Work and Running

Ok, Monday sucked because it was a 'rest day' the weather was perfect for a run, or so it looked from inside the overly air conditioned office building.  I bundled up and kept on working, begrudgingly.    TRX was a nice distraction, and with only two of us torture was on full bore.  Yippiee!!

Got out for a little run today!!  After two failed attempts.  First my iPod was dead.  Chris, the awesome guy he is, offered to tune the music to what ever I wanted if I ran inside.  Awww puffy heart him!! Then I got out to the guard shack and realized I forgot my badge.  I skulked back in the building, drafting off of some contractors out smoking, back down to the fitness center, telling Chris, don't ask, I forgot my badge.  Again he offered what ever music I wanted, awww....  I went out anyway, telling him I hoped I make it back, it wasn't starting out to well.  He laughed!

Not a bad run.  And I do think the tunes have something to do with my pacing.  Amy, of the sharp elbows, massage therapist, concurs on this point.  I didn't check my watch until mile 3 and you can see that is all started falling apart.  Crap, Beth, hold it together, will ya?  OK it wasn't REALLY that bad....



I could figure out how to set up some segments to gain some achievements but Mike B would kill them?  Why learn something new, right?

I saw Ro out walking  @Beach Pond and Eastern Point, while I was running and she said I looked good.  Ahh, what a great friend. I'm sure I was a hot mess.  I was just happy to beat her to the corner of Meech and Eastern Point!!  

No Dog Watch, Gdogg had a bad day and suggested Richoni's (don't judge) for a drink.  He, #1SmartGuy and WolterD and I went out for some cocktails and chop busting.  Great group of guys.  WolterD may be zooming up to my favorite person as he called me a "tiny little thing with a high alcohol and low bullshit tolerance".  

Hubb is showing a bit of his competitive streak and went out for 'time trials' on the mountain bike in Arcadia.  8 out of 20, good on ya hubb!  Now, can I get a road bike?  

Sincerely,
Beth, happy to support a co-worker deal with someone unleashing the flying monkeys on him

RUNch

I have a pretty flexible work schedule.  For this I am thankful.  Hubb and I signed the papers to refinance the homestead this a.m.  My hand is tired from signing my current name AND my FKA (Formerly Known As)  name and printing both.  It is done and unless someone pays us to refinance we will probably not be refinancing and I can forgo filing a Quit Claim Deed to get my current name on the Deed of the house.  When I put Hubb on the house (after he became Hubb) how I managed to not get my new name is beyond me...    Anyhow, because work is what I do not where I go and my boss trusts me I can take and hour to deal with this paperwork and get to work and just do what needs to be done.  

Some days what needs to be done is a run during work hours.  I never wanted to join the gym at work and exercise or shower with people I worked with.  Who wants to see that?  UGH...  I joined for a while and basically donated a years worth of dues to the cause.  

When I started running seriously, I'd get up at 5 a.m. and run or run after work.  I usually fit in a run either before or after work.

Last fall a co-worker convinced me to join the gym at work so I could run on the treadmill in the cold weather, instead of getting up at 5, freezing, or risk my life running in the dark. I could run outside in daylight when it was warmer in the colder months. It would help my speed he promised.. I acquiesced, joined the gym, and ran on the treadmill exactly twice, it sucked.  I joined a class, not my thing.  

Well I did like running outside, in the daylight, and when it was warmer than it was at 5 a.m..  I found my best time to run is 10:30 - 12 (Noon).  I was sufficiently awake, caught up on work, and really ready for a break.  I can fit in any where between a 3 and 6 mile run in the 90 minutes I've allocated myself 4 days a week and bring my lunch to my desk and eat and see what happened in the 90 minutes I was improving my mood.

My co-workers and clients are mostly Manhattan based, they seem to arrive at work around 10 a.m. and work a bit later.  I can catch up on what happened the night before, take a little break and spend the afternoon in meetings.  

I like running during work really helps me.  My day is broken into chunks and I manage my work better when I know I have a certain amount of time to accomplish something.  Read: I am a procrastinator!  Also my co-workers can tell a difference pre-run versus post-run.  If I’m having a bad day one of my desk mates will whisper “run run run run” this prompt me to smirk, grab my gym bag and head out. 

