Like Winning the Lottery

About a month ago after I finished running my second half marathon the idea of running a full marathon started to creep into my mind. I've known that I wanted to run a marathon for some time now but it still never seemed real. But today that far-fetched dream of mine started to become a reality.

I have dying to announce it to the blog world, and to everyone in general that I will be running the 2012 ING New York City Marathon!

I have expressed my feelings about this race before and when I say that running this race is an absolute dream come true I really mean it. I have dreamed about this race since the first time I heard about during my freshmen year of college but I wasn't sure if I would ever get the chance to run it because of the lottery system.

Right after I decided that I wanted to try to run a fall marathon my cousin, who works for the NYCM informed me that she would be able to get me into the race even if I didn't get in through the lottery. I applied for the lottery assuming I wouldn't get in and that I would just have my cousin use her super powers to get me in.

Except when I logged on today I saw that I had been accepted. I would have never tried to run this great race this year partly due to its ridiculously high cost and the slim chance that I would actually get in. And as corny as this sounds, I really feel like it was fate. 

As excited as I am to start this new adventure I am still in triathlon training. I am going to finish my training and then switch over to MARATHON training! And I can promise that I am going to document every aspect of the journey. This is something that I never want to forget.

Taking A Break from Running

If you read my post about my triathlon training last week you may have noticed that I didn't run at all. Not even once. And I didn't miss it in the slightest. After having two terrible runs two weeks ago I just wanted a break. I was struggling to run at what my normal recovery pace is. Luckily, my main focus isn't running right now so there is no reason to suffer through miserable runs. It also worked out well that this past week ended up being a recovery week. 

At first I was pretty scared about my lack of desire to run. I love to run and have big goals when it comes to running. I am not supposed to enjoy taking off time from running so much. But after a few days I started to realize that this small break from running was just what I needed. After a full week of no running I am now looking forward to going out for a run. 

I don't think I was physically burned out since I really wasn't running too much. I think I was burned out mentally though. I experienced the same sort of thing after running my first half marathon back in the fall but I didn't give myself the break that I needed. Instead I tried to muster through it. Then I jumped into training for another half marathon with no motivation to run. Not the best plan.

Running isn't supposed to give me stress, it's supposed to relieve stress. My first sign that I should have given myself a break was that running was suddenly causing me more stress than it was relieving. Now that I have taken a break from running I feel absolutely no pressure regarding training. I am loving biking and switching up my training. And I am going to only run when I want to and for only as long as I want.

I have big running plans for the fall that I will fill you in on soon (!) and I want to be ready to take on that challenge with no pressure. I want to be ready to focus on running and if that means cutting back on running now than so be it.

Triathlon Training Week 4

There isn't anything too fabulous about this week but here we go:


Monday:
Since Monday's high was 90 degrees I decided biking inside in the air conditioning was the way to go. I did my longest ride on the trainer so far: 60 minutes! My rides have been getting significantly better, although I can't measure speed. They are definitely feeling easier though. My hip flexors were a little tight throughout the day so I stretched and iced after my ride.


Tuesday: 
I ended up skipping my planned morning run in favor of some much needed sleep. My apartment has air conditioning but it was still almost 80 degrees inside which made sleeping nearly impossible for me. I was finally able to sleep in the morning so I went with it. I did a hard 30 minute trainer ride in the afternoon though. I was shocked at how quickly the time flew by.


Wednesday:
I took a much needed rest day on Wednesday since my left leg/hip was really wonky. It was incredibly nice to do nothing all afternoon and just hang out on the couch.


Thursday:
Thursday was another rest day, as I had decided to make week four a recovery week. By late Thursday I was really itching to get a workout in though, which made me excited for the next week's training.


Friday:
I finally swam! I did my first swim of triathlon training and realized that I am much more out of shape than I thought. It was still a really nice swim that left me wanting more though. I focused mainly on pulling drills and kicking and ended up with 1,800 meters for the day.


Saturday:
Friday night my boyfriend and I went camping with some friends and were planning on going hiking on Saturday but our plans got derailed by a full day of heavy rain.


