Zip's Relaxing Reggae Retreat

Hi folks, it's me Zip. The fitbit.

I haven't written in a little while because I've been on vacation. Lying around. Feet up. Enjoying a few days of peace and quiet. Rereading a series of books about this crazy Scot named Jamie.

It's completely out of character for me but it's been nice.

Normally I'd be a little annoyed from all the sitting around but I understand that it's important to recover after a race so I'm ok with it. Going with the flow. Sipping my mojitos and listening to reggae music by the pool kinda relaxing.

In fact, after Sunday's race in the heat, I went from being resigned to a week off to be relieved to have a week off. It's hard to count steps on any run but even harder when you're distracted by the temperatures, the sights and smells of the race, the music, the excitement of it all.

I may have missed a few steps here and there in my excitement. Don't tell Céline ok? Please??

So anyway, I was pretty pooped and glad for a break. I am, however, turning into a veritable couch potato.

I was a little worried that I'd get used to the new lifestyle and would not want to go back to a regular fitness routine next week. Even though I'm a pedometer at heart doesn't mean that the sedentary lifestyle isn't appealing.

Céline assures me that I'll be excited to get back at it. She also assures me that she has already decided on a fall race so, ready or not, we're back into training again. Plus, she is promising me some new workouts during the summer.

Something she calls hill workouts and interval training.

Should I be worried?

She is also threatening to do at least one triathlon this summer. She isn't sure how we're going to manage it since I'm not waterproof and can't go swimming with her and Rose. But she's promising that I'll be able to join then at least on the run, if not the bike ride. She seems to think I'll feel left out if I don't come.

It sounds like a rather crazy idea this whole triathlon thing. Hopefully they won't be relying on my counting skills that day because I'm guessing I'll be too excited watching all the cool bikes, laughing at the funny bike helmets, and too frazzled in the transition zone to do much other than sit there with my mouth hanging open.

Thankfully Rose is much more single minded and can focus on the task at hand. I count steps. She keeps Céline alive. Very different.

By the way, you'll be happy to know that Rose seems to have toned down her flirtatious behaviour around Doug. I guess my little talk worked. I didn't want to come across as insensitive but she has a job to do and can't go around getting all distracted by every cute man she meets. Even if he is really really cute. And nice. And funny...

Focus!!

I don't understand something though. Rose no longer flirts with Doug but now, every time she sees me, she vibrates. Is she angry? Is she trying to make Doug jealous because she isn't doing it to him anymore? I don't understand girls very much and it's hard sometimes spending so much time with two of them.

Dexter says Rose likes me. I don't think so but I guess it's possible. I never really thought of her as anything other than a friend and I am a firm believer in keeping work and romance separate.

But...now that I think about it, she is pretty cute...

Twitchy Feet

I haven't run since Sunday. 

It's already getting a little twitchy about it. 

I really want to get back out there and go gallop down the country roads. 

The sun has been shining, the temperatures have dropped back down to comfortable levels and every time I lift my head and look out my office window, someone is running by. 

I miss the feel of being outside and having the early-morning streets to myself. I miss the post-run glow that lasts all day. 

It's like the gods are laughing at me. Tempting me to put my shoes on and get out there. Just a short one. Nothing big. Who's gonna know??

And then I go to the mall after work to pick something up and, as I walk to the store I need, I feel my calves tighten up just a bit. I feel my feet complain just a bit. 

Not enough to stop me from running during a regular running week but enough to make me think twice only a few days after running a half marathon. I pushed my body hard and the heat and humidity pushed it harder. I need to give it time to recover before I start putting new pressures on it. 

So I will be good. I will rest my legs for a week. I won't cheat and go for a short 30 minute run. 

But next week, watch out! Tuesday morning can't come fast enough for my twitchy feet. 

And I already have my sights set on the Niagara Falls International half in the fall. 

No Rest for the Wicked

So far so good. I've had two days of rest since Sunday's race and my blood sugars have yet to go through the roof.

When I say two days off I mean two days without exercise. Not even going for a walk.

I am doing this to let my legs recover from their tough run and to let my body rest a bit by sleeping in.

Two days in a row of waking up at 6:30am instead of 5:00am was pretty sweet. Especially when the blood sugars are behaving themselves.

