joyRuN

Snooze

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 19:46:00 +0000

I haven’t run in a few weeks. I had been able to sneak in a short run here & there on cushy forgiving trails before my posterior tibialis tendon (henceforth known as “Princess”) would cry “UNCLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”. Then it got to the point where the even the first few steps would be excruciating. So I stopped and made an appointment with a podiatrist & an orthopedist.

The podiatrist put me on steroids to break up the inflammation, then told me to continue with what I was doing – KTTape & calf compression sleeves during exercise, ice & anti-inflammatories afterwards. The steroids didn’t do jack. I didn’t even get a nice energy boost to get ultra-productive around here. He did order an XRay which fortunately showed no breaks.

Obediently icing the area

The orthopedist told me to give up the barefoot/minimal endeavors & get to physical therapy.

I agreed with the first point. I have flat arches. Period. No amount of running & walking & Crossfitting in my Vibrams or Nike Frees are going to change that – believe me, I’ve TRIED and TRIED and TRIED. It’s just not in my anatomy. Without arch support, my foot caves inward & sets of a whole chain of badness from my arch all the way up to my hips. It’s not worth it, especially when all I have to do is plunk down $40-something for a pair of green Superfeet insoles.

I was very skeptical of the second point. Physical therapy? Again? I’ve been to physical therapy – they give me exercises that I can (& usually do, for a while at least) at home, then have me keep coming back to do the same damn thing there instead of at home, just so they can watch me, all the while with me paying $35 each time. No thanks.

Except the orthopedist insisted that I go to Fox Rehab & specifically, to Ryan. I went for my first appointment on Thursday, determined to give Ryan ONE shot. I pass by a dozen other physical therapy places on the way to him, and wonder which exercises I’d be prescribed this time.

After 20 minutes of careful scrutiny of my fallen arches & gimpy gait, Ryan touched Princess. Let me note that Princess is very sore and does NOT like to be touched. I had cautioned both the podiatrist and the orthopedist during both their assessments that Princess needs to be handled very lightly & gently.

Ryan was decidedly NOT gentle with Princess. While I broke into a sweat gripping the sides of the padded table I was laying on, Ryan pulverized Princess. I reached back 9 years into the recesses of my memory for Lamaze breathing exercises to employ while he used his thumbs to macerate any adhesions & tightness in the area. It HURT. When he was done, he instructed me to ice the area. I asked about exercises, & he said not yet. Any exercises would involve strengthening my weak ankles.

It’s only been 3 days, but there’s marked improvement in the pain level. What would any stubborn runner do with that?

Why, go for a run of course.

Our WOD for today was "Nicole" - 20 minutes to complete as many rounds as possible of 400m run, then max pullups. I got 6 rounds in with 59 pullups completed. I had the option to row those 400 meters, but I was tired of it. For every WOD that has required running in the past few weeks, I've rowed the required running distance instead. Forget that.

I took it nice & slow with the run, & reveled in how great it felt to be running again. Princess was fine during the run - she was a little whiny afterwards, but nothing that a little ibuprofen & ice couldn't silence.

*****

PS - I’ve recently discovered Instagram. Enjoy the randomness...

Beautiful Rodeo

Crossfit 609

Unafraid

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 00:50:00 +0000

I’m still not running. I tried to run today. I made it 1.5 miles before my right lower leg amped up the complaint volume from whiny to screaming. Pathetic.

Consequently, I won’t be talking about running in this post. It’s going to be ALL Crossfit. Horror of horrors. I’ve given you fair warning to click away, since this used to be a running blog, after all.

*****

I signed up for the Crossfit Open. I’m used to signing up for races & events – not like I’m going to win anything, but why the hell not? And for $20, it’s the cheapest event that I’ve signed up for in the past 3-4 years. Sad thing is I don’t get a shirt, which sucks big time - I’m really all about the shirt. I guess it’s too much trouble to mail a shirt to 60,000+ participants worldwide? Whatever.

Quick FYI: the Open is a series of WODs (workout of the day) over five weeks. The WOD is published every Wednesday, & you have until Sunday get the WOD done & post your score. You then get to compare your score with a worldwide stage of fellow Crossfitters. The top 60 athletes in each region move to Regionals, then the top athletes from Regionals get to go the Games.

I have no delusions whatsoever about making it to Regionals. My goal is to not be last.

Open 12.1
7 minutes of Burpees

Is it even worth posting a video to demonstrate this torture? I think not.

My score = 72 reps. Puts me in 15499th place. Not last, but pretty close.

Open 12.2
10 minutes of Snatches (escalate weight every 30 reps)

Considering my max snatch was 55# before this event, the fact that I got 29 snatches at 75# makes me happy. VERY HAPPY. To date, it’s been my most favorite WOD of the Open.

My score = 59 reps. 10202nd place (moving up!)

PS – Biggest Loser’s Bob Harper got 44 reps in this WOD. The men have more weight to move, but let me have this moment, okay?

Open 12.3
18 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of hell:
15 Box jumps, 20" box
75 pound Push press, 12 reps
9 Toes-to-bar

My score = 202 reps. 8941st place.

