Adjusted Reality

Holy crap, January is gone!  Being that it’s my least favorite month of the year, I’m ok with this, but how did that happen so quickly?

Training:

The goal was to take a stepback week the week of 3M Half, and then hit it hard and use the race as a kickoff to a high mileage week.

That is so not what happened.  Monday, and then again Thursday, I had to go to the chiropractor to get my hip adjusted.  She asked me to lay off running for a few days each time, which ended up being the whole week.

I am SUPER torn on how I feel about this.

It’s definitely a setback to have had two low mileage weeks in a row, and seeing the “last year this time” facebook posts about 20 and 21 mile back to back long runs are making me incredibly anxious because I’ve only done a 14 (13.25 of it racing), 15 and 17 mile treadmill run since my last 26.2.

On the other hand – my legs never feel this fresh at this point of training, and my brain doesn’t feel overloaded with miles and I definitely don’t feel unfit.  I just need to go out and rock a 20 mile run either this or next week (with a high double digit run the other weekend day), and then start shutting it down.  This could be just what I need to show up at the race fresh and excited to test myself instead of injured and burned out.

I didn’t completely sit on my ass last week.  I did 3 bike rides, and two swims.  And one of those swims was pretty epic.  I decided to take (most of) the time I was going to dedicate to a long run and swim it out since the chiropractor said easy bikes only but whatever I wanted to do in the pool.  I decided to take that advice to the letter and see how long I could go.

I had no real business doing this because I’ve swam less than 3 miles COLLECTIVELY since Kerrville in September, but I figured I’d give it a go.  I brought all my pool toys, a bunch of snacks and drinks, and set out to bring down the house record of 7k or let my arms fall off trying.  This was set by Zliten last year while he was too injured to run… but he had swam every day leading up to the attempt.

I alternated 1000m freestyle with 1000m of drills (fins, paddles, pull, and kickboards) and got myself to 7300m (7125m adjusted for funky pool size), and claimed the distance PR (in about 10 mins less than Zliten did it as well, natch).  I took liberal breaks and went pretty slow (just over 2:00/100m), but I didn’t find myself getting tired, my arms were just too sore to keep going by the end.  I expected them to not work for days, but beyond the initial ache the afternoon of, it just got better and didn’t even bug me the next day.

What can I say?  I’m a swimmer.  I’d do this stuff all the time if I had all the time in the world.  However, considering my limited total training hours for the week, when I’m not injured the time is better spent on a bike ride or a run.

Anyhoo, last week…

• Make my hip feel better.  Run when I’m ready/when the chiro says its ok.
• Cycle, swim, do weights that don’t make it cranky, and/or stretch every day from now (Thursday) until the end of the week.

Solid.  This week, I’m finding my hip is not yet all the way better but I’m going to work with it the best I can.

• Run 3-4 times this week.  Try to alternate days or give plenty of time in between runs and run as long as possible each time.
• Try to make one of those 18-20 miles if my hip agrees (or if not, as long as possible).
• 15 mins of bike/swim/stretch each day.
• One bodyweight session.

I ran yesterday, and it was glorious, but my hip was definitely cranky to start (but then went away), and then sore later, but not unreasonably so.  I don’t want to tax it too much and start running every day, but I’d like to get some runs in for this little race I’m doing in less than 5 weeks if it would be ok with you, mister hip.  😛

The next two weeks will be peak weeks (i.e. – whatever miles I can get out of my body safely), then we’ll start the taper process.  I may handle my taper a little differently this time since what I’ve been doing lately seems to not really have worked that well, but I have a few weeks to decide.

Food/Scale

• Continue tracking food and trying to hit the -500 calorie mark and keeping an eye on macros.
• Weigh a few times a week
• I am “on notice” with the booze – I went a little crazy early in the week.
• Transition to cooking food rather than relying on takeout so much.

I’m thoroughly frustrated with the scale not moving much but if I focus on hitting goals, I’m doing pretty well.

I have all sorts of home cooked food prepared for the week.  However, I can tell that I haven’t been eating like my normal self for quite a while, because kale chips + broccoli and cauliflower for dinner ended up being a fiber gut bomb.  Six months ago that would just be normal.

I didn’t have drinks until Saturday, and I had a reasonable amount and hit my calories just about exactly, so that was a good thing.

