Run Jac Run 🏃🏻‍♀️

Week 25 (of 2022)

Week 6 of the plan! Halfway there and it’s going to get tricky tricky figuring out these next few weeks with weather being insane, anxiety creeping up because the workouts are getting longer and that means longer lunch breaks!

But also, my cousins- who we haven’t seen in 3+ years are coming to visit! Kristen, Terrence and their three kids – which btw we are so excited to host because yay! More kids for H to run around with. 😀 But, with that means that I won’t be doing the workouts, and that’s fine… it’s not like missing a week or a couple days here and there will be detrimental. I used to think that if you had a plan you had to stick to it to the T! but, I’ve learned that it is okay to skip workouts if needed and life gets in the way. This week at first called for Monday off and then all kinds of speed work, had me worried so I think I will move things around and I think I might just aim for 60 minutes on the treadmill for my long run… who knows!? I was relooking at the plan and this is a BEGINNER’S plan.. I think it would be easier if I had the flexibility to actually do the long runs on the weekends and take a REST, but since I have to cram it all in Mon-Fri that is what makes it a little more difficult. And then add in having a 7 year old who wants to run around and a 6 month old who wants to be held, snuggled, go on walks, nurse all the time and wakes up a few times at night – I just keep telling myself that soon it will change and they grow up and I need to cherish the sleepless nights, the running around with my son and both still wanting hugs and cuddles… because some time in the near future they won’t want those things. I will have more free time and I will be sad about it haha

Monday- Plan: 30 min of incline 10 and speed 3.0 / strength / sauna
Actual: Low Intensity Cardio – 40 min incline 10, speed 3.0. NO strength training, and NO sauna. I am SORE from yesterday – I assume bike riding and carrying the dumpling a lot. A LOT. So, I didn’t want to push it since the rest of the week is speedy work. I enjoyed the 40 minutes of low intensity and even worked up a little sweat too! I would have switched to a run, but realized I packed leggings and I can’t run in leggings unless its COOOOOLD. I also got the notification that the GPS collar was delivered so I am SO VERY excited to see it when I get home and hopefully test it out with River.

1.92 miles total
Monday night I tried to figure out the GPS dog collar, I couldn’t adjust the distance and it was set for well over an acre (which is too much space / our whole entire yard) and I was walking around the yard to find the zone. Sweating my BUTT off! But, before I did that I took River out of his room to go to the bathroom and run around, except his collar got loose and he slipped out. His immediate reaction was to just stare at me, and when I tried to get him, I bear hugged him… he immediately knew he could RUN lol. And off he went, except he played more of a game than just sprinting off. So… me in heavy jeans and platform shoes running after calling him – he goes right to the neighbors house, through their area and out the other side. By now they are used to me running through, thank goodness! (sort of? I wish it didn’t happen as much as it did haha) but anyway, through their yard and out the other side and he saw another dog being walked. He cautiously approached and the lady walking her dog did not like this. I am not even upset at her reaction because it was totally my fault. Luckily, River stayed away and didn’t jump on either of them. I was able to get him calmed down and put the collar on him and walked him back. So, that started the sweat, and then figuring out the GPS collar started a whole new sweat sesh! Needless to say, a shower was DEFINITELY needed!

Channeling my inner 90’s babe with the pants and striped t-shirt. This shirt is actually a maternity shirt from ASOS, but works well as an “oversized” t-shirt too . Plus my platform shoes that used to be all the rage when I was 12 years old haha

Tuesday morning I get an email that my boss will be out of the office from midday Thursday till the following week and I know now I can do my long run without the extra anxiety!! Tuesday thoughts – I am now 6 months postpartum and I am not where I imagined myself to be. However, my dreams were NOT realistic. not in the slightest. I wanted to be ripped and strong and no flab. But, that just isn’t really me- I like having cookies at night, I enjoy a brownie. And I sure as hell enjoy a Cayman Jack every now and then. So, why did this morning just dawn on me that I have less than 6 months till she is a year old and less time to get into mind blowing shape? Why is the need for me to be “model thin” something playing in my head right now? Probably because I saw a friend on IG looking like that – but here is what I need to tell myself, that IS her body type. She IS naturally thin and tall. I am muscular and short. I do have a little more flabby dabby in the middle. I can work on it. But I need to remind myself to not beat myself up over it.

Tuesday- Plan: Intervals- 10 min warmup/ 4x (6 min threshold, 60 sec jog) / 5-10 min cool down
Actual: 3.5 miles total
10 min warm up / 2 perfect 6 min threshold (6.2-6.3mph), 60 sec WALK/ the third interval I gave up 1.5 minutes in and walked. But then I went back and tried again and did 6.3mph – 7.0mph and went for 9 minutes! a couple minutes of cooling off and then ran to the bathroom to pee! Those last 9 minutes…. I listened to “Lose Yourself” by Eminem. One of the most inspiring songs (for me) and has for the last month been my go to closing song of all workouts. It helps me push hard and dig deep. It gives me goosebumps every. single. time. (wild lol) After I used the bathroom I knew I needed to stretch – so off I went to cool down and do some stretching – also I realized I forgot my towel AGAIN and so I couldn’t just get into clothes all sweaty. The viral handstand split thing is going on and I had to attempt it. Former gymnast here, and I definitely thought I was going to do better! lol

Too scared to try to balance and take my foot off the wall! But maybe I should try/practice!

Wednesday- Plan: 45 min fartlek
Actual: Once again I let my mood take over and I skipped the workout. My legs were sore, my mindset was poor and I spent the afternoon deep breathing, trying to find calm and listening to some guided meditations.

