Resting Restlessly And Running

Talk about unexpected outcomes. You know how you always hear how exercising gives you more energy and helps you sleep better? Well, it's kind of true.

Kind of.

See, my energy and sleep deficiencies didn't come didn't show their ugly heads until I stopped exercising. As my eloquent coworker Rob pointed out, exercise is like heroin--you don't realize what it's doing to you until you try to stop. (A heroin addict will have to attest to this, as I have no experience on the matter.)

I hit a huge wall this week, my first without vigorous morning exercise in a month. It's been hard to get up in the morning, hard to stay awake (and FOCUSED) at work, and hard to keep my legs from being all twitchy and antsy all day and night. It's been even more difficult to go to sleep at night and stay there. The sleep thing--not cool. I have a slight obsession with getting enough sleep and nothing kills me more than to lose it in some way. Talk about crabby and dysfunctional.

I've been drinking coffee in the morning to fight the drowsiness, and I haven't "needed" coffee since I started boot camp. Seems a bit backwards, doesn't it? Getting up earlier and exercising before the sun comes up appears to be the perfect recipe for a caffeine dependency. Not so much.

The weirdest thing is that I wasn't a bad sleeper before boot camp and I didn't think I had low energy either. Did boot camp create these monsters or did I just not realize they existed until I took the drug away?

So, why the lack of exercise? Well, because I was told to rest. The ABC trainers encouraged campers to rest during this "week off" (it's a week off for people who are returning to the next session) and not do anything too strenuous. I guess muscles need time to recover. I did some scientific research on Facebook this week to survey my expert friends and uncovered some excellent information. Thank you Marathon Chris and ABC Brian for piping in and explaining that the most important thing to do is to listen to your body. Rest or not. Well, I'm listening to my body, and it turns out it's totally over this "resting" thing. It wants to move!

So, I made it move. And it may have helped ... a little.

• I ran on Monday
• Had trouble getting to sleep Monday night
• Took Tuesday off entirely
• Really had trouble sleeping Tuesday night
• Intended to get up early Wednesday to try the workout videos on my on-demand exercise channel
• Opted instead to sleep in to make up for the lost sleep the night before
• Ran Wednesday
• Slept much better Wednesday night
• And then skipped my planned workout this morning

Half win, half fail.

So I need a plan. And I think I figured it out this morning. I need to workout in the morning on the same day I plan to run in the evening. Two workouts, one day. That way I get to sleep a little later on the day after exerting myself the most. Think that will work? I hope so. I'm trying it tomorrow for the first time, so please hound me if I offer excuses for not getting up early on Friday morning. NO EXCUSES!

Why, oh why is it so hard to get up and exercise when all I have to do is change clothes and move into the living room instead of driving 10 minutes down the road?

So, next topic: running! Wheee!

It's been great to get my legs moving again. I missed running. Unfortunately, I think my body got used to not doing it, and subsequently got used to not doing it while I was in boot camp. It seems as though I had built up some endurance for my thrice-weekly two-mile run and lost it during my 4-week "break" at boot camp (where I only ran about a half mile daily).

My legs just aren't very happy with what I've done to them by reintroducing running. More specifically, my calves aren't happy. Even my shins have joined the pity party a little bit. The leg strain is really reducing the length of my stride and my overall endurance. I'm currently running at about the same pace as the 90-year-old man that was walking at Veterans last night. No joke. I only passed him because he slowed down to turn around and see what the thundering noise behind him was (my locomotive breathing and pounding footsteps). He did offer a "Lookin' good! Drink lots of water!" as I sputtered past him. So sweet.

So, I've got some re-conditioning to do, looks like.

I have good news, though.

1. I ran 0.76 miles straight without stopping last night.

2. I know this because I downloaded a new app for my iPhone last week in preparation for my return to running. It's the app counterpart to the most amazing website. Thank you, coworker John, for introducing me to MapMyRun.com. Have you people heard of this yet?! Please check it out. You can plot your runs and enter your run data on the website (either as a registered [free or paid] user or as a non-registered user). The site uses a Google-like map and you just click to add your path and it tells you how long the route is. It looks like a normal road map, but you don't have to follow the roads to plot your path, which is SUPER helpful for me, the park runner. Also, if you register, it'll keep track of your data for you over time. The iPhone app just uses GPS to automatically plot and measure your route for you. Then it stores all the info (including calories burned, distance and time, and pace) on the website. WOOHOO!

