Lazy W Marie

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

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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

 

motivation monday: weeks 4 & 5 recap & keeping a confidence journal

Hello, happy Monday! I am ready to get all over this new week ahead. Let’s recap training weeks four and five and talk about confidence.

One of my favorite features of Kara Goucher’s half marathon plan is that she encourages you to keep a “Confidence Journal.”

CONFIDENCE JOURNAL: I keep a log of my runs and workouts. But I also keep a small “confidence journal” and I keep it with me. I write down workouts or runs that have gone particularly well. Or workouts that were hard, but I was able get through. Flipping through the journal when you start to doubt yourself is a good way to confirm you’ve done the work. In many ways, you’re just asking your body to do what you’ve already done.

I have for a long time been tracking my food and  miles and along the way paying attention to how different habits make me feel, both physically and mentally; but often this becomes a critical inner dialog about how things could be better. How it’s never good enough, you know? 

More miles, faster miles, cleaner eating, stronger core, better stretching, everything. Nothing wrong with that exactly. We all are trying to get better at stuff. But focusing only on room for improvement can erode the long view and stall progress.

I don’t know about you, but my inner voice can be pretty discouraging. I should be using it to motivate myself. Positivity matters. You guys know that gratitude is a big deal to me, being actively thankful for the gifts and blessings we are given. Now I am just tacking on some active confidence. Just noting the things that are going well, small accomplishments that make me feel closer to my goals. I groove it. My goal right now is to run a half marathon in well under two hours, without dieting. Ha. Yeah, I need to build up my confidence.

Anyway! Confidence Journal. I urge you to keep one. It feels silly at first, kinda like Stuart Smalley talking to himself in the mirror, but on the days you need a little boost, it’s great. So much healthier than scanning social media and slipping into the comparison trap.

Week Four Recap: 35.8 miles total, plus barre twice, some abs and yoga, and one really short but really fun day of “hiking.” 

Highlights: On Wednesday that week the prescribed workout was called “Ice Cream Sandwich!” LOL. It is basically speed work book-ended by tempo miles. Friends, that was so much fun. The first 2-mile tempo (8:25) was easy and fresh feeling. The speed work in the middle was truly exhilarating! It felt like flying uphill! (400x repeats at a 6:45 pace!) And although I had trouble on the second tempo getting up to speed, I felt so happy. It’s true that you get a completely unique physical sensation from running “fast” (whatever that means to you) than you do from running long and slow. Both feel great. Total that day was 7 miles exactly.

“Most of training is just teaching your body to be okay with working hard – and setting the bar a bit higher. A workout will make you sore, but that’s okay. It just means you’ll be that much more ready when race day comes.” – Kara

Short, easy, refreshing hike with hubby and friends at Mt. Scott. This really made me crave both a cool weather, challenging hike in Colorado and a hot summer’s day in Oklahoma.

Week Five Recap: 41.9 miles plus barre once, a tender knee, a sky-rocketing metabolism, and lots of mental clarity. Last week I needed running to smooth out the extremes of life, and it worked like a charm. 

Week Five Highlights: I was happy to get my mileage up a tiny bit in the midst of stress and noticed that “easy” paces are gradually improving, all while my heart rate is nice and low. I also liked making running more of a scheduled priority than I had the past few weeks. This past week l felt better mentally and physically, despite some tough family news, which of course oozed good vibes into the rest of my days.

Another highlight from week 5 was grabbing a Saturday morning run with my friend Robin. I don’t run with other people very often, and every time I do, I wonder why I don’t make more of an effort. It was so lovely. The miles (3 alone then 8 with her, average pace of 10:01) clicked by like nothing. Runners are fun people.

Side story: The day after our easy run, Robin ran a spontaneous half marathon and PR’d! She hit the time I have set as my next goal, running just by feel, which gave me the best little thrill of encouragement. She is also quickly approaching the Boston Marathon, so send her all your good vibes. She is currently one of my favorite running inspirations.

In the midst of so many great workout days, week five did present some eating challenges. Ha. Hello life stress and a really fun social outing. Thank goodness for a cranked up metabolism!

Thursday evening we attended Oklahoma City’s 30th annual Chefs Feast benefiting the Regional Food Bank. The food was amazing and plentiful. I ate like a… Well… I did not go home hungry.

