Spring Break, Family Time and Yoga Poses

This week was Spring Break for many of the local high schools.  Although it has been YEARS since I myself have been able to enjoy an entire week off from reality, Spring Break does affect our work schedule and actually frees up a little time in our training.  On the plus side, Hunter and I are able to get some work done and even have a little fun together.  On the downside, with my schedule thrown off, it can be a little difficult to stay focused and committed to my fitness.  With that being said, I still managed some good workouts this week and here is a recap in training.

Monday: Taught spinning to a smaller class, assuming many were out for Spring Break.  The weather was gorgeous, a little cooler but sunny and beautiful.  After spin, I met up with Hunter and we knocked out a few miles.  He said he wanted to push to 4 and hold a solid pace similar to our last run.  We ended up doing 4.25 with a pace of 9:02.  Which in my opinion is super awesome for a big guy who has only been running for 3 months.  He's made so much progress in such a short period of time.  I couldn't be more proud of him!

Monday also started the Runners Love Yoga Challenge for March.  I had so much fun participated in the February challenge while tapering for my marathon and I even won the challenge!  This month is all about the Flow with a series of poses that will build on each other.  Here was day one with a Warrior I:

Tuesday: Normally I run on my lunch break on Tuesday, but with the freed up afternoon as well as free tickets to a fitness convention center here in Orlando, Hunter and I took advantage and headed down to the convention center.  We spent the afternoon checking out all the latest and greatest in the industry and we even ran into a few of our former coworkers.  It's always fun to get to catch up with people!  We had to head back to train our afternoon groups so this left no time for my run.  Luckily, since the sun is going down later now, I was able to get an evening jog in.  This used to be the only time of day I could run because of work and kiddos.  It had been so long since I've had a solo evening run and I had almost forgotten how beautiful it is out there just before the sun goes down.  I definitely want to take more time for runs like this.

And this was my Reverse Warrior pose from earlier in the day for the Yoga Challenge:

 

Wednesday: Hunter and I had a busy afternoon planned so I didn't have much time for a workout.  I stayed back at the gym while he went for his run and I knocked out a quick MetCon circuit.  My knee and hip had gotten really sore over the past few days so I did spend some time on rolling and mobility work.  In between MetCon sets I went ahead and did my Yoga Challenge pose which was a triangle pose.  It was juts what I needed to help loosen up my tight adductors.

Thursday: On Thursdays I typically run but my legs felt like absolute lead.  With my run on Monday and Tuesday, I was already at the mileage I'm typically at for the week, so I figured I should hold off on running more and have fresh legs for hopefully a good Saturday run.  So I decided to just do a quick, easy mile and a half then hit the pool for some laps.  My swimming has gotten so much better and I swam a whole 1200m without stopping!

Yoga pose for the day was the low lunge.  Took the picture at the pond in front of my house before the rain came.

Friday: Went to Planet Fitness and focused solely on upper body.  My knee was feeling much better and my legs were loosening up, but I didn't want to wear them out before my 8-10 miles I had scheduled for the next day.  Got in a great pump at PF then headed to meet Hunter for lunch.  After lunch we met with a realtor about potentially selling our house and buying a new one, eeek!  Then we went to a high school baseball game to cheer on our kiddos from the gym, then to our own kid's school to watch their Easter parade, then finally home!  What a crazy busy day, we were exhausted!  But here are some adorable pictures of the kids' Easter festivities:

And of course here is my standing L pose for the Yoga Challenge:

Saturday: The forecast was calling for rain all weekend.  Since I have been helping a friend prepare for her first half, I was disappointed the rain would keep us from meeting out on the trail that morning.  I, however, was excited to get to sleep in a little though.  It's been while.  So I caught a few extra ZZZ's and headed to LA Fitness for a treadmill run.  My plan was 8-10, which is my usual Saturday mileage.  My knee was a just a pinch twinge-y, my allergies were not too bad, and the extra sleep had me feeling good and rested.  I could have pushed harder and gone longer but I felt good about my 8 miles in 58:41 (avg pace 7:21).   Pretty pleased with my run and feeling prepared for my 15k next week, I finished off with some foam rolling and stretching.  Spent the rest of the day with friends at an Easter party.

