Mic check....

So… I’m back. And when I say I’m back, it should also be noted that I’m about to take it easy. Whiplash yet?!

Let me backtrack… when last we met, I believe I was still slaving away at the thesis, dating Fred, looking for a job and chilling on the running because North Carolina in the summer isn’t the best for avoiding heat. Now, the thesis is done, degree in hand, Fred… is still Fred but not mine, details on the latest version eventually, back to looking for a job, and yes, almost about to take a break from running because its already 60* at 7am nowadays.

I got back into running in September. Yeah, no clue why I got back into it when it was SEPTEMBER and still suuuper warm, but I knew I needed to get back into some sort of routine. Maybe there were even a few cooler days that gave me hope?! I stopped writing stuff down, so who knows. What I did discover was that I was faster! I hadn’t lost the “speed”, but I could go faster! I started back on KR’s 10k plan, and then got boy whiplash and thought that maybe I’d ratchet it up to a half marathon in…January?!

But FIRST! The roomie, the mom and I dressed up like fools for a Turkey Trot 8k on Thanksgiving Day. What better way to make sure you won’t gain as MUCH weight from the turkey and stuffing and pies than to rev up the metabolism before all the goodies?! I tried to rev up quickly for a couple of halfs in January, but shin splints, traveling for Christmas and the realization that apparently yes, at 25 is when your body decides it wants to break down led to 0 half marathons for January.

Except… you see… I’d done something crazy on Thanksgiving Day, darn post-race endorphins! But let’s keep this chronological! Having conquered my own 8k, I volunteered to mentor for Fleet Feet’s 8k Training group. Making it even more fun?! I knew I’d have someone to drag, I mean, keep my company twice a week. The roomie had gotten into running, starting with the couch to 5k plan and was ready to go be faster, stronger and generally more bad-ass!

So, with our first run a chilling 2 miles on a Tuesday evening in January, the roomie and I were off! We were both in the 11-13 minute/mile pace group. I started off being comfortable at the back, but as the weeks progressed, I sometimes had to be the mentor at the beginning of the pack. Those 11 minute miles got trimmed to 10:30s and shorter, while talking, and before I knew it, it was the last week of January which meant…

MY half marathon training started! On Thanksgiving Day, I’d signed up for the first NC Half Marathon at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. There were a few other races in that general time frame that I was considering. I figured late March would mean it would still be cool, maybe rainy, but warm enough to run without 50 million layers. The one I’d originally had my heart was soon ruled out. Never underestimate the power of bad word of mouth!

The roomie’s friends had heard that my “target race” was on a great course, but the people running it didn’t know what they were doing. Messed up logistics? Yeah, that sounds like a recipe for disaster at my first half. Plus, that was the race where KB got injured and was a hobbling fool for weeks afterwards. I started looking around and, having family near Charlotte, figured that driving 2 hours to go race was totally sane, so why not?!

I did the 8k with the training group, rocked it, but dear heavens, the HILLS around here! I realized I’d pushed myself more than I planned to or remembered when I went to go run the next day. It totally did not happen. I think I did 2 miles, and cried like a baby for the last mile. Always great walking into the house and explaining to your boyfriend that, despite being out for 25 minutes, you only went 2 miles and yes, your face is caked in snot and tears, Cosmo’s surefire way to attract men!

At this point, I had to juggle the Runner’s World half training plan I’d been following with what my body would physically allow me to do. I did most of my long runs, but my mid-week runs weren’t as long or as fast or inclusive of the speed work as I would hope or plan for. The two “perfect” examples were the 8 mile run that didn’t happen and the 10 miles of pure suck. The 8 mile was supposed to happen on a Thursday evening, about 2 weeks after the 8k. I’d run 2 miles on my shin splints the Sunday before and knew that if I could just get 5 minutes in, the pain would just be numbed and dull and I could power through.

Except… I couldn’t get out of my own head. This is a seeeerious problem for me, but that night, I just panicked, didn’t want to keep pushing through the pain, yelled at my training partner (aka dear sweet willing to mess up his workout schedule for me boyfriend) for always staying 2 steps ahead of me, not by my side, and other random thoughts just took over and I was DOA. I maybe did 2 miles? And that was it. Buried the thought of that run, shook it off, moved forward.

