TGIF

Can I just say TGIF. This has been a particularly long rough week overall for me and I’m glad it’s coming to an end. I am also glad its Friday because it’s rest day for me and my body REALLY needs the rest. I am one sore puppy today. I thought I was sore yesterday and by all accounts I was sore. But today, today is worse.  Sometimes 2 days out is worse on the sore front for me. I was sore last night at the gym so I decided the only thing I could actually do was legs, so consequently aside from having a very sore upper body my lower body is now joining in on the fun.

Yesterday I was massively stressed and pissed and did not want to go to the gym. But funny thing is, once I got there and did my thing it was actually the best part of my entire day.  That is what endorphins do for me. That is what a good workout and sweat and feeling accomplished does.  I told myself I was going to run and just run for a little while. In all honesty I knew, despite my brain saying I don’t want to, that I was going to run a 5k last night. I knew it the moment I got on the machine because they have those preprogrammed workouts and I hit the 5k button on it.  I just started running, listening to my music and I have to say the first 3 minutes felt like torture. It takes a few minutes for your body to warm up and get into the groove. In those couple first minutes I thought I was going to die and by no means that I was going to be able to do a full 5k. But a few minutes later I felt fine.  I ran a very comfortable good pace for me and low and behold completed a 3.1 mile run in 30 minutes. I was running at a 6.2 speed on the treadmill. It was perfect and I was nice and sweaty and feeling awesome afterwards.

Then I knew I wanted to do at least 30 minutes of strength training but given how ridiculously tender my upper body was I opted for legs. Don’t know if that was such a smart decision but it was the only one I could make. So I went ahead and got a 40 pound barbell to do squats with. I was going for low weight/high reps this evening.  I immediately began with 50 squats. Yup, 50. Then I did 20 low pulsating squats at the bottom. I then picked up 15 pound dumbbells and proceeded to do lunges across the gym. It ended up being 15 lunges each way, repeat. Then I did a low pulse lunge on each side, 20 count.

Repeat this entire sequence of exercises 4 times. It took me about 45 minutes and I was a sweaty mess but I felt great. That means total I did 200 regular squats. 80 low pulsating squats. 120 lunges and 160 pulsating lunges. Oh and at the very end just for shits and giggles I did 60 deadlifts.  Reflecting upon yesterday this was probably the best hour and a half of my day. The time where I zoned out in sweat and only focused on my breathing and getting outside of my own head. I’m glad I went and pushed myself because I really didn’t want to.  But today I need to rest. My body is definitely telling me its rest day.

Of course the stress doesn’t really go away. As soon as I go home I have to round up Bella for a doctor’s visit. I hate doing these things. It’s a necessary evil in life, but not fun by any stretch of the imagination. Mostly I just want to go home and sit and do nothing but alas there is no rest for the wicked. It’s mostly self-imposed though so I can’t complain all that much.

Tomorrow morning we are getting up and running a 5k. I am not sure about the logistics of how everything is going to work because we have to bring molly with us because she has her vet appointment in the afternoon and its up in the area we are running. We can’t run and then go home and get her and drive back.  This either means that one or both of us is going to have to just walk the 5k with Molly or else maybe Chris’s dad is going to meet us and babysit molly while we run. Not sure yet. Either way it’s a 5k for us tomorrow and then Molly’s specialist visit which is really the source of much stress and anxiety but at least its happening and hopefully fingers crossed we will just know one way or another what is really going on with her eye.

After that its home and then in theory we are supposed to go to my mom’s house to celebrate my sisters birthday. The whole family will be there. But I have a bit of a stupid issue. The issue being that while I completely adore my family they are really terrible horrible eaters. Meaning, everything they are preparing is ridiculously bad for you. I can say this is okay but Sunday morning it’s another half for us and I can’t eat shit food the night before and get sick. It’s not a good idea at all. Plus been working hard and all at meeting my goals. Sometimes I just wish they’d eat healthier, not really for me, but for them honestly. I know I can’t eat the food, but we will probably stop by to say hi and hang out a little. But the food is so tempting which is always part of the problem honestly. Will power. Geesh.

And then of course Sunday morning marks the one year anniversary of me running my very first half marathon.  I of course celebrate by running another half. But this time its number 22 for the year. Amazing what you can accomplish in a year. Thankfully in a year’s time I have learned how not to be as much of a neurotic freak about running as I was before that very first one. I remember really being a total basket case and scared shitless honestly. Thankfully I don’t get like that anymore. Sure, sometimes I still get nervous or scared but not enough to keep me up all night and feeling like I want to puke. I’ve endured most scenarios now on a run and I’m pretty confident that I have the ability to finish no matter what obstacles I may end up facing.

Got to push thru strong now. I’m on the home stretch so to speak. 2 weeks today I will be in San Jose. I can’t believe it’s only 2 weeks, time sure does have a way of going by. But I’m proud that since I decided to get back at it and set a goal for myself I am officially down 12 pounds. I feel so much better today than I did 8 weeks ago when I started.  I really can notice 12 pounds gone off my frame.

I am exhausted right now, but hopefully the high of running will take me thru this race heavy weekend. After all, I should be celebrating sticking with something for a whole year. Running has changed me in every possible way and made my life better. That is what I need to celebrate this weekend. Thank you half marathon’s for shaping me and pushing me and giving me the best year of my life, ever!