Runfessions

I'm going to do double-duty today and link up both with Marcia's Runfessions, and with Marcia, Patti, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.

I runfess...

I got an ugly blood blister on my foot several weeks ago after wearing an incompatible combination of running shoes and socks. I'll spare you the details and pictures, but trust me, the aftermath is not pretty. 

Normally when I get a blood blister, it goes away within a few days. Unfortunately, this one left a mark that stubbornly refuses to fade. It's to the point that I've been wearing socks to yoga class. Even so, I am self-conscious of being barefoot in the locker room lest folks catch a glimpse and then run away screaming in a fit of terror. 

I am SO thankful it isn't sandal season right now. Otherwise, this might become a last resort:

I runfess...

I had a treadmill-induced social dilemma last week. 

My company's fitness center has a row of about 10 treadmills. I was the only person using one. Then, a woman came in and took the treadmill right next to me.

I was really surprised. I considered moving over to a different treadmill. After much internal debate, I ultimately elected to stay put, but I felt awkward for the rest of my run.

I've always operated under the theorem that thou shalt always space out thy treadmill occupancy. Is that not so much the case any more?

I runfess...

Food journaling has always been the best way to keep myself accountable. Unfortunately, my tracking has been hit or miss recently. My onsite Weight Watchers group is also terminating this week, and there are no other groups conveniently located to my home or office. This means I'm about to lose another fantastic resource for keeping myself accountable.

So far, I've been able to get away with not being as conscientious as I'd like. However, I definitely need to start being much, MUCH more careful.

I runfess...

I looked at my GU inventory and saw a bunch of packets that are past their expiration date. I never thought of myself as a GU hoarder, but the evidence is right there.

Expiration dates are not going to deter me. I still plan to consume all of those packets in due time. 

Yes, I know some of you (Adam) are shuddering right now.

Your turn! Do you have any runfessions to share?

Training week recap: Jan 25-31, 2016

Yay for tomorrow being the first day of February! To me, February is winter's light at the end of the tunnel. The month goes by quickly since there so many holidays/fun events. Groundhog's Day, the Super Bowl, Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day, President's Day... Before we know it, March will be here and that also means springtime is approaching!

Here's how my training week went:

MONDAY - Rest
TUESDAY - Run 3.1 miles, 30 minutes of lifting
WEDNESDAY - Zumba class
THURSDAY - 35 minutes on treadmill (10 minute warmup, followed by 1-2 minute intervals at incline levels 0-5)
FRIDAY - Yoga class, 40 minutes of lifting
SATURDAY - Run 6.5 miles (5.3 miles outside, 1.2 miles of treadmill incline fartleks, levels 0-5)
SUNDAY - Rest

All in all, it was a solid week.

NOTES:

• Thank you to all for your thoughts on my Pittsburgh Half Marathon training plan. Per suggestion, I am going to do a slower long run build-up. If/when I'm feeling good, I will try to add in some cycling and speedwork, lift heavier on single-set lifting days, and perhaps do a long run or two above the half marathon distance. Shooting for the moon!
• On Thursday, I went in to my first hill-training workout apprehensively. I was thinking I'd have to start out at a pretty meager level. Surprisingly, right off the bat I was able to push myself at higher inclines and speeds than originally anticipated. Although, with my background, that's not setting the bar very high (no pun intended). LOL. In any event, I think five weeks of barre work is showing results. Yay!!!

• Yesterday was my first time adding incline work at the end of a run to mimic the Pittsburgh Half Marathon course. Normally 6.5 miles is no big deal to me, but the addition of those inclines at the finish was very challenging. I was completely wiped out afterwards. Much respect to you folks who run hills all the time. I am very glad to be starting this acclimation process now.
• On Friday, I went to lift right after work. The gym was nearly empty. It was so nice being able to romp around using any of the equipment I wanted, whenever I wanted. I might have to make this a regular visit time!

• My company's fitness center is hosting a 6-week strength-training series focused on form, exercise varieties, equipment usage, workout design, etc. Woo hoo! This could not have come at a better time.

OTHER RANDOM NOTES:

• I dig those workout leggings with the mesh panels in them! I ordered a pair online today and can't wait to try them out.
• Instagram is my favorite of all the social media platforms. However, I am getting progressively more and more annoyed with the glut of sponsored photos.
• I heard the Disneyland Half Marathon registration fee starts at $205 this year before processing fees. Wow. I'm thankful to have already completed the Coast to Coast challenge because I don't think I can afford to run any more Disney races in the future.
• Kingston Mines is awesome. How did it take me so long to check it out? Adam and I went last night with our friends Wenxin and Jason, and it was a blast. There's so much energy!

The legendary Frank Pellegrino at Kingston Mines

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Linking up with HoHo and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap.

