Next Focus

I tend to have a lot to say after running a half marathon.

Race recap. Post Race indulgences.

Etc. Etc.

Now what?

Well. I’m not in the clear just yet- when it comes to training, anyway.

There’s still ZOOMA going down next month in Lake Geneva.

(Click HERE to sign up and use the promo “GLAMB1” for a discount on registration!)

No lie- I hesitated when first approached with the opportunity to be an ambassador. Mostly because I have a tendency to suffer serious burnout.

However, I currently feel awesome and am still pretty excited about a mini-destination race. And yes- crossing state borders makes this a “destination”. I don’t travel much.

My only real concern is the course itself.

Us Chicago kids are completely spoiled and I’ll be the first to admit it.

Our courses are flat. Flat. And, dependent on where the race is, even more flat.

Hence my nonexcitement after the Go! St. Louis Half in 2011. Even long gradual inclines give me something to whine about.

So….

The rest of this week is still me doing what I want- which may include a half-assed workout here or there. I only took one official day of rest, and my first run post race was Tuesday night. Nothing exciting or crazy. It was approximately two very slow miles.

Next week? That’s when we get back into the swing of things. And take on a new challenge in training.

Remember how I’m not a big fan of speed intervals? I have a feeling they’ll be a cake walk compared to the hill workouts coming my way. They’ll have to be created on the treadmill due to lack of resources in Chicago (did I not mention how flat this city is?), which makes it worse for my attention span.

But how are we supposed to grow as human beings without a little challenge here and there?

Right?
Right.

But that can wait until next week. I earned my lazy workouts this week and shall enjoy them accordingly.

Happy Thursday!

Done

About now is probably the time to look back on the latest training cycle and discuss how ready I am for the half marathon this weekend.

Well. I’m not.

My summer was busy and time slipped away. This probably explains my decision to not train for a half last fall. Can’t believe I forgot how hard it is to fit in a long run when all I really want to do it sit on a patio with some Lagunitas.

However, it wasn’t all so bad. My running was pretty consistent. I managed to fake an interest in free weights once or twice a week. And I even accomplished a few long runs during the week- versus skipping them entirely.

Sure, I’ll finish and do fine. Physically I’m up for it. Mentally, I’m not quite ready. But that’s why I employ my ipod to distract such negative thoughts. Will I PR like I hoped at the beginning of training? That’s up for debate.

Conditions are forecasted to be perfect. It’s supposed to be a beautiful day for it on Sunday. A couple of my cousins are running it, too. And there are big plans for breakfast with the family and a dinner out with this girl.

Good things are going down on Sunday. I can’t complain. Even if it’s not my fastest.

But anyway, yesterday was my last run and I made it an early morning 4-miler.

Felt fabulous the entire time. Really, there’s no other way to put it. I mean… I guess there could be complaining done about the music video stations at the gym and how they should never ever include slow songs. But that seems to be a first world problem. So I won’t go there right now.

It was a great way to officially end this round of training.

Hopefully on Sunday, the next 9 will go just as easily.

In the meantime?

Loading up on protein and carbs.

Chicken sausage and peppers sautéed with a little soy sauce. My addiction of the week.

Putting up my feet the next two days.

Maybe enjoying a movie or two.

This is the easy part of training. Holla’.

Happy weekend, ya’ll.

In ZOOMA news…

There’s a new giveaway on the ZOOMA blog! Go check it out!

Long Run Repeated

At some point over Laura’s weekend visit, we danced ourselves silly and uncomfortably sore.

High heels, although worn only one night out of the two, were a poor choice.

Especially since I ended up breaking the right heel off of said high heels. And no, we won’t get into the how or why behind it. Just know it happened and move on with your day. K, thanks.

Anyway. The shins have felt better, but they’ve improved significantly since the weekend. No reason to not be running.

And because I’ll be on my way out of town and off to celebrate a wedding and labor day, there wasn’t much choice but to pull yet another mid-week run of 10(ish) miles. Because it’s much harder than you think it is to convince friends you’re staying with to go on a 10-mile run with you super early on a Saturday morning.

I don’t get it, either.

But it is what it is and I chugged along the lakefront much like I did the week before. Not my ideal circumstances, but not a horrible experience, either. It seems to be my best, and fastest, few miles are between 7 and 9. A promising sign, since that used to be about the time I’d hit the wall.

The only incident? When I slow-motion ran into a couple on the sidewalk.

