Showing posts with label humor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label humor. Show all posts

Friday, September 14, 2018

Loving...Not Loving

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

It's time once again for another edition of Loving...Not Loving. This is the where I talk about the things I love but whomp, whomp...there's something not to love.




Friday, June 22, 2018

TGIF! 5 Random Things That Will Make You Smile

Let's face it. There's been a lot of heavy stuff on everyone's minds this week. I've been sitting in front of this blank template trying to prepare my Friday 5 post and I just can't seem to settle on a topic. It's pouring rain and I've already done a weather whining post this week. In fact, I've written 2 of them. This is a running blog and I don't want to do politics here, although can I just say: Whoa. It's been a week. I've had some personal stuff to deal with too, but I'm going to keep it just that, personal.

My goal for my Friday 5 posts is usually to keep them light and breezy. So for today, I'm going to share 5 random things that made me smile. They're even sort of running related! No matter what is happening around us, no matter how bad it might make you feel, laughter is still the best medicine. This nurse practitioner is prescribing a dose of humor.



Sunday, June 17, 2018

I Sure Wish it Was Hotter and More Humid!

Could it be any more hot and humid? Wait, Mother Nature wants me to hold her beer...

The weather this year has been really wacky. We had that really prolonged cold winter into spring. Then suddenly, someone turned up the furnace. It was so hot in May that we broke records. While we've had some moderate days, the heat has mostly been turned up to 11. Accompanied by 1000% humidity. I know there are some of you who call this weather "heavenly", but most will agree with me that running in the heat and humidity is not fun. The air is so saturated that running feels like I've got waterlogged shoes on my feet. Maybe I do. While the heat slows me down, science tells us that it really is the humidity that affects our effort.


Since we can't control the weather, let's have a little fun with it. I say: "It's been so hot". And you say: "How hot is it?"

It's been so hot that the birds have been eating worm jerky.

It's been so hot that the trees are whistling for the dogs.

It's been so hot that after my runs this week, I sweated so much the mosquitoes couldn't find any blood.

In fact, it's been so hot, I sweated so much that I didn't even need to work out.

It's been so hot, that I wish for hot flashes so I can cool off.

It's been so hot that it's been hotter than Dean Karnazes' balls after running across the Sahara.

Kind of cringing after that last one. I guess I've made my point. At least I haven't lost my sense of humor.



Friday, August 25, 2017

Runfessions: August Style

Hello? How did we already get to the end of August? The end of summer? The only thing that makes me realize we're there is that I have SO MUCH to runfess. It's almost scary how much builds up over the month. Thankfully, Marcia opens the runfessional every month and she doesn't even hand out a penance. Whew!

On with the cleansing...



Friday, June 9, 2017

6 Effing Reasons You Should Run

Disclosure statement: this post was brought to you by the letter F. Rated G for Global Running Day.

In case you missed it, Wednesday was Global Running Day. Did you get your run in?

It seems as though there's a day for everything, isn't there? How did this even come about? For example, today is National Strawberry Rhubarb Day. I don't really care for rhubarb, but I can guarantee that my husband and his father would be all over this holiday. If only they knew that it existed!

Some might call it frivolous, but in this case, I'm glad there's a day to celebrate my favorite activity. Even though Global Running Day falls on a day that I don't normally run, I chose to commemorate this special day with a virtual 5k. My incentive? A free medal I received from I Love to Run that asks the question: Why do you run?

I might take that question a little bit further and ask: "why should you run?"



Friday, November 25, 2016

Runfessions for November

It's the day after Thanksgiving and I'm recovering from my food coma. Actually, I'm recovering from my workout with the rugby team. Oh, I'll share more of that on my Sunday post.

Did you overdo it yesterday? Did you get into any heated discussions with family members? Or worse? Well, if you have anything to share, you're in luck. Today is the last Friday of the month which means it's Runfessions! Go ahead, share it all with us. We understand and we don't judge. Come on in. You'll feel so much better. I always do...



Friday, October 28, 2016

Runfessions: October Edition

October is winding down and that means only one thing...it's time to head into the Runfessional again! This is my favorite time of the month because I get to share all my indiscretions and wipe the slate clean for another month. Marcia hosts this fun link up and there are a lot of juicy 'fessions being shared. You don't want to miss out...