When we got home from the party, it was raining.  I still needed to do my revolved half moon pose for the Challenge, so here I am doing so in the rain!

Sunday: Easter Sunday and also rest day!  We decided to spend the day at the beach.  It was a little overcast at times but it turned out to be the perfect day to spend at the beach and finish out an awesome weekend.  The boys had so much fun building sandcastles and splashing in the waves.  Hearing their laughter and seeing the smiles on their sweet little faces makes everything seem right in the worlds.

And of course, the beach is also the perfect place for a great yoga shot, so here is my high lunge for the Runners Love Yoga Challenge:

What's on tap for the next few weeks...
It's about to get really hectic!  April is a super busy month with work and races.  Next Sunday, I will run the EA Riverside 15k.  The following weekend, my mom will be in town helping with the kiddos while Hunter and I help run a football camp.  Also that weekend, I have an 8k on Saturday and then on Sunday, I drive down to Sarasota in the wee hours of the morning to run the Iron Girl Half Marathon with my friend (it is her first half)!  I will have a week to recuperate then it's the Lake Minneola Half Marathon April 24th, then two weeks later it's my sprint tri!  After that, we take a vacation and I will have no other races planned until the Chicago Marathon in October.

Why We NEED Rest Days

Contrary to what many of my friends and family think, I do not workout 7 days a week, 365 days a year!  I make sure to have a rest day every week and I never miss it.  It's typically Sunday (Saturday if I have a race Sunday) and I do not touch a weight or lace up my running shoes that day.  Since having kids, my rest days have evolved and are quite a bit more active nowadays.  But no regimented exercise for me on my day of rest.  This day is so important because it gives my body and mind the much needed rest from the previous week of exercise and prepares it for the week to come. 

Every now and then our body tells us we need to slow down and take an additional rest day and that is perfectly ok!  There are several physiological as well as psychological reasons why we should schedule regular rest days.  Here are few great reasons why it's so important, and why you shouldn't beat yourself up if you have to take an extra day here and there if you're body is begging for it.

1. Let Your Muscles (Re)grow
When we engage in strenuous physical activity our muscles break down.  It's during that time that our muscles repair themselves, becoming stronger and more efficient.  Your muscles need that time to rebuild, without it they will continue to tear.  This continuous break down of your muscles leads to several issues (as stated below) but most importantly it will negatively effect the improvements to your strength  you are working so hard for.  This is also why it is important not to train the same muscle groups on consecutive days (when it comes to weight lifting).  So don't worry, taking a day off and/or alternating muscles groups will help your progress rather than hinder it.

2. Prevents Fatigue
We exercise so that can look good, be stronger but more importantly to feel good.  Exercise, along with proper nutrition and sleep, help boost our energy levels and our mood.  But there is such thing as too much of a good thing.  When we over-train and neglect rest, our bodies become fatigued.  This causes us to lose energy, have trouble sleeping and it even effects our mood.  It becomes a vicious cycle because when we are fatigued, we will not have the energy to workout.  Without the energy to workout, we will not meet our goals and of course our mood will be negatively effected by that as well.  Listen to your body, take rest days and your body will thank you for it with the energy it needs to keep going in the gym, out on the trail and in life!

3. Prevent Mental Exhaustion
Your mind can get just as burnt out as your body.  Life is all about balance.  We have to be able to physically and mentally enjoy what we do otherwise it will soon feel more like a daunting task than enjoyable activity.  Taking proper rest not only helps you physically, but emotionally as well.  It helps prevent boredom, rekindle your hunger for exercise (you know you miss it when it's gone ;-)), and of course recharge your psyche.  Not to mention when you are physically tired, your brain cannot function at full capacity, so rest days are win-win for body and mind.