Generally, there’s plenty of room for passing.
Generally, people aren’t swaying back and forth, creating a human wall.
Generally, when I sweetly say “I’m sorry, excuse me” in advance, they hear me.
Generally, people don’t turn in complete surprise and jump to the same side as I do when I realize they were oblivious to absolutely everything around them.

I was practically at a stop even before I reached them because I knew I wasn’t getting by. It was like a dance to get out of each other’s way.

And because we seemed to be on the same wavelength with our movements, I just sorta… fell into her. Slow motion.

Strange. Awkward. Embarrassing.

So there was that.

Because I can’t get through even one day without at least one awkward encounter.

After that, I just picked up my dignity, brushed it off, and ran the rest of my 10.1 miles in peace.

Guess it coulda been worse.

And in ZOOMA news…

There’s a facebook contest going on! We’re looking for your ugliest race photos!

We’ve all got them. I don’t think I actually have a good one, now that I think about it.

Anyway, if you post your best one on the ZOOMA facebook page, you’ve got a chance to win an awesome prize pack when they randomly select a winner!

Or, you can just go and look at the ugly pics for entertainment purposes. There’s that, too… 

Laters!

A Different Approach

My friend Laura is coming to visit this weekend.

This means a few things are going on.

1. A few days this week, I went to bed smelling of various cleaning products. The windex and laundry detergent scents were fine. But the one night of reeking of clorox was troublesome to my REM sleep.

I also may have had nightmares from what was collected in the dustpan after we moved the sectional couch.

On the flip side, I was super psyched to find 2 missing jenga pieces. My life is once again in balance.

2. The Trader Joe’s workers are sure to know my name as I’ve been there 3 times over the last week to pick up food for our weekend. And wine. Obviously.

However, I’m still going to drag Laura there again at some point because I thought more was on reserve. One bottle of wine will just not cut it.

3. My half marathon training long run was last night.

Yeah. On a Thursday.

Now I’m sure I could have snuck out tomorrow morning before Laura wakes up. Throw down a 10-miler, get home, shower, and have breakfast ready by the time she sits up and stretches and comments on how glorious the morning is.

But that would have been awful. An outting full of dance party shenanigans is planned for tonight and maybe even a trip to a favorited late night mexican spot. The combo of lack of sleep and 90 minutes of fitness would have made me a zombie for the rest of my Saturday.

Given the choice of that scenario or sucking it up and doing the long run on a Thursday?

I’ll pick Thursday.

And it worked out alright. Woulda been better if the trains weren’t delayed and I didn’t get home later than usual. But we don’t have to dwell on that.

We’ll just talk about the run.

After a long day of sitting in an office, it was rough getting into it. Yeah, I’ve run a little here and there after work, but that was knowingly attempting a mile or two. Not 10.

The brain takes a while to comprehend something like this. So the first 2 miles sucked a bit.

The next few were when I hit the lakefront trail. So I was busy trying to not get ran over by all the cyclists. That got me through a few more.

My best miles? The last 2.

10 miles were in the plan, but a range of 7-10 was going to be considered acceptable. We’ll be 100% honest on that one. I didn’t think I’d get the entire way through it.

However, after leaving the lakefront, I was in the zone and shufflin’, shufflin’.

This was the first time I felt really positive about this half marathon coming up in a few weeks. The last 2 miles were calm, steady, and decently strong. I can do this.

9.6 miles total.

With the crazy schedule I have, the after-work long run is a choice to be made more than once. At least it will work when it has to.

And now? I don’t have a thing to worry about come Saturday morning.

Well. Maybe one thing I’ll have to apologize to Laura about…

PARTY TIMMMMEEEEEEE!

Happy Trails

This week’s long run wasn’t nearly as rushed as some of the others have been.

Mostly because the weather thinks it is now September and it wasn’t 90 degrees by 8:00am.

And also because there were no pressing plans to deal with. That helps.

Because my long run totals have been a little lower than the intended goal for the last few weeks, I took to the lakefront. Even though it’s a little dull after a few miles, I’m not stopped consistently by street lights and there is less of an opportunity for me to slack off by cutting off the path and back towards the apartment.

In other words? I was in it to win it.

There were quite a few people with that mentality. Because the lakefront was PACKED. Running groups. Walkers. Cyclists. Dog walkers. Parents with strollers. About a million of the rest of us.

There was also a rumor that Vanilla Ice was hosting a beach party with one of the local radio stations. That could have been it, too.