Thursday- Plan: 10 min warmup / 5 x (5 min threshold pace, 60 sec jog) / 5-10 min cool down
Actual: I am in a RUN FUNK! I started my threshold workout and was in my 10 min warm up and I just could NOT continue. I thought I was ready for it, I thought I was gung-ho…. but this week just isn’t my week. I did another 10 minutes of incline walking and then decided I was more interested in strength work. So I did front, back and side lunges, pushups and core work. It felt GOOD! I guess I just need a break from running, I am going to honor what feels good and what I WANT to do, once running / working out feels like a chore you just have to reevaluate. I did 1.5 miles on the tread though!
Also, we are in talks of signing up Hendrix for soccer, which I am so excited about! I played competitive for 5 years and recreational for 3 and made such great friends, I have always really wanted that for him too. Right before COVID shut down everything I put him in soccer, but then well… he couldn’t participate because it stopped, and then we moved… and then we moved a ton more in Alabama but now we are FINALLY staying put, and so when I get home today I will talk to J and H about it. Registration is next week. Practices are 2x a week with a game on Saturdays. You have no idea how excited I am to be a #soccermom

So, as I write this day’s update – it is Friday morning and I am COMPLETELY unsure if I should do my long run, I am leaning towards NOPE. I need a little break.. I am interested in strength right now. I packed for weight lifting as well as running today, we will see where the day takes me! Right now I am just interested in staying active and doing what makes me happy – I am not training for anything so taking time off of the run schedule isn’t the biggest of deals, right? Gotta get back on track to what makes me happy! Running used to do it for me, now I need to venture out and I had a lot of fun doing strength so maybe, just maybe I can do some more – it made me FEEL GOOD.
Friday- Plan: 90 min LR
Actual: I couldn’t muster up the motivation to go to the gym, so I skipped lunch, left early and went home at a decent time rather than getting stuck in traffic. I’ve decided a day off from the gym would do me good!

Saturday- I did a short hiit workout and finished prepping for the cousins. Unfortunately they couldn’t make it but were able to come on Sunday!

Sunday-

Weekly Mileage: ~7 miles

I seem to be a little burnt out on just running so I am going to incorporate some other activities in till I feel the joy and NEED to run again. I’m enjoying strength training and mobility movement a lot. So I think I’ll just continue doing that for now.

A couple questions:
What do you do when you have a bad body image day/ moment?
What is your go to song that makes you push through any work out you are doing?

Why it is important to honor our feelings

The last two weeks my mood and eagerness to run has drastically decreased. Why? I don’t really know… I just know it isn’t sending my endorphins sky rocketing like it normally does. And that is normal… my body is telling me to find something else. I am leaning towards strength – I am leaning towards moving my body in a different direction. I took some days off last week, I took a day off this week.. I sampled some bodyweight strength yesterday and I know what I was craving.

I have felt weak lately… I don’t feel STRONG. I like feeling strong. And with my limited lunch break the last 6 weeks I have ONLY done running and NO strength. Not the best thing if you ask me. What I should have done is done some strength in the morning at home or at night, but I made up excuses. I didn’t want to. And now? Now I am burnt out on running 5 times a week. Now, when I look at myself I don’t see strength.. I don’t feel super great in my skin – so I want to lift. Could be worse, right? I re-found this amazing lady that offers free workouts Nourish, Move, Love and I am going to start this program.

So, lets bite the bullet and assume that my long run is being replaced by some strength. If it puts a smile on my face, I am doing it! If it weren’t SO DANG HOT out I would for sure find an activity outside. But, realistically… it is too much even at 9:30am to do a long physical activity outside. I hope that I can find a good balance so when I am ready to run again I can do strength and running.

What do you do when you aren’t feeling your normal workout?

30 Random Facts About ME!

What is your biggest gym fear? Falling on my face while running on a treadmill and flying off the end
What is your favorite family vacation? Our trip out to Alabama! It was absolutely INTENSE, and I wish our venture on no one- facing death and falling off cliffs, but it brought us together and it was our ONLY vacation we have ever taken. lmaoooo
What would you change about yourself if you could? I would definitely like to NOT be so stubborn, oh and also I wish I could hide my emotions a little better. My face tells it all – you will see me roll my eyes, be angry, upset.. all of it. I can’t help it
What really makes you angry? Being hungry or tired. While I am currently breastfeeding, it seems I am ALWAYS hungry. It is kind of an ongoing joke at home because I am always searching for something to munch on.
What motivates you to work hard? I love providing for my family, monetarily but also I put in hard work to keep myself in shape because when I didn’t … I was NOT there for my family. I failed them and myself. I slipped into deep depression and I don’t want that for anyone.
What is your favorite thing about your career? I get to learn a new skill almost every day! and there is a lot of down time.
What is your biggest complaint about your job? boredom
What is your proudest accomplishment? Birthing TWO kids without any medication! True warrior feeling – but to the women who did medicate or had/chose to have a c-section, I do NOT look down on you. (had to put it out there)
What is your favorite genre of book to read? Chick-lit! And in the fall suspense and thriller!
What makes you laugh the most? Absolutely Jesse… he is a character
What was the last movie you went to? What did you think? I don’t think we have been to a movie theater since pre-Covid. I remember seeing Crazy, Rich Asians as my last movie, and I loooooooove that movie. It makes me happy to see more Asian movies will full Asian cast!
What did you want to be when you were small? I wanted to be so many things… a professional gymnast, a veterinarian, and astronaut, a surfer, a teacher…. I really had NO idea what I wanted to do haha
What does your child want to be when he/she grows up? H1 wants to be spiderman, but he will settle for being a policeman. At least that was what he said last year when I asked. It could’ve changed by now. The dumpling (H2) is too young to tell me what she wants to be.
If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be? Run. Eat. Shop. Sleep.
What is your favorite game or sport to watch and play? Soccer. with the right crowd
Would you rather ride a bike, ride a horse, or drive a car? Depends on the car! If it is a fun and fast and not what I normally drive – car all the way! If it were just my car, I would choose a bike! Never a horse, they frighten me.
What would you sing at Karaoke night? I am too scared to sing in public.
Which would you rather do: wash dishes, mow the lawn, clean the bathroom, or vacuum the house? Vacuum!!!
If you could hire someone to help you, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or yard work? Cleaning all the way!
If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be? Either carne asada burritos or cheeseburgers and fries… YUMMMMMMM
Do you like or dislike surprises? Why or why not? I like the idea of surprises, but hate when they are for me. I like being in control and knowing what is going on. #controlfreak
In the evening, would you rather play a game, visit a relative, watch a movie, or read? Watch a movie! ooh, or maybe visit a relative – can they come to me?
Would you rather vacation in Hawaii or Alaska, and why? Alaska! I’ve never been, and the glaciers would be cool!
Would you rather win the lottery or work at the perfect job? And why? Work the perfect job… because I like working and if I finally found THE job, I would be so excited.
Who would you want to be stranded with on a deserted island? Easy.. Jesse – he is the ultimate survivor man.
If money was no object, what would you do all day? Fitness classes, brunch, sleep, pilates
If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to? If I went back to 2003 before I started high school I might try to change my future, and how I felt about myself and all the destruction I did. But then I might not be where I am today.
How would your friends describe you? A control freak, nurturing, entertaining, nerdy, dork
What are your hobbies? Other than running… reading, shopping, writing, swimming, hiking, shooting (at the range), hoping to get into more biking – we are planning on making a BMX track in the yard (probably in fall/winter time when the weather is more manageable to dig and build)
Where do you see yourself in five years? Running marathons, new job, producing a lot more veggies and fruits in our yard