I kind of lost track on Sunday night of my food, I was cleaning out my pantry and freezer and ate so much random stuff.  Pretty sure I was over on my calories by a bit but it’s going to be hard to exactly quantify things, so I’ll make an estimate and enjoy the first full day off both work and training since forever and move on.

This week, I want to just keep on keepin’ on.

• Continue tracking food and trying to hit the -500 calorie mark and keeping an eye on macros.
• Weigh a few times a week
• Happy hour after work Wed or Thurs (not AND), and Saturday evening drinks.  Das all.
• I have plenty of food at home.  Let’s try for THREE or less meals out this week.
• Moar snack veggies.  I’ve been good at keeping my calories under control but I could use an infusion of the good stuff in my life.  I bet I’d feel better.

Life Stuff

It was a pretty mellow week and weekend and seemed to be just what I needed.

• Get 8+ hours sleep every day this week (so far so good minus Tuesday night’s 6 hours).
• Grocery shop and batch cook for next week over the weekend.
• Do something fun over the weekend that isn’t just the G-rated version of Netflix and chill.

I technically only got like 7.5 hours on Saturday night, but that was because I couldn’t fall asleep right away, not because I was being dumb.  Rested, check.

We resumed our Friday night grocery grab, which is GREAT because I actually cook, but not-so-great because we pretty much HAD to go out to dinner or we would have been added about 50$ of groceries and been HANGRY at each other all over the store because swim + groceries + dinner time = no bueno.

We took advantage of beautiful patio weather to hang out with some friends and neighbors Saturday… before we tucked in to watch movies.  Perfect balance.

This week is mellow during the week (so far, with plans at least) but super busy this weekend with a family visit, a movie with friends, and then a superbowl party.  So, the goal is to retreat as much as possible and get good rest in so this weekend won’t throw me for a complete loop.

• 8 hours of sleep every night
• Relax as much as possible.
• Maybe start scoping out things for our potential remodel project?

And, that’s a wrap!

These last two weeks FEEL like they have been a big ol’ ker-flop of failing of adhering to plan.  However, it’s not all bad.

We joined a tri team this year and got some official team schwag!  Wheee!

Training:

• Normal run Monday, Tempo Tuesday, then initiate mid-week taper week.
• 3-4 miles on Wednesday and Thurs, 1-2 miles Friday and Saturday.
• Run 13.1 miles hard on Sunday.  I’m not going to be upset with myself if I don’t make it because I’m training for a marathon, but I’m going to go for a PR (sub 2:08). About 30-35 miles total.
• Continue with 15 minutes non-running per day (bike, swim, strength, stretch, walking, etc).
• One weights session (two preferred), but no weights Friday or Saturday (and no heavy weights).

Early last week, my hip started to hurt.  Not enough to cut the streak, but enough that I cut most of my runs short to try and preserve myself for Sunday’s race.  I still was able to get 26 miles total, which isn’t too far off.

I did well with including short cycles, stretching, swims, or walks most days.  Weights didn’t happen though.

I didn’t quite hit 2:08, but I got close, and I raced hard, with my head on straight, and put up a legit effort.

Racing real hard on Sunday also tends to mess up my next week, plus, my chiropractor popped my hip REALLY hard on Monday, and she asked me to lay off running for a few days.  So, I really haven’t done much this week and I’m having another one of those arguments with my brain.

Irrational brain: “Your hip isn’t too bad, just run on it, maybe it will feel better”

Rational brain: “And maybe it will nag me for the next 6 weeks… that’s never happened before, hmmm?”

Irrational brain: “You haven’t run for 4 days, you may actually die from this”

Rational brain: “And I ran every day for 28 days before that.  Life will go on”

Irrational brain: “OMG we’re so behind, how are we going to be Woodlands ready?”

Rational brain: “One unplanned week of low/no mileage is not going to tank a marathon.”

Irrational brain: “You haven’t run a 20 yet this cycle and you’re running out of time to get 2 of them in”

Rational brain: “Actually, I’ve run two 20 milers and a 26.2, plus a 17, 16, 4×15, 14, 11, 2×10, and lots of other miles in between.  Even if I skip this weekend to heal, I’ll have 3 more weeks to get in long runs.”

I know in my rational brain that I’ve trained sufficiently for a marathon.  It really depends on whether or not my head shows up March 5th.  The way to make sure I FAIL at that is to push through a minor injury and equate running with (unnecessary) pain and burn out quicker.