Sunday:
Sunday completed my super rest week. I spent the majority of the day in bed sleeping and relaxing with the boyfriend. I really should have done something on Sunday but sometimes you just need to be lazy all day and do nothing.


Weekly Totals

• Swimming: 1,800 yards
• Biking: 1 hour 30 min
• Running: 0 miles
• Total hours: 2 hours 15 min

Thoughts
This week consisted of a lot more rest than I had anticipated but I'm not too worked up over it. My body feels completely recovered and I have no lingering soreness anymore. I am really glad I took this rest week and now I am looking forward to three more weeks of hard training.

A Much Needed Wake Up Call

Even though I am in week four of triathlon training today was the first day I went to swim since December. It was a beautiful day with temps in the low eighties- my favorite outdoor swimming weather. When I woke up I didn't really want to swim but I brought my stuff with me anyway because I knew I would feel guilty about having it with me and not actually swimming. I intended on doing a 1000 yard time trial so I could measure my progress as I train but the pool was set up in meters. The dilemma that I have with this is that UMBC's pool is going to be set up in long course meters throughout the end of the semester but the pool that I will be swimming at over the summer will be in short course yards. Still figuring out what to do about that.

This has happened to me on so many occasions. 

One of the many reasons why I love swimming.

I jumped in the pool and was instantly happy. An outdoor swimming pool is my happy place. I feel calm and at home, like I am exactly where I am supposed to be. It sounds strange, but I feel the most like myself at a pool. After jumping in I did a little warm up to get used to being back in the pool. I knew it was going to be challenging since it was long course but I was astounded with just how hard it felt. My arms were screaming after only a few hundred meters. This is not how swimming is supposed to feel for me. After a minor panic attack about how I can no longer swim, I regrouped and decided to focus on some pulling drills and kicking.

After I calmed down a little things started to feel smoother. I was more relaxed and I just focused on form. I am so used to the way I used to swim when I did it competitively that sometimes I get myself too worked up over not being able to swim as strongly. I remembered after my first two surgeries when I was just getting back into swimming the main focus was on form and technique rather than speed. And after doing some pulling drills I could already feel my stroke becoming stronger.

Maybe this guy can help me swim faster.

I have such a strong background in swimming that I often forget that I still need to put in the training. Today's swim showed me that I still have a lot of training to do before this triathlon rolls around in July. I am really excited to have a goal to work towards and not just be swimming for the heck of it anymore though.

A Necessary Recovery Week

I have been trying to be flexible with my training this cycle so that I don't feel any pressure and don't get stressed out about not being able to do a certain workout on a particular day. What I did make sure to schedule was recovery weeks. When I was a swimmer I was always the one to get injured so I am trying to be proactive and prevent any potential injuries.

I was planning on taking a recovery week next week since I have started off pretty slowly with training. I would normally do three hard weeks followed by a recovery week but week two of training hard pretty low volume so I figured I could get away with pushing the recovery week back.

When I got back to school on Sunday night I discovered that my hip flexors were pretty sore. They were only sore to touch though, so I iced them for a little and didn't think about them again. Then on Wednesday as I was walking down the stairs after class I was having this weird pain in my left leg. It felt like a joint was inflamed or something. I'm still not sure what it was but it was pretty darn uncomfortable.

I decided to take an unplanned rest day on Wednesday since I didn't want to do anything to further aggravate my leg. I was surprisingly tired and went to bed at 10, much earlier than my normal 12-1 bedtime. On Thursday when I was thinking about my workout for the day I just especially lacking motivation. It wasn't my normal I-would-rather-sit-on the-couch-than-workout. It was more of an I-need-a-break-before-I-have-a-mental-breakdown-and-quit-school feeling.

Then I realized that my body was craving a rest week. The thought of a rest week excited me so much that I knew it was for the best. And after two full days of rest I am now itching to get back out there for a workout.

In past training I was stuck in vicious cycles of not sticking to the plan, getting burnt out, taking a few days off to rest, feeling guilty for taking rest days, and consequentially not taking any rest weeks so that I could try to make up my missed workouts.