Five Things Friday

1. I've been dealing with a very serious problem these days.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have an addition to lip balm.

Don't laugh. This is a tougher problem to overcome than many might realize.

My first step in recovery was to get informed. I dug up some online self-help articles. Apparently, many lip balms include ingredients which actually dry out your skin and/or prevent the natural skin rejuvenation process. Basically, they spur a vicious cycle. ARGH!!!

I tried going cold turkey on lip balm for a few days. It was awful. I felt self-conscious and awkward. It was the worst when I was leading meetings or having one-on-one face-to-face conversations.

The best remedy so far has been serious lip exfoliation. Someone suggested using a washcloth in the shower. Amen to that! I'm also trying to only use lip balms with natural ingredients like cocoa butter or lanolin. Even so, the recovery process has been drawn out.

2. I am craving a weekend getaway.
I won a Hyatt gift certificate earlier this week and it's burning a hole in my pocket. Must. Spend. It.

I am crazily considering a solo trip to Minneapolis for the Blackhawks-Wild Stadium Series game on February 21 (Adam will be in Pittsburgh that weekend). This is even despite ticket prices being through the roof and my one brutal experience attending an outdoor game.

Other ideas: There was talk of going to New York in March with our friend Lindsay. It's been awhile since I've been to Las Vegas. I've been wanting to do a ski or other winter-type vacation. I've never been to New Mexico and I want to cross it off the list.

The list goes on and on and on and on.

3. Nobody is Perfect
I signed up for Chicago's Perfect 10 earlier this week. The race website and all publicity said registration opened at 10:00 AM CST on Tuesday, and the first 10 participants could sign up for $10.

I logged on at 9:50 AM in preparation to try nabbing one of those $10 registrations. Unfortunately, the first 10 registrations were already sold out! What the heck?

I went ahead and tried registering anyways at the next price point. Sure enough, the system was already open.

I reached out to the race organizers about the miscommunication. Their response was, "We'll investigate and get back to you." However, as I write this, they have not shared anything further.

This makes me nervous. It does not bode well for an event that last year was cancelled 9 days before race day...

4. Operation Tummy Expansion 101
Chicago Restaurant Week has been fun so far! Adam and I went to Texas de Brazil last Saturday and Vivo last night. Both were very enjoyable. We've got plans to check out Sapori Trattoria tomorrow night, and Nia on Monday night.

In other non-dining weekend plans - I'm excited to check out Kingston Mines (a Chicago blues club) tomorrow night, plus a comedy show at Second City on Sunday night! (Can you tell that there is no hockey or football to watch this weekend? ;-) )

I'd been wanting to check out Nellcote's happy hour special (a pizza and beer/other beverage for $10) for a long time. This past Monday, I finally went with Erin and Margaret and it was awesome!

Here's the final dough: A new pizza joint, Forno Rosso, just opened up in my hood. According to their website, they've essentially been given a designation from the Italian government that they "meet strict requirements respecting the tradition of the art of Neapolitan pizza making." Wow! I hope to get over there very soon.

In the spirit of full preparation, I have already gone through my closet, pulled out all of my stretchy pants, and neatly arranged them both front and center. =D

5. "Before" modeling
A few weeks ago, I got both a haircut and new glasses within 24 hours. Here's the before and after:

You can't tell in the picture, but my old frames were black while the new pair is tortoise-shell.

I got about 3-4 inches of hair lopped off. It's now too short to pull back. Yet, none of my coworkers even noticed! I guess that can be both good and bad, LOL.

--
Linking up with Mar, Cynthia, and Courtney for the Friday Five.

Pittsburgh Half Marathon training plan

Happy Tuesday! I am linking up with Marcia, Patti, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.

Today I am sharing my training plan for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon on May 1.

Kim had asked me what my goals were for this race. Great question! This will most definitely NOT be a PR attempt, so I want to enjoy the atmosphere and scenery. Beyond that, I hope to finish the race feeling strong and without dying on the hills. (Dying is a relative term, of course...)

It was a challenge to design this training plan for a few reasons:

• I'm trying to take advantage of my company's fitness center as much as possible. I want to keep the momentum going with my weekly yoga and Zumba classes.
• Strength-training is a priority.
• I need to log semi-sufficient mileage on top of hill-training at least once a week. At the same time, I'm coming off a long running hiatus and zero base in hill-running.
• Rest days are obviously important.

After much consideration, this plan reflects my valiant and ambitious attempt at the best of all worlds:

Here is a more detailed description of each day:

MONDAYS: Lift

I'd like to maintain my pre-half marathon training routine of doing 3 sets of 8-10 reps on a full-body range (here is a sample lifting breakout). However, I am giving myself the flexibility of paring things down as needed depending on time or energy.