Also, I’m doing things like sleeping 11 hours last night for no real reason.  My body is craving some respite.  So, I’m going to force rational brain to win out and rest as much as needed, so this week is like…

• Make my hip feel better.  Run when I’m ready/when the chiro says its ok.
• Cycle, swim, do weights that don’t make it cranky, and/or stretch every day from now (Thursday) until the end of the week.

That’s it, that’s all.  Hopefully I can sort this out this week and be back at 100% by next week.

Food:

Breakfast.  Like errryday.

• All Most lunches and dinners are healthy take out my normal pre-race lunch and one meal after the race Sunday.
• Continue tracking my food, attempting a -500 calorie deficit, and sticking to my macros EXCEPT for Friday and Saturday (eat what I burn, push the carbs a little more).  Post-race, I’ll give it a go to keep a deficit but that’s optional too.
• Continue to track weight.
• No booze after Wednesday.

I actually did pretty well here.  I’ve gotten accustomed to the -500 calorie deficit, and it felt decadent to eat up to maintenance calories two days before the race.  I splurged and got a sandwich one lunch, and we got italian one dinner.  I was within my calories both day, so I’m calling it a-ok.

I haven’t hit the scale every day, but a few times a week for sure.  Sadly, it’s not moving much, but I am feeling like I look better in clothes and things are a little less jiggly. If I’m remembering correctly, that is usually the first step in things going the right way, so hopefully the scale will follow soon.

• Continue tracking food and trying to hit the -500 calorie mark and keeping an eye on macros.
• Weigh a few times a week
• I am “on notice” with the booze – I went a little crazy early in the week.
• Transition to cooking food rather than relying on takeout so much.

Same ol’ same ol.  I may have had a few more glasses of wine this week than I’d like consoling myself over my running break, so I need a few days off of that (even if I’m still not running).

Better late than never (from two nights ago).

Life:

• When I put my laundry away, set out 3-5 things I’d like to wear over the next week.
• E-cig only twice next week and not any for the three days leading up to the race.
• Continue to wash my hair at least every other day (and always on bad allergy days).  Keep laundry basket out of bedroom and wash it once it gets full.
• Gaming during downtime at work, coloring at home.
• Exchange my Christmas gift at the outlet mall.
• Clean out workout room and build shelves.

With life, I did so/so.  For some reason I was feeling less fancy and didn’t really think through outfits for the week and just chose stuff at random.

I picked up the e-cig more than I wanted to.  Life goes on.  We’ll try again next week.

I neglected to color last week but I’ve already rectify that this week.  We’ll get to the shelves… someday.

This week, I’m pulling back the goals a bit and just going to give myself a break and not try to do anything really productive or crazy.

• Get 8+ hours sleep every day this week (so far so good minus Tuesday night’s 6 hours).
• Grocery shop and batch cook for next week over the weekend.
• Do something fun over the weekend that isn’t just the G-rated version of Netflix and chill.

I feel pretty draggy this week, and I know the worst possible answer to that is to load up my to-do list.

On that note, off to take over the world, or fall asleep trying…

Last week was a pretty fantastic week.  I feel like I got a lot done, but also don’t feel crispy fried from it.  I just want to continue riding the wave of inertia and make sure I end up feeling good and fresh on Sunday, so any goals I need to drop to make that happen will be thrown to the ground.

Training:

Lookie!  A bike!

I felt like I nailed this last week!  Finally!

• 40-45 miles.  Running every day (let’s try this again).
• Long run of 17-18 with some form of speed/pickups/tempo/etc.
• One tempo run of 4-5 miles half marathon pace or under.
• At least 15 minutes of non-running workout or maintenance a day (swim, bike, stretch/roll, weights).
• At least 1 weights session (2 preferred).

Look at that!  Besides not doing two weights sessions, I nailed every goal I had last week.  I hit 40 miles exactly (and I definitely would have done more if they weren’t 100% treadmill runs :P).  I did a long run of 17 miles, descending the pace for the first 11 and then intervals for the last 6 with a pace in the 10s overall.  I rocked a 5 mile tempo at half marathon pace.  I am not sure if it averaged out to be exactly 15 mins a day of maintenance, but it was close if not even actually MORE if you include walking.  I did only do one weights session, so something to improve on next cycle.

Race Week!