4. Keep Your Immune System Strong
Over-training has been known to weaken your immune system, making you more susceptible to fatigue and illness.  When you engage in consistent strenuous activity, your body's immune system is there to help make the necessary repairs to your muscles and joints.  Without proper rest, your immune system can not keep up with the demands you are putting on your body.  Without an efficient immune system, you are more likely to become ill and then you will have no choice but to take additional rest days to re-cooperate.  Do not wait until you're already sick to take rest days, be sure to take them weekly in order to prevent a hit to your immune system.

5. Injury Prevention
From running to weight lifting, and everything in between, rest days help prevent the overuse of muscles and joints.  Without allowing the proper rest, this overuse will eventually make you more susceptible to injury.  There is only so much our muscles and joints can take at any given time before they begin to wear down.  It is important you not only allow yourself regularly scheduled rest days, but also that you are listening to your body when it is telling you that you have had enough. Pushing ourselves through extreme fatigue and pain will only set us back in the long run because we will become injured and, of course, have no choice but to rest then, whether we like it or not.

The key to rest days is to schedule in your regular workout routine.  Chose a day of the week where it will fit best and commit to it.  If an opportunity arises for a race, workout or strenuous physical activity, plan in advance and reschedule your rest day, but don't skip it that week.  Also, it is tremendously important that you listen to your body.  Some times it will be begging you to slow down and take an extra day or two of rest.  Trust me here, a few days off will certainly not set you back in your goals.  In fact, the much needed rest will have you coming back stronger than before and ready to go out and crush it!

For additional training information, tips as well as Coach Christina's own personal fitness and running journey, be sure to check her out on INSTAGRAM.  And for more information on training with Coach Christina, be sure to check out STRENGTH2RUN.

Eeek...It's Marathon Week!

It's Friday morning and I'm now counting down the hours to my marathon this Sunday.  It all seems so surreal that I am about to run 26.2 miles!  I don't think the excitement or anxiety has fully hit me yet, I guess that has to do with how busy I remain with work and kids, the fact that I've done this four times before and also because I have no expectations or big goals this time around.  Don't get me wrong, I want to do well.  And man oh man, what I wouldn't give to cross that finish line with a BQ like I had originally hoped.  But for this 5th marathon, despite being all healed up, pretty prepared and mentally and physically in better shape than I've been in a while, I still feel indifferent about my goals for this race.  I've said it in previous posts, I feel I just jumped into this one too quickly.  Training has been up and down, some runs point to a BQ while others had me questioning distance running all together.  But there is nothing I can do at this point other than to just lace up, give it my all and leave it all out on the course. 

I will be posting on Monday a full race recap but here is how this final week of marathon training has been...

Monday: Taught my usual spin class but in stead of weights this day, I decided to do some laps in the pool.  I accidentally left my watch at home so I had to count my own laps, gasp!  It wasn't bad at all, it was kind of nice not fumbling with a watch.  Swimming went really well except my shoulders where on fire the next day!  Once the marathon is over, I will be spending more and more in time in the pool in preperation for my triathlon in May. (I'm looking forward to writing about that experience.)

Tuesday: Last week, I mentioned joining Planet Fitness because it's super close to my work and I needed a place to use a treadmill.  I headed over there on my lunch break and knocked out 5 super easy miles on the dreadmill.  The weather was so gorgeous and since I'm still doing the Isntagram yoga challenge, I decided to take it outside for some sprints and my yoga flow.