I'm still off running for a few more days at least. The earliest I will do anything will be Saturday and that would be an easy 30 minute trot...if anything at all. There are no races looming so I'm taking my time to make sure everything has had the downtime it needs.

I am, however, going to venture back into the pool. In fact, at the time this post goes up, I'll be pulling myself up out of the pool after my regular Wednesday morning workout.

As of Tuesday night my quads were still pretty tight and sore. The stairs are easier now but I still feel it - especially on the way down.

I asked Doug last night if a week off meant a week off from everything or just from running. "I'm not a sports doctor" he said. "I know, but I want to know what Doug would do. Would he sleep in two more days and go swim on Friday? Or would he get up early on Wednesday and head to the pool?"

Get up early on Wednesday and head to the pool was the response.

The lazy part of me wanted him to say sleep in just so I could without any feelings of guilt.

His rationale was that, when he's tight and sore after a hard run, he often feels better once he starts moving again. Swimming won't put any pressure on my joints, no pounding on my feet, no stress on my quads.

It will, however, get the blood flowing and get my body loosened up a bit.

So I'm off to the pool. Sore quads and all.

In other news, here is my latest training update:

Rocking the compression pants and sexy sandals look. 

Walked around for an hour and even ventured up and down the stairs. 

There is hope yet for Saturday night!

Qu'est ce que c'est 'easy'?

Saturday morning I woke up knowing that there was a mere 20k run standing between me and my easy week.

My body was more than ready for an easy week so, of course, the last 20k run was anything but. I could tell as soon as I headed out the door. My legs were in good shape but they were just plain ol' tired.

The little voice in my head kept up its singsong chanting as I fought the headwinds and the hills:

'only 18k until easy week'

'only 12k until easy week'

'only 5k until easy week'

'only 300m until easy week!!!'

I made it but every step was hard-fought and I was ridiculously relieved to spot our purple front door. What a difference from last year though. I didn't walk one step of the 20k and my finishing time was a very respectable 2 hours and 8 minutes. It's pretty neat to see that even when I'm tired and fighting, I'm still stronger than I was a year ago.

So now it's easy week.

When I was a one sport wonder, easy weeks were pretty simple affairs. Drop the weekday runs to 30-40 minutes of easy running and run 10k on Saturday. C'est tout.

Now I'm a seven day a week, three sport wonder. What exactly does easy week mean now?

Saturday evening, I sat at the kitchen bar, a platter of cheese, crackers and paté in front of me, a glass of wine at my side and a t-bone on the barbecue. "What would you do?" I asked Doug.

"I'm not a good person to ask" he replied (he is not a big fan of easy weeks).

We worked it out. Swimming is a pretty easy workout for me but it does tire me out because of the early hour I have to be up. And, unlike running, it's not worth it for me to do a shorter swim. So I'm going to drop the frequency and only swim on Wednesday morning.

Cycling - I'll cycle on Sunday because it's a great way to recover from a hard run but that's it for the week. No basement adventures trying to bend crank arms for me this week.

Running - I'll do a short run on Tuesday and then run my 10k on Friday since I have a sister date on Saturday and we like to meet up bright an early to squeeze as much into the day as we possible can.

Seven workouts down to four.

I'm feeling more rested just thinking about it.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

On December 12th, 2011 I ran for one minute.

I have been adding time ever since.

Some weeks were repeats of the week before but I never reduced the number of minutes I ran. I just kept going up and up.

It has been motivating and extremely validating to watch the minutes, and the distance I could run, increase day by day.

Now that I'm actually following a (sorta) half marathon training plan, I have to respect the need for easy, or recovery, weeks.

After Saturday's 14k run, I started my easy week. Two forty minute runs and then a 10k run this Saturday.

Forty minutes?!?

That seemed really long two months ago - now it seems really short. Like 'what's the point?' short. 'Why bother creating running clothes laundry?' short.

Thankfully, I've trained for enough races to know what the point is. Keep the body moving but let it recover from the three weeks of increased mileage that it just completed. Not respecting recovery weeks is a surefire way to get injured.

Still though, it's going to be hard to reign it in. Particularly considering that Friday is a holiday so the pool will be closed. Two swims and two short runs are going to make this week feel very lazy.