Any fun things you want to share with me?!

Week 24 (of 2022)

Checking in on Monday morning ->My legs feel heavy and sore… which is weird because I did not work out all weekend. Sunday was an actual full on REST day. It was way too hot/humid to do much of anything. I bathed the dog and the dumpling and I splashed in the tub… I got to enjoy some romantic comedies and that is about it! To be honest, I am a uneasy about this week’s workout plan and hoping to just keep a positive attitude and not doubt myself. I was going to try to do a trial mile run sometime this week but it is expected to be already 80 degrees F even at 7am and excessive humidity. That will not be pleasant and it won’t give me a good look at my fitness level.

While I am pushing myself to go further in my fitness, I have noticed I have gotten lazy in “getting ready” for the day and developing some not so favorable habits. So, in an attempt to get rid of that here are some things I want to do/continue to do. Continue drinking a gallon of water, decrease soda consumption, decrease mindless snacking, strength training 2x a week, sunscreen EVERY day, cute and functional hairstyle each day, get dressed cute (I’ve gotten a little lazy on this one), decrease phone usage (needless scrolling). While I only took a picture of my outfit the first day, best believe I dressed up every day this week!

Monday- Plan: 30 min EZ
Got dressed in a cute sundress – and then right as I was leaving found out it is basically see-through! Luckily I am wearing shorts underneath and mostly just sit at a desk.
Actual: 30 minutes EZ… I am (and will be from here on out) still incorporating the 1% incline, which I don’t know if it is mentally more challenging knowing this but it felt harder. 3.09 miles in total I finally got into the groove of things 10 minutes in, but I wasn’t super excited to be there running. I keep feeling like I have NO time and I just gotta get through my runs as quickly as possible and have no time for anything else. It is STRESSFUL.

little sundress with shorts under it because OMG it is shorter than I remember it when I bought it

Tuesday- Plan: 10 min warm up / (4 min threshold, 60 sec jog) x 6
Actual: I was really looking forward to this work out! I wanted to test myself, challenge myself, buuuuut someone in the office tested positive for Covid. And so I have decided to forgo going to the gym in the event I might be positive. I am going to test when I get home… although I feel fine with no symptoms – it is best to just make sure!

Wednesday- Plan: 10 min warm up / (4 min threshold, 60 sec jog) x 6
Actual: I tested negative yesterday, will continue to monitor how I feel and probably test again later in the week. I will make sure to keep a safe distance and sanitize my stations way more thoroughly. Since I missed yesterdays fun threshold run I am changing it today, removing the hilly run for tomorrow and making tomorrow an EZ run and then the LR on Friday.
Also, this morning a breakfast sandwich was sounding soooooo good, I couldn’t stop thinking about it! The closest fast food was Sonic, so I drove through and had a delicious croissant sausage, egg and cheese. Sometimes, you just gotta get the sandwich! I try to not indulge too much, as it isn’t good quality or healthy… but as I always say everything in moderation! Unless, its something like chocolate or mochi… those are just to be eaten in big batches haha
I DID NOT work out today, I was not interested in going to the gym and felt so unmotivated to go. 😦

Thursday- Plan: 30 min EZ run
Actual: Who would have thought hearing from my work friend, who happens to be like 65, is feeling better helped to change my mood around completely!
Overheard conversation over phone; boss and Ron:
Boss- “Hey Ron, how ya doing? I was wondering about project xxxxxx”
Ron – “Uhh.. yeah hey there, Curt.”
Boss- ” RON??? ARE YOU OUT FISHING??”
Ron- “Yep! It’s weird I was on my deathbed but now I feel great!”
And that, my friends… brightened my day completely and the gray cloud blew away.
So, I went to the gym and did about 22 minutes of an EZ run and then finished off with incline 10 and walk at 3.0 till I hit 40 minutes in total. Then, I went to the sauna and stretched and relaxed and THAT WAS EXACTLY what I needed. My body feels much better and my head is much clearer. Sometimes a few days off, hearing your friend is feeling better and an easy short run is all that is needed. Some times you need more…