Because who doesn’t need a little more ice, ice baby, in their lives?

Anyway… back to the running-

Even with some of the prior runs being kind of sucky (technical term), there hasn’t been a lot of soreness or anything feeling achy the next day. And yesterday’s run was not only ache-free, it was also quite easy on the endurance end of things. Maybe that one less glass of wine made all the difference? 

If only I didn’t have to weave through ALL THE PEOPLE the entire time. Guess maybe I should have tried to make it out earlier anyway?

Don’t worry- I only had one incident where a cyclist almost ran me down. Had you seen the trail, you’d call it a win, too.

My only fail was forgetting to throw on the sunscreen beforehand.

Tsk tsk.

9 miles. Almost exactly.

And with that, we’re feeling good and back on track.

Enjoy your Sunday, kids!

Because Sometimes I Need a Reminder

Running isn’t always easy.

 

Wait- did you know that already? Is this not news at all? Something everyone already knows?

 

Well. There goes what I was going to talk about today.

 

Hmm.

 

Whatever. I’ve got nothing else. Humor me for a bit, mmmk?

 

Running isn’t always easy. It can take a lot of time. It can hurt. It can be exhausting. It can make you doubt yourself. It can make you wish you were anywhere else other than on this stupid lakefront path or treadmill for the millionth time. It can make you want to quit.

 

It does all this. Over and over and over again.

 So what’s my reason to do this again…?

 

It’s my therapy. My time to myself. To think of whatever I want. Or nothing at all.

 

It continues to teach me discipline. When signing up for a long race, I am not only signing up 2 hours of my life on race day. I’m signing up 3 months of waking up early to beat the summer heat. Getting up early to cross and strength train to avoid injury. I’m spending 3 months making sure I get enough sleep on the weekend to get in my long run. Not having that last glass of wine to make sure I’ll hit that last necessary mile (ahem…). Going for salad instead of french fries as a side so I won’t feel like crap during the next day’s workout.

 

Sure, there’s room to bend the rules from time to time. But the end goal is always there.

 

Running has taught me I am capable. Three years ago, my first 5k was a REALLY big deal. And yes, 3.1 miles is a long way. But before that, I never imagined running much further. My first half marathon was a result of a bar bet made after too much liquid courage. While still recovering from an injury. One of the most idiotic but best decisions I’ve ever made.

 

Turns out, most of my big life decisions can be classified as such.

 

*Please note the big life decisions should be considered “a little crazy”, not always made ”under the influence”.

 

Running continues to strengthen relationships and bring great people into my life. It’s been a bonding activity for me with cousins and friends as we do races together. I’m always excited to have my parents come spend a weekend and cheer me on. And on top of that, the Chicago running community is massive. As is the blogger running community. Which is nice. I like having conversations about pace times and races. Or which toenail just fell off. Or the weird tan line from my sports bra.

 

Running keeps me healthy. I like my chocolate, and yes, this helps to counteract decisions my sweet tooth made for me. But it also encourages me to eat better as a proactive choice. Not because I have to, but because I want to. And besides, have you ever had wings and beer before hitting the road for a few miles? It’s not pretty.

 

Not at all. Seriously. Don’t do it.

 

Running makes me feel accomplished. Seeing a big number on the treadmill or finishing up a run along the lakefront? It… kicks ass. And the boost in confidence is a pretty good way to start a day.

 

So yes. There are days when it sucks. When it really sucks. Like… a lot. But there is never a day, even the crappy days, that doesn’t pay off.

 If you’re not into running, that’s fine. Just try to find something. Something that you don’t mind getting up an extra 20 minutes for. Or taking 20 minutes after work. Something that motivates you. Something that makes you feel good. And maybe, just maybe, something that makes you seem a little bit crazy.

 

Because normal is boring.

My Fault

Yesterday’s long run was stupid.

Yes. Stupid.

And the frustrating thing is… it was totally my fault.

I knew what the forecast was. But had no desire to wait until Sunday morning for better weather. Patience is not a virtue I possess.

So maybe I’ll just get up a little earlier and take a nap when I get back?

Fabulous idea, Amy! You’re so smart!

Then this happened:

One glass would have been fine.

Two? Sure, I can handle it! I’m so giggly! This is fun!

Three? Well, I’ll be slower, but man am I thirsty and it’s just soooooo gooooood. It’s too early to go to bed! What should we do? Let’s text EVERYONE!

You get where I’m going with this. Right?

