I Got Hurt...As Expected

Last Monday was my second soccer match with my new team. I played for years with a team in Vermont, named Cake Eaters or Bangarang, depending on the year. This time I'm playing with a team called ANSC, which is much less exciting. However, I had no input to the name because I just joined the team as a free agent.

I'm doing pretty well on the team, or I was. Right before the game started, I took a warm up shot at the net and pulled a muscle in my right oblique. At least that is what happened based on the online research I did Monday. Basically, I kicked the ball and it hurt a lot in my stomach, and then I played the rest of the game with my stomach hurting. Not surprisingly, it hurt much worse after the game, so much that Chris had to help me get up after I took my soccer gear off.

So I took Tuesday off from work, and tele-worked Thursday and Friday, trying to rest my stomach as much as possible. I also didn't run the entire week, until today. I ran a very slow, loose 3 miles on the treadmill, and stretched slowly after, in hopes that I won't hurt tomorrow. And I have ice on my stomach, as instructed by Dr. Internet.

This week Chris and I are doing a 7 day, cook at home challenge. Because of my low mobility this past week, I ate a lot of take out. So today we went grocery shopping, and spent the evening cooking food for the week. We have chicken tikka masala, breaded Italian pork chops, roasted broccoli, and salads, all prepared for this week's meals. It wasn't especially fun, but I really get sick of the whole "I'm hungry but don't know what to eat" complaint. Food is fuel, and I need fuel to make my bones and muscles strong, and for energy to exercise at night. At least that is what I keep reminding myself.

Tomorrow Is Free Cone Day

I ran 8.2 miles this weekend, in sunny but 40 degree upstate NY weather. It was slow, and it was windy, but I did it and I’m glad it’s over. Because today I’m back in the sunny and 75 degree DC weather, and I have less than 3 weeks to the Nike Half!

Training for a half marathon is definitely different than training for a full marathon. For one thing, the ‘long runs’ on Sundays are usually less than 10 miles. It’s a lot easier for me to focus on training when I’m not trying to mentally prepare myself for Sunday’s run- every week in a row.

This might be why people start out with running 5Ks, and then 10Ks, and then half marathons, all before working up to the full.  I did it a little differently. I assumed I could already run a 5K and a 10K, and a half marathon wouldn’t be a huge challenge, which is why I wanted to run the full marathon. I’m glad I did it, but much like my run this weekend, I’m glad it’s over.

The half marathon is currently much more my style. I spent the weekend in upstate NY, visiting family, and instead of skipping out for the afternoon to do a 3+ hour long run, I only spent 1.5 hours running. Last year, during marathon training season, I spent a weekend in NJ with family. I’m very lucky to have a family full of runners- each family member ran at least one 3.5 mile loop with me! My mom wasn’t quite up to running with me for 8 miles this weekend, but she did run almost 4 after doing the first out and back with me.

In other good news, I have my second soccer game of the season tonight! Last Monday was my first game with my new team- and first in about two and a half years after leaving my team in VT. I was pretty worried that I wouldn’t be good enough to play with all of these big city DC players, but I think I’ll fit in fine. I was taller than most of the players on my team, and the players on the opposing team, so that gives me hope. I have to remember to play smart, and not lose my temper on the field. That’s how I get hurt, and with three weeks left to an expensive half marathon, I really don’t want to get hurt!!

My plan is to do an easy three mile tempo run and follow it up with some aggressive, but not angry soccer. And then celebrate the double workout tomorrow at Ben and Jerry’s FREE CONE DAY!!

I'm A Work In Progress

I ran four miles on the treadmill on Monday, and I consider that to be a win for the day. Despite awkward circumstances, like having one thin hair tie and two aged hair clips, I was still able to finish. I also forgot my training plan at home/didn't look at it long enough before I left, so I really had no idea what I was supposed to do. 

There's really no chance that I did the prescribed run, (I'm pretty sure speedwork was supposed to be involved at some point, but the precariously held hair would have prevented me from running faster than normal so that actually worked out-apparently I run like Phoebe Buffay), but any run is better than no run, right?

