Go With The Flow

Apparently this is to be the year of Never Ending Winter here in The 'Boken. Every time the snow finally starts to melt, we get pummeled again and this is making it a teeny bit difficult to run outdoors. I'm not opposed to running through some snow or slush, but once we are taking snow drifts and knee-deep puddles, well, I'm out. If I had me some waterproof running shoes with ice-proof tread, I would brave it, but as it stands, I am running in the same old Asics I've been using for the past year (gonna have to invest in a new pair before the race, but can't quite bring myself to do it yet) and they are not immune to winterified sidewalks. In all fairness to me, it hasn't even been possible to see the sidewalks the past couple of days and I am not willing to risk breaking an ankle while running on sidewalk-hiding glaciers. And so, it's been off to the gym for me.

The gym...how I ever used to think running on a treadmill was preferable to running outside, I will never know. Now I go to the gym and after three miles of going NOWHERE, I am ready to poke my eyes out. But, I am trying desperately to stick to the training schedule, so run on the treadmill, I do. This is part of my learning to go with the flow. It is becoming readily apparent that I am going to have to be flexible and not be too hard on myself about sticking precisely to the training schedule. I am going to have to accept that some weeks I'll need to trade days and do cardio on a run day and a run on a cardio day. I'm going to have to accept that occasionally there will be cardio days where I never make it to the gym and I'm going to have to accept that I am going to have to do the occasional run in the gym rather than out on the streets. Does it count? Does running on the treadmill count in terms of training? I'm going with yes. Having been a runner for awhile, I certainly know that running on a treadmill is not exactly the same as running outside. I would say it's a good 10% easier. That said, it's better than not running. And it's still the act of running, easier terrain or not, so, for now, it's going to have to do.

This Week:

Sunday - Rest Day. Okay, not really a rest day because the Steelers were in the Playoffs and if you think I watched that without a lot of cardiovascular activity, you are sorely mistaken.

Monday - This was supposed to be a cardio day, but due to the fact that I had meetings in DC Tuesday, I switched up and did my 5 mile run this day. Went well. Actually, really well. I was thrilled to see that maybe working up to longer runs is really going to payoff!

Tuesday - Nothing. I should have done some sort of cross-training, but I got up at 6am to drive down to DC, spent the entire day in the office, grabbed a quick dinner with a friend and then drove right back up to NYC. Longest. Day. Ever.

Wednesday - Okay, I admit it...more nothing. I know...Bad Erin! I was exhausted from the day before and it dumped snow literally all day long and, it's not excuse, but I simply couldn't get my arse in gear.

Thursday - Guilt. Guilt. Guilt. And yet, I slacked. Again. K and I had commitments all afternoon and between feedings and naps and needing to run errands in the morning, I didn't get to the gym before the afternoon 'o' commitments started. Then, though I had planned to go in the evening, by the time we got back home at 530, I crashed. Do you ever have days like that? Days where you're exhausted with no tangible explanation? I do. I hate them. They are miserable days where everything feels wrong somehow...tiring...cloudy...I hate those days, but I have them. This time, I couldn't convince myself to work it out vs sleep it out.

Friday - FINALLY back on the horse. I made this my 3 mile run day (it should have been a 5) since I didn't run the day before and got in a good Myrtl and Back workout as well. Felt, not surprisingly, blech. That's what I get for slacking. But, I made it through and once it was over, felt SO much better. Of course, because I have a baby, nothing is easy. I tried to plan the run so that it wouldn't interfere with any of K's feedings or naps, but it seriously isn't possible, no matter how perfectly I try to plan. K was having a tough day...When I took her to the gym's daycare the week before, she leaped right into the nanny's arms without hesitation. This time, she was NOT happy to be there and after only about 10 minutes, the daycare provider came out to get me off the treadmill because K was inconsolable. I spent the next 15 minutes getting her calmed down, distracted by the toys and happy enough that I could slip back out the door without her freaking. Needless to say, the delay meant that our timing was completely thrown off and she not only missed breakfast (Only the solids, not the bottle; I'm not starving her), fell asleep in the car on the ride home and then refused to go back down. This means she had a 10 minute vs a 1-2 hour morning nap. Never bodes well for the afternoon. The best laid plans...

Saturday - TGIS. Chris took Kayla in the morning so that I could get up and for a run. I did a 5 mile hill run along with the Myrtl, Pedestal and Lunge routines. I felt awesome. Doing 5 miles on the treadmill makes for a long 5 miles, but it was great to get through the workout and feel like those few days of slacking off haven't totally sabotaged my workout routine. And it was also nice to get to workout without worrying about timing and schedules and whether or not K was happy in the daycare center...sometimes a mama needs a break.

Sunday - Rest Day. Theoretically. I was going to do some cross-training today to make up for my slacker performance the rest of the week, but as I'll be running 3 miles Monday, followed by 5 miles on Tuesday, I'm sticking with the rest day instead. I'm still worried about overdoing it and pissing off my knee pre-race, so I'm trying to take it easy (as easy as you can take it when you're now running 16+ miles a week...). Right? Wrong? Who knows. But here's to getting back on track next week what with having no travel plans or other schedule-impeding weirdness. I am thinking of making the change from doing the longer run on Saturday vs Friday permanent though. It's really nice to be able to do that when Chris is here and I don't have to worry about K. I figure this will be especially true as that run gets longer and longer. I'm not sure how trying to do 10 miles with K either in tow or in daycare would work. Shouldn't be too hard to switch the schedule around hopefully. Again, gotta go with the flow.