan is helping me keep running in its proper place as servant, not master. Very cool.

So Far So Good:

Kara Goucher plan week 1/10: One day that week I learned how fun it is to run “strides” at the end of an easy 6 miles. On another day I messed around with cadence, discovering how great it feels to truly do measured intervals. The snapshot below isn’t a great average pace, but it’s from a day of sprinting and walking on both asphalt and hilly mud trails. My body felt amazing at the end and I couldn’t stop grinning. Such fun to get my legs moving swiftly and with lightness, not just cranking hard and sloppy, you know? Total miles: 37

fartlek C

Kara Goucher plan week 2/10: A highlight from week two was running with three of my four siblings, a first for us. I ran alongside my little brother Joe, who helped me keep a decent pace for almost 7 miles despite some stunning headwinds around Lake Hefner. This was the week we lost Grandpa Stubbs, so running helped to siphon off a lot of emotion. Total miles: 39.5

sibs run C

Kara Goucher half week 3/10: My birthday week was particularly strange, mostly because it started with sheer exhaustion (maybe some delayed grief too) and a minor foot injury. I caved to the former problem and avoided dealing with the latter, which together meant frustratingly low mileage. On the bright side, I got lots of farm stuff accomplished and spent so much extra time with loved ones. My foot is healed now, and so far this new week has been refreshing. Sunday afternoon I laced up just to knock some rust off of my mind and body and was pleasantly surprised that an “easy effort” pace was under 9 minutes. That is progress. Total miles: 13

clean slate C

So that’s what’s up. It feels good to have a well defined goal in my head, something concrete and measurable to pursue. It feels even better to have a fun new plan to explore that compliments instead of competes with the rest of my life. And my husband must surely be happy that we are no longer having the same open-ended conversation every single day about whether I want to run the full or the half or nothing, or should we just move to Florida and rent out jetskiis to tourists? 

Signing off now to lace up. The workout today is called “Ice Cream Sandwich.” It’s a two-mile warm up at 15 seconds over goal pace, hard hill repeats x 10, ending with another two miles at the same 15 seconds above goal pace. See? Fun!

“Run Fast for Your Mother, Run Fast for Your Father
Run for Your Children, for Your Sisters and Your Brothers
Leave all Your Love and Your Longing Behind
You Can’t Carry it With You if You Want to Survive”
~Florence+ the Machine
XOXOXOXO

 

 

 

grading my month of running

Hey friends, happy Tuesday! Big warm thanks to everyone who sent their love and wonderful comments on my post this past Sunday. Reading your words both here and on social media made me feel even more alive with hope. Know that I am sharing all of that loving energy right back with you! Also, I want to share that God is already moving in visible ways. We are actually pretty excited to see what will happen next.

Okay.

I have lots of gardening updates, manure management ideas, big family news, and books and movies to discuss, but there’s time for all of that wonderful stuff later. Soon, in fact!

Today I am linking up for the first time with Marcia and her friends over at Marcia’s Healthy Slice to share some thoughts on how this first month of the new year has been going in the running department. Let’s go.

tuesdays

You might remember I launched this month with a positive attitude toward health and fitness, reflecting on the many benefits of training for but not running a marathon. Then I took stock mid-stream and set a short term goal of un-fluffing myself from the holidays. I have been eating better, running more consistently, and throwing in plenty of yoga, both aerial and traditional.  Just kinda getting back in a groove. I feel great body and mind. Here is my January mileage:

Jan 2-8:  16.5 (Just getting warmed up) plus some cardio barre at home and one aerial yoga class

Jan 9-15:  38.47 (Feeling better! Following an online running camp, more on that later!) and aerial yoga

Jan 16-22:  26.9  (Some schedule interruptions, no biggie) plus extra yoga at home

Jan 23-29:  34.57 (Enjoying faster paces and a lighter appetite) no aerial yoga this week again but lots at home

January total:  116.44 (I start my weeks on Mondays and will tack on yesterday’s and today’s miles to my February weeks.)

I’m happy with this as a start to the new year, because all of it together helped me feel more like myself, and just as importantly all of it together stayed in harmony with the rest of life. At no point did I feel like making my running a priority interfered with farm work or family time; and at no point did I feel like eating better (more vegetables, less bread, cereal, and sugar) was part of a deprivation or “diet” mentality. I just feel amazing eating certain things and moving more. Bonus? I am un-fluffed already. Back down to my pre-Christmas feeling and weight, not that weight matters so much. It’s just amazing to me how doing things that feel so good can be so productive. So profitable. At this easy, sustainable pace and with the right attitude I know I’ll soon be where I want to be, bikini-wise. 