I still consider it a success because (1) I finished a workout, perhaps even Thursday's workout, and that just means I'm ahead of the game, (2)Netflix wasn't working on my iPad, either due to the almost storm or the spotty at best wi-fi at my fancy but expensive gym, so I had to "settle" for two How I Met Your Mother reruns with closed captions on, 3) I got to see a school bus being towed by the tiniest truck ever, while it was running a red light, and being followed by a big white van full of kids, and (4) I got hungry, which almost never happens when I run- I always get full, which is also weird.

Last night I decided to take the night from working out. I had researched a few recipes this weekend in hopes of having time to try something new. Recipe #1 was a big success, with crunchy chicken nuggets.

By the third nugget, Chris was saying these were better than 'Chick-Fil-A' and I have to agree! The chicken was cut into nugget sized pieces, dipped in egg whites, and then dipped in a mixture of flour, panko bread crumbs, and spices. Pictures of the delicious nuggets to follow- and let me know if you want the recipe to try!

Half-Marathoning- Possibly Again

I’m half marathoning again (sort of). Whether I can fall into the category of ‘first time half-marathoner’ is unclear, because I’ve successfully completed one marathon but never one half marathon. This was especially difficult when I was trying to figure out a half marathon plan to use. Almost all of the plans are written for people doing a couch to 5K to 10K to half marathon, which I definitely don’t fall into. When I’m not training for a race, I run about once a week. The rest of the time I spend cross training because I’ve found that after years of gymnastics, my body is prematurely fragile.

I settled on a half marathon plan that is designed for Advanced Beginners (see Women’s Running magazine, for details). The criteria for belonging to this category is that a ‘run/walk’ strategy would be too easy, but running more than four miles a day at the start would be too hard. Four miles a day just seems like a lot to me, and I think I’d injure myself quickly.

So the plan is built off the premise of four days of running, and three days of rest or cross training. I like it because I can move around my rest days easily. The flexibility makes it easier for me to stick to- with my work schedule being unnecessarily insane right now, I need a plan that can change with me.

The other quirk about this plan is that the runs are separated into zones.

·         Zone 1 is the slowest jog you can imagine. 5.2MPH

·         Zone 2 is faster than Zone 1, but still not ‘race pace.’ 5.7 MPH

·         Zone 3 is race pace. 6.0 MPH

·         Zone 4 is faster than race pace, but slower than sprinting. 6.5 MPH

·         Zone 5 is almost sprinting. 8.0 MPH

Since it’s cold and dark when I get out of work, I’ve been doing most of my runs on the treadmill. I’ve listed my mph with the zones so you know how fast or slow I really am.

I’ve also discovered (once again) that food is the key to your success in running. I had garlic bread for dinner on Friday night, and attempted to run 7 miles on Saturday morning (pre-breakfast)…not a good idea. I ended up running 5 miles (mile 1 in zone 1, miles 2-4 in zone 2, mile 5 in zone 1) and then had to finish the mileage using a walk/jog method. Not quite the pace I was expecting.

It’s a strong reminder that meat and veggies do more than make me pay more for food and eat slower. Also, it’s not a tradeoff that I’m willing to accept. If I’m going to put this much effort into running, then I better be able to actually run. And sometimes eat frozen yogurt after.

Last night at the gym, I spent some time strengthening my core, with an emphasis on the hips. I’m a little sore but I consider that a good thing. If I’m not sore the day after a workout, how am I supposed to be sure that I worked hard enough?!

Thanksgiving Recap

Thanksgiving and this past weekend were a whirlwind of food, moving and entertainment. After a delicious Thanksgiving feast on Thursday afternoon, (only one disaster- instant pudding was cooked on the stove, which was soon thrown out and new pudding purchased for the chocolate mint pie), a fun filled weekend ensued.

We spent time getting 50% off at Pentagon City Fashion Centre on Black Friday and Melting Pot for dinner on Friday night followed by wine and games. Saturday was Moving Day, with a side of tacos for lunch, moving in after tacos, and a showing of A Christmas Carol at Ford’s Theatre. I’ve only been to Ford’s Theatre once before, but there is something insanely creepy in knowing that a president was shot across the balcony, many years ago. It’s like there is a lingering feeling that bad things could and have happened there, something that can’t really be erased by time. We tried to go out for drinks and dessert after the show, but were steadfastly rejected by Co Co Sala, who doesn’t serve just dessert until 10:30. Who goes out for just dessert at 10:30pm? It’s a chocolate boutique, and supposed to be delicious, but I routinely fall asleep before 10:30, so that place is probably not going to happen.