The most memorable aspect of this WOD is that I fell off the bar during one of my toes-to-bar. My grip slipped as my feet were about to touch that bar, which meant me falling at least 5 feet onto my back. The only thing that broke my fall & kept me from really hurting my back or neck was a stack of 2 45# plates that I used to get up onto the bar. The fall really freaked my coach out. I dusted myself off & got back on the bar to finish the WOD.

Since then I’ve had an overwhelming fury towards the movement, so much so that I’ve kept practicing it. I couldn’t link my toes-to-bar during the WOD. It sorely fatigued my grip, forearms & shoulders to have to swing between reps, & I think that was part of the reason I fell.

Today I linked that crap quite a few times, 5-6 reps in a row.

Hell yeah.

Merrily, merrily…

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:58:00 +0000

Snore....

Geez, I didn’t think there was anything more tedious than the treadmill, but there it is right there. Rowing on one of these makes me want to poke my eyes out. Why don’t they build an erg with a big ol’ TV screen to take my mind off the fact that I’m not on a pretty lake in a boat with a picnic basket packed with a delicious lunch along with a lovely bottle of wine?

My old friend, plantar fasciitis has reared its ugly head along with the tendinitis, the opportunistic pig. Here’s my current treatment regimen for the next two weeks:

Avoid box jumps, double unders, running
Wear cushy running shoes during all workouts
Keep tendon & arch supported with tape &/or compression
No gallivanting around barefoot or in Vibrams
Ibuprofen 600mg every 8 hours (or until my stomach lining disintegrates)

Did the good doctor miss anything?

Wall walks do wonders for my @$$. Or is it being upside down?

*****

I swore off FB & Twitter for Lent. How cliché, right? It’s amazing how much work I’ve gotten done since though. I even got our taxes done this past weekend. I do admit to feeling slightly bewildered though – what if I miss some momentous event in someone’s life? Granted it’ll be someone I barely knew in high school & hadn’t kept in touch with since & we really don’t have a whole lot in common at this point, but STILL.

As RockStarTri pointed out, there is irony in holding onto Google Reader while giving up other social media. It's like giving up chocolate but not chocolate covered gummy bears - a woefully incomplete sacrifice, if you will. Ah well.

NOT the Secret

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:33:00 +0000

I’m a no-go for the Ocean Drive Marathon. My box jump & jump rope induced shin splints have turned into full-blown tendinitis – posterior tibial tendinitis, to be exact. Although it doesn’t bother me during running (or box jumps and double unders for that matter), the day after is torture. As in can’t even touch the area & burns at night kind of torture.

I rested it for a while then went for a 5k on Sunday. It was a local race that I’d signed me & my husband up for a while ago – the Sea Isle Polar 5k for Autism. It’s a very family-oriented event with TONS of food at the finish & door prizes galore. The race course is a straightforward out-&-back, & as usual down the shore in the winter, the wind will slow you down at some point.

My time was 26:03 – definitely not a PR. The tendinitis wasn’t an issue during the run, so I can only blame it on – well, not running. Apparently, though Crossfitters can get faster with just Crossfit, I’m not one of them. For me, the only way to run faster is to run fast. Maybe just to run more than 1-2x/week would be a good start.

Front Squat - guaranteed to relieve constipation, but not to deliver a 5k PR.

What’s my next step? No idea. I’ll continue to take it easy on this tendinitis thing & see when I can get training again. I’m hoping it won’t take too long.

Ahhh, Blog Fodder

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:40:00 +0000

I was never a cute pregnant person. I thought I was, but then I saw pics. Holy cow. Literally.

Unlike Kristen at RunforWine – she’s a gorgeous preggo. Damn her.

She tagged me for some memecry, which is great because I can’t even pretend to have blog fodder these daze.

Anyhoo, here are the rules…

1. Post these rules
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer
5. Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them
6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people!

*****

Random things:

I really really enjoy nursing. I like working with patients to feel better whether it’s after open heart surgery or on hospice (still doing both).
The keys to my being productive & staying focused per one through three of my resolutions: making lists, getting up an hour before the kids, and a shitload of coffee.
Key to resolution #5 (be ungrumpy in the evening) = wine or beer
I’m still working on 7 through 10. Gimme a break, it’s only January.
I give up on #4. I must’ve lost the say-only-nice-things-filter during childbirth or something.
I played volleyball in high school. That’s the only sport I played ever.
I should wear a Poise pad to Crossfit.
I went to Catholic school most of my life. Even now, when a nun says jump, I say “how high?”
At this very moment, I can’t wait for the kids to go to bed so I can have that pint of B&J Cherry Garcia all to myself. Not very Paleo, I know.
My biceps are sore because they’re getting monstrously huge to match my quadzillas.
I keep my hair long so I can still look like a chick despite #10.

*****

Kristen’s questions:

1. What is your biggest pet peeve? Lack of accountability. Own your shit with zero excuses.

2. If stranded on a desert island what 3 personal items (not including survival tools) would you want? Food processor, Kindle Fire, toothbrush.

