I've been SO crazy busy the past few weeks. I keep telling people that I'm taking some time off and relaxing and working a little. The life of a recent college graduate with no plans =/...
That statement is not entirely true though. I'm taking some time off from school, and while I have a little more flexible schedule it is definitely not relaxing and I am definitely working A LOT. The past two weeks I have been helping out a friend of mine who fell and broke her right arm. She has an 18 month old daughter and she has been unable to change diapers, lift the girl in and out of her high chair, or get her in and out of the car. This last one is especially problematic since the only time this little girl naps is in the car. I've been spending the majority of my day helping out and driving all over creation at naptime. By the end of the day I have been so exhausted that I've been going to sleep at 9:30 and have had absolutely no desire to blog. Another reason for my lack of enthusiasm is that I have been SUCKING at working out. This week I've been stepping it up again and so I am much more excited to share what I've been up to.
Let me start by recapping some of last week:
It was my P90X recovery week which meant a lot of yoga, a lot of stretching, and some of my least favorite workouts... that stupid Kenpo crap. Anyone else have any like/dislike for Kenpo? I just feel super awkward. I feel like I should be good at it cause I'm a dancer and I kick all the time... but I'm just NOT.
I haven't been great at sticking it out, I've either just skipped that day entirely or switched it out for a different workout. I read a message board and a lot of the commenters suggested sticking with it, saying that they didn't like it at first either but after several weeks it is now their favorite. I'll have to give it another chance I guess.
Anyways, I really didn't do much of anything that week. I just didn't have time. I mean, I could have made time if I slept 4 hours a night but I decided it was better to get my rest. I mean, a recovery week isn't going to be very restorative if you're not getting sleep.
I did however go on an awesome run on Thursday night. If you've read my blog at all you know I detest evening workouts. Well, I planned it out so at least one of my main issues wouldn't be a problem. One of my issues with evening workouts is that I'm usually hungry but if I eat anything then I'll feel sick once I start the workout. I solved this problem by eating at around 4:30.
I got home from work and hopped online to map out a route. I found a 10 mile route and set out pretty quickly. By about mile 2 I knew that this was going to be a rough run. In the past my routes have been loops so that if I'm feeling not so hot I can just quit early. I think this is the cowards way to run so I'm really working on cutting that out of my running.
Firstly it was hot and humid. I'm not sure other than that what was so different about this run but it was just HARD. I struggled the whole way. I kept telling myself "You are strong, you are strong, you are strong, you are strong".
Another thing I hadn't planned on was the sun going down... oops! A lot of the run was fine, it was on the sidewalk. The last 3 miles or so winds through my neighborhood though and by the time I got in the neighborhood it was pitch black out. I turned my headphones off and listened for cars and paid a lot of attention to lights coming up behind me. Every time I heard a car coming I jumped up on the curb and ran through the grass... oh my gosh, HELL ON EARTH! I do NOT like running through grass when I'm going on my 8th or so mile. My legs were screaming at me every time I jumped up on the curb and every time I saw car lights approaching I was mentally cursing them :).
I also got to experience BUGS! Not so exciting. I never have problems with bugs in the morning but they are out in droves in the evening. They stuck to my face and I kept thinking I was going to swallow one by accident. Thankfully that didn't happen. So gross.
Some of my route included loops and by the time I looped back to my house I decided 9 miles was fine with me and I just did not want to run the last mile. My 9th mile was pretty killer. My IT band was really starting to hurt and I was pushing it the last mile so I decided that 9 miles would make me happy, a lot happier than I'd be if I really injured myself by pushing past my limit.
Today I ran 10 miles! I know that's only a mile more than my last long run but I just feel AWESOME about it. It was just glorious out this morning. Gorgeous weather. Oh, and it was morning. That just makes everything better in my opinion. Also, my route was one big loop. I just felt like I was running so far. I just kept thinking to myself "wow, I'm so far from home. I ran all the way here. I can't believe I ran all the way here and still feel so good".
Cardio-wise, I am awesome. On my thursday evening run last week my heart rate was high-ish. It was mid to upper 170s the whole time. Today was like low 160s to mid 160s the whole time. It shot up to 170 on a few of the hills but came back down quickly. I feel like I could run forever cardio-wise. But by the end of my runs my legs are just DYING. I wonder if some kind of replenishing drink or food would be helpful? If you have any tips please share! I feel like my legs are pretty strong so I tend to think that it's not that they're not strong enough... but I'm obviously no expert.
Anyways, I can't wait til my next big run next week! I'm looking for a good half marathon to sign up for too.
WOW! 10 miles. That's fabulous!
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