Back to Normal

I was having weird dreams and woke up at 7 for no good reason. Boo.

I'm getting into a routine now that Tom's back at work - my morning consists of coffee, breakfast, dishes, and a trip to the grocery store for dinner things. That's because I'm incapable of planning meals any further in advance than that.

Yesterday I told Tom I didn't want to start my run because I was afraid I was just going to have to stop again right away. I felt that way again today. There's almost nothing more frustrating than having to cut a run short because you're in pain.

Fortunately, the icing, stretching and compression socks seem to be working, because I got back to my training plan today with no pain - I win!

3 easy miles with a little stretching at the halfway mark.

Followed by some push-ups as today's #NoExcuses challenge with Sweat Pink. It takes a whole new set of skills to set up my phone and use the self timer to get these pictures.

I even elevated my feet for a bit after my run, and Buddy pouted until we left the basement.

He always turns his head away when I turn my phone camera on - brat.

Just in case it affects anything, I put the mat back under my treadmill today. We didn't bother with it when we moved it to its new home, and I'm wondering if it's creating more impact than there would be with the mat down. It certainly can't hurt.

I'm so happy to be feeling back to normal - there's nothing like having to rest an injury to make you want to run!

Race Sign Up and Running Again!

I was amazingly lazy on Sunday. We had freezing rain pretty much all day long, and I spent most of my day researching races, reading blogs and watching tv.

Freezing rain is dumb.

Buddy was terrified while Tom cooked dinner, so I threw his blanket on him. He stayed like this for about an hour.

He has such a rough life.

The result of all my race research is that I'm now officially signed up for 3 half marathons!

West Point Half Marathon - March 29th
Rhinebeck Hudson Valley Half Marathon - May 16th
Walkway Half Marathon - June 13th

The Rhinebeck and Walkway races are new, it's the first year for both of them. I think I have run more races in their first year than I have run established races. I have never been signed up for more than one half marathon at a time, it's weird for me to be planning my entire year of racing at once.

I'm almost 100% decided on a marathon, but registration doesn't open up for most fall marathons until April, so we'll see if I'm still stuck on the same one come April.

I ran today!

I haven't run since my painful, aborted tempo run last Thursday. My ankle has been feeling a lot better, and I took it slow. I did a legitimate warmup (which I don't always do) and stopped to stretch (and do some mountain climbers for the #NoExcuses challenge) every mile. I ended up running 3.13 miles in 30 minutes. I'm just happy that I got to run!

And yes, I iced after I was finished.

Hopefully this means I can get back to my training plan this week.

Buddy did as much adventuring as his leash would allow this afternoon. I think he was just happy the temperature was above freezing.

Do you plan your race schedule for the year all at once or do you like to play it by ear?

The Speed Trap

Sometimes, I get caught up in the speed trap. I want to run fast, faster than last time, faster than last week. Faster.

It's not a smart way to train, in fact, it's a recipe for injury.

My training plan (which claims I will be able to PR at my next half - it hasn't seen the elevation chart!) has my easy runs starting out at 10:21 pace. While I didn't slow down that much, I did slow down. I did today's run at 9:40. And then I read a few articles to remind myself why it is important to not get caught up in the speed trap all the time.

Easy runs are extremely important to training. They help develop slow twitch muscle fibers (super necessary for distance runners!), improve aerobic capacity, bone density, muscle tendon strength and increase glycogen storage (more energy!). This article is a nice reminder that easy runs have their place, even if they are sometimes frustrating.

Buddy thinks that any time someone sits on the couch that he should be on their lap. Because he is clearly a lap dog.

Good thing he's cute.

Today's run was 3 easy miles - it felt short and slow.

It's hard to come off a 50 day run streak and switch to training mode, but I'm working on it.

Have you fallen into the speed trap? 

Buenos for days!

It's rainy and gross out here, which I guess is a nice change from freezing and windy. Maybe the change in weather will make my insanely static-y hair calm down.

