Ideal workout week

Subtitle: Does not equal ideal taper week

Nick was gone for 2/5 days this week. So I had extra time on my hands. Also, it was rainy out so I had legitimate excuses to run on the treadmill. These things combined to make the PERFECT WORKOUT WEEK.

Oh yes. I said it. I should also say that if you check back with me in 3 days after I've run (or crawled or whatever) 13.1 miles, maybe I will not be so positive about this week. Glycogen stores are made to be depleted. Anywho.

Monday: 5.25 miles on treadmill, FAST! All miles were sub-9:00. And a 2% grade (I think). Then 8 minute Buns and 8 Minute Legs. PS if I never hear the word "bun" again it'll be too soon. 8 minute BUTT. I also hate "glutes."

Tuesday: My quads were sore from working out my buns. Bun just sounds like such a made up word. "10 Minute Solution: Kickboxing somethign something something" (I really just love choosing stuff from Netflix that will totally confuse the computers that are trying to trend Nick's viewing preference. "He likes Dexter... Always Sunny in Philadelphia... and.. Pilates!?!?!?"). It was like 50 minutes and not too intense but it was something.

Wednesday: incline run on treadmill. I don't remember exact what I did but it was something like 0.4 mile intervals, 0.3 miles at 2% grade and the last 0.1 at 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7%. Holy moly. It was hard. I only did them at 6.0 mph but still it was killer. The second half was 0.4 mile increments but I did 0.2 at 2% and 6.0, 0.1 at 6.1 and bumped up grade, and 0.1 at 6.2 with same grade. If you can't tell, I need some variety to keep me interested. Total distance was around 4.5.

Thursday: The piece de resistance: 20 mile bike ride. Nick and I went to the Indian Head Rail Trail and it was glorious.  The weather was lovely and overcast, there were a few runners and bikers but not too many. It was a little hard on the bun though. My buns were uncomfortable. Bun discomfort is the worst. We finished up in about 80 minutes which is 4 min/mile. Not blazing fast, but it was challenging (and supposedly burned 800-ish calories?!?).

Today: 3 miles, outside, maybe. Also, eating ALL THE CARBS!

Saturday: rest. Glorious rest and Memorial Day parties where I will stare longingly at the beer all around me, not drink any much, and rest my buns.

Sunday: My 3rd 13.1. Do it.

Hit "Publish"

Subtitle: What is.... things Laurel can't do?!

Subtitle 2: Isn't publish an awfully lofty word for a freaking blog post? Right? Publish!? It's words on the internet.

I have quite literally 7 draft posts that I have started and then never "published." I don't have anything to share with the world. I've been doing a lot, so one of the posts was about being busy (of course), and I've been really happy, so another post was about being happy. A third post was about biking. Another one about how I've been runnning more frequently yet not hating my life. None of these sound all that gripping, right? Yeah, so I spared you. You're welcome (note: misuse of you're vs. your welcome is what keeps me up at night. YOUR WELCOME? THE WELCOME THAT BELONGS TO YOU? DOES NOT COMPUTE.)

Here's some pictures.

Photographic evidence that I actually took my back tire off my bike, had my dad replace the tube, and then put it back on. All by myself. It only took 2 Youtube videos to figure out how to orient the chain/derailleur complex. And then I tried to unbutton my khakis before washing my hands. No matter how badly you need to pee, you have time to wash your hands first. Promise. I bought that ring at the Maryland Craft Beer Festival the other weekend (I told you I've been busy!), and it is awesome. Aside from turning slightly yellow when I go swimming, it's great.

I went to Career Day at a local elementary school. The kids? Loved me. I got hugs.... from the teachers. Jk. Sort of. Anyways, I think they enjoyed the presentation mostly because I passed around the pinwheel. Yes, I use a pinwheel and clay to describe my job. It's highly technical. Side note: Nick and I were at the store looking for the pinwheel and he claimed we wouldn't be able to find one because "What decade are we in again?!" Solid argument, but it's almost Memorial Day and pinwheels are neat and grandparents will buy them for their kids. So there. It was also like 97 cents. Win.

We're trying to grow some new little jade plants. These guys were cut from our big jade plant and we've been waiting for over 2 weeks for them to sprout. Now, when you pull on them they have some resistance so we think that means there's roots! Yay!

In less successful plant news- my orchid is dying. The leaves are still in great shape but the stalk is brown? What's that about? I'm still watering it, but I don't have a lot of hope. I thought orchids were supposed to be sort of death-resistant.

Nick and I went to Philadelphia, ran 3 miles from his sister's house to the Philadelphia Art Museum, and got this picture of 48% of my face, 100% of Rocky and 100% of Nick (I see your preferences, dear boyfriend, and  I'm not pleased. Jk, phone pics are a pain and there were tons of people. Do better next time.).