The fun news is that, on my next easy week, I'll be running a 10k race. My little sis and her colleagues signed up to run the Toronto Yonge Street 10k race. My sis is no longer able to run so I agreed to take her bib and run it for her. Who wouldn't want to join 15,000 runners heading down historic Yonge Street? I've only run two other 10k races in my life, preferring the longer half marathon distance. Both of those 10k races took about 70 minute to complete. But I've had so many great 10k runs lately that I figure it might be fun to go on record with a 59:59 race time. We'll see...

Chalkboard Schedules

There's a new schedule taped to the chalkboard in the kitchen.

Last summer and early fall, there was a marathon training schedule up there.

Then, for a few months, there was nothing.

In December, up went the stress fracture return to running program.

That just came down and now my half-marathon training program for the June 3rd Women's half marathon is proudly featured.

It's my own schedule that I pieced together from previous half marathon training plans. It's pretty tame. There are no hill or interval training sessions on Thursdays. I will not be running 13k every Tuesday. I will be running 60 minutes every Tuesday and Thursday and I will be adding 2k to my long runs every Saturday. I get rest weeks every four weeks and I peak at 22k a few weeks out from the race.

I'm not going to break any land speed records. This schedule is all about building up my distance at a very conservative pace while making sure I have enough down time to keep my body strong and healthy.

I still haven't signed up yet - I want to get myself to about 16k before I drop $100 on a race entry. As long as I sign up before April 30th I get the t-shirt so I have until then to test my legs and see if they're ready.

If not, I will NOT be pushing them. There is a time and a place to push through pain. This recovery time is not one of them. If I start hurting, I will back off. If I keep hurting, I will drop out. I'd rather postpone my return to running half marathon than be sidelined again.

I'm cautious, I'm realistic and I have a tight rein on my optimism.

With a little bit of Irish luck I might just get to that start line.

Oh, and did you know that 50 minutes is apparently the magic time when you suddenly need to worry about applying Glide to all those chafing spots? I didn't know either.

Now I do.

Priorities

It's hard to believe that it's only been ten days since my sister's wedding.

It's a little shocking how much of an emotional roller coaster life can be sometimes.

I spent a lot of time with my family last week.  My mom and I had several long talks and we spent a lot of time talking about health.  How precarious is can be.  How ridiculous it seems that some people take so little care of themselves and seem to live forever while others try very hard and are felled by seemingly random illnesses or events.

We decided that, even though there are no guarantees in life, we're never going to stop trying to take care of ourselves.  I'd rather be fit and healthy and feeling good for a shorter period of time than live a long time feeling awful.

So, despite the roller coaster that last week was, I kept up my swimming, my back to running schedule and my healthy eating.

It's a new week.  By the time friday comes, I will have graduated to running 8 minutes, three times in a half hour.  That's 24 minutes!!  Pretty impressive non?

Now if only I can find the time to get my Christmas shopping done.

Six Minutes

Yesterday I walked 8 minutes and then ran 2.

I did it again.

And again.

For thirty minutes.

It was Day 4 of my recovery program and I have now graduated to six minutes (total) of running.

Not much but I doubled my three minutes from Monday and, within ten days, I will (hopefully) be up to 27 minutes of running (with a few walk breaks in between).

It's bizarre how quickly things change.

My last good run was back in August and I ran 30 kilometres in about 3 hours and 20 minutes.  I felt tired but strong and confident.

Last night, I felt a little overwhelmed with two minutes.  It went fine and no body parts acted up but my body felt out of practice.  My breathing was ok, my legs held up, but I no longer felt like I could run forever.

I could run two minutes - but could I run ten?

I've kept my fitness up and have become a strong swimmer who swims 80 lengths three times a week.  When it comes to running though, I no longer know what I can and can't do.  So I'm hesitant.  I'm aware of every feeling of discomfort, no matter how mild.  I feel how weak my legs seem to be after so many weeks in the pool.

If only I could run with my arms rather than my legs - I'd be all set!

While I'm confident that it will come back - it's humbling how quickly I've lost my runner's edge.

If someone had told me in July that, by December, I'd be relearning how to run and I'd be a 6k a week swimmer, I'm not sure I would have believed them.

And yet here I am - in my running shoes, ironman hat with a faint smell of chlorine on my arms - trying my best to rejoin the road warriors.

It's TIME!!