Taking the Long Way Home

Friday, September 2, 2016

Is This Thing On? 5 Fitness Photo Bloopers

It's FRIYAY! It's a holiday weekend! Let's get this party started!

As a follow-up to last week's post on taking photos for Instagram, I thought it might be fun to look at the things that can go wrong when taking fitness photos. Some blunders are glaringly obvious, but other boo-boos can be more subtle. As always, view your pictures with a critical eye. Before I share a picture on social media, I always like to ask myself: "is this something I'd want to look at?"

5 Fitness Photo Bloopers

Friday, August 26, 2016

Runfessions: August Edition

I cannot believe it's the end of August! Which means it's time once again for Runfessions! Do you runfess? Marcia's Healthy Slice hosts this monthly wipe the slate clean linkup where you can let it all out. It feels sooooo good. I highly recommend it. It's been a tough month over here at the Long Way Home household and I've been waiting for this opportunity to blow off some steam and let the 'fessions flow...

Runfessions: August Edition

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Staying Grounded, Staying Afloat

Life has been full of ups and downs this summer.

Thankfully, I've got running and yoga to keep me grounded. And I've always got my sense of humor to keep me moving forward.

It's been a really full week and there's lots to read here...

I could not get my legs all the way up this time!

Sunday, June 12, 2016

The Things I Think About When I'm Not Thinking About Running

Well, isn't that interesting!

I found myself saying that to myself, multiple times this week, both on and off the road. As it turns out, when you aren't training for anything, you start to pay more attention to the everyday minutiae of life. Instead of focusing on pace, my thoughts start to wander to other things. It's a nice change for me.

For this week's recap, I thought I'd share some of my thoughts that I have while I'm on the road.


But first things, first. How did my week of training go?

Monday: hip work and Tabata Hollows to Supermans at home
Tuesday: 5.04 miles/42:19 mins; pushups 2 sets of 20; high bar hang x 3
Wednesday: yoga at the studio
Thursday: 5.29 miles/43:57 mins; CrossFit with Becky: rope climbs, handstand prep, lunges with overhead plate, slam balls
Friday: complete rest day
Saturday: 5.03 miles/42:49; pushups 3 sets of 20; high bar hang x 3
Sunday: 5 miles/43:38 according to my Garmin; more likely 6 miles.


Let's talk about today's run, shall we? I set out to do 8 miles this morning. I was not motivated to run at all, even though the humidity was gone and the temperatures were in the 60s. I've had a couple of sleepless nights, worrying about my oldest son who is attending an EDM festival in the city this weekend.  Maybe my run would have gone better had I gotten this text earlier...

Good to know. So many gray hairs.
Anyways, even though I know he's fine, my mind was on him and not on my run this morning. There was a super creepy guy on the path who looked at me for just a little too long as I passed him by. Cue the crawling skin sensation. The smiling tree--if you've been reading my blog for a while, you know about the smiling tree--is gone from the path. That made me kind of sad. His smiling face was my turnaround point for a 6-mile run. They've been cutting trees down like crazy lately around here. This was when I noticed that my Garmin was way off--I know this route well and the mileage was incorrect. As I kept going, I started to feel really fatigued. I just couldn't get my head or my heart into this run. I finally called my husband to come and pick me up. The last time that happened was a year ago. Sometimes you just have to know when to fold 'em. Today was that day.

But somehow, I still managed 5 miles (according to my Garmin). So it wasn't a complete fail.

RIP Smiling Tree
(from the archives)
I did see this graffiti in the underpass this morning. Two thumbs up to whoever wrote this gem. Now you know where I stand. And that's all I'll say about this.


On Thursday, I discussed my plan to work up to 100 pushups with Becky, who told me my plan to do 100 pushups in a row was "just stupid". Ok, then! As she said, what is the point of risking injury with bad form when you get fatigued? She told me that she did Murph on Memorial Day--which is not what it sounds like! Murph is a CrossFit WOD and as part of that WOD, she did 200 pushups in sets of 5. Her telling me that she broke up her pushups into sets pretty much gave me permission to do the same with my 100 pushups. My new training mantra? WWBD.

On Saturday, I did 3 sets of 20 pushups. Can I do 5 sets? Stay tuned.

On my way to 60!