Wednesday: Wanting and needing to go lighter on the weights so that I won't be too sore leading up to the weights, I headed back to Planet Fitness and knocked out a quick upper body circuit.  PF was pretty dead that time of day so I was able to get in and out rather quickly.  I did, however, go a little hard than I probably should have because my poor arms are still so sore.  I LOVE lifting, almost as much as running...almost.  In fact, if I had to chose between the two (for whatever reason), it sure would be a hard decision because they are both so equally important in my life.  Nothing beats that runners high but it sure feels pretty freaking amazing to go hard in that weight room.  I guess I'm lucky to get to experience the best of both worlds and the two go hand in hand.  This Spring and Summer, though, when I'm not doing distances longer than half's and 10k's, I am really looking forward to spending more time getting stronger and leaner (stay tuned for my next fitness endeavor)

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Thursday:  Last run before the big race (unless I can squeeze a 1-2 mile shake out run Saturday, not likely though).  Did a super easy 5k including some walking just to be conservative.  Then I hit the pool for a 1200m swim.  Also sent a little time foam rolling, I will certainly be doing that today and Saturday as well.

Jumping for joy, training is DONE!

Today:  It's currently only 5:30am here as I write this post and with my husband at work, I'm trying to get some work done while the kids are still asleep.  I will head into work myself soon too (after I drop the kiddos off at school) and try to squeeze in some foam rolling and mobility work this afternoon.

Yoga Challenge move from Thursday, I will be doing more of these movements along with foam rolling today.

Now is that time where I just have to try and relax and trust my training.  I have done all I can to prepare for something I have already done four times before.  So I know I can do it, it's just a matter of how well I can do it.  But I would have to say my biggest goal for this weekend has nothing to do with time.  This will be the first time since Marine Corps Marathon in 2010 where I traveled to a race, went to a big expo and really just have no expectations other than to finish.  This will also be the first time my kids get to experience this with me and see what mommy loves to do.  They did come to see me finish Space Coast two years ago but they were so young and that was such a bad race for me that that whole experience was just bad all around for everyone.  I am looking forward to the expo, to spending the night in the beach with my family, to having my boys there when I cross the finish line and to just soak up every minute of the whole weekend.  Be sure to check back Monday (or Tuesday) for my whole experience!

Getting sweet kisses from my boys Wednesday night, I cannot wait for them to hug and kiss me after I cross the finish line!

Let the Tapering Begin

Less than 2 weeks out from marathon number 5...

The realization that my next marathon is just days a way is really starting to sink in.  Waves of emotions crash over me periodically throughout the day.  One moment I am fired up, excited and ready to attack the race to see what I can do out there.  Other emotions drown me in my own fears and anxiety.  This was supposed to be my "make up race" since I had gotten hurt and couldn't reach my goal at my last race (and the one before that one I got sick).  But when I had to jump right back into 20 mile runs two weeks after my last marathon, I quickly realized my body and mind could have used a break.  Luckily, despite my continuous training I have managed to completely heal from my injury and even build my pace (that had taken a huge hit) back up.  Unfortunately though my pace is not back to what it was nor is my desire to push as hard as I know I could if I were not so over trained.  Of course, we never know what race day brings, maybe things will click for me and I will crush it.  Or then again maybe I will be reminded why I don't run back to back marathons.  Either way, I would be lying if I said I am not excited to get out there give it my all and have some fun in the process.  I will never give up on my dream to BQ, nor do I have any plans to permanently give up the full distance any time soon, but I think a little break from marathon training will certainly do me some good.

Here is a recap of this past week...

Monday: There is a new stereo system in our group fitness studios at the gym I teach at.  For the 10+ years I have been teaching aerobics, I have always been able to pre-choreograph my classes to either music I choose or the music I am provided with in advance.  Now, with the new system, I'm having to wing it each week.  (I could go in and make a couple of playlists but ain't nobody got time for that).  So I have to admit, I'm a little anxious each time I go to teach spinning now.  But this week, the list I selected was great, the class was full with my regulars and some new folks, and we had a blast!  After class, I wanted to do my last official leg day, so I headed over to the weight area.  Knowing it would probably be the last time I lift legs (heavy) for up to two weeks, I figured why not go hard.  Kinda wishing I hadn't lol, but it was a fun. 