TUESDAYS: Yoga + 3-5 miles

I consider yoga to be active rest, so I figured I could do double-duty on yoga days within reason. This day will include a yoga class and an easy 3-5 miler. In the early weeks, I intend to start out around 3 miles then gradually increase up to 5.

WEDNESDAYS: Zumba or Rest

I love Zumba! This day is just for fun while still keeping the blood pumping. Since I don't consider Zumba to be an integral cog in running training, I am giving myself the option to take this day off if needed.

THURSDAYS: Hill training

Ahhh, hill training will be my biggest challenge of this training cycle. It will probably take place on the treadmill every week. I plan to start easy with both intensity and duration, then gradually increase either or both. I'm less concerned with the actual mileage on this day, but it'll probably come out around 3 miles, give or take.

FRIDAYS: Yoga + Short Lift

Same sentiments as Tuesday, but this day I'll add an abbreviated lifting regimen. Upfront, I'm planning to do just 1 set of all my reps instead of 3. I am told a single set is still very effective.

SATURDAY: Rest

I went back and forth on which day to designate as an official rest day. On one hand, I have more time on weekends to work out. But on the other hand, I only have gym access Monday through Friday. I ended up choosing Saturdays to rest with the thought that it'll help me prepare for the next day's long run. I might occasionally flip-flop this with Sunday's routine based on schedules.

SUNDAY: Long run

In order to mimic the Pittsburgh Half Marathon course, I am looking at doing all of my long runs with incline work at the end, and hopefully some interspersed within. We'll see how ambitious I feel. However, I do not plan to incorporate incline work into my cutback weeks. I want to keep my cutback weeks easy.

Other Notes:

• The training plan started yesterday, and I've already deviated! I was supposed to lift but I took a much-needed rest day instead. 
• As denoted in pink, Adam and I are going on an extended weekend cruise next month (be warned: I will have MUCHO to say about this cruise in future posts). I wanted to keep my workout routine flexible while on vacation.
• I've only got two races on the calendar during this training cycle - the Shamrock Shuffle and Chicago's Perfect 10. The timing of both happen to work quite nicely. (Chicago's Perfect 10 is traditionally a November race, but apparently they cancelled the event 9 days before last year's race day? Regardless, I've been wanting to run this race for a few years, so I'm happy about their new spring date.)

Any thoughts or suggestions about my training plan? What goals or races are you training for these days?

Training week recap: Jan 18-24, 2016

My thoughts are with all my friends and family being impacted by Winter Storm Jonas! I hope everyone is staying safe. The stories and pictures I've been seeing are out of this world. Yikes!

I can sympathize tremendously. In Chicago, we're blessed right now that there's currently no snow on the ground. Heaven knows we've certainly had our fair share of awful winter blizzards in the past, though. We're not out of the woods here yet, either.

Note to all: It is not a good idea to leave your car doors open during a winter storm:

Here is how my training week went:

MONDAY: Pure Barre class and run 3.1 miles on treadmill
TUESDAY: Yoga class and Pure Barre class
WEDNESDAY: Zumba class
THURSDAY: Pure Barre class
FRIDAY: Yoga class and Pure Barre class
SATURDAY: Pure Barre class
SUNDAY: Run 7 miles

Whew! It was a very busy but very productive week.

NOTES:

• My Pure Barre membership ended yesterday, so last week I was really gunning it to the finish. I ended up completing a total of 22 classes in 35 days. It's been a good 5 weeks but whew, I am worn out!
• I had my first long run in 6 weeks scheduled for this morning. Unfortunately, I was so sore and beat up after my last barre class yesterday that I thought a lot about skipping the run. My couch was looking sad and forlorn and was in need of some quality company. (Doesn't it always???)
• How to recover? After I got home yesterday, I came across a free sample of protein powder that I got at an expo. I made it into a shake and slurped it down. It tasted like a chocolate milkshake, which helped. It quickly made me feel a lot better (thanks Erin for the tip!) Then I took a nap. Yes, the joys of the weekend! By last night, Voila! I was feeling as good as new. As I've said before, the body is an amazing thing.

• My first running miles of 2016 have finally been logged, three weeks into the year. Last Monday night, I ran 5K on the treadmill run and felt really good. At the time, I only allowed myself to be cautiously optimistic, given the short distance. But oh my goodness, the exhilaration of having fresh legs!

• My 7-mile run this morning was my first long-ish and outdoor run in 6 weeks. It felt great to get outside, breathe in the fresh winter air, and let my mind wander. I got hungry around 4.5 miles and didn't have water to take a GU, so I pushed through the 7 mile total before calling it a day. Had my fueling been better, I believe I could have done 10 without issue.
• I can't even begin to describe how thrilled I am about seemingly maintaining my conditioning despite all the time away from running!

