Sick & Tired of being Sick & Tired

Well... this week has been pretty much a BUST as far as workouts go... all thanks to this cold/ stomach thing that just keeps on giving! I guess I had a couple good workout things.. made it to 4 or 5 CrossFit's, but things started looking dodgy (is that a word? oh, well.. too tired to worry about it too much) on tuesday morning.. I had planned to do a nice swim at the Y, which I did opt for a solo swim VS a masters swim because I knew I wasn't quite up to par, but still thought I'd be alright.. Well.. the horrific swim that followed was tough to take. I hadn't had a swim like that in a long time. I don't even know how far I swam, but I'm sure it wasn't much.. Mostly I just did the breast stroke set that I wanted to do, but any sort of 'speed' type freestyle just wasn't in the cards. So.. home to rest & off to crossfit later.. crossfit went OK, I suppose.. & then I had a soccer game that night after teaching gymnastics, but I played terribly there, too! Rough workout day for me.. So I took the hint (finally) & took wednesday off.. completely off.. Figured that should be enough to straighten me out. I think that's when I went to the 'doc' (Take Care Clinic.. same thing) & got me some meds.. Thurs wasn't too much better, though.. I'm struggling to even remember what I did, which tells me it probably wasn't great.. I think I rested all morning, then hit crossfit for a workout & then went to the Y before classes to do a little run & stair climb.. Nothing too exciting there. Friday was pretty much just rest as well.. I did go to Crossfit to 'practice' because I was getting set up for a 'competition' on saturday! That's right.. JoCo CrossFit put together a little competiton for us on saturday morning.. I was actually able to do that feeling pretty good the whole time, so that went well.. But then, at some point that night, I started to really feel ill.. So it's like, just when I think I'm doing OK.. BAM.. Back to the drawing board.. So today I've hardly moved.. Well.. Here's to hoping tomorrow starts off the next week on a better foot! I have plans to get things back on track after only doing 1 swim, 1 bike and maybe 2 short runs this week.. I've GOT to get it together here quick! So come on meds.. do your thing!

Aftershocks from the trail

So I just wanted to report that after a 2nd, much more successful ice bath, my legs are feeling pretty good post trail marathon. My knees, which were my biggest concern right after the race because they hurt so bad.. actually feel fine now.. so that's good news! I was able to get out for a 'recovery' swim yesterday, which I just did the ol' 4, 3, 2, 1 workout where I alternate swim, pull, kick, IM distances.. anyway.. I was feeling really good, but started to feel drained by about the 2k mark.. Probably because my appetite was pretty poor after the run (go figure), so I doubt I was well fueled going in. But even so, it felt good to move.. AND it's always a bonus to get to play in the pool with Mason & Matt, so we'll call it a success! Just an FYI, a PSA, if you will, on how to do an ice bath when it's cold outside.. so 1st you need to be warm.. try some hot chocolate, snuggling under warm blankets, etc.. then.. 1st fill the bath with just cold water & get in to that to acclimate a bit before you add the ice.. (just a note, the water is definitely colder than it was this summer. I couldn't get the water that cold no matter what I tried before.. now it's super cold.. but I guess in an ice bath, that's a good thing). So slowly cooling down the water/getting used to it made for a much better ice bath.. good to know, right?! Oh, and I always do this, but just in case it doesn't go without saying, definitely wear a shirt & just roll it up so it doesn't get wet.. but I think that helps a lot with not getting too unbearably cold in there while you work the soreness out of your lower half. As of now, my only 'battle wounds' seem to be a slightly odd little blister on the middle toe of my right foot.. Other than that, my feet are fine! Darn me for insisting on continuing with the toe socks (I like 'em cause they're knee high compression socks, which I thought would be good for the warmth &, of coarse, for the healing powers of compression) even though I know they often give me odd toe blisters.. But this one really isn't that bad. I think it'll work itself out just fine. But aside from that, right now my 'picker uppers' (hip flexors) are the only things that really feel sore, which makes sense given all the extra 'picking up' they did on saturday! So all in all, I think things are back on track! I'll be able to get right back in the swing of things this week.. did a spin this morning.. heading to crossfit later.. tomorrow will be swim, run, soccer.. more crossfit.. So we should be good! Now if I could just get Mason & I healthy.. sheesh, cold that won't quit?! I think it's time for you to move along..