Truly, I know how lucky I am to have a gym and shower facilities and a place to run during work.  Many people remark, well if you didn’t run during work would you run at all, it take so much time and I just don’t have time?  Hell yes, I’d be out there at 5 a.m. like I used to be.  Running is a priority in my life and I am extremely grateful I can balance it all out and run in the day light in the colder months! 

Do you or can you RUNch?

Sincerely,
Beth, RUNching on a regular basis

She's Back!

What an absolutely gorgeous fall day.  I could NOT resist going for a run in the early afternoon. OK TRUTH I lacked some major focus today.  I ticked off the easy no brainers on the to do list.  When push came to shove I just couldn't muster up the focus to finish up a lagging project needing some serious TLC.   Perfect fall running weather didn't exactly help.  Never mind that I sit with my back to the window, the sun was beaming across my desk.  Of course when I packed for TRX and threw in a variety of running gear, just in case...  If I'm going to lug the gear bag I might as well be prepared for any opportunities which may present themselves!

As I skipped down to the gym to change and hit the pavement there was another runner leaving for an afternoon run.  I grinned from ear to ear and said "It looks gorgeous out there, ENJOY!"  I got the usual smirk and he looked at me like I was looney.  People... we only get to do these moments once, live it up, love it, enjoy it, embrace it!

He's a clock-stupid runner. We crossed paths on a long uphill stretch for me downhill for him.   Nice shady part of the route. Maybe someday I will run the route like everyone else does, feh, Scott never did, I'll keep up the rebel tradition. I did pass the same walker twice.  I did an out and back at Jupiter Point and caught up to her again just before going up and around Avery Point.  Wonder what she thought when I passed her twice.  I stopped at Avery Point a few times to document that my favorite running partner was back!

Hi Friend!  I missed you yesterday!

It was a wonderful run, not a fast run.  Someone did run a rainy wet cold 13.1 yesterday, so she can have a break, right?  Trying to find the best way to snap a pic of my shadow did take a little time, and well, it was so seriously gorgeous outside, why would I want to be inside?

TRX was a full class, which is 4 women and the leader.  Our Spartan Racer showed off her bruises from the Spartan Race two weekends ago in VT.  Still some pretty good looking bruises.  I want to run one of those... running, mud, and bruises, what could be better?

The jury is out if I will sleep like a rock or insomnia will pay a visit.  UGH... guess it is better than waking Hubb up with me singing or swearing in my sleep?

Stats:

Summary

Steady pacing even with the ups and downs!  And of course 4 stops for pics...  

Route - y'all must be bored looking at this upside down native american?

Splits not fast, not slow

Sincerely,
Beth who is glad to have her running buddy back and really really really wants to sleep through the night

Magic 8 Ball Says "Signs Point to Yes"

The Friday night Yoga class is advertised as detox yoga.  I desperately needed to detox this week.  The combination of blowing off some steam by acting like an irresponsible 20 something at a bar and yoga, may have brought me to homeostasis.  Good grief, between work craziness and training for my first marathon it is no wonder I haven't been sleeping. I haven't had a full nights sleep in I can't remember how many weeks. It can't possibly be normal to not sleep like a rock after a 20 mile run, I didn't.  2 a.m. is wicked mistress, she is desperate to get between me and my pillow and seems to be succeeding in her quest.

So I ask myself, "Self what is going on?"  Of course, when presented with any serious questions in life who or what does one consult?  Why, the Magic 8 Ball, of course!

I shake the ball and ask:  Could it be over training? "Don't count on it".
I shake the ball and try:  Could it be caffeine"? "Reply hazy, try again".
I shake the ball and plead: Could it be stress?, "Better not tell you now".
I shake the ball thinking I may be on to something: Could it be I be in a rut? "Signs point to yes".

