Saturday, May 2, 2015

Ultimate Coffee Date - May

Linking up with CocoDeborah, and Lynda to share what I would tell you if we were having coffee [or insert beverage of choice] together.


Since it's Saturday morning, my beverage of choice is orange juice! (I actually drink OJ at any time of day or night - not just on Saturday mornings. But we'll roll with it. =D)

If we were catching up over orange juice, I would tell you:

I'm volunteering at a fundraising gala this Thursday called Taste for Life.
The gala is hosted by a local women's shelter called Apna Ghar. My company has partnered with Apna Ghar on a number of functions, and this event sounded like a really fun way to get involved.


Chefs from all over Chicago will provide food tastings featuring the color purple (which is the color of Domestic Violence Awareness Month). Guests get to vote for their favorite dish, for which the winning chef will receive recognition. Additionally, there will be raffle prizes, live entertainment, and music.

My volunteer duty for the evening will be to sell raffle tickets. I have to admit that I am a little nervous! I've never been good at selling things. (For the record, I don't enjoy when people try to sell things to me, either). When I was a child, I had trouble selling Girl Scout cookies, doing bake sales, etc. I am hoping that since this is a fundraising event, the attendees will be more open to buying.

Beyond the nerves, I am really excited to get dressed up and experience this event!

NFL Draft Town in Chicago is quite a spectacle.
I went to the festival on Thursday night with Rose, and will be going again today with Adam. The festivities are a lot of fun! The city has really outdone itself.

I took a TON of pictures. Here are a few highlights:

Top Left: Hanging out with a Lombardi Trophy. No big deal.
Top Right: The Chicago skyline lit up for the NFL Draft.
Bottom Left: Rose and me
Middle: Selection Stage
Middle Right: Me with Bears kicker Robbie Gould
Bottom Right: Me getting an autograph from Steelers legend and Hall of Famer, Mel Blount







I tried some new speedwork and it is no joke.
For a long time, my go-to speedwork interval sessions included a 1:1 ratio of tempo to recovery. Xaarlin advised that I might get more bang for the buck with longer intervals. She suggested speedwork intervals of 3:30 tempo, 1:30 recovery.

I've tried the longer intervals twice now. Wow, it is a tough workout! That 3:30 can really seem like eternity, especially after about the 90-second mark. Comparatively, the 1:30 recovery feels like it ends in a flash. So far, I've only done four repeats during each session, which feels like plenty. It'll take me awhile to work up to five or more.

As grueling as these interval workouts are, I feel fantastic afterwards! We'll see if I can keep up the momentum. I want to run a sub 2:10 half marathon this year and I am hoping these efforts will pay off.

I'm trying a heart rate monitor.
At Maggie's clothing swap last weekend, Bethany brought a couple of extra heart rate monitors that she had received for promotional purposes. I was happy to snag a new one. (The heart rate monitor that came with my first Garmin has long since died.)

I tried out the new monitor this week. The instructions said to wet the sensors a bit before putting against your skin. As a result, I kept visualizing electric currents running through my chest. This is not a pleasant image. It doesn't help that the monitor has blinking lights on it, too.


I was self-conscious that those blinking lights might show through my shirt, leading other people to think I was some kind of maniacal robot. I tried to overlap the monitor with my sports bra.

Electricity-prompted paranoia aside, I was fascinated by the data analytics that the monitor produced. It'll be interesting to see if and how the numbers change over time.

Adam and I are celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary at the end of the month.
Time really flies! We haven't figured out what we're going to do to celebrate. Maybe just a weekend trip up to southwest Michigan? We'll probably have to keep it low key because there's actually a lot of travel in the calendar this month. And...

Timing is everything.
Adam's family is hosting a reunion later this month in Pittsburgh. From what I understand, this is the first reunion they've had in at least a decade. It sounds like it's going to be an incredible shindig! But, as timing would have it, the festivities begin less than 48 hours after I get back from Korea. What are the odds?

Speaking of which...

I need to start figuring things out for the Korea trip.
Helen and I have had a few conversations over IM about high-level plans. Beyond that, I haven't thought at all yet about what to bring or what to see and do, etc., etc. Time to get my butt into gear. I am really excited to go!


What would you tell me over coffee and orange juice?

24 comments:

  1. I would so want the blinking lights to appear through my shirt. LOL! I may try your intervals. I usually clock mine by distance. Usually I run .35 and rest .20. Have a wonderful trip to Korea and enjoy your anniversary as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL! I've been seeing lots of references to today being National Star Wars Day so today might be a good day to have blinking lights. I will have to try intervals based on distance, too. It's always nice to change up the mindset and focus and ensure things are interesting! Thanks so much for the travel/anniversary wishes!!!

