Are there prescriptions for R&R?

I know I'm late with this post, but I had a pretty busy day yesterday. Knowing my day was going to be jam-packed, I made sure to wake up and run first thing in the morning. However, since my run, I have been trying to look for information about how long it takes the body to recover between runs. I haven't found much information that is relevant to my situation, but I did find some interesting facts. I found this website (http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/sampleworkouts/a/RestandRecovery.htm) that talks a little bit about the different types of recovery (long term and short term) and also factors that would affect a person's exercise performance. It's worth looking into for anyone that needs some tips on how to feel good day after day, and also how to avoid injury. They outline 10 ways to recover quickly after injury, including: rest, stretch, cool down, eat properly, replace fluids, try active recovery, have a massage, alternate hot and cold showers or baths, get lots of sleep, and avoid overtraining. I think that I really need to start to keep these tips in mind in order to allow my body to be prepared for this challenge in the long run. Especially the part about replacing fluids. :)

Anyway, what made me look up ways to help your body recover was the way my body reacted to my run Monday morning. Remember, I decided to give myself a break Sunday and waited to run at night, and then it was about 13 hours later that I went for my next run. Although I was feeling really good about my night run, my morning run did not give me the same result. I chose to run outside again because it was beautiful out. I was dragging my feet, huffing and puffing, had many urges to stop, and felt sore all over my body. I powered through the 2 miles that I was planning on doing, but I did not feel good about myself. If I had looked in a mirror the same way I did a couple of days ago while I was running, it would've looked like I was going backwards. THAT'S how slow I was going. I thought about stopping, walking, and turning around about every 3 blocks.

Once I got home, after the nausea went away and I finally caught my breath, I checked my cell phone to see if I had any messages when I was out. I had a message from one of my co-workers, who I spend all day every day with at work. It said, "Hey! I just happened to look out the bus window and saw you running! Nice Job! See you tomorrow!" Really? Really? REALLY? On the day that I felt like I was going to turn over and die right on the sidewalk, on the day where I was convinced that walking 2 miles would've been faster, on the day that I had to consciously make sure the lady with the walker wasn't beating me down the sidewalk?! THAT'S the day that someone sees me run? Just my luck. So I of course felt the need to defend myself, and tell her that that was not my best performance and I was actually kind of embarrassed that she saw me, but in all honesty, I'm sure she didn't know the difference. However, right there just shows the kind of luck that follows me around. Gotta love it.

I have to go back to work after a 17 day Spring Break. I am nervous that it is going to affect the quality and length of my runs, and I'm going to be so tired that I'm not going to go to the gym. My streak is at 5 days now though, so I can't give up now!

14 miles down/61 to go!

Sunday Funday

Its Sunday. Which means yesterday was Saturday, and last night was Saturday night. This particular Saturday night was spent at one of the monthly "girls' nights" that my college friends and I participate in. To explain these nights simply, we all get together, and each of us brings some sort of food (mostly unhealthy, carb overloaded items), and one to two bottles of wine. We then all sit in a living room of someones apartment and proceed to drink all of the alcohol (usually at least 10 bottles of wine) and eat all of the food. By the end of the night we are all comfortably drunk, and uncomfortably full. Last night's girls night was no different, and I woke up this morning with a very strong reminder of everything that I had done the night before, in the form of both a head, and stomach ache. I told myself that I was going to be easy today and I would wait to go on my run until later in the day. Until then, I was just going to enjoy myself, and have confidence that I will run at some point, just not yet.

7:30 rolls around, and the last thing in the world that I want to do is go for a run. I've already eaten far too much matzah to be healthy, and I was feeling a food coma coming on. I decided that I was going to look up some ways to keep myself motivated, because of course I knew that today wasn't going to be the only day that my bed seemed so much nicer than running through the streets of NYC. So I simply googled "ways to stay motivated" and clicked the first link I saw, entitled "20 ways to stay motivated", simply enough. I hoped that it would give me some sort of insight as to what I can do to keep myself going for the next 26 days.

1. Make a big public commitment. Be fully committed
   
2. Create a friendly, mutually-supportive competition
   
3. Keep a daily journal of your goal
4. Make it a rule never to skip two days in a row
5. Have powerful reasons. Write them down
6. Break it into smaller, mini goals
   
7. Give it time, be patient
   
8. Make it a pleasure
   
9. Just get started
   
10. Get a workout partner or goal buddy
11. Chart Your Progress

I particularly like the idea of making running a pleasure, not something I feel like I have to do, because then I will (hopefully) just get out there and go, instead of making it feel like a chore. I also liked the idea of "just getting started"...instead of sitting around and thinking and planning about what I'm going to do. I'm the queen of making pretty calendars and filling in each day with what workout I should do and for how long. Then, when I only end up following it for a couple of weeks, (if that), all I'm left with is a pretty calendar and unfinished tasks. Not good.

