“High” From the Weekend

HELLO!! HELLO!!

I have been BUSY!! Here is a quick recap of all the craziness going on!

These past couple of weeks have not been not been so stellar in the mental department.

I am not saying that I am crazy! But I am saying that I got in a major funk!

I know I talked about this slightly the other day, however this time I really tried to focus more on why I was feeling this way.

I think it started because the last couple of long runs have not been the best. Either my legs were sore, the blisters on my feet were rubbing, or I was just tied.

I have been biking a lot lately so I also feel this was to blame, and I maybe should not be going as far and as hard as I am doing. But I love it!

I was in such a funk that I even started questioning why exercise? Why eat healthy? (I was still eating just like I do, vegetarian/ Mediterranean/ dairy free), but just thinking that this was stupid and being fat and out of shape would make me happier!

I know, CRAZY!!!

I also realized that I was not wanting to wake up at 5:00 AM and workout.  Again the crazy, mental funk which I was having!

So by the time I was at work (8:00 am- 5:15 pm), I did not want to work out at all. I was tired, hungry and had this cloud of online school work which had to be done.

This was most prevalent on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Like really bad.

However Thursday rolled around and I was feeling SICK.

Nausea big time, shaking like I was 140 years old and a killer headache.

However I planned on biking. I knew that by exercising I would feel better and in the end, this might bring me back to my motivation of a marathon, and a possible Tri (!!).

So I laced up the shoes, biking shoes that is, strapped on my helmet and strapped on my bike helment.

I wanted to go to my favorite trail.

Rail to Trails.

The trail use to be an old line for trains. However, the line became useless when they opened up a different line. So they turned it into a path! The weekends are awesome because so many people go out to get in their sweat on! You have runners, bikers, roller bladders, and walkers! Such a motivation, when I see others exercising it makes me want to sweat and feel that “high”!  And when I see other exercising this really motivates me!

Well 3:00 on a Thursday afternoon will not get you many people out there! However it was a wonderful ride, at times I felt shaky from not feeling well, but eventually got my stride and felt AWESOME.

Friday, I woke up early at 5:30 and decided to do a run. I was not expecting much at all, but somehow this run was GREAT!

5 miles felt like nothing and I beaming from ear to ear with each stride. The run ended and I truly felt like a runner, an athlete, myself!

The rest of the day was spent catching up on homework and going golfing with Bruce. We golf when we have some down time. It is something that we both enjoy a lot.

Friday I was playing my best game since high school! It was great!

Friday in general was one of the best days in a long time!

Saturday morning we woke up early and I went for a 22 mile bike ride and Bruce went out for a 5 mile run.

It was a GORGEOUS morning!

I had one of my fastest rides and it was awesome.

However, I knew that I should have taken it easier because the next day was my long run for the week….

Sunday. Um. Let us see. I woke up pumped for my long run. We decided to go out a little later, and I figured the weather was going to be cooler.

Wrong.

That was a big mistake. We started at like 7:45, and it was already starting to heat up.

Not good. I am very very sensitive to heat when it comes to running. (Bruce would say I am sensitive in general 😉

So at about mile . I had to stop and I realized at this point, it was going to be a very long run.

Mile 3 came and I stopped again and this time I had to find a bathroom and I was overheating.

Not many places are open that early on Sunday morning so I ended up finding a port-a-potty at a local track.

And I started to run again.

But I was in a lot of pain in my stomach and it was just awful.

AWFUL.

Bruce passed me and he was going really strong, I was really happy for him! Once I had just 1 mile left, till I got back to the car, I decided to run it.

And I ran it strong.

When I got back to the car, I broke down crying and complaining.

I realized that sports will disappoint you at some point in your life, and you will have to get over it and move on.

Today is my move on day. I know that I can run, bike, be the athlete that I am.

Today I want to prove to myself that I can and I will be that athlete.

Sorry for the long post, and delay, but my weekends are always just jammed back! I love it!

Have a great day!

See you tomorrow!

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Listen to Yourself, You May be Smarter Than You think!

Good evening!

How is everyone doing on the fine day?!

The weather here (Ohio) is perfect!

Hot and humid, perfect weather!

Yesterday was interesting, and today was also.

To be honest I have been in a really big funk.

I get these every once in a while.

I just don’t have the PASSION to run or bike or work out. But I think I am becoming better at understanding why.

This is how I want to feel, but my body is saying NO! This is frustrating!

