May Recap

may!

I haven't done one of these month recaps in ages - mostly because I feel my months have been less than mediocre and not worth writing home (or online) about.

Total run mileage: 52 - and that was with a whole week off. HOLLA! 
Highest weekly run mileage:  21
# Runs: 19
# Rest days: 13

# Cross-training workouts: Ermm... a couple walks with the pup? And one hike with mom!

# Races: 2

     - Renegade Racing 3 Mile Trail Challenge | Recap
     - Girls on the Run LA 5K | Recap (kinda!)

plus 1 from Saturday! Strongest month in a loooong time.

Favorite run: Running with one of my girls at the GOTR 5K - definitely made the end of the season worth it, seeing her do all that work and push herself to the end. Sappy, but true. I can't wait for the next season, too!

One of our other coaches, Nan!

Most hardcore run:  That first-ever trail run! Holy freaking moly - I can't believe I signed up for that, can't believe I did it, and even more so can't believe that I actually placed in my age group! Trail running is no joke, but I'm definitely excited about the next few trail races over the summer series I'm doing!

Current obsession: Allllll the races. I thought Georgia was bad with the sheer amount of races that exist, try Southern California where the weather is always good! It sure makes it hard to budget all that I want to do! But I am super excited for all that's coming up... more to come soon!

Current song: I am obsessed with Neon Trees. Doug and I saw them a few years ago, and we'll be seeing them again at the end of June. Their new album is fantastic, and I am also very obsessed with this song currently:

It'll be in your head for awhile. Sorry.

Current need: Working on finding a place to live! I've been hangin' out in student housing very graciously for this past spring semester but it's time to move on and find a new place to call mine. So, a very exhausting few weeks ahead, but some excitement as well. Looking forward to settling in and finish unpacking all the boxes in my parents garage! 

Current triumph: While the school year ended a few weeks ago, that was still May and I'm still riding the high from finishing out my first academic year here at Marymount! I cannot believe I've been back in California for 10 months and have completed one full school year. Insanity. A lot learned, a lot more TO learn, but I'm excited to take charge and jump full force into getting into next year! 

Current goal: Race day is Saturday! Sub-2 goal is upon me again. Even missing that full week of training last week, I feel solid and ready to go. I know the downhill will be tough on the legs, but will also give me that boost for a little extra speed when I don't have it enough. I am excited and ready to rock! Funny enough, I don't feel as ready as I did last year for that sub-2 goal race, but I feel like it's my time. Maybe I'll finally get that extra little oomph! More on that soon! 

What are your biggest accomplishments from this month? Goals for June?

May Recap

may!

Can you believe this year is almost half over?

Total run mileage: 50 -- plus 2-ish more tonight after it cools down for my Streak!
Highest weekly run mileage:  15
# Runs: 18
# Rest days: 14

# Cross-training workouts: 7. A few walks, a day of yoga and a few core workouts.

# Races: 1

     - Marigold Festival 10K { Race }

Favorite run: No special run this month - seriously, none at all. However, I will say that finally breaking my sub-60-minute goal on my 10K was pretty awesome. And knowing that I can go faster than that (damn side stitch) is even more encouraging. 
  

Successful finish!

Most hardcore run: I'd say as of recently, this ladder track workout was a doozie. But awesome.

Current need: Few extra bucks so I can sign up for RnR Vegas. Please and thank you. Anyone wanna donate?

Current song: I know how many times I've told y'all that I love me some Macklemore, but every time this comes on the radio (like this morning, on my way to work - can you say perfection?), I get so excited and dance by myself... in the car... yeah, that's right. Love.

Current triumph: I'm finally getting to the point in the month of running naked where I'm almost at peace with just running. Sure, it's still hard, and sure, there are mornings where I'm bolting out the door and I'm curious just how fast I bolted out the door, but it's become almost... refreshing. I'm enjoying just going, doing whatever pace, and seeing however many minutes have passed by the time I get home. Kind of awesome.

Current goal: Chillin'. Running naked for a little while longer. Who knows until when.

My secondary goal is the Summer Running Streak. I also did it last year, and in 38 days ran 80.88 miles. This year's goal in 39 days is to run further than that. I'm also in a bit of a challenge with Tina and Erica to see who puts on the most mileage over the timeframe, so there's a little extra oomph of fun in there! 

Best weekend ever: This weekend.  Food, aquarium, Coke, wedding, and good times with some seriously fantastic people. I'd like to do that all over again.

This May has been super mellow - and I think just what I needed after a super busy spring and a little too much racing. Yes, I said it. I burned out, and at least I recognized it, but am certainly trying to allow myself to totally and completely recuperate now. It's a hard thing to swallow, but if I'm going to jump back in in the fall, I need to be ready to roll.

I'm heading to California next weekend for Disneyland (!) and a wedding, and am looking forward to another uber mellow month. Cheers for that!

