In That Mood

I'm in that mood that we all know of and tend to look forward to.  The mood where you can go out and get a decent run in and then you still want to work out.

In all honesty, I started today with a plan, but when do plans ever work out?  It's unfortunately too true with my life.  I was going to run and then spend the day with a friend who is moving soon.  Then yesterday I found out I had to get some stuff done with my car early this morning.  I thought I was going to have to cut my run short, but luckily I was able to get a nice 5 mile run in.

Then I was supposed to spend the rest of the day with my friend, ya, that's not happening now either.  In fact, I'm thinking a nap very soon sounds like an excellent plan.  Then I'm thinking about doing another 20min circuit workout like the one I did yesterday.  

Other than my knee being super tight (which it has been all week), today has felt good and I can't believe I'm seriously considering working out again.  I guess we can say, I'm feeling inspired. I'm going to use this time to my advantage.  I know the time will come where I don't want to do anything and that time is probably coming faster than I'd like to admit.  

I Can Run Faster

This week I ran over 13 miles, which actually felt pretty good.  I ran 4 days, with 3 shorter days and then one longer day.  Today was one of those short days where I only ran 2 miles, but it ended up being a speed workout, which in all honesty was a complete fluke.  I was planning to focus on endurance since that's been hurting the last few runs, but the heat drained me pretty quickly and I was surprised about a half mile in to find I was running at a pretty decent speed.

Now I've been in a comfort zone for my running at around a 9:15 pace (during the running part and then sub-16 min when walking during my longer runs/lazy days).  I've been running this pace most of the year with a few quicker intervals thrown in here and there.  Well today, I ran my 2 miles completely sub-9 min miles.  I was pretty excited since this is the fastest I've run yet.

It's amazing how you can get into grooves without thinking about and then magically one day you realize, "oh!  I can run faster" or "I can work out harder!"  It was a nice wake up call; and I do mean nice.  It was inspiring and motivational to see that I could run at these speeds when I previously thought I had a nice pace and wasn't really going to worry about making them any faster.  While I might not be running the half marathon or full marathon with 8-something minute miles, it could happen a bit farther down the road if I can help it.

Another reason it was a nice surprise is because I've had a tough time with non-athletes and non-runners this week understanding the level of commitment I do put into my runs.  While I may not be in the same competitive zone that I was with swimming, I still put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into my runs.  Quite a few of the friends I've made in the last year don't understand why I got to bed early the night before a long run or why I don't have so many drinks at a restaurant.  Luckily I do have those who do understand (my friends from work were surprisingly understandable last night when I bailed from a party early), and I do see the rewards of my efforts.  Plus, I know those who really support me and my commitments and those people are in a whole other level of friendship to me (and family of course).

Running Down Memory Lane

For this last week, I've returned to California to visit friends and family and to attend a friend's wedding.  While I did have a lot planned, I can tell you I did probably only a fraction of what I wanted to do.  Yet I did get to my workouts.  Not only did I get a few runs in, but I got a circuit in and I walked every morning with my parents and our dog.

It was nice to get in some of my old loops, but I did realize how constricting my old routes were.  Yes, I have a few good 3-4, maybe even 5 mile loops, but after that I'm stretching it out.  I just feel like I'm not running all over town in Florida when I get my long runs in, but in California I feel like if I get in decent mileage I would run all through my town.  Still, I got to run past my old middle school and some of the familiar neighborhoods around where I grew up.  It was definitely interesting seeing what was changing and what wasn't.

Overall, it was a nice vacation because I didn't worry about what I was eating and how much I was working out.  Yes, I was logging most of what I ate, but still I was on vacation so I was giving myself an excuse.  The best news is that I really haven't gained a lot considering how much I was letting slip.  Not stressing about about many calories I've burned/need vs how many I'm eating has been a nice change and something I'm trying to continue to bring into my real life when I get back to Florida.  Less stress = easier balanced life.

I know I'll never be a size 0 and I'm happy with where I am and how I look.  Yes I can definitely point out areas I want to work on, but I'm also about to dive right into a marathon training plan and I'm always working on strength training so who knows what will happen in the future.