Friday- Plan: 90 min LR
I finally remembered the tailwind my dear friend, Amanda, sent me! I am so excited to try these. While I will be doing this run inside (let’s be real it is already 86 degrees F and 82% humidity at 9am) I still need to supplement myself with something so I don’t bonk! Last time when I did the 80 minute one I could feel myself needing something, I was getting HUNGRY! So, I am going to test out an endurance berry flavored one! I also prepped myself with a delicious pbj sandwich to snack on before the run and then a pulled pork sandwich for after the run. I LOOOOOVE pbj sandwiches, they just always hit the spot, my ultimate comfort food.
Actual: Quite a few things went wrong today… 1. I can’t take 2+ hour l lunch and really get away with it, and my anxiety for sure creeped in. 2. It took me longer (due to traffic) to get to the gym, so by the time I started running I was already gone for 25 minutes (cue even more anxiety!) 3. I didn’t have enough water with me to run, sure I could get off the treadmill and fill it up but that SUCKS to do, and I refused. (stubborn) 4. I started running hungry – never a good sign, so I didn’t have a big enough breakfast and snack. 5. I was and have been feeling dehydrated the last few DAYS! Despite me drinking a gallon of water a day, and incorporating Gatorade I am so thirsty, my mouth is dry, I have headaches. I don’t know what is going on – but I feel just behind. 6. My garmin was about to die!
So anyway… my mind gave up WAY before my legs, I could’ve physically kept going, it wasn’t a matter of I was too tired, it was that I was simply over it … I couldn’t get in the groove, I couldn’t keep pushing myself. I could go on making excuses but ultimately I gave up. 50 minutes out 90 minutes completed. 4.64 miles completed. Pretty disappointed in myself but I also have this lingering fear of getting in trouble at work for taking too long of a lunch even though I put in my hours. 🙄😤But also, I ended up being gone for 2 hours! So if I completed my run it would’ve been like 3.5 hours because YOU GOTTA STRETCH after a long run. So, 50 minutes and then I went to the sauna and stretched, showered and got ready and got back to the office in 2 hours. Maybe, just maybe I can make up the remainder of the run this weekend or tonight. I won’t hold it against myself if I don’t. We all have our off weeks. This (highest mileage I’ve had planned) week just did not work out quite right

I didn’t like this flavor all that much, maybe I didn’t have the right proportions for water, but idk it was extra sweet and a little chalky for my liking. And I’m really not that picky ever! Maybe it was my bad attitude haha

Saturday- I had planned to do nothing but the dumpling woke up at 5:30am on the dot and was WIDE awake. But the cute wide awake, because she hardly cries and so was so smiley and talkative, so I dragged my butt outta bed and decided to take advantage of the situation. Luckily I had some not so dirty/stinky gym clothes in my car and we snuck out for a walk/run! Heavy on the walk. 😅 We did our two mile circle and invited River along. It’s been really hard getting him out for walks/runs because of this heat wave. So we do mini walks around the yard throughout the day to keep him moving but otherwise he’s laying in the shade with cool water and a fan on him. Last year he suffered from a really bad heat stroke/sickness – and so I am determined to keep him healthy and cool all summer long. The walk/run went great! I felt really strong pushing a nearly 30lb stroller and 22lb child haha and it was actually really fun! 2.12 miles

Sunday- Happy Father’s Day!! Again, the morning started out way too early but this time we laid in bed and tried to get the darling dumpling to sleep in a little longer. By about 6:30 I gave up and brought her out of bed, I wanted to go on a run, but it is DAD’S DAY and so I thought we would just hang out at home. I sent my aunt (who’s been staying with us this past week) and Hendrix out to get donuts and me and the dumpling sat outside watching the birds and hanging out. Dad got to sleep in and then we presented him with his present and donuts! After that we kinda played in the yard, I got on H’s bike and let River pull me around. Luckily, I never fell off but I did run over him once or twice because he tried crossing in front of me. No, the dog wasn’t hurt! lol. He loved it though, he got his speed up a bit and we circled the yard and the street a few times, I was sweating like crazy after 15 minutes and so cooled him off and let him get fresh cold water and he took a nap. (finishing up this post a day later and I can say I am pretty sore from this bike ride!) After playing we went to check out a park and then cleaned out the trailer for more family to arrive next week and chilled! Oh and made some heavenly drumsticks.

Our little Father’s Day present, the right side has Hendrix’s thumb prints as flowers and the left side are the dumpling’s palm prints

You probably all have been experiencing a huge heat wave! we have too, and what is weird is we haven’t had ANY rain in weeks. We normally get rain daily, well our grass is really suffering from no rain and no irrigation system so we went out to get sprinklers for the yard and Hendrix took advantage and ran through them and got sopping wet. That is a true golden smile.

Weekly Mileage: planned 20. Actual: 13.46 mi

I’m excited to announce that I bought a GPS collar so we can let River roam more in our yard! Since it’s an open yard, it’s been really hard letting him roam around! And every time we have let him off the leash he’s literally run off to the neighbors every time 🙄so hoping this gives him freedom and some more running room! Unfortunately his recall isn’t the greatest – we are working on it! But the collar should be coming any day and then we can obviously 1. train him to understand the boundaries and 2. train him for a better recall

Hope ya’ll had a great weekend and week!

What to do when you have NO MOTIVATION

Once you see my next weekly post where I summarize what I did this week, you will see that I skipped a couple workouts. (usually comes out on Mondays :))

As of right now, I have ZERO motivation to go to the gym. I would rather just sit at the desk doing nothing than go to the gym and run. Motivation waivers, determination and commitment shouldn’t.

So, how am I going to combat this feeling? Dive through Pinterest and the runners that I look up to and listen to my pump up music!

Did these quotes help at all? No… so I turned to my friend who said maybe you need to write it down, could it be stress? lack of sleep? needing to actually rest?

