Return Of The Garmin

Today was a much better day in terms of sinus pressure than yesterday.

I headed to bed early last night and felt decent when I woke up around 5. I still have some remaining pressure from my sinuses but I’ve been taking Sudafed which seems to help.

I ordered new shoes last night because my current shoes (Brooks) although very nice and cushony cause a lot of stress and strain on my calves. I’m sure this is because they are pretty minimalist, but I just cant seem to find a groove in them.

 I ordered a pair of Saucony Kinvara 2s . I’ve had two other pairs of these and loved them so I’m going back to them. Wed should be the day I get them, in hopes that I can use them in the Black Cat 10 miler this weekend!

In other news, my new Garmin came in the mail on Saturday! Just in time for Hyannis! I’m pretty excited to have it back, although it was nice to run without thinking about my time and distance.

Today was supposed to be a rest day but since I felt so crummy yesterday and missed my 7 mile run on Sat I decided to run today. I busted out 8.3 miles. It felt pretty good I was tired but happy to be moving! Again, my calves were pretty tight so I’ll be extra happy when my new shoes come!!

Tonight Greg and I needed to use up a Buywithme and headed out to Elephant Walk in Porter for a nice Monday date night. It was great. We have been to the Elephant Walk many times before, it’s always been great food and today was no different.

We started the night down at the bar where we each grabbed a drink while we waited for a table to open up. We then headed upstairs for a great curried dinner.

We are now relaxing and watching a little TV before bed.

DNF...

That’s right, today was my first Did Not Finish of any race I’ve ever ran. 

I was home in VT Thurs-sat and spent all day Fri sick. I was congested and stuffy and overall pretty miserable. I took a 2+ hour nap in the middle of the day which I never do unless I’m really sick. I woke up around 4, just in time to help my mom as best I could with dinner. I went to bed early and woke up after a solid 10 hours. I was feeling better, much less congested and with more energy then I had on Friday. I still managed to take a little nap before we headed up to West Leb so I could take the bus back to Boston.

I had every intention of running my half marathon today. I even put off my 7 mile run that was scheduled for Sat in hopes of saving my energy for today. I felt pretty good this morning, I had some sinus pressure but I figured I could run through it. I woke up, ate my pre-race meal of oatmeal with peanut butter and then Greg, Matt and I headed to Davis to pick up Stacy and head down to Hyannis.

I was still feeling pretty good when we got down to Hyannis and I told Greg I was going to run with my phone just in case I didn’t feel well. I never run with my phone, but I also usually feel great when I head out to run 13.1 miles.

I ran the first mile + with Stacy at around a 9 min mile. This felt pretty good, and I was actually surprised to see 9 on my watch because I wasn’t feeling very fast. I needed to tie my shoe and told Stacy to keep going. I didn’t want to slow her down, I know how speedy she can be! 

I bent down, re-tied my shoe and then when I stood up I felt terrible. I had a lot more sinus pressure than I realized and when I stood up my head was pounding and my ears throbbed. I knew this was going to be a tough race, but decided to keep going and see what happens.

 I made it another .5 miles of throbbing head before I pulled off and texted Greg. I told him I wasn’t feeling good and was going to try and keep going but I might be back at the car sooner than he thought. I made it another mile and then turned around.

I couldn’t beat the pressure in my head and my eyes kept watering. I was so bummed. I felt terrible because I was sick, but also because I have never not finished a race I started. I ran a total of 5 miles before I made it back to the car where Greg was.

I felt Pretty crummy and changed into warm clothing before going and watching everyone run into the finish. Matt and Stacy killed this race! It was Matts first half and he came cruising in at 1:51!! Speed daemon! Stacy raced in just before Matt at 1:49! 

After the race we drove to Sandwhich Ma and picked up a great lunch at Chew! Note to readers who find themselves at Chew... order the Salad. They are HUGE and delicious. Sandwhich the town is beautiful and I think it was the perfect way to end the morning of racing.

This afternoon/evening has been spent on the couch. Everyone is pretty tired and in need of some relaxation!

Happy Sunday everyone! I’m not determined to crush the half marathon in March!

Friday at home

Hello from Vermont! 

Yesterday after a rather eventful day of clients, running, and finding out my bank account had been hacked into I hoped on a bus home to VT.

 Its been a pretty stressful two weeks for me, and I think a trip home is just what I needed to relax and rest.

I’m currently writing from my bed, and I just took an Aleve cold and sinus because I think I may have caught some version of whatever cold Greg had. Rest, fluids, and more rest for me today!

Wed I ran 4 miles with Stacy. It wasnt the fastest run I’ve ever had, but it felt great to run and talk. It was also BEAUTIFUL outside and I ended up running in capris and a tank top. In February. 

Yesterday I had a 5 mile run on schedule which I planned to do right after spinning in the morning. I ws pretty tired and talked myself out of running and instead headed home to get a few things done. I figured I would run after my clients at 1. I ended up waiting for the pouring rain to stop before I headed out to run 5 nice miles along the Charles. 

