Run Time, Then Nap Time?

Sunday was a long run day. I was scheduled for 7, but I did 8 miles instead. I think all of my miles were around 13:00. I was tired, and it was hot-100 degrees outside. And of course, Ghetto Renew didn't have the AC on as cool as I would have liked it. It had to have been over 75 inside the building. Maybe when they open the new location... everything will work a little more like a professionally run business.

Afterward was dinner with the BF and his family. I had this yummy sushi at Sushi Joy. In my opinion, the best place to eat sushi in Boise. My tummy was really happy when I left that place.

Then it was home. I don't know why but I just sat down to watch TV and immediately nodded off. It was only 8pm, and I got nearly 12 hours of sleep the night before. I don't know why, but after my runs, I get really sleepy. My diet is as healthy as ever, I take a multivitamin, my water intake is always good, but any run over 5 miles (which is all I have on the schedule until November), I just have to sleep.

I was thinking that it has to do with the adrenaline and all those other hormones getting boosted during a run, and then dropping a few hours later when I calm down. I don't know. Does anyone have this problem also?

Mini-Tri Day

Today, the kids all start school. I was hoping to get in the pool this afternoon, since all summer long it has been swarming with kids of all ages.

I got in the clubhouse pool and swam. But for 10 minutes. Then I got kicked out.

The pool was "closed" for maintenance. What?! The one day that I think I can get in and use it, it is closed?!?!

So I went for my tempo run on the treadmill at Ghetto Renew instead. I was sweating like a beast. It wasn't pretty. So I won't post a picture.

Now, I leave for work in an hour. If I bike, it will be like my own personal mini-triathalon day.
10 minute pool swim
5 mile tempo treadmill run
6 mile bike

If I include the 4 miles that I will at least be walking at work, does that count as a quadrathlon. With walking replacing the kayaking? 

Today's Yollar deal of the day is a $20 massage. As a Certified Massage Therapist and Holistic Health Practitioner, I do not like to spend more then $30 for a massage. This massage is a very welcome deal for my sore leggies after all this work today. 


With all of the massage therapists out there, if groupon, living social, amazon, and all of the other companies offered more massage deals, I think I would be a very happy girl.

First 10K - Done!

Well, that was fun. I finished my first ever race in one piece and nothing horrible happened along the way. The inaugural Project Athena 10K (there was a 5K and a kids 1K also) was this morning in Julia Davis Park at 8am. This was my first ever 10K, first running race ever. I was expecting to finish under 90 minutes, but I did it at 76 minutes.

The swag bag that I picked up yesterday at Shu's was pretty nice. I thought I read online it was going to have $65 dollars of goodies in it, but I am pretty happy with the Merrell Inversion Bag (I really wanted one of these to take to the gym instead of a big backpack), Wigwam running socks with the Project Athena on the cuff, a $15 coupon to Shu's, Sun-Rype fruit leather and some VitaFusion gummy samples. Oh and the Merrell race tech shirt is very nice too. 

I work swing shift, so going to bed before midnight is pretty tough. And I never use an alarm clock to wake up in the afternoon. I always get my 7-8 hours of sleep every night. I was aiming for a 10pm bedtime, but that wasn't going to happen. Even after 2 strong gin & tonics. I set my alarm clock for 6am. Set the coffee pot on auto brew and got my clothes all ready for the morning.

11pm I popped a melatonin.

11:30pm I added an Ambien and a Tylenol PM to the mix. Yeah. My liver and drug tolerance is toast.

Midnight-ish I am finally asleep.

5:30am I am wide awake. WTF! I have a half hour before my alarm! The BF gets up and I lay in bed until my alarm buzzes. I turn on the coffee pot since the the circuit breaker flipped off in the night. I have a banana slathered with Nutella. How people can eat that on toast, I don't understand. I down only a cup of coffee and I start to feel the tremors of a tummy ache.

Is it silly I bought a Race-Lite-Go just for something cool to hang my race number on when I run instead of using safety pins AND have a pouch to carry my cell phone in? I also took along an Orange Hammer Gel too. Anyways...