I've been listening to a lot of new music on the run. Have you heard Gwen Stefani's new song? It's another good one and reminds me why I like her music so much. But it makes me wonder--was she a cheerleader in a former life? There's a cheer-like rap in the middle of the song that makes me want to stop running and do cheer moves. Even though I wasn't a cheerleader and have no cheer moves. Take a listen and let me know what you think. This song also reminds me that Gwen Stefani makes some really well written pop songs.



I have got to enroll this puppy in some sort of training. Last week she decided that the house was a much more appealing place to potty than the backyard. My husband and I, independently of each other, both kind of lost it with her. She's done much better since our meltdowns but some trips out to the backyard take forever. There's just so much to sniff and roll in. And don't get me started on the nipping and the chewing. Although it was pretty funny when she ran circles around me while I did those Tabata Hollows to Supermans on the family room floor this week.

The pup and me. I love her. Even though she bites me all the time.
Last night my husband and I went out to dinner. The restaurant was quite crowded and loud. While he and I were talking we heard a very distinctive loud emission from the table next to us, followed by an exclamation: "Mom!" I looked over to check it out because that's how I roll, and I saw an elderly woman sitting there, looking all innocent like nothing happened. Maybe she didn't know. Maybe she hoped someone would blame it on one of the many little kids who were dining at the table. Maybe she hoped someone would blame Grandpa, who was just sitting there enjoying his birthday cake. Sorry, grandma, but you have to own this one! I mean, come on! I couldn't stop laughing because I'm immature like that. I'm pretty sure she wanted to let one quietly slip out because the she felt the pressure, you know because you've done that, but it kind of backfired.

So to speak. 

Pretty sure this will be me someday.
Running around my neighborhood these last couple of weeks has put me back in Mrs Kravitz mode. I'm on alert and I'm checking out everything. The house down the street where the hoarder lives has a big dumpster in front. I wanted to know why. Yesterday, I went to a neighborhood birthday party yesterday and found out that she had a stroke. Her family is cleaning out the house. They should probably just demolish it. A few years ago a tree fell on it, and that probably was a sign.

I also learned about the new couple who moved into the home that was in foreclosure for 2 years. And some juicy gossip about the people in the nicest house on the block. Who don't work. So juicy that I can't spill. It's funny, some the things you learn, isn't it? You never know what goes on behind closed doors. Unless you're Mrs Kravitz, that is. 

There's a woman who I often see walking. The interesting thing, at least to me, is that when she sees me running towards her, she breaks into a run. As soon as she passes me by, she starts walking again. I know this because I've caught her in the act. Why does she feel the need to run when she sees me? I'm not impressed. It makes me kind of sad for her.


The things I think about when I'm on the road...

How was your week? What have you been thinking about on your runs? Any juicy neighborhood gossip you want to share? And how many pushups are you up to?

I'm linking all these ramblings up with Tricia and Holly for their Weekly Wrap. How about you?





Friday, May 27, 2016

Runfessions: It's May!

Just like that, May is winding down! I don't know things have been for you, but for me, this has been a roller coaster of a month. Good thing that the runfessional is open! Do you runfess? Marcia hosts monthly Runfessions and it's really the best time to just let it all out. Let's do this thing. You know you want to.


Spring has finally sprung here in the Midwest. Actually,with temps in the 80s and humidity to match, it feels more like summer. But who's complaining? After a rainy, cold month we have been blessed with amazing warm, sunny weather. The school year is winding down. And I runfess that even though it has been more than 30 years since I graduated from college, I still feel like I should have summers off. It's so hard to be an adult when it's summer, isn't it? Unless you are a teacher, that is.


But speaking of warmer weather, I runfess that I love to sweat. There is nothing I love more than a good sweaty workout. You know the one--where you are just drenched from head to toe? Doesn't that kind of sweat make you feel like you worked extra hard? Even though you know it's mostly because it's warm out, it still makes you feel badass, right? And then you get in the shower and suds it all away? Best.feeling.ever. Even better was last Saturday, when I ran and then later worked in the yard. I was sweaty and dirty. Talk about earning your shower! Don't you look down your nose at me. You know EXACTLY what I'm talking about here.