What are your biggest accomplishments from this month? Goals for June?

On Running Naked

Just about two weeks ago, I committed to running naked for the rest of May - a challenge that I knew would be tough, but I wasn't expecting in the way that it's turned out to be. I'd been training since August, from starting an easy half marathon plan to jumping into full training, to taking a solid month off (and feeling super guilty) to jumping into a six-week grueling dreamer's sub-2 training plan for a half on April 28.

I'll admit that part of this burn out stems from not attaining that sub-2 goal, the one I'd blasted all over the interwebz, had talked about for weeks and had been literally dreaming about since mid-March. I'll admit that the emotion, the disappointment and frustration that spawned from that is what really got me thinking hard about what I was doing, what I was working towards and what I had worked for already.

So with that came the harsh self-realization that I was probably a little more burned out on running than I thought I was - I was almost forcing  myself out the door to get in 3-4 miles, only looked forward to finishing my runs instead of starting them, and generally... didn't care. I knew something had to change and fast or really, I'd give up on it all together.

And thus: running naked. No Garmin. No iPhone. No anything that would tell me how far I was going, how fast I was going, my heartrate, my pace, any number that should have mattered previously. I wanted to run for the sake of running without worrying about the things I (sometimes pretended) to care about before.

And how's it going, you wonder?

The toughest part was the first few runs where I all I could think was I wonder how fast I'm going, how long have I been out? It's so much harder than I anticipated to break out of that training/racing mindset. I will, however, credit myself twice: both track days.

The first track day was rough at first: during my warm-up mile again, all I wanted to know what my pace was. Running 4 laps around the track was easy, but how fast? Was the second lap slower than the fourth? We did a second warm up mile, followed by some striders and a mile test - here it comes. I told Al not to tell me my 400 splits as I came through, as he was planning on for everyone else. And he didn't. And I ran as good as a I felt. I ran my fastest mile to date, at 7:29. 

The second great run came with this week's track workout, too. I ran my six fastest (all of them!) 400s ever, the fastest of the day being at 88 seconds and the slowest two being at 93 seconds. Never in a million years did I think it'd be possible. Truth be told, it's not like I look at my watch while I'm doing 400s anyway, but I certainly know it's there ticking away. Mental barrier breakthrough?

I still have some ways to go. There are still a number of mornings where I don't run and by the end of the day I'm like Man, I suck, I didn't go run and actually feel guilty. Why am I feeling guilty? Running is supposed to be freedom, stress relief, anxiety and tension eraser and the cure to any bad day. I'm looking forward to continuing to find that place again. Progress for sure, but it's only been two weeks. More to come - this will probably extend well past May!

Have you ever given yourself a digital break from running and let yourself just RUN? Did you face the same mental block? How did you work past it?

May (No) Garmin Challenge

Marathon training (or even half-marathon training, for that matter) is all about increasing your mileage, bit by bit, so your body doesn't freak out on you when you try and convince your legs that you can, in fact, run 26.2 miles. Marathon training with a goal race, goal pace, goal time in mind is all about nailing those runs - not only that mileage, but nailing every goal pace run, tempo run, speedwork session and even those 'easy' runs to ensure that you're on target to where you're supposed to be to nail that sub-2 goal.

I did that. I did all those things. I nailed runs, nailed speedwork most certainly, and watched as every Garmin lap got faster and faster. And sub-2 didn't happen. And since then, I have crashed and burned.

I'm burned out.

Admitting it is the first step, right? I'm burned out on training, on schedules, on a plan, on times, paces, charting, planning and mapping every run, and making sure I'm not letting myself slack (too much). I've been in a training plan since August, when it first set up into Wine and Dine (and what would become AthHalf) training which bled into marathon training. Save for taking nearly all of February off, I jumped back in in March with two halfs and then six solid weeks of goal-race insanity.

I'm burned out.

 I miss when I was giving myself the freedom to just run. Run to be free, run for stress relief, run because it was raining and it is fun to run in the rain, and run just for the hell of it. I took Molly on a jog this morning, a whole mile and a half of it, and all I could think was, "I wonder what our pace is with the pup in tow?" instead of enjoying a gorgeous morning with my fur-kid by my side.

And with that, friends, I bring you my May self challenge: digital-free running. Here until (at least) May 31. No Garmin. No iPhone. Me, my shoes, and occasionally, Molly. I need to revisit when I ran for the sake of it, and because I could, and because I didn't care about nailing 1:40 400s or 9:09" miles. I won't lie - this will be quite the challenge, as I've grown so accustomed to having my Garmin on my wrist and have almost become neurotic in checking my mile time every time it beeps. 

No, it's time to run just because I have the health and strength to do so. I'll check in every week with some random on-goings and let you know how it's going. 

Do/have you given yourself the freedom after a goal race (or even just accomplishing a race) to go digital free and just be? How hard is it for you to run without something telling you your pace, your time, your distance?