Sore Muscles: Happy Pain

Whoa...I've been a bad blogger lately- sorry!  I know, it's an excuse but life has been crazy lately and I've been so busy with work and general life stuff.

But I wanted to swing by to say....

Yeah...I am SORE right now.  Friday I did what has been my normal legs strength training routine since physical therapy for my hamstring injury.  It hits all the leg muscles and I don't use any extra weights because of my arms- just the bands.  I did 2 sets of each:  

- Sidesteps with hard band 

- Traveling lunges 

-  Bosu squats (love the bosu, so great for balance)

- Clamshells- 3 progressively difficult variations with hard band on each side

- Abs series to finish it out.  Including: roll-ups, standard crunches, bicycles, oblique crunches, and scissors.  2 sets of 15 of each exercise.  An extra set of standard crunches at the end.

So after some dancing Friday night that I'm sure just encouraged the soreness....my quads feel like they are raw meat.  I did bust out an old workout today since I didn't have time to go on a long walk like I wanted.....P90X Ab Ripper X.  It was positively brutal as I was expecting and wanting.  A bit more taxing on my legs than I was anticipating, but not too bad.  My abs however....they were crying by the last set. Tears in the form of sweat....the best kind.  Hoping that by tomorrow I can walk normally cause I need to get a long run in....

Trail Run!

I embarked on my first, what I would consider, real "trail run" today.  I've run at Fair Hill natural resource center before, but what I've run there is typically a very well kept single or double track road that's mainly gravel with few areas with roots, loose rocks, etc.  There's even a long stretch of pavement I've done before on my loops.  I ran a little bit of foot trails there with heavy rocks and roots, but it wasn't even a full mile at that and I mainly walked.

Now, that's not to say that I ran the entire 4 miles today.  Hardly! There were chunks, particularly during mile 2 that I had no choice but to hop from rock to rock and side step massive puddles and ankle deep mud.  And of course, sometimes end up in nearly ankle deep mud! For the most part, though, I was able to avoid the thickest mud and huge puddles by finding some creative paths.  Like this one:

One of many giant puddles across the trail

If you look carefully, you can see to the right of the puddle is a secondary trail that was much more passable- if you were willing to get a little pricked with prickly bushes.  I'm lucky that there was a young guy walking ahead of me with his dog, because he actually showed me some of the better ways to navigate the trail by picking through it first and tramping some of it down.

After getting through that nasty part plus some, I meandered up into a high trail through some really muddy woods that forced me to turn around because it was nearly impossible to pass through.  But it got me to a beautiful creek, so it was worth it.  After turning back around, I found another trail.  It climbed and climbed and at one point I almost just turned around because it didn't seem to ever end.  But if I had turned around, I wouldn't have gotten to enjoy this:

Running in the middle of a forest

It was so stunning and peaceful.  For a good stretch up this hill, I enjoyed running on soft pine needles with very little rocks and roots to watch out for.  When I got to this area, it finally started going down a little, so I took it as a sign I should turn back around....plus I had been hearing thunder in the distance, and I didn't want to get caught in the storm.  Well, I did anyway.  Good thing I hadn't been wearing my headphones, but I will say that my Garmin didn't dig on the rain AT ALL.  It basically beeped continuously  trying to toggle back and forth like I was touching the bezzle.  O well, at least it kept recording!  I was trying to keep my heart rate below 150 the whole time, but there were some hills that I just resigned to staying under 160.  When it started raining I picked up the pace and just ignored my HR because I wanted to get back.  It was the first time I've ever run in serious rain, where I was dripping from the rain instead of sweat.  It was a very interesting mix on my arms....sunscreen+ sweat+ rain water. Yum.   Within a minute of getting back to my car, the heavens opened up and it was pouring cats and dogs, so I'm glad I turned around when I did!

Think my shoes are broken in?

