Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Wellness Wednesday...Ep. 7

I am now just 72 hours away from my half marathon!  My brain is in overload here, so let's just dig in to the plan and what I did:
  • Wednesday: 30 mins bike 30 mins bike
  • Thursday: 3-4 mile run 3.6 miles run on treadmill
  • Friday: 30 mins bike Rest
  • Saturday: 6 mile run 6 mile run
  • Sunday: Rest, maybe some yoga Rest
  • Monday: 2-3 mile run Rest
  • Tuesday: Rest 2.7 miles on treadmill, a lot of walking
The last runs I did were quite the mixed bag.  The Thursday run was great, but I may have overdid it speed wise because come Saturday's run, my legs were just kinda meh.  And yesterday's run was terrible!  I'm hoping that I've got the bad runs out of my system and will be fine on Saturday.  It's now a mental game...every little "owie" feels magnafied in my brain, my legs feel like lead...and I'm just plain tired.  A lot of this is nerves, and I remember feeling similarly before my first half last fall.  So I just have to hang in there and rest up, eat right and hydrate!  On to this week's plan:
  • Wednesday: Rest
  • Thursday: Rest
  • Friday: Rest
  • Saturday: 13.1 miles
  • Sunday: Yoga for Runners
  • Monday: Rest
  • Tuesday: Yoga for Runners
Yeah...not too exciting.  But post race will be recovery time.  I'm going to aim for taking a full week off from running, might add some bike in sometime next week, and just stretch and roll and recover. I'll post a race recap early next week to let everyone know how it went! 

Saturday, March 15, 2014

oh what a day!!!


Worldwide Quilting Day 

 Oh my oh my!  Worldwide Quilting Day!  I'm kind of excited, as I have all kinds of plans for my sewing today!  I need to do some work on my Movement in Squares quilt, I started cutting out the pieces for a new Cargo Duffle for my sister, and then I want to make one for me as well.  Guess I better get moving, as before I can sew, I've got to get my last long run in before my half marathon next week!

What are your sewing plans for today?

Friday, March 14, 2014

March ALYoF - in progress

Just wanted to drop in and give a bit of an update on my March A Lovely Year of Finishes goal (originally posted over here).  I have made all the remaining blocks and last weekend got it to this stage:

and I'm so loving it!!!  I just need to add the border and this will be a quilt top!  Now, as a reminder, my March goal was to get this one fully complete, so I still need to get backing prepped, get it basted and quilted and then bound!  Thankfully I still have half the month left to get it done!

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Wellness Wednesday...Ep.6

10 days to go until my Half Marathon!  So let's just go ahead and jump in to what was accomplished over the past week, and what I plan on doing for this next week.  Last week's plan with what I actually did in red:

  • Wednesday: 3-4 mile run 3.9 miles treadmill
  • Thursday: 30 mins bike rest
  • Friday: 3-4 mile run 4.09 miles treadmill
  • Saturday: rest, maybe a little yoga for runners Rest
  • Sunday: 11-12 miles 12 miles
  • Monday: Yoga for runners Rest
  • Tuesday: 3 mile run Rest

  • Funny story...I was all set to run yesterday, the universe just decided I shouldn't!  I got up early (4:45) got all my stuff packed up and made it to the gym at work by 5:45...unfortunately not all of my clothes made it with me, my shirt was hanging by the front door at the house...so I had to turn around and drive all the way home, nearly ran out of gas on the way, made it to the gas station on fumes, finally got home, with only about 20 mins to get back out the door so I wouldn't be late for a training session at 7:30.  In the midst of all of this, I tell Girl what was going on as I'm rushing out the door, and she thought it was kind of funny.  Apparently she thought I was losing it, because she called me 20 minutes later as I'm headed back to work...and said...Mom, this might be a stupid question...but why is your shirt still hanging up here...through my laughter I explained that I put on something different and I was indeed dressed! Somewhere in all of this I also managed to break my watch...so while there was quite a bit of laughter...there was that too!  Best laid plans and all of that!  Anyways...here is my plan for the next week as I am firmly in taper mode, so I'll be taking it nice and easy going in to the last week of running prior to the race!
    • Wednesday: 30 mins bike
    • Thursday: 3-4 mile run
    • Friday: 30 mins bike
    • Saturday: 6 mile run
    • Sunday: Rest, maybe some yoga
    • Monday: 2-3 mile run
    • Tuesday: Rest
    Catch you later!

