A Week on the Couch and Bondi Band Giveaway

First off, have you signed up for the Bondi Band giveaway?  If not, go here and scroll down to the Giveaway information.  I am trying to give these away, people!  No commitment necessary, just a comment.

Sick last week

So, the past week was kind of a crappy one for running.  (Pun intended; you'll find out why in a second. In fact, here it is....) I was sick.  Last week I wrote about how I had a fantastic weekend away, only to come home and have a terrible, dragging, no-pep-in-your-step long run.  Well, it turns out, that was probably because I was incubating some sickie germs, which then manifested themselves the next day as a stomach bug of some kind.  (Here's where the pun comes in, so pay attention, because I won't spell it out.)  You can insert typical stomach bug symptoms here, because I will not speak of them out loud.  Let's just say that one room of my house and I became fairly well acquainted over a 24-hour period.  While that wasn't fun, what was worse was the brief spell of fever and chills that I suffered and then the days of fatigue that followed.  Ugh.

Now, I hate being sick.  I imagine most people do.  However, what I find most galling and irritating is how it messes with my workout schedule.  Here I was all ready to start getting into speed work, needing to get myself back into strength training gear, which I had somehow slipped out of right before the Point Bock Run a few weeks earlier, and I didn't have the oomph to even go for a walk.

So, last week was kind of a loss.  I did manage to attend my first ever heated yoga class Tuesday morning before realizing I was sick.  I'll write about that more another time.  I also did some rowing that morning.  But then Wednesday and Thursday I did nothing.  Friday I was feeling a bit better, so I managed a slow 30 minutes on the elliptical.  An attempt to jog on the treadmill had me stopping after one minute and 11 seconds, though.  I felt like I was at mile 20 of a marathon.  My legs had hit the wall.  I guess I hadn't made up the calories and hydration enough for that type of workout.  Saturday I was too tired again to exercise, so instead it was another day on the couch.

Worse than not feeling well enough to exercise was the guilty feeling I had that I might have made others sick, too.  I mean, I had just come from a girls' weekend away, and three of my friends were running marathons this weekend - two out of town.  I was so paranoid that they would get sick that I didn't even write this blog post until today - after the weekend, because I thought if there is ANYTHING to the power of suggestion, I didn't want to suggest anything.  But, now, all three marathons are in the books, so I feel better about confessing.  (By the way, great job, guys, you did amazing!)  I realize that it was all beyond my control, and chances are good I wasn't even sick while I was at the cottage.  After all, I came home to a sick daughter.  Still, I couldn't stop myself from worrying.  It's the type of person I am, I guess.  So, all's well that ends well.

My last long run

In fact, it has ended well.  I went out and did an amazing long run yesterday.  (Like the way I am dressed for mid-70-degree weather in MARCH?  Is this what global warming looks like, or is it just a fluke? It is supposed to be snowy and miserable this time of year.)

I won't say it felt the best ever, but it was amazing because it didn't suck.  I managed eight miles without walk breaks at an average 10:05 pace.  I was pleased that I could keep the pace slow in the first mile rather than take off sprinting like I normally do, and I think that helped me keep an even pace for the rest of the run.  I did stop to refuel at my car at the halfway point, and I got stopped by a train unhooking cars with about a mile to go, but otherwise I kept chugging along.  My legs did feel tired for a lot of the run, but I took it slowly and managed to get my eight miles in.  Yay!  Afterward, I felt good enough to head in to the gym and put in 39 minutes on the elliptical to round out my two-hour "long-run" workout.  It felt good.  Of course, since my shin hadn't bothered me at all with all the rest it had had, it was a bit of a disappointment to feel the familiar pain upon finishing exercise, but I guess what did I expect?  At least I don't notice it hurting while exercising.

I decided to throw caution to the wind shoe-wise and ended up wearing my Cortanas (pictured on my feet) for the whole run.  For the most part, they felt pretty good.  I didn't feel the lower leg stress that I had on the previous two workouts, so I think I am adjusting nicely to the 4mm drop.  However, I did notice a bit of an ache at the base of my right foot's big toe.  It wasn't as bad as it had been with the Pure Connect Flow, though, so I am hoping it is something I can work through.  I do notice that most shoes are a lot less flexible than the Pegasus I had been wearing, so maybe I just have to adjust to that.  (One salesperson described the Pegasus as the marshmallow of shoes.  Is that why I found them so sweet for so long?)  Anyway, when I mentioned the toe ache to my Hubby, a.k.a. Distance Dude, his response? "Weird."  So helpful.

St. Patrick's Day!

So, did everyone have a nice St. Patrick's Day?  We did in the Average Runner household.  We made a typical Irish dinner - well, as typical of one as people who are vegetarian and don't live in Ireland can make, I guess.   On the menu were:

Irish Soda Bread

Veg. Irish Stew

(You'll have to crank your neck or use your imagination, because I
seem incapable of flipping this photo around.  Too bad, too,
because it is pretty.)  Crazy Green Smoothie.

 Finally, to wrap up - some random photos from life.

E. learning to ride her two-wheel bike this weekend.

Hubby finally put up the running-medal hanger I made for
him for Christmas.  It doesn't look half bad!

Question time!  I struggle with knowing whether or not my body is ready for activity again after being sick, so I'd like to know what guidelines you use to know you are ready for exercise again after being under the weather?  

BONUS Recipe for Crazy Green Smoothie:

1 cup of soymilk
2 cups of fresh spinach
1 apple, quartered
1 orange, peeled
2 kiwis, peeled
2 cups of frozen peaches and pineapple mixed
1 handful of ice cubes

Throw it in the blender and out comes the fun, green smoothie you see above.  It tastes really sweet and refreshing.  We'll definitely be making that again.