3. What’s the one food you could never give up? Alcohol. That counts as a food right?

4. What’s your best quality? My smile. I look like a depressed narcoleptic otherwise.

5. What was the last thing you really laughed over? My son did/said something this morning that cracked me up. I can’t remember what it was, but he had me in stitches.

6. What is your go-to book recommendation? Game of Thrones series.

7. What’s your ideal time of day to workout? 9am.

8. What’s the last food you ate? It’s now past the kids’ bedtime, so B&J Cherry Garcia.

9. Who is your favorite athlete (dead or alive)? At the moment, Rich Froning. Man is freaking HOT.

10. What’s the last movie you watched and would you recommend it? Horrible Bosses. Hilarious so I’d definitely recommend it.

11. Toilet paper over or under? OVER.

*****

Here are my questions:

What are your go-to excuses?
What’s your favorite WOD or running workout (distance/tempo/speedwork)?
Do you track your dietary intake?
What’s your favorite healthy meal?
What’s your favorite cheat meal?
Any nagging injuries that worry you?
What book would you recommend?
Have you ever been hospitalized? If so, how were your nurses?
What look is more appealing to you? Designer well put together chic or a fit body dressed in workout clothes?
What’s your resting heart rate?
If you had no financial/physical limitations whatsoever, what would you do?

For these peeps to answer:

Oh so pretty

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:07:00 +0000

Bah. I ran 14 miles today - the first 10 on the boardwalk, then last 4 on the treadmill. Both my shins are taped up, but they're still whiny on the run. The WODs the past two weeks have been heavy on double unders & box jumps, including Monday's workout - the "Filthy Fifty", which includes another 50 double unders & 50 box jumps. I know I know - I'm speaking that foreign language again. Just trust me on this one - my shins are pissy little bitches at this point.

I have to step it up on the speedwork though. There's a half marathon in April that a couple of co-workers have signed up for. They're both training for a sub-2, & I have to be right there with them (as in beat both their asses & have bragging rights on the unit).

End running talk, commence incessant Crossfit talk but it's my blog so I'm going to keep writing about it...

One WOD that I enjoy yet makes me pretty nauseous at the start is "Grindy". "Grindy" involves:

10 clean & jerks (65# for women),
5 rounds of "Cindy" (5 pullups + 10 pushups + 15 squats = 1 round)
10 clean & jerks,
5 more rounds of "Cindy", then
10 clean & jerks.

I did this WOD on October 11 using 45# clean & jerks, a green band for assisted pullups, & my 2nd round of "Cindy" pushups were on my knees. I finished in 15:10.

We did this WOD again yesterday. I used 55# for my clean & jerks (my technique has gotten better & I should've gone for 65#). But I did every single round of "Cindy" as prescribed. EVERY pullup unassisted, and EVERY pushup in the plank position. That's 50 unassisted pullups and 100 plank pushups. I finished in 14:50.

I'm freaking PSYCHED to get off the pullup bands!!!!

If you've made it this far in reading this, here's your reward...

THAT is the ugliest back squat in the world, but I stood that shit up.
1 rep max = 150#
Pic courtesy of Crossfit609

You're welcome.

On Food

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 01:15:00 +0000

I’ve been trying to clean up my food intake since the beginning of December. Why did I decide to go into the holidays like that? No idea – definitely not a brilliant timing move. This video had done a good bit to motivate me in that direction though…

Next Generation Crossfit | Jeremy Bedell's Story from Redeemed Productions on Vimeo.

I read this book as well & it really put me in the mindset of food as fuel for performance. I’m not really into eating strictly like a caveman, but I am into cutting out as much processed foods out of my & my children’s diet. I’m not 100% strict – I allow for 2-3 cheat meals during the weekend so I’m not going around feeling sorry for my deprived self.

Do I feel different? I think so - a little clearer, less sluggish, less bloated. Do I feel like suzy sunshine with endless energy ready to conquer each day like a giddy gladiator? Um, no.

Anyhoo, here’s what I’ve been typically eating throughout the day.

Supplements

Breakfast: coffee w/ almond milk, scrambled eggs (2 whites, 1 yolk) with spinach, bacon

Smoothie: spinach, frozen berries, banana, almond milk

Lunch for work

Slightly different lunch for work

Paleo shortribs from Civilized Caveman

Paleo chocolate bacon bites from Civilized Caveman

Paleo cake in a mug from PaleOMG

Freaking fascinating, I know.

On the workout front - no running this week. I tried to head out there a couple of times, & my shins haven't been cooperative. I'm assuming it's from all the WODs we've had the past 2 weeks loaded with box jumps & double unders. There's only so much impact my medial tibia can accommodate. Am I worried about my Ocean Drive Marathon training? Not yet - I've been able to log some decent long runs in, & I have time. I hope.

Windy

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:13:00 +0000

Guess what I FINALLY got done yesterday? I pulled up to Shop Rite for my grocery shopping & the boob van was there. My doctor’s been at me for 2 years to get this done, & I just never got it done. With the mobile mammography RIGHT THERE, I couldn’t pass it up.

Ouch.

Thankfully, the entire process was done in less than 15 minutes - my groceries stayed nice & chilled in my trunk.

