Staying Positive

This morning was nice, warmer than I expected, but nice.  I set out on a run that I hoped would be about 4 or 5 miles.  I really needed to start getting my outdoor runs back up to a decent mile.  I got out on the first mile... felt fine.  Then about 1.6 miles in, I started falling apart.

For the first time in a long time I found myself suffering from a side cramp.  It didn't last long, but was replaced the fatigue feelings and an uneasy stomach.  The funny part was the fatigue wasn't in my legs, it was in the rest of my body.  So overall, I just didn't feel good.  My legs felt fine and like the could run, but with the rest of my body effectively trying to shut down, I knew my goal of at least 4 miles wasn't happening.  I still need to go to work today so I couldn't completely kill myself.

I'm 2.5 months out from running Lumiere's challenge.  While I feel ok about the 10k, I'm nervous about the half marathon, especially since it's right after the 10k.  I have a recovery plan and know how I plan to run the 10k to be ready for the half, but my mileage and endurance has just never gotten up to where I wanted it to be for the race.  The mornings are starting to get nicer so I'm hoping that I will be able to build up my longer runs again, even though it feels like I'm doing so from scratch.

It's in these times that I have to think about why I'm doing all this.  There are a few main reasons... the money I've invested into running the races, the time I've invested in training runs, and the support I've gained from friends and families.  They all know and somewhat expect me to be able to run these races and here I am questioning myself.  I have to know what they know.  I can do this, I will do this. I will run Lumiere's Challenge and while it is going to hurt, I will finish.  It won't be my best time, but I have never expected it to be.  This is my return to runDisney running... this is just the beginning for another chapter of running.

Currently I'm watching the Olympic marathon and I'm finding myself excited about my race because of this one.  I never expect to be an olympic runner, but I can be my own personal running hero because I have beaten the odds in the past and I plan to do so again, and again, and again.

In the coming weeks, as I prepare for Lumiere's Challenge, I'm going to look at what really motivates me.  I'll write posts on the random to the understandable but each thing gets me moving for one reason or another.  And hopefully, writing about my motivations will help me find my feet and find my endurance again!

Running To The Dark Side

After some debate with coworkers we finally settled on another race to all run together.  Originally it was supposed to be the Glass Slipper Challenge during Princess Weekend, but then one of the guys wanted to run the challenge with us, but didn't want to do a princess themed race (can't really blame him).  So we changed our focus.  Three of us have now signed up for the Dark Side Challenge during Walt Disney World's Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend.

I'm excited since this will be the first time running during the Star Wars weekend.  I was lucky enough to work last year's race, but now to get to run it and add it to my growing list of races run... I'm excited!  Not sure if we'll do costumes... that might include more convincing, but you never know.

runDisney Virtual Run Medals

After a bit of waiting, I finally have my virtual run prizes!  Since I did the full series of 5k runs through the event I received not 3, but 4 medals.  One medal for each run and a series medal to top it off.  Then as an extra bonus, a tumbler!

I knew I was getting all five items when I signed up, but what I wasn't expecting was the size or the quality.  I was expecting possibly smaller medals and probably made out of rubber like the normal 5k medals at the real runDisney events.  I was wrong.

First, the medals were metal, which shocked me.  However, with the announcement of metal medals at other runDisney 5ks, I really shouldn't have been too surprised.  Second, the medals were huge!  I was not expecting them to be so big.  They rivaled the sizes of some of my other race medals (pictured below).

Overall, I'm very pleased with the medals and the event overall.  Would I have liked to have my medals sooner?  Of course, but they did say 30 days after the event ended and it was right around that 30 day mark so I'm definitely not complaining.  If anything, considering the quality and size of the medals, I am completely happy that I signed up for these runDisney virtual 5ks and will probably be signing up for more in the future!

FitBit Blaze

I have been the very happy owner of a FitBit for the last year and a half or so.  I've had the Charge the whole time and loved it.  I'm completely conscious of how many steps I am or am not taking each day and even challenge myself to see how soon I can hit certain amounts.  There are a few days at work I can hit 10,000 steps before lunch which I get really excited for!

However, my last Charge had some band issues and what I thought was a little tear that could last till the new year I discovered to be a big tear and what looked like band disintegrating on the inside.  Luckily I had a warranty through Best Buy (always buy the warranties...) so I decided to take it in and upgrade to FitBit's smart watch, the Blaze.

After one day... I'm even more in love.  I have a different clock face on mine (there's 4 you can choose from) and I have a black band because work is a bit picky on that.  It also gets call notifications and full text notifications.  Pretty much I can see who is calling, I think I can trigger my phone to answer the call from my watch, and I can read text messages (still have to reply on my phone).  In other words, I've been having a ton of fun with it.  The heart rate is cool, not sure how accurate it is, but as long as it is in the general range I'm happy.

