Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Go Away, Cold // #Sub5orBust Training Update (March 23 - March 30, 2020)

Hey there folks. Hope everyone is doing well. I'm......... okay. I feel like the last few days have been a bit more of a struggle for me. I don't know if it's because it's been pretty gloomy over these last couple days, being at the house so often is making me crazy, or WHAT, but I'm having a lot of trouble sleeping and I'm just overall very anxious about what's going on in the world. I'm trying to take things day by day and give myself a break, but I'm just feeling very blah and negative right now. *sigh* Hopefully tomorrow will bring more cheer!

CURRENT STATUS OF ROCK N' ROLL SEATTLE MARATHON: 
ON AS SCHEDULED!
I figured I can report on this week to week as we never know if or when this might change.

Week 1 of #RnR Seattle Training

Monday 3/23 → Rest
Tuesday 3/24 5 miles @ 9:38/mi
Wednesday 3/25 6 miles @ 10:33/mi + lift with Brett
Thursday 3/26 Rest
Friday 3/27 Lift with Brett
Saturday 3/28 3.15 miles @ 9:53/mi
Sunday 3/29 Rest
Monday 3/30  13 miles @ 

My right hip has been giving me a lot of grief since returning to running post-LA. It feels like it's super tight, fatigues easily, and is just overall really uncomfortable to run on. I'm trying to incorporate stretching and using The Stick and a lacrosse ball as much as possible to get at the problem areas, but it's definitely slowing me down. I think my Wednesday morning run is where it really came out to play and you can so see the difference in my splits between my Tuesday 5 miler and my Wednesday 6 miler.


Tuesday evening run...


...and Wednesday morning. Ouch.


On Saturday I had a 5K scheduled. It was super gray and rainy and my motivation was dipping. I texted my mom to see if she wanted to run virtually with me and she said yes! We decided to start running at the same time and check in with each other via text when we finished. It was a great way to "run" with someone without having to get together with them. Highly recommend trying it out with your running pals!



I usually aim to do my long runs on Sunday but I was just NOT feeling it this past Sunday. The weather has been more gloomy than not these days and I've also been sleeping so terribly, so my body and mind were just not there for a 13 mile run. However, now that I'm working remotely I can really make my schedule quite flexible so I went for a mid-day #MondayRunday to get my long run for the week done! I was participating in Mission #003 for the Pandemic Run Club and my team (TEAM BLACK!) needed to run between 19k and 19 miles in a singular run, so this was the perfect opportunity to get that mission accomplished! Of course, I tried to rock as much black (or navy blue lol) as possible:


I also have stumbled across a runner on Instagram - @julierunsfast - who has been posting running scavenger hunts each week! I definitely wanted to give this week's scavenger hunt a try and it was honestly such a blast. Having a list of things that I needed to spot while on my run had me trying to think creatively and the miles seemed to whiz by. I hope that she continues to post these each weekend so I have an additional thing to do while I'm running long miles! Here's how I did on my scavenger hunt:



Aaand here's how I did on my run: 


The run felt... okay. I think I was just mainly cold and was grumpy about that. After a few miles my legs warmed up and felt okay, but the fact that winter seems to be hanging on for dear life is making my desire to run plummet. Please hurry up, summer! *does warm weather dance* 🌞

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Making the Most of Self-Isolation


I am so thankful that during this time of self-isolation that I'm able to spend time with Brett doing the introverty things I love. I won't say I'm not anxious because I SO AM. I feel like I start off really strong in the mornings and then when lunch rolls around my mood and energy tend to shift, but I'm trying to make the most of this time by doing things that 1. are good for me (exercising somewhat regularly & trying to eat at least one green thing a day 🍃) and 2. are fun for me (reading, watching TikTok [maybe too much TikTok], trying out some of the various IPAs I can find at the store, etc.).