Tuesday: It was GORGEOUS outside.  Temps in the low 80's, humidity not too high and plenty of sunshine.  Decided go on a device-free 5 miler on a different part of the trail I typically run on.  I drove a little bit further up the road to run this portion of the trail because of it's "hills" (they're not too impressive here in Central Florida so we gotta go looking for some) and because of it's curves and changes in direction.  I figured it would be some good practice for next Sunday.  I enjoy going device free occasionally.  I feel old school and I also feel I am able to enjoy and appreciate my surroundings more.  I do, however, find it difficult to pace myself and miss that measuring tool when I do not have it with me.  But it's probably a good thing because it will teach me to listen to my body better rather than staring at my watch the whole run.

Later Tuesday evening, I attended Hot Yoga.  The class was packed, the energy was through the rough and it was probably one of the best Yoga practices I've had!  Before leaving for class, Nolan, my oldest, asked me to do some poses with him.  He is so awesome.  He just loves to learn and has really taken a liking to what Hunter and I do.  I'm sure there are not very many four year olds who can do 18 inch box jumps and know how to properly execute a clean and press.  I know he's so young and will come into his own, but seeing him eagerly want to learn everything we love and do makes us so proud!

 

Wednesday: Hunter had one of his NFL clients coming in at the time I was planning to workout, so I figured I wouldn't bother them (actually them bother me by talking my head off lol) at our gym and headed over to LA Fitness to get a quick lift in.  Since it's all upper body for here on out, I hit my back, chest and shoulders pretty hard.  Walking out of the gym, I could barely feel my arms.  I was excited and scared at the same time!  Went back to work for a little bit then headed back to LA to teach my night time Yoga class.  I had a couple of new students that evening and they did great.  I love having new people in class, it's so awesome to see people try new things.  It's a great reminder what it's like to be a beginner at something, how intimidating it can be at first, how frustrating it can be when you can't do what everyone else is doing.  The first time is always the hardest but sticking with it can be so rewarding.  You just never know what you're capable of until you try!

Thursday: All of my ambitious workouts of the week were finally catching up to me and by this day, I.Was.Sore!  Thursday was humbling.  Realizing yet again I am not superwoman, I was really needing some foam rolling in my life.  I needed to run a couple of miles but almost talked myself out of it, almost.  I figured I had 3 options.  1. Not run at all (which I knew I would regret). 2. Suck it up and go kill myself with some speed work. OR 3. Just lace up and head on an easy run from the gym (our work).  I chose 3, figured it was a good compromise of the two.  Storms were expected later that day and the wind and sky were certainly indicative of that.  It was warm and a little humid, but the wind helped cool things down somewhat.  It also made running a little difficult, but again, I need to prepare myself for anything and everything on Sunday, so I was grateful for it.  I ended up having a solid 5 miler with an average pace of around 7:40.  I started off without my watch, only because it wouldn't pick up satellite, and just focused on my breathing and strides.  I felt I had settled in to a good easy pace that I figured was around 8:30ish.  My watch finally popped on and I was running a 7:35 minute mile.  I was pretty pleased with what I thought to be a nice easy, slower pace was actually back to my typical 5 miler pace pre-injury.  My body is really beginning to cooperate but my confidence needs to catch up.  I know that sounds silly, but my mental game took a way bigger hit when I got hurt than my body did.  It really messed me up and I'm struggling to get my confidence back.  I haven't raced in so long, and I think going out and having a great race will really help start building that back up.

Oh, and also on Thursday, I figured I could use another place to run (when the weather is bad) and throw some weights around on my lunch break, so I took advantage of the Planet Fitness "Join for $1" deal that was expiring that day.  It took about 5 minutes to sign up, I didn't want the tour, and I am now an official PF member, hehe!  This shall be interesting.

