Everybody Hurts

I know yesterday I complained that everything was hurting. Well, I got no sympathy at practice last night. We were doing MORE HILL TRAINING (yay!), which is not fun under normal circumstances, and especially not fun when you're hurting. After doing several repeats, I asked the worst question you could possibly ask- How many more of these are we doing? The coaches groaned and I explained that everything on the lower half of my body was sore. Nothing hurts like an injury, just sore from so much darn running. They basically said that everyone's sore, we're training for a marathon after all, and try to think about what's not sore. I sort of sighed, and went back to my running. I wanted some sympathy dammit, but they're right. The marathon is 39 DAYS AWAY. I've done a lot of running, and things are bound to be a little angry. Just do your workout and unless you're in serious pain, don't complain. It was a little humbling and I feel kind of like I cheated myself out of a good workout because I was too worried. Good news was I just missed the bus and ended up chasing it down the street a few blocks. I think I got a pretty decent workout there :)

Nitty Gritty

Good news. I finally got that pastry. It was pretty delicious, even though it was a little dry. I should have eaten it on Saturday.

I also made an effort to replenish my lost salt too. It was a rough effort.

Now back to the running. I remember commenting to someone that training for my second marathon was easier than the first. Well not quite. Now I'm at the part in my training where everything starts to hurt. Things that have never hurt before ever are hurting. And the same old hurts are starting to come back. This is the part in my training where I really really REALLY begin to question my sanity. Luckily I get to start tapering in just a few short weeks. The taper is my favorite part ever.

Also if you want to make all my hurts a little better, you can donate here! http://main.acsevents.org/goto/runninglisa I promise it will make me feel better.

Feelin Weeeeeeird

I've had kind of a weird week. On Tuesday, I just started feeling...weird. I don't know how else to describe it. I was sooooo tired and my body just started feeling not normal. I went to the run on Tuesday night because I thought I was just tired, but half way through the workout, I felt like it was something more than that.

So Thursday and Friday I stayed home from work, and I didn't run at all. I felt really guilty for not getting my runs in, but I just felt weird. This morning I was feeling normal again, so I met up with a few teammates and we went for a run in the park. It started not so great. After 3 miles, I thought I wasn't going to make it. Then around 6, I felt great. I finished with about 12 miles and actually felt pretty good.

But then a few minutes after my run, I started feeling weird again. I knew I was feeling weird when I didn't want my post-run pastry. (I still bought a Boston cream donut from Bouchon, but I'm saving it for later.) All I wanted post-run was watermelon. Luckily Whole Foods was nearby. I ended up scarfing down watermelon chunks as I waited for the subway. I don't like this whole feeling weird thing. I think it has something to do with electrolytes. Post-run, I was COVERED in salt. I don't think that's good. It means my sweat is really salty, and I'm probably losing a lot of electrolytes. I think I'll have to try salt tabs next time. But I'm sure no one here cares about my electrolyte levels, so instead, here's a picture of the cat.

He went to the vet today and other than very dirty ears, he's very healthy. Yay!

Cupcakes for Dinner

Last night we hosted our mission give back night at Hope Lodge. We host these every month as a way to provide relief to the residents and their caretakers at staying there. Last night we decorated cupcakes and watched Up. We had some pretty awesome cupcake decorators.



Here we have a funny face, a panda, a crab and a monster. We're a talented bunch. The movie was good, as always, and the guests really seemed to like it. We got to hear about some of their treatments. One woman has been coming here every few weeks for a month and a half for a very aggressive breast cancer. Now she's on an experimental drug that's really working for her. It's just nice to connect to the cause, and to see that the money we raise does have some effect. It makes all the hard work feel worth it. Plus it was really fun having cupcakes for dinner :)

Now tonight, I will run them off.

18 miles- DONE!