Nice Tights!!

Nice tights, you say? Yup. That's what I heard over & over.. all day.. from women, men.. fellow runners, voluteers, spectators.. at a trail marathon?! a place where fashion really has no place.. maybe they were making fun of me?? Who knows.. Oh, well! I threw all tried and true race rule bending caution to the wind today & I wore a WHOLE new outfit. I called it my "I'm not a deer, please don't shoot me with your muzzle loaders (??wha?? don't even know what it is.. but pretty sure I don't want to tangle with it!) or arrows" outfit. I wanted to be bright.. so I hit the local Dicks with Mason & gave him the orders to "find me something bright to wear".. He kept picking out shorts & tank tops.. so really wasn't much help.. but there was 1 pair of knee length tights that were black with bright pink criss-crosses that he was particularly fond of.. so we based the outfit off that & we were set! Well... my, my.. Who could have guessed that they'd be such belles of the ball??! I thought it was funny.. Anyway.. So here goes my Tecumseh Trail Marathon report.. Let me just say.. I had a great time.. It was no joke, though, that's for sure! It's a tough (but fair.. except for that super long, super crazy steep gravel road hill just past 1/2 way.. what was that all about?? Not cool..) coarse, but I also found myself several times along the way just really enjoying myself & loving the trail and scenery.. so it was great! I enjoyed the trail running atmosphere, as usual.. The race directors and volunteers were all great.. every aid station along the way (well.. except that 1 towards the end that had run out of water.. But I carried my hydration pack, much to the chagrin, I guess, of many folks there? Who knew it was uncool to come prepared?? More on that later..) was well stocked & manned by helpful, smiling, encouraging, wonderful people.. it was SO much appreciated! I got off to a bit of an... interesting start.. 1st, we loaded up on the school busses & took off for the start (it was a point to point race).. everything seemed to be going pretty OK.. But.. the bus drivers didn't have directions??! Oh, my.. luckily there were some TTM vets that were able to direct them/us to the start & we were there in plenty of time. Some other busses had a little more difficulty, but it seemed like everyone got there in time to start just a few minutes late. We were also SUPER lucky to have such great weather! For a december trail marathon, it can really go pretty much any way, but today was a sunny (at times) 40-50 degree, quite pleasant day! Really lucked out there (thanks, big guy!). So we're off.. I'm feeling.. huh.. I'm feeling foggy? I had this kinda dizzy, kinda cloudy vision thing going on right from the start. Am I thirsty? drink from pack.. hmm.. time for a gu?....still off.. maybe I need salty stuff... pretzels at the aid station.. still just off. Not sick. Not bad.. just can't figure out what's wrong with me. Honestly, this went on 'til about the 16mi-ish mark & then I finally started to clear up.. Best I can figure is that it was probably from that stuff I sprayed up my nose this morning in effort to combat the stuffiness that I've had for a few days from my cold. Oops! So anyway.. that probably made my run a little slow in parts, but I still felt like I was moving as I normally would & doing OK.. so I don't think too much was lost with that. I started the 1st hour running with my new trail running buds, Kim, whom I ran with a few times while training in Brown County, & her friend, River, who ran with us a few weeks ago. Sadly, though, I think partly because of my foggy head, folks kept jumping 1 person ahead & splitting us up further & further apart (for any non-trail runners.. this was kind of annoying because on this single track portion of the run.. which is most of this run, but there are parts where you can pass more safely.. BUT..it was annoying b/c we were in a long line of runners.. I was right behind Kim, doing just whatever pace those in front of me were doing.. but I guess I left enough room in between me & the person ahead of me (excuse me for not being all up in their business!) that someone could squeeze in.. WHY they felt they needed to bust thier a$$ & risk hitting trees to get ONE measly person ahead?? not sure.. Anyway..). So as they were getting 2, 3, 4, etc people separated from me, I decided to take a minute at the aid station to pack away my hat and gloves & then traipsed on solo from there.. No biggie, though.. it's not like you're ever really alone in a trail marathon! at least not in this one.. Not in a bad