I still got up at 6:30 yesterday morning. Plans were to be out on the roads by 7:30. Get in 9 miles before 9:00 with no issues.

My standard weekend run/race breakfast was made.It’s nothing exciting. But I never deviate from peanut butter on toast. It’s a superstitious quirk.

All good so far.

And then I entered some crazy time warp and didn’t make it out until 8:30. 2 hours after I make a point of getting up early.

What? I still have no idea how that happened.

Things were fine for a while. A new playlist helped. But my water was running out too quickly. And I needed energy gel badly.

After a mental fight, stubborn Amy and whiny Amy compromised. All three of us looped it back to the apartment, grabbed a gel and ran to the gym to finish out the run. This is why I’m annoyed.

8.6 miles in total. I’m absolutely positive I could have hit 9 if my estimates wouldn’t have been off (my runs are always GPS free and I track my neighborhood runs afterwards on MapMyRun). I know this because my last mile was spent working on going progressively faster. So the endurance is there (my positive takeaway from the run). I just need to actually do it.

I don’t feel too badly about missing the mileage. It was only .4 under what was planned. A little bummed, but hardly anything to cry over.

The thing that bugs me is only half of the run was done outside. Which is more important to me right now. The Chicago Half Marathon is early September. And, in regards to the weather, it’s a total crap shoot of what we’ll be dealing with. Being ready for the heat/humidity is a must.

That last glass of wine was excessive. As was the waste of time before actually getting outdoors. Both very much factors I can control. And just didn’t.

My fault.

But I’m done dwelling on it. There’s always next week.

Moving on…

Although I’m super crazy about my pre-run rituals, my post run process has never been the same.

Due to Muscle Milk being a ZOOMA sponser, I’ve been taking advantage of their generosity:

An entire case was given to us at the ZOOMA Training Kick-Off party a few weeks ago!

This is the first time trying it. Normally, because texture plays a large part in what foods I like/dislike. Drinking smoothies/shakes/milk/etc is almost always avoided. So I was timid about this stuff.

But protein after long workouts is pretty important.

So what the heck?

Justin is still a vital part of the household decor. And yes, he likes Muscle Milk, too.

And wouldn’t you know? It’s good! My favorite is the Cookies n’ Creme. If you were to liquify an oreo, this is what it would taste like. Totally.

Never do I drink a whole one at once- it’s split up between 2-3 workouts. This works perfectly- just enough to tide me over with recovery fuel until my stomach settles a little more and my true appetite kicks in.

And when that appetite kicks in? Watch out for your fingers, kids. 8.6 miles gives me a lot of room to work with. Holla’.

To all of my lady friends (sorry dudes): Looking for a fun half marathon this fall? Consider the ZOOMA Women’s Series in Lake Geneva! Especially if you’re in the Midwest! There’s wine and jewelry for everyone running!!! Not to mention, you get a group rate at the freakin’ SPA and Resort! If you sign up today, use “GLAMB1″ to get a discount!

Seemingly Normal

This weekend was not unlike many weekends.

There were friends involved.

There was club soda involved. Maybe with a dash of vodka in it.

There was relaxing in front of the television.

There was running and spending time outdoors.

But these seemingly “normal” things were actually quite wonderful.

The friend I hung out with was in for a night from DC. We get to see each other *maybe* once or twice a year at most. So it’s always special to see her.And she brought me flowers. Because she’s just so lovely.

The relaxing came after a one-night trip to Indianapolis was cancelled. I’m sad about the trip to hang with my girlfriends not going through. But the extra time that came from it felt like bonus time. That doesn’t happen often.

And the running was part of my work towards the Chicago Half and ZOOMA Series Half I’m training for. We hit 6.9 miles yesterday, my friends! It’s about time!

At about an 8:30 pace, I took to the streets of the neighborhoods. My only mistake? Running through Wrigleyville early on a Sunday morning. It smelled like trash, old beer, and a century of disappointment. All things that are easy to ignore when it’s dark and you’re a few cocktails in. Not so much when the sun is shining, you’re stone sober and deeply inhaling mid-run.

Lesson learned.

But it’s cool. The miles were put in. And that’s what matters.

Especially since I set my alarm incorrectly last night and my already short workout this morning was cut down even more by about 10 minutes (this is a big deal when I take to the gym- I only get 40 minutes once I’m there). Officially, anyway. I guess if you count the .4 miles I had to run to and from in order squeeze it all in, maybe it all comes out about even.

