Boo Legs

I don't know why I just can't lay off it. I know that's what I need to do for my shin, but I'm dumb and ran on it again today. I just want to love running again! Is that so hard? I ran three miles, 20 mins on the bike, and finished up with some lunges, squats, and abs. The husband joined me today so that was a bonus.

Happy 4th of July! Hope its filled with fun, fireworks, fast running, and good food (I'm so sorry I'm so nerdy). Mine will be filled with 3 of the 4. 75% isn't too bad I guess. 

Originally I was planning on running a 5 or 10K today but the shin disagreed. Its an angry little bugger. My brother in law is a physical therapist and he worked on it a little over the weekend. He said my calves are tight (thank you Bam) and surprise surprise I need to be better about stretching them and rolling them out. Hopefully I can race a 5 or 10K a little later in the summer.

I spent the weekend down in St. George with the family. So fun to relax and hang out by the pool. (Way too hot to do much else!) Pretty sure we single handedly kept the Mars candy company in business over this last weekend. My family knows how to put it down when it comes to treats. I come by it naturally. :)

I did a little cross training at the gym today. 10 mins on stair stepper, 10 on the bike, 10 on the elliptical, repeated twice. I really hate cross training. 

Same old, same old. Cross training like a maniac. Have I mentioned that I just want to run? I guess I'm learning the art of patience.

Weight lifting class today followed by 30 mins on the elliptical. 

PM Workout: Jumping on the tramp with this big fella. Turns out jumping with a two year old is quite the workout! Ring around the rosies works up a good sweat. 

It has been about 10 days since I last ran. I did 4 easy miles on the treadmill with a 0.5% incline. Average pace was 8:45. It felt surprisingly good. I'm guessing the key is to not go all out and jump right back into it? I'm not going to run again until friday.

After the 4 miles on the treadmill, I did 20 min on the elliptical, followed by some ab work.

When I got home, I foam rolled, used the stick, and am now wearing compression socks. 

How is that picture below so dang big? Anyone know how to make pictures smaller? I mean, my two year old is cute but maybe you don't need to see him that large and charge.

Spin class at the gym today. I was certainly a sweaty beast. I don't know if the air conditioning was broken or it was because of the on and off storms but the humidity in the gym was insane. By the end of it, I looked and felt like I had jumped in a pool. That's my kind of workout. I love the Wednesday teacher. I don't usually love spin, but she makes it worth it.

Lifting class. Nothing special. I love doing squats, lunges, dead lifts. But when it comes to shoulders, triceps, and especially biceps? Shoot me now.

20 min elliptical. We're seeing more of each other than I'd like. 

So excited to go on a run today. I wanted to love the run...but the run didn't love me back. It took a while for the ol calf/shin to warm up and feel ok. Mid run I stumbled my way into a cloud of gnats and managed to eat one and catch another with my eye. That's gotta be one of my main pet peeves when running, eating bugs/getting bugs in your eye. So gross. I also seemed to have something going on in my gut. I had to stop at two different gas stations. Lets just say I'm glad that no one else needed to use the bathroom after me.

Either way, the goal was to complete 10 miles. And I did it, with an average pace of 8:30. (minus the bathroom stops, gagging/coughing fit, and debugging my eyes) Kind of a train wreck but I'll take it. 

2 slow miles before and after a weight lifting class at the gym. If this makes any sense, my shin/calf is hurting less and less after each run. I'm counting this as progress? Yes.

No running today. I did however walk a bajillion miles at work over the weekend. Worked both Saturday and Sunday night, so busy, I'm just glad that no one (including me) died under my watch. And believe me,.... it was close at one point. Crazy shifts like that sure take it out of me, not to mention being up all night for two nights is killer. 

I did not have an ounce of motivation to work out after I woke up today but somehow managed to talk myself into getting into my workout clothes. Baby steps. A little while later I managed to convince myself to at least drive to the gym. Once in the car, I promised myself that if I still wanted to go home after 15 minutes, I would. One thing led to another and an hour later (20 on the bike, 20 on the elliptical, and 20 on the stair/step mill), I was sweating and feeling SO much better. Sometimes its just better to get out of my own head and go on autopilot. I know its not groundbreaking info, but its crazy how much power your mind has over your body. Sometimes I think my mind needs to be more in shape! 

3 miles. Woot. AP 8:45. Followed by the bike and some plyo work. I had ACL surgery about 1.5 years ago and my knee is still a little "scared" to do jumps/pivots/side to side work. I need to work on that.