I bought this stuff from GNC online when I had a weird moment where I realized I need both more protein AND more calcium in my diet. And it was buy one, get one 50% and free shipping soooo.... it basically bought itself. This has both nutrients (50% RDV Calcium, 15 g protein). It also tastes slightly like death to me, but I can choke it down. I know I could make it into a delicious smoothie if I could get over my hatred of dishes and just use the damn food processor, but I refuse. I'll dissolve it in water, choke it down, complain and go on with my life. PS/TMI the "digestive enzymes" they speak of do something pretty ridiculous to my digestive system. They might be a little too enzymatic for me.

Nick and I and a random kid on the "Ricochet" at King's Dominion Amusement Park (Exhibit B in the How Busy I've Been Museum). It's hard to tell, but Nick and I are being SUPER unenthused (on purpose). Nick nailed it, I'm giving 50% duckface. I think all of our displaced enthusiasm spilled over onto excited kid in front of us. He had a blast.

This is the forecast for our half on Sunday... no comment. Granted, we'll be running from ~7:45-~9:45 (or like 10:30 if we're being realistic), so it won't quite be 90. But still. Hottttttt. Whiiiiiine.

5.5 "happy" miles

I've been a wee bit grumpy lately. As I stated in my last post, running has been mentally incredibly tough for me lately. I've tried to think all sorts of positive thoughts, because I'm pretty sure I've actually been running faster than I ever have before, but I still do not want to set foot outside the house for a run. Ever. Never ever ever ever. Yesterday Nick and I had planned on running all day but then it was cloudy/drizzling and we needed to stop at the grocery store and I was tired and I was hungry and and and....

You get the idea. Luckily, Nick is not susceptible to my whining. He wasn't feeling 100% either but still pushed us out the door. I stalled by fussing with my shoelaces and wailing and generally acting like a child but eventually I sucked it up and headed out.

We went a different direction than usual, which was a nice change. I wore different shoes. It was overcast with a few random raindrops, so the weather was perfect. I tried to capture all these positive bits and use them to power through the run.

I think I can stop right now. I think I can head back home. I think I can... (source)

No dice. I was stuck in hate mode. Instead, I focused on how fresh my legs felt after 3 days of not running at all (we went on a mini-vacation Friday-Sunday and running was not on the agenda). They were not achy, or tired, or anything. Physically, I felt great. So I ran fast and tried to pay attention to the cool stuff my legs let me do when they're feeling good. Nick suggested a slightly longer than normal run, even though I had contemplated going home about 75,000 times already. We turned around a little less than 3 miles from home. The run back was definitely more about getting home and being done. When we finished, Nick remarked that I was running a little fast. Fact. I was tired but not dead. I was happy to be home. I was sort of happy to have run, at least so I didn't have the lack of run guilt hanging over my head.

I am not sure why I'm in this funk. I am hoping to take a little running hiatus and maybe change things up after the half marathon. Hopefully that will help matters, because no one likes a complainer.

Inside my head

Thoughts I have while swimming:
32 laps to go....32...32...32...wait... 31? no. 30? more? 33? When did I start? If I average 1:45/100 meters and I started at 30:00 on the pace clock, should I have gone further? Should I swim 1600? More? I wonder how Nick feels. How far have I gone now? 800m? Sprint tris are only around 750m I think? I should definitely do one! Open water swimmnig is weird though. Didn't I see one with a pool swim? I should do that. I need to bike more. I need to inflate my bike tires. I could probably even do an Olympic distance tri, that's only 1500 m. How far have I gone now? How is it that 20 minutes swimming feels like an eternity? I think I get more tired swimming than running. I wonder if I'll be sore tomorrow. Yikes my form feels terrible. I'm not kicking smoothly. It's called flutter kick, Laurel, not random splashing kick. Almost done now! 10 more minutes. La la la swimming is fun.

Thoughts I have while running:
This needs to be done. Now. Hate. 45 more minutes. 44.5 more minutes. My legs feel funny. Am I injured? Omg what if I'm injured. My knee feels tweaky. My foot hurts. My legs are sore. It's hot. Am I getting sunburned? Oh geez, I'm sweating so much. I wish sweat wasn't in my eyes. I think my shorts are going to chafe. Good job, thighs. Or good job drinking all that beer last week, Laurel. Don't blame your thighs. 41 more minutes. 40.5 more minutes. Ugh, hill. Ugh, dead animal. Did I not fuel properly? I didn't sleep very well last night. I bet that's why I feel terrible. Is Nick faster than me? Am I holding him back? 38 more minutes. Now my leg is really hurting. I bet it's my IT band. I'm totally undertrained for a half marathon. What if it's hot on race day? What if my stomach is upset? Ugh my stomach hurts now. Wonder if I'll make it. 35 more minutes. That's 2/9 of the way through. 2/9! Weee! This needs to be done. Now. Hate.