So, here it is… my joints hurt, I am tired, the dumpling hasn’t had a super great sleep schedule at night (waking up more often than normal in the night). I am stressed out with fam coming into town and burnt out. So, maybe that is why I just haven’t felt the need to run. Although I feel like my body hurts even more when I don’t work out. I am going to try to do an easy low impact workout today, do a deep stretch and sweat it out in the sauna.

What do you do when you are lacking motivation?

Week 23 (of 2022!)

My daughter is now SIX months old! I don’t know where the time has gone, but it has flown by! And I am so happy to say that I am back in running action and feel really great about the miles.

Monday- Plan: 40 min EZ
Actual: I took another rest day, my body seemed to need it as my hips were tight and I felt a twinge in my knee. But the knee pain was due to heels! Yesterday we went to the beach so there was lots of sun time. I got to swim for a little bit with the older nugget and it was so nice and warm! But it did take out a lot of energy, we went on a nice 25 minute walk with River in the early evening before dinner, so that was great!

Tuesday- Plan: Intervals
Actual: 3.72 miles total On the plan I had 10 min warm up, 4 rounds of 5 min hard pace and 75 sec recovery jog, 5-10 min cool down.
Since I am restarting my fitness journey I have had trouble finding what pace I should be at because I don’t want to push myself too far. But it seems I haven’t been pushing myself enough. First 3 rounds I did: 6.2mph / 6.3 mph / 6.4 mph. I finally got into the zone going into the third round but I knew I wasn’t even pushing hard. So the last round I increased speed each minute 6.5/6.6/6.7/6.8 and the final minute 6.9 for 30 seconds and 7.0 for 30 seconds.

Wednesday- Plan: 30 min EZ
Actual: so, I didn’t want to go to the gym and decided to challenge myself and run outside. How hard can it be, right? Well, it was 92° and full sun, no breeze. It wasn’t too humid though, so that was nice. But wow… Running on a trail with incline and uneven ground is definitely a challenge! From running on the treadmill in air conditioning to running outside, it definitely opened my eyes that I need to do more outdoor runs and not rely strictly on a treadmill. I do believe I will be incorporating at least 1% incline minimum on all runs to simulate running outdoors.
2.75 miles in total today!

Thursday- Plan: Fartlek 40 min ( 10 min warm up / DEATH / 5-10 min cool down)
Actual: Spoke to my friend to get a little insight on how he would tackle this kind of run and decided to follow his idea. INCLINE @ 1% the whole time – to mimic running outside on “flat ground” 10 min warm up / 30 sec @ 8.5 / recovery jog 2 min @ 5.5 / 2 min @ 6.9 / 1.5 min recovery jog @ 5.5 / 1 min @ 8.2 / recovery jog 3 min / 3 min @ 6.9 / full on recovery needed walking for 1.5 minutes / 30 sec @ 8.5 / walk it out / 2 min @ 6.9 / walk it out / 1 min @ 8.3 / walk it out / 3 min @ 6.9 / COOL DOWN
Now, my friend, Jake, told me to aim the faster portions (30 sec-1 min) at my goal mile pace and the longer intervals at my goal 5k pace. This resulted in me running
8.5= 7:05/mi and 6.9= 8:39/mi. And honestly, once I really got into the groove – which basically took me till the last interval because I was hungry and tired and didn’t want to do the run at all, but afterwards I felt like I could keep going at 6.9 for another eh.. maybe 5 minutes? I was supposed to fully recover in-between each interval which is why half way through I had to walk so that I could keep pushing myself… but I definitely need to redo this workout in a week or two and see how much better I do, get some pre-workout, not be so hungry and not have tired legs. Total mileage: 3.59mi

Friday- Plan: 60 min LR
Actual: 4 miles in 45 minutes long… had to cut it short due to an impending storm… I definitely could’ve kept going but by leaving the gym early I managed to skip out on the winds and the traffic! Win win!

Saturday- “REST” – look there is no easy way to put this, I don’t get real rest days where you just it on a couch with your legs up doing nothing… there is A LOT to do. Pulling out dead flowers and weeds, watering plants and clearing out the trailer because family is coming into town and they need space to sleep.

Sunday- REST

Weekly mileage: 14.06 huge cut back from last week but that’s okay! My throat is starting to feel a little sore and my knee was giving me a little pain so instead of sticking with the plan exactly, I made some adjustments!

This coming week my aunt is coming to hang out and see the dumpling and then in another 2 weeks we have more family coming so lots of entertaining, cleaning and adjusting the run plan!

A Perfect Day…

If I could have my perfect Saturday/Sunday it would be this…

I would wake up extra early and be extra rested – no one would be awake… everyone else just completely dead to the world. I get dressed, do some stretches, drink my water, gather my snacks and water up and get River ready for our run. The sun is still low and not ready to peak out yet, it is barely 60 degrees and there are no mosquitos in sight. (haha)

We do a quick warm up lap around the “circle” and head out down the road. We decide to take the scenic 98 route and stop every once in a while for some water. River doesn’t pull, he glides gracefully next to me and we are both in top notch fitness. I get warm and get brave enough to just wear my sports bra. We arrive in Fairhope (about 7 miles away) and stop by an outdoor café where I get something to munch on, River gets something and we take a rest. He doesn’t jump on anyone, we stretch and get ready to run back home.

Once home, a mountain of waffles awaits me and I scarf it down, feed the dumpling and jump into the shower. Of course, you can forget to stretch and rehydrate more. After that, put on some nice music, curl up with a book and River at my feet and fall asleep.

This would literally be the best day. running with River + cool weather + cafes + naps…. THIS WOULD BE A DREAM COME TRUE! No crying, no one needing me for anything, the dog behaving completely, my body not rejecting a long run, no pain, no issues… ahhh that would be an epic day. And here’s the thing – I WILL get there. I will have this day, eventually.

When the dumpling isn’t so dependent on milk and the weather cools down this is something I can do. When she gets to be a little older *chefs kiss* mornings like this can happen, and they will. Just have to believe and keep dreaming.