As of yesterday, our Governor has put in a couple more precautions including a stay-at-home advisory (it's still not a stay-at-home order which is interesting) and all non-essential businesses will be closed as of noon today. Things change so rapidly these days that I'm not sure what the next day will bring. As of right now, we're doing our best to stay in except to go out to the grocery store or exercise outside. It can be very hard to stay positive these days, but I'm trying my best to remain productive so my mental health doesn't get too far away from me.


On Saturday we had a Zoom/Nintendo Switch party with our favorites in Pittsburgh & California! We drank, played Mario Kart 8, and caught up on each other's lives. It was actually so much fun to just hang out with everyone in our respective homes and we want to continue to make this a regular thing post-Pandemic since we all live so far from one another!


Like I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I've been using this time at home as an opportunity to try out some of the beers that we have at our local grocery store. There's actually a pretty decent craft beer selection and I've been really digging White Lion. This weekend I picked up an IPA called Purrlicious and it purr-fectly (lol) matched my leggings I wore for our Zoom party! I've already picked up another White Lion IPA for later this week that I'm super excited to try. I'll report back soon!


There was a sneaky round of 24 in 48 this weekend! I really enjoy this readathon. There's something about reading for time that just makes me read SO MUCH MORE than reading for a page count. I haven't really been reading a ton over the last year and it's really hard for me to hunker down and focus on a book these days. However, participating in 24 in 48 allowed me to finish two books and absolutely devour half of a third! (Also, can we talk about just how good Daisy Jones & the Six is?! Can't wait to finish it.) I'm hoping that I can use this time as an opportunity to read more of my dozens of TBR books!


As you saw in my last blog post, it's back to marathon training for me this week. I got back into my running routine last week, though, and it has been such a great reprieve from all this anxiety and uncertainty that's been coursing through my body. I was able to go on three runs last week - Tuesday (3.5 miles), Friday (4 miles), and Sunday (7 miles) and it felt so good to get outdoors and run through the stress. I feel like if there's one thing I can take control of at the moment, it's running.


Sadly I found out today that the Providence Marathon and all attached races has officially been cancelled. The race organizers are looking into a postponement option and we will hopefully know if they are able to by early April. I'd also be happy with a virtual race option is postponing isn't possible. Either way, I am not surprised by this news and it is ultimately the right decision. I'm still hopeful that Rock n' Roll Seattle will be able to happen, but only time will tell.


One thing that I have been really loving participating in is the Pandemic Run Club on Instagram! They've been putting out some virtual running missions that are free to participate in and are actually a lot of fun! I've completed Mission #001 (go on 3 runs between 3/17 and 3/22) and Mission #002 (Recon: explore a new location that you haven't ran before) so far, and they just posted Mission #003 last night. Join in with me if you can! I'll be representing TEAM BLACK! 🖤 

"Mission 003 - complete before 3/30

Team Yellow - 19K total distance for the week
Team Red - 19 miles total distance for the week
Team Black - between 19km and 19 miles in one run!

19km ~ 11.78 miles
19 miles ~ 30.64 km

Which squadron are you linking up with? Time to get after it! We need all hands on deck!

#washyourhands
#runsolo
#knowyourcity
#pandemicrunclub"

Left: I spruced up my at-home work space to make it feel more office-y and less kitchen table-y
Right: Paying attention in all these Zoom meetings has been a struggle haha

I've been working remotely since last Monday afternoon and it has been an interesting transition. I'm having kind of a hard time figuring out my schedule. Like I was saying, I feel really good in the morning and then I start to feel not so good in the afternoon. Last night after taking a few hour break in the afternoon I felt good enough to keep working at like 7pm. Why? No idea. But maybe that will just be my workflow now haha. Either way, I've been loving all of the WFH memes that have been flying around the internet and I relate to ALL OF THEM.



I was wondering when the news about the Olympics would be coming out, and it looks like the IOC finally made a decision today to postpone the games to 2021. Another huge bummer because as many of you know, I'm a huge fan of the Olympics! But again, it's totally the right call. With athletes, coaches, families, and spectators coming from ALL OVER THE WORLD that closely after a pandemic (and who knows if it will even be over by the time the games would take place), it just does not make sense to have the Olympics go on right now.


