Author: mrsartis

Sixteen weeks? Really? Wow…

Basics out of the way. Bad scale week. Up a little, but that’s my pattern–good week, bad week–so I’ll ride it out.

More importantly, the running is awesome. It’s going well. I’m loving it, I’m loving pushing myself, and I wish I could be out there more and more. I’m already starting to plan out next year’s race schedule and thinking about building my training plans. Going to change it up some and try some different things in the spirit of ‘if you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.’ Big goals are suddenly seeming more and more possible and I’m beside myself with the excitement of it.

LOVING the new shoes, and so are my joints. I ran minimal for YEARS. And I still love minimal shoes–the main reason I switched is that my old shoes–the New Balance Minimus–are no longer in production. I also thought that with my IT band/hip/knee issues a little bit of cushion might benefit me. Turns out it has. I’m definitely recovering faster and feeling better immediately after long runs with some shock absorption. I’ll definitely be ordering another pair to start working into the rotation since I’ll be running a lot. Also in the market for a new pair of trail shoes for winter–I’ll be on the dreadmill more, but when I do go out I like something with a *little* more tread than road shoes.

Running *can* be an inexpensive sport/hobby–but what fun is that?

Lemieux Foundation Pens 6.6k this weekend. Planning another PR. One of my favorite races of the year. Can’t wait. More about that on Monday. Have a good weekend folks.

One of my goals when I started running again was to get my running back to a point that I could finish one of my favorite races–the EQT Pittsburgh 10-miler–in under two hours. It seemed like a stretch, but doable if I worked hard enough. Last weekend I went out for a 10-mile training run to see where I was at. I forgot to use KT Tape on my legs and had to walk a significant stretch, but still managed to come in around 2:15. So I tried again this weekend, I remembered to tape my legs, shook up my intervals a little bit (5 on/2 off) and came in at 1:57:21. Mind. Blown. My PR for that race is 1:55:29, and I’ve got about a month…I have to go for it.

If you had told me in January, in June, hell even in August, that by the end of September I would be breaking my long held PRs I would’ve told you that you were crazy. But here I am, doing just that. And it just makes me wonder what else is possible, and what else I’m capable of. I’m exceeding my own expectations. Which means it’s time to raise the bar.

Time to finish this year strong and come up with some new goals and a plan to achieve them. Time to dream big and push myself.

Make it a great week.

So there’s something to be said for trusting myself. Haven’t gone crazy food wise, but definitely let myself have more carbs and some things I would’ve turned down before. Worked out hard. Down 2 pounds, which puts me at the 25 lbs lost mark and leaves me with about 15 (give or take a few) to go.

Gearing up for another long run on Saturday. Long as I use KT Tape I should be fine, interested to see how close to 2 hours I can come in. The running is so good. So. Good right now. I love it. I love my new shoes. I wish I could be running all the time. I used to have an ‘off season’–I’d take the month or so between the 10-miler in November and the first of the new year off and only run if and when I felt like it before launching into a new training cycle. But not now. I have other races in mind. I have big goals. There is no ‘off season’.

It feels so good to have goals and a plan and passion again. Loving my life.

Happy Weekend, folks.

I didn’t post on Friday. The scale was up and I was pissed and just couldn’t even. I didn’t have anything to say, let alone anything positive or thoughtful. I know that I have a bad week after a good week. I know the fluctuations are normal. But I was pissed and I needed to be pissed and do some soul searching and get through it.  And now I’m over it and I can talk about it. I’ve said for weeks that I need to change things up, and now I’m finally actually doing it. The universe has sent me some clear signs and I’m listening.

I’ve been doing the same thing as far as food since this whole endeavor started. It worked fine at first, but now it’s not working as well. And after the third podcast said that sometimes the answer is to up your calories, and I finally admitted to myself that I’m always hungry, and that balancing the current calorie load with my more intense workouts and runs is stressing me out I decided to take a step back and re-evaluate. So I’m going to trust my body and trust the process. I’m going to eat what sounds good and what I want. I’m still measuring my portions and recording it, but I’m making the point to make the decision and eat first, then enter into MFP later. I want to see what happens when I’m giving my body what it asks for instead of forcing it to stay within somewhat arbitrary constraints. I started this weekend, guess we’ll see what the scale says on Friday. I’m giving it a solid 2 weeks, if not a whole month. Might set me back, but I somehow doubt it.

Got new running shoes this week–my beloved New Balance Minimus are too hard to come by, so I’ve branched out to the New Balance Zante v2. LOVE. THEM. Glad I read reviews, they run small so I ordered up half a size and they’re perfect. More shoe than I’m used to, but they’re still super light and I think the little extra cushion is good for me at this stage in the game–my joints are thankful for the shock absorption.

Running is going spectacular. Still completely blown away at how I’m progressing. So happy. Did the Flyby 5k at Pittsburgh International Airport on Saturday with the goal of beating my PR. And I crushed it. Previous 5k PR was 35:30. Saturday I managed 34:12. My big goal is to get my 5k time under 30 minutes, hopefully next July if not before–which sounds like a lot of time, but I set the PR I just broke 3 years ago, cutting more than 4 minutes in less than a year is a big goal. Lots of work ahead of me, but I know I can do it. This was the first year for the Flyby and it was a great event. Well organized, lots of fun, nice shirt (wore it for my long run yesterday), and a medal (they had me at medal). Definitely an event I’d do again.

(This is my PR face)

With just about a month to go to the EQT Pittsburgh 10-miler I need to get my long runs back in order, so I went out for 10 miles yesterday. I’ve been using KT Tape on my IT bands for my long runs as of late and wondered if it was actually helping me physically or if it was a psychological thing. Found out yesterday it’s definitely helping my physically as I had forgotten to tape and was struggling by the 8 mile mark. Lesson learned. Got my 10 in though, and all things considered, the time wasn’t awful–2:15:30, especially since I walked the last two miles back to the car. Goal for the EQT race is under 2 hours. Still need some work but I feel like that’s totally doable at this point.

Happy Monday, friends. Make it a good week.

Yesterday I ran the Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race 10k (that’s the full title, here in the ‘burgh we just refer to it as the Great Race). I’ve run it before, but not for a few years. Last time I ran it I was a month or so out from my first marathon and was at my heretofore fittest. I don’t do a lot of 10k races, so that has stood as my 10k PR. And I crushed it. I beat it by 4 minutes and 39 seconds.

Here’s the thing that I can’t get over though–the last time I ran that race I was at my ‘racing weight’ and what I consistently think of as my fittest. But here I am, still a solid 15-20 pounds heavier than my ‘racing weight’ and I am crushing it. I truly am coming back better and stronger than I was before. It’s a constant mental shift I’m working on–I’m in better shape than I give myself credit for. I can’t help but wonder what I’ll be capable of when I do get back to my ‘racing weight’ (that’s still one of my big goals, I’m not getting complacent just because my running is going well).

The other big thing that’s occurred to me lately is that I just wasn’t myself in so many little ways that I didn’t even notice until I caught myself doing them again–not only was I not running, but I wasn’t rapping when I did run (I use my hands, it keeps me loose yet pumped), I’d stopped wearing heels, and I don’t think I yelled at football once last season–how unbelievable is that? It feels so good to be myself again.

Next weekend’s 5k will be a challenge–I’m doing the Fly By 5k at Pittsburgh International Airport. Airport = flat course. Not my strong suit, I’m much better with a little bit of elevation change. But I also love a challenge and my goal is to beat my official 5k time of 35:30. (I technically did that during the race yesterday, the halfway point was 5k and I hit that at 35:26, but I don’t count it since it wasn’t a complete race, just a split.)

Treating myself to new running shoes when I get paid this week. Can’t wait to order them.

Happy Monday, friends. Have a good week.

Down 2.5 pounds this week. Happy about that. Rest day on Monday after Sunday’s race–tried to run but ended up walking. Great class Tuesday, chased with a solid training run on Wednesday. Felt good yesterday so I tried to run again but ended up walking a bit and heading home. Taking a class tonight and resting tomorrow. Great Race 10k on Sunday. Can’t. Wait. I haven’t done the Great Race for a couple years, and this is Andy’s first Great Race ever.

