The Pursuit of Running

Race Day Blues?

It’s 9:00am - race time. I’m currently sitting my lazy bum in the recliner, imagining the start line, looking out the window at the absolute perfection that is the weather, the temperature is a beautiful 22* according to The Weather Network, and the sun is out but not too strongly. If it would’ve stayed as gloomy as it was at 6 this morning, which has become my natural wake-up time thanks to the early morning runs (kind of digging it, though!), I wouldn’t feel so crummy. But this race would have been perfect. It could have been the one to prove myself, to really put all that work, all of those runs and training sessions, to the test and see what I’m capable of. Instead, I’m just sitting here, and it’s driving me nuts.

Not running is one thing, but not doing anything is a whole other beast. I’ve made it no secret I find it extremely difficult to take rest days, it seriously messes with me mentally. I just can’t do it, I become the biggest bitch. I can’t even sit and watch TV or a movie anymore, I get so bored. I used to be addicted to True Blood - tried watching it this morning while I enjoyed my delicious bowl of Apple Pie N’Oatmeal - and ended up on Instagram and reading articles online, looking up how to work out with runner’s injuries. I can tell you what happened in the episode in like 5 words, yet it took that sht a whole hour to unfold and I’m like, how do peope do this? How do you just sit on your ass and flip through channels or play video games all day? You see where my dilemma with rest days comes from? I need some activity, or I go stir-crazy. Hell, even a walk, a crawl, a leg lift - I’ll take anything as long as I’m doing.

That’s where my plan for today comes in, because I really just need a good sweat session somehow. Thanks to Google and Runner’s World forums, I concluded to have a crazy cardio day by using machines that simulate the motion of running, without the impact on joints/my foot. Hello Arc Trainer and Precor! Added bonus: those machines are located at the co-ed gym, which means potential to have something nice to look at while I look like a disgusting beast. One of these days, my daydream of meeting someone at the gym will transpire, if only I went to the co-ed gym more than once a month. It’s just, the prep-time… I really don’t care what I look like when I work out at my usual gym. But when I go to the co-ed gym, I walk in there and you’ve got girls who look like they just stepped away from the MAC counter, hair curled, wearing head-to-toe LuLuLemon that matches, all toned, tanned and glistening, walking 3.5 mph on an incline, holding on to the top of the treadmill and I’m like - wtf.

Anyways, the gym for some low-impact, high-intensity (talk about an oxymoron) cardio time, and perhaps a fun plank drill challenge at the end it will be for today. I also wanted to make some healthy treats today, or protein bars/granola bars. We shall see! Of course, instagram it up for real-time healthy eats and treats from me if you’re interested: joanned3. I’m so addicted, I’m on that sht all day erryday.

As for Lefty: My knee feels so weird. I’ve had knee aches before, but this is so different. There’s like, almost a tightness? It just doesn’t feel right. Pain I can understand, but this feeling, like something is off in there, is new to me. My left foot is super painful and swollen. Blahhhh. Just going to have to deal, and cheer the rest of you awesome runblrs on who are getting your runs in, even in this heat! Seriously, you guys are beasts, pulling cray splits when most people are dying of heat stroke walking to their cars. It takes beast mode to a whole other level.

Screw You, Lefty!?

Call me maybe crazy, but I just can not sit here and allow Lefty to take charge of my day and put me out. HELL NO. It’s leg day, bitch. Low impact leg day. HA!  Put together a little workout number here, going to give these leg muscles some lovin’, sans- heavy weights. Let’s see, now that I’ve built these gams up (because holy sht yo I was in a plank yesterday and looked down and lawwddd those quads!!! Ripple and valley central!) if I can lean ‘em out. Then I’m foam rolling like a mad woman. Arthritis my ass, this shit is getting dealt with one way or another.

I’m running tonight. When it’s not a sauna outside. Although I REALLY want to run right now in the sauna, because if you run in the sauna, you master the sauna, you dominate the sauna, until there is no sauna. But I don’t want to run without anything on my knee, and I can’t go get KT tape until later (damn it, non-drivingness!) sooooo, excuses are like elbows and all that jazz, but I’m not running until lata alligata!