Now that I am freshly clean, stretched, foam rolled, and refueled..... I still have a smile on my face from that run just thinking about it.  It was great to have some time to just be....all that consumed my head during the run was not falling on my face or twisting my ankle- which took a lot of concentration! I brought my ipod along with me, but after only a single song, I turned it off and stashed it in my hand held bottle- I wanted to just enjoy the trail.  And enjoy I did :)


Do you like running or hiking on trails? What do you look for in a good trail?

Fitness is fun!

I try to keep that motto when I work out- have fun!  In general I try not to do things that I don't enjoy, particularly when it comes to exercise.  Bottom line is, I want to have fun, and suffering through a workout isn't fun.  Yes, I ALWAYS feel better afterwards, but I aim to enjoy the "during" as well.

Well, I've reestablished my fun in running with these:

Altra Intuition 1.5- zero drop

I had a great experience about 3 weeks ago with Miguel at Boston Street Running in Baltimore.  I went in to get new shoes because my wonderful and well loved Merrell Barefoot Dash Gloves were at the end of their running career.  I started out running on the treadmill for him in my Dash Gloves and we watched it back via his recording equipment that tapes all different angles.  His immediate reaction- you have good form.  I felt like I let out a breath I hadn't even realized I had been holding for weeks.  I'd been holding it ever since a day at physical therapy when Barb taped me running to test her new equipment.  I had just done my first decent run with the shoes on the road (not the treadmill), and the balls of my feet were red and painful.  In the recording, I was heel striking- and it was depressing.  I knew why, but it was still frustrating to see the tape given all the time, energy, and focus on totally changing my form. So, hearing Miguel continually praising my form every time I ran gave me the boost of confidence I needed.

I tried on a few different pairs of shoes on the treadmill, including the newest Merrell line, in a shoe with a bit more cushion.  Ultimately I went with the Altra Intuition 1.5, and I put in the 3mm strengthening sole instead of the 5mm stability insole to mimic the Dash Gloves as much as possible.  I wore them at the 5k on Sunday and a few runs before/after and have loved them so far! The only thing I wish I had a little more room on is in the toe box. I perhaps should have gone a half size up, because I am already missing the better barefoot toe spread you get in the Merrell's.  Everything else though is better, particularly the perfect amount of cushion that allows for a more comfortable feel on the pavement.

My Merrell Dash Gloves- today

I am still using the Merrell's for walking and lifting because I love the barefoot feel- but I was starting to get painful red soreness on the balls of my feet after running because they weren't giving me even minimal support anymore while running.  You can see why when you see the soles above ;)

So I've obviously been really enjoying running in the new shoes.  Well today, I brought another one of my loves back into the picture- I went to spin!!!  I haven't been since my tennis elbow surgery because of the potential arm strain.  I'm so glad I went, because it was AWESOME!  I'm also glad I waited because I was able to keep up with the class and totally kill it!  The most important part though, no pain! Of course getting a killer workout and sweating a lot was good, too. ;)

Soo....question for today is spurred on by an email I got this morning from Zensah encouraging me to try these: Zensah Ultra Compression Sleeves.  They are basically a tighter compression than the typical Zensah Compression Sleeves that I basically live in while traveling, after a hard workout, and sometimes during a workout.  Most serious athletes swear by them... but I once had a personal trainer tell me they were a waste of money, so everyone has their own opinion on them.  I can tell a difference in my recovery and comfort- especially during travel or after a long run or brutal workout.  Below is a little diagram from Zensah that helped me initially get into compression sleeves.  If you are interested in learning more, check out their blog.



Do you use compression of any kind before/during/after a workout? What do you use?

Race tomorrow....

Apparently tomorrow is a really popular race day- I know of several bloggers that are running half marathons tomorrow.  Good luck to Linda and Jen!

Well, tomorrow- after a week of work exhaustion in Portland- I will be joining them in racing.  However my race will be a 5k.  My initial thoughts are around it "just" being a 5k, but the reality is that every run, every race is important.  Tomorrow I will be lacing up my new shoes, pinning on my bib for the Delaware Ovarian Cancer Foundation 5k.  This is a race that has a lot of personal meaning for me because my mom is an ovarian cancer survivor.  We do it every year as a family.