Friday night, at my sister's wedding, I danced for pretty much three hours straight wearing high heels.  I don't think I've worn heels for three hours straight in years - never mind wearing them for nine hours and dancing in them for 3.

I figured that, best case, I'd be limping around on Saturday.  Worst case, I'd be on the couch with ice packs and ibuprofen.

Surprise!  Everything felt fine.

On Sunday, things still felt fine so I decided that Sunday was the day.

Day One of the Stress Fracture Return To Running Program.

Day One - walk 30 minutes.  If everything feels fine during and after, move on to Day Two.  If not, redo Day One the next day.

Everything felt fabulous. My legs were so glad to be moving on pavement again and my lungs were grateful for the fresh air.  Swimming is great but the pool air leaves a little something to be desired.

Monday was Day 2 of the training.  I had to walk 9 minutes and then run one.  Repeat three times for a total of 30 minutes.  I was busy, really busy, at work all day so I didn't think too much about it.  Selena and I chatted a bit about the fact that I would be running (albeit only one minute) for the first time in almost 10 weeks but I didn't feel much other than mild excitement.  We also talked about what to wear.  Running clothes would be too cold since I'd only be running for three minutes out of 30.  Winter walking attire would be too warm for the running parts.

I settled on winter walking snuggliness and figured I'd take the heat rather than be too cold.  It's going to be trickier when I'm walking for only half the time but we're taking this day by day so day two = a big coat, my bright red Olympic mittens and my Ironman hat that Michelle and John gave me last year.  I figure it would be good motivation!

I started walking and things felt fine.  Checked my watch and saw that three minutes had passed.  Then five.  Then six.  My stomach started churning and I was hit with a mild case of nerves.  Three more minutes until I try running.  What if it hurts?  What if I can't run?  What if what if what if....

Before full blown panic set in - my watch said 9:00 so I just started running.  The first step felt fine.  So did the second.  I trotted along waiting for some dramatic pain to suddenly materialize.  Sixty seconds later, I stopped running, resumed walking and felt 100% fine.

Whew!

The first hurdle has been overcome.

It doesn't mean that things won't feel bad when I start running five minutes, or ten minutes but the odds feel a little more in my favour when I can run, even for a minute without pain.

Licence to Try

Exactly eight weeks after I hung up my running shoes - I have been given licence to run. 

Well - actually - I have been given licence to try to run.  

Geoff checked my calf, asked me a pile of questions and said that things sound like they're in pretty good shape.  There's a tight muscle running down the back of my calf but it's much better than it was.  

Plus, other than the achy pain I felt after wearing the wrong shoes (i.e. shoes that were not running shoes) to the mall and walking around for two hours, I have had no pain in almost two weeks. 

All good signs. 

So I get to try to run. 

Geoff will be emailing me a safe return from a stress fracture running program.  It's based on a combination of minutes of running + how quickly I recover from each run. 

Sharp pain = stop running 

Bad pain = stop running

Aches and pains from not having run for two months = keep running. 

How far I run depends on how long it takes for the aches and pains to go away. 

In other words, if I run on a Monday and feel fine by the Tuesday I can run again on Wednesday and increase the number of minutes.  

If I run on a Monday and feel pretty sore on Tuesday, I run the same number of minutes on Wednesday. 

And, if I run on a Monday and feel really really sore on Tuesday, I reduce the number of minutes on Wednesday or, if it's really bad, I don't run at all.

Capish?

Yeah, me neither. 

I'll feel better when I see the schedule. 

Apparently he and I will be texting a lot over the next few weeks as I report back after every run and he gives feedback.  Between Doug, Geoff, Janice and my running friends, the support I have had through this journey has been pretty incredible. 

Now I just have to see if there's any time left in my schedule for running.

The Here and Now

It's fall marathon season. 

I'm not just talking about running.  

I'm talking about life. 

Fall is the busiest time for me.  Running-wise.  Work-wise.  Family-wise.  Health-wise.  I feel like I am running marathons in all parts of my life.  All I keep doing is saying things like: 

• one more report and things will calm down
• one more meeting to get through 
• one more training session to lead
• one more 3+ hour run
• one more medical appointment
• one more birthday

I feel like all I've been doing lately is counting down.  

ENOUGH!!

Counting down feels like I'm wishing time away.  Time, in my opinion, is one of the most precious things we have and I never wish it away.  Even when something exciting is coming up - a trip, a race, a party - I savour the anticipation rather than count down the days.  