Friday: Hunter left super early this morning so it was just me and the babies this morning then me running the show at the gym.  It's definitely a little hectic getting the kiddos off to school and then rushing back to get to work.  But I managed and we had a killer MetCon this morning, our ladies always bring it and I love it!  I had a ton of work to do but wanted to knock out some upper body.  Now that I have so many options as to where to work out, it was hard to chose.  But with the work that needed to get done at the gym, it was an obvious choice just to stay here.  So I quickly changed into my workout gear, put some Juicy J on Pandora and went to work.  My shoulders are super sore and my legs kinda hate me, so I figured I should just focus on core.  I did about 45 minutes focusing mostly on core but threw in some things to really get the heart rate up, including kettlebell swings and ropes.  I usually like to push it a little harder on Fridays since I won't lift again until Monday, but with the race coming up, I decided to hold back a little bit.

Friday night was our Moms Run This Town Winter virtual event.  I always love these events since I am not able to make much of the group runs and this is a great opportunity to catch up with the ladies.  Since I had the kiddos, I was able to run, but because our gym was a sponsor, I really wanted to go for a little bit.  The swag for the event was sick!  We got our medals of course and a bunch of samples and info in the bag, but we also got a headlamp, wine glass and jacket!  And Nolan even got to be a happy helper and hand out a couple of finishers medals to some of the ladies, which pretty much made his day.

Saturday: Since Hunter was out of town, it was just me and the munchkins until later that night.  That meant it would be another treadmill Saturday at LA Fitness. 

I have actually grown to like my 8-10 mile treadmill runs.  I am able to get into a great zone on there with some awesome people watching.  And some times I even have someone running next to me to chat with.  I got to chat with someone on Saturday for about 4 miles and I was keeping a 7:45ish pace, so that felt pretty good.  With the race next weekend and my body still pretty sore from the week, I figured 8 miles would do it for my last mid-distance run.  I did them in a little under an hour and was ready to spend the day with my babies.  I was pretty excited about my new Asics outfit so I snuck into the spinning room to take on of those obnoxious gym mirror selfies. 

Walking out to my car from the gym, I noticed I had been "flipped."  My MRTT car magnet was upside down meaning fellow MRTT mama had come across my car.  I figured it was form the event the night before and I didn't see it because it was dark.  But I was still excited to see I was flipped.  So of course the boys and I had to take a selfie with it.  Please excuse my youngest, Lincoln, he's my wild child!

Sunday: Hunter got back Saturday night so Sunday was our typical family day.  Grocery shopping, food prepping, soccer and of course the Super Bowl!  Nolan scored his teams only 3 goals at his game and Lincoln actually participated in his game for the first time this season and scored a goal too, so the boys were on fire!  We were so proud of them and went to Froggers to celebrate.  They enjoyed playing video games and coloring but had no interest in the funnel fries we ordered so guess who ate those!?!  Oh well, cheat day.  We had some time to kill before the Super Bowl so we went down to the pound in front of our house to throw rocks in the lake and feed the ducks.  I also wanted to get a shot of the Pose of the Day for the Runners Love Yoga Instagram challenge I have been participating in. 

 
I got a great shot of the pose but more importantly, I got a beautiful shot of all four of us at the pound.  Moments like these mean that absolute world to me.  There is nothing extraordinary about setting at a retention pound throwing rocks in it, but to our sons it was one of the most exciting things they got to do.  Hearing their laughter, seeing their smiles and experience the world through them is a feeling like no other!

This coming week will be full out Taper Madness!  Easing off the heavy lifting, lighter and shorter runs and a lot of focus on sleep an nutrition for me this week.  No risk taking not to injury myself, lol, and just trying to relax, stay positive and focused.  I have no idea what to expect on Sunday.  I will have no control over the weather, the course or the competition.  But I do know that I am prepared, I am a strong runner, I am confident in my ability to finish and I will be proud of my for crossing that finish line, regardless of the outcome.  So marathon number 5, I'm coming for you!