We get to the park about 7:30. I really thought that there would have been more people running the race. I was race number 56 and there was, what, less then 250. Total bummer. I was now getting a little worried that I was going to be in last place. My tummy was not happy and my mouth was dry.

We all set off and I start slow. With that being my only speed, I moved from 2/3rds back of pack to the back 3. My tummy was still not happy and my mouth was still SO dry. A mile into it I noticed a water container that the Boise RunWalk had set out. I had to take some water (thanks!) and get on my way. I was passed by 1 girl while I had a sip. I caught back up to her but it was at mile 3. I can now see how exciting it is to spot someone up ahead make that decision to pass up to them. My tummy started to feel a little better and I did not stop to walk until mile 4.5 or so. That is so impressive given my size and ability and all. I was getting pretty tired and made sure to walk to drink my water at the water stations. There wasn't anyone really cheering except the people involved with the race - volunteers and other racers. I did get one "Good Job" by a Team in Training coach running with 3-4 other people. At mile 5 I heard someone call out 58 minutes, so that helped me figure out how well I was doing. I couldn't go any faster then what I did at the finish line but I did better then expected. And I did not finish last. Just 5th from last. :-)

There was a raffle after the race with all sorts of goodies. Sunglasses, passes to paintball and a bunch of other things that were handed out before I got there. I actually got a prize! It was a family pass to the Discovery Center. I don't have a gaggle of kids to take, but the BF can take his son and his BFF if 12-13 year old boys don't think they are too old for the DC.

All in all, I am pretty pumped about the day. I had 2 -15 minute naps, food and a hop in the hot tub, a shower and now I am ready to hit Starbucks, PayetteBrewing, and 3 G&T's. I am pretty sure I am going to be one of the first people to register for this race again next year.

Time to ice the knees. They are pretty stiff compared to most days. 

Blood Type Diet

I glanced at the blood type diet book a little over a year ago when I was looking at trying to lose weight a little more seriously. I am also one of those nerdy people who will read anything I get my hands on. Except Sci-fi. I am not that nerdy. ;-)

I respect the Blood Type Diet book because I think that where our ancestors were from affects our health today. If you have not read it, I suggest that you do. It makes sense to me. I think it suggested that I cut the carbs and eat more lamb or something like that. I don't recall everything about it, but I do suggest people take a look at the book.

Anyways... I noticed this flyer around the BSU campus when I was in the Health Science Riverside building earlier in the week.

Email ericscottmorrison@gmail.com to volunteer. 

My blurry cell phone pic reads:
SonMor prductions of Boise is looking for volunteers to try the Blood Type Diet for 3 months during the filming of a documentary about Peter D'Adamo (author of Eat Right For Your Type.) Looking for candidates of each blood group (O,A,B,AB) with a specific health challenge they would like to improve. Must be motivated, dedicated, and willing to have a camera crew inside the home to document the experience of the volunteer. Please contact: Eric Morrison ericscottmorrison@gmail.com (512) 983-0323

Seems like a fun deal if you want to maybe do something healthy and want to indulge some secret (or not so secret) reality TV show fetish.

I don't think my BF would like me having a camera crew inside the house. I don't really want to be on a reality show. I would be the one fighting with everyone that everyone hates. lol

Is there any reality show on TV you would love to be on?

Boy or a Girl

Ok. Let me just say that I am a female. I do girly things. Like enjoy shopping, paint my nails, wear make-up, and wear lots of pink.

Today, I did my scheduled 5 mile workout on the treadmill at Ghetto Renew. (5miles, 66 minutes, right on my target.) I was feeling good and could have extra miles because I felt I had the energy to do more and nothing was really hurting. No knee pain, no major muscle pain. I felt, dare I say, athletic.