Saturday I didn’t get my run in. I had to bag watch. In the pouring rain. It was awesome. I got a little bored and took videos of myself singing “It’s Raining It’s Pouring.” They weren’t pretty. I won’t share them with you. But I will show you my beautiful trash bag shirt. They’re the next big thing in fashion.

Good news is today was perfect weather for a run. It was in the 60’s with low humidity and nice cloud cover. I’d like to request this weather for the marathon please. I got up early and headed to the park for my run. I was super excited because I made arrangements to meet up with Michelle for one loop of my run. I just had to get through the first 8 miles. There was a race going on in the park, and there were lots of interesting people to keep me entertained. There was a guy juggling while running. Yes, juggling. I passed him twice, and he just kept on juggling. Running a marathon is THAT easy that now you do it while juggling. Some people are over achievers.

Then I met up with Michelle. It was soooooooo nice to run with her. It was just like old running times. We chatted as we plodded along. It made the time pass and before you know it, I had 13 miles done. Thanks Michelle! I had planned to go for 18, so I had one loop left. Sometimes I think of Finding Nemo when I’m running. There’s that part when they say “Just keep swimming.” I like to repeat to myself, “Just keep running.” So I just kept running. I actually felt really good and my last mile ended up being my fastest. I think that means I’m awesome ☺ Also awesome, I ran in my new shoes and didn’t get any blisters! These are my new official long run shoes!

Post run, I had to get a pastry, so I made my way to the Hungarian pastry shop. The cream puff was calling to me.

The cream was the most decadent thing ever. I thought the puff part would be puffier, but I'm no cream puff expert and it was still delicious. I’ve decided that next week, I’m going to go for 20 miles, and that deserves a Shake Shack burger and a milkshake. I’m actually looking forward to my 20 mile run!

This has nothing to do with anything, but I went to a screening of True Wolf on Friday night, and we had a special guest join us after the movie. This is Atka, and he’s a wolf.

I died a little.

Back on Track

Ok. I did it. I really didn't want to but this morning when my alarm went off, I actually got up and went for a run. Luckily the kitty was helping by being more annoying than snuggly. He must have known I wanted to get up. Even when I was out for my run, I still didn't want to. But I'm training for a marathon, gosh darnit. So run I must!

In other news, I fear this is about to become a blog more about my cat than anything else. I took a picture of him when I got back from my run and turned on the shower.

As soon as the shower comes on, there he is. He just stands there and stares. Sometimes when I'm in the shower he'll come and stick his face under the curtain, and stare some more. I'm not sure what he finds so fascinating about showers.

Sleepy Runner

I’ve been a bad runner lately. Actually more like a sleepy runner. Everyday I’ve attempted to get up and run, I could barely keep my eyes open and went back to sleep instead. Kitty doesn’t help either when he snuggles up in the crook of my arm. How can I wake the kitty? Bit I promise that tomorrow, no matter how nicely kitty is snuggled, I WILL get up and run. I WILL!

I was awake enough to make it to practice last night, just in time for MORE HILL TRAINING!!! I’m always excited for hills. This week’s workout was similar to last week’s- run up the hill as hard as you can. I told Krista that last week this workout made me feel like I wanted to throw up. She said that means I did it right. So I did it again. There was more running and more wanting to throw up. SO MUCH FUN!! That was all sarcastic and none of it was fun or exciting. It was exhausting. But I did get some new shoes, which is actually very exciting (if you’re a runner or a lame person like me). There was nothing wrong with my other shoes, but I had been feeling like I might like a little extra cushion sometimes, plus shoes were 40% off for DetermiNation athletes. And most runners have more than one pair of shoes. So I bought these bad boys.

I don’t actually know what they are, other than Nikes. I wore them on the run last night and didn’t take the box with me. But I can tell you they are VERY comfortable. They have a little bit more squish and the toe box is very soft. I didn’t get a single blister! These might have to be my new long run shoes.

In other news, kitty is OBSESSED with the bath tub. He sneaks in there and stares at the water drops left in the tub. He's weird.