I am overdue to give a recap of what's going on with me lately- particularly my dabble into heart rate monitor specific running training.....

But I wanted to throw out some goals for tomorrow:
Duh goal: Finish at 37:12 which would be a 12 min/mile
Hope Goal:  Finish under 35: 37 which was my last time on this race
Awesome Goal: Finish under 35 minutes

I know, you are probably thinking why am I not giving myself some harder goals? Well...lots of reasons, all centered around my continual transition from high support shoes to barefoot and maintaining proper form above all other priorities.

So, we'll see what happens tomorrow....it's going to be fun, I'm sure!

I was on TV!!!

Yeah....the local NBC station did a feature story on me- it aired on Thursday.....and here ya go!

260 Pounds Gone!

It was done by WBAL in Baltimore and it became so popular, it got onto AOL most popular! I saw it when it was at #12.... The only thing that is kinda hard to stomach is some of the nasty comments on there.  Luckily there aren't many, and most are nice and encouraging.  But ouch- some people are just mean!

So, please go check it out- let me know what you think!  I haven't mentioned it here yet because I was scared- I didn't want to jinx it!  I've been worked up before about things and potential media coverage and then nothing happens.  It was so disappointing when the People Magazine thing didn't pan out, and more recently with a work thing.  But this for real happened, wild!

What's the most amazing to me is how 3 hours of taping can be condensed into less than 3 minutes of video...lol.  They interviewed my husband and I for an hour, then spent another hour taping teasers, cut outs, fill ins, etc.  The photographer also came to a weight watchers meeting! That was pretty cool, so check out the link and see! :)

Run for Boston

Did anyone else do this today?  All the local running stores were holding "Run for Boston," some silent runs.  It's been a week since the tragedy happened and somehow I still feel sick to my stomach every time I hear about it or think about it.

It's interesting how sometimes your friends know you better than you know yourself.... This weekend Adrian was busy with work on Saturday night and I could just picture a major binge happening if I didn't stay away from my house.  After a great horseback ride with my mom (the first ride since my surgery!! Wahooo!!), I met up with some friends for sushi.  I got this really tasty, banana roll that had eel and you guessed it- banana! It was like a desert roll and DELICIOUS.  So glad a friend suggested, and that I have been converted to sushi and the deliciousness it offers :)

yummy!

After dinner, we headed over to a friend's place for some games.  Before we got started, I was sharing with Jen all the crap that's been loading on me lately.  I can't talk about it on here because of confidentiality, but it's really been causing me added stress.  And then I just can't seem to stop thinking about what happened in Boston and how screwed up it is.  If coverage is on tv I get sucked in BAD, so I've been trying not to even watch tv.  But Jen nailed it on the head exactly what I couldn't quite put words to before-  these runners, who run the Boston marathon, who were so tragically affected by this tragedy.....they are my "heroes."  They are people I look up to on a real level, not just some fictional character from far away or in a comic book.  It's been a goal of mine for at least a year to complete a marathon.  The idea of competing at Boston is a huge dream of mine....to be that good to qualify to get there- wow!!  Definitely something I look up to and admire to all those that accomplish that goal of competing in Boston.  So, it just hit me harder than I would have thought because it's just too close to home, too close to a dream.

Having said that, I have never felt stronger before that I WANT to run Boston.  Even if it takes me 20 years, I WILL run Boston.  Because I'm a fighter.  When I struggle, I don't just take it laying down.  I stand up and fight against people or things that are trying to hold me- just like the people in Boston.  I run for Boston.

Tough week

This week has been....good in some ways and terrible in others.

Work is good....there's potential for it to be majorly good soon and make my daily work life happier- but not sure yet.  I can't talk about it anymore than that just in case somebody from work reads this.  But what I can talk about is that I was in Pittsburgh this week for a meeting and some hospital visits.