A trip to the beach that weekend threw a huge wrench in my 10 mile plans for that weekend, so I decided I was still on shin splint recovery rest, and had a much better and motivating 2 mile run with the bf and a dog that can actually run! (Yes, I still love Lucy, but the gremlin rebels at walks up hills, she can’t pace you for 2 miles!) There was still another weekend to do a 10 miler, so I marked on the calendar in Sharpie, planned out a challenging but scenic route, made sure the phone with music was charged and headed out! At 10 am... when it was really sunny…with plans to just get water/Gatorade at random gas stations and fountains along the way…and some darn evil hills…and a part with just the side of the road, no sidewalk…and one of the most stressing things that could happen to a girl less than 48 hours old … I did 10 miles.

Did. I didn’t run the whole way. Might not have run even half of it, but Huck (so bf has a nickname, its “Huck”…continue on) refused to let me turn around unless it was on the route. He let me walk some, took pictures of the snakes on the sidewalk near the arboretum, downed the world’s best Gatorade at mile 8, looked at me like a CRAZY person when someone that I knew (but didn’t explain to him that I knew) stopped to give us water, but most of all kept me moving and reminded me WHY I was doing this and that I was doing this for ME and HE was doing this for me, darnit! That’s love, ladies and gentleman.

They say awful training runs set you up for some pretty awesome races. You know, sort of like how awful dress rehearsals in band or for a play get out all the suck, so that all you have left when it counts is the awesomeness you have inside of you?! Well… today was awesome. There were signs that said “embrace the suck” but I didn’t, because there wasn’t any left. I’ve had some pretty awful days since the shin splints reared their ugly head, and not just because of running, but the kind of days where you have to consciously and deliberately remind yourself that its just a bad day in a good life, or an awful day in a flipping AMAZING life, focusing on the positive, working on the parts of your life that you CAN control. Today, I blocked it all out.

The butterflies grew noticeable as I was standing in line waiting to pee when it was 7:26 and the race was scheduled to start at 7:30 and I didn’t know exactly where to line up. Thank heavens for lightning delaying the start! Oh yeah, by the way, tooootally saw lightning driving into the speedway. Not scary at all! But, I peed like a champion speed demon, found Huck, and found my way to the start line, my pacing group and started the music, after taking a picture or 2, of course, and posting it to Facebook. Priorities!

There was a lot of “ok, run YOUR race, know YOUR goals, forget about the people around you, they didn’t train like you, their shins don’t hurt like yours, they might just be faster than you, this tank needs to last you longer than anything you’ve prepped for so its okay to be conservative now” running through my head for, oh, 2 miles?! I ran into people I knew at the first mile marker, had someone else talk to me shortly after that, and my mood was just ON!

The music was great, I ran into more spectators and runners that I knew, and at mile 6, picked up a running buddy. BJ was walking, but I told him to get back to running, he was almost through the worst parts! We ran into mile 10 together, when he peeled off for the bathrooms. He and I had the same goal pace, and were both super excited to not be crawling (yet…or do I?! keep reading!) and setting personal distance records with every step we took. Reason #918 I love running- you can make new friends mid-race and make 5 miles feel like a walk in the park.

Other highlights include:

    kid with the sign that said “slap sign for extra power boost”- I hit it twice!

    Running over US 29 on a pedestrian bridge that had some bounce to it. Later found out that a few years ago, one of those bridges collapsed! Seriously excited I didn’t know that before the race!

     I was on the 4^th mile when I saw the eventual winner, and he was in mile 9. Yeah…he did it in half my pace, but he didn’t look as happy as I did across the finish line and he probably didn’t get as many hugs as I did!

    I never. Stopped. Running. No walk breaks. NONE! I told myself to get to 10 miles, and once I got there, I pulled a mental switcheroo and said “enh, you only have a 5k left, no walking, suck it up!” and it worked! Personal pride, determination, not just to say “I didn’t walk” but also to just get this thing DONE with were amaaazing motivators!

     The course went around the NASCAR oval, then out around that track, around the dirt track and down and back over the drag strip, around the outside of the NASCAR track then, and this is the cool part, you ran through the tunnels to get onto the asphalt again. Something SUPER chilling about running through a tunnel, and then emerging to the light and lots more spectators and a finish line that, yes, is 2 miles away, but that you can at least SEE!