Still feeling renewed energy in my efforts. I signed up for the Fly By 5k at the airport next weekend, to be chased by a long run on Sunday. I need to get my long runs back in action, but I think taking a couple week break was good for me. Really hoping I can PR the 5k on Saturday–I was close last time, though 30 seconds can be an eternity in running.

I can’t wait to see what I can do on Sunday. And looking forward to the Expo and packet pickup on Saturday. Husband is in the mood to buy more running stuff, which I will never turn down.

Short and sweet this Friday. I’m sure I’ll have much more to say on Monday. Happy Weekend!

I’ve been having a rough few weeks. I’ve really struggled with myself and the process. Not seeing the progress I was wanting or expecting, and just struggling with myself. I was stuck in an old pattern of feeling inadequate, and believing I wasn’t good enough, wasn’t doing enough. I had a few awesome workouts. I didn’t work out much, but it was definitely a quality over quantity week. I only ran twice, but damn I ran hard, and my class on Tuesday was the strongest I’d felt in a long time. But still, come Friday night I was in a dark place with myself, I couldn’t seem to get out of my own shadow. I was stuck in my head and spinning my wheels. But I made a decision, that regardless how I felt, I was going to go shopping on Saturday and get a few new clothing items. It was time for some transitional pieces, and despite the little nag in the back of my head saying I didn’t ‘deserve’ them yet, I also could recognize that I feel best in my running clothes because they fit me better than anything else I have right now. So I went to Target. And I got a couple new pairs of jeans, a new dress, and a new pair of heels (and other stuff, because it’s Target, but whatever). I’d wanted more work clothes, but I wasn’t happy with my options at Target–dresses that didn’t appeal to me, and dress pants that didn’t fit quite right (I’m good in jeans, but frustratingly between sizes in dress pants, gah!). So I might need to hit up a Kohls or something soon. I know I should go thrifting, especially for my transitional pieces, but I do not have the patience for it. I just don’t. I have to be in the right mood for Gabe’s, Marhsall’s and TJ Maxx–actual thrift stores are more frustrating for me than those places. But I digress–I tried things on and was non-judgemental about them. If it didn’t fit quite right I passed. I tried on quite a bit, but I didn’t buy much. I didn’t settle. If I was iffy on it then it wasn’t worth it. And I feel like a rockstar in the things I got. I immediately came home and put on new jeans and heels. I have not felt that good about myself in months.

But there was still a hurdle to overcome. My running was stuck. I haven’t been able to progress my intervals. I ran my heart out on Wednesday, the day after a tough kettlebell workout, but it was short interval work. I’ve been running again for about 3 months at this point. I’m in fairly decent shape, I should be able to run longer intervals than I have been, but I just couldn’t make myself do it. I’d try, but I would always back off or talk myself out of it. I couldn’t tell you when the last time I ran a mile straight through was, even thought I knew–KNEW–I was in good enough shape to do at least that much. It was insanely frustrating to me, because also knew that if I could just get past that I would be fine. I just needed to prove to myself that I can do this. So we had a 5k race on Sunday morning, and my only goal going in was to beat my time from last month’s 5k race. I went in with no other expectations, but in my heart I had a feeling that it was the day I’d clear the mental hurdle. So I gave it all I had. I crushed my goal by shaving nearly 2:30 from my previous 5k time, and I came close to my PR (just about :30 off). But even better–I ran the whole first mile–at a 10:37 pace. At my fittest point 3 years ago I could do a mile in the 9s (when I was only going out for a mile). After yesterday, I’m good now. I got this, I know I got this. I know I can not only reach my goals but crush them. Still have 2 weeks left for September Beast Mode and I intend to finish strong. I really feel like I got my groove back.

Ever forward. Happy Monday…

Wow. Basically three months into this endeavor. And the scale gave me a big zero this week, despite having, arguably, two of the best workouts of my life. Lest I seem all sunshine and roses–rest assured I’m incredibly frustrated right now. But I’m trying to stay positive and forward focused. As I’ve been saying the past couple weeks, there are a million factors–my body is adjusting, I’m close to the set-point my body likes (though I’m personally not thrilled with), etc. etc. etc. I’m trying to shift my focus a bit and focus mostly on running and racing and how much I love it and making that progress.