This photo was snapped after two solid hours of grazing. No longer able to suck it in. We had fun!

Then on Sunday I let some negative household vibes and funky weather get me down and made less than stellar food choices, on top of not running. No biggie. I woke up Monday morning with some tummy regret but am thankful to know exactly how to deal with it all:

RUN. Run and focus on the positive stuff.

Over and out.
XOXOXOXO

 

 

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

 

 

motivation monday: january fitness so far

Hey hey, it’s Monday! A fabled day for fresh starts and checking in on goals. Let’s review life lately.

I paused just after the holidays to take stock of my health and well being and was pleasantly surprised to be not too freaked out. After enjoying my fair share of December decadence and inactivity, I fluffed up but only a little. For the first time in my adult life I started the year with not so much regret and self loathing but rather just a craving for better food and more sweat. Easy. Simply time to get smoothly back in a groove.

Okay.

January 2-8: Ran just 16.5 sluggish miles total due to some painfully cold, windy weather but added in two cardio barre sessions plus my first aerial yoga class, which was so fun!! After a week of eating better food (more veggies, no sweets) I was feeling more like myself. For the first week of January I just aimed to gradually increase good energy and keep everything in balance with the rest of life. The phrase sustainable healthy habits has been floating in my head. 

We spent lots of extra time playing in the snow, though, which was magical., xoxo
We spent lots of extra time playing in the snow, though, which was magical. xoxo

January 9-15: Ran 38.47 total miles, and my mind and body were much more comfortable this week. Thanks to my new Garmin I am getting a grip on my actual average pace and heart rate fluctuations, which is fun, if slightly too easy to get obsessed with. I was joking with a friend recently that first I was obsessed with my weight, then my long distance ability, then my pace, and now I think about being skinny and running fast and far but with a low HR. If it’s measurable, it’s never enough. Ha. 

  One day this week was really exciting. While running 400m repeats I felt this deep surge of energy andtook off on a straight path, hitting a 6:05 pace over and over. So thrilling! My belly had that sparkler effect going on, do you know what I mean? A completely different runner’s high than long distance endorphins. When I laced up that day I only intended to run off some stress; the speed work was a pleasant surprise, and to boot I met a local girl who is training for her first marathon in April, yay! Hopefully we’ll bump into each other again soon.


garmin 6 C

Besides running, this past week I grabbed a couple of hours of cardio barre (just internet videos I follow at home, I have decided this is much better for my body than even light weightlifting) plus one more aerial yoga class, which was even more of a workout than the week before. If you can find an aerial yoga studio in your town, runners, give it a try. Such a great full body stretch, and what an incredible upper body strength challenge. WOW. Meredith and I go to OKC for our third class tonight. Yesssss…

aerial girls C

 

Food Notes: Among so many healthy and delicious meals lately, one accidental combination stands out: I assembled a plate of two cooked eggs (omelette style, not quite scrambled) with a sliced raw pear, an ounce of mozzarella cheese, and a pile of good dark green lettuce. The lettuce was dressed with lemon juice and just a scant half tablespoon of olive oil and lots of black pepper and sea salt (my favorite salad dressing, ever). The olive oil pooled beneath everything, which made the eggs extra decadent and the last few bites of raw pear something otherworldly. Those few pear slices were coated with olive oil and black pepper, slick and flavorful and mouthwatering. Delicious. So good. This accident will become a repeat performer.

  By the way, Genevieve and I are on a mission to prove that any good entree can be translated to a salad. Omelette with pear on the side? Yes. Adding it to the list. Sushi? The jury is hung on a lettuce technicality.

This Coming Week: Monica from Run Eat Repeat has been hosting a fun and informational daily running camp which has been fun, so going forward I’ll continue to check in with her. I’m also planning to run more or less according to this Hal Higdon advanced marathon training plan (today begins week four). Loving raw kale and chicken breast. Loving eggs and Greek yogurt. Junk food cravings are fading to the background, happily. Loving cardio barre and of course aerial yoga. Loving lots of time playing outside and getting a grip on our many farm projects for 2017. I feel like January is starting off pretty great.

I hope your month has started well too, and I hope that whatever plan you are following to feel good bodily that it also helps you feel good emotionally. That matters. 

And with that, I am off to start this day!

“A feeble body weakens the mind.”
~Jean Jacques Rousseau
XOXOXOXO