Okay. Marcia invited us to grade ourselves for January.

I cannot in good conscience give myself an “A,” only because I had set slightly higher mileage goals each week and missed them. But I will take a “B” for balance, haha. While I am following the Hal Higdon Advanced I Marathon Plan as a structure for workouts, I have not yet committed to any spring races. So it’s important for my mental peace to just use running as a tool right now and not let it become an obsessive taskmaster, you know?

I mean at least for now. ; )

Check back with me late March and see how that’s going, ha. Or ask my husband, yikes.

Speaking of my husband, he ordered me some new compression socks. I feel like the pink Power Ranger when I wear this pair:

pink socks C

Another thought along these lines: I have been craving this phrase: running volume.

It’s one thing, I think, to tack miles on here and there, or to prep all week for one long run then recover in bed lazily, especially in these winter months. But I have had such a deep need to run more every day, you know? For example, if my plan says I need 3 miles, then I want 5. If it says 7 miles, I want 9. And so on. Every day I wake up feeling this. Just crank up the volume.

Once your body is warmed up, after all, you are just another 18 or so minutes away from that many more miles, and they certainly add up in a week. I tell myself this at the end of each prescribed run and make little bargains with the part of my brain that is pulled to move on with other jobs, like, “just keep going, 18 minutes is no big deal, you spend more than that much looking at social media!” Since I am rarely exhausted, just thinking of other work that needs doing, the bargain is easy to make. And I always walk away happier, more energized for that next job.

Again, I am running strictly for myself right now and basically I have no idea what I am talking about, this is just what my mind and body crave. If you are running for a certain goal or with a date in mind, then this random volume strategy could be foolish or at least pointless. I have no idea.

But I am super thankful to feel like myself again and downright humbled and grateful that my lifestyle provides the luxury of running every day without having to hire a babysitter or drive a long distance or lace up at dark because I have to be showered and in an office by a certain time.

I get to spend my early morning with my husband, drink my perfect coffee slowly, tidy up the house, feed our farm animals, and then lace up, choosing to run either on the treadmill or around our property (the loop is now .33 miles, yay!) or at one of a few nearby tracks. I love it. I feel very lucky.

So a B for the month of January is a decent start to the new year. I know where I want to improve and have some good ideas of how to get there. Most of all I am happy to be enjoying the process. 

Thanks for the fun writing topic, Marcia, as well as for the welcome to link up!

Run While You Can
XOXOXOXO

Edit: As I finished this blog post Tuesday morning I laced up for an easy 6 mile run. Yesterday’s 9 mile plan was cut to 8.2, then I worked around the house and farm all the rest of the day. I was exhausted beyond what you might feel from a good workout. My whole body and skull hurt so much.

So this morning I was looking forward to an easy run, but I could barely even finish a warm up. I came inside after less than a mile, tried cardio barre (why I thought that would be better is a mystery), and still felt pretty awful. It’s my chest and breathing, I cannot seem to keep any oxygen flowing at all, and my skull still hurts. I tried cleaning the middle field, which is a chore involving raking, scooping, and relocating big wheelbarrows full of manure to other spots around the farm. Again: Why I thought that would be better is beyond me now.

Long story short, by about 11 am I resigned to being actually sick and accepted that my week’s exciting mileage plans were not either derailed or just slightly delayed. I am deciding it’s a matter of perspective, ha. My sweet (if overprotective) husband is on his way home now to make sure I rest.

It’s all about health, anyway. The big picture. Be well, friends! xoxo

 

 

training for but not running a marathon

Hello there, happy Monday-eve!

Tomorrow is Marathon Monday, the first of many in 2017.

For my first fitness/running/marathon post of the new year, I would like to share some thoughts on last summer and fall, those many weeks spent training for but ultimately not running Route 66 in Tulsa. Even if you are not a runner, I hope you’ll find this interesting and maybe even useful. No secret that running is as much a lifestyle as a sport. If you are a runner, I would love to hear your perspective, too. 