I had an amazing run on Wednesday. I was sore post-class (because I killed it on Tuesday) but did everything I could to keep the ache to a dull roar because I wanted to run. And I ran my heart out after work. Intervals were still on the short side, but man, when I was running I was flying. I pushed the whole time, spent a lot of time in the 9s and 10s (I think I even flirted with the 8s a couple of times). I ran hard, like my life depended on it, and it felt amazing. I have a 5k on Sunday and I can’t wait to see what I can do then.

I also bit the bullet and joined Steel City Road Runners–about damn time. Thinking that maybe some group runs with pacers will help push me. Plus race and gear discounts. Why didn’t I do this sooner? Just stubborn I guess. Also re-upped my Half Fanatics and Marathon Maniacs memberships (even though I’m not planning on any fulls or ultras anytime soon) because running. Soon I need to invest in some new shoes…its endless but exciting to me and makes me happy. Looking forward to some good runs this weekend with the milder temps.

Happy Friday!

I did my long run for the week on Saturday. It was hot and miserable. I should have planned for Sunday when the weather was supposed to be better (and was) but I knew I wanted to go to church on Sunday for the ingathering ceremony, so I set out on Saturday morning. I didn’t get started as early as I had deluded myself that I would, but it wasn’t late. Traffic was a nightmare on my way to the Waterfront–the people who weren’t already in town tailgating for the Pitt/Penn State game were now on their way. I got to the Waterfront–finally–and got myself ready to head out.

It started off good. Really good. I got into a nice rhythm, I was moving along, it felt good. I had 9 miles on the training schedule and it seemed all would go well. Miles 1, 2, 3 flew by without much thought. Started to get tougher around mile 4. By mile 5 I had completely fallen apart. I lost my rhythm and couldn’t get it back. I had a brief moment of recovery–a song came on the playlist that perked me up–but I fell apart again soon after. I ended up walking most of the last 3 miles back to the car. Nine miles done, but not the 9 I’d wanted or hoped for. Not the 9 I’d needed to feel confident about my upcoming race.

I blame the weather in part. It was pretty awful to be doing distance. I should’ve gone earlier or planned better so I could do it Sunday. But you don’t always have the weather you want for races, so I’m also keen on making myself work with sub-optimal conditions. If I only ran in weather I liked I wouldn’t run all summer. More than anything I think I was projecting too much onto the run. I wanted it and needed it to be too much. Running isn’t just an activity in my life–it’s a relationship. And like any relationship, if you expect too much, if you don’t give enough, you’ll be disappointed. More than the weather, something was off balance on Saturday’s run. I couldn’t get out of my head enough to just let it be what it was. And that’s part of the magic for me…I can go out with a planned number of miles, but after that I have to get out of the way and let it be what it is.

So Saturday did not go as planned. Yesterday I was not supposed to run, I was supposed to do my active recovery workout. But after church, the weather was just too nice and I felt good, so I went out for an easy 5k and it was excellent. Really happy with my push and pacing. Cleared my head in the way that I needed. I let it be what it was and got out of my own way.

I have races the next two weekends so no long run redemption for a couple of weeks, but I’m looking forward to it when it happens.

Wow. Hard to believe I’ve been back at this for almost 3 months. At this point it just kind of feels like life, which is good because it kind of should be. So scale check-in…down 2.5 from last Friday (another half pound from last weekend). Headed in the right direction. Running is going well. I’m happy with how I’m pushing for intervals and distance is coming back. Hill sprints tonight after work and I’m looking forward to them. Seriously. Never thought I’d like them, but I kinda do. It’s a fun challenge for me. Cannot wait for fall races, some of my favorites of the year. I’m in love with running again. I want to do it all the time, I can’t wait to get out there after work and on the weekends. I’m trying to remain diligent about cross training because it is important, but all I really want to do is run. I need to bottle this for when I have to run on the treadmill this winter, because that is significantly less fun for me but necessary.

Happy to be heading into another weekend. The work week has been tough, and I’m looking forward to some runs and relaxation. And wine.