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!

Long Run Sunday

It has been over a year since I’ve participated in pre-wedding shenanigans.

Which is unfortunate. Because girls’ weekends are fun.

Plus, I get to wear dresses. I like dresses. There needs to be more occasions where I can wear dresses.

And more occasions where I eat good food.

Low lighting at Rosebud Prime Steakhouse in The Loop makes it hard to see my crab and gruyere-stuffed tilapia. Dang.

I like good food.

And being silly. And gossiping. And big sleepovers in nice hotels.

All things that happened this weekend.

All things that keeps a person super busy. And makes them a bit neglectful in half marathon training.

Don’t get me wrong- I knew it was happening. It’s not like I just totally forgot to run 10 miles on Saturday.

No one ever goes “whoops… how did I totally forget to run for 90 minutes yesterday? How silly of me!

No. No one ever does that. And if they do? Well. That’s weird.

I mean, I’m weird. But that’s super weird.

We’re getting off track here. Let’s rewind.

So I was neglectful. And all of a sudden it was Sunday afternoon.

Sunday can’t always be a day of rest, folks.

Some people like running later in the day. I’m usually more of a morning person, but the weather was being gracious, so it could have been worse.

My usual theory on the long runs are just to get them in. No worries about pace. Just hit some big mileage and be thankful you can make it that far. No matter how much wine and cake was had less than 24 hours beforehand.

Some runs are easy. Like last week. And some are hard. Like this week. Until they all become easy (doubtful), I just have to keep truckin’.

Which is probably what I sounded like by the end of my afternoon run. Neat.

10 miles didn’t happen. This was assumed going into it. I did 8 instead.

Two of which were an attempt to run along the lakefront because it was such a nice day.

But the Air and Water Show was going on this weekend. And people kept stopping in the middle of the trail to just stare at the sky.

It would have been hilarious had this not caused a few almost-collisions.

Post-run fuel. I swear it’s the last of the cake pops. For now.

To make myself feel better about not hitting the full 10, I made sure to get up and do a solid 40 minutes of cardio on Monday morning.

Long run redemption.

Don’t tell me otherwise.

Hey ladies! If you’re still looking for a good race this fall, check out the ZOOMA Women’s 5k/Half Marathon! Enter “GLAMB1″ to get a discount!

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!

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!

Surprise Long Run

Isn’t it funny how, when you’re ridiculously tired/exhausted, it’s that much harder to fall asleep? Still reeling from the long weekend and all the events that went down, you’d think I’d be passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Nope.

So when the alarm went off on yet another dreaded Tuesday this week, I didn’t even have to wake up. I was awake.

Not a surprising way to start that day of the week. Why do Tuesdays have to be so stupid?!?!

Coworkers are surely going to start gossiping. Either about my bloodshot eyes and how they came about or the threat of my heart exploding from the amount of coffee being consumed. Maybe both.

Had I been forced to sit in the traffic that has plagued my commute the last week or two, the gym would not have happened. So lucky for me, Kim and Maggie were available for a run on the trails near my office!

That doesn’t mean I didn’t drive around 10 minutes longer than necessary being semi-lost. But hey- at least now I know where to go next time…

This was the first time I’ve met up with either of them and I was excited. My coworkers were nervous. Because when you leave the office in running gear and people inquire about your whereabouts, do not say “going to go run in the woods with strangers.” It won’t go over well.

Hilariously enough, we planned every detail except for how far we would actually run. Being as how I’ve eased up on the running since my half marathon a few weeks ago, I was a bit uneasy about not knowing this one weeeeee lil’ detail.

Especially since these girls, and another running buddy that joined us, are marathon runners.

Uh. What exactly was I getting myself into?!?!?

Most of my runs during the week have been 3-5 miles. And, if we’re being honest, the majority of them as of late have been closer to 3. No real reason. No excuses. That’s just the way it’s gone down as of late.

But I surprised myself! MapMyRun was horribly off (what gives, iphone app?), but Kim helped me figure out that I had done approximately 7 miles (we kept it at a conversational pace) after meeting them on the trail.