****

I went for my long run on Tuesday – I made a very deliberate effort NOT to look at my Crossfit affiliate’s website in the morning to check the WOD in case it looked too fun to pass up.

First of all, it was hella cold yesterday. I took the kids to the bus stop & realized that I was going to have to throw some layers on if I was going to get this long run in. I warmed up 4 miles on the treadmill before braving the elements for the remaining 12 – it’s an out & back route, and unfortunately, the back part was going to be windy as hell. WINDY. With FLURRIES. The run was fine & I was able to hold onto my pace until the last two miles. I must’ve been leaning forward or doing something funky with my body position against the wind because I started to get baaaad cramps the last two miles – the kind that seized my midsection whenever I’d run, but relax a little bit when I walked. I think I averaged 12 min/mile those last 2 miles because of the cramping.

Stooopid winds. 16 miles in 2:46:17 (10:24 average pace).

The scary thing is, conditions for the Ocean Drive Marathon have been known for cold shore winds. I lucked out last year when the winds weren’t too bad, but I might not have the same fortune this year. I guess we’ll see.

After I’d showered in hot scalding water to bring circulation back to my hands, I finally let myself see the WOD – double unders & cleans. I looove cleans. Love them. So I went in the evening. I very nearly puked, but it was ooohh so worth it.

Those Damn Resolutions

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:10:00 +0000

It's that most wonderful time of the year when I look back & examine aaaaaalllllllll those faults that make me a cotton-headed ninnymuggins, decide which ones I'd like to work on, then further whittle it down to those that I think I have a chance of still being interested in past January 15.

Sounds exciting, scintillating, & exactly what I should be doing on a windy late December mid-morning instead of going for a run, right?

First - EVERYTHING I'd like to work on for 2012:

Stop procrastinating - that means no twitter/FB/GR/words-with-friends/staring off into space/etc. until the task at hand is done.
Pick 3 tasks each day that must get done, & DO them.
Be organized & focused.
Shut my trap - if I don't have anything good to say, blah blah blah.
Be ungrumpy in the evening, no matter how tired I am ("I just like to smile. Smiling's my favorite.").
Cook at least 3 meals a week. I'm fine with leftovers.
Get a PR in at least 1 distance (why does this sentence feel so awkward?)
Deeper squats (good for my knees).
20 strict pullups (good for swimming too).
5 handstand pushups (good for my ego).

I'll put a post up on January 15 (give or take a week or two after) to see which ones I'm still interested in.

1 through 4 are almost like not so dear friends - I see them for about 2 weeks at the start of every year, then they slowly fade away into the deep recesses of my insipid apathy.

*****

As an aside, here's a recipe for short ribs that I made last week and it turned out soooo damn good. It was very easy too since I basically just needed to throw everything in the crockpot. I'm learning that my crockpot may soon become my BFF, especially if I have any hope of keeping #6 alive.

I did end up making that Paleo Aloo Gobi dish a little while back. It was okay - not nearly as yummy as the recipe I just posted.

*****

Tempo run planned for today, if I ever stop eating long enough to actually digest so I can run without that yucky bloated I'm-gonna-throw-up-any-minute-now feeling.

Haphazardry

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 11:45:00 +0000

It takes great discipline to formulate a plan & then stick with it. I don’t have that discipline & operate many days going along with whatever whim comes my way.

I make an exception on long run days – I try my hardest to be disciplined on those days with my planning because it’s this element of the training plan that makes me nervous.

Sometimes however, I still act like an idiot & jeopardize the success of my long run. Like yesterday – I had 16 miles planned & had everything laid out the night before to get it done. But then I made the mistake at looking at my Crossfit’s website that morning before my run & realized that I really really really wanted to do that day’s workout (this usually is the case with 90% of the workouts). I rationalized it by thinking that there’s supposed to be an 80% chance of full on downpour commencing an hour into my run. I could always do my long run on the treadmill after Crossfit.

Essentially this was the workout planned:

How FUN does that look?!

So I went & did the workout. My technique wasn’t very good, given that I get knocked back a couple of inches at the top of my clean, resulting in a lovely bruise on my clavicle.

Whatever. Long story short – I finish the workout, it’s not raining, so I lace up & go out for my run. I made it 10 miles (though I really wanted to bag it at 6 miles) with an average pace of 9:53.

m1 9:50
m2 9:55
m3 9:56
m4 9:59
m5 9:53
m6 10:00
m7 9:50
m8 9:48
m9 9:54
m10 9:44

SO not what I had planned the night before.

Dialing it in

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:38:00 +0000

I’m starting to enjoy my long runs again. Don’t get me wrong – I still get nervous about them, wondering if I can pull it off, but for now I’m liking them. Maybe because I’m trying a new approach just to keep things interesting.

In the past, I always went out for the long run with the primary goal of surviving it. I usually never hit any sort of goal pace with the rationale of building time on my feet and that I don’t want to crash & burn if I set out too fast.

Now I’m setting a pretty conservative goal pace for these long runs. I need to learn to sustain a certain pace past a certain distance, not just blundering through until I’m done. This approach has been a new challenge that keeps me in the mile (if that makes sense), & hence makes the long run more mentally stimulating.