Ummm so I think I might hate running? It takes a village to get me to the swimming pool, but once I'm there I tend to do pretty well. I can chug through a workout and feel pleasantly tired at the end. I don't usually stress too much about my aches and pains. Swimsuits are super comfortable.

...I should swim more!

But really, I go through this every year. Or every month. Running is not easy for me, and some aspects of it I straight up hate. I love how I feel when I'm done. I love how it makes my legs look. I love the feeling of accomplishment. I really love running with Nick, even if I worry about my pace... it's great knowing we share an enjoyment of running. Right now I might just be falling out of love with running since I'm stressed over the half marathon in 19 days, which I feel utterly unprepared for (I ran 9.1 miles on the treadmill in my super awesome new shoes (thanks, Mom and Dad!). I finished in around 85 minutes, so I ran at an appropriate long run pace. I didn't feel totally dead. But still... 4 more miles...?!?!

*I wrote all of the above before running with Nick last night, where I tried really hard to keep my thought processes positive. Even when the air smelled like a mix of honeysuckle and death. Even when breathing was hard. Even when my hips ached. There was a lot of mental back and forth and I'm pretty sure I spent more time in the negative zone than the positive, but it was a start. I just need to be less of a grump and try to cultivate positive thoughts. Some ideas:

"This could suck worse"

"This is totally going to make my butt less squishy. Positive!"

"At least it's not raining!" (if it is not raining)

"At least it's not raining hard!" (if it is not raining hard)

"All this rain will make my veggie garden grow!"

Anywho. Here's a weird "baby carrot" i found in my carrot bag last week. You can't fool me. That's not a baby at all.

All grown up.

Note- part of this post was written last week when I was on work travel in Charlotte, NC. So if you know me in real life, don't be confused by how events are sequenced.

I've been a legal adult for almost 9 years now (gag). I've been legal drinking age for almost 6. I've been out of high school for 9, and out of undergrad for 5. I'm employed. I have my own health insurance. I pay for my housing. Probably look like an adult to most onlookers.

So why is it that when I take a trip for work suddenly I feel like I'm in some special adults-only club and I'm trying to fit in? Paying with a corporate card makes me feel like I'm playing a game. I called down to the front desk of the hotel because the Wifi was non-existent. Who am I, the Queen of England?! Maybe it's the combination of being in an unusual city, and being alone that makes me feel so out of my element. I suddenly get super scared I'll get carded when we go out to dinner as a group and they'll all realize that I'm omgtoo young to be in their club

Anyways. While in Charlotte I had to be a morning work-outer a couple times because in the afternoons were full of dinner plans. I was reminded of how miserable morning workouts are. This first day I did 30 minutes on the elliptical and felt horrible. I "pushed myself" and got to 32 minutes. Did I earn some sort of merit badge? The second day I climbed on one of the two  treadmills at the tiny hotel gym. It only went up to 3.2 mph. What is that?? Such a ridiculous low limit. I feel like someone must have screwed something up on the machine for that to be the low setting. I tried the other treadmill and it worked properly, but I slogged along at sub-10 minute miles and struggled to get to 30 minutes. I think I did 3.5 miles in like 36 minutes. Two days prior, I ran on the Mallard Creek Greenway for about 50 minutes and I was cooking the whole time. My body just hates morning workouts.

A note about the Mallard Creek Greenway-- it is the best thing, ever. Apparently it covers almost 6 miles in northern Charlotte.

Umm. Some more recent runs? A painful but quick 4 miler with Nick last Friday when I came home, 4.5 miles (in 40 minutes... yay me?) on the treadmill on Monday, 3.6 miles with Nick on Tuesday. We were going to swim yesterday but instead watched the Hangover II and made jalapeno corn chowder, which I have been requested to immortalize so that we don't forget it for next time:

2 small onions
1 large red bell pepper
3 jalapenos, 2.5 of them seeded
lots of pepper

Sautee until things are tender

5 cups water, 3 veggie boullion cubes
2 peeled, cubed large-ish potatoes

Boil until potatoes are tender

1.5 bags frozen sweet corn, one tiny container heavy whipping cream plus low fat milk (I know, irony) up to about 2.5 cups milk.

Simmer/LOW boil ~40 minutes. Add cornmeal and water to thicken.

If we did it again, I'd probably use 1 cup less water, but I'm not sure. The cornmeal addition at the end made it really chowdery and perfect. It was spicy and delicious. I had gotten some ideas and measurement amounts from this recipe and this recipe, but I also did my own thing. Pictures are forthcoming.

Thursday Things + anemiupdate

I just had to check calendar after I typed that title. Is it really Thursday? It is! Phew.