It could have been the placebo effect of wearing something new and comfortable. I was wearing a new dress from Athleta. (If I take this whole running thing seriously past this next year, I totally need to buy more of these. LOVE THEM!) Black dress with black compression shorts underneath. Black Lunarglide Nikes and a black Adidas mesh cap. I love wearing everything except the hat. I think all hats make me look a little dykey. But it keeps the sweat and my hair out of my face better then a headband and I have chin-length hair, so a ponytail isn't a good option. A young boy was walking with his dad from Stan's and asked him if I was a girl. He asked his dad if I was a girl 3 times as I walked out of Ghetto Renew past them to my car. I was mildly embarrassed. But I know I look sorta boyish in a hat, but I have red fingernails and carrying a pink cell phone and pink Ipod with pink earbuds. While wearing a dress.

I actually planed on wearing this outfit on Saturday for the Athena 10k. This was my test run to make sure I did not have any chaffing or whatever. I just bought this outfit for the race. Now I think I need to just scratch that and wear maybe something a little more girly in color. Like this this skirt in the Jazzy Jam purple color with a purple top that I have that matches perfectly and maybe buy a colored visor instead of a hat or something. Gosh. I don't know.

I usually don't care how I look when I work out. I know I look bad, all sweaty and stinky. But now, I think I am going to have a complex about it from here on out.

Do you worry about how others perceive you when you work out?

Dreadmill + Man Vs Food + hot dogs = tough run

Today I did 5 miles in 70 minutes. Including warm up & cool down. I was on the right pace that I wanted to be at, even though I just got out of bed and out the door. I really don't like to do that. I was tired and not warmed up with my coffee. I felt really slow. I even had my workout clothes all ready for me, so I had no excuses.

I got to Ghetto Renew, and it was hot. Hotter then what it was in there yesterday. I actually was getting light headed and dizzy from being so hot slogging on the treadmill. I am going to have to bring my own fan in one day.

At mile 2, there was a gust of Stan's greasy goodness odor coming in from next door. It was odd. Maybe the HVAC system has something wrong with it in the whole building. It was like I was in Stan's kitchen, not a dusty gym. It is really hard working out on the treadmill, watching Man Vs Food and smelling hot dogs cooking.

My knee was bothering me a little. And the ball of my left foot. I've had nothing but problems since getting Brooks Adrenaline 11's over a month ago. I'm going to have to take them back and try something else.

Dreadmill Day

I have not been cross training in the last few weeks. I thought today, I better make some time to get to Ghetto Renew and get something done. I really wanted to run, but with yesterday as a long run day and with speedwork scheduled Thursday, that I am going to do tomorrow. Today was a good day to add something other then running.

The last few years I usually ride my bike most of the year. Last year I drove my car less then 8000 miles. This year, I have found all sorts of excuses to not ride to work and back. (Last time I rode my bike, I had to change a tube because, I think, a co-worker thought it would be funny to mess with my ride) It is silly to drive, when it is only 3 miles away. And my bike is in need of a tune up. But I did some minor maintenance which was air up the tires and adjust the brakes. (My last bike ride was 30 miles and my back brake was rubbing my wheel the whole way!) So, this is going to be part of my cross training this week. I am not going to drive to work the rest of this week. 6 miles a day for 4 days this week, which will be good for me. The only thing that I hate is going up that dang Protest hill off of Federal Way, at the end of the night. I protest, and cuss that dang hill every time I go up it.

At Ghetto Renew, I just walked on the Dreadmill 3 miles. Positive incline up to +20 and negative incline of -3. That +20 is sure a workout. My calves and hammys were burning. They are going to get lots of stretching tonight.

What do you like to do on non-run days? Bike? Yoga? I would like to add yoga, but there are never any classes that fit my strange work hours. Hint, hint, hint, Boise yoga studios. Something around noon-2pm would be so nice for me.

Sunday's Long Run

So, I drank a little too much last night. I am going to make that my last bit of drinking alcohol for 2 weeks. (well, I may have a glass of wine with dinner tonight if the BF's parents have drinks available) I did wake up this morning a little dehydrated, but I had to run. I turned on the coffee pot and had a Mango Hammer Fizz to help with my self-imposed dehydration. 1.5 cups of coffee, a Fizz, a few glasses of water, a Hammer gel later, I was ready to go.