How Swimming Habits Help Me Now

I was a competitive swimmer for 14 years and loved it (at least most of the time).  This means that for a majority of those years I was working out 7-9 times a week, driving endlessly for competitions, and learning how to listen and train my body.  Well today, I realize that it's another aspect of swimming I really didn't think too much about that's helping my today.

With competitive swimming we don't just swim (ok, some of us distance swimmers do a majority of the time, but still).  We have dry land aspects to our training.  In fact, for some sprinters the dry land (weight lifting and cardio) can actually make up quite a bit of their workout.  Swimmers will come in, get whatever dry land their coaches have planned and then get in the water.  For me, it was running, stretching, or calisthenic circuits.

Well today I working on some calisthenics and weight training when I realized something.  My morning routine of either running or circuits was just like my dry land.  Maybe not the methods or the actual exercises, but I was getting my dryland done to transition into what I see as my second workout of the day... work.  I never really thought about it before, but have multiple aspects to a workout can actually train you for multiple aspects of life.  I'm not going to throw 100% of my energy into my dry land because I know I have a few tours at work today, but I will through 75%-80% in.  '

I doubt I've explained it clearly, but for me I've just seen the connection between my competitive swimming life and my real life.  It's amazing how many life lessons I learned through swimming.  Leadership, work ethic, and now balancing life in more ways than just scheduling out my day...

When Life Gets In The Way

So I was completely ready to get back into running and then life got in the way again.  I was starting to get runs in, was getting a few circuits in, and then Wham! I got whatever is going around.  Ya, that stomach bug.  Luckily, it wasn't the worst flu in the world for me, but it still made life uncomfortable for a good few days.

The good news is that I'm finally getting over this bug and I'm anxious to run again.  Now, I am being a bit safe and making sure I'm completely over the bug before I do anything too crazy.  I have my friend's wedding and my first real vacation back to California since I moved just about a year ago.  I want to be healthy for the fun and craziness that is about to happen.

While I'm taking it "easy", I have gotten a few new toys.  I got a new physio ball, as I didn't bring my original one to Florida when I moved, an ab wheel, and a jump rope.  Everything I got was from Gold's Gym (apparently they have a commercial line now?) and the jump rope and physio ball are weighted so they should be fun to play with.

I used my new toys today and I was definitely feeling my light workout.  The physio ball was ok, but it's smaller than my original one so I'm debating on how I really like it.  I do like the stability of the ball, but of course balancing on my old one was also a part of the workout.  I was definitely feeling my jumping jacks since the rope is just slightly weighted.  My arms and legs were burning when I finished each set of 100.  Then there's the ab wheel which used to be one of the torture devices my coach loved to use.  It gives you a great workout, it's just a hard one.

Tomorrow I'm going to try and run, just a few miles, but I'm anxious to get out there again.  So life might have gotten in the way for a little while, but I'll eventually get it to balance out again.

Social Life vs Working Out

I'm still struggling finding good times to run, and this time work is only playing one part in it.  This week it's been my social life that's been getting in the way.  I've been running a bit more in the afternoons after work, but my friends and I also plan things at work and thus, my runs get pushed to the wayside again.

In the past, my social life was what took the hit for my athletics.  Competitive swimmers and a lot of other athletes, really don't get too much of a life outside of the sport.  That's one of the reasons your team tends to be tied into your social life.  Now, it's the opposite.

It's nice to have friends and hang out with them outside of work.  Plus, I've been introduced to a lot of great hang out spots and so we're constantly going out to relax after work or just on our days off.

Still, I know I need to find a time to run and it is constantly in the back of my mind.  I'm always trying to mentally work out when I'm working, when I can run, and when I'm spending time with someone.  Life is tricky... and whenever I think I have it figured out, it throws me a curve ball.

Luckily, I can always count on my days off from work.  Like today!  Tonight I'm seeing a movie with a group from work, but I was able to get a 5.25 mile run in this morning before most people I knew where even headed to work.

I know balancing work, working out, and a social life is doable... it just get complicated at times.