 

run-windmill

For the sake of keeping good life records and answering the obvious question, why did I train but not race?

I started last year’s spring marathon season with a pretty bad ankle sprain and had to skip the OKC April event completely. My high hopes of redemption after the 2015 Crying Games were, well, dashed.

My ankle thankfully healed in time to make a fun June trip to Colorado and get in some amazing hikes with Jocelyn plus run lots of hilly miles there, all of which served to kick off a brand new training season.

Joc & Bridge xoxo Best hiking guides on earth
Joc & Bridge xoxo Best hiking guides on earth

My imagination was set on the Tulsa full in mid-November, but I never registered for it. I just had this vague feeling that it wasn’t right. I did run consistently all summer, though, and into autumn, following my chosen plan pretty strictly. 

It was so great. I felt better than I had felt in all the three or so years of running so far. I even lost some weight without dieting and had energy to spare.

handstand-w-velvet-oct-2016

None of that low-energy-black-under-your-eyes-carb-starvation nonsense like in 2015. Let’s never do that again, okay? Okay. 

Then as the temperatures dropped and our leaves fell in earnest, I woke up one day with a nasty case of strep throat. Handsome joined the germy, high-fever club so we loaded our systems up with antibiotics and slept for a few days. 

Eventually we felt good enough to shake it off and visit Jocelyn again, this time during the week that would have been spent tapering. My thoughts were torn between “I should really get some miles in just in case,” and also, “Man I am glad I didn’t pay for the registration already!”

Funny side note: I had good reason to believe Handsome was surprising me with a race BIB as an early Christmas gift. I hated to ruin the surprise if this was the case, but I had to know. What a deep, amazing relief it was when he said no. He had considered it but could tell that my race enthusiasm had waned. Okay, side note over.

I also happened to get a bizarre and disturbing case of extreme altitude sickness that weekend and only barely hiked once or twice. No running at all, much different from every previous trip to EP. We assumed the antibiotics and some dehydration had weakened me considerably. Oh well.

hh-training-2016-c

Pretty cool, if you ask me, how that running chapter of 2016 was book-ended with visits to Colorado. 

Okay. The take-aways. What are some benefits of training for a marathon even if you don’t run the race?

Perhaps the most beautiful thing about marathon training is how much of an adventure it is. You know that saying, that a marathon is just the final 26 miles of a journey that is hundreds of miles long? Very true. And along that journey a runner learns plenty about himself, his life, and the world at large. This past season was my third such journey, and here is what I walked away with, despite not earning a finisher’s medal: 

  1. Gratitude Interrupts Anxiety. Exactly as with every other kind of anxiety in life, gratitude has the power to sort of melt running anxiety and overshadow it. Gratitude for strong ankles, gratitude for healthy food to keep you energetic, gratitude for time available to dedicate to running, gratitude for pleasant (or at least bearable) weather. Gratitude for the people who inspire and encourage us. Gratitude for every goal met and every lesson learned when we don’t meet those goals. Gratitude for faster speeds and slower heart rates. Gratitude for comfortable shoes and good music. Gratitude for jeans that fit better than before and foam rollers that hurt so good and cold, sweet watermelon. Millions of big and little things for which to give thanks along this 18-week running journey. Let your thankful heart lead the way on the days you don’t think you can do it. You really, really can.
  2. Run While You Can. During the sprained-ankle months I sat around pretty depressed and pouting like a child, ha. Not being free to run leaked some funky negative energy into my life and into our home, into all of my projects. So when the day finally came that I was free to nibble at a mile here and there, everything seemed right in the world again. The positive energy quickly gained momentum. That contrast of emotion was useful later, when inevitably I felt challenged by a workout or pressed for time. I was able to remember how much worse it is not be able to run at all. Every opportunity to lace up is a gift. Run while you can, if you love it, because you never know when you’ll have to take a break or for how long. Carpe diem.One day while I was driving to Harrah to run, this lime and this avocado rolled across the floorboard of my car. I did not buy them. How they got in my car is a mystery. A delicious, vitamin-packed mystery. Had they been there since 1963 when the car was built? No one knows. I sliced them and added them to a really big green salad topped also with grilled steak. The End.
  3. Solitude is Powerful. I ran with local friends three or four times between June and November, and I thoroughly enjoyed each meeting! But most of my weeks were spent running alone, which was quite fruitful. Privacy in the midst of a hectic farm and family schedule helped me reset my nerves and reorder my thoughts. Forty-five minutes or an hour and a half on average weekday mornings gave me energy to work around the farm all day; it cleared my head early. And those 16-20 mile runs on Fridays felt like little emotional retreats. I looked forward to them as well as to the recoveries that must follow. Long runs on Fridays always made for super happy weekends. Mental freedom, baby. It counts for so much.treadmill
  4. Persistence Gave Me Speed! That was a pleasant surprise, especially in the thick of a hot, humid Oklahoma summer. I privately nibbled away at a few progressive goals and was thrilled one week to run 12.5 miles in 1:41. That was an unofficial PR, and I was elated for hours. Days. It definitely gave me the spark that I could get better with more focus, and in 2017 I intend to do just that.
  5. Long Term Goals are Totally Worth Having. I forget this sometimes, getting overwhelmed by the enormity of hard things in life, and I allow that sensation of smallness to paralyze me, believing that things are impossible or hopeless. (Which is weird, right? For someone who professes so much about positive thinking? But that’s a whole other conversation.) With running as a life metaphor, let’s remember that the structure of a well chosen plan is refreshing and wildly effective. It provides a base for time management, something good around which you can arrange the rest of your hours and days. It propels you to start small with what you can already do then add more and more as you improve. Progressively. Gradually. A smart plan gets you to your goal, but it also enriches and builds you along the way. Like magic, really.