1. I am tired and need a rest day

2. My “day” is near

3. I need to switch up my workout schedule  (change the days I bike, run, swim)

So back to yesterday.

I was planning on a 30 mile bike ride. Easy, simple, not really putting much into it.

Well my plan of 15 out and 15 back was cut short because of the fact what I thought was 15 out was only about 7.5 miles out. Mentally that did something to me. So I kinda found this 2 mile loop and did that.

Then I found this trail and it was more mountain biking trail than road bike trail. Making my speed drop and increasing my time. Two things I was not very happy about.

I love you but at the same time, the time was not good yesterday!!!

By the end of the ride I was more tired from trying to find a decent path that I stopped at about 22.5 miles.

I am not complaining about this time at all, it was just not what I was wanting.

Then today, I told myself.. “Elizabeth, take a rest day”

Well the devil on my left shoulder was louder and I did some strength and a mile run. I was just tired out.

So I didn’t listen to myself, which makes me upset with myself but I also was okay for at least doing something.

Well now I have some school work to do and to re-do my work out schedule!

Have a great rest of your day!!

Put Me in Coach, I am NOT Ready to Play

Good morning!

How was everyone’s weekend?

Mine was great, I did some biking, some softball, a long run and had a great father’s day.

So let’s get to it shall we!

I don’t play sports.

I love playing fun games, like spud, and kickball, and back yard baseball.

You know my love of running, biking, swimming, strength training. (I also LOVE golf [I played in high school :)] and tennis).

To me though, those are not “sports.”

That is just me being active.

However, my office thinks that I “play sports” and somehow I got recruited to play in a softball league this weekend.

I think I was more distraught over the fact that this was cutting into my long run rather than being nervous about hitting and catching a softball in front of girls and guys I went to high school with!

So instead of lacing of my running shoes Saturday morning, I laced up my really old Mizunno Wave Riders 14 and headed out to play some ball.

Of course I got put as a catcher, and of course we were guaranteed 3 games, and of course I looked like an idiot the first time I went up to bat.

But by the end, I ended up having a lot of fun, getting to 1^st base a couple of times, getting to 3^rd base once, and scoring once!

So to say the least after a 30 mile bike ride the day before, then the softball game on Saturday, my arms and legs were VERY sore for my long run on Sunday morning.

The plan was 9 miles.

9 miles got done. It was not pretty. It was nowhere near fun. And I had no “runners high” after the run.

Bruce and I stayed together most of the time so that was helpful. Especially the first 4.50 miles.

4.5-6 I was really flying, I had some Powerbar Energy gels, which really seemed to work.

But miles 6-7 were hard and scary.

I realized that I did not eat enough that morning. I ate at 6:30 am, started running at 8:15 am. My fuel however was portioned to the size of someone who was going to run in 30-45 minutes after eating.

And you can see from the time I was almost at 2 hours with no fuel.

First mistake right there.

So at mile 6 I knew right away what my issue was.

I started to get really hot, I felt like my blood was on fire. Then I switched to extremely cold.

I had no more fuel or water and Bruce was no where in sight.

I had to sit down and just do a couple of deep breaths.

Told myself, this is NOT a race. DO NOT beat yourself up! Be safe! But be strong becuase you are an athlete!

This helped me… ALOT.  And I was “ready” to go in about 10 minutes. Those last 3 miles were slooooow.

But I finished. When I got back to the car I busted out in to tears because of the sucky run/being scared/wishing Bruce there.

Bruce calmed me down. Got me a bunch of fluids and drove us home.

Thank God for Bruce.

The rest of the weekend involved eating, watching the US Open, and spending quality time with our fathers!

Even though that 1 mile of my long run was not great, I still think this was a great weekend!

Tonight I plan on riding 20-25 miles on the bike, doing some arm/leg stretches and just resting!

Have a great Monday!   

What are your exercise plans for today?!

Start to the Weekend

Good morning!!

How was everyone’s week?

Mine was great!

I didn’t get in much running. Which I am super bummed about. But I did get in a lot of biking!

You know how they say.. “runners high”

I think I have “bikers high”!!

Man I have been loving this biking, I feel so free, and it is just so different compared to running.

On the bike I feel like I can go whatever speed I want, the heat does not bother me and I never really get tired or feel in pain after the ride.

So let us step back few days to Thursday.

I gave blood on Thursday. I was anemic for a very very long time. And I was never able to give blood. However before my anemia I was so for some random reason I thought I would “sign up.” All the while hoping I wouldn’t pass the first blood test when they check your iron.