Note that this approach has fleshed itself out over the past 3 long runs. The first time I just went along my merry way, then decided I really need to pick up the pace at the end to meet an overall goal pace of 9:59. Having to pick it up at the end sucked. I’m not a huge fan of negative splits for my long runs.

The second long run was a failure as well. I didn’t meet my overall goal pace, nor did I stay consistent. I was just being undisciplined, but at least I got some nice pics along the way.

I finally hit it with this last long run. FINALLY.

This last week’s workouts:

Monday: Tempo – 1mi warmup, then 3mi at 8:31
Tuesday: Crossfit
Wednesday: Long run – 14 miles (9:54 overall)
Thursday: Crossfit
Friday: Crossfit, Run – 3mi (8:43 overall)

Plan for tomorrow is Crossfit again.

Here’s an example of the progress I’ve made in Crossfit,& why I’m totally addicted to that kool-aid:

“Fight Gone Bad” – 3 rounds of 1 minute in each movement, rep totals:

9/19/11	12/13/11
10# Wall Balls = 42	14# Wall Balls = 40
35# Sumo Deadlift High Pull = 50	45# SDHP = 46
20” Box Jump = 40	20” Box Jump = 80
35# Push Press = 35	45# Push Press = 49
Row (calories) = 26	Row (calories) = 25

Not a foodie. Whatever that is.

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 20:27:00 +0000

There’s a million things I should be doing, but instead I’m (yet again) staring blankly at the computer screen wasting time. I head over to my local Crossfit affiliate’s website, & since I’d rather NOT clean up for the umpteenth time, I click on the food section where there is a recipe for an Indian dish.

I love Indian food. Clearly I have always had dreams to cook an Indian dish, because as I peruse the ingredients for this Paleo Aloo Gobi, I realize that I have most of the ingredients in my pantry, including the coconut milk, curry powder, & garam masala.

Where was I?

Oh yeah, so the website I got this from is from a Crossfitting Paleo-adherent foodie. Just like me, except for the Paleo-adherent part. Oh, and the foodie part.

I love eating out. I’ll try any new restaurant that opens up in the vicinity. At first I thought that made me a “foodie”. I watch “Top Chef” and all that, after all.

On closer examination, a “foodie” (per theeeee source of ALL sources, Wikipedia”), is one “who simply love(s) food for consumption, study, preparation, and news”.

I’m not that. Not even close. I don’t care about the intricacies of flavor & preparation & blah-de-blah-blah. I just love eating out because that means I’m not the one doing the cooking. I’m lazy in the kitchen, period.

The point of this rambling is – I’ve found a recipe. I may make it, I might not.

*****

Past week’s workouts:

Sunday – rest
Monday – Crossfit (back squats then 3 rounds of 15 45# push press, 30 14# medball squat cleans, 45 double unders)
Tuesday – Crossfit (“Angie” – 100 assisted pullups, 100 pushups (51 plank, 49 knee), 100 anchored situps, 100 squats); masters swim in the evening
Wednesday – rest
Thursday – ran 10 miles to Crossfit (7+ rounds of 5 65# clean & jerk, 10 floor wipers, 15 barbell lateral jumps)*
Friday – Crossfit (30 assisted pullups, then 3 rounds of 7 65# front squats & 25 situps, then 30 assisted pullups)
Saturday – ran 5 miles, then Crossfit at home (4 rounds of 200m run, 10 burpees, 15 pushups, 20 mountain climbers, 25 jump squats, 30 double unders).

What’s been blatantly missing from this training? Running. 2 measly runs in a week. This probably won’t get me in the greatest condition for the Ocean Drive Marathon in March. I need to back off the Crossfit & get at least another run in during the week.

Begin with the End in Mind

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 20:48:00 +0000

I’ve let the kids watch TV again – about 2 hours total over the weekend (still none during the week). They haven’t been complaining too much though, since they’ve been either busy playing outside or reading the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series. I’d like to find Jeff Kinney & kiss him for writing the books. Only if he’s cute though.

*****

My pool has been closed since August due to renovations. My swimming’s been very sporadic since then, & I can’t wait for the pool opening back up (hopefully by the end of this week!) The bonus is that the pool has converted to a salt water system. I got to try this out at another pool while mine was closed, & it was much gentler on my hair/skin/everything. Now I’m doubly looking forward to swimming in the renovated pool.

*****

Crossfit is still going well. Yep, I’m totally guzzling that Kool-Aid. My knee pain is pretty much gone, & I’m getting stronger. Last week I did a workout where I completed 73 red-band assisted pullups, 140 pushups, & 210 squats in 20 minutes. Plus I did this…

I hope all this bad@$$ strength helps my run. I’ve been bitching on Dailymile about how tough my tempo runs feel.

I’m following the RunnersWorld training plan using my 5 mile race result from Labor Day (it being my most recent race).

I just plugged the numbers in & went with it, not really taking a close exam of the plan on the whole. I figured I could live with 3 runs/week with one long run, one speed/tempo run, & one easy run.

Had I taken the time to look at the end of the plan, I would’ve found this:

I dunno about all that. That’s my half marathon pace at this point, so I’m a little skeptical about this.

