Epic Fail

Really?  How many times is that justifiably allowed to be a post title?  The thing I hate about epic fails is setting out to do something and not completing it...the point when you realize you have to ask yourself mid-run, and wonder (yes, right there in the middle of the road)

What is happening? What's going on here? 

 

Through these years of running, I have learned that some of those mid-run stops need to continue , because its your mind playing Battleship with you...and then sometimes you have to realize that you made shitty choices and the best thing is to go home.  I've been schooled by my body more than once and lets not get into that crazy mind of mine.....

 

When training for a marathon it becomes pretty apparent that your long runs especially past mile 13 start the day before your actual run...maybe even sooner actually.  You need your rest, you have to fuel correctly, you need to have the correct amount of allotted time that kids are accounted with ample time to fuel afterwards so you can recover.  I'm usually very good at this and if last weekends long runs wasn't one of my best runs...I would have probably would have cried out on that road today because when you mess up a long run and all the training guides are telling you..."your long run is the staple of your marathon-train like its race day..." yada, yada...you get the gist of it

 

Let me make this quick: 

*Yesterday I had a class from 9-2 came home and felt like I was thoroughly depleted in something... I raided the fridge and ate what my body wanted.  After that I fell asleep for 2 hours.  Now mind you I have two kids so it was a

"lets make believe mommy is the baby and you guys put me to sleep..."

and then when that one dies out

" lets make believe that you guys are the doctors and mommy's in the hospital lol"

....okay don't call CPS yet...what I'm trying to get across to you is it was one of those mommy naps...the ones where you wish to god you really could totally pass out, mouth open, waking up feeling refreshed.  Yeah, that wasn't what it was. 

 

*My husband gets home and as soon as he does I really pass out and go to sleep until he continues to tap me in a very annoying manner...  Who taps a sleeping mom?  No one should....no one.  

 

*I eat dinner and realize my  6 miler is not getting done.

 

*Go upstairs realize my "Aunt" that visits every month (kind of like a tapping husband) has paid me a visit ...ahhh okay the eating of the fridge and passing out from exhaustion. 

 

*I still await the final decision of are we going away or not because I need to know when to schedule my long run (my mistake number 1)

 

*Decide last minute to just do it the morning. 

 

*I would have to wake at 5 (which I didn't) 5:30 and then run a decent pace (which I couldn't --my darn AUNT!) 

 

* I started the run and at mile five realized I needed to make a decision.  Do I make this the six and do the long run the right way?  Or do I do mind over matter and push through and hope I make it in time?    I learned from a good trainer that "hope is not a strategy" and decided that it means to much to me to not allow myself to make the mistake. I swallowed my pride and headed home with a six miler and a lesson. 

 

***You can't rush these things.  Whether you are just starting out or if you are training for a marathon or more. 

 

***You need to listen to your body.  I'm getting better at this...not 100% yet.

 

***Appreciate the long run.  It can be such a beautiful time and peaceful and energizing...Fitting it in just doesn't match up.

 

***Getting down on yourself just takes up time that you could be using to figuring out how you are going to make it work...don't waste your time.  Its too valuable.

 

 

Do you listen to the warning signs or do you find yourself making the choice on the road? 

Do you hate when your Aunt comes to visit? Are your runs easier or harder during that time?

What helps you get over an epic fail?

 



 

When the Going Gets Tired...

When the Going Gets Tired....I sometimes head to the treadmill.  Today I was supposed to do an interval run.  I got to bed late the night before, woke up a bit tired, went downstais, made my usual run breakfast and then laced up.  As soon as I opened the front door I knew that it would be in my best interest to head to the gym rather than the track.  Track workouts have never been my favorites but I have learned that they are or shall I say can be, confidence boosters.  The problem is when and if you head to a track workout with your mind or your body lacking the enthusiam...it can deflate your little esteem balloon pretty darn fast. 