Tom is back at work today, so he was up early and out the door. Buddy is so used to having us both home, he's been pouting and ignoring me all day - except for when I was eating cuties, he loves those, so he came to say hi and see if he could mooch a piece or two.

I decided I should be productive today, so I started off my morning with a delicious egg sandwich for fuel.

It was an English muffin with guacamole, eggs, baby spinach and kale - I could eat egg sandwiches every day.

I followed up breakfast with some dishes and then hit the grocery store to grab some things for dinner.

I'm making this slow cooker Creole Chicken and Sausage from Pinch of Yum - if you haven't been on this site, you're missing out, they have some amazing recipes! The slow cooker is bubbling away and the house smells really good!

Dinner in progress:

This strength training business is sticking around (so far) and I hit the basement for another round of Jillian Michaels No More Trouble Zones. I did it last Monday and was sore for days, hopefully it doesn't last as long this time around. Some exercises felt easier than last week, and some still made me want to fall on the floor and quit - working muscles you don't normally use is hard!

I also added some planks for the Sweat Pink #NoExcuses challenge - day 1 was to do at least a 30 second plank.

I broke open one of my favorite Christmas presents today. Tom's the best. :)

Buenos for days!

The key is to not eat all of them at once ;)

Now I'm off to do some laundry and catch up on some blogs.

Do you ever make egg sandwiches for breakfast? What do you put on them? (I'm always looking for new ideas!)

- My go-to is just eggs and Sriracha - so good!

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I'm MAD excited for #NoExcuses 2015

A little Monday morning silliness and motivation as part of SweatPink's #NoExcuses Challenge!

Hey 2015, it’s me, Becky (nickname, spirit animal, real name, blog name)

This year I would like to run outside more, eat more fresh fruit, and do more strength training.

It would also be super duper awesome if I also travel more this year. It’s not a resolution, though, just a reminder to myself to try and have the best year yet because there are so many places I haven't seen yet!

The thing I am looking forward to most this year is moving.

I’ll use the one thing that truly gets me out of bed in the morning which is coffee to help me get up, get dressed, (verb) and get after my #NoExcuses 2015.Speaking of excuses (ahem), my very favorite excuse is not wanting to get dressed and I have used it to get out of doing exercise and walking Buddy on more than 1 million (number) occasions.I vow to move my body and be more healthy this year even if it means I have to actually get up off the couch.

Even if my alarm clock gets eaten by the dog in the middle of the night, I’ll still get up, eventually.

I will stop blaming the dog [ex: kids, dog, husband] for eating the rest of the ice cream when everyone knows it was really me.

My laziness [job, hair, car, husband, kids] is not the reason I make excuses. I will show my laziness [same as before] who’s boss this year and get my run [type of sweaty activity] on.

I know that any kind of workout [type of workout] is better than sitting on the couch watching food shows. [noun]

I will reward myself by buying ALL the running shoes!

#NoExcuses 2015 has just begun and already I am imagining myself a winner. I can’t wait to rock a Freedom Pullover (article of clothing) from Augusta Active. I can’t wait till my sweaty friends are jealous of how fresh, clean and glowing (adj) I am between workouts with help from ShowerPill body wipes. I can see myself rocking tree pose [yoga pose / workout move] in new Run Like the Wind Leggings [article of clothing from Actio926] from Actio926 and looking fit and fly while doing it. And of course, I’ll be taking my workouts to the next level and improving my arms [noun] with my new ActivMotion Bar to help me train for my next  half marathon [distance] race with Sasquatch Racing.

Oh, and let’s not forget how amazing my tank top [article of clothing] will smell in my/during my race [favorite type of workout] after washing with some WIN Detergent. And lastly, I’ll keep rocking my 2015 with clean eats and nutrition from Beaming with Health!

Tag, Tweet, shout-out, call, text, fax or email 3 friends to take this survey and share how they will have a #NoExcuses 2015. Remind your friends to simply fill in the underlined parts! 

Tagging: Mary Beth from Tutus and Tennies, Lynda from FtinessMomWineCountry, and Jan from Running on Fumes.

p.s. Click here to join #NoExcuses