Training Recap: August Week 2 & 3

I'm not sure where the last two weeks have gone. It's been a blur of sorts, even though we haven't been super busy. So I'm recapping two weeks at once in this post.

Monday, August 12th
I spent the morning trying to get back to some resemblance of a home routine after being away for the entire first week of August. Suitcases had to be unpacked, laundry needed to be washed. For the most part it was a perfect day for "a 'jama day" (as Abigail calls it) since the weather wasn't great. The only one inconvenienced was Brewer, who would come over to me, bark in my face then go sniff at his leash. I decided to take Brewer out for a walk, in the rain with umbrella in hand. We finished a 1.7mi walk in 30 minutes.

Tuesday, August 13th
The morning got off to a rocky start. Abigail was playing with Brewer and she bumped into my coffee on the side table. The coffee spilled everywhere! All over the table and all over my training planner (which is now coffee scented). Brewer enjoyed licking up the coffee that spilled over onto the floor. I ended up having to wipe up everything, move furniture, vacuum up Brewer hair and shark the floors. Not how I wanted to spend my morning! Instead of our usual Tuesday activities of swim and dance, Abigail's class times changed for this session leaving Tuesday afternoon free, so we went to the gym instead. I was not feeling the treadmill though, and only managed 5mi in 60 minutes.

Wednesday, August 14th
Abigail decided she wanted to persue gymnastics more, so instead of registering her again for the ballet/tap class she'll be taking Tumbling once a week in addition to her Thursday Pre-Team class. She is still the youngest in her class but she's having so much fun! Her cartwheels and round-offs are constantly improving, and she's getting so close to a handstand. It's fun because I have started attempting these as well and it's my absolute favorite when she corrects me telling me to straighten my legs more or point my toes.

In the evening Abigail and I went to Matt's second softball game of the season. Abigail made a friend and was able to play and run while I kept score for the team. The weather was beautiful and we got home at a decent enough time for me to take Brewer for a walk around the neighborhood before bedtime, 1.42mi in 30 minutes.

Thursday, August 15th
Abigail enjoyed her gymnastics class and I took Brewer for a 1.66mi in 40 minutes once we returned home. Brewer seems to be content to go for walks but I know he really wants to run, too bad for him I'm taking this week easy to prepare for my double race day on Saturday.

Bonus, I hit 10,000 tweets!

Friday, August 16th
I'm still fundraising as a St Jude Hero for Dopey Challenge and am over halfway to my $2000 goal! Until August 30th you can place an order with Thirty-One and 10% of all sales will be donated back to my fundraising, and one lucky order will also win a great prize. We'll also be having a local yard sale in October with all sales going to my big goal, so Abigail and I spent the morning picking up donations from some local friends. I'm so grateful to everyone who is helping me with fundraising!

I took Brewer out for a 1.78mi in 31 minutes before we enjoyed dinner out "at the brown bread place", Abigail's name for Outback. Matt and Abigail enjoyed coloring together, even though Matt was a bit crazy about Abigail needing to stay within the lines.

Saturday, August 17th

My morning started early as I woke up to head straight over to Vinings Downhill 5K. This was my very first 5K last year so I was excited to run the course again and compare "apples to apples" to see how I improved over the last year. My 2012 time was 35:41, which is a fast time but this is a downhill course. A new PR (personal record) was achieved with a time of 28:28! I am thrilled to have a sub30 5K time too. (Oh! and I won a coupon for a Mocha Cookies-n-Cream shake from Chick-Fil-A!)

I also registered for the Area 13.1 (an evening half marathon) making this a double race day. I had heard a lot of negative reviews from the 2012 event but was still excited to run this race. I parked off site, arriving to the start line a bit later than I had hoped. In the craziness of it all, I got a bit too over confident and programmed myself for 4:1 intervals and it wasn't good. For the weather conditions (it had just rained and was overly humid) and this being my second race of the day, I should have stuck with 3:1 intervals. Overall, I did set a new half marathon PR time of 02:20:20 which is 5 minutes off my last half time from April.

Sunday, August 18th
I woke up feeling like I had been hit from a truck, and I had been so happy I remembered to stretch and foam roll before I had gone to bed. I could have felt much worse; I forget running downhill works different muscles. I was also starving! It felt good to get up and move, every bit of me seemed so stiff! After church, we went to PF Chang's for lunch where I devoured a dinner portion of their Crispy Honey Chicken. After I was no longer starving, I took Brewer for a 1.58mi walk in 32 minutes. My ITBs were sore and I felt slower than usual but getting in a recovery walk.