The kicker is, when I plug in my 10-mile PR from March, the training paces & marathon pace don’t differ much.

I suppose I’m out of excuses. It’s time to go for it.

20 weeks to go…

2011 Trail of Two Cities

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:16:00 +0000

I know - I'm spoiled. It's pretty damn gorgeous around here. Nice & flat - excellent running conditions.

Saturday was the Trail of Two Cities. It's the one time a year that they close the 9th Street Bridge between Ocean City & Somers Point so intrepid runners can hoof it 3.1 miles over.

I coerced my husband into lacing up his running shoes for the first time in a while, promising him that I would stick with him. Which I did, and I'm so glad I did because 1 - I wouldn't have been able to take these lovely pics, and 2 - excellent excuse to mosey along since my @$$ was hella sore from Crossfit*.

* Back squat PR of 100lbs. Deadlift PR of 185lbs.

What IS she doing?

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 20:31:00 +0000

Last week, 17 miles & 3 crossfit sessions. Good news is that I'm getting better at the pull-ups - I've graduated from the green band to the blue band with the assisted pull-ups. Bad news is that my running feels so hard.

I can barely hit my tempo pace & it feels more like interval effort than tempo. Why is that? Is it the coming back from a hiatus? Is it that my quads are getting to a beastly size from all the crossfit squats & lunges & box jumps?

GEEZ!

*****

In more interesting news, here are some pics from Halloween. T1 was Super Mario, & T2 was Princess Peach. I successfully unloaded 90% of the candy we bought, much to the delight of the little ones who came to my door when I proceeded to dump handfuls of candy into their little bags while their horrified parents looked on.

I'm cool like that.

Ready...

Set...


Go ahead. Click to embiggen.

Imagine That

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 23:27:00 +0000

We made it an entire week with no TV in the house. My son brought home a horrific math test last Friday, and in typical Filipino Catholic tradition, I hit the roof & banned all TV & video games until an acceptable math test is brought home. We have a stereotype to live up to, after all.

Surprisingly, it’s been nice. The first weekend was a little weird – the kids spent a lot of time staring at each other wondering what the hell to do. But they’ve settled in, started drawing & playing outside more. This weekend was pretty peaceful – we’ve spent more time together as a family instead of in separate corners mindlessly. The house is a lot messier since the kids are playing, but it’s been worth it. Today I let him watch TV since he did math practice this weekend – a show about tanks on the History Channel.

I hope that doesn’t rot his brain.

*****

Last week I ran the most mileage in a looong time. 18 miles for the week – 7 mile easy run on Monday, 2 mile shakeout on Tuesday, 5 mile tempo on Wednesday, & 4 mile speedwork on Friday. My knees & shins have been whiny from actually running, but that’s nothing compared to how HARD the tempo & speedwork were. I’ve really lost some ground.

I also made it to Crossfit 3x last week. Say what you will about the douchebaggery, the workouts are hella fun. Not easy at all, but FUN. I got one co-worker to do it with me, & am dragging 2 more co-workers in this week.

At least we can perform CPR on each other.

My favorite WOD last week

I'm hoping all the squats & lunges & box jumps strengthen my sad hips to straighten out my gait. Optimistic, I know. In the meantime, magic shorts were brought to my attention by ND's giveaway. Anyhoo, these shorts support muscles into better alignment & reduce "vagus collapse" (i.e., my gimpy gait). You know I'm a sucker to try this stuff out.

Catching up, picture-style

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 00:06:00 +0000

Too cheap to buy a new Garmin. It's less than 3 years old!

Adorable elephant courtesy of Xenia

I actually found this fun. Scary, but fun.

Playing with KTTape for my Crossfit-induced shin splints.

I've registered for the Ocean Drive Marathon on March 25, 2012 to get me off my running hiatus. 23 weeks to go...

Mayor's Labor Day 5 Miler

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 23:10:00 +0000

Doh! I keep doing this - I actually come up with blog fodder, then completely forget to use such material.

Ah well.

There was a 5 mile race on Labor Day in Ocean City. It's a beach run, & last time I had the misfortune of running it at high tide. That SUCKS.

Fortunately, this year the 9am race start coincided with low tide. That means plenty of level packed sand to run on - perfect for beach running. There was a stiff headwind heading from 23rd south to wherever the turnaround was, but that must've helped on the way back. Although it made running back very hot, & I would've almost preferred to keep up against the wind.

Anyhow, I've been in a weird place with my running. To be consistent with such weirdness, I ran the race with no Garmin & no music. I ran completely by feel, & honestly, it felt pretty good. I listened to the surf while I ran, & paid attention to my breathing. Pretty liberating.

To top it all off, I got a nice PR for the distance - 42:07 for an average pace of 8:26.

Sweet.

*****

Oh yeah, remember that 70.3 I had signed up for?

No, I didn't do it. Between the total inadequacy of my training, my hatred for the bike, & my left knee going geriatric on me, I elected to rope my co-workers into doing it as a relay with me.

Since we're all cardiovascular ICU nurses, we came up with the team name "Heartmates."

Clever, no?

I did the 1.2 mile swim in 44:34. Holy slow.