I have taught myself to embrace that little dreadmill.  It gives me the opportunity to not give up on what I set out to do for the day but at the same time allows me not to really have to think. 

The session was difficult but I was pleased at the end.  I made up my own little Ladder Interval workout (or at least I like to think I made it up...but I'm sure its a real thing made up by someone previously lol).  I've learned to run a bit faster (and by no means am I fast...some of you may think these treadmills times are chump change!) you have to ...practice running faster.

I warmed up at 6.0 for one mile
then for .25 I increased the interval speed by .2mph each .25 miles

.25-   6.6  (This is the speed I try to stay in most of the time)
.25-   6.8
.25-   7.0
.25-   7.2

50 second rest

.25-   6.8  (Totally sweating now)
.25-   7.0
.25-   7.2
.25-   7.4

50 second rest

25-    7.0   (These are the speeds I would love to be able to handle for a longer period of time)
.25-   7.2
.25-   7.4
.25-   7.6


This workout also helps relieve the boredom that can sometimes set in while at the gym.  I remember having to do a 12 mile run on a treadmill one time...I found myself counting other peoples reps in the gym or trying to guess what machine would be choosing next...um really?  With these types of treadmill runs you are too focused on trying to keep form at that pace, pressing the buttons every .25 of a mile and then hopping off for a 50 second break....the time goes by much faster.   

What do you do on the treadmill?  What's the longest you've run on a treadmill?  What do you do when are just not feeling the run or activity you are supposed to do?

Where do you Invest?

 

 

 

 

I love me some Mumford and Sons.  I was first introduced to them by my sister-in-law Marie, from MoreCheese.  I love the band and can listen to their music on any run...fast or super-slow.  One of my favorite stanza's and favorite songs is Awake My Soul.  I love it because ...

1.  It gives you permission to sing out loud like you know how, even if you don't. 

2.  It gets faster in the end which allows you to dance

3.  It has one of my favorite stanzas....



 

 

"In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
Where you invest your love, you invest your life
In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
And where you invest your love, you invest your life"

 

I say TRUE THAT, Mumford and Sons, TRUE THAT!

 

 

Anterior Pelvic Tilt...Aka How to Train Your Butt to Join the Party

 

That middle guy would be my main issue with running and any pain I have associated with running.  I can remember my parents telling me since I was about five years old...

"Annette, Stop walking with your butt out..."

Um. I would have if knew how....

Till this day I am still researching how to handle this problem.  It is  the root to all my evils.  When I have that feeling of being popped out on my left side or "tilted" or "off"...however you want to explain it....the feeling is just so darn annoying.  It's like a nagging hurt...not too painful but annoying.  A feeling like if you could just pop your back one way you would feel 100% better.

 

I have gone to PT's, chiropractors and the rest of them.  Long story short, I need to do some work on the below muscles involved.  You would think if I had the time to fit in twelve mile runs on the weekend-that I would have some time to fit this in as well...

 

I'm working on it....

anyone else walking around with their butt out...or like that last picture lol...their manhood or womenhood leading the way?

It is almost like I have to teach my butt to join the party

...here are some pointers and a link to more info.

 

chart from : http://taylorednutrition.tripod.com/adjustingpelvictilt.html

 

Anterior Pelvic Tilt
Muscles Involved	Cause	Fix
Hip Flexors	Become tight and overused- Pull down the pelvis and lumbar spine	Stretch
Glutes	Underused and elongated , the hip flexors take over the work pulling everything forward	Direct glute work and muscle strengthening
Spinal Erectors	They become shortened from being weak and underused causing the abs to take over	Direct muscle strengthening, endurance building, and stretching
Hamstrings	Become tighter and shorter causing a forward lean and the quads to do more work	Muscle strengthening and muscle building stretching
Abdominals	Become tight and overused from compensating for the spinal errectors	Build endurance and strength especially in the Rectus Abdominals and Obliques

fdsi

Stripped

I’m back and I have to be honest it is with a bit of hesitation as it is hard for me to start anything that I can’t promise I will continue.  I lost the urge to write for a bit…I can’t really explain why.  Nor do I feel that anyone wants any excuse. I hesitated to come back because I thought “who would even read…?”

