London Liz

Because I'm addicted to blogging, I often find myself spending hours on end blog browsing on the weekends.  I'll start by reading one of my faves, and then start clicking on people they're following, and so on and so forth.  During a recent stalk sesh, I stumbled upon a blog called One Twenty Five written by an amazing young woman named, Liz.  And, when I say amazing, I truly mean UH-MAY-ZING!

Clearly, I want you to click on the link and read all about her yourself and fall in love with her like I did; but in case you need a little push in the right direction, here's a short summary of why I think you should follow her:

She saw something she didn't like about herself, set some goals, and is now taking positive steps in the right direction in order to achieve them.  She isn't your typical thinspo girl who stops eating or eats the wrong foods as a means to get skinny.  She's beautiful and she's healthy.  She runs marathons for goodness sake... MARATHONS! Here I am super stoked that I'm running a half marathon in 6 days, and she runs fulls people!  FULLS! On top of her hard work and dedication, she's funny as hell.  She has a great sense of humor and you can tell in her writing--I love that.  She's someone who I think I could would be friends with if a) she didn't live in Canada, and b) didn't just move to Europe for however long she'll be there (my guess is she falls in love and never comes back!).

So there you have it peeps, your motivation for Monday.  The girl that just traveled to Berlin to run a marathon!  The girl who sets and accomplishes goals.  The girl who is real and has real expectations for life.  The girl who moves forward from set backs instead of giving in and giving up.  She's been my motivation for the past week, and will continue to be as I prepare for my half marathon in San Jose this weekend!

Run.Eat.Love.

(day by day, I'm trying)

Catching Up

Aahhhh.... finally some ME time... :)
(ME time = catching up on blogs and shows)

Work and school have kept me busy as a bee.  I have been working four days a week, leaving Wednesday or Thursday open to do my mid-week medium maintenance run (say that three times fast!).  Saturday and Sunday have been designated as homework and long run days.

I'm glad to be working, and definitely feel proud and accomplished to be finishing grad-school, but between the two, it doesn't leave much time for training.  Actually, scratch that.  I still have time to train, I just don't get to train how I like to.  My mid-week runs are still done outside, but the rest of my runs have turned into treadmill training.  It gets the job done, but it's oh so boring! I guess I should just be thankful that I have the energy to run at the end of the day, even if it is on the treadmill...

I miss my gossip and catch up sesh's with Stephanie and Phillip during the week.  AND, Danielle has also been busy with student teaching, that our plan to travel to see each other for long runs on the weekends has failed miserably.

I just want to run with my friends!  Is that too much to ask?!


Have a Super Sunday everyone!

...aaaaand I'm back

After a mini hiatus, I'm back and not looking so good for my first 1/2 marathon that is in 4 weeks. Thanks for the reminder Miller-Ho (insert finger pistols). On a side note, for those of you that don't know, Miller-Ho is my ever-so-friendly nickname for Amanda. Anyways, to say I've been crazy busy would be an understatement. I just recently started student teaching, my own classes online, I'm trying to maintain my marriage while 1,598 miles apart, AND find the time to run 4 days a week while it is still 100 degrees outside. My priorities have shifted. Big time.

Before this madness began I would run at 6:30am while the weather was still cool. Now at 6:30am I'm somewhere between straightening my hair and applying my make-up. I thought I would have the opportunity to run first thing in the morning, but I wake up at 5am and the sun isn't even up yet. So my next option is to run at night. Well, after spending a glorious 7 hours with 23 1st graders, when 7:00pm hits (because this is when it's finally cooler) all I really want to do is sleep. Like I said, my priorities have shifted.

While Amanda has done a fabulous job at keeping up with her runs... me? Not so much. I have done my maintenance runs and that's about it. Life has gotten in the way of my running and it makes me so sad and frustrated! I really have to fight my brain and make running more of a priority. I started to really enjoy it and it became really easy for me. I felt like I got over my first struggle hump, as I like to call it, and now I need to start from square one. Okay maybe square two or three. But I'm still behind! It is my goal and desire to run my little heart out these next 4 weeks so that I can be prepared for our first race. I need to be prepared for that race. Time to dig deep for some inspiration.