   

And last…but oh.my.goodness…not least. I smiled I ran across the line, and I cried for a second because I was done, I did it, in 2 hours and 27 minutes, without walking, and hey, here comes a super awesome medal. Seriously, this medal has cars that move and LED drag strip lights that do the countdown. I got my picture taken, grabbed food, found Huck, and just reveled in the glory that was my first completed half. Yeah, I said first. This might be a regular thing!

Every muscle in my legs is on fire, my upper abs even took a turn at being in pain, but the pride of what I did makes it all worth it. The medal is hanging on my door right now, but I need to find a place of honor to hang it in my room. Yeah, I’ve got my master’s, but right now, the accomplishment I’m the most proud of culminated with two and a half hours on a Sunday morning in Charlotte. Maybe it’s the post race endorphins, but dang they’re good and strong, and I wouldn’t trade my hobbling body for the world right now!

…pictures to come!

Here’s to the next TV timeout,

Syd

Running Buddy

At our post-race celebration lunch on Saturday, lots of people started asking if Fred ran, since I'd been demonstrating my running prowess for weeks ;) His answer surprised me, sort of. I knew he hadn't run in a while (science calls!) but I had noooo idea that he could run a 5:40 mile in high school.

My weeks of joking that I could out-run (and now, out-pushup) him led to a huge *gulp*, especially when Fred agreed to go running with me Tuesday morning. Have I mentioned how much of a morning person he's not?! I actually made sure to get to bed early and set my alarm, picking him up at 6:45 for a 2 mile route I thought was way more flat than it was.

Guess I totally forgot about the extra hill that made the end of the run go \/\ , not the easy /-------\ I expected it to be. Do my little slashdot hills make sense? Anyway, my 2 mile course was a bit more of a kicker than I thought it would be, and when I had an empty tank going down the last hill, Fred finally broke away. 

It was only 70 outside, but I was drenched in sweat and stretched it out a lot afterwards. Even after a day spent running around a forest hunting for ticks in jeans (don't ask), and gladiator training that had lots of cross-fit added into it, my chugging water, stretching and smart eating led to a pain-free me today :) Well, except for the swelling on my hand from hitting it with a hammer while trying to get the rebar for the combat crawl in to the ground. The hammer was evil evil and had a meat tenderizing end to it and evil point on the other end so you had to watch your eyes AND your hands and I missed some times ;) 

Here's to the next TV timeout!

-Syd

The good, the bad, the muddy!

Sooo I have another 3 run stories for you today!

1- THE GOOD

Wednesday night's No-Bo run. It was a 2.5 mile loop that was a slight down hill for the first 1.5 miles...so of course that means an evil straight uphill for the last 1 mile, but I was super proud of my people and myself that we didn't quit! I even had enough to sprint it in :) I forget how long it took, but for as hilly as the course was, I remember being happy with the timing!

2- THE BAD

After Saturday's run (that's next!) I mapped out a 3 mile course, making sure I parked on the low ground. I thought it would just meander up the hill, then speed down it.

Except I was probably dehydrated.

And wearing black.

As it was rreeeally sunny.

And no shade on the uphill.

And the hill was the eeennntiiiirrreee 1.5 miles.

I started bargaining with myself- "run to the fire hydrant!...okay, see it flattens a bit, run to the next fire hydrant!...run until you get to 1 mile... run til you get to the next street! run to the shade!" and once I got up the hill, I took a song to walk, and meandered down the hill through campus back to my car.

Lesson learned? Run the first half of the course again... but halfway up the hill, throw a water bottle into the woods. Turn around at the top of the hill and grab water bottle when I need it on the way back down. Oh, and not running at 11am when the sun is beating down on you would be good. And not running on a dehydrated body after a race which leads me to...

3- THE MUDDY!

With a group I've been training with for a few months, we did a "5k" on Saturday morning. While I'll save the criticism I had for the race to the post I put on active.com , I did have a good time, thanks to the people I was with! (The race organizer did send out a "this was our first time, bear with us" e-mail this morning, but my main gripe was, and continues to be, no water on a 2.5 mile obstacle course on a sunny day in May.) I shall now tell the rest of the story in pictures :)

Our team (and one coach)

Mean faces!

