It was quite the windy morning for my run yesterday. I’m talking the kind of windy day where it feels like you are running straight into a headwind no matter what direction you are facing. I was sure happy that I forgot my headband for my run because I had little hairs stuck in my eyes and lip gloss throughout the 7.5 miles;)
I just try to remind myself when it is windy and I’m wondering why I decided to go outside that I really think wind makes us tougher runners. I think it makes us faster—> it makes us stronger mentally and physically and hopefully our races aren’t windy so that we can really CRUISE after some tough training runs in the wind. Or you might have an experience like I did at Boston (30 mph headwinds the whole time) and you’ll just be super prepared for it (I unfortunately was not;).
I came home to do some strength training while Brooke worked on her current art projects. It looked like this:
1 minute plank
15 lunges with left leg in front (with weights)
15 lunges with right leg in front (with weights)
15 squats (with weights)
12 push-ups (some on toes… some on knees)
15 Floor Glute Bridges (an example of these are HERE along with a KILLER glute workout for runners)!
And then I repeated the above moves for two more times = 3 times total.
A lil’ glutes, core and arms all done after a run… who am I?
Yesterday afternoon my aunt invited us all to go up to Sundance to celebrate her birthday! This aunt is the one that signed me up for my very first race (a half-marathon) and has always been so supportive of my running (she is currently training for Big Cottonwood Marathon and the Pocatello Marathon).
My sister and her whole family were able to come too!
And this picture made me cry a little because I feel like they have all grown up way too fast. I’m beyond happy that Brooke has these ‘sisters’ of hers just a few minutes away.
When people write me asking about where to eat if they are visiting Utah… Sundance (The Foundry Grill) is seriously one of my top recommendations (along with Cafe Rio and Kneaders of course;). You just cannot beat the views there, the food or the feel of the resort… it feels like a little vacation for me to go there and it is only like 17 minutes away!
They brought out this warm bread that had raisins and craisins and my sister and I had a loaf each;)
It’s hard to ever say no to salmon if it is on the menu (with roasted purple carrots).
My aunt also insisted that we all get dessert so their homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream was a perfect ending to the meal.
These two girls decided on suckers instead of ice cream (which I cannot understand but I will support).
Afterwards Curly came to our house to hang out for a while.
Brooke and I went for all denim looks yesterday… I tried to get Andrew to join this look with us but he decided against it;)
We came home and while I worked, these two made me a feast with play-doh.
Andrew rocked his huge test yesterday!
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One of the most common emails that I get from you guys is about BAD WORKOUTS. Especially those bad workouts that happen right before a race (for example the last long run before a marathon etc). Isn’t that kind of cruel when that happens… a bad workout just a week or two right before a race? It causes all sorts of anxiety in us…. Will I finish? Will I hit my goals? What if I feel like I just did during the race? What if my legs actually fall off like they felt like they were going to during this awful run that I had today?
It’s mean to our brains when this happens BUT here is the beauty… We’ve got all of the control in the world over our thoughts so this is how I deal with those A.W.F.U.L. workouts.
This picture below was after a workout that was a key workout as I was training for my marathon (two weeks before the marathon I was supposed to do) that I WAS GOING ALL OUT FOR MY SUB 3 GOAL.
*I remind myself over and over again that THIS IS NORMAL AND A PART OF RUNNING. Every runner on the face of the planet have these really tough runs where we want to quit (or do quit). Talk to your running pals after a bad run or bookmark this post and reread it to remind yourself YOU ARE NORMAL (I think it would be more abnormal to feel great during all of your runs).
*Can I tell you a secret? This scenario—> a really awful run right before a key race = some of my best races ever. I consider it my body’s way to get the BAD out before I can get ALL of the GOOD out on race day! I’ve had a few of my best half-marathons where two or three days before the race I am huffing and puffing 3 minutes per mile slower than my goal race pace wondering how the heck I am going to go and race a half-marathon in 72 hours. It has become so normal to me to have this happen that I am just going to go ahead and call it my good luck charm. Please join me in this good luck charm strange belief.
*Just like how ONE amazing run doesn’t define your training/abilities, ONE terribly awful run doesn’t even come close to defining your fitness… don’t forget that. Look at the big picture. Look over ALL of your training as a whole rather than just one run.
*Remember you are more than numbers. So much more. More than paces or splits or mileage. Running is something we love, we enjoy, we NEED;)… it’s not something that should be ruining our days. Move forward. Focus on the people in your life and your other responsibilities and within a few hours you’ll forget it even happened.
*Solve. Solve. Solve. Both Andrew and my mom are a lot better at this than I am but I’m learning from them;) I tend to complain more but it sure is a lot more effective to get to work SOLVING the problem (if it is solvable). Was your nutrition poor the night before/the morning of your awful long run? What about hydration? Are your stress levels skyrocketing? Did you wear the wrong clothes/shoes that caused you a lot of pain? Are you thinking negatively about yourself and your training? Are you not resting enough? WHAT’S GOING ON? Figure it out and rather than dwell/complain/compare——> it’s time to FIX/SOLVE. You can do it.
*Remember, you are doing amazing. Sometimes social media and race training (especially for longer races…) makes our perspective kind of bizarre. We forget that what we are out there doing on the roads, the trails and the treadmill is pretty incredible. It’s not easy. Getting out there each time that you do is a huge accomplishment because it is a lot easier to not go out. So even if your run was awful and nowhere near where you thought you should be, what you are doing is incredible… don’t forget.
*Be the bouncy ball, not the rock. When you drop a bouncy ball and a rock onto the ground, the ball BOUNCES BACK… the rock just stays on the ground and doesn’t go anywhere. Be the bouncy ball.
Just a quote that I love and the first part really applies to this topic I think!
**I’ll see you this afternoon with a bunch of stories from my iPhone!**
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How often do you feel like you have one of these bad/horrible/awful runs? Ever had one right before a big race?
In three words… tell me how your running has been feeling over the last few weeks?
Favorite type of ice cream? Does your favorite change frequently or has it been your favorite for awhile? Anybody else agree with me and think that chocolate ice cream isn’t the best?
Let’s say your morning just became wide open and you have fresh legs, a fresh mind (aka you got plenty of sleep;) and the temperatures/weather is perfect… would you rather do a long run, a tempo run, a track workout, a fartlek workout, a hill workout or an easy run?