    Saturday, March 8, 2014

    leave me be...i'm sewing!

    Well...that's my plan for this weekend at least!  I have a lot of sewing I'd like to accomplish, and it's been awhile since I spent quality time just sewing and ignoring everything else.  We've been running around so much the past few weekends, so we have declared this weekend our stay home and not leave the house weekend.  (truth...we'll leave the house...to get food and stuff...but we made zero plans to do anything else!).

    So if you need me...I'll be in my sewing space...playing with this stack of fabric


    among other things!

    Wednesday, March 5, 2014

    Wellness Wednesday...Ep. 5

    Welcome back to Wellness Wednesday...in today's episode, I revisit last week's half marathon training plan, take a look at this week's, and talk about my current running shoes.

    Last week's plan and what I actually did in red:
    • Wednesday: Rest Rest
    • Thursday: 3-4 mile run 3.25 miles on treadmill (could be closer to 3.5, depends on whether I use my foot pod or the treadmill for distance)
    • Friday: 2-3 mile run 3.77 miles - should have made it shorter...my legs DO NOT like running two days in a row
    • Saturday: rest Rest
    • Sunday: 9-10 mile run 9.7 mile run - was great until about mile 7 and then it felt like my legs were encased in concrete and I slowed down significantly.  Plus my GPS is all hosed up (thinks yesterday was last wednesday, so I'm very thankfully I run a backup GPS) and logged my miles wrong.
    • Monday: yoga for runners Rest
    • Tuesday: 3-4 mile run Rest
    definitely far from perfect but in general feeling much better about where my training is at!  The long run was pretty good, and the weather was probably very similar to what conditions will be race day.  I'm hoping this week's long run goes as well or better...and considering it will be my last run above 6 miles before the half marathon...well, my confidence could take a major hit!  Anyways...here is my plan for this week:
    • Wednesday: 3-4 mile run
    • Thursday: 30 mins bike
    • Friday: 3-4 mile run
    • Saturday: rest, maybe a little yoga for runners
    • Sunday: 11-12 miles
    • Monday: Yoga for runners
    • Tuesday: 3 mile run
    and now...running shoes.  I'm having a few issues with my current shoes.  When I first started running a year ago, it was in a pair of Saucony's that I had picked up at some cheapo shoe store and was "ok" for the most part.  When I got "serious" about running, I actually went to Fleet Feet and got appropriately fitted for a pair.  I went through many shoes until I tried on a pair that just plain felt great...the Nike Vomero 7.  I loved them.   Unfortunately I let them age a bit too much and the cushioning was pretty shot by the time I finished up my first half marathon last September.  So I went back to Fleet Feet and got a new pair.  Nike had released a "newer model" in between and when I first tried on the Vomero 8, I was pretty happy...so I bought them.  There are days I regret that decision and days I don't.  The Vomero 8 took close to 50 miles to break-in, so my early runs weren't the most comfortable.  But I stuck it out...and miles 50-150 were pretty good.  And then I started to notice that they just don't feel as nice (I have about 180 miles on them).  The fit feels a little bit off, the toe box feels too small at times, I'm just not loving them right now.  HOWEVER...I refuse to replace them this close to a race.  I don't want to try and break-in a new pair right now, and the Vomero 8's are actually not that bad.  Something just feels a bit "off" before and after running (I must state that I have ZERO issues while running in them).  So my plan is to head back to Fleet Feet after my half marathon and talk to them about the issues I am having and see if I can't find another make/model that just feels better.  (I feel very Goldilocks and the Three Bears here...I want it "just right").  I'll let you know how that goes! 

    I must note that I purchased all shoes mentioned above myself.  No shoes have every been provided to me, and no one has ever asked for my opinion on them or to share an opinion on them.

    Sunday, March 2, 2014

    ALYoF - March goal

    Wow...March already...this first part of 2014 has flown!  For this month's goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes I'm going to take my movement in pink quilt from this starting stack of blocks:


    and turn it into a 100% finished quilt!  That means make the other half of the blocks, get the top assembled...and then get it backed, basted, quilted and bound!  I'm excited and a bit nervous about this goal as I have a lot of things going on this month (who doesn't?) so I'll really need to add some stitching in during the work week.  Guess I better get started!