I'm one of those 'every day might be your last' kinda gals.  Not that I think about death a lot - I just try hard to appreciate the here and now.  There is no point in worrying about five years from now since you might not be here anyway. 

So I'm putting a stop to my counting down the days, projects, kilometres or whatever other arbitrary variable that has me focused on the future rather than the present.  I'm digging in my heals, putting on the brakes and slowing life down a bit. 

I spent the evening cooking in a quiet kitchen, reading on the couch and sipping wine.  Life slowed to a crawl and it was lovely. 

As for my running news, here is an update on my strained calf muscle for those who are interested:

• Geoff is happy with my progress 
• He taped my calf to help speed up the healing process and reduce the bruising he caused on Tuesday. Good thing because my leg was looking pretty nasty. 
•  I will not be running 35k on Saturday.  As soon as that was out in the air, I felt a huge relief.  Pressure's off.  I will focus on resting, healing, doing some short runs and planning for the big one next weekend. 
• I have to ice, heat, stretch ad nauseum and try a few easy runs before I see him next Tuesday

Without a four hour run looming, my Saturday suddenly seems very free.  Perhaps I'll go for a bike ride?  Explore the market? Take some pictures? 

Whatever will I do with all my time...and energy?

One Day at a Time

As Day 5 of my tibialis posterior sprain adventure dawned things seemed to have settled down nicely.  No calf pain at all and a slight pressure in my ankle is all that was left of the weekend's painfest.

As instructed - I ran for thirty minutes.

I was nervous about how it would go so I ran around my neighbourhood three times.  Meaning if things took a turn for the worse, I would never be more than five minutes from home.

I hobbled through the first few steps but that was probably as much from hesitation as from tightness.  Within a few minutes, things had loosened up and I felt a bit of pressure in my ankle but no pain.  So far so good.

The run was uneventful.  No dramatic collapse on the side of the road.  No screams of pain.  Just a slow easy run around and around and around the block.

Home, stretch, shower, dinner.

I actually felt good enough that I started thinking about Saturday's long run.

Then I stood up from dinner.  The ankle pain was back.  Nowhere near the pain from the weekend but I could tell things were far from healed.

*sigh*

Back on the couch I went.  Ice on my ankle, heat on my calf.

Apparently mild strains take a little more time to heal properly.

We'll see what Geoff says today but I'm guessing that this Saturday's 35k run won't be happening.  I had planned to run 35k four weeks out from race day to give my body time to recover.  Looks like I may be running it three weeks out instead.  A little close for comfort but doable.

When one trains for a marathon, they need to have a plan.  For training.  For race day.  Once they have a plan, they have to be willing to allow life to happen.  Sticking to a plan no matter what can lead to disaster.  Flexibility is key.

I have the option of freaking out because my body won't let me stick to the plan.  Or I could listen to my body and give it the time it needs to heal.

Guess which option I'm going to choose?

Stronger Together

Being in tune with my body is something that I've always done (as far back as I can remember anyway) but I've certainly honed my skills since becoming a person with diabetes. 

One thing I've always been amazed by is my body's ability to hold on when it needs to hold on and then utterly collapse when it has the opportunity.  

I remember pushing my body beyond its limits during exams in university.  I did not get enough sleep, I did not eat as well as I should and I was mentally and physically exhausted.  My body held on but I knew I would pay for my sins.  My body seemed to know exactly how long it had to hold strong - I literally handed in my final exam, sneezed once and hardly made it back to my room before being overcome by a horrible cold that held on most of my Christmas vacation.  

My body seems to do the same thing with running.  Last week, I put a lot of mileage on my legs.  On every run, they felt strong and I did not have any shin pain, calf tightness or other discomfort.  Even after running 20k, they felt great.  

Last night, I had to pull off an easy 40 minute run.  

Breakdown.  

Tight calves and ankles.  Sore shins.  Even my feet acted up.  

My body holds up when I really need it to but as soon as it hears the words 'easy week' it falls apart. 

Every easy week results in a predictable body breakdown but, ironically, the fact that it's an easy week makes it ok.  Geoff will take care of things on Thursday.  I am supposed to take'er easy on this week's runs so I'm not bothered when they don't go well.  

My body needs a break - it's going to get a break.  