    My long-run jelly-bracelet trick before I got my cool new Garmin. Each one represented 1.5 miles. Fun!
    My long-run jelly-bracelet trick before I got my cool new Garmin.
  6. Addictive Personalities Can be Harnessed for Good. Haha, my friend Meredith and I were chatting about this recently. Handsome and I also tease each other about being “addictive” and “OCD.” If like us you too have an addictive personality, running might be a smart way to harness that particular energy. When I am running a lot of miles I notice a special chillness in the rest of my life. It’s like, if I can apply a measure of obsession to my training plan, then I can go about the rest of my routine smiling and relaxed, energetic, drained of stress and frenzy. The phrase we toss around is “Let it be your servant, not your master,” which can be a delicate balance. But I finally see for my own life that putting running toward the top of my priorities does serve my life. It lets everything else fall into place beautifully. (Four years ago I would have called you crazy for suggesting this. xoxo)

  7. Save Some Big Bucks. Ha, I mean honestly, races are expensive, right? The entry fee, the travel costs, the extra bananas and PASTA!! LOL. Cash in our pocket, I suppose. More gardening money. I am kidding a little, but the fact is that even without a keepsake medal or BIB, even without the race experience (which is admittedly pretty amazing), those long runs are still so good. The weeks are still intensely satisfying. You can be a happy, healthy runner in private and save some money. I have not yet discovered any laws against this.

run-treadmill-boys

Well friends, those are about as distilled as my thoughts on this topic are going to get. Seven pretty wonderful things I have internalized after training for but not running a big race. I feel so happy! Fortified in many ways. Ready to tackle new pursuits this year.

I got about 50 packages of sour cherry sports beans for Christmas. Better than candy in my book! Bring on those long runs.
Yay for a whole case of sour cherry sports beans instead of Christmas candy!

Thank you so much, friends, for reading and for sharing your thoughts. I love getting to know people this way.

Thank you to Handsome for secretly almost registering me in the Tulsa full as an early Christmas surprise but also for being sensitive enough to his wife’s nuanced behavior to know she wasn’t ready. For a non-runner, he is pretty tuned in. xoxo

Happy New Running Year!!
Enjoy the Journey
XOXOXOXO

marathon monday: october recap

Whew, October was PACKED. With lots of great things, brimming with joy, a nice mix of work and play, but WOW. We have stayed busy every day of every week.

Oh of course, Happy Halloween! We have already been seizing every chance to celebrate, so around here today feels more like a calm, creepy finale than the sugar-coated crescendo. We have been dressing up repeatedly all month, crawling through haunted forests, attending fabulous parties, watching scary movies alone and with friends (particularly once outside here at the farm), you name it. Around here, Halloween is a month long event, just how we like it!

stabby

Okay, fitness and wellness. What’s up!

