We have a saying in the northeast, if you don’t like the weather, wait a minute and it will change. The same has been true for my mood lately. One minute things seem hopeless and the next, I feel invincible. My motto has always been “this too shall pass” because it’s true for everything, including our weather.

 

WEEK OF JANUARY 29, 2018

RUNNING

Thank the running gods this past week was a run block! I also curse them because I had to do two long, hard runs on the treadmill due to snow and the resulting snow days. I tried really hard to just be grateful I had a treadmill and could still do the runs, while gazing longingly outside like a puppy in a pet store window.

Courage and Heart is Coeur! If I wear it on my shorts, I have it on my mind.

Tuesday – aerobic build | 9.43 miles on the treadmill! < – – this was supposed to be a gorgeous outdoor run but school was cancelled for no apparent reason other then the weathermen have no clue how to predict the weather.

Wednesday – easy run before strength | 6.76 miles | 8:30 pace

Thursday – 30 minute run after bike as part of brick | 3.68 miles | 8:21 pace

Friday – hell run! 8 x 800s during long run | 1:20:18 | 10.1 miles | 7:55 pace < – – also done on the treadmill because of a 2 hour delay!

Total = 29.97 <- – if I knew how close I was to 30 miles, I would have run more! Grrrrr

CYCLING

I actually ordered my first real cold-weather cycling gear. With an early race (June 3) I have to suck it up this spring and get out on the bike as soon as possible. I know from years of running that having the right gear for the weather is essential and, when Pactimo had a 70% off sale well, I had to jump on it. And no, I have never heard of Pactimo but I read about them in Bicyling.com so they have to be good. Right?

It’s a whole new world of gear here folks and I may or may not be wearing this…

Obviously I will look like this in them though so…

I mean, honestly? Who does this kind of marketing and who is the audience? Have they not heard of #MeToo? Sheesh.  The very last thing I will be thinking about while wearing these ridiculous things is how sexy I may look. In fact, this outfit may define the words “turn off.” I’ll ask my husband…

Anyway, this is what my bike week looked like and it was all indoors in perfectly acceptable clothing.

Monday – base building | 1:31:02 | 22 miles

Thursday – cadence work before run | 1:00:00 | 14.4 miles

Sunday – big gear + tempo | 1:05:00 | 16.5 miles

Total = 52.9 miles

SWIMMING

I.had.no.swims

My coach was serious as the flu about this run block and I had zero time in the pool. I actually missed being in  the water and thought about sneaking in a quick session…and then decided to just dip my toes in via pedicure. #winning

STRENGTH

I’m keeping up with my twice weekly strength regimen and even tried to do a pull up the other day. I did exactly one.  The weird thing is my coach keeps scheduling my strength after long runs and I keep thinking how awful it will be to strength train on tired legs but it ends up being energetic. Try it.

I also had a functional workout by way of shoveling. Our plow guy usually doesn’t come until late morning but my cleaning lady was coming at 8:30am so I was shoveling! #motivation

I will do anything to avoid cleaning my own house.

Plus, it was absolutely gorgeous outside…

THINGS I LOVE

This Instagram Live from Will Smith about taking responsibility for yourself. It seems so simple but “fault” vs “responsibility” have clear definitions and Smith puts them in perfect perspective:

In case you can’t or don’t want to listen, here are best parts:

“It really doesn’t matter whose fault it is that something is broken. It’s your responsibility to fix it.”

“It’s not your fault if your partner cheated and ruined your marriage. But it is for damn sure your responsibility to figure out how to take that pain and how to overcome that and build a happy life for yourself.”

“Fault and Responsibility do not go together as socks.”

“When something is somebody’s fault we want them to suffer. We want them punished. We want them to pay. We want it to be their responsibility to fix it. But that’s not how it works, especially when it’s your heart.”

“As long as we’re pointing the finger and stuck in whose fault something is, we’re jammed and trapped into victim mode. And when you’re in victim mode, you’re stuck and suffering.”

“The road to power is in taking responsibility. Your heart, your life, and your happiness are your responsibility and your responsibility alone.”

“Taking Responsibility is taking your power back.”

I also wish I could teach my kids this because it’s never their fault and they also take zero responsibility.

THINGS I DON’T LOVE AS MUCH

So the super bowl was yesterday which was fine. I would have preferred Aaron Rodgers didn’t get hurt and ruin any chance of the Packers being in it this year but, whatever. And no, I’m not a Patriots fan. Anyway, my beef is not with football or the super bowl but with grown men wearing other grown men’s jerseys.

It just struck me as odd all of sudden since a ton of grown men have been parading around in football jerseys with the name of another guy on the back of it…usually a much younger guy and well, it’s weird. Is it just me?

 

READING

Lots of good stuff from this past week. Read it and weep…with joy:

Why I Skipped Dry January | Amanda Loudin | Another Mother Runner

Full disclosure, the author of this article is a friend but I love her message here. Why deprive yourself of something you enjoy so much? This is true for any kind of abstaining. Maybe it’s because I grew to despise lent so much as a young Catholic girl or maybe it’s because it makes too much sense. Cheers Amanda!

Brooks Needs Runners Who Hate to Run | Claire Suddath | Bloomberg Businessweek

Brooks CEO Jim Weber was quoted as saying the only “real” runners are paid professionals and the rest of us a “self defined runners.” Oh and he added that running isn’t really a sport.

Ok breathe. Then read the full article and then wait for my reactive article coming to Women’s Running this week. In the meantime, I would love your thoughts.

RANDOM EXCHANGE OF THE WEEK

So Miles was trying to tell me that Oreos have nutritional value. As he was stuffing two into his mouth, he read the ingredients:

Miles: Mom, it says here there’s 1 gram of protein in the Oreos. < – – he says it like this is an incredible amount of protein

Me:  As I grab the package…Did you look at the serving size? You need to eat THREE cookies to get one measly gram of protein.

Miles: So…can I have one more?

Why not? Eat six. Eat nine! I give up.

He of course comes home everyday now asking if he can have his one gram of protein. #thistooshallpass

Have a great week everyone and, if you’re not, just wait a minute and it will change.

[Tweet “My week was like New England weather – wait a minute and it will change! #thistooshallpass #train4life”]

How was your week?

What are you waiting for to pass right now?

 

%d bloggers like this: