Monday November 13th

Monday:... Clinic day today and Kevin was gone this evening.   I did great getting all of my protein in today.  I feel so much fuller when I hit the protein goal.  I wanted to get some weights in, the thigh challenge and a spin.  I had Nathan come downstairs and work out with me which allowed us to spend some time together but also got me to get part of my workout in a little earlier.  I did the thigh challenge - watching him do squats was hysterical and he was way faster at burpees than me.  After he went to bed I did a ten mile bike ride on the spin bike.  I ALWAYS watch Maverick while on the bike.  I literally know every word and have a few stopping points that seem like good breaks.   Tonight I ended right after the "bird strike scene" which is a good stopping point - Iceman's death is coming up shortly.  I know, weird.   Also today I am SO EXCITED that I got my #24 Cam Bynum Vikings jersey in the mail.  I will share more about why I am excited about him later this week.  SKOL!

Today's workout: thigh challenge, leg weights, and 10 mile spin
Nutrition:  hit goals, especially protein

Monday November 6

NYC Marathon!  It is marathon Monday in New York City and I was not there.  For the second year in a row, I was not there at the race.  I will share more about that in the coming weeks.  For now, I am ok with not being there but REALLY look forward to the time I actually do get to race.

Fall Walk

Fall walking weather:  Today was a perfect fall day.  I went back and forth about taking the day off but this week I have a busy schedule with travel days to Duluth for work so I knew I needed to get something done.  Whatever I was going to do I wanted to do it before the Vikings game.  I thought about spinning but I am wondering if that is what is causing some knee and hip swelling.  I decided to go for a walk and didn't want my six year old sitting in the house so I brought him and the dog along.  We went two miles.  It was nice and easy.  He loves to walk and kept up pretty good.  The weather was so nice the dog even went for a swim in Lake Superior (I think she would go even it if was cold).  My hips feel pretty good today after a good stretch last night but I can still feel that underlying pain.   I didn't get much of a calorie burn in today but at least moved some.   Busy week ahead and most importantly..... VIKINGS with the WIN!

Quit. Don't quit.

November 4th Run.  I was a bit sore this morning.  I had a good week of training.  The weather was nice so I decided my workout of the day would be an outside three mile run.  This was one of those runs that really makes you hate running.  I was about a mile in a miserable.  My hips were tight and my right knee was sore.  Overall it was just hard.  At 1.2 miles I stopped.  I quit.  I started walking home.   Then the negative self talk started.  After a few blocks I started thinking about motivation versus discipline.  I am motivated.  I have a long list of reasons why I a motivated.  

The actual definition of motivated is:  having an incentive or strong desire to do well or succeed in some pursuit.  Yep, got that.  Discipline on the other hand is defined as:  the ability to make yourself do something even if it is difficult so that you achieve a goal.  OK, work needed there.  As I was making the walk home, I was thinking motivation versus discipline in my mind.  I decided to be disciplined  I turned back around and resumed my run.  I did end up completing all three miles.   The last I really started to loosen up and the third mile was my fastest.   It was still slower than I have been but it was much better than the first mile. 

Stretching.  I stretched for a few minutes after my run and Saturday evening I did some extensive stretching.  I used a massage gun and also stretched the IT band.  I hope tracking my daily pain can be correlated to weather I stretch or not.

Journal Intro

Blog and a Journal?  Yes.  Writing is something I have always been interested in but really - who has time when you're a busy mom with two jobs.  Not to mention, when you have completed a doctorate degree that required a great deal of writing, why would you write again?  I know this won't be a well read journal and that's ok.  I also know that writing won't really hold me accountable for my training.  I know that writing won't get the runs done for me.  I do hope that writing about my training helps me find some patterns on what works and what doesn't.  I have been struggling for awhile.  I have lots of thoughts on why but also I have no idea.  I have had a tremendous deal of pain lately which I thought was just from weight gain and lack of stretching but I also think there might be a little more to it than that.  I am frustrated and trying to remain positive but it is getting hard.  I am excited to start this training cycle with my team and that excitement keeps me positive for awhile.