While dealing with plantar fasciitis, I have been offered more unsolicited advice than I can imagine. All I have to do is tell someone I have PF and it's like I opened Pandora's box. "You need to...roll on a frozen water bottle, roll it on a golf ball, stretch like this (complete with demonstration), cortisone shot, orthotics, stop running, wear sketchers rocker bottom shoes (my personal favorite), use essential oils, try acupuncture, tape it with duct tape, wear compression, night boot, night splint"...and so on. I runfess that while I realize people are trying to help, I don't want any advice. I just want it to go away. Which I know is the only thing that works for PF. Time. And lots of patience. Which I don't have.


I runfess that I am still on a high from Big Sur. Even in spite of all the crap that has been thrown at me the last couple of weeks, and it's been pretty bad, I'm still able to muster up that afterglow I've been savoring. Whenever someone asks me about my marathon or my trip, I feel this warmth and calm and serenity coursing through my body as I talk about my experience. I've never felt like this after running a race. The experience just seems so surreal to me. It has to be the combination of finishing a really hard marathon while at the same time achieving a life goal. Whatever it is, I'm riding the wave as long as I can. Maybe it's just that California vibe. I want to go back and capture that feeling again. I must be nuts because Kristina is getting pretty close to talking me into a trail run with her out there. For now, that's all I'm runfessing about that. Don't you dare mention a word of this to my husband.

California love...
It's not all hills along the coast. This is the beach south of Carmel.
I runfess that I've never been much for meditation, although I'm pretty sure I would benefit from it. I have trouble staying focused. My mind just wanders. A friend of mine receives daily meditation videos and she posted one of them on FB this week. This is the perfect mediation for the week I just had. Please excuse the foul language but this just cracked me up. I read it to my office mate and she was literally crying...
~soft whispering voice~ “….if your thoughts drift to the three ring shit show of your life, bring your attention back to your breathing. And with each breath, feel your body saying: fuck that. With passive acceptance just allow distracting thoughts to flow by - fuck that. With each breath you take, your thoughts become lighter and all the soul eating cocksuckers just fall away into nothing. Take a moment to appreciate the silence. Those assholes can’t piss all over purity like this. You are weightless, timeless, without beginning or end, completely relaxed and free of thought. And as you slowly open your eyes, greet the world and everything in it with a new and beautiful breath of - fuck that.” 
I wear my Momentum Wrap that says "just breathe" every day to work. Maybe I should order one that says "fuck that". Do you think they would make that one?


What do you have to runfess? Do you love to sweat like me? Do you meditate? What do you say to people who give you unsolicited advice?

Don't forget to check out Marcia's post and all the other fun bloggers who are runfessing. This is my favorite link up and you can see why! Especially because she doesn't hand out a penance!
I'm also linking up with my favorite trio, the DC Trifecta of Mar, Courtney, and Cynthia for the Friday Five. I've got five runfessions here. That counts, right?



Friday, May 20, 2016

Friday Fun

TGIF!

Life can't keep me down for long! I'm ending my week on a high note. Here's what's making me happy these days...


--Running, of course! But not just running...running in the sunshine! Since my return from California, the weather has been rainy and cool. It looks like Mother Nature has finally decided to give us a break. The forecast for the next week looks warm and pretty much rain free. This is our reward for putting up with the gloom.

--This article by Mark Remy. He too enjoys a beer at the finish line. When I read "Twenty Years, Twenty Lessons", I thought to myself, doh, why didn't I write this? Although I'd have to come up with 25 lessons. 25 years of running and racing? Can it be? This list hits the nail on the head. Do I have anything to add to his very comprehensive list? Yes, and I talked about this in my post on Wednesday: when the going gets tough, smile. Smiling always lightens the load.

These just never fail to make me smile.
--My coach. She told me how much fun she's having making my training plan to help me meet my goals. To be sure, she has me doing some really hard stuff. But even the hard stuff is fun, as evidenced by this video:



--This new song by Justin Timberlake just makes me happy. I'm not a huge fan of happy pop music, but this one is too catchy to not like. Plus it's JT, right? The video is great too, with lots of people just movin' to the groove. Justin even dances with one of those flailing airdancer guys. Who hasn't wanted to do that? I may have to add this song to my running playlist but there's the risk that I will stop running and start dancing in the middle of the road. As if my neighbors don't already think I'm nuts...