So yeah, a rut.  Same thing week in and week out.  While the OCD in me LOVES being on a schedule, loves the predictability of knowing what is going to happen next, the, other, would it be ADD me or just plain wahooo lets open door #3 and see what happens side gets bored.  Bored bored bored and wants a surprise, a new adventure, something unexpected every now again.  The par for the course getting shaken up is wicked fun!  Desire for both stability and surprises don't have to be mutually exclusive, do they?   I crave a bit of both. 

In Yoga tonight Heidi started differently. Hmmm...  I thought, has she had a 3rd cup of cappuccino, if so we could be in for a wild ride, giddy up!  Usually we do three OMs in a seated position and start our practice in Chakravakasana (Cat - Cow stretches).  This time we started practice in Balasana (Child's Pose), then to Chakravakasana and finally up on our feet in Tadasana.  This is where we, with hands in Yoga Mudra over Hearts Center, did three OMs.  Exactly the surprise I needed. So different, the sound of the OMs.  Peaceful yet invigorating.  

Practice was not easy, we did a lot of Phalankasana (high plank) and Chaturanga Dandasana (low plank) in our asanas. Twists to get the toxins out.  Virabhadrasana I and Virabhadrasana 2 (Warrior) for strength against the universal warrior (ignorance).  All that made Adho Mukha Savasana (Downward Facing Dog) and Balasana (Child's Pose) both resting poses, so much more rewarding and restful.  Heidi encourages us to verbalize during class.  Well, the ahhing and groaning from four middle aged women in a Yoga studio on a Friday night, resulted in snickers.  When Heidi said "screaming is ok too" snicker giggle snicker giggle and then  "Oh, I wasn't going THERE" was said.  We all lost it.   Oh good grief, what are we going to do if men show up in the class?  Guess we, the Friday Night Yoga Chickens, have been so used to being the Friday Night Yoga Chickens will have to cross that road when we come to it?  Maybe answering the age old question of "Why did the chicken cross the road?".

Weather on tap for the weekend is fairly rainy.  Long run for tomorrow is 13 miles.  It will be a wet 13 miles, it will be 13 miles. Maybe more?

Sincerely,

Beth, the middle aged teenager

Enablers

The weather was perfect for running today.  Breezy, sunny, slight chill in the air.  I packed my long sleeved Team Lung Love jersey in my gear bag and was quite happy to wear it for my lunch time run.  What I forgot was my Garmin.  Luckily I have an iPhone and Map My Fitness so I could see what I did pace wise once I was done.  And since I had my iPhone I also stopped a few times to snap some pictures.  Worked out perfectly as the next run after a long run be a recovery run?  Leaving the Garmin on it's charger in the kitchen was my enabler to run at what ever pace felt right.

My usual route at work.  I seem to run it clockwise while everyone else runs it clockstupid.  I'm not sure why.  I really like the steep hill at the end and the long slow climb at the beginning, rather than the other way around.  But then again Sir GIS Alot was the one who showed me the route to begin with and that is how he ran it so, well, there you go. I'm a creature of habit and training.

The lovely weather and blue skies were my enablers to just stop and snap a few pictures here and there.

I love all the neatly stacked lobster pots and fishing gear!

My route takes me on one out and back and there was a small out and back I took just after that one.  I may explore down there a bit more.  No pictures snapped.  My boxer buddy wasn't out guarding his yard at the end of out and back #1.  My next 'stop' is UCONN's Avery Point Campus, the view of the Long Island Sound behind the buildings was so sparkly.  There are also a bunch of ducks perched on the rock in the middle, sunbathing I imagine!

Then we get into campus a bit and this is the first bit of beauty I see.  Up a set of stairs and on to a brick walk way, and around the point. Lots of interesting sculptures.  I started thinking about how awesome a place this is to work and to run in, and why didn't I marry for money instead of love so I could spend more time enjoying the scenery.

Then I saw this bench, I had never really noticed it before, the flowers caught my eye.  This is why I married for love instead of money.  The feeling of love and contentment just radiated out of that granite bench.  Awwww.

And then it was back on the road and up and around and back to Crazy Land.  