I was only scheduled to do 4 miles, but I have a lot of nerves regarding this 10k coming up. So I did 6.2 miles to ease my mind. I will be doing it on maybe 4 hours of sleep, since I work swing shift and don't really want to take the night off of work. (and being slightly hungover mimics lack of sleep, right? lol) But I did the 6.2 in less then 90 minutes. Doing this workout really helped take the pressure off of my mind. I expect to eat maybe just a gel and a cup of coffee when I get up and then head out to the race. I know what time goal to shoot for and how I will feel afterward. I expect about the same time if not a bit better on the 20th. I know I will take less walk breaks because it won't be so hot at 8am compared to noon. I do not like the heat.

I did my slog on the greenbelt from the zoo to past the golf course towards Barber Park and then back. What I noticed on these past few jaunts were that the users on the east end are less friendly then the west end users- even though there are more users. I had 3 people wave, say Hi, or smile today and 1 was a Boise PD bike cop, so I don't think he should count. On the west end on the past few slogs, nearly everyone I pass wave or say Hi. This is just something I find a bit strange. I even painted my nails yesterday so when I wave today, I would not have chipped nails, but nice shiny perfect red polish.

Do you acknowledge others when you pass them? I really don't mind waving but saying Hi is sometimes a little hard when my mouth is dry and I am breathing hard.

Saturday night

Its Saturday night. I am torn between drinking a bottle of wine and pitcher of beer or staying just alcohol-free enough to not be dehydrated for a 6 mile slog that I want to do in the morning.

How do you balance the desire to party and the desire to want to perform efficiently?

70 degrees and rain

Yay! It was nice and cool today. Cloudy, 70 degrees, and some rain starting up when I left my house. Perfect! I had 3 scheduled miles to do today, which I did from Veteran's Park to about Lake Harbor and back. 3 miles = 40 minutes. Which included warm up/cool down and a short walk break in the middle. I felt good. My left shin started to cramp a bit when I did my walk break in the middle but my last mile I really felt like I could keep going. I was a little sad that when I started out, there was rain. But it ended in just a few minutes of my slog. I really wanted to run in the rain.

My10k is coming up soon.  Good news is that the race fees for that race are tax deductible. Bad news is that this week I am getting kind of nervous. I worry that after spending so much on fees for races this year, that I am going to hate running and be miserable until Christmas. The next 4 months is now dependent on how well this Project Athena 10k is going to work out for me. I am am not going to dress up for the race, but I am going to be all girly and wear all pink. If I can find a pink running skirt this weekend that will fit me, I am going to have to get it.

Fat-thlete

While searching for a race review of the Project Athena race (which is 20 days away. Prices go up this week so register now!), I found a new term that I am going to refer myself as.

Fat-thlete

If the definition for Athlete is:

a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport, exercise, or game requiring physical skill.

Then a Fat-thlete is:  
a fat person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a fat participant in a sport, exercise, or game requiring physical skill.

Me, at 180 generous pounds is more then just a fat participant in these runs. I am a Fat-thlete.  

 

Sunday's Run

Sunday, I wanted to get up early and go run on the greenbelt again before it got hot. Well, I woke up at 10am-ish and it was already 80. And it seemed a little smoky from the Saturday fire(s) in the area, so I did my 4 scheduled miles on the treadmill. 13:39, 13:00, 12:52, 12:45. My left shin felt really tight during the 1st 2 miles. I stopped and stretched a few times during those 2 miles. I guess a little bit of dehydration affects me a lot. I had a few drinks Saturday while watching season 4 dvds of Mad Men. And a couple glasses of water just isn't enough to replenish what I forced out. I will not drink so much now the night before the Sunday long run.

The BF usually runs 2.5-3miles when he works out. I signed him up for the Run For The Hills 5k so he can do it fairly easily compared to the Half. And so that I won't be alone slogging the Half. He wasn't real happy about running anything. Even the Main Street Mile last year. (he's a hypochondriac that is afraid of bad knees and gout) He knew that I was going to do 4 miles. So, he did 4.5. He spent Sunday hurting and limping around the house. LOL. He is in competition with me for some strange reason. And it is annoying.

How many drinks can you have before it affects your performance? Does your Significant Other want to compete with you?