--Finally, here's a little bit of cuteness... Wednesday was such a beautiful day that I took my yoga mat outside and did yoga on the deck. After I finished I wanted to get my plank done for the plank challenge. I decided to video it to see if I could get Cocoa to play along. After all, there are only so many variations of plank I can do. This pup is a stitch!



What's making you smile these days? Any funny stories to share? Awesome things you've seen lately?

I'm linking this post up with the DC Trifecta for Friday Five! Courtney, Mar, and Cynthia host this very popular link up! Check it out!












And with Angela at Happy Fit Mama for High Five Friday! So glad to have a happy fun post to share. 

Friday, April 29, 2016

Runfessions for April

Oh, blogging, how I've missed you this week! And then Marcia hosts Runfessions? Too delicious to pass up, I'm throwing together a quick post because I have a few things to share from our trip. The Big Sur Marathon race recap? I'll be posting that on Sunday, but today's post is all about the shenanigans behind our trip to California. Because our trip was almost perfect. Almost.

Let the 'fessing begin...

Runfessions for April

I runfess...even though the race exceeded my expectations, the Big Sur Marathon expo was a little underwhelming. But there were a few oddities I thought I should mention. For example, as I was walking through the tent, a guy in a lab coat came at me with a rack of porcelain teeth, promising me he'd whiten my teeth in no time. Well dude, my front four teeth are capped. Oh, he'd remove any stains? Seriously? Who let this guy into a race expo? Then another guy came at me with a TENS unit, electrodes at the ready. These had to be the weirdest things I've ever experienced at a race expo. I met up with my husband, who offered to pay for my purchases, and we continued on with our "not a second honeymoon".

Runfessions for April

I runfess that after the Big Sur Marathon, my feet were hurting really badly. Even though I was basking in my post-race glow, I was struggling to follow my husband to the car. To his credit, he offered to pick me up, but nooooo, I had to be the hero. I mean, I ran 26.2, right? We crossed the street and passed an elderly woman walking with a cane. I commented that I could use her cane. "Bless your heart, honey", she said. And I felt really foolish because, yes, I just ran 26.2 miles. #runnerproblems

Runfessions for April
I'm sitting and yes, that beer helped dull the pain...
Yosemite was magnificent. Have you ever been there? My husband totally indulged my need for yoga poses. He even came up with ideas for spots I could do them. Really? Who is he? But it's too bad we had to share the park with other people. When we were snapping pictures of Tunnel View, there was a large group of tourists. Two guys were getting their picture taken. I attempted to snap a photo, and they asked me to move over. "How much room do you need?', I runfess that I asked them. They scooted away. Ooops.

Runfessions for April
Tunnel View. El Capitan, Glacier Point, and Bridalveil Falls all in one shot. 
While in San Francisco, we stayed in the most amazing little boutique hotel. Wine and cheese at 5. Breakfast in the morning. Fireplace in our room. Super comfy bed. Except I runfess I woke up in the middle of the night very itchy. In the morning, I inspected the damage. Only 5 bites, but very red and swollen, and all on the left side of my body. Bedbugs? Spider bites? I don't know what, but something got me. My husband got away untouched. Figures.


We got to the San Francisco Airport for our trip home. Our flight was delayed. And then it was cancelled. The pilot told us that the co-pilot's seat was broken and they couldn't find another plane. Have you ever heard this one? We made a beeline to customer service only to have to wait in line for about 2 hours. Rebooked to Denver with a connection to Chicago, we flew to the gate. We waited to be called. And saw the plane pull away from the jetway. Stunned, we approached the desk and were told to wait for our name to be called. When we were finally called to the podium, the customer service rep immediately copped an attitude. I runfess I may have used air quotes when I talked about the co-pilot's broken seat. And I got the hands on the hips and "ma'am"ed back attitude from the customer service asshole rep. Yep. Bottom line, we went to another customer service agent. Got travel vouchers, a flight home in the morning, and hotel and food vouchers for the night.

Runfessions for April
Oh those "air quotes"....
Got any runfessions? Any travel stories? Do you let this stuff just roll off your back? We did. We laughed about it, except the last one. 

I'm linking this post with Marcia at Marcia's Healthy Slice for Runfessions. It's just the best link up ever. Now I'm going to bed. It's been a long 2 days of trying to get home!