• Normal run Monday, Tempo Tuesday, then initiate mid-week taper week.
• 3-4 miles on Wednesday and Thurs, 1-2 miles Friday and Saturday.
• Run 13.1 miles hard on Sunday.  I’m not going to be upset with myself if I don’t make it because I’m training for a marathon, but I’m going to go for a PR (sub 2:08). About 30-35 miles total.
• Continue with 15 minutes non-running per day (bike, swim, strength, stretch, walking, etc).
• One weights session (two preferred), but no weights Friday or Saturday (and no heavy weights).

Food/Scale:

This My Fit Foods Gumbo was the BOMB.

I feel like flippin’ Violet Beauregard right now (I’m wearing purple and feel extremely bloated), but I’m doing the right things so I’ll just keep on keepin’ on and hopefully the results will come.

• All lunches and dinners are healthy take out minus 2 days (probably one weekday + Saturday).
• Continue tracking my food, attempting a -500 calorie deficit, and sticking to my macros.
• Push more calories to the 1-2 hours before my workout so I don’t get hangry and cut things short to go eat.
• Back to the harsh reality of daily weight tracking.

Wednesday night or Thursday lunch are when we needed to pick up food, and we just didn’t.  I did have healthy food all week minus a burger and fries after my long run on Saturday, and potato cakes with lunch on Sunday (apparently I was craving fried potatoes?).  I tracked every day and am getting used to the -500 calorie thing pretty well now.  I didn’t leave any workouts because I needed food so bad I wanted to die.  I got on the scale every day until Saturday (so I have a decent baseline) and will resume once that once a month bloat gets a bit less.  I don’t want to have hormones + some awful number send me into a shame spiral right now. 😛

Race week eats!

• All lunches and dinners are healthy take out my normal pre-race lunch and one meal after the race Sunday.
• Continue tracking my food, attempting a -500 calorie deficit, and sticking to my macros EXCEPT for Friday and Saturday (eat what I burn, push the carbs a little more).  Post-race, I’ll give it a go to keep a deficit but that’s optional too.
• Continue to track weight starting Wednesday.  No judgies.
• No booze after Wednesday.

I want to give myself a little time of actually being flush on calories before the race.  I don’t expect maintaining a minor calorie deficit will actually affect the outcome of a 2 hour effort as long as I feed myself well that day, but I’ll give myself the 2 days previous as an insurance policy.

Dishwasher arrives next Tuesday.  I am excited to be able to cook again!

Life:

First time I’ve ever worn this dress and I bought it this summer.

Also a pretty good week in this category.

• Gaming at work during downtime.  Color at home.
• Get up 15+ minutes earlier than last week (this is where I’m going to be fitting in the majority of that cross training).
• E-cig only every other day
• Go out and do something this weekend with friends
• Make the workout room usable
• Get my bike to the shop for a tune up
• Wash my hair mostly every day immediately upon coming in the house every day and keep the laundry basket far away from the bedroom to mitigate allergies.

I forgot a few things.  I didn’t get the bike to the shop (I have much time before I ride it outside, so it’s not a huge priority).  I didn’t crack open the coloring book (but I plan to tonight).  The workout room treadmill is now usable, but it’s still really messy.  However, I feel like I accomplished a decent amount, especially considering I nailed my peak week training as well.  And… we did this…

Our wall o’Krasayansky is finally up!  I’m so happy!  We’ve been collecting it for over 10 years….

Race Week Stuffs.  All the things that are To Dos that take effort are kind of negotiable depending on level of energy.

• When I put my laundry away, set out 3-5 things I’d like to wear over the next week.
• E-cig only twice next week and not any for the three days leading up to the race.
• Continue to wash my hair at least every other day (and always on bad allergy days).  Keep laundry basket out of bedroom and wash it once it gets full.
• Gaming during downtime at work, coloring at home.
• Exchange my Christmas gift at the outlet mall.
• Clean out workout room and build shelves.

Regarding the clothing fore-thought, I did that last week and it was awesome because I wore different stuff than the normal t-shirt and jeans because it was easy in the morning.  Right now, since I feel like a giant grape, I may play it by ear on how I feel in the mornings, but it’s nice to have an idea when I have more of a brain than right after waking up.

I’m starting off this week a bit groggy and stuffy from allergies, but hopefully I can shake that quickly and have a great third week of the year!

Question: what is your favorite piece of art/decoration in your house?