Well I didn’t pass it. That was a sign right there.

She then asked if I wanted to test my other finger on my right hand.

“um.. sure?”

How would my iron level be different in one hand and not the other hand? Weird.

Anyways, I just went with it and my other hand passed?!?!

Got my blood taken.

5:43 minutes later and I was walking out the door.

Then I started to feel sick.

Stupidly I didn’t eat or drink anything.

Nothing sounded good at all.

So I ended up taking a half day which was good. My stomach was not stealer feeling at all and then the blood being taken was not the best.

Once I got home and ate some food and rested,I felt great!

And headed out for a 20 mile bike ride. Do you expect anything less 😉

Let’s get ready to ride! Don’t smile. It makes you look BA. Haha 🙂

So lets jump to Friday. When the real fun began!

I woke up at 5:00 am per usual.

Got ready to run at 5:30.

Stomach not feeling to great. And legs still sore!!

Ehh.. so what I will push through.

Well I didn’t.

I felt weak and tired.

So instead of the 6 miles which were planned. I walked 3 miles.

Thus giving me reason to ride in the afternoon!

We work 8-1 on Fridays so I was stoked to get out there.

Goal was 25 miles. It ended up being 28.

I was happy with that. The roads were basically major pot holes and very grainy. Still a great ride.

And the hills.

The hills deserve a post all for themself.

But I felt strong. And powerful.

And wonderful.

Such great feelings come out on the bike!! I love it!

After the 2 hour-long ride. Sun, wind and hills. My body was TIRED!!

But Bruce and I planned on going out. So we went to Whole Foods for dinner. And did a little shopping. It was a wonderful time, and a great way to start the weekend!

Happy couple:)

How did you start your weekend? 

Any fun weekend plans? 

Well I am off to play some softball.. more on that later 😉

Catch you on the flip side!

The List

Hello hello hello!!

Wow I have not posted something in over a week! I give major props to those bloggers  who write 2-3 times a day!!

So I think we left off at my 6 mile adventure…

Let us not wait a second, a list is in order!!

1. have gone on 2 20 mile bike rides. I am using biking as my cross training during 1/2 marathon and marathon training.

2. I bought a new toy 🙂 The Garmin 310xt. Let us rewind a few days when my Garmin 305 who has been by BFF for the last 2 years, past away. It was the saddest morning of my life! So I started to use Map My Run, which is a great application, but not a great application for me. So I spent $$$$$$$$$ to get this! Best financial choice ever! 😉

Love

(Source)

3. I did the most INSANE leg workout on Monday. INSANE.

4. Woke up Tuesday morning to REALLY sore legs and STUPIDLY ran 5 miles. During that Tuesday morning run everything else felt great (besides the legs) so I kept going and going. And when I stopped. Let’s just say some choice words were in order and Bruce had to help me stand up.

5. Speaking of Bruce we celebrated his 25th birthday on Tuesday!! He is getting so old 😉

6. I have converted Bruce to a runner. Hehe. (He secretly loves it!) So of course all of his gifts were running gear!

A. Running shorts

Do you think they are too short? He does. But he is still going to try them out.

B. Running Tank Top

To show off those arms!

C. Water bottle for running specifically

If you don’t have one of these. Go. Buy. One. Now.

D. Timex GPS watch

7. I also got him tickets to Kings Island also! We are going for 2 nights and going to have a blast.

8. Gift giving is fun, because secretly  this is everything I love to do. And by giving it to Bruce, we can both do it together now!

9. Now back to running.. I ran a 9 mile run. Not my best. Not my worst. Just ehh.

10. I am still in so much pain from Monday night that I could not run today. I could not even walk. I am not kidding one bit. If you want sore legs do this workout! (Pinterest! Follow me!)

11. I am planning on running tomorrow morning. Cross your fingers!

Now that you are all caught up, go check out my June picture page!

And I will be back to normal posting again!!

My 6 Mile Adventure!

Good Morning!!

Wow it has been busy in my neck of the woods!

Yesterday was my first day of work full-time and the day before (Monday) I had 2  finals!

But now that everything is basically back to normally so will my posting!

So where did I leave off?

Lets’s see..

Sunday.. no workout (Studying, and a final, yeah on a Sunday.. it was weird!)

Monday.. no workout until about 7:30 at night. Ah yes! This workout was crazy!

So after my test I decided I was going to go for my run in order to study more in the morning. (By the way, my running in the morning has been slacking, and I don’t like it! More on that in a bit).