I wore mine at the gym today for an elliptical workout and the heart rate was only a few beats off what the machine was claiming my heart rate was.  It also seemed to be more accurate in understanding my workout than my old Charge was.  It logged mileage, heart rate, calories burned, and steps.  Before I would have to alter a few things, but this time I just finished my workout and kept going!  I went in and started the workout, telling my Blaze I was on the elliptical, but there is also a smart workout feature that is supposed to tell when you're working out so I'm going to try that out tomorrow on my run.

There is also a feature called "FitStar" that is supposed to give you a workout if you need one.  Things like crunches, pushups, and other body weight exercises.  So essentially I will always have a workout with me regardless of where I am.  I guess this means I have no more excuses...  I'll report back on FitStar after I've been able to test it in the next week or two.

I also need to start saving up for the different bands you can get for the FitBit.  There are a few I already have my eye on, and while they aren't expensive (like $15-20), I think I've spent enough this weekend...

Medal Envy

I have medal envy... and the race hasn't even happened yet!  Regardless, I won't be running it and won't be earning this lovely medal that runDisney just released a picture of.

Yes, that's the castle to Chateau medal for those running a race in the US and the inaugural race in Paris.  I'm jealous...  I knew that race was a little out of the price range for me as right now my money is going to my new car, school, and an Alaska vacation in 2018, but that doesn't stop me from wanting the medal.

Maybe some year I'll be able to find a reason to go there for the run, or use the run as an excuse to go to Paris.  I mean, I took 3 years of French in high school and have been trying to relearn it... I should have a reason to right?  For now I'll just watch online at those lucky enough to go.  My mind will stay focused on Lumiere's challenge and all the other races I have coming up!

Water: Plain vs Enhanced

It's hot right now... really really hot.  Living in Florida is great in the so called winter because it's usually a comfortable 75 degrees or so.  However, in the summer it feels like the surface of the sun.  Working outside only makes me realize that every single day.  And running... ya running is done either really early in the morning or inside now.

Recently I was reintroduced to a hydration problem.  It's not hydrating itself as I drink plenty of water, usually 64-72 oz a day.  However, a lot of it is plain water.  I'm not sweating plain water though.  I'm sweating out salt and electrolytes as well as water.  So while I was rehydrating the water aspect, I was still getting depleted in electrolytes.

Thus last week I had what I thought was an exhaustion headache, which then led to some annoying cramping.  I was still able to function, but I was always uncomfortable.  I talked to my dad, who was a cyclist for a long time, and he mentioned he suffered the same issues when he didn't replenish his electrolytes.

I didn't want to admit that after my long athletic history that I didn't know how to properly fuel my body.  Still, I went to the store and bought various enhanced waters and electrolyte water enhancers (I bought Mio specifically...).  I started using these additions at work and guess what... no more issues!  I've felt good, definitely hydrated, and I might even get one or two more cups more of water since I've inadvertently added flavor as well.

 I don't add the Mio electrolytes to every refill of my water, but I try to get one or two a day.  I have a Propel or VitaminWater at lunch and so far it's been good.  It has also helped lessen my coke cravings since I have something tasty to drink (speaking of, that addiction has lessened quite a bit and I'm done to two or three cokes a month!).

So it goes to show, there's always something to learn and something to adjust.  My Mio drops are always in my pocket in case I need a little extra boost in the middle of the day and I have other enhanced waters ready to go after runs or at lunch.  It'll be hard to continue in winter when I don't drink as much, but hopefully the taste and the addiction to feeling good will keep me drinking plenty of water.

New Work Schedule, New Training Schedule

My work schedule varies by the day, with late starts on my Mondays (which in the real world is a Sunday), and my early days are my Fridays (also known as Thursday).  Well with an additional product my late days are getting later, but that has been a blessing in disguise.  I have more time to work on homework and I have more of a chance to workout without worrying about when I have to leave for work.

Before I had to worry about how far I was and what time it was and that's a level of stress I just don't want on my run.  So luckily now I can get away from that and just have my morning to myself and run or workout.  This morning it was a run on a treadmill.  The speed was great, the distance was great, everything was just great!

I did go farther than the picture... I just chose to take the picture at the 5k part... 3.5 miles today, we'll see where I get tomorrow!

Also, remember that time I signed up for the runDisney virtual run series?  Ya, I totally forgot about that until last week.  I have been running 5ks the whole time, but forgot to hashtag or log them as the virtual series run.  I did go into today's run with the mindset that it was for the series so that helped me get through the treadmill workout.  So I guess today was my White Gloves 5k race!

I guess I would want runDisney to send out reminders for the different starts, especially for those signed up for all three.  I think they would probably get better tags online of people completing the runs... Otherwise, I'm excited to get my medals.  Since I signed up for all three races I have to wait for the end of the series (June 30th) before all of my medals will be sent.  Still, can't wait... More medals, more bling!