Resting Through The Holidays

I was looking forward to running right through Christmas and New Years since I'd be staying at a Walt Disney World resort, but unfortunately life didn't agree with me.  

Earlier this week I twisted my ankle.  Appearance-wise, the only issue is that I have a pretty bad scrape on my knee (my dad likened it to road rash that bikers get when they fall).  Physically, my ankle has been sore for the past few days.  It's been getting better everyday though.  I found that walking on it actually made it feel better for a while.  I didn't let it stop me from living life (heck I still wore boots with a pretty good heel on them), but it did stop me from running for the week.

Luckily, I was walking... A LOT.  That got me a boost for the Holiday Booty Buster Challenge.  In fact, with all the walking I was doing I actually had one of my best weeks when it comes to the amount of points I earned.  Today, I got down to the gym at the hotel and got on the bike for a while.  Ended up making my knee a bit sore (probably cause by the scrape and hitting it on my fall), but overall it felt good to sweat again.  I also got some weights in there so I'm almost back to my normal routine.

My Christmas present to myself will be a day another day off of running followed by maybe a 1 or 2 miler.  Something short just to start working on strengthening my ankle again.

Finding The Will

Let's all admit one thing... there are definitely days that we just do not want to work out.  We want to stay hidden in our blankets or just keep moving on with our day.  Working out on a daily basis is really not that easy to do.

I'm having just one of those options, but that's where cross training comes in handy.  Not every day has to be blood, sweat, and tears hard.  So today instead of a run (like I was supposed to do), I've decided to get a nice peaceful morning of yoga in instead.  Yes, it's another Jillian Michael's video so it won't be completely easy going, but it will still be more relaxing than doing a circuit or running a few miles.

So today I only gain 2 HBBC points, 1 for the 20 min of yoga and 1 for 20 min of stretching... Still, 2 points is better than 0.

Weekly Report 11/19

This week has been tough in every sense of the word... My runs were tough to get through and my knees were not happy at all, both on my runs and in day to day life.  Still, I got through them.  I almost turned around early on my run today, but I stopped myself and kept going.

Part of the problem is that I wasn't stretching as much as I was last week and my muscles were just getting tights and pulling on me knee (a long standing problem).  So my goal for this week is to make sure I keep stretching (plus 20 min of stretching = 1 HBBC point!).

I've also bought some chicken and hamburger meat to make tacos and chicken pasta and whatever else I decide to make... Should be interesting.

HBBC Point Count for today:
3.5 mile run= 3 points
6 miles on bike= 2 points
20 min of weights= 1 point
20 min of stretching= 1 point

total point count= 7 points

Weekly Report 11/12

This was another busy, but good week.  My work schedule is back to being somewhat normal, but this is really the calm before the storm.  With the holidays coming up, things are about to get crazy!  I am actually going to talk about keeping life in balance and control in a separate article so check that one out after this.

I was able to get a 6 miler in this week, as well as a 2 mile hard up-hill treadmill walk, 2 mile walk on the beach (part of a volunteering activity).  I also got back into my circuit training and it made me sore again.  Once more, Jillian Michaels is back to kicking my ass.  Luckily, I know she'll kick my ass back into shape.  It's a cruel cycle isn't?

I have also been stretching a lot which helps a lot.  I know I'm not nearly as sore as I could be and it's been nice to have a chance and just decompress after a workout.  I not only get to relax from the run or circuit, but I also get to decompress from day to day problems.  While I'm rolling out my quads or calves, I'm also rolling away stress.  It's nice when things work out that way.

My Weekly HBBC Count (officially starts NEXT week):
2 mile walk- 2 points
20 min stretching- 1 point
2 mile beach walk- 2 points
40 minute circuit- 2 points
20 min stretching- 1 point
6 mile run- 6 points
20 min stretching- 1 point

Total for this week: 15 points!

Now, let's see if I can't make that my average...

Weekly Report 11/5

The good news... I was able to run more than last week, even with a harder schedule!  The bad news... I wasn't feeling the best while I was running, but I didn't feel my worst either so I'm not quite sure if it really is bad news.

One thing that really struck me this week, well actually this morning was diet.  I know I've talked about it before and I've said I'm "calorie aware", but I've fallen off of that and while I haven't been letting myself completely go, I haven't been strict with what I should and shouldn't be eating.

One of the biggest things I realized is that I really do need to drink more water.  It would help 3 things.  First my diet since water has no calories.  Second my running because it should cut down some of the dehydration cramps I've been having lately.  Third my budgets because I don't really have that much money since I recently bought a house with the help of my parents.

It's amazing how small things can help so many things.  I know it's going to be hard because I really like having the fizzy carbonation, but I will start to resist!

On good news, I have started stretching more (thanks to the motivations from HBBC) and my calves are feeling a lot better during my runs.  My knee hurt a bit today but I'm blaming the heels I was walking around in most of the week.  Luckily I'm back to wearing tennis shoes again next week for work (I'm back in my normal office and area).

HBBC Weekly Report:
Monday- 2 mile run +1 mile walk + 20 minutes stretching = 4 points
Thursday- 1 mile run + 1 mile walk + 20 minutes stretching = 3 points
Saturday- 3.5 mile run + 20 minutes stretching = 4 points

Total points= 11 points

Weekly Report 10/29

Running definitely helped me escape some of the stresses of life this morning.  Yesterday wasn't the best (nor the worst) day, but it definitely had me scrambling around.  This morning I was able to run and forget  about everything that was going on.

The run itself actually felt pretty good.  The worst part was that while it's overcast and rainy, it's still not that cold.  I made the mistake of wearing my running tights a bit early this year so it made me a little hot, but I was able to get through my run, especially when I was running in an open area and it cooled down a bit thanks to the wind.

So, let's round up how many points I would have gotten this week if the Holiday Booty Buster Challenge had started (it's starts November 19).
Tuesday- 2.17 Miles= 2 Points
Saturday- 3.38 Miles= 3 Points
Saturday- 25 minutes of Stretching= 1 point

New Inspiration

This week I have noticed I am missing a key component to my training... motivation.  I haven't had much to inspire me to run, and thus I have been sleep in a lot of mornings instead of running.  I did get in one run, but I also had a late start to work that day.

Part of the lack of motivation comes from not having a lot of races.  I still don't know Orlando too well and so I haven't really been looking for 5Ks and other races in the area.  When I used to swim it seemed like I had a race every few weeks (if not every week during the height of the season) and when I competed in triathlons I tried to get one race a month during the season.  I actually remember one year when I was competing in both triathlons and swimming when I went for 2-2.5 weeks without a break because I either had a meet that weekend or a triathlon on my normal day off.

I think another part of my lack of motivation is me... I'm just in one of those slumps where I don't want to worry about training right now.  It was a busy and somewhat crazy week at work and next week plans on being worse.  I'm still trying to figure out when I will be able to run next week because my schedule is so different.  

However, even with all of these road bumps there is some good news.  I found a new reason to be inspired.  

I was reading through Christy's blog at My Dirt Road Anthem and she mentioned that she had signed up for the Holiday Booty Buster Challenge hosted by Run To The Finish.  You can find out all of the details and even sign up at the event's main page here.  

I've signed up as a Doer, considering I'm just training for the half and no longer training for any triathlons or full marathons.  One of the things I really liked about the challenge was that you could earn points by cross training, which as you guys know I like to dabble in from time to time.

So I start the challenge either this afternoon or tomorrow... I'll be posting how many points I earn each week and the running totals on a post every Saturday.  I think this is just what I needed to get into the training mood I've been lacking all week...