My legs. Oh my legs. I did more Tabata nonsense on Tuesday since I was home all by myself. The first 4 minutes are high knees, followed by 4 minutes of burpees, followed by 4 minutes of jumping lunges. I made it through the lunges but my thighs were on fire and I knew I would be in pain later. The video instructor slowed down majorly during the last 3 intervals and I followed her lead. The next 4 minutes were supposed to be super low froggy squats (I don't know the real name) with little hops in between. I did 2 intervals of those before I called it a day and did some abs. I thought I was saving myself from suffering. Ha.

I spent the rest of the night hobbling around the house, thinking that maybe, just maybe I would not make it up the stairs the next time I needed to go up them. I racked my brain for why I would be that feeling so weak, I had eaten plenty, had a big dinner, rehydrated, etc. Little did I know my body was trying to keep my stationary and keep my muscles from being more damaged.

(note: as I re-read and edited this, I realized how dramatic I am. I know people feel real pain out there and I'm a big weenie. But my pain hurts more than yours! Whine!)

Wednesday morning was... stiff. Painful. I didn't think I'd be so sore just 8 hours later. It got worse throughout the day. Hobbling may have happened. By last night I was dreading when I'd have to sit in a chair. I did about 3.5 miles on the treadmill (new favorite workout- start at 6.0 mph, increase by 0.1 every minute until 7.0, maintain 2 mins, reduce back to 6.1 and increase again to 7.1. repeat until tired) That brings us to today. I'm sad. So very sad. Stairs are killer. I actually yelped trying to use the bathroom earlier. Why can't girls pee standing up? I'd really like to choose that option right now.

Tonight will be my first opportunity to run with Nick since Saturday, and I would love to... I'm hoping my legs cooperate for a few miles at least.

Anemia. About that. My hemoglobin levels have been 7.5 (November, pre-supplementation), 10 (January, 2 months of twice daily supplements), and 11 (yesterday, another 3 months of once daily supplements). My ferritin went from 5 in November to 50 in January. I don't know the number from yesterday yet. My doctor was pretty concerned and said that there may be underlying absorption issues since I don't have blood loss from other means, and my number is going up very slowly. She also asked if my energy levels are back to "normal." Uh. Maybe? What's normal? I would say I'm more lethargic than I'd like to be, but less lethargic than some people. So... is that normal? She's gonna let me know my ferritin levels in a couple days and my mom thinks I should ask her if she recommends I see a gastroenterologist to check out how my digestion is. I'd really prefer not to get scopes put in various body parts, but if that's what it takes... bleh.

Treadmill- initial thoughts

It was almost 90 degrees out yesterday. I ran and hiked a bunch this weekend and am sore. Ergo, I didn't really want to run outside so I hopped on my shiny new treadmill. Fun fact: you can wear whatever you want when you workout at home. This means less laundry for me! Hooray!

The treadmill comes equipped with iFit Live capability. It seems neat, but it's expensive! It makes it so your treadmill (or elliptical or bike) can talk to your computer and upload workout data, and also download workouts. There are a selection of workout modules including ones by Jilliam Michaels. They seem neat. I haven't figured out if buying the iFit module is worth it, I'll have to look into it more. The treadmill did come with pre-programmed workouts. I'll review as I do them. The workouts are categorized into "Performance," "Weight Loss," "Timed," and umm... I don't remember. Maybe Distance?

1- 20 Minute Performance workout.
The profile of this looked like a kinda wimpy interval workout. 3 minutes each warmup and cooldown at 3.0-4.0 mph, plus 5 x 1min intervals, 2 mins rest. Intervals were at 7.0-8.5mph, rest was at 6.0. All of that was done at 1.0% incline. I did this and was not blown away, but it's a good starting point. I really really wish that instead of preset interval speeds, I could choose do all the intervals at 8.0 or whatever. Either way, it was 2 miles with some little speedy parts. I could do without 6 minutes out of 20 being spent on warmup and cooldown, but I know I don't do those things enough anyways. They're just trying to help.

2- "300 Calorie" workout
How do you know how many calories I burn if I don't enter my weight? It seemed pretty accurate, maybe on the high side (thought I'd burn 300 cals in 30 minutes. pretty much in line with the estimates for 100 cals/mile when running), but the workout itself was really annoying. It alternated incline between 1% and 3%, speed 3.5 to 4.5. 4.5 is a really awkward fast walk speed for me, so I did a ridiculous slow jog instead. I ended up bailing on this one, overriding the speed settings and cruising at 5.5 for about 12 minutes. Not my favorite.

I guess I need to get used to the idea of someone else's "workout" for me if I am to use any of the presets. I want to mess with them some and see if they're worth using. Maybe the iFit ones are better? We'll see.

Today might be a bike ride if my tires can be inflated, or some intervals? I'm so unpredicatble.