I am, however, riding my bike to the gym. Does that seem counter-productive? I was thinking biking is lower impact, no?

Eh, whatever, the way I see it, it’s twice the cardio, half the in-gym time, cross-training and helping the environment all in one. The real trick here is convincing my mother I won’t die. She’s something else, I tell her I’m riding my bike somewhere and she practically goes into cardiac arrest, yet I step out the door at the crack of dawn to run in sketchy trails and she’s totally fine. Love that woman…

EDIT:

I hopped on my bike to ride to the gym, only to discover the chain was royally fcked up and I had no clue how to fix it. Mom:1, Me: 0 - she drove me to the gym. I hopped on the bike for 5 minutes to warm up, feeling kinda shitty, honestly. To top it off, there’s a girl I’ve been seeing a lot at my gym lately that looks like she stepped out of a Nike ad, like perfectly toned, tanned, fit - legit perfect. She was running on the treadmill. So, not only am I faced with a body I’ll never naturally have in this lifetime, bitch is doing the one thing I would kill to be doing at that moment. This does not a happy camper make.

I headed into the group exercise room, which I had to myself until a class at 5:30, giving me a little over 30 minutes to get this sht done. I strapped on the ankle weights and went to town with my workout. There was a lot of laying down and leg lifts. There were 4 circuits, looked a bit like this:

Leg Lifts with Ankle Weights Circuit x3: (1) Side-lying leg lifts x20 - top leg (2) Side-lying leg lifts x 20 - bottom leg. On the last set, I pulsed for 20 at 15 and then finished out the last 5, and held for 20 seconds. (2) Supinated straight leg lifts x20each x2, then one set of 10 going super duper slow. This targets the quads, but I found my entire leg was working during these ones, from the circumferance of my thights to my shins, calves, everything. Loved this move the most.

There was a hamstring circuit, but when I attempted it (Laying face down, leg curls; froggers), my hammies were just like WTF we’ve been working! And I was running out of time in the classroom so I moved on to moves I didn’t want to perform out in front of everyone.

Bodyweight Squat Circuit x3: (1) Platypus/plie squat lateral walk x20 (2) Plie squat +sweep x20 ea.

Then I headed out to the machines and did 3 sets of 20 narrow stance seated leg presses, and 3 sets of 20 wide stance. Then I added 1 set of single leg press for 10. I kept the weight moderate, 75lbs, hence the higher reps.

After that, it was the kick-back or donkey kick machine, 3 sets of 10 each leg, moderate weight.

I went to do step ups with kick backs, but when I stepped up with my left leg my knee just killed - bad idea. So I just did the kickback part, pulsing the booty for 20 counts each side.

When it came time for abs, my energy was kind of zapped. I did scorpion planks but it was just so half-assed, felt like I was just going through the motions at that point. I tried to push through it, but then realized maybe today just wasn’t my day. I foam rolled for a bit instead, taking special care with my left leg. It hurt like a bitch. Then I sat in the sauna for 10 minutes or so, feeling kinda shitty. On the one hand, I got my workout in, but on the other I didn’t do all I had planned, and I didn’t run. I walked the dog earlier, and I ran 1 mile, but that’s peanuts to me. On the other hand, today has been one thing after the other every time I tried to get my workout in. Perhaps it was a sign.

Another sign? When I got out of the gym, it was storming like crazy. We’re under a thunderstorm warning/watch until 9pm. FML. So, cue plan B. Or is it C? D? I’m going to turn it in early tonight and head out for my 8 miler tomorrow morning. Then I’ll run a nice and easy 3 on Saturday morning before I go to New Body class at the gym, then relax for the rest of the day before the 10K Sunday morning.

Part of me is worried I’m trying to do too much at once before this race, the other is going crazy not running which is making me antsy and nervous, and the last time I tried to taper/take it easy before a race, well it didn’t work so well. Sometimes rules are meant to be broken, right? So, here goes nothing…

Oh nice, a commercial with a guy running and getting lost in his music. WAY to rub it in, universe…