This run enabled me to bear through the rest of my work day, that and a note saying "Sunday 10 a.m. - Inaugural Lions Club 5K in Misquamicut"  Sundays are my long run days, they have been for such a long time that I hate to mess with that equation.  But hey Misquamicut is 5 miles from my house so I can run to the race, run the race, and run home and I'll get in 13. How could that plan fail?

Further enabling me to focus on my work and just plow through and be productive was this popping up in my in-box "6 p.m. Dog Watch, Be There" I haven't heard from this friend in ages.  She is going through some crap and sometimes people just need to be left alone.  I was there at 6 and so was she.  Couple of cocktails and probably the messiest and best burger I've had in eons!  Of course the gossip and chit chat was awesome.  She seems to be doing better, or at least is realizing that she is completely normal.  Don't we all need to be reminded that we are completely normal?

Stats:

Not a fast run, but I did enjoy it and snapped a few pics!

The lines are blurry but there is a second out and back before the Avery Point loop and I have no idea what that blue segment is all about

Pacing is consistent!

Sincerely
Beth who appreciates all who enable her to live each day to its fullest!

Another Mixed Up Week

After yesterdays fiasco with no sports bra I packed two last night.  At least if I keep packing appropriately I'll always have a spare or save myself in the event I mess up again!  Smart cookie, I am.

40 days until Marine Corps Marathon.  Holy crap.  I'm nervous, my stomach is doing flips.  I guess this is to be expected.  I saw someone had posted a walk/run combo they were going to try.  It is too late for me to change my training, less than 6 weeks to go I shouldn't do anything new, right? I did do one thing new, based on today's run I think I am fine with the small personal tweak I made.

I snuck in a 4 mile run this morning, pre lunch.  It was nice.  The humidity spiked up with some weather system due to make tonight a wild night.  Tie down your boats and put away projectiles!  It was 73 F with a breeze and higher than expected humidity.  I kept it at about a 10 pace for my run.  It felt really good.  It has been a while for a coolish day to run during work.  Many of the other runners were out taking advantage of the weather.  Nice to see!  I always seem to be going opposite of them.  I like to do the steep hill towards the end.  (see pace/elevation).  My pacing was a little off.  Not sure what was going on, seemed to be all over the map. I wasn't checking my watch much, just running and waving and generally enjoying being outside away from my desk.

Do you dread the first couple of miles?  It seems to be narrowing down to the first mile and part of the second, so that is good.  Perhaps it is because I only planned on 4 miles?  Curious on your thoughts/experiences.

Stats:

Right around a 10 m/m pace I walked the first "Lap"

Route, hill is the chin area
I run the route clockwise starting at the red blob

Pace / elevation

Sincerely,
Beth, not having any amazing or funny stories from today's run

Yoga Detox

As I was leaving work Work Hubb and the boyz were gathered around the computer and the last thing I heard was "What it this the Who's Who of the Dork Squad?" and peals of laughter.  Yeah, it was time to go.  I headed out with my workout bag and my computer to "Hey aren't you running tonight?"  "Did ya know Number One Smart Guy is getting his Birthday Candle Blown Out."  All I could do was groan at their antics and ponder how wonderful it would be to lay down (or is it lie down) for 30 minutes and then contemplate my next steps in the day.  

Half way through the 20 minute drive home I decided to get a pedicure and went off to the nail place.  After a bit of a toing and froing about my second toe on my left foot, the one that is nailess and that he should just leave it alone please, let the nail grow back in peace.  The second toe on my right foot will lose it's nail at some point, but not quite yet so he was welcome to treat that like the rest.  We got on to business with the pedicure and the real reason I go, for the calf and foot massage.

Run and risk messing up the polish or Yoga?  Yoga it is.  Friday night is a Detox class, so not as intense, perfect.  Heidi did different asanas to detox for each of the days.  Friday's detox was a twist then shavasana.  Lovely class, as it usually is.  I'm feeling far more centered than when I went in and I was on the verge of a hot mess based on a text I had sent pre-class.  Wowza, way to show your ass Beth...