  • I got new shoes! Two pairs of Brooks arrived in the mail as gifts from my husband, one gently used pair intended for trails (Pure Flow 2) and one brand spanking new pair designated for road running (Pure Flow 3). I am in shoe heaven.
  • I have gradually picked up both my “easy” pace and my “hard effort” pace, which means that my heart and lungs are getting stronger. I have been reading tons about running efficiency so this makes me happy. My capillaries are brilliant little rocks stars, ok?
  • ALSO! I have enjoyed several fast runs that totally surprised me. Several sprints (400 meters) faster than 7 minutes, plus one day a five mile run at just slightly slower than that. This kind of progress is even more exciting than weight loss!

could-not-do

  • Strength training is stuff I do alone here at the farm using 15-20 pound hexagon weights, and I am convinced it all is helping me run better. My stomach and arms feel really tight but also bendy and comfortable, which helps a lot. Oh, have you heard that a strong posterior can make you better at sprinting? Haha, yes. It’s true.
  • Continuing to take multivitamins and high-potency, slow-release iron makes a big difference in how I feel day to day. 
  • Very little dieting anymore! I love knowing how I am going to feel after eating certain meals, and I love knowing calmly how to put carbs, proteins, and all kinds of other foods to good use. Not at all in a punishment kind of way, just as a way of looking within myself (mind and body) and understanding what’s going on.

Training Log:

Oct 3-9: 39 miles total. That week’s highlight was no longer being quite sick like the week before, haha, and also focusing on lots of farm work. I felt revitalized!

Oct 10-16: 26 miles total, including more aggressive speed workouts, also twice as many strength sessions and lots of evening foam rolling. That week Miss Velvet (Klaus’ mom) was visiting the farm, so I avoided leaving the dogs alone too long. 

Oct 17-23: 36.5 miles total. My big happy event that week was running 12 miles at an 8:08 pace. That would lead to a pretty decent half marathon for me, close to an hour and 45 minutes! I continued running that day to finish with 18.5 miles total (latter miles slower = positive splits), but those first 12 were at a pace that was quick for me, without really trying.! I was on a high for several hours. It felt like my body was wrapped in twinkle lights.

Oct 24-30: 44 miles total. I switched up the training plan weeks a couple of times and somehow landed with the perfect amount of miles at the perfect time for my body. It was magical. After spending last Monday through Wednesday on longer speed workouts (9, 5 plus strength, 10) and one decent rest day, I went out for my Friday morning long run feeling strong. I was also down about 8 pounds, which was unexpected but helped me feel light and comfortable. The plan that morning was 20. I started slowly on purpose, thinking of how cool it would be to get negative splits finally. My body needed a break (hello Shark Week) at 15 miles (which were finished at a 9:40 pace) so I drove home and ate a snack then finished some housework and animals chores. I laced up again and wrapped up the day with 5 more miles, this time at a 7:12 pace which is REALLY good for me! It felt like flight! I could not wipe the smile off of my sweaty, sand-crusted face. I was so so so happy. Running double workouts is not my ideal plan, but life and female health can be complicated, and sometimes this just works out beautifully.

October Total: 145.5 miles 

party-kids

I am so happy with how October went! After a successful but challenging September I briefly considered halting marathon training in favor of some more aggressive weight loss efforts but decided that running makes me way too happy, and it had already brought me so far in that goal, anyway. I will stick this out a few more weeks (on the downhill slope!) despite not being registered for any races in November. Speaking of November, here are some thoughts and plans:

Looking Ahead to November:

I have a step back week started already (six today plus strength), during which I will also try to kick a couple of naughty eating habits. It’s good timing, because lots of miles often means a crazy appetite. Running less this week should immediately cool my cravings a bit. Gina at Fitnessista is hosting a quick and easy 7-day focus group, and I like it. Nothing drastic, just healthful encouragement and a big focus on what she calls “eating like a PRO,” which is including both PRO-duce and PRO-tein in each meal. I am also excited to try a few new workout ideas with her.

Next, November is the traditional month for Monica at Run Eat Repeat to host Pile on the Miles, so if you are jonesing for a fun and measurable way to aim for higher mileage before the holiday gluttony, check it out. 

After this step back week and a taper week during which we will be traveling, I plan to see how I feel then arrange a 26.2 run around a local lake. Friends! Run with me! If you do I will invite to the farm for a recovery meal and party.

Okay! Happy Halloween friends, take care of yourself and carpe all those beautiful diems!