8 ft wall

Getting hoisted over- I am not that white, I had underarmor, I swear!!!

I can tell you, my exact thought was"uh okay...how do I get down?!"

Out of the woods, more than half-way there!

The "mud"

"Valley of Tires"...uh sure...if you say so!

FINISH LINE!

After!

How I felt...Braiding by KR :)

Towards the beginning...when I still had tons of energy!

With Fred at the end :)

Here's to the next TV Timeout!

-Syd

Mystery Run

I went for a run today. I got a little bit lost, but thankfully, this man pointed me in the right direction.

There were lots of pretty gardens...

More statues...

A HUGE library...

And a nice gravel path. Oh, did I just give away the locale?!

I started (and ended) the run at THIS building, though!

That's right, Fred and I are on a random jaunt up to DC to see his family, and later, the Air and Space museum! Its not that far of a walk, and I've never been! I always come up here during major tourist times, so hopefully a random Saturday afternoon will be chill.

I also accidentally crashed a small 5k so that I could run ON to the mall and its gravel path. There were some random stages set up, so I ran to them, just to see, and behold! It was the set up for George Washington University's Commencement. 

Once I'd seen that, the rest of the area was pretty familiar (and ripe for running tomorrow!!!) so I headed back...and UP Capitol Hill. Yes, I finished my 3 mile and change run in under 30 minutes, including the times I stopped at crosswalks, took pictures, admired the view and ran up the evil hill. I read something yesterday that talked about how to attack hills, and they basically said DON'T attack. Keep your rate of turnover (how many steps you take in a certain time) the same, shorten the length of your steps, focus on getting up, look up and sort of tell the top "hey, I'm going to get to you and DO THIS!" It worked, oddly enough! I was huffing, puffing, sweating but darn proud of myself. 

Stretched out TONNNNs when I got back to keep the muscles in my legs happy and even and thus, keep the KNEES happy and even :)

Here's to the next TV timeout!

-Syd

April Injuries bring May Victories :)

Wahaha! It even RHYMES! 

Anyway...the almost 2 weeks off did what it needed to do. I didn't completely stop doing stuff- there was still Gladiator training , walking at NoBo, and a stern "why aren't you doing more arms/ab stuff?!" from the Army recruiter. Whoops...

But, thanks to a spontaneous trip to DC with Fred this weekend, I knew I wouldn't be running with the group on Saturday, so I said "to heck with the 14 day rehab!" and figured I'd let 13 be my lucky number- as I write this on Friday the 13th ;) But! I was super nervous to be running again. Would I be able to keep up with my group? Would I be able to handle the hills? Would anybody notice my cute new shorts?! Oh wait, that doesn't really matter... 24 minutes and 2 hilly miles later, I was sweating but smiling :)

I came home to ice the knees- front with corn, back with a legit ice pack- and haven't had much pain since! Thursday night, I also went to a great seminar with this lady and learned about the knee, the pains that result from running, treatment, and when you CAN'T run on them. OMG, I feel SO much better about the two different types of pain that I have, and way more excited that I know how to deal with them, that they're not eventually debilitating, and even when it feels like I want to cut off my leg to eliminate the pain, I know how to treat it. 

Fresh Haircut!

I might be a slight running nerd now :P

Here's to the next TV timeout!

-Syd

Red Rock

Hi!

I did 2 runs this week and halfway through the run tonight, I realized I hadn't blogged about my enh-run on Sunday... and why that was my last run in Vegas!

But, I ran tonight :) It was dark, sort of cold, and it attempted to rain during the last mile. With as much as I heat up, the moisture was nice and cooling, so I didn't mind. The first 2 miles were with my friend Elliot, but when I could feel my hair coming undone, I took a minute to secure it again, and she went off on her crazy good pace. She's recovering from an injury and the only thing that *doesn't* hurt for her now is running up hills- perfect for this out-and-back route that was down, then back up! Running with her for 2 miles, though, was a nice challenge since we were talking the entire time. I'm way too much of a Midwesterner, that I suck at asking questions but have awesome stories to tell. Maybe running with other people will force me to shut up and listen more?!

