Hiking

My husband and I spent the weekend hiking. On Saturday we took our two youngest kids on a 2.5 mile hike.  It was quite strenuous,  but the boys did great. At the end was a nice waterfall and they enjoyed climbing the rocks around it.

On Sunday my husband and I went hiking at the Smokey Mountains. We did an 11 mile hike up to Mt. Leconte.  It was very strenuous and we probably took on more than we should have. We had planned for a shorter hike, but after we got to our spot at Alum Cave, we decided to hike on. By the time we were done we were very tired.

We stopped at a Ruby Tuesday's for dinner, and it turned out exciting. While we were eating the kitchen caught fire. We were able to finish our meal, but didn't opt for dessert. :-)

The drive home was long and hard, and I know that I'll be sore in the morning.  I believe Monday morning will be a yoga day.

Beautiful views and my husband in front of the Lodge.

Injury and Detox

So I've been neglecting this blog. I've been too busy to write. 5 weeks ago I decided I would start training for a fall half marathon. The date was the beginning of November.  My plan was from the book Train Like a Mother. I went for their Own It plan. During the 3rd week there were hill repeats. I felt tired that morning but decided to push it anyway.  There were 6 repeats, during the 5th one I felt my hamstring. It started to hurt. Then I did the 6th. Mistake. I had to run 1.5 miles back to the park. I was in pain the whole time. I rested the next day, but then ran my scheduled 12 mile run. I hurt, but thought I just needed ice, but after a rest day I went for a short 3 mile run. Pain, lots of pain.

So no running for the past 2 weeks, and I don't know how long. I moped for a few days but then decided to refocus. I did upper body and core work with both kettlebell and yoga, and it's been good, even though I miss running.

I also started attending a real yoga class. I've always just practiced on my own, but I'm really enjoying the class.

I've also on my last day of an Ayurvedic detox. For 7 days I've had oatmeal for breakfast,  and kitchari (curried rice and mung beans with veggies) for lunch and dinner. I also drank water with lemon and herbal tea. My mornings started with breathing exercises,  meditation,  and yoga. It's been an interesting experience.

My goal was to settle my gut. I'd been having such bad problems with everything I would eat.  I wanted to find new habits that would be helpful for my life.

I know I need to cut out dairy. I think I need to reduce foods like pasta, and fatty meats. I need more beans and need to be careful with fruit (seems fine if cooked, but not raw).

I also know I need to include more meditation in my life. I think I will try and continue to do the breath work and meditation in the morning.

Life has been crazy,  and I need to keep looking for ways to help manage.

Horrible Run and New Shoes

This morning's run was hard. The goal was 5 easy paced miles.  For some reason, I felt like I was running through cement. My breathing never got into it's easy rhythm.  It was hot and I just wanted to stop, so I did. I stopped and walked a bit, then took a bathroom break. During my last mile I stopped and changed what I was listening to on my phone. And you know what? I survived my run. I made all 5 miles. I got home and jumped onto my pool. It felt so good. I then did my kettlebell workout;  3x5 goblet squats, clean & presses, 1 arm rows, 20 swings,  and 45 sec planks. It felt good.

And now for my shoe p*rn!

I got a new pair of Asics Gel-Nimbus. I love the melon color. I can't wait to run in them tomorrow.  I also got a new pair of Superfeet.  I also know when my inserts need to be replaced,  my Achilles starts hurting. But now I have new shoes and new inserts.

Quick Post

There is a contest over at RunToTheFinish and I thought I would post it here.  It's for these





a pair of Saucony Kinvara’s

so head over to the blog to get a chance to win.

Lot of Running

It's been another crazy couple of weeks.  We had another long trip; lots of hours in the van, fun times with cousins and hanging on the beach.  We listened to a good audio book during our long ride.  It's called Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman.  I got it from the library and all 3 of my boys enjoyed the story.

I was able to get 20 miles of running in during the week, almost all of them on hills.  My glutes got worked last week.

I wasn't able to do kettlebell, and now I feel behind.  It will be hard to keep it up this summer, but I will try.  My aim right now is for twice a week, plus one more day of push-ups and pull-ups.  I'm going to ramp up my running.  I've lost interest in the 10k plan, so now I'm just going to run.  I'm going to aim for 23-25 miles per week.  I was going to do 5 miles 5 times a week, but I may do two days with 4 miles, plus kettlebell.  I don't know.  Right now, I'm planning on starting a summer project.  I'm going to strip the wallpaper (the layers and layers of wallpaper) off my plaster walls in my bedroom, then paint (after they get patched and sanded!).  All of that work will make it hard to keep up kettlebell. I don't want to lose my strength that I've work so hard to gain, so I will just have to try and make it happen.

The Summer Craziness has Begun

It's been a rough couple of weeks.  Two weeks ago my mom called to tell me my dad had been admitted into the hospital because his lungs were full of blood clots.  The next day I was making the 8 and a half hour trip up there to be with them.  I stayed 5 days.  When I got back I managed to have some sort of stomach bug.  At first my husband and I thought it was an ulcer or reflux from the stress, but seeing that a week later my daughter was throwing up, we now think it was a stomach virus.  The traveling and illness have made it difficult for me to keep up with my workout schedule.  I didn't take my kettlebells with me, so they were on hold for a week.  Yesterday was the first day my run felt good.  It was still difficult.  The workout was a 3x mile repeat with 400 recovery.  I walked the recovery.  I was able to make my times on the mile, but only because I walked during recovery.  Still it felt good.

Tomorrow is supposed to be my long run but I'm heading back on the road.  My daughter is going to Governor's School, and I have to take her.  Next week is kind of crazy too.

Right now, I'm glad that I don't have a race plan.  I've been following a plan for a 10k but there isn't a race, which is good, because I'm losing my desire to push extra hard.  I'm worn out.  I enjoy running, but right now anything extra is very hard.

The boys have started baseball and the swim season has started back up too.  This means lots of driving and time away from  home.  I can run while the kids swim (or I could swim if I wanted), but kettlebell is going to get more difficult. Most of my yoga in Yin right now.  I need calm and lots of long held poses focusing on the breath.

The week ahead is another one that kettlebell will take a back seat, running won't happen much either.  I'm going to just go with it and hope that the week after I can get back to my normal.

Spring time is here

I've been enjoying the spring weather, at least enjoying it when it's not raining.  This week has been good so far, training wise.  Things have been crazy at home with school.  The 16 year old takes 2 classes at a college, and has finals coming up.  She's never done this, and she's been nervous and studing a lot.  We are also finishing up with piano and orchestra.  Next week is concerts and recitals.  I'm still doing well with my 10k "Own It" training plan.  This week was a bit easier, but it's still feeling good to hit my speeds during the workouts.

This week's plan:

Monday-rest day

Tuesday--30 minute run + kettlebell (did Kettlebutts which included single leg deadlifts, 1 arm swings, lunges and snatches)

Wednesday--4 mile run; 5x3 minutes is zone3 + core work on the balance ball

Thursday--2 mile run (in my minimalist shoes!) + kettlebell (did 5x5 deadlifts @79lb, double cleans using 2 26lb,  just 2 double push-presses, push-ups, pull-ups, and x10 heavy swings)

Friday--plan is for 4 mile run + kettlebell--Turkish get-ups, renegade rows and snatches

Saturday--yoga day

Sunday--6 mile run with last 10 minutes faster than race pace.

The weather looks nice this weekend, but my husband is working plus we have company so no hikes planned. Maybe the next weekend.