And only one bug was snorted in the process. Solid win. 7 miles on a Tuesday. A freakin’ Tuesday! Maybe that’s what I need to start doing more often to make Tuesday seem less sad and pathetic?

Who woulda thunk it?

Someone remind me of this next week.

And since I know you were concerned, I’ve slept like a rock ever since.

Happy sigh.

Better Than Anticipated

A week from now, I assume I’ll be getting over a Sunday of celebration. A celebration spent with a finisher’s medal around my neck and a drink in my hand. Hopefully eating a few seriously amazing meals.

Until then, I’m getting through the last few days of putting in the hard work for this half marathon. Saturday was the last long run of training and I was doing it outside, rain or shine.

Or… fog…It’s like I was running in a horror film. At 10:30 in the morning. Wouldn’t it have been cool if M. Night Shyamalan popped out and yelled “CUT!” at some during the trip along the lakefront and around Lincoln Park? I was totally waiting for it.

It was foggy and dreary and threatening to rain. But I didn’t want to push the run off a day. My Saturday night plans were not going to make a Sunday morning run overly pleasant.

I armed myself with a windbreaker, a hat and my bus pass. Just in case. Because sometimes I’m prissy.

10.6 miles happened pretty easily. Or as well as 10ish miles could possibly go (we’ll never call it “easy”). I didn’t hit a wall at any point- another promising sign that the race this weekend should go somewhat smoothly. And maybe better than anticipated?

Surely another 2.5 miles won’t completely break me. My pace, according to the MapMyFitness app, is rivaling the pace of my first half in 2010. Let’s not get our hopes up, but to beat it would surely be amazing.

Again, let’s not get overly excited. Chillax, Amy. Chillax.

I also armed myself with my debit card to pick up a few things from Trader Joe’s.

A word of advice? Do not go into a Trader Joe’s after running 10.6 miles. You’ll be gross. You know it. The workers know it. And every customer in there knows it.

Sorry guys. Just needed some wine… carry on…

Why? Because I had a hot date.Aren’t they sexy?

After our long walk last week, Mon, Annie and I decided it might be nice to have a little low key social outting. And who doesn’t love trying out a new BYOB restaurant? Out to the burbs I went!This pic was before my eyes started watering from the spiciest pad thai I’ve ever had in my life.All three of us ended up getting the same special- pad thai with glass noodles. Only difference is I had chicken, Mon went with tofu, and Annie chose the pork. Mon and I said we wanted “spicy” without questioning the level of heat.

It may have been smart to inquire about that part.

Seriously. I love spicy food. But this was almost out of control.

Even an hour after eating, we were still filling ourselves with water and wine to put out the fire.

A good meal, however, when it comes to Thai, I think we all realized it’s important to find a favorite spot and stick to it.

Because of the long run on Saturday, I kept it low key on Sunday with some ab work and a stretching of the legs on Michigan Avenue.

Seriously guys- This is my third trip to Michigan Avenue in a month, but I swear I’m not shopping myself into credit card debt. I just happen to be on the search for a nice dress to wear for Easter and it’s nice out. Why not use window shopping as a way to be active and move around?

Also, it was justified that if I walk to and from the custard shop, buying the actual custard is acceptable and even encouraged.

Totally.

100 Words Saturday: Rainy Day Edition

It’s about to rain.

It’s been raining for the last 2 days.

It bodes well for sleeping (awesomely so). But Amy running in the rain? Doesn’t happen extremely often.

What? I’m sort of prissy.

Come on. You knew this.

Luckily, I have my trusty gear to help a sista’ out.

I'm really not a hat person. My ears stick out weird.

And no, I will still not talk about the Mizzou game or the NCAA tourney.

Still hurts my heart.

Anyway…

Somewhere between a 10 or 11-mile run. I figure if I can at least get to 5 or 6 without the skies opening, I should be in good shape.

I’ll keep ya posted.

Mizzou Cookies

Today started just like every other Saturday I’ve had in the last month or two.