      Delete
  2. I would tell you to not worry about the electricity from the heart rate monitor! Oh and I'd share with you how effective that speedwork has been for me!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the comforting and encouraging words, Wendy! I am thrilled to hear that speedwork has been really effective for you. That is great news!

      Delete
  3. How cool that you're going to Korea!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Katie! The only thing is that a lot of stuff needs to get done at work between now and then, LOL. Going on vacation isn't about doing less work - it's just about reallocating the work to the weeks before and after, you know? =D

      Delete
  4. My boys have been watching the draft non stop. It's so boring I don't get it. Thanks for linking up with us for coffee today. I love these posts!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for co-hosting these link-ups, Deborah! I am loving reading everyone's posts, too. I agree - the draft on TV would be really boring to watch. But I guess it might work as something to have on in the background???

      Delete
  5. Congrats on the upcoming anniversary! I love using my heart rate monitor because I'm obsessed with metrics. Plus it's a good way to know when I can really dig in and give it a little extra instead of being lazy.

    xoxo,
    Meghan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Meghan! Yes, it is really cool to see all the numbers laid out in perfect (or imperfect, LOL) harmony. It'll also be a great way to objectively determine when to dig in as opposed to just saying, "I'm tired." The numbers don't lie, right? =)

      Delete
  6. I laughed at your experience with the heart monitor. That was pretty funny. But I would have thought the same thing. :-)

    I love speedwork. I started off with 1 minute speed and 1:30 recovery, then 2 minutes speed with 2 minutes recovery, and am now at 5 minutes speed with 2 minutes recovery. Tough but I also feel fantastic afterwards.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL on these heart rate monitors. Do you use one, too?

      Wow! Great progression on your speedwork! That is really impressive. I've been so lackadaisical about speedwork that right now my mindset is just that any speedwork is better than none at all. I do love that sense of accomplishment upon completing the workout, though!

      Delete
    2. I do not but would like to. I have a Nike Sportswatch and I think I can use a Garmin heart monitor. Let me know if you happen to have a spare one. :-)

      Delete
    3. My Garmin heart rate monitor's battery is dead. =( Otherwise I would totally give it to you!

      Delete
  7. Blinking lights? Whoa!

    Happy Anniversary!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL, yeah, the blinking lights are pretty funny! In one sense it's a good design because it lets you know that the monitor is working. But in the other sense, it looks kind of funny. =)

      Thanks for the anniversary wishes, Erica!

      Delete
  8. I am curious about the draft festivities... what did they have for people? I think I saw a ball pit for kids on TV. lol

    I am happy to hear you are doing longer intervals! They will get easier with time! You can always do distance based ones too, or ladders, etc. :)

    Happy early anniversary! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh my gosh, there was so much to see and do! All kinds of memorabilia, exhibits, photo ops, shopping, and physical challenges (e.g. vertical leap, 40-yd dash, flag football, etc.) Will tell you more about it when we meet up for lunch later this week. =)

      Appreciate the encouraging words about the speedwork and glad to hear that it does get easier with time! I've never tried ladders but will have to give it a whirl soon. Anything to keep these workouts interesting!

      Thanks for the anniversary wishes. =)

      Delete
  9. Ah, speedwork. I was really good about it for years and it made a big difference in my running. So, stick with it! Vary it up, too. Maybe try some Yasso 800s or 400s? (I think 400s work best for half marathon training).

    Jason's and my wedding anniversary is at the end of the month, too. We have no plans, either. I suppose if I don't plan something we'll continue to have no plans. Things I've learned after almost 12 years :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Speedwork has been my nemesis, too! Mentally it is so challenging to get started, knowing that it's going to hurt. Would you believe that I actually don't even know what Yassos are? I've heard talk about them so much but I don't know the details. I'll have to do some research!

      Happy anniversary to you and Jason!!! And I understand what you mean about needing to take charge of the planning for any kind of celebrations. It is nice to have control, though, right? =D

      Delete
  10. Erin is right that speedwork makes a huge difference. The one caveat is be careful not to overdo it. I think a few of my past injuries were a result of trying to do too much, too soon at the track. Even just a few intervals once a week at a speed that is just outside your comfort zone will pay huge dividends. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Caveat noted! I was reading Jeff Galloway's website and he also warned that while speedwork has a lot of upside, it also brings with it an increased risk of injury. This is really good to know. I think a once-per-week speedwork session is PLENTY. Thanks Pete!

      Delete
    2. You are welcome! It will be exciting to see the super speedy Emily crush her goals and continue on to even greater heights! :)

      Delete
    3. "Super speedy" is a stretch but thanks very much for your confidence, Pete! You are the king of speed and quite the inspiration for all of us CRBs. =) BTW - I just saw you posted your Indy Mini recap. Off to read!!!

      Delete