I'll keep you posted on how things go and in the mean time send happy thoughts and energy my way :)

Danielle

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

I don't know if any of you have looked at your calendars lately, but if you haven't noticed, race day is just 4 weeks away... 4 WEEKS!

With the exception of a few missed days, I've done surprisingly well at sticking to my training schedule.  When I mentally prepare for my long runs, I am less worried about getting through the run itself, but more so with how I know I'm going to feel afterward.

Two weeks ago I did 9 miles and when I was done I was physically drained.  Stamina wise (heart and lungs), I felt like I had more in me, but physically, my body was out for the count for the remainder of the day.  During the run, at about mile 8, the arch in my left foot and my hamstrings were screaming at me! I pushed through the pain, and when I got home I iced the you-know-what out of my legs! By morning, they were fine and I had my energy back.

Fast forward to 5 days ago... I did 8 miles at the track with two of my girlfriends and I felt like complete mess.  I had blisters on my feet, not from my amazing Nike Free's (best shoes EVER), but from my work shoes (yes, I'm the teacher who wears heels to school--I can't help myself).  I think the blisters were causing me to run funny, because all of a sudden I started to get a pain in my left knee that I haven't experienced since I began running.  I wanted to give up at mile 7, but Carly helped push me to the end.  Thanks, Car! Anyway, after my run, my left hip flexor was hurting so badly that I could hardly walk.  No joke, I was gimping around the house all day.  I iced it any time I was stationary, and lucky for me, the pain was gone in time for me to go to work the next day.

Sunday was a 10 mile training day; my longest 'long run' so far.  I knew that if I could do 9 with relative ease (as easy as one could claim running 9 miles to be...), that I was sure to be able to handle 10. After all, what's one more mile, right?  HA!

...HA...HA...HA...

If I thought my 8 day on Thursday was rough, boy was I in for a surprise on Sunday.  I was a disaster! I still had blisters, and just like 2 weeks prior, the arch in my left foot was hurting again.  Also, just like 5 days prior, my left knee was still hurting.  This time, though, it was so bad I was actually wincing in pain! But... because I hate feeling like a failure, I pushed through the pain.  I made faces and grunted and groaned through it all, but I finished my 10.  And to top it off, I was at the gym.  I'm too afraid to run alone where I live, and the college track is closed on Sunday's; so there I was, flying my freak flag at the gym! (And you all thought I cared about what people thought about me...)

During my water and Gu Energy Gel (which I can't stand, btw) break, I texted Carly to get advice on what to do about my knee.  Aside from icing (which I almost always do), and stretching (something I was guilty of skipping until recently), she told me that I needed to stretch my tibialis anterior (the muscle on the outside of your shin) and to foam roll my legs after each run.  So, I foam rolled my whole body when I was done and had no pain in my legs for the remainder of the day!  I was even less tired than I was after my run on Thursday-imagine that!

The arch of my foot is still hurting; however, which upon researching I'm getting the impression that it's connected to the knee pain and tibialis anterior muscle.  Coincidence?  I think not.  Yesterday was a 'rest' day, so I didn't run, but I did do The 99 Workout (I subbed the 11 minute run at the end for a set of 11's).  Today after work I have to run 3 miles, so we'll see if that stretching and foam rolling paid off based on how my knee is feeling... I'll keep you posted.

Lessons to take away from today's post: 

1. Don't predetermine the outcome of future runs based on previous ones.  No two runs are the same--they are all different. 

2. I might look like a crazy person, but "at least I'm doing it" (name that TV show/character)!

3. GU Energy Gels are gross.
4. Nike Free's are amazing (and I need a new pair). 

5. Get a foam roller or utilize the ones at the gym. 

6. "Pain is nothing compared to what it feels like to quit." ~Danyale George

I hope you all had a fun, relaxing, healthy Labor Day!

-Amanda

The Zone

Get out of your comfort zone and into THE zone ! You know, the one filled with motivation, dedication, drive, confidence, passion, persistence, will power and strength.  It's not always comfortable, but it's out there and it's so worth the pain!  


Amanda