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

5 Signs that You Have the Taper Crazies

In case you didn't know, I'm running a marathon this weekend. Not just any marathon, but the Big Sur Marathon! My training is wrapped up and I'm hoping that what I did is enough to get me across the finish line. After all, there was very little running the last 6 weeks. Thank you very much, plantar fasciitis! I'm feeling a little restless without having much training on the plan this final week. I've got all this nervous energy and I've been buzzing around the house like the energizer bunny! I won't lie, even though I'm anxious, it feels good to have more time in my day to focus on other things besides training.

And yes, my wacky sense of humor has returned. Is it because I'm glad to be done with training or is it the taper crazies?

5 Signs that You Have the Taper Crazies

What to do with all that nervous energy besides worry? What's a runner to do?

You sing out loud on your final training runs. Because they are shorter. Because there are no paces to hit. Because you just get to run. But then you worry that you aren't running enough. You remind yourself to trust your training. You remember all those deadlifts and squats Becky had you do and that is what will power you up those hills. You remember how much you love running. Your runs feel easy right now. You think maybe you didn't do enough to get ready. You remind yourself that you did enough to get ready. You try to forget that you still have to run 26.2 miles.
5 Signs that You Have the Taper Crazies
KB swings
You text wacky selfies to your friend who is running Boston alone. The selfies have all the marathon signs that drove you crazy the last time you ran one. But secretly, you hope to see some of these signs at your race. Because even though they sometimes annoy you, you appreciate the efforts. And they always make you smile. And smiling makes running feel a little bit easier.
5 Signs that You Have the Taper Crazies
I know it's a lion, but that's all I had at work.
5 Signs that You Have the Taper Crazies
Headstand? Running a marathon? Growing out your bangs?
5 Signs that You Have the Taper Crazies
Yes, they do. BQ, baby.
You eat all the food. Including these yummy cupcakes that I won from another blogger, Sana. Oh yes, that happened. It's probably the best prize I've ever won from a blog giveaway. No hemp hearts in these babies. Just sugar, butter, and yummy goodness. I won't lie, though. I shared them with my boys. Because otherwise, I'm just a glutton.

5 Signs that You Have the Taper Crazies
From Georgetown Cupcakes
You obsess about hurting yourself or becoming ill before the marathon. Washing your hands becomes more than hygiene, it becomes a mission. You avoid sidewalk cracks, not only because you are superstitious but also because you don't want to trip. You also avoid any people who look sick. Which is kind of hard to do when you work in the medical profession. Your mind screams with possibilities. Every sneeze is potential for pneumonia. Every creak, every niggle, every twinge is a potential DNS.

5 Signs that You Have the Taper Crazies

You read all the information you can find about your race and review the course map so much that you feel that you've already run the race. You know every mile marker, every uphill and downhill. You anticipate the guy playing the grand piano at mile 13. That big hill that starts at mile 9 and ends at mile 11. You start stalking the weather. Maybe you have more than one weather app on your phone. Maybe you have 4 weather apps and you check them all, favoring the app that has the best forecast. Every day the forecast changes and you imagine the worst. Looks like it's going to be windy. There's been plenty of wind here in Chicago. I can do this!

5 Signs that You Have the Taper Crazies
weather.com
And away I go! This isn't my first marathon, but it's my first destination marathon! Funny thing, even after 3 marathons, I still get nervous and excited. I can't wait to start and I can't wait to be done. It's all part of the process. No matter what, I wouldn't miss it for the world. I won't be blogging the rest of the week. I'll be taking a little time off this week to enjoy my time away with my husband. You can stalk me on my Facebook Page or Instagram for race updates. My race recap will be up next Sunday.

How about you? What happens to you during your taper? Do you go crazy? Do you have a ton of nervous energy? What do you do to burn it off?

Thanks to everyone for following me through my training, my injury, and everything else. It really does take a village to train a marathoner. I will run with all of you in my heart!

I'm linking up with Deb Runs for Wednesday Word. Today's word is energetic. Who me?




Sunday, April 17, 2016

Big Sur Marathon Training Week 11

It's the final countdown to the Big Sur Marathon! One week to go until the race. This was my last full effort. And I am ready!

Big Sur Marathon Training Week 11


Monday: rest day. But I did stop on the way to work to steal me some sunshine. And a yoga pose.

