Taking a break from breaks

After a two-week break from work, I’d like to say I’m refreshed and renewed. But, it would be a lie.

Unfortunately, along with my two-week break from work, I took a two-week break from blogging, an almost two-week break from the computer, a two-week break from eating or drinking anything remotely healthy (OK, that's not entirely true, but I ate a lot of crap), and a one-week break from running. So, now I feel like crap. But, with the new year comes a new me (or so it seems like the thing to say).

Prior to being new and improved, here’s what happened:

I never really got in the Christmas spirit this year, and I don’t know why. I put up the Christmas tree late. I started listening to Christmas music late. I never watched Christmas Vacation or Elf. I didn’t send out Christmas cards. Any gift I sent was late, and I still haven’t sent some (oops). I’m even still waiting on one of my brother’s gifts to arrive so that I can send it late.

I did receive this awesome Elvis ornament from Rachael (Thanks!) via Jenny’s Christmas ornament exchange. It rocks! And it arrived on time (unlike the one I sent). Sorry, Rachael.

Christmas was nice, but I still wasn’t in the holiday spirit. I even slept the latest on Christmas morning. That never happens. Well, every other day it does, but not that day.

After the Christmas festivities (and after family left town), I still had a week of vacation. So, we decided to take a trip. A dreaded road trip. I hate road trips. I hate sitting in the car for much more than an hour. So, an 8-hour car ride is my idea of torture. But, driving meant that Chloe could come with us. I guess she’s worth it.

This is at the Hard Rock in Biloxi. Chloe likes Billy Idol, apparently.

Family photo on the beach. It was cold. Like 62 degrees!

After spending a few days in Biloxi, Mississippi, we headed to Destin, Florida, to spend the new year with friends. After celebrating last New Year’s Eve out with sparkley hats, noisemakers and champagne, I was ready to do it again. Unfortunately, our friends were not. They claim New Year’s Eve is amateur drunk night. They are probably right, but I was a bit disappointed. So, we hung out at their beach condo (not a bad deal, I guess), grilled steaks, drank lots of wine (and champagne at midnight), watched fireworks and rang in 2012.

After getting home (finally … I still hate road trips), I had a day to put away the Christmas decorations, do laundry, watch some pretty awesome bowl games (although the best is yet to come … Cotton Bowl on Jan. 6 – go Cats!), relax (and not get in the car once) and try to head off the looming doom of returning to work.

Even though there is some reluctance about returning to work (not that work is bad (most of the time), but if given the choice, I’d rather not work), I am ready to return to a schedule. A schedule that includes running on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings. I’ve missed it.

Thanks, running, for keeping me from doing something drastic

Man, the last few weeks have been aggressive. Well, mainly work is aggressive. But, I see the end, the beautiful end. I have two glorious weeks of vacation. I'm elated beyond elated. Seriously, without this break, I could have done something drastic. Like quit my job. With no backup plan. Uncool, Jina. Uncool.

This could be a bit dramatic ...

Amidst all the madness, I kept running (well, I skipped a few long runs, but always make it to my weekly speed workouts). And, I'm thankful I did. It's probably the only thing that kept me from doing something drastic earlier. Like quit my job.

This week's runs:

• Tuesday: Oh, you pesky intervals. But, I don't hate you as much as I used to. With four intervals (4 minutes hard, 3 minutes easy), I pushed it pretty hard ... I think. I brought my Garmin, but somehow turned the GPS off. Smart. So, I don't have numbers for how I did. Just my feeling, and I feel like our group did well.
• Thursday: Oh, you pesky tempo run. I think I now hate you more than intervals. I'm just not good at choosing my tempo pace. I feel like my running partner and I started off fast (maybe too fast), and slowed down toward the end. I say "I feel" because I forgot my Garmin. I didn't even have a backup watch. But, after estimating our distance and knowing we ran for 50 minutes, I don't think we did too shabby. Again, I say "I think" because I'm an idiot that forgot her Garmin.

My weekend running plans:

• Saturday: Oh, you pesky progressive run. It's not the run that I have trouble with, it's the timing. My boyfriend works out of town during the week and comes home every weekend. Weekends are our time. Saturdays are for dog parks, shopping, Mexican food, walks, movies, whatever. Running usually doesn't fit in. But, I'm trying to make it a priority to do this run. I can do it Friday or Saturday. I just have to do a progressive 30-minute run. Surely, I can fit that.
• Sunday: Oh, you pesky fun long run. This is early in the morning (7:30 a.m., ugh), but my boyfriend sleeps late so it isn't doesn't interfere with our time. And, I actually usually really enjoy this run. Scenic route along the water, early morning air and Derek Jeter's house (I'm still a little irritated I haven't seen him yet). This week, we're running 10 miles.

A few good decisions

I’m not the best decision maker. In fact, I can count on one hand the good, major decisions I’ve made in my life (this doesn’t include daily decisions like choosing to drink a Diet Dr. Pepper or watching the Miami Dolphins to get a glimpse of Reggie Bush – these are obviously both excellent decisions, though). I’m talking major, life-changing decisions. I’m terrible at those, just terrible.

Here are my only good decisions on major issues in my life:

1.   Choosing a college. Kansas State rocked my world, and it prepared me for life. I loved every minute of school, and I appreciate the programs, professors and life at Kansas State.