Week 22 (of 2022)

While I am only on week three of “Improve your Fitness” provided by Garmin Connect, I am already counting down the days/weeks till the potential half marathon I set a goal for me to run by end of year. Here are the main issues: the race is in Mississippi right after the dumpling’s first birthday, which is right before Christmas. It is a TOUGH TOUGH TOUGH time. So, I have a couple options, as I break it down:
1. MS Gulf Coast super close to birthday and a little over an hour away (not too bad)
2. Big Beach Marathon located in Orange beach, so not far, but end of Jan 2023 and far enough past dumpling’s birthday but closer to Hendrix’s. *sigh*

Orrrrr I just try to run the half marathon distance without a race… which might just have to be what I do.

Monday – Plan: morning run- 30 min EZ
Actual: The morning started out rough and a little grumpy. I originally wanted to just take the pup out and go but due to unforseen grumpiness (lol) I took the dumpling and left the pup. It was already getting way too hot out anyway. This 30 min was supposed to be EZ pace and fun! But it turned out to be HARD! My legs felt like 2 ton bricks, it was humid and the sun was high up already… I hated everything about this run. It was a run/walk type which is FINE, but also not fine at all. It sadly left me in a worse off mood than before. And that is saying something! After we did our shopping and lounging and eating and all that, this moody grumpiness took over. I was so bummed I didn’t do a good run and felt the itch to need to get back out there for a redo. I explained my mood and declared 20 MINUTES IS ALL I NEED. I left the kids with dad, took the pup and off we went. (definitely sprayed bug spray all over me as it was 7pm and the mosquitos were out in full force) So, we did our 2 mile loop in 20 minutes and 3 seconds (fastest time yet)! Stopped for River to poop and pee twice! And I left it all out there, this was the run I needed all day, and it felt fantastic. morning: 2.25 miles ; evening: 1.95 miles (total mileage: 4.2 miles

morning run- fake it till you make it (stroller sitting off camera) 2.25 miles

Evening run – bribing pup with food to sit for a pictures

Tuesday – Plan: Intervals
Actual: I am meeting a new friend for lunch! So, taking today as a rest day, which is probably definitely needed after doing 2 runs yesterday.

Wednesday- Plan: 45 min EZ
Actual: 4.02 miles running / 4.24 miles total (with cool down) Despite forgetting my hair tie, towel to shower, running watch and my small water bottle that I wanted to use during run it went well. It was a little mentally tough at first but I settled into a rhythm and it went by rather quickly.

Thursday- Plan: 10 min WU • Run, moderate to hard pace, 6 minutes & incline. Recovery jog, 2 minutes. Repeat 3 times. • Cool down, 5 to 10 minutes.
Actual: Imagine me doing a rock-n-roll slide on my knees across the ground because that was me after this run! I was so happy I completed it. I had a hard time figuring out what I should do for hard pace and ultimately I might have taken it slightly too easy. For the first two rounds I did 6.2mph and each minute increased by 1.0 on the incline. For the last one I knew I needed to leave it all out there and so I went up to 4.0 incline and then the last three minutes I decreased incline by 1.0 and increased the speed till I reached 6.9. I felt extremely strong and graceful (like a gazelle) running. And as the incline went down it was definitely much easier to run faster. It felt GOOD! I probably could have ran faster the two other times, but now I know for next time.
3.54 miles total / 40 minutes!

This top was gifted by a friend, it is a Nathan sport top that is supposed to be moisture wicking and fast drying… it was not drying fast at all. but it is soft!

Friday- Plan: 80 min LR
Actual: Jesse had a terrible tooth infection that unfortunately made it so I couldn’t go into work which then ultimately made it so that there was no working out today. I did however do pushups, glute work and legs! As well as a couple short walks. Planning on a run on the weekend to finish up this training week!

Saturday- plan: 80 min long run!

Actual: 80 freaking minutes! I didn’t have the courage to do this outside, I knew with Jesse’s infected tooth (starting to feel better) it would be unfair to have him be on dumpling duty early in the morning. So what did I do? Signed up for a complimentary workout at planet fitness near me! I strolled in around 10am after doing some chores and it was a little mentally challenging. I counted each 10 minute as an “interval.” I tried watching a movie but it lost my interest quickly, then I listened to a little of my audio book and found myself going back to music. It’s nice to be able to have so many options though! My Garmin register 6.9 miles but the treadmill (split at 60 min and then 20 min) read 7.3 miles. I don’t know why there is such a big difference but it happened. 🤷‍♀️ I’m going with the treadmill distance though. After 80 minutes I had to run to the bathroom, I contemplated stopping at 40 min to go but I didn’t really have to go and it was more me mentally trying to just stop running… But once I stepped off I nearly peed my pants! Ran to the bathroom, peed, and went back to do a cool down 10 minute walk that added another .5 mile on. After I cooled down I went to go stretch and put my legs up against a wall.

Sunday – REST DAY! We made it to the beach and it was amazing and so warm!

Total mileage: 19.3 miles

Week 21 (of 2022)

I tried doing the 75 day soft challenge, but kind of fell off the wagon, I did keep the drinking a gallon of water, which is becoming normal and somewhat easy now… WEIRD. It was definitely a huge mental challenge at first and I had to pee ALLLLLL the time, but now it is second nature. And I tend to drink more than a gallon! I also decided to put hourly reminders/good mantras that come up on my phone at random times that have helped me tremendously! Some examples are: “willpower is a muscle, the more you train it, the stronger it gets” and a favorite is “success doesn’t start in the gym. It starts in your mind.” looooove that one! 🙂 Those have been helping me, along with not spending so much money on shopping! My friend Amanda also sent me a fantastic package full of running clothes!