The only way that this marathon is going to happen is if my body and I work together.  It does what it needs to do when I ask it.  I have to do everything I can to take care of it - with an extra bit of TLC on the easy weeks. 

Alone we are strong.  Together we are stronger. 

Ahhhhhh!

There are many ways to train for a marathon.  Or a half marathon.  Or a 10k.  There are all sorts of programs to follow - some are pretty moderate, some are intense and some are downright looney tunes.

The way it works at Runners' Edge is that we go hard for three weeks and then take an easy week to recharge our running batteries.  Then we go hard again.  Then rest again.  For a half marathon, we did this cycle three times.  The first and second round, we kept building up our mileage - from 10k to 22k.  The third cycle, we tapered.

With marathon training, it's pretty much the same thing except we have four cycles.  Our shortest long run was 16k and, between now and race day, we're building up to 35k and then tapering.

Sunday, yesterday, marked the official end of the first cycle.  We have finished our first three weeks of training.  We have built up to 20k on Saturdays, and conditioned our bodies to run four days a week (plus a Sunday bike ride).

After yesterday's 45k bike ride, our rest week has officially begun!

I'd do a happy dance for you but I'm busy lounging on the couch.  How about a lazy wave instead?

This week, we only run three days. Forty minutes on Tuesday and Thursday and then 10k on Saturday.

C'est tout!

My body is ready for a break.  It's been holding up quite well so far.  Runs have been good and the only problems I've encountered have been diabetes-related rather than running-related so that's good. My shins are behaving, my energy is holding up and I'm recovering well from long runs.

Still though, I'm feeling tired.  Tired of trying to fit everything in.  Tired of getting up earlier on weekends than I do during the week.  Tired of being busy most nights of the week.

I'm looking forward to this week.  To lounging around. To less loads of laundry. To having evenings that seem to stretch on forever because they start at 4:30pm rather than 7:30pm.

Join me in a toast to taking care of our bodies and having a little extra time to spend with our loved ones.

On a different note, for those of you who have been following the Saturday morning long run blood sugar saga - I have an update from this weekend's run.

For those of you who don't know, my last two long runs did not go well.  Let's just say that blood sugars in the 20s make for challenging runs.

This Saturday, I tweaked things a bit.  I lowered my basal to 50% rather than 40% and I took a wee bit more insulin with breakfast.  Not much, probably about 0.4 units.  In an effort to stave off any highs, I also checked my sugar more often than I normally would.

At 5k, I was 10.3 (so I had a gel - 24 carbs)
At 9k, I was 8.6 (so I had one date - 15 carbs)
At 12k I was 12.3 (I'm good with that)
At 16k I was 11.4
At 20k I ended the run at 8.6

Those numbers make me a much happier runner.  I got to have a gel which helps with energy, a date which kept my stomach happy and I didn't have all the awful symptoms that come with highs. So apparently the new trick is dropping to 40% basal for evening runs but only 50% basal for morning ones.

My next challenge will be to figure out what to do on race day.  We need to be on the bus at 7:30am, we start running at 10am and I'll be running, most likely, until 3pm.  Figuring out when to eat and how to adjust my basal and bolus is going to be a bit of a challenge.

Any tips my running friends?

A Day of Rest

When I used to run two to three days a week, I had more days of rest than days of running in a week. 

The math is fairly complicated so you'll just have to trust me.

Now that I faithfully run four days a week and cycle one, a day of rest has become a precious commodity.  My body and my soul look forward to them the way a kid can't wait for ice cream or Santa Claus.

Monday is my day of rest.

On Mondays, I don't have to worry about what I eat.  I don't have to say no to an afternoon snack because I don't want to take insulin so close to a run. I don't have to remember to change the basal rate on my pump at precisely 3:30pm so that I can run at 5. I don't check the weather, plan a running route or constantly check in with my shins to see how they're feeling. 

I can just be.

Yesterday after work, I popped over to see my friends John and Michelle.  We sat on the porch and chatted about life, love, wellness and grandchildren.  I stopped in at the grocery store to pick up strawberries, bananas, frozen yogurt and pickles because we needed them. I went home, was offered a glass of wine (which I readily accepted) and then Doug and I sat on the deck, chatting away.  When we felt hungry - dinner preparations began. 

Not once did I look at the clock or think about schedules.