But, my last run in Vegas was on Sunday night. I could've done another run on Monday morning, but lolling around with Fred was just so much more tempting! Plus, Sunday's run was not an encouraging one. We had just come back from grilling out at the park where I'd chased around some nieces and nephews, so when I got a cramp only 1/2 mile in, I knew I was in for a cruddy run. I kept powering through, but then even my knee started to fail!

I gave myself some credit because just a few hours earlier, I'd gone up "trails" like this:

To get to views like this:

With my big brother!

We have the same eyes when we smile!

Anyway, I have this awesome master plan to get me running more often. The weather is changing, the clocks will change, I miss my awesomely fit/toned running body, I will need something other than sweets to relieve my stress since I'm giving them up for Lent and yes, I realize this somewhat conflicts with my "more yoga/strength-training, less running" of a few weeks ago. Life life, make mistakes, make adjustments!

Here's to the next TV timeout!

-Syd

Vacay Post

I'm on a vacation that's half Fred/half Family- my favorite kind :)

Can you guess where I am?

My niece took a "sick" day to come running with me after bragging about her 5k that she did in under 24 minutes. But after mile 1, I had time to snap these while I danced along to reaaallly good Disney Pandora.

"Crap, Aunt Sydney, you can kick my butt!" she told me at the end ;) She knows nothing of the hills in North Carolina, so the mild ascent I had to do was no big. I stopped after about a mile and a half to hang with her, then ran back the last 1/2 mile of the loop around the golf course. When I was running, I was comfortable at a 6.2mph pace.

This weekend is going to be craziness, but I can't wait to come back and run this on Monday, and possibly even Tuesday, morning before I fly back to my real life!

Off to get pedicures and brunch in Boulder City!

Here's to the next TV timeout!


-Syd

Heels

 I used to not think of myself as a shoe person, but over time, I realize I have a finely cultivated collection of heels. First up?

The ones I wore for Fred and I's first date, exactly 364 days ago. Not that I'm counting. So yes, it was early February, and yes, even though we live in the 70% of the country NOT hit by this week's snowpocalypse, it was still cold. Did I mention the short black skirt I had on, too?? Oh, and clearly the heels (and skirt) worked :D

   

After a night of wearing heels like that, I wore shoes like this A LOT the next few days!  And yes, the heels seem to be torn up. This is on purpose. I have size 10.5 feet, as does KR. Its how we became friends, true story. As a result of this mammoth, and thus, unusual, size, lots of the cheap brands- payless, targay- don't make 10.5. Its 10 or 11. Pick. So I picked smaller for these, clipped out the heel, and thus spared my Achilles tendon many many blisters.

 The next two pairs are my usual go-to during the winter. If I'm going to be walking around a lot, I go for the Sperry's, aka boat shoes, aka most versatile things ever. I wear them with socks in the winter, barefoot in the summer. They go with jeans, dresses, and even khakis if I'm running late for Sunday morning church. According to NC natives, they're the official shoe of the state, and base on how many pairs of them I see on campus, I tend to agree. 

My other go-to shoes are my boots! I bought these on a whim, totally expecting to return them. Instead? Love. Adoration. Worship. I only wear them with jeans, and always under! Well, unless it dumped 6" of Boxing Day snow on you, but that's a rarity.  They're comfy enough to stand in, make little noise, and give me an extra heel to make me feel even more intimidating, if needed :)

 These I talk about often. I log my miles, wear them religiously only for running, hit heel first, pushing off with the ball of my foot. The amazing Mom got me contraptions to basically turn them into slip-ons, but I haven't done it. Yet.

And last, but certainly not least, are the actual heels that slip into all of these. Yes, I have a tattoo. Its easily hidden, obviously, not offensive, recognizes 3 years of my life, and makes the occasional great conversation starter. 

But back to the heels... These things have been dragging recently. The token example came this past Saturday when, about 1/2 mile in, I lost it. Couldn't breathe, broke down crying- well, as much as I had the water/energy to- and could feel any and all mental resolve to keep pounding the pavement slipping away. With 3.5 miles to go. It had nothing to do with running, everything to do with my life off the road, but when you're that stressed out, the mind-body connection takes over. That same drive that tells you "YOU CAN DO THIS!" can also tell you "what's the point?!" It sucks to listen to that, but its like a Patronus charm in Harry Potter- you have to have a stronger positive thought to overcome it. At that moment, I had zero happy.