Run fast for your mother run fast for your father
Run for your children for your sisters and brothers
Leave all your love and your longing behind you
Can’t carry it with you if you want to survive
~Florence and the Machine
XOXOXOXO

 

 

 

 

never trust that first mile or mondays

After a sluggish beginning, this past week of running was spectacular. Mentally and physically, every day was an investment in well-being, and for that I am so grateful. My total mileage was ever so slightly higher than the previous weeks, which is great; but mostly it all just felt so dang good. I ate better day-to-day, paying more attention to nutritional content and energy than to calories; I stayed hydrated; and we even managed to enjoy life and rest in between. Balance.

Monday: Struggle Bus for four miles here at home. I think most of my problem that day was being consumed with normal Monday catch up work plus frustrating household problems (our new fridge went out so I was waiting on a delivery all day then had several errands to run in Midwest City), so I didn’t lace up until almost 2 p.m. This is a rough time of day for running, especially on the tread mill, so I was glad to have that done. I added some strength exercises then walked away, not feeling particularly accomplished or refreshed. Had I believed that first difficult mile, I would have stopped running. And had I believed that Monday’s funky energy would last all week, I might have thrown in the towel, haha.

Tuesday: Seven miles, again kind of like running through cold mud, but I pressed through and felt completely better afterwards! This was one of those paradoxical runs that made me feel more energetic after spending all my energy. I just love that. By mid-morning on Tuesday I had reclaimed some much needed optimism and enthusiasm. 

Wednesday: Seven miles at the park. This day I saw a good-sized road runner (bird) in the grass. It was standing still, just watching me run on the sidewalk. I could not stop chuckling to myself. Trust me, this is funny. Also on this day I smelled maple syrup all along the north edge of the park, every single lap. It was lovely.

Thursday: Active rest all day, preparing for a longish run the next day and taking advantage of a chance to see my friend Marci. I got lots of housework done and accomplished a little shopping in OKC, too. That afternoon I tried about an hour of deep-stretch yoga, the kind where you hold challenging poses for five minutes or longer, which is not what I am used to. Also the video was pretty bad so I will not bother to share it. Good to stretch, though. I felt nice and bendy that night and my legs were rested.

Marci and Marie, aka Lelma and Thouise! xoxo

Friday: Fourteen miles at the Choctaw Creek Trails. I felt even better than last Friday, when I ran fewer miles. The difference might have been a package of sports beans I ate between miles eight and twelve and a sugar-free electrolyte replacement drink I sipped too. YUM. It also could have been that I had eaten so much better the day before, plus a really great breakfast Friday morning. On these kinds of days I don’t really eat more food; but I do eat more of my calories in good, starchy carbs like oatmeal, rice, or pasta. It seems to make a wonderful difference in my sustained energy.

Friday night was Handsome’s birthday scavenger hunt and dinner in Bricktown with a bunch of our friends, and I enjoyed two really good homemade cookies plus far too many tortilla chips, haha, but it was all so worth it. I am pretty sure I burned off most of those calories, yet again, by laughing hard with our people.

Saturday: Rest day to help my guy catch his breath after a killer week. We hibernated a little and soaked up some romance. xoxo

Sunday: After Hot Tub Summit, we toweled off and went for a very hilly six-mile bike ride, just out here on the road along the front of our farm. Then I headed to the back field for four sweaty miles and called it good. We spent most of the day doing stuff around the farm then got cleaned up and dressed.
We soon went to the City for an early dinner at the newly opened Texas de Brazil near Penn Square Mall. This restaurant in Texas has been one of our favorites for years, and we are so happy they have migrated a bit north. We both were completely happy with the atmosphere, the service, and of course the food! These days I just order the Soup and Salad bar, but if you have ever visited a good churrasco-style restaurant then you know this is just as gluttonous and luxurious as the meat option. That meal capped off an incredible week of exertion and indulgence!

 

 

Total weekly mileage: 36, plus some biking, yoga, and strength stuff. 

If this week had a theme or a lesson, it is that old joke, “Never trust the first mile. The first mile is a liar!” haha I’ll add that Monday can be a liar too. Don’t give up after one difficult workout, and never let Monday dictate how the rest of your week will go.

Always give it ten more minutes
And maybe one more day.
You might be happily surprised!
XOXOXOXO