2 miles before a weight lifting class and 2 miles after at el gymnasio. I can already tell my biceps are going to be sore, specifically the right one. I'm usually carrying 30 extra pounds on my left arm/hip so I'm a bit lop sided.

Found a funny video on youtube about the "rivalry" between Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher. Good for a laugh. (I found it through Rachelle's abs link) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_47jcU7Img&feature=related 

Tried a little faster running today. Spent 30 minutes on the treadmill. Warmed up with one mile at 8:30. The rest of the time was spent switching between an 8:30 min/mile, 7:30 min/mile, and 6:40 min/mile. A minute spent at each speed for the remaining time. I worked up a pretty good sweat. I still feel like I've lost a lot of speed in the last couple of months. Here's to hoping it comes back soon.

Finished off the workout with 15 min on the elliptical followed by abs and pushups.

My shin is still letting me know its there. It continues to warm up. I can't just jump into running without it bothering me right at the beginning. Its more annoying than anything. 

Spent the morning at Seven Peaks. Thank you pass of all passes! I love going early before the crowds, wearing out a little man child, and leaving right as the place gets crazy crowded. I'm declaring today "Natalie Appreciation Day" and giving myself a day off. I feel great about it.

Went on a hike with the fam as the morning activity of the family reunion. What I thought was going to be a "leisurely 4 mile hike" turned into a 5 mile hike with either a 2 year old or 5 year old on my back. My husband and I switched off between carrying my child and niece. It was fun to spend time with cousins, siblings, and aunts and uncles all while working up a good sweat.

My niece informed me at one point that my "shoulders hurt her legs". Well, so sorry I couldn't provide a more comfortable shoulder ride while carrying you up this mountain sister. :) Good times.

Two whopping miles. Average pace: 8:20. Wow, my mileage is really getting up there, I better back off soon. Followed by a weight lifting class.

I planned to do more but life sometimes gets in the way of running and I had to prioritize. darnitall. 

I don't know what it is with me and the 0.1, but I usually like to end on that when I'm running on the treadmill. Crazy? Maybe.

6.1 miles, Average Pace: 8:20. Felt pretty good, barring the shin issue.

Good luck to everyone racing today!

I don't know what got into me today! What was supposed to be a "cross training day" mixed in with a few miles at the gym, turned into 8 miles on the treadmill.

In my defense, I was sucked right into what was on TV and couldn't pull myself off that usually dreaded machine. I watched the womens soccer game between USA and France. I scared a few other people running next to me with my yes!, oh shoot!, awww!, ugh! every 2 seconds. I know this is a running blog, but I love soccer. I felt my stomach muscles flexing every time Abby Wambach headed the ball, so turns out I got a good ab workout too! 

Workout was 3 miles @ 8:20 min/mile, 1 mile @ 6:40,  2 @ 8:20, 1 @ 6:40, 1 mile cool down. Really no rhyme or reason for this workout. I just felt like getting a little speed (for me that is fast) mixed in with my easy pace.

3 treadmill miles. AP 8:20. Good news, absolutely no shin/calf pain today! Followed by 20 min on the stair stepper. I'll take it.

Nothing today except giving the people what they want, pain meds and hospital food for 12 hours.

9.8 miles outside. It was so hot already at 6:00 this morning! Average pace 8:30. I didn't round it out to 10 cuz I had to be back by a certain time. Makes me wish I had a treadmill so I could do 0.2 miles. :)

Speaking of treadmills, I'm looking into getting one. (Crazy, dreadful things I know) Anyone have any good recommendations? I'm not super rich so I'd like one that would still allow me to buy groceries for the rest of the year but I don't want one that is going to break down easily. The allure of it is being able to run during nap time....

Speaking of nap time, my child has figured out how to get out of the crib. This is a very sad day. Very sad day indeed. He is banging on his door saying "Hep (help) me! Hep me!" as I type this. Anyone have any recommendations for getting them to still take naps?... Please, I need naps for my sanity...

5 treadmill miles. Average pace 8:30, followed by 30 mins weights.

Average pace- 8:36. I ran outside today. Not groundbreaking info here, but the miles fly by so much faster running outside. It felt a little harder than usual today but I'm grateful I got to run mostly pain free with my shin/calf. It took a little while to get in the groove but once I got there, it felt good. I'm planning on doing some ab work and lunges later today.