Until today, I had my answer. It doesn't matter who reads... 

I was just rereading my Boston issue of Runners World.  I just found myself getting choked up as I was reading part of an article…one that wasn’t even referencing the unspeakable tragedies that happened that day…but where it was explaining how a first time marathoner felt in the beginning of the race.  The nervousness, the quiet unspeakable moments when you are questioning in your head am I ready? Why am I doing this?…etc. etc.   

To me, running strips you of so many things.  It sounds so negative but trust me, it is oh so positive. …which I am sure some of you may relate to.  I feel if done ‘right’ (this is not a pace, this is not a place) you can grow so much as a person when you leave your expectations and bring your worries, your problems with you.  I know that also may sound a bit weird, a bit backwards.   I find that each mile literally has the ability to either allow yourself to let go of something that has been bothering you,  the clarity of seeing how to get through or end a difficult problem, it allows you to respect life, enjoy the things around you and the ability to exhale and breathe…just breathe through everything.  Its strips you clean. 

I think I got choked up because it is so fun and how else can I explain it….exciting, maybe _____ (fill in the blank)? to see or listen to someone else that has figured this out.  Its hard to vocalize what some may describe as a  ‘cheasy’ feeling about running to a non- runner, hence my desire to get it out and just write about it, no matter who reads.   I’m sure this is a feeling that is true with any sport, or something you love….

So I begin....again, To allow my thoughts to come back onto the paper or blog lol….because I’m running a whole heck of a lot of mileage lately for the NYC marathon...and lord knows I have a lot of stripping going on lol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NYC, Choices and Where I Stood

I did ask a few people, peoples whose opinions I valued, what they thought about NYC still going through with the race and how they felt about running.  I asked those opinions to see if there was something I was missing, to understand maybe, how so many didn't see what I was seeing.  I asked others opinions because it allows me to weight my own opinion against others and to hear my voice inside me  more clear.   I am proud of my decision and that I chose not to run before the Mayor came to his senses. 

I tried to understand others views but I had a very difficult time letting "my training" be a reason to run through a city that was still dealing with open wounds.  Yes, we bounce back. I AM a New Yorker.  I get it. But that doesn't give us the right to forget that people are going through a horrible time, lost lives, lost homes, no food, no heat, no water, no gas and to the mother and father that lost their babies...My heart aches....my heart truly aches for that women. I can't imagine the pain. How could I line up miles away from where she found her children dead ???? 

My training has made me a better person, it has had me up on mornings that I would have just lied there, it made me put down that extra bag of chips, it has taught me discipline, it has put me in the best shape of my life, it has brought me energy and enthusiam.  Its given me more than I could ask for already. 

I was down about having to make what I felt was a moral decision about running this race.  After I made the decision a weight was lifted.  I was prepared and I am prepared to run that race on Sunday in my hometown of St. James.  I still don't have power, I still don't have heat.  My town looks like a bomb hit it.  But if they are not ''postponing'' the race...I will run here and raise money here....and send it to those who need it more than me.  In my opinion, that's all NY needs right now....

Live from NYC :What do you think?

I'm writing from my house with the help of a generator my husband has hooked up only hour ago (thank you so so so so much Scott for waking up super early for your family and going above and beyond to get this to work).

My family is safe but the neighborhood looks like it has been through a warzone. I will have pictures shortly.  This weekend I am supposed to race in the NYC marathon.  I have mixed feelings...run, not to run...I feel like so many are devastated there and it will be even harder when they literally shut down the city, even more than it already is, for this race.  You can't get in by car without a certain amount of people, many of the roadways are still flooded...I'm hearing some are pissed about it still being on...while I'm also hearing it will bring the heart back when it ít's needed most.

What do you think?