Get up a little before I naturally would. Coffee. Oatmeal. DVR.

Run.

Scratch that.

Work up some nerves.

THEN run.

No wait… let me download another song (Blister in the Sun by Violent Femmes).

THEN run.

Obviously I’m a little weary. Meh.

Sugar and butter. What will it not make better? Seriously.

But all went well. To be on the safe side, I took two breaks to drink some water and assess the situation. But everything seemed well. And I ended up running 6.2 miles in total.

We’re approximately 2 miles behind according to my training plan. But whatever. Does anything really ever go to plan?

Moving on…

After that whole thing, my morning isn’t over. Oh no.

Searched out a candy botique to score the yellow-only M&M's. Yes. I'm a Mizzou nerd.

There’s champagne brunch to think about. Well. It’s champagne “whatever”. The game is at 3:00. People start to arrive at 2:00. Clearly this is past the brunch window.

But it’s a big rivalry game (Screw KU!). And things are still going down.

Plus it’s too late to start changing the name now, don’t you think?

Two things I have never put in standard chocolate chip cookies before. I was nervous. And read the recipe 5 times before actually doing it. Just in case I was seeing things...

And also, we’re still drinking the ‘pagne.

We can’t completely mess with tradition.

The recipe called for refrigeration of the cookie dough overnight. Yeah. A whole bowl of cookie dough. Chillin'. In front of me. For a whole day. THIS was rough.

Along with our tradition is food. Lots and lots of food. My roomie B and I took care of the chicken artichoke dip, a massive amount of mac and cheese, some drinks, and these:

Cookies and Cups is a new blog obsession of mine and she writes in the post that these are Her Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies cookies of all time. Or at least up until that point. I haven’t contacted her to get an update, though. So they may be named incorrectly.

But she was right. They were pretty freakin’ good. And may even be the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve personally made up until this point.

Like WOAH.

The lemon juice made me scratch my head. The cinnamon made me a bit weary. The refrigerating overnight made me nutty.

But this was no lie. They were over the top. I had been sneaking cookie dough like there was no tomorrow, but my roommate was the first to try out the finished product. A little crispy on the outside. But soft and chewy on the inside.

Everything to look for in a cookie.

Mine aren’t nearly as pretty as hers. It’s possibly because I didn’t have shortening, which makes the cookie a bit lighter in texture, and had to substitute butter.

There hasn’t been a complaint yet. So let’s just keep that secret between me and you…

I found a way to combine baking and mizzou pride. Dangerous.

Seriously. Somebody needs to stop me.

But until then, excuse me, I need to go cheer my team on to victory.

GO MIZZOU!

That Was Weird

Really that’s all I can say about Saturday.

I still don’t know exactly what happened.

My long run? Cut short. By 3.3 miles.

It was really unfortunate. And I didn’t see it coming.

Guys. I almost passed out.

I KNOW. Has this every happened to anyone else? My friends all figured I was dehydrated. And that’s definitely not it. I’m one of the most well hydrated people you’ll ever meet.

I had two glasses of wine the night before. But this is nothing new. I had plenty of carbs the day before. Ate the morning of.

My guess is it was a weird combo of things. I didn’t get as much sleep as I normally do. Which may have lead to drinking too much coffee right beforehand? It was hot and crowded in the gym. Maybe it was hitting me more than I realized?

I also may have hit my head on a low storage closet door the night before. But I didn’t think it was that hard. Am I slightly concussed?

Right after hitting 4.5 miles, I felt myself swerve to the side once.

Weird.

Then it happened again.

Woah. I looked up and things were spinning. WOAH. I jumped off the track as it was still going and leaned against the treadmill. Tried to slow it down and start walking- nope.

I was stuck. Drank some water. Decided to try and walk to the locker room.

Nope. Had to sit and relax on the machine. It was crowded, so there were probably people waiting for the machine that were annoyed by this. But then again, not one person flinched as I clearly was having issues. Jerks.

After a few minutes, I got up and was able to chill in the locker room for another 10 before walking home slightly defeated and clueless as to what happened.