Tomorrow will be a short run, 5 miles just to loosen myself up and burn off some of the extra calories I have consumed.  I have a 1/2 marathon on Sunday 7:30 a.m. start.  The Surftown Half from Misquamicut to Weekapaug to Misquamacut to Watch Hill and back to Misquamicut.  I ran this course a few weeks ago.  Remember the breast cancer survivor Deb?  Wonder if I will see her.  

Sincerely, 

Beth, centered and calm

WAH

WAH = Work At Home.  Not a bad way to start the work week.  Granted this did not involve sleeping in, it just involved not wearing shoes.  Hubb took his nephews to an amusement park for the day and will bring them back here to spend a few days with their Uncle and Aunt.  Well their Uncle, Auntie Beth works a lot.

Monday was productive, top secret work project seems to be going smoothly, finally, despite the consultants ever present attempts to de-rail us!  I am working on a filing also going well.  The second time I've had to do this for an attorney and while she is a nervous nelly about the whole thing it is going far better than I could have imagined considering we are in prime vacation time at place of employment.

I didn't run.  I didn't go to yoga.  I rolled my foot on ice and a tennis ball and stretched.  I am seriously worried about this PF as well as the Susan G Komen 60 mile walk this Fri - Sun.  I doubt I am anywhere seriously close to a sidelining injury however I just really don't like to be in pain and constant fear of pain.  So there you have it.  Whimp?  Maybe...  Better safe than sorry is what I am going for.  I can do the miles, I know this, physically and mentally. The pain on Saturday was sharp and piercing, and scary.

I worked, did laundry, messed around with the dogs, and mowed the lawn.  So much for a stellar training plan, you know what, I'm OK with this and I don't feel like I am making excuses.  Everything is making me cry so I'm ultra sensitive to pain at the moment.

Yeah, does sound like I am trying to justify.

I took myself out for a little drive to see this, beautiful, hopeful, and amazing.

Buttonwood Farms, Griswold, CT

Sincerely,
Sunny Beth

Big Butts and 'The Soundtrack to My Life"

Today started with a song in my head, this isn't unusual, my brain is wired very strangely.  Times past it has been something sedate like Jimmy Buffets "Cheeseburger in Paradise" maybe a little George Thorogood "I Drink Alone".  This morning was Sir Mix-A-Lot "Baby Got Back" could be a combination of this song being on my running play list and I've been thinking about a promise a friend aka "Sir GIS A-Lot" made to me to run a 1/2 marathon with me and he seems to have welshed on this promise, disappeared off the face of the earth.  Knock Knock you out there?  I may start running by your house if you don't answer!

Fortunately the miracle of Facebook I could post this as my status and a friend, Thank You Amy, helped me along getting the lyrics out of my system.  I think I am nearly depleted of this song running through my head.

Once up on a time my husband's banjo playing was, as my brother who lived with him for a few years dubbed it, the 'soundtrack to my life'.  I have to admit that I do miss that banjo playing, on occasion.  See, my brain is wired weird.  Hubb recalls me not liking this 'soundtrack to my life' I think that is only because he once decided to 'serenade' me while I was on a phone interview.  Ever try and remain calm and focused on a telephone pre-screen interview? well imagine it with a banjo being played in the next room.  Fortunately I passed the pre-screen and the interview and got the job.  A job actually that changed our lives.

This is a declared rest day, I travel to NYC to meet with my boss, the project leader, and several other people.  Today was actually quite stellar, of the 58 open issues we resolved 23!  Getting the project leader to actually focus on issues is close to impossible.  My boss and I devised a plan to get her to focus and quickly ticked off our action item list.  Essentially easy stuff to get an answer to, the problem is getting the project leader to actually focus on the actual question we need answered instead of the millions of questions floating around in her brilliant all-be-it scattered mind.

While it is a long day, starting at 5 a.m. and not getting home till nearly 10 p.m., it is always worth it both professionally to spend time with my boss and my project teams and personally as I meet up with friends who work in or are visiting NYC, this ALWAYS makes the day even better!

No work out stats to record for today, I walked a few blocks in heels and did a few flights of stairs in heels.

Thinking trail run with my 'dirty girl gaiters' is on tap for tomorrow!  WOOT!!