way, though.. After folks start to spread out more & more, people get better at a) being amongst folks going the same pace, & b) hearing someone clearly going faster than they are approaching & stepping aside a bit to allow a pass..not a 1 person bunny hop.. a real pass.. Anyway. As I mentioned before, people were giving me grief for carrying a fairly full hydration pack on this pretty well supported trail run (aid stations about every 3 miles, I think?). Well, folks.. as the great G Dub (Bush) once said.. "Fool me once (supposedly supported trail 1/2 marathon where I opted not to carry my own water & therefore almost completely bonked an hr in b/c I couldn't take my gu w/o any water), shame on you, Fool me twice...well, you're not going to fool me twice". So. I opted to carry my water, gu, snacks, extra socks (OK..maybe that was goofy), or whatever else I thought I might need out there. I had more than a few runners comment on how much I was carrying.. word on the street was that I would be able to survive a week in the woods with all that I had, to which I would cheerfully reply that that's what I was going for & ya just never know what you might need.. And then whenever I would pass/see one of them on the trail I'd offer them a snack! (no takers.. I'd also offer a gu to anyone I saw that seemed to be experiencing a bonk.. which, by the way, this prepared runner never had!.. but again, no takers?! I tried to explain that they were underestimating the power of the gu.. Oh, well.. more for me!) But I was so glad I had carried my water. Perhaps I overdid on the snacks.. I really only ate the Gu's that I carried, which I carried mostly on my race/fuel belt.. I kept to a Gu about every 40 minutes or so, though I got a little lax w/ that toward the end b/c I was eating more solid stuff and drinking gatorade at the aid stations.. But all said, I went through a package of chomps & 6 Gu's.. and all the misc treats from aid stations (couple pretzels, cheez-its, gumdrops, 1/2 banana.. really not much at a time, just enough to try to get salt/electrolytes/ & of coarse sugar.. like I needed more of that!). I also went through probably 1 1/2 full 'bladders' (why is it called that?? yucky name..) of water from my pack.. plus I'd usually grab water or gatorade at the aid stations.. So I pretty much ate, drank & ran all day! So where was I.. I continued on through the run.. about 2 hrs in (I didn't keep track of miles.. some of the aid stations (maybe all, but I wasn't paying attention) had the distance marked.. or I'd ask someone about where we were, but I really wasn't that concerned with it.. until the end!) we went through this really nice section where it was flat & filled w/ moss & ferns.. just really enjoyable! There were lots of hills, as promised.. It was mostly fun single track with an occasional stretch of paved or gravel roads. Gravel roads were my least favorite.. Those little rocks start to really get to you! But I really enjoyed the run.. especially once my head cleared up & I could see better! (hard to watch for roots, stumps, rocks, other people's feet when your vision is blurred.. but I didn't fall!) I guess about mi 23-ish I ran into Kim.. unfortunately I figured this wasn't a great thing for her.. I was right b/c she was having stomach problems when a gu didn't sit right with her. I walked w/ her for a bit & she tried to run w/ me for a bit, but inevitably we parted ways.. I had a little munchkin & my husband waiting for me, afterall! You can hear the finish line across the lake for a while before you're actually at the finish.. I could tell it was still far away, so it wasn't too deceiving.. though it did light a little fire in me making me want to hustle as best I could to get to that finish line. Again.. as promised.. the last section was on gravel road (my fave) and included a nice hill.. But I made it.. able to finish pretty strong.. Give my little guy his required race "kiss and a hug" & cross the finish around 5:20? I was hoping to be under 5.. but not today, my friends. I worked hard out there & have the sore (super sore!) legs, knees, feet, ankles, hammies, hips, back..I think that covers it.. to prove it! I'll definitely do more trail marathons..probably this one included!.. now the question remains.. will I run further?? enter the ultra world?? c'mon.. what do you think?? I'd say it's more a question of when.. but let me finish icing these crazy, sore knees 1st. But I think that's about all I have to say about Tecumseh! I highly recommend it, though I doubt there will be weather like today's again for a while..