So Monday I planned on running 6. It was at a trail known as Glacier Ridge. Let me give you a little background on this trail. If it is windy outside, don’t even try to run this trail. And if you’re not in the mood for a  hill workout, don’t run this trail!

Trying to capture a picture of the intense hill, while running…

Well Monday it was both windy, and I was not in the mood for running hills.

Another back story.. I thought I had forgotten my wallet at home, and had a limited food supply. I eventually found my wallet, once I made it to the trail. Which was not good because the last time I ate was 12 and I was running 6 miles and I am sure you can tell by 7:30 I was very hungry. But I STUPIDLY decided to run!

Runners.. we can be stupid at times.

So on top of improper fulling on my end, wind, and hills, I knew was going to be an interesting run.

Around here as well the sun starts to set around 8. Thus it was dusk when I started out, this is a kill factor in a few more sentences.

So let’s get to running!

I started the run, and right away I told myself “Oh my goodness, I am so hungry.”  And I don’t know about you but when I am hungry that is the only thing that I can think of. Everyone that knows me, realizes they don’t want to be around me when I am in this state!

So I tried to block this out of my head, because remember how I said that I have been mentally not doing well with running? (Check out this article about over coming mental barriers when running!)

So I continued on my way, then BAM! A deer! I almost smacked right into a deer!! I have NEVER been so close, it was so scary! I kinda screamed and ran backwards and then stopped. The deer just stared at me. That made me nervous. Then it turned around and left with some MORE deer!

To say the least that was one running experience I will never forget! So after that I continued on my way, and my first split was 8:20. I was pleased but realized that was probably to fast considering the conditions!

But I continued to run.

I ran a big a%&  hill which almost killed me. But I always tell myself, when you go up you must go down! That mantra normally works on hills for me.

By half way I was feeling good, and when I turned around the wind, of course was still in my face so mile 3-4 was a little slower (8:35) but then the rest of the way I was really booking it!

In the end with all of the conditions and events I felt pretty good with this run!

Yesterday was a biking day (10 miles) and some lifting, and now today I was supposed to run in the morning. Well that didn’t happen I was just a little too tired from staying up to watch, Concert for the Queen. So tonight I head out for either 5 or 6 I still have not decided yet.

Next week I start training for my August race (1/2 marathon).

I am trying to PR this race (1:45-1:40).

I love training! So I am super excited!

Have a wonderful day!

Has any one ever ran into an animal while running?

What is the longest you have ever gone with eating before a run? 

Today is national running day! How are you going to celebrate? 

I Needed This One

Let us talk about yesterday.

It. Was. Awesome!

We decided to sleep in just a little bit because the weather we knew was going to be chilly, so instead of the regular 5:30, we started running around 8! So much nicer:)

Ready to go!

We also decided to try out a new trail.

This was not such a great idea for multiple reasons

1) The trail runs through the Ohio country side. Meaning, very boring.

2) It was windy and this course was wide open.

3) There were NO bathrooms on the course

This was the course.. look how straight it was!

Normally when we do our long runs we don’t run together, I pull head and run at the pace which is better for me. However I have been having issues where I will go out to fast and fatigue really bad at the halfway point. So yesterday I decided to stay with him for 2 miles.

This worked out great!

(Bruce does not have a GPS to know how far he is going, so I wear a bracelet and when the watches hits the half way part of the distance he is running, I lay the bracelet down so he knows:)

Once I pulled away my legs left really good, but mentally I was losing it. The course was so straight that I was begging to  see a hill or a curve or something!!

Boring but Beautiful!

Then I decided to turn on some music.

This helped me so much!

And the trail was starting to get full of people so that really helped a lot as well.

Once I made it to the halfway point I told myself to run the best 4 miles ever.

And you know what?

I did!

4-5 was really good I felt super strong

5-6 I was passing people (for some reason passing men makes me really happy!:)

6-7 I thought only one more mile! Then I realized I had 2. That split second thought made me slow down.. I need to work on that. But I picked the pace back up and busted out a 7:30!

7-8 I wanted to slow down, but I told myself if I did I was going to regret it, I did slow down for .25 just because I was in the heat of the sun and had NO WATER. But then I picked it right back up. And finished really strong.

I am going to pass you!

I was really proud of myself, because I kept reminding myself of my goals which I had set yesterday and I feel like I accomplished them!

Yesterday was a great running day and I am super proud of myself. This run was so needed!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

When Fridays Feel More Like Mondays

Today was another one of those super busy days.