(This is how I now learned that the "1-mile" path at Juilfs, one of my favorite parks, is not a mile. It's a bit short, which explains why my mile times there were always so phenomenal. Booo! But, but, but ... the path at Veterans is exactly a mile. Yippee!)

So, as you can tell, I've been running without Mr. C25K this week. I have not abandoned him; I was just experimenting with my new toy. I will return to him tomorrow, now that I know how long my running routes are. I'm ready to start busting through these puppies!

Remember, keep on me about the morning workouts. Please and thank you!

A Sweaty Mess ... And More Friggin' Planks

Hey, Cincinnati. Did you know it's hot outside?

Did you know it's hot outside at 5:30 in the morning?

Today when I got home from Adventure Boot Camp, I pulled my ponytail holder out of my hair and splashed sweat all over the bathroom. Literally. My hair went from bone-dry to just-out-of-the-swimming-pool soaked in an hour.

Gross.

Sorry, I hope you weren't eating or anything. You better finish, because I'm going to continue.

It baffles me that women actually left ABC this morning with dry heads and dry clothes. How is that possible? I was essentially born with sweat beads on my nose; my mother has told me numerous times that I've had them since I was really little. I can't keep a head of styled hair for more than 2 minutes if it's hot outside.

Sweat + freshly straightened but naturally wavy hair = HOT MESS

After a few conversations with my friend, a fellow sweater, I've been trying to convince myself that heavy sweating just means my body is uber-efficient at cooling itself down. I don't think I believe it. I just continue to see it as a curse and a reason I can't just exercise at the drop of a hat.

Speaking of exercising ... I don't know if there's anyone I envy more than the gentlemen who workout on their lunch breaks. Oh the luxury! If I could count on being able to get a workout in, take a shower, primp, and return to work with a dry head of hair and a normal colored face (instead of beet read) ... I don't know what. I certainly think I'd exercise at lunch. What better way to avoid spending money eating out?

******

So that was a wild tangent! Let's return to fitness, shall we?

1. I don't think it's possible to go back to sleep after ABC. I tried it yesterday on my Fourth of July holiday. I forced myself to stay in bed until after 9 a.m., but I'm not sure how much rest I got. This doesn't bode well for my two vacation days next week. More morning hours to enjoy the sunshine, I guess. One positive note about going to bed after the workout -- BOY was I relaxed! After stretching, working out, and stretching again, there wasn't a moment that I had to shift because I was uncomfortable. Three cheers for that!
2. Yesterday was a plank-tastic mess at ABC! Plank this and plank that. Blech! I switched from modified planks on the stairs to the bench to the low wall ... ugh! We did some today, too. All of them sucked. Okay wait, not all of them. I actually attempted a few of the exercises from the ground and they didn't go so badly. One was a "spiderman push up." You do a push up and, while you're lowering yourself, you bring one of your knees out to your side to meet your elbow. One of the modifications ABC Linda offered was to do the full push up, then bring your leg out. So, I did modified push ups (from the knees and SO not all the way down), holding onto dumbbells instead of hands on the ground, then did the leg left after I finished each push up. Not bad, not bad. My hips and core are strong, so that helped.
3. I saw improvement in my push ups today. I also paid a lot more attention to where my arms were and to holding my whole body tight to help ease the strain.
   
4. I don't like partner exercises. We were supposed to do one today, and it required putting one foot on your partner's back and doing a squat while she held plank. I chose to do the squat on my own using the stairs. Putting my weight on someone like that is not my idea of being nice to others. How awful! I'm not sure what the benefit of that particular exercise is, but maybe one of my ABC readers will pipe in. So anyway, I don't like partner stuff at all, I guess. Whether it's partner push up/handshake things, the wacky squats described above, or running with a buddy, they all make me really uncomfortable. It's a matter of me slowing someone down ... again, something I've dealt with my whole life.
   
