Swimming is Coming Along :)

Happy to report my swimming is coming along. Had a great swim workout at the pool tonight. My breathing felt good, my strokes more even, and overall much smoother. It was a hectic day at work, and I got real stress relief tonight at the pool for the first time. 20 lengths of the pool, which is the distance of the sprint triathlon, so guess what? It's doable. :)

Made an excellent Vegetarian Mexican Salad last night, and enjoyed again today in a lunch meeting. 

 

My Shitty Motivation & Top Five Reasons I LOVE To Run

I'd like to say that I have been trucking along like I always have and my running has been amazing and I haven't been a giant grouchy baby, BUT that's not the case... I haven't been out for a run for about two weeks, not a short shitty one, not on my treadmill, not a damn single one... Why? No idea. I am a grouch about it too. I have been sick, fair enough, but I have been better since yesterday... I swam yesterday, yes, but really? That too is an excuse. My iron is low, leaving me on the anemic side of things, again, lame excuse. So tonight, I will quit being such a baby, a grouch and weiner and get out for a run. 

Top 5 Reasons That I Love To Run (Maybe I just need a reminder)

1. My number one reason will always be that it helps me find peace. It is me running with me. And loving it. 

2. Running starts my day out or ends my day right, it leaves me feeling rejuvenated.  

 3. Running improves my mood, and takes all the stress that I carry around away, in turn making me an easier person to be around, and live with...

4. Running is good for you. I feel healthiest when I am running. 

5. I love buying new running shoes!!! Ha!

Swimming...

Well tonight while the girls were at swimming lessons, Bill and I did a little swimming of our own. It never ceases to amaze me that something I have done all my life, I can be so crappy at technically. It felt good to be in the water, and my lungs were stronger than previously when I swam. It's going to take time and patience, certainly not my strongest traits...

Haili's 8th Birthday

Successfully had too many children in Spot On Yogurt for my oldest daughters 8th birthday. Was a very nice night. :) 

Epic Fail

So the morning of the Portland Marathon came and I was not at the starting line... I was lying in bed, in my MILs house, in between bouts of puking... Disappointed doesn't begin to describe the failure that I was feeling... Flat painful failure.

Marathon Eve... And Vomitting

What the hell? You train twenty weeks, really train, in the early morning, on the weekend, at night. We are talking hours away from your family every week... HOURS... Then the week of the race, you start getting sick. The Friday before you are sick in bed. Saturday, at the expo, still vomitting... You know, what the hell??? 

Do I run anyways? Do I say screw a PR and just go run, just get the race in, stopping to puke along the way? Do I just get out there and try? And, if I start dying, stop. 

Or do I listen to my loving husband, and take it easy and run a different marathon in the next few weeks? To prepare for his convincing chat he checked the marathon guide website, and rattled off three other marathons in the next few weeks. (Don't tell Bill, he sounded like the voice of reason...) 

I think I'll sleep on it, see how I feel in the morning... It's only 26.2 miles... FML. 

Lazy, lazy bones...

I don't know what is going on with me this week... Seems I had a very similar experience last year while training for the Wenatchee Marathon... I did my final long run, I had a week and a half left, and my body was finally in a kind of f-you mood... This last week, I have been a lazy, lazy, lazy lady... I have no idea why. I have been sleeping in, which I typically do not do. I have been eating like shit, which I typically try not to do... And yet, I just keep on doing it... So today, is Wednesday, and today I quit being a lazy bones... I will run tonight, I need at least two good runs before the marathon, so I don't cramp up, shit my pants and die on Sunday... So tonight, since I couldn't be bothered to get my run in the morning, I'll run. And again on Friday morning, as we are leaving for Portland after work... 

Then what? Bill initially said that he wanted to start training for a triathlon with me... But he hasn't been running, so I am not sure if that is still his plan... Regardless, I think that is the direction that I want to start steering my training... And honestly, I really need to get some strength training back into my life... My amazing sister bought me a kettlebell for my birthday and I have some dumbbells; so I have no good excuse to not start strength training at home... The girls will start swimming lessons tomorrow in lieu of gymnastics, so I will be able to swim twice a week at least while they are busy with that. And that works perfectly with my Tuesday/Thursday work schedule... Which triathlon you say? The Onion Man triathlon is an olympic distance race, meaning that it has a 1.5km swim in open water, a 40km bike ride and a 10k run, and is not until May, giving me plenty of time to learn to swim like an athlete... Swimming is going to be the most difficult part for me. Every time I swim I look like a cross between a shark attack and drowning toddler... Its not a good look, trust me...