Sunday was for church and setting up the apartment as much as possible. Not much setting up occurred because we had to drop Chris’ sister off at the bus station in the early afternoon, and had a late afternoon get together scheduled with some of my parents’ friends. Consequently, lots of setting up had to happen yesterday, as I couldn’t go to work without knowing where my pants were. We also went to Georgetown Cupcakes on Monday (the location of DC Cupcakes on TLC), which was mainly exciting because they have a toffee crunch cupcake that is only sold on Mondays. Since I’m part of the working class, I never have enough time on Mondays to spend over an hour in traffic for a $2.75 cupcake. I’m a decent baker; I could just make my own if I cared that much. Except for yesterday, because I had the day off, so I everyone else could work while I ate my toffee crunch cupcake.

I also got to see my lovely, college roommate Kristen, who was staying with some friends this weekend in DC. Kristen gives me hope that my college friends and I will remain close, even though we all live in different cities.

The downside of this weekend is that I didn’t workout much, or study much, and those are my two current goals for December. I’ll be in Virginia Beach this weekend for our Judges Cup, and taking my Level 9 test on Sunday. Needless to say, lots of studying is going to happen between now and Sunday. Lots of studying and most likely, lots of caffeine.

Tomorrow, I plan to post a twenty ways to Tabata, if I can come up with four more. Something to look forward to.

Thanksgiving Prep

So the plan for Thanksgiving was to spend time with Chris, Chris's sister, and my mom. Due to some unforeseen flight delays, my mom is spending most of Thanksgiving in the airport and I've spent Thanksgiving morning watching Grey's anatomy. Luckily, I live on top of a grocery store so even though all of my food is packed up for the move, I still have easy access to something. I know it's unconventional, but I'm thinking something with cheese. And maybe a homemade soy chai.

In other news, why do I feel like I should be wearing orange today? I mean, orange is fine and everything, but I just wore orange for Halloween. It might be too soon.

Having my mom here was supposed to reduce the stress on me for having to make a full Thanksgiving dinner. Since she'll be flying, all of the cooking is back to me, and Chris, I guess. So here's what's on the menu:

• Candied Sweet Potatoes
• Green Beans
• Cheesy Popovers
• Honey Cinnamon Carrots

And a Vermont honey ham. Remember that episode in Grey's Anatomy, when Izzie had everyone over for Thanksgiving even though she didn't know how to cook a turkey? Yeah, I was trying to avoid something like that.

I'm also very excited for dessert. We're having two different types:

Chocolate Mint Pie and Apple Crisp Cups

Oh, and we also have ingredients to make spinach and artichoke dip without mayonnaise. But who knows when that will get made, now that we don't really have a set time for appetizers. What are you going to do? I know! Take an almost nap with Grey's on in the background. Problem solved. Happy Thanksgiving!

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Sunday Workout

I finally finished three sets of a Tabata workout, which was a glorious victory for me. Granted, this may be the easiest Tabata workout that I've ever done, but I was still falling on top of a conveniently placed exercise ball at the end. This workout was using a Bosu ball, which I think made it easier on everything but my wrists. Here's the recap:

Rebounds on Left Leg: 18 each set
Rebounds on Right Leg: 18 first, second and third sets, 16 fourth set, 18 fifth set, 14 sixth set
Bosu Mountain Climbers: 36 each set but the last, 40 sixth set
Bosu Burpees: 6 for first three sets and 8 for last three sets

The rebounds were by far the easiest exercise in the workout, so after not being to do 18 on the fourth and sixth sets, I tried to push myself harder to do more on the Mountain Climbers and Burpees. Apparently I was channeling my inner Jillian; watching The Biggest Loser was good for something! Either that or sitting all day watching other people exercise (judging gymnastics) gave me some motivation to work that hard.

In other news, I scheduled my level 9 judging test for Sunday, December 2nd. So in addition to moving this weekend, I will be studying execution and compositional deductions. My mom and Chris' sister will be here this weekend too, so regardless of the moving and the studying, the weekend should be fun.