This picture doesn't have anything to do with the topic at hand.
I just thought it was adorable!

• My Pittsburgh Half Marathon training is now underway. Dare I say that I am feeling genuinely excited to challenge myself with hill/incline work? What is wrong with me? I will share my training plan later this week as part of the Tuesdays on the Run link-up.

How about you? How was your week?

--

Linking up with HoHo and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap.

Training week recap: Jan 11-17, 2016

Hello, hello, hello!

Sorry for the incredibly delayed nature of this training week recap. I had the day off work on Monday for Martin Luther King Day. Normally, I still work that day despite the holiday. However, this year was the first time ever that I did not crack open the computer for anything during the entire 3-day weekend. It was heavenly!

The temporary computer shun put me behind on all of your blogs but I'll get back on track as soon as I can!

Here's a super quick recap of my training week:

MONDAY - Rest
TUESDAY - Yoga class. I considered also doing a barre class but opted not to because of this.
WEDNESDAY - Pure Barre class. I skipped my usual Zumba class because of a meeting that didn't end up materializing (grrrrr).
THURSDAY - Pure Barre class
FRIDAY - Yoga class and Pure Barre class
SATURDAY - Pure Barre class
SUNDAY - Rest

I fully realize this was one of the most nondiverse training weeks I've ever had.

Notes from the week:

• Since we've already got over-routining on the brain this week, you all are probably getting tired of hearing me talk about barre classes. Change is definitely in sight, though. Last week was the second-to-last week of my Pure Barre membership. One more week to go before I'll be mixing up the routine big-time. I am ready!
• After feeling some barre burn-out last week, I found my rhythm again this week. It was a lot like the mental progression I experience when I'm running a race. I tend to hit the doldrums around the 80% completion mark (e.g., the 10- or 11-mile mark in a half marathon). Then, as the finish becomes visible, I usually regain some momentum. I am making the final push with my barre membership this coming week!
  
• What a difference rest days make. (I know, I know, let's go ahead and file this into the "duh" category.) I'm mentioning it today because I experienced unusually solid improvements after both of this week's rest days. The body is a marvelous thing!
• I'll talk about this more next week, but the time has come to ease myself back into running. The Pittsburgh Half Marathon suddenly feels like it is approaching more quickly than I'm ready for! Over the next week or so, I'm going to design my training plan, which I will share.
• I am really, really excited to get back into my weight-lifting routine. I am finally seeing results from all the strength work that barre involves, which has been motivating. I am pumped to keep going. I've historically lifted two days a week, but I am thinking about upping it to three days a week. More on that to come, too. 
• Here's this week's song that I heard at barre class and has now been running incessantly through my mind:

--

Belatedly linking up with HoHo and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap.

Adventures near ice-level

For the most part, I've had mediocre experiences with mail/parcel delivery. Never in my life have I ever received a shipment early... until this week.

I submitted an online order on Sunday and was expecting delivery either yesterday or today. What a fabulous surprise when it showed up on Tuesday! Talk about being ridiculously happy. Thank you Wrigleyville Sports and UPS for making my day!

What was in that highly-coveted, early-arriving package, you ask? Why, my new Blackhawks Panarin jersey, of course!

I was dying to put the new jersey to work right away (especially given my jersey history). It was burning a hole in my proverbial closet!

As timing would have it, the Hawks were playing at home that night.

Luckily/unluckily, the weather in Chicago was abysmal. The temperatures were in the single digits, the wind was howling, and the real-feel temperature was in the negative teens. BUT - crappy weather on a weeknight game day also means that last-minute ticket prices usually take a nosedive in the secondary market.

My motto for the day: Go big or go home. 

An hour before face-off, I was the proud owner of tickets for two seats located five rows off the ice.

Yeah, these seats will do. ;-)

Rewinding a little bit from that game-action shot, here is a snapshot of my star jersey-wearer (#72) during the pre-game warm-ups:

and here was the view during the pregame show:

It was an incredible experience to sit so close to the action. It really made me appreciate the insane speed at which the game moves. I gained a much stronger understanding of the brutality of the hits, the wall-to-wall coverage of the shooting lanes, the challenge of seeing the plays unfolding at ice-level, and the truly mind-blowing skill that the players exhibit. We were even able to read the lips of the players talking to each other and to the officials.

I have so much renewed respect for what those players do. It is unbelievably competitive. They all make it look easy when it really is anything but.

Since I may never sit in seats like those ever again (back to the upper deck I go!), I relished the experience as thoroughly as I could!

Rushed selfie during a TV timeout.

And of course, that night wouldn't have been complete without an up-close glimpse of Adam's favorite mascot!

Go Blackhawks!