I love running along the Charles when it’s in the low 50s. It’s the perfect running temp and there is always something to look at. There were many other people on the bike path walking, running, biking, and taking pictures. It was like spring!

Today is a rest day, thank goodness! Tomorrow I am supposed to run 7 and then Sunday is the Hyannis half. I’m pretty excited about the race, mostly due to the sparkly headbands Stacy and I bought on Wed night! 

The plan for today is to rest and take it easy. The weather is supposed to be semi-crummy later so I think my mom and I might run a few errands soon and then relax and bake at home for the remainder of the day! My sister Justine and her boyfriend are coming home tonight too so it should be a fun evening!

Happy Friday!

Happy thoughts

Happy Wednesday everyone!

This morning I was up bright and early for a 5:45 client. I worked until 11 and then waited around until 12 when I had a running date with Stacy! Yes, that’s right – STACY! Our lives are finally back in sync and we will be running together as much as possible. Last week was crazy with me due to Physics and she was really busy with work, it felt great to run and chat again. 

Yesterday I taught spin and then busted out a 5 mile run. Remember how last week I mentioned that running after spinning wasn’t as bad as I had though? Well, this week it was tough. My legs were tired and my body was resenting the first and last mile of this run.

 Regardless I made it through and even took a chance on a hilly loop I usually love in the summer. Its feb, and I still love it. Yay!

After spinning and running, I had a few clients and then dragged myself to the library with the intent of becoming a hermit until my 6:15 exam. I lasted about 3.5 hours before I needed a change of scenery. I headed home and studies on the couch for another hour or so before taking the dive into my phsics exam. It was tough. It was long. It is OVER. Thank goodness.

On to happier thoughts. This weekend is the Hyannis Half Marathon! Its Sunday and I am super excited!

 A few friends from work at the gym are running it, as well as Stacy, and my roommate Matt! Its his very first race! I am so so pumped for him! Stacy and I are heading out later to see what we can find in terms of bright colored shirts or pants for the race. 

Stacy is faster than I am, so I asked her if she would pace me if I decide to “race” Hyannis. Otherwise, I will just treat it as a long run and try to maintain around  a 9:30 pace. 

Also today involved a splurge to get a salad from the salad bar at wholefoods. 

It wasn’t that expensive, around 5 dollars, and I was happy I did it. In my salad was a kale salad mix (garlic, oil, nutritional yeast) carrots, cucumbers, barley, black beans, and peppers. It sounds random, and it was, but it was really filling and full of iron – something I am trying to get more of in my diet these days! Double win for a great salad and added vitamins!

I’m off to get some random odds and ends done and then off to City Sports with Stacy to find obnoxiously bright colored clothing for the race! I love races, and running, and friends, and life.

Enjoy your afternoon!

Just keep running...

This morning I woke up early to bust out my 12 mile run. I headed out the door a little before 8 and cruised along on a mapped out 12 mile run. The first 6 miles were great and then I got a little lost.  I’ve done this same run before and knew that finding Washington street in Watertown was a little tricky but I thought I remembered it, especially after looking at gmaps pedometer before I left this morning.

 Turns out I didn’t Bremen and I got a little lost. I asked directions from a lady I saw getting out of her car. Unfortunately she  gave me the exact opposite directions I needed. Needless to say I added about 1.3 miles onto my run. I didn’t realize it was that much until I got home and figured it out on gmaps. So my 12 miler turned into a 13.2 miler. I’m not even going to lie, I was tired and my calfs were feelin’ it. This was the first time I had run 13 miles since october when I ran the Hartford Half. Best race EVER btw.

After my run I came home for about 20 minutes before I had to get over to work for a client. I grabbed a missto from Starbucks and off I went. My client was great and it was really fun to train her today because she brought one of her best friends to work out with her. Great motivation for both of them.

I came home and needed food. ASAP! Greg and I made grilled cheese sandwiches and I actually didn’t even eat my entire thing. My stomach is still not feeling 100% so I ate about ¾ of mine before giving it to Greg.

I then got to work on Physics and took a quick break to go to Harvard sq with Greg. We were on a mission  to get more ink for our printer. I had about 3 thousand pages I needed to print for physics studying so this was critical.

Upon coming home I got right back to work on Physics. Unfortunately this is going to be my life until Tue at 8:30pm.

Since this is rather boring I thought I would take some pictures of things that made me happy today.

And what made me unhappy….

Matt and I signed up for the Black Cat 10 miler in Salem in March! Yay!!

Black Cat Road Race 

This week for running looks like this…

Monday : rest

Tuesday : 5 miles ( 3 at race pace) and spin

Wed : 4 miles

Thurs : 5 miles and spin

Friday : rest

Sat: 7 miles

Sunday: Hyannis half marathon…plus one mile.

35 miles this week. Lets do it!