Monday – Plan: 40 min EZ pace
Actual: I thought I was doomed since I forgot my headphones! I was frantic and thought maybe I needed to pick up some new ones. But I really didn’t want to spend $15 on more headphones. So, instead… I found an isolated treadmill and just listened to my phone loudly. I hope I didn’t disturb too many others, I did try to be courteous! 40 minutes and NO walk breaks… very very proud of myself!
3.47 miles
Avg pace 11:33/mi (5.5mph)

Tuesday- Plan: intervals
Actual: 10 min warm up / 5 rounds (3 min @ 6.5 , 1.5 min @ 5.2) / 5 min cool down for total of 3.25 miles. I was dripping in sweat, and my eye makeup was wiped off and I looked a little raccoon-y. But I did it! With no walk breaks either 🙂 While I probably could have and should have run a little faster than 6.5… I well… didn’t. I have no other excuse other than, I wanted to complete the work out and not overdo it!

Wednesday – Plan: 40 min EZ
Actual: Oddly this week didn’t include any XT so I have run 4 days in a row, which isn’t too great on the body. However, I completed the 40 minutes easy, unfortunately my heart rate monitor is not syncing with my watch so I can’t be certain the watch really tracked it well. (it hasn’t been syncing for well over a week) But I have felt super great each morning waking up, no soreness or tightness or even being overly tired. So those are all great signs! So, 40 minutes running at 5.5mph with NO walk breaks… super proud of this! I managed 3.53 miles.

Because of the amazing running community, my good friend, Amanda sends me her “old” very gently used running clothes. In fact, the shorts were from her from last year! And she just sent me another HUGE box of clothes. Full outfit details: shirt: kiava, shorts: outdoor voices, shoes: new balance vongo 4.
The shirt was suuuuper cute and mesh in the back to allow for some great air “passage?” if that is the right word for it!? But, it was light and airy and so great for these hot humid summer runs.

Thursday – Plan: Rest
Actual: So, my original plan was to do the hilly workout (tomorrow’s) today and then do the long run tomorrow. That way I could have Saturday and Sunday to relax – of course there isn’t a ton of relaxing in our house hold. I know a dear reader said you need to have relax days, and I know!! But, with two kids, a dog and an acre yard to take care of… I am lucky to get a rest day 1-2 times a month. There is always something to be done or to go do. But, since I have ran 4 days in a row I think it is best to take a rest day so I can continue upping mileage and not take a huge step back or get burned out. So today… I am taking the REST day! 😀 And tomorrow I get to leave early from work and I plan to do the long run at the gym before heading home.

Friday – Plan: 10 min warm up / 3 rounds (4 min @ 3.0 incline / speed@ 6.0 , 2 min recovery at 5.2) / 5 min cool down
Actual: skipped the incline and did the long run because I knew that I probably wouldn’t have the time to do it this weekend. 70 glorious minutes with NO walking at 5.5mph (roughly 11:19 pace. 6.2 miles total
I had a lot of mom guilt for doing this, but my boss said I could leave early for the long weekend, so off I went to get my long run in before heading home. Jesse stays home all day with the kids so I know that it isn’t “fair” to ask for 2 hours after I work to go on a run. I would HATE it if the tables were turned and he did that constantly. So, I neglected to tell him I got off work at noon. Of course I mentioned it as I was heading home, ” just got done with my run- headed home! see you soon” I brought food and energy drinks, so he wasn’t too mad haha! Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. The weekends I pick up the slack and I try to push him out the door to do whatever it is he wants and get enough alone time.

the afterglow of an amazing 6 miles – my longest run since last year!!

Saturday– Plan: 70 min long run
Actual: REST!! since I did my long run yesterday I knew my legs needed rest. Before bed I did some deep stretching and in the morning I did some more. There was still some lactic acid that needed to be pushed out. We went on a walk to get donuts – which were DELICIOUS! – and then had a late morning nap. I found one of my podcasts I’ve been listening to updated and released a new one so I took the dumpling out for a little walk at 1pm (it was hot but not too bad) and we did a little SLOW 30 minute walk around. Again, just to get out of the house and let dad take his own nap!

The most important mosquito net for the bebe!

Sunday – Plan: rest – we went to the pool and played but it was a restful day!
We picked up a great little floaty for the dumpling that has a great shade too, so we floated in the pool and relaxed and then she fell asleep on me in the shade.

Weekly Mileage: 16.45 miles!!!!

While this is not normal content, I wanted to share the GIANT ant we found in one of our watering jugs! But we are getting really into gardening and ALMOST got a whole ass chicken coop and chickens and all that. Then we decided that we should be home owners for at least a year and get our garden flourishing more before taking on even more responsibility. We tend to do that, pile on a lot of responsibility lol. So, we put the brakes on the chickens. So, the picture doesn’t do this guy justice, but we believe it was a tar heel ant and it was well over 1.5 inches!

Week 20 (of 2022)

** This is my 150th blog post!! ahhhhhh!!** Also, I scrolled all the way back and realized I only started blogging when I felt “validated” or like I was a real runner and didn’t really document my losing weight. Which bums me out. But oh well.

So, I briefly mentioned my friend is going to be schooling to be a professional running coach and is offering to train me for FREE. We met a few years ago online and clicked and just bounce training and what not off each other. He has two little girls and I gave him advice on his first kid and its just been really cool! The running community really is A-1! So amazing. So anyway, before we start training my goal is to get my fitness better and be more consistent. Especially since last week I totally sucked. So I am going to start a 12 week Garmin training course to get my fitness back! So, since I am not trying to push myself pace wise, I figure that 60 minute 10k is a good goal, the easy running pace is just about right and what I normally do on the treadmill so it should work.