Rushed. Probably not the best way to start my week.

Which reminds me… I need to get moving out the door. Weeeeee….

I Can Do Anything Good

When switching cable providers a few weeks ago, we realized all the joys that Tivo has to offer. One of them being the ability to play YouTube videos. And after an older rerun of Tosh.0, we giggled over things like wanting to go do hoodrat stuff with our friends.

And the morning routine of Jessica.

Sure. I watched it maybe 5 or 20 times when it first came out. But haven’t revisited it since.

No idea why not.

Because, with the risk of sounding “like omg, so totally cheesy”, this girl was wise beyond her years.

Ok, maybe she was just being silly and had no clue. But there’s still a takeaway.

I can do anything good. Damnit.

Well, she shouldn’t have said that last part. She was six. I only added it for emphasis.

My supposed half marathon training is truthfully nonexistent. According to my running journal (yes, I have one of those and love it), 7 or 8 miles should have happened last weekend.

I can’t remember the last time my total was over 5. Uh oh.

And yes, I’m aware this summer has been crazy busy. And crazy hot. And just crazy.

But something needs to fall into place. The Chicago Half Marathon and ZOOMA Great Lakes Half Marathon Series are staring me down.

Sure. My 5k results haven’t been too shabby. Good, even. Look at me go fast! Look at me go! Weeeeeeee!

But that only accounts for 3.1 miles. What about the other 10?

I want to do well. I want to be prepared. And I hear there are hills on the Great Lakes race.

So I need to get it together. Long runs mid-week? The thought is daunting. But my options may be limited.

Because my weekends are packed. And there ain’t no rest for the wicked.

This morning was my first “oh hey, let’s focus on the future goal” attempt. After a speed run Tuesday, and some early morning elliptical/stairmill on Wednesday, it was a test to see how much my legs would put up with.

It was sluggish. For a while at least. Mostly the first half mile and the last half mile. The inbetween wasn’t much to complain about. And I only saw one rat. So there’s that…

Not a horrible 4.8 miles. And I may be able to fit in a few (just a few- let’s not get stupid) longer runs in the week. Maybe wake up an extra 5-10 minutes on occasion to make sure to get into the 5 or 6-mile range.

Because I can do anything good. Heck yes I can.

If anyone gets the Cage the Elephant reference, I love you.

Two At A Time

It’s hot out there, kids.

I’m not saying this to state the obvious. I’m saying this as a warning to those of you who may hit the lakefront (or any popular running path) to run during peak times.

The body odor out there is horrendous.

You’ve been warned. And you’re welcome.

I waited way too long to run outside on Sunday morning. After a low key Saturday night, I was feeling decently energetic. Which was good. Because here I am, supposedly in training for the Chicago Half Marathon at the beginning of September, and I haven’t done a long run over 5 miles.

Yesterday should have been 6. But I topped out again at 5. Again.

It was all going well until the lakefront. Should have stayed under the shade of the trees in the neighborhood. There was still a breeze, but I was running in the sun on the blacktop. It was too much. Drained, I cut into the neighborhoods again. But it was too late. 5 it was.

I’m ok with that. With not having to work on the 4th of July, I get a chance to redeem myself in the middle of the week. Huzzah!

This is ideal. Training really needs to be stepped up.

Because now there’s not just one long race in my future.

There’s two.

I was approached with the honor of being a race embassador for the Zooma Women’s Race Series and will be running the Great Lakes Half Marathon for them!

I’m really excited about a chance to run one last long race before the winter yuckiness sets in. And I’ve never been to Lake Geneva- so it’ll be a fun little trip into Wisconsin. I’m so well-traveled…

Anyway, expect me to talk a wee bit more about getting in shape for a *hopefully* new personal record this fall.

Also, if you’re in the midwest area, or you just feel the need for a trip to Lake Geneva this fall, you may want to take a gander at the Zooma Great Lakes Half Marathon (and 5k!!!).

If the thrill of finishing a big race isn’t enough, there is a specially designed finisher’s necklace and massage that await you after the finish line.

Jewelry and spa time. Now THAT is how you run a women’s race series.

As an ambassador, I get to pass on savings to YOU. If you decide to run this race, you can get $10 off the half marathon or $5 off the 5k by using the promo “GLAMB1″ when you register. Fabulous!

So let’s hit the pavement.

Just make sure to hydrate first. And maybe throw on some extra deodorant.

Happy Monday!