Anyway, after I finished reading about ways to motivate myself, I got my stuff on and walked out the door of my building. My goal was to just run 2 miles today, nothing too crazy because I knew I didn't really want to be there anyway. I started running, and I felt good. Really good. I wasn't even paying attention to the street signs until I had already run 15 blocks. I decided I was just going to run until I felt like it was time to turn around and then I'd start running back.

When I looked up again, I realized that I kind of recognized where I have ended up. I look around at the street signs and I see "St. Marks Place". I look around a little bit more and I see "Astor Place". All of a sudden my heart starts racing a little bit more (not because I was running, but because I realized where I was). I was in the East Village. (Which explained why there was a man dressed as Tigger playing the tambourine on the sidewalk). Now let me explain how I feel about the East Village. It scares the crap out of me. The streets aren't numbered anymore and I can't easily figure out which way is north and there are too many hipster people around that I feel like I'm going to get accosted for wearing too many bright colors. One of my best friends from college lives in the East Village, and although I've been down there numerous times, I can never find her apartment without getting lost. It either takes me twice as long to get there because I am trying to figure out where I am using the small map on my Blackberry or I have to call her and say, "Okay, I'm on the corner and I'm looking at a McDonalds, a Starbucks, and there's a gym right here." (Really helpful, right?) My friend usually manages to get me to her apartment, or has had to come meet me where I am standing on a couple of occasions because she realizes I'm a lost cause. Just this weekend I met her near her apartment and she had to tell me about three times that I was walking the wrong direction, when we were basically down the street from where she lived. You'd think I would've learned by now, but no.

Anyway, back on topic. When I realize that I have basically entered what to me is equivalent to The Labyrinth, I immediately turn around and start running back. Once I get to about 14th street, I breathe a sigh of relief and feel instantly better that I am securely in the numbered part of the city. Although I'm proud of myself for going outside my small square of running space, I had had enough for the day and was ready to go back home, having run one more mile than I had originally planned!

12 miles down/63 to go!

It'sa Mario!

I grew up in the suburbs of New York City. My dad worked near Times Square so every time my family and I would come visit him at work we would have to dodge through the tourists taking pictures, the people that were lost in the middle of the sidewalk looking at a map, and the dozens of people who were forced to stand outside their work, rain or shine, handing out pamphlets about a comedy club or a sightseeing tour that we just HAD to do. Not only was getting to my dad's work a hassle, but any time my family decided to spend the night in the city it was a very typical "let's go to dinner and then a broadway show and then home" night. Now I am not the kind of person that enjoys being in large crowds, and I especially don't like walking somewhere where I'm surrounded by people and I need to stay on my toes to figure out what the person in front of me is doing, where they are going to walk, and if they are going to stop dead in their tracks at any moment. As you can imagine, Times Square is not my favorite place in the world. But, because every time I went into the city I was basically in or around Times Square, I grew up thinking that all of NYC was exactly like that. That there were always people everywhere, and my job would be to dodge all of them. So when I started looking for where I was going to live after graduation, I said that living in the city was absolutely out of the question. I knew how I felt all of those nights when I was frantically trying to get somewhere, anywhere, where I could have my own personal space and a place to breathe, and I was not about to live my life the way I lived so many nights of my childhood. Low and behold, come September, I was moving into my new apartment in Midtown. And you know what I learned? Not all of New York City is like Times Square.

Even though I quickly realized that I could enjoy a nice stroll in my neighborhood without being attacked by someone dressed as Elmo (a huge fear of mine), I did tell myself that there was NO WAY I would go for a run on these streets. I see people do it every day, and I definitely thought it takes a certain type of concentration and attention span to be able to do it. Even though it's not Times Square, there are still people walking on the sidewalk, most likely not paying attention to anyone but themselves or who they are walking with, and there are lights everywhere! How can I possibly have a successful run when I need to constantly be paying attention to if a light tells me to walk or not? I am the queen of zoning out and thinking about whatever I feel like when I run, and using my concentration on whether or not I'm going to fall in a sewer or get hit by a car didn't sound appealing to me. However, something happened to me today, and I tried it out. I actually ran through midtown on a Saturday morning at 9am and I am here and alive to tell the tale.