After dinner, we sat in the living room, each of us working on our laptops but still together.

Fresh strawberries for a snack.

When we got tired, we went to bed.

I slept well and woke up refreshed - a nice change from the last few nights.

After only one day off, my body is excited to run tonight.

When I used to run two to three times a week, it was the running days that were few and far between.  The running days were the ones that loomed big on the calendar.  Now, running days are the norm and days like yesterday are the exception.  Which makes them all the more precious.

Side-Stepping My Way to Strong Quads.

Our marathon training schedule has been posted.  Official start date for training: July 4th, 2011 (maybe there will be fireworks!). Official race date: October 23rd, 2011.

I now know what my running life will look like over the next 5 months. It's exciting and, of course, a little scary.  If I am actually able to pull this whole thing off, I will be very impressed.

So I did what I always do when I get a new training schedule.  I printed it off and headed upstairs to show one of my co-workers who happens to be a non-runner.

When I showed her my first 10k schedule, she was impressed.

My first 1/2 marathon schedule - she was doubly impressed.

My first 30k - she voiced some concern about my ability to handle the distance.

My marathon schedule - she took one look at it and burst out laughing.  Kept laughing.  Stopped long enough to say 'good luck with that' and laughed again. 

Apparently I've officially entered the 'you're crazy' realm of running. 

I'm ok with that.

Speaking of crazy, last night I spent a whopping 5$ on a therapeutic band that will apparently help strengthen my hips and quads.  Another problematic area of mine.  Turns out I have a lot of muscle mass up there but it's not strong enough to keep me stabilized when I run. So I received instructions from both Geoff and Janice to work on that area. 

Must.  Get.  Stronger.

Picture this if you will.  I tie the band in a loop and then step inside of it.  The loop goes around my knees.  I stand with my feet fairly close together and then take one big step sideways, keeping the other leg in place.  I bring the leg that didn't move back into position and then take another big step sideways.  I have been told to to this from one end of my house to the other and back again - six times.  Twice a day. Six days a week.

So this morning, in a state of semi-dress (I get hot damn it!) I was side stepping back and forth from kitchen to living room and back again.  Doug puttered away in the kitchen as through this was perfectly normal and this is what everyone does after breakfast.

The band is stretchy but there is a lot of resistance.  It takes strength to take a big step and keep the other leg stable. About five steps in to this routine, the entire outside of my hip and quad were feeling the burn.  Twice a day every day.  My quads are going to get so big I won't be able to fit through the door!

So, if you're out and about in the early morning hours and see a strange looking lass walking kinda funny in her living room, don't worry about it.  She's just getting in shape for her marathon training.

Crazy runners indeed.

The Walking Runner

Wow!

Walking is really different than running - as I am discovering during my 'recovery week' after the Bay.

Thirty minute walk last night.  An hour walk tonight.  Maybe an hour and a half tomorrow?

First of all, how nice is it to come home from work and then head out for a walk?  No changing into running clothes, putting on glide, filling my pockets with carbs, kleenex and lip balm, putting on my Garmin and untangling the cords of my shuffle.  Just grab my gloves and go!

Know what else is cool about walking?  It's easier on the blood sugars.  No need to adjust my basal rates.  No need to be rigid on what time I'm going for a walk.  Or for how long. Just check my sugar, pop a few emergency packs in my pocket just in case, and head out.  Sweet!

No need to stretch before or after.

No need to shower and dry my hair.

No need to throw on a load of laundry when I get back.

Just....walk.

It's almost too easy.

An hour walk takes about an hour and five minutes to complete - if you factor in grabbing gloves, zipping up a coat and checking blood sugar.  An hour run takes over 2 hours if you factor in changing, stuffing pockets, filling water bottles, eating pre run snack, stretching, running, stretching again and showering.

I seem to have a lot of free time on my hands this week.

But I can already tell that my body will not be happy with this routine for long.  Because deep down, I'm a runnergirl.

I'm a fast walker but a fairly slow runner.  Yet I prefer to run.

Tonight, I kept having to stop myself from breaking into an easy trot.  I was so full of energy that I could hardly rein it in.  But rein it in I did.  Because my body needs time to recover before the next running cycle begins.

And so I walk.

Want to know how to recognize a runner when they're walking?

They walk on the street - not the sidewalk.