Runs like that make you dread everything from figuring out a route to lacing up again. Tuesday morning, 2 days of no running, and I couldn't even figure out a route, much less a distance. I ended up walking out the door and running about 1.4 miles- up a long evil hill, then back down it. I'd never run up it, always taking the shorter, more compact hill , so it was a nice mental victory, pounding out the long slow hill. No clue pace, and that's how I wanted it to be. My podcast was weird. Really weird. I changed it at the top of the hill. Seriously, who talks about selection for the perfect astronaut by talking about "flautus" for 10 minutes?!?! 

After runs like this and the general feeling of this quite often, after this Saturday's race (omg so excited to do it, then tell you about it, and most importantly, NOT PUKE!), I'm diversifying. I'll still run, but more yoga, pilates, weights, cardio classes. Less "run x in y miles." Run when you feel like it. Stretch it out often. And as always...

Here's to the next TV timeout :)

-Syd

Wait...this is for real?!

After my junk miles on Sunday, I decided to turn up the pace but still do the distance KR planned out for me, so my final total was 3.6 miles in 34 minutes. It's been 3 weeks since I sat there thinking "this is so dumb" as I went on a 3 mile run that only took 30 minutes. THREE WEEKS! 

Today? The GPS was in my ears right at the 3.0 mile mark to alert me that only 28 minutes had passed. Even more exciting?! I kept increasing my speed for the last mile or so of my run. Some people walking their dogs were probably a bit creeped out as I raised my hands a la "Rocky" after I heard that my speed was up to 6.3 mph after a very steady 5.9 for most of the run.

So maybe I can run? And maybe in 3 weeks I'll be telling you about how my long 6 mile runs are at the "slow" 10 minute pace??? Ha! I can keep dreaming :) For now, I can outrun my mom, thanks to helpful tunes on Pandora radio like "Can you Feel the Love Tonight" and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" with a few selections from Phantom of the Opera to keep me going. Oh yeah, I totally sing, or at least mouth & dance, along :D

And now? Pictures from the roadtrip to get Fred a car...

There were tons of signs about a bridge coming up. This didn't look intimidating enough for all the signs.

But this? The Delaware Memorial Bridge- is totally deserving of tons of signs! Apparently you can ask a cop to drive your car over it *coughmomcough*.

What is this?! Looks sort of like a building in London. And yes, I remember it from movies, like Harry Potter :D

Fred's new car :D

The temperature for Sunday's run. Brrrrrr!

Here's to the next TV timeout!

-Syd

Junk Miles

I've always wondered about people who talk about "junk" miles when running. Most of my runs have meant something- better time, better distance, something. Today? Not so much.

Fred and I spent most of yesterday in the car to a car dealership 4, almost 5, states away, then at the dealership, then driving back halfway to his family's house. I was soooo ready to just go to bed and crash, but they were up and socializing took every last bit of my energy. I also got to thinking about some life things, so I went to bed with a crazy mind, and woke up still bouncing around in my own brain. To combat it, I decided that I could go put the new long-sleeved wicking shirt (kudos, roomie!) to the test in the further north weather.

Using gmap-pedometer, I mapped out a route before, but this was an area super unknown to me, and as soon as I was on  my 2nd turn, I was lost and off track with a bad dinner from last night as the last thing in my stomach :/ I kept running, first wayyyyy too fast, then slowing to a walk for no reasons at time, running on the street because the sidewalks were destroyed by tree roots. Just...blah! I finally got on to a street where I knew I was 2 turns away from the house- once I figured out whether to turn right or left at this intersection!!! I chose right- both literally and figuratively :)

I promise pictures tomorrow from this adventure, or at least the few I took. Tonight? I have nada left in me. When a 2 day trip turns into 3 and you eat a lot of spoonfuls of peanut butters and crackers... BOoo. I felt quite resourceful when, post run-shower, I turned the bra I'd worn Friday night inside out to be decent in public for Sunday :) Today's 2.3 miles were junk. Will be doing a legit 3 fast, maybe tomorrow, or maybe Tuesday. I feel like I need yoga!!!