At the beginning of the week I ignored my small aches and pains and lack of motivation and tried to power through. But I'm glad that I listened to my body and took a necessary rest week so I can go into the next training segment with enthusiasm and ready to tackle my upcoming workouts.

Inspired by the Boston Marathon

As I'm sure all of you know by now, yesterday was the Boston Marathon. Up until a year or two ago when I first became interested in running I didn't know anything about the Boston Marathon. Yeah, I knew it existed. But I had no idea that there were qualifying times to run it. I didn't know the race had such a history. I couldn't comprehend how much it represented in the running world.

I still do not know all that much about the Boston Marathon, but what I do know is that I want to qualify for it someday. I am by no means a fast runner and I am okay with that. For the time being. One day I want to experience for myself what all the hype is about. I want to wear the finishers jacket with pride everywhere I go. I want to be a part of something that it so influential and powerful in this community.

This is the 2012 color of the jacket.

Yesterday was the 116th running of the Boston Marathon. 116 years is not any kind usual anniversary but this year's race was truly special because it marked the 40th anniversary of women being allowed to run in the race. It also marked the 45th anniversary of a female, Kathrine Switzer, running the Boston Marathon.

Even though I have only been running for about a year now, there has never been a time when I felt like I wasn't a runner or an athlete simply because I was a female. I am lucky to be a part of a community where being female is not a bad thing. Most races now are mostly comprised of female runners in fact!

Besides the history aspect of the race, yesterday's Boston Marathon was special because of the record setting temps. The high in Boston yesterday was around 90 degrees, which is unthinkable for this time of year. The race organizers put out multiple warnings about the dangerously hot weather and advised people to not go all out during the race.

It was 90 degrees here in Baltimore yesterday and I can tell you 90 degrees is really effing hot. I can't even imagine running a marathon in those temps. I was sweating as soon as I went outside and opted for a trainer ride in the air conditioning instead of braving the heat for a run.

Despite the offer to transfer your entry until next year due to the heat, many people ran anyway because they had already payed to travel all the way there. Everybody who ran in yesterday's race amazed me. I am not sure what I would have done if I was in that situation but I do know it wouldn't have been pretty. To those of you who stuck it out and ran despite the heat, you deserve and extra medal. You should be more than proud of yourselves. And to those runners who opted to not run the race and chose the deferment instead, you are very smart. Don't think you quit or took the easy way out. Running in those temps is very dangerous and not worth it. There is always next year.

Dealing with Bad Runs

Ever since I ran the Rock N' Roll USA Half Marathon back in March I have been having some pretty crappy runs. Yeah, I have had a few good runs but the majority of them have been absolutely dreadful. At first I thought it was because I was eating badly. What you put into your body affects how your body performs right? I thought a few weeks of eating too much junk food for a lifetime was the culprit of my craptastic runs. But after cleaning up my diet and loading up on some healthy eats there was no improvement.

I am still not sure why I have been having such sucky runs lately but I am not going to let it get me down. I am training for a triathlon that is three months away. I have been having great trainer rides and have been loving switching up training and adding in some variety. I know everyone goes through spells of crappy runs but this is the first time this has happened to me. There have been times where I have lacked the motivation to go out for a run but the physical part was always there. Lately, though, I feel like I have been fighting my body. I struggle to do runs at my normal easy/recovery pace.

It has occurred to me that this may be my body's way of telling me that it needs a break. My calves have been feeling pretty tight and swollen lately, but nothing has been feeling particularly sore or painful. I have been especially proactive over the last few days if this is the case. My foam roller has become my new best friend and I have spent more than one night icing myself to sleep in this dreadful heat. I have also been stretching any chance I get.

I know this spell of bad runs will eventually end, but for now I am going to not stress over it since running is not my priority right now. On the schedule for this week are mostly really short recovery jogs that will hopefully loosen up my legs. I am also going to ditch my garmin this week since I really don't want any reminders of how slow I'm running.