Monday – Plan: 35 min EZ, 5-10 min CD
Actual: I did it! I have recently found court room podcast and they are following the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard case. Need I say more? It was quite entertaining to listen to! I ran at 5.5 mph and did have to take a couple walk breaks because my body keeps having to p00p during my runs, so I definitely need to figure that out lol. Anyway, I completed it, I had ZERO motivation to even go to the gym. I’ve been feeling really crummy lately and just down on myself. But I went, and I did it. And I feel a little better, I also did some stretching after my cool down and some core work. oooooh my gosh! I totally forgot to mention… so lately more people have been on the treadmills, which I am FINE with except like don’t be on mine? lol… that is rude, I just have one I tend to gravitate towards. well, it wasn’t in use but someone was definitely there and sweated ALL OVER, like grossly sweat EVERYWHERE. And they didn’t clean any of it up. I saw no one on it when I walked in to change or anything. I decided I would just clean it up and run on it. But after cleaning it up I was so disgusted and just pissed I switched to a different one. Just pretty disappointed that someone left all their sweat on the equipment without trying to clean up EVEN A LITTLE BIT. But also, kudos to them, they really went all out haha

3 miles done! This is great, because I was hoping to get at least 3 miles, I know I am not running 10 min/mi as an EZ pace anymore and that it honestly feels HARD when I do run 10 min/mi now so I am happy I got to 3 and the distance felt great and easy.

Tuesday – Plan: 45 min Steady, 5-10 min CD
Actual: So, I was really sick today and didn’t make it to work, nor the gym. And I think it could have been from the gym. It was a little 12 hour sickness, but basically everything came out of me and there was no way I was making it to work. I nearly shat myself in the car! I had to turn around and go home and rush to the bathroom. Luckily work understood and I mostly slept and was in the bathroom. I managed to get the dumpling to take a 2.5 hour nap, I got to sleep for about 45 minutes or so and we almost met her sleep goal of 14-15 hours. *eye roll* because it’s hard to get a baby to sleep that long, it really does feel like ALL day long sleeping lol. Of course, the majority of sleep is during the night. I was craving waffles last night and toasted up some eggos which she loooooooved. So I am thinking of TRYING to make some spinach pancakes to see if she will eat it healthier.

I did make it 1.2 miles on a walk with River and Hendrix in the evening, but it left me running to the bathroom – it didn’t help I piled on the tapitio on my egg burrito. (barf)

Wednesday – Plan: REST
Actual: 4 MILES/ 45 minutes! Since I have been feeling unmotivated lately and so exhausted, I got some pre workout rather than spending $3 on redbull each day! I am taking it sparingly because I know I need to watch my caffeine intake while nursing/pumping and also my irritability levels gets high if I consume too much. So, as an experiment I used half a scoop and it helped create focus and intention, I was not jittery or bouncing off the walls like I have felt with other pre workouts- so now it just depends on how I deal at home. I was able to focus and keep a good momentum on the treadmill, which is exactly what I wanted! 45 minutes down, one 2 min break and one poop break (hehe) and it was done! I split it into 2 parts. I completed 4 miles! It felt easy? Maybe because I’ve rested a lot more than normal, especially yesterday and the naps. I can contribute it to resting and the pre I took. Garmin was not calculating right as it says I only burned 47 calories, had a TE (effort) of 1.0 – I’ve never gotten that before, not even walking haha. But, I was only interested in completing the minutes and my goal was to get near 4 miles. and I made it!

Thursday – Plan: 40 min XT
Actual: 40 minutes on the bike while watching Bling Empire (the reality show that is similar to Crazy Rich Asians) – I did almost 8 miles. I was so over it, and I found out that the “pre workout” I got is not pre workout lol – it is BCAA. Which is fine, it will help with recovery and fatigue and I don’t really need the extra caffeine all the time anyway.

Friday – Plan: 40 min Fartlek
Actual: I did it! 2 min warm up, 5 min @ 5.5 / 1 min @ 6.0 / 5 min @5.5 / 1 min @ 6.4 / 5 min 5.5 / 1 min @ 6.7 / 1 min walk / 5 min @ 5.5 / 1 min @ 6.3 / 5 min @ 5.5 / 1 min walk / 5 min @ 5.5 / 1 min @ 7.0 / 2 min @ 5.5 then walk then run to the bathroom to PEE!

I was noticing this week, I feel mostly back to normal postpartum, but one MAJOR thing I notice is I have trouble remembering things… and putting things away. For instance, I tend to accidentally leave out the sandwich supplies in the morning after making lunches – when I used to put them away right away. Also, I bring new gym clothes to change into and then forget to bring them into the gym. I also am losing things easily… like my keys, watch and watch chargers. I just am a little more forgetful and need to slow it down. (I’ll google these symptoms of course to see if I can do anything to help combat this forgetfulness) Anyway, I think that I might have to reschedule the long run to Sunday and take tomorrow as a rest day. We shall see how the schedule works. I am really proud of myself for getting Monday-Friday DONE! 🙂

so stinky from wearing the same BRA, SHIRT AND SHORTS 3 DAYS IN A ROW (ewwwww)

Saturday – Plan: 60 min LR (EZ pace)
Actual: REST/ CHORES

Sunday – Plan: REST
Actual: I ended up doing my 60 minute long run! I tried coercing the big nugget to get on his bike but he politely declined and hung out at home with dad. I did, however get the dumpling strapped up in the stroller SANS car seat. First run without it and she did great. Slept mostly through the whole thing. She is quite strong for 5.5 months and I was following my gut – I believe she is ready and I wasn’t going FAST or going on trails at all, so Im not asking for opinion on if it is okay she was in the stroller like that. 🙂 She was strapped in properly and chilling. We managed our longest run before the rains kicked in! 4.78 miles done! I felt strong and after I had my bcaa drink and stretched and I’m just feeling really strong and good. I’m proud of the last week of training.

Since we are going more by time than miles, I don’t have a “planned mileage”

Weekly mileage: 15.3 miles woo hoo!