Swedish fish as instant sugar recovery.

And then I was fine. The rest of the day, it was like it never even happened.

Strange on all accounts. Anyone ever have an issue like this?

Not going to lie- it makes me a little nervous to get on the treadmill again. Because it happened all at once with no warning whatsoever. The first 4.5 miles were super easy. Then BAM.

So that was that. Any insight would be appreciated.

At least it gave me a little extra time to start getting ready for the rest of my day:Me and Keenan had a Mardi Gras pub crawl to attend (and yes, I was careful after earlier events).

A few people commented on how my shirt is a bit creepy. It’s true. It is. But I don’t have to look at it.

The crawl was fun.However, we didn’t spend even 5 minutes following the schedule. My friend was going to drop us off at the first bar, but when we pulled up to a line going all the way down the block, we opted to go to the next bar on the list. And so we spent the majority of the time going to bars two or three hours ahead of schedule.

It worked out well and ended with us getting late night mexican food at our favorite stop.

The night also ended with peeps sticking around our house for a late night showing of Home Alone (classic, right?) and the promise of pancakes the next morning. We know how to please the crowds.

Obviously yesterday was spent chillin’ and resting (seemed like a good idea). It also was spent catching up with Miss Mon fresh from a trip to Sweden for work. Because nothing says “welcome back to America” like a trip to the mall.And to Nordstroms Cafe. It’s a shopping tradition of ours.

I picked up one or two things for myself and celebrated hitting the chocolate jackpot with gifts from Sweden.Ironic how I was just talking about the size of candy bars and responsible snacking.

It doesn’t count if I can’t understand the swedish nutritional info on the back, right?

Thought so.

Happy Presidents Day, everyone! I’m one of few in my group of friends with the day off, so it’ll be interesting to see how my day will go.

Laters!

Welcome to the Great Outdoors

G’morning!

Would you like to join me in welcoming the first full day of spring? All I can say is THANK GOODNESS.

The season was properly celebrated with an outdoor run on Saturday. Yes, the 10-mile long run and the first outdoor run of the season were done at the same time.

I’m a firm believer that as an individual, it’s a good idea to learn something new every single day of your life. Saturday, for example, I learned this was not the best combination. But I wanted to get my outdoor running started, and just took a chance.  The sooner I get out there, the better it is in the long run (pun- get it??? ahahaa). Besides, there are only 20 days until my half marathon.

Give me a second… my heart just stopped as I typed that….

Breathe…

Ok… We’re all good.

While out and without the treadmill to keep me updated, I took Saturday as a chance to recalibrate my Nike+ on the first loop around the trail. Not sure what happened, but the recalibration didn’t work correctly.

However, I do know my time for the loop averaged an 8:42 pace. Sounds about right. And considering it was my first trip outside, it didn’t hurt my feelings too much. The last 7ish miles? Safe to say the pace slowed. The miles weren’t timed and, if they were, it may have been somewhat discouraging.

Other than the slowdown in pace, everything went well. My legs felt fine during the entire run, breathing wasn’t an issue, and the temps were a little chilly but nothing to whine about- I was never uncomfortable because I had actually dressed properly. Usually I’m awful at guessing how many/what kind of layers are needed. 

10 miles… check!

I felt a little sore on Sunday and even this morning, but we’ll attribute some of that to me getting a little extra “mileage” while downtown in heels. A few random Mizzou friends I hadn’t seen recently met up for a free beer drink special (how does that happen?!?!) and some March Madness fun.

It ended with 2:00 AM pizza delivery. Just like when we were in college together. Nothing better. 

Although I’m not as young as I used to be. So sleeping in on a friend’s couch is not quite as accepted by my body. I woke up at 7:30 and got out quick.

Plus, my girlfriend I crashed with isn’t much of a breakfast person. What’s up with that?Sure, we just had pizza not that long before. But I find it’s VERY important to start each day with a solid breakfast.

Even if it requires an extra cup of coffee. And chocolate chips in the pancakes.