First off, security has been tighter (duh) and at BWI on Tuesday they actually grilled me a bit on my drivers license- it was interesting.  I also had to show it and my boarding pass to at least 3 separate people.  Normally once you show it once, they tell you to put it away until you get to your gate, so that was interesting.  Security in Pittsburgh was nothing different and went smoothly today.  What didn't go smoothly- my darn flight is delayed....like majorly.  I should be at my house by now, typing this post from my cozy couch.  But instead, I'm sitting in the airport waiting through this 2.5+ hour delay.....yeah.  My flight was supposed to take off at 5:55pm, It's new estimated departure time is 8:40 make that 8:55pm!!! As I was about to finish this entry, it got delayed AGAIN.  So....that's a 3 hour delay!  I hope it doesn't get worse....

Ok so the bad part about this week.....I have been in a FUNK.  A bad funk, that seems to take over my senses when it comes to food and exercise choices.  I have some examples (duh):

1.  Tuesday's dinner was good- a simply grill half portion of tilapia from Red Lobster with double brocolli and a side salad.  And then....they had to throw in 3 of their sinful garlic biscuits into my to-go bag. THREE!!  The devils!  So what did I do?  Of course, I ate them all.  Like...savored every single crumb.  It was pathetic.  It's been at least a year since I went that biscuit crazy!

sinfully delicious

2.  After picking up my dinner on Tuesday (before I knew about the biscuits), I decided I deserved a treat to go with my healthy dinner.  There were fresh baked peanut butter cookies in the lobby.  Did I get 1?  No, I went for 2 of those delectable creations.  Even after the biscuit episode, I chowed down like they were the last cookies known on the planet.

Just try and resist me!

3. Tuesday....yeah it just keeps piling on.  I didn't work out. At all.  I had plenty of time when I got done with my hospital visits and got checked into my hotel.  I kept putting it off, then was going to work out after dinner.  But after the biscuits and cookies my head said- why workout you crazy woman?  Instead I did this:

Hello TV!

4.  I woke up Wednesday ready to burn off the binge that was last night.  I get on the treadmill nice and early with plenty of time for a run, I warm up....and then I just...don't run.  I honestly can't explain it.  Somewhere during my warmup I got it into my head that I should just do an incline walking workout.  It's not that this is a bad workout, don't get me wrong....but I just stuffed my face with MAJOR calories the night before and I needed to run.  I promised myself I would get another workout in after my meeting.  (If you think I did, you must be outside your mind at this point).

5.  Wednesday night, as if the Tuesday night fiasco was not enough, I ordered out from Olive Garden. My favorite low calorie meal there is awesome, and under 10 Points Plus.  I meant to ask for no bread but forgot....so they gave me FOUR breadsticks.  FOUR.  WHY WOULD ONE PERSON NEED FOUR BREADSTICKS?!!?  I started with just 1....then something took over my body and demanded I eat another one...and another one before I came to my senses and poured water on the last one and threw it in the trash.  Ridiculous Colleen, ridiculous.  My stomach turned and made crazy noises the entire night while my entire digestive system revolted.  There was no getting on the treadmill now because I was back and forth from the bathroom the majority of the night.  Fantastic.

me likey breadsticks!

Today I snapped out of it and was on the elliptical for 70 minutes. Then did a solid 10 minutes of hard abs. BAM!!  I felt like I was back for the first time since the bombs went off in Boston.  I've felt slightly zombie like since then, but that hard and heavy sweat finally broke whatever was going on in my head.  During this enormous wait at the airport, I spent the first 30 minutes just walking the airport.  It was great.  I felt like I was back to my normal self.  I also went to a weight watchers meeting today, which helped my head get back in the game.

Ok....time to head over for boarding soon so I'm signing off.  Hope everyone got to enjoy some nice weather today- it was 85 in Pittsburgh today!


What do you do to snap out of a funk?