Not only did I survive what I thought would be a stressful workout, but I now know what it's like to be in a video game. What I experienced this morning has to be exactly how Mario feels in the original Mario Bros. I got out to the sidewalk, put my headphones in, and just went. I had a plan of action, I was going to run a mile uptown, then turn around, run two miles downtown on another avenue, and then run a mile back uptown to my apartment...so basically one large 4 mile square. Once I started going, I realized it was kind of fun to run with all of the distractions. I concentrated so hard on dodging the people, dogs, and strollers around me that I didn't even realize I had already run a mile until I almost ran past my first destination point. Not only did I have to beware of the people, but there was an extra challenge to my game. I had to see how many blocks I could run without having to stop to run in place to wait for the light to change, and let me tell you, it is not easy to do. I think I only made it three blocks before I had to wait, but it made it that much more fun to try to get to four. I had an overall great experience today. I also felt like I had a secret bond with the other people around me that were running. It took everything in my power to not stick my hand out and high-five everyone I saw, but I told myself I couldn't be that girl and I had to contain my excitement.

As a conclusion to my overly positive post about my experience running outside, I would like to leave the people of NYC a couple of words of wisdom regarding their life choices.

1. to the parent with the 50 pound kid still in the stroller: I think it's time to let him start walking.

2. to the 20 something man walking the little white poof ball dog: every once in a while make your girlfriend get out of bed to walk the dog. She was the one that made you buy that thing in the first place.

3. to the people on the sidewalk who feel the need to walk just far enough away from each other that they take up the whole sidewalk, but close enough that no one can get by: there are other people in the world besides yourselves.

4. to the overdressed girl walking in high heels: are you walking home from your one night stand's apartment, or do you really feel the need to get that dressed up for a Saturday morning? If it's the latter, trust me, wearing flats is acceptable.

5. to the girl wearing the white shorts and tank top: it's only the beginning of April. Stop trying to push for it to be Summer. It will come, I promise, just be patient.

Looks like I'll be running outside again tomorrow! My gym's closed anyway because it's Easter, and if the weather's nice, why not!

9 miles down/66 to go!

At least I did something, right?

Oh my god I am sore. I woke up this morning and my hips are killing me. I’m definitely regretting not pushing myself harder over these past couple of months, because my lack of time at the gym is definitely showing right now. Last year I bought “the stick” (www.thestick.com) which helps with sore muscles, and it was luckily right next to my bed when I woke up. After spending about 10 minutes using it on each leg, I decided I was definitely not ready to go to the gym, and was going to be lazy for another half hour.

3 hours later, I got myself out of bed and got dressed for the gym. On my walk there I felt like I was walking lopsided. I felt 64, not 24, and I am not proud of it. All I kept telling myself is I have to run through this soreness or it will never go away, and I also have a lot more miles to run and can’t give up on my streak now! I got on the treadmill expecting to run 3 miles today. I ran one mile and had to stop. My breathing was off, my legs hurt, and I just knew today was going to be one of those days where I don’t feel successful with my work out. Worst of all, I got on a treadmill where the TV didn't work, and I forgot a towel again. This workout was doomed from the get go. I tried to walk a little bit more, put on an upbeat song and think positive thoughts. I ended up running ½ a mile before stopping again. In order to not feel like a complete waste, I made sure my workout was a total of 30 minutes and got off the treadmill. I'm not exactly proud of today, but at least I did something and I knocked some more miles off. I need to look up a good stretch for my hips, and try to drink as much water today as possible. If not, my workout tomorrow will be shortlived as well.

5 miles down/70 to go!

And It Begins...

To get myself motivated for this upcoming challenge, I went to the running streak website that my second friend had introduced me to (http://www.runeveryday.com/). In big letters at the top of the page it says CAUTION: THE DANGERS OF STREAK RUNNING. I actually laughed out loud at this, interested in what brought on the all of a sudden “fine print” to go along with what seems like a relatively healthy way to stay in shape (I mean a mile a day isn’t asking THAT much). It ended up that the article on the other side of the link was interesting and actually pretty helpful. It recommends not running the same amount of miles every day or at the same pace/intensity, and that I can still have rest days, but they will just be in the form of running at a slower pace. It also said to find different ways to make running new and fresh so I don't feel like it is a chore. I think having the 75 mile goal is a good way to keep me motivated, and I'm sure once I get to 10+ days I'm not going to want to skip a day and potentially ruin my streak. So although the link scared me at first, it gave great advice and makes me even more excited to get started.

I had plans to meet up with friends that I assumed was going to turn into a day, and possibly night long event, so I knew I had to get to the gym early. Since I'm on Spring Break (best part of being a teacher), I have the luxury of having pretty much any choice of treadmill that I want...which is a big deal to me. I like to pick the treadmills where the TV is already on, so this way I can watch what's on the TV without having to plug my headphones in, and also listen to my music at the same time. If I don't have anything to look at, my workouts end up being significantly shorter and I get bored pretty easily. So not only did I get a treadmill where the TV was on, but I also got one that was as far away from people as possible, and I was ready to get in the zone.

