Yoga Pants Life

I don’t know where to start – I’m embarrassed to talk about my mess of a training week. I have such mixed feelings about how things are going so far. On the one hand, I feel stronger and more fit than I ever have. But on the other, the mental demons are coming on strong and I keep letting life get in the way of training.  It’s almost time to book plane tickets, so I feel like I need to decide if it’s worth continuing on (I should probably note that I had a shittastic week in both my work and personal life, so I’m probably more emotional and pessimistic than normal right now.) I don’t want to quit, but I’m struggling big time right now and can’t justify the travel expenses if I’m going to do a shitty job on marathon day. I’m kind of mad at myself right now, but am trying to move on.

One major victory this week was swimming – I think I can officially say that it’s a regular part of my workout routine now and while it’s still difficult for me, I’m really enjoying it. I can tell that swimming has really helped my stamina and get my breathing under control. It’s also strengthened my core and upper body, which make running so much easier. When I first started training several weeks go, I noticed that I had to put my hands on my hips a lot in the later part of most of my runs because my upper body was tired. I almost never do that anymore, so total win on that one! Bonus? I noticed that the shape of my shoulders changed (it’s probably only noticeable by me because I scrutinize my body, but whatever. I don’t need others to notice) and my legs aren’t as jiggly.  Whoo-hoo!

So, let’s break last week down…

Monday: Nada. Zilch. Didn’t even get 10k steps in for the day. I decided that running errands was more important than working out.

Tuesday:  I meant to get a morning run done, but was in such a foul mood all day and decided to drink champagne (all day) instead. I didn’t think it was a good idea to run while buzzed.  This. was. stupid. I’m sure running probably would have helped my mood. I mean, not buzzed running, but getting up at a decent hour and running before my boozy extravaganza.

Wednesday: Swam at lunch and ran 4.5 miles in the evening

Thursday: Swam at lunch and ‘ran’ 3.5 on the elliptical in the evening.

Friday: Was in the WORST mood and was entirely too cranky to run (again, I probably could have used it.) I at least got my 10k steps in, so there’s that…part of it was from a lunchtime walk, so cross-training?

Saturday: I Decided to run in 100 degree heat, complete with blazing midday sun and with multiple fires burning in the county. The run was only about 2.5 miles and I did a lot of walking at the end because I was so parched (like, I literally did not sweat during this run. At all. That’s not normal.) Can I just take a moment to say how glad I was that I did this run? The endorphins were unlike anything I’ve experienced recently and I REALLY needed that. I was so dang happy that I even posted a selfie on Instragram (I HATE pictures with every fiber of my being, so this was HUGE for me. HUGE.) I celebrated by drinking 2 beers (whoops) and relaxing with friends for a few hours.

Sunday: I was exhausted from house sitting (the doggies, bless their hearts were barky both nights and my BFF – I was house sitting for her parents – had to come up because of a power plant fire where they lived. 2 young kids in 115 degree heat with no power and no idea when it was coming back on isn’t good. I’m glad we got to have an impromptu sleepover, but I didn’t sleep all that well.) Anyway, I was super cranky when I got home and had the Sunday sads (I need to blog about this soon because it’s now a weekly occurrence,) so I decided to run. I didn’t know if I would make it 10 minutes or 2 hours (it was hot, but nowhere near what it was Saturday) I made it six miles in a little over an hour. I totally shocked myself. I NEEDED that run. Unfortunately, it didn’t cure my sads at all, but it was a confidence builder and I need all I can get right now. Plus, I really, really enjoyed it. Runs like that remind me why I love running

Weekly total: 16.5, plus some walking …yeah, not good. But, I’m really glad I was able to salvage things a bit on the weekend. Both of my weekend runs gave me a lot more confidence and I’m so happy with how they turned out.

I’m hesitant to set any goals or plan for this week. My best runs of this whole training cycle have been the unplanned ones.  Fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants-style training isn’t good, but I’m not trying to qualify for Boston or anything, so I’m going to go with it and see what happens this week. I seem to do my best when I don’t feel pressured. This doesn’t mean that I’m going to skip all my runs or working out, but it does mean that I’m going to take it day by day and let my body tell me when and how far to go.

I really want to run tonight, but the fires are bad and I feel my eyes, sinuses and throat getting irritated. I’m not sure if I’ll run outdoors or if I’ll hit the elliptical, but I will be moving tonight, that’s for sure. I want to make sure I’m home early enough to catch the premiere of the Real Housewives of Orange County. I don’t watch much TV, but I LIVE for this show. Ain’t no shame in my Bravo TV game.

I also desperately want to take my cranky pants off, but I’m not sure that’s going to happen this week. I’m already off to a craptacular start and had a shitty day at work (I like my job, but man was today rough.)

Also? I need to learn to let things go, because some people/things will never, ever change. All I’m doing is driving myself crazy.