Here's to the next TV timeout!

-Syd

Hurtz Donuts

 

Thankfully, my siblings were so much older than me that it was usually unfair of them to pull pranks on me like the old "Hey, you want a Hurtz Donut?"

"yeah!"

*PUNCH!*

"Hurts, don't it?!"

I've officially reached the point where literally every joint/ligament/flat part of my lower body hurts or aches! Cursing my reading that ibproufen inhibits muscle growth, so for once, I tough through it all...

After speedwork on Tuesday, my Wednesday was marked by tons of twitching in the back of my thighs. What are those muscles? Hamstrings?!? Anyway, I had to keep sitting up in a desk chair, looking into a microscope, so I couldn't stretch them out. TWITCH!

My knee cap will occasionally feel like its about to give out- always a fun time! It never feels that way while running, thank heavens!, but when it's there, it comes randomly and I look like a freak, walking around gingerly!

The shins officially "splint". My inner right leg hurts the most, consistent with shin splints for a right-y like me :) They now get iced after every run to feel better! So far, less pain :D

The ankle has always been weird, and I find that about 2 miles in to a run, the inside left ankle is just announcing its existence. Thanks, middle child. I see you!

Today? As a sort of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" present? The balls of my feet announced their displeasure with my increased distance post-run. Nothing bad at all, just another example of my body adjusting to "Running Sydney."

Anyway, like I sort of hinted above, I did more mileage today! I did 3.9 miles in 40 minutes. Today's exact pace was supposed to be "easy", but with my drive for speed, I tried to keep up the pace as myTracks talked to me :) I seriously need to update my running playlist and/or find a good radio show to listen to. The trail was one I'm super used to, but I started at the "end" so I could have gorgeous views to inspire me!

Gorgeous spot where I began/ended my run!

I felt pretty good and went to an awesome "roll it out" class soon- stretching with rollers? HECK YES! "You might have some pain" they told me and OMG I did, but so much feels "loose"- even muscles I didn't know could be not-loose. Arm pits, anyone?!

Grey's time ;)

Here's to the next TV timeout!

-Syd

PS-Birthday flowers :)

From the sisters

From Fred :)

Home Alone!

This is usually the time that I'd slap on some aftershave and SCREEEEam, but instead, I show you Lucy's "snuggle" position and 

"srsly...why must you WAKE ME?!" position :)

The Roomie is off on a grand adventure, so, in my mass boredom, I shall tell you what I've done :) And yes, I have a boyfriend, but he's stinging over his team losing a game they had and withering away in the lab. Be kind on Fred, I gave him some news this week that's enough to make lots of people bust out the Home Alone "SCREEEEAM" :/

Anyway, I decided to test my endurance by running both Friday and Saturday. Both were supposed to be "fast" days, but I think only Friday really was. I did a nice 2 miles in 20 minutes. I ran fast, but also took walk breaks every now and then. Realizing that I a) really need to hydrate through the day and avoid the awful dry mouth and b) I need to figure out how to better fuel myself up. I eat pretty healthy, awful Target gnocchi-in-a-pack from tonight notwithstanding, but I feel like my tank is on empty wayyyy too often/soon!

I did my 3 miles today at the evil trail where I last rolled my ankle. I ran with C, the sheepdog owner, and if she wanted me to talk, I had to walk! The hills on that trail are eeeevil. So steep that going downhill is awful because you have to hold back or prepare to lose your footing and tumble down the paved trail. 

My web searching of the day also confirmed what I was fearing/hoping would go away if I ignored it- I definitely have shin splints. Much worse on my dominant (right) leg, and it hurts after, for a while, and on the inside, so at least its not ITBS. It comes from upping mileage/time/hills too quickly. I need to keep running and getting faster, especially given a very defined goal that's in the near future, so I might just cut out the evil hills for a bit, focus on getting fast on the flats while upping the distance.

Back to my awesome Saturday night, home alone :) Might even go to bed EARLY! Yes...this is the life of a 20-something with a boyfriend :D

Here's to the next TV timeout!

-Syd