Mistake #1 - I had issues at the start with getting clobbered & kicked, so I backed off to let the pack ahead.

Mistake #2 - No wetsuit. Although the water wasn't that cold & I can't quite breathe with such constriction, it would've given me a little more speed.

Mistake #3 - Not enough sighting practice. I wasn't comfortable with staying in a straight line, so I was popping my head up waaay too frequently to find the buoys.

Mistake #4 - They closed my pool for renovations at the beginning of August, & I wasn't too motivated to keep up with the swimming. That deconditioning totally showed.

Whatever. My teammates KICKED ASS - our cyclist finished the 56-mile ride in 3:01:55 (avg 19mph) & our runner did the 13.1-mile run in 2:04:21.

We snagged 1st place female relay, & was 2nd place overall for teams.

YEAY!

By the way, as I stood watching the athletes dismount the bike & head out for a half marathon, I was so very incredibly relieved not to be partaking in such suffering. Consequently, I don't know if I'll ever do that distance. I am in such awe for the triathletes who complete that.

Congratulations to RockStarTri for a strong finish at the Shoreman 70.3!!

We were supposed to meet at the start, but since our runner didn't show up until 6:30am for the 7am start, we were scrambling not a little.

*****

What am I upto these days? Definitely not biking. Some running - very little. More of this nonsense. Apparently I have no upper body strength. Zero. Quite embarrassing, actually. I've done 3 of these workouts & I hurt. I've been living on ibuprofen since I started this mess.

Off to slather more bengay on my shoulders...

Damn Chinstrap

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:42:00 +0000

I need to look at triathlon rules a little more closely. I'm assuming that before you leave transition & mount your bike, your bike helmet has to be securely on your noggin with your chinstrap clipped on? I can't imagine not having my chinstrap secured before I get on the bike though, because once I get my deathgrip on my handlebars, there's no way I can maneuver to secure my chinstrap afterwards.

That rule cost #107 a 2 minute penalty at the Tuckahoe Triathlon, which for a short sprint distance of 0.25mi swim, 12.5mi bike, & 2 mi run, is HUGE. Those 2 minutes also promoted me from fourth to third in my age group.

Yeay?

I can't compare last year's splits to this one since they changed the course. However, I can still celebrate that my Garmin gave me an average bike speed of 18.6mph, which is definite improvement for me. I can also celebrate that my knee was fine during the whole event.

It wasn't until afterwards that my knee was bothersome, forcing me to gimp through a 12-hour night shift (I wasn't the only one to do that sprint tri in the morning then work 7p-7a later that night - someone else in my swim wave that I chatted with at the start was doing the exact same thing).

And Again

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 19:38:00 +0000

Oops. Where did July go?

Training's been hampered by life. I have no idea how anyone fits a 70.3 training in, much less a 140.6. Needless to say, I've failed miserably in making it all work.

I haven't spent as much time on these as I've needed to...

Then there's this issue...

The time on the bike's aggravated my knee, along with the running. Taping my knee cap down is the only way I can even get up steps without pain.

I'm in physical therapy 2-3x/week to strengthen my quads, external rotators, & left vastus medialis. Can that count for something?

I'm signed up for some sprint tri's, & I might be able to get away with an olympic distance. We'll just have to see.

Awesomeness

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 17:57:00 +0000

Happy Monday!!!!!

Annoying, aren’t I? People usually hate Mondays, but I worked all weekend & am now off for most of the week, so I’m pretty darn psyched.

Plus I had two great workouts the past two days, so my happy-meter is UP THERE. (Not to worry – I’ll be back to grumpy soon enough.)

Yesterday after getting off work I rushed over to Longport for OCSC’s open water workout. It is the BEST set-up. EVER.

I got my wetsuit on & got out there in the ocean. A couple of dolphin dives to get past the waves then I swam. At least 50 yards out they had 3 buoys set up for us to swim clockwise around – each loop approximately 300 yards. I went 3 times around, so all in all about 1100 yards. ZERO freakout moments. None. Not one, even when I gulped down water twice.

That was the first time I’ve managed to swim in open water without having to tell myself to calm the eff down before or during the swim. I hope this means I’m getting over my OWS anxiety (in a non-race setting, at least).

***

Today was zoo camp, so I dropped the kids off then wandered around the zoo for a run. I found a nice paved path that was about a mile. It was an excellent 68° and drizzly – absolutely perfect speedwork conditions.

I opted for a ladder workout with goal times (from McMillan based on 10-mile PR of 1:28) of 400 in 1:43-1:51, 600 in 2:42-2:50, 800 in 3:42-3:52. Rest intervals of half the distance.

400 – 1:28 (7:27 pace)
600 – 2:47 (7:29)
800 – 3:38 (7:19)
800 – 3:35 (7:14)
610 – 2:46 (7:15)
410 – 1:52 (7:16)

My second 600 & 400 went over because I had gotten tired of programming my Garmin at the 2nd 800 but then couldn’t hit the lap button fast enough.

After a few weeks of sluggish unhappy running, this is exactly what I needed.