Monday, August 19th
Number One priority was to call Starbucks and inquire about the background check that was submitted on August 6th. I had called last week but the store manager was on vacation, so I had to wait a bit longer. Finally I spoke to the store manager and she asked me to come in with my passport to fill out tax papers, so I guess that means I'm hired! Finally! Otherwise, it was a low-key day because my legs were still sore so I skipped on the training.

Tuesday, August 20th
It became official, I filled out all my tax documents and will start training at Starbucks next week. With this news, I also learned my schedule would not be set days each week. This concerned me because Matt and I would be "juggling" Abigail back and forth with our very different schedules. I spent the afternoon revising our budget to see if 9mo of preschool tuition could be squeezed in and I emailed the school where she had been on the wait list. I had plenty to do and with sore legs I decided I needed an extra rest day.

Wednesday, August 21st
Abigail and I went to the preschooler morning at the skating rink. I was thrilled to wear my Retro ProCompression socks, and received a few envious comments from other moms! I chatted up other moms who had their child(ren) enrolled at the preschool I was hoping Abigail would be able to attend. They informed me Wednesday & Thursday was Teacher Meet and Greet, so the lady I was trying to get in touch with was very busy.  In an odd turn of events, the skating rink co-owner also chatted me up and long-story-short, she wants to hire me to help her coordinate corporate events one day a week (whenever I have off at Starbucks). This would be an amazing opportunity and our personalities are very similar. So let me get this straight? I was Starbucks #1 harasser all summer, and now I might have TWO jobs?! Yes, I'm fully away God likes to show me He has a sense of humor.

Brewer even got to go for a walk around the block. We managed 1.71mi in 40 minutes. It's really funny how our pace varies from day to day. It all depends on how many scents Brewer smells, and how many bushes and mailboxes he wants to mark along our way.

Thursday, August 22nd
Abigail had a preschool spot! I hadn't spoken with the preschool's director, we only played phone-tag. I decided Abigail and I would just show up to the Teacher Meet and Greet (technically uninvited). I filled out lots of paper work, Abigail received her "backpack" (a red shoulder bag), we met her teachers and checked out her classroom. Abigail knows two of her classmates already and she was disappointed when it was time to leave.

Matt and I (and Abigail) got to attend the New Parent Orientation that evening. The director went over the entire parent manual. It was a good introduction for Matt, who had never visited before. Abigail also took him to see her classroom, since he'll be sharing in the drop-off and picking-up as well.


Friday, August 23rd


Saturday, August 24th
Instead of registering for a small race through Marietta Square, I decided to take Abigail to cheer on my good friend Brandi and her parents.


Sunday, August 25th

Training Recap: April Week 3

Going into this week, I knew it was going to be a bit crazy. We will be heading down to The Plains on Friday to enjoy all the Auburn A-Day Festivities: celebrating the new head coach Gus Malzahn, view the 2013 Auburn players and enjoy one last roll of our beloved Toomer's Corner Oaks. Knowing our travel plans, I expected Friday and Saturday to be rest days so I would try to rearrange my training with that in mind. Little did I realize how crazy this week would unfold.

Monday: 3 Miles + 4 Strides or XT
I woke up and enjoyed coverage of The Boston Marathon. I was able to watch live online and the elite runners blew my mind.  I was tracking fellow runDisney enthusiasts Leah Conner & Linda Bachand and cheering them on from my living room. One of the guy's I ran the WDWMarathon with lives in Boston and his cousin was running and another Twitter friend was there spectating as her husband ran. It was fun following Twitter, so much excitement for those running in Boston! I have learned Boston isn't just another marathon, you actually have to qualify before you can register. I am in awe of these runners who qualify, they have great speed and great dedication for running!

I stepped away from my laptop and returned to find a ton of tweets about the finish line explosions. I immediately switched on the news while pulling up the runner tracking site to see where everyone was. Two runners had finished and two runners were halted before the Mile 26 marker. My heart broke for all the runners who had their race cut short, unable to finish after so much training to get to Boston. My heart broke as news clips replayed the explosions, knowing many people had to be injured or dead. My heart shattered when one of the reported deaths was an 8 year old child. I was speechless.

The runners didn't seem to be injured, it was the spectators. All those amazing families, friends and complete strangers who came out to watch and cheer on all the runners. My family has been there, at the finish line of my races. I am still speechless.

I couldn't take it anymore, I had to go for a run. I wanted to run away from the heartache. I wanted to run for those who were unable to finish their race. As I ran I couldn't stop thinking of the 8 year old child. A child getting to experience the tradition that is The Boston Marathon. I'm sure this day was to be remembered for many years, possibly dreaming of one day also running this prestigious race, just like Shalane Flanagan.