Surprising Myself

I have always been an advocate of running in the mornings.  I've never really liked running or even working out in the evenings just because I'm so tired from the rest of my day that I usually just pass out.

Today, I don't know... it was just different.  I got home and got my running clothes together before taking off on a run.  I set my Nike+ App to 2.5 miles because I knew that was the least that I needed to do for this run.  Well, I ended up getting 3.1 in.

I surprised myself on two fronts today.  The first being that I actually ran this afternoon and that I ran farther than expected.  I am definitely proud of myself.  Personally, this has been a great week.  My weight has been dropping pretty steadily and I've just felt good.

Considering today was the day 2 out of 13 days straight of work... I might not be singing the same tune next week.  We'll see though.  Maybe I'll continue to surprise myself.

The only surprise I wasn't happy with was the battalion of fire ants that showed up in my house this evening.  I have won the war... or at least the battle thus far.

Balancing Work and Working Out

I don't know about you guys, but work is tiring.  I have a job that's very active and by the time I get off, I'm usually ready to collapse, eat, and then go to bed.  Yet I still have to figure out a time to workout.

I have been doing 15-30 minute workouts consisting of different hand weight exercises and calisthenics.  I usually give myself about 30 minutes to get home and decompress before convincing myself to get off the couch or bed and start working out (usually the hardest part).  I've been pretty good about doing something each night, although it's been really, really hard.

The one thing I figured out in the last few months is that I have to take advantage of my weekends.  That's when I'm able to get my long runs in because I don't have to worry about being late to work or being sore then.  I also usually able to get my brick workouts in then as well.  Plus, when I do all of my hard workouts on the weekend, then I have plenty of time to recover and rest in the afternoon.  For me, that usually means a good breakfast or brunch after I clean up and a nap at some point in the afternoon.

So pretty much, I've learned that to balance my professional and athletic aspects of life, I work on strength and maintenance during the week and then get the hard and long workouts in on the weekends...

Relaxing and Balancing Crazy Lives

As I mentioned in my weekly report, life will be getting busy very, very soon.  The holidays are always big in the Disney parks and in all honesty are one of our busiest seasons.  So, I'm already preparing myself for some longer hours, as well as later hours (I work almost to midnight on New Years Eve!).

Then there's just the craziness of life.  I've been able to buy a house with the help of my parents and they should be breaking ground within the next week and a half to two weeks. Then it should be built in 6!  I'm trying to find a permanent job.  And of course there are always little things like cooking dinner and running errands.

Life's crazy... which I'm guessing goes for a lot of people.

So how do we relax?  There definitely needs to be some balance in our lives and so we need to get a break from everything.  Here are the ways I have come to relax:

1. Stretching- It's good for your muscles, it's good for you mind.  You can get a few minutes or longer just to yourself by going into your favorite spot and working out some of those knots.  With the cooler temperatures I've been thinking about moving my stretching outside so I can keep getting fresh air.
2. Lazy Days- I've been having days were I just sit on the couch and really don't move.  This is my day and I plan on relaxing.  Usually I watch some of my favorite movies, get a nap in, and just completely not care about doing anything.  It really works well when I've already cooked for that day and can just throw in some left overs for dinner.
3. Relaxing Activity- Even if I'm watching TV, I like to be doing something.  So I have different activities that are mind-numbing and relaxing.  I'm either writing something, anything, on my computer or I'm cross-stitching.  These activities even let me feel like I've accomplished something even though I've just been relaxing.  I shared the picture of the cross-stitch I finished before the Disneyland Half Marathon and here's the one I finished yesterday

So that's how I relax... Now balancing everything is easier to write, but a bit trickier to actually carry out.  I'm a HUGE fan of time keepers and I tend to write down things I need to do and by when.  I make sure I'm aware of all of my "to do" items before committing to something.

The biggest help to both relaxing and making sure my life is in balance is that I'm also always getting a decent amount of sleep.  I don't get less than 6 usually, and more around 8 hours.  I'll take naps on my days off and even sometimes when I come home from work.

So that's how I try and keep my busy life to a manageable level of craziness...  Amanda and RunToTheFinish as asked the same question in her blog post here (and it has a giveaway bonus!).