Tachycardia

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:41:00 +0000

So I’ve been going to that Sports Performance lab in Cherry Hill, & yes, I’ve been receiving respiratory/asthma treatment from an orthopod. Is that so wrong?

Anyway, my lung function hasn’t improved despite starting Symbicort, then increasing the doseage. Is it impeding my everyday existence? Not at all, but Dr. Ross is seriously surprised at how pedestrian my lung function is despite my conditioning. It leads me to believe that either 1) he’s grossly overestimated my conditioning, or 2) maybe I really can improve my athletic performance by optimizing my lung function.

Maybe both?

He’s started me on a new corticosteroid inhaler – Alvesco. He’s also asked me to up the intensity on my workouts to further condition my cardiovascular system. Apparently, breathing exercises & yoga won’t cut it. He wants me to get my heart rate up to some ridiculous crazy rate like 178bpm then recover at 121bpm.

Maybe he’s trying to kill me.

But if anything, I wanted to be obedient. So here is today’s “speedwork”:

And here was Saturday’s long ride:

I haven’t been good about keeping my recovery HR at 120 bpm. If I could lay down & take a nap & bring my recovery HR down to 60bpm, I would.

Notice the hard bonk on my bike ride. It’s happened my last two long rides – once I hit the 40 mile mark, my legs are toast & I ~~bonk~~ slam into a wall like I’ve never ~~bonked~~ hit the wall before. I fuel during my rides – in fact that last ride I was good about taking a bite of Clif Bar every 20 minutes, but it doesn’t seem to be enough. It seems to be a deficiency in carbo-loading, because I’ve been a fuming ammonia mess afterwards. I’ve never fumed this much after running, but this was enough ammonia to make my eyes water. You’d think my ass would have diminished after all this ketosis, but no such luck.

How is this fair?

Luuuuzer

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 00:03:00 +0000

Yes, that's me. I've entered THAT phase of training - that ridiculous phase where it's taken over every spare minute to the point where I cut out early from a bachelorette party (at this season of my life, WHEN is my next bachelorette party going to be?!?) for the sake of "training."

Fortunately, my kids are still clean & nourished. My various employers are still satisfied with my productivity. My house is cleanish, & everyone's clothing smells pretty passable. Here's to hoping this can all somehow be maintained despite this lunacy...

...pretty colors...

Other recent discoveries of my life lately?

Swimming is boring. No wonder people bring all sorts of toys to occupy that mindless back & forth in the water - swim paddles, fins, pull buoys, etc. Yes, I have them. Please refer back to the title of this post.
Running in the heat sucks. I realize it's a lovely 82°F, but that's heat enough for me.
I've become a pro at falling with my bike since I haven't mastered unclipping quickly.
I've had to sit on ice at work after a long ride. The bestest invention I've found EVAH that I had to wheedle from my counterparts in labor & delivery:

Perineal cold pack. No doubt invented by a nurse.

Week One

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 14:50:00 +0000

And so it starts.

I thought I’d have more time before training starts to putz around & get the Holly-Homemaker out of my system, enjoying such tasks as:

Oooh, pretty.

After ruthlessly weeding out 9 bags of clothes

As I obsessively look through training plans to see what the least I can do to survive Shoreman 70.3 would be, I’m realizing that I should start training sooner than later to allow for inevitable slackage.

So here we are, the first week & I barely got the time in to squeeze it in, and I’m only on base training.

I have no idea how this is all going to happen as training ramps up.

Swoon

noreply@blogger.com (joyRuN) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 00:53:00 +0000

Two things that I’ve fallen head-over-heels in LOVE with the past couple of weeks – they’ve made my life so much better in so many many ways…

First is YouTube. I know, I know – it’s been around for a while & some foax may already spend a huge part of their waking hours on there. I’ve never really used YouTube for anything useful until last week.

Last week, it taught me how to put some make-up on.

Hub had some dinner to go to, & I was looking even more tired & beat & rundown & blah than usual. Enter tutorial…

No, I didn’t end up looking as good as that girl does. I just managed to look all heavy-lidded smokey tired instead of plain tired.

YouTube also taught me how to fix the stupid plastic switch bar on my car’s rear door. I’ve put up with at least 3 years of my rear-door-ajar light flashing on & off every time I hit a bump. I tried taking it to the dealer to get it fixed, & they were completely useless. Annoying as crap, & thanks to YouTube & some electrical tape, it’s all fixed.

*****

Every time I trudge to my front door, I fix my eyes straight ahead to keep from noticing the humungous weed garden that lines my front walkway. I detest the thought of tackling those weeds, because the following week, I’ll just have to do it again.

Second love that’s entered my life this week?

<3 mulch

That’s right. I cover the whole mess with weed block (fancy name for huge sheets of cardboard), then throw mulch on top. Excellent core work too, if I do say so myself.

Best part is that those weeds cannot possibly ever emerge through the weed block AND the foot of mulch I’ve thrown on top.

*****

If I sound like I’ve been uber-productive around the house, it’s because I have. I’m trying to clear my task list (declutter, depile, get more shows on DVR, etc.) before the bulk of 70.3 training starts. Between work, kids, & training, I need my household to run pretty smoothly & on autopilot for a few months.

Think of it as creative base training.