I was introduced to Shalane earlier in the day as one of the elite female runners, she was from Boston and first watched her dad race Boston when she was 8 years old. This was her dream and she placed forth in her first appearance of The Boston Marathon, after years of dreaming and training. But dreams can be cut short so devastatingly quick. So I ran and I ran, watching news coverage from the treadmill at the gym, I ran. I didn't intend on running 8 miles, that was not my plan, but I did. I just could not stop thinking about this child and his family.

Tuesday: 5 Miles
Since I started running, I have enjoyed the encouragement and support of the running community. It doesn't matter where we live or where we race, we are united as runners. This unity was only enhanced by this tragedy, it was and is truly amazing. The running community decided to wear race shirts to show their support for the Boston runners, the Boston community and for those injured and killed from the explosions. Abigail and I proudly sported our shirts from the WDWMarathon.

Abigail wearing her "My Mom Ran 26.2" shirt.

Adidas

Adidas, one of the Boston Marathon sponsors, quickly designed the Boston Tribute Tee with all profits being donated to The One Fund Boston. Other companies followed suit...these companies were also represented in Boston for the Marathon Expo and could have had employees running or spectating, everyone is taking this tragedy personally.

I was extra pleased when I learned two businesses I have fallen in love with since I've started running also created designs with all proceeds being donated to One Fund Boston. Sweaty Bands had 3 Boston designs and added 3 new Boston Strong styles. Raw Threads also had Boston specific items then added new Boston designs in order to help those most affected. There are so many opportunities to support Boston and I hope everyone is able to contribute something.

Raw Threads

Wednesday: XT or Rest

I tried my best to make it to the same Power Class I've attended the last two Wednesdays. I was a few minutes late, as we were coming from Abigail's swim class, but instead of bailing on the class all together, I just hopped on in. After Power, I even intended to run a few miles on the treadmill after Power but failed to wear the correct sports bra. I barely ran a half mile before deciding to walk. I logged two miles, walking. I was not pleased but it would have to do for today.

Thursday: 3 Miles Sprint Training
Abigail and I attended a skating rink playdate where for $5/kid admission you can skate (includes skate rental), play on their indoor playground or bring a ride on toy to share on the skating rink. Abigail prefers to skate because there are "skating helpers" (made from PVC pipe and wheels from inline skates) so she can be independent. We have been here a few times and Abigail really enjoys skating which thrills me because I used to love to skate when I was a kid too, and I love how this is something fun we can do together. She gets better each time we return! I can tell she's anxious to skate better because she kept trying to imitate me as I did a skating spin to turn around to watch her or try to take pictures/video.

Abigail had asked if I would skate with her so I decided to wear my Polar FT4 and see what type of calories I would burn skating. We skated for a bit over 30 minutes and I burned about 150 calories. If I had been continuously skating for 30min straight, I'm sure it would have been a higher calorie burn.

The lady helping Abigail is Miss Denise, she's an employee of the skating rink and couldn't be nicer! She is so encouraging with all the children and helps them learn to skate without the skating helpers. Abigail is definitely cautious but you can tell she seems to appreciate the help because she's doing it more independently than with the skating helper. So much fun!

Friday: 4 Miles or XT
Abigail and I attended another morning playdate before coming home to pack for our weekend in Auburn. Brewer was also getting his own separate weekend outing, so I had to get his stuff together as well. As expected, there was no working out or running done. On our way to Auburn we stopped to have dinner with my in-laws, nephew and niece. I was nervous about the not fried options at O'Charley's. I ordered tilapia and sweet potato fries (my new favorite) and managed to resist THREE baskets of their delicious rolls.

Saturday: LR: 8 Miles
While I'll post separately about A-Day in Auburn, as expected I did not get a true workout or run but from all the walking we did around the campus I had to have walked a good couple miles throughout the day. I tried to make good food choices throughout the day, and while they were not great choices, I did also resist the funnel cake Abigail wanted (and we waited at least 15mins for). It was slight torture seeing the sad bit of funnel cake that would not get eaten, but I was very proud of myself for not giving into the "there are hungry children in this world" mentality.


Sunday: Rest
We took it easy coming home from Auburn which was much needed after a very long Saturday! When we made it back home, Matt took Abs to pick up Brewer while I headed to the gym to get in a run. I managed a 5mi run at an 12mm pace. I struggled the first two miles like I usually do but by the time I was almost finished, I didn't want to stop. It's probably better I did stop at 5mi because I don't need to overdo it before the new week even starts.

QUESTIONS:
-Have you purchased any item contributing to or donated directly to The One Fund Boston?
-How do you manage crazy weeks, when they are expected or unexpected?