My return to normalcy after a month of being away has been rough. I know I should have probably expected this, but I didn’t. Part of the problem is that I didn’t realize justΒ howΒ relaxed I was when I was in New Hampshire. I was still doing a lot of my normal daily tasks, spending more time then usual with the kids and keeping up with my training schedule. What I wasn’t doing was keeping my house running, working more and dealing with two kids who have subsisted on s’mores and nightly fires until 9pm. There’s no place like home, but she can be a real bitch.

 

WEEK OF AUGUST 10, 2015

RUNNING: This has been interesting. I’m currently scouring the earth for the right pair of running shoes and it’s a complete pain in the ass. The main reason is becauseΒ I live 45 minutes away from my specialty running store. I managed to get there one glorious day and came away with the Brooks Ghost 8. Run #1 was 20 minutes and felt great. Run #2 looked like this:

20 minute warm-up

3 x 30 secondsΒ at 5K pace, 1 min recovery

3 x 5 minutes @ 5K pace, 2 min recovery

2 mile cool down

Totaling 8 miles @7:42 average pace

Afterward I felt like this:

Speed kills.

Speed kills.

And my left toe looked like this:

Because you need to see it.

Because you need to see it.

I’ve never in my life had this much trouble finding the right running shoe and it’s so beyond frustrating.

I made it back to Fleet Feet at the end of the week and had quite the experience.Β I ended up choosing a shoe I never thought I would have. In fact, after running more miles in them, I’ll be dedicating an entire post to a review. I know the anticipation is killing you.

Lastly, I’m still in this weird space of having several upcoming half marathons and THE New York City marathon but, before all of that, I have a triathlon on Aug 30. I’m training hard but not doing any big running mileage right now. My long run was 11 miles @8:12 pace and I’m good with that for now…

Total: 28 miles

Speed work with lots of recovery!

Speed work with lots of recovery!

CYCLING:Β Getting back to teaching spin was interesting. Logging miles on the road (especially the hilly NH roads!) is definitely harder then being on the spin bike…or is it? My very first class back was a rainy day, which should not matter. However, when you work at the YMCA and there’s day campers there, it matters a lot. A decision was made to hold class in the lobby (which we have done before for other reasons) so they could show a movie to the kids in the spin room but, they also had a ton of campers in the lobby. And it was about 180 degrees in there. Not ideal.

Then they asked me to turn down my music so the receptionists could hear one the phones. I did not.

Nightmare.

All other cycling was fantastic and this Tuesday will be a return to the comforts of the cycling room at the Y.

Total miles: 55

Brick training by the lake.

Brick training by the lake.

SWIMMING: The first swim in the pool was horrible as expected. Luckily I was able to meet my coach for transition work and an hour swim in open water on Friday.

We set up a mock transition area and she videoed me transtioning from swim to bike and bike to run. It wasn’t as awful as I thought. She gave me some great tips:

Β – put your sunglasses open and ready in your upside-down helmet so you just throw them on first

Β – go from head to toe, as in – sunglasses, helmet, GU (I stick them in my shorts), shoes

Β – during the bike to run transition just grab your bib belt and put it on while you’re running

I also practiced what I call the “fancy” way of getting on and off your bike, where you run next to it and then jump right into the pedals as you swing your leg over. I almost fell the first time I tried to dismount because I seriously forgot I was clipped in! Luckily CRS was there to catch me. #NoJoke

A gorgeous day for a swim!

A gorgeous day for a swim!

FUEL: Since returning from NH I’ve cut back my alcohol and sweets intake considerably which may be contributing to my overall crankiness. One new addition to my breakfast is really working for me and it’s amazingly simple – whole wheat toast, banana and honey. Delicious and all the slow burning carbs I need to keep me going for my morning workouts.

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THINGS I LOVE:Β Reuniting with friends after being away for so long! I’ve been able to have dinners, cookouts and runs with some of my favorite people and it’s really the best feeling. I didn’t realize how much I missed everyone!

THINGS I DON’T LOVE AS MUCH: The boys have discovered Lunchables. It happened at camp (of course!) where they were not only informed of where to get these boxes of salt and preservatives (WalMart) but also that they come with “special treats.” Of course I tried to tell the boys that the “special treat” is called obesity, cavities and early onset diabetes. #NotEvenExaggerating

I was happy to find they actually make a healthier version and told the boys they could have it once a week. Compromise and bribery are the key to a happy parent/child relationship.

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READING:Β Two articles really stuck with me this week – one that has to do with life in general and other, with running life:

My brother sent the below article to me I think just to kind of say “Hey, you runners are insane and here’s proof:”

What Runners Are ThinkingΒ – The Atlantic article: A group of marathon runners were equipped with tiny recording devices and asked to say out loud what they were thinking during 26.2 miles of, well, pain.

Most of the time, marathon runners are thinking about their pace and the distance they have left. For much of the rest of the time, their thoughts dwell on their surroundings and, of course, the extreme discomfort they’re enduring.

This next one I saw posted to Carla’s FB page and I couldn’t click the link fast enough:

5 Minutes Early is On Time; On Time is Late; Late is Unacceptable – Forbes article: This is basically the mantra I live by and the reason I drive most people insane.

RANDOM QUOTE OF THE WEEK:Β From the Forbes.com article above:

“Intentionally being late is about power. It’s showing the other person, or people that you’re a β€œbig deal” and have the upper-hand in the relationship. It’s also called being a dick.” – Brent Beshore

How was your week?

Is everyone ready to get back to everything come September? What are you dreading most?

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