Thankful

Of coarse, since we just passed Thanksgiving weekend, I want to recognize how much I'm thankful for.. It's been a few weeks since posting.. probably because there hasn't been a whole lot 'new' to mention.. I'm still getting my time in running in the woods.. & I'm still really enjoying it. We had an awesome weekend over Thanksgiving here, actually.. around high 50's/low 60's.. can't ask for much more than that in Nov in Indiana! But I believe we've officially left those pleasant temps behind (no this isn't going to turn into a weather forecast blog.. if you stumbled across it by googling 'most accurate weather forecast ever'.. I apologize..) because this week has brought us cold rain.. BUT.. for the marathon on saturday.. it's looking cold.. but not TOO bad.. and should be pretty dry.. maybe even some sun? So given that last yr, this race had to be altered due to snow, I'll take it! I have a slight cold at the moment.. it's thursday, though.. so I opted to make this a rest day & I'll do some moving around tomorrow.. but I really am trying to keep some fresh-ish legs for the race, so rest is a good thing! Especially since my legs, at the moment, are slightly less than fresh after my 3 days in a row of crossfit (actually.. more than that if you count the home 'WOD's' I did over the weekend.. and my 1st 'team WOD' last sat.. but anyway), a soccer game, and my usual bike/runs.. I think this rest today can do me some good. We had a great thanksgiving.. lots of visitors and great food.. I'd say I'm most thankful for my husband and son.. who, bless his little heart, has been dealing with some sickness here lately.. Poor thing had his 1st night of 'yuckies' (pukes) over the weekend & now he's down to just a cold.. but I'm maybe a bit overly concerned given our past issue with croup (NOT fun!! long story short.. we spent a night in the NICU about a yr & a half ago.. so not really wanting to risk it). I must also say that I'm really just thankful that I am healthy enough to do all these fun races and workouts that I do. There's been some folks in our TNT circle that have had reappearances of cancer, so I'm very humbled to know that my family and I have our health & I'm very aware that not everyone is able to do the things that I do. I'm very lucky to have all that I have & I will certainly be thinking of those that are fighting illnesses and struggling to get through each day while I cover that Tecumseh trail, step by step, this saturday!

'bout 32k for my 32nd b-day

I actually have only a vague idea of what '32k' translates to in american (miles) & whether or not I ran that exact distance today.. but I think it was close.. & it was actually just a coincidence that we did that distance.. But anyway, it was another good weekend in the woods for me. Saturday morning, which was my actual birthday day, I went over to a local park to run in a 15k trail race. It was a great day for it & the race was a good one.. as far as trail runs go, I felt like this was a pretty easy one.. not too many tough hills.. no walking required.. Think I finished somewhere around 1:18. I pushed fairly hard, but felt good the whole way..good times! The rest of my birthday was spent w/ a little nap, some hanging w/ Mason & Matt.. had lunch, complete w/ gifts & cake.. which all Mason wanted to do was stick his finger in the cake!..what kid doesn't love that?? Then Matt & I actually had a date night planned, so we had a lovely, fancy dinner at the Capitol Grill downtown. Then sunday I had planned on another early, long run down in Brown County with Kim.. That's were I reckon we did around 32k.. I ran about 3 1/2 hrs & I'd guess (I don't wear a garmin these days..not really sure why..) we did around 18-19miles. I think the run went pretty well.. better than my last long, trail run as I realized...again.. that carrying food & water is a must for long trainings.. So equipped w/ my new camelbak & Gu's, I fared much better.. Knee is a little sore (not the one most recently operated on.. go figure) & I didn't manage to escape without at least 1 fall.. rolled my ankle & went down just as we were coming up to a creek crossing.. all it takes is just a second of taking my eyes off the ground below me & down I go!.. so my ankle is a little sore.. but nothing a little ice & meds can't handle! I'm starting to really look forward to this trail marathon.. just 3 weeks away! I'm already looking ahead at what my next race will be after this one.. we'll see! The rest of this week was pretty much 'business as usual'.. did a hill repeat workout at Eagle Creek on tuesday.. that was fun.. Did a couple short bricks on wed & thurs..some swimming.. can almost make the whole length of the pool w/ a functional fly!..still feels pretty gnarly, but I think it's coming.. Anyway, I think that's all I have to say about all of that for now!