So after spending a week in Costa Rica doing everything but running, I wasn't really expecting much, but I'm hoping that my motivation and the excitement of starting another challenge will get me through. I set my speed to 6.0, and start going, feeling good, listening to some tunes. I then realize that I can probably go faster than what I’m running, so I decide to up my speed. For every .1 of a mile I go, I make my speed .1 faster. So at 1.1 miles, I’m at a 6.1, at 1.2 miles, at a 6.2, etc. This is something I used to do all the time last year, I’d do a full mile moving up my speed, and then another mile reducing my speed. It's a good way to keep things interesting and it also helps me not get bored. However, one mistake I did make was not bringing a towel or a magazine or something to cover up the treadmill display. Yes, I'm one of those that doesn't like to see how far I've gone or how long I've been on the treadmill, because if I have the chance to look, I will spend my ENTIRE run staring at the minutes and distance slowly move on.

So, first I try to just watch TV, but the Today Show was on and it was kind of hard to follow when I couldn't hear what they were saying and it was just a bunch of women sitting on a couch. I also wasn't in a channel surfing mood, I just wanted to get running. Bored with the show, I start looking in the mirror near me, I check out my form and realize that I look like I'm running a lot slower than the speed I feel like I'm running. That in itself was kind of depressing, but I knew there was no way I was going to up my speed, being that I was already huffing and puffing at about a 6.3. Then, my eyes wander to the people who are stretching and doing abs in a corner near the mirrors. I lock eyes with some middle aged man that's stretching and I quickly look away and remind myself to concentrate on my running. So I try again to watch TV, but the same thing happens, my eyes start wandering to the mirror, and before I know it, I've locked eyes with the guy AGAIN. So I turn around and tell myself that okay, that happens, I'm sure it was just a coincidence, but I hope he doesn't think I'm trying to check him out or I'm just being a creeper, or maybe he's being the creeper? Who knows. So I'm concentrating EXTRA hard this time on my running, and low and behold, for a THIRD time I lock eyes with this guy. I'm at the point where I know that I can't look at him again or he's going to really wonder what I'm doing. So, my eyes lock to my mileage and my speed and I spend the rest of my workout trying to get it all over with, hoping this guy either leaves the gym or goes somewhere out of my sight. I finished my workout 1/2 mile shorter than my goal for the day, but I'm overall pretty happy with day 1. Best of all, when I got off the treadmill the man was gone and I avoided what could've been an awkward exit from the gym. I'm ready to spend the rest of my day suntanning, and excited for another couple of miles tomorrow!

3.5 down/71.5 to go!

Why Would I Put Myself Through This?

I guess an explanation is in order as to why I have decided to put myself through running 75 miles in 30 days. At the end of January last year, I was about to begin writing a thesis that would determine whether or not I would get a Master’s degree, and needless to say, I was stressed. I had no idea what was in front of me, but what I did know was I planned on tackling it head on, knowing I’d be spending hours writing and editing and rewriting. I also knew I was going to have time for very little other than writing. I started up a conversation with one of my long-time friends about running and working out, which is usually what we talk about when we happen to both be online every couple of weeks. This time, my friend was telling me about these “running challenges” that he’s started to do, where he picks a number of miles, and he plans to run that number of miles in a month. He said he had just finished running 100 miles in January. Now this friend of mine is someone that I just LOVE to be competitive with. No matter what, I want to be better than him at whatever he is doing and more. Mostly because he’s the cocky type that rubs things in your face if you don’t do something correctly or if he does it better. So of course, I tell him I want to try it, momentarily forgetting about this soon to be 80 page paper I was going to be bombarded with in the upcoming months. Once I said it, it was over. He challenged me to run 75 miles in February, and I knew once the challenge was set I was going to have to do it, thesis or not.

When I brought this idea up to one of my other friends, he mentioned that he had just been reading about these people who do “running streaks”, where people literally go years without ever missing a day of running. All they had to do was run at least one mile a day without walking. So of course, feeling completely overly ambitious, I decided to try that ON TOP of my 75 miles. Piece of cake right?

I ended up completing the 75 miles, and continued my running streak for another couple of weeks, resulting in running 41 days straight. Then I went to Puerto Rico for Spring Break, and tequila clearly took precedent over my runs. However, looking back on the time I spent doing these challenges, I saw that overall I was a lot less stressed, I didn’t get my usual winter time blues (or sniffles) and I was definitely in the best shape I had been in since my field hockey preseason days. It was also a great break from my thesis writing, which I managed to do successfully, and surprisingly with little stress. Since moving to New York City, I’ve lacked the motivation to get myself back in gear, and have decided to try these challenges again. This time, because I don’t have someone breathing down my neck every day and checking how many miles I ran (gotta love those competitive friends) I decided to blog my every day, and every run, to see if a year later, I can do 75 miles in 30 days. Nonetheless, it should be interesting.