Big Sur Marathon Training Week 11
Reverse warrior
Tuesday: I had 6 miles on the plan, so I went to the pool for some pool running. The lifeguards were very chipper this morning. One of the lifeguards was dancing as he patrolled around the dive well. Apparently earlier this year there was an issue with a swimmer who complained that the music was too loud. Long story short, OSHA came out to check the sound system and found that it was within acceptable limits. So the lifeguards got their groove back.

I didn't get a selfie, though because they were just too observant! I thought maybe I'd get one in the locker room, but all the pool noodlers were in there, getting ready for class. I did overhear this: when asked by another noodler how she was feeling since she got out of the hospital, a lady replied that her "stupid doctor" put her on some heart medication but she's not taking it because she's "mad at him". Don't you love that kind of logic? I wonder how that's working out for her.

Big Sur Marathon Training Week 11

Wednesday: There was speedwork on the plan but since I'm still taking it easy on my feet, I put my bike in the trainer for another GCN video. This one was called HIIT Intense Cycle Training Workout. It was supposed to be 40 minutes BUT there's a little surprise at the end. The instructor threw in an extra set of intervals. I laughed to myself because the people in the class did not look happy when he announced it. I wasn't either because this is another really tough workout. And dammit, there were ads in this video. One of them popped up right in the middle of that last interval too. That really threw me off. The other thing that I noticed is that there is one girl who is in every one of these GCN videos. I call her RBF because, RBF. She looks miserable in every video. At the end of this one she's talking with the girl next to her and I had the thought that this would be perfect for some bad lip reading. "How about that last interval?" "This guy is a real dick." "Let's go get Starbucks."

There was some yoga, after all that.
Big Sur Half Marathon Week 11
Twisted high lunge
Thursday: I headed to the pool for another hour of pool running aka aqua jogging around the dive well. For almost the whole time, I had the dive well to myself, with the exception of the lifeguards. With about 15 minutes left to go, the pool noodlers joined me for their warm up. One lady, a newbie, asked me if this was a class. I shook my head no, but thought to myself, do I look like a freaking pool noodler? I just picked up the pace and kept going.

Big Sur Marathon Training Week 11
He moves fast!
Later I went to see Becky for my final session until after the marathon. She had a tough workout planned for me. I pulled the sled, loaded up with plates, down the street. Every once in a while, she had me stop and do KB swings, KB deadlifts, or sidesteps with the resistance band. When she finally let me turn around, she got the idea to have me walk backwards, pulling the sled. At least I could see the cars coming at me before they might hit me, right? There were more KB swings and sidesteps. No rowing today, thankfully. My hips, glutes, and hamstrings were sore. This will be good for those hills of California.

Big Sur Marathon Training Week 11
This one's for the downhills

Friday: rest day.

Saturday: I had 4 miles on the plan and that's what I set out to do before work. It was a perfect morning for a run. 45 degrees, no wind, bright sunshine--oh my! Spring, where have you been? I took it easy, my legs felt good, and nope, no foot pain. I even picked up a penny for good luck. Could this be happening? 4.31m/8:39m/m

Big Sur Marathon Training Week 11
Warrior 2
Sunday: I had eight miles on the plan and I wanted to enjoy them since this would be my last run until Big Sur. I ran to my favorite place to train, the retention pond with the 2 mile loop. I haven't run much there since my injury. Even though it was early, the parking lot was packed. My foot didn't bother me much but the temperatures did. I haven't run in warm weather since Florida, 6 weeks ago. I'm not complaining, but it did make things a little tougher for me! What a great way to wrap up my marathon training cycle! 8.34 miles/8:54m/m

Big Sur Marathon Training Week 11
It doesn't get any better than this.
And now the final countdown begins. I'm not planning on running at all this week. Fresh feet is the goal. A little cycling, pool running, and yoga just to keep me from going completely nuts.

How was your week? Is spring happening where you are? Do you pick up pennies for good luck?

Good luck to everyone running Boston tomorrow!!!

I'm linking up with Holly and Tricia for their Weekly Wrap. It's the place to be. You don't want to miss out, do you?












I'm also linking up with Erin at Her Heartland Soul for her Weekend Snapshot. Got a few of those in this post...