Sometimes it's good to just Cheer!

This weekend was a bit lighter on running & workouts.. at least for me.. I'm still trying to run regularly b/c I do believe in 'muscle memory'.. so I had to settle for a treadmill hill workout on thursday.. after my swim & crossfit, of coarse.. Friday was my usual swim & zumba, but this time I added an extra crossfit in there for good measure! Saturday...this is where I felt like things were ''light', but I'd say it was a much needed break, of sorts.. Saturday I just did a short spin on my trainer, then it was Monumental Marathon weekend & I knew several folks running in it, so I mentioned to my son (my husband was working) that we could go cheer on the runners.. Well, I was actually ready to bail on the idea.. partly because we had been so 'on the go' the past couple days I felt like just sitting might be nice.. partly because I get nervous about where to park, etc.. But Mason wasn't to be swayed.. he insisted we go to cheer.. so off we went! I actually found my spot pretty easily & parking wasn't too bad.. not at 1st anyway.. I guess my biggest reason for going out to cheer is that, being a runner myself, I know how much it helps to have people out there cheering.. something to bring a smile.. So I actually positioned myself on purpose right toward the end.. We were at mi 11 for the 1/2 and mi 24 for the full. Even though we missed most of the people that I knew, I still had fun cheering and definitely saw the gratitude of the runners.. especially when Mason was cheering them on & giving high fives.. I know how much that can give a little boost that far in to a run, so we were happy to help in our small little way! So that was fun.. then a little later that afternoon, after some food & a rest, I took just a small, maybe 3 or 4mi run through the neighborhood.. it was just too nice a day to pass up! Then sunday I planned to meet with a group of gals to run some trail miles out at Ft. Ben.. that was a lot of fun! Just did about 9mi, so not too long.. need to go longer next weekend to keep getting ready for that marathon, but it felt good & I'm really having fun running those trails with all my new trail-minded friends..so good stuff! and that was that. Nothing too exciting on deck for this week. More of the same, except I actually have to work a bit more this week, so might be a little light on the workouts, but this weekend (my birthday!) is sure to be a doozey, so that might work out well. Better run.. my son wants me to go ride on his 'airplane', so duty calls!

Trail Weekend completed!