Up at 5:00.

Debate about going to the gym.

Bargain with myself,  “If you go to the gym, then you can get some cinnamon pita chips at school.”

It’s the little things in life:)

So made it to the gym.

The gym was good.

10 mile bike (long run tomorrow means gotta have fresh legs:)

20 minute arms and abs.

Rush home, eat, pack lunch, pack everything else, shower, run out the door.

I had a final this morning. I think I did good! 🙂 I always doubt myself.

Then the real fun started.

I got paid to go to school today!! How awesome is that?!

So today was the day when all of the students who are in the masters program for nutrition present their research. My boss was asked to be a judge, thus being her intern, I was able to go with her! Helping her out and following her around counted as work 🙂

Masters student who I helped, me, my boss. Mission Nutrition!

Side note: I helped one of the masters students in collecting research so I was mentioned in her presentation!

After the presentations I was able to study some. Boring.

So let us discuss tomorrows goals!

1. Just another 8 mile run.

2. Beat my 8 mile run time from last week (1:11:12).

3. Mentally do not give up at the half way point.

Does anyone do this? I have this really bad habit! 

4. Make sure to fuel better and not eat gels at random times

I think these goals are achievable tomorrow! What do you think?

Welp gotta get back to studying!

Have a wonderful evening!

Hunger, Routines, and How they Relate to Running

Good Afternoon!

I realize that I love food.

I realize that I stink at taking pictures of food.

I realize that I stink at describing my food.

However, I still love to talk about it!

This morning when I was prepping for my day, a thought came across my mind.

“Does my body signal hunger? Or is my body in a pattern of eating at certain times?”

I thought this would interesting to discuss, because as I have stated in my About page, I am a very healthy eater. I absolutely love food, but I enjoy food which is healthy, clean, and has a purpose for your body.

So when this thought entered my mind, I thought well..

7:00 am– Breakfast

12:00-12:30– Lunch

3:30-4:00– Snack

7:30– Dinner

9:00– Snack

Wow.

That is really exact. This may seem boring or a lot of eating but 1) I have hypoglycemia (low blood sugar; it’s really bad). 2) I run

Okay back to my point…

The other day for example I was doing some work on my computer, I looked at the time, 4:05. My stomach was not making a noise. I didn’t feel hungry.

But after I thought all of this.

My stomach made a noise.

I felt hungry.

Hmmm…

So basically from all of this thinking, I have concluded that the body does get into a routine just like our everyday life. We are routine type people. We like things a certain way. I feel that our bodies like things a certain way. If we have trained our body to be a certain way, it will work like clock-work most of the time.

I can relate this to running in many ways, and I am sure you can too. Training for a race takes preparation and a clock workroutine. The early morning runs, tempo, easy runs, speed work, all of these different elements are a routine in our training plans. There can be upsets, but most days we know what to expect.

So I think this answered my question!

Please expand!!

Have a wonderful evening!

Sad and Busy

Good Afternoon!

How is the day going for you?

Mine has been super busy!

My normal routine has me waking up at about 5:00. This is a great time in the summer months because the sun is just about to peek through, which makes it great for getting my sweat on outside!

 I normally start working out about 5:30, and it takes me about 10 minutes to get to my workout location. It is super convenient.

So when I arrived at my destination this morning, I was really excited to run! You know that feeling? Well I was feeling it! I proceed to turn on my Garmin 305. Nothing. I tried again. Nothing. And again. Nothing. And one last time. Nothing.

I started to have a slight panic attack, and then I remembered I had my phone with a stop watch and I basically knew a route to get my 5 miles in.

So plan B occurred.

I am not a fan of plan b’s but better than nothing!

The Run

I felt really strong this morning, which was great since my last long run didn’t go to well.

I was strong, but I had no idea what my splits were. Which made me kinda upset. I am such a numbers person so not knowing literally killed me!

I know at my half way point (2.5) I was at like 21 minutes, which I was glad about!

I finished the run strong, and was pleased with my time!

43 min approx

5.25 miles

After…

Then it got busy

Drive home make breakfast (egg whites, Great Harvest whole wheat bread, and watermelon)

Get cleaned up

Get my stuff together for the day

Drive to school

Have a food tour at school (Which was awesome! We went to a Kroger Bakery, and got a lot of products!!)

Walk about 3 miles to get lunch (bad idea)

Go to class

and repeat the last one 3 more times..

Long busy day!

How was your day? Busy? Relaxing? 

Any running? Walking? Biking? Other?