This morning Brett and I went on a mission to find toilet paper. After getting to our 4th store of the morning, we finally found some! (I went to 5 stores yesterday and each store was completely out, so it felt AMAZING to be able to buy a few packs!) The limit was 2 per customer so we each grabbed two so we hopefully won't be needing to restock for a while. It's so wild to me that the shelves are still ALWAYS EMPTY? Maybe I don't know how supply chains work but you'd think they would have caught up to the new buying habits of consumers... but maybe not?

v. proud

Because non-essential businesses are closing in MA today, Brett and I have been ordering take out for the last few meals. This morning we stopped at my fave bagel shop in town one last time. Hopefully we'll be seeing them soon!


Overall this has just been a really, really weird and overwhelming time and I honestly don't know how to act, but I'm trying to make the most of it. I'm hopeful that this will be over in a few weeks and we can get back to reality, because what's the harm in staying hopeful? In the meantime, at least we can all laugh at coronavirus memes.

Remember: 

Monday, March 23, 2020

What Comes Next? // #Sub5orBust Update

...you've been freed!
Don't you know how hard it is to lead?

(Had to make the Hamilton reference. 😂)


I was planning on writing this post at some point after the LA Marathon anyway to outline my next race plans, but because of COVID-19, the future is a bit hazier than any of us are used to at the moment. As of right now, none of the races that I'm registered for have been cancelled or postponed, but that can change at any moment. I'm not really someone who likes to sit around and wait for other people to make decisions for me, so even though the likelihood of my next races getting the ax is rather high, I'm still planning to train for them like they're going to happen as scheduled. I just don't see any harm of following a training cycle when the race itself is up in the air. If anything, I'll continue to improve my running and be in better shape for when my next race day comes around!

Here are the next two races on my 2020 calendar:


Providence Half Marathon
May 3, 2020

I am genuinely surprised a decision hasn't been announced yet for this race. I've seen multiple races at the end of May already getting postponed, but it has been a little radio silent from the race directors for the Providence Marathon. Folks on the Facebook event page (including myself) are getting restless to hear back and I'm hoping they will post something soon. Either way, I'll have a half marathon scheduled in my training for this weekend, so if I can't run an officially sanctioned race in Providence, then I'll just run a solo half around my neighborhood!


Rock n' Roll Seattle Marathon
June 7, 2020

Washington being a hot spot for COVID-19 at the moment makes me really doubt that this race will go on. Rock n' Roll has already postponed their late-May event so I know this one is next on the chopping block. I hope this is going to be a postponement instead of a cancellation and fingers crossed it won't wind up on a weekend that I'm already registered for another race.

Whatever happens with Rock n' Roll Seatlle, I know that I'm going to need to focus on HILL WORK for this marathon. I've naively gotten used to running on flat bike paths, so for this training cycle I'm going to add in a day of just running up and down a hill in my area. 😂 I have a few steep bois in mind, and I'm definitely not looking forward to it. 😜

The training plan:

I'm going to be using the same marathon training plan I used for my last cycle, but I'm going to hop in on week 6 since I'm already up to marathon fitness. For my strength training I will be relying on my live-in personal trainer (aka Brett) to help me do more full-body strengthening. The strength training plan I used last time, while effective, only focused on my lower body. I want to be strong all around if I can be! In short, this training cycle will be all about building on my strength, identifying weak spots and working on those (MY HIPS), and hillz hillz hillz. Here's what a typical week is going to look like this time around:


Monday: Rest!
Tuesday: Run #1
Wednesday: Run #2 + lift
Thursday: HILLS 💀
Friday: Rest!
Saturday: Run #3 + lift
Sunday: Long run

I found that posting weekly training updates here on the blog kept me accountable, so I will be bringing those back! I'm also planning to do some virtual buddy runs on my Instagram stories throughout the duration of this quarantine/social distancing time, so make sure to follow me over there to hear when the next one is! I'll try to post at least 24 hours in advance so you'll be able to join in. 😊

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy out there! 
I'll be writing again soon. 💜