So I wound up having lots of fun in the woods this past weekend.. I wasn't able to come home to proudly tell Mason I didn't fall down this time, though.. I fell... a lot.. I guess saturday was a success. I started with a 10mi run with a few gals I connected with through a trail running website. We met at Eagle Creek and they wound me round and round through the woods of the park I thought I was so familiar with. You see, I do plenty of running in that park, but normally I'm on the roads.. so the trails were pretty new territory for me. I had tried to run trails with a friend last spring, but we never really knew where we were or where we were going.. we just ran around aimlessly until we found ourselves back at our cars about 6 or 7 miles later. It was nice to be out there with folks that knew the ropes. 1 gal brought her very cool dog with her, which was quite nice to run with her.. both of them, actually! Her dog, Sierra, knew her way around the park VERY well.. kinda made me want a dog.. as long as she's as good a trail runner as Sierra, that is.. So after the run, I made a quick change & head on over to meet Ginger, Sam, Shawn and Danielle at the Broad Ripple Crossfit for a free demo class.. Not sure why I went.. I guess I just wanted to get the extra workout & maybe help my friends venture in to the world of strength training.. not something a lot of triathletes are super familiar with.. It was fun. They ran us through their 'start-up' workout, which was 500m rowing (a weak point for me, as it turns out), 40 squats, 30 sit-ups, 20 push-ups (elbows in! chest to the floor!), and 10 chin-ups, which I plowed through in a grand total of 5min and change. Considering how sore I already was.. I'll take it! And that was it for saturday. Sunday I had planned on a 'long' run in the woods of Brown County State Park with a friend (of a friend.. but I've met her a few times), Kim, which was great! I don't think I'd ever actually been in BCSP.. I've been on a bike ride before that went down to that area, but I didn't do the coarse that actually went IN the park, so I was in for a treat! I met up with Kim sunday morning and she had planned out a double loop route for us (though she was going to head out on a 3rd loop to do 20mi...I didn't think I was up to that just yet, plus with my 10mi on sat and my sore legs from fri and sat.. I didn't think 20 would be a good idea even if I WAS ready for that distance) meeting at Ogle Lake. The 1st 7 miles went well.. aside from the fall that I took. Falling while running on trails isn't new for me, but this one HURT. I'm pretty sure my knee came down right on a pointy rock.. I'm actually scraped, bruised & a little swollen still from that one.. But I composed myself for a moment & soldiered on. It was nice, again, to run with someone familiar with the trails.. Kim took me up to some nice lookout points & the colors were fantastic.. such a great day for it! After the 1st loop, it was back to the car for some water & what SHOULD have been, for me, some food. I'm still kinda learning my limits w/ trail running. I had my handheld water with me, but opted not to carry it while I ran b/c with my history of falls.. I'd probably just smash the thing.. So back at the car, I just chugged down some of my Accelerade/IM Perform mix & carried on. It felt like enough at the time, but I always forget that after the 1st few miles, I get more hungry/thirsty the longer the run goes on (go figure, right.. DUH). So what felt like 'enough' at mi 7, was NOT enough by about mi 10-ish.. We got to the top of one hill/end of a 3 1/4-ish mi trail & decided to take off on a trail we 'thought' would head to a campsite, which I thought might have some water, which would have been lovely! But.. the trail did not go to any campsite & water was not in my very near future.. So after going down, down, down this trail, we finally turned around and had to head back up, up, up the trail.. Then.. what we 'thought' would be an 'all down' trek back to the car, turned out to be quite up and down (guess we forgot about those 'down' sections on the way up the trail!). So I was exhausted. Completely on 'E', but there's not really an option other than to keep on going until I was back to my car. At last we made it.. Got about 15-ish miles in that day & other than learning.. again!.. that I need to carry water & fuel on these training runs..it went well! I'm looking forward to the next one.. I think this weekend will be a little 'lighter' on the trail runs b/c I'll have another big one the following weekend w/ the 15k race & a long run with Kim back on the trails of BCSP. I guess I should also mention that after my run with Kim last sunday, I decided I hadn't had enough of the woods yet for the weekend, so I met up with my friend, Sam (Ginger's husband), to ride for a bit at Ft. Ben.. and that's where the falls really started! Yikes. Things that I don't remember being hard the 1st time I was out there were really tripping me up! I didn't make it but maybe 5 minutes before I had my 1st fall.. into some thorny branches, of coarse. My next one was a doozy up onto the cement block thing.. didn't quite make it up, but was able to catch myself somewhat.. on what would turn out to be my 'kickstand' for the day.. my poor left arm! Several of those kinds of falls later, my left hand was pretty bruised and sore.. As of now (wednesday), my wrist hurts and my shoulder is sore, too.. Oops. Hope I didn't do anything too bad. I don't think I did.. I'm sure I'll be fine.. But I really need to get better at this trail stuff and QUICK before I really hurt myself out there. I do enjoy it, though! I'm sure I'll figure it out..

So far this week.. Let's see.. I actually took monday off.. I was very tired and sore.. and had some other things to do.. dentist, Halloween.. Tuesday was an early swim (felt sluggish, but decent workout), then Crossfit (great workout! though that's how I found out my shoulder was sore), then later in the evening, I played a soccer game..so got some nice 'sprint' training in. Wednesday has been a nice brick.. man it feels good to get out there & just go 'short & hard' for a while.. Quick 50-ish minute spin, which always kicks my booty a bit.. then off for as many 400's on the treadmill as I can fit in in about 20 minutes.. which this time was 6 x 400 w/ a 200m jog between. Then back a little later for strength & endurance class.. I'm thinking, for now, a good plan is to lift 'heavy' 2 days/wk at crossfit & then do the high rep/low wt stuff 2 days a week.. we'll see how that goes & how long that entertains me! And... that's all I have to say about that..