2.   Getting a dog (both of them). Maggie came first, and she was the best thing in my life. Then, after her death, Chloe came along at just the right time. She rocks, and I’m happy every day I spend with her. (On a side note, a number of years ago I was asked to list five things I’d like to accomplish in the next five years. Number one on my list: Get a puppy. This wasn’t greeted with enthusiasm, as I was told this was a “serious” exercise. Well, I was serious. And, I’m happy I accomplished this goal every day of my life.)

     

3.   Changing jobs. My last job wore on me. Well, not the job itself, but the work environment: home. I know, I know. It sounds so great. No commute. You can start laundry or dinner. You don’t have to dress up. All of those are nice. But, the one thing I think people tend to forget: no human interaction (besides the UPS guy ... poor guy). After three years of working at home, I need coworkers. Real, live coworkers. Thankfully, with my current job, I have them. And, I enjoy my job (most days).

4.   Joining a training group for the Women’s Half Marathon. I’m happy every day I go to my running group. I’m amazed at what I’ve accomplished – things I never thought I could do. This program made me a runner for life, and I’ll be forever grateful.

Day 26 (Oct. 6)

After a crappy day at work (with more crappy work to follow later that evening), I really needed to run on Thursday night. The plan: run a total of 45 minutes, consisting of a 10-minute warm up, 25-minute tempo run and a 10-minute cool down.

I think I was so happy to be running that I took off too fast. My warm up was quicker than usual. When I got to my 25-minute tempo run, I went faster ... and it felt really good at first. There's something about really stretching out your legs that feels so good. But, it didn't feel good for long. My legs were tired 10 minutes into the 25-minute hard interval. They just felt fatigued. I managed to keep going at a decent speed, but slower than when I started my interval. I made it 20 minutes into the interval at a decent pace, but then I had to slow down to a ridiculously slow jog for the remainder of the time.

I just felt like I didn't have any energy, and my legs were tired. They weren't sore or painful. It just felt like they were over it (as I was with my work week).

Whenever I have a bad run, which is thankfully a lot less frequently than it used to be, I always evaluate what I did that day that could have contributed to it. So, after evaluating my day, I came up with three possibilities: (1). I didn't get much sleep the night before (or really all that week, actually); (2). I didn't eat on my usual schedule, and I ate a different lunch than normal; (3). My legs actually are fatigued – especially after playing beach volleyball the day before. All seem like reasonable explanations, not excuses (I hope).

I decided I need to include some visual element in each of my posts. So, I decided to start taking a picture of myself before or after each run. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, our training group meets at Fit2Run in International Plaza, a rather spiffy mall.

So, I figured I'd take a picture of myself before I headed in to meet the group. I felt like such a 16-year-old taking a picture in my car. I got embarrassed, but I still took a few shots because of my vow to include photos. I'm dedicated to enhancing my blog posts, darn it!

The resulting photo cracks me up! It says, "I'm totally doing something a teenager would do, and I'm embarrassed because I'm over 30."

Oh, well. I'll keep working on the photos. And, try to start acting my age ... nah, that's no fun. But, I will start trying to get more sleep. Sheesh! Talk about dark circles.

Day 22 (Sept. 27)

Due to a pesky thing called work, I missed our group training run on Tuesday. Boo!

But, I was determined to stay on track. After getting home late, and after it raining buckets during the day, I decided to hit the craptastic gym for a treadmill run. I know, I know. I already said I highly disliked the treadmill and that sorry excuse for a gym. But, it was after 9 p.m. by the time I was ready to run. And, there are some deep puddles around the neighborhood from the buckets of rain we’ve been getting lately (How do I know this? I stepped in one while walking my dog. It was a foot deep, seriously.).

When I arrived at the gym that looks more like a kitchen, I noticed the fan was unplugged. Since I sweat an extreme amount last time, the first thing I did was plug it in and turn it on. Well, there was a reason it was unplugged, it didn’t work. Argh!

I had some issues getting the TV working, too, but thank goodness, it eventually came on. After finding the Rays-Yankees game (Go Rays!), I hit the treadmill. After my last incident with the safety key on one of the treadmills, I decided to give the other one a shot.

Tonight was a speed interval night: four, three-minute hard intervals followed by three-minute jogs, with a total run of 45 minutes. All was well for about four minutes. Then, I started sweating profusely. Darn! This so-called gym is blazing hot!



I ran a 10-minute warm up, and then I started in on the speed intervals. I ran two of the three-minute hard intervals with three-minute jogs in between each. After my third three-minute hard interval, I walked the three minutes (solely due to sweat recovery) instead of jogging. Sweat was beaded on my arms. Sheesh! I did the next hard interval with a three-minute recovery walk (again to try and control the sweat). I ran the remaining time slowly (and sweat profusely). Man! I’m OK with the limited equipment, kitchen-like appearance, and cheesy artwork, but get some decent ventilation in this place, people!

Knowing for certain that this ridiculous amount of sweat would come across in a photo, I snapped one after the run.

Um, hmm. Maybe not. Sweaty, yes. But, it really doesn’t convey the level of sweat that was occurring (although it does showcase one of the causes – the broken fan).

I’m glad I got the run accomplished, even if it was in a sauna setting. So many nights after working late, I crawl home, watch a little TV and hit the bed. Things are changing, though! This training group keeps me extremely accountable – I don’t want to fall behind. I’d highly recommend a group to anyone training for a race (or just wanting to run, period). It really is changing my life (ha! That sounds so dramatic and so not me, but I really feel like this).