5. I'm pretty sure that gym class is the most traumatic, life-altering experience a person can go through. I'm seeing more every day how it has affected me. Sad.
6. My legs ... are NOT sore! Wheeeeee! In fact, they feel stronger. I take bigger strides now and can feel the muscles all over my legs (and my glutes) doing the work. I like it. =)
7. We now have the option of running for up to a half hour every day before ABC starts. For every lap we do, we get entered into a drawing for $50 off our next ABC. I'm not so much into the raffle part because, unfortunately, $50 off is just not enough of a discount. This girl cannot afford ABC, which is why I'm glad I won a gift certificate. Anyway, the running -- it makes me happy. I'm eager to do it. So far I've just done one lap (approx. 2/10 mile) each morning. But, I'm running the whole thing ... no walking. AND, I'm going to add another lap on, maybe tomorrow. Eventually I'm going to see how many times I can run around without walking. I'm only afraid I'll wear myself out before ABC even starts. Hmmm ... Thoughts?

Okay, I'll wrap up. I've been thinking about my Half Pig goal from my last post, and I'm starting to freak out a little bit.

13.1 miles is a really long way. Will I make it?

The course is hilly. Will I die?

The cut-off pace is 16 minutes/mile. Will I be cut off?

Meh.

My friend, Liz, commented on the last post and suggested I take the course for a test drive before the big day. Yes, it's 10 months away, but I'm still anxious to try it. I'm afraid to go alone, though. Afraid to go alone and doesn't like running with other people ... what a pickle! Maybe if my volunteer co-runner just took it at my pace the whole time ... Hmmm again ...

So there. Anyone have comments on sweating, ABC, or the Half Pig, please pipe up.

Thanks for reading!

A Change of Scenery

How exhausting! I mean, watching people carry my heavy furniture really wore me down ...

Right.

Actually, I have to commend the movers I used yesterday, and declare wholeheartedly that I will never as my friends to move furniture again, as long as I have $100 to spare. In case you're interested, check out Move Cheap for your next change of scenery. Cheap, awesome, polite, quick. You just have to rent and drive your own truck.

Okay, sorry for the tangent, but it explains a bit of my post today. Change of Scenery. Yes, I'm finally in my new apartment and thoroughly enjoying the wooded view out my window. The birds are singing and the wind is blowing the brand new leaves on the trees. It makes me glad the stupid cable guy didn't come like he was supposed to yesterday. Otherwise I wouldn't get to hear the nature--and fire trucks and airplanes -- out my window.

The cats are adapting nicely-ish. Well, one is still hiding under the bed, but she's happy there. She lets me reach under and pet her and has come out just a few times. Trixie? Well, she looks stressed, doesn't she?


The good news is she's not picking fights with the other cat. (Background info: Scaredy is the new cat, though she's a few years older than Scaredy. I adopted Scaredy from a co-worker in mid-January. They don't get along ... yet.) In fact, Trixie is currently snoozing under the bed with Scaredy. VICTORY!

I'm adapting nicely to the new place too. I slept well last night, which is a victory for me. I generally don't sleep well in unfamiliar places. It helps that I was in my own bed.

Another change of scenery for today: I ran at a different park this morning. I headed to Veterans Memorial Park in Union Township (disappointing website with very little info). There's no informational signage around the track to let you know exactly how long the path is, but this one website I found said 1+ miles. That is unacceptable to me. 1+ what? Booo! The power is in the details people!

Anyway, I think, if you take the right path and loop around this one little part against your insticts, it's 1 mile and 50 feet or so. There are handy little spray-painted quarter-mile markers on the concrete. At least I think that's what they were. The mark at what appears to be 1 mile is a smiley face.

So, needless to say, I can't exactly track my progress today because I tried a new venue with unclear distance markers. But I can say I didn't have shin splints today, and my breathing was fairly under control. It's still very apparent that I need to repeat Week 2 for the third time; I'm still ending my 90 second runs thinking, "OH GOD I CAN'T DO IT!" Let's just say there's nothing quite as sweet as Mr. C25K interrupting my playlist to say "Walk now." I'm going to marry him.

I'm curious, though. How do you know when to stop running in your run/walk workout? Do you use time, distance, or just feeling? How do you judge when to start running again? Do you let yourself catch your breath entirely or do you keep your heart rate going? If I ever chose to end my dependency problem with Mr. C25K, I'd like to know. I'm not good at pushing myself without outside influence.

Future running plans: Probably Monday or Tuesday. This week is going to be really nice so I'd like to